Ignis {fire}

As Arya neared the academy doors, she saw a figuring standing there. Based on the flowing golden locks and emerald green gown, Arya knew that it was Lady Zelie. However, she didn't know why she was outside of the academy. As Eclipse drew near, Lady Zelie's gaze snapped to meet Arya's.

"You're back," she said a small smile flickering on her face.

"Yes," Arya replied before dismounting Eclipse. She could see the bags under Lady Zelie's seafoam eyes. She clearly wasn't getting enough sleep.

"How was the trip?" She asked.

Arya thought of the elders, the festival, Aaron before replying. "It was refreshing. I feel much better after visiting Evenna. It's as though a burden has been lifted off of me."

There was a twinkle in Lady Zelie's eyes as she spoke. "Are you sure it wasn't the fact that a certain someone was with you."

Arya shook her head. "Speaking of which," she trailed off, "why didn't you tell me he would be accompanying me to Evenna?"

"I knew you would protest which is why I thought it was better for you to be kept in the dark."

Arya begrudgingly agree. If Lady Zelie had told her someone else would be accompanying her, would have made sure that they didn't come with her on the trip.

Arya turned the conversation around to ask Lady Zelie a question, "My Lady why are you standing outside? Is it not almost dinner time?"

Lady Zelie looked up at the darken sky. The sun had set almost half an hour ago but some of the beautiful colours were still present. "I just needed fresh air."

Arya nodded she understood the feeling. The academy could get a bit claustrophobic at times.

"Why don't you go and prepare for dinner inside. I'm sure there are two lovely ladies who are waiting to hear about your experience." The way Lady Zelie said it was casually enough but Arya knew the Silvia and Yasmin must have been asking her where she had gone. After all, she had left without telling anyone around her.

"I'll see you later My Lady."

Lady Zelie smiled in acknowledgement and Arya couldn't help but let a soft smile of her own appear as well. This was the woman who had changed her life for the better. This was the woman who had believed in her when the world had not. If Lady Zelie looked shocked to see her smile she hid it well. She waved at her until she made her way into the academy, her true home.

The academy seemed a little less crowded as Arya walked through the halls. She assumed it was due to the fact that it was almost dinner time so most of the students would be in the great hall. Arya opened her room door and emptied out the contents of her bag. She placed the ocarina on her bedside alongside a thick brown envelope.

Aaron had given it to her and told her to read it once she got back to the academy. He had also told her to reply to his letter and not leave him hanging. Arya was tempted to open the envelope and read its contents but she held back. She wanted to read it slowly and right now, she simply didn't have the time. Dinner would begin in a few minutes.

Arya slipped back into her academy uniform and then went to the bathroom in order to make herself look as presentable as she could. Her hair was all over the place due to her trip but she couldn't do anything about it so she simply tied it into a straight bun and began walking towards the great hall.

Once the doors were opened, Arya was shocked to see how little students actually remained behind. Half of the academies tables were empty and many girls were huddled in a corner. They all looked on edge. Arya saw Yasmin and Silvia waving at her frantically from a table in the corner.

Arya answered their beckons when she sat down between the two of them. "I didn't expect this many people to leave," was the first thing Arya said.

"I know. The place just looks so empty now." Silvia responded.

Arya could see why this was bothering Lady Zelie. Loosing this many students could not be good for the future of the academy and if too many students left they could be force to closed down the place. The academy was the pride and joy of Lady Zelie. She had worked extremely hard to get it where it was now and it all seemed as though it was crashing down now. Arya knew the thing that probably frustrated Lady Zelie the most was the fact that she couldn't so anything to change it. She was simply powerless, something she probably hadn't felt in a while.

Dinner was served a few moments later and chatter began amongst the remaining academy students. The teachers it seemed were trying hard to keep conversations with one another and make the mood a bit more lighthearted.

Silvia wasted no time in her questioning, "So where did you go?"

Arya finished chewing before replying, "Evenna."

Even Yasmin looked surprised at her response. "What business did you have there?"

"Lady Zelie wanted me to deliver the message and visit the place I had once called home." Arya replied nonchalantly.

"You were born there?"

"Yes, and then Lady Zelie asked me to come back with her to the academy."

Silvia wasn't satisfied yet. "So how was the trip?"

"It was nice to visit the snowy mountains and take in the beautiful scenery. We even got to witness the Ocarina Festival."

Arya realized her mistake after she spoke. She had used the term we instead of I. She was hoping that the two of them would not catch the misused pronoun but Yasmin was as sharp as ever.

Her eyebrows rose as she moved the mass of curls from her face, "We? Who else accompanied you?"

