Chapter Ten. Usurped?

I heard an irregular bear noise which made me rub my eyes and sit up. I searched for the noise; I rolled to the other side of the bed and looked to the floor. Felix lay sprawled on the black wood, venom pooling in front of him like human drool. I put my hand over my mouth to smother my giggle. I got up and dressed in my closet. I put on the pants, shirt, boots and added the trench coat just for fun. I threw my yesterday clothes in my laundry bin and headed to the room to find the indoor courtyard. It was reserved for the high class. I went through the various hallways, catching vampire's thoughts and looking for the way.

I made multiple turns before I finally asked aloud. "Where is this indoor training area?" I heard a voice. "Keep going straight, the door will be well noticed." I was a bit confused by this but kept on going, no need in questioning. I looked at the walls and things that had been hung up there through the ages. Where vampires had been. Memories of past vampires working to save this place and died trying. I began to see the names of the different vampires that were in the different squads. I found the fighting one that was on a big gold plaque. My name was at the very top where the two captains were supposed to be. So I am a captain along with Felix? Interesting. The plaques lead all the way to the training rooms doors. I opened them carefully not sure what to expect.

It had an indoor garden weaving around the circular room, creating paths to walk through. In the center was a cobble stone battle area where we could practice our fighting skills against other vampires. Before hand, which I found out by note posted on the doors, Felix had ordered cement blocks to practice with. The idea was to fight it, using skilful moves, to make it into a masterpiece. It required great precision. I moved a cylindrical block into the middle of the court. I sized it up with one flick of my eye and then took a good kick at it from the middle. I slid my foot across and then down in a backwards, upside down L shape. I then punched it in patterned places to create a vintage look and finished it off with a tornado combo kill. Meaning I swirled around the block using a combination of punches and kicks.

I stepped back to look at my work. I had made a great roaring tiger, with wild eyes, and bold stripes. I decided to go themed with my training and did the same combination for each block, placing them in a pin-pointed sequence. I used my nails to make the small details like fur and eyes. I considered paints but that would just ruin the raw power of it. I sat in front of it for a second and realized it should fit together. I choose my center piece and placed the others around it, then, I smoothed about grooves, took out a few small chunks until they sat together perfectly like layers of rock that were supposed to.

With the smaller bits I had left I used my hands to make them into small birds flying frantically, I placed the delicately on top of some of the animals' backs and heads. The seemed small compared to the bigger picture but it gave it that extra more time and uniqueness it needed.

I worked until I could no longer use any of the cement left, the blocks or the pieces. I had a huge wild animal zoo; perfectly fitting together to look as if a horde of animals was stampeding towards you. I moved the piece into the more wild part of the garden and left back to my room. I had gotten bored and was sure that there was no way of this under class man could beat me. If I could be done that fast, with that awesome work I did, there was no way I could lose.

I walked down the halls with confidence when I heard low grunting. I raised an eyebrow and turned towards the sound. It was coming from the lower class men training room. No one that young has ever been up this early, or supposed to. (Alyda had read a few minds secretly about what the routine is.)I walked over to the door and peered in through the window. I saw a vampire rapidly fighting against another. The closest one was a girl with cropped black hair and was small in size. The other one was a tall and lanky guy, with long dirty blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. The girl tried wildly to land a blow on the man but he blocked her as if she was simple moth trying to land on him. "You want to beat that upper class? You have got to use effort! Think strategically not use pure force!" He yelled at her. I thought clicked, am I fighting her?

"Stop yelling and let me concentrate!" The girl retorted. "Don't give me that back sass! Tayrea, you will not get anywhere with this!" He grabbed her arm in mid-punch and flipped her over, tearing off her arm in the process. She shrieked and yanked her arm back holding it against her shoulder. The man helped her place it properly while it healed. "Kantay! You're not supposed to rip anything of mine off!" Tayrea complained. Kantay rolled his eyes. "That was to show you how easy it was." Kantay rolled his eyes again and began walking towards the door. I didn't want to seem foolish by eavesdropping or anything so just before he got to the door I opened it up and walked in. Both of their mouths fell open.

