Chapter 10: Aftermath of the Red Team
As the sun rose its light snuck into the Red Team's room pushing away the darkness. Both Lotte and Sucy groaned as the sunlight touched their eyelids.
"What time is it?"
Trying her best not to fall asleep again Lotte sat up and yawned aloud.
"Good morning Sucy," she said with an exhausted voice.
Sucy forced herself up, "Good morning…"
"And good morning Ak—"
Lotte looked down at the bed below her to see it was empty and neatly made. It was then that she and Sucy remembered what had happened the night before. The sad truth of what happened to their former teammate Akko Kagari.
"Oh...right…"
Lotte said sadly to herself as she got down from the bed. She tries her best to avoid making eye contact with the bed below her to rekindle fond memories.
Sucy rose up from her bed like a mummy and groaned aloud, "What time is it?"
"7:40," Lotte answers, "We have twenty minutes until class so we better hurry."
After the girls went through the morning routine of getting ready they put on their uniforms, took the books they needed for the day, and stormed out into the hallway. As they walk past other teams and professors they give them certain looks that make the two girls feel uncomfortable.
"Why do people keep staring at us?" Lotte asked Sucy as she lowered her head from another glance.
Sucy replied, "Probably because of what happened three days ago. I guess the Red Team is going to be the center of attention for a while."
Lotte sighed at the realization that she did not want to deal with the millions of eyes staring at her.
"Just forget about those assholes," Sucy stated very rudely, "Let's get through the day and be done with it."
Lotte nodded in reply as they entered Professor Finnelan's class.
Even though the Red Team was trying to have a fairly good day and forget about their troubles Professor Finnelan's class did not help with that. She went to her podium with the biggest smile on her face. Many students thought it was just impossible for Finnelan herself to be that happy.
She breathed in the air of the classroom.
"Ah yes, peace. It almost seemed like a thousand years since Luna Nova has ever had peace. Now that the demon spawns Atsuko Kagari is gone, this school can finally get a good reputation for once! Doesn't anyone agree with me?"
Most of the students either responded by nods, clapping, cheering, or laughter; the only students that showed no reaction were the Red Team. Lotte tried her best to ignore the harsh teacher's words and was simply focused on her notebook writing down anything to drown out the situation. If there was an award for who can hide their emotions the best Sucy would get it; the pale girl didn't even seem to flinch or react in any way to Professor Finnelan's comments.
The Green Team however was a different story. Tears flowed out of Jasminka's eyes from the mention of her friend who was kicked out, Constanze stared deadly daggers at Professor Finnelan and Amanda…
"SHUT UP!"
Just lost all self-control.
"IT'S NOT AKKO'S FAULT, SHE DIDN'T DESERVE TO BE EXPELLED! HOW DARE YOU GUYS TALK THIS WAY ABOUT HER!"
Amanda stood up on the desk and she yelled so loud that the whole classroom was shaking.
"You're still defending her?" Avery responded. "Just face it. She was just some nobody girl from Japan who was desperate to be popular. She attacked Elizabeth and tried to frame her because she was better than her."
"Yeah! She deserved to get expelled!" yelled Alice.
"You're delusional," Blair said while snickering, "Maybe you'll be the next to go if you keep causing trouble."
"Why would I want to stay in a rotten school like this anyway—"
"Enough Miss O'Neill!"
Professor Finnelan brings order back to the classroom as she looks at Amanda with a triumphant smile.
"It baffles me that you would have blind faith in a deranged troublemaker. Since she stepped foot in this academy, Atsuko Kagari has been nothing but a disaster. It was only a matter of time until she was kicked out. So unless you wanna spend the rest of your weekend cleaning the girl's bathroom I suggest you sit down and zip that mouth of yours shut!"
Amanda snarled at the old professor, she about had it. But before Amanda could say or do anything Jasminka grabbed her shoulder and shook her head.
"Don't bother Amanda," said Jasminka with a sad look on her face, "This won't solve anything."
"B-but—"
"Yeah! Listen to the fat one!" yelled out a student from the back of the class which then caused the other students around to burst out in laughter.
Amanda's head turned so red it almost seemed like it was going to explode.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!?"
"Amanda!" Jasminka hissed, "Ignore them."
Amanda wanted to refuse Jasminka's words and just jump on whoever just made fun of her, but Amanda sighed in defeat and sat down without a word.
