¤ Second Victory

Ferra heard that click of doom as well, and he smiled as he realised its implication. Not wasting this precious chance, he bored down quickly onto Wing, raising his staff to cast one last spell-

‘What on-!’ His staff in his grasp was jerked sharply, as if some strong force was yanking at it to keep him back. Unnoticed behind him, the golem had lumbered up to Ferra. One mammoth fist closed over the knob of his staff, the tiny thing, and thus its owner, thoroughly immobilised.

Before Ferra could react, the golem yanked the staff upwards, holding it high up in the air. With a slight tightening of its mighty fist, the staff snapped loudly into two. Stunned, Ferra continued to hang onto his end of the broken staff, dangling there for a silly moment before finally remembering to take to air independently.

‘If you thought that could stop me, you thought wrong, brother!’ Ferra snarled, his fingers crooked into another spell gesture. ‘I don’t need a staff to cast my spells!’

Wing barely heard Ferra’s infuriated cry, as he scrambled against time to replace the empty round of bolts in his crossbow. He tried not to think about the approaching attacker, nor to think about his waistbelt devoid of potions. Just slot in the canister, “push then slide, don’t just shove it in, else the blots might get jammed-“ But before he could secure the round of bolts, a magic bolt from Ferra singed his fingers and his fingers, stinging fiercely from that bolt, dropped the replacement canister.

The metallic round cylinder bounced away, end over end, across the dusty ground and away from the dismayed Wing.

He dived to retrieve the canister, but an invisible hand seized the cylinder and sent it flying to Ferra, a levitation spell gesture on his fingers. The fairy barely managed to snatch it out of the air before darting out of the way of the downswing of the golem’s heavy fist.

Up into the air Ferra climbed, swiftly flitting left and right to avoid the clumsy golem as he cast magic claw after magic claw to tear the stone monster apart. One well-placed claw shattered the vulnerable knee joint of the golem, and with the groan of a massive rock avalanche, the mixed stone golem crashed to the ground, crippled.

Free of one heavyweight opponent, Ferra broke out of his ascent sharply with an abrupt u-turn and tossed the canister to the ground below him.

Wing would be ashamed of his next move, after he had time to reflect on the battle, because it was so predictable that he was sure Ferra had practically counted on it to happen.

He dashed immediately to take the canister, scooping it up at once. But even as he clambered upright to his feet, the rapidly approaching figure of Ferra filled his immediate vision, his golden wings tucked in as he dropped towards Wing, a bright magic bolt ready in his hand.

A fragment of interrupted conversation flashed across Wing’s mind, ”And there’s this super cool thing I have to show you, because when you run out of-“

Damn it, Dae, your genius mind better not fail me now. Blindly, Wing lifted his empty crossbow and pulled at the trigger frantically.

At first, it seemed as if Dae’s genius mind was not working too well. But just as the triumphant sneer twisted itself across Ferra’s face as he closed in on Wing, it quickly morphed into one of shock as a hidden catch within the crossbow unlocked itself and unleashed an explosive crossbow quarrel that soared straight at Ferra!

As Daedalus was prone to crowing after the battle, ‘it was like the most beautiful fireworks ever!’, except there were neither colourful sparkles nor flashy light displays. Instead, there was a half-way spectacular explosion, a flare of light as Ferra’s magic lashed back at this death threat, and then a rather sooty and very unconscious fairy falling out of the air, his head landing on the floor with a loud painful sound.

Exhausted, Wing dropped next to the unconscious form of his foster brother on all fours. Snatching off the uncomfortable porcelain mask, he gasped at the relief brought by the cool air that caressed his sweaty face.

He had won.

A solemn little voice repeated that realisation over and over again in his head, overwhelming even the master of ceremonies’ announcement and the polite applause all around him. He had won.

He raised his head and caught sight of Aurora, leaning forward from where she sat in the special holding box for combatants involved. There was a look of utter relief on her face, which was pale from worry. Now, however, her lips curled in a small smile as she mouthed her congratulations to Wing, and Wing felt his own lips return the smile as well.

Yet it was a world of dismay, in the gaze the two exchanged shortly before Wing was presented to the King: Wing and Aurora will need to fight each other to the end after all.

¤ Tie

‘Aurora!’ The gasp of shock in that beloved voice she knew so well brought her around, her breath ragged in her throat and her eyes finally focusing. Those blue eyes widened further to see how close her blade had been to cutting clean across Wing’s throat.

”I know how we can both emerge victorious from this last battle.” Aurora spoke as quickly as she could. They had only a few short moments alone before they would be taken away from each other for quarantine, and even these were hard-won, stolen in that few minutes during which they were both waiting in the hospital wing for medics to treat their injuries.

