POV Narrator:
Monday, 5 November 2018, Luna Nova
Merrill was caught, by a planning even by herself in wanting to be arrested and get free from Daryl's claws, which may end up making the Cavendish's plan to fail by making Diana lose time, since she will end up having a conversation with her cousin and may have great chances for the truth to come out. The older witch meanwhile was still getting ready to hide, not having many places to go, even more so as the WCI agents, went to the place indicated by Merrill to do the search.
The day was starting to go normally like any other, the classes were going normally, it was even routine and much more calm than the normal. Until the end of the classes that day and agent Morris showed up at Luna Nova.
POV Diana:
The feeling of safety that has been passing me these days only gets better, with the agents circulating here in Luna Nova, it just makes everything seem even safer, I know that Daryl would never come tae attack us, the people here in Luna Nova really stopped talking about me at least, they are leaving me alone, I go finishing eating and get up, I'm going tae my room today.
Walking tae half alone, before entering the outside I see that agent Morris was around, leaning on the wall smoking a cigarette, looking up, I think I will talk tae her about my cousin, she must have some more information.
"Good afternoon Agent Morris" I tell her as she was putting out a cigarette and throwing it into the rubbish.
"Good afternoon Diana, I was really looking fae ye" she said with a smell that was making me a bit dizzy, I hate cigarettes, sae much that I shook my hand.
"Oh, I imagine it's something from my cousin, because I came just tae get news of her, or the case in general" I say while using my wand tae disperse the smoke and also bring an extra aroma.
"Sorry about the smoke girl, but let's go to the WCI agency, she wants tae talk tae ye about important things" said Mrs Morris.
"Cigarette is sae bad fae ye and ye still smoke" I say while relieving the smell.
"I know it does, but it does nae matter, it is a habit I have had since I was 15 years old, nicotine is important tae me... My daughter also said the same thing and I have stopped many times, but it is difficult nae tae smoke, it seems that there is always something holding me back" Rosemary said and I imagine, it must be really difficult to stop smoking.
We both took the Ley line together, going tae the Glastonbury square, then we walked towards one of the WCI cars, a silver and purple BMW, I go in the front seat next tae Mrs Morris and I see some of the equipment where she is starting tae drive, I also see that there is even a pack of Marlboro cigarettes in there.
"Ye take it everywhere, dinnae ye" I tell her.
"Ye have nae idea how these sticks help me a lot, well the agency is very close tae here, have ye ever been in a car before?" She said, and I'm just going to look at her, kind of curious.
"Look I've never even seen one up close" replied Mrs Morris.
"It is tae be imagined, never that the mundane police would get tae catch someone of yer class, nae offence intended, but we always have tae keep going after simpler witches, fae very silly reasons tae approach and arrest them, there is a lot of rottenness here, ye have nae idea" I am even getting surprised with what Rosemary tells.
"And why do ye keep working on it?" I ask her.
"I've always been passionate about criminal investigation, but also about something that yer mothers sought and still try tae seek... A change in the system, a revolution, tae make things better fae us witches, me staying in the WCI, gives me a little access tae power in the time it would come tae burst, unfortunately, I can't, Bernadette died, the other girls are scattered, some arrested, some dead, some missing, simply in the hands of a system that wants tae oppress us" Explains Mrs Morris and I've been noticing something similar already.
"I have seen things like this, my friend Akko, she has been put down just fae being of worldly origin, her achievements are all the time lowered or avoided sae as nae tae be praised as a witch of worldly origin" I explain tae her.
"That's right, we are fighting tae improve things, we believe that someone very powerful, behind all the witches' scheme and with a long time in power may be behind all this delay, believe it or nae Diana, ye may have already noticed, what has been killing magic is nae only the lack of interest, are the conservative witches passing and rubbing in our faces their values, nae allowing innovation and modernization, what we all want tae change years ago, even long before ye were born, that was our plan" Now everything makes sense, my mother being in the middle of it makes me feel a little more proud even.
