Eric's words really weren't very helpful. Any expectations I had of this possibly being a good day went down the drain.

My eyes shifted from face to face as we rolled into the parking lot. I was attempting to connect them to elements so I would know how to possibly retaliate if things really get down to fisticuffs. I was also looking for any signs of animosity, but all I could see were the faces of normal people stuck with Monday moods.

I sighed, stepping out of the car amidst the usual banter. You'd think Flo and Eric would run out of things to fight about. I must commend them on their determination to get under each other's skins.

"Guys,—" I whined, drawing their attention to me "—can you for once not fight?"

Eric and Flo exchanged glances as they slammed their doors shut. It was a few moments before the two sighed in unison.

"Fine." Eric grumbled, locking the car. "But only because it's your day." Lucky me.

Flo gave a half-hearted shrug. She draped an arm around my shoulders as a way of apologising. Then she yawned widely in my face.

I grinned. "Great. So, this means that you guys will help me fend off attacks all day. Or atleast be some meatsuits to help me brace for it."

"Well, that escalated quickly." Eric replied with an eye roll as he rounded the front of the car to walk with us. "I know you don't think much of us but I do have some skills."

Flo, meanwhile, covertly extracted her arm from around my neck and shifted to be on the other side of Eric and nowhere close to me. "I'm the healer. I'll support you guys from here."

"In a way, you're just padding her defenses." Eric spoke for me. "I mean, It's obvious that the two of us together could barely match up to her."

I turned slightly red, punching Eric lightly in the shoulder. "That's not true."

"It is." Flo piped up. "All those hours after school really paid off. I'm just glad you get to start spending time with us again."

My gut twisted. I was supposed to continue my Water Elemental training even after the Trials. I couldn't keep giving them the same excuse that I was too weak. I'd placed second in the Trials, nobody's gullible enough to believe that.

I gave an energetic nod instead of replying to that. I had no answer and I was a bit worried about what I would have to say or do to make them believe me when the time came.

"Hey, you're Fiera, right?"

A soft, hesitant voice pulled me out of hatching up devious excuses. I stopped where I was, feeling Eric and Flo halt too, to stare blankly at a guy I had never met before.

He gave me a wide grin before continuing. "Your fights were awesome! I was cheering for you all the way. Congratulations! You totally deserve it." He stuck out his hand after blurting all that out in a nervous ramble. Colour rose up his neck as he continued to grin at me.

This was awkward enough for the both of us so I didn't waste time staring at his hand. I immediately shook it, grinning back and thanking him for the wishes and cheers before continuing onwards with a cheerful wave.

That must have been the sign for people to start approaching. 'Oh, turns out the crazy Fire rookie won't burn us if we get close to her' was what I imagined went through people's mind as they saw that awkward interaction. For the rest of the way to class, I was hounded by people wanting to wish me. By the time the first bell rang, I hadn't had a single death threat about messing up their contender.

That hour was practically foreshadowing for the rest of the day. I felt great. People kept coming up to me and talking to me. No one was scared of me, I wasn't scared of anyone. It felt good to have one day where I could be normal. One day where I wasn't taking long routes or looking out over my shoulder for Elizabeth.

The hubbub died by the time training rolled around. Or so I thought.

All eyes turned to me as I entered the Gym. I bowed my head upon coming under scrutiny as usual and took careful steps towards an empty seat so I could sit quietly and wait for class to begin. Most of them probably weren’t happy with my fight against Chester. Some of the seniors were already glaring at me. I could even see the team I’d gone to the Trials with. They’d always ignored me. But it would be a little hard to do that considering others would never let them forget. I exhaled softly upon reaching my seat, relaxing a bit more as I sat down and pretended to be absorbed in my mobile.

Till a solitary clap rang out.

I stiffened, my heart leaping into my throat with only one thought in my head.

Please no.

My telepathic plea went unheard. The clapping started out slow, eventually building up into a deafening roar consisting of claps, hoots, yells, feet stomping, people laughing- just a wild cacophony of every sort of noise a person could create.

I was seated as I stared at the cheering crowd dumbfoundedly. My mind raced to find an appropriate response for this situation. I felt a light tug on my shoulder pulling me to my feet as I turned to face Colin who pulled me into an ecstatic, rib-crushing hug.

"You did it!" He yelled to be heard above the rest of the Gym. "You did it, Fiera! You did it!"

"Yes, yes. I did it." I wheezed out. "I know I did it because you are crushing my ribs and currently hurting me like I'm in the Arena again!"

"Oh, shoot." He mumbled, releasing me and hopping away. I bent a bit to the side, trying not to grimace too hard as the clapping finally started dying down. They're all probably looking at the pain I'm in and realising that I'm actually a real wuss.

My eyes shifted to spot Rhaeya walking towards me. Her stride long and her eyes glued to me. Slight fear passed through me as I realised that she was the reason everyone had stopped. I didn't have space to stumble away as Colin conveniently melted back into the crowd he'd emerged from.

