POV Narrator:
Monday, 21 January 2019, Luna Nova
Maril ended up being arrested, having her disguise revealed, what with this is already giving another success in the mission to go after capturing Daryl, considering that little by little we get closer to the goal of capturing the Cavendish that has been causing so much harm to so many people, but we still lack the most complicated that is to capture and defeat the very who until then is keeping hidden, Laura knew the news and soon was to start the training of the girls that week, calling the main ones that were interested for the action, Mirage, Marianne, Diana, Akko and Hellene, who even wake up very early for this, getting ready for what is to come.
POV Akko:
Mrs McLaren wakes me up from bed very early, I am still practically nailed with my eyes sleepy, I get up, do the basic hygiene, then I put on an ideal outfit to perform physical activity, now I am ready more and more to start everything, still half sleepy, I leave the room and I see her waiting with the girls.
"Late as usual Akko" Hellene said.
"I'm just not used to it like you are" I say yawning.
"It's the first day I've trained like this" Diana said.
"I couldn't miss out, for Brooke's sake I needed to wake up early" Mirage said all motivated.
"So come on, first eat de pre-training, dis one I made special for you girls" McLaren lady said.
We're walking in the corridors of Luna Nova, I can't wait what's going to come, if with Hellene it was hard enough that day, with her mother it will be even worse, I don't doubt it, the way she is all strong, although she doesn't look so strong as Hellene, but anyway, I think we can get to be some better witches.
We arrive at the canteen and there are some shakes, I can't wait to see what's in them, we sit down and strangely there's also a lot of cereal and milk, gee, that's really unexpected, anyway, I think I'll love to eat here.
"What's in that shake?" I ask Mrs McLaren.
"It's a chef's secret, but I say it's got plenty of protein, drink it all and you'll get drough it" Diana's mum said.
I'm a little reluctant, but I start to suck on it, the liquid is kind of cold, it comes like a milk shake, but when it comes, the taste comes, it's not that bad, it's just a little bitter, which will be hard to take, but I think the cereal might be good at that, since it has so much, I'm sure I'll come out the best.
"Hmmmmm, I thought we were going to have to eat raw egg already" I say with my mouth full.
"Dis is Hellene's doing, she is crazy for doin dese things, my great-grandmother used to do de same ding, but anyway, you don't need to drink raw egg, there are other foods dat are nice and can supply de protein, eat as much as you like and den we will start the warm up" said Mrs. McLaren.
I've been loving everything, now the shake is even better to swallow with the rest of the cereal and milk in my mouth, it's even tastier, I never thought that a bowl like this would be our pre workout food, but anyway, I won't complain, anything is better than Hellene's idea of raw egg, hmmmmm, this is too delicious, I love Diana's mum, I think her workout will be smoother than I thought it would be.
A while after they eat and the food goes down...
"All right, dat's enough time, now let's start de warm-up" said Diana's mother.
Let's walk outside, it's a bit cold today, actually it's snowing, I don't know why I didn't get a thicker coat, this sweatshirt alone won't be enough, there's still crazy Hellene who went out wearing a tank top in this cold calmly.
"We'll start by stretching, den I want to see walking, we'll do everything we can to improve magic skills," said Mrs McLaren.
The stretching part is pretty easy for me, I'm very flexible because of my school days in Japan, and I'm doing pretty well, even a little better than Diana and Hellene, but their mother doesn't seem to be that flexible, she comes to help us and stretches a little more, which is good, but it hurts a lot, ahhhhh, I'll end up spreading my legs more than anyone else this way.
Well, at least it's a quiet part, I only feel a little bit of the pull in my joints like any stretching and with that we finish easily, easily, the sensation that gives me is even to feel honored, I was the most flexible of us.
"Congratulations to you all, you are quite flexible, now for de warm up, you will run around Luna Nova for 30 minutes, but using dese weights on your legs and arms, and I will make de conditions worse, so you will practice breathing and be able to control dis part better" said Miss McLaren.
We started to do this part of the race, we were all running together, until it was very calm, but soon Diana's mother appears flying on her broom and she extends her hand to us, she starts shooting a very strong wind current that comes in our face, kind of pulling us back, now I understood the idea she wanted to pass with this, and it's complicated to withstand this force of wind, even more running.
