Chapter 21
The princess was sound asleep when Akko walked in the door of the cabin. Akko paused to look at her, taking in the peaceful face, the blonde curls that fell over the white brow, and the small hand curled into a soft fist on the coverlet.
Akko knew she had developed concern for the mirror girl, not just because of the striking resemblance or the fact that the Princess is a doppelganger from another world but because a friendship bond was formed over the course of days. Akko's lips curved into a smile as she crossed the room and set the plate of food and medicine for sea sickness down on the bedside table where an ordinary candle was light up from a lamp.
"Your Highness?" Akko said.
Slowly, Mirror Diana's blue eyes blinked open. They widened suddenly at the sight of Akko, still not used to the sight of her lover's face on another girl.
"We just had dinner and you weren't there. So we checked on you and were still asleep. You're lucky Professor Ursula knew to bring medicines for possible sickness. Also, Jasminka said I should bring you dinner! Hungry?"
"Akko, I must remind you to refrain from addressing me by my title. 'Mirror Diana' will suffice." She said in a croaky voice and tried to rub the drowsiness away from her eyes.
"Oops sorry," Akko ruffled her brown hair with a lopsided grin.
Mirror Diana was infected with the shorter girl's cheerfulness and returned her smile. "How humbled am I for all of you to worry about me."
"Come on Mirror Diana, even though we started out as enemies, you're like a family to us now."
"I'm pleased you all think so." Mirror Diana placed a hand over her chest as if it had swelled up in warmth.
"So… if you don't need anything else, I should get going." Akko said, heading towards the door when she turned back to her once more, "Oh, before I forget."
She looked up at her expectantly.
"Mirror Diana, doesn't it bother you?" a question mark raised above her head.
"On what Akko?"
"We've been circling the Arctic sea for hours and hours. Sucy has run out of mushrooms to experiment on me, Lotte says she's done rereading nightfall. Even Jasminka is worrying her last donut might not last her! I was just wondering if you thought of a way to sin. I mean we tried many things already." Akko stared at the floor with a long face, she started to kick some dirt. "We don't even know what to do next! Had you figured out a way to open the portal?"
Mirror Diana sat there silently for a long moment, but at last, she spoke. "Do you have faith in me?"
"Why did you have to ask that?" Akko asked. "Of course I do."
The mirror girl smirked. "Let me rephrase that. Do you trust me when I say that the gate will open tonight?"
Akko gasped. "Why? What did you do?"
Mirror Diana looked at Akko with cold sweat; then there was some kind of a cold fog between the two of them.
"Oy?" Akko had to elbow the blonde girl in the ribs to bring her out of her reverie, causing the mirror royal to groan in pain.
"All right, I shall tell you." Mirror Diana motioned for Akko to come closer and she did while sporting a whimsical smile. "As you all knew by now, in the Blazing World as dangerous and powerful as our kinesis were, prying heads open and unspooling people's thoughts are literally illegal."
"You mean it's forbidden. To break it means you will suffer a punishment."
Mirror Diana nodded at Akko's simplified version of her speech.
"I don't think people will still stop reading other people's thoughts. Take me as an example!" Akko huffed. "In Luna Nova, no amount of punishment's going to stop me from stealing tarts from the kitchen."
"That's true which is why we are all taught how to shield our thoughts as well."
"Doesn't that complicate things?"
"It does, Akko. So to counter the innate desire to read someone's thoughts, the rules of the glass discouraged us to lie about our own thoughts. So if you love someone, express them. If you want something, get them, if you are hurt, you tell them why. Honesty is praised and lying to oneself is frowned upon. So it is quite a big deal that Atsuko and I had been keeping secrets of our love."
"Rules and laws are a pain in the neck!"
Mirror Diana gave a disheartened laugh. "True. It proves that neither world—earth or blaze—is perfect."
"Gahhh! My head feels dizzy from all this information. It's like when I read a whole book of Alchemy for a test!"
"Akko, we value the secrecy of both of our worlds—to prevent further wars and chaos, do you reckon it's best to have our memories of each other erased after all this?"
"Why?" Akko's eyebrows rose, hurt rooted inside her chest. "I'd never let you make us forget! I won't forgive you if you do! Memories and experiences are what make us who we are!"
Mirror Diana blinked at Akko's sudden outburst and merely shrugged. "Forgive me, for I had a sudden existential crisis."
"I don't know about that," Akko said.
"Let me tell you a secret." She motioned for Akko to come closer. "I did the sin myself. For the sake of Atsuko and your Diana, It's worth the risk."
"What do you mean?" Having heard of Mirror Diana's mischievous plan, her maroon eyes widened at the realization. "Ehhh you did what?"
Mirror Diana giggled at Akko's clueless face and repeated. "Hours ago, I learned all your secrets. Sure we are on Earth but I'm still a Blazing citizen and reading minds all at once are sinful."
