After my time with Hotaru, the days and weeks trundled on by. I spent most days training with my father and Hua in preparation for the tournament, but also simply enjoying a regular family life with my parents and sisters. Hua and I met occasionally, but not often outside of training due to the fact she now had princess things to attend to. She had scheduled an appointment for me to finally– after such a long time– get my affinity checked. I already knew that I had an affinity to all five elements, so I didn’t see much point. However, she had stated that it was an important formality above all. And so, I found myself outside a large, towering building, which seemed to have been built far more recently in comparison to some of the other ones. The line parted at Hua’s presence, though it was rather awkward for me since I was merely a commoner and most of the children there were nobles.
Arriving closer to the front, the room was filled with an exceptionally large orb. Focusing my eyes on the girl who’s turn it was currently, she proceeded to place her hand on the orb and imbue soul into it. Waiting for a moment, the orb turned a light blue colour, which I could only presume to mean she had a water affinity.
“If you’re thinking she has a water affinity, you’re correct. The orb changes colour based on your affinity. Brown is earth, turquoise is air, orange is fire, blue is water, and green is nature. For people with multiple affinities, it will change colours one after the other– so that’s what’ll happen to you. And for those without affinities.. The orb remains black.”
Even though I already knew my affinities, I couldn’t help but feel slightly nervous. My name was called up, and with a reassuring nod from Hua, I made my way over to the orb. I could practically feel the nobles’ stares trained on me, ready to laugh if I failed. They were already whispering behind my back.
“What is…commoner like him doing here?”
“....worthless.”
“...rat.”
“....princess….why?”
“....dirty…useless.”
The woman operating the magic orb gave me the okay, and I placed my hand on the orb. Isabella had remained by Hua’s side, so I didn’t even have the comfort of having her close to me. Directing the soul from my core and out through my hands into the orb, I closed my eyes and slowly started to push. I could feel the orb heating up beneath my fingertips, but it wasn’t until the woman yelled “STOP!” that my eyes flickered open, taking a step back in shock.
Before me, the orb changed colours multiple times, flashing through the elemental correspondent ones, before settling on…white. In terms of colours, black was the absence of colour– which was why it appeared that way when a person had no affinity. The colours the orb turned corresponded with the colours of each type of elemental particle– but white?
White was what appeared when all colours merged together. And I didn’t understand why my affinity appeared as that colour. Head turning towards the woman, she looked just as perplexed as I was, flipping through a book which no doubt was about magic– in order to attempt to find out what had happened. Had the machine simply malfunctioned? Or was I the problem? My thoughts blurred into one stream of incomprehensible nonsense as my breaths came slightly faster than they should’ve. What had I done wrong? What had I done this time?
My thoughts were broken not by comfort, but by familiar voices that sent every inch of my body into a silent rage. Feng and Yuxi, Hua’s two older sisters. They seemed to appear like demons, whenever they were wanted least and completely irrelevant, like flies buzzing around an elephant’s ear.
“Oh, no…” Feng exclaimed, voice practically dripping with mockery, “...it seems like your knight doesn’t have an affinity… he’s going to get utterly trashed in the tournament!”
“Feng’s right, sister…” Yuxi continued. “...It would be better for the both of you to just surrender now. I mean– it wasn’t as though this… commoner was going to beat professionally trained knights to begin with!”
Hua visibly bristled at their comments, and began taking a step forward to make some sort of retort. However, as I had made my way over, I grasped her shoulder gently and pulled her back. I wasn’t calm. Not in the slightest. But there was a time and a place for the venting of such emotions, and here, with all the people around watching us, wasn’t the time nor the place for it. And so, I bowed my head, shame filling me. Never again would I bow to them, I promised myself, before silently walking outside, pulling Hua along behind me as she made angry glances back at her two sisters.
—
“Why would you stop me?! I was going to give them a piece of my mind!!!” We had relocated safely into a back alley, and Hua was currently giving me a piece of her mind instead, clearly frustrated because of her sister’s behaviour. Isabella stayed pacing around my heels.
“I stopped you because it was the wrong time, Hua.”
“They were right the–”
“Yes, and so were so many people. If you had started yelling in front of them? Those are your people, Hua. Or they will be, when we win this thing. Are you trying to ruin your reputation before you’ve even taken the crown?”
“...” She remained silent, and it appeared my words had indeed sunk in. Hua had a fiery temper. Patient, but it was that flame within her heart that was bound to put her in a spot of trouble one day if left uncontrolled. I could already envision the way it would engulf her, and everything and everyone around her.
