My face sagged as I carried a balloon along with some other bags from the fair that had come into Eidryn apparently not too long ago.
I had been following Mirelle for quite some time now, as she had been helping herself to most of the attractions it had brought in.
She pinched my sleeve and pointed at another fair game.
"Oooh! Can we go do that one next?" Mirelle asked.
"Sigh, fine, but as lo— Wait, no! We're supposed to be on a stakeout, not going around the city having fun!" I exclaimed.
This little exchange had only brought back the cruel memory that had been recently engraved into my brain.
My face went a beet-apple red as a boggled look overwhelmed it.
She wanted me?!
My heart skipped multiple times as if playing jump rope inside my chest.
"Yes, it seems you haven't done any volunteer work since you arrived, yes?"
"Huh?"
"Usually a student does an hour or two of community service or volunteer work for the school to achieve certain credits toward their grade. I was wondering if you'd like to volunteer to help out the student council."
A breeze so cold washed over me as ice and snow began to cover my body.
My face lost all its color, and my eyes, which once sparkled, dimmed.
I took a deep sigh as I once again stared back up at Mirelle, who looked at me confusingly due to my refusal.
"Why not? You already dressed up for the occasion."
My face grew more grim as another breeze blew past my dead-struck expression.
"Anyways, all she told us to do was make sure students weren't causing trouble here. She didn't say anything about participating ourselves. Come on! Let's have some fun!"
In an instant, Mirelle took my hand and began to drag me around the fairgrounds.
With the waiting we had been doing, the sun had already begun to set, causing Mirelle and me, reluctantly, to increase our pace.
Most of the attractions were quite similar to my hometown when we held our own fairs, since the real ones never reached out far enough.
Although my painstaking overreaction had caused me some heartache, I would be lying to myself if I said I didn't have any fun.
There was a target practice attraction where you had to shoot three targets with three arrows. Although not far away, I already knew from experience that the bow was tampered with and watched with a devilish grin as Mirelle handed the man a copper coin and took her chance.
Drawing back the arrow, it fired forth like a cannon, however it took a hard right into the wooden board that guarded the tent from arrow damage.
She looked at the bow, then back at me.
I wondered if she had caught on to the trick, but she once again entertained me as she took her second arrow and drew it back again.
This time her expression was serious, which was a face I never thought I'd see her make within a lifetime or two.
As she inhaled the surrounding air, a visible exhale escaped her lips as the arrow flung forth.
It was a magnificent sight, truly—however, her pouting face staring at me as the arrow shot to the ground was an even better one.
"Pft. Let me try."
With a look of confusion, Mirelle stepped to the side as I gripped the bow.
Chambering the arrow, I pulled back on the string and lined up my shot nearly perfectly.
As my eyes locked on, I released the arrow and watched as I made history.
Mirelle and I stood to the side of the venue as a couple took their turns.
"Why did you make it seem like you were gonna hit it?!" Mirelle exclaimed.
I shrugged my shoulders, wearing a content face as if I had actually hit the target.
"I never said I was gonna hit it. I just said let me try."
I slicked back my hair once again with my hands as I struck a pose and looked at Mirelle, who was clearly trying her hardest to hold in a laugh as her face turned red.
"Pfwahaha! What the hell? You look so stupid!"
She doubled over, one hand clutching her stomach while the other tried—and failed—to cover her large grin.
A radiant warmth lingered on her face, turning the moment into something unexpectedly captivating.
Her eyes squeezed shut as laughter and tears spilled out of her, warm and unrestrained, her cheeks faintly tinted red.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Anyways, do you want to try out that food stand?" I asked.
Finally catching herself, she wiped away a tear from her eye, still wearing that grin from before.
"Yeah! Let's go!"
She exclaimed, grabbing my hand as she led the way.
You would think a girl holding a guy's hand would make him feel a certain way, and you'd be right. However, the feelings I had just felt were extremely different.
The warmth in her hand, which was smaller than mine, didn't feel wrong.
It didn't feel like I was lying to myself.
I gripped her hand slightly tighter as she happily led the charge toward the food stand.
"I'm scared. I'm so scared right now."
"I don't want to die."
The pleas of a woman suddenly rang throughout my head.
I gritted my teeth and squeezed my eyes closed, holding the scar on my temple as it throbbed in pain.
The voice wasn't familiar and was low.
The momentary pauses within each sentence sent shivers down my spine as my vision grew blurry.
Stumbling forward, my legs gave out, sending my body down as my grip on Mirelle's hand loosened entirely.
As my vision faded in and out, I briefly heard Mirelle's worried words being thrown toward me.
Darkness.
When my vision finally returned, I was already being dragged halfway through the city on Mirelle's back.
Wanting to move, I attempted to squirm off, yet my limbs didn't respond.
As my head rested on her shoulder, I faintly caught a glimpse of her face.
She was calm, yet a hint of worry glinted in her eyes as she continued to carry my limp self.
"Sorry."
Those were the only words I could honestly think of.
I didn't have an explanation for my condition, and I had ruined her fun at the fair.
"You gave me a scare there. Are you feeling better?"
"I can't really feel my arms or legs right now."
"You probably caught something really bad and didn't notice until it was too late," Mirelle said. "That's usually what happens to me when I collapse."
"You're probably right."
I had been working pretty hard, not only physically but also with my studies, so my sleep had recently been at an all-time low.
Overworking myself, huh? I haven't done that in a while now.
After a few more minutes, I managed to regain feeling in my limbs and was promptly placed on a bench outside the school.
As we sat down, the night sky was illuminated by the beautiful moon and the stars trying to fill in the darkness.
"Did you have fun?" Mirelle asked.
"I would have had more fun if we had stuck to our job. But yeah, I did."
Staring at me for a solid moment, her eyes filled with curiosity, Mirelle jabbed my shoulder, which sent a small jolt of pain through my arm.
"You're pretty fun to talk to. I thought I'd be dying of boredom after Veyra said we'd be patrolling together."
"Well, thanks. You're tolerable."
"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" Mirelle asked, snickering.
"My bad," I said. "Well, my body feels better, so I'm gonna head back to my dorm now."
"Okay. Just be sure to get some rest before you pass out in the middle of the city again."
Chuckling, I flashed a faint smile before waving her off and entering my room.
Two days from now was the survival exam.
The thought of trying to defend myself from flesh-hungry beasts in the forest did, in fact, scare me, making me question if all my training for the past few weeks was enough to do the bare minimum everyone else could.
I stared at the calluses on my palms, gained from the intense training from both Mr. Seyor and Gale.
"Progress."