Childhood
“Are you alright, dear?”
“Yes, I'm okay, sorry for making you worry, mother.”
“Are you perhaps worried about going to the Hanbridge manor? If you are, then don’t be, there would be other children there too you know and it’s not like this is your first time visiting, maybe you could make some friends there, Diana.”
“I doubt that, all the others are so … so mean. They always make rude comments about magic and witches, and make fun of me when I try to practice.”
“Well, maybe not yet, but I’m sure you’ll find someone. No one walks this Earth alone, Diana, there’s always someone destined to be right beside you, maybe you haven’t met them yet, but that doesn’t mean you won't.” The car stops at the front gate of the Hanbridge family manor, the butler of the house opens the door, the first to get out was Bernadette Cavendish, the current head of the esteemed Cavendish family, later came out was her daughter and the future hair of the house, Diana Cavendish, the little girl was carrying an old, withered book.
When the Cavendish' came out of the car, they were greeted with the Handbridge estate’s workers and the Hanbridges themselves. “Greeting to the esteemed guests.” The workers greeted in unison and bowed respectively.
“Greetings Lady Cavendish, I am pleased to see that you have accepted my invitation.” Earl Paul Hanbridge greeted, he then looked behind her.
“My sister and her daughters will be joining us shortly, please excuse our rudeness.” Bernadette then continued. “How could we refuse, when in the invitation it was clearly stated that it was a matter of importance.”
“It is, you see, there is someone I want to introduce,-” Paul turned around and gave a gentle smile, which surprised everyone, since the man was notorious of having a stoic face, he addressed to the little brunette boy standing behind the Countess Handrige, “come out and introduce yourself to these nice people, Atsuko.”
The little boy stepped out in the open from behind the Countess and smiled shyly. “It- It’s nice to meet you, my name is Atsuko Kag- Hanbridge.” The little boy, now known as Atsuko had short layered brunette hair, and what stood out most was his big red eyes.
Paul placed a gentle hand on Atsuko’s head, looking at the confused Cavendishes and said. “We the Handridges had adopted Atsuko from a very close family friend, the Kagaris. In a way, one could call this gathering here, a social debut for Atsuko as a new member of the Handridge family.”
“Now I see why you said it was important.” Bernadette bent down to be at eye level with the little brunette and gave a gentle smile, almost endearing “Hello there little one, may I ask how old you are?”
“I’m currently six, but later this month I’ll be turning seven.”
“I see.” Bernadette smiled and gently pulled her daughter, Diana, closer to her and said “This is my daughter, Diana, she turned seven this year. I hope you two can become great friends.”
The two children could only nod, Paul cleared his throat and addressed his son, Andrew Handridge, who had a darker shade of brown hair than Atsuko and the same green eyes as his father’s. “Andrew, could you please bring our guest and your brother to the back, where our other guests are?”
“Certainly, father.” Andrew turned to look at the said two and said. “Now, if you two will follow me.” The boy turned around and started walking, Atsuko quickly followed behind him, while Diana turned around to look at her mother, who just smiled kindly.
Once the adults were out of earshot, Atsuko turned around and smiled at Diana, “Diana, right? It’s nice to meet you, I heard your family is a witch family, can you do magic?”
The girl could practically see sparkles in the boy’s eyes, a mild blush crept on her face, but before she could answer, the green-eyed boy rudely interrupted. “I truly don’t get what’s so great about magic or your infatuation with witches, Atsuko. Magic was useful in the past, but as technology further develops there’s no need for it.”
Diana’s eyebrow furrows, she and Andrew never got along, despite knowing each other since birth, they would always have a fight about it, if magic still had any value, they had never considered each other as friends only as acquaintances. She hated the boy, but since their two families are one of the most prestigious families in Britain, they have to be on good terms and exchange pleasantries every so often. The girl opened again to argue but she was interrupted yet again, but this one wasn’t unwelcome, unlike the other one.
“I have two things to say to you, Andy. First of all, I was talking to her, not you, and second of all, how dare you insult magic like that, magic is one of the most coolest and best thing in the whole world, tell me how long does it take for a person to heal in the hospital, and compare it to how long it takes for a healing spell to heal the same injury, and last but not least, everyone has their own opinions on things, and if you don’t have anything positive or helpful thing to say, then don’t say anything.” Atsuko lectured.
No one ever had talked to the young Lord like the red-eyed boy, so it was the first time for the blond to see Andrew so dumbfounded, she struggled to keep her giggles from escaping, it was also her first time being joyous away from her home and mother.
The little banter between the two boys ended shortly after it began, in the end, it was Atsuko who was victorious, he was successful in defending his beliefs and proving his point. The way his eyes shine with wonder and amazement made Diana happy, there aren’t many who love magic like the boy, so seeing him talk about it so passionately made Diana feel proud to be a witch. Andrew grumbled something under his breath, far too quiet for the other two to hear when they finally made their way to the back of the manor, all the other children that were at the back swarmed around the two boys, while the blonde girl went to find a secluded area away from the commotion.
Just like Andrew, most of the noble children don’t think highly of magic, while some were from which families, they would always tease Diana and look down on her, for some reason she has a hard time casting spells and controlling her magic, so to sum it all up, the girl doesn’t have any friends. And just like now, she would always isolate herself from the crowd and train and/or study magic.
Diana was currently sitting under a tree and reading her book, hiding from the sun and preferably the other children. She was so engrossed in her book, that she had failed to notice someone was approaching her.
