Chapter 49: History and traditions.

After we (mainly me, to be honest) finished working on the potion, I divided it in various flasks and delivered them to the many viticulturists of the area, who all thanked me profusely, with some even gifting me wine, cheese, grapes and various fresh products from the region. I told them it wasn't necessary, but they insisted, saying it was an honor to receive the Red Witch's services. Honestly, I was more than a little overwhelmed, but in a good way. I think I could get used to it…

On the way back, Croix remarked once again how she envied me for growing up in a community so accepting and, more importantly, dependent on magic. I guess it's one of the perks of living without technology; magic is used to solve almost any problem.

And of course, I can't wait to see the results of my efforts, so today, early in the morning, I will be taking Croix with me to watch the vineyards; according to my mother's recipe, it should only take a little over eight hours for the potion to take effect, and so they should be completely covered in green leaves now.

After that, we'll come back for my aunt and go to Paris to celebrate my birthday, tell her we'll go back to Luna Nova around dusk and after she leaves… then we'll find a hotel. Hopefully. If everything goes according to plan and I don't chicken out.

"Croix." I knock on the guest room, which is thankfully next to mine. "Are you ready? I want to be back before noon, and for that we'll have to leave now."

"One second!" She calls from the inside, and her words are then followed by a dull thud, a curse, and then the sound of something falling.

"Are you okay?" I ask concerned, though knowing Croix she probably already made a mess of her room and is now having trouble finding something.

"Y-yeah, just let me… aha!" She exclaims, confirming my suspicions, before I hear her getting closer to the door and opening it to reveal… wow. Just… wow.

Croix is wearing tight fitting black jeans, a sleeveless white top, and a red flannel shirt over it. I can see she also applied some pink lipstick over her lips, and I feel like I just may faint on the spot, since she really is rocking the sexy lesbian look.

"So… I left you speechless, huh?" She teases, an odious smirk appearing on her face as she pushes her bangs up with her fingers, in a gesture so deadly attractive it should come with a warning.

"I-I… uh… I…" I stutter, uselessly trying to form a coherent sentence as I ogle her sexy figure, accentuated by her tight clothes (unlike those she usually wears) and the red shirt she has… obviously resembling the color of my hair. She's making me feel underdressed with my simple blue jeans and white sweater with pink stripes.

"Come on, Cherry, let's go." She says, placing her right arm around my shoulders in a way that makes my legs turn to jelly, and all I can do to not fall to the ground like a useless pile of gay trash is hold onto Croix's waist. "You did say you wanted to be back early, right?"

"R-right." I stutter, trying to stop my heart from breaking my ribs in pieces. "I… uh… I-I even convinced Alcor to take us for a quick fly before we take a stroll around the vineyards." I mentally pat myself on the back for successfully making a coherent sentence.

"How did you do that?" She asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Between the spells on my mom's old book there was a recipe for crow food." I explain. "I made a bit and he liked it, so I promised to feed him with it for the rest of his life if he took us for a ride."

"I see." She chuckles, leading me downstairs. "And here I thought it would be easier to work on a battery capable of storing magic energy, so we could take our brooms."

"Did you manage to make it?" I ask curiously, remembering how she spent most of the time I was working on the potion playing around with her mechanical contraptions.

"Something like that." She shrugs with a grimace, obviously displeased. "Your natural-energy rocks helped a bit, but they're not enough to store energy for more than two spells per battery, which is only double as what's in the spellstones. So about five kilometers of flying." She sighs. "About ten times less than I was expecting."

"Oh, I see…" I say, aware of how frustrated she can get when things don't go her way.

"But it will be enough to fly around for a bit, if Alcor really doesn't want to carry me." She adds, a little bit too eagerly. After all, the displeasure between them is mutual.

"We can take your broom." I answer with an understanding smile. "I bet Alcor would prefer to fly around on his own anyways."

Just as I finish saying this, we arrive to the front door, but Croix stops before we can get out, making me look at her with a questioning gaze.

"Uhm, by the way…" She starts as she reaches inside her pocket before extending her hand towards me and presenting a little white box with a red bow on top. "Happy Birthday."

I gasp. I wasn't really expecting her to give me something. At least not this early in the morning, and especially not because she promised me a night in one of Paris' hotels, which can't be cheap, but this is nonetheless a heartwarming gesture, regardless of what's inside.

