Headmaster Kylon called in the Twelve before the start of the festival. The Circle was left wondering what he needed them for, especially when they were busy managing last minute adjustments.

When they got to his office, they saw him seated on his big chair, on his desk were piles of blue clothing with gold linings and buttons.

"This will be the new uniform of the Celestial Circle." He said, smiling. "For this festival, you wear them for the first time."

He called their names one at a time and handed them their respective attires, smiling at the dubious and excited look on their faces.

"Do try them on immediately." Kylon continued. "They're washed clean, of course. After you put them on, it's time to open the gates."

"Amazing." Brindon commented.

"Say awe-mazing instead!" Aneeka exclaimed.

The Twelve rushed back to the residences to prepare, a bit taken aback by the surprise the Headmaster gave them. Even so, it made things all the more tiltillating.

Valeriana nervously pulled in the uniform, slipping into the undershirt first. It had a high collar that hugged her neck, not too tight to suffocate her. The cuffs were trimmed with ruffles and the buttons were flat and silver in color. She tucked the loose end of her top into the pants.

The pants, on the other hand, although practically the same with the previous design, was no longer white. Instead, it was royal blue in color similar to the outer coat.

And this was when it got exciting. The outer coat had folded cuffs, a stiff collar, and had overlapping flaps for the front. Valeriana had to button it up on the area between her shoulder and collar bone.

She pulled the silken cloth and wound it around her neck expertly. After a long while of doing this everyday, she had gotten used to putting on the cravat by herself. Afterwards, she grabbed the unique cravat chain that hung from one end by her chest and clipped it to the other side. The academy's well-known seal sat on the right side of her chest.

The most interesting part? Her rank was embroidered with a clean, golden thread on the right arm.

Five.

This just felt so daunting.

Walking out to the lobby after she was done changing to meet with the others, they all headed out for the Grand Opening.

Of course, they all pulled off wearing the new uniforms like professionals. Needless to say, they all looked amazing.

"The new uniform sure is very suiting! The design is marvelously thought out. The details are a fine piece of art." Raziel's eyes were pinned to the mirror as he turned and twisted to examine himself in it.

"Are you all ready?" Corvan eyed his co-rankers, pulling on his collar as though adjusting to the change of clothes.

He looked proud wearing the number one, though.

"Tell me you jest!" Tamara jumped, her eyes shimmering. "We have worked our behinds off for three whole weeks nonstop and that's all you can say?"

Corvan looked momentarily irritated by her comment but did it did not last long. "Then let me rephrase what I just said." He instead replied. "Are you prepared to open the gates? Because whether you answer yes or no, we cannot turn back."

"Let us make this festival a success." Rowe told his co-rankers.

"Can I just say something before we go?" Keelan interjected, his eyes wide as his foot shifted against the floor. He examined them as though they were most intriguing.

"What is it?"

"Go ahead."

"Go on."

The eleventh's eyes shimmered. "I just wanted to say I love you guys and that you're the best comrades, teammates, and friends I ever had."

"Aw." Valeriana could not stifle the sound from her lips.

Tamara cracked up laughing. "You sound like you're dying!"

Keelan huffed at her while the twins snickered.

"Brindon." He turned to the quiet ranker and jumped on him with a hug. "Even though we'll be fighting against each other later, let's give it our all!"

"Give." Brindon replied, patting his back.

"We'll be cheering you guys on." Elfre smiled. "So no matter who wins . . ."

"Since it's that way," Raziel began, his sunny hair sticking up in its usual curls as he approached his opponent. "I wish you all the luck, Elfre."

"Same goes to you, you narcissist." Her green eyes reflected her confidence and excitement.

Raziel then spread his arms. "Do I not get a hug?"

"I do not prefer it." Answered the seventh-ranker, turning her back on him.

"A shame that is."

The twins stared at each other awkwardly. Seemed as though they still haven't solved their problems with each other yet.

Brindon nudged the two.

"Okay, alright." Zevlin took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Gen."

Genevieve pouted, her eyes watering.

"I'm sorry for being overprotective. You're all I have left. I do not like to be the very one to harm you, that will go against my promise to father." He breathed.

