Arin leaned against a wall, Loid sat in front of her rubbing his broad shoulder. They were silent among the horrified murmurs. To keep her mind off the stress, she braided her hair over and over. Loid emptied his boots of sand.

“I’m glad you’re all right. It would be awful if you were left outside.” He was silent for another moment. “Your—your friend is really strong. I mean you are too since you beat me and all.”

“I could do better, too bad my turn was skipped because of her,” the girl sitting next to Loid grumbled. Arin glared at her.

“None of this is my fault!” she lied. The stranger released a stressed huff.

“Sorry. I like to blame people for things like this sometimes, it makes me feel like the Others aren’t going to kill me,” the girl explained shivering and Loid grabbed her shoulder smiling. “The Others haven’t shown up in months. I wonder why they choose now?”

So, everyone here is either really excited to fight Others or fears them? What in the world is with this ‘army’?

“Scarlet, we’re fine I promise,” he placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. He looked at Arin and asked, “you know I never caught your name from earlier. What is it?”

“Arin,” she replied. Loid flashed a pearly white smile.

“That’s a pretty name,” he complimented. Her cheeks were practically glowing from the compliment.

“No one has ever said that before,” she admitted and he laughed. For how old he appeared, his voice was high pitched.

“Maybe they should. I’m Loid, in case you never caught it, my grumpy friend is Scarlet,” Loid said playfully shoving Scarlet.

“Shh! Someone is coming!” someone shouted. Everyone became silent, huddling close together.

The door screeched as it was shoved open open. Everyone gasped. It was only the two Crimsons that were guarding the entrance. Both wore silver chainmail and a light blue shirt undershirt.

“Rank Six guards,” Loid muttered.

“All of you get back now!” one of the guards ordered. The other barricaded the door with a table.

Everyone stood up backing to the far side of the room. As they backpedaled, Arin got separated from Loid and Scarlet. Stranded with strangers, she trembled. Her legs were about to give up, a furious sweat broke out. The sun caused no sweat earlier, but this situation did. They found her. The Others were going to drag her away and kill her. Just like Ms. Holt.

Someone rammed into the door. The first blow sent the table flying. Everyone screamed as it crashed in front of them. Trying their best to protect everyone, the two guards pushed themselves against the door. Once more, the foes on the other side rammed into the door, successfully opening it. Everyone screamed again. The guards stumbled back to their feet as Others entered the room.

“Hurry! Light this room up!” one of the two guards ordered. The taller one extended his arm, summoning light from his palm. Arin shielded her eyes. The Others scurried out of the room to avoid the attack. While the Others were gone momentarily, the other Rank Six unsheathed her sword.

“Get everyone out of here. I’ll hold them off,” the guard who summoned light tried to order, but the other shook her head.

“We’ll be an easy target, better to stay here,” she retorted. He nodded, agreeing with her.

The Others re-entered the room, aggravated. The last to enter didn’t even have his sword drawn, his hands were neatly folded behind his back almost as if he was inspecting everyone. Like all Others, they were hidden with black cloaks keeping their identity a secret and making it impossible to tell who was who. A few of the Others rushed the two guards. Arin lowered her head, covering her ears. The clashing of swords frightened her. The guards were defeated, knocked over with a couple of blows. Arin stood on her toes, trying to see what was happening.

“Don’t kill them yet, I still need them,” the lead Other instructed holding his gloved hand out to stop them.

Kin. It had to be him.

“Tell me, I know that you know, where is the human?” Kin questioned, he sounded rather calm.

“The freak? Most likely locked in a dorm or something—”

I’m not a freak.

“Do not play with me, boy!” Kin roared, throttling the guard. Arin clutched her throat, worried he would choke her next.

“No! Stop it! We don’t know anything. All we were given was the location of where we were supposed to protect,” she explained trying to hide her desperation. Kin released him, smirking.

“Now was that so hard?” Kin taunted, and the Others released the two. The Rank Six coughed, gasping for air. His Rank Six friend wrapped an arm around him making sure he could still breathe. “Fan out, bring all the blonde females forward.”

Arin shuffled to the front of the crowd to get a better look. No one noticed her movement. Step by step. The last thing Arin wanted was attention. She bumped into a Rank Two. He released a small yelp, looking down at her.

“Are you going to fight?” the Rank Two asked. Arin shrugged. “You won in your round so I know you can fight.”

“I didn’t help in any way,” Arin whispered back. He handed her a sheathed sword. A real steel sword.

“Try, please try. Fight a good and strong fight. Please do something,” he begged. Arin grabbed the sword and fastened the sheath on the leather hook around her waist.

“I—I’ll try,” she murmured in defeat. I must prove myself . . . I must fight back. I endangered everyone. Scarlet is right, I endangered everyone. Students parted out of the Other’s way as he scrutinized the faces in the crowd. Arin couldn’t tell if anyone was dragged to Kin yet. One now stood before her, his intimidating presence frightened her. He was assessing her. Arin maintained a stare into the Other’s hood, allowing him to examine her countenance. And hopefully I can fix this.