"I never said the warm-up would be smooth, you 'ave to beat the wind and de weight, feel more agile, so your body can withstand some more conditions and who knows also when you will face 'ead-on against Daryl" Diana's mother said.
"Ahhhhhhhh, I can't run properly with these weights on my leg, imagine now" Mari said.
"It is really difficult, in Japan they had those too, I suffered, only there was not this part of the wind, which complicates it even more" I say while running.
"Less talking and more breathing, you'll need it to get through de walk" Laura said.
I'm managing to bear with it a little bit, but it's very tiring, even more with this strong and icy wind blowing in our faces, it seems that it wants to knock us down, but I'll be persistent, I have to run a lot to achieve an improvement, who knows so I can be a key player in the defeat of Daryl, I managed to help in the capture of one of her daughters.
At the end of the warm-up...
I am already dead tired, I never thought that conditions like this would bring me so down, it's like a truck fell on top of me, well at least I could hold on and still remain standing, the others couldn't even do that, it's a shame really.
"Very well, for now I will finish, dis was your warm up, now let's go to de interesting part, today is de day of combat training, you will learn 'ow to defend and also attack, know 'ow to use de things around to gain advantage, well I will call one by one, but first take dis" She said taking some bottles from her bag.
I took the liquid, a bit bitter, but I felt relieved, it seems that my body is flowing with something, that's interesting, now I want to see how far I get, I feel renewed, my body is something else now, well let's see how it all goes, I want to train better, if I can get far today it will be great.
"Akko, you will be the first, you can come" Diana's mother said pointing at me.
"Come what? You want me to attack you?" She just nods her head in agreement and even teases a little.
So if that's it I pick up my wand, but just as I was about to fire a spell it falls out of my hand as it's being fired, which I only see Diana's mother's finger raised, I go to pick it up again and see the wand being levitated, but damn, now it's going to stay on that, I go trying to pick it up, but she's good at dodging, until I manage to hold on and at that I was starting to get shaken until I fell to the ground.
"No wands, I want to see 'ow you manage without dem" Mrs McLaren said and I even get a bit sulky.
"But without wands I won't even be able to use spells properly, I'm still learning to do spells without verbalising and I know very little without using wands - I say to Diana's mother.
"You can come up on de hand too, anything goes 'ere" said Mrs McLaren.
And I decide to do just that I start running towards Laura, let's see, I throw a punch she easily dodges, still with her hands on her back, which I find even strange, I look to the side and she even closes her eyes, which I turn around and start trying to hit a kick, but she also dodges, I go trying to throw a punch, then I use a
metamorphie faciasse to turn my hand into a tiger claw and she still dodges and then she throws a knee at me, hitting me right in the stomach, catching me in the distraction, followed by a kick that makes me fall on the ground like it was nothing.
"What?" We all said.
"Akko you still have a lot of grass to touch, now come on, I still want to have fun" She continues with her eyes closed and smiling with her hand on her back it's almost impossible to even land a hit on her.
Wow I'm a gulf compared to Diana's mother, I'm going to try some more, let's see if she's waiting for this, I go up as usual, only I'm kind of going for a volley, which I expected the dodge, which I use the metamorphosis spell turning my arm into a tentacle, but I couldn't hold on, Which I use again on my legs becoming like a kangaroo and gaining momentum, then becoming an elephant in full, only to simply have it grab me by the trunk and throw me up, then appear out of nowhere in front of me, where it only gives a mere stomp, which knocks me to the ground and ends up leaving me all broken.
"I give up" I get up detonated from the floor I can't even stand up without feeling sore.
"Who's next?" Mrs McLaren said and I can't wait to the next one get a reality check.
"'Ey mother, I want to see if I can beat you" said Hellene who was putting her fists together, to the point that even her mother opened her eyes.
"Ah den you can come" Diana's mother said.
I'm walking away full of pain from that hole made in the ground, until I get to Diana and the others, I see Hellene giving a boost and then the two colliding arms, gee, Hellene's muscles are huge, as well as I notice some of Laura's, she's really not weak either, the two start exchanging blows and this time it's not so funny, I'm even shocked.
"Wow I couldn't even get my hand off your mother's back, now Hellene does a whole fight" I say shocked.
The two are fighting intensely, I even see an aura circling them, it seems Hellene is stronger than her mother, wow, I never expected that, I see then the two disappear, out of nowhere Diana's sister appearing dragging herself behind and Laura reappearing, but she kind of ended up disappearing after her daughter tried to hit some blow and I just saw her casting a spell which then Diana made a shield defending us.
