I dropped my pencil, and a few people gasped. Hunter froze; his body went rigid. I rose to my feet.
"What the fuck did you just say?" I snarled, narrowing my eyes at him. I noticed the flicker of fear that flashed on his expression, but his buddies patted him on the back.
He puffed up, a smug grin on his face. "You heard me, Rainbow. Look at you. You think you've gotten into Aslan and you’re suddenly the shit. Why don't you spit some glitter and make me sparkle and happy for the rest of the day? Now, why don't you sit down like a good girl with your group of weird shifters and let's finish class," Vincent proposed.
"Cutie Pie," Finn warned.
I could hear the anger in his voice, but if he thought my ass was gonna let Vincent get his way, he was underestimating me.
"Let's not. Why don't you come down here like the cocky shit you are and say what you said to Hunter, right in my face?" I declared.
The classroom was silent, yet I could feel the tension rise. Having fights during class wasn't as rare as you might think, especially during the first week of classes, but I'd minded my own business until now. However, I wasn't going to let Vincent bully me or my friends. They were loyal to me from day one and Hunter didn't deserve to hear someone talk poorly about his deceased brother or his family name.
Vincent stood up, moving out of his row and slowly made his way down the stairs toward me.
"Celestia, you don't have to do this," Hunter whispered.
I ignored him, moving out of my seat and hopping over the desk, so I wouldn't need to bother Hunter.
Arielle fluttered her wings, shifting into her larger form and flew to rest on my shoulder. I glanced out of the corner of my eye at Orion who had a grin on his face. He lifted his notebook, the words 'DO IT' in unicorn inspired colors glared at me. I grinned, glancing at the others who didn't seem too concerned by what was happening.
I could hear the twins already taking bets with the group behind them and Theo had the biggest grin out of all of them. Finn sighed, looking up at me, but he also had a smile on his face.
Vincent reached where I stood on the stairs, eyeing me carefully. "You really want to do this, Rainbow? I think you'd regret it," he whispered.
I remained silent, staring right into his red eyes. They didn't show even a speck of regret or remorse, and that just pissed me off. When I didn't say anything, he grinned.
"Next time your boyfriend over there tells me I can't achieve something, he should remember his weak, pathetic broth—"
I didn't let him finish; my fist slammed into his face so hard I heard a loud crack. He fell to the ground, scurrying back to give us space. I lifted my hands to crack my knuckles, magic pooling through me.
"You have some nerve. You think you’re the only powerful person in this fucking room?" I questioned, walking up the stairs to reach his feet. He jumped back up, his fist aimed straight at me, but I sidestepped, causing him to miss. I lifted my legs, pooling air magic into the soles of my heeled combat boots.
They didn't even touch his back before he was sent flying across the room and straight into the wall above the blackboard. Everyone gawked except Ms. Arcadia, who walked over to the front row, sitting on the desk like she didn't care that there was a brawl happening.
I walked down the stairs; Arielle left my shoulder to fly above me, her feathers lit up with blue and purple flames in anger. She could feel the rage within me and that only made her more pissed off.
After all the years he'd bullied me and made me feel like a worthless fool, I wouldn't let him do the same to Hunter or the others. Vincent struggled to his feet, summoning a dagger in his hand.
"What? You can't fight me fist-to-fist?" I mocked, reaching the bottom steps. My hair was beginning to float lightly from the magic coursing through me, the gold strands glowing softly.
"I...can fight you with ease," he huffed. Arielle lowered to stand before me protectively.
"Bru-REE!" she screeched.
"Fuck off, you stupid familiar. I'll cut those feathers of yours," Vincent threatened.
I rolled my eyes. "How about we make this fair? You can face Arielle and I'll sit this one out," I clapped.
A few of the students laughed; the others whispered amongst themselves.
"You're mocking me. Seriously! I'll turn your stupid pet into ashes," Vincent threatened.
"Uh huh. Talk the talk, but I don't see the walking," I hummed, walking over to where Ms. Arcadia sat. She had a wide grin on her face as she slid over to give me a spot next to her. I sat on the desk, crossing my arms.
