Sunday 22 December 1996, Edinburgh, Scotland
"And so it was spending time at the Cavendish mansion, I had a marvellous first year at school, I got to knowtwo very wonderful friends, every now and then I would call them home, Daryl still continued to disturb me,but that was the least of it, with their mothers taking care of me it was always something I could handle, apartfrom that even with everything she did I still didn't care, I was being the happiest person in the world withmothers like that, always so attentive, When they were at home they always looked after me, gave me toys,taught me magic when they had time, told me stories, that's what I liked doing the most, but there came atime when it was going to be the beginning of everything getting worse, because your aunt startedthreatening me and as I was a child, I had no idea what she could do and I knew she was dangerous, so Ioften gave in, this thing that I ended up being forced to do, was precisely what made your cousins exist."
I can't wait for Christmas, last year we tidied up the whole house, this year we did it too, everything looks so nice, I love putting up the lights, putting decorations on the Christmas trees, it's really nice, I wonder what I'll get for Christmas? I don't know... Look, there's a letter for me, it's from Mum Bernadette, but it's strange, she said she'd gone out with Mum Laura, so why is there a letter, I wonder if she's gone home.
"Darling daughter, come to this place, we're going to talk about a marvellous present I'm thinking of giving you, we're going to discuss what kind of present we're going to buy, do you want to come here? It'll be great"
Present, I want it, there's a map, it must be a secret place in the house, I want to see what's there, it's going to be really cool, a cool present, I can even imagine, is it going to be a Mahoutendo 64? More stuff for the Witchstation? I'm dying of anxiety just imagining what it's going to be.
I walk to this part of the house, it's a bit strange, they're not at home and yet they're here, could it be a trap? It mustn't be, mums wouldn't do something like that, I'm sure it isn't, I get to the room where it shows on the map, but it's just an empty room, with nothing in it, there are only two armchairs, one of which is facing backwards, which I then see turning towards me and it's the wicked witch.
"What's a trap? Get out of here you wicked witch, I'll tell the mums you want to put me in a trap" I say to her already getting defensive.
"Calm down girl, sit down, stay in your chair, we have to talk about important things, I guarantee it's worth too much, we have to talk about something important, after all you want to protect your mums don't you? You have to protect them from the worst" said Daryl in a threatening tone.
I try to walk to the door, I see that it's closed and locked, I take a few steps back, I see that she just points to the armchair on the other side, I go with my fist clenched, I think I'm going to hit her head on, I bet she's looking for a very absurd proposal, I have no option but to listen to her, I sit down in the chair and stare right in front of the eyes of the wretch who just has an expression with a malicious smile.
"Very well, you've co-operated with me for the first time, that's good, we're going to talk about something important to both of us, whether you want to protect your mothers, whether you want to protect yourself and most importantly stay here, but for that you're going to have to help me" I swallow.
"Why are you threatening mums? And why do I have to do that? They haven't done anything to you" I tell her and she shrugs.
"They didn't really tell you, did they? But I'm going to tell you girl, six years ago your mums were responsible for the death of Clarie Cavendish, who happened to be my mum and Bernadette's, which today has made my sister the leader of the family, but that's not why I've come to talk to you, I have another reason, it involves you, after all I could see that you have an important presence in this, so I ask you to tell me, where is the sacred water, the same one that last year your fake mums took? I'm going to need it for an experiment, if you help me with that I can guarantee I'll save your mums" What do you mean they did it? I don't understand anything, there are too many things going on in my head.
"What if I don't help?" I say threateningly to her.
"You can kiss your stay at the Cavendish mansion goodbye, I found out a little something here, apparently your father doesn't know that you have two mums and he won't be happy to hear that you've been adopted by a lesbian couple, if he finds out he can file a petition to get custody of the lying mums and you can go back to France, Oh and your mums will be cursed too, I've already prepared a curse that I can use at any time and take them away, before they even think about having another daughter" said the evil witch and I don't want to go back there, it's ugly there, my father doesn't treat me with the same love as them, I even got a bit scared.
"I'll tell you, it's in an abandoned house in the town of Loperèc, I remember some of the things the mums did, down the stairs, into a cave, where they left the liquid in a bottle, that's as much as I know, there's no secret" I tell her and she just nods.
