That''s easier said than done!


    Veronica swallowed a scream as she avoided the giant tree monster''s swinging arm. Its arm crashed into the wall, sending pieces of rubble everywhere. She flinched as some of them bounced off of her too small to actually do her any harm. At that moment, Leta appeared between her and the monster and threw small balls of flames at it. It roared in pain as the flames found their target and it stumbled back while waving its arms around to extinguish the flames.


    "Not so fast," Nissa declared as she stepped forward and launched a torrent of flames.


    The other witches were quick to join in, and the giant tree was reduced to cinders under the unrelenting flames. Veronica stared at the ashes while the others were complimented by Deville.


    I messed up again.


    Even though the giant tree monster had crossed paths with them by chance, no one else had panicked like she did. She had tried to take the lead to prove herself, but when the time came to show what she was capable of, she turned tail and ran. It was humiliating. Veronica was sure that they were laughing behind her back, mocking her inability to do anything.


    She could feel tears of frustration welling up in the corners of her eyes and tightened her grip on her broomstick.


    "Hey," Nissa called out to her.


    Veronica warily said, "Yes?"


    "Why don''t you sweep up the ashes with your broomstick? It''s the least you can do to help out."


    "Nissa," Deville snapped.


    Nissa immediately lost her smug expression and glanced away with a scowl on her face. Veronica couldn''t bring herself to be happy about it as Deville turned her attention to Veronica.


    "Veronica, I want you to cast a spell. I want to see how proficient you are using your broomstick," Deville said as she signaled with her head towards the large pile of ashes.


    Seeing this as her chance to redeem herself, Veronica pointed the end of her broomstick at the pile of ashes. After a few minutes, she was able to lift the pile of ashes into the air with a gust of wind. Before she could feel smug about performing the spell, she realized she hadn''t thought about what to do with the ashes afterwards and frantically thought of another spell to use. However, Leta acted first and summoned one of the tapestries to be used to wrap up the ashes.


    Deville nodded. "Very good." Looking at Veronica, she said, "Even though your spellcasting is slow, it''s expected since you''re using a broomstick. Unfortunately, you don''t seem to know a lot of spells, which is also expected given your experience. It appears that your mentor only taught you the very basics, and you haven''t fully mastered them yet."


    She can tell just by watching me cast one spell?


    It seemed impossible, but the older witch somehow managed to figure out everything. She was right that Veronica hadn''t learned many spells other than the basics because she struggled to use them properly. Veronica blamed it on the fact that she didn''t have a wand and had to rely on her broomstick to cast. Once she got her hands on a wand, she was sure that would change. Until then, she was stuck with the basics.


    "Unfortunately, I can only say you need to practice more to get a better feel for the spells." As Veronica nodded, Deville turned her attention to Leta. "As for you, Leta, you did well to support her when you noticed she was in trouble. Being mindful of your surroundings and helping out your allies is important."


    As Leta beamed at the praise and handed over the wrapped ashes to Deville, Veronica wilted.


    While Deville hadn''t outright said it, Veronica knew that she was basically saying that Veronica screwed up and needed Leta to fix her mistakes. If Leta hadn''t intervened, the ashes would have scattered, wasting everyone''s efforts. Even though she had no clue what the monster was and what the ashes could be used for, she was certain that it was also another valuable ingredient that witches can use.


    "This shall be split between the five of you once everything is over," Deville said, causing everyone to look at her with wide eyes.


    "Ms. Deville, d-did you say five?" one of the other girls sputtered.


    "That''s correct. All five of you contributed."


    Nissa''s hand shot up. "Excuse me, but how did she contribute?" she asked, pointing a finger in Veronica''s direction. "She didn''t do anything to defeat the treant."


    Treant? Is that what the thing is called?


    Deville raised an eyebrow as she asked, "What exactly are you saying? Of course she contributed."


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    Veronica was sure that everyone was thinking the same thing.


    What had Veronica done other than run away from the treant and nearly blow away its ashes?


    Before anyone could voice this question, Deville continued, "Not only did she act as a distraction, keeping the treant''s attention on her so the rest of you can make a move, she did help gather the ashes like you suggested, Nissa."


    Nissa sputtered, unable to form words, while Veronica''s jaw dropped slightly.


    Was that how Deville saw it?


    She hadn''t tried to act as a distraction. Veronica had only been trying to save herself from the treant, and they all saw how she nearly messed up collecting the ashes. Besides, she wouldn''t have done anything if it weren''t for Deville asking her to do something.


    "Now, if you''re done complaining, I suggest we keep moving," Deville said, her tone hinting that this wasn''t up for discussion.


    Nissa and her group threw dirty looks in Veronica''s direction before taking the lead this time. Veronica stared as they walked away before she noticed Leta staring at her.


    What does she want? Does she want me to thank her for helping me out?


    After glancing between Leta and Deville, Veronica looked away and forced out, "Thanks."


    Leta smiled. "It''s what friends are for."


