For the second time that night, I had become the fire.

As the night grew later and the wooden tiles on the bracket inside seven columns had diminished, the crowd had reached a fever pitch.

The cheers that filled my ears were not because of my victory, they came at my defeat by the hand of the guard Woolie.

I had played with him many times before, but none of our games had prepared me for the onslaught the burly bearded man had unleashed upon me.

A different kind than I, yes, but he was a hunter all the same.

“Two Points, Woolie! Second Kill, Woolie! Reset for the next match!” The Captain shouted, his voice barely audible over the sound of the jubilant crowd.

I watched him step back from me and remembered the first time I had played points.

It had been on Galahad’s Night, when I had never stepped a free foot into Erosette or knew the weight of Mother Azza’s golden eyes. Springer and Woolie had done their part at the request of my mother and dressed up as barmaids to serve drinks and keep score. I had made him laugh when I had called him a lady.

It had been a real, genuine, moment. The sort that I had not shared with very many people.

Excluding my memories of Anna and Arthur, it was one that I kept close to my heart.

Neither guard had worn their flattering blouses to the tournament.

Springer stood right next to the captain, every line and crease of his buttoned shirt perfectly in place as he clapped for his counterpart. Woolie turned back to me and bent at the knees to indicate he was ready for what would be our final match.

The dark bearded man had come at me like a bear when our bout had begun, overwhelming me with his bulk and intensity. Every match since, he had charged me just the same. Twice, I had been able to sneak enough points to win before he closed, but it was hardly a certain path to victory.

A toss up, nothing more.

Atrean, one of the boys the captain had sent on a quest to the flower shop across the city, appeared at the edge of the platform. He handed the captain a bundle of red flowers that were wrapped in reflective red paper. The captain ruffled his head and sent him away before turning back to me.

“Reset for the next match!” He shouted, making me realize that everyone was looking at me. Woolie, the captain, and the crowd were all waiting on me to take up my stance so the dancing flames they had gathered around could continue to burn.

I could not leave the outcome of three final match up in the air. The tournament was fun, yes, and I did enjoy playing, but I had a much more important reason why I needed to win.

It was me and only me that needed to be Arthur’s opponent once he made it to the final bout.

No one else would let him win so he could get his recommendation from the captain.

What he had said in the alley when Suri had been making my mind very difficult to tame was not lost on me. The tall man was in control of how much Opa healed him. That only left one thing for me to think in regard to the scars I had left on his neck.

I couldn’t lose. I couldn’t let there be a chance of me losing. I had to find a way to snatch victory out of the air and away from the oncoming rush of Woolie.

If the burly man had any idea who I was, I would simply ask. I’m sure he would understand, he seemed overwhelmingly kind despite his rough appearance.

Woolie didn’t know he was playing against Lady Aubrey’s criminal daughter, the same girl that he had been charged with keeping out of the city. He thought he was playing against Trea, a name I had come up with after hearing a refugee boy being called something similar.

Looking into the eyes of my opponent, all I could see was the barmaids outfit wrapped around his bulk.

That’s it. I thought, realizing I had found the upper hand I had needed.

“I didn’t hurt you did I?” Woolie asked, his expression and voice sincere.

“No,” I shook my head and stepped into my stance, unable to keep myself from smiling. “I am certain I have met you before, I was just trying to remember where.”

“I’ll see if I can help you after this.” The big man said as he broke from his stance and hammered his way towards me.

I stepped back, the same as I had every match.

He struck out for my hand, but I let myself fall back on my ass instead of tripping naturally like I had before.

“You’re a bar maid are you not? I seem to remember you looking very fetching in one of those white blouses with the corset.” I said suddenly from where I sat on the wooden platform.

Woolies eyes went wide and his face blushed red beneath his dark beard. “Who told you that? Daphne? Schmit? Ugi?”

There was my opening. I had halted his onslaught with nothing but my words. The high of my triumph was so all consuming, I almost forgot to reach out and press my two fingers to his brow.

“Three points, Trea! Third Kill, Trea! Trea moves on to the next round!”

“I usually would let a lady such as yourself win, but I’m afraid the stakes are too high.” I said to Woolie over the noise of the crowd. They had become so loud, I could feel the wooden boards vibrating underneath me.