"Well, the books I've seen talk about something else, so I'll take you with me to get it, or I'll have to use someone, I don't think I can do the first one, your mums keep an eye on me a lot, but I'll use someone to get the bottle for me, apparently it must be a person more worthy of having these things, but it's good to know the specific location, that's all I needed to know, in the books they said it was located near Terre Saphique and that place doesn't even exist anymore" Said Daryl who was scratching her chin.
"And why do you want that?" I ask again.
"I know their lying mothers want this thing to have a real daughter, I don't doubt the power of this thing, just as I don't doubt that two witches make an even better witch, which will further intensify my power over the Cavendish family, I know they're not stupid either, they're going to have a pure-blooded daughter to keep ahead, but if I have the children first and with this pure blood, the more chance they have of leading the family along my lines, Chariot, you're just a pawn in all this, they're just using you to learn how to be mothers, when the time comes they'll have other children, they'll forget about you, you're just a bastard with Du Nord blood, you'll never be compatible with the Cavendish way, that's the purest truth, you'll only end up being exchanged in the end, nothing compares the love of a mother with her biological daughter" Said the damned woman who got up and left that room.
Are they really using me? It can't be true, they love me very much, they always treat me with the utmost affection, I won't be replaced, I won't, they can have other daughters, they'll still love them all equally, she must just be lying, this is an exaggeration... Now that I've given her this hint, she's going to have children, this could be too disastrous, if the evil witch is boss here I could lose the mums, do I tell them or not? What now Chariot? What do I do now? Oh dear.
"In the end I didn't tell him anything, that conversation was just between me and his aunt, she managed toblackmail me into giving up the place where she could get one of the relics of the fertility stone, thatChristmas everything went smoothly, I was still feeling a bit heavy, but it was marvellous, so much so that Iforgot about that conversation, I was so focused on playing and having fun that I just kept forgetting about it,until time went by, in February or so Daryl called Andrew's father home, they had a night of love, then a shorttime later she announced that she was pregnant, I knew it was someone else's, but she insisted on usingPaul Hanbridge as the one who was the father and my mums believed it, even he believed it and with thatshe was getting money out of him, with all that, at least it gave me some relief, because I wasn't havingnightmares, I could finally sleep peacefully.
Monday 10 November 1997, Edinburgh, Scotland
The evil witch had children, I hope they're not evil little witches too, I'm going to make a point of being really good friends with them so they can be really nice and not like their mum, I want to see them again, it's going to be really nice, I get to the room where Daryl was sitting on the bed, but it seems the children weren't there, gee I wanted to see the babies, I barely got to see the twins.
"Where are the babies?" I ask my aunt.
"Chariot, come here for a moment, I want to talk to you about something important involving my daughters" said the wicked witch and I went over to her, still a little scared, her presence always frightens me.
"I swear I don't know anything about it and I haven't told the mums" I tell her and she puts her hand to her face and I'm standing very close to the damned thing, still afraid of her presence.
"It's not about that, you were right to keep it a secret, you saw how much better the reward was, I didn't touch your dreams anymore, since you helped me you've never had nightmares that I controlled, if you help me, I'll help you too, it's an exchange of favours, now I'll continue to leave you alone, but only on one condition" she said and I immediately remembered everything I talked to her about almost a year ago, I remember that I helped her have those children, when I talked about the place.
"And what do you want from me? It's not enough that I helped you..." I say until she puts her finger in my mouth.
"This subject dies with you, don't even think about opening your mouth to say anything about it, we don't talk about it, now what I want from you is a simple obligation from you... Stay away from my daughters, don't think about playing with them, don't think about being affectionate or being in that retarded way you learnt
from your fake mothers, I want my daughters away from the influence of that side of the family, they won't become slackers, I don't want them to pick up your ideas and end up ruining my plan to lead the family, is that understood miss?" I nod my head.
"But how can I avoid that? They're children, they'll want to play with me at some point, I can't help it either when my mums get close to them, what do I do? - I ask her.
"Turn round, I want you away from them or else I'll make your life a living hell again, I know how you love to sleep with peaceful nights without nightmares, I can make it much worse, not to mention that I still have that plan in mind - said the damned woman and I nodded in understanding.
After that, it seems she hasn't changed at all, my whole idea of turning the evil witch's daughters into good witches isn't going to work, it's as if she knew I was going to do it, damn it, I wanted so much for the plan to work, now I'm going to have to keep quiet... The damn thing is controlling me and there's nothing I can do about it.