I look at the window and see that we arrived, we both got out of the car and it was a great chat that I could have with her, if my mother is like Mrs. Morris, I'll love tae meet her, a pity that she's nae who I thought she would be, we both go entering the agency, where I'm walking in the corridors, this one is very different from the other one in Edinburgh, a little bit bigger.
We arrive at a room, it looks like an interrogation room, I see that through the glass there was my cousin, I dinnae notice that she also let her hair grow, it was tied with a ponytail, the expression on her face is quite remarkable, it looks like she's collapsed.
"I will be watching from here, we will keep the secrecy here, if ye want tae say something tae us just press the button, we will only watch the rest if she reacts in a hostile way, but we will nae listen tae anything ye talk about" Rosemary explains and I agree with my head.
I enter the interrogation room, even a little dark, it's scary, but I see that Merrill's hands are cuffed, she is sitting on a chair and a table separates the two of us, still looking down, she looks me right in the eyes, I could see that they were filling with tears, I sit down and stand right in front of her, I already swallow some saliva and prepare tae talk.
"Sae Merrill, why? I'm just saying, why did ye do all this? Ye, yer sister and yer mother, ye made my life a living hell. And fae what purpose? Greed? Was it really worth it? The castle caught fire and now ye have nothing, it will only be a matter of time before the others are caught, now answer me... Why? Why be this horrible person? Why keep on being just like yer mother?" I started to tell her the truth and she noticed the tears falling on the table.
"Diana... I, uh... I don't even know if I can have your forgiveness, but I want to say that... I was forced into this, you know well how my mother treated us, you saw and even helped me many times I was assaulted by her, without her knowing... I don't want any of that, I was happy with the luxury I already had... My mother... Please don't say I'm being like her, anything but that, I just want to be myself Diana" She said showing even a regret.
"Well then make it count Merrill, show that change of yers, if ye're willing tae do all that, ye'll never get tae have yer mother's privileges or luxuries, she'll only use ye and Maril as stairs, getting arrested was the best thing that could have happened tae ye, use this time tae reflect and think about what ye've been doing" I tell her sending her the real thing, I want tae see my cousin become someone genuinely good.
"Diana, I want to do this, I want to change for the better, you have no idea how painful it was for us to lose Aunt Bernadette as well, at least for me it was, or else the day your other mother was forced to separate from Aunt Bern, she was a wonderful person, she always treated us as dear ones, a pity my mother hated her to a mortal level" My cousin said.
"I imagine, my other mother must really be a lovely person, I even want tae know who she is, but please dinnae tell even if ye know, I want tae find out on my own, I make it a point tae do so... Anyway, it's good to know that ye want to redeem yourself" I tell her.
"This is exactly why I want to tell you something, we faked your DNA test, the hair you took was mine, my mother went to your room in the early hours of the morning disguised as an owl, I had to help her with that, which means the hair was changed so the result was fake, my mom is trying to buy time with you" I was in shock, now it all makes sense, I dinnae remember ever seeing an owl, but I imagine there must be something, now it makes sense she dinnae mess with the hair strands, she changed it and left it barely noticeable, I'm nae going tae lie the idea is pretty genius.
"Sae that was it? What the hell, now I realize that the strand of hair is yers, the colour is the same, the length was also, yer mother was cold on that one, but then this opens up the possibility again, anyway I will do a DNA test taking Hellene with me, I want tae know if this is really true, or if ye are nae using this as a tactic" I tell her.
"I confirm, it's not a lie, we set up the test, the hairs were switched, anyway go test and draw your own conclusions Diana, I just really wanted to tell you this, to make it clear in your head, since you don't want to know right away, because I know who your other mother is, I can tell you now" Merrill said and I shake my head in denial.
