last stitch | post-wha fic | memorabilia series
Rated: G (Everyone)
Relationships: Coco & Agott, Coco/Agott (heavily implied), Coco & Qifrey, Coco & Richeh, Coco & Olruggio, Coco & Tetia
Characters: Coco, Agott, Tetia, Richeh, Qifrey, Olruggio
Summary:
“You won’t even remember why you love magic,” Master Qifrey said softly.
Of course, Coco already knew that. But hearing it from the man who taught her everything about magic made it feel final.
She was going to lose magic forever.
Before Coco forgets everything, it's best she ties up all loose ends with her family.
word count: 6705
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Witch Hat Atelier, or any of the related characters. The Witch Hat Atelier series is created by Shirahama Kamome and owned by Kodansha Ltd. This story is intended for entertainment purposes only. I am not making any profit from this story. All rights of the Witch Hat Atelier series belong to Kodansha Ltd.
Coco was a witch.
She was a fully-fledged witch who passed all four tests fair-and-square (questionable at best and debatable at worst) in just the span of just three years.
She was eleven when she first met Master Qifrey. Now she was fourteen, turning fifteen in just a few months.
At that point, she could leave the atelier if she wished to start anew or take the fifth test to train and become a master herself.
But the world wasn't a kind place.
Not even to witches.
So Coco began to sew again.
"Do you really need to though?"
Coco looked up from her project—a piece of fabric encased in a wooden hoop with different stitches for embroidery—and looked at her roommate, Agott.
She had her back against her, slouching as she practiced her spells—from trivial spells that could conjure water from nothing to earthshaking spells that could create rivers to flow in desserts. But to Coco, they were amazing all the same.
For a moment, Coco stared at her back and wondered how many more days she would have as a privilege to see that view. It was something she disregarded in the past, several weeks after she moved in the atelier. It was normal. It was a comfort. It became an indication of home.
Not for long. Not for long.
"I need to practice after so long. I mean, I mended your clothes sometimes, but most of the time, Master Qifrey and Master Olruggio would do it before I could," Coco turned back to her work and began weaving the needle in and out, and in and out the sheet. "So I need to practice again."
"That's not what I meant."
"I know. But isn't it easier that way?" Coco hummed and ignored the piercing glare directed at her back, already used to the intense scrutiny.
"Master Qifrey rubbed off way too much on you. You even sound like him too," Agott finally said.
"I'm not as bad! I don't stare into the sunset like he does," Coco tied a knot to keep the thread in place and cut the excess before taking another color and continuing her work.
"You might as well with the way you look. You should just stay with us."
"It’s not that easy. Besides, weren’t you the one who wanted me gone first?" Coco didn’t mean it to come off as a bite towards Agott, but her sister-apprentice did with steely silence and heavy air.
For a few moments, the only noise in their shared workspace was the scratching of a pen on paper and the rustling of fabric. Then Agott sighed and the sounds of pen on paper stopped. Just a moment later, Agott was beside Coco, her head resting on her shoulder.
"I was stupid back then. And I didn’t know you and you were really annoying," she said. "But you’re part of the atelier now. You can’t just leave us."
"Even if I’m annoying?" Coco teased, watching Agott’s cheek flush with red at the remark.
“You shouldn’t leave even if you’re annoying. Please stay,” Agott took Coco’s hand in hers and squeezed it tight.
Years ago, Coco would’ve felt some sort of apprehension if someone told her that Agott would be the type to look after her and be Coco’s first choice if she ever found any trouble. But their time together caused their relationship to bloom into something wonderful where they could hold hands, hug each other, and simply feel content around one another.
“I wish I could. But I want to stay with my mom. I miss her and I don’t want to consider never seeing her again,” Coco said softly, smiling at their intertwined hands.
“Enough to give up magic forever?” Agott pulled her hand away and the frown on her face was back again but it was more pronounced. “You wouldn’t even remember how much you love it.”
“My mom is more important to me than that. Besides, I’ve had my fun with it,” Coco held her hands close to her chest, dread building as the words spilled from her mouth. “I wasn’t supposed to learn anyways.”
“She’s just your mom—”
“She’s my mom and—”
“Does she really matter?”
“Of course she does! She’s nothing like your mom!”
