(I kid you guys not, that whenever I have a day off from work, my first thought after waking up from sleeping in is, I CAN WRITE MY GAY FANFIC WITHOUT WORRIES AHH, anyway, please enjoy this chapter. And as always, thank you for your comments, favs and follows. They mean a lot to me and give me the extra push to write more.)

CHAPTER 14

Akko was surprised to see Daryl, of all people, in Diana's room and her daughters as well, who simply bowed their heads upon seeing her.

Akko gulped and sat down on a nearby chair, also noticing the rather large amount of dresses spread out on the floor.

Daryl simply stared at her and spoke again. "So…how are classes? Doing well?"

Akko nodded. "Yup! Totally amazing!"

STUPID! WHY DID SHE SAY THAT?

Daryl, not noticing or caring, didn't respond. "Diana? Are you done yet?"

Akko whipped her head and saw Diana appear from behind the bookshelf with Hannah and Barbara in tow. "Yes, I'm here. Hello Akko."
Akko smiled. "Hi! So uh…what's happening?"

Diana cleared her throat. "Well…my aunt came by and thought it prudent to give us some dresses for the upcoming ball. She said she had one for you as well."

Akko' eyes widened. "Really!? Thank you!"

Daryl chuckled. "You're very welcome. I see you and Diana have gotten closer."

Akko blushed. "You could say that, haha."

A large cough made Akko jump in her chair. It was Diana. "We-Well, lets get started, shall we? I don't want to miss the festival."

Daryl got up and walked over to Diana as her daughters followed. "Yes, yes, Diana, as if you would miss out on the festival. I'm sure you'll have enough time for the stands before the ball starts."

Akko got up as well. "Yeah! Plus there's tomorrow!"

Diana relented. "…true."

Meryl and Maryl, walking over to Hannah and Barbara's beds, laid the boxes down and opened them. With a whirl of their wands, the dresses were floating in the air, and all of the girls gasped, saved for Diana. Hannah and Barbara moved to the dresses first, gaping. "Which—is—one is mine?" Hannah spoke first.

Daryl smiled and pointed to a light red one. Hannah squealed and ran to it. "For Barbara, the dark blue one." Barbara, her face lit up, bowed to Daryl. "Th-Thank you!" Daryl turned her eyes to Akko next. "And for you…that one."

Akko followed Daryl's fingers to find herself staring at a dress of light pink color with silk fabric. Akko tentatively drew a hand over the fabric, feeling the rich softness. The brown-haired girl turned around, her eyes nearly brimming with tears. "This is for me?! Thank you!"

Daryl blinked. She wasn't expecting this response. Quickly putting a hand to her face she managed a small laugh. "You're very welcome."

Watching this, Diana smiled as well. Suddenly, she felt a tug on her hand, and turned to see Akko suddenly in front of her, pulling her towards the dresses. "Come on Diana, lets see yours next!"

"Akko, wai—" Diana interjected, feeling nervous. Nonetheless, she followed Akko to the dresses, where the fourth dress seemed to be hiding behind the others. Gently pulling them aside, Hannah and Barbara revealed the last dress. Diana and Akko softly gasped. The dress was light blue, but the same style as Akko's.

Diana whirled around and Daryl was smirking. "Congratulations on your budding relationship, dear niece." She replied. Noticing Diana's glare, she shrugged. "Oh come on dear, it was incredibly obvious. Right girls?" Meryl, Maryl, Hannah and Barbara all nodded at once.

Diana cleared her throat and put her hands around her back. "Thanks…auntie."

Akko came to her side quickly and happily clapped her hands. "Thank you! We appreciate the good will! Come on Diana, let's try them on!"

Daryl watched the two girls and smiled fondly.

It was a good idea, indeed, to come by. She would lecture the two later, but for now, as she sat back down on the chair, she would let them have their fun.

"Constanze!" The small girl turned around at the sound of her name being called, and was face-to-face with Amanda. She signed, "Yes?", as Amanda struggled to catch her breath. She must've been running. The redhead straightened up and heaved a sigh before speaking again.

"Constanze! We need your help with lights. They keep flickering on and off and no one knows how to fix them." Amanda quickly explained, pointing to the direction of the lights. Constanze noticed that it was the north building, where the ball would be held. She nodded at Amanda and the two started walking.

Constanze had been taking pictures before Amanda interrupted her of the festival, outside on the grounds where countless stalls were put up and selling all matter of things. She had gotten some good shots, as the bright light of the afternoon helped. As they walked, Constanze noticed Amanda's rather red face.

