Duelcrest Academy

White.

"A familiar ceiling..."

I was lying on an infirmary bed again.

"If it happens again, the healers will probably start charging me rent."

Still a little groggy, I noticed someone holding my hand.

"Amy... after I told her everything would be fine... she must have been worried sick... ...."

But when I looked down, I found myself face to face with Sophia.

She was sitting on a chair next to my bed, staring at me intently.

«Good morning sleepyhead, how are you feeling?» she asked me calmly.

But I could see scratches on her cheek where she had probably dug her nails in out of worry.

«Umh, everything seems fine...»

I lifted my right arm, the one that Finch had broken. It seemed to have been fixed perfectly.

I felt my jaw and then ran a finger over my teeth. They'd been reattached.

«And Amy? How is she?!»

Sophia put her finger to her lips, signalling me not to raise my voice too much.

Then she pointed to the bed to my right. Amy was lying on it, seemingly asleep.

«When we found you in the classroom... well, it wasn't a pretty sight. I think she's in shock, the healers gave her a potion to calm her down...» Sophia explained to me in a bitter tone.

«Amy...»

Once again I had almost got myself killed. Could it be that I hadn't learned anything from the whole thing with Chloe?

I lowered my eyes, unable to hold Sophia's gaze.

But she pressed me:

«Elizabeth, I need you to tell me exactly what happened. All Amy managed to tell me was that she was attacked by Finch and that you fought a duel with him to save her... But how did that bastard reduce you to that state?»

Sophia's hand gripped mine even tighter.

«Believe me, I had to stop myself from going after him.»

I sensed a blind rage lurking behind her calm tone.

I knew she would be angry with me again, but I owed her an explanation.

So I told her everything, from the threatening letter I had received to the bitter defeat I had suffered at Finch's hands.

As I explained the wager the boy had placed on the duel, Sophia got up from her chair and began pacing in front of my bed.

In the end, all I could do was apologise:

«I'm sorry, after all the warnings you gave me, I acted impulsively again and...»

As I said this, Sophia approached me again, reaching out an arm and...

This time, instead of lifting me up by my collar, she lightly caressed my right cheek.

«I don't like how much you make me worry all the time... but the fact that you're willing to do anything to save the people you care about... I... can't say I hate that part of you,» Sophia said, looking straight into my eyes.

«Sophia...»

The girl returned to her seat.

«In this case I can't blame you for acting this way. If it had been you who had been kidnapped maybe I would have done the same.»

«Did you have to ruin everything by adding "maybe"?» I turned my face away, pouting jokingly.

«You know, my life would be a lot easier if you just disappeared!»

«And here I thought you were finally fixing that awful personality of yours...» I giggled.

Sophia smiled at me:

«Do you feel better now?»

«Yes... thank you.»

The girl turned serious again.

«Anyway, I think I should be the one to apologise. I think this whole thing is my fault.»

«Your fault?»

«Think about it for a moment. Do you really think that you and Amy were his targets? If so, he had plenty of time to kill you both. No... everything he did was for the purpose of getting you into the tournament. For what reason?»

I hadn't had much time to think about it, but that wager seemed strange indeed. What interest did Finch have in having me enter the tournament?

Maybe he wanted me to fight someone. But who? And for what purpose?"

Faced with my silence, Sophia gave me a hint:

«Think about what kind of tournament we are talking about.»

«We are going to fight in pairs...! He wants to duel against my partner, who would be...»

«Me,» Sophia concluded coldly for me.

She stood up and started to pace across the infirmary again, agitated.

«The message he was trying to send me came through loud and clear. He took you hostage, just like Amy. If I don't sign up with you, he is going to kill you.»

«But how do you know you're his real target? For all he knows, I could ask Celeste to fight with me instead.»

«His innate power. You two cannot defeat him. I, on the other hand... he doesn't stand a chance against me.»

«But then what's the point of...!»

I stopped in mid-sentence.

I understood.

It was a 2vs2 tournament after all.

