《Starlight Precognition》 Chapter 1 Beginnings Sharna stood in front of the open window and ran her hands gently over the fabric on the table before her, looking for any wrinkles she may have missed. It was crisp and cool, better quality than any she had used before. It had taken her a great deal of trouble to arrive here for this moment. She had done absolutely everything she could think of to prepare as she planned to stay for as long as she could. Outside she could hear magpies warbling along with other birds that she didn''t recognise and knew that she was outrageously lucky to be given this chance. ¡°Whenever you''re ready¡± said a sharp voice from behind her, it was the elder of the two women, her name was Myra. Sharna lifted her hands off from the fabric, she knew she couldn''t afford to waste any more time mentally preparing. ¡°Hmmmmmm¡± she hummed and started to shift her hands into the movements she had made so many times before that they felt automatic. She was ready, she could do this. Light started to gather under her hands, barely perceptible at first then slowly gathering brightness and warmth, the pitch of her tune changing with her movements, rising and falling as the light shifted and shaped before her. She knew the women had moved in closer to watch her technique, as always, in this state as she was changing what was to what could be, she could feel everything. Her perception stretched out from her in all directions. She felt Quinn¡¯s presence in the trees outside, and knew the magpie she had heard earlier had found a worm to give to a nearly fully grown chick. She could sense movement of someone in the kitchen, an oven opening, her uncle and cousin waiting outside. In the bedrooms upstairs she could feel three extra minds, two stationary, the other pacing back and forth across a small space. She pulled her mind back to this small focus, this was her one chance. The humming reached a crescendo as the light lifted, she quickly pulled some of the warmth back to herself as the light dove into the fabric. It was right. It was beautiful. She had done all that she could. ¡°Please take a seat, we need to check your work¡± there was curiosity in this voice, it was the other woman, Anna, she had smiled at Sharna as she had entered the room and Sharna still felt grateful for the small kindness. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. The cloth was no longer white, it was covered with an intricately detailed picture. It was a landscape, but not any that she had seen reflected in the natural world. The sky was purple and black, with swirling blue clouds. And the land was strange, large cliffs overlooking a green sea, with a stone building that appeared to be defying gravity as it leaned over the water. But it was the stars that showed through the clouds that really drew the viewer into the picture, they appeared almost to be moving across the sky. One of the women pulled out a magnifying glass from a nearby drawer and held it over the scene, then silently passed it to the other woman. Sharna realised she was holding her breath, she looked away and slowly tried to focus on breathing again. ¡°Did you know there were birds nesting in the cliffs?¡± Sharna looked confused ¡°yes?¡± she said nervously. ¡°It''s very fine detail, only visible when magnified.¡± The two women shared a look and then came to sit down opposite Sharna. ¡°We haven''t seen this level of image-manifestation before, and some of your movements I didn''t even recognise.¡± Had she done too much? Should she have held back? Her grandmother would have been appalled at the thought, but Sharna was living in a new world now and needed to learn how to blend in. ¡°My.. my teacher was very focused on details, she felt that the images should pull the viewer in, and allow them to find more details each time they looked.¡± She said hesitantly. ¡°Your teacher? You mean your grandmother, Evelyn?¡± Sharna froze, her face schooled into a neutral mask. She had mentioned nothing of her grandmother in any part of her application, had her uncle broken his promise..? ¡°Did you think we wouldn''t look into the background of anyone that applied here? We have contacts that are able to find all sorts of information for us.¡± Myra sounded amused. Sharna was shocked and sat quietly, she didn¡¯t know what to say. In truth, she had expected that their knowledge of her would be limited to what she had shared in the many letters they had exchanged that led to this point. ¡°Relax, we have no issue with Evelyn, we may stay completely out of politics - I''m assuming that''s why you were allowed to apply here - but that doesn''t mean we didn''t agree with your grandmother and aren''t grateful for all that her work has granted us.¡± Myra threw her hands in the air. ¡°We just don''t have the kind of family or finances behind us that would allow us to voice these opinions.¡± Myra leaned forward and stared into Sharna¡¯s eyes. ¡°You will find that there are a lot of people in our situation, who never had the opportunity to thank your grandmother properly.¡± Myra sat back, her face softened and her eyes were kind. ¡°We are genuinely sorry for your loss Sharna. It must have hit you from so many different directions.¡± Sharna swallowed, she couldn''t allow the kindness to break the shield that she had built to protect herself in the wake of her grandmother''s violent and surprising death. ¡°Aren''t you afraid that my uncle will hear..¡± ¡°The house is warded, although you will have to explain to me later how you managed to reach through the barrier during your ¡®simple exercise¡¯.¡± Myra looked at Anna, who had been silent throughout, and now looked startled at this admission. Sharna was also surprised, she had no idea that she had been caught out. Myra continued. ¡°Additionally, we seriously doubt that anyone raised by your grandmother, particularly one who now appears to be trying to escape the remainder of her family after her death, is a risk to us. Are you?¡± Sharna shook her head, they didn''t know how deeply she needed to escape, this was her one chance, she wouldn''t be given another. ¡°Do you have any questions for us? After your display, I don''t know how much we will be able to teach you.¡± Again Sharna shook her head ¡°I want this opportunity so much, there is still so much that I need to learn and I would be so grateful -¡± she was cut off. ¡°Your work is exemplary, we are lucky to have you.¡± Myra said. ¡°Welcome to your new home.¡± Chapter 2 Exit A wave of relief flooded through Sharna''s brain as she marvelled at her success. She tried to listen as Myra explained how the house ran, their work for the palace, the sleeping arrangements and chore schedules but was only paying attention with half of her brain. She was pulled back to the conversation as Anna stood and pulled something from a nearby container to show her. It was a rectangle of fabric. The border was beautifully decorated with a fairly basic repeating floral pattern in three colours, but contained nothing like the level of intricate work that she had put into her piece. Her confusion must have shown in her face. ¡°This is the level of work that is expected of us, as women, our levels and understanding of magic are understandably low, and one piece a day is all that is expected of each of us.¡± Anna smirked and continued. ¡°The rest of the day is our own, and the palace pays well for our toil, but we may have to do something about the piece you made just now.¡± Anna looked to Myra with a question and then back to Sharna. ¡°We don''t want to increase expectations, are you able to form something simpler like this as well?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Sharna assured her. ¡°I just wanted to show you my capabilities and was worried that even this wouldn''t be enough.¡± Myra¡¯s face softened again. ¡°It''s a lovely image, have you seen something similar before? I know the sea around Atoll becomes green as the Light Rays return to lay eggs but I have never seen it around the Dragon Cliffs - I would recognise that oddly balanced cottage anywhere.¡± ¡°Is it a real place? I have dreamt of it many times, always with the green sea and stars, and the sky swirling and strange.¡± Sharna had dreamt of it again last night, the first dream she¡¯d had since her grandmother had died, and the image had stuck with her throughout the morning. Anna shrugged. ¡°Maybe you went there as a child, or saw a picture at some point, dreams can mean anything or nothing.¡± Sharna didn''t reply to this but internally questioned Anna''s comment, her grandmother had always stressed the importance of dreams and she wondered if Anna actually knew anything about the magical field of precognition. Sharna had known for a long time that many people only looked at their small area of magical skill without thinking about the broader magical umbrella that it fell under. Her grandmother had been teaching her magical theory since she was a child, but this was not information that she readily shared with others, as many people felt that it was inappropriate for women to learn too much about these subjects. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Myra continued. ¡°We are only allowed to sell these images to the palace, it is a part of our contract, but we encourage you to work on projects in different areas in your free time. For example, Anna has a preference for cartography, her maps are sought after by many individuals, while I specialise in refinishing dresses. We''ll let the other girls explain their individual interests and projects with you, if you don¡¯t already have an area of interest - maybe you can get ideas to extend your own practice.¡± Myra stood so Anna and Sharna rose as well. ¡°Let''s go and speak with your uncle and cousin and give them the happy news.¡± Her uncle and cousin were waiting where she had left them, both looking relaxed, leaning on the wall of the carriage in the shade and both had a carefully neutral expression as the three exited the house. The fights had been going on for weeks, with each other, other family members, lawyers, but in the end, if Sharna wasn''t granted a chance to enter a respectable women-led apprenticeship in her chosen area of image-materialisation, then all of her grandmother''s considerable estate would be gifted to her favourite charity - The Pillars. The Pillars supported women in difficult situations to get back on their feet. During her life her grandmother had done much for the charity and ensured there would be a place there for her granddaughter if it was ever needed, but neither of them had expected her death to come so soon. Sharna¡¯s grandmother had discussed her will with her several years ago. She would have left everything to Sharna if she could - this was what everyone had expected - but both of them knew that with a large estate and without her grandmother¡¯s protection, Sharna would be forced to marry whomever could get to her first. Luckily, no one but her knew the truth about her father or she would have never been allowed to leave. ¡°So?¡± barked her uncle. Myra didn''t look surprised at his rudeness. ¡°We would be delighted to have Sharna stay with us, I think there is much we can learn from each other.¡± Her uncle scoffed and looked away. He thought little of their branch of magic and was comfortable showing this disdain. ¡°Sharna?¡± Her cousin pushed off the carriage to come forward and catch her hand. ¡°Are you sure that this is what you want?¡± His concern for her was genuine, although misguided. ¡°We''ve already talked this to death Jarrah, grandmother thought this would be an important experience for me. If it doesn''t work out then I will come back home.¡± She was lying but he didn''t need to know that. His face fell but he moved to help her collect her luggage and Anna took him upstairs to show him where it was to go. Once that was done her uncle grumbled something about having wasted enough time and Jarrah gave her an uncomfortably lingering kiss on her cheek before joining her uncle in the carriage. She was relieved to see them leave. She knew her cousin harboured a crush on her, and many women found his classical looks attractive. However, while magical power was partially genetic, and many marriages in her grandparents¡¯ generation were formed specifically to increase the powers of their potential offspring, marriages between family members were now luckily out of vogue. She personally found the thought of dating a cousin repugnant, they had the same grandparents for goodness sake! Myra, Anna and Sharna stood, shading their eyes from the sun, and watched until the carriage was out of sight before making their way inside. Sharna felt for the tug that showed her which direction Quinn was, and discretely scanned the area until she spotted brief movement in a large flowering tree in the garden. Her attention went back to the two women as Anna headed to the kitchen to check on lunch while Myra guided Sharna upstairs to show her where she would be staying. Sharing with a roommate would be a new experience for Sharna and she nervously hoped that her roommate would be someone with whom she could become friends. Chapter 3 Roommate ¡°Let¡¯s introduce you to the other apprentices.¡± Myra knocked on the first door they reached at the top of the stairs, where Sharna had sensed the two people earlier, and a voice from inside invited them to enter. The room was large and bright, there were twin beds and bedside tables, wardrobes and two large desks; each with their own comfortable looking chair. One side was neat and orderly, with a sewing machine, cottons, fabrics and haberdashery organised in pigeon holes above the desk. The other had what appeared to be lumps of clay and bottles of dye, rolling pins, paint brushes and moulding tools scattered all over the desk, with some kind of white powder spilt over everything, and also a plate of cupcakes. Not sure what she was looking at, Sharna turned her attention to the women who had stood as they entered. One was dark and very pretty, an apron over her dress and more of the white powder smudged over her forehead. She was smiling nervously, wringing her hands together in front of her. At the neater desk, a much taller woman stood relaxed in short overalls, with light hair and features, smiling warmly as the three entered. ¡°These are two of your fellow apprentices, Eliza and Gabby.¡± Myra explained. Eliza was the neat one and Gabby was the messier. ¡°This is our newest apprentice Sharna. You can all get to know each other later, I''m just showing Sharna around.¡± ¡°Lovely to meet you both, I''m so looking forward to working together.¡± Sharna smiled at them both which seemed to help Gabby relax and she returned her smile with warmth. ¡°We''re looking forward to it too!¡± exclaimed Eliza. ¡°And I know Gogo has been so excited to have a roommate of her own. We''ll have lots of time to get to know each other when you''ve settled in.¡± Gabby nodded and smiled in agreement as Myra led Sharna to the next room. This was where she had felt the person pacing when she had been creating her image. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Myra knocked on the door, it immediately crashed open and someone flew out and smothered Sharna in a big hug. ¡°I''m so happy to have you here! I''m Gogo and I know we''re going to be best friends!¡± She pulled back and looked at the surprised Sharna. ¡°You''re so pretty, what''s your name?¡± Myra interjected. ¡°This is Sharna, maybe give her a little space to settle in before you attack her so that we don''t scare her away.¡± ¡°Sorry!¡± said Gogo, pulling back a little, unrepentant. ¡°I''ve just been waiting so long for you to get here and I was worried you wouldn''t pass but here you are!¡± Gogo was petite with purple hair in half pigtails, and was dressed in an interesting asymmetrical shift dress. Sharna smiled widely, she was not used to this kind of energy but deeply appreciated the enthusiasm. ¡°I''m so glad to meet you too, I''ve been looking forward to having a roommate. I''ve never shared a room before.¡± ¡°Me either, let''s grab your stuff and move you in!¡± Gogo peered around them both and spotted Sharna''s bags in the hall. She darted out to grab them while Sharna looked around the room that they would be now sharing. It was a copy of the other bedroom that she had already seen, spacious and with lots of natural light. Someone had obviously brought in a fresh vase of flowers that morning and put it on the table beside the unoccupied bed. A thoughtful touch that made her feel even more welcome. ¡°I''ll leave you to settle in.¡± Myra smiled at her. ¡°We won''t get you started on any work until tomorrow, and as a beginner here, less will be expected of you to start with until we get you up to speed. You''ll probably need some rest after your big morning. Gogo can show you the rest of the upstairs.¡± She left them and headed down the stairs. Gogo shut the door behind her gently and immediately launched back into her questioning. ¡°So are you planning to be here for long? What¡¯s your extra image-materialisation area going to be? Are you happy sleeping in the bed on the left because I can swap if you¡¯d feel more comfortable? What¡¯s your favourite colour?¡± Grinning, Sharna cut her off. ¡°Slow down! I can only answer one question at a time! I want to stay here for a very long time, I don¡¯t know yet, at least.. I have some ideas but need to work on them, and I am very happy with either bed. And probably yellow..? Have you been here for long? And what¡¯s your specialisation?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been here for ages!¡± Gogo replied. ¡°Seven months already! And I -¡± she struck a grand pose, throwing her arm gracefully towards her desk that was piled high with swatch books and fabric samples. ¡°- Am an interior designer.¡± She looked proudly at Sharna, obviously awaiting her impressed response. ¡°What¡¯s an interior designer?¡± asked Sharna, bemused. Gogo¡¯s shoulders dropped. ¡°I redecorate people¡¯s rooms, I can change colours and patterns so that they have a whole new space to live in.¡± Her dejection was short lived, she became more excited as she spoke, interior design was clearly a passion project of hers. ¡°I¡¯m getting more popular around our area as more people are introduced to my work. Changing up your living space can cost a lot of money but everyone loves a fresh new look! I¡¯ve just started charging for my work now that I¡¯ve had some experience, but my rates are much lower than a whole bunch of new fabrics and paying someone to reupholster your furniture.¡± She lowered her voice conspiratorially. ¡°I¡¯m trying to convince Eliza to ditch the dolls and come and join me to sew up holes so that nothing needs replacing, but she keeps blowing me off for her doll stuff. It¡¯s crazy!¡± ¡°Doll stuff?¡± Sharna had noticed the sewing stuff around but assumed it was some variant of Myra¡¯s dress refinishing work. ¡°Yeah, she makes dolls, they are beautiful and really in demand but just IMAGINE what we could do together! No one could compete!¡± Sharna couldn¡¯t quite picture what image-materialisation had to do with dolls but shrugged it off, she would find out soon enough. Chapter 4 New Friends Gogo showed Sharna around the rest of the first floor. Anna and Myra¡¯s bedroom doors were shut and they didn¡¯t go inside, and she¡¯d already seen Eliza and Gabby¡¯s room, but the remaining rooms were for them all to share. There was a large bathroom with a huge bath, a separate toilet with a sink and a cosy sitting room with a fire and a couple of bookcases. Gogo also explained that there was a large shower and sauna downstairs for them to use. As they toured, Sharna asked Gogo about her name. ¡°I hate my real name, I¡¯ve been Gogo for as long as I can remember. My parents called me Gertrude. GERTRUDE! It¡¯s the worst!¡± ¡°I had a neighbour called Gertrude, she was really sweet..¡± ¡°It¡¯s the most old lady name I¡¯ve ever heard, she was old right?¡± Gogo raised her eyebrows questioningly. ¡°Well..¡± Sharna mused mischievously. Gogo batted Sharna''s arm and shook her head. ¡°See? Old lady''s name. Gogo suits me much better.¡± Sharna thought this was probably true. She was constantly moving and the name worked well with her dynamic nature. ¡°Let¡¯s go talk with Eliza and Gabby, we all finished our work early today so we''d be ready when your assessment was done.¡± She knocked on their door and Eliza opened it almost immediately with a welcoming smile. ¡°Come in, come in, how are the two of you getting along?¡± Gogo charged in confidently and threw herself onto Gabby¡¯s bed, Gabby pushed her feet over so she could sit beside her. ¡°We''re going to be besties, I can tell!¡± Eliza quirked her eyebrows at Sharna. ¡°I think we''re going to get on really well, I hope all of us will.¡± Sharna agreed, looking at all three of the women in turn as she spoke. Eliza sat on her bed opposite Gogo and patted the space next to her, inviting Sharna to take a seat. ¡°Do you have any idea what you want to work on with your extra reserves?¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Sharna bit her lip. ¡°I''m not totally sure yet, I do have some ideas but want to chat with Myra and Anna first. I had no idea that so little was expected of us!¡± Gabby chuckled at this. ¡°None of us did. But don''t think you''ll be allowed to slack off! Myra and Anna really push us all to use up all of our magic each day to ensure that we keep progressing.¡± Sharna was pleased to hear this, she had worked hard under her grandmother''s tuition and had enjoyed the daily challenge of pushing against her limits. ¡°Gogo told me about your specialisation Eliza, but what are you working on, Gabby? I couldn''t guess from your equipment.¡± Gabby stood up and went over to her desk. ¡°I''ll show you.¡± She opened a drawer and pulled out some beautifully crafted colourful flowers and a small brown mouse. ¡°They''re beautiful.¡± Sharna enthused. ¡°You''ve manifested them from clay?¡± ¡°They''re actually icing. I decorate cakes. But image manifestation only works to decorate the outside of each sugar sculpture once I have shaped them. I wish I could sculpt them with my magic, but that''s not possible.