Akko's heart hammered inside her, her face flushed, remembering the thoughts that engulfed her earlier.
"And I learned how you want to ravish Earthen Diana with kisses."
"Hey!" Akko punched the air with her fist, her cheeks reddening the same shade as her team color. "You know... you can be quite awful if you want to."
A strong compulsion surged through Mirror Diana when she reached a handover and touched Akko's face. "Once this is all over, I will miss you greatly, my dear earthen. Will you miss me so?"
Akko couldn't find a word to respond, but she understood, slowly putting her hands down and looked away from her. "You're about to become Empress in your world, yet your world doesn't know that you're dating my counterpart."
The truth hit Mirror Diana's chest like a bowling pin. "You know why."
"Hai hai, because of the rules of glass blah blah blah," she said. She did after all showed Akko via kinesis about her whole life.
"Do you want to sleep a few winks, my dear Akko?"
"Well, I guess a little won't harm anything." She said, drifting to sleep as soon as she lay on the hammock.
Earlier that evening, Atsuko's sad eyes landed on Diana. The spitting image of her secret royal lover was clad in a blazing ball gown, making her slightly frightened, as if she had seen a ghost. She had to control her overwhelmed emotions from spilling out in gushing waves.
She could remember it all clearly. From the first time she met her princess, Atsuko had known that the connection between the two of them was different than what she felt with the others and it naturally became something more.
It was like; Atsuko knew there was something special about her. The feeling was unexplainable. For days she found no words to define them. It was a question her mind mused over frequently. The mystery does not get clearer by repeating the question. Yet maybe repeating it over and over in time will shed light.
She came to her most trusted professors—who became her second batch of parents. Trying to make her inquiry as vague as possible, so as not to raise suspicion.
Professor Ursula and Professor Croix called it the phenomenon of lovers' link—a bond between two people within a circle of energies like creatures caught in a spider's web.
Every time Princess Diana touched Atsuko, warmth bloomed between them. All problems and worries seemed trivial, days got brighter, and hardships became easier. Atsuko found herself waiting for her princess' touch all day, turning the memory of it over and over again in her mind as she went to bed.
Atsuko knew she got it bad for her. Every night, she felt the link between them thickening, ripening: at first a slender shoot, and then a vine that curled around them, strengthening each day.
The day Atsuko got separated away from Princess Diana, the link between them stretched like a gossamer thread. It was still there, thin and long, with no signs of breaking.
And then, reluctantly, she closed her eyes, then fluttering it open again when she came back to the present after her rather long flashback.
"The years of my reign as your empress have finally come to a close." The Empress Regent said with her beautiful royal voice, continuing her speech with a poise that Atsuko failed to listen more of for her jaw nearly unhinged.
She and Diana were caught off guard. Noticing that the Earthen froze in fear, she leaned her shoulder to hers. When their eyes met, Atsuko knew Diana could feel her fear, and it both saddened and exhilarated the lady-in-waiting.
"Truly everything will be fine," Diana told her. "I won't let any harm come to you."
"Easier said than done," Atsuko whispered before Professor Ursula told her that they will be using psychokinesis to solve this.
"Shall I personally invite you to stand next to me my dear niece, her Royal Highness Princess Diana?" The Empress Regent insisted.
Earthen Diana was heading towards the dais and, amidst the upcoming nerve-wracking speech in the next couple of seconds; Atsuko could feel the wind changing.
She turned back to the scenery outside the window, Atsuko could feel her coming. She knows they are coming. "What do I do?" she whispered to herself amidst the joyful crowd, waiting to hear the speech of their new Empress.
About now, it sent a thrill through her. Torn between leaving and staying, Atsuko knew her absolute loyalty was to the princess, but she promised she would stay to protect Earthen Diana.
It took her a long time to notice that Professor Croix had been staring at her. She knew Professor Croix felt it too, for troubles and mind readings came to her like a second nature. The Italian professor was a cunning rebel of psychokinesis when it comes disobeying rules of the glass and she can still stand there, unscathed by the wrath of the gods.
"I see your dilemma, Atsuko." She said, nonchalantly, although leering in the next couple of words. "I do not need to read your mind to see how troubled you are."
"You can sense them, professor. I have to get to them before the others find them." Atsuko stated. She thought she whispered it. For as long as she could remember, she had been sensitive to all the shifting thoughts and kinesis of energy around her, and her years at the Academia had sharpened and honed her awareness of them.
"It is truly troublesome." She grinned, knowingly. "Now the question is: who's your top priority?"
Atsuko snarled at the older woman. She was not one who enjoyed being teased. With lungs full of air, she has come to a decision then stared at the French woman. "I'm off, Sensei."
