You Looked Beautiful While Destroying Me

This will be another easy victory.

Cheers echo as I enter the arena. It’s a wide sand pit with curtains stretched to conceal some sort of construction behind them. Signs fly between jumping heads and I wave, grinning.

It’s a wonderful day to defend my title, with sun beaming through the trees all around. They are the perfect backlight to paint your silhouette, dark and villainous as you arrive. The bleachers quiet down so much that you can hear every step you take. Next to the deafening color of the crowd, you radiate doom. The only sign you’re one of us is the blinding sparkles that give away your almost invisible grey and blue wings.

While I can’t look away from you, you don’t turn to me a single time. I’m the only other person in the whole pit, but your eyes stay peeled on the curtains. Usually the contestants shake hands before the challenge is revealed. The rookie not approaching the master is a big sign of disrespect. But whatever. A horn blows to reveal the final challenge. The curtains lift and a maze towers over us.

I smile. Mazes are my signature challenge. I’ve won them twice before and I know every possible obstacle that can come my way. They change the layout and certain aspects each time, but the patterns stay the same.

It’s hard to decipher how you feel about it. I’m sure it’s not what you hoped for. To see the top of the hedge, you have to tilt your head all the way back. The only rule is that you aren’t allowed to fly. That’s your biggest physical strength.

Ever since the first challenge, I’ve wondered what you’re trying to prove. Your thing is supposed to be plants and books. I tried to best you back when we were in school, but you came out on top in every subject—except for physical training. All these years, you’ve let me have that. You haven’t even attended the tourneys. And suddenly you decide to join, breaking records even I haven’t come close to.

The referee stands at the ready, waiting for the commentators to give the go-ahead. I stretch my arms and shake my green wings, while you stand still with your hands clasped behind you. Interesting.

The horn sounds again and I bolt towards the entrance. We get there at the same time, but I manage to squeeze in first. My arms swing wildly as I close in on the first fork, choosing the right path. I hear your steps close behind me, tasting my win on the air.

I find the first obstacle right on time. My halt is so intense that I brace for the impact of your body, but nothing comes. I turn. You’re no longer there.

A white and red mushroom stares down at me, mirroring my every move, as I press into the foliage to try to see where you went. You’re nowhere to be found. I was so sure you were behind me.

The mushroom takes the same steps back as me. This is the path-blocker. I reach into the pouch on my belt and swirl the sparkle dust—a recipe you made a presentation on in magic class. I was amazed. So I stole it.

A handful of the glitter leaves my grip and coats the stem of the mushroom. As they drill into the meat, it lets out a poofing shriek, breaking at the point of attack. I hop over it and continue on.

No matter the path, the maze will present each contestant with three obstacles. I wonder what your first is. Maybe you haven’t even found it yet.

Confidence showers me as I sprint. This path is a lot more uneven than the previous. More so, the hedges are no longer trimmed flat, but wind and warp. I stumble and a thorn pricks me. Wincing at my swelling arm, I realise that it was a stingrose—an enchanted type of rose bush that injects sleeping-aid. It also happens to be the one poison I never managed to withstand in school.

Shit.

My vision starts to blur, the sounds of gravel pounding in my skull. The hedge catches my fall and I try with all my might to stay upright. I rip leaves off of a branch and shove them in my mouth. Forcing yourself to chew is a weird sensation, but the green pauses the symptoms becoming worse. I rub my eyes and swallow.

Odd. I’ve never encountered a stingrose in a challenge before.