Annabelle’s Bastion

Aria wasn’t exhausted after her fight; her opponent, the vulgar man, only threw punches as if his only goal was to hurt her, not win. It felt like she fought a wild animal.

But as she told Annabelle, it was too easy. Of course, that wasn’t unexpected, but not to that degree. It didn’t bode well when the other Earthlings thought he put on a good display. If they were all like that… her time would be easier than she thought—disappointing.

She knew her teacher, and he told her before the academy started that the beginning weeks would be a joke. Nobody would beat her, who had trained specifically to make use of mana enhancements for physical arts at an early age.

Finding out her opponent shared a dorm was an odd twist of fate, but she couldn’t care less. If he tried anything, she’d kill him. If not, they’d go to class next Monday with a blank slate; she didn’t care for him.

At least, that’s what she would have done.

Knowing that she couldn’t just kill her enemies was an unpleasant feeling—the chains binding her actions would feast on that action. Yet she was tempted. Because Annabelle met her halfway down the forest path to their dorm. At first, she looked concerned, but that changed to impressed, and then she appeared frightened by the man following her.

She felt that glare, too—but those weren’t new. Aria wasn’t a possible target for the man, something he’d discover if he attempted to press his issue. However, Annabelle was. She foresaw a future where the man, unable to get to her, targeted those close by.

If it wasn’t for the attachment she felt for the odd girl, she’d ignore it.

Aria lightly sighed.

When she was sent to Earth as a temporary aid to Alisha, the last thing she expected was to be used as an escort for a so-called high-priority individual.

But Bastion finally opened the doors to their academy, a plan apparently in the works since before she was born. Every student was contacted individually and given a simple choice. However, Annabelle Frost was different. She received such high priority that Alisha herself went to recruit her a year before the grand opening.

Aria was a bit taken aback when she saw the girl for the first time.

A girl almost as short as the Dwarfs, with skin like a porcelain doll and overly polite mannerisms—apologizing when someone else bumped into her was absurd. Partnered with her pleasant, graceful voice, Aria would believe it if they told her that Annabelle Frost was something akin to a princess in a feudalistic world.

The girl carried herself with a subconscious grace in the way she walked, sat, drank, and spoke. Aria’s opinion was solidified by watching the girl eat. Elbows below the table, slow, quiet bites, and even how she organized her utensils.  

It was the kind of decorum that made Aria consciously watch how she behaved at the table. The way her mother tried getting her to behave.

“What?” Annabelle’s head tilted slightly. “Is there something on my face?”

Aria had been staring—that was embarrassing. Sometimes, she was grateful that it never showed on her face.

“I’m curious about your mana,” she said. It wasn’t technically a lie; she was greatly interested in the special attention given to the girl.

“Hmm~.” Annabelle took another bite. The girl would never speak with food in her mouth, but the image was ruined by the large slab of steak on her plate.

Aria’s attention to those details was owed to her mother, who called herself a queen and behaved similarly, though much more mature. In Annabelle, it was cute.

It made Aria feel nostalgic.

Annabelle swallowed and placed her utensils on the napkin. She waited a few seconds, drank some water, then nodded. “I want to know more about my mana, too, but I don’t want to hurt someone again to figure it out like today.”

There was an issue: Annabelle Frost was naïve, something Aria felt might be the case yesterday.

Could it be fixed with time? Aria wasn’t sure, but the girl’s aversion to harming others would bite her eventually.

“The difference between the powerful and the weak is their willingness to hurt someone,” Aria explained.

“That isn’t my issue.” Annabelle didn’t look angry at her for saying it, but she looked slightly dejected. “I never said I wasn’t willing.” She sighed and shook her head. “It’s just... I felt every bit of the damage I caused to Jared today: when my leg hit his knee, when his barrier shattered, and when his bone cracked. We’re human, Aria; pain like that is far beyond what most of us at this academy have ever experienced. And for me to be the one to inflict it...” She shook her head again.

Aria knew that. Earth was a place where people like Annabelle could go their whole lives living in ignorant peace. Her earlier opponent was the same way. The absolute horror on his face as he clutched his then-broken arm spoke volumes of the life he lived.

It seemed she misunderstood Anna’s hesitancy; she just wasn’t used to inflicting pain on others. Still, Aria couldn’t relate to that, so she wasn’t sure what to say that wasn’t just a denial.

Such a problem would probably only be solved with time and experience.

“It’s not that I’m entirely against being okay with it, but I guess...” She dipped her head and stared at her plate. “I guess it’s more like, ‘Wow, I’m actually gonna get used to hurting people.’ You know? Breaking a leg will be the least of the possible injuries I will cause.”

