Disclaimer: I don't own Little Witch Academia or any of its characters. They rightfully belong to Trigger.

A/N: Hello everyone! This will be my first attempt for Little Witch Academia, an AU at that. Please read the first chapter and I'll leave my rant/important notes for the AU at the end. Thanks for reading! :D

Chapter 1: A Cry For Help

The sun rose up on the horizon, signaling the roosters to caw on a brand new morning for Wedinburgh Village.

Diana saw the sunrise from the window of her study, marveling at its beauty for a moment before she was forced to tear her gaze away from the sight.

Today is a busy day for she has a job to do.

Diana headed to the nearest bookshelf, taking and shifting through various medical books she had at her disposal. Gathering the ones the young girl deemed important for the task at hand, Diana stepped away to walk towards her desk.

The blonde put away the books she'd be taking for the journey on her satchel bag as she planned to do a quick reading for the patient she'd be tending to later. Textbooks aside, inside the luggage were various medical tools and supplies that Diana would need for today.

Feeling satisfied that she had everything she needed, the heiress headed out of her study and into the hall of her home. When Diana opened the door, she was greeted by one of her servants.

"Good morning, Miss Cavendish." Her butler greeted her with a smile, bowing respectfully to his mistress. "I trust that you're ready to depart for our journey today."

The blonde returned the smile with one of her own, "Good morning to you too, Carter." She looked around for a bit, left and right for any signs of her aunt and cousins. "Did anyone see you?"

"No, milady. I woke up early before any of the other servants, Anna included." Carter responded, standing to his full impressive height. "I also took the liberty to pull up the carriage outside of the mansion grounds so that it would not be spotted before making my way over here," he added.

"Excellent," Diana made her way down the corridor with the old man following behind. "Now let's leave before we get caught, or else everything will be for naught."

"Of course, milady."

The heiress and her butler headed down the stairs to the foyer of the mansion. It was quiet as the both of them put on their traveling cloaks, and when Diana was about to lay a hand on the front door handle...

"And, where do you think you're going this early in the morning?" Her aunt's voice broke through the silence, her haughty voice echoing in the empty halls of the mansion.

Diana's body visibly slumped in disappointment, sighing so. So close... she thought in vain.

Despite being caught red-handed, Carter leaned towards her and whispered, "Do you wish to abort the plan, milady? I'll follow you regardless of what you decide."

At hearing this the heiress smiled, she could always count on Carter, and Anna too. They were the only people she knew she could trust in the Cavendish household. Having supported Diana over the years for what was best in the family, in secrecy, of course, the servants never dared to stand between any arguments between the Cavendishes.

"No," the blonde curtly answered, stubbornly thinking ahead despite the consequences. "Everything will proceed as planned. Please, go outside and wait for me. I shouldn't be long."

"As you wish, milady."

Without another word Carter left through the front doors of the mansion, much to Aunt Daryl's ire, "Where in blazes is he going?!"

Taking a deep breath, Diana finally acknowledged her aunt's presence and decided to face the music. Turning around, she finally saw the Proxy Head of the Cavendish household. Aunt Daryl stood at the top of the staircase, arms crossed and wearing elegant robes. Her face looked tired but menacing, and her hair was tied in a loose bun, a clear sign that she got out of bed recently.

Bracing herself with a polite smile, the heiress greeted her aunt, "Good morning to you too, Aunt Daryl. And don't mind Carter, he'll be accompanying me on a couple of errands today. We should be back by the nightfall." she reassured the older woman.

"Where to this time?" The elder Cavendish looked displeased. Daryl's posture went impossibly stiff. Her face changed from exhausted to alert, her blue eyes narrowed, and finally, her lips pursed to a thin frown as she began to interrogate her niece, bombarding Diana with countless questions. "Glastonbury? Blytonbury, or some other village in the countryside?"

"Blytonbury, if you must know," Diana answered confidently, passing a hand through her blonde wavy mane. "The Parker Family requires my assistance."

This peaked Daryl's curiosity. "What for?"

"Her mother took a turn for the worse, and so she personally requested for my help." The heiress responded, crossing her arms.

