Friday 10 November 2006, Luna Nova
"Well, Halloween was really marvellous for rekindling a flame within the relationship I had with Croix, forthings I didn't think could come, plus I was smarter with the advice that mum Bernadette gave me, sheknows how to deal better than mum Laura, which I was able to know better how to act from now on, that'sonly in a while where more fights will happen, no matter how efficient I am with Claiomh Solais since I simplyfound every word with a certain speed."
It's good to see that Croix is making more of an appearance in her room, today's training is going really well, everything is wonderful, all thanks to the help of my mum who has managed to practically speed everything up, I'm really happy that things are going well again, I can't wait to actually get another one of the words down.
Gasping, I look at my mum, who smiles at me and pats me on the head, I think there's some advice ahead, I'm sure of it.
"Arae Aryrha, that's the third word, I think you're ready to unlock another one of them, usually these words are more about understanding the meaning than the power, but with my help I can kind of show you what each one is capable of" Oh great, every time Mum talks about the next word I manage to find another one.
"And what does she mean?" I ask her.
"Well, that's up to you, girl, but its meaning has something to do with what you've been going through, maybe your head is ready for it" said my mum, and I was curious.
"At least give me a hint, Mum, I'm not going to go around with riddles" I say to her and she laughs.
"Any tips I can give you are too much for this one, but anyway go to class now, today's training is over, have a shower and above all have a great day, oh and if you're trying to find the next word the Croix might be the key" That's going to be a pain to find, but I hope you can manage it.
"OK Mum, I'm going to class, bye-bye, but thanks anyway, your help has always been wonderful for me" I say smiling.
I hug my mum, who hugs me back and cuddles me, then I walk to the inside of Luna Nova, I think I'll make it far, if Croix is the key that will be interesting to know, today I'll try to talk to her more and see if she still wants to go to the tower of Arcturus, I hope so.
[...]
Another day at school is coming to an end, I'm going to try and see if Croix agrees to go for a walk, she's very close, maybe she really is the key to this next word, I'm sure it'll work, I keep thinking about what my mum said, if she's the key the word has something to do with being done together.
"You've been well travelled this day Chariot, what's going through your head?" asks Parker.
"Ah, it was just me thinking about completing the Claiomh Solais, ever since I went to train with my mum I've been thinking about ways of doing it" I tell her.
"Still on that stick, I know it's important and everything, but the way you've been acting, you don't need so much, you're only 16 and you haven't even graduated yet, why not wait until you graduate so you can unblock everything, then you'll have all the time in the world" I won't have any time at all.
"When I graduate I won't be in Luna Nova or anywhere near Arcturus, apart from the fact that all my time will be spent focusing on my career as a Shiny Chariot, since I won't have to worry about school, I'll finally be able to expand more, I've even found lots of ways to expand my choreography in this free time, but I haven't rehearsed anything yet" I say, scratching the back of my head.
"I hope you succeed Chariot, well don't exhaust yourself so much, I like you a lot, seeing you smiling and determined like that is gratifying" She even eased off on hitting on me.
"It's good that Parker has now stopped hitting on you, Chariot" said Becca.
"She's managing to be happy with Croix, that's what matters most, the two of them are getting along again, if she's really happy with her I don't care, what I care about is seeing her happy" said Daniella.
We shrug and continue our walk, I'm sure Croix is waiting to talk to us, but it's a good thing that today is a Friday, so we might even have a free day, from what Meridies tells me, every Friday she's freer.
As expected, she's in the corridor waiting for us, near the stairs that lead to the dormitories upstairs, where her team's dormitory is, but now she's freer, so much so that she arrives greeting us and giving me a hug, which makes me realise that we're gradually getting back together.
"So, girls, today I have some free time to play, my mum told me I don't have to work on programming the games, so I think the four of us can play" said the one with the lilac hair.
"It's finally free time, we'll go to our room, you two stay there alone and chat" said Parker, who was walking towards our team's dormitory.
"We'd better go too, Chariot, before they get hold of the good controls" said Croix until I grabbed her hand.
"Don't go yet, I have something I want us to do together" I say to my friend, who blushes a little.
