CHAPTER 11

We were walking back from classes. We were almost there until someone jumped through the window wearing black. I threw my books onto the floor and faced my attacker. My mother . . . I groaned. Mikael stood with Valerie and Sara, protecting them from the so- called 'strigoi'. I kept my eyes focused on my mother. There was another shadow moving on my left. Daniel stood there, waiting to attack me. "Not you too" I whined/ grumbled. He grinned wickedly. Next, Dimitri was probably gonn- . I heard footsteps behind me. I turned my back to my right and looked at my attackers. I thought too soon because there he was standing there all serious and threat- like. This is like the worst nightmare.

And just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, Dimi attacked first. Stupid. Oh, my. I'm probably going to lose anyway . . . At the corner of my eye, I saw Alberta and Stan watching us carefully. I've seen Dimi and my mom spar and they always use the same moves on each other. Perfect, I thought with a smile. If Dimi thinks I'm going to use Daniel's methods, good luck.

Lucky of me, I recognized all of his moves. First, he sent a punch to my face but I ducked and kicked his legs. He regained his balance quickly but my mom immediately lunged for me. I jumped and kicked both of them. The kick worked on mom but not Dimi. He grabbed my ankle and threw me towards Daniel's direction.

I quickly did a handstand and stood right in front of Daniel. He tried to punch me and I dodged and punched him instead. My mother recovered and attempted to kick on my legs but I jumped up and crashed on Daniel. Our fighting had gained an audience. A large one, in fact. I pulled the stake out and pretend plunge it into his chest but he was quick and turned me around instead. The stake fell a few feet away and Dimi grabbed it. He broke t in half by stepping on it. After all, it was only wooden.

Great, now I have no weapon. I kicked Daniel's stomach and he flew backwards, towards the wall Alberta and Stan were leaning on. They had moved closer to get a closer view. Okay, if they were pretending to be someone else, they're probably strigoi too. So, watch out. In that second, I was knocked onto a table with a vase on it. Both my mother and Dimitri were coming for me. Daniel too, was also running towards me.

I had no choice. I was going to 'die'. I concentrated hard and created a ring of fire around me. it worked and the audience oohed, aahed and whispered. This would come in handy. They slowed down a bit. I concentrated on my hand and a warm flame appeared. I made the ring of fire disappear and started walking slowly towards the wooden table. The other couldn't do anything since I could torch them in under a few seconds. I grabbed a broken piece of wood, the perfect size of a stake and let the flame go.

All of them cornered me again. My mom and Dimi glanced at each other and attacked me at the same time. I did a somersault and ended up behind them I plunged the stake into my mother's back playfully and she was supposed to be paralyzed. Dimitri turned and started attacking me. I dodged and he dodged whatever moves I threw at him. Now, it gets interesting.

I felt something hit my back and I spun around and faced Daniel. His fist held out. I punched him on his face. Hard. "Son of a-" Dimitri kicked my legs and I fell. He pinned me down. "You want me to burn you?" I said sarcastically.

"Let's see if you do" he teased. Sadly, I was telling the truth.

A ring of fire encircled us. He jerked in surprise and swore. I used both hands and punched him. He fell down but turned me around again. Great, Just what I wanted!  I wriggled my way to comfort and used both my legs to kick his stomach. He flew back but stood still in front of me as if nothing happened. My mom got up and so did Daniel. They weren't paralyzed anymore.

I rolled beside Mikael and grabbed his stake out of his pocket. "Sorry" I whispered quickly and faced my attackers. They walked towards me with smirks on their faces. "Run" I whisper- shouted to the others and they did as they were told. Daniel an after them but I got him and pinned him. I punched and kicked him non- stop until I had the chance to stake him at the mark.

I turned to look for the others but they weren't there. They were running after Mikael and the moroi.  Crap! They were distracting me. I ran after them in full speed. When they stopped, I saw them cornering Mikael, Sara, Joseph and Valerie. Joe lunged forward at my mom but Dimitri pulled her out of the way. Since Mikael had no stake, he had to protect the moroi very carefully. With Joe distracting them, I signaled for Mikael to run again. And he did, dragging the moroi with him.

