Friday 17th March 2006, Glastonbury, England
Spring break was just around the corner, and Woodward even ordered us to be more relaxed, as it was timeto overload. I rehearsed what could have been an hour's show, it was hard work, but I managed to keep up,as Alan's demands were very intense, he must have barely looked at my shows and gladly accepted thesponsorship money from my mums, since he didn't spend anything and left with money, and then theinfamous day of the start of the spring holidays arrived, and we all left school and packed our bags inpreparation for what was to come.
It's today, we're already in the square, it was quick to pack, even my costume was done, what we were really waiting for was the bus to come, I can't wait to be in comfort, travelling around England, I can even imagine one of those modern buses, even with two floors, plenty of space for us to have fun at will in time, rehearse, dedicate ourselves to the shows.
As we listened to the sound of the approaching vehicle, we were sure that it was the long-awaited bus. As we looked down the road, we saw a rather old bus turning into the street, it couldn't possibly be that one, even our expression changed a lot when we saw what was approaching, for the nine lesbian witches, I hope it's another one and that it's just passing through.
"From the looks of it, Chariot, it's not going to be the most comfortable journey in the world, something tells me we're going to go in that sardine can anyway" I hope that's not it.
"It's probably just a random bus, Alan gets paid too much to take an old bus like that" I say, trying to believe the illusion that it wasn't happening.
"I think it really is our bus, it even honked at us" said Becca.
"Getting a bus is expensive, Chariot, but rest assured that even if it's this sardine can from 20 years ago, you can still have a good journey" I was already at the acceptance stage when that thing pulled over.
We're really going to go on this thing, well we take a deep breath, the bus pulls up, Alan gets off it and that confirms everything, it really is this thing that's going to be our travelling bus, we look at each other, take a deep breath and just accept it, getting on it, what could get worse right? At least there are windows, it should have good beds.
When we got inside, there were even some separations between the sessions, you could see that the windows were at the back, where the bedrooms must be, the driver's area, there are even toilets, I imagine. When we walked to the door that divides the spaces, we saw that there was all the theatre equipment, at the back our beds, The bathroom, which Alan showed us, even has a shower, a rare thing, and there's also a toilet next to it, so we can get ready for any appointment, a pity there's only one, and there's also simply an improvised kitchen.
"Well, at least we'll be able to say that we've been driving around in Mercedes Benzes all week" said Becca amusingly.
"Nothing Daniella isn't used to, she's just changed the type of Mercedes she drives" said Croix.
"I'm not that kind of person, at home we don't drive Mercedes, they're usually BMWs, it's very different" I don't understand any of these things you're talking about.
"Wow, big difference, little lady, you left the German luxury brand for another German luxury brand" said Leyland.
"Well, I think this is going to be our home for a while, let's take advantage of the time to rest, tomorrow will be a very busy day for us" I say stretching.
"The banners publicising the shows have been made, they're being a success on the Facebook page, I think that in a while you could have a full house with this tour, it may tire you out, but it will be a good expense, the best thing to do for your head is to give it a good rest" Meridies said.
"Very well, as the girls are now properly comfortable, I'm going to go, I'll be following you on the journey, make yourselves at home, we're going to stop off at a market, so I'm going to leave you 500 pounds to buy whatever you want, it'll be enough money for the whole trip, so buy wisely what you're going to eat this week" said my manager.
Well it's money, I take the 10 50 pound notes and he gets off the bus, patting the body a few times, and then we hear the thing start up, it's not the best or most comfortable in the world, but I guess that's to be
expected, I imagine others must have been quite expensive to get ready for this sort of thing, anyway I'm really looking forward to starting the show, soon I'll be enchanting the world as the great Shiny Chariot.
[...]
"By then the girls were well aware of what a scam Alan was, but I was still blinded by his deceit, that bus he'dhired was one of the cheapest he had, so much so that he didn't even care about comfort, he took the onethat was best suited to touring, while he travelled behind us in the comfort of his brand new Mercedes Benz,which I didn't even notice, At least it was a fun trip, my friends and I were chatting, singing, even playinggames on the laptop, since Croix had a way of putting emulators on the computer and even had somecontrollers stored away, which was the pastime while travelling, I was already getting a lot calmer for the bigevent to come."
Saturday 18 March 2006, Birmingham, England
Well, the journey wasn't very comfortable, but at least it was worth it, it was fun spending time with them, now here I am about to go on stage, I can comfortably say that at least the theatre and all the scenery has been well built and the things that Croix has put in place are already in place, I'm sure I'll be able to start making a success.
