A.N : So, basically, I like Daryl, I think she could be a great character if she got the proper development, and I intend to give it to her ! This one-shot isn't here to make you love her, but I took the opportunity to talk a bit about what I imagine of her past and her relationship with Diana. So, if you hate Daryl, this is probably not for you.
Of course, Daryl isn't the only subject, not even the main one, but, just so you know : she's here and she's not a total bitch.
Holidays at the Cavendish Manor
"Hey, Diana, get over here ! Constanze's got a new game !"
Diana sighed and shook her head, already feeling a headache growing. She ignored Amanda in favour of rubbing her temples to try and ease the pain. Unfortunately, the American witch didn't seem ready to drop the subject.
"Come on, Diana ! You gotta entertain your guests ! That's what any proper host would do, right ?"
Sighing louder than before, Diana turned around to glare at her classmate.
"Remind me when I invited you all ?
- Well, you invited Akko, so there was no reason to not invite us, duh. Especially with such a big mansion ! There's place for half the school here.
- First, I invited Akko because she couldn't go home for the holidays while everyone else seemed to be planning to spend them with their family. I did not extend the invitation to you because you weren't about to stay at school practically alone."
Amanda opened her mouth as if to say something, but quickly shut it when she realised she didn't actually have any counter argument. Diana looked at the rest of the group : her teammates, Hannah and Barbara, as well as all of the members of the red and green teams. As strange as that might sound, she had come to care for all of them. They were more than classmates now : they were her friends. But she noticed that something was wrong : some of them -namely Lotte, Hannah and Barbara- looked a bit ashamed. Diana bit the inside of her cheek : maybe she had sounded too harsh…
"Don't get me wrong, I am glad that you are all here. I would have just liked some sort of notice before you followed me in the Ley Line for the estate.
- Yeah, well, that was a last minute decision for practically all of us, answered Amanda. Literally. We woke up that morning, Akko told us she had to leave early because you wanted to leave early, we learned that you two would spend the holidays together so we just… kinda… went along and followed you.
- Sorry, Diana, said Lotte, we didn't mean to bother you.
- You don't bother me, don't worry. I'll just have to remember to ask everyone beforehand if they want to come for the next holidays.
- Oh, you mean we can come back some other time as well ? asked Akko. Great ! Hey, maybe we could invite more people too ? We could make a super big party or something !
- I don't think that would be a good idea, Akko, said Diana. The manor may seem big, but the actual available place-
- There's really not as much as you think there is, interrupted a new voice."
Everyone in the room turned their head toward the sound to see who had spoken up. In the doorway, Diana's cousins, Meryl and Maryl, were standing, still wearing their coats and scarfs. They had spent most of the afternoon out in the neighbouring town with their mother, Daryl, and had apparently just come back home.
One of the twins, Meryl, took off her coat and went by the fireplace to put another log in and feed the flames. She then stood up, but stayed near the fire to warm up faster.
"What do you mean ? asked Amanda. With a house this big, I really don't see how you can think there's not enough place.
- The house is big, yes, but we can't use all of its wings, answered Maryl. The manor was built when our ancestor, Beatrix, was still the Head of the family. Magic has been coursing through it's walls for over a millennia. When it started to disappear, the walls got weaker, and when it came back, the sudden excess of it became too much for the manor to endure. Many of the walls have cracked all around the estate. Meryl, our mother and I have managed to salvage the parts we use most often, but the rest is way too dangerous to let people near. Until this problem is fixed, the manor can't host as many people as it used to. That is also why you'll have to share your rooms : we don't have enough of them available -and safe- for all of you at the moment."
Everyone fell silent at that. That is, until Akko felt the need to say something.
"Wow, uh… Well, sorry ? she said sheepishly while one of her hands started messing with her hair. I mean, it's kinda our fault that the manor is crumbling down, because we brought Iggdrasil back to life… It's not like we had a choice, but still, I feel bad.
- Don't, said Meryl. You did what you had to and couldn't have possibly imagined the consequences for the estate. We are glad you brought magic back, all of you. This situation is only a minor setback that will hopefully be fixed before long."
