Chapter 6

This was it. The nationals. A competition every skater dreams of attending. Why? Because it's the trampoline to the olympics. If you succeed here, you're guaranteed a place in history, Cornelia thought as she was waving at the cheering crowd. She took a bow, spinned around gracefully and bowed again, a huge smile on her face. She knew her score was going to be high. The crowd continued cheering even when she sat on the small sofa where she and her trainer would see her scores.

What a performance! The commenters were thrilled. Sure is worthy of a medal!

A woman's voice echoed in the arena.

"The scores of the short program please" The crowd fell silent for a brief moment before exploding again in cheers. It was a world record! Cornelia couldn't believe her eyes.

"Yess!" Miss Finney jumped with joy and hugged her trainee. An enormous smile covered the guardian's face as she waved again at the crowd. I did it! I did it!

A great performance by Cornelia Hale! What a great way to finish this first day of the competition! We are looking forward to seeing what this girl has prepared for us in the long program. Stay tuned and don't miss out on the second part of the nationals. They will be held here, in the Heatherfield stadium after 3 days. That's all from us for now!

In front of the stadium a small group was gathered around a certain blonde.

"Way to go sis!" Lillian exclaimed.

"I'm so proud of you pumpkin!" Mr Hale gave the guardian a big hug "You deserve it!"

"It was an outstanding performance indeed!" Phobos smiled at the guardian sincerely.

"Thank you so much guys" The girl smiled. "But you know this isn't over. The long program's in a few days and after that I'll have the final scores"

"I'm sure you'll perform as brilliantly as you did today!" Elizabeth kissed her on the forehead.

"Yeaaah! And we'll celebrate again!" Lillian exclaimed. Cornelia blushed, remembering the aftermath from the last celebration. She shifted her gaze through the crowd and saw Will coming towards her. "Excuse me for a moment", she made a few steps towards the redhead "What do you want?"

"Uhm I.."

"Well well well if it isn't ice queen" Venus approached "Bravo on your performance Hale. I like it when you set stepping stones for me. It will make my victory on Monday even sweeter"

"Keep dreaming Venus, with those jumps of your you're not going anywhere" Cornelia crossed her arms

"Hah, who knew blondie had a sense of humor" Venus squinted her eyes "Anyway, you should come tonight to my birthday party tonight… and bring your friend too" She glimpsed at the prince who did not fall to notice her attention. The guardians told everyone that Phobos was an exchange student since he was living first at Matt's, then Will's and now Cornelia's.

"Sounds tempting but I'll pass" Cornelia said dryly.

"Oh come on Cornelia, don't be scared. A little party won't hurt you" A short ginger haired girl appeared behind Venus.

"Ice queen is worried she won't get her beauty sleep before the show" Another raven headed one materialized from behind. The guardian gave her a dirty look.

"Cornelia, you should come" the ginger girl said sincerely. "All the other skaters are coming too. And we will have the whole weekend to regenerate before the show" She gave her a wink.

"I'm not sure…" The blond hesitated.

"Suit yourself" Venus raised her shoulders and shifted her gaze towards the Meridian heir who was approaching them.

"Everything okay ladies?"

"Hi, my name is Venus" the girl reached her hand, "and I will be expecting you to be at my birthday party tonight"

"Phobos" the prince took her hand, "I'd be happy to attend" He titled his head, a smirk appearing on his face.

"Great!" Venus's eyes sparked "You'll get a sense of what it feels like to be around the best athletes in Heatherfield!"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world"

"Alright!" Venus clapped her hands, "See you tonight!" she turned around quickly and headed towards the exit

"9 o'clock at the rooster" The ginger haired girl rattled off and disappeared

"Well that was interesting" Cornelia murmured to herself. She then turned around to face Will, "So?" She crossed her arms.

"First of all Congratulations! Aand I wanted to apologize'' Will pushed the stuffed toy in Cornelia's arms. "It's true that we shouldn't have put you in such a situation. I promise to try my best to get this burden off your shoulders. It's just that you're the only one living alone" Will grabbed her arm and looked aside.

Cornelia softened.

