I would like to thank everyone who cared enough to review! And those who are giving me their thoughts not through reviews but personal messages. As I post this, the story has around 900 views, but only few reviewed, and I love them so much for doing so.
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If you read this and did not skip it, thank you. If you read this and decide to write your thoughts in a review, thank you.
If you read this and decided not to review, I can't stop you, and I hope you're enjoying the story even though I wouldn't know if you are.
Now that I got this out of my system, I hope you all enjoy this chapter :)
Chariot felt like a mess, no, she was a mess.
After rescuing Akko, she took her to her room and told her friends that she felt sick.
After that, she locked herself in her room and did not bother to keep her disguise. She lied on her bed, with her tears flowing like a waterfall. It was as if her heart broke into pieces like glass, and every shard caused her to bleed, except she could not close the wounds, and they kept bleeding, and bleeding…
"You never mattered to me, Chariot du Nord."
And it hurt so much…
That night, she lost Croix, and when she woke up, she lost the shiny rod too. She was lost, and she was scared, and did not know what do, and she couldn't stop her tears as she wondered if her friend survived or not.
That night broke her, that night killed Chariot, and gave birth to Ursula.
However, those words, killed both of them, both of her identities.
Ten years of guilt, ten years of grief… ten years full of lies.
She did not want to believe that, to believe that all of her memories with Croix were fake, and that they held no meaning. She did not want to believe that the warmth and happiness she once saw in those green eyes never existed.
Her hand was on her chest, clenching the fabric of her clothes, as if that would cease the suffering.
It hurt, it hurt so much, and it kept hurting… until it stopped.
It stopped hurting, and the pain was replaced with emptiness.
Chariot was so tired… she was so tired of trying, of asking what ifs, of trying to find answers.
There was a hole in her heart, and she couldn't fix it.
Nothing could fix it.
Chariot closed her eyes, as sleep took her in its arms. She dreamt of soft green eyes that looked back at her with something she couldn't describe, something that wouldn't exist in her reality, something that was quickly replaced with crimson eyes, and she welcomed the nightmares, because anything was comforting compared to what she felt when she was awake.
The next day, she felt just as hollow, and she couldn't even bring herself to fake a smile around the other teachers, and she even canceled her training with Akko that morning.
"Where is Professor Croix?" Finneran asked, looking very unpleasant, and her question shook the blue haired witch out of her daze.
The professors were at the headmistress's office, but she wasn't sure why they were there, she couldn't focus at all.
"She recently became a professor and she's already ignoring her responsibilities! All of her classes have been canceled today!" Finneran kept complaining, while Ursula could feel herself shaking from the fear.
Dud she hurt Croix badly? Did she put too much power in that spell? Her thoughts were clouded and she wasn't sure if she put all her strength into it or if she held back.
She never wanted to hurt her.
But Croix was an enemy… She used Akko, and she held darkness inside her.
She found herself remembering those cruel words, and it was as if she was standing in an empty space, about to fall into an endless cycle of denial, and she did not want to face it.
She did not want to face those feelings, they were too much.
She felt her breaths quickening, trying to match the racing beats of her heart. She found herself facing those crimson eyes again, in the same place where it happened ten years ago. She looked to the side to see Croix staring at her, waiting for her to move, to do something.
"Don't!" She heard her say as he approached her, waiting for her to give her the shiny rod.
She couldn't move, she stood there helpless as Croix's eyes pleaded her not to give in.
Was that a lie too?
Why didn't she just take it when he possessed her? Why did she stop him and send her away?
What was the lie?
Which eyes told the truth? The ones from ten years ago, or the ones from the past few days?
She couldn't find an answer, and she couldn't think anymore.
She just kept falling and falling, and gasping for air.
"Professor Ursula?"
She heard someone say her name, and when she was brought back to reality, she was faced by the concerned and confused looks of her colleagues, but it all became a blur, and she felt herself falling, colliding with the floor.
She heard them call her name, and although she could still see them, she couldn't say anything.
She couldn't move.
She just let darkness take her. It wasn't his darkness, or Croix's darkness, it was her own.
Her own storm of emotions finally got the best of her.
Meanwhile, her student was blissfully unaware of what was happening. Akko walked in Luna Nova's hallways, looked very annoyed after hearing that Croix's class was canceled for the day.
The annoyance quickly left when she saw Diana walking from a distance.
"Diana!" She called out for her, but the girl ignored her and continued walking until she disappeared from the brunette's view. Akko felt slightly upset at the lack of response. "I can't believe it! She really is ignoring me!"
