Lucy made her way back to the gathering stage for the crowning ceremony after a few more moments of rest in the cloak of the forest night, while Algernon stayed behind. She assumed he did so no one suspected they were together during the final half-hour of the match as it wasn't any well kept secret just how much he disliked being seen with her in public. A fact she was resigned to by now. Or so she tried to convince herself.
Lucy arrived at the exact moment they crowned Luke the winner. Orenza was the only other captain to make it through the battle and stood behind him with arms crossed, looking more than unpleased about it. All the while, Luke smiled the biggest smile Lucy had ever seen on him, which she thought was in funny juxtaposition to his bruised eye. Orenza had been the one to give it to him of course.
"We have our winner!" Silvia declared, placing a thin gold crown onto Luke's ruffled and dirt covered hair. "Luke Belmonte!" Luke's team shouted in hysteric delight as Lucy joined in from the back. Their cheers sounded like waves crashing in the ocean and like the ocean they drowned out all of Lucy's complicated thoughts about the black-haired boy she had just left behind and swept her away into their moment of triumphant joy.
Luke spotted Lucy in the back of the crowd. He had been looking for her since the battle's end but was quick enough to figure out the reason she was late. And that reason finally showed up with slight less surliness to his demon orbs of eyes.
Luke smirked, taking off the crown and pointing it at Lucy, acknowledging her major part in their victory. Lucy smiled as her eyes locked with her captain and then was swiftly raised off the ground.
Some of the boys from the team hoisted Lucy onto their shoulders, bobbing her up and down in the air like she was a trophy to show off.
Luke spurred them on, his smile growing ever bigger as the students that had come to watch the crowning ceremony cheered them on.
Freya shouted in unhinged joy for her friend with Jasper following suit, once he saw Lucy wasn't hurt. Pecilia gritted her teeth, trying to stop a smile, but failing once she looked upon Lucy's.
Lucy was scared of being dropped, but her team immersed her into their overbearing happiness and for one single moment she experienced true pure undisturbed joy. Her voice joined the shouts of her teammates, creating the loveliest chaotic jangled cacophony she'd ever heard.
"I guess you were worried for nothing," Jasper said to Pecilia, elbowing her arm to sway her into joining the celebration.
Pecilia knitted her brows together while watching Lucy apprehensively. She then found Algernon in the very back of the grounds, looking fondly upon the girl. "I highly doubt that."
"You know," Luke said to Orenza, while his team celebrated. "A deals a deal." He smiled down at her unhappy grimace, which didn't make her gorgeous face any less flawless. "Did you hope I would forget?"
Orenza's concrete glare shot to Luke's crinkled eyes. "You really are so frustrating." She uncrossed her arms to set them on her hips. "You give half your effort to everything and the one time you do try, you win as easily as that, all because of a stupid bet."
Luke grinned happily down, twirling his crown around before placing it on top her head. "I finally had something I cared enough to try for."
Orenza humphed unhappily, a slight blush topping her cheeks as the crown laid crocked over her white hair. Luke was more than used to the rejection, so it did nothing to lessen his happiness as he wrapped his arm around Orenza's shoulder and pulled her unwittingly into the celebration.
Orenza always tried to maintain stoic professionalism, especially around someone as lackadaisical as Luke, but even she couldn't help his stupid infectious grin from becoming her own. She rolled her eyes up at her old friend, laughing and bearing a smile Luke would have done anything to produce, no matter how ridiculous or hard that was, which he more than often did. It was single-handedly the most remarkably beautiful thing he had ever seen, and nothing made him happier than knowing he caused that smile on the greatest and most important person in his life.
The two long-time friends had made a deal before the tournament after Luke had asked Orenza to go to the winter ball with him for the fifth year in a row. As per tradition, she briskly turned him down. Except, this time Luke had seemed sincerely upset because it was their last year, and his last chance to go with her. And even though Orenza maintained a strong front, she was one of the most empathic kind people anyone could have the pleasure to know, and to lessen the refusal she said she would go with him if he could win the tourney of winter. She still remembered the smirk on Luke's face right after, as if she had just given him a yes. Despite herself, Orenza smiled at the memory. Luke was self-assured and cocky, but she had always liked his confidence, especially when she still remembered how depressed he was when they first met. Even back then, when they weren't yet teenagers, Orenza knew Luke was destined for great things. If he ever cared enough to apply himself, which he never really did. She stared up at him, wondering if maybe that would change now.
She assumed not.