Arya knew her response would bring about more questions but she was never good at lying. She hated liars which is why she made a point to always tell the truth. "Aaron accompanied me once we met at the royal palace."

Silvia's brow eyes became huge and a smile tugged on her lips. "Oh, the two of you spent time alone in a foreign city. How romantic. Anything else happened that you would like to mention?"

Arya's face gave it away as she felt herself blush. She was thinking about the kiss between her and Aaron. Before the two of them had parted ways, Aaron had kissed her forehead. She had asked him at that moment, what the two of them were doing.

Aaron had merely smirked in reply before saying, "I'm courting you of course."

Arya didn't know what courtship entailed as she had never seen it before. Most of her influence came from Lady Zelie and even though the princess had suitors lined up, she had rejected them all. Although the King did not agree with this method, he had gradually given up saying that he could never force Lady Zelie into marrying someone whom she didn't love. Arya had inkling that Sir Samuel and Lady Zelie had a deeper bond then they displayed but she had never been able to confirm that.

Yasmin and Silvia both grinned like Cheshire cats at her expression. "What happened between the two of you? Did you kiss?"

Arya kept her mouth shut as she tried to cool the blush that was erupting on her face.

Silvia squealed. "You two totally did kiss!"

Arya neither confirmed nor denied the statement.

"I think it's cute, the two of you together." Yasmin offered her opinion.

"I knew they hit it off the second they met. They are so alike." Silvia said as she rolled her eyes. "Both top of their class, champions of the Heres Gladii, honorary knights, like two peas in a pod."

"We are not discussing this." Arya hissed under her breathe.

Silvia gave her a patronizing smile. "Oh but we are. It's wonderful to see you squirm. I thought nothing could break you."

"When does Arya not squirm?" A new voice interjected.

The three of them turned around to see Jennica standing there in all her glory. Arya knew she was looking for a fight but she wasn't going to start one. It was foolish to fight with fools.

Silvia looked like she was about to say something but Arya placed a hand to stop her. She shook her head, "It's not worth it."

"Look at that, we have two obedient pets responding to their master." Jennica said to one of her friends in a nasty voice.

Arya didn't let her voice waver. She knew both Yasmin and Silvia were livid but she wasn't going to lose her cool. "Don't you have anything better to do?" She asked polite as ever.

Jennica could see Sir Gideon approaching so she turned her venomous voice sweet. "As a matter of fact, I do. Walter darling has sent me so many letters it would be rude not to respond to any of them."

Sir Gideon had finally approached them. "Is everything alright?" He asked his gaze meeting Arya's.

She nodded. "Jennica and her friends were just about to leave." she said with a calm voice.

Jennica rolled her eyes before leaving with her friends and Sir Gideon followed them behind. Arya meanwhile turned back to finish her meal.

"Walter wouldn't be so blind would he?" Yasmin asked the two of them.

Arya shrugged her shoulders. "She's the daughter of the Marques of Caydeh and he's the son of the Earl of Dzfrah, they are bound to be close."

"I don't get why she's so bitter and mean." Silvia said.

Arya almost smiled. "Some people like to hide the pain and jealously behind a mask. It's better not to engage and let them play their own game."

She then ate the last morsel of food on her plate before leaving the great hall to retire to her chamber. The letter lay at the side of her bed but Arya decided to read it once she had changed into her evening nightgown. She crawled under the duvet covers and lit the candle by her bedside. Then she reached over to grab the letter.

Carefully opening it up, Arya held it up to the candle light in order to read its contents:

Dear Arya,

I am writing this letter to you in order to express my feelings. Yesterday you poured your heart to me under the stars as you told me your story. It was truly a heartbreaking one, filled with tragic moments but it was also a beautiful one. It was beautiful because it showed me how brave you are.

I never believed that you would spill your heart to me but was delighted when you did so. On a different level, it shows how much you trust me and I want to make sure that I don't break that trust. I know it takes a while for you to open up to people as you usually put up a cold exterior but I was glad when you showed me your true feelings.

Can we talk about the kiss for a second? It was absolutely magical and something had I had wanting to do for a long time but I knew you weren't ready so I waited. Let's just say, the wait was worth it. I can feel myself falling for you and I feel as though I'm giving my heart away but I don't care, because it's you, and I would trust you with anything.

I can't wait to see you soon and I hope you write back as soon as you can. Even if it's short, something is better than nothing. Take care of yourself Arya.

Love,

Aaron

Arya closed the letter with a smile on her face. It was as if Aaron was here with her at this moment. She loved that he took the time to write to her. It showed that he truly cared about her. A deep part of her was finding that she cared about him to. More than she would have liked to admit. Although she was tempted to compose a response to him right away, her mind was exhausted and she decided to do it in the morning. Fighting off a smile, Arya drifted off to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Arya body jerked forward as her eyes flew open. The night was still but Arya couldn't shake of the uneasiness in her stomach. She had a feeling that something tragic was about to transpire.

