｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,"Andreas' daughter does know this is training and not an actual fight, right?" :*:･ﾟ☆

Octavia

"What exactly am I looking at here?" Lykos grumbles as we watch the specialists and fairies train. Sky and Riven are standing behind me, once again playing the role of guard dogs as we keep our mate status on the down low.

Quite frankly it's ridiculous considering my mates have made no attempts to hide their affections. Hand holding, walking me to class, sweet kisses and I think Riven and I have traumatised at least 5 first years with our cleaning cupboard escapades.

"We have those with Omadas working together, finding their different roles within their packs." Adreas begins as he moves to stand by Lykos' side. "Most of the fairies sped up the Eusebia bonding process with their chosen specialist. They're on the ground platforms, practising fighting with the addition of magic."

"Have your specialists trained with magic before?"

"They train together every wargames but once they reach third year they start training." Silva answers this time as he and Irene walk onto the raised platform where we stand in the middle of our little battlefield. "This is the first time we're training them to such an extreme."

"That explains it then." Lykos mumbles while watching the group before us train. "What about the wargames? What do they entail?"

"We hold them every year-"

"It's pure bloodshed." Andreas cuts Silva off. "Everyone gets involved, teachers, students, parents. It's a full week of games to win one of the dragon blades."

"Ah yes, Queen Luna's donation." Lykos drawls. "How many blades have been given out so far?"

"13." Irene smirks, a protective hand resting on her belly. "Three went to Silva, Andreas and I."

"We started the tradition once all the children who had been forced to fight in the last war had left Alfea. We didn't want to put them through any more war simulations." Silva adds on. "We won ours on the last year of our own time at Alfea, and of course school was suspended when this was a full outpost."

"You were the first year group to collect the blades, correct?" Lykos all but demands.

"It was the Queen's way of gaining Alfea's support during the war." I answer. "Relations were tense but a deal was struck between Luna and Rosalind. The blades were a thank you gift."

Lykos stiffens beside me, shooting me a sharp look.

"I thought you would be out there, princess." He drawls. "You used to love beating my soldiers in battle with dirty tricks that you learnt at Beatrix's."

Andreas snorts, a smirk of pride spreading across his face.

I don't bother to hide my savage grin. "I was adhering to your request to stop beating your soldiers, I thought that may extend to your trainers here."

Indeed the Solarian soldiers were helping to train the specialists, dressed in red striped training gear as they mimic burned ones, soldiers and any other threat they can think of. Most of them are vicious and brutal, training the children as they would soldiers twice their age. However, there are few fairies dressed in blue offering some decent advice as they comically stick to the stereotypes of kind and gentle fairy with their tough as nails Dumaris counterparts.

"Yes, but you've not exactly been following orders as well as you used to." I stiffen at his tone, feeling the Silva Omada around me do the same. Lykos gives me the side eye. "I was impressed by your outburst at the meeting... your mother- not so much."

"Punishment?"

"A reminder." He states, looking at me with sad eyes. "She'll have a mission for you soon. With orders that you won't like but will have to follow if you want to keep what little freedom you have been afforded."

"I would expect nothing less." I sigh. "Will you make sure the mission is fun at least?"

"You and I have very different versions of fun, princess." He grumbles but gives me a nod.

"Oh I think she has a delightful version of fun." Drea drawls, reminding us of the others' presence.

"That's because you both share the same murderous streak." Silva grumbles and glances at his mate who gives him a sultry look.

"I thought you liked my murderous streak." Irene drawls.

"Yours has a certain finesse that Andreas lacks." Silva declares as he looks out at the mat before us as Beatrix and Dane step up to the platform against a solarian soldier.

She looks pissed. Darkling murmurs.

Well look at her partner. I snigger. He looks scared shitless of her.

As he should be.

"All right." Andreas declares. "I'm done here. Excuse me while I go film my daughter beating one of your highly trained seasoned soldiers to a pulp."

Oh yeah, we're going to join him too. Darkling declares.

I'm not missing one of Beatrix's best performances, for the world. Little shadow hums

"You'll have to excuse me." I tell Lykos. "I need to go stop my friend from killing both her specialist and the soldier."

I don't bother to wait for a response as I stride from the platform, hearing Riven and Sky snicker as they follow.

"Andreas' daughter does know this is training and not an actual fight, right?" I hear Lykos ask the Silva mates and Irene's laughter is answer enough.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Beatrix

"What?" I murmur to Stella as she hands me my Chakram circle blades. "No good luck kiss."

Stella rolls her eyes at me, but there's a worried shine to her eyes.

"You're worried for me?" I drawl.

She flinches.

"Bea." I pause at the nickname. "Have you heard of Aster Dell."

I freeze. My gaze dart across her face, taking in the sad eyes and pursed lips.

"Brandon was telling me about it." She whispers, toying with her ring. "The shadow that keeps me safe on Tavi's behalf said you had some kind of link to the place."

Fuck.

FUCK.

How does he know anything about Aster Dell.

Why the fuck would he know?

Shadow!

Shadow!

You do know we have names. It gripes.

Aster Dell and Brandon. Start talking. I demand.

Octavia will be interested to know, thank you.

