As class drew to a close, I began to feel a little nervous.
Today, a week before the start of the tournament, the brackets would be made public. In short, we would find out who Finch's mysterious accomplice was.
My sword training was finally starting to pay off, but my survival depended on one thing: what other innate power we would be up against.innate power we would be up against.
Whatever it was, it would most likely target Sophia while Finch dealt with me. Despite my best efforts, I had no chance against someone like him without my magic.
Therefore, it was imperative that Sophia get rid of our opponent as quickly as possible, so that she could come to my aid.
I had hoped we would get some clues today.
But my hopes were quickly shattered.
At the end of the lesson, the right wall of the classroom lit up and a tournament table appeared right next to the leaderboard.
I quickly studied its structure.
"Single elimination, huh?"
It looked like the number of participants would be 32 students, for a total of 16 pairs.
"A little less than half of us..."
I stared at the name next to Finch's.
«Miles Foster...»
«I thought it would go like this...» commented Sophia, next to me, scrolling down a piece of parchment.
We had spent a lot of time over the past two weeks analysing the abilities of all our fellow survivors and then making a list of our observations.
«Normally, this would have been the perfect job for Amy...»
Foster was an unassuming mage, hovering near the bottom of the rankings. Apparently we'd watched him duel, but I couldn't even remember what he looked like.
But as Sophia had said, there was nothing strange about him.
If his power was only effective in a 2v2 duel, it was only natural that he had no reason to use it until now.
I studied the bracket of the tournament once again.
«It looks like we are going to play them in the semi-finals. We could try to watch their other duels to find out something...»
«I doubt it'll help us much...» Sophia replied, «if they're not up against any other innate powers, Finch will be able to bring them forward safely on his own. By the way, we should be careful as well.»
I looked at the names of the opponents we would face before Finch and Foster. They were all students far down in the rankings. That was to be expected. My classmates most at risk of being eliminated were naturally the ones most likely to be tempted to try their hardest in this tournament.
Normally, I would be confident that we would win easily, but I couldn't rule out the possibility that some of my other opponents might also have innate powers.
While I was thinking, someone approached my side.
«We'll meet in the final, huh?»
Celeste had an excited smile on her face.
From the corner of my eye I saw Sophia stiffen.
"Ahhh, some things never change..."
I looked at the other side of the tournament board. Celeste and Philemon were there.
To be honest, the thought of us facing each other hadn't even crossed my mind, I was too focused on the duel with Finch to think about it.
Celeste seemed to notice my lack of enthusiasm and threw an arm over my shoulders.
«Chin up! I'm sure you'll kick his ass! Besides, if he doesn't let you use any spells, you'll have all your mana ready for the final against me!»
I sighed:«I really wish I had your optimism...»
Suddenly I felt a tug on my wrist.
«It's lunchtime, let's go!» blurted Sophia before she started to drag me out of the classroom.
As I was being carried away, I saw Celeste giggling.
Once outside the classroom, I turned to my captor:
«You can let me go now... I don't want to break the same arm twice in three weeks!»
«Sorry.»
«That's all right, let's go eat.»
By now I had given up trying to change her mind about Celeste.We walked silently into the great hall and, after grabbing our trays, sat down at a small table.
Our meals of late had been rather sombre. They were the times when we missed Amy the most as she usually led the conversation.
As allways that day she had disappeared as soon as the lesson was over.
I separated half my lunch from the rest. I was going to try and take it to her room as soon as I'd finished eating. I had asked the teachers to let me take an extra portion for her, but they wouldn't let me.
«Come on, have some of mine.»
«Huh?»
I looked up. Sophia had turned her tray towards me.
It wasn't the first time in the past few weeks that she'd offered to share some of her food with me, but I'd always refused.
Despite being so slim, this girl ate like a horse. Unlike me, she probably needed all those calories...
«No, thank you. Don't worry...»
«I insist. You need the energy this week.»
«Well, when you put it like that...»
