《The Near Infinite Names of Autumn Aubrey (Psychological Fantasy Progression)》


 Chapter One: Mags

    In a room whose only entrance lay hidden within my own mind, an impossible feeling came over me.


    I was being watched.


    Three walls of gold, silver, and bronze threads woven into an infinitely repeating pattern gleamed around me the same as every time I had entered The Well.


    ¡°You can¡¯t be here.¡± I called, receiving nothing but the continued feeling of the watcher¡¯s presence as an answer.


    Then, as it always did, light came. At first only appearing as a faint outline, it brightened into an open door of iridescent light.


    Just like I had every time before and would a near infinite amount of times after, I stepped through it.


    ¡°Again.¡± Precept Anite demanded and extended her hand to me.


    ¡°I can¡¯t, I¡¯m too tired.¡± I muttered, unable to meet my teacher¡¯s copper colored eyes. Nothing about her was soft, not her eyes or her voice.


    ¡°Maiden Mags,¡± Precept Anite insisted. She grasped my hand in her rough palms. ¡°You can and you will,¡± She squeezed my fingers in her hands. ¡°Focus your aura and your feelings. Try again.¡±


    She hadn¡¯t meant to, but she hurt my fingers when she squeezed and tears welled up in my eyes. I couldn¡¯t see them but I could feel the other girls in my coven staring at me. They already didn¡¯t like me, that had been obvious since our first day together. I hoped my decision to wear my hair down that morning would keep them from learning that I cried at the drop of a pin.


    ¡°Maiden Mags.¡± Precept Anite gave my hand another painful squeeze.


    ¡°Okay.¡± I muttered, swallowing the lump in my throat. To pass, I had to charm her into smiling, but I couldn¡¯t think of a single happy memory or feeling to push into her. I pulled my aura anyways, the faster I failed, the faster I could go to the back of the line and cry in private. Holding my power in my hand, all I could think about was going home.


    All I wanted to do was go home. I would bake some of those little cakes that mother loved so much. I¡¯d even fill them with blueberry jam, her favorite, and sprinkle sugar on top. I¡¯d make them extra special, full of love, and beg her to never make me go to school again.


    I couldn¡¯t hold my aura any longer. I let it go and turned to go to the back of the line.


    Precept Anite didn¡¯t let go of my hand. ¡°Well done, Maiden Mags. You pass.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± I asked, confused.


    ¡°You pass. Move on.¡± She repeated.


    I didn¡¯t understand. Was she taking pity on me? Rather than risk provoking her anger, I did as I was told. When I passed her, I snuck a glance at my teacher from under the cover of my hair.


    A single tear rolled down Precept Anite¡¯s stern face.


    I had not made her laugh.


    I hadn¡¯t even made her smile.


    I had made her cry.


    Then, I fell.


    In the same instant, I sat up with a gasp.


    All I could do for the first few moments was shiver violently and listen to the sound of my teeth chatter. I opened my eyes. I was in a bathtub and had been long enough for my skin to thin and shrivel. Tiny waves rippled out across the surface of the cold water from my shivering. Once I saw the two towels neatly folded on the counter to my right, I couldn¡¯t get to them fast enough. Hands shaking, I hurriedly wrapped one around my soaked hair and pinned the other under my arms. My reflection in the mirror, besides the chattering teeth, looked the same as it had the day before. Brown hair, brown eyes, and dull features that weren¡¯t remotely memorable. Relieved I still looked nothing like myself, my glamor had improved dramatically once there had been a reason to use it, I sat down on the floor and pulled my knees to my chest so I could get warm.


    When I was fairly certain I would not slip into hypothermia and my shivering had subsided into an occasional spasm, I noticed it again.


    I was being watched.


    ¡°What is your name?¡± A hypnotic baritone spoke from above me.


    Its very resonance compelling me to obey, I did, powerless to resist. ¡°Mags.¡±


    Perched atop the mirror light, the skeleton of a small kitten stared down at me with the two yellow flits of light floating in the sockets of its skull where eyes should have been. Though there were none of the necessary muscles and tendons to allow it to make expressions, the yellow flits were focused on me with unwavering attention.


    It swished its segmented tail, sending a series of cracks that sounded like someone popping all of their knuckles at once ¡°What is your name?¡±


    ¡°Mags,¡± I shook my head.¡± No, not her, I wasn¡¯t Mags anymore. I had never been Mags. Her, Precept Anite, even the little cakes she had wanted to bake had all been a memory. ¡°Dani?¡±


    ¡°What is your name?¡± The skeleton asked a third time, rising to all fours atop its perch.


    I might make myself look like Dani and I might tell people I was Dani, but I wasn¡¯t her either. She was a lie.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    If I wasn¡¯t Mags and I wasn¡¯t Dani, but I was able to live through Mags¡¯s memories and I had the power to make myself look like Dani, then. . .?


    ¡°Autumn Aubrey.¡± I said, mostly sure it was right.


    ¡°Who is Autumn Aubrey?¡± It continued, its voice so deep I could feel it in my chest.


    ¡°I am a Maiden of Zenithcidel. Daughter of Idensyn Aubrey. Thief and possessor of The Well. Debtor to The Circle of the Nine Mothers.¡± I sighed, the familiarity of the words bringing me back to myself in full.


    Maybe that was why it had been difficult to leave Mags behind, I felt a similar sadness to what she had felt.


    ¡°What were you doing?¡± The Skeleton asked, nimbly dropping down from the light fixture and landing on the counter without ever dropping its haunting gaze. If not for its claws clattering against the hard surface its descent would have been utterly silent.


    This would be the last question. There were only ever three and they were always the same.


    I began. ¡°I was. . .¡±


    Outside the bathroom, I heard the worn door to my old room creak open.


    I shot to my feet. Had I not turned the deadbolt? I always double checked before I went to The Well.


    I pointed at the skeleton. ¡°Stay.¡±


    ¡°What were you doing?¡± It repeated.


    ¡°Not right now!¡± I whispered harshly.


    ¡°What were you doing?¡± It asked a third time, unaffected by the intruder.


    ¡°You made me do this.¡± I growled, grabbing the tiny skeleton in one hand and dropping it into the tank of the toilet in one quick motion. The porcelain lid clinked shut and I flushed it for good measure. Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck. Had something from Chaos crawled into this reality and caught my scent, or would it be someone from the Spire, come for The Well. Did The Mothers finally track me down and were going to drag me back to Zenithcidel? In my panic, I reached within myself with my mind and focused my aura against the oppressive restrictions that kept it bound. I closed the bathroom door behind me, woefully unprepared to defend myself.


    ¡°Housekeeping?¡± A woman¡¯s voice tentatively called through the crack in my door.


    I hadn¡¯t considered the only possible threat worse than the horrors my mind had immediately suspected.


    My landlord.


    Before I could answer, the door swung open and a girl, not a woman, stepped in with both her arms full of neatly folded sheets.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s alright, I don¡¯t need it.¡± I stammered, trying and utterly failing at sounding normal.


    Raven black hair pulled up in a messy bun, wearing jeans and a flannel shirt, she looked like my landlord, Ms. Lao, only about thirty years younger. The girl smirked. ¡°Are you even old enough to get tattoos?¡±


    ¡°What''s that?¡± I asked, confused.


    ¡°On your stomach,¡± She nodded towards me.¡±The tattoo.¡±


    I looked down. ¡°Oh, this!¡±


    I didn¡¯t understand what she meant. I¡¯d never heard the word tattoo before, but when I pointed at the seal over my stomach, she nodded.


    ¡°Yeah, that.¡± She said, raising an eyebrow.


    Circling my navel was a tight pattern of nine interlocking circles. Each a different color and thickness. It was a binding laid on me by the hands of the nine Mother¡¯s after I had wronged them. How could she see it?


    I looked down. How could I see it?


    When I had rushed out of the bathroom, I had left my towel behind me.


    The door was the only thing close enough that I could cover myself with. I jumped behind it and took the opportunity to push it a little further closed.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I said, finding myself much closer to the girl.


    ¡°You¡¯re blushing, that''s so cute,¡± She chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m Anna, by the way. My mom owns this place.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m.¡± Autumn. I nearly slipped. ¡°Dani. Your mom is my landlord.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Anna said, dragging the word out. She took her eyes off me and glanced into the room. ¡°I¡¯ll just come back later.¡±


    From behind the bathroom door, through the porcelain of the tank and the water that filled it, I heard the skeleton¡¯s muffled voice repeat its third question.


    ¡°Nice to meet you Autumn.¡± I said, shutting the door, locking the locks, double checking the locks, and finally sagging my bare back against it.


    ¡°Fuck that¡¯s cold!¡± I blurted, streaking into the bathroom and opening the toilet tank.


    The Skeleton kitten shot out of it just as soon as its boney body could slip through it. Its claws sank into my shoulder before it bounded off me and reclaimed its perch atop the light fixture.


    ¡°Hey, that hurt.¡± I groaned and pressed my hand to the punctures.


    ¡°What were you doing?¡± It questioned as if the entire last ten minutes had not happened.


    ¡°For fucks sake,¡± I snapped. ¡°Viewing a memory from The Well, because I was such a bad little girl, I found a way to steal an ethereal structure that contained the collected knowledge and memories of every sorceress of Zenithcidel! Do we have to go through this every time?¡±


    The Skeleton was silent for a moment, giving me nothing but empty air and the stare of its haunting eye lights. Then, it lifted the bone of its paw and began grooming it. Which would have been perfectly acceptable if it had fur to lick or a tongue to lick with.


    ¡°Sam!¡± I yelled.


    ¡°I am bound to ask you those three questions.¡±


    ¡°Of course it is. Thank you for your unshakable devotion.¡± I sighed.


    The skeleton of a kitten had arrived not long after I had settled into the boarding house that currently served as my hideaway. It had not been a friendly meeting or a friendly couple of weeks, but he was my familiar and his name was Sam.


    ¡°You are welcome,¡± Sam spoke, my sarcasm lost on him. ¡°You were within yourself for much longer than I am accustomed to. I find that strange.¡± He continued, swapping paws.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t know how any of it works.¡± I spat, the last of my anger running out with the words.


    ¡° You should not be hiding away from the very people that could help you understand.¡± He stated without any hint of emotion.


    ¡°I am very aware of your opinions on my choices, cat.¡±


    I left the bathroom and threw myself down on the mound of blankets I used as a bed. The actual bed was propped up against the windows on the back wall of the room. It would offer me no protection from the people and things that were after me, but when I did manage to get some sleep, I slept a little deeper because of it.


    My stomach groaned.


    I had been gouged by my familiar and was bleeding onto my blankets, had nearly been discovered for being a sorceress hiding amongst mortals, almost gave said mortal my true name, said mortal was the daughter of the woman whose room I was renting and hadn¡¯t paid in the month I¡¯d been there and on top of it all, I had exposed myself to her.


    Of course I was hungry and a quick glance at the clock ticking away on the wall told me It was far too early for me to plunder the kitchen for scraps.


    ¡°Mother¡¯s help me.¡± I sighed and dropped my head onto the bed.

 Chapter Two: Trea

    I hadn¡¯t heard music since I had run away.


    It had been rare enough back home, I hadn¡¯t gotten out much, but rare is practically abundant when it is being compared to nothing.


    Somewhere in the nothing time between late night and early morning, it had become all too easy for me to blur the line between the two, I scrawled in a notebook I had swiped from a drawer in the kitchen downstairs. My hair still damp from the bath, I made an attempt at recording the most recent memory.


    Vimelrian, I wrote. Maiden, colorless, manipulation.


    Yes, after great effort, the Maiden Vimelrian had managed to perform the monumental task of pushing a stone a hand''s length across a table with her aura.


    How exciting.


    Since I had begun taking notes, I¡¯d filled close to eleven pages with nearly identical entries. The names changed, what the person whose eyes I was seeing through were doing varied, but every single memory I had jotted down ,was some variation of the same story. Teacher and student, student has to charm or glamor or manipulate with their colorless aura, student passes or fails. All the same, every time.


    How exciting.


    I yawned and it stretched through my body, bringing me to my feet. The old wooden floor was cold, like everything else in my ragged little room.


    ¡°One more.¡± I sighed, thinking I could go to The Well one more time before I got some sleep when I heard it.


    A handful of disjointed notes, barely loud enough to hear, caught my ear. It had not been music but it had been the pieces of it. The same notes that had come before echoed again, sounding tighter and cleaner, almost a melody. Then it repeated, ringing out flawlessly until a sour note, much louder than the others, destroyed what was being crafted and the night fell into sudden silence.


    An owl hooted from somewhere in the woods behind the boarding house.


    I peeked over the mattress and out of the window, only wanting to lay my eyes on whoever was making the music. I doubted it was the only other tenant in the house, a bespectacled old woman who walked with a cane or Ms. Lao, who I had never seen awake after sunset. Which only left Anna, who the mere thought of still made the sting of embarrassment rise in my cheeks. If it wasn¡¯t a mortal playing music in the backyard, It could have been a trick to gain my attention and lure me outside. It could have been a trick to get me to peek through the window so they would know I was inside. This is how you get caught, Autumn. This is how you get found. Be smart. I thought, knowing I should cast my interest aside and pretend like I had never heard it.


    The notes came again, resonating off one another to make something that sounded light and cheerful before the same sour note in the same spot in the melody brought it to an ugly and violent end.


    ¡°Ahh.¡± I growled, frustrated. I couldn¡¯t help it any longer. I pushed the mattress away from the window just enough so I could see down into the yard.


    There was little light with the night sky being overcast as it was, but sitting at the base of a large oak, illuminated by the orange glow of a big green lantern, a man was bent over the body of a guitar. His hands were moving but I could no longer hear what he was playing, which was truly tragic. The tragedy was that I wanted to hear what he was playing but I knew it would be very unwise for me to pursue that desire.


    I forced myself to sit back down on the bed.


    What if the sour notes were just the warming fingers of a master musician warming up to debut his most impressive composition? I couldn¡¯t sit idly by and miss such an opportunity could I?


    I couldn¡¯t.


    So as quick as I could, I was on my way out the door.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Sam¡¯s hypnotic baritone thundered.


    I answered his question with the sound of the door shutting behind me.


    Down I went, skipping the steps that I had learned to avoid during my late night pillaging of the kitchen.If I stepped on them they would creak and announce my descent to the rest of the old house. I slipped out the front door silently and snuck around the side of the house. I crept through the darkness pooling along the edge of the house, the dew dampened grass cold on my bare feet. I turned the corner and ran face first into the man with the guitar.


    The strings and my face did not make music, instead, an ugly chord of open strings and my startled cry broke out. The momentary spike of fear made my aura flare and press against the Seal that kept me from manifesting my power.


    ¡°Oh shit, I¡¯m sorry! Are you alright? I didn¡¯t know anybody was out here.¡± The man said, continuing to apologize through my silence.


    If it hadn''t been for the Seal I would have used my aura against someone I was near certain was a mortal and only a mortal. Once I made my body understand it did not need to defend itself, my reflexively drawn power slipped away and I immediately felt the loss. I caught myself with one outstretched arm on the wall of the house as the wave of weariness washed over me. ¡°Are you injured?¡±


    Surely he wouldn¡¯t notice my weakness. I had played it off as being laid back, casual. We¡¯d laugh it off and part ways. Simple.


    ¡°Oh man, Your nose is bleeding.¡± He said not a second later.


    The warm tickle filling my nose confirmed what he said. I wiped my nose on the back of my hand, leaving two streaks of blood painted across my skin. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re Dani right? My sister told me about you.¡± He stepped closer, his lantern illuminating enough of his face that I could see the resemblance to Anna in his dark hair and eyes. He stood nearly head and shoulders taller than me and wore a friendly smile.


    ¡°Arthur! Who are you talking to?¡± Someone yelled from the back door around the corner.


    ¡°Hold on just a second,¡± he said to me, then he turned and raised his own voice. ¡°I¡¯m talking to Dani from upstairs. Go to bed Ma!¡±


    ¡°You go to bed! Both of you!¡± Ms. Lao snapped back and the sound of the back door slamming shut made me flinch.


    I hadn¡¯t known Ms. Lao was a mother until I¡¯d met Anna but knowing she had two children, albeit who both seemed to be older than me if I had to guess, made me feel doubly worse for charming my way out of not paying her for room and board.


    ¡°Sorry about that,¡± Arthur apologized. He hesitated before asking. ¡°Can I see it?¡±


    ¡°See what?¡± I said, confused. I wiped my bloody nose with my other hand.


    ¡°The tattoo? Anna said she had never seen one like it.¡±


    Heat bloomed across my face. Not because he was a stranger asking me to reveal part of myself to him, maybe that had something to do with it, but because Anna had told him about the seal and he had brought it up to me. She would tell others and he would tell others and even if it stopped there, the amount of people that knew something tangible about me would be more than one. How long would it take for the Mother¡¯s or something worse to hear? How long would it take for someone or something that knew the right things to over hear and find the information curious?


    ¡°I, uh, have to go.¡± I said, walking past Arthur and straight towards the wood line that circled the old house. I would sneak back up to my room once he had gone.


    ¡°Hey, wait! I wasn¡¯t trying to be weird!¡± He called after me.


    I didn¡¯t answer, knowing that made my behavior seem all the more strange. It wouldn¡¯t matter for long. I¡¯d sneak back up to my room and be gone before anyone else in the house woke up. What choice did I have?


    ¡°You aren¡¯t even wearing shoes!¡± Arthur called one last time before I crossed the wood line and took refuge within the darkness amongst the shadowed pines.


    Arthur had been right, I wasn¡¯t wearing shoes. My bare feet being cut, scraped, and bruised by every thorn, twig, and branch I stepped on reminded me of that fact. I didn¡¯t have shoes. I had never needed them before I had escaped from Zenithcidel. I had left with nothing but the robes on my back. The reaction Ms. Lao had given me when I had shown up at her door had been scrutinizing enough that I had stowed them in the small closet of my room and stolen the sweatshirt that fit me like a dress and shorts that I was wearing then from the laundry downstairs.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Though I had only been there a month, I had found a feeling of comfort and familiarity in the old boarding house. Sure, I had to sneak around and steal food and endure the occasional interaction with one of the other residents, but I was free. Settling down had made me not be as careful as I should be. So, maybe the immediate danger of leaving would be worth it if I could be mindful enough to be less careless wherever I ended up next.


    I don¡¯t know how deep or for how long I walked, but my feet had taken a beating and I sat down on the trunk of a long fallen tree. The night had been overcast the entire time I had been outside, but moonlight found its way through the trees and brightened the woods around me.


    Then, I felt it again. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end and I was suddenly reminded that I had walked very deep into the unfamiliar woods.


    I was being watched.


    It was a feeling, almost a seventh sense, that was the sudden instinct that you were not alone. The moonlight brightened behind me, and my shadow was cast across the woods, a twisted visage of what I actually was.


    How is the moon behind me? I thought, spinning around on the fallen trunk to find out.


    An owl made of ghostly blue light faced away from me on a low hanging branch. It flared out its massive wings and a flurry of motes made of its haunting light swirled out in the darkness. ¡°Hooo!¡±


    A spirit, here?


    ¡°Two strangers in my wood this night, night, night.¡± The owl spirit spoke in a clear voice that rang in my ears. Without turning its body, it spun its head around slowly until it focused its shining eyes on me. ¡°With the first, first, first?¡±


    ¡°No. I am alone.¡± I answered flatly. I had never met a spirit before but I had lived through memories of those that had. They were temperamental and I knew better than to provoke it.


    ¡°The other. Looking, looking, looking.¡± The spirit almost sang, punctuating its words with three clicks of its beak. Click. Click. Click.


    ¡°Looking for what?¡± I asked, raising my palm and letting one of the pale blue motes drift down onto it like I was catching a snowflake. It didn¡¯t melt. Instead, it slowly dimmed and dulled until my palm was empty again.


    ¡°Hoo!¡± The spirit hooted.


    ¡°Looking for who?¡± I tried.


    Without moving its glowing eyes from me, it spun its body around to realign with its head. ¡°Boy¡¯s back. Looking, looking, looking,¡± Three more clicks of its beak. Click. Click. Click.  ¡°Hoo! Me? You? Looking, looking, looking.¡±


    ¡°The other stranger is looking for you and me?¡±


    ¡°Closer. Looking, looking, looking.¡± It said. Click. Click. Click. Then, without a parting word, it flared its wings and took flight, leaving a swathe of pale blue motes floating towards the ground. Just like the one I had caught, they dimmed and disappeared after a moment and I was left in the dark.


    I didn¡¯t call after it, in my experience which was truly the experience of sorceresses I had never met, I had already learned everything the spirit was willing to spare.


    Someone else was in the woods and they were looking.


    Click. Click. Click.


    I was not alone in the woods.


    ¡°Time I get back.¡± I said to myself and started walking.


    My walking quickly turned to running.


    All had been quiet in the house when I tiptoed back up to my room sometime before dawn. The light had been on in the hall when I reached the second story landing, but being that I had intentionally never met the old woman, I didn¡¯t know if that was strange or not. I unlocked the door and stepped inside, carrying a large loaf of bread I had swiped from the kitchen on my way up.


    Sam sat atop the mound of blankets I used as a bed, peering down at my open notebook. ¡°I did not expect, based on our limited time together, for you to take it upon yourself to record notations of your experiences in The Well.¡± The little skeleton said in his hypnotically low baritone.


    ¡°What did you think I was writing?¡± I locked the door and then ripped off a chunk of the bread and shoved it in my mouth. It was airy and had a bit of a sour aftertaste. Only after I had swallowed it and followed it with nearly half the loaf did was the loss I had taken from my aura earlier replenished.


    ¡°I did not think about it at all.¡± Sam answered, still reading.


    Should I tell him about the spirit?


    I decided that there was no use. All I would get in return would have been at best, a monotone condemnation about the danger I had placed myself in because I was an impulsive child that needed to go home to Zenithcidel with its covens and schools and the uncountable other things I wouldn¡¯t be allowed to do. The thought alone of being locked back in the three little rooms felt like torture unto itself.


    I dipped into the bathroom and turned the hot water all the way on. Being able to focus enough to slip into The Well was hard enough to do somewhere I was relatively comfortable. It would be days or weeks before I would even be able to think about trying based on how long it had taken me before.


    Sam stopped his studying and slunk into the bathroom before climbing his way to what had become his post atop the light fixture. Not long after he had found me, I had locked him out of the bathroom. When I had come back to myself, he had been on the lights and had refused to explain to me how he had gotten inside.


    I undressed, closed the door behind me, and stuffed a towel under the door in the hopes that if I was gone too long, it would retain some of the heat. ¡°Ah. Ah. Ah.¡± I gasped as I lowered myself into the steaming hot water, inch by inch. The cuts and scrapes on my feet broke into new pain once they were submerged but getting in with it any cooler would leave me near frozen when I came back. I closed my eyes and slowed my breathing.


    Sometimes it would take hours for me to feel myself fall and others it would take me no time at all. That early morning, in what I was sure would be my last visit for the foreseeable future, the water was still stinging my feet when I sank into The Well.


    In a room that¡¯s only entrance lay hidden within my own mind, three walls of gold, silver, and bronze threads wove into an infinitely repeating pattern gleamed around me. Then, light came, brightening into a door of empty light that I had seen so many times I had lost count. Running my hands along the metallic walls, I stepped through it.


    The sorceress placed yet another red stone on the dusty ground between us.


    ¡°Are you still willing?¡± She asked.


    When she had taken me from the mines and told me what she wanted me to do, it had come with the assurance that she would delay her leaving for as long as i was willing to try.


    That had been hours ago.


    The sun was setting behind the red rocks and a graveyard of shattered stones, memorializing my countless failures, had piled on the ground around us over that time. I looked over my shoulder. From the looks of it, the whole town had gathered at the outskirts to see what the strange woman wanted with their little outcast.


    For once, I didn¡¯t blame them. I¡¯d never seen anything like her either.


    ¡°Ignore them Trea. They have never helped you. They will not begin now.¡± The sorceress said. Her hair fell to just above her jaw in perfect blonde curls and she did not have the half starved look of everyone that lived within the broken crown.


    From the moment I had first seen her, I wanted nothing more than to be her.


    ¡°I am willing.¡± I answered, doing as she said and turning my eyes from the townsfolk.


    She smiled. ¡°Good. Remember, slow and controlled. Do not force it.¡±


    I nodded that I understood, trying to hide the happiness I felt at her smile, and focused on the latest red stone. No bigger than a coin and no different than any of the other stones just like it that were in abundance, It was good that it was only the size of a coin and not the value. My debt was large enough already.


    I let my aura burn within me, focusing the heat around the stone. With nothing but my will, I pushed it out of the dust and held it at eye level.


    ¡°Now, empty your mind and let go.¡± The sorceress said.


    She had said it before, every handful of minutes from the time we had sat down when the sun had been directly over us. Everytime before, I could not let it go. I¡¯d broken the stone every single time.


    A breaker, that¡¯s what I was. That¡¯s the reason they had thrown me in the mines. That''s why they had come to watch. They were waiting for me to prove them right.


    ¡°Empty your mind, Trea. Nothing matters but the stone. You can do it.¡± The sorceress assured me.


    I wanted to prove her right more than I wanted to prove the townsfolk wrong. I wanted to trade my thread bare rags for a dress like hers. I wanted her to take my from the broken crown like she¡¯d promised she would if I could prove I was in control of my gift.


    I exhaled, slowly releasing my aura like the air in my lungs.


    Just as the stone began to fall back to the dusty ground, someone from the crowd sneezed.


    It shattered.


    Slivers of stone and red dust shot out in all directions, peppering my face and the sorceress¡¯s with my failure.


    ¡°Damnit!¡± I yelled, slamming my fist into the dusty ground as hard as I could.


    The sorceress waited for my outburst to end before asking me calmly. ¡°Are you still willing?¡±


    Her beautiful face blurred and my vision went dark. Gone was the stone, the crowd, the broken crown. There was nothing but darkness until a yellow light filled my eyes.


    I was back in the bathroom. I sat up, pulling myself up by my ankles and came face to face with Sam.


    ¡°What is your name?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Autumn Aubrey.¡± Why wasn¡¯t there any water in the tub?


    ¡°Who is Autumn Aubrey?¡±


    ¡°I am a maiden of Zenithcidel. Daughter of Idensyn Aubrey. Thief and possessor of The Well. Debtor to The Circle of the Nine Mothers.¡± Warm mist drifted down from the ceiling and every surface of the bathroom was slick with water.


    Finally, he asked. ¡°What were you doing?¡±


    ¡°Viewing memories from The Well so it may be extracted from me and returned to the Mothers,¡± I wiped the moisture off my face. My feet ached and although I had eaten not long before, I was nearly shaking with hunger. ¡°Why are you over here, creep?¡±


    Sam¡¯s yellow eyes flared. ¡°Even if you were not a scrawny welp caught in the death throes of youth, I am incapable of feeling what you accuse me of.¡±


    ¡°Why is everything wet?¡± I asked, not knowing if I should feel bad for my familiar or insulted by his words.


    ¡°You struck the water. I found that unusual.¡±


    The longer I looked at Sam, the more I came to realize something had changed about him.


    ¡°Did you grow a whisker?¡±

 Chapter Three: Kavinli

    ¡°What is your name?¡±


    ¡°Autumn, Maiden of Zenithcidel, stole the Well, owe the Mothers, viewing memories.¡± I said in quick succession the instant I heard my familiar¡¯s baritone voice.


    ¡°You have returned.¡± Sam stated, whatever magical directive he was under that compelled him to ask his questions evidently satisfied with my shorthand answers.


    I was back. Back from The Well fast enough that my hair was still dry at the roots and my skin had not yet wrinkled.


    The kitten was right.


    I had been Melew, a Maiden attempting a minor charm. I hadn¡¯t, no, she hadn¡¯t succeeded.


    Never opening my eyes, I slowed my breathing and reaffirmed the grip on my aura. ¡°I¡¯m going back.¡±


    ¡°You have never attempted consecutive memories. I advise against this choice.¡± Sam stated. A warning in words if not in tone, since he only had the one, but It was lost on me as I slipped back into The Well with no effort at all.


    In a room that looked exactly like it always did, I tapped my foot. The same three walls with the gold and silver and bronze pattern surrounded me.


    Did it always take so long for the door to appear? I had just been there. I would have to start counting.


    The empty light came eventually, as it always did, and I stepped into its iridescence.


    Precept Wisco¡¯s irises shifted fluidly from green to blue to purple to red and then back again until they settled back to her natural honey brown. The other Maidens in my coven applauded from our half circle of seats placed around the precept.


    ¡°Thank you all. Over the next cycle, you all will become proficient in the use of glamor.¡± Precept Wisco began. She was a short woman with short black hair. Streaks of pure white ran straight back from her hairline on both sides. I¡¯d only met her a minute or two ago but she looked sturdy, like a badger.


    She started her lecture. I couldn¡¯t do it. Both of my first lectures had been nothing but two hours of talking about things I could do in my sleep. By Wisco¡¯s second word, I knew that hers would be the same. It would kill me if I had to sit through another second of such basic instruction. I had already found the color of my soul and though he had forbidden me from telling anyone, I was decades more advanced than any of the other Maidens.


    ¡°Yes, Maiden Kavinli?¡± Precept Wisco acknowledged my raised hand.


    ¡°What if we are already proficient with glamors?¡± I asked, using my proper voice and preparing myself to demonstrate my prowess.


    ¡°Then I would suggest finding the value in reviewing the basics,¡± Precept Wisco smiled and continued her lesson ¡°Now, how many of you have attempted performing a glamor before?¡±


    I begrudgingly raised my hand along with most of the coven. Of course they had tried. Everybody did as soon as they learned they could. The real question should have been how many of them could change their face entirely and maintain it, like I could. I¡¯d bet my last piece of chocolate that I was better than Wisco.


    ¡°The first key to maintaining a glamor is to forget you have changed anything at all.¡±


    She continued, her eyes passing from Maiden to me to Maiden until they snapped back. I had focused my aura and manifested it, changing my face to an exact mirror of my instructors, down to the small white scar that just barely peaked out of her hairline. Surely, she would recognize my skill and send me to a more advanced coven. A full facial glamor was years beyond what any of the other girls in the chamber could do. I wasn¡¯t sure Precept Wisco could even do it.


    She continued her lecture without a single word to me. ¡°It becomes ever easier to maintain an illusion if you can make yourself believe it is not one.¡±


    I stopped listening after that, instead turning my mind to wondering what I had done to deserve the soul crushing boredom I was going to endure for the remainder of the cycle. He had told me that I would be ahead of everyone else, but I hadn¡¯t anticipated just how boring it all was going to be.


    Beginning to nod off, I fell back and sat up in a bathroom still filled with steam.


    For the second time in what couldn¡¯t have been more than ten minutes but felt like seconds, Sam asked his questions and I gave my answers. I wrapped myself in the towels that had needed a wash the day after I had rented the room and wiped a swathe of steam off the mirror with my hand.


    Scratching an itch on my right palm, I noticed my hair was lightening at the roots and the dull brown of my eyes were beginning to green. ¡°Too much Autumn. Need more Dani.¡± I said to my reflection. It had been days since I had needed to apply the glamor, which compared to the three or four times a day It had been necessary when I had first fled Zenithcidel, I felt pride in my improvement.


    ¡°Yet another excuse you have found to delay our leaving for an undetermined amount of time.¡± Sam stated. He hopped down off his perch and landed on the counter silently, a skeleton no more.


    The morning after I had discovered my familiar had sprouted a whisker, I had woken to find him staring at himself in the mirror, fully furred. His tortoise shell coat varied between every shade of blue, from baby to near black, and the yellow flits of light I had become so accustomed to being watched by had been replaced by gleaming blue eyes. Even with all the changes and new flesh that had happened, he was still small enough to fit in one hand.


    ¡°Leave me alone, cat.¡± I sighed.


    ¡°You are emotional.¡± Sam said, pointedly not leaving me alone. His hypnotic baritone sounded even stranger coming from his current state than when he had been bones alone.


    ¡°I¡¯m fucking bored,¡± I snapped, suprised at my own anger. ¡°It''s all the same shit! Charms and glamors, precepts and maidens, shit I can already do or shit I¡¯ve been forbidden to do. I try to keep myself entertained. I take notes? But for fucks sake, the last memory I viewed, Kavinli, the girl who I was, was fucking bored too!¡±


    I left the bathroom mostly dry and got dressed. Still wearing the sweatshirt that hung just above my knees and the stolen shorts, I had added a pair of long white socks that were also stolen from the laundry that had made walking while my feet healed much more manageable.


    ¡°You speak as if you were allowed to live with The Well for your own enjoyment.¡± Sam said, following me out of the bathroom.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know what it¡¯s like going in and out of that place. Seeing the same things, doing the same things, and hating it but knowing that the only thing you can do is continue torturing yourself.¡±


    Sam jumped onto the dresser, empty except for my notebook and pencil. ¡°Tell me.¡±


    My jaw dropped. ¡°Did I just hear you express genuine interest in me?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Sam stated, nonplussed.


    The only thing I had ever gotten from him besides annoyance was his focused monotone when he was compelled to ask his questions.


    ¡°What is wrong with you? Why do you want to know?¡±


    Sam¡¯s newly furred face scrunched, showing sharp little teeth, and he let out a hiss that sounded more like stones being ground together than the sound of a kitten. ¡°I can not know. It has been forbidden.¡±


    Expression in his voice and a facial expression? After what I had come to expect from my familiar, I believed him.


    ¡°What do you want to know?¡±


    ¡°All that you do.¡± His face relaxed and he put his teeth away..


    I told him. I told him about the light and the doors and the three metallic walls. I told him what it felt like to fall out of a memory. The words flowed out of me and I didn¡¯t care to stop. The more I spoke, the freer I felt. I told him everything I could think to tell him and then I stopped.


    ¡°Hmmm.¡± He growled, his voice sounding like it could shake the old paint off the walls if he really wanted to.


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    ¡°Again, are you alright?¡± I asked.


    The little blue kitten that was really only a little blue kitten in appearance swished his tail violently while the rest of him remained utterly still.


    I only wanted to pet him a little. It was the fur, my familiar''s annoying demeanor hadn¡¯t ruined it for me yet.


    ¡°Sam?¡±


    Nothing.


    Then, finally, he spoke. ¡°It is unwise to tell you.¡±


    From some of the memories I had lived through, I had gathered that familiars were souls woven into magical bodies by some benevolent entity with the explicit purpose to serve and assist their sorceress. Sam had come early from what I understood and with at least one other explicit purpose. If I gave him a command backed with my aura, would he be compelled to follow it like a run of the mill magical entity that was bound to my will should or if it would fail and further complicate our already contentious relationship?


    I couldn¡¯t risk it, so I did the only reasonable thing I could think of to increase the chances that Sam would tell me the information that I had suddenly discovered I would die without.


    I begged.


    ¡°Tell me, please? I¡¯ll do anything,¡± I pleaded, dropping down to my knees and shaking my clasped hands in front of me. I did my best to make show of it, even sticking out my bottom lip like a little girl. ¡°I¡¯ll never stuff you in the toilet again, I promise!¡±


    Sam watched me without any reaction, stated simply. ¡°I will tell you if you assist me in a need I am unable to sate myself.¡±


    ¡°Yes! Whatever it is.¡± I said, jumping to my feet. I didn¡¯t know if my begging had any effect on him but I chose to believe that I was too cute to resist, even for him.


    Sam leapt to the floor. ¡°Since my transformation, I have experienced a sensation I can only describe as hollow,¡± he padded over to the door, pawed at it once, and then turned his big blue eyes back to me. ¡°I have come to understand this hollowness is what you would know as hunger.¡±


    I laughed. I couldn¡¯t help it any more than my familiar could keep himself from asking his questions. For all his deep voiced brooding and talks of duty, my cat needed me to feed him. ¡°Is the wittle kitty hungwy?¡±


    Sam arched his back, sending every blue hair on his body standing on its end. He thundered in a voice that shook the glass of the window through the mattress with every word. ¡°Do not mock my misfortune, you ignorant child!¡±


    I kept laughing, I couldn¡¯t stop, but I did make my way towards the door. I would get him food. Not just because I wanted to know how he could cure my boredom and not just because I was responsible for him, and definitely not because he had scared me. ¡°What do you eat? I don¡¯t think they would keep cat food in a house that doesn¡¯t allow pets.¡±


    I opened the door.


    Sam bolted through the small gap before I could so much as tell him no. The little streak of blue fur and teeth and claws bounded down the stairs and disappeared into the lower stories of the boarding house.


    ¡°Come back you stupid cat!¡± I yelled, slamming the door behind me.


    Down I went, taking the stairs as fast as I could with no concern for the sounds I made. I slid onto the second floor landing and collided with the only other tenant of the boarding house that just happened to be standing there at that exact moment.


    ¡°Oh!¡± Ms. Mole cried out in surprise and dropped her cane.


    I caught her by her shawl and helped her regain her balance. ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡±


    From underneath her curtain of long gray hair and thick round glasses, she called after me. ¡°Be careful on the stairs, dearie.¡±


    Down I went.


    I had stayed at the boarding house too long. I¡¯d been meaning to leave since the night I had encountered the spirit, but I had continued to find reasons to stay. I needed to take one more trip into The Well, glamor myself one more time, steal one last loaf of bread from the kitchen, or get one more morning of sleep. I should have been smarter but instead I had hung around long enough to be tricked by my mutinous familiar. My leaving would no longer be by the way of quietly slipping away, thanks to Sam it would be much more dramatic.


    Just before I took the last several steps, a clamor of falling pots and pans broke out from the kitchen.


    ¡°Hey!¡± I heard someone shout.


    Arthur? I thought.


    My socked foot hit the bottom step and kept going without me.


    Down I went.


    My aura flared within me, reflexively trying to soften my impact but the constricting force of the Mother¡¯s Seal stopped it dead and I crashed to the floor on my hands and knees, hard. ¡°Hhhhh.¡± I seethed, cringing from the hot nails of pain stabbing through my joints.


    I heard footsteps stop just in front of me. ¡°Hey, are you alright? Did you do that on purpose?¡±


    Arthur.


    I looked up and took his offered hand..


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± I said, already limping into the kitchen without letting another moment pass. I had a safe assumption of what had caused all the noise.


    ¡°Are you sure? I saw you fall, that looked pretty rough.¡±


    ¡°I have to find my cat.¡± I said, forsaking any small hope I had left for staying in the boarding house. What if someone saw him? What if the wrong someone saw him? The trail of disarray showed me the path he had taken through the kitchen and it led all the way to the open window over the sink.


    ¡°That was yours? I would have caught it if I knew that.¡± Arthur said.


    Regular cats were nimble and much quicker than I was. Sam was not a regular cat and I had no idea what he was capable of. The chances of me finding him and then being able to get my hands on him, either with stealth or speed, had plummeted to almost nothing. What if Sam was the wrong someone and he meant to turn me into the Mothers? I was done. He had been very clear about his disapproval of my choice to live as a fugitive.


    I didn¡¯t respond to Arthur. ¡°What do I do, what do I do?