"I'm not going to climb the Luna Nova tower again, there's no way, my bum got all square from sitting on that floor, for you it was marvellous, but for me I only felt sore days later" I even let out a little laugh.
"It's got nothing to do with doing that Croix, I didn't like the idea of doing it in that place either, we're going for a walk" I say to her, already preparing to take that walk.
"Well, that's fine with me, but I'm going to charge her later, I want to be in good control when she arrives" OK, it won't be so bad, she'll enjoy this ride.
I hold Croix's hand and we walk down the corridors to where the ruins are. There I can already see that my friend's reaction is one of surprise, but when we reach the ruins I feel a little relieved to be a little outside, it would be an interesting place to exchange kisses, but it would be embarrassing to do it in front of Arcas and his mum.
"What are we doing here? Is this some kind of attempt to make me feel nostalgic or to see the Bear you had befriended?" She asks.
"Not at all, silly, Arcas must be here, but he'll probably go into hibernation with his mum soon, winter's coming, we'll do something else" I keep walking and she follows me.
First of all I'm going to make a point of getting to Arcas, she's following me through the ruins and I'm going to try and find him somehow, walking around I could find him sitting in the middle of the ruins looking a lot bigger than before, this bear has really got a bit bigger, he's going to be huge like this and he's going to protect this place very well, I can even see my friend hiding behind me.
"Chariot, if that's your little friend, he's got a lot bigger than before" said Croix with a little fear as he approached.
"You can rest assured, Arcas is the same little bear who knows you, it'll be very quiet" I say, coming closer and starting to stroke his head.
Look how cute he is, he's still giving me his head, he loves it when I shower him with all the affection in the world, he's such a cuddly creature, which Meridies is still hiding behind me for fear of a nice bear like him. Now it's Croix's turn to get out of my grasp and touch Arcas's snout, which is much bigger and he's even letting himself be stroked, reminding me a lot of how he reacted as a baby, that's great, he really is the same nice bear, it's nice to see her losing her fear.
"Look, he still remembers me, that's great, his fur is so soft" said my friend, finally letting go.
"I didn't tell you, Arcas loves affection because it makes him feel better, and his fur has magical properties, so it heals some of the wounds" I tell her that I can see a slight change in his face after the fight, but there are still a few scars.
"It's not for nothing that you like that bear so much" said Croix.
"He also knows who's friendly and who's family, that's why he didn't attack my mum. Whenever we train harder, we come here and heal him, which allows us to train a lot" I say as I'm stroking him, it's good that I needed it too, now that the muscle pains related to training have come.
We looked at each other and kept stroking the bear, who was feeling better and even started to lie down. We really enjoyed stroking him, he was very lazy lying down and it was nice to see how Meridies is getting a smile on her face, she didn't like Arcas very much before, but now that she knows this she'll want to come here more often.
"I've also been feeling an improvement in my head, it's as if everything that gets me down has been switched off, it's like a real antidepressant" Sometimes that's what I've been doing since I gave up smoking, since I'm training there's no way I can keep smoking, I'd be worse and my mum would know, but here I get a bit of my dose of, I don't know, tranquillity.
"I come here when I'm depressed, when I'm down, when..." I almost reveal that I've been smoking all this time.
"Now it makes sense, it was bad of me to make you come here to see Arcas more often, I've been a real arsehole these days, if I deserve any forgiveness for the immature way I act" I forgive you.
I hug her and then I think that maybe I should give her a little extra charge. She even goes on to caress me and kisses my forehead, she's so cute, I wish I could stay with her forever, I think that a few visits to Arcas will make her a little better, I'm sure of it, we even get up after caressing Bear so much that he just lies there and we sit down to cuddle and look each other in the eye.
"So that's what you wanted to show me? Because I loved it" I nod.
"This is just to make you feel better, what I wanted to show you, you have to follow me" I say, holding her hand and nodding to Arcas.
"So we're going to the tower of Arcturus?" I shrug.
"Maybe" I answer her and see her expression change.
I think it's going to be a bit bad for her head, I can tell she wasn't that happy to hear that we're really going there, but it's going to be a good thing, it's going to be a better thing for us, that much I'm sure of, since my mum said that Croix is the key to the third word, so I'm going to do my best.
