The rehearsal that night went smoothly, but Zion had not attended. Raziel set off before the practice to look for him, only to come back empty-handed. His absence made the Twelve wonder, but they figured that, with his personality, he'd find a way to crash the whole practice by coming around so late. Unfortunately, that hadn't been the way of things.

They ended up practicing without the lead guitarist, making the entire thing seem empty. In the end, they lost all the motivation to practice and ended things early. They had the routine down anyway, and there was still the last minute practice tomorrow.

The last day of the festival came around and the members of the Twelve were in high spirits. The pressure they were feeling the past few days was gone, and only then did they feel the need to play and enjoy the entire thing.

Originally, the rankers had planned on going to their posts. Breakfast was the same, except that Tamara had another idea.

"Hey, you guys," she said. "Let's play." A devious smirk pulled on her lips as she glanced between each member, her brows dancing.

"What do you mean?" Keelan asked as he shoved a spoonful of egg in his mouth.

"I mean, it's boring if we go to work. Let's leave it to the other students. I'm sure they can handle it."

"Shirking responsibilities on the last day?" Charles said, wiping the corners of his lips with the napkin. "No."

"Really." Tamara rolled her eyes. "Why do you always have a stick shoved up your-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Tamara," the fourth-ranker firmly told her, his eyes as sharp as knives as he looked her way.

Valeriana shook her head as she continued to nibble on her bread, smiling at the usual exchange between the fourth and third-ranker. Nothing had really changed between the two of them, although the tension was cut down so much. It seemed lighter, and Tamara was even more energetic and easygoing than she usually was. There was a twinkle in her eyes that didn't seem to be there before.

Elfre was now occupying the seat of the sixth, yet Raziel did not care about it a bit. Valeriana turned to the newly appointed sixth-ranker and nudged her a bit. Despite how rough their relationship felt when they first met, it wasn't as bad as before.

"How did the battle between Tamara and Charles go?"

"Hm." Elfre smiled. "It's because most of you guys were not there to watch. It was a good fight. I think Tamara and Charles settled some of their differences through it."

"Oh come on!" Tamara yelled. "Guys, be reasonable! We worked hard for this festival so we ought to enjoy it! It's the last day! It's the best festival we've had so far, how can we not join the games?!"

"Me." Brindon raised his hand, speaking out on his own for the first time in a while. "Want to play."

"See! Brindon gets it!"

"Tamara does have a point," Rowe said. "We've worked hard. I think it's justifiable if we enjoy what we broke our backs for. I will certainly regret letting this opportunity pass by."

The rest of the Twelve eventually agreed and Charles was the only one left who did not. Seeing that all eyes were on him, he found himself sighing.

"Alright, fine. Inform your teams in advance that we're not going to our posts today. We should at least do that much."

"Yes!" Tamara pumped her fists in the air. "To make it more exciting, let's make it a competition."

The Twelve turned to her, a glint of excitement in their eyes.

"Let's divide into two teams. The team who wins the most games wins."

"And what?" Elfre asked.

"That team will take all the prizes the other team wins."

"Game!"

"Oh, but who will take this drakon?" Keelan pointed to Vallore, who had been sitting silently the entire while, watching the exchange.

"Let's make him the game master or something just to be fair," Valeriana suggested.

"Good! Then let's set a deadline. An hour before the final show. He has to make sure everyone gets to him." Tamara grinned.

"Alright. Let's divide the Twelve evenly. Rankers on first, third, fifth, seventh, and eleventh will team together. Those who weren't mentioned are on the other team," Rowe decided.

"It would've been nice with Zevlin and Genevieve though," Keelan said.

Silence.

"Well . . . yeah."

It took a few moments to get over the fact that the twins were not present to join their merrymaking. After a few moments, when everything was settled with regards to their own, little competition, the respective teams set out. There were various attractions set up for the festival, from minor to major games. Most of them displayed the skills that would be learned by any student who enrolled in the academy, but there were some purely for fun-somewhat silly as well.

Corvan's team went to the nearest game, which was called Twist and Shoot. It was a team versus team competition. At the starting point, contestants would have to bend over with their foreheads on top of a short stick. Someone behind them would make them turn six times in that position. They were then sent out to run and shoot a target ten meters away.

