Liam and Shell were
right about trusting the Rank 4’s.
What she thought of
the Rank 4’s was merely just a fragment of her imagination. They were nothing
like Kyra at all. In fact, it had been the opposite. Later, she learned that
there were only five Rank 4 members in Vixens: Gillian, Shell, Thorn, Jolly and
Kelton. One of the best scouts Kyra had.
Kelton would often teach Ciara about karate
combats used in the physical examination test. At lunch, Jolly and Thorn would
often brag about Ciara’s special talent on the table, making her blush.
Secretly, she learned that Shell had been passing notes to the Crude Brothers
while Kyra wasn't on watch. Strictly obeying Kyra’s word, Ciara and the Crude
Brothers didn’t make any contacts during four weeks of her stay with the Rank
4’s.
They are
not what you seemed to think. Liam’s words echoed her thoughts.
Liam cut Chase’s leg. Ciara closed her
eyes. Liam would never do that in a million years…Liam and Chase’s
beaming faces appeared in her mind. He wouldn't try to hurt Chase…because
he’s so overprotective of him…Ciara continued. Chase is his close
family. Unless…
It’s an
accident…
Ciara opened her
eyes. Everything had been dark, since it was already nighttime. She blankly
stare at the darkness, tucked under the futon near the window in Shell
and Kelton’s room. Gillian must be lying…Ciara pondered. I’ve been with
the Crude Brothers for a very long time…and yet…they still won’t tell me
anything. Ciara continued. Liam couldn’t even to bring a knife close to
Chase’s face…
So many thoughts
circled her mind. Ciara turned on her side and closed her eyes, the sleepiness
dragging her to the bottom
z
Ciara sat quietly at
the Rank 1 room. She missed those days when Macie was still sitting beside her,
and now he could only hope about passing the Rank 2 Examination Test, and
getting back to her team mates.
Thankfully, Kyra
didn’t seemed to pay close attention to her, now that she was busy teaching the
Rank 1’s about the history of Round.
“Few years ago,
Round was still whole,” Kyra said, walking, her coat skimming on the ground,
where Ciara could hear her footsteps striding to the right, “The past rulers
were peaceful people, so the livelihood in Round was still perfect. There was
no Metric, Group, Part, Layer, and Casts to begin with. Everyone with different
societies were put together in the same country, living as one. Unfortunately,
while some people could not contain the peace they shared, the rulers have
started a war. Shortly, after many people were killed in the process, another
generation of rebellion have begun. The war still progressed, until it final
reaches its 13th war zone.” Kyra said, “Then one day, as the
Official Selection of the Round starts its preparation for the choosing,
Dahlia, Virgo’s mother is chosen as the 17th Ruling Empress.”
“I’ve met Dahlia when I was a little kid. I
was a former Majestic,” Kyra said, “and Virgo had been my best friend, until
she exiled me and my brother to the Casts.”
The tension inside
the class increased.
“Dahlia was a cruel,
but smart woman,” Kyra continued. “Because of the past raging wars, and the
outgrowing number of criminals living in Round, the Empress divided Round into
six lands. It took many years before the lands molded itself together, and so
Dahlia continued to segregate the society into their rightful places. What interests her
were only the rich people in Round, since she was considered one as well.” Kyra
continued, “The criminals were thrown in jail at the Part. The lowest people,
Servilles, went straight to the Metric. The mid-people were placed in the
Producing field; the selected artists were put in Layer, the luxury city. And
the highest people of all the land were put in the Epicenter.”
“The war still
continued. A few years back, some of the convicts have successfully escaped the
Part, and headed toward the Casts, where the abandoned forest was. Those three
people who had survived that war created an organization to bring Dahlia down
from her ruling seat. The Vixens.” Kyra said, “When Dahlia heard the news about
this, she confronted her one and only best friend, Sophia, the leader of the
Vixens. To protect her city, Dahlia and Sophia made a life-ending duel at the
Crystal Water to determine who was the strongest. None of them survived.” Kyra
sighed, “Their fight had been a symbol of friendship and war, which was later
crafted a monument representing the two leaders in Crystal Waters.
