The War of Light and Gems

Chapter one

Hello, Kayla here :) This is my first real story so please bear with me and comment. I'm planning on updating every week so that I can keep this story quality. Thanks for reading!!!! :)
Picture is of Kaya and Nik -------->
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There were fireworks going off above the school, just as there always is during Le Semaine des Bienvenue. I can hear the band playing in a terrible cacophony on the soccer field while the candidates for Le Roi de Bienvenue were lined up. Whoever wins Roi gets to pick their queen. The people who ran were the most obnoxious and showy kids at the school. I looked at my three friends who were fluffing up their skirts and twisting their ponytails.

"Kaya, hurry up! We need to get a good spot so I can cheer for Levi." My friend Gloria Lightwood said with a wink. Levi (short for Leviathan) Scolendario is a Gem. The Gems are the rival group to us; The Lights. Our school, Arcadia Academy, rests between the two rival kingdoms of Phantasm and Destiem; the kingdoms of darkness and light. That makes The Gems and The Lights mortal enemies. The ways you can tell a Gem from a Light are easy. Gems usually have gem colored eyes and wear typical colors like black, dark blue, blood red and purple topped with leather. Lights on the other hand have earthy eyes and wear pinks whites, greens browns, etc,. Girl Lights always wear skirts or dresses as a rule. It's not an official rule, but that's just the way it is.

"Fine. But you need to get over this weird obsession Glor." I said, eyes rolling.

"What? He's cute for a Gem." She replied grinning. She grabbed my hand and dragged me down to the groups of Lights that were pressed to the front of the stadium.

Before I go any further, I should explain who and what I am. My name is Kaya Tourmaline. I'm seventeen years old and the Princess of Emeralds. I'm a Gem. I am also engaged to Nikolai Hematite, heir to the Diamond throne which is why I'm the new 'princess'. He is known to be the strongest magician at the academy. Also, he's an ass...Anyway, I don't believe in the dark ideals of Phantasm, so I pretend to be a light by hiding my powers and downplaying my sapphire eyes and wavy blond hair. I dress like a light, but, instead of the lace that they favor I use a dark plaid. Nobody knows who I actually am except for Nik. And that's bad. That's really, really bad.

Levi is one of the six boys competing for the title "Le Roi de Beinvenue." There are three Lights and three Gems, to make the competition fair. Like everything at this school, winning the crown serves a purpose. Winning Roi isn't just a battle to show social status. Whoever wins gets an apprenticeship with General Tourmaline, my father, and right hand man to King Hematite. This apprenticeship is a coveted position, therefore there are three stages to the competition that prove the winner worthy. The first is the test of battle strategy. The second is a gladiator like round of matches that pits each challenger against each other in a battle of magic. The third is hand to hand combat. Each round is worth ten points and whoever has the most points at the end of the competition wins the crown and the apprenticeship. Right now we are in the first stage; a test of battle strategies.

"Having fun?" I hear a dangerously sensuous voice say behind me. I stiffen because I know just who it is.

"I was, until you got here Nik." I say glaring into his deep green eyes.

"Hostile as always I see. Your attitude doesn't suit these prisses, why don't you come with me and take a ride on the dark side?" He said giving me a wink. I could feel him twirling my hair, and I hated how good it felt.

"As fun as that sounds. I'm gunna have to pass. I'm not into the whole maiming and torturing thing. Maybe next time." But probably not. I thought while smacking his hand away.

"I can hope. Until next time Kaya." He said kissing my cheek. I felt a shiver of longing go through me. As much as I tried to deny it, the darkness called to me. It didn't help that Nik was totally gorgeous. He was the model for tall dark and handsome. His black hair reached nearly his shoulders and he usually wore a dark button down, untucked and with the sleeves rolled up to show off his toned arms, and dark jeans. I wish he could be hideous so that I could easily block him out.

"Damn dark genes." I muttered to myself, forcing myself to look back at the stadium and away from Nik's retreating figure.

"First off is Julian Moss." I hear our headmaster, Mr. Lawrence announce in his strangely high pitched voice. Mr. Lawrence is a total pervert. At least I think so. He's fat, red, has a disgusting mustache and insisted on cameras being placed in the girl dorms for our 'protection.' I mean, he put them In the boy's dorms to...but that's beside the point. Not to mention his whistley voice. Ugh. Personally, I think he looks like a walrus. A perverted walrus.

Anyway, Julian Moss is a light who wears his almost white hair in a braid that goes down his back. He always seems calm, but is actually an angry asshole. You can't judge a book by its cover I guess. I hate stuff like this, where I'm forced to sit in loud crowds of people and watch even more people do things I don't care about. I should probably care more considering the fact that whoever wins will have to live with me during the summer while he trains with my father, but I just loathe social gatherings. Everyone smells bad.

I felt something smooth and cold wrap around my wrist. I discreetly looked down and saw a black serpent with green eyes staring up at me. I closed my eyes and let out a long breath, trying to force myself to relax. I'm on my way. I thought, looking in the snake's eyes. He blinked, his eyes making a snick sound before he slithered away. I sat there in silence for a few seconds, gathering my courage before turning to Gloria.

" I need to go."