I took a deep breath, centering my magic on Arielle. During the day and night, Sia and I had been training with Arielle, working on keeping her in her human form for longer periods of time. The guys had all helped out, giving me pointers and teaching me to limit the amount of magic exerted instead of giving her the majority of it. That was one of the reasons why I'd felt utterly exhausted after and would faint previously.
"Changeando Rosolo Free," I chanted, not needing to raise my voice to cast the spell. Arielle's body was engulfed in light.
I heard multiple gasps throughout the room as Arielle's human form was revealed as the light around her dimmed. She wore the combat gear the guys had all worked on designing. Finn and Theo had found the proper material, Theo and the twins had sewn it together and made sure the sizing was the right fit and Orion had cast a spell so that whenever I summoned her she'd appear in that outfit.
She wore dark blue jean shorts with pink, purple and gold flowers on the front pockets. She wore a bright orange crop top with a fire symbol in the middle outlined in red and the interior of the flame was yellow. She wore high knee boots that were a similar flame-inspired color mix as her crop top. To finish off the look was a black sleeveless coat that reached her ankles.
She had pink fingerless gloves with different magic circles patterned across the material which matched the three magic circles on the back of her coat— purple, pink and gold.
Her strawberry and teal hair was tied in a ponytail and hung down her back. She crossed her arms, opening her amber eyes to stare at Vincent who couldn't mask his fear.
"Well, well, well. Look who's trembling with his little baby knife. What happened to that 'turn me into ash' resolve you had going on there? You really have some nerve bothering my Mistress and her lovers," Arielle huffed.
I groaned. "Arielle, teammates," I corrected.
"Teammates during school, lovers after, same thing," she huffed.
I grinned. "Fine. Whatever rocks your boat." I shrugged. Might as well let the class know the guys were off limits.
"Lovers?" Vincent exclaimed.
"Yup. My team is made up of my six boyfriends. Right guys?" I said sweetly, looking over to my group of guys.
"Yup," Orion said confidently; the others all nodded.
I knew they would either be extremely happy after class or embarrassed, but we'd deal with that later. There were a few 'O's' and 'damn' noises from my classmates; a few of them even clapped in approval.
Ms. Arcadia nodded. "Good choices," she praised, making me smile.
"Thank you," I replied, proudly.
"Now that we got that out of the way, why don't we get back to you trying to pick a fight with us?" Arielle clapped her hands together. Blue and pink flames manifested from thin air and danced around her wrists.
"Arielle, just don't cause a fire," I reminded.
"Got it," she cheered, taking a step forward.
Vincent trembled in his spot, readying his blade.
"C'mon, Vincent. Toughen up. It's just her familiar!" one of his buddies called out.
"Ya! It's just a hoax. She's just playing with ya," his other buddy supported.
"Exactly. You're just a fake," Vincent started.
"I'll show you fake," Arielle narrowed her eyes. Within a blink of an eye, she was behind Vincent. She dropped to the floor, kicking her leg out to trip him.
He cursed, falling backward. She moved out of the way to watch him fall on his ass. H
e growled, scurrying to his feet. She grinned, hopping back and forth on her feet like she was in a boxing ring.
"C'mon on, Vinny, you can do better than that. Where's the big bad bully?" Arielle purred.
"I like her," Ms. Arcadia whispered to me.
"Isn't she great?" I replied in a hushed voice.
Vincent darted forward and swung his dagger back and forth, trying to hurt Arielle but she was too fast, dancing out of the way with ease. I guessed all those times watching Sia train at night was worth it, especially during our sword dance lessons. You had to be light on your feet to avoid the swift movements of your opponent.
"Hurry and finish her, Vincent!" one of his boys called out.
Arielle rolled her eyes, leaping into the air to give herself some distance before she literally vanished.
"Huh?" multiple students spoke, everyone looking around the classroom to see where she'd disappeared to.
My eyes stayed on Vincent who was scanning the room, looking back and forth.
"Come out, you damn cowar—" he began, but didn't finish.
