Chapter 37
Diana woke up early that morning to do her chores. Professor Woodward had told her it was part of the training program she gave to her students to exercise their discipline. Since Akko insisted that she has to come along with, Diana had a few of them.
Cleaning the garden and the house was not exactly a new thing for Diana. She had always watched her mother, replenish the food on the bird feeder, and sweep the dust off the floor, water the plants, and dusting the album and book collection.
The sunrise is strange in the mountains. It spreads behind her, sending jagged rays of light up and over the peaks. Slowly but steadily, darkness bled from the valley, fleeing with the morning mist along the slopes of the city.
Diana's daydreaming as she worked through the house was interrupted by a few knocks on the door. When she swung the wooden entrance, her eyes widened at the visitors.
"Diana, is Professor Woodward around?" Professor Ursula—no, Chariot asked. Diana could sense her nervousness under all that brazen gallantry. Behind her was her old mentor whose hair she left down unlike she did before.
She suppressed the anger that flared up in her chest. "She is by the pond."
"Thanks." Chariot said then stopped the door midway from being shut. "Wait! After we mend things with Professor Woodward, could we talk to you and Akko as well?"
Diana regarded them for a few seconds. Professor Croix hesitated to receive her stare for while, fearing she would be burned by a sun.
"She's not to be disturbed right now as she's confined to her bed." She spoke after the relapse into silence, "Maybe next time."
"Oh my, how dreadful..." she gasped, placing a concerned hand near her mouth. "Alright, we'll come to her another time."
Diana nodded, observing them as they rounded the house towards the backyard.
After all that, she pushed the door open to their room, silently, afraid to wake Akko up who by the looks of it was still sleeping. Diana opened the curtains and marveled at how the vaporous white curtains looked good at the ambiance of the room. She closed it behind her and carefully tiptoed to the bed.
How many times had Diana wished to get to the bottom of her secrecy and now that she could do it? She no longer desired to uncover the mystery in Akko. Diana just wanted Akko to preserve her brilliance and child-like wonder until the end of time. For Diana to be her wondrous adventure until Diana would get tired of discovering and analyzing—which seemed to be unlikely. Akko had endless mysteries. Akko would be the insatiable fountain of secrets, the one that would quench the thirst of Diana's soul when every day would threaten her existence.
Even if Akko will change, Diana hoped it would be because she has vastly improved her craft and her character.
Diana kneeled next to her bed and carefully removed the sheets that were covering a large part of Akko's face. Akko finally looked better, her color returning. She looked so serene. She breathed cadent, her hair was slightly dabbing her moon-shaped face and her pink lips seemed to be twisted in a strange manner. Akko was smiling in her sleep. She always gazed at people with her big bulging red eyes that emphasized her curious nature—the one that Diana found so charming.
She gently caressed Akko's cheek, shivering as she felt the softness that resembled the silky fabric of her mother's dress. Akko flinched and Diana smiled as her lover opened her eyes, partly disturbed by the light coming through the curtains.
Akko grinned as she saw Diana, standing kneeled on the ground with her head close to her own and Diana's long thin fingers feeling her face. Akko moved her body towards the end most corner of the bed.
"Join me," Akko invited her over, patting the space she freed.
Diana nodded and after lifting herself from the floor, she laid on the bed, next to her, pulling her in a tight clutch. Akko's head rested on Diana's chest, feeling the softness of her breasts as Diana put her arm across Akko's frail body. Diana tucked herself between the sheets, her bare feet looking for Akko's beneath the blanket.
Akko knew that Diana had suddenly taken an important place in her life. It was the memory of the last night that made her smile as soon as she opened her eyes in the morning. It was Diana's touch that made her shiver, and her lips that managed to hypnotize the red swirling in her eyes.
"Professor Woodward wanted you to sleep as long as you need," Diana said. "She did crack our bones yesterday—most especially you."
"How about you?" she asked. Akko rubbed her eyes and still unable to fully comprehend her words a little.
"If you are training and learning, I should get on with it too. Every step you take, I shall take one myself."
"Learning while beside me, Diana?"
"While making sure you won't accidentally pull another stunt such as poisoning yourself."
"Ack," Akko flushed. "That really happened huh, that wasn't a dream?"
Diana chuckled. "Professor Woodward told me she's going to teach us how to harmonize—how to complement each other through both art form. She said it shouldn't take long since we are inseparable and obviously in love."
Akko nodded, humming her agreement, oblivious she was returning to dreamland.
Locating Professor Woodward wasn't hard. Chariot wasn't all that surprised. They found the old woman sitting by a small pond in one of the more secluded gardens near her home deep inside the forest.
