Friday 14 April 2006, Luna Nova
"We were taking bigger steps in getting closer together, I just couldn't get to Woodward's the following weekbecause I had my gig in Scotland and it was the first five-figure gig, 10,000 people came to see me, I wasreally blowing up, Alan was loving all that audience and all the profit he was making, I was using the moneyto save for future things, while also focussing on Claiomh Solais' mission, so we decided to go with the girlsto the tower of Arcturus, since it could be something, they already knew about the mission so they could beof great help."
Now they're going with us, they're going to be surprised by what they find along the way, I'm sure, we'll just be careful not to get too close to Arcas and his mum as they're quite grown up, I imagine they can still get to know them because they've never seen them and that's what we did, we sneaked past the ruins until we reached the forest.
Walking through the forest, I could see a little of Daniella's fear, while Becca just stared at the surroundings excitedly, as if she were in a zoo with so many exotic creatures.
"So this is the forest of Arcturus? I've always stayed away from it out of fear, but it doesn't look very scary" She has no idea of the dangers that lurk here.
"I don't think it's a bad idea to go here to Arcturus with you, but since you don't want to keep secrets, it's good that there's at least something good here" said Parker.
"We'll be there soon, the tower of Arcturus is just round the corner" I say as I walk quietly away.
The girls take a good look at the surroundings, a little scared perhaps, but that's to be expected for a first time in this place, we're going to show them more things, which will expand their minds a lot, I'm sure. Soon we arrive at the tower, we enter through the tree, and you can see the impressed looks on both of their faces as we climb the stairs to the tower.
When we get to the top, they are impressed by the beauty of the place, it's really beautiful, I always like to look at this tower, all this natural beauty made by the branches and leaves.
"Woah, so this is the tower of Arcturus? Is this where you go every day? I didn't realise there was a way to venture into Arcturus without attracting attention and now I know just how to do it, it really is a wonderful place" said Becca.
"Well, the place is said to be a tower, I don't remember learning much about this place here in Luna Nova, it's good to know that this is your hideout, for a moment I thought this was where you caught each other in secrecy, but apparently in a sacred place like this I'm sure it's not, but if you do that, wow" I blush a little at Parker's comment;
"It's a sacred place, there's no reason for us to keep bumping into each other in an important place like this, we value tradition very much, this is where we talk to Woodward, who will turn up soon" Meridies said.
"Ah, so this is where you talk to Woodward, it'll be really interesting to find out more" said Becca.
"Yes, it will be, she always gives us missions to do, where we also find out a bit more about the history here, about a lot of interesting things, which I'm even thinking of adding to my presentations" I say to both of them.
I sit down in one of the chairs and take the opportunity to rest after today's tiring lessons. Just wait and she'll turn up here in the tower soon, she'll give us a mission and having four will be very easy, I'm sure of that.
[...]
"Croix and I were a bit naïve on this one, we kept waiting, waiting and waiting a lot, the minutes went by, theybecame hours, we waited and nothing came of Woodward appearing, which was something we were used toher appearing at the same time as we set foot in the Arcturus tower, which was very suspicious and strangeindeed, but we tried, we kept changing position from place to place in that tower, we even kept calling her,many times, but nothing worked."
She doesn't want to appear, but for what reason? Never has Woodward stopped coming round for us, is it because we're really having an unwanted presence? Well, that's really annoying, it's really bad, I don't think she likes the girls here that much, there must be something wrong with that, I look at both of them who are heading for the stairs and almost leaving, it's really not today.
"Hold on! They're not going yet! She might turn up, it's true! She always turns up when we go here!" Said the desperate Croix.
"We've understood everything, you can rest assured, if this is all just a delusion on your part about a spell from a plant, we'll understand, you don't need to prove anything, we already know it was an illusion, it would be impossible for a witch who died many centuries ago to still be alive here, but that's okay, we won't tell you anything about this embarrassment you've been through" said Daniella, nodding and leaving with Becca.
"We're not delusional! This Woodward woman is a total bastard, she wants to test our patience and trust in her, don't go yet! She does exist! She taught us everything!" She's really desperate.
"I'm sorry, but we don't believe that, you two better not worry about it, it's late, it's the effect of the plants, they must have come here to go crazy and seen this illusion, but be careful what you use" Leyland said as she went downstairs.
