Monday 3 April 2006, Luna Nova
"You didn't get it, a lot because of me, but the students who didn't manage to get a very good grade in theyear with the start of the last weeks of school after the spring holidays had to do something called theenchanted parade, which was not enchanted at all, even Professor Finnelan wanted to revive it to affectAkko, but anyway, my trio had a very low mark because of me, even though I started to improve from thebeginning of the year, it still wasn't enough to get a good enough mark, my group was below the others inmarks, unfortunately, so it was our turn."
We were called to the board today, but how strange, what did we do this time? Did they find out about my running away? I hope not, I didn't steal any food, everything I take is with my own money, so this is getting weirder and weirder.
We reach Principal Holbrook's office, where I take a deep breath, because there I am with Professor Finnelan, I'm sure it's going to be a heavy thing just because she's here, what the hell, I really hope it's nothing to do with the concerts or my escapes with Croix to Woodward.
"Very well, now that you're all here, we can begin" said the headmistress.
"You're the first-year students with the worst grades in the class, we've put together what the trio did and you're going to have to take part in an event for Luna Nova, the enchanted parade" the name sounds nice, which makes my eyes light up a bit.
"The enchanted parade?" I say with a little twinkle in my eye.
"The enchanted parade is a serious event about the times in which witches were persecuted from the late Middle Ages to the early modern period, even leading to the torture of many of them and even the burning of Luna Nova in 1517, so it's important to remember these people from those times, you may have learnt this in my history lessons, but that's basically what the enchanted parade consists of - she went on to show me and I became a little wary, it seems like a silly thing to do.
"Wait a minute, do you mean we're offering to humiliate the whole town to remind them that we've been oppressed?" I ask her and she nods.
"If you'd paid attention in class you wouldn't be there Chariot Du Nord, I've already mentioned the enchanted parade, we witches go through these humiliations, we're given balls and we're tested, but that's just for sport, there's nothing harmful about it, the population then remembers what the witches did and feels the weight on their conscience, it's like remembering the..." I hit the table and completely deny this idea.
"Now I remember what it is, not because of you, but because my mum remembers something like this about the students with the lowest grades and it's tremendously unfair and in bad taste, it's like making a black person parade in the street being whipped and receiving racist slurs, how could you see something like that and think it's okay? People won't be aware of it, in fact they'll have to wait all year for it to happen again" I tell them angrily.
"Oh, how dare you! Have some respect for tradition, this is a way of punishing students who don't get the required marks, you're completely to blame for doing this, don't play the smart arse on us, either don't do it, or you and your team will suffer the consequences..." I stared even more closely at the teacher.
"Let's take it easy, you two, since that's the way Miss Du Nord thinks, then let's do what she wants, if she wants to change tradition so much and thinks she's good enough, we'll let her do it and organise the enchanted parade, you have two weeks to get everything ready, no delays, when the 22nd comes I want to see it all ready, if you do it your way we'll accept it, but if not you and your friends will be risking being expelled from Luna Nova" I get motivated and feel like throwing it in this teacher's face, so much so that I shake her hand.
"I'll show you why this thing is called the enchanted parade" I say with a smile on my face.
I could see Professor Finnelan's face, it's priceless, I've shown her who's in charge here, I'm not going to keep my head down and take tomatoes to the face and walk around like a criminal from the Middle Ages, nor am I going to be tortured like this, if the name is enchanted parade, then let it become an enchanted parade, I'm sure that with Croix's help it will be even more successful, like a parade, I'll enchant everyone. We left the room and I could see that the two girls were scared of me, a little angry perhaps, since the other way might be easier, but this one is going to make history.
"Chariot, are you crazy?" Parker asks.
"This thing won't last more than half an hour, then we'll just stop presenting ourselves with these things and be free, it's much easier, now how are we going to put together an enchanted parade in a fortnight?" Leave it to me, I know what to do.
"That money I won from presenting, I've also got a marvellous idea, let's make this an enchanted parade together, I'm sure Croix will help us with that, do you want to be just any witch or do you want to make history? Let's change this racist event once and for all to make way for a real event" I say to them, very motivated, and they both just stare, but they have no idea how great this is going to be, until my mobile phone starts vibrating, I think it's someone calling.
[...]