Coco stared at Agott. Agott stared at Coco.
Then Agott looked down, her entire face red from what Coco learned was shame over the years. “Of course. I’m sorry. Your mom’s nice, yeah. Of course.” she was already moving out the door but Coco wanted to grab her hand and apologize. But she was already gone and Coco was going to be lonely and—
Well, Coco began to sew again.
Leaving the atelier meant fixing loose ends.
It was a process that all apprentices went through; whether it be something as small as thanking their sibling apprentices for putting up with them or throwing a huge party in celebration of joining the ranks of fully-fledged witches.
“Of course, we don’t have to throw a party if you don’t want to, Coco,” Master Qifrey slid a plate with a piece of cake towards Coco and smiled at her. “It’s your decision.”
“If we throw a party we should invite everybody!” Coco took a bite of the cake and savored the taste of sweet cream and strawberries. “I’d like to say goodbye to everyone before I leave.”
“Of course! I’m sure no one will object to that,”
Coco took another bite of the cake but noticed that Master Qifrey was looking at her with a touch of melancholy, like she was already gone. It was the same way her mom would look at her sometimes; like she was searching for traces of a man she loved in her daughter. A certain sense of longing that ached and couldn’t be put out no matter what.
Coco finished chewing the cake and swallowed as fast as she could. “I’m not yet gone, Master Qifrey,” she said. “I’m still here!”
The older man blinked at her and laughed. “You’re right, you’re right. You’ll still be here for several months. But even if we meet again, you know it won’t be the same,” he said, his voice taking on a pensive note.
“Because I won’t remember?”
“You won’t even remember why you love magic,” Master Qifrey said softly.
Of course, Coco already knew that. But hearing it from the man who taught her everything about magic for three years made it feel final.
She was going to lose magic forever.
“Are you sure this is what you want?”
Coco looked at Master Qifrey with wide eyes, the thought that maybe he too would tell her that leaving the world of witches would be a terrible idea. That it was stupid of her to forget magic just for her mother who cared and loved her no matter what and—
“Coco?”
There.
The briefest touch on her shoulder, and she stopped.
Master Qifrey smiled at her, his hand back at his side. “I’m not going to say you shouldn’t leave. I’d hate for you to go. After all, you’re my student. But as your teacher, I will support whatever decision you make,” he said. “As long as you’re sure.”
Coco looked down at her lap and clenched her hands, feeling her nails dig into her flesh. “I want to see my mom. I miss her but…” she trailed off, unsure how to finish the sentence. How does one express all the love and care you felt for a group of people without actually saying it? How do you say you loved them but still leave in the end?
“You’re a part of my life too,” Coco said at last. “And I don’t want to lose you all. You’re important to me too.”
At those words, her teacher’s gaze softened even more. “But?” And as her teacher, of course, he knew there was more.
“But my mom needs me. I know she could live a life without me in the picture, but I want to be there for her. If I stayed here, I wouldn’t be allowed to be with her. Or she’d have to lose memories of me and I just couldn’t bear to see her look at me like I’m a stranger,” Coco confessed. “And I know it’s selfish to ask the same from all of you but I don’t want that. I was never supposed to study magic anyways. I feel like it’s what I should do.”
For a moment, there was silence. Then Master Qifrey stood in front of her and knelt down and looked up at her. “Then, as your teacher, I support you. We’ll miss you very much, but that doesn’t mean we can’t visit you from time to time. We’ll just have to start over again.”
“Wouldn’t it hurt?” Tears were beginning to gather in the corners of Coco’s eyes and her lips wobbled as she spoke. “You don’t have to.”
“Maybe we don’t have to I’m sure we’d all want to,” Master Qifrey said. “Even if it hurts.”
With the dam overflowing, Coco flung herself around Master Qifrey’s body and hugged him tight as her tears dripped down her cheeks and landed on his clothes. She felt his arms hold her at once, steadying her as she cried as quietly as she could.
When she left her room to take a break from mending one of the worn-out boots she stole from Master Qifrey, she didn’t expect to meet him in the kitchen. She didn’t expect that he was searching for a snack as well and that they’d end up baking something together. She definitely didn’t expect they’d end up talking about her leaving and that she’d end up in his arms, crying like she was already saying her goodbyes.
