We made it to tower on foot, the people of the city payed no attention to us. Their minds fixed on praying and according to John, some would continue till daylight.
The entrance of the tower was open, the only time of the year it was to the public. Fortunately enough the guards of the tower escorted us through the crowd until we reached the second floor.
They led me to one of the sparing rooms Kelly would take me to. I was told to wait there while they went to their room to change.
It only took a moment and the three of them arrived in white leather gear. They began stretching beforehand. I knew from sparing with Kelly that fights between arcane wielders involved a huge amount of athletic finesse and acrobatics.
Juliana finished first and walked towards my side. "Pay attention to their different styles. Normally the first year of the academy we learn or create our own form of combat. It comes naturally to us. I know Kelly taught you how to move your body but once you start training in combat using arcana, you'll see how your body molds itself to fight instinctively."
John spoke, "you done yet? I wanna get some shut eye before training tomorrow. "
"Relax Johnny boy I need to warm up for another win. What is it? Thirty-six to nineteen?."
I panned to Juliana "how long have you been sparing? I thought you had to wait until being registered into the tower to use arcana. "
She grinned, "only a month in advance to prepare, shh." She put a finger over her lips and winked.
"Alright I'm done" Said Harry and got into a orthodox boxing stance.
John closed his eyes and composed himself. He started jumping on his toes and relaxed his arms, swaying them at his sides.
"Start" yelled Juliana and they bursted with speed.
They were fast but no where near my mentor and I manged to see their movements. Harry threw the first punch five feet away from John and summoned an orange shade of arcane flowing from his shoulders to his fist. When it reached his knuckles it exploded outward towards John.
John dashed towards his left side imbuing his right leg the same way Harry did his arm and bounced. He did a series of bunny hops to get away yet it looked as of he were skating across the sparing rooms.
When he made enough distance he spread the palm of his hands out and sliced the air with his arms at incredible speed. Each slice sending waves of light blue arcana at Harry.
Harry ran at John, each time a slice of arcana made it's way to him he punched with arcana.
Then John increased his attack, Harry started to do acrobatics dodging and firing arcane blots mid air with his fists while blocking with his imbued arcane legs.
Harry managed to reach John while in a front flip and quickly put a hand on the floor pushing off it, kicking with imbued arcana towards John.
By a centimeter John ducked, dropping his body to the floor as Harry Lunged his entire body in the sky with his kick flying past him.
Before Harry could hit the floor, John threw arcane knifes at him while on the floor.
Seeing this Harry summoned a shield around him that managed to block the majority with one knife making it in slicing his cheeks.
They stopped their attacks for a second and got to their feet. They were about tweelth feet away from each other and began to throw a barrage of arcane attacks.
Each attack thrown canceled the other's. Neither backing out not wanting to risk the chance of receiving an attack this close at the speed of whips.
Harry's attacks were thicker then Johns but lacked Johns sharpness.
John lunched a tornado kick to which Harry took a risk. He imbued his entire left side with a shield of pure orange, closing the small distance between while taking the full force of the kick.
Successfully blocking the full force of the kick he began close combat, throwing hooks and knees at John.
John was unable to hold at a close distance receiving a right hook to stomach blasting him away. However as if planned, Harry summoned a wave behind John of arcana in that spilt second. With his left leg pushing backwards to draw John to him.
He grabbed him in the air, twisted his body and slammed him the the ground. He had a fist of arcana at John's head,"thirty-seven now."
"Get off me you fat ass."
Harry helped him off the ground and me, Juliana applauded their performance. This took place within twelve seconds.
"Urgh, I should have seen it comming as soon as your leg twitch. That's the third time now you summon a wall behind me."
Then a foreign clapping sound came from the entrance of the arena. There were three new arrivals. Although they didn't seem to be acquaintances. The man clapping had brown hair with a medium sized haircut. He was wearing a dark blue leather outfit, fit for sparing. He had a masculine face and though clapping I could see his distain for the princeses. The other male wore glasses and a long robe covering his body, the same as the worshipers outside. He was handsome as well with an intelligent eyes and round face. The third was a woman, my same height with the same jet black hair. We shared the same green hazel eyes but that's where the appearances ended. She ported a wide smile, not a mocking one but it was unusual as it was directed to me. Wearing a dark green outfit with a turtle neck she moved to my side extending a hand.
"Hello, my names is Alice Abernathy." Her voice mas musical and sounded similar to an echo far away. It was the first voice I found pleasant to hear.
I shook her hand "hi, call me Ruvan Braxe." I smiled.
