Part 9: Hesitation and Challenge

Tooth Fairy: Be careful. Now you can spit it out. Right.
Patient I: puke
Vomit plunges into a bucket. Tooth Fairy doesn't spare it a second thought.
Tooth Fairy: That's the fifth one today. I added a bit of powder into the candy to loosen up their phlegm. It should help them breathe a little easier.
Nurse: Thank you so much, Doctor. We really had no idea what to do with this new variant of tuberculosis. You and the Foundation have been a real asset to us.
Tooth Fairy: You're welcome. This is a matter of vital health for all of us. I'm very glad to see the treatment is proving effective.
Tooth Fairy: And I hope that our clinical experience here might contribute to solving this "fog curse" as well.
Nurse: All I'm hoping for is for this mess to end soon, so we can go watch the Games together.
Tooth Fairy: Really, so the staff here are fans of the Uluru Games as well?
Nurse: Not just the staff. Everyone here loves a bit of sport! We're always listening to the broadcasts over the radio down in the ward.
Nurse: It's all quite motivating. Sometimes we even get the patients out onto the commons to practice.
Nurse: Something about the coming of a big sporting event always brings people together.
Tooth Fairy: ...
Tooth Fairy: That's all very good to hear. But actually, it was this poster that grabbed my attention.
She points to the small poster pinned beside the bed.
The picture is faded. It's too difficult to make out the face of the athlete.
Nurse: Ah! That's her!
Nurse: Gorgeous, isn't she?
Tooth Fairy: May I ask who she is?
Nurse: She happens to be this patient's favorite competitor of all time.
Nurse: She collected all of her posters and clippings. She even keeps a few photos of her as a bookmark, and in her purse.
Tooth Fairy: Her favorite ritualist ...
Caroline Bartley: Looks like you haven't had a proper guest in ages. Have you forgotten how to make a cup of tea?
Willow: You like to presume, don't you?
Willow: So, why are you here, then? Just to enjoy the sound of a door slamming in your face?
Caroline Bartley: Oh, how terrible of me for wanting to visit an old friend.
Willow: So then, Ms. Bartley, you came all the way down from Yorkshire just to gawk at an old rival? I should feel lucky, should I?
Willow: Truth is I don't care to chatter about with you, not now, not ever.
Willow: So you can just turn around and march yourself home. Flutterpage, back to business.
After glancing at Caroline, Willow turns and gives Flutterpage a look.
But Flutterpage is too busy staring at Caroline, her face vacant.
Flutterpage: Why'd you send her away like that? She just wants to practice with you. She likes you.
Willow: Focus on your stopwatch, on the count of three. No time to waste.
Flutterpage: She's still there.
Willow: She's none of our concern.
Flutterpage: And you ain't seen each other in a long time. Bet she misses you a lot.
Willow: For Pete's sake, Buzzie, no one does something like that just out of the goodness of their own heart. She has her reasons.
Flutterpage obediently closes her mouth but can't help herself from giving Caroline a reluctant glance.
Caroline Bartley: Charlotte, you know she's right.
Caroline Bartley: I have missed you. I want to see you, but if you really want to know the reason ...
Caroline Bartley: I want to challenge you again.
Caroline Bartley: The question is, do you?
Nurse: Do you know her?
Tooth Fairy: ...
Tooth Fairy: Charlotte O'Hagan ...
Nurse: Oh. Right! That's the name.
Nurse: Truth is, if it weren't for our little patient, I doubt I'd remember her.
Nurse: Most people think she's too old to compete now—that she's retired to God knows where; others say she's become an addict, wasting her life away.
Nurse: I guess I heard in the gossip rags that some people think she's keeled over and died.
Nurse: Too bad for this young lady, but I doubt we'll ever see her in the Games again.
Nurse: Wherever she is, she's like as not to lose, even if she did compete.
Willow: You just want to announce to the world you've beat me, eh? Think that'll be a fair challenge, do you?
Willow: Perhaps you ought to find someone a little more your speed, someone who is still in one piece.
Caroline Bartley: ...
Willow: Again, Ms. Bartley.
Willow: Please turn around. I haven't any sort of tea you'd like.
Caroline Bartley: ...
Caroline Bartley: You have changed, haven't you, Charlotte?
Caroline Bartley: Hmph!
After a brief moment of surprise, Caroline throws a ribbon at Willow.
The ribbon lashes fiercely, grazing the side of Willow's body before shooting past her.
Willow: What the blazes are you doing?
Willow: What?
Caroline pulls the ribbon back toward her, the cup landing squarely in her hand. She stands there calmly, her eyes still on Willow.
Caroline Bartley: You just said you don't have any tea I'd like, but I think this one is just to my taste.
Flutterpage: Wow, Ms. Willow, that ribbon is amazin'! It can go from long to short in a second!