They stayed like that for maybe a minute or more, but Coco quickly composed herself and pulled away, sniffing back tears as she did her best to appear like she was done crying. She wasn’t even going to leave yet. There was no reason to cry, and yet…
She already felt she was losing everything.
“The Knights Moralis won’t like it though,” she said, wiping her face. “They won’t let you.”
“That won’t stop us, dear Coco. What’s a few more broken rules for our atelier?” That made Coco laugh and she felt better, the pit in her chest slowly growing smaller.
She took a deep breath and smiled. “Thanks, Master Qifrey. For everything,” she said.
Her master beamed at her. “Of course. After all, you’re family,” he gently said.
Family.
Coco blinked back tears and wondered if they’d be able to rebuild their family even if she forgot.
Save for Agott, perhaps the person who took Coco’s decision the worst was Richeh.
When Coco left her bedroom, Richeh was already waiting outside for her, her face twisted into a frown while brushbug sat around her shoulders, eyes also narrowed into something like disapproval.
“You should stay.”
“I can’t.” Coco told her.
“You can. You should.” The more Richeh spoke, the more the frustration on her face showed. “Do you hate us?”
“No! Of course not! But I want to see my mom again so I have to leave the atelier, and it’s unfair, but I really have no choice,” Coco began to ramble, trying her best to appease Richeh.
It was probably the twenty-fifth time Richeh had confronted her like that ever since she found out that Coco was leaving. But that day must’ve been particularly grating on her because Richeh shot her a glare so deadly, Coco immediately stopped talking.
“You do have a choice. And you’re not choosing us,” Richeh turned away and fled the room, the door banging in her wake.
Coco sighed and rubbed her temple, thinking of the best way to approach Richeh after that terrible talk.
“She’s right, you know,”’
Coco’s head snapped to the left so fast, she felt like it was going to fly off.
She was so caught up with her conversation with Richeh, she forgot to check if Agott was there.
And there she was, sitting at her work desk, scribbling something down on one of her notebooks with a ferocity Coco had never seen before. Coco wanted to watch her work a while more but if she stayed, she knew Agott would snap at her and make her leave. She wouldn’t hear her apologies out no matter how hard Coco tried.
So Coco squashed down her aching heart for Agott before setting off to find Richeh.
She could try apologizing to Agott again later.
Running outside the shared workspace, Coco quickly went over all the places Richeh was most likely to run to. After a quick look outside one of the atelier’s windows, she decided she’d look outside for her friend.
It was a cloudy day, with hardly any sun outside. The type of day Richeh found great for heading to one of her favorite hiding spots.
Once she was outside the atelier, she put her sylph shoes together and flew over to the roof and found the little box she and Richeh had installed a summer ago. She remembered carving a little window at one of the sides so Richeh could enjoy the sunlight even if she went in the box.
Coco opened the lid to the box and went inside the box, pulling the lid back down as she descended down with the help of her sylph shoes. Once she landed on solid ground, it was only a matter of navigating the maze and finding Richeh.
Or maybe she really meant getting lost in the maze because fifteen minutes later, she still couldn’t find Richeh which either meant the maze Richeh made was way too confusing or that she wasn’t in the box at all.
Just before Coco was about to give up, she stumbled upon a small portion of the box where, lo and behold, was Richeh and brushbug, sitting on a bunch of pillows beside the little window Coco carved for her.
“Why are you here?” Richeh asked, hands busy crafting something like a butterfly made out of crystal. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“I just wanted to check on you,” Coco said, walking in the little den.
“I don’t need checking. Not by you. You’re leaving us anyways,” Richeh said.
“It’s not like you can’t see me. Master Qifrey said you could come and visit me,” Coco said, taking a seat a few feet away from Richeh. “We can still have fun together.”
“But you wouldn’t remember magic. You won’t remember us at all,” Coco could hear the frustration building in Richeh’s voice. Then it all evaporated.
“But Richeh understands. Family is important,” she said. “And your mom is important to you so you’ll go back. Even if it means losing magic.”
Coco brought here knees to her chest and hugged them. “It’s not like I want to lose magic. But I have to choose. It’s not like I won’t ever see you again,” she said. “You could even save me with your magic in the future.”
