Seven laps had now been completed.

She jockeyed for position as she attempted to sharpen her handling of the track's curves, feeling suddenly that her intent to compete despite her inexperience might have been foolish, but the white steamcar remained just barely beyond her grasp when they'd nearly completed the eighth lap.

Mina's heart pounded in her chest, and her hands had long passed the point of becoming sweaty. Her helmet felt stifling, but she possessed no method of removing it.

Was she…

No.

No!

She caught a glimpse of Carl jumping up and down in the distance and a quick memory raced past.

"You're gonna be the queen of this track someday," Carl said. "This is your track."

"My track," she repeated.

"You can't be afraid of your own track, can you? When you're driving your car that you worked so hard on?"

She began to nod. "My track," she said again.

"Your track."

"My track."

"You gonna let this peasant pass you like that on your track?" she heard Carl's voice ask.

"Never," she whispered as she passed the mark and completed her eighth lap. Her hands gripped the wheel anew.

She mustn't be afraid on the track.

It was her track, after all.

More than that, this was her chance.

Perhaps the only one.

A chance for Carl to truly be proud of her.

No amount of fear would keep her from such a prize.

She handled the next curve as precisely as she was capable, biding her time. The road sped by, and she focused completely on limiting the gap between her steamcar and the white one, managing to keep it to a single steamcar's length as she completed her ninth lap.

She'd held an expedited war council in her mind, and a scheme had emerged. It was a bold one, and perhaps she would fail, perhaps even with disastrous consequences, but she was no longer afraid. That she'd managed to reach even this point defied belief when contrasted to her previous life.

She'd left that accursed city!

She'd traveled to another nation!

She'd met the Demon Queen!

She'd visited a dwarven city!

She'd met her old tutor Valgud Flintbrow once more!

She'd learned that lightning could be controlled!

She'd stumbled, yes, and she'd succumbed to her fears again, but she'd recovered!

She'd even met her childhood hero, Volcatia Scipio!

And now she had the chance to become a legend just like her.

A Queen of Racing.

The words had seemed a silly fantasy the first time she'd heard them.

The tenth lap passed by in a haze, and she studiously maintained her position, mimicking the too-precise steering of the white steamcar.

The final curve came into sight, but still she stayed her course as her foe remained just ahead, a queen observing the rebel general's final assault.

When she began to exit the curve, she pressed on the go pedal until it touched the floor, commanding her legions at last to attack with their full might.

She would become a Queen of Racing!

No matter the cost.

Her steamcar surged forward with a burst of speed unlike anything she'd ever felt before. Her body was pressed her tightly against her seat, and Ir'alith's new wind enchantments were put to the test.

A slight correction of her course brought her into a flanking position, and then she'd drawn abreast of her opponent.

Her vision began to dim and narrow as an intense exhaustion assailed her mind, and she applied the totality of her willpower and strength to maintain control amidst the roaring in her ears.

She would never yield.

Her body tensed, eyes fixated on her destination.

She demanded more of her forces.

A Queen of Racing could not fail when victory was so near!

She held the remnants of a breath she'd snatched despite the immense pressure upon her chest, and the rebel steamcar was now visible in her mirror when her eyes flicked fractionally upwards.

She returned her eyes to her track.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

A Queen of Racing needn't bother with those behind her.

The finishing line loomed before her, but still she did not yield even as her sight continued to dim.

Her throne awaited.

She sped past, and only then did she let the breath she'd been holding be squeezed from her chest. A tingling sense of shock spread over her. It seemed somehow that she was moving far less rapidly than she had been, and a sudden lightness followed, requiring that she to squint against the returning brightness of the afternoon suns.

She gasped for air, drawing it into her lungs as pure euphoria.

I've… I've done it? Mina slowed her steamcar as she continued to drive. I've won? Have I? She navigated the familiar curves of her racing track once more while regaining her sense of awareness.

Gradually, she became aware of a thunderous noise that only grew louder the longer she focused on it. She looked from side to side, taking in for the first time since the start of the race the thronging masses of people on every side of her.

"-SEEKERS, I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT WE'VE JUST SEEN! MINA WEATHERS, THOUGH SHE SEEMED TO HAVE GIVEN UP, HAS ENDURED UNTIL THE FINAL MOMENT! HER THIRST FOR VICTORY COULD NOT BE DENIED! VICTORY-SEEKERS, WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THIS?"

The crowd roared even more loudly. "WEATHERS! VICTORY! WEATHERS! VICTORY!" they chanted over and over, bouncing up and down and raising their arms in the air as she drove past.

I have! I've done it! "I've done it!" Mina shouted, starting to laugh. "I'VE DONE IT!"

For the first time, people cheered for her.

Her, the once-princess who had been disgraced and removed from succession.

Her, disdained and ridiculed by her sisters.

Her, a girl who had always refrained from engaging in any activity which might bring notice upon herself.

Her, a girl who has always been afraid.

Mina slowed as she approached the finishing line once more. Giddiness and excitement suffused her being, and she was unable to even bring her mind to bear on any single thought while she marveled, open-mouthed, at the continuing adoration of the crowd.

A woman dressed in glittering armor stood to the side of her track, gesturing for her to stop.