¡± Sharna was confused for a moment, she tried to hide it, but from the thoughtful way that Eliza was looking at her she had not been completely successful. Before her grandmother¡¯s death, Sharna and Evelyn had kept themselves relatively isolated from the rest of the world and Sharna knew that her instruction had been somewhat unorthodox. When her grandmother had discovered the scope of Sharna¡¯s power, her enthusiasm had been boundless. Her grandmother had worked to teach Sharna everything she knew and when they reached the limits of her knowledge, she had found her a limited pool of trustworthy tutors who were able to push Sharna further. She had also written to several of her contacts to obtain texts that were not easy to find and of obscure origins in Sharna¡¯s areas of interest. Sharna had managed to smuggle out a few of the most important with the rest of her belongings, but had to leave the majority behind when she left. Because of all this, and also fear of her family finding out about her, Sharna knew she had to be careful about revealing too much too quickly. So she prodded Gabby and Eliza with questions to draw them out about their chosen specialities instead. She quickly learnt that all three women were intensely passionate about their image-manifestation, and worked hard to improve wherever they could. Sharna knew that she would be able to help them out with this but wanted to move as slowly as felt safe. Gabby had a regular rotation of loyal clients that she decorated cakes for. The person that Sharna had felt in the kitchen earlier was Marjorie, their cook. Marjorie didn''t have any magic, and she was the one who baked the cakes that Gabby decorated. Between Marjorie¡¯s deliciously light baking, and Gabby¡¯s decorating skill, they were never without buyers for their confections. Eliza was still building up her client base, unlike with consumables like cake, Eliza¡¯s dolls lasted a long time, giving her less repeat customers. She had sold many dolls locally to families with young children, and was now starting to build up a business relationship with a local general store. The owner of this store had connections across the kingdom and they were looking forward to a consistent growth partnership as Eliza grew her skills. Eliza currently could only make a doll every three or four days, as she handmade her dolls and only used her manifestation to outline and decorate each doll and their clothing from plain fabric, then hand sewed each component together. Sharna felt that in time she would be able to help Eliza speed up this process. Most people tended to focus directly on ¡®image-manifestation¡¯, instead of looking at the overarching area of manifestation. Sharna knew that it didn¡¯t actually take much more power to convert a flat medium into a decorated three-dimensional object than it did to simply print onto the surface of the medium. But what it did require was a significant change in perception. Image-manifestation was frequently seen as ¡®women¡¯s busy work¡¯, so less focus was put into education and furthering the field than in other areas. Manifestation was closely related to other areas of magic including illusion and soul magic, precognition and foresight, among others. In fact, many of the processes that worked in any of these individual areas, worked well in all areas, but this again was not widely known. With a combination of her grandmother¡¯s pursuit of excellence and Sharna¡¯s natural magical gifts and curiosity, Sharna was in an extremely rare position, almost that of a cutting edge magical researcher. While Sharna was excited to share her knowledge with her new colleagues, various interactions with her family had led her naturally open nature to become more wary. It would take her time to determine what information she was willing to risk sharing. Chapter 5 Introducing Quinn The four women had been talking for a while when Gogo suddenly excused herself and darted out of the room, she came prancing back in shortly afterwards with a smug smile. Eliza narrowed her eyebrows at Gogo. ¡°What have you been up to?¡± she asked accusingly. ¡°Nothing! Whatever do you mean, Eliza?¡± Gogo¡¯s face was now the picture of innocence. ¡°Hmm..¡± Eliza stood, ¡°anyway, you should get yourself unpacked Sharna, it''s nearly dinner time. Marjorie always rings the bell when dinner is ready, so make your way down then.¡± Eliza nudged Gogo in the ribs and spoke to Gabby. ¡°Come on, we should leave Sharna to unpack on her own, give her some space.¡± Gogo and Sharna both tried to protest, but Gabby and Eliza dragged a grumbling Gogo along with them, and a solo Sharna made her way back to their room. Truthfully, she was grateful to have a minute to herself. She needed some time to process - so much had happened this morning, not to mention over the past month. She had been surrounded by others since her grandmother had died and relished the thought of some alone time now. She smiled widely at what greeted her back in her new room. The curtains were now a sunny yellow. This must have been why Gogo had snuck out earlier and come back looking very self-satisfied. She started putting away her clothes, when she suddenly remembered Quinn. She opened the window and called her name softly. A small shape immediately flew in. ¡°Took you long enough.¡± Sharna could hear the pout in Quinn¡¯s voice. Quinn was what Sharna called a fairy. Sharna had created Quinn, in the overwhelming distress and loneliness she felt in the wake of her grandmother¡¯s death, and now found her companionship comforting. She looked like a small, fluffy ball of light, and was linked to Sharna¡¯s soul. Quinn was manifested from a part of Sharna¡¯s soul. It didn¡¯t diminish her soul in any way, Quinn was part of Sharna, but separate. Sharna had found an obscure mention of the concept of soul genesis in one of her ancient texts, and the concept had instantly excited her interest. While the text hadn¡¯t explained how it was done, Sharna¡¯s study into the surrounding branches of magic had given her a place to start, and surprisingly, she had been successful on her first try. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Her grandmother had long known of Sharna¡¯s wish to manifest a being that was connected to her soul, but had wanted Sharna to gain more knowledge before creating something so elemental. Sharna had understood her grandmother¡¯s concerns, but her loneliness without her grandmother had escalated her plans, and now, here was Quinn. She still hadn¡¯t decided on a final form for Quinn. For now, her small floating ball form worked well as it was easy to hide her, which was important while Sharna was in such a transitional time of her life. Quinn now flitted annoyingly around Sharna¡¯s head. ¡°Stop it Quinn!¡± Sharna chuckled and batted at the mischievous fairy. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I took so long. I had to wait until I was on my own before I let you in.¡± She paused and looked at Quinn uncertainly, ¡°I¡¯m sharing a room now, I¡¯m not sure what I''m going to do with you..¡± ¡°What do you mean ¡®do with me¡¯?¡± Quinn asked curiously as she stopped her circling. ¡°Well, I probably can¡¯t tell everyone about you straight away. I need time to get to know everyone, and have them get to know me before I start showing them all my quirks.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a quirk!¡± exclaimed Quinn indignantly. Sharna wasn¡¯t really listening though. ¡°Maybe I could keep you in a drawer, or in my pocket..¡± she mused thoughtfully. Quinn¡¯s light dimmed a little, then brightened, she spoke telepathically into Sharna¡¯s brain instead of aloud. ¡°As long as you keep me with you. I can put up with being in a pocket for now, just don¡¯t leave me out in the trees, and definitely not in a drawer! But I think the sooner you tell everyone about me, the better.¡± ¡°Agreed,¡± murmured Sharna. ¡°Oh, and did my uncle and cousin talk about anything interesting while I was inside?¡± ¡°Nothing we haven¡¯t heard before,¡± Quinn replied with some contempt. ¡°They both want you to give up on this and come home. Although I think your uncle is not keen on you ending up as his daughter-in law. He was talking to Jarrah about organising some parties while you¡¯re away, sounds like he is thinking of some unattached women that they could invite.¡± ¡°Good!¡± snapped Sharna sharply. ¡°I have zero interest in being his daughter-in-law, so that suits me perfectly!¡± Her tone changed. ¡°Maybe Jarrah will meet a nice girl at these parties and forget about me?¡± she continued hopefully. ¡°I¡¯m betting that¡¯s your uncle¡¯s plan.¡± Quinn said dryly. ¡°Anyway, I get a good feeling from this place. Do you want me to go out and have a quick scan around the neighbourhood?¡± ¡°I¡¯m so glad, the atmosphere feels right to me too! Everyone seems great!¡± Sharna held out her hand and Quinn softly landed in her palm. She could feel her faint warmth. Sharna continued ¡°and that sounds like a good idea Quinn. Can you please check out if there are any gardens around here with interesting plants? I¡¯m thinking of leaning a bit more into my herbalism, but it doesn¡¯t look like they have much of what I need here. Hopefully I can start my own garden, but even if they let me it will still take some time for the plants to grow. Let me know when you get back. I¡¯ll have to get you to wait outside for me until I am on my own again though, okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be back soon, don¡¯t leave me out there too long please!¡± pleaded Quinn. ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± agreed Sharna. ¡°See you soon, be careful and stay out of sight.¡± Quinn floated off into the garden. Sharna rested her arms on the window sill and leaned out the window for a little while after Quinn left, relishing the peaceful afternoon sunshine and gentle breeze, then, with resolution, returned to her unpacking. Chapter 6 First Dinner Quinn hadn¡¯t returned by the time Sharna had finished unpacking. Sharna wasn¡¯t worried, she would feel instantly if anything went wrong through their connection. She still wished she could see what Quinn could see, or pinpoint her location, but hadn¡¯t had the time to try to work out if that was possible yet. Sharna¡¯s tummy started to grumble. She decided to head downstairs to meet the others. She hadn¡¯t heard the dinner bell yet, but delicious smells were coming from the kitchen. She paused halfway down the stairs as she heard voices floating up. It was Anna and Gogo. Gogo was chattering happily about Sharna, and Sharna¡¯s heart warmed as she heard Anna¡¯s positive reply. She was so lucky to be here! The bell rang for dinner, so she quickly continued her descent. Downstairs, she saw someone new, laying out the last of the food onto the table and moved forward to introduce herself. ¡°Hi, I''m Sharna, you must be Marjorie, it''s nice to meet you!¡± The woman straightened up and smiled warmly at Sharna, ¡°lovely to meet you too, how are you settling in honey?¡± ¡°Really well thanks! I''m happy to be here.¡± ¡°That''s great,¡± Marjorie beamed, ¡°let me know if you need anything. Also, let me know how you find the food, or if there''s anything you can''t eat.¡± Sharna looked over the laden table, ¡°are there set seats for meals?¡± ¡°Not at all, how about you sit here next to me tonight? We can get to know each other better.¡± Marjorie ushered Sharna into the seat closest to her. While they had been talking, the others had all made their way to the table too. Gogo sat on Sharna''s other side, with Myra and Gabby opposite and Anna and Eliza at either end. Everyone started serving up their meals and it was quiet for a while, except for the sounds of cutlery and requests to pass dishes around. The chatter during dinner was light and the food was delicious. There was a larger selection of dishes than she had enjoyed at her grandmother''s house; with just the two of them they had kept a light menu. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Why don''t you tell us all about yourself,¡± Marjorie prompted Sharna as everyone¡¯s eating started to slow down. ¡°What do you want to know?¡± Sharna¡¯s shoulders lifted with tension, she felt suddenly nervous with all eyes turned her way. ¡°What is your family like? How far away is your home?¡± Marjorie asked kindly. ¡°My mother died when I was little, and my family don''t know who my father is -¡± this was technically true, THEY didn''t know who he was ¡°- so I was raised by my grandmother.¡± Sharna smiled as she thought of her grandmother, ¡°she was a wonderful woman. She was kind and generous, very sure of her values and she worked hard to live up to them. She taught me everything I know about magic and how to be in the world. After she.. after she died, it was.. decided that I would begin an image-materialisation apprenticeship. I applied here and was lucky enough to make it in.¡± She looked at Anna and Myra. ¡°I''m so grateful to you both.¡± They smiled back and nodded, encouraging her to continue. ¡°My grandmother''s house is quite far away. It took us a few days to get here, we were quite close to the Shadow Mountains, north of here.¡± ¡°Are the Shadow Mountains as scary as they say?¡± Gabby asked, wide-eyed. ¡°No,¡± Sharna grinned, used to this reaction, ¡°I know the Shadow Mountains have a terrible reputation, but it was a really beautiful area to grow up in.¡± She paused for a moment, thinking about how best to explain. ¡°The rumours started because there is a natural vast occurrence of mana in the area, and that has attracted a large community of soul and spirit mages. That''s where the shadow part of the name comes from - because people fear the supernatural. Additionally, the large amount of ambient mana caused a couple of the mountains to float in place, casting shadows over the ground below.¡± She shrugged, ¡°but the mana that accumulates in our region feels.. sustaining, life-giving.. And so it has attracted only mages that are interested in the pure and light manifestations of their field.¡± Myra leaned forward with interest, ¡°do they use the term manifestation in soul and spirit magic too?¡± ¡°No,¡± Sharna shook her head, considering, ¡°that''s just my translation. The mana is not as strong here, I feel the loss of the flow already. Anyway, my uncle and his family are living in my grandmother''s house now, so I guess I don''t have a home anymore..¡± Sharna trailed off at the end, suddenly depressed. Sharna knew that her uncle would take her back in if she asked. There were probably other more distant relatives that would happily do the same. But her life would no longer be hers. Gogo grabbed her arm a little too firmly, interrupting Sharna''s disheartening train of thought. ¡°You have a home here now!¡± She interjected earnestly. ¡°We all have reasons to be here, you''re not alone anymore.¡± Gogo stared intently at the other women around the table, waiting for their assent. ¡°It''s true,¡± Myra said lightly, ¡°we all have our own justifications for being away from our families.¡± She looked away. ¡°Remembering that you are living a life that you chose can make that realisation less painful.¡± There was silence after Myra spoke, all were lost in their own thoughts. Sharna was mad at herself for making everyone uncomfortable. She wracked her brain to come up with a change of topic only to find it completely blank . Sharna was saved by Marjorie. ¡°Right,¡± said Marjorie, slapping her knees and standing. ¡°Let''s clear away these dishes and then we can all have some dessert.¡± Everyone agreed with some relief. They all immediately started transferring the dishes to the kitchen. Sharna tried to start washing the dishes but they pushed her, protesting, back to take a seat at the table. ¡°We''ll have you on the chore roster starting tomorrow.¡± Eliza smiled mischievously. ¡°Might as well rest while you can, Gogo is always trying to push her chores off onto everyone else, and you don¡¯t want her to think you¡¯re a soft touch.¡± ¡°Ow!¡± Eliza whirled around. Gogo had whipped the back of her legs with a towel and was now demurely back to drying a serving platter. Eliza squinted at the back of Gogo¡¯s bowed head suspiciously, then looked back at Sharna with a twinkle and returned to clearing the table. Chapter 7 Stranger Sharna woke the next day feeling refreshed. She had slept deeply and without any dreams. The sun was barely up and Gogo was still asleep but Sharna had too much energy to stay in bed for another second. Luckily, Quinn had returned while Sharna was brushing her teeth alone in the bathroom the night before. Sharna had let Quinn in through the window and quickly hidden her in the pocket of her nightie. They had both been too tired to discuss Quinn¡¯s findings last night, and when Sharna peeked in her pocket this morning, she found that Quinn was still fast asleep. Last night, after dessert, Gogo showed Sharna how to use the shower and sauna downstairs. The sauna backed on to the kitchen and both used the same power source, so the sauna was available for most of the day. Marjorie started her baking early and Sharna decided that a sauna and shower would be a pleasurable way to start her day. Sharna had enjoyed daily saunas for as long as she could remember. In the area near the Shadow Mountains, they were considered to be mystically potent; cleansing for both the body and soul. She didn¡¯t know exactly what she believed about them, but knew that she felt a lot better with a sauna as part of her morning routine. Sharna bundled up her towel, toiletries and clothes and snuck out of her room. There was silence from the bedrooms as she made her way downstairs but she could hear noises coming from the kitchen. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. As she turned to head towards the sauna, she almost bumped into someone coming in through the back door. Heart racing at the surprise, Sharna rebalanced the bundle of belongings on her hip, and looked up at the intruder who also appeared startled. He was tall and extremely good looking, dressed in a long hooded cloak that was damp from outside. As their eyes met she felt an instant, intense pull towards him. Sharna''s free hand automatically fluttered to her chest as his eyes darkened with a similar attraction. Flustered, Sharna backed away from him a little, and then blushed as she realised that she was still dressed only in her nightie. The stranger leaned towards her and looked as though he was about to speak - ¡°Excuse me!¡± Sharna almost shouted in her panic, and rushed off towards the sauna area. His eyes crinkled with humour as they followed her abrupt exit, and she heard him call out something after her. Sharna ignored this and shut the door quickly, locking it behind her and then leaning on it as she waited for her heart to settle. ¡°What was that!?¡± Sharna muttered to herself, she put her face in her hands and slid down the door until she was sitting on the floor, ¡°what the hell was that..?¡± ¡°Yes, what was that, Sharna?¡± Sharna mentally cringed as Quinn flew up out of her pocket, she could feel the smirk in her tone. ¡°Oh.. you''re awake now.. good morning, Quinn,¡± replied Sharna, carefully nonchalant as she stood slightly unsteadily and brushed herself off. ¡°I''m going to hop in the shower now.¡± Sharna could hear Quinn snigger as she picked up the bundle she had dropped with all the dignity she could muster, and gently closed the shower room door. Chapter 8 Sauna Sharna let the warm water run down her body for longer than was necessary. She needed to take some time to process what had just happened, and to calm herself down. Sharna had never had such a bodily reaction to someone before. She blushed again just imagining what he must have thought as she literally fled from him. She brought her hands back to her cheeks - she didn¡¯t even have a clue who the stranger was, or why he was in their house so early in the morning. But he was very handsome.. Sharna shook her head and tried to refocus. She had things to do today, and lots to learn, many, many, many more important priorities. It was likely the stranger would be gone when she came out so she could just move on with her day. And maybe ask Marjorie about him later. With fresh resolution, Sharna turned off the shower and wrapped herself in her towel. Quinn was waiting for her outside the door. ¡°Feeling better?¡± she asked mischievously. ¡°Yes, thank you for your patience,¡± Sharna said stiffly, with exaggerated dignity. ¡°Would you like to join me in the sauna so we can discuss yesterday¡¯s discoveries?¡± ¡°This is a much busier district than we were expecting,¡± Quinn explained, as Sharna threw some water onto the sauna rocks and then settled herself comfortably onto the lower bench of the sauna. Quinn had obviously decided to let Sharna off the hook about her earlier encounter for now, though Sharna doubted it would last. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sharna asked, enjoying the cosy proportions of the wooden room and the lightly citrus based scent coming from the steam. ¡°The land around here is really densely settled, but the ambient mana is relatively low and there is no abundance of natural resources either. I don''t understand why it would attract so many residents.¡± They were both quiet for a minute as they pondered. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°It''s not particularly close to a city either,¡± mused Sharna slowly. ¡°I also looked for interesting gardens like you asked,¡± Quinn reported, flowing into her focused, information sharing mode. ¡°There are heaps of gardens around here that contain an assortment of magical and medicinal herbs. And the people that I spotted seem to be mostly friendly; there''s a really affectionate, peaceful atmosphere among them.¡± Quinn flitted closer to the warm stones and back towards Sharna, ¡°it seems like a really collaborative community. The gardens are all growing different plants from each other, there''s a wide variety of animals..¡± Sharna tilted her head and stared at Quinn. ¡°Maybe the fertility of the land or the type of soil is attractive to herbalists.¡± Sharna was still thinking aloud, ¡°I can definitely see how a large group of herbalists would attract people from many other fields too.¡± ¡°The more interesting gardens seem to be located close to the river that flows through this area,¡± advised Quinn. ¡°Maybe there¡¯s something about the water? This area is downstream from Shadow Mountains, maybe it¡¯s the continuation of the Tusy River?¡± Sharna had spent a lot of time in and around the Tusy River, as it ran through part of her grandmother¡¯s land. The river flowed through the Shadow Mountains, originating somewhere further north. The thought of that link to her home made Sharna feel suddenly nostalgic. At times like these, she was especially grateful for Quinn¡¯s similarity to herself. Coming from the same soul origin, with the same initial memories and feelings, they both found it easy to follow the other''s train of thought. Although Sharna frequently found herself wondering how their personalities would diverge now that they were separated from each other. She hoped that the uneven power dynamic and differing experiences wouldn¡¯t complicate their relationship. ¡°We can ask the others about it later, maybe they have more insight.¡± Sharna leaned back on the bench behind her, looking up at the wooden ceiling. ¡°Herbalists living close by might work very well with what I have in mind. Potentially I can purchase all my ingredients so I''ll have more time to focus on my magic. I¡¯ve never particularly enjoyed gardening.¡± ¡°They may already have buyers, or may use all their stock for their own practices,¡± Quinn warned. ¡°We can''t really move forward with any of our plans until we get more information,¡± said Sharna, wriggling on the bench in frustration. Patience was not one of Sharna''s strengths. From a young age, Sharna was allowed and encouraged to choose her own areas of study to suit her own interests. Her grandmother¡¯s only demand of her was that she work hard at her studies. Now, at 17, her drastic change in circumstances led her to the realisation that she had been thoroughly spoiled by her grandmother. Her life was hurtling along a new and unknown path, without her input or consent, since her grandmother had died. She felt discouraged as her attempts to gain control were met with constant impediments. While she felt that her place here was fortunate, her family had chosen it as they chose everything, with no consideration to her preferences. Her hope, now that she was free of her overbearing family, was that she could blaze her own path once again. Quinn buzzed around Sharna¡¯s head ¡°so do you need anything from me today? If not, I might explore a bit more, get more of an idea of how things work, while you can find out more from the ladies.¡± Sharna was amused at Quinn¡¯s use of language, making it appear that Quinn doing whatever she wanted to do was out of consideration for their joint plans. ¡°Sure, sounds good.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like I can do anything here until you¡¯ve told everyone about me anyway!¡± said Quinn grumpily, obviously aware of Sharna¡¯s mirth. ¡°You¡¯re completely right, the sooner we can get settled in and work out what we¡¯re doing the better.¡± said Sharna placatingly, ¡°I should hop in the shower and get dressed for the day, breakfast will be ready soon anyway.