Of Happy Coincidences and Fated Connections
Wew it's been ages since I've written fanfiction. This will probably suck but here I go.
I'm late because college kills me sort of in any case I wanted to do something different so here's day 1-7 prompts scattered throughout acts or chapters of this connected work.
This work will be separated in 7 acts and I decided to add in Diana's mother and other moments as well, personally I'm not that great in depicting romantic moments, but I do like character introspection and
studies so this work will have a bit of that as well as adding elements that while not cannon, they don't break the cannon either because I believe the lack of specification of stuff in lwa world still allows for a lot more.
In any case I'm supposed to be done posting all the acts by Sunday at latest, because weekend will give me more time to finish up the remaining acts.
Act 1
"There, There Diana, no more crying my little angel" Bernadette soothes Diana while caressing her hair.
Diana buries herself more into her mother's neck as her body gently shakes from the barely contained crying session.
This continues a bit longer until little Diana's sobs finally calms down, the soothing finally having worked.
Diana lifts her head from her mother's neck and hair and looks at her mother with tear stained eyes and her voice comes out uneven "I'm s-sorry m-mother….I'm sorry…." And she was just about to start crying again when her mother kisses her on her forehead and gives her a big hug while speaking words of comfort
"Diana…..darling….you are amazing and I am very proud of you"
Diana start shaking her head in disagreement, but stays quiet clinging on to her mom.
"Don't worry about it my little angel, you will get your magic back and even if you don't I will never love you any less, please know that" Bernadette announced while kissing atop Diana's head.
Diana once again looks at her mom and is much more composed although her poofy red eyes tell the tale of how long she has cried.
"Mother, b-but I'm a Cavendish, I need to get my magic back….or else…"Diana pauses and closes her tiny fists a little tighter on her mother's shirt.
"or else nothing darling remember more than anything our family motto is affection and that's regardless if someone has magic or not. On top of that we even have ancestors who were not magically inclined that went off to be amazing individuals, look at Andrew's father"
Diana shifts away from her mom and gets a scowl on her face "Andrew is insufferable!"
"Diana…be nicer darling…" Bernadette chastises but Diana is determined to continue her point
"B-but I don't want to be like them I love magic and I want to believe in being able to get my magic, because I don't like how Andrew and his family views magic, I want the world to feel how lovely magic is! Like the kind that Chariot show made me feel…"
"My little angel has big dreams, doesn't she?" and the mother reaches over to give her stubborn daughter a big hug and she remembers something when Diana mentioned Chariot's show and proceeds to let go of Diana for a bit and to grab a book in her night drawer.
"Mother, what's that?" Diana asks having an inquisitive look on her face.
So Bernadette tells Diana of the book she bought some days back at a store, she wanted to give Diana it, but she was worried about Diana's deflated nature after not being able to perform magic, but hearing
Diana's concession of Chariot's show being part of her inspiration for continuing to try to get her magic back, Bernadette thought it was fitting to introduce the story book that Chariot has a hand in writing and
considering nothing is heard of chariot anymore, she wanted to cheer Diana up.
The picture book is actually as can be expected tales told through the zodiac signs and the constellations about life, ambition, striving for your dream, motivation, fate, romance and bunch of other stuff told in a lighthearted tone with cute art that can appeal to kids.
Diana had a twinkle in her eyes and so they began reading it together.
The introduction is very vibrant and colorful with an image of the 12 zodiac sign all separated in groups, 4 groups in specific. Air, Water, Earth & Fire.
In the top half of the left page of the book we had the Air Group that had the Gemini, Libra & Aquarius and you can see them animatedly talking with each other and cracking jokes with what appears to be social gathering.
On the bottom half of the left page we had the Fire Group that had the Aries, Leo & Sagittarius. They were in a heated race through rocky terrain and neither of them were backing down.
On the top half of the right page we had the Earth Group that had Taurus, Virgo & Capricorn. They were all in a study group occasionally commenting and helping each other.
