Chapter 38: Mayenab disheebudo.
I'm running. Running as fast as I can towards my room, where I hope to get some peace and quiet to reflect about what happened and find a solution to the problem I caused.
By the looks of it, Enid and I managed to make a love potion instead of a love-rekindling potion due to us mistaking a Lovestool for a Loveshroom. And then I dropped it in a jar and most of the school drank it, which means they fell in love with the first person they saw. And it seems at least four people fell for me, which makes sense given I was the closest to the jar.
It almost resulted in war there, with everyone getting jealous of each other.
And while that is certainly concerning, it's still not as disturbing as realizing that I didn't drink the lemonade, so what I felt when Croix kissed me was very much real and not induced by any kind of magic whatsoever. And… I don't know what to make of that.
Sure, I felt pleasure like nothing I'd ever experienced. But I was also nervous and scared to bits. My mind was a mess; I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think and I couldn't move. I had never kissed anyone before either, so I don't know if that's how I would have felt if it had been with anyone else, or if… I don't know. I don't want to even think about the possibility, but it would explain a lot.
What if… maybe, could it be that I… I'm in love with Croix?"
At the mere thought I inhale sharply while my heart fights to get out of my chest, and I end up stumbling and almost falling to the ground. I have to lean against the wall for support since my legs turned to jelly, and my hand flies to cover my mouth so I don't let out an embarrassed squeak.
I've never given love much thought to be honest. Not in the romantic sense. I figured I would experience it someday, but I also thought it'd come much later in the future. I also never considered the possibility of me falling for a girl, much less my best friend. My sassy best friend who is also the most intelligent, and kind, and downright wonderful person I know.
Gosh, it makes a lot of sense, doesn't it? I've been obsessed over Croix pretty much since the moment I met her. I enjoy her company more than anyone else's. I crave her touch and her closeness. But… I thought that was just a best friend thing! I mean, I never had real friends before, so there was no real point of comparison.
Yet it turns out it was… love?
In some other circumstances I'd be ecstatic. I'd fully embrace my feelings. I'd jump and cheer and make a plan for confessing my undying love to her in the most romantic and over the top manner I could think of. In other circumstances I wouldn't fear rejection so much. Because, how can I ask for her love after forcing her to kiss me? To confess something that's not even real in such a manner? Sure, it was an accident, but maybe that just makes it worse. I'm the worst witch in this academy and she's the best; there's not even a point of comparison. How could she ever love me?
"Chariot, my love!" Someone's voice pulls me out of my thoughts. I turn at the sound of someone calling my name in such a manner, stupidly wishing it was Croix, only to feel a chill running down my spine when I see Karen, Enid and Anaid running towards me as they fight with each other.
"There you are!" Enid says. "Chariot, please tell these two fools that I'm your one true love!"
"What?" Anaid yells indignantly. "I am her one true love."
"No way!" Karen says, and soon enough they are at each other's throats, fighting over me once again.
Oh, that's right! I don't have time to worry about my feelings right now. I have to find a solution to this big problem I got myself into. But how? When these three (and soon Croix too, no doubt) will keep finding me and being a big distraction! Maybe I should just tell one of the teachers and let them worry about it.
No. I'd probably get expelled. I could also just ask Lukić about the cure to the love potion… but that would be too suspicious, especially if she's seen someone acting weirdly today. Huh. I guess I'll have to take the long way… but that doesn't mean I have to do it alone.
"Girls, stop!" I interfere, putting myself between them to separate them before they kill each other. "I need to do something, and I promise I will love whoever helps me out with it."
"I'll do it!" Karen is the first one to agree, though the other two quickly do the same with a lot more enthusiasm than they'd usually do, each claiming they'll surpass the others.
I smile. It looks like I'll be able to turn this situation into my favor.