“But Richeh doesn’t want that. You should be saving other people with magic with me. You shouldn’t have to lose three years of memories with us. It’s not fair” Richeh mumbled. “You should be allowed to have both us and your mom.”
“We changed a lot but the rules still exist. Maybe in the future, we’ll be allowed to have both,” Coco smiled to herself. “And I’ll be able to introduce my mom to everyone. She’d love you all.”
“Really?”
“She would. My mom’s really nice,” Coco said. “Whenever we have extra food, she’d give them to our neighbors or invite them over for a large dinner. Even if it was hard sometimes, my mom was always so selfless. She’s a really good person.”
Richeh stayed silent for a moment. “You can introduce us when we visit you.”
“I will! And you can introduce me to Master Qifrey and Master Olruggio,” Coco said, the smile slowly dropping from her face. “You’ll have to tell update me about everything that happened while I was gone even if I wouldn’t understand.”
“Should I bring brushbug with us?” Richeh asked, holding out brushbug to Coco.
“Yeah! I’ll miss him a lot too,” Coco took brushbug and placed him on her lap where he flopped down.
Together, they sat down in silence. It was no longer uncomfortable but welcoming.
“Sorry. For getting mad earlier,” Richeh said, breaking the silence.
Coco leaned even more and let her head fall on with a small “thud” once it hit the wall. “It’s fine. I’d be mad to if it was someone else. Magic is a gift and I wouldn’t understand why anyone would give it up voluntarily,” she said, closing her eyes. “But I understand a bit.”
“But you’re still here,” Richeh told her.
“Yeah. I’m still here.”
Maybe it was a mistake to go into Master Olruggio’s atelier.
Coco looked up at the older man whose face revealed absolutely nothing at her request.
“You want to borrow my shirt?” He asked, voice bordering on incredulous.
Coco nodded, shaking her head vigorously. “Yeah!”
Master Olruggio sighed. “Coco, we could just buy you several shirts if that’s what you want. There’s no need to borrow mine,” he said. “We’re not hard-pressed on money at all if you’re worried about that. Or has Qifrey been putting that idea in your head? If so, I’ll have to talk to him about that.”
“What? No! I just wanted to borrow yours. You know?” Coco laughed nervously. “For reasons.”
Master Olruggio was not having it. “What reasons?”
Coco could not deal with his deadpan voice which was always so terrifying even if everyone else told her wasn’t, so she told him the truth.
“You want to mend my shirt?” He asked, his eyebrows going up. “As practice?”
“Well, I mean, I am a seamstress’ daughter. And I’ll be going back soon so I should really be practicing those skills. I’ve gotten rusty so I wanted to practice a bit,” Coco explained. “So can I please borrow your shirt?”
Master Olruggio looked at her for a second before sighing and moving away from her to where his closet was.
In less than a minute, he was back with a shirt that had a tear right at where the sleeves met the body, as well as several scorch marks and holes on the sleeves. Coco gratefully took it with a smile. She was already thinking of ways to mend the holes with darning or decorating it with embroidered stars.
Over the three years she’d stayed in the atelier, she’d begun to like Master Olruggio more and more once she realized that his grumpy disposition was really just a cover for all the warmth and kindness he had. Not only that, he was a great teacher, especially when master Qifrey was indisposed and wasn’t available to teach them.
“Thanks, Master Olruggio!”
“Not your master, but no problem.”
“But you are!” Coco grinned at the older man and inwardly laughed in delight when he rolled his eyes but didn’t refute her further.
“So you’re really going back there?” Olruggio asked.
Coco looked down at her shoes. “Yeah. She’s my mom after all,” she said softly. “I can’t just leave her.”
“Well, as long as you’re sure about your decision I can’t stop you,” he said, giving her head a ruffle. “You’re a good witch, Coco.”
Even after all those years, Coco still glowed at the praise her teachers would give her.
And while Master Olruggio wasn’t technically her teacher, he was still an adult witch who knew more about her.
Especially when it came to erased memories.
“Uh, Master Olruggio?” Coco fixed her hair, feeling a tad bit awkward about what she was about to ask.
“Yes?”
“What’s it like?”
“What is?”
“You know. Having your memories erased?”