"Isn't that for the best though?" Sucy who along with Lotte was following her asked. "You always complain about how annoying she is and how she always looks down on you. You dislike her, so why should that bother you?"
Akko turned to her quickly, surprised. She did not feel upset anymore, but instead there was confusion, and perhaps a bit of sadness too.
"I don't dislike her! She's really amazing and talented!" Akko stated. "But she's always treating me like a loser…"
"Has she now?" Sucy asked, making them look at her in confusion. "I don't think she ever treated you like a loser, most of the time she only stated facts. Akko, you always rush into things without thinking, and most of the time, it gets you and people around you into trouble, even if you mean well." Her words made the brunette frown, as if she wanted to argue but then stopped when she remembered all the strange adventures they have the last few months. "All Diana did was tell you what you needed to hear."
Akko just pouted, because she knew Sucy was right, but that didn't mean she liked being called out.
"So, don't you want that?"
"Of course I don't! It's no fun if my rival starts ignoring me! I'll make her talk to me! Just wait and see!" Akko exclaimed as she walked away, determined to find Diana.
"This will turn into a disaster." Sucy commented with a devilish grin.
Akko searched for the prodigy, determined to solve the problem. However, every time she found Diana, there was someone who needed her help. She ended up following her all around the school like a creepy stalker.
One second she was solving a problem, another she gave advice to other witches, another one she was talking with Finneran about something.
And everyone knew that Akko was nothing but patient, and the whole thing got on her nerves.
When Diana finally stopped in one place, she was in the library reading something. Akko took a peek from behind the shelves, watching her concentrate on the book.
Little did she know that Diana was reading about her new favorite teacher, ever since Croix came to the school, the prodigy couldn't get rid of the uneasiness that has been haunting, and there were times where she would see red eyes staring at her, but they always disappear before she could make something out of them.
Akko who was too focused on watching her, forgot that she was leaning too much on the shelf and ended up slipping and falling, which alarmed Diana.
Surprised blue eyes met with red ones. Diana closed the register and attempted to escape, but Akko was quick to grab her arm. Diana's eyes widened, but only for a second before she regained her calm posture.
"Would you mind letting go? You're causing a scene." Diana asked, but Akko shook her head furiously.
"If I do you'll just run away!"
"I'm not running away, I simply have important things to do, unlike you." Diana stated, with a hint of disappointment, which Akko noticed.
"Why are you always like this?" Akko complained, her voice becoming slightly higher. Diana had to glance at the other witches who seemed to stop what they were doing and look at them. "You're always telling me what do as if you know better! What do you know?! You won't even look my way!"
"Akko-"
"If I'm not worth a second of your precious time then just say so instead of treating me this way!" Akko said, making more eyes set on them.
Diana felt uncomfortable by the situation, she tried not to look at the other witches, and focus on what to say.
"I simply don't see why I should waste my time talking to someone who isn't willing to listen or understand." Diana answered calmly, but the truth was that she remembered what Akko said that day, and it still stung her. It shouldn't have, but it did anyway. "I recall that you don't have the best impression of me, so why go out of your way to confront me?"
Once again, Akko felt guilty at lying that time, but her anger outweighed that feeling. However, before she could say anything, Hannah and Barbara came rushing in interrupting them.
"Hannah, Barbara, you know better than to run in the library." Diana scolded them, but the look on their faces told her that it was important.
"Have you heard…?" Barbara started but she was too out of breath to continue.
"They say that Professor Ursula collapsed earlier and now she's at the nurse's office!" Hannah finished and it felt as if she dropped a bomb and everything went silent.
Diana couldn't stop herself from looking at the brunette in concern.
Everyone knew about Akko's relationship with Ursula. It did not feel like one between a student and their teacher because of how heartwarming it is. Ursula was the only teacher to taker Akko under her wing.
That's why Diana wasn't surprised when she saw the fear in her eyes.
"Akko-"She started but stopped as she watched Akko run away as fast as she could.
Akko went through as many shortcuts as she could, so she can reach the place faster, but when she headed towards the door, someone came out of it, and she panicked as she tried to stop herself from crashing into them. Fortunately, the person pulled their wand out and stopped her in her tracks.
"What is the meaning of this, Miss Kagari?" Professor Finneran glared at her as she put away her wand, but that glare turned into surprise when the brunette looked at her worried and scared.
"How is Professor Ursula?" She asked, and the teacher's eyes softened.
"She's fine. It looks like she has been under a lot of pressure lately. Perhaps we were a little too hard on her." Finneran admitted, feeling a bit guilty for making the young teacher work so hard. "She's sleeping right, but you can go inside, just make sure you don't miss your next class."