By now, the crowd had followed us and Mikael got Valerie and Sara safe. I sighed and ran forward to help Joseph. He was pretty good but he had gotten scrapes and bruised all over from being punched a few times. I stepped in the battle and took on Dimitri . . . again. Why does this keep happening to me?  I waited for him to attack but he didn't. we encircled each other in a dance. This time, he actually threw a punch at me which I quickly dodged. I reused that move on him and he dodged too. The same moves kept on repeating itself again and again. Like dance moves.

Dimitri finally got it that I was copying and spun so quickly that I was shocked. He kicked Joseph and he fell on his knees. My mom punched his stomach and he fell flat on the ground. A guardian on post nearby ran up to him and brought him to the infirmary. Thank goodness.

Two against one. NOT. COOL.

I was getting rapidly tired by the minute and I could feel myself loosing focus. I would get a punch or kick every few minutes that would pull me back into the battle. Finally, my mother kicked my back. There was a cracking sound. I bent down and started panting and gasping for air. She couldn't do anything and since we were still in training, she couldn't comfort me. I saw Daniel looked at me sadly, his hands curled in fists and I knew he was trying his best not to snap.

Just by looking at him, I gained focus and strength. Suddenly, without me realizing, I rolled away from getting badly injured by them. I took one glance at Mikael and got up from my crouched position. I took one look at my attackers and held the stake so tightly in my hands, there was probably a red mark already and my knuckles were turning white. I lunged for my mom who was already prepared for my attack but at the last minute, I attacked Dimitri instead.

As I expected, he didn't realize I was going to do that but he instantly caught the plan and dodged, making it slice his arm. His sleeve tore and blood dropped down. I spun quickly and hit my elbow hard on his rib. He grunted. I kicked his leg and turned to my mother who sent a blow to my face. I managed to dodge it just in time, but barely. I punched Dimitri and we fought. Sometimes, I was getting blows from both of them. I was swift and steady. It was really a miracle, actually but I did it. Soon, they got tired and I hit my mom's heart precisely. (Not really)

At that exact moment, I felt someone hovering above me. I rolled off my mother and got up. Now, the one that ends with a life lost. Not literally but it was the main point of this whole thing anyway. I did another somersault and landed in front of him. He sent punches and kicks my way but I dodged them . . . almost effortlessly.

I was getting annoyed of his constant fighting. Finally, I had a chance. I didn't hesitate to stick it in. not actually but I made a clear point. He raised his hands in defeat and backed away. By now, I was panting and my whole body was sweaty. Extremely sweaty. The crown among us were whispering and cheering for me. I smiled and walked over to Mikael, Val and Sara slowly. My breathing was shaky and I still had the rush from the fight. "Hey, guys" I breathed.

"OMG! You were awesome!" squealed Valerie.

"I know right! You're so going to get loads of requests" said a grinning Sara.

"You know . . ." I breathed. "That's not going to happen, right?"

"Right . . . but if it could, you would" she replied.

"Here . . . . you . . . go" I panted, giving Mikael the stake. "It- it's yours"

"I know but yours is broken" he stated.

I gasped in a lungful of air and told him "I know . . . anyway, that stake was a fake" they all stared at me dumbfounded. "Yeah. . . They gave me a fake colored in paint. I knew I had to grab a real one and I did . . . , come to think of it, I actually wanted to grab some random Guardian's one." Their eyes widened. "What . . . ? In order to survive, I ne-" Someone patted my back. The others left and I noticed that the audience had scattered, leaving only me and the person behind me left in the corridor.

"Sophia, you are needed in Alberta's office right now" said Daniel. I groaned. "Come on . . . , let's get you there" he chuckled, dragging me there.

When we got there, I was forced to sit down quietly on the sofa in between my mother and Daniel. Stan sat beside Dimitri. They were all looking al serious and showed no emotion. I sighed. Everyone was still quiet. If they don't talk in five minutes, I'm out the door and into the infirmary.

