Chapter 45: Questions and answers.
After me and Croix changed out of our uniforms (she chose to wear black jeans and a white shirt, which I thought looked a little too formal), and I exchanged a few more reassuring words with her, we left her room and went to sit at the table. Her mom was already waiting for us there with… a salad? Huh. Wouldn't be my first choice for lunch, that's for sure.
"Please, sit down." She said. "I'm sure you're both hungry after such a long trip."
"Ah… yes. Thank you." I answered when my girlfriend just went to sit there without saying a thing, and then I went to sit next to her at the small wooden table; circular and barely big enough for four people, but… I guess it makes sense since it's normally just the two of them. Or only Mellea, now that Croix is at Luna Nova.
While Croix's mom serves us the salad and fills our glasses with plain water, I take a moment to observe the place for the first time since we arrived. Blank white walls, floors made of a newly polished wood and lots of sunlight thanks to the multiple windows. But otherwise the entire room is very minimalistic; just like in Croix's room, there's no decorations or anything else that would make this place feel personal. Everything is obsessively tidy and organized, and no pictures or paintings hang from the walls. Plus… there's no technology. At all. Not even a TV or radio! That's… weird, to say the least. Even in a family of witches, this can't be normal, right?
I'm startled out of my contemplation when Mellea places a plate full of salad in front of me.
"Thank you." I smile politely before grabbing my fork, ready to dig in. Gosh, I'm starving!
"You're welcome." She smiles as she keeps serving salad. "Now, Chariot, why don't you tell me a little more about yourself? I'd like to know everything."
"Everything?" I gulp. "Uhm… there's… nothing interesting about me, really." I quickly say, feeling myself blush brightly. "I'm just a dunce."
"A dunce with the Moonlit Witch title?" Mellea raises an eyebrow at me. "Don't think I don't read about what's happening at Luna Nova."
"Oh." Alright, that explains why she knew about it. And about me in the first place. "It was really nothing…" I still try to downplay it, not used to being the center of attention or receiving praise.
"Nothing?" She fakes a laugh. "You know, modesty can also be a flaw. I know they gave it to you because you defeated a dangerous dragon that was terrorizing the school."
"I could only do it with Croix's help…" I say sheepishly, looking at my girlfriend for support, but she seems to be very interested in her salad, even if she's barely eating.
"Oh, really? Because the article had a picture of you shooting some sort of magic arrow through the dragon's head." Mellea doesn't seem to believe me at all, and for a moment I feel like I'm in class and gave the wrong answer; a feeling I'm way too familiar with.
"I was the one who killed it, yes." I admit in a small voice. "But without Croix, I wouldn't have been able to."
"I see." Croix's mom doesn't seem to buy my explanation still, but she decides to change the subject anyways. "I also read that you won the Luna Nova cup at the broom relay."
"A-ah… yes! Actually, I'm pretty good at flying." I answer proudly.
"As any good witch should be." She nods in approval.
"Well… I did start practicing when I was very young." I say, slightly more relaxed now that we're talking about something I like. "The first time I jumped off the roof with a broom I was probably six." I chuckle. "I dislocated my shoulder and my aunt had to rush me to the hospital." Upon receiving a polite laugh from Mellea, I continue. "That said, it didn't really take me that long to learn how to fly, and by the time I was seven I could do it fairly easily."
"As expected of someone of your bloodline." She nodded with a satisfied smile on her face. Like I had just proven her right. "You know? It took me ages to teach Croix how to fly. For the longest time, she could barely lift her feet off the ground."
"Croix?" I look at my girlfriend in disbelief. "No way! She's almost as good as me!"
Normally, Croix would have scoffed at my comment and countered it with a teasing smirk, saying something like 'Almost? I'm way better than you!' But this time… this time she simply takes a bite of the green leaves as if she couldn't hear us.
"Yes, eventually she did learn how to fly." Her mother continued. "But it was only after years of arduous training."
"Well… That's probably normal." I try to defend her. "Flying isn't an easy skill."
"Indeed, but… I'm sure it would have been easier if she had been younger." She sighed. "She was already eight when I adopted her and had never been in contact with magic before." She paused for a moment to take a sip of water before continuing. "I would have preferred someone that was five or six years old, but… she was all there was."