“Don’t get me wrong. I’m mad too, Hua, I really am. But in the situation we’re in, nobody believes in us. You’re the youngest, who just returned after living in a village in the middle of nowhere for years, and I’m a commoner who they believe to have no affinity. So we’re going to play along those lines. If they want to believe we’re weak, let them believe. Our strength will speak for us.”
Her flame had grown from a wildfire to a tempered, refined fire that could be used to forge even the mightiest of blades. And with a slow but curt nod, I knew she had taken in everything I had said. We would show them. Not through words, but through our own power.
“Your father’s making a speech about the tournament today, isn’t he?” Hua’s eyes widened, and it took her a split second to grab my arm, the look on her face telling me all I needed to know– she had forgotten, like usual. And I was the klutz out of the both of us, apparently.
Being pulled through the streets of the city as fast as we could run (which was fairly fast, considering we both knew how to use soul to make travelling easier), we eventually reached a large square where, it seemed, the entire city was gathered. So, this tournament truly was a popular event.
“Come on,” Hua hissed, “We’re supposed to make an appearance.”
At the front stood the king and queen, Feng and Yuxi, and their two knights, waving from a stage which gave them the ability to speak out to the audience. Above them was a large projection– the same magic that had been used so I could talk to my family the first time, but on a much larger scale. I wondered just how many sages were needed to power the thing…
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Isabella remained perched on my shoulder, as if she were at my heels like she normally was, she’d have gotten lost within the crowd. Not only that, but she had made it known she wished to actually be able to see what was going on, too. Through the crowd, I could see my dad’s head above the large numbers of people– considering he was a tall man, I wasn’t too surprised. Evelyn sat on his shoulders, and Lucynda sat on my mother’s, so they were both able to see as well.
Hua continued to tug on my sleeve, until we were close enough to the stage to be able to make our fashionably late entrance when it was required. The crowd fell silent, as the king’s voice rang out, amplified by magic.
“Hello and welcome, citizens. As you all know, the position of heir has been up in the air for a long time now. And with the return of my youngest daughter, Hua, the Succession Ritual Tournament is finally set to take place!”
Cheers filled the air, the crowd buzzing with excitement. So not only was this for choosing the next monarch, but it was also a marketing scheme, too? How interesting.
“You all are already aware of the three princesses: Xing Feng,” Feng gave a wave, “Xing Yuxi,” Yuxi also gave a wave, “and Xing Hua.” Hua made her way from the side of the stage, waving into the crowd, which erupted into more cheering as she took up a position beside her mother, smiling at her people. I had no doubt she would make a wonderful leader in the future.
“And now, it is time to introduce the princesses’ three corresponding nights. First, we have fighting for Princess Feng, Elowen Thorne, a fire-affinity evoker!” A young man took a step forward, likely three years older than me if I had to guess– making him fifteen. Elowen was a green-eyed redhead with a handsome face, someone that likely caused heads to turn wherever he went. However, his body was quite slim and lean with an athletic build. It also appeared he was quite the pretentious lad, as he fired a large ball of flames into the sky before bowing, smirking at the knight beside him who was called up next.
“Fighting for Princess Yuxi is the earth-affinity evoker, Liam Archer!” The crowd roared again as the next boy stepped forward, likely the same age as Elowen. He had brown eyes, and dark brown hair that stopped close to his ears, freckles covering both his cheeks as he smiled. The ground rumbled, his magic erecting a few stone pillars that returned to normal as the cheers died down.
“And finally, fighting for Princess Hua is the–” Tian paused, flicking through his notes. He would likely have nothing on my affinity, not from the way the orb had seemingly malfunctioned earlier.
“Fighting for Princess Hua is….. Atlas Reyes!”
—
The crowd fell silent. There were no cheers, but I didn’t need them to cheer for me. My eyes locked with Hua’s, who gave me a reassuring nod as I made my way up from the side of the stage. All that could be heard was the slow thudding of mine and Isabella’s footsteps as we crossed the stage, the entire area engulfed in silence.
My heart beat loud within my chest, thoughts already whirring as my breaths came faster as time passed. What would they think of me? My eyes scanned the crowd, hoping to see something in their faces. Anything that would help me. Why weren’t they saying anything? Was I really that bad?
“THAT’S MY SON!”
My dad’s voice broke me out of my trance, his fist punching the air, my mother following suit. I hadn’t exactly told them of my entering the competition, though it was nice to see they were supportive. Even if I knew I’d likely get an earful from my mother for doing something reckless again. But they were right.