It seemed like everything went into slow motion as something appeared to have kicked his gut with so much force he flew off his feet, soaring into the air, across the front of the room and straight into the classroom door. He crashed right through it, landing in the hallway.
Flames circled around an inch from where Vincent once stood, Arielle’s figure reappeared as the fiery tendrils danced up her body. Her leg was still up in its kick formation. She lowered it, taking a deep breath before she clapped her hands together and bowed at the door.
"Night, night, Vinny. Don't piss my Mistress off again or I'll cremate you," she vowed. She turned to his group in the corner who all wore pale expressions.
"Why don't you guys go take your buddy to the nurse's office? Be all supportive and shit," she huffed.
They shuffled out of their seats in a frenzy, rushing down the stairs and out the door. Multiple people laughed and cheered.
"That was fucking awesome!" one girl announced.
"Celestia? How did you do that? Can you teach us?" a group of girls came up to her and asked.
"I think you guys will learn it sooner or later," I replied, sliding off the table to walk over to Arielle. She grinned as she snapped her fingers; the flames around her disappeared into smoke.
"You okay? Not tired or dizzy?" Arielle whispered, not wanting anyone else to hear our conversation.
I gave her a small smile, "I'll live. I think I won't feel it until after class, but thank you for fighting for me." I rubbed her head gently.
She gave me a wide grin. "I'll always protect you. Just as you've always protected me," she vowed, stepping back to bow. Her body was engulfed in light and her little harpy form appeared. She flew around me and landed on my shoulder, picking at her feathers.
"Settle down, class. Now that Ms. Rainbow has proven herself worthy, let's get back to our lecture," Ms. Arcadia announced.
I thanked Ms. Arcadia, walking back up the stairs to return to my seat; Hunter shuffled his chair to let me pass through. Finn and Theo turned around while the twins leaned forward.
"You did awesome, Cutie Pie!" Finn praised.
"Good work, Celestia," Theo smiled at her.
"Epic for sure," Caio chimed in.
"Amazing, Dearest," Cairus complimented.
"You did well, Celestia," Orion praised.
"Thanks, guys." I blushed, not used to all the attention and compliments. I turned to Hunter who looked at me with awe.
"You didn't have to do that," he whispered.
"I wanted to," I replied.
He nodded, leaning forward. "Thank you, Celestia," he whispered in my ear, followed by a soft kiss on my cheek.
"You did not just kiss her on the cheek!" Finn huffed.
Hunter rolled his eyes. "What you gonna do about it? You're so damn loud," Hunter argued, crumbling a piece of paper and throwing it at Finn who dodged it.
"I'll deal with you after class," Finn grumbled.
"Whatever," Hunter retorted.
I giggled at their exchange. "Just admit you’re jealous, Finn," I laughed.
"I'm not!" he replied, his face a bright red.
"BRU-REE!" Arielle roared, catching all of our attention.
"Oh, you guys didn't thank her," I pointed out.
She hopped off my shoulder, jumping on the desk and fluttering her harpy wings.
"Sorry, Arielle. Thank you," Hunter apologized, patting her head.
The others said their words of appreciation to Arielle who stood proudly.
"Let's get back to the lesson everyone," Ms. Arcadia announced.
We nodded, turning our attention back to her. I took another glance at the door, a wide grin on my face.
Finally, after all these years, I taught Vincent a lesson I hope he never forgets. And if he does, I'll just have to teach it to him again.
Any other questions?"
The room was silent and we shook our heads. Ms. Arcadia smiled, nodding her head in approval.
"Excellent. Remember with midterms coming, anything can be a test. Aslan Academy is the top Hunter and Huntress school in all of the dimensions. We must ensure we keep our reputation. Always remember that, and be careful around campus. If attacked by a Forsaken and you're too weak to fight it, encase yourself in whatever element you’re strongest in using, but ensure it's not an element that drains a vast amount of energy. That will give you enough time for a council member to reach you. Class dismissed," she finished.
We rose to our feet, thanking Ms. Arcadia for another great lesson and made our way out of the classroom.
"I need a nap." Caio yawned.
"You've been yawning a lot today," Theo pointed out.