"I wanted to change everything, I wasn't going to be screwed over by taking tomatoes and being tortured,that was tradition, until Holbrook herself thought it was wrong and reflected a lot on my criticisms, I changedeverything for the better because of just one of those performances, but unfortunately I couldn't perform soquickly because that weekend I was leaving, for another performance in London, I even had a little moresuccess, the biggest house was 5,000 people, which I took Croix, she took care of everything herself andsoon Alan said that in three weeks it would be the next one, This time in another country, in this case inGlasgow, Scotland, I was already well prepared for it, I knew it would be great, but I had to focus on theenchanted parade, so I started to make the decorations, my idea was inspired by those Thanksgivingparades where they use inflatable balloons, but using kites, which would be cheaper, as well as hiring someboys to parade with these balloons since I earned a little extra money for the London show, everything wasgoing well."
Saturday 22 April 2006, Glastonbury, England
"Two weeks of rehearsals and preparations, I had everything done for the day, the various witches' kites,things that emphasise the name of the magic, I was even going to perform as Shiny Chariot on the day,which would give it more attention, apart from the girls being like helpers so much so that I got new outfits tofit each one better, based a lot on the discarded versions of my look, with Daniella wearing an outfit more likea masked musketeer while Becca went in a more discreet way, the only one of the two of us who opted fortrousers, with an outfit that even resembled a horsewoman, it was our intention, we could even get a lorry togo out dancing and waving, with the help of some people it could work, I really spent a lot of money that day,which helped me in the future in my career, in the book you must have seen about the enchanted parade, Ijust didn't know that it was a punishment for my grades being so low."
It's here, it's today, we're going to show Finnelan smashing his face, we've spent £25,000 on this, but I know it's going to be something really good, these kites are going to make a good impression, the lorry is also going to be something that will attract attention, it was by far the most expensive thing of all, but it was worth it, it all came out of my pocket from the presentations, but it was worth it, I get into the lorry and just look at things through my laptop, which I take my walkie talkie.
"It's today that we're going to really impress Chariot, you always come up with such innovative ideas, you can be sure that I've left some cameras positioned for the parade, this is going to make a big splash on the internet, you did well to impose yourself on Finnelan" I imagine so, I can't wait to see the applause coming, that's what a truly enchanted parade is all about.
We heard the lorry starting up, the signal that the performance was about to begin, and with that we started to make our way down the street, according to what I saw on the map, at which point the three of us looked at each other as we climbed onto the platforms, revealing our presence to the audience, where I picked up the broom and waved to the people.
"Welcome to the enchanted parade of Luna Nova!" I shout to everyone who is already clapping their hands at my presence.
I start to twirl through the air, the lorry is parading and my friends are doing dance moves, pointing their swords at each other, since that was the idea, and with that I get to the middle of them, who are making an arc with their swords above me, right on the platform, I'm going down since it's the moment for the two of them to perform, I hope they manage to remember what to do and do well.
I'm watching from the lorry's camera, the two of them are pointing their swords at each other, facing each other, holding their swords in one hand and their cloaks in the other, spinning round and round, just like in the step we rehearsed, and then they start to stage a war between the two of them, a sword fight, this is marvellous, we've rehearsed it to perfection, thank you for cooperating so much, wow, Daniella and Becca have really improved.
I saw the camera from the street and the people watching were clapping, there was no booing, everyone was really enjoying it and with the help of the kites, the stage was being made, just as I wanted, making the stage on top of the lorry even more impressive, as well as the others that were scattered around, many people wanted to perform thanks to my presence.
"I'm keeping a close eye on the surroundings with my robots, there doesn't seem to be a funny man with tomatoes, you're managing to impress people Chariot, that's marvellous, keep it up, they're enjoying it" said Croix through the Walkie Talkie.
"I knew I was doing the right thing, we rehearsed a lot, to think that next week there's a long journey to Glasgow, but I'm excited, my first performance in another country" I say excitedly.
"It's technically the same country, as it's part of the United Kingdom" Here she comes thinking she's clever.
"One day it will be another country independent of England, I hope. Funny you should say that, being literally brought up by an Irish woman" I was too, but that's another story.
"Focus Chariot, soon it will be your entrance" I decide to focus as I saw that the steps of the war between swords were coming to an end.
I start to adjust and cough, it's time to show my face, I look at the walls, I'm standing on the platform, apparently they're at the climax, when it would be time for one to hit the other with the sword comes the smoke, I emerge from it and with the Shiny Rod I place myself on top of the two facing each other and make the peace sign, since it prevents the swords from coming into contact.
"Let's do magic and not fight each other, magic is about unity, accepting our differences and improving the world, we don't need to fight over which witch is the right one, or who thinks that witches bring out the worst, we can unite together, our qualities in the name of making the world a place for everyone to live in" I say holding their hands as they join together, making a symbolic act since Becca's side symbolises a knight and Parker's the witches.