There was a moment of solemn silence. Everyone held their breaths as the Other examined Arin. He was almost double her size, she noticed metal armor under his cloak. The Other grabbed her wrist, snapping Arin out of her own examination. Dragging her to the front of the crowd, Arin followed quietly. Kin lifted his head high at the sight of Arin. She returned the gesture with a fiery glare.

“This runt matched the description.” The Other pushed Arin closer to Kin, standing behind her to prevent escape. Unsure of what to do with her hands, she pinched her shirt’s edge. It was impossible to remain calm. Arin’s heart rate accelerated.

“She looks bland.” Kin seized Arin’s chin, forcing her head to the side. “Is a prophesied child supposed to look special? No special eye color, or facial features. I don’t think this is the one. However, I think that as long as I bring someone back we will succeed.”

“Sir, there must be more we can go off of.”

“Well, there is the nose bruise. However, with today’s training test anyone could have been hit in the face.”

Arin pulled out of Kin’s hold, then tried to yank her arm free from the Other. Kin laughed to himself.

“General Scolo did say she would stand up against me. Seeing as how she has a sword, I sense she may actually be the one. Are you the Plaque-Reader? Are you Arin?”

She ignored his questions, using her free hand to unsheathe her sword. Arin was released as Kin, and all the Others, drew their blades, angered by the threat. The Others surrounded Arin, the Crimson guards could only watch.

Kin charged forward. His attack style was so foreign to Arin, she couldn’t defend herself. The Other easily knocked the blade out of her hands, sweeping her off her feet. Arin crashed onto the floor. Head throbbing, vision blurry, breath gone. Coyasko’s training did not prepare her for this. Kin placed his foot on top of her, sword aimed at her nose. Arin pressed herself against the tile, wishing she could melt away and hide.

“While I love a good game, I must focus on my assignment. Are you Arin?” Kin asked, he wasn’t laughing at her weak attempt at fighting.

“That’s none of your business,” she hissed. He prepared to kick her, lifting his foot off of her. In his moment of vulnerability, she rolled away from him, scrambling onto her feet. Arin seized her sword, poising herself in her battle stance.

Arin and Kin began to circle each other. She made the first move this time. She thrust her sword at his chest, but he easily blocked the attack by pushing her blade aside. He moved the pommel of his sword to his chest, the front tip targeting Arin.

Kin’s free hand was ignited in a bright red fire. Arin stared at the embers shaking, she could feel the heat from where she stood. The fire irritated her eyes as she stared at it for too long. He threw his flaming fist at her. A small burst of fire followed his swing. The fire scorched her ribs. Clothing burned a little, skin barely protected. Her knees buckled from the searing pain. It hurt so much, tears welled up behind her eyes. Was her skin bubbling? It felt like it.

“I’ll ask one more time and if you don’t answer then I’ll make you suffer more than I already have planned out.” Kin spat placing his foot on Arin’s neck.

Oh no.

“Are you Arin?” Kin repeated. Arin took in a deep breath and nodded a little. “And you’re that human that got Scolo in trouble, correct?”

“I am,” she admitted. She noticed Scarlet and Loid standing at the front of the crowd. They were staring at her, too afraid to do anything.

“Do you think it was fair for Scolo to get in trouble for this failure?” Kin asked, and Arin shook her head slowly. “Then do you think you should take some of his punishment?”

“I did nothing wrong though!” Arin croaked.

“He was berated because he failed to bring you to my king. That deserves to be punished for injustice, don’t you think?” Kin said pushing his heel deeper into her neck.

“I guess but punish your leader instead—” she countered, barely able to speak. It was impossible to suck in air. Kin’s fist was ignited in a flame again.

“Right indeed, and I know a fair punishment,” he interrupted. Arin squirmed, afraid of suffocating. He stepped off Arin, she gasped, color returned to her face. Two Others lifted her up, holding her triceps to prevent thrashing. She glared at the Other. “I want you to remember this. I don’t want to play the bad guy, but you have left me no choice.” He examined his flame before pressing his hand into her shoulder. She wailed. Cloth burning, exposing her skin.

Arin began to cry and thrash. Kin only pushed in deeper. She couldn’t hold back her tears of pain. The Rank One and Two students backed farther away. Loid and Scarlet were too shocked to move.

“Stop it! Please stop!” Loid begged. Two Others that were guarding Kin faced Loid and Scarlet with drawn swords.

“Don’t hurt those two, I’ll do the same to them after Arin,” Kin spat her name, pulling his hand away from Arin’s shoulder. She tried to stop her crying, to make herself look strong. “It is time for you Crimsons to be put back in your place.”

The Others tossed her aside. She hit her head on the ground, her vision swirling. If she rested here maybe the pain will go away. Loid ran in front of Arin stretching his arms out wide. The Others stepped back confused. Scarlet joined his side holding the sword that Arin used to fight. The Others surrounded the three. Kin moved in front of the small ring.

