POV Narrator:
Friday, 21 September 2018, Luna Nova
The days are passing in Luna Nova, Hellene until then was no longer so threatened with Daryl's presence, since their daughters are still recovering from the whipping they took in the back, which has been causing a feeling of discontent on the part of Merrill. In this week that passed once again the girls took the opportunity to play the RPG, where things got a lot more interesting when the night really fell. What was also coming up was the long awaited broomstick relay, the one that is going to be a big event, especially with all the excitement around the prodigy Hellene McLaren and her sister who are kind of in this students question of who is the best witch at the moment, but both girls are paying little attention to that.
POV Akko:
I'm really anxious today, I can't wait to have the chance to win, this time I finally know how to fly a broomstick, I'm even at my post waiting, along with the other girls, it seems that Diana is also very anxious for this, Amanda too, this will be interesting, Hellene shows a calmness that even scares me, as well as Mirage, they seem to be meditating hahaha.
"Now that I know how to fly I will go hard, I will do everything to win this year" I say excitedly.
"Ahhhh, now I really want tae see, I have been waiting fae months since ye learned tae fly, I want tae see if ye have really awakened the full potential of yer magic" Diana said.
"I would even cheat, but I will try to see how far I go, I guarantee Akko has improved a lot, we bet broomstick races when she went in the States and she beat me even, it seems she activated a key inside Akko" Amanda said and I just went scratching the back of my head.
"It will start soon, it will all depend on them back there too" I said.
"If you don't cheat like last year" O'Neill said.
"You who made an agreement with us not to be affected, just pay attention to the relay ring so you don't end up with a doughnut again hahahah" I say laughing at her who raises her middle finger at me.
POV Narrator:
As every year the broomstick relay comes full of animation, as if it were a real festival, with balloons around, music and everything to cheer up Luna Nova for a competition among the students of the three final years, which will define which will be the fastest team of that year.
When the clock strikes exactly three o'clock in the afternoon, the initial warning is given and so the start is given, all are flying at very high speed towards their relay posts, with the lead coming from the grey team, by Brooke, who has shown to have quite a vigor to fly fast.
"And that's it! Brooke Hunter of the grey team! The race begins with a spectacular start from the first grader! Are we going to have another string of freshman girls winning the broom relay? These new girls have shown that they are doing better on the broom than they expected" said Wangari commenting on the race.
Brooke is little by little distancing herself, showing to be the fastest, what in the last sector already created a nervousness among the second year girls that were a little worried of losing some time, mainly because Hunter could really have the strength to keep the broom very fast.
The second place was Hannah, who was also showing that she had practiced a little bit, even more because she spent some time with O'Neill in the United States, but the domination of the race continued by the other English girl, who was getting further and further away from the group.
"Woah! Brooke Hunter doesn't even care, she's going all out, she keeps leading, opening more and more, the grey team is going to win like this, it's impressive! Will we have an epic race like we had last year? This is getting interesting!" Wangari commented.
The whole first sector was dominated by Brooke Hunter calmly, who managed to finish, but without breaking the record which is still held by Laura McLaren in 1988, in the midst of this the others kept up staying 4 seconds behind in Hannah's case and the others a second behind each other until they moved on to the second sector.
"And here they come to exchange, I wonder what awaits us from now on? It seems that the grey team is losing ground, Jeanne is not as fast as Brooke and this is a slightly more technical sector, let's see where this goes!" Comments the Kenyan witch.
And really the grey team was losing ground and that to the purple team, with Marianne starting to gain a bit more speed, since Annabel wasn't that agile, staying in the sixth position, but Leclerc was showing that in this part she could do very well, even passing one by one of those who were ahead and giving a bigger thrill, especially for the witches who saw in the huge crystal ball projectors.
