SUGAR APPLES

The stairs led up to a landing and another wooden door. On the other side of the door, the rest of her housemates, with the exception of a certain being with pink hair, sat. They were situated at one of the VIP seats near the top of the colosseum. There was a stone over the seats built to cover them and hide them from the sun. There were other seats like theirs, but these seemed to be occupied by older people. The rest of the student body was seated in normal seats. To Lexine, this reminded her of a football stadium.

Artin was seated to the far left with Taevlin to his right. They both had their noses stuck in books. Artin was scribbling something furiously in a notebook using a feather pen and a bottle of ink on the stone ledge in front of him. Taevlin's book was small and fit into his palm. His gray hair had been slicked back with one strand falling over his eyes.

Next to Taevlin sat Desire. Her hair was a beautiful shade of brown today. She was staring at the field almost unblinkingly. Next to her was Quira who seemed to be growing a plant as she stared intently at it. The stem of the green plant wound around her wrist and Quira patted the large leaf that grew at the tip as if it were a dog.

Raveer sat next to her. He was discussing something with Cardial who was frowning like usual. He seemed displeased as he kept on hitting the handle of his seat with his fist. His eyes were drawn to Christana who sat at the far right. Sevin sat next to him and he was speaking with Adley who seemed angry about something as her face was pulled down in a frown. Christana sat two seats from Sevin.

Christana was the first to notice them. "Rinda, over here." she waved them over. There were two empty seats on either side of her. She was dressed in a light red dress that was more revealing than what Aurinda wore. The dress fell to her ankles but had slits that slid up both sides of her body up to her thighs. The dress was strapless and had a low cleavage. Her flaming hair was tied in a complicated looking updo and a red rose was stuck into the right side. She had no jewelry on her, but Lexine noticed she carried black leather sheaths. She looked like a dangerous seductress.

Lexine sat to her left. Aurinda handed one sugar apple to Christana who smiled, her eyes lighting upon seeing the treat, shattering the illusion of her being a seductress. "Did you see Meddy before leaving the house?"

Aurinda shook her head with a frown on her face. "I haven't seen him since last night."

Christana took a bite of the treat and spoke with her mouth full. "You're the one who said he has not lost a challenge. I don't think today will be the day he will lose either."

Aurinda fiddled with the brown paper that carried the sugar apples. "I know. But he leaves the colosseum half dead every time. I do not understand why he has to accept all the challenges. He has nothing to prove to anyone!"

Christana stopped mid-chew, "You better than anyone know that is not true."

Lexine looked at them confused, "What does he have to prove?"

Aurinda's attention moved to her, "He has to prove that he is not weak. His energy signature is low and this makes him easy pickings. Many also have animosity towards his kind. Challenging him is a sort of way to blow off steam and show their superiority over his kind."

Lexine remembered the pink-haired guy from the evening before. He sure had it hard.

However, how bad was it that he left the colosseum half-dead, as Aurinda put it. Lexine shuddered and reminded herself once more, no pointless fights, keep head down, take gold coins to mother.

Lexine was pulled out of her thoughts when a voice spoke up, "Lexine, a good morning."

Lexine looked up to see Adley. Her mocha-colored skin glowed in the morning sun. She was dressed in a dress a darker shade of blue than Aurinda. The sleeves fell to her wrist but left the shoulders bare. Little flowers were sown at the wrist and a white sash was tied around the waist. Her shoulder-length blue hair was braided in a french braid. "Good morning."

She took the empty seat next to Lexine, her back perfectly straight. "Are you well? I hope Aurinda did not cause you any trouble."

Lexine shook her head and took out her sugar apple. "Not at all. She was very nice and helped me pick something to wear. Even though she did wake me up from my sleep..." She considered her terrible sitting posture and shook her head at the thought of sitting up straight. It was too much work.

Adley sighed as if relieved. She looked over to Aurinda who was chatting with Christana. Her previous gloominess had dimmed. "I am glad. My sister tends to worry too much about others not considering her own feelings. It makes it easy for her to get hurt."

Lexine was not much shocked at the information that Adley and Aurinda were sisters. They were scarily similar and both had mocha-colored skin very much like Africans.

"You care about her, don't you?"

Adley nodded. "It is my job as the elder twin after all."

This took Lexine back a bit. Although they looked similar, she hadn't thought as far as to proclaim them twins. "I am sure she can take care of herself though, she seems reliable."

Adley nodded, "You're right. I worry too much."

She looked to her sister who was smiling toothily and cracked a small smile on her face.

Their attention was drawn to the field when the crowd began cheering. A tall bulky guy walked out of the right side of the field. He was shirtless, showcasing his toned chest. His feet were also left bare. His long brown hair was tied up in a man bun. He gave the crowd opposite to where Lexine and her housemates were sitting a wave they cheered even louder.

The crowd went silent when Meddy walked onto the field. His pink hair was pinned out of his face and he was covered in light armor. The armor covered his arms and chest. He held a bow tightly in his hands and a quiver was strapped to his back. His eyes landed on the seats his roommates were occupying and flitted over them, from Taevlin to Aurinda. He gave them a flirty smile. Christana and Sevin facepalmed at the idiocy he carried on his body.

"Is he normal?" Lexine asked. What kind of idiot would smile at people when he was about to fight against a hulk of a being? Apparently this pink-haired fool.

His face turned scarily serious as seemed to be trying to communicate something to them before he turned his gaze to his opponent. With his height and build and considering Aurinda's explanation about the different species, Lexine deduced he was a werewolf.

Aurinda leaned over Christana to tap Lexine and pointed to Meddy's opponent. "Were you able to tell what species he is?"

"Werewolf, considering his build and height."

Aurinda smiled and nodded, "You catch on fast."

The crowd that was previously cheering was now booing and one even threw a rolled paper at Meddy. Was he really that hated?

The werewolf looked at his opponent and let out a snarl. He leaned his upper body a bit to the front like a cat waiting to pounce. Meddy did not speak and his lips were pulled down into a frown. It made him look like a general, leading his army to war. However, his grip on his bow tightened.

The colosseum fell into silence when Karl walked up to the field. He was dressed in a short sleeved robe this time. Lexine still could not believe that the young-looking man was the principal. "I am overseeing this match, so keep it clean and may the best win." His voice was loud as he spoke, resonating over the whole colosseum.

He let the black robe that was covering his upper body fall to the ground leaving his torso bare. A pair of translucent wings fluttered from his back. If it was not for the way they glinted in the sunlight, Lexine could have completely missed it. The wings were a purple that matched the shade of his earring. They spanned a length that seemed six feet. Lexine watched in utter fascination as he fluttered twice as if stretching them, before letting them balance feet him over the ground.

Her body moved forward as she took in the magestic being. She really was not on earth anymore. "Wow."

Adley noticed her awe. "Magestic, isn't it?"

Lexine was struck speechless leaving Sevin to answer for her, "Of course it is! Headmaster has one of the rarest wing color among the Sylph kind."

Curious, Lexine asked, "What colors are common?"

Sevin counted them on his fingers, "Silver, blue and brown. Silver for water sylphs, Blue for plant sylphs and brown for earth sylphs."

Lexine stored that to memory. Syplhs wore different kinds of rings on their body and sprouted translucent wings on their backs. She felt like a sponge, soaking in all this information.

Karl blew a horn he had loudly and Lexine watched as Meddy's opponent ran forward, heading straight for Meddy. The match had commenced!