    Arthur tried with me again, looking genuinely concerned. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll help you find it.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t let myself, and in turn, The Well, fall into the wrong hands. A lump formed in my throat as I focused my aura and prepared to say the three little words that would have me back home before my knees could stop hurting, the three little words that would end it all. With my power on my lips, I spoke. ¡°Mothers,¡±


    The back door flung open and Anna, Arthur''s sister, walked in. She held her arms out in front of her, Sam¡¯s small form clutched in both of her hands. The kitten''s blue fur was covered in smatters of blood and feathers and he was giving his best performance of a regular old kitten being preoccupied with cleaning itself.


    ¡°Look what I just found outside absolutely mauling a bird,¡± She said. Then, she noticed me.¡± Oh, hey. You¡¯re wearing clothes this time.¡±


    I clamped my mouth shut and released my aura, sagging back against the counter. All was not lost. I could still make a run for it as soon as I got Sam in my hands.


    ¡°That¡¯s her cat.¡± Arthur said.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t supposed to have pets here,¡± Anna responded, turning Sam to face her. ¡°Why is he blue?¡±


    ¡°What is going on in there?¡± Ms. Lao barked from somewhere else in the house.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± Arthur called back and then he held his arms out towards his sister and whispered. ¡°Give it to me, I¡¯ll hide it.¡±


    Anna rolled her eyes, but passed the bloody kitten to her brother. He managed to tuck Sam behind his back just before Ms. Lao stormed into the kitchen.


    ¡°What is all the banging? Why is it so loud? What are you doing down here?¡± She questioned, shifting her eyes between her children and then finally to me.


    ¡°We were just getting to know Dani.¡± Anna said.


    I heard Arthur let out a sudden puff of air from his nose.


    ¡°Mmhmm, who was talking about a cat?¡± Ms. Lao said, narrowing her eyes.


    Arthur spoke up. ¡° I was saying I wished I could get a cat, Ma.¡±


    ¡°Turn around. Why are you standing like that? What do you have behind your back?¡± Ms. Lao demanded.


    Ms. Lao¡¯s son did as he was told, holding up his hands and giving a dramatic spin, revealing that there was nothing behind him but the kitchen counter.


    Where the fuck did he go?


    ¡°Mmhmm,¡± She said, walking out of the kitchen. Before she disappeared back into the part of the house I had never been in, she snapped. ¡°No pets, clean the kitchen!¡±


    No one spoke until we were all sure she was gone.


    ¡°Where is he?¡± I demanded.


    ¡°The little monster bit me and I let him go.¡± Arthur said, holding up a finger with four kitten fanged sized holes trickling blood.


    ¡°I think I saw him go back up the stairs.¡± Anna said.


    I had not been treated badly by the mortals I had crossed paths with but the two siblings had lied to their mother on my behalf. That had been beyond what I deserved, that had been kind.


    ¡°Thank you both. You didn¡¯t have to do that for me.¡± I said to them, bowing my head.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do it for you. You owe us.¡± Anna replied.


    ¡°What do you expect in return?¡± I said flatly, feeling myself growing cold. The chains of another debt were being fitted around my neck and I would be honor bound to repay it.


    ¡°I get to pet the kitten whenever I want.¡± She said with a smile that warmed away the chill that had come over me.


    ¡°Me too.¡± Arthur added, crossing his arms


    I smiled back. ¡°That can be managed.¡±


    There was no sign of Sam or Ms. Mole on my way up but when I reached my door, It was cracked open. I slammed it behind me and turned the deadbolt.


    ¡°I am here.¡± Sam said, now clean, from atop the mattress in front of the window.


    I crossed the room in two hard steps that shot streaks of pain through my sore knees. ¡°I should lock you in the toilet for a year! What the fuck were you thinking?¡±


    ¡°I informed you of my hunger and yet you are surprised I acted in sating it.¡± He stated.


    ¡°I thought you wanted me to get you food, you stupid cat!¡± I yelled again.


    ¡°I am a predator. I do not get fed, I feed.¡±


    I sank to the mound of blankets I called my bed and covered my face. The loss of needlessly channeling my aura twice and the toll of the fear I had felt overtaking my anger.


    ¡°To fulfill my obligation founded by our compact, I will tell you this. Someone has placed boundaries within The Well that prevent you from accessing it in full.¡± Sam said, his words slowing as he spoke.


    ¡°How?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I know not, but if they were placed. . .¡± He trailed off.


    I looked up and saw the little blue ball of fur curled atop the mattress with his eyes closed. I had never seen him sleep before.


    But if they were placed, I thought as I mimicked my not a kitten and drifted off myself. They can be removed.

 Chapter Four: I Would Like to Leave Now

    In a room that''s only entrance lay hidden within my own mind, I tried to tear the fucking walls down.


    A door of empty light sat in the corner I faced whenever I came into The Well. For the first time, I ignored it. I turned my attention to the three walls of gold, silver, and bronze threads. My reflection rippled over the textured surface of the gleaming pattern.


    "How''s this bullshit work?" I said aloud, reaching my arms out and pushing against the right wall. Ever since Sam had planted the notion in my mind that someone had placed restrictions within the thing that I had stolen fair and square, it had eaten at me. The Well was in me, until I saw every memory it held or died, it was mine. Stolen or not, I should be in charge of it. Hands and knees still sore from my slip on the stairs, I planted my feet and pressed against the wall with every bit of strength I could manage. Other than indentations on my palms and a fresh stab of pain in my right hand, the wall was unmoved. I tried pressing on different spots within the pattern, pulling on individual threads that remained motionless, even shouting a litany of possible command words, but the three walls remained unaffected and unchanged.


    I focused my aura, or, refocused? Part of the process of getting into The Well was focusing my Aura. I didn''t know if I was doing it again or just reminding my mind that it was focused. Too confusing. I thought, pushing all my power into my right hand and striking the left wall dead in its center with an open palm.


    "Stupid," I yelled, staggering back as pain from the impact shot all the way through my elbow and up to my shoulder. I dropped to the floor and clutched my arm to my chest. "Who makes a room with three walls anyway?"


    Thunk. Came a metallic thump so loud, it shook the floor underneath my feet.


    Thunk.


    The door of light that I had been pointedly ignoring winked out.


    Thunk.


    ¡°That is new.¡± I said aloud.


    The walls started closing in.


    As if they were being drawn on some unseen loom, the trimetal threads receded on each wall, drawing into their centers without losing the shape of their pattern. They scraped against each other as they were pulled into movement and the shrieking sound of it screeched against my ears. The walls didn''t move fast, which was good. The room was small, which was bad, and they were moving towards me, which was very bad. What do I do? What do I do? I pushed my hands and feet against the encroaching walls. The threads continued to run and screech underneath my pressure, forcing my limbs back and taking the floor from me. It would have been easier for me to try and grapple a river. Straining against the closing walls that I was finding to be unstoppable, my arms and legs folded at their joints. It occurred to me at that very moment, when the possibility of being slowly pressed into a liquid had suddenly entered my life, that I had no idea how to leave The Well.


    "Uhm, I would like to leave now." I called out. The leaving usually just. . . happened, conveniently, after some lesson had been learned or goal had been reached.


    The walls pushed closer and I pushed back, my aura continuing to build alongside my fear. It coursed through my compacting body, a frenetic energy looking for an outlet that didn¡¯t exist. Pressure built just behind my navel. I couldn¡¯t take it. I needed it out, but The Mother¡¯s Seal was impenetrable.


    "I would like to leave now!" I yelled, releasing my aura. My arms and legs gave out and all I could do was roll on to my side and curl into myself, becoming as small as I could. Still, the walls closed in, pressing me into myself. I closed my eyes just as the air was forced from my lungs and dark spots flared in my eyes


    I came up fast. Standing up in the bath and rapidly checking myself for injuries. "Oh fuck!"


    My head was still whole and my eyes were not dangling from their sockets. None of me had been flattened and other than the pains that had been with me when I had gone into The Well, nothing felt different. ¡°Of fuck?"


    After a moment and another pat down, I sighed, reassured. ¡°Oh fuck.¡±


    From his post atop the light fixture, Sam asked his questions and I answered them. The instant I answered the third, my familiar came with a fourth that carried the same inflection of interest as when he had first asked about The Well. "What did you learn?"


    "Nothing helpful." I said, wrapping the less stiff of my two towels around myself.


    "You spoke. Do you mean to return to Zenithcidel?" The little blue kitten said, his blue eyes focused on me intently.


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    "Ha," I laughed, "You mean the place where I''m locked in a room and supervised nearly every hour of the day? The place where I''m not in charge of what I eat or what I wear? The place that I am constantly reminded that I am a thief and owe a debt that seems impossible to pay off? Yes, Sam, I long for the day I can return to that gilded prison."


    Sam gave nothing but his words in response. "I observe you. You consume and clothe yourself only with what you can steal, you have already grown frustrated with your debt. The gilded prison you refer to does not sound dissimilar from your current surroundings.¡±


    I pulled the drain plug in the tub and left the bathroom without responding, pinching myself to stave off the desire to throw myself onto the bed and fall asleep.


    The morning sun beamed through the branches of the tree just outside my window, leaving scattered dapples of light across the worn wooden floor. Fresh air would be nice. I thought, thinking I would open the window later if I could find a way to restrain my little blue demon. Toilet? I got dressed, making sure the closet doors were shut and my notes were safely tucked away in the dresser. Then, I went and picked Sam up from the light fixture with one hand.


    "Why are you doing this?" Sam asked, his very real claws digging into my waterlogged skin. I placed him in the center of the made bed and shook the pain out of my hand.


    "You are my familiar." I said to him.


    "That is a truth." He stated in his flat tone.


    "If I give you an explicit command, you have to follow it?" I asked, trying my best to not make it sound like a question.


    Sam''s blue eyes narrowed. "You are considering doing this."


    "You exposed yourself to mortals and in turn put me at risk, I am taking measures to prevent that from happening again."


    The stairs that led up to my door and my door alone, creaked. Someone was coming.


    "You mean to attempt to bind me to your will." Sam¡¯s voice reached a pitch that was low even by his standards


    "Yes," I said, having to close my eyes and grit my teeth to force my aura to respond. You need sleep. The thought came and went from my mind faster than I could recognize I had thought it. Starting over, I focused on every word and spoke. "By my power, In the presence of mortals, you will act as a cat and only a cat."


    I opened my eyes and released my power as I exhaled. Sam had not moved a single whisker. After a prolonged silence filled with intent eye contact, I broke it first, he stated. "As you command."


    Three sharp knocks came from my door. I didn''t panic, my aura didn''t flare to protect me from some unimaginable horror, and I resisted the impulse to grab Sam by the scruff and throw him in the toilet tank. This time, someone was supposed to knock on my door. I was expecting guests.


    I smiled, knowing the excitement I felt was not only foolish, but dangerous as well. I unlocked my door and opened it. "Good morning."


    My excited smile was evaporated by a shock of momentary panic.


    "Your rent is late," Ms. Lao said, her hands clasped behind her back. She had bags under her eyes and her usually tight bun of black hair had more strays than usual but she still terrified me as she always did. "Good morning, thank you."


    Every time I had ever heard her speak It had been with the same staccato rhythm, but she had sighed through her thank you. For whatever reason, Ms. Lao seemed to be as exhausted as I was, which made the very difficult and wrong thing I was about to do that much easier and made me feel that much worse.


    My first memories after I had taken The Well were of my mother. In what had felt like being swept away by a rushing river of thoughts and feelings and memories, she had been the stone I had clung to. She had helped me remember what was mine and who I was, despite the shame I had brought upon her and the debt that I had incurred. The long days and nights of my first few trips through the memories of others, I would come back confused or completely lost in the mind of another. She would be waiting by my side, the truth that gave me the stability I needed to come back to myself in full. That feeling of trust, that had been built over uncounted days, I held in my mind when I suddenly threw my arms around Ms. Lao and hugged her.


    "What are you doing?" She demanded, startled. She tried to push herself away from me.


    I had focused my depleted aura as soon as I had realized who was at my door. Pulling her closer, the seal over my stomach pressed against her and I pushed, thinking of nothing but my mother and the trust I had in her. Using that feeling, I told a lie. " I already paid you Ms. Lao, yesterday, You are so tired, you must have forgotten."


    "You paid me yesterday and I forgot," Ms. Lao asked, slowly dragging out each syllable as she thought about what she was saying. Then, she spoke again, believing what she was saying. "I am tired,¡± She sighed. I stopped hugging her, my charm had taken. She nodded to herself. "I''m going to lay down. I am sorry I bothered you."


    Before she had even made it down the stairs, I closed the door, my legs shaking from my weight. I took three wobbly steps towards the bed and then collapsed onto it.


    Too much, I had done too much. Even though the seal kept me from manifesting my aura outside of myself, it still took its toll. It still gave me loss. An empty pit had opened up in my stomach and I was so weak I couldn''t summon the energy to roll over onto my back.


    Two blue eyes surrounded by a swathe of different shades of blue fur slowly rose from beside the bed until they were even with mine.


    "Shut up." I mumbled, closing my eyes so I wouldn''t have to look at Sam''s judgmental gaze. I felt bad enough having just taken advantage of someone. No, not just someone, I had taken advantage of a mother. A mother whose children had lied to her on my behalf after knowing me for what amounted to no time at all. Worst of all, dragging up my own memories had made me realize a cost of running away I had not taken into account before my escape.


    I missed my mom.


    Too much. I thought.


    The difference in comfort the mattress provided compared to my usual pile of blankets made it impossible for me to get up and I fell asleep before I realized it was happening

 Chapter Five: Weak Spots

    I faded out of my accidental nap and into a waking fog.


    The light had changed in the room, but it was too bright for me to open my eyes. I had been so tired, I still lay in the exact position I had fallen asleep in.


    I could hear voices.


    "Why do you think he is blue?"


    "I don''t know, why do you think Ma loves you more than me?"


    "Why do you say things like that?


    People were in my room


    I pushed myself up and slid up the bed until my back hit the headboard in one sudden movement. Anna, wearing a black flannel and tight pants, sat cross legged atop the dresser. Arthur laid on his back beside my bed, creating a looping walkway of alternating hands for the little blue kitten precariously walking over them.


    "Sorry Dani," Arthur said, sitting up and dropping Sam into the crook of one arm. then he nodded at his sister. "It was her idea to let ourselves in."


    "Did we scare you?" Anna asked, ignoring her brother and raising an eyebrow.


    "No," I lied. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes with my fists. "How long have you been here?"


    "Long enough to hear you snore." Anna said with a smirk.


    "I do not snore." I said, aghast.


    Arthur laughed, turning his attention back to Sam. "You sounded like a hibernating bear."


    "Did you knock?" I asked, wondering how tired I had been. I had overdrawn my aura, yes, but had I really done enough to pass out the way I had?


    "Arthur nearly beat your door down." Anna said.


    A defensive tone entered Arthur¡¯s voice. ¡°I was excited. I always wanted a cat.¡±


    ¡°And a dog, a ferret, a squirrel, a lizard, a snake. . .¡± Anna said, rolling her eyes.


    I lost focus on what she was saying. The two siblings, who were little more than strangers to me, had been in my room while I was sleeping for nearly an hour and I had been completely oblivious. What if it hadn''t been them? Any amount of unspeakable things could have been done to me. I could have been killed and never woke up to know it. I looked at Arthur, Sam looking comically small against the man''s large frame, wearing the wide smile that was seemingly the only expression his face was capable of making. Then I looked at Anna, who was looking at me from atop the dresser. Well, she was staring at me really, but I found myself not minding. In fact, I found myself feeling . . . happy? Happy that they had come in and left me sleeping, happy that other than black mailing me to get to play with what they thought was a strangely colored kitten, they seemed to want nothing from me, happy, to not be alone.


    I¡¯m a fucking mess.


    "So, why is it blue?" Arthur asked again, raising his arm up fully. Sam sat in his palm, perfectly still.


    I raised my own arms, yawning into a stretch. "It, is a he, and his name is Sam. As far as his color goes, I don''t know. Rare breed?"


    "Where did you get him?" Anna asked, sliding off the dresser


    "I uh," I stuttered, Even if I knew, I couldn''t tell them where Sam really came from. That meant I had to lie. He was a gift? No, that opens me up for more questions. I found myself utterly unwilling to lie to them. They had been kind to me. So, I told them the truth. "He found me."


    Arthur stood up and gently placed the kitten on the corner of the bed. Standing at his full height, he could have put his palm flat on the ceiling. "I¡¯ll come back when I can stay longer.¡±


    I got the feeling he was saying it to Sam more than he was saying it to me.


    "Hold on little brother," Anna said in a teasing tone. "You aren''t going to invite her?"


    I had assumed Arthur was the older sibling, it seemed strange to me that he wasn''t. Maybe it was his height.


    "Stop it." Arthur said, suddenly in a hurry to leave.


    I slide to the side of the bed facing the door, letting my feet hang. "Invite me to what?"


    "We are going ghost hunting." Anna said in a dramatic voice.


    "Shut up, she''s gonna think it''s stupid." Arthur said to his sister, obviously embarrassed.


    "Since the day you moved back home you literally haven''t stopped talking about it but you get in front of Dani and get all self conscious?" Anna smirked. ¡°I think he¡¯s got a crush on you.¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡± Arthur said, his embarrassment giving way to anger.


    "I don''t think that is stupid at all." I said, I''ve met a ghost. I had not, but the person whose eyes I had been seeing through had.


    "Really? Do you want to go?" Arthur said, his wide smile spread across his face instantly.


    Alone, outside, at night. My only way to defend myself was sealed shut by a barrier that I had no hope of breaking, not even in a moment of heroic desperation and it would be with two mortals I had just met.


    It was possibly the worst idea I had ever heard.


    Be smart, Autumn. Be Smart. I thought to myself. Just say no.


    "When are we going?" I said aloud, knowing the excitement I felt would likely lead me to a violent death.


    They left me with instructions to meet them outside just after nightfall and I had made sure to lock the door not a second after they had left. By all means, still playing the perfect kitten, Sam still sat on the corner of the bed that he had been placed on. My command had worked evidently. How would the siblings have reacted if the little blue kitten had spoken to them in a voice befitting a giant? "It seems you did not enjoy being handled like that?"


    Sam gave me nothing but blank blue eyes and silence in return.


    "Fine, be that way." I said, walking into the bathroom and starting the process of entering The Well. There were still hours of light left in the day and the faster I could be done with the memories the better. I ran the bath, waited for Sam to take an agonizingly slow amount of time to climb atop the light fixture, and undressed. I got in, the warm water feeling good on my sleep sore body and closed my eyes. Slowing my breathing, I reached for my aura and found it, but it wouldn''t come. It ached within me at the slightest touch. Even if I was too exhausted to view a memory, I had already gotten in the bath. Letting myself enjoy the warm water, my vision blurred and I felt myself fall into The Well.


    The room that had crushed me the last time I had been in it had returned to its normal state.


    Three walls, three different types of metal, and three corners. Maybe I have to do something three times? I thought and immediately clapped my hands three times.


    Nothing.


    If only it had been that easy.


    Feeling a bit dumb, I tried to question myself into some kind of sudden realization.


    I had no memories of The Well before I had stolen it and I had no memories of stealing it. Turns out, absorbing an ethereal construct with the arcane mass something like The Well carried took quite the toll. The more I thought about it, why someone would put barriers up to prevent me from accessing The Well in full was an easy answer; They wanted to keep me from viewing all the memories within the place. Who would do something like that was a much more difficult question. The Mothers had the power, there was nothing they could not do, but there was no reason for it. They wanted The Well out of me and it couldn''t be removed until I viewed every memory within its depths. There could have been a reason beyond my understanding, it was not difficult for that to be true, and thanks to the seal over my navel I was quite familiar with The Mothers work. The trimetal barriers did not feel similar.


    It wasn¡¯t The Mothers, but then who could it be? I did not have a clue considering the pool of people I knew was more of a puddle


    A door of empty light faded into the room in the same corner it always did. Once again, I ignored it.


    There has to be a weak spot. I thought. Having my arms and legs slowly crushed into my body hadn''t left any physical effects on me, but I really didn''t feel like going through that again quite yet. Something different. I turned to the corner behind my left shoulder and ran the thumb of my right hand down the seam the two walls made, feeling for any imperfection or flaw that I could exploit. There were none. Each thread folded back into the wall perfectly from top to bottom. The same was true of the right corner. I couldn''t inspect the last remaining corner without stepping through the door of empty light. Back to the left, I refocused my aura, pushing it into my right hand within myself and held the aching energy despite the pressure of the seal. Running my finger down the seam again, I visualized my hand slicing through it like a warm knife through butter. Pain bloomed in my palm. I couldn''t hold my aura for much longer, it needed time to recover, I needed time to recover. I gritted my teeth and continued nonetheless, pushing to the very end of my strength.


    Thunk. The metallic sound from before shook the room and the door of empty light winked out.


    "Not again," I whined, jumping back to the center of the room. I knew what happened next. Maybe, I could find some weakness in the wall''s movements. "Alright, come on then."


    Thunk


    The walls never moved.


    Thunk


    The floor did.


    With no warning except the metallic thumping, the floor vanished underneath me and I plummeted straight down. The room shrunk into a triangle of light that became smaller and smaller as I dropped until I found myself in total darkness.


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    I crashed back into myself with a shout.. Thousands of little bubbles percolated on the surface of the bath water, the type of bubbles that prelude a full rolling boil. I rolled out of the bathtub and on to the cold tile of the bathroom floor, my skin red and steaming.


    Sam asked his questions and I answered, laying on the cold floor to cool.


    "What happened? Did you see anything," I asked my familiar who had not climbed down from his perch. ¡°Were you just going to watch me boil alive?¡±


    Nothing. Evidently my command had worked a little too well. I spoke to Sam with the small amount of power I had left laced through my words. "I release you from my previous command."


    Sam, with his big blue eyes and blue tortoiseshell fur, continued to stare at me silently.


    "Oh, okay, I see how it is," I said, leaving the bathroom and entering a nearly dark room. Shit. I thought, hurriedly drying off and getting dressed. I didn''t want to be late for the first time in my life that I had something to do. "Do not speak to me, it is no great loss. I never found you all that interesting anyways." I called out to Sam as I shut the door behind me and locked it. Then, I took the stairs down to what I knew would be a terrible situation to let myself be caught in.


    I couldn¡¯t wait.


    I reached the second floor landing and saw Anna coming out of what I knew to be the room directly under mine.


    "Come here." She said, summoning me towards her with a crooked finger.


    I listened.


    When I reached her, she disappeared through the door she had been closing and pulled me in after her by my wrist. The room was nearly identical to mine minus the bathroom, Same worn wooden floors, same faded white walls, even the same hollow metal bed frame. Boxes, crammed to the top with books, were stacked just inside the door.


    "You are founding a library?" I asked.


    "Those? No, I get drunk and I read. It helps pass the time.¡± She shrugged.


    ¡°Are you moving in here?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah, a new tenant is moving in tomorrow and Ma thought Mrs. Mole would be more comfortable with another woman as a neighbor," Anna said, moving close to me before continuing. "So, all I''ve seen you wear is my brother''s sweatshirt and socks and my shorts,¡± She lifted the bottom of my sweatshirt and shook it to support her words. ¡° I''m going to guess you don''t have any other clothes."


    "What?" I blurted, too stunned to say anything remotely more fitting.


    Anna turned away from me and began rifling through a closet filled to the brim with clothes.She threw a shirt and then a jacket and then a pair of pants over her shoulder and I caught them, only the shirt hit me in my face.


    "Or shoes."


    I readied myself to catch the next thing she threw.


    Anna turned back to me and dropped a pair of brown boots at my feet. "All that should fit, we''re close to the same size."


    "I didn''t know they were your clothes." I said, ashamed. I¡¯d known they were someones, but not theirs specifically.


    "Who cares, they look cute on you," She said, turning her back to me again. "Get changed, I won''t look."


    All things considered, considering she had already seen all of me, it would have been less embarrassing the second time. Still, I kept my eyes on her the whole time I changed. True to her word, she didn''t so much as peek.


    "Why?" I asked, buttoning the pants she had given me. They immediately sagged off my waist and just barely caught on my hips.


    ¡°Because I¡¯m not a creep.¡± She answered.


    ¡°No, Why are you giving me clothes?¡± I asked, shrugging into the thick coat.


    "Because it''s going to be cold tonight." She turned back around to me. ¡°And I¡¯m not giving, you¡¯re borrowing.¡±


    "No. I mean, why are you being so kind to me?" I sighed. I picked up the sweatshirt and shorts that I had stolen from two people that had formed a habit of being kind every time I interacted with them. I had set out from Zenithcidel looking to find a place I could go unnoticed, a place that I could live mostly free and work my way towards making the mostly absolute. Just like I had not anticipated missing my mother the way I did, I had not anticipated meeting someone, let alone meeting two someones, that I wanted to be around despite the danger they posed to my fragile freedom.


    "You can leave those on the bed," Anna said, walking over to me and unzipping the jacket I wore. She lined up the bottom of it and zipped it up properly. I hadn''t known it was crooked. Although I had stolen them and had recently learned who I had stolen them from, I felt a twinge of sadness at the thought of not having the clothes I had come to think of as mine anymore. "I''ll wash them for you," She continued. "And your sheets and towels, you''ve been here over a month and they haven''t been washed once. That¡¯s gross."


    "Anna," That was the first time I had ever said her name aloud. "Answer my question."


    She looked me in my eyes when she stepped to me. She took the ends of each side of the thick coat, pushed them together, and pulled a brass tab all the way up to my collar, closing the coat. "Because I like you, I want to be your friend."


    Friend. I thought, then replied too honestly. "I''ve never had one of those."


    Anna¡¯s eyes widened and then laughter burst from her. "Damn Dani, that''s the saddest fucking thing I''ve ever heard.¡±


    ¡°It is true.¡± I said, worried I had done something wrong.


    ¡°You¡¯re lucky,¡± She helped me keep my balance as I slipped my feet into the brown boots. ¡°Not everyone¡¯s first is as good as me. Now come on, I¡¯ve got a little brother whose delusions we must indulge." She said, walking out of her room.


    I followed along behind her. Had I just made a friend?


    Arthur waited for us at the bottom of the stairs outside the backdoor. The weather had been mild enough since I had arrived on the mortal plane that I had not had to think about it at all, but the second I walked outside, even with the additional layers of fabric shielding my skin, It was bitterly cold. I had to force myself to not turn around. A violent wind howled through the trees that surrounded the house and it battered against me as I walked down the steps and into the yard. The night was bright with moonlight from the full moon that hung heavy in the sky.


    "Hey, you are wearing shoes this time!" Arthur grinned. As soon as his sister shut the door behind herself, he took off towards the wood line.


    Anna hooked her arm in mine as she passed me. "Come on, we¡¯ll lose him if we don''t stay close."


    "What are we looking for, exactly?" I asked, finding that traversing the woods was indeed much less painful with boots on. They had said we were ghost hunting, I had no knowledge of a ghost haunting the woods but I had met a spirit. The two were very different from my hand and a half understanding.


    "That''s the fun part, I have no idea," Arthur said, walking and talking. "When I was a kid, I used to play out here all the time and I always felt like something was watching me," He stopped, turning to his left and then his right. "I stayed out too late one night and it got dark and I got lost.


    "Ma came and got me out of bed to help look for him. What kind of sense does that make? I can''t find my kid, let me send the other one into the woods I lost him in to find him." Anna started.


    "Shut up. Anyways, I was a kid you know? So, naturally, I thought I was going to die." Arthur laughed, beginning to walk again.


    I found myself laughing with him. Anna pulled me along behind him, curving around a cluster of long dead trees. Down a small slope and then back up the other side, we crossed a gully filled with fallen leaves.


    "I found a cave and huddled up just inside of it, knowing that any second, something was going to crawl out of the dark and swallow me whole." Arthur continued.


    "I honestly didn''t know you were that dumb as a kid. There are no caves out here." Anna added.


    "Shut up," Arthur answered without slowing down. " Okay, maybe it wasn''t a cave, but it felt like one. Anyways, I don''t know how long I had been lost for, but I started hearing something. At first, I couldn''t make out what it was but it got louder and I could make out someone saying this way, this way, this way. It was coming from outside of the cave and I followed it. Every time I would get to where it sounded like it was coming from, it would repeat this way, this way, this way. And, I would follow it."


    "Then I found him, barely out of sight of the house, face covered in dirt and snot, rambling about a ghost he had made up." Anna said.


    "I didn''t make it up. I''m gonna find it." Arthur snapped.


    I don''t know how far into the woods we had gone, but the moon beamed from directly above us. My hands and feet were near numb but It could have been my whole body if not for Anna. I wouldn''t be out there at all if it weren''t for Arthur. I smiled. Since we had been walking and all the way through Arthur''s story, I hadn''t thought about The Well once. The Mother''s Seal or Zenithcidel hadn''t existed. I hadn''t even thought about Sam, locked away in my room. It had just been the siblings and I, doing something together. I was getting myself into trouble, I knew it, and I chose not to care.


    "How are we going to find it?" I asked, nearly certain that Arthur had been guided out of the woods by the very same owl spirit I had met. How common was something that had a proclivity for repeating nearly everything it said in triplets?


    "Uhm." Arthur said, descending into another gully.


    "Tell her your plan Arthur. I''m sure she will think it is just as smart as I do."


    We followed Arthur down again, the fallen leaves so deep they nearly rose above my hips, and up the other side where he finally stopped his brisk walking and turned to us.


    The tall pines spread out just enough that the leaf strewn ground could be called a clearing and Arthur strode into the middle of the clearing, grinning from ear to ear. "We''re here."


    I looked around and saw nothing to differentiate here from any other part of the woods. "Where is here?" I asked him as Anna and I stepped in front of him. Being still, even for a moment, was enough to let the cold creep in and I wrapped my arms around myself to try and shrink further into the big coat.


    "I don''t have a clue," Arthur shrugged. "That''s the point. That''s the plan. If I was lost when it found me the first time, I need to be lost again if I want to find it.¡±


    "Isn''t that the stupidest thing you''ve ever heard?" Anna asked me.


    "Actually, It kind of makes its own strange sense." I said. I couldn''t explain to them that ideas like Arthur''s seemed exactly like the kind of sideways thinking that spirits must be driven by.


    Arthur beamed at me. He dropped to the ground and started rifling through his coat. "To thank you both for agreeing to come look the paranormal in its ghostly face, I brought this." He said, pulling out a large metal cylinder out of the collar of his coat.


    "What is that?" I asked.


    "A thermos that better be filled with what I think it should be filled with or I''m going home." Anna said, sitting down and snatching the thermos from her brother. She unscrewed the top and steam wafted out of the container. Anna plunged a finger into the thermos and brought it out again before sticking it into her mouth.


    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s for all of us.¡± Arthur groaned.


    Realizing I was the only one still standing, I joined the siblings on the ground.


    "Let Dani try it," Arthur said, prying the thermos away from his sister and handing it to me. "I made it myself."


    The outside of the container was cold to the touch despite the steam rising from it. I drank from the same cup the siblings had. "Mmm," I tried to speak through a full mouth of surprisingly warm liquid. I swallowed. "Hot chocolate!"


    "You''ve never seen a thermos before?" Arthur asked, taking his turn to drink.


    I hadn''t, there was no need for such a thing when every Maiden but me could change the temperature of a cup of tea with barely a thought, but I couldn''t tell them that. So, I lied. "I have, its just dark out here."


    "What do we do now?" Anna asked, sliding herself closer to me.


    "We wait until the ghost shows up?" Arthur said as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.


    Anna said something about how dumb the plan was and Arthur told her to shut up again.


    I lost my focus on the siblings. The wind came rushing through the trees, blowing flurries of leaves against me and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. It had not been caused by the chilling gust. A feeling I had become all too good at recognizing came over me.


    I was being watched.


    Past the siblings and into the crowded trees, within the darkness beyond the clearing, something moved. From the shadows It silently crept, out of my peripherals and into my full sight on the far side of the clearing. I tracked it, trying to make out any detail beyond that it walked on four legs.


    "Did you hear me Dani? Arthur asked, offering the hot chocolate back to me.


    "No." I said, my eyes still focused on whatever was moving within the darkness. Another spirit?


    "Are you alright?" Anna asked, putting her hand on my knee.


    The thing in the darkness took a step into a sliver of moonlight that had found its way through the wood¡¯s branches and onto the ground. The head of some kind of canine creature slowly passed into view, teeth bared. The moonlight glinted off both sets of its silver eyes.


    The memory of the owl spirit came rushing back into my mind. Looking, looking, looking.


    I knew then, with a certainty that sent my heart racing, that the four eyed wolf was no spirit.


    It was a familiar.


    And it was looking at me.

 Chapter Six: Leannan

    I locked eyes with the unfamiliar familiar and fear took me.


    My depleted aura was wrenched into action by that icy energy running through my veins and it flared within me. My time amongst mortals was over. Anna and Arthur, at best, were about to discover that I was not of their world. At worst, they were going to be caught in the crossfire of a magical entity and a severely handicapped magical novice. In that terrifying moment, they were in the very worst place two mortals I had begun to care about could find themselves.


    Distract it. I thought. Let them get away.


    If I somehow managed to drive it off, then there would be its master, whoever or wherever they could be.


    Looking, looking, looking. Played back through my head.


    The Mother¡¯s seal, a mark on my being that reminded me of the harm I had caused and the debt I owed to the sorceress that had cast it on me, kept me from making a mistake. Just before I moved, my aura broke against the seal¡¯s unshakable force and the loss left me weak.


    Not a moment later, the four eyed familiar slipped back into the darkness that surrounded the moonlit clearing as silently as it had come.


    "Dani," Anna said, giving me a gentle shake. "Are you alright?"


    You can''t tell them. I thought, knowing it wasn''t entirely true. They were in danger because of me. I could have told them. I probably should have told them if their safety was truly my concern. Not telling them would be selfish and very possibly could get them killed, but if I did, it would be over. I would actually have to leave. No excuses, no more putting it off, gone.


    I''d realized sometime in the seconds before I spoke that what I wanted mattered more to me than what I needed.


    "I''m okay, just cold." I lied, faking a shiver and taking the thermos from Arthur.


    "Here," Arthur said, pulling off his jacket before I could protest. He slung it over my shoulders and sat back down. "You need it more than me."


    I drank, the warm drink doing more than I thought it would to calm my nerves. It''s gone. It left. "Why is that?"


    "Yeah, Arthur, why does she need it more than you?" Anna asked.


    "You''re just so skinny, it makes sense that you would get colder faster than me or Anna would. No offense."


    Anna crossed her arms. "Did you hear him? He just called you skinny and me fat at the same time."


    I laughed. Only part of it was fake. Whenever I could steal a glance at the wood line I did. The cold ache of fear settled in my stomach but remained ready to spike back into terror at the smallest glimpse of shining silver eyes or bared white fangs.


    It¡¯s gone. It left.


    We stayed in the woods until the sun began to blue the black sky. The familiar never showed itself again. The thermos and the warmth the hot chocolate had given long cold, Arthur gave up his ghost and we left the clearing to trek back to the boarding house just after sunrise. His plan had been to get lost, to replicate the circumstances of his first experience with something outside of the mortal normal, and like I had thought when I learned what his plan was, it might have worked if Anna hadn''t kept track of where we were and was able to retrace our path out of the woods, step for step.


    Just before the house came into view, Arthur slowed until I came even with him and said. "We''ll try again one night, without the nonbeliever, if you want?"


    "Naturally." I nodded to him, the cold spot in my stomach finally melting away as the sun began to warm the new born day.


    When the house came into view and we stepped out of the woods, two things made me uneasy.


    The first thing was I had never put the mattress back over the window and without curtains or blinds, the small blue shape of Sam could be clearly seen staring out of it.


    The second thing was I could see Ms. Lao in the front yard, talking to a man I didn''t recognize. She turned to us and waved.


    "Looks like the new guy is here." Anna said.


    "Ma wants us to meet him, I''m sure." Arthur added.


    The two siblings turned from their path and headed towards the front of the house.


    I didn''t follow. Instead, I took quick steps while their attention was diverted and climbed the three steps towards the back door. I opened it but before I could step inside, Anna called my name.


    "Yeah?"


    "Come meet him with us?" She asked.


    I couldn''t see him but I heard Arthur yell. "Yeah, come on. We haven''t had a full house since we were kids."


    You didn¡¯t tell them they were in danger. You owe them. I thought.


    ¡°Since you want me to.¡± I reached Anna and went to meet the stranger whose very presence made my life all the more complicated.


    "These are my children. Anna and Arthur. They are home from college to help me around the house," Ms. Lao said. and then nodded to the man standing near her. "This is Mr. Bill Argus. He will be staying with us until the new year."


    "It''s very nice to meet you," Mr. Bill Argus said, going over and shaking the siblings'' hands. Then, he turned to me. "And who do we have here?"


    I didn''t like Mr. Bill Argus. He was a short man, barely taller than me. A tangled mess of wispy blonde hair fanned out from his head, surrounding a face with eyes that were too wide and a smile that was too friendly. The mismatched yellow suit he wore didn''t fit. Every piece of it looked too large for his small frame.


    "This is Dani Matthews. She is also a tenant. Arthur, take Mr. Argus''s things to his room," Ms. Lao demanded and then turned to her daughter. "Make a fresh pot of coffee."


    "It''s nice to meet you, Dani." Mr. Argus said with the same overdone smile on his face. It looked like he knew he should smile that way because it would make people like he is not because it came naturally like Arthur¡¯s


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    Everyone moved to go inside and in a moment of social awareness that I was not familiar with, I walked with them.


    "Mr. Argus is a biologist looking for somewhere quiet to work on an academic paper." Ms. Lao said, with a strange tone of pride in her voice.


    "What''s it about?" Arthur asked.


    "Please, I¡¯m a glorified bird watcher," Mr. Bill Argus clarified. ¡°There is a specific finch that only resides in this part of the country that I have been researching for some time.¡± Mr. Bill Argus answered, climbing the porch stairs.


    "It will be nice to have such an intelligent person staying with us." Ms. Lao said.


    I couldn''t be sure, but it felt like her words were directed at me.


    I held the door open for Arthur, his arms loaded down with leather luggage. Taking advantage of the house being busy with the new arrival, I slipped up the stairs to the relative safety of my room.


    Door locked, I shrugged out of Arthur¡¯s massive coat and then the coat Anna had given me. Sam was still perched on the window sill, still staring out of the window.


    "You aren''t going to ask me where I''ve been?" I asked.


    No response.


    "There is another familiar in the woods behind the house that I could surely use your guidance on."


    No response.


    "Sam. Speak to me right now and I will return to Zenithcidel before noon!" I snapped, walking over to him and picking him up by the scruff of his neck.


    No response.


    I placed him back where he had been sitting. Had I broken my familiar? When I last returned from The Well, he had asked his questions, but I don¡¯t think he had spoken a single word since.


    My whole body throbbed with one big ache. I knew, if I laid down, I would not get back up for a long time.


