Chapter 24: Crimson Flower

Soon, I left the dandelion boy alone, at the infirmary.

And was on my way back the Block A, to watch the last fight of Chivalry's Round 1, when I saw the crimson girl.

"Are you on your way to the Arena?" 

With my question, the crimson girl turned her head and looked at me, before nodding, "Yes, the last fight today is my battle. How' bout you, Ed?" 

"The same" 

We then walked together to the Arena, whilst talking about things.

"Right, Anna joined the second tournament, right? What happened with her fight? Did she won the first round?" whilst pressing my chin, I asked.

The lavender girl, who didn't want to join any of the tournaments, was forced to join all of it, by that annoying dandelion boy.

"She won the first round. Her opponent didn't arrive on time, so her victory was declared, easily" answered the crimson girl.

If the lavender girl fought her opponent, surely the probability of her winning was more lower than her losing.

Miracle happened for her, I guess…

Sparing a glance at the crimson girl's profile, I asked her, "Do you think you will win the first round?

  "I don't know, but I will!" 

With confidence brimming over her eyes, and a big grin that you would usually expect from Gino, the crimson girl said those words easily, as if she was just letting out a breath.

"Your opponent's Kirt, right?" looking away from her, I mumbled so.

She nodded.

"I don't think that "that" guy would fight seriously, but I do hope that he will at least try to entertain me" 

Such words from her made me giggle.

…

We soon reached the backstage of Block A Arena.

The crimson girl was about to go to the stage, when I called out to her, "Hey!" which made her turn back.

"Are you gonna show her that form today?" 

With such words Reina gasped, but soon hid her surprised face with a poker face and answered, "I won't"

"Then, wouldn't that make your words that day a lie?" 

Hearing my words, the crimson girl bit her lips and clenched her fist, whilst looking down away from me.

I remained silent, whilst looking at her, before uttering, "Reina you should…"

"Everyone! Are you still fired up?" the red haired MC, Shiro shouted, as the audience cheered loudly.

The sounds they made hid the conversation we had.

"Well, unfortunately, this is our last battle for today" such words from Shiro made the audience shout, "Boo" with their thumbs facing down.

It's like a call and response that you see on the live concert of idols.

"But, let's cheer up and enjoy the last battle. Battle, Ready…Start!" and like that the last fight of Round 1 started.

…

Few seconds after the battle had started, Kirt raised his hand. 

"What's with him?" whilst mumbling so, I sat down beside the lavender girl, at the audience seats

The plain boy gasped and asked, "Where were you?"

"I was talking with Reina for a bit" my answer then made the lavender girl ask, "Did she seem fine?" 

Rubbing my cheek, whilst looking away, I mumbled, "Kinda…"

"Looks like Kirt is surrendering" spoke Forth, who he tilted his glasses up the bridge of his nose. 

We turned to the four-eyed guy and asked, "Why?" 

"I don't know! Look that's what he's telling Shiro" he pointed over Kirt, who was talking with a raised hand.

The crimson girl then approached him and asked, "Why are you surrendering?"

"I don't feel like fighting" the lazy boy stated. "I joined because it seems interesting. But, now that I were given a strong opponent, I will back out, since I don't want to get hurt"

What is that idiot doing..?

"He might be thinking that he is just stating his own thoughts, but it only sounds as a meaningless opinion" whilst stomping the ground, the four-eyed guy mumbled.

You are right.

"If you didn't want to get hurt, then why did you even bother joining the chivalry? Are you an idiot?" 

With her usual pissed tone and face, the crimson girl told the lazy guy.

As Reina continue to mumble her complaints to Kirt, some scales were slowly appearing over her body.

"What is that?" with eyes wide, the lavender girl asked.

I then leaned my chin on my right palm, whilst mumbling, "Finally, it is happening…" to myself.

Out of a sudden, those scales disappeared.

"Looks like she noticed that Anna is here…" thinking so, I spared a glimpse over the lavender girl, beside me.

Come on, we've already gone to this point. Might as well show it to her already or else you won't be able move on even one step ahead.

"So, am I allowed?" Kirt asked and Shiro mumbled, "Well, it is allowed, but… you see" 

Since, this is the last battle of the day, the audience were waiting for it very much. And now, he is telling them that he is going to surrender.

I looked at the crimson girl, and found that she was looking at me, which then made her avert my sight.

