Can Eva meet the physical challenges set before her in that phase of the Aislinn's cup competition at Aislinn's College for the Blessed? How will they uncover the sisters connection between Eva and Meda and how does Wanda figure into the mix?

Author's Note:

This book, in its entirety, is available on my Patreon. BCTS will get weekly postings on Saturdays to complete it here. Patreon Free Members can read my new complete book by chapters, Things We Do for Love

Chapter 15: Sisters' Storys

The aftermath of Meda's identity crisis left the college feeling different—charged with new possibilities and deeper understanding. As autumn deepened around Aislinn's crystalline spires, the three sisters found themselves navigating not just their magical education, but the complex dynamics of their transformed family relationships.

The Athletics Competition

The college's expansive athletic complex buzzed with anticipation as students from all age groups gathered for the Athletics Competition. The Great Hall's magical architecture had transformed itself into a multi-tiered arena, with floating platforms for aerial events, enchanted pools for aquatic challenges, and traditional fields for ground-based competitions. This was where physical prowess met magical enhancement, creating displays of athletic achievement that defied mortal limitations.

Eva stood with Team Bronwen in their designated area, her athletic frame radiating a quiet confidence that had been building since her reincarnation. The memories of Sarah—her past life as a world-class gymnast and collegiate field hockey champion—flowed through her consciousness like muscle memory made manifest. But these weren't just borrowed skills; they had been refined and intensified by her transformation.

"Remember," Dean Bronwen addressed her team quietly, "this competition tests not just physical ability, but the integration of magical enhancement with athletic discipline. Eva, your background gives you a unique advantage here."

Meda squeezed Eva's hand supportively. "You've got this, sister. I've watched you train—you're incredible."

The competition began with individual events spanning multiple disciplines. Eva's first challenge was the Aerial Gymnastics segment, where competitors performed routines on floating rings and bars that moved through three-dimensional space. As Eva approached the starting position, she closed her eyes briefly, feeling Sarah's championship instincts merge seamlessly with her enhanced magical abilities.

When the signal came, Eva launched herself into the air with a grace that seemed to defy gravity itself. Her routine was a masterpiece of controlled power and artistic expression—each flip, twist, and hold executed with the precision of someone who had dedicated two lifetimes to perfecting her craft. The floating apparatus responded to her movements as if it were an extension of her own body, creating patterns of light that traced her path through the air.

"Extraordinary," whispered one of the judges, a graduate student from Dean Yseult's team. "She's not just performing the routine—she's conducting it like a symphony."

The second event was Magical Field Hockey, played on an enchanted pitch where the ball could phase between dimensions and players could use limited magical enhancements. Eva's experience as a collegiate team captain shone through as she read the field with tactical brilliance, anticipating plays three moves ahead while maintaining perfect ball control even when it shifted between physical and ethereal states.

"Look at her positioning," Celeste Chen observed admiringly from the Team Bronwen section. "She's not just playing her position—she's orchestrating the entire field."

Eva's stick work was poetry in motion, each pass and shot delivered with the kind of precision that came from years of championship-level play. When the opposing team's striker attempted a dimensional phase-shot, Eva was already there, intercepting the ball as it materialized and launching a counterattack that resulted in a spectacular goal.

The final event was the Endurance Challenge—a grueling obstacle course that tested stamina, agility, and magical efficiency across varied terrain. This was where Eva's dedication to physical conditioning truly showed. In her mortal life as Sarah, she had been disciplined about fitness, but death and reincarnation had given her an even deeper appreciation for the gift of a physical form.

As Eva navigated the course, her movements were economical and purposeful. She scaled enchanted walls that shifted their handholds, swam through pools where the water's density changed mid-stroke, and sprinted across fields where gravity fluctuated randomly. Her breathing remained controlled, her form perfect, even as other competitors began to falter.

"She's treating her body like a sacred instrument," Wanda observed with scientific fascination. "Every movement is calculated for maximum efficiency."

When Eva crossed the finish line—not just first, but with a time that shattered the previous college record—the arena erupted in applause. She stood there for a moment, chest rising and falling steadily, her face glowing with the satisfaction of perfect performance.

President Aislinn's voice resonated through the complex as the final scores were tallied. "The winner of this year's Athletics Competition, with the highest combined score across all events, is Eva Nightingale of Team Bronwen."