She clocked her head annalizing with curiosity, then turned around to look at the arena leaning on the wall behind us.
While our small interchange happened the man who clapped challenged the princeses to sparing. Juliana was exchanging pleasantries with the man with glasses until she interjected her brothers conversation.
From across the room she spoke, "Francis Simmons I accept the dual."
Francis grinned and waited at the center of the arena. I believe I heard a warning from the boy she spoke with while she stretched. Her brothers left, Harry supported Johns weight sharing worried glances at me instead of their sister.
Alice spoke while we waited for the dual to commence, "I'd offer to spare with you but I can see your leg is bruised."
I was startled, not even the princeses and princess noticed. Alice smiled, "not surprised their highnesses failed to see. They tend to their own you know? I say we arcsoly stick together, what do you say? I believe people say something along the lines of together in misery when they marry." She elbowed me with a grin.
She pointed to her left ribs "my mentor left a wound, it's stitched up now. If you get a nasty wound I'll take you to the clinic meant for us. You see they won't heal us with arcane magic, we're meant to get used to the pain."
"But why Alice?"
'Huh, didn't your mentor mention how to strengthen yourself?"
"No? Was he supposed to, he didn't allow me to ask."
"My did before he beat me till I fainted the first time." She smiled.
I frowned at her expression. Perhaps she's far gone after the whole ordeal?
"Mentor said that as an arcsoly, the arcana courses through us. So naturally when we get into combat with an arcsoul, the exchange of blows hurts our very soul since that's it's source. Which is why we train to handle pain. The training is meant for us to keep up the arcana around our body not giving in to the pain so a blade of arcana in a spar doesn't you know? Kill us. Also the more pain the arcana faces the stronger it grows, like a muscle during a workout. Of course our emotions play a part in it, though what place does emotions have during torture? For example my arcana is a green jade of shade, curiosity and hope while I felt none during the lesson."
"So you suggest we fight harder to strengthen our resolve?"
"Yup, though I suggest we do it just with us for now. Arcsoly to arcsoly, pain versus pain that way we can prepare against our mentors."
"Aren't there more of us?"
"Students? No, I checked and talked to all twenty-six registered students this year. Although they dismissed me without wanting a conversation I saw their lack of injuries. In fact they cared more about their prestige then being associated with me."
Although she was off putting, Alice wasn't hostile like Francis nor the man with glasses who didn't spare me a glance. Kelly did warn me that the nobility did get stuck up into their social status so I wondered why no one spoke to an Abernathy. Alice Abernathy was part of a great house that had the longest history in the kingdom, wouldn't that account for some respect?
"What?" Said Alice, as she stared into my eyes.
"Nothing, I was just thinking about questions that you could ask your mentor, for me, as favour."
"Okay you have any or are you going to continue staring at me without thinking, it's rude to stare at a lady like that. Some could say your having thoughts about me."
"Why would I have thoughts of you, I just met you."
She shrugged "a girl can dream you know?"
"Alice, are you teasing me? I'm not use to human interaction outside of my mother."
She laughed, her laugh chimed beautifully resembling bells. "A mommy's boy huh, why the lack of a social life?"
"I was stuck in a cave."
"Really? I was stuck in my room until I was fourteen. I killed my parents who locked me in there."
I blinked, now I know the reason why no one associates with her. Kelly told me that parents love their children with all their heart. I don't understand why Alice killed them and it bothered me greatly.
I frowned at her, "why would you kill your own mom and dad Alice?"
She tilted her head and frowned as well, "what do you mean why? Didn't I just mention they locked me up?"
"But their your parents Alice, they love you!"
She straighten her head as if realizing what I meant, "I see now what you mean Ruvan but my parents didn't love me. They locked me up to abuse me and to marry me off at fourteen. That's why I killed them Ruvan, they never loved."
I stared at the ground puzzled by her story. Did Kelly lie to me about human behavior? No, I believe her actions, Kelly always treated me as mother would according to comments from the servants of the tower I heard. Then some humans behave differently from their own nature? Aren't we meant to nurture the future?
"Alice, are humans evil? Or varied from human to human?"
She took my question seriously and answered, "do you see me as evil, after all I killed my parents but I was pronounced innocent. Who's to say whether the judge has the right to make the decision. For one I believe humans do anything to survive, animals at heart, we'd do anything to climb the social hierarchy. Don't you agree?"
"No", I flat out said, "mother doesn't take care of me for social gain."
She pointed a tumb to Juliana who was almost ready, "no one else hangs amoung the princess other then her brothers or admirers. The Braxe family must be proud, from a house of noble farmers to friends of the royal family.
