Notes from the Author

Where I intentionally ignore the fact that Akko walked to Diana's house.

Chapter 9

Pickled Plums

Akko was passed out.

Diana relaxed into her wrists, guiding the broomstick gently through the sky as she scanned the landscape below. The night was calm and quiet, the only sound being the wind whistling around them as they flew on. Below them, the moonlight cast an eerie reflection off the great Thames. The river, cutting a wide path through the flickering lights of humanity, was Diana's reference of a halfway point.

The air around them was cold at such an altitude, but the weight of Akko against her back brought her warmth. The girl's head was resting on Diana's shoulder, gentle breath tickling her neck as Akko slept peacefully. She had been resting for quite some time, giving Diana respite in the silence of the near-winter night.

In the monotonous homeward flight, she let her mind wander.

Diana was struggling to remember the last time she'd seen her brother. She strained to recall any kind of fond memory, but the two had never been close as children. Damien was significantly different than she was. While Diana lived a life of solitude with intense concentration on her studies and regaining her magical abilities, Damien did the opposite. He was hard-headed and often running wild with other boys from his primary school, using his magic in ways that landed him in trouble more often than not. Diana could recall dashing through the hollow halls of the Cavendish Manor more than once, struggling to escape the tauntingly close spells and barrage of laughter from her older brother.

But she couldn't focus on Damien for long.

No, not with Akko's body so close to hers.

She couldn't define the exact moment that she fell so deep into those glimmering red eyes. It could have been upon the joining of their hands as they summoned the Shiny Arc to defeat the Noir Missile. It could have been the sight of Akko shivering in Blytonbury, the one moment Diana had seen her so alone, so eviscerated, so raw. It could have been when Akko rescued her from Aunt Daryl's snakes and brought sense and comfort to her empty home, or when she rode on wit and sheer bravery to defeat Vajorois in a daring break of tradition.

It could have been any of those moments.

It could have been all of them.

It didn't matter.

And they were flying into a a dire situation of unknown danger, but Diana knew she would do anything it took to keep Akko safe.

Diana squeezed her eyes shut, took a deep breath, and let herself smile.

A tug of gravity brought Diana's attention back to flight. Feeling the hard pull of the broomstick, she knew it was about time to re-cast the spell for Akko's bag. Otherwise, the weight would pull their altitude too low, dangerously close to the flight paths of commercial planes.

She pulled out her wand, careful not to roll her shoulders too much and disturb Akko, and reached behind her, ignoring the discomfort of the awkward angle. Placing the tip of the wand against Akko's bag, she whispered, "Pluma pondus."

The warmth of magic flowed down her wrist, through the wand, and over the bag. The tip of the broomstick angled upward at the release of tension, pulling them back up to the desired height.

Diana slipped the wand back into her holster, accidentally bumping Akko's elbow in the movement.

Akko stirred, gently squeezing the warm body she was wrapped around. Her drowsy eyelids flickered as she took in the face inches from her own and smiled. "Mm, hey," she murmured, sleep lacing her soft voice.

Diana's stomach lurched into a tangled mess at the soft crimson eyes blinking up at her and she unintentionally jerked the broomstick to the side. In an effort to compose herself, she cleared her throat and forced herself to look straight ahead. She felt Akko loosen her grip and sit up.

"Where are we?" Akko asked.

"We just flew over the Thames," Diana replied, pulling the broom a bit higher and leaning forward to increase the speed she'd let drop off in her own unintentional relaxation. "A little over halfway there. Sleep well?"

"Yeah," Akko said. Diana could hear the smile in her voice. "You're comfy."

Her insides did another jolt.

"You're not so bad yourself," she heard herself say. She swallowed hard, gritting her teeth and squeezing her eyes hard in embarrassment. If she had a free hand, she would have buried her burning face into it.

It didn't help that Akko said nothing.

Instead, she felt the pads of Akko's fingers gently touch the back of her neck.

Nine, help me, she mentally begged with a sharp intake of breath.

"Diana," Akko murmured behind her. "Your mark is glowing."

"What?" She turned her head, though she knew she wouldn't be able to see her own mark.

Akko had dropped her hand from Diana's neck and was reaching around to see her own. "Is mine?"

"I—I can't see," Diana said, feeling the broomstick alter its course with her twisting body.

