Been sick sorry. 😢

After the fight, Keelan and Brindon were taken to the infirmary for their health check and medical attention. Some of the other members of the Circle were left behind to manage the crowd and clean up the mess for the next opening happening tomorrow. Aneeka was frustrated to no end so she had Rowe and three others accompany her–those three poor beings being Elfre and the twins. With the five of them gone, not to mention Raziel said something about taking his much-needed rest after a stressing day, only Corvan, Charles, Tamara, and Valeriana were left to visit the two to see how they were doing.

Brindon and Keelan weren't in that bad of a shape. At least, that was how it seemed to them. The twelfth was still fast asleep and Keelan had been helping himself with a big plate of roasted chicken and baked potatoes when the five came. The plates sat on a supported bed tray resembling a small table which was positioned on Keelan's lap.

They were both covered in bandages. Right from Keelan's right shoulder and down to his arm had been nothing but white. Brindon was on the bed beside his, laying ever still on his stomach with bandages around his waist up to his chest.

Surprisingly, they weren't the only visitors.

Lord Eres was in the room before they came, which made them feel somewhat awkward greeting the boy. Even so, the atmosphere around Keelan had been pleasant as he continued fussing over his food. His brother was quiet, though. His expression was kept strict and firm, his back straight and his lips tight.

Tamara, on the other hand, did not know how to read the situation. She went straight in without any tact, causing her companions to sigh over her stupidity.

"How's it going!" Her tone sounded casual and overwhelmingly cheerful that their eyes turned to her as she marched forward dauntlessly and stopped beside the bed Keelan occupied. "You opened the tournament quite good! Great show with the fight!"

"Tamara!" Keelan waved. "Thank you! I do wish Brindon was awake, though."

"Yeah, well, after how many times he was thrown around, I do think he needs this much sleep." The redhead jerked her thumb over her shoulder as she motioned to the sleeping person behind her.

Keelan laughed guiltily. "That's understandable since I broke his back . . ."

She then turned to the boy's older brother with a confident smile. He had been eyeing her with an unfathomable look. "And look who we have here! How are you doing, Eres?"

His lips turned up slightly. "I am doing fine so far."

The other three sauntered casually behind her, their expressions unreadable. Valeriana was a bit more nervous than anybody else she actually slowed down to fall behind the others. She hoped they wouldn't notice her discomfort having to be in the presence of someone like the continental heir of Denovegasia. Although she was familiar with similar people like Charles, Rowe, and Corvan, there was something about meeting new people that commanded respect which made her feel uncomfortable.

"You are graduating this year, correct?" Eres's small talk with Tamara somehow made Valeriana's impression of him as the Twelve made him look lessen a bit.

"That's right." The third-ranker answered.

So she was actually acquainted with this person already? That was somewhat reasonable since he was a former member of the Twelve. Tamara had stayed in the circle longer than anybody else, so it was no doubt she knew him.

"I see you've managed to maintain a high position." He continued. "This is no time to dawdle, anyhow. It's still long before the graduation."

"I plan to stick by or die." She answered him firmly, her blue eyes narrowing along with the gap of her brows as she spoke. "I will not be defeated. If my position will change, it will be a higher rank."

"That is quite audacious of you, Tamara." Charles's statement had been joking, but there was a hidden venom in his tone.

Now this was what scared the poor, formerly human girl. The Twelve made it not look like there was a competition to those who would see them from outside, but they all had a certain rivalry and they were innately competitive.

Valeriana hated competitions ever since she was young. She detested them. She might be labeled a wimp for it, but she wanted nothing to do with 'rivalries'. As strange as it was going to sound, on the other hand, she was fighting with all her might not to lose or fall back. Even then, she was already struggling to keep up.

Tamara was the oldest by far, standing in her eighth year. Rowe came next in his seventh year. Afterwards, there was Charles in his sixth, and Raziel in his fifth. Elfre and Aneeka were in their fourth year. Keelan was in his third. Corvan was in second year. Valeriana, Brindon, and the twins were in their first.

There was at least one representative in all years representing the best in each generation. If it would be based on rank and year alone, it should be Valeriana who'd be labeled the best in her year–which was mildly ironic.

Even so, it was not guaranteed the first years would survive their way up. As a member of the Twelve, challenges were very common and no doubt one or two would shake them and possibly throw them off. The same thing happened with Courtney, and she was yet to take her position back from Valeriana.

The cycle of the positions of the Celestial Twelve depended on the duels and graduations. If a ranker was to graduate, he or she would choose a successor. They were given the privilege to grant it to anyone they please. Their choice overruled any ordinance, which gave them the ability to grant it to even those in the preparatory level. Heck, they could even choose to grant it to someone who was not attending the academy. But then, the person would have to start attending before the week ended or else he or she would be forfeiting the position.

"It has been a while since I came to the academy and you people never change." Eres was neither disappointed nor in disbelief, but the way he said things made it obvious he was not shocked.

Valeriana hid behind Corvan's back as Eres's eyes met the first-ranker's. Forest-green eyes on emerald ones.

"And it seems the first-ranking position Rowe inherited now belongs to someone else."

Rowe inherited? That basically meant Rowe was the first-ranker. Valeriana practically jumped at the revelation.

"I see you were serious about doing things without depending on other people. You are quite an unbelievable person, Lord Corvan."

"It's all in the past. No use bringing it up." Tamara waved her hand dismissively. "We've went through numerous times challenging each other like this when we felt like it that it's not really new if we go down a rank or two."

