Headache assaulted the older of the twins as his sister continued to elaborate on the matter at hand. The bad memories--the horrible events that flashed inside his head as the fire around them both raged and ate away on the materials deliberately placed within the arena, it made him feel nostalgic in a negative way as though he was enacting a scene that happened once before. And he knew it deep inside himself, that it did happen. He refused to remember, and he was afraid to remember.

There was this catch about Zevlin--a secret he never wanted to tell anyone. He wielded fire but he himself was quite afraid of his own element, this made his control over it a bit awry despite the huge flames and big moves he often took to dispose of suspicions . There was this innate fear stemming from inside his chest everytime he would see his fire.

"It hurts me as much to make you remember this but you have to stop blaming yourself. The demons that killed mother and father had been long dead and you did your best protecting the both of us just like dad wanted." She said, her eyes damp and sweat coating her face. "I have to keep those horrible nightmares to myself because I knew it would hurt you, but I think it's time you properly know. It may seem despicable of me invoking these memories, but it's your right to know what truly happened. You didn't bring that forest down for nothing. Dad helped you do it and that's what kept us alive 'til this day. I don't think I can stand by and watch you act like that all the time--as though you were making up for something that wasn't your fault."

Zevlin was sweating heavily as he knelt down, his father's words echoing inside his head and the cruel voice of the demon following shortly. His brow furrowed as he gritted his teeth, the fire flaming up around him as though heightened by the emotions he was feeling. He knew it was his fire that burned down that forest, it was his fire that made everything as it was now.

"We aren't those kids anymore. We can fight and we can fight to the death. Growing strong would've been what they wanted."

The Twelve was watching everything unfold with interest. They got a gist of what was going on and was somehow startled. Valeriana was quite clueless, unable to keep up. She did think whatever was happening was tragic. The flames were turning hotter at this point.

"What's going on?" She said aloud.

"Perhaps something personal." Said Charles. "We shouldn't pry in too much." He said that, although the look on his face made it clear he was quite curious himself.

"The twins' father was a legendary general of the Arlandian army. He died when I was still young during an attack of every demon he ever captured and sent back to the Dark Continent." Corvan stated, his face firm. "It was uncertain what exactly happened. Yet, Zevlin slept for a long time after being found and Genevieve did not talk until about a year later. She was a fragile thing when we were young so I do admit I know where Zevlin's coming from."

"Times have changed." Tamara stated hoarsely. "What needed protecting can now protect and he who protected needs to be assisted. Roles are alternate. It can't be the same for the rest of time."

"I did not understand a thing you said. You kept on croaking." Elfre said.

"Shut it. I was being awesome that's all you need to know." She replied roughly, her nose pointing upwards and her arms crossing.

Corvan kept quiet for most of the duration the Twelve had their conversation. As sharp as some of their members were, they did not easily notice the changes in his persona and demeanor as they were very busy with their own tasks at hand. Rowe, however, was very keen. He decided to bring up the topic, wanting to know the reasons for the sudden changes on the young lord's temper.

"You seem to be a lot calmer these days, Lord Corvan. Not a spike of fire to see around you, not even around Valeriana when you two speak." He quietly told him, his voice not too loud that it disrupted the others from conversing.

"It is a product of hard work." He answered.

Rowe chuckled. "I do wonder how long you can keep that up."

"Just because you never lose your composure, it does not give you the right to make fun of my training."

"I do not take you lightly, of course." The second-ranker replied. "I speak only from a logical point-of-view and my personal observations. A person like you is half-inclined to losing to your temper and whims, half is steady and content. Your lineage only lets you to go so far. The situation I had spoken of applies to now."

"Whatever do you so mean?" The young lord questioned.

"I meant that I just tried to bring up the topic of you losing your temper and you already did." Rowe replied, his white teeth peeking between his lips.

Corvan refused to meet his gaze stubbornly, his brows furrowing to wrinkle the top of the bridge of his nose. The frown became visible and he made a noise of irritation. "That is untrue."

