Princess of Ruin

Chapter 5 - Animation

Aria

For the first few moments after Ms. Aiko blew her whistle, I didn't move, simply staring at Emery and her cane. I kept picturing myself knocking her off balance and her falling and splitting her head open and-

"Aria," Emery said sharply. "Shall we begin or not?" She had tucked her cane under one arm and was cracking her knuckles, very clearly ready to fight. I very hesitantly sank into a fighting position, one eye on Emery's right leg, which she was holding up just slightly.

"Would it be easier for you if I did not make use of my cane?" Emery suggested in a rather irritated voice. I didn't answer and just stood there until she muttered, "Very well," and set her cane on the ground and stepped a few paces away. "Is that any better?"

"Kinda," I muttered, looking down at the floor.

"Then let us begin. We have delayed enough as is." Nodding, I stalked forwards, flexing my fingers. If I were being perfectly honest with myself, I was very excited to see what Emery's ability was. I hadn't seen her do anything with it yet, and I was curious. There was also some part of me that wanted to prove that even if I wasn't good at academics, I was good at this.

Picking up speed, I ran at Emery, whose eyes widened a bit, as though she wasn't expecting me to charge her. She dodged out of the way with far more ease than I was expecting, but I wasn't aiming for her. Instead, I leaned down and brushed my hand against the floor, sending my ability pulsing into it like a heartbeat. At my command, the wood softened and shifted like a wave, knocking several empty chairs and racks of weapons over, sending them clattering to the ground.

"What manner of ability is that?" Emery marvelled, sticking out her arms to either side to keep her balance. She was far better at it than I was expecting. Apparently, getting her cane away from her wasn't going to be enough.

"It's called 'Animation,'" I replied as I stood up. Without my contact, the floor seemed to take on a mind of its own, rippling as it searched for my enemy. "I can give life to any inanimate object and have it attack my opponent."

"Fascinating," she breathed as she seemed to stabilize herself. "I've not heard of one like it." I grinned, very proud of myself. "But fancy parlor tricks shall not be enough to defeat me."

Before I knew what was happening, Emery was already next to me, her left foot flying towards my head. On instinct more than anything else, I brought up an arm to block it, wincing when her boot hit my forearm. "Is that steel in your boots?" I cried, rubbing my arm as I dodged a punch.

"Well, of course. What is a boot without steel toes?" Emery was grinning now as she moved with surprising speed for someone so small. Briefly, I shot a glance up at the clock. It'd been just over two minutes since Ms. Aiko blew her whistle, and the way this was going, I wasn't going to place in the top five, where very much needed to be.

Mind racing, I reached a hand for one of Emery's gloves. The second I touched it, the black leather shifted, taking control of the appendage and attacking its owner by going straight for her throat. The white-haired girl shrieked in surprise, stumbling back a few steps. Seizing the opportunity, I lunged forward, arm pulled back in preparation to hit Emery. The ground rippled around me, knocking her off balance. She dodged clumsily, clutching at the errant hand, and fell.

"Call it off!" Emery yelled as she sprung back to her feet, gaze furious and piercing. I grinned, filled with a sensation of victory. I'd figured out how knock her down, and now I just needed to keep her down.

"Sorry, not sure what you mean!" I called back gleefully as I lunged for her. The floor rose up in a wave above my opponent, throwing her off as I wrapped an arm around her and tackled her to the ground.

"Call it off," she growled through gritted teeth, glaring up at me with her icy blue eyes.

"No," I whispered back. "I need to win this. Please."

"'Tis a shame, but I need to win as well." Before I was even quite sure what was happening, Emery flipped my body over until she was on top, one gloved thumb pressed against my carotid and her other hand held out to the side so it couldn't attack her any more. "Now call it off." It might have been a trick of the light, but I could have sworn I saw a small black shadow peek out Emery's errant glove. When I blinked, it was gone.

"Emery wins," Ms. Aiko called, blowing her whistle. "Three minutes and ten seconds. Congratulations." Emery's glove fell lifeless once more, and she rolled off me and onto her feet.

"Would you like a hand?" she asked in a surprisingly polite tone, offering a hand to me. I took it, allowing her to pull me up with surprising strength.

"You're...not mad at me?" I asked hesitantly as we walked over to where Emery's cane lay abandoned on the floor. She picked it up and brushed invisible dust off the lacquered wood before placing the thinner tip on the ground and clutching the curved head in her hand.