As her teammates rushed to congratulate her, Eva felt a profound sense of completion. Sarah's athletic legacy hadn't been lost in death—it had been transformed, refined, and elevated. The dedication to physical excellence that had driven her mortal achievements now served a greater purpose in this magical realm.

Dean Bronwen approached with a rare smile of genuine pride. "Exceptional work, Eva. You didn't just win those events—you redefined what's possible when athletic discipline meets magical enhancement."

"Thank you," Eva replied, her voice steady despite her exhilaration. "Sarah's training gave me the foundation, but this body, this life—it's allowed me to push beyond what I ever thought possible."

As Team Bronwen celebrated their second competition victory, Eva looked around at her teammates and felt a deep sense of belonging. She had found her place not just as a reincarnated soul, but as an athlete who could honor both her past achievements and her present potential.

The Athletics Competition had proven that excellence wasn't just about natural talent—it was about the dedication to perfect one's craft across lifetimes, and the wisdom to use that perfection in service of something greater than oneself.

Wanda's Guidance

It was Wanda who first noticed the subtle changes in how other students responded to Meda after her breakthrough. During their morning Theoretical Magic class with Professor Ingris, she pulled her sister aside as they walked through the gravity-defying gardens.

"You're different now," Wanda observed, her artifact fragment pulsing gently in her robes. "More centered. The other students can sense it—they're not afraid of your power anymore because you're not afraid of it yourself."

Meda nodded, feeling the truth of it. The integration of Fred's memories with Andromeda's cosmic awareness had created something new—not a conflict between identities, but a harmony that honored both her human origins and her legendary destiny. "I finally understand what you meant about embracing what we're becoming rather than fighting it."

"The real test," Wanda said carefully, "will be when you have to face your fears about what that power means. Andromeda's memories carry more than just magical knowledge, Meda. They carry the weight of cosmic responsibility, the burden of decisions that affect entire civilizations."

Eva joined them as they settled on a bench carved from living crystal, her empathic abilities immediately picking up the serious tone of their conversation. "You're worried about something specific," she said to Wanda. "I can feel it."

Family Dynamics

Wanda's expression grew troubled as she looked between her transformed sisters. "The artifact I've been studying—it's not just showing me the locations of other magical items. It's revealing the history of what Andromeda and Morgana were to each other before their final battle."

She withdrew the crystalline fragment, its surface swirling with images that seemed to move just beneath the translucent exterior. "They weren't just opposing forces, Meda. They were sisters. Twins, like you and Eva, but their bond was corrupted by jealousy and competing visions of how to use their power."

The revelation hit Meda like a physical blow. Through Andromeda's memories, she could feel the echo of that ancient sisterly love turned to bitter rivalry. "Morgana was her twin?"

"More than that," Wanda continued. "They were created by the same cosmic forces that shaped our chimeric nature. The artifacts that affected our mother—they were fragments of a larger whole, pieces of the original matrix that gave birth to the first sorceresses."

Eva's hand found Meda's, their sisterly bond providing comfort against the weight of this new knowledge. "But we're not them," Eva said firmly. "Our love has already been tested by death and transformation. We chose to become sisters rather than lovers, chose cooperation over competition."

Emotional Relief

Despite the gravity of their discussion, Wanda's next words brought unexpected lightness to the moment. "You know," she said with a grin that reminded Meda of the mischievous girl she'd known in their previous life, "watching you two navigate magical academia while pretending to be normal thirteen-year-olds has been absolutely hilarious."

Eva laughed, her auburn hair catching the afternoon light. "Yesterday in Basic Levitation, Meda accidentally made the practice stones orbit each other like a miniature solar system. Professor Morfydd just stood there with her mouth open."

"And Eva," Meda added with affection, "turned a simple empathy exercise into group therapy for half the class. Dean Molli Rose is still trying to figure out how a thirteen-year-old managed to help three upperclassmen work through their homesickness in one session."

The laughter felt good, a reminder that beneath their cosmic destinies and ancient legacies, they were still family. Still sisters who could find joy in each other's company despite the weight of responsibility pressing down on them.

"Isabeta's glamors help," Wanda observed, "but they can't hide the fundamental changes in who you are. The way you move, the way you think—it's like watching legends come to life."

Wanda's Doubts

But even as they shared this moment of levity, Meda could sense deeper currents in Wanda's emotions. Her sister's artifact fragment was pulsing with increasing agitation, responding to some internal conflict that Wanda was trying to hide.

