Chapter Text
Surprise was written all over Coco’s face as she watched the friend she’d tried to help now turn against her, using forbidden magic and that hat…
Questions swirled in her mind as she tried to make sense of what was happening—the threat, the plan, the weight of the metal bracelet in her hand. Tartar stood beside her, sounding just as scared and bewildered as she was.
Snapping out of her shock, it was Tartar who took the first step to speak
—What do you want us to do?
Coco didn’t want to know what those two wanted them to do, but what was she supposed to do? Coustas was her friend, a good friend; it was cruel of her. They had lied to him; they hadn’t helped him; she…
She had failed as a mage.
“Huh? Isn’t it obvious? Let’s break out of this damn cage of fate!”
Before Coco could ask exactly what he meant, a bright white flash blinded her. She screamed in surprise, and her first thought was that they were attacking her again—like that time in the city, the labyrinth, and the dragon, or during the trial. But this time it… it felt too different to be that.
Before she could think it through, she passed out.
—-
Co…
Coco…
Coco!
The green-haired girl woke up with a start, letting out a choked scream that made her cough, thinking she’d woken up in the middle of another terrible situation—trapped, captured by the wide-brimmed hats. Her chest ached, as if she’d been holding her breath for too long. But contrary to what she believed, instead of a new danger, the first thing she saw upon waking was her teacher’s face, that eye of a precious blue color.
—Professor Qifrey…
Coco swallowed, feeling drowsy; her teacher seemed relieved to see her awake, and she could only move her head to look around.
Agott, Tetia, Riche, Mr. Olrugio, Tartar… Tartar!
She sat up immediately, looking at her hand, hoping to see the silver mark left by her last encounter with the one she thought was her friend, and… Nothing. There was nothing there. When she looked at Tartar again, he seemed to know exactly what she had been searching for so desperately… He didn’t have the shackle either.
“Where are we?”
Her master helped her sit up, only then realizing they weren’t alone. Although she didn’t recognize most of the people in the room, the knights of Moralis were gathered around them, along with three other people, and in the back were… were Miss Alaira and Euini… but he didn’t seem to be affected much by the curse at that moment either…
“We don’t know, nobody knows… we were transported here, we think because of forbidden magic…”
“Is it like that time in the village?” Tetia asked, nervously
“No, that time we all walked through a magic circle without knowing it. This time we were all doing different things; nobody stepped over anything strange… it’s… it’s as if they didn’t need to draw anything…” Agott said, standing in front of Professor Olruggio, who, after listening to the girl, looked at Qifrey as if asking for an explanation.
Coco got up from the floor, though she shrank back into herself as she watched the knights of Moralis looking in her direction. As if they were blaming her…
Maybe it was always her fault…
“We need to stay calm; this might be the work of the wide-brimmed hats…”
What Qifrey said made the room go cold.
“We need to find a way to get out of here—”
“Ah! Everyone’s awake now!”
The voice made everyone stir, but unfortunately… they had nothing.
The knights had no lances, and the mages had neither quills, nor ink, nor paper.
“Wow! Calm down! I’m not here to hurt any of you. Please, I ask that everyone relax.”
From the ceiling of the room, a woman floated down, dressed in black and white. Even her eyes had that strange coloration, and she held a staff in her hands.
“Who are you? How and why did you bring us here?” Easthies stepped forward, and the two stood face to face; even though she was wearing heels, the girl had to look up at the man.
She smiled, a cynical smile, as she took a step back so everyone could see her clearly.
“Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Aquamarine; you can call me Aqua. I’ve come here to… open your eyes.”
“Open our eyes?”
The girl’s smile seemed to grow wider.
“The way you were all raised is so… limiting. You have such beautiful magic in your world, and while I’m not entirely against your rules, I do believe that being so inflexible does more harm than good.”
She began to walk, looking at them, and finally stopped at Qifrey’s Atelier—specifically… at Coco.
“And while I don’t intend to change everything, I do want you to open your minds a little; maybe magic can be… a little freer.”
“You don’t understand a thing! The rules are there to protect people; they’re for the greater good!” Easthies shouted.
“Saying ‘they’re for the greater good’ doesn’t convince me at all; it gives me more questions than answers, and those questions will make me seek answers—answers that, it seems, very few wanted to give me.” She sat down in one of the chairs that had appeared in the room. “Who decides what’s right or wrong? Why should a child lose his whole life because of a wizard’s carelessness? Don’t you think ignorance makes children easier to manipulate?
Silence—the silence in the room was palpable. Everyone looked at one another, but Easthies seemed eager to keep arguing when he was interrupted by a hand on his shoulder; Vianna pushed the man back
“What is the purpose of all this? How do you intend to ‘open our’ eyes?”
She seemed happy to see that woman, almost excited.
“I’m so glad someone asked!” She jumped up and ran over to a wall covered with a huge white sheet. “We’re in a place called a ‘movie theater.’ This is called a screen. Here, you’ll see something incredible… another universe, a universe with different rules, different magic.”
She seems incredibly excited.
Coco seems so too; despite her initial fear from what happened before they got here, magic was something that still excited her, that she still loved.
“How…?”
“It’s hard to explain, but you’ll understand as things unfold. Don’t worry, you’re safe here. Please, take a seat. You don’t have any other choice anyway.”
Everyone seemed hesitant, but Qifrey was the first to take a step, gently pushing his students toward the seats in the back, with Olruggio following behind. Finally, everyone began walking toward the seats.
“Before we start! Rules! Because, yes, I do believe in the importance of rules—you can’t attack each other… That’s all. Enjoy!”
Before anyone could say a word, she vanished…