I sigh heavily as I close yet another dusty old book and put it aside. We've been here for hours and we haven't found anything about love potions… which is not surprising. Considering the school is filled to the bridge with hormonal teenagers, I'd say it was wise of our teachers to not leave such information just laying around. The only reason Enid knew the recipe was because her older sister taught it to her once she discovered Enid had a Loveshroom.
But at least there should be something about the antidote, no? I mean, it's not like it can do any harm, can it?
"Chariot." Enid whines, throwing away another useless book. "Maybe we should just give up and do something fun instead? I can think of a couple of things." She winks, and I just shake my head in amusement. Even under the effects of a powerful love potion, Enid is still the same lazy and mischievous girl.
"I'm sorry Enid, but I need to find the antidote!" I reason, though I have to admit that it's tempting to just retire and hope the potion wears itself off. But then I remember that all my friends were affected by it, and it would be unfair of me to let them suffer because of my mistakes… especially since it all could have been avoided if I had just come and check in the library if we really had a Loveshroom instead of a Lovestool. Or if I had been more patient with Croix in the first place.
"What if we just ask that old crow of yours?" Anaid suggests, trying to be more useful than her sister. "He may know something."
"If I knew something I would have already told you!" Alcor protests as he lands at the table, bringing with him another scroll about potions. "Believe me, I like being coped up in the library as much as you do."
"You're all so whiny!" Karen says as she comes to sit at my side… rather close, may I add. I discreetly scoot away from her. "I, for once, am glad that Chariot is finally trying to learn something useful about magic."
"Uh… thanks?" I say when she keeps staring at me, like awaiting an answer.
"You'll thank me when I share this with you." She grins, handing me a book.
"Karen, I found that information for you!" Amelia (who found us when we were making our way to the library) says with the face of an exited puppy. Considering how shy and reserved she usually is, that's a sight to behold. I wished I had a camera. "Will you kiss me now?"
"Not now, Amelia." Karen answers rather coldly as she pushes her away.
"Oh. Okay." She deflates.
"Anyways, as I was saying…" Karen continues, pointing to a line on the book. "The love potion usually wears itself off after sometime between a day and a month, depending on the person who drank it, the quantity taken and how fresh the Lovestool was, as well as if they had some sort of emotional connection with the other person before drinking the potion."
"I can't wait a month for it to wear off!" I protest. "Luna Nova will descend into chaos… more than it already has, that is."
"In that case, the love potion has only one known cure; the nullification potion." She keeps explaining. "It's a very powerful thing that can negate the effects of any known potion, spell or curse."
"So… like Luna Lana." Anaid adds. "Only it's a potion instead of a spell."
"And sounds incredibly difficult to brew, much less by the worst student in the academy." I add, feeling like the entire weight of world has just been placed on my shoulders. But I can't give up! My friends need my help.
"It's not that hard." Karen tries to lift up my spirits, though considering she's the top student of my generation, I doubt her opinion about the difficulty of something and mine are exactly the same. "Look, all you need is a siren's scale, a pegasus' feather, the tongue of a heraldic dragon, two mimosa leaves, three snail's eyes and… a rainy mushroom picked from a witch's circle."
"Most of those ingredients are in Lukić's lab, right?" I ask, hopeful.
"Well… I mean, I have a Pegasus as a familiar, so I can take care of the feather. And the school must have mimosa leaves and snail eyes in abundance, but…" she trails off, unwilling to admit we are still missing a thing or two.
"There should be sirens at the lake near the school." Enid gets into the conversation. "If you asked, I could totally get one of their scales for you." She drops her arm around my shoulders as she says this, but I discreetly pick it up by her sleeve using two of my fingers and set it away, feeling uncomfortable.
"That would be great Enid, thanks!" I force a smile.
"Oh! I can get the tongue of a heraldic dragon!" Anaid chirps in, forcibly placing herself between me and her twin. "I know for a fact that Karabá lives in a place where such creatures are pretty common, so if she doesn't have one, she at least must know how to get it!"
