Tamyra quickly extinguished her light and froze in her tracks. As the footsteps grew louder, she slid into a large patch of brush. As she held perfectly still, she could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Though the identity of the person was still unknown, Tamyra feared the worst; that Kelvin had come looking for her. She was too far away from the house for anyone to hear her. If Kelvin found her, he would have total free reign.

               The steps grew louder. Tamyra broke out in a cold sweat. She began to plan an escape route in case she was discovered. Back through the brush and make a beeline to the fallen tree, which was full of nooks and crannies for her to hide in. As her plans were set, the footsteps reached Tamyra’s usual reading spot, stopped, and a familiar voice quietly called out,

               “Tamyra? Are you there? Hello?” The voice belonged to Tamyra’s one friend, Leon. A wave of relief washed over Tamyra. She stepped out of the brush.

               “Leon?” she inquired. “What are you doing here?”

               “I wanted to thank you for earlier. I snuck out after everyone went to sleep to go to your room, but when you weren’t in your room, I thought you might be here, the place we first met. You would tell me in your letters how you would come here to read.” Leon wore a happy expression on his face.

               “Why did you let him do that to you though? You’re from a branch family, and he has to keep his composure around a branch family’s child right?” At Tamyra’s inquisitive words Leon’s happy expression was replaced by one of despair.

               “I told you before about how my mother is ill right? Last year, she took a turn for the worst. Father was so worried that he neglected his duties. Since we are merchant nobles our business went under. Riddled by debts, I was to come home from the academy. But then I met Kelvin. He had heard of my situation and said he would persuade your father to shoulder our debts and pay for the medical expenses of my mother. He said as long as I followed anything he said, the money would keep coming. It has been awful. He would make me do all of his errands, humiliate me in front of the other students, and hit me when he was angry. He would even practice magic on me. And no one did anything about it. Some of the others even joined in. It got so bad that I stopped having the heart to write you. I’m really sorry. You’ve been nothing but a good friend to me.” Tears started forming in Leon’s eyes. Tamyra, who was not used to social interactions, was at a loss for words. She racked her brain to think of how to comfort Leon, who had fully broken down into tears at this moment. Awkwardly, Tamyra hugged Leon.

               “Ummm, there there?” Tamyra cursed herself inside her head but Leon’s crying began to subside.

               “S-sorry.” Leon muttered.

               “Uhhhh, its ok I guess,” Tamyra, who had no real experience comforting other, stammered. “Kelvin can be truly cruel. I know firsthand.”

               “Why does he have to be so mean? I didn’t do anything to him. I never badmouthed him or even rivaled him for position of the top student of the year.”

               “That is just the way he is,” Tamyra sighed.

               “It’s just…“ Leon took a deep breath. “It’s just that it feels good to be able to discuss this with someone. I’ve felt so alone.” Tamyra wondered when the right time to break the hug would be, but Leon seemed to not want to let go.

               “Thank you so much for standing up for me. No one has ever tried to help me. It means so much to me.” Leon backed off and stared at Tamyra. “Really. You’ve told me of just how scared you are of Kelvin. I know that it took so much courage to stand up to him. I won’t forget this.” He grabbed Tamyra and pulled her back into the hug. Tamyra had never been embraced, and the sensation of warmth was spread throughout her body, when suddenly,

               “A late night rendezvous? How scandalous.”

               Tamyra’s blood ran cold. Tamyra broke away from Leon who had frozen in fear and turned towards the owner of the mocking voice.

               “Kelvin. Why are you here?”

               “Well I thought my friend here seemed troubled, so when he snuck out I decided to follow him. Who knew he came to see you.” The last word was dripped in acid.

               “Both of us couldn’t sleep and we met while taking a late night stroll. That’s all.” Tamyra lied.

               “Y-yeah,” Leon agreed.

