Chapter Text
It was a rather gloomy day. The purple haired witch had been staring out her window for hours when she finally heard her mothers voice at the door. “Agott, have you finished your studies for the day? I'd assume so since you're staring out the window again.”
“Of course,” Agott sighs, but it doesn't seem to be noticed by her mother. Or perhaps it was, it's not like it would make a difference either way. “I finished drawing my spells before you arrived.”
“Very well then, I'm off to the 20th floor. There are apprentices taking their test today, do not go down there. I've had to shield you from enough rumors in my lifetime already, and I'd like to not add another of you purposefully sabotaging a test.” Adina says with a cold, ruing look. She's referring to Agott supposedly plagiarizing a spell when she was 11 during one of her mothers personal tests, which was disguised as her entertaining Adina's guests.
“Alright. I'll stay here and work on tomorrow's studies.” Agott stares blankly at the door while her mother makes her way out. She’d been contemplating asking to do something with her mother, tomorrow was her 19th birthday afterall. Maybe one day could be spared, just one whole day to celebrate her life in this hell of a tower. “Mother I-” Agott mutters, but is cut off when Adina stops and looks at Agott with that same, cold look. “What is it?”
“I was wondering.. If you and I could take a day off and leave the library tomorrow?” Agott says this with a hopeful, subtle smile.
“Now why would you ask something so silly? I don't get to take days off on a whim.”
"Of course, I was just wondering if you maybe had something planned, as tomorrow is my 19th-” Agott is cut off once more.
“Agott, can this conversation wait? I have a test to proctor and you're holding me up. Now if that's all, I will take my leave now.”
As the door shuts, Agott is left there with nothing but her thoughts and some books she borrowed from the library. She sits there for what seems like hours, when she hears a loud thud come from outside.
“YOWWWCH!”
Agott perks up from her desk at the sudden noise. Where could the noise have come from? Her room was on the 52nd floor afterall, You would need to be either inside or have sylph shoes, which were considered a major luxury.
Magic was not as known as it was before the great war 10 years ago. The pointed caps and the brimmed caps fought on how all magic should be taught and can be used as seen fit, and that magic should continue to be taught the same. Many pointed caps outright refused to continue teaching magic due to the fear of their apprentices agreeing with the brimmed caps, and decided to lie and manipulate them into thinking that the brimmed caps were worse than they were. They said if nothing was known in the first place about magic, the same issues wouldn't occur again. The brimmed caps got a bad wrap. They did many wrong things, but it was often exaggerated to the extent of being hated for even being seen out in public.
After the thud and what seemed like a cry, Agott opened her bedroom door to see if something was there. “Hello..? Is someone there? I have spells and I'm not afraid to use them..!” Agott was practically gripping her palm quire because she was, in fact, very scared. The most contact she's had with people in the past 18 years is the library apprentices and occasionally speaking with her mother.
With no luck finding anything outside her room, she heads for the balcony. “There's no way someone came all the way up here.. Right?” It had started pouring rain, so she couldn't see anything on the balcony even if there was something there.
Knock Knock Knock
“Can someone PLEASE let me in?? I don't know how much longer I can hold myself up!”
Then it clicked. Agott turned her head to her window to see a hand that seemed to belong to a girl who was holding onto the window sill for dear life. “Oh my! I'm coming!” Agott rushes over and opens the window and helps the green haired girl in.
“Phew! Thank you for your help there. I seem to have drawn the casting seal on my shoes slightly off and I launched myself all the way up by accident.” The girl said with a cheeky smile while rubbing the back of her head.
“Why did you.. Why try to get in through up here instead of just using the door and completing the test like a normal person?” Agott looks at the girl and notices her apparel. She's wearing a rather dark, almost completely black dress with dark grey spirals as the design with a gold shoulder sash that goes from one end to another with a star pendant in the middle, along with a large, crooked hat with golden tassels on the rims. She pays this no mind, for now at least. A brimmed cap couldn't possibly seem this friendly.
“Well, I needed a book and uh never registered to take the test! Whoops! I needed it urgently so I figured I'd just come and get it myself and return it when I was done! Also, my name is Coco.”
Agott stares blankly at the girl, trying to process what she just said. “So you flew 52 floors for a single book?”
“Seems like it!” Coco, still wearing her large grin, looking at Agott for a moment then heading for the door. Coco is sopping wet from the rain and has left a puddle of water that she's now tracking to the rest of the room.
