Dawn of Dragons

Chapter 24: Change

Hey guys! Pt 2 to the duel against Vera! :)

Aria jumped back, skidding a few feet away from Vera and her deadly fans.

One fan was blue, the other was green, to match Vera's abilities. The bases of the fans were connected by a long silver chain. Small curved blades jutted out of the fan, making it twice as deadly.

I knew it, Aria thought bitterly. It couldn't have been that easy.

Vera smiled, then charged.

Aria gripped the handle in anticipation. Vera flung her right hand forward, throwing the blue fan at Aria.

She swung her scythe, deflecting the fan and sending it spinning sideways. Before she could congratulate herself, Vera was on top of her. She jumped up and flung her green fan at Aria.

Aria swung her scythe, trying to deflect it the same way for the first fan, but Vera controlled it with wind and it spun around, evading the blade. It flew around the scythe multiple times, tying it tight with the chain. Vera gave one hard yank, pulling the scythe-and Aria- towards her.
Just as Aria got within arms length of her, Vera used her other fan and slashed through her armor like paper.

Pain exploded through her side, and she fell to the floor, the her whole world a blur. Her hand was covered in something red...was that blood? A face flickered in and out of focus in front of her. Vera.

Vera kicked Aria in the ribs, sending her sprawling backward. "You," kick "little," kick "bitch." she said. Aria curled up in a ball, trying to unsuccessfully shield herself from her furious onslaught. The crowd watched in silence, and despite the obvious cruelty, the duel wasn't over, not until somebody was knocked unconscious or yielded.

Aria was definitely not going to yield, and Vera was definitely not going to let her escape the duel by knocking her unconscious. Damn.

One final kick sent her against the walls and stars spinning in her eyes.

Vera grabbed a fistful of Aria's shirt and pulled her close to her. "Fight, you weakling! What would your poor mother and brother say to you now! Or will you just run away now like a coward just like you did that day?"

Aria was shocked. How? How did Vera know about her failure to protect her family, who were now likely captured or dead? She only had told her closest friends. Unless...

Vera saw the realization dawn on Aria's face, and smirked. "Yes darling, do you realize it now? Choose your friends wisely. People will stab you in the back, and this will not be the last..."

Her words faded away, except for a constant buzzing. Aria looked up into the stands, where her friends were sitting. Ember, Wynter, Andres, and IVY. But Ivy was looking down at her lap, not meeting Aria's gaze. As if she was overwhelmed with guilt. Guilt for betraying Aria and exposing all her abilities, her past, her emotions to Vera...

Another punch to the face tore her gaze away. "Don't look away," Vera snarled. "I want you to be fully aware of this." She continued to cut, punch, kick, and use her abilities against Aria. Aria sat there, motionless, defenseless against the blows.

Why should I care? She thought hazily. And it was true. Why should she care? There was no way she could defeat Vera, not against her fans. Ivy's betrayal, her mother, Luther...

"Hmmm, I wonder what's under that eye patch of yours." Vera murmured thoughtfully. Panic shot through Aria. She couldn't let anybody know that she was a double element, especially because that second element was holy. She squirmed away from Vera, trying to crawl away from her.

Vera stopped her from going any further. "Oh dear," she purred. "Don't want anybody to see that embarrassing scar, do you?" Oh no, Aria thought desperately. It's so much worse than that. But it was too late. Slowly, delicately, Vera used the edge of the fan to pull the eyepatch off.

Aria shrank back, keeping her eye closed. Vera hissed with laughter. "So, no scar then? Then perhaps I shall make one for you!" She grabbed her fan and sliced at Aria's closed eye. Pain exploded from the cut.

And so did her rage.

Her eye shot open, burning a dazzling silver color. At the same time, she felt her light magic pour through her body, healing all of her wounds inflicted by Vera. Slowly, she stood up.

Vera stumbled back in shock. "It can't be! Two elements...and one is light? It's impossible." She looked at Aria with an expression she had never shown her before-fear.

Aria felt different. She felt powerful, and hungry. Hungry for more. Hungry to defeat Vera and see her bleed all over the arena like what she had done to her. Baring her teeth, she snarled and leaped toward Vera, her hands engulfed in chaos magic.

Vera threw up a water shield to defend herself, but as soon as Aria's hands touched the water, the two types of magic combined. The water turned green-poison. The poison, no longer under Vera's control, splashed down on her and burned through her armor. Vera screamed with pain.

Vera collapsed on the ground, barely conscious. Aria grabbed her shirt and pulled her up. "Don't look away," she snarled, quoting Vera from before. "I want you to be fully aware of this." She charged her light magic through her hands, healing Vera from the previous wounds.

Vera looked down in surprise. Before she could do anything, Aria attacked her again. She used her chaos magic to absorb whatever Vera tried to defend herself with and slashed at her, leaving more cuts. When she felt satisfied, she healed Vera again and repeated the process.

It was terrible to watch. Spectators silently listened to Vera's pained cries, but she would not yield. Aria tortured her for what seemed like forever.

After the eighth time healing her, Aria stepped back and snarled "It's over," before grabbing the Princess's temples in her hands and sucking the magic right out of her using her chaos magic. Vera's eyes rolled back and she started shaking, defenseless against the magic. The act was literally killing her.

Suddenly, other dragons leaped into the arena. Teachers. Using their far more powerful magic, they formed a bubble around Aria, caging her in.

Aria was trembling with rage. The teachers were trying to stop her? Let them try. They were always afraid of her, afraid of her ability. Yessss, the voice inside her hissed. Destroy them. They fear you. Show them true fear!

Aria screamed, and tendrils of darkness exploded from her. They latched onto the bubble and sucked the magic out from them. Aria felt herself getting stronger. She could take over the entire world if she wanted to! The bubble shattered.

Suddenly, a blinding light forced her to her knees. Holy light flooded the arena, and Aria felt her chaos magic leech right out of her. A voice whispered, "I'm sorry," before a blunt hit to the back of her neck caused her to collapse.

A blurry face focused on and out of view. A face she knew.

Andres.

Betrayal was the last thing she felt before she slipped into darkness.

Sorry this chapter was kinda dark lol, the next chapter might take a while to come out