Fangirl

That night I lay awake on my bed and remembered the picture that unfolded before my eyes when I entered the classroom. A once-perfect face was like a piece of battered meat. The soft, smooth skin had been erased beneath ridges of puffy swellings in every shade of scarlet, from soft coral to lush ruby. Graceful slits of his eyes were mantled with swellings, lashes glued together. Cuts splintered apart with sloppy edges; the firebender wore large rings. His hair was streaked with blood at the edge of his forehead, the bluish veins at his temples pale. I touched his face. His body began to chill slowly. A few hours later Phillip was beaming woth his most charming smile at me again, as if nothing happened. I smiled back and also imagined that nothing happened. While Phillip and I were having dinner. When I got back to my room, I dropped into a chair and sat for a while looking out the window. It got dark outside, and the stars should have been shining by now. I couldn’t see them. I couldn’t see anything in front of me but that disfigured face. Phillip’s friends were holding up well. For the first week after the accident their eyes had been openly tense. But as they watched their unsuspecting friend smile blithely, the traces of tension slowly faded from their high foreheads and youthful lips. After a month, they could all breathe more freely but that didn’t mean they had forgotten. True to their word, they never left Phillip unattended, surrounding him with excessive care, like hens. Phillip noticed these oddities and was jokingly sarcastic about such attention. They didn’t talk to me. Not until Phillip announced that I had lost my mind and decided to go to the elemental contest. Everyone quickly realized the reason for my sudden interest and began to approach me separately, trying to get me back to my senses as long as I got obviously mad. Their arguments were predictable: I’m a girl, I have average potential, I’m only in my fourth year. They explained that I would be torn apart in the first stage. In this, the guys' arguments didn’t differ from Phillip’s criticism. But, unlike him, they knew exactly who I was going after, and so they tried to get me back to my mind, a naive fool who couldn’t see the stupidity of idea. The probability of getting into a duel with Nikita is minimal, exhorted me Gregory. But even if I got, then what would I do? Kill myself in front of everyone to blame the firebender? The chances of me getting to Nikita seemed more optimistic. At least in my own eyes. He was going to win that meant he would probably be able to hold out long enough. I wouldn’t fail either. And then, sooner or later, we would definitely come together in battle. I sincerely wished Nikita to defeat all his opponents. Kirill tried to force me to change my mind and come up with another plan of revenge, in which all of them would participate. Noble, I thought, but I didn’t even bother to discuss the proposal. Unlike the guys' unformed revenge plans, which must have been wandering in their heads in vague images, my mental eye saw everything crystal clear: I knew exactly what to do with Nikita. Maxim was the most suspicious. He still didn’t forget that story at lunch, when I’d shaken Nikita’s hand. He even asked me directly if I was hiding how powerful my source was. I kept silent. He tried to explain that even if my source was strong, I still didn’t have enough experience and stamina to beat senior students. As Maxim continued to exhort me, calling on my voice of reason, I thought back to that lunch meeting he mentioned. I blamed myself. I thought that the oaf would be smarter or more sane, that he would see the balance of power not in his favor, and go away. What I hadn’t considered was that the firebender was really off his head. I didn’t blame him for that; I thought I was weird too. I blamed him for daring to do that to Phillip. And if at first it looked as an attraction to perfection — it was, of course clear as long as Phillip was involved, after what he did to him… His fire was uncontrollable and dangerous to Phillip. The punishment of expulsion from the academy or any other was not enough. There could only be one punishment for carelessly touching my deity. Phillip kept asking to leave that idea. I had to be firm. It felt so good to agree with him. He bloomed like a poppy when I gave in to him. But this time I couldn’t. *** The day X came — the day of competition. As I entered the arena, I savored every moment. It was so nice to give myself a little free rein on a great occasion. We were pulling straws, I was watching Nikita. He felt my gaze, looked, and smirked. I blinded the waterbender with his own weapon, atomizing the element into vapor, then smothered him lightly, using the veil. The earthbender was too slow with his clumsy blocks. At the end of the duel he tried to ruin my mood, but he was not up to the task. Today was a special day and nothing could spoil it for me. The airbender seemed more interesting. I had always been fascinated by the interaction of air and fire — they complemented each other perfectly. But it wasn’t the