“Hey now wait! You can't just leave like that!” Agott starts to walk after the stranger in her room and grabs her wrist to stop her from walking any further.
“What? I'm going to grab the book and get out of your hair!” Coco tries to release her wrist from Agott's grip, but it's no use.
“You must be crazy to think I'm just gonna let you in and take whatever you want. I'm training to be head librarian one day, so these books are precious to me.”
“I see, but I happen to need this book urgently.”
“What for?”
“You don't need to know that.” Coco's grin has faded into a more serious look, still trying to break her wrist free.
Damn, how strong is this girl? Coco thinks to herself, still trying to break her wrist free from Agott’s grip.
“How about a deal then?”
“Oh? I thought these books were too precious to let go of?” Coco looks up at the purple eyed girl with a slight smirk, but her focus is still on her hand.
“I want to get out of this cursed tower for my birthday tomorrow. I want to go to the beach, but I don't know how to get there, nor do I want to go alone. Come with me and whatever book is it you want is yours.” Agott thinks about her offer, and the thought of her mother flashes in her mind. She winces slightly thinking of the reprimands, but she doesn't care. She's tired of feeling like she's a second option that no one has time for.
“Hmm.. You just want to go to the beach, and the book is mine?” Coco, who now looks amused at what Agott just said, starts to question the sincerity and if it's a trick. “How do I know it's not a trap? You haven't even told me your name.”
“I promise it is not a trap, and my name is Agott Arklaum.
“Well, you have a deal, Arklaum, but I need the book now before we go so I know I won't get screwed over.” Coco says with a grin as she finally frees her hand. She twitches a little bit, but it doesn’t seem to be from discomfort or pain.
“Fine, but I'll hold onto it until we get there. Fair, Coco?” Agott says this and thinks it's the only way they'll move forward from them standing in this room debating on whether or not Coco can get the book or not.
“Good with me! When should we leave for your beach trip?”
“As of now, it's still pouring outside. I say we give it a couple of hours… And dry you off too.” Agott says while nodding her head at the puddle that stands below Coco.
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After about 2 and a half hours, the rain finally eases up. Coco is now dry and ready to leave whenever, aside from the fact Agott needs to find the book to hold up her end of the deal.
“Hey, Arklaum, would you mind getting the book I need?”
“Oh, yeah. Do you know the title of it?” Agott is praying Coco knows what book it is so she knows what floor and section she has to look in. The Tower of Tomes is so large and vast, it'd be nearly impossible to find a single book with no inkling of the contents or the name.
Coco thinks to herself for a second, then pulls out a piece of paper. “The book's name is the Dragons Labyrinth. I need it in order to help a friend, and a little bit myself..” she mutters the last bit, so Agott doesn’t hear her reasoning, but accepts whatever it was Coco said.
“Okay, please allow me to go get it. I’ll be back in a couple of minutes. Stay here. If you are found without being allowed in by passing the head librarian's tests, you will be banished and thrown out, I'm sure of it.” Agott says this in a more serious tone, but still somewhat soft. She's more scared of what her mother would do to this girl. Considering how she treats her own daughter, it would be even harsher for an outsider.
“Aye aye, captain! Now I'm gonna redraw my sylph shoe seals correctly while I wait.” The seal was rubbed off from the rain, and has smudged to the point of not being able to use them at all. Agott leaves the room, and it's supposedly just Coco.
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Sigh “I really thought I was gonna fall earlier. I can't believe my luck that she was in here.”
“Oh quit acting like you didn’t know she was here or we wouldn’t have come and saved you.”
Coco looks up from her shoes and mutters to herself. “Custus. Come out and make this quick. If Agott realizes someone other than me is here, she won't trust me.” She shoots him an annoyed, and rather displeased look as Custas reveals himself from the shadows. “How long were you there anyways?”
“How long I was there doesn’t matter, and she already doesn’t trust you. You think she's gonna meet a very obviously dressed brimmed cap and trust them immediately? She's not the girl you used to know. She doesn't remember you.” He scoffs, not even realizing what he just said.
Coco, who went back to working on her shoes, stopped dead in her tracks. She never looked up at him, but Custas faltered a little bit. He knew he crossed a line. “I know she doesn’t remember me, asshole. You think I don’t remember one of the worst days of my life either? I’ll never forget that day, and I don't need you to remind me of it either.”