    The unfamiliar familiar and the new tenant had renewed my desire for security. I pushed the mattress back up to the window, hoping to get a reaction out of my familiar. Even after I had covered his looking glass, I received nothing, so I gave up.


    The hot water of the bath felt good on my bones but did nothing to slow down my mind. The new tenant, the familiar in the woods, Sam''s continued silence, and the sudden realization that I was willingly risking my freedom to stay close to Arthur and Anna spun in my mind until they blurred together and I slipped into The Well.


    "What should I fuck with today?" I sighed, looking around the unbearably consistent room.


    I had tried the walls. I had tried the corners. Unless I spontaneously learned how to levitate or discovered some way to bring a step stool into The Well with me, the ceiling was out of reach.


    I sat down and ran my hands along the floor. I had never thought much about it before it had suddenly dropped out from under me that last time I had been there. Black, reflective, cool to the touch. I listed whatever I could identify about it in my mind. Polished Stone? I wondered. If true, that was a difference from the metal the walls were made of.


    A door of empty light faded into the room and I watched it materialize in the blurry reflection it made on the floor.


    "You can obviously be moved." I said, pushing on the floor with hands.


    Thunk.


    Light washed over my outstretched legs and I pushed harder. I''m on to something. I thought, looking up.


    Thunk.


    The door grew, its illuminated outline expanding until I could no longer see the corner behind it. I slid back along the smooth surface of the floor until my back hit the wall. The door followed, becoming so bright I had to shield my eyes in the crook of my arm. With no room for me to back away with, I heard it again. Thunk. Then the door washed over me, forcing me into a memory.


    Asha was going to get me killed.


    Sneaking through the halls of her dormitory, I grabbed her by the hand and pulled her into an alcove cut barely large enough for us to both fit into.


    "Shhh, you''re being too loud." I whispered, holding my pointer finger in front of my lips.


    "Why do we have to be quiet? They are here to guard us." Asha whispered back.


    I clamped my hand over her mouth, stifling her laugh and biting my lip to withhold my own. Being that close to her, I could smell the last sip of sweet wine she had taken before we had snuck out of the feast on her breath. I must have smelled like I had bathed in it considering I had drank nearly twice as much as she had.


    Asha bit my hand and placed her own over my mouth, muffling my surprised cry. Just as she did, the footsteps of two of the guards that had been tasked with patrolling the halls of the school not three mornings prior, grew louder as they approached the alcove. Two mortal men stepped into view. Armed and armored to the teeth with auraments, weapons and armor that had been augmented by sorceresses to prevent the mortals from being totally useless, they marched in unison past where we were hidden.


    We waited with held breath until they were out of sight and then listened for their footsteps to become unheard from the raucous din still echoing from the feast.


    "Hey, watch," I said to Asha, stepping out of the alcove. I stood up as straight as I could and puffed my chest out. Mimicking the all too rigid steps of the mortal guards, complete with my hand on the imaginary pommel of my imaginary sword, I pitched my voice down as low as it would go. "In the name of the Circle, I will protect all the Maidens of this school to my dying breath."


    Asha let out a mad series of giggles. She skipped ahead of me and crouched down, altering her own voice to something raspy and monstrous. "It is I, Azeralphane. I''ve come to steal the color from all the young Maiden''s souls, to pull Zenithcidel from the ground with one hand," She rose and shook the sleeve of her cream colored robe until it bunched around her bicep and she flexed. "To wed all nine Mothers and give each a blue horned baby!"


    "I, cant, believe, you, said, that!" I wheezed between bouts of laughter. I couldn''t breathe. Every time we managed to steal a moment together despite our conflicting schedules, I''d wake the following morning with my stomach sore from laughing. That night, it was partly the wine and partly the excitement for the Iridescence the following day, but it was mostly Asha and the knowledge that I didn¡¯t know when I would see her again that made even the horrible thing she had said the funniest thing I had ever heard.


    "It came from this way." A man shouted. The sound of hurried footsteps and clinking armor came from the hall we had just come through.


    Asha and I smiled at one another and ran away. We turned left at the end of the hall and I pushed her into a stairwell I had scouted out earlier that evening. Crossing through it myself, I turned back and let my aura flow. It came easy, it always did when I had been drinking, and filled the space we had come through with my power. I pictured us, ascending the stairs behind us and coming to a solid stone wall that was indistinguishable from every other wall in the dormitory.


    My aura made it so and when I released my hold on it, a perfect glamor that I wouldn''t have known was there if I hadn''t crafted it moments before stood in the doorway. I grabbed Asha by the hand and started us down the stairs. "That won''t hold long."


    "Where are we going? She asked, holding onto my tightly.


    "If I told you," I said, opening one of the large wooden doors that led outside to the campus, "That would ruin the surprise."


    We turned into the dark alleyway behind the dormitory and slowed our pace, both of us out of breath.


    Asha stopped, bending over. "Leannan, hold on," She panted. "I don''t know if this is a good idea. We''re out past curfew, hiding from guards, probably going somewhere we shouldn''t be going. We''re gonna get caught."


    Asha was going to get me killed.


    "Hey,¡± I pulled her to me by her hands and wrapped my arms around her. Our lips met. I whispered to her. ¡°Who knows when we will see each other again, trust me.¡±


    Asha smiled at me and kissed me back. ¡°I¡¯m going to miss you.¡±


    From behind us, a voice came. "A poor night for you two to be out here."


    We both turned, startled, to see the silhouette of a man, long hair flowing in the wind, standing at the end of the alley.


    "Who are you?" I asked, noticing that the temperature had suddenly become cold enough that I could see my breath.


    The man laughed. "What did your lady say earlier? Something about stealing the Maiden''s colors and giving each of the Mothers a blue horned baby?"


    "No. . ." Asha whispered. I could feel her shaking in my arms.


    Fog billowed into the alleyway from behind the man as he began slowly walking towards us. Every step he took echoed off the stone walls.


    ¡°Azeralphane isn¡¯t real!¡± I shouted, not believing the words I said.


    Two glowing yellow eyes appeared on the silhouette¡¯s face.


    "Oh, I assure you, I am."

 Chapter Seven: Unweaving

    I was going to get Asha killed.


    Azeralphane crept towards us, the fog that had rolled in on his heels obscured everything but the distance that he closed between us.


    "Leannan." Asha whispered to me, pulling me back by my arm. ¡°We¡¯ve got to go.¡±


    I waved my hand in a wide arc. Letting my iridescent aura pour out of me, I replicated the fog billowing into the alleyway and painted a wall of it in front of us and released. I stumbled backwards weakly and felt Asha catch me.


    A wicked laugh came from beyond my glamor and the echoes of the demon''s steps vanished. "Impressive, impressive. You will make a valuable addition to my collection."


    Beginning to move blindly through the billowing white fog, I pulled Asha along behind me.


    Another wicked laugh sounded from the direction we were running in, followed by the sharp echo of Azeralphane¡¯s footsteps.


    ¡°How did he get behind us?¡± Asha whimpered.


    I couldn¡¯t answer. She tugged at the sleeve of my robe, but I couldn''t turn to look at her. My eyes had found the demon''s shadow within the fog. I met his glowing yellow eyes and couldn¡¯t look away.


    Asha shook me, pleading. ¡°Leannan, What''s happening to you?¡±


    Azeralphane spoke to me.¡±Leannan, tsk, tsk, What were you doing? Dragging poor little Asha out into the cold dark night.¡±


    The shadow faded away into the fog and the sound of his footsteps trailed off.


    The demon appeared in front of me. Wild white hair framed a face the same shade of blue as a corpse. Two curved horns jutted from its forehead. A long tongue hung out of a mouth filled with pointed teeth. Its whiteless eyes alternated between hypnotic rings of blue and yellow. Cold breath brushing against my face, Azeralphane hissed. ¡°Give me your soul, Leannan. Let me taste it.¡±


    My body froze with fear, all I could was whisper. ¡°Asha, run.¡±


    The demon¡¯s long tongue uncoiled towards me, saliva dripping from its tip.


    ¡°Leave her alone!¡± I heard Asha scream.


    A blade of orange light, the color of sunstone, sliced through the tongue just before it licked my cheek and the severed end fell to the ground.


    Azeralphane, horns, eyes, hair, all vanished. The fog dissipated in an instant. The fear that had frozen my body released me and I was left staring into the eyes of someone I knew.


    ¡°Precept Marisol?¡± I gasped, recognizing her seafoam eyes.


    My teacher scowled at me. ¡°Maiden Leannan, I hope you have learned your lesson about disobeying the rules. Do not make me terrify you in that way again,¡± She scolded me.Then she turned to Asha. ¡°Calm, Maiden Asha.¡±


    ¡°Did she?¡± I asked. Asha¡¯s eyes were alight with the sunstone colored light and strands of her short brown hair floated from her aura. A triangle of orange power harnessed over her navel and her jaw was set in a look of sheer determination.


    ¡°It seems her desire to protect you in the face of what she believed to be Azeralphane proved a strong enough trigger,¡± Precept Marisol explained, laying a hand on Asha¡¯s shoulder. ¡°To awaken the color of her soul.¡±


    Asha¡¯s orange glow shining in my eyes, I felt myself fall.


    "What is your name?" I heard Sam ask the first of his questions.


    Why did he sound so quiet?


    Racked by fits of shivers, my fingers and toes were numb from the cold. Rushing water, all the heat ran out of it sometime while I had been in the memory, spewed from the faucet into the open drain. I had never plugged it. I stood up, the freezing porcelain sending stabs of cold in my already chilled skin and shut the water off.


    I answered my familiar. "Autumn," Then, coming quickly off my tongue, I said. "Azeralphane." I wanted to lock the name in my mind. I had lived the first eighteen years of my life within Zenithcidel and due to the constraints I existed under there, I had never heard a single mention of the monster that the Maidens in the memory had spoken of like he was as well known as stories of dragons stealing princesses. How much did I not know because I had been kept under lock and key? If there was some blue horned demon striding around Chaos targeting sorceresses and stealing their power, didn''t I deserve to know? Even if it was just a story, It hurt that I had never been told. It hurt that if I ever found myself among other Maidens my age, there were an uncountable amount of things that they would know that I wouldn''t.


    You don''t deserve to know. A thought I only partially disagreed with came.


    Stepping out of the bath and wrapping myself in the towels that I would let Anna wash the next time she asked, I answered Sam''s remaining questions. The towels were more for warmth, as ineffective as they were, than to get dry considering I hadn''t gotten very wet. My current strategy of eating only what I could steal while everyone else in the boarding house was asleep was apparently not enough considering my shoulders and collarbones looked sharp enough to cut glass. Maybe I could cut through the walls in The Well. I thought. The dark brown of my hair had lightened at its roots considerably and flecks of emerald green scattered in the muddy brown of my irises glimmered back at me when they caught the light from Sam¡¯s perch. My cheekbones and jawline looked entirely too much like what my actual face looked like.


    "If you don''t do it now, you won''t" I said to my reflection, knowing I had made a habit of putting off things I knew I should do as of late.


    I inhaled and focused my Aura, pulling it until I held it in my mind. "Dani. I am Dani Matthews. I have dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. I couldn''t be picked out of a crowd even if someone knew me." I said. The loss I felt from using my aura was gradual as every trace of my true face dulled into my persona.


    I wobbled out of the bathroom with my hand on the wall. I needed to eat. I wanted to sleep. My room was much colder than I was used to it being and I was sure the pile of blankets on the floor wouldn''t be enough to keep me warm. The clothes I had worn the night before would be better than nothing, but something felt so utterly wrong about curling up under a blanket wearing denim. My robes were in the closet, but wearing nothing would be better than donning what I had come to think of as a prison uniform.


    Sam strolled out of the bathroom and hopped onto the dresser. "One of your mortals knocked on the door while you were in The Well. They left you something."


    In my surprise, I didn''t think before I picked him up under his front legs and held him to my face. "How long have you been able to talk?"


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    "From the moment I awoke in this feline body." Sam answered. He took a swipe at my nose, claws extended.


    I''d never given much thought of where familiars come from. I wasn¡¯t sure anyone knew. It occurred to me at that moment that Sam had not always been a cat.


    "My command, what did it feel like?" I asked.


    Sam swiped again, his low voice rumbling in his tiny chest. "It didn''t affect me at all."


    My eyebrows furrowed, and I felt the heat of anger blush my face. "It didn''t work."


    "Not in the slightest." Sam swiped for the third time and hit me.


    I was too mad to care. "Why the fuck haven''t you been talking to me then?"


    "I did not wish to speak to you." Sam answered.


    I resisted the urge to throw him. Instead, I chose peace and suddenly dropped him back onto the dresser, dusting off the blue hairs he had shed onto my palms. "I thought I fucking broke you, you stupid cat! What about when I mentioned the other familiar? You didn''t think that was worth talking to me about? Or when I said I''d go back home, nothing?"


    Sam was still except for a single swish of his tail. "Your outrage is sufficient enough for me to know my point has been taken. In the future, I suggest you simply ask me what you will of me instead of attempting to bind me with your will"


    I laughed at him. "How could I be so silly? I''m sorry, I should have remembered that with the long and trusting partnership we''ve built you would absolutely do whatever I asked. Hey Sam, hold your weirdly rough cat tongue while my friends are here won''t you," I acted. "You wouldn''t have said a word."


    "Your command did not affect me and yet I did not speak." Sam growled.


    The stupid blue kitten had me there.


    "Only because you were trying to prove a point." I yelled half heartedly, the heat of my anger running out of things to burn. I walked away from him and opened my door. The view from within my room was a landing, large enough for a single person to stand, and the stairs leading down to the second story. If I had to guess, the room had been an attic of some sort long before the Lao''s had become the owners of the boarding house. A small stack of things sat at my feet. On the bottom was my sweatshirt and shorts, washed and folded. Then, wrapped in a cloth rag, were two sandwiches, overflowing with what looked like scrambled eggs. On top was a note,written in a tight script, it read. I''ll come get your sheets and blankets later. Anna."


    I smiled, a warmth that had nothing to do with the temperature of the house spreading through me. I went back into my room and locked the door behind me. I hung up my towels in the bathroom and pulled on the clothes I had become all too comfortable wearing. My socks hadn''t been washed but turning them inside out was good enough for me to put them back on.


    I pulled my notebook and pen from the dresser and sat down on the bed to eat. Tearing into the first sandwich, I read the last entry in my notes. Kavinli, Maiden, awakened color, glamor. It had been long enough since I had viewed the memory, that I had almost forgotten what it had been like to be Kavinli. She had been forbidden to show the color of her soul, I remembered that, but by who? From my limited understanding of the formal training that Maidens of the circle undertook, growing strong enough to awaken your color was the point.


    I finished the first sandwich and wrote my next entry. Leannan, maiden, drunk, colorless, glamor, And then I added. What is Azeralphane?


    I thought about flipping to a new page and making notes about my attempts to break through the barriers within The Well, but just like the idea of going to bed with jeans on, it felt wrong. I would need a new notebook. One for memories and one for my new pursuit. Based on my previous experiences, being crushed, dropped, and most recently forced into a memory, two more notebooks might be necessary.


    Laying back and stretching out, I pulled the pile of blankets off the floor and onto myself. They were the right kind of cool within the folds and I closed my eyes, feeling an easy sleep coming over me.


    Just before I drifted off, I felt it. Something was watching me.


    A small weight landed on my chest and I opened my eyes.


    Sam peered down at me, the pupils of his blue eyes razor thin. "Your hunger has been sated."


    "For now?" I said, confused.


    "Mine has not."


    "Eat the other sandwich, cats can eat eggs. I think."


    "I must hunt." Sam said, his low voice vibrating against my chest.


    "Get off me." I sighed, moving to sit up.


    I couldn''t. I was pinned to the bed. I grabbed Sam by the scruff of his neck and tried to pull him off but he wouldn''t budge. The kitten small enough to fit in my hands felt like he weighed more than I did. "How are you doing this?


    "As annoying as I seem to be to you, I could make my service much more difficult," The kitten said and I felt the pressure on my chest gradually increase. Just before the air was forced from my lungs, the pressure released. "Now. I must hunt."


    He hopped off me and I sat up gasping. Did he just threaten me?


    I couldn''t just let him out, Especially now that Mr. Bill Argus and his creepy fucking smile had moved in.


    "I guess I could sneak you out and take you into the woods." I sighed. It wasn''t the best idea considering the four eyed familiar that could still be stalking around out there.


    "Unnecessary. Open the window." Sam said, pacing in front of the upturned mattress.


    I am a fool. Maybe it was how exhausted I was, but I just didn¡¯t have it in me to argue with him. Pushing the mattress out of the way and turning the latch open, I asked. "Sam, will you please remain unseen and return as soon as you have satisfied your hunger?"


    "As you will it my lady." Sam answered immediately, his blue eyes flashed for just long enough that I could notice it.


    My Lady?


    I put my trust into my antagonistic familiar and opened the window.


    Sam shot past me like a blue bolt of lighting and bounded from the window sill towards the tree Arthur had been playing under the night we had met. He landed on the thin end of a branch and it sagged under his weight. A scattering of birds burst from the tree in a panicked jumble of chirps and cries. Sam sprinted along the thin branch as if it weren''t half of his size, crossed over to a second branch at the trunk, and ran its length almost faster than my eyes could follow. A fat gray bird sat on the branch''s end but as Sam clawed towards it, it took flight. Sam followed suit, jumping off the branch and sailing through the air towards his prey.


    Thunk.


    I staggered, catching myself on the lip of the open window.


    Sam collided with the bird. Both of them plummeted to the ground in a tangled mess.


    Thunk.


    The metallic heartbeat I had come to expect while in The Well hammered in my mind, and I felt my body grow weak as my vision lost its focus.


    Sam and his prey hit the ground, a plume of feathers and leaves been thrown into the air.


    Thunk.


    I lost sight of my familiar, the view from the window being suddenly replaced by the wooden ceiling of my room.


    "Sam." I called out to him weakly.


    Then, I dropped, falling into The Well.


    For the first time, I did not find myself standing in the room with three walls. I laid on my back on the strange black floor. Everything else was the same. The walls of gold, silver, and bronze threads with their collapsing pattern still stood around me.


    Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. The heart beat shook the room quicker, coming in rounds of three.


    Stunned into silence, both from the way and the state I had been dragged into The Well in, I could do nothing but breathe. The reverberations of the beats felt like they would shake me apart at my joints if they came much quicker.


    I expected a door of light to appear and to swallow me like it had last time, but it never arrived. I laid there for what could have been hours just as much as it could have been a few seconds.Then the sound of metal sliding across metal filled the room and I covered my ears with my hands. The last time I had heard that, I got crushed.


    I looked at the walls, expecting to see them slowly grinding towards me. When I had been crushed before, the threads had looked like they were running over some invisible loom, repeating endlessly, but this time, they were not repeating.


    Starting at the center of the pattern on each wall, the threads withdrew, unweaving themselves from one another and drawing back into darkness behind them.


    I sat up, realizing what was happening.


    The walls were coming down.

 Chapter Eight: Trea and the Wyrm

    Whoever decided to name it The Well must have had a strange idea of what wells looked like.


    Wells were damp and lined with gray stones. They had little roofs and a rope with a bucket attached.


    The threads unwound themselves in a chorus of metallic shrieks, unmaking the three walled room I had been confined to every time I entered the ethereal structure. Receding and falling silent, I found myself in a circular room made of the same black material as the floor. I could see no light source but the room was not dark, my muddled reflection visible from every angle. The only feature in the room other than me was a door. It had a frame and a handle of the same material as everything else I could see. Most importantly, it had not faded into existence out of nothing and was not made of light.


    I walked over and opened it.


    Cool air swept across my face and rustled my hair as soon as I stepped out of the circular room and onto a platform of stained glass. Intricate patterns of reds, blues, greens, and every other color I knew existed, bound together with the same trimetal threads the walls had been made of, formed opalescent panels of liquid color. The half circle platform branched to my left, my right, and in front of me. Thirteen walkways made of the same combination of glass and metal the platform I stood on, with nothing but open space between them, stretched out before disappearing into archways made of the same strange material the circular room was. The archways were set into a stained glass mosaic of every color and shape that reached up farther than my eyes would allow me to see.


    No gray stones, no little roof, no rope and bucket.


    The Well was not a well at all. I did not know what it was, temple? library?, were more fitting but still felt wrong.


    I looked up. Connected by a loop of spiral stairs rising off the platform, a seemingly endless amount of where I was standing stretched above me. I walked to the edge of the platform and peered over. Underneath me, identical to what was above me, an uncountable amount of platforms, walkways, and archways repeated to the end of my sight.


    Jump. The thought came and went without my intention.


    "How the fuck is all of this in my head?" I said aloud.


    Before doing anything else, I took a moment and made sure the door I had come through hadn''t vanished the moment I stepped through it, because that was exactly the type of thing that would happen to me


    Then, the door still there and unable to control myself any longer, I did what any reasonable Maiden would do.


    I sprinted across the walkway to my left. Only beginning to worry if it would hold my weight, considering I saw no manner of suspension, at the halfway point.


    Did I have weight in The Well?


    At first only bending my knees, I quickly advanced to stomping my feet. That led into me jumping up and down on a panel of purple glass large enough that I would have slipped right through if it had broken.


    "Either I don''t have weight or this is the strongest glass I''ve ever seen." I said to myself and then continued on my way.


    I crossed under the archway and stepped into a hallway made entirely of the black material. Along both walls, stretching back until I could no longer see their color, were doors. Each one a different shade of red, from the rusty color of dried blood to a shade so light it was almost pink.


    I stepped to the first door on my left, a muddy maroon made of heavily burled wood.


    Flannery. The name appeared in my mind and I knew that if I entered it, I would be in Flannery''s memories.


    "Too hot." I said, recalling a story I had heard about three bears and a very entitled little girl.


    I continued down the hall, Names appearing in my mind just as the first had. Joan Everheart. Her door was the color and texture of rose petals. Hnedake. Hers was light, like coral. Samantha. Dark mahogany, smooth to the touch.


    Every door was a different shade and every name was new to me until I crossed to the other side. I passed the first door but stopped before I reached the second.


    Trea.


    "I know that name." I said to myself.


    Excitement took me and I grabbed the large red stone that served as a door handle and opened it.


    In a place that I thought held near infinite doors, I don''t know why I was surprised by a second hallway filled with more doors. Still set into the black material, familiar doors of empty light greeted me and at the furthest end of the hallway I could see slivers of red.


    I thought about Trea. She had been sitting across from a sorceress. I remembered her lashing out in anger when she had shattered the stone. Could I find that memory among the other doors and view it again? Walking deeper into her memories, it occurred to me that my unrestricted access might be temporary and I should make the most of it while I could. I ran again, the doors of empty light passing by me in a blur until I found color. Sure enough, after a distance I had no better way to know besides counting doors and I hadn''t thought of doing that until I was well past the point of turning around and starting over, the doors were no longer empty. Identical to the door that had named itself Trea in my mind, I turned to the first door on my right.


    Flashes of a blackened sky and strange whistling played in my mind when I place my hand on the handle.


    "Here we go." I said to myself and passed through the doorway.


    The wyrm vanished within the black clouds that had spewed from its wretched maw since the moment it had descended upon us. The billowing plumes of smoke in the sky above me did not conceal the metallic whistle of the wyrm beginning to accelerate again.


    What had been a dense forest moments before had been reduced to nothing but scorched ground and blackened, broken, trees.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to take another one of those, Boss. Why don''t you get out of here before it comes back.¡± My knight said weakly.


    I turned to look at the man that had just saved my life.


    Byron, a shield knight of the Armory Enclave, had been in my employ for the entirety of the two years since I had set off into the lands of chaos. His shields, auraments made of a shining crimson metal, were dug into the ruined ground. Even buried, they were nearly twice my own height and if my knight''s shaking legs were an accurate indication of the state the wyrm''s first dive bomb had reduced him to, they were the only reason he hadn¡¯t taken a knee. The carmine red of my aura shone through the sprawling cracks left in the shields surfaces from the wyrm''s impact. The very same impact that would have ground me into dust if it hadn¡¯t been for Byron.


    The man behind the auraments, wearing armor infused with my own essence had become a friend in the two years I had known him. Long nights around campfires and sharing tents when it became too cold to sleep alone had that effect on people. Even if they were a powerful and dignified sorceress like I was.


    I couldn¡¯t leave him.


    ¡°Did I ever tell you why I agreed to hunt down the Mythmaker and his vile creations?¡± I turned back to the section of sky the Wyrm had ascended in, its metallic whistling sounding like a battalion of copper teapots all roiling to a boil in unison.


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    ¡°Trea,¡± Byron rasped, using my first name for only the second time. Any trace of his usual politeness and reverence had been broken and burnt like the thousands of blackened tree trunks that surrounded us. ¡° Get behind me, I can protect you.¡± He growled before his strength failed him and he released his shields, falling flat on his back.


    Impending doom does have a way of breaking down manners and social niceties.


    ¡°New dresses.¡± I said, flaring my aura.


    ¡°What''s that?¡± Byron groaned, rolling over onto his hands and knees.


    If I had learned anything about him in our time together, it was that he meant what he said. He would have protected me, even if my protection came at the cost of him. Like he had told me countless times before, he had made an oath.


    As silly as it was, part of me hoped his insistence on saving me wasn¡¯t solely based upon matters of oaths and honor. Of all times for matters of the heart to be at the front of my mind, having a creature capable of destroying entire cities barreling towards you faster than you had ever seen something move might be the worst one.


    ¡°I left the comfort of Zenithcidel and set off into the lands of chaos so I could earn enough stones to buy a set of dresses in every color known to the Mothers,¡± My aura flowed out of my right palm in a torrent, covering my body in my carmine will. I felt the rush that came with the manifestation and used that high to shape what my Soul desired. ¡°I will not let you die because a silly little girl wanted new dresses.¡±


    "Let me do my job, Boss." Byron demanded, undoubtedly still trying to climb to his feet.


    The wyrm broke through the smog so fast it punched a hole in the dark clouds that had obscured it, leaving a clear window to the blue sky beyond. Attached to the body of what at some point used to be some form of canine, mechanical wings and limbs tucked against the charred body of the creature. Its shining surfaces at first only reflected the flames of the burning forest before the Wyrm opened its mouth and released a burst of new fire, igniting itself for the second time and diving straight towards me.


    "Byron, do you remember when we first made camp at Spiral Bridge? "We both were a bit too tired and had a bit too much to drink and you kissed me."


    I watched my reflection in the cracked metal of Byron¡¯s shields. The red light of my aura shone around me as my will became material. Armor, impossible for any smith to craft with hammer and anvil, overlapped and linked itself from the fingertips of my right hand to just below my elbow, materializing into an ornate gauntlet of scales and metal. The color of it fluctuated between all shades of red and It bore no weight, fitting like my hand had been made for it. I stopped the flow of my aura and closed my channel. Rolling my fingers from thumb to pinky and then back again, I closed my hand into a fist and planted my feet.


    "I''m sorry for that my lady, it won''t happen again." Byron said, having managed to climb back up to his knee.


    My heart pounded in my chest. It would take me a long time to recover from the piece of myself I had just spent but no matter how long it was, it would certainly be shorter than recovering from death.


    "Do not apologize. Just as soon as we can rent a room and get a drink, I would like for you to kiss me again," I couldn''t stop speaking, the words flowing out of my mouth as easy as my aura had from my palm. "I have been harboring feelings for you since the bridge and it makes me giddy that we haven''t captured the Mythmaker yet because we get to spend more time together in search of him. "


    After nearly a hundred years of life, the wyrm was a breath away from ending my too short existence.


    I would have my dresses and I would have Byron.


    "Not now. I''m in love!" I yelled, dropping down and jumping at the final moment.


    A rainbow of red hues flashed, bright and blinding. I clamped my gauntleted hand down on the wyrm''s top jaw and wrenched it towards my body. My momentum ended and I dropped to the side of the wretched thing, behind its head, halting its dive. Immense force pulled against my grip, grinding my boots into the soil. I held firm and the monster''s jaw gave way. Black liquid, hot and acrid, spewed from its ripping maw as I tore it into two halves.


    The bottom half of it fell to my feet and I released my grip, letting the top half clatter to the ground.


    I dropped to my knees and watched as the piece of my soul I had manifested cracked. "Fuck you." I snapped at the slain wyrm and spat.


    The gauntlet shattered, breaking my arm and fingers as it went, disintegrating into a stream of carmine dust.


    As much as I hated it, I screamed out in pain.


    Tears fell down my face. I pounded my already ruined fist into the wet ground, sending white flashes of pain through my arm and hot splatters of black fluid onto my face with every hit.


    It would take weeks to heal. I was no closer to the Mythmaker than I had been before I''d wrecked my fucking arm.


    ¡°Let''s get you off the ground boss.¡± Byron said, picking me up gently and cradling me in his arms.


    "Put me down!" I demanded, struggling to free myself from his grasp.


    "Easy, you aren''t actually mad at me. You are just coming down," He said, unaffected by my struggle. ¡°In the Afterglow.¡±


    I hit him across his face with my broken hand and nearly fainted. When the dizziness had passed, I took a deep breath and my anger was replaced with weariness. "I''m sorry. I overdid it."


    ¡°I know you did, boss. But I can''t complain. I''d be dead if you didn''t,¡± He said, shifting my weight into one arm and shrugging his shields onto his back. They locked in place with a sharp click and he removed his helmet with his free hand. ¡°Let''s get you that room and that drink."


    I looked up at him. My limp right arm laying across my middle. "And the other thing?" I asked, feeling a strange pang of nervousness come over me.


    "If you share the drink." Byron said with a smile, turning me away from the mechanical corpse still spewing its acrid fluid.


    I relaxed into him and closed my eyes.


    Byron said something else but voice seemed so distant. Then it faded completely and I fell.


    I came back to myself feeling like I had a stake through my right palm.


    I shot up and clutched it to my chest, rocking back and forth. My face was wet with tears that continued to flow.


    "Dani," A voice said, and then I felt myself being pulled into someone''s arms. "You''re okay."


    "My hand." Was all I managed to choke out between gasps for air.


    It knew it was Anna, having already reached the point of familiarity that I could tell her by her voice. She took it in their hands and turned it over. "I don''t see anything wrong with it."


    The gauntlet. I thought, remembering the ruined state of Trea''s hand. I had somehow brought her pain in the memory back with me.


    "What are you doing up here?" I asked, opening my eyes.


    My room looked like the scene of a murder. Blood stained the white window sill. Underneath, a pool of red gave way to tiny paw prints that stopped suddenly and then resumed on the other side of me before trailing off into the bathroom.


    "I told you in my note I was coming up," She said, sliding back from me so we could look at each other. "I didn''t expect to find you laid out on the floor. I thought someone had snuck up here and killed you."


    Sam. "I let him out." I said, moving to look out the window.


    "He''s fine. The bird he has in the bathroom isn''t though. I think your cat might be a psychopath." Anna said, grabbing my hand again.


    The pain had receded quickly, only a dull ache was left to remind me of it.


    "I must have had a cramp." I said sheepishly.


    Anna let it go and gave me an odd look. "Mmhmm," She said, sounding like her terrifying mother. "Must have been a cramp."


    I stood up and offered her my hands, she took them.


    Is she mad at me?


    "You can talk to me, you know?"


    "What do you mean?" I asked.


    Anna sighed. "I mean, you''ve got some pretty strange shit going on," She said, gently pushing me on my shoulder. "You don''t have any clothes. You steal food from the kitchen when you could just ask me for it. You take so many baths, I''m surprised you aren''t permanently wrinkled," She smiled but her words came direct. She wasn''t joking. "I''m not gonna interrogate you. I know wherever you where before here couldn''t have been very good. You can talk to me. I''ll listen."


    I had never heard her say that many words before.


    Sam stepped into the room, sat down, and started grooming the blood and feathers off himself.


    "I already keep one of your secrets." Anna said, pointing at the little blue kitten.


    I didn''t speak, literally biting my tongue to keep myself from it. I wanted to tell her. I wanted to tell her about The Well and the memories, about Zenithcidel and the Mothers, about why I had run away and found myself at her mother''s boarding house, but most of all, I wanted to tell her about how alone I felt and that when she was around I didn''t feel that way.


    "Oh no, don''t do that." Anna laughed.


    I realized I had tears in my eyes and quickly wiped them away on my sleeve. "I''m sorry."


    "Again, that''s the saddest fucking thing I''ve ever heard," She said, gathering up my pile of blankets and sheets. "Come on, we are gonna find you a curtain so you can actually sleep on your mattress."


    "I don''t know." I said.


    Anna started walking out of the room. "It''s okay, my mom isn''t here. I know you''re scared of her."


    That got me out of my room but all the way down the stairs, all I could think about was how much Anna was giving me and how little I had given in return.


    I didn''t have much experience with them, but founding my first friendship on secrets and lies didn''t feel like a good place to start

 Chapter Nine: Enna Viot

    After months of agonizingly boring lectures and tests, every second I could spare spent imagining how I would distinguish myself from my sisters in my coven, we had finally left the claustrophobic confines of Zenithcidel for our first journey into Chaos.


    All that time and all my anticipation only for I, the illustrious Fawn Feathee, to get trapped in the gelatinous clutches of something that moved slower than grass grew.


    A jelly cube.


    My world tinted in a sickly green, I could already feel the slight tickling of my exposed skin being slowly melted away. The sundress I had thought was perfectly suitable for dungeon diving thankfully had long sleeves that would buy most of my body extra time my exposed legs wouldn''t enjoy.


    Damn my reasonable mind for valuing mobility and range of motion over coverage and practicality.


    When I had been rudely awoken from a nap I desperately needed by the sound of the jelly slopping towards me, there had barely been enough time for me to fill my lungs with air before it had pounced.


    Yes, semi-aware gelatinous acids can pounce and yes, taking a lung full of said jelly was a very bad idea.


    My chest had just begun burning when a spectral orb snaked around the corner and into view. It shot over to me, remaining a small distance away from the cube.


    "Underwitch Fawn," Ooo, Precept Muida''s familiar, spoke. The words came directly into my mind, bypassing my goop filled ears. ¡°You will lose consciousness in two minutes and thirteen seconds. You will perish in four minutes and thirty five seconds. Do you wish to call for assistance?"


    "What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?" I thought back at Ooo, trying and failing to so much as wiggle one of my fingers.


    I wondered if any one had ever survived long enough to watch themselves dissolve. Though, if they had by some arcane method, their eyes would be gone before they could see their bones liquify.


    "Underwitch Fawn, you have one minute and fifty eight seconds before loss of consciousness." Ooo said to me.


    Right, being slowly dissolved was not the time for me to ponder morbid hypotheticals.


    Giving movement one more try, I flexed and pressed against the hold of the jelly, but nothing moved. If it hadn''t been for the tickling sensation that was quickly giving way to stinging, it would have felt like I had no body at all.


    "Do you wish you had a body?" I thought at Ooo


    "It is against my directives to allow you to die. I will call for Precept Muida and the remainder of your coven in eleven seconds."


    "No!" I shouted in my mind at the familiar. I would have rather died than be found by that bunch of wicked little imps I was forced to call my sisters, especially considering I was trapped in the gelatinous clutches of something that you basically had to let catch you.


    "Nine seconds."


    "Just," I thought back at Ooo, pooling my aura into the bottoms of my bare feet.


    "Six seconds."


    "Hold . . . on!" I wouldn''t be able to hold my breath much longer and I couldn''t hold my aura for another second. I had to channel it.


    A burst of my yellow energy pulsed out of the soles of my feet, pushing the green ick of the jelly below them towards the cave floor. When the ick couldn''t go any further down, it flared out, leaving a momentary pocket of space that I oozed into until my feet touched something solid. As fast as I could push my power out of me, I filled the gap against the pressure of the jelly trying to do the same thing.


    "Two seconds."


    The pocket grew and my aura filled the space, pushing the cube out of its square shape and washing over me until I felt myself pop free from the goop.


    Precept Muida, her face set into her permanent scowl appeared in front of me. The rest of my coven in tow.


    I resisted the overwhelming urge to gasp for air. The space I had forced to exist within the jelly wouldn''t have air for me to breathe until I broke the vacuum the cube created by being stuck to the floor.


    A smile spread across my face. "This couldn''t have worked out any better." I thought at Ooo.


    I spun on my heels, throwing myself into a wild series of spinning kicks. The yellow flash of my aura trailing behind my feet sliced through the jelly cube, releasing me and spraying my coven with droplets of green ick.


    Dropping back to my feet, I landed in a crouch and flared my aura one last time before releasing the flow. I took a deep breath and then another, before gracefully standing.


    "I''m so badass," I said under my breath. Precept Muida, Ooo, and my sisters were all silent. "Hey everybody!"


    A collective "Ewww." Came from the other girls, as the droplets of jelly began inching off of them and towards a few larger chunks that were still jiggling on the floor.


    "Underwitch Fawn, How do you feel?" Precept Muida asked, stepping over to me and placing her hand on my shoulder.


    "I''m so happy to see all of you, here, in this wonderfully dark and damp cave! Did you see the size of that thing? It almost killed me," I laughed, clapping my hands in delight. "If I kept a piece of the jelly in a vial on my desk, would it constantly try to roll off and return to the rest of itself?"


    "Fawn, calm down." Precept Muida said, her stern face relaxing just a smidge as the cerulean glow of her aura flashed underneath the hand she had on my shoulder.


    She charmed me.


    Only after the giddiness faded did I understand I had been caught in the high of manifesting my aura.


    "Thank you, Precept Muida. Listening to her is bad enough without her channeling." Favelin, one of my sisters, said snidely.


    Precept Muida took her hand off me and addressed the coven as a whole. "What Underwitch Fawn has accomplished is no easy task. We will all break for lunch and listen to her describe her decision making."


    The sound of my sisters groans of displeasure trailed off and I felt myself fall.


    I opened my eyes.


    My room was dark and I was in my bed. Through a gap between the blanket and the window it was tacked over, I could see that morning had not come yet.


    I laid on my back, feeling like I was sleeping on a cloud. Why hadn''t I been smart enough to realize that hanging a blanket over the window was a much better idea than using the mattress? How many more memories could I have viewed if I wasn''t constantly worn out from sleeping poorly?


    Nearly falling back asleep, I thought of waking up encased by a jelly cube.


    Wait. I thought. I had been in a memory.


    I hadn¡¯t focused my aura, I wasn''t in the bath, I was wearing clothes. How had I entered a memory?


    Fawn, I remembered Fawn Feathee. She was an Underwitch and her aura was yellow, like the center of a sunflower.


    Wait. I thought. Where the fuck is Sam?


    I squinted and looked around the dark room. My familiar wasn''t atop any of his usual perches.


    Mothers help me, had I closed the window?


    I had.


    I remembered the jelly and added that to the growing list of things I hadn''t known existed but was deathly afraid of, right alongside the four eyed familiar and Ms. Lao.


    The Well had never opened itself to me without me explicitly trying to gain entry, either in the bathtub or the pool that I had used back within the confines of Zenithcidel. Where had been the circular room of that strange black material? Why couldn''t I remember crossing the stained glass walkways or choosing a door from the near infinite variations?