"That's great, Anaid!" I exclaim happily. "Thank you so much for helping me."
"Now all that is left is the rainy mushroom." Karen intervenes, adopting a thoughtful expression. "Their water-absorbent properties are legendary, but when they grow in a witch's circle they gain the ability to absorb magic as well."
"Which is why it's used for this potion." I muse out loud.
"Exactly! You're learning, Char." Karen praises me, and I can't help puffing out my chest a little. "But they only appear on rainy days near areas overflown with magic, and most commonly on forests."
"Great." I sigh, looking at the clear sky outside the window. Still, I know what has to be done. "I'll go get it. I'll meet you at Lukić's lab when I'm done."
I have to take a few minutes to recall the weather-altering spell, but after what feels like a thousand tries, I'm able to make it rain in Luna Nova. Then, I pull the hoodie of my uniform over my head and, using my wand to make a magic umbrella, I set off to the forest to find the rainy mushroom.
The thing itself is very easy to distinguish if you know exactly what you're looking for; a white cap with bluish-grey lamella. Not to be confused by the mudshroom, which is white with grey lamella, so I have to be very careful about that. More so, not all of them grow in witches' circles; only those who have been exposed to magic over a prolonged period of time. Besides, the book said they emerge from the earth about three hours after the first drops of water fall to the ground. And not even twenty minutes have passed yet! And I'm already trembling because of the cold and tired of looking around without finding anything.
"Maybe you could fly around and see if you can find the mushroom." I tell Alcor, who is safely hidden inside the shiny rod.
And get my feathers wet? No, thank you. He answers telepathically. Perhaps you should have waited inside the school during the three hours the mushrooms take to emerge.
"I'd love to, but I have to keep the storm raging." I sigh. "And besides, I can search for a witches' circle meanwhile and just hope one of the emerging mushrooms is the one I need."
That said, I resume my search. I take the time to stop and inspect each and every mushroom I find in the way (and there's a lot) to see if they are the one I need, but even though I end up finding more than a couple of rainy mushrooms, they're not growing in a witch's circle. And while the temptation of just grab them and be done with this is strong, I don't succumb, knowing that this is the most important ingredient and that my friends need my help. That Croix needs me.
I won't screw up again. I won't rush things, no matter what. I keep repeating inside my head as I traverse the woods, looking for this one rare ingredient. Soon, I finally find an emerging witches' circle, but the mushrooms are still the size of my little finger, and haven't opened completely, and Karen warned me that they had to be mature mushrooms for the potion to work. Plus, it's not like I can see the lamellas with their caps being closed.
I could go and search for another circle, but the risk of not finding anything and then having to, somehow, return here is too great, so I sit down and wait. One hour later all the mushrooms have opened, and none of them is a rainy mushroom.
I let tears of frustration fall down my cheeks as I toss aside the last mushroom I examined, but I still swallow the urge to give up, and just keep walking. I keep looking. I persevere despite everything and, two more hours later, I finally find a witch's circle with a rainy mushroom growing on it. I have to wait a few more minutes for it to open completely, however, and I'm proud to say that I resist (with a great deal of effort) the urge to just pluck it and run down to the school. Time is of the essence, after all; every minute I spend here my friends, or the other Luna Nova students for that matter, could be tearing each other apart in jealousy, or forcing themselves on each other, like Croix attempted to do with me. I need to hurry, yes, but I also can't if I want this to work out at the end, so… my only option is wait as the seconds and minutes tick by agonizingly.
As soon as the stupid mushroom opens up and releases its spores, I double-check its lamella and compare them to the illustration from the field guide I borrowed from the library. Only once I'm 200% percent sure I've got the correct one, I run with all my strength (yes, I even use Vega varulus) back to the school and into Lukić's lab.
"I'm here! I'm here!" I yell at my friends as I get in, holding up the shroom in question. Immediately, Karen rushes to prepare the cauldron and supervise as Enid, Anaid and I cut and grind the rest of the ingredients. Soon, we start putting them one by one in the cauldron as Karen stirs carefully, moving the scoop clockwise as the recipe says.