"Marianne scales and scales, she is already in second position! What speed and what control, she is putting on to challenge even the second year pupils! Jeanne is being chased by three witches hungry for the lead! Constanze with her modified broom! Sucy that broom seems to give off a strange smoke, but is giving speed and in front of them Marianne! And on the turn she takes Jeanne's vacuum! Marianne is picking up a lot more speed! And here comes Marianne Leclerc! Marianne is leading the race! The purples are in the lead! What a spectacular race!" Wangari was practically jumping out of the balloon with emotions running high.
Marianne keeps going all the way leading, but a much more technical part caught her, she still risked everything, but ended up hitting her broom and falling, which everyone looked on with astonishment without expecting it, Leclerc flies again, but this time she had dropped to twelfth position, much further behind the front group led by Constanze.
"The lead has fluctuated a lot! Now with this accident Marianne will have to make a spectacular recovery race if she wants to win! Now it is all in the hands of the green team, Constanze is in the lead, but Sucy is following, taking the vacuum of the broom and so is Barbara joining the group after the three passed Jeanne with ease" Comments the African witch.
The race was getting closer and closer in this sector, it was clear that in the last sector the crowd was intense and the RGB trio was waiting for some reaction, the top three were just millimetres away from each other, alternating positions, while at the back Marianne was on fire.
"And that's racing! Now the sophomores are back with everything, it looks like they'll be the first sophomores to actually win a broom relay since Chariot Du Nord in 2006! That is spectacular! What a race!" Wangari comments.
Marianne was already up to the eighth position, looking like she was competing against stationary brooms with so much agility, but still the final meters were a matter of time, reaching the last sector where all the euphoria was.
Sucy started to lead the last part of the second sector and Akko was quickly running, only that she came sticking to Diana and Amanda, the three practically jumped at the same time with the bracelets, meanwhile Jeanne also arrived a little later handing to Mirage that got up from the possible meditation.
"And that's it, the second sector ends with Sucy leading, but it still looks like Laura McLaren's 1989 second sector record is unbeatable! It is impressive how this record will remain active for 30 years, even more impressive is the war between the representatives of the red, green and blue teams! They were the main subject in Luna Nova last year, and now they are the talk of the town! Diana Cavendish leads the way and what speed!" Wangari comments impressed.
Mirage also started to show that she wouldn't be left behind, she went on a spurt that even caused a bit of wind and enough for Hellene to open her eyes and give a smile, just waiting for the coming of Marianne who was in sixth position.
At the front Akko, Diana and Amanda were fighting side by side, but with a Mirage closing the gap, gaining more and more ground, which will make the race even more exciting.
"Woah! Woah! What speed this Mirage is going! She's gone with a huge acceleration and she's getting closer, she's another one to vie for the champion trophy! How spectacular, those thrills run through any witch's veins! A high caliber broomstick race this year! The best I've ever seen!" Comments the Kenyan witch.
POV Hellene:
Mari arrived, I 'eard about de accident, boeht I stay calm, she who even put 'er two hands together apologizing, I go slowly, until I am passed by others who go with everything, I open my arms, looking at de landscape in front of me.
"Hellene! The race! Are you going to wait?" she said nervously.
"Now come on Hellene, show dat you can" I tell myself that I simply drow de broom and den jump towards 'er.
I give my impulse and start to leave in a way dat gave me a kick, but I stay in the concentration, let's see if I can get far in this race, my sis and 'er friends seem to be very fast, boeht let's see 'ow fast dey can be, I pass de seventh who took my position as if it was nothing, I see the sixth placed also, approaching lettle by lettle, thank you Mari, you gave an extra emotion to dis race.
POV Akko:
I can't believe I'm managing to compete on the same level as the girls, it's wonderful, at the same time it's tricky, they keep coming up beside me and Diana just leads, how can she still have that much magic? I've got Amanda on my tail here, I look back and see Mirage.
"How? - I say shocked.
Mirage will pass us as we get to the cornering part and this sticking to Diana where I take advantage of the vacuum to get closer as she had gained a bit on me, but now she will feel my speed on the broom as well, which I end up getting a bit more speed, to the point where I get close to Diana.