"Hello," I said smoothly. This was rare for someone so high to come in here. But to have an opponent that you will be fighting soon? Just plain wrong. "I believe you are my opponent, correct?" I asked. She nodded stiffly. They both remembered their manners then and snapped their jaws shut. Kantay did a low sweeping bow and Tayrea bowed slightly. "As to what do we owe this honour?" Kantay asked. "I saw you two practicing. Thought I may check out what my opponent is bringing to the table, are you sure you are ready to fight me?" I asked.

Anger clouded her face as if she was offended and she felt enraged, it emanated off of her. She blurred and I stuck my hand out to my left catching her in the middle of her shirt. I slammed her onto the ground and buried my knee into her stomach. Her eyes widened in shock. "Well?" I eyed her. I searched her brain. She has a major crush on Felix and wants to be on the fighting wing badly to prove herself to Aro. "I will fight you, and I will win." She spat. My hand seized her neck and flipped her on her stomach. "Win, right now." I swiftly grabbed her ankles and threw her to the other side of the training room.

I stood straight. "Kantay, kindly tell anyone who wishes to see the battle that it will be in the upper class arena." Kantay zipped off and Tayrea charged me. The minute she touched me I zapped us to the upper class arena. Stone greeted our feet along with walls reaching ten football fields and running as long as twenty football fields. Tayrea stepped back in awe. "No time to admire!" I called flashing to the other side of the arena. I flashed to each side multiple times, circling her, making her turn to face me, as I spoke, "I saw you practice, I showed you one, what?, billionth of me!" "Beat me and you will be known as the greatest vampire ever!"

Tayrea retorted "How is that possible? You are probably as skilled as the rest of them!" She yelled back to me, wherever I was. "Ah, but I'm making this easier for you, with Aro's permission." I stopped right in front of her making her step back. I looked up to where Aro perched on a high throne watching to see who his new fighter was. "We can use our gifts." Aro nodded to my suggestion. Tayrea's eyes lit a fire.

"Now I know for sure I will win." She declared. I felt the air buzz with energy as she channelled her gift. I struck my mind against hers making her stumble. I got into her mind searching for that gift; I did so secretly though so that she would not know. The stones beneath my feet began to turn to sand. It turned in to high power quick sand pulling me down. I jumped up and used the telekinetic to levitate myself. A smile spread across my face like smooth butter. I drew my hands above my head, making her focus on them and then behind her got a huge sand wave to build. Let her know one gift at a time, she will try to use it against me. "Huh!" She said turning the floor to fire just beneath me. The wave sand crashed over her, burying her deep. I swung myself around to the other side of the arena avoiding the hot flames.

The floor started to contort again, turning into water. She swam up. She launched herself out of the water where it then turned back to stone. She landed facing me.

Because this was just one big rectangle room, and there was nothing for me to throw or anything I could hear Tayrea thinking that she was at advantage. She made a huge stone pillar rise from the middle of the arena under her feet. She was pushed up to near the ceiling. The rest of the floor turned back to fire. I held my smile back. I could hear the thoughts faintly of Aro. He was wondering why I was toying with her so. Alyda, he said, don't use the mixed gift types like you used on that one vampire, only to shield yourself. I nodded. "What are nodding about?" Tayrea yelled from where she was. She chased me with a flame, its tongue trying to lick my flesh off. I created the shield around me creating a plan. "You know I'm better, why not just give up with your dignity?" I said.

"My dignity and what's left of yours!" She said. I pretended to be offended. Acting like she caught me off guard. The flame just brushed by me and turned back towards me. I made my floating look as if it were faltering. As the flame came to jump on me I let myself fall, testing the shield hoping that for the sake of Felix it would stick. I plunged far down into the heating depths. I bounced slightly when I hit the floor but the shield stuck so I made my way to behind where she was. The fires started to burn down gradually, going back to the stone floor. Just before she could see the floor I made a log about my size appear there and incinerate so that it looked like I had been burned to ashes.

