𝟐𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥, 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐱

𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐲

by the time i got back downstairs, the foyer had turned into a duelist ring, covered in those silver gray spikes. luckily, caspian was still unscathed, and still holding eiran off. all the others were protecting and evacuating bystanders and other staff, reep being one of them. you know, for a mouse, he's more of a daredevil than i would've thought.

for a split moment, i was frozen, couldn't move. i was gripping the hilt of the sword so tight i could feel the engraving digging into the palms of my hands. my breath was stuck in my throat.

i couldn't do this.

next thing i knew, i was breathing rapidly. the last time i felt like this was my very first skating competition. i leaned against the column i was hiding behind. i closed my eyes, and the memory played in my head like a movie.

'"y/n." my coach said my name softly. i was having a panic attack. a bad one. yes, i had been in competitions before, but this one? this one was the one that would kick off my career going forward.

currently, i was sitting in a corner, hugging my knees. i was honestly surprised the the glitter on my outfit hadn't rubbed off.

"y/n." she said my name again. this time i looked at her. she wiped my tear stained eyes. "you may not be as prepared as you think, but you have to do this. i'm not going to sugarcoat it, sweetheart, it's not going to be easy. things like this never are. but, you have to be ready."

coach helped me pick myself up. i took a deep breath and pushed that overwhelming feeling away. i nodded, acknowledging her words. she took my hands and smiled. "you have to have faith in your abilities, y/n."'

i opened my eyes. i let go of the breath i was holding a took a peek at the scene unfolding just below me. my entire thought process changed.

i couldn't let anyone fight my battles. i wouldn't let anyone fight my battles. and i sure as hell wasn't going to let anyone get hurt because i couldn't fight my own fight.

i loosened my grip around my weapon ever so slightly, and held it just in front of my face.

i could do this.

a glyph formed underneath my feet. the chamber spun, and made a soft clicking sound once it stopped. a small blue light glowed at the tips of my fingers. i spun from behind the column with a flourish. i stood on the railing of the balcony, and pushed myself off. i set the light blue glyph against eiran's back, kicking it as hard as i could. and it turns out, i have a lot more lower body strength than i thought because i sent eiran crashing straight into the wall, a sheet of ice covered him. 'it can't be that easy.'

"y/n!" caspian rushed to me, cupped my cheeks, and scanned for any injuries. he looked back at the man frozen against the wall, then back to me. "i didn't know that was gonna happen.." i mumbled. "i'm uh.. sorry about your w-"

i was cut off with a kiss. caspian was kissing me. and i melted right into it. it was sweet, but passionate. like he had been holding it back for a long time. when he pulled away, the phantom feeling of his lips on mine was still there, a feeling like fireworks overflowing my senses. 

i told myself i wouldn't fall for the king as a defense mechanism. but it was too bad i was already in love when i promised myself that.

"it's alright." he said in a whisper just after he caught his breath. he chuckled when i brought my fingers to my lips, still in slight shock at what just happened. he softly moved my hand away, and looked into my eyes. that look was what made me fall for him in the first place. the one that sent me over the moon. he gave me that look when we first met. when we danced in the garden, at dinner, when he sparred with me, when he watched me skate. and for some reason, it still sent me over the edge.

caspian had begun to lean in again, but the faint cracking of ice stopped the both of us dead in our tracks. our attention immediately turned to the wall. the ice i had sealed eiran in was cracking. it started small, but them the cracks got bigger and bigger.

that same silver gray light took over the cracks. then the ice burst. thankfully, i was quick enough to use a glyph as a shield to deflect the fast flying ice shards. the sound of them breaking against the ground felt like a trigger.

"there it is.." eiran whispered. "there's the power promised to me by destiny!" now, he was hysterical. "then it seems we're fighting destiny." i said to myself, once again tightening the grip on my weapon.

caspian began to pick up his sword. i stopped him, shook my head. "i can't let you fight for me." i whispered to him. "i have to do this."

"but-"

i hummed. "i know what i need to do." caspian looked hesitant, though, i couldn't blame him. "go help the others." i instructed. he nodded, and ran to catch up with the others.

i looked eiran in the eyes. he pointed his blade at me, an unsettling smile on his face. "now.." a metallic looking liquid fell from his blade to the polished floors. from it, a giant sentient suit of armor rose. "let the real battle begin."

'knew it wasn't going to be easy.'