"Then, why not just make them travel to Wedinburgh?" Aunt Daryl asked persistently, being stubborn on the subject. "You'll have all the resources at your disposal in the Cavendish Manor."

Diana frowned, scowling all the while. Her aunt could be so inconsiderate at times, and admittedly Diana couldn't help but feel the shame of being related to her on moments like these.

"What part of "she took a turn for the worse" did you not understand?" The heiress stressed, her rage ready to flare at any second. "The poor woman is not well enough to travel."

"Unfortunate, but that's not my problem."

"Aunt Daryl!"

"It's the truth! What good have they or anyone else have done for this family?!" The proxy head argued as she grasped her hands on the stair railing, clenching until her knuckles turned white. "The world is getting more dangerous by the day and we don't have the liberty to wave our wands and cast magic whenever we please!"

The blonde wasn't going to step down from this. "Maybe so, but I can't just stand by and let people suffer! As long as we have the power to do good and help other people-"

"That kindness is going to get us killed." Aunt Daryl interrupted her niece as she stated a mere fact, her cold blue eyes glaring at the future heiress. "You need to realize that every day you go out of this mansion to help others is a practical death sentence to this family! People are getting accused left and right for doing witchcraft. It's just a matter of time before you get caught red-handed. These, "good deeds" will only be a farce to the rest of the townspeople, and I am willing to bet that they would stop at nothing to get rid of this family for personal gain!"

Diana merely sighed in frustration and turned her head away from her aunt, and subconsciously she tightened her grip on her sleeves. Daryl wasn't wrong, neither of them in fact, but even so...

"That is not the Cavendish way. Mother, and most certainly Beatrix the Affectionate would be terribly upset if we just stopped helping others because of these circumstances..." Diana stated a sad truth herself, trying to reason with her aunt.

"Your mother, my sister..." Aunt Daryl's eyes softened, and her voice shook with grief, but only for a moment as her menacing scowl and composure returned. "Her recklessness was her undoing. That kindhearted fool. And as for Beatrix, she may be the founder of the Cavendish family, but that's ancient history and has deadly squat to do with what's happening now! Diana, I forbid you to leave the safety of this mansion! I won't let this foolery be this family's undoing!"

"Consider this conversation over." The blonde turned around to open the front doors of the manor. Before she left, Diana looked at her aunt one last time. "I know you mean well, but I'm not like you. I am the rightful heir to this family, and as such I will not stop helping others in fear of getting caught on a Witch Hunt."

And with that Diana closed the front doors and left the mansion, leaving the proxy head alone in the foyer.

Thinking about the conversation once more, Daryl merely shook her head. "Foolish girl..."

It was rather silent since the heiress and her butler left the Cavendish mansion. The only sounds being pages being turned, the carriage rattling along the road, and the horse in front giving no indication that it was tired as it trotted further along the way.

The weather was perfect for a day of travel, a bright sunny day with a couple of clouds spread out through the azure skies. Thanks to the sun's rays, Diana is able to get natural light to read her medical textbook with ease inside the carriage.

Carter merely kept his eyes on the road, making sure that they don't get lost or suddenly ambushed by mongrels. Every so often the old man would look behind him, looking at his mistress through the carriage's window. The young girl's attention was glued to the informational text in front of her, though at the same time she seemed distracted.

Hoping to start a conversation and end this uneasy silence, Carter cleared his throat, "Milady, is everything alright?" he asked concerned.

"Hmm?" Diana finally looked up from her book, returning to reality once she processed her servant's question. "Yes, everything's fine, Carter."

"Forgive me for saying so milady, but it sure doesn't look like it to me." the old man responded earnestly.

The heiress sighed, gently closing her textbook. "Is it that obvious?"

"Surely, starting the day arguing with a family member is a sure way to ruin one's day, no?" Carter stated rhetorically.

"Yes, I suppose."

A brief silence followed soon afterward, only for it to be broken by the butler once again. "You know that you're not wrong."