"Are we done?" Professor Finnelan asked in an uncaring tone, "Good now let's begin…"
But neither Lotte nor Sucy listened to Finnelan's lesson as the thought of Akko and what she was doing now was still lingering in their heads.
"I hate this school," Sucy said out of nowhere to Lotte as they sat alone in the courtyard, "I'm literally holding back every fiber of my being to not poison someone who says some stupid crap about Akko."
Lotte sighed.
"I understand but let's not draw any more attention to ourselves."
"Yeah, you're right."
The two did not share another word as they just stared off into the courtyard looking at the other students talking or having fun. They thought by putting their attention on something else for a while that the misery of the loss of their friend would disappear for a bit. But looking at the teams being joyful only reminded them of the times they spent with Akko. They especially remembered the first day of school when they were out in the courtyard playing the Shiny Chariot card game with Akko. The brunette witch defeated her two friends with ease while Sucy was complaining about the rules. It was the first time the Red Team had such fun with one another.
Feeling the memories hitting her where it hurts Lotte looked over at Sucy and started a conversation.
"I-I didn't see Hannah, Barbara, and Diana in class today. I wonder where they are?"
"I heard from other students they are staying by Elizabeth's side," answered Sucy, "Hm, there they are. Right over there."
"Oh!"
Sucy pointed over to the three original members of the Blue Team who were walking off the broom-flying field engrossed in their own private team conversation.
"They probably went to go get lunch and are heading back to Elizabeth now," said Sucy.
"Yeah— huh?"
"What?"
"What's that thing?"
Lotte pointed in the Blue Team's direction catching something small but shiny. Sucy took her wand and muttered a spell.
"Reædificabo Aperturas."
This spell extended Sucy's eyesight for at least three minutes and that was all the time she needed to catch a glimpse of the mystery object that was following the three witches. It seemed like a small GameCube with fairy-like wings following close behind the Blue Team. And its one eye seemed like a camera.
"What is that thing?" Lotte asked Sucy.
The spell wore off and Sucy groaned.
"It's some sort of machine and there is only one student in this school that uses machines…"
"Constanze…"
"There she is."
Sucy pointed over to the column to see Constanze hiding behind it but she wasn't alone. Amanda and Jasminka were by her side staring intently at the Blue Team.
Lotte tilted her head.
"What are they doing?"
"Nothing good."
Sucy got up from the bench and made her way to the Green Team.
"H-hey Sucy! Wait up!" yelled Lotte as she ran after her pale teammate.
"Keep a close eye on them Constanze…" Amanda whispered to her small and silent friend. The girl responded with a nod.
"Oh! Hi Lotte! Hi Sucy!" Jasminka waved to the approaching Red Team members.
As the two got up to them Sucy wasted no time and asked, "What is that thing following the Blue Team?"
Constanze's Stan-bot jumped onto her shoulder and explained, "It's my new invention called "Spy-Guy12"! I created it to follow the Blue Team— or more specifically Elizabeth when she wakes up."
"Follow Elizabeth?" said Lotte, "Why are you doing that?"
Amanda turned to Lotte with a raised eyebrow.
"You serious Lotte? You don't think there is anything weird about her?"
"Well…"
"Bad stuff started happening to Akko the moment this girl came into Luna Nova! Something is up with her, I can feel it!"
Lotte sighed as she fixed her glasses.
"It's true that things have started changing since Elizabeth's arrival but she was not directly involved with Akko!"
"Really?" Constanze jumped into the conversation, "Do you remember when Elizabeth got hurt? According to Diana, Akko "attacked" Elizabeth. What did Akko say about the situation to you guys?"
Sucy answered, "She said it was an accident and that the Shiny Rod's "defense system" activated—"
"Defense system?" Constanze put a finger to her chin, "Now why would the Shiny Rod's defense system activate? When we went near the Shiny Rod or Akko showed it to us it never acted like that. Maybe Akko or the Shiny Rod felt threatened when Elizabeth approached them. Who knows. Maybe Elizabeth was going to attack Akko and try to take the rod from her!"
"W-well…" Lotte glanced to the side, "That does make sense."
"And then there's the thing, the Briton Red Dragon," Constanze continued, "According to everyone, they said that Akko was the one who gave the dragon magical energy which helped it escape. Were you guys there when it happened?"
