Life in the WME was not too hard for the crew to adapt to. A few brief instructions about how the fights went down had to only be given once. During this time, they attempted as much as

possible without making it too obvious that they were looking for someone. But, it was to no avail. There had been no sign of Raven anywhere and in a few days, they would be shipped out to another kingdom for their debuts that had been planned.

Derek, Ezra, Allison, Wess, and Juana would need to be in the Kingdom of Rokranz in four days, according to Charlotte. They would need to go on their own as expenses since new-hires’ trips were off the table. In order to not lose their debut, the crew set out on their ship as early as they could after having looked everywhere they could for their missing companion.

During their trip, they’d inspect the items that had been issued to them. Each would be given a suitcase. Their suitcases, of course, had their wrestling gear in them. For Derek, the voyage felt like seconds before he realized they had already docked and were on their way towards the arena that the WME show was being held at. Thankfully, they were offered the privilege of lodgings for the night. The entire trip, having taken almost three days, had gotten them one day’s respite before their main event. Once more, time passed like a blur for the vampire, longing for his daughter and anxious to find her. He had hoped to look for her during the night while his peers rested. And yet, he still could not find any sign of either Raven nor Azlana.

Unlike Derek, the rest of the members had their own mixed feelings about this arrangement. While they were all in agreement, Juana, being who she was, was a little too excited with having the opportunity to participate in such an event. Wess hardly expressed any emotion out of it, reserved as always. Alisson seemed the most worried of the bunch about the whole situation. Her gut feeling clearly did not foresee many good things coming out of this. The only other member that seemed just as focused on the search was Ezra. Derek appreciated this from him. Derek wasn’t quite sure if it was because he as a captain truly felt responsible for part of his crew, or if it was for some other reason. He could not really tell. Derek was just glad he was not doing all of this alone for a change.

WME was separated into two shows: The “A-Show” called “Extreme Magic", which would be happening tomorrow and the “B-Show called ''Magic Madness”, which would take place the day after. While Derek had been scanning the premises, still desperate for any clues, he took a moment while flying in his bat form to think about WME and how much nostalgia it gave him. He smiled at the thought. Immediately, the thought of Azlana flooded his mind and that smile disappeared.

Tomorrow, they would have to compete using a combination of magic and wrestling maneuvers in order to stay longer and find Raven. That was the deal Charlotte made for them. If Derek's assumptions were correct, Charlotte’s hopes of milking this story for her own gain would be the best shot at taking her back. Their debut would take place at night, which would give the group plenty of time to familiarize themselves with the rules further and meaning even more searching could be done before they'd have to perform.

Much to their misfortune, they were far from where she had remained captive. The show’s beginning was nigh, the crew could only but halt their efforts and continue their act with their new employer. Down in the dark, dusty basement of the arena, Raven was chained up and unconscious. Waking up, she didn't know where she was. She looked up at a very proud Grust looming over her. Her iron chains kept her in place.

She had been awakened just for this moment as per Grust's design. Barely making any sense of the situation or aware of anything at all, her fiery spirit raged, attempting to use her magic to try and free herself and vanquish the monster before her. Unfortunately, nothing worked. Everything she did felt weak compared to how they usually felt.

“Let me go! Or so help me, I’ll…”

“You’ll what? Kill me? Oh please, I’m already dead! And besides there’s no way you are getting out of here. Especially not with those iron chains.” he said, interrupting her and mocking her useless threats with laughter.

“Iron? Damn it… Iron weakens fairies.” she thought.

“What are you gonna do to me?” she fiercely asked.

“Nothing, really. This isn’t about you. We’re just gonna watch the show...”

Grust moved out of the way to reveal a magic mirror. Raven looked at the magic mirror as the crowd cheered, waiting for the show to go live. A man and his girlfriend were sitting next to each other, both extremely excited.This was his girlfriend's first time being there.

“I’m so excited for this! I’ve never watched in person before!” said the woman as she squirmed in her seat with excitement.

“Yeah, it’s gonna be fun!” said her boyfriend.

“When does the pyro come?”

“It goes off when they go live.”

“When is that?”

"Any second now..."

The lights slowly turned off and the crowd got louder. The show was finally starting.

✽ ✽ ✽

Backstage, Derek was wandering around looking for Raven.

“Where could Raven be?” Derek thought to himself.

A crew member came up to him to give him directions.

“Yo, Derek. Don’t stray too far, the show’s intro video is almost over, you’re up next.” said the man as he hurried away to oversee more preparations.

“Got it.” Derek responded.

After the intro video, the pyrotechnics went off as the show’s theme song continued to play. The pyro had several different shades of green and white just like Extreme Magic’s color scheme.