Lastly on the bottom half of the right page we had the Water group that had Scorpio, Cancer & Pisces who were all staring at the starry sky lying next to each other on top of blankets and pointing at the night sky.
As we turn the page we get blue/black background with various flecks of stars in the sky and we get the first story.
Swimming against the Gigantic Stream of Life to find Your Place
There was once a tiny red fish that wanted to bring joy and happiness to all the sea creatures and possibly even land creatures out there so it learned how to do magnificent jumps and tricks and even learned the art of
bubble making alongside becoming very resourceful with his fins, however the fish community thought it was unnatural. Fish are after all supposed to be in groups and be about community, individuality is not something
strongly supported. Apart from that a red fish at best will only be considered as food and wouldn't be taken seriously by the other sea creatures.
However Charon, our little fish was ready to prove the world wrong because despite being called a hopeless dreamer he deeply wants that everyone feels free and happy.
While his previous attempts have not gone the way he wanted them to he believes there has been a huge improvement and he recently caught the attention of Cetus, a renowned talent agent Whale.
And so his shows have gotten more traction and he will be at the biggest platform yet...
….Through ups and downs and setbacks Charon has found the drive needed to search for his own place in this world and while his journey might've been long and arduous he has reached it because he worked for it and
when he got sad or was close to giving up he would find something in his path that helps him along, for example the comforting words of Detty the crab or Delphy the wise Dolphin or even the Columba the Dove, each
with them brought their own advice and support that helped pull out the inner fortitude that Charon possessed.
Life is made of pebbles or rocks even that hinder to flow of your river, but how you decide to overcome and surpass such an obstacle is where you really find yourself and the greatest strength hidden inside you…
"Mother…can we read the next one?" Diana asks with immense joy, while her face still held signs of having had a sad spell it isn't quite as obvious as before and diana's gentle yet unabashed smile makes
Bernadette very much happy.
"Of course dear" she passes her hand through diana's hair and shifts her to sit on her lap with Diana leaning against her chest and diana re-positions the book and starts on the 2nd story.
"The Scales of dreams and reality" Diana spoke the title of the 2nd story.
Chris the libra isn't very happy with the current situation. His kind have long been used as a means to find solace and comfort or to try to strive for their own balance. They take advantage of gnawing insecurity of the
community and here we have the likes of Charon traveling in his mobile water tank stage eager to spread the way of love and peace to this world to counteract the bad.
Chris was supposed to be the most important high libra commissioner and work on the perfect way to enhance happiness and contentment for all and to think a side show accomplished it is an utter joke, Chris swears
that everyone is delusional or something, but he can't deny his curiosity has been peaked so he decides to finally properly see Charon's show and perhaps maybe get an idea what the commotion and is all about….
…Chris had tears coming from each side scale of his. How he could have been so foolish? He had a vision of what he wanted as if that is his dream that is entitled to him and no one else and he didn't consider the work
that had to be put in for that to actually achieve it, but having met Charon and gradually become friends with him and after he had gotten a bit more glimpse into the world and having traveled with Chummy the
chameleon & Circi the compass Chris sees what he must do, right now he can't think about what he doesn't have or what he should have, but rather of his hard work, what he has right now and the work and people's
help he will need to work on getting closer to making his dream a reality and who knows perhaps in this journey he might even realize something else he wanted more, perhaps a path he never saw possible until now.
"Ok Diana dear, it's getting late…." Bernadette announced as she gently took the book from Diana, closed and put on the drawer.
"But…..one more mother….please…." Diana tried to execute one of her best puppy dog eyes, but Bernadette would not relent.
"Diana….." Bernadette said in a slightly amused but admonishing tone.
"Very well mother, but may I ask a question?" Diana asked hesitantly while still laying it on thick with the puppy dog eyes so it was inevitable what the reply would be.
"Of course dear, but only one. It's getting late" Bernadette answered back with a ghost of a smile on her face. Her daughter's curiosity has always been insatiable after all.
