The first rays of sunlight were already filling the room when Mia woke up. She didn't feel any pain, but she was completely dazed. It took her a few minutes to fight the urge to go back to sleep and recall what had happened before she fell unconscious. The first image that came to her mind was the sight of those charred wings and the pain-contorted face of the young man who had come to her rescue.

The vila... Why did he save me? I thought he despised me.

Her second thought filled her with panic. Abruptly, she pushed the covers off her bed and placed her feet on the wooden floor. A dizziness forced her to lean on the bedside table for a few seconds. When she regained her senses and balance, realizing that it was just the aftermath of her rapid rising, she rushed to the small bathroom adjoining her room.

She needed to quickly check on Arry to make sure the young magician was alive, but she still cared at least a bit about her dignity, and the idea of walking down the corridor in the lightweight outfit they had put on her for treatment, with her hair all messy and her face tired, was not very appealing.

After cleaning her face, Mia hurried to untangle her blonde mane with the small wooden comb that had been left by the sink. She winced as it got caught in knots and sighed throughout the process. The object was really impractical when one was in a hurry.

When her hair looked disciplined enough for her to stop torturing it, Mia headed to the dresser in her room to find her new outfit for the day. She didn't bother to closely examine the pastel blue dress. They all ended up looking the same, and anyway, she didn't have the time. Her sandals were waiting next to the door, ready to be slipped on.

The hallway was unusually quiet on this morning. Mia had expected to see fairies rushing around, tending to the wounded and preparing more remedies. It seemed the hostilities were over. As she made her way to the central hall of the infirmary, she soon encountered Lily coming out of a room with a tray in her hands. With her tired eyes and purple circles, anyone could have guessed that she probably hadn't slept at all that night.

"Do you need help?" Mia asked.

"I wouldn't mind, thank you," Lily replied in a soft voice.

Mia took the empty tray from her as the little fairy sighed, heading towards one of the armchairs in the hall. The young human followed her, sitting across from her after stowing the tray in the infirmary's storage room. She looked tired, but she didn't seem particularly worried. Arry was her friend too, and if something serious had happened to her, she would likely be more distressed than this.

"Long night?"

"You have no idea," Lily complained, slumping into her seat.

"What exactly happened? How's Arry?"

"Arry is fine. When the miasma cleared, we found them, her and Oz, knocked out in the middle of the plain. She has some superficial cuts, but nothing serious. Her magician boyfriend had placed a protective spell on them before things got out of control."

"How bad did it... escalate?"

"An investigation was launched to determine if the werewolf's death was accidental or not, but they're in the dark. No one could see anything with that miasma. There were a few injuries, mostly magicians who were in the center of the area. The werewolves managed to do some damage before they were immobilized."

"And the fireball?"

"No idea," Lily grimaced. "No one knows who threw it and whether it was accidental or not. You were lucky, Mia. If Ethan hadn't protected you, you would be dead."

Mia nodded as Lily drifted into her thoughts. She seemed on the verge of falling asleep at any moment.

So, his name was Ethan. Lily seemed to know him, or at least enough to know his name, which wasn't surprising. The fairies probably knew everyone at the academy if there were so many injuries at each tournament.

In any case, it was clear that Mia would be dead if he hadn't protected her. Now that she was safe and out of danger, the prospect of having to thank him annoyed her. She didn't like him, but he had still saved her life; it was the least she could do.

"What will happen now?"

Lily jumped as she heard the young human speak. The fairy was already dozing off, her body completely exhausted from her sleepless night of work.

"Sorry, I'm really out of it," she signaled, yawning so wide it felt like her jaw might dislocate. "I spent the whole night applying ointments and making others. I thought I'd never see the end of it," she explained, sighing with relief at the thought that she could go to bed in a few minutes. "Honestly, I'm not sure. This kind of event has never happened before. I guess the headmaster will gather the students and staff to discuss it once they've made some progress in the investigation."

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"Aren't there going to be... repercussions?"

"What kind of repercussions?" she said, yawning again.

"A werewolf died, don't you think they'll want revenge?"

That's what always happened in the books Mia read. Relations weren't great between the different species, another reason why she thought the story wouldn't end with this incident.

"I don't know. The academy rules are very strict, no violence is allowed outside of the tournaments. Now, if you'll excuse me, I really need to go sleep," Lily announced, getting up from her chair.

"Okay, rest well."

"Oh, I almost forgot. Arry is in the second room on the right, by her boyfriend's bedside. I don't think they'll mind if you go see them."