The two commentators kicked off the show with an introduction.

“Welcome, everyone to Extreme Magic!” the first commentator said to the audience at home as a camera panned over the roaring crowd.

“We’ve got some great matchups for you tonight…” continued the second commentator. In the basement, Raven looked at the magic mirror unsure why she was being forced to watch. She then decided to try brute force to get out by pulling on the chains.

“Come on, now. If the magic didn’t work, what makes you think your puny little arms could break those chains.” he finished with yet another mocking laugh as the look of defeat spread across her face. Deciding that since she’s probably going to be there for a while, she might as well get more information from her captor.

“Hey, Grust? That’s your name, right?”

She overheard him being called that while being kidnapped.

“Indeed, it is...”

“What’s this whole thing about? Why are you doing this” “… I guess I could tell you. Not like you’d be telling anyone else.”

Raven stared at him, trying to not seem intimidated.

“Well… It all started a long time ago...”

Over a century ago, Azlana was but a mere half-elven teenage farm girl. Seventeen years old to be exact. Her family was not necessarily wealthy but they had at least some livestock which included a horse. Azlana would take this horse in her spare time to ride around the countryside.

Life in Aragonsha of a peasant was filled with backbreaking work but Azlana was happy nonetheless.

During one of her strolls, she would come across someone she had never met before, a vampire boy riding on a majestic horse and sporting the most elegant set of clothes. From what she could tell, he seemed just as young as her.

She began to pet her horse, getting ready to go back home, hoping to avoid interrupting the stroll of a noble.

“Hello!”

Azlana froze, as a chill crept down her spine. Looking over to the boy, now with his horse next to hers. He had addressed himself to her so casually that she felt confused. Had she done something wrong? Was she not allowed to stroll through these paths? She began to worry.

“I always see you riding your horse around here from time to time.”

Her mind was racing now. This was it, he was going to confiscate her horse and force her family to pay a hefty fine.

“Say, would you mind if I joined you on your stroll? I quite enjoy the outdoors as well. My name is Derek Valtaheim, what’s yours?”

Now, Azlana was really confused, at least her fear was slightly gone, and with such a warm introduction by the noble before her, she didn't find it too hard to speak.

“M… my name is… Azlana... Azlana Kallis...”

“Azlana Kallis... That's a pretty name.”

She looked away and blushed.

“Tha… thank you.” she said, her voice so quiet that it could almost be called a whisper.

“So why do you stroll around here every week?”

“I… like to go exploring. It's… a good distraction from the weekly toil. What about you? ...If you do not mind me asking?”

Derek sighed.

“I need fresh air. My family isn’t… the easiest to be around.”

“Oh. I thought all nobles were happy.”

“No, not all of us.” he responded with a pained sigh.

“Well, if fresh air is what you want, then follow me. I know of a great place for riding.”

“Of course, lead on, Azlana.” he said with a smile on his face, hoping to forget a bit of the home troubles.

Riding for hours and playfully going around the plains with their steeds until exhausted, they stopped near a tree.

“Well that was fun, possibly the most fun I have ever had in a long while. This really helps me get away from my family, they can be quite overbearing.”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“You’re telling me, my parents make me work almost everyday, nonstop. If I didn’t have to work as much as they made me, maybe I would be able to ride more often. But, I get why they do it, it's important for our livelihoods.”

“Yes, though in my case, it’s a lot less backbreaking work and more of keeping up appearances.” he said.

“You know, you're not like the usual nobles."

“Well, that is part of why my parents are so hard on me. They dislike how “impolite” and “improper” I tend to be.” he said while making hand quotations while forcing a mocking tone of a self indulgent noble.

Azlana laughed.

“Yeah, I can understand that. I’m sure your parents are just pushing you to be the best you can be. But, we will always have horse riding to keep our minds off of things, right?”

“Right.”

She looked at the horizon. It was starting to get late. Her parents would begin to worry if she stayed any later.

“Well, this has been fun. I need to go home now, but we can have another stroll some other time. Maybe some time next week?”

“Sure.” he said as she rode off into the distance.

Back at her farm, the entire ride had been exhilarating. But, her horse could use the rest, especially if she were to meet Derek again in the coming days.

“Oh. Hey, Azlana. How was the ride? I hope it was nice.” The farmhand under the employment of Azlana's parents asked. His name was Mordecai Riktor. The boy, a year older than her, was quiet but hardworking. The two had shared several days, working on the same fields and tending to the same animals for several years now, and had become fast friends ever since.

“It was amazing.

“Well, that’s good to hear.” he said as he helped her unmount the horse and get him to the stable.

“What's got you so excited?”

“Oh, I met someone.”

