Hey there, this is my first fanfic after a big break in writing so please bear with me as I'm a bit rusty but I think I'll do fine. I won't be able to do a daily upload or something as I'm currently in the exam period but I'll update as soon as I can. Now let's get started on this emotional ride that will kill both me and you in the end. Enjoy!
Chapter 1- Words
Words were dangerous. They were able to do impossible things to a person that no one would fully comprehend. They made people feel emotions of vast range but two of them being the most prominent. Love and fear.
Words were written against your skin, a fate that no one would never figure out. Often in a blend of two or more colours that sends you into panic or joy when they are first seen, printed on your body. Red, the solid colour within the words for when you first meet your soul mate were common, often in their handwriting to solidify the bond.
It's the one colour you would want to see.
If you see it, printed in a font that was not your own, you grow bold, excited, taking choices that would lead to more chances of the inevitable meeting to happen. Then at your young age of when they came, you show your parents and look in confusion as they cry.
It's only then, they tell you it's that they cry for happiness. Their tears for joy that your skin wasn't cursed of the ink of black.
Black kills.
Drains your face of colour when you see words in a font you've never seen before, bold and thick, in a harsh form that sends another wave of shock that you don't see the wanted colour of red anywhere.
Just words in solid black ink.
In the confusion that fills your day, you go to your parents, your friends, the people who care and love you and ask a question so innocent it's broken within minutes.
Black words makes their expression morph to horror, shock, anger, sadness and every dead emotion in between. Then, the truth comes out, the story, the curse, the sudden gasp of realisation of what kind of life is branded on your skin. That the black words cut on your skin kills, that the words spoken and heard makes your heart skips a beat and then shatter in two.
Black words are the words you last hear of whoever was your happy ending, the perfect person, the love of your life, your soul mate…before they die in your arms.
Black are the words, hidden under a masking spell, that Diana wears everyday.
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Diana looked at her newly wed cousin. Dressed in a gown of white, a veil covering her pinned blonde hair as the sapphires in her eyes glistened with tears. There was a sad smile on her face, one that dressed the real emotion underneath that Diana could see all too clearly. The look of pity.
"Are you sure you need to leave early, it's not uncommon for unmarried bridesmaid to find someone at a wedding." Diana hides the wince under a more believable sad smile. "I'm afraid any boys would be sad to know that they don't fit my fancy." She answers, the grip on her hand tightens briefly as the implication travelled through.
She knows she means well. She's one of the few extended family members who did. Not everyone would personally invite a curse to their wedding, even if it was family. "Okay then," Her cousin breathed, a genuine sad smile on her face as she crouched down to hug her. One where Diana gave back, holding to her dress tightly as she could. "You stay safe okay little Dana," she whispers, her voice breaking with each word spoken. Diana nods her head, too buried within the lacing of dress that she can't respond. If she did then there would be two Cavendishes crying and that would cause problems.
"I'm sorry you had to leave now." Diana shook her head, voice muffled, even if she turns her head. "It's alright, it's not your fault Elizabeth." She assures, though the lie feels poisonous and foreign on her tongue. She doesn't wants to leave her wedding, not after dreaming about it with her when they were younger. But she has to, the beautiful scenery, the exposed words, the empty promise on the altar. It's all too much after a while. She had to leave before it overwhelmed her even more. Even it meant just staying for the formal event alone.
Besides, the stares on the back of her head and the mutters and whispers in the day still lingered enough to keep her up at night. Turns out magic can't hide all of the secrets from piercing eyes.
"I hope you and Alex get your happy ever after." She says as she pulled away from her hug with such reluctance. "I'll send you all the stupid photos of the party if you want." Elizabeth laughs as she stand back up.
"I'll hold you on that." Diana nods, straightening her Luna Nova uniform and adjusting the ribbon on her waist. Elizabeth smiles at her, brushing the strands of hair from her face as she pats her cheeks lightly. Flickering her wand out of air, she mutters the incantation, blue neon lights swirling around as the painting of what was once a beautiful countryside resort turned into the Blue Team's room of Luna Nova. The painting shimmers in the moonlight before it sets there, a faint glow shimmering around the wooden frame.
"Never forget that I love you." Elizabeth said as she kissed Diana's forehead before placing her hat on.
"I hope you won't forget too with your old age." Diana smirks, giggling at Elizabeth's shocked face before it switches to laughter. "Get going little Dana, I expect to hear the best of the best grades soon." Diana's smile gleams more despite the acknowledgement of the hidden words behind it as she holds her bag and steps through the painting.