Mia thanked Lily, who smiled at her before disappearing behind a door at the exact opposite end of the patients' hallway. The fairies had their own quarters, not far from the injured in case of problems. She got up and made her way to her red-haired friend and her mysterious boyfriend whom she had yet to meet.

Mia thus headed for the door that her fairy friend had indicated to meet Arry. She knocked three times, announcing her presence. When she heard her friend's voice telling her to come in, she entered the room. Arry was sitting next to a young man with brown hair lying in the bed. He was awake as well but seemed slightly dazed. Bandages covered his chest, and then the blanket took over around his waist.

She was initially greeted by Oz, who came to sniff her. She greeted him with a gentle caress between his ears. True to himself, after his inspection, he promptly returned to the corner of the room that served as his lair at that moment. She smiled at his arrogance. That was his way of saying hello to someone he tolerated.

Immediately after, Arry got up to embrace her friend with a big smile.

"Mia! Are you okay? Lily told me what happened. I visited you early this morning, but you were still sleeping."

Mia smiled at her friend. She looked in good spirits, and the concern she let show warmed her heart. It pinched for a moment as the image of her earthly friends insinuated itself into her mind, but she quickly pushed it away. It wasn't the time.

"Yes, I'm fine. More scared than hurt. I was worried about you too; we couldn't see anything from the stands."

"Yes... it was quite scary. Well, until I got knocked out," she chuckled. "Andrei saved my life with his protective spell."

She gestured with her hand toward the aforementioned Andrei resting in his bed. He smiled at the young woman before shifting his attention back to Mia. He looked like a perfectly ordinary and friendly young man.

"You're not introducing us? the young man inquired.

"Oh... yes, I forgot," Arry blushed. "This is Andrei, my boyfriend. And this is Mia, my friend."

The young man struggled to sit up to shake her hand. Mia took it and returned his "pleasure to meet you" with a smile plastered on her face. Arry had talked to her about a date the other day, but she hadn't mentioned that they were already together. Or perhaps the events of the tournament had accelerated their relationship.

"Arry told me about you, even though your reputation as a human precedes you, no offense intended," he said to sympathize.

Mia grimaced in response. She was famous despite herself and could do without this kind of celebrity. But at least he didn't seem hostile to her human condition.

A heavy silence followed his words. The two lovebirds looked at each other seriously for a few seconds before Arry spoke up again.

"Listen, Mia... We've talked about it with Andrei, and... there is something you should know."

"Know what?"

What was she going to discover now? Shivers of anticipation climbed up her spine. Given the looks on their faces, it wasn't news she was going to receive positively. Even Oz had lowered his ears, sensing that a heavy atmosphere was spreading in the room.

"The vila who saved you... Ethan. He's not well-liked and is the solitary type. His family isn't known for tolerating humans," continued Arry.

"I have already noticed that," Mia replied sarcastically.

"You've already met him?"

"Yes, a couple of times."

Arry seemed surprised, but her expression quickly changed to a determined pout as she exchanged a meaningful look with her boyfriend. Mia had never mentioned it to her not to worry her. It didn't seem that important, but apparently, she was wrong.

"What I'm trying to tell you is that it's probably not a coincidence that he chose to protect you from that fireball."

"How so? It's true I found it strange too, but..."

Andrei decided to take over as Arry struggled to find the right words to explain the situation.

"Vilas choose their partner for life. Well... they don't really choose; their inner vila imposes that choice when they've found it. We call it a curse because they can't do anything to go against that choice. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

Mia's face was growing pale as Andrei's words registered in her brain.

"You mean... he would have chosen me? Like a... soulmate?"

The two magicians nodded gravely. Mia felt like someone had just thrown a bucket of ice water over her head. Why her? It was clear that he must be asking the same question since he had always scorned her the few times their paths had crossed. She had no desire to be bound to someone who hated her for what she was. Nor to someone she didn't even know. Nor to a creature she had been warned to be wary of. Nor to be tied to anyone at all, for that matter.

"Maybe he doesn't have a choice, but I do."

The despondent look on the couple made her want to scream out her frustration.

"You'll eventually give in. They all eventually give in," Arry announced in a small voice.

"We'll see about that," Mia promised, determined.

The young human wasn't the type to let things happen when someone tried to impose something on her that she didn't want. Even for details, she fought mercilessly when faced with what she considered to be an injustice. Her free will was the driving force of her life, and her will would burn to defend it.

No one, be it a human, a creature, or whatever, is going to force something like this on me. Human or not, vila or not, I am the only one deciding my life.