Valeriana was a little confused what to do afterwards, but it was such a wonder when everyone were called for their evening meal. With the way things were going, the girl had guessed there wouldn't be any dinner.
Keelan was the first to arrive in the dining hall. That fact wasn't such a surprising one, except that there seemed to be more food than usual. As though there was a feast and a moment to be celebrated, the table was ridden with savory dishes that gave it a buffet sort of impression.
"What happened?" Aneeka wondered, hesitantly stepping inside.
"Is it someone's birthday?" Tamara questioned, looking between her friends.
"Mine." Said Brindon as he appeared, a streak of paint across his cheeks and spots of stains visible on his shirt.
"Yours? Happy--"
"Joke." He quickly added, his face as impassive as ever.
Tamara pushed Brindon playfully. "What happened to you?"
"Painting."
"I see."
"You were painting?" Valeriana asked, perking up at the mention.
The twelfth answered with no words but a single nod.
"We still hadn't done our agreement from before. I wonder when we'll get to do it." She whispered, thinking back on their conversation when they first met. "It's as though things always happen . . . we're perpetually busy."
"Mm." Brindon nodded again. "Next time."
Corvan's expression was not as shocked when he arrived. His face looked a lot calmer than before. "Did something happen? Where's Charles?"
"I assume he's still in the kitchen finishing up." Rowe informed as he came behind the others. "Why are you all standing in the doorway?"
They all began to sit down before the table with palpable hesitations.
"He didn't even call for me like the usual." Valeriana noticed.
The rest of the Twelve arrived, filling up the chairs until only one was left vacant. With one glance, everyone knew Charles was the only one they were waiting for. Soon after that, the fourth arrived fully geared in his master chef outfit.
"Pardon my late arrival." He said, tugging on the ribbon of his apron and pulling it off to reveal his casual wear underneath.
"Why so many food?" Elfre questioned.
"I bet on a thousand diamonds from the Aetherian continent that even Keelan cannot finish this all." Raziel's flamboyancy was overflowing as usual.
"Wy cwan!" The boy exclaimed, his mouth stuffed with the broasted chicken before him.
"Stop eating! We haven't started, yet!" Genevieve exclaimed.
"I seem to have went overboard a bit." Charles stated, walking past the eleventh to sink on his chair. Ignoring Keelan's horrible manners, he waved towards the table and said, "What are you waiting for? If you don't start now, you won't finish eating this in time for bed."
They all dove in and ignored the oddity of his actions, grabbing for a piece of each dish laid out before them. During that moment, not even the strict demon blinked aghast at their horrendous table etiquette.
"You managed to cook all of this by yourself?" Valeriana had stuffed herself with some mashed potatoes. The consistency had been creamy and . . . mushy. It was tasty.
"I did want your assistance . . ." Charles trailed off. "But I figured I wanted to do it alone."
"Well, you did awesome!" Tamara exclaimed, digging into the white-sauce covered pasta.
Charles made no move to touch the food, merely exchanging glances with Corvan who was properly setting out a napkin on his lap.
"I have heard of a proverb about problems being discussed over dinner." His words made the current energetic atmosphere to wilt. The activity died down and all eyes swept across the table to look his way.
They all became quiet. Even Keelan lost his insatiable appetite for food--hopefully, this was temporary.
The strawberry blonde quickly swallowed his food. "I don't want to fight Brindon. I don't want to fight anybody." He told them. "If being a part of the Twelve means fighting my friends, I'm going to quit."
"No." Brindon glanced his way, his eyes narrowing at the sight of Keelan's face. They were all shocked to see his lips curve down and his brows furrow.
Within the entire duration of their stay with the Twelve, this should be the first time the twelfth-ranker showed such a powerful emotion. Seeing him lose his poker-face was a big wake-up call.
"Never quit." His brown eyes glinted, the soulless impression quickly leaving his whole face. "You lose if you quit."
Keelan sniffed as he looked at Brindon. "Sorry."
"Have you never fought before, Keelan?" Valeriana asked.
"I wasn't interested in becoming a member at first." He gave her a weary glance before he started picking on his food. "I only got this position because it's required, not to mention Eres . . ."
"Who's Eres?"
"A graduated member of the Twelve before Keelan and Keelan's older brother."
"Ooh. Grea--brother?!"
They ignored her reaction.
"Yes. It happens after the end of each year. It'll be my turn." Tamara winked with a knowing smile. "I already have someone in mind."
"As the older members of the Twelve, we feel no worry about having to fight our co-rankers." The second-ranker was as calm as ever, unfazed by the newer member's thoughts and reactions regarding the topic at hand.
"How can you? Do you want to--"
"That is not the matter being discussed. It is not about wanting to fight regardless of relationships." He countered. "It seems we need to settle the issue about your hesitance to fight each other. What are your thoughts now? It seems that that time given to you wasn't enough to gather them?"
Although he was able to maintain his demeanor, they were all sure even he was starting to lose his patience. The noble gently put down his fork and erected his back.