element itself that won the fight, but the power with which the mage could use it. Another opponent was eliminated. After that, I was hoping that Nikita would be my opponent in the next fight. Alas, disappointment. He withdrew, I looked at the next obstacle. Another airbender. This one was smarter than the last one. He started by trying to take away my sight. I closed my eyes and continued the fight using the heat of the mage’s body to see. In the vortex, he formed long whips of sand, trying to entangle me and deprive me of the ability to defend or attack. I cauterized the wispy tentacles with fire hot enough to make the glowing quartz shackles melt off my wrists. I used only the spell familiar to the audience and my own body heat, raising the temperature to the right degree. I generally stayed within what was considered magically acceptable for my year of training and reserve strength. The veil didn’t play into the airbender’s hands, as he thought, but into mine, keeping our battle hidden from view. When I had the chance, I hooked the bender’s leg with a long fiery lash that had been coming at him slowly the whole time he’d been attacking. Knocked him down, and then choked him lightly, like the rest of them. The fight was over. I looked almost longingly at Nikita. But there was a reprieve for me, too. Now it was up to me to watch. I didn’t learn anything new. Nikita’s fire was Devorer: that state of the fire element when it slowly overcalculates its bender, taking control out of his hands. In time it would become obvious, for now it just looked like a brutal battle with a ruthless opponent. While the bracelets were being checked, I watched Nikita over an assistant’s shoulder. He glared at me with the same intense gaze, but with a contemptuous sneer. We’ve been domed. ‘Don’t tell me you’re here to avenge? ’ he chuckled. ‘Yes,’ I replied calmly starting to circle him at a leisurely pace. ‘A girl defending a guy. It looks pathetic, don’t you think? ’ Nikita snorted derisively. ‘He is so pathetic pretending that nothing happened. ‘Nothing happened. For him,’ a slight smile of satisfaction touched my lips. ‘What do you mean? ’ Nikita was getting closer. ‘You saw him after that — not a scratch. And I corrected his memory right away. He has no memory of the attack. It’s our little secret,’ I winked at him. Nikita’s face changed. Became angry, threatening. Of course it did. I’d seen Nikita stare at Phillip after the attack, he was trying to burn a hole in him. Phillip was squirming — he was uncomfortable, but nothing more, and Nikita had just realized that all his tricks were going down the drain. He attacked. Lightning bolts. I loved those. That’s what my dad started with when we got to my training. He’d attack, I’d dodge. It wasn’t hard, but I dodged at the last moment, each time trying to give the firebender false hope. And every time I ducked right out from under his nose. He shortened his distance again, irritated by my twists and turns. The Sun’s rays came into play. A beautiful spell. It covered more area than Lightning. It hit harder. I couldn’t dodge them, the stinging streaks were too close together. Some of them I swatted away with my hand. They could have all been thrown away at once, but I teased. I kept spinning and only occasionally raised my arms to protect myself. Nikita saw that despite all his attacks, I was still essentially unharmed. He drew his sword moving into melee range. I was anticipating. I pushed back his blow only at the very last moment. It was hard to suspect my skill. I looked like an insignificant opponent, just miraculously avoiding an imminent fate. And yet I did. Avoiding certain defeat again and again. Nikita was seething in his own anger. His patience burnt to the ground. He grabbed my arm, wanting to pin me in place and finish off, but I stumbled so conveniently… Nikita piled on top of me, changing spells on the fly. He clutched the dagger in his hand, promising me retribution. ‘I’ll get you, bitch! ’ The firebender hissed his face melting with fury. I smiled and relaxed, as if inviting him to strike. ‘You’re picking the wrong victims,’ I said the last words he would hear. My face changed — he finally decided to strike. At that moment we were both engulfed in blinding white flames. The bender’s face flashed with surprise, understanding, the death knell of realizing his own miscalculation, but… But it was too late. I saw it all on his face and experienced nothing but grim pleasure. That blissful icy feeling when the inevitable finally arrives. At the same moment Nikita realized how incredibly unlucky he was, the bracelets had already fallen to ash from his and my wrists. The bender didn’t burst into flames, but thinned, became transparent, and decayed in agony before my eyes. The disbelief never left his face. I leaned back on the sand with a sense of true bliss, smoothed my hair along my naked body, and closed my eyes letting the flames die down. Phillip was avenged. My flame is fed. I am content. With those thoughts, I slipped into a magical slumber. It wasn’t hard — I’d spent my energy and could rest.