Chapter Nineteen

Hey guys! Sorry for the slow(er) chapters as of late; I promise the next ones will be WAY more exciting than what I've been publishing as of late. Things will start to get pretty dicey soon...

 I turned to Orenda. “That was dramatic as hell.”

“Most who occupy the seats of knowledgeable deities tend to be. Don’t dwell on what Buddha-Atharvan said.”

“Wasn’t planning on it. Now, why are we here?”

“To begin training you in the area of combat. Your conversational skills are definitely not lacking in fervor, and neither are your wits. However, I’m guessing that you have not ever really been in a combat situation, in which you would most likely be skewered alive. While much of the trial rests on your mental capacity, you need to be able to, as you would say, kick some a*s.”

“I’m in shape,” I said defensively.

Orenda looked at me for a moment, appraising my physique. Her laugh started in the back of her throat and was more of a chuckle. It came out slowly, gaining resonance as well as height. Eventually, Orenda was unable to walk, mainly due to the fact that she was bent over, hands on her knees.

I flushed, hoping that it wasn’t blatantly obvious to the passerby that something had been said to greatly amuse the listener and embarrass the speaker even more. “Am I really that bad?” I inquired timidly.

Orenda couldn’t even speak. Instead, she just nodded vigorously, all the while trying to keep the surprisingly fresh air in her lungs.

“What’s she laughing at, Gutter-w***e?” taunted a familiar voice behind me.

I twisted around to find Felicity behind me, a smug smile hung around her mouth like a kill-trophy.

“Miss me?” she said sweetly.

“Not a bit,” I countered. “In fact, it’s been extraordinarily nice to not have to deal with your extreme childishness. That, at least, I am not your equal in.”

Orenda had gotten up. “Stella, do you know this girl?”

I sighed callously. “I’ve had the displeasure of meeting her on several occasions.”

Felicity looked like she was holding back a snarl. While she may be a b***h, she wasn’t going to be a b***h if that meant she would be thought of as rude, mean-spirited, etc. “I don’t see why I would be the displeasing one in that chance meeting,” she replied.

I laughed sardonically. “Of course not; you’re just the rich girl who feels threatened by the working-class, as you so poetically put it, gutter w***e.”

I could tell that I had hit a nerve. “Whatever. I was born here, and my father is on the fae council for choosing trialees. Now that I know that you’re here, I can just replace myself with you, win, and live happily ever after as the queen of Eire.”

Orenda cleared her throat behind me. “You were saying?” I rejoined smoothly.

Felicity’s brow furrowed as a scowl tore away the self-entitled smirk on her face. “If you tell anyone about what was said here-”

“Blackmailing is not the wisest thing to do here, girl. You forget that I have considerable power and connections of my own,” replied Orenda in a placid, yet ominous, tone.

“This isn’t over, tramp.” Felicity spun on her heel dramatically, sashaying away to seem like she hadn’t been beaten.

Still, as she left, worry clouded my mind. Could I be kicked out of the trial? “Orenda, has anyone ever been kicked out of the trial for no apparent reason?”

“You’ve already been chosen, child; once you are in the top twenty-five, you are in for good. It is closed to any outside forces that may wish to have your spot taken by another, like that insecure little mbwa jike.”

I paused for a moment. “Do I even want to know what that means, or?...” I let my sentence trail off and explain itself.

“It means b***h.”

“Then I couldn’t agree with you more.” I beckoned towards the training fields in front of us, eager to get my mind away from the stressful topic of Felici-b***h. “Should we just get on with what we came here to do?”

“Before I start laughing again, that is?”

“Oh, shut up.”

Orenda burst out laughing, and so did I as we made our way to the place where I’d be leaving with a few bruises.

*****

I winced as Tam laid ice on my poor, poor shoulder. Bruises were starting to form all over, and to make matters worse, I had more than likely pulled a few muscles.

Zeke, however, was howling with laughter. “Oh, man, did she get you good or what?”

“Yeah, she did,” I admitted, shamefaced.

“It was your first day; considering it in that context, you did remarkably well,” said Tam soothingly. “Anything feel really, really bad?”

I shook my head. “Nah. I’ll be sore for a little bit, but I’ll live.”

“That’s too bad,” Zeke muttered.

“When she’s done with me, I’m going to kick your a*s so hard you won’t know what hit you, Zeke. Just you watch; I’ll be able to take on all of the Merry Men.”

“We are NOT the Merry Men!”

My shoulders shook as I giggled a little, then shook even more as I winced. “Sure you aren’t. Think about it- all that’s missing is the charity.”

Even Tam chuckled a bit at that. “Well, if there’s nothing else that I can help you with, I suggest getting back to your room so you can get cleaned up for dinner.”

“Dinner?”

“Everyone eats together in the mess hall at six p.m.” supplied Tam quite helpfully.

“Harry-Potter Style?” I asked hopefully, trying to make a joke.

“Harry Potter?” Tam was confused.

I looked at Zeke, questioning. “Why doesn’t he know about Harry Potter?”

“When was this ‘Harry Potter’ born?” asked Tam.

“It’s one of the most successful book series ever written. It’s valued at about fifteen billion dollars,” explained Zeke.

“When was it published?”

“Nineteen-Ninety Seven,” finished Zeke dramatically.

“Scarhead,” I muttered.

Zeke rolled his eyes at me. “You just can’t appreciate good writing when you see it.”

“Actually-”

“Stella! Zeke! Stop arguing!”

We both looked at Tam, shocked. I honestly didn’t think that he had a single mean bone in him, or that he could be impatient.

“We’re not arguing…” I grumbled.

“Right, we’re just having a healthy inter-fandom debate!” agreed Zeke quickly.

“I’m part of the Black Parade, and Zeke is a scarhead.”

Zeke furrowed his brows together, and I felt myself slightly swoon. Focus, Stella! “Just the Black Parade?” inquired Zeke.

“The whole emo trinity, really,” I answered shyly. “I got to see them once, on their Danger Days tour,” I admitted quiltily.

“No way!” exploded Zeke.

“Focus, please!” interrupted Tam.

“On what? We’re having a great fandom discussion. Do you know how hard it is to find someone like Zeke who is willing to discuss his views as it relates to the emo trinity?”

“Focus on what I’m going to tell you about the trial.”

“Oh.” I shut my mouth, and Zeke did the same.

“First, this is most likely the last time you and I will see each other before the trail, which begins tomorrow. The same holds true for Zeke, and Orenda; basically anyone that has nothing to do with the trial. Second, if you don’t follow the rules exactly, I’m worried that this Felicity girl that you told us about will find a way to get you tossed out without a moment’s thought on behalf of the judges. Since you have a temper, you need to try and get it under control. Third, and most importantly, you will make it out alive. At the time, it may seem as if you are going to die a horrible death, but you won’t.”

“Why would it seem like I would die?” I exclaimed, panic building in my chest.

“They put you in life-or-death situations to test what you would do if it actually came down to the wire,” explained Zeke calmly.

“And that wasn’t some information you thought I’d like to know?!”

“You know now,” pointed out Tam.

“Boys!” I shouted to the ceiling, throwing my arms into the air. “I can’t take it!” I stormed out of the room, right to my room. I could hear Tam and Zeke yelling for me to come back, but I was so damn sick of being treated like a little girl! Everyone just needed to tell me what the hell was going on, and then we’d all play nice.