"Diana," Akko said again, growing still behind her.

"Yes?"

"Where did the stars go?"

Diana looked up. They were above the clouds, so there was nothing to block their view of the universe above. But Akko was right, there were no stars. Instead, the sky was a muddled gray for as far as their eyes could see.

Akko was rotating her torso on the broomstick, straining to look around.

"Akko, please stop, you're going to change our course," Diana scolded. But she had to acknowledge that something wasn't quite right.

"There's someone following us," Akko said suddenly.

Diana glanced behind them. Akko was right. About a hundred meters behind them, two figures were zooming toward them. The gap between them was closing rapidly.

"Akko, hang on," Diana said. She leaned deep into the broomstick and urged it forward. She felt Akko's grip tighten around her waist as the wind began whistling louder in their ears. Tears sprang from the corners of her eyes and streaked across her cheeks as their speed drastically increased.

But the weight of the two witches was slowing them down. There was no way they could outrun their pursuers.

The broomstick lurched violently to the side as Akko twisted her body in a drastic movement.

"What are you doing?" Diana screamed into the wind.

"I'm throwing pickled plums!" Akko yelled back as her body made another quick jerk. "Ha! Got one."

"You brought pickled plums on the leyline?" Diana shouldn't have been surprised. She steadied the broomstick with Akko's continuous fast-pitch imitation and pulled out her wand, ready for a fight.

The two figures were licking at their heels. In a final burst of speed, they pulled alongside the two witches. Their black cloaks streamed out behind them. Their faces were still unrecognizable for the plain black masks pulled down over their eyes.

Akko reeled back with another pickled plum and slammed it into the mask of one cult follower. He faltered momentarily but quickly regained his speed.

There was not much they could do in the air. Diana grit her teeth and sped on.

A hand snaked out from under a robe and grabbed the front of the broomstick, yanking it violently to one side. Akko's weight dipped, but she managed to catch the fabric of Diana's cloak in her hand to steady herself at the last moment.

The figures were too close to use magic. Anything they did would blast them out of the air. The fight became physical as Diana grappled to regain control of her broom, struggling to overcome the strength of her attacker. Behind her, she could feel Akko wrestling with the figure on the other side.

Diana pulled back with one arm and sent the tip of her wand smashing into the person's bare hand. They reeled back in pain, buying some reaction time that Diana used to dip at a sharp angle, the sudden change of altitude momentarily losing their pursuers above them.

Akko threw the entire jar of pickled plums, which shattered in a deflected blow off the tip of one figure's broomstick. "What a waste!" she yelled.

Their attackers angled their flight path down and quickly caught back up with Diana and Akko. The two veered out, away from them.

"What are they doing?" Akko asked.

There was no time to respond. The two pursuers came crashing in on them, slamming the witches between their bodies.

Diana cried out at the pain of being crushed between them, but her hands stayed firmly wrapped around the broomstick, knuckles white with the effort.

"Diana!"

Akko's arms slid from around Diana's waist with a few desperate swipes before she went tumbling from the broom.

"Akko!"

Diana brought her arm in and slammed her elbow back into the mask of one attacker. Ignoring the sharp pain in her arm from the connection, she jerked herself free of the other and sped down, eyes focused only on Akko, who was tumbling through the clouds in a freefall.

She could hear the roar of a plane. It was loud, close. She flew through the dense vapor, disorienting her pursuers with the lack of visibility. But she never lost sight of Akko.

When she emerged from the clouds, she could see that the plane was headed straight at them.

Diana locked her jaw in concentration and leaned deeper still. The broom shot forward. Tears clouded her vision. Her hair whipped violently behind her. She was closing in on Akko. Her attackers were closing in on her. The plane was closing in on all of them.

With one final, desperate push, Diana zipped forward and reached out her hand to snag Akko's wrist. The pursuers followed.

And, holding onto Akko with all the strength she could muster, she dropped her torso back, jerked the tip of the broom upward, and shot straight into the air just as the plane rushed into where they had hovered only moments ago. The exact place that the two figures still found themselves when the aircraft barreled into them. Akko watched as both their bodies and their brooms scattered through the air.

Diana didn't wait to see if her plan had worked. She pulled Akko back onto the broom, where the dazed and quivering witch settled into her back with a death grip on her waist. She urged the broom to max speed as she reconnected with the leyline and blazed onward.

