The Prophecy ( The Replacement Trials #1)

Chapter 12

Nimue's POV

We were currently trying to formulate a plan for the ball. It was not going as well as we had hoped.

            "We have to make sure there are enough people available to fight! Without enough man power there's no chance of us winning!" Aura shouts.

            "But doesn't it make more sense to have a greater number of people on the dance floor, identifying the enemy?" Catarina retorted. Ever since she had stepped into her role of daughter of the coven leaders, she had been bolder with her suggestions. They had been arguing for the past hour about the best course of action and I could understand both sides of the story. Aura had a point that the more people who lingered on the sidelines the better because they were more easily used in battle, but it could appear suspicious. Catarina's plan to have more people dancing could mean that it would take longer for them to be prepared to fight. I think it's better to have it split fairly evenly because that way we have some identifying Plague followers and some prepared for a fight. Voicing my thoughts, the girls glare at me and I hold my hands up in surrender. If looks could kill I'd be six feet under.

            "Chill. Just a thought." I mutter. It wasn't everyday you had your enemy turned friend and the girl you were crushing on agree with each other. So, I figured it was in everyone's best interest to stay out of their argument.

            "Now that I think about it, it's not that bad of an idea." Menidise pipes up and I feel the corners of my mouth lift. It felt nice to have her approval.

She may have the attitude of a puppy at times but when she was mad, it was scarier than having to face Aura in the morning without her coffee. Which usually meant certain death. As they started to discuss the nuances of how it could be a decent plan, regardless of the fact that there would be fewer available fighters right off the bat.

Tuning them out, I fiddle with my claws and wonder about last night. It was the first time in years that I'd removed my claws. It wasn't easy for me to open up to people and the easiest way to keep them at a distance was to make myself seem unapproachable. Hence, the talons that I'd had specially made before I got accepted into the Academy. They were my security blanket. No one in my family saw them as anything other than a weapon but to me, they were a mechanism to make sure that people stayed away from me. I was all for making friends, but I wasn't exactly ecstatic about having people get closer than that. The last person who saw me without my claws broke me. Of course I had no idea my own mother would see me as nothing but a lump of clay that she could use to advance in the ranks of the elven council. Right after I had shown vulnerability to my mother, she told me that it was a weakness and that should I ever show it again in her presence I was going to be disowned. So, I've never taken them off.

            "We're going with your plan Nimue. So, who here knows how to dance?" Aura's voice pulls me from my reverie, and I turn to see Catarina's the only one who's raised her hand. A small chuckle escapes my lips and our self-appointed leader, Aura, takes that as me volunteering to take dance lessons.

            In the end, the ones who were going to be dancing were me, Cat, and Menidise. Collin, Aura and Reina were going to be on the sidelines. So, while Catarina was painstakingly teaching Menidise and I the steps for the waltz, Collin was learning how to fight. With every "one, two, three" Cat shouts out, Collin gets hit and the smack reverberates through the room. I can't help but flinch every time the sound appears, and Catarina choose those moments to come over and correct my posture. She pulls my shoulders back and lifts my head from its semi-permanent position of looking at the floor while also fixing the arch in my back that appeared due to the stress, I'm feeling over not being able to get the steps right.