The Crown and The Rose
Chapter 38: The Second Day (Part Three)

Chapter 38: The Second Day (Part Three)

The Crown

The world revolves around me, a searing white-hot pain shoots through every muscle and joint in my body and my lungs expand and shrink in an unhygienic length as I gasp for air, my airpipe burning. I blink open my scorching eyes, the dense smell of lungs burning incinerated wood and soil grazes my nose.

Everything starts to come back to me like a flying dagger, interpreting my body and soul with guilt, rage, and helplessness. And my eyes begin to dart around to seek out my companions. I have never prayed so hard to the Gods, but now I do. I am praying that they both are alright. They don’t have to be unscathed, but please live.

I sit up, ignoring the throbbing pain in every part of my body, every articulation of my body screams at me because of the pain.

"Lush!" Erick calls out from the corner of my eyes, his voice dripping with worry and wary and I let go of a relieved breath.

My head snaps in his direction, "Erick?! Are you alive?" I suck in a harp breath as my eyes fall over unconscious Edward, and my heart sinks to the pit of my stomach. I hurriedly crawl to them, as my legs refuse to work for me, "E-Edward?! What happened to him?" My voice is hoarse because of the lack of wetness in my throat, anxiety and fear have my throat on a chokehold.

Erick is smeared in the dirt. There are a few cuts across his face and body. But they are not deep. He will live. Meanwhile, Edward is looking the most unscathed. He doesn’t even have a cut anywhere, a bruise is at best though he is covered in dirt as well.

Erick gives me a wearing smile, "He is just a little exhausted. He saved us after all."

"What are you talking about...?" I sigh, there is something in my throat and I can’t push it down no matter what I do.

"When the explosion blew us away—" Erick starts with a heavy sigh, "you were standing at a distance from us, so Erick couldn’t shelter you from it. He called forth some thick roots from under the ground and made a protective shield around us. After Seraphina left, we looked for you and as you took the blow from point blank, you were in a very crucial condition. In other words... you were dying. Edward saved you with his everything and now it seems like he has passed out due to exerting himself more than he should have." Erick finishes explaining and I heave another sigh.

"Thanks Gods..." I rasp as I feel the boulder on my chest has been lifted.

After I make sure that Edward is okay, my head snaps in the other directions to scan my surroundings.

This side of the forest has been completely destroyed. There is no sign of the greenery that was decorating the spot previously, just black smoke and still some burning trees. The sun is descending to the horizon, casting a soft glow over the space, which contradicts our situation.

"How much time do we have left before the trial ends?" Every muscle in my face is contoured with seriousness. I am definitely not letting any of us die here because of my stupidity.

"An hour to be precise." Erick stutters a little at my abrupt question but quickly picks himself up and answers me, "But Lush, I don’t think we will be able to pass the trial. We don’t have a treasure chest and time is also almost up. There is no chance we will make it."

I ignore Erick’s reasoning and climb back to my feet, which are at odds with my willpower. Fuck it. Even if they don’t want to work, I will fucking make them work. They have no choice. "Can you carry Edward, Erick?"

"I am fine. Guess I can." Erick gets on his feet and hefts Edward over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. If we weren’t in this kind of situation then for sure, I’d have laughed. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere, we can steal." My jaw clenches.

Erick opens his mouth to say something but snaps them shut as he sees the determination lining my face.

***

The Time is up.

The field where our camps are situated is bustling with students who passed the trial. And among them, is standing tall a red-clothed supremacy. His gaze is cold yet focused, and the slight snarl forming his perfect lips is screaming that he is not in a very good mood. Another man is standing beside him. It is hard not to notice that the man is worried sick.

"M-My Lord..." Phillip gulps, "Do you think they... they couldn’t pass the trial?"

Vermilion’s eyes narrow, "This is none of my concern. If they didn’t pass then they are no use to me."

"I eliminated for you, brother." A snarky voice echoes through the field as she steps out of the crowd, her red eyes differentiating her from everyone in the field, "They were naive enough to fall into my trap."

"Seraphina," Vermilion’s eyes are a fraction more cold, so I think... Vermilion is easy on me with his cold glares.

Phillip’s blood is drained from his face—if there was any in the first place— his eyes widen, "W-What did you do with them?!"

"I just blew them away." Seraphina smirks, making Philip’s expression switch from worry to anger, veins bulging on his pale forehead.

"How dare you?!" Phillip roars, not giving a damn now that they have quite a lot audience.

"I dare to do many things, Phillip." Seraphina returns, "You just underestimate me."

"Phillip, calm down," Vermilion says, there is no hint of emotion in his ice-like tone.

"Unfortunately," I don’t bother to hide my snarky tone as Erick and I—Edward dangling from his shoulder limply— cross the crowd and stand before them, "we survived. The explosion wasn’t strong enough to kill us, Seraphina." I smile.

I can clearly see the shock on her face, which makes my smile wider.

I have won.