Akko Kagari and the Seven Stars
Chapter Twelve: The Fountain of Polaris
Christmas was coming. One morning in mid-December, Luna Nova woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake was frozen solid and Amanda, Jasminka, and Conse were punished for creating an automated snowball pitching machine that shot at nearby heat sources. Mail was getting even more difficult to receive as the deliverers had to fly all the way to the mail office in the town beyond the gate and some of them end up flying off course due to the stormy skies.
No one could wait for the holidays to start. While the Polaris common room and the dining room had roaring fires, the drafty corridors had become icy and bitter winds rattled the windows in the classrooms. Worst of all were Professor Hex's classes down in the dungeons, where their breath rose in a mist before them and they kept as close as possible to their hot cauldrons.
"I can't wait to go back to the Philippians for break," grumbled Sucy, unhappy to be in Magic Pharmaceutics for the first time ever. "At least it's warm there."
"It's not gonna be any better for me when I go back to New York," said Amanda. "But Jasminka probably has the worst of it – she lives in Moscow."
"I'm used to it," said Jasminka placidly. "Constanze and Lotte are going be staying for the holidays."
"I heard that Diana was also staying over as well," said Lotte. "But Akko, are you sure you don't want to go back home. I'm sure your mom and dad miss you."
It was true, they did miss her very much when she called home and told them she made the decision to stay at Luna Nova for Christmas. It wasn't that she didn't want to go home – she wanted to see her parents and her old friends so badly – but there was still a lot of work that needed to be done and Akko didn't feel right about leaving Lotte and Constanze alone. Thankfully, her parents were very understanding people and accepted that Akko wanted to try something new this year, but they made her swear that she would come back for Easter holidays. Akko readily agreed.
When they left the dungeons at the end of class, they found a large fir tree blocking the corridor ahead. Two pairs of feet sticking out at the bottom and the loud puffing sounds told them that Blair had somehow got roped into help Elma.
"Wouldn't it be easier if you just turned into a dragon and carried it yourself," Blair groaned.
"And bring the whole castle down on top of us?" snapped Elma. "No thanks!"
"Want any help?" Jasminka asked; she was unexplainably strong for someone her size.
"Nah, we're all right, thank you for offering," said Elma, though Blair's groan said that she didn't agree.
"Would you mind moving out of the way?" came Hannah's screechy voice from behind. She and Barbara took the front, but Diana stayed behind them, becoming a neutral party as she always did. "Are you trying to earn some extra money, fatty? Gonna use that to buy something to stuff your face with again, I suppose."
Jasminka only smiled calmly, but Akko lacked her friend's restraint and made a dive for Hannah just as Hex came up the stairs.
"KAGARI!"
Akko let go of the front of Hannah's tunic.
"Hey, she was provoked, Hex," said Blair, sticking her matted face out from behind the tree. "She was insulting her friend."
"Be that as it may, familiar, fighting is against Luna Nova rules," said Hex evenly. "Since it is a first offense, I will only be taking five points from Polaris, but there better not be any more trouble after. Move along, all of you."
"Hannah, Barbara, you go on ahead back to the dormitory," said Diana. "There are some things I need to do."
Hannah and Barbara pushed roughly past the tree, scattering needles everywhere and smirking.
"Why didn't you say anything?" Amanda rounded off to Diana, gritting her teeth. "You just stood back like you always do."
"I do not control their words or actions," said Diana coolly. "To believe otherwise is arrogance. Even if I did tell them to stop, there would always be a next time and I can't protect your feelings forever."
"She makes a good point," said Sucy.
"Hey, hey, let's not think about that now," said Elma urgently. "Come on, cheer up, it's Christmas. Tell you what, come with us and see the dining room; it looks amazing."
So the seven of them followed Blair, Elma, and the tree off to the dining room where Professor Finnelan and Ursula were busy with Christmas decorations.
"Ah, Elma, the last tree – put it in the far corner, would you?"
The dining room looked spectacular. Festoons of holly and mistletoe hung all around the walls and circled the railings of the upper floors, and no less than nine towering Christmas trees stood around the room, some sparkling with tiny icicles, some glittering with hundreds of colored crystals.
"How many days you got left until your holiday?" Blair asked.
"Just one," said Diana. "And that reminds me – Akko, we've got half an hour before lunch, we should be in the library."