I'm about to do the final details of my costume, I've been quite a perfectionist now, everything down to the smallest detail, with a little help from the girls, 20 minutes to go, which soon comes through the door, Croix, she's coming to give me a hand.
"A full house today Chariot, it seems that the rumours have spread in this town, I didn't imagine that so many people would come, but look it's surprising, don't be nervous, let loose and show who you are, charm everyone by being the great Shiny Chariot" Said the one with glasses holding my hand.
"I'm going to do my best Croix, but I admit I'm very nervous, it's my big chance to attract attention and maybe even make history" I say anxiously.
"Go on girl, I know you can do it, we're with you, I'm going to set up the cameras and film it, I've got access to multiple of her, from all angles, it'll be perfect when I use the editing, as there are so many angles, now come on, show a smile on your face and show that the presentation is about to start" Meridies said as she took the camera in hand, time to call the people for the presentation over the internet.
"We're almost ready for a performance, in a few minutes the first performance of the great Shiny Chariot will begin here in Birmingham, be prepared, because the magic of it is believing in yourself" Then the filming ends and my friend leaves the dressing room.
Well, that helped ease the tension, her presence always makes me feel lighter, but I always get that impression, I don't know, I think it's too commercialised like a random celebrity, I wonder if that's how famous people have to act, fake their emotions a bit, although I'm really excited, I feel like I'm forcing it a bit. Anyway, the finishing touches are done, I look in the mirror, my make-up is done, I think I'll make a good first impression, I'm not the most knowledgeable person, but I think it might be enough, I pick up my replica of Claiomh Solais and practice a few last moves.
[...]
The twenty minutes passed like an eternity for me, I looked at the clock and it seemed like no time was going to come, which cemented in my head how I should present myself, now it's all or nothing, I take a deep breath, I move closer to the curtain and the music plays, now that I've rehearsed enough it's time to make my appearance, the stage is as dark in front as I wanted it to be.
I take steps, and the audience only hears the sound of my boot hitting the wood, giving it that extra air. I hold the Shiny Rod with both hands, in line with my chest, and then symbols appear above me, like lines, in a calmer variation of my song, with petals and butterflies, the lines coming to me, thanks to the effects of Croix who is giving it his all.
With my eyes closed, I begin to emit a more golden glow, which impresses the audience, and in this glow angel wings come out of me, which starts the stage lighting up, revealing the nature behind me, the number I rehearsed for the opening of this first show, will be precisely focused on nature, who would have thought that doing a partial metamorphosis spell would work. I open my eyes, with my bird wings, I spin round the stage and upwards and then I open what would be my wings and with that I reveal myself.
"Welcome to the marvellous world of magic!" I shout to everyone, and then the music starts to get more intense.
That's when I start to partially transform into a deer, descending through the air, still floating and creating a trail with magic that goes around the stage, I imagine that the cameras must be filming all this and following me, wow I'm really excited about this, I see people looking at me, with the path I've taken, what I've been getting closer to the stage back, what I've transformed into another creature.
I arrive like a wolf, coming ferociously onto the stage, accompanied by other creatures, which are very partial to the tail and ears, as well as a few details, which I demonstrate in a few steps, already giving the audience a bit of a scare, becoming one more in its entirety and staring right into their eyes.
I finish the dance with the effect of a jaw coming into view, and I lighten the mood when I turn into a kitten, which makes the atmosphere much cuter, as there are lots of cats arriving in the audience as well and they are all very affectionate, even though they are just magic illusions, it was still possible to touch them, There's nothing like conquering such cute felines, it always works, which leads to a darker effect, since I was a black cat, and everything gets dark again, with the cat's eyes appearing and crumbling in an effect where the eyes crumble into something that looks like rain and the blue eyes already indicate something.
I become another creature, this time with a more aquatic effect, which turns me into a mermaid, showing the beauty of the sea, swimming through the fake water that created the effect, while I go gloriously, floating making slight movements, even reaching the audience itself, with the magical fish coming with me, I rehearsed a lot for a perfect opening like this, I hope I make a huge success.
I follow my trail, with the effects and the bluish colouring, as the stage changes, pretending to still be swimming, to a surface, and there I do a somersault that follows with a huge glow, creating a ball of energy with yellowish magic, a shower of magic coming onto the stage that was empty, and revealing me in the next form, the one that ends this part of the performance.