Lotte answered, "No. Akko was with Elizabeth when we split—"
"So she was with Elizabeth…" Amanda said with a smirk, "What was Akko's side of the story?"
Sucy stepped forward.
"Akko said that Elizabeth tricked her into using magic to attack the dragon. But that was just an excuse to get herself out of trouble."
"Are you sure?" Constanze questioned Sucy, "You weren't with Akko and Elizabeth when it happened. Can you be certain if Akko was telling the truth or not if you weren't even there?"
Sucy grimaced at Constanze's logic, what she was saying was making sense.
"But about Elizabeth being a vampire?" Lotte came in with a challenge, "Akko kept claiming that Elizabeth was a vampire and tried to attack her! Do you guys have any proof of that?"
Constanze folded her arms and sighed.
"Sadly, there is currently no definitive proof that Elizabeth's a vampire."
"See? It doesn't make sense. Let's just forget about Elizabeth and go on with your lives."
"What?!" Amanda stepped up to Sucy with anger visible on her face, their noses touching, "If there is evidence that proves that Akko was being messed with then we can clear her name! Don't you want that!?"
"Clear her name for WHAT!? Akko has already been expelled! There is no point in trying to poke the already dead bear—"
Sucy shut her mouth before she got any louder. Lotte, Constanze, and Jasminka backed away in surprise at the pale witch's anger but Amanda did not even flinch giving the girl a cold look.
Amanda turned her back and went up to her team. But before they left Amanda gave Sucy and Lotte one last comment that stuck with them for the whole day.
"I thought you guys were Akko's friends, but I guess I was wrong. If something like this happened to either of you guys I know Akko would go through hell and back to clear your names. I know that for a fact. Come on, guys."
By Amanda's command, the other Green Team members followed her and left Sucy and Lotte alone. The orange-haired witch looked over at her pale friend who seemed to be visibly shaking.
"S-Sucy…?"
Sucy turned to Lotte.
"You wanna go out to Blytonbury?"
Lotte's eyes widened by the sudden question.
"U-um...yes?"
"Let's go then. I wanna get away from this place."
Sucy held her head down as she walked off and Lotte stayed close beside her with a worrying glance.
"Thanks for coming, girls."
After they finished their lunch Hannah, Barbara, and Diana made their way back to the infirmary. They spent the entire morning keeping Elizabeth company through her slow healing process. Speaking of the healing process, the purple-haired witch made a tremendous recovery. Color had returned to her face and the wound in her shoulder and stomach closed up thanks to the combined efforts of the teachers and Diana.
"No problem! We wouldn't want to leave you here alone in this dusty old infirmary!" said Hannah, "You must have been bored out of your mind!"
Elizabeth smiled.
"Professor Lukić has been taking good care of me and thanks to her potions I should be able to get up and do classes in about a week or so."
"That's good," Barbara sighed in relief, "We were so worried! I'm sorry your first week has been one hell of a long episode!"
"It's not a big deal," Elizabeth giggled. "I take every moment as a blessing."
"I see…"
Diana walked up to Elizabeth with an unreadable expression.
The purple-haired witch looked up at her teammate and responded, "Yes Diana?"
"Is what Headmistress Holbrooke told me last night true? You're leaving the team?"
Before Elizabeth could respond out of nowhere Hannah and Barbara screamed and then hugged Elizabeth on both sides. It seemed that Elizabeth did not break the news of her departure to them.
"DON'T LEAVE ELIZABETH! WE MAKE A GREAT TEAM!" cried Barbara.
"I JUST STARTED TO REALLY LIKE YOU! DON'T GO!" Hannah whined.
"Don't bother Elizabeth girls!" Diana ordered. "Elizabeth wasn't going to stay in our group forever. The headmistress only put her on our team because we didn't have enough students to put her on her own team. But now thanks to…circumstances one spot is free."
"And it's not like we can't hang out anymore," Elizabeth reassured them with a tender smile, "I'll make an effort to be with you guys when I can!"
"*Sniff* Really?" Hannah asked under her stained face of dry tears.
Elizabeth smiled warmly.
"Really, I promise."
Barbara huffed.
"It just sucks that you have to be a part of that team!"
Elizabeth shrugged.
"It was Headmistress Holbrooke's decision. I don't have the authority to go against it."
