Chapter 17
Sofya
Arkkurari Island
I woke up gasping for breath and drenched with sweat. I shook my head, clearing my mind. I sat up in my bed grabbing some of the sheets and wiping my face. But then I remembered my nice talk with Zane, he made me feel a lot better with all the chaos and expectations going on. I was happy that he was my friend and that he wasn't all alone anymore.
I walked over to the bathroom and turned the shower on. I stripped my clothes off, leaving them on the floor. I stepped into the shower, the warm water rushed over me. When I was done I snatched a towel from the shelf and wrapped it around me. I blow-dried my hair and tied it in a high ponytail so it would be out of my face for training. Then I went to go get some clothes. I settled on a simple black t-shirt and tight leather leggings. I wrapped black steel-plated arm guards around my arms. I put on my black combat boots, stuck two daggers in them, one in each boot, and threw on a black leather jacket. I stepped in front of the mirror in my room and did a quick once over.
I looked decent, badass, put together, a far cry from what I felt inside. Satisfied I turned away and walked over to the kitchen to get some food. I grabbed an apple from the center basket on the counter. Then over to the couch where Ezmia was lying. I scooped her into my arms.
"Time to go," I said to her. I opened the front door stepping out, the warm island breeze met my face and the sun shone on me warming my body. I was about to walk away but then I remembered Lucy had slept over. Ops.
I went back inside Lucy was in the kitchen grabbing a muffin, decked out in warrior garb, her curly hair in a bouncy ponytail, I also took notice of her winged eyeliner and grinned. "Come on before we are late," I said then took her arm and dragged her out the door.
"Hey!" She exclaimed.
"We are going to be late to come on," I whined impatiently. I was supposed to be queen or whatever I could not be late on the first day. That wouldn't be queenly. We practically ran the rest of the way to the auditorium.
As we entered the auditorium we took the same seats we had sat in yesterday Ash, Nico were in the same seats too, right in front of us. I wondered where Roman had gone. Nico looked back at us and smiled.
"Hey girls."
"Hi, Nico," Lucy said, batting her lashes and grinning. I smirked.
"Hi," I said. Ash turned around and gave me a breathtaking smile, revealing his cute dimples. Oh, damn him that smile would be the end of me.
"Hello everyone!" Ivanna boomed into the mic. Must she always do that? It was really painful for my ears, geez? Also, I got startled and almost dropped Ezmia. She gave a little yip.
"Sorry," I told her in my mind.
"Today we will be starting some real training," Ivanna announced. "This will help you become prepared for life, the first thing we will start to work on is the physical part. Today and for the rest of the week, we will be training you to fight. You will be paired randomly with one another. Pay attention to your partners, you might learn something. Follow me to the arena!" Ivanna declared then marched off the stage and out the doors.
Everyone got up and followed her. Lucy sprang up from her chair and dashed out the door, her Neria struggling to keep up. I dashed out after her carrying Ezmia.
"Are you excited about this or what?" I said sarcastically. I had done combat training and sword fighting before my parents died but that didn't mean I was any expert plus I hadn't known what I was up until two days ago while others knew their whole lives what they were.
"Sure," Lucy said, rolling her eyes. We approached the arena. It was humongous, it resembled the colosseum in Rome but slightly smaller. Inside there was a boxing ring in the center. "Great" Lucy groaned. "Now everyone can watch us." I shrugged, I didn't care, it would probably motivate me to do better, to not embarrass myself. But that's what you are best at, dear. Lucy looked around, then walked over to the left side of the arena, she had spotted Nico, Ash, and Roman. Nico waved at us as we approached. Lucy sat down next to him and I sat down next to her. Ash stood up and came and sat next to me.
"Hey." He said.
"Hi," What did he want?
"Later can you come over to my hut, we need to talk."
"Why, so you can pretend to drown again?" I asked, a flat expression etched out on my face. Ash flinched as if hurt by my words.
"No, it's important." He said quietly.
"Fine," I said trying to read his expression, he just remained expressionless. Cold and distant, not surprised. Wishy-washy wacko. Yep, that was his new name. I spotted Ivanna walking up to the mic just outside the ring.
"Now that everyone is here let me explain how this will work," she said. "Two of you will go into the ring and have a fistfight or weapon fight, no magic allowed, and no shifting. Also no maiming or killing someone. I will be watching and so will the referee." Ivanna said pointing at a guy with an obnoxious yellow shirt on. "When he blows the whistle the fight is over, so without further adieu the first two up are Nico and Maxon." Nico made his way past us and gave his signature crooked grin.