"Then why are you talking to me Alice?"
"You have the same eyes as me."
We remained silent and turned from another. She muttered enough for me to hear only, "friends?"
"Friends" I agreed.
We remained in silence until the dual occurred. I don't know why but I felt a sense of kinship with Alice. Perhaps it was due to our shared twisted view on the world. I didn't want to say Alice was in the right for killing her parents. After all I wanted to kill the ones in the cave, the ones who fed me food. That's right food, I thought to myself, aren't I an atrocious creature too?
"Begin." Yelled the boy with glasses. Waking me from my thoughts.
Juliana took a different approach to fighting then her brothers. A large tether of red arcana formed around her in a circle, as thick as a stone column and tall enough to reach her shoulders. Francis smirked and created a pair of wings, to my surpise they lifted him up in the air.
Juliana mutter "manifestation? How can he do it so soon."
Next to him, he summoned eight beams of blue arcana serving as blades. In one foul swoop he dived at Juliana.
She used the ring of arcana around her as a wall of flames to both shield and attack Francis blatant attack. She failed as Francis craved out a hole in her tether losing five of his blades.
Reaching ground level, Francis deployed his remaining blades in front. We thought she was done for, both the dual and her life were over none, of the witnesses able to react quick enough.
With her last second to spare, Juliana used a technique. She revolved arcana around her tightly, similar to an arcsoly. Her body twirled mid air stunning us all as she took Francis in an armlock.
Without remorse she broke his arm and summoned a blade to his neck, "do you yield?"
Francis grunted with frustration, "I yield!"
They broke apart from each other and Francis walked himself in shame to clinic holding his arm.
"Leave us, Ruvan stay I want to spare with you."
I was stuck with shock at her order. The other boy left reluctantly and Alice too, "let's meet tomorrow here after our mentors lesson. "
Once the door was closed behind them I made my way to the center of the arena. Preparing to fight until I saw red dripping from the white leather outfit on Juliana.
I ran to support her up and take her to the clinic. "Wait Ruvan, let some time pass until they leave. I couldn't let them see me bleed, it would be seen as weakness. As heir to the throne I simply can not allow that."
"How are you bleeding? You dodged perfectly."
She mumbled her words "it's a dangerous technique, taught to second years just like manifestation. I read the theory behind it, basically you wrap your body with arcana producing a pocket of air, a bubble if you will. Although if you aren't able to control your body it'll scrape against the arcana. Take.. take me to the clinic."
Seeing her knees beginning to give in, I lifted her onto my shoulder and ran towards the clince.
Thankfully the clinic was situated on the same floor of the sparing rooms although a bit far still considering how large the floors are. In a full sprint it took me three minutes to reach.
I barged through the doors, the healers sprang to take Juliana off me when they noticed she was the princess.
I sat down at one of the unattended beds to catch my breath. I could have used my arcana but didn't want to risk further harm to the princess after what she told me. My brusied knee had worsened significantly from the sprint.
One of the free healers moved to assist me but asked first, "are you an arcsoly?"
"Yes"
"I apologize but we are unable to be of assistance with such a small injury." And left.
"Damn it, this shit hurts like a motherfucker. "
"Ruvan" Said Juliana, there she was perfectly fine now.
The top part of her leather gear was teared to see the injury showing her tank top.
"That was quick, at what year do we learn to heal?"
"Second year, but it's one of the hardest techniques to learn. Healing skin, bones and tissues is a miracle with or without Vala's help. To master takes more then a year or two" she said seating down next to me.
"Did you see my brothers around here?"
"No they must have left earlier. Why was Francis so intent on killing you, the princess?"
She tighten her lips and frowned, "it's a family discord amongst our two families. He holds anger for the royal family. In the tower, their is always a chance of death occurring during a spar. With or without intent, in a sense it's a perfect way to cull any up and coming rivals from other houses. Ruvan keep you guard up if someone asks for spar."
"I see, I think I understand now."
"Who was the girl you were speaking with?"
"The woman? Her name was Alice Abernathy. She's an arcsoly too, we plan on sparing tomorrow."
"Fair warning that girl is dangerous. She killed her parents and from I heard, isn't faring well in her mind." She said in an accusing tone.
"I know she told me, either way don't you know what I've done?"
She went silent and changed subject "want me to make gloves to cover you hands? You know, to cover your scar and bracelet. It should have been done from the start, seems we've been lacking."
"Don't make them standout please, something simple and elegant."
She nodded and got up, "you should go to your room, your mother must be worried sick."
I frowned "why would she be worried?"
"You'll see, goodnight Ruvan. "