"But I agree with Barbara and Hannah that putting you in that team…especially after what transpired last week is not a smart move," Diana said with a worried glance at Elizabeth.
The girl smiled at her teammates' concern, "I'll be fine."
After a while of looking at Elizabeth's calm deep purple eyes, Hannah and Barbara calmed themselves down and let her go.
"Alright," said Hannah, her voice sounding defeated, "But if those girls give you trouble just give us a call!"
"Will do!" Elizabeth saluted.
Lotte and Sucy had spent at least two hours exploring the city of Blytonbury. First, they went to the usual place The Last Wednesday Society to check out interesting magical items, then Lotte begged Sucy to come with her to a bookstore to see if they had any Nightfall comics, and finally, they went to get coffee at the Café.
"My coffee needs more milk," Lotte said to herself as she took a sip.
Sucy rolled her eyes, "If you put any more milk in it it's literally just going to be milk in your cup."
"Miss Jansson?"
Lotte perked her head up from the sound of her last name being called. The two witches turned their heads to see two handsome young men in suits holding coffees. The one who called out to Lotte had blonde hair and hazel eyes and his name was Frank. The other gentleman with dark green eyes and brown hair was Andrew Hanbridge.
"Frank! Andrew!" Lotte waved at them with a big smile on her face while Sucy just looked at the boys uninterestedly. "What are you guys doing here?"
Frank said, "Oh we were just here to check out the Magic shop next door. I heard from one of the students at Appleton that it can see into your future and show you multiple alternate timelines! My curiosity got the better of me so I came to see it with Andrew!"
Andrew took a sip of his coffee.
"I honestly just came to get some coffee and to make sure this buffoon doesn't accidentally curse himself."
"I'm not an idiot Andrew!" Frank huffed.
Andrew laughed as he nudged Frank's shoulder but then stopped as he examined the Red Team's table. One person was missing.
"Where's Miss Kagari? Is she in another store or is she still in school?"
Lotte rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly.
"Well…"
The boys sat down with the witches as they explained the events that had transpired. As they told all the details that they knew both Andrew and Frank's faces morphed into shock as they heard the end of the sorrowful story.
"You can't be serious…" Andrew whispered over to Lotte his voice in disbelief.
"It's true," replied Sucy, "Akko was expelled and left for Japan yesterday."
"She's...really gone…"
There was visible sadness in Andrew's face as reality sat in.
"I'm so sorry Miss Jansson," Frank said to Lotte with a frown across his face, "To think your friend would go through such a horrible experience and get expelled is just awful…"
"I know...thank you…" Lotte replied weakly.
"But...the whole situation seems strange..."
The two witches and Frank turned to Andrew who seemed to be in deep thought. When he realized that all attention was on him Andrew snapped back to reality and elaborated on what he meant.
"I mean I'm not saying this is fact and that I have all the answers but it just seems like Akko was...set up."
Frank leaned back on his chair as he listened to his friend.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean," Andrew continued, "It just seems like these events where Akko gets in trouble were way too conventionally placed. Akko hurts Elizabeth in the library but no one else is there to see what happened that led up to it, Akko's release of the dragon but once again no one else sees what really happened, Akko getting attacked by Elizabeth Mirage and going crazy on when going after her, and finally Akko nearly killing Elizabeth. This all just seems like the script to a play."
Frank nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, when you put it like that, the circumstances do seem suspicious. No one is around when the two of them are alone and then something crazy always happens…Miss Jansson, could you explain to me what vampires are? I mean I read novels and comics about them but I want to be as accurate as possible!"
"O-oh! Well, vampires are honestly not that much different than the fictional writings. They are creatures of the night that devour human flesh and blood. They are ageless and immortal. Their very existence is made from magic so they can harbor spells infinitely. One well-known weakness is that they cannot be in the sunlight! They would instantly die and turn to ash!"
"And that's the reason why Elizabeth can't be a vampire," Sucy stated. "We've seen her walk around outside during the day, evening, and night. If she really was a creature of the night we would have seen her turn to dust."
"I see…and you are saying that vampires no longer exist anymore?"
Sucy nodded.
"Most of them died out when the Golden Age of Magic came to an end and the rest were eradicated by exorcists from the Catholic Church. The Pope made a whole declaration many years ago that all demonic beings were wiped off the face of the earth. It was a whole event and is now a holiday that witches and wizards celebrate."