"Wish me good luck." He said. On the other side of the arena, a handsome guy with golden blond hair, light brown skin, and hazel eyes stood up and made his way down to where Ivanna and Nico were standing. He was about the same size as Nico, maybe a little smaller but it would be a pretty fair fight.
"You guys will do a fistfight, go in and wait for the referee to count to three then you may start," Ivanna said to them. They slipped under the ring and went to opposite ends. The referee went up to the mic.
"One! Two! Three!" The boys stalked towards each other. Maxon took the first swing but Nico quickly dogged it with ease then twisted Maxon's arm and punched him in the gut. Maxon doubled over wheezing. Nico took advantage of that and kicked him down. Maxon started falling backward but caught himself, he stepped forward and lunged at Nico aiming his fist at Nico's face. Nico ducked and slid his foot out, knocking poor Maxon off his feet, Maxon collapsed onto his knees, dropping hard to the ground. Then Nico pounced on Maxon's back crushing him flat on his stomach. Maxon squirmed and kicked but Nico didn't budge. A devious smirk on his lips.
The referee blew the whistle signaling the end of the match. Nico climbed off Maxon's back and waved to the crowd. Then he helped Maxon up and slung an arm around his shoulder. Maxon, the good sport he was, gave a lopsided grin and took a bow with Nico.
"Good fight guys!" Ivanna announced. "The next match will be Reyna and Sofya. It will be a weapons fight."
"Ugg" I groaned as I stood up.
"Good luck," Lucy said to me as I made my way to the stairs.
"Thanks," I mumbled.
I ran down and at the bottom ducked under the ring, Reyna was already inside waiting, holding a sharp pointy spear. She had cropped raven hair and dark brown almond-shaped eyes. Her mouth was turned down in a severe grimace. Jeez, she looked delighted. I walked over to where the rest of the weapons laid, on a shelf. There were a katana and two twining daggers. I picked up the katana, it probably wouldn't be wise to block a spear with the short daggers. I went back over to the opposite side of the ring and got into a fighting stance.
"One! Two! Three!" the referee shouted over the microphone. Reyna started stalking towards me once she reached me she jabbed the spear at my face. I ducked then shot back up and kicked her in the stomach then slashed the katana at her arm. Blood gushed down Reyna's arm dripping onto the mat, she spat onto the ground then launched at me like a madwoman, screeching as she did so. She tackled me and we both went down. My back hit the ground with a loud thunk. Ouch, that hurt.
Now I seriously wished this was not in front of everyone. Reyna landed on top of me, sending our weapons flying out of the ring. Blocking out the cheering crowd, I got my legs under her stomach and threw her over my head. I sprang back up and turned to face her. As Reyna started to get back up I slammed her back down and jumped on her. I slammed my fist into her face and her head fell back and hit the floor with a sickening thud. Reyna's eyes closed and she fell into unconsciousness. Ops. I stood up and backed away, praying that I hadn't caused serious damage. The crowd went dead silent.
"Well, um good job Sofya," Ivanna said into the mic. I grimaced as a healer came and put Reyna into a stretcher. I mean I hadn't killed her, right? I walked back up to my seat next to Lucy.
"Damn Sofya you knocked that girl out cold," Nico said, grieving a high five as I passed him to sit down.
"Sofya I thought you said you didn't know how to fight," Lucy said. I looked over at her.
"No, I said that I hadn't fought seriously in a few years," I said, but I didn't think I had mentioned anything about fighting.
"Well, that is pretty good fighting regardless of the amount of practice you had." Lucy declared.
"Who taught you how to fight?" Nico asked.
"My parents, ever since I could remember till they uh, died," I said, half lying. I mean they were dead but I didn't actually know when they had since they left me first. I felt a gentle touch on my arm, it was Ash, he provided a small ghost of a smile. I smiled back, why was he so wishy-washy? Why did he act so nice at random times? Wish Washy Wacko, the name did suit him, didn't it? My eyes wandered back to the ring, the fight that had started after my fight with Reyna was finished and Ivanna walked back over to the mic.
"Everyone can break for lunch now, be back in exactly two hours, the cafes are that way." She said pointing towards the left. I stood up and stretched my back. It hurt pretty bad from when Reyna had tackled me, there was definitely going to be an ugly bruise there tomorrow.
"Ready for lunch?" Lucy asked excitedly.
