Everyone Has Their Own Destiny

"So you're going on vacation?" Charlotte asked before pivoting on her own axis and sending a spinning heel kick to her partner's face.

Charlotte:

Another woman would have loved to answer the question, but knowing how heavy were the kicks of the martial arts master, she chose to deal with it first. Realizing that she would not be able to evade this, she chose the path of least resistance. She raised both hands up, covering the right side of her head. The lashing sound of a bare foot strike filled the empty gym. Even considering that she managed to block, this kick was so powerful that the woman partially lost her balance and was forced to step back a few steps.

“Yes, Victoria thinks it’s necessary after everything that has happened recently,” Astrid replied, rubbing the impact place.

Astrid:

Tomorrow the Golden Dragon will move to Kyoto, so today was the last chance for a joint training with Charlotte. Both women were already pretty tired, but each of them was too proud to offer to finish the workout. Victoria has always said that they are similar, both in character and in strength, but Astrid was still one small step ahead. However, Charlotte was ready to question this statement, even if the current score in sparring was 3-2 in favor of the blonde.

"So what about you? Are you going to try to take advantage of the new position in the ranking?" Astrid asked.

However, deciding not to wait for an answer, the blonde raised her fist and rushed forward. Despite her size, she moved very quickly, sending blow after blow towards Charlotte. This forced the Frenchwoman to retreat back, not wanting to receive even one of these blows. However, she did not forget that soon there would be nowhere to retreat. Therefore, the Sand Lizard stopped abruptly and launched a counteroffensive. She was about to dive under Astrid's next blow and attack the Norwegian woman's solar plexus. And everything seemed to be going well, but only until she felt Astrid's hands on the back of her head. The Golden Dragon had expected something like this and was ready. She lifted her knee up, forcing Charlotte to cover her face, but even that didn't help her, the pink-haired woman straightened up from the blow, and then she got a right cross right into her lower jaw. Charlotte staggered backward, one hand covering her jaw and the other grasping the top rope. Astrid didn’t continue her attack, she put her hands on her waist and grinned.

"Do you think it changed something?" it was heard that Charlotte was not happy with the last blow she got. "Yes, after the Avalanche I took a few new rows, but you read the news, right?"
“Yes,” Astrid was forced to admit that she understood what her friend was talking about, “to be honest, I think your situation is even worse than mine.”

Perhaps it sounded a little strange, because at the moment Charlotte, thanks to a series of matches with a respected wrestler, has received much more credibility than Astrid. Each match of the blonde was complex and colorful, but, unfortunately, when there is no big name on the poster of your match, very few people are interested. Therefore, the Golden Dragon moved too slowly in the rankings. But with Charlotte, in turn, everything was different. She got good promotion thanks to her victories, but it was all written off as mere luck.

“And let me remind you that this is a sparring,” the pink-haired woman said, pushing off the ropes and approaching Astrid, “this country is damn expensive dentistry and I wouldn't want to lose my new tooth.”

The blonde grinned and again rushed towards the Frenchwoman. She tried to bend down and grab Charlotte's legs, wanting to end it all with one takedown. But this time, the martial arts master was the one who read the Golden Dragon's intentions. Charlotte pushed off the mat, raising her knee to punch her friend right in the chin. Astrid couldn’t hold back a painful groan as pain shot through her head. The white veil did not fall from her eyes even at the moment when Charlotte lifted her on shoulders in a fireman's carry position. The gyn filled with the cry of the Golden Dragon as her friend pushed her body against the mat, throwing Astrid down with the help of the death valley driver. Charlotte could only lie across her friend, grabbing her leg.

“One… two… three…” she counted measuredly.
“Damn... okay…” Astrid moaned, pushing Charlotte in the shoulder to get the Frenchwoman off her, “now we are equal… 3-3.”

Charlotte did not resist and let go of the Norwegian woman's leg. Rising to her feet, she held out the hand, offering her friend help. And Astrid accepted this help. Rising to her feet, the Golden Dragon turned her head to the side, snapping her neck. Hell, Charlotte's last move wasn't what she expected. Each of them considered each other equal, but this did not negate the fact that each of them felt a rivalry between them. The women approached the corner and each of them took a bottle of water.

“Hey, nice work,” Astrid admitted, clapping her friend on the shoulder.
“But still not enough,” Charlotte replied taking a sip of water.
“Which is to be expected of you huh,” the blonde chuckled, “even I don’t train every day, but you’re almost always here. Maybe you should slow down a little?"
“I definitely will,” the pink-haired woman agreed, “but only when I prove to everyone that people like us are worthy to be on top.”