               “Really?” Kelvin asked in fake confusion. “Then why on earth did Leon here make a stop at your bedroom? Seems like a strange place to go for a midnight stroll.” Tamyra’s face paled. If Kelvin had been following Leon since he had snuck out, then that meant he had heard their entire conversation. Even the parts where they had badmouthed him. “I think that you two are lying. Now just what could you two be hiding. Is it your little discussions about how evil Kelvin is? Are you two in love? Or is it just so the pussy Leon can bawl his eyes out like a frail little girl? Well don’t let me interrupt. Go on, continue your little fun time.”

               Tamyra’s mind was in full panic mode. Kelvin’s demeanor was that of a playful bully, but she knew that this was a precursor to something worse. “Please, we were just caught up in the moment. We didn’t mean to say bad thing about you,” Tamyra desperately tried to explain. Leon nodded his head vigorously in agreement.

               “You two don’t seem very sorry though.” Kelvin was wearing a mocking grin.

               “Please, it’s late. Let’s go back now,” Tamyra pleaded. She knew that wouldn’t work, but desperation was making her keep talking in order to prolong the inevitable torment Kelvin was planning.

               “Yes it is late isn’t it? Leon, why have you decided to let my precious younger sister stay out so late? And so far out as well. If something were to happen here,” Kelvin flew at Leon with incredible speed and socked him the stomach, “then no one could hear the cries for help.” Leon crumpled to the ground gasping for air. Tamyra could tell that Kelvin had used magic to enhance his movements making his hit much harder. Tamyra cried out to Kelvin,

               “Please! Stop! He didn’t do anything!” But Kelvin ignored her protests and kicked Leon again.

               “He has to learn not to endanger my precious little sister.” Tamyra felt a chill over the way Leon called her. “And this time, it’s not all in good fun.” Kelvin kept kicking. Tamyra grabbed onto Kelvin and tried to pull him away. However Tamyra was a small girl and Kelvin had begun his growth spurt. Kelvin easily tossed her off, and Tamyra fell on her backside. Leon had regained his breath and was crying out in pain. Kelvin had moved from kicking his stomach to his face. Leon had his head cradled in his arms for protection, but his nose already had blood pouring out. Tamyra jumped back to her feet and tried again to drag Kelvin away.

               “STOP GETTING IN THE WAY!” Kelvin roared and Tamyra suddenly found herself on the ground seeing stars. It took her a moment to figure out that Kelvin had hit her. He must have reinforced the blow with magic for him to be able to hit so hard. Kelvin once again resumed kicking Leon. Tamyra realized the ineffectuality of her actions. Leon’s face was bloody and beginning to swell, and Tamyra knew that Leon didn’t have much time before he was seriously injured, if he was not already. Her only hope was to get the two of them close enough to the estate to where a guard could hear them. But she couldn’t get Kelvin away from Leon. The only way was to somehow incapacitate Kelvin, and she remembered that she had one weapon that she could use

               Tamyra concentrated and formed a small ball of light in her hand. It was dim now, as she needed to conserve what little mana she had at her disposal. Running behind Kelvin, she jumped on his back. Kelvin was shocked and had no time to react. Tamyra took the small light that was in her hand and forced it into Kelvin’s eyes. Then gathering all the mana she had, increased the brightness of the light as much as possible. Tamyra felt the feeling of emptiness that came with depleting her mana supply, but the intended effect came through. Kelvin screamed in agony, grabbing at his eyes. “MY EYES!” Kelvin cried out. Tamyra dropped off his back and ran over to the downed Leon.

               Tamyra was appalled by the state of Leon. Kelvin had used magic and hardened his kicks. Leon’s nose was obviously broken and had blood cascading out of it. One of his eyes had nearly swollen completely shut, his lip was split open, and at least one tooth was missing. But there was no time to consider the damage, as Tamyra knew she didn’t have the magic power to blind Kelvin seriously. He would get his vision back and be furious. “Leon get up. We need to go now.” Leon merely groaned. Tamyra could tell that Leon was barely on the edge of consciousness. “Please get up! We need to get out of here now.”