We walk hand in hand through the forest, it's been a while since I've been here, I think since that day, I hope Woodward doesn't mind Meridies' presence, she may have been turned down, but she's still the person I love and want to help. We reached the entrance to the tower and climbed up to the top, and I could already see her expression of complete boredom.
"Is that it? The tower of Arcturus? Did you want me to get over some trauma by coming here?" She asks and I nod.
"It's not that, I want you to be with me for this" I say smiling.
"What's that, Chariot? I know what it can do, did you come here to show off? I thought it was going to be serious" But it is serious.
"It's not like that Croix, why are you fighting with me before you even try to talk?" I'm already getting intimidated by her reaction.
"Why did you bring me here?" I was about to shed a tear, but I decided to speak.
"You are the key to the next word Croix... You're important to Claiomh Solais, I wanted to see if you could help me find the third word, I'm doing this to show you that I'm dedicated to Claiomh Solais, that even after everything I'm the chosen one and I'm going to act like it" I say to her who, when she sees my answer, gives me a look of denial.
"Is that it? You just came to use me, is that how you see me?An access to the words of Claiomh Solais? I thought you loved me" She turns round and I put my hand on her shoulder.
"Croix please, I really love you, can't you see that I want you to be there at an important moment in my life, finding the seven words is important to me, if I didn't care or love you I wouldn't want you to be with me at a special moment, don't leave" My tears are falling down my face and she turns round which even pushes my hand off her shoulder, when I look up I see her looking down.
"So I'm important? Well, I didn't expect that answer, so do what you want to do, show me why I would be the key to that next word" she said and I made a point of handing her the staff.
"Here, just take it, I'm sure the word will come, that's what my mum told me, that you're the key to the third word" I say with the staff in my hand, but when she puts her hand on it, she gets a shock.
"Ugh, that doesn't work Chariot, are you sure that's what it is? What's the next word? How do you unlock it? Is your mum right?" I keep scratching my head.
"I know that the word is Arae Aryrha, that you are the key to understanding its meaning and that my mum must be right since she was the previous chosen one, but that's all she gave me, she said that I have to manage" I immediately see her expression change and she wipes her hand across her face.
"By the nine Chariot Du Nord witches, did you really think it would work out like that? Mrs McLaren probably knows what the word means and spoke to you enigmatically, did you really fall for it? That's not how you're going to find the next word, you should be smarter and roll it around a bit to see if it slips out, then maybe it will come easier" In the end Croix is right.
"That's true, I should have wrapped it up more Croix, maybe if you were the chosen one it would be like that, but I'm not you, I don't think like you, I try my own way" I say to her and she shrugs her shoulders.
"Look, I admire the fact that you tried to come here to find the word with me, but I think we'd better go back before dark, another day we can try, remember my advice, tomorrow you'll thank me, wind Mrs McLaren up and you'll get the meaning of the word in no time, I'd do it if I were you, it's not enough just to be the chosen Chariot, it's no use being determined if your intelligence doesn't match up" I'm even clenching my fists a bit, it's got on my nerves a bit, I'm not going to give up because of that, I don't have the same philosophy as Croix and that's fine.
"And you think I'm just going to put my head down and stand there? I'm me Croix, that's how I do things, my way, I'm going to find the seven words my way, I'm sorry if you want to be the guessing lady, but it's my way" I say to her as she stops walking towards the staircase.
"The speech is nice, I admit, you're well motivated, but what do you have up your sleeve after that? Practically nothing, right? Let's go back to the room, play for a while and rest, it'll be dark in a few minutes and I don't want to stay here in the dark" Is that it then? I'm not going to give up Croix, I'm sorry, but I'm not.
"So go on, I'd rather stay here alone, even without you, I can find the key to finding the third word myself, I may not be the smartest, the strongest, the best, I may be the flawed witch that I am, but I'm not going to compare myself to others to do things, I'm going to do things the best way I can, because there's only one Chariot Du Nord in the world, I'm going to shine and do the Arae Aryrha my way!" I shout with motivation and when I realise that I'm moving the Claiomh Solais, a strong glow emanates from my hand and it becomes a kind of hook.
