2nd of Nokayn, 54
“Dear Velvet!
I'm doing it. I'm entering the competition. After thinking about it for a while, I decided you were right—the only way to gain true confidence is to put myself out there. If I just stay here and keep studying and studying with no end, I might gain knowledge, but I will never gain any real experience. Fighting that creature in the ruins was scary. But it also showed me something. It showed me that I do have what it takes and all that I am missing is action. I have to force myself into demanding and uncomfortable situations; maybe even a bit scary. Only then will I find out what I can really do. Anyone can throw a spell at a target dummy. There is no challenge in that. The downside is that you also can not grow from this. So I will fight in the competition. And I will fight to win. The next letter you receive will be from our academy's champion. I promise you that.
Yours,
Arianna
P.S.
I hope you're having a great time in Eldar and your water magic is improving. Say hello to your new friend for me—she sounds like a lovely person!”
When she finished rereading the letter, Velvet wore the biggest grin on her face.
“That's some confidence she has!” the elf commented. “I wish I had confidence like that!”
“She never had it before,” the other girl said, shocking her. “She earned that confidence. For years I've been telling her she has it in her. And now she's finally starting to realize it. Arianna is extremely talented—even more so than myself. But she's been her own greatest enemy. She sold herself short too soon. She lacked the confidence to back up her skill. Now that this wall is finally beginning to crumble, it will be a different story. We'll see a different Arianna now.”
She clutched the letter hard in her hands as she spoke. Loretta saw tears dripping down on it.
“Are you crying?”
“I'm so happy,” Velvet smiled through her tears. “I'm so happy for her! And at the same time, I feel sorry for her opponents. Now that she has found her confidence, Arianna will become unstoppable. You just wait and see.”
“You’re a truly wonderful friend,” the elf couldn't help but smile with her. “Only a true friend can cry tears of happiness at someone else’s success. Your bond is strong.” Her eyes trailed away and settled on the branches above them. “But that opponent might just as well be me.”
“So you're going through with this?” Velvet turned to her. “You're not going to argue?”
“There's no point in arguing with my father. Sofia also argued with him when he offered her hand to Oldar. In the end, my father always gets what he wants. We learned to accept that.”
“Well then,” her friend tapped her shoulder, “if your father chose you to be your academy's champion…then we will just have to make you into a champion!”
This confused the princess. “What do you mean?”
“I mean we are going to train you!” Velvet announced.
“You would do that for me?!” Loretta looked at her with wide eyes.
“Of course! You're my friend! I can serve as your opponent if you'd like.”
“That would be so wonderful!” she hugged her. “Thank you!”
“I won't go easy on you just because you're a princess, though,” Velvet grinned. “So prepare yourself! You'll need to give everything you've got to stand against me!”
The elf giggled in turn. “I wouldn't want it any other way.”
***
It was as Loretta had predicted, and her father wouldn't budge on his decision, even after she tried to talk him out of it, so she conceded to her fate and agreed to represent her academy. Velvet made good on her promise and began preparing her for the Magornis while training her water magic under Miss Pampleton. Days ticked by and turned into weeks. Autumn turned into winter and the new year came and went.
What surprised the young witch was that there had been no letters from Arianna for quite some time. The letter Velvet sent in reply to Arianna’s last one should have reached her weeks ago. She was wondering how the competition was going for her. It would take a while for it to even start after getting announced. Still, it should be well underway now. Then, at the beginning of Fodayn, it finally came—the letter she was waiting for.
22nd of Jadayn, 55
“Dear Velvet!
Sorry for not writing for so long, but I said in my last letter that the next one you receive would be when I become champion and the competition dragged out a bit.
I am proud to tell you now that I have indeed won our academy competition and have been declared champion! I will be heading to the Magornis at the end of this school year to represent Everdale academy. Thank you for always encouraging me and giving me confidence. This competition has shown me that I am far better than I thought I was. I can't believe how easy it was to beat some of the other graduates! Practicing every day for nearly nine years now and training under Argus for the last three has really paid off. I guess I've been selling myself short, haven't I?
I hope you and your friend are doing all right! Extend my greetings to her and any other friends you may have made during this time. And tell me how your training is going! I'd love to know!
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Yours,
Arianna”
“YES!!” Velvet exclaimed when she finished reading it. “I knew you had it in you, Arianna! You deserve it all!”
There was a knock on the door. “Come in!” Velvet called, knowing who it was.
“Am I disturbing something?” Loretta hesitantly stepped in. “Were you shouting just now?”
“Arianna won our academy championship!” the other girl announced gleefully. “She will be your opponent at the Magornis!”
“Wow, really?! I'm so happy for her! Congratulate her on my behalf as well, please!”