"I overreacted too, I'm sorry"

"Friends?" Will looked at her with hope.

"Only if you come to Venus's party with me" The blonde smiled, "I'll need to go and watch over Kazanova and that witch"

"It is our responsibility to fight evil so count me in" Will faked a thoughtful look and looked at the blonde. Both girls laughed.

Knock, knock,knock

"I just need a few more minutes!" Phobos heard a yell from inside the room

"Why do you earth people have watches if you're not going to be on time anyway" the prince murmured annoyed. "We had to be down 10 minutes ago!"

"I'm coming jeez!", the door opened and the blonde appeared

It was the first time Phobos had a chance to see her 'two hours of work' effort. She was wearing a dark blue dress that hugged her body, the fabric deliciously flowing from curve to curve, ending abruptly just above her knees. The prince was startled for a moment but she didn't notice as she rushed past him straight to the corridor. Phobos only caught a whiff of her zesty perfume but it was enough to enchant him.

As Cornelia gracefully sat down to put her high heeled boots, her skirt rode up her thighs and revealed long slender legs. Her blonde hair fell to the side, exposing her beautiful neck. He couldn't help but stare a little, admiring her features.

She then quickly stood up, took another glimpse at the mirror and looked at him.

"Alright, I'm ready, let's go"

In the elevator she concentrated on her reflection to adjust her hair and noticed him watching her.

"What?" she glimpsed at him quickly

"You look very nice, that's all"

She looked at him startled, "Oh..thank you"

Behind the usual coldness in his eyes, for the first time she saw the sparkles at the center, like little blocks of ice on top of a frozen lake. She was captivated by them as they reminded her of the unforgiving frost, ruthless and dangerous.

As the elevator doors opened a dark haired boy popped up in front of them.

"Aah there you are! I was just about to come and drag you out of the apartment!"

"Oh please! It's like you don't know how long it takes for Cornelia to get ready!" A redhead girl was leaning comfortably on the staircase, scrolling through her phone.

"Yes, well next time find another person to waste his time and drive you" Matt said angrily

"What was this place again?" Cornelia asked, unbothered by the boy's nagging

"I don't know, some random club in the center" Matt snorted

"If Matt doesn't know it then it ought to be a boring one" Will laughed

"Wow this place is huge!" Will exclaimed as they went inside.

"And it's all for us!" They turned around to face the birthday girl "I was thinking, why share the place with strangers, so I rented it all!"

"Go figure" Cornelia murmured and crossed her arms, clearly annoyed.

"Happy birthday Venus" Phobos handed her a beautiful bouquet accompanied with a cocky smile.

"Thank you so much!" Venus smiled in return, accepting the gift and holding his hand a little longer than necessary. This act did not escape the two guardians' attention.

The black haired girl turned to them.

"So! Make yourself comfortable! Courtney, would you mind getting the guests some drinks?"

"Right away!" the short haired girl smiled and disappeared

"And you" Venus tilted her head in Phobos's direction "Let me give you a tour of this place" She wrapped her hands around his elbow, he didn't seem to mind. In fact, he was enjoying every second of it.

"With pleasure" he smiled.

"I shouldn't have put up with this!" Cornelia growled after they walked away

"Well we're here now anyway so stop complaining! We're only gonna stay for 1 or 2 hours max and then Matt will come and get us" Will said in a reassuring manner.

"Yeah, I guess you're right" the blonde sighed

Earth girls are certainly more attractive than Meridian ones, the prince thought as his gaze moved through the crowd. It would have been perfect if they just stood silent, he sighed internally. Venus had been talking on and on about something he didn't really care about and he was just standing there waiting for it to end, nodding affirmatively from time to time and sliding a word or two when needed. His attention drifted to Courtney who was pouring drinks at the bar and checked her out quickly. Sadly, the girl wasn't anything special. Short hair, bulky legs and no waist whatsoever. Waste of time, he thought. But he couldn't help but notice that she shook out the contents of some package in one of the drinks.

"Here you go ladies!" Courtney handed the girls 2 bright red plastic cups filled with punch. "Drink up!" she winked and disappeared into the crowd.

