"Well it was an unexpected moment, I left a completely normal day at school, approaching Croix, she showsme what Arcturus is like, kind of on the sly so as not to cause any suspicion, but we were simply surprised bythe presence of Woodward who appeared for the first time to both of us, that would be the beginning ofsomething great that was to come, the time she enters for both of us, that it would still take a while for thingsto end the way you imagine it ended, until then everything was fine and marvellous."
I wonder if this woman is really Woodward, if she is, wow, she's really beautiful, enchanting, I really want to see what she's going to say to us, I can see that Croix was simply impressed, she didn't expect this to happen, is this the first time and only because I'm here has she shown up? I don't know, but I imagine it will at least be interesting that way.
"How could she? How did she just turn up? It really doesn't make sense, I spent months coming here and even somehow praying and begging for Woodward's presence, was that the last thing I needed to do? If that's the case, thank you very much Chariot, you've helped me a lot" She's all right with her head full, she must be shocked by all this.
"I don't even know what happened, was that supposed to happen Croix?" Meridies just shakes her head in denial.
We were really in shock, a giant woman full of lights and butterflies all around, something that is really leaving me impressed, a magic so great that we can feel it from here, it's as if it's entering me, which we're getting closer to, with the woman continuing with her eyes closed, until they open for a brief moment, which surprises us not being fully open, but being beautiful green eyes.
"You've come this far, the two girls, Chariot Du Nord and Croix Meridies, witches who are going to change the world, I already know everything you intend to do, I know how good your intentions are and that's why I decided to come along, I'll guide you so that you'll be able to get the Claiomh Solais, after a year even more people have come along with this desire and it's good to see it back in this younger generation" We've really done it, it's incredible.
"Why did you only turn up Woodward? I've tried for months and months to get you here and nothing" said the bespectacled woman.
"You're not ready yet, you still need to learn how to work as a team and that's why I haven't shown up for you yet, that's what I needed to be able to take you to the next step, apparently you now have a friend, this will give you a better chance of getting the Claiomh Solais, from now on you'll be my students, I'll show you the world of Arcturus magic and one day you'll be ready to receive the Claiomh Solais in your hands, don't see this as a competition, I'll just give the staff to the one who deserves it and who I really see has the potential for it" We nod our heads and I can't believe it, she's really appeared to us.
"And how will we know that we're doing well?" Croix asks, and apparently today she's full of such questions.
"You won't, that's the point, you'll do things without knowing whether you're impressing me or not, it's not a school or a test, the sceptre will only be given to the witch who I know deserves it, it's very simple, it's not a question of who tries harder, who's the best witch, all that counts in this is the heart" Woodward said and that really touched me, I just see my friend getting a bit confused, but it seems she didn't make any point.
"You didn't do this to Laura McLaren, she was just chosen out of the blue" Meridies said.
"She was a case in point, we were without any witches and I thought she was ideal for this role, she has the heart of a believer, she has a lot of magic, it would have been her chance to finally open the seal, but events in her life put the brakes on everything, now we have two potential chosen ones, this is something very different to see, usually it's always one" Now it makes perfect sense, which must have helped all her doubts.
Now the Croix has even become quieter, and then some lights start to appear, showing an image inside it, with some branches in this image, some strange things with thorns and a star, it's quite bizarre, until it shows the magic around it circulating, butterflies are coming out of it with a very different body, it still has butterfly wings, but the body is human, this is quite beautiful, is it a fairy? I don't know, it's impressive.
She goes on to show that, in the effect it's having on those who see these fairies, people getting better, no longer being ill, it's really too miraculous, I wonder how it's all happening like this.
"This is Papilliodia, a butterfly that only appears every 120 years, it takes all this time for it to blossom from its larval state to the state of a butterfly, when it comes out of its chrysalis, its magical presence enchants everyone around it, it can perform the most miraculous cures, its beauty is also something that impresses, they carry enormous magic inside them, which unfortunately is something that in these times is becoming
rare to happen since they drain a lot of magic to get out of their chrysalises, And as your first lesson you're going to help a Pappiloidia chrysalis to bloom, this year it's 120 years since one of them was born, but the tree is half dead, I'll give you the location and don't worry about the other teachers, they won't know anything" It's our first mission, what a marvellous thing, it really makes me excited.
"And how are we going to do it?" Croix asks.