It was a big challenge for many visitors, but most of the students, particularly the ones who excelled in combat archery, liked the entire idea. Shooting arrows while dizzy was a silly idea too.

"You don't have to shoot the target, but hitting it has bonus. And if at least three of team members managed to land a hit, you can eat however much you like at the cafeteria," explained the student at the front.

Keelan's eyes glinted. "Let's hit the target!"

Nevertheless, the way the game proceeded was somewhat comical. Corvan disliked the idea of having to bend over and spin as it was disgraceful and settled for being blindfolded before turning around six times. Without taking off his blindfold, he made his way to the front with the bow and arrow in hand and managed to land a bullseye.

The onlookers could not help but stare at him in awe as he casually made his way back to the team and passed the baton to Tamara. The opposing team was distracted by his display of skills and could not help but feel intimidated.

Tamara did not care about bending over at all. She spun like she had to and ran forward while screaming, stumbling slightly that she almost lost her balance. The opposing team did not see this as strange, as most of their members had already veered past the shooting grounds, and even fell over while trying to shoot the target. Tamara was quick to recover and managed to land a hit-not a bullseye like Corvan, but close enough to make them clap.

She then ran back and passed the baton to Valeriana, whose clumsiness made her even more disgraceful. She hadn't even taken a step forward before she fell over, her vision spinning as she tried to stand. Tamara was vigorously cheering her on while Raziel was contemplating whether or not he should come next. Corvan, on the other hand, could not help but shake his head at the fifth-ranker.

Valeriana stood up like her stubborn self and shot the arrow. The arrow made it to the target, but failed to pin itself. She hadn't trained much on archery, but her performance was satisfactory. She hastened back to the team and tapped on Raziel, who had a look of disgust on his face.

"Must I do this?"

"Hurry up, you narcissist!" Tamara exclaimed.

"Fine, fine."

He spun like everyone else, but he did so with all the grace he could muster. Raziel could not pull off the same thing as Corvan, but the way he stumbled was so dramatic his team members could not help but knit their brows.

By the time he had reached the target, the arrow managed to pin itself at the outermost corner, earning claps from the audience.

"Not bad. Not bad at all."

Keelan was last. His eagerness was overflowing and the opposing team was losing hope. Even if he did not manage to land a target, there was a guaranteed prize of all-you-can-eat at the cafeteria, but he did not want this to pass him by. After spinning, he roared determinedly and dashed forward. Even so, he could not run straight. Instead, he found himself steering oddly to the side and throwing himself at the crowd who parted once he fell.

There were some chuckles and a couple of laughs, but he determinedly stood and threw away the bow. The audience could not understand this. Instead of using the bow to propel the arrow, he gripped the shaft in one hand and threw it forward like a javelin. To everyone's surprise, it managed to pin itself on the spot beside Corvan's arrow, hitting bullseye as well.

"Nobody said we could use the bow," he said. "Right?"

Cheers erupted and Corvan's team managed to win the prize and the bonus as well.

The other team, Rowe's side, had gone to a pole climbing game. Flags were placed at the top of tall bamboos greased with oil. Without anything to aid them, the contestants would have to climb and reach the top. There were two opposing teams. The one with the most flags win.

At most, each team only got one, the most had been three.

As per the rules, shoes were discarded as well as gloves. Everyone climbed simultaneously. The slipperiness of the trunk made it hard to get a proper grip, but Rowe and Charles managed to speedily climb the top. Elfre and Aneeka were slower compared to the two boys. Brindon managed to climb half before staying still and clinging like a Koala.

"Scared." Brindon looked down at the distance between himself and the ground. "Don't like."

The pole was unsteady and bent over at the weight, making it a bit dangerous. Eventually, he slid down ever so slowly and landed at the bottom.

Charles managed to score, as well as Rowe and Aneeka. Elfre barely made it. A total of four points to one, Team Rowe managed to win.

