《Blank Canvas》 Chapter 1: Winds of Change Strands of white strands fell one after another onto the bathroom floor as she dried her hair with her towel as she exited her shower. Her reflection in the mirror showed an indifferent gaze, framed by dark circles under her eyes. She opened the bathroom door showing her studio filled with unfinished art. She looked at canvases and awards with a hesitant stare and turned her gaze at the digital clock across the room and whispered to herself, ¡°Three hours of sleep again, huh?¡± With a sigh, she turned on her faucet and proceeded to brush her teeth. ¡°Should I really do it?¡± After applying makeup and concealing her dark circles and changing, she approached her glass coffee table. A magazine¡ªa man proudly posing with his award, the cover line reading ¡°The Next Generation.¡± She grabbed the envelope beside it, her mind focused as she headed out. As she tries to exit her apartment building, the front desk called out to her, ¡°Wait! Ms. LeBlanc, you have letters delivered here.¡± With a slightly indifferent tone, she grabbed them and thanked her casually stuffing the letters, some of which had a fancy seal in her bag. Stepping outside, the gloomy weather greeted her, overcast skies matching the somber weight she felt. She walked through the streets of Kensington, the sense of dread growing as she entered the ¡°Royal College of Art.¡± Inside the building, two men greeted her. A man wearing clear-framed spectacles and exuding stern air in his mid-forties. The other, a man in his sixties, had a clean-shaven face with white streaks in his coiffed hair. ¡°Ms. LeBlanc, is it true?¡± the man with spectacles asked, his tone inquisitive. ¡°Now, now, Mr. Whitmore. She just arrived. Let her settle in first,¡± the other man said with a calm smile, easing the tension. ¡°Ms. Ivory, did you cut your hair? It looks a bit messy, but it suits you well. Please, have a seat.¡± He pulled out a chair for her. ¡°Thank you, Chancellor,¡± she murmured, taking a seat in front of both men in the empty conference room, the grey London sky visible through the large windows. ¡°I¡ªI¡¯m dropping out of the program,¡± she said hesitantly, pushing the envelope toward them. ¡°Why!? This is so sudden! You have been our top student for the last three years!¡± The program director¡¯s voice shook with disbelief. ¡°William! Please, calm down. Let her explain herself first,¡± the Chancellor said, his tone soothing. ¡°Sorry, Robert. I¡ªI am just in shock,¡± William mumbled, his voice quieter. ¡°Thank you, Mr. Edwards. I¡¯m sorry that this news is so sudden. I just can¡¯t keep on pouring from my glass when I¡¯m running on empty.¡± Her voice faltered, and she fought back the tears. William sighed, his voice softening. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m just shocked. You¡¯ve been one of our most talented students in our program history, winning awards even before you got here.¡± As he stood up, the Chancellor¡¯s smile faded, silence settled in the room. He walked toward the window, gazing out at the beauty of London before turning back to her. ¡°Is this about your brother?¡± he asked. ¡°Partly¡­¡± she replied quietly. The silence deepened. The program director, unsure of what to say, glanced at the Chancellor. ¡°What do you think?¡± he asked. ¡°I think she should finish,¡± the Chancellor replied, his voice firm. ¡°She only has one year left, and she was one of the few to enter at 15. A prodigy. It would be a waste.¡± The room fell silent again, the weight of the decision hanging in the air. Ivory lowered her head, understanding how hard this news was for them to hear. She could feel the tension, unsure whether these were the words William wanted to hear. Then, the Chancellor let out a loud laugh. Ivory looked up in surprise, as did the program director. ¡°You¡¯re all the same,¡± the Chancellor said, still chuckling. ¡°All of you LeBlancs.¡± ¡°Wait, what do you mean? My parents?¡± Ivory asked, shocked. ¡°Your parents didn¡¯t tell you?¡± the Chancellor replied, his tone light. ¡°More or less. I offered them a chance to return whenever they wanted, but they never did.¡± ¡°But what about the diplomas I saw at home?¡± she asked, confused. ¡°Did you ever see any graduation pictures?¡± he asked. Ivory hesitated. ¡°Uh¡­ no, I don¡¯t think I remember seeing them.¡± The Chancellor laughed again. ¡°Those were honorary degrees. I offered your parents a chance to come back, but they declined. After your brother¡¯s recent achievements, I suspect it won¡¯t be long before he gets one too.¡± As the laughter faded, the tension lit. ¡°I¡¯ll never understand you,¡± William sighed, surrendering with a smile. He turned to the Chancellor and slid the envelope forward. ¡°So, about this letter?