We saw Principal Sagewing and Minh on stage with a large, classic witch cauldron like the ones in the movies, complete with eerie green mist coming out of it. The mist was beginning to coalesce into some sort of figure.

The whole stadium was dimly lit, barely visible lamps providing just enough light to keep students from tripping. The mist created a foggy air inside the stadium. It felt compelling and entrancing in a strange way.

A thunderous silence cloaked the audience. No one moved, no one spoke, and all eyes were transfixed on the mysterious, spellbinding magic cast on stage.

“Those of you that just arrived, do not speak, and sit down,” Principal Sagewing commanded, her voice quiet yet clear.

We sat right away with another group of students that walked in with us.

“I have called this meeting because a prophecy has dawned upon us once more.”

Half of the stadium erupted in gasps, and the other sat in stone silent confusion.

The principal, seemingly annoyed, continued. “The prophecy claims that a student from this very academy will defeat the evil infamous Dragon Duchess. Apparently, this hero will be the one to finally terminate the nefarious organization she has created.” The principal said dramatically. “This information was sent to us directly by none other than the Immortal Council.”

The entire stadium was encapsulated by bewilderment. Even the veteran witches and wizards looked hesitant.

Amber shivered next to me.

Minh stepped up, as expressionless as ever. “We have called this assembly to discover this Chosen One. The Magic Mist will surround the one destined for this quest.”

Alright.

I didn’t comprehend a single word that just fell out of their mouths. What…? This spooky oracle thing was going to pick a Chosen Who? Said chosen person had to defeat some evil Dragon Person? I didn’t understand this. At all.

Besides, was I in some generic fantasy novel? In all types of stories, there is ALWAYS a villain. Always a chosen one that defeats the antagonist and lives happily ever after. The trope does get boring after a while, to be honest.

The “Magic Mist” flowed out of the cauldron and into the stadium. This thing knows that there are novices here, right? Hopefully, it has some shred of common sense and will choose one of the more seasoned warriors.

I spoke too soon. As the mist crept slowly across the grand hall, it seemed to be approaching an inexperienced child.

It was approaching me.

I sank back in my seat. Its soft glow grew more and more brighter as it approached me. I didn’t want it to be me. I scooted quickly away from it, averting my gaze as if it had eyes.

Why did it keep inching closer to me? Was I some sort of main character? Someone like me shouldn’t be the main character.

I don’t even know my powers, and they’re calling me to defeat a super villain? Go away, mist! There is nothing of value to be found here!

I squirmed in my seat, trying to avoid it. I pushed myself a little bit out of my seat, I leaned away and almost stood up. There was no way I was letting myself get picked, even if I had to run away and make it pick someone else in my stead.

It steered right.

Relief ran like a warm bath down my back.

I glanced at Amber, gauging her reaction on how close it came to choosing me. She paid no attention to me, though. Instead, her gaze was focused on something to my right.

Her eyes were wider than plates.

I glanced over curiously and choked on air.

The Mist swirled around Moxie, its luminescent shine amplifying as her eyes grew wide in surprise. Her small body tensed, frozen in place. The little girl’s pale, freckled skin reflected a color of gray heaven.

Moxie was the Chosen One.

I was dumbstruck as the Magic Mist lifted her up into the air and onto the stage. I noticed, with no small amount of annoyance, that Gwen was also here. She looked as shocked as I was. Her face was red and confused.

My irritation faded as I realized that Moxie was Gwen’s sister.

Some seats away, Brianna stared blankly at the stage, then shook her head and looked to the ground.

“What is your name, my dear child?” Principal Sagewing asked as the Mist set her down next to the principal.

“Moxie. Uh...Lars. Moxie Lars..” Moxie stammered.

Minh put her hand on Moxie’s shoulder. Her emotionless mask finally cracked as she gave Moxie a reassuring smile, although I could tell that she had no idea what to do, either.

“Thank you for this evening’s participation.” She smiled tightly as she grabbed Moxie’s tiny, tiny shoulder. “We now have our hero. This tiny... weak... girl.”

Everyone was shocked. That was it?

A random student voiced my thoughts, “What’s going on? Who’s the Dragon Duchess?”

“The prophecy refused to answer. I don’t know why,” Minh said, lingering on stage. “Prophecies are given in the form of pure magic. Skilled witches and wizards have the ability to interpret them.”

“Well, what’s the interpretation?” The student called.

“This prophecy, read by none other than my mother herself, stated that ‘A young hero will be chosen to defeat the Dragon Duchess.’ And nothing else.”

“Not much of a legacy if we don’t even know who it is!” Another voice yelled.

“The prophecy does not lie.” Principal Sagewing said with a direct look at the speaker. Now, since she is the Chosen One, I will give this child special training myself. Beginning tomorrow.” She declared. “You are all dismissed, get out now!”

Was that some sort of sick joke?

I had hoped so, but Principal Sagewing’s face was nothing short of grim. Minh’s profile was equally grave, as if carved in stone.

The lights on the stage dimmed, but did not fully turn off. The rest of the stadium was lit up by small beams of light again as people began to leave. Amber, Max, and Brianna had already gotten up to leave and motioned at me.

“Earth to Mackie? Hello? The assembly’s over, let’s get out of here,” Max said as he waved his hand in front of my face several times to draw a reaction.

Instead of replying, I looked towards the waves of students filing out the doors before glancing back at the stage.

“Actually, you guys go ahead. Don’t worry, I’ll be there in a second,” I mumbled absentmindedly, still watching the stage.

My friends shared a concerned look and shrugged. Amber and Brianna headed for the exit, Max following them out after clapping me on the shoulder.

The principal had already moved away, gesturing at Moxie to follow her. The girl turned around, managing to catch my eye.