               “Helpf me uph.” Leon slurred. Tamyra grabbed his arm and put it around her shoulder. With all her might she pulled Leon up. As she did, he cried out in pain. Tamyra noted that he probably had broken ribs as well. But there was no time for his injuries. They had to move. With Tamyra supporting Leon, the two began to make their way back. Kelvin was still on the ground clutching his eyes and cursing. But it wouldn’t last for much longer, so Tamyra urged Leon to go faster.

Stolen novel; please report.

               “Come on! We need to get back to the house!” Tamyra knew that there was no going back now that she had attacked Kelvin, but whatever the punishment would be, it was preferable to letting Kelvin have his way. She could protect Leon by assuming full responsibility, as Leon was obviously hurt and the adults would easily figure out what had transpired, and they couldn’t blame Leon for what happened. Her desire to save her friend gave Tamyra renewed strength and she picked up her pace. Leon was perking up, and now was able to stand on his own. But he still was extremely slow, and Tamyra had no intention of leaving him, so the two continued as fast as Leon could possibly run. But they were still at least fifteen minutes away from the house. Tamyra silently cursed her habit of going so far away to study.

               The two kept moving, but they weren’t moving fast enough and Tamyra knew it. But she hadn’t seen a sign of Kelvin, so they must have had a good head start. The terror she had felt during the entire ordeal began to give way to hope. Soon they would be close enough to get help. Then suddenly, a force slammed into the back her head. She was out before her face hit the ground.

               Tamyra woke up with a dull ache in the back of her head. As her eyes came into focus, she noticed that it was still dark out, but there was a small light hovering above her. Looking up, Tamyra saw that the light was similar to the one she used, but this one was much less efficient, yet it was still brighter. Tamyra began to look around and saw someone standing imperiously over another person who was down on their knees. It was Kelvin and Leon.

               “Ah look who’s awake. Damn you’re a sturdy one. That hit I gave you was quite strong, and you have only been out for less than ten minutes. Quite impressive.” Leon’s mouth was twisted into a cruel smirk, but Tamyra could see that his eyes were bloodshot from her light attack. “I have to say, that attack on my eyes was something else. No one has ever hurt me like that before. No one.” Leon’s face suddenly radiated pure fury.

               “Kelvin, please don’t hurt her. She did it for my sake. Any punishment should be given to me,” Leon pleaded. He was still on his knees in a bowing position. Tamyra studied him, looking to see if Kelvin had hurt him more, but he seemed no different from earlier.

               “She may have done it for your sake, but she attacked me. She fucking attacked me. No one has ever done that to me.” He turned towards Tamyra. “Do you think you’re just better than me huh? Even with your small amount of mana you don’t know your place. You just have to keep trying to flaunt your superiority.” Leon had become manic. “YOU ARE NOT BETTER THAN ME! I AM BETTER THAN YOU IN EVERY WAY! I AM STRONGER! I AM FASTER! I AM SMARTER! I AM BETTER!” Kelvin brought back his foot, and Tamyra could feel the mana pour into his leg. She was still sluggish from being knocked out and she knew that there was no way to dodge it.

               “Please stop!” Kelvin turned stopped and turned around. Leon had attempted to jump up to stop Kelvin, but because of the pain he was in, awkwardly tumbled to the ground. Fortunately, this had gotten Kelvin’s attention and had stopped his kick. “Please! This is all my fault. If anyone deserves punishment it’s me. Hit me not her!”

               Kelvin stared at Leon for a second and relaxed. “Leon, none of this was your fault. You just went out for a midnight stroll. Didn’t your parents ever teach you that it was rude to wander around someone else’s house at midnight? Obviously not, or else you wouldn’t have done it. So this isn’t your fault. It’s your parents fault.” At the mention of his parents, even with all the damage, it was obvious that Leon’s face wore an expression of pure horror. “So since it’s their fault, I’ll just have to tell my father that he just isn’t fit to be a noble. That help with the debt would just have to stop. And I hear your mother’s treatment is just so very expensive. Too bad they didn’t teach their son proper manners.”

