Chapter Eight

The next day arrived and Arabella prepared for her match against Salvador. Nostace watched her prepare with an anxious look on her face. She worried that Arabella would be hurt like the last time. Arabella noticed the anxious look the little girl wore, as if she was a mother worrying over her child.

"What is it, Nostace?" Arabella asked.

"Nothing." She said with a sigh.

Arabella laughed and ruffled the little girl's hair. She knew that everyone was worried that she would be hurt. If she was being honest she was a little worried as well. Still she knew that there were going to be times where she wouldn't be prepared and she would be anxious about an upcoming match or battle. This was something that she would need to face head on. She had worked too hard to walk away because of fear.

Arabella went down the stairs with Nostace hot on her heels. The little girl followed her nearly everywhere she went now and Arabella was getting used to her presence. When she walked into the library she was greeted by Tamaki and Genova. They both looked at her anxiously.

"I know that the two of you don't like this." She said. "But can you please stop looking at me like you are going to my funeral? It makes me nervous."

"Sorry." Tamaki mumbled.

"Thank you." She said. "Now it's about time to head over there. I will see you there in a bit." She said as she opened the front door.

When she shut the door she heard a voice call out to her. She looked in the direction that it came from and nearly jumped out of her skin. Lisbell, the little girl working for the Council came skipping up to her. Arabella nearly ran back inside and locked all of the doors. She took a calming breath and smiled nervously at her.

"Arabella!" She waved. "I can't believe that someone challenged you to another match!" She said excitedly. "You know, we put off leaving so that we can see you fight again." She said.

"Really?" Arabella asked forcing a smile. "Well, I am glad that you and your people are staying to watch the match. You know I was worried about something."

"Whats that?" Lisbell asked.

"Well, the village that you are looking for is hard to find. I hope that you will be okay when you do go."

"We'll be fine. I have a friend that is staying there. Their parents were sending us letters on what the route to the village was like." She said. Arabella's stomach flip flopped nervously. Now that she knew that the little girl was working with the Council she was surprisingly easy to read. She wasn't sure if this information was true or not but she would have to have Salvador look into it.

"I see then that's good." She said. "Well, I have to get to the arena. I will see you after. Then we can go look in on your father together."

"Okay!" She called waving.

Arabella made her way into the arena where Salvador was already there waiting for her as well as a large crowd. Michael, Horace, and the others were sitting nearby. The two bowed to each other and the match was called to a start. Arabella drew her swords and waited for Salvador to determine his move. Just like Arabella he sported a bow and arrows as well as a sword. Salvador drew his bow and arrow. He drew back on the string and lined up his shot. When he had was sure that his aim was true he let the arrow fly. With lightening fast reflexes Arabella batted the arrow away. Everyone held their breath as they waited for the next move. Salvador fired off two and then three arrows. Each one Arabella dodged or batted away. The arena was still as they gauged each other. When Salvador was satisfied he put his bow and arrow away and drew his sword. The real battle would now begin.

Salvador took a deep breath and griped the hilt of his sword. He exhaled and charged at her. Arabella gripped her swords and began to charge at him as well. When they clashed sparks flew as the blades pushed against each other. They jumped back gauging each other and charged again. Their swords danced and slashed through the air as they blocked each other blow for blow. Arabella jumped back realizing that she was getting no where with him. At this point it was a matter of who would tire who out first. Arabella sheathed her swords to everyone's surprise. She drew her bow and arrow. She drew back on the string as Salvador charged at her and fired off a succession of arrows, one after the other. Salvador dodged and blocked where he could but he found her pace to be taxing. His chest heaved with each breath he took. He knew that he was getting worn out. Soon he wouldn't have the stamina to keep up. He kept his sword in his right hand and held out his left hand. Arabella put her bow away and drew her swords. Salvador could feel the energy building in the palm of his hand. He took a deep breath and exhaled letting the energy that had built up lose on the arena. A giant wall of water bounded up and came rushing at her. Arabella cursed and dug both swords into the ground as the wall of water came crashing over her. When the water receded Arabella removed her swords from the ground and began to charged at Salvador. Everyone cheered as she raced towards him. Salvador's eyes lit up with excitement. Most people were normally washed away from an attack like that. As they continued to spar his excitement grew. He launched wind attacks at her as well as fire. Everyone watched with baited breath. They weren't sure what would happen next. Everyone of Salvador's magic attacks had been attacks that would fell even the most skilled opponent but Arabella managed to dodge or repel his attacks. No matter how he attacked her she managed to somehow come out ahead. While everyone thought the battle would conclude soon Salvador wanted to test her resourcefulness.