Unfortunately, the wars still went on and the cycle of hatred continued to flow
around the world."
Kyra stopped, “Virgo
and I were one of the Selected Officials for the Ruling Seat of Epicenter. In
order for us to get voted, the people must choose the officials suited for the
job. I had the most recent votes, almost being crowned for the title, when
Virgo betrayed me.” Even from afar, Ciara could hear Kyra gritting her teeth
from the memory. Kyra continued, “Virgo overthrew me from the Officials, and
banned me and my brother from the Epicenter.”
Suddenly, there was
a sharp sound of thud and gasps coming from the crowd. Kyra must have
stabbed the ground with her sword…Ciara thought. She really must be
angry at Virgo…
“Now then…” Kyra
made a laugh and a hiss of anger, ‘Class dismissed.”
One by one, everyone
started to leave, filling the room with hush whispers about Kyra’s story. Ciara
never thought about Kyra’s life, nor the life of Virgo. Why did Virgo betray
her? Ciara recalled the fight back at Tera Hut. It’s been five years
since we had fought like this, ex-best friend.
“Blind Candidate,”
Ciara’s thoughts broke when Kyra’s sharp sound boomed across the wall. A surge
of panic rose inside her. Is she in trouble this time? Then the figure started
to move. Kyra is walking toward me…Ciara
noticed the silent thumps Kyra's footsteps were making on the wooden floor. No
sword…just…walking…
Kyra said. ”Your
Rank 2 Examination Test begins tomorrow.” Kyra growled in a low tone, “Be
prepared to win or die. Loser.”
With one quick
second, Kyra’s footsteps disappeared, leaving fear swarming inside Ciara’s
stomach. She tightened her fists around her side. What is the Rank 2 Test?
You
easily gave yourself up to the enemy. And that is an act of running away. A
loser!
Ciara bit her lip,
feeling her sharp nails digging under her palm. She will not be called a Loser.
She will prove to them that even though she was blind, she will out leveled
them. Confident and panicking, Ciara turned her heels and left the room,
getting ready for the test tomorrow.
z
By the time Ciara
took one confident step outside the Rank 4 dormitory, which was located at the
South side, she was greeted by a mass of deafening cheers. Ciara stopped. She
must have taken the wrong hallway, because hearing those sounds must be a big
mistake. Ciara! Ciara! Ciara!
Ciara blinked in
surprise. Was she hearing wrong? Had she been dreaming again?
No, it was real.
The Vixens were
cheering for her name, as if she was a celebrity. What is going on? Why are
they cheering my name?
At first, she
thought the Vixens were trying to trick her into getting her excited, but the
tone on their voices were not fake—in fact, they were really cheering for her.
This made Ciara shed one tear. I can't hear any uncertainty tone on their
voices…which means, they are really routing for me…Ciara thought. But
why? I thought they hated me…
Suddenly, a hand was
clamped on her shoulder. Ciara flinched as she saw Shell’s outline beside her.
Shell raised her hand that looked like a hand gesture—thumbs up, and gave Ciara
a friendly pat on the back. Ciara smiled.
Go...o...d…lu...ck…Shell traced on her back.
“Thanks, Shell.”
Ciara smiled.
Ciara continued to
take small steps forward, because of the loud noise hurting her eardrums. But
this time, she didn’t considered it as a noise, since they were actually
shouting her name over and over again.
Ciara!
Ciara! Good luck! Good luck!
“Hey,” Kelton said,
and Ciara saw his outline moving to her left side, “Surprised, huh?”
“What is going on?”
Ciara asked.
“I don’t know. But
you should know that Vixens love seeing fights,” Kelton said easily, “and if
it’s a fight between Kyra and the Candidate, everyone has to cheer for someone,
right?”
“But why me…” Ciara
muttered, “Everyone hates me…”
“Not everyone. Not
us—if you mean,” Kelton blurted. Kyra is going to fight me? Ciara
thought. But I thought I’m going to take the Rank 2 test…unless…
Be
prepared to die, or to live, Loser.
