The white butterfly tango

Сhapter XXII

For the tournament, they had a prepared place in the woods and plains not far away from the academy. Esma was already familiar with the grounds after the pieces of training and combat classes, so at least that would not create a problem. Another thing they told her, that usually, the upper students did not attack the younger ones until there was a necessity like if there would be only younger students left for example. The rules were simple. Sorcerers could not kill anyone but the opponent would be counted down only after falling unconscious. Teachers were there to stop them if the fight got too carried away and that reassurance made it less scary to participate.

It was going to be much more violent than that, though, and Esma realized it perfectly. There was no way, aggressive students would be satisfied with losing 2 years in a row. She prepared herself for the worst-case scenario but didn't feel scared. Somehow, the students of Fortressmain became really close to her heart and she put much trust into all of them. Even those who were skeptical about her first did not seem as bad as before. Hannes came up with a plan, in which she only had to protect herself by any means possible and not use her powers. The ban on using them finished but she never actually learned to control them in any way. The girl had absolutely no idea of what she was capable of.

"Streamwill, to the win!" Val, a third-year from the opposite team screamed and then they all cheered to support their leader and keep their determination. The school took their positions and was ready for the tournament to begin.

"Don't die. We don't want to clean the place up afterward." Hannes, being the incredible leader like usually, spoke up and made his teammates chuckle a bit. It was a necessary move as by this he also reminded them of their strategic plan to win again.

According to the plan, Esma was paired with Heth: a boy with a mullet and the ability to manipulate emotions and nerves. It was done in order to protect her but also to stop Esma if anything went wrong. After all, Esma did not handle her feelings well. Some others were divided as well but mostly it was individual one-on-one combat and everyone realized perfectly. Fortressmain was not about attacking, more focusing on the defense and overcoming impatient Streamwill with stamina, which they worked so hard for.

"We need your full focus, Esma." Mike pulled down his mask and hid it inside his pocket. She once again noticed his cute mole on the left cheek and only then a little smile.

"Don't you dare loose? Any of you!" Esma spoke up to him and then stated more loudly, making students chuckle again. At this point, they were only waiting for the signal. The girl took a glance at Heth as he was trying to prepare himself. He was rubbing his hands and the girl observed it for a second until a white butterfly landed on her nose and opened a flashback for her.

She saw a boy. He stood in the middle of the room and seemed to get scolded by some older man. He was hurting the kid but the little boy didn't answer him. The older man kept on hitting the inside of his hand with a wooden ruler quite aggressively.

"I. Said. No. To. Using. Powers!" The man hit and shouted as the ruler touched the kid's skin. It was a punishment but Esma couldn't understand it fully. "How else am I supposed to put it into your head, Heth!?" The man kept screaming and was red as a tomato, while the boy only stared at his feet, trying not to cry. The poor kid was only about 3 or four and Esma felt terrible to witness that.

She returned to reality with tears in her eyes and took a glance at the boy with a mullet one more time. He was focused on the opposite team but Esma got distracted again. The signal range and the teams headed to their prepared positions.

"Heth!" Hannes pointed at the girl and as he wanted to make a move, his feet got off the ground. Val stood with his hand reached in front of him and the usual cheering smile. The guy was able to control the gravitation, which immediately meant, Hannes' super speed was useless against him. To use the power, the tall tattoed boy needed a surface to start from. Val just stood there but then hit the third year into the stomach and Hannes flew to the closest tree at a huge speed and fell to the ground.