"I do hope that you do not mind these tests." He said.

"Not at all!" She said with sparkling eyes.

"Then lets see just how resourceful you can be." He said holding out his left hand.

Arabella waited to see what he would do next. He turned his hands facing palms up. To Arabella's surprise he didn't raise his hands and lift the land that she was standing on. Instead, he cupped his hands together and the ground beneath her began to curve upwards into the shape of a ball. Arabella looked around and decided that it was best to put her swords away. She began to run up the sides of the sphere. When she knew that she could go no further without falling down she took out two daggers and stuck them in the earth. Arabella began to climb up to the top of the ball where there was a hole just big enough for her to crawl through.

Salvador laughed when she emerged out of the top of the sphere in a matter of seconds of the sphere fully forming. Everyone who had thought that she had no hope of getting out of the sphere stood there staring at her in disbelief. Salvador nodded his head and extended his left hand. He could feel the energy build up and crackle as it pulsed down his arm and into the palm of his left hand. He knew that if she could manage to out maneuver him with this attack then he would have to comply with her request for help. Tamaki and Genova noticed that the atmosphere around the arena was crackling as if it had been electrified. Their eyes widened as they turned to look at each other.

"He wouldn't?" Tamaki began.

"No." Genova began but it was too late.

He raised his arm up into the air and let the energy release into the sky. Within seconds a giant bolt of lightening dropped from the sky to the ground. Arabella jumped back as the bolt came crashing down in front of her. She grabbed her daggers and threw them at the ground creating mini lightening rods. As she dodged the lightening she grabbed her bow and arrows and began to fire them at the ground in front of Salvador. Salvador chuckled as he realized that she was going to turn the ground around him into a lightening rod. With the arrows in the ground lightening began to strike where she had thrown her daggers and aimed her arrows. Still Arabella was not done. As the lightening fell faster and faster Arabella pulled out two more daggers. She climbed up the side of the sphere and threw them one after the other at Salvador. Just as she had hoped he deflected them into the air but the trap had been lain. When the lightening struck the daggers it was like a cage had been built of lightening. Salvador laughed when he realized the predicament he was in. He didn't know when she had done it but she had been laying a trap for him from the very start. When the lightening stopped he drew his sword. The last thing was to test his stamina against hers. They were both equally fast and as they battled head to head the crowd in the stadium cheered them on. The fight had been more exciting than they had expected. They didn't care who won as both fighters had fought equally well. Towards the end of the match Salvador and Arabella both stood on shaky legs. Sweat covered their brows. Arabella gripped her swords readying herself for one final clash. Salvador clutched his sword and lead the charge. Arabella followed and soon steel was upon steel. Sparks flew and Arabella pushed back his attack and quickly followed up with her own attack. Salvador tried to block her attack but couldn't find the strength. He dodged her quickly rolling away. Arabella charged towards him but her legs wobbled. Salvador tried to stand up but his legs shook and he found himself supporting himself on his sword. Their chests heaved raggedly.

"I...think..." Salvador began.

"It's...a draw..." Arabella finished.

Salvador nodded his head and they shook hands. A few people in the crowd complained about the tie but many people were satisfied with the fight. They had never witnessed anything like it before. Tamaki and the others came over to congratulate them on the match.

"Arabella," Michael began. "How did you manage that whole thing with the lightening?" He asked.

"Yeah! I gotta know too!" Horace said. "I have been trying to beat him for years. I don't think anyone has ever pulled that off before."

"No. I have got to say that was a first." Salvador said. "I have never been trapped by my own attack before."

"I guess it was just luck." Arabella said.