At this point, the three of us, holding hands, start to show the public and, as you'd expect, the kites show a more natural atmosphere, and the dance starts between us, as the witches progress, people clap their hands as my theme is played and I fly my broom, going towards the people on the pavements with my hand I wave to everyone, touching some hands as I do in the presentations, while in the lorry the girls are dancing and waving doing what looked like the dance of the alliance between humans and witches, I was able to do a more precise storytelling and I'm off to the next step.
Arriving at a place where lots of boys are going to throw tomatoes at me, I knew that something like this would happen and they go on doing it, but I go back to the lorry and do dance steps lightly touching my wand and making the fruit form a plantation that adds to the scenery with branches and leaves.
"We witches have often been humiliated with tomatoes, as if we were inferior, as if we weren't worthy of humanity, but these cruel people were only blind to the good that witches can bring and were soon able to shut up when she appeared!" I show a huge kite of the great witch Jennifer, I didn't have to force myself to torture myself to show that oppression happens and people are impressed.
I knew that there would be some of them harassing us and wanting to humiliate us, but I knew that I would turn things around and I even created this most beautiful effect of nature on stage, which we then went on to dance and distribute tomatoes that were flying through the air, reaching a grocery store where the shelves were empty and the people themselves were even dancing to it, accompanied by my Shiny Rod, which the girls were even showing the union next to me, as I wanted.
We're getting close to the square where the old instrument of torture for drowning a witch used to be, but that's going to change completely, as we get closer I point my Shiny Rod at it, and with my magic what used to be an instrument of torture becomes a swing for the children to play on and in this way I show them a new air.
"We have to let go of old traditions that are harmful to everyone and move forward, we have to show that we are mature enough not to see this as a joke and bring new times and joy to the people of this place, without a memory of something morbid!" I told the whole audience and with that we continued to parade down the street.
I kept waving to people, my friends and I kept dancing together, the clapping kept coming, more torture equipment appeared, what used to be those things you put your head and arms on became benches in the square, which greatly improved the atmosphere of the place.
There's no reason to have memories of such dark times for us, even more so when we're so exposed, everything can be remembered without having to see specific things, just remember a witch who was a great respect to us.
So I fly off again, this time together with my friends, where we make a trail of magic, drawing what looks like the symbol of Luna Nova, with the lights that make the trail more beautiful and causing a shower of glitter, as expected.
"A new world of magic is a new world where peace between humans and witches will be achieved, where we will walk together to enchant people!" I make a point of emphasising this speech, showing the things that are appearing through the kites, what might once have been pollution giving way to magic, and the like, with Croix's ideas already in mind.
That's my potential, my speech, my presence, people like to see what we've done, arriving at the end of that avenue, where the last place of the performance was, three poles that were used to burn the witches tied to them, and so I get down and walk slowly to where these poles are and take a deep breath, touching the one in the middle with my hand, and my friends touching the others, we go together with our eyes closed.
A glow is created and a lighting effect eventually transforms these torture poles into statues, the one in the middle being that of the great witch Jennifer, while the other two turn into trees that take over the environment, creating more life in that square, showing the leaves becoming very bright and colourful, like in spring, causing us to clap, and we walk back to the truck that is coming a little further to the side and wave to the people.
"This is this year's enchanted parade! We're very proud that you were able to see something different!" I say waving to everyone, and it wasn't just the townspeople.
I saw it everywhere, the boys who threw tomatoes at us to try and cause trouble, they were clapping for us, the older gentlemen, the children, I felt very special about it all, but something unexpected, who was watching us especially on this arrival, I thought she would find it absurd, but even Anne Finnelan the most conservative teacher clapped for me, I'm incredulous and moved.
"Thank you so much! Thank you so much! You guys are great!" I said with emotion and we left with the lorry and the platform came down, where I saw a shocked reaction from the girls.
"Did you see the same thing as me?" I saw it very clearly.
"We got a round of applause from Professor Finnelan, we managed to impress the person who was least likely to be impressed by us, Chariot we did it! You did it!" Parker is even thrilled.
"I said I was going to make history, I'm not going to back down, things are going to change a lot with me, this is just the beginning of something great to come, she respects me like a force, she knows I'm capable of moving mountains and if I want to and I will, the world of magic will be a fairer place for everyone" I say to them who hug me.