"Come on Diana, I want to see if you can hold your own against me!" I say excitedly.
"Sup Akko!" Said Amanda on the cola also picking up the vacuum and gaining speed.
POV Narrator:
"Woah! Woah! Woah! What's this now Mirage Du Sud who is showing all the speed, she just warmed up to show her true potential by standing still in hers! And now she's about to overtake Diana Cavendish with the other two in hot pursuit, this is a shocking race!" Wangari comments in amazement.
What nobody has been noticing is how Hellene comes at extreme speed, to the point that her broom was sparking so intense the magic was, and this was starting to be shown, with her arriving at the straightest part of the track and passing at a speed that in front of the bleachers you could feel the wind, was much faster than the rest of the girls, Diana passed by at 280km/h, Mirage at 291km/h, but Hellene was just about to break the record for fastest witch by passing at 336km/h and still causing the biggest wind current, along with the several sparks coming off her broom.
"Did you see that? Because I swear I can't see anything? Hellene McLaren must have gone by so fast it was like lightning. That's impressive. Looks like we will have another contender for the lead in the Luna Nova broom relay!" Wangari comments.
In the most technical part of the track was where Mirage overtook Diana in a spiral curve and that was the moment when Amanda and Akko took advantage and also tried to pass, but they were only on the side of Cavendish making a sandwich with her, who was slowly gaining a little in relation to them and taking advantage of the vacuum that was being left by Mirage.
"Mirage Du Sud! She's leading the race! What a twist! Looks like Brooke leading at the start was just a sign that the grey team who will end up winning this race! How impressive!" Comments the Kenyan.
Hellene could slowly get the vision, still with everyone delighted with the speed and the effects that came out of the broom, which were high-speed sparks, something that a broom only ends up releasing above 320 km/h, since the battle is intense with the wind, but even so the McLaren was getting close to the fight.
Diana is getting closer to Mirage in the biggest concentration of the world, until they are next to each other in a curve that is a little more open, she gets the outside line, but has the inside line in the next one, getting next to Du Sud, the crowd was jumping of emotion.
"And woah! What's that? Diana Cavendish doesn't want to leave the fight already won! She really is willing to go all the way! The two leaders are fighting on the bend and it's bringing Amanda and Akko closer to them! It looks like we're going to have a battle for the lead between four!" comments the African.
POV Diana:
I just dinnae know what tae do, this Mirage is faster than I expected, at least I got a bit of a lead, fae the pirouettes part, which I'm keeping, seeing that the Mirage isn't that good at it, I'm just keeping my sights on the front, I take advantage that it gave me a lead, I can win a second time in a row, that'll be good, although the first one was Akko's merit.
"Come on Diana! Show yer potential as Cavendish!" I say tae myself, now down the stretch I get an extra lead.
I'm breathing a little better now, the narrator must be going crazy with my lead, I hope I dinnae have that lead taken, but soon I see that Mirage appears on my side, but what a thing, by the nine witches, moreover she was going accompanied by Akko and Amanda who took her slipstream, this way I'll lose tae her right away, I have tae keep my concentration here.
"Hey Diana!" Said Akko teasingly waving at me and then returning tae focus.
I was going tae answer with a middle finger, but by the way it's better nae, I see that in this opened space tae catch her slipstream behind the two of us, that's what I do, I increase my speed, it can't be that I can't fly sae fast, I managed last year, this year I can keep up.
When I see Hellene just passing by us without getting any slistream, her broom was even sparking from the back side, I've never seen something like that before, with an ordinary broom, it's the 200 miles effect, how did she reach such a speed? They say only the most legendary witches can do it.
"Impossible" I say shocked.
She passed us all, coming around the bend and still maintaining speed, like it was nothing, I could just see her broom picking up distance and nae even Mirage had time tae get enough distance tae pick up the slipstream, this lassie is a real machine on the broom.