"Oh yeah, you're right," said Akko, tearing her eyes away from Professor Finnelan, who had golden bubbles blossoming out of her wand and was trailing them over the branches of the new tree.
"The library?" said Blair, following them out of the hall. "Just before the holidays? A little ambitious, aren't you?"
"Oh, we're not working," Amanda told her brightly. "Ever since you mentioned Jellal we've been trying to find out what that thing underneath the polar bear is."
"You what?" Blair looked shocked. "Listen here – I've told you – drop it. It's nothing to you what that bear is guarding."
"We just want to know what it is that Jellal wants guarded, that's all," said Lotte.
"Unless you'd like to tell us and save us the trouble?" Sucy added. "We've must have been through hundreds of books already and we haven't even come close to figuring it out – just give us a hint – you know something."
"I'm not saying a word," said Blair flatly.
"Then we'll just have to find it ourselves," said Akko, and they left Blair looking disgruntled and hurried off to the library.
They had indeed been searching books for Jellal's name ever since Blair had let it slip, because how else were they going to find out what Croix was trying to steal? But the trouble wasn't finding information on Jellal; quite the contrary, the problem was that there was too much information about the man. They knew his full name was Jellal Fernandes and that he was born into slavery at the Tower of Heaven before he led a riot to freedom. From there, he went on to many great accomplishments: former member of the Magical Council of Era, former member of the Ten Saints, founder of the police-enforcement guild, Crime Sorciere, award-winning thesis of new levels of celestial magics, and he had most recently proposed to his childhood friend and lover. And yet, even after combing through all these books, they weren't even a single step closer to figuring out what that thin package from vault one-nine-one was.
Diana took out a list of subjects and titles she had decided to search while Akko strode off down a row of books and started pulling them off the shelves at random. Lotte and the others went their own ways with their own method of searching, but Akko gave up on the current shelf after only three books and eventually gravitated towards the Reference Archives. She had been wondering for a while now if Jellal's secret was somewhere in there. Unfortunately, you needed a special permit from one of the teachers to look in any of the restricted books, and she knew she'd never get one. These were the books containing ancient, powerful spells never taught at Luna Nova, and only read by the older students studying for their advance classes and gradate thesis.
"What are you looking for, girl?"
"Nothing," said Akko.
Professor Badcock the Librarian brandished a feather duster at her.
"You'd better get out, then. Go on – out!"
Akko didn't think any excuse she came up with would have helped as Professor Badcock had caught wind of her less-than-stellar reputation and automatically singled her out from the first minute. So, Akko waited outside in the corridor to see if the others had found anything, but she wasn't very hopeful. They had been looking for two weeks, after all, but as they only had odd moments between lessons it wasn't very surprising they'd found nothing. What they really needed was a nice long search without Professor Badcock breathing down their necks.
Five minutes later, Diana and the Polaris girls joined her, shaking their heads. They went off to lunch.
"I guess those of us staying will just have to keep looking over the holidays," said Diana. "We'll send a message if we find anything."
"Maybe they could ask their parents if they know anything," said Akko. "It'd be safe to ask them."
"Clearly you haven't met my sisters," said Amanda. "Safe is the last word you would use to describe them."
Once the holidays had started, Akko, Lotte, and Constanze were having too good a time to think much about Jellal. They had the dormitory to themselves and the common room was far emptier than usual, so they were able to get the good armchairs by the fire. They sat by the fire eating anything they could spear on a toasting fork – bread, English muffins, marshmallows – and plotting ways prank Diana, which were fun to talk about even if they wouldn't work.
On occasion, Diana would break from her furtive search of Jellal's mystery item and join Akko's group for a bit of play. Without Hannah and Barbara constantly hanging over her shoulder and the greater majority of the school gone, Diana didn't have to worry about putting on an act for everyone and smiled more often – she has a really nice smile, Akko thought fondly. And even better, Akko discovered that the oh-so-perfect Diana Cavendish wasn't so perfect in everything, especially in chess. Akko had played a lot of Shogi with her father growing up, so she was pretty good, having defeated Diana six games to one. But Constanze was an absolute master of chess, effortlessly breaking through their defenses and forcing them into checkmate within minutes of starting. By the time they finally called it a night, Diana had lost twenty-six games in a row to Constanze and had nearly ripped her lovely hair out in frustration.