"You'll go to this place in the Arcturus forest, a few kilometres to the south-west, when you get there you can see the dead trees, you'll perform a spell to restore the trees or use potions to at least leave them alive, then the chrysalises will appear from the roots and that's where your spell comes in, you'll say Papilliofilio Ninfodia don't worry, I'll be watching you in case anything happens" Woodward said and now we understand, we went up on brooms already preparing to go.
With everything already understood in our heads, we picked up our broom and set off on our first adventure. Wow, this is really cool, it's the first time I've ever been on an adventure like this, it's what I wanted most, to go on this kind of adventure in pursuit of witch quests, now we're going to help some butterflies hatch, it's really interesting.
I follow Croix, who has taken a photo of the map with her mobile phone and is following the path, we have to fly a little to the south-west, which I'm only seeing a huge landscape of forest and more forest, with some hills in the background, looking back even Luna Nova was disappearing from our view, we're really getting far and luckily our magic doesn't run out, even though we're not near the sorcerer's stone
Croix's speed slows down and you can see that the trees are very dead, you can see that they're about to fall down, it looks like we've arrived at the right time, so we land and look around carefully to make sure there's no danger.
"Nothing here, it's safe, now just start the process, luckily I took some healing potions with me, maybe they'll work on these trees" Meridies said, clever as ever.
"You're always clever, Croix, great of you" I say to her.
"Not only that, I can set up a watering can, so it's more efficient when it comes to spreading the potion along the path. I can do it quickly with magic, I think I have the stuff for it, I'm always prepared for any emergency" I realise, this way I can see why the one with glasses is going to be the chosen one.
She set up a hose and an irrigator with some pieces of iron she had in her handbag, using magic, something we didn't learn at school, which she then put in a little bottle where the healing potions were, starting to turn the thing on and spreading the liquid all over everything, wow I'm really far behind her in being a witch, look at her genius.
Everything was getting wetter and the trees were becoming more vigorous, it was possible to see that they were turning colour, the branches were turning brown, the leaves were turning green and others were appearing, but then there was a tremor, the roots were appearing and I was holding on so as not to fall
"It looks like my irrigator worked" said Croix.
"You really are a genius Croix, I wouldn't think of something like that, I'd put a drop in every tree, or I wouldn't even have potions on hand" I say looking at all the roots coming out of the ground.
"You have to think about these situations, it looks like you've had another lesson today, always be prepared for anything, otherwise the situation could end up screwing you, I only did a little basic thing, but we've already achieved a good part of the mission" I realised.
I could see the various chrysalises on the roots as well and they were a little discoloured, but they were starting to raise their thorns by sucking from the trees, which I noticed were getting thinner at the roots, it looks like we're going to need more potions and that's what Croix was doing.
It wasn't working very well, even using the necessary force, nothing seemed to change, it kept sucking more and more from the trees and I kept remembering the part Woodward told us about the spell, I think it's time to use it, the trees are going to end up dying like this.
"Papilliofilio Ninfodia!" I hold my wand high and then create the effect of rain falling on the trees, it looks like magic, it's catching on the chrysalises, without sucking the energy out of the trees.
"It shouldn't be time yet Chariot, they're not going to come out like this, we had to keep watering" Only I was soon proved right.
"Croix worked! Together we managed to free these trees and also the butterflies" They began to emerge from their cocoons one by one.
They're beautiful, they look like women with butterfly wings and as they flew, they also created a trail, which even felt a little healing from the little bruise I must have had from pulling on his skin so much, I also see that the trees are starting to grow leaves again, which is strange, some of them have trunks that look like a woman's body, it's scary.
I can see the sky getting beautiful, together with Croix, it looks like we've achieved our first mission, this is really marvellous, I never thought we'd do something like this, really magic classes doing magic and with missions.
"Look how beautiful... We did it together" I say happily.
"You were right on that one, just say the spell, we both did this first mission for Woodward, these butterflies are really incredible, we managed to free them from a 120-year slumber, now they're going to bring a lot to Arcturus" I'm sure they will, they're already starting to spread, leaving their trail all over the place.
"What's next for us?" I say excitedly.
Croix just shrugged and we went on watching the sky and the butterflies disappearing into it, now they're going to start another generation of Papilloidias out there, spreading beauty through the forests, what are we going to do then we see Woodward appearing in front of us, how marvellous, I even feel a sense of relief, I thought it would be something else, it seems that our mission here has been accomplished.