"Mom why do people use zodiac signs to tell stories, are what they tell about each sign really accurate?" Diana leans in close to her mom, eagerly awaiting her mother's reply.
Bernadette closes her eyes a bit to think about the best way to answer this question and she remembers a particular moment some years back and the brief discussion with a certain spunky red haired
moonlight witch.
"It's already getting late, but how about one last story? I believe it will have a better answer for that question. Besides I do believe you would be interested in hearing it, it's about the time I met Chariot, long
before she became Shiny Chariot, interested?" Bernadette announces but she didn't even have to wait that long for a response because Diana exuberantly blurted out
"Yes mother! Please do, I would love to and how did you meet her? How was she? And-"
Bernadette waved her hand as a means to silence Diana and to command attention "Ok little one, this happened a few years back, quite a bit before Shiny Chariot even graced the stage…"
It was a hectic day. Bernadette Cavendish has been called in to be one of the Judges for the Samhain festival. Mostly due to previous judge having cancelled last minute so Holbrooke called in a favor. While Bernadette was
1 year shy from having graduated from Luna Nova the misfortunate and bizarre capsizing of the ship that Daryl and Bernadette's parents were in left the Cavendish without a leader and luckily or unluckily whichever way
you prefer to view it, a few months after their death was the Venusian Eclipse.
Strangely enough father was always the prepared man and left in the will that I would be the head of Cavendish house, despite Daryl's seniority over me, which did even less wonders in closing the chasm of differences
and tension between my sister and I.
In any case perhaps it's being back in Luna Nova that gives me such nostalgia.
I saw a wonderful and surprising performance from the surprise witch that came out of practically nowhere in the crowd's general opinion and stole the show, literally by the display of transformation and showmanship
magic, it filled my heart with so much joy and wonder and made me call back to the uncomplicated love and fascination I used to exude when I was younger, sadly things in later life often become a habit or obligation and
the true magic fades away a bit, but this reignited it a bit.
I had stayed and took a bit to drink, not too much given my weak constitution but even that was too much it would seem as I felt woozy and weak, Holbrooke immediately assigned me to the nurse and a room to stay
the night, seeing the time it would be much too late to travel back in my condition anyway.
I conceded and went to rest. However I only slept a bit and when I woke up, it was still much too early as I saw the clock read a bit past 5 am. I was restless though and decided to take a walk. On the plus side muscle
memory is truly a wonderful thing you realize all over again in these instances, while it has been a few turbulent and trying years adjusting to being head of the Cavendish at 17, meeting my husband, delivering a
beautiful baby girl, becoming a widow all too quickly and having most likely a limited amount of time still left to see my baby grow up, my body and mind instinctively remember all the twists, turns, nook and crannies. It's
actually nearing a more open space though that I halt because I see two figures in the courtyard. They are sitting on the bench talking although their proximity to each other seems to suggest they are fairly close.
One of them stands up and twirls around and I notice it immediately, the long white robe and the white hat with the horns on the side, that's the engaging and energetic red haired moon light witch from earlier today,
well yesterday now technically.
She seems to be fairly happy as she lets out another performance in front of a- from what I can tell- purple haired girl.
Of course this draws the attention of a shadow nearby on the opposite side of the courtyard and they run to hide, as do I.
How silly though, I always helped patrol back then and I'm an adult now, I have no reason to hide, but I have to admit it's probably being back in this school, takes me back.
After the coast was clear and the patrol went the other direction the two girls came out and I moved closer so I can hear them talking, I can't help but feel wrong about this, but something about the moonlight witch this
year and the feeling her performance awoke in me after a long time made me curious to know more about her.
I was still too much out of ear shot to hear anything clearly, but seeing by the red haired ones flustered state I would say she was just teased and the purple haired one proceeds to give the moonlight witch a hug which
in turn she greedily accepts and the hug lasts for quite a bit longer than platonic hug time constitutes, but perhaps I'm out of the loop with teenagers nowadays as to what constitutes the normal length for those.
