The headmaster collapses onto the floor and everything goes quiet.

  The newly revived cadets just stare around, utterly confused at what is going on. As they should be, considering the only reason they are alive is a miracle that altered the nature of life itself.

  The headmaster lies in a pile on the floor. His face seems to have lost all of its color, and his face has sunken in a bit. It looks like he has died, of course that is not the case.

  A tall woman with black hair descends from the stands to the professor’s side. She turns and addresses the cadets. “The headmaster has deemed to grant you lenience. Do not mistake this for kindness. The armor and weapons you now possess are yours to keep. Treat them well and use them in service of slaying monsters. Let this experience show you the true meaning of power, what it means to be strong, and the costs of such power.” She points to the corpse-looking headmaster. “Do not expect such miracles again.” She pauses for a moment and then seems to collect herself. “There will be a gala held tonight at 17:00 hours, do not be late, cadets. Welcome to The Dragon Guard, and may the light of death guide you to greatness.”

  With that curt yet powerful speech, she picks up the headmaster and throws him over her shoulder. Then she walks away and exits the stadium. Everyone is silent for several moments, and then people begin moving again. The crowd in the audience begins to file out and everything resumes its normal course.

  My body finally seems to realize that it is, in fact, alive. My knees collapse out from under me, and I fall to the floor, landing gently on my ass. Beside me, Violet also falls to the ground, breathing heavily. She is so cute, which is crazy considering we are both splattered with black blood and just witnessed horrors beyond most mortal’s comprehension.

  I start laughing.

  Violet also starts laughing. A wonderful laugh. I wish I could record it and listen to it on repeat.

  Liv, Stephen and Moxie rush over to us. Liv is the first to speak, “You absolutely insane fools!” Then she too collapses next to us and starts laughing. Her laugh seems to overtake everything, booming around the arena.

  “Good work, you two.” Stephen says.

  Moxie nods and gives us a thumbs up.

  I gain control of my laughter, “Couldn’t have done it without all of you guys. We did it, as a team.”

  “Oh come on man, that was like, all you two.” Liv says, “You two were such badasses! Suicidal badasses, but still badasses none the less!”

  “So says the one that was actively being hit.” Violet chimes in, “Some might say you are even more suicidal."

  “I suppose so.” Liv says, glaring at Violet. The others still seem to dislike Violet’s guts, but at least they know better than to try physical violence.

  It is at that point that Mr. Guy makes a grand return. His jaw seems to be a bit crooked, and his nose might be broken. His squadron also seems to be standing quite far away, perhaps they aren't quite as idiotic. “Look at that, a pig and her friends, bathing in muck like they ought to be.”

  This guy really doesn't know when to quit, does he?

  Just as Violet is standing up, Moxie points her hand at the guy. A ball of fire appears in her palm and it shoots off. It hits Mr. Guy and sets his hair on fire. He runs around screaming and shouting, trying to put his hair out. It is a beautiful sight, to watch jerks burn. I wish I could see it more often.

  Moxie turns back to us and smiles.

  - One Bath Later -

  I button up my shirt and with a bit of difficulty manage to tie my tie properly. I look in the mirror and in my opinion, I look absolutely dashing. A green tuxedo appeared in my closet today, which is perfect for the gala. It's almost like there is some guardian watching out from the shadows and making things appear when they are needed. I would like to think it is Tien, somehow influencing things.

  Maka, what is a gala? Lemon asks.

  It is a social gathering. Usually lots of important people come together to discuss things. It's usually quite fancy, hence the attire. I reply. Oh, and there is often dancing as well.

  That sounds intriguing, but what is this ‘dancing’ you speak of?

  I am not sure how to explain that. I think you will just have to wait and see.

  With that, I exit my room and find Stephen waiting in the common room. He is wearing a nice red tuxedo with flared cuffs. “Maka, what the hell took you so long? The girls have already left without us.”

  “Oh, I might’ve gotten a bit lost thinking about things. Lots of stuff has happened recently.” In truth, I was just soaking in the bath for a long time. But I don't really want to tell Stephen that, he might start teasing me or something.

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  “Well, you couldn’t be more right about that. Let's go, we don't want to be late.”

  We leave for the gala hall, which is quite a long trek from our quarters. I guess the place isn't used that often, so they shoved it on the complete opposite side of the academy. Which makes sense, I can't imagine a military school is all that well suited to hosting formal galas.

  We enter the gala hall and my jaw drops. It is beautiful. Everything is made out of a beautiful marble and everything is intricately carved. There are portraits and pictures of various people from history. The entire place just screams wealth.

  The hall is quite full, not just of cadets but also other dragon guards, and more than a few uppers that must be here for various political reasons. Servers expertly dash in and out of the crowds serving up refreshments. Everyone is dressed up in super fancy clothing. I feel a bit inadequate in my simple tuxedo.

  “This is crazy.” I say, commenting on the entire scene.