Velvet chuckled. “It's funny. I didn't know you were the princess yet in the last letter I sent her. Imagine the shock when I tell her the elven princess is congratulating her! Ha!”
“Ehehe,” the elf giggled. “That will be quite the revelation, won't it?”
“By the way,” the human scooted over on the couch, making room for her to sit down, “when are you leaving for the Magornis? From my knowledge, it is held on a remote island quite far from the coast of Kharil. Isn't that very far? You will need to travel all the way to the south of the elven lands and then take a ship across the southern sea to get there. I imagine that's going to take quite a long time!”
“Yes,” the princess nodded, “Tournament Island is where it is held. And you are absolutely right; that is basically on the other side of the world. The entire journey will probably take two to three months here from Eldar. Your friend has it a lot easier. If she leaves from Everdale, all she has to do is cross the Grand ocean and sail south.”
“You make it sound like that's a short distance,” Velvet chuckled. “The Grand ocean is vast and unpredictable. Compared to the southern sea, those waters are riskier.”
“True. Neither of us will have it easy. We will probably have to leave as soon as late Modayn or the start of Andayn to get there in time for the event.”
“We?” her friend tilted her head. “What do you mean ‘we’?”
“You and me,” Loretta replied as if that was the most obvious thing. “You will accompany me there, will you not? After all, you are sort of coaching me.”
“I get to go with you to the Magornis?!” Velvet jumped from the couch. “For real?!”
“Naturally. I have already informed father, headmaster Winkleshaw, and Miss Pampleton, and they all said it is fine. Unless, of course, you don't want to go. But I assumed since you are so excited about magic, you would want to be present at the biggest magic event in Rumerra that only happens every five years. So I went ahead and bought a ticket! And now your friend is going there too. I’m guessing you would want to watch her perform, right?”
After Loretta said that, Velvet stood there in silence for a moment before jumping into the elf's embrace. “Would I?! This is the best news ever! Thank you! Thank you so much for doing this!!”
“You're welcome,” Loretta hugged her back. “I was afraid you wouldn't want to go.”
“Are you kidding me?! This is like a dream come true! I get to cheer for you and Arianna!” She let go of her and scratched her chin. “But who do I root for if you two end up fighting?”
“Your friend, of course,” the princess laughed. “You've known her for much, much longer.”
“I'm just going to root for you both and may the best one win!” Velvet replied, smiling.
“That works too,” the elf said. “Wait…but you are training me now…”
“Yeah, so? What are you getting at?”
“Aren't you, like, training your friend's potential opponent? You're playing for the elven side!”
“Huh…I haven't thought about that. I guess you're right!”
“Should we…should we stop cooperating then?” Loretta asked, sounding unsure. “I mean, I would feel terrible if I fought your friend and eliminated her after you trained me.”
“Eh, nonsense!” Velvet waved her hand. “There won't be any hard feelings no matter who wins or loses! At least not from Arianna or me; you can be sure of that! It's just a game!”
“Are you sure this is all right?” the princess still wasn't convinced.
“It's perfectly fine!” her friend reassured her. “You are both my friends! I helped Arianna train as well before we parted ways. Heck, we sparred together practically all the time! This is no different from that. In the end, it's you two who learned and got better. I did nothing!”
“I wouldn't really say you did nothing, but if you are all right with this, then I am too.”
“Good!” Velvet picked up her pointy hat from the stand and bolted for the door.
“Where are you going?”
“What do you think?” she grinned back at her. “We're going to train, of course! Get your staff, get changed, and meet me on the training grounds in twenty minutes!”
Saying this, she walked out and slammed the door so hard that the books on the shelves almost fell off. Loretta heard the rattling of keys. “Hey! I'm still in your room, you know!”
“Oh, sorry, sorry! I'll leave the door unlocked! Just get down as fast as you can!”
“Coming!” she called after her.
The princess glanced at the table where Velvet put down Arianna's letter. She picked it up and reread it. The handwriting was beautiful and she found herself captivated by it. The entire text carried an aura of a calm and collected person, confident in her abilities. Loretta wondered what this girl was like. Arianna. It appears we will meet sooner than I anticipated. I just hope it won't be on the battlefield. I'd hate to have the friend of my friend as my enemy. It feels wrong.
Thank you for reading this part of the story! May you emerge victorious in all of your battles!
[https://img.wattpad.com/4e1dcff053ececec8e8aaf9c9264e6d21bdfc975/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f71544a54643959656c784e6343513d3d2d313239323739303839332e313732653331336533663561396234653237373338383932383537312e6a7067]
Next chapter, we go to the Magornis! Stay tuned!