A/N: The soundtrack for this chapter is 'Battlefield' by Lea Michele

Chapter 18

The day after the announcement was made, Elle found herself in Yeul's courtyard once again. She was trying her damndest to not glare at a certain purple-haired man that was at that moment on the other side of the room speaking with the girl. Elle had gone to ask about being allowed back on patrols, which was what prompted the private talk.

Both she and Ingens stood uncomfortably on the other side of the room in silence. He no longer gave her glares, but she wasn't interested in finding out why. She ignored him while they waited. It was only after several minutes that the two others returned. Caius was trying not to frown as he looked at her and gestured toward Ingens.

"The Apprentice will guard you, as before. It is excellent practice, and you will be assured of the best possible protection."

Elle's eyes widened, but she wasn't silent for long. "Absolutely not. Pick someone else. Anyone else."

Caius did frown at her dismissal. "There is no better option. This is not up for debate. He will accompany you outside of the complex, or you will not leave. No matter your skill level, you are still one person, and your importance to the city is only just under that of the Seeress herself."

Elle felt a hot rage bubble up at his reasoning, but she just barely managed to push it down as she answered back. "I am not objecting to an escort. I am objecting to it being him. He has never hidden the fact that he doesn't like me. I don't know why, and I don't really care, but I have no desire to leave my safety in his hands."

Caius' frustration with her had been building for days behind the façade of professionalism. This was just the last straw that caused it to finally break. His voice came out much louder and harsher than he intended it to. "For once, you will listen without objecting! We have been trying to keep you safe so you can accomplish the Goddess' will from the moment you arrived, and you continue to do nothing but spurn those efforts. Be silent!"

Elle took a step back with widened eyes. His anger washed over her in a great wave that broke her own from the dam she had held it behind since the day Praes challenged him. She didn't even try to lower her voice when she yelled back. "I will not! You can claim anything you want, but I am my own person, and I damn sure have no obligation to submit myself to someone else's derision no matter who they are. You can get bent!"

Absolute silence fell over the room as Caius stared at her with shock. Her mask was in tatters, and she was barely able to control her heaving breaths and trembling she was so angry. She knew it wasn't just because of his obstinance, but she was having a rough time hauling it back in and rebuilding the front she needed to hide behind.

They were both saved when Yeul stepped between them and looked at them both with a frown before she addressed Caius. "It might be best if we allow Ingens to escort her to another of her choosing. We can always revisit the issue later, or perhaps he can accompany them until some resolution is achieved?"

She then looked over at Elle. "Would that be acceptable?"

By that time, Elle had at least calmed enough that she could speak without yelling. She gave Yeul a curt nod. "I will go to the training grounds and see if Laer would be willing to have me help him. Would that work?"

Caius' eyes turned stormy, but Yeul nodded before he could say anything. "That is acceptable to me. I see no reason why he would object, and he was among the few that were considered for Apprentice. He would be more than capable of taking care of your protection."

Caius still didn't respond right away. It was only after several moments of him staring at Elle with a hard, unreadable look that he finally turned to Ingens. "Escort her to the plateau. From there, you will remain where you can at least observe for threats. I do not ask for more. We can discuss further actions after we have confirmed Laer is willing to assist."

Ingens saluted him and turned to Elle. She almost felt sorry for him when she noticed how uncomfortable he looked, but she was still angry enough that she wasn't willing to apologize for her outburst about him in front of him. Not yet. Still, they had to figure out how to be civil for the sake of the public, if nothing else. Plus, when she caught sight of Yeul, she realized the girl would be the one to suffer if she kept making things hard, so she gave the new Apprentice a nod. "If you're ready, let's go."

Ingens then saluted her as well and moved to open the door. Elle didn't even bother to look at Caius, but she did give Yeul a rueful smile. "I apologize for yelling. Hopefully, a little exercise will help me get my head on straight."

Yeul's return smile was somewhat strained, but it was still genuine. "I am sure this transition has been as hard for you as it has been for us all. I only hope you will soon have more stories to share." Elle gave her a nod before she turned to follow the new Apprentice out and toward the training grounds.

The silence between the two of them was nearly a tangible thing and lasted until they started up the plateau. Finally, Ingens spoke in a quiet voice. "Emissary, I believe I should apologize."