"Yes!" A cry of victory from Tayrea. Unfortunately for her, this was barely the beginning. I floated up, and to behind her, landing softly. I aimed and then punched her square in the middle of the back. She toppled off the pillar and hit the ground below, hard. She turned and stared up at me angrily. Time to bring out another gift. "Are you ready to give up?" I asked. "Simple telekinetic ability can't beat me!" She yelled. The pillar turned into light green jello. It immediately swallowed me up holding me in the center. I couldn't stand food. I simply kept my mouth shut. I stared at her through the jello field. I kept my body completely straight and she sneered at me. I shot pain her way. It hit her electrifyingly. She doubled over. I increased the pain slowly by degrees.

Somewhere in her pain she found the power to turn the jello into stone. I brought my arms out and the block shattered around me. I dropped to the floor and landed in a crouch position. She charged me again and grabbed hold of my shoulders, trying to rip them off. I took a good kick at her leg which snapped right there. She jumped backwards trying to replace it. I grabbed the piece of leg before she did and tossed it up into the air. I made it float there. The fire in her eyes turned them to a burning, vibrant orange. She launched herself at me, I stepped aside and she grabbed my pant leg, tearing off the fabric from mid-thigh down. I whipped my head around to face her. She toyed the piece of fabric in my face.

I could see my face through her eyes as I shifted like a sketchy TV for a moment. "What the heck did you just do?" I brought my hand from behind my back, now looking at her. I held many pieces of dull black fabric in my hand. As the upper class we got a more rich black, but they got dull. She looked down. She was now wearing a torn tank, and ruined shorts. She ran a hand through her black hair. "I can't believe you just did that!" She smiled sincerely up at me. I heard it in her mind before she did it. The whole arena began to lose a layer of it, the layer melting off the walls. It rushed me like burning wax engulfing me and then hardening all around me. It was a weird mixture that I couldn't figure out, for it was holding me and I couldn't move. It slithered around me, allowing me to see the one legged Tayrea.

It worked, moving to make my arms stick straight out and my legs spread shoulder length. "Ah, so you can't move can you?" Tayrea sneered. "Exactly, this was something that took me awhile to figure out but I finally got it and now I can use it." She circled around me. Her hand rested now on my left arm. It slowly began to push down. I could feel the wax holding but my arm snapping. My eyes widened at the pain. Something in the back of my mind told me to wait this out. Tayrea snapped my arm off. She lazily tossed it away. Tayrea then turned to my other side and this time she yanked my arm straight out. I had no time to feel that pain before she started to contemplate how to get my legs off. "When I get these two legs off, I win, why not just give up?"

I tried moving, I tried using gifts to escape, but this was one tightly sealed concoction. She snapped one of my legs off. Leaving me balanced on my last. Now, whispered the voice. I focused hard on the walls, imagining them melting, coming down, winding themselves over Tayrea, halting her movements. My eyes closed then opened. Tayrea was looking about her, another layer of wall was now coming off of the arena, it slithered towards her. "What the- I didn't ask for this!" I closed my eyes again. Willing my power to go over hers, to control what she was already controlling. My will grew, and I imagined it breaking hers.

In fact, it then shattered. The wax flowed off of me and I was then standing there on one leg. Tayrea stared at me with terror in her eyes. "But, but – how?" She stammered. "My gift, duplicating others." I said cleanly. Jumping my way to my other leg and re attaching it. The wax swirled around her, not touching her. "This is impossible!" She yelled. I ignored her, reattaching my limbs. The wax had now turned into a tornado around her, cyclone, hurricane. It shot lines past her, scaring her so she couldn't think, or try to get control back of it. I stared right into her eyes, making her stare back at me. "There are just some things you can't beat, you can't underestimate." It threw itself at her. It layered her over and over again. "You can't break me if I'm standing up straight!" She yelled defiantly gathering enough strength to keep it from moving her.

"You didn't think this gift through, how you could control it, how you could use it, it took me but a second. You should've worked harder on it. Gained control, learned to understand it." And with that, I smirked and it, along with her, shattered.