No! Get back here you mewling whim-

"Beatrix." Dane calls. "We doing this, yeah."

I roll my eyes at him but glance back to Stella in worry. My heart races, panic setting in. How does Brandon know? Why does he know? Why the fuck would he tell Stella.

My thoughts swim and churn as I turn to walk onto the platform, rage slowly seeping in. How dare they. How dare those stupid shadows be more loyal to Octavia. How dare Brandon tell Stella about Aster Dell. What right does Stella have to question me? Me?

Lighting crackles at my fingertips as I stare down the soldier before Dane.

Good. I need a distraction.

A slow smirk forms on my face as Dane and the soldier begin to fight. Dane is shit. Clearly. But he's a first year student and still learning so its not his fault. But the soldier. Oh the soldier I'm going to have fun with. There were various intervals where I could have interrupted, saved Dane from a blow but I didn't.

I want the soldier to myself.

He's got magic, I can sense it. He's not used it on Dane yet because I haven't got involved. We're training for the war games yet they still play by fair rules. As if war has any rules.

Dane cries out as the soldier slices his stomach, blood drips from his stomach and onto the mat. The gasps of shock around me are a reminder of our spectators. Shit. It probably doesn't look good that I'm not helping.

I sigh. Might as well get involved now.

I lunge forward, sending a chakram spinning towards the soldier's head and forcing him to duck down as I dart forward. I disarm him, taking his sword for my own and relishing in his cry of pain as the Chakram spins back round and slices the back of his head as it returns to me.

Swinging forward with the sword coated in lightning I strike at the fire fairy. The battle is swift and brutal, each of us taking minor hits. Proud to announce that he's taking more than me.

I see a moment to take a killing blow, and another and another. And Helios, these soldiers are sloppy. Or maybe it's just this one. I hope it's just this worthless grunt. Savage delight fills me as the soldier works himself into a frenzy.

Fire balls are sent in volleys, only to deflect off a shield of cobwebbed electricity. Really. He thought I would be defeated by mere puffs of heat? How insulting.

Lighting bolts dark from my hands, burning his wrists till he can;t use the fire anymore. The soldier crumbles to his knees and I slowly circle him, observing every weak spot as I allow him to regain his composure. It's no fun if they can't fight back.

The soldier lets out a battle cry, racing towards me and the fun really begins.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Octavia

Helios, I forgot how attractive Beatrix is when she fights. I've never seen a fight so swift and brutal. Each move my adopted sister makes is calculated and controlled, even if the rage simmering in her magic is blatantly obvious by the storm clouds brewing overhead.

I grin as Beatrix slowly grinds him down, not taking the killing blows, just winding him up. Exhausting him. Wearing him down until he's stumbling and making mistakes. She allows him to think he's winning, letting him get in a few nicks and scrapes that has the soldier overconfident and ambitious.

Confident to fall for the trap Bea sets up. She leaves her side open and the soldier doesn't hesitate to lunge forward, leaving his neck wholly exposed for the sword swinging down on his head.

Someone sucks in a sharp breath behind me, probably Riven since I think Sky has inherited his father's bloodlust. Not that he's showing it but the way he watched the fights like a hawk has my suspicions rising. Plus the enhanced senses of the Dumaris? My bet is by the time the wars over we'll all be so fucking traumatised that we salivate at the thought of a good fight.

Unfortunately the blade is stopped mid air.

I follow Beatrix's glare to find Dowling standing at the edge of the mat next to a proud Andreas who is holding his phone up, videoing the entire thing.

"That's far enough." Dowling states as she glances around at the crowd formed. "Well done Beatrix."

She strides away from the platform calling over her shoulder. "Get back to training, all of you."

I want to roll my eyes but refrain from doing so considering she's right. It would be a PR nightmare if Beatrix killed someone so openly. Not to mention Andreas would disown her for getting caught.

She and I share a smirk of triumph but her little head nod to the shadow on my shoulder has me worried. There's a sadness, a fear, in her eyes that has me trembling with protective rage as Beatrix's own fury cool enough to allow her to look vulnerable for a split second before she's approached by Irene who brings her into a swift hug, muttering praise all the while.

What's wrong? I demand.

Stella asked Beatrix if she knew anything about Aster Dell, Brandon apparently told her something. Darkling murmurs.

I sigh, Yet we both know she was Brandon and Bloom at Aster Dell. So it wasn't just a conversation.

Your sister is getting caught up in something. Little shadow whispers. And something tells me she doesn't want to be. You should help her

We're not on speaking terms if you hadn't noticed.

Silence is my only answer.

I walk through the grounds, observing the different sections until I find the changeling. She's by the Burned One crystals, watching as Aisha runs against a goblin simulation to the left. She's fairly effective, using waves of water to blast them away. Good when you're dealing with a horde coming from one direction, not so good if your own soldiers are mixed in with the Goblins.

Track her progress. I murmur. Actually, just track anyone of interest, the strongest and weakest. I need to know where we are going to triumph and fail in the upcoming battle.

"How would you feel about making amends with a certain fire fairy?" I say to Sky and he scoffs instantly.

"No. I'm done with her."