"I want tae find that out by myself and on my own, dinnae talk now, even because I want tae be sure too, who knows with time I might even start tae trust ye Merrill, but nae now, ye left marks on my head that I will never forget, I'm still holding regret fae what ye did tae my Chariot cards together with yer sister, or the many other atrocities" I tell her very clearly and getting up from the chair.
"Anyway, thank you, it was nice talking to you Diana, I genuinely want to be able to change, to have my life, to start my own way... See you another day" said my cousin.
Then I leave the interrogation room, I dinnae even nod or anything, I just look at her expression, she's still a bit gloomy, I think I can let myself believe Merrill a bit, but I still dinnae know, she's already done a lot of terrible things tae me in my childhood, trusting her might be a step backwards, anyway I'm going with Hellene tomorrow tae do this test.
"It sounds like it was a pretty intense conversation, this girl is pretty down Diana, I dinnae know what ye told her, but from what I talked tae Merrill I could tell she suffered horrors fae just obeying orders, anyway, she will pay fae what she did" Agent Morris said and sae I hope.
The next day, first thing in the morning...
I wake up very early, I put on the uniform tae leave, tae arrive in time tae go tae the lab, as I've heard, Hellene usually exercises at these hours, I look at the bedroom window and see that she was walking with a towel over her neck, I jump from there, using my magic tae slow the fall, staying in front of the redhead.
"Oh good morning sis" Said she who is all nice, now my suspicion has really returned.
"Hey, take a shower and change, let's do something together" I tell her in a more serious tone.
"Oh, dat's alright, I 'ad time to finish my training, I woke up a bit earlier dan usual today, I was even a bit hungry" she said.
We went walking together, through the corridors, she even got a little shy with me around, we got into her team's room, where I was waving tae the lassies that were still waking up, Mari a little sleepy and Annabel writing Night Fall, I think I must have arrived at a little too early haha.
"Good morning lassies" I say tae them.
"Good morning" they both say.
Hellene went tae take a quick shower, while I went tae wait, Mari still a bit disheveled got up from the bed, where she went tae the separate screen, tae change her clothes fae the Luna Nova uniform, I had nae idea they had that in the room, in fact it's even my first time in the purple team room.
"I've never seen you around here before Diana" Marianne said yawning.
"Ah, I came tae settle something important with Hellene" I tell her who even opens her eyes a little more.
"Hmmmm, interesting, what would that important thing be, I'm just a bit curious" she asks.
"I'm going tae do a DNA test, I want tae find out a suspicion I have around her, a suspicion that comes on quite strong" I tell Leclerc who is surprised even.
"Look if it's her sister, now it makes sense that she's such a talented witch, the two of them are the best in Luna Nova, hahaha, I wish you both good luck" Said the French girl and I gave a nice smile until I see the door opening.
Hellene took a very quick shower and put on her uniform, we both grabbed our brooms and out the window, jumped out flying along Ley's line, since the rush was with us I can't waste too much time nae tae delay our classes.
"Where are we going, sis?" McLaren asks.
"Foe a lab, I suspect ye are my sister" I tell her who gets a surprised look on her face.
"Sister? Look I call you Sis for expression anyway, just for being kind, but it's not a... " I interrupt her with a spell that closes her mouth.
"Calm down supposed sister, we're just going tae do a DNA test, remember when I took yer hair? Sae, the day I went tae do the DNA test someone changed my strand fae my cousin's and the test was negative, sae it behooves me tae do one taking ye, since this way I want tae know the concrete result" I tell her who even smiles at me.
"Oh all right, den let's go, it'll be nice to get the truth out of dis, I'm up for it" she said reassuringly.
I am even encouraged, I dink dat dis time I can find out everything, although de suspicion comes back with everything, now I am sure dat it can be positive, but it is better nae to be sae confident, I have tae be very attentive to everything.
Arriving at the lab...
We were attended, this time I came with Hellene, which will be enough fae us tae take a much better sample, since the person herself is here, I was doing all the filling out of the form and we both gave our documents filling out the forms, I barely got tae see the documents clearly with Hellene's name on them.