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll grant you the same thing I gave your parents¡ªa leave of absence. I know what¡¯s in there already. You can keep the envelope. If you want to continue the program, you¡¯re always welcome here, whenever you¡¯re ready.¡± She stuffed the envelope back into her sling bag. The Chancellor caught a glimpse of the other letters inside but said nothing. She stood, thanked them both, and left the room. ¡°I hope she¡¯ll be okay,¡± William said softly. ¡°I think she will,¡± the Chancellor replied, his voice filled with a quiet understanding. ¡°But it¡¯ll be a difficult journey, such is the nature of art.¡± Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. As Ivory exited the room, she felt different. A weight had been lifted from her chest. Her steps were lighter, but there was a different kind of melancholy in the air. She took in the details of the building¡ªits roof, its stairs, its familiar corridors¡ªeverything felt like a place she¡¯d known but had never fully seen before. Unconsciously, she paused to admire the space that had been her home for the last three years. Outside, a cold breeze brushed her face. The sidewalk stretched before her, and she felt a mix of freedom and uncertainty. Instinctively, she followed the wind, walking aimlessly through the streets. As she walked, drops of rain began to fall, each one quickly joined by others. The drizzle turned into a full shower. She found shelter in a nearby run-down building with an open door. She whispered to herself, ¡°Of course, as soon as I decide to take a walk, it rains.¡± The sounds of cheering and jeering from above caught her attention. Intrigued, she climbed the stairs, following the noise. She found herself in a small ballroom arena, filled with people on the edge of their seats. In the center, a boxing ring stood under bright lights, two female pugilists exchanging fierce punches. ¡°Wow, a female fight? Now that¡¯s something you don¡¯t see every day,¡± she murmured, captivated by the scene. An annoyed fan near her scowled. ¡°Are you living under a rock? Female boxing¡¯s everywhere these days.¡± Surprised by the condescending remark, Ivory brushed it off, her focus still on the ring. ¡°That¡¯s really interesting,¡± she replied. The man, realizing she wasn¡¯t familiar with the sport, softened. ¡°Sorry for the rude comment. I¡¯m just enthusiastic about this sport. It¡¯s finally getting the recognition it deserves, especially for women. I¡¯m Sky, by the way.¡± He extended his hand. She shook it, smiling politely. ¡°I understand. Do you fight too?¡± ¡°No, not really,¡± Sky replied. ¡°Most guys these days lean towards MMA or Bare Knuckle, but I race cars instead.¡± Ivory raised an eyebrow. ¡°Isn¡¯t boxing usually dominated by men?¡± ¡°Not anymore,¡± Sky said, enthusiasm lighting his voice. ¡°After that legendary fight twenty years ago and the rise of the GFBC, female boxing exploded. It''s been steadily growing, especially after that historic card inspired a wave of female fighters.¡± Ivory processed the information. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of those events, but I didn¡¯t realize how big it had become.¡± ¡°It was huge,¡± Sky explained. ¡°People got tired of waiting for the big male fights, so they started tuning into women¡¯s matches. Now, male boxing is a rare sight on TV. They call it ¡®The Great Exodus.¡¯¡± She smiled faintly. ¡°I don¡¯t think I understand everything you¡¯re saying, but I can tell how passionate you are about it.¡± Sky chuckled awkwardly. ¡°Thanks, I guess. I¡¯m just really invested because my sister¡¯s a boxer.¡± ¡°Really? Is she fighting today?¡± Ivory asked, intrigued. ¡°Yes! She¡¯s the main event. If she wins, she might get a call from the GFBC,¡± Sky said excitedly. Ivory started to ask more when the crowd erupted into cheers. Sky, along with the others, stood to watch, and Ivory turned toward the ring. In the center, a blonde fighter around her height raised her fists to the crowd, inciting cheers. She waved back, smiling confidently. Her trainer removed her boxing robe, revealing a green attire¡ªBritish Racing Green gloves, checkered flag accents, and a logo on her belt line. As she pumped herself up, her cornerman placed a green mouthguard in her mouth. The fighter turned to her opponent, a look of pure determination in her eyes. Ivory couldn¡¯t help but watch, captivated by the energy in the room. Her question forgotten, she felt a jittery feeling stir inside her. Was it excitement? Anxiety? Anticipation? ¡°That¡¯s my sister,¡± Sky said proudly, his voice filled with admiration. Ivory nodded, her attention completely on the fighter in the ring as the announcer readied her microphone. ¡°Ladies and Gentlemen, for tonight¡¯s feature bout, we have the honor of presenting a GFBC-sponsored fight. In the Blue Corner, hoping to join the prestigious organization, with a record of 6 wins, 0 losses, and 2 knockouts¡ªGale ¡®Eye of the Storm¡¯ Greenwind! And in the Red Corner, representing the FTL Division, wearing yellow, orange, and green¡ªMangifera indica, also known as Mango!