Chapter 108

108 One Minute and Seven Seconds

“If you hurt my wife, Shasta.. We are going to have issues.” Tidas’ voice was low and threatening as he stood before his Vice Commander.

Not fazed in the slightest by the prince’s threat, Shasta retorted; “If I can hurt her now, imagine how bloodied up she’d get on a real battlefield.. Some children only learn the hard way, prince.”

As Shasta walked away, Skye called over to her husband. She was miffed at his lack of opinion and support throughout most of their exchanges. She’d been particularly pissed at his lack of support during her argument to strictly be a healer, but now wasn’t the time for it.

Skye seemed calm, but on the inside, she was raging. Half of her was scared to death; cursing herself for agreeing to fight a freaking Pillar! The other half wanted to yank her whiskers out. She didn’t know why Shasta was automatically against her. The thought did cross her mind that maybe she liked Tidas, but she brushed it aside. Based on everything Tidas had said, she treated him like ‘a little brother that got taller than her’.

Tidas had trained with Shasta and Zas both, but Shasta attached herself to Tidas. She acted just like a female house cat that was guarding her owner against strays. The prince and Zas were the first two that could keep up with her.

In the Fae village she ‘grew up’ in, your status was determined by your strength. Shasta had been abandoned, but the villagers took care of her. She wound up being stronger than most of them after being with them for seven years. When she came into her magic, she became hostile and challenged every single warrior in the village; and won. Effectively conquering it.

Moving on to the next, she did the same thing; this time killing some of them. Over and over again, Shasta fought until Titania had lost almost a quarter of her kingdom. She’d dispatched her son-in-law, and an older female fairy that looked very much like the one by the large chest, to deal with her.

Not being nearly as experienced as she was now, Shasta had gotten her ass handed to her. She was interested in speaking with the fairy, but her curiosities would have to wait. To her: Skye was a selfish and ignorant little princess that needed a reality check before she put Tidas’ life in danger.

Magnus had Zas and Tidas clear the pool tables for the little fight, if one could even really call it that. Magnus had set strict rules: Shasta had to wait one minute before she could attempt to hit Skye. If she does hit Skye, it can’t be harmful or lethal. After the minute, Skye was open to attack.

.....

The princess knew she needed to hit Shasta before the minute was up. With her speed, she would easily get to her target after the time limit. Skye understood the massive advantage the Vice Commander had over her.

Tankers were naturally better at hand-to-hand combat than most other trait holders. Elementals only had greater advantages when their element was abundant. Skye was most skilled with her water trait since that was her original one. There wasn’t much water around, but Skye’s reach could extend much farther than it used to.

There was a courtyard outside the door, behind Ronnie and Klaus. Skye could sense water from a decently sized fountain, and felt a small amount of relief as she began to build her supply right outside the door.

Every magic user in the room could feel Skye’s magic, it was so immense. Shasta had been surprised by the well she sensed from the girl, but it didn’t cause her to worry. The girl was too inexperienced. To the point of being pathetically cute. Her speed at gathering her magic was unbelievably slow, or so Shasta thought.

Mages could sense magic in others depending on the amount they were using, but they can’t tell what the magic is. Fairy Fae are sometimes exceptions, like Aero and Maevis. But most, like Shasta, can’t tell the finer details. As far as she knew; Skye was building her Earth magic. There was no obvious water source in sight, so Shasta readied herself for Earth-based attacks.

“Zas and Tidas will be referees. If they see anything unsportsmanlike, the one at fault automatically loses; is that clear?” Magnus announced, drawing everyone’s attention.

Zas stepped forward to stand between Skye and Shasta. He’d whispered something to the cat woman that caused her to grimace, but Skye could only guess that it was some kind of threat. Zas turned towards Skye and flashed her an encouraging smile. She smiled back with a thankful expression before refocusing on the task at hand.

After Zas took his place opposite the prince, everyone in the room held their breaths as they waited for Magnus’ signal. Skye could feel her pulse behind her eyes as her blood surged throughout her body. Her heart hammered in her chest as she strained to hear over it.

Shasta stood completely calm and collected. She could easily hear Skye’s heartbeat, and knew the panic the girl was probably feeling. She’d felt it many times before she gained her confidence as a warrior. It was just another example of how green the princess was, and Shasta planned to drive the point straight into her gut..

Magnus looked over the room, then called out in a booming voice; “BEGIN!”

Large, blunted spikes shot out of the ground underneath where Shasta had been standing. She easily dodged it; leaping backwards effortlessly. Spikes shot up out of the ground in quick succession each time Shasta’s feet touched down. But the moment she landed, she was moving again.

Spikes trailed after her as she laughed mockingly. Shasta jumped around the room like the agile feline she was; table to chair, floor to chandelier. She chortled and made haughty comments while springing around. The ones about her clothes and features Skye ignored, but she became furious when she’d began to harshly rip at her magic.

“Hahahahaha! Why are you even here?! You couldn’t hit the broad side of a Barghest with that speed or aim! Give it up, princess! Go back to reading your fairytales; that’s what good little girls do!”

