Chapter 57
Good Girls, Bad Girls
- What do you mean the correct translation was "splinter" and not "pole"? How do you die for a splinter in your finger? - asked Rebecca, her eyes wide open.
- Hemophilia, and anyway how do you stick a pole in your finger? - replied Cassandra.
- It doesn't make sense to die because of a splinter! -
- It's a runic story out of a book of fairytales, why do you expect it to make sense? -
Rebecca mumbled something unintelligible, probably vulgar. The Runes test didn't go that well for her. For nobody, to tell the truth, except Stormy, Flora, Francesca and Icy.
- At least you didn't write that the armies were hugging each other instead of fighting each other, unlike me. - Mirta tried to cheer her up.
It was now exam time and it could never end too soon: the previous week Expression and Metamorphosymbiosis had started it all, the day before they had the exams of Potions and Literature and that day there were both Runes and History of Magic. A nightmare, and in the midst of that nightmare studying with Xavier wasn't exactly a walk in the park either. Sure, their progresses were noticeable, but came at the price of a persistent tiredness that wasn't the best to face an exam or a Magic Tournament, which also got closer and closer.
That afternoon, for example, after class they went to the Headquarters for another class. The professor yelled instructions like a general while the girls, divided in groups, were busy with simulations that involved the most different scenarios. Lots were underwater since Andrea had conquered her Sirenix. Cassandra liked her black lined wings a lot, they were unusual for a fairy.
- Come on, the others have to exercise too! Hurry! - Xavier was saying at that moment to Desirè, Icy and Lzzy, who were in the simulator and had just got rid of a flock of harpies.
They were in a sort of huge cave, with a crack in the vault from which artificial light seeped in. The temperature suddenly dropped so much that a layer of frost formed on the rocks.
- It's getting cool here. - said Lzzy shivering.
- Even too much. - replied Icy looking around.
Lzzy looked at her in surprise.
- Wait, did you just say it's too cold? I thought this was your ideal weather. -
- Trust me, there's a certain temperature that means trouble. -
She hadn't finished talking that a rustle behind them made the three of them turn, only to face one of the guardian snakes of the Omega Dimension.
- And that's exactly what I meant, damn it! - exclaimed Icy moving away at once and pushing Lzzy the other way, so that the snake lost time deciding who to target first.
Desirè had a plan that would let her try a new spell the professor taught her.
- Can you distract it for a minute? - she asked.
- If it doesn't eat us first. - answered Lzzy, flying as far as she could from the enormous head of the snake.
While she and Icy kept it busy, Desirè materialized a white canvas, shining with magic. Then she drew the snake's attention on herself.
- Hey, overweight grass snake! -
The snake stared at her with its white eyes, then it opened its jaws, ready to freeze her.
- Impression! - shouted Desirè.
The snake got sucked in by the canvas and, as it got absorbed, its faithful reproduction appeared on it. When the snake was entirely gone, the simulation ended.
- Great job. - Xavier told the witch of art as soon as they got out of the simulator.
- You were awesome! - added Maria, enthusiast for her friend's progress.
Desirè had always been able to materialize something drown, painted or sculpted, but she had never been able to initiate the opposite process before the professor's classes. While Francesca, Flora and Musa began their simulation Lzzy said goodbye to everyone: she had to go back on Earth.
- See you next morning. - she said.
Faragonda had invited her to take part to a Practice class, invite that she could hardly refuse even if she wanted to. Therefore, Lzzy found herself at the dining hall's table the following morning, with just a couple hours of sleep in her bag. She was pretty much sleeping sitting at the table.
- Lzzy, are you sure you can do it? - asked Tecna.
- Yeah, don't worry, I'm just jet lagged. - replied Lzzy with her eyes shut.
Icy pushed a cup of coffee in front of her.
- Maybe you'll open your eyes with that. - she said.
Lzzy hardly opened one eye. She really, really wanted to be in a bed under the sheets, her head on a soft pillow. The coffee didn't kick in instantly, and luckily Faragonda didn't want to test her abilities right away.
The girls already knew that class would be dedicated to the one on one duels, since Valtor's return Faragonda had them train like that once a week and in always different pairs.