"Duh, I'm starved," I said. "You guys want to come with us?" I asked Nico, Ash, and Roman.
"Of course, I'd go anywhere with two beautiful ladies. Can Maxon come along too?" Nico said grinning at me and Lucy. Lucy blushed madly, red was all over her cheeks. I rolled my eyes, it was clear Nico was a player, he would most defiantly break Lucy's heart. She better be careful, and he better watch it. Plus it kind of looked like he had a thing for Maxon anyway. I looked over at Ash, he nodded. Roman shook his head.
"I'm meeting up with a few others, I'll see you later guys." He said, then walked away.
"Ok, let's go. And yeah, Nico, Maxon can come along. He seems nice enough, maybe you'll learn a thing or two" I said with a grin before starting down the steps.
About halfway down a jolt of pain shot through my skull.
"Ahh!" I screeched out clutching my head, blackness edged my vision as I fell forward. At the last second, inches from the ground, someone caught me. Then the blackness completely enclosed my eyes.
When my eyes opened I saw that I was underwater, very deep underwater. I looked up and down and all around. I couldn't see the surface or the bottom. I took a breath in and let out a relieved sigh, I could breathe but that still didn't help the fact that I was underwater.
In the distance, there was a building that appeared to be a castle from what I could see. Although, it was completely on fire. I was underwater and it was on fire. I gasped, blinking my eyes. Suddenly the pain in my head came back, shooting through my skull. Then I blacked out.
The scent of pine, wood, and fire hit my nose. I took a deep inhale, pain jolting through my head through my back to my toes. I groaned and someone lifted me off the ground, cradling me lying to their chest. there was a shift in the air and I was lowered down onto a soft bed. I blinked my eyes open to find a worried Zane standing over me his eyes glazed with concern. I smiled up at him, my sandyman in shining armor.
"Hey, Zane," I mumbled. Zane glowered and shook his head like I was being ridiculous. You were.
"What happened Sofya, why are you hurt like this?" He asked, his jaw clenching. My eyes flickered.
"Precognition," I mumbled before blacking out again.
I jerked my head up. I was in bed, Ash was sitting at the edge with a concerned look in his eyes. Huh, what was he doing here? My body warmed electricity flowed through me, distracting me for a brief moment before I noticed my still throbbing head. What was wrong with me. This was like what happened at Ash's house, but worse. I started whimpering from the pain and clutching my head. Black dots were edging my vision and threatened to make me blackout again. I struggled to fight it. Ash rushed over sitting next to me.
"What's wrong with me? Is this going to happen a lot?" I asked quietly, my voice quivering, tears slipping down my cheeks. I tried to pull the blankets to hide my face so Ash wouldn't see me crying but I was too slow. Ash wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to his chest and onto his lap, cradling me.
"I don't know a ton about precognitions, but I am sure the healers will tell you, you've been asleep for three days." He said. His words calmed me and my headache dulled to a small throb. I took a deep breath and without thinking, laid my head down on his chest as if it was something I'd do regularly. He turned his head down and looked at me with his bright ocean blue eyes. God, they were beautiful.
"Are you ok?" He asked me sincerely.
"Um, I think so, my head doesn't hurt as bad," I said. My stomach growled, I ducked my head embarrassed. A second later I peered back up at him biting my lip. A big grin was spread across his face revealing his cute little dimples and I smiled too.
"Let me get you some food, I bet you're starving. I'll be right back, ok?" Ash said gently, setting me back on the bed than standing up. I nodded.
"Ok," I said faintly as he slipped out the door. I sighed, just great, another thing to worry about. Out-of-control migraines that caused blackouts. A few minutes later Ash came back a plateful in hand full of food.
"Here you go." He said setting the plate on my lap then sat next to me. There was a huge piece of salmon with fried rice and green beans. I smiled.
"Thanks," I said digging in. Once I was done Ash reached over and grabbed the empty plate.
"I'll go get the healer." I nodded. Ash returned with a man in a white lab coat, glasses, and a notebook. I assumed he was a healer.
"Hello Sofya, I'm Aceso. We are sure that what happened to you was a precognition, but can you tell us exactly what happened." The healer said.
"Um, well it started when I was walking down some stairs and I blacked out from pain jarring through my head. When I woke up or at least I thought I had woken up I was completely submerged underwater I saw a castle in the distance and it was on fire. Then I woke up with more spitting headaches but then it slowly went away." I told Aceso.
