Celeste Academy One Shots

Fight Me (Pt. 2)

Those three days passed quicker than either of them hoped. Valeriana challenged Corvan simply out of anger and the first ranker was worried about accidentally hurting his betrothed. Although neither of them really wanted to follow through with the fight, their hands were now tied. Their last dual was meant more for entertainment's sake.This one was to prove a point and stakes were higher.

The first and fifth ranker avoided each other like the plague. Whispers from other students followed them around the academy and a few were even brave enough to inquire about the status of their relationship. Corvan would simply fix whatever girl was trying to meddle in his relationship a nearly evil glare before continuing on. He wouldn't waste his breath to respond to such stupidity. Valeriana would tell whoever was asking her to shut up and mind their own business before she broke their nose.

The rest of Twelve felt tense and tried to assist both of their comrades equally, although Valeriana and Corvan both seemed well prepared. They didn't really need guidance or assistance from the others. They knew each other's weaknesses and how to exploit them should it be necessary.

Dawn hadn't broke through the clouds yet, but Valeriana knew it would be soon. She sat in the tunnel that would lead her to the arena when the time came. Footsteps echoed down the tunnel and she knew she would have a visitor soon.

Keelan, who was uncharacteristically sullen and serious, stood behind his friend and waited for her to acknowledge his presence. When it became apparent Valeriana wasn't in the mood for talking, Keelan took the initiative and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Are you sure you want to follow through with this," Keelan asked, scrunching his eyebrows together.

"No. I let my anger get the best of me. Did you know he hasn't talked to me since I challenged him to this stupid duel?"

Everyone knew. Corvan prepared for his duels alone and tends to distance himself to prepare, but Keelan had to agree that he had been actively avoiding the fifth.

"Well, you two can't avoid each other anymore. The sun's rising. Good luck, Val. Remember who you're fighting."

The announcer called for the duelists to come forth and both did so with masked confidence. Valeriana's face of concern had been replaced by one of aloofness. Corvan was just cold. Calculating. The Cold Prince.

They meet in the center to shake hands before the fighting would begin. Corvan made eye contact with Valeriana as he held out his hand. This was the first time she had practically seen him in the past few days. Taking a deep breath, she reached out and grabbed his hand firmly.

As quickly as they stepped forward, they stepped away and readied their weapons as the entire arena awaited the signal.

The remainder of the Circle sat in their designated sets above the arena and waited with the rest of them.

"How bad is this fight going to be," Tamara questioned.

Suddenly, the signal was given and without a moment of hesitation, Valeriana and Corvan both pounced. The crowd roared to life as a clang echoed through the air and Valeriana's fans were singing her trademark song. Corvan's supporters were chanting his name and few of them were even asking for him to marry them.

The first and fifth ranker attacked and defended expertly. It became apparent that Corvan wasn't fighting the same girl he had a few months ago. Her footing was sure, her strikes confident and powerful.

They went on like that for ages. They fought fast and hard, but everyone watching knew this was just the beginning. The real fight hadn't started. Eventually, the two separated to catch their breaths before the real fighting began. They stood facing each other as they waited to see who would began the next round.

"Well," Valeriana said as she crouched low to the ground with her sword at the ready," ladies first."

Moving so quickly that she was practically a blur, Valeriana leaped forward extending her left leg to kick Corvan in the stomach which Corvan blocked just as quickly. He failed to acknowledge the sword in her right hand that was now rushing towards his face as he ducked at the last minute. Realizing their close quarters, he took a page out of Valeriana's book and wrapped his arms around her waist while simultaneously using his weight to pull them to the ground.

"Tamara, based off that opening, I think things are just now warming up," Rowe said he leaned back in his seat to watch. There was no way to tell who had the most control over the fight. It continuously kept flowing and ebbing between the two, like a tide.

Corvan had somehow managed to grapple the fifth ranker into some kind of choke hold, but wrestling moves were her area of expertise. Valeriana managed to push her chin down into the crook of his elbow allowing her enough space to breath properly all why jamming her elbow into his rib cage repeatedly, forcing him to release her. Before he could grab her again, she somersaulted backwards to her feet.

"That was dirty," Valeriana said through gritted teeth as she grabbed her sword again. Corvan mirrored her and stood with his feet planted. Instead of putting all her energy into being stronger than her opponent, Valeriana decided it would be much easier to user her smaller, and now much more flexible, frame to her advantage.

Corvan took a deep breath through his nose as he shot fire at her head before following up with several quick strikes from his now flaming sword. Valeriana had been waiting on the first ranker to use that card. She leaned backwards lithely dodging the fire before dropping straight into a split and sweeping his feet from underneath him.

"She's kicking his ass," Zevlin exclaimed in pure shock as leaned forward, completely invested in the fight.

"She's reading him like a book," Keelan said as he watched the first ranker jump back to his feet yet again.

Valeriana wasn't tired. The training she had endured with Sloan over the past year had made her able to endure combat, but Corvan wasn't even breaking a sweat yet.

He was sizing her up, figuring out the best way to take her down for good. Last time, all he had to do was knock the sword out of her hands, but something told him that wouldn't work now.

Corvan's suspicions were correct. This was going to be one hell of a fight.

A/N: stay tuned for part three! I'm not sure how good this is, but I'm not the best at fight scenes so please feel free to provide feedback for editing. I also hope that everyone is staying safe and well with everything that's going on. What are some things you guys are doing during your self-quarantine?