The younger twin sniffed. "I know. I know."

"Come on, little sister." Zevlin patted Genevieve on the head, messing up her hair. "Forgive me."

"Stop that." She averted her head. "I was never angry with you so stop it. I was just annoyed . . ."

The scene was amusing and heartwarming at the same time it made everyone else smile.

And while Zevlin continued teasing his sister, Tamara turned to Charles. The third extended her right hand forward and offered it to the fourth.

"Do make my life less miserable after this." She told him, a smile on her lips.

"I should be the one saying that." He answered.

The moment continued.

Rowe shifted his gaze to Aneeka. "Well, look at that."

"Don't think about it." She sighed. "I'm not like that."

"Like what?" He inquired.

"Like . . . mushy." She uncomfortably turned away from him.

"I wish you luck--"

Before he could even finish, Aneeka had the mouth of her gun by his chin. She cocked it threateningly, a loud click following after. Even then, she had her eyes trained forward but her lips were pressed together tightly.

"Do not try me, Rowe. Noble or not, I will put a hole through you."

Rowe was calm, even in that situation.

"As scary as always."

Valeriana did not make any move. Corvan was far across the corner so she scooted even further.

They've probably done enough of that. Corvan himself didn't look like he wanted any of those.

They then all marched out.

"We welcome you to Celeste Academy's Ember Festival!"

Banners and small flags dotted the vicinity in a flurry of red, blue, and gold. The biggest pennant was hoisted to the topmost spot in the entire Academy, bearing the school's trademark coat of arms--a winged sword with a shower of feathers.

The opening day for the Ember Festival was a hectic one, as expected. Visitors flooded the gates in excitement the moment they opened. Music rode the wind, floating softly and gently that it made all uncertainty disappear.

Exhilaration showed on the faces of the students and visitors, even the Twelve. Genevieve was exhibiting utter distress while Valeriana was filled with insecurities--something she was starting to feel annoyed at because of the persistence. As they said, she did her part of the job quite well. Yet, despite their reassurances, she could not help but fuss over the littlest imperfections she laid her eyes on.

Elfre, on the other hand, was feigning her apathy while Keelan ardently expressed his own enthusiasm. The others were mostly calm but showed how much they were looking forward to how the day would end. Brindon was . . . well, Brindon.

Moments later and the Twelve were supervising on different work stations scattered all over the place.

Charles was assigned in the main dining hall, the kitchen bathing in heat at the roar of fire from the cooking furnace. Valeriana checked the rooms occasionally, especially the death tunnel. It was serving as one of the best attractions yet, seeing as the students were trying out their skills. The protective suit was impervious to any blade no matter how sharp, but left marks to remind how many obstacles were failed.

Of course, the blowtorch portion was amusing.

The Twelve had yet to try it, nonetheless.

Tamara had been speaking through sound amplifiers and was the primary voice of the event. She was a constant presence, her humorous personality a hit among the crowd.

"Hello and welcome!" A cough resonated. "Damn apple--anyway. Welcome to Celeste Academy! Please approach Lord Keelan on the Help Desk to obtain the guide map to the different attractions we've put up! Don't forget to stick out for the finale of the day! The ultimate tournament will be between Brindon Jintaci and Keelan von Keiffer de la Kaiven, twelfth and eleventh of the Twelve respectively. If you have questions, that's none of my business."

A chorus of laughter echoed.

"I'm kidding. The Help Desk is assigned for the same purpose. You know where to go! If you don't, better not lose that map!"

It was still very early, so the audience was few and the air was cool. The weather might turn hotter later on, though.

A few hours later into the opening, Valeriana was dead tired. She approached a stall selling the familiar barbequed meatballs back in Larkovia. It seemed to be some sort of common food in this world.

"Excuse me, can I have one?" She asked, smiling tiredly.

The girl assigned recognized her immediately and smiled. Her gaze was momentarily drawn to the number on her arm. "Do you want some water to go with it?"

"Yes, please."

As she was fixing her order, Lord Lienhard came hopping beside her. He had his hood and cape on, but she would recognize him anywhere.

