Lady (Y/N) of Valor Tower~SGE~ Tedros

On My Own

Out of nowhere I heard Tedros ask, "Will you go to the ball with me?"
  "I'm sorry what?" I responded, absolutely bewildered. Why would he ask that now? I was supposed to be focusing on the trial! Yet, why did I sort of like it...NO! I CAN'T! NOT NOW, NOT EVER!!! I have worked SO hard to be distinguished from those princesses- falling for a boy? And my best friend? "I can't believe it, I thought you said we were equal- what happened to that!" Throwing my hands in the air I started to storm out, but I was stopped by hand on my shoulder.
    "(Y/N)..." Tedros started.
    "NO! Leave me alone!!!"  I screamed, not caring that I was shutting out my only ally. "What made you think I was going to the ball in the first place!?"
    "But- it's a requirement, you'll fail."
    "Fine by me, maybe on my own I'll get some respect!"
    "What, you're leaving? I thought we were helping each other?" Tedros started looking like he was going to have a panic attack, I should have known how this would hurt him- both parents and now his best friend- but I was blinded by my feelings, anger and otherwise.
    "Not anymore." I said coldly, shook his hand off my shoulder and stalked out of the room.
    I briefly swore I heard Tedros mumble, "I'm sorry, (Y/N)" Part of me wanted to go back and apologize, but my pride was getting in the way.
    The next couple of days could only be described as hard. I was trying my best to avoid Tedros, but since we were in practically all of the same classes it was nearly impossible. At first, he retreated back to his old friends, like Chaddick, but soon I noticed that he was hardly coming to class anymore. As much as I hated to admit it, I was really concerned for him. 
    However, I knew that the Trial by Tale was coming up- so I threw all of my focus into that. I made sure that I had accounted for every participant that would be fighting against me, and came up with individual defenses and counterattacks that tailored to how much I thought they would deserve- although none were deadly. For example, little Princess Kiko would only be trapped by vines until she dropped her handkerchief- the signal of surrender- whereas Sophie had a whole paragraph of counterattacks and traps.
    The last few days have been all about preparing for the Trial, in which I learned some of the rules. First off, the participants would have a staggered start based on their ranks- the higher your rank, the less time you had to spend in the forest. I was ranked first for Good and therefore I only had to worry for a few hours. Second, every participant would have an enchanted handkerchief to drop when they wanted to surrender- most of my attacks were focused on getting the others to drop their handkerchiefs (I wanted to be the only victor)- so they could be safely removed from the trial. Thirdly, the competition would last until sunrise, of course we had to compete in the dark, whoever was left alive and hadn't surrendered would win. We were allowed to use magic, and I would be allowed my sword. It pained me to use the strategy I had come up with alongside Tedros, but I knew it was my best bet- I would go into the competition with my arms covered in words. 
    ***
    There was only about two days left until the Trial, it had been over a week since I had last spoken to Tedros. I had barely slept due to nerves and knew I needed to. Unsurprisingly, I had trouble falling asleep. Once I finally exhausted myself, sleep found me at last- but it was anything but peaceful.
    I was in the Blue Forest- I could tell that much. Shouts could be heard from all around me, I immediately reached for a sword that I hoped was there. Luckily it was. I heard a rustle behind me- it was a prince, but I couldn't see well enough to identify him. Swinging my sword, steel clashed against steel. Oh, I get it now, I was dreaming about the Trial by Tale. The prince fell easily, dropping his handkerchief. I decided to look for high ground, to get an advantage over those who would wish to attack me. While I was slipping through the woods, I encountered more contestants- let me just say that I left a trail of dropped handkerchiefs behind me.
    I found a hill that gave me a good vantage point. I stood there for what felt like hours- using my sword to defeat any competitors who came near me. I counted in my head, I had beaten... what, eighteen contestants? That left one other person along with me- and I knew exactly who it was. Sophie.
    Just as the realization dawned on me, an ear splitting shriek ripped through the air. My sword flew out of my hand on its own accord. I lit my finger glow and was prepared to fight with magic. Sophie stepped out of the shadows, her eyes glowing with anger and fractured with insanity. "I told you to stay away from Tedros, (Y/N). He was supposed to be mine!"
    "What?! You think he's mine- he doesn't belong to anyone! Anyway we're not even friends anymore."
    "Oh, (Y/N), (Y/N), (Y/N). When will you learn that I'm right? You. Ruin. EVERYTHING! My chance at getting a prince, your chance at winning."
    "I AM going to win- you seem to be mistaken."
    "No you won't. You pushed your only chance at winning away because of a stupid question, way to go- prepare to die." Sophie's finger began to glow hot pink.
    I looked down at my arms to find the spell I was going to use on her- my arms were blank. What? How can this be possible? Deciding to try my luck with my normal finger glow, I started to think of a spell- but was interrupted when an invisible force slammed into me and sent me spiraling through the air. I scrambled to recover but was pinned down by the force. Sophie stood above me holding a knife made of what seemed like electricity. She knelt down and started making small cuts all over my arms and legs. Definitely electricity. I screamed out in pain, not sure how much more I could bear. Sophie stood up prepared to strike the final blow when...
    "(Y/N)!!!!! Are you alright!" I heard a voice shout through my door, waking me up. Was that Tedros? I didn't respond, simply starting to sob- that was far too realistic. The small creak that accompanied the opening of my door went unnoticed, as well as Tedros slipping into my room. "Hey, it's okay. I'm here."
    Forgetting my pride, and allowing myself to internally reconcile with my best friend, I turned and clung to Tedros like a lifeline. He carefully hugged back. "I'm so sorry, about everything."
    "It's okay, I shouldn't have sprung that on you."
    "Are you sure?" He nodded softly. "I woke you up didn't I?"
"Yeah, you were screaming. I wasn't sure if you wanted me to be here, but I felt like I should have come."
"Of course I want you here- I was being stubborn and stupid. I don't really want to talk about my dream, but I really need your help for the Trial."
"Of course." We embraced again- all was forgiven.
A/N: Sorry that took so long, and also sorry if it felt a bit rushed (the Trial needs to happen soon, so I couldn't really stretch out the fight). Special thank you to Writer4Runner you're awesome!!!