Again, Aria didn’t know what to say. Such troubles were incomprehensible to her; one must always be willing to hurt or kill if the need arises. That is normal, and that is how things should be.

Another facet of Annabelle’s character. It was almost sad to imagine it breaking.

“I… understand why you feel that,” Aria said. She couldn’t relate, but she understood. “However, there are just as many human enemies as there are beasts. Once you leave, you will frequently be fighting them, and it will only end with one of you dying. Breaking a bone will be the least of your worries.”

Annabelle lifted her head briefly, a trace of shock that quickly gave away to resignation as she shook her head. “An obvious conclusion, even without you saying it. Yet, even though I expected it, it still pains me to imagine.”

“As long as you understand the necessity, then it will come with time,” Aria explained, then continued eating.

It seemed like a nonissue, and it was just a matter of Annabelle coming to terms with it. Something that wasn’t a question of if but when.

“Yeah, yeah,” Annabelle muttered. Then she followed suit, continuing to gracefully eat her steak.

Soon after, the cafeteria began to flood with people, each long table filling to the point where they’d eventually be shoulder-to-shoulder with other students. She had heard a teacher say they weren’t fully prepared for the amount of students they brought in—clearly.

They were in the process of expanding the building, but that would take a while. Regardless, Aria didn’t foresee herself coming back here.

It was already getting too loud and crowded.

Annabelle leaned forward. “Let’s go outside; it’s getting way too loud and cramped in here.”

“Agreed.”

The cafeteria was nestled in a forest, and there were plenty of areas they could go to avoid being bothered. Aria preferred the caves near the island ledges or high into the trees.

Both cleaned up their trays and left the building. Aria ensured they were put in the proper place, lest the person she expected to be in charge of the supplies was around.

Once the doors shut behind them, it instantly became calmer. Aria wanted to return to the dorms, but it seemed Annabelle had other ideas.

“I wanna see the ocean!” Annabelle said excitedly as she took the lead.

She led them to a place Aria would describe as beautiful had she not been raised on the island. A cliff overlooking the endless ocean, with the only sounds being the pleasant ones of wind and birds.

However, there were other people. A group of five—two women and three men—sat in a horizontal line along the cliff edge.

Aria stopped with Annabelle.

However, contrary to what she expected, Annabelle just had a smile. She turned to Aria and said, “This is perfect.”

“Why?”

“Silly girl.” Annabelle’s smile widened. “Friends are the most important part of life in a school.”

How childish.

“Knowledge and strength are what’s important.”

“Then you agree with me! After all, wouldn’t we do waaay better if we had people to discuss our ideas and experiment with?” She had a smirk like she had just made an irrefutable point.

But Aria didn’t need anyone. All she wanted from her peers were people to spar with, which she got every Monday. The idea of sharing knowledge was just a hope Bastion had. But when they made competition one of their core principles, it was already a fleeting hope.

Still, Aria couldn’t bring herself to completely dash Annabelle’s innocent hopes.

“Fine, we can go.”

Yet Annabelle stared into her eyes a little longer as if trying to glean something from them—a goal many had, but most failed.

“I can tell you don’t believe in it.” Annabelle turned around so that she was entirely facing Aria. “You probably want to improve on your own by fighting and figuring out your own flaws.” She shook her head disapprovingly. “Which means you probably think the competitive nature of the school means knowledge sharing is a bad idea, lest you aid your future opponent in beating you.”

Aria didn’t know what to say; those were her precise thoughts. The only other person to lay her thoughts bare like that was Alisha; even if others knew, they wouldn’t say it so outright.

“Do you disagree?”

“I think...” Annabelle paused and turned back toward the cliff, where those five people were still chatting happily. “I think your thoughts are warranted. After all, if I told someone my mana capacity might be low, and they end up being my opponent, they know exactly how to beat me.”

“Is it low?” Aria didn’t hear about that.

Annabelle shrugged, “It’s an example; but that’s beside the point. Obviously, I wouldn’t tell anyone, but it’d be cool to toss around ideas on how to best mitigate that.”

“Something you would learn in combat.”

“True.” Annabelle nodded. “But you can’t deny exchanging ideas would still be far more effective. Plus, I’d rather not learn through getting my face beat in!”

“I… can’t say.”

“Well, it would. But more importantly, it’d be fun to explore this endless world with friends rather than through bitterness.” Annabelle sighed and looked back at the group. “At the end of the day, I just don’t want to ruin the magic of it all by getting caught up in the incessant drama related to competition.”

Aria understood that point, even if she didn’t relate to it. To her, the number one spot at the academy was all that mattered. Claiming it would secure her a high position in Bastion, and she could pursue her true goals afterward.