"Did she remember the words I've told her, earlier?" such thoughts entered my mind, as I looked at Reina, who was biting her lip and clenching her fists.

Her body then slowly became filled with scales and crimson flowers started blooming beneath her.

Soon, fire surrounded her, which made everyone look over her away.

And, as the flames dispersed away, to the whole stage, the lavender girl mumbled, "D-dragon..?" 

Yes, what was there wasn't the crimson girl we all knew, but was a crimson dragon.

Fixing my way of sitting, I said, "This is it, Anna" which made the lavender girl look at me and gasp, "Eh?"

"This is what she didn't want you to see…" 

*

"Hmm, what's wrong Lux?" 

Following Lux, who was supposed to be looking after me or so Reina said, with my eyes, I mumbled so.

He then looked back at me and barked, "Puu, puu!"

"Is something wrong?" such words left my mouth, before I looked at the Arena, through the window. "Did something happened to them?" 

*

"As I thought…" 

The lazy boy mumbled, and I jumped on the stage, whilst asking him, "Did you purposely provoke her?" 

"You can say so" along those words, his lips formed a smirk.

The red haired MC then asked, "Prince Edward, why are you--"which I interrupted with, "I am going to save her" 

"What are you saying..?" 

Ignoring his words, I looked over the audience seat and found two guys, looking at me with confusion.

"Russell, Forth! Guide the audience out of the arena!" 

Without any questions, the two of them nodded at me and started doing the thing I asked them.

"Save, you say…" the lazy boy mumbled and I asked him, "What, you have any problem with that?" 

He shook his head and giggled.

"Just thinking that it is pretty ironic coming from a guy who provoked the stubborn princess first"

With a question, "Did you hear our conversation?" he quickly nodded, which made me sigh, whilst touching my forehead.

"So, you easily understand things and provoked her, as well?" 

He nodded once again, and this time, instead of a sigh, a snort left from my nose, along with a smirk.

"How sly of you…" I mumbled and he chuckled, "I throw the same words as it is back to you, Ed"

The lavender girl then  called, "Ed-kun!"

"You go help Forth and Russell, Anna!" I told her and she refused, "No! I'll stay here. I-I want to…" with a tone that stated she will cry any moment now.

She's scared and I'm not surprised. 

If you see your best friend turn into a dragon out of a sudden, you will surely be surprised and confused.

But, even though she is scared, surprised and confused… Anna is trying her best to adapt with how things turned out.

Well, if I force her to go, everything I did would be pointless.

"Okay! You can protect yourself, right?" turning back to the crimson dragon, I asked her, who the nodded, "Yes!" 

The lazy boy tapped me shoulder, asking, "Do you have any plan?" and I shook my head, before asking him, "How about you?" which he made him shake his head, as well.

"Ed-kun, Kirt-kun!" 

Called the lavender girl who just went down from the audience's seat, and I asked her, "What is it, Anna?" 

"I have a plan. Care to hear me out?"

*

"With this, the evacuation is done" mumbling so, Forth asked me, "Do you think they can fix Reina?" 

Putting my hands behind me, I answered him with, "I do think and don't, as well. We can only believe them"

"Believe, huh? I haven't done that for many years now" with those words from Forth, we looked at each other and laughed.

*

Kirt used his shadow to restrain Dragon Reina, while she let out fire from her mouth like a dragon.

"She is a dragon, alright?" mumbling so, I faced my right palm towards her and quietly shouted, "Devour" 

Unfortunately, it didn't get devoured. 

It's not a normal magic. After all, it is the type of magic my "Devour" can't devour, no matter how much I activate it.

*

I'm not sure if the plan I've thought of would work out, but it worth trying out!

Taking a deep breath in and out, I started humming, "She started…" which made Ed-kun mumble so.

The two of them kept on attacking Reina-chan with weak attacks to keep her from attacking, and I continued to sing.

"There will be times, when your words won't reach others' hearts. At time like that, you must sing.

Music will reach even the heart of a cold person. It can warm them up. 

You are someone who can do such thing, Anna. Just believe in yourself. You are my beloved daughter, after all" 

Somehow, Mom's words came flowing back to my mind.

Music will always reach someone's heart, and all I need to do is to be the way… the way leading it to them.

That is all I can do..!

Reina-chan, please turn back to normal. This rate, I won't be able to reach your head and pat you, whenever you feel like crying. 