"Of course not. Why in the world should I be?"

"I mean, you seemed kinda mad earlier when we were fighting. You kept snapping at me. But we're still friends?" I gave her a hopeful look as we made it back to our seats. Emery gave me an amused look, pale eyebrows raised.

"We shall remain friendly acquaintances, yes. However, I advise that you never attempt to use my gloves against me again. It will not end well for either of us."

*

The rest of the class period passed quickly, with Emery's name remaining at the top of the leaderboard until the bell rang for the end of class. I let out a little sigh of joy, glad that the day was over. I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, and I wasn't exactly sure if I'd have been able to sit through any more classes.

"You didn't use your ability," I commented as I pulled on my coat and scarf. "Do you not have one or something?"

"I do," Emery said slowly, as though contemplating her next words very carefully. "It simply is not an ability to be put on display." She looked rather uncomfortable and slung her messenger bag, seemingly much heavier than when she left the suite that morning, over her shoulder.

"Are you just gonna go back to the room, Emery?" Mikela asked, changing the subject smoothly, as we walked out of the building and into the cold outdoors.

"I believe that I shall visit the li-" she broke off, narrowing her eyes as Thatcher stalked by, heading straight for the library in the middle of the quad. "On second thought, I may return with you both."

"You really don't like him, do you?" I asked with a chuckle.

"He irritates me. I truly find him-" Emery broke off suddenly, coughing into one gloved hand. Her whole body shook, and Mikela and I paused, alarmed, while we waited for the fit to pass.

"A-are you ok?" I asked, reaching for her bare shoulder on instinct. She flinched at the touch and stilled, straightening up again.

"Marvelous," she said hoarsely, letting out one last little cough, before she wiped her mouth on her pale arm.

"Maybe you shouldn't wander around in a tanktop in the thirteenth moon," Mikela said slowly, exchanging a concerned glance with me. We could both hear Emery's wheezing breath as she calmed herself back down.

"I am fine," Emery repeated, more forcefully this time. "Now could one of you direct me to the infirmary?"

"S-sure," I said. "It's just beyond the dorm. Do you want me to walk you?"

"I shall be perfectly alright on my own, thank you," she replied stubbornly, making a very obvious effort to straighten up and hide her limp, as though that would convince us of her healthy state. When the path split, so did she, cane clacking against the walkway as she headed to the infirmary, leaving Mikela and I alone in the snow in front of our dorm.

"Do you think she'll be ok?"

"She's like an old woman," Mikela murmured without answering me. I was fairly certain she didn't hear. "A very grouchy, stubborn old woman."

"Do we know how old she actually is? It's kinda hard to tell," I asked as I pushed open the door that would lead to warmth and joy.

"She's seventeen."

"Really? How'd you know that?" I gave my friend a look of surprise as we climbed the stairs, slowly shedding layers as we ascended.

"She may have left her student ID on the kitchen counter this morning while she was using the bathroom, and I may have taken a quick peek. Did you know that she's only five feet tall?"

"Really? I kinda thought she was shorter than that."

"I think she leans a bit," Mikela said as she pulled the room key out of her pocket. "On account of the cane, I mean."

"Huh."

"She's also registered for handicap services, which was something of a shock to me." Mikela set her keys down on the kitchen counter, where they usually lived, while I dropped my backpack and coat on the couch.

"Really? I can't picture her doing that. Too much pride."

"I think her parents probably did it or something."

"Do we even have handicap services here?" I asked, flopping down next to my backpack. Oh, couch, you are my one true love, I thought, sighing happily.

"Theoretically? Pretty sure it's just a little cart that people can drive around campus and into town if they can't walk. This school doesn't exactly get very many people with handicaps."

"Hm."

*

About a half hour after Mikela and I returned, the suite's door opened again, this time letting Emery through.

"You ok?" I asked, looking up from my history homework. We'd been assigned a passage about the first known Gifted, Inanis, and where she went wrong. It was an incredibly boring reading, and I found myself dozing every few seconds.

"Much better, thank you," Emery said with a nod, heading towards her room.

"See you later?"

"I shall see you later." I smiled as she walked off. As odd as the girl was, she was most certainly amusing. And though I'd learned something about her that day, there was still plenty more to uncover.