Scarlet - Game Time

"You trick me!" I yelled. "This is not even a marble game."

Those little brats.

The young fairy frowned. His wings unfolded behind him. "Yes, it is. This is the marble game we know. Do they play it another way where you are from?"

I stared into the innocent eyes with a sigh. These kids were good. Too good.

"How am I even supposed to get the marbles out of the ring?" I questioned, accepting my fate.

We were situated several feet away from the centered ring. My three other marbles sat beside me. This was no ordinary marble game. I thought we were going to flick a few marbles on the ground, but this, this was a whole other level of something. That game I had mastered, this one was foreign to me. One of our drudges at my childhood home had a small child, who loved to play marbles. I used to join him. It taught me many things. That was the game I was prepared for.

"Isn't it obvious?" the young vampire breathed out in annoyance. "You have three other marbles. You use them to hit the marbles out of the ring. While you are doing that, we will try to stop you. We'll also try to hit yours out of the ring and you should stop us. The statues will come alive and block our moves when our marbles get too near. You have to be able to evade them."

Sounded like a tragedy waiting to happen. Not a child's game. Who even made this up?

I observed the circular field. "So, it's all you four boys against me?"

Depending on their skills, the game would be harder to play than they made it sound. This wasn't the first time the boy played this game. It was obvious from the way confidence radiated from their stance. I was at a disadvantage here.

The werewolf crossed his arms across his chest. "You are an adult. What did you expect? It wouldn't have been fair to be one on one. We are each twelve—"

"I'll be thirteen next month," the fairy beamed.

"Whatever shorty," the vampire teased. "We all know you're a month older."

The fairy folded his fist in front of his face. "Call me that again and I'll kick your ass."

The vampire laughed.

That course of action angered the fairy. "You think you're so tough, Ethan. We all know how much of a coward you are."

The werewolf growled. "Shut up, you two! I'm talking."

Both boys glared at each other but kept silent.

"Now," the wolf stripped off his shirt. "As I was saying before I was interrupted, us four together would count up to forty-eight. Judging by what Brucie said earlier, you're more than five centuries old. That's a lot more than our forty-eight."

I narrowed my eyes at the little rascal.

I should have known they would level me up. The fairy had many hidden powers. One of those was the ability to read one's aura. An individual's aura showed many things: their estimated age, their personality—whether they were good or evil. It helped them to detect danger before it got to them. By the time I got up to the boys in the alley, Brucie, the fairy, had given me a full assessment. I guess to him I was a nice person, and that was why he spoke to me in a friendly manner.

I rested my hands on my hips. "Okay, then, how am I supposed to move such big boulders?"

Now it was the warlock's turn to join the conversation. "You're a witch, aren't you? This should be easier for you than any of us. You use your powers. I know we will. "

There was no way we all could use our powers in this game without getting hurt. Still, I had no other choice.

I sighed. "Fine."

"Good," the warlock gleamed. "Let's begin."

"Wait, guys," the werewolf got the limelight, "I haven't changed yet. You know I can't get my clothes torn. Mom will know I was playing. I'm not getting grounded for this."

The vampire, Ethan raked his fingers through his hair. "We've wasted plenty of time. Why haven't you changed?"

The wolf glanced at me. A soft shade of red settled on his cheeks. All the other boys started to laugh. His face got redder with each laughter. He hadn't changed because of me. How very cute.

I turned my back to give him privacy.

"Jason, you're such a wuss," the vampire, Ethan jeered. "She's an old woman. What would she want with you?"

"Oh, shut up, Ethan," the wolf, Jason shouted. "I bet you couldn't even take off your shirt with her around. It's because you're a coward and that's why we're stuck in this mess."

"Whatever," Ethan tsked as if almost bored. "Just hurry up already. I still have things to do before Paps gets home. I won't get punished because you brats don't even know how to talk to someone properly."

The fairy, Brucie snorted. "What Ethan, you think you know how to? Then why didn't you do it? Why talk us into a game just so the loser could?"

No answer.

So, they wanted to talk to someone. Okay, that didn't seem too bad. I could do that if I lose the game. But, it would depend on who they wanted to talk to. If they were all scared to do it and had to play a game for courage, then it had to be someone scary. Oh, I hoped that was far from the truth. I would hate to make enemies in a foreign place like this.

By the time my thoughts were analyzed, Jason, the young wolf had transformed into his true form. His clothes hung on the branches of a small tree near the edge of the cliff. The beast was so much bigger than I expected for a child. About five feet tall with a strong body built. His black fur shimmered to a dark blue color. I couldn't tell if his natural fur color was dark blue or if it appeared that way because it shone.

"Okay," the warlock announced with his hand in the air and his eyes glowing, "let the games begin." He brought that hand down and slapped the ground.

A wave of energy surged across the field. Everything came to life. The boys got on alert. They were all changed into different clothes. They all wore armors. Even the wolf.

The warlock did all this with one move. Such fascinating powers. This twelve-year-old was more powerful than some in the magical community back in the human world.

Since they had on armors, I suspected it was wise to do the same. There must be a reason for them to do it. A vision in my head and a snap of fingers triggered the change. Black was never a color I adored, but in this case, a light color wouldn't do.

"Okay," Brucie, the fairy, clapped. "Let's do this."

By the ending of his cheer, the boys were off. Ethan kicked the boulder. It went flying into the air. Jason leaped after it into the air. One swing of its claw and the boulder headed down to the ground. The warlock watched with a smirk as the boulder came right to him.

My heart skipped a beat. If it fell on him, there was no escaping without an injury.

But, the boys were stronger than I gave him credit for. With a raise of his palm, the boulder came to a halt in his hand middle. It spun in place as the child walked over the statues. Two of them towered over him, but he showed no fear. Then, Brucie the fairy came out of nowhere. He crouched on the ground beside his friend. His eyes glowed and his palm rested flat on the grass. Vines slithered up the legs and bodies of the statues. They grew thick and tightened on the creatures. The warlock used the distraction to throw the marble. Ethan ran up to them and kicked the marble doubling the speed.

The boulder managed to smack one of my marbles out of the ring, shifting the other two. One of the statues managed to block the escape of one of my marbles.

I stood frozen in awe.

These kids were good. This didn't seem like a game but something someone made up for training.

"Hey, lady?" the young warlock called out. "Are you going to stand there all day? We now have a point. One of your marbles is out of the ring. We are two steps closer to winning. Aren't you going to defend the rest of your marbles?"

The four boys stood, awaiting my response.

Right. This was what I came here to do. To win. Losing was not an option.

The marble that was knocked out of the ring disappeared. A great strategy to keep the space clear and free.

I blew out a long breath. Okay, this was it. Let the games commence.