I leave her room and go to mine, I'd better not worry about it, otherwise I'll be even more full of things, I'll take the opportunity and play a bit, on the way I pass some maids who are carrying the two of them, I'm looking at them wrapped up in their clothes, they must have gone to have a bath.
I'm sorry cousins, I wanted to save you from your evil mum, but it seems she's even smarter, there's nothing
I can do now, just when I wanted to have more friends here at home, that's enough, I don't think there's much to do.
"This whole drama with Daryl's daughters has made me even more afraid of her, I thought I could help them,I think that's why they must have been mean to you, don't blame your cousins Diana, their mum influencedyou to be like that, I didn't get to see the years when they were older for a reason that you'll soon know, butfor now I'm telling you what's been happening, now that I'm older, I wasn't such a stupid and naive childanymore, even though I was easily influenced by your aunt to give in to those blackmails, I was on the otherhand having a marvellous life, Laura and Bernadette were wonderful mothers, I was learning many thingsfrom them, I was on my way to becoming a better witch, although I didn't even have any training, they onlytaught me very basic things, I was having the childhood of a normal primary school girl, no one knew I was awitch, only my closest friends."
Saturday 6 February 1999, Edinburgh, Scotland
It's only two weeks until I turn nine, wow, time is flying, I can't believe I'm almost 10, I can't wait to enjoy the best party of all, I'm going to have a lot of fun, it's going to be the best day ever, I go down to the living room, where I see that the twins are crawling on the floor, taking their first steps, my mums who were watching them are also getting a bit scared, especially as I haven't forgotten what the wicked witch said to me, she was there too and she kept staring at me.
"Look at that Chariot, the girls are learning to walk, soon they'll be talking, they'll be running around the house, one day I can't wait for their little sisters to be like that too" said Mum Laura.
"Soon our little girl will be nine, she's already getting older, every day she gets closer to becoming a Luna Nova witch" said Mum Bernadette.
"Look how cute it is, they're trying to walk, it makes me want to get pregnant more every day, but just remembering that I'm going to have to get a child out gives me the willies, you don't have to be shy girl, come and play with your cousins, they're looking at you too" I look at Daryl and see that she's staring at me with that look, and then my mum Laura arrives and takes me away.
"Wow Chariot, are you as big as your mum Laura? You're getting big by the looks of it" said Mum Bernadette and I let out a little giggle, seeing that the girls smiled too.
"Oh come on, don't exaggerate, I'm still taller than Chariot" said Mum Laura, who I always thought was quite short.
"Next year she'll pass you and even with time off, look how much she's grown, I don't remember her stretching so much when she was that age" said Mum Cavendish.
"I'd rather not say anything about it" said Mum McLaren, and even the wicked witch laughed.
I became less tense, I got close to the two girls, they smiled at me back, I smiled too and went to pick up some toys, they were enjoying it, but I could see in Daryl's expression that she didn't like it at all, she was actually about to jump on my neck, but it's not my fault, I avoided playing with them all the time, and how I
avoided it, but it's not my fault if my mums are here, I'm not going to be a bad person and treat children like dirt, even if it makes me have nightmares at night.
They're cute, they don't deserve this mum they have, they're funny, the little cabbage hairs are already showing, the little blue eyes, it's funny how Mum Bern is the only one of the four who has green eyes, even in the paintings and photos of the Cavendishes they're all blue-eyed and a few with different colours, Mum is a rare Cavendish.
All this peace was interrupted when we heard the door open aggressively, we looked back and in came the bloke in the suit who rarely appears here, the one they still believe is the girls' father, frankly poor them, if he was, they'd be the worst parents.
"You lying bastard!" He said angrily.
"What now Paul? You came here chirping, that way you'll scare the children, don't do that Paul, be more polite" said the evil witch as he came closer and threw some sheets of paper on the table.
"You lied to me, you took my money, you scammed me and now you're talking like that? Did you know they weren't yours? You made a point of tricking me that day into thinking that the condom had broken, I was sure it hadn't, I even thought you were setting me up, but it was much worse, much worse, you bitch" he said angrily, and my mum came over to calm things down.
"Woah calm down, look at the language you speak, there are three children here, two of them are yours" said Mum Bernadette.
"I agree with swearing at Daryl, but you don't have to be a complete arsehole, just explain what she did to you" said Mum Laura.
"Oh yes, of course, as if I cared, because I'm going to call a lying daughter of yours and daughters who aren't even mine, I would even think that you were in league with her, but I realise that you wouldn't be capable of something like that because of the morals you have, this is all the fault of that little bitch Daryl, these children aren't mine, they're someone else's" he said and they all shrugged.