    Could someone sleepwalk inside their own mind?


    That is called a dream, Autumn. I thought to myself.


    Was I asking myself entirely too many questions for my sleep-addled mind to make sense of?


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Yes you are. I thought.


    Sam had still not reared his little blue head to ask me his questions, which made sense. Whatever arcane directive he was under couldn''t be triggered if he didn''t know I had been to The Well.


    I don¡¯t have to answer any of his stupid questions. A sleepy smirk spread across my face and I rolled onto my left side, facing the window. The air underneath my blankets was warm and turning had settled me into a cool spot on the bed that hadn''t been heated by my body yet. I yawned and began to let my mind drift to wherever it needed to go to find sleep.


    ¡°What is your name?¡± Sam''s deep baritone boomed.


    My eyes shot open to see Sam''s haunting blue eyes, peering at me from a distance less than one of his whiskers from my face.


    ¡°Ahh!¡± I screamed and violently pushed him off the bed.


    His little body hit the wall and then dropped to the floor with an equally small thump.


    Immediately, he asked again. ¡°What is your name?¡±


    "Ahhh," I groaned, not out of fright but out of frustration. "I thought I found a way out of it."


    "What is your name?"


    "Autumn Aubrey."


    "Who is Autumn Aubrey?"


    "A very tired girl!" I snapped.


    "Who is Autumn Aubrey?" His constant baritone repeated like I knew it would until I answered the fucking questions. I hated it, but that didn¡¯t make it untrue.


    "I am a Maiden of Zenithcidel. Daughter of Idensyn Aubrey. Thief and possessor of The Well. Debtor to the Circle of the Nine Mothers."''


    I saw the dark form of my familiar jump onto the dresser at the foot of my bed. "What were you doing?"


    "Viewing memories from The Well so it may be extracted from me and returned to the Mothers."


    Sam fell silent, his duty fulfilled.


    Which annoyed me to no end because I was left fully awake.


    "Sam?" I called.


    He sighed audibly. He actually fucking sighed. "Yes?"


    "You''re a dick." I said.


    Silence.


    "Did you hear me?" I asked.


    "Yes."


    "Can I ask you something?"


    "No," He growled. "The only time I have to think is when you are asleep and I am counting the seconds until you return to unconsciousness."


    I raised an eyebrow. "What do you think about?"


    "All manner of things that are beyond your appreciation and understanding." Sam stated.


    "Are you thinking about killing another bird?" I asked, yawning.


    Silence.


    I resettled myself and began to relax. Just before I drifted off, I heard my familiar answer my question.


    "I am now."


    Sleep took me.


    I''m going to die.


    "I implore you to act, Lady Enna!" Nathaniel yelled in his whistle pitch voice. My familiar¡¯s incorporeal form, the visage of a long dead dandy, passed through the golden bricks of the pyramid I sat atop and through my own body as if their solid state was a suggestion and not a fact. The crumbled body of the slain shaman, the gash along his open throat and wrists still encased in my violet aura, was beginning to smoke.


    If I could have come through the void and arrived three days before, I probably could have halted the ritual. Traveling by conventional methods had me arriving just a little too late it seemed.


    A sphere of molten rock and flame that grew larger every second hung in the sky above me, the last violet remnants of my crystalline attempt at containing it shattering against its mass. The volume of its roaring combustions rendered all other sounds insufficient. Visible heat radiated towards me, waves of moving air fanning down and burning my eyes and nose.


    The only reason I could hear my familiar''s pleading was because he was passing through my ear when he said it.


    I could no longer hear the thousands of villagers at the base of the pyramid that undoubtedly were still chanting the same two words they had my entire ascent to the top of the pyramid. "NEW SUN, NEW SUN, NEW SUN."


    I wondered how much work it would take for me to celebrate the thing that was going to leave me and everything I had ever known in ashes.


    "I can''t, Nathaniel." I said, only realizing the truth of the words once I said them aloud.


    My familiar scoffed. "Nonsense! Surely, you don''t intend to lay about and watch yourself burn," Nathaniel stuck his ghostly head out of my chest and looked into my eyes. "By God, You are a Sorceress of the Third Circle!"


    I sighed and let out a little laugh. "And that''s all I''ll ever be."


    Reaching up, I started taking out the three tight braids I always wore when I expected trouble. I always made them too tight and they made me feel like I couldn''t close my eye lids all the way. If I was going to die, which I was, then by the beauty of the Mothers my hair would be down. It was a small relief in the face of my end, but felt all the more relaxing because of my impending end.


    My familiar continued to protest my acceptance, which was odd. Nathaniel was incorporeal. He could take the sun on his ghostly chin and it wouldn''t leave a scratch.


    I interrupted his babbling. "Nathaniel?"


    "Yes? Yes! We have to go, your skin is starting to burn."


    The massive palm fronds, visible from my perch, charring and catching flame were a good indicator that he was telling the truth.


    I flared my hair out with my hands and rubbed my scalp with my fingers. "You''ve been a good friend. Whenever I arrive wherever I will go after this, I will remember you fondly."


    Nathaniel''s ghostly face grew several shades paler and he cupped his head in his hands. "Take it back. Don''t say those things. I''m despicable, vile, I''m evil," He exited my body and mimed grabbing my arm and pulling me up. "You won''t have to remember me and you won''t have to go anywhere if you will just get up."


    The new sun burned hotter, stinging my eyes despite the moisture that flowed out of them. The scent of my long hair singing and smoking filled my nose in the last few moments before the air would become hot enough to burn all of my sense of smell away. Seeing blisters beginning to rise on my skin, I shut my eyes, both in pain and fear. I didn''t want to scream, the last hope I was holding onto was to die with dignity. Nathaniel had been right, I was a Sorceress of the Third Circle, I had lived as one and I wanted to die as one. The New sun burned closer, steaming all of the sweat pouring out of my body as soon as it passed through my pores.


    My will broke in my final moment and I screamed. "Mother''s help me!"


    Light bright enough to blind me through my eyelids as I felt my robes burn away.


    Then, the heat vanished and my world grew silent.


    I couldn''t help but sigh in relief. "I died."


    "Lady Enna, Look!" Nathaniel''s shrill voice called.


    Had my familiar passed on with me?


    I opened my eyes.


    A woman hung in the air before me.


    The violent light emanating from the flame of the new sun reduced her to nothing but a feminine silhouette. Dwarfed by the rapidly expanding sun, she should have been burned to ash in an instant but she faced it down, unburned.


    Her aura, so dark a blue it was nearly black, washed over her. She raised her arms above her head and a torrent of rushing water began to circle the new sun around its bottom. The woman crossed her arms and twisted them suddenly above her head.


    The torrent of rushing water spiraled up and around the ball of molten destruction, covering it completely.


    Centuries, it would take me centuries to begin to understand the skill and power of the working I had just seen.


    The water encased the new sun in a whirlpool and it stopped gaining mass. An endless stream of white steam spewed from the top of the dying sun.


    I knew who the woman was, her working had stripped me of any doubt.


    The steam filling the air concealed her from my eyes, but after what could have only been a moment later, Her bare feet stepped into sight.


    ¡°What is your name, child? She asked, her voice washing away any trace of stress and fear I bore in my body.


    She was beautiful, beautiful and terrifying. A simple white dress contrasted against her dark umber skin. Eyes, the same dark blue as her aura had been, were set into a diamond shaped face that looked comforting and sharp with grace. Her hair, midnight blue at its roots, lightened to the color of seafoam at its ends.


    Underneath her calm surface, there was a riptide, a power that could drown you if you were caught in its depths.


    Once the shock of still being alive had faded, I realized all I had done for my savior was stare at her. I hadn''t answered her question.


    Enna Viot, I tried to say, but all that came out was a broken and burnt croak. My lips split when I tried to force out, Thank you Mother.


    Nathaniel came into view, his eyes wide and somehow sad. ¡°She is Enna Viot. Can you save her, Mother?¡±


    Save me? She had already done that.


    A small smile appeared on her face as she sank to her knees beside me. "I am no Mother, only a Lady. This will take much from me, I will need to be cared for afterwards."


    She placed her hands on me. I tried to sit up, but she must have kept me in place with her power because my arms and legs would not move.


    "Like a lake in winter, be still," She commanded in a soothing voice that I was powerless to disobey. "and try not to look either."


    I tried, but could not keep myself from shifting my eyes down to my body.


    I wished I hadn''t.


    Burnt black, my dress having burned away and left me naked, my skin looked like it would crumble into char if it was touched.


    Coughing violently, I managed to make myself rasp out. "Failed."


    "Do not trouble yourself with such self pity. It is unbecoming of a sorceress." She said and I watched as thin tendrils of her aura ran out of the shoulder straps of her dress and down her arms. They flowed off her palms and onto me. It did not burn. It did not sting. My blackened flesh did not break apart. Her Aura cooled me as it spread, covering every inch of my ruined body.


    "I am not in pain. Do not waste your strength on me." I said, finding it easier to speak.


    "Do not tell a Lady how to use her strength. It is no trouble at all." She replied. I shut my mouth. Evaporating into a cool mist, her aura left me.


    I took her hand and did as I was commanded.


    I stood and found myself completely unburned. Feeling myself underneath my robes, my skin was smooth and clean. I looked at the Lady and opened my mouth to speak, but no words came.


    Nathaniel rose out of the golden bricks of the pyramid beside me and dropped into a dramatic bow. "It is an honor, my Lady. If it hadn''t been for your fated arrival, my master would have willingly let herself die."


    I winced. Wishing with every part of my newly restored body that my familiar had possessed the good sense to not speak, for once.


    The Lady did not respond to my familiar.


    Tears began to flow down her face and she collapsed.


    ¡°My Lady!¡± Nathaniel gasped.


    I caught the Lady before she could collide with the golden bricks of the pyramid. ¡°It is her Afterglow.¡±


    Savior, she had been my savior only moments before. She had healed my ruined body and it had cost her greatly.


    I held her in my arms, not knowing what other manner of comfort to offer her.


    ¡°How could she,¡± The lady sobbed. ¡®How could she do that to me?¡±


    I heard the voices of thousands of villagers rise from the base of the pyramid, repeating the same chant I had heard on my ascent. "NEW SUN, NEW SUN, NEW SUN."


    Only this time, they sounded angry.


    ¡°All will be well,¡± I told her, not knowing if my words were true. ¡°All will be well.¡±


    Her tears rolling down the skin she had healed from me, I held the Lady until my mind swam and I felt myself fall.

 Chapter Ten: Reyna

    Enna Viot, I wrote. Sorceress of the Third Circle. Familiar, Nathanial, ghost of a talkative man. Shaman, jungle, ritual, new sun.


    The morning was still new as I wrote my notes. I sat cross legged between the foot of the bed and the dresser. I had crawled down there the moment I had woken up, knowing how much harder it was to remember the important details of a memory if I didn''t record them while they were still fresh. Then, I wrote about the Lady and her grace, beauty, and power. Inconveniently, due to the nature of how the memories worked, since Enna hadn''t learned her name, I hadn''t either.


    My mother was a Sorceress of the Second Circle. By all means that was nothing shake a finger at but the displays I had viewed recently, particularly Trea and the Lady, would not leave my mind. All I could do was cast small charms and glamor. Those small magics shouldn''t be possible considering the Seal placed over my navel, my channel. Even if I didn''t bear the weight of a magical chastity belt, I didn''t think I would ever be able to do things on such a scale.


    When I had gotten up, Sam had asked his questions again. I¡¯d slept so well, they had only been a minor annoyance. Still sad I hadn''t discovered a way to circumvent them, I had torn Sam from his all important work of devising new ways to dismember avian creatures and asked him for his thoughts on my sleep induced slips into The Well. Since that moment, he had sat atop the dresser silently.


    "Have you come up with anything?" I asked him, looking up from my notebook.


    "Yes." He said in his rich baritone.


    "Why haven''t you said anything?" I replied. I had entered a state of near constant surprise at the new and creative ways my familiar found to frustrate me.


    "I did not wish to interrupt your focus. Other than entering The Well, writing your notations is the only worthwhile pursuit you do."


    I pursed my lips. It was considerate, him waiting for me to finish my work, but he had added a wonderful flourish of insult to his nicety. With Sam, you took what he gave you, I had learned that lesson. So, I swallowed my rising anger.


    The wooden squeaks of someone coming up the stairs to my room sounded and were followed by someone knocking on my door.


    ¡°It¡¯s Arthur, can I see the you know what?¡±


    Arthur, not someone, had knocked on my door.


    I don¡¯t know what level of deception he thought he was operating under by referring to Sam as the you know what, but whoever heard him say it would know there was something upstairs in that strange girls room and she doesn''t want anyone to know about it. That made keeping the secret that much harder. I opened the drawer of the dresser that now had clothes folded neatly within it. They were the ones Anna had given me the night of the ghost hunt and had been washed and returned to me by the same girl, the one I got to call my friend. I tucked my notebook under the jacket and closed the drawer.


    ¡°Sam?¡± I said to my familiar sitting atop the same dresser.


    ¡°I will remain silent.¡± He replied without me having to ask the question.


    I didn¡¯t like it, trusting him, it felt too uncertain. Having Arthur and Anna know I had a strangely blue kitten was one thing. If he changed his mind and decided to speak. . .Having them know I possessed dominion over a soul that had been fashioned into a strangely blue kitten and that, for a lack of knowledge on their part, I was a witch with a near infinite source of knowledge within her mind, was another.


    Didn''t I have to give him the benefit of the doubt though? He had come back when I had been swallowed by The Well and left unconscious. If revealing my location to the Mother''s so I could be entombed within the walls of Zenithcidel was what his goal was, then he had missed his largest window of opportunity yet when I had let him out of the window to hunt.


    ¡°I¡¯m trusting you.¡± I said to him,


    ¡°You have any other choice.¡± He replied, standing and arching his back in what could have been mistaken as a little bow.


    I took it as one.


    I unlocked my door and opened it.


    Arthur, ducking his head so it didn¡¯t hit the doorframe, greeted me with a smile. ¡°I come bearing gifts.¡±


    He held up the same thermos he had brought on the ghost hunt.


    ¡°Gift. You come bearing a gift.¡± I said, welcoming him in.


    The tall man handed me the thermos and I took the top that also served as a cup off and poured what I had expected to be more hot chocolate into it.


    It was coffee. We had coffee in Zenithcidel. I had never been allowed to drink it but we did have it.


    "You¡¯re up early," Arthur said to me, and pulled a length of string out of his pocket. "And I meant gifts."


    I took a sip of the hot coffee. It tasted nothing like what I had expected. It was rich and much sweeter than I imagined.


    "I hope you like cream and sugar, that''s the only way I can drink that shit." Arthur said, dangling the string in front of my familiar''s placid face.


    "Yes, I love cream and sugar in my coffee." I lied, more of a fib really, wanting to avoid revealing how little I knew.


    Sam did not so much as twitch at the string.


    "Come on buddy, come on Sam." Arthur cooed in a hilariously high voice.


    Sam swiped at the string.


    "Unbelievable." I exclaimed.


    The playing escalated dramatically in only a few seconds, going from the occasional swipe to a full on hunt between Sam and Arthur''s string. Sam was the hunter, naturally.


    "Alright," Arthur said, looking at the clock. "I''ve got to go, I just wanted to come say good morning and give the little monster this." He dropped the string at Sam''s paws and my familiar attacked it.


    "Where are you going?" I asked, taking another sip of coffee.


    "Oh, into the city with my mom," He said, his usual smile fading just a bit. "I''ll be back tomorrow though."


    "I was just wondering when we would go ghost hunting again?" I asked, which I wished I hadn''t as soon as I said it. It was becoming all too easy for me to forget who I was when I interacted with the siblings.


    "Oh shit, yeah. We will have to plan that. I was thinking of having a bon fire this weekend, would you want to do that with me? We can make smores?" He said, his smile returning to its full strength.


    "Of course." I answered.


    Arthur left and I closed and locked the door.


    I didn''t know what the fuck smores were but they had the rare quality of their name sounding delicious all on its own.


    Finishing the last swig of the coffee I had poured, I made for the bathroom. I wanted to see more. I wanted to watch through the eyes of Sorceresses like Trea and Enna. I wanted to see all the wondrous things they could do and the terrible things they faced. My new found excitement for the memories wasn¡¯t all that surprising. I had been locked in a room for all of my life that I could remember.


    Bath filled, Sam perched, clothes off, I hadn¡¯t even focused my aura before I fell.


    No three walls, only the circular room of strange black material surrounded me. Literally unable to contain myself, I burst out of the door and onto the landing. There would be time for me to slowly examine The Well in detail, but it wasn''t then. Instead of running straight across one of the walkways, I took the stairs down. One, two, three floors down I went and then took the walkway on my right. I understood the need to eventually devise some system to keep track of where I had been, but I had been trapped in a three walled room until very recently, it felt too good to stretch my mental legs.


    I came to a hall of doors just like I had before and began my selection. Bypassing dozens of shades of gray that didn''t suit my mood, something caught my eyes.


    On my left, A gray stone door bore a large black x that stretched from either side of the door and rose fully to its height.


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    Reyna. The name appeared in my mind. That''s new.


    Unable to control my curiosity, I took the door. The hall behind it was much shorter than any I had been in before. All the way at the end, the gray gave way to a final door that was entirely black. Unable to control my curiosity, I took it before I got a glimpse of what awaited me.


    It wasn''t supposed to end like this.


    Uma and I had heard tales of a guarded treasure buried deep within the confines of a forgotten crypt. We were Seekers, that kind of information was exactly what Sorceresses like her and I thrived off of. We couldn''t not go.


    All had been well, the usual undead guardians and giant spiders proving no more difficult to deal with than they had been in the crypt before. We had been making quick progress, chatting between tense moments of battle, about what the treasure could be and that this tomb was much larger and much deeper than any we had plundered before. We were fools to arrive at the conclusion that a bigger crypt meant a bigger treasure and did not stop to realize there was a third element to that equation.


    Bigger danger.


    Down we had gone, thinking of all the comforts and riches we would be able to buy upon our triumphant return home, not noticing that the last several floors had been empty except for the already slain corpses of the monsters that liked to make homes in dark and abandoned places.


    "Reyna, what was that?" Uma had said, stopping me. Her torchlit face had been set into wide eyed shock.


    "I didn''t see anything." I responded, my mind full of golden dreams.


    "We should go. I''m starting to get a bad feeling. There is something wrong with this place."


    I didn''t listen. I encouraged her. Using my superior skills of persuasion to calm her fear.


    A scattered mess of dry corpses, none had been sorceresses the best I could tell, had littered the hall to the treasure room.


    For the second time, Uma had tried to get us to turn back.


    Mother¡¯s forgive me I should have listened.


    We had come too far, I could literally see an ornate chest sitting atop a diadem through the crack in the massive stone doors. So I had spurned us forward, leading Uma and I through the hall and up to the chest. It hadn''t been locked and when I opened it I knew my stubbornness had paid off.


    Flawless rubies, sapphires, emeralds, shone back at us. The smallest gem in the chest was larger than my fist.


    "I can buy you a castle." I had said.


    Uma and I had celebrated, forgetting where we were for a moment. We had laughed and cheered, hand in hand, but now that it was over, I would take a moment like that again over the gems or any other treasure.


    The Lich had folded into the treasure room out of thin air faster than I could realize it was happening.


    Before I could channel my aura or summon any other defense, it had extended its skeletal hand towards me and I was thrown back against a wall. It pinned me there by some unseen force.


    The lich had come up behind Uma and it took her. Palming her head and turning her eyes up to its hooded face, my friend screamed.


    ¡°Uma.¡± I moaned, but she couldn¡¯t hear me anymore. The way her body crumpled to the floor was wrong, just wrong. People who could still feel and think couldn¡¯t lay like that for long and she was as still as the stones she had fallen on. She couldn¡¯t hear me anymore. She couldn¡¯t hear anything anymore.


    The lich, cloaked in tattered robes and a nebulous cloud of dark mist, hung in the air before me. I should have done something. After all, even if I was a weak one, I was still a Sorceress. As the monster that had murdered my friend turned its eyeless gaze towards me, I could only think of Uma. It wasn¡¯t just that she couldn¡¯t hear me, I would never hear her again. The way her laugh would turn into a wheeze whenever she found something truly funny or the way she would hum some melody I only knew because of her when she was cooking us dinner around a campfire.


    I was terrified, yes, but tears came instead of screams.


    Maybe it would leave me alone. I hadn¡¯t provoked it. Maybe it would disappear in the same cloud of swirling shadow it had appeared in.


    Maybe, I could rush Uma out of here and call for the Mothers.


    It hovered over to me, Its fleshless face enshrouded by its black hood.


    "I''m sorry, we didn''t know this place was yours. Let us leave and we shall never return." I begged, trying to turn my head away from the lich''s


    The lich''s eyeless gaze did not leave my face and It did not take mercy on me. "Your companion has already departed and shall never return."


    A pinpoint of cold stabbed into my chest, at first only feeling like when I had been a girl and held ice to a salted spot on my forearm. It grew, sapping every bit of heat out of my body as it went. My eyes lost their ability to focus and rolled in their socket, only catching momentary blurs of the lich.


    Then, I felt it happen. A felt the cold embrace of death wash over my arms and legs. I was dying. There was less pain than I had thought there would be.


    "At last," The lich spoke in a voice that sounded like broken hopes and dying dreams. It raised its skeletal hand and slowly, almost gently, placed the tip of one of its fingers in the center of my forehead. ¡°I see YOU.¡±


    Darkness. A dissonant ringing filled my ears. The kind of cold that ran down your spine and didn''t come from wind or cold water shot through me. I was back in the bathroom, but it was dark, too dark.


    Sam didn''t ask his questions. I turned to look at him. The little blue kitten sat atop his perch, the lights strangely dim. He did not look back at me, Sam was looking up. I followed his line of sight up and screamed.


    A swirling black mist hung heavy off the ceiling. From the mist, the white bone of a fleshless hand slowly appeared. A tattered black sleeve followed and then the lich from the memory descended into the bathroom and turned its eyeless face towards me.


    I screamed again. Pushing myself as far away from the nightmare as I could. My aura burst within me, filling my body with more power than I had ever felt. Stabs of paralyzing pain in my right palm curled my fingers and locked them in place.


    Unspeaking, the lich hung above me, watching.


    The smell of it, carried down by the dark mist, brought images into my mind. Fields of wildflower blossoms and windswept grass warmed by the sun, Rolling hills ending in white sand and blue water, A cool breeze bringing the smell of sea salt. Under it all, the sickly cloying scent of death and rot was sweet in my nose.


    I couldn''t move.


    "I have been watching you, child," It rasped. Then, it pointed a jagged finger at the seal over my navel and hissed. "They bind you out of fear."


    "Leave me alone." I whispered, unable to do anything else.


    The lich''s head snapped away from me, its hollow gaze turning to the bathroom door as it opened. Anna stepped through the doorway, concern on her face.


    "Dani," She began and then her very mortal eyes looked up to the lich. Every part of her froze, just like I had.


    "Ah," The lich rattled, turning to her fully and extending its wretched hand. It spoke to Anna. "Come."


    Anna took a shaking step forward, her shivering arm raising to meet his hand. "Dani, help me." She forced out.


    I couldn¡¯t move. I could barely think. The lich¡¯s presence pressed me into immobility against the porcelain of the bath.


    There was nothing I could do. I was just a girl.


    Call the mothers.


    Anna took another step, her eyes brimming with tears.


    Sam still sat motionless atop the light fixture.


    Calling the mothers would only save me, it quite possibly could be worse for my friend than what was currently happening, but those three little words came to my lips in desperation.


    Trea hadn¡¯t left her knight. The Lady had saved Enna. Asha had defended Leannan.


    Rage boiled within me. I had escaped the clutches of The Mothers, I had felled the walls within The Well. For fuck¡¯s sake, I had made a friend.


    I couldn¡¯t just be a girl. I had to be more.


    I would not let it take Anna.


    "Leave her alone!" I yelled, fury I had never known breaking me from my paralysis. I snapped my right hand up to the lich. A violent burst of glimmering light erupted out of my right palm and slammed into the nightmare above me.


    Burning through the dark mist, as soon my power made contact, Anna collapsed to the floor.


    The lich turned to me, my aura dissipating against the folds of his black cloak, unmoved. It laughed, a broken sound that made me wince with every cackle. "I shall see you soon, child." Its decrepit voice called and then it receded back into the mist, the black cloud condensing and then disappearing.


    My aura slipped from my hold and I sagged back, my hand falling limp beside me.


    The bathroom was just a bathroom. The ceiling was just a ceiling. I was just a girl again.


    I rolled my head to look at Anna. "Are you okay?"


    Her eyes wide, she shook her head no.


    "I can help you." I said, pulling myself up on the lip of the bath.


    "What the fuck was that? And you! What the fuck are you? What did you do? I¡¯m in a fucking nightmare. . .aren¡¯t I?¡± She shuddered. ¡°It was in my head, I could feel it. . .¡±


    She continued in that manner until I reached her.


    The water dripping off me, forming a pool underneath my feet. I helped her up.


    Her eyes shifted between me and the ceiling, panic still stressing her face, then shook her head and looked at me. "How are you okay right now? How did you do that? What did you do?"


    A slurry of questions continued from her, her whole body shaking. I was fucking terrified of what had just happened but at least I had the basis of knowledge necessary for it to not threaten my sanity.


    My friend didn''t.


    Anna didn¡¯t.


    I had to help her.


    I thought about being arm in arm with her during the ghost hunt, the clothes, the sandwiches, how she had pulled me into her arms and comforted me when I had come back from my second memory of Trea. I pulled my aura again, bringing the feelings that came with thoughts of her to the center of my mind, and threw my arms around Anna.


    "What are you doing?" She asked, I could feel her shallow breaths coming quickly against my chest.


    ''You are okay. I am okay," I whispered into her ear, willing myself to believe the words I spoke. "It¡¯s gone. It''s just us. You are safe.¡±


    Was she?


    "I''m going to pass out." She said weakly, sagging into me.


    My charm wasn''t working. The feelings she felt were too strong for my assertions to overcome.


    She was going to lose herself.


    An idea came to me in a manner that didn¡¯t allow deliberation. My friend needed my help and what I could offer wasn''t enough.


    I couldn''t stop trying. For her, I had to be more.


    Aura still focused, I separated from her enough that I could look in her eyes and felt my lips begin to tingle.


    "Anna."


    She looked back at me.


    "Everything is going to be alright." I said and took her face in my dripping hands, pulling her to me.


    With my iridescent aura glimmering on my lips, I kissed her.

 Chapter Eleven: A Conversation

    I had never put much thought into what my first kiss would be like.


    Being bound and restricted to the point that what you want most in the world is to be able to go to the bathroom without supervision doesn''t leave a lot of room for romantic daydreams.


    If I had thought about it, what I wanted it to be like and who I wanted it to be with, I''m certain that I would not have wanted it to be directly after a dark and murderous entity had broken my understanding of what was possible and followed me through The Well. Certainly, it also wouldn''t be with my first friend and charmed with my aura to try and save her mind from breaking.


    Both of those things were true however, and though I had feelings for Anna, I didn''t know if they were those feelings. So, I decided it didn''t count. The kiss was exactly what it was and nothing more, a desperate attempt to help my friend.


    I pulled my lips from hers. The shoulders of her flannel shirt were soaked from the bath water that had dripped from my hair and remnants of my aura glimmered on her lips.


    "What did you just do to me?" She asked, her wide eyed gaze relaxing some. She blinked several times in a flutter and gave her body a little shake, like a chill had come over her. "Did you drug me?"


    I had, in a way. "I charmed you, which isn''t all that different. Are you okay?"


    "No." She answered and left the bathroom.


    "Wait," I called, following her out. The door to my room was open and Anna stood just outside of it. My legs were weaker than I was prepared for them to be and I had to catch myself on the doorframe with my hands. "Where are you going?"


    "I don''t know. It looks like I''m leaving?" She phrased it as a question.


    "No. You can''t!" I said a little bit too quickly and a little bit too harshly. I had abandoned making every decision based on if it protected my fragile freedom weeks ago. I didn''t want to leave. That had been true for longer than I had been able to admit it to myself.


    "Why can''t I?" She asked, standing entirely too close to the stairs for my panic to subside.


    Because you are dangerous. I thought. She was dangerous to me. More so than the four eyed familiar in the woods. I wore a disguise, if the familiar''s master had been around, I had given no sign or indication of who or what I was and since I hadn''t had someone from Zenithcidel arrive to capture me and there was no sign of a power mad Sorcerer from the spire, my glamor was doing exactly what I needed it to. It still worked on Anna, because she didn''t know what I actually looked like, But she had seen me yet again. Naked, as I was the first time I met her, but this time she had seen a glimpse of what I was under the skin. The lich had stared at her in her face and beckoned her. I had manifested my aura through a channel I didn''t know I had. And to wrap it all up and put a neat bow on it all, I had charmed her with my power. Even if she didn''t understand them, Anna knew enough about me that I saw no way I could let her walk away.


    Speaking in a way that was proving harder and harder for me to resist when it came to her, I was honest. "Because you are dangerous and I need to talk to you. You told me I could and that you would listen."


    I hoped she remembered that.


    "I''m dangerous? You look like you could kill me right now." She blurted, moving to come back in my room despite her words.


    I let her pass and we both risked a glance back into the bathroom. If I hadn''t felt its presence and looked upon its terrible face only minutes prior, I wouldn''t have been able to say it was ever there. The light on Sam¡¯s post had returned but he still sat as still as stone. For the first time, I wished within my heart that I could talk to my familiar but I couldn''t divert my attention from Anna.


    One problem at a time, Autumn. I thought to myself.


    Anna walked over to my bed and sat down on it. Her back was straight as a board and her arms were held entirely too tight to her body. Any trace of her usual half-interested and relaxed mannerisms I had come to expect from her had been forced into a rigid mask. She was holding it together, but if I wasn''t careful, her grip would slip.


    What was my plan? Was I going to continually charm her until she had forgotten the events of the last ten minutes? I didn''t even know if that was possible. Though, with enough aura and the right memories, I didn''t see why it couldn''t be done. I had charmed Miss Lao twice, once to get the room and once to pay the rent. I didn''t enjoy doing it, but it had been necessary. I had charmed Anna for her own safety, no, for her own sanity. It had been necessary. If she broke, would I do it again?


    "Are you okay?" I asked, not knowing what else to say. I closed my door and locked it.


    "Can you, uhm, not be naked right now? It''s hard enough to think as it is." She said, looking at me directly in my eyes and my eyes only.


    The memory of an undead entity murdering two sorceresses in cold blood fresh in my mind or not, I blushed.


    "I''m sorry. I don''t mean for this to keep happening," I said, covering myself with my hands and rushing over to where my clothes lay on the floor. I turned my back to Anna and put them on in a hurry. Then, I sat down cross-legged on the floor in front of where she sat. "How do you feel?"


    "I don''t know. What was that?" She asked, almost every inch of her still holding every other inch of her in a death grip. It seemed like she thought she would crumble into pieces of herself if she let go.


    "What was what?" I asked.


    "The thing that was coming through the fucking ceiling? The thing that you blasted away somehow? The thing that forced me to walk towards it?" She blurted.


    "Right," I said, considering charming her again. I could get to her before she had a chance to make things difficult. "It was a lich."


    "Oh, of course! How could I not have known that? Everybody knows what a Lich is,¡± She snapped, eyes wide. ¡°What the fuck is a Lich, Dani?"


    I flinched at her words, if she didn''t calm down, I would have to charm her again. Anna being sound of mind was more important than the guilt I would feel after manipulating her. During my first days with The Well within me, I had found myself in states not dissimilar from the one Anna was in. The difference was, I had my mother to rely on.


    All my friend had was me. I tried to imitate the soft spoken tone my mother had taken with me when I had been on the edge. "I don''t know, exactly. But I drove it away and you are safe now."


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    "I don''t, I can''t." She said, a furious scowl forming on her face. She began to rock back and forth on the bed, clutching herself.


    Do something, Do something. I thought, trying very hard to not allow my own panic to show. I looked to the bathroom, maybe Sam could help? The little blue kitten still sat, motionless, atop the light fixture. Beyond the usual list of things I normally thought were not right with him, something was wrong.


    I was on my own. Sam¡¯s purpose was to assist me. Although he couldn¡¯t, maybe I could use one of the most annoying things about him to my advantage.


    Without meaning to, I dropped my voice to the lowest pitch in my register. "What is your name?"


    Surprisingly, she answered. "Anna Lao."


    "Who is Anna Lao?" I continued in my best impression of Sam. My friend''s eyes had focused back on mine.


    "I am." She stopped rocking and I thought I saw her body unclench just a bit.


    Good enough.


    "What were you doing?" I asked the final question.


    "I was down stairs, in my room, and I heard you scream. After the other night, I didn''t know if you had passed out again or what had happened. I was worried about you," She sighed and her arms relaxed from her middle. "So I came up here and then I saw. . ." She trailed off.


    I stood and sat on the bed beside her, taking her hand in mine like she had for me. "Don''t worry about that right now, it''s gone and if it comes back, I can protect you."


    I didn''t know if that was true, but I wanted it to be bad enough that it didn''t feel like a lie when I said it.


    "How? None of this makes sense. People can''t just shoot light out of their hands. That doesn''t fucking happen."


    Tell her. Tell her everything. The thought came and went from my mind faster than I could recognize it.


    I thought about how easy it would be to pull her into my arms and try and charm her memory away, to make her think she had come up here to see Sam and nothing strange or terrifying had happened. I could do it, the more I thought about what it would take, the more my confidence grew.


    Instead, I crossed a threshold that I was certain would lead to my downfall.


    I told her the truth. Struggling to find the words, I started. ¡°I¡¯m not from here. Where I come from, the people like me, there is more to me.¡±


    "I''ve noticed," She said, standing up. She started pacing around the room. "Are you magic? Like, can you teleport and shoot fire out of your hands and shit?"


    I couldn''t help the small smile that flashed across my face. "For lack of a better term, yes, but I can''t teleport. I wish I could. And I can''t harness fire but I''ve heard of people who can."


    "I need a minute," Anna said, continuing to pace. She had settled into a path that took her from the door, to the window and then back again. My eyes followed her through every repetition. When she spoke again, her words were quiet and softly pointed to herself. "Magic is real. She can do magic, that''s not so bad, right? You thought she was a runaway or a bank robber or at worse some deranged serial killer. She could have been a thousand things worse than that. You can handle her being magic."


    I didn''t think the way Anna was thinking about it all was doing her any good. "I can explain further if it is helpful."


    I''m a fucking mess. I thought, realizing some of my fear and panic had been replaced with excitement. It felt good to confide in her the little I had and all things considered, she didn''t seem to be taking it all that badly.


    Not a second later, she stopped her pacing and a wild laugh bubbled out from her.


    I may have spoken too soon.


    "Are you okay?" I offered the question gently.


    Anna looked at me, the scowl still scrunching her face into something that almost looked like anger. "Not yet, but I''m starting to be," She said. "I''m going to need to take this slow, its a lot to fucking handle."


    "Yes, I can imagine." I agreed, and that was true. I could imagine. I often found myself in the possession of knowledge that was far beyond my understanding and though I had a better baseline, it still confused and hurt my head if I wasn''t careful.


    ¡°How can I learn to do it?" She asked, her eyes deadly serious.


    She could not be my student and I could not be her teacher. Even if aura and the control of it could be taught to anyone, and I was nearly certain it couldn''t, I barely knew enough to be considered a Maiden myself.


    Hating that I couldn''t fulfill the expectation that undoubtedly came with her excitement, I answered. "I don''t think you can."


    "So you''re saying there''s a chance." She said with a nod. Her face had settled into what was nearly her normal relaxed expression. "Can you show me? Make me float off the ground, something like that?"


    I, in fact, could not do that. Not yet, at least.


    The Mother¡¯s seal was very much still laid over my navel and was very much still blocking my channel. She had felt the effects of my charm but even if she hadn¡¯t, that wasn''t what she was asking to see. I could show her a glamor. Turn my hair pink or make it appear like I had a second hand coming off each wrist, but then she would know I could change my appearance, which for some strange reason that made me feel a little bit too vulnerable. I wouldn''t do that.


    Somehow, I had channeled through my palm. Could I do it again? I sighed, collecting myself. ¡°I can try.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to, if you need to recharge or something.¡± Anna responded quickly, but I had already begun focusing my aura.


    ¡°Recharge?¡±


    ¡°Like a battery.¡±


    "What is a battery?" I asked.


    "The little round things you put in watches and flashlights? It gives them power, makes them work."


    "You would be surprised how fitting that comparison is." I took my eyes off her.


    My aura did not come easy but once I had a hold on it, it bloomed within me and hammered against the unbreakable seal. I had little experience in channeling through my palm, but I had the memories of those that had. I remembered how it had felt for Trea to lift her stone and pushed my aura through my right arm.


    A burst of my energy shot out of my hand and into the ceiling.


    ¡°Oh shit!¡± Anna shouted.


    Dust rained down from the ceiling and I heard the pieces I had blown away clatter and rattle within the hole my power had punched through it.


    I severed the connection to my aura immediately and the loss sent me falling back onto the bed with a wave of dizziness. "I didn''t mean to do that."


    "Alright, my turn now, are you okay?" Anna asked. I heard her walk over to the bed.


    "Just tired, I am not accustomed to doing that," I answered, closing my eyes to stop the room from spinning. ¡°It is new to me.¡±


    "Do you always pass out after you use it? Is that why I found you on the floor the other day," Anna asked. She pulled me up by my arms. I let her. She took my right hand in hers and looked at it closely, tracing the lines in my palm with her finger.


    "What are you doing?" I asked, enjoying the sensation of her touch.


    "Looking for where it came out. There has to be a hole."


    I don''t know if it was the weariness alone or the fact that she was so interested in what I could do, but it made me laugh. "It doesn''t work like that."


    "Then how does it work?" She said, releasing her grip on me and putting her hands on her hips.


    ¡°I wish I knew. I¡¯m forbidden from learning.¡± I shrugged.


    ¡°Why and by who?¡± She jumped on my answer immediately.


    I avoided the first part of her question and pulled up my sweatshirt, showing her my seal. ¡°The Mothers.¡±


    She picked up on my hesitation. "Dani, I guess you haven''t noticed, but all I''ve got is time. And as long as nothing else that belongs in a horror novel decides to reveal itself to me today, I can take it. I want to know."


    As if he had been waiting for the absolute worst moment possible, Sam padded into the room and sat down. He turned his glowing yellow eyes up to my very mortal friend and spoke in his perfectly unsettling baritone. "Yet again you have manipulated my master into giving you her trust, mortal," He spat the word mortal like it left a bad taste in his mouth. "Do not give me a reason to mark you as my enemy."


    Anna''s jaw dropped and she whispered. "No. Fucking. Way."

 Chapter Twelve: Between Friends

    As soon as Sam had made his grand entrance, I shot off the bed and picked him up by the scruff of his neck. I gave him a little shake. "What is wrong with you?"