I was Atlas Reyes.
Son of Caspian and Elizabeth Reyes.
Older brother of Evelyn and Lucynda Reyes.
Best friend and knight of Xing Hua.
And I didn’t dare to forget that.
No longer waiting for the crowd’s approval, flames billowed in my palms as I watched the king scribble down more notes onto his parchment. The flames burned, becoming more and more concentrated until I could hear the sparking and crackling of electricity over my body as the crowd parted into two sides, sensing what I was about to do. Slamming my hands into the floor of the stage, a burst of electricity shot forward in a column, which would have fried the now-parted crowds had they been still standing there.
There was another beat of silence.
Isabella let out a screech, firing a blast of flames into the sky from her small form’s mouth, as the crowd began to cheer at my display, the electricity fading as I took a step back, alongside the other knights, despite being noticeably shorter and younger than them. Sometimes, I hated this prepubescent body. Not only did I have a shorter reach and lower muscle mass, but I was also really quite short.
Elowen glared at me, muttering “I was definitely better” underneath his breath– though because of my Kismet passively increasing my physical abilities, I was able to hear it clearly without straining. Liam remained silent at his comment. My eyes glanced down to Isabella, who stared back up at me smugly.
‘You didn’t have to do that, you know.’
‘I know,’ She replied back mentally. ‘But I wanted to. If I had the choice, I would’ve transformed properly.’
‘But you can’t,’ I reminded her, ‘We can’t have people finding out you’re a dragon. Those are the stuff of myths, remember? It would spell trouble and you might get taken away.’
‘I know, I know. But it would have been cool, you can’t deny it!’
‘...Yeah, I guess.’
It was for the same reason I hadn’t revealed my Kismet, nor the rest of my elemental abilities. They were valuable– so valuable I couldn’t simply use them to show off to a crowd. Especially since I knew that there were those out there who would lie, cheat, and steal to get their hands on such things. It was the reason I had found Diana in the back of that cart– there were people who wanted to buy such things. And although that made me undeniably angry, I had to do my best to prevent Isabella from having a target on her back.
“Thank you all for coming to the announcement of the Succession Ritual Tournament! The Tournament will begin in a week’s time in the colosseum, and is open for all residents to come and watch!” The king said, as the screen behind him disappeared, and he and his family members– including Hua– made their way off the stage, waving as they did so. Hua gave me a small smile, before disappearing along with them, leaving me with Liam and Elowen as the crowd disappeared into the distance, my mother giving me a smile and mouthing ‘I’ll see you at home’.
“Tch.” Elowen muttered, once the crowd had dispersed. A hand ran through his ginger hair, smile dropping and I could practically see the lights fade from his eyes. “See how easy it is to make the sheeple do what you want, huh, Liam? All it takes is a pretty smile and a cool, flashy ability. By the time they wake up,” He let out a laugh, “It’ll be too late to change anything.”
“I don’t see why you’re talking about this,” Liam responded coldly, “When there’s this kid here.”
“It’s exactly like you said. He’s just a kid, Liam. What’s he gonna do? I mean, really. He’s twelve, and probably barely knows how to use magic. His divergent magic is probably just out of luck– and he’s a commoner. Nobody would believe him if he were to rat us out, anyway.”
Elowen turned to me, leaning in closer, a sinister smile rising to his face. Isabella bared her teeth in response, but he ignored this and focused solely on me. His green eyes stared directly into mine, and although I felt positively uncomfortable, I stared back.
“Now, listen carefully. You’re just some dumb commoner kid who’s got no idea what he’s poking his head into, so I don’t see why you should get involved. At the Ritual Tournament, the two princesses are planning to ‘accidentally’ kill the youngest Princess–”
“How? I thought that she couldn’t–”
“Shut up and let me continue. They’ll be staging it as an accident because there’s a no-killing rule. Now, all you gotta do is stay down when we knock you over, and you won’t gotta be killed as well.”
“And you’re telling me this…why?”
“Because you couldn’t do anything about it even if you tried. No one will listen to you if you tell them, and you’re too weak to change anything that’s going to happen. Just sit back and enjoy the show, kid. We’ll be making it spectacular.”
With that, Elowen turned– him and Liam finally leaving the plaza. Once they were out of earshot, my fists balled and my teeth clenched.
“They’re going to quickly learn…” I said aloud.
“...what true hell feels like.” Isabella finished for me, her emotions crashing over me completely unfiltered. And we both felt the same:
Nothing but pure and unbridled fury.