Woolie sighed stuck his hand out to me. He helped me off the ground and bowed his head. “Good match.”

“Good match.” I replied.

“Which one of those little shits told you about the barmaid business? I need to know.” The burly man said to me as we left the platform together.

“Uhm, I’m not sure who I heard it from.” I lied. I had not heard it, I had seen it, but I could not tell him that.

“Has to be Daphne. He couldn’t keep his mouth shut if his lips were sown together.” Woolie grunted as he helped me down into the crowd.

I lost the burly guard after that. More people than I could count congratulated me. High fives, claps on the back, and offers to buy me drinks came like a flooding river that carried me away from the stage without my permission. It spat me out at the open door of seven columns and I found that the attention of everyone around me had turned back towards the platform for the next match.

A shadow appeared among the gathered souls of Erosette and walked straight up to me. She grabbed me by my arms and gave me a little shake.

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“You won!” Anna cheered, a look of pure excitement on her face.

“I won!” I smiled back at her. It was good that she had grabbed me. I was fairly certain I would not have been able to keep my feet on the stone street beneath me if she hadn’t.

“What did you do to him to make him stop like that?” Anna asked.

“Let’s run away together,” The words passed through my lips before I had the chance to think about them. “Right now. There are so many places we can go. I have to figure out how to get us there, but I will.”

I knew that there were an uncountable amount of reasons that it was a terrible and nearly impossible idea. If she had said yes, none of them would have mattered to me.

Anna did not answer me. We stared into each other’s eyes and it felt like everything around us slowed to a stop. From campfires to roaring pyres to tournaments, the people of Erosette gathered to focus on all manner of things. Anna was my fire and I was hers. The excitement of my matches and the way being with her made me feel did nothing but bring that knowledge to bear in the front of my mind.

“Excuse me. I hate to interrupt, but the two of you are blocking the door.” Someone said as they tapped me on my shoulder.

Everything around us returned to its usual speed when we looked away from one another. We separated long enough for an unfortunately familiar man to pass between us.

Patience.

My hand reached for him before I could stop it.

The tips of my fingers brushed against the back of his white shirt. Just before I grabbed him and spun him around to me, I was pulled back and spun around myself.

Anna pulled me towards her and kissed me for the second time that night.

I lost myself in it.

When I returned, Patience was gone.

In his place was Nocti. Wearing his wide brimmed hat and leading the flock of red cloaked roses that followed behind him, he passed by me without a second glance.

“Hey, are you okay?” Anna asked me, bringing my attention back to her.

“Because of you. It wasn’t as bad as last time,” I sighed, thankfully that Suri was nowhere to be felt in my mind. “I hope we see him again.”

“Because it gets easier each time? Anna asked.

“Because I get to kiss you again.” I said with a smile.

“Arthur and Springer to the stage! Arthur and Springer to the stage!” One of the boys from before shouted as he ran through the door of seven columns.

As he went in, an underwitch came running out.

“Wait up!” She yelled, bumping into every single person she passed.

Blonde hair, tan skin, freckles, I recognized her immediately.

Pyreme.

Like a duckling that had been separated from its mother, she vanished into the mass of people between the tavern and the platform in search of her flock.

“Wasn’t that the girl from the other night?” Anna asked as we started for the platform.

“I want to talk to her again.” I said, taking Anna’s hand in my own.

“That’s really not a good idea,” She warned me. “But neither is being here at all I guess, just don’t show her your face.”

The next match began before I could find Pyreme and it stopped me dead in my tracks.

It did not feel like I was watching Arthur and Springer play a game of points.

The uptight man that guarded the city from me was a sword. Sharp, efficient, deadly, he slowly took more and more of the platform from Arthur with each feint and advance.

The tall man who had chosen to bear the scars I had left on his neck was a shield. Guarded, reactive impenetrable, he held Springer’s attacks at arms length despite the ground he was losing.

Either the sword would meet flesh or the shield would break the blade against its edge.

If not for the edge of platform, their endless war for control over the small space between them seemed like it would go on forever.

The heel of Arthur’s boot slide off the wooden planks underneath it, but the tall man did not waiver. He held his ground as long as he could, but Springer struck first.