"Thank you." I say as I carefully take it. "You didn't have to…"

"Of course I did." She chuckles. "What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't give you anything for your birthday?" She then uses her arm to pull me even closer and plant a kiss on my forehead. "Besides, it's really nothing compared to what'll come tonight."

The implication behind her words, as well as the sultry tone in which she says them, and the proximity we're in, makes me blush heavily while fighting to remain composed enough to open the gift.

I lift off the lid and peer inside the box, to see there's a… huh? A… black cube? What?

"Touch it." She encourages me.

I do so, curious about what this could truly be, and as my finger comes in contact with it, it suddenly starts floating, shining with a green light before taking the form of two girls flying on a broom as, at the same time, a sweet melody starts playing, though it sounds like it comes from a music box. Then, the girls on the broom start flying around me, leaving a trail of light and making complicated acrobatics, before exploding in front of me in a show of magical fireworks that spell something in the air: Happy Birthday Chariot.

I blush once more as a big smile appears on my face, totally mesmerized from what I'm seeing.

"C-Croix…" I manage to say, struggling with words to describe all the wonderful emotions I'm feeling because of her little gift. "This is…"

"Yes, my magic cubes." She interrupts me, smirking. "Not exactly my most useful invention, but I've been working on it for a while. I know how much you love flashy magic."

Unable to properly express my gratitude for all she's done for me, or voice with words how much I liked her present, I simply end up throwing myself into her arms, clinging to her neck as I fervently press my lips against her.

"I love you too." I say against her mouth while I keep kissing her with as much enthusiasm as I can muster. Which is a lot, to be honest. Her hands soon come to rest on my hips as she pulls me closer and responds to my kiss, giggling slightly at my eagerness.

"Chariot." She mumbles between kisses. "Shouldn't we be going now?"

"Just one more kiss." I answer, pulling her even closer and not having the smallest intention of letting her go any time soon. That is, until we hear a knock on the door.

Separating in an instant, we turn to look at the locked door wearing equally confused gazes. After all, who would come here so early in the morning to see my aunt? Especially knowing Daneb isn't really a morning person.

Still, I shrug and go to open the door. And what I come to see is… wow. The entire population of this region is outside the door, the major being the one who knocked, and they're all wearing equally angry expressions. Oh no. What did I do this time?

"G-good morning?" I stutter out, forcing a smile to appear on my face.

"Red Witch." The major says, but instead of pronouncing it as a reverenced title, he says it almost like an insult, and I wince. "It appears like something went wrong with the potion you gave us!" All the other people mumble in agreement, shooting me angry glares that make me cower slightly in fear.

"I-I… uhm… I'm sorry? I'm still learning. I'd never made that potion before." I say, my eyes begging them to understand.

"Then you should have said it before accepting our payment!" The major yells, his voice red with anger. "Now our plants are dying and their roots are growing out the ground with weird glowing things attached!"

"W-what?" I ask, backing up one step before colliding with someone as I feel an arm being wrapped around my shoulders. I turn my head and see that, as expected, Croix is now by my side, no doubt having come after hearing the yelling, despite not knowing what they're talking about.

"What's going on here?" She asks, a scowl forming on her face; one so scary that I wouldn't be surprised if all these viticulturists backed down just from seeing it. "Why are you bothering my girlfriend in her birthday, no less?"

I'm about to gently remind her that these people don't understand English when, suddenly, a thick root comes out of ground in front of my door, making everyone jump back in fear as it separates us from the locals. Just as they said, the top of that root has a weird-looking glowing cocoon with six spikes sprouting from it. From the looks of it, it's absorbing the nutrients from the roots, which is why, I imagine, the plants around my house look like fall came early.

"Murowa!" Croix exclaims, and a bolt of green energy sprouts from her wand, hitting the cocoon, which instantly turns black and loses its glow, revealing a turquoise six-pointed star at its center.

After a moment of silent shock, the viticulturists start clapping politely before the major smiles and speaks again.

"Very well, it seems you do have a means of getting rid of these vermin." He says, his gaze alternating between Croix and me. "So, since you caused this problem, you will solve it."

"I'd be happy to." I answer, eager to correct my mistakes. "But that spell only works on one target or, at its most powerful, a handful of them. I need time to do some research and figure out a more effective cure."