Diana smiled at her cousins. Since she tried to become the Head of the family and saved them and Daryl from becoming trees, Diana's relationship with her relatives had gotten… better. It was far from perfect yet, but she was glad to see that Meryl and Maryl were friendlier, not just with her but with her friends as well. She had feared the two young women would have reacted badly to the seven additional witches unexpectedly tagging along, but they hadn't made any remark about it. Diana was even pretty sure that she had seen them exchange a smile when the younger girls had entered the manor that morning. Even stranger was Daryl's lack of reaction as well. Diana hadn't talked much with her aunt since the failed ceremony, still wary of the older woman, so she was nervous to hear what she would have to say about her friends coming with her even though they weren't invited. But, just like her daughters, Daryl had simply greeted the young witches, told Anna to prepare the additional rooms, then grabbed her coat and headed out with the twins, saying they would be back in time for dinner.
But now that Diana thought about it…
"Maryl, Meryl ? Diana called out. Where is aunt Daryl ?"
The twins shared a look. Meryl sighed, then looked back at Diana to answer.
"She went to the garden.
- The garden ? At this hour ? It's already dark. Not to mention the cold.
- Well, Maryl said, we went to visit our mother this afternoon. I think it got Mom in a… nostalgic mood. When we got back here, she went to the kitchen to grab a bottle of wine and left for the garden, saying she'd come back in time for dinner."
Now, that worried Diana. Her aunt was strict with alcohol : she would usually prefer water or non-alcoholic beverages, never drank more than a glass to go with her meal even during parties or official meetings with other Lords and Ladies, and she never, ever drank on her own, especially if there was no specific reason for it. Anna had once told Diana that Daryl used to be quite the party-goer in her youth and had had her fair share of hangovers, but it all stopped after the death of Diana's mother, when Daryl became the temporary Head of the family. For her to be drinking at such an hour, alone, in the garden… Diana didn't have a good feeling about this.
"You visited your mother ? Amanda asked."
Diana saw her cousins go stiff, but before she could say anything to Amanda, the American witch innocently asked the worst question she could have come up with :
"She's living around here ? Why not come celebrate the holidays with you then ? Don't tell me she has that much bad blood with Daryl ! Amanda said jokingly.
- Our mother is dead, answered Meryl as she crossed her arms against her chest. We visit her grave at least once a month."
The room fell silent. None of the younger witches knew what to answer to that. Diana couldn't blame them : even for her, it was hard to talk about her late aunt with her cousins. Even harder with Daryl. That was one thing Diana would always pity her aunt over : from what Anna had told her, the woman had loved her wife more than anything or anyone else in this world and was broken by her sudden death. She managed to hold it together, for her sister and her daughters, but when Bernadette died as well ten years later… Well, let's just say that Diana wasn't sure who, out of her aunt and herself, had cried the most.
After that, Daryl had closed up. She spent most of her time managing the family's legacy and attending official or unofficial noble gatherings to maintain a good public image. The rest was used to teach her daughters and niece the basics of magic as well as their family history. She never had friends over, never talked to anyone outside of the manor or formal settings… Diana had admired her aunt's dedication for a while. She insisted to keep on studying under her watch, asked Daryl to teach her more about their family's secret healing spells, learned old and dead languages, her aunt's specialty… Until she started attending Luna Nova. Most of the year went well, but when she came back to the manor for the holidays, she started noticing that some of the family's treasures were missing. At first, it was just a couple of paintings, a vase here, a statue there… But, as the years went on, more of those prized possessions disappeared, until one day, Anna finally told her why : Daryl had been selling them off to cover the family's debts. For the first time, Diana went against her aunt. They had their first real argument that night.
From that point onward, their relationship only got worse, to the point where Diana limited her contacts with her aunt to a bare minimum and stayed at school for most of the holidays. Until this year at least.
Diana's train of thoughts was interrupted by Amanda's, for once small, voice :
"I'm sorry… I shouldn't have talked without knowing."
Maryl and Meryl accepted the apology with a nod of acknowledgement. Well, at least, they weren't going to get in a fight…
"I'm going to go see aunt Daryl, said Diana. I don't like knowing she's out there with this weather."
Her cousins nodded again : it was unusually cold that night, too cold to stay out there for long.
Diana put on her coat and snow boots, took her wand to light her way and went out to search for her aunt. Luckily, she had a pretty good idea of where the older woman went to drink.