    "I am being held against my will by an impetuous child. That is what is wrong with me." Sam stated. Glaring at me with his half lidded blue eyes. he thumped his little paw against my cheek with an inexplicable amount of force considering how small his body was.


    I had to stop putting him so close to my face.


    He hadn''t had his claws extended.


    Something was wrong with him.


    I moved him out of striking range but didn''t let him go. "What happened to you? Aren''t you supposed to protect me?"


    "I was petrified." Sam answered.


    I laughed, feeling the heat of anger warming my face. "For the first time since you found me, something that is an actual danger arrives and you are too scared to act? Where did all the I am a predator," I mocked his low voice. "go? Are you only fearsome and mighty when facing down a bird."


    "You are wrong." Sam stated.


    "Uhmmm," I said, dragging the sound out. "It kind of seems like I am right."


    "Fear is not the cause of petrification. The projection prevented me from acting, physically."


    I placed him gently on the top of the dresser and sat at the edge of my bed. "How?"


    "I do not know. I have never experienced magic of that nature."


    Neither had I. I turned to Anna. "What did it feel like when it beckoned you?"


    "Understood, a cat walking into the room and talking isn''t worth a discussion," She looked towards the mattress-covered window and slowly wrapped her arms around herself with each word. She said. "I felt, cold? Dead? It felt like all of me had been taken from my body or that it had. . .I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Sam did not acknowledge Anna. "What did you do to bring it here?"


    "There was a door that I had never seen before. It was the last in its hall. A black symbol laid over its surface and I took it. The memory did not start unusually. I was a Sorceress, Reyna, and was delving into a crypt with another Sorceress named Uma. We reached a room with a chest full of gems and then the Lich appeared. He killed Uma," I hadn''t noticed the lump in my throat until then. I had never met Uma. I didn''t know what her favorite food was or what kept her up at night. Reyna had, and in turn, for a time, so had I. I had known how warm Uma''s presence was, how she couldn''t help put sing when she drank, how my aura had been a dark juniper green when I had met her but it had unclouded and brightened for every day we were together. I had known her deeply, for a time. Then that thing had taken her, drained everything I loved about her out in a matter of seconds and left her a crumpled corpse. "Then he came for me."


    "Came for who?" Sam asked, his voice low and steady.


    "Me," I said, placing my hands on my newly aching chest to indicate that I knew I was still Autumn Aubrey. For once, I didn''t blame him for asking. "It saw me, through Reyna. It forced me out of the memory and by the time I had come back to myself, it was here."


    Sam didn''t respond for a time, staying utterly still with the exception of his crooking and uncrooking tail.


    I didn''t push.


    Finally, he spoke. "I am at the end of my willingness to speak in front of the mortal. The lich was not here. It was a projection, not dissimilar from your own glamor. I suspect if it was here in earnest, your pitiful display of power would not have driven it away."


    I stood, my fists balled by my side. It was my turn to pace. "I don''t understand. Memories. Are. Memories. They have already happened. They are from the past. How could I be seen by something if I wasn''t there when the memory was created?"


    "I do not know." Sam growled.


    I snapped at him. "You don''t know and I know I don''t fucking know, but I need to know."


    "This is precisely why you should return to Zenithcidel." He growled again.


    Damn, I didn''t want them to, but his words rang true. I needed to go home. Even if it meant being held under lock and key until I allowed myself to die, my freedom wasn''t worth risking The Well.


    Anna cleared her throat "Still ignoring the fact that you have been in a conversation with your cat for like ten minutes and both of you sound absolutely insane, are you okay?"


    How many times had we asked each other that same question? That was just something friends did, I supposed.


    I don''t want to go home. As soon as I looked at her, I felt tears come to my eyes.


    "You¡¯ve got to stop doing this to me," She said, smiling. Without realizing what was happening, I watched her step to me and wrap me in an embrace. "Let¡¯s go outside. I''m tired of looking into the bathroom every few seconds to quadruple check that the licht isn''t back."


    "It is pronounced Lich, mortal." Sam said with a sour tone.


    "I don''t know what I did to him, but I get the feeling your cat really doesn¡¯t like me." She withdrew from me and went to the door. "Put on the clothes I gave you, it''s cold out."


    Before I could protest, she had unlocked the door and opened it.


    Anna screamed.


    Mrs. Mole, the old woman that lived on the floor below me, was standing in the doorway. Her long silver hair framed a face that looked just as surprised as Anna''s scream had sounded. "Oh my!" She screamed in return and started backwards. One second, I could see her and the next, I heard a jumbled mess of thumps and yelps as the old woman fell backwards down the stairs.


    After the final sound of impact, larger than the rest had been, a moment passed and then Anna ran down the stairs after her.


    I went to the landing outside my door and saw Mrs. Mole laying in a heap with Anna standing over her.


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    "I''m okay, I''m okay. Enough fuss over me," Mrs. Mole waved a hand. "I had nine children, all boys! And Mr. Mole was not a small man," The old woman rattled on, gingerly taking Anna''s hand to rise to a sitting position. "It would take more than that to break my hips, if you catch my meaning."


    I caught it, and based on how Anna''s face had quickly gone from concern to disgust, she had as well. "Are you sure you''re not hurt?¡± Anna asked.


    "Oh stop it, I''m fine. Why, I could probably beat you in a foot race if I had time to stretch." The old woman said with a cackle as she rose to her feet.


    "If you say so." Anna responded, but she didn''t look convinced.


    I spoke before I realized my lips were moving. "Why were you up here, Ms. Mole?"


    The old woman brushed a lock of her silver hair out of her face and looked up at me. "I thought I heard one of you scream and I wanted to make sure everything was alright."


    I hadn''t heard the stairs creak. Either the old woman was capable of extreme stealth or I had been too distracted to hear her coming.


    "That''s very sweet, we just saw a big spider. It crawled right out of the sink in the bathroom. Let me help you back down the stairs." Anna said, turning the woman away from me.


    "Spiders are nothing to be scared of, young lady. In this old house, there''s probably a million of them." The old woman said, slowly descending out of sight.


    In the shock of what had happened, I had left my door wide open.


    Mrs. Mole could have seen Sam. She didn¡¯t have to know he wasn¡¯t really a cat for it to bring me trouble. There were no pets allowed in the boarding house, after all.


    I closed my door and took a deep breath.


    "Do you understand the series of errors you have made?¡± Sam started in on me without hesitation.


    ¡°I know.¡± I answered.


    ¡°Not only have you willingly given that mortal the power to destroy the precious little freedom you claim to value over all, but she now possesses knowledge of something capable of turning the tide of the war."


    I had never heard him speak like he was then.


    ¡°I know.¡± I repeated and started changing into the warmer clothes Anna had given me.


    ¡°Even still, you mean to go with her.¡±


    ¡°Why do you care so much?¡± I said, too exhausted to put any heat behind it.


    Sam hissed, sounding more like stones being ground together than that of a normal cat. His ears flattened, the hair from the top of his head all the way to the tip of his tail stood on end, and he rolled onto one side, exposing his extended claws. He growled. ¡°Do not ask such questions. I cannot know.¡±


    This had happened before, when he had helped me discover the boundaries that had been placed within The Well.


    ¡°I''m sorry. I didn¡¯t know that would hurt you,¡± I said, holding up my hands. My familiar slowly relaxed out of his defensive posture. I waited for the pain to leave his face before I asked another question. ¡°Does this happen to all familiars?¡±


    ¡°Yes, much like the boundaries that were placed within your mind, familiars have boundaries that prevent us from knowing who we were in our past life. The frequency with which I have painfully encroached on those boundaries suggests that I was someone who knew more than most about matters that very few knew anything of. ¡°


    ¡°Maybe you were a dragon.¡± I joked.


    ¡°How could I have been something that doesn''t and has never existed?"


    Sam didn''t get the joke.


    I heard someone coming up the stairs in a hurry. They tried to turn the doorknob, but found I had locked it. Three quick knocks followed. "Do you have clothes on?"


    Anna?


    "When I return, we are leaving this place." I said, feeling the ache in my chest grow with every word.


    Sam didn''t answer me and I didn''t wait for him to. Instead, I left my room to see my first friend for the last time.


    My mind was so scattered, I didn''t think to ask where we were going until we were outside. I was glad I had changed. Not only was it cold, but a bitter wind blew nearly constantly. The bright afternoon sun, beaming down from a cloudless sky, did nothing to warm me.


    ¡°Have you ever drank before?¡± Anna asked me, holding up a glass bottle filled with a brown liquid.


    You are never going to see her again. I couldn¡¯t stop the thought from coming again and again.


    Mr. Bill Argus stood in the side yard, some black looking glass held to his eyes and his wispy blonde hair whipping in the wind. He lowered them from his face and waved.


    Anna tucked the bottle behind her back as she waved back at him.


    "Good afternoon, girls." He called. He wore the same mismatched yellow suit and the too friendly smile that I hadn''t liked the first time I had met him. He reached inside his coat and pulled out a small silver flask. "I won''t tell anyone if you don''t."


    "Thanks Mr. Bill. Dinner will be ready around seven tonight." Anna called back, motioning for us to go and I followed her lead, heading for the wood line behind the house.


    Good. I thought. I wanted to put as much distance as possible between me and that mans creepy fucking smile.


    "Hold on a second." Mr. Bill Argus called again.


    "Yeah?" Anna said, stopping and looking up at him. He had walked a little closer to us..


    "It''s going to cloud up and rain in a couple of hours. If I saw you two going out into the woods and didn''t tell you, I''d feel responsible." He said and then raised his looking glass back to his eyes, evidently done speaking with us.


    Before we crossed into the shade of the trees, I looked up and didn''t see a cloud in the sky.


    "Do you hate men in general, or just Mr. Bill?" Anna asked, carefully stepping into one of the gullies that carved through the leaf covered ground.


    How had she picked up on that? I thought, surprised. "What do you mean?"


    "Both times you''ve been around him, it looks like you want to kill him."


    I hadn''t realized I had made any expression.


    "I just don''t like him." I answered, following her down into another gully.


    "Is that some kind of magical sixth sense?" Anna asked.


    "I wish it was," I replied, climbing up the other side. "He just makes me uncomfortable."


    We fell into a comfortable silence then, walking through the woods with no destination in mind. It was cold and occasionally a gust of wind would blow hard enough through the trees that would stop and huddle together until it passed.


    Anna, I, I thought, trying to find the words to tell her goodbye. I know we haven''t known each other very long- no, that wasn''t right either.


    I should have charmed her when I had the chance.


    You should have left before you grew fond of her. The thought came and went from my mind in an instant.


    Long after we had reached a depth in the woods that would give us relative privacy, Anna stopped and spread her arms out, gesturing to the patch of trees that looked indistinguishable from any of the other patches of trees. "We have arrived," She handed me the brown bottle. "I should have known you were a witch all along. All you need is a flying broom. Have you ever drank before?¡±


    ¡°No, what does it taste like?¡± I answered, pulling the cork out with an audible pop.


    ¡°You don¡¯t drink for the taste, just try it.¡±


    I did. My face twisted in a grimace as I swallowed the burning liquid. I gasped for air as it went down my throat and grew warm in my stomach. ¡°Why would anyone choose to drink that?¡±


    Anna took the bottle from me and drank much more than I had. ¡°It gets better as you go. Try it again.¡±


    We passed the bottle between us four times in as many minutes.


    I took a breath after my last drink and a warmth came over my body that made me smile. ¡°You were right, it does get better.¡±


    Anna wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her jacket and put the bottle down, recorked. "Alright, teach me how to call lightning down on my enemies."

 Chapter Thirteen: Mezalina Anilazam

    ¡°I''m gonna be honest with you Dani, you might be the worst teacher on earth,¡± Anna said, gesturing to herself with both her hands. ¡°And my mom homeschooled me, I would know.¡±


    ¡°For the last time, I¡¯m not a bad teacher,¡± I hiccupped. ¡° You are literally incapable of learning it. You are a bad student.¡±


    ¡°Hey.¡± Anna said to me.


    ¡°Yes?¡± I answered.


    ¡°Fuck you.¡± A vicious smile spread across her face and we both broke into laughter.


    Sometime after I had taken another drink, I had lost count of how many times I had attempted to explain aura to her. I would tell her what I knew, step by step, and then she would try to do it. In what was possibly the most predictable outcome in the history of attempts, she hadn¡¯t been able to find her aura.


    It took us longer than it should to stop laughing. Anna¡¯s face had reddened as she drank. That blush, combined with the light sparkling in her dark eyes, it almost looked like she was glowing.


    You''re never going to see her again. My laughter tapered off into a sigh.


    "Thank you for this." I said, the words coming out much more serious than I had intended.


    Anna stopped laughing, but her good humor did not leave her face. "For what? Getting you drunk and making you repeat yourself? This is for me."


    ¡°I am not drunk.¡± I insisted. Although, I did feel good. The warmth that filled my belly kept any thought of the small terrors I had witnessed recently from having the power to stay in my mind. The four eyed familiar that had greeted me with bared teeth the last time I had been in the woods was no threat. It had been night time when I encountered it. Anna and I had nothing but sunlight. The lich had found me within The Well. I was very much outside of my mind. We had walked far enough into the woods that Mrs. Mole and her horrific story about how large Mr. Mole had been was no danger to me. I knew those things had happened and I knew they wouldn¡¯t up and disappear, but in that moment, all that mattered to me was being with my friend.


    Maybe, I was drunk.


    Anna brought my focus back to her, pushing the bottle back into my hand. "One more and then I want to hear it all again."


    I obliged, glad that the burning had vanished somewhere between my third and fourth drink.


    "Remember," I hiccupped again and passed the bottle back. "It is impossible for you to learn how to do this," I held my breath to try and stop the hiccups. Once I thought they were gone, I began my poor explanation again. "First, you have to find your aura. It is,"


    "I know, I know. I got that part. How did you find yours?" Anna interrupted me, she hadn''t asked that before.


    I had to think. "I, uhm, I don''t remember," It sounded like a lie when the words passed through my lips, but it wasn''t. I had no memories from before I had stolen The Well. There must have been a time when I was younger that I was not in contact with it, but that time was lost to me. "As far back as I can remember, I''ve always been able to find it."


    "You better not be lying to me Dani, I can read you like a book," Anna raised one of her eyebrows and pointed a finger at me. Then, she continued. "Alright, the second emelent."


    "The second element is channeling your aura. There are five channels that aura can be manifested through."


    "Yours is your hand, right?" Anna asked the second new question.


    "Wrong, mine is my navel," I pulled my shirt up and pointed to the seal over my stomach. Nine interlaid circles, each a reminder of the damage I had inflicted and the debt I had incurred to each of the Mothers, surrounded my navel in a pattern as unbreakable as it was beautiful. "This keeps me from channeling."


    Anna crossed her arms. "That doesn''t make any sense. If it''s supposed to come out of your belly button but that thing keeps you from doing it, then how did you do it from your hand?"


    While it was natural for palms or soles to be able to channel through each of their hands and feet, I had never heard of a navel opening a secondary channel. "I don''t know," I said, shrugging my shoulders. Hiccup. A shiver ran through my body. "Is it getting colder?"


    Dark, heavy, clouds had rolled in above us. What had been an open blue sky that morning had become a moody gray sometime since my first explanation. It wasn''t worthless, she had asked questions that I needed to find answers to and I hadn''t thought about anything other than her and what we were doing for some time.


    "No, I''m perfectly warm. You''re just skin and bones." She replied, taking another drink.


    "Element three," I continued. "Is manifesting your aura through your channel. Which, just so you remember, I have only done twice and both times were this morning,"


    "Go on." Anna said.


    "There is nowhere further for me to go. That is the extent of my knowledge.¡±


    Anna slid towards me until our knees touched. "I''ve got another question. Why do you have that thing on your stomach?"


    I knew the answer to that. I thought about it everyday. My skin was marked and my power suppressed because I was a thief. I had been punished and confined to reduce the danger I posed to the Mothers. They could have wrenched The Well from my mind and left me empty headed or dead, but they had been merciful and allowed me the opportunity to repay my debt and retain my life.


    "Because I did something bad." I said, looking down at the leaves under our legs.


    "Is that why you''re here? Is that why you ran away?" She asked. I could feel her looking at me.


    "It is the reason for the reasons." I muttered, suddenly feeling my good mood receding.


    I hadn¡¯t told her I had run away. Was it that obvious?


    Anna grabbed my hands "Hey, quit that shit. I''m not letting you get all sad. I don''t know what bad thing you did but that doesn''t make you bad."


    I looked up at her. If she knew what I had done to her mother, would she still say that? If she knew that she had never seen my face and that she didn''t even know my real name, she would probably never want to see me again. Tell her. The thought came to my mind and I didn''t disagree with it. Leaving her would be that much easier if she learned the truth and hated me for it.


    I looked back up and met her eyes. Our faces were so close together. I remembered how my aura had glimmered on her lips back in the bathroom.


    ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± She didn¡¯t back away.


    ¡°I. . .Hiccup.¡±


    The sky broke open and the rain came all at once, hard enough that the cover the trees provided could do nothing to keep us from getting drenched immediately.


    Mr. Bill Argus had been right.


    "Oh fuck." I screamed the heavy droplets stinging my skin as they impacted.


    Anna scrambled to her feet, pulling me up with her. "Did you do this?" She asked, her face set into a serious expression.


    Shielding my face with my hands, I raised my voice against the din. ¡°This has all been an elaborate plot just to get you soaking wet.¡±


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    The rain got harder, filling the woods with a low roar.


    "Alright, fuck this. Let''s go." Anna said, pulling her jacket over her head and turning towards the direction of the house.


    I followed behind her.


    Walking through the woods had been much easier when all the water in the sky wasn''t trying to beat you into the ground. Every step had the potential to make you slip. The gullies we had so effortlessly crossed on our way in became treacherous descensions and near impossible ascensions. Even though we were moving much faster, it took us twice the amount of time to get out as it had for us to go in. We rushed through the back door, bringing the leaves, mud, and rain in with us.


    "I''ve got to serve dinner, are you hungry?" Anna asked me, shivering just as hard as I was.


    My stomach groaned just as she asked the question. I lied. "I ate earlier."


    Anna rolled her eyes. "No you didn¡¯t. I know you didn¡¯t."


    I don''t know if it was because I was wet and freezing, the emptiness in my stomach, or because I was drunk, but my answer came out of my chattering teeth in a breathless stream. "I am starving. I haven''t had a proper meal in a month and a half but I would rather not eat than risk being around other people."


    Anna patted me on my cheek. "Much better. Go to your room and get warm. I''ll be up in a bit."


    She didn''t wait for me to agree, leaving me dripping at the foot of the stairs. She disappeared into the kitchen, leaving a trail of wet footsteps in her wake.


    With nothing else to do, I did what she told me to.


    When I turned to climb the last set of stairs to my door, I hesitated. The yellow light that hung from a chain swayed as if something had just brushed against it. Having not spent very much time examining the stairwell in my time at the boarding house, I didn''t know if that was unusual. Maybe there was a draft and because of the wind that had blown the rainstorm in, the light had been disturbed. Maybe, the Lich had returned and was moving through the walls, waiting on me to drop my guard so it could do to me what it had done to Uma. Only when my teeth began to chatter again did I force myself to move. I unlocked my door and let it swing inward.


    The only monster that greeted me was Sam. He sat in the column of light I had let into the dark room. "I will hunt."


    Shit. I thought. I had told him we were leaving when I got back but I hadn''t found the words to tell Anna goodbye yet.


    I walked in and shut the door behind me, locking it even though I knew Anna would be up soon.


    I pulled off my waterlogged boots and piled my soaked clothes on top of them. Ignoring my familiar, I ran for the bathroom, shut the door, and unraveled the shower curtain from its rod for the first time since I had taken residence in the boarding house.


    Running from the cold, I took a shower.


    The water was blistering hot but I still checked the knob that controlled the temperature several times to make sure I couldn¡¯t force any more heat out. The water pressure was poor but after nothing but baths for a month and a half, it felt nice. I stayed in, letting it beat against my head and my shoulders until the water ran cold. I turned it off and got out. Sam was not in the bathroom. Apparently, he had been able to tell I was not entering The Well.


    I wondered how long it would be before I would hear my familiar¡¯s questions again. Even after I settled somewhere else, how was I supposed to make myself enter The Well knowing the lich could be waiting for me?


    I left the bathroom in two clean towels and a cloud of steam.


    The smell filled my nose immediately.


    Anna sat cross legged on the edge of my bed, wearing a thin tank top and shorts just like the pair I had stolen. She froze with a spoon full of something that could only be delicious halfway to her mouth and nodded towards a large bowl on the dresser. She took her bite.


    It was silly but I went back to the bathroom, where Anna couldn''t see me, and changed into my sweater and shorts. I left the towel on my head and hurried over to the bowl. Chunks of meat and potatoes and carrots broke through the surface of the thick broth. Two hand sized pieces of bread, half saturated in the warm liquid, jutted out from the bowl.


    I almost cried.


    When I drank the last sip of the broth and rendered the bowl empty, a pang of regret wracked my chest as I wished I had taken more time to enjoy the best meal I had ever had.


    "That was disgusting." Anna said, smiling. In the heat of the moment, I had forgotten she was there.


    "I am sorry," I said, embarrassed. "I wish you had not seen me like that.¡±


    ¡°There is more, I can go down and get you another bowl when I finish eating."


    I knew in my heart I could eat until it was gone, but the last thing I should do was acquire more debt to her. ¡°No. I¡¯m full.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Anna turned up her own bowl and finished the last of her broth. She stood and took my bowl from the dresser. "As strange as it feels to say this, your cat asked me to open the window so he could hunt."


    I looked at the window, with the exception of a small crack that I thought Sam could fit through, it was mostly closed.


    The shower and the meal took hold of me and I went and laid down on the bed. I yawned, the exhalation stretching through my whole body.


    "I''ll be right back," Anna said. "I''ll bring you more bread too."


    "Thank you." I yawned again.


    Before she took the stairs, she turned back to me. ¡°I know you¡¯re some kind of crazy runaway and it seems like you haven¡¯t had it easy, but I want you to know I¡¯m on your side, alright?¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± I nodded.


    I watched her leave and was asleep before she returned.


    Nearly all the snow that had piled atop the dark fur cloak my guide had insisted on draping over me had melted from the warmth of the small fire when the outrider appeared on the far side of the mountain summit, signaling the arrival of my opponent.


    I had held no hope for him not showing, I only wished he would have arrived an hour later.


    I had just gotten warm.


    "Violence approaches, Ten-Moons. Does your blood grow hot with the fires of Hezbelthorag?" The gargantuan man sitting on the stone beside me rasped. Having given me his cloak shortly after we had arrived at the proving grounds, he wore only a cloth to cover his crotch, leaving every scar covered inch of his skin exposed to the frigid temperatures. Every flake of snow that touched his skin melted on its landing.


    "Gresh, I insist that you call me by my proper name. I am a diplomat," My guide had steadfastly refused to call me anything but the nickname he had coined for me after I had used my aura to shorten our trek to half its original length by cleaving a path through the mountains side. The loss I had taken would not be replenished in time for my duel. "And no, I do not."


    "Ah, you will. Scarl has not descended from his frozen throne but once in my life and he comes to face you. I have killed for less. Hezbelthorag will surely bless you, Ten-Moons." The man growled, ignoring my demand with a wicked smile that shone through his bushy red beard.


    Not a moment later, a group of men appeared on the far side of the summit.


    If Gresh was gargantuan, the man who would be my opponent could barely be considered human. Even from the distance we were at, the other men walking beside him looked like his toys, small enough in comparison to him that he could have clutched one in each palm and thrown them about if a tantrum took him.


    Gresh stood. "Come."


    We left the warmth of the fire behind and met my opponent and his retinue halfway across the snow covered summit.


    If I was not who I was, I would have felt terribly vulnerable being led by a man almost double my own height.


    Gresh dropped to one knee and bowed his head. I did as he did, though none of my information had suggested a bow was necessary.


    ¡°Well met Fatier.¡± Gresh growled.


    ¡°Mine own son, rise.¡± My opponent said in a voice that carried the same harshness of the winter winds whipping the snow into flurries around us.


    King Scarl, mightiest of the Hezbelths, was my guide''s father?


    Gresh was a prince.


    I almost laughed.


    I¡¯d found him sleeping off a drunk in a barn on top of a mound of hay.


    ¡°Ten-Moons, stand up.¡± Prince Gresh whispered to me as he rose.


    We had kneeled close enough together that I felt him grab the fabric of my dress through the thick fur of his cloak and pull me to my feet.


    King Scarl didn¡¯t so much as look at me. ¡°You are here and yet the time for our meeting is not.¡±


    ¡°I have traveled with the Sorceress to ensure she would arrive. Her ask is necessary for our people.¡±


    Scarl turned his red eyes to me. ¡°Greetings little one, your bow shows a lack of understanding of our culture but I thank you for your respect. Say your wish and I shall answer.¡±


    Presuming I survived, I would have to question Gresh about the confusing nature of their honor system to make Zenithcidel''s records of the Hezbelths more accurate.


    ¡°I come as a chosen representative of Zenithcidel and the nine Mother¡¯s. We wish to open trade negotiations between your people and mine.¡±


    Scarl shrugged off his own cloak, revealing a body of bulging muscle and scars. One, faded white from age, ran longer than I was tall. ¡°As I have heard, you come knowing the nature of how my people reach agreements.¡±


    My heart pounded in my chest, if my plan did not succeed, I had no chance against the king of the Hezbelths. ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°Name your style of combat.¡±


    ¡°Hand to hand.¡± I said, ignoring the outburst of laughter that had erupted out of Scarl''s riders as soon as I had spoken.


    Scarl clapped his massive hands together, sending a thunderous echo across the surrounding peaks. "As I suspected. As is my right, I have chosen a champion to represent me in this duel."


    The outrider that had first appeared upon the summit stepped forward. His head was hooded and everything but his eyes was concealed in a tightly wrapped scarf. I should have noticed it as soon as we had met, but I was too focused on the King''s impossibly large stature. The fabrics the outrider wore were too fine, his boots and gloves too new. I was not looking at one of the Hezbelths.


    "Sorcerer Edwuin of the sky bound spire shall duel you in my place," King Scarl announced, a knowing smile spreading across his well worn face. "After all, it would be no true duel if only you could use the soul power."

 Chapter Fourteen: Ten-Moons

    "Begin."


    The sorcerer Edwuin was not the first of his black hearted kind I had faced.


    I had no intention of slaying King Scarl if it could have been avoided.


    I held no such reservations about his champion.


    The same instant King Scarl''s lips touched to signal the star of the duel, I pushed a small charge of my aura straight down. The billowing folds of my dress concealed it until it struck the black stone of the proving grounds and a plume of dark gray smoke enveloped my person.


    I did not wear the dress for my own vanity. It was heavy and made of entirely too much fabric, but it allowed me to do all manner of things without my opponent being able to notice.


    From my shroud of smoke, I could see out but he could not see in. I kept my hands tucked within my long sleeves and began shaping my aura at my fingertips. What he chose to do next would tell me how far I would need to go to ensure my victory.


    The heels of Edwuin''s boots were backed all the way into the ring of fire that surrounded our arena. Due to his manner of dressing, I could see nothing of him but his beady little eyes. With an exhalation, his left hand became covered in a sickly green light that crystallized into a blade of manifested aura.


    "Fool." I said under my breath.


    A flash of the same green light hit the ground under his feet and he launched himself towards me at a speed I had not anticipated. I positioned the ten gray orbs I had channeled through my fingers around my body. Dashing out of my smoke, I allowed my opponent to see me launch one from the center of my stomach.


    He slid to a stop just before the flames on my side of the arena and used his aura covered hand to knock my orb down to the ground. Then, with his other hand, sent a streak of his power straight towards my middle.


    He''s trying to block my channel. I realized, surprised by such an amateur strategy from my opponent.


    Sorcerers were vile, not stupid. That left only one explanation for his decision.


    He was inexperienced.


    I willed all of my orbs through my dress to my left hand with the exception of one. Pulling up my sleeve, I revealed the single moon as Gresh called them held firmly in my open palm. Then, I did the most foolish thing I possibly could have done and rushed straight towards my opponent.


    He took the bait.


    When I reached striking distance, I feinted with my exposed hand and he raised his own to meet it. Then, I dipped my shoulders and sent the other nine orbs that were concealed within my dress out of my sleeve. They impacted him on the ankles, knees, hips, shoulders, and chin. He collapsed in a heap atop the black stone of the proving grounds, temporarily unable to move.


    "Ten-moons!" Gresh shouted from somewhere beyond the flames.


    With the wave of a finger, I prepared to end his life. The high of channeling my power decided to wash over me then and I hesitated. During my attack, his hood had fallen and I used my free hand to uncover the face of my opponent.


    "I yield. I yield!" Edwuin shouted, my tenth moon burning the skin in the middle of his forehead. His face now uncovered, I looked down at a boy, his face still round with youth.


    He came from the most vile group of people that existed. They had stolen our magic, killed thousands of sorceresses in defense of their thievery, and were so power mad they were prone to slaughter entire cities on a whim. Yes, I wanted to kill him despite his cries of submission, but he was a boy. If I pushed my moon through his skull and burned his life away, what would I be?


    I released the hold on my power and my moon turned to dust and trickled down onto Edwuin''s face.


    The ring of fire around the metal platform guttered out and died.


    "You disgrace me by freely submitting to avoid death, Edwuin of the sky spire. Relieve me of your presence and never return to my lands or you will be treated for what you are. A coward." King Scarl commanded.


    Edwuin climbed to his feet and then using the same method he had used to rush towards me, he launched off the platform with a green flash, screaming. "Now!"


    Needles of yellow aura appeared out of thin air and streaked towards King Scarl and his men. Uncountable sounds of impact rapidly sounded through the mountain air and a moment later, the only one left standing was The King.


    "Assassins!" Gresh shouted, bounding over to me.


    The section of air on the left side of the summit shifted.


    "Glamor!" I shouted, shaping my moons on my fingertips once again.


    Eight Sorcerers appeared atop the summit. They wore the same concealing cloaks that Edwuin had, but by their eyes, I could tell they were not of the same youth and inexperience my opponent had been.


    "You should not have done that." King Scarl growled, rolling his shoulders and shrugging out of his own massive cloak. He had the same fashion sense as his son. He raised his tree trunk sized wrists to his mouth and tore through his skin with his teeth, leaving a streak of streaming blood in his long gray beard.


    Scarl''s blood pooled into his raised palms and took shape. Two axes, each the size of me, formed in his massive hands. Linked at the end of each respective pommel by a length of chain, he spread his feet into a ready stance and snapped the chain straight. "Mine own son, will you join your King who is also your Fatier in battle?"


    "Other than slaying you myself, there is nothing I want more," Gresh answered. I hadn''t seen him cut himself the way the King had, but by the blood stained snow under his feet, the fact that a loin cloth gave little room for hiding weapons, and the curved sword he held in a ready position, I assumed he had.


    "Ten-moons. You have succeeded, my people shall begin relations with your Mothers. You are free to leave." Scarl said, looking at me over one of his massive shoulders.


    "King Scarl, I have an additional request." I said, looking at the group of nine black hearted sorcerers. Edwuin had rejoined them, his face still uncovered. Something about the numbers on each side of what was sure to be a dramatically violent affair did not sit right in my mind. Two against nine was not balanced, after all.


    "Speak it, little one."


    "I would fight along side you and yours, if you would have me?"


    A wicked smile stretched across Gresh''s bearded face. "Fatier, please. Ten-moons is capable of much greater violence than she has shown. "


    "I will take that as a compliment." I said.


    "Your Mother''s have taught you well. Hezbelthorag gives fire to those that give their might to their allies," One of the sorcerers raised his hand and shot a single needle of yellow power streaking towards the King, "It is good that we share enemies, but I must warn you," The King snapped his gaze from me and caught the crystallized aura with his teeth. He looked down at me again, the glow of the yellow needle casting savage shadows on the lines of his face. A fearsome smile spread. "If you wish to be useful, I hope you are fast. I shall kill them quickly."


    Scarl crunched the aura into dust with his teeth. Then, atop the summit that held the Hezbelths sacred grounds, war broke out.


    Before I could take more than a step toward the treacherous sorcerers, my vision blurred and I fell.


    I came back to myself and I actually fell.


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    My vision didn¡¯t waiver, I didn¡¯t lose my sight, I actually hit the ground.


    I found myself on the floor of a hall made of some strange black material. Gray doors lined both walls and the one to my right shut not a second after I had opened my eyes.


    I was in The Well.


    Cold fear wound itself down my spine


    I have been watching you, child. The lich''s decrepit voice echoed in my mind. It made my head hurt to think about how something could echo in my mind when I was in my mind.


    ¡°Use your head Autumn, you are already in it.¡± I said aloud to myself. It was nothing but fear that had made me think the Lich could be within The Well. It had seen me through a memory, yes, but it had projected itself in the bathroom. Baring some strange reality where everything I knew to be real was my own illusion or unless I had gone mad to the point that I had forgotten I was mad, I was nearly certain the bathroom did not exist in my head.


    Assuming that an undead terror was not going to suddenly appear and drain the life from me, I took a deep breath and allowed my fear to unwind. I knew I hadn¡¯t gotten back in the bathtub. "I am asleep."


    Panic took its turn to wind through me. I had fallen asleep with Sam outside, my door unlocked, and Anna returning with more food. The list of dangers those things posed to me while being unconscious was longer than my longing for another bite of the tender meat that had been in the stew. Yet again, it only occurred to me that I did not know how to leave The Well voluntarily when I found myself trapped in it. I pinched myself on the arm. When I didn''t find myself suddenly on my bed, I did it again.


    Nothing.


    I stood up and turned to the gray door on my left. Mezalina Anilazem. The name of the woman I had been appeared in my mind and a vision of her running behind the behemoth who I knew to be King Scarl. Where had she been? Who and what the fuck was Hezbelthorag? Why were there sorcerers in the Mother''s domain? If Edwuin''s ruse had succeeded and Mezalina had died, would there be an X over this door like there had been over Reyna''s?


    I didn''t know. I couldn''t know. Anyone who had such answers were very, very, very far away. The conviction I had for leaving earlier had weakened and I didn''t know if I still intended to see it through.


    So, I did what any reasonable person would do when they were faced with questions that hurt to try an answer. I distracted myself by entering the memory of another person.


    King Scarl had not been lying.


    When I saw a man large enough to barely still be considered a man begin to run, I thought it a safe assumption that he would not be able to move very fast.


    The sorcerers had made the same assumption.


    We were both wrong.


    King Scarl took three heavy steps and jumped. He came down, axes first, onto the tight grouping of sorcerers. Two, one on each axe, crumpled to the ground and did not move again. The King spun on his bare heels, bringing his blood weapons up and across the body of a third sorcerer that had not dashed away fast enough. All three pieces of him hit the ground and began to stain the snow.


    I had seen violence before. Death and gore was not new to me, but the savage mass that was the King of the Hezbelths was a force of brutality the likes of which I wished to never see again. He turned his gaze to the sky and roared, sounding more beast than man.


    A cloud of snow, undoubtedly stirred up by one of the remaining sorcerers, swallowed the King and I lost sight of him.


    Gresh streaked past me, dragging his massive sword behind him. It carved through the snow and threw an arc of sparks in its wake. He disappeared into the pluming white cloud and I was alone.


    All ten of my fingers readorned with a moon, stop calling them that. I reminded myself, I had a plan. I would cover myself in glamor and find my way behind the enemy. Between my power and the father and son''s incredible capacity for war, we would grind the enemy to dust.


    Beginning to move, just before I disappeared into the snow, a flash of green light appeared at my feet and I fell. I hit the ground. My momentum should have sent me sliding over the loose snow, but a strange tugging sensation in my right foot stopped my weight from carrying me forward.


    I looked down and was suddenly grateful my feet were numb from the cold.


    A spike of sickly green light pierced through the bottom of my boot and out the top of it.


    "Edwuin," I called, knowing immediately which snake I had been struck by. "Face me, you coward!"


    The face of an angry little boy appeared above me as he released his glamor. When he spoke, the pitch of his voice was high and shaking. "Lets see how clever you are when you don''t have a foot to channel from. You should have killed me when you had the chance."


    I bit my tongue to prevent myself from smiling.


    "Before I end your miserable life, I will give you a choice," Edwuin said, sounding nowhere near as eloquent as I imagined he thought he did. "Tell me why the whores that call themselves the mothers are interested in the Hezbelths and I shall kill you quickly. Refuse, and I will send my aura up through your veins until your heart explodes."


    "Edwuin? There is something you should know."


    "What?" He snapped, his voice cracking.


    "The difference between you and I, is that I learn from my mistakes." I said. He had taken my bait during our duel and thought that I channeled through my navel and my palms. When I had bested him and showed him mercy, which had undoubtedly been influenced by the high I received from manifesting my aura, I had let him live. Once the battle had begun, he had sought me out and made the same mistake of attempting to close my channel instead of trying to kill me outright. He could have. He had caught me completely off guard.


    I, on the other hand, had let him live.


    Edwuin laughed. "I have you dead to rights you ignorant wench, what mistake could I poss. . ."


    The sorcerer could not finish his sentence as one of my moons burned a hole straight through his head and out the back of his skull. Edwuin fell back onto the snow and died, his aura dissipated into a cloud of green dust. The wound in my foot, no longer blocked by anything, began to bleed.


    "Fatier!" I heard Gresh''s savage voice scream within the swirling cloud of snow.


    I could not stand, I would be lucky if I did not lose my foot, but just because I had won a battle did not mean the war had been won. Blood loss making me feel thin and weak, I used the last of my strength to launch my moons to the top of the cloud of snow. They spun according to the waves of my fingers, creating a vortex that pulled the snow back up into the sky. I opened both my hands as wide as I could and the force I generated sent the snow in every direction, clearing the cover from where the King and Gresh had rushed into.


    Seven bodies, in various states of dismemberment lay in a crimson and black arc around King Scarl. The massive man was suspended off the ground by spires of crystallized yellow aura that pierced through his stomach and out of his back and chest. Gresh looked up at his father from his knees, tears rolling down a furious face.


    "The sorcerer!" I screamed, seeing that last of our black hearted enemy fleeing towards the edge of the summit. There was nothing I could do to stop him. All I could do was watch as he disappeared over the edge of the summit.


    "Gresh," I heard King Scarl growl. "On your feet. There is still time."


    "No, it is not supposed to be like this. We will take you to the healers."


    "I''ll be dead before they can clean my wounds," The king snapped, every muscle of his massive body tensing. "Face me."


    Gresh rose to his feet and picked his sword up off the ground but did not ready himself. "I am not ready."


    King Scarl screamed, every corded muscle of his massive body flexed, and the spires piercing into him shattered into uncountable slivers of yellow energy. He dropped to a knee in a pool of his own blood, heavy breaths wracking his body. "None of us where, it''s how it goes. I killed my own Fatier when I was but nine. now, Face me as an equal and prove to Hezbelthorag that your blood is stronger than mine!"


