20 A Planned Surrender (1)

373 woke up with the sound of high-pitched bells harassing her ears.

Her entire body felt as heavy as her eyelids. She wanted to keep her body inside the warmth of her covers and on the soft mattress of her bed. The girl swung her legs to the side of her cot and leapt off before she succumbed to her fatigue. She didn't sleep well – the roller-coaster ride she had yesterday still hadn't completely faded from her system. But she didn't want anyone to notice she was staying out later than she should.

Especially not now, not when Michael was trying to find a way to get her outside of Elisium.

The brown-haired girl changed with the rest of the students, ate breakfast, took a bath, and headed off to her classes like any other day. And just like any other day, she let her mind wander to the new spells she wanted to try out, the demon in the secret room that had a special seal on the floor, the youth with red hair and multi-colored eyes, and the boy called Salamander who had a talent of healing and fire.

It was only when she and the rest of the students in her class had moved to the wide sparring area of Elisium that 373 forced herself to focus on the present. A lot of eyes were on her, observing her every move. The scene was so different from what she was used to a few weeks ago. Her black orbs remained focused on the book in her hands until a shadow loomed over her.

373 looked up.

A tall dark-skinned girl with burnt umber colored eyes and jet-black hair split into twin braids was looking down at her. The other girl had long limbs and was an entire foot taller than 373. The small girl recognized the other girl.

Zain Amina. Number 124. Class Aquarius. Aged 11.

Rank: 1.

The little girl blinked and set her book down. Her rank had fallen from 10 down to 12. The person at the top of the list couldn't possibly be challenging her, right?

The tall girl spoke to 373 with a smile. "I would like to challenge you to a fight."

Okay. She was challenging her to a fight.

373 blinked. "Why?"

"I want to know… just how strong you are," the girl replied.

Without warning, the older girl's body burst into flames as she lunged towards 373. The grass on the area became brown and singed as they came in contact with the girl's flames. The little female moved out of the way and leapt for the empty spot a good distance away from Zain Amina. But as soon as 373 maneuvered to the place she wanted to go, the black-haired female was right in front of her with a sparks of lightning dancing in the older female's hand.

"Fulmen!" Zain Amina dispelled the flames around her and sent her fist flying towards the little girl's face. On instinct, 373 bent her knees and the fist shrouded in lightning narrowly missed her face.

For once, 373 was thankful that she was short.

The smaller female cast fulcio on her entire body without uttering the incantation and ran towards the center of the open area. Zain Amina went after her. Each of the dark-skinned girl's steps was equivalent to four of her own. With a well-cast fulcio and her longer limbs, the taller girl was able to catch up to 373 within a few breaths. A barrage of fists laden with thunder came crashing down the little girl. 373 sucked in a breath and cast the simplest barrier spell that she could think off.

Lightning and pure energy met. Small explosions echoed every time the attacks met the barrier. Before the barrier could break, Zain Amina jumped over the barrier and threw herself in front of 373 like a predator zeroing in on her prey. The smaller female jumped backward, skidded on the grass while bringing green stalks along with her. 373 didn't waste her time and ran.

Crazy!

The girl fought head on like she was crazy! 373 never paid attention to how her other classmates fought because it never really concerned her. But now that she was on the receiving end of Zain Amina's offense, the small female cursed her blissfully ignorant self that chose to bury her face in books rather than paying attention the people around her.

The older female was faster and more powerful than the rest of her peers. It was accurate to say that Zain Amina was on another level than all the children in their class. The realization made 373's heart beat frantically in her rib cage. Her body felt hot as she observed the tall female's movement.

'If Zain Amina was strong, then what about me?' 373 thought silently.

For the first time, 373 found herself smiling in the middle of the match. Her opponent stared at her with a confused look before charging towards her fearlessly and haphazardly. 373 saw Zain Amina running towards her as red flames ignited the grass with each of the dark female's footsteps. Sparks danced around the girl with dark black locks as she charged towards 373.

The idea that Zain Amina was strong, made the little girl feel jittery. She felt an odd feeling welling inside of her, like a fuse had been lit in the depths of her chest and had set off a chain reaction throughout her entire body. Each muscle of her body felt taut while her blood raced through her veins in anticipation.

It wasn't a bad feeling.

She liked it.

And because she liked the feeling rumbling in her chest, 373 decided to take the match seriously.

Very seriously.

***

Zain Amina once had a family.

Her mother was a woman who was reckless and loud. Her father was a fighter with crass language and pride that couldn't be matched. Both were similar in how they loved being right and drowned themselves in alcohol until they passed out. But the similarities between her parents ended there.

There was never a peaceful day in their small home. The crashing and the screaming in their house would usually last from sunrise to dawn. After one fight, they had both agreed to end their relationship and abandon their child to start anew – like nothing had happened between them. And at seven years of age, Zain Amina had found herself abandoned her in a dark alleyway far from the little sleepy town of Amaryllis with nothing but the clothes on her body and a hat on her head.

After 24 hours, Zain Amina realized that she had been discarded like a piece of trash that had no place in the world. She had turned into a tin can that the older homeless people had played with and kicked around until they had enough. It was only when she had turned nine years old that she was taken off the streets and into the haven that was called Elisium. The moment Zain Amina set foot in the paradise she was brought into, she promised herself that she would do her best. She promised she would do what she could to repay the people of Elisium and to make the adults happy.

At age 10, she had risen to the top of her class. In the last year, she had kept that rank with little to no difficulty. When the adults told her that she would be able to go to the Sanctuary if she defeated 373 in a battle, she didn't think about it and immediately agreed. Facing someone 11 ranks below her wasn't much of a challenge. Zain Amina believed it was going to be an easy win that was going to make the adults so proud of her.

But as she stared at the girl whose deep obsidian eyes were fixated on her brown ones, Zain Amina couldn't help but wonder if her opponent was as weak as the adults said she would be. 373 had dodged all of Zain Amina's attacks. And in the middle of their match, the smaller female had flashed her a smile that made the hair's on Zain's neck stand on end.

For the first time in the two years she had lived in Elisium, Zain Amina found herself unable to think. The dark-skinned female could feel the sweat dripping down her back along the edge of her spine. For a moment, she was frozen. Then, her instincts kicked in and told her to charge towards the smaller female.

Zain Amina pushed herself to her peak state and used her long legs to kick of the dirt and head straight towards 373. The girl with brown eyes and a dark complexion gathered energy around her entire body, cast her strongest Ignis, and set herself on fire.