Astrid smiled, she always amazed at Charlotte's unshakable faith. Indeed, in this they were slightly different. Yes, each of them kept going forward. But Astrid did it with more mundane goals in mind. While Charlotte strove to the top in order to prove that no matter how many matches you have behind your back, it is only the skill that you show in the ring, skill and fortitude that matters. And Astrid, who followed her own warrior code, found this reason to be genuinely respectful.

“Then don't stop. The reward after the Avalanche is just the beginning, although I'm sure you understand that,” Astrid put the bottle aside, “if you succeed and become a champion, breaking the stereotype that only veterans are worthy of bright light, then you will no longer be the Sand Lizard. You will become who you should be. And people will call you differently."
"And how?" not expecting such words, the Frenchwoman asked.
"The legend, Charlotte, the legend."

"Do you really think so?" asked the Frenchwoman.
“Of course,” Astrid nodded, “people like us are rare. And trust me, everyone will try to destroy us. I'm sure you will have to hear more than once that you have done a good job, but your time has not come yet."

At that moment, Charlotte's face twisted as if she had eaten a whole lemon. Astrid possessed simply incredible straightforwardness, in this regard, only Karen could compete with her. They both said what they thought, without hiding anything. The pink-haired woman really hated those words. Only for a moment she imagined how she heard these words after losing an important match, but this moment was enough for lightning to flash in her eyes.

“I can see it even now, huh,” the blonde chuckled, “your eyes speak much louder than your mouth, Charlotte. Don't lose this fire. And never believe such words. If you believe this, then you will simply start looking for excuses for all your failures."
“I know,” the martial arts master said harshly, “defeat is not acceptable under any circumstances.”

She and Astrid looked at many things differently, but they could always find common ground. Even though the Norwegian woman saw her matches and her goals differently than Charlotte saw them, they could always understand each other. Perhaps that's why Charlotte was grateful to their manager for bringing them together. It was time to end this break, because the training was not over yet. Charlotte put the water bottle near the corner and was about to head towards the center, however, she stopped. The Frenchwoman glanced at the woman who started a cardiotraining on a treadmill. She raised her left eyebrow slightly.

“If you don’t bring your ass to the center, then I’ll do it by force,” Astrid chuckled, crunching her knuckles, a descendant of the great Vikings did not like to leave things unfinished.
“Another time,” the Frenchwoman said.
"Really? Why?" the blonde did not understand, again approaching Charlotte, who was still looking at the woman in another part of the gym, Astrid noticed this and decided to clarify. "An acquaintance of yours?"
“This is Alaina Sanders, but it’s not entirely clear why she’s trying to pretend she’s not.”

Astrid turned her head to the side again, looking at the woman trying to hide behind excess sportswear and a hat. A smile appeared on the Golden Dragon's face and she slapped the Frenchwoman on the shoulder, after which she lifted her bottle of water.

“I think you understand perfectly why,” she said.
“For a dragon with the soul of a lone wolf, you talk too much,” the martial arts master chuckled.
“It's only because I don't want you to make mistakes. Like Margarita, you are kind. And do you remember where this kindness brought her? Mark my word, Charlotte, if you will relax with her for just a second,” Astrid shook her head towards the woman on the treadmill, “it will be the end for you.”
"Kind?" Charlotte asked, reaching out and clenching her fist. “It seems to me that you confused me with someone. I advise you to have a good rest and clear your head during your vacation.”
“And you don’t know how to lie, I can see right through you, huh,” Astrid chuckled, “see you soon, my friend.”

The women collided with their fists, and then each of them pressed their right fist to their left shoulder. Astrid rolled out of the ring, grabbing her bag, and then headed to the locker room. Charlotte followed example and did the same, rolling out of the ring. Since Alaina pretend that she didn't noticed her, it means there were reasons for this. And so as not to frighten off the American woman, Charlotte pretended to head for the restroom before turning around and quietly, barely touching the floor, approaching Alaina. Charlotte pressed her shoulder against the wall a few meters behind the Amazon and cleared her throat to get attention.

“I don’t remember that I was aiming to the ribs, unlike you,” she said, noticing the corset under Alaina's tank top.

She preferred blows to the head, so now the question was quite logical. Charlotte received permission to resume training only two days ago, until that moment she had to heal cracks and fractures in the ribs, which Alaina gave her. Given the difference in their sizes, the Frenchwoman did a very bad job with several direct drops of Alaina's weight on her chest. And if everything was clear with Charlotte's fractures, then in Alaina's case, she really could not remember how the Amazon could have received her fractures below the level of the neck.