    Gresh wiped his tears and raised his sword. His father rushed him, leaving a trail of blood in his wake and pounced like he had on the sorcerers.


    Prince Gresh became a King.


    His strike had been true, ending things quickly for his Fatier. I began crawling towards the field of carnage, my only knowledge of what I had just witnessed coming from incredibly insufficient notes about the Hezbelths.


    Gresh dropped back to his knees and began painting himself with his fathers blood. Before I could reach him, He burst into flames. The fire towered above him, spreading out over the slain king and the ruined bodies that surrounded them.


    Still I crawled, knowing I would need help to heal my foot.


    The fire died in a burst of black smoke. Gresh sat on the gray stone of the snowless summit.


    The bodies were gone. King Scarl¡¯s remains were gone.


    Gresh had grown to the size of his father.


    "Ten-Moons," He said in a voice that sounded like hammers beating upon anvils. "You have seen what none have seen in nearly one hundred years," He opened his eyes that were now the same crimson color his father''s had been. "Do you feel the fires of Hezbelthorag now?"

 Chapter Fifteen: Schist

    Not all memories are created equal.


    In the unknowable amount of time since I had fallen asleep and woken up in The Well, I had learned that. The concept made sense. I would never forget the lich or the first time I had met Arthur and Anna but there were countless things that had already slipped from my mind. I had probably forgotten that I had forgotten more things than I would ever know.


    I laid on my back on one of the near infinite platforms that fingered out into one of the near infinite hallways that held, yet again, a near infinite amount of doors. I had stopped there not long after I had come out of the memory of a sorceress whose name was already slipping from my mind. Acon? Onsta? I supposed I shouldn''t blame myself for not remembering because nothing had happened. If she had not blinked her eyes right at the beginning of the memory, I would have seen nothing but darkness inside of her eyelids. She had been sitting on a boulder that breached the surface of a muddy river. A glimpse of dense jungle, humid and green, had been all I had been able to see before her eyes had shut. Nothing but the sound of the rushing river had been there to remind me I had not been swallowed by the void.


    No violence, no drama, no aura, she hadn''t even had a thought.


    "Constance!" I said aloud, her actual name coming back to me suddenly. Without being able to write it down, I knew that I would forget it just as quickly as it had come.


    I hadn''t forgotten what it had been like to see the sorcerers crumple and break under the violence of King Scarl. I would never forget what it had felt like to push my aura through the skull of Edwuin, who couldn''t have been much older than me. It hadn''t been me, I had never killed anybody, but I had been Ten-Moons. I didn''t know if it had been a conscious choice or if she was unaware of how she had viewed her enemy, but it had not pained her greatly to end his life.


    I had not enjoyed feeling what she felt. I knew the whole of Zenithcidel was in a war with the sorcerers the same way I knew what the Mothers looked like. I had been told about it, had it described to me, imagined for myself what it all meant, but up until I had witnessed a small battle of that war through the eyes of Mezalina Anilazem, I had not actually known.


    I still didn¡¯t really, but I had gotten as close as I could without participating myself.


    Do you feel the fires of Hezbelthorag now? Gresh had asked after his fiery transformation. "What the fuck had that been about?" I said aloud, standing up and beginning to walk.


    I had come away from that memory with more questions hanging in my mind than ever before. Why did the Mother''s want to trade with the terrifyingly violent men? How many other kinds of power were there? The blood magic the two men had used had not been aura.


    The biggest question of all however, was what in the fuck was a Hezbelthorag? I supposed I could seek out any number of doors and try and find answers to my questions, but I had had my fill of giant sized men breaking bodies like they were made of glass.


    I found myself at the archway of one of the hallways. I didn''t know which one because there was no distinction between any of them. I passed the first door on my right, dark blue and simple. Schist.


    "Hmmm," I hummed. "Maybe." Turning to my left, there was a door of white wood, its bark peeling in places and revealing darker wood underneath.


    No name appeared.


    "That''s new." I said, opening the door and stepping through it. The hallway was much shorter than any I had walked through before and only one of the doors wasn''t made of the white wood. The first door on my right was made of the empty light I had seen enough of to last a lifetime in my time within the trimetal barriers. I could see the end. Is she dead? I wondered, but I didn''t see an X marking any of the doorways that were set in the black hallway. If she wasn''t dead, there were not many other possibilities. "Either she stopped giving her memories or she is young."


    There was only one way for me to find out.


    I walked deeper into the hall and felt myself drawn to a door on the right.


    I opened it and stepped through, entering the memory of someone with no name.


    Glow didn¡¯t like rain. I had found a big box to hide in so she would come out and play.


    I didn''t like it anymore. I used to but I didn¡¯t have a house to stay dry and Da wasn''t making soup.


    The box wasn¡¯t so bad. Glow kept the dark out and the bottom was only a little wet. I could have stayed there for forever if I didn¡¯t get hungry.


    Glow was a ball that day, sometimes she was just light and sometimes she¡¯d be other shapes. I could tell her what to do but I liked it more when she did what she wanted. Her light made the rain in front of the box shiny.


    ¡°I wanna go home.¡± I said to her, but she didn¡¯t talk back. She never did. But I didn¡¯t miss my Da as much when I talked to her.


    I bit my lip and pushed her out of the box. She went so fast, the rain didn¡¯t even touch her before she was back inside. I¡¯d seen a bug before and its tail had lit up and she kind of looked like that except the bug''s light had been yellow.


    I got tired.


    Glow went away.


    She never stayed and played when I was tired.


    I talked to her anyways. ¡°I¡¯m sleepy. Wake me up when you come back."


    I had just closed my eyes when thunder thundered and shook my box. All the rain lit up way brighter than when glow did it. My box shook again.


    I wished I had a door so I could lock myself up until my Da came to get me. He told me he would be back tomorrow when he went to see the witch but that had been two tomorrows ago.


    ¡°Hello?¡± I heard somebody.


    I poked my head out of the box. Somebody was standing at the end of the street but I couldn¡¯t see nothing but their shape. ¡°Da?¡±


    The somebody didn¡¯t answer. They started walking.


    I was in trouble. I knew it. The last somebody I had talked to since Da went to see the witch had been mean. I pushed myself as far back in the box as I could. I wished it was deeper. Like a tunnel, I could hide away if it was.


    The somebody¡¯s legs stopped in front of the box and then they bent down and I saw their face.


    ¡°Hello. This is a very nice box you have here.¡± The man said. His hair was long and white but he didn¡¯t look old. His clothes didn¡¯t have any holes in them and he didn¡¯t look angry.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do nothing wrong. I found it fair and square. ¡° I said, trying to be as small as I could.


    The man smiled at me. ¡°That you did. It takes a smart girl to find a box like this,¡± He stuck his hand out at me to shake like the doctor had when he came to my old house to fix Da. ¡°What is your name?¡±


    "My Da called me girl and I never had a Ma." I said. I didn''t want to shake his hand.


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    "Oh, well that won''t do. Everyone needs a name. What are you doing out here?" He said. He pulled his hand back and put it in his coat.


    That made me feel better. I didn''t want to shake his hand. "I''m waiting on my Da, but I don''t know where he is."


    The man sighed and he looked real sad. He pulled his hand out of his coat. "I''m sorry to tell you this, but he isn''t going to come back. That''s why I''m here."


    He stuck his hand out again but not to shake, there was something in it.


    I took it. I''d seen chocolate wrapped in shiny paper like it before but Da never got me one.


    "Are you gonna take me to him?" I said. I ate the chocolate and kept the shiny paper in my hand. Glow would want to see it when she came back.


    "Later, yes. But first I have to ask something of you. I have heard that you are a very special girl. You can make light out of nothing?"


    "Da told me I''m not allowed to tell people." I said. He had hit me when I had shown Glow to the doctor. I had cried but he had made me sweet bread later and said sorry.


    "He will not mind, I promise. Can you show it to me? I will give you another sweet." The man said and he smiled.


    I liked his smile. He looked like a wolf. "You look like a wolf."


    "I will take that as a complement." He said and laughed.


    I liked his laugh.


    "I don''t know, Glow doesn''t like strangers. " I said.


    "I am special as well, just like you. I will show you if you promise to show me Glow. Deal?" He said, sticking his hand out for me to shake again.


    I shook it. His hand was cold and his nails were long and pointy, but his skin wasn''t hard like Da''s.


    Still shaking my hand, he raised his other one and snapped his fingers.


    It stopped raining and sunshine lit up the man kneeling outside my box.


    "How did you do that!" I said, pushing past him.


    I looked up. There were no clouds any more and the sky was blue.


    "I can teach you, but you must fulfill your end of the bargain first." He said, still smiling.


    I bit my lip and watched Glow come out of my belly. The man stood up. He was tall, taller than Da even. I sent her up to his face so he could see her better. "What do you think, Glow? He looks like a wolf don''t he?"


    The man laughed. I liked his laugh. "You are special, very special indeed." He said to me and handed me another piece of chocolate.


    "Glow makes me happy too, but I get real tired when she leaves," I said. My foot was wet. I only had one shoe and the foot that wasn''t wearing it was in a puddle. "Oh no."


    "How about we go find you some shoes and I''ll teach you how to keep her around all the time?" The man said, sticking his hand out to me again.


    "And a name, right? It won''t do me not having a name, right? That''s what you said." I asked him, eating the chocolate.


    "Right." He nodded.


    I took his hand and he lifted me up and dropped me on his shoulders. "We can''t have you walking around with one shoe either now can we? That just won''t do."


    I laughed, it was fun being spun around like that.


    He started walking down the street I¡¯d found my box at the end of. I''d never seen white hair on anybody but Da and his hadn''t been long enough to cover his head.


    "Do you need a name too?" I asked.


    The man didn''t say anything back until we had turned onto another street. There were a lot of people on it, all looking up at the sky. I bet they wanted to know where the rain went.


    I knew.


    "You know, I think I do," The man said. "The one I have has caused me enough problems as it is."


    "I think it should be Wolf, because you look like one and all." I said smiling. I knew where they rain had gone and the other people didn''t.


    "I couldn''t have picked a better name if I tried." Wolf answered.


    I bet he didn''t know I had put Glow in his pocket.


    I didn''t fall. The white wood door slammed beside me. One moment I had been the little girl and the next I wasn''t. For once, I missed Sam''s annoying questions. "I''m Autumn." I said aloud, patting myself down to double check that I was indeed back in The Well.


    Dumb kid. I thought, knowing that if I was in a strange place and someone I didn''t know started talking to me, I would never be that naive.


    That man, Wolf, could have been anybody, and all it took was a couple pieces of chocolate to gain her trust.


    "Not for me," I said aloud, leaving the hall of white doors and choosing to try my luck with Schist. Finding myself somewhat bored, I passed all of the doors made of empty light until I came to the first simple blue door. ¡°I wonder if Anna has found me yet.¡± I sighed, opening the door and stepping through it.


    Roaring water pounded down on me, stinging wherever it hit. I sat on a large smooth stone, a waterfall trying to beat me down into the hard surface beneath me.


    A voice that sounded like it came from within my own mind spoke. "Withdraw, Maiden Schist, there is no shame in attempting again tomorrow."


    "No!" I cried out at my Precept''s command, half in anger and half in pain. I needed to stay. I couldn''t keep falling behind the rest of my coven. Half of them had found the color of their soul before we had ever been grouped together. The other half had only taken a day or two after that.


    Then there was me, slow shitty Schist, still a Maiden after eight days. It had been eight days since the grouping. Tomorrow was my last chance or I would be out. I''d come too far and done too much. I had to succeed and I had to do it then, I was terrible under pressure and I would only feel worse tomorrow.


    Inhaling, I raised my arms and focused my aura, pushing my colorless energy up through my palms. I exhaled and my power manifested through my channels, creating a temporary shield from the violent water that endlessly crashed down on me.


    "Maiden Schist, withdraw!" My Precept commanded into my mind again.


    "No!" I cried out again, having only achieved the pain of holding my futile shield. My arms burned and the rest of my body ached. I was going to fail, again. I only had the strength to hold my barrier for a few more seconds. Then, the water would hit me and I would be too weak to keep myself from being washed off the stone. I felt myself go numb and gave up.


    The water never hit me.


    "Schist. . ." My Precept said into my mind, her tone of voice completely lacking the commanding nature it had held before.


    I looked up. A swirling dome of dark blue aura circled above my upraised palms. "I found it!" I yelled. The dome of my power relieved me of the pain from the crashing water and allowed me to see my coven on the shore, cheering.


    "Eight days." I whispered to myself.


    I would make it worth the wait.


    The stone under me was slick. I nearly fell as I stood and focused. My color had come and despite what my mother had insisted, it was blue. I had manifested it. I would not be sent home. With every bit of myself I could harness, I let my aura flow through my palms, expanding my dome. I meant to push it upwards and block the waterfall at its source.


    "Release," My Precept commanded, her previous tone returning in full force. ¡°You will Hollow yourself!


    Cracks splintered across my dome from its center but before I could release it, I fell.


    The simple blue door shut and I came back to myself fully. Confident enough that I was who I thought I was, I left Schist¡¯s hall in search of a different sorceress¡¯s memories to wander into.


    "One of these is going to let me leave," I said, taking the short staircase down several floors. I reached another identical platform and picked a trimetal walkway to walk down at random, the stained glass mosaic that filled the empty space between them nothing but a reminder that I was trapped. "I hope."


    Etain, Ola Gresha, Gheraldine. Every door I passed a different name. Not long before I had been eager enough to enter the first door I came to without question. I had been spoiled to the point that I passed nearly half a hundred doors before I found a name that interested me.


    Willa Hollilock. Her door was purple and made of a dark metal that shifted between different shades depending on how I looked at it. I took it and went much deeper than I had ever been before, not stopping until the entrance was little more than a dot in the distance.


    I passed one on my left and a vision of a moon, the same pink as a pearl, filled nearly all of the uninterrupted night sky. Without giving myself a moment to change my mind, I opened the door and stepped through it.

 Chapter Sixteen: Willa Hollilock

    I was so tired of looking over my shoulder.


    In a city where I had tangled with every shape and size of good for nothing, I couldn''t so much as sneeze without running into someone I hated or that hated me.


    "Come on, you damn gutter rat." I said to myself, tapping my boot on the dirty cobblestones beneath it.


    Almost as if I had summoned him, the damn gutter rat himself stepped into the alley. Fritz walked towards me at his usual frantic pace, hunched over and looking at the ground. "I could get in a lot of trouble doing business with you again. Leo don''t like it when I help you witches out."


    I ignored the insult. Sorceresses don''t like being called witches, It''s like calling a dragon a lizard. "It''s a good thing I''ll be gone before he knows then, right?"


    "If you have what you promised." Fritz was hunched and thin. I meant it when I called him a rat.


    I had needed a rat, however, and had needed one several times before. As nasty as he was to look at, with his ragged clothes and balding head, we had done business many times before.


    Reaching my hand inside my long leather duster, I pulled a small vial filled with a lavender colored liquid, out and showed it to him. "Don¡¯t take it all at once now, you¡¯re likely to split yourself in two. Half before you go to bed and the other when you wake up. Got it?"


    Fritz snatched it out of my hand and cradled it in his own. "This will make me be able to stand up straight? You''re not just selling me some colored water?"


    "I swear on my own power." I said, wishing to quicken the transaction. I would have never said it otherwise, the risk was too great, but my sisters were waiting.


    Fritz snickered, still cradling the vial as if it were the most precious thing in the world.


    It had taken me all of a half hour to make it and was worth far more than what I was charging the hunched man. The loss didn''t bother me, I was paying for convenience.


    "Alright, there it is." Fritz pointed at a dull green brick. Once my eyes found it, I wondered how I hadn''t seen it before. Every other brick around it was as white as snow. It stuck out just like I did in the city.


    "I could have found that on my own." I said, only slightly annoyed.


    "You could have, but you didn''t. I did." Fritz said, his eyes locked on the vial.


    I walked toward the back wall of the alley and leaned down. "You sure this will take me where I need to go? You remember what happened last time you gave me bad information, don''t you?"


    Fritz had spent a very unpleasant night with his bald head under my boot and I was glad to see him flinch when I spoke of it. He had learned his lesson.


    "I''m sure, I''m sure."


    "Sakes alive, Fritz, if I never see you again it will be too soon." I reached down and placed my hand on the odd colored brick, three rows from the ground and three bricks in from the corner. Colors spun into the peripherals of my vision, a tightening vortex that quickly closed into a shrinking circle that washed the city I had spent most of my life in from my sight. Just before I was certain that my arm would be pulled out of my shoulder like so many wings I had pulled off of roast chickens, my feet left the ground.


    "I''ll miss you too." Fritz snickered, showing a crooked smile.


    The man, that if it was a particularly calm night and the whiskey I would surely be drinking got a hold of me, I might admit I missed, began to disappear. Just before I lost sight of him he uncorked the vial and drained it empty. He gasped, and snapped straight up. I was glad I wasn''t around to see what came next.


    ¡°Damn rat.¡±


    Through the fold, away from the city above Zenithcidel and towards the place I hoped I would grow old and fat in, I vanished, leaving nothing but my reputation in my place.


    The next instant, I found myself sliding across the ground. Digging the heels of my boots into the dirt beneath me, I threw my arms around the stump of a long fallen tree. I caught my hand in the other and locked them. The strain of slowing my momentum brought back visions of the roast chicken and wings. My heels broke free from the furrow they had dug in the ground and careened into open air, sending a cascade of dirt and rocks tumbling down from the cliff I had nearly slid off of.


    The second after I had slowed to a stop, my hat blew past me and began to swing from left to right through the air as it went.


    "Sakes alive, Ms. Hollilock," I said to myself, preparing to do something very ill advised. "It¡¯s just a hat, are you really that damn thick?"


    I was.


    I released my hold on the stump and dropped off the cliffside, my long leather duster whipping through the air behind me as I fell.


    "This is unwise." Gat spoke into my mind the second after I began my descent. My familiar didn''t speak often but when he did, it was usually worth listening to.


    Telling me that jumping off a cliff the moment after I had done it was not his most sagacious advice.


    "I hadn¡¯t realized. Get ready." I said, pulling Gat from the leather holster hanging off my belt. My familiar was fashioned after something called a gun, I¡¯d never seen anything like him.


    Weighing much more than my hat did, I fell much faster. If my plan didn''t work, it would take a handful of minutes for it to whimsically drift down and land in the large radius of blood and guts I would burst into if I hit the ground.


    Drawing my aura, I passed it through my right palm, shaping it into two purple shells that I pressed into the side by side chambers of my Gat¡¯s upper barrels. Leaving a thin thread of my aura connecting the shells to my palm, I snapped him shut and pointed his business end directly at the ground below me. My eyes stung from the air whipping against them and I had to force my arms to stay straight. If the air caught me at the wrong moment, I would blow my leg off with my own power. There was something witty to say about that somewhere but the ground was coming too damn fast for me to try and find it.


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    I wrapped my finger around the two side by side triggers and fired.


    Two beams of violet energy burst out of Gat''s barrels and hit the ground. Through the threads I had kept attached, I pushed a steady stream of my aura, swelling the formerly thin lines to the thickness of my fingers. A swell of dirt plumed up from the ground below me as my power pummeled into it.


    I slowed and then stopped altogether. As long as I could continue to draw my aura and push it through my familiar, the ground below would never meet the leather of my boots.


    I looked up. Halfway down from the cliffside I had so brilliantly decided to jump off of, my hat was taking its time. "I''m gonna give you more, can you take it?"


    "Do it. I don''t want to be laying in a pile of what''s left of you for the next thousand years, waiting for someone to come and find me." Gat answered back.


    My hands aching from the recoil, I let my aura spill out of me. It surrounded my body in a wash of violet energy and I pushed it through the swollen threads. The destruction I caused the ground beneath me grew in volume and size as I slowly started rising. Gaining speed, I released my left hand that had been bracing the right and grabbed my hat in my hand just before it passed out of my reach. Unable to hold my aim steady with only one hand, the recoiling force of my beams turned me at an angle that I couldn''t correct.


    I crashed into the rocky cliff side.


    I reached my limit, cutting the threads and letting my aura gutter out just as I began to drop again. The tail of my long leather coat caught on the rocky edge and I was left dangling like a rabbit in a wire trap. Facing away from the cliffside, there was nothing I could use to pull myself up. My arms began to slide out of the sleeves of my duster, inch by inch, and hunks of rock broke under my kicking heels. I saw pieces of rock breaking under my hung weight falling to the ruined ground beneath me.


    It¡¯d only be a matter of time before I fell. I was spent and would need a good meal and a long bath before I could so much as cast a charm.


    All because of my hat.


    I''d rather die on my own damn terms anyway.


    "Uuuuhhh." Gat groaned. He always got sick after I used him.


    "When you are found, Tell them to take you to my sisters. You can tell them how I died." I said, dropping another inch suddenly.


    If Gat could have vomited, the sound he made would have been an indication that he had. Instead of his lunch, he upchucked a sudden burst of my residual aura. It flashed out of him and I felt myself be thrown up and back onto the cliffside, where I landed on my ass, hat in hand.


    I let out a weak laugh and laid back, having never loved the ground as much as I did then.


    "Don''t laugh. This is horrible." Gat groaned.


    "Sakes alive, I''ve never been glad someone had a weak stomach but I sure am happy you do." I said, catching my breath. If I had been anywhere else at any other time in my life, exhausting my aura like I just had would have been a death sentence. That had been the life I left behind. No six armed slicks were gonna be jumping out of shipping crates at me anymore. No sir, nothing but sand and the ocean and time with my sisters was ahead of me.


    I stood up and holstered my familiar. I wouldn''t hear from him again for quite some time. Dusting myself off and placing my hat on my head just the way I liked it, I straightened the wide brim between two fingers and took my first opportunity to look over the land I would someday die in. Hopefully very old and very fat.


    The cliff I stood on dropped to, other than the section I had destroyed, a lush green forest. They thinned as they went and gave way to bald rolling hills. In the distance, the small city I had brought property in and I would call my home acted as the marker for the blue waters beyond. My sisters were undoubtedly already there and arguing about who would get what room. They could argue all they wanted, I had the bill of sale and my gems had paid for the whole damn house.


    I got whatever room I wanted.


    "Look there, Gat. Merrowcrest." I said aloud, getting ready to continue my journey. Before I could, a sudden and deafening ring sounded in my ears.


    The cloudless sky in front of me split down the middle and shook the ground underneath my boots. A high pitched ringing filled my ears but I could feel the world around me quaking. The split widened, splintering off into black cracks that spread across the sky. They doubled back and reconnected with each other. Then, like someone had taken a hammer to a broken mirror, the pieces of the blue sky fell, crumbling to dust before they hit the ground and the land before me vanished.


    "Was that what I think it was?" Gat asked, his voice still tinged with the sound of his sickness.


    I sighed, ignoring my sudden desire to lay down and die. "It was."


    Gat made a coughing noise, which was strange considering he had no lungs or throat. "It''s been a hundred years since a Shift has been recorded."


    "Sakes alive, I know that," I snapped at him. "I was knee high to my momma''s familiar the last time one happened. And of course, the first one in a hundred years has to happen when I''m within stripping distance of the beach."


    "What are you going to do?"


    The blue sky that had been above me was gone and had been replaced by a starless night sky. A massive moon, the color of blush on a pale girl''s cheeks, hung in the sky three quarters full. Where I had been elevated atop a rise moments before, my boots were planted on dry, dusty, ground. Every direction I looked, with the exception of tall rocky plateaus jutting out of the ground in the distance, nothing but flat cracked land surrounded me. I had been warm in my duster only moments before, nearly warm enough to want to take it off, but in that sudden desert, I had to pull it shut and clasp it to keep the cold out..


    "I''m gonna get the fuck out of this place as soon as I figure out where I am." I answered, simply choosing to walk in the direction I was facing with no other point of interest to guide me.


    It made no sense to me that a desert, that brought thoughts of dried and baking corpses, could get so cold. Wind, violent and ceaseless, I could reconcile. With everything being flat, there was nothing to break its speed as it swept clouds of dust into me from every side. The size of the pink moon made it difficult to tell how long, but I had been walking long enough for my feet to hurt when I saw a light in the distance. I broke towards it as fast as my tired bones could move, hoping I wasn''t wandering into another perilous situation.


    A man dressed in a robe the same color of the moon held a long pool with a glass lantern hung from its tip. I stopped several steps in front of him, breathing heavily. Every inch of him was covered in the pale pink fabric, leaving only his face exposed. "Sakes alive," I panted. "Am I glad to see you."


    I could have spit in his face and he wouldn''t have looked as disgusted as he did.


    "Madam, your excitement insults me. Under the light of his moon, you openly break one of Neuters Edicts? I pray your offense is made in ignorance.¡± He gasped, turning his nose up at me.


    "What the hell is Neuter?" I asked, still winded.


    "Blasphemy," The man shouted, and then covered his face in the crook of his elbow. "How dare you curse the sinless god. How dare you make me speak in anger."


    The man was working into a froth and I didn''t even know what I had done. "Look, mister, I''m lost. I''m just looking for a place to get my bearings."


    A savage roar echoed out from somewhere in the distance. The man turned from me and started walking fast away from me. "Very well, The Beast is about. Despite my better judgment I shan''t leave you to its fangs and claws. I will take you to the pontificate."


    I didn''t like the way that sounded but I didn''t like the way The Beast had sounded even more.


    With no other options except the cold desert around me, I followed him.

 Chapter Seventeen: Willa Hollilock and the Desert Spirit

    After trying every trick in the book I could think of short of putting all three of Gat''s barrels under the chin of my pink robed guide, I had to admit, the son of bitch had salt.


    After he had agreed to take me to the Pontificate, he hadn''t so much as looked at me. Even when I had grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around, he had clamped his eyes shut and repeated the same phrase over and over until I let him go. I shall not be tempted for temptation is partaking.


    I''d left well enough alone after that. The strange man had looked like his heart was gonna give out. I needed it to keep beating until he got me to wherever he must be from. So, I¡¯d let him be, making peace with being led blindly through the dusty desert.


    Just as the pink moon began to flatten against the dusty horizon at my back, The Beast''s roar echoed across the land and pushed my guide''s pace to a quickening jog. We''d been moving towards one of the rock formations that jutted out of the cracked soil my boots were caked in. Once we reached the base of the towering mass, my guide turned and made his way around the rock, his long poled lantern swinging behind him.


    I followed behind, searching the flat land for any signs of The Beast.


    "Remember the cliff." Gat whispered into my mind.


    "Why are you whispering? He can''t hear you." I whispered back.


    "Remember your sisters. Don¡¯t go chasing hats off of any cliffs." Gat said, still whispering.


    "Sakes alive, my hat''s on my head and the ground is flat as could be, this isn''t the same at all."


    Gat sighed. In the decades that the talking gun had been my partner, him sighing had become the sign that he was done talking for the time being. I didn''t press. If I wound up needing him later, I didn''t want him to be out of sorts with me.


    My guide and I reached the right side of the big rock.


    A crystalline growl that sounded much closer than the bestial roars had before filled the night air. The lantern atop my guide''s pole swung wildly as he spun on his heels towards me, painting sharp shadows across his scared face.


    "The Beast has found us!" He whispered harshly, throwing his back against the rock beside us.


    Turning my own back to the rock, as it was a damn smart thing to do, I scanned the flat land around me and my hand slowly found its way to Gat''s grip.


    Appearing out of the dusty air, a ghostly blue light streaked across the ground towards me. I did not draw my aura nor my familiar, but my finger and my mind rested close on both triggers. Lithe and nimble, the shape of a large feline made entirely of the ghostly blue light approached with a quickness. Every impression its paws left in the dirt glowed with its shimmering motes. It slowed just outside a comfortable shooting distance and changed. It left the ground looking like an ethereal panther and landed on the two feet of a fiercely beautiful woman.


    "I shall not be tempted for temptation is partaking. I shall not be tempted for temptation is partaking," The pink robed man broke into his strange mantra, the pitch of his voice climbing higher and higher with every repetition. By the time the woman had reached me, my guide was full on shrieking. "I shall not be tempted for temptation is partaking."


    "Sakes alive, you''re a spirit aren''t you?" I said, relaxing my posture without removing my hand from my familiar.


    The spirit woman did not speak, only giving me a nod in answer. She was thin, like a dancer not a pauper, and moved with a lethal grace that told me I would have an easier time trying to choke water than I would if it came to blows between us. She extended a claw tipped hand towards me and slowly crept closer.


    "Do not allow it to touch you stranger! The Beast will fill your heart with sin!" My guide shrieked.


    The spirit woman bared her teeth and shot a violent glance towards the hysterical man.


    "The Beast might, but she ain''t it." I said, ignoring the pink robed man''s pleas and gently taking the spirit''s hand.


    Short visions flashed through my mind in a short burst. The pink moon a thin crescent, barely casting enough light for anything to be seen. A small campfire burnt down to coals and smoke. A man, wearing the same pink robes as my guide, laid on his side by the fire. A splotch of dark red stained his clothes. The spirit in her woman form stepped into the small radius of fire light and approached the man. The pain of his wound outweighed the fear he felt at the arrival of the spirit. Somehow, without speaking, the spirit conveyed her desire to help the man. Despite his reluctance, he disrobed to his waist and exposed his wounded flank to the spirit. She knelt down and bit the man on his wound, her ghostly eyes locked onto his. She had not hurt him. His head sagged back in relief and the spirit withdrew, leaving his wound healed. The man collapsed back to the ground in a stupor and the spirit woman vanished back into the dark night.


    I broke my contact with the spirit, dropping my hands on my knees to keep my balance. Seeing the visions and memories of someone else had nearly put me on my ass. When I looked back up at her, the spirit woman still held her hand to me and nodded towards it.


    She wanted to show me more.


    "What do you think?" I asked Gat.


    My familiar didn¡¯t respond.


    Feeling like I already had one foot of a cliff, I took the spirit''s hand again.


    The pink moon had waxed half full. The same man from before, unwounded and robes bloodless, sat around a new fire in the same spot he had met the spirit before. A large cloth sack, drawstrings synched shut sat in the dust beside him. He waited for the spirit to return. She¡¯d watched him from the moment his flint had caught the scraps of dry brush he had collected. When she was certain that the man meant her no harm, she showed herself on the far side of the fire from him. She did not expect him to be as happy as he was. The man smiled and clapped his hands in joy at the sight of her. She was not used to being received in that manner and it had made her smile. In his excitement, the man had almost forgotten the sack. He held up a finger for her to wait and opened his bag. He had brought her gifts. She could tell by his movement that the things he had brought had come to him through great personal risk and were not common trinkets even if they held no value for her. One by one, the man presented them. A golden statue of some fat man atop a throne, glass bottles of dark water that she could smell through the cork, and finally a set of robes, just like the clothes he wore. One by one, she shook her head but she smiled throughout. The man had dropped his head in defeat but the spirit wished him to understand. She crept over to him and knelt down, offering the man her hand. Slowly, he took it and she showed him that she was grateful. She showed him that though she had no need for his gifts, the man had made her happy and that it had not been often in her second life that someone had shown her gratitude. Any trace of fear the man held washed away in her ghostly light and she felt the calm that spread in his heart from her touch. Then, they were together, falling into one another in a way that the spirit didn''t know was possible for someone like her to do.


    The spirit pulled her hand away from me.


    I hadn''t realized I had sat down. The light of the new day had begun to shine across the dry ground and I could already feel the temperature rising. The Beast roared from somewhere in the distance and the spirit turned her face to that direction. A pale blue tear rolled down her cheek. She withdrew from me then, turning on her heels and dropping back into the feline shape in one seamless movement. Before I could climb back up to my feet, she vanished into the night''s last remaining darkness.


    My own man in pearl pink robes was already moving.


    I scrambled to my feet to follow. "Did you get any of that?"


    "Fortunately for both of us, I do not see through your eyes." Gat answered.


    I gave him a short hand explanation of what had just happened to me as I caught up to my guide.


    Not long after, we rounded to the other side of the rock formation and came to a tight group of identical buildings. Each was square and painted the same pearl pink as my guide''s robes. Placed around a much larger structure that was also square, they formed a little town, barely large enough for me to call it that. Other than the tracks left in the dusty ground by my guide, there was no sign of life.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    The steadily brightening day was already hot enough that I¡¯d become slick with sweat. As we reached the buildings, I pulled off my duster and threw it over my shoulder. My black undershirt had a high collar and long sleeves. I¡¯d sweat to death before my skin burned.


    My guide stopped in front of the buildings, his back still turned towards me. He dipped his lantern down in front of him and snuffed out the flame with his finger tips. Without turning to face me, he spoke. "You will wait here. They will prepare you to meet the Pontificate."


    "Hold on there, slick. I don''t even know where I am," I said, walking right up behind him. I didn''t go around and try and look him in the eyes sending him back into his repetitive hysterics would do me no good. "What do I need to be prepared for?"


    "By Nueter¡¯s edicts, I have done all I am required to do," The man in the pearl pink robes said "They will prepare you to meet the Pontificate."


    Before I could get another word out, my guide no longer scurried away from me and entered the large building in the middle of the open square. The sun had risen high enough that its already scorching light revealed to me what I should have noticed before.


    The large building, fronted by wide steps that ran its width and led up to two wooden doors, looked like it had been attacked by a pack of dogs the size of horses. Jagged claw marks and chunks of the stone steps marred the structure and tore through the ground around it.


    ¡°You see that?¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± Gat answered.


    ¡°The Beast, I¡¯d guess.¡±


    Gat sighed. ¡°If you get yourself killed, make sure to not leave me in the light. It gets hot in here.¡±


    Three women stepped out from behind the building and hurried towards me, each wearing the pearl pink robes that my guide had, but with veils obscuring their faces.


    In my years, I¡¯d learned it was a mistake to trust someone when you couldn¡¯t see their eyes.


    The women reached me. One of them spoke, but I couldn''t tell who due to the veils. ¡°We will escort you to the bathing house and you will be prepared to meet the pontificate.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so, slick. If he is half as holy as you folks make him out to be, he won¡¯t mind speaking with a tired woman who is caked in a little dirt.¡± I answered, hand on my hip.


    ¡°Your shame must be covered in the robes,¡± The one on the left insisted, showing me the robes held in her arms. ¡°You must be clean to cover your shame with the robes.¡±


    I was hot and I was tired. I¡¯d been shifted, who knows how far, away from my sisters and my patience for dealing with the pearl pink prudes had come up short. Guessing what would happen from the way my guide had conducted himself, I kicked off my boots and started to strip. ¡°Give them here, I¡¯ll put them on but I¡¯m not going anywhere until I get some damned answers.¡±


    A shrill shriek came from the three women. The one with the robes threw them to the dusty ground at my feet before all of them turned their backs to me. ¡°Avert your eyes.¡±


    Standing right out there in the middle of the desert, I stripped bare. When I wore nothing but my hair, I decided that I hadn¡¯t lost my patience with the strange folks, I just flat out didn¡¯t like them.


    ¡°I¡¯m done.¡± I called out to the three women, lying through my teeth.


    They turned and caught sight of all Willa Hollilock had to offer.


    "She''s naked!" One yelled in disgust.


    "Oh, Neuter! Forgive us! " The second begged.


    "Hang her!" The third gasped. All of them dropped to their hands and knees, pressing their veils to the dusty ground.


    Laughing at my own joke while I actually pulled the heavy robes over my shame, I talked to them. ¡°You all might be the most repressed folks in all of chaos. Why hang me for giving you a show? You should be paying me for it,¡± pulling my boots back on under the ridiculous amount of hems around my ankles, I whispered to Gat. ¡°You think this Neuter thing is really a God?¡±


    "I have met far more people that have claimed they were a God than I have met Gods." Gat answered, his voice muffled.


    "I can''t disagree with that," I said, shrugging. "Do you think they can actually help me get to Merrowcrest?"


    My familiar fell quiet again.


    My shame properly covered, I called the prone women. ¡°I¡¯m done. Honest.¡±


    They didn¡¯t rise.


    ¡°I¡¯m not fooling with you. The only thing you can see is my face¡± I insisted.


    ¡°Lower your veil!¡±


    I did, shaking my head. ¡°Sakes alive, I¡¯m blind now.¡± Which wasn¡¯t true, the veil was made of some kind of mesh that let me see most of what was in front of me. The three women slowly stood, watching me like I was a snake coiled to strike them.


    "We will collect your clothes and burn them, to free you of their temptation." The one who had called for me to be hung said.


    "If you burn my clothes I''ll run you down and kiss you." I answered, giving one of the more unique threats I had ever spoken.


    The threat succeeded-fear filled the woman¡¯s voice. "We shall not touch them."


    The two wooden doors that fronted the large building swung open and a person walked down the steps and towards the edge of town where I stood. The robes they wore were not pearl pink like the ones I wore and everyone else''s I¡¯d met in the damn desert. Stark white with a large pearlescent circle inlaid into the fabric over their chest, the only touch of pink was the hooded veil that concealed their face.


    ¡°The pontificate, I¡¯d guess.¡± I said to Gat.


    The three women noticed the pontificate¡¯s approach and bowed in his direction before moving single file into one of the surrounding buildings.


    The pontificate stopped right where the women had stood and waved. "Hello, stranger. We have not had a visitor in our little hamlet in quite some time. I hope the heat has not been too much for you."


    ¡°Damn thing,¡± I cursed, pulling the veil up from my face. ¡°Hi.¡±


    The pontificate returned the gesture.


    I recognized him and I knew as soon as I met his eyes for the first time with my own that I flat out didn¡¯t like him. The last time I had seen the Pontificate had been through a vision shown to me by the touch of the desert spirit. His cloth framed face wore a pleasant smile but reminded me altogether too much of someone that I had left in an alleyway moments before he had split himself in half.


    The pontificate was a rat, no different than Fritz had been despite the robes and unhunched back.


    "I know why you are here and I know what you seek." The Pontificate said in an even tone waving his hands as he spoke.


    Anytime I had ever met a religious leader, and I had met more than most, they always spoke with the same tone.


    "Did the fella that brought me here tell you?" I guessed.


    Even though his expression didn''t change, I could see in his eyes that he didn''t like the way I had said what I said.


    He couldn''t keep his eyes on mine for very long. Every few seconds he would shift them to my nose or my lips just long enough for whatever was keeping him from looking at me square to recede.


    "Ah, yes, he did. He told me other things, but I do not think they are relevant at this moment. You wish to leave our land and I wish the same," The Pontificate said, looking away from me and out over the desert. "It is unfortunate you have come on the eve of our most sacred day."


    I hadn''t noticed anything sacred about anything in that damn place. "Why is that unfortunate?"


    "The pearl moon shall rise in full tomorrow evening and we must prove our devotion to Neuter. While I appreciate you participating in our customs for our meeting,¡± He looked me up and down, disapproval evident behind his pleasant smile. ¡°We can not have you here when we make our devotion."


    "Alright then, tell me how to get to Merrowcrest and I¡¯ll be on my way." I said, wondering why the spirit had shown me her visions of the man.