I feel a dagger twist inside my heart at her words, and they aren't even directed towards me! But… when I look at Croix she seems unresponsive, like she didn't listen or just doesn't care. Like she's heard the same thing a thousand times before, which makes me sadder for her. And also angry at her mom for saying such things about Croix.
"She is the best student of her generation." I shoot back, with a little more passion than intended, apparently, because even Croix's mom seems startled. "Without her, I wouldn't even be in Luna Nova anymore! Croix taught me everything I know about magic."
"Really?" She scoffs, clearly thinking I'm exaggerating. "I thought that would be the professors' job."
"Well, they didn't want to waste their time teaching a girl who didn't even know the basics of magic." I retort, looking intently at her eyes. "They would've expelled me before teaching me anything."
"I'm sure you're exaggerating." She dismisses my words with a wave of her hand.
"I'm not! Croix tutored me, she helped me every step of the way even back when I was just a weird first year she barely knew." I keep talking passionately. "Without her, I would be nothing."
At this, Croix turns to look at me, obviously startled, and finally speaks for the first time.
"Don't say that. I can't take all the credit for your accomplishments."
"Thanks Croix, but without such a wonderful tutor as you, I wouldn't have been able to accomplish half of the things I've done." I answer honestly, and then I go take her hand under the table, smiling at her as I speak. "Without such a wonderful friend and girlfriend… I would be completely lost in the strange world of magic."
"Chariot…" her eyes are opened wide as she stares at me, obviously amazed that I'm saying all of that out loud, and in front of her mom too. But, really, I should have said it a long time ago; I don't think I've ever thanked her properly for everything she's done for me.
I squeeze her hand as an intimate gesture and then start softly caressing it with my thumb, since it would be weird to kiss her in front of her mom, even if I really want to. But then… then I notice something weird. Usually, instead of feeling the soft skin of her hand, I feel the rough surface of her magical gauntlet; the one she invented to fix her magical wounds and regain control over her magic. It's invisible, yes, but I can still feel it whenever I touch her hand. Sure, she could have just taken it off to eat, but… I remember how her spell failed when she tried to stop my fall earlier today. Did she leave it at Luna Nova?
"Hey… where is your gauntlet?" I ask without thinking.
"What gauntlet?" Her mom asks then, and I instantly know I fucked up.
"Nothing!" Croix says almost frantically. "Just… uh… it's a glove, actually. It lets the magic pass while allowing me a better grip on my wand, that's all." She answers, but her voice sounds slightly higher than normal. It doesn't take a genius to know that she's lying, and I almost want to punch myself.
"Really?" Her mom raises an eyebrow. "I've never heard of such a thing."
"Well… it's an ancient relic that the teachers gave me for… uh… the broom relay." Croix's hand is noticeable sweating as it holds mine now, and I give it a little squeeze of reassurance. I would defend her, but I fear that if I open my mouth I'll just make things worse.
"I thought they gave you a book about Magical History." Her mother answered, skeptical.
"Right." Croix tries to suppress a grimace with no luck. "Then… it must have been a prize for something else. I don't remember."
"Croix." Her mother frowns, looking at her with cold eyes. "I don't appreciate you lying to me."
"She's not lying…" I say with a small voice that doesn't sound too convincing.
"This better not be another one of your 'inventions'." She says 'inventions' almost like it's a bad word. "You know how I feel about you messing around with technology."
"Yes, mother." Croix obviously tries to suppress her scowl, but doesn't succeed, proceeding to literally stab her salad with a fork in order to let out a bit of her suppressed anger.
"I… I think technology is cool, actually." I interfere hesitantly. Like… I don't want to make things worse, but I feel like I have to stand up for my girlfriend.
"Have you ever used technology, Chariot?" Mellea questions, her whole attention now focused on me, making me uncomfortable. I start sweating.
"Well… I… Not really?" I laugh nervously. "My aunt does have a TV and stuff, you know? Because she's not a witch, but… I've never really been interested in those things. I just focus on magic."
"As expected of someone from such an ancient family." She nods in approval. "I wish Croix would learn something from you."
