Work Text:
The soothing sound of the rail tracks... You are not used to such a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere.
You can't help but let your mind wander. You reminisce about what has led you to this point in life…
You never thought that you would see your aunt again. She left when you were just 11 years old. When you asked her why she had to leave she wouldn’t give you a straight answer. You recall her saying something about “magic resources,” but that was it.
Because of her sudden “trip” your dad and her got into a lot of fights. You knew that your dad was only worried for her, but your aunt was very stubborn and didn’t think twice about her decision to leave. They argued for days over the topic. Your aunt was hurt by your father’s words, and their already deteriorating relationship began to fall apart even further. Your aunt would visit less and less as time passed, though you still saw her in the park from time to time or whenever you came to her house to visit. She hadn’t left yet, but some part of you felt she was already far away.
When it was time for her to go, you hugged her tightly and cried for the rest of the day. She gave you a sweet smile and promised to come back for you. She then gave you a kiss on the forehead, stepped on board the ship, and waved goodbye as she left you.
After she was gone, things were harder for you. Your father wasn’t fond of the curiosity for magic that your aunt had instilled in you, and your mother, while kind, would just follow whatever your father said without question. Whenever he punished you, she had no option but to obey and stay quiet. Even if you cried and begged her to do something, she would just look away from your gaze and leave the room.
You ended up working at your parents’ flower shop after your father threatened to burn all of your magic related things, and then “get rid of your magic interest for good,” whatever that meant. There was no other option than for you to obey. Even if you didn't understand exactly what he meant, you knew that it was something painful and scary.
You spent an uncomfortable amount of time in that flower shop. Sometimes when the store was quiet, you would practice one of the tricks your aunt had taught you. You remember it very well. You once complained to her about how your baby sister was always crying, she then smiled and said she would show you a little trick, if you can even call it that. She grabbed a little bag with some sort of pollen, and sprinkled a little into your sister’s head. Suddenly, the baby calmed down, and a few minutes later she fell asleep! Over the years, you learned how to twist the spell she taught you and developed a version of your own you called “Pollen Darts,” which would make a random part of the body feel numb for some time. The spell was rather effective and didn’t seem to cause much harm to the target. You were impressed with your work, but there was always room for improvement.
Your father would scornfully push the idea of you “making something useful out of magic,” and so, partly out of spite, you did just that. You spent time, more openly now, developing a spell that would help people calm down by drying a particular flower and placing its crushed petals in an incense holder. Smoking this, you found that it helped you calm down, if not feel a little dizzy as well. Nothing’s ever perfect, you thought. You felt somewhat anxious about the substance you created and how others might see it as something illicit; something it was not. The town’s people, however, didn’t seem to notice, nor did your parents, despite the fact that you kinda created your own version of weed.
Time began to pass quickly after the initial upset that your aunt’s departure created. You received many letters from her telling you about the little town she moved to, her new lover, the other girls around your age that she SWORE you would get along with well, even if you doubt it now. And of course, at the end she left a message about how she wished that you were there with her to enjoy this new life she had, and once again, she promised to go back for you.
You became fixated on the idea of studying magic at the Vatican after your aunt planted the idea in your head, swearing that you possessed the talent to be allowed entry into such a prestigious school. Your naivety would get the best of you, however, as you never received a response to the countless letters you sent their way. You thought that if you just wrote more letters, each better than the last, that someone somewhere would read it and see your potential, but there was no reply. There never was.
As years passed and you became a teenager, the need to rebel against your parents grew stronger. You began dressing in dark clothes, messy makeup, and adopted a bad attitude. You tried EVERYTHING to convince your father that you weren't a good fit to work at the flower shop, and that he should choose one of your siblings to work there instead. He always told you no, and punished you accordingly. Despite your change in mannerisms and appearance, customers kept showing up at the shop to purchase your incense. It didn’t matter. You were stuck there and the only thing you could do now was pray that your aunt came back for you like she always promised, but no matter how much you prayed, it didn’t seem to work. It seemed to be making things even worse.
