The Beginning or the End?

Dad, who are we?"

he smiled, "Man is not what he thinks he is, he is what he hides."

I was stunned, I was sure the look on my face conveyed my shock.

Johnson, my quiet and timid friend, just blasted me.

"I..."

"Hold on... I'm not done talking, you don't care that your stubbornness is also affecting us, we're scared you'd end up dying in a truckload of shit."

"But I'll die anyway if I participate in the summoning!" I shouted back.

"How do you know that, the fucking Quintessence requested you attended, it gave you a black rose, you're not yet eighteen, did you even stop to think that there might be a reason for it? Did you stop to think that maybe you got requested for a fucking purpose? No, all you thought about was not dying, well guess what? You're already slowly dying, how much longer before all these takes a toll on you? Hmm? What then?"

I had no answer, I could only stare as I ran everything through my head, Johnson was right, even the pamphlet said it, resistance was futile.

Kemi smiled, looking at Johnson like a proud mother which made Johnson blush, then she sighed out loudly, looking at me, already knowing I'd given up fighting. "I knew you'd come to your senses."

I opened my mouth to give a befitting reply, but it got stuck in my mouth as the quintessence appeared.

"You only need three things," The voice washed over me like a summer breeze, soothing. "Your bag, your chain and your dagger."

And then it disappeared. 

"Well then, I guess you don't need the weapons my dad got for you." Kemi chuckled.

"Did you guys see that? Not even a fucking sorry was uttered!"

Johnson and Kemi rolled their eyes.

A thought suddenly struck me. "Oh shit!"

"What?" They asked.

"I just realized, the psychopath's words might come true."

Kemi nodded in understanding, "No shit."

  "He said he'd watch me suffer." I told them, "that he'd watch me writhe in agony, watch me beg, and all while he was saying this his sadistic smile never left his face."

Kemi frowned. "How do you remember his smile when you don't remember what he looked like?"

I thought it was a rumor when people who'd met the prince said they didn't remember what he looked like, but now I knew it was the truth because I couldn't even remember the shape of his face.

"I don't know, but I do know he was smiling and it wasn't a pretty smile."

There's always a difference between being laughed at and being laughed with, so I knew when my school mates where laughing at me behind my back, when the professors scolded me, though I was smiling, but I was pretty sure from kemi's point of view, I was grimacing.

I rolled my eyes when professor Duckard, opted to talk.

"You're human."

"The last time I checked." I added, to which he glared at me.

"You need to be mindful of how you react to certain situations, while you might be 70% immune to elemental powers and heal disturbingly quickly for a human, you won't stand a chance against a monster if you don't use your brains, regardless of the fact that we want you to succeed in whatever the quintessence planned, we don't want you to die." It was like the whole room sobered up in agreement to what he said.

"You're one of the brightest student to ever step foot in this academy, you're smarter and more brave than some of your mates, but even then, you're still human, you're not a supernatural, you're fragile, so please don't jump into fire just to see if you'll get burned."

I cleared my throat. "Thank you professor Duckard, I'll keep what you said in mind."

"You have five more minutes." Said professor Cauline, his face blank, "make it last." He swallowed, I could not tell if he was trying to hide his emotions, and I was trying really hard to control mine, I choked up.

This could be the last time I'll see him, this could be the end for me.

I turned to Johnson and threw myself at him, he caught me, while I wrapped my legs and arms around him.

"I'm going to miss you if I die." I whispered for his ear only.

"I don't want you to miss me so don't die." He whispered back.

I released him and immediately Kemi jumped me, wrapping her arms around me and squeezing the life out of me.

"Come back to celebrate your birthday, if you die before then, I'll haunt down your soul and make you suffer through the five curses of Haltach."

I shuddered hard. "I wouldn't dare die." She released me and smiled.

"I know."

I stared at both of them for a moment. "Incase I die there, I want to die knowing Johnson was man enough to ask you out." Johnson blanched, Kemi gasped, whirling around to look at Johnson.

"Good luck." I called out as I moved closer to professor Cauline Incase Johnson decided to take revenge.

I squinted down at my dressing, I hoped I looked badass in it, not that I cared If I was, but it'd be cool, if I did. I was wearing a short black sleeveless shirt that stopped right below my belly button and black tight leather pants that brought out my soft curves and managed to make my short legs look a little bit taller, with black flat leather boots.

I sucked in a sharp breath as the last bell indicating the end of the hour and the beginning of the summoning rang.

With a last look at Kemi and Johnson, I put on my life bracelet, which for some reason always magically appeared in the hands of everyone participating in the summoning, it shows the amount of life energy or the amount of time left for a contestant.

I gasped at the sudden surge of light that enveloped me and with a flash I was transported.

I appeared in a..... well a desert, a vast desert with nothing in sight, I looked around me, finally calming down when I saw I wasn't the only one standing in a desert, they were hundreds of girls behind me and beside me.

"Welcome!" A voice boomed from above us making us all look up in fright.

My mouth opened in surprise when I saw rows and rows and rows of seats circled above us, full of elementals and humans waiting to watch the show, it was like a giant stadium with the fans sitting directly above us and staring down at us.

I didn't know there were going to be audience.