I was about to reach for the plate of potato croquettes she was offering when an idea struck me.
"Operation revenge, part two."
«Hey, why don't you feed me?»
«HUH?!»
Sophia gave me a look somewhere between shocked and concerned. Maybe she thought I had hit my head when I got up this morning.
«Why would I do that!?»
«Well, a few minutes ago you were acting like a possessive girlfriend. I thought you wanted to play the part...»
The girl blushed furiously.
«T-that's not why I did it! I told you, I don't trust that girl! You shouldn't either!»
«You don't have to justify yourself! Honestly, I'm flattered!»
I gave her a mocking smile.
"Another victory! I'm making a comeback."
But Sophia's expression changed.
«If you want to play dirty like that... okay, come on, open your mouth!»
She picked up a croquette with her fork and raised it in front of me, smiling ominously.
«HUH?! I was only joking!»
«I said open your mouth!»
I couldn't help but obey.
I closed my eyes as my cheeks caught fire.
"This is so... embarrassing."
«That's good! Just like that.»
And then...
Sophia shoved the croquette straight down my throat.
«W-were you trying to kill me?» I muttered a few minutes later, when I had recovered.
«Unfortunately, I seem to have failed. Would you like me to continue?»
«No, thank you.»
"Operation failed. Total defeat."
We continued to eat in silence. But after a while I decided to ask her:
«Seriously though... what do you have against Celeste? I get that you don't trust her, but to react like that... it's not like you.»
Sophia stared at me for a moment, as if in thought. Then she answered me bluntly:
«I can't stand her.»
«Huh? But you don't even know her!»
«I know, it's not that I don't like her personally. It's more... what she represents...»
«What do you mean?»
«Charming, graceful, brilliant, with a lot of mana and skilled with magic... I'm sure my parents would have given an arm to have a daughter like her...»
«Oh...»
Now that I knew her past, I could understand her very well.
Celeste was practically her opposite extreme: a true magical prodigy. But not only that, she was also extremely intelligent and definitely good-looking. To the aristocracy, she was perfection itself.
"At least until she opens her mouth..."
«Are you envious of her?» I asked her without malice.
«Envious... I don't know. More like I don't want to lose to someone like her...»
«Well, you'll get a chance to challenge her if we make it to the final.»
It would be hard. Celeste had probably already thought of a strategy against Sophia, probably using Gravity Surge. As for us, we couldn't afford to think about any other duels than the one against Finch and Foster.
«But you know what? I really like Celeste. She's fun to hang out with, and she's one of the most skilled mages I've ever met. But... I find you much more interesting than her.»
Sophia's eyes widened:
«Interesting? What do you mean?»
I stood up and took the tray:
«Who knows...»
I walked towards Amy's room, leaving a rather confused Sophia behind.
***
«I think we are done for today!»
«But we just started!»
Sophia looked at me and smiled amusedly.
It was the afternoon before the fateful day. In less than 24 hours, the tournament would begin.
«Are you the same Elizabeth I trained the first few days? We did all we could. We'd better get some rest and be fit for tomorrow.»
«As you wish, Coach!»
I dropped down onto the green grass.
Sophia sat down at my side.
«Of course, if I had thought of that little trick earlier... I wouldn't have had to go to so much trouble - OW!»
Sophia hit me lightly on the head with her fist and looked at me angrily:
«You know very well that your crazy idea won't be enough to beat Finch! Make sure you don't do anything stupid, I won't forgive you this time!»
«I know, I know! I was just trying to play it down. It's just... I'm a bit nervous.»
It was the first time I had ever felt so worried.
I remembered the helplessness I had felt the last time I had faced Finch. Could I really keep him at bay without using spells?
Sophia's expression softened and this time she patted my head, ruffling my hair.
«Take it easy... you've been a good student. Besides, I'll be by your side.»
«Um...»
I relaxed and leaned on her shoulder.
Sophia looked surprised, but let me.