“Get out of the way,” he snarled. Loid refused to budge, Scarlet on the other hand shuffled away a few feet.

“Please move,” Arin whispered painfully. They looked down at her in disbelief. “Do as they say, please.”

She shakily stood up and the Others laughed, some jeered at her. Loid and Scarlet moved out of the way. Scarlet held onto the sword.

“Give Arin the sword, Scarlet.” She reluctantly obeyed.

“You’re kidding, right? You’re too weak to fight me again!”

Arin nodded. “You’re right I am weak, but I shouldn’t quit so easily, especially if it means being burned like that again!”

“You three truly are stubborn, I hate that.” Kin began to twirl his sword between his fingers. “Arin, stop this. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Kin charged, she prepared herself in a battle stance. There was barely any time for her to plan. He thrust his sword at her shoulder and she pivoted away from the blade. In turn she slashed his shins. Sword scratching metal, Arin pulled back, confidence and anger written across her face. Kin lunged forward, tackling Arin. His weight easily knocked her over. Arin stood no chance against these veterans.

They began to wrestle, Arin punched him hard in the gut, hitting cold metal. He was wearing armor. Arin flailed her throbbing hand. Kin retaliated the assault with a hard blow to the throat. She gagged, crawling away from him using her elbows. Kin tried to pull her back but missed her foot. Arin quickly scurried onto her feet, still choking. Too weak to hold a weapon, she raised her fists. Her shoulder ached from the simple movement. He laughed, again advancing forward. Kin brought his weapon down onto her. Not knowing what to do, she grabbed Kin’s wrist, keeping his sword away from her.

“Surrender, Arin! I don’t want you to get hurt!”

All of his weight was this attack, an idea struck her mind. She lifted her legs off the ground so that her weight clashed on Kin’s wrist. There was a crack as his wrist was shoved into an awkward position. Kin flailed his hand around trying to shake off the pain. He used his other hand to carry his sword.

“You ignorant little-”

Arin held her free hand out at Kin and took in a deep breath. Her burn kept her mind off of the battle, the only thing that helped slightly was the possibility of being comforted by Coyasko, her roommates, Loid and Scarlet.

How do I fight when these guys have the power over fire? Her flesh sizzled from Kin’s attacks. What would they say to encourage me? Um . . . probably something like, “take the hit and hit back harder.” Yeah, I’ll go with that.

Arin lifted her hands up, aiming at Kin. The Others closed in on her, a few of them cursing the “spirits”. Arin felt a strong energy emit from her palms, similar to the feeling of air blowing against her. She focused on the energy, whatever it would be, hopefully it would provide a miracle. Small embers sparked out of her hands She examined the loose sparks before glaring at the Others.

“Tell your leader that I’m never going to help him, not now and most certainly not ever!” Arin shouted. A combustion of gorgeous red exploded from her palms. Arin could not feel the heat of her creation, nor did she know how it happened. All she could do was watch it. Arin was the most surprised by this new power. All she wanted to do was intimidate the Others.

Kin used his own fire to counter the attack. Arin’s newfound abilities overpowered his little flame. The Others scurried back as Kin was engulfed in red. She slowly lowered her hands and clenched them into fists. Revenge felt so sweet. Kin came forward, sword in his other hand. His cloak suffered a little, revealing more armor.

“Is that all? Well, enough stalling; someone grab her!” Others rushed her from all sides. Arin squeezed her eyes shut, hugging herself tightly. Before the battle could continue Coyasko and a band of armored Crimsons stormed the mess hall. “C—Coyasko!”

The Crimsons floated behind their general antsy to fight. “Kin . . .” Coyasko’s voice trailed off. “Capture him!”

Kin waved his Others to follow as he fled through a side entrance. Coyasko hunted after them, his sword drawn. Once the room emptied more Crimsons rushed in, Mila leading them. Now with the adrenaline gone she collapsed, hand covering her pink burns.

One of the useless Rank Six guards hurried by Arin’s side.

“Where did he burn you?” He gently lifted Arin’s hand off her ribs. She winced at the pain. It must be bad because the ghastly wound appalled him.

“What happened here?” Mila stomped forward, his attention focused on Arin. Was he seriously going to yell at her?

“She saved our lives, sacrificing her own, and she used the power of fire to defeat the Others!” the guard cheered delighted.

“It was Kin, he did this,” Arin murmured.

“She’s still hurt badly, it must have been what Kin did to her for ‘justice.’” He gently touched her wounds. She whined, the world spinning around her.

“Take Arin to her dorm, I’ll send someone whenever I feel like it. Put her to sleep for now,” Mila ordered gritting his teeth. A hand was placed over her heart. There was a bright flash of blinding light, was he using his powers to put her to sleep? Within moments her eyes were closed, dreaming about the new discovery she just made.