image [https://i.imgur.com/2WLVoKW.png]

“Oh wow, Rosemarie is going to fight Carmen!?” , “She’s a Belouis, she’ll give her a run for her money!” , “Rosemarie might finally meet her match!”

Loud declarations could be heard from all of the surrounding students, excited to see these two duke it out.

Before they began their match, Rosemarie removed the sword and scabbard from her hip. It faded away in her hands and she quickly picked up a crafted sword from the nearby rack.

“This should be good enough.” Rosemarie said with a nonchalant tone, testing the weight of the sword as she gripped the handle. Carmen raised her brow in confusion, wondering why she would set aside her Manifest for this fight.

“Why’re you not using your Manifest?”

“Oh, don’t worry. I won’t be needing it.” She replied with a smirk.

“You can’t be serious. I don’t care if you are the no.1 student at this school, don’t act like you’re just going to run all over me. I’ll beat you if you keep underestimating me.”

At this point, Carmen was fired up by the incredible amounts of disrespect coming from Rosemarie.

“Sure… Anyways, are you ready or not?”

Rosemarie had very little reaction to Carmen’s bold statement, not feeling worried in the slightest even if it were true. The timer above the arena started and Carmen swiftly pulled out her Manifest.

“Oooh, a rapier. Very interesting.”

Rosemarie gave a subtle nod of approval as she assumed her sword stance, spacing her feet apart with immaculate balance and poise.

3…. 2…. 1…. GO!

The two dashed at each other with great speed and clashed their blades together. Carmen went on the offensive first and unleashed a quick volley of piercing attacks, aiming at potential weak points in Rosemarie’s defense. Her rapier poked and prodded in every direction, speeding up with each stabbing motion.

‘Hmm, her speed is pretty exceptional and the precision is there. However, her footwork is super sloppy and these hits don’t pack any punch. It’s clear she’s had zero sword training. Disappointing.’

Rosemarie assessed her opponent closely, making note of every little detail while still effortlessly engaged in combat.

The rhythm of the fight increased and the two were flying all over the field, attacking, blocking, and dodging each other with blinding speed. With each swift connection Carmen made, Rosemarie easily parried and spaced herself perfectly. Their movements were completely in sync as they engaged in this deadly dance of blades.

“Woah, look at them go. This is so close!” A student said, feeling impressed by the display before him. However, Vale quickly chimed in with a confused retort.

“Close? Pfft, not at all. Rose is just matching her opponents pace and gathering information. This fight is a joke to her.”

Vale couldn't help but chuckle at their ignorance. However, everyone in the crowd was surprised to hear this, especially since the fight didn’t reflect Vale’s statement at all.

After a couple more clashes, they sent each other flying backwards and distance was created between them again. Carmen was completely out of breath and sweating profusely, feeling incredibly tired after maintaining that quick pace for so long. As she looked up at her opponent, Carmen’s eyes went wide.

Rosemarie was totally fine, not a breath taken or a single bead of sweat anywhere. Just by looking at her, it seemed as though she hadn’t been fighting at all.

‘Hm, seems like Carmen has no idea how to pace herself either. If she gets tired from a simple fight like this, this girl’s got a long way to go at LaVeda.’

Once Rosemarie finished assessing Carmen, she relaxed her body while readjusted her uniform jacket.

“Well Carmen, I think you have potential, but your swordsmanship is severely lacking. I don’t think you’re using that rapier correctly at all and your fighting techniques make no sense. Why’re you so aggressive when your abilities don’t cater to that style?” She wondered, breaking down the brief spar they just had.

“I’m honestly a little disappointed by your skills, especially considering who your sisters are…”

Rosemarie continued with a bored expression, no longer feeling motivated to see this fight through to the end. Carmen was perplexed by her words.

‘What is she saying? I’ve been matching her fully this whole time, what could she possibly be disappointed by?’

Carmen wasn’t following her line of thinking at all, not understanding what she was saying.

“I don’t need a lecture from you. I fight just fine, so stop worrying about my techniques and come at me.” Carmen replied, growing more annoyed as they stared each other down.

Rosemarie shrugged and sighed before assuming a completely different sword stance. She exhaled slowly and spread her feet apart, lowering her posture in the process. Carmen gripped her rapier tightly, getting ready for whatever was coming next. Then, just as fast as she blinked, Rosemarie was in Carmen’s face unleashing a barrage of slashes.

Carmen blocked the attacks, but could barely keep up. Each slash felt incredibly heavy as though she were getting hit by large boulders. Rosemarie had completely changed her fighting style, no longer parrying and using precise spacing. She was now completely on the offensive, using the edge of her blade aggressively and forcing her will onto Carmen.