«You know, most of the time you are really annoying... but you can also be surprisingly nice.»
«Thank you,» Sophia replied sarcastically.
«I like both sides of you...»
«Even at a time like this, you don't miss a chance to tease me, do you?»
"I'm serious though..."
We stayed like this, in silence, for a while before we said goodbye.
But I had no intention of resting. I had something I wanted to do.
***
A few minutes later I knocked on Amy's door.
«Amy, it's me, I need to talk to you.»
It was a scene that had repeated itself many times in those weeks. I put my hand on the doorknob. The door was open, as usual.
«Amy, I'm coming in.»
The room was dark. Amy was under the covers but I was sure she wasn't asleep.
I sat down on the floor with my back against the side of the bed.
«Tomorrow is tournament day, Amy. I'd like you to come and watch me fight.»
No answer. But I had expected it, I didn't want to give up so easily.
«I'll ramble a bit. Tell me if I'm disturbing you.»
I cleared my throat.
«When we were in our little town... How the hell did you put up with me? I was so arrogant...
I thought I was such a hotshot and was so overbearing that it's no wonder everyone avoided me. You, on the other hand, have always been my friend.
To be honest, I never appreciated you as much as I should have. Sometimes I thought you were a bit too pushy and frankly I couldn't stand you calling me Lizzie, even when I told you to stop.»
I smiled. It seemed like a lifetime ago.
«Then we got here and I realised how stupid I had been. The first week was enough to realise how unimpressive I was. But even then, when I had lost all self-confidence, you were there by my side. You pushed me to recover, you held my hand when I wanted to run away, and if I'm still here now... it's because of you.»
«You've been so important to me, Amy,» I continued, «you've always reminded me that there is a normal world outside this prison that we can come back to.
You've always brought me back down to earth when I've been acting like an idiot. I need you. Even tomorrow! I want to know that there is someone in the audience who will always be on my side.»
«On your side?»
Amy's voice was raspy. She hadn't spoken for a long time.
«Is that why you need me? To stand there and watch you from a distance without being able to do anything?! You're basically confirming the fact that I'm useless.»
«YOU ARE NOT USELESS!»
I snapped to my feet.
«...»
«You are not useless,» I repeated, «Amy, your worth does not depend on how good you are at fighting. This damn school tries so hard to make us think that way, but it's not true. I know it sounds strange coming from me, but there are so many other ways a person can distinguish themselves. Magic or strange powers are not the only things that matter. You possess so many qualities you don't even know you have!»
«But I'm weak...»
«Yes, you are weak. You're so weak that if it weren't for me, you would probably have been eliminated long ago. But that's OK! I know I did a bad job with Finch, but let me protect you! I'll try to do better. In return, you will continue to support me as you always have. Seeing you smile like you always do is one of the reasons I fight!»
Amy moved under the covers. For a moment I thought she was going to run into my arms, as she always did.
But when she spoke again, her tone was still bitter.
«You don't really need me. You're just saying all this things just to make me feel better. You already have Sophia, who can support you much better than I ever could.»
"Is she jealous...?"
«That is not true. Our relationship is totally different. I... I really enjoy being with Sophia. I have so much fun talking to her. But... when we're together lately... it's like my heart never stops racing. Maybe it's because she makes me angry so often. But with you... with you I'm always at ease. If Sophia is a storm, you're a gentle breeze. When I am feeling down you always manage to cheer me up, when I make a mistake you are always ready to forgive me and help me put things right, you are ready to listen to any nonsense I say... you are my best friend. I need you.»
But once again my efforts seemed to have no effect. Amy remained under the covers, silent.
"I tried..."
I headed for the door.
«I'm sorry...»
«Amy?»
«I just can't be the old Amy that you need anymore. But... I'll be at the tournament tomorrow.»
«I... thank you.»
That was enough.
I knew words wouldn't be enough to pull her out of the abyss she seemed to have sunk into.
But maybe, one step at a time, I could help her rise to the surface.