However, those from Earth weren’t even thinking of anything beyond their discovery of magic, which made sense. She sometimes forgot that even the concept of it was a myth there.

How did they live? She wanted to see the rest of the planet that she had lived on for years yet never known.

“I will go along with you.”

“I guess I made it a bigger deal than it is; we can always just try to get along until— if we can’t anymore. I… won’t assume the worst in people until they make me.” She gave Aria a warm smile. “It’s stupid, but I just want friends... thanks for listening.”

An image flashed in Aria’s mind of Annabelle standing above her conquered opponent with naught but a scowl.

That didn’t fit at all—yet that seemed to be how the girl thought she could end up.

Aria wasn’t the best communicator, so she left it at that.

There probably wasn’t any harm in trying to make acquaintances; she either learned something or made better enemies. Maybe that was worth it? Otherwise, her fights would all end the same way they did today.

“Hey, guys!” Annabelle said as they got closer.

Almost all five jumped; if they were a little closer to the edge, they might have fallen off.

“Oh my fucking god, you scared the livin’ shit outta me,” one of the men shouted.

He had dark hair, similarly colored eyes, and a short beard. He was slightly taller than Aria and looked fairly strong.

The others turned to look, but Aria was just focused on observing his reactions to Annabelle.

As she expected, he was shocked by the sight of her, as were the others. Their eyes switched from Annabelle to Aria, then to Aria’s katana repeatedly.

“Who are you guys?” Another man asked, that one with neat, short ash-brown hair, hazel eyes, and a pair of rectangular glasses.

“My name is Annabelle, and this is Aria.” She lightly dipped her head as she introduced them. “We didn’t wanna stick around in the cafeteria—way too loud, and we figured the cliff would be amazing for the view and sounds.”

“Ain’t that the truth.” The last man, with short dark green hair, a color not natural on Earth. “I’ve never seen a view this good.”

“Is that thing real?” One of the girls asked as she stood. She had long, curly blonde hair and hazel eyes and was a little shorter than Aria.

“Yes.”

“Woah~ Do you know how to use it?”

A dumb question.

“Obv—”

“She does!” Annabelle exclaimed, interrupting Aria and standing in front of her. “But she’s not allowed to use it unless it’s for fighting monsters; she can’t even unsheathe it.”

The last girl stood but seemed shy, her light blue eyes doing everything but meet Aria’s. She was nearly as short as Annabelle and had short blonde hair. Still, Aria felt something more from her. She just couldn’t pinpoint it.

“That’s badass… like a knight’s vow!” The green-haired man said, nodding to his own conjured fantasy. He gestured toward the group and pointed to each, saying,  “My name is Alex, the bearded guy is Fred, Mr. Glasses is Rich, blondy is Elise, and shy is Sophia.”

“Hey! Watch how you introduce me, stupid fuck.” Elise slapped his back, but both were all smiles.

“Nice to meet you all!” Annabelle smiled. “I’m surprised to see people so easy-going after today.”

The man with glasses, Rich, nodded. “It was rough; we all lost our first fights, and we sort of just meshed while drowning our sorrows in the cafeteria.”

“Yeah.” The bearded man, Fred, stepped forward. It seemed like he wanted to take on the leadership role in their ragtag group. “And since we aren’t in the same class, we can discuss mana without giving anything away to our future opponents.”

Him losing was a bit surprising.

“Hopefully, we can help each other win next week,” Elise added.

“Mind if we join you?” Annabelle enthusiastically asked. She had practically already inserted herself in the group with how close she moved. “I really want to learn more about controlling mana so I can win next Monday.”

A sneaky way to put it, which meant Annabelle did at least take Aria’s concerns seriously. A thought did enter her mind, though; she could help make stronger peers with just information. It didn’t require talking about herself at all. As it stood, nobody in the academy had a chance at beating her.

That… sounded didn’t sound that bad, actually. The more Aria thought of it, the more she warmed up to the idea—she couldn’t improve if nobody could push her limits.

Before anybody could say anything, the shy girl, Sophia, shouted, “Absolutely!”

That was a little too enthusiastic.

“Yay~!” Annabelle found a comfortable patch of grass and sat down. “I think the best way for us to learn is to cooperate with our peers and mix our knowledge. And we aren’t in your classes anyway!”

They weren’t likely to learn anything she and Annabelle didn’t already know, but Annabelle seemed exorbitantly happy.

So Aria sat beside her.

Fred and Rich looked suspicious, but it was evidently hard to reject someone like Annabelle and one of their own group, who had already taken a spot in front of them.

“So...” Annabelle rubbed her hands like a greedy merchant. “Let’s talk about mana!”