"Lucien you will signal to go and stop. Everyone can watch and learn a few moves.", Silas says in his too chill voice. "Don't worry, jason I will make this too much easy for you.", He smirks his lips twitch making jason bare his teeth at him, his hands turned to fist as silas was mocking him. "And Start!", Lucien yells. As jason was in rage, he attacked first with punches which caught silas off guard but he managed to duck away from his punches. Silas was now angry and too much aware of his opponent's moves. As jason throws another punch, silas quickly grabs his arm from the shoulder joint and throws him over his shoulder and on the floor deliberately instead of on the mat. All oxygen leaves from his body at one and he chokes. "And this is why I tell you not to use these fights for your desperate revenge.", silas says as a lesson for jason and other students. Jason quickly gets himself up and heads for silas but he is fast and runs behind him grabbing Jason's right arm with his left hand and pulls him closer with momentum and lands a solid punch with his left fist right on his nose and he drops to the ground on his knees with blood coming out of his nose. "And this is what I'll do if I find anyone of you breaking the rules.", silas says checking his fist if it was injured and then kicks jason's chin with his knee making everyone wince. I diverted my eyes from the bloody scene infront of me. Jason spits blood in his mouth on the floor as he was struggling to breath. Jason lies on the mat on his back and silas bends on his one knee looking at him with no expression on his face. Jason still doesn't gives up and throws a weak punch but silas was far from him, he grabs his arms keeping it under his hold. I beg my guts from coming out at the moment and find silas gaze on me. He was angry, I didn't tell him what jason did. "Oh and I forgot to tell you another rule.", he says breaking his eye contact first looking at other and the very next second he jabs his elbow hard on jason's shoulder joint breaking it on the spot with a loud crack and someone from the audience gasped. "You are not allowed to use magic during your fights. Or your considered useless to me let alone passing as a cadet.", He says getting up. "Fight's over.", Lucien says. Silas looks at jason's body as if he was some insect. "I didn't expect this pathetic fighting from you Mr Roy after being here for two years. Or should I say your good for nothing except only for your title of the prince of ice?", he says. Jason just grunts and silas takes this opportunity to get off the mat towards his towel and wipes his hands before narrowing his gaze at jason's two friends. "Aren't you going to take your friend to the healer chambers or your expecting me to do it?", he says and the two boys quickly get up running to pick jason and get out of the hall.
"Today we will do just basic exercise but from tomorrow onwards you will be expected to do the warmup before hands. Run, exercise whatever you want to increase your fitness. These quarters will be free for you to go but only before curfew. Everyone partner with a different year student. No first year will pair with another first year and the same goes for others.", he says and why do I get the feeling he deliberately said this for tim? I was again paired with abex as youna had paired herself with a girl from second year and selene was lucien. Silas was looking at everyone's progresses.
...
"Ugh!!", I flop on my bed after my muscles ache too much from all the training today even though it was basic. I had never ever fought before. Everything was new to me and the fact that the only two friends I had over here were also better at it making me feel more bad about it.
All the training made me sweat and I needed a shower now that the classes were done. I went to the bathroom and took a bath with cold water which did a few wonders to my aching muscles. I wrap the towel around my hair and wear into my casuals. But as I come out the door my heart beat stopped and I flinched hard.
"What the fuck are you doing in my room!?", I try to maintain my scared voice to silas who was looking around my room sitting on my bed. "I wanted to give you updates on your performance today.", he says looking at me. "Okay but how did you get in? I thought my room was warded?", I ask taking off my towel as it looked awkward infront of him and I threw it on the chair. "I came from the window. Didn't want any one to get suspicious if I enter through the building front. And the ward also lets me in on the orders of orion.", he explains as his eyes dart over to my wet hair strands falling infront of my face.
"So what did you wanted to tell me say it and go. I am hungry I want to go to the cafeteria.", I say but he looks at me for a few seconds before standing up and heading straight for me. "Wha..what are you doing?", I ask as I back into the wall. "Why didn't you tell me about jason? I would have break his bones the second he targeted you in the training ground.", he says with deadly calm look in his eyes. "I thought he would stop after lucien punished them, I didn't knew he wouldn't back off.", I say trying to avoid his contact. He sighs before a water bag appeared in his hands. "Take this, it will get the swelling down on your legs.", he says and I look at it before meeting his eyes again. "I don't have sore legs.", I say and he rolls his eyes, not wanting to put this shit up with me anymore. "Take the damn thing kai without putting with this bullshit.", he says and I take it. "You really like messing around with my name huh? It's not kai, Its kaya!", I remind him, I guess he would have forgot. "I'm glad you are over with layla kaya shit and for kai, its easy to call you.", he says.