When Akko woke early in the morning on Christmas day, the first thing she saw was a small pile of presents at the foot of her bed with Blair sitting on the top with an envelope in her mouth.
"Merry Christmas," Blair said in a muffled voice as Akko scrambled out of bed.
"You, too," said Akko excitedly, spinning around at Lotte and Constanze as they sluggishly got up. "Merry Christmas, Lotte, Constanze! Look, presents!"
"Yeah, we can see that, Akko," Lotte mumbled tiredly as she grabbed her glasses off the nightstand.
Akko took the letter of out Blair's mouth and opened it. It was a photo of her old friends, Hikari, Yuki, and Kyoko along with four new girls: two demons and two angels. Akko flipped the photo over and recognized Hikari's sloppy penmanship:
Hey, what's happening, Akko-chan? We really miss you? We got some new friends we wanted to show you! Gab-Chan is so awesome at video games and Satania-chan is super funny, but Vigne-chan is a total mom and Raphi's kinda weird. Come home soon so we can hang out! ~ Hikari
"I miss you guys too," muttered Akko with a soft smile.
"Are those your friends, Akko?" asked Lotte, peeking at photo.
"Yeah, they're pretty fun to hang out with," said Akko happily. "I should totally introduce you guys."
"I think that would be a great idea," Lotte agreed.
Akko put the photo on her nightstand, promising to frame it later, and went forward tearing the rest of her presents open. Her mom and dad sent a clay jar filled with her all-time favorite snack ("Pickled Plums!" Akko yelled with glee) since it was unlikely the English could understand the refined taste of its unique and exquisite flavor. Amanda had sent a specialized brush to clean Shooting Stars bristles, while not much use to Akko herself, but was very appreciated. Jasminka had sent them each a box of dessert squares called pastila, which tasted like fruit, but were fluffy like marshmallows. Akko wouldn't even touch Sucy's present as there was a foreign green slime spilling through the cracks in the packaging. Even Diana had sent a large box of chocolate dragons.
Akko had torn open a very lumpy package to find a thick, hand-knitted sweater in cherry red and a large box of homemade fudge.
"Oh, that's one's from me – well, actually, it's from granny," said Lotte, turning a bit pink as she opened a similarly lumpy package. "When I told her we're friends, she insisted on making you a traditional Jansson sweater – honestly, I just think she was looking for an excuse to knit another."
"That's really nice of her," said Akko, trying the fudge, which was very tasty.
There was only left one package. It was very small – it could fit into the palm of her hand – and she heard a muffled rattling inside. She unwrapped it; Blair was staring at her unblinkingly the entire time.
It was a small and unimpressive looking ring. Akko picked it up and held it to the lamplight. It looked like it was made of some type of black material with white dots, almost like the stars on a clear night. Lotte gasped and Constanze dropped the present that she was opening, wide-eyed.
"I've heard of those," Lotte said in a hushed voice, dropping the color splashers she'd gotten from Diana. "If that's what I think it is – they're really rare, and really valuable".
"What is it?"
Without much of a warning, Constanze snatched the ring out of her hand and dropped it into an open slot in her gadget. There was a buzzing that sounded oddly like a microwave until they heard a sharp ding and the gadget opened up again with a bright green check mark. Constanze returned the ring to Akko with a thumbs-up.
"It really is – it's a Ring of Gyges," said Lotte, a look of awe on her face. "They're magic rings created by Gyges of Lydia and only seventeen of them were ever made. It's said that those who wear them have the power to turn invisible at will. Akko, you have to try it!"
Akko slipped the ring on her right hand and Lotte gave a yell and Constanze stumbled back in surprise.
"It is real! Akko, look at yourself!"
Akko checked herself and could see her arms and legs quite clearly, but Lotte and Constanze clearly had no idea she was there as they were looking around the room. Just to confirm, Akko dashed over to the mirror. Sure enough, her reflection was completely absent – she didn't notice, however, that Blair was looking at the exact place where she was standing as if she could see Akko clear as day. Akko pulled off the ring, and Constanze, who was standing right next to her, gave a great leap in surprise with a hand on her chest.
"There's a note!" said Lotte suddenly. "There's a note in the bottom of the box!"