"Congratulations girls, you've passed the initial test, that's it for today's missions, but come here every Friday and I'll teach you a lesson, so you can learn how to be better witches, since Claiomh Solais isn't just any witch" said our new teacher.
"That's it? Let's not have any more, I can go around blooming more of those" Meridies said.
"For the time being, I only had this one to blossom this year, you've already done a great job here, now rest up, dedicate yourselves to your school as well, it's important that you're very attentive and dedicated witches, so I'll know who I'm sure will be the one"Let's go nodded in agreement.
"Woodward, why are there so many witches around?" I ask her.
"Both of you have stories of hardship, one who ran away from home so young to be who she is, even found a home, but discovered the injustices of today's magic and is trying to change things, which is undoubtedly something great, the other is one who was forced to live in an abusive home and never gave up on her dreams, fought until she couldn't anymore, each of you is a dreamy witch and wants to change things, bring about new times that can revive magic, you have enormous potential, I even say that you wouldn't even need Claiomh Solais for that, since just what you do is already possible to change the world and bring people back to magic, so don't focus on this dedication to Claiomh Solais, just on yourselves and your dreams, now I'm going, I'll see you next week" She waves to us and disappears from there in a very glorious way, it was even a very fast moment that we were already leaving.
We flew towards where the tower is, the broom disappeared from there and with that we went down, seeing the path, now I know Croix's big secret, a little place she always comes to, I really didn't expect it to be so full of these things, now I understand why she always comes here.
We chatted on the way, because all this is different, now we have another teacher in this, without a doubt I can already imagine that Croix is at her most dedicated in order to have this Claiomh Solais in her hands, with her the world will change, she is already very intelligent and knows a lot, with the power of the staff she will be able to do very crazy things.
"What Woodward said about forgetting to devote myself to Claiomh Solais is nonsense, she's just trying to distract me from it, stop and think, why does she want us not to devote ourselves to it, it's the most important element of Chariot magic, I'm not going to stop devoting myself to it, I'm going to study more and succeed, I have to impress Woodward, she'll recognise me like that" Wow, even her tone has changed a bit, she really is more motivated like that.
"I don't know if I'm right about this, but Mum didn't really care when she had it"
"And that's exactly whyAunt Laura didn't go all the way, she had Claiomh Solais for 16 years and only got as far as the fifth word, she'd rather stay in bed with her wife or play video games than devote herself to what's really important, if she wanted to change magic to fulfil her dream of being a broomstick sprinter, she would
have done it a long time ago, but she preferred to devote herself to other things, that was her mother's mistake, maybe today you'd be with her and your sisters, but I'm going to be different, I'm going to reveal all seven words, I'm going to show that I can do it faster and when I open the seal of the Gran Triskellion I'm going to have my wish to change the world fulfilled" Wow, she's really fervent, I even pat her on the back.
"Calm down Croix, the staff isn't going to fall out of your hand, we're going to realise your dream together, you're really passionate about wanting to realise this dream of having a staff, I can see it quite clearly" too much so, I'd say.
"It's my life's dream, I grew up in a world that didn't want me to exist, I got a home, I learnt new things and discovered how the world is even more unfair, how magic doesn't accept innovation and that's why I want to change these things, I want to bring magic to be something new, when I saw your mother talking about Claiomh Solais from a very young age I was fascinated by it and spent year after year hoping that she would succeed, but when it came to the days when she was forced to separate from one of her daughters again, I saw how shaken she was, she put her hopes in me, which made me feel honoured, I had already been mentored by her for years, but after that day she intensified it more and more, I became the witch I am thanks to her and my mum April, it was 9 months of intense training until I reached Luna Nova, I saw myself ready for it, that's why I did so well, I'm dedicating myself to it, I want to change the world for the better, accept people, accept change, it doesn't make sense for us witches as a minority to still be so conservative, That will only kill magic one day, we should bring modernity to magic, that should happen, Chariot, you wouldn't understand that, anyway, we're almost there, I imagine you must have your dreams too" I understood everything, I just nodded my head, it really is quite a dream she has, I hope she manages to realise it.
And we walked along the path together, until we reached the ruins, I could see that she changes completely when she's with me, it's as if her soul becomes more alive, but sometimes it's a bit scary when she talks so dedicatedly about this dream, the tone of her voice I don't know, I think it must be her thing, I'm not like that when I talk about my dreams, am I? I don't know.
