Tuesday 31 October 2006, Luna Nova
"It was the perfect time for me and Croix to talk again and get along, I thought that day would never come, Ihad even stopped believing, but it was the little push and a fight that really brought her back on track andsoon after the fight she came to the room more often to play, revealing that many of the times she was reallyworking on programming the game, but a few times she didn't want to go, which made me feel a bit downwhen I heard it, but I was glad she had told the truth and that brought me some relief, well then I would haveanother chance, since due to the rules both mine and Croix's team already had moon witches, so we couldn'ttake part in the Samhaim festival, we could even watch it, but an invitation made us miss out on Luna Novawhen we least expected it."
Well, there's not much to do today, just watch the festival after school, now that afternoon classes are over, we'll have to go there, or spend the time playing games, it could be fun somehow, well I'll see if Croix wants to go too, I hope she's not busy just today at Samhaim.
Walking through Luna Nova, we meet her in the middle of the road, she's waiting for us and I'm greeted with a kiss and a hug, we even start walking hand in hand, I don't think Parker will like that very much.
"So we're free today?" I ask Croix.
"Look, it's better than staying in my dormitory with those two boring girls. My mum told me there's no work today, so I'm totally free to play in my room" I even get a smile on my face.
"It's good to see you back like this" said Daniella.
"Look, apart from the fact that I almost broke your face, you're really right, I think it helped me realise how toxic I was being and how I wasn't valuing what I'd been giving" that's really nice to see.
"You nearly broke my face, you were getting tired of trying to hit me Croix, a little more and you wouldn't have been able to take it, that was a draw" And there they go with this rivalry.
"You want to say a bit more and it would stop being a fight and you'd be making out" The two of them go quiet and Becca laughs.
Ah it's so good to see that we're all together and back with such a good friendship, I'm really grateful that this can happen again, now we're getting to the room, well I think we'll be able to enjoy it, but as we enter there we're surprised by another apparition simply my mums and Mrs Jordan in costume, what do you mean, what are they doing here like this.
"What's that? Mums?" I'm scratching the back of my head.
"Come with us, I know you're the Moonlight Witches, it's too early for you to dress up in whatever costume you want, there's a Halloween party at home" I'm even getting bright-eyed with excitement.
"Really?" I'm very happy.
"Look, I wouldn't leave out a celebration like this, since Samhaim's nuisance won't be celebrated by you, so let's go for a walk and enjoy the day, which is also Halloween, back home there'll still be time to pick up some sweets in town" We've already got very excited.
"And what are you dressed up as?" Parker asks.
"I came from Adrian the son of the vampire Dracula from the game Witchvania and my wife came from Hestia a witch who allies herself with Adrian to defeat Dracula, they're a couple in the game, only we did it in a more different way, since April is Lonk from Lonk's adventures, we even thought about launching Witchtale costumes, since we did the game as well" I could tell it's them, they look so beautiful, mum Bernadette made a great vampire, she even has fangs.
"My mum's got some beautiful tusks, but what about Diana? How are you going to keep her?" Very important question, by the way.
"I took her to the England mansion, they have a daughter, I know Beatrice, she'll be fine spending the day there, instead of being frightened by her cousins who have been a real pain in the arse, it's ridiculous, a 31 year old woman bullying a four year old child and her daughters can be tolerated for being influenced by it, but it's been really annoying, Diana loves Shiny Chariot, she really wants to be able to see her perform, I can't wait for us to get back soon" I can't wait either Mum Bernadette, I'm really looking forward to it.
"So are we going, girls? Or are you just going to sit there and play video games? You can improvise any costume you like, my wife here can sew any outfit in seconds" said Mum Laura, and we nodded enthusiastically.
And we're already heading outside, picking up the brooms, taking the Ley line, it's very good to know that the portal goes right to Mum Laura's house, so it's very close, as we arrive we can see that there's a whole Halloween decoration, wow, it's been years since I've celebrated Halloween, I was still a very small child since the last time, I must have been nine when I went as a vampire.
As soon as we landed we were greeted by my grandparents and even they were in costume, that's so wonderful, both of them in Frankenstein's monster, that's marvellous, I'm even thinking about what I'm going to dress up as, it's going to be interesting.
"Look who's turned up, new faces have arrived for our Halloween party" said my grandmother Joanne.
"Mum!" I say all excited and go to hug her, which I feel all the affection in the world in me.