"Sophia . . ." mom started.

"Miss Hathaway . . . , were you aware that you took down three strongest guardians in . . . and hour?" asked Alberta.

"Nope. Do you think I was keeping an eye on the time?"

"Yes . . . , well, you did" Stan answered.

"What happened was . . . dangerous and you won . . ." said mom in a surprised tone.

"Okay  . . . so?"

"So, Sophia . . . You were almost losing but something turned the tables and you won" explained Dimitri.

"There was a crack . . ." said Daniel softly. "A cracking noise when Rose kicked her back"

As soon as he said that, everyone was up and running about. My mother was talking to Dimitri about something. Alberta and Stan were both on the phone. Daniel and I just sat there staring at everyone. It was really weird.

Finally, I got irritated and got up. I walked out with Daniel following. Suddenly, I felt pain on my back and front. I cried out in pain and fell to the floor. I gasped, catching in small breaths of air but it was difficult due to the pain. Daniel bent down and carried me in his arms. He walked in the direction of the infirmary and when we reached, Dr. Olendzki was talking on the phone. She immediately hung up and came to my aid.

Daniel told her everything and she asked me to turn so that my back was facing her. I did what I was told, slowly and painfully. She checked it a few times by pressing here and there. I whimpered when she hit the painful parts. Dr. Olendzki concluded that I had two broken ribs. "It's a miracle" she said. I managed to lose the pain for a while but actually, I did feel something weird on my back. Turns out, it was my ribs.

I was asked to stay in the infirmary until I recovered which wasn't going to be fast. To cheer me up a little, they put me beside Joseph to keep me company and me to him. I smiled at the snoring unconscious Joseph. Daniel came in a little while after. "You know, you really love bad injuries so much, don't you?" he joked. I grinned. He grabbed my hand. "It hurt so much to see you cry in pain" his eyes showed sadness. "So so much" I nodded. "Never. And I mean never do that again" he said.

"I promise"

"Good. I felt so bad for not being able to help you" he confessed.

"You always shouldn't feel bad" I said and drifted off to sleep.

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I woke up to the sound of someone chewing on toast. I blinked my eyes open and turned my head towards the sound and saw Joseph looking back at me, grinning. I smiled back and stretched. I winced. I still had a few injuries, I realized. "Morning, sleepy head. You finally wake up" he said cheerfully.

"Good morning . . . , what time is it?"

"Nine" he answered.

"Wow. I slept for twelve hours" I realized.

"Not the unusual" he muttered. I stared at him curiously. "According to your mom" he said. I smiled.

A nurse walked in with a plate and a glass of orange juice on a tray. Right on cue, my stomach grumbled. The nurse chuckled and set the food down on my lap. I chugged it down so fast that the nurse were both staring at me wide- eyed. I laughed. "I knew your appetite was big but I never realized it was as much as a wolf . . ." joked Joseph. I gave him my scariest glare and he gulped. Both the nurse and I chuckled.

There was a knock on the door. Dimitri and my mom stood there. Behind them were Sonya and Mikhail. "Hey, dad. Mom" greeted Joseph. "Hey, honey" Sonya said. "Oh, Rose. I'm going to hate you forever" Mikhail teases.

"It wasn't all me" my mom said with puppy dog eyes.

Everyone laughed. I groaned. "How are you . . . , seriously?" she asked.

"Fine. No thanks to you" I said truthfully.

"I'm sorry. But it was necessary" her eyes softened.

"No it wasn't!" I exclaimed. "How was breaking my ribs necessary?" I exclaimed.

"We should go" Dimitri said. "Get better soon" he whispered and kissed my forehead.

"Give her a break, Soph" said Joseph.

"Nope" I said stubbornly.

"She was here the whole time. She was freaking out. Dimitri had to carry her out"

"I don't care"

"Sophia, she's trying really hard to get forgiveness" Sonya said.

"I. . . I just can't"

"Or won't?" she said again.