One by one, he mentioned names. "Valeriana, Zevlin, Genevieve, Aneeka, Raziel, Elfre, Keelan, and Brindon. Even I at first did not favor this situation, however, I have gone through meditation and made up my mind."
"No." Aneeka shook her head. "You know what this means if you agree on the matches."
"Is it because of me, Aneeka?" His ever gentle smile appeared. "You should know that to protect me, you need to know how to fight me yourself."
Valeriana stared at the two as they exchanged words. It wasn't a secret. Many times before was it mentioned. Rumors circulated the academy and never missed to pass the girl's ear.
Supposedly, Aneeka was the chosen family knight of the Nevanian family. As the current head, Rowe needed to be protected at all times. He was her only reason why she was a part of the Twelve in the first place. Rumor has it that that tenth was the best in their continent in terms of combat and martial arts. Although not far from the truth, Valeriana was still at odds at the stories being told to her.
"I'm not really sure I want to go through with this, either." Zevlin said. "I don't want to fight Genevieve."
"I think I want to do this." His sister replied.
"Are you crazy?!" Exclaimed the older twin.
"It's because you're like that always!" Gen stood and shouted. "I hate how you always think I need to be protected. For god's sake, I'm not a child anymore, Zev!"
"But I--"
"I can stand on my own!"
Their voices bounced back and forth, echoing with rage and bitterness all the same.
"Stop it! You two!" Corvan bellowed. "We'll get to nowhere if you fight now."
"It's not about that at all!" The eighth-ranker retorted. "You don't understand!"
"Then make me!"
"Zevlin! Genevieve!" Charles exclaimed. "Do not make this matter bigger."
"Twins should love." Raziel scolded the two of them, the curly strands of his sunny hair wrapped around his fingers. "Your bickering ruins your lovely atmosphere together. I have disagreed on the matter because that Zander person carried himself so arrogantly it pushed all my buttons. You should think through it as well and try to come to an agreement."
"If you're fighting so hard like this, that means those DevDept people are succeeding to whatever schemes they have up their sleeve. We shouldn't brood too much over this."
They both sat down, leaving things tense and awkward.
"Do you guys really have to think too much? Not to mention take things this far?" Valeriana spoke, seeing the state they were in, not to mention their auras were wild with negativity. "I may not know much about you guys, but don't forget this must bring us something good. Although it might seem hard to fight someone you've gotten close to, being in the same group and being admired all the same makes this an inevitable outcome."
Her opinion made everyone else ponder.
"Haven't you guys heard?" She gave the best and most optimistic mile she could. "Everything happens for a reason. We've went through a lot together already. This is nothing, right?"
"Let's just give them what they want." Supported Corvan. "We may all be bound by our personal obligations, but we still do have our duties as the Celestial Circle."
"From what I heard, your life will be easier if you go with the flow and not against it." Elfre showed rare kindness to the sulking Keelan as she patted his back.
The sappy atmosphere was not Tamara's style. Figuring everyone needed a big slap of realization, she deliberately kicked the leg of the table and stood. Using the chair as a pedestal, she rose higher than everyone else in the room and placed a foot on the surface. The action made the objects clatter and Keelan stare at the sacrilegous gesture on his food.
"Tamara, sit down this instant." Charles warned.
"I don't care!" Tamara replied, her eyes narrowed at her brother. "You know what? I hate this. Stop all your moping, your crying, your arguing, and all that stupid crap you're doing because I'll kick you out the building if it continues!" Tamara threw her napkin down and leaned back on her chair. "We're being all troubled and stuff because of what those jerks are doing. If we're being affected this much, that means we have a long way to go." She huffed. "I've spent five years being a member of the Twelve and the previous holders of our position were nothing like us. Those people were as good friends as we are now, but they weren't afraid to fight each other because of their personal sentiments. You guys are too soft! Man up and face it!"
There was a long pause.
"One thing a knight-to-be has to remember is that they will face a situation in which they'll have to choose between two important things. It's a necessary decision to make to determine the path you'll take." Rowe calmly added.
"You're that way because you fear something. So let me tell you--shut up and swallow!" Tamara added. "You can't be a member of the Twelve if you're such a sissy." She breathed out slowly. "Whatever happens, no hard feelings. They may say we found a so-called temporary balance on things, but instead of destroying that, we may find a better sense of it through this."
Valeriana felt amazed by the third-ranker's encouraging speech that she fought the urge to clap.
"Let's just do it this way." Charles told them. "Whatever happens in these fights, we all agree to detach any personal matters afterwards. Inside the arena, there are no friends, no siblings, no personal grudges. We fight for the sake of testing out ourselves. This will not affect our relationship outside of the competition, and we will not speak of it afterwards. Is that a deal."
"So, do you guys agree on their idea?"
"Let's do it."
Things were not that easy, however. Things were settled for now.
"Um . . ." Keelan swallowed. "Can we start eating now?"
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