The rest of the day was the same scenario. The Twelve partaking in the games garnered a lot of attention, mainly due to the show they put up. In the end, the entire festival had been conquered, leaving no activities untried. Even the famous Death Tunnel was cleared, however, they were unable to beat the record set by a previous player. Sources say it might've been a Celeste, which was reasonable.

Valeriana and Corvan had an awkward air between the two of them. For the most part, the first-ranker did his part silently and the fifth was unfocused and clumsier than ever. They tried not to associate with each other if unneeded--a leftover of the duel from yesterday, perhaps. Tamara and the others noticed this, but thought it was the usual thing. No matter what happened between the two, sooner or later, they would have no choice but to settle it.

The deadline was coming and so both teams went to find Vallore. Preparations had to be set for the final show. Hopefully, this time, Zion would come around. He had to. If he didn't, he'll receive an earful from Charles, if not, Valeriana.

Vallore was waiting in front of the Twelve's residences. Both teams arrived at around the same time, with Corvan's team coming a bit later than Rowe's. They presented the prizes they earned to the drakon, who started counting and calculating immediately.

"So, who won?" someone asked.

Vallore looked at both sides and shook his head. "It's a draw. Even with the bonuses earned listed here, it's the same."

"Nobody won?"

He shook his head.

Tamara looked disappointed for a moment before shrugging. "Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. Let's just go and get ready for the show."

"There's still an hour and a half. I'll take a short break!" Keelan dashed away. He was probably off to the cafeteria to claim his all-you-can-eat prize. Nobody else from the Twelve planned on claiming it, anyway.

And as though nothing had happened before that, the Twelve dispersed, leaving behind the loot they gathered to Vallore. The drakon was confused and distressed about the prizes he was left with, but the rankers were already gone before he could complain. In the end, he and Grandma Khloe were left to deal with their mess, earning the frustration of the drakon that he almost burst in flames.

Valeriana had seen the entire thing and could relate with the drakon well. Their attitude was never-changing, especially to newcomers. The current fifth-ranker had her fair share of agitation towards their insensitivity.

"Are you not going off with them?" Vallore asked.

"I'm sure they can handle the preparations. I'll stay and help," Valeriana told him. "They're like that most of the time. If you'll be staying here long, I'm sure you'll get used to it in no time."

"Their attitudes are baffling. How come you put up with them?" he asked, dragging the huge sack over and dumping it on the corner of the room.

"I hated it too at first. Trust me, though. Once you get to know them, it won't be as bad. They're probably off to do their own thing now. Once that happens, it will take another Gathering or something equally important to have all of them in one place." Valeriana carried a huge trophy of some sort and contemplated where she could place it. These awards seemed nothing to the rankers, even though it was clearly carved at the bottom; Champions of Ember. She loved experiencing the victory with her team, but perhaps they've had a lot of these instances it was no longer entertaining.

Once cleaning up was done, Valeriana decided to set off with Vallore to the arena. Even with the scorching heat, there gathered lots of people. They passed by a small stall with the meatballs, so the current fifth bought two sticks of it for a short break. The hunger suddenly washed in after everything that happened that day.

"You should try these," she told the drakon, handing over the other stick. "I bet that with all the dragon business, you never had these."

He nodded gratefully and bit off an entire piece in one go.

He chewed and swallowed. "Not bad," he said. "How is Femeron?"

"She's been sleeping a lot lately," she answered. "She doesn't wake up until night time so I decided to leave her alone for now. I asked Grandma Khloe to look after her for a while."

"I see," he mumbled.

"What made you come with us anyway?" she asked him, nibbling on the meatballs as she gave him a questioning look.

"It was my mother's recommendation." In a moment, he managed to lick his food clean and threw the stick on a small bin at the side. "And I figured it was reasonable. Learning about the world outside, I think this opportunity presented itself in just the right time."

"Right. That makes sense." She nodded.

"You and Lord Corvan seems to be in quite a situation," he said, giving her a knowing look.

"What do you mean?" She chewed and swallowed.

"I've heard from the Twelve." He crossed his arms and looked at the distance beneath his hood.

"What did they say?"

"A lot of things. Including your dilemma. That Tamara person loves talking about people behind their backs. She seems rather fond of telling stories and laughing at them."