Ciara closed her
eyes. The Rank 2 test is a battle between me and Kyra. Sweat dripped
down her nose. Don’t get scared, Ciara. You already know what Kyra’s
movements are, right? Her conscience said. Her special abilities…her
weapons…
Ciara slowly opened
her eyes. Thinking about Kyra wouldn’t do anything good. Ciara need to stay on
focus.
One…two…three…45
steps…toward the Rank 1 room. Every time she moved forward, the screams couldn’t seem to
die down. Ciara silenced the noises around her head and looked up, seeing a
figure with a white thing on top of its shoulders. The figure looked so
different, separating from the crowd of blurry surroundings around her. Kyra.
“Blind Candidate,”
Kyra said firmly, raising her arm as if she was gesturing her forward. Ciara
continued to walk down toward Kyra. Once Ciara guessed she and Kyra were
standing 5 meters close to each other, Kyra began to shout. “Vixens! The Blind Candidate’s
Rank 2 Test will be held in the Arena Room,” Kyra continued, “Unfortunately,
you are not allowed to watch us, only to wait outside while our battle ends.
Got that!?”
“Yeah!” Everyone
roared.
“Let’s go, Loser.”
Kyra sniggered, and Ciara frowned.
z
Ciara didn’t realize
there was a hidden room inside the Arena Room. She could still remember the
fresh memories getting beaten by Shell. Her vision was pitch dark, which meant
the room didn’t have windows to begin with. By following the sound of Kyra’s
footsteps, Ciara was able to safely land downstairs, while the crowd behind her
was beginning to enter the room. She gulped. Yesterday, Realia upgraded her
fishing rod into a much sturdier weapon, with elastic bands and strings. The
string would extend farther when thrown forward. The handle was bendable, and
now made into a portable size when needed. With her new weapon inside her
pocket, Ciara didn’t felt scared anymore.
I wonder
if the Crude Brothers are watching me right now…Ciara thought.
“This way,” Kyra
ordered, and Ciara followed her until they entered a room. Warm air blasted her
face, almost making it hard for her to breathe. The door closed behind them.
Not too
small…Not to large…Ciara
recognized the size of the room by listening to the echoes vibrating inside the
room. Her vision was still dark. There are no windows in here. Everything is
empty. No obstacles on the way. Ciara slowly tapped her toes on the floor. Wood.
Light… Everything turned silent, and Ciara heard something rattling on the
ground. More like the sound of cloth being tossed on the wood. Kyra’s
leaving her fur behind. Ciara thought. This is going to get tricky.
“Now then…” Kyra
said, her voice echoing inside the room, “Are you ready for the Rank 2 Test?”
“Yes,” Ciara said.
“In order to become
a Rank 2, you must defeat me first." Kyra said, “No one is going to stop
us. It’s just going to be us two fighting,” Kyra burst into an enthusiasm roar,
“so get ready to go down!"
Wind crossed across
her cheek. Kyra is lunging to my left side. Ciara took one step backward
and closed her eyes. From the sounds of her silent footsteps, Kyra is
pressuring the weight on her feet, so the speed of her movements becomes
faster. Ciara analyzed. In 3 seconds…Kyra is going to attack. Then
she heard metal clacking sounds coming toward her. A sword…because the sound
is heavy and pressured.
Duck!
Ciara did, and just
as expected, she felt the wind slashing the air near her chin, if Ciara didn’t
took one clumsy step backward. The sword made a loud tching that
scratched Ciara’s chin with one swing. Thud.
And then, another
attack followed. Kyra stabbed the sword on the ground to distract me. Ciara
analyzed. But I can hear her movements coming from the opposite directi—
Smack.
All the air had left
Ciara’s lungs when Kyra’s fist punched her stomach, sending her crashing on the
ground. Her back hit the wall with a hard thump, sending a jolt of pain
across her body. Ciara gritted her teeth.
“Never underestimate
me,” Kyra said in a serious tone, and Ciara heard the sound of metal clacking
in her hands. A dagger.
