Chapter Text
Qifrey can't breathe. As he comes to his senses, he realizes that his body burns, his entire mind feels waterlogged. There's a sharp pain in his chest, and he can't move his leg.
"Professor?" He hears Coco's worried voice call out to him. "Professor, I'm scared."
"I- I'm here, Coco," he chokes. Blood dribbles down his chin, as his hands search in the dark for something, anything.
He only finds Coco, her shaking form nestled close to his.
They are buried underneath the rubble together, with no way out.
"Oh, Girls!" Qifrey called from the foot of the stairs. The four of them came running down, pushing each other out of the way to get down first. Agott hit the landing first, stumbling a bit. "I have some good news."
"What is it, Professor?" Richeh asked. "Are we in trouble?"
"Of course not," he said. "I just got word from the Great hall, they're inviting us all to a witches' ball."
Tetia's eyes lit up. "A ball?!"
Olruggio came into the room, interest piqued. "Am I invited as well?"
"Of course," Qifrey said. "There will be a fundraiser auction to help those affected by natural disasters."
"That's so cool!" Coco said. "Do we get to wear pretty dresses?"
"Formal attire is in the dress code," Qifrey said. "So, yes."
"Do you still fit into your best robes?" Olruggio teased.
"Do you?" Qifrey retorted. Olruggio went slightly red.
"I can make some dresses!" Coco said. "I just need some fabric."
"Coco, we can go to tailor-"
"I always liked helping my mom make dresses in the shop," Coco said, "I miss doing it."
"Can I wear something pink?" Tetia asked. "And really swishy?"
"Wait, wait, let me take some notes."
Qifrey laughed, but his laughter quickly faded. He wished he could help Coco, he wished there was a way to save her mother. But forbidden magic was dangerous.
He wanted nothing more than for these girls to be happy, but happiness seemed impossible for them with the way the world worked. But, a ball was bound to cheer everyone up.
Coco was already sketching out ideas for her and her peers' dresses. Qifrey peered over at her sketches. She was very good at drawing clothing. It did involve a lot of straight lines.
"I want some puffed sleeves," Agott said. "And, I dunno, more spin."
"Spin?"
"When you spin, it poofs out."
"Oh, okay, that's gonna cost a lot though. Fabric is expensive, and I'll need a lot of it."
"I'll get the fabric, Coco," Qifrey said, putting a hand to her back. "Whatever you want, I'll get it."
"Thank you," she said. "Thank you so much!"
The ball took hours of preperation. Coco spent a long time working on their dresses. Qifrey had dropped a pretty penny on the fabric, going as far as to get a specialty enchanted fabric that glittered like the night sky for Agott's dress. He hadn't known she had such a propensity for high fashion before.
At one point, he'd caught a peek of Agott teaching Coco how to dance in their room. Coco kept stepping on her foot, and Agott kept grumbling, but still teaching her.
Qifrey hadn't worn his best robes in years, not since he officially graduated from being an apprentice. They were a little moth eaten, but nothing Coco couldn't fix. She said that she had been used to wardrobe malfunctions like this back at her mom's shop. It was nothing at all.
Despite his teasings, Olruggio still fit in his best robes. He looked…nice in them, to say the least. There was a sort of dashing, knightly air about him when he wore them. One that made Qifrey itch on the inside.
When the day finally arrived, the six of them made their way to the Great hall. It always made Qifrey uncomfortable, being underneath all this water. He used to have this fear that one wrong move would cause the entire city to be submerged. Of course, the magic remained strong and true, but he still had nightmares about it to this day.
The girls were all bursting with excitement. Coco had made them all wonderful dresses, with exactly the right amount of spin and swish — whatever that meant.
When they entered the main hall, the music had already, people were casually chatting, sipping alcohol and laughing. He caught sight of the Sages, and made a point to lead his flock away from them.
"Girls, I need you to promise to meet us back here by 10, alright?" Qifrey said. "That's when the auction stars."
"Are you gonna buy anything?" Agott asked.
