An object rapidly
lashed across Ciara as she swung the door to the Weapon Room open. Impulsively,
Ciara withdrew one step back, until she heard a thud 2 inches close her face, missing her right ear. Ciara paused,
heart thrumming in her chest. A strong scent of burnish metal filled the room.
“Ciara, are you
alright!?” the Crude Brothers shouted from behind her.
“I’m fine,” Ciara
said, glancing at the wall to her right side.
“Impressive.” Ciara
snapped her head to Kyra's voice, “I didn’t expect you’ll be able to dodge my
precise aim like that. Well, not everyone gets lucky in the first try, right?”
“Kyra,” Chase and
Liam stopped, aghast at the uninvited appearance of their leader, “Why are you
here?”
“Because I’m a
Vixen.” Kyra said as a matter of fact. “And if the primary leader of the Vixen
is interested on a newbie, what does that mean?”
“Oh no,” Liam gulped. “You can’t be
serious, Kyra! Ciara doesn't know how to fight yet. She hasn't even started
trainin—”
"Liam,"
Kyra said sharply, "Do not disobey me. You're the one who brought the Blind
Candidate here uninvited. If you oppose my idea, you're going straight to the Sparring
Room, you hear me!?"
Liam remained quiet.
“Now then," Kyra snarled,
"Take that dart off and fight me, Blind Candidate. I challenge you to a
duel, which means there is no backing out.”
“What! But Kyr—”
Chase protested.
"Chase,"
Liam said solemnly, "Let her go,"
A dread of fear rose Ciara’s chest. This was bad.
“I order you to get
that dart!” Kyra demanded. “Blind or not, I don’t have pity for you
people," Kyra continued, "This is a battle of strength. You are just
an obstacle in our way, and if you can’t beat me, you are freely welcome to
leave this place for the rest of your life.”
“No!” Chase protested.
A stream of data
surge past Ciara’s brain motor cortex, computing the mishmash words and letters
jumbled in her cerebrum. The Vixens were rogues.
They liked to fight, to
prove who was stronger, and bully the weak. This was the leader of that organization.
“Alright, I’ll
challenge you.” Ciara said bravely, yanking the weapon out of the wall. A dart, Ciara guessed. The needle is 6-inches long…sharp enough to
kill the person with one strike.
Ciara took one step
forward, stimulating her awareness on her surroundings as she ushered close to Kyra.
She's standing on the middle. Not moving.
Ciara analyzed. Just 7 more steps and
I'll reach her. But I need to be cautious first.
“Good girl. Let’s
see if you’re really the Candidate they are talking about.” Kyra said. Ciara
heard the resonating of metal clanging. “Here, catch this!”
Ciara shot her hand
up, and reflexively snatched the weapon Kyra threw at her. Her fingers clasped
the cruciform hilt and easily held the sword with one hand. A 130 cm straight double-edge blade sword,
Ciara guessed. So I won't be fighting
with a dart after all.
“Ciara, don’t be
nervous. Kyra is just testing you.” Liam reassured. The Crude Brothers must be at the end of the room, because their voices
sounded far away. Ciara guessed.
“Let’s begin.” Kyra
said, and in a split second, Ciara’s sword vibrated—and the impact had thrown
her off the ground, her sword already out of her reach. Her body screamed in
pain, her mind racing from the adrenaline. Kyra
must have attacked my sword first, Ciara analyzed the situation earlier, since the sword is heavy, she did it to destroy
my defense. Ciara thought, She’s
fast.
“Get up! Is that the
best you can do?" Kyra taunted, "I’m just warming up.”
Ciara seized the double-edge
blade sword, and scrambled to her feet. She had finally located Kyra's ambience,
which was somewhere shifting from the center of the room. There are metallic sounds jiggling her hands. Ciara observed two swords…this time it’s light-weight and
swift. Could it be that Kyra is using daggers?
“Are you ready, Blind
Candidate?” Kyra demanded.
“I’m ready.” Ciara said
grimly.