She tugged at Amanda's sleeve, signing "Are you alright?" when the redhead turned to her. Amanda gulped and rubbed the back of her head, mumbling, "I'm fine."

Constanze didn't ask further.

Soon, the girls were in the grand ballroom, where much of the decorations were put up. No one else was in there, and, Constanze noticed, the lights weren't flickering. Before she could ask Amanda, she heard a scraping of shoes against floor, and turned to see Amanda kneeled on the floor. Constanze blinked. What was-

Amanda gulped for perhaps the 30th time that day, as Constanze stared blankly at her. Kneeling down like this, Amanda realized, put her face-to-face with Constanze. Seeing her face up close like this…Amanda breathed deeply. No! She had to concentrate! She took another deep breath and exhaled.

"Constanze. Do you have…uh…are…are you going to the dance?" She finally asked.

The small girl stared at her then slowly nodded.

Good! So far! Amanda continued. "Do you…Would you like to go with me?"

The small girl blinked, then Amanda noticed the smallest blush appear on her cheeks. But Amanda waited before saying anything. She kept gazing into Constanze's eyes (which were a nice shade of teal, Amanda realized) until the small girl closed her eyes and sighed.

She signed, "Sure. Why not. But I'll be taking pictures the whole time."

Amanda grinned and stood up. "That's fine with me! We have to dance at least once though!" The small girl smiled, making Amanda gulp again. Constanze signed, "That's fine. Just don't step on me."

Before Amanda could respond, Constanze continued signing. "Was the thing about the lights a lie, or?"

Amanda nervously laughed. "Yeah, sorry. I wanted to ask you…in privacy."

Constanze cocked her head to the side, a puzzled look on her face.

Amanda coughed, waving her hands. "I mean, it was loud outside. Yeah. Anyway let's go back, I'm feeling hungry."

Chariot sighed. Falkor, noticing her distress, nuzzled her arm, poking her forearm with his horn. Even as dull as it was, it was still somewhat surprising, and knocked Chariot out of her thoughts. "Oh, Falkor. Sorry. I'm just thinking…" She cleared her throat and adjusted her hold on Falkor.

Her and the dragon were near the Sorceror's Stone, underneath the glowing rock, in the tower. From here, and with the assistance of magic, Chariot had a bird's eye view of the entire campus. And, as she looked up in the sky, Alcor was helping as well, her familiar doing hourly perimeter checks.

Chariot walked to a different outlook, peeking over the edge of the handrail. Below, things were merry and lively. She smiled.

"Oh? It seems you want to join them."

Chariot jumped and Falkor yelped, and the teacher turned around quickly. It was Woodward, idly looking over the festival as well. "Woo-Woodward, what a surprise! I thought you were in the forest—"

The tall, elegant woman pulled her eyes away from the festival to focus on Chariot. As usual, Chariot thought, Woodward has a strange intensity. Woodward spoke again. "Which is why I'm here. The beast disappeared, but its still nearby. I'm unsure if it's changed its form, or used some type of invisibility magic."

Chariot tightened her hold on Falkor, who was cooing sadly. "Is that so?"

Woodward nodded. "Indeed. Goodness, what a day. I'll return to the forest and come back if anything happens."

Chariot bowed. "Thank you, Professor."

Woodward smiled. "No, thank you. I would've been bored." With that said, the tree witch disappeared in a slow flurry of leaves, and Chariot felt a wind graze past her and go towards the woods. She let out a breath of relief. Looking down at Falkor, she gave him a comforting pat. "Come, let's go to a different tower."

Jasminka let out a yell and grabbed Constanze. The small girl, bewildered, could only stay prone as the taller girl whirled about and hugged her tightly. After a minute, she seemed to come back to normal, and put Constanze back on the ground. "So-Sorry." Jasminka nervously apologized, fixing Constanze's hair and ribbon.

The small girl shook her head. "Its…fine."

Jasminka nodded, then sat down, pulling another chair for Jasminka. It was 5:06, two hours before the dance. The tall girl had closed her tart shop for the day, making more profits than she thought, and saw Constanze walking nearby. After letting her in and eating some leftovers, Constanze broke the news to Jasminka.

Jasminka felt her cheeks hurting, from how big the smile she had on. She really couldn't help it though.

How long had it been since the three started living together? And Jasminka was the first to notice Amanda's crush on Constanze, before the redhead even knew herself. Jasminka simply waited until Amanda realized it herself, but then, the thing with Akko…but now! This!

Constanze cleared her throat, and then began signing. "I don't…have a dress."