"We couldn't leave these girls out, they'd be in their room playing video games until it was time for the Samhaim festival and given that there probably aren't any witches as interesting as them, I can understand how boring it must be, so why not bring them here?" said my mum Laura.
"You did well, girl, it's good that you brought more sweets here" said my grandmother.
"He'll kill his father with all that sugar in his blood" We laugh.
"Mark knows how to look after himself, the little sweetie here who makes him full of sugar, isn't that sweet?" Are they really going to kiss in front of us? Apparently mum's way came from a place.
"Blergh, you don't need to show terrifying scenes in front of the girls" said my mum Laura until she was hugged from behind by mum Bernadette. I think I've finally understood what Mum Bernadette meant by that, for the nine witches, you can even see them throwing themselves at each other.
"Girls, let's go inside, we can think about what to dress up as" I say all embarrassed.
By the nine witches, how can these adults be like this, we're still too young to hear this, even the girls were quite embarrassed, when I came in I could see that the girls were watching cartoons on television, how cute, Holly and Hellene are two cute girls, Megan is also sitting on the sofa and when she saw us she waved at us, she came dressed as Ronaldo, she even has a moustache, how cute.
"Sis!" She went to hug Croix, how cute.
"I missed you too, although we saw each other yesterday when I came home to work, I loved Ronaldo's costume" said Meridies.
"Wow, there's some good food here, so I'm going to take advantage and eat some, I'm starving" said Becca.
"I think I've come up with an idea for our Chariot costume, something that will go together a bit more" I have no idea what she's thinking, I'm just being taken to one of the rooms.
As I walk in the door locks, I can't believe this is going to happen right now, so if she thinks she's going to master something I'll quickly teach her what my treats in the form of pranks are, I'll even unbutton my waistcoat and untie my tie, only for her to interrupt with a blushing hand.
"No Chariot! It wasn't that, for the nine witches... I was going to challenge you to a duel, hahahaha" She actually laughs, she swore it was something else.
"A duel is it? So you're going to dress up as Bakura?" She's the same if you think about it.
"Why Bakura? Everyone thinks the same thing, am I that much like him?" Him? I didn't watch enough of the anime to know.
"So if it's not Bakura, then who is it going to be? Is it who I think it is?" My hand is already on my chin.
"You'd be fine being who I'm thinking of too" I think so, if it's really him it'll be cool.
"So you like the idea?" It makes me smile.
- I think it's time for a duel" I reply, striking a pose.
It's going to be fun to see, I've even been doing the drawings, looking at Croix, she's going to look great as Seto Kaiba, it's really like her, I'd even say in the way she looks, a bit like her personality, me as Yugi is going to be interesting, since I look like him when he's short, but I can look like him when he's tall, I just need to think of a way to make the hair look cool.
[...]
We're all dressed up and ready to go, I leave the room changed and see that Croix is already there and she's staring at me with that Seto Kaiba look, as if she's going to duel me, I even stare back at her, and wow it looks really good, you can see it in the mirror, Mum Bernadette has made the outfit really nice and there's even the duelling disc.
"At last you've arrived Yugi, play one more pathetic card from your pathetic deck and accept your defeat" She's got into character.
"My grandfather's deck doesn't have any pathetic cards, it has the exodus!" I say, showing her the card, and then we start laughing and getting closer.
Wow, that was really good, we hugged, and I can even imagine myself challenging people to a duel just to pick up sweets from the doors of houses, it would be funny if the cards could pick them up, it really would, but I think that's too much, I don't think Aunt April invented something like that and neither did Croix, it would be like bringing it to real life.
Anyway, now that we've finished dressing up, we can celebrate the day, it's still late afternoon, the dressing up part was very quick, Becca dressed up as a rocker, you can tell by the guitar, Parker decided to dress up as a character, she looks like a princess, I don't know, but at the same time she doesn't, well now we're all dressed up.
"Seriously, you two are such nerds, so many fantasies to think about and you've come up with something like this?" Becca said.
"And why the princess costume? It's the most generic" Croix teases.
"This isn't a princess, this is Belle's costume from Night Fall, it's very different from a little princess" Oh knew it was a reference to the book she likes.
"Oh yes, that huge book with all those volumes, I even thought about reading it, but I found it a bit dull, the main romance is straight, apart from the fact that the two of them are fighting over a woman, it would be more interesting if they resolved it in a love triangle, or if the two of them had a go at each other" said Meridies.
