The Once And Future Witch.

"How about this:" I gestured dramatically, as if my hands spun the words themselves in the air, "The Witch of Miracles embraced the dire consequences of her sacrifice. Not because she wanted to. Because she had to, for the sake of the Continent. For the sake of us all. An outrageous concession indeed, yet a small price to pay so the sun may rise once again over this world."
I sat on the single bed, watching Femto float gently across the room as if resting in an invisible hammock.
"Sounds good." She clapped slowly, "But that's not what happened, now is it? Anyone who paid attention will know that."
Damnit. She just had to cut right through my brand. Well, that's why I needed her. And I wasn't giving up that easy.

"Very well... How about this: The Title of Champion of the 129th Rasheul **** Tournament may be coveted by the unassuming masses, yet my ambitions exceed the scope of a mere contest. Is it strange, then, that I was willing to forfeit but one battle? Clearly she and I both wished to savour victory, but I foremost wanted to see my grand vision realized! I merely looked ahead, to a far more monumental victory! "
"We're talking about the same Allison here?"
I groaned, "Then... I realized that victory was to come only at a great expense, so I strategically forfeited..."
"You lost."
"...That's not the point!" I snapped, "What matters is why! Why things transpired the way they did. That's what the readers of my memoirs will be interested to know. My perspective! My journey!"
"Oh, want me to tell you why you lost?" She floated behind me, on top of the bed I sat on, "You underestimated her. That's why you lost."

I opened my mouth to object, but then shut it.
Did I play around with her? Yes. Yes, I did. That's what my Toybox was for. But I also fought with the full extent of my magic and my wits.
All in all, my performance exceeded all expectations. But was that the same as not underestimating her?
In a standard setup, Femto could've taken on any mere human, no matter how exceptional. And yet, I allowed her the opportunity to devise a countermeasure.
Why?
Because I was under the apprehension that I could intimidate her.
Because I did not see her as a worthy opponent.

I puffed out my chest, "Can you blame me? I am Beatrice! The Witch of Miracles! I do not entertain any notion of what's 'impossible'!"
"True, true..." Femto slipped on to the bed and sat next to me.
"Look, I have magic and smarts! She only has smarts! Anything she can do, I should be able to do better! If I faced a hundred Science Girls a hundred times each, I would wipe the floor with them every time!"
"Weeell..." Femto smirked, "You've only ever faced one of her. And if I recall, she was the one doing the wiping."
"That's not my fault!" I threw a pillow at Femto, "My plan was flawless! She only got away with it because she never acted the way she was supposed to!"
Femto stared at me in silence, waiting until the stupidity of what I said dawned on her.
"Yes..." I drooped, "I know. If she beat me then she obviously did what she was supposed to. But... there's more to it than that. She took stupid risks. She acted on impulse, without thinking things through. And she was... She was..."
"You mean she wasn't like you?" Femto suggested.

That stung.
It wasn't untrue though.

Honestly, I'd rather have been defeated by a common child with a sling, as long as that child had something in common with me. Anything.
But Science Girl... She was everything I was not. And everything I was was the opposite of her. My nemesis. And yet she won. She downright proved that being like me wasn't enough to win.

It's not fair.
She'd have been just as happy if she lost or won. But me?
I'm supposed to be better. I'm the Witch of Miracles! My magic brought entire nations to their knees. Everything I've ever done, I did to exalt myself above those happy enough to live their miserable little lives the way they prefer. Like her.
As it turns out, however, I didn't need to be like that.

I clenched my fists, and dropped down on the bed with a sigh.
"Indeed. It was her victory over me." I said softly, "But it was my victory too. Over myself." I let those words linger. Then I sat back up, looking at Femto with anticipation, "Well? How does that sound?"
She laughed, "Yeah. Good enough."

Ah, what music to my ears.
Now with that settled, I could relax for the first moment since we arrived at the inn. Some good old Magic Vision would sit perfectly. When I turned it on, however, I got nothing but blizzards. As expected, the reception out here in Helman was ghastly. But nothing was beyond the magnificence of the Witch of Miracles. I shot a projectile of warbling energy from my fiinger, and the blizzard cleared up the instance it struck the mirror.

"--thing short of a monumental achievement!" Ben shouted into his mike.
Oh yeah! Today was the Grand Finale. I hadn't kept up with the Tournament. Mostly on purpose. It's not like I lost interest, but the idea of watching a fight I could have faced made my stomach churn. I suppose by the time I finally tuned in, the Tournament had just about been settled.
"Never before have we witnessed a Tournament like this! You should consider yourself lucky to endure one day with only a single catastrophic incidence! But like with all years, the Tournament must come to an end! Tonight, we bore witness to a historic clash between two titans of terror and renown! Their battle raged on until the dead of night, but eventually our Champion stood victorious above all others! You all witnessed when the Golden Knight himself, Spartano Sylvester d'Artagan..."
Huh. I would have presumed the ZigZag fellow would have persevered in the end. Still, it makes sense.
"...Surrendered! Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for our Champion: Tickle-Fetishist Lauren!"
"...What?"