Akko rushed over and seized the letter. Written in narrow, loopy writing she had never seen before were the following words:
This ring once belonged to your birth mother.
It seemed fitting that it should be returned to you.
use it well.
A Very Merry Christmas to you
There was no signature. Akko stared at the note. Lotte and Constanze were admiring the ring.
"This is such a rare find," said Lotte. "I've only ever heard of them in stories…. Are you okay, Akko?"
"It says…this ring used to belong to my birth mother," Akko mumbled absently.
"You're birth mother?" Lotte repeated with a soft gasp. "You…you never really talk about your birth parents."
"That's because I don't know anything about them," said Akko, staring at the ring like it was a long-lost friend. "The way Blair talked about it, it was like I didn't even have birth parents. But…if this really belonged to my mom…then does that mean you were lying to me, Blair? Blair?"
But when she looked around, she found the dormitory door open and the purple-furred feline nowhere in sight.
Akko had never in all her life had such a Christmas dinner. A hundred fat, roast turkeys; tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce – a stack of magic crackers every few feet along the table. Of course, Akko had to ask what they were. According to Lotte, these fantastic party favors were nothing like the feeble ones humans usually bought, with their little plastic toys and their flimsy paper hats inside. Akko pulled one with Constanze and it didn't just bang, it went off with a blast like a cannon and engulfed them all in a cloud of blue smoke, while from the inside exploded a rear admiral's hat and several live, white mice. A few tables away, Professor Holbrooke had swapped her pointed witch's hat for a flowered bonnet, and was chuckling merrily at a joke Professor Ursula had just read her.
Flaming Christmas desserts followed the turkey. Diana nearly broke her teeth on a silver coin embedded in her slice of fudge. Akko watched Professor Hex getting redder and redder in his tattooed face as he called for more wine, finally kissing Professor Cosmos on the cheek, who, to Akko's amazement, giggled and blushed like a shy schoolgirl.
When Akko finally left the table, she was laden down with a stack of things out of the crackers, including a pack of self-filling water balloons, a Grow-Your-Own-Golem kit, and something that looked like a plastic snake wearing a top hat. The white mice had disappeared and Akko had a nasty feeling they were going to end up as Blair's Christmas dinner, if she ever turned up again.
Akko, Lotte, and Constanze spent a happy afternoon having a furious snowball fight on the grounds. Diana had been minding her own business reading a book when Akko started pelting her with snowballs trying to convince her to join. She instantly regretted it when Diana used magic to bring an avalanche down on top of her head. Cold, wet, and gasping for breath, they returned to the fire in the Polaris common room, where Akko and Lotte ganged up on Constanze in a game of chess, but still lost spectacularly. Akko suspected they wouldn't have lost so badly if Akko hadn't repeatedly mistake Lotte's pieces for Constanze's.
It had been Akko's best Christmas ever. Yet something had been nagging at the back of her mind all day. Not until she climbed into bed was she free to think about it: The Ring of Gyges and whoever had sent it.
Lotte and Constanze, full of turkey and cake and with nothing mysterious to bother them, fell asleep almost as soon as they'd drawn the curtains of their four-poster. Akko leaned over to the side of her bed, pulled open the drawer of her nightstand, and withdrew the tiny box carrying the ring.
Her birth mother's…this had been her birth mother's. She traced her thumb across the surface of the ring, clearly well-worn, but still smooth and pristine. Use it well, the note had said.
She had to try it, now. She slipped out of bed and slid the ring on her finger. She took a quick peek at the mirror, but only saw the dormitory colored in moonlight and shadow. It was a very funny feeling.
Use it well.
Suddenly, Akko felt wide-awake. The whole of Luna Nova was open to her with this ring. Excitement flooded through her as she stood there in the dark and silence. She could go anywhere with this, anywhere, and Elma would never know.
Lotte grunted in her sleep. Should Akko wake her? Something held her back – her birth mother's ring – she felt that this time – the first time – she wanted to use it alone.
She crept out of the dormitory, down the stairs, across the common room, and stepped through the archway.
Where should she go? She stopped, her heart racing, and thought. And then it came to her. The Reference Archives in the library. She'd be able to read as long as she liked, as long as it took to find out what Jellal had stashed in the castle. She set off at a brisk pace, her footsteps echoing down the silent corridor.
