Chapter 11: I'm a real witch!

It was around midday when the race would finally begin. The sun was high in the sky and the wind was blowing fast, ruffling the leaves off the trees, so the climate and lighting were perfect for flying.

My team and I have been practicing daily for two weeks; we have the course memorized and the strategy perfected. And yet… I can't help feeling nervous. I don't know why. I've never doubted that we're going to win! All this time I thought it would be a piece of cake! So why? Why now? Why is my stomach churning? Why are my palms sweating? Why am I pretty much paralyzed just watching the other competitors cleaning their brooms and taking their positions?

Maybe I finally realized just what we signed up for; we are going to compete against second and third years. We're up against the fastest witches in the school. If we win it'll be a great feat, sure. I'll finally gain some recognition, not only from my classmates, but from the teachers too. Maybe my teammates will also start respecting me a bit. But if we lose… gosh. I don't even want to think about what'll happen if we lose!

Everyone will say: "Well, duh! It's Chariot! There's no way she could have ever won the race! Honestly, she's so stupid and pathetic she shouldn't even be allowed in Luna Nova." Or something amongst those lines. Worse! Maybe they won't even say anything! Why bother commenting on the obvious result that was apparent to everyone but naïve Chariot du Nord? And my teammates will be mad because despite their hard work losing would just throw it all down the drain. As always. And what will Croix think?! I mean, she won the race last year! And it probably took her no effort at all. If I lose, she'll think I'm pathetic and will probably be embarrassed to be seen near me.

Okay. I'm starting to panic. I need to calm down. Breathe, Chariot! In, and out. In and…

"Hey, Chariot!" I'm started out of my (poor) attempt to relax by an arm being rudely thrown around my shoulders and my name being shouted in my ear. Of course, when I glare at the culprit I find it's none other than my mischievous friend Enid. "How you doing? Did you practice at all?" She smirks.

"Uhm. Enid. Hi." I say, still too worried about the race to actually pay much mind to her. "Actually, I kinda need to concentrate right now, so…"

"Don't be like that!" I jump out of my skin as I feel a finger digging into my ribs and turn to the right to see Anaid smiling at me teasingly. "We just want to see how you're doing. Did your teammates cause you trouble?"

"Ah…" I trail off as my gaze lands of Karen and Amelia, who are chatting happily to each other just a few meters away from us. They are smiling and laughing, looking so relaxed and carefree! I bet they are even telling jokes of which I can't be part of because they both get uncomfortable when I'm around. Even after all the training we've done these past few weeks they don't seem to like me very much… and yet they did get close to each other. Which kinda sucks. And it also hurts. A little.

"Oh, come on! Forget about those two." Enid says, no doubt noticing my lingering gaze. "What matters is that we have fun, right? This is a friendly race, and we'll be doing our best just so we can beat you."

"That's right!" Amelia agrees. "Since you insisted this would be a fair race, both of our teams have been practicing nonstop. I hope you did the same!"

"Yeah. Kinda." I shrug, suddenly regretting not having practiced even more hours than that.

"Good! I can't wait to beat you!" Enid says confidently. Maybe a little too confidently, actually. And my stomach turns. What if she has good reasons to be confident? What if I'm not as good at flying as I thought I was?

"Huh. Anyways, I guess we'll leave you to get ready." Anaid says, squeezing briefly my shoulder as a show of reassurance.

"Yeah. See you at the finish line!" Enid exclaims as she lets go of me and joins her sister to go find their own teams. And once again, I'm left with my own worrying thoughts… thankfully not for long.

"Chariot. There you are!" I look up upon hearing my friend's voice and see her walking towards me. Instantly, a smile appears on my face and my tense body relaxes slightly, allowing me to breathe a little deeper.

"Croix." I say as greeting.

"You ready for the big race?" She asks.

"I-I guess." I shrug, feeling as the butterflies on my stomach start to multiply by ten at the mere thought of the competition.

"Don't worry, you'll do fine." She smiles. "I mean, you have to, I can't be friends with a loser."

"Croix!" I glare at her. Geez! She's really not helping.

"What? You know I'm just messing with you, right?" She chuckles as she ruffles my hair affectionately with her hand. But I just continue pouting. "Okay, sorry." She rolls her eyes, letting her hand drop. "I just came to wish you good luck. So… uhm… good luck." She finishes with an awkward smile.

"Thanks." I fake a smile, but really I'm too preoccupied about the race to actually appreciate her efforts in cheering me up. She undoubtedly notices though, because she sighs in response.

"Alright. I'll see you when you win." She says before walking away to take her place with the rest of the spectators. My eyes follow her until she disappears in the crowd, and I can't help but wonder, was she this nervous when she raced last year?… Oh, who am I kidding? She's Croix! I bet she didn't even consider the possibility of losing. She has way too much confidence in herself… and with good reason. Me? I'm just the dunce.