"Interesting," Aceso said scribbling something down in his notebook. "Definitely a precognition, it describes your symptoms. Have a nice afternoon there is nothing you can do to prevent these." And with that, he walked out the door. Seriously there was nothing to prevent these, great.
"Do you want to go back to your hut today? The healers cleared you." Ash asked.
"Uh, yeah," I said. Thinking of Ezmia she was probably all lonely. I slid to the corner of the bed and tried to stand but a wave of dizziness came over me and the ground was rushing at my face. Ash caught me just in time.
"I'll carry you." He said lifting me up.
"Ok," I mumbled into his shoulders. I suddenly felt really tired and woozy, probably from all the painkillers they gave me, taking notice of some of the jars on the table near the bed. I gazed into Ash's pretty eyes. A grin spread across my face. "I like your eyes, they are like the bluest ocean and the clearest sky," I said quietly. I struggled to keep my eyes open repeatedly blinking. I probably looked really stupid. Ash gave a small chuckle then started down the hallway, carrying me with ease. I hated him for what he did, but I didn't hate, him. I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. They closed and I fell asleep to the sound of footsteps softly thudding on the floors.
I awoke to something crashing to the ground and shattering. I groaned and opened my eyes. Ezmia was rushing at me. I was back in my bed. Ez jumped on the bed and into my arms. "I missed you too Ez," I said as she licked my face. I clutched Ezmia tight petting the soft fur along her neck. I thought back to how Ash had held me when I had first awoken. A smile crept onto my face but then I remembered Zane.
I had fallen asleep but it was the first time that I hadn't gone to the Land of Dreams. Had the previous days been a fluke? I didn't want Zane to be alone. Worry dug its way into my chest. Poor Zane. Hopefully, I'd see him again tonight.
I climbed out of bed setting Ezmia down and made my way to the bathroom. I looked in the mirror. Yikes. My hair was greasy and matted and I had a hospital gown on. I yanked the gown off and turned the shower on and stepped in. I got all cleaned up and put some clothes on. Black leather leggings, a navy blue shirt with rips in the back, and my favorite lace-up combat boots.
Once I was done I walked over to the kitchen. Mary was at the sink washing dishes.
"Hello Miss, glad to see you're ok." She said cheerfully.
"Morning.".
"Ivanna wants you at her office at six so you have a few hours to relax and such," Mary said.
"Ok, I'm going to go see Lucy and take a walk," I said and dashed out the door, across the street to Lucy's hut. I knocked on the door. Lucy swung it open.
"Sofya!" She cried out embracing me tightly. "I was so worried about you, come in we have tons to discuss." We walked in and sat down on the couch in the living room. "Ok, details now!" Lucy said. "What happened?"
"Well…" I started. "I blacked out from a headache and had a strange dream which turned out to be a precognition which is a detailed seeing of the future, then I woke up."
"OMG!" She screeched. "That's so cool! Oh and by the way Ash sat by you through all three days didn't even leave your side to sleep." Lucy said deviously.
"What?" I whispered barely speaking loud enough for her to hear me. I knew he was there when I woke up, but not three whole days. Oh my god, this was awful. It was also a very kind thing to do. Gherrr, I didn't know what to feel anymore, he was so confusing. Wishy-Washy Wacko, darn him. Lucy rambled on.
"He is so going to be the guardian." My eyes bludged, hahaha Lucy very funny. "Was he there when you woke up?" Lucy asked.
"Yeah, he had me in his lap," I said. Then sighed. Lucy squealed.
"Ooo you like him," I smirked, of course. I did like him. I liked him when we first met and before that.
"What's not to like?" I said tilting my head thinking back picturing him, bright sparkling ocean sky blue eyes, tall sculpted muscular body, adorable freckles, and dimples. Lucy grinned like the Cheshire cat. "Have you two kissed yet?"
"Yeah, but it was only a dare," I mumbled, remembering Sorina's party. "I don't even know if he likes me that way," I said, pondering the thought in my head. I seriously didn't know. He was so hot and cold.
"Seriously Sofya, the guy stayed three days with you and wouldn't leave. I think that exceeds the friendly concern limit and goes to I like this girl she's mine vibe." Lucy said glaring at me while wagging her finger in my face. I collapsed on the couch with a great sigh.
"Fine, whatever but I'm not doing anything drastic, okay," I said before she could think of any plans. Lucy meant well but this was Ash we were talking about.
I was able to admit to myself that I was attracted to him, but that didn't mean we should be together. We shouldn't. There were far too many reasons why.