As Diana approached the line of trees surrounding the estate, she was pleased to see that she had been correct. There was Daryl, face lit up by small, flying orbs of light and her bottle of wine in hand. Diana winced when an orb flew right in front of the bottle and she saw that it was already half-empty.
The young witch walked closer to her aunt until she stood right beside her. She didn't greet Daryl right away though. For a moment, she just stood there, looking at what her aunt came to see : a tree in front of which stood a tombstone with the inscription "Bernadette Cavendish, beloved mother and sister".
Diana didn't like visiting her mother's grave. Usually, witches, especially powerful ones like the Head of the Cavendish family, turned into trees after their death. The bigger the power, the bigger the tree, which was why the Heads of the family usually turned into bigger trees than the other members. Bernadette, however… turned into one of the smallest trees in the forest. Not for lack of power itself, but because she didn't live long enough to create a strong link with Iggdrasil, the root of all magic. So, when Diana came to visit her mother… the tree she faced reminded her of just how soon her mother had been taken from her, of just how much longer she should have been able to live. No, definitely, Diana didn't like coming here.
The young witch turned to her aunt, who still hadn't looked at her.
"Aunt Daryl, what are you doing here ? It's cold and dark.
- I just… felt like visiting."
Diana was almost surprised at her aunt's answer. Because she answered her at all, but also because her voice sounded… different than usual. Softer. Sadder. More… human.
"You really are a lot like your mother, Diana, Daryl said. You have the same drive, the same kindness, the same love. But… You're also different. Very different."
Diana tilted her head curiously. Her aunt didn't like talking about her sister much more than she liked talking about her wife, despite Diana knowing that both were always in her thoughts. When she did, it was often to tell Diana how smart and kind her mother was, or, in the latest years, how foolish she had been in her management of the family's legacy and finances. She never pointed out the differences between Diana and her mother.
"Bernadette was a good student, but she loved playing way more than she liked studying. She learned fast and almost effortlessly, so she spent a lot of time fooling around with her magic and going on adventures, Daryl told her with a smile. When we attended Luna Nova, she always called me a troublemaker, but she was just as bad. The only difference was that she was better at getting out of trouble than I was. She could be lazy and foolish… stubborn, over-dramatic, a ball of nerves… Really, a lot of undignified things considering she was to become the Head of the family."
Daryl let out a laugh at that. She still hadn't looked at Diana directly, lost in her memories, so she missed the fond smile on her niece's face.
"It drove Mother crazy, to see her so carefree despite her responsibilities… I, for one, loved it : life was always fun with Bernadette around…"
Daryl fell back into silence, her look nostalgic, eyes lost in memories Diana had no idea of. The younger witch decided it was time to get back inside. Slowly, she reached out toward the bottle in her aunt's hand and took it away gently. Daryl didn't protest. Then, Diana took her aunt's now free hand in her own and started to lead her back toward the manor, saying :
"Come, aunt Daryl. Dinner will be served soon. We can come back tomorrow if you want."
The older woman followed her without resisting, walking behind her niece in silence.
When they got back inside the manor, they found the twins and Diana's friends sitting all together in the living room, looking at what appeared to be a photo album. As Diana and Daryl entered the room, taking off their coats, Akko looked up and smiled at them.
"Diana ! Daryl ! Come over here, we're looking at old pictures !
- Diana was so cuuute as a baby, Amanda said with a smirk."
Diana couldn't help but blush at that. She wasn't embarrassed at her baby pictures, of course not ! She was confident her mother and aunt wouldn't have kept anything embarrassing for her… Then she remembered what her aunt had said about her mother's more… troubling tendencies… and suddenly, she wasn't all that confident anymore.
Quickly, she went to stand behind Amanda and looked at the pictures from over her shoulder. She groaned internally : while not particularly embarrassing, some of these moments were not her most… glorious either. One picture showed her at age 3 or so with traces of porridge all over her face, another one showed her sleeping while sucking on her thumb with a teddy bear in her arms… Urgh, Amanda would never let her live it down.
Luckily… or not, they had already reached the end of the book. Diana sighed in relief, then saw Meryl coming through the door with another album.
"Look guys, I found more !"
Diana would never admit to it, but she did groan at that.