Rosemarie slashed upwards, causing Carmen’s sword holding hand to go up as well, exposing her chest. She proceeded to kick Carmen in the stomach incredibly hard, sending her flying backwards into the ground. Carmen quickly recovered, backflipping off of the floor as Rosemarie’s forceful slash crushed the tiles below them.

Carmen raised her hand and used gravity manipulation to hopefully slow down Rosemarie’s assault, but her attempt was completely useless. Rosemarie leapt into the air with terrifying speed, and crashed down towards Carmen with her blade extended.

The dust never had a moment to settle as Rosemarie’s tremendous and relentless pressure continued. She slashed her crafted sword in impossible directions, not allowing Carmen even an inch to breath. Carmen ducked and dodged, biding her time just enough to finally find an opening. Her moment eventually came and she quickly took the bait.

As she retaliated with a quick rapier jab, Carmen was suddenly looking up at the ceiling and flipped into the air. She crashed into the ground on her back and grimaced from the pain. Before she could even get up, Rose pressed her sword against Carmen’s neck, signaling her swift victory. Within just a few short minutes, Rosemarie had exposed a myriad of Carmen’s flaws effortlessly.

“Well that was anticlimactic…” , “Dang, I really thought Carmen could’ve done better.” , “Maybe she’s not as strong as we thought. So much for being a Belouis.”

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Was whispered and murmured all throughout the group of students, disappointed by Carmen’s overall performance and sound defeat.

Rosemarie removed the blade from Carmen’s neck and held out her hand. Carmen looked up with an irritated expression. Instead of taking it, she slapped Rosemarie's hand away and stood on her own, brushing dirt off of her skirt along the way. Rosemarie chuckled at the lack of sportsmanship from Carmen.

“You know, humility will go a long way for you at this school.”

Rosemarie watched as Carmen completely ignored her statement, making her way off of the field. Carmen took a seat next to Elise and crossed her arms, clearly in a poor mood after her fight.

“You alright?” Elise cautiously asked, not sure of what to say.

“Yeah, I’m fine..”

Carmen's tone was both cold and sharp, cutting the air with chilly tension. For the remainder of the class, Carmen didn't speak a single word. Things continued on as other students proceeded to have mock battles, filling the arena with great excitement and action.

Once class ended, Carmen was one of the first to leave, quickly gathering her things and exiting the room. Elise noticed her swift exit and after gathering her stuff, she rushed out of the room to catch up with Carmen.

“Hey, uhh, I just wanted to say thanks for earlier. That Vale girl was clearly taking things too far and I’m glad you stopped her.” Elise said with a grateful tone as she walked alongside her. Carmen simply nodded her head and continued on silently.

“What’s wrong? Why’re you so quiet?”

Again, no response came from Carmen while they rounded the corner in the hallway.

“Hey, why won’t you answer m-.”

Elise was swiftly cut off by Carmen hitting the wall loudly with her fist.

“Just leave me alone…” Carmen said softly before continuing her advance down the hall.

Elise was startled by the sudden reaction and stood by as she watched Carmen get further away.

‘What’s her deal? She’s usually so cheerful all the time.’

Elise was both confused and worried, wondering if there was anything she could do to help her out.

image [https://i.imgur.com/d60vRFl.png]

Once classes ended for the day, Caleb gathered his things and made his way to the crowded halls of LaVeda. As he exited the room, he caught a brief glimpse of Carmen’s silver hair off in the distance. Caleb quickened his pace and hurried after Carmen, happily calling out her name the closer he got.

“Carmen!” He exclaimed, however no response came from her.

He did so again, but she continued to ignore him, walking further away and seemingly in a daze. Caleb reached out and grabbed her arm, stopping her from walking. Carmen snapped out of her funk and looked back, surprised to see Caleb holding onto her.

“Oh.. Hey Caleb...” She said, clearly looking upset and troubled by something.

“You doing alright?”

“Yeah…”

Carmen looked down at the ground, her voice incredibly quiet. Caleb looked at her with a determined expression before taking hold of her hand, gripping it tightly and walking in the opposite direction.

“H-Hey! What are you doing?” She asked with a confused tone.

“Just follow me, you’ll see.”

The two headed outside and into the forested area towards the back of the campus. Carmen wondered where he was taking her and started to feel a little concerned.

“We’re almost there.”

Moments later, they found themselves at the top of a clearing that overlooked a sea of beautifully colored trees. The reds, yellows, and oranges decorated the land as the Melspire mountains towered in the distance. This view was absolutely breathtaking and something ripped out of a fairy tale.

“I usually come here when I’m having a bad day or need to clear my head. I figured this place might cheer you up as well.” Caleb said with his charming smile.

Carmen marveled at the view and began to feel a bit better internally, sending an appreciative smile towards Caleb.

“These past few weeks have been kind of a mess to be honest. Every situation I find myself in at this school has me feeling like I’m in over my head. I don’t know if I can keep up...” She said with a heavy sigh, unveiling what had been going on in her mind the past few hours.

