Tamara then brushed back her hair and reverted to her original self. "Well, then, shall we go?"
"Wait a second." Valeriana told her, bringing herself out of her stupor. Aside from the recent enlightenment she had just been bestowed, another one came. "How in the world are we supposed to get back?"
The third blinked at the other girl before twisting about to look at her surroundings. Sure enough, they were in some place unfamiliar and the trail back was . . . impossible to find. Valeriana and Tamara exchanged glances, both feeling a sudden knot of uncertainty form in their stomachs.
"Why didn't you keep track of where we're going?" Tamara questioned, irritated.
"Why didn't you keep track of where you're going?" Valeriana bit back.
"I was upset!"
"I was watching you!"
"Whatever." The third ranker huffed. "There's no use arguing about stupid things, let's just try and find our way back already. We're both to blame anyway." She then paused, thinking matters over for a few moments. "First things first, should we split up?"
Valeriana shrugged. "Um . . . I don't know. I'm not sure if I want to be separated."
Tamara nodded. "That's probably reasonable. I wouldn't like that either." A foreign look washed over the third's face, almost as though she was deeply contemplating their current dilemma. It wasn't every day that you see Tamara trying to think.
"How about this—" Tamara stopped short as her eyes widened. "Valeriana, watch out!"
"What?" Valeriana stood stupidly, standing in wonder.
"Idiot!" Tamara leaped forward and pushed the girl down as an arrow whipped overhead.
"What? What?"
Tamara rose immediately and reached for her hip where her hands tried patting for something, probably her weapon. "Damn! Where the hell's my damn weapon?" She growled.
"Tamara! There's another one!" Valeriana warned, scrambling to stand back up on her feet.
"Agh! Forget it! Iolani!" She whistled.
The said bird materialized in a burst of water at Tamara's shoulder before spreading its wings to its fullest span and shrieking. The sharp sound that echoed from the familiar's beak hurt Valeriana's ears that she cringed, one eye closing briefly as an unthinking response.
Tamara, on the other hand, seemed to have grown used to it already as she did not at all flinch. Instead, the smallest of smirks curved on her lips as a bloodthirsty glimmer flashed from her eyes.
"You guys picked a bad time challenging this person." Her voice resembled a thrilled growl of anticipation. Her ardent, blue eyes smoldered like twin molten fires the color of hell's flame, further intensified by the fiery color of the tresses sitting atop her head. "Ah, but, I could use a little fight to vent my anger on a certain someone."
"Uh . . ." Valeriana was awestruck by the sudden change of demeanor and could not help but stand stupidly in her place. "Wow."
A bunch of arrows came zooming towards her that Valeriana felt the words dying at her throat at the thought of her comrade getting hit. Even so, she felt that she had to stay still and watch. She kept her eyes on Tamara as the latter's familiar morphed into a weapon of some sort. It had a glittering silver pommel and an ornate guard—the typical form of a sword with slight modifications. The blade was broader and about as long as Tamara's upper extremities. It had curved edges and a triangular tip, with a space in the middle that went midway down the blade.
"Okay. That is just so cool." Valeriana muttered. "So cool it's colder than Preluresia."
In comparison to Tamara's usual aggressiveness, her fighting style was completely the different. One would normally assume that by the way she usually conducted herself, her methods in battle would be just the same—rash, impulsive, uncaring, and completely impetuous.
She did everything so fast Valeriana didn't even see her move! The arrows were all suddenly cut in numerous pieces or redirected to another course, but Tamara got out unharmed. Either way, the way she moved was like the element she handled—calm but violent, and sharp.
And the reason why she was called the Scarlet Rose . . .
"Valeriana!" Tamara harshly bellowed. "What in the world are you standing there for? Go and inform the others what's going on in here!"
"What? But where am I supposed to go?"
"Just go anywhere! Find anyone! I'll try to buy you some time."
"Um . . . shouldn't I stay with you?"
"You can't help me here!" Tamara said as a shield of ice appeared in front of her, blocking more arrows.
"Oh." That kinda hurt. "Ok."
Valeriana looked between the paths she had to choose from and doubted for a few seconds before deciding on a random route. Clumsily, she almost fell over from having tripped on her own feet before eventually getting back on track.
"Agh, I'm the worst."
A rush of insecurity coursed through Valeriana as she navigated her way through pathways she was unfamiliar with, hoping to see something that would probably be of help to her current dilemma.
She grunted, sniffing as tears stung the corner of her eyes. "Why am I crying at a time like this? I'm such an idiot. I have to find the Twelve. Where are they anyway?" She grumbled.
Valeriana mentally started berating herself for such a . . . setback. It seemed she was causing the Twelve nothing but trouble. They didn't need her at all. They could do everything themselves. Even though Tamara said to inform the others, she was quite sure they had a way of knowing on their own. And even then, it wouldn't be too much trouble for them to handle anything that got out of hand. What had she been doing for the past few hours? Sneaking into houses, getting crushed between doors, freeing trapped people from a hole, going to her friends to help them break free when they apparently didn't need help at all, trying to comfort someone only to make them feel bad all the more, and now this? She couldn't even help Tamara!
Was she really good for anything at all?
The Twelve didn't expect much from her and that hurt. It hurt that even though she tried to do her best, it wasn't enough. What had she been doing to the Twelve when they got to Preluresia? Or even before they went to Preluresia? They went through the trouble of looking for her after she got stabbed by a demon because of her stupidity.
"God." She sank down and fell into a crouch as the thoughts played inside her head—reality dawning on her, its harshness biting, eating, and ripping through her heart . . . one cell at a time.
No. I can't give up. She told herself, wiping her tears and composing herself. Valeriana stood up, fanned her face and took a deep breath before looking around her. The path she chose to take led to nowhere but a maze of marbles. This obviously didn't lead back to the manor!
Where was she supposed to go?
"Agghhh." She stomped her feet one after another—frustrated, anxious, and pressured. "DAMN IT ALL! LIKE DAMN IT ALL!" The girl bellowed. Squeezing her eyes, she grinded her teeth together and clenched her fists shut. "What am I doing? Valeriana Kerrigan, what in the world are you doing? I'm a failure! I'm a—"
Just then, a hand covered her mouth and yanked her back, pinning her against a chest and restraining her movements. A wave of panic coursed through her stomach that she instinctively started kicking and fighting. She threw her feet back and hit a knee before stomping on a foot.
"Agh! Stop it, you troublesome woman! Quit fighting!"
Ah, that voice.
"Corvan!" Valeriana was barely able to contain her excitement that she almost sprung from her feet. "Oh my god, I never thought I'd be so glad to see you!"
"Tch." His frown further deepened as he allowed the blonde to break free from his hold and took out a handkerchief from one of his pockets casually. He briefly dabbed his palms with it before throwing it at the girl's face. "Stop crying already."
Valeriana never felt anything more comforting than his attitude. "That's not how you treat a distraught lady."
"Like you can even call yourself one."
The girl ignored his teasing and blew into handkerchief instead. "Ah . . . Tamara . . . arrows . . . help."
"Can you stop blowing your nose for a moment and tell me properly?"
"Sorry."