Because one day, you stopped receiving letters from your aunt. You began to worry and told your father, who gave it no mind until you kept telling him every day for months that the letters were nowhere to be seen. Since war broke out in Europa, and your aunt lived directly between countries that were currently fighting, your father assumed that something terrible had happened to her. He said that since you were so desperate to go to Europa, that YOU should be the one to go looking for her. You had no idea that the place she had moved to was one of the countries at war. You didn't read the newspaper much and if you had learned of her proximity to the fighting sooner, you would have dropped everything and went to find her, with or without your father’s approval.
So that's basically the story of why you were in a train station in the middle of somewhere in Europa, hoping to not miss your train since you didn't understand a single word that anyone in that damn place was talking about.
Finally it was time to enter the train and by the gods’s magic you actually got into the right one and sat down in a seat that there wasn't anyone in, you were sure that your looks would scare any old lady and disgust any man that even considers sitting next to you, so you look out the window.
It felt magical, being so away from home and finally free from your father's anger.
You stayed for at least 10 minutes with peace looking at the other people in the station through the window, you SWEAR you saw a total hottie with a body cute girl! Another 5 minutes making sure you had everything you needed in your suitcase. which was only clothes and a few other things like toothbrush, hair brush and so on. And in your little bag you had a book that you didn't finish and two more that you were open to re-read, it felt like heaven! But it was getting boring, being there on the train that didn’t move.
You sigh and then you feel someone talking to you, so you turn around to see a girl that looked.. older. But her clothes were amazing
(trigger warning: google translate french..)
“Bonjour, est-ce que ce siège est libre ?”
huh.
You looked at the woman for a few seconds before just smiling and nodding, hoping for the best.
The woman sat in front of you and the two of you sat there for a few minutes, you shifted in your seat a little uncomfortable, you were sure that you would scare any grandma- why isn’t she scared of you like the other 3 grannies that passed by you?-
“ton maquillage est vraiment unique, ça doit prendre beaucoup de temps à faire, non ?”
again, HUH???
You take a deep breath before nodding again with another smile, you didn’t want to come off as rude! So you kept nodding at everything she said, although you recognized some of the words she said, both of your languages must have a lot in common..
Finally, the train started and you get excited, looking out the window while the woman kept talking about something you didn't understand and you kept nodding and saying “uh-huh..”
After a while, you got bored and the woman was busy with something else, it seemed like she brought a book of her own to read
You decided to continue the novel that you yourself were reading and decided to finish it on the train.
While you were lost in the book, the woman looked up and read that your book was indeed not in french, but in spanish
— “ Oh, ¿Habla español? “
You looked up at hearing your language, and nodded quickly
— “ Eh, si.. ¿Usted también habla español? No lo sabía.. “
You were nervous, what if she got angry that you were only pretending to understand what she said?
But instead, the woman just chuckled.
— “ Sí, pero no mucho. Tengo que saber algunos idiomas por mí negocio. “
She had a little bit of an accent but it wasn't too noticeable, it sounded good on her? Sometimes having an accent sounds better for some people.
The two of you kept talking more after that, you tried to simplify your phrases so she could understand as much as possible and the two of you could carry on a conversation
Hours passed, you eventually got tired and decided to rest your head against the wall of the train, slowly drifting to sleep as you said something like “Goodnight” to the woman and she chuckled, saying the same to you.
. . .
When you woke up and looked up, there was a girl on the floor drawing something on the ground, a sigil? You never learned about this one… What is this girl doing?
She looks at you for a few seconds and then runs away quickly.
You're scared, should you follow her? The woman that was talking to you is asleep, and so is everyone else in the train.
So you decided to grab something that could be useful for self defense. After searching in your bag you found.. Scissors. Great.
