//18// Wings

"Scared?" Ohana asked with a sanctimonious smirk as she caught Arsenal mid-air, spreading her wings for him to see, and gliding through the sky, as far away from the facility as possible, until eventually landing close to the village, but a place where she wouldn't be seen.

"What was that?" Arsenal asked when finally found his voice, the expression of surprise on his face was hilarious, and it was difficult to wrap his head around what had just happened to him.

"Don't tell anyone please," Ohana replied. Her wing had vanished, and she was back to looking normal. There were so many questions on his mind, like where thòse wings came from, was she a witch, a demon, or an angel? What part of her body did those wings pop out of and why didn't he notice it?

"You have wings?"

"Arsenal!" She scolded him and looked around the vicinity to make sure that no one was nearby. Luckily they were just surrounded by trees, and most people won't be here while it's getting dark.

"I beg you, do not mention this to anyone. Don't act like you don't know what happened now. I will be gone if the Agents find out… promise me."

"I promise," Arsenal retorted, still staring at her in awe. Now he understood why she always marveled at him when he did something incredible.

"Is it, like magic?" he inquired, unable to hold back his curiosity.

"No?"

"It's just a special skill, the wings are not real, it's just an illusion. I guess you can say that I am one of those few people born with the ability to fly. It's rare, only one person out of a thousand people is born with it. I'm lucky I guess."

"But you are hiding it."

"Because I will get killed!"

Ohana paused and turned to face Arsenal, she wanted to make sure that he understood her before they returned to the village.

"Look, my father had three kids, and two of us had this power. We tried as much as we could to hide it from people, but somehow my sister used it outside and it caught the attention of an Agent who came to our house the next day."

"Okay?" Arsenal muttered, indicating that was still listening to her,

"They offered my dad ten thousand silver Gnomes in exchange for my sister, and he agreed. Traded my sister behind our backs, and at the time he did, I was so young, I didn't even know I had the ability as well."

"Oh."

Arsenal was short of words, but he could already guess why his father would do something like that. In order not to appear insensitive, he sympathizes with her..

"I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault." retorted Ohana,

"My father would do anything to make money, no matter how diabolical. If I'm not careful, he might sell me too, because things are so difficult right now, eating one meal a day is difficult and taxes must be paid if we want to live."

Ohana paused and sighed heavily, while Arsenal had the urge to draw her in for a hug to make her feel better. He doesn't blame her for the unfortunate circumstances but Eldrith. Whoever he was, Arsenal already hated him, but he was yet to know half of his wickedness.

"I've kept mine a secret from him and I don't want anyone to know about it because I don't know what the Agents does with those they've capture. Like my sister, is she dead or alive? I don't know… so, please do not tell anyone okay?"

"I swear," Arsenal gave her his word before they continued walking into her village.

"What about you?" she asked him,

"Are your powers something that you are born with, the incredible strength?"

Arsenal nodded his head on agreement,

"Yes," He said,

What else could he say to avoid raising suspicion.

"I see, it's good to see someone with a hidden talent like me. Are you hiding from them too?"

"Not really."

"I am on a journey through this region, I just need to get my hands on one Gnoman power crystal and I'll be on my way, I just need to know where to find one."

Ohana stopped walking once again and turned to face the young man next to her,

"Do you know how to unlock its magic?" She inquired, and Arsenal thought that the only logical response was to say yes, so he admitted to knowing how to unlock its magic.

"Then you can fight for one at the battle ring, it's not so far away from where I live and judging by what I've seen so far, I'm sure that you will win the fight and get a crystal from the Agents."

"The Agent?"

"Yes."

"They organise the fight once a week to entertain themselves. But you need to be there early to get a chance to compete because there are lots of people who fight to get the crystal."

"Oh?" Arsenal eyes widened in shock,

"I think Ohana is here to make my life easier." He whispered underneath his breath.

"Most of them can't unlock the magic," she continued,

"They end up exchanging if for one thousand silver Gnomes with the Agents. So you can say that most of them just fight for the money.

Truth be told, Arsenal did not want to fight any more, and this was because he wanted to save some coins to purchase other relevant skills, than spend all of them to boost his strength.

"When is the next fight?" He asked.

"Usually it happens on the third day of the week,", she answered,

"I don't know how long we've been in that prison but I'm guessing that we are still on the first day, so two days from now.

"Okay. I just need to find a place to sleep tonight then I'll prepare for it tomorrow." Before Arsenal could finish his words, Ohana said,

"I know just where you'll stay, and it wouldn't cost you a single Gnom."