“What? Of course you can keep up. You didn’t get into this school for no reason, ya know? Don’t start doubting yourself over a few tough moments.”

“I know, I know. It’s just that, everyone at this school seems so much more prepared than me. It’s kind of embarrassing…”

Carmen slightly sulked again as her negative thoughts began to creep in again.

“Yeah, honestly I know what you mean. This place is so different from what we’re used to. Our status as heirs to kingdoms hold no weight and the students here are all so strong, it’s kind of crazy. But, we can’t let that hold us back. We have too much pride for that.”

After a brief silence and moment of contemplation, Carmen smacked her forehead with her palm.

“Gah, you’re right. I’ve come way too far to doubt myself like this. Can’t believe I even thought like that.” Carmen said with a sense of relief, feeling as though a weight had been removed from her shoulders.

“Happens to the best of us, you’re human after all.”

Caleb took a seat on a nearby rock and looked out at the towering mountains in the distance. Carmen joined him and leaned back, admiring the view as well.

As the two sat there silently, a massive shadow quickly skated over them. They looked up and saw a dark blue colored Wyvern flying towards the mountains, racing through the clouds with incredible speed. Its scaly wings emitted an icy smoke with each wingbeat and the edge of its spine had crystal-like spikes that glistened in the sun.

“Woah! Is that a frost wyvern!?” Carmen exclaimed with an excited cadence, her eyes wide with wonder.

“Yeah, though it’s pretty rare to see one flying near the borders of Melspire and Olun. They usually gather around Mount Delvain and the Glacial plains further north. I wonder what it’s doing out here.” Caleb replied as he watched the beast disappear into the clouds.

“Mount Delvain? That’s where my parents had their accident…”

Carmen’s voice swiftly shifted from excited to reserved as she remembered the day of her parent’s untimely passing.

“We never really found out what happened to them. Maybe it was a wyvern attack?”

“Hmm I doubt it. Frost wyverns aren’t usually hostile unless incredibly provoked. Though, I will say that I’ve heard plenty of tales about Mount Delvain and the supposed Wyvern Maiden that resides there. If her home is disturbed in any way, safe passage isn’t guaranteed to those that travel on that mountain.” Caleb remarked.

“But, that’s just an old tale though. My mother would read stories about it when I was a kid.”

“Wyvern Maiden? Hmm, I’ve never heard about that tale, sounds interesting though.”

Carmen began to stand, brushing the dirt off of her skirt and facing Caleb.

“You heading back?” He asked while getting to his feet.

“Yeah, I think I’ve cleared my head enough. Plus, I feel like such a jerk right now. I kind of snapped at Elise earlier in our class.”

“Well, guess you’re just going to have to apologize to her. Bring her something nice and make amends. You can do it.” Caleb chimed in with a light chuckle. He looked over and suddenly, Carmen gave him a hug.

“Ugh, why are you so reliable? Thank you for getting me out of my head.”

As her face was buried in his chest, Caleb blushed heavily, feeling surprised by her sudden show of affection.

“Uh, yeah. No problem.”

Caleb nervously hugged her back and once she let go, Carmen waved goodbye. She quickly rushed back down to the school, wasting no time. Caleb stood there with his heart still racing.

“I really need to tell her how I feel. This is killing me.” He whispered softly, clutching his chest tightly.

Carmen went to the cafeteria before heading home and ordered some ice cream to go. After receiving the treats she quickly rushed over to the girls down, knowing that Elise would probably be there. Just as she entered, she saw Elise putting on a shirt over her head.

Her exposed back revealed a multitude of deep welts and scars, as though she had been heavily whipped or scratched in a past life. Elise quickly put on her top and turned around, clearly trying to hide her old wounds.

“Elise! I’m sorry about earlier. I was in a bad mood after my loss and I ended up taking it out on you. Will you forgive me?” Carmen said, holding out the ice cream cup to Elise and bowing her head. Elise was taken aback and surprised by the apologetic theatrics. No one had ever apologized to her before, especially in such a manner.

“Uhh, yeah, no biggie. It’s totally fine.” She replied with an awkward tone, accepting the apology.

Carmen leapt for joy and gave Elise a big, warm hug. However, Elise swiftly pushed Carmen off of her, not appreciating the physical embrace at all. Carmen was stunned by the forceful thrust as she caught herself from falling back.

“Sorry, I’m uhh, not much of a hugger. Thanks for the ice cream though.”

Elise took the ice cream cup from Carmen’s hand and walked to her bed, taking a seat before enjoying her cold treat.

“Uh, yeah. You’re welcome.”

Carmen sat on her bed with a confused expression.

‘What was that all about?’

Carmen felt it was rather strange for Elise to react in such a way, but she didn’t ask questions or force the issue. She instead contemplated a few more thoughts before winding down for the day.