Jasminka softly gasped. "Oh dear. Hmm…what shall we do…"
Jasminka suddenly got up with a start, remembering a certain gentleman that came to the store and ordered ten tarts for him self, who reminded the tall girl to come by his shop when she had the chance. "Wait! I got an idea!"

Quickly walking through the stalls, Jasminka walked quickly, but not so fast as Constanze would have a hard time keeping up. As they made their way through the crowd, Jasminka grasped Constanze's hand. "We're almost there, hang on." Jasminka quickly replied, using her large body to assert herself in the crowd, moving through the multitude of people, making sure her grasp on Constanze was secure but not overbearing. Soon, they made it to the tent.

"Last Wednesday Society. I'm pretty sure this is it." Jasminka spoke, as Constanze stood beside her. "Lets go in!"

The stall was filled to the brim with magical items and shirts, and as the two walked further in, they saw a portly man at the register. His eyes widened upon seeing Jasminka. "Oh! You. The tarts were amazing. Thanks for coming by. How can I help you and your friend?"

"Thank you, I'm glad you liked them. My friend and I were wondering if you had any dresses for sale?" Jasminka replied.

"Dresses?" The man asked. "Hmm, this feels familiar…hold on, I might have another one." He bent down with a grunt, and begin rummaging underneath the desk. Coming back up, he was holding a white and golden box that looked more like a treasure chest, with the emblem of a red apple near the lock. "What I have here is a Snow White Magic Set. I used to have a Cinderella Magic Set but I sold the last one. The magic only lasts for two hours though, I must warn you. Oh, and you'll need a apple. You can probably easily find one in the festival." He explained, letting Jasminka touch the item.

Jasminka excitedly turned to Constanze, who was curious as well. "What do you think? Should we go for it?" Constanze eagerly nodded, rummaging in her pocket.

The man put up his hands. "Ah, have it on me. As thanks for the tarts."

After thanking the man and finding the materials, the two girls walked throughout the festival again. Jasminka held on to the magic box securely, smiling widely. "I'm so glad it worked out. I was worried."

Constanze smiled as well. "Me too." She signed. "Was there a magic incantation for the box?"

Jasminka looked the box over before answering. "It says, 'The fairest of them all'. Hmm, what a curious incantation..."

Hannah let out a relieved sigh. Barbara turned to her. "What's up?" The two girls were walking outside on the festival grounds, making their way to find dinner from the stalls. Hannah smiled before answering. "Oh, I'm just so happy for Diana. I was a little worried about how her family would react to her dating Akko, but it seems her aunt approves of her."

Barbara listened, a thoughtful look on her face. "Oh?"

Hannah continued. "Yeah, its just…I don't know, maybe I'm just a worrywart, but I was worried about Diana being bullied. You know, for being gay."

Barbara nodded.

Hannah paused before talking again. "I'm impressed she did that. Telling everyone."

Barbara giggled. "So impressed you fainted."

Hannah nudged her playfully. "I know, I know. What I mean is…I don't think we should worry about what other people think about us. We should just go back to how we were before." She spoke softly, looking at Barbara.

The raven-haired girl blushed and turned away. "What…whatever do you mean?"

Hannah let out a loud sigh. "You know what I mean! I don't know why you won't hang out with me anymore, why you push me away and all these things! I just…I just want use to be friends again."

Barbara stopped walking. Hannah did as well, and cautiously reached out to her.

Surprisingly, Barbara took her hand and squeezed. The raven-haired girl looked up, and, to the shock of Hannah, her eyes were wet.

"Barbara…"

"Hannah, I'm sorry. I just—I don't know why I did that, it was hurting me too. You're right, we should just act as we did. I just…I remember how I treated Akko, like I thought it was funny, then all of this happens. I haven't apologized to her yet, and I felt terrible—"

"Oh Barbara…"

"I know, I know. I should just say something. Anyway, I felt like crap, like I shouldn't be friends with anyone, that's why I was being distant—"

Hannah cut off Barbara with a hug. "It's alright, Barbara. We can go apologize together. Like we did when she brought Diana back. I mean, you can be a little crabby sometimes, but you're not a terrible person."

Leaning back, Hannah wiped Barbara's face gently, as tears streamed down her cheeks. "Come on, let's go get some dinner. Then we can go to the dance and try to get a handsome, tall dance partner."

Barbara smiled back. "If not, we can just dance together."

Hannah laughed, sliding her arm into Barbara's, as the two walked together. "That's a great idea. You better not step on my shoes."

The two eventually made their way to a stall, enjoying dinner together, and the bell chime of the bell tower echoed across the campus.

It was 5:30. Thirty minutes before the dance.

TO BE CONTINUED