"Here are our samples" I say taking out a strand of hair and sae does the redhead.
"Well we will put them in these little bags, come back in six weeks, we will contact ye by message" said the lass.
We both leave the lab, we kind of stare at each other, admiring the autumn landscape which reminded a lot of days ago when I got the fake results, now it's going tae be fae real, I'm sae excited, can't wait tae see.
We touch our hands next, I pull her into a hug, either way meaning something, if she's my sister, this is going tae be a sister hug, if she's nae, let it be fae the help.
"Thank ye fae cooperating Hellene" I say all happy with her.
"I dank ye, ye will soon know the truth, I am sure sis" She said that even before the result she already calls me sister, as always her way, but I am sure it is something more.
"Now let's get back, today is going tae be a full day of classes" I say excitedly with a big smile on my face.
The two after a while arrive at Luna Nova and far from there was Daryl observing in his new hiding place that looked more like an abandoned factory, noticing that both sisters arrived together...
POV Daryl:
By this point Diana must already know or something very close, now I have to work out a way to make sure she never tries to get to Laura, just like Hellene, I can't risk entering Luna Nova and neither can I get close while there are WCI agents around, damn Merrill she really is apt to betray us.
"Mum, this place is much better than the one in the hole, you really did a great job here, the food is good, I feel like I'm inside a factory and there's even a comfortable bed, why didn't we come here before?" said Maril until I stopped watching.
"Lass, this is bad for our strategy, the other place was better positioned and now the agents will not stop looking deep, the worst of it is that soon Diana arrived with Hellene, we cannot waste time now... Now the only thing left is to reach a more risky solution" I tell her.
"Risky? What do you mean, risky? And has Diana found out yet?" asks the girl.
"I don't know yet, I can't even get information about it, but the plan will involve a kidnapping, we have to kidnap Diana, bring her here and torture her until she signs the paper, then we will seal the pact and finally lead the family, but for that we need access to Luna Nova, so it's up to you girl" I tell Maril.
"Me? What do you mean me? What do I have to do? Did you see how the girls crushed Merrill? We can't get into a fight mum, sorry for acting like my sister, but I'm just stating facts, Hellene is the strongest of them, Diana is being able to hold her own against Merrill especially with the Japanese girl, they could genuinely win" I just shake my head because despite everything the girl is right.
"I'm not stupid either, you'll be much smarter than that, we'll first of all kidnap one of the girls, we'll copy her look on you, then you'll pretend to be a student and pass on information. Get Diana's friendship and then we can maybe lure her into the trap, it won't be that hard, now that the dream catcher has been destroyed we don't have all the chances for our side anymore" I explain to her the plan I had in mind.
"And how are we going to do that? I say... Which student comes close to all this in my appearance at least?" I ask her.
"The boy, remember Kimberly Hunter's son, the kid pretending to be Brooke will be our target, it will be easy to catch him, he is much weaker than the other witches" I say cheerfully.
"Hey, but isn't he a man? I thought men had advantages over women" The girl doesn't know anything anyway, people say that about these types of men just to spread lies.
"He is nothing but a weakened man, those remedies to try to imitate a woman make these men even weaker than a woman, he will be an easy victim, I will only need a little magic and you will look just like him" I tell the girl.
"All right then, the plan will be to imitate him, but how will Diana not suspect anything?" asked the girl.
"You will read everything about him, I got a lot of information with our informant who works with the boss of all this, she gave us a little of how are his traits, I was already with this plan in mind for a long time, now you will be very useful Maril, I just need to make some changes in you, sit in the chair" I say to her that agrees with the head.
She sits on the chair, I start to get some potions on the bag, making the girl's hair grow instantly, this way it will be easy to make the disguise, leaving it on the exact length that is the boy's hair, next I go using another potion, which changes my girl's hair to become red of a single tone, looking a lot like his hair now.