“Good luck, Ciara!” Chase
cheered.
“Go!” Kyra bellowed.
Ciara thrust forward
as a swift object lashed past her. She sidestepped and heard a thunk from behind. Then the sounds moved
out of the earshot and everything was quiet again.
Kyra must have dropped her coat to prevent her from being
heard. Ciara
guessed, but where is she? Why can't I
hear anything? Ciara whisked her head, cautious as her sensory nerves began
to scan for the sounds.
“Ciara, behind you!”
Chase shouted.
Ciara immediately
whirled to her right, elevating her sword—when something painful struck her
face—tossing her on the ground. Ciara slowly sat up and touched the throbbing
pain on her right cheek. Kyra punched me. Ciara winced.
“Chase, don’t
interfere.” Kyra snapped, and Ciara sensed Kyra had materialized in front of
her. “Are you ready to give up, Blind Candidate?”
“I won’t give up…”
Ciara panted, recalling her sister’s words. If you give up, you will lose
everything. “Not in a million years!”
“Is that so?” A cold blade touched her neck.
Ciara startled. “Do you think those words can save you?" Kyra mocked,
"Even though you are the Candidate, you should be able to know how to use
a sword.”
An object bashed
Ciara’s stomach. Ciara crumpled on the floor, writhing in pain, not long before
Kyra pummeled her head, chest, stomach, arms and legs.
“You think you are
special…”Another smack on Ciara’s chest. “You think you will be treated here
like a queen,” Virgo seized her hair up. Ciara gritted her teeth, “But guess
what? I despised you! Candidate, or not. This is the Vixen, and this is my
palace. Everyone must undergo my training, and suffer the hardship of my rules.”
Kyra roared. “We are outcasts, banned from the Epicenter. We are warriors, and even
though you’re the only one who can deactivate those bombs, you are nothing, but
a puny, blind girl who doesn’t even know how to survive in this miserable
world!"
Virgo tossed Ciara tossed
aside, her back smacking the wall behind her.
“Kyra!” Liam yelled.
Ciara heard footsteps racing toward her. Her senses were indistinct, her eyes
were swollen, and the side of her cheek was bruised with blood.
“Liam, don’t
interfere, or I will kill you.” Kyra snapped.
No one is going to save me, Ciara thought. The Crude Brothers are Vixens. They won't risk their lives for me. But
to her surprise, Liam and Chase helped her to her feet, supporting her arm on
both of their shoulders. Ciara blinked, confused.
"W-What...?"
Ciara said, flabbergasted.
"Shh,” Chase whispered, "Don't
talk too much, Ciara."
“Kyra, I’m sorry,
but you went too far.” Liam growled, “I’m going to stop this fight and bring
Ciara to the clinic.”
“Liam, know your place! You are a
Vixen. A thief," Kyra roared, "People like her mean nothing to us. If
they wanted to become strong, they must do it with pain.”
“Liam…” Chase
whispered.
“I know…” Liam
hissed. “But to me, she’s not weak. She’s a strong girl, like my brother.”
“Kyra,” Chase
pleaded. “She just moved in here, so please don’t treat her like this…”
“If you still want
to hurt Ciara, then punish us—I don’t care!” Liam shouted. “Come on, Chase.
We’re going to the clinic.”
Ciara didn't have
the energy to listen further. Their voices were getting muffled, her body
burning in pain. She could imagine herself dying, like all those people that
were killed in Metric. She wished her sister was here to treat her wounds, to
tell her that she loved her…but all of it was fading away…she was losing sight
of herself…and fell into a deep sleep.
z
Soft melody chimed
in. It was the sound of a sad, but memorable tone. From the grasps of the
melodic tunes and the low dives of the gentle low keys, it was none other than
the beautiful piano piece she used to hear when she was younger. A memory
wavered across her mind.
Her blond-haired
sister sat on the stool, playing the piano down by the living room. Ciara loved
to hear her sister performing her written piano sheets. They were
inspirational, and beautiful. Then slowly, that memory began to fade away.