"But they do, the love triangle went from volume 23 to volume 71, and they had a lot of fun in between, just read Night Fall, it's interesting and worthwhile, you who are all geeky will like the current volumes, which frankly I think are worse than the old ones which had more romance and more depth, now they're adapting to modern times, it's the biggest retcon of all" And I don't understand any of it.
"I take my time with my manga and anime, I like to read about programming, that's interesting, you should take a look at some manga outside the bubble where there's only well-known stuff like Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, One Piece or even Yu Gi Oh there are some more unknown Japanese titles that touch on some cool themes" And there goes Croix to start talking about it.
"I can smell a fucking boring argument a long way off, let's enjoy the party, eat as much as you like, your friend who's dressed up as Joan Jett could eat and play with her video game guitar on the MagicStation, let's see if she'll stand up to me" said my mum as she went to get a glass of soft drink.
And off the girls went to start playing the guitar, I think the duel is going to be to see who plays best, I can already see that Mum Laura is going to challenge Becca, it's great to be here having fun, I couldn't ask for a better day, even more so as I was going to spend Samhaim without doing much, which I see my mum Bernadette looking at me and signalling for me to go with her.
"I'll be right back, Croix, I'm going over there with my mum" I tell her and she kisses me on the lips, it looks like we're getting back together.
I go to where Mum called me, we go to where the tree house is, where we go up there and sit and look at the house getting excited from afar, she even took some cans of soft drink and some things to eat, I think it's going to be a moment to talk, she even looks at me smiling and strokes her head.
"I haven't seen you for weeks, I'm sorry I've been away for so long, work has really caught up with me and also looking after Diana, these are things that have been wearing me out, I don't even visit Laura very often, it's only been one trip a month practically, which before I used to travel twice, even many of these I used to stay for a whole week when I had time off at the hospital, but things have been complicated for me, I wish I could spend more time with you and them..." Mum said it's okay, it's important to dedicate yourself to your work.
"But I've heard all about it and we talk from time to time, I'm sorry for taking so long to reply, but look Daryl is impossible, she really thinks I'm going to give in if she upsets Diana, now that she's done this to her career with that manager we're going to be her managers ourselves, better than that creep driving around in a new car with our money, but I'm not here to talk about him, I'm here to talk about something else you've been going through" She always has very good words to say.
"Croix, isn't it?" She even shakes her head in agreement.
"I heard what Laura said, but I want to hear it from her own mouth, from daughter to mother" Well, where do I start, it's a lot, but let's explain the situation.
[...]
I think that now Mum is going to think that Croix is the worst person in the world, you can tell by her face that she's not enjoying this situation very much, it's not the same reaction that Mum Laura gave, I can even see a worried expression on Mum Bernadette's face, it's strange and it makes me worry, I think she must be thinking about something.
"Do you want me to be honest, girl?" I nod my head in agreement.
"I think it's good to hear what you two have to say to help" I even try to be more cheerful, but I don't think the answer will be good.
"I know I should be the one to encourage a relationship and tell people not to give up, but I've seen these signs in a lot of people and Laura hasn't had the experience I've had, whether she likes it or not Croix is very selfish, she also has a bit of narcissistic traits, this is dangerous, my mum Clarie was extremely both, I still have traumas to this day, no privacy at home, being forced to do everything she told me to do, being beaten if I didn't, having to act perfectly, obliged to do everything, if I didn't please her I was in the worst shape of my life, all this so that in the end when I broke up with her I still felt pain, these kind of people make you feel bad for doing the right thing, Daniella seems like a good girl, she even helped you two, but my advice to you is not to get too carried away with your relationship with Croix, think about it, enjoy life, find out who Croix Meridies really is, and don't feel guilty for letting Daniella give you too much attention, you have to analyse what's best for you, don't just listen here, but up here too, I know people have their faults, I have mine myself, but you have to think ahead, if this person is going to bring you a healthy relationship" Mum Bernadette knows how to say things more clearly, she seems to understand better than I do.
"So I shouldn't keep telling her how much I love Croix or try to get her to date me? I still love her very much, it's not going to be easy to deal with" I say to Mum.