Shaking a little bit and with a tight grip on the scissors, walking slowly, you went to the other cabin, there you saw more people and they were all sleeping. This is so scary… this shouldn't be happening, this was supposed to be a trip to see your aunt after many years!
You shake your head, trying to shake away the bad thoughts and keep walking until you see a big entrance out of suitcases? This place is so creepy…
You slowly enter and you keep thinking that this is a bad idea and that the smart thing to do is to go back to your seat and fall asleep.
But you weren't smart so you kept walking and suddenly you see a weird-looking person running at you, screaming
— “You! I've been looking for you everywhere!”
What. Is. This.
You try to walk away but the man kept talking
— “Just where did you think you ran off to?! Don't you understand the hurry we're in?!”
Trying to communicate even with the limited english you had, you take a deep breath and tried to talk but the weird man was getting close to you, trying to grab you by the arm
— “ Get away from me! “
That pissed him off, making him scream even more. What did you do?!
— “ WE CAN DO IT THE HARD WAY TOO! “
He screams and starts running at you.
You started to run as well, trying to get away from him but he catches you and starts to attack you
You try to defend yourself, the spell that aunt Aurora taught you, this was your chance to use it!
You grab a flower of the many you keep in your pocket, and after casting “Pollen darts” praying that it hits him to run away.
But unfortunately for you, it didn't hit him and the man laughed at you, before cutting one of your arms
You scream in pain and fall to the floor in shock, holding your shoulder where you arm was supposed to be and look up, only to see the crazy man with a maniatic smile
— “ I'll teach you to run away! Gyah gyah! “
That's what you hear and before you notice, you were against a table while he chopped off your limbs and left you there, laughing and mocking you
After he left, you started to crawl, trying to get out and follow a path that leads to another room. The pain was intense but you kept moving.
Suddenly, everything was dark and before you knew it, you were in a room of statues of the new gods, you were scared and confused, tears falling from your eyes.
Suddenly you feel an intense headache, everything was too much, and just seconds before completely passing out, you appear in a tower.
All limbs intact, no headache, no pain.
Looking up, you see another guy with the face painted giggling and behind him…
Is that Rher?!
THE MOON GOD?
— “There you are…”
The man talks with a monotone voice, getting you out of your thoughts
— “Got you pulled out of that nasty place, you were going deep into that rabbit hole.”
You can somehow understand what he is saying, is he putting some kind of mind control over you? Or did you magically learn english?!
— “To show his good will, my master mended your wounds and tatters this once. What a joy. “
You look down again and you see all your limbs, legs, arms… you couldn't believe that just a second ago you didn't have any of that
— “Now you're safe under the beautiful green hue of the moon. Welcome, to the moon tower”
You stand up, holding you head with one hand, you felt like throwing up
— “ is this… a nightmare? “
The man laughs, shaking his head. He had a cocky smile that you didn’t like at all
"Oh it hardly is a nightmare. You just need to adjust your perspective accordingly and it will be anything but a nightmare."
you remain silent, confused. What is this psycho person talking about?! Where even are you?! Before you could ask, he speaks again
"Since our words could not possibly reach my master, I speak on his behalf. And who might my master be...? Well for now let's just say that he is the delinquent one. Rher - the trickster moon god."
well duh, why else would there be a giant moon with a face behind him? You were stupid but not THAT stupid!
"And me? You can call me Per'kele. I am just a humble servant of his celestial majesty.”
what a weird name, maybe the Europans just had those names? Aunt Aurora taught you to not judge a book by its cover- or by its name but this dude just has a weird vibe!
"You are the dreamer. He is the dream, My master has invited you to join us in this jubilee of cosmic proportions. 16 candidates, but only one true victor."
What is this now? One true victor? If this is supposed to be a sick game then you will be losing, oh my god you are so screwed.
“The festival of termina is upon us!”
you take a look at his face and he still has that sick smile, like he was laughing at you, but he was finally allowing you to speak.
