Orison | Celeste Academy Series BK #3

Chapter Fifty-Nine ۞ Aneeka vs Rowe

The Twelve were seated in their respective places, yet Corvan and Valeriana were still nowhere to be seen. Raziel was recuperating and Genevieve and Zevlin were still not present. Today, Aneeka and Rowe would be fighting. After that, Charles and Tamara would be up next. Corvan and Valeriana's fight was the main highlight of the show, including their performance as a band on the final day.

The festivities were nearing their end and the Twelve could not help but look forward to the next three days after the week was over. After going through so much stress, the Headmaster announced that they were to take those three days as vacation. He figured the students needed a break before resuming classes to help them relieve their stress and cool down.

Charles was calmly seated when a familiar face was caught in the corner of his eyes. He stood up from his seat in alert, his head snapping to the direction of the unexpected visitor. Elfre, Keelan, and Brindon who were all that's left in the royal box, gave him a look of confusion.

Charles coolly strutted down to the audience's area and held out a hand for the woman to take. "Lady Lerda." He bowed.

The woman gave him a look of mild surprise, but smiled at the sight of him. She tilted her head to the side and gave him her hand, nevertheless. Regal and stately, she lifted the skirts of her dress and allowed herself to be escorted towards the royal box.

The fourth-ranker offered her his arm and she accepted.

"Are you here to see your son fight, milady?" He asked.

"I am here to see both Aneeka and Rowe fight, dear one. Not just my son." She told him, patting his arm. "They never engage in real battle. This one will be a feast for the eyes."

Lerda was then seated on Rowe's seat. Keelan seemed excited to see her and waved enthusiastically at the woman. "Lady Lerda! Nice to see you!"

"Well, hello to you, Keelan, my son." She said, giving him a smile. "How are you all doing?" She turned to the other members.

Elfre nudged Keelan with her elbow. "Who's she? She looks like Rowe. Same eyes and hair."

"That's Rowe's mother." Keelan answered.

"Wha—oh." She said, forcing the mouth she just dropped to close. "No wonder."

"Where is Tamara, Charles?" Asked the woman. "I thought she would be here."

"She'll be announcing for this fight." He replied.

"And Corvan?"

"Currently in Arlandia with our fifth-ranker."

"I see. That's surprising."

Tamara was currently up the platform on the corner of the arena as the announcer, deciding it was dull to just sit around and watch the fight. The Twelve had to admit that they could feel the hype better with Tamara screaming out everything—because, although they did want not to acknowledge it, the girl was always so full of energy that sometimes, or rather often, it was infectious.

"Alright, listen up!" She exclaimed, the reverberation of her voice rising above all other noise. The arena fell silent at her command. "You guys shouldn't talk at all since I should be the only one doing that."

Some found humor in her words but some were unfazed.

"Please, I've been screaming at people nonstop since this morning so gimme a break." She rolled her eyes and waved her hand dismissively, flipping back her red hair. "Anyhow, I know you know what you came here for and you know who's going to be fighting because, hey, it's posted all over the place. We have distributed flyers about it. What's the point of stating the obvious?"