The first ones to be called were Aisha and Yomi. The fairy of fluids needed less than five minutes to knock out the other, but at that point Lzzy was completely awake thanks to the combined action of caffeine and adrenaline.
Faragonda chose to have her duel with Stella and Lzzy was scared for a second. She was happy it wasn't Darcy, but she had seen Stella fight and she really had no idea how to defeat her.
While Stella transformed and the duel began, Icy tried to maintain an impartial expression. In her opinion, saying that Lzzy had a combat technique was an exaggeration: Lzzy fought for defense and she gave her best when she touched the bottom. She wasn't built for that life, she grew up in another world, another context, more than once she argued about systematically teaching young people to fight. Part of Icy agreed with her, the other considered that system a necessity because there was always someone like Valtor, Darkar, Tritannus, Selina, herself, that forced others to defend themselves. Not all of them represented a great danger, sure, but they were there, and their very existence imposed self-defense to others.
Stella accomplished a hit that Icy felt through the Bonding. Instinctively she touched her side, where Lzzy was hit. She was doing quite well after all. Icy saw her quickly move her lips while her white aura turned into a quiver like that caused by heat. She touched her mind to understand what she was doing.
"...I wanna hear the uproar, a little pandemonium, I know I'm not the only one, I wanna be blown away I wanna feel the wall shake". At the word "shake" a flow of raw energy, there was no other term to define it because it wasn't a ray or a sphere or an explosion, went towards the fairy of light, totally devoid of color. Icy didn't know what the absence of color meant for Lzzy, she was going to ask her later. Stella protected herself with a shield, but had to back off. A few more minutes and Lzzy was on the ground. She never really hoped to beat Stella, but it had been a respectable defeat.
Just as she sat by Icy, though, Faragonda called the witch to duel with Bloom. The two girls placed at the center of the classroom.
- They'll blow everything up. - whispered Stormy.
They had never fought since Acheron's defeat.
Bloom transformed, ready to face the witch of ice just like the old times. No, it wouldn't be like when they were enemies. It was just one of Faragonda's exercises, they weren't even going to be serious about it. Or maybe Icy was going to be serious about it. She always did.
They quietly studied each other for a few seconds that felt like minutes, fairy and witch, waiting for a sign in the other one that betrayed an imminent attack. In the end Bloom casted a fire arrow that Icy blocked easily and paid back with an icy ray that Bloom dodged by flying up. Their gazes met.
It was serious.
Icy made a half smile and flied up, throwing a rain of pointy shreds towards Bloom.
- Unstoppable fire! - she called, evoking a flaming shield.
Icy attacked again neutralizing the shield, but Bloom managed to hit her. On the ground, Lzzy trembled for the hit. There was quite some sadism in those classes.
- Volcanic attack! -
- North wind! -
The two spells clashed, disappearing in a mixture of red and blue light. The duel continued and the more time went by, the more it seemed like those two, as strange as it could sound, were enjoying it. Indeed, they teased each other throwing around their best spells, the ones they used in so many battles.
Icy felt electrified, she didn't think she missed a formidable adversary that much, because Bloom was formidable. She finally felt she was stepping up her game, she actually had to make an effort to end the duel.
At that thought she had an idea. She surrounded herself of an intense aura, so strong it started snowing all around her, and when she closed her fists a tower of ice closed around the fairy, totally taken aback. Icy knew she would soon come out of it, it was all in her plan. The moment when a huge fire dragon split up the tower freeing Bloom, in fact, she was ready with the same and opposite spell. She only used it through Belladonna, but that didn't mean she wasn't able to do it herself.
Bloom accepted the implicit challenge and the two dragons clashed in a continuous shining of incorporeal coils. Both of them intensified their respective ectoplasms, inadvertently reaching a breaking point: there was a violent explosion, a white light, and the only thing they knew was that one moment they were flying and a moment later they were hardly getting up from the floor.
Lzzy forced herself not to run to Icy, surprised and almost scared by the viciousness of the fight, from both parts. Faragonda told them to return to their seats.
Bloom and Icy glanced at each other again and they read in each other's eyes the same spark of adrenaline. Icy could bet any sum that both their hearts were beating at a rhythm they hadn't felt in centuries.
"Best enemies?" asked Bloom's voice, echoing in the witch's mind. "You bet".