“Hey there!” The sudden voice made Diana jump in surprise, she quickly spun around to see who it was, and to her sudden delight, it was Atsuko. “Would you mind if I join?” He gave her a charming smile, despite her young age his charm worked, the heat started to rise from her stomach to her face, this feeling that she was feeling because of Atsuko was so alien to her, so she could only do a meek nod, shifting to the side, she made room for him to sit.
Finally able to compose herself, Diana turned to look at the boy who was looking back at her, “Isn’t this supposed to be your party, why aren’t you with your brother and the crowd?” she then asked.
“I don’t really like these fancy-schmancy parties, it feels sorta … strained? No no, um… fake? Ugh… I don’t know, all I know is I don’t like it. And besides- ” Atsuko turned to look away back at the party, “they’re too busy fawning over Andrew to notice I’m gone.” He turned back and gave the same smile to Diana. “So, if you don't mind me asking.” He hesitated. “Do you know or heard of Shiny Chariot?”
Diana immediately perked up at the mere mention of the magic performer, she couldn’t believe it, someone other than her liked Shiny Chariot’s shows, she would always get teased and picked on by her cousins and peers because she’s a fan, so she had to hide that fact about her. “Yes, I know of Shiny Chariot. I saw her live show last year in Tokyo, her shows are even more spectacular live than television.”
“You’re a fan too?” Atsuko got an eager nod, “Wait, you said last year in Tokyo, right? Then that means we went to the same show last year.” He said gleefully, then gasped as he remembered something important. “Since we are both Shiny Chariot fans and went to the same show, do you also, perhaps collect the cards too?”
“Not really, I doubt you could call a single card a collection. Though I would love to collect them.” Diana gave a soft chuckle, talking to someone about the things you like was … nice, it was nothing she had ever experienced this with someone.
The two children sent hours spent talking to one another, they had so much fun they lost track of time. Diana learned throughout their interaction that Atsuko preferred being called ‘Akko’ instead of his actual name, she also learned that Akko was nothing like the other nobles she had met, the boy was cheerful, kind, considerate, and most of all … warm.
The two children wouldn’t stop talking about their common interests until Bernadette came to pick Diana up.
The older woman’s heart warmed at the sight before her, her daughter was smiling and actually having fun and she even made a friend. When the little girl somehow manages to notice her mother making her way to her and her new friend, and only friend.
“It seems like you're quite enjoying your time.” Bernadette gave a fond smile to both children. “But it seems like it’s time for us to depart, it's almost time for supper, Diana.” It was quite clear that the young girl was visibly disappointed, the cute pout on the girl’s face made her mother chuckle, she then turned her attention to the boy, who’s hand was currently being held by her daughter. “If you two want, Lord Handridge and I could set up a playdate just for the two of you.” The woman let out a small giggle at the sight of the two children immediately perking up in excitement.
“Does that mean that Akko can come over to the manor tomorrow?” Diana gingerly asks, she never had a friend over, let alone actually having a friend, so saying that she looked happy was an understatement, she was practically jumping for joy.
“Sure, why not.” Bernadette patted her daughter’s head, the little girl was giggling excitedly. The genuine smile on her daughter’s face warmed her heart, she turned around to look at the cause of her daughter’s happiness. “Well, then Atsuko. We’ll be expecting a visit from you tomorrow. Now then, let us depart, Diana. You’ll spend more time with him on the morrow.”
And with that, the Cavendishes left the Hundridge manor, after that day Diana and Atsuko spent time with each other as much as possible, when there was a social gathering or a party they would always go together, obviously they didn’t care about the event they would attend, the only thing they cared about is to be with each other.
Like an unspoken rule, Atsuko would always go to the Cavendish manor at least twice a week, everyone around them thought it was quite strange for someone to do such a thing, but neither the Cavendish nor the Handridge cared about it, much to Diana’s delight. Unknown to the public and even the children themselves, Bernadette and Paul were the ones who set up their meetings not only for the children but for Bernadette to help Atsuko with his condition.
The two children were almost inseparable for five years, that is until Paul told them the big news more specifically, he told Atsuko.
“So, you’re leaving England? Where are you going, when are you coming back?” One could practically hear the devastation from Diana’s voice, she hates being separated from her one and only friend.
“I'm going back to Japan, but I’m not going to stay there, I’ll be back in time for High School, so we’ll only be apart for four years.” Atsuko tries to calm her friend’s distress.
“Then you have to swear to me that you’ll be back.” Tears were visible on the little girl’s face, she took a deep breath and continued “and that you’ll call me so we can stay in contact.”
“Sure thing, I swear on my life and my love for magic.” The boy smiles, he then fishes out a small box. “I figured you’d act like this, so I got us matching pendants.” He then opens it to show the girl. Sure enough, there were two silver pendants, both with two different mythical creatures but when the two jewelry pieces are together they make the shape of a whole circle. Atsuko took the one with the unicorn engraving and wore it, then he picked up the other pair which had a nine-tailed fox engraving, and put it on Diana’s hands. “It was custom made just for the two of us, so there wouldn’t be anyone besides us having the same thing. The unicorn is supposed to represent you and the fox represents me, and the best part is, the pendants open and I put in the photo we took on last years’ Christmas Eve.” The boy shyly scratched the back of his head, it was one of his weird yet cute habits he developed over the years. “So do you … perhaps, like it?”
Diana looks down at the pendant on her hand, she gently stroke the fox engraving and opened it, the picture that was inside was one of many happy moments she shared with Atsuko, in this particular picture both children were wearing their winter coats and with big smiles on their faces for making a snowman. Diana smiled at the photo and looked up at her friend “I love it, thanks Akko.” She then leaned in to give a gentle pack on his cheek.