Fighting Your Way Forward

After about twenty minutes, the room was mostly empty, and Lena was comfortably nestled against a wall. She had her knees tucked in and was watching the group thin further, except for girls like her who had already given up. All but one of the better students had picked a door. Kyoka was the one who stayed, talking to other girls, trying to lift the spirits Amelia had torn down.

​“She’s really cool, isn’t she?” A small voice said to Lena’s right.

​She turned her head and found another girl sitting there, white hair in a bob, some covering her left eye. Her right one was blue and bright as she watched Kyoka move.

Lena nodded.

​“She doesn’t seem like the type to give up. I’m sure she wants us all to keep trying.”

​“Why do you think she’s like that?” The girl asked.

​“Maybe that’s what being an alumnus daughter is like? Maybe that’s just the type of person she is?” Lena watched as Kyoka was shooed away.

​“I wonder what that’s like…” The girl murmured, and truthfully, Lena wondered too.

​She kind of hated that she didn’t stand up to Amelia. That girl had done so much damage, and maybe she could have stopped her sooner. Did it help them? She guessed so. A lot of these girls wouldn’t be throwing their lives away, but still, she wished she had been braver. She wished she were being braver now. She wished…

​“Are you two giving up too?” A voice broke her chain of thought. It was Kyoka, standing over her, finally ready to take her shot.

​“You heard what Amelia said,” Lena replied.

“Yeah, and she’s sort of right, but she’s wrong too.”

​Lena laughed. “How so?”

​Kyoka gave her a grin. “Because she only focused on Astra.” She mimed nocking an arrow. “If you give me a bow I can shoot a target and do a lot of damage.” She manifested a bow then, pale light unfurling in her hands. “I can shoot Astra arrows too, but if I get too tired to control it, I could still hunt with a normal bow. Why is that?” She smiled.

​“Because you know how to shoot a bow?” Lena offered.

​“Exactly!” Kyoka beamed.

​Lena laughed again. “Is this your pep talk?”

​Kyoka nodded. “It is, because I’m right. And you know I’m right because you’ve been training too. What’s your best weapon?”

​“I’m pretty good with daggers,” Lena answered.

​“And yours?” Kyoka turned to the new girl.

​“I’m better at range… I was going to learn to use magic.”

​“But what’s your weapon?”

“Chakrams.”

​“See! You two know how to use weapons, and you know what else, you know how to fight!” She crossed her arms. “I mean, we all had martial arts class, gymnastics, marksmanship. If Astra was the most important thing, why would we have learned all of that?”

​Lena didn’t have an answer.

​“Because it’s important! It lets us fight, even when we’re not the best!”

​Slowly, she nodded. “So we should still try?”

​“If you think you should. Like I said, Amelia is sort of right, the trial is dangerous, but there’s a reason you didn’t quit the school before this point, right?”

​Lena clenched her fist as her parents came back to her. “Right.”

​“Then don’t give up yet. Keep fighting till you can’t.”

​“I don’t know,” the white-haired girl said. “It’s different to put your life on the line.”

​Kyoka crouched in front of her. “It’s scary when it’s like this, but we’re putting our lives on the line staying in this room. No matter what we do, nothing will be normal.”

​Lena took a look around the room. Kyoka’s words were stirring her, and it seemed she wasn’t the only one. People were making teams and heading towards the doors. Only a few still lingered, some whimpering against the wall, but enough were going on that she found herself standing up.

​“I’m Lena,” she said, turning to Kyoka. “Please come with me and help me with the trial.”

​Kyoka grinned and stood up too. “I’m Kyoka, and sure, Lena. Let’s do this together.” She offered a hand to the white-haired girl. “Will you join us too?”

​She took Kyoka’s hand, stood, and dusted her skirt off. “I’m Mira.”

​Kyoka shook her hand excitedly, then turned and shook Lena's.

​“All right, my mission is to get you two through the trial now. It won't be easy but I promise we'll make it.” She turned back to the rest of the room next. “Anybody else want to come with us?”

​Only stragglers remained, the girls who heard her motivational speech but couldn't convince themselves to risk their lives. Lena wished they were all younger girls, but no, some of the twelve-year-olds had gone ahead too. She was going to hope for the best for them when a question came to mind.

​“If the gate unlocks when we finish the trial, is there a way to save the other girls taking it?”

​Kyoka turned to her, eyes widened. “I… hadn't thought of that but maybe.” She tapped the side of her head. “I bet we'll find an answer if we follow our senses.”

​Lena nodded firmly, then walked up to the three doors. Most of the girls had followed Amelia, taking the one on the right. Deciding she'd tread her own path, Lena headed to the left and took the handle in hand. She looked over her shoulder, just to make sure the other two were with her, and smiled when she saw them standing ready.

​“We got this, right?” She asked.

​“We'll do our best,” Mira answered.

​“That's the spirit!” Kyoka pumped a fist.

​Lena pulled the door open at last, stepping into whatever came at her next…