The games

Transformation

Astorin

Third Person POV

Simon smiled slightly, standing up and following her to the stables.

"It was pretty cool, what you did back there...with your brother," Simon said, trying to start a conversation with Ariel. "Pretty badass."

When he was met with only silence, Simon stopped talking, afraid he'd upset her.

"Thanks," she mumbled, finally, grabbing his hand and leading him to her horse.

Simon felt heat rise to his cheeks and tried to hide it by hiding behind her horse, stroking its mane instead.

"Simon, meet Twilight, the smartest horse I've ever had," Ariel stated, showing off the creature.

Ariel climbed onto her horse and then helped Simon pull himself up too. She silently told him to hold on with a gesture and he, in response, wrapped his arms around her waist. Ariel smiled to herself, blushing. She then pulled at her horse's reins and they sped off into the dark forest between the schools. They rode for a few minutes until she pulled at the reins, realizing they had reached the middle.

"I can't ride her past the middle of the maze without permission," Ariel explained to a confused Simon as they both slid off the horse.

The girl tied Twilight to a tree and started to walk off. The horse behind her started to struggle to break free of its bonds, confusing Simon even more. Ariel looked back as a howl was heard. On instinct, Ariel grabbed a dagger she kept in her boot and sliced through her horse's reins. Twilight didn't hesitate to turn and bolt in the direction they had just come.

"Don't worry Wolfy," Ariel chuckled, turning to an overly confused Simon. "I can walk."

"Oh ok," Simon mumbled to himself, still 100% confused as to why she'd let her horse, her only source of safe travel, go.

Slaveria

Simon POV

We walked the rest of the way to Slaveria in silence, climbing over fallen trees and smashed boulders until we arrived. The only good thing about those obstacles was that I got to help Ariel and hold her hand to do so.

"Oh look who it is!" One of the boys close by yelled.

Oh god, please don't. I thought, looking at them wearily.

"The Lunatic!!"

All the boys in the group burst into laughter, but Ariel just walked past and didn't even acknowledge the group and their nasty comments. She puffed her chest out and held her head high as she walked through the yard and into the halls of the school, with me following loosely behind and giving a hard glare at the boys who cowered slightly. As Ariel strolled through the halls of my home, everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, turned their heads. I continued to follow her, in absolute awe, until I was grabbed by the arm and yanked back by a familiar grip.

"Don't follow her," The familiar voice whispered, keeping his tight grip on my arm.

"Luke!" I whined, struggling against my eldest brother's grip. "Let me go!!"

"Trust me, you don't want me to do that," Luke replied shortly.

I gave up trying to get loose seeing as he was NOT going to let me go, and watched Ariel be flanked by two other girls at my school, sending me into even more confusion.

"She's powerful Si," Luke explained as another boy wolf-whistled at Ariel. "All the girls respect her, the boys are just being arses."

Ariel POV