The older man blinked. Then he cocked his head at Coco, like he was studying her in a different light. Then he sighed and walked over to a window where two chairs and a table were situated.
“It might be a long discussion. Might as well sit down, you know?” He said, pulling out a chair.
Once he had Coco sitting down, he sat down opposite to her and looked out the window, his chin resting on his hand.
“If you’re lucky and the spell isn’t all that strong, you might feel like you’re missing something,” he said, eyes trained somewhere that wasn’t exactly the horizon at that moment. “It’s like when you forget a word but you feel like you should know it.”
“What if the spell is strong?” Coco asked, already dreading the answer.
“You just don’t remember anything at all. You go on about your life and you’ll never be burdened by whatever it was you forgot whether it was good or bad,” Master Olruggio turned back to her and gave her a sad smile. “That’s what it felt like for me.”
“Is there a chance that you could remember something?” Coco asked.
“No. The spell takes away your memories. It’s not hidden or pushed to the back. It simply removes it altogether.”
Coco looked down, not knowing what to say. What did she expect? That she could just magically remember what she forgot if she tried hard enough?
“I’ll really forget everything about magic. Even how much I loved it,” Coco whispered to herself. Maybe it was a mistake to ask Master Olruggio such a question when she knew deep inside her, she wouldn’t like any of the answers he would give her.
“But that doesn’t mean you can’t learn to love it again,”
Coco looked up at the older man. “Huh?”
For the first time since they started the conversation, Master Olruggio gave her a genuine smile. “The first few times it happened, I even forgot things that I loved. I even forgot that I loved someone” he said. “I wasn’t even that upset though. I just couldn’t even remember why I loved him in the first place.”
“That’s terrible!” Coco said. “How did you remember?”
“Well, it’s not that I remembered. I just fell in love again,” he answered. “It was a hassle for him, but he deserved it. This means even if you forget why you love magic so much, you get to fall in love with it all over again.”
This time, it was Coco’s turn to gaze outside the window. The sun was still high up in the sky, and she could see Tetia and Richeh playing with water spells, doing their best to drench the other. Agott stood at the sidelines and whenever it looked like a jet of water would hit her, she waved her own quire and the water was redirected back to the person who sent it out.
“But it wouldn’t be the same. And I wouldn’t remember any of you,” Coco said. “It won’t be the same at all.”
“You’re right, but we’ll remember you. I’m sure Qifrey will find a way for us to visit you whenever we can,” he said. “You’ll be able to enjoy magic with us even if it isn’t exactly the same.”
Coco continued to watch the three outside and smiled when Agott finally got hit. Agott began to send jets of water at the two and suddenly, the idea wasn’t all that bad in her head. It just wouldn’t be the same.
But that didn’t mean it would be worse than what she already had.
Coco looked back at Master Olruggio and smiled. “Well, I’m sure I’ll love magic again. It’s magic, after all!”
“So, what’s up with you and Agott?”
Coco looked up from the dress she was embroidering for Tetia and met said girl’s questioning eyes.
Quickly averting her gaze, Coco went back to pulling the needle back up and flinched when she accidentally pricked her finger. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, you guys aren’t talking. At all. You’re not even spending time with her. You guys should be like all over each other and stuff,” the other girl said. “Like you usually are.”
At that, Coco’s cheeks burnt hot from embarrassment and began to embroider the flowers at a faster rate. “We’re not like that at all. And it’s none of your business,” she quickly added.
For a moment, Coco thought Tetia would drop it, but the girl pulled her up from where she was sitting and dragged her out of the little space Richeh had created out of a woven basket for Tetia.
“W—wait! Where are we going?” Coco put the dress down on Richeh’s side of the room and hoped the other girl wouldn’t mind too much. “I wasn’t done!”
“We’re going for a walk! And we’re going to talk!” Tetia declared, pulling her into her shared space with Agott.
Unfortunately for Coco, Agott was there when Tetia opened the door. To Agott’s credit, when she saw the two, her face only morphed into mild displeasure for a millisecond before she flattened her expression and went back to whatever it was she was doing.
For a second, Coco noticed a spell that looked eerily similar to the spell that erased memories but Agott quickly covered it up before Coco could be sure of what she saw.