They just walk off and leave, I don't try to stop it, meanwhile I just see the furious and crying Croix on her knees on the floor wetting herself with tears, I don't know what to react, I go near her to see if it gets a bit better, because it really is too sad for my friend to be like this, only she pushes me making me fall to the floor.
"Croix?" I say a little worried.
"No more! Enough of this! I did what Woodward asked, I came here alone last week and all so she'd only talk to me once and I'd show her how I'm improving, and now I make the huge step of bringing our friends here and this is what I get? Honestly, this dead bitch is just playing with us Chariot, I do everything! I do everything she asks! I'm improving as a person! She's the one fooling me! I'm tired of it! I just want to help in the journey to get Claiomh Solais and now we're back to being the school's laughingstocks!" And at that moment the girl herself came out.
"Calm down, Croix, she can hear us, she doesn't have to show all that anger" I say, trying to reassure her, because she really is listening.
"It's good that she has ears, it's good that she's not deaf, so it's good that she listens, and I really give up trying to do things your way... Your... I'm not going to swear at you, you're still on the verge of giving Claiomh Solais to anyone and that just proves how dependent you are on us, so respect us! I'm tired of being your puppet and having to do your bidding for stupid missions, if that's what makes me have Claiomh Solais in my hands, all I want to do is help the world for the better, but if you don't want to recognise that and stay stuck in your comfort zone I don't give a damn about you, you dead spirit!" She actually appeared, which made me swallow my saliva.
She walks backwards and ends up touching something, it's Woodward herself, so much so that as she turned I could see her frightened face, then she seems to swallow it all and becomes confident and turns towards herself, still with confidence inside her, but I could already see that much of her manner was gone when she realised that Woodward herself was here, I just kept quiet.
"So that's what you think? You've finally decided to stop pretending? I'm proud of you, but disappointed at the same time" said Woodward.
"That's right! I really have nothing to lose, I'm this selfish person, I'm simply tired of being your little doll who does everything, how do you think I'm going to change the world and have Claiomh Solais like this? I'm a human being, not a fucking perfect dead ghost, and I don't give a shit that you've killed people in the past, that's nothing compared to my desire to have Claiomh Solais in my hands to change things, I want to save lives, don't you realise how shit we are? It's too comfortable there in the afterlife, while we mere mortals live in this shitty world" I didn't expect a reaction like that, Croix was really furious about the whole thing.
"I want to help you, one important step at least I could see that you've already done and that's wonderful to know, you recognise your own faults, it was today's test, to see how much you could take, to bring Croix for real, I could see that you're very angry, I can understand that, but don't worry, you don't have to force yourself to do things you don't want to do" said the witch and gee, if that was a test, I think someone's going to get more angry.
"What was that? Were you testing me, you bastard? What am I to you? Is that what you do to us mortals? Do you think our short lives are a joke? I'm sorry I'm not 1500 years old, but I have important things to do while I'm alive! If that's how you think you're going to get anything out of it, you're just being a terrible witch, that way the world will never change thanks to your idiotic way of acting" I'm just scared, I never thought I'd see Croix so angry like this.
"It's OK Croix, I recognise that it's not the right thing to do, but you need to control your anger, you're like a hysterical child who isn't getting a toy they don't want, I'm just warning you to keep calm, I know it's a bit annoying to happen, but I promise it won't happen again" She clenches her fists in more anger?
"What? Spit it out Woodward, you're hiding the fact that you want to say something worse about my behaviour because of what I was born with, aren't you? Go ahead! I don't care, I've understood everything, to think that I trusted you, but in reality I'm just going to be your little keychain, all this effort to be chosen, so that in the end I already have my answer, I don't know why I'm not surprised..." She's crying, I can tell.
"If it's about that I don't think it's connected, it's an exaggeration invented by you, by your anger, I would never link your behaviour to what you were born with, I've had a friend like you who was one of nine, please go and rest, both of you, let your heads clear, it's important that you're all right, next week we can talk -Woodward said and I saw a middle finger rise up for Croix.
She turned away, Woodward disappeared and I could see my friend crying, I cuddled her, hugged her, knowing how she's feeling, I'm not sure how to react, but it's the best way to treat her, she deserves a bit of affection, this Friday can't have been the best thing for Croix.