"Thank you Chariot, I don't know what I'd do without you, really, I was even thinking that rehearsing would be a bore and I'd even find it better to give in to getting tomatoes in the face, but you come up with all this, you show us an interesting idea, you bring us peace, your presence is something incredible magical, keep being this marvellous witch that you are" said Daniella.
"Wow, really, I wasn't keen on staying in that tomato, but you surprised her, you showed Finnelan who's boss here, she clapped her hands out of respect, you showed her that you're not going to give up on her" said Becca.
The lorry arrived near the square and we got out of there and took the Ley line back to Luna Nova, where we waved to everyone still wearing our presentation clothes. As always, people gave us the same strange looks, but now we're on our way to the boardroom, we're confident, even the way we walk has changed, to something that exudes confidence, until they open the way for us and we're practically parading to where the boardroom is.
Climbing the stairs, we arrive at the door to the headmaster's office, where I open the door and walk confidently into the room, where I can see the headmaster's reaction with a smile on his face and a slightly disgusted look on Professor Finnelan's face
"So now we're approved?"- I ask her, who claps her hands.
"That was fantastic! It was an even better demonstration of how to approach the subject, I simply hadn't seen the whole city come to see an enchanted parade before, of course the Shiny Chariot factor weighed a lot,
after all I am attentive and I know that in England you are starting to be well listened to, so that weighed a lot, but it was still impeccable, you have the potential to draw crowds" Said the director.
"I just wanted to show a different approach to the enchanted parade, it would be very silly to accept the idea of doing something ridiculous like you chose before and it worked, I showed that a different approach can still show people the story and respect us as witches even more" I tell them.
"You really did it, you looked like a circus with all that, but I have to admit that you know what you're doing, what you failed to do as a witch, you'd make an extremely talented circus performer, I'm just going to say it once, this isn't your place, your place is in the Cirque de Soleil, staying here as a witch isn't going to bring you anything, I say this to your best Miss Du Nord, you're causing too much and the older witches aren't going to like it at all" And may they not.
"Because the message is already out, I'm going to fight them and I'm still going to be Shiny Chariot!" I say, staring at her and slamming the table.
"When the big witches come knocking on your door you won't have headmistress Holbrook to protect you, they're no joke girl" and neither am I.
"And I'm not going to lower my head, finally, now that I've done what I had to do, I'm going" I say to them as I leave the room.
I could see from Professor Finnelan's face the hatred rising in her head, she knows there's no stopping me, I'll never stop, I'm still going to build up a huge relevance, I go back to the room and panting a little I look at the girls smiling, and soon I hear the door slam, when we open it it's Croix and she's even got a bit of a smile on her face.
"Did you also see Croix?" Ask Parker.
"I even warned her about the tomato boys, I was watching everything with a drone, they didn't even notice when Chariot went into action, everything was perfect, she had a point in her ear knowing everything, plus I saw Finnelan's moment, it was simply epic" Meridies said.
"Ah, so that's why she knew everything, as a duo you're ruthless, you can go a long way if you've caused a stir with Finnelan, let alone what you can do further down the line" said Becca.
"I saw it more as a threat, if you ask me, Anne Finnelan doesn't want peace with us, she wants a war, she's already realised that Chariot won't lower her head, now the hard part begins, but I know that Chariot knows this too, we're both going to have something that will change the whole game, there's no way they'll be able to fight back when they realise that we're more important" Now, after all this time, she's going to tell us.
"What would that be? Like Chariot is the daughter of a Cavendish and money is important, so I guess that's it" She has no idea.
"Money may be what drives us these days, capital and all, but there's something that goes beyond capital for witches and it's in Chariot's hands" she pointed at the Shiny Rod.
"The shining sceptre? What's so special about that?" Parker asks.
"You've heard about the legend of Claiomh Solais and the seal of Gran Triskellion, so sit down and I'll tell you about it, it's kind of the pinnacle of witches" I'm so happy for Croix's evolution, she's really learning things, she's really going to tell the girls about it.
[...]
I'm amazed that they don't realise the importance of this story, even if they haven't learned it in history class with Professor Finnelan, it's a story that I grew up with from a very young age hearing my mother talk about the staff she had, but which she never used either, and now seeing them learn about it for the first time really impresses me.
"Ohhh, so there's been a magical historical relic all along capable of changing this world and you're after it? That's right, but why haven't I heard about this Claiomh Solais?" Daniella asks.