Willow: ...
Willow: Aye, a little toss of the ribbon to take control of an object at a distance of 10 meters, catch an object after a turn. You did it. Well done. But your aesthetics were lazy.
Willow: You're controlling the angle of your left shoulder, which is good, but it only means you're compensating for your poor stance.
Caroline Bartley: ...!
Caroline Bartley: Heh. What then, are you expecting me to say thank you?
Willow: No need. Thank yourself for all that hard practice you must have done over all those years. You're almost good enough, now. Almost.
Willow: Keep the cup. Let's go back to our timing, Flutterpage.
Flutterpage: Alright. Bye bye, Ms. Swan!
For a moment, Caroline stands there motionlessly, cup in hand.
Then, she gradually lowers her eyes, places the cup on the fence post, and turns to walk away.
She has barely walked a few steps when Willow's voice reaches her from behind, not loud, but clear.
Willow: Oh, by the by.
Willow: The ribbon technique you just did. I know you learnt it from me, from my performance at the Beltane Exhibition Match. Am I right?
Caroline Bartley: Hmm?
The tone of her voice makes it almost impossible to simply walk away.
Caroline Bartley: Excuse me?
Willow: Each and every move, you copied it from my routine, right down to the ribbon.
Caroline Bartley: What?
Flutterpage: Ms. Swan, your face is all red, like my daddy's face when he reads a funny joke in his Punch books.
Caroline Bartley: Me ... Learnt from you?
Willow: You were taunting me right in front of my face, with my own routine, the very innovator that made it.
Willow: I suppose it was just an attempt to win my approval, was it?
Caroline Bartley: You really think that, don't you?
Willow: But, I'm afraid you're not different than when we last competed, Caroline. Aye, you're diligent, but you were never graceful enough.
Willow: That's what holds you back from glory in Floor Ritual. Your aesthetic sensibility, it's all you've ever needed, but you still don't have it, do you now?
Caroline Bartley: I ... I ...
Willow: You won't make any real progress reusing my old routines. Not unless you find your own way to express your pneuma and your own signature.
Shame and regret slowly creep across Caroline's face as she struggles to contain her anger.
Then, it bursts forth.
Caroline Bartley: You really are full of yourself, aren't you, Charlotte?
Caroline Bartley: Do you know how many titles I've won at the international tournaments? The Desert Floor Ritual Open, The Aurora Cup World Championship, and many others, let alone Uluru itself!
Caroline Bartley: The name Caroline Bartley has long surpassed yours! I am the uncontested top seed in these Games. The records of my skills, my own skills, are in the training manuals for new witches.
Caroline Bartley: Do you even know anything about the state of the competition these days? The rules and scoring systems are entirely different and higher in every way. The limits you once broke through are now considered standard for beginners.
Caroline Bartley: Hah! But indeed, I learnt it all from you.
Caroline Bartley: Face it. You've been left behind. You're no longer the model of perfection.
Caroline Bartley: You're just a shooting star that shined too briefly but eventually fell away. I am the rising sun. My name will be eternal in this sport, long after yours is forgotten.
Willow: ...
Willow smiles, her back turned to Caroline.
Willow: So be it.
Willow: Go on. Be the glorious sun.
Willow: And leave this fading star alone.
Caroline stands in shock as a couple of doves take flight, leaving behind a few drifting feathers.
Little Lisa: Aunt Martha!
Nurse: Lisa, you're back! We were just talking about you.
Little Lisa: About me? What about me?
Tooth Fairy: About your dream and your favorite competitor.
Little Lisa: Oh, oh, you mean Charlotte O'Hagan?
Tooth Fairy: Yes, we—
Little Lisa: That's great! But Mr. Fog needs us for a project!
Little Lisa: He says we can still have the Games if we all work together! Then maybe everyone will be able to attend the qualifiers! Maybe even Charlotte O'Hagan!
Tooth Fairy: A project?
Nurse: What sort of project?
The girl's cries draw the attention of everyone in the hospital, creating a buzz of confusion.
Patient I: Give me a break. What are they planning to do this time? Another useless bill that won't pass the House of Lords?
Tooth Fairy: Sorry for interrupting. Did I hear you mention Mr. Fog?
Little Lisa: Yes, Mr. Fog! He said he's making something that will lift all the fog from London!
Little Lisa: It's his great invention!
Little Lisa: With everyone's help, we can build a huuuge machine, but he says we'll need lots and lots of things, such as, um, pistons for the mechanic lung, and ...
Calm, steady footsteps grow nearer, and a large hand tousles the little girl's hair.
Mr. Fog: I'll take it over from here. Thank you, Lisa.
Little Lisa: Mr. Fog!
Tooth Fairy: Mr. Fog?