Meryl sat down in the middle of the couch, right next to Amanda, and opened up the album only to stare at it in confusion.
"Huh ? I thought those were old pictures…
- Yeah, Diana in her Luna Nova uniform looks really old, Amanda snickered.
- This isn't Diana, Daryl interjected."
Everyone turned to look at her in confusion. Diana and the twins were the first to realise.
"Wait, Maryl said, it's Diana's mother ?! Aunt Bernadette ?!
- What ?!"
The ones who had shouted were Akko and Amanda, but all the others were equally stunned by the reveal. Diana could understand them : she knew she looked a lot like her mother, but to have the proof right in front of her was something else.
"Wow, said Amanda in quiet awe. That's both awesome and kinda weird.
- I'm curious now, said Akko. I wonder how she was like when she attended Luna Nova ?
- Those pictures should give you an idea, answered Daryl. Feel free to look at them and don't hesitate to ask questions. I'll try to answer as best as I can."
Diana and the twins looked up at the older woman in surprise. Diana had already found it strange that her aunt told her about her mother earlier, but to have her offer to talk about Bernadette to a group of strangers… The alcohol must have really gotten to her.
"Okay then, who are those two ? Amanda asked, pointing at two witches standing next to Bernadette on another picture.
- The tall blonde one is called Helena Klein. The small one with pink hair is Altea Bellerose. They were both Bernadette's teammates and best friends during her years at Luna Nova, though for some reason, they had some sort of rivalry going on during their first year. If it wasn't for Bernadette, I think they would have killed each other at some point. But they got better and became actual friends during their second year.
- What are they doing now ? asked Lotte.
- They are still practicing magic. Helena is travelling around the world with her wife, learning new types of magic and selling her potions along the way. I'm not sure about Altea though : she travelled a lot as well for a while, but last I heard, she had gone back to France, her home country, to be closer to her family. I think she is working at Strasbourg's magical university as a teacher and researcher.
- Woah, that's so cool ! exclaimed Akko."
They looked at a couple more pictures, mainly of Bernadette with her teammates, sometimes interrupted by the occasional birthday or other big gathering. Diana was proud to see a picture of her mother wearing the hat and cape of the Moonlit witch.
Then, they got to the pictures of Bernadette's second year at Luna Nova and Daryl's first. Daryl talked a bit about her own teammates as well, shared some stories about her first days at the school. Diana was delighted : it had been years since she had seen her aunt so relaxed and open.
Then Meryl turned the page and a new face appeared : a girl with long, dark-blonde hair and mesmerizing grey eyes. Her hair seemed to shine in the sun as she was sitting down on a patch of green grass next to Daryl. Diana was the first to ask this time :
"Who is this ?"
Daryl stayed silent for a moment, so Diana looked up to her. She was surprised to see the look on her aunt's face : nostalgia, sadness and… was it guilt in her eyes ? Before Diana could ask her about it, Daryl answered her question.
"Elizabeth Hertz. She prefers to be called Lisa. According to her, Elizabeth is too much of a mouthful to use on a regular basis. She is my best friend and Maryl's and Meryl's godmother."
Diana was surprised, to say the least : she didn't even know her cousins had a godmother. She looked at the twins : they seemed happy to see the picture, but also had a sort of sadness in their eyes. She briefly wondered what happened with Lisa to make her aunt and cousins react like that to her mere mention.
Before Diana could decide if it was safe to ask more about the woman, Anna entered the room.
"Miladies, dinner is ready and about to be served in the dining hall."
Daryl was the first to react.
"Thank you Anna, we will be there in a minute."
Anna bowed and left without another word. As everyone got up from their seat and stretched, Diana caught her aunt's eye.
"Aunt Daryl, is everything alright ?"
Daryl stayed silent for a moment. Then, she smiled and lightly ruffled Diana's hair, answering with an unusually sweet tone :
"It will be, Diana. It will be."
A.N : Yeah, that's it. There won't be a direct continuation to this one-shot, but I have an entire story in my head about this universe, Daryl, Bernadette, Lisa and Diana, so when I have some time, I might post something about them. In the meantime, don't hesitate to leave kudos or tell me what you thought of this, it always makes me feel great =)
And Happy New Year !