"Take all the time you need." He assures me. "But remember, you're not leaving until you solve this." To emphasize his point, he goes and takes our brooms, which were parked next to my door. "I'm going to keep these as guaranty." He turns around and starts walking away, but before he can even take three steps, I hear Croix's angry voice.

"Hey, those are our brooms, you bastard!" As she raises her wand to cast, no doubt, a nasty spell, I manage to react in time and push her arm, redirecting the spell to the side where it hits and makes the ground freeze with large icy crystals. The people gasp and whisper and the major turns around to glare at us before noticing that I was the one who saved him and giving me a warning glare before walking away once more.

In turn, the mob that had formed at my doorstep starts dispersing slowly, though some shoot me weary and angry glares, like they doubt I will be able to get them out of this mess I accidentally provoked. Some even whisper things like "That's why magic is dying." Or "I knew there was a reason witches were hunted." Which just makes my blood boil in anger, both at them and at myself. I managed to tarnish the Red Witch title and to make them lose faith in magic, when all I wanted was the exact opposite. But then again, that's the story of my life, isn't it?

"Who do they think they are?" Croix spats. "No one ruins my girlfriend's birthday and gets away with it!"

"Croix." I call, stopping her before she can chase them. "I ruined my own birthday. By making a potion I wasn't ready for."

"These things are parasites; your potion had nothing to do with it." She retorts, glaring at the dying cocoon. "If anything, I'd say your potion worked a little too well and these bugs benefited from it instead."

"Still. I promised I would fix this, so now I'll have to try and get rid of these things." I answer, knowing it's the right thing to do even if the last thing I want to be doing in my birthday is fighting against a horde of magical cocoons. Not when I had planned to have a nice evening in Paris.

"But Chariot, what about our date? We had the whole day planned out!" She practically whines, and I do feel bad when I see her cute little pout that she so rarely makes. Yet… this is something I can't relent on. It's something bigger than me, than my birthday, and even than my relationship with Croix.

"I can't let them down! I can't tarnish the legacy of my family, and the name of the Red Witch!" I answer, surprising myself with the vehemence of my own voice, but realizing this feeling is very much real; that after yesterday I feel more connected to my ancestors than ever and that, if I were to flee without doing my duty, I would be letting them down.

"My ancestors managed to keep the faith and respect of a whole community even after the fall of magic, and I won't be the one who ends their legacy." I voice out my thoughts, determined, as I gaze intently into Croix's eyes, which remain confused and exasperated for a moment before she closes them and sighs.

"How can I even argue with that?" She complains. "I suppose I have no choice but to help you then." Croix then adds, a small smile appearing on her face as she looks at me again. "After all, it would be irresponsible of me to discourage you now that you've finally displayed some sense of duty."

"Great! Then let's go! I'm sure my grandma had some books about the magical plagues of the region." I exclaim excitedly as I grab her hand and practically drag her inside the house.

"Shouldn't we tell your aunt about this first? I bet she won't be happy when she finds out we're not going to Paris."

I just groan in response.


After telling my aunt about everything that happened and stopping her from starting a war against the entirety of France's viticulturists, Croix and I went to my study to try and find a book that talked about the problem we're facing. Unfortunately, even if there aren't many books, most are old, dirty and missing some pages, which makes the search more difficult. They are also in French which requires a constant use of translation spells from Croix.

We've been here for about an hour now, and just when I'm about to suggest we take a break, Croix calls my name. Relieved to have something to distract me for a while, I go sit next to her and look at what she has in her hands. It's a big book with a green leather cover and golden ornaments resembling branches on its borders. At the center there's a four-pointed star under some lunar runes I can't understand.

"What is it?" I ask. I don't remember having seen that particular book before.

"I don't know." Croix answers with a slight frown. "I can't open it; it seems to be under some sort of spell." To prove her point, she grips the margins with both of her hands and tugs as hard as she can, but it's like the thing is glued by the most powerful glue in existence, as it doesn't bulge at all.

"Huh. That's weird." I comment before going to take the book from her hands. "Let me try it."

Funnily enough, when I grab the book, it doesn't offer any resistance, and instead opens up like a normal book, revealing a page full of lunar runes and with an illustration of some kind of plant.

"Ah. Blood magic." Croix hums in understanding. "I hadn't seen it in a while. That thing must be really important."