¡± She wondered if she could get away with a light scan of the house with her mana while she was in the shower, to work out if the stranger had left. Chapter 9 Breakfast As she showered again, Sharna reluctantly decided that another scan of the house using her mana was out of the question. She hadn¡¯t worked out how she had triggered Myra¡¯s wards yet, but Myra would definitely demand an explanation if it happened again. Sharna absolutely did NOT want to discuss this morning¡¯s events with anyone. Quinn had left immediately after Sharna had finished with the sauna, to go and check out the surrounding neighbourhood further. Sharna looked at herself in the mirror before she went out, pleased that the outfit she had grabbed as she snuck out of her room was a little less skin-revealing than her nightie. While her clothing choices didn''t lean toward modest or unassuming, some days she liked to use her clothing as a shield. Sharna''s tastes tended towards bright colours and interesting textures, and today she was in a pink blouse with sheer organza sleeves and a long red silk wrap skirt. Her red cheeks had faded to their normal pink, and she had put her strawberry blonde hair into a loose bun to keep it out of her face ready for work. She had already placed her toiletries into the cupboard that Gogo had indicated the night before, and bundled her dirty clothes to take back upstairs. Marjorie waved good morning to Sharna as she headed upstairs, she had already started laying out their breakfast on the sideboard for everyone to dish up whenever they were ready. Breakfast was anytime between 8 and 9:30, but Gogo had told her that the kitchen was always available if they got desperately hungry. As Sharna headed up the stairs, she was greeted by Eliza on her way down to the shower. She let her know that Gogo and Gabby were still asleep so Sharna just dumped her clothes outside her bedroom door and went and dished herself up some breakfast. Marjorie was reading while eating her breakfast when Sharna arrived, and put her book away briefly as Sharna joined her. They chatted inconsequentially about the weather and the food, and Marjorie returned to her book. Sharna leaned back with her coffee and looked out the window, enjoying the quiet of the morning. Eventually Myra and Eliza joined them and Marjorie returned to the kitchen. After Myra had eaten and grabbed herself a coffee, she turned her attention to Sharna, ¡°I think it¡¯s probably a good idea if you just watch the work we do for the palace first up this morning. We have a workshop in the front garden, connected to the house, that we specifically use for palace work. There''s a locked compartment by the door that we leave the finished image-work in, so that they can collect it any time they have staff in the area without having to disturb us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s very thoughtful of them,¡± said Sharna, raising her eyebrows in surprise. The royal family were not well known for their consideration. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Myra smiled, ¡°yes, very. As you may be aware, they are extremely well known for the excellent functions they hold to entertain other visiting royals and the wealthy. The fashionable and well-remarked linen supplies for these functions are regularly updated through our efforts.¡± Sharna nodded, understanding immediately, that made a lot more sense. They lived in an unusually picturesque kingdom, much of the taxes gathered were spent on beautification projects rather than healthcare, basic infrastructure, or governance. Myra continued, ¡°they also leave all the new fabric for us in the compartment when they take the finished pieces, along with a list of basic requirements for their upcoming events. While we work together to create our own designs here, we are given some guidance about their preferred artistic direction.¡± She shrugged, ¡°and the event planner takes all credit for any designs we come up with.¡± Sharna found this last point maddening, but not surprising. There was a long history of Masters taking credit for their apprentice¡¯s work, and those that commissioned the work taking credit for the Master¡¯s final products. ¡°However,¡± said Myra, leaning forward, suddenly serious, ¡°I really want to stress that this is the only area of our work where we let this happen.¡± ¡°Where you let what happen?¡± asked Sharna, confused. ¡°Where we let anyone take credit for anyone else''s work.¡± Eliza cut in, ¡°it''s true. Myra and Anna help us get set up, source materials, link with purchasers and then let us go. The place I started at, before I came here, took half of my earnings before paying for materials, and all of the credit.. Working here is the best!¡± ¡°Please don''t be misled,¡± said Myra, appearing embarrassed by Eliza''s enthusiasm, ¡°Anna and I are not doing this entirely out of the kindness of our hearts. We are paid well by the palace for training image-manifestation apprentices, as well as a third of the money earned for each of your finished pieces. They also cover the pay for Marjorie and our cleaner, Beau. So you can see that we don''t have the need to steal from our apprentices.¡± ¡°No one NEEDS to steal from apprentices,¡± said Gogo cheekily, appearing suddenly with Gabby and Anna in tow and tangling her arms around Myra¡¯s neck in an awkward hug. Her sudden arrival startled Myra, causing her to spill her coffee on her pants. Myra shot Gogo a dark look. Looking completely unrepentant, Gogo said ¡°it''s no wonder that we love you and Anna so much.¡± Myra couldn¡¯t entirely keep the smile off her face as she gently untangled herself from Gogo, patting her on the head as she excused herself to go upstairs and change. ¡°Made it!¡± Said Gogo gleefully, dishing herself up a large breakfast, ¡°I had to wake up Gabby but Anna has already had a bath!¡± She looked at Anna slyly, ¡°so decadent for so early in the day.¡± Anna rolled her eyes and served herself some coffee, clearly used to Gogo''s antics, Gabby sat beside her with just a piece of toast. ¡°How long have you two been up?¡± Gogo asked Sharna and Eliza. ¡°I''ve been up for an hour, but Sharna was already showered and dressed when I was heading to the shower.¡± Eliza turned to Sharna, ¡°did you have a sauna this morning too?¡± ¡°Yes, it was so amazing. I''m glad there''s one here, my grandmother had one too and I used to use it every morning.¡± Eliza smiled ¡°I might join you tomorrow morning then if that''s okay? I just lay awake in bed this morning thinking about getting up.¡± ¡°Well I will be using that time in the morning to get more beauty sleep¡± Gogo said, flourishing grandly. ¡°Well, you could certainly use the extra help,¡± Eliza dodged grinning, as Gogo reached across the table to swat at her. ¡°Girls, girls, can¡¯t we just enjoy our breakfast in peace?¡± asked Anna gently, waving her coffee at them. ¡°And Gogo, we¡¯re all heading to the workshop in about two minutes so you had better get a move on if you¡¯re planning on eating all of that.¡± Looking mildly panicked at the amount of food she had left, Gogo started hurriedly eating, and Anna chuckled and went to get herself another coffee. Chapter 10 Workshop Gabby had been very quiet at breakfast, Sharna slowed down to walk beside her as they headed to the workshop. She was now looking quite pale, and hadn¡¯t eaten much. ¡°Are you feeling okay?¡± Sharna asked gently. Gabby flushed, ¡°I¡¯m fine thanks, I guess I just didn¡¯t sleep too well.¡± Eliza was also listening in, ¡°You did seem really restless last night.¡± ¡°Maybe you should go and grab a coffee or something.¡± Sharna suggested. ¡°I¡¯m off coffee at the moment,¡± said Gabby quickly, looking even paler. ¡°Trying to mix things up, but thanks.¡± She pasted a smile on her face that didn¡¯t quite reach her eyes. Sharna felt a little put off, Gabby had been much friendlier yesterday. Maybe it was just that Gabby was tired or maybe Sharna just didn''t quite understand the dynamics yet. She decided that it wasn''t her place to push Gabby further and simply smiled agreeably back at her, then turned her attention to the workshop. The workshop was not at all as she had expected. The main house was well proportioned, bright and full of light. This workshop on the other hand was poky and only had two tiny windows close to the ceiling. Sharna was glad that they only had to be in here for a short time each day. ¡°It''s a tight fit in here for all of us?¡± Sharna said. Looking around the space, Myra nodded, ¡°we often take turns. Anna and I prefer that this work is completed each day before the four of you start on any other projects though. Also, the palace has provided this workshop for us and expects all of these image-manifestation projects to be completed in this space.¡± Myra explained that they went over plans for the week''s work together in the sitting room on Sunday evenings to keep them on track, based on the lists that they were provided by the palace¡¯s event planner. Myra also showed her where everything was located and the combination for the lockbox type compartment on the outer wall. Then Myra pulled out some detailed drawings along with some completed napkins. The napkins were decorated with green vines and purple grapes, elegantly twining along the borders. ¡°These are what we are currently working on. The region¡¯s new wine has recently been released and they would like a prominent reminder throughout their upcoming event. You can see from the plans and the list that we''ve been through that we still have thirty napkins and several runners left to complete.¡± If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Sharna ran the fabric through her fingers ¡°This material is amazing quality, and the sheen is gorgeous, where does it come from?¡± ¡°This is a cotton and silk blend from Stellarc, the palace sources their fabrics from all over the continent.¡± Sharna nodded, Stellarc was the kingdom neighbouring their own kingdom of Beldorn to the south. Stellarc was well known for its silk but not so much cotton. Cotton usually was grown in warmer areas, further north. This blend was interesting because Stellarc were traditionally known for only trading with their immediate neighbours. Sharna had been exhaustively educated in the geography and politics of their continent as it was extremely important information for her to personally know in depth. Due to her unusually large amount of magical power and knowledge, she could easily step into a dangerous situation by accident if she were ill-informed. While the entire continent had deeply ingrained misogynistic tendencies, the consequences for women ¡®overstepping their boundaries¡¯ in her kingdom were relatively mild compared to other kingdoms. Social ostracization was obviously preferable to the capital punishment meted out by some of the more militant kingdoms. Her grandmother had actually been part of the driving force for the increase of available women''s roles and education in their kingdom, one of multiple reasons that she had been beloved by so many. There was currently no known way to test an individual¡¯s magical power without their consent and participation. The only such test available involved channelling all of one''s mana into a specially designed crystal to get a reading. This relied on the user complying, and was used more to prove eligibility for particular roles than gauging power that an individual wanted to keep secret. However, it was conceivable that some of the kingdoms that strictly policed magical use had secret techniques that they didn¡¯t care to disclose to foreign powers. Regardless, Sharna hoped to keep her capabilities a secret from anyone in power. Meanwhile, Anna had set up at two of the tables. The design plan and a single piece of fabric was laid out at one table and the remainder of the linens were piled neatly on the other. Anna gestured Sharna forward to watch. Anna smoothed the fabric out and closed her eyes for a few seconds while she appeared to focus. She opened her eyes, raised her hands slightly above the fabric and started gently humming. Sharna could see a faint light coming from under Anna¡¯s hands, above the fabric. Sharna was surprised by the simplified pattern of movements and sound. She moved a little closer but could still feel no warmth or shift of sensation travelling through her body. Sharna knew that the amount of heat she produced while she worked her magic wasn¡¯t normal, which was why she had attempted to draw it back to her during her assessment, but to create none..? Out of the corner of her eye, Sharna could see that Eliza was watching her again and immediately softened her questioning look to one of open interest. ¡°Phew,¡± Anna breathed a sigh of relief, a little puffed from her efforts, and stepped back. Sharna ran her fingers over the cloth again. There was absolutely no temperature change, how interesting. ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking,¡± Anna smiled, ¡°we could probably do four or five each a day with a little break in between. But as I mentioned earlier, they only require one a day for each of us.¡± Sharna was glad that Anna definitely didn¡¯t know what she was thinking. She kept her face in the same engaged expression, ¡°it¡¯s a lovely pattern, beautiful work, I can see why they value your image-manifestation so highly.¡± Anna beamed, pleased at the compliment. ¡°Come on girls, you can all show Sharna your techniques now, one by one, and then she can have a try herself tomorrow. And you don¡¯t need to worry -¡± this last part was directed at Sharna, ¡°they always give us a few extra pieces of fabric so it¡¯s okay if it doesn¡¯t work out perfectly to start. You must have practised extensively for your assessment piece.¡± Sharna smiled back but she actually felt like she was starting to get a headache. She had literally decided on the image for her assessment piece as she was starting the assessment. For the first time she found herself questioning her decision to come here. Chapter 11 New Technique Sharna watched Myra, Eliza, Gabby and Gogo all take their turns with the image-manifestation. They all used very similar movements and melodies. She followed their basic movements with her hands and found them to be satisfactory but clunky, awkward. She compared the finished work and noted that they seemed identical and flawless. ¡°Did you and Myra teach all the others their movements?¡± she asked softly, leaning in towards Anna who was standing beside her. ¡°Yes, they all came to us with much less training than you have had,¡± Anna replied quietly, ¡°Eliza¡¯s training was the furthest along, but they had rushed her so we had to work with her to correct a couple of her techniques that she had been having trouble with.¡± Gogo had been listening in, and now asked Sharna intensely, ¡°have you already had training? Or was it just your grandma? Do you do it differently to us?¡± Sharna almost stepped backwards from the effect of everyone¡¯s attention suddenly focusing on her. She could feel herself immediately going red again, she wasn¡¯t used to being the centre of attention. Myra looked at Sharna with amusement, then took pity on her and answered instead, ¡°Sharna¡¯s grandmother was Evelyn Erikson.¡± Eliza gasped audibly and looked at Sharna with shock, ¡°but your surname isn¡¯t Erikson, it¡¯s Aabirah, Myra told us.¡± Sharna looked down, twisting her hands together, ¡°my mother was not very impressed with the way that my grandfather treated her when she wouldn¡¯t tell him who my father was. So she changed her surname, and mine, to my grandmother¡¯s maiden name.¡± Her grandmother had told her that her mother had almost died to her grandfather¡¯s rage. He only repented when her mother died, but it was too late to reconcile. He passed away not long after, unable to rid himself of his lingering regret. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Eliza¡¯s mouth was still open but Gabby and Gogo looked even more confused. ¡°My grandmother was the one who taught me how to use my magic, but she was an expert in the area of image-manifestation. My specialisation came from her line.¡± Sharna paused, Eliza had obviously heard of her grandmother so she felt she should expand a little for the others¡¯ benefit. ¡°My grandmother was an extraordinary woman as I said, and was quite well-known. She was one of the founding members of The Pillars,¡± both Gogo and Gabby¡¯s eyes widened in understanding, everyone in the kingdom knew of The Pillars. There were no corners that their work hadn¡¯t reached and positively impacted, ¡°and she was also instrumental in the promotion of equality and the individual¡¯s rights in our kingdom. She was recently.. As I told you all last night, she recently died..¡± Sharna trailed off, unsure what else to say. ¡°So you¡¯re like super good at this then?¡± Gogo asked, understanding. ¡°Can we watch you try one?¡± she looked to Anna and Myra, ¡°I know you said tomorrow but can¡¯t she just have a go now?¡± Myra and Anna exchanged a look. Myra turned to Sharna, ¡°would you like to have a try today? No pressure, we¡¯re happy for you to take your time to settle in.¡± ¡°Come on Sharna, please?¡± begged Gogo, batting her eyelashes at Sharna. Sharna wasn¡¯t sure what the best response was but ¡°sure,¡± she said, smiling at Gogo, ¡°I¡¯ve been watching to learn the way you all work, so I¡¯ll try that first.¡± Gogo looked slightly disappointed that she wouldn¡¯t get to see something new, but still full of anticipation for Sharna¡¯s attempt. Sharna laid out another napkin piece and concentrated on the detailed drawings. She had no trouble flawlessly copying the movements and melody that the others had used. The same faint light formed under her hands, and the grape and vine border printed onto the napkin. She had created a perfect replica of the other napkins, but she found the experience rather flat. Sharna could see Myra whispering something into Anna¡¯s ear and thought it was probably related to her lack of interaction with the house¡¯s wards. Gogo and Eliza crowded her to pick up and inspect her work, while Gabby watched from a little further away. Sharna smiled and nodded absently as they chattered excitedly about her perfect execution on her initial effort. But Sharna felt herself disassociating. She wasn¡¯t surprised that it had turned out well, but the magic felt like.. nothing. Sharna looked down at her hands blankly, what a peculiar way to perform magic. Was this how people normally performed magic? There had been no warmth, or expansion of her mind to include everything around her, no depth. But she zeroed back in on her image, she had definitely performed some magic because the image was directly in front of her. But it was such an emotionless process. Sharna felt overwhelmed with all the new information. She had a lot to think about, but she would have to wait to process until she had a quiet minute again and could discuss this further with Quinn. Chapter 12 Privilege As everyone was heading back into the house, Myra pulled Sharna aside to speak privately with her. Myra was radiating tension and Sharna felt alarmed, ¡°Sharna, I just need to check that you don¡¯t have a problem with the Catkin?¡± Sharna looked blankly at Myra, puzzling at what she could have possibly said or done that would have given this impression, ¡°no, why are you asking me that?¡± Myra¡¯s shoulders relaxed and she looked relieved, ¡°Marjorie was concerned. Beau dropped in this morning to pick up something for his mother and told Marjorie that he had startled you and then you ran off. I wanted to check in with you because we value Beau, and the Catkin already have enough drama without finding more in our household.¡± Sharna¡¯s mind was racing left and right as she stared at Marjorie with bewilderment that gradually turned into understanding and then embarrassment. ¡°No, no! I didn¡¯t know he was a Catkin, I was in my nightie, I didn¡¯t know who he was, he was in a cloak, I didn¡¯t even realise..¡± She was stuttering in her earnestness and could feel her face had grown hot. Beau must be the stranger from this morning, someone had mentioned a cleaner called Beau, and it appeared he was a Catkin. She hadn¡¯t seen the ears or tail that were the visible characteristics of their race because he had been wearing a cloak. Catkin were looked down upon by many as not being human, in particular those who were jealous of the race¡¯s naturally strong magical power. She felt even more embarrassed by her behaviour and the way it had been misinterpreted. ¡°Okay, good.¡± Myra looked relieved, ¡°I find that kind of racism extremely distasteful.¡± ¡°My uncle,¡± said Sharna, suddenly remembering, ¡°I had forgotten.. My grandmother used to have Catkin amongst her staff. My uncle treated them so poorly every time he would see them. My grandmother tried to keep them apart, and blocked him from her house for a time but he started raising discontent in our community. Eventually it became unsafe for them and they begged her to find them positions elsewhere.. I was just startled at seeing a man in the house when I was on my way to the shower this morning. I hope that I didn¡¯t offend him, or Marjorie.¡± ¡°Beau only thought you were self-conscious, that¡¯s what he told Marjorie but she jumped to conclusions. She is particularly sensitive to these issues because she doesn¡¯t have any magic ability herself, and while in some ways it is easier for her because she doesn¡¯t immediately stand out like a Catkin, there are definitely people that believe that only those that can use magic have any worth.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so sorry,¡± said Sharna earnestly, ¡°I didn¡¯t know about Marjorie either, I seemed to have stepped into something.. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll apologise to both of them for my lack of sensitivity.¡± Myra sighed and rubbed her forehead, ¡°it¡¯s not your fault, we should have told you, about both of them. I¡¯ll talk to Marjorie. Sometimes I find it very confusing to know the correct way to act.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Sharna understood Myra¡¯s point but regretted that her privilege and lack of knowledge had hurt people. ¡°Are people in this neighbourhood difficult?¡± ¡°Not at all,¡± said Myra, face clearing, ¡°we have a wide variety of races and abilities here because of our large herbalism community. There are many non-magical skills that complement herbalism, Marjorie¡¯s cooking is extremely highly valued. While most of her work is done for us, she often takes commissions on the side and uses our kitchen here as her base, as the one at her home is too small. Also, because the Catkin have an affinity for cleansing magics, they are in high demand for removing toxins from some crops, and also recognising and clearing away any alchemical accidents which can be fatal for others.¡± ¡°Wow, what a great use of their affinity,¡± Sharna said thoughtfully. ¡°Also, I¡¯ve been wanting to ask about the herbalists, do people sell their herbs or are they only traded or used by the growers?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a weekly market where the growers sell directly, but the local general store sells them with a slight markup the rest of the time. Do you have an interest in herbalism? It doesn¡¯t tend to have much to do with image-manifestation.¡± Myra was curious. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve had a strong interest in the magical and medicinal properties of herbs since I was little, I¡¯m just not much of a gardener so was hoping to purchase what I need,¡± Sharna said wryly. ¡°I¡¯m thinking about using some for my extra specialisation, but I¡¯m still thinking about it.¡± Myra nodded, ¡°I think it¡¯s a good idea if you watch us all first to see how we use ours and see if you feel that yours will be a good fit. I have an interesting project I¡¯m working on so I¡¯d love it if you would come and watch me first, and then you can take the next few days to trail everyone else too.¡± ¡°What are you working on at the moment?¡± Myra¡¯s smile broadened, ¡°it¡¯s something I¡¯m very excited by, a little different to what I¡¯ve done before, I¡¯m converting someone¡¯s mother¡¯s wedding dress to a mother of the bride outfit for her daughter¡¯s wedding.