"I'm not telling you what to do, it's my advice Chariot, do what your head and your heart think is best, it's important to see if the person is being truthful, if they're really supporting you, you'll know in the future, if I were you I wouldn't get as excited as you did after that fight, this has already ignited something in Croix, where she may even think that maybe it's a way of getting your attention, to keep you as someone she wants, I know this a lot because it was something my mum did when I left, It took three years of her forcing some attention on me so that I'd go back and dump Laura, I'd make a point of kissing my girlfriend in front of her so that I'd come home disgusted, there was so much emotional blackmail that I was often worn out and feeling guilty, even afraid to go back and feeling like a monster, in the end I endured it all, it was the best decision I made, I'm happy with Laura for that, but it's important not to let your feelings get the better of you" Mum Bernadette always knows everything.
"I think I've understood everything Mum, I'm going to try to do my best and think before I do too much, my love for Croix is strong, but if she loves me that much she has to deserve that love, I already know what I'm going to do when I'm ready for the third word" I say very motivated.
"That's what you have to do, don't show up begging for her attention, make her beg for that attention and value even more what she's been treating badly, above all value who does you good, I don't think Parker is that bad either, she can always exist as a second option if nothing works out for Croix, but it's up to you what you let happen, now let's go back, the girls will miss us" She strokes my hair and goes down from the tree house.
It makes perfect sense what she said, it's very similar to Mum Croix, except that Mum Bernadette is more sincere, she really fell for Meridies' faults, so I think I should really think more about what I relate to, even though she's someone I hold in high esteem, I have to know that she has to value my feelings too.
It's time to get out of the tree house and go back, it'll be fun to play until it gets dark, then we'll go out, so I'll look forward to asking for sweets in the street, it gives me such a feeling of nostalgia just thinking about
[...]
The evening came, it was time to get the sweets, we got the pumpkin jars, I'm so excited, this is going to be so much fun, we left the house, even the grown-up women came with us, we walked to the neighbourhood near the McLaren's house and there is a suburb there, so we got to the street and prepared for everything, of course we got together to talk.
"OK, here's what we'll do, as there are a few streets here, you'll split up into pairs or trios asking for sweets, we'll fill the jars with sweets and return here in the middle, we'll remember to mark the street where each person passed and after everyone has passed we'll have a bag full of sweets to bring home and share" I can't wait for that.
"Then we'll go to the main street" I say, raising my hand.
"Right, I'll mark the main street on the map here, as Bern and I are adults it's not so nice to get the sweets, but we have the children to go with us too" said Mum Laura.
"I'm going with Megan" said Mrs Jordan.
"I'm going with Becca" said Parker.
"So I'm going with Laura and the girls" said Mum Bernadette.
We all held hands in the middle and then got up to start separating, Croix and I went down the main street, it'll be interesting to see how they react to our fantasies, I hope no one takes the reference and starts duelling, even though I even have a deck ready for that, I already know how we're going to attract attention. Croix and I arrived at the first house and were already greeted by a family where we picked up the pumpkin pots and pointed them out to the couple
"Trick or treat?" I say all friendly.
"What are two grown-up girls doing asking for sweets? I love your costume" said the lady.
"That's exactly why we came, to order sweets" replies Croix.
"My husband is going to get them for you, what are these costumes?" She asks and we get into the pose.
"I'm Seto Kaiba from Yu Gi Oh" Meridies replies, even making an intonation.
"I'm Yugi from Yu Gi Oh! And it's time to Duel!" I say posing, it's good that no one recognises me very much.
The gentleman comes back and brings us some sweets, I think this couple must be older not to know this, well anyway we go to the next house, we take three sweets each, it's very little, but it's enough to fill the pumpkin jar.
We arrive at the house next door and when we're greeted, he seems to be a grown-up and he even gives us both a big smile.
"It's time to duel!" He said, and we struck a pose.
"You can pass me your pathetic sweets, or the blue-eyed white trick-or-treating will be done" I even giggled at Croix.
"That was the best costume so far, you're both very creative, I can take a photo with you" I shrug.
"Do it soon, I have to win a duel" Croix really got into character.
We took a photo with him holding his mobile phone and we got lots of sweets, it's nice to see that someone liked the reference, I smiled, we took lots and he waved to us and we went to the next house, this time we were looked after by a lady, she was very nice.
"Look at all the cute girls, they must be the things kids love" she said, handing out sweets.
"Thank you very much, madam" I say happily.