"I wonder if it has the answers we need." I say as I scan the pages with my eyes, soon enough realizing that everything is written in lunar runes, obviously drawn by hand, and it smells of old. It must be pretty ancient. And I also can't understand a thing, so I turn the pages in hopes of finding something readable, until I stop to look at a familiar scene: Luna Nova. More specifically the North Campus, or an illustration of it. There's even a bear similar to Arcas there, sitting obediently behind a woman with a pointy hat that has the four-pointed star symbol on it.

"What is this?" I ask out loud, as if the book could answer me. But, surprisingly enough, suddenly my vision turns white before my mind is invaded by a collection of fragments of memories that definitely aren't mine.


I'm standing on a circle composed of eight other witches plus me, all wearing different hats with their house's emblems on them. We're chanting some sort of spell, and as we keep going, I can feel the power being amplified inside my body before it pours into my rod.

I'm at Luna Nova, next to the Arc of Intelligence, looking down at a small polar bear that barely knows how to walk, but that is already threatening a student who was trying to get too close to the fountain of Polaris. I step in then, ready to fight if necessary.

I'm in a classroom, much larger and newer than the ones there are at Luna Nova, though the style is exactly the same. I'm teaching the students about the constellations, emphasizing how the original magic from old times was infinite because it came from the stars, which is why it's so important to learn astronomy.

I'm running away as fast as I can through a thick forest. I'm surrounded by a bunch of Luna Nova students who all tower over me. I can hear screams in the distance and, when I turn around for just a second, I see fire coming from a building far behind us, and smoke rising to the night sky.

I'm on my own house; on my own studio. But it's a lot emptier and most of the books in there aren't about magic, but about astronomy. I see two other people in there; an older woman with bright red hair and a priest, and the woman is trying to convince him that we're not witches.

I'm in the middle of a field, wearing black robes and an equally black hat. There's a multitude of people around me. They all seem to be displeased, but only one of them dares to confront me, pointing to the dying plants in front of me, and the glowing cocoons that are starting to sprout from the ground. Smiling, I pronounce a simple spell.

"Papillio Fillio Nymphodya."

The whole field is illuminated, as far as the eye can see and, instantly, the cocoons open and from them emerge human-sized magical butterflies, who all take off to the sky in a happy dance that brings hope to my heart.


I open my eyes and see I'm in my studio again. I blink a few times and turn around; upon seeing Croix, I realize I'm in present time once again. And by her questioning expression, I assume she noticed something was off.

What's up with those memories anyways? They seem to be a recollection of my family's history. But at least they also showed me what I was searching for in the first place; how to deal with the cocoons.

"Chariot? Are you okay?" Croix's voice snaps me out of my thoughts.

"Y-yeah." I respond, still a little shaken from what I saw. "Just… I think this is a magical book."

"You don't say?" She raises an eyebrow, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"No, I mean… it showed me things. Memories from my ancestors." I clarify.

"I see… so that's why it was sealed with blood magic." She hums, taking it from my hands and watching as it automatically closes with a loud thud. "It's a Recorder."

"A what?" Of course I would have no knowledge of such a thing.

"A Recorder is an enchanted book, something the ancient families of witches used to keep track of their family members and their prowess with magic." She explains. "This practice fell in disuse when the Golden Era of magic came to be and many new magic families were formed, for many saw those who possessed a Recorder as purists who didn't agree with the inclusion of people from non-magical backgrounds."

"Oh. I see." I answer, eying the old thing, and wondering if my family members were that sort of people; who disagreed with the creation of new magic families… no. No, something in my heart tells me that wasn't the case. I'm sure they even helped many people to become witches.

"I bet even your small accomplishments have already been recorded." Croix teases, handing me the book. "Wanna see?"

Curious, I open the book again and turn the pages until I arrive to the very last, where there's an illustration of me holding the shiny rod; four of the gems shining and the other three still waiting to be awakened. Huh. I wonder is this illustration will be updated as I keep finding the words.

I turn the page, trying to see if there's something else, but no; the back of the page is completely blank, and it's the last one of the book. Damn. It sure would be helpful if this thing could tell, not only the past, but also the future. That way I'd know what to do now…

Wait. I do know what to do now! That weird spell the book showed me!

"Croix, I think we've spent enough time in here." I say as I stand up and dust off my jeans. "There's a spell I have to try."


A/N: So... we continue with Chariot and Croix's adventures in France XD. Next chapter will be the last of this arc, so please follow if you don't want to miss it, and leave a review/favorite if you're liking the story so far. Thanks for reading!

Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.