Elle raised a brow and turned to look at him. "Oh? What for exactly? Being a dick to me for months or being the one to tell Praes that something was going on between Caius and me, and pushing him to challenge Caius early?"

When his eyes widened, Elle had to fight the urge to punch the man. She sighed and let it go, as it wouldn't solve anything. It wasn't like he had done it out of maliciousness. She hadn't even found out it was him until she overheard him telling Caius the day before. She hadn't waited to hear how Caius took the news. Probably with aplomb, since he had his priorities straight, after all. She swallowed that bitter thought and tried to bury it with all the rest.

She then sighed and shook her head since Ingens still hadn't recovered from her waspish remark. "Look, I don't hate you. I don't even blame you for what you did. I do feel uncomfortable for how you treated me, and that isn't going to go away overnight. If there was a valid reason, maybe you can share it, and we can figure out how to develop some sort of working relationship, but it better have been damn good. I'm not fond of working with assholes."

It was several moments before he finally responded. "Perhaps I misjudged you and made the mistake of believing you would not be able to handle the emotional burden that comes with being a warrior. You have proven over the last week that you are more than I expected. I see now that I should have come to you directly with my concerns instead of thinking you would choose to hide behind your title or gender. That is why I apologize. I hope that going forward, we can at least find a way to work together."

Elle had to count to ten in her head. So, he was one of those. She was female, so she had to think with her emotions, and surely, she hadn't been allowed to fight because she was competent. No, it had to be for some other reason. The jackass. She shook her head and tried to shake away her anger. It wasn't like she hadn't dealt with it before. She wasn't about to let him stop her now, and he wasn't really the cause of her anger. Even so, it was several minutes before she could respond.

"I'll think about it. Just give me time. I'll at least agree to allow you to tail me, that's more than what I was going to agree to before."

Ingens frowned at her but did not complain. He could not blame her, as he was beginning to see that perhaps there was more to this situation he had not seen. It was too early to tell, and yet, it was too late for regret. Besides, her reaction had been far calmer than Caius' had been. His jaw still ached from where the man had laid him out. He had been willing to take it as he had only done what he felt was best for the Seeress. He knew the two lovers would eventually see it as well, as they were both competent fighters and dedicated. It would just take time.

The rest of the walk was silent. When they finally made it to the training grounds, Elle went straight to where she knew Laer would probably be training the older trainees in spears. She was not disappointed to find him with a group of them going through a set of motions with a humongous dummy.

Despite her irritation, she ignored the man next to her and waited for her friend to finish. When he finally caught sight of her, he grinned. She managed a smile in return, even if it was tempered. He set the boys to repeat the actions and trotted over to the pair on the side-lines. "So, you just couldn't stay away?"

Elle shook her head when he winked at her, but she still answered. "Well, I was told that I couldn't leave unless I had someone to watch my back while I am outside of the complex, so I was hoping you would be up for the job. I won't ask that you go out of your way. I can just follow your schedule, but anything would be better than being stuck in there."

Laer looked shocked for several seconds. He looked over at Ingens before he looked back at her. "Uh, really?"

She chuckled. "Real intelligent there. And yes. If you're asking about the alternative, then it was my choice and I chose not to have to worry about who has my back. With you, I know I won't have to."

Laer took a deep breath and nodded. "Alright, then. Welcome to the training team."

She gave him a nod and looked over to Ingens. "Thanks for the escort." She then turned back to Laer. "Do you mind if I have a little time today? I need to work some stuff out, and I don't think it would be a great idea to spar right now."

Her friend eyed her and the new Apprentice that had frowned at her dismissal. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he doubted it would be a good idea to leave her alone. "I can handle it. We can let the others handle the kids, and you can beat the crap out of me."

Elle actually managed a laugh, but she shook her head. "No deal. I need stress relief, and despite how much I think it needs to happen, I don't think your admirers would appreciate me rearranging your face."

When it looked like Laer would object again, Elle held up a hand and let her mask slip just a little. "Seriously. I need a little time. Let me go get it out of my system. I've been cooped up in that compound for seven days too long."