"That doesn't mean that my actions are correct either," Diana replied as she prompted her arm on the carriage's side window, leaning her head against her fist as she glanced at the landscape.

"Maybe so," Carter couldn't help but smile, looking up ever so briefly at the blue skies. "But, do you feel shame or accomplished on the actions you've taken?" he asked.

"I don't even know if I did the right thing." the blonde answered honestly. "A part of me feels that Aunt Daryl is right, that I'm hindering the Cavendish Family's chances of survival through these trying times. She isn't wrong, and it's understandable about why she feels that way. But the other part of me feels like I'm doing what a real Cavendish would do, putting others above my own well-being and help them through with as much affection as I can muster. Then again, compared to Beatrix the Affectionate and my own dear mother's feats... I can't help but feel like I am not meeting those expectations." Diana closed her eyes, sighing so. "I'm at a loss, Carter. I suppose time will tell."

Listening intently, the old man chuckled. "So young, so beautiful, so intelligent, and compassionate. Such a heavy burden of both duty and responsibility you have upon your shoulders..." he remarked. "If I may be so frank, milady, you have nothing to worry about. I'm sure that Lady Bernadette and Miss Beatrix are proud and appreciate your efforts, and so am I."

Diana smiled a bit, grateful for hearing her servant's words. "Thank you, Carter."

As soon as they finished their talk, the carriage stopped. The heiress looked at the window behind her to see that they stopped at a crossroad. A wooden sign stood tall in the middle of the road, the left sign read "Glastonbury" while the right sign read "Wells".

"Milady, aside from Blytonbury, is there anywhere else you would like to make a stop?" the old man asked.

"Take a left to Glastonbury," Diana responded, bringing her attention back to her medical textbook in her lap. "We'll pass through the village and quickly head to Blytonbury as fast as possible to visit the Parker Family. I don't want to keep Barbara waiting any longer than necessary."

"As you wish, milady."

The pair made it by noon. The horse trotted through the cobblestone streets of Blytonbury, hauling the Cavendish carriage behind it as it caught the attention of almost every bystander there was on the street. It's not every day that you see a Cavendish, and for once Diana was glad that she was inside the safety of the carriage so that she wouldn't have to deal with a huge batch of civilians. She just can't stand the thought of people hovering over her for attention.

The carriage went deeper into the city and into the outskirts of Blytonbury, stopping outside of the Parker Family manor. Barbara was already outside to greet them. Once Carter stopped the horse and Diana stepped out of the carriage, Barbara didn't waste any time in enveloping the heiress into a hug.

"Oh Diana, it's so good to see you!" the raven-haired girl gushed excitedly as she let go of her childhood friend. "Thank you for coming all this way. I hope that it wasn't a bother..."

"It was no trouble at all," Diana reassured, smiling in kind. "How's your mother doing?" she asked in concern.

"Not well I'm afraid..." Barbara's body visibly shrunk as anxiety was about to take hold of her. "She's been bedridden for almost a week. I'm worried about her..."

"You need not worry. Will you take me to her?"

Barbara straightened up, leading the heiress inside the manor. "Of course Diana, please, follow me."

The girls walked through the foyer and up the stairs to the second floor of the mansion, and as they went down the hall the blonde decided to update herself to her patients' condition.

"Can you tell me what kind of symptoms your mother has been experiencing lately?" Diana asked, assuming the medical professional role she reserved for events such as this.

"Let's see..." the raven-haired noble brought a hand up to her chin in thought, "my mother has been feeling dizzy and more tired than usual, and always blaming it on a headache. She's been telling me that her eyes have been giving her problems too, like, they're in pain and sometimes her vision is partially blurry."

"Sensitive to lights, perhaps?" the blonde suggested, to which Barbara confirmed with a nod. "By the sound of it, her condition must be a severe case of a migraine."

Barbara stopped walking, and so did Diana. The raven-haired girl clasped her hands together while she gave the heiress a worried look, and that stare alone was enough to tell Diana what she wanted to say.

The blonde laid a hand on her friend's shoulder, "It's alright, Barbara. Your mother will be fine under my care, I promise."