Then I shave the side, what will give the extra detail and I can't forget the scratch that is a detail to make it very recognizable, the face really looks like it, the only thing missing is the green lenses and that is easy to do, I put in my girl's eyes and that's it, it's almost identical.
"Perfect! Now you're just like Hunter, now we just have to plan how the kidnapping will be done"
"Not for nothing mum, but even though he was born a boy, you have to admit that he made a great girl" said the girl and I just looked disgusted.
"A deformed child, that's it, he will never be a woman and never will be, he is deluded with reality, don't even think about thinking about a person like that, they are aberrations of nature" I say very clearly.
"I thought you were more liberal with that mum, what's the problem with that kind of person, there are plenty of attractive people" The girl said and I go rolling my eyes.
"People who are going against their nature, who pretend to be who they are, outside that Laura's friend is like that, the one who calls himself "April", but I could never find out his real name, that kind of degeneration of society is promoted by Laura's family since the beginning of the last century with "Elisabeth" McLaren and Anne Williams, that couple made the biggest specialization of witches who dream of being witches, so I have a lot to contradict, it is something that came from that family, one thing is you like man or woman, or both, that is natural and I will never deny it, another thing is you are born man and want to be woman, that is not natural and basically only brings harmful effects to the body, you end up looking like a deformed man, they will never be women, even if it is perfect, their past will never lie" I say clearly the girl.
"Ah got it, so I'm looking forward to doing Brooke's kidnapping, how are we going to do it?" Said the girl and I pass my hand on my face.
"Brooke no, that's not his name, anyway, you're going to have to pretend to be him anyway, so come with me, now I'll detail the kidnapping"
I go with the girl to another room, where there is a cell for the factory where the boy's captivity will be, having a mattress on the floor and a toilet so that he can defecate and a shower on the side, I think that will be enough, he doesn't need more than that.
"Have you turned the bathroom into a captivity?" asks the girl.
"This factory here will be useful for us, it was abandoned in the beginning of the 20th century when the witches tried to modernize it... Here is a good captivity for Brooke, he is very quiet around here, but anyway about the kidnapping, I give you one week, learn what to do according to what you have about the boy, copy his personality, come with me I have the plan" I tell her.
I go back to the main room which was the control room, where I take a board and detail it well, it's a simple plan, use chloroform on the boy while he is sleeping, so much so that I will make a presence there, waiting at the bedroom window, about to take, it might be long enough.
"Do you understand or do you want me to explain?" The girl is really dumb.
"It got too confusing, I'll go to his room first and you wait for me, but what about the workers of Luna Nova?" The girl asks.
"They will be distracted by me, I will use illusions so they think there are several students running around, so they will see they are mere dolls and this will be time for you to use chloroform on the boy and bring him to me, since he is on the bed that is not bunk it is quite easy, then I'll take him sneaking, this I can manage. Besides, a week is enough time for the WCI agents to get out of there" I explain the girl.
"How wonderful, I never thought you were going to help us with all this, but mum I think you turning up can reveal a lot" Said the girl and she thinks she's smarter than me.
"And what do you propose?" I ask her.
The girl starts drawing on the board as if it were magic, making a plan that involved a cart and an owl, I didn't understand anything, but it looks interesting, anyway if this manages to accomplish the kidnapping it will be very good.
"What's that lass?" I get confused.
"You go disguised as a minotaur mother, pretend to be one of the workers, I go flying owl to his room, immobilize him and put him inside a bag, you with a cart that will be hidden in a keychain makes it appear and the boy will fall as if it were a pile of clothes, you leave as if nothing happened and go towards Arcturus, what do you think of this idea?" I kind of get a bit dumbfounded and bang on the table.
