Hey, back with the second chapter. It's a bit slow right now, but I hope you enjoy what I'm writing here. Would love to hear your opinions on this chapter!

Chapter 2: Something old, something faded.

Croix turned the key to her apartment, and walked in with Chariot's hand in hers. The woman was confused, looking around, trying to remember what was supposed to be her home.

The lilac haired witch's heart would have been more broken if she wasn't feeling numb right now. Chariot held her hand, but did she remember how their hands would fit together, how their fingers would intertwine?

The redhead stood there, almost scared. She moved just a little closer to her, and looked up to meet her eyes.

However, Chariot felt a pain in her chest, when she saw the heartbroken look she was receiving.

"This… is home." Croix said with a low voice, before leading her to the couch so they could talk.

The two sat in silence, neither of them knowing what to say.

Croix was sinking in the couch, while Chariot was still trying to grasp into anything, that she could remember.

One was scared, the other was broken.

"So… You're my wife?" Chariot finally asked, as she glanced between their matching rings.

"Yeah, we've been married for seven years now."

"Oh, wow… That's…" She laughed nervously. "That's a lot." She said, looking down at her lap, nervous. "I don't remember anything, but at least I have a pretty wife." She mumbled, but Croix heard her, and could only smile sadly.

"She is suffering from Amnesia." The doctor said, while Croix was just sitting there, in shock. "I know this is hard on you, but you must be patient."

"Will she ever remember?" Croix asked, too weak to even raise her head to look at the man.

"I can't promise you anything, but I suggest you try and help her. Perhaps showing her familiar things, or taking her to places she's been to could jog her memory? You also need to keep a distance from her, to her you're just a stranger now."

Just a stranger…

"You already heard this, but you are a witch. You are a professor at Luna Nova, a school for witches where we both studied in." Croix explained. "You have a familiar who is not here at the moment and a polar bear as a friend."

"A polar bear?" Chariot gave her a look. She looked down for a moment, confused, then took a strand of her hair, moving it around her finger. "I'm sorry I can't remember anything. I… what kind of person was I? Am I a good wife? It's… a little strange waking up with no memory of anything, then finding out I've been married for 7 years." She chuckled, then loosely hugged herself. "It's a little scary, not knowing anything."

The lilac haired witch moved closed to her, and reached out to hug her, only to stop and rest her hand on her shoulder instead. She gave her the best smile she could master while feeling the way she did.

"You're the kindest person I've ever met, Chariot. You have a heart of gold, and you've always made me happy." Croix said. "Don't worry about anything, just rest for now. The doctor told me to make sure you are well rested and fed, let's not make him scold me, alright?" She playfully winked, bringing a smile out of the redhead.

"I do feel a bit tired, yeah."

"You're not in pain, are you?"

"No, I'm fine." Chariot smiled, then glanced between her hands and the witch's eyes. "Are you okay?"

"I am. You should rest now." Croix said. "I love yo-" She stopped herself, biting the inside of her cheek. "I'm sorry. I'll show you the rooms."

Chariot later settled on the bed, her bed… She ran a hand on the sheets, the fabric feeling familiar to her, just like the way the room smelled.

She opened her closet, and frowned when she couldn't recognize which clothes belonged to her, and which ones to her wife.

Her wife…

Chariot did not know what to do. She remembered nothing, and she was in this house that was supposed to be her home, with this woman who was supposed to be her wife and…

She knew neither of them.

Meanwhile, Croix stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom, both her hands resting on the sides of the sink. She washed her face for what could be the tenth time, hoping to wake up from the nightmare she was having, but every time she splashed the cold water against her skin, the realization that this was reality only hit harder.

Chariot, the most important person in her life... Had no clue who she was.

Oh how she wanted to cry.

This must be her karma catching up to her, as if no matter how much she would try to redeem herself and fix her past mistakes, nothing could ever repay her debts.

What a fool she was…

Her phone started buzzing, and she picked it up absentmindedly.

"Professor Croix! I've been trying to call you all day!"

Oh… It was Akko.

Croix's eyes widened because oh, it WAS Akko. She rubbed her temples and groaned softly, hoping the brunette didn't hear her. She had to tell her, but how?

"I was hoping you and professor Ursula could help me with something but none of you was answering the-"

"Akko." She cut her off, gathering all the courage she had.

You would think that this would be easy considering how she once told her that Chariot's show is what took her magic away.

That was a lifetime ago…

"What?"

"Chariot has amnesia."

A solid ten seconds has passed.

"What…?"

"She doesn't remember anything. She doesn't remember us, or the time she spent with us…" Croix's voice started cracking, and she hated how weak she sounded. She didn't like anyone seeing her like this, not even Chariot. "I… I don't know what to do."

"Holy shiny Chariot…" Akko breathed in, not sure how to take this information. "We will figure it out, okay? We'll get her memories back!"

"What if she doesn't get them back?"

"Don't think about that! We'll get them back!" The brunette said. "I will come to you right now!"

"No, don't come!" The lilac haired witch quickly said. "Not today, maybe tomorrow… I'm tired, and Chariot is trying to adjust right now."

"Okay, then I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah…"

She hang up, and continued to wash her face, wishing the tears would stop, but knowing that once they started coming down there was no stopping them.

That night, she had the worst sleep she's ever had since her first day in prison.

She felt cold and alone, and no amount of blankets could warm her. She slept on the couch, insisting that Chariot should take the bed. It would be weird to sleep on their bed when they're basically strangers now.

Their bed…

Little did she know that she wasn't the only one having a hard time.