"You've been saying that ever since I was pregnant, take over, stop being an absent father, even on the birth certificate you're the children's father" said Daryl and I know exactly what the truth is, but I'm not going to say it.
"Look at the DNA test, I finally did it, after my mum died I had the chance to do it, now I have proof, look with your own eyes, these girls have nothing on me, it's all a set-up by Daryl to get my money" said the gentleman and I knew everything, I knew it, the bomb seemed to have exploded, I was about to open my mouth, but she gave me a look that would kill me.
"You can talk, Chariot" said my mum Bernadette, and now I'm going to start sweating even more as this woman's gaze penetrates me.
"If they're not Mr Hanbridge's, then whose girls are they?" I ask Daryl.
"It's none of your business, I'm not going to talk, that's it now, I screwed you over Paul, what are you going to do about it? I've already won what I had to win, are you going to charge me now? In front of the children" said the evil witch.
"I'm going, I want you to pay me what you owe me, you took £450,000 from me, I don't remember that being enough money to support two children, you must have spent it all" said the man and that's a lot of money.
"Bernadette and Laura will take care of it" she shrugged.
"But I don't give a fuck, you're a bitch, you're the one who took money from him, you have to pay for it" said Mum Laura and I laughed a little.
"Language Laura, but yes, sort yourself out with him Daryl, we're not going to take a penny out of your pocket to pay Paul, you're the one who did it, you're the one who's going to pay for it, to this day you don't even work, not to mention that you're always taking our money to do your own thing, you don't even study at any college and that's because we were willing to pay you, you're a grown woman, sort yourself out with him on your own" said mum Bernadette and that's it, blow her face off, I've never been so happy, seeing her frustrated face.
"You've got until the end of this year to pay me back Daryl, I want my 450,000, every month I'll increase the amount by 10,000 pounds in interest, so you better pay up soon or you'll end up paying 550,000 into my pockets, you can't have spent all that, you know where I'll be, Oh and I've already filed a legal application to have my name removed from your daughters' birth certificates, all that's left is for you to sign it, just turn up at the registry office in Edinburgh on Monday, I'll be there, I'll be waiting for my money" The gentleman said as he left and I don't even like him, but seeing Daryl lose like that made my day.
That was so good, Daryl's angry face made my day, she was so frustrated, after that bombshell, my mums are soon looking at her with more serious looks, she's just shrugging her shoulders with the greatest tranquillity, gee if I owed that much money I'd be more serious, then a scam like that, I couldn't imagine that this evil witch would get away with it one day, it's too satisfying.
"Chariot, take the girls to their room, we're going to have a grown-up chat with her" said my Cavendish mum in a very serious tone.
I go over to the girls, putting them in the prams, which I see the evil witch give me a look like "Don't do that or I'll kill you", but I reply with a look like "You're the one who's caused this problem, I'm still helping to clean up your mess", I'm sure that all this will still be left to me, I hope it doesn't end up causing any of this to put me out of the house, away from the mums I love so much, I've been living here for almost four years now and I don't want to leave.
[...]
They really spent a long time talking, it's good that I could play with them, they're such sweet kids, it's a shame they have the mum they have, I'm getting a bit sorry for them, they're going to lose their childhood to be Daryl's robots, they won't be able to have nice mums like mine, I hope that doesn't really happen, I'm sure that when mums have a sister she won't be able to do that.
Soon I see the door opening, the three of them are there and I'm going out, wow that was really tense, I imagine she must have spoken in the usual way, I'm walking past Daryl, with that bloodthirsty look of hers, it wasn't the same as always, it was something like I was hanging my head.
"We'll let Daryl reflect on what he did to her daughters, you can come Chariot, we're taking you for a walk today" said Mum Laura.
"Really?" I say excitedly.
"Well, I think you can reach the pedals of the car, how about I teach you how to drive today?" said Mum McLaren and I smiled a lot.
"Laura, your car seat is all adapted so you can reach it, how many times have you been stopped thinking you were a child driving hahahaha" said Mum Bernadette and all I see is a middle finger coming out of the other Mum.
"You guys love to make fun of my lack of height, especially you Bern, you say that, but you can't resist this short girl" said my mum Laura touching Bern and I just laughed at the situation, they're so cute.
"Laura McLaren Cavendish! Not in front of the children!" Mum Cavendish said and I just laughed.
