Red POV

I woke up the next morning with curious green eyes staring at me. Siana had a smirk on her face as she watched me wake up.

“It’s a small bed for three people” she said with a pout “You should have woken me up last night. I wanted to be in the middle”

I playfully growled as I pushed her off the bed. She fell with a yelp followed by laughter. Jamie stirred beside me, grabbed her pillow and put it over her head mumbling incoherent words. I got out of bed and picked up my clothes before heading to the bedroom door.

“Boxers, Red? I thought you were the lingerie type of girl” I heard Siana say behind me laughing loudly as I gave her my middle finger. I took a quick shower before getting dressed and walking in the kitchen. I greeted my parents before making my breakfast. Mom made an impatient sound and started bombarding me with questions about my date with Lena.

“Tell me everything” she said happily and so I did but not the part with Cameron. The Cameron moment was very blurry in my mind right now. By the time I was done, everybody was sitting around the kitchen. Aunty Allie came in last with a frown on her face.

“Kelly, why is a vampire, more precisely John Chen, in your basement? And why is he talking gibberish”

All eyes fell on my aunt and we became silent. John Chen has woken up from his twenty seven day sleep completely out of his mind. All he does now is talk bullshit and rock on his feet while biting his nails. Jamie must have done a real number on him. Mom and dad decided to keep him locked in the basement cage, which we added in case things like this happened, so they could interrogate him about the Duke of Farnon and the magic he used to wake the vampire up. But so far, they had gone nowhere.

“Uh” mom started “John broke into our home. He threatened us but Raymond managed to fight him off and –uh- the town alpha is in business with Raymond and helped us out. He- we wanted information and they decided to question him, a little too hard for my opinion.” White lie but great save. Sometimes it’s better to lie than tell the truth. Right?

-

Today was our first Flag game of the season and the students were riled up. The school only had half a day of classes, probably because the teachers knew the students would not be listening due to the excitement of tonight’s event. I was walking in the corridor trying to get to my locker when Lena confronted me.

“Hey gorgeous” she greeted me as she followed me down the hall “You left me alone last night”

“I’m sorry about that Lena, but I had things to do” not that I was ever going to tell her “and I had to see my sister”

I was not expecting her to laugh but I did notice she laughed a lot. “You really are completely whipped for your sister.”

“I am not whipped and I resent that” I grinned but soon turned serious “Lena, I’m sorry if you take it wrongly but I cannot be in a relationship right now.”

“It’s totally fine” she smiled “I don’t move that fast either gorgeous. How about we become friends first””

“Sounds good” I hugged her thankfully. “Now, if you want a second date, this is your chance” I pointed down the hall to my sister and Siana standing close to each other talking. Lena’s expression froze a little, probably debating whether to talk to her or not. I nudged her with my elbow and smiled reassuringly.

“Well gorgeous, get ready to be impressed” she fixed her purple uniform and walked away. I admired her back and ass as she moved her hips smoothly and followed her shortly after.

Lena arrived beside the cute couple and cleared her throat. Both girls turned their heads and Siana grinned greeted her friend while Jamie looked with her passive expression and dull eyes. As much as Jamie was opening up to certain people, she was still as cold as ice to everyone else. Part of me hopped that Lena would succeed getting on my sister’s good side, because I didn’t want to deal with another Ren. The other part of me was scared of the future date I promised her.

“Hey there, we have not officially met. I’m Lena” Lena raised her hand but dropped it when Jamie didn’t shake it “I am here to make sure that me spending time with your sister is okay with you”

“My sister’s business is not mine, I don’t know why our asking my permission” Jamie shrugged. Lena looked startled but smiled happily. She stepped forward and bear hugged my sister, who froze with widened eyes. When she let go of my sister she turned on her heals and I knew what was going to happen next.