The library was pitch-black and very eerie. Akko lit a candle to see her way along the rows of books. Though Akko could see her own hand, it must have looked like the candle was floating along in midair, which sounded both creepy and like an awesome prank.
The Reference Archives was right at the back of the library. Stepping carefully over the rope that separated these books from the rest of the library, she held up the candle to read the titles.
They didn't tell her much. Their peeling, faded gold letters spelled words in languages Akko couldn't understand. Some had no title at all. One book had a dark stain on it that looked horribly like blood. The hairs on the back of Akko's neck prickled. Maybe she was imagining it, maybe not, but she thought a faint whispering was coming from the books, as though they knew someone was there who shouldn't be.
She had to start somewhere. Setting the candle down carefully on the floor, she looked along the bottom shelf for an interesting-looking book. A large black and silver volume caught her eye. She pulled it out with difficulty, because it was very heavy, and, balancing it on her knees, let it fall open.
A piercing, bloodcurdling shriek split the silence- the book was screaming! Akko snapped it shut, but the shriek went on and on, one high, unbroken, earsplitting note. She stumbled backward and knocked over her candle, which went out at once. Panicking, she heard footsteps coming down the corridor outside – stuffing the shrieking book back on the shelf, she ran for it. She passed Elma in the doorway; Elma's glimmering, narrow dragon eyes looked straight through her, and Akko slipped under Elma's outstretched arm and streaked off up the corridor, the book's shrieks still ringing in her ears.
She came to a sudden halt in front of a tall suit of armor. She had been so busy getting away from the library, she hadn't paid attention to where she was going. Perhaps because it was dark, she didn't recognize where she was at all. There was a suit of armor near the kitchens, she knew, but she must be two floors above there.
"You asked me to come directly to you, Professor, if anyone was wandering around at night, and somebody's been in the library – the Reference Archives."
Akko felt the blood drain out of her face. Wherever she was, Elma must know a shortcut, because her soft, yet firm voice was getting closer, and to her horror, it was Croix who replied, "The Reference Archives? Hmm, Blair warned me she might try something like this…she couldn't have gotten too far."
Akko stood rooted to the spot as Elma and Croix came around the corner ahead. They couldn't see her, of course, but it was a narrow corridor and if they came much closer, they'd knock right into her – the ring didn't her from being solid.
She backed away as quietly as she could. A door stood ajar to her left. It was her only hope. She squeezed through it, holding her breath, trying not to move it, and to her relief she managed to get inside the room without their noticing anything. They walked straight past, and Akko leaned against the wall, breathing deeply, listening to their footsteps dying away. That had been close, very close. It was a few seconds before she noticed anything about the room she had hidden in.
It looked like an unused classroom. The dark shapes of desks and chairs were piled against the walls, and there was an upturned wastepaper basket – but resting quite noticeably in the middle of the room was something that didn't look as if it belonged there, something that looked as if someone had just put it there to keep it out of the way.
It was a tall basin made from pure-white stone with a wide brim containing a small pool of water that seemed to glow an unnatural shade of blue. But what was even more interesting was the large sphere of water that floated above the basin, rippling and spinning like the waves of an angry sea.
Her panic fading now that there was no sound of Elma and Croix, Akko moved closer to the water sphere, wanting to look inside and see what it was hiding. She stepped in front of it and, to her shock, she could see her own reflection despite being invisible. She stared deeply into the water sphere, unable to look away as if she had been caught in a trance. She stared at the eyes of her reflection…. Were her eyes redder than usual?
Akko stepped back and gasped – her voice was suddenly rougher and deeper than it was two seconds ago. She whirled around. She was back at the Polaris dormitory, but it was a bright and sunny morning judging by the light glimmering through the window. Akko looked back at the water sphere, but it had disappeared and was instead replaced by a closet mirror. Instead of seeing her own reflection, Akko was staring at the face of a young girl a few years older than herself with short, unkempt red hair and wide, wondrous red eyes.
She was looking at Shiny Chariot's face.
