Claimed By Zodiacs

chapter 1 part 1

# Aria Fireheart
*Flamecaster Fortress, City of Abril*

The feast has started, I could hear the music even from up here. I groaned.  The Queen is such a frivolous creature.
I hate it. I hate her.

"You're upset," Michael noticed, twirling the scroll in his hand, not even perturbed by the excessive spending the crown has been doing since her reign. His green eyes glittered like gold in this light, the glow from the fireplace dancing on his skin like a work of art.

"And you aren't?" I snorted. "Don't lie. You, of all people, should be upset most. You're her escort after all."

"Shut it Fireheart. And I'm not an escort,  I'm a champion." He crossed his legs,  a sign that he's not going anywhere.

What an ass. "Yada yada. Whatever you say Firedrake,  just get out of my personal space, will you?"

"No, not until you hear me out first."

"No."

"I haven't even started yet!"

"Whatever it is, it's a no."

"I know it's you."

I paused, letting his words sink in. "If you're referring about Gaston's broken rib, then yes, that was me. I'm not going to deny that. In fact, I'm quite proud. Did you see the pain on his face? Haha!  Priceless!" I laughed before getting serious. "He was forcibly taking my hand for marriage. That counts for self defense. You can try to arrest me, but you can't pin me down. The laws of the land are all in my favor."

He glared at me the way a merchant does to a beggar.

"You're a hopeless case."

"Why thank you."

"But that's not what I was about to say." The way he looked at me made me stop to listen. "I know it's you. You're the last champion."

(Every zodiac deity chooses a champion that will represent them during the trying times. When the deities start choosing champions, evil times are not far ahead. That's why Michael was so adamant on her being a champion <Leo> like he is.)

I laughed, not knowing how to explain this without things getting awkward. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Liar."

"I'm not."

"Then admit it."

"You're an idiot. How can I even admit something that never really happened?"

"Liar."

I rolled my eyes, sinking deeper into the divan. "Liar, liar, burn on fire." He kicked me in the shins, making me groan. "I'm serious!  I told you already! I'm no champion!"

Michael leaned forward, giving me a clear view of those willfull eyes and long eyelashes. "Then why leave? Why leave without a trace?"

Out of all the possible questions, that is the hardest to answer...because even I do not have any answer myself.

He took my silence as a cue to continue. "You left us in the dark for two years Aria! Two years of mourning, thinking you're already dead! You haven't seen Braeden back then, turning himself into a recluse, unable to keep down his remorse. Sir Fireblaze almost went mad searching for you, turning the kingdom upside down just to find you!"

I closed my eyes, swallowing the guilt. "You know I can't answer your questions. You've asked me that like a hundred times already."

"You're exaggerating. It's still the fifth time this year," he interrupted,  insistently pushing my buttons.

"I told you, I cannot remember anything." It was a half truth. I clearly remembered why I left, but not why I returned. It was a precautionary measure to remove memories from zodiacs who ventured out the human realm. It was to ease down the trauma, they say, and I think it was true, one way or another. There were instances where I become nostalgic all of a sudden, like when I first inhaled the scent of snow in Thaw province (Pisces), and I've never experienced snow all my life.

(The City of Abril experiences the same season in April all year round. It is in eternal spring.)

"I didn't run because I was chosen, it was from another thing entirely. I needed to find myself then," I reasoned half-heartedly, not even believing myself. Find myself? What a phony excuse.

"That's just absurd," he blurted in disbelief. "If you expect me to believe that crap, then you're stupider than I thought."

I sighed, accepting the insult. I deserved that. "It has nothing to do with you or anyone else. You know what, just knock it off will you? Let's just say we both got what we needed. I was able to leave, you were able to take my place. Sounds fair, right?"

I could see his ears turn red even in this light. I must have hit that sore spot, his godsdamned pride.

"I wasn't taking anything from you. How many times do I have to defend myself?"

"Okay fine. I'll stop if you leave me alone." I smirked, knowing full well that he won't ever admit being happy that I left. If I didn't, he wouldn't be the favored champion, he wouldn't be promoted as Captain of the Guard. Although he is a war genius, being promoted as one of the highest ranking general at 18 years old, he detests being compared to anyone else. His gain was my loss, that's always been the way our dynamic has been since we were little.

We stared each other down, a test of wills. We do this everytime we have this conversation, which happens rarely, since we repel each other. There's been a time when we've been thick as thieves, Braeden and us, but that was a long time ago, before we've been subjected to a long line of competition and envy.

Someone rapped at the door. I took the opportunity to end the conversation and opened the door, revealing Braeden in his hunting gear, ginger hair in disarray.

"What's up?" He sauntered to the divan, taking my seat with a groan. "Hullo Michael. What are you two talking about?"

The tension broke as Michael gave him a small smile. "It's nothing. We were just discussing about the rotation of duty."

"Great." He stretched his long limbs, hazel eyes closing in bliss, making me want to kick his groin.

I kicked his legs out of the way instead.  "That's my seat. Get off."

He pushed back, not giving me back my seat. Quite the gentleman, he is. "You're not going to sit here for long. It's midnight. Time for duty."

I groaned, running my fingers through my hair. "Can I get a pass?"

Braeden clicked his tongue, pointing his accusing finger at me in disapproval. "You've passed for three times in a row now. No slacking this time. I'm tired of cleaning up after your mess girly. Get dressed right now...and don't pout! It doesn't suit you."

He sounded so much like father, my face scrunching in annoyance.

"But---"

"No buts," Michael clapped his hands. "You heard him, move it! Chop chop!"

"Ha ha," I deadpanned, grumbling as I shut the changing room door close. This will be a long night.