¡± Sharna was touched by Myra¡¯s enthusiasm, ¡°I¡¯d love to see it.¡± Myra led her to the room where she had done her assessment yesterday. It looked different now, they had obviously cleared the space in preparation for her and now she imagined it was back to its usual appearance. It was clear that this space was set up for Myra and Anna, there was a large drawing table set up to take advantage of the window, covered with scrolls and maps, and a mannequin now stood in the centre of the room with a wheely chair and small table close by. The table was cluttered with a sewing basket and various haberdashery. The dress on the mannequin was mostly lace with a high collar and long sleeves, with little pearl buttons. It was beautifully made, but while Sharna guessed that it had originally been white, it was now a heterogenous yellowy colour, faded more in some areas, and with some brown age spots. ¡°The client is one of our local nobility,¡± said Myra archly. ¡°She is a duchess but she¡¯s also my dear friend from school. She had originally hoped that her daughter would like to wear the dress to get married in but Laynie had other ideas.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be changing the colour?¡± Sharna asked, stroking one of the sleeves. ¡°Yes, Deidre wants it to be navy, which is obviously very straightforward, but she also wants some of the embroidery to be picked out in gold. Also I will be shortening the hem and sleeves slightly, and narrowing the skirt before I colour it to make it look less bridal.¡± Sharna could picture the changes and nodded. ¡°Would you like to help me?¡± Sharna whipped her head round to look at Myra with surprise. ¡°I couldn¡¯t possibly, this is such a special project for you!¡± ¡°After seeing what you achieved yesterday, and watching the value you place on fabrics, I would be grateful for the help. I want this to be the best that I can make it and I think that you can help me with that.¡± Sharna smiled and looked back at the dress, ¡°Thanks Myra, I would love to help.¡± Chapter 13 Fashion Sketch Sharna grabbed another chair from the dining table, and pulled it over to the sewing table. Sharna and Myra pored over Myra¡¯s drawings. ¡°Did you consider doing three-quarter sleeves rather than the cap sleeves?¡± Sharna asked, ¡°then you could still use at least some of those amazing buttons. ¡°I thought it might be easier to remove them altogether,¡± said Myra, ¡°and then just add a little of the lace back for the shorter sleeve?¡± ¡°But this way you could just reattach the ends here,¡± Sharna gestured to the sleeve, ¡°and then you could include the scalloping as well, it would be nice to keep what details you could.¡± They threw a few more ideas around, and Sharna was gratified to find that Myra seemed to value her input. Eventually they settled on a final plan, and Myra went to call Deidre and get her approval on the changes. While Myra was gone, Sharna grabbed a blank piece of paper from Myra¡¯s table and used her image-manifestation to project their proposed final product in a couple of views. As it was only a basic outline, she used the techniques that she had learned earlier. She wanted to try and untangle what exactly it was that caused her unease with this awkward technique but found nothing new to add. Sharna walked around the dress so she could see it from different angles, pleased with their plan. This wasn¡¯t really an area of image-manifestation that she had considered before. She had definitely gone through phases of colouring her clothes over the years, even her hair and body she had decorated with bright colours and elaborate, short-lasting tattoos. Sharna knew that some people viewed fashion as frivolous and unnecessary, but she had personally always found it to be an important area of self-expression. Everyone wore clothes but not everyone had the money to change up their wardrobe as they wished. This was something that could potentially bring a lot of value and joy to someone¡¯s life. Myra came back into the room and gave Sharna a thumbs up. ¡°Deidre sounds excited by the changes, she''s looking forward to seeing the final product.¡± She sat in her wheely chair by the mannequin. ¡°We should draw up some plans, she wants to come and drop by this afternoon if she gets a chance.¡± In response, Sharna held out the paper she had illustrated with their proposed fashion sketches. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°This is beautiful, they look perfect,¡± Myra enthused, ¡°and that was so quick, you used magic?¡± Sharna nodded, ¡°I used a blank piece of your paper, I hope that¡¯s okay.¡± Myra nodded her assent, ¡°of course, this looks great.¡± She tilted her head and looked up at Sharna appraisingly, ¡°I noticed that you haven¡¯t interrupted my wards since your assessment, not even in the workshop earlier, are you using a different technique now?¡± ¡°I had never used the method that you all used to perform your image-manifestation, so I have been trying it out.¡± Myra blinked blankly at Sharna, ¡°what?¡± Sharna smiled, ¡°your movements and melodies seemed different to what I learnt with my grandmother so I wanted to try them out too, I enjoy learning new skills.¡± Myra closed her eyes and pinched the top of her nose. She breathed slowly and opened her eyes, looking intently at Sharna, ¡°I know that you said earlier that you wanted to use our technique but I think that I didn''t fully understand. You are saying that you produced this, and the napkin earlier, from your very first attempts at using our technique.¡± Sharna froze, ¡°yes?¡± she said hesitantly, alarmed by Myra¡¯s sudden intensity. ¡°Sharna.. I already knew that you were extremely talented, and intelligent, but this is something else entirely. No one just flawlessly uses a brand new technique of magic. Please don¡¯t mention this to anyone else.¡± Myra ran her fingers through her hair as she looked for the right words, apparently unaware that she was messing up her neat bun. ¡°We work actively to appear inconspicuous here. The palace appreciates our finished product, which gives us a modicum of protection, but not enough that we could keep you safe if your exceptional skill became known.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not exceptional, it was just a couple of images, it¡¯s not even sou-¡± Sharna cut herself off, looking sideways at Myra, shaken by the woman''s warning. ¡°It¡¯s not even what? Is there more?¡± Sharna didn¡¯t respond. Myra closed her eyes again, ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m quite ready to hear what skills you haven¡¯t shared, if you didn¡¯t think twice about what you¡¯ve already achieved this morning.¡± Sharna slumped, thinking of all the questions she had been hoping to ask Myra, and deeply missing having someone to safely confide in. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Myra said briskly, visibly calming her face, ¡°I¡¯ll just talk things over with Anna and we¡¯ll see what we can work out. I¡¯ll also mention something to Beau when he comes in later this morning, but maybe try to avoid using your magic until then.¡± Sharna was confused, ¡°why Beau? What does he have to do with this?¡± ¡°Beau is the one who set up the house¡¯s wards. They give us a little more privacy and I get an instant warning if they are breached. He has them connected to my mana but he has to remain linked too. He would have been aware immediately yesterday of your.. mana expansion? I¡¯m not sure what you call it. But I reset the wards immediately so that he wouldn¡¯t be alarmed.¡± ¡°I have never called it anything, it has always just naturally been part of my image-manifestation until I tried something different. I wasn¡¯t aware it was an anomaly.¡± ¡°You must also have massive mana reserves..¡± Myra looked pained. ¡°How are we going to keep you a secret? How in the world did Evelyn keep you a secret from your family? They must be unaware or they wouldn¡¯t have let you out of their sight for a second!¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t have a choice. If they didn¡¯t give me the option to come here, all of my grandmother¡¯s estate would have gone to charity.¡± Sharna looked suddenly bitter, ¡°also, most of them avoid thinking about me at all, as they avoided thinking about my mother when she was alive.¡± Chapter 14 Jade Sharna started pacing back and forth across the small room, her emotions too much for her to remain still. Painful and shameful feelings had been building up inside her ever since her grandmother¡¯s death. Just having Myra¡¯s sympathetic presence was enough to release some of the repressed emotions in a gush of vitriol. ¡°I don¡¯t remember my mother. My grandmother told me a lot about her as I grew older. She was treated like garbage -¡± Sharna spat out the word, her face twisted with scorn ¡°- by everyone in her family except my grandmother. Even before she became pregnant with me, her family disliked her.¡± Sharna¡¯s expression cleared as she stared unseeing out the window, it felt cathartic to have the opportunity to get this out, ¡°my mother¡¯s name was Jade. She looked a lot like me but much more beautiful, and wild. I have some pictures of her that my grandmother made.¡± Sharna paused, as she looked for the right words to explain. ¡°My grandfather was very authoritarian and expected strict adherence to his whims, he wanted everyone to fit into a box but my mother didn¡¯t. Adhere or fit. This enraged him, he didn''t want to deal with her so he decided to send her away at fifteen to board at the academy in the capital.¡± Sharna looked back at Myra, ¡°She didn¡¯t want to go, she hated being away from home, away from the mountains, even more than she hated her father. She was extremely sensitive to her environment, to the mana flow as well. My grandmother tried to protest on her behalf, but my grandfather was very violent.. so she went.¡± ¡°She was so unhappy there and tried to run away, but my grandfather paid a gang of thugs to drag her back. She didn¡¯t attempt it again.¡± Sharna looked down at her hands and unclenched them. Her grandmother hadn''t given her many details about this abduction and she hadn''t asked for them. ¡°Eventually she made some friends at the academy and settled in. She wasn''t happy but she became acclimatised.¡± Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Sharna took a deep breath and continued, as she struggled over the next part of her story. ¡°She got pregnant with me a year later, the academy tried to keep it secret and sent her back home ¡®for family reasons¡¯. The rumours got out anyway. My grandfather was enraged and the family all sided with him. She refused to say who the father was even though my grandfather almost killed her.¡± Sharna''s voice broke a little here. Myra started to reach out her hand awkwardly, but Sharna waved her away. She wanted to get this all out at once. ¡°After my mother had recovered enough to walk, my grandmother ran away with her in the night, helped by a couple of staff that were loyal to her. They left with nothing but the clothes they were wearing. The two of them stayed at The Pillars until after I was born.¡± ¡°The healers said that my mother was permanently weakened from my grandfather''s attack, that¡¯s why she died so young. My grandmother and I moved back home after her death, when I was two. Apparently my grandfather was inconsolable about her death.¡± Sharna¡¯s voice was flat, emotionless. ¡°My grandfather died not long after and my family tried to kick us out,¡± Sharna smiled wryly at this, ¡°however, my grandmother was extremely well-connected and my grandfather¡¯s will was airtight. Everything was left to her when he died so she could look after me. He was trying to ¡®repent¡¯ for the way he treated my mother.¡± She snorted with disgust. Sharna could feel herself winding down but wanted to get out this final part. ¡°It¡¯s been hushed up, but my grandmother¡¯s death was at the hands of my family, her family. They expected her to leave everything to me. I could be controlled more easily. She didn¡¯t want me forced to marry anyone so she left her estate to my uncle with certain stipulations. It¡¯s my fault she died,¡± Sharna¡¯s eyes shone with unshed tears, ¡°I was weak and they knew they could get her estate through me. If I¡¯d only been stronger..¡± Sharna looked back at Myra, who was looking stunned at Sharna¡¯s disclosures. Sharna immediately felt a little ashamed of her outburst, ¡°I¡¯m sorry Myra, that was a lot to dump on you. Thank you for listening. Would you mind passing this on to Anna as well, I don¡¯t know if I have the capacity to explain it all again.¡± Myra nodded mutely. Sharna distantly felt self-conscious, she hadn¡¯t intended to say so much but it was a relief to get some things off her chest. She had had no one since her grandmother had died. ¡°I think I¡¯ll go out into the garden and get some air,¡± she told Myra. Myra nodded again. Sharna headed through the sitting room to the garden outside, her mind blank. Sharing her sordid family history with Myra had pushed her past her limits for the day, she had shut down and was left feeling only numbness. Chapter 15 Garden Sharna pushed through the glass door and closed it gently behind her. She had always found that being in nature tended to calm her, but she didn''t find any immediate relief today in the greenery. Her racing thoughts had stilled for now, but she knew they would be back when the numbness wore off. She guessed it would be a while before Quinn came back with more information. Acquainting herself with the garden¡¯s layout, she wandered aimlessly through the well-maintained space. The garden was much more extensive than she had initially thought. The front garden was fenced off from the road and half of it was taken up with a large gravel circle for traffic. The other half was very neat flower beds that were a riot of colour at this time of year, interspersed with lush lawn and beautiful mature trees. There were a few well spaced chairs and low tables that invited leisurely outdoor recreation. The back garden was very different. It was equally well-maintained, Sharna idly wondered if they employed a gardener or if was one of the residents of the house, but it was much wilder. A meandering path tracked through the trees but the garden was full of layered levels of native plants that appeared charmingly random. After multiple failed gardening attempts herself, Sharna was sure that this ¡®randomness¡¯ would have taken a considerable amount of planning. There were lots of insects and birds busily going about their day, and Sharna was sure that the bushes hid small animals as well. As she followed the path away from the house, Sharna could hear running water getting louder. Eventually she came to an adorable clearing. A creek ran across the far side, it was definitely too small to be the river, but wide enough that she would be unable to jump over it. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. A picnic table was set in under a large eucalyptus tree. The tree had a thick rope attached to it that hung over the water, with a large knot tied on the bottom end. A brick firepit stood a little distance away with the remains of a bonfire in it. The firepit was surrounded with large logs that looked like they were used for seats. She wandered over to inspect the firepit, the remains of the last bonfire didn¡¯t look like they had been rained on, so she thought it must have been used recently. Sharna sat on one of the logs and stared at the blackened fireplace. She had never been camping, her grandmother had not been interested in the least, and she had never had any friends that were not either her magic tutors, part of their staff, or her grandmother¡¯s friends. She leaned back on her hands and looked around the space, there was definitely a flat grassy area that was designated for sleeping, away from the tree. Maybe in the summer she could camp out here. She''d love to go to sleep under the stars. Maybe one of the others would like to come with her. Sharna stood and walked over to the flat, cleared area and lay down in the soft grass. She was shaded from the sun by the enormous eucalyptus, but the day was warm. She reached her hand up as she stared at the blue, cloudless sky. It had been a long time since she had not been busy. Before her grandmother had died, there had not been enough time in the day to learn all the new things, practise the new discoveries, and to share her findings with her grandmother. Not enough time for all the laughter and love. Sharna¡¯s hand dropped to her stomach. She had been so wilfully ignorant in her happiness. After her grandmother had died, there was a different kind of business. Now, Sharna found that she had nowhere she had to be, nothing she had to do. No one expected anything of her yet. Her strong drive to learn, improve, and grow had left her and she felt a little unbalanced. Sharna¡¯s restless energy from the morning had completely disappeared and she felt herself getting drowsy listening to the running water and the droning bees. She drifted off to sleep in the grass. Chapter 16 Camping Friend Sharna awoke with the sun on her face. Feeling a lot more peaceful but still a little groggy from her impromptu nap, she put up her hand to shield her face and squinting, she opened her eyes. ¡°Morning sunshine.¡± ¡°Gah!¡± Someone unfamiliar was sitting cross legged on the grass next to her. Shocked into alertness, Sharna hurriedly pushed herself up and away into a sitting position. ¡°Very eloquent there,¡± he smirked, obviously enjoying her confusion. He was blonde, around her age or a little older, very long limbed and very attractive. Self consciously, Sharna ran her hand over her hair and adjusted the hem of her skirt. ¡°Hello?¡± He smiled and held out his hand, ¡°I''m Link, mum came over to see Myra, and Laynie and I tagged along. They sent me out to find you when you didn''t come back.¡± Sharna shook his hand, it was warm and dry and marked with calluses. ¡°Don''t worry, I haven''t been here long, I would have woken you up if you hadn''t started stirring soon.¡± ¡°I''m Sharna, nice to meet you.¡± Sharna pulled her hand back quickly, reddening, how long had he been watching her sleeping? What if she had been drooling! He smirked again, as if reading her thoughts. Then looking down he started pulling out the grass, ¡°so you''re going to be staying here for a bit? That''s good, mum said you''d be helping with her dress so Myra must think pretty highly of you.¡± ¡°Oh no, Myra''s just being kind and letting me help.¡± Link looked sceptical at her response but said nothing and looked back down to continue pulling out the grass. ¡°So you¡¯re Deidre¡¯s son?¡± Sharna guessed. ¡°You must be excited that your sister is getting married soon.¡± ¡°Yeah, she''s so old now, we thought it would never happen.¡± Link shrugged and looked bored with the topic. Sharna was confused. ¡°How old is Laynie? How old are you?¡± Link chuckled, ¡°there¡¯s a bit of a gap. There''s 6 of us, mum and dad had the first three right after they got married. Laynie is number three. Then ten years later they had three more. So she''s 33, practically over the hill. Apparently she was at school with your mum. I heard her telling Myra when she found out who you were, then they all kicked me out to go and find you. I''m 19, the baby, they saved the best for last.¡± Link said this last part smugly, then looked confused, ¡°wait, how old does that make you?¡± The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Sharna¡¯s mind was racing, she had just been talking about her mother and now one of her schoolmates showed up? That was some crazy coincidence. She answered, slightly bemused, ¡°I''m 17, my mother had me very young, she must have been a year or two above Laynie.¡± ¡°Oh, that''s good,¡± Link looked relieved at this news. Sharna was confused, ¡°is it?¡± The tips of Link''s ears reddened, which Sharna found surprisingly attractive, ¡°well yeah.. Just.. You know.. It''s a good age.. To.. Start an apprenticeship, yeah, that¡¯s what I meant, it''s the perfect apprenticeship age.¡± Pleased with himself, he smiled at Sharna. Sharna narrowed her eyes at him, feeling like she had missed something important but didn''t know what it was, so she decided to move on. ¡°Have you been camping before?¡± Link relaxed and started shredding a leaf. ¡°Yeah, dad used to take us all the time, the younger half of us anyway. Why do you ask? Haven¡¯t you been camping?¡± ¡°I''ve always wanted to go but my grandmother hated camping. I was thinking I''d love to come and camp here during the summer, maybe go swimming too. It''s so beautiful,¡± Sharna looked at the creek longingly. ¡°Aww, why didn''t your parents just take you then?¡± Sharna cringed and paused, wishing that she didn''t have to repeat this so frequently. Link looked across at her with head tilted as the moment lengthened, ¡°uh, my mother died when I was little and I don''t have a father.¡± She rushed out and then added, so she could get it all over with at once, ¡°also my grandmother died recently.¡± Link stopped ripping up the leaf and his eyes softened with sympathy. ¡°That sounds really rough, I''m sorry.¡± Sharna shrugged, ¡°thanks.¡± There was silence for a little while but it wasn''t uncomfortable. Link found another leaf to break apart and Sharna adjusted her seated position so that she was now holding her knees. ¡°I''m pretty sure the others spend a bit of time down here, don''t know if they have camped though.¡± Link scratched his head, ¡°we probably have some extra camp stuff at home if you want to borrow it. And if you let me know when you''re camping then maybe I can join you with a couple of buddies?¡± ¡°That sounds great!¡± Sharna hugged her knees gleefully, ¡°hopefully it¡¯s okay with everyone else.¡± Link smiled and leaned closer, ¡°Hey, maybe some time -¡± ¡°Well, well, well, what have we here?¡± A very amused Gogo was standing at the end of the path with her hands on her hips, smiling hugely at the two of them. ¡°Great, there goes our peace,¡± Link sighed and leaned back. ¡°You move pretty quickly,¡± Gogo said, looking appraisingly at Link. ¡°She only got here yesterday.¡± ¡°Not quick enough,¡± Link muttered under his breath. ¡°What was that, didn''t quite hear you?¡± said Gogo, holding her hand behind her ear dramatically, eyes glittering mischievously. ¡°Deidre sent me to come and get you because you never came back. Don''t worry, I can let her know that you two -¡± she stressed the word ¡°- are busy, I''m sure she and Laynie won''t mind at all when I tell them.¡± ¡°I''m up, we''re coming¡± said Link, jumping up instantly and brushing off his pants. He held out his hand to help Sharna up, she blushed as she met his eyes and grabbed his hand again, enjoying the feeling of his fingers in hers. Gogo walked over and purposely bumped Link as she passed, knocking his hand out of Sharna¡¯s, and linking arms with Sharna instead. Sharna smiled at their antics, they seemed very comfortable with each other. Link rolled his eyes at Gogo, ¡°you''re such a pain, Gogo.¡± Gogo smiled sweetly at him and escorted Sharna back to the house as Sharna chatted with her about summer camping plans. Link following behind. Chapter 17 Mothers friend Back inside, the three headed to the sitting room. Sharna realised that she had been asleep for a few hours, she had probably missed out on lunch. Myra smiled at Sharna as she entered, she looked calmer, like she had had time to process what Sharna had divulged earlier. Gogo let go of Sharna and ran ahead to give the two guests sitting with Myra and Anna a significant look as she said, ¡°I found them, they were having a real heart to heart outside.¡± ¡°That is just so interesting, Link, we would love to hear all about that,¡± the younger of the women in the sitting room had straightened and smirked at Link, who appeared to be studying the ceiling with fascination, trying to appear unaware of the group''s sudden interest in him. The older woman stood and came forward to meet them, smiling at Sharna, ¡°just ignore them. I''m so pleased to meet you, my dear, I''m Deidre and this is my daughter, Laynie.