Part Two

Marius Starkole

She let out an excruciating scream.

“Shanzina!” Mariella cried out, struggling against the metal clasps. “What are you doing to her?!”

“Stop this at once!” Yelled Klaus. None of them bat an eye.

When I had seen the headmistress moving her wrist along with the pen, it’d ironically clicked in my head. She was carving something, and it was hot, making hissing sounds as it burned into Shanzina’s nape.

“Do something!” Hale met my eyes, looking at me with a flicker of sadness, before clutching his whip and turning away.

“Stop! Sto-” Her cries cut into screams as the crystal dipped into the back of her neck again, sending eerie echoes around the cave, and shivers through my spine.

Mariella’s eyes pooled from hearing them. “Please!” She wailed, “Please stop this!”

It didn’t seem to matter, still, they carried on. Chief Lorin held Shanzina’s head, adjusting it based on Headmistress Jenna’s hand motions. “Just a little more.”

The screams grew louder and louder, the sound of metal banging against stone in cacophony.

Until it stopped.

“Shanzina?” Mariella called out, suddenly aware of her sob being the only sound in the cave. “What happened to her? Shanzina!”

She wasn’t responding. My heart dropped, Klaus sat frozen with his mouth hung open, and Polaz continued in his attempts to free himself.

Hale stomped towards Shanzina, cupping her face gently. “This was dangerous, you could’ve hit a vein!”

“What happened? Answer me, gods-damn it!” I shouted, causing Hale to turn in my direction.

“She’ll be alright.” He said as he pushed Shanzina’s chair back in line with all of us, “She just passed out.”

Polaz finally stopped moving, and waited to see Shanzina as she was placed back.

Her once tan skin had turned a bluish pale, and her eyes were closed, harboring dark circles underneath them. I breathed a sigh as I watched her chest rise and fall, then I spotted it and felt rage overtake me.

Dark red lines formed a symbol burned into her nape. Steam still flew high above it, the smell of burnt flesh wafting in the air, much stronger now.

“You’ll pay for this!” Polaz shouted.

“Don’t just stand there. Grab the other pens and scar them.” Barked Chief Lorin. “We already started, might as well finish it.”

Hale pretended not to listen as he waved his fingers in a half-circle, making the stone return to its place, tipping Shanzina’s frail body forward to him as he caught her. Once it had reverted to its former position, he laid her down again.

All I could think about was why. Why go this far? What for? They still haven’t explained what was going on.

Before I could protest, I felt my chair move, and looking around, I wasn’t the only one.

“No!” She cried, “Please, don’t do this.” I could hear Mariella whimper as her own chair converted and moved to the headmistress, who pressed her down all the same.

“What are you doing!?” Klaus spat through gritted teeth, “How dare you lay a finger on her!” A part of me felt satisfied, watching his composure melt away, the other part scolded me for feeling such under the circumstances.

“Hold still.” Hale ordered. I hadn’t even realized the back of my seat moved in front of me as he pushed me down.

I was tired of moving, so I asked him a simple question. “Why are you doing this?”

“It’s traditional in the ceremony for the champions to be carved with the school’s blood. Only…” He sighed. “We don’t normally hold them by force.”

“What are you talking about? What is this for-” He only pushed harder as two screams filled the cave again.

“You’ll know soon enough.”

A hot, piercing pain was drawn on the back of my neck. My teeth chiseled each other to keep from screaming. The crystal dug into my skin even more, getting closer to my upper spine. I felt my skin part and scorch as the crystal moved.

I found myself gasping for air as it lifted, only a few seconds before touching my skin again. This time I felt a coldness lingering on my skin, which I figured soon enough was the ink. It felt refreshing against the burn, but I felt my eyesight falter, the light blurring all around me. I closed my eyes, focusing on the pain etching itself on my neck.

Soon, I realized that I didn’t hear Polaz’s shackles banging against the stone. I couldn’t turn my head and check on him, and Hale didn’t seem like he was gonna take a break.

…

The first thing I saw was Klaus gently being laid back, followed by Mariella, both passed out.

“You’re done,” Hale spoke, “Careful not to touch the stone. It’s fresh.”

My heart jumped at his casual tone. Just how many times had he done this before? I was too tired to answer, and turned to my right to see Polaz.

He’d passed out as well, the same burn mark on his nape a glowering red.

My eyelids felt heavy, and the cave swirled around me. The crystal began to fly almost like glowing insects as my body felt lighter and light, and the world faded to black.

…

The burning sensation was gone, replaced by a tingling sensation, the same one I felt in the gazebo. The gazebo… Shanzina. The cliff.

The cave.

I jolted awake, gasping for air.

Nothing but Shanzina’s screams rang in my ear, and Klaus and Mariella’s bodies being scarred, Polaz laying still beside me shattering my senses.

“Jesus Christ!” Shanzina exhaled, following a soft slap on my shoulders, “Don’t do that! You almost gave me a heart attack.”

“Who?” I blinked, trying to stretch out my arms as I watched her pick up something from the floor.

“Um- no one. Lay back and don’t move, I’ll just wash this.” She made her way to the stone table, bringing back a towel in hand, “It’s about time you’re awake.”

I looked around me and saw Polaz to my righ, still the same as I had last seen him, except in a bed with a towel over his eyes. To my left, Klaus and Mariella lay the same as well, the shackles on us now open.

I twisted my wrists around as I gave it one final look. None of the professors, chiefs, or the headmistress were anywhere to be found.

Did they just leave us without saying anything?

“Come on. Lay down.” Shanzina placed a hand on me, gently pushing me back, a dry towel in the other. Using it, she patted my eyes slowly.

She must have seen the confusion on my face when she said, “We need to pat dry the excess water. It’s mixed with Tillaya Flower. Does it feel cool?”

“Yes,” I said, “Wai- Tillaya? The ones you use when you’re sick?”

“Yeah, I’m as confused as you are.” She gave a humorless chuckle, “I was the first to wake up. I had the towel over my eyes too, then I saw a bowl with the petals in it and some dry towels. Everyone’s temperature is normal, I checked. So is yours.”

“What about you?” I asked, the flashbacks of how she screamed with agony taunting for my mouth to open.

“It’s normal.” She nodded, grazing the back of her neck with a hand, and bringing my hand to her forehead with the other. “See, I think they were to cool that stinging warmth on our eyes-”

“I mean your nape, Shanzina.” I let my hand slip slowly onto the arm that still held her neck. “Does it still hurt?”

“It’s fine now. It’s already healed.” She said, a little surprised. “Everyone’s nape is too.”

I touched my nape to feel it. She was right. Now, it was smooth, but there were still bumps from the burnt skin. I traced my finger along the smooth stone, following a circle inside a bigger circle, accompanied with the letter ‘M’, around it were small patterns too small for me to discern.

“How long were we asleep?” All she’d responded with was a frown, lowering her gaze in a way that worried me even more. I took her hand again, “Shanzina, how long?”

She let out a breath, as if unsure of her words, when she spoke. “We’ve been asleep for almost…”

“3 years.” She forced herself.

I felt my heart stop trying to take in what she had said. I looked down on my hands to see that there were specs of dust all over me. Did time fly that fast while we were unconscious?

I was about to open my mouth when Shanzina bit her lips, bursting into a cackle as she took it in. “You should have seen your face!” She slapped the mattress, struggling to catch her breath in between her bouts of laughter.

“You’re such a jerk.” I grumbled.

“Who fooled you.” She laughed, snickering behind her eyes as she looked around. The only one who ever will.

One of the people stirred awake, letting out a groan. “What happened?”