¡± As the introductions ended, Gale stood in her corner, grinning as she bounced on her toes, eagerly waiting for the bell. Her all-green attire shimmered under the lights. In the opposite corner, Mango was stoic, her body tense as she stared down her opponent, the pressure of the fight settled in her muscles. ¡°Ding!¡± The bell rang, signaling the start of the first round. Gale shot forward the moment the bell sounded, charging toward the center of the ring to assert her dominance. She moved with a fierce intensity, with intent on controlling the space. Mango, caught off guard by Gale¡¯s sudden aggression and the weight of the moment, felt the pressure from the more experienced fighter. As she tried to meet Gale in the center, a quick left jab snapped her head sideways. Before she could recover, another barrage of rapid-fire jabs rained down on her abdomen. ¡°What the hell?¡± Mango thought, startled by the lightning-fast strikes. The blows left her reeling, unable to get a solid grip on the rhythm of the fight. "Those were lightning-quick jabs!" the commentator shouted in excitement, his voice rising with the energy of the crowd. On the sidelines, Sky and Ivory¡¯s conversation was abruptly cut short as the fight ignited. Sky felt a twinge of guilt for pulling away from their talk, but when he glanced at Ivory, he stopped mid-sentence. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to go silent. I¡ª¡± he started, but he trailed off when he saw Ivory. Her brown eyes were fixed intently on the ring, her focus solely towards the fight. Chapter 2: Rising Winds Back in the ring, following that punch was a barrage of punches to the body of Mango as Gale tries to mix it up to confuse the veteran in the ring. ¡°Such speed.¡± As she grew more frustrated and is having a hard time establishing her footwork and rhythm which is important to the fight. ¡°The jab is the most basic punch in boxing, but it is the fundamental punch that sets up everything else crucial to win the fight. Establishes the rhythm, sets up combinations and helps gauge the distance from your opponent.¡± A tall, fit, enthusiastic onlooking female with dark-skin and curly hair watching the fight ringside explained this to his companion. Ivory takes note of some snippets of the conversation. Hoping that she could understand the nuances in this fight a bit more, her eyes locked at the actions of both pugilists inside the ring. As Mango clearly shows her frustration, off-rhythm she randomly throws a quick counter from her rear hand, a counter right straight. What seemed like a punch out of nowhere to most was like a slow-motion punch for the green-suited boxer, as she smiled and weaved her head to the right avoiding the punch. As Gale tries to reply with a punch, Ivory couldn¡¯t help but clench her fist on the side. ¡°There.¡± She thought. ¡°Ding!¡± the bell rings. The referee separates the fighters. As it rings, Ivory snaps out from a trance-like state. Realizing that she had a conversation with Sky, she turns back to him. ¡°Sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to go all silent back there. How rude of me.¡± She apologized to Sky as the guy started chuckling. ¡°Why are you laughing?¡± she asked. ¡°You were so into it that you were clenching your fists there. You seemed like you wanted to fight as well. Is it really your first time watching a fight?¡± Embarrassed. Ivory turned a bit red. ¡°Yeah.¡± Trying to dodge the idea of her getting riled up from a fight, she tried to change the topic, ¡°Your sister is doing well, it seems. Her opponent could not land a punch on her.¡± With a poignant, serious undertone Sky replies, ¡°Yeah¡­ she¡¯s always had great reaction time.¡± Before Ivory could point out the slight difference in tonality, the bell rings again, a new round starts anew. Continuing with the trend the previous round, Gale showers her opponent with a barrage of punches. As she gracefully moves around the ring, finding space to land punches from afar, Mango could not find her range. She swings wide as she looks for the punch that can swing the fight back to her favor. ¡°Looks like the veteran is looking like an amateur in this fight.¡± A fan can be heard with a snarky remark. Feeling cornered and overhearing this, Mango lunged upon her opponent and clinched with her, she managed to grab below the arms of Gale. This allowed her to slightly shove Gale¡¯s arms upwards and generate enough space to land several body shots to Gale¡¯s left flank that caused some damage during the clinch. Ivory thought out loud, ¡°Hey! Isn¡¯t that unfair!?