¡± She gestured at the woman who was still watching Link with a mischievous expression. ¡°Myra was showing me your plans for my poor dress, she said that you''re a very talented young lady.¡± Sharna shook her hand, warmed by Deidre''s kind greeting. ¡°I''m Sharna, I''m pleased to meet you too. It¡¯s such a beautiful dress, I¡¯m so happy to be working on it, I''m afraid that Myra is just being kind in letting me help though.¡± Deidre turned and looked at Myra, ¡°she''s just as delightful as you said.¡± She turned back to look at Link, smiling with amusement, ¡°and it appears that you''ve already charmed my son.¡± The tips of Link¡¯s ears reddened again, and Sharna felt her face becoming hot, ¡°not at all, we were just talking..¡± Deidre patted her arm, ¡°don''t worry, I''m just teasing Link, he''s always had an eye for a pretty woman.¡± ¡°You''ve never looked at me twice, Link,¡± Gogo pouted. ¡°She said a pretty woman, not a kooky, overgrown child,¡± Link replied sweetly, having regained his composure. Gogo lunged to hit Link but he dodged away, hiding behind his mother. Sharna started giggling, she couldn''t help herself, they were both so childish. Link and Gogo grinned back at her, then they heard a gasp from across the room and everyone turned to face the other guest. Sharna was surprised to see Laynie looking at her with tears running down her face. Deidre rushed over and crouched in front of her, chafing her hands gently, ¡°what''s the matter, honey?¡± If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°I''m sorry,¡± Laynie said, trying to rub away her tears with her hands, but they continued to fall. Anna silently rose and handed her a box of tissues. Laynie grabbed a handful from the box and blew her nose loudly. ¡°I''m sorry.¡± Deidre looked more concerned, ¡°what is it, Laynie?¡± ¡°I''m sorry,¡± Laynie looked at Sharna again, ¡°I wasn''t expecting this, you look exactly like your mother. I didn¡¯t know you were here and when you laughed..¡± she started crying again. ¡°I''m sorry,¡± Sharna said, holding her hands towards Laynie helplessly, at a loss for what was expected of her. She turned to look at Link, who shrugged sympathetically. Laynie flapped one hand at her in response, the other wiping her face with her ball of tissues, ¡°it''s not your fault¡±. ¡°She¡¯s right,¡± Deidre said, half turning to Sharna, while patting Laynie¡¯s knee gently, ¡°it''s not your fault, Laynie was very surprised to hear that you were Myra''s new apprentice. She was friends with your mother at school.¡± Rising, Deidre patted Laynie''s knee and sat beside her on the couch, Laynie leaned in to be held by her mother. She was beginning to sound less distressed. ¡°We¡¯ve actually met before you know,¡± said Deidre conversationally, looking at Sharna kindly as she stroked Laynie''s hair. ¡°Laynie and I went to visit Jade a few times at The Pillars after you were born.¡± She smiled wistfully, ¡°you were just delicious, and Jade adored showing you off. But she was so weak that we couldn''t visit often.¡± Sharna froze in place, she found that she suddenly had tears welling up behind her eyes and silently running down her face. She felt Link move in protectively and pat her back. Gogo looked at him curiously, Deidre approvingly, Sharna filed both reactions away to think about later. Watching Link, Gogo took Sharna slightly possessively by the arm, and guided her away to sit in an armchair, perching herself on the armrest. Sharna sat stiffly while Gogo draped an arm over her shoulder. Anna reached over and patted Sharna¡¯s hand, and passed her the box of tissues. Laynie smiled at Sharna wetly, ¡°I''m sorry, I didn''t want to even bring this up with you today, I wanted to take some time so I could be more composed.¡± ¡°It''s fine, I don''t even know why I''m crying,¡± Sharna grabbed a tissue from Anna and angrily wiped her eyes. ¡°It''s so stupid, I''m so emotional today.¡± ¡°You have been through a massive ordeal recently.¡± Myra said sternly, ¡°it''s only been a month since your grandmother died, of course your emotions will be in turmoil. Also, have you even met anyone before that knew your mother, that wasn''t Evelyn or your horrible family?¡± ¡°Yes, of course I have, some of my grandmother''s friends, some of our staff..¡± ¡°But none of your mother¡¯s friends?¡± Myra pressed. ¡°I never thought about it. I wouldn''t have known how to start finding them anyway without my grandmother. I''ve only ever talked about her with my grandmother.¡± Sharna said thoughtfully. ¡°That would give you a very narrow view of who she was as a person,¡± Deidre interjected, ¡°my children are very different people with their friends than they are with me.¡± She gave Laynie''s head a final pat and stood, ¡°I think that it would be a good idea if you got to know each other better, Laynie was devastated when your mother died, but perhaps you should settle in here a little more first.¡± ¡°Mum, I''m old enough to make my own plans,¡± Laynie groused, ¡°but she''s right, Sharna. Maybe we could talk another time?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like that,¡± said Sharna, suddenly shy,and relieved that she had finally stopped crying. Laynie smiled at her. ¡°Right,¡± said Deidre resolutely, clapping her hands together, ¡°let¡¯s get out of here. Lovely to meet you Sharna, love the changes to my dress, we¡¯ll see you again soon.¡± ¡°See you soon,¡± Laynie said. ¡°Me too,¡± added Link, smiling warmly at Sharna. Myra walked them out and Sharna sunk further into her chair. ¡°So, Link huh?¡± Gogo asked, eyebrows raised. ¡°You are such a pain!¡± Sharna said, playfully pushing her. Gogo nearly fell off the chair, while Anna watched on, shaking her head at them both. Chapter 18 Feelings Sharna couldn¡¯t believe how tired she was now, her whole body felt weighed down. Even with her long nap, she still felt heavily drained. After Deidre and family had left, she went to look for Marjorie to ask for something to eat. ¡°Are you all right?¡± Marjorie asked her, concerned. ¡°You¡¯re looking very pale,¡± she held her hand over Sharna¡¯s forehead, ¡°you feel okay.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just really tired,¡± Sharna said, smiling wearily. ¡°I want you to head up to bed, there¡¯s been a lot of transition happening for you and you need to look after yourself. I¡¯ve just made some pumpkin soup and I¡¯ll bring it up with some bread on a tray. You can eat it in bed.¡± Marjorie¡¯s face brooked no argument and Sharna was happy to be coddled and told what to do. Marjorie shooed her out and she headed upstairs to put on some pyjamas. By the time Marjorie knocked at her door, Sharna was changed and sitting up in her bed with her pillows behind her back. ¡°Good girl, eat up your soup and then you can maybe have a sleep. I told Anna that you¡¯re up here resting and she¡¯ll let the others know.¡± She lay the tray on Sharna¡¯s lap, fussed with her pillows and then left, closing the door gently behind her. The soup was amazing, Sharna hadn¡¯t realised just how hungry she was. It was thick and creamy with lots of herbs and salt; and the bread was still hot from the oven. Bliss. She ate everything with relish, then reached over to lay the tray on her bedside table. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Her bed was warm, the sheets soft and inviting and she snuggled in, cuddling a pillow. Sharna felt safe and cared for. It was such a foreign feeling; she started to cry. She cried for her grandmother, for her mother, and for herself. She cried for Laynie, for her father, for the family that she never got to have. She cried thinking about Deidre comforting her daughter, and how she had missed out on that with her own mother. Her whole body shook with sobs and she buried her face in the pillow. She felt the grief and loss with every part of herself. She missed her grandmother more every day, and now that she had released her hold on her grief it felt like it was drowning her. While she had remained with her uncle, she had kept herself aloof, separate from those murderous thugs. Knowing that she was unsafe without her grandmother''s protection mooring her in place, she had tried to repress all of her feelings so that she could keep a clear head while her life was in limbo and everything around her was in disarray. Her only outlet in this time had been trying to plan her escape, and creating Quinn. Now, as she thought of Quinn, her anguish peaked and a powerful burst of need came from her heart, from her soul, from deep within. In response, as pure reflex, liquid mana pulsed out from her like a jet, searching for the other piece of herself. ¡°Sharna!¡± Quinn was there, instantly. She dove at Sharna, and Sharna cradled her to her chest lovingly, appreciating the stability of her delicate warmth. They were both silent as they enjoyed the overpowering relief that the contact gave them. Sharna marvelled at the immediacy of Quinn¡¯s arrival, and what this represented in terms of knowledge. The door flew open. Sharna looked up in surprise to see Myra standing there out of breath, holding on to the door handle, with her chest heaving. She stared at them with a mixture of panic and disbelief. They looked at each other in silence for a moment, and Sharna heard someone else thundering up the stairs, ¡°Myra! What¡¯s going on, are you okay?¡± Beau burst through the door behind Myra, looking around the room wildly until his eyes settled on Sharna, and then down to what she was holding. Sharna blinked at them, her face still covered in tears, and then looked down with dismay at the clearly visible Quinn. ¡°Well, this is not ideal.¡± Quinn said. That¡¯s certainly an understatement, Sharna thought, mind racing as she looked at Myra and Beau¡¯s bemused expressions. Chapter 19 More Introductions Sharna sighed internally, she hadn''t even been introduced to Beau and this was the second time he''d seen her in her pyjamas. She had to stop herself from smiling at the ridiculous direction her thoughts had taken in this particular moment. At least her crying fit seemed to have served as a catalyst of sorts. Sharna felt lighter, less fearful of her future or the potential fallout from sharing her secrets. So she smiled broadly at Myra and Beau, holding the fluffy ball of light that was Quinn towards them, ¡°this is Quinn, she''s a fairy I made using soul genesis manifestation.¡± Quinn floated up from Sharna¡¯s hands, flew in a circle around Beau and Myra''s heads and then rested back with Sharna again. They both gasped. ¡°Hello,¡± said Quinn smugly. Sharna quirked her mouth at Quinn''s antics, then looked at Myra again with seriousness, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I know you didn''t want to know anything else about my powers yet. I was going to wait to tell you, but I guess the cat¡¯s out of the bag now.¡± She looked at Beau and put her hand over her mouth in sudden dismay. Was that language disrespectful to one of the Catkin? As though he could tell what she was thinking, Beau smirked at her ¡°hi,¡± he waved, ¡°I''m Beau, nice to meet you properly. Did you produce that mana pulse earlier?¡± Sharna¡¯s eyes twinkled as she smiled back at him, despite the situation she felt another frisson of attraction. ¡°I know, I''m Sharna, hi.¡± ¡°I know,¡± his smile now more pronounced. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°Anyway..¡± said Myra, giving them both an exasperated look, and gesturing for Sharna to continue. ¡°Right,¡± said Sharna, ¡°um, sorry about that, it''s been a pretty full day, or month actually. I suddenly felt like I needed Quinn and she was out exploring..¡± She stopped as they heard someone calling up the stairs, ¡°what''s happening, is everything alright?¡± It was Eliza. Myra called back over her shoulder, ¡°everything is totally fine, just a misunderstanding, Sharna and I are just having a chat.¡± Myra shoved Beau into the room and closed the door behind them. She turned to Sharna, ¡°I thought that you were going to wait to use your magic until we had a chance to discuss this further.¡± Sharna sighed, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I know we spoke about that, but it was a reflex. I didn¡¯t know that it was going to happen, or that I could even call for Quinn like that. I¡¯ve never done anything like that before.¡± ¡°It was a pretty intense spike, anyone in the area who is sensitive to the flow of magic would have been able to feel it.¡± Beau said slowly. Myra gave him a sharp look, ¡°surely you¡¯re overstating. It interfered with your wards, of course you would be able to feel it.¡± Beau spread out his hands, ¡°I felt it when it hit the wards, sure, but I felt the flow of it shift my personal mana as well. Part of our natural affinity to cleansing magic has to do with mana purity and source as well. Any Catkin in a large radius would have felt that pulse. But we¡¯re not the only ones that have sensitivity to mana flow.¡± Myra nodded, her expression tight. Sharna now felt her palms getting sweaty, she was starting to realise that this was a bigger deal than she had thought. ¡°I was waiting for a chance to speak with you privately, but yesterday''s interference with the wards was also Sharna¡¯s work. It was some kind of mana expansion associated with her image-manifestation.¡± ¡°That was also you?¡± Beau whistled, then thought for a moment. ¡°That wave that you sent out yesterday, I can help you set up some barriers that would conceal something like that, although probably not stop it, and there¡¯s no way I could stop that spike you sent out before. I don¡¯t know of anything that could.¡± Beau sounded impressed. Despite her worry, Sharna felt herself preening a little at the compliment. ¡°Is there something else that we could blame it on if anyone traces it back here?¡± Myra looked at Beau. All of them were silent as they considered possible solutions. Chapter 20 Excuses Beau started to pace across the room and Sharna could see his tail twitching as he thought. It was black to match his ears, but with a little orange through it, the fur shiny and plush. She wanted to reach out and stroke it but thought that would be extremely disrespectful. Myra sat on the edge of Gogo¡¯s bed and stared at Quinn, until Quinn flew out of Sharna¡¯s hands and hid in her hair. Sharna was amused, Quinn always seemed so fearless but they had never introduced her to anyone before. At last, Beau stopped pacing and smiled, ¡°I think I have an idea. You use mana crystals to run the oven right?¡± ¡°Yes, and the sauna and hot water, why?¡± ¡°Okay good.¡± Beau closed his eyes, ¡°what if we said that the spike came from Sharna attempting to use image-manifestation on the mana crystals.¡± ¡°Why would she do that?¡± Myra looked confused. ¡°Sharna needs a project thing to work on, right? The rest of you all do extra stuff. Well, maybe she was trying to use image-manifestation on the crystallised mana and it caused that spike of mana.¡± ¡°Does it send off pulses like that?¡± Myra¡¯s brow creased as she watched Beau. Beau replied patiently, ¡°no clue, but it doesn¡¯t matter if it does in reality or not.¡± Sharna continued, becoming excited as she grasped Beau¡¯s idea, ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter because if someone wanted some kind of proof, I could just pulse out some mana while using image-manifestation on the crystal. That is brilliant! Thanks Beau!¡± Beau blushed, ¡°no probs, happy to help,¡± he replied gruffly. ¡°Probably no one will have noticed or cared, but I think that will work as an excuse if anyone does ask. And if it accidentally happens again we can just say that Sharna had an idea she wanted to try on the mana crystals and the pulse was the result. Perfect.¡± Myra smiled at Beau. ¡°And the barrier for Sharna¡¯s normal image-manifestation work? Can we just add that to the house¡¯s wards?¡± Beau shook his head, ¡°no, she¡¯ll have to do that herself,¡± he turned to Sharna, ¡°don¡¯t worry, I can teach you.¡± Myra frowned a little, ¡°her specialisation is image-manifestation, do you really think she¡¯ll be able to create barriers, they¡¯re not in the same field.¡± Sharna smiled, ¡°if Beau is happy to teach me then it will be fine. Over the years I have realised that magic is all about perception anyway. You need to be careful that you don¡¯t let your perception restrict your magic and I can definitely see how manifesting a barrier could have similarities to manifesting an image.¡± You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°Over the years,¡± Myra muttered disdainfully, ¡°you¡¯re all of seventeen.¡± ¡°Nearly eighteen,¡± said Sharna brightly. Beau chuckled, ¡°well I¡¯m already eighteen, and with the wisdom that¡¯s come with age, I agree with Sharna. If you want to send her over to my house tomorrow I can have a crack at teaching her to design some wards that will work with what she needs. I think I¡¯ll get mum to give us a hand.¡± He looked at Sharna with a roguish smile, ¡°it might be a bit distracting with just the two of us.¡± Sharna blushed and looked down, smiling. Myra snorted, ¡°alright, you can go now Beau,¡± her expression softened, ¡°and thanks for your help, we really appreciate it.¡± ¡°Yeah, thanks so much,¡± Sharna echoed, shyly. ¡°No worries, any time. See you tomorrow Sharna.¡± Beau waved his hand and was gone. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have caused you all this trouble Myra,¡± Sharna said earnestly. Myra snorted again and Sharna idly wondered if she always snorted this much, or if it was just a habit inspired by Sharna. ¡°We always knew, Anna and I, what we were getting into when we first heard from you. Well -¡± she scratched her nose, and corrected herself, ¡°-not everything, we had no idea of your capabilities. But for better or worse, being the granddaughter of Evelyn Erikson is going to mean that people are always watching you, and now watching us.¡± Sharna protested at this, ¡°nobody has ever been particularly interested in me, grandmother and I kept a very low profile.¡± Myra tilted her head and looked at Sharna piercingly. ¡°And yet, you had masters in their fields of magic willing to drop everything to tutor you.¡± Sharna sputtered, ¡°it was just my grandmother¡¯s friends and no one dropped everything..¡± ¡°Yes, they were your grandmother¡¯s friends, but you can¡¯t tell me that you don¡¯t know that your grandmother was a heavily influential politician, as well as being one of the most renowned experts on image-manifestation. Along with Linda Whitlock, who happened to be one of your tutors and who literally wrote THE book on the subject.¡± Sharna shook her head and tried to interject, but Myra continued persistently, ¡°Also, Kenji Sato and Amos Smythe both took leaves of absence from their work over the last few years to tutor you. Kenji is the professor of soul magics at Stellarc¡¯s top university, while Amos is employed BY THE PALACE as their expert on precognition. You mentioned all three of them giving you private tuition in your application.¡± Sharna was feeling very uncomfortable under Myra¡¯s gaze, and shifted nervously, Quinn darted out from Sharna¡¯s hair and spoke roughly to Myra, ¡°stop it, she never asked for any special treatment!¡± Myra shook her head sadly at Quinn¡¯s assertion, ¡°I know she didn¡¯t, but that doesn¡¯t change the fact that she has received special treatment. Important, highly educated people like these don¡¯t just show up for anyone who asks to be taught. I am sorry to force this on you but I really need you to understand that people will be watching you, and most will not be neutral.¡± ¡°What do you mean by ¡®most will not be neutral¡¯?¡± Myra took a deep breath, she stared at Sharna as though determining how to word her response. ¡°You know that your grandmother was a very public figure. She was beloved by many, many people due to her charitable projects, her ground-breaking work in equality and her innovative ideas around manifestation.¡± Sharna nodded, she was extremely aware of the long shadow that her grandmother had cast. ¡°Well, not everyone wanted all of those changes. There was value to some very rich and powerful people in continuing inequality.¡± Myra tried to choose her words very deliberately, and watched Sharna carefully for her response. ¡°For example, some people may have preferred that women not be rescued from trouble or poverty so they could benefit from their desperation.¡± Sharna nodded, understanding Myra¡¯s concern, ¡°I have been well-informed about human trafficking.¡± Myra was relieved, ¡°okay, you¡¯re still very young and I wasn¡¯t sure what your grandmother had explained to you.¡± Sharna didn¡¯t correct Myra¡¯s assumption that it was her grandmother that had taught her about trafficking. Many of the women that she had met on their trips to The Pillars were trafficking victims that had been rescued through the charity¡¯s efforts. In truth, Sharna probably knew a lot more about the sordid situations that these women had been forced into than Myra did. ¡°So people are watching me, waiting for me to stuff up so they can blame it on my grandmother,¡± Sharna guessed. Myra blinked at Sharna¡¯s response, ¡°yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try to be more uninteresting for now, I definitely don¡¯t want to cause trouble for you or Anna, but once I am a little older and more settled, they¡¯re not going to know what hit them.¡± The devilry in Sharna¡¯s smile made Myra wonder how she could have explained the situation differently. Chapter 21 Plans ¡°Anyway, what about Quinn?¡± Myra asked, firmly changing the subject. ¡°What about me?¡± Quinn piped up aggressively. Sharna held out her hand to Quinn, trying to calm the fiery fairy. ¡°I can¡¯t keep her a secret from the others. It will be too difficult while we share so many living spaces. And I don¡¯t want them to find out later and feel hurt that I didn¡¯t trust them with something so important.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± said Myra, ¡°maybe we could tell them together though, that way I can stress the importance of keeping this a secret.¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t say anything to Beau about keeping quiet about Quinn,¡± Sharna suddenly remembered. ¡°I¡¯m not worried about Beau, he knows more than anyone the importance of secrets.¡± Myra said mysteriously, Sharna waited but Myra obviously had no intention of elaborating further. ¡°Great,¡± said Quinn, spiralling up around Sharna''s head, ¡°I won''t have to hide in your pockets anymore.¡± Sharna smiled as she watched Quinn''s antics. It would be such a relief to stop awkwardly trying to hide her. Sharna really hoped that all of them would become close friends and knew that secrets were never a great start, and Quinn was fun. Sharna wondered how she would get on with Gogo particularly. Meanwhile, Myra was watching Sharna, her eyes crinkled with concern. ¡°What would you like to do now? Will you come down for dinner or would you rather stay in bed?¡± ¡°I really want to stay in bed. Can we wait to tell everyone about Quinn tomorrow? I am just so exhausted.¡± To Sharna¡¯s surprise, she started to tear up again. ¡°Oh my dear, of course it''s okay.¡± Myra moved across to Sharna''s bed, she held out her arms and Sharna sank into them. Sharna was touched, she got the feeling that Myra was not a natural cuddler but she still held her until Sharna pushed herself away. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Thanks,¡± Sharna said, embarrassed, crossing her arms over her chest. ¡°And maybe we can tell everyone about Quinn after breakfast tomorrow.¡± ¡°I can hide in your pocket for one more night,¡± Quinn sighed dramatically. ¡°Thanks Quinn, you¡¯re the best.