We leave the children's room, I see that Daryl is still looking at her deadly, I think I'm going to have a long talk with her today, for the nine witches, I think I'm going to have my last day here, so I'm going to make the most of it.
[...]
I thought we were going to crash, but it was nice to learn, I don't know how I managed to control it so much, sliding from one side to the other, ahhhh, mums always know a way to make me smile, now I'm going to enjoy it and have a lot of fun playing, I'm even going to play a lot of Ronaldo Karting 64, I'm going to skid just like I do in real life.
I go into the bedroom, switch on the light and see that the wicked witch is sitting there staring at me, her legs and arms crossed, she seems to have been waiting for me the whole time, I even swallow my saliva, remember everything that happened this afternoon, I start to feel as if my life is flashing before my eyes.
"Looks like your plan failed, doesn't it? Who knew?" I say to her, raising my wand.
"No one is going to listen to us and no one is going to come in here, this is not the time for you to be ironic or to try to be funny, you know very well that you're the worst off here" I knew it would all come back to me.
"Oh, so all this trouble is on me? I'm just a child! I'm nine years old, how do you expect me to get nearly half a million pounds?" I ask her.
"Well, if you don't I'll have to get you kicked out of here, unfortunately, it would be very sad, four years with these wonderful fake mums, I'd be very sad too, they're so affectionate, I can see that they really love you, even if they're going to replace you" she said and I swallowed my saliva.
"How am I going to do that? Don't tell me to get by, I'm a child, I can't work, you can work and do anything" I tell her because honestly there's no way a child can get all that money.
"I'm not going to tell you to turn round, relax girl, I'll even help you with that, you're just a child, a child witch, a witch would be excellent to have light hands, especially as I can get this money quickly, as a child no one will be suspicious, so I'll use you for some services, something very quiet, even you can do it" I don't understand anything.
"What do you want to do to me? Why do I have to agree to this?" I ask more questions, because I have no idea.
"Basic stuff Chariot, I have the contacts of many high society events, we can go to them together, we'll go in disguise, you'll pretend to be my daughter, while you pass by each person and do this" She said and used her hand to levitate some coins that came out of my trouser pocket, now I understood everything.
"You want me to steal? But that's wrong! I'm not going to steal, that's wrong!" I tell her.
"Would you prefer to go back to France? I guarantee it's the same as when you left? I won't hesitate to expose everything to your father, I've got plenty of proof, you won't like losing your mums so dear to you, in fact it's not that wrong, these people have plenty of money to get someone else, you're not stealing in such a wrong way, they're people who have everything, are you going to help me or not? I want my answer now" What the hell? I can't steal, but I don't want to lose my home, I love it here, I love the mums, for the nine witches I was put in this situation.
I think about it, it's not right to steal, even if they're rich people, it's their belongings anyway, not to mention that if I get caught, I could go to jail and I'll end up going back to France anyway, I don't know what I can do now, it's a huge risk, I never thought I'd be a criminal, what the hell.
"I know you won't be able to resist, the shack you used to live in was the size of this whole room, you've got loads of video games, nice, well-made food, a perfect school life, friends from school, a mum who loves you, you've got everything here in Edinburgh, don't be so stupid, If you refuse, you'll go back to living in that shack and at your age people won't have so much pity for you, you'll live on begging, that's what will happen, you'll end up on the street, since your father won't give you the minimum" I get very pensive, it stays in my head, so I decide to look her right in the blue eyes that look like a deep pool.
"When do we start?" Damn it, I agreed to it, any risk will be the same, so there's no way.
She smiles and gets up handing me a mobile phone, I don't understand anything, but I take it anyway, it's a very small phone, it must be good for something, then she gets up and leaves the room, removing the magic around her, I have no idea why I chose to do this, now if my mothers find out I'll never be seen the same way again.
"I agreed to do the robbery, maybe you've seen it on the news about a robbery that took place in March 1999in Glasgow, Scotland, well, I'll tell you more about what happened, I took part in it, unfortunately, I'm not thatclean Diana, I've committed these thefts, unfortunately a lot without choice, but it was no guarantee,unfortunately of all people, Daryl is the last one you can trust, especially as I was only nine years old, shemade a point of training me over the days about the robbery, when that mobile rang I had to answer and shesaid everything, I just listened, it was every night, she made contacts, talked about the plan and how it wasgoing to be carried out, even the performance I was going to do."
See you, blackmail witches...