Laer sighed and nodded. "Fine. The hand-to-hand ring is open. Just try not to destroy too much." Elle grinned at him and gave him a mock salute before she trotted toward the other enclosure.

On the way to the hand-to-hand ring, Elle grabbed a spear. She didn't exactly have a plan of action, but she needed to feel something. Without a punching bag, then she hoped the feeling of the shaft rushing through the air would help. She spent the next half hour running through every spear configuration she could remember. She had already shucked off her outer long-sleeved shirt and brushed the sweat off her brow as she frowned.

That hadn't done more than get her blood rushing even more than it had been. She looked around for a moment and wondered if she could somehow build targets for her to use as target practice. She half-jokingly cast a low-level earth spell, but it only rattled the earth before it settled. It was at that point that she decided she needed a real challenge. She needed to act and not think, and she had the perfect idea. It might end up kicking her ass, but that might be better than her current state of mind.

With that thought, she cast a mid-level ice spell that had several chunks falling at once. As soon as they appeared, she immediately switched to fire and started trying to shoot them from the sky before they could hit the ground. She managed to catch about half of them. She didn't give herself a chance to rest before she did it again, and again, and again. She quit thinking about anything except speed, accuracy, and trajectories. She honed her senses into the moment to the exclusion of all else.

It got to the point that she did not miss a single one. She did not notice how she yelled with each energy expenditure, or how her body was being pushed to its limits. She forgot all and reveled in the blessed release, even if it was momentary. It felt good to not feel, for just one moment in time. Even though it could not last.

Despite how much she tried to insulate herself, somehow, her pain worked its way into her mind once more, and the blocks of ice were no longer just blocks of ice. They became physical manifestations of her anguish, and she strove even harder to wipe them out, to push them from herself and demolish them, so they no longer haunted her.

Back on the other side of the training grounds, almost all activity had stopped to watch the tiny woman. At first, it had hardly been noteworthy, even when she first started casting. However, it was not long before her yells started to sound angrier, and the ice was barely seen before the fire obliterated it. She was practically flying; she was moving so fast as she raced from one spot to another and blasted the blocks from the sky.

Laer was watching with concern and had thought about going to stop her, but he wasn't sure how to do it without getting crushed. As he watched her, he began to wonder just how much the woman had held back during her spars with Caius. If she was capable of this level of destruction, she was a force to be reckoned with.

One of the other trainers joined him with a nudge. "Do you think we should tell Caius? I mean, I've seen them spar, and she never acted like that before. I'm not sure he could beat her if she went like this."

Laer shook his head but plastered on his signature grin. "Let's not. He's still too new to put that big a dent in his ego after all."

The other man laughed and was about to say something, but their gazes were both jerked back around to Elle when they heard her scream. She had dropped to her knees and was hunched over. Both men started running toward her immediately, but they froze when she flung her head back, and a light shot up to pierce the sky.

Neither of them knew what they were seeing, but they saw another similar light in the distance over the city. Laer had a bad feeling about the whole thing. He was jerked from his stupor when Ingens came running up and yelled to the man next to him. "Get the trainees back!"

He didn't wait for a response before he grabbed Laer and started running. "We must help her. If she loses, we may as well forfeit our lives instead of return to the Seeress."

It was at that point that Laer finally understood what had happened. His stomach dropped out as the light finally came flashing back to earth in the form of something massive and diving with a long body and huge wings. Elle was being challenged by her Eidolon.

By the time the two men made it to her side, she had made it to her feet, and the thing had finally landed. The draconic being threw back its head with a roar that shook the ground. Its jet black body seemed to absorb the light around it, and the wingspan was wider than several training rings.

For the first time in a long time, Laer felt a thrill of fear as he looked up at the massive beast. He stole a glance at the woman next to him to see her glare up at the thing. He was shocked when she yelled. "Bahamut! If you want me dead, then you'll have to get in line! I don't go down easy, asshole!"

Laer blinked a few times to try and figure out how to respond. He wasn't given much of a chance when she looked over at him with grim determination. "Let's do this." He immediately nodded back, and she turned to Ingens. The Apprentice saluted before the three of them turned to face the king of dragons.