¡± Sharna pursed her lips so she didn¡¯t let out a smirk. ¡°I know,¡± Quinn replied smugly. Myra looked on in bemusement, ¡°Quinn seems a little.. different from you, does soul genesis affect personality? Also,¡± it was as though Myra had suddenly remembered what they were talking about, and her rapid change in posture and resolution was almost comical. The questions started to fly out of her mouth, ¡°how is it possible that you performed soul genesis? It has nothing to do with image-manifestation, did one of your tutors perform some magic on you? I have never even heard of anyone performing this kind of magic. Have you seen it before?¡± Sharna grabbed Myra¡¯s arm gently, her eyes silently imploring her to stop, and Myra slumped. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s just that I¡¯ve never heard of anything like this before.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s okay, can I wait and talk about Quinn tomorrow when we tell the others? I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll all have their own questions too.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be able to answer questions too,¡± said Quinn, snuggling into Sharna¡¯s ear. Myra smiled at them, ¡°of course, I¡¯ll leave you both to rest now.¡± Myra rose and headed for the door, as she was about to open it, she turned back to Sharna, hand still on the doorknob. ¡°Also Sharna, I just want to give you a heads up about Beau before you visit tomorrow.¡± Sharna stiffened, certain she was going to get some kind of lecture about propriety but Myra¡¯s next words were in a completely different direction. ¡°Beau¡¯s family is not well off. I don¡¯t know how much experience you have had with poverty before. His parents were both Catkin, and his father was killed in a race-related incident when he was ten. They have no extended family and his mother raised him and his little sister on her own.¡± Myra smiled and went on, ¡°the three of them have a lovely relationship, and now that Beau is old enough to work their financial situation is finally starting to change. However, by necessity, they have had to live in very austere conditions.¡± Sharna found herself bristling with indignation at Myra¡¯s insinuation that she would not be able to handle herself at Beau¡¯s house. ¡°Myra.. You know that my grandmother was one of the founders of The Pillars, right?¡± Myra nodded, unsure where Sharna was heading. ¡°I have been involved in charity work since I was old enough to.. I don¡¯t know, talk? Walk? Probably even before that?¡± Sharna shrugged, ¡°I have visited more people¡¯s homes, in all manner of circumstances, than I would be able to count. If I was such a delicate flower that couldn¡¯t survive being removed from its hothouse, I would not have reached this point in my life.¡± Sharna said in a gently reproving tone. Myra had the grace to look embarrassed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for jumping to conclusions. You are just so young still, and have been raised in such.. uh, favoured conditions. I probably should have realised that your grandmother¡¯s emphasis on education was spread throughout all areas of your life.¡± Sharna nodded, ¡°I understand and appreciate your concern, but my grandmother didn¡¯t keep me wrapped in cotton wool.¡± Chapter 22 Introspection After Myra left, Sharna wriggled down into her bed and cuddled Quinn, neither of them spoke for some time, Sharna was lost in her own thoughts and assumed Quinn was too. It felt foreign to think of Quinn as an individual with her own thoughts and feelings but Sharna knew from their interactions that it was true. But just as Quinn had been separated from Sharna, so could she be returned. As Sharna held the fuzzy ball of light close, she wondered if that would change the person that Sharna was. Not that Sharna would ever want Quinn to disappear, it was just a strange thought. Sharna wondered if it was like having children, they were a mix of both parents but somehow each child was different, finding an empty space and changing themselves to fit. There was already a Sharna in the Sharna-shaped space, so Quinn had diverged to find her own unique place. Quinn was so funny, and adventurous. Was it possible that Sharna was shifting to become less funny and less adventurous to compensate? She wondered too what Quinn thought about, now that they were separated, their thoughts could follow different paths. Did Quinn want a more corporeal body or was she happy as she was. Although Quinn was in no way obedient to Sharna, Sharna still worried that because Quinn knew how Sharna thought, she may give in to what Sharna wanted because she knew that any requests were coming from a good place. Listening to Beau talk about image-manifestation onto mana crystals had started wheels turning in Sharna''s brain. Mana crystals were formed in caves in areas that were extremely mana rich. When the levels became too high, the mana would condense on the surfaces forming a solid crystal. While some were mined from deep ancient deposits, the majority of the mana crystals used came from regular harvesting in areas that they were known to naturally regrow. Sharna hadn''t been entirely sure how to go about giving Quinn a corporeal form. Quinn''s current form; the fluffy ball of light, had been formed directly out of ambient mana. While Quinn gave off some warmth, there was no solidity to her current incarnation. Because there was not a lot of research that Sharna had been able to find about practical application of soul genesis, at the time she had only focused on the separation and individualisation of her soul in her manifestation. Quinn¡¯s current nonmaterial form was the result. However, Sharna thought that by using the same concept of the natural crystals¡¯ formation, she could practise condensing mana into a solid object that she could use for Quinn¡¯s embodiment. But even if she was able to achieve this, they would both have to agree on a form. Sharna also worried that a transition like this might change who Quinn innately was. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. She shivered. Deciding this train of thought was unhelpful right now, she moved her mind in a different direction. ¡°Quinn?¡± ¡°Mm yeah?¡± ¡°Myra said there''s a local market where the herbalists sell their excess, so we should check that out. But I think they want me to follow the others around for a few days before I settle into any particular project. What did you discover today?¡± ¡°Nothing exciting, I did reconnaissance at a few of the more interesting gardens to find out who was looking after them, I can point the herbalists out to you when we go to the market.¡± ¡°That sounds good, thanks.¡± They were both silent for a few more minutes. ¡°I found Beau''s house today too, I was going to tell you about him but then he was here. I think his mum was there but not his sister. They have a really interesting garden too. Not medicinal exactly, but a lot of purifying plants. They look like they have been planted to follow some kind of pattern, ley lines or something maybe?¡± ¡°That¡¯s interesting. I don¡¯t know anything about ley lines in this area, but Anna would probably have information about that with her maps.¡± Sharna shrugged, ¡°or I could just ask him, I don¡¯t see why it would be a secret.¡± ¡°Did you find out what the deal is with the river?¡± ¡°No,¡± Sharna rubbed her nose uncomfortably, ¡°it¡¯s been a pretty full on day, and i forgot to ask.¡± ¡°Yeah..¡± Quinn paused, then ¡°that call out you did for me, that was new.¡± Sharna nodded slowly then explained what had happened since Quinn had left that morning ¡°.. and that¡¯s when I felt that I needed you so much that it was like my soul called out for you.¡± Sharna blushed, it sounded even worse when she tried to put it into words but for once Quinn didn¡¯t jump to tease her about it. ¡°I was pretty far out, I was checking out the town¡¯s boundaries towards the north and then suddenly I felt your call and I was just here.¡± ¡°It could be pretty useful. I wonder what the range would be, or how easy it would be for me to do in a normal mental state,¡± Sharna mused. ¡°Yeah, but it seems like we can¡¯t just use it whenever we want if it¡¯s going to stir up a whole heap of drama. Maybe there is some way that you could shield your mana pulse when you call me?¡± ¡°Maybe? I don¡¯t really know much about shielding. Perhaps we¡¯ll get some ideas tomorrow when Beau teaches me how to create my own wards.¡± Sharna smiled, ¡°I¡¯m pretty excited to learn some barrier magic though. It¡¯s not an area that I¡¯ve focused on before, I wonder if Kenji would have any tips, he¡¯s been working on soul magic for years, surely he would need some kind of protections for that.¡± Quinn spiralled up and circled around Sharna¡¯s face, teasingly, ¡°I bet you¡¯re just looking forward to hanging out with Beau.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not it at all!¡± Sharna sputtered, blushing, ¡°I¡¯m just excited for the new skills. You don¡¯t even know what you¡¯re talking about. Anyway, I think we should go to sleep now, it¡¯s been a very long day.¡± ¡°Uh huh,¡± said Quinn blithely, and swooped into Sharna¡¯s pocket, chuckling softly. Chapter 23 Sauna Confessions Sharna woke briefly when Gogo crept into their room later that night but kept still so Gogo would think she was asleep. Gogo took the tray from the soup down to the kitchen, then returned and hopped into her bed. Sharna then dozed off again. When she woke again she knew it was really early in the morning. She stretched out her body and felt herself full of zest and enthusiasm for the day ahead. She snuck out of bed and quietly gathered what she needed and crept out of her room. Making her way down to the sauna, she made sure to keep an eye out for anyone unexpected but the trip was uneventful, this time she kept the door to the area unlocked so that Eliza could join her if she woke in time. Quinn was still asleep which Sharna found surprising. They had gone to bed so early the night before. She removed her pyjamas with extra care anyway to avoid rousing Quinn who was still in her spot in Sharna¡¯s pocket. Then showered and wrapped in her towel, Sharna made her way to the sauna. Again, Sharna noticed the faint citrus scent in the steam when she doused the rocks with water and wondered what they used to create it. The steam had a very pleasant, relaxing effect and she made a mental note to ask the others about it later. She was glad to be on her own again. Being with Quinn was almost as good as being alone but she also needed time without any distractions to gain clarity on what was going on in her own head. The whole day yesterday, and most of the day before, she felt like she had been oversharing. She was hoping that once she had told everyone about Quinn after breakfast, she could just take her time settling into this new life. She leaned back on her hands and looked up at the ceiling. She was unsure of what goals she wanted to chase right now. Learning barrier magic was likely her most important task, other than that she could probably take her time to get to know the people that made up this household and its surroundings. She was looking forward to enjoying a slower pace. She thought of her housemates, Myra, Anna, Gogo, Eliza and Gabby, as well as Beau and Marjorie, and extending further out to include Deidre, Laynie and Link, and Beau¡¯s family who she would meet later this morning. There would likely be many other new people to get to know as she explored further into the village around them too. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. She thought about the village. Sharna hadn¡¯t known anything about Laplace before coming here but she smiled as she thought of how much there was to discover about this place that she would gradually learn to call home. She was glad she finally had the chance to gain some distance from her grandmother¡¯s house; it could never be her home again. If she was honest with herself, it hadn¡¯t felt like home since her grandmother¡¯s death. Sharna heard a knock and turned to see Eliza poking her head in, Eliza noted the remains of the smile on Sharna¡¯s face and returned it. ¡°I was just checking you were here, I¡¯ll have a quick shower and join you.¡± Sharna nodded and Eliza popped back out. From Sharna¡¯s few encounters with Eliza, she already felt a kinship with her. She appeared much more mature than Gabby and Gogo, and more well-informed about the world. She rose to splash more water on the heated rocks and waited for Eliza who returned shortly after, dressed similarly wrapped in a towel. Eliza came and sat on the lower bench next to Sharna and let out a relaxed sigh, ¡°I love saunas but I really wish the seats were more comfortable.¡± ¡°I think this one is pretty good,¡± said Sharna with surprise, twisting to look down at where she was sitting, ¡°the wood is nicely spaced out and all the corners have been smoothed out.¡± ¡°I guess you¡¯re right, I just want a cushion, or my legs to not touch the wood at least.¡± Sharna chuckled, ¡°there¡¯s no rule that says you can¡¯t just bring an extra towel to sit on.¡± Eliza lazily stretched up her arms and yawned, ¡°I guess you¡¯re right, but I¡¯d rather just whinge than get up and get another towel.¡± She smirked and looked sideways at Sharna. ¡°Anyways, how are you settling in? Myra said you were wiped out after yesterday, I don¡¯t blame you, there¡¯s so much to deal with when you¡¯re moving somewhere new. You okay?¡± Sharna leaned back on the bench behind her, feeling comfortable with Eliza she thought about her question. ¡°I¡¯m okay. Thanks. I¡¯m looking forward to just planting myself here and taking things slowly for a bit. I didn¡¯t realise how tired I had become.¡± Eliza looked at her with sympathy, ¡°it¡¯s really a lot, I know, but this is a really great place, trust me. Myra and Anna are amazing, they have helped me so much with everything. And Gabby and Gogo too, just everyone here. And the whole area as well, the neighbours are sweethearts too, well mostly.¡± Eliza looked thoughtful at this last part but Sharna decided not to ask why. ¡°How long have you been here,¡± Sharna asked, changing the subject. Eliza scratched her cheek, ¡°I think it¡¯s been about two years now, the time has gone quickly.¡± ¡°How old are you?¡± Sharna tilted her head and looked at Eliza, she had thought they were the same age. ¡°I''m 20. I started my first apprenticeship at 17, then transferred over here once I realised that my other place didn¡¯t care about me at all, only about what I could produce.¡± Eliza shifted uncomfortably on the bench, ¡°I actually had to run away because they weren¡¯t really keen on letting me leave..¡± Eliza turned and looked back at Sharna, ¡°then I stayed at The Pillars for a while, that¡¯s where I learned about your grandmother actually.¡± Sharna nodded for her to continue and Eliza looked back down at her knees. ¡°I couldn¡¯t go back to my family, so the people there looked up other image-manifestation apprenticeship options for me. I came to do an assessment and meet with Anna and Myra and now here I am.¡± She smiled warmly, ¡°I know it was a roundabout way but I¡¯m so happy that I ended up here.¡± Sharna smiled back, ¡°me too,¡± she said softly. Chapter 24 Early Wakeup Sharna and Eliza talked for a while longer before Sharna excused herself and headed back to the shower. She was met by Quinn twirling up out of her pile of clothes and spiralling round her head playfully. Sharna laughed but said semi-seriously, ¡°Quinn, what if I had been Eliza?¡± ¡°You''re going to tell everyone today anyway¡± Quinn kept wreathing around Sharna''s head, ¡°but I peeked first before coming out.¡± ¡°You''re full of beans this morning!¡± Sharna said, smiling at the overexcited fairy. ¡°I''m going to meet some more people, cut me some slack, this is all very new!¡± Sharna thought she heard a slight waver in Quinn''s voice and replied a little more gently, ¡°they''re all going to be excited to meet you, it''s not every day someone gets the chance to encounter a fairy.¡± Quinn dived at Sharna and nuzzled into her ear. ¡°Go and have your shower and then we can head to breakfast.¡± ¡°Alright, alright, I''ll be as quick as I can,¡± Sharna grabbed up her things and Quinn followed her into the shower area. Sharna had a shower and dressed quickly. Quinn again flew into her pocket, Sharna gathered up her things and they headed upstairs. The door to her room was still closed so she dropped her stuff gently outside the door and headed to the kitchen. Because it was so early, Marjorie was still getting ready for breakfast but she smiled when she saw Sharna enter. ¡°You¡¯re up bright and early, and already showered and dressed! You must be feeling better today?¡± ¡°Heaps better, thanks for yesterday, the soup was perfect. I think I just got a bit overwhelmed by everything.¡± This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Marjorie¡¯s eyes softened, ¡°of course you did honey, you¡¯ve been through a lot lately. Anyway,¡± Marjorie straightened herself up and said briskly, ¡°breakfast is still a little bit away but the coffee is ready if you want to grab yourself a cup.¡± Sharna offered to help Marjorie get breakfast organised, but Marjorie shooed her away, pointing her towards the coffee. Sharna was quite happy to be told to do nothing, she poured herself a strong cup of milky coffee and took a seat at the dining table. She took a large mouthful, placed the cup on the table and relaxed into her chair, closing her eyes and trying to work out the smoothest way of introducing Quinn to the others. It was very peaceful to sit listening to Marjorie bustling in the kitchen, with the birds singing outside. It felt like it was going to be a warm day and she was looking forward to getting outside. Suddenly she heard a gruff voice in her ear, ¡°good morning sweetheart,¡± and Sharna shrieked and jumped in the air. Heart racing, she turned to see Gogo leaning over her chair, with mischievous humour glinting in her eyes. ¡°Gogo!¡± Sharna reached back to swat at her, but Gogo had already run away laughing in the direction of the sauna. Sharna put her hands to her chest to calm herself, taking deep breaths and shaking her head with exasperation. There was a noticeable difference in maturity between Gogo and the rest of them and she wondered what the age gap was between them. Gabby wandered in yawning. ¡°I thought you and Gogo usually slept in a little longer?¡± Sharna asked, surprised to see Gabby down for breakfast already, ¡°breakfast isn¡¯t even ready yet.¡± Gabby grimaced, ¡°Gogo thought it would be funny to jump on my bed this morning to wake me up.¡± She sat next to Sharna, putting her arms in front of her on the table and leaned forward to rest her forehead on them, muffling her next words. ¡°It wasn''t.¡± Sharna crinkled her nose, ¡°is she normally this provoking in the mornings? She startled me when she came down too.¡± With her head still on her arms, Gabby turned her head to look at Sharna, her eyes now full of mirth, ¡°I heard you squawk, I wondered if it was her.¡± Sharna smiled back, shaking her head again at Gogo''s antics. Gabby continued, ¡°she''s normally a little more subdued in the mornings, maybe something''s up.¡± As Sharna watched Gabby, she noted the dark bags under her eyes and her look shifted to one of concern. ¡°Maybe you should go back to bed and try to get some more sleep.¡± Gabby¡¯s eyes tightened and she turned back so her forehead was resting on her arms again, ¡°I¡¯m okay, I won¡¯t be able to get back to sleep anyway. And Marjorie told me she was making blueberry lemon muffins for breakfast and they''re my absolute favourite, so I''m fine.¡± Sharna watched her for a moment and then took another sip of her coffee. ¡°How old are you Gabby?¡± ¡°I''m 18, why do you ask?¡± Sharna shrugged but Gabby was still face down and didn''t see. ¡°I was just wondering, I thought you and Eliza were about my age but Eliza is older. How old is Gogo?¡± ¡°She''s 15. Seems even younger though doesn''t she?¡± Sharna was surprised, ¡°wow.. I would have guessed she was at least 16 for her family to allow her to leave home.¡± ¡°You''ll have to ask her about that.¡± Gabby said in a more serious tone, still not looking up. Sharna decided not to ask Gabby any further questions for now. She took another sip of coffee and they sat in silence as they waited for the others to arrive for breakfast. Chapter 25 About Manifestation Gradually, the others all joined them at the table, Myra and Anna were the last to arrive as Gogo at least didn¡¯t have the presumption to wake them up. As Gabby had told her earlier, breakfast was blueberry lemon muffins, among other things, and with no hurry to get anywhere Sharna ate much more than she should. Sharna leaned back in her chair and sighed with pleasure. Everything Marjorie made was so delicious, even if her stomach now felt uncomfortably tight, she probably needed the food after missing a meal the day before. It looked as though everyone else had finished eating too, Gogo moved to push back her chair to stand when Myra stopped her with a hand on her arm. ¡°Wait, can everyone please stay for a moment? Sharna and I need to speak with you all about something important.¡± Gogo slumped back into her chair melodramatically, rolling her eyes. Sharna watched her curiously, maybe something was up with Gogo, she would try to speak with her privately later. Myra continued, ¡°I would like to ask all of you to keep what Sharna is about to share secret.¡± Myra looked at them each in turn, ¡°if you feel that you would be unable to do this for any reason, please could you head to your room to give us some privacy.¡± She waited but they all remained seated, looking at Sharna with curiosity. ¡°Sharna?¡± Myra indicated for her to speak. ¡°So I made something a little while ago that I think it would be good for you all to know about now that we are living together.¡± Sharna put her hands between her knees to stop them shaking the tiniest bit. She wasn''t quite sure how to introduce Quinn, Myra smiled and nodded at her encouragingly and everyone else was still watching her with interest. Sharna took a deep breath, ¡°well..¡± she started again. ¡°Ta-dah!¡± Quinn flew up out of Sharna''s pocket and did a few circuits of the table. Everyone was shocked by her sudden appearance and pulled back away from her by reflex. Marjorie pushed back so quickly that her chair would have fallen back if it hadn''t caught on the sideboard instead, Eliza helped her straighten up. ¡°So this is Quinn,¡± said Sharna quickly, trying to recover the situation. ¡°I made her with soul genesis.¡± This did not recover the situation, everyone looked shocked, with all eyes on Quinn, she flew back to Sharna. ¡°Ta-dah,¡± said Sharna weakly, smiling awkwardly as all eyes moved to her. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Myra looked at them both with some humorous exasperation, ¡°Quinn is a fairy that Sharna has created through soul genesis. The existence of something like Quinn could potentially put Sharna at risk of exposure to people with less than stellar intentions. We have not previously heard of anyone creating something like this before so I would like to stress the importance of not sharing Quinn¡¯s existence with ANYONE.¡± ¡°Can I hold her?¡± Gogo blurted out, leaning over the table as though pulled towards Quinn¡¯s presence. Sharna smiled at her, ¡°technically, no. She is manifested from mana, so has no corporeal body, you can only feel some warmth coming from her visible form.¡± Quinn hid in Sharna¡¯s hair, ¡°but once she gets used to everyone, I¡¯m sure she¡¯d be happy for you to examine her more closely.¡± I would not, Quinn grumbled telepathically to Sharna. I¡¯m so proud of you, thanks for your help telling the others, Sharna sent back. Quinn¡¯s grumbling lessened but she remained hidden under Sharna¡¯s hair. Gogo leant back, disappointed. Sharna¡¯s shoulders rose as she asked, ¡°does anyone else have any questions about Quinn?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t your affinity with image-manifestation?