“Get your cloak! We’re going out!” Tetia gently pushed Coco further in the room.
Sighing, Coco acquiesced to Tetia and went into her bedroom to grab her stuff. Once she had her tools belt and cloak over her shoulders, she gave herself a quick lookover in the mirror. Soon, she would have to wear it and take it off for good.
Pushing away those thoughts, she left her bedroom and rejoined Tetia who was frowning in Agott’s direction. Once she saw Coco, her face brightened up.
“Let’s go!”
They began to walk out of the shared space but Coco stopped halfway out the door to look back at Agott, still every busy on studying her notes.
“What?” Agott didn’t look up from her notes but at least she didn’t sound wary, like she was ready to sprint out of the room.
“Nothing. I… I’ll see you later,” Coco put her hands together and squeezed them.
A beat. “Yeah. Stay safe.”
And that was that.
Coco bit the inside of her cheek and turned around to catch up with Tetia who was already waiting for her outside the atelier. Once she joined the taller girl’s side, they began to walk away from the atelier, no real destination in mind.
“Did you two talk?” Tetia asked.
“Not really.”
Tetia hummed and crossed her arms around her chest. “You should really talk to her and clear up whatever misunderstanding it is you two have,” she said. “This is probably your worst fight.”
Coco snorted and kicked a stray pebble away from the path. “This isn’t our worst fight and you know it,”
“Oh, but this is the worst personal fight you two have ever had. And you won’t even talk about it so it must mean it’s a touchy subject, right?”
Coco stayed silent.
“Or… you think it’s your fault?”
At that, Coco stopped walking and looked up at Tetia who was wearing that smug smile on her face. It was even more infuriating to look at since the pink-haired girl grew taller than any of the apprentices in the atelier.
But Coco couldn’t be really mad at Tetia when she was right. So she sighed and looked down at the dirt road.
“It was about her mom and mine. I said my mom isn’t anything like hers.”
“Oh.” Coco could hear the understanding and slight disappointment in Tetia’s voice. “Have you said sorry?”
“I’ve tried! But she won’t even listen to me!” Coco recalled the countless amount of times she tried to corner Agott to give her a heartfelt apology. “It’s not like I’m not trying.”
Tetia hummed. “How did you two even talk about that?” She asked.
“Agott was telling me I shouldn’t leave the atelier. She basically said my mom’s not worth it so I got mad and I just—” Coco looked up at the clear blue sky, watching the birds flying overhead pass them by. “It just slipped.”
“I mean, I get why Agott doesn’t want you to leave. I don’t want you to leave either,” Tetia told her.
Coco giggled. “I know. You already tried bribing me,” she said.
“And it didn’t work,” Tetia took out a device from her pocket and Coco felt dread pool in the pits of her stomach when she saw what it was. “Agott was also mean so she should also apologize.”
“Don’t tell me—”
“Tell her that, okay?” Tetia said to the communications device before pocketing it once more.
Coco stared hard at where the communications device was before looking back up at Tetia who had a grin on her face. “Was that Richeh?”
“Yep! It’s our get Agott and Coco to speak again operation!” Tetia stuck her tongue out while flashing a peace sign over her right eye. “And we needed you to tell us what the fight was about so Richeh’s been listening in!”
Coco covered her face with her hands and despaired at how crafty her sister apprentices could be sometimes. “You guys could’ve just asked,” she said, her voice muffled.
“You wouldn’t have told us unless we did it separately and we were out of the atelier. Richeh will talk to Agott so you two should definitely talk when we get back,” Tetia put her hand on Coco’s shoulder. “I’m sure you don’t want any loose ends before you leave.”
Coco lowered her hands and smiled at Tetia. “Of course I don’t. We were bound to talk about it before I left anyways.”
“I know. But you two should be happy as long as you two can be,” Tetia looked down, her eyes shining. “We should all enjoy it while we still can.”
Coco took Tetia’s hands and squeezed them. “We will. Don’t talk like I’m leaving in a few days. We still have a month before I go!”
“You’re right! We should take this time to play games and visit our friends and do everything you want to do!” Tetia began to float in the air, still holding onto Coco’s hands. “We’ll make the most of it! With all of us!”