POV Narrator:
"What was that? What was that? Have you guys ever seen a rocket? Because it looks like one just went past the whole first place group! Just Hellene McLaren from the purple team takes the lead and does it with extreme speed, that must be the effect of being Laura McLaren's daughter! How impressive" Wangari comments.
Even with Hellene's lead confirmed the race for second place didn't let up, even Mirage was left with a fuss seeing all this, she hadn't expected someone to overtake her at such a high speed and so at that point that's when Akko and Amanda took the opportunity to take the lead. Kagari stayed in second position for a little bit, watching Hellene getting further and further away, trying to focus a little more, as if the magic flowed into her own and this getting to a more technical part again.
"It looks like Akko is fighting for that second position! Who knew she would be so far ahead this year! This using a normal broom, she is making sure to be the fastest!" says the African.
In the more technical part was where Hellene showed that she made little case, passing at such a high speed that everyone thought it was easy, but it was not to see by the way the girls fighting for second position arrived.
Diana was the one who ended up doing better at this time, which took advantage of every way to gain speed and leadership, even though it was only the second position, at this point Hellene was nothing more than a blinking dot, while the four behind were fighting for a mere second position.
"And now it is Cavendish who is at the head of this group! She seems to do very well in that part where she has more technique! How impressive! But Mirage will want that lead too, they are all getting side by side for this final stretch!" comments the Kenyan.
Hellene simply goes far ahead being the first to arrive, winning the broom relay, but the interesting dispute itself was in the second place that everyone was looking at the screen, even the winner herself who was rooting for her sister, just to see how far she could go, to show all the skill she has.
"And Hellene McLaren is the winner of the 1334th Luna Nova broom relay, 2018 champion of the year! And the fastest of the witches! Now I wonder who will win second place! That's going to be quite a mystery" Said the commentator witch who was jumping up and down with excitement.
POV Akko:
Hellene really won, I was already expecting it, she already showed that she was the fastest, but this way it was a shock, I hadn't even seen the daylight of Marianne coming, it seems that she came right after us, but what speed, now let's go Akko, focus, I'm just looking forward, I concentrate everything, I think only in the lead.
"Her magic is believing in herself!" I say that so I can cheer myself up a little more, we are the four of us side by side.
The speed doesn't seem to increase much, but I feel a glow coming on my hand which I gradually manage to gain a little over the girls until I reach the finish line, in second position which is good enough, I get out in front of Diana! How cool! I brake the broom and then I lose my balance and fall and smash all on the floor, but luckily magic protected me from something worse and then I see Diana coming in front of me and giving her hand.
"Is everything alright Akko?" she asks, a little worried.
"Yatta! I beat you Diana! I passed in front of you!" I say jumping for joy, now I can truly say that she is my rival.
"Ah but who won was Hellene, this lass is all different, where did she get so much magic like that from? How can someone be humanly fast like that on a broomstick?" I almost said it's because she's Diana sister, but I'd better not say anything.
We both go to where Hellene is and she even gets a bit silly when she gets the trophy in hands, getting all happy, I could see her little smile on her face in a genuine way, on Diana too, she didn't feel so defeated, in the end it's nice to see that Hellene even won, then I even see Cavendish hugging her sister.
"Oh girl, where did you get all that speed?" Amanda asks.
"My mother was faster dan me, even today she makes me feel bad on the broom, even dough she is 46 years old" Hellene said shrugging her shoulders.
"Wow, that was quite a race" Mirage said.
"Tell me about it, I don't even know how I got that last push at the end, I felt all hopeful of winning" I tell them half excited.
"It was well deserved Akko, ye got the second position by being the best" Diana said stroking my hair.
"I saw your dispute and it was too cool! I wanted to be dere in the middle of it, fighting you lassies meter by meter, but I had to go all out, just to see how far I could go" said Hellene.
POV Hellene:
This one is for you mama Laura and also for you mama Bernadette, I dank you both for providing me de magic to win de broom relay, I am sure Diana will love it when she knows de truth at some point, ahhhhh, I think I can enjoy dis victory, in de end I did well even.