I gulped as Rhaeya finally stopped in front of me. She reached up, grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled me towards her till I was eye-to-eye with her.

"H-Hi, Rhaeya." I began weakly, expecting a punch to the face.

Rhaeya's eyes narrowed before she spoke. "I didn't expect you to get past the first round." I know, she'd told me that plenty of times. "But just because you managed to clumsily fumble your way to second place doesn't mean I'll go easy on you."

"S... Sorry?"

"You will be." Her grasp tightened and I started to feel the effects of my airway restricting. "You will be sorry for not winning first place." She growled at me before pushing me away.

I stumbled away, the back of my knees hitting the seat's edge making me collapse onto the chair. I... was... confused?

I stared up at her as she took another step towards me but kept her distance. "If you do not win first place next year in the Trials, I will personally show up to your hotel and burn you down. Got it?" I nodded dumbly.

She sneered at me and turned to stalk away before pausing. Her eyes ran over my seated form, her glare hardening. "Do you want a royal invitation from me to get your usual ass-kicking, Fiera?"

"N-no." I hopped up out of my seat, immediately following after her as I felt my gut plummet. Well, there should've been a bit of normalcy in my day. Let's be honest, I would've been more surprised if Rhaeya had actually acted nice to me. Just the thought of that somehow doesn't sit right with me.

A few hours later, I was casually waiting for my fixer-upper, courtesy of Rhaeya. Also the one who's just put me in this state. I should thank Wafi again for the healer because if I'd gone up against Rhaeya with a horrible ankle, I'd actually land up in the hospital this time.

"You know, I'm a bit disappointed in you." Was the first thing she said as she finally approached me.

I gave her a tight smile and nodded as I let my head droop. Felt good to hear that. My self-esteem had been soaring for way too long now. "Sorry. I tried my best."

There was no reply from her for a few moments except for a sigh. I felt a hand alight on my head and gently push back my loose strands of hair. "It's okay. I'm still proud of you." She whispered.

My eyebrows shot up way past my hairline but the moment had ended as abruptly as it begun. Rhaeya's face was back to a blank slate and she roughly handled my injuries before moving on without another word.

A warm, fuzzy glow filled me. It wasn't what I'd expected or hoped for when I came in here but it was better than I could've ever imagined.

I tried to keep the sappy smile off my face as I swung my bag onto my shoulder and left. The air outside was cool on my body as I let myself smile. Rhaeya did have a soft spot for me as I'd seen in the last few months but this was exactly the sort of thing that she would do.

"Excuse me, Fiera?" Yet another stranger called me.

I looked up, my face still sporting the sappy, not-so-sappy smile. "Yes?"

"Come to Commons Gym. Elizabeth's waiting for you."

Right. I almost forgot that my worries never end. I still had this shit to deal with. Why now? Is it because the Trials are over? I am tired of waiting. Maybe it is time to end this. My only problem was that it sounded like a Royal summons. No, it was a Royal summon. Elizabeth considered herself too high and mighty to come and personally call me out for the fight. If only she knew...

Despite everything I'd been through, apprehension rose in my stomach. I didn’t want to fight. I don’t enjoy it. I could see sick satisfaction in the eyes of the girl at my extended silence. She misunderstood me. I sighed softly, rolling my neck tiredly as I spoke. I felt numb. "Lead the way."

She turned to start walking as I tugged my phone out of my bag and texted Eric that I wouldn't make it back with them today. I didn't bother with an explanation, they'd figure something out on their own. Besides, no matter what excuse I gave they were bound to get angry with me. I was being led to the Common Gym. The only fair ground where we could fight, I guess. But I really wasn't up to fighting in the same place I'd trained to go against her.

I slipped in as the door closed behind my escort. Kind of rude how she didn't even bother to hold it open. I was expecting few people in the Gym, Elizabeth, Christopher probably, and a few of her cronies. Seems like more than some people got the memo that there was finally going to be a fight. I glanced around the Gym. About twenty or so spectators. Surprising, actually. I'd also thought of the possibility of her keeping no spectators but I guess she's narcissistic enough to spread the invitations.

My eyes wandered over to the other side of the Gym where Elizabeth was standing with Christopher. His eyes flickered to me and I saw his expression sour. Elizabeth barely threw me a glance before turning back to the tense conversation at hand. Somebody wasn't happy and I could guess who.

I walked over to the closest bleacher and dumped my bag there. There was a solitary hoot from the top as I crouched to zip my phone back into my bag. I didn't respond to the cheer, just stood up and turned back to walk to what I felt was a suitable distance from Elizabeth.

I was right about someone not being happy. Christopher had escalated to angry gestures. All eyes were on them as they struggled to keep their voices down. I could hear them, but I didn't want to listen. It's their fight.

I quietly began my stretches. It might not help but any sort of advantage would be good. It was a while before Elizabeth finally turned her attention to me. Christopher certainly hadn't done me any favours. There was an apologetic look on his face as Elizabeth moved towards me with anger in her stride, her face twisted into a scowl as she threw her bag to the side. I grimaced as it slid across the floor. I watched it slamm into the foot of the bleachers before looking her in the eye.