"Hello, dear one!" He exclaimed. "Do give me a stick and dip it into the hot sauce!"

"Sure thing, sir."

Valeriana looked up at him suspiciously. "What's up?"

"Hm?" The duke turned to the girl and smiled underneath the dark sanctuary he had hidden himself in. "Oh, dear Valeriana, my, my! What a coincidence!"

"I have a feeling it kinda isn't." She sighed wearily as the girl handed her the meatballs and a cup of water.

Moments later, Lord Lienhard got his. He took a bite out of his food and was quiet for a few seconds.

"You still are a bit nervous about that fight with Corvan?" He inquired.

"Thanks for reminding me."

He laughed. "Haha! Do pardon this one, young one. I do forget."

"Can you please not start?" Valeriana groaned.

"Well, in case you're wondering what the odds of you winning in this duel is, I'd say, it's about five percent." He thoughtfully tapped on his chin as he shifted his position so he could make way for the next person who wanted to grab a taste of the food.

Valeriana moved aside to accomodate his actions. Agitation grew evident on her face as she took a bite out of her own food. "Geez! Tell me something I don't know! I don't think I can defeat a prodigy who probably did nothing but train and study in all his free time! I came from Earth, I spent half my life sitting on the couch watching TV and doing god-knows-what!"

"There is a reason why you've won all your matches so far." He calmly retorted, shoving a whole ball into his mouth. "And it's actually a far much simpler reason than anybody thinks."

She raised a brow. "What?"

Lienhard swallowed heavily that he almost choked. He reached for the cup of water Valeriana was holding and downed it all in one gulp.

"Hey!" Valeriana squeaked.

After he finished, he gave back the cup to the current fifth and said, "The element of surprise." He began. "The element of surprise was why you won. Neither of your opponents was expecting you had a hidden card within your sleeve. You don't have that now."

His student frowned.

"Another factor was their own flaws. Had Courtney been fighting without her anger issues, you wouldn't have stood a chance. If Zion was more serious and was not playing around and overconfident with himself from the start, he would have not panicked in the end when his opponent changed."

She pondered about his statement, the wrinkles slowly fading.

"Technique, skill, ability, knowledge, and experience wise . . . you, my darling, are a lost cause. You managed to win by sheer luck alone. Fact is, the fates seem to oddly favor you for some reason." He cackled, his loud laugh gaining the attention of passerbys.

"Like I said, tell me something I don't know."

"I'm sure this fight will be memorable." Lienhard patted her shoulder. "Now, lookie there, we have visitors!"

Valeriana followed his line of sight and saw a bunch of people coming through the gates. They didn't look like the regular ones that came in before. In fact, the presences they had around them was heavy. Their manner of dressing made them stand out as well.

Fact was, she recognized the attire. It was the same with Seraphina's.

They couldn't be!

Celestial Knights!

Not even any ordinary Celestes!

She scanned through their group and was wondering if a familiar was present.

As she squinted her eyes, she moved to nibble in her meatballs when she suddenly found her hand empty. Shocked, she gazed around her to check for the lord and found him gone as well.

"Ugh! Meatball stealer! No wonder Keelan lost his mind!" Valeriana checked the stall and gave the girl who assisted her before a look.

"Sorry. All gone." She waved her hand to signify the fact.

A disappointed sigh washed through her mouth. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, she turned to examine their new, eye-catching visitors. So far, no new familiar face.

Should she approach them? Probably not. She didn't even know any of them. Perhaps she should just walk away while she still had the chance. They wouldn't notice her from this distance . . .

"Um . . . excuse me." There was a small tug on her uniform. "Miss."

She followed the call, somewhat startled at the sudden demand for her attention. "Y-yes?"

"I'm lost . . ." The small boy went up to her waist and had sun-kissed skin with unruly hair. "Can you help me find my parents?"

"Sure." She reached for his hand and led him to Keelan's spot.

Protocol was to bring lost children to the Help Desk and parents were asked to go there to claim their child. This should be a common scenario for any public events such as this one so they made sure they were prepared or their service would be found lacking.

Oh, shoot.