Bushes grow, flowers appear, butterflies that were tiny before become bigger, and I reveal my final form in the presentation of nature, which is my fairy form, in which I gain wings behind my back and become illuminated by a yellowish light all over my body, which I pass through, sort of floating and passing across the stage with ballet steps in which nature grows and is born where I pass.
I'm also walking across the stage, to draw more attention to myself, and nature is being created by the people, petals of flowers are falling into people's hands, and when they touch them, they sparkle. Wow, I haven't done something this perfect, not even when I was performing at Glastonbury, but doing it in a theatre was really perfect, I'm managing to show my numbers with a considerable amount of time, just for the introduction, which I get to the stage and take a deep breath to show my speech with open arms.
"Believing in yourself is your magic, magic is what makes nature grow happier, believing in magic is saving nature!" I give my last speech and the stage goes out for the next act.
[...]
I've done the three main numbers now, Arcas, the dragon and the Polaris fountain, it's been a few minutes I have no idea, but everyone seems to be enjoying it, I'm relieved it's going better than I thought, well it's time to start something new, the theme song has more medieval roots, everything gets darker and I'm left with a costume change on the spot for Woodward's clothes, I think this will show her connection with nature, only in a less intense way, since it was the fauna it's time to show the flora.
"1500 years ago the nine ancient witches brought magic into the world and one of them was responsible for the green that comes with magic, her name is Woodward" I say with my eyes closed and my hands clasped together.
I'm doing the effects of creating roots and trees, with the help of the girls, which wow, for a magic show we're really managing to hold back from using too much of it, it's enchanting those who pass by, with the falling leaves, through the scenery, I'm going with my eyes closed going where I learnt, ballet steps, this according to the beauty of the music, it's time to let things calm down after more intense performances, since there are still a good few minutes left, but that in itself should give a refreshment until the finals.
I really had to push myself to the limit dancing with my eyes closed on this one, I didn't think I was going to make it, using my magic to see the magic is helping as I know exactly where to go, the people I don't know how they're reacting, but I hope they're enjoying it most of all.
[...]
It was 12 minutes of dancing with my eyes closed, creating flora, I couldn't even see the audience's reaction, but the lights went out with me on my back, perfect for starting another number, the finale this time, which already has a spotlight on me, with lines coming towards me, back to where I was at the beginning, I turn around and pick up the broom, as in the previous numbers, but instead of standing up and making intense swoops at the audience, I calmly fly close to them, passing by the hand of each row, which touches me, and with that I reach the stage and create a star for each person, which shines in that still darkness.
"Do you see it? This is the star of each person who believed in magic, this is you, the magic of each person who is here, it is inside each one of you waiting to awaken so that you can illuminate your life just like these stars" I say to the stage in a more touching way, then I return the stars coming close to each person.
I move the Shiny Rod, making each of the stars take the shape of something, which enchants people, it was just a demonstration of their inner feelings, which was transformed into an energy that then became a magical powder falling on them and enchanting them, then I stretch out my arm and make some lines pass across the stage, causing an effect that enchants, showing some scenes of this line from the performance I did before this final, the previous numbers, and then I appear for them by forming a smoke holding my hat and taking a deep breath, before appearing to everyone.
"Their magic is believing in themselves!" I say my catchphrase, call for my broom and with that I start doing acrobatics in the air, creating trails everywhere, with sparkles, kind of also passing through what seemed to be obstacles, I think I'm doing something.
What's coming is a union of all my numbers coming together in one, like a compilation, it's time to do things as a proper closing, there's very little left, I even have others in mind, but I'm going to leave it to perfect these others, for this tour I'm only going to use these, people are just going to watch.
I'm even singing around the stage in my soft voice, recounting all the adventures that have come through the numbers, which I land on and on the floor of the stage comes a wet floor, and from behind me appears a unicorn riding towards me, the sign I needed to get to the end of it all.
I mount the creature, making a point of being an acrobat, and with that I disappear into the middle of the stage, which must have been an hour into the performance, I'm tired and breathless from it all, the curtains close and clapping can be heard.
"I made it..." I say tired and relieved.
A quick break is taken and I appear facing the stage, so I bow in front of everyone, a lot of clapping comes, bringing back a memory of when I had taken theatre classes, that stage performance where I charmed everyone as Joanna D'arc, only I never saw them stand up to celebrate me.