"Because they don't want you to know, few witches in the world know about it, only five of them have been chosen over the centuries, that's why it's so rare, it's been very selective, unfortunately the witches who have
passed their hands haven't managed to get that far, none of them in history have found the seven words, but it could be our chance, that's why I'm dedicating my life to it, one day to be the chosen witch, just like Chariot's mum and Claiomh Solais, the older witches know they're dealing with real, serious witches, Chariot will be able to form her career and make history, I'll accompany her and find the seven words, together we'll break the seal of Gran Triskellion, revive Yggdrasil and thus start the witches' revolution, since we'll have all the morals of society to be able to put the plan forward" Now it seems that the girls' heads have processed better.
"Ah, you as a nerd being so rebellious always impresses me Croix, now it makes sense for you to be so dedicated, I hope it gets into your hands then, but I don't understand why it would go into the hands of a 17-year-old girl, to be quite honest, it doesn't make sense to give a weapon capable of changing the world to a teenager, why not give it into the hands of an experienced witch" Becca said and we just shrugged.
"I don't understand either, if it's to make change possible they should choose someone with more age and experience, well in any case I don't know if you can really Croix, have you ever stopped to see what made the others choose?" That's a good question.
"Farnese is an isolated girl from Loch Ness who was gifted for the first time, her mission was to save the witches from the hunt, but she didn't succeed, she even found the first word, but her power was no match for something new that came into play, firearms and assimilationist witches, they joined the church and there she was tragically defeated, Little is known about her, only that she has a connection with the Cavendishes and ensured the bloodline stayed alive, Sarah Campbell, an Englishwoman who used to be from a poor family, adopted by the Cavendish family reintroduced magic to the family and was an excellent combat witch, she didn't get very far, two words only, she at least managed to free Luna Nova from Appleton's cult, But she lost the sceptre when she separated from her wife due to revolutionary differences, which leads to the third and most unlikely, at that time we had two great witches, Victoria McLaren and Jennifer Campbell, neither of whom was chosen, this one is by far my favourite of the chosen ones because I'm just like her and that's what raised my hopes of being the next one, Esther Williams, she wasn't the most powerful witch of her time, she was just very intelligent and was the first of the golden age of witches to try to unite technology with magic, but she was always subjugated, she made it as far as the third word, but ended up giving up in the name of progress and goals, she didn't think she'd need Claiomh Solais to change the world, little did she know the mistake she'd make, which brought us to more mordant times Louise Du Nord, the fourth chosen, she was the strongest and most skilful witch of her time, she was excellent at flying on a broomstick, but without a doubt her greatest quality was her pure heart, she made it as far as the fourth word, Unfortunately she was very tragic, she died young, her focus wasn't much on the sceptre either, which meant she had to waste a lot of time, but without a doubt she could be the one who changed, if she didn't die at just 43 years of age, and we come to the most recent of all, the last chosen, Chariot's mother, which was very controversial, Laura McLaren, Laura McLen, as you already know, has a history in Luna Nova, the most troublemaker, the one who clashed the most, received the shining sceptre, but she was another who didn't dedicate herself completely, she focused too much on revolutionary goals, on her current job, as well as on the Cavendish family issues, where she got as far as the fifth word, she could even go further, but something made her give up, her daughter, she was forced to separate from her by a curse and with that she sacrificed Claiomh Solais in exchange for the knowledge to obtain a cure for her daughter, a wish granted by Woodward, where we arrive today in probably us" I didn't even remember that Croix had said about each of the chosen ones, but it's interesting to see what each one is like.
"Notice a pattern there? No offence, but what if it's not you? What if you only get to the sixth word? The next one chosen would be the first to close the seven" That actually makes sense if you think about it.
"I'm different from all of them, none of them knew about Claiomh Solais and cared little for him, but I'm different, I know his story and his weight, when I'm chosen I'll dedicate all my time to finding the seven words" She's always motivated like that.
The girls, as always, are a little frightened by Croix's reactions, but I'm used to it, she tends to go a bit over the top, but that's just her way, so the long explanation is over, I'm really getting more and more surprised by it all. Now that the girls know, I'm sure we're getting closer to the moment when we'll be chosen.
"And that's how the enchanted parade happened, it was so good that there wasn't another one after that,Professor Finnelan did everything to stop it because it would ruin Luna Nova's reputation and whatnot, but inthe end I had one more victory in that time, which we're already reaching great moments in my life, it's reallygoing to be very challenging, for now we're reaching the constant part where my life is only going up, butsoon it's all going to come crashing down like a rollercoaster."
See you, parade witches...