The Queen of Racing brought her treasured steed to a gentle halt and ran her fingers over the steering wheel after applying the locking brake. "You've done well," she murmured. She unfastened the buckles on her safety harness, then reached up and pulled her helmet off, luxuriating in the relative coolness of feeling air directly upon her face once more. She unlatched her door, but she paused before stepping out. No, I'm finished with hiding. I'm finished with being afraid. She tugged off the skeleton mask and set it on the seat beside herself beneath her helmet.

Mina Weathers opened the door of her steamcar and stepped out into tumultuous cheers, closing and latching the door behind herself. She grinned wildly as she turned around, pressing her hands to her mouth. They're truly cheering for me! She tried waving a little, and the crowd's response was near-deafening. Her lips trembled, and she felt her heart hammering. They… They're truly happy for—

"Mina Weathers!" called the voice of the commentator.

Mina looked over and saw the other woman approaching with a smile that nearly matched her own, holding in her hand a rounded, cylindrical object with the spear and shield of the Empire embedded on it which she tilted towards her mouth as she spoke.

"After a late entry by way of imperial decree, you just found your victory in the Hero's Cup, Weathers," said the other woman, her voice echoing throughout the entire venue. "Do you have anything you want to say at this moment?" She lowered the device and held it before Mina's face.

Anything I'd like to say? The mind of the newly-crowned Queen of Racing became devoid of thoughts. Then a single thought surfaced.

A memory.

"I'll dedicate my victory speech to you," Mina said.

"I'm gonna look forward to that then," Carl replied with his usual smile.

Her eyes started to sting, but she fought back, unwilling to succumb to tears yet again when she felt so much joy. "Y-yes," she said, her voice cracking slightly. She cleared her throat. "I'd like to thank Carl Weathers," she continued, hearing the echo of her Stadalite words resound through the device. "Without his constant reassurance, his caring, his belief in my abilities…" She felt a surge of emotion, and her vision grew watery. "He's been as a father to me, and I'd not be standing here without his efforts. Thank you so much, Carl."

The crowd cheered her words, and she sniffled, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "Also, naturally I'd like to thank Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Aquila, for granting me entry to this race—"

The assembled crowd grew even more raucous in their shouting and hollering.

"And," Mina continued with a rueful smile, "though I'd prefer not to, I've a need to thank Vol—"

"No!" screamed a man's echoing voice, cutting hers off. "No, no, no! I didn't fucking lose! Couldn't… No! You cheated!"

What manner of… Mina looked around in confusion.

A towering, man-shaped machine constructed from white metal stomped towards her along the track, sending tremors through the ground and shattering the road with each step.

Mina drew back.

"Yeah, you fucking cheated, didn't you, bitch?" called the man's voice. He started chuckling, growing higher in pitch as he continued. The machine kicked out, connecting with her steamcar and sending it spinning upwards to disappear into the distance. "This was supposed to be my time! I was supposed to be the hero! I was trying to help people!" One of the machine's arms came up and pointed towards her. "I'll just kill—"

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" bellowed another, deeper voice. Something blurred past her and crashed into the center of the machine. It rocked backwards, and Carl dropped to the ground before the metal monstrosity. He dashed forward, moving too quickly to follow, and grabbed its leg, his face turning red with exertion as he lifted the entire machine slightly off the ground.

"What?! Carl? Let go!" shouted the strange man's voice.

Mina watched with wide eyes. What's happening? She looked to the commentator next to her, but the taller woman was standing with an expression of disgust on her face. She tapped the device in her hand, but its lack of expected response seemed to confuse her.

Carl let out a loud grunt and heaved, tossing the machine a short distance away into the central space within the track where it crashed down onto its side. He chased after it with his fist raised, letting out a powerful battle cry as he leapt up in the air towards its head.

"I was gonna do this anyway after taking your spear, but now's a good time for it too!" screamed the strange man as the huge machine started pushing itself upright.

"Isemeine!" called another voice.

A familiar voice.

Mina turned around slowly, feeling dread fill the pit of her stomach.

Emma waved to her with a false smile from just past the stone barrier at the edge of the track area. "I'd thought that was you again! Isemeine, I've missed you so dearly! Return to my villa with us. Let's properly celebrate your great triumph!"

Mina took a step back. She swallowed, but her mouth was suddenly dry. Her palms felt that they'd immediately grown sweaty once more. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. The other sounds of the world faded away.

Emma tilted her head and pouted. "Isemeine, come, us sisters must band together! We've always been family, have we not? I've ch—"

"We are not family!" Mina yelled in a sudden fit of rage, her entire body feeling as though it had burst into flame as she reverted to her birth language. "You've never been family of mine! You've never cared for me, only for yourself!" She thumped her hand against her chest. "I've felt what true family is, and you've more in common with shit than family!"

Emma's jaw clenched, and her face reddened. "How dare you speak to me like that?" she shouted. Her hand reached up and patted the arm of a spear-bearing man standing beside her. "Marcus, fetch her for me, would you? She's being willful again as I'd told you she would."

The man smiled down at her and nodded before vaulting over the stone barrier, striking the butt of his spear against the road with every other step. "Come, girl, you belong with your sister," he called as he approached.

"Okay, okay, I'm here," Vol said, suddenly standing in front of Mina and wearing her usual white cloth over her mouth. She clapped a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I'll admit it, you're interesting, Mina," she said with a spark in her eyes. "Sorry I—"

The point of a spear erupted from the older woman's throat, and her eyes rolled up into her head as she collapsed backwards.