But not for long… Hopefully. If I don't screw this up somehow.

"Are you done moping around?" Karen's voice startles me out of my thoughts, making me jump a bit.

"Are you okay, Chariot? You look a little pale." Amelia, who is standing next to Karen, comments with a mildly concerned expression.

"I'm fine." I quickly reassure them. "Just… nervous."

"That's okay. We all are." Amelia smiles kindly at me.

"Now, before the race starts…" Karen says, cutting directly to the point. "Chariot, I just want to remind you that you are not to use your stupid tricks under any circumstances. Are we clear?"

"Yeah. I know." I sigh upon seeing Karen's strict expression. She's been reminding me about this at every opportunity. How could I not remember?!

"Good. Now let's go take our positions." She says, turning to look at Amelia. "You'll start, so you stay here at the first platform. I'll take the second and Chariot, since you're the anchor, you'll be at the New Moon tower."

"Got it, boss." I roll my eyes at her before getting on my broom and taking off towards my destination, not even bothering to say another word to my mean teammates. Seriously, for all the hard work we've been doing together lately, we don't act like a real team yet. I mean, they are getting along pretty nicely, I'll give them that, and Amelia is trying to be a bit more respectful towards me, but Karen? Ugh, Karen. She's just so stiff and grumpy, and I can't even make her open up like I did with Croix! Why does she have to be on my team? I'd literally prefer anyone else.

"Chariot, here!" I look down to see the platform where most of the girls from the other teams have already taken their positions, amongst which are Enid and Anaid, waving excitedly at me. How did they convince their teams they should be the anchors I have no idea, but I suppose their roommates are just nicer than mine. After all, they'd never complained about them, and they all seem to get along well enough during class. Figures! I had to be the only one with bad luck.

"Hey girls." I say as I take my position between the two twins.

"I thought Karen would be your anchor, but I'm glad it's you instead." Anaid says, smiling.

"Oh, believe me, she tried." I laugh, trying to appear confident. "But no one is faster than me."

"Right. No one is faster than the dunce of Luna Nova. How low are our standards now." Enid laments, obviously skeptical of my affirmation.

"Enid!" I pout. I don't need my friends doubting my abilities too.

"What? It's the truth and you know it." She shrugs, giving me a mocking smile.

"I will knock you off your broom as soon as the race starts!" I threaten.

"Wouldn't you have to catch me first though?" She laughs.

"Okay, that's it!" I growl and make the motion to get out my wand, but Anaid's hand stops me.

"You know we're just messing with you, right?" She giggles.

"Yeah, Chariot, chill out! You look so tense and serious!" Enid agrees. "We're just trying to have fun! And you're so damn funny whenever you get angry." She laughs.

"No, I'm not." I glare at her.

"Come on! We can practically see the stress radiating from your body." Her sister adds, placing an arm around my shoulders. "We just thought you could use a little fun right now."

"Well, it's not helping." I glare at her as I push her away, disentangling from her hug.

In that very moment, we hear a bang coming from the start line, meaning the race has now officially begun, though it will take a few minutes before our teammates reach us. My stomach then twists painfully at the thought of having so little time to mentally prepare myself.

"Huh. Looks like it's begun." Enid comments. "I'd feel better if we could see it though."

"Yeah…" I frown. "I hope Amelia is doing well."


After that it's a very stressful and nerve-wracking waiting game. Even Enid and Anaid quiet down! It probably doesn't take too much time though. A few minutes, perhaps. But it feels like way too long nonetheless! Not even my friends' occasional jokes are enough to distract me from my worries.

My grip on my broom is already painful, and my knuckles are turning white. But even when I do a conscious effort to relax, I end up squeezing my broom's handle like my life depended on it just a few seconds later. Gosh, Karen, please hurry up! I'll feel better once I'm up in the air.

"Hey, look!" One of the other girls shouts, pointing towards somewhere in the horizon. When I turn to see in that direction, I'm finally able to distinguish the clear figures of about ten witches flying towards us.

"It's about time." Enid says, stretching her limbs in order to get ready. "I was about to fall asleep."

We all then quickly hurry to get on our brooms and take our positions, tensely waiting for our teammates to catch up, and they sure take their sweet time! Can't you go faster Karen?! I'm ready to show them all how flying really looks like!

Unfortunately for me, Karen seems to be slightly behind the rest. From this position I can't really tell for sure, but I think she's third, or fourth? It's probably because of Amelia's weak start, but I'm sure Karen and I can more than make up for it, right? Right. I won't lose this race. I just won't.