I could feel my shoulders getting wet, she's really getting very sad about all this, it must have hit her hard, but that's okay, I understand her being like this, it's not easy to get over it
"Let's go to Luna Nova" I say to her as I stroke her back.
"I'm tired of it Chariot... I just wanted to give up... I hate having to do all this for a piece of wood, all I wanted was to be able to change the world, but people think I'm scary, in the end I'm just a freak, and nobody has the guts to say it to my face, it's always the same lines trying not to say it, but I know they mean it in the worst way" said the sad Croix.
"Croix, you're not a freak, don't let yourself be taken in by other people's words, come with me, we're not going to Luna Nova today, I think what you need is a bit of affection" I said, hugging her, who was crying a little.
She stayed hugging me for a long time, I knew it was a way of calming her down, it was all a mixture of heavy emotions in her head, I imagine it's not easy to deal with these things, but now we have to find a way to move on, I also got a little frustrated because of Woodward's test, but in the end there's not much to do, she's the great witch, she knows what she's doing.
I stand up holding her in my arms and take the broom, where I fly towards the skies, with this we pick up Ley's lines, she even decides to sit on the broom and hugs me tightly from behind, which we land in Glastonbury square, we stand there and she holds my hand.
"Don't let go, please" Croix is very needy and needs a lot of extra attention, so I'll make sure I don't let go and we'll walk round the city.
"I won't let go of your hand, I'll always be with you" I said with a smile on my face and I could see that her expression was still sad.
I'm going to do what I can to change that, to bring a little sunshine to this moon that's so dim, I walk through the streets, seeing some people staring at us, but I don't care, I only care about Croix and if they think we're girlfriends, I don't care, I want to see my friend feeling well.
I walk into The Last Wednesday Society, the bell rings and I can see her reacting more quietly than usual, we sit down in a chair and even then I keep holding her hand, but her face remains with the same closed expression.
"I've come here so we can be together, talk more calmly, you can feel safe, I'll ask Chum to bring the best for both of us" I say smiling.
"I don't know why life does this to me... Everyone's so lucky, and here I am all fucked up, always getting stepped on" She's broken like a vase today.
Soon Chum arrives at our table and it looks like he's starting to show some changes, apart from the longer hair, I can see a few more hairs on his face, things can work huge miracles, I'm really impressed, I just signalled for him to take the best without saying anything, I think he might have got the message from seeing the way Croix was broken emotionally, it all brought her down a lot.
When he goes to prepare the food, I see the green eyes that were hidden by her fringes and her head always down looking into mine, her face still with that heavy countenance, it really makes me feel bad for her to be like that.
"Chariot... You think I am... That I'm... That I'm a freak? That I'm weird? That I should be normal?" She asked again and I nodded.
"Why would I think that?" I ask her.
"Why would you think that? Look at me, look at the way I always act, I don't look like you're radiant and happy all the time, I don't think about cute and beautiful things, about presentations, I'm just a maniac who ended up fixated on a piece of stick that thinks it's going to change the world, I'm just that, look at the way girls look at me when I talk about my plans, they've even said I look like a cartoon villain... I just really want to know if I'm genuinely like that" Oh, I could tell she was feeling a little fragile.
"Chariot, you're just a person with a vivid imagination, like anyone else, you're not evil or something, people who are different from you just get scared because they don't understand the importance of the things you plan, maybe your way of speaking also ends up scaring people, not your voice, but your rhetoric, it can end up scaring them a bit, yes, but it's not your fault, it's something we can work on, because I can see how your plans can help people" I say with a smile on my face.
"I know that, Chariot, but I'm always thinking, maybe I'm just naturally like that, naturally weird, so I don't think I'll ever be able to have the real Claiomh Solais, since I'm not a pure-hearted witch like you" I'd never be chosen for that thing and I don't want to be.
"It wouldn't work for me with this responsibility, above all you're intelligent and responsible, you're better than me, and you're going to be the chosen one, yes, Woodward is just giving you the hardest path because she recognises that you're the strongest and the best, believe it or not, she wants to break you, you don't see her doing this to me, I'm already calm, I know I'm not going to be the chosen one and you know I don't want to, Claiomh Solais must be in the hands of the best" I even say using both hands holding hers that was even wiping away the tears.
"You're too precious a person for this Chariot world, I think... Forget it, I think saying that would spoil things, let's just live for the day, thank you for your advice, I'm still angry about what Woodward put me through" I know you are, but we can feel a bit better.
