I'm back with an update! I'd like to clarify in this AU that it's the same as canon except magic is everywhere, no shiny rod. Almost everything else should be the same.

Croix leaned back into her chair after she put her pen down. She sighed, thinking about her encounter with the other witch. According to the notes she wrote, her hair changed colors depending on her feelings. The constant color was blue, the color of sadness. Sometimes her hair would turn red for a second.

It seemed that her natural hair color was red, but it might have turned to a constant blue due to feeling the same emotion for too long.

There was a lot of mystery surrounding Chariot Du Nord. First, she was a student at Luna Nova, and even though Croix graduated from that school, she never heard of one of the students becoming a prisoner.

The real reason behind locking her away was kept secret. Croix knew it wasn't because of having a lot of magic access or being emotional. If that was the case, they would have taken an alternate method to help her keep her emotions and magic in check.

She ran a hand through her hair and took her glasses off. She only needed them for reading, so since her work was done, she could continue without them.

Convincing the magic department to allow Chariot use some magic was hard. How did they expect her to evaluate her magic if they're sealing it? She can understand the risk and why they wouldn't want her to use, but what's the point of her work there if all she'll ever do is ask useless question?

After letting out yet another long sigh, Croix decided to call it a night. She put on her earphones, and closed her eyes. While she was praised for her good thinking and talent, there was one disadvantage concerning her mind, and it was that she never knows when to shut it off. Ever since she met Chariot she was thinking nonstop, and she knew that would probably keep her awake at night.

Perhaps she should visit Luna Nova and ask some of the professors about her? Perhaps she could ask Miranda, because she assumed that the other professors wouldn't have access to top secret information and might not help her much.

When the morning came, she headed to the cell right away. Chariot was pacing around the room, waiting for her. She beamed the moment the door opened. If Croix didn't know any better, she would have thought that she was happy to see her.

"Good morning Chariot." Croix said, finding the blue haired woman's excitement amusing. "Are you ready for our magic 'lesson'?" She asked, to which the younger witch nodded.

"Yes!"

Chuckling, Croix pulled her wand, and casted a spell on Chariot. The latter's eyes widened and she looked at her hands then at the woman in confusion.

"They gave the spell that undoes the seal. However, I'm only allowing you to use a small part of your magic." Croix explained, and the younger woman seemed to frown at that. "Those are the rules."

"I understand." She said, replacing the frown with a smile.

Croix smiled and handed her an extra wand that she brought with her. She could see how hesitant the prisoner looked when she took it. She seemed nervous about using it. Did it have anything to do with the reason she was locked here or was it because she hasn't used magic for years?

Chariot glanced between the wand and the woman, as if waiting for her to say something. She probably didn't know how to start or what to do.

"Why don't you start with a spell you remember?" Croix suggested.

Chariot tried to think about a spell that would be simple enough for her to choose. Maybe she should start with moving objects?

She turns to her desk and points at a book. It should be easy to lift, so she closed her eyes and tried to focus. When she opened them again, she tried to cast the spell, only to find herself frozen.

Her body remained still, she couldn't move it her wrist. It should have been an easy task, and yet she found herself unable to do it. It was as if her body itself was scared, even though she didn't know why.

"Chariot?" A hand touched her shoulder, and she pulled away quickly, like one would react if touched by electricity. Croix looked at her, surprised by her reaction, and she immediately felt guilty for her action.

"I'm so sorry! I'm not… used to human contact…" Chariot muttered the last part, looking down at her feet. Look at her, she couldn't even cast a simple spell, and now she was pushing this nice person away. She bit her lip, afraid of looking back at the lilac haired woman.

Croix remained silent for the longest time, and it probably wasn't the best answer to give. She only knew Chariot for one day, but she couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that this gentle dork could have done something to get her locked up here. It felt wrong somehow.

To prevent her from using magic, then from all human contact was a cruel thing to do.

It was just sad.

"Hey." Croix started, but Chariot still didn't look at her. "How about we have some tea and just talk?" The suggestion seemed to work, because the blue haired woman looked at her with a small smile and nodded before walking away.

The lilac haired woman massaged the back of her neck. She sat on the couch, taking some notes. She made sure to check for any sight of the woman, so that she won't see her writing. Those were some personal notes that might or might not make it to the report, but seeing them might make her feel worse.

When Chariot came back with the tea, the two just sat in silence. It wasn't really comfortable, considering how many years of silence the woman spent, so Croix decided to start a conversation.

"So you were a Luna Nova student? I graduated from there and I don't remember seeing you." She said, and the younger witch looked at her in surprise.