"How do they do it?" I say dumbfounded.
"Interesting, it seems that my sister is a type of witch focused on hand-tae-hand combat, said Diana, who was analysing everything.
A while later...
The two have been fighting for a long time, until they meet once again and wave to each other, I could see that Hellene was panting and even had a bloody nose, wow, they really went all out, her mother was a little unharmed, it was really a test of strength like that.
"You did well, Hellene" said Laura.
"I don't know where you get your strength from Mom, I know you weren't being dat serious with me, I could tell you were just being defensive, and on top of dat you came out on top" And that's really it, I'm even scared, I thought Hellene was stronger.
"You hit 'ard girl, I am in some good pain here, now come Diana, I want to see how you do against me" Her mother said.
POV Diana:
It's my chance, I was able tae analyse the two's fight well, even though it's hard tae fully follow their movements, now it's my turn, I'll do it differently, I want tae see if she's as good against it, I look into her eyes, which even close, I'm nae like Akko, dinnae underestimate me.
"You can come Diana, are you going to wait for something?" She said, I can't use my wand, I'll have tae improvise then.
I draw a glyph, cast some energy balls towards my mother, she goes on tae cast back, as expected, I start tae create a glyph on the other side tae keep rebounding, which she dodges again, I cast one in mid jump she did and again she uses her leg almost hitting me with the rebound spell.
"So you are like dat?" said mother who then disappeared.
I look back, she reappears, I dodge the kick that I would receive, but she still gives another that I defend with my arm, and she takes a spell through the chest that ends up hitting me, I leave defending the attack, I go starting tae defend myself, I create a barrier, but she breaks, I manage tae have enough strength, how strange, I thought I could guarantee myself in a fight like this, I still have a lot tae practice, she starts tae turn around giving me a kick all weird and I was being hit with a huge ease, I even notice that it's near the glyph, that's my cue.
"You still 'ave a lot to learn Diana" she said.
"What about that?" I say smiling, but Mum was still keeping her eyes closed.
I step on a teleportation glyph on the ground that I made near the point and then I end up stopping on the other side I take advantage and punch her which she defends, but I dinnae wait tae be hit by the spells I left rebounding which caused an explosion like that tae the point of the shockwave knocking me down sitting on the ground, the smoke dissipates and she even opens her eyes.
"Look it's not bad Diana, but let's see dis now dat my eyes are open, I knew dere was something rebounding, dis is an excellent demonstration of 'ow to use de terrain to your advantage, but dis brain is missing something" she said disappearing.
"I can make up fae everything with them" I say after looking back and seeing that she was caught by herbs that I left right behind me tae be summoned at the right time.
She let go anyway, I put my hand on the ground tae make the herbs grow and attack her at the same time I dodged a punch she was going tae give me, only in this one she also hits a similar spell and lifts me in the air, reappearing in front of me with a big smile, in this I am hit by a hammer blow on the head being thrown tae the ground, where I fall and get a little hurt, I get up and see her appearing again, looking even bigger and levitating me with magic.
"I surrender!" I say before I get punched in the stomach and she lets me go.
"Very well Diana, I dink dis is already a good demonstration, you 'ave de tactics, you can compensate de lack of strength and physical fitness with your intelligence and dat is de most important ding in battle, being smart, using de field in your favor, I would say dat was a very interesting battle, I was not expecting dis, but we 'ave to train dis detachment with de wand, you 'ave to learn to release spells and use less magic with dem, but you are on a good path, I see potential in you as a witch, as well as Akko, what you 'ave to do is to develop dis part well" Said mum Laura.
"I am dead, ye are a witch beyond what I thought ye would be, seriously ye can defeat Daryl with ease" I tell her.
"I know dat, I already defeated her once, I can defeat her again, but dis in a direct combat doesn't count for me, she already had many victories over me dat are irrepairable, dose I consider more painful dan any combat, in the end I'm a loser to Daryl, it's no use fighting well if I still ended up moving away from you Diana" Said mum being all cute.
"Ohhh mama, in the end we are here, we will manage tae take this woman behind bars and ye with us can be impossible tae be stopped" I say tae mama Laura.
"Well, who's next? I want to test you one by one, you can tell me when you give up" said the mother to the others who were swallowing their saliva in fear.