The red haired girl is sulking now and I feel compelled to go to her, but she abruptly jumps up from her seated position on the stone bench and conjures up a constellation chart, this is highly impressive and clearly she
has an affinity for astrology to conjure up something to this extent.
She seems to be pulling up two signs in particular a libra and a pisces.
Curious.
As I move to go a bit closer but still trying to not arouse suspicion I step on branch and she notices me and immediately jumps.
"I'm sorry, please don't give me detention, I just got out of a one month scrubbing the toilets a month ago, I would prefer to not have to repeat that again." she eyed me pleadingly while having her hands clasped
together in front of her face hoping I don't reprimand.
I start laughing. This completely catches her off-guard.
"Rest assured little moon light witch I truly am not here to punish you, I'll have you know I'm sneaking about as well" Bernadette answered good naturedly while extending her hand to greet the girl " Bernadette
Cavendish, pleasure to meet you acquaintance that was a lovely performance you put on I was quite enchanted with it"
Chariot's eyes visibly widen and then she enthusiastically starts shaking Bernadette's hands "Ahh my name is Chariot du Nord, nice to meet you. A pleasure to meet the head of the Cavendish family, you were one of the
judges right? Thank you for liking the show I'm glad to hear that and …."
Bernadette notices the girl is quite chipper and just keeps rambling on excitedly, (what an energetic and charismatic girl).
"Miss Cavendish….." chariot waves her hands in front of her face and Bernadette jumps back a bit "Ahh… I'm sorry I didn't mean to surprise you, I was just wondering what you were still doing at Luna Nova since I'm
aware most judges or spectators tend to leave after, but you were staring off so I wasn't sure if you heard me, sorry for rambling, I'm still a bit giddy about winning as moon light witch and all….." she trails off while
sheepishly putting her fingers together while fidgeting.
Bernadette smiled "Ooh don't worry it's quite alright and very much understandable I remember being moonlight witch my first year in Luna Nova it's a wonderful feeling so completely understandable. Also to answer your
question, I was feeling a bit under the weather after due to my weak constitution, but I'm feeling a lot better now. I would like to ask you the same thing though you were practicing some magnificent astrology magic
there is there any specific reason now? Since it's already becoming lighter outside after all, it would be more useful at a darker time."
Chariot's face blushes beat red "a-ah….well you see I….." she doesn't quite know what to answer so I decide to tease a bit suspecting a more than platonic inkling from the purple haired girl and chariot. It's an all-girls
school after all so those kind of relationships are hardly a surprise, even though romantically speaking I'm more inclined to males myself, I did have quite a few friends that dabbled in that and that's fine by me, you never
know who ends up taking your fancy.
"Could it have anything to do with the libra and piscis signs?"
Chariot's mouth as agape and she appears to open her mouth to speak however I decided to go for the overkill.
"or was it perhaps connected to the purple haired girl that left earlier?"
And there it was the deer caught in the head lights look. Ah, perhaps I did go too far.
"I'm sorry if I'm prying too much…."
"No, no, it's just ….uhm….ok….so….I was wondering about the zodiac signs and what they meant and what they actually mean for each person like do they accurately predict someone's fate or personality or are
compatibility between signs a certain thing or what can you do to guarantee a lasting bond…..I'm just a bit conflicted right now and sorry again for rambling…" Chariot was fidgeting and she didn't even once look up from
the ground.
"I don't believe on certain are absolutely accurate, I'm unsure of why you pulled up specifically a libra and a pisces but I'm assuming it might have to do with your purple haired friend, but seeing as it makes you
uncomfortable I will not comment further although keep in mind that nothing changes, develops or maintains unless of your consistent and hard effort to work on it. Whether it's a lasting bond with this girl or it's your
dreams, because after all one imagines their dreams, but reality is what becomes of your hard earned effort to achieve your goals and perhaps it's not the same as your dream initially was, but the growth that has
overcome you in that time and the end point that you have reached might be exactly what you needed as oppose to what you initially wanted. Life is filled with inconsistencies and forking roads so as long as you're doing
your best and constantly striving for the best version of yourself, I believe it will work out." Bernadette approaches the girl and put a hand on Chariot and smiles.
