INSIGNIAS: THE ABECEDARIANS
CHAPTER XLIII: ARIA

Aria remained passive for a few minutes. Her eyes were glued to the ground. Her breathing was erratic. She was loosely holding her sword with its blade pierced through the ground. For a few seconds, she didn’t hear or feel anything. She knew that as a swordsman, a second of inattentiveness means death, but her mind was full. However, when the man took a step forward, her burning eyes followed his movement and her hand slowly but tightly gripped her sword. He lifted one of his eyebrow, showing that he’s both confused and amused. Aria clenched her jaw before lifting her sword.

“Bravo. It only took you a few seconds to be surprised,” he said then chuckled. But Aria wasn’t amused.

“I told you not to manipulate me,” she spat. His smile slowly fell.

“It’s a not a lie-“

“Do you think that story is enough to overturn me?” she cut him. This time, the man’s forehead furrowed.

“You can tell me what you want to tell, but you won’t shake me,” she continued, “I won’t buy your stories.” She said this in a dangerously low voice. Her anger was bubbling inside. He might have manipulated her memory for a few seconds, but her conviction won’t waver with that kind of tale. Do you know how many lies they’ve been telling me?

“You really are a hard-headed girl, but it won’t always save you,” he muttered, “like today.” The wind suddenly stilled when the man pointed his maul towards her. She couldn’t hear anything. Damn it, this is going to be a long and hard fight.

“I won’t idle anymore. My mission is to kill you, and I will, princess.” All humour left his voice; it was replaced by a chilling warning tone. He advanced towards her. All of the sudden, his form turned into air. Aria gasped, surprised, but she quickly turned and raised her sword. Her quick response was enough to watch the man solidify from thin air.

“I am.not.a.princess,” she gritted after she dodged the attack then her blade collided with the maul’s handle. It didn’t even scratch it. The masked man snickered when she took several steps back.

“I thought talking about your father might weaken you, but it doesn’t matter,” he daunted, “If it’s fight that you want, then I’ll give it to you.” He walked towards her with menacing eyes and disgusting smirk.

Then the wind suddenly stilled. It seemed like the fire and her surroundings darkened. Only when she stepped on a twig that she felt a creeping feeling on her skin. No sound. When her gaze focused on his form walking, her fear increased. She chuckled despite this.

“You need this kind of magic trick to scare people. This isn’t a fight,” she said with a trembling voice. Damn it. The man stopped but his shadowed face made it impossible for her to see his reaction.

“Ah. But this kind of magic is one of the greatest…” Suddenly, he vanished again and Aria immediately looked around while gripping her sword. Am I going to survive?

“It might be hard to control your mind.” The voice echoed everywhere. His presence was all around her. It was like the shadow is him.

“But without power, it’s impossible to win. You’re not even qualified to be with the others,” the voice whispered near her ears. She frantically looked around as her knees trembled. Not now, Aria. Stand strong.

“Show yourself! Don’t be a coward!” she shouted. Laughter echoed. Then something flew beside her right cheek. A white shadow. She felt warm liquid running down her cheek.

“I thought you intended to fight. This is child play.” Ugh, you’re provoking him again.

“I can see that you are not a silent fighter,” it replied.

“It depends who I’m fighting with,” Aria mumbled.

Then it began. One after another, white shadows were shot towards her. Arrows? She tried to dodge all but realized that some shots cut her clothes. Using her sword to block the shots weren’t enough. The sound her sword made when it’s hit was faint, it sounded like it’s underwater. Left, right, behind, overhead… It felt like it’s been hours. When the attacks stop, she was huffing and already kneeling with only her sword supporting her trembling body.

“What are you thinking, princess?” This made her smirk. At least he couldn’t enter my mind.

She was only thinking of surviving the fight. She figured that if she thinks about anything else, she might get distracted. But she knew the fact that her sword is nothing compare to his powers. It seemed like he’s not using all his powers on her because he knew her capabilities. Belittling me…

“Hmm. Sadly, I don’t have time to play with you, princess, so I’ll end this,” the voice echoed. The sound of swinging a heavy metal was heard. Aria was immediately on her feet, her wobbly feet. The maul. Without looking back, she grabbed her backpack and ran. She didn’t know where her strength came from but she knew she needed to leave immediately. Her sword cannot stop that maul.

She didn’t mind the branches scrapping her skin as she ran away aimlessly. However, it occurred to her that she escaped the mist, whatever that is. The bushes were getting thinner as she approached a thin line of trees. Sweat rolled down her forehead as she continues to run, oxygen in her lungs slowly decreasing. More. Run more.

She neared the edge of the bushes when something heavy fall in front of her making her stop and scream. Huffing due to lack of oxygen, she looked at it closely and found the masked guy’s maul. Without a second thought, she ran to a different direction. Don’t get caught. I need to survive, damn it.

Feeling the weakness of her legs, she stopped and rested her back against a tree. It was only then that she felt the throbbing pain. She hissed and winced when she tried to massage her foot. Knowing that the man might catch up with her, she looked around for a hiding place. Thin trees. Low branches. No more bushes. Aria was slowing losing hope. This is not the time for time.

She was about to walk towards a much larger tree when something crash through the trunk, chucking large and small pieces of wood everywhere. A large hole was left; a few seconds after the impact, the tree slowly turned to its side and collapsed loudly. Watching in horror, Aria couldn’t stop but stared. She could hear her loud heartbeats in her ears.

“No more playing, princess.”

The masked man appeared, standing on the remains of the explosion. There was no more humour in his eyes. Aria gulped.

“It’s scary right?” His deep voice was menacing. In her mind, she had no other option but to fight. But she already knew the outcome. With firm grip, she raised her sword with both hands. Despite the growing fear and disappointment, she was going to fight. I wonder if this is really my fate… But at least I fought back.

Her opponent swung his maul thrice before throwing it towards her. She felt her surroundings going into a slow motion as she shifted to her right. With all her might, she heard her sword whistled through the air then clashed with the target. The maul sped to the adjacent direction but Arias wasn’t spared from the fall after her attack. Her right shoulder painfully hit the ground making her hiss of pain and close her eyes.

“Tsk tsk. Too bad,” she heard the man say. She quickly opened her eyes and saw the man holding her sword.

Her gaze darkened when she realized what happened. Her sword was cut in half. Her unmoving eyes were glued to it. She forgot the pain as she slowly stood up. No.

“You knew that it’s no match. Don’t be too disappointed.” He threw it aside and Aria’s wide eyes followed it. She noticed the man’s shadow leaning towards her but she didn’t care. Dad’s gift… It was gone.

When she looked back at her enemy, his shadow was getting closer. Her legs were trembling but her eyes looked unappalled. What made her curious was the red colour behind his shadow. It was engulfing the shadows and everything in its path. So pretty…