"It was hard, but I managed to win" I tell them with a smile on my face.
"Ye passed us like we were standing still fae ye, ye managed tae break the two hundred mile barrier on the broomstick, I saw the sparks, that's the kind of thing only an experienced witch focused on broomstick flying can do, it takes a lot of training and physique tae handle" Said my sis and I know it.
"Dat is why I am all trained, I have the body, but the skill, it was my mother who taught me everything, she was the one who gave me 'eavy training to improve my broomstick skills, even today I still can't beat 'er, it is even impressive, how she can be so fast, even at 'er age" I tell dem dat dey are even impressed.
A while later, it's time to take the photos, but the teachers notice something about Hellene...
"Wait a minute, don't take the picture yet, there's something weird about this girl's hand" Teacher Finnelan said and she must 'ave pointed at my prosthesis.
"Something strange? Or the fact that I don't have a 'and" I say taking off my prosthesis.
"I said it, she's using tecnology headmistress Holbrooke, that's sacrilege to Luna Nova, she's cheating with an object that could have given her extra magic to increase her magical ability" Said the teacher and I went away already feeling a bit offended, de prosthesis doesn't do anything to increase my magical ability, dis teacher is just being a jerk to me.
"Come here Finnelan we need to talk about a situation regarding this" De 'eadmistress said and she is standing next to me and started whispering in the teacher's ear.
I was practically reading the director's lips, I could understand some things and I was even a bit suspicious, but what a stupid thing to say, she practically saying that it's better for me to win than to have a mundane winning since Akko was in the second position and telling me to be considered the winner because of my disability.
"Well I am sorry about that Miss McLaren, I did a very bad interpretation and I think you must really have that, but even so know that this is an exception and that is due to your disability you still have the winning trophy, congratulations for your performance" What a capacitatist teacher, I am sure she would not say de same thing if I had a whole hand, or else would react so well if the winner was Akko.
Den I take de picture with Mari and Annabel, 'olding de trophy and showing de biggest smile, at least I can say dat it was something good, we managed to win this race, I won fair and square, I swear dat I wanted to win with only one hand to prove to dem dat I'm really good enough and dat it doesn't affect at all my prosthesis, after the picture I feel a little sorry for what the teacher said.
"Gee Hellene, that's uncalled for the way Ms. Finnelan treated you," Mari said, sort of comforting me.
"Not dat I 'aven't 'eard dat before, dey always say dat about my prosthesis, only because it really works very well, it's even an insult to my godmother, she is always measuring and making it according to my growth and still makes it in a way that I only have one working hand, dis part 'ere doesn't mean anything, it only serves as a way to use magic, I would even say dat dis prosthesis consumes more magic dan everything" I tell her and she pats my back.
"Now let's go, you deserve to celebrate this victory, we won because of you" said Mari.
"We'll plan to get back at this teacher" said Annabel.
"No! Just leave the teacher alone, den you'll sully yourselves because of me, den I'll feel even worse, for de nine witches, just let it go, it's not worth getting into a fight over it" I tell the lassies who are kind of rolling deir eyes, I just don't want us to get into trouble.
"It surprises me how silly and naive you still are, Hellene," Marianne said.
We den leave in the middle of the crowd of people, we go into Luna Nova, now calmer, I look at de pictures of de winners, I notice that ours is right next to Diana's, how cute, my sister won last year, dat's very nice, I see dat my mother also won all from 87 to 89, the three pictures in a row and she is the only one with three in a row in years.
"Last year was an unfair victory fae me, Akko who should be here" Diana said beside me, with her hand on my shoulder.
"What do you mean sis?" I ask 'er and holy shit I let go of a sis... I can't believe it really happened, I'm embarrassed, I 'ope she doesn't question it or anything.