Ciara carefully
opened her eyes, and sat upright. On her lap was the same fox fur, and
the wooden floor beneath her. This was the same room when she first woke up
four days ago. Her face felt rough, and heavy. She skimmed her fingers on her
face, only to feel thick bandages pasted on her right cheek, and her forehead.
Kyra
beat me up. Ciara
lowered her head. Why does she hate me so much…? Ciara thought. The
piano sounds immediately stop playing, and after a few seconds, Ciara heard
someone moving out from the chair. A boy…Ciara thought. He’s coming
toward me…I wonder who it is.
“Thank God, Ciara,”
Chase said worriedly, “I thought you were going to die back there.”
“I’m alright,” Ciara
said, and after a few moments of curiosity. “Are you the one playing the
piano?”
“Y-yeah.” Chase
stuttered, and Ciara felt a dead weight beside her bed. Ciara noticed the bed
wasn’t normal, because the blankets were furs, and the mattress was
placed on the floor. A futon. The room smelled thick—like sour
antiseptics, and foul acid healing herbs. Chase continued, “You’re inside the
clinic, Kyra beat you up pretty badly, so we had to wait until you have fully
recovered.”
“I see…” Ciara said,
“Where is Liam?” she asked, wincing as she moved a little to her right. She
wore a thin cloth that was made out of silk—a gown. There were also bandages
wrapped around her body.
“My brother went to
the cafeteria to get some food for us.” Chase lowered his voice. “He was
pretty…angry, and relieved when Kyra let us off the hook,” he sighed. “I’m
sorry about Kyra. But she rarely beats a newbie, unless she despises that
person very much.” Chase exclaimed, “Oops sorry, I didn’t mean to say that out
loud…”
“Did Kyra beat you
like this when you first came in here?” Ciara asked. Chase snorted.
“Not really.
Actually, Kyra wasn’t our leader that time, so we didn’t endure all the
punishment,” Chase said, “Our previous leader was a much kinder person. But
unfortunately, Kyra killed him in the Leader Choice Tournament,” Chase
explained, “The Leader Choice Tournament comes in every ten years, where Rank
4’s have to fight against each other for the selection of the new Vixen
leader.”
Ciara knew why Kyra
won. She was strong, powerful and fast. It wasn’t a question why she won. But
why did the Leader Choice have to be killing? Why couldn’t everyone vote for
their leader?
Only the
strongest shall live, and the weak shall die. Kyra’s motto echoed in her mind.
“I see…” Ciara said,
“Can you play the piano for me, Chase?”
“M-Me?” Ciara knew
Chase was blushing, because he was stuttering in his words again, “Alright,
I’ll play the perfect song for you.” Then his weight was gone, so that meant
Chase was already walking toward the piano. The clinic is vast, Ciara
thought. There must be hundreds of beds piled in a line. Ciara observed.
But why am I the only one inside the clinic? Ciara thought. There
must be people who get injured here, right? So why is the clinic empty?
Chase positioned his
fingers on the key and started to play. The tune was soft, replaying back the
memories inside Ciara’s head. She missed her sister’s piano, almost making her
cry for thinking of her home so badly. The notes collided with a grief of
sadness, and then softened by a shallow note, springing the music with love and
melody.
The music died down,
and Ciara heard the cover being closed. “Do you like it?" Chase asked,
"Ciara?”
A tear trickled down
her right eye. She wiped it with her bandaged hand and gave Chase a little
clap. “That was beautiful.”
“O-Oh, thanks…”
Chase said sheepishly. “This is my first time I’m playing the piano for a
friend, so I don’t know if my piano skills are good or not.”
“It was brilliant,”
Ciara smiled. “You got wonderful hands…just like my sister.”
“Thank yo—”
The door opened, and
later, there were two noisy footsteps entering the room.
“Ah, you are now
awake. Goody!” a Scottish woman said. She scurried next to Ciara’s bed,
spreading some bottled products on the fur.