"What is it about the performance?", I ask crossing my hands over my chest. His mouth tugs upwards from one side and he raises his one brow in amusement. "I thought you already figured that out for yourself?", he says but then continues speaking. "I don't mind telling you. Its-" "Yes I know, no need to tell me."
"Weak, like a baby learning to walk." There... he said it. His ego raised to the sky. "You are the ace as they call it. Do something about it.", I say to him and he just smirks. "You still need practice like everyone. If I started teaching you right away you will be sore for weeks and it will not be from something good.", he tries to flirt but I just roll my eyes before getting away from him. Why? Because his words actually affected me out of everyone. He did flustered me which was bad... way bad.
"Fine.", I say. "You need to jog every single morning. Your foot work is too bad. Along with your moves. Even an ordinary can overpower you." He insults. "Because I have never done this before in my life. Of course they will be stronger at it than me.", I say and he stops. "But remember, you have the ancestrial power of fire. You are way above their level. So its high time you finally act like it.", silas looks at me for the finalth time and sits on the window looking for signs of any person around and then jumps off making me gasp. I rush towards the window because my freaking room was on the 2nd floor. I imagine silas broken limbs on the ground but instead he walked out of the corner like it was nothing.
I turn my back towards the window frame leaning against the wall but then I notice a piece of paper on my table. It must be from silas. I pick up the paper and my eyes find the most beautiful handwriting and a message was written. "Come to the trails in the forest at the back of the students quarters at 6 next morning."
I shudder at the thought of it. We will be alone in the forest even thought its morning. But I have to throw the thought out of the window. He is only my protector on orion's orders only. If not for him he would have been on his general duties far away from topeza and I would never had come across him in my life. The growling noises from my stomach was an indication for me to go to the cafeteria. Keeping his note in the drawer, I go to the cafeteria, part of relief comes in my head at the thought of jason not being here and in the healers chambers. And even if his friends weren't hurt, they wouldn't dare to make the same mistake jason did by troubling me when the official day had started. I look at the delicacies infront of me and quickly pick them all before going to an empty table and eat my food in peace. Thank goodness!
"There you are!" Youna yells in the hall as I put my empty tray with the dirty trays. She grabs selene's arm and quickly runs towards me. "I have been looking for you everywhere. So did you picked out a dress?" She says as we three sit back into the empty chairs. "Dress for what?" I ask completely dumbfounded and youna makes a face of exasperation. "Don't tell me anyone informed you about the harvest fest happening in the town?", she asks. I shake my head as a result. "It's the most oldest ritual that takes place in the town. Many people from Aradox gather in the town doing shopping from rare collections traders sell and there is dancing too!", youna explains.
"We celebrate it for the harvesting season of suckle apples. As it always aligns with the new year at topeza, headmaster orion has allows only the first year students to visit the festival.", selene says. "And this means we will be going out of the wards!", she says in excitement, mischief dancing in her sparkly eyes. "But under the observation of professors.", selene completes. "Oh don't ruin the mood. Lets go to my room we will select a dress for you!", youna says and we head back to our quarters.
"Can the first years skip this festival?", I whisper to selene. "Well yeah but I don't see the reason that we have to?", selene asks. "The amount of clothes youna chose for me is making me have second thoughts.", I say and selena chuckles. "And done. Now kaya stand for me darling, I want to see which dress will make your eyes pop!", youna says pulling me up from the bed. She holds a few dresses infront of me and asks for selene's opinion on them to which neither of us agreed. While youna looks between the dresses, selene picks up two clothes and then shows them to youna. "What about this?", she asks and youna gasps loudly.
"Good job selene, see your getting good at this after staying with me.", she says and hands them over to me. It was a white full sleeved dress which reached my knees paired with a maroon corset top. I go to youna's bathroom and was surprised to find her entire base of the sink with alot of hair and body care products. Quickly changing into them, I look at myself at the mirror and was satisfied with the dress.