Caio frowned. "It's cloudy. You know I don't do well when there's not a lot of sun out. I hope it's not gonna be gloomy next week. That would be a pain in the ass," Caio complained.
"Don't worry, I'll lug you around campus," Cairus reassured him.
"I don't want you carrying me everywhere. Next week is written exams. Easy peasy. I'll crawl if I have to," Caio stated, yawning again.
I rubbed my eyes, allowing Orion to guide me as we walked down the hall. I'd sent Arielle to go home first, knowing she'd need the rest after her magnificent display of justice.
"You okay, Cutie Pie? You look beat," Finn asked.
"I'm fine. Maybe I'll have a nap during lunch," I admitted.
"Hey, Orion. Why don't you take Celestia home? We'll catch up. We gotta get a few things from the store," Theo suggested.
"Ya. Celestia looks like she'll walk into a wall like last time," Hunter pointed out.
"I didn't walk into a wall," I grumbled, closing my eyes.
"And she's done for," Caio and Cairus said together.
"Take her home, Orion. And watch out for any vamps. I bet they're pissed their little prince got his ass whooped," Hunter instructed, a smile of satisfaction on his lips.
"Got it. Don't forget pink and purple," Orion reminded.
I didn't know what they were talking about, but didn't really care. I just wanted to rest for a little bit.
"Cutie Pie?" Finn asked.
I felt his hand brush against my cheek, prompting me to open my eyes to meet his concerned look. He frowned.
"Sleep when you get home. We'll tell Othello you're not feeling well and need to be excused from afternoon classes, okay?" he reassured.
"Okay," I replied, fighting to keep my eyelids open. I wish I had an energy boost.
Finn sighed, taking a step forward; his lips pressed lightly on my forehead.
"Why are you kissing her?" Hunter huffed.
"Give it a minute," Caio chuckled.
"Magic," Cairus emphasized.
Finn's lips lingered on my skin, but I felt of wave of energy flow through me. It didn't feel as strong as the concoctions Magnor would make to give me an energy boost, but I didn't feel as exhausted as I had moments before.
He pulled aw
ay, giving me a wide grin.
"Better?" he asked.
"Better. Thank you. I appreciate it," I returned his smile.
He stroked my head, giving it a final pat before he walked back to where Hunter and the others stood.
"We'll see you back at the house," Theo announced.
Orion and I nodded, bidding them goodbye before we turned and walked down the hall, heading for the west exit to walk home.
"You sure you're okay?" Orion looked concerned.
"Yup. I feel a little better," I reassured him, sliding my hand in his. He looked down at our joined hands; a small smile formed on his delicate lips.
We continued walking down the hall. I noticed there was a surprising lack of students. I frowned when we turned the corner and that hall was empty too.
"Something's up," I whispered to Orion. I looked to see his serious face; his eyes narrowed for a second before he tilted his head. He tightened his grasp, pulling me into the nearest room. He quickly put an incantation on the doorknob and pulled me into the middle of the classroom. We looked around; both of our eyes landed on the closet in the back corner of the room.
Orion gestured for me to move first. He summoned a crystal-like wand in his hand while he kept on the lookout. I opened the closet, which was thankfully empty, waving at Orion to join me. He moved swiftly to where I stood, ushering for me to go in first. He followed, closing the door and then pressing his hand lightly on the doorknob.
"HIDELORA SEAL!" he chanted; a black magic circle appeared on the door, surrounding the entire closet in a black barrier. I turned to face him.
"Is it a Forsaken?" I asked. I could feel some type of presence, but it didn't feel as impure and distraught as the Forsaken we had encountered during our exam.
Orion shook his head. "Set up. I think it's Vincent's buddies. They won't sense us, but we're going to be stuck here for a while," Orion admitted.
I nodded. "Give me a sec," I whispered, closing my eyes.
I wouldn't be able to summon Arielle for fear of revealing our location, but I could try and contact her from this distance. Magnor had taught me how to communicate with Arielle years ago and we'd practiced it for emergencies. It was just as draining as shifting her into her human form, especially the farther apart we were, but this was an emergency and I didn't know how long Orion could keep the spell up.
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