”I know too,” Wing answered with a terse smile. “Do we plan for a tie?”

Aurora felt that painful burst of delight in her chest at his answer, and she realised once again how much she loved Wing for simply being able to read her so well. Wing saw her answer in her trembling smile, and pulled her close. “We’ll both win this, I swear,” he whispered in her ear.

“I love you.”

”And I you.” Wing tightened his hug for a moment, before stepping back to look into her eyes directly. “You have to remember to go easier on me though,” he chuckled nervously. “I swear you were about to kill Lakelis out there.”

Aurora did not speak, for a plan was rapidly unfolding in her mind…

Already, there was a thin trickle of red visible across the skin next to the Redemption’s blade, a shine of deep vivid crimson. A insidious little voice started to murmur in her head, A slight shift of that tiny degree more, and you can just finish this…

”I’ll teleport twice, and get to about two feet right in front of you. Once you try to aim, I’d teleport straight up to you, side-step and go pass you- ah, do you remember that combat practice we had two weeks back?” There was a strange clunk right after that, and Wing looked up quickly to check for eavesdroppers.

After all, no one should be using a strange makeshift communications device while in quarantine before his final trial, much less doing so to keep in contact with his opponent for the imminent battle.

”Wing? Is everything okay?” Aurora’s voice filtered across the communications device now, an indistinct whisper that warped into static ever so often.

”Hmm? Oh, yeah, all is fine.” Wing quickly decided the strange clunk was nothing important. No doubt it was interference over the connection between the devices. Apparently, these contraptions ‘use the magic of scrying but takes it up a notch by allowing users with no scrying powers to use it’, but they seemed even less dependable than the scrying devices Wing had seen his foster father use.

”Well, this is just a prototype!” Daedalus would protest indignantly when he was asked about it later. “No one warned me that they would want a short range transmitter to break all rules of the combat trials on such short notice!”

I suppose beggars can’t be choosers. Wing returned his attention to the conversation. “I remember that move, yes. You almost took my head off with it.”

”Well, silly Wing. I wouldn’t have. You know I wouldn’t. Anyway, here’s how we’d tie. Follow my move, I’d make a swing across at your back like the last time, but you duck, use the same momentum to turn around, then we’d both be in yielding position. Do you follow what I’m saying?”

Wing tried to visualise it, then nodded tentatively before realising that Aurora probably couldn’t see him do that. “I understand it.”

“Good.” There was a hesitant pause, then Aurora spoke again. “Wing?”

“I am still alive here, yes.”

“Why do you trust me on this?”

A dumbfounded silence from Wing. Then, bewildered, Wing asked, “Is there a reason not to?”

The fight had gone well. They had gone all out initially, exchanging an easy volley of lightning spells, spear attacks and crossbow bolts. They were all easily blocked by magical and physical shields, but were flashy enough to keep the attention of the audience and to distract them from the possibility that this duel was in any way planned.

Wing worked hard at keeping to the routine Aurora had planned. Wing and Aurora had duelled with each other enough to be comfortable with each other’s sparring styles, and they had no problems complementing each other on this one crucial fight.

His couple of attempts to use his vials had been foiled as Aurora knocked them out of his hands accordingly and more than once Wing fended off seemingly vicious spear strikes with rapid physical shields and magically enhanced nimbleness as bestowed by a speed potion he had concocted and brought into this battle.

Then, there was a flash of blue. Then another, disappearing just out of the corner of his eye. Right on cue, Aurora materialised a couple of feet before him,

“I’ll teleport twice…” Wing swept the crossbow upwards, steadily putting Aurora in his sight.

“…you try to aim…” He pulled the trigger, and the bolt snapped free from the bowstring, flying straight for Aurora.

“…I’d teleport straight up to you…” Aurora vanished again in another flash of blue teleportal energies.

“… side-step and go pass…” Then she was right next to him, moving smoothly to the right of his crossbow in one flowing motion, spear held out to her left, poised for attack. Her hand reached out and, with unnatural strength, pushed at his shoulder to make his aim go awry.

“Follow my move…” Wing turned with that shove, his back now presented to Aurora, open and vulnerable. As it had been in that combat practice two weeks ago.

Now that was a painful memory.

”… duck…” Wing felt the cold steel and the cackling static of the lightning charged Redemption whisper over the skin of his neck as he ducked under the swing, tucking in his iridescent wings as close to his back as he could as well. The momentum allowed him to spin back again to face Aurora, and that he did, preparing to raise his crossbow as soon as he could.

”… turn around, then we’d both be in yielding position.” Wing was almost ready to let loose a sigh of relief. The ordeal would be over soon, he thought.

But it was not to be.