Professor Ursula looked at Atsuko, whose face glowed with the energy unfurling through her. Professor Ursula could have chastised her, for the Professors at the Academia had taught them from day one that such a display of power was reckless.
Professor Ursula nodded grimly. "Are you certain?"
Atsuko stared back at her Professor who served as a mom all her years. "She would understand my decisions when she learns why."
Professor Ursula's eyes widened. Even Atsuko refused to believe herself. It was the equivalent of lighting a signal fire on the tallest mountain to announce one's presence during a war. But at the same time, Professor Ursula understood why Atsuko had done it, for it was written clear as day on her face: It made her whole.
Powerless to stop her, Professor Ursula resorted to staring daggers at her beloved.
The Italian woman acted like she's unperturbed by the glaring. "I shall accompany you, Atsuko."
Atsuko turned one last look at the Earthen Diana who had just arrived by the dais before leaving.
Akko awoke that airless night, gasping.
She heard a sharp knock on the side of the door, causing her to fall off the hammock. Her clothes were damp with sweat from a dreamless nap.
Professor Ursula barged through the door and didn't question why Akko sprawled onto the floor. "Roll call outside, now!"
Mirror Diana had finished her meal an hour ago and hoisted Akko up. They proceeded outside to find everyone gathered by the prow, except for the green team who remained in the upper deck. The pale moon had cast its silver-light through the sails.
Everyone stared at the scenery they were approaching towards to. The sky changed its color, what once was bluish-white turned swirling gray. Even the deep blue sea turned darker and darker. They all held their breath and watched warily around the dark water as they sailed in silence.
"Any idea what's going on?" Amanda asked.
"I'm no meteorologist but," Lotte said, uncertainly. "Isn't that a bad sign?"
"Great," Sucy mumbled. "At first nightfall, the Stanship will be hit by a strange nasty storm."
Lotte and Barbara stared at the grayish-pale witch for her word selection.
"Why the hell is a storm deciding to suddenly show up?" Amanda said. Her voice laced with more anger than fright for she saw the storm as an inconvenience.
But the water already started to tremble. Akko could feel it through the wooden board underneath their feet. Akko's eyes widened as she saw the raging storm coming their way. "Uh..." she pondered. "What's the procedure on upcoming storms?"
As if on cue, a wave knocked their ship. Everyone got thrown around the place: Sucy and Lotte grabbed a rope of the sail to keep their balances. Constanze and Jasminka, who stood above the deck, held on to the might of the steering wheel. Hannah and Barbara grabbed onto each other, screaming frantically. It was a mystery why the two hadn't fainted yet. Mirror Diana suddenly felt awful again, fearing she might throw up, she steadied herself with the rail while Professor Ursula rolled around the deck.
Akko felt like a feather in the wind. She hadn't anticipated it and got knocked in the guts and went flying into the rail. The crash knocked the air out of her lungs. A dry groan arose from her throat as the pain shot through her.
"AKKO!" Everyone screamed as they all staggered towards hers.
Professor Ursula jumped from the deck, displaying her acrobatic skills in the process. "Akko!" her professor cried in panic. "Are you alright?"
"Ehh?" a constellation of dancing stars burst into her vision. "Ehh I'm fine. I've fallen onto trees and the ground far worse than this."
Everyone exchanged wordless glances. Professor Ursula pointed her wand upwards, yelling over the now pouring heavy rain and strong currents. "Metamorphie Vestesse!"
Their uniforms turned white—already in the magical upgrade of an incredibly tough armor clothing and have regenerative properties and stronger than any human-made armor.
Everyone panicked as they ran amok; young witches kept bumping into each other like blind people. Hannah and Barbara just froze in paralyzing shock. Professor Ursula took command; she was the only one who was able to function well amidst the raging storm. No matter how she raised the volume of commands, everything was in a wild state of chaos.
"It's just one storm!" Akko stood despite the cold. Her voice commanding as she yelled through her shivering bones and chattering teeth. "We're witches! We're the force humanity has against the face of calamity! If we can defeat the magic missile, we can defeat a storm!"
"There she goes again with her pep talk," Sucy remarked as soon as everyone came to their senses, fueled anew. Regardless of being a dunce, Akko had the uncanny ability to lift up their hearts.
Akko turned her face away, ignoring Sucy. Out of nowhere, several whirlwinds raged across the area, uprooting everything on the water's surface and tossing waves around in madness.
Constanze struggled to keep the wheel from turning but she got knocked off. A powerful wave almost hurled them off the board when the ship stood right on end. Another wave brought water to splash around the deck, washing away some of the backup oars and masts.
Jasminka used what strength she could offer to steer the Stanship back to the right course while Sucy and Lotte went over fast towards Constanze to see if she bumped her head on the floorboard or not.
"Aargh!" Amanda yelled furiously, "Of all times to have a freaking snowstorm on the seas!"