It looked like Chariot was trying to comb her hair to control the mess of tangles, but she was fighting a losing battle – even the comb seemed to give up when its teeth snapped. Chariot frowned at the comb when was suddenly pelted from the back of her head and something slimy suddenly covered her hair and dripped down her shoulders, making a mess on the floor. She could hear laughter coming from behind and slowly craned her head, spotting Chariot's roommates pointing and cackling while one of them held up a balloon that sloshed in her hands, letting Chariot know who did it. Akko would have been mad and retaliated, but Chariot just laughed with them and brushed the goop out of her hair.
Akko blinked and suddenly she was walking through the streets, her nose buried in a book and her eyes roaming the pages with fierce intensity, like she was determined to learn these words no matter what. That's when she noticed an elderly lady standing on the side of the street, looking for a moment to cross to the other side, but the moment never presented itself. She suddenly had a great idea, whipped out her wand, and cast a spell that carried the elderly woman on a bundle of balloons. She made it to the other side safely, but her spell had caused the traffic on the busy street to pile up and everyone was yelling at her furiously.
There were many similar incidents that followed. In Magic Pharmaceutics, she had botched up a simple potion that was supposed to cure warts, but instead created a humongous flesh-eating plant monster that eat the teacher – guess that explains how Hex got his current position. She tried helping a boy walking his dog and ended up making a spell that stretched the puppy's legs by ten feet, leaving the poor boy dangling by the leash. And when she tried to show off magic to a group of children at the park, she ended up creating a flock of paper cranes that poked everyone with their sharp beaks.
Akko watched as Chariot failed time and time again; the image of her idol being a perfect magical prodigy was shattered. She had almost started to lose heart when a new set of scenes started to play out.
Chariot had fallen asleep at her desk again, exhausted from spending hours studying the piles of books she had collected from the library. She shivered briefly until she felt something drape over her shoulders and weakly opened her eyes. It was her roommate – the one who had thrown the goop balloon at her head. She smiled softly and tucked the blanket over Chariot's shoulders so that it wouldn't fall off. Chariot smiled contently and fell back to sleep.
Chariot was soaring through the tracks of the racing field, dodging flying spells and weaving through the obstacles with a load of golden rings jingling on her arm. She turned sharply at the final corner, successfully passing the Eclipse anchor, and made a breakaway for the finish line. The crowd exploded with cheers as she crossed, confetti raining down on her head as her teammates were running up to her; the captain pulled Chariot onto her shoulders as Polaris chanting her name. She happily accepted the large golden trophy from Professor Holbrooke, declaring Polaris the winners.
Chariot stood in front of a large crowd of people who had come to see her magic show. A great lump formed in her throat. She had worked up a lot of courage to arrange this show, but now that she was here, she could only think of the hundreds of ways she could humiliate herself. What if she did the spell wrong and turned herself into a mouse or set the building on fire? Chariot was just about to bolt it when she saw five familiar faces in the front row. Croix, Blair, Athena, Bernadette and Izetta – they were all here, shouting words of encouragement. Her heart gave a great leap and smiled despite herself. She knew she could do this; she had been practicing and her friends were there for her. With a great flourish of her wand, she shot bolts of light in the sky which exploded into brilliant fireworks.
Chariot walked up a long, white staircase leading to the tall water basin Akko had found, her eyes steeled with determination. She looked down in her hand and saw her famed Shiny Rod for the first time. She bowed respectfully to the water basin and slowly, purposely raised the Shiny Rod to the water sphere. The first two and the last four gems glowed with a brilliant green light while the third gem was illuminated in gold. The stars above her glistened and a shower of magical energy began to pour from above, swallowing her in its radiance. She could feel her human shape being molded and cried out as she emerged from the light as a flaming phoenix.
She blinked, and Akko was suddenly standing back in the empty classroom, staring at her own reflection in the rippling water sphere. She closed her fist over her chest, her heart hammering against her ribcage. She had just seen a glimpse of Shiny Chariot's life. Her hero was never a prodigy – she was a failure like Akko. But she never lost hope and she worked hard to become better. This thought echoed in Akko's mind, suddenly feeling uplifted and hopeful.
Akko continued to stare into the water sphere, hoping it would let her see more of Shiny Chariot's past. She was brought out of her stupor when she heard a distant noise echo from down the corridor. She couldn't stay here, she had to find her way back to bed. She tore her eyes away from the water sphere, whispering, "I'll come back," and hurried from the room.