"We're even doing well with the sweets, not bad for your heart of cards Yugi" We kept laughing and pushing each other and almost held hands, but that's going to take away the chance of having any sweets with the older people.
Next house and I'm happy that finally no one will recognise me, we're seen by a couple with their little daughter and she looks me right in the eye and starts smiling, just because I thought about it, I don't think there's any going back, I was really recognised after that, by the nine witches, I thought it would take longer.
"Trick or treat!" We said together.
"Mum! It's Shiny Chariot! She's in costume!" Said the little girl and apparently they recognised me.
"Ah girl, it must be a girl's costume, to look like Shiny Chariot, she looks good" Oh so good that I dressed up as Yugi.
"Is it a costume? But she looks like the real thing, it's Chariot in a costume, Chariot doesn't dress like that, she's in a costume" The girl is smarter than her mum.
"Oh, that's just a Yugi costume from Yu Gi Oh, I think I must look a lot like this Shiny Chariot" I say embarrassed and then Dad appears with sweets for us, who look a bit silly.
"Wow, but that girl must be thinking a lot about Shiny Chariot, ever since we took her to her show a few months ago I've wanted to see her again, you look a lot like her, I don't think she's seen that many bad girls around here, but from the way you talk it sounds like you're not from around here" Oh damn, why do I have to have the R of a Frenchwoman, I lived all my childhood in Scotland and the other part of my life in France and I still have a great accent.
"I'm grateful for the sweets, bye-bye, and for you, little girl, your magic is believing in yourself" I wink and wave as I leave.
I think now she'll really know it's me, sometimes I forget my accent, it's so normal to speak English in my own way that I forget that people realise I'm French, well now at least I can start picking up more sweets, which I end up seeing Croix laugh at when he sees my reaction.
"Hahahaha, you're really badly hiding who you really are Chariot, the little girl managed to outsmart her mother and even recognised you, I kept myself from laughing, now you've canonised Chariot Yugi in your lore hahahaha" Ah she's really going to laugh at that.
"If they recognise me it'll be the end, people will question me until they can't or they'll pile on, so it's the best thing to enjoy Halloween, I should even have got a wig, maybe that way I wouldn't have my red hair showing so much" I say rubbing the back of my neck.
"I'm having fun asking for sweets with you, when I was young I used to accompany Megan every 31st, me and Mrs McLaren would always meet up in this neighbourhood to get sweets, I think everyone knows me a bit, even though I haven't been here since 2003, it's been a while since I've been here, I think you'll see a very drastic change in the skinny girl who used to hang out with Megan" You certainly will, I'm glad to see that Croix is having fun.
"Let's go to the next house, I hope nobody really recognises me" I say to her.
"I hope so, but I hope it's the funniest reaction of all"
And off we went to the next house, we were met by a couple and then some children came in, three of them, they must be their children, so we waited for them to come in and then everyone got curious, the boys and the girl.
"They're Yugi and Kaiba!" Said one of the little boys.
"It's time to duel!" I say to them.
"Play all your pathetic cards, you won't be able to beat Seto Kaiba, the greatest duellist of them all" said my girlfriend.
"Yugi is the Shiny Chariot!" The little girl has recognised me and I'm scratching the back of my head.
"Sorry for the introduction, but trick-or-treating?" I ask the parents.
"It seems the kids really liked your costumes" said the children's father, they really liked recognising me.
"Oh that's right, Yugi looks like the Shiny Chariot you like, she has red hair and eyes and the way she talks is funny" It's not funny, I'm French.
And there we go having to knock on the door and pretend I'm not Chariot, Croix must be having fun every time this happens, am I that recognisable? I should have been more careful with the Yugi costume, then no one would recognise me so easily and my accent isn't funny, it's normal to talk like that.
"Halloween 2006 was the best Halloween I've ever been to, I think that even with the presence of Croix afterthe fight it didn't get too bad, that day we completely forgot about the intrigue about Claiomh Solais, we alsohad a lot of fun, the day was terrifying for me, I didn't want to be recognised, but I was recognised byeverything that was a child, The teenagers in the street, smarter than the kids, realised it was me, we tooklots of photos on the day, and lots of young adults loved the Yu Gi Oh costumes, it was all so wonderful, theCroix as Seto Kaiba was definitely priceless, you two could try it, especially as you have the Seto Dianavibe."
See you, Halloween witches...