The pond was surrounded by a paddle of ducklings, cradling one to her chest. Sun was filtering through the leaves of the elm tree she sat under, giving the whole scene a dreamlike feel. The duo hadn't announced their presences, instead choosing to watch the old woman for a moment.
Professor Woodward was cooing softly at the duckling she held in her arms. Now, Chariot felt a wave of anxiety threatening to wash her away at the mere thought of this negotiation. It could either end with either more resentment or tranquility
"I see you have visited me here. It has been so long. You have grown so much."
Chariot's train of thought was interrupted by the person of her thoughts, the old woman's sweet voice carrying lightly on the breeze. Chariot couldn't help but let a tender smile cross her face. The natural redhead approached softly, but Croix stayed where she was. At first, Chariot thought Croix was hesitant but realized later, the taller woman she stopped a few feet away so as not to scare the ducklings.
The old woman gently moved a hand from under the duckling she was holding and patted the ground next to her. "Come, sit with us, Croix. They don't bite," she turned her attention back to the ducklings.
"How were your lessons with Akko so far?" Chariot asked conversantly, as Croix lowered herself gracefully to the grass beside her.
"Oh dreadful, she accidentally drank iris leaf tea and is now bedridden until she can get up." Professor Woodward mulled over. "If not for Miss Cavendish's affection and patience, the girl would not last a day with my teachings. And here I wrote letters to Miranda about letting the girls miss a week from the university. I wish they wouldn't waste all these golden hours."
Taken aback, Chariot replied, "You still are as harsh as ever," she giggled to ease the tension.
"Of course," the older woman said, eyeing Chariot and Croix. "So what are you two doing here? Why else would you be up so early to travel?"
Croix sat up a little straighter. "Actually, that's why we came to find you—me especially. I need to tell you something."
Professor Woodward furrowed her brow at the serious tone with which the younger woman had spoken. Cocking her head slightly, she wordlessly implored her Croix to continue.
"I owe you an overdue apology, Professor. I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me. I am sorry for being contemptible. Because of my detestable qualities, because I hated you so much, I attempted to pit Diana Cavendish and Atsuko Kagari against each other, just so that I could prove you wrong."
The old woman's eyes darkened in what Chariot guessed were barely restrained anger. Directed at Croix or at her, she wasn't sure, but Croix continued anyway.
"I'm sorry I didn't ask for your forgiveness sooner."
"So what?" she barked. "You thought this was going to be simple? That once you beg me for forgiveness, everything is forgotten?" The duckling the old woman was holding escaped from her arms, and scattered along with the others at the sudden noise.
"Professor—" Chariot began, trying to maintain order and security.
"No, don't 'Professor' me!" she yelled at the youngest before glaring back at the older one. "Since when has this bothered you, Meridies? Do tell me exactly, since when has this been bothering you? Has it only been the last few days? If Chariot hadn't told you to make amends with me, you would never let go of your conceited nature. I don't want you to force yourself to say things I should have heard from you all those years ago. I'm old now, Meridies. You have been glad my mortal coil is tightening around me."
Croix didn't want to lie. It had been part of why she had been so tense recently, but the other reasons... she wasn't even willing to admit them to herself, let alone Professor Woodward. So she simply nodded, but the old woman continued to berate her.
"What could possibly make you want to have anything to do with me?" the old woman was shaking now. "I know I never was a good person. I was never a good teacher, but I saw darkness in your heart so I refused. Do you understand, Meridies?"
"I understood now, more so than ever. I'm also averse to begging for forgiveness at first. Now, everything's different. I can change. If not by my own, then by someone who truly cares about me."
"I'm sure you can. It's never too late. In all my years, I have asked myself if truly my decision years ago to refuse you was the right thing I did. And your actions from the past few years sufficed my decision. You need to continue finding yourself, Croix... with or without the help of Chariot."
"Yes, I suppose I should."
A faint smile tinted the old woman's face. "After the entire thing, I do forgive you, child."
Chariot, who had been watching at the sidelines yet sat in between the two women, clutched her heart.
The queen shook her head and her voice wavered. "No don't, Professor... I need to be disciplined; to face harsher realities, I need this brutal reminder of my mistakes."
The fire left Chariot's eyes and she looked sadly at her beloved.
"Croix!" Professor Woodward rarely raised her voice, so the sharp exclamation of her name stopped the Italian woman short. "Go find yourself. Heal, improve, live. Visit me once you have resolved everything within you. Until then, this is goodbye."
"I won't say goodbye." The perennial guilt in her flared up again, and her tone became menacing. "If I say goodbye, maybe you would die sooner than intended. I will give you more reason to live, old woman. Do not die. Not until we meet again."