Finch wasn't going to fight alone either. He had an accomplice. An accomplice who...

«Another innate power!»

«That's right, Finch has allied himself with someone who has the power to defeat me. His plan is to force me to fight that person.

He must see this tournament as his only chance to eliminate me. After all, his power is perfect against mages, but against me? I am the biggest obstacle for him.»

I remembered the boy saying that he had nothing to lose. Indeed, as long as Sophia was alive, he had no hope of winning, despite his incredible innate power.

But there was still something I didn't understand.

«If there really was this person, let's call them X, why did they need to put this convoluted plan into action? If X has an innate power capable of defeating you, they could have simply challenged you to a duel! Or if they were afraid that you wouldn't accept, they could have just kidnapped me instead of Amy. Why do they have to fight you in the tournament?»

Sophia frowned.

«You're right... I'm not sure. I think the reason is X's power... maybe he needs two people to activate it or something like that.»

«But if that were the case... Isn't it all too convenient? Someone has a power that only works in a 2vs2 duel, and the school just happens to organise a doubles tournament?!»

«Yeah... the whole thing really stinks...»

I knew what she was thinking. Was the Academy behind this?

Sophia approached a window and turned her back to me.

«Anyway... it's all my fault. I knew that being near you would put you in danger. When I think of what that bastard did to you... There's only one thing I can do now...»

"No..."

I knew what she would do. After all the progress we had made, she would have pulled away again to protect me.

But when Sophia turned, she had a determined smile on her face:

«I will fight by your side and together we will make everyone realise that no innate power can stand against us!»

My mouth dropped open in surprise.

«Don't look at me like that. I know it's selfish of me, but I still want to be by your side in the future, even if I'm only causing you trouble...»

«Sophia!»

I jumped out of bed and threw myself into her arms.

«One of these days you're going to break my ribs! And don't shout like that, you'll wake Amy!»

But she held me tightly.

«Are you sure? It's a trap! We don't even know what other power we're up against!» I asked her as we parted.

«What can I say... lately I've been hanging out with a girl who's a really bad influence on me!»

I don't know if it was my fault... but she really had changed.

I sat down on the bed.

The despair and helplessness I had felt at the end of the duel with Finch had been washed away. With Sophia by my side, there was no way I was going to lose.

«So, what do you think we should do now?»

Sophia's smile widened.

I knew that expression.

«I'm afraid you'll have to cancel your plans with your friend Celeste. From tomorrow I will be your personal trainer. We have a lot of work to do!»

"Oh no."

That ominous smile made me realise that I had three hellish weeks ahead of me.

«Get up!»

«I beg you! I can't take it anymore!»

«I'm sure Finch will stop for sure if you beg him!»

«You are heartless!»

A week had passed. Since then, Sophia had given me no rest. Immediately after lunch she would drag me into the courtyard and I would be forced to run laps under her watchful gaze.

«We don't have time for you to build muscles, but we can at least work on your stamina,» she had told me.

Reluctantly, I had to say that this training regimen was already paying off. If I had been close to throwing up in the early days, I was now starting to get by, even if I did arrive at the afternoon classes completely exhausted.

But that wasn't all. The evenings were dedicated to sword training.

«If I have to fight X alone, you'll at least have to last a few minutes against Finch.»

That had been the reason she had given me.

But in this case, her teachings did not have the desired effect.

I struggled to get up again.

My legs begged for mercy.

«Can't you at least go a little easier on me?!»

«Elizabeth, for the umpteenth time, what have I told you about greatswords?»

«Their strength lies in their mass and momentum, as well as their range. To fight Finch, I will have to concentrate on keeping my distance and dodging, looking for an opening,» I recited mechanically.

«Exactly, so how can you complain about so little? If I used a greatsword, it would be much worse! If I don't use that much power, you'll never learn!»

«Alright...»

I couldn't help it, I was so bad at it. But I couldn't complain all the time, Sophia was doing her best to increase our chances of winning.