There was the glint of silver quarrel’s point at her own chest as well; Wing held his crossbow levelled at her with a trembling hand. Aurora could feel his confusion, so palpable it was that it showed even past his white porcelain mask.

Yet it seemed as if she would have simply killed Wing despite of the fact that she would have died doing so.

There was a blur of bright light that collided into the crosspiece of his crossbow, creating a horrendous clash! Wing had barely managed to fend of that vicious slash of Aurora’s spear in time, and winced inwardly even as he threw off another attack from her; it was less for the agonising pain in his arm and more for how Daedalus would react to this abuse of his darling creation.

Yet, barely before he recovered his wits, the Redemption’s spearhead flashed out in a deadly arc across his throat, forcing him to lean backwards to avoid it. Instead of clearing the arc completely however, Aurora brought the spear into a halt with a skilful twist.

Caught unawares, Wing now found the spear’s flat blade at his bare throat, poised to kill.

This is not in the plan! Wing quickly dropped onto his back, and rolled away in a rather undignified manner.

Breaking away, Wing beat his wings furiously, taking to the air swiftly to escape from the murderous steel now turned against him. But there was no chance for him. Aurora’s fingers twisted in a swift spell gesture, and the air cackled and sparked with static, making Wing’s hair on the back of his arms stand momentarily before a mighty lightning bolt knocked him out of the air to crash unceremoniously onto the floor.

He whirled upright to his feet at once, a spell for double shields, one magical and one physical, sketched in one hand. Sure enough, Aurora appeared close to him, a swirl of white robes and long blue hair. The heavy spear in her hands was raised, hot blue lines of ice and lightning magics running along its blade’s length. The double shields held up against that, absorbing the impact of the blow and turning away the magics from their fairy caster.

He willed Aurora to meet his eyes through the small eye-holes in their complete masks, hoped against hope for her to be able to read the one thought clamouring in his head: What was going on?

But the unplanned fight continued, forcing Wing to throw up every last bit of his mana to cast double shields again and again. Somehow, he did not think to return fire, nor to make use of the potions at his belt, because he truly believed that Aurora had somehow made a mistake.

Wing had made a promise, and he had to carry it through.

Then came another of Aurora’s attacks, lightning fast and impossibly swift; the Redemption sped towards him, intent on seeking blood. All thoughts of holding back were thrown to the back of Wing’s mind, and he fired off a crossbow bolt instinctively.

It tore across the distance between them to score Aurora viciously along her side, forcing her to cry out and abandon her attack. In a blink, she disappeared, a few drops of red blood where she last stood.

‘First blood is drawn.’

Wing barely heard the calm announcement. To his dismay, he felt a strange sluggishness steal over his limbs; the effects of the speed potion were wearing off, and Wing feared that he would not be able to keep up with Aurora’s flurry of assaults.

True enough, without the advantage of speed, Wing was fast losing ground to her. With a sweep of her foot, Aurora caught Wing’s feet and made him stumble. She spun around and slammed the pole of the heavy spear across his collarbone, breaking it with a sickening crack and earthing the spear’s lightning charge on his unprotected flesh.

Wing fell backwards, his wings crumpling clumsily beneath his own weight, the length of his left arm burning in pain even as he scrambled to an upright sitting position. Aurora was close enough for him to shoot at, but he could barely muster the strength to lift his crossbow.

Still, the slight girl approached steadily, spear held low, her face hidden by that bland porcelain mask. For the first time, Wing was aware of how frightening that blank mask could be.

It seemed as if she was unaware of everything else around her, except for her opponent now fallen helpless on the floor.

Closing the last stretch of distance between them in a flash, she bore down on Wing, her blade sweeping upwards, then down again towards him, mercilessly cleaving apart air to find flesh, down, down…

‘Aurora!’

So it came to this, both of them nose to nose, breathing heavily from exhaustion.

Stifling a cry, Aurora dropped her spear, allowing it to clang to the floor. Wing, too, dropped the hand with his crossbow, and they flung themselves at each other, masked faces buried in each other’s shoulder in a desperate embrace while still on their knees.

The spectators, fairy and mortal alike, both gasped and murmured quietly at this surprising turn in the battle. The master of ceremonies looked mildly puzzled at this outcome as well, and looked to the King for a cue. Kranz shook his head slightly, and the fairy did not move to interrupt.

As she leant against Wing, the beginning of tears in her eyes made her eyes prickle and her vision blur. The lump in her throat grew. How much could she actually sacrifice just to see her plan through? Aurora could not bear to think of the answer…

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IT’S OVER IT’S OVER. The fight scenes are OVER.

Boy, that was actually fun to write. :X I might be getting the hang of it, I guess. >>;

Cookies~