"There's something else," Meda said gently. "Something you're not telling us."

Wanda's composure cracked slightly, revealing the uncertainty she'd been carrying since her arrival at the college. "I've been studying the artifacts for twenty years, preparing for this moment when the ancient powers would awaken. But now that it's happening, now that I'm watching you become who you're meant to be..." She paused, struggling with words. "I'm not sure I belong in this story."

Eva's empathic abilities reached out, sensing the deep well of insecurity beneath Wanda's confident exterior. "You think we don't need you anymore."

"Don't you see?" Wanda's voice carried a note of desperation. "You two have each other. You have this perfect bond, this cosmic connection that transcends everything. You're the legendary twin sorceresses, inheritors of power that could reshape reality itself. What am I compared to that? Just Fred's little sister with a fragment of artifact and twenty years of study."

The pain in her voice made Meda's heart ache. She reached out, taking Wanda's hands in hers. "You're wrong," she said firmly. "You're not just Fred's little sister anymore than I'm just Fred transformed. You're Wanda—the person who spent two decades preparing for this moment, who understood the artifacts when no one else could, who found us when we needed guidance most."

Personal Growth

Over the following days, Wanda's role in their growing alliance became increasingly clear. While Meda grappled with cosmic forces and Eva developed her empathic healing abilities, Wanda served as their anchor to practical magical theory and strategic thinking.

During their Advanced Artifact Studies seminar, it was Wanda who made the crucial connection between the Cosmic Locator's readings and the ancient ward patterns protecting the hidden artifacts. Her years of solitary research had given her insights that even Aislinn's vast knowledge couldn't match.

"The artifacts aren't just hidden," Wanda explained as they worked late in the college's restricted archives. "They're connected to each other through a network of magical resonances. Finding one makes it easier to locate the others, but it also sends out signals that Morgana's forces can detect."

Her confidence grew as she demonstrated her understanding of the complex magical matrices involved. "We need to be strategic about which artifacts we pursue first. Some will strengthen our defenses, others will give us offensive capabilities. But each one we claim will make us more visible to our enemies."

Eva watched with growing admiration as Wanda outlined their options. "You've thought of everything," she said. "All those years of preparation—you weren't just studying the artifacts, you were preparing to guide us."

Hidden Connections

As the week progressed, deeper connections between their pasts began to emerge. During a particularly intense practice session with Dean YseuIt, Wanda's artifact fragment suddenly blazed with light, creating a resonance with both Meda's cosmic abilities and Eva's empathic powers.

"Extraordinary," Dean YseuIt breathed as the three sisters stood connected by streams of magical energy that seemed to flow between them like living light. "I've never seen anything like this. Your magical signatures are harmonizing, creating something greater than the sum of your individual abilities."

The connection revealed memories that belonged to none of them individually—glimpses of the cosmic forces that had shaped their chimeric nature, echoes of the ancient sorceresses whose legacy they carried, and most surprisingly, hints of a destiny that required all three of them working together.

"The artifacts that affected our mother," Meda realized as the vision faded, "they weren't random. They were drawn to her because she was meant to give birth to us—all three of us. We're not just siblings by chance, we're connected by cosmic design."

Wanda stared at her fragment with new understanding. "That's why I could always sense when you were in trouble, even before your transformation. That's why I knew exactly when to come to the college. We're not just family—we're part of the same magical matrix."

Preparation for Greater Challenges

As the chapter drew to a close, the sisters found themselves standing together on the observatory balcony, looking out at the swirling cosmos beyond the college's protective barriers. The stars seemed brighter somehow, as if responding to their growing understanding of their place in the universe.

"Morgana's forces are gathering," Eva said quietly, her empathic abilities picking up distant currents of malevolent intent. "I can feel them pressing against the college's wards, testing for weaknesses."

Meda nodded, Andromeda's memories providing glimpses of the shadow sorceress's tactical brilliance. "She's not just trying to break through our defenses. She's studying us, learning our capabilities, waiting for the perfect moment to strike."

"Then we need to be ready," Wanda said, her artifact fragment pulsing with determined light. "The next phase of our journey will take us beyond the college's protection. We'll need to work together—not just as sisters, but as a unified force capable of standing against the greatest evil the universe has ever known."

The wind that swept across the balcony carried with it the scent of change, the promise of challenges that would test not just their magical abilities but the bonds of love and trust that held them together.