And all of them are being tested, one by one, with Laura having a huge advantage over them, but sheis educating them on how to guarantee themselves better in combat and even learning new tactics,also with a bit of training to learn these new ways of combat, until when they finish this part, they goto another phase...
I never thought it would be like this, the mother even seems a bit controversial, tae use attacks done in cowardice, but I can understand, it's a life or death situation in many times outside that Daryl won't have this
question of morality, I found it interesting tae know how tae use that, but I feel a Cavendish sae unhonorable if I did acts like that.
"And now to finish de training before dey go to class, it's time for muscle building" said mother.
We walk tae where the Luna Nova gym is, there we do the same kind of muscle training we always do, without needing many tips from mum, I start doing the leg lifting machine, I've never used it here, I've only seen Hellene and Akko using it once in a while, gee, it's interesting that ye can feel each part of the body acting, the effect it has on the body.
"Alright girls, we've got half an 'our 'ere, do as much muscle building as you like, you're free to develop where you feel you need to focus, plus it's good for you, you're going to get bigger dis way" Mommy Laura said..
"Wow that's a heavy workout, I never thought it would be worse than when Hellene gave us a test run" Marianne said.
"Dis is just de first day, each day I will make a different training, so you will have to adapt to different conditions, you can't wait around, anyway you 'ave to practice a lot, so who knows de chances against Daryl are better, although I dink our time is short" said mum.
"Short? Do ye think Daryl will show up soon?" I ask Mom.
"It's not a guess it's a certainty, she 'as Brooke's life in 'er hands, she will use 'er as bait to lure you Diana, I know de play, I don't think she should 'ave killed her now, when she can still blackmail you" said mother.
"It still shocks me 'ow she gets away with dis, she used 'er daughters for everything and only dey got screwed, while she was just leaving in peace, go figure" Hellene said.
"Maril eventually confessed 'er idea, that's with fear of ending up in Arcturus prison, but she's yet to confess Daryl's location" Mum said and I'm kind of curious.
"And what was Daryl's intention with that plan?" I ask Mum.
"She wanted to kidnap you, after Merrill was captured, the intention was also to kidnap Hellene, but in de most she wants to take you to de hideout to force you to deliver de leadership, Daryl would torture you, dat's why she captured Brooke and made Maril impersonate 'er, now everything is much clearer, but still, you 'ave to be smart Diana, you are de main target" Mom said.
"I figured it was something like, I can't hand over the leadership of the family that easily, but the question of Brooke being there has me with my tail between my legs" I say with fear.
"We will help you with dis, you can be sure, I also don't doubt dat Brooke is smart, you talk about de girl being good at programming and she was even one of the smartest students 'ere, so it could be dat she only didn't run away now because she 'as a bigger plan, or Daryl is really being cruel, anyway, she will come back to us soon, you can be sure" said mum, which even made Mirage smile.
"I will be hoping for it Mrs McLaren, I will do everything I can to get my Brooke rescued," Mirage said.
"Your Brooke? You seem to be pretty sure of it," Marianne said teasingly.
"Yes! I love her! Now I understand, I want to come and rescue her, hold her in my arms and finally treat her as she deserves to be treated, she doesn't deserve to go through all this, she is a warrior, she should receive love and affection" Mirage said and how cute, she really deserve someone like her
And soon the music time comes to an end, and the girls go to their rooms, where they take a showerand change for another day of classes being quite normal, when the classes are over they go eatingin the cafeteria, talking among themselves, discussing about what happened at Lotte's house, aboutthe many things they spent there together, even leaving those who didn't go with the desire to go,but soon they went one by one returning to their rooms, Diana being one of them, walking next toAkko...
"My body is hurting even now, and to think that this will be every day, I'll be a mess in the end, I just want Daryl to be caught soon" Akko said and I just giggled.
"I am also in a lot of pain, how about ye come tae my room and I'll give ye a massage" I tell her and when I touch myself I get all flushed.
"I want to!" She said and I even forget how sillyAkko still is.
We go walking to my room, where I see only an empty space, but there is also an envelope and on it is written "to Diana" now I feel a little afraid, I look around and there is a CD and there is also a message in a letter, who could be the one who send me this? I hope it's nae her.