¡± Eliza asked immediately, ¡°how did you use soul genesis?¡± ¡°I see it more that my ability is manifestation rather than explicitly image-manifestation,¡± Sharna began slowly. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Anna interjected intently. ¡°Well.. Magic is all about perception, right?¡± The looks on everyone else¡¯s faces indicated that this was definitely not information that they agreed with, but Sharna persisted because she knew that her knowledge in this area was correct. ¡°Okay, well magic IS actually all about perception. How we perceive manifestation affects what we can do with it, and we are limited by our beliefs.¡± Sharna could see incredulity on some of their faces but she continued resolutely, ¡°one of my tutors had an interest in soul magic,¡± Myra snorted at this comment, Sharna turned to look at her but Myra waved for her to continue, clearly interested to hear more. ¡°He taught me a lot about soul magic, and he mentioned soul genesis as a theoretical concept.¡± ¡°What exactly is soul genesis?¡± Gogo asked. ¡°Soul genesis is the creation of an independent being from one¡¯s soul, one that has self-awareness and can feel and learn as a separate being from the creator. So essentially it is a being that one manifests from one¡¯s soul.¡± Sharna paused to give this a moment to sink in. ¡°That¡¯s not how manifestation works,¡± objected Eliza. ¡°If we could manifest whatever we wanted, then why isn¡¯t anyone doing that? We could just manifest statues or furniture or whatever we wanted.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Sharna replied, looking directly at Eliza, ¡°we could manifest whatever we wanted.¡± Eliza turned to Myra, in some distress over Sharna¡¯s response, ¡°that¡¯s not right, image-manifestation lets us manifest images only, right?¡± Myra put her hands up placatingly, ¡°that is certainly what I learned. However, Sharna¡¯s differing techniques and Quinn¡¯s very existence lend credence to her claims. I think we would do well to keep an open mind. Sharna obviously has different knowledge than we do, and her grandmother was an expert in our field. Eliza turned to look open-mouthed at Sharna again. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell us a bit more about Quinn,¡± Anna prompted gently. Sharna smiled at her, grateful for the encouragement. ¡°So Quinn was formed from ambient mana but we are hoping to make her more of a solid form once I work out how. She and I can communicate telepathically if we are close to each other, and we discovered yesterday that I can call her back to me instantly with mana.¡± Sharna looked at Myra apologetically, ¡°but we¡¯re trying to avoid that for now to avoid detection by others outside of our household.¡± ¡°How did you learn how to use soul genesis?¡± Anna asked. ¡°Was it your tutor who had an interest in soul magic who taught you?¡± ¡°I guessed.¡± Sharna replied, shrugging her shoulders. ¡°I couldn¡¯t find any examples anywhere of anyone that had successfully performed soul genesis, but I had studied everything that I could find. I think I just got lucky.¡± Sharna¡¯s smile faded a little as everyone stared back at her in shock. Chapter 26 Disagreements ¡°What do you mean you guessed? How do you guess something like that? Nobody just guesses a whole new field of magic!¡± Eliza spluttered wildly. ¡°But it¡¯s not a whole new field of magic.¡± Sharna insisted eagerly, ¡°it¡¯s not like I came up with the idea from scratch, soul genesis has been theorised by lots of soul magicians.¡± ¡°But not put into practice? No one else has figured out how to do it yet, right?¡± Eliza asked intently. ¡°Are you sure that you just made it up?¡± Myra asked carefully, ¡°Kenji or your grandmother didn¡¯t show you what to do?¡± Sharna looked from Eliza to Myra. ¡°Kenji has never tried anything like soul genesis before. I asked him. Or my grandmother. She didn¡¯t want me to even try yet, but after she died I felt like I had no reason to wait anymore.¡± Sharna looked down, ¡°I just combined all the information that I could obtain in the area and then used what I knew from my image-manifestation.¡± Everyone was silent again as they processed what Sharna had just said. ¡°Please will you teach me how to make a fairy,¡± Gogo asked fervently, reaching over the table to grab Sharna¡¯s arm. ¡°Of course,¡± Sharna said, ¡°I¡¯d love to teach anyone who wants to learn, as long as Myra and Anna don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°Please can we?¡± Gogo begged them, dropping Sharna¡¯s arm and putting Anna¡¯s hand against her cheek, batting her eyelashes sweetly. ¡°Please?¡± Anna and Myra shared a look before Myra spoke, ¡°Anna and I will have to discuss it. It is very generous of Sharna to offer, but she still needs time to settle in here. Also, she is heading to Beau¡¯s today to learn barrier magic so that she can hopefully shield her presence a little better. That needs to be more of a priority right now.¡± Gogo looked disappointed, she was still hanging off Anna who was now patting her head gently. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Why does she need to shield her presence?¡± Gabby asked Myra with concern, ¡°I thought the house was already warded.¡± ¡°It is.¡± Myra said, ¡°however, Beau thinks that Sharna¡¯s image-manifestation technique may draw the attention of others due to the way that it affects the mana around her.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you just do the same as we do then?¡± Gabby asked Sharna sharply, ¡°we don¡¯t want to draw extra attention to ourselves. Our techniques work really well.¡± ¡°I am working on that too,¡± Sharna said, shrinking back, feeling attacked. Eliza looked at Gabby with bewilderment. ¡°But don''t you want to learn new techniques if we can too? What if they work better than the way we do it now?¡± Gabby stared at Eliza flatly. ¡°I just don''t want any drama. We''re all busy enough with the palace''s image-manifestation and our side projects without adding on extra work.¡± ¡°I definitely want to learn more! I wanna make a fairy too! Myra said Sharna''s going to learn to make her own wards, so what''s the big deal, Gabby?¡± Gogo asked earnestly. ¡°I just think we have enough to deal with already,¡± Gabby muttered. Anna looked at Gabby with concern and reached over to pat her arm, but Gabby pulled away. ¡°If that''s all that you wanted to talk about I''ve got stuff to do,¡± said Gabby, as she pushed her chair back from the table, ¡°we all have work to do¡± she continued, looking at Sharna pointedly. Myra looked at Gabby with narrowed eyes, ¡°I think that was everything, as long as no-one has any further questions for Sharna?¡± ¡°I have heaps more questions,¡± Eliza said, "I''m just not sure what they all are yet. This was a lot of new information, I need to get my head straight. Can I take a rain check?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± said Sharna quietly, ¡°I''m happy to answer any questions, any time.¡± Eliza, Gogo and Gabby all left the table and headed upstairs, Gogo looking at Sharna curiously as she left. Marjorie also excused herself, smiling at Sharna as she left, gathering the dirty plates as she headed back to the kitchen. Only Sharna, Anna and Myra remained at the table. ¡°Well, I think that went reasonably well,¡± said Myra slowly. ¡°Did it?¡± asked Sharna credulously. ¡°I didn''t think that went very well at all. Gabby seemed really upset.¡± ¡°Yes," said Myra. ¡°I was a little surprised by Gabby''s response too.¡± She looked over at Anna. ¡°What did you think?¡± ¡°Gabby has seemed a little tired lately,¡± Anna mused thoughtfully. ¡°Gogo also seems a little off. It may just be that everyone needs time to settle into our new configuration.¡± She smiled at Sharna sympathetically, ¡°don''t worry about it, honey. It''s not your fault. They''ll be back to their normal selves in no time.¡± Sharna smiled back, but felt the stress sinking down and settling into the pit of her stomach. The only change in the house was the addition of her presence. She could still feel Quinn hiding in her hair and reached her hand up to the back of her neck to feel the warm comfort of her presence. She desperately wanted this place to be her new home and vowed to increase her efforts with the other members of the house. Chapter 27 Neighbours Myra and Anna gave Sharna directions to Beau¡¯s house, and Sharna headed straight out. She thought it was a good idea to give the others space to process everything before speaking with them again. Quinn was back hiding in her pocket again. Sharna didn''t have a pocket on her shirt today so she was hiding in her front pants pocket. She wondered idly if she could add patch pockets to all her tops, so Quinn would always have somewhere to hide when they were out in the world. Sharna suddenly remembered something she had been meaning to ask, Quinn? She spoke telepathically in case anyone was watching her, how do you manage to stay in my pocket when you don¡¯t have a solid form? I¡¯m not really sure, replied Quinn slowly, I just think about being in your pocket and that''s where I stay, it just works. Sharna nodded, there were a lot of things in magic that worked even when they didn''t make any sense. It was another beautiful day. The sun was shining and was warm on her skin, and she could smell something sweet flowering as she headed out of their garden and down the narrow road. Sharna still felt the pressure of her situation but the knot of tension lessened as she made her way towards Beau''s house. Sharna had only been walking for a couple of minutes when she heard someone singing. It was truly terrible. Screechy and out of tune, the singer sang with obvious enthusiasm and enjoyment. She fought the urge to cover her ears with her hands. As Sharna got closer, she could see a small girl swinging on her front gate, kicking back off the fence with her eyes closed, belting out her song. Sharna thought she was about 10 or 11 and her tail and ears indicated that she was definitely a Catkin. As though she heard Sharna''s approach, the little girl stopped singing and opened her eyes. ¡°Hi! Are you Sharna?¡± She asked excitedly, jumping down from the gate and running up to Sharna, ¡°I''m Amarli, Beau said you were coming to visit, we¡¯ve been waiting for you!¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Up close, Amarli¡¯s resemblance to her brother was very strong. They had similar colouring and features, although Amarli¡¯s were more feminine and pointed, but, unlike Beau¡¯s green eyes, Amarli¡¯s were a startling topaz. ¡°Hi Amarli,¡± said Sharna, smiling down at the girl, ¡°I am Sharna, it''s so nice to meet you. Are you Beau''s sister?¡± Amarli nodded enthusiastically and grabbed Sharna''s hand, dragging her through the garden, towards the house. ¡°Wait, shouldn''t we let them know I''m here first?¡± Sharna asked, stopping herself before they went through the front door. ¡°Mum said to bring you in as soon as you arrived!¡± Amarli tugged on Sharna¡¯s hand and she reluctantly allowed herself to be pulled through the entryway into a cosy, brightly lit kitchen. As they entered, Beau jumped up from the table, ¡°Sharna, hi!¡± The other occupant of the room also stood and turned, welcoming, towards Sharna. ¡°Hi Sharna,¡± she smiled warmly, ¡°my name is Adelia. I''m so pleased to meet you. We¡¯re practically neighbours now. Beau has told me so very little about you. Now that I can see how pretty you are, I''m not surprised.¡± She raised her eyebrows at Beau mockingly. Beau looked away nonchalantly, trying to avoid his mother''s gaze and Sharna blushed. ¡°It''s nice to meet you too,¡± Sharna said, ¡°thank you for having me, I hope it¡¯s okay that I¡¯m here¡±. Adelia gestured for Sharna and Amarli to join them at the table. Amarli took the seat beside Beau, leaning into him comfortably, and Sharna took the empty seat between her and Adelia. ¡°Of course. Beau told me that you would like to learn about ward creation. I''m assuming your specialisation is image-manifestation?¡± Adelia asked, getting straight to business. Sharna nodded. ¡°So,¡± Adelia pursed her lips and looked at Sharna thoughtfully. ¡°The way that you will create a barrier is going to be fundamentally different from how we create barriers. As you know, our affinity is cleansing magic, so all magic that we perform is based on that foundation.¡± Sharna nodded again, this was all stuff that she knew. Adelia looked at Beau and then turned back to Sharna, ¡°I know that Beau told you that we could teach you how to create your own wards. But please be aware that I haven''t taught anyone with your affinity before, so I''m not sure how well this will work. But I can show you how it works for us. Amarli is going to join us for this lesson too, as she also needs to learn how to set up wards.¡± Adelia smiled at Amarli as the girl straightened herself up in her chair to show her seriousness. ¡°Thank you,¡± Sharna said earnestly, ¡°I''m very grateful for your help. I¡¯ve done some work in adapting magic to work with my own affinity before so I''m hopeful that I can make this work too.¡± Adelia smiled and clapped her hands together with resolution, ¡°that is a great attitude. Well then, let''s get started.¡± Adelia first went through a thorough explanation of what wards were. Sharna listened intently, asking questions when she needed further clarification, she had never focused on this area of magic before so there was a lot that was new to her. Wards could work in several different ways, that was how they could be created by such a variety of disciplines, but the basic concept was very simple, a ward was just a barrier. Adelia explained that before preparing the barrier, the creator had to select exactly what they wanted the barrier to do. It was not something that could be added or changed later. Sharna wondered at this, while she didn¡¯t doubt that Adelia believed what she said, she had previously come to distrust blanket statements when it came to magic. She elected to keep this to herself however, to think about later, and kept listening to Adelia¡¯s explanation. Chapter 28 Bubble ¡°Have you had a chance to watch how Beau cleans your house yet?¡± Adelia asked Sharna. ¡°No, I only arrived recently, I haven''t had time to do much yet at all.¡± Adelia gestured towards Beau. ¡°You should definitely watch him when you get the chance. It will give you more of an idea of the way our magic repels the dirt and dust from any space that we focus on.¡± Adelia explained that although the wards that most catkin were able to create were based on their affinity to cleansing magic, they had a few different methods of working. The two that were most used for their barriers either repelled or scanned. Sharna was fascinated, none of her prior tutors had an affinity for, or interest in, cleansing magic, so Adelia''s explanation was all entirely new information. ¡°The barrier that Beau set up at your house, at Myra''s request, is foundationally based on scanning, letting the user know if particular prompts have entered the field. Scanning is a technique that traditionally we have used to work out what is within an area, so that we can determine what needs to be cleared from a space.¡± Adelia turned and smiled at her daughter, ¡°We will get Amarli to practise setting up a repelling barrier today though, because it will be easier to understand looking from the outside.¡± Sharna watched intensely as Adelia guided her daughter through the process. Amarli beamed as Beau bounced off an invisible wall that surrounded them. ¡°Does it prevent him from entering from above or below?¡± Sharna asked. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s like a bubble that surrounds where she chooses, the size of the bubble will grow as her skill progresses. Well done honey, that is a wonderful first attempt.¡± Adelia smiled proudly at her daughter, then turned to Sharna. ¡°Now it¡¯s your turn.¡±Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Sharna swallowed and stood, feeling self conscious she closed her eyes and focused within. She thought that immediately jumping to her goal of shielding or concealing mana waves would be premature and decided to focus on something more tangible to begin with. Adelia had explained earlier that although she didn¡¯t have personal experience with image-manifestation, based on her experience of wards and what she knew of image- manifestation, she felt that Sharna¡¯s shields may work if they were based on what they blocked, so Sharna had decided to focus there first. Sharna started to hum and to move her hands in a new pattern, she smiled as she felt the light gathering beneath them. She let her perception stretch around her but held it tightly within an arm''s length as she focused on her goal, picturing the bubble and what it would block. She let her hands drop as she felt the barrier click in around her and opened her eyes. Three sets of shocked faces looked back at her, looking even more alike than before. Beau recovered first, admiration in his voice, ¡°well, I already knew that you were a bit different.¡± At the sound of Beau¡¯s voice, Adelia physically shook herself and schooled her face into a neutral position, while Amarli continued looking at Sharna with wonder. Sharna was surrounded by a translucent, iridescent ball. In truth, it looked like nothing more than a large, beautiful soap bubble. Beau reached his hand out to touch it, but his hand passed straight through the wall of the bubble, stopping briefly at his sleeve and then pushing his sleeve up his arm as his arm continued in. He pulled his arm back out and looked at Sharna, perplexed. Adelia rose and easily put her hand through the bubble¡¯s wall towards Sharna, her rings passing through as easily as her skin, then retracted her hand, looked down at Beau¡¯s sleeve, picked up a cloth napkin and they all watched in silence as the napkin was crushed against the external side of the bubble, completely blocked by Sharna¡¯s barrier. Confused and confronted by their silence, Sharna¡¯s words tripped over themselves as she rushed to explain, ¡°I¡¯ve worked with fabric so much that I thought it would be easier to understand the fundamentals of its structure and materials, I know that it would be better to have it keep out everything..¡± Adelia raised her hand, and Sharna stopped babbling. Adelia and Beau exchanged a significant look and this time it was Adelia that spoke. ¡°So your ward will block only fabric, nothing else?¡± She asked in a measured tone. ¡°Yes..?¡± Sharna was confused by this question and looked from one to the other, ¡°didn¡¯t you say that I needed to choose what to block like when you repel dust and dirt?¡± Amarli started bouncing the napkin around the wall of the bubble, ¡°and we can see exactly where it is, and it¡¯s so pretty! It is so cool! Can I make one like this now too, Mum?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry honey, you can¡¯t.¡± Adelia replied absent mindedly, obviously still deep in her own thoughts as she walked around Sharna, intently scrutinising Sharna''s creation. Chapter 29 River Sharna had been shooed out of the house by Adelia, without any further explanation of what had happened with her bubble. Adelia had said that she needed some time to think and Beau had only shrugged at her when she looked to him for an answer. Sharna decided not to head straight home, the sunshine had helped her earlier and she hoped its effects would have a similar effect again now. She silently checked with Quinn about which direction would take her towards the river, and started heading it that direction, admiring the gardens along her path. Further up the road she came to an intersection, turned right and continued on until she came to a bridge. It was a beautiful old, dilapidated stone bridge with a seat on either side. Sharna smiled when she saw it, she settled into one of the weatherbeaten seats and leaned over the side of the bridge, looking into the water. She instantly pulled back, Quinn? She asked hesitantly. I know, came back the immediate reply, I could feel it too as soon as we got closer to the water. Sharna kneeled next to the seat and leaned over the water again and Quinn continued - I couldn¡¯t feel this when I scanned the other day, we must need to be closer to the water. A strong sense of mana emanated from the flowing water, it felt different to the ambient mana that Sharna was used to and didn¡¯t seem to be freely available for use. She looked furtively around her, there was no one in sight, so she tried to send her perception out towards the water but it couldn¡¯t pierce the surface so she drew back. I can¡¯t feel through the water, I think the mana may be too concentrated - Sharna sent to Quinn. I guess we know why there are so many interesting gardens around here. But the Tusy River isn¡¯t like this, Quinn replied, this is something new.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. It¡¯s still beautiful here, Sharna sent back as she stood and brushed off the knees of her pants to sit back on the bench. Sharna rested her chin on her hands as she leant on the railing and watched the leaves floating along with the current; she could ask Myra and Anna about the river later. The weather was still and balmy, and Sharna felt the peace warming and soothing her spirit. Maybe she was just a person who was better off alone? Everything happening around her was so messy now, and difficult. She felt fatigued from constantly shocking everyone in her vicinity with anything that she said or did. Deep down, Sharna knew that this wasn¡¯t the case. She remembered spending time with her grandmother, and her tutors. They hadn¡¯t made a big deal out of everything new that she did or discovered. If they had been surprised at her abilities, they had kept it to themselves, or encouraged her to push her limits further still. In the past, using her magic, exploring its limits and possibilities, had always felt exhilarating to Sharna. She missed her grandmother¡¯s support, and protection, and she shivered despite the sun¡¯s warmth. ¡°Are you alright, dear?¡± Sharna straightened at the sudden voice and spun around. An elderly lady had approached while she was lost in her own thoughts and was now peering at her with some concern. The stranger looked momentarily surprised as she caught sight of Sharna¡¯s face, and then her face softened into a smile as she looked at Sharna with recognition. ¡°I know you.¡± The old lady came closer, ¡°is it okay if I join you?¡± Sharna nodded and looked at the newcomer with curiosity as she came to sit beside her on the bench. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, you must have confused me with someone else, I only just moved here and haven¡¯t really met anyone yet.¡± Sharna spoke kindly, but the woman just chuckled and patted Sharna¡¯s knee. ¡°You wouldn''t recognise me dear, we¡¯ve never met but I certainly recognise you. Has anyone ever told you that you are just the spitting image of your mother?¡± Sharna looked down at her hands, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that, yes.¡± she replied and then turned to look at her again, ¡°who are you? And how did you know my mother?¡± ¡°My name is Clara Hatt, I was great friends with your grandmother for a long time, she even named me the elder for your mother when she was born.¡± The smile that accompanied Clara''s words was bittersweet. Sharna swallowed, ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of you, why haven¡¯t I heard of you? I didn¡¯t know that my mother had an elder..¡± She trailed off and then continued, ¡°have you heard about my grandmother?¡± Clara¡¯s eyes filled with sadness, ¡°yes, I was so sorry that I couldn¡¯t make it to her funeral, but I don¡¯t travel too well these days,¡± she tapped her cane significantly against her right leg. As she continued, a note of venom leaked into her words. ¡°Also, I loathe the rest of your family.¡± Chapter 30 Pistachios Clara continued, ¡°Your family are all deplorable narcissists with no hope of redemption,¡± Clara chuckled, ¡°maybe I shouldn¡¯t have mentioned that part.