Ciara smelled a strong scent of rose fuming out from the bottles. Flowers…? Ciara
guessed. Perfume? No, it’s something like…medicines. If these are perfumes
there should be a sharp fragrant smell from the tip of the bottle.
“My bad, dearie. I’m
Realia, the Weapon master, and the Nurse,” the Scottish woman said, “The Crude
brothers have already told me about it. Sorry you have to endure that,
dearie…Kyra is just a bad girl.” she muttered. “Anyway, lad Chase told me you
needed a weapon, so I brought my tool kit with me…”
Lad
Chase? Dearie? Ciara
wondered.
Whoever did the
bandages did a great job, because the aching pain on her body was slightly
recovering. Realia said, “Let’s see. Give me your hand.”
Ciara obediently
opened her palm and felt Realia’s callused fingers brushing across her hand.
Realia muttered bluntly, “I see…I see…you need something—lighter…” Realia
continued, “Yes…yes…swift…not too swift…just right—Okay!”
Realia let go of her
palm and rummaged something on the floor. It sounded like wood—a hollow box
with locks and clicks. A Chest.
“Now then—aha! Here
it is,” Something hard rested on Ciara’s hand. A thin stick. This time,
the weapon had a slick handle. She skimmed her thumb on what she noticed was a
pentagon curve—a roller. The rod is 7 centimeters long…Ciara thought. There’s
a string protruding from the tip of the stick…wait…
Ciara repeated. A
long stick, a roller, a string. Could this be a…fishing rod? But this must be some kind of mistake.
What would a fishing
rod do to serve her as a weapon?
“You’re
wondering…Dearie,” Realia said as if she read her thoughts, “Don’t worry, this
is no ordinary rod. This is a special one, not the kind of thing when you use
for fishing.” Realia reassured. “Realia doesn’t get wrong, never. When I say
you will get a fishing rod, you will be using a fishing rod,”
“Um…okay,” Ciara
said, puzzled.
“I’ll explain,
dearie. You are blind, and you have a great disadvantage for using short
daggers, or long swords, because you can’t tell where the enemy is,” Realia
continued, “Your agility is slow. Your senses are stronger than any of your
power, and your strength level is twice more powerful than an average person
is.”
“I don’t get it,
Realia, how can she fight with a fishing rod?” Chase interrupted Realia’s
confusing theory.
“Ho, ho. I’ll tell
you, lad…I’ll tell you.” Realia said. “Dearie, please hold the rod.”
Ciara did, and
Realia clapped happily. “Yes, yes. Now, please lure that bucket over there.” At
first, Ciara didn’t know where the bucket was, until Realia begun to move it.
The sounds were far, so she knew the bucket was at the end of the room.
How was she supposed
to lure that bucket at a far distance?
But Ciara did what
she was told. She expertly held the rod back, and cast the string forward.
After a few seconds, Ciara heard a click sound, and felt a dead weight
on her hands, which meant she caught something. With one pull, she successfully
reeled the bucket to where Realia was standing.
“Good! Good! See,
Realia cannot go wrong!” Realia praised herself and clapped in delight when the
bucket had landed on Ciara’s lap with a thud. “With the fishing rod, you
can cast and kill your enemies by pulling the string. Example, beheading.”
“Ugh.” Chase
commented.
“Yes, I know, lad.
So have fun with it,” Realia said, “I wish you luck on your journey, and now I
will be going.” Ciara heard the shutting of the chest, the locking of chains,
and the door being closed by a gentle shut, leaving the room in silence.
She grabbed the rod,
and begun to examine her new weapon. The body is made out of graphite. Ciara
beamed, the string is long, sturdy and sharp...plus the hook’s tip is
sharpened new. Ciara thought. This is an expensive bait casting rod,
made out from high quality materials. A leap of excitement sparked inside
Ciara. She had never held such a beautiful thing in her hands.
Back when she was
younger, her fishing rod was only made out of fiberglass—but this was a fishing
rod that every fisherman wants.