"Thank you, Diana..."

Soon after, the girls made it to the master bedroom. The room was dark and dimly lit by a lone candle from the bedside table near a large bed. Upon hearing the door to the bedroom open, an older woman slowly turned her head towards the sound, opening her tired teal eyes to look at her visitors.

"Barbara, sweetheart, is that you?" the girl's mother called out to her child uncertainly, squinting her eyes a bit to get a better look.

Hurriedly, Barbara headed over to the large bed, kneeling down and grabbing hold of her mother's hand. "Yes, it's me, mother. I've brought some help, Diana is here."

"Miss Cavendish?" The woman's eyes widened in surprise, sitting up a bit in bed. "Here?"

Diana stepped forward, gently easing the noblewoman to lie down on the soft mattress. "Yes, Mrs. Parker, I'll be here to take care of you. Barbara has already filled me in on the details."

"Bless the nine..." the raven-haired woman sighed in relief, closing her eyes. "Well then, Miss Cavendish, I'll entrust my health to you."

The heiress pulled up a chair by the corner of the room and settled her satchel bag on the floor, starting to rummage through her things.

Though by the sounds of her condition, I might have to use magic for this... Diana thought, already deciding on her next action. "Barbara, can you please fetch me a rag and a bucket of water?"

The raven-haired girl seemed to have been startled from the sudden command, but she didn't waste time to do her friend's request. "Y-yes Diana, right away!"

Hours passed as Diana continued her medical work, eventually finishing up with a cooling spell to reduce swelling on the woman's cranium. Satisfied with her work, the heiress soaked the rag on the water bucket, got rid of the excess water and gently laid the cloth on the woman's forehead.

As soon as she finished with that, Diana packed her things and headed out of the master bedroom. Barbara was outside pacing nervously back and forth, patiently waiting for Diana's return. Upon hearing the door close, the raven-haired girl confronted her childhood friend.

"Oh Diana, thank goodness! I-is my mother going to be alright?" Barbara asked anxiously in concern, fidgeting with her hands.

"Your mother will make a quick recovery." The blonde smiled in reassurance. "Just be sure that she gets lots of bed rest and avoid alcohol, caffeine, and naps before bedtime. Follow my instructions to the letter and I guarantee that your mother will be as fresh as daisy in no time."

The young girl's shoulders slumped with relief, bringing her childhood friend into a sudden embrace. "Thank you, Diana, thank you so much! You don't know how much this really means to me!" she said in gratitude.

"It was no trouble at all, Barbara," Diana responded rather awkwardly, patting her friend's back every so often. She definitely wasn't expecting a hug. "I couldn't just ignore you and leave you in suspense. If anything changes in your mother's condition, please don't be afraid to send me a letter."

Barbara let go of her, "Yes, thank you again. I know it couldn't have been easy to travel here, with your aunt and all..."

"Let Aunt Daryl huff and puff all she wants. Unfortunately for her, this matter was important to me and I could not just leave it unattended. Speaking of my aunt... What time is it now?" the heiress asked.

"A quarter to four, it'll get dark soon."

"I shall take my leave then, I have a couple of more errands to do in Blytonbury before I head back to Wedinburgh."

"Oh, then let me accompany you on the way out! It's the least I could do." Barbara offered, leading Diana down the hallway.

"I appreciate it."

The girls headed outside the Parker Family manor and walked towards the Cavendish carriage. Carter was already ready to head out on the road, awaiting his mistress' next orders. The childhood friends bid each other farewell, and Diana left the residence along with Carter.

Normally, the trip back home would be quiet, consisting of Diana looking past the carriage window to see the shifting trees and meadows. In this ride back, however, her widened eyes fell on something she was not expecting to see.

"Stop the carriage!" Diana yelled as Carter called a halt to his horse.

It was an abrupt order, so the horse took a moment to register it. Diana, however, scrambled past the lurching of the vehicle, throwing the door open and jumping towards the source of her interest.

"Are you all right?!"