¡± Patting Sharna¡¯s knee warmly again, she said consolingly, ¡°don¡¯t worry dear, that definitely doesn¡¯t include you.¡± Sharna blinked at Clara blankly for a moment, unsure how to respond. She felt like a normal person would defend their family, however.. she pursed her lips and after mentally reviewing her relatives, she felt that Clara may have a point.. ¡°My cousin Jarrah¡¯s not so bad..?¡± Clara had been watching carefully as the flow of Sharna¡¯s thoughts crossed her face, at her response she burst into laughter that was tinged with relief. Sharna grinned back at her. ¡°I guess a blanket response is not entirely fair, I haven¡¯t met Jarrah so I promise I will hold off on my judgement about him for now.¡± Reaching into her apron pocket, Clara pulled out a pile of nuts and held them out to Sharna, ¡°would you like a pistachio? They¡¯re off my own trees and they¡¯re very good.¡± Sharna thanked her and reached out her hand, Clara tipped the nuts into it and grabbed a second handful for herself. They sat in companionable silence for a while, enjoying the salty sweetness and the sunshine. ¡°Would you like me to tell you about your grandmother and I?¡± Clara asked eventually.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Please,¡± Sharna replied, turning towards Clara with interest, ¡°she rarely spoke to me about her childhood.¡± ¡°Well, we grew up together, Evelyn and I, our houses were 800 metres away from each other,¡± she grinned widely at Sharna, ¡°your grandmother made me measure the distance with her one day.¡± Sharna smiled back, ¡°that sounds like her, she always liked to know all the finer details about everything.¡± Clara smirked and continued, growing more introspective, ¡°we were best friends, more like sisters, and were inseparable. Our childhood was a golden time for us, we went to a little school in our town run by the sisters of light, have you heard of them?¡± ¡°Yes of course, they¡¯re heavily involved with The Pillars and so I¡¯ve had a lot to do with them.¡± ¡°Of course they are,¡± Clara mused, ¡°I had forgotten, I was impressed when Evelyn got them on board right at the start, they were such a good fit.¡± The sisters of light were a matriarchal religion that had roots in the very start of their kingdom¡¯s birth, which was why it was still tolerated in what was now a heavily patriarchal society. It was based on some esoteric ideas centred around their version of visions and certain magically attuned creatures. It was information gained from these visions, shared at great personal risk, that had been the impetus that changed the tides of war to secure victory for the ancestors of the current royal family. They sat in thought for a few minutes before Clara resumed her story. ¡°My home was close in location to Evelyn¡¯s but our situations were worlds apart. Her family lived in an estate that had been in their family for generations, both her parents were talented and respected in their fields of magic while my parents..¡± Clara lifted her hands helplessly, ¡°..my parents were a different story.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t really matter to the story,¡± Clara shifted in place, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you another time. Anyway, as children, we were allowed to run fairly wild and we took full advantage of everything that freedom offered.¡± She smiled as she contemplated for a moment. "My specialty is in the area of potions and that blended well with Evelyn''s image manifestation. We had a lot of fun exploring how those two could be combined, and made a lot of trouble for those around us." Clara chuckled again, and then her eyes saddened. ¡°Then we hit high school and everything changed, for both of us.¡± Chapter 31 Hopes Clara bit her lip and continued, staring into the distance, ¡°even before starting high school, everyone of importance was already aware of Evelyn¡¯s presence, of her family¡¯s power, status, wealth. The real problem though was Evelyn herself. When she started high school she was already so powerful, and then her intelligence and creative thinking spurred her to greater heights.¡± Clara turned to Sharna, ¡°you would have heard all the drama about heredity?¡± Sharna nodded, face tight, and Clara noted her expression and sighed, ¡°her parents tried to protect her but once your grandfather''s family noticed her there was nothing that they could do.¡± Sharna looked down at her hands which had clenched into fists. ¡°I hate the entire setup, it makes me feel so powerless and small. My grandmother primarily kept me separated from the rest of our family in order to protect me from their whims. She gave me this chance to study under Myra and Anna, but I know that all of my choices could be taken away from me at any moment.¡± Clara shook her head, ¡°I wish I could tell you otherwise but this is the world that we belong to and I can¡¯t picture it ever changing.¡± Sharna looked at the dejected woman sitting beside her and then turned to look up at the sky. ¡°That¡¯s why I want to keep working and growing. I want to become really strong, stronger than even my grandmother. My hope is that before anyone can notice me, I can become powerful enough that no one else can possibly take control of my life. Like my grandmother, I want there to be no choice other than to kill me.¡± Although Sharna didn''t back look at Clara, in her peripheral vision, she saw the woman stiffen beside her. ¡°I suppose I can take my meaning from that.¡± Clara¡¯s body slumped, ¡°it''s not as though I didn''t have my suspicions. It is wise of you to speak obliquely.¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. They sat in silence again, both lost in their own thoughts when Sharna suddenly felt dizzy and a headache started to spread between her eyes. She swayed and Clara steadied her shoulder, ¡°Sharna, are you okay?¡± Sharna nodded, ¡°I¡¯m fine, I think there just may be a storm coming.¡± She touched a hand to her temple, looking at the blue sky above, ¡°I thought it was supposed to stay fine.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Clara asked, tilting her head. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing, really,¡± Sharna replied, ¡°I tend to have some physical symptoms when a weather change is coming. I kept regularly becoming unwell when I was a little girl, grandmother had so many people come and look at me. It took her such a long time to connect the symptoms with the weather.¡± She smiled at Clara as she remembered her grandmother¡¯s giddiness when she had finally figured out the link between Sharna¡¯s headaches and the change in atmospheric pressure. Clara stared back at her wide-eyed, mouth open with shock. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Sharna asked slowly, but before Clara could answer, a smooth voice called over to them from the opposite direction that Sharna had come. ¡°What a lucky surprise to find two such beautiful women on such a beautiful day.¡± Clara¡¯s face froze, she shot a warning look at Sharna and then turned to the stranger with a carefully crafted smile. The stranger was probably a similar height to Sharna, with a full beard and twinkling eyes. He smiled kindly at them both and Sharna felt a wave of foreboding. ¡°Kevin, hello.¡± Clara stood, stepping to partially shield Sharna from sight, and Sharna knew that her instincts must be correct. ¡°I¡¯m so pleased to see you, I needed to ask your advice on my new garden wall,¡± she grabbed his arm in a friendly manner and started walking him back the way he had come. ¡°But.. but..¡± Kevin stuttered, looking back over his shoulder as Clara marched him onward. ¡°I¡¯ll see you later dear, you head home and have a nice rest,¡± Clara called merrily to Sharna, then continued speaking to Kevin, ¡°she¡¯s got a headache, too much sun you know.¡± ¡°But who is she?¡± Kevin asked, trying but failing to resist as Clara bore him inexorably on. Sharna could still hear Clara prattling cheerfully as they got further away, Kevin having ceased his futile resistance. ¡°I didn¡¯t catch her name, she¡¯s a student at Myra and Anna¡¯s. Anyway, I desperately need your advice on my new wall, you always know so much about..¡± Although Sharna¡¯s head was starting to throb, she still managed to grin at Clara¡¯s masterful handling of the situation, and she stood and headed slowly back home. Chapter 32 Best Friends Sharna¡¯s headache continued to increase the closer she got to Myra and Anna¡¯s house. By the time she arrived, she could barely stand to keep her eyes open, the day¡¯s warm, gentle light now felt like it was piercing a hole in her skull. As she arrived home, Marjorie was in the front garden picking herbs. She smiled when she saw her and called over. ¡°Sharna, how did you go this morning..?¡± Her smile froze as she took in Sharna¡¯s slumped posture and sunken eyes. Marjorie rushed over, immediately grabbing Sharna¡¯s arm for support. Realising she was home, a wave of relief washed over Sharna as she finally let the pain and exhaustion overtake her. She slumped to the ground and could feel nothing more. *** When she came to, Sharna groggily felt warm sunlight on her face and realised she was lying in her bed, her headache gone. She had no memory of how she had arrived there and blushed and buried her head as she realised the trouble she must have caused Marjorie and the others. ¡°You¡¯re awake!¡± A voice called beside her. Sharna lifted her head and blinked as she took in Gogo beside her. She had pulled an oversized armchair into their room and was sitting curled up with a blanket over her lap and a pile of design books on the floor beside her. ¡°What..¡± Sharna cleared her throat, which was croaky from sleep ¡°what time is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s 3:30.¡± Gogo replied cheerily. Sharna put one arm over her face, ¡°I must have been asleep for a few hours, I¡¯m sorry for the trouble.¡± ¡°It¡¯s actually 3:30 on Friday..¡± Gogo explained, ¡°the next day..¡± Sharna sat upright, all grogginess suddenly washed away, ¡°I¡¯ve been asleep for more than a day?!¡± She exclaimed, her voice rising.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Gogo leaned forward, her blanket falling to the floor, and gently pushed Sharna back down onto the bed. Despite the warmth she was dressed in an oversized cardigan, the sleeves falling to cover her hands. ¡°You need to take it slowly,¡± she explained gently. Sharna was surprised at the tenderness in her voice. ¡°But I¡¯ve been nothing but trouble for you all since I arrived,¡± Sharna replied, her bottom lip trembling. ¡°You haven¡¯t,¡± Gogo returned to her chair, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her cardigan around herself. She looked ridiculously young as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ears. ¡°Yes I have,¡± Sharna returned, rolling towards the wall. Gogo leaned forward again, grabbing Sharna¡¯s shoulder to roll her back towards her, ¡°No,¡± she said firmly, ¡°you haven¡¯t.¡± Sharna looked at her dubiously, and as she watched Gogo¡¯s expression, Gogo ducked her head and buried her face in her knees, then continued in a muffled voice, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Sharna rolled right over so she was facing Gogo, ¡°what on earth would you have to be sorry about?¡± She asked in bewilderment. ¡°I haven¡¯t been a very good best friend, or a good friend at all.¡± Gogo replied, her voice still muffled. ¡°What? What are you talking about?¡± Sharna was even more confused. Gogo raised her head, her face now red and stained with tears, her expression angry. ¡°I haven¡¯t been a good best friend!¡± She repeated uncomfortably, ¡°you have had so much to deal with and I have just been jealous and badgering you. I was so excited to meet you and then you were so nice and now Gabby says that you¡¯re going to want a different roommate because I¡¯m too much..¡± Gogo¡¯s face crumpled and her voice trailed off as she buried her face again. Sharna lay silently for a moment, processing what Gogo had said, and her face broke into a smile. She pushed back her blankets as she sat up, reaching out both hands to take hold of Gogo¡¯s head. Gogo sniffed, wiping her nose on her sleeve as she lifted her head to look tearily up at Sharna. ¡°.. and you¡¯re not supposed to get out of bed yet.¡± Sharna chuckled, the sound surprising both of them. ¡°You are the only best friend I want.¡± Sharna told her, ¡°and I didn¡¯t even know you were jealous or badgering.¡± ¡°I was.¡± Gogo replied firmly. ¡°Gabby told me so too.¡± Sharna¡¯s brow creased, ¡°look, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on with Gabby right now, but she doesn¡¯t get to decide how I feel about things.¡± ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want a different roommate?¡± Gogo asked. ¡°I don¡¯t, but are you sure you wouldn''t like an easier roommate?¡± Sharna returned, raising her hands questioningly. ¡°It would probably be a lot simpler to live with someone else.¡± ¡°No,¡± Gogo replied definitively, ¡°only you.¡± They smiled at each other, then Gogo shot to her feet in a panic, ¡°Oh no! I promised I would grab Myra or Anna when you woke up!¡± Sharna reached out to grab Gogo¡¯s arm but she was already gone, and Sharna crawled back into her bed, feeling comforted by the warm blankets. Chapter 33 Watershed As she snuggled back into her bed, Sharna could hear Gogo thundering down the stairs, calling loudly for Myra and Anna as she went. Sharna knew it wouldn¡¯t be long before Gogo dragged someone back up to see her. Suddenly noticing her uncomfortably full bladder, Sharna lunged out of bed, pushing the covers back and getting to her feet in one smooth motion. She lightly ran across the hallway to the toilet and quickly relieved herself. As she was washing her hands, she looked at her reflection in the mirror and grimaced. With still wet hands, she leaned towards the mirror and reached to smooth down her hair and twisted it back behind her shoulder, then attempted to straighten her clothes. She was still wearing the clothes she''d been wearing when she had passed out, she wrinkled her nose in distaste as she realised that she really needed a shower. It would have to wait, she could hear footsteps travelling back upstairs so she dashed back across to her bedroom and settled herself under her blankets. Sharna listened out curiously, she could only hear one set of footsteps returning up the stairs, the sound too sedate to be signalling Gogo¡¯s return, and Sharna tried to decipher who it could be. She heard a knock at the door and called out for the person to enter, expecting Myra, Anna or Marjorie, instead, Gabby¡¯s head poked around the door hesitantly. ¡°Hi Sharna, is it okay if I come in?¡± Sharna swallowed, and wriggled into a seated position, pushing the pillows behind her back and leaning against the bedhead, ¡°of course,¡± she replied with false brightness, plastering a smile on her face. Gabby gave her a half smile and entered the room. ¡°Myra and Anna are both out at the moment, and Eliza is restraining Gogo downstairs.¡± Gabby shook her head fondly, ¡°she¡¯s like an overgrown puppy and we don¡¯t want her jumping all over you until you¡¯re fully recovered.¡± Sharna''s smile warmed, picturing the war that must be happening between the two women downstairs. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Rather than sitting on the chair that Gogo had recently left, Gabby instead came and perched a little distance away on the edge of Gogo¡¯s bed, twisting her ring around and around her finger in a way that seemed almost compulsive. Sharna was unsure what to say to the other women, and watched Gabby curiously as she waited for her to speak. Gabby was looking decidedly unwell compared to when Sharna had arrived only a few days earlier. Her hair hung lankly, roughly pushed behind her ears in a way that made her look much younger, and her face was pale and drawn. Gabby looked up from her hands, staring at Sharna earnestly, ¡°I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re finally awake. We were all so worried when you collapsed outside.¡± She stopped twisting her ring and held her hands together tightly instead. ¡°I wanted to apologise to you, I haven¡¯t spoken to Gogo about this yet, but I have been dealing with some personal stuff and I haven¡¯t been as kind to everyone as I would have liked.¡± She looked down at her hands again, resuming her nervous ring twisting. Before Sharna could speak, Gabby continued, ¡°I¡¯m not ready to talk to anyone about what is going on yet, but I wanted you to know that I haven¡¯t been quite myself lately. This behaviour is not the real me, and I¡¯m going to try to stop focusing on myself and my problems and be a better friend to you all.¡± Sharna was surprised and gratified to hear Gabby¡¯s words, Sharna¡¯s reading of her personality on their first meeting had been very different to the Gabby she had started to know over the last couple of days. She usually had a very accurate reading of someone¡¯s character on their first meeting, as with Kevin the day before - actually two days before, she remembered uncomfortably - she could feel viscerally, in her gut, whether someone aligned with her or not. She was gratified to discover that her initial assessment of Gabby appeared to have been correct. ¡°Maybe we could start over?¡± Sharna said gently. ¡°I also have not been my best self lately, I have been struggling with all the.. Messiness I guess.. That starting a brand new life brings..¡± At her words, Gabby¡¯s eyes instantly teared up, she put her head to her knees and started to sob with such raw emotion that Sharna felt as though she was trespassing on a private moment, not intended for her. Sharna climbed out of bed and crouched in front of Gabby, hesitantly placing a hand on the back of her head as Gabby continued to sob violently. The storm of tears continued for a long time, and Sharna remained where she was, her hand stroking the young woman¡¯s hair. Finally, after exhausting herself with the surprising torrent of emotion, Gabby¡¯s sobs turned into gentle tears, Sharna removed her hand as Gabby started to sniff and rub her eyes on her sleeve. As Gabby made an effort to calm herself down, Sharna rose and grabbed a box of tissues off Gogo¡¯s desk and silently handed them to Gabby, then settled herself comfortably on the edge of her own bed. She didn¡¯t know what to do or say in this situation but found herself unusually serene. She felt for Gabby, but the woman¡¯s flood of tears seemed to have nothing to do with Sharna and everything to do with whatever personal issues Gabby was dealing with. So she just sat and patiently watched Gabby, waiting for her to speak. Chapter 34 Settle When she had finally recovered enough to speak, Gabby looked up, but seeing Sharna¡¯s eyes on her, she returned her eyes down to her hands. ¡°Sorry,¡± Gabby said, in a small voice. Sharna waited to see if there was more coming but Gabby remained silent. ¡°It''s really okay,¡± Sharna said gently, ¡°that seemed like something that you needed to get out. Are you sure you don''t want to talk about it?¡± Gabby shook her head and blew her nose again, ¡°no I don¡¯t want to, but thanks, I think I really did need that.¡± ¡°Is there anyone that you''re talking to about what''s going on?¡± Sharna asked gently, ¡°it''s not a good idea to keep everything to yourself. I know we haven''t known each other long, but I''m a good listener if you need an ear..?¡± Gabby shook her head again, smiling wetly at Sharna. ¡°Thank you, I appreciate it, I really do. I have already spoken to someone about what¡¯s going on, and will share it with everyone else when I''m ready. I''m sorry, I really didn¡¯t mean to react like that, I didn¡¯t realise that I had been keeping so much emotion inside. I just.. I just want us to be friends.¡± ¡°Me too,¡± Sharna smiled, ¡°and we are, we will be.¡± Gabby nodded, straightened her shoulders and stood up to leave. When she reached the door, she turned back to Sharna. ¡°I hope you''re feeling better soon.¡± ¡°You too,¡± Sharna replied with a smile, Gabby grinned back, and then closed the door gently behind herself. Sharna threw herself back onto her bed, stretching her arms out wide. What could possibly be causing Gabby so much distress? And what had triggered her outburst? She didn¡¯t really know Gabby well enough yet to gauge whether her outburst was proportional to whatever hardship she was facing, or if she felt her emotions more like a dramatic summer rain, quickly passing and leaving little trace behind. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Sharna mentally shook her head, Gabby would let her know when the time was right, as a more pressing concern, where was Quinn? She sent out a questioning pulse Quinn? she asked, worried that something had happened to the fairy. To Sharna¡¯s immense relief, she immediately felt a pulse back from Quinn. Quinn didn''t use words, but Sharna could feel that she was groggy. Did the soul connection mean that Quinn went unconscious at the same time? Sharna reached down as she realised that Quinn was still in her hip pocket. A cozy, dozy little ball of light. Sharna cuddled her little soul fragment close, grateful to be on her own again. Well, alone with Quinn at least, which was as comfortable as being on one¡¯s own. She pulled her knees in and rolled into a fetal position on her side, as she turned her thoughts inward and tried to understand her own heart. Quinn nuzzled into Sharna¡¯s neck, also seeming content to follow her own thoughts for the moment. There was a lot to keep track of at the moment. Sharna was still unsure of her future manifestation goal, so needed to direct some thought into that area. She longed to speak more with Clara and Laynie about her mother and grandmother. She wanted to work on her ward creation, as well as speaking with Adelia about what had happened with Sharna¡¯s barrier. And then there was all that her new friendships involved. Instead she did none of this. Decisively, Sharna jumped up from the bed and dragged the armchair that Gogo had been sitting in until recently towards the window, knocking over the stack of books on the way, so that they spilled across the floor. One fell open to an inviting image of a sitting room and, ignoring the other books, she picked that one up, keeping it open to the page that had drawn her interest and settled herself into the chair, pulling the open book onto her lap where it lay ignored as she instead stared out the window. During her movements, Quinn had fluttered onto Sharna¡¯s pillow, but returned to her spot at Sharna¡¯s neck as Sharna settled into place. The beauty of the garden outside the window arrested Sharna¡¯s attention. Clearly a storm had blown through while she had been unconscious, but now the sun¡¯s warm light shone over the vista, sparkling as it was caught by the droplets that covered every surface, turning the windblown plants into a dazzling display. And Sharna felt dazzled. Sharna put her hands over her heart as she felt her heart warm at the remembrance of everyone¡¯s many kindnesses over this time that she had been settling into her new home, time that had not yet spanned a week. She felt her happiness tingle through her neck and shoulders, relaxing and softening any tension she had been retaining there, and then flow through to her limbs, where it stayed, lifting and lightening her whole body. She often privately thought that this was the other side of being so overly sensitive to the fluctuations of the environment around her. The reprieve from the weight of the headache was one thing. However, it was the sensation of actually feeling her happiness flow through her entire body that was the subsequent flip side of this that made her feel like it was probably worth the pain that she sporadically had to endure. Sometimes she wondered privately if this sensation flowing through her body was what it felt like to fly.