Glistening Embers

Chapter 25: For Better or For Worse

Glisteen awoke to someone knocking on her door. Glisteen groaned, but forced her heavy limbs out of bed. When she made to and opened the door, she was unsurprised to see who it was.

Glisteen raised an eyebrow. "Now, you knock?"

"Of course, I have to be polite to my girlfriend." Sabecary replied.

"Of course."

"Anyway, you need get dressed. Aritraya's fight is going to be soon." Sabecary explained.

"This early? Did I sleep through the announcements?" Glisteen asked, exasperated.

Sabecary smiled. "Yes, you did."

Glisteen tried a weak smile. "You got that right." She shut the door before Sabecary could say anything else. Glisteen turned and walked to her wardrobe, and got dressed in a red bell sleeved shirt and black jeans.

A knock came from the door. "Hurry up, the hallways are cold." Sabecary's voice.

"You should be used to it, having the ice Gift." Glisteen shouted back, walking to the bathroom to brush her hair.

"That's different." Sabecary retorted.

"Mhm." Glisteen replied, not convinced. She finished brushing her hair, and walked outside to join Sabecary. They walked down the twisting corridors, and entered, from what the crowd was saying, 'Great,' and 'Amazing,' stadium. She begged to differ.

All the other contestants were already in their seats, including Yilasia, sitting by the only last two seats. Glisteen pursed her lips, but sat by her. Sabecary sat beside her, and put a comforting hand on hers. Glisteen didn't look at Sia, wanted to pretend she wasn't there. But it was so tempting... to apologize, to forget about this and have her sister back.

And yet she refrained from doing so. She couldn't. What would she say? What were you supposed to say to your little sister who had killed someone? Glisteen focused on the stadium. Raya had already walked out. She wore a simple silver jumpsuit, her perfect smile dazzling the audience. Glisteen wondered if she had smiled like that when Hepas had died.

Smeko wore a black shirt and pants, along with a black jacket making him look like some sort of shadow person. He also had a huge scowl on his face, completing the look.

Glisteen pursed her lips. She wasn't sure how smoke would fare against telekinesis, especially someone very experienced with telekinesis.

The bell rang, startling Glisteen out of her thoughts. Aritraya leapt forward. The fight had begun.

Smeko raised his hands, grinning cruelly. A haze of gray smoke filled the air, leaving the audience blind to the fight. Perhaps Smeko does stand a chance, Glisteen thought, until the smoke cleared. For a second, it seemed to Glisteen that Smeko was somehow flying, until she saw Aritraya standing below him, a fist raised, her mouth twisted into a scowl. Smeko clawed at his throat. She was choking him!

"Do you surrender?" Aritraya spat. Smeko continued to claw at what looked like thin air. "I said, do you surrender?" Smeko squeaked something that must have been a yes, because suddenly Aritraya released her grip on him, and he tumbled to the floor, gasping and holding his throat. Aritraya raised a hand in triumph, and a cheer went up around the audience. Raya seemed to be the obvious favorite. Glisteen remained silent and frowned. Now, she would have to tell Aritraya congratulations, and pretend she didn't know what Aritraya had done, was probably, still doing now.

Yilasia was smiling, until she saw the look on Glisteen's face, and said, "Raya won. Aren't you happy?"

"Are you happy?" She wasn't referring to the fight.

Sia bit her lip. "I feel bad about what I did, and I'm sorry, but-"

"Do you regret what you did?"

"What?"

"I said, do you regret killing Rebeez?"

"I feel bad about it..."

"Would you do it again?"

"...Yes. I would do it over and over and over, no matter what. It's not like I wanted to do it, but at the same time, I do. I so do."

"All right." Glisteen stood up and walked away from the fight, feeling as if, although she hadn't, she had lost her sister, and she wasn't going to get another one, especially one like Sia, not in a million years. Yes... not in a million years, would someone be able to replace the girl she had protected, had loved for all that time spent in the orphanage, all that time when they had nothing, but each other. She would never have that back, she knew, and she also knew that nothing, would replace the hollow feeling in her chest where Sia's love once was.

Glisteen walked to the hallway where Aritraya would come out of the arena. She might as well get it over with. Aritraya did come out, but it wasn't over as quickly as Glisteen would have liked.

"Oh, hi, Glisteen." Aritraya greeted friendly, her smile hiding the evil soul beneath.

"Hi, congrats on the fight." Glisteen smiled, or at least tried to. She was pretty sure it was more of a grimace.

"Thank you. Though, I'm pretty sure Smeko didn't stand a chance. I feel kind of bad." Aritraya replied, looking falsely forlorn.

"Yeah, it was a kind of useless fight. Everyone knew you would win." Glisteen replied, shrugging. In truth, she had almost wanted Smeko to win.

"Oh, before I forget. Do you want to come to the cafeteria with Sia and I for a celebration for my win?"

Glisteen shook her head. The sound of Aritraya saying her sister's nickname so fluidly felt like a knife's blade scraping against a bottle. Harsh and wrong. Plus, she was pretty sure her fight was tomorrow, at least she had an excuse.

"Sorry, but my fight is tomorrow, and I was thinking of training some. Maybe another time?"

"Oh, yeah, sure." Aritraya replied, then she walked away, a slight bounce to her step. Glisteen was pretty sure it was an evil bounce. Or maybe Raya was just happy she had won. Either way, it seemed evil. Glisteen sighed, just glad that at least, the conversation was over, and she didn't have to talk to the she-demon sent from hell just to make her life miserable.

Glisteen walked off, in the direction of her room, where she could escape from everybody. She came upon a corner in the hallway, and stopped. Someone, or two someones, were talking.

"Tonight, midnight, same place. She's calling a meeting." It was Sabecary. That was for sure. What was he talking about?

"Yes, I'll be there. What's it about?" Aritraya. Why was he talking to Aritraya?

"Someone is sniffing her out." Sabecary replied. Who? Sniffing who out?

"Don't you mean us?" Aritraya asked. Sabecary was silent.

"Be there." Sabecary replied. He walked off, his footsteps slowly fading. Glisteen stood, flattened to the wall. Aritraya didn't leave. Glisteen mentally sighed. she'd have to take the long way. As she walked, she thought, deeply. Was Sabecary, somehow involved with Midnight? No, he couldn't be. Could he?

When Glisteen finally got back to her room, she knew what she had to do. She'd have to try and go to a meeting, again. Glisteen took the note out of her dresser. It was the only thing that remained of the injustice of Hepas's death. Glisteen put it back in its place and opened her closet. She put together an outfit of a black long sleeved shirt, black pants, and was going to put her hair in a ponytail with a black hair tie. She was ready. Now, all she had to do was wait.

She had a sinking feeling that very soon, all the mysteries were going to be solved, for better or for worse.