A girl to the far right of the platform takes off just then as she sees her partner approach at top speed, being the first one to arrive and pass the baton. Closely behind comes Mary, Enid's teammate, and then Amelia's teammate Sophie. Another two girls then pass, and I'm still stuck here because Karen is too damn far behind! Just how slow was Amelia's start anyways? It probably isn't helping that most of the competing teams are upperclassmen, who are way faster than us because they've already learned other techniques.

But still. I would have expected Karen to be faster than this, unless… she's not doing this on purpose, is she? Surely she doesn't want to lose… right? I mean, I don't think she hates me so much she's willing to lose just to spite me. Not after all the training we've done. Not after all the effort we put into this.

… Right?

"Chariot!" I hear her calling, and center my focus on her, even if she's still too far away for me to start flying. "Chariot, fly!"

What? She wants me to… but she'll never be able to catch up if I...

"Chariot! Now!" She commands, making a motion with her hand as if she wants to throw the baton towards me. But… but there's no way! She said no tricks, but… okay, whatever! She wants me to fly? I'll fly. If we lose because of my tricks I will wholeheartedly blame her.

"Catch!" She yells as soon as I'm up in the air and gaining speed. I turn to look at the trajectory of the baton and calculate where I'll be able to catch it, but… ugh! Why are these columns here anyways?

I speed up, hoping to reach the baton before it crashes on one of the columns, since if it's damaged we'll be disqualified. But… I don't know if I'll make it. The wind isn't exactly in my favor, and who knew Karen would be able to throw it so damn fast? I'm almost willing to bet she used magic.

Come on, come on! Faster, faster! I. Have. To. Go. Faster!

I reach a point where I have to close my eyes because of the wind hitting my face, but I manage to keep one of them just barely open, enough to be able to see the baton about to touch the top of the column.

I won't be able to reach it before it hits it. And I won't be able to slow down in time to avoid crashing into the hard rocks. My only option now is to deviate to either side and abandon the baton. To lose.

Well, now that's not really an option, is it?

I pick up the speed as I jump up and land with my feet on the broom's handle, only to jump a second later, catch the baton in midair and land then at the top of the column… but my momentum carries me forward, and I stumble a couple of steps, dangling at the edge for a moment before I'm able to redirect my broom so it flies around the column and catches me on the other side, just before the momentum wins over and I fall, being barely able to grab my broom in time.

And then I'm back at the race. My heart is pumping hard, my veins are tingling with adrenaline, and my body trembling in excitement, but a bright smile is firmly on my face. Finally! Some much needed action. This is what I wanted! This is what I'm good at. I'm a real witch, and I'll prove it!

Now, let's see… in front of me there's one, two, three… only three people? Just how many did I pass while trying to catch the baton? Well, no matter, Anaid be prepared! I'm about to pass you too.

So, as I accelerate without restriction, I'm able to easily pass my two friends, laughing loudly once I get to second place and only turning to see them for a moment and wave them goodbye.

"See you at the finish line!" I say and continue accelerating, focusing all of my energy and concentration on going faster and faster in order to catch up with the head rider.

Soon enough, I'm just a couple of meters behind, but she keeps on accelerating, trying to maintain her advantage. Not like that's going to work.

I speed up to the top of my capacity as I fly towards her right, trying to pass her… only for her to realize it and move accordingly, blocking my trajectory. Damn. Well, I'll just try the left side.

Aaaand… she's good. Too good. She won't let me pass! But what can I do? What…? Oh. Oh, I see! That's certainly an option, but… Okay. I just hope it works.

If I can't pass her from the side… how about above?

I stand up on my broom as the first step of my maneuver, at which the other girl turns around and regards me with wide eyes. I just smirk at her and then jump off of my broom… and onto hers.

"H-hey! What are you…?"

"I hope you don't mind arriving second." I retort before doing a summersault above her and landing on my broom, which had since passed from underneath, being able to pick up speed without my added weight.

And after that it's all a cakewalk to the finish line. Sure, the girl tries to catch up with me and get in first place again, but without clever tricks I'm able to easily block her path. She's too predictable, honestly! And so, before I know it, I'm speeding past the sports fields at top speed, arriving to the finish line before anyone else, laughing and cheering loudly because I finally did what everyone considered to be impossible. The dunce of Luna Nova's won the race!

It may not have been a conventional display in any way, sure, but it wasn't against the rules either. I won. We won. And I proved once and for all that I do belong here, I'm not just the screw up! I'm a real witch! Everyone will have to acknowledge that from now on because I won and now my photo will be next to Croix's and all the other champions as proof that yes, I, Chariot du Nord, won the race against all odds.


A/N: So, that was the race, and I really hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writting it. Finally! A victory for our little Chariot! XD. So, as always, thanks for reading and please leave a review/favorite/follow if you liked it. See you soon :D

Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13 :)