All Eyes On Me

Sirks, Iris, and Wompa all looked at each other, confused about what Nell meant when she asked that.

"I beg your pardon?" Sirks asked Nell to clarify her question as none of them were getting it.

"Oh, not you," she waved Sirks off. "I'm talking to the two girls. They should know what I'm asking?"

Everyone looked at Iris and Wompa. The two girls looked at each other, expecting the other to know what Nell was asking, but neither of them did. Only Kies knew what she was trying to ask and he could only watch in silence, praying that Nell would just quit it. But knowing her personality, she wasn't going to stop here. She was only going to stop once she found the answer.

"We don't get the questions," Iris told Nell, both shaking their heads in confusion.

"Do you really need to have me say the entire thing?" Nell crossed her arms and sighed. "Look, what I want to know is... Which one of you two..." Nell didn't finish her sentence and just put her finger to her mouth.

"..."

Everyone stood there in silence, trying to decipher what Nell was getting at. Kies let out a sigh of relief, glad that no one understood what Nell was trying to ask... But it seemed that he was wrong. Iris' eyes shot wide open and she looked at Nell. "Are you-"

she turned to face Kies, still avoiding eye contact with him, and then turned back to Nell.

"Ah, so it was you!" Nell said with a big smile.

"You told her!?" Iris looked at Kies in disbelief. This was one of those things that one wasn't supposed to go around telling others about, and this applied to every race, not just humans. "Why!?"

"I want to ask you the same question," Kies replied. He wanted to know why she did what she did. He also wanted to know what it was that made her fall for him. Just what in the world did she see in him? This wasn't even him putting himself down. It was a fact, not opinion, that he was very unsociable and hard to get close to. None of his traits were ideal.

"I- I... Have my reasons..." Iris told him shyly, her cheeks turning. She looked away from him and they didn't say anything else, leaving them to guess what this all might've been about.

"Aww~ How cute!" Nell said in an adoring voice. "Do you hear that? She has her reasons." She put her arms around Kies and patted his shoulder.

"..."

Kies swat her arm away and turned back around to face the line. He didn't want to be a part of this conversation anymore. "Oh, you don't like this kind of stuff..." Nell apologized for making Kies uncomfortable. She turned and saw that it was the same for Iris. She didn't want to talk about this either. "Ah... Sorry," Nell apologized to Iris as well.

"It's okay..."

Sirks and Wompa, who had no idea what they were talking about could only scratch their heads in an attempt to figure out. But taking into account what usually went on between Kies and Iris, Sirks took a guess that they probably got into another fight again. He didn't know if he was wrong or not, but he didn't care. The two were like little children to him who kept arguing about everything.

Wompa, on the other hand, didn't think it was something so simple as a small fight and thought that there was probably more to it. She walked over to her sister and took her hand to let her know that if anything happened, she was there for her.

Nell looked around nervously, seeing how awkward she made the atmosphere. She now regretted asking the two about it. From their responses, she saw that it was a one-sided thing, and although she didn't understand what exactly happened, she was pretty sure that Kies didn't respond too well to her confession.

The awkward silence kept up for the entirety of the time they spent waiting in line. Kies and Iris didn't want to talk, Sirks was too tired to even bother, Nell didn't know what to say to make things better, and Wompa couldn't speak at all. When it was finally their turn to enter the colosseum, management checked them in and told them to go in and wait.

Upon entering the colosseum, Kies immediately separated from the group and went on his own, leaving the other four to their own devices. He knew that staying with them would only make the awkward silence continue so it was best if he left. No one said anything as he made his decision and walked away. When he did, the mood instantly lightened. Iris was a little relieved when she saw him leave which in turn caused her sister to calm down as well, and this also caused Nell to ease her worry a bit.

"So... Just what kind of fight did you get into this time?" Sirks asked Iris right after Kies left, not reading the mood at all. From the looks of things, it had to be a pretty significant one for Iris to not feel comfortable around him. "I'm guessing it had something to do with you going to the attic last night?" Sirks also asked, recalling that Iris for some reason wanted to go up there in the middle of the night. She never told him the reason why, but it definitely had something to do with it.

Iris looked at Sirks and lowered her head. She didn't want to tell him but she knew that he wouldn't take no as an answer. According to him, problems with other people are solved if you take the initiative. Doing nothing will only sever relationships. "We-"

Before Iris could start explaining to Sirks what exactly had happened, Nell interrupted her and asked, "Hey, why don't we find a seat first." She pointed around them and everyone saw that the seats were quickly being filled by people, and all around them, there were even more people coming in.

"Wow... There are so many people..." Iris commented.

"Yeah, what's the reason for this? I don't remember the second round being this popular," Sirks turned his head around in amazement at the number of people that were here.

"It's because people heard that the Iceblade is participating. They also heard that there was an elf too. I guess that's what attracted them to come and watch," Nell answered Sirks' question.

"Interesting..." Sirks started walking away but stopped when he saw that the other three weren't following him. He turned around and waved for them to follow him. "What are you standing around for? We need to find ourselves some seats, and quickly!" The colosseum was being flooded by people and they needed to be fast or else they would have to stand.

The three ran over to Sirks and they hurried over to the front rows where there were still a few empty seats. Normally, the front row would be packed first as you get to be closer to the action, but that is precisely the reason why no one wanted to be up there.

When it came to a melee fight, it was fine, but the second round permitted magic and personal weapons, allowing for messy fights. And depending on the people fighting, the action may even reach the crowd. A couple of years back, a duel happened between a royal guard and the commander in the arena for first place. The fight was so fierce as it was a fight between magic users and it injured many of the spectators in the front row. Ever since that incident, people have avoided the front-row seats where there was the chance of getting hurt just by sitting there. In a sense, they were just as bad as the back-row seats where you could barely see anything at all.

The four of them sat down in unison and watched as the first two fighters went into the arena to fight. The crowd roared since one of the contestants was a well-known fighter. As for the other one, he was an unknown fighter with no name and he had to prove himself here. It was a make-or-break opportunity. If he won against the famous fighter he was facing against, he would make his name known to the world. If not, he will be forgotten.

"Poor lad." Sirks pitied the nameless fighter. He recognized his opponent and knew that he stood no chance. His opponent was one of the fighters that made it to the top ten last year.

"I agree with you..." Nell also said. On top of having someone so tough as his opponent, their sizes were also very unfair. The nameless fighter was almost twice as short as the man, making him look like a giant in comparison.

"Anyway, where is that brat?" Sirks asked, looking around the crowd for a silver cloak. Kies disappeared off somewhere and was nowhere to be seen.

"Let him be for now," Nell told him. It would be better for Kies and Iris to stay away from each other for now until things calmed down.

"Ah, whatever." Sirks shook his head and turned his head back to the arena where the fight was about to start. The two fighters approached each other and were given some time to size each other up. The nameless fighter stared up at the giant, not wavering. Sirks couldn't tell if he was being fearless or if he was frozen stiff from fear of having to fight him.

"Wait..." Something was off. Sirks leaned closer to the arena to get a better look. The sun's glare was making it difficult to see, but the nameless fighter was wearing a cloak. Furthermore, the cloak's color was gray or silver.

"Kill that cheater!"

"Stomp him to the ground!"

All around them, the crowd was shouting for the fighter to crush the nameless contestant, calling him a cheater and other insulting names.

"By the lord's name, he's first!?"

"Wait, what!?" Nell, Iris, and Wompa, all got up from their seats and leaned against the railing to get a better look at the contestant with the cloak. They all quickly realized it as well, the identity of the 'nameless' fighter that was facing off against one of the top ten finishers of last year.

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