"How long will it take?" I ask impatiently once the last bit of mushroom is floating in the white concoction, eager to be done with this whole affair.
"Around half an hour." Karen answers, making a grimace. "You can go rest if you want; I'll gladly take care of this in your stead." She blushes. "I mean, it's not like it's a big deal or anything." She tries to amend with a somewhat cold tone of voice, but I find her to be truly adorable. Honestly, if I wasn't absolutely sure that Karen hates me when she isn't under the effects of a love potion, I'd think we could become friends.
"This is my mess. I should be the one to solve it." I counter.
"You know why this is taking ages?" Enid asks, eying the underside of the cauldron with narrowed eyes. "Because the fire is too small! Here, let me fix it." With one swift movement she raises her wand, instantly making the flames go wild, which makes bubbles starting to appear on the potion.
"No, wait!" Karen interferes, pulling out her own wand to counter what Enid just did, but then the later gets mad and attacks, casting a mild disarming spell that my roommate thankfully manages to evade.
"See, Chariot? She doesn't care about you enough to speed up this annoying process." Enid says, smirking when her opponent tenses up and also casts a spell at her.
"Shut up, you idiot! You don't know what you're talking about." Karen says.
"Hey, you two, get out of here with your stupid fights! You're disturbing Chariot!" Anaid steps in, narrowly avoiding one of Karen's attacks and then casting one of her own towards her.
"Two against my dear Karen? I won't allow this!" Amelia (who's been following her friend like a shadow) interferes, also casting spells against the twins. And soon enough the lab turns into a battlefield, with spells flying all around the room making things explode and burn and disappear as the four witches seem to be set on killing each other.
"Girls! Girls, please! Stop!" I try to keep them from hurting each other, but they are too engrossed in their battle and all I manage to do is end up with one of my sleeves catching fire.
This isn't good! The potion is getting cold, and it could be knocked over at any minute! I need to get out of here and to a place where I can finish the antidote as soon as possible. Only that will stop my friends. But there's only one place I can think off that's void of people for the most part… and Croix is there.
Oh, fuck it! Maybe she'll even help me.
I manage to shield the cauldron before a stray spell hits it, and then take it with my arms, as well as some firewood, and run away, going out to the courtyard and using my strengthening magic in order to get on the ceiling and onto the top of the Astronomy Tower, like I'd done in the morning, only carrying a cauldron instead of Croix. Once I'm there, instead of getting in, I start a fire on the ceiling, being careful that the flames aren't too big. I'm about to begin stirring when… Oh no. I forgot to bring the scoop! Well, I guess the shiny rod will do.
I lose the track of time as I keep stirring the potion, mixing it clockwise as Karen had been doing. One spin after another; I have to keep going until the potion turns a dark blue. It doesn't matter if my whole body feels like collapsing after such an excruciating day. It doesn't matter if I can hear the sounds of dozens of altercations down inside the main building. It doesn't matter how tedious it is to just keep on stirring softly without being able to do anything to speed up the process. All that matters now is that I have to keep going and have this potion ready in time. I get it now: patience is important!
In that instant, one of the gems starts shinning; the fourth one. I don't even pause to think, I just react instinctively, knowing this is all the result of my efforts throughout the day. Even if it all began due to my impatience, I've grown and matured thanks to these unfortunate events, just as Woodward said. And now… the fourth word is within my reach.
"Mayenab Dysheebudo!" I yell, relishing in the familiar sensation that spreads from my chest throughout my torso and limbs, making me forget momentarily about my fatigue.
Then, the shiny rod changes its shape, like when it turns into the shiny arc, only this time it becomes a… funnel? Well, it certainly looks like one. Though then it starts rotating, sucking in the potion that has now become dark blue in color, and then spray it through the air, making it spread across the whole school. The potion turns to mist and begins to settle around the exterior of the school, releasing anyone outside from the love potion's grip.