"Really? You're from Luna Nova? I grew up there so I probably saw you at some point." Chariot stated then leaned closer to the other witch, she stared at her for a while, squinting.

Croix resisted the urge to laugh at that.

"No way!" Chariot exclaimed, leaning back with the biggest grin ever. "You're Luna Nova's top student! You don't look the same at all!" She said.

"Oh, what's that supposed to mean?" Croix knew that her younger self was a mess, but it was rude bringing that up. Fortunately, the red eyed woman surprised her.

"You were so pretty! I've always wanted to talk to you, but I figured you wouldn't want a troublemaker as your friend." Chariot chuckled, toying with her hair. "You're even more gorgeous now."

Croix stared at her in surprise, and couldn't stop the warm blush rising to her cheeks. She thought she got the best of this woman yesterday, but turns out it was Chariot who got the best of her.

"Oh! Was that a weird thing to say? I'm sorry!"

"No you just surprised me!" Croix quickly said, and Chariot sighed in relief. "You said you grew up there?"

"Oh, I'm actually an orphan… The headmistress took me in and raised me." Chariot said, then smiled sadly. "I haven't seen her since I got here, I wonder if they don't allow her to see me. It's weird because they allow my best friend to visit." She said and her hand stopped toying with her hair, and instead rested on her lap. "I miss her."

Croix took a minute to process what she was just told. Chariot Du Nord, the prisoner, was Miranda Holbrooke's daughter? This work just took a shocking turn.

"Your friend visits you?" She asked.

"Yeah, Marjolaine the rock star! Have you heard of her?" Chariot beamed, happy at the mention of her friend.

Oh, now it turned out she was a famous witch's best friend. Were there any other surprises that Croix needed to know?

"You know, I'm an orphan too." Croix stated. She had no idea why she just shared this information, but maybe it was because she felt sad for this woman. Or maybe because she understood more about her just because of that fact. "I guess that's one thing we have in common."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" Croix smiled softly, finding herself fond of the witch. "You know, using magic again might be a little hard, but try to remember a happy memory, and it should come easy." She suggested.

Chariot tried to think about a happy memory. She had many memories from Luna Nova, but thinking about them only made her sad because of her current situation. She no longer has a happy memory when it comes to magic. She sighed and looked down.

"Croix, you asked me why I'm here." She said, hesitant. She bit her lip when the green eyed witch turned to her, curious. "I couldn't tell you because I can't remember."

"Oh." That was all what Croix could say. It seemed that whatever happened was traumatizing. Once again silent fell over them, but only because Croix was thinking about what she has been told. Perhaps the event was an accident? Because of that, she protected herself by blocking away the memory.

It made more sense than Chariot doing something on purpose.

Croix has always been a good judge of character, which is why she felt that something was off here.

"Croix?" Chariot said, this time blushing. The lilac haired witch raised an eyebrow, and once again, the blue haired woman bit her lip and avoided eye contact. "Can I… hold your hand?" Croix stared blankly. "That was weird, wasn't it? I'm sorry! I just thought it would be better if I get used to you so I won't act so awkward around you, but I'm making things even more awkward now. I'm sorry please forget I said anything. I'm the biggest-"

She got cut off by Croix offering her hand.

"Sure." She said, smiling. Chariot seemed more like an innocent child than a prisoner, and her rambling was cute and amusing. Perhaps she could get used to being around her.

Chariot smiled, and looked at her hand. She hesitantly reached out for it, and almost pulled away a couple of time. Eventually, she took hold of it. Her hand was warm and soft. Chariot didn't want to let go. Croix however, was staring at her hair. It was glowing and it was red.

Wait, was her hair on fire?

She couldn't look away. Why was she even surprised anymore? Of course her hair was on fire. Here's hoping that it doesn't become a block of ice or Popsicle next time.

She had to admit that red hair looked better on her, though.

"I found it!" Chariot yelled, almost making her jump off her seat. "I found my happy memory!"

She stood up and took the wand, then pointed it at the book again. She took a deep breath, and recalled the memory. Finally, she recited the spell, and the book floated off the desk for what seemed like mere centimeters before falling back.

Croix stood up and looked at it with a smile. Before she could say anything, Chariot grasped both her hands and smiled.

"I did it!" She said, and her hair remained red. "I used magic!"

"You used magic." Croix confirmed, chuckling at her excitement.

After that, Croix promised her they'd work more on her magic tomorrow. When they parted ways, they both felt disappointed.

Chariot was lying down on her bed, smiling as she held her hand close to her heart. She didn't tell Croix, but the memory she thought of was what happened yesterday. It was the memory of using the cube along with her.

She smiled and hugged her pillow. She couldn't wait for tomorrow.