I feel quite emotional and I wave to everyone, thanking them for everything, being as kind as possible, I think I'll get more fans from now on, I really hope so, gosh, I've made such an effort to get here, the curtains close again and with that I walk wearily to the dressing room.
It's all over, I sit in the chair looking up, breathing tiredly, it may not seem like it, but using magic like that gets tiring, it's been a whole hour just dancing and using magic, having to be careful not to use too much, my body feels it, which soon arrives Alan
"Excellent Chariot Du Nord, excellent, I want to see more of this, you may not have done an hour as I told you to, but the 51 minutes of performance was still enough to enchant the audience, well we can sell the idea of less is more with this, that's how I want to see it from now on, more of these, the audience gave you a standing ovation, that's marvellous" Said my manager.
"Ah thanks, I just did what I needed to do" I say tiredly.
"There were 530 people, it may not have been the biggest of theatres, but the house was full, all the seats occupied, that's really a much higher level than expected, that kind of thing I want to see more often" I'm really grateful, well now I'm going to rest.
I start to change, taking off my clothes, getting into the shower of that theatre, it was what I needed, water coming into my body, relief from all the tension, from all the things that were coming, well today was a very full day.
The relief of the quick shower was enough, I put on more casual clothes and with that I look in the mirror, already without make-up and all being me again, I've made it, I've finally made it, the dream of my life has come true, I'm enchanting people, soon I'll be enchanting crowds, I hope.
I'm leaving the dressing room when I'm greeted by the three girls who were with me, my friends even clap for me and hug me at the same time, which I feel recharges my energy a little more.
"Chariot I didn't think you'd pull it off so beautifully, but you did, not only that, you exceeded all expectations, it's worthy of a great stage entertainer, how many people saw it? 500? Soon it'll be your first five hundred fans, soon it'll get bigger, just imagine performing for thousands of people soon" said Parker.
"It all took a lot, but in the end I made it" I tell them, panting heavily.
"Well, I've got a lot of editing to do today, but it'll be a job I do very well, by the time this hits the internet, you'll have an idea of what you've missed here in Birmingham, well from what I could see in London at the last and penultimate gigs the capacity is 3000 people, I don't know if the tickets have been sold yet, but it might be a good thing when you see what Shiny Chariot is all about here in Birmingham" Croix said.
"Look, I don't know how we managed to use magic outside Luna Nova without any sorcerer's stone, but it was a relief to endure all that" said the impressed Becca.
"Simple, I've got my aids here, I can generate an artificial stone from electricity, which I've placed right next to the stage, actually I can't, this is an old invention, one of Mrs McLaren's great-grandmothers did it and my mother perfected it and now it's come down to my generation, what was once a huge stage-sized thing has now become a compact 15kg box" Woah, so that's it, I had no idea, I think I saw the box nearby.
"Wow, as much as I disagree with modernity this is a great thing, mundane people could use magic in their homes without having to depend on magic, I don't know, I find the idea of the purity of magic only being from a family of witches quite silly, after all, magic depends on people believing in it, if there are few people magic is weaker, if there are more people magic is stronger, that must be why today we are dependent on the sorcerer's stone" Wow, I didn't expect to hear that from Daniella.
"You're here to understand all this" said Meridies.
"Croix, why don't you show something like this to the witches, it's a huge innovation" said Becca.
"No!" said both the bespectacled woman and Parker.
"I can't do that, it would be a huge risk of never seeing the light, because this has already happened to Anne Williams, the inventor of this machine, she was forced to stop, she didn't stop, she did it on the sly, she ended up dying without her project seeing the light of day, magic must first have a revolution for things like this to come to light, anyway, let's go to the bus, I have videos to edit, then I'll take advantage and stop by the McDonald's nearby" said Croix.
And with that we went to collect our things, say goodbye to those who helped build the stage, I really went to do that, because these people worked just as hard, if not harder than I did, we got to the bus and I got on there and ran to bed, lying down relieved, I think I was able to get pretty far today, while I watched through the window as Alan smoked a cigarette in the car park.
"This was our first day of presentations, did we do well?" Becca asks.
"I really hope they've done a good job with the camera angles following Chariot, the important thing is to get he best angles of the show, this first performance will break the internet when it's edited, you'll know the greatness of Shiny Chariot" said the one with glasses.