    <hr>


    Veronica felt an unpleasant twinge in her chest. Instead of replying, she hurried after the trio, leaving Leta and Deville to take up the back.


    The group encountered several more creatures and handled them without needing Deville to step in. Even though Veronica barely got involved in these encounters, she did manage to get a hit or two, so she wasn''t completely useless. Of course Nissa didn''t fail to point out that Veronica barely did anything, but Deville was quick to shut her down so the other girl could only mock her when she was sure that Deville wasn''t listening, which was easier said than done.


    "We''ll take a break here," Deville declared, causing the group to stop.


    After studying their surroundings, one of the girls timidly asked, "Here?"


    "You have done well, but you need rest so you can recover your energy. You''ve already fought several creatures on your own without my help, which is something praiseworthy."


    Everyone perked up. Well, everyone except Veronica who fidgeted.


    She couldn''t feel happy when she was too worried about her baby sister and familiar. They had been traveling for a while now and hadn''t found them. Veronica couldn''t remember where they were supposed to be, and she hadn''t been able to bring the topic up to everyone there. She was sure that the trio wouldn''t care about what happened to her baby sister. As for Deville and Leta, the words died in her throat every time she worked up the courage to say anything.


    Unfortunately, Leta noticed something was wrong and asked, "Veronica, is something the matter?"


    "It''s nothing," Veronica quickly said without meeting Leta''s gaze.


    "Hey." Veronica almost groaned at the sound of Nissa''s voice. "There''s something I''ve been wondering about. Where''s the human you were carrying around?"


    Veronica''s blood turned cold.


    One of the other girls nodded and added, "That''s right. She was carrying that human around earlier, but she isn''t now."


    The third member of the trio asked, "Do you think she threw it away?"


    In an instant, Veronica''s previously cold veins burned with hot fury and hate.


    How dare she.


    "Enough." Deville''s voice cut through the unseen tension. "I don''t want to hear another word from any of you three." After ensuring the three girls have been fully cowed, she turned her attention to Veronica and said, "However, they are correct. Didn''t you promise to keep an eye on the human so they wouldn''t cause any trouble? I know you couldn''t have left the premises and come back after dropping the human off somewhere."


    Instead of giving an answer, Veronica chose to stare at her feet, hoping they would just drop it.


    Obviously, it didn''t work as Leta said, "Veronica, you never answered my question before. What happened to your baby sister?"


    Completely surrounded on all sides, Veronica knew she couldn''t get away, but it was hard to speak.


    Fiddling with her broomstick, she struggled to get the words out. Nissa and her group clearly wanted to say something given the expression on their faces, but Deville''s previous warning kept them in check, so they stuck with glaring at her. Leta, on the other hand, tentatively reached out before pulling her hand back with an uncertain look on her face.


    "Veronica," Deville prodded.


    "I-I don''t know," Veronica finally admitted.


    "What do you mean you don''t know?"


    "I left her in one of the rooms with my familiar. I thought it would be fine, and I could come back to her later. She''s just a baby, so I didn''t think she would cause any problems or walk away."


    The words just poured right away after being suppressed for so long.


    She thought she would feel better after explaining everything, but she only felt worse. It was like the invisible weight on her shoulders got heavier, and she thought she was going to be sick. The look on Deville and Leta''s faces didn''t make it any better.


    After several long moments, Deville coolly said, "So you''re saying you left a human baby alone despite promising to keep an eye on them." Veronica timidly nodded. "Despicable. Outrageous. How could you be so irresponsible? Did you really think it would be okay to just leave them anywhere and do as you pleased? I''ve never heard of such a selfish and disgusting act coming from a fellow witch. You should be ashamed of yourself."


    With each word she spoke, it felt like a knife in the back. Tears fell down Veronica''s cheeks as she bit the inside of her cheeks. The trio of girls she had thought would take the opportunity to insult her were strangely quiet and couldn''t even look in her direction.


    What was worse was the horrified look on Leta''s face.


    The girl was staring at Veronica like she was some kind of monster. She even took a step back, like she couldn''t stand to be near Veronica and wished to be anywhere else but there.


    No, the worst part was that Deville wasn''t wrong. Even though Veronica had convinced herself earlier that it would be okay, the truth was that she was the worst sister ever. Her mom had asked her to watch her baby sister until she came home. Now her baby sister could be dead for all she knew, and it would be all her fault.


    That broke the dam, and Veronica burst out sobbing.


    "I''m sorry. I''m really sorry," Veronica bawled.


    The rest of her words were incoherent as she babbled incessantly with tears and snot falling down her face. She couldn''t hear anyone over her wails if they were talking.


    Even if she could hear them, she was sure they would be berating her for crying and tell her how much they hated her.


    Suddenly, she felt something wrap around her. Through her blurry vision, she could make out Leta hugging her. For a moment, she was stunned that Leta would want to be near her after she backed away earlier, much less hug her. It only made her tear up more as she clung to her friend as she continued to blurt out apologies.