Coco smiled and lifted herself from the ground with her sylph shoes. “Of course we will.”
And they would.
It was strange.
Only three years had gone by but everything was so unfamiliar to Coco.
“So this is where you grew up, huh, Coco?” Tetia joined her side, waving away several cobwebs from her face. “It’s uh, nice.”
Coco glumly looked around what was obviously supposed to be her home, but all she saw was a house that desperately needed cleaning and repairs. “It’s really dusty. And dirty. And broken.” She said.
“There’s a bunch of roses growing from the floorboards too,” Richeh pointed at several flower stalks bloomed, the bright crimson red dulled by the sheen of dust on the petals.
Agott scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Master Qifrey should’ve made a better spell.” She said.
At his name, said man entered the shop’s viewing room, coughing slightly from all the dust that settled in the house. “Sorry, Coco. I was in such a hurry I forgot to add a protection spell for your house,” he said, apologetic.
“Well, we can just fix it. We’re witches, after all,” Master Olruggio joined the group, a piece of cloth tied over his mouth and nose. “Cleaning this place should be easier with magic involved.”
Coco looked back at them and suddenly, the house felt more like it was her home. The thought made her heart clench but she smiled. “Thank you. For the help.”
“Of course we’d help! We’re your friends! Your family even!” Tetia placed an arm around Coco’s shoulders. “We’re not just going to leave you alone to do the chores!”
“But you do that all the time,” Coco teased.
“Wha—it was one time!” Tetia protested.
Coco laughed and thus began their conquest over the abandoned house.
The two adults did all the repairs all over the house first, fixing broken roof tiles, floorboards and windows. Meanwhile, Coco, Agott, Tetia and Richeh headed to the back of the store to dispose of all the fabric that were full of dust, moth holes and mold.
As the day progressed, they continued cleaning the house, replacing broken furniture, polishing ones that could still be used. Master Olruggio took to creating new pieces of furniture like stools and tables from scraps that could be salvaged. Meanwhile, Master Qifrey flew to different towns to buy new fabric and sewing equipment for the shop.
While it was hard work, Coco knew it would be a hundred times more difficult if they didn’t use magic to aid them.
And that it would be a hundred times more boring if her family wasn’t around her.
As day shifted to night, they were finishing up. They’d worked from dawn to dusk with only little breaks to drink water and eat to finish everything in a single day.
Coco walked out of the spotless house and admired at how nice it looked. It probably looked better than when she was still living in it.
“Are you just going to stand there?”
At the sound of the voice, Coco spun around and relaxed when she saw it was just Agott.
“I was just appreciating how clean it is now,” Coco said, walking towards the girl. “It’s just like magic!”
Agott scoffed at her joke but Coco didn’t mind. She just smiled at her friend and held out her hand for her to take. Something she had sorely missed when they were fighting.
Agott took it and led Coco to a corner of the house. She pulled her hand so they could sit beside each other, their knees and shoulders brushing. Coco rested her head on the girl’s shoulder and closed her eyes, the exhaustion of the day finally catching up with her.
“You’re heavy,” Agott complained. But she still slouched further to make it even more comfortable for Coco. In return, Coco took one of Agott’s hands and began drawing circles on it with her thumb.
“Thank you,”
Agott huffed but leaned back on Coco. “No need. Just let me rest.”
Coco smiled and allowed herself to savor the moment, to keep it until she had to say goodbye at last.
The day had finally come.
Coco slowly removed her hat from her head, then took off the cloak that signified she was the apprentice of Master Qifrey. Then came off the tools belt that contained all two ink bottles and the pen that Tartar painstakingly made for her. She removed the rest of her clothes and replaced them with replicas of the clothes she wore three years ago, when she was Coco.
Just Coco.
Nothing more, nothing less.
With a heavy heart, she took her clothes and her hat from her bed and began to walk outside her room. Then she paused and set her clothes on the bed again and took her hat.
Without a second thought, she took off the tassel that hung from the tip and held it tight in her hand.
Coco breathed and headed downstairs where her family was waiting for her.
No one said a thing when they saw her. Coco couldn’t say a thing either. All they could do was surround her as they walked outside where the Knights Moralis waited for her.
“You’re sure of this?” One of them asked. Coco wasn’t paying attention; she was only looking at the faces of her family.
