W.I.T.C.H.: The Bloody Throne

Part 15

           Cornelia couldn't believe how quickly her former friends replaced her; furthermore, she was angry that they replaced her with a boy. Though she knew there was no way she could forgive Will for betraying them and everything they stood for to marry and sleep with that monster that wears the Meridian Crown, she had hoped they'd find a decent replacement for her. In addition to that, her boyfriend had been acting oddly in the past couple of days. From suggesting a quick visit to Ero, what she learned is a kingdom neighboring Meridian, to muttering in his sleep about needing to visit Ero. She wasn't sure how Caleb was going to Ero in the first place since he got banished from Meridian and the only way she knew to get to Ero was through Meridian.

Cornelia had to admit to herself that Caleb hasn't been the same since the trial. Since that day, he had been more cold and distance; he no longer treated her to lunch or dates, he no longer smiled, he preferred his time alone in his camp in the woods, and he stole liquor from her father's old cabinet. Most of the bottles were old and covered in dust, so Cornelia was certain that her family wouldn't miss them too much. The only positive thing the trial had brought about was how close it brought her and Caleb together, both emotionally and physically. Whereas before he kept his distance, he now spent every night that her parents were away with her; however, even the physical intimacy wasn't what she had expected. Sure he was able to give her what she wanted, but it lacked any form of comfort and warmth. In a way, it felt like he was only going through the motions but that his mind was somewhere else.

Lastly, it bothered her that the P.E. teacher had scheduled a run around the block in the cold weather. Begrudgingly, Cornelia entered the girl's locker room, which smelled of deodorant and old shampoo with a hint of sweat and headed for her locker. To her surprise, someone was using the previously empty locker beside her. She couldn't see who it was since the open locker door blocked her view, but whoever it was seemed to live a rough life judging by the various cuts, scrapes, and bruises on their legs. Still, she didn't pay the girl too much mind, since she only had a few minutes to change into her sportswear. Just as she opened her locker, the girl beside her closed hers and Cornelia nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw the boy that had tackled her earlier.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Cornelia hissed at the boy whom she was certain Irma had called Danny.

Danny, more calm and relaxed than Cornelia, only raised an eyebrow at the pretty blond. "I didn't see your name on this locker room, Cornelia."

"That is not what I meant; you do know this is the girl's locker room, right?" At that, Danny narrowed her eyes at the pretty blond for a moment before it dawned on her that this girl thought she was a boy. Without much hesitation, Danny lifted her baggy shirt to flash the blond.

"Listen toots, I know my hooters aren't as big as yours, but you gotta have piss poor eyesight to think I got a dick." With her check flushing red, Cornelia was greeted with the sight of a slightly too feminine figure and barely existing breasts.

"You know, A's are for kids." Cornelia countered in a vain attempt to save face.

"Real mature, coming from a bobblehead like you." Replied Danny as she pulled on her sports shirt. With that, Danny slammed her locker shut and pushed past the blond, not caring that she roughly bumped her shoulder against hers. From then on, Cornelia made it her mission to top Danny in some way shape or form; however, that seemed more difficult than expected. During warm-ups, Danny bested Cornelia by being faster and stronger by being able to do more push-ups and sit-up in a shorter amount of time. During the run around the block, Danny was easily keeping the lead with the new gym teacher without even breaking a sweat; which earned her a compliment from Mr. Clementine. It was because of that compliment that Cornelia discovered why Danny was so much better at sports than most of the class; this rag-tag girl practiced parkour. It became very clear from that moment on that Cornelia would have to find another way to best Danny; she could always best the girl with her looks, but it was very clear that Danny didn't put much value on external appearances. Still, Cornelia was determined to be better than Danny in some way. She wasn't going to give up.