"They had some old fairytale books for sale," Qifrey said. "The art is done by an artist I love, so I would love to bid on them."
It wasn't a full lie. Those books might have had just a small bit of information about the Silverwood, and even a scrap was good enough for him.
"I'm gonna go get some food," Richeh said. "I'm hungry."
He glanced out the window, the ocean staring back. And for a brief moment, he saw an eye mask.
No. The Brimhats weren't here tonight. The council was here, they could easily be captured.
The music started to pick up into a lively jive. Olruggio offered out his hand. "Shall we dance, my friend?"
Qifrey allowed himself to get lost, only for a moment. Tonight was supposed to be happy.
"I'm afraid I'm not as good as I used to be," Olruggio said, smiling as he spun Qifrey around. He felt his own heart soar.
"You're good enough," he said.
He allowed himself to savor this moment. To dance with Olruggio, his calloused hands intertwined with his, swaying to the beat.
And then he pulled away.
"No," he said. "I can't do this."
He started to walk away, and he tried to stop him.
"Qifrey, why?"
"I can't," he said, pushing him away.
I can't let myself succumb to this.
The night carried on. Qifrey shared the occasional dance with people he'd met once or twice in passing in his youth. He couldn't let himself grow too comfortable. He couldn't bear to face the truth now. He wanted to live in this lie of happiness for a little longer.
As it got late, closer to the auction, he found Coco sitting by herself.
"Are you alright, Coco?" he asked, sitting down next to her.
"Agott got embarassed," she said. "She wouldn't dance with me."
They stared out at the crowd for a brief moment.
"I like her, I think. Like…like like. Love," Coco said. "Why did she leave? I thought she was my friend now."
"Maybe she just…isn't ready yet," he said.
"Have you ever been in love before, Professor Qifrey?"
Qifrey sighed. "Not that I know of."
Another song began, and Coco stood up.
"Would you like to dance with me, Professor?" she asked, offering out her hand. "You look sad."
"I would love to," he said. "Agott taught you, right?"
"Yeah!" she said.
"Why don't you lead?" he asked.
"Ohhh, I don't know how to do that," she said. "Agott only taught me the steps to follow."
They started to dance, Qifrey leading her. Her dress was a pleasent seafoam blue, stitched lovingly for herself.
Qifrey loved his pupils. They were almost like his children to him. He wondered sometimes how anyone could be cruel to their apprentices. They were just children, after all.
Coco had the widest smile on her face that he'd seen in months. It made him feel happy just to see her happy.
He was too happy. Too safe.
Boom!
For a brief moment, all Qifrey saw was a flash of light. And then, the hall began to collapse. People screamed, moving out of the way as debris fell.
BOOM!
The ground beneath him shook, and the ground beneath him collapsed. He grabbed onto Coco, as they started to fall. Coco screamed.
Qifrey slowly opened his eyes, only to be met with darkness. He felt wet and cold, his body coated in wet and sticky blood.
No.
He wasn't in a coffin, however, not in the literal sense. He could barely breathe, and there was such a sharp pain in his chest he felt as though he'd been stabbed.
There was a small crack of light coming from above, illuminating Coco, who was sobbing.
"Professor?" she called out. "Professor, I'm scared."
"I- I'm here, Coco," he said. He coughed, tasting blood in his mouth. "I'm right here."
"What…what happened?" she asked in between panicked breaths.
"Coco, breathe," he said. "We'll run out of oxygen if you keep panting like that. Just stay calm. Someone will come to rescue us."
He coughed, more blood. He needed to find a way to free himself, but his leg seemed to be pinned underneath some rubble.
"Are you hurt, Coco?" he asked.
"N-no," she said. "Are you?"
"No," he lied. "I'm fine, just…a little trapped."
Coco had stopped breathing, and Qifrey worried for a moment if she'd lied about not being injured as well. But he heard her exhale, and he allowed himself to as well.
"Just breathe like normal, Coco," he said. "You'll be okay."
"I don't wanna die, Qifrey," she said. "I still have to save my mom."
"And you're going to," he said, his breath coming out wheezy and uneven.