"At least I won't need to explain myself." She chuckled. "Tamara's like that all the time. She's pretty upfront about it, too." She shook her head. "But she means no harm. I'm sure she means well."

"Yes, she seems like an interesting person." He crossed his arms. "She took me aback when I came to the residences."

Valeriana laughed. "She's fun though. Why don't you--"

A large crash resounded followed by a scream. Valeriana turned to the source of the sound and saw a figure crash against another stall to their right. She knew that person all too well--with just the flash of midnight blue hair.

"Hey." Her brows furrowed as watched.

A guy walked up to Zion and grabbed him by the collar, pulling him up forcefully. He quickly retaliated by pushing the guy away, throwing a straight punch to his face that threw him back.

Valeriana ran up to them instinctively and tried to break them apart. She pulled on Zion's arm and held him back. "Stop it! What's going on?!"

"You teach that brat some manners!" yelled the guy.

Zion's usual mischievousness was gone. Instead, his eyes glinted with furry and utter rage. Valeriana's strength did nothing to the blue-haired lad. He lunged for his opponent despite her protests. He pushed the guy against the ground before attacking him with punch after punch. The force behind his fists made Valeriana's heart jump to her throat. The poor guy's nose started to bleed and the skin on his face broke from the continuous assaults.

"Zion! What the hell!" she exclaimed. "Stop it, you'll kill him! Vallore!"

The drakon pulled him by the shoulders. Still, he refused to back down. Valeriana continued to call him, but he did not respond to her at all. Vallore, in spite of his extraordinary strength, showed difficulty in keeping Zion caged.

"Stop it! Damn you!" she threw out her fist and punched him, hoping it would knock some sense into his brain. "What is going on?"

Zion finally stopped, wiping the blood from his busted lip with the back of his bruised fists. Valeriana turned to a student onlooker and asked him to fetch the healer for medical attention before checking on Zion. The fire in his eyes refused to die out and he pushed at Vallore, walking off without bothering to explain.

"Hey, I'm talking to you." Valeriana reached for his arm, only to be brushed off.

"He started the trouble, it wasn't my fault," he told her.

"Getting in a fight before the show? Are you crazy or what? You didn't even go to practice last night! What's with you?" she fired at him.

"I just didn't feel like going."

Zion was the type of person who, when not motivated, would not do anything. Once he lost interest in something, he would throw it aside to rot. His bipolar self was the highlight of his personality, and also the reason why he and Valeriana met. Despite his recent changes, what the current fifth feared was that he would not show up and leave the band hanging--after all the painstaking practice they went through, too. The entire Circle looked forward to the performance, not to mention the audience.

"Are you . . ." she trailed off. "Are you going to the show?"

He gave her a look. "I'll perform, if that's what you're asking. I joined the whole thing without anyone asking me, I might as well see it through." He pocketed his hands and grimaced. "I'll take responsibility, like the usual."

"How about those wounds?" she asked. "Will you be alright? A musician should take good care of his hands. You can't use them that way."

"I've been like this ever since," he said. "It's nothing big. That fight was nothing."

"Come on, I'll take you to Olivia." She hooked an arm around his and pulled him to the direction of the infirmary. "We have to make sure you're in a good condition to play. If your fingers hurt, how can you do those solos?"

"Like I said, Valeriana, I'm fine."

"No. I started the entire band idea. It's within my responsibility to look over everyone and make sure they're on top condition. If you don't get that treated, then to hell with it all," she firmly told him, her face in a frown. "It's your fault for getting in a fight before the presentation anyway. If you're serious about taking responsibility, you should at least mind your actions!"

Valeriana saw Vallore watching them with incredulity. Passing him by, she decided to tell him to go ahead of her while she made sure Zion got treated. The mediocre medical attention given in the arena was not as good as in the infirmary. Olivia was there--and she was the school's best healer.

Zion protested the entire way, but Valeriana was not hearing it. When they arrived, the door was firmly locked. She wondered for a moment if Olivia was in, knocking as politely as she could.

"Olivia, are you there?" She paused for a moment. "It's Valeriana."