I'm shocked, I don't even know what happened, I think it was the meaning of the third word that came in my speech, when I was getting a bit full of myself, I see Croix looking back after seeing the glare and she was shocked, I really got the third word, so much so that I look impressed and then I look at her with the same expression on my face, I think I finally got the word, it was all about getting things my way, in the end the meaning was all inside me, Croix being the key is because I could compare myself to her or she to me, so it makes perfect sense, thanks for everything mum.
Meridies even comes closer to me and stares at the hook that has been transformed, quite impressed, that was something she didn't expect to see, the great power of Claiomh Solais.
"How is that impossible? How did you manage to get the third word so easily? How could you? Was its meaning so empty?" She asks until I answer by firing the hook into the tree and seeing that it sticks.
"Not really, it doesn't have empty words, I just had a self-discovery, that I myself am the best of myself, that I don't need to compare myself to other people to get the best out of myself, I can be the best of myself by being myself!" I say this and just as I turn Claiomh Solais back into its original form, the tree that was hit ends up making magical green leaves fall in a shower around both of us.
"That's the power of this thing, I can feel a strong magic in each of those falling leaves, this staff has a lot to do with your self-discovery, but it's still shocking that you managed it so easily, it doesn't make any sense" I don't think things are made to make sense at all, they're made to work.
"Well, I'm halfway through Claiomh Solais, and that's good Croix, I'll finally be able to get as far as my mum did and a lot quicker, do you think I'll find the seven words before I graduate?" I say to her and she shrugs her shoulders.
"I'm glad you made it, that it's important to you, but I think it's important to think about the witches' revolution, no one is seeing you doing something as important to the witches' world as this, people don't recognise the greatness of Claiomh Solais, don't do this thing of finding the seven words before you go back to performing on a world tour, I know you want to get there soon" Well that will depend on how I progress.
"Now we can go Croix, see how even though I'm the chosen one things won't change, you can still devote yourself to your inventions, even more than you do with Claiomh Solais, while I find the words, you can prepare things for your career" I say to her who nods in agreement.
"It makes a bit of sense, but honestly, let's go back to Luna Nova, it's going to be dark and I don't want to walk around here in the dark, I'm very proud to see that you're doing it" I nod and put Claiomh Solais round my waist.
I managed to reveal the third word with Croix looking on, that's so marvellous, she accompanied me and gave me emotional support, even if it wasn't the best since she was still quite rude, but that's her way, we walked back, until we reached the ruins and there was Arcas who we even stroked, maybe that would make her head feel better as she kept touching his fur, her head must not be the best after that.
"I needed you, Arcas" said Meridies.
She was very affected by all this, but I know that a little cuddling will sort everything out, I'm sure of it, I could see that the countenance of someone who was apparently exhausted was returning to normal, that's really nice to see, I'm doing my best to let her see how hard I'm working, that's the important thing, she won't be left feeling like things are so different.
After this caress she took a deep breath and we walked hand in hand back to the inside of Luna Nova, I even watch her as soon as I enter the school, still in the corridors, we were quiet, until we reach a part where we can't be caught and she stares at me.
"Congratulations on getting Chariot, let's celebrate by playing a lot" said Meridies.
"I managed it with help from the best" I say, smiling, and she even looks a little tired.
We continued walking through the corridors until we reached the dormitories and there was a basket full of things, with a bag on top, which we rushed to as it was just outside my bedroom door, which I was very excited about, we arrived and wow, the basket was full of crisps, soft drinks, sweets, chocolate bars, I even got a twinkle in my eye and there was a little letter in it, which I made a point of picking up.
"I knew you'd make it Chariot, you're the best, you can understand the message, it was inside you the whole time, I knew what would happen would happen, this here is a little present from Mum for you, enjoy the games night between you and the girls, it looks like my mum watched us from afar" I read the letter and even got a smile on my face.
"You reckon? You'd think she'd be watching us, well anyway, we're going in, we're going to play a lot" She must have heard what you said, but I'm not going to try to start a discussion.
I take the basket and open the door to the room where I see Parker and Becca playing together, from the sound it seems to be Ronaldo Kart Dashing in double, they look at the basket we've brought and even have a smile on their faces, they pause the game and we start to open it, taking out the crisps, the food, wow, there's only good stuff here, this is going to be marvellous.