“I am. I’ve thought of it for a long time.” Coco told them, not meeting their eyes. “I won’t regret it.”
“Well, if you say so. I don’t really get it bu—ouch!”
Coco couldn’t care any less about any of the Knights in red. What was important was the people she actually loved.
“Thank you. For caring for me all these years,” Coco began, her voice wavering. “You guys mean so much to me. And I just—I’ll miss you all so much. Even if I don’t remember, I know I’ll miss you all. Because you’re my family now and I love you all so much.”
If Coco wasn’t crying then, she was crying now. She rubbed her eyes with her hands but she only cried harder when she felt them surround her, embracing her.
Coco sobbed and wondered why she couldn’t have both. She loved her mom. But she also loved the family she found in the atelier. It wasn’t fair at all. But she made her choice so all she could do was hug them even tighter as tears stung her eyes.
“Stay?” It was Agott who asked. All Coco could do was shake her head.
She pulled away from the hug. Tears still clouded her vision but she could tell everyone was crying too, if not teary-eyed.
She took Agott’s hands in hers. “Visit me, okay?”
Agott pressed her lips into a thin line but she nodded. “We will. I promise.”
“Agott?”
“Yes?”
Coco presented her hat and its tassel to Agott whose eyes widened when she saw them.
“A—are you sure?” There was a strange emotion in Agott’s voice as she looked at Coco’s eyes.
“Of course I am. Who else would I give it to?” Coco’s eyes still stung from crying but she didn’t care. She kept looking at Agott and did her best to ingrain every feature of her being into her memory. Even if it was pointless, she still tried.
Every day since she made her decision, she knew that each day she spent with them would be an aimless endeavor on her end. But she loved them so she spent each day with them like any other just so that they could have more of her in their memories.
She didn’t expect to be able to take something back with her.
“Then take mine.” Agott took off her hat and removed its tassel through her shaking hands.
Coco couldn’t say no. Why would she?
As soon as they exchanged tassels, Agott wrapped her arms around Coco, holding her tight. “I hate you so, so much. You’re the worst person I’ve ever met,” she said. “Why can’t you just stay? Why couldn’t you just hate me?”
Coco laughed at the bittersweet moment as she hugged Agott back. “I couldn’t the same reason why you can’t,” she said. “You’re Agott.”
“And you’re Coco,” Agott agreed, voice heavy with emotion.
They pulled away slowly. Coco lifted her hand to wipe her beloved Agott’s tears away from her face.
“I’ll take care of your tassel. I promise,” Coco said.
“Yours too. I’ll keep your tassel even if I change my hat,” Agott promised, leaning further into Coco’s hand. “I’ll take good care of it.”
“I know you will,” Coco let her hand linger on Agott’s face before putting it down and stepping away.
“Are you ready, Coco?” Master Qifrey asked her.
“No. But I’ve tied all loose ends,” Coco told him honestly. “Let’s go.”
It was Master Qifrey who would erase her memories after all. The man who taught her all there was to magic would take it all back.
As she approached the stones that encased her mother, she looked back at Master Qifrey and the rest of her family.
Master Qifrey wore the shoes she repaired for him; Tetia was wearing the dress she embroidered with stars and flowers at the sleeves; Richeh had the blanket she made wrapped around her shoulders; Master Olruggio wore the shirt she mended for him; Agott had her hat and tassel in her hands.
As Master Qifrey lifted the spell to her face, Coco closed her eyes and held onto Agott’s tassel.
She would never see them again.
She would never see them the same way ever again.
She was losing everything all over again.
“Please don’t forget me.”
Coco smiled and opened her eyes.
Coco opened her eyes.
People were talking above her but—
But all she could feel was that something was missing.
END.
Part 1 of the Memorabilia series
notes: this is a prequel to in circles! i highly recommend reading that if you haven't already! it's still sad but it's less sad than this :>
there's one more main part to this series which is basically the hurt AND comfort part of this lil au!
anyways, what did u think about this? i literally cried while writing some parts because i was just thinking MAN three years gone. three years of memories and it's just. gone. just like that.
giving all my thanks to @nanagoism for beta-reading this! this fic would've been messier without her help :3
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