The view panned over, and there stood our Champion.
A savage barbarian of a girl in tiger skin bikini wrapped around her lithe frame. She stood with her foot planted on the panting Golden Boy's bare chest as she threw kisses. He didn't budge so much as a muscle to throw her off. Courtesy of the control spell. She posed all dramatically, hands on hips or throwing kisses to the cheering audience.
I'd give anything to trade spots with her.

She hoisted the beefy naked man over her head and ran circles round the Arena, carrying like a trophy for all to see.
All while cackling madly.
Oh, brother. What a fiasco. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
So I decided to growl.

The difference in size between winner and loser could not have been more conspicious. She looked like a child strutting around with a gorilla over her head. That didn't stop her from sprinting lap upon lap with the relentless vigor of a caffeinated hummingbird. Not least of which was because he rested his back on her palms without so much as moving an inch to resist.
Eventually she stopped when Ben stepped in the way with his mike, "Miss Tickler! We have just watched as the Golden Knight gave in to your devastating tickle maneuver! Thus you claim the title of Champion for this the most tumultuous Tournaments in the history of Rasheul! The Crown is yours! As is the one who contested your might for it! Now we all wait to hear you speak before us a word of your triumph!"
He aimed his microphone to her.
"OOOOH! THIS WAS FUN! AHAHAHA! I ICKLE TICKLED MY LITTLE TICKLE TOY!"
Golden Boy let out a groan. I must say, his new position was becoming of him.
"But of course. Of course." Ben laughed, "You are an exceedingly wealthy woman now! Not only have you acquired a substantial reward from winning every single match up until the finals, you also came into possession of the earnings of your captured opponents as well! Not to mention three, that's right, three holy relics acquisitioned from sir d'Artagan! Tell us, what is next for miss Tickler?"
"OHOHOHOHO! IMMA COMING! I'LL ICKLE ICKLE TICKLE ALL OF YOU! THERE IS NO ESCAPE!"
"You heard it here first, folks! Better be ready for this go-getter! How about a round of applause? Our Champion, everyone!"
The roarous applause of the crowd going wild was the last sound I heard before turning off the magic vision.

"What a foolish dreg..." I groaned, "Were it me, I'd have annihilated her before she could raise a finger."
"Hmmm, I don't know..." Femto chimed in, crawling to whisper in my ear, "You're more ticklish than anyone, aren't you?"
"Is that so~?" A voice all too familiar sang, "Had I known that I wouldn't have bothered with all them **** rays and whatnot!"

All color drained from my face. I turned my head. Slowly.
There she was. Sitting cross-legged on a chair by the desk.
"You!" I yelled at the Science Girl, pointing at her dramatically "What in the name of the Continent are you doing here?"
She jumped to her feet and laughed, "Hey, now! Can't a friend stop by another friend to say hello?"
"Y-you weren't supposed to come back..." I said between ragged breaths, "You don't belong here!"
"Harsh. Not untrue though." She paced about the room, "Actually that's why I came here! See, I'm putting together a picnic, and I was hoping you'd like to join in!"
"Picnic?" I blinked, "With you? Darling... We were at each others' throat not one week ago! We nearly destroyed all that is with our clash! You made me resign my dearest prize! And... And you want to go on a... Picnic!?"
"Yeah, that's kind of the point?" She cleared her throat, "Look... We've known each other for what? Three days? Tops? And yet in that time we've done nothing but conspire for the demise of one another. That's not me. That's not how I want to be remembered. And you know what? I don't think that's how you want to be remembered either. Sure, our relationship got off to a rough start, but that's not how it's gotta end, is it? So what do you say?"
She reached her hand out towards me.
I sighed in resignation, looking towards Femto, then back at Science Girl, "I don't suppose you have any baloney sandwiches?"
"Do I ever!"
I sighed, "In that case I suppose you've **** my hand. Very well."
I reached towards her hand, and we shook it firmly.

"Hah! I knew it!"
She looked back at Femto, "So how about you? Are you still mad that I tried to unglitch you out of existence?"
She cackled, then appeared floating next to Allison, "Darling... If there's any chance you ever try that again... Then I simply must ask to be present!"

"All right, looks like we've got ourselves a group!" The Science Girl took out her science rectangle, then pressed it. The space next to her withdrew like a fog in the wind, revealing a portal suspended in the air.

"Trust me, gals! You're gonna have the time of your life!"