“I see…” said Charlotte, slowly examining the rest of Alaina's body with her eyes.

Her eyes rested on the Amazon's shoulder. It was barely noticeable, but even with normal walking, this shoulder twitched slightly, it seems that the American woman has not fully recovered yet. If for a martial artist, the most serious injury was shattered ribs, then for Alaina, the worst consequences were probably associated with the head and shoulder. Charlotte pushed off the wall and walked closer to her friend, stopping in front of the treadmill, now Alaina does not have to turn her head to the side once again.

“Yes, thanks to your efforts, it took my ribs a month to recover,” Charlotte said with a small smile, “a broken nose and a knocked out tooth were the least of my problems. As soon as I was told that I'm fine, I tried to quickly put my muscles into active mode and entered the ring. Georgia Flynn. It was a good match."

She did not show it, but it was hard enough for her to hear Alaina's words. Charlotte has never abandoned her principles, she firmly believes that there can be no mercy in the ring. Everyone must enter the ring with the intention of winning. However, in this case, everything was aggravated by the fact that Charlotte considered the American woman a friend, and given that she still had sympathy for her, everything became too complicated emotionally. The Frenchwoman knew perfectly well that her rival would not feel any remorse if Charlotte were in her place now. But even that didn't change anything.

“Hmm? You're about Astrid? " asked Charlotte, looking in the direction where the long-haired blonde had gone. “Yes, she is a damn good, although her real strength is not in her muscles. She just lost a very important match, challenged by the former world champion, Astrid took the challenge and failed. I'm not good at understanding people, but even I can see that she feels bad, because this defeat interrupted her great streak of victories. Now she goes on vacation to clear her head and then return to the ring to kick Alison Seong's butt and anyone who gets in her way.”

The pink-haired woman looked up to look Alaina in the eye. Although the Amazon's speech was too quick and slightly incoherent, which spoke of the consequences of the blows to the head for which Charlotte was known, but the Frenchwoman was still able to catch something else. And, to be honest, she didn't really want to talk about it. Not because this conversation might end badly, but because she wasn't really good at it. If she was good at it, she would not see a psychotherapist twice a month trying to resolve her emotional problems associated with low self-esteem.

“I suppose you feel the same way as Astrid now,” she said smoothly, “except for the last part.”

Charlotte humbly listened to everything Alaina told her. It would be a lie to say that she fully understands what her friend is feeling. Unfortunately, each person is unique and there is no perfect understanding. Charlotte was not a well-deserved veteran, so she could not feel in Alaina's shoes, but she still understood how the American woman felt. And although she wanted to support her now, she was not sure which words would be correct, because in the end she was the one who crushed Alaina at the Avalanche.

"Well, to begin with, I will not apologize for defeating you," Charlotte said honestly, "on my shoulders lies the responsibility for a new generation of fighters and I will do everything necessary to prove that people like I don't have to be in the shadow of people like you for years."

Many could call Charlotte's words too loud and even to some extent unfair. For years in any sport, especially the martial arts, everyone has followed one simple rule. Everyone should start from the very bottom and slowly move up, even if you have real talent. Charlotte refused to follow this rule. She believed that if you put your soul into what you do and if you can show good results, then there is no reason for the rays of the sun and glory to bypass you.

Nobody thinks about it, but if you slow down even for a second and think about it, then you will discover with horror one simple truth. Countless talented fighters have been deprived of even the usual opportunity to show themselves due to the fact that the attention of the public and the leadership is focused only on the veterans. Charlotte was willing to die in the ring to fix this. And that is why she is ready to train to the point of exhaustion in order for a newbie like her to defeat a veteran like Alaina.

"However, I want to tell you a story, you may not find it instructive, but some of the points may seem interesting to you," said Charlotte, pressing the treadmill off button, "come, let's walk a little for real."

Although she is used to working out in her own gym, today she and Astrid chose the AFW gym. And, perhaps, in this case it was even good, because now Charlotte had the opportunity to open the door to an indoor stadium, where she and Alaina could walk around and talk calmly. It was warm enough here, as if it was real summer outside.

"So, once upon a time there was a girl who was lucky to be born in a wealthy and influential family. A distinctive feature of this family was beautiful blonde hair, without exception. And this girl had a sister who was three years younger. And each of them, especially the girl about whom this story, had a great future," Charlotte began the story, trying to present everything as succinctly as possible, "she was to become the heir to the company of her parents, to become the new head of the family. She was sent to the best private school, every day she was taught etiquette, exact and applied sciences, very often she visited branches of the company to get closer to ordinary employees. You can say that they wanted to make an ideal business woman out of her."