“Oh, really?”

“He was great." she said with glee.

"Oh... he...?" Mordecai said, his mood becoming less enthusiastic.

"Yeah. I had never met a noble so endearing and caring before.”

“Wait a noble? But, Azlana. We’re not supposed to mingle with them.”

“That may be so...” she said while closing the barn’s doors.

“But, Derek is different. I can feel it.”

Mordecai could not help but feel a bit of unease. But still, he tried to be supportive of her, even if it made him uncomfortable.

✽ ✽ ✽

Derek and Azlana would later meet for ten consecutive rides in the coming month. However, as time went on, both started to have strong feelings for one another. Hardly something considered acceptable in Aragonsha, but by then, the two had simply ignored the conventions of their strict society. And that’s when the young noble invited her to a party his parents were hosting, a mistake he would eventually come to regret. Azlana quickly went home to tell her parents. They sewed up the best dress for her. She looked in the mirror, excited. For once she actually felt pretty.

It was a dark purple dress with pink accents. It had a big pink bow around the collar and puffy shoulders. Her parents were a bit apprehensive that she had been invited to a gala of the Valtaheim Family, but from what Derek had told her, it would be fine. Her parents had arranged whatever scraps they could to make her dress as presentable as they could and given the result, the family was happy with it.

“You ready, Azlana?” Mordecai curiously asked as he was mesmerized by the way she was dressed.

“Yep! Is the horse ready Mordecai?”

“Uh… Yeah...” He confirmed. He was still somewhat shocked at how majestic she looked. Helping her onto her mount, him and Azlana’s family bid their goodbyes as she disappeared in the distance. She rode her horse to the party, making her way towards the spot planned by the young noble. Derek surprised her as he had hidden himself behind a tree to spook his friend while wearing a mask. Azlana, startled by Derek, got a bit annoyed.

“Derek, don't do that!”

Derek laughed a bit.

“Sorry. I got you something."

“Oh? What is it?”

He handed her a mask.

“This is a masquerade ball. So, I got you your disguise.”

“That explains the mask..." she thought to herself.

“Now, shall we go inside?”

“Yeah.” she said with a smile.

As the pair went inside, Azlana was met with a majestic assemblage of several nobles arranged in a wide array of colors and styles of dress. There was a big crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, shiny marble floors and even shinier marble columns. Azlana knew a little farm girl like her couldn’t possibly belong here and she was thankful to be invited to something like this.

“Reinhardt and Erina Valtaheim! Thank you for inviting us!” spoke an anthropomorphic eagle couple with their fanciful hats, masks, and ornamented garbs.

“Welcome! We hope you enjoy yourselves!” Reinhardt and Erina said in unison, having practiced the greetings for the party in anticipation. Reinhardt was a tall and handsome Duke. He had brown curly hair, pink irises, and a neatly trimmed beard and mustache. His wife, Erina, just as good looking as her husband, had bright ginger red hair in a neat bun and gorgeous blue eyes.

Everyone wore their finest outfits. The party was immense and extravagant, with all the gathered people inside the mansion. One would struggle to even count them all. Azlana and Derek walked inside, also being greeted by his parents.

“Ah, Derek, I’m so glad you finally decided to join us in our festivities. Decided to leave the library for a change, yes?”

“Yes, father. I felt like coming to the party would do me some good.”

“Oh, and look at yourself, Derek. You've even got an escort. She looks so beautiful in that humble dress of hers.What was your name, dear?”

“My name is Azlana Kallis... Sir.”

"Good save." Derek thought, referring to Azlana.

“And so well-mannered. I dare say you've certainly found a nice lady, Derek.” Erina said with a joyous smile.

Azlana slightly blushed at the compliment from the duchess, but retained her composure as was to be expected.

“Look at my boy, all grown up and already with a girlfriend.”

His comment caused Azlana to blush with embarrassment and shock. Erina slightly tapped Reinhardt on the arm. Looking back at his wife, he sighed.

“Yes... Please go have fun. There are many appetizers already prepared. I’m just so proud you are finally socializing… Unlike your little sister... At least your older brother is out mingling with the guests.”

The couple was free to roam and appreciate the many delicacies on display within the elegant halls of the Valtaheim estate. Waiters and servants in masks were dotted all over to ensure the most pleasurable experience could be had by the high-class people gathered there.

“Would you care for a honey roll, sir?” asked a waiter, holding a tray of delicately crafted desserts.

“Oh, yes. Hey, Azlana, you must try these, they're my favorite.” said Derek as he attempted to hold several in one hand and giving one to his partner. Azlana looked curiously at the roll, she had never seen a dessert as elaborate as this before. Biting into the roll, her eyes grew wide and immediately scarfed down the rest. No wonder these were his favorite. Following in his example, Azlana also attempted to hold as many as she could in one hand.