"Alcor, quick!" I call my familiar, who gets out of the shiny funnel in an instant. "Lure everyone in the school outside; I don't care how you do it, just…!"
"Right away!" He answers without missing a beat before flying away, while I stay kneeling on the ground and waiting for the potion to run out, though still like half of it remains in the recipient, soon to be released on the air. Still, I sigh in relief and let my shoulders relax slightly; this whole ordeal is almost over and now everything will finally go back to normal. I only hope all my friends are out while the potion is still in the air, especially Croix… I wonder where she is.
"So it really was you." I hear a voice behind me, and turn my head to see that, effectively, I'm not hallucinating; it really is my best friend, floating on a broom and getting soaked by the remedy I made.
"Croix!" I exclaim happily as I watch her be cured right in front of my eyes. "What are you doing out here?" I'm pretty sure Alcor hasn't had the time to check inside the Astronomy Tower and lure her out yet.
"I heard someone yelling and came to investigate." She shrugs, forcing a smile that ends up looking more like a grimace as she descends from her broom and goes to stand a few feet away from me.
"Tell me, did it work?!" I ask eagerly, pointing with my head towards the potion that is now just about to run out.
"A nullification potion?" She raises an eyebrow. "I see… you used it to combat the love potion, right? Very cleaver."
"It was Karen's idea." I blush at the praise, my heart going wild inside my chest and confirming my theory once more; I think I have a crush on her.
"Considering I'm not planning on murdering your friends for flirting with you like earlier, I'd say it was a success." She chuckles.
"Well, that's a relief!" I smile. "I certainly was scared I'd have to deal with its effects for another month or so."
I feel the shiny rod morphing in my hands once more, getting smaller and less rounded as it returns to its original form. As I look down, I realize that the potion has been completely depleted now, so I'm free to place the shiny rod on the ground and get up before facing Croix once again.
And despite the crisis being over now, despite the fourth word having been awakened, my friend looks miserable. Her posture is tense as she practically hugs her broom, her eyes are downcast, her brows furrowed, and her lips are pressed in a thin line.
"Croix?" I call in consternation.
"Sorry." She hastily says.
"What?" I ask, not understanding at all why she's apologizing. She did nothing wrong! If anything, I should be apologizing for getting us into this mess.
"I'm sorry." She closes her eyes shut. "About what I did to you. It was… wrong."
So that's what this is all about? Well, that's a relief! Croix, you silly, worrisome dork!
"It's okay." I easily dismiss the subject, taking a hesitant step towards Croix. "You were under the influence of the love potion. It wasn't really you."
"But that's the problem." She shoots back, sounding ten times as gloomy as usual, which is saying something. "It wasn't just the potion." She sighs, turning around so I'm now facing her back. "I wanted to keep this a secret, but I don't think I can continue lying to you. I'm sorry."
"Wait, Croix!" But my scream comes too late; she's already jumped off the ceiling while casting the levitation spell and is now flying on her broom to who-knows-where. She didn't even wait for a response! She didn't stick around to watch my reaction!
Though… now that I think about it, what can I say? That I return her feelings? I'm not sure I'm ready for that! I just started thinking seriously about falling in love today. I'm not ready to be in a romantic relationship. Plus, if I ever confess my feelings to her, I want to do it properly; on a romantic date that lasts all day and is the epitome of romanticism! But I bet she'll keep avoiding me like the plague until I confess… huh. I guess I have a new challenge ahead of me! But I shouldn't rush things. I'll have to remember today's lesson: to see things trough, patience is important.
A/N: Well, look at that! Four words down, two more to go (spoilers? XD). Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter because it's the last one I had already written, so... it might take me a little longer than usual to upload the next one. But don't worry, it'll come.
So, thanks for reading and please leave a review/favorite/follow if you like it. See you soon!
Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.
