Legacy: An Owl House story

Jackson Rising

"Why did I agree the this? Why did I agree to this? Why did I agree to this?!" Boscha asked herself as she paced around her rat worm.  

Hailey had agreed to give each side time to prepare for the race instead of getting it over with. But all it did was give Boscha time to realize just what she had inadvertently agreed to. If she won, granted, she'd get her spot as Grudgby Captain back, but that no longer seemed worth it when her sole ability to do magic was on the line, let alone tell everyone she was a freak against her will.

She knew how this would play out if she lost. She'd forget about it, try to do magic, nearly get strangled to death, and repeat. She'd not only be the laughing stock of the Boiling Isles (a witch who couldn't do magic was completely unheard of), but she'd be losing the last thing she knew she was good at, her life purpose along with it.

Looking back, she'd never been this nervous before. Not being allowed to bully Half-A-Witch Willow paled in comparison to not being able to do magic ever again. Unless of course, she either won or got Hailey to agree to call it off (which would likely never happen, considering how much Boscha saw herself in the human). 

On the other side of the large track, she saw Amelia talking to Hailey and nodding before walking toward the middle. The sight of the plant witch actually getting along with that bitch made Boscha's knuckles turn white, steeling her resolve. She knew ever since Grudgby tryouts that Hailey was bad news. There was only enough room in Hexside for one queen bee, and Boscha would be damned if that wasn't her.

Suddenly, two long lines of thorny vines came up from the ground, providing a very narrow passage, just enough for the rat worms to pass through.

"Alright, here's how this is gonna work!" Amelia called from the middle, holding up Boscha's old Grudgby jacket. "When this jacket hits the ground, both of you are charge at each other full speed. If one of you turns and hits the thorns, you lose! If you end up crashing into each other, well... you two agreed to this, not me. Anyhow, board your rat worms!"

Boscha looked over at Skara, who gave her a nervous thumbs up. She'd been both supportive and opposing to the whole ordeal. It was stupid, Boscha knew that, and the upside if she won felt like nothing to what would happen if she lost, but at least she had Skara on her side, unlike Cat or Amelia...

Before Boscha knew it, Amelia had dropped the jacket, and Hailey took off. She gave her own rat worm a swift kick in the ribs, and she was off too. She'd race with rat worms before, so she was used to the wind blowing in her face. What she wasn't used to was the very restrictive boundaries beside her. This, in turn, made her more nervous and unsteady than normal, which made her focus more on keeping her rat worm in the middle than on how close she was getting to her opponent.

Then Boscha looked up, saw she was fast approaching her competitor, and tried to turn out of instinct before realizing what she'd just done. Sure enough, the worm hit the thorn barrier, launching her off its back in the process.

Hailey pulled on her reigns and hard as she could, bringing her own worm to a halt before jumping off and cheering at the top of her lungs. 

Boscha tried to get up but felt something tighten around her neck, making her gasp for air. Before she knew it, Skara was at her side, helping her up. She turned to thank her, but her mouth betrayed her.

"I'm a-"

She covered her mouth to stop talking, feeling her throat constrict even more. That was the other term of the oath: she had to tell everyone what she really was, or more accurately, that she was a desperate loser.

Skara held out her hand, but Boscha backed away, tears brimming from her eyes, before running away at full speed.

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