Chapter 53

February 21, 2002 – 16:00

Frank rang Victoria's doorbell. She let him in.

"I'll be ready in a minute. Come in," she said from the landing above the stairs and returned inside her apartment.

"Are we going there by car or a different method? I meant to ask Coralis, but forgot about it."

"We're going there by car, yes. The game starts at 18:00 tonight, but we should be there on time, even if there is traffic on the highway."

"I've been looking forward to it, honestly. The last few days, it's been all my sister can talk about and well, I'll get to see what Coralis actually does for a living."

"You'll like it, I think. I know you're not a sports fan, but you'll probably enjoy the atmosphere. Plus, it's indeed a pleasant way to introduce you to our world. I mean, to what we are, as that sport is rooted deep in mage culture. I take that you're not too mad anymore at me and Coralis?"

"I'm still a bit upset, but more about the fact that you guys didn't tell me sooner. I haven't seen Coralis since Sunday night, but we've been talking more. I like that for once, she told me exactly what she was up to, instead of just saying work, and to me, it weights a lot. It makes me feel closer to her."

Victoria put on her winter coat, grabbed her purse and keys and headed to the door.

"That's good to hear. Let's go if we don't want to be late."

"Coralis told me that your father is human?" said Frank once they were both in Victoria's car.

"Yes, that's true, so my mother had to do the very same thing Coralis did last weekend and revealed what she was to my dad."

While she was driving to the flyball field, Victoria told Frank about her childhood, what it was like to grow up in a mixed family, and how Coralis was actually the first elemental friend she made when they started school. She turned into a barely visible dirt road, that was still covered in snow and parked the car next to others, in the middle of a clearing.

"Here we are," she said as she turned off the ignition.

"I don't see any building. I see other cars, a lot of trees, but nothing else."

"You'll see it once we pass the wards, but you'll have to hold my hand to be able to pass through the wards without feeling confused and wanting to turn around. Don't worry, I've got no intention of stealing you from Coralis."

They got out of off the car and she held her left hand to him. He grabbed it with his right one.

"One thing I should tell you before we get in. You'll notice that Coralis is very famous in our community, she's like the sports star among us and you'll understand why tonight. You'll probably hear all kinds of rumours about her and most of them aren't true. She doesn't typically bother to address them either. The only one she addressed, through the team's coach, is the one linking her to Sebastian, but some people still believe it."

"They both have similar side jobs, I guess it makes sense, they both are involved with the same group of people, from the CMMA, right?"

"Right, but it's not only because of that. According to Coralis, and I do believe her, all Sebastian can talk about is your sister. However, I'm sure they also have been talking a lot about elemental politics away from prying ears, which I'm sure fueled these rumours."

Suddenly, a massive bright yellow building appeared in front of him, entirely made out of bricks. He stopped walking. His eyes went wide.

"Now you see it?"

He nodded. He was speechless. Victoria tilted her head toward the direction of the door and started walking toward it. Frank followed her, but couldn't stop looking at the building in front of him. He had never seen bricks in that particular colour.

They got inside, and he stopped walking again. Victoria let go of his hand and spoke with the security woman who was standing near the door. Frank was in awe, he wasn't expecting what was in front of his eyes, even if his sister told him about it many times. The lobby seemed endless and had the feeling of a travelling fair, with rollercoasters, rides and skill games. Victoria grabbed his hand again to get him walking again.

"Come on, the game will start soon and we still need to make it to the team-reserved box, where you'll get the best view of the game."

His sister was already there, sitting next to a man who looked like Sebastian.

"BRO! Finally, you're here!" she got up and hugged him as he approached her.

"I take that you're the human male Blue has been seeing for the past two years? I'm Hector, Sebastian's brother."

"Uh yes, that's me," said Frank, turning his head to look at his friend Victoria. "I guess I need to get used to that name?"

"Yes, and only call her like that when you're among us. Never know who's listening and she can't have people knowing her real name. Names have power, and so does knowledge."

Hector introduced him to Ralphonse, his father, and to other people in the box. Frank sat next to his sister and the game started shortly after. He couldn't keep his eyes off Coralis.

"This is her first year as the team's captain, but her fifth one as a full-time member. My son and Lydia, the blonde attacker, started playing with the Northerners the same year, as reservists. When they got recruited, the team hadn't won the Silver Cup for over thirty years, but they won it the first year they started as full-time members with them," said Ralphonse a few minutes after the game started.

"They lost the following year but it came close," said Victoria.

"Sure, but they won the year after. Last year, they lost in the semi-finals, but I think they'll get it this year," said Hector.

"Now you see why I insisted you come to a game," said Stephanie.

"Definitely. I love it. I think I'll want to come again, to be honest. I like the feeling of this place, and it makes me realize that movies don't even come close to how your world actually is. This is still so surreal to me."

"I often go to my parents to watch the game. My dad is a huge fan. When the team plays abroad or for some reason, you don't want to drive all the way here, you can come with me when I go there. My dad could tell you all about how wrong most movies are when it comes to us," said Victoria.

"Which makes me think, what's the difference between a mage and a witch?"

"The main difference is in the way we use our magic, how we convert our innate energy into what we want it to do. The way we use our wands also differs. A witch will use a wand to perform a specific spell. See their wands as a pre-programmed device that will absorb their energy and convert it into a spell. For a mage, however, it's more like a conduit that acts as an amplifier. We can use our elemental energy to manipulate elements without a wand, but it uses more of it and tends to drain us quickly," said Ralphonse.

"If we use up too much energy, we pass out," said Victoria.

"You said the other day that you hated witches, why?"

"Most of them are slimy things. Never trust witches, you never know if they're considering selling your body part when you talk to them."

"Depending on their bloodlines, many of them will call upon the energy of their ancestor when they want to perform stronger spells or draw on the energy of their entire coven," said Ralphonse.

"Or use your body parts to please some demons and curse you for generations if you refuse them a deal," said Victoria.

Frank looked at her.

"You serious?"

"Close enough to the truth, I'd say," said Hector.

Near the end of the game, he jumped off his seat. The Spanish captain bumped into her and he saw her freefall.