The Frenchwoman paused for a moment to catch her breath and clear her throat. So far, there was no particular emotion on her face, as if she was just telling a story and nothing more. The woman glanced briefly at Alaina and continued.

"Many could envy such a fate, right? Not everyone is lucky to be born in such a family where you are completely provided for and you can be sure of your future. But... was it the future of this girl for real? Have you heard the statement that there is always a choice? Yes, not everyone is lucky to be born in such a family, but not everyone is created for what they want from him," Charlotte sighed heavily, "and this girl could not do what her parents wanted from her, her soul could not come to terms with it. She hated the economy, and the lessons of etiquette literally pissed her off. Every day she realized more and more that she was losing herself under the pressure of her parents. By chance, she read a poem and the words at the end made her understand, that she must live the way she sees fit."

Charlotte gestured to Alaina to sit down at the nearest bench in order to take a break. The pink-haired woman leaned back and tilted her head slightly, closing her eyes.

“The easiest to say is that she became a rebel. She refused to do what her parents wanted. Instead, she found herself in sports. It was partly the fault of her parents, because they themselves introduced her to boxing, which became her first door to the world of martial arts," she smiled slightly, "and although her parents did not lose hope that she would come to their senses, this did not happen. Over time, her younger sister, who hated the girl for her refusal to obey the will of the family, took her place as the heiress of the company. It would seem that this question can be closed after that, but..."

She smiled a little sadly, opening her eyes and looked at Alaina.

"Can you try to guess what happened?" she asked to dilute her long monologue a little.

Charlotte listened to the answer of her friend, who decided not to sit on the bench. If this story was a little less sad, the Frenchwoman would even laugh happily. She wondered for a moment what would have happened if Elizabeth had made a different decision and followed her older sister, also refusing to follow the orders of the family. But this she will never know, because her beloved younger sister made a completely different decision.

"Not at all," Charlotte said with a heavy sigh, "although the second option is close enough to the truth. When the girl was eighteen, her younger sister visited her. And she said that from that moment on the girl is no longer part of their family. To be honest, the girl did not expect that she would be sent exile, but on the other hand... after so many years she lost hope that the family would understand her."

Charlotte got up from the bench and took a few steps to the side, turning her back to Alaina.

"This will not be an excuse, but over all these years of misunderstanding on the part of the family, the girl became quite... cruel. Anger literally bursting out of her, and in battle she believed that victory should be achieved at any cost," Charlotte's face was filled with regret and she she didn't want Alaina to see it, "and yet she was just going to leave without saying a word. She had nothing to say to her sister, who supported her parents in this decision. She did not start a fight, it was her younger sister who did it. But the girl finished this fight, beating her sister half to death and only stopping when her fists were tired."

She still hated herself for what she did that day. Despite everything, she loved her little Lizi and shouldn't have done that. This traumatized her for life, because she still heard the voice of her younger sister in her head, which remind her of what a monster she really is.

"The girl changed her hair color to pink and went traveling. Since then, she has never seen either her parents or her younger sister," it was impossible to hide it, so Charlotte simply wiped the tears from her face, "and only a few things reminders that a long time ago she had a family, her last name and a gold card. She could have done nothing all her life thanks to the fund that is tied to this card. As you can notice, her family was ready to do anything to not see her anymore. But she only used this card twice. She bought herself a gym to train young guys and girls who wanted to connect their lives with martial arts. And she paid the spa bill for herself and her friend because her manager forgot pay her salary to her regular card."

Charlotte took a deep breath to calm herself a little and turned her face to Alaina.

“I can't say exactly what conclusions you should draw,” she once again honestly admitted, “but for this girl there was a destiny that she didn’t want. Everyone has their own destiny. Heard it? This is all bullshit. Why? Because the girl changed what was prepared for her... albeit at the cost of everything."

The Frenchwoman briefly covered her face with her hands and rubbed her eyes.

“If you really feel that your time has passed and that you don’t have enough strength for another dash, then no words will change that,” Charlotte said, knowing what she was talking about, “if the person gave up, then this is really the end. And no one will say anything bad about you, because you are a living legend that everyone respects."

The pink-haired woman took a step forward, placing her hand on Alaina's shoulder.

"But. The words that the girl read at the end of the poem are now written on the sign above the entrance to her gym. I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul," she said with a slight smile, "and I believe that if she did, then you can handle it too."