Losing her cool slightly, Skye snapped at Shasta as she smashed several spikes into the ceiling; “Oh, shut it, ye bloody stray!”

“Oh? Did I hit a nerve, little princess?! Well, if you’re that easy; this will all be over in about forty seconds!” Shasta bellowed out as she now jumped from spike to spike.

Skye fumed as the Vice Commander of the RMC mocked her. She flung her arms in various directions, attempting to catch Shasta from an unexpected angle. She’d also started to try and anticipate where Shasta would land. She’d come close to landing a blow several times, but her agility was too much. She twisted and contorted herself as Skye seemingly chased her around the room.

However, the princess did notice one thing: Shasta seemed to take the same route around the room with every pass. There was a spot between two large spikes that Skye was intentionally leaving untouched. Shasta had landed there several times, so Skye decided to attempt a classic pitfall.

With about twenty-five seconds left, a chuckling Shasta stepped on the hastily made hole. Skye didn’t make it deep, or compact the sides. She just needed that split second to land a blow.. Which never came.

Skye’s stomach churned at the revelation; Shasta wasn’t even using any of her magic up until that point. She’d been jumping and dodging with just her basic physical strength. An unfamiliar fear shot up Skye’s back as Shasta stood and grinned devilishly at her from beside the pitfall.

“Not bad, princess! Few recruits can force me to use my magic their first time with me.. Let’s see what you can do when I kick it up a notch!”

All Skye could see was an occasional blur, streak around her. She moved as fast as Tidas, if not faster. Skye could feel her panic threatening to break loose, but she choked it down. If she couldn’t handle herself now, then she’d only be proving everyone right about her ineptitudes.

Occasionally laughing as she went by; Shasta toyed with the princess as the seconds ticked by. Those around her occasionally made sounds, but she hadn’t paid much attention. So long as they didn’t interfere with her fun; they could gawk and yell all they wanted..

She’d been surprised by the pitfall. It was such an old ploy, Shasta hadn’t seen it coming. She found it amusing that the princess had used it, and actually smiled at the thought of her progression. If the princess actually trained properly, she could become a great sparring partner. That is, if Shasta didn’t break Skye’s spirit here and now..

As their time counted down, The vice commander zipped around Skye. The princess tried to hit her, but she was moving far too fast. Knowing she only had around twelve seconds left before Shasta went on the offense, Skye built a massive amount of magic within herself. She used her emotional state to enhance her magic, and funneled it into the ground.

Shasta, as well as everyone else, could feel the power Skye was pumping into the ground. Magnus didn’t have magic, but he could still feel the change in the air; akin to just before a lightning strike. Everyone focused on the princess as she screamed out; “DODGE THIS!”

Skye quickly raised her hands up, then bent and slammed them down onto the ground. The floor rumbled for a moment before spikes erupted from it in every direction. They were all blunted, but still made out of marble and rock; making for a nasty bruise if struck by one.

Shasta had a hard time dodging the uncountable number of spikes, but she did it. She’d jumped up, and was currently swinging from the chandelier in the middle of the room. She could only stop momentarily; Skye was making the spikes build on each other to reach her.

Based upon how she’d been using her Earth trait; Shasta figured Skye was quite inexperienced with it. Only using a few tricks with such a versatile power was a clear sign of her lack of imagination and skills. As the final second ticked off, Shasta grinned broadly while stating in a macabre tone; “Time’s up, little princess..”

Skye instantly swiped her hands up, creating a rock barrier between her and Shasta. It took about three seconds for the Vice Commander to break through the wall, but that was all the time the princess needed.

Shasta hadn’t realized it, but one of the reasons Ronnie and Klaus had yelled out before was because something had dripped on them. If Shasta would’ve been a little more perceptive of her surroundings, she might’ve noticed the immense amount of water Skye had gathered onto the ceiling.

Stretching it across the length of the ceiling, the water reflected like it was glass. As Shasta broke through the wall, the first thing she saw was a smiling Skye. A sense of dread suddenly filled her as she realized the princess must’ve set some kind of trap. She sprung backwards, but knew she’d been screwed when Skye said; “Pointless..”

Both women had the same thought: to take the other out with them. Shasta rushed Skye as she snapped her fingers, raining gallons of water down, and dousing nearly the entire room. Shasta’s fist was just about to hit Skye’s stomach as the water touched her head. The moment she felt it, she lost it.

Shasta hissed and growled with fury as she spastically jumped around a moment. Skye would’ve laughed, but she was too out of breath. She hadn’t moved around much, but she’d expended nearly all of her magic in an extremely short amount of time. That, combined with her nerves had left her exhausted.

Before Skye knew it, Tidas was at her side; draping his overcoat around her shoulders. She’d made it a point to try and avoid soaking everyone else, even though most still wound up with soggy shoes. After thanking her husband, she asked him to help her over to Magnus.

As Skye stood before the King of Alcon, he looked upon her with a sad expression and said; “I’m sorry Skye.. But in good conscience; I cannot allow you to participate in the Mage Trials..”