"Or… maybe we can learn something from Croix." I counter, despite my best judgement. "At least she's trying to make an effort to improve and modernize magic, which is more than most witches do."
"So you do admit she's been tinkering with technology." She lets a small smirk appear on her face. Almost malicious, in a way. Like she has been waiting for this exact slip up since we started talking.
"U-uh… I… N-no?" I stutter. Damn. I've never been good at lying.
"So what if I have?" Croix finally interferes, in a more brusque and loud manner than I expected, looking defiantly at her mother. "Just because most witches would rather live in the middle ages doesn't mean that I have to be just like them."
"You will do as I say." Her mother counters with a strict voice. "I won't allow a member of the Meridies family to bring ruin to this house."
"Just because you adopted me, doesn't make me a Meridies." Croix snarls. "I've certainly never felt like we were family."
Silence rings afterwards, letting her words echo and ricochet against the walls, repeating over and over again in my head and, no doubt, her mother's too. I didn't expect her to say something so… harsh. But… it's obvious that's how she really feels. Her angered but also saddened expression, the way her breath has become agitated, how she keeps looking at her mother's face… And Mellea knows it too, judging by how her expression showed pain for a moment before she covered it up with a cold facade. It's almost like they're trying to kill each other just with their eyes, and I certainly wasn't prepared for such a situation. I don't know what to do with myself.
"Go. To. Your. Room." Mellea finally speaks with an authoritarian voice.
"Fine." Croix gets up so abruptly that it makes me jump a little. "It's not like I want to be here anyways." And with that, she takes off.
I consider following her, but… something tells me that her mother really wouldn't like that, and I don't want to make the situation worse. But… what to do then? I want to fuse with the chair, or maybe become invisible. I don't want to keep talking with Mellea, especially not now that my girlfriend isn't here. I don't want to screw up even more.
"I swear, this girl…" Mellea sighs, rubbing her temple with her fingers, as if she's developing a headache. "Sometimes I feel like I don't know her at all."
"Well… Croix can be a bit… difficult, I admit." I say before I can stop myself. "But… maybe if you weren't so hard on her…"
"You think you know better than me how to raise my own daughter?" She shoots me a cold glare that almost leaves me frozen on the spot.
"N-no! Just… uh… I-I… I've given her unconditional love and she seems to respond well to that. That's all." I stutter nervously, my voice trembling slightly. I've never been one to keep my mouth shut, after all, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to feel anxious about it. Especially with Croix's mom looking at me like she wants to use me to discharge all her pent-up frustrations.
"It's easy for you to say." She scoffs. "As her girlfriend, you just have to love her; you don't have to educate her on top of that."
"M-maybe, but… Croix seems like she always has everything under control." I answer. "And she's the prodigy of Luna Nova! How hard can she be to educate?"
"A lot." It's the simple answer she gives me. Then she pauses for a moment before proceeding to elaborate. "You see, Chariot, she's always had certain… issues, even before I adopted her."
"Issues?" I repeat, curious about what she could say, but still not fully believing her. I've always imagined Croix to be the perfect daughter, to be honest.
"Anger issues, to be precise." She says. "She would get mad at the other kids if they so much as made noise around her. And if someone touched her? She'd beat them up."
I would like to say that I couldn't imagine Croix doing that, but… so far it checks out.
"For this same reason, she's never had many friends, if at all." She continues. "She was also very obsessed with technology, to the point she almost couldn't talk about anything else." Yep, also very Croix. "She also had trouble recognizing authority, and would throw the biggest tantrums whenever someone forced her to do anything she didn't want to do."
Tantrums? Croix throwing tantrums? No way! But… then again, as a kid it wouldn't be that rare, right? Plus, I remember what she did after I got the shiny rod instead of her. That could kinda be considered a grown-up tantrum, right?
"I knew all of this when I adopted her, of course." She keeps talking, now in a more calmed tone, though she still seems to be a little stressed out. "In the orphanage they warned me as much, and… it was also apparent during the interview."
"Then… why did you adopt her?" I can't help myself asking. It seems like a weird choice when there were probably other less problematic children in the orphanage. Plus, she herself had said earlier she would've preferred a younger kid.