"I'd stay too if I were in your shoes, I know what a huge pain it must be, but believe me, Woodward didn't do it out of spite, she's just trying to see if you're really the right decision and wonder Alan called me" I say to her with a sly smile.
I'm going to see my manager, he's coming to talk about the next gig, in a fortnight' time, apparently it's going to be once every three weeks, from what he's telling me it's this one and another two weeks after that, the first of these is going to be in Leeds, the second is going to be in Edinburgh, how wonderful, I'm going to be performing in my city where I grew up with my mums, that's going to be really interesting.
I finished talking to him and I could see Croix's reaction to all this, she must have heard my reactions, I think that after all this heavy stuff we've been through there will still be some more relaxed moments.
"Another presentation? When will it be?" She asks.
"In a fortnight' time, in Leeds and the other in Edinburgh" I can already see a different reaction from Croix.
"Edinburgh? In your old house? That would be interesting, we could even visit the Cavendishes there" I shake my head in denial.
"I'd rather not, Daryl is dangerous, I'm even a bit worried about introducing myself so closely, she'll show up and it won't be the best thing, well at least I can justify it being my job, but anyway, I think I can say it's going to be a good trip" I say scratching the back of my head.
"You can be sure that I'm coming with you, we're going to have a blast in Edinburgh, we're going to rehearse for a one-off number and also to show that Daryl that we're in the area, she'll know that she can't mess with us, even though you can't be close to your sister and reveal things about her, we're still going to enjoy our trip" Of course we are.
We held hands together and in the meantime Chum came round with some crisps, sandwiches and soft drinks, just what we needed most and he noticed that we were in a much better mood than before, no doubt a magic had passed through here, and that magic was what could help us feel a little better about each other.
"Look, I don't know what Chariot used, or if she took a love potion without asking, but to have changed Croix's mood from water to wine is amazing" Wow, his voice has really thickened, that stuff he uses works miracles.
"We didn't get anything, I just talked to her a bit, I'd say I understand Croix very well, not like her mum, but I can be a person who understands her well" I smile at my friend who is still smiling at me a little shyly.
"I'm happy for you both, well enjoy your meal, I'll let you both have your moment, I imagine you still have things to sort out and talk about, I'm going" Always being nice to us, I look at Meridies' face and she's even a little better.
We start to eat, in a much more relaxed way, I even take the chips and put them in her mouth and she does the same thing to me, we even giggle a bit, in a much happier and more relaxed moment, all of which has really cheered up our nerves after such a tense moment, I've never felt so... I don't know, I'm just getting weird, I'm getting cosy with Croix.
Suddenly I end up seeing something very different when I hand her a potato, seeing her older and in a house, there are children around who look like us and then everything stops and I end up standing there like a fool.
"Chariot? Chariot!" She calls me and I shake my head.
"Hello? I'm here, what's wrong Croix" I say scratching the back of my head.
"You've completely switched off, you seem to have seen something, are you OK?" I nodded, even a little flushed.
"Yes, it was just my head making me think of bizarre things" I'd better not even say what this bizarre thing is.
"Bizarre things? You're all different, was it something bad?" I try to gesture and get even more embarrassed.
"It's not that, it's a marvellous thing really, I just ended up imagining it too much, never mind Croix" I'm ashamed, but that would be marvellous.
"All right then, I think someone ended up being a bit weirded out by the place" I really was, I even took the burger and ate it to try and distract myself a bit.
She's going to be even stranger now, how can she be, I genuinely have very strong feelings for her, she's the first girl I've fallen in love with, when she's in that different way, her gaze is enchanting, well try to stay upright Chariot, she's fragile today, this isn't the time to think about that, I'm just going to make her feel good as a friend.
I'm just going to keep being her friend, even though deep down I really like her, I really want her to like me, but I'm a real mess.
"So Chariot, I see we've reached 100,000 visits to your site, I'm checking it out here on my mobile, and we're doing well, your most watched video hit 10,000 views on youtube, if we keep going like this we'll even get some nice extra money from these places, maybe one day you'll reach a million" it would be wonderful.
"I can't wait for that, is that a good sign? How are other things going, am I really going to be a worldwide success if I carry on like this?" I ask her and she nods.