"Concerning the zodiac signs I don't believe they are wrong as guides, because people have faith in various things that keeps them going or that inspires and astrology is an old craft that has been used for many years,
you should neither revere it as perfect guide or tool nor dismiss it as too irregular. Rather take with it what you will and let it inspire you then do something with that inspiration to make your desires a reality. I'm sorry
I'm afraid I'm the one that talked too long this time" Bernadette smiled apologetically while taking her arms off of Chariot's shoulder.
Chariot proceeds to hug Bernadette. Bernadette is caught off guard.
"-thank you" was the muffled reply of Chariot and she pulled away quickly after "I'm sorry for the sudden hug"
"No, no it's fine, surprising but pleasant nonetheless. Tell me chariot what makes you fascinated in astrology?"
"The possibilities and also I want to understand all the various zodiac signs and harmony between them because I want to understand how to make as many people as possible happy. I want to perform with zodiac sign
animals and various other transformation magic because I believe the wonder and joy of seeing these creatures can be stronger than disagreements or dispute between human beings, it's something more universal at
least in my eyes. At least that's just a sentiment of mine, but I'm aware how silly my dream may seem to some…..even so! I have to try" Chariot while slightly hesitant she had a certain spark inher eyes I couldn't help
but admire. She was rocking on the ball of her foot awaiting my reply.
"It is an awfully ambitious dream, your determination reminds me of my little daughter, Diana. So driven and hard-working for a 4 year old" Bernadette smiles fondly thinking of her little girl "That said I believe your
intentions aren't wrong, but remember strive for your own happiness before you worry for others or the world."
Chariot smiles. "Ok I will work on it"
"Headmistress Holbrooke I believe I saw someone in the courtyard." Can be heard faraway in booming voice. One of the fearie patrols no doubt from earlier.
Chariot looks anxious at me I tell her to go back to her dorm I will intercept them. She mouths thank you and storms back to her dorm.
"Hello headmistress Holbrooke. Good morning, and sorry for walking around and giving the patrol trouble"
"Ooh my, Bernadette I wasn't expecting you up so early! Good Morning and no don't worry"
The fearie patrol started saying he swear he saw someone, but Bernadette says she might've caught a glimpse of something but it was too dark to identify and so the matter was laid to rest.
"Ok Diana to bed young lady" Bernadette motioned for Diana to get off the bed.
Diana doesn't budge. "Mother about the meanings and bonds do you believe they might be true if you want them to be?"
"Is this about the story book? Or something else?" it would seem there is something Bernadette is missing from this story.
"Something else, mother remember when we got separated after the chariot show?"
Of course I did. I had a particular bad fainting spell after the show while we were walking away from the crowd and I got separated from Diana I was terrified before I blacked out, the trip in particular had been
exhausting. Luckily I did have Anne and another butler with me Anne stayed with me while Joseph, the butler went to search for Diana. Did something bad happen that Diana didn't tell her about, Diana saw her
mother's distressed face and put her tiny hand on top of her mother
"Don't worry mom nothing bad happened, I promise."
Bernadette visibly relaxed.
"You see when I got lost and swept along the crowd I met another little girl, she had brown hair and was also separated from her parents because of the crowd. I thought we should continue waiting and she
wanted to keep on moving to find them we kept arguing but when we noticed some people kept on staring we went into the crowd in search of either one of our parents but then an old lady from one of the
stands called out to us, she was a bit creepy-"
"Diana I thought you told me nothing-"
"Let me finish, please mother" Diana pouted.
"Very well, I will not comment until the end" Bernadette relented.