Ciara’s senses
twitched. Suddenly, Ciara rolled to her left side, as another incoming blow
jabbed the wall from where she had been sitting, creating a hole. Kyra must
have smashed the wall. Not just a hole…but a crater…Ciara thought. Judging
from that sound, that wasn’t just a normal attack. Ciara continued. She’s
really trying to kill me.
Kyra’s body wasn’t
moving, and this gave Ciara a perfect time to attack. Since she has given
all her pressure for smashing that wall, she can't recover her body yet. So it
means she’s still stuck on that position. Ciara dashed forward, and swung
her foot, luckily hitting Kyra’s back. But that wasn’t enough. With fast steps,
Ciara lifted her other foot and kicked Kyra a dozen times on the back.
She heard Kyra
groaning in pain, while she transferred the pressure on her foot, giving Kyra a
strong hit on the back bone. The impact threw Kyra off her guard. Bingo. Ciara
grinned. I just injured Kyra!
Kyra skidded on the
ground, because Ciara could hear grinding and swishing noises across the wood.
“Nice trick,” Kyra
coughed, wheezing, “but not enough to knock me down.”
A searing pain
smashed Ciara’s face downward, and the next thing she knew, her face smashed
the ground. Blood sputtered from her nose. Ciara screamed.
What
just happened? Ciara
thought, getting up, squeezing her nose with blood smeared over her hand. How
did Kyra…
Tching!
Something fast
slashed across her face, and it made a thud sound behind her. A slight
cut formed across her cheek. Kyra just threw a dagger…missing my face…Ciara
observed. But how did she appear behind me so fast?
Her blindness had
been a great disadvantage at this fight, but at least Ciara had strong hearing
senses to recover.
“It’s nice to feel
pain, doesn't it?” Kyra said. Ciara prepared herself for the next attack, and
this time, she took her fishing rod in her pocket, gripping it on her right
hand. Kyra laughed at the sight, “What? You think that fishing rod will kill
me? That’s the dumbest weapon I have ever seen in my life.” Kyra continued,
“You are completely worthless—”
Before Kyra finished
her sentence, Ciara had already cast off the string, and it immediately secured
on something. It’s definitely Kyra. Ciara guessed. I can hear her
yelping from the sudden attack. Now I got her.
Ciara tugged the
string, hoping not to kill Kyra.
Snip!
Ciara’s heart sank.
The weight on her fishing rod disappeared, so that meant Kyra had cut the
strings. Before Ciara even planned out her next move, something stopped her
when a punch interconnected with her cheek, blasting her backward. Her body
crashed on the wooden ground, pain smashing her bones whole.
Ciara gasped. She’s
fast, and strong…
Thud.
A hard metal stabbed
beside her, missing her face by inches on the ground. Ciara breathed heavily,
her senses buzzing from the fight. Then something cold touched her chin—A
dagger.
“Well, well, well. I
guess you can't beat me after all, Blind Candidate.” Kyra snarled. A searing
pain traced down her neck. Blood. One move…Ciara thought, and I’ll be
dead. She calculated the weight pressure on Kyra’s hand. The blade is
pressed against my skin. If I move, my throat will be cut off.
“This is the end of
you. But,” The blade was gone from her neck, and then suddenly, Ciara’s short
hair was pulled up. Ciara gritted her teeth, “I would have killed you a long
time ago, if you weren’t useful to me. With your abilities, I’m going to use
you against Virgo, and since you are extremely valuable to her, I will spare
your life as long as you obey me.” Kyra continued, “This is the last time I’m
going to say this. Even if you lose to this fight, I’m going to give you a
second chance to correct your title?”
Her hands were gone,
and Ciara couldn’t help, but become relieved of the aching pain throbbing in
her head.
“Get up!” Kyra
barked, as light flared Ciara's eyes. Ciara squinted, noticing the door was
opened, so her vision was clear again. Kyra
is outside. Ciara guessed. Painfully, Ciara staggered up, ignoring her
bruised stomach and the throbbing pain on her hairline.
A wave of cheers
exploded inside the room. Kyra must have gone to the stage of the Arena Round. That was where
Ciara fought with Shell before. She could still remember the blood and the
screams from the crowd at that time.