Of course, the person wasn't all right, but Diana needed to know if she was conscious enough to hear her. The stranger had her back to her, presenting the wound on her upper shoulder that still had the arrow buried into the flesh. When she turned to look at Diana, the blonde noticed she had a heavy gash on her right temple.

Diana took her silence as answer enough, especially once she saw the girl's red eyes look at her with a mix of pleading and desperation. Without a second thought, she threw the girl's arm over her shoulder, pulling her towards the carriage. Or at least tried to, until Diana heard her hiss in pain. When she looked down, she noticed blood running down the girl's leg.

By the nine... How long had she been walking with those injuries? Diana wondered. Then again, she probably doesn't even want to imagine the horrible pain the girl must be in. "Carter!"

"Yes, Miss Cavendish!" The old man hurried to her side, his eyes widening in shock as he stopped in his tracks. "Oh my, those look severe..."

"Please help me carry her inside the carriage. I won't let this girl walk another step." The heiress ordered.

"As you wish, milady."

Those words seemed to be of salvation as the stranger took it as her cue to let her knees give out from under her and collapse to the ground, not that Diana let her, the blonde lunched forward in time to catch the girl before she even hit the ground.

Diana looked down at the stranger, noticing that she had fainted straight away. The girl looked pale and felt warm to the touch. Very warm. "We have to hurry, Carter. We haven't much time," she spoke with urgency.

"Yes, Miss Cavendish."

Surely when they arrive back to the Cavendish manor, Aunt Daryl will undoubtedly explode in outrage for bringing an outsider into the premises, but at this point and time, Diana could care less about the consequences because right now... this girl needed her help.

A/N2: And, that's pretty much it for chapter 1 folks! Now, before we go any further, let me just lay some notes for this particular AU...

Number 1 – With the first chapter and the summary stating the obvious, this story is about the Witch Trials era, which happened roughly throughout the 15-18th century. Recently, I've been thinking of making my own version of it featuring Akko and the others. And with that in mind, I'll try my best to add some stuff from the series as we go to make the plot more interesting.

Number 2 – The timeline for this story is BEFORE The Golden Age of Magic! Furthermore, the Sorcerer's Stone is not a thing, or more like it has not been invented yet for the premises of this AU. Witches and Wizards in this universe can cast magic freely from their wands.

Number 3 – Some if not the majority of the characters will relatively act the same, but with slight differences for drama/irony's sake. You guys will know who they are as you read along.

Number 4 – Yes, there will be romance for this story, except the pace for them will be SLOW BURN! The main ships are Dianakko (Obviously, with Andrew being added for a little love triangle humor/drama), Hannamanda, and Lofran (Lotte & Frank). And finally, Constanze is going to experience some romance herself, though I won't reveal with who just yet.

Number 5 – Overall, the flow of the story is going to start of slow. Diana and Akko not withstanding, Amanda and the others are not going to start making appearances 'till chapters 5 and above. The plot for this AU will/should start picking up at around chapters 10 and above. I mostly have this story planned out, I just need to work out a couple of details here and there, and actually WRITE THEM DOWN which can be difficult for me to come up with words sometimes. Just giving you guys a heads up on that.

Number 6 (Edited) – Updates... For the most part, I have written up to chapter 6, and I originally decided to update monthly for the sole purpose of managing my writing/inspiration and give myself breaks here and there, but ultimately I decided to update whenever I feel ready to do so since some of you were kind of disappointed about the monthly thing. There are literally two scenarios: The first being I update like normal, or the second I am either having a terrible case of Writer's Block and/or I'm busy with important life matters. It sucks, I know, but that's how things are.

And, I think that's it for now... What do you guys think? Do you love it? Hate it? Tell me on your reviews! I would love to read what you think! Following and adding this story on your favorites will also help too, and that will also make me happy!

PS. I will also like to give a HUGE shout out to AevumAce! If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be able to do this project. I am so thankful and lucky that she agreed to help me by being my Beta Reader, and helping me expand with my notes/ideas. If you're a Dianakko fan, I highly recommend that you check out her projects. They're really awesome! I definitely recommend The Wild Huntress, Mirrored, and Checkmate. Until next time! ;)