               “No,” Leon croaked. “Please no. She needs those treatments. Please don’t. I’m sorry. I should’ve known better. Don’t bring my parents into this.”

               “But Leon, I was hurt. And it was extremely painful. Someone needs to be punished for all of this.”

               “Just punish me! I’ll take it!” Leon begged.

               “But Leon, I’ve already said that this wasn’t your fault. If I punished you for this, that would be unjust. And I am many things, but I am not unjust.”

               “This wasn’t their fault though!” came the pleading reply.

               “Well then, if it isn’t their fault, and I have already said that it wasn’t your fault, then that leaves only one person who is at fault.” Kelvin looked straight into Tamyra’s eyes. A feeling of dread washed over her. “And someone has to be punished.”

               “No! It’s not hers either!”

               “Hmmm, but if it’s not your parents fault, and I’ve already said that it’s not your fault, then it must be her fault.”

               “But it’s not!”

               “Leon, someone has to be punished here. If you won’t tell me whose fault it is, then I’m just going to have to punish both your parents and Tamyra. You have a choice. Tell me whose fault it is and the other party will be spared. Please decide now.”

               “Please. It’s neither of their faults.” Leon cried weakly.

               Kelvin shook his head in derision. “Leon, that’s not a proper answer. I am not going to ask again. If you don’t give me a proper answer, then I’m going to have punish both of them. Now choose.”

               “But-“

               “No buts, just decide.”

               “I… I can’t.”

               “Then it’s both then?”

               “No!”

               “Then choose. You have to the count of five.”

               “Please no!” Leon was crying on the ground at Kelvin’s feet.

               “Five” Kelvin began his countdown. Tamyra could only sit silently. A combination of grogginess, a loss for words, and crippling fear of Kelvin kept her silent.

               “Four” Leon looked desperately at Tamyra, but she had no answers for him. She did not want Leon’s family to lose its title, but she was terrified of Kelvin.

               “Three” Despair crept onto Leon’s face.

               “Two” Tamyra could see that Kelvin was thoroughly enjoying this.

               “One. What is your decision?” Leon looked at the ground in defeat and mumbled something inaudible.

               “I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that. One more time please.” Kelvin demanded.

               Leon looked at Tamyra. It was a look that made Tamyra experience a whole new level of torment. It was a desperately apologetic look. Slowly, Leon raised his hand and pointed at her and whispered,

               “It was her fault.”

               Dread filled Tamyra’s soul.

               “I see,” Kelvin exclaimed. “This all my dear sister’s fault. So dear sister, do you have anything to say in your defense?” Tamyra desperately tried to find words to explain, something to lessen the horror of what was to come, but nothing came out, and she could only gape.

               “Well, if you have nothing to say, then I suppose we must get on with it. You really did hurt my eyes. I have never experienced something so painful.” Kelvin grabbed Tamyra and pulled her up. “Get up Leon. I need you to hold her hands. Though she most likely has used all her mana, she has proven to be very dangerous with those hands. You’re weak so use magic to strengthen your grip.” Leon struggled to his feet and grabbed Tamyra’s hands behind her. “So, my dear sister, have you ever heard the expression, ‘eye for an eye’? In this case, it can be used quite literally, as you did attack my eyes. You used light to blind me. I guess I’ll use light as well.” Kelvin held out his palm and conjured a fireball. “Mine is a bit stronger though.” The fire brought Tamyra back to her senses,

               “Please! Let me go! I’m so sorry! Just let me go!” Tamyra screamed.

               “Don’t worry dear sister. You may have attacked both of my eyes, but I am a gentleman. I’ll only go for one eye as recompense. You still need to be able to see me.” Leon declared. Tears began to stream down Tamyra’s face.

                “I’ll do anything! I swear! Anything!” Tamyra sobbed in a last ditch effort for mercy.

               “Anything?” Kelvin replied. “Then I want you to burn.” Kelvin brought the fireball to Tamyra’s face.