"But what if Elizabeth was really a vampire in secret? Isn't there a spell or something that could shield her from the sun?"
Sucy shook her head, she seemed to be getting increasingly frustrated.
"No! Not even a barrier or a shadow spell could protect Elizabeth from the sun if she was a vampire. The sun's rays would still reach her. The only way she would be safe is if she hid within the true darkness of a house or walked around in the nighttime."
"Then what about…ha! I'm sorry forgive that's a ridiculous thought!"
Everyone turned to Frank who was laughing at himself.
"What were you going to say, Frank?" Andrew asked his friend.
"N-nothing! A funny thought came to me! Like…what if she just wore sunscreen and maybe that protected her from the sun!"
"Tch! Please something like that would— would…huh?"
Just as Sucy was about to rant some more her eyes widened as she stared down at the table.
"S-Sucy?" Lotte looked over at her friend with a worried expression. "Is something wrong?"
"…Lotte, we have to go."
"Huh? B-but—"
"We have to go now!"
Sucy quickly got up and dragged Lotte out of her seat. The two witches stumbled out of the cafe while waving goodbye to the two boys.
"B-bye Frank and Andrew?"
Lotte said confusingly as Sucy pulled her out of the building.
Now sitting by themselves, Andrew turned to Frank with a raised eyebrow. The blonde boy shrugged in response as being very lost in what had just occurred.
Back in the Red Team dorm Lotte and Sucy sat on their beds and stared at each other.
"Is everything alright Sucy?" Lotte asked.
Sucy sighed.
"That thing that Frank…about the sunblock…I remember seeing Elizabeth holding a bottle."
"E-Elizabeth…had sunblock?"
Sucy nodded.
"One time when I went into the bathroom I saw her washing her hands. After she was done, she was rubbing a whole blob's worth of sunblock in her hands like crazy."
"Really…w-wait Sucy…!"
Lotte stood up from the bed with her eyes widened.
"You don't think—"
Sucy grumbled as she looked away.
"I'm not sure! It's not enough! It could be that she just has sensitive skin or something! Her having sunblock isn't enough to prove she's a vampire!"
"B-but maybe if this is a…"
Lotte tried to speak but her words failed to come out. Sucy then spoke again.
"We have to investigate. If it's true that Elizabeth is a vampire…not only does that mean that Akko was framed but…it might mean she's in danger."
"Huh?" Lotte gasped. "Why would that mean Akko's in danger?"
"Because if Akko found out the truth then Elizabeth might of—"
*KNOCK* *KNOCK*
The two witches stopped their conversation and turned to the front door. Lotte was the one who made it first and opened it to see the young Professor Ursula. But Ursula looked as if she did not sleep. Her clothes were wrinkled as if she woke up in them and her hair looked as if she was pulling it.
"P-Professor Ursula?"
"Hello girls!" waved Professor Ursula trying to sound as cheerful as possible, "I have some good news. You're getting a new member today!"
"Huh?" Lotte stared at the professor dumbfoundedly.
"Already?" Sucy stood up from her bed, "Who—"
"Come in!"
Coming from behind Ursula was a student that the two girls recognized. A cold fear like a mighty wind pushed against their bodies as they noticed her short purple hair, her dark purple eyes, and her pale skin, but the one thing that stood out to them was that she was wearing the Red Team sash around her uniform instead of the blue one.
The purple-haired witch smiled.
"Greetings! You all know who I am already but I'll reintroduce myself. *Ahem* My name is Elizabeth Lucifer and from now on I will be a part of your team! I hope we get along!"
Author's Note:
Thus ends Act 1 of The Fantasia Melody! I will get right onto working for Act 2! Thank you guys so much for checking out the series so far and stay tuned for what happens next!
Please check out my own original web novel, "The Branded Hero Volume 1: Baxter the Failure". The tale of a hero who has been outcasted by the world since releasing The Demon King: /series/The-Branded-Hero-Volume-1-Baxter-the-Failure/info
And please check out my webcomic, "The Curse of Gringerfield" on Webtoon and Tapas!
Webtoon: https/en/canvas/the-curse-of-gringerfield/list?title_no=970667
Tapas: /series/The-Curse-of-Gringerfield/info
Next Chapter: The Household of Myrddin Emyrs
