𝙨𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨. sting eucliffe

10 | conflicted

[July 4th X791]

Ariana woke up to the sounds of the roaring crowd.

It was much louder than usual, and it was killing her because she didn't know why. She hated not knowing what was going on, especially when it included her guildmates. Her head began to pound at the screams, and she weakly raised her arms to her ears, trying her best to block out the noises. "What's going on up there?" she said to no one but herself. 

Yet again, the crowd roared. Cheers were made evident to her, and the brick walls that surrounded her room were not doing very much to tune out the noise. Now, the curiosity was killing her. What event was even happening today? Ariana hated not feeling part of the guild, and this room was making her feel more isolated than ever. Though, she hated herself more for getting injured and doing this all. 

Either way, she pushed herself to get out of her bed. 

Her legs felt the pressure of her body weight, and the fact that they hadn't been used in over two days. She held her arms out in front of her as a protective measure and took a first step. 

A smile cracked her porcelain skin, and her body moved forward more and more. "This is easy..." she muttered to herself and let a laugh loose. She inched closer to the door, and soon, she was outside and walking down the hallway towards the stadium floors. 

The cheers got louder and louder, pounding in her head grew yet the blonde ignored it. No way she was going to be bound to her recovery room when her guild was out here, putting all they had out on the floor. Of course she was going to cheer them on with all that she had, even if that wasn't very much right now. 

Her steps stopped abruptly when she reached the lower viewing area of the games. 

In bold letters above the stadium, "Naval Battle" was read in her head, and a pained laugh left her mouth. Of all the games that could've happened the day after her unfortunate accident, it was the one that she would've easily excelled in and won. How ironic. 

Ariana had been putting herself down this entire time for hurting herself and still ending in a tie. Her guildmates were proud of her, for all of her effort and the exceptional battle she made for them, but a tie was a disappointment for her, even against a Wizard Saint. If there was a flaw about her, it was that Ariana was always a sore loser. Knowing that she could've won the battle today was killing her. 

Ariana slammed her fist down on the railing that held her and winced at the pain. 

"Damn it..." she cursed. 

Slamming her first again and again on the railing, a dent was beginning to form on the hard metal of the bar. 

"Fuck!" she hissed, once a sharp pain hit her in the side, causing her to fall to her knees and grip the railing as she did so. Her knuckles began to turn white from the sheer strength that she exerted from gripping the bar. Another pain in her abdomen hit, and she let go of the rail and held her hands at her side. Her bruises were healing, but the purpled and blue pattern stained her skin, while her internal injuries remained the same. 

Another roar of the crowd met her ears and she brought herself to look up to see the battle.

She had her eyes focused on Lucy and Juvia. They were holding their own and doing good. She was proud of them and cheering them on of course, but it pained her that it wasn't here that was participating in the battle. Her clear blue eyes followed their bodies as they travelled in the orb of water, but her vision began to blur slightly. 

She blinked hard, holding her side. Her brain was pounding against her skull and the amount of noise in the arena surely wasn't helping. 

" I have to get out of here." she decided to herself, and grabbed the rail to help herself up. She grunted in pain as she brought her body upwards, but the pain was too much. She collapsed on the rock floor, and let her body hit the dusted ground. Her head landed with a thud, the pounding of the solid rock hitting her head with such force, it blurred her vision until it went black.