“Just” Jamie said with a smirk when she noticed Lena’s back stiffen “I hope Jazzy knows it’s strictly sex”

Lena turned around “She is the one who suggested it and I am happy to oblige. Besides, we’re not having sex”

“Was it not that the point?”

“Nope”

“Good” Jamie walked slowly towards the succubus and started to fix her collared shirt “My sister is a very emotional person. She takes everything at heart. We wouldn’t want you to use that as an advantage now would we?”

“No we wouldn’t. But I wouldn’t lose sleep over it”

“I hope not” Jamie finished fixing Lena’s tie before patting her chest and walked to Siana. Lena turned around again and made her way to me. Her body was rigid but then dramatically fell limp into my arms. She straightened and kept her arms around my neck.

“Your sister is scary” Lena groaned. She grinned at me wickedly “and I have surprised you. You owe me dinner” she went around me. I yelped as she grabbed my ass and whispered in my ear. “Please darling, make it expensive, not fast food.” She walked away, purposely swinging her hips as the first bell rang. I stared at her, unaware that Siana had crept behind me.

“Please darling, make it expensive” she mocked “can I touch your ass?”

In a swift movement I had her in a head lock, pleasantly choking my friend. She screamed and tried to get out of it but I wouldn’t let her. We fought childishly in the middle of the school hall me yelling ‘take that back’ and she refusing. She was being a prick all morning, what else was I supposed to do?

“Jimmy, help me” Siana chocked out but my sister just scoffed. She was standing by the lockers looking at us with a smile. “please?” Jamie shook her head.

“Ha woman, that will teach you” I growled at my friend.

“No sex for a month” Siana said desperately.

“Liar” Jamie snorted.

“Just give up angel, no one is there to save you” I said.

“No dingaling-dong”

Jamie straightened “You wouldn’t”

“For a month” Jamie’s face fell. I had no idea what they were talking about.

“Sister, please remove yourself from my lover, or I will have to resolve to unnecessary actions”

Shocked, I loosened my grip on Siana and she managed to wiggle out of my arms. Siana danced away, grinning like a child. She thanked my sister and whispered in her ear. I couldn’t believe Jamie caved so easily to SIana’s words.

“What is dingaling-dong?” I asked. Both of them stared at me wickedly, making me regret my question. I had a feeling I wouldn’t like the answer, whatever it was. I was glad they chose to ignore my question and changed the subject while we were going to our first class of the day.

-

The day had passed by extremely fast. Jess and I had spent the afternoon preparing for the first flag game of the season. I was getting very nervous, wondering what a real meeting felt like. We had been playing scrimmage games during practice, but nothing as big as what was going to happen tonight. It was also a good diversion for what was happening right now.

Jamie and Siana were in their dance class all afternoon so they weren’t available to prepare themselves but Siana had played before and Jamie was not going to play tonight therefore they weren’t worried.

We were now in the meeting room where the entire team listened to our coaches’ speech. They talked about our practices and how hard we trained for this. He gave us the plan and told us where our post will be during the game. He also mentioned how different the atmosphere was in the arena with hundreds of people watching. Everyone was going to be there: students, families and even Aunty Allie. The opponents were from a school in the city of Annwn. It was close by and many of their families and friends would show up tonight.

After our coach had finished his speech, we huddled together to do our team cheer. We walked out to the hem of the arena and waited for the announcer to call our team name.

As a nervous tick, I started to play with my armor. Under my team uniform, I had a chainmail that covered my chest and biceps. The metal was made of a special crystal that is almost unbreakable. Unfortunately, it was very heavy but with my strength, I was able to wear it without much restraint. The lighter players of our team whose job is to run and get the flag had a dragon skin shirt. These shirts were light as a feather but cannot be cut. Their weaknesses are blunt objects. A punch in the stomach will give as much damage as it should even without the shirt but swords couldn’t cut the fabric. It would just hurt like hell. I had leather dark blue pants with metal plates to cover some parts and black army boots. Our colours were blue and white. We had a unique trait of clothing which consisted of a black scarf. The scarf was carefully tucked into our shirts so that our rivals could not use it as a weapon against us.