The world quickly shifting within a speed she couldn't comprehend and when she opens her eyes after a mere blink, she's back at Luna Nova like she never ever left.
Diana breaths in the familiar smell, the lingers of tea, old books that collect dust on the shelf. She walked over to her bed and laid there, her back sinking in to the soft, familiar mattress. There, with a serene smile she took a deep breath and exhaled.
It calms her, each slow breath in exhaled the breaths back at the wedding, where she shared the air with people she haven't seen in years, family members who knew and never connected again, cousins and second cousins whose eyes told any verbal words they could've said if she stayed an extra day.
It was as if Luna Nova caused a spell to cleanse her mind and bring her back to who she really is. The Luna Nova student, Diana Cavendish, member of the blue team, not the estranged cousin Diana. She could be seen as extraordinary and extra ordinary all at once.
The muffled chatter outside her door forced her eyes to open and her body to sit up. The mind switching to panic as she flicked her wand out and started the spell that she grew up with, muttering the words under her breath like a prayer, something to calm her down as green enveloped her and the door clicked open.
"Diana!" Hannah and Barbara screamed with delight as the magic swirled away from her. Diana's face broke to a smile, hugging both as they came on each side. "Hello Hannah, Barbara," she laughed as she hugged them.
"When did you get here?" Hannah asked as they pulled away, one sitting either side of her. "Just a few minutes ago." Diana answered, "My cousin sent me through a portal." "Oh my gosh, the wedding!" Barbara exclaimed as she hugged her arm.
"How was it?"
"Yeah, did you anyone say your words?"
Diana felt a pang in her chest, causing her to smile more as she looked out to the painting on the wall, the same one she popped out from. "It was beautiful, my cousin and her partner looked absolutely stunning." She answered, the image of Elizabeth, her eyes full of smiles and her smile full of love, staring deeply to her partner's sea green eyes at the altar of the wedding.
"But did someone say the words?" Another pain shot through her heart, one more harsher than the last. Her head drops, the shoulder slumps, the fatigue that she didn't sweep away from the wedding lingers on her and chains themselves to her bones.
"No, not many people said any words really." Another white lie, many talked at the wedding. Many talked about her, but none saved a few talked to her. Whether it was the knowledge or the fact she was a stranger to many, Diana remained mostly alone throughout the whole ceremony.
"Hannah!" Barbara scolded causing Hannah to flail her hands in a panicked apology. "I'm really sorry Diana, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." Diana smiled at her, a small one to reassure her, though mainly it was all she could muster.
"It's fine Hannah, I didn't really mind it." Another lie, the old sting of lying to your friends returned again from the childhood days. But it's fine, she could deal with the pain. She doesn't want them to worry about something they can't control.
"Did you manage to get me some notes?" Diana asked as she moved herself to her desk. "I promised Elizabeth that I'll get the best grades possible again." In other words, she promised to get distracted enough to not worry of the words branded on her right arm. Now is a good time as any to get started.
"We did but you should really rest Diana." Hannah suggested as she went to her bag left on the floor as Barbara did the same.
"Yeah," Barbara agreed, coming to her side and giving her a once over. "I think you need some rest, like you look really tired Diana." She placed her notes on the desk, a concerned look on her face. Diana waved it off, flipping her wand out to turn the candles on her desk alight. "Its just a side affect of travelling through teleportation."
"Still, rest is very important, besides tomorrow is the weekend, you have a lot of time to catch up in the morning." Hannah added as she placed her set of notes on the desk as well.
Diana's chest churned and tightened. She knows that they're trying to help, to make sure she doesn't overwork herself as she did before but she needs something to distract. A busy mind doesn't allow time for it to wonder and find statements she knows won't be true but will take it anyway. She looks at the desk, the welcoming sight of a blank page and a quill. Then at her friend, concern and worry all over their faces.
"You're right." Diana sighed, giving her wand a fast switch and cut off all candle light that were there. "Sleep is important for the human body." She faked stretched in her chair, closing her eyes to say a quick plea to anyone who would listen to allow her to have a good night's sleep. The sound of light clapping can be heard in the background as the voice talks in her head. The one that talks when something goes wrong, the one that never lets a single comment about her go unheard even if it existed 5 years ago. Still she prays to anyone who listens for a sleep she desperately needs.
Unfortunately, she knows better that things don't work like that, at least not for her.
