We Are Not Finished

Charlotte was glad Alaina liked the idea. Considering all this from an unbiased point of view, the Frenchwoman was sure that this match would make a splash. Why? The answer was simple enough. If you look at most of the matches, then one way or another you can see something personal or violent. Most of the girls here, as Charlotte was convinced, were literally ready to kill their rivals for the sake of their own cruelty.

Yes, of course, part of any wrestler's job was to put on a show. But the martial arts master see it all from a different angle. She was not interested in the cruelty itself. She didn't take pleasure in beating people up for self-satisfaction or to satisfy fans. She was a supporter of pure and independent competition. Yes, indeed, she was convinced that a real fighter would never agree to a hardcore match, which is why, when she faced Alaina last time, she demanded that the rules be standard. Although usually in the Last Woman Standing match were applied the hardcore rules.

Only recently, Charlotte realized that she should reconsider her views, which is why she wanted a match in a cage. She decided that a real fighter would never break the established rules. But at the same time, she saw no reason to limit her own capabilities. She decided that she wanted to become the most varied wrestler in AFW. And for this, she must be ready to meet the opponent in absolutely any match, be it standard, hardcore, cage, oil and whatever. Only by proving to herself that she is ready to cope with any conditions, she will become who she wanted to see herself. A real fighter who will lift the belt abowe the head.

“Glad you approve of this,” the Frenchwoman smiled again, “my manager, Victoria, will prepare and organize everything, she will give you the details.”

If there was a person who could cope with all this in the shortest possible time, then it was Victoria. Of course, Charlotte still had a bad taste after having to use the gold card, but she had already calmed down. She knew that after she paid with this card at the spa, her family got a reason to gloat. But, as they say, anything can happen. They were already approaching the hall and Charlotte cast a sidelong glance at her friend.

"Should I tell you that if you will flexing your muscles after every successful throw during our match, I will kick your ass like no one else has done it before?" Charlotte's lips twisted into a sarcastic smile, it was obvious that she was not talking seriously, but Alaina must  understood what she was getting at.

In fact, she did not want to raise this issue, but the Frenchwoman knew that sooner or later this topic would rise to the surface. And it is better to start this conversation with a joke than to immediately switch to a difficult form of communication. In addition, it seemed to her that it would be better if it was she who started this conversation, because in the end it was she who was responsible for the one person.

"Are you serious now?" Charlotte was slightly surprised, raising her left eyebrow.

Alaina's answer really surprised her. Although she started this conversation as playfully as possible, she did not think that she would hear something like that. She still has not been able to force Margarita to pull herself together after what happened. The Frenchwoman was not a very good listener in her own opinion. She even tried to persuade her student to go to Sintharia because that American could help find a way out of this situation, but the Danish girl flatly refused to do this. And she still hasn't resumed training with Charlotte, she said she would train on her own.

“It's just between the two of you though,” Charlotte shrugged, “but if you're wondering what I think, you've gone too far in your quest to get the audience involved. Haven't you thought about it?"

The girls went out into the large foyer and Charlotte glanced at the coffee bar. She walked up to the barista with a little step. She didn't want to just stand in the middle of the foyer and discuss it. Even though Margarita was her student, this situation was out of her jurisdiction, so to speak. However, seeing the state in which the Danish girl found herself, she could not help but learn about this situation from Alaina's side. Now the words of the American woman that all this was for the public looked little convincing for Charlotte.

"One latte please," she said, "may I buy you a coffee?" she asked Alaina.

For an instant, Charlotte's eyes flashed and her jaw clenched violently at Alaina's words. She felt her heart begin to beat faster. Anger began to spread through her soul. The pink-haired girl truly could not believe that the American woman had not even thought about what she had done. Charlotte was a big girl and at the same time considered herself a real professional. She still has not forgotten about that caustic feeling when Alaina did not consider her equal to herself. Even at the start of their second match.

She was able to handle this because she was not seeking approval from anyone. But it's a completely different matter when a promising newcomer enters a match against a veteran. What does “has hurt feelings about it” mean? Does she seriously think that everything that happened was the norm? This really pissed off Charlotte, who would never in her life allow herself to go beyond certain limits in relation to any opponent. Especially with regard to a younger and no less experienced opponent, as was the case when she fought with Ayumi Sato. She had to take a very deep breath to calm the surging negative feelings.

"You really don't understant what you've done, don't you?" asked Charlotte, looking hard at Alaina.

However, this question was rhetorical, she was not going to teach Alaina life and give her lectures. Moreover, she was not going to transfer anything to Margarita. Not only because the Danish girl refused to see with Charlotte, but also because she hardly wanted to hear it. Charlotte was well aware that now her student was in a very difficult situation and so far she was afraid to even imagine what would happen next.

The barista handed the Frenchwoman a latte, she paid and took her coffee. The girl added two sugar substitute tablets to the glass and then covered the glass with a lid. She went to the exit of the building, in any case, she came here today only for the sake of Alaina, so now her way lay home. The girl took out her phone and ordered an Uber.

"Will you come with me on Uber?" she asked, taking a sip of coffee. "Or do you have your own road?"

“I don’t need your apology,” Charlotte replied, taking another sip of coffee, “and, to be honest, I'm sure Margarita will not want to hear any of your excuses.”

She was not a psychologist, we can say that quite the opposite. It was always difficult for her to understand even her own soul, so the Frenchwoman never tried to climb into someone else's soul. Yet she believed in one simple principle and she tried to follow this principle all her life. You just need to remain human, regardless of the situation. Indeed, once she was a real animal, who only sought strength and her own superiority. Her younger sister's bloody body still made Charlotte wake up screaming at night. But it was a long time ago. And now she always tries to treat people the way she would like them to treat her.

“Let me explain something to you. She was looking forward to this match to fight the respected veteran because she heard only the best about you from me. And you showed yourself as the last piece of narcissistic shit, sorry for my French," Charlotte turned back to Alaina, looking into her eyes, the Frenchwoman almost never lied and she was not going to start doing it today, "I promised her that it will be useful experience for her. And now she refuses to train or even talk to me because the only experience she got is hopes trampled into the mud. She was counting on a match with a woman whom she respected even before meeting in person, because you are a real wrestling icon, and instead she got... what she got. I lost a great and hopeful student. And she received the most real emotional trauma and a broken faith in the humanity of her rivals in the ring. Great charity match, Alaina, just fucking awesome."

Of course, of course, the Frenchwoman had already heard that it was all for a higher purpose, for the sake of children and their good mood. Well, so be it. Charlotte looked away from Alaina's eye and took one last sip of coffee before tossing the glass in the trash can. She no longer had enough anger to talk about it. She was sure that if Margarita knew that everything would be like this, she would never agree to it. And since Charlotte could not even imagine that Alaina, who received the best characterization from the martial artist, would behave in this way, now she has become a stranger to the Danish girl. Karen took a break from her training and career. And Margarita sent her to fuck. Great, once again Charlotte was left completely alone. But she didn't want to talk about it, it was not about her now.

“Okay,” agreed Charlotte, canceling the Uber booked trip, “lead.”