"I don't like it too much, though . . ." Keelan trailed off.

"Please quit being such a baby." The third-ranker told him. "We've talked about this before with you lower years that it shouldn't be strange to find us fighting one another. You've felt it, right? In your fight with Brindon, you were having fun."

"It's just like in the wild." Charles pointed out. "The weak is hunted and the stronger one prevails."

"Rowe was the first-ranker?!" Valeriana squeaked, unable to hold back her disbelief. She gazed at Corvan with the widest eyes and her jaw on the ground.

Without realizing she had spoken up too loudly, it was too late to regret the consequences of her carelessness. Eres's attention was drawn to her immediately that his daunting eyes made her tense up.

"And who is this?"

"Oh, by the gods! Why are you hiding behind Corvan?" Tamara inquired, eyeing her with ridicule.

She laughed humorlessly, hesitantly stepping forward. "Haha! Hi!"

"Valeriana!" Keelan waved. "I didn't see you!"

That put her at ease.

The eleventh-ranker waved towards the current fifth and introduced her. "This is Valeriana, she currently occupies the fifth position among the Twelve."

"I heard the fifth was going against the first on the final day." Eres casually stated, causing the whole atmosphere to turn awkward. "So it's you who shall be fighting the Arlandian lord?" He was obviously disinterested. "Good luck with that, then. I will see if I have the time again to drop by. If you all must excuse me, I have to leave. It was nice talking to you all."

He casually headed for the door, leaving them in silence. Though he did say it was 'nice talking', he didn't sound like he meant it at all. The detached demeanor made him the exact opposite of his younger brother.

And once again with the pitying. Valeriana got that she didn't look too promising when compared with Corvan, but these people, for just once! Couldn't they just please stop with that bad habit of looking down on her?

Maybe she was just a bit too insecure and paranoid, but the cold manner of treatment she was getting made her feel like . . . trash.

"Sorry, Valeriana." Keelan grinned up at the girl with apology, showing a piece of potato stuck between his teeth.

Valeriana found herself smiling at that. "You got something on your teeth."

Hearing that, he grabbed the napkin sitting on his lap and removed it. "Sorry. My brother is just like that often. He has a hard time trying to express himself and his thoughts to other people well. They say he comes off as cold-shouldered and detached, but he really is a good person and he's the type to keep his word." He reassured.

"If you say it like that, who am I to say otherwise?" Valeriana breathed problematically.

"Yeah, that guy's been always like that. He just needs a little bit of push . . ." Tamara muttered. "Anyhow! I was thinking if we could do some reminiscing while these two recover, since Valeriana here is soooo clueless."

"You said it." Corvan quipped.

"Yeah? So grab your chairs!"

Valeriana took the nearest chair from one side of the room to sit down while Corvan and Charles said that they preferred to stand. Both the girls had the opposite idea, so they crashed on whatever was available after dragging it to Keelan's bedside.

"I really do not prefer any of these sessions since I detest having the past brought up for nonsense purposes."

"I actually think it'll be fun. I wouldn't want to do it otherwise, if not." Tamara countered, sticking her tongue out at Charles. "Especially if I tell you people about the first time Keelan came to the academy."

"Awww! Please not that one!"

Tamara started cackling. "Apparently, he could not hold back on letting himself go despite the training he's going through back in his continent that they sent him to the academy to discipline him."

Charles huffed out a smirk. "I do remember Keelan being a bit . . . round."

The eleventh-ranker was a bit irritated and frustrated just then it was actually quite funny. "You guys are so despicable."

"Are we?" Tamara teased.

"Yes! What if I bring up the time when you thought it was a good idea to cook?!"

"You don't dare." Now it had been her turn to be bullied.

Tamara really deserved it for being such a bully herself.

Charles sighed. "Well, here goes that somebody acting all high and mighty about preparing a feast."

"Stop it, Charles."

"Turns out she didn't know the first thing about ovens."

Valeriana snickered as the current third turned as red as her hair.

"And ran out of the kitchen with her rear on fire."

"Haha!" Keelan guffawed.

"How the–haha–heck did that happen?" The fifth-ranker breathed out between laughs.

"It's a mystery." The fourth answered.

"I bet that was priceless."

"Shut it, you people." The redhead grabbed the small pillow innocently sitting on the foot of Keelan's bed and threw it at Charles before giving the poor eleventh a slap on his good arm. She did so harshly that her hair bounced and the boy ended up wincing.

"Owow! How about that time when you tried to play a prank on Charles?"

Charles's eyes widened at this. "That incident is best left alone."

"When he was sitting and you tried to poke his–" Keelan coughed. "–with a stick."

"The look on his face was priceless! I literally had a stick shoved up his–"

"Don't dare finish that sentence, Tamara." The fourth-ranker glared at her. "If you need a topic of amusement, do discuss instead about how Corvan–"

"This is such a nonsense matter! Why do you concern yourself with such humiliating moments that do not need bringing up?!" Corvan roared, his face flaming up as everyone else was openly expressing their amusement.

"Funny." Said a solemn voice.

They all looked towards the source of the statement and found Brindon gazing at them with his ever glassy eyes. It was quite ridiculous since he was lying on his stomach.

"Back hurts." He said afterwards.

They all cracked up laughing.

"I really need to take a photo!" Valeriana stomped her feet, sulking at the absence of cameras or her phone. "We need a selfie!"

"A sel–" Keelan blankly stared at her.

"–fie?" Charles finished.

Oh, the horror.

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