"So, wait, you're saying you lived Shiny Chariot's life," said Diana at breakfast the next morning.
"Only parts of it, but I was definitely Shiny Chariot, back when she was a student."
"You think it might be a window into the past?" asked Lotte eagerly. "You think it shows anyone, or just certain people."
"It sound's dangerous," said Diana, waving her fork around pointedly. "We have no idea what that…thing is. For all we know, you could have tampered with the effects of space-time."
"You're overexaggerating, Diana," said Akko. "It's perfectly safe. You can come tonight, I'm going back."
"What we should be doing is figuring out what it is that Jellal Fernandes sent to Luna Nova that is being guarded by that Polar Bear," said Diana. "But knowing you, you'll just ignore me and go anyway. I suppose I'll come to make sure you don't screw up anything."
"You just want to see Chariot," Akko grinned knowingly.
"P-Preposterous!" Diana stuttered. "I want no such thing! Now shut up and eat your breakfast!"
But Akko couldn't eat. She had seen life through the eyes of her idol and would be doing so again tonight. She had almost forgotten about Jellal. It didn't seem very important anymore. Who cared what the polar bear was guarding? What did it matter if Croix stole it, really?
"Are you all right?" said Lotte. "You look odd?"
What Akko feared most was that she might not be able to find the room again. Thanks to Diana, she learned that the Ring of Gyges could conceal three people, but only if they were holding hands. If Akko had been distracted trying to look for the room, she would certainly feel the heat intensifying around her face. They tried retracing Akko's route from the library, wandering around the dark passageways for nearly an hour.
"This is pointless," said Diana. "Let us forget it and go back,"
"No!" Akko hissed. "I know it's here somewhere."
They passed Mxyz, who was gliding with a bucket of live mice in the opposite direction, but saw no one else. Just as Diana started to grow impatient and demand they give up, Akko spotted the suit of armor.
"It's here – just here – yes!"
They pushed the door open. Akko whipped off her ring from her finger and ran to the floating water sphere. She could only see her reflection in the water, but she knew it was there.
"See?" Akko whispered.
"I can't see anything."
"You're just not looking at it properly, go on, stand where I am."
Akko stepped aside, Diana rolled her eyes and moved over so that it was her face reflecting off the water's surface. For a few seconds, Diana remained the same with her arms crossed and her brows furrowed in annoyance. But then a moment later, her face looked mystified, her arms dropping at her sides, and her eyes staring unblinking inside.
"Is this real…?" she said.
"Can you see Shiny Chariot?"
"No – I – I see myself…but I'm older and…and my name isn't Cavendish."
"What?"
"It's true. I've taken another name. I'm in a kitchen – it not my family's kitchens, but smaller – I'm living in a humble household. I can hear laughter – children – my children. And…there's someone else…someone…."
Diana tore her eyes away from this strange and unnatural sight to look bewildered at Akko.
"Akko…do you think this thing shows the future?"
"That can't be right. I saw Shiny Chariot in the past – let me have another look – "
"You had it to yourself all last night, give me a bit more time."
"You're seeing yourself as a middle-class woman with kids, what's so interesting about that? I wanna see Chariot."
"Don't push me – "
A sudden noise outside in the corridor put an end to their discussion. They hadn't realized how loudly they had been talking.
"Quick!" Akko slipped the ring back on her finger and grabbed Diana's hand as Elma peered through the door. Akko and Diana stood quite still as she crept inside the room, her tail slowly whipping behind her. Elma took a great big sniff and her brow furrowed. They both suddenly remembered that dragons had an acute sense of smell and knew that Elma was suspicious of their presence. After what seemed like ages, she turned and left.
"This isn't safe – she could come back here with a teacher. We had better not stay here. Come on."
Diana pulled Akko out of the room.
The snow still hadn't melted the next morning.
Constanze held up a chessboard with a suggestion to play.
"No."
"Why don't we go up and visit Professor Ursula?" suggested Lotte.
"No…you go…"
"We know what you're thinking about, Akko," said Diana. "That fountain or whatever it was. Don't go back tonight."
"Why not?"
"As I said before, we don't know what it is and it could be dangerous – and besides, you've had too many close calls already. Elma no doubt caught our scents when we were there and will know that you've been visiting more than once. Your magic ring isn't going to keep you safe all the time. All it takes is for one of them to walk into you or you accidentally knock something over."