Moments later there was a loud bang that rang through the hallway and multiple screams followed in suits. Arya grabbed Anaz from her bedside and hastily opened her door. She could see other girls getting out from their rooms as rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. The screaming wasn't stopping an a little while later another bang issued.

"What is going on here?" Arya heard one of the girls scream.

The whiff of smoke filled Arya's nostrils and her eyes widened. She had a feeling about what was going on. She unsheathed Anaz and told the girls to step back. They did as they were told. She heard footsteps echoing up the stairs and many of the girls huddled behind her.

Arya held the sword in an attacking position only dropping the stance once she saw that it was Lady Catherine wearing her knight uniform. She nodded at Arya as if she was pleased to see her holding a sword.

"My Lady, what is going?" Yasmin's voice echoed through the group.

Arya hadn't noticed that Silvia and Yasmin had joined her and they stood beside her.

Lady Catherine grimaced before speaking. "The academy is under attack."

Immediately the panic level in the room rose and Arya was sure many of the girls were going to start bolting for the doors.

"Stand where you are." Lady Catherine's cold voice cut through the group and everyone froze. "The enemy is hitting us with stones launched from what seems to be a catapult so we do not know where it is going to hit. At this moment, the Academy's west entrance has been destroyed. We believe that the ground troops could be arriving any moment so running around will do you no good."

Lady Catherine's gaze met Arya. "Arya will lead you to a safe classroom and as soon we have knights available we shall send them. You are not to leave the room under any circumstances unless Arya or anyone she puts in charge says to do so otherwise."

Everyone's gaze turned towards Arya but she ignored the looks. She had more pressing matters to attend to, like making sure that all the academy students were safe.

Lady Catherine beckoned Arya forward to have a private word. "You might need to leave the room in order to look for missing academy students and to guide them back to the classroom. I'll permit you to leave the room but nobody else. We don't know the threat and they can't handle it."

Arya nodded listening to more instructions that Lady Catherine gave her. At the end, she almost had a hint of a smile upon her face. "You shall be fine Arya, just make sure nobody dies."

With her last words echoing in Arya's mind, she left them to join the other knights. Arya turned to the girls in front of her. "Let's get a move on it!"

Most of the girls seemed to listen to her instruction but a couple didn't move from their spots. "What about other friends?"

"I'll see to that," Arya said in a clipped tone. When they still didn't move Arya gave them a cold glare on that matched Lady Catherine's. "Move, now."

They followed her lead. Arya placed Silvia and Yasmin at the back of the group to make sure none of the girls were lost and she lead through the dimply lit hallways of the academy. Another boom echoed through them and Arya could see many of the girls were visibly frightened. She hurried her pace but then stopped abruptly.

"Move back now!" She shouted at the girls. They did so and moments later the ground that had once been there crumbled into nothing.

It was a close call.

The path was now blocked and they would have to take the longer hallway to the classroom. Arya led them through the academy stopping them every once in a while to check if the coast was clear. They managed to round up more girls as they walked through the academy making Arya's job much easier for the future.

When they arrived at the doors of the Madame Kenna's classroom, Arya sighed in relief. She opened the door check to see if it was empty before she ushered the girls inside. Once everyone was safe in the room Arya addressed the girls.

"Almost all of you have been trained to wield a weapon. It's time that you put that training to use. Grab your weapon of choice and if an intruder decides to come, be ready for combat." Arya pointed towards Silvia and Yasmin. "These two will be in charge. If they tell you to do something, you do it. Stay silent in order to make sure you are not attracting any attention from the outside."

Arya unsheathed her sword. "I'll be back soon," she said before slipping through the entrance and closing the door softly behind her.

She raced through the hallways banging on the room doors of all the girls. She had to make sure that none were left behind. Most of the girls were shocked and surprised to see Arya holding a sword when they opened their doors. Arya would simply say there is no time before urging them together.

With the girls behind her, Arya knocked on the next door. A very frustrated Jennica opened the door. "What do you want?"

Arya spoke frantically, "The palace is under attack. We are trying to gather all the girls and lead them to safety."

Jennica's eye widened in surprise before it was replaced by something stronger, a steel determination. She held up her finger motioning she would be back before coming back with a sword in her hand.

"Ready?" Arya asked.