"Then what does 'Just because you never lose your composure, it does not give you the right to make fun of my training.' explain?" He pointed out. "You have a long way to go, milord. I hope you do not take offence in my honest opinion. Now do wipe off that frown from your face. The fight seems to be reaching its climax."

Corvan knew Rowe was right. Yet no matter how much he tried to block out the frustration over his immaturity and irascibility, he could not completely shut it out. Despite his prodigous skills in almost everything he did, he wouldn't be able to be as calm and patient as the second-ranker was.

Just as Genevieve went forward to help her brother up and support him, a sharp laugh barked--a loud cackle that sent the entire place literally reverberating. The high-pitched sound made some of audience wince.

"If you continue doing that, you might ruin the entire place!" A singsong voice warningly but joyfully said. "I'll stop doing that, if I were you!"

"Holy crap!" Valeriana exclaimed, her eyes scanning the crowd. "That's Lord Aeron's voice!"

"He finally shows himself!" Keelan cried as he held his bowl of food against his chest.

"Finally." Brindon said shortly.

"Where is he?" Aneeka queried as she scanned around herself.

"So the schemer of the century finally makes his appearance." Charles bluntly commented, his eyes glued to his notebook as he scribbled down speedily whatever he was taking note of. "It took him a while, I do wonder what he was preoccupied with."

"Oh, no." Elfre whispered, shaking her head. "This calls for trouble."

"I order this duel to be halted!" Yelled the Headmaster next. "Zevlin Sabian is undergoing several repercussions for a serious medical condition, he is no longer able to fight!"

"A moment!" Raziel cried, full of confusion. "Do they really mean to stop the duel?"

"What medical condition?" Elfre inquired.

"I am not quite sure." Corvan muttered.

Eyes were drawn up the arena to find the headmaster speaking through the Valemnian version of 'amplifiers'. Beside him was the Court Leader, speaking animatedly with him. Kylon seemed to be in panic as the medical personnels rushed forward, clad in their white overalls. Yet, they could not quite reach where they were as the fire was growing bigger at a rate that only brief glimpse of the two figures were all they had. Zevlin was still in the same position, clutching both sides of his head.

Genevieve was more than distraught at the turn of events, wondering what she had done wrong. Was it not right to tell the older of the twins the truth? Was she wrong?

With her hands trembling, she stood erect with her gaze staring at nothing. The world around her seemed to stop right then, the reality dawning on her like a slap on the face.

What had she done?

"Zev . . ." She blinked, her face paling closer to the shade of white. "I'm sorry."

"Father . . . mother . . ." He cried. "Stop."

Genevieve drew closer to where her brother was and wrapped her arms around his head, her tears flowing out themselves. She whispered words of comfort in his ear, ignoring the wild fire around them as though it was nothing.

"Put out the fire! The arena cannot be damaged any further. The audience will be evacuated. Corvan, Rowe, and the rest of the Twelve, please assist in clearing the area. Charles and Tamara, gather those who wield the element of water and extinguish it before it grows larger. Just in case, one of you find Lord Lienhard and ask him to come here now."

"Okay, I don't get this." Valeriana hesitantly stood. "Why is the headmaster acting like that? What's going on?"

"It seems it would be an 'act now, questions later' scenario." Charles said. "Let's go, everyone. It's time to get to work."

"Wait." Brindon said. "Help."

Keelan tried to stand but was stopped by the aches that speared through him. He pouted. "Yeah, well, I'll stay with you."

The entirety of the Twelve was quick to act at this command that they hurriedly began to do as they were told. They posted themselves at the exits and escorted the audience out of the arena. The spectators looked quite disappointed at the turn of events and some even had objections. They had no choice but to offer their apologies and promise a greater experience for the third day.

Valeriana wanted to run after Lord Aeron, but it would seem that that would have to come later.

"This way, please." Corvan animatedly ushered the people out, his eyes occasionally glancing at Tamara and Charles who were drawing out water from thin air before splashing them out like rainfall, the volunteers were lined up and doing the same.

Simmer curled and hissed, steam fogging the area. Yet, still, it showed no signs of stopping. This made the effort given increase that sweat decorating their faces grow thicker as well.