We arrived at the ruins and I could hear the sound of crying, which I already warned Croix about, it was really instigating me, it was a very loud sound, it sounded like an animal, it wasn't a human cry.
"Croix, let's help, there's an animal crying" I say to her.
"Chariot, this is a trap, this place is full of bears, if one of them catches you they'll kill you, it's not a witch's joke" I don't care, it's a cry and I'm going to help.
"I'm going anyway, I know how to defend myself, are you just going to stand there?" I asked her, who looked like she wasn't enjoying it at all.
"Chariot!" She shouts, drawing my attention.
I go running anyway, it's a cry and I have to help, I listen until it gets louder, it doesn't seem as full of bears as they say it is, it's just a place like any other, quite quiet in fact, I can see where the noises are quite loud, how marvellous.
I get to where the crying noises were, it was a bear cub, he was crying, when I realised he was hurt, also his mother was all wounded and weak, someone had hurt him, she seemed unresponsive, I saw that already with a totally different reaction, I went to get my wand to do a healing spell on the mother, but it doesn't work.
"No..." I say with a different tone of voice and the bear cub realises I'm there and is getting scared, so I hold out my hand.
I try not to show that I'm dangerous, I get close to the mother, breathing heavily, she has a huge cut on her chest, how am I going to heal it? I don't know how I'm going to do it, but I have to try, and I soon see Croix coming, she's watching everything and the baby bear is even growling a bit near the mother, I try to reassure everything so he doesn't run away, since we're going to take care of the mother.
"Croix is a bear that's going to die, leave it alone" she said.
"Do you have a first aid kit?" I ask her.
"I've even got these things to make a suture, there's no telling when it might do the trick, but look at that bear, he won't resist, I've also got some potion" That's what I needed.
"That's what I need, we're going to save that mother bear's life, if you want to pass through here safely that's what you need to do, if we gain the bears' trust we'll even be able to go to the Polaris fountain or pass through here as if it were nothing" She just shrugs.
"Chariot is a thing of nature, it's the cycle of life" I don't care, it's a life.
I start to make the first stitches, watching Mum Bear's pained face, gradually managing to do so, but I can see that she's not losing much blood, I even wash the wound with alcohol, all to make her feel better, I manage to finish closing the stitches, she's getting better, I hope, now I take the healing potion, passing it over the wound, very little, the rest I leave with Mum who is managing to blink, showing a healthier reaction.
"That's it, you're all right now, you can rest easy, I saved your mum" I say, trying to calm the little boy down as he looks at it and becomes calmer, he knew I'd done something.
It's a little bear, he started rubbing his head against my chest and I kept stroking him, I think this was reassuring him after everything, it must have been very traumatic for the little boy to go through everything, what a thing, he really recognised that I was taking care of everything with affection, I gave it to his mum and the little bear was happy, while his mum gradually regained consciousness and got better, which I was very happy about, since I was able to help, and I could see Croix's reaction and she was relieved too.
"It looks like you've succeeded Chariot, congratulations girl, but that was really too much, you acted out of character, what if those bears attack us?" She asks and I shrug.
"They didn't attack, we helped, we're Croix witches, we have to think for others, whether they're people or creatures, they deserve to be looked after too, I just think it's strange that you don't want to help, you have to think outside your nose" I say to her, who frowns.
"I just think it's risky, Chariot, let's go back to school, we've been here long enough" she said.
"Before I go I'm going to give these two a name, mum will be called Ursula and the little boy will be called Arcas, they're the friendly bears, you can tell who our friends are, take care, now I have to leave with my human friend for Luna Nova, bye bye to you" I say stroking the heads of mum and son.
I left the ruins after helping the bears, I could see that Croix didn't like that very much, she's sometimes a bit strange, while I've already helped as many people as I need to, it's always good to have some humanity left over, so we headed back along the forbidden path.
We reached the courtyard of Luna Nova and Croix grabbed my shoulder with a smile on her face, she was relieved despite the bear episode, we're happy being friends, today has been very busy.
"Chariot this adventure is just between us, don't tell your mates, okay? I had a great time today, it was a secret I told someone I trust a lot and thank you very much for everything, but now I'm going to my room, I have to devote myself to this thing" She seems to be quite stubborn, she only thinks about herself, but that's her way, I imagine she's been through a lot.