¡± The lady that was explaining facts earlier heard this and turned towards her, ¡°Not if the referee sees it. She purposely did it out the referee¡¯s line of vision. A veteran move.¡± She turns back and watches the fight and added, ¡°I think Gale¡¯s prepared for it, she¡¯s smiling.¡± As the referee separates them, you can see Gale still smiling despite that dirty move. Ivory turns to the ring and sees Gale still smiling despite some slight bruises starting to form on her side. As the fight continued, it was the same story. The only way that Mango was able to land a punch on Gale was doing it from close range or clinching. It would not take any scientist to figure out that Mango, the veteran, was losing this fight. With her face starting to swell and breathing heavily, she looked desperate. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Her coach, visibly angry and frustrated, ¡°You need to win this damn fight! This is the last round the only way you could win is to knock her out!¡± As the coach tries to put in her orange mouthpiece, ¡°We can¡¯t have the GFBC re-assess your FTL division status.¡± Mango, with a serious look as she prepares for the final round, nods back to her coach with a slam both her gloves with each other. In the other corner, Gale, was being scolded by her trainer, a male trainer with a determined aura, ¡°You were being careless¡­¡± Gale, smiling back at her coach, ¡°Is it okay if I do it this round?¡± The coach defeated by the enthusiasm of Gale says, ¡°Okay but use your left hand, okay?¡± Gale puts back on her mouthpiece as she pushes it back on her mouth and says, ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡± The coach replied, ¡°Ugh. Just finish the job and let¡¯s go to the GFBC.¡± ¡°Copy.¡± Then she stands and eagerly waits for the bell to ring. ¡°DING!¡± as the bell rings. Mango was ready to take the initiative until- Like what felt like strong winds blowing towards Mango. Gale rushes towards Mango. ¡°Let¡¯s go up a gear.¡± She thought. The fans in the small arena erupted. As they figured what this was. ¡°UPSHIFT!¡± the commentator exclaimed, ¡°That¡¯s her trademark move that stormed her through the non-GFBC circuit.¡± Mango, clenches her mouthguard with frustration. ¡°I¡¯m not losing my FTL status!¡± as she tries to meet Gale in the middle of the ring. As she approached her head on, she found herself looking at the audience as her head snapped sideways. As her mouthpiece tries to slip out her mouth, she desperately tries to hold it in as a barrage of punches landed squarely to her face. Not even being able to process the situation she desperately tries to up her guard. ¡°No! Don¡¯t retreat!¡± her coach tries to yell from her corner. It was to no avail. Gale has gone up to another gear, landing blows after blow. Smiling and enjoying her handiwork. However, her corner was not having it, as she shook his head and placing his hand in a facepalm he whispered, ¡°She used the right.¡± Gale was using a barrage of right hands that was from behind her body to throw a plethora of blows to Mango. A mix of straights, hooks, and uppercuts that came one after the other met the face of the poor veteran who could only guard as she was being overwhelmed. Ivory was in awe as the image of Gale, smiling and dominating the fight burned in her memory. A one-sided fight with one fighter enjoying herself throughout the fight. The bell rang and as the barrage stopped, the crowd started clapping and cheering as Gale waves both her hands signaling her clear victory as the veteran hung her head low in defeat as she goes back towards her corner. Gale goes back to her corner and embraces his trainer. He remarked with a sigh, ¡°That was pretty reckless.¡± ¡°Hehe sorry. At least we won right?¡± She replied. ¡°Wait until the judges officially announce it.¡± As he takes out the gloves from her fist. They await the announcement. As Mango with her a towel around her head visibly distraught the announcer announced the scorecards.¡± ¡°With all three judges scoring this card, 40-36. The winner by Unanimous decision, Gale Greenwind!¡± New Record: 7 wins (2 KO) ¨C 0 losses ¨C 0 draws As the crowd once again erupts and joy overcomes their corner, Gale approaches Mango and hugs her and thanks her for the fight along with her corner. She was met with a slightly resentful and hesitant vibe however, out of sportsmanship, Mango also thanks her and shows a bittersweet smile. As she goes back to her corner, he sees a man in a suit talking to his coach. As she reaches the corner, she is met by these words. ¡°Congratulations! On behalf of the Global Female Boxing Championship. You¡¯re in!¡±