"I want to tell Agott I like her. Like like her," Coco said.
"And…and you will."
Suddenly, his ears stopped ringing. He hadn't realized they had been ringing, likely from the explosion. Now he could hear the sound of running water.
Their little pocket was filling up with water from the sea.
"Coco, can you sit up?"
"Why?"
"No reason," he said. "It might make it easier for rescue."
Coco sat up, and in the dim light, he could see there was blood on her face. Was it his blood or hers?
"Is anyone down there?!" He heard someone call out. Finally, first responders had arrived.
Qifrey coughed again, doubling over in pain.
"Professor, you're bleeding!" Coco said. "HELP! WE'RE DOWN HERE!"
The water was starting to fill their pocket. Coco must have been able to feel it, too. The air was growing thinner by the second.
No, no, no, no! Make it stop, please just make it stop.
The rocks around them started to move, and there was a crack that barely even Coco could squeeze through.
"Qifrey, can you move?"
"I- I can't."
With no magic ink on hand, there was no way to lift the rock pinning his leg down.
He was going to drown in here.
"Go, Coco," he said. "It's alright, I've survived worse."
As the water level finally reached him, Qifrey couldn't hold himself up anymore. He was submerged, his heart racing. Blood leaked from his lips and into the water, and he could see Coco move. She left the pocket, and in the vagueness of water, he could hear her screaming about him, how the needed to save her professor.
It wasn't like he was much worth saving anyways.
It's funny. He hadn't remembered drowning being so calm.
Coco could only stare in horror as she was wrapped in a shock blanket, given magic to warm and dry her.
"I've got ink!" Someone shouted. "We can break the rock holding his leg down!"
Professor Olruggio had come, holding Agott in his arms as she clung to him.
"I've found more of the wounded," he said. "This one's mine."
"We need help," an emergency responder said. "This girl's professor is trapped, and it's filled with water."
He jabbed his thumb back at Coco, and Olruggio's eyes widened.
"No," he whispered, placing Agott down at Coco's side. "Here, let me help."
He began to draw out the spell on the debris keeping Qifrey trapped. Agott gave Coco a look.
"I was trapped with him," Coco said. "He's been under for two minutes. Have they found Tetia and Richeh?"
"They're…searching for survivors," Agott whimpered at the pain in her leg. They both flinched as the stone exploded, and they lifted Professor Qifrey out from the hole.
"He's not breathing," Olruggio said. "No pulse, but I think I can still save him."
He laid him down flat on the ground, and began to do something he'd taught them all a while back called CPR. He was doing Qifrey's heartbeat and breathing for him. It almost looked like a kiss, as Olruggio breathed into his mouth, but there was nothing romantic about this. No love in Olruggio's actions, only fear.
"Qifrey, please!" He begged. "Please, don't die on me."
He suddenly breathed, a spurt of bloody water coming from his mouth. He was rolled over on his side, coughing.
"Qifrey," Olruggio said. "Shit, internal bleeding."
It was rare Coco heard anyone around her swear, much less Olruggio. According to Qifrey, he used to swear like a sailor before he became their watchful eye.
He really was scared.
They created a magic stretcher, and Qifrey was lifted off with the rest of the wounded. There would be many bodies tonight.
"Agott, we're going to wrap that leg in a splint, okay?" Olruggio said. "It's going to hurt a lot."
"You can hold my hand while he does it," Coco said.
Agott silently nodded, taking Coco's hand. She squeezed it firmly as Olruggio wrapped her broken leg, her facial muscles barely betraying her pain.
"I'll carry you to the hospital," he said. "Coco, could you find Richeh and Tetia? Tell them I've taken Agott to get help."
Coco nodded. She shed her blanket, searching the rubble for her friends. Tetia was using her sand magic to make the rubble disappear, and Richeh was trying to calm down victims by entertaining them. She told them about Agott, but not about Qifrey, she still didn't want to believe it was real.
Who would have done such a thing to bomb this beautiful place?
Coco knew who it was. The Brimhats must have done this.
And they could still be here.