"I promise, it's just between us, we're going to enjoy this a lot, I'm sorry for making you angry about the bear episode, I'm the kind of person who helps everyone, but it was fun, I think we're still going to have a lot of fun" I say happily.
"I don't think fun is the right word, for this kind of situation we have to dedicate ourselves, soon we'll be the witches that Woodward will say we're the ones to change, magic is the most important thing, it's not just any Chariot joke, but anyway, I'm going, I'll put up with my mates talking about boyfriends and boring things... Ugh, I really can't put up with that, to think that they're the best in the school after me" She could come to my room.
"Then come to my room, you'll stay there with nothing to do, the weekend is ours to enjoy" She even blushes a little.
"Ahhh Chariot, but what about Claiomh Solais?" I hold her hand.
"Let's stop being a pain in the arse, we're going to play a lot of Sphere Game" I say, taking her hand and pushing her towards the bedroom.
I walk over to where the room is, the girls wave at me, I wave back, they weren't expecting me to be here, they weren't expecting me to be here, especially with Croix, well I think we have one more to play, the good thing is that there are more controls.
"So, girls, let's play, there are four of us here, the Sphere Game allows us to play a Ronaldo Party, it's going to be a lot of fun, I guarantee it" I even offer it to Daniella.
"Ugh, I told you I don't like these things," she said.
"You're going to sit there reading the book all day Daniella, give us a chance to play, with four of us it's much better, even more so with Croix present, even she stopped studying for a while to be with us" I say to Parker.
"You pulled me here, Chariot, we won't even have room in the bed, where will I sleep? Where's a mattress for that? Have you ever thought about that?" She asks.
"Let's get the mattress from the bedroom and take it here, tonight will be our friends' night" I say smiling.
"You pulled her right in, now it makes sense, well Chariot Du Nord did it" said Daniella, to which I laughed.
[...]
We had a lot of fun, even Daniella was impressed and enjoyed playing with us, but as night fell, we were so entertained that we forgot to go to Croix's room, how stupid of us, now she won't have anywhere to sleep... Well, she'll just have to sleep here.
"Wait a minute, what time is it?" Meridies asks.
"It's half past eleven" What? Damn, we've really missed the point.
"Damn it! Can't we go to my room and get my mattress to sleep on?" She asks.
"I'm sorry, Croix, we had a lot of fun playing and we completely forgot all about it" I say, scratching the back of my head.
"You can stay in my bed, you and Chariot sleep in my bed, there's room for both of you, I'll go to your bunk" I blush just imagining it and so does Croix.
"What about the pyjamas?" Becca asks.
"I'll lend you my clothes" I say a little embarrassed.
"Come on girls, you're so embarrassed, I used to do it all the time, I used to sleep with my friends at the house, stop being so embarrassed, it's not like you're... I don't even know what an erection is, but there's nothing different about it, I can see that Croix even has a huge tomato face."
"That would be strange, but funny at the same time, the way Chariot loves spending time with Croix these days, I wouldn't find it so ironic if she actually managed to pull it off hahaha" Daniella said and I started to blush.
"What's an erection?" I ask and they all laugh, except Croix.
"Relax girl, you don't need to know that, it's a boy thing, when they get really excited that thing in the middle of his legs lifts up" That thing lifts up? What a strange thing to have asked, I'm ashamed of myself, I even covered my face.
"We're all girls, you don't have to worry about that, apart from the fact that you're not going to be sleeping together" said Parker.
I only see that Croix has gone to the loo, she was really, really flushed, it seems that the idea of lying down with me is quite embarrassing for her, but how strange, I didn't even blush as much as she did, how strange, but okay it's her way, she's also a lesbian like me, but it's strange that she felt so bad when they talked about it.
"It seems that Croix really likes someone" said Becca, laughing.
"So that was the first contact with Woodward, and you can see some signs of why Croix didn't end up beingchosen, it took me a while to realise this behaviour, but I was already noticing it a little from back then, butanyway, she was already very selfish and wanted Claiomh Solais at all costs since that time, which issomething that makes you very different from Croix compared to what you were with Akko, but anyway, itdidn't get that bad, at least that night was peaceful, Croix slept peacefully with me in the end and she looked
so beautiful showing those green eyes... In the end, you can't deny that her beauty was something thatenchanted me without me even knowing that it was instigating me"
See you, arcturus witches...