"You have achieved another one of them, congratulations, but it doesn't end here Diana, watch the tape and we can talk at your leisure, I have a message dedicated especially to you, I know you now know I am holding someone special in my hands"
I go frozen white, I have never been sae tense in my life as I am now, me thinking things couldn't get any worse and she comes back tae terrorise me, there are several things left in my mind now, by the nine witches, I have tae stand here thinking of a way to try and get my mind back here, I look atAkko and notice she has become worried.
"Diana? Is that all right with you what is this record?" She said and I crumpled the letter angrily and then picked up the CD.
"Let's see it for ourselves" I say putting it on the Blu Ray input that is on the TV here and I already start tae see the scene appearing.
It was Brooke, she is thinner, weaker and hurt too, I see a revolver pointing at her, I get even a little scared, anything can happen, I am afraid of what can happen, she shoots with the trigger but dinnae go as far as tae hear a laugh from Daryl.
"You'll be the last one laughing Daryl" Brooke told her.
"You say it yourself, now I'm going, I hope you understand this message Diana, hand over the leadership of the family or Brooke Hunter will die in a month, tick tack, the clock is ticking, you have 30 days Diana Cavendish" Said Daryl filming everything and I really got tense, what do ye mean 30 days? Fae the nine witches.
The footage cuts from there, where it goes tae another one where she appears in another corner, it looks like a room full of computers, like she's in a factory, that's quite suspicious, but well, I want tae see what she's goin tae say here.
"You must have understood the message I left you with the boy, if you don't show up in thirty days signing a contract that I'll leave at the location of the map I'll send you the day after the letter is sent, I guess I'll have to hold you responsible for another death, but look at the bright side, you can get rid of the two Hunter's, you won't have the burden of carrying the guilt of Kimberly's death anymore, who knows without her son who, look, will be buried as a man because the law doesn't allow him to be buried as Brooke, Well Diana, I didn't know you could be so prejudiced like that, I would find it very immoral of you to let such a life go away because of a little paper, good that you are well warned, now you know I'm not kidding, you have until February 19th 2019 to sign the document that passes the leadership and possession of all things of the Cavendish family to me, don't try to do anything or the boy's life will end in a sad way, well not much different from the way the lives of these kind of people end, isn't it? I hope you're having fun there with your new mommy Laura, I'm just saying that it's all true, I killed your mommy, I tried to kill the other one and on top of that I forced you to stay away, you just had to act right with me and I would treat you better Diana," she said until the video ends with the screen drizzling, what I was getting in shock.
What the hell, I can't believe things have ended up this way, this woman is still going tae cause more terror, I even resent her a little, what do I do now? Do I really have tae hand over the leadership? Ahhhh, I'm crying with rage here, how could everything end this way, by the nine witches? I just wish it would all end.
"What a bitch! Diana, don't be intimidated by this, we will find Brooke before these 30 days, you can be sure and Daryl will pay dearly for everything he did to us, his mother, his sister, they will be able to help you with this, I will also give you the support you need, we will find Daryl and put her with her daughters" Akko said giving me even a little bit of affection.
"I knowAkko, but every day I get more terrified, she set fire tae the mansion, killed my mother Bernadette, separated me from mother Laura, she made my life hell, she killed even innocent people who have nothing tae do with it and now Brooke's life is at risk, this thing of being Cavendish is a burden, when I thought that
after the fire I would be free, actually I was wrong and even too wrong" I say crying and then receiving a hug from Akko.
"Hey, we'll get through this, you are free, you have wonderful friends and a family too, we'll be with you in this, don't forget that" Akko said and I comforted her.
"I hope... I hope... Ye are always here with me when I have weak moments like this, ye know Akko, ye are special tae me - I tell her with my head resting on her shoulder who looks at me with a smile on her face
"The real Cavendish that only I know, we are all human beings Diana, you don't have to be strong all the time, even your mother Laura always cries, she is always shedding a tear when she speaks your mother Bernadette's name, and you know what a strong woman she is, the same strong woman is her daughter, you are as strong as your mother Laura and your mother Bernadette" Akko's words have been my comfort lately.
POV Narrator:
The training began, thus intensifying the preparation for the coming of Daryl or the arrival in the witch that has already started being very clear and coming with a big threat to Diana that was discovering about what was going on, always ending up being emotionally destroyed by much of what she spent in the hands of the aunt who was a cruel person all her life in the life of poor Diana.
See you, training witches...