"Mmm melon, my favorite" Cornelia frowned

"Cheers frowny pants!" Will raised her glass

"That was so lame!"

"But I got you laughing didn't I?" Will smiled "Drink up!"

"Blah, that was awful!" Cornelia put a hand on her throat

"It wasn't THAT bad.." Will looked at the cup "But I think we should stick to the classic vodka" she laughed

"Wow, so interesting!" Phobos exclaimed. He and Venus had made their way to the bar and after a few drinks and small talk the prince had started to find himself entertained by the girl's stories. Especially the ones involving relationships. Things were so different on Earth.

"You know," Venus fluttered her lashes "I would really like to know you better" she said as her hand slid on top of his. He couldn't help but feel amused. Earth girls certainly liked to get straight to the point. Fast.

The party went on at full speed. After a while people started going home and a small group was formed in the middle of the club.

"Now that we are less people, how about we get to know each other better" Venus pierced Phobos with her dark velvet eyes. She glimpsed at her friends who started giggling, knowing what was going to come next. "Let's play spin the bottle!"

"Yeah about that.." Cornelia murmured, "Thanks but I'll pass. We really need to go" She gave an angry look at Phobos. It was the third time she tried to make him go and he just made use of the social gathering and ignored her.

"Come on Cornelia" he gave her a sly smile. "It just started to get interesting" He saw the flames in her eyes and his smile widened even more. He found pleasure in teasing her.

"Don't tell me the ice queen is afraid of little fun?" Venus mocked.

Cornelia shot an aggressive glance at her. It was hopeless. She turned to face Will

"I guess I'll be staying a while longer" she shrugged her shoulders, admitting defeat. She suddenly felt very dizzy.

"Hey are you okay?" Will touched the blonde's shoulder in concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine, no worries. I haven't drank in a while and I guess that vodka got me" She shook her head. "You go with Matt, we'll take a cab later"

"Sure you'll be ok?" Her friend raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, no problem" She forced a smile. "Go and rest" She hugged her friend and returned to the group.

A circle has already been formed and she sat between two guys she didn't know the names of.

"Let the game begin!" Venus clapped her hands.

"So I just spin the bottle and whoever it points to I have to kiss?" Phobos asked.

"Mhmm"

"Alright then" he smirked and gave the bottle a spin. The spin was fast but after a few seconds it started to lose momentum. The bottleneck was pointing closer and closer to Cornelia and as if it was going to stop there but in a fraction of a second it shifted slightly to the right. That weird maneuver didn't escape the prince's attention and he smirked. The bottle was pointing to a guy.

"You spin again". Venus passed him the bottle. This time it landed on a cute redhead who blushed so fiercely her whole face merged with her hair.

It was Cornelia's turn. Her spin landed on Courtney.

"Ah, so you spin again" Phobos smirked.

"Not necessarily" the short haired girl winked. She made her way towards the earth guardian, she didn't resist. "Come here" she smiled as she locked lips with the blonde. The passionate kiss got the full attention of all boys, even some girls.

"Hot!" The boy sitting next to Cornelia exclaimed

Just as a black haired boy was about to kiss Cornelia, she froze. "Cornelia! It's Will, I need your help!"

"I have to go!" she sprung up

Phobos didn't try to object this time, sensing the signal himself, he silently followed her. But not before he said goodbye to the birthday girl.

"It was nice meeting you Venus" he tilted his head slightly "I really enjoyed your company" he smirked

"We should do that again sometime" She narrowed her eyes and ran her tongue across her lips. Damn.

….

"Will!" Cornelia rushed towards the redhead laying on the ground. "Are you alright?"

"Cough, I've been better" Cornelia helped her stand up "We wanted to walk home after the party to get some air and Nerissa attacked us! Good thing Matt's Shagon power sensed her and we were able to react!"

Both girls looked up to the sky to see a dark angel-like figure fighting a man made of ice. A woman with a broken wing was on the ground nearby and was throwing flames at the sky. She accidentally hit the iceman and half his leg melted.