She stopped when she saw those people were headed there as well. Ah, just as luck had it. And Lord Lienhard would say the fates had a liking for her? Probably a liking to torture her.

"Your sword is very cool. I like your uniform too." The child told her, his eyes brightening.

"Okay, um . . ."

Because of her scatterbrainedness, she forgot the first step when helping a lost child. Ask him his name, his age, who his parents were. She was much too out of herself, she had to bring herself together.

Knocking her palm against her forehead as though doing so would put some sense into her, she breathed heavily.

"Sorry. I forgot to ask for your name."

"My name's Lovine and I want to become a knight." He innocently declared, jumping energetically on his the balls of his toes.

She smiled. "How old are you?"

"Thirteen."

Valeriana did a double take until she realized his age was different from human standards. He probably would be around six to seven years old at the most.

"Alright, Lovine. Maybe we can work on that. If you get old enough and you still really want to become a knight, you can attend this academy. It will help you grow into what you want."

"Then I'll become a Celestial Knight!"

"Everything's possible." She told him. "Now let's go and I'll hand you over to Keelan so he can help call for your parents."

Lovine nodded at that obediently and made no problems as Valeriana led him to the building where Keelan was currently working in. The air inside was a lot cooler than outside for some reason she just felt thankful.

The Help Desk building was in a flurry of activity. Keelan was sitting behind his desk as the unusual visitors started talking with him. The guy was at ease in their presence as if it was no biggy.

Well, he was a noble.

The eleventh had his own crew backing him so everything went smoothly. Valeriana made the child sit in one chair and logged his name into the lost children's list, signed her name as the founder, and paused at the Parents' Name portion.

"What's the name of your mother or father, Lovine?"

"Lora and Avine."

She now knew where his name came from as she speedily wrote that down.

"Hello, Val! My old bud!" Somebody loudly addressed it her in a familiar voice.

She flinched at the mention, put down the quill and passed the paper back to the person she approached. Valeriana rose to look at the person who just called her with familiarity and saw a tall man coming for her with a smile.

He had a clean face, tall nose and freshly styled hair. The buttons to his uniform were halfway undone and his preferred weapon sat on his back, a long, cylindrical metal attached to another with a chain.

She furrowed her brows. "Who are you?"

He looked confused at that. "Huh. You--oh! I get it! You don't recognize me this way!"

The current fifth observed him further when a brighter ray of light struck his face, illuminating his mismatched eyes. One green and one blue.

"No way!" She gasped. "Lazaro?"

"Yup. The one and only." He winked.

"You cut your hair and shaved your beard!" Valeriana pointed out.

He had fairly good looks when he fixed himself. The way he was then made him no longer seem like a homeless old man drinking his fill of alcohol.

"Ouch." Laz sighed at that, rubbing the area around his mouth. "I'm hurt."

"What are you doing here?"

"We came to see our alma mater! I brought my other friends. We heard there was a party so we came to crash." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder to refer to his companions.

There were two females and the others were males. She further recognized one more face.

It was the man who abducted her and brought her to Valemnia. Emmett, was it? So he turned out to be a Celestial Knight . . . what a shocking turn of events.

"Well, you can help yourself with the attractions we put up." She grinned humourlessly, sweating. "If you're up for some action, the Death Tunnel is the best way to pass the time."

"Great to know it isn't just full of boring target practice." Laz gazed down at the map he managed to obtain. "Where is it here?"

"By the south-east, Year Five building at the topmost floor." She told him, pointing to the spot she was assigned to. "Now, if you'll excuse me . . . I still have work to do." Valeriana tried to dash out as soon as she could but the man held her in place.

"Wait a minute! I wasn't done yet." He told her. "What's the schedule for the finale?"

She steeled at that. "It will start at five. It's not determined how long it will last. Don't you think you should be asking Keelan all this? He's assigned to inform the visitors of everything they want to know."

He wasn't listening.

"And you're fighting on the final day?" Laz's smile was maniacal that it made her feel uncomfortable. "Good luck, ol' Val, ol' friend. Don't run off before then."

How come everybody liked to pity her?!

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