    "I apologize for my lack of hospitality. With The Beast about, I can not afford my people''s efforts to be soiled by an outsider." The man said and then continued with his hands raising to his sides. "That leaves you two options. You may leave the way you came and try to find help elsewhere or you can undertake the Trial of the Temptress and try to find an audience with his desirelessness."


    "Trial?" I asked.


    "You must wait until nightfall and cross through The Gap. There, your resolve will be tested by the Temptress. If your heart is full of desire, she will consume you. If your heart is true, Neuter''s resting place is just beyond that."


    I didn''t like the idea of wandering back into the desert with no idea what direction I should head in. At least the other choice had a goal. The Pontificate watched me as long as he thought I wasn''t looking at him. Taking my time as if I couldn''t decide what to do, I tried to figure out what the spirit had been trying to tell me. Her and the holy rat man had been together. The Beast seemed to not like the square little town.


    "Chasing hats,¡± I finally answered. All I needed to worry about was getting to my sisters. ¡°I''ll take the Trial."


    Again, his pleasant expression remained the same, but the look of contentment in his eyes left me feeling like I had missed something along the way. It¡¯s never good when a rat is happy.


    "And so you have chosen," The Pontificate said, turning away from me. ¡°You will have to wait outside of town, of course, but I will have food and water brought to you.¡±


    I agreed. I didn¡¯t wanna go into the damn town anyway, I didn¡¯t wanna catch whatever strange virus had turned all the pink little people into prudes.


    Finding a patch of shade off the back of one of the buildings, I stowed my clothes on the lip of a window sill and sat down with my back against the wall. A woman came eventually, featureless in her pink robes, and served me room temperature water and some kind of goop made of boiled grain that was entirely flavorless. I passed the rest of the day catching up on my much needed sleep.


    I¡¯d slept in worse places, but I¡¯d never had food that bad.


    Once the sun had set, I was led to the edge of the square town and sent out into the night to undertake the Trial of the Temptress and come face to face with a "God".

 Chapter Eighteen: Willa Hollilock and The Beast

    "What do you think this temptress looks like?" I asked my familiar as soon as I was out of sight of the little town, kneeling down and running my hand under the hem of my robes.


    It took more effort than I would have wished but a few moments later, I pulled out my hat and the leather belt that held Gat in his holster. I pulled the constricting hood off my head and ran my fingers through my hair. After several attempts, I managed to place my hat on my head just right and straightened the wide brim between two fingers. Continuing my journey into the desert, I slung the belt around my waste and had to fasten it one hole looser than I was used to due to the sheer amount of fabric around my waist.


    Gat had evidently fallen into one of his silent spells because I had nearly reached the gap between the two plateaus I had been instructed to pass through and he still hadn''t spoken. That gave me the silence necessary to fall into my thoughts. There was a "God" in a cave that could potentially give me its blessing and set me on the path to my sisters. I had to go through a trial of a religion I didn''t believe in that entailed wandering into the desert under the light of the pearl moon and facing down the temptress to earn the right to seek counsel with the "God."


    All things considered, it wasn''t the strangest situation I had ever found myself in.


    As thick as it seemed, I had no concern with dealing with whatever the terrible temptress turned out to be.


    Sakes alive, the sight of me had made everyone but the rat eyed Pontificate nearly faint.


    Whatever was titillating enough for them to use it as some proof of devotion would probably seem mild and uninteresting to me. So, I walked through the lightless passage between the plateaus trying to beat the chill that I knew would be cold on my feet since the sun had set.


    If I had been in a story or in one of the great fables the old crones in Zenithcidel told maidens that were still wet behind the ears, I would have been attacked in that too dark passage.


    Fortunately, I wasn''t in a story. Even more fortunately, I made it out the other side without any unexpected danger swirling out of the dust.


    The little square town far behind me and the pink pearl moon rising full above me, I could see a faint outline breaking out of the desert in the distance. Between the impressions in the dirt that my boots were making and that faint shape, I would have to resist the temptress.


    The cold came quicker than I would have wished but I found it much easier to manage with all the additional layers I had on. "Maybe these folks don''t have everything backwards and upside down." I said to myself, having to hold my hat on my head with my hand so a particularly harsh gust of wind didn''t send it tumbling into the darkness.


    From the corner of my eye, I saw something move.


    At first, I thought it was just a trick of the strange pink light radiating from the moon.


    Then, it called my name.


    "Willa?" Came the voice of a woman that I would have recognized anywhere.


    "Milly," I called back. ¡°Sakes alive, what are you doing out here, little sister?¡±


    "Willa. Come here." A second voice commanded me. That could only be Sara. Since the moment I had made her a big sister, she had started using that tone with me.


    "Sara," I called back, my sisters coming close enough that I could see them fully. "Did y''all get Shifted too?"


    I ran towards them. Of course they had, I should have thought of that as soon as the dust had started sticking to my duster. I''d seen them just a week ago, but after all the years I had spent away, all the time wouldn''t be enough. The closer I got, the more that dream became a reality.


    Sara, tall and stern.


    Milly, hair gray despite being younger than me. I''d been close enough to them that they could have heard me holler the whole time. I ran right up to them as fast as I could in the bulky robes.


    They moved like Milly and Sara and the way they called my name sounded like Milly and Sara. Once I had gotten close enough to them to extend my arms for an embrace that I desperately needed from the two women that I missed very much, a clear understanding struck me in the heart like a nine pound hammer. My sisters hadn''t ventured out from Merrowcrest after the Shift. They hadn''t journeyed through the strange desert to find me. They were probably waiting in our little house on the coast, wondering what was taking me so long to get there. My sense had left me as soon as I heard Milly''s sweet voice and I should have suspected something wasn''t right, but the notion of seeing them had been all together too tempting for me to resist.


    The things that I had thought were my sisters had no faces.


    The faceless bodies in front of me were illusions, somehow crafted from my own desires.


    I whipped Gat out of his holster and drew my aura just as the illusions vanished. Fading into my sight from a curtain of unnatural shadow like a sea beast rising out of dark water, a gaping maw filled with rows of jagged teeth snapped towards me.


    I couldn''t load Gat fast enough.


    I realized that I didn''t have enough time a moment too late.


    Throwing myself back and away, The jagged teeth closed on the pink cloth over my left shoulder and tore it from my body..


    Rolling back up on my feet in a cloud of dust, I darted my eyes around the dark desert. "The temptress, I¡¯d guess, but sakes alive, that''s not what comes to mind when I think of something tempting me."


    "You are injured." Gat said, evidently deciding his period of silent contemplation was over.


    Glancing down, the fabric that had been torn off my robes was ringing with my blood. I ran my right hand over the patch of my exposed flesh. It stung, but I didn''t think the wounds were deep enough to cause any permanent damage. "It grazed me. Damn thing would have took my arm off if I had been a half a second slower." I said, further soiling my robes by wiping the blood off my hand in the pink fabric.


    "It''s coming back, fast." Gat said.


    Out in the distance, Moving in a manner I didn''t understand, the Temptress swam through the air just a couple hands above the desert ground. It was huge, its mouth of jagged teeth making up most of its size. All the rest was fins and an antennae that hung in front of its face like a fishing pole. Just as I caught sight of it, something happened. The end of its antennae pulsed with light once, twice, three times and the massive terrestrial fish vanished.


    I didn''t like to be lied to. I didn''t think I''d ever met a person that did but it really chapped my ass. It turns out that I hated being lied to by something that was doing the lying to get close enough to make a meal out of me.


    "Get ready." I said to Gat, channeling my drawn aura and manifesting it through my palm. I didn''t create big shells like I had with the cliff, that would come later. Instead, I spun the cylinder that hung beneath the two bigger barrels and filled all nine bores with my aura. Once my familiar was fully loaded and glowing purple with my will, I snapped the cylinder shut and raised him, aiming with the smaller of the three barrels


    "Are you going to shoot it with your sense of smell? It''s invisible." Gat questioned.


    "Yes, yes it is," I said. "But the dust isn''t," I stopped drawing my aura and took my first shot. A flash of violet light seemed to smash into a pocket of particularly hard air. The trail of displaced dust I had been following snapped away from me and the Temptress''s invisibility vanished. I had blown the antennae clear of its ugly head. "And I''ve always been a good shot."


    "Are we feeling particularly violent this evening?" Gat asked, his metal body tracking my mark through the night air.


    "I left the tip of my workings hollow." I replied, firing my second shot. The light of my will streaked through the dark night and hit the overgrown fish in its flank. Whatever force allowed it to move through the air as if it were water died with the impact and the Temptress crashed into the dry ground. I followed its sliding descent with my third shot. Then, the fourth. Quickly followed by the fifth and all the rest as I emptied the cylinder into the flopping mass of meat. I walked towards it once Gat was empty, drawing my aura once again.


    "Is this really necessary?" Gat asked, his voice taking on the warble of someone who was about to be sick.


    "Completely." I answered, palming two glowing purple shells into my familiar''s big barrels.


    It didn¡¯t know it yet, but the temptress was dead.


    I thought it was important that I be the one to tell it.


    I raised Gat and pulled both triggers.


    The small pieces of flesh that barely connected all the holes from my first nine shots vanished in a flash of purple energy, sending a storm of dust and dirt into the air.


    I didn''t stay and watch. I had turned and continued walking towards the place that I would come face to face with the "God" that had put the monstrosity I had just turned into chum in the desert as some kind of sick trial for those that worshiped him.


    "You know I''m not really a religious type," I said to Gat between his dry heaves. "and I''ve always left people to their own beliefs."


    "Hrroargh." My familiar groaned.


    "Right," I exclaimed, placing him back in his holster. "But I don''t think I can ignore this one. Even if it means it takes me longer to get to Merrowcrest."


    Gat heaved again. "Urghh."


    "Sakes alive," I smiled. "I love it when you agree with me."


    Under normal circumstances, the long walk across the freezing desert would have been enough to cool my head.


    Under the circumstances I found myself in however, which were not the strangest I had ever experienced, I could do nothing to stop the quick rhythm my trigger finger continuously tapped against the cold metal of my familiars body. The loss I had taken from rendering the temptress utterly unable to tempt anyone ever again had slowed me down but during the climb up the rough hewn path I gave myself a talking to and decided to worry about the aching in my bones when I got to my sisters.


    I thought of Milly and Sara. Not the faceless imposters I had foolishly ran towards, but the real ones. Twenty years they had hounded me to leave the city and The Mothers behind. Always telling me that I had done enough and that they weren¡¯t going to live forever. Eventually, the truth of it all wore me down and I started my preparations for leaving.


    They hadn¡¯t taken after our mother like I had. Sara had enough control over her aura to bring a knife to her hand from across the kitchen while she was cooking and Milly could do little glamors and such, but nothing powerful enough to find a place amongst myself and the other Sorceresses. They wouldn''t live forever. Neither would I, but even if I never used my aura again, I could live for another two hundred years after they had passed even if I kept drinking.


    Milly and Sara had taken after our father. He had been a mortal man who had been known as a Marshall amongst his people, which I understood to be some kind of lawman. The first two years of my life had been spent with him before he died but I had been too young to remember it and none of my requests to enter The Well had been accepted. According to my mother, he''d been hot tempered and completely unable to not get involved in trouble.


    Unfortunately for the Pontificate, Neuter, and all of their prudish followers that had left a bad taste in my mouth, I took after him too.


    Just as the almost full moon reached the top of its arc, I reached the cave that must be Neuter''s resting spot. The pink moonlight did not penetrate the curtain of darkness inside the cave. Instead, it traced a sharp boundary line across the rocky ground that was evident of some kind of magic.


    A high pitched scream echoed out from behind the magical darkness.


    "That¡¯s a hat." Gat spoke up.


    I grabbed a loose rock off the ground and tossed it across the boundary line, just to be sure I wouldn''t turn to dust if I crossed it. The vanished as it crossed but I heard it land solidly on the other side. "Sakes alive, I know what I''m doing."


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    Out of the desert and into the cave.


    As soon as the heel of my back foot crossed the threshold, warm air touched my face and the pink tint of the moon was replaced by warm lanterns that lined the walls. Pink marble ran from the boundary line to a staircase of the same material in front of me. On either side, clear water flowed through inset troughs that ran the length of the hallway. I knelt down and cupped several handfuls of the cool water into my mouth before I started towards the stairs.


    I wasn''t mad enough to pass up water in a desert. Yet.


    The stairs led to a room. I was not the only one seeking an audience with Neuter. The same man who had been carrying a lantern tipped pole and had become my unwilling guide just after the shift looked up at me as I topped the stairs.


    When my back foot left the top step, it was I who was wearing the robes. He, on the other hand, was wearing nothing. Like the day he was born, the man was stark naked.


    "Did you get hot or are you just happy to see me?" I asked, expecting him to break out in hysterics at the revelation that someone was committing the unforgivable sin of seeing him naked.


    "Oh, hello." He said sleepily and turned to face me in full.


    I fortunately had the presence of mind to keep my eyes on his. The robes had done him favors, actually. "Sakes alive, you know you aren''t wearing anything right?"


    "Yes, yes. I know. You will have to get undressed if you wish to enter. It is a testament to its unshakable desirelessness. I have been preparing for years to resist the Temptress and yet you have arrived and accomplished the same feat in a day. Neuter shall be impressed by your devotion." The man spoke as if sleep was slowly coiling around him, making him drag out every word through a never ending yawn.


    I remembered shooting the bulb on the antenna of the temptress and how I had removed it from existence with my power. "Right," I said. "Devotion."


    The room was made of the same marble and was backed by a cover of ornate curtains. There wasn''t so much as a gap I could see through but I assumed what I had come for lay behind them. Thin tendrils of pink smoke seeped into the room above me. As soon as I realized what I was looking at, I tasted the sweetness in the air that could only be from the smoke. I also realized that my anxious fingers had ceased their tapping on Gat''s body. Suddenly, it didn''t seem like such a bad idea to wait patiently for my audience. I was unsure about stripping down, my tolerance only went so far, after all. The idea of meeting a God wearing nothing but my hat and Gat''s belt around my bare waist didn''t seem appropriate.


    Why did I even need Gat? Why was I even wearing a hat? I was in the Oasis of Neuter. I was safe. There was nothing there I would need to protect myself from. I should remove my unnecessary clothes and accessories and wait patiently to be welcomed into the liberating arms of Neuter.


    I had just begun to slip my boots off when another high pitched scream, just like the one I had heard from outside the cave, sounded from behind the curtains. The scream had been harsh enough that it broke my mind from whatever stupor the pink smoke was smothering me into.


    I pulled the loose fabric of the robes from around my throat and over my nose and mouth. The naked man beside me had not reached some kind of enlightenment through his trial and devotion. He was being drugged.


    Whatever had done it to him was trying to do it to me.


    I spoke to Gat, drawing my aura and filling all nine bores and both barrels of his metal body with my manifested power. "Get ready."


    Gat sighed. "I had hoped, if only for a moment, that you would walk in here and not get into trouble."


    I resettled my hat on my head before breaking through the curtains. "Sakes alive, you don''t know me at all do you?"


    "I wish I didn''t." He replied, worry evident in his voice.


    If the difference between what I had imagined and what the temptress had actually been applied to the desireless god, I expected to walk into a horror like I had never seen before.


    Striding through the curtains, Gat drawn and held at the ready, I made it a single step before I stopped in my tracks. A large room made of the same pink marble as the one I had left echoed with screams, cries, and groans. Terracing down from where I stood, the room cascaded into several levels and nearly every inch of pink marble was covered in bodies. A thick cloud of the pink smoke hung heavy at the ceiling. Thousands of thin tendrils stretched down from it and wrapped around legs, arms, throats. The bodies were packed so tightly together, it was difficult for me to tell them apart.


    They were not still, they were writhing.


    I had not walked into a horror.


    Sakes alive, I had walked into an damn orgy.


    I''d been in brothels before on business, with the purest intentions of course, but even that could not compare to the carnal display I was witnessing. Trying to compare the two would be like trying to relate a jump to full on flight.


    Each terrace that my eyes passed over, a seemingly endless amount of people were being with one another and seemed not to care who the "Another" was. At the lowest level of the room, tables that were rife with every kind of food and drink that, like the marble, seemed wholly out of place in the middle of a desert. Surrounding the table were even more people, who must have needed a break, and every time one of them would take a morsel or a cup, it would immediately replace itself.


    It would take me ages to untangle each person in the room and question them about where Neuter was. I needed to do something fast before the smoke seeped through the cloth over my face.


    I raised Gat above my head and pulled the smaller of his triggers, sending a flash of my purple aura out of his barrel and into the cloud of smoke.


    The mass of writhing bodies stopped suddenly and looked up at me as if my shot had broken some kind of spell.


    For all I knew, it had.


    "Where is the one known as Neuter?" I yelled from my place atop the highest terrace.


    A voice that sounded like silk and honey filled the room. "I am here Willa. I am so happy you have come."


    The tendrils of smoke pulsed a brighter shade of pink with every word and I looked up into the cloud of smoke, realizing that it was Neuter.


    I pointed Gat towards it and drew my aura. ¡°Sakes alive, what is going on here?¡±


    ¡°Nothing of your concern, Willa. You have been brought here by chance and chance alone. Though, I thank you for ridding the desert of the temptress.¡± Neuter spoke, every smooth word disarming my will to shoot.


    How did it know my name and why had it thanked me for what I had done?


    ¡°The fish wasn¡¯t yours? God types like you always have some monster running around.¡± I yelled, confused without breathing any of the pink smoke.


    ¡°Those that follow me do much in my name I do not understand,¡± A flash of bright pink flared within the nebulous cloud and the mass of people returned to their work, unbothered by my presence. ¡°Such an occurrence is drawing near. Resolve it for me and I will return you to your sisters.¡±


    I remembered the pleased look in the pontificate¡¯s eyes when I had agreed to the trial.


    ¡°Seems like you know how to spot a rat as well,¡± Unless all the sense I had built in my long life had suddenly fallen out of my head, I didn¡¯t feel wrong in believing what the cloud said. It could have been because of how much I missed my sisters or damn tired I was, but I saw no other options. ¡°What do I have to do?¡±


    ¡°Return to the village below my mountain. Slay the beast and prevent the loss of innocent life.¡±


    That didn¡¯t strike me as the nefarious request of a false god that was twisting me into its dark design. Kill a monster, save some lives, it sounded fairly similar to the work I had done in the city above. ¡°That¡¯s it? No catch? All I¡¯ve got to do is kill The Beast and you''ll send me home?¡±


    ¡°Slay the beast before it kills and I shall send you home,¡± Neuter purred, sending thick streams of pink smoke swirling down towards me. ¡°I will shorten your journey back to the village.¡±


    Before I could ask what that meant, the pink smoke enveloped me and I felt my feet leave the ground.


    I smacked against the dusty ground the next instant. The wind knocked out of my chest, I rolled onto my back gasping for air.


    The full moon hung huge in the sky above me, looking like a pink pearl.


    The damn cloud had dropped me back in the desert before I had known what was happening. Still unable to catch my breath, I sat up and took as much of the dusty air into my lungs as my spasming chest would let me. My hat lay on the ground beside me and I fitted it back on my head when my breath returned.


    Gat¡¯s holster was empty.


    ¡°Gat?¡± I shouted, searching the ground around where I had fallen wildly.


    ¡°Help.¡± Gat¡¯s answer sounded in my mind, leading me several steps behind the impression I had made in the dirt.


    ¡°Sakes alive!¡± I shouted.


    A figure smaller than the grip of Gat¡¯s body, drug the pistol towards me with two tiny arms. Like it had been sculpted out of shadow, it had no feature with the exceptions of its limbs and glowing purple dots for eyes. When it heard me approach, it turned its empty little face up to me and I heard Gat speak. ¡°Are you gonna help? This is a lot heavier for me than it is for you.¡±


    The little imp, I didn¡¯t know what else to call it, wasn¡¯t pulling Gat. It was Gat.


    I bent down. Gat pulled open the but of the pistol grip with his little hand and squirmed inside the gun head first. ¡°I thought the gun was you! You mean to tell me you''ve been this little creature the whole damn time?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯ve never noticed.¡± Gat answered. I picked him up and gave his cylinder a quick spin.


    ¡°Sakes alive, you could have told me.¡± I shouted.


    ¡°Look there, the hat.¡± Gat said and turned to where his voice willed me to look.


    The cloud had dropped me just outside the little town. Not far from where I had taken my rest before the trial, a pyre had been built. Thin scraps of wood, packed tight with dry brush and straw, was mounded at the foot of a tall wooden beam. Tied to the beam by thick rope that constricted them against one another, where three pink robed women. Their veils had been thrown from their faces as they struggled and screamed. Crowded in a circle around them, pearl pink robes all, were dozens of people that I had seen no trace of when I had passed through the town before.


    None of them were looking up at the women. All of them had turned away from the town and were watching their holy man.


    The pontificate held a torch, fire blazing atop it, and was swinging it wildly in front of him. ¡°Back,¡± He screamed. ¡°Back beast! Leave this place!¡¯


    I started walking towards the pontificate, feeling no need to holster Gat.


    Crouched in front of the pontificate, crawling around on all fours to avoid the swinging torch, was The Beast.


    Only, The Beast wasn¡¯t a beast, it was a boy. Trails of pale blue light streaked from the corner of his eyes when he moved, claws tipped his hands where fingers should have been, and a mouth full of sharp teeth made him look somewhere between man and feline, but he was still a boy. Despite the shouting man threatening him with the fiery torch, the boy didn¡¯t move like he wanted to hurt the pontificate.


    ¡°Sakes alive, I think I get why that spirit showed me what it did.¡± I said to Gat, all the hats I¡¯d been chasing were beginning to stack nice and neat on top of each other.


    ¡°That does make sense.¡± Gat answered.


    I whistled, sharp and loud, as I approached. ¡°Hold on there slick.¡±


    The pontificate turned to me and his rat eyes narrowed into furious slits. ¡°First this and now you? Leave this place at once! You will not stain the devotion of my people!¡±


    I nodded towards the screaming women tied atop the pyre. ¡°They don¡¯t look all that devoted.¡±


    ¡°You do this to them! You exposed them to temptation. I must burn it out of them, I shall not let them be corrupted!¡± He screamed.


    While he was ranting, I had drawn my aura and filled both of Gat¡¯s big barrels. I thought about my sisters, my new home, I had to get to them and Neuter had told me how.


    I snatched the torch from the pontificates hand.


    The Beast let out a savage growl and lunged towards me, claws extended.


    I couldn¡¯t blame him, he was only doing what any boy would do. . .


    Protecting his father.


    Sakes alive I wanted to go home.


    I shot The Beast.


    My power struck him just before his claws dug through the fabric of my pink robes and he dropped to my feet, the pale blue light of his eyes fading into darkness.


    The pontificate erupted. ¡°You¡¯ve slain it! You¡¯ve slain what has plagued me! Thank you stranger! Thank you!¡±


    I swung the torch at the pontificate, the same way he had done to his son. ¡°Back. Beast.¡±


    The man¡¯s ratty eyes went wide at my words.


    ¡°Ah. I wasn¡¯t sure you had heard the difference.¡± Gat said to me.


    I bent down and picked the charmed boy off the ground and threw him over my shoulder. He¡¯d be out for awhile, I¡¯d pushed every tired thought I¡¯d had since the shift through Gat¡¯s barrel and the shot had been clean.


    Neuter had said the beast, not The Beast. Sakes alive, of course I¡¯d heard it.


    I left the pontificate behind me screaming. ¡°What are you doing? Leave this place!¡±


    Close enough to the pyre that I had a clear shot, I drew on my aura and pulled the small trigger.


    A bullet of my purple aura tore through the fat knot that restrained the women and they fell to the burn pile below. The crowd parted to let me pass and I left the torch in the care of the women.


    I¡¯d done what I had been asked to do.


    With The Beast thrown over my shoulder and snoring loudly, I dropped Gat into his holster and went to get my duster. ¡°Come on kid, I¡¯ve got to get home,¡± I said to the sleeping boy. ¡°Let''s go find your mom.¡±


    The next moment, some strange feeling tugged my awareness out of my own head. The desert and all I had witnessed within it vanished in an instant. With nothing but the pit in my stomach to let me know I was moving, I felt myself being pulled through an impenetrable darkness faster than I could understand.


    Then, just as fast as I had fallen, I stopped and my awareness slipped away.


    I woke up in a strange room.


    My body felt like it had been sealed in stone, every muscle requiring me to force it into movement.


    A girl I didn¡¯t recognize sat on the floor next to the bed I found myself in. She was writing something, but when she noticed I was looking at her, she dropped her pen and came to my bedside.


    ¡°Samsara, she¡¯s awake,'''' The girl said excitedly. She grabbed my hand and squeezed it. ¡°The next time you decide that you are going to sleep for three days, I would appreciate a warning.¡±


    The words she spoke sounded like she was mad, but her face didn''t match her tone. She looked like she was happy to see me.


    ¡°Where am I? Where''s Gat, The kid, is he still asleep,¡± I demanded, not seeing any sign that I was anywhere I recognized. I moved my heavy hand to my head. "Where is my hat?"


    The girl looked confused. "Dani? Are you alright?"


    Before I could ask her again, something appeared in the open window of whatever room I was in. It was tiny, small enough to put in your pocket and as blue as the ocean off the coast of Merrowcrest.


    "What is your name?" The little kitten said in a low voice that utterly did not match its body.


    "Sakes alive, you''ve got a talking cat."

 Chapter Nineteen: Sams Place

    "What is your name?" The little blue kitten repeated, jumping from the window sill and onto the foot of the bed I had woken up in.


    "Willa." I answered, looking around the room for any sign of anything that was mine. No Gat, no hat, no boots, and no duster. I wasn''t even wearing the pink robes from before. Shorts that barely reached the middle of my thighs, a heavy undershirt with no collar, and long white socks that went all the way over my knees had replaced them.


    Were my legs shorter? The more I looked at them, the more I thought that they didn''t look like my legs at all. They were too damn pale and skinny.


    "What is your name?" The kitten asked again.


    I ignored him, swinging myself out of the bed and putting my feet on the floor. Standing up, I moved to step over the girl that was seated at my feet. Instead, I tripped over her and went stumbling towards the door. Barely managing to regain my balance before I slammed into it, I swung into the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror.


    "What''s going on? Is it always like this?" I heard the girl say.


    The reflection looking back at me was not my own. Her muddy eyes were not mine. Her brown hair was not mine. Her plain face was not mine.


    "What is your name?" The cat asked, hopping onto the sink and up to the light fixture above my head. He peered down at me with angry blue eyes.


    "Sakes alive, I already told you and I''m getting good and damn tired of hearing you ask me that." I said, stepping back to put some space between us and preparing myself to draw my aura. I had some questions and by my power, I was going to get some answers.


    The cat growled, a deep rumbling sound coming from its little chest. "I am left with no other choice."


    I had been in enough scraps to know what was coming next. I didn''t know were Gat was, so I couldn''t use my usual methods to deal with the tiny beast. I would have to do it the old fashioned way. I drew my aura and pushed it through my palm. A small shiv would do, nothing fancier than a blade with a handle, but it didn''t come. I looked down. A small bubble of colorless aura shook in my palm. Just as I looked at it, it popped into a momentary flash of iridescent light. "Shit."


    I drew my aura again, pulling harder to make my will become reality. Another bubble and another pop followed, like confetti sent to celebrate my failure.


    "Alright. The oldest fashioned way." I said, looking up at the cat with the intention of grabbing him by the scruff of his neck.


    As soon as I locked the eyes that were not my own with the talking kittens, he spoke, his voice echoing upon itself. "Dominus."


    Every muscle in the body that was not mine ceased to move.


    I did not stop my grab for the talking cat in a moment of hesitation, I was stopped.


    A pressure, unlike anything I had ever felt, compressed on me from every direction. Everything I could see was washed in a dark blue light with the exception of the kitten. In my peripherals, the girl that had been on the floor had partially stood. Every second that passed she gained a fraction of the height she should have, as if she had been suddenly caught in a thick pit of invisible mud. The space between us grew greater and greater until I could no longer see her.


    The compressing pressure receded and I found myself standing alone in a space that was such a dark blue it was almost black.


    The little blue kitten folded out of the darkness at my feet, sitting utterly still.


    "What is your name?" It asked again.


    "Look, I don''t know what game you''re playing, but I want to know where in the hell I am. Did that damn cloud send you?" I said, pulling back my bootless foot to kick the damned thing.


    The pressure returned in an instant, halting me with one leg locked behind me.


    "You are in my domain. You will not so much as think without my explicit command," The kitten growled, walking towards me. "Your name is Autumn Aubrey. You are a Maiden of Zenithcidel. You were viewing memories in The Well."


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    Some of those words made sense. I hadn''t been a Maiden in a very long time and I was of Zenithcidel even if I was doing my best to sever that connection. The kitten knew something. The mention of The Well had told me that. I had never been allowed to visit The Well no matter what I had done to try and get in.


    The kitten repeated the same words in his deep voice. "You are in my domain. You will not so much as think without my explicit command. Your name is Autumn Aubrey. You are a Maiden of Zenithcidel. You were viewing memories in The Well." He circled me with his little steps, completing a repetition of his words every time he reached the spot directly in front of me. After the ninth time, he stopped.


    "I am Samsara. I am your familiar. I have been directed to prevent you from losing your self. What is your name?" His voice filled my mind, forcing all of my other thoughts to vanish.


    "Willa," I began, not understanding what my captor wanted from me. I''d given him my name several times. "I''m not lying. I am Willa Hollilock. I left the temptress in a smoking crater after it made itself appear to be my sisters. I have sisters! Milly and Sara! They are in Merrowcrest, you can ask them! I took a Fold from the city above that I paid Fritz for and then a Shift happened. I don''t know what you want, but sakes alive that''s the truth of it."


    "What did you do before you took the Fold?" The kitten asked, its little tail swishing violently.


    "I." I began, but my words fell short. I remembered the alley way, the streams of city folk hustling by me, and the weariness of wishing to never look over my shoulder again. There was no trace of when I had woken up or what I had done that morning. When I reached the edge of the moment in the alley before Fritz had arrived, there was nothing. I couldn''t answer his question not because I couldn''t remember but because the memories were not mine to remember. I didn''t know what I had eaten for breakfast that morning because I hadn''t been there.


    The cat wasn''t some odd illusion from a sorcerer holding me captive. Like he had told me, his name was Sam and he was my familiar.


    My legs weren''t shorter than I was used to, they were just my legs.


    The girl on the floor wasn''t just a girl, she had a name. Her name was Anna and she was my friend.


    My friend.


    Whose friend?


    "What is your name?" Sam asked.


    "Autumn Aubrey." I whispered and I came crashing back to myself in full.


    "Who is Autumn Aubrey?" Sam asked.


    "I am a Maiden of Zenithcidel. Daughter of Idensyn Aubrey. Thief and possessor of The Well. Debtor to The Circle of the Nine Mothers."


    "What were you doing?" Sam asked.


    "Viewing Memories from The Well so it may be extracted from me and returned to the Mothers." I answered and the pressure that was holding me vanished.


    I fell.


    I hit the floor of the strange blue place that Sam had taken me to and looked at my familiar. "Where are we?"


    "You are in my domain. Bringing you here is the second directive I have if the first fails." He answered, tail still swishing.


    "I didn''t know there was a second," I said, looking around the space. Beyond the light, the blue faded to black. For a single second, I thought I could see something moving within it. Your eyes are just adjusting. "How do you do it?"


    ¡°I do not know. I cannot know. It is forbidden.¡± Sam said, flashing his fangs. His familiar tone of distaste towards me had seeped back into his voice since his duty had been fulfilled. His voice had the strange echoing effect it had before. "Laxo."


    Thunder filled my ears and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. Everything that Sam¡¯s domain had pushed away came rushing back, the thunder tapered off, and I was back in the bathroom, still poised to grab Sam''s scruff.


    "Are you, you, now?" Anna asked, standing next to a tall pile of folded blankets that sat neatly atop a pillow.


    Before I really knew what I was doing, I walked over to her and threw my arms around her. "Thank you."


    I wouldn''t tell her, and Sam had done his duty, but realizing who Anna was had been the thing that brought me back.


    "Your welcome?" She questioned, returning the hug.


    We separated and I went to the sink and scooped mouthfuls of water into my mouth until my thirst was sated. "How long did you say I was asleep?"


    "Three days." Anna answered.


    "It is going to take me a while to explain to you why that occurred and I will, but I really need to eat something first." I said, throwing my arms up and stretching until I was balanced on the tips of my toes.


    Sam interrupted our conversation. "I have explained to the mortal what she needed to know."


    "I don''t understand it at all, but Samsara helped me get the idea," Anna said. "I think."


    ¡°How the fuck did that happen?¡± I asked in disbelief.


    Sam didn¡¯t answer my question. "You will do nothing. The mortal will go."


    I put my hand on my hip and turned to my familiar. "Sakes alive. Who made you the boss?"


    Sam did not see the humor in my joke.

 Chapter Twenty: My Name Is

    Once the rush of waking from my three day prison faded, I learned that my sleep had not been particularly restful.


    Forcing myself to not drop back onto my bed and shut my eyes, I heard someone climbing the old wooden stairs. From the creaks and groans alone, I knew it was Anna. She stopped and I heard the warbled sounds of her talking to someone. Too muffled for me to make the words out, I heard the voice of a man. Either Arthur or Mr. Bill Argus had stopped her.


    I shuddered at the thought of the man with the wispy bird¡¯s nest for hair. Something about him, I didn¡¯t know what, made me wish he had never come looking for his finches..


    "We should depart at nightfall." Sam said, sitting on the window sill and looking away from me.


    I had told him we were leaving, hadn¡¯t I


    I sighed. "Not right now, Sam. I just woke up."


    Samsara. Anna had called him by his full name. I never called him that. The only way she could have known my familiar¡¯s full name was if he had told her.


    A low rumble came from my familiar''s tiny chest and he turned his blue eyes to me. When he looked at me, I thought I noticed an expression on his feline face that I had never seen before. I couldn''t be sure, because I was not well versed in the range of a kitten''s facial expressions but Sam looked worried.


    Sam looked worried for me.


    ¡°Yes, now, child. You put yourself and The Mothers in ever increasing danger by remaining here. Powers and entities beyond my understanding have shown their face. I have expressed the same truths countless times and you have not taken heed. Cease your desperate clinging to the small freedoms you believe yourself to have.¡± Sam stated, no emotion is his low voice.


    I was used to Sam telling me about everything I was doing wrong, but I gave what he said more weight in my mind. I had only ever seen him make an expression twice before, after all.


    "Why did you tell Anna about The Well, that is fairly out of character for you." I asked.


    Sam answered. "To impress upon the mortal the impassable difference between the two of you."


    Anna opened the door and came inside. "I''ve got a pizza in the oven, it''ll be ready soon. Also, Arthur made me swear to tell you that if you aren''t sick anymore that tonight is the perfect night to look for his ghost again."


    "I''m sick?"


    "That was the only thing I could tell him to keep him from coming up here while you were away."


    "Is that why you''ve been sleeping up here?" I asked, nodding to the neatly folded blankets and pillow stacked in front of the closet. A notebook topped the stack of bedding. Anna had been writing in it when I had woken up.


    Anna became rigid. "If that makes you uncomfortable, I¡¯m sorry," She looked down at the floor. " After I found you asleep, I thought about going down to my room, but," She hesitated. "I didn''t want to leave you alone."


    "Tell her the truth, mortal. Lest you break the compact you have made with me." Sam spoke to her directly.


    Compact?


    "Fine," Anna sighed. "I was too scared to sleep in my room alone. If that thing comes back, I''m fucked. I feel a lot safer being next to someone who isn''t completely helpless. It¡¯s not like I could have asked you."


    Is she embarrassed? Her cheeks had definitely gotten redder.


    "What have you been writing?" I asked, grabbing her notebook before she could realize what I was doing.


    "Hey, give that back!" Anna demanded.


    I turned away from her, flipping through the ink filled pages with my arms extended. She reached over my shoulders and nearly snatched it from my hands.


    Just barely, I kept it out of her reach.


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    Sketches with words pointed to different portions took up most of the space. Sam, the lich, me, each had our own page. Countless questions filled the margins of the paper. Aura? The Well? Channel? Memories? Talking cat?


    Anna lunged for the notebook again. I lost my balance and fell across my bed. My friend followed, landing to my left and wrenching the notebook from my hands.


    Truly, I didn''t care what Anna had written. By extension and accident, allowing myself to get closer to her with full knowledge of the danger had put her in harm''s way both mentally and physically. The lich had been inside her mind. It had beckoned her and she had been powerless to resist. If it or anything else from my side of reality came for her, she would be right.


    She would be fucked.


    If I would have been smarter or not given into what I wanted, she would still be blissfully unaware. If I hadn''t happened upon the boarding house, the family that lived within it would not be marred by my presence. If I hadn''t taken one of the black gates and fled from Zenithcidel due to my own selfish desires, my friend would be safe.


    Anna''s justifiable fear and helplessness was my fault.


    I was responsible for her and though I couldn''t summon the lich and smite it before to ease her mind, I could keep the memory from haunting her.


    As soon as she grabbed the notebook, I pounced. I jumped on top of her and pawed at her arms and hands. Reaching as far as I could while keeping her pinned with my legs, we took turns wrenching the notebook from one another in a desperate struggle.


    "What the fuck are you doing?" Anna forced out.


    "Isn''t it obvious? I want to know your secrets. I want to read the words the deepest part of your mind begs to say."


    Still struggling, Anna laughed. "You''re a freak, Dani. Get off me, I''ll tell you. I''ll tell you."


    I slid off her, sat on the foot of the bed with my legs crossed, and waited for the precious knowledge I so desperately craved.


    Anna sat up, clutching the notebook to her chest and smoothing out her tousled black hair. She took a moment to catch her breath, but it took longer than I was willing to wait.


    I tensed my body like I was going to pounce again. "Come on, out with it or I will resort to other methods."


    My friend refused to meet my eyes and sighed. "I was bored. Arthur wasn¡¯t here so I couldn¡¯t bother him and you were asleep. Samsara wouldn''t talk to me at first. I had way too much time to think."


    "What''s in the notebook?" I asked, interrupting her.


    "I don''t understand any of the shit that has been going on and I don''t really think you do either. I was always good at taking notes when I was in school, so I thought I could try and help you figure things out."


    A strange feeling swelled in my chest. All the things I had thought through before came rushing back to my mind. All the fault and every unfortunate thing I had brought into Anna¡¯s life and she was jumping at the chance to plunge further and help me.


    "I don''t deserve it." I said, the strange feeling sharpening into an ache.


    "What do you mean? Of course you do." Anna responded.


    "You don''t know anything about me Anna.¡± My words came quick and tasted bitter on my lips


    Anna¡¯s dark eyes flinched. I hurt her.


    Maybe, I had to hurt her if the pain I caused made it easier for her when I left.


    Sam was right. I had to leave.


    Before she had found a place in my heart, the risk of me staying was something happening to The Well. My freedom meant more to me than protecting The Well. I hated it, I hated myself for it, but running away had made that true. The best way for me to protect Anna was to remove myself from her life. To vanish like a ghost and hope that the memory of me would fade with time.


