Reincarnated as the Villainess... Yeah, I'm Doomed

Chapter Thirty-Four: A Field of Flowers

A/N: Before you read this chapter, I implore you to check out the picture I posted above. It is a collage of different ways you can support the Black Lives Matter movement. If you don't know too much about what is going on, please either go to the links posted above, or even just google it (but be sure to check your sources). I promise that this chapter won't run away if you click off, you can come read this later, but the time to act in support of black lives is now.

PSA: I will delete and report any comments that devalue the lives of others. The fact that Black Lives Matter is not up for debate here and I will be monitoring the comments to make sure that it is a safe and healthy space. I trust ya'll though, so I'm sure there won't be any issues :)

Love and support all of you, message me if you need someone to listen during this chaotic and scary time. <3

Once Caden and I exited the stage, Elaine flew into my arms, almost tackling me to the ground.

"That was amazing Callista! I have never seen anything so awesome, you were like hyaaa, and then boom, and then-"

"Thank's Elaine, but remember that you still have to perform. Don't lose all of your energy." I chuckled, causing Elaine's face to flush red. She nodded her head and walked over to the side of the stage where she would prepare for her performance.

"Hey Caden, let's run up to our parent's balcony so we can watch." I whispered, tugging on his arm.

"Are you sure, they'll be giving the awards right after-"

"Come on, there's no way I'll place in the top three. Yeah, the crowd liked it, but I still didn't use that much magic. Anyways, I know that you probably want to watch her perform even more than I do." I teased, grinning up at his blushing face. Really, even though Caden was a smooth talker, he became so innocent when it came to Elaine.

"Fine, but you're taking the blame if we get in trouble." He said, and without another word the two of us snuck out of the backstage exit. One of Caden's 'fans' had been selected as one of the performers, and with a single smile he had convinced her to go distract Lady Atlee so that we could escape. I wasn't sure what he told her to do, but Lady Atlee looked very concerned, and I was once again both terrified and impressed by my brother's people skills.

Our house's knights recognized us immediately, so they didn't say anything when we snuck into our parent's balcony. My father turned abruptly at the sound of the door opening, but his shocked expression quickly changed into a wide smile.

Both my Mother and Father stood to quickly embrace the two of us before sitting down to watch the next contestant's performance. If anyone noticed that my parents had been distracted during her performance, then it would be considered an affront to the girl's family.

Caden and I stood behind our parent's silently, anxiously waiting for Elaine's performance. Both of us knew that Elaine was an incredibly strong light mage. She could never show her full potential in class because it would overshadow everyone else, and I couldn't see her practice because our performances were meant to be kept as a secret from one another until the festival. Even when I asked for hints, she just smiled and said that she was going to do her best.

Once the freshman's performance ended, it was finally Elaine's turn. When she walked onstage, the crowd was split into two groups; the people who cheered loudly and the people who stood silently. Most of the commoners were excited to see someone of their class standing on stage, however there was also a large group of people backed by nobles who didn't like the fact that she attended this academy.

I was not the only one who had something to prove today, and my performance was not nearly as important as Elaine's. Today I performed to uphold the honor of my family, Elaine performed to uphold the honor of all of the commoners in this land. She stood to prove that they were human beings with value, and the fact that they were born as commoners had nothing to do with their abilities.