"So she ended up being a magical astronomer or the ones that tell fortune. I thought would be best to move away from her but the little girl decided it would be cool so we went closer. I told her we had no
money on us, but she said this one was free of charge and conjured up our zodiac cards along with a card about our bond or something saying we will have a lifelong bond or something. It was then we decided
to keep searching and the little girl had a few dollars in her pockets and we both got one cotton candy to share and we decided to go closer to where the stand was for the show now that there were less
people. It was in the process of walking there that the brown haired girl said to exchange the card about our zodiac sign and if the life long bond fortune is right we'll meet again and exchange it back I was
going to say I don't live there so the chance of meeting again is not very likely but she handed me her card and I felt inclined to give her mine it was then that Joseph made it through the people still around
there and the same time the girl's mother showed up and pulled her away. Wait let me go get the card mother." And the young Cavendish girl dashes to her room and comes back after a bit and eagerly shows
me the cancer zodiac sign from the girl diana exchanged and I was shocked to notice the card that Diana got.
That's curious.
Years Ago at a random festival.
"Bernadette let's get out of here, this place is bogus!" Daryl came out huffing. The old lady comes outside and announces my sister forgot to pay, so I paid her part. The old lady grabs my arm and says she want to do a
reading for me for free. I told her I'm not particularly interested in these things she asks please and I decide to humor her. She pulls a few different cards, but one particular that she tells me is the one that looks like the
one that Diana got and she even has her insignia because she told me about it at the end.
"Diana dear, did you catch the little girl's name?"
"Uhm no" Diana has a very embarrassed expression "I forgot to introduce mine as well, her English was a bit hard to understand as well and I was being dragged most of the time we barely had any time to
catch our breaths…"Diana seemed a bit put-off by being reminded of that.
How unusual to have Diana so out of her element, that's so unlike her so I started chuckling.
"Mother….why are you laughing" Diana was baffled and a bit annoyed.
"There, there darling I'm sure you will meet this person again, she clearly made an impression on you and sounds like this person might've been the same person your mommy met some time back"
Diana was surprised. "Did her predictions for you come true then mother?"
"Some of them did or actually I should say the ones that truly matter did and that's all that counts in my eyes. Like having my beautiful daughter filled with ambition and endless curiosity that is still awake past
her curfew. Now let me take you to your room darling no more time for stories I'm afraid, straight to bed."
"But-"
"No buts Diana. Rest assured though I will be beside you till you fall asleep."
Diana got out of bed and gently tugged my hand and I went back to her room and tucked her in. Bernadette kept petting her hair and before she drifted off to sleep she mumbled 'I love you mother'. Bernadette
said 'I love you too my little angel'.
One last thought entered Bernadette's head. That card that was given to Diana was the same one that she was given moments before she met Richard, her now deceased ex-husband. The card did not strictly
refer to lovers although it was the more common connotation. She decided she didn't mind either one to be fair. She's aware she won't be able to see Diana grow up into an adult and this small comfort that
Diana might have someone that cares for her as much as Richard cared for her calms her somewhat and despite how many more years she wished she had with Richard she appreciates the time they did have.
Stars don't dictate all or sometimes even not much at all, but completely underestimating the lucky coincidences and the unusual way fate tends to work seems foolhardy.
Bernadette gives her daughter a kiss on the top of her head and closes the door, only leaving a small night light to leave the room with a bit of brightness while her little angel slumbers.
She grabs the cancer card and other card given to Diana. Very curious indeed.
She wishes she could meet this little girl that already has the power to drag around her strong-willed daughter, but she supposes just like she told chariot as long as she works hard she could do it, after all her
becoming a tree like all the other Cavendish head of house is a given, she would like a nice open field if she's honest, but right now she wants to live for as much as she can, she will worry about being able to
catch a glimpse of this energetic girl later in whichever form she might be, after all working hard and affection are two things that come best to her.
She's a proud Cavendish after all.