“My cubs! Ciara has
passed the Rank 2 Examination Test!” Kyra’s voice boomed across the podium.
Ciara blinked, confused as the crowd roared louder, cheering her name.
But I
didn’t win…Ciara
thought.
“Now that she's a
Rank 2, the deal between us has been broken." Kyra shouted.
A string of
happiness exploded in Ciara’s heart. All the pain and worries she had was
immediately forgotten. Hearing that word had been the greatest feeling she had experienced.
The hard work, the pain, the worries vanished in an instant. And because of
that, Ciara gave her best winning smile, as if the whole world had given her a
wonderful blessing.
The lovely cheers
and loud roars burst louder.
Then a shadow blocked
her sight. It took in a shape of a woman—Kyra. Before Ciara took one step
backward from her quick reflexes, Kyra’s warm breath was on her left ear. Kyra
whispered. ”I’m doing this for you because of me. And if you tell someone or
anybody about our fight today, I won’t hesitate to kill your precious love ones
first. Get it?”
Ciara immediately
nodded. Kyra chuckled. “Good,” Ciara saw Kyra turning to the crowd. “Let’s give
our heartwarming applause to our new comrade, Ciara!”
z
“I knew you can do
it!” Chase exclaimed after he found out that Ciara won. They were at the
clinic, where Chase had been staying, because of his unhealed injuries. “After
all, you’re the strongest, smartest, and the most beautiful girl in Sputter
Palace.” Chase paused, “Oops…sorry about that.”
Ciara shook her
head. The excitement was still there in her heart. Telling Chase about the news
was a good feeling to her, but there was still someone missing. Liam. He had
been sleeping in his room all day, even after Ciara had passed the Rank 2 Test.
“I think that should
do the trick, dearie.” Realia said, as she finished wrapping the long bandages
around Ciara’s body. Half of her face was covered with small bandages dapped
with healing herbs. “Just be sure not to move too much,” Realia stood up,
“Well, I think my job is all done here.”
“Thank you, Realia.”
Ciara smiled, and later frowned. When will Liam wake up? Is he still
avoiding her? How has he been doing these past few weeks? Ciara missed him.
She had almost forgotten about the Crude Brothers because of the Rank 4’s. And
what is Kyra planning this time? Will she use me as bait to Virgo? Ciara
shook her head.
“Boy, Kyra must have
beaten you really hard,” Chase said, “When I took the Rank 2 test 4 years ago,
Kyra almost killed me. But thankfully, I managed to win the fight, and she let
me graduate as a Rank 2,” Chase continued, “Kyra used to bully me, since I had
an improper leg at that time. In her eyes, disabled people were useless. A
nuisance.” Chase continued, “When I became a Rank 2, she didn't care about me
anymore. I think I proved her wrong about my leg. Maybe she’ll also stop
bullying you, now that people are starting to like you as a celebrity.”
But Ciara wasn’t a
celebrity, she was just Ciara.
“Ciara, dearie,”
Realia said, “I hate to break it to you, but will you let me cut your hair?”
Ciara blinked. Realia continued, “Just a little trim won’t hurt a bit, right,
Chase lad?”
“Uh-yeah,” Chase
said, unsure, “And I agree with her. Your hair looks a bit… shaggy.”
Ciara carefully
touched the ends of her jagged hair. This was the result of an unexpected
attack from Kyra. I wonder how Liam will react when he sees my hair short…
“Sure…” Ciara
muttered. Realia clapped her hands delightfully.
“Excellent, please
excuse me while I get my things outside.” Ciara heard the door closing behind
her, leaving her and Chase in silence.
“Ciara,” Chase
spoke, and Ciara saw his outline slowly moving toward her, “Aren’t you glad
Kyra let you off the hook?”
“Yeah,” Ciara
muttered. But all I wanted to see is Liam.