The old woman fought hard to keep her face neutral, although her smiles and laughter crinkled in her eyes. "You are so stubborn. I have no say whether I die or not the next few years or years."
"You're only 80 years old, perfectly healthy!" Croix asked.
"I am flattered you care about my well being, Meridies. But what you should concern and exhaust your energy is your reconciliation with the children."
"How are they coping by the way?" the older one asked. "We met Diana earlier and she refused to deal with us."
Professor Woodward chuckled. "The kids are alright."
Akko woke up; the memories of the early morning became so hazy she wondered if it was real or not. Yawning, she stepped outside wrapped in a fluffy blanket that covered her whole body and took a shower.
Dressed, Akko wandered out of the cottage afterward, looking for her new mentor. Professor Woodward was out of sight, and as she moved forward she noticed Diana, sitting backward from her, leaning on a tree trunk, with her hands moving across a white sheet of paper.
Her hair was as fair as she remembered it—messier though. Akko walked slowly towards Diana, hoping that her steps were as discreet as the barely audible sound that the pencil produced when Diana dragged it across the blank paper. She leaned over and kissed the soft skin on Diana's cheek and as she looked ahead, she noticed a smile reflected in the shiny surface of a pot that boiled over the fire.
"Good noon, love," Diana said as she dropped the pencil in her lap and folded the notebook on which she had been scribbling before Akko's arrival. "Feeling better?"
"It's already noon?" Akko whispered as she sat on the ground, goading her bare feet onto hers as she wrapped their bodies in the blanket Diana had. "And yes, I'm feeling better alright."
Diana lifted her right arm and grabbed Akko's waist, then gently pulled her next to her. "Guess both medicines work."
Akko leaned her head on Diana's shoulder who grabbed her hand beneath the fluffy sheet. "What were you drawing just now?"
"Another sketch," she replied while running her long fingers through Akko's long brown strands that smelled like dewdrops.
"Of an animal?" she asked.
"No, certainly not, I don't find them amusing as much as I did yesterday; it was a sketch of us."
"Can I see it?"
"No," she answered with a languishing voice that no one would have found offending given the abrupt denial. "It's not done yet. I want you to see the final product."
"Alright," she replied in such a fondly manner that for many would have seemed rather odd.
It was even striking for Diana, because she had never met a girl who understood and respected her choice for intimacy regarding her actions, with such facility and outright resignation. Akko never insisted on certain things when it comes to their relationship, which to some people it might have appeared as a lack of strength, but for Diana, it was the refrain of Akko's curiosity that made her strong.
"When we finish this weekend's lessons," Diana spoke and Akko gazed up to watch her lips moving. "We could go in town and buy some new brushes and oil colors and then I will turn these sketches into paintings. How would you like that?"
Akko smiled and then accommodated her head on the hollow on Diana's neck. "That would be wonderful," she replied. "Then maybe we can start the ones for our submission."
"Momentarily, I forgot about the competition," Diana admitted. "Being with you here, watching you train and I supporting you was like a vacation. Perfecting our crafts and getting closer to one another, and perhaps to heal."
"What do you mean by to heal?"
"Chariot and Croix were here while you were asleep," Diana said, watching the smile on Akko's face turn upside down. "They aware of our presence here, they came to talk to Professor Woodward and to us, but I told them they can wait another time, you were under the weather."
"Is that why Professor Woodward isn't here?"
"Yes, she seemed to have reconciled with them. They strolled along the forest path; I assume Professor Woodward accompanied them back to their car. All thanks to you, Akko."
"Eh? Because of me?" she asked.
"In a fortunate series of events," Diana implored. "Yes."
"Do they really need me to push them to talk to each other? This is why miscommunication is the most disliked conflict in stories unless it's for comedic purposes!"
"You are absolutely right."
Gritting her teeth, Akko reached out and grabbed Diana's hand. Diana squeezed her callused fingers, just for a second. Without hesitation, she squeezed back.
"Do you know what you need, Akko?"
"What?"
"A distraction."
"A distraction?" Akko asked, trying the word on her mouth, enunciating the syllables one by one. "What do you have in mind?"
"Would you entertain the idea of painting with me after a hearty meal I prepared, Akko?"
"I can?" Akko gushed over the thought. She could just imagine it. The result would be chaotic, but it will be good.
"Of course," Diana chuckled. "It's therapeutic and since we cannot go outside until you are feeling better. We might as well continue our thirst for creativity."
A/N: Hello all! Thanks for the absolutely lovely reviews, as well as for the favorites and follows. I'm ecstatic that so many people are enjoying the story and continue to read despite how long it's been!
P. S. I'll try to update a bit sooner next time ;)