«Come on, one more time!»

I took the stance she had taught me again, but Sophia sighed immediately.

«You're still doing it wrong!»

The girl walked behind me.

«Like this!»

She slid her arms under mine and, grabbing my hands, adjusted the way I held the sword.

"This position..."

«Holding the sword so close to you is exactly what you need to avoid... Are you listening to me?»

«Ah... yes...»

"There's really something wrong with me..."

Sophia's face was over my shoulder, inches from mine.

«...so when he comes near you... Come on, at least pretend to listen to me! Look. I'm tr- oh...!»

Sophia suddenly pulled away from me. Perhaps she had realised how close we were.

"Wait a minute... this is the right opportunity. Payback time!"

«What's wrong, Sophia? Didn't you want to show me something?»

«Um, I was saying, when he gets close, you have to stretch...»

«I didn't quite understand... Can you show me how to do it like you did before?»

«You're doing it on purpose...»

I took a step towards her.

«Why are you embarrassed? Weren't you the one who said you wanted to be close to me?»

Sophia's pale cheeks turned red.

«I didn't mean it like that...»

«Oh come on, we're friends! What's the harm in a little skinship!»

I took another step.

«Get away from me! Why are you moving your hands like that?»

I ran after her.

«You're a liar! You said you could hardly move!»

«For some reason I had a sudden burst of energy!»

Eventually we both ended up on the ground, exhausted.

"I wish these moments could last forever..."

But if I wanted that, I would have had to work much harder. In a few weeks' time, we would have another face-to-face encounter with death.

«How is Amy?» asked Sophia suddenly.

All the happiness I felt vanished in an instant, replaced by guilt.

I had gotten carried away.

While I was here having fun with Sophia, there was another friend of mine who was suffering.

«She's not well... she's hardly eating...»

Amy had been in the same state for the last week.

At first I thought it was the shock of being kidnapped, but it wasn't. There was something else.

She seemed to have fallen into deep depression.

The time she didn't spend in class she spent in her room, lying on her bed. She wouldn't even come out to eat, so much so that I had started bringing her half of my meals, but she barely touched them.

The conversation we had when she woke up in the infirmary still haunted me.

«I'm sorry. I was a fool to think I was worth anything. All that time I spent training... it's useless for a nobody like me. All I do is cause you trouble and be a burden, Lizzie, perhaps it would be better if I were eliminated.»

What struck me was the lack of despair in her words. What I had heard was more of a quiet resignation.

The resignation of someone who had given everything to achieve a goal and still failed.

My attempts to reason with her had been in vain.

«Amy, I wouldn't be here without you! Remember what happened that first week!»

«But you're so strong now, Lizzie! You don't need me anymore...» she had replied.

«I'm just like you. They used me to get to Sophia. They treated us both like hostages! We have to show them that it's not like that!» I had tried to encourage her.

«I'm not as strong as you, Lizzie, and... I'm tired,» she had replied.

I had tried and tried, but no matter how much I told her how important she was to me, my words would not reach her.

Perhaps that terrible sense of hopelessness was what she herself had felt towards me that first week.

But this time not even Sophia could help her. For the first time I had even seen a discouraged Celeste after she had tried to talk to her.

I no longer knew what to do.

I spent the time when I wasn't training with her, in the darkness of her room, hoping that my silent presence would bring her some comfort.

There was only one solution I could think of.

"I have to get her out of here."

Amy wasn't like me or Sophia or Celeste. We were all, in our own way, weird and messed up girls.

But Amy wasn't. She was a normal, kind girl. A pure, carefree soul.

A girl like that shouldn't have anything to do with this whole situation.

It was normal for such a delicate flower to wilt in the oppressive atmosphere of this deadly game.

The fact that she had endured for so long without bending was a sign of the great strength that lay within her.

But now that it was no longer enough, I would be her strength.

«Sophia...»

«Yes?»

«Let's continue training!»

"I'll win and bring Amy home."