Kingdoms United Academy [DRAFT ONE]

24. Sports Festival... End...

Trigger Warning: Mid-level gore with detailed third-degree burns :3

     Any attempt at organized combat was futile. No one was following orders or even showing a hint of logic.

     The clashes of spears and the striking of swords signaled the battle before Cinder saw it. Many, many people were being tagged, slashed, then the victors were tagged and slashed again. Those that ran with full pockets were smote by the ones who had empty ones joining the fray, and the timid leapt into the field with frightened faces only to remain in a vain attempt to get just one flag, continuing the cycle.

     Cinder spied her target. One kid from House Thunderbird was withdrawing from the scene with two flags.

      Cinder formulated a plan. She held her staff out, focused, and a wave of heat hit her back. Then, of course, the burning came. She was blasted across the field and above the combat faster than her eyes could process. Her aim was true, however, and she landed neatly in a tree and became wet with snow. Her back flashed with a steady stinging, slightly itchy, hot pain before it gradually dulled into a prickling sort of feeling like someone was rubbing high grit sandpaper on her back.

     Her target hadn't seen her. They only noticed after the snow sloughed off of the tree's boughs as the top of the tree bent under Cinder's weight.

     She dropped down from the tree and tagged the guy before they processed Cinder's presence. Cinder snatched the flags from their pocket with a smug expression on her face. 

     Cinder prepared another spell. She was ready to deal with the consequences because she had to win. To increase her status, to avoid being messed with any longer, to prove herself to Linnea, and to make Sir Richard happy.

     She took off into the sky. The force of this blast was stronger, but she didn't feel anything except the heat on her back. 

     Then, she smacked headfirst into a wall. Blood trickled down her face as she felt a slight tug on her skin. Her vision grew blurry and red as the blood spilled into her eyes. The cuts from the wall finally started to burn.

      She slid down the wall and turned around to face Laia. The wall was reflective and fragmented. The usual mirror dimension.

     "Oh, you're hurt... Oops," Laia commented. "Well, I won't be letting you get away with those flags."

     Cinder readied her staff. She wiped some of the blood out of her eyes with her sleeve, and her vision got slightly clearer.

     Cinder narrowed her eyes. "I'm not going to let House Dragon down this time."

     Laia smirked. "Linnea!"

     Linnea appeared from behind a tree with a crossbow in her hands. "We teamed up. As long as we split all the flags until halfway is announced, both of our teams are pretty likely to win. Better than if we were against each other."

     Cinder pointed at Laia. "This is psychological warfare!"

     Cinder looked back at Laia's barrier. It formed a dome around the three. Cinder remembered seeing Laia tear the barriers apart with her bare hands and wondered if she could do similar and break it with fire.

      She prepared another spell. "You made a mistake by putting up the barrier. Now my spells will be stronger."

       "Cinder, just... please be careful. I noticed your back is burnt." Linnea frowned. 

     Cinder twisted around to glance at her lower back. The largest hole in her sweater was about the size of her fist. Underneath the cluster of holes, there were patches of skin that were peeling away and blistering. Some patches were burned nearly completely away with the edges tinged in brown, deep purple, and black. Some parts of her skin clearly looked to have deep wounds, like the flames had gouged into her skin with a tiny ice cream scoop, while others were just red.