"That's it lass, you put your head to work, this plan of yours is more tactical, I hadn't thought of that option, I can pretend it's my clothes and that I'm going to Arcturus, but get the idea out of the cart, I'll leave there like a normal bag anyway, otherwise when I'm there I'll always send messages, Don't let any lines slip, at first you'll spy and then you'll gain Diana's trust, until you lure her into a trap I intend to set that will take her to the kidnapping point, like a trip to Arcturus or something like that"
Away from there in Luna Nova, after school was over, Hellene and Diana were proving to be quite friendly with each other...
POV Diana:
Things are much better now, nobody came tae talk about the fact that I'm eating at Hellene's side of the table, the rest is just teasing that I'm in her shadow, but that's ok, Brooke arrives at our side and strangely has a tic, how strange.
"What happened Brooke?" I ask her.
"I dont' know, a strange feeling, I think it's just a bad feeling, it must be something tae do with the RPG hahaha" She said scratching the back of her neck.
"You really have tae be careful, you are about to die in RPG, if you hesitate too much your character can die, so think about your options when you play with us" Annabel said.
"I still get these feelings since my mum died you know, it's not from the RPG, it's a feeling that I'm in danger, I'm all the time afraid of what can happen, even more so since Daryl is still on the loose" She said until I pat her shoulder.
"Look Brooke, I say that as terrible as things are, we are progressing, I talked tae Merrill yesterday and she seems tae be willing tae be on our side, but ye never know, as for the other two, the WCI is searching every corner, soon they can find Daryl and put an end tae all this, we just need to keep believing, I am sure in the ability of agent Morris" I tell her trying tae calm her down.
"A lot of nervousness rises, you have no idea Diana, I ran away from my mother, all I could see was blinking behind me, when I ran away to Luna Nova, they were about to come to execute both of us, the damned killed us in cold blood, I'm scared... What if she comes back to me" She said I went comforting her.
"She wants me, I am the priority, probably even her daughter, as long as ye are here in Luna Nova ye are safe" I comfort her some more and even hug her.
"I hope Diana... I hope, you have no idea how scared I am just thinking about all this, she killed my mother and your mother, so she has no fear of killing, I'm an expendable trash on top of that, I'm a target, you are too, but you won't be killed like me... I just want this woman to die, honestly" She said and I understand Brooke's revolt.
We comforted her and she started to shed tears, I can't even imagine what it is like, her mother being shot dead, behind her, she dinnae even have a chance tae run away and now with the constant fear that she is going tae die, I dinnae even have that fear.
POV Narrator:
And a first conversation between Diana and her cousin, where they are getting better acquainted with each other, all around how was Daryl's tactic to make a lie believable for Diana, who is changing a little her way of how she treats Merrill, but still reluctant. On the other hand the other cousin is about to cause a huge amount of damage, with the target being precisely Diana, but with Brooke also to be a victim of it all.
See you, truth witches...
Maril Cavendish
Date of birth: 7 November 1997
Place of birth: Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom (Scottish)
Height: 1.73m
Weight: 60 kg
Sexuality: Bisexual
Gender: Female (cis)
Occupation:unknown
Measurements (bust / waist / hip): 91/60/93
Hair colour and appearance: Platinum blonde, 2C, short, reaches to mid-neckline usually combed to the right
Eye colour and shape: blue
Physical appearance: rectangular nose, slender body, aggression scars, pale Caucasian skin
Likes: Luxury, Wealth, Power, Authority, Following orders, Fidelity, Daryl
Dislikes: Doubts, Lack of fidelity, Betrayal, Diana, Bernadette, Laura
The other sister of the Cavendish twins, this one by which is much more reluctant to question, much because this was more affected by Daryl's brainwashing, that started to force the girl to have to behave the way she wants and as she was always well rewarded, she is content and much to serve her mother, despite everything, she does not disengage, Even when she suffers violence, in relation to all this, she has never questioned Daryl's acts, even on the other hand she praises them, much by trauma and also by manipulation, Maril's weaker psychology made her think and feel safe in her mother's presence and that is why she always finds herself uncooperative with her mother.