The two laughed at their common interest in the food that had been served. The waiter, himself could not help but give a slight smile at their joyous reaction as he continued to share the desserts on his tray.

After some time, Derek guided Azlana towards a balcony in his home which he considered was one with the finest view during the nighttime and a much more private place for the two lovers as well. Sitting down on one of the intricately carved benches, the two continued to enjoy their sweets.

“You know, we should do this more often.”

“What? Eat honey rolls?” asked Azlana as she ate another one of the delicacies she still held.

“Well, yeah. But, I meant more dates like these. We are always meeting up in the fields. We have been doing it for a while now. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed each and every second of it, but I feel like we can make things more exciting.”

“What kind of excitement are you talking about?” Azlana asked, feeling a bit suspicious.

“Well... You see there's a WME show in the local arena in a few days. I was wondering if you would like to come with me for the show?”

“You're kidding me, right?”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry, it was a dumb idea.”

“You're into WME, too?!”

“Wait, what?”

“Hell yeah, I wanna to go!”

“Well, that's a relief. I could've sworn you'd never care for it. Why didn’t you tell me that you liked it?”

Embarrassed, Azlana slightly averted herself and answered shyly.

“I just… assumed that you, as a noble, would be into things more… pompous.”

“Oh, please, was that really why? You said so yourself. I’m not like most nobles.” he said gently, holding her chin to meet his gaze under the nightly sky. With that last retort, the two shared a tender kiss in yet another moment of shared commonality. As the masked couple were having their intimate moment, Mordecai sat atop a building in the distance, brooding as the festivities were being held in the noble household.

He watched, scanning the house, when he noticed Azlana’s hair, unmistakable as it was striking with its greenish hue. Sadness spread across his face. He gave a slight laugh as he tried holding back tears.

“And to think I thought I had a chance with you...”

He got up and walked back home and laid in bed, wallowing in his own disappointment. He was too late.

✽ ✽ ✽

Raven seemed hooked on the story that Grust had been narrating for her. It was eerie how much he had known of Azlana, Derek, and Mordecai. She tried her best not to allow herself to forget a single detail she deemed important. Grust was about to continue with the story until…

“The first match is a tag team match with the team of Argus Ferana and Kovek Elora vs Feros Alba and a newcomer, Derek Valtaheim!” said the commentator. The show was officially about to begin its first match. Grust looked at the magic mirror as the match card appeared on screen. Grust’s plan for Raven was going to happen sooner than he thought.

“Oh my! It’s almost time! “

Grust’s voice was giddy and filled with joy. Confused by this, Raven wondered what the hell he was talking about.

“… Time for what?”

“It wouldn’t matter if I told you. You wouldn’t remember anyway…”

If Grust had a mouth, he’d be smiling ear to ear... If he had ears, that is. His words gave Raven a bit of a chill, she grew even more uncomfortable than the chains were making her. Derek’s entrance music went off.

He walked out, and the people cheered for him, excited to see someone new.

“The following contest is scheduled for one fall!” The crowd yelled “one fall” a little bit after the announcer did.

“And is for the Extreme Magic Tag Team Championship!

Making his way to the ring, from the Kingdom of Aragonsha, weighing in at 131kg… 'The King Slayer' Derek Valtaheim!” the announcer said to the crowd.

Derek wasn’t expecting to be called that, he didn’t think anyone from the WME would have known his actual name. Charlotte must have figured it out. He had no time to think about it now.

“King Slayer? The hell?” Derek thought.

The audience roared in excitement as he got in the ring and waited for his tag partner to arrive. A few minutes later, Feros’ music hit.

“And his tag team partner... From the Demon World, weighing in at 113kg…Feros Alba!”

The crowd went wild, Feros was one of the top guys in the company. He didn’t seem too happy to have Derek as his partner. He’s still not entirely sure why he even joined the WME. Feros got in the ring. Feros looked at Derek, the condescending look on his face was intense.

“Can’t believe they paired me with a rookie like you…” Feros sneered.

✽ ✽ ✽

Meanwhile, Allison was walking backstage in her wrestling gear looking for Raven. She searched everywhere but still couldn't seem to find her. This was upsetting, given how long she looked. After all this time searching, her mind began to race. She was worried sick about her best friend. Because of her being so deep in her head, she wasn’t paying attention to where she was going and bumped into someone.

“Hey, watch where you’re going—" He realized who he was talking to.

“Allie?!”

“Elisha?!”

They stared for a long time, they couldn’t believe that they were seeing each other after all these years…