I smiled at her reassuringly.

She must’ve understood, because she nodded and jogged away after the older woman without giving a second glance.

In the corner veiled by partial darkness, Minh was fidgeting with the edges of her shirt. She glanced quickly at the ceiling, almost hopelessly, and trudged away after her mother as well.

What was that?

A part of me wanted to believe what the random student had said about the prophecy being unreliable and unproven, but the rest was filled with doubt and worry for Moxie. Minh’s little hidden fidget was too real.

I couldn’t keep down my growing discomfort. Would it have been better if I was chosen? Moxie was so young. Her magical abilities were pretty impressive and her physical skills were excellent, but was she really ready to take on such a task? It looked to me like she had a big challenge ahead of her.

Why were the principal and her daughter so dramatic when they described the prophecy? What was about to happen? Was Voldemort reborn at his full power or something?

I had so many questions that would likely never be answered. No one understood what was going on, aside from the two people on the stage at the beginning of the assembly. Not even the teachers could have foreseen this. The principal and Minh vanished as soon as dismissal was called, so I couldn’t ask them about it even if I mustered enough courage to do so.

As chatter exploded among the students about the events that had just transpired and all of us filed out the broad stadium doors, I rejoined my friends with a slightly forced smile and prayed that Moxie would stay safe.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Max, Amber, and I practiced sword fighting that evening, going much deeper into the night than usual. It was an unspoken promise to each other, but we knew we had to distract ourselves from worrying about Moxie.

I fought against Max, who tried to keep up with me breathlessly. “Really, Mackie. Moxie. Is going to be. Fine.” Each word was punctuated with a swing.

Clang!

Max kept assuring me of Moxie’s safety, although he sounded more like he was trying to convince himself.

Sweat hung as beads on his forehead, and his shirt was dampened with effort.

“Principal Sagewing. Is probably. The finest. Trainer in the world, especially with Minh, too- Ow!” Max yelped as I swung a full circle, slamming into his blade. Hard.

Cling!

“But. Moxie. Just got here. And she. Only has a little dagger. She’s got potential. But. She isn’t ready. At all!” I muttered, my lips wet with sweat.

Clash!

Our swords collided, and I felt Moonshine getting squirmy in my hands.

I spun out of Max’s range of attack and gracefully dipped back into a fighting stance. My ponytail brushed the base of my sweaty neck.

“A smaller blade doesn’t mean less skill. It’s just more suitable for her. Maybe it’s all a test. Maybe the Dragon Duchess is someone around her ability level. This could be some sort of exam. You get picked to fight some fake villain, by some fake prophecy. You’re just tested on your skills.” Amber adds in from the sidelines as she polished her own sword.

Thunk!

Max’s blade caught in my sword’s hilt.

“I don’t know about that, if that was the case did they really have to-” I paused to duck, “-put her on the spot there?”

Thrash!

I plunged Moonshine forward, sparks flying as it slid against Max’s blade.

“You gotta stop. Panicking. And worrying. Relax! Like me!” Another swing.

Clang!

I looked at the boy incredulously. “How do you expect me to relax when one of our friends might be in danger? I thought this school was supposed to be safe.”

From the side Amber chimed in again, “It is safe! Well, except for the sword fighting, the constant battles were put in, that fight you had with Gwen-”

Bang!

“The human world would’ve been much worse than that, especially with no training at all.” Max croaked.

“Really?” I asked, striking another arching swing. “Like what?”

“Once my dad got kidnapped!” Max said, hopping away from my sword. “He got back, but before he did, we got a ransom for a page in his grandfather’s spellbook. You could summon a whole hurricane with it.”

I stopped for a moment.

“Don’t worry, he’s fine,” Max assured me. “And we still have that spellbook.” We lunged back into fighting.

The next clash between the two weapons had Max pausing for a few seconds, waving at me for a timeout. The two of us dropped our blades on the ground, breathing heavily.

“This might be. A tad bit off-topic. But you know the full spin. That you did with your attack earlier, right?” Max gasped, dropping his sword.

I nodded at him with expectant eyes, catching my breath and dropping my own sword while I waited for him to explain.

“Well. The attack isn’t good. Based on the way you’re using it, at least,” he continued with more uneven breaths. “If you use it in battle, you’re leaving your back open. Completely vulnerable in those few seconds.”

I blinked, my mind attempting to absorb the new information. It was rare that I was given constructive criticism during physical combat, but it definitely was a valuable lesson to learn. I bent down to pick my sword back up, which Max took as an invitation to reclaim his own weapon and continue our sparring match.

Ting!

Strength partially renewed, our swords immediately met each other in a burst of sparks. I pulled away from Max to gain some distance for my next attack. As he lunged forward at my exposed side, I twisted and attempted to smack his left shoulder with my blade.

Thump.

Max blocked with a shapeshifted arm of steel.

“Ow! That actually hurt! Steel isn’t easy to make, you know.”

“Whatever, sorry,” I muttered, wiping my sweaty brow with the back of my hand.

I twisted my wrist and flicked my sword in a circle.

Max was confused for a second, but before he could make another move, I dove down, dug my blade into the ground, and pushed myself up forcefully. Shrinking the distance between us in half a second, I ducked under his counterstrike and knocked Max’s sword (flying) out of his hand with my own.

I won.

“Let’s go, Mackie Jade.” Max said, finished. He was really beat up, covered in nicks and cuts from fighting me. Amber looked tired too, though she had been watching from the side for some time now. We’d been sparring nonstop since the assembly.

I sighed, flexing my right arm. “Let’s hope nothing bad happens to Moxie.” Amber and Max murmured their agreement, and we left our goodbyes hanging in the crisp night air.