“Glad
you’re happy.” Ciara’s happiness faded away when she heard Liam’s voice
entering. A lavishing scent of roasted meat engulfed the whole room, making her
stomach churn in hunger. It’s the beef stew…Ciara couldn’t get any
happier.
There was a soft clang
beside her, which she guessed was the tray of food. Liam said, “So that’s
what Realia gave you,” Liam paused, “Uh, what is that?”
“A 7-cm baitcasting fishing
rod.” Ciara proudly, “She said it was the best weapon for me.”
Liam burst into
laughter; Ciara frowned. “You call that a weapon? It looks like you’ll be
spending more time fishing than fighting.”
“Hey, don’t tease
her like that, Liam.” Chase said to his brother, “Besides, your weapon is much
uglier than hers, so don’t try to pick on her weapon, you know.”
“Yeah,
well. I don’t mind…” Liam said, embarrassed, “Anyway, I got something for you,”
Liam said. She felt something hard on her lap. Carefully, she skimmed her
fingers to examine the object. A book. Ciara thought. The cover is
made out of hard-bound…and the pages are too thin…
“Every Rank 1 must
have the Vixen Biography to serve as
their lesson number 1.” Liam explained. “But if you have trouble reading it, I
can read it for you.”
“No thank you, I can
read it properly.” Ciara said, looking down at her lap, skimming the crumbling
pages of the book with ease caution. It felt like the book was centuries old,
because of the burnt smell of paper.
“You’re kidding me,
blind people can’t read!” Liam protested and said to Chase, “Well, they’re
blind, right?”
“Ciara is a
different one. You just need to accept that she’s not what you think she is.”
Chase scolded him.
Ciara ignored them,
and slowly traced her finger on the first word. She tried to visualize the
letter through the tip of her finger. The strokes embed on the paper is too
light…Ciara thought. It’s hard to read if the printing wasn’t deep. Ciara
analyzed. The strokes go up, then a slow curve down…then…Ciara finally
guessed the first word. It’s a V…Ciara thought. And the next is…
“Oh, come on,” Liam
lightly argued with his brother, “If you can’t see anything, how are you
supposed to read a book?”
Ignoring the Crude
brother’s argument, Ciara continued to trace the words in her mind. The
second word is I….then the next is two slashes, so…X…
“Leave her be,
brother. Even if she is blind, she can do what normal people can’t do!” Chase
continued their argument.
Liam sighed. “Fine,
fine,” he continued, “It’s useless to try and argue with you. Anyway, Ciara,
have you gotten i—”
Ciara gasped and
suddenly the Crude Brothers were beside her, panicking. Ciara couldn’t believe
what she read. The words in her mind were still intact. It was too impossible.
“Ciara, what’s
wrong!?” Liam asked urgently.
“Did you get hurt?”
Chase asked with concern.
Ciara shakily
pointed her finger at the page. She could feel the Crude brothers leaning down
to get a closer look. “Can you read this for me?”
“Hmm…in the Vixen
generation, three leaders have been selected as the new gener—” Liam began.
“Not that!” Ciara
yelled, and Liam chuckled.
“Well, you said the
first sentence.” Liam said mischievously.
Ciara groaned as if
she was a kid having a tantrum, and grabbed Liam’s hand. She moved Liam’s hand
until she could hear the silent scraping of his finger, pointing to the spot
where she wanted him to read. “This sentence. Read it.”
“Sheesh,
don’t be so bossy,” Liam snorted, “Alright, here it goes.” Liam read it out
loud. “Leverie Plop joined the Vixens in year 2019. She became a Rank 4, after
Metric was burnt down three years ago.”
“Who is Leverie Plop?” Chase
asked, confused.
Ciara gulped and
dropped Liam’s hand, feeling her mind bursting into an electric shock. It felt
like she had been slapped in the face. She could feel butterflies swarming her
stomach, almost making her throw up.
I’ll be
watching your back…Those words trailed off her mind. Promise...
“She’s…” Ciara
nervously swallowed, feeling all the energy drained from her body, “S-She’s…my
sister.”
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