She nodded. The group of girls continued on their path but something caught Arya's eyes. She held up her hand motioning everyone to stop. They did and Arya closed her eyes for a moment letting her other senses take over. She heard hushed voices one that didn't seem to belong to the academy. It seemed that the intruders had made it to the third floor. She shared a glanced with Jennica trying to indicate that the enemy was behind the pillar.

Jennica nodded once demonstrating that she had understood. Arya held her hand up and mouthed the numbers, "three, two, and one."

They both stepped outside of their hiding spots before attacking the intruders. They looked off-guard by the attack but managed to block it with their own swords moments later.

"Who are you and why have you come?" Arya asked in an authoritative voice.

"Here that Faldorn, they actually believe we might tell them something. Don't the two of them look so cute?" Arya's dueler spoke to Jennica's.

The man, Faldorn grinned. "This is more fun than I anticipated."

Arya took the moment of distraction and swung her sword at his arm. It sliced him and he swore loudly. "You bitch. I'll make you back for that."

The flurry of attacks that followed Arya was anything but easy to block. These guys, whoever they were had skills but so did Arya. She launched a counterattack paying Jennica's enemy no heed. She was sure the girl would be able to take care of herself. In a matter of minutes Arya held Anaz under the man's neck.

"Will you speak now?"

The man remained silent. Arya stepped closer to him in a threatening manner. She was going to let him contemplate his choices before she would make her own decision.

"Arya watch out." Jennica yelled.

Arya whipped around her head to see the Jennica had blocked Faldorn's attack with her own body. Crimson blood dripped to the ground from her injury. Judging by the angle of the block, Arya knew it would have been a deathly blow if it hit her.

"Why?" She whispered as she kneeled beside Jennica. Arya was vaguely aware of the attackers retreating but she paid them no heed.

Jennica grinded her teeth from the pain, "because loosing you would make the academy lose its moral."

Arya didn't reply as she ripped a piece of her tunic to tie around Jennica's wound. It didn't look to deep but the blood wouldn't stop spilling. "Keep applying pressure to the area. As much as I hate it, we have to continue moving now more then ever."

Jennica nodded. Arya motioned for the girls to come out of their hiding place and support Jennica. They continued on their path. Most of the academy had been destroyed and there was rubble everywhere. Arya nearly avoided behind squashed by one of the pillars that had fallen. They made their way past the great hall when Arya ran into Princess Zelie she couldn't be more relieved.

Lady Zelie's eyes lit up. She was not dressed out in her usually gowns but instead she was wearing one of the military Kalvarian Knight uniforms. There was blood on the white uniform indicating that she had been in many battles. "How is the evacuation going?"

"It's good my lady. We have managed to get most of the girls in Madame Kenna's classroom and Lady Catherine said that knights would be coming to protect that place momentarily."

Lady Zelie nodded satisfied. "I'm afraid the battle on our hand is going to be much longer. Intruders have gotten into the academy and our priority is to make sure that nobody is hurt. We may even need backup because the sheer number of attackers is astounding. Nobody could have ever predicated this."

Arya knew what she was saying was the truth. Although they had guards positioned at the entrances, nobody would have expected an attack from the eastern bay.

"I need you to do me a favour." Lady Zelie began. "You have to report what is happening to the king right away. I would send a knight but they are all busy trying to keep the attackers out."

As if the world was trying to prove her point many loud cries echoed through the room.

"I would do as you said My Lady but what about the evacuation?"

Lady Zelie glanced at the group behind her. "Entrust it with someone who you know will not let you down. I can't stay any longer. I must rejoin the battle."

With that as her last words she left the hallway to join the other knights. Arya looked at the group of girls behind her trying to pick a candidate to lead the evacuation but she already knew the perfect choice. "Jennica I'm putting you in charge of all the girls. Deliver them to Madame Kenna's room where Silvia and Yasmin and watching over everyone. If you need help ask them."

Jennica nodded at Arya's words. Her green eyes looked focused and Arya knew she would be able to handle the task. Although Jennica was bitter most of the time, she knew the academy well and Arya was sure she would be able to fend of the enemies and make sure that all the girls would be safe. "Travel safely and may the Gods be with you," she said softly.

Arya nodded before extracting Anaz and running to the exits, "and you."

Arya had never run any faster in her life. She rushed to the stables and saddled Eclipse as fast as she could. She led the horse to the academy gates which had been destroyed by the intruders. As Arya made her journey to the palace she glanced back at the academy one last time to see her it crumbling and surrounded but a wall of flames. Her home was disappearing. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you so much for all the support on the last chapter! Things are beginning to spice up and it seems that the tide is turning. So what did you think about the chapter? Did you expect and attack? Please vote and comment as usual. This week a question to my readers. Do you guys like sports and if so, what is your favourite sport? Mine is soccer:)