There were some shuffling on the other side and the knobs turned. Seconds after, Genevieve's head popped between the crack. Valeriana felt relieved to see her, but did a double take once she saw the condition the girl was in. It took a few seconds to remember what happened. Her face fell at the reminder.

"Gen?" She looked at the normally vibrant younger twin.

"Hey, Val. Olivia isn't here yet," she said, her voice rasping. Her hair was a full mess and she looked sleep-deprived.

"Can we come in?"

"Sure." Genevieve opened the door wider and let them enter. As they went through, Genevieve continued talking. "I thought you guys were performing today, what happened?"

"This guy got in a fight and hurt his hands. He can't go performing like that."

"Oh." She looked at Zion from head to toe.

"Anyway, how are you?" she asked her worriedly, the wrinkle between her brows deepening as she scanned the ninth-ranker.

"I'm good, I'm good." She smiled. The way she said it felt as though she practiced it many times in front of the mirror. Valeriana would've been fooled.

"Why aren't you leaving this room? You need to get a little sun on you, you look like a vampire."

"I can't leave Zevlin alone."

She turned and looked at her brother, who was lying on the bed with his eyes shut tight. Hints of pain showed on his face and his body stiffened. It looked like he was having a bad dream he could not wake up from.

"I perfectly understand how you feel, Gen. But, you need to think about yourself. If Zevlin wakes up and you look like that, do you know what he'll feel?"

"I know but what if he wakes up and I'm not here?"

"That's just not it . . . have you been eating properly?"

"Olivia brings food to me," she said. "That's why she's out at the moment. She's getting us something to eat. She'll be back in a few, don't worry."

"Arland," Zion whispered, a look of surprise on his face. "You look like dragon dung."

"Thanks." Genevieve nonchalantly strolled back to her seat beside Zevlin's bed and sank down. If it was her usual self, she would've spat something more . . . aggressive.

"What's up with Zevlin?" Valeriana asked, making her way over to stand beside her female co-ranker.

"Lord Lienhard said he's undergoing a reckoning from Arland. Wielders of fire who do not put a good use for their elements face the risk of having their power revoked. In this case, Zevlin has been afraid of his fire for many years. No wonder he fails his PC classes." She sighed.

"Then he'll be good as any other human if that happens," Valeriana said. "Isn't there a way to help him?"

"Olivia has taught me a kind of healing that I happened to be suited for," Genevieve told her. "It's not physical healing, but rather healing for the soul. I've been helping Zev with it, but it's not doing anything significant."

Her brows shot up. "Because bodies are not the only ones wounded." She stopped. "Isn't that sort of rare?"

"I don't know. It doesn't matter."

The door was bombarded with successive kicks, followed by a mellow voice. "Genevieve? I'm back."

In spite of being a little startled, the current fifth turned and told them she would get it. Just as suspected, it turned out to be Olivia, carrying trays of food in both hands. No wonder she could not knock properly.

"Let me get that." Valeriana took one tray off her hand and was given a look of surprise along with a grateful smile in return.

"Valeriana, what a surprise. What brought you here?" she asked.

"I came to get this guy treated. He hurt his hands." She set down the tray on top of the table beside Zevlin's bed.

"Let me see them." Olivia set her tray down as well and approached Zion, pulling on his hands. "It's not so bad. Just a few cuts and mild bruising . . ." she trailed off. With a burst of her healing power, the bruising disappeared and the small cuts closed. After that, she tapped on Zion's cheeks and the cuts along with the busted lips faded. "There we go. Good as new. Don't get into so much trouble, young man."

"I told you it wasn't bad. You were overreacting."

"Thank you, Olivia," Valeriana said.

"Oh yes. Perfect timing. If you want to thank me, take this girl out of here," she told her. "I get tired of seeing her look like that."

"What?" Genevieve looked up.

"No problem." Valeriana enthusiastically came up to Genevieve and took her by the arm. Olivia grabbed a piece of bread and shoved it between the younger twin's lips. After that, she ushered them out despite Genevieve's protests.

"Have fun! You can eat all these later."

"Wait--wait!"

She then shut the door tight behind them and locked it close.

The show is in the next chapter! XD Two chapters left, I assume. One for the show and one for the epilogue!