Akko just nodded quickly and walked in to check on her professor.
Ursula lied on a bed, looking pale and she frowned in her sleep as if she was seeing something unpleasant.
Akko felt her heart sinking at the sight of her teacher, the only person who reached out for her and believed in her, who tried to help her despite what others thought of her.
Ursula was under pressure, and she was too stupid to notice.
That was all she thought about for the first of the day, and even at night when she lied on her bed while Sucy was making another poison and Lotte was reading Nightfall.
Lotte noticed her friend's distress and put away her book.
"Akko, I'm sure she'll be fine." Lotte tried to reassure her, but she didn't answer. "She'll be back in no time."
"With all the work the other professors are dumping on her, I'm surprised this didn't happen sooner." Sucy added, only to make the orange haired witch frown.
"Sucy…" Lotte said, disapprovingly.
Akko who was silent the whole time, stood up and put her robe on before leaving without a word, making her roommates look at each other worriedly.
She went to her usual spot, where she always went when she felt down. She sat at the tower, staring at the night sky. The stars shone brightly, but she couldn't appreciate their beauty.
She couldn't help but think that she might have unintentionally hurt her teacher.
On top of all the work she had to do, Ursula used her free time to tutor her, and she has been really patient with her.
Maybe she pushed her to her limit too.
Was she nothing but a burden in the end?
"This area is off limits right now." Akko was snapped out of her thoughts by a familiar voice. She didn't need to turn around to know who it was.
Diana who was tasked to make night patrols, noticed Akko sitting outside, and despite knowing that it wasn't the best idea, she decided to talk to her.
But it didn't go as expected.
"You're right, Diana." Akko said, surprising her. Her voice lacked its usual energy. "You shouldn't waste your time on me. Professor Ursula is now lying in bed because she wasted it on me."
Diana wasn't surprised by this development, she was shocked. And she did not get to say anything because Akko walked towards her and stood before, with sadness that did not fit her bright eyes.
"I'm sorry about what I said that day. When the mirror made me look like you, I went to your room, and saw all the books you probably spent nights reading, and I saw how much everyone needed your help! So I'm sorry for lying in front of the faeries!" Akko started, leaving the other girl even more speechless, which was something that did not happen often. She wanted to say something, but the brunette kept interrupting her. "To be honest, I'm kind of jealous. You're so amazing Diana! Compared to you I'm… I can't even compare." She admitted and turned away quickly, embarrassed of what she said.
Diana felt touched by the words. They usually did not mean much from the teachers, but from Akko, they held meaning.
Because Akko did not treat her as if she was perfect, and did not hesitate to stand against her or try to challenge her.
Akko's words honest, straight from the heart, and that was why she had to do the same.
"I found your performance at the Samhain Festival outstanding." She started, making Akko turn to her surprised and look at her as if she just learned that the world was about to end. "Akko, you made so much progress in such a short time. Almost every witch at Luna Nova learned magic at a very young age. You never had any contact with magic until you attended the school. Your progress and your passion are admirable." Diana finished and was immediately taken back by the other witch invading her personal space.
Akko's face was inches from hers, and her excited eyes matched with the big grin on her face.
"Do you mean it?!" She asked, no longer feeling down.
Diana blinked and backed away. Akko was really a strange girl, but that was one of her qualities.
"Yes. And I also think that you have nothing to do with what happened with Professor Ursula. If she didn't care enough about you, she wouldn't have helped you improve. I'm sure she wouldn't want you to feel this way." She reassured her, which led to Akko hugging her and taking her once again by surprise.
That was definitely something she was not used to. Diana wasn't very comfortable with physical contact, which was due to the way she grew up, but Akko's hug held so much happiness and excitement, that she couldn't bring herself to say anything.
Akko realized what she did, and pulled away quickly, hoping she did not mess up. They weren't close enough to share hugs, but she was so happy! Diana Cavendish, the girl everyone looks up to, complimented her.
"I'm sorry, I just got really emotional." Akko laughed and scratched her head nervously. "Thank you Diana."
"I simply stated the facts." Diana answered with a small smile of her own.
Somehow, it felt as if this conversation changed something between them.
There was a level of understanding.
An understanding that only happened when they finally spoke honestly.
"You're right! Professor Ursula wouldn't want me to mop around! I'm going to start practicing right now!"
"What? Akko it's late!"
"Metamorphie Faciesse!"
"Akko!"
That night, some students were sure that they saw a witch flying on her broom, chasing after a small flying elephant.