Warmth flutters at his words but I ignore it.

"Yeah, but it appears our mate isn't done with her." Riv murmurs to Sky, bumping his shoulder with his own. "Why do you want her panting after Sky here, again?"

"I don't." I roll my eyes. "But if she has an infatuation with you I will use it."

"Use it to get what?" Sky arches a brow. "You are using me too."

"I'm asking you." I counter. "Not forcing."

"What's this about anyways." Riv interrupts, eyeing the changeling from the corner of his eye.

"Ever heard of Aster Dell?" I ask them, receiving the expected shaking of heads.

"There's history there that I will explain later but the quick summary is Beatrix was there as a baby, the village got overrun by Burned Ones, village got destroyed to kill the Burned Ones, except-"

"Let me guess." Sky snarls, "Someone forgot to evacuate."

"Someone forgot to evacuate." I agree. "War crime committed, royal cover up and now questions are being asked."

"Please tell me we are on the good side in this mess." Sky grumbles as he shakes of his outer coat, leaving him in just training armour.

"It's war." Riv murmurs, his gaze fixated on Lykos as he walks with Andreas and Silva on either side. "There's no such thing as good or bad."

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

I watch silently as Bloom and Sky stand back to back. It pains me to see how uncomfortable he is. Not that he's showing it, he's the epitome of a perfect soldier right now, but he's my mate and I know him.

"Bloom has Sky on edge." Riv mutters to me angrily. "I don't like that they're paired up."

"Did we not just go over that we need to know what she knows." I whisper back as the Burned One hunts my mate. "Besides, I can't deal with unnecessary tension and drama right now. So if he can make up with Bloom and we can move on as something similar to civil. That would be great."

Riv rolls his eyes. "Is this a self sabotaging streak, Pix. Trying to get Sky with bloom so you can reject him before he rejects you."

"If that bitch tries anything-"

Riv cuts of my jealous tone with laughter and I scowl at him.

"Don't laugh at me or we'll discuss the little crush your harbouring for Sky."

He sobers up instantly. "I don't know what your talking about."

"Uh huh." I agree, narrowing my eyes in distaste of his denial.

A roar echoes through the hedge maze and we watch the fake Burned One race towards the pair. Bloom sends a strong wave of fire towards the creature that turns out to be feeble when the Burned One is unaffected. I tense as Sky calls out uncertainty to Bloom, jealousy flaring when he shoves Bloom behind his body to protect her.

If it was anyone else you would be proud to have such a caring mate. Darkling mocks, voice tinged with incredulity.

But it's Bloom, isn't it. I hiss.

You quite literally brought this upon yourself. He mocks.

I turn to Riven instead, deciding to ignore the current object of my jealousy until-

"Oh you're bleeding."

"He's what." Riven hisses, marching forward.

"Sky?" He calls, catching sight of the nick on Sky's arm.

"Do you want me to?" Bloom questions but my mate was already walking to Riven, hands raised in a placating gesture. I smirk when I realise that the fire fairy's offer didn't even register in his head.

"Riv. It's just a scratch." He placates but our mate is already rummaging through his pocket and pulling out saline and swabs of cotton. Since when did he have wound cleaning stuff on standby?

"Yeah well. The last time you said it was just a scratch you had two broken bones and infection, so." Riv gestures to Sky's arm. "Just let me patch you up."

I slide a hand down Sky's arm in comfort when he winces from the alcohol wipe before I move past him to the fire fairy staring at us. Bloom shifts awkwardly when she notices me.

"We haven't had a chance to talk since the attack last week." I keep my voice calm and low, delicately placing the mask of the pretty princess on.

"Yeah well, it was a bit of a mess." She mutters.

"About what I told you, at the end of the fight." I begin, unable to stop the flicker of worry for the girl no matter how much I dislike her. "You know that it wasn't your fault. Admittedly it wasn't one of my sister's smartest moves taking you all out to get the ring but-"

"I know it's not our  fault and Stella was just trying to take responsibility for her actions." Bloom snaps protectively and I blink at her care for my sister.

"I know." I whisper, frowning in slight confusion. "I was just going to say that it was inevitable no matter what either of you did."

Bad word choice. Really bad.

What why-

"Why would it have happened?" Bloom shakes slightly, wringing out her hands. "How could it have been inevitable?"

"I feel as though we've had this conversation." I know we've had this conversation before. It's like she's waiting for a different answer. "The Burned Ones were never extinct Bloom. Sooner or later they would have emerged. The Royal reports had suggested that they would wake up in a few decades time but something seems to have woken them sooner. So we'll just have to deal with them now."

There. That should be enough to placate her curiosity while remaining diplomatic. I'm not in the habit of not giving answers, or saying outright lies. It only leads to trouble and curiosity.

"Right, of course." She murmurs. "The war had to happen now."

I frown at her words. "I'm sorry this all started when you've only just got here, but please don't resent this place or the timing. For all we know we may be better equipped since those with experience of Burned Ones are still here. Had this happened years down the line, time might not have allowed us to be more prepared."

She nods silently and walks away, leaving me for once standing in confusion.

A/N: What's going on with Brandon?

And would you like to see him and Stella again soon.