“I don’t want to be part of this!”
the painted guy shakes his head, laughing again.
"Ah, but it is not a matter of what you want any longer. My master doesn't give options, and frankly neither do I."
Why are you being part of an ancient god’s sick and twisted game? Is it because you were studying them your whole life and they finally said “ok let’s see dis girl”
"This must all be very confusing to you. I won't burden you with any more information at this very moment. Just head towards 'the tower'. That is all you need to know... Let us meet again under the moonlight."
You wanted answers! What are you supposed to do?! And just like he read your mind, he speaks once again.
"Just head towards 'the tower'. That is all you need to know for now...I will gladly answer questions once you get there. But until then, let us meet again under the moonlight."
And just like that, the next time you blink you are back in your seat. Was this all a dream?
The woman that was speaking to you on the train ride was still sleeping in front of you, could she be having the same dream as you?
Your breathing started to accelerate, you were scared. Even if it was just a dream, your limbs got cutted off, the pain felt so real.
How is it possible that you were in the presence of an old god? It couldn’t be, and what is this “Festival of Termina” shit?!
As you stood up, shaking to the point that it was hard to walk, you quickly grabbed the incense holder and a lighter. You walked into the last cabin of the train and hid behind one of the seats, you grabbed a handful of flowers, smashing them while casting “Aromatherapy” you managed to make an incense cone from the smashed up flower, slowly getting the lighter to work and lighting it up.
After some minutes you start to calm down, feeling dizzier by each minute that passes
Some time has passed and you heard people talking outside, they were talking in english, and since your english was limited, you didn't understand half of what they were saying.
Suddenly, you hear that someone enters the cabin you are in, you couldn’t feel scared because of the incense so you slowly look up and you saw the woman that you talked with in the train
(they’re speaking spanish but i’ll write it in english bc yk.)
“Are you feeling alright, dear?”
The woman says, hurrying to you and putting a hand on your forehead like she was checking your temperature
“Yeah.. no, no yes- im fine. “
You try to set the fire of the incense off, with your hand, not caring if you got burned or not
“Sorry- this is uh… don't worry about it.”
The woman shakes her head and sighs, seating right next to you and putting a hand on your shoulder and you turn your body to her so you are facing her
She tries to talk again, so things aren't awkward.
“My name is Hoa, Hoa Du Pont. What is your name, dear?”
Suddenly your eyes lit up, Hoa Du Pont as in, the famous Hoa Du Pont that makes dresses?! The woman that made YOUR dress that you are wearing right now?!
“Y-you are THE Hoa Du Pont?! i.. I love your dresses! I'm wearing one now! “
Hoa chuckles, and nods, waiting for you to continue
“I spent months saving up money for it… it has a few stitches but i still like it…”
before you keep talking, you remember that she asked your name “ah… My name is Celeste… Flores. “
The seamstress smiles at you, she takes a look at your dress which was really damaged but it had stitches, the fabrics were not exactly the same but it was clear that you did your best to fix it and keep it safe.
“I saw that you were wearing my dress, that’s why I sat with you. “
You felt shy. The fact your favorite stylist saw you in this state and your dress was in poor conditions too.
But the woman didn't seem to mind it, instead she was analyzing how you sewed the parts of the dress that had ripped.
“How about we go to the other cabin and I'll introduce you to everyone?”
Hoa offers you her hand to help you stand up, after considering it for a few seconds, you take her hand with a soft grip and she smiles at you, before leading you into the other cabin where there was more people
They kept talking until Hoa and you got closer to them, and she greeted them. You only wave with your hand for a second, not looking at any of them directly to the eyes
“I found her on the back of the train, she's the girl that I mentioned earlier, the one I was talking to while we were coming here.”
Hoa explains to the group, you only catch a glimpse of what she's saying to them, but you know she's talking about you.
You feel their eyes on you and you get nervous.
“Hi there! I'm Olivia, What's your name? “
Ok that's a simple question, you know what it means…now you had to pray that your pronunciation wasn't ass.