There are thirteen players on each team. Our strategy is to send three scouts to disable and activate traps. When they activate a trap, they mark it with a unique symbol only we could see. The scouts are to report on any changes or things that need attention. As a magic user and fighter, my mission is to enter the enemy territory to disable the magical barriers that are most likely up and running and any other magical traps.

Then there are three attackers who would be used as a distraction for one of the two team member whose task is to capture the flag and run. We call them runners. Those players were our strongest and toughest guys. Ren and Jess were part of the attackers. As for the runners, they are smaller but great at hiding and have to be extremely fast and agile.

Then there are four defenders. Their job is to defend the flag at all cost. They have to be good at everything in order to do their job correctly: strength, wit, speed, endurance, magic, etc.

Finally there is Siana, the joker. Her job is to observe from the air and have a bird eye view on the situation. She is to help wherever there is trouble.

Time wise, the games varied from one to another. It is whoever gets the flag and brings it back. During the game, there can be only two player changes. If a player is massively injured, he is removed from the arena. There are doctors, nurses and paramedics all around to treat the wounded. There are five judges who made sure the game is fair and there be no cheating. They have the power to stop a fight for the protection of someone, to remove a player from the field of play if that player is not fair or if his intentions were to kill. They also have to prevent the crowd to throw objects into the arena for it is illegal.

We were waiting by the dugout, impatiently waiting to be called. The announcer had made a special welcome to my aunt, the queen, before announcing the opposite team. There was a lot of cheering and booing in the stadium. The noise was loud as the spectators banged their percussion objects together and singing chorally.

“Remember team” our coach Kasumi said “deep breathe and stick with the plan”

“And now, ladies and gentlemen, let’s welcome the Mysts of Misty High”

That was our quo. We started running through the corridor and into the arena. The crowd went wild at our view and I my heart was pumping as fast as it could. Adrenaline started to pump into my system and I couldn’t help but smile in anticipation. I couldn’t help but wonder if this is what Jamie felt like every time she was fighting in the cage.

We got into our positon by our flag which was on a small hill. It will not be an easy game what with the slushy snow on the ground. Even though the arena was a dome, the school had left the ceiling opened. We knew in which direction the flag was but we had no idea where it was located. The flags were placed randomly by the judges before the game.

My sister and I shared a last nod before the sound of a bong rang throughout the arena and that was the start of the game.

The scouts and I started running in three different directions to cover as much ground as possible. I entered the forest to search for any clues. I was not very good at creating traps, so I concentrated in feeling magic and knowing where it originated from. I had my eyes closed and found a string of power coming from my left. I ran out of the forest and stopped before I crashed into a river. I could faintly see the opposite flag across the plains. They were too far away for me to see how many defenders were guarding the flag.

I took out my bird whistle and blew. This whistle would be heard by my team mates so they would know I had found something. We could not take the chance of using mind link because there might be a mind reader on the other team. Talking through mind link would be like screaming in the mind reader’s ear and he could easily find our whereabouts. One of the scouts was the first to meet me by the river followed by Siana and the attackers and runners. The third scout was busy making defensive traps.

“I found them” I said pointing to the far end of the prairie. “There is a barrier up and I know what kind it is. I need to get close up to touch the barrier to be able to disable it”

“I can run ahead and make sure the coast is clear” Fred the scout said.

“You do that; meanwhile, we are going to make our way there slowly to give you guys enough time. Be sure of marking the safe trail for us. Siana, you fly and tell us where the enemies are. We wouldn’t want to be ambushed” Jessica said. After we all agreed, I grabbed Fred the scout and jumped across the river using my vampire strength and a bit of magic. We landed swiftly on the other side and hastily made our way across the field as I made us invisible. Fred was slowly leading me closer to the flag, stopping to disarm traps. We heard fighting behind us so I assume the other team found our flag.