All three of them ran forward, despite their lack of numbers and the size of the beast. This was not a fight they could run from. Elle could already feel the spell Bahamut had cast when he roared creeping through her veins. She didn't remember much, but she knew that she didn't have much time to prove that she wasn't ready to give up and let him kill her.

When the dragon swept a claw for Laer, Elle was glad to see him roll out of the way. As soon as she was sure he was safe, she planted herself right in front of the beast and cast steelguard before she yelled up. "Hey, ugly! It's me you want!"

Despite her determination, she felt a touch of fear pass through her when his red eyes focused down on her. Nevertheless, she knew this was what she had to do. She braced her self for the blow, and still had the breath knocked out of her when he batted her like a kitten with a ball of yarn. She managed to roll out of the way when he tried to follow up with a stomp.

She made it to her feet and switched to mediguard for a moment while she tried to asses the other two. Thankfully, Bahamut seemed to be solely focused on her even though they were both taking turns rushing in and taking stabs at his hide. It reminded her of her first fight, and she only prayed it would be as successful.

The longer the battle went on, the harder it was for Elle to stay focused. There were a couple of times that were close calls. She barely managed to get her guard up fast enough to deflect a blow. There were even a few times that the dragon king had to be lured back to her when one of the others got in a nasty hit.

It wasn't until she stumbled and her vision didn't clear after she rolled away that she realized it wasn't just because she was exhausted. The doom spell was taking a toll on her and things had to end before she did.

With that thought in mind, she threw caution to the wind and told the two men to watch themselves. They both jumped back, but they both gave her looks like they did not like what she was planning, even if they didn't know what it was. She ignored them as she started pummeling the dragon with everything she had left. She evaded his counterattack by running toward him and grabbing her discarded spear on the way.

With a strangled scream, she lit the entire length on fire with a flame that should have consumed it before she drove it as far as she could into the belly of the beast. He gave another mighty roar and swept her from her feet, knocking her back through the air. She landed with a hard thud along with the blackened shaft of the spear he had broken off.

Elle knew she needed to move. She could hear Laer screaming her name. She could even hear Ingens, but she could not make her muscles move. She couldn't draw a breath. It was several agonizing moments later that she finally dragged in a gasp that burned every muscle through her chest and stomach. She knew several of her ribs had to be broken.

Her bleary eyes landed on her best friend as he leaned over her. He looked more scared than she had ever seen him but more important than that was the giant dragon looming over him. Elle's eye widened as she tried to get his attention. He jerked back just in time for them both to see the dragon king lift his head in another roar before he got on all fours and placed his head down near Elle.

It took her battered mind several moments to realize that they had managed to do it. They had fought this enormous thing and somehow shown him that she was worthy. This was not a moment for her to take lying down. Despite how much she hurt, Elle somehow made her way to her feet. She shook her head at Laer when he tried to support her before she turned to her eidolon.

They looked each other in the eye for several long minutes before he finally snaked around her once. Elle marveled at the warmth and softness of the scales that looked like blackened metal. She held her hand against his side as he continued around until he was facing her once more.

When he faced her once more, he stood to his full height and roared before he took to the air. He disappeared into a shaft of light, and her eidolith came floating back down into her chest. Once it was settled, She finally turned to the other two with a smile. "Thank you both."

Ingens saluted and Laer just shook his head. "Leave it to you to somehow bring down the biggest damn Bahamut I've ever heard of."

She chuckled at his teasing. She could tell the battle had been nearly as hard for them as it was for her. They both were sporting gashes and burns, but at least they were steady on their feet. The same couldn't be said for Elle. When she tried to step toward Laer to punch his arm, she nearly fell over.

He caught her with a frown, and that time, she let him. She looked back up into the sky once more before she turned to the two men. "As much as I needed a day out, I think it might be best if we head back."

Laer nearly growled at her. "You think?"

She chuckled at him and patted his arm as she leaned on his arm and the three of them made their way back to the Seeress' complex. All three of them ignored the fact that there was still complete silence on the training grounds for several minutes after they were gone.

A/N: Any guesses as to what the other light was? Anyway, as you all can see this story is the current hijacker, so let's all enjoy it while we can. It is definitely getting the heart going, at least for me lol. Thanks for reading!