Every day at three in the morning Bleak wakes us up and drags us into the banquet hall to train. We do so without hesitation and often go to the human school bruised and battered, having had our asses handed to us. Bleak is unyielding in his brutality and his motto is the more painful the better.
The first morning was a team building exercise. We all had one target…him, and we failed miserably. One by one he laid us all out until we couldn’t get back up. We were given no time to mend and his explanation for our failure was as always…a riddle.
While the others suffered unimaginable pain, the person he took his frustration on the most was Aria. While our bodies were bruised and battered, he infiltrated her mind and waged a mental warfare against her unlike anything I’ve ever seen. As angry as she was, she knew it was a sign of his respect for her. And as much as it ate at me to have the opportunity slip through my fingers, Aria was now his protégé.
“I can’t take much more of this.” Willow grimaces, holding her side. “It hurt to hold my head up during first period and my back is killing me.”
“That’s because our Sensei is trying to kill us.” Silt chuckles.
All eyes quickly focus in on Aria and I. Since being demoted I’ve barely spoken to anyone. For the most part I keep to myself because I don’t want to say anything I might regret. Frustrated by my silence, Aria is taking it pretty hard. She knows I’m angry and she even went as far as to imply I blame her. I neither confirmed nor denied her suspicions, but she’s right. I do blame her. I blame her for every minute I spent putting her before everything when she clearly didn’t give a damn. Now I’m paying the price for my ignorance while she covets my position.
“The sweetheart dance is tomorrow.” Aria reminds everyone, but she’s mostly speaking to me. I refuse to give her the satisfaction of acknowledging her.
“Is it really?” Willow gasps. “I still need to find shoes.”
“Seeing how Noah will be taking Qi to the dance I figured my consort would decide to take me.” Aria’s eyes practically willed me to acknowledge her.
“Yeah sure. Whatever.” I shrug.
The table grew quiet as Aria and I silently exchange glances. My indifference hurt her feelings and I know I shouldn’t be careless with her feelings, but I’m bitter at the moment. Thankfully Noah and his team join us, rescuing me from a long awkward moment. His attention is on Aria, which would normally bother me, but today I’m glad he’s here to take her attention away from me.
“Did your Sensei say when we’d be able to see our son?” Noah asks.
“Not yet.”
“Our boy is strong Aria. It should’ve only taken a matter of days.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means I’m not stupid. Where’s my son?”
“He’s with the virtues, being nurtured. The truth is we don’t know how long that will take Noah, so please try and be patient.”
“If I find out you’re lying to me…if I find out something has happened to my son, I’ll come for you.” He threatens her.
“And do what? Need I remind you who you’re talking to?”
“I know who you are. You’re the girl I wrapped around my dick and gave an heir too. Don’t make me regret not killing you when I had the chance.”
Again everyone’s eyes were on me as Noah left the table. Normally I would’ve leapt across the table to teach him some manners, but at the moment, he and I had a common source of anger and resentment…Aria.
“Can we talk?” Aria asks.
“About what?”
“Just follow me out into the hall.” She narrows her eyes at me.
“Is that an order?” I ask.
“Does it have to be?”
“I just want to know if you’re ordering me into the hall as your second in command or your consort.” I clarify.
“My consort.”
“In that case the answer is no.”
Tears form in her eyes and she leaves the table. Wake elbows me in the side, but I ignore him. I ignore them all and eat my food in peace until the bell rings. I have the next two classes with Aria.
She strolls into class a second before the bell rings and takes her seat next to me. I can feel her eyes on me, but I can’t bring myself to look at her. I’m angry with her. I’m angry at the way everything went down and how she willingly took my position without hesitation. At least when I was offered the position of General I did so for the benefit of the team. She was being sent to prison and they needed someone to take the reigns.
After sixth period I met the team out front and we drove home where we picked up from where we left off with Sensei Bleak.
“Before we begin our training for today, Shadow and Havoc, front and center.”
This is knew…
Aria and I did as instructed and he made us face one another. “What is this?” Aria asks.
“This is where you and Thien fight each other for the position of General.” Bleak replies.
“What?” I frown.
Bleak brought the floors to life. They began to suck every last one of our teammates into it like it was quicksand. “You have five minutes or your team dies.” He instructs. “Only one of you will be able to win the title and save your friends. Do choose to spend your time wisely.”
Bleak disappears and I begin to panic. Our teammates are screaming and the more they scream the less time they have. I look over at Aria whose begging me not to fight her, but we’re running out of time. I shut out her voice so I can think.
“Don’t just stand there, fight!” Wake shouts.
Clenching my fists together I prepare to strike the love of my life. “Thien don’t.” Aria begs. Again I drown her out. Her lips are moving but I’m not listening.
“If we don’t, they die.” I reply. I swing at her and she’s able to avoid my swing.
“Thien, don’t-”
“By the time we figure it out they’ll be dead.”
I swing a second time and she’s able to avoid it for a second time. Again she tries to talk to me, but her voice is like nails on a chalkboard.
“Come on! Fight back!” I yell at her.
“No.” She refuses and drops her fists.
“Come on!”
“No.”
I swing at her a third time, and she doesn’t move. My fist makes contact with her face and her nose begins to bleed, but she’s still standing. “Fight back damnit!”
Aria puts her hand up to her face, shocked to see blood on her hands. I don’t have a choice…he left me no choice. The team is all up to their necks…their chins…and now their mouths. It’s now or never and Aria is refusing to fight.
“Please forgive me.” I beg. I hit her so hard in the stomach that she doubles over, but she’s not going down. She’s a fighter and they’re now up to their eyes. Out of time, I unload on her, striking her in the face with all of the strength I have left in my body until she hits the floor and doesn’t get back up.
The team slowly begins to rise above the floor and Bleak reappears back in the room. As soon as they are able to, the team rushes over to Aria who lies motionless on the floor. “Why would you make me do this?” I turn to Bleak.
“Make you…Havoc, I gave you a choice.”
“What kind of choice is that?” I scoff. “My consort or the team…how is that even a choice?”
“It’s not. I’m very disappointed in you.” He replies.
“What? How could-Is this a joke? I did what you asked and I made a choice!”
“It was never Shadow or the team, it was always you or your team.”
“Again…what?”
“I gave you two options, but they weren’t the only options. For you, it was Aria and the team, but for her…for her, neither of you were an option. That left her with a third option…HERSELF. She sacrificed herself so that you all may live. That’s how a true leader thinks.”
She chose ME…SHE. CHOSE. ME…Thien Youngblood you are the biggest piece of shit alive…if she never talks to you again you deserve it.
I drop to my knees realizing my mistake.
What had I done…?
I was so blinded by rage and resentment that I allowed it to cloud my judgment. I saw Aria as a means to an end and forgot the number one rule…Selflessness before self-interest. She tried to warn me, but I was so angry I didn’t listen. I balled my fists and I took my fury out on her. I allowed my rage to blind me from seeing any other way out but through her.
I began to dry heave thinking about what I’d done. It wasn’t about her being a girl or not being able to handle it. Aria could handle herself and she’d been through worse. It’s the fact that I wanted to pound her face in. I wanted her to hurt as much as she hurt me, and in doing so, I did the one thing I could never take back. I crushed her heart and wounded her spirit.
Her wounds will heal and she’ll forgive me eventually, but winning back her trust and her affections…that’s going to be difficult, if not impossible.
ns 15.158.61.23da2