"Why don't you go annoy someone else?"
"I'm serious, Akko, please don't go."
But Akko only had one thought in her head, which was to get back in front of that water sphere, and Diana wasn't going to stop her.
The third night she found her way more quickly than before. She was walking so fast she knew she was making more noise than was wise, but she didn't meet anyone.
And there was the fountain and the floating water sphere that would take her to Shiny Chariot. Akko pulled up one of the chairs and sat in front of the fountain. There was nothing to stop her from staying here all night waiting for the visions to fill her mind again. Nothing at all.
Except –
"So – back again, Akko?"
Akko felt as though her insides had turned to ice. She looked behind her. Sitting on one of the desks by the wall was none other than Professor Ursula Callistis. Akko must have walked straight past her, so desperate to get to the fountain she hadn't notice her.
"I – I didn't see you, professor."
"Funny how nearsighted being invisible can make you," said Ursula, and Akko was relieved to see that she was smiling. She pulled up a chair and seated herself next to Akko. "So you, like hundreds before you, have discovered the mysterious visions of the Fountain of Polaris."
"I didn't know it was call that, professor."
"But I expect you've realized by now what it does?"
"It – well – I had a vision about Shiny Chariot when she was in school – "
"And it showed Diana in the future, away from her family's name and happily living under another."
"How did you know - ?"
"Elma told me you both were in here last night," said Ursula gently. "I confronted Diana this morning and she confessed everything. Now, can you think what the Fountain of Polaris shows us all."
Akko shook her head.
"Let me explain. Many centuries ago, the Olde Nine Witch used the Fountain of Polaris to as a way of protecting themselves from the cruelties of the outside world. You see, at the time, people were frightened by the idea of Demi-Humans and the witch hunts turned friends into enemies. They didn't know who they could trust. So, the Olde Nine Witches would use the Fountain of Polaris for guidance. Does that give you any ideas?"
Akko thought. Then she said slowly, "The truth…it shows people the truth…."
"Well, yes and no," said Ursula quietly. "While the Fountain of Polaris can seek truth, it is more importantly a well of knowledge and peers through the past, present, and future. When you and Diana first gazed into the fountain, you both unconsciously sought answers to the lingering questions in your hearts. You, who dreamed of becoming a witch like Chariot, saw the many struggles she endured and how she overcame them. Diana, who is constantly burdened by the Cavendish name, saw herself in a life without carrying the weight of her family's legacy on her shoulders. The Fountain of Polaris can bestow upon the great magical knowledge of the stars unto the witch with hidden radiance. However, in the hands of immature witches like yourself and Diana, yet unworthy to wield its power, it can only show you small, meaningless visions."
"But it's not meaningless," Akko mumbled. "To see Shiny Chariot, who was hopeless and unskilled like me, work hard and grow stronger…it gives me hope that maybe someday I can be a great witch like her."
"Hmm, I suppose you're right," said Ursula with a small smile. "The Fountain will be moved to a new home tomorrow, Akko, and I ask you not to go looking for it again. If you ever do run across it, you will now be prepared for the trials that come with it. I know you will be able to do it, Akko. You have a special power hidden deep inside you – the power to follow your dreams and to inspire others to follow theirs. Just remember, Akko, you don't have to do everything on your own. That is what friends are for. Now, why don't you put that impressive ring back on and get off to bed?"
Akko stood up.
"Um - Professor Ursula? Can I ask you something?"
"Blair would make a joke about how you already asked one," Ursula smiled. "But you may go ahead."
"Did you ever have a vision when you looked in the Fountain?"
"Once, when I was still in school. I saw an old friend and a miracle."
The cryptic answered lingered in Akko's head by the time she was back in bed and Lotte and Constanze had already gone to sleep waiting for her. She could have asked Ursula to elaborate, but then, she thought, as she shoved Blair sideways to make room for herself, it had been quite a personal question.
Finding a replacement for the Invisibility Cloak wasn't easy. I could have just gone with an invisibility potion like in the Chamber of Time, but it would be way too complicated to have to brew so many potions and it's completely out of Akko's realm of capability. I chose the Ring of Gyges because of the story behind it and how it would be used depending on the morality of those who use it.
Next chapter: Claiomh Solais