A gentle hand
touched her chin, making her shiver. Ciara looked up, and the hand was slowly
skimming her cheek to where the cut was. What is Chase doing? Then there
were two hands cupping her face, gently pulling her forward. A blurry face
appeared in front of her. She trailed her eyes down to the dark messy hair
tousled to the side, the slight hard jaw curving into a circle, and the dark
shirt right above his neck. Then lips were quickly pressed against her mouth.
Gentle, soft, and kind.
Chase kissed her.
After a few seconds,
the kiss broke off, and Ciara could hear Chase retreating backward, stumbling
into his words. “I-I-I’m sorry!” Chase stuttered, “I-I-I-I d-d-didn’t mean to
surprise you…I-I-I just want to…to tell you that I-I-I lo-v—”
“Chase,” Ciara said,
but in a quick flash, she heard loud wooden steps tapping across the room, and
an awful slam against the door. Chase bumped into the door. Ciara
shouted, panicked, “Chase! Are you alright?”
“I’m sorry!” Chase
yelled, and the noise was followed by another slam and the continuous tap of
wooden leg. The noise disappeared, leaving the room in silence again. Chase
escaped…
Ciara slowly touched
her lips. Did Chase really kissed me? But why…Ciara bit her lip. Why
does he like me? Why…
There was a knock on
the door, which meant that Realia had just arrived. Ciara shook her head and
smiled, standing up. “Realia, Chase is…”
“Ciara?”
Ciara froze at the
sound of that voice. A leap of excitement rushed over to her face. She wanted
to run, to hug that person, but her feet wouldn’t move. Instead, she looked up,
slightly shocked as the figure entered inside the room. Dark
hair…tall…lanky…wearing a dark shirt, with his bare chest exposed.
“Liam,” Ciara
gasped, and started to take slow careful steps forward, “Liam…”
“Oh yeah, if you’re
looking for Chase, I just saw him frantically running outside the hallway,”
Liam said in his mischievous tone, “Weird little guy. I wonder what’s wrong
with him. He sure looks like he’s been…I don’t know...embarrasse—”
She didn’t waited
for Liam to stop talking because she was already hugging him, her arms squeezed
around his chest. He smells like he just showered…Ciara noticed the
lavender scent, and his cold skin from the water.
“You missed me?”
Liam asked, “And what happened to your hair…it’s…”
.Her stomach
clenched in fear. Ciara said, “I know, it’s ugly, right?”
“No,’ Liam said
sharply, “It’s beautiful.”
Ciara blinked at
him, confused. “Bu—”
“I like it when your
hair is short,” Liam said, and she felt his fingers gently brushing the sides
of her fallen hair strands to her ears, “It brings out your face a lot,
especially your beautiful eyes.” Ciara blushed. Liam continued, lowering his
face to kiss her, “Now you look like Ciara. The strongest Blind Candidate in
Sputter Palace. Not the old Ciara who liked to hide her eyes with her bangs.”
Liam’s lips brushed across her temple, “Whatever people say about your eyes,
don’t listen to them. Even if they look pale and old, they are still you.”
A knock interrupted
their moment. Liam’s face was already gone from Ciara as they both turned
around to where the door was.
“Oh, hello dearies,”
It was Realia, “Mind if I interrupt your lovey-dovey moment?”
She noticed Liam
making shuddering sounds from his throat, “W-we’re not lovey-dovey, you know.”
Liam continued, “Are you going to cut Ciara’s hair?”
“Trim,” Realia
corrected, “Where is Chase lad?”
Ciara froze, trying
to hide her shaky hands from behind. Even though she was happy to see Liam, she
could still feel the guilt swarming around her stomach. Chase just kissed
me…Ciara thought. And Liam doesn’t know…
Why is
my heart beating hard in my chest? Ciara thought. Why am I…feeling all
these emotions?
“I saw him outside
the hallway. I don't know. Maybe he drank something disgusting and went out to
vomit in the bathroom?” Liam said lazily, “But anyway, I want to see Ciara’s
new hairstyle. Don’t mind about my brother too much. He can handle it on his
own.”
But
unfortunately, that’s not what Chase is acting about…Ciara sighed. It’s clear that
he’s in love with me…and I’m…falling for Liam instead.
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