Genevieve felt the dampness forming on her hair, droplets of water pelting from above. She looked up and saw that they had began to put out the fire, yet the flames were stubborn and came back up stronger just as much as they were put out.

"Zev, please listen to me." She told him, her voice pleading. "You've got to calm down, alright? If you don't want to remember, that's fine. It was wrong of me to push that onto you, but calm down. Calm down, okay? I'm here."

The sound of wood groaning reached her ears. She redirected her gaze upwards and saw a huge tree looming over them, its weight about to crush them beneath it. A gasp rose from her chest and heart rate sped up that she froze. Zevlin did not want to move and he was firm in place.

"Zev . . ." She desperately pulled on him, but he refused to budge. He was planted in place.

Seeing as she had no choice, she closed her eyes and waited for the impact as she held onto her brother.

The pain.

It never came.

She forced her lids open and saw that it was hanging by hair's breath near them. She did not exactly know what caused it, but the moment it was pulled back and thrown away, it revealed Raziel tugging on it with a long rope. His feet were planted on the ground his body angled backwards as he heaved. He still stood in the audience area at the nearest point, but he managed to still accomplish it.

Genevieve was grateful to the sixth, for the first time in a while. Raziel, after all, was the expert when it came to those things. No wonder he chose the whip as his preferred weapon. The accuracy of his throw was perfect.

"You can thank me later!" He yelled to them at the top of his voice. "Now as much as I know how beautiful it is to have fire flaming around you, please do find a way to get out of there now. Even if it's just outside the forest area!"

She nodded determinedly at his words. "I'll try!" She wasted no time and turned to her brother in a second. "Come on, Zev. Move!"

The younger of the twin hooked her elbows under his arm and forcibly pulled him with her. He gave in to the force finally, his body falling limply like a puppet on the strings. Genevieve struggled with his weight, but managed to throw his arm around her shoulder and drag the both of them out of the forest.

The falling debris had been hard to evade, but the adrenalin rush enabled her to go beyond her normal capabilities. She stopped occasionally, weaving and finding open paths when her original route had been closed down.

After the last tree had fallen, she realized they were stuck. Flames were everywhere.

She tiredly removed Zevlin's arm around her shoulder as her knees gave in. Zevlin's head rolled backwards, giving a clear view of his face. It was then that Genevieve saw that his eyes were stark open, reflecting the flames he wielded. She was quite unsure of what it meant, but the ghostly mirror image of fire in his eyes made her heart jump.

"Zevlin, snap out of it. Please. I already said I'm sorry."

"Turns out your sorry is not enough, my dear."

She redirected her attention to the origin of the voice and saw Lord Lienhard walking towards them. How he got there was a mystery when all paths were blocked. Even so, his surprising appearance made hope spark in her chest.

"Why is he like this?"

"Aren't you going to ask how I got here? I'm sure you wonder." His laughter reverberated from his chest, echoing in small fits.

". . . how?" She hesitated.

"That's a secret!" He replied, his laughter further reaching a few octaves higher.

Genevieve gave him a blunt look of irritation.

"I jest." He approached them. "Before your father died, he made an incantation to protect his family--you, your brother, and your mother."

"I remember what happened. But I never thought of it that way."

"Of course." Lienhard chuckled. "That incantation has a lot of sacrifices and most of it had to be suffered by your brother. Even if he did not let people notice, his control over his own element was rowdy. The reason why had been because of the ample amount of energy he chanelled before as a child when his body had just begun to exploit the gift he received at birth. He was not ready to release anything near to the magnitude of that power. The fact that he survived it was a miracle too. Your father had gone to extremes just so you two could live."

She was speechless. "Zevlin was experiencing all of that? He did so well with his fire . . ."

"That's what he made you think." He stopped before the two and knelt. "But there really is more to it. Since you made him remember, he's experiencing his own version of hell at the moment. If he cannot conquer his fears now, his own element will abandon him."

"Abandon him?" She repeated, shocked. "Oh good heavenly gods! What have I done?"

"You calm down yourself, young lady. If you have not done it, worst consequences would come. The fact that you invoked his memory will be of great help in the future, despite how much it seems to look negative."

