Chapter Text
Black Sapphire’s blades scraped against the ice. The routine must be perfect. Two more jumps and it’ll be done.
He pushed against the ice to gain momentum only to end up leaning forward. His expression didn’t change, but he started circling his arms to maintain balance before his knees could crash against the ice like his former attempt.
Soon he got himself upright once again.
Shit.
He would need to do it all over again.
Black Sapphire let out a frustrated groan before skating towards the middle of the rink. He hasn’t been able to do the entire routine perfectly at all.
His practice session ended hours ago, and yet he still stayed at the rink.
Sure his head hurts. Maybe his legs ached. Maybe his stomach felt empty. Maybe he hasn’t left the ice since he got on, but he just needed to practice until it was perfected.
He always did this. Even though his coach disapproved of Black Sapphire’s methods. It was like a schedule drilled into his mind. It always helped him get into his routine. It helped the performance to be perfect. It helped his career as Black Sapphire.
He pushed off his blade once more.
Maybe this will be the last one.
Then he could rest.
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Black Sapphire hopped off the ice. He couldn’t finish the routine. Everything ached in a way that it felt like he was being pulled apart. His concentration was off centered, and his jumps seemed less confident.
He’ll probably find himself at the rink tomorrow. He’ll be fine. He just needs to keep pushing himself.
The performance is in a week. The show for his skating rink and association is in a week. He needs to prove himself it was worth it to choose him. He just has to. It’d be embarrassing to be worse than the skaters from other associations.
And then the Grand Champions League would be coming up a month after. He needed to get first. Sure, he’s participating in a highly competitive competition, but this competition would include the greatest from the leagues. Taught by only the best. That also included him, so obviously he needs to outshine everyone else.
Because if not then… what was the point?
Ice skating was basically his life. He doesn’t get to enjoy it freely. It’s practically what his life was built upon. He needed to prove to the world that he was worth it.
There were very few who truly believed in him.
His coach, Shadow Milk. His friend, Candy Apple.
Other than those two. There was no one else truly hoping for him. He was just another performance. Just another skater. With all the hate on his back, everyone would wait for a mistake. They’d eat him alive from the beginning to the end of his career. He had to be enough. If not, then all his efforts were for nothing.
He was spiraling again.
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Ever since the incident he quit ice skating. Silverbell hadn’t worn ice skates since he was twelve.
It wasn’t worth the risk. Not after what happened to his dad, Elder Faerie.
Mercurial Knight never quit; however, he went into a career for revenge.
Silverbell moved on into archery. It was easier for him to fall right into it.
He never looked back into ice skating.
There were changes in his life after the incident. It wasn’t too drastic though. He just helped around more often. After a while helping around was something he was used to.
Elder Faerie was still was his dad who loved and cared for him. So helping Elder Faerie when he needed it was something Silverbell didn’t mind at all.
The culprit for the changes? Shadow Milk.
It was all Shadow Milk’s fault. All his fault. He was a blatant selfish cheater. Willing to risk it all for one a trophy. He ruined a lot of things for a trophy.
Silverbell worried about Elder Faerie condition for days. Eight year ago he would be visiting the hospital daily just for his status. For three nights he didn’t have his dad to tell him stories or play around. Stuck in the hospital with an injury.
It would be wrong to say Silverbell wasn’t scared at all. He didn’t even know what the injury was. He didn’t believe Mercurial Knight when he said it wasn’t life threatening. He thought Mercurial Knight was just saying that to calm him down.
Mercurial was right. Elder Faerie wasn’t going to die. Instead he would need to rely on a wheelchair. Elder Faerie couldn’t skate again, and Silverbell’s love for ice skating died.
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Silverbell found himself on the ice once more.
He decided to pick it back up again, especially since Elder Faerie kept on encouraging him too. Silverbell appreciated his efforts a lot.
He continued to glide around the rink. Although he seemed pretty new, he already established himself in the ice skating world with his recent competition.
He loved it. The effort he put in for the praise, even as a beginner.
It was quite joyful.
Except.
He found himself being scared often. Usually close calls every time. If things felt too close to the incident. He would pause his skating for the day.
It wasn’t his main focus anyway, especially with his job at an archery center.
He may love teaching people archery, but sometimes it got overwhelming. Ice skating was just a break when archery got too much.
It’s why he could skate so passionately. He just wished that he could skate without his mind repeating him falling and getting major injuries.