I can't hug you, whenever you're lonely, and I can't give you a lap pillow, whenever you feel sleepy.

Maybe all of those are nothing but excuses I am using to hide my fear.

I am scared at this form of yours, but I am more scared of losing you… of forgetting the you I love!

"Don't worry, I won't bite" with a slight blush, she said so and broke off the ice between the two of us, back that day.

You accepted me for as what I am, so I will do the same, as well and accept you for who you were, who you are and who you will become.

Tears flowed from my eyes. whilst singing and I mumbled, "So please… Reina-chan" 

*

After an hour, the scales disappeared from the crimson girl's body, and she soon turned back to being human.

As if she was in a mecha's cockpit, she fell from the sky and Kirt caught her in midair, with shadow and covered her naked body with it, as well.

"Reina-chan…" whilst hugging her friend, the lavender girl mumbled so.

Turning around, whilst mumbling, "Devour" all the fire around the stage turned into ether particles and entered my body, except for the crimson flowers.

I plucked one and mumbled, "So the form of her ether during crystallization is a crimson flower, huh?"

The crimson flower went straight to my jacket pocked, and I went back to where Kirt, Anna and Reina were at.

…

We then went to the infirmary, while Kirt went to where Forth and Russell were. 

I laid Reina down the bed next Gino's, which made the dandelion boy ask, "What happened to her?" 

"Dragon…" I mumbled and he asked, "Dragon? What do you mean?" 

Whilst taking a sit down the chair, beside the bed, the crimson girl was lying down at, I asked the two of them, "Have you two heard of a story like this?" 

In the Sernathe Kingdom, lived a cheerful and cute little princess with her beautiful Mother and kind Father, alongside her 5 years older sister, the crowned princess.

One day, a certain event caused the disappearance of the girl's happiness.

Some assassins infiltrate their palace and killed the girl's mother, while they beat up and raped her sister.

The little girl saw all of this, which made anger fill the girl's pure white heart.

And suddenly, her anger emitted flames, and crimson flowers, which was the crystallization of her Ether, filled the palace, as the little girl turned into a dragon.

The palace was burnt into crisp, and the girl soon reverted back as her anger loosened up a bit.

But, the fact that her mother died and her sister faced off a traumatic experience didn't change.

Soon, the girl grew up into a cold-blooded girl, which was a front she made, whilst wishing to not hurt anyone anymore.

"And that is Reina…" the dandelion boy mumbled and I nodded,  "Yup, that's Reina. The Reina we are all seeing, right now" 

The lavender girl mumbled, "Reina-chan…" whilst covering the crimson girl's left hand with her hands. 

"Why did she turn into a dragon?" the dandelion boy asked, as he tried to be a little calm than he could.

I fixed my way of sitting and crossed my fingers.

"The Arledimeth family's Arts let them take the shape of something, and such power awakens when a certain emotion of their got high"

And Arts is the kind of Magic that I can't devour, which is why I couldn't erase her Dragon form earlier.

"Reina is disgusted of this form of her and it is a well-known curse of the Arledimeth Family, which was considered extinct, already" 

The dandelion boy looked down, whilst mumbling, "Her certain emotion is anger and that brought the form of a dragon"

"Yup, she can't fully use the ability of shape shifting, so she can't control herself when she is in this form" 

I nodded.

"To make it short, she's a defective…" the lazy boy entered and made the two gasp, while I called him, "Kirt!"

He approached me.

"Reports all done. Shiro and the others are cleaning the Arena and Akari said she'll come to heal Reina, later"

I pressed my chin and mumbled, "Akari..? Ah, the one and only girl sibling"

"There's no point if you pitied her" the lazy boy stated, as he saw the dandelion boy clenched his fists. 

Gino mumbled, "Kirt…"

"This young lady isn't and hasn't wished for anyone's pity. What she need and want is acknowledgement" 

We remained silent, as we looked at Reina who was sleeping, with some scales on her body.

…

Later, Akari went to check up Reina and I left the others at the infirmary.

I leaned my back on the door, as I reminded myself of the things I've told Reina before the battle started.

"Reina, you should stop running away. If you continue to run away, you'll be left alone waiting for those who can't come after you anymore"

Just to make her show her dragon form, I provoked her with words that hurt me more. Well, it's much better for her struggles to end already. 

Her 5 years' worth of struggling…