"Hello." I spoke first as she finally came to stop a fighting distance from me. She was dressed quite comfortably. Track pants and a simple white t-shirt. Considering that we might end up messing around with water, that's not the best color choice.

Surprise passed through her already stormy gray eyes. "Hello?"

"I've been taught to greet people politely even if the earlier circumstances of meeting weren't that great." I paused. "It's supposed to be less awkward that way."

Elizabeth scowled once more, a look which really didn't suit her plump lips. "Oh, please. Are you trying to say I don't have manners?"

"I'm not saying anything. Though I must say you summoning me for the fight instead of approaching me personally has me a bit peeved."

"Peeved?" She chuckled condescendingly. "Really? I summoned you because I am a Royal. Which means you have to accept my summons no matter what the circumstances."

A Royal? She’s barely half of one. I shrugged. "I'm here, aren't I? I was really hoping by this point you'd have let it go though."

"I was planning to since you were a plain, untrained newbie but watching your fight yesterday was... interesting." She grinned, a spark in her eyes. "It made me believe that it might actually be worth it to not drop it."

I was a bit confused as to how to reply to that. My silence made her cock her head, her swinging ponytail drawing my eyes. "You should be honoured." She hissed.

"I don't really see the point to it. I don't have much of chance of winning."

She threw her hands in the air, her frustration coming out through a growl. "You... are... so... annoying! What gives you the right to be this indifferent?!"

I stared into her gray eyes, realising for the first time that I really didn't care about what would happen. My silence made her yell in frustration and pushed her to make the first move.

My body reacted on its own, leaning away just out of reach of her fist. It flew past right in front of my nose. My involuntary reaction made me stumble away, my second dodge a bit less clumsier, but I gained my ground back soon enough to be able to block and counter attacks well enough.

We went at it for quite a while. Evenly matched on the hand-to-hand combat front. My breathing was a bit laboured, the exhaustion from my training catching up.

Ducking under a punch, I twisted to keep my back to her front and used her own momentum and force to try and slam her into the ground. Impossibly enough, she managed to get enough of a grip to manage to stop the move from completion and swung me around to plant her knee in my gut.

The breath was forced out of me as pain shot through my gut. My hand shot out, slamming into her chest out of self-defense in an attempt to push myself away. She gasped as the force behind my hand made her stumble away, wheezing.

I kept an arm pressed to my stomach as we both regained our breath. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the door open. My eyes widened slightly as I twisted to stare at Rhaeya, Eric and Flo step in. Their eyes roamed the Gym inquisitively.

They finally spotted me, surprise crossing their features too. "What th-" I couldn't get my question out as a horrid right hook slammed into my side.

The force pushed me away and I managed to grab a hold of Elizabeth's shirt, using it to tug her into a gut-wrenching punch served from yours truly. She bent over my fist as spittle flew out of her mouth. Still holding her shirt, I cried out in effort as I finally slammed her to the ground.

She gasped in pain, her eyes widening as I crouched over her and raised my fist in an attempt to finally end it. But she was good, she wasn't going down easy.

Before I even knew it, there was a soft sound of crackling and a ball of ice slammed into my raised shoulder. I hissed in pain as it jerked me away. It felt like a solid rock slamming into my shoulder, except the top half of my shirt was now partly soaking with ice-cold water and there were chunks of ice in my hair.

Elizabeth used my moment of imbalance to scramble backwards away from me. I growled, using my feet to propel me into a forward jump. But a harsh tug backwards made me slam my palm against the floor as the momentum was arrested.

Surprise passed through me and I twisted to see my entire calf encased in ice. Not again.

"Really?!" I scowled at a standing Elizabeth, who was using my incapacitation to regain her breath. "My entire calf is a bit overkill, don't you think?"

She grinned sadistically down at me, wiping loose spit away with the back of her hand. "All's fair in love and war."

I was stuck in an awkward position. My foot was frozen to the ground and my other knee was raised. I was stuck in a perpetual position of proposals. I threw my hands up the same time as my aura flared to its maximum. "Why do you people think saying that justifies—" there was the sound of crackling ice around my foot as I tugged harshly "—everything?!"

Instead of replying, Elizabeth aimed a kick right at my face which slammed into my raised elbows. Another tug freed the ice-cube my leg had become from the floor, even as it was melting off. I groaned loudly as I managed to swing my heavy foot with enough force to kick Elizabeth's legs out from under her.

A pained cry escaped her as she slammed to the ground once more. It was ridiculous how satisfying the sound of a body hitting the floor was. I managed to straddle Elizabeth's waist as she tried to gather her bearings. Realising I was once again in the position of advantage, she started gathering an aura around her.

I rolled my eyes, feeling the air around me get thicker. I dissipated her gathered aura away with a casual wave of my hand.

Piece o-

Oh no.