Not noticing or completely disregarding Aldric's presence, the Makarios froze his hands and placed them on Princess Marina's wound to stop the bleeding before bolting to the gate of the plains of Dracia.
Startled at the sudden appearance and disappearance, Aldric prepared himself to follow them but Aleron placed his palm on his shoulder to stop him.
"She is fine." Aleron said firmly.
"You might not have noticed in your dishevelled state but he stopped the bleeding." Aleron said and Aldric released a breath he didn't know he was holding.
"I don't mean to trouble you when you are already burdened but how are you going to explain all this to Maldareth?" Aleron said and Aldric froze like a child with his hands caught in a cookie jar.
"He has always been wary of me since I never backed down and behaved high and might to you who portrayed yourself to be meek and humble before him but you with all your meekness captured the black birds in thin air and slayed them within seconds." Aleron said before releasing a sigh.
"It will be a wonder if he let you off." Aleron said with a grin expression.
"Is it too late to hide?" Aldric asked with a sheepish smile and Aleron knocked his forehead.
Footsteps caught the twins' attention and both twins turned to face a lady dressed in red and dark blue clothing.
"The gates of Dracia are opening." the lady said with a stern expression.
"Join your fellow contestants at the front." The Makoris said in a stern voice, and Aldric and Aleron hurried to join the single file line that had been created.
A medic tent at the left hand side of the Arena
"Marina!" Princess Esmeralda said in panic as she barged into the medic tent.
"Marina!" Princess Esmeralda said as she looked over the heads of other injured patients.
Spotting Princess Marina near a more secluded corner, Princess Esmeralda crossed other patients who were knocked out from the hail within the first few seconds of stepping into the plains of Dracia.
Before attending to her sister, Princess Esmeralda gave a nod of respect to her classmate.
"Thank you for attending to her as quickly as possible." Princess Esmeralda said to the man who swooped down to stop Princess Marina's bleeding.
"It's no problem." said the young looking man with pink hair and light green eyes and Princess Esmeralda's attention shifted to Princess Marina.
Looking at her unconscious sister, Princess Esmeralda scanned her again for injuries and double checked that she was bandaged properly.
"She's fine." Princess Esmeralda's classmate said in a calm manner
"My mentor fed her some analgesics before she fainted from exhaustion." the young looking man said in a soothing voice.
"Thank you Zion." Princess Esmeralda said with a sigh as she held her little sister's hand.
"I told you it's no problem." Zion said with a smile.
Trying to ease her mind a little, Zion said "And since when did you become so polite?"
"I would have you know that I have excellent manners, you just don't have the pleasure of seeing them." Princess Esmeralda said with her nose in the air and the both of them laughed.
With the tension lifting from Princess Esmeralda's chest, Princess Esmeralda said "Why were you on the field anyway?" as she brushed Princess Marina's hair away from her face.
"Unlike you, who had to be excused due to the hunt, some of us are still undergoing our internship." Zion said teasingly.
"My mentor was part of the medics dispatched for the hunt so-" Zion said before Princess Esmeralda interrupted him swiftly.
"You stole her clothes, posed to be a Makarios and went into the plains of Dracia." Princess Esmeralda said with a smile and Zion blanched.
"How did you know?" Zion asked feigning shock and Princess Esmeralda burst out laughing.
In the Arena
"Its finally time to announce the rankings of the hunt." The announcer said with a flourish and the audience roared.
"First we will talk about the ones who didn't make it to the ranking." The announcer said and the audience sneered at the six commoners who were freshly bandaged and moved from the medic tent.
"Despite their astonishing feats in the competition held among four locations, these six proved that winning a competition alone is not enough to survive the hunt." The announcer said and the six commoners covered their faces in shame as they were told to vacate the stage.
"Starting from number 10," the announcer said and participation filled the air.
"With only six winged on his belt, the hunt welcomes the son of the Baroness of Danora: Norveth Rain." The announcer said and a tall boy with long yellow hair and light gray eyes stepped onto the stage.
Moving in quickly, the announcer said "Coming at number 9, with only one more winged above Noverth Rain, the stage welcomes the daughter of the Baroness of Aeloria: Torvonna McQueen." The announcer said and a dark skinned tall lady with long black hair arranged in a fringe above bright hazel eyes stepped onto the stage.
"Coming at number 8 with coincidentally 8 winged on his belt, the stage welcomes the son of the Baron of Avero: Jaelric Card" the announcer said and a boy with dark purple hair and playful amber eyes stepped on stage.
"At number 7, with a record of 9 winged, the stage welcomes the son of the Viscountess, Kaelrix Nyxar." The announcer said and a boy with short red hair and blue eyes walked on stage.
As the announcer looked at the next in line on the list in his hands the announcer paused momentarily before saying "Number 6 is unprecedented."