"Look, our Facebook page has reached five thousand likes, our reach is growing and I'm thinking of joining this new site called Twitter, maybe we can increase our reach more, having another social network can help us leverage more, but we'd better leave these work issues for later, look at me I really can't cure myself, I can't stop thinking about these things, damn it, I should be more relaxed" I even hold her hand, smiling.
"You're always so hard-working, let's just live in the moment and have fun together" she nods.
"I had no idea, but it really helped Croix, it was a crucial day for both of us, we were getting relaxed, I wasreally enjoying that part of the evening, we even had an impromptu karaoke at The Last Wednesday Societyfor a while, but it was soon to close and we had to go back to Luna Nova and that's where things would turnwhat could have been a forgettable day for Croix, into one of the best of her life."
I've had a lot of fun in this short time, we've actually spent a considerable amount of time here, it's already nine o'clock at night, the sky is beautiful, I'm grateful for Chum giving us this support, we made our way to the square, still holding hands, we weren't really paying much attention to the things that were happening,
but something seemed to light up, the sky was full of stars, with few city lights ahead, everything was marvellous and even a shooting star passed by, which we marvelled at.
"Woah, look at that Croix" I say impressed.
"It's a shooting star, better known as a meteor, everyone thinks it's a star, but it's just a piece of rock that..." I put my finger in her mouth before I start throwing more information at her.
"You really wanted to make fun of me, didn't you?" I said, laughing a lot and moving my face closer to her, and she immediately grabbed my chin and I blushed.
"Her eyes are like ruby stones Chariot, they're marvellous pairs of rubies that shine brighter than any star in the sky, I don't think I've ever..." She starts again and I half blush, half cover her mouth with my finger, making her blush.
"Croix... I..." I can't complete the sentence, so I wrap my hand around her waist and tiptoe closer to her face, where I feel her hand too.
As if it were a very quick moment, my body gives way, I bring my face closer to hers, my mouth goes on instinct, I have to do it, I bring my face closer and my lips touch Croix's sweet, soft lips, she holds my waist, I lift my left leg, an explosion of sensations ensues, this was bigger than that surprise kiss of hers, I feel her tongue meeting mine, everything very hot, a little wet, my head is flying, exploding.
We stop kissing and right at that moment there must have been a bridge of saliva connecting our mouths and I blush, she blushes too, to the point of holding back a little, I smile a lot and go on caressing Meridies' beautiful soft face, which even starts to cry.
"I'm sorry, Chariot! I didn't mean to..." She's very embarrassed, but I'm very calm.
"Didn't you want to? I want more" I squeeze my waist even tighter, which brings us closer together.
"Chariot... I..." She's quite embarrassed.
"I love you!" We said it together, and then took a few steps backwards as we became quite embarrassed.
"What did we do, Chariot? I wasn't ready for that" I even feel bad, I think I caught her at a time when she was emotionally fragile.
"I'm sorry I did it out of the blue, I know it's not the best day to act like this, but it's just... I love you, I really love you Croix, I'm immensely in love with you, your eyes, your hair, your voice, your way, everything about you, I want..." She pulls me close again, taking hold of my waist.
"Dating me?" I blush a lot more and she turns into a real tomato.
"I wanted to... I love you Croix Meridies, but can we..." She hugs me and I burst into tears.
"We're ready, I want to date you too Chariot Du Nord, I've been in love with you all these months, when I see you so beautiful like this, radiant, with that red hair, those eyes that look like a pair of rubies, your soft skin, your warmth, everything about you is marvellous, I want to date you too" That was quite a surprise, but I didn't imagine it would be so.
"We're just not going to tell anyone yet, we'll leave it until the summer" she nods.
"Just for our mums, they need to know" She's right about that.
Together we hold hands, get on the broom, as I only came with one it's easy, we fly back to Luna Nova, along the Ley line, trying to pretend we're not girlfriends, but it's hard, especially now that I want to have more reasons to be close to her and the whole school is suspicious, but at least this has helped take a huge weight off my shoulders.
"That day for me had gone from 0 to 100 very quickly, which at the same time hindered us from being able tocall Daniella and Rebecca to our side, on the other hand it was the beginning of the first relationship betweenme and Croix and I say the first, because we still had a few break-ups along the way, this first one at least Ihad very good memories and you'll see what a really wonderful time I had with her, which I really didn'texpect to be so much like this."
See you, lesbian witches...