We finally arrived at the barrier and I spared no time to undo the magic. It took me a few minutes to finish my job.

It’s done I said to my sister. I didn’t bother with the consequences because we had to go a little faster with the plan. I saw my team mates sprint and started attacking their defences. Fred went away to secure the rest of the field so that the runners can run without being hurt. I watched the scene as the attackers managed to gain advantage and one of the runners slipped through the fight. She grabbed the flag and started running but when she removed it an alarm was triggered. Everyone turned around and the enemy started chasing our runner.

Using my speed, I sprinted towards my team mate and jammed my shoulder on a guy just as he was reaching for her. I quickly found my balance again and followed my team mate closely blasting everyone that got close. At one point there were just too many people and I was having a hard time stopping the energy balls when Siana dropped down from the sky and used her air magic to blow the opponents away.

We ran like that for some time: me running beside the girl who had the flag and Siana flying over our heads. We jumped over logs and rocks. We slid around the trees until we finally arrived to our destination. Ren and Jessica were running behind us as guards. Before us was the captain of the other team ready to prevent us from wining. The guy was an earth golem; an eight feet tall, all rock and plant. He hit the ground with his fist and a shock wave threw the dirt in a straight line coming for us. I managed to push the runner aside before jumping over the wave but the golem anticipated my move and pitched a boulder at me. The boulder hit me square in the chest. I flew backwards and crashed into tree knocking my winds out. I fell to the ground short of breath and dizzy. I’m pretty sure my ribs were broken. I shook away any dizziness and raised myself to my elbows and knees to see what was going on.

I never really realized how strong Siana was until now. The angel was fighting with two holy blades and her movements were so fluid it was as if she was dancing. She was fighting the golem on her own, using her blades and magic.

It is very hard for someone to master magic wielding and close melee combat and use them together but Siana had mastered it. She was flying around the golem, dodging his hits and attacking in the most practical spots and managed to drop the golem to his knees.

The bong resonated through the arena signaling the end of the game. We had won. The game had took no more than an hour. Jessica was at my side in a second and helped me to my feet. We made our way to the rest of our team as they jumped in glee. They were patting Siana and the runner who brought the flag on the back. We had a group hug for we had won our first game of the season. The crowd was jumping and screaming of joy. They were crazier than we were. After we calmed down, we shook the opponent’s hands before walking back to the restroom.

My sisters and I met with the rest of my family. My mom hugged us and congratulated us on our performance.

“You were so good out there” mom said to us. She turned to me “How are you? You took quite a blow”

“She was stupid” Jamie said. We all looked at her but she shrugged her shoulders. “It’s true. Jazzy should have seen the boulder coming a mile away”

“People make mistakes cousin” Connor said.

“Not when it can get you killed”

“Not now honey, please” mom said and Jamie dropped it. Siana and the principal made their way to our little group. The angel slung her arm around Jamie and smirked at her.

“Hey there Aaliyah, it has been a while” the principal said

“You too old man. You look good for a crazy dragon”

“I always take the compliments when I can” he said.

While they were talking, Siana looked at Jamie happily.

“Did you see me out there?” Siana grinned proudly.

“You were good; a little stiff on your left side but defiantly better than my sister.” Wow, it was a compliment in an insult in an analyst. Siana laughed and side hugged my sister teasingly.

“Ahh, you have such a way with words, sweetheart”

“No she doesn’t” Jess chuckled. “Anyway, there is a party tonight and we have to attend, so chop-chop. I already cleared it with mom”

We said our goodnights as we children, including Connor, made our way to our cars. Lena met me in the parking lot and hopped into the passenger seat as Jamie and Siana were in the back.

“You were great” Lena said as she squeezed my thigh. This friendship I had with Lena was very interesting and I really hoped it lasts because hell only knows how much I needed a good distraction right now.