"Absolutely not!" Horace said. "That was ingenious!"

"Arabella!" Lisbell called.

Arabella froze when she heard the little girl calling her name cheerfully. Salvador and the others looked at her in surprise. Genova had never known her to act that way towards another child. He realized then that she was the child that she had been talking about. They watched as Arabella arranged her facial features into those of a person that was happy to see her.

"You were so amazing!" She said as she threw her arms around her.

"Thank you." Arabella said patting her head.

"You were kind of cool too." She said turning towards Salvador.

"Kind of?" He asked arching a brow. He could read the glare hiding deep within her eyes.

"Well, yeah. You see, she is just like us. She has no powers like us, so it's awesome seeing her fight against people like you." She said not bothering to hide her disdain. "It was so cool watching her trap you in that cage of lightening." She said smiling up at Arabella. Arabella forced herself to smile back.

"Hey, I am really sweaty. I am going to wash up and change." Arabella said. "Let's meet up afterwards." The little girl nodded and skipped away.

"Well, that was unsettling." Genova said.

"Yeah. Anyway, I am going to head back to the estate and get cleaned up." Arabella said with a sigh.

They made their way back to the estate in silence. While Arabella went to clean up Genova and the others sat down in the estate's library and discussed the match. Genova pulled up the recording of the match that he had taken. When Arabella came back down stairs they were still watching it. Arabella sighed and shook her head. Instead of watching her match she grabbed a book and curled up while she waited for them to finish. Once they were done all eyes were on her. Arabella looked up from her book and sighed.

"What?" She asked.

"We need to talk about what we need to do next." Genova said. Arabella nodded her head and closed her book.

"I agree. I have been thinking on that for a while now." She said. "There is really only two things that we can do now."

"What's that?" Tamaki asked.

"Well, we can go after the little girl directly, which if you think about it, it won't get us anywhere right now."

"Agreed." Tamaki said.

"Or we can start with interviewing the refugees. Not just the ones we detained either."

"You want to ask all of them?" Salvador asked. "Just how many refugees are there anyway?"

"About fifty." Arabella said.

"When did you have the time to find out how many refugees made it to the village?" Genova asked. "Even I didn't know how many of them were here."

"Well, I noticed that there were about fifty faces that weren't here when we first left." She said. "It was easy to see who was a villager and who wasn't. Right now I figure that it is easier to tackle the refugees first. Since we have the guy that poisoned the arena here that is one less. If you add that his wife was the one that left the village that makes two. We'll save the little girl for last. It will be easier to find out what fits in where. From there we can see how much the little girl's story differentiates from the others." She said.

"I see. It would seem easier to do things that way. Of course it is a lot of leg work so we will have to cram in as many people as possible." Tamaki said.

"I'm not so sure. It might be too much for Salvador." Arabella said.

"Yeah." He snorted. "Right."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Arabella asked.

"Well, I guessed that you wouldn't know this, but I am an interrogator for the military. Which means that I have gone days without sleep just so that I can find the information that I am looking for."

"Really?" Arabella asked raising here eyebrow.

"Yes. Its quite terrifying." Genova said.

"Exactly how long have you gone without sleep?" Arabella asked.

"I think the longest was a week." Salvador said with a shrug. "I don't really remember."

"How do you not remember?" Michael asked.

"Most people have trouble remembering what happens after they stay up for more than two days. I have spent years training and have been able to remember what happens up until day ten. After that I need an assistant to take notes so I can go over them. It's very easy to lose track of the smallest thing when you go without sleep." He said.

"Why would you need to train for something like that though?" Michael asked.

"Because, even though there are those of us who are born with rare abilities, like myself, they can become very dangerous to manage. If someone with an ability like mine tried to use their techniques on someone without training it could potentially damage the person they are interrogating. In some cases people have died from attempting to use their ability before they were ready." Salvador warned.

"While most of the Vosat military have spatial abilities there are those of us who are gifted with special and often dangerous abilities. That is why we train to use our abilities so that way we are not a danger to ourselves as well as others. Even the training itself can be grueling and dangerous but those born with the abilities understand that we may be called upon in times of crisis so we must be prepared for anything. So it is with great pride and honor that we train to obtain the highest proficiency possible." Salvador said.