The Stanship crew ran in every which way to control the ship. Amanda cursed a few times, which brought down lightning strokes from the sky as if the gods found it highly inappropriate. It was only then that they discovered that even witches and a kinesis user were powerless to calm themselves in this dilemma.
Diana's counterpart collapsed, her sickly visage turned another color.
Hannah and Barbara were no help of any sort. "The ship is sinking!" they cried when a massive wave tossed the ship to one side; once again, nearly overturning them for every wave was stronger than the last.
"The ship is not sinking!" Amanda snapped back. "Go to the cabin, if you're such spineless cowards here!"
Professor Ursula cursed under her breath, her adrenaline surging and survival thoughts running amok. Having eight young witches without a source of endless magic, despite Akko's inspiring speech did no good. No one was watching them. No one knows they are in a pinch and needed support.
"Princess?" the French witch went towards Mirror Diana who clung for her dear life in the railings of the ship. "Are you feeling okay? Can you create a powerful barrier around the ship?"
Mirror Diana's lips were purple; she heaved and threw up overboard. "My apologies, but I have a frail body and it does not do well in motion sickness. In times like this, I needed Atsuko, and I do understand that she's not here. My stamina's focused on my kinesis muscles, so I fear I may offer no help. You're on your own."
"SHE HAS SEASICKNESS!" Amanda yelled at the top of her lungs.
"Amanda!" Akko retorted. "Getting mad at her won't help!"
"You're Akko the Chosen One! Can't you do anything?"
Akko blanked out at the sudden responsibility shoved to her. There was no way she could replace Mirror Akko in Mirror Diana's life. They have what lovers do and Akko couldn't possibly serve as a replacement.
Professor Ursula nibbled on her lower lip, weighing her decisions between life and death which hung on a thread while the leader of the red and green teams had time for quarrels. "We don't have time to quarrel. We've got one option left! Use what's left of our magic to sail towards safety!"
Constanze rubbed her head and saluted. Adrenaline rushed through her—her pain forgotten and worked her way to the half of what's left of the magic energy to steer the ship off its course. The little German witch successfully hurled up the anchor and redirected the course of their ship then headed forth to a safe destination.
Upon miraculously escaping the storm, a sudden sheer strong current hauled them off from the sky, as if the forces of nature felt cheated. Constanze was powerless to control the ship; her screams were surprisingly loud than anticipated.
"GRAB ONTO SOMETHING!" Professor Ursula's boomed as the girls screamed and seized onto whatever they can to keep themselves on board.
Lotte and Sucy found each other, tying themselves to the strongest hold of the ship with the ropes; Hannah and Barbara were perfectly safe inside the cabin, although probably shook inside the room. With that said, Jasminka reached out to Amanda and Constanze and encompassed their bodies in her protective arms and managed to stick herself on the floorboard of the ship.
Everything lasted for a brief moment then Akko felt her body yank upwards, rising up the ground. She failed to grab onto something and fear enveloped her whole being. It wasn't a foreign feeling; for it was similar to the ones where she tried her hardest to fly. Now it was different, the gravity hat always pulled her down disappeared.
"WAAAHHHHH!" she shrieked.
A cold hand grabbed her by the wrist, refusing to yield to the strength of the wind. "Hold on!"
Akko immediately held onto the hand with fingers so stiff, they can hardly bend to grasp them. It was getting colder; shivering doesn't begin to describe what her body was doing.
Their world was now spinning and everyone else along with it. Akko had trouble breathing as the air whizzed hysterically around them.
"JENNIFER'S NAME WE'RE GOING TO DIE!" Hannah and Barbara yelled at the top of their lungs.
"Understatement of the year," Sucy remarked.
As Akko was flitting in and out of consciousness, a soft feminine voice called out her name over and over. She felt a pair of gentle hands pulling her down. Although Akko was pretty sure her eyes were wide open, it still felt like a white veil had covered her face.
The wind carried them far. Akko felt water rushed up to her neck, cold like melting ice. The salty taste of the sea seeped through her lips.
Then she heard her friends screaming—she herself along with them—from an unknown flaring pain among the numbing sensation derived from the cold. It was indescribable as if their bodies were swimming in a river of flame and ice.
Tears burst from Akko's eyes. Within seconds, she watched, horrified as the Stanship disintegrated like a burning ash as if hit by a huge thunder, along with her friends and her Professor. Alone in about a few seconds, Akko knew she was next. She watched as her cold fingers disintegrated into tiny coalescing specks, which drifted like wind-blown sand towards the sky.
The last thing Akko saw was her mind engulfing in bright light.
A/N
Had a hectic week, thank you for putting up with me.
Terms:
Kinesis - General manipulation
Psychokinesis – Manipulate minds
Telekinesis – Manipulate objects
Umbrakinesis – Manipulate darkness