"Aaah! Watch it you idiot!" The distraction helped Shagon catch him off guard and punch him to the ground. The iceman fell on the street with a loud thud. Just as Shagon was about to deliver his final blow he was shoved down by a bolt of lighting.

"Matt!" The keeper of the heart yelled

"So sad to see my own creation turn against me" Nerrissa turned to the dark angel "Die!" Another attack came towards Shagon but in the last second a tree appeared in front of him and absorbed the hit.

"I see we have company" the witch said through gritted teeth and sent a bolt towards the guardians.

The girls were quick enough to dodge it and Will quickly took out the heart of Kandrakar to transform the earth guardian. Cornelia felt the power rushing through her veins and she put her attention towards their attacker.

"Earth!" Vines sprung from the ground and weaved around the witch. Nerissa laughed and just snapped her fingers. In an instant the vines fired up and turned to ashes.

"Is that all you can do?" the woman smiled evilly and sent batches of ice in the blonde's direction. Cornelia lifted the asphalt to shield herself from the hits.

Suddenly she felt dizzy and the world became a blur. She shook it off quickly but the short moment of distraction was enough for the iceman to sneak up behind her and hurl her into the ground with such force that the pavement cracked. Cornelia gasped for air, her skull roaring with pain and dizziness. The iceman charged again and caught her with two long swings that sent her flying towards a tree.

"Cornelia!" Will struck the iceman with a lightning bolt. He let out a painful cry as his back took the hit. It didn't do him much harm but it made him angry. Very angry. He charged against the keeper but Will swiftly avoided his punch and sent another blast his way. A groan escaped the iceman's lips as the pain from the attack settled in.

"You worthless fools!" Nerissa yelled "I'll take care of this myself!" She weaved her hand and suddenly both her servants transformed into pure power and were absorbed by her scepter.

"Long time no see witch" Nerissa heard a familiar voice behind her. She jumped back just as Phobos was about to grab the scepter and sent him flying with a blast of pure energy.

Nerissa quickly turned in the opposite direction and sent another blast to what seemed to be nothing at first but then Will appeared as if out of thin air. "Foolish girl! You forget I know all your tricks!" She hit her again and the keeper crashed into the traffic light.

"No more playing games! It's time I put an end to this" Nerissa's scepter formed an enormous ball of energy.

"Fuck! Do something!" Will heard the prince's voice from nearby. He knew what was coming next.

Phobos grabbed the redhead by the shoulder and shook her but she was too shocked to react. She had never seen such power before. In an instant the ball exploded and bright light covered the whole street. As if it was in the middle of the day, even though it was way past midnight. The light disappeared as quickly as it emerged, leaving darkness to cover up the irreparable damage that was caused. The whole street was in ruins.

"Will!" Matt limped towards the keeper. She was transformed back to her earth self and was laying half-conscious in the Meridian heir's arms.

"What did you do to her?'' he yelled at Phobos.

"I did what was needed for all of us to survive! You should be thankful, peasant!" The prince snapped.

"Why you!" Matt clenched his fists.

"Stop it!" Will yelled "He's right! It was the only way" she looked down embarrassed. How could she panic like that? She put everyone's lives in danger. Phobos draining her power to save them was the lesser evil.

"Are you alright?" Matt dragged her out of the prince's grip

"Don't worry, I'm fine" Will looked around "Where is Cornelia?"

They heard a growl close by and rushed to help their friend. Cornelia was lying on the ground under the remains of some shed. She too was back to her human form.

"Aagh my leg!" Cornelia cried as they dragged her out of the ruins. There was a piece of shrapnel sticking out of her thigh.

"Stand still" Will put her arms around the blond to steady her as Matt pulled the shrapnel.

"Aaah!" the guardian almost blacked out from the pain. As she came to her senses, she made an effort to move her toes.

"Fuck! I think it's broken!" the blonde cried

After a moment of frustration she pulled herself together. A green light appeared from her palm as she set it on the bleeding spot. The light increased as it touched the skin and disappeared quickly. Cornelia fainted from the effort, having drained her life energy to heal herself.