"I see. I did not understand the amount of training and sacrifice that it took to manage such abilities. I always just assumed that you guys were born awesome right from the start." Michael said. Genova laughed.

"Unfortunately, that isn't the case. Still that is probably a good thing. After all it is through that training that we learn to respect our abilities and the abilities of others. We understand the hard work and sacrifice necessary to be able to wield them safely." Tamaki said.

"Indeed, I think those people who are naturally gifted do not understand that there are people who have had to work at everything. Our lives are forfeit the moment a power like that manifests. For some of us, like Salvador and Tamaki, we have more than one special ability. These are called the noble abilities and are passed down from the royal family." Horace said.

"Does everyone here have a noble ability?" Michael asked.

"Let's see, Salvador has a mind reading ability as well as dissolve state, which can break down a person's mental faculties. Horace has poison touch . It enables him to use a poison that he has drawn out of someone and apply it to someone else. He can poison someone just by touching them. He also has take over. It allows him to take over anyone or possess their body to get by bad situations." Tamaki said.

"Then Tamaki has blood lance, very dangerous. If he draws even just a little bit of your blood a squeeze of his fists can kill you in an instant, he hasn't learned to fully control his strength yet so he doesn't use it. He also has healing light as well as mirror." Salvador said.

"Whats that?" Michael asked.

"It's a special attack that allows you to reflect your opponent's attack back at them as well as copying the attack." Horace said.

"I don't understand why I am shocked by anything that I learn about you." Michael said shaking his head. "I am glad that I am on your side."

Arabella sighed and rubbed her forehead. She was still exhausted from the fight and her legs wobbled a little as she stood there listening to the men talk. Salvador turned to look at her when he froze. Her face was suddenly pale.

"Princess, are you okay?" He asked.

"Yes-" Arabella began to feel dizzy. "No. I think that I might be a little tired." She said with a frown. Everyone looked at her as she stood there on shaky legs.

"Here." Horace said supporting her as he helped her to a seat. "Let me have a look and see what is wrong." He said. He placed a hand over her head and sighed.

"What's wrong?" Tamaki asked.

"Help me lean her forward." Horace said without wasting any time. He raised the back of her shirt and frowned at what he saw. "We have got to do something about that little girl." He said.

"How?" Salvador asked. "You don't have proof that she is behind any of the things that happened."

"I have all of the proof I need." He said placing his hand on her lower back. Arabella tried to jerk away from him as he drew the poison out of her.

"What's wrong with her?" Genova asked.

"Princess, please hold still." Horace pleaded. "I know it hurts but I need to get this poison out of you."

Arabella nodded her head and bit down on her lip. She laid stiff as a board as the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. Her breathing was laboured as Horace worked on her. It wasn't long until the pain was replaced with a warm soothing heat. Arabella's body relaxed and her breathing returned to normal.

"Can someone please tell me what happened?" Tamaki demanded.

"She was poisoned, again. This one was clever though. I almost mistook it for exhaustion." Horace said. "She should be okay though." He said looking at Arabella, who was sitting up again and wiping the blood from her lips.

"How did this happen?" Salvador asked when he spotted the blood on her lips.

"I will not give the Council or one of their minions the satisfaction of crying out in pain." Arabella spat in anger.

"What can we do about this?" Salvador asked with worry.

"How the heck are you still awake?" Horace wondered.

"I may be small but I am not weak!" Arabella said glaring at them. The men flinched under her hard stare. She stood up and began to pace the floor chewing on her nail. "Still we cannot go after the little girl immediately. Also I learned some disturbing information today. The little girl, She knows someone inside the village and they have been giving her information on how to get to the village. Everyone is in danger." She said dragging a hand through her long black hair.

"What?" Tamaki asked in alarm. "When did you learn this?"

"On my way to the arena. I ran into Lisbell and that was when she told me that someone was giving her information on how to get to the village." Arabella frowned. "We don't have anymore time to waste. We need to start interrogations now."