"What of those consequences?"

"A story for another time. You see, fire is impatient and greedy. That's the downside to it." Lienhard began and he reached forward to touch the forehead of Zevlin as he gazed deep into his eyes. "If you fear it, you can never have fun with it. And passion is mostly what calms its fiery side--as much as that is ironic. If you don't learn to control it and subdue it, Arland might take back what he had given. He will deem you undeserving."

"Help. " She blurted. "What can I do to help?" She asked.

"He can only help himself." He replied and stood. "Since this fire does not want to leave, perhaps I shall have to negate it. May the gods pardon my interference, but as one of the Preservers assigned to aid in the balance of this world, I invoke my right to do what I see fit that will be of benefit to the whole nation of Valemnia and Celeste Academy. Sierra vu olo sire del Peserevo antui el kohl san sher oplas en quito vileami seral! Arlandos vi heilm del apo sin can wio!" He said the last few lines in the Ancient Language in a manner that he held the power over all.

After the last word left his tongue, a strange fuel of energy came from his aura. Valeriana saw the sudden flare and activity, the sensation making her hair stand up to their ends. Just then, a surge resembling a ripple on water came from the lord, spreading in the speed of a tsunami outwards in all directions. Like a thick wave, it enveloped the entire arena and within moments, the fire died and left, leaving only a burned forest thick with ashes.

But Zevlin still had not come back.

Tamara was irked. "Here we are working our butts off and he comes in and steals the show?" Her voice croaked yet she did not let this stop her.

When the fire died, the medical team under Olivia came rushing forward with a stretcher. They hoisted Zevlin onto it while the others attended on Genevieve, asking her if she got any injuries.

"Does it hurt anywhere?"

"No. I'm fine. My brother's more important here." She told them firmly.

The arena was vacant at last and the last of the guests had to be forced to leave. Corvan caught sight of one last person sitting, which made his irritiation spike. As he made a move to call out, the person stood up and faced him, a strange twinkle in her eyes as half of her face was covered up by a fan. The recognition struck him like lightning that he got speechless. Seeing his reaction, the strange woman went up and headed for the exit, the skirt of her ruby red dress fluttering around her as she moved.

"No need to be so temperamental, milord." She told him as she walked past. "That is no way to usher out a lady."

"What are you doing here?" He whispered, his eyes following her.

The woman turned, her eyes full of mirth and naught. She swayed back and paused, her eyes in their corners as she lifted her chin over her shoulder. "You presence is asked for in the Ember Palace, young heir. If you wish to know more, I will await you in the dinner hall Lord Charles apparently prides himself in." She then sauntered towards the exit, a click in her every step out. "And do tell your friends it was quite a great show, though as much as a book ends in a dangle by the cliff, I found it quite . . . suspenseful."

Valeriana watched the strange scene happening. The lady passed her by, but not before giving her a knowing look. "That show you and the young lord put up was quite a scene, fifth-ranker was it?"

That made her feel unsettled.

After she disappeared, the current fifth turned to look at Corvan. "Who the heck was that lady?"

"She . . ." He did not meet her gaze, merely following after the lady. "Is none of your business."

"Curse you." Valeriana fumed. "If she's your freaking girlfriend, just say it! Jerk wad!"

Corvan ignored her and went on, leaving her all to herself looking around irritated. Her eyes landed on the other members of the Twelve. They were staring at her as though she was some lunatic that fell out of the sky. Somehow, they must've caught sight of what happened earlier.

Elfre shook her head and mouthed to her, "Told you you should've gone after Zion instead!" She made a symbol of her heart breaking, but she accompanied it with a wink that said otherwise.

Valeriana furrowed her brows at the message. She didn't mean it that way. It was only rude of Corvan as always to say it the way he did.

Anyhow, she caught a glimpse of the headmaster and realized she still had to talk to Lord Aeron. Jumping up from the realization, she dashed towards the spot where they were and screamed at the top of her lungs, making her target leap at the sound of her voice.

"LORD AEROOON!"

-*-

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