“Two points, Springer! Reset!” Came the captain’s call.

There was no conversation or hesitation between the two. The moment that Springer’s two fingers touched Arthur’s hand, the two men reset and began again.

The turn around was so quick, the crowd barely had enough time to applaud properly.

Just as it had been the first time, Springer became a sword and Arthur became a shield. The difference, was it was the tall man bearing down and pushing back his opponent.

Springer’s heel slid off the platform just as Arthur’s had shortly before.

“Three points, Arthur! First kill, Arthur! Reset for the next match!”

I held onto Anna and she held onto me as we watched the rest of the match. If there was ever an advantage given or taken, even for the slightest moment, it ended quickly with points being scored. Each match was the same impressive dance and I gathered that the two of them knew each other’s strategies like the inside of their eye lids. To my eyes, whoever made the first mistake was the one to lose.

In my mind, I knew that all of them had been holding back when they played against me. Woolie hadn’t charged me when he knew it was me. Springer had never attacked me with the same complex series of strikes that he was Arthur. The tall man barely seemed like the same opponent I had faced more than any other.

If I did end up in the final match against Arthur, I would not have to let him win. If he came at me like he did Springer, I would lose no matter what I did.

“One point, Springer! Second kill, Springer! Reset for the final match!”

Arthur did not return to the stage or enter his stance as he had before. He came to the edge of the platform that was the closest to where Anna and I stood and lower himself on to his haunches.

Even with us packed shoulder to shoulder within the crowd, his dark eyes found us immediately.

“Hey,” He called out and waved. “Watch this, I learned it from you.”

Without another word, he stood and went to his place opposite Springer. He dropped into a stance that was very much unlike what I had seen him do before. His weight was held forward on his front foot and his arm was held much closer to his chest.

Springer stepped forward, the same way he had at the start of every other match.

Arthur began to hunt.

Like I was watching a giant version of myself, the tall man leapt forward and passed his opponents guard.

He went for the kill and met his mark without difficulty.

An eruption of sound made me cover my ears with my hands. Anna snapped her arms straight up in the air as she cheered for her brother’s victory. I saw the captain’s mouth moving as he announced the end of the match, but I could not hear him.

Arthur and Springer shook hands and parted from the platform in opposite directions.

The same flood that had carried me to the door of seven columns rose up around Arthur, but he was strong enough to move against it.

I offered him a high five when he reached us and he returned it with his usual smile back on his face.

Anna punched her brother in the arm.

“What was that for?” He asked, rubbing the place she had hit.

“What was the point of wearing matching black clothes? I looked everywhere and I couldn’t find you. Where did you go?” Anna demanded with a harsh scowl on her face.

“Do I have to get your permission before I go have a drink?” Arthur asked instead of giving a straight answer.

“Yes. Just because you can get up there and win some stupid game doesn’t mean I can’t still beat you up.” Anna said, her words threatening and angry.

Usually I found it quite entertaining, but I did not pay much attention to their bickering. Standing in our little pocket of darkness, I couldn’t take my eyes off the scars on Arthur’s neck.

I reached up and touched them gently before I really realized I was doing it. “You left these on purpose. Why didn’t you let Opa take them away?”

I thought of my own scars on my arms and legs. There was nothing I wouldn’t do to rid myself of them.

Anna looked up at her little brother with a strange sadness in her eyes.

“I, uhm-“ The tall man started.

“Ugi,” The captain said as he appeared in our circle of black with the red flowers still in hand. “We’ve got to do the semifinals out of order. Are you good to go again?”

Arthur looked at me and then to Anna before he responded, the quiet moment between us feeling much longer than it actually was.

“We’ll talk about this later,” The tall man said to me and then turned to the captain. “Let’s go.”

“You’re doing well, boy. Making me proud.” The captain said, clapping him on the back as the disappeared into the crowd.

Anna let out a weary sigh and took my hand again. “We should get you something to eat, you’ll be playing again soon.”

“Do you know why?” I asked as we snaked our way through the small gaps in the crowd. My question being left unanswered had not left me satisfied.

“I think so,” Anna sighed again. “But I hope I’m wrong.”

The captains voice rose over the packed street and announced the first match of the semifinals.

“On to the Semis! Nocti and Arthur to the stage!"