"Croix, why do you value Chariot so much for this, I don't know? Do you have feelings for her? Or is it something else, do you genuinely think she's good? Do you want to change the world? Because seriously, you alone have the capacity to show incredible things" said Daniella.
"Damn great support Daniella Parker, you don't have to talk like that about Chariot's performances in front of her" Becca said, but that's fine, I know she's not talking in the sense of slandering my performances.
"I'm not belittling Chariot, I recognise her potential, she's the best stage entertainer there is, but we have to say one thing, this isn't going to look good for the older witches"I already understood what she was saying, I don't think Leyland does yet.
"Your answer is there Parker, believe it or not, Chariot is the key to a change in the world, she enchants people like no one else, I can't even get close to the greatness she does with words, Chariot is on the side of the new generation, that's what's important, the new generation will be the ones to fight for the revolution in magic in the future, it will make the path easier to change things in magic for the better, I'm not one to act without thinking"I knew it, Croix is very intelligent, she had already told me something about it.
"So you're already thinking ahead, but what if Chariot doesn't make it?" Then they have no idea that we're after something else too.
"I don't know what to do after that, but I'm going to put all my faith in her, above all, we're doing the right thing, there's no way we can go wrong with these strategies, trust me, I know what I'm doing, but anyway, in ten years' time you'll see the result of all this when Chariot is a success, the worldly children will come in
droves wanting to be witches like her, they'll see the injustices of the system head on when they're teenagers, and there I'll be, My plan is to show these teenagers that this system can change, I'll introduce them to newer ways of changing magic through modernity, which they'll trust more and when they're adults, with more affinity for magic, the older ones won't have anything to question, the more modern magic will have more followers and with that the times will have to change, this will revive magic in the world I'm sure -Sometimes Croix seems a bit strange when she acts like this.
"I don't want to be a nag, but you sound like a megalomaniac villain, I understand your reason for modernising magic, and your ambition and all that, but I don't think it's right, tradition is important for magic to stay alive" We don't need a debate about this.
"Let's leave this debate to one side, we don't need to discuss now which magic is better and which is worse, the important thing is that things have changed for the better, let's relax people, today is the day to celebrate" better calm your nerves before you start a fight.
"You're right Chariot, let's rest, we have a full day tomorrow and today, well now I'm going to take advantage and go to McDonald's, what do you want? I'll take the opportunity and bring some extra stuff, leave it to me to pay for everything, by the way I have to work on editing Chariot's video, it's going to be a lot of work, but I think I can do it, I'm going to show the soul of the presentation, taking everything that's necessary, then send it on the internet" Said Croix who waved to us, and got off the bus.
What a relief, there's going to be a fight between these two, you can see they're great opposites, I hope this hasn't caused any conflict in Croix's head because of Parker, she goes a bit overboard with the words, sometimes she overdoes it.
I'm even getting out my laptop, checking social media and I'm happy, it seems that people have spoken very highly of my Birmingham performance, even though it's only been a short time since it ended.
"So Chariot, how's it going in there?" Becca asks.
"Well, we've had some marvellous comments about it, so I think we can breathe more peacefully" I say, smiling.
"Well, there's no denying it, Croix, with her strange way, knows how to get things done" Daniella unnecessary.
"Daniella! You don't have to badmouth her behind her back either!" I say denigrating my friend.
"You have to admit it Chariot, she has a very peculiar way about her, I theorise that she has a screw loose in her head, a little dreamy and exaggerated, well Chariot, think about it, she only wants your success for her success, that's very selfish and self-centred" I get reflective, but I know she's a good person.
"It's not that, she's thinking of everyone's benefit, I want to change things for magic too, I'm a victim of the system just like her!" I even get a little angry.
"You two, Croix barely left because you wanted to avoid a fight and you're going to fight about her now?" Becca's right.
And the two of us even shook hands and calmed our nerves, after all fighting isn't going to solve any problems, I hope Croix didn't hear those things on the bus, if she did, I'm sorry, Daniella never minces her words and I don't think she's strange, Croix is a marvellous person, it's just that they've never really met her to know.
"That was the first day I officially performed as Shiny Chariot, it was a huge success, I didn't even realise it,but I ended up giving birth to a legend, which from then on people were starting to really enjoy myperformances, I was having fans and with the help of the video of the performances in English cities, it washelping to boost my fame even more, which was still going to be something surprising in London, which Ididn't expect to see, that was in the first week."
See you, shiny witches...