As we take everything out, there are cold cans of soft drinks, three Pringles crisps, Hersheys bars, and even some Jelly Bear sweets, and we take everything and start to eat, as we get hungry.
"Look, whatever you've done, if that's the reason for the delay, then it was worth it, we were a bit worried, but now that we've seen that there's all this food, it's going to be marvellous, you could call us, by the way, how did you get salt here? You know how unstable the Ley line is when you have salt" said Daniella.
"It was my mum who brought it, she's one of the few people who controls the broom carrying salty things along the Ley line, it's not for nothing that she always saves us by giving us the privilege of being able to eat rubbish here" I answer.
"We even thought they were in danger, because I had seen a strange glow coming from the window in the forest, it was a kind of green light in the tree that then stopped, we even looked in the window, but it was very brief, it's too strange" said Leyland.
"We're the ones who caused it, with this thing here, I was able to find the third word of Claiomh Solais, now I'm getting closer and closer to finding all seven" I say excitedly.
"Ah so that was it, you didn't take long enough to be something else, so I imagined it would be something much quicker, apparently it really was the word you were thinking early on, better that way you'll be less travelled in class and pay more attention" said good old Parker in her usual way.
"And what does that word do? Apart from the huge glow we saw from afar" Becca asks.
"She makes it into a hook and that hook must spread some kind of magic, that's why that tree must have started glowing like that, it's not the most stylish of weapons that this staff becomes, I still think the bow from the first one is the best as it has a very cool effect and I love using bows" I say to them as they look at Claiomh Solais.
"Well, let's put that aside and play for a while, since Chariot has finally done what she's been wanting to do, that's a sign that she's free so we can finally play to our hearts' content" said Daniella.
"We're going to go head-to-head with these two and show why we're the best duo in Ronaldo Kart" I even get excited and nod my head.
"You're so full of yourselves, aren't you, you've taken so long that we're going to keep the good controls, let you get on with the other controls, nobody told you to take so long" What? Besides, we'll take the bad ones.
"Ah, so that's how it's going to be, when we win you'll take over" said Croix, challenging the girls.
"And if we win, what will you bet?" Here come their challenges, I'm sure it will be the most absurd thing in the world, I hope it has nothing to do with walking around Luna Nova naked, although we're not like that.
"If you win, Chariot will kiss you Daniella Parker" Croix even holds out his hand and I get a strange look on my face, already getting a little angry.
"What's it like? I didn't agree to that! I'm not a trophy!" I say with a more angry tone.
"We're not dating, Chariot, are you going to tell me that you wouldn't accept the idea of kissing Parker's lips?" What's that? No, the only lips I want to kiss are Croix's.
"I think it's an interesting proposal Croix, I thought it would be something like you cleaning the room, but I like the proposal, but I'll only agree if Chariot consents, since you're so confident of winning like that, I can see on your face that you're bothered to bet on it, but also that you're a cocky" Ah for the nine witches I already said no.
"I said I'm not going, no way!" I cross my arms and turn my face away.
"Chariot won't accept it, but there's nothing stopping me from changing the person I'm going to kiss for you Croix, since you're so convinced you're going to win" And the two shake hands, well I'm not going to complain about anything, but I did feel a bit jealous, I just won't show it.
"Done then, I don't know why I put Chariot in the game, but I know I'm not going to lose, and I'm going to come out of this with the best control Daniella Parker" I hope so, I don't want to be responsible for this, so she'll be in charge and I'll control the powers, if I lose it's her who's more responsible.
We picked up the controls and the two of them were staring at each other, you can see that they have a lot of tension between them, for the nine witches, why are they such rivals now, even betting on a stupid kiss, for a control, I really hope that Croix wins, I don't want to see her mouth on Parker's, gee, it seems like she doesn't value me that much.
"Well, the third word wouldn't have come any other way than with a fight with Croix, this became quitecommon at that time, we started arguing a lot, even when everything became closer between us, in reality itended up becoming the period where we fought the most and it was often for silly reasons, even though Iwasn't even in a relationship, these fights became common, it was always one or the other wanting to prove
that they were right, Daniella's presence didn't help much either. In fact, on the day, Croix managed to winand we took control, which was a huge relief for me"
See you, closer witches...