The redhead kept rolling around her bed, restless. She kept trying to reach out for something that wasn't there, a warm body to hug, an embrace to feel safe in.

She found nothing, so she just hugged her pillow.

The two didn't sleep that well.

When the morning came, Chariot was the first one to wake up. She groaned, still feeling a small headache from yesterday. She looked around the room again, hoping to remember it, but nothing came back.

She turned to the empty space near her on the bed, and a feeling of emptiness grew in her chest.

She looked away, not sure what to make of those feelings.

She walked outside the room, and spotted her… wife, sleeping on the couch, with the blanket knocked off her.

The redhead walked towards her, careful not to make any noise. She pulled the blanket, and covered her again. The lilac haired witch moved a bit, but didn't wake up.

She was grimacing in her sleep, as if seeing a nightmare.

Chariot moved her hand towards her face, cupping her cheek as she watched the witch struggled.

Should she wake her up? Should she let her sleep and the nightmare will just go away?

What would she even say if she woke her up? She knew nothing about her, nothing that could comfort her.

She didn't know this woman.

Yet this same woman relaxed at her touch, and at that sight, Chariot pulled her hand away as if she's been struck by lightning.

She stared at her own hand, at her ring, and touched it.

She felt conflicted.

She sighed, and decided to move and do something. Perhaps making breakfast would take her mind off things? Croix wouldn't mind, right?

This was her home too, so why was she wondering if it's okay?

...Then again, she didn't remember anything about her 'home'.

When it was Croix's turn to wake up, she woke up to the familiar smell of breakfast, and for a moment, she wondered if the previous day was all a nightmare.

However, the more she let consciousness sink in, the more she realized that she wasn't in her bed, but instead sleeping on the couch, alone...

She sat up, and scratched her already messy hair, before moving to the kitchen and standing at the door.

She watched Chariot cook, as if nothing had changed.

She knew that everything has though. The doctor told her not to get her hopes up, that while Chariot lost her memories, she still remembered the everyday things, and maybe even habits.

She wondered if she hugged her from behind like she always did, would she push her away? Or would she lean in, her body remembering her touch.

Croix rubbed her temples.

What was she thinking? Perhaps she should wash her face first.

Before she could leave, Chariot turned around, and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw her.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" She asked, taking her apron off. "I… thought I would make breakfast, I'm sorry."

Croix forced a smile, but it couldn't reach her eyes.

"What are you apologizing for? This is your house." She said, and put a hand on her shoulder, reassuring her. "Besides, the food smells great. Thank you." She said, before walking away.

Her smile changed into a pained expression, and Chariot put her hand where the woman's was, and felt conflicted at how colder she felt without her touch.

When the two sat for breakfast, the world was silent. It wasn't the usual comfortable silence, no, it was one that was filled with guilt, fear, doubt and tension.

It was something that Croix didn't expect to feel again, not after they made amends.

Sometimes, silence can kill more than words or actions could ever do.

"Did you sleep okay?" Croix asked, her eyes staring at their untouched food. Chariot, who was poking her food, looked up at her in surprise.

"Oh, uhm… more or less." She answered, thinking that it would be useless to lie to someone who's known her for seven years or more. "You?"

"More or less." Her 'wife' answered right away.

"I'm… I'm sorry." The redhead apologized, and leaned back into her chair. She noticed how the other witch's unfocused eyes suddenly shot up to her in worry, and it only made her worse.

"Why are you sorry? I chose to sleep on the couch-"

"Not that." Chariot answered. "Although, I'm sorry for that too." She sighed, trying to keep her gaze on those emerald eyes, but whenever she tried to, she felt something pulling her in, and it scared her. "I'm sorry for putting you in this position."

That was when the older witch realized what she was talking about.

She took a deep breath.

"It wasn't your fault, Chariot. I should have, convinced you to just stay in bed." She ran a hand through her short hair, and closed her eyes. "We'll figure this out, okay? We'll get your memories back in time."

"What if it doesn't work? What if I don't remember?" Chariot asked, her hands clenched into fists under the table. "I don't remember anything, or anyone. It's scary, and even though you're my wife I… don't know you." She said, and after a moment of silence, realization hit her. Her eyes shot wide and she covered her mouth. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

Croix stood up. Her expression was hard to read, as she walked towards the redhead. Without saying a word, she reached her hand out for her, waiting for the younger witch to take it.

Chariot hesitated, trying to read those emerald eyes. However, she didn't even realize her hand moving to hold hers, like it was something that she had done so many times that it became an instinct to reach out to touch her, to feel her warm and slightly rough palm on her skin, and think about how much they fit together like two missing pieces of a puzzle finding each other.

Her mind was screaming stranger danger.

Her body was saying otherwise.

That alone, made the conflict inside her louder.

Croix held her hand tightly, but not tight enough to hurt her. It was tight enough to keep her from slipping away.

"We're going on a little trip." Croix finally said, leading her outside the kitchen.

She grabbed two coats, handing one of them to Chariot, and wearing the other one herself. She took her traditional broom and looked back at her… wife.

Chariot held into the coat, both confused and concerned. She was vulnerable, with no knowledge of most things around her.

"Where are we going?" She asked, with a low tone.

"I'm going to show you around, and at the same time, you can ask me anything." Croix answered, reaching to take her hand again, and the redhead's moved to meet it halfway.

She looked at their hands, and at the ring in her own, and whispered a simple 'okay'.

"Once we're flying, hold on tight and don't let go, okay?"

Chariot held the hand tighter.

"Okay."