"I think they're gone," Akko said after a few minutes, feeling Diana's chest still heaving from exhaustion of the effort.

"How can you be sure?" Diana asked.

Akko relaxed her grip against Diana, still trying to catch her breath as she pushed Diana's hair to the side and said, "The mark isn't glowing anymore."

Their legs felt like jelly when they hit the ground and stepped from the broomstick.

Akko rolled her shoulders back and lifted her hands into the air in a stretch. "Man, that was rough," she said. She twisted her torso and listened for the satisfying crack of her spine. "And I have to pee so bad. We could have made at least one stop."

"I don't think that would have been wise." Diana bounced on her toes to try to relieve the tension in her sore legs. "We weren't exactly in a safe environment."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Akko muttered. "Rest in peace, pickled plums."

"Those things are foul anyway," Diana replied as she looked up at the manor house looming before them. Though the sunrise was threatening to peak over the horizon, night pervaded the plot of land, leaving the house an eerie monument against a dark sky. There was a single light on in the front hall. Diana took a deep breath and headed down the stone path to the front door.

"Where is everyone?" Akko asked as she trailed behind, slowly taking in the familiar sight of the Cavendish Manor. Everything looked different in the dark, but it was still as she remembered. Cold and unwelcoming.

"Anna should be awaiting us. I was able to send a message to precede our arrival," Diana said. She pulled open the heavy door and held it for Akko.

As Akko stepped into the familiar front hall, she found herself amazed by the grandeur of the mansion, despite having been there before. The ancient artifacts of generations gone, the many paintings of unicorns and scenes of medics rushing into battle. The only difference was that the dust and cobwebs were gone. The house was meticulously clean.

"Ah, Lady Diana," a familiar voice greeted them.

Anna rose from where she had been seated in a particularly uncomfortable looking high-backed chair against the wall. She greeted Diana with a small bow.

"Anna," Diana replied, straightening her posture and nodding. "Thank you for staying up so late."

"It was my pleasure," Anna said, though Akko was of the opinion she didn't look very pleased at all. Dark bags hung beneath the older woman's eyes, and the smile that she urged across her lips looked strained and fake. "I see you brought a… guest," she continued. "Miss Kagari." If Anna hadn't looked happy before, now she looked even less happy. "I wasn't informed you would have company, my lady."

"My apologies, Anna. My message was in haste. Has my aunt been informed of my arrival?" Diana removed her hat and cloak and leaned her broomstick next to an empty coat rack.

"Yes, my lady. She is expecting the both of you at breakfast in the morning."

Akko's bag suddenly felt heavy on her shoulders and she realized that the spell Diana had cast had worn off. She shifted under the unexpected weight, mouth cracking open in a loud yawn. "Man, I'm exhausted from being att—uh, flying all night."

"Akko, please cover your mouth," Diana scolded, taking in Anna's frown. "Anna, would you mind showing Akko to her room? I think it would be appropriate for us to get a few hours of rest after the long flight."

"Of course, my lady," Anna replied, bending once more in a courteous bow. "Young lady, if you'll please follow me to your accommodations."

The room Anna led her to was Diana's old room, the same she'd stayed in the first time she'd been at the Cavendish Manor. She dropped her bag next to the bed, running her fingers along the spines of books lining in the inlaid bookshelf. She could hear the door of the adjacent room opening and shutting gently, the sound of footsteps as Diana herself prepared to get some rest.

Rest. Rest would be nice.

Akko changed and slid under the starched covers, sighing deeply as she turned on the too-firm pillow and gazed out the window at the orange light beginning to reach over the horizon. The sky above was still dark. Akko could make out a few of her favorite constellations where she lay.

But sleep came with difficulty. Her mind wandered to the lurch in her gut as she tumbled from the observatory, the impact of the Behemoth as she felt her ribs cave and snap inside her, the desperate sensation of falling, falling, waiting for everything and nothing at all.

This wasn't her comfortable bed at Luna Nova. She couldn't hear Sucy's gentle snores or Lotte's sleepy mumblings.

When her eyes finally drifted shut, she was back in the sky, leaning against Diana's warm back and breathing deep the scent of lavender and rosemary.