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~4 years ago~
The Qiflings were all at Qifrey's atelier. It was a normal day, normal routine, normal everything. Coco and Agott had gone to their shared practice room, deciding to get some late night studying done before turning in.
“Agottttttt” Coco says while poking at Agott's side. Everyone had gone to bed already, and Coco had grown fond of trying to piss Agott off in the evenings when there was nothing else to do. She knew she wouldn’t stay mad at her.
“Coco, if you poke me one more time, I will personally drag you out of this room and set you up with Tetia for the night.” Agott says looking up from her paper and pushing Coco slightly while giggling.
“Fine, I supposeeee I’ll leave you be for now.” She makes a slight pouty face, but it turns back into a soft expression as she embraces Agott, telling her goodnight and not to stay up too late. Coco heads to her room when something catches her eye. It looked like one brimmed cap with a very memorable eye shaped face covering. Before Coco can call out, her mouth is covered by what seems to be a familiar hand. She gets a glimpse at who it is and lets out a small gasp from fear.
Tartah!? What’s he doing here and why is there a brimmed cap in my room?
“Please don't make this harder than it has to be, Coco. We can save your mom.” Tartah says in a whisper, still covering Coco’s mouth. She stops squirming at the thought of being able to save her mom.
“We.. we just need you to do something-” Coco pries his hand from her mouth and cuts him off.
“Anything..”
“You’ll need to erase Agott’s memory of you.”
Coco stops everything. Her movements, thoughts, and even her breathing for a couple of seconds.
“What.? I.. I can't do that to her. She’s.. She’s..” Coco can feel her eyes begin to well up in tears. Everything becomes blurry, and Iguin comes from his corner and hands Coco a seal. A memory eraser seal. Coco stares at the incomplete circle, then pans back over to the other two in her room. This is a choice she never thought she’d have to make. Saving her mom, and having to forget about her life in the atelier, her life with Agott, or staying and having to wait to save her mom, and possibly never getting to see her again outside of the cold, blue crystal she put her in 2 years ago.
Coco remembers it all too well. She stood at Agott's bedside while she lay there sleeping, with the memory seal in one hand, and her pen in the other. As she closed the circle, Agott woke up to the scratching of the pen drawing on the paper.
“Coco..? What are you- is that..” It took Agott a second to understand what was happening. She saw Iguin from the corner of her eye, and began to plead. “Wait..Wait! No Coco, why are you doing this! Please allow me to talk to you about this, we will figure it out!” Agott had a look of pure fear that would be etched into Coco’s brain for the rest of eternity. Her eyes were opened wide and filled with tears, and her lips were trembling. She almost looked like she was muttering something inaudible, like she just couldn’t escape her throat.
“I’m so sorry Agott.. I have to see her again. I can't keep running in circles getting nowhere.” She looked at Agott while pressing the seal to her forehead, despite all the kicking and crying coming from her. Coco had tears in her eyes as well, but was looking at Agott as if trying to remember her facial features one last time.
Then, after a few seconds, there was a large flash. Agott was unconscious, and Coco was gone.
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~Present~
“I'm sorry Coco. I didn’t mean to bring it up.. It just slipped out.” Custas looks down, feeling bad for any memories he may have brought up.
“Whatever. Just leave me alone for now, I’ll get your stupid book, Custas.” Coco was losing her patience with him, and he knew it. He bowed his head slightly and turned away to leave.
“Oh, and this little beach plan, does Iguin know?”
“Maybe. Maybe not. Tell him for me, would you?” Coco says deadpan, but yet continues drawing her casting seal.
Custas nods, and then flies off with a new spell he's been practicing.
Knock Knock Knock
“Coco, I’m back with your book.” Agott opens the door to find Coco in a deep focus, looking at her shoes along with a sour expression. “Uh.. Coco?”
Coco snaps out of her trance, noticing how she must look, so she puts on the biggest smile she can and looks up at Agott, who is holding the book close to her chest. “Oh! Your back! I'm just about done, so I'm ready to leave whenever.”
“Okay..” Agott was still wondering why Coco looked so upset, but decided ultimately not to bring it up. “Okay, let's head off then. I know a way we can sneak out of here, where there are no guards.” Agott says this in a rather proud way, almost implying she's done this before, which she hasn't, but is nonetheless trying to impress her new friend.