  “What, have you never been to a gala?” Stephen says, a little shocked. “Between my sponsor and school I was always forced to so many. I’ve mastered the art of dance through sheer boredom.” I guess fancy commandeering school also involves training for social functions. Hopefully he can handle any speeches that we need to give.

  “I guess you will have to teach me the ropes then. Lead the way, commander!”

  Unfortunately, he never does get the opportunity to teach me. The moment we step inside, he is swarmed by a group of women and even a few men. He motions for me to escape without him, and I gladly take him up on that. I have a feeling he is going to be quite busy.

  Across the hall, I spot Moxie, who seems to be cowering in a corner as several people try to speak to her. She is wearing a lovely red dress that matches nicely with her hair. I deftly navigate my way through the crowd – definitely without bumping into anyone.

  “Heya Moxie, what is up.” I say, pushing through the people that are gathered around her. I glance at the people crowding around her and one of them mutters, ‘lets get out of here.’

  Moxie looks up at me and smiles like I am some sort of god descended from the heavens to rescue her. “Thank, you.” She says, almost too quiet for me to hear.

  “Naturally. Some jerks just don't know when to leave people alone.” I say, gently patting her head to not disturb her hairdo.

  It is at that moment that Liv stumbles her way into our isolation. She is wearing a nice blue dress, though it seems to be straining a bit against her muscles. “Ahoy ther, what's up with y'all fellas, *hicc*, this shindig is way cool, ain’t it?”

  “Liv, are you drunk?” I ask, “The party hasn't even started yet!”

  “Nah, no way, I've only had like… three glasses of wine. No way I could be drunk.” She says, while stumbling a bit. “Anyway, this party is a real hoot! Heya Moxie, we should go find some fun people to vibe out with. This Maka fella is just so boring.” She loops her arm around Moxie and pulls her in tightly.

  Moxie looks at me, eyes wide with panic. “Hmm, maybe you should give it a try, maybe you’ll learn a thing or two.” I say to her, To which she shakes her head no.

  “Oh come on, Moxie dear, lets go have some fun!” Liv then drags Moxie away, I try to stop her but she just bats me away effortlessly. With one last glance of fear from Moxie, they disappear into the crowd.

  I sorta feel bad about not being able to rescue Moxie. But it's not like I can fight Liv. Plus, maybe it'll be good for Moxie to get a bit of forced socialization in. Exposure therapy or something, right?

  To my great surprise, a few girls actually approach me. However, with some clever worldplay known as insults, I manage to quickly turn them away. I could practically smell the ‘I want money and fame’ radiating off of them. I definitely don't have time to deal with that crap.

  The room goes quiet as a fancy looking woman walks up onto a balcony that overlooks the entire room. She has white hair and blue eyes, which pair well with a fancy white dress. She has a lot of jewelry that looks like it could cost more than a dozen planets. Definitely a quite important woman, and one that you do not want to cross.

  “Greetings, attendees. For those unaware, I am Sophia Ristes, chairwoman of The Academy board. It is with great honor that I preside over this welcome to the newest cadets of The Travernium Dragon Guard Academy. We have quite a lot of promising talent in this year’s harvest, and we of the board cannot wait to see what great achievements become of it.” She raises a glass in the motions of a toast. I quickly grab a drink from a passing server and join in. “May the light of death guide you all to greatness.”

  The moment she steps off the stage, some gentle music starts playing and people flock to the dance floors. I spot Stephen in the distance, it seems he has a veritable army trying to ask him to dance. I would say that I envy the guy, but honestly I do not one bit. He can have fun trying to deal with that mess.

  I spy a strange gap in the crowded hall. It is almost as though there is a beautiful flower, and everyone is giving it space so as not to trample it. In the dead center of it is a stunning woman. She is wearing a pair of white pearl earrings, which pair well with her white hair and blue eyes. Her beautiful royal purple dress hugs her body nicely, but not overly tightly. It really highlights all of her curves in a very natural way, which just screams ‘elegance and beauty.’

  In her hair rests a single flower, a violet. The purple matches nicely with her dress.

  However, this beauty is sharply contrasted by her face, which has a very mean looking scowl on it. Almost like she wants to murder every single person in this room, just so she can get the heck out of this place. She also looks a bit sad, almost like she wishes there were other flowers to surround her – but this might just be my imagination.

  I make my way over to her. The moment I enter the deadzone, many people in the area start staring at me. Dozens of eyes watch every step I take towards her.

  I step up to her and offer my hand. “Violet, may I have this dance?” I say, smiling as best I can while my knees shake a little bit.

  She looks at me for several moments. It seems like she peers into my very soul in that instant. I don't know what she saw at that moment, but it must’ve been something decent.

  “Well, you did save my life. So perhaps just this once.” She smiles, just a bit. It's not much, but that single smile seems to be the only thing that I can focus on. She reaches out and places her hand on my own.

  Next Chapter: Dancing

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