I go out of her bathroom and they both grin at me. "Now let's do something with your hair.", she says dragging me to sit infront of her own vanity chair. Huff....its going to be a long day.
--
"Why do we even have to go to this festival? There is literally nothing to do except dancing and drinking. It's not my kind of party....", Abex says while Lucien fixes the collar of my tunic. We were wearing tunics tucked into our pants with sleeves rolled up. As I am a general of the army, people may notice and recognize me which I am trying to avoid considering I have to keep an eye on the girl who I am supposed to protect for the entire night until we get back to those wards. "Who told you to show off infront of youna of us getting the professors position? If it wasn't for your ego we could have stayed back.", lucien says. "And leave me alone to keep an eye on the girls? Never.", I say. The boys are the ones who will stay in the crowd with the girls and mixed with the professors.
There was a knock on the door and we looked to find professor betha. She was just a few years older than us. "Guys, we have to leave early to report at the gates. Lets go.", she says and we nod before taking our cloaks and going outside the teacher's quarters and towards the gates where the shuttles will take us to the town. The evening sun had already begin to set which is also an indication that the festival will start any second soon. After marking our presence with the professor who was in charge of making sure the first year students who are coming should be present when we leave. We get on the vehicle and before we get seated, we checked the corners of the bus for any thing which looked as a threat before taking our seats on the bus. Lucien had already mind linked selene to get on the bus number 3 as four buses were going with half filled professors and half filled with students.
But I was a bit surprised to see many girls rushing into the bus same as ours after giving us a flirty look they fill up the entire empty seats leaving none for the girls. Abex and lucien exchanges worried looks with me to which I just shrug. When suddenly another girl climbs the bus and it was youna. "Oh there's no seat left.", she says a bit loudly for the professors in the front to hear.
"You guys can take the fourth bus.", the professor said. "But there is no seats left in that one too.", she says. "How? We had ordered the buses according to the total number of students.", the professor who had took everyone's attendence spoke up this time. "The fourth bus is different from the other three. I think they only managed to get that bus in short time.", selene says and soon professor iviz came from behind the girls. "Are there any seats left for these three girls?", he asks and looks around the bus.
"Oh sorry girls, looks like you guys have to stay back.", he suddenly says and youna's face turned to disappointment look. Abex and lucien looks at me with wide eyes and I quickly speak up instantly regretting a few seconds later. "Professor wait, we will make seats for them. Abex, lucien get up.", I say getting up myself from my seat. "Oh no Mr. Silas its alright.", iviz says but I just nod. "No it's fine. The girls can sit here.", I say and iviz looks at the girl before nodding and getting down. One by one the girls come up all dressed for the festival but my eyes landed on the third who had fucking beautiful grey eyes and black hair. She looked pretty. It was the first time I had seen her in a dress. I can't let my mind roam over to the thoughts of looking at her in tight tunics. Youna and kaya were sitting on the double bench and selene on the one besides the professor where Abex was sitting. Kaya sat on the outer seat making me stand close to her and my eyes straightly go to the crown made on the back of her head and her black hair flowing across her shoulders. Youna and selene did do the job well.
They both were also dressed up nicely considering the fact that both lucien and Abex were glancing at them every five seconds making selene only awkward and youna angry with a scowl on her face whenever she caught Abex looking at her. I could feel kaya going stiff beneath me whenever the jumps of the shuttle made my body collide with her shoulder a little.
Soon the shuttle filled up with chattering of students one from beside me too. Youna was busy in showing kaya, every single thing they see outside when we pass through the forest and reach the outskirts of the town. The town of Mizka was the most populated and in area wise it was big than any other city or town. As it was dark outside the lights of the town went from barely one to two lights to thousands of lights filling up the streets from the festival. I hear a small barely audible gasp from my side as kaya's face was illuminated from the reflection of lights on her face.
Soon the shuttles one by one were parked into the space made for other vehicles which only the riches could afford. "Eclipsis your nearby right?" I ask through my bond with the dragon and feel a tug of my mind linking to his. "Yes. Hiding in the shadows." His deep voice came from his side of the connection and I look out the window for any signs of danger lurking around the shuttle. The professors gave the students a short lecture to stay near them and are allowed to do anything they want and have to come back to the same place in the next hour. And finally one by one they went out.