"Well…" She pauses. "Due to certain health complications, I can't have children, but I didn't want my family name to die with me."
"Don't you have more family?" I ask with curiosity.
"None that would be able to continue with the witching tradition after my death." She sighs. "And I really do love magic, and I don't want the number of witching families to keep getting smaller and smaller each passing day."
"Yeah, I get it." I say empathetically. "My aunt didn't want me to study magic, you know? She even sent me to regular school before I was accepted in Luna Nova, but… I've always loved magic. It makes me feel like I'm part of something bigger."
"Exactly." She nodded. "I might not come from such an ancient family as you, but the Meridies have dedicated their lives to the study of magic for generations and… I didn't want that tradition to end with me."
"But… why Croix, specifically?" That's what I don't really understand. After all, it appears like Mellea and Croix don't exactly have compatible personalities.
"Out of all of the children I met, none appeared to be interested in magic." Mellea explains. "Croix and her obsession with technology seemed to be the case too at first, but then… then I mentioned magic and showed her some spells and she was immediately asking me questions about how it all worked." A small fond smile appeared on her face, which made me think that she might genuinely be telling the truth. "I thought that, maybe, by using her interest on magic, I could make her education easier and… it helped. Somewhat. But I learned that I also had to be very strict if I wanted her to obey me."
"Is that really the best way to approach it, though?" I ask, thinking mostly about my aunt. Because sure, I've never been good at following orders either, but… she was never too strict with me, I don't think. Then again, maybe that's why I have always been a failure at school, while Croix is a literal genius.
"I don't know." Mellea admits, much to my surprise. "But it worked. Soon, she started obeying without questioning every single order I gave her at least ten times." She then pauses, looking towards a nearby window with a sad gaze. "I know we might not exactly have the best mother-daughter relationship right now, but… I raised her and I do consider her family."
She keeps staring at the window after that, and I just sit there not knowing what to say or do. Like… I kinda get what she's saying and how she feels after what happened with Croix, but… I bet there's a reason of why Croix said what she said, and I think I know what that is; Mellea has been acting very cold with her since we arrived, and it seems like she doesn't appreciate her enough, but… maybe that's just her way of trying to push her into being better. I'm not justifying it, or saying that's the right thing to do, but… I do understand.
Plus, Croix's already in a very unstable place, emotionally, because in just a few hours she'll meet her birth mother. And I think Mellea should be a little more understanding in that regard. Granted, she probably shouldn't have made Croix meet her mother against her will in the first place, but… I don't know. I just don't know anything.
"Chariot." Mellea snaps me out of my thoughts. "Why don't you go check on Croix? And maybe you two could go on a walk or something while I prepare everything for our guest." She disguises her words as a suggestion, but her strict tone says it's an order.
"Uhm… sure. If she wants to." I agree, relieved to be able to get away from that situation, but also a little worried because Croix still seems to be in a bad mood, so I don't know how she'll react to my presence.
Still, I swiftly excuse myself and practically run to Croix's room and knock on her door cautiously.
"Croix-" But before I can even ask if she wants to let me in, the door opens and I'm pulled inside her room.
"Took you long enough." She accuses me, but… there's still a hint of happiness on her voice.
"W-well, I-" She cuts me off with a quick peck on the lips.
"I know, I know, my mom kept you captive didn't she?"
"Yeah…" I chuckle. "Speaking of which, she asked me to make you company and… maybe we could go out? I don't know."
"Are you asking me on a date?" She raises an eyebrow.
"Maybe." I would like to say that I didn't blush when I said that, but… the heat on my cheeks doesn't lie.
"Alright. Let's go."
And then she grabs my hand and we take off running like a pair of bandits, not even stopping to say anything to her mom before we're out of the building. I don't know where we'll go, exactly, since we don't have any money, but at least we have a few hours all to ourselves. I just hope I will be able to distract Croix enough so that she's a little more relaxed when she meets her birth mother.
A/N: Well, what do you think of Mellea? Let me know with a review! And also follow/favorite if you havem't, it really helps a lot. Also, on a side note, I kinda headcanon Croix as being in the autistic spectrum, probably asperger, so if you noticed some of the symptoms described by her mom, kudos to you! See you in two weeks.
Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.