“ … hi, I'm Celeste “
Oh my god, Celeste. you’re a professional English speaker!!
You smile, proud of your ability to understand a simple greeting and the girl with glasses smiles back at you.
The man thats standing next to Olivia nods at you and you just give him a little wave.
— “This is Marcoh, sweetie”
Hoa, says.
You look at your left, and at the entrance of the train you see a girl carving something on the floor, she stand up after finishing and turns back at you and the others
Oh my god. Is the girl at the train station that you totally didn't think she was the hottest girl on earth..
She looked even prettier when she was closer like this!
— “Oh, hey! I’m Marina”
You nod and wave at her, maybe for too long and you slowly get your hands behind your back again and slowly try to hide yourself behind Hoa.
This is the first time that you care about how messy your makeup is, you curse yourself and hope to find a mirror soon.
Then, reality hits you. Where is everyone? Why is the train not moving?
— “Where are we?..”
You ask Hoa, and she turns your head at you.
— “Ah, right. The train suddenly stopped and right now we are in Prevehil! Was this your stop, Sweetie?”
You nod, you had to get out of the train and find your aunt as soon as possible. You didn't give a fuck if the train stopped, you were in Prevehil, your aunt was so close!
— “I need to find my aunt, she's here in Prevehil. “
You decided to start speaking english, you didn't want to make the other uncomfortable by speaking a language they didn't know.
The girl with glasses speaks
— “I don’t think it is safe to get out of the train just yet... After that dream “
You feel light headed, the dream? The others saw it too?
— “The dream?.. With the man with green clothes?.. “
You asked, barely above a whisper since just remembering that weird person made you scared, but since the smell of the incense was still lingering in your hand it wasn't that bad..
Olivia nods, and then realizes that you weren't outside when they were talking about what happened and what to do next.
— “We all had the same dream, I'm guessing you had it too, since you knew what we were talking about.”
So it wasn’t all a dream!? You needed to get out of here and go look for your aunt, what if she is in danger?!
— “ i.. I have to go- “
You say again, slowly walking towards the door of the train and everyone turns to look at you confused, Hoa looking more worried than anything, tries to stop you, blocking your path
— “ sweetie, i don't think it's safe for you to go outside now.. Why don't you stay until we figure out if it's actually dangerous out there? “
You sigh and stop, trying to figure out what to do and the smell of the incense was vanishing already
— “ But... how will we know if it’s safe if no one leaves? “
You struggle to find the words to phrase that and you struggled even more to not push her aside and run away like you usually did at home with your parents.
Hoa seems to notice it and puts her hand on your shoulder again.
— “ Come on. let's sit down… “
She leads you to one of the seats of the train and sits down beside you, the others seem to go back to their business
You look up at Hoa and she smiles at you
— “What's happening, dear?“
You sigh again, looking down at your feet before answering
— “My aunt, she's in Prehevil. I have to know if she's okay! “
Hoa's smiles fades and she nods and puts her hand on your back, trying to be soothing
— “I understand, but you also have to think of yourself. A few people left the train to go explore, when they come back I will go with you to look for you aunt, how does that sound? “
You look at Hoa, you feel your own eyes shine. You smile and nod before hugging Hoa tightly
— “thank you, i would love that…”
You still felt anxious, you wanted to see your aunt more than anything but Hoa was right, you should do what she says..
Hoa chuckles and hugs you back
— “How about… i teach you some english? So you get to know the others and make friends while you're here”
You quickly nod, If you learn english that means that you can talk more with Marina! And the others too I guess.
You stop hugging Hoa and you and her spent a few hours working on your english, Marcoh, Olivia and Marina were used as practice tools for your speaking abilities
It was fun, but the feeling that something was wrong was still there, you felt more and more tired, walking to the seat you were before, you slowly fell asleep. Hoping to not see that ugly green guy of the dreams again.