"Ye're kind of polite tae me, but I'll tell ye a little bit, last year Akko dinnae even know how tae fly, ye must already know about the story of magic theft at Chariot shows, sae, me and Akko were victims of that, she dinnae even know the basics, it was the biggest disaster, believe it or nae, she used a modified broomstick and beat me, honestly, but she was disqualified, I have a feeling that this place just wants tae let Akko down, just wants tae subjugate her, I have a bit of that, ye know... But it could just be a theory" my sister said.
"I'm sure, I read the 'eadmaster's lips talking to teacher Finnelan, I wasn't disqualified because Akko was de runner-up, it would 'ave been uglier for dem to classify a mundane and put it on de wall, now dat you mention Akko's condition it makes sense, poor 'er, dis place really wants to kick 'er out of 'ere" I say until I feel bad.
"It's all clear in my mind now, I really hope Akko can get through this, can I ask ye something silly?" Sis said.
"She will, and yes Diana, you can, I'm all ears" I tell 'er.
"I'll magically pull out a strand of yer hair sae nae one notices and ye put it inside this little plastic bag, I dinnae want it tae end up like last week" Diana whispers tae me and I nod.
She pulls a strand of my hair, which I let her, if she finds out through dat it was a fair way, even more so dat it takes six weeks is enough time for 'er to talk to me, so Daryl won't suspect, it 'urt a lettle bit the pulling, I admit, den she puts it inside a little plastic bag and puts it inside 'er pocket.
"Thank ye Hellene, ye have nae idea how much this can help" Diana said all happy and I am too, confident of what may come.
Me and the lassies go walking in the corridors afterwards, we enter the room with the trophy in our hands and put it on de table, I can't believe we managed to win, I swore Diana would be more trouble, but anyway, I dink I must be way beyond, I trained with the best, I 'ope de mothers will be proud.
"Diana is going to do a DNA test with your hair and you know it don't you?" Marianne said.
"Yes, I know, I found out why she does dat, but it can be good, she shows us de result and I'm all happy, I tell 'er and we go to meet mommy Laura, I dink it's better dat she finds out, dan waiting to get Daryl" I tell the lassies.
"Oh finally you've realised that, you and your mother are stubborn, enjoy the time you can see Diana, that's one step up" Mari said.
"I still prefer not to reveal it until Christmas, it was as my mother asked, it will be de best present in both of their lives" I tell them and dey put deir hands on deir faces.
"Ahhh, how stubborn you are, but okay it's your choice, in six weeks time you know there's no way out, right?"] Mari said and I shook my head.
POV Narrator:
The 1334th relay of brooms of Luna Nova reaches its grand finale, a race that was entitled to many emotions, where the witches were leading to the limit of the brooms, but only one of them stood out in the case Hellene who showed much of what was the training that passed and all the speed on top of the broom, putting the competition to eat dust.
See you, broom racer witches...
Mirage Du Sud
Date of birth: 20 January 2003
Place of birth: Sainte-Agnes, France (French)
Height: 1.50m
Weight: 56 kg
Sexuality: Lesbian
Gender: Female (cis)
Occupation: Student (Luna Nova 2018)
Measurements (bust/ waist/hip): 89/55/92
Hair colour and appearance: Reddish red, straight 1B, short, reaching just above the shoulders, with fringes that go across the forehead and sides of the face
Eye colour and shape: Red with cross-shaped pupils
Physical appearance: Short of stature, athletic build, rectangular nose, pale Caucasian skin
Likes: Broom races, RPG, Mythology, Monsters, Witch fights
Dislikes: Boring classes, magical numerology, conservative witches, traditions
Mirage is a talented flying witch, she comes from the French mountains, her passion comes since she was a child, when she watched Chariot's performance in Paris, that was when the witch was still little known, Mirage ended up seeing there as a way to cheer herself up as a witch, bring back the Du Sud family as witches and with that she wants to search for something new, being the goal of becoming a great broomstick competitor known worldwide, but for that it would be necessary to create such a competition, which is her dream since always. Her personality is that of a girl of few words, but she is used to teasing and encouraging her friends to keep motivated to win her own.