    My freedom was worth that.


    "I know more than you think I do," Anna responded. She didn''t sound angry but there was a hardness in her voice I had never heard from her. "I know you stole the thing inside you. I know you ran away and wound up here because you weren''t willing to live as a prisoner," She leaned forward and took her hand in my own. " I''ve been keeping the books here since I moved back. I know you haven''t been paying Ma rent and based on the fact that she hasn''t thrown you out yet, I bet you have charmed her like you did me."


    I snapped to my feet and turned my anger at her. "You are either the most kind hearted person I have ever met or you are a fool. How could you know I was doing that to your mother and not want to strangle me?"


    "Because I don''t think you would have done it if you didn''t think you had to. Because it''s obvious from looking at you that you need help."


    "You don''t even know my real name," I gestured to my face. "You don''t even know what I look like, this is a lie," I shouted. I felt the need to move, to run away from where I had run away to. "Every moment we have spent together, every memory you have of me is founded upon lies."


    Anna stood up and approached me softly. ¡°Was the kiss you gave me to keep me from losing my mind a lie? Look me in the eyes and tell me that none of this has been true."


    I couldn''t. A tear rolled over my cheek and down my face. I couldn''t deny the bond we had built but that didn''t eliminate the need for me to sacrifice what I wanted for Anna¡¯s.


    I had to lie to her.


    Preparing myself to destroy the best thing I had ever experienced in my life, I felt my aura rise within me. My mind understood the absolute necessity of forcing myself to break what there was between us. My body, no, my soul, refused to let me.


    Show her it all. The words came and went from my mind faster than I could realize I had thought them.


    What I wanted mattered more to me than what I needed.


    For the first time since I had fled Zenithcidel, my glamor faded from my face and I looked Anna in her eyes.


    "My name is Autumn Aubrey."

 Chapter Twenty One: Later

    As far as I knew, eleven people in all of reality had known what I looked like before that moment; My mother, The Mothers, and the guard I had charmed to escape.


    I had made it twelve and letting my glamor fade away had left me feeling more naked than when I had first met Anna.


    I had been wearing nothing but the Mother''s seal over my navel, then, but it hadn''t felt anything like what I had just done. No part of me wanted to make a habit of exposing myself to others, but I would do it a thousand more times to a thousand different people if it meant I could shield myself from the vulnerability I felt in my soul.


    Cold fear shot through my bones every time I saw one of my loose hairs brighten from muddy brown to my copper red, I started again. "My name is Autumn Aubrey. I am a Maiden of Zenithcidel. Daughter of Idensyn Aubrey. Thief and possessor of The Well. Debtor to The Circle of the Nine Mothers."


    Even with my aura coursing through my words, my voice quavered.


    I couldn''t see my own face. My ears could not hear my words as if they were not my own. All I had to measure what I had done was Anna and Sam.


    Sam, his back turned to me, maintained an unbreakable gaze through the window glass.


    Anna''s eyes were wide. Her jaw hadn''t dropped, but her lips had parted just enough that I noticed it.


    Neither of us spoke.


    Neither of us moved.


    I needed to know what she was thinking. Child. How could I be so impulsive?. Why did I do that? I¡¯m a fucking child.


    Anna was friends with Dani. She had allowed me to take advantage of her mother because she liked Dani. She had clothed and fed me because she liked Dani. She had been able to stomach the fact that whatever her concept of the limits of reality were had been irrefutably and completely wrong because she had trusted Dani.


    Dani wasn¡¯t real.


    "I''m sorry. . ." I started, feeling another tear working its way down to my chin.


    Anna held up a hand to silence me.


    "If you want me to. . ." I began again.


    "Shut up." Anna said, taking a slow step towards me.


    She''s going to hit you. I thought. You deserve it.


    "I''m sorry. . ." I tried once again.


    "Autumn." Anna said.


    After so much time, it felt strange to hear my real name. It felt even stranger to hear it come from Anna''s mouth. It felt good, too good. To have her look into my eyes and watch her lips open and close over my name, I. . .


    Am a fucking mess.


    Anna raised her hand. I forced the instincts telling me to brace for the blow that was sure to come out of my mind.


    I deserved what was coming to me.


    She touched her fingers to my cheek and ran them down the curve of my jaw lightly.


    "You''re beautiful." Anna said.


    I didn''t understand. "What?


    Anna smiled. "Your eyes are freaky."


    I covered them with my hand like I was shading it from the sun. "I''m sorry, I can change them."


    "Shit, I didn''t mean it like that! I''ve just never seen anything like them before." Anna said.


    What did she say? The conflict between what I had expected and what had actually happened slowed my mind down to a halt.


    "Why aren''t you upset with me?" I said, simply not understanding.


    "Autumn," If I hadn''t been caught in a whirl of fear and confusion, I would have smiled. "This is what I wanted. Why would I be mad?"


    "I''ve lied to you. I''ve stolen from your mother. I''ve put you into mortal danger. I can think of more reasons you should be mad with me than reasons you shouldn''t." I muttered.


    "Hey, I don''t care. If i did, I wouldn''t be here, would I? If I cared, you wouldn''t be here."


    "You should. How is it that I can wrong you in so many ways and you do not want to collect on my debt? I do not understand." I said, wishing the cold pit in my stomach would go away.


    Anna laughed. "How do you not walk around crying all of the time? You have been here for what, like two months? You''ve said more heartbreakingly sad shit in two months than I have heard in my whole life," Anna looked deeply into my eyes. "You don''t owe me anything. Unless that fucking thing comes back, you have to protect me if that happens. But, stop over thinking it dummy," She used the hand that wasn''t on my shoulder to give me a small shove. "I''ve told you before, I like you. It''s that simple."


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    A warm spot bloomed in my stomach. I believed her. She wasn''t forced to be around me because of some magical binding like Sam was. She wasn''t bound to me by the responsibility of my birth like my mother was. She didn''t have a vested interest in me because of the irreplaceable construct that I carried inside my mind like the Mothers.


    The warm spread within me like a morning glory blossom being met with the sun of a new day.


    "I like you too." I said to Anna, feeling myself beginning to smile.


    Are you doing that on purpose?¡± Anna asked quietly.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked, not realizing I was doing anything but sharing the very small distance between Anna and I. My fears cast out and my vulnerability taken in and shielded by her words, I found myself wishing that distance would grow smaller.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mean to keep bringing them up, but your eyes. . . they, uhm, changed.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°They turned red,¡± Anna said. The way she had been looking at me changed. "And are glowing."


    A memory I had viewed appeared in my mind. Whose had it been? Leane, maybe? I couldn''t remember. She had been with her friend, the one who had awakened her color when their teacher had shown up as a monster to scare them. Ola? No, Asha? Yes, her name had been Asha. The way she had looked at her friend, whoever''s memory I had been viewing, was exactly the way Anna was looking at me.


    The air in my little third story room felt charged, like the air before a lightning storm. My aura pulsed within me, filling me to the brim. It drew me forward, compelling me to share it with Anna. Was she blushing or was it just the light of my eyes playing across her face? Nothing else mattered, not Sam, the seal, The Well, or The Mothers. We were caught in some unexplainable place that would not end until one of us acted.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m doing.¡± Anna whispered, her face alight with my glow.


    ¡°Neither do I.¡± I whispered back, feeling that warm bloom redden my face.


    Just before the distance between us closed completely and we found out what we were doing, Sam¡¯s deep voice drowned the static in the air and left the room cold. ¡°Enough! The tall one approaches.¡±


    Not a second later, three heavy knocks banged from the other side of my door.


    ¡°Anna, Ma wants you."


    ¡°Arthur.¡± We sighed in unison.


    The red glow from my eyes no longer stained Anna''s cheeks. Later.


    ¡°Let him in,¡± I said, focusing my aura and returning my glamor. I had been able to be Autumn for a moment and unless I was seriously misjudging the result, it had been worth it. I could take being Dani again if it was necessary. "Is our previous arrangement still sufficient?"


    Sam turned away from the window for the first time since Anna had returned. "It is."


    "Take a good look, I don''t know when you will get the opportunity to gaze upon your master''s true face again.


    Sam spoke in a dismissive tone. ¡°Your glamors are much too simplistic to prevent me from seeing through them.¡±


    I cocked my head, confused. ¡°You could see through my glamor?¡±


    ¡°Completely.¡± Sam stated.


    Anna opened the door after a glance back at me to see if Dani had returned and Arthur walked in with the vigor of a prisoner who had been set to be executed but had suddenly found himself free. He breezed past his sister and then turned to slip between me and the dresser. He spoke in a quick succession. "Ma wants you. Hey Dani, do you feel better? There you are, buddy!"


    Arthur scooped up Sam in one hand and raised him straight up, being tall enough that the little blue kitten nearly touched the ceiling.


    My familiar responded with a single, all too low, "Meow."


    Arthur, keeping his arm locked at its elbow, angled it enough that Sam pawed down it like a tightrope. When the little blue kitten reached Arthur''s shoulder, he arched his back and threw it against Arthur''s cheek, purring.


    Excuse me?


    I stepped out from the gap between the bed and the dresser, I didn''t want to interrupt. I knew that if I ever did anything to Sam remotely similar to what Arthur had just done, My face would be decoratetd with thousands of bleeding claw marks.


    "We''ll talk later, okay?" Anna said, stepping out of my room.


    I didn''t want to talk later. I wanted to talk to her then. There wasn''t a world where I wanted her to leave, but I didn''t tell her those things. "Later." I said.


    She gave me a quick smile and went down the stairs.


    Not a second later, Arthur asked me. "Are you ready? I wanted to go over the weekend, but I had to go to the city with my Ma and then you got sick."


    "Ready for what?" I asked, my mind still struggling to regain its quickness.


    The tall man had adorned his black haired head with Sam, his little legs spread out like a crown. Arthur beamed. "To go ghost hunting! You said you''d go with again when Anna wasn''t around."


    He had me. I had said that. He had used the words non believer instead of his sister''s name when I had agreed. Which was just the kind of technicality I could use to absolve myself of the obligation relatively guilt free. "It''s just past noon, shouldn''t we wait until night falls?"


    "Ahhh," Arthur said as if I had just stumbled upon the penultimate question of some great mystery that''s answer would inevitably lead me to the right conclusion. He tapped his forehead with his forefinger. "That''s my idea. When I got lost as a kid, I went into the woods when the sun was still up. We need to recreate the circumstances as closely as we can to maximize the chance we see it."


    Arthur''s enthusiasm was infectious and while I didn''t know if there was a ghost behind the boarding house, I did know there was a spirit. "Let me get changed and I''ll meet you out back?"


    What could it hurt? I was in high spirits for some unknowable reason and fresh air sounded nice after being in my head for three days.


    "Deal, I''ll go get our gear,¡± He said and reached up to pull his kitten crown off his head. "Alright buddy, I''ll see you later."


    Sam sunk his tiny claws into Arthurs scalp, refusing to let go.


    "Shit," Arthur chuckled. "I think he wants to go with us. Isn''t that right buddy?"


    Sam relaxed and purred again.


    I glared at my familiar. If there was ever a time for a link that allowed me to speak into Sam¡¯s mind to form, it was then.


    "I, uhm, I don''t know if that is wise." I said rubbing my arm. What the fuck are you doing? I screamed in my mind at the little blue kitten.


    "Please? He can help us look, Cats are spooky like that, you know? Supernaturally sensitive." Arthur begged and flashed his wide smile at me.


    The high spirits I found myself in for absolutely no reason got the better of me.


    "If you think it will help."

 Chapter Twenty Two: Ghost Hunt

    I stepped into the backyard of the boarding house having narrowly escaped a conversation with Mrs. Mole.


    Why is she always in the hall? I wondered, failing to remember the last time I had crossed the second story landing and not seen her. When she had offered to kill any spiders that snuck up on me,It had taken me a moment to remember her fall. She seemed to be up and moving considerably more than what I would expect from someone showing their age like she was.


    Arthur, waiting on the edge of the woods, threw a hand up and hurried me when he saw me coming down the stairs.


    "You just missed Mr. Bill." Arthur said when I had almost reached him.


    Thank the Mothers. I thought. "Oh, that''s a shame."


    "He said something about finding his birds, said he would be gone for a few days," He wore a heavy canvas jacket and pants that ran up to his chest and were suspended over his shoulders by straps that buttoned to the front. They looked ridiculous. "He reminds me of you, you know?"


    I did not know that, in fact.


    Did I look that fucking creepy?


    I reached Arthur and began looking for the thing of mine that he had. "How is that?"


    "Both of you seem like you never say what you''re really thinking. I guess you aren''t all that similar. I can ask Mr. Bill questions."


    As soon as he had said the words, Arthur covered his mouth with his hand.


    "Why can''t you ask me questions?" I raised an eyebrow. He had absolutely not meant to say that..


    Arthur shook his head and spoke, his voice muffled by his hand. "Anna made me promise not to and she made me promise to not tell you she made me promise."


    I wondered if the said series of promises had been made before Anna knew about me or after, either way I was grateful. " I won''t tell her you broke your promises."


    Arthur dropped his hand, revealing his wide smile. "Promise? She can get violent."


    ¡°Can she,¡± I asked, patting the pockets of Arthur¡¯s jacket, the ones at his hips, and checking his hood before taking the most direct option and asking. "Where is Sam?"


    "I was gonna keep him on my head, because of the hood and all, but he kept shedding," Arthur said, a dusting of small blue hairs tangled within his own black hair. "I put him in here and he fell asleep."


    The tall man opened the bib on the front of his strange pants and leaned down so I could see. My little blue familiar was curled in a ball, sound asleep, inside the large pocket. Even though I knew that the small creature could rattle the old boarding house down to its foundation with nothing but his voice and even though I had recently learned he was capable of pulling me into a space that he had sole control over with a single word, I had to admit that he looked cute.


    After I had given Arthur my permission to bring Sam along, It had been like I had told him he could play with my favorite toy. He had bolted from the room so I could change before I could get another word in. So, I hadn''t had the chance to ask my familiar the all important question of What the fuck do you think you are doing?


    I had no reasonable clue to indicate why he would want to go. If he had been hungry, we had a decently well established agreement to fulfill that need. I had never seen him relieve himself. I didn¡¯t think he had to. Even if he had, bound to my will or not, I couldn¡¯t envision a world where he asked me for permission.


    Maybe he had seen something out of the window.


    Arthur leading again, we crossed the wood line at a much more manageable pace than the first time.


    Sometime later, long past when I could turn back and see the boarding house between the trees, I decided to ask Arthur some questions. The remnants of my inexplicable high spirits had grown bored with the silence. "What are the clothes you are wearing called?"


    "Overalls?" Arthur responded, sounding as if it was as obvious as the fact that the sky was blue. Which, if you knew things I knew and had seen the things I had seen, wasn''t always true. Perhaps they were overalls, likely in fact, but somewhere else in the lands of known chaos they could be something entirely different.


    "Are they warm?"


    "Shit yeah! I could bake a pie here." Arthur said with a smile, pushing his thumbs underneath the straps and snapping them back to his shoulders.


    "Where did you get them?" I asked, finding it all too easy to let the tall man¡¯s constant cheerfulness draw me in.


    "I found them in a closet downstairs. I think they were my dads."


    There was Ms. Lao. She had birthed Anna and Arthur. I had never considered the other half of that equation. "Where is your dad?"


    Without hesitation, Arthur answered. "Dead, in some military graveyard I haven''t been to since I was a kid."


    I focused my eyes on Arthur fully, ignoring the woods around us and the uneven ground we walked over. "Oh, I''m sorry. I didn''t know."


    Arthur waved my apology off, not slowing down even a half step. "It''s not like that. I never really knew him. He was gone all the time and died before I was old enough to remember him."


    "Huh," I said, stepping over a fallen tree that had been rotting into the ground for so long I doubted it could be pulled up without crumbling. "Was he a warrior?"


    "That sounds way too dramatic. He was a soldier." Arthur corrected..


    Then, finding it frighteningly easy to divulge pieces of information about myself, I spoke. "Me too."


    Arthur cocked an eyebrow at me. "You are a soldier?"


    I laughed. "No, no. I meant that my father was a soldier and he died before I knew him."


    "Hey, look at that! We''ve got something else in common." Arthur stopped and held his hand up to me.


    I took it in my own and we continued, holding hands. His hand was rough and enveloped my own, but his grip was gentle and warm.


    Arthur chuckled and the stupidest grin I had ever seen on anyone spread across his face. "I was going for a high five, but this isn''t bad either."


    I pulled my hand from his. "What is a high five?"


    "Dani, I''m starting to think you were homeschooled," Arthur said, grabbing my hand by the wrist and slapping it into his own. "That''s a high five."


    "I understand" I lied, not entirely understanding what the purpose was.


    The day was short and by the time we had reached the same clearing we had gone to on the first hunt, the light in the woods had begun to darken and dim. The best I could tell, we sat down in nearly the same spot we had sat before and just like the last time, Arthur had brought rations. We each had two sandwiches that were both sweet and salty. We washed them down with a shared thermos of hot coffee. Stomachs full, we chatted idly about various things until our conversation led me to another question.


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    "Why did you have to go to the city with Ms. Lao?"


    The change that snapped across Arthur''s face was immediate and it made me wish I had not spoken. His normally bright and cheery face, perpetually adorned with a warm grin darkened and he cast his eyes down to the ground. "My Ma is sick."


    "Oh, I''m sorry. I didn''t know." I apologized. I could feel the pain in his words.


    "It''s okay, she doesn''t want anybody to know. That''s why I moved back from school, we all thought she was getting better, but." He trailed off then and I could feel the pain in his words.


    When someone takes that tone, it leaves little room to imagine that the worst outcome is not becoming reality. "Forgive me for prying, but what is wrong with her?"


    "It''s cancer. She''s got it all over. The doctors said that there were things they could try, but she wouldn''t agree to anything."


    The cold pit in my stomach returned, sapping the last of my high spirits away.I been charming and stealing from Ms. Lao. I had been charming and stealing from Ms. Lao while she was actively dying. There seemed to be no end to the harm I had caused by being selfish enough to desire small freedoms.


    I wanted to fix it. The time in which I could have left the old house as if I had never been there had long passed. I had caused too much damage to turn and leave it. But, what could I do? There were sorceresses whose memories I had viewed that had been hundreds of years old, surely there was something to be done about Ms. Lao¡¯s mortal illness, but they were within Zenithcidel. Going there, going home, meant the end of it all


    Before I could sink too deep into the pit of problems I had created, Evidently content with leaving our previous words where they lay, Arthur changed the subject. "Somebody is waking up, you know how I can tell?"


    "How?"


    "I''ve got little claws digging into my chest." Arthur laughed. He opened the large pocket on his overalls and pulled out the handful of blue kitten that had been baking there. A shower of hairs in every shade of blue cascaded down from my familiar as he moved into full body stretch, claws tipped with tiny amounts of blood.


    I took him from Arthurs hands and scowled at him. "My apologies, he isn''t the most considerate creature."


    Was he always this heavy?


    "A small price to pay," Arthur shrugged. "He makes thinking about the stuff with my mom not so bad."


    Sam sunk his claws into my hand. I dropped him to the ground where he immediately started hunting the laces of Arthurs boots.


    ¡°What has gotten into you?¡±


    The small remainder of the day was spent in that manner, Arthur and Sam playing and me watching. I wondered the entire time why Sam had wanted to come along. Memories I had seen made me question if Sam and I could learn how to speak into each other''s minds, the way some of the other familiars had. When night had fallen, full and dark, Arthur moved to pull out his lantern, but a sound struck us still.


    From the canopy of a nearby tree, a voice spoke. "This way. This way. This way," Arthurs jaw dropped and he shot to his feet, searching the dark woods for the speaker. "Hurry. Hurry. Hurry."


    "Dani, do you hear it?" Arthur whispered, turning to the direction of the strange crystalline voice.


    Triplets? Bell toned voice? I heard it, I knew what it was saying. The owl spirit, the same one that had warned me and the same one that I thought must be Arthur''s ghost. It was speaking to us.


    "This way. This way. This way. Hurry. Hurry. Hurry." It repeated. The faint glow of its ethereal body colored the woods just beyond the clearing.


    Before I could realize what was happening and grab him, Sam''s little blue body disappeared into the darkness beyond in the blink of an eye.


    "Come back you stupid cat!" I yelled after him.


    The spirit¡¯s light grew brighter and stretched into a trail of motes that led away from the clearing and just like Sam, Arthur bolted. "Come on Dani, We''ve got to catch it!"


    "Mothers give me guidance." I grunted, standing up as fast as I could. Suddenly, I had found myself left alone in the dark woods and I didn''t intend to spend the rest of my night in that situation.


    So, I ran blindly into the dark, after my familiar and my friend.


    I couldn''t risk manifesting my aura so I could see. I had barely survived Anna finding out about me and I was unwilling to start the whole process over with Arthur although I thought he would take it better.


    Through the trees I went, catching momentary glimpses of what I thought to be the spirit or Arthur''s lantern.


    "Sam?" I called, finding a through line that ran between several trees. I took the opportunity to gain ground and hurried my steps.


    Because of the dark, I didn''t see the ground drop out from under me into one of the deep gullies that littered the woods.


    I fell, hard, and slid down the gully into a tight cluster of massive trees.


    Several moments passed and I eventually managed to pull myself onto my feet, dirty and scrapped, but relatively uninjured.


    Four silver eyes slowly opened in front of me. They shone in the near total darkness of the tight cluster of trees I had fallen into. Just like when my own eyes had blushed Anna''s face red, the four eyes that I had seen during my first ghost hunt highlighted me in a cold pale light. Arthur. I thought, wondering how far he had ran in pursuit of the spirit as a low and rumbling growl rose from the unfamiliar familiar. I had been at some distance from it the first night it had showed itself to me, but as it took another tense step closer, I realized that its lowered head still came up to my torso. The sharp toothed canine was the size of a small horse and it was close enough that I had very little chance of keeping my flesh unpunctured if it decided to pounce.


    I didn''t move, if the familiar was not as articulate as my own or the others I had seen in memories, a single motion could be enough to provoke it.


    The first time I had seen the familiar, I had been perfectly aware of my powerlessness. In the time since what had seemed like only a few days ago, things had changed. The familiar was terrifying but I had seen a horror much greater than it, both through the eyes of another and my own. The Mother''s seal still blocked my natural channel but through a series of events I still didn''t understand, the channel in my right palm had opened. Even with no practice or familiarity with using my power through it, it was better than not being able to manifest my aura at all.


    So, while I didn''t move, I did focus my aura. Not channeling it yet, I held it just below the surface and spoke. "State thy name and master. What are thine intentions in these woods?"


    The familiar stopped growling long enough to say. "Behind."


    Then, its growling rose back up as it slowly advanced.


    "Your name is Behind," I asked, confused. I was expecting something way more intimidating or mystical than that. "Silver fang? Four moons? That''s just off the top of my head and I don''t even know you. Behind? You can do better than that."


    Behind''s growl burst into a single bark. "Get behind."


    "That''s even worse!" I said.


    Get Behind lunged towards me.


    During the time I had spent criticizing the familiar''s name, I had been constantly focusing as much of my aura as I could hold beneath my right palm. When Get Behind lunged, I channeled it and manifested it into a wave of colorless light. I made it flash, four eyes meant twice the blindness I hoped, and sent it sailing towards my attacker.


    The silver eyed canine jumped over me and my counterattack and landed at my back. The wave of my aura crashed through the branches of the surrounding trees before breaking through and fading in the night sky above. I whirled around, feeling a layer of sweat coat my body despite the frigid air of the woods. I had never been in shape, magically, but spending that amount of my aura had taken a heavier toll than I had hoped.


    "Stay behind." The familiar growled, and I realized it had not been sharing its name. It had been giving me commands.


    My eyes searched where the silver eye-light of the unfamiliar familiar gazed. First, the disturbed leaf cover of the ground. Second, the tangled mess of close knit branches. Third, the mass that was hanging from the trees not a foot behind where I had been standing.


    As soon as the light hit it, it fell from the branches, landing in a heap just before the four eyed wolf.


    It unfolded. Two decrepit hands, each large enough to grasp me fully, unfurled. Black nailed fingers stretched and flexed as if they had been held in a fist for much too long. The massive hands were attached by way of jointless appendaged to the back of the blackened shape of a man. He had no legs and his rib cage was exposed, each rib being made of a smaller appendage and hand. The black nails of the largest hands dug into the soft soil of the woods and it lifted itself off the ground, turning its featureless face up to me. It looked as if someone had grafted a mask of ruined skin over the thing''s face as tight as they could pull it without tearing. When its eyeless face looked at me, each finger of the cage below its chest writhed and the arms that made it turned open.


    I have been watching you, child. The memory of the lich''s voice sounded in my mind. The thing had been why I had felt like I had been being watched, not the spirit or the familiar. Arthur. I thought. He was still in the woods, running blindly through the trees with no knowledge of the horror that lurked within it. What if he had run into it and not me?


    What if there were more?


    The creature began to finger walk towards me like some kind of nightmarish spider.


    Then, feeling like a memory in my mind but unable to be one, I heard the lich.


    Allow it to take you, child. It shall bring you to me.


    Sea salt, wild flower blossoms, sun warmed grass, A flurry of scents filled my nose and under it all was the sickly cloying scent of death.

 Chapter Twenty Three: The State of Sam

    The familiar, all four eyes shining, pounced.


    It did not close the distance between itself and the terrible creature. It landed just before it and snapped its maw. A set of magical silver teeth, larger than the familiar itself, appeared and closed around the root of one of the massive black tipped hands that held the half body of the creature aloft.


    The creature raised its eyeless face and let out a muffled cry of pain against its skin mask.


    The familiar thrashed its wolven head from side to side and the silver teeth tore into the ruined flesh of the attacker.


    The hand that was not held in the clutches of the familiars attack fingered its way around the trunk of a tree and closed, sending the sound of splintering wood through the dark night. I saw its muscles writhe under its flesh and it snapped the tall tree from the ground, leaving nothing but roots and broken ground where the tree had been.


    Like a club, it brought the straight down towards the familiar and where I stood.


    The next second, the tree crashed to the ground in a cloud of leaves and soil right where I had been.


    Trails of silver light faded from where the familiar had been. The glowing trail led back to the spot under the felled tree I would have died in if I had not been moved.


    The familiar''s flank leaned against my legs, silver light pooling at its feet.


    "Run." It growled. Then, just as the creature fingered itself over the top of the tree it had picked up, the familiar vanished, leaving nothing but silver trails of light in its wake.


    It reappeared in a flash and slide into the cage of arms that bottomed the creature, where it tore into them with its ferocious maw.


    I listened and ran, leaving the sounds of the supernatural struggle behind me.


    If the unfamiliar familiar felt it necessary to protect me, so be it. I would take the time it gave me to find Arthur and get him to safety.


    Running blind through the woods was no easy task. The fear made it more manageable. Being too scared to care about gullies and holes and fallen trees gave me a blind confidence that managed to carry me over the treacherous ground at a speed that I would have never been able to replicate without the horrifying visage of torso creature to run away from.


    Where are you going? The question came and went through my mind faster than I could realize I had thought it.


    Why was it always the worst situations that I had my most reasonable thoughts. I had no clue where I was going. I had just ran. The notion that I had actually plunged myself deeper into the woods creeped up on the back of my neck.


    "Arthur?" I called out, not taking the risk of slowing down. Moving in the wrong direction had to be better than not moving at all when you were being hunted, right?


    No response.


    Maybe the spirit had led him somewhere safe, where he could wait out the nightmare unfolding in the woods.


    I still didn''t know why Sam had come and why the stupid cat had run off from the clearing. If he had somehow known that danger lurked in the dark trees and had come to protect me, running away and leaving me had not been a successful strategy.


    "Arthur?" I called again.


    "Dani?" I heard my friend yell back.


    "Where are you?" I called again.


    "Over here!" Arthur responded.


    Thank the Mothers. I thought. By some stroke of luck, I had been heading in the right direction. Just as I caught sight of my friend, the artificial light he carried blinked out and left both of us in the dark. I kept my eyes set on where I thought his silhouette was and called again. "Arthur."


    "Hey, Dani! I''ve got Sam," Arthur called from the other side of the wood line, his voice shaky and full of worry. "He''s hurt, I think he got in a fight with something!"


    "Leave him! Go inside!" I yelled back, struggling to keep my speed without tripping over the tangled branches that seemed to be precisely where ever I stepped.


    Arthur called back. "What?"


    I broke out of the woods, keeping my pace, and grabbed my friend by the sleeve of his canvas jacket. I pulled him into motion and ran until we reached the dark steps that led down from the back door of the boarding house. "Go inside, lock the doors, don''t come out until I come get you. Understand?"


    The small trace of Arthur''s constant smile vanished. "No, I don''t understand. What''s going on?"


    "Arthur. Go!" I demanded, giving him a shove towards the stairs. The lich''s creature was after me. All I had to do was get Arthur in the house and run away. If I wasn''t there, it would have no reason to bother either of my friends. I hoped.


    A flash of blinding light illuminated the backyard and blinded me just as Arthur said. "Sam is hurt."


    I shielded my eyes. What else was going to decide to attack me?


    In truth, the light was not the warning shot of another hostile force. The back door of the house opened and Anna came down the stairs.


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    Shit.


    The amount of people I had to convince to go inside had doubled and she would be much harder to persuade.


    "What''s happening," She asked, her eyes focused and sharp. They darted between her brother and I until they landed on the bloody mess in Arthur''s arms. "Oh fuck."


    Anna knew that Sam was not a normal kitten. As soon as she reached the bottom of the stairs, she looked at me. I saw her face change from worry to fear in an instant. Anna knew there were monsters in the world. Anna knew that there were monsters in the world that knew where I was.


    "Is it?" She asked.


    "It is. I think." I answered, the remnants of the series of scents that I had smelled both times I had encountered the lich playing in my nose again.


    ¡°Anna! Arthur! Why is there yelling? What is the matter?¡± Ms. Laos voice snapped from inside the boarding house. The small woman appeared in the doorway and the truth of what Arthur had told me about her sickness struck me again.


    I had spent no great amount of time with the woman, but the brief and terrifying encounters I had spent, she had been nothing but form and strength. Every strand of her jet black hair pulled neatly back in a bun, her clothes pressed and unwrinkled, and the way she carried herself had been straight and proud. The small woman who was slowly descending the short steps into the back yard, the mother of the only two friends I had ever had, wore the veil of a slow death that lessened what she had been before. Her hair was messed and thinning. Dark circles made sunken shadows under her tired eyes. She wore layers of soft clothes, bunched in a manner that made me think she had just risen from her bed.


    Tripled. I had three people to get back into the house and could feel in my bones that I was running out of time.


    ¡°Ma, go inside. It¡¯s too cold out.¡± Arthur said, not taking his eyes off Sam¡¯s bloody little body.


    Ms. Lao made her way down to where the three of us stood, a furious scowl on her tired face. ¡°Why do you have a cat? No pets! Whose is it?¡±


    Arthur didn¡¯t mean to, I know he didn¡¯t, but he commuted a small betrayal by glancing at me only for a second.


    ¡°I knew it! You have been sneaking around her since the day I let you move in. I made it very clear that there were no pets,¡± Ms. Lao tore into me verbally. She wasn¡¯t yelling, but every word hit me like a hammer. ¡°I want you out. Now. Pack your things and I will have Arthur drive you to the bus stop.¡±


    I knew it was coming, It had been nothing but luck and happenstance that had allowed me to remain in the birding house as long as I had.


    It still hurt. It still made tears rush up and nearly fall from my face. The boarding house had not exactly been what I had fantasized about before I charmed my way out of Zenithcidel, but more memories that I had come to hold near to my heart had happened in that place more than anywhere else.


    ¡°Ma.¡± Anna said, staring at her mother with a clear look of defiance.


    ¡°Hush. Go inside. I do not care that you have become friends with her, she broke the rules.¡± Ms. Lao responded


    ¡°He¡¯s hurt, Ma.¡± Arthur whispered, turning and extending the cradle he had made with his arms so his mother could see the battered body of my familiar.


    ¡°I do not. . . ,¡± Ms. Lao trailed off when she looked down at the bloody blue kitten her son held. ¡°Oh no,¡± A softness I had never and never expected to see in the small woman¡¯s eyes appeared when she looked at my familiar. ¡°What happened to him? Let me see.¡±


    The bright white light hanging off the back of the boarding house gave me my first real look at the state of Sam.


    My familiar''s yellow eyes were half lidded and rolled back into his head. HIs tongue lolled out of his open mouth. His white fangs were stained red with blood and his blue tortoiseshell coat was slick with it as well. The little kittens body looked wrong, bulging and swelling in all the wrong places. The memory of Uma, a name I didn''t think I would ever forget no matter how many memories I viewed, and how she had crumpled under the deathly grasp of the lich came screaming back to my mind.


    If Sam wasn''t dead, he would be soon.


    I had no way to help him.


    What had he fought? What other horror lurked within the woods behind the boarding house?


    As if my thoughts had been called into the darkness, the sound of something heavy moving quickly through the dark trees echoed off the back wall of the house.


    "What is that? Do you have a dog too?" Ms. Lao asked, carefully taking Sam into her arms.


    "All of you need to go inside. Right. Fucking. Now." I said, anger laced through my command. A disgusting creature that had been sent by an evil and malevolent entity was hot on my heels and all I had done was feel sad because I couldn''t stay in the boarding house any longer. Every second I allowed them to stay outside, to stay near me, I invited the chance for them to end up like my familiar.


    I envisioned it in my mind. I wish I hadn''t.


    "Autumn?" Anna said, gently putting a red tinted hand on my arm.


    The sounds of horrid movement grew louder and faster.


    "Do not use that language with me, young lady!" Ms. Lao snapped.


    Closer.


    "Go inside!" I yelled, pointing my own red tinted hand at the door.


    Ms. Lao spun to face me just before Arthur let go of Sam''s body.


    My familiar tore in half.


    All four of us screamed in shock.


    Sam''s front half stayed in Arthur''s arms. His back half went with Ms. Lao. Both of them were too shocked to do anything but stare down at the hunks of flesh left in their grasp.


    "Thank you, mortal mother." A deep voice snapped the shocked silence that we had all fallen into.


    All of us looked down to where the voice had come from.


    Standing twice the height I was used to him being, the not so little anymore skeleton of Sam stretched out at our feet. My familiar had grown. From being small enough to fit in my palm, Sam was the size of the largest house cat I had ever seen, the tip of his segmented tail extended past my knee. I doubt he''d be able to fit into four hands. Long canine teeth stretched down from his top jaw. Burning yellow were lights hung in his eye sockets.


    Being the only one that had the mental stability necessary to engage with such an unexplainable situation, I asked. "What the fuck just happened?"


    Sam, done with his audible stretching, turned up to look at me. "I have been made anew."


    "Samsara." Anna whispered.


    What did his name mean?" I wondered.


    The creature made of nothing but hands and torso burst from the tress faster than anything that size should be able to move, the black nailed fingers of its largest hands needling across the ground towards us.


    "Let us see if something of your ilk can contend with me now," Sam growled, taking slow steps toward the oncoming horror. "Come, my lady. We shall commit great acts of violence together!"

 Chapter Twenty Four: Memories of Violence

    Despite the utter lack of knowledge and experience I had when it came to being violent, I yelled at the Lao''s to go inside one last time and started walking beside my newly reborn familiar.


    The world had lost its red tint and I assumed my eyes must have changed like they had with Anna in my bedroom.


    Not yours anymore. I thought. Mentally adding the sudden crimson occurrences to the list of things I desperately needed to investigate but had not had the time to, I pushed the bitter thoughts away. I was probably going to die no matter what I did, but I knew I could cause more damage on my way out if I was focused.


    "Sam, I don''t think it wants to hurt me. When it found me in the woods, I heard the lich."


    "What did it say?" My familiar asked, his deep voice unusually bright. He had called me "My Lady." He had only ever done that once before, when I had agreed to let him go and hunt. Maybe he was only an asshole when I didn''t give him everything he wanted.


    "It told me to let that fucking thing take me. That it would bring me to him."


    "Learn this, my lady, and learn it well. Putting trust in an entity as dark and terrible as the lich is never a wise decision. Do not assume it was telling the truth."


    The creature, nothing but massive hands and torso, slowed and began fingering its way around in a circle. Sam returned the gesture, not letting the horror gain our flank. I followed my familiar''s lead.


    "Sam?" I asked.


    "Yes?"


    "I don''t know how to fight."


    "Truth."


    "How do I do it?"


    "It is a practice, a discipline. One that you unfortunately do not have the time to study." My familiar stated.


    "Then why am I going to try and fight this fucking thing?" I snapped, annoyed.


    "Use the memories, my lady." Sam answered and then, without warning or any sign of what was to come, he vanished.


    The creature froze in place and turned its featureless face up to the dark sky.


    Thunder cracked, sudden and sharp, and a bolt of yellow lightning streaked down from the sky and struck the creature in its face. Momentarily painting the world in the same yellow as my familiars eyes, when the light dissipated, I could see Sam, his claws surrounded by arcs of the same lightning, clawing wildly at the monster''s face.


    "Use the memories," I repeated, focusing my aura to try and do something. "The memories, not your memories."


    I didn''t know how to fight, but I had been sorceresses that did! Trying to forget the fear that held me by my spine, I ran through what I could bring to my mind in that moment. Willa had used Gat, which would be extremely helpful but was unfortunately not an option. There had been Trea and her gauntlet, which I knew was so far beyond my abilities it hurt to think about. Enna had killed with her purple aura but I hadn''t seen how. Ten-Moons and her orbs came to my mind fully. Not just what they had looked like, but how it had felt to shape them and the pressure she had applied when she had bore a hole into the head of the Sorcerer Edwuin with her will.


    I couldn''t make ten moons, that was beyond my limits. One moon, however. . .


    The creature jerked one of its massive hands from the ground, leaving five jagged holes the length of its black nails, and swung it towards my familiar. Just before it closed around his boney body, Sam vanished from the creature''s face. A streak of yellow energy circled the creature''s body almost too fast for me to see, and then Sam reappeared and tore into its shoulder.


    Dashing in, I didn''t want to use my power to make a moon only to not be able to reach my target with it, I planted my feet and pushed my aura out of my right palm. Pressing against one side of it and then the next with my will, I slowly shaped my working into a pale imitation of one of Mezalina Anilazem''s orbs. It was not gray, only colorless and glimmering. I only managed to pack a fraction of the power she could focus in one of her ten, but it was a moon nonetheless.


    "I. . .," I opened my mouth because I felt the need to say something that would encapsulate the anger I felt in a clever phrase but nothing came to mind. I sent the orb spiraling towards the creature''s face, shouting. "Bitch!"


    I missed.


    My focus wavered at the last second and my orb came apart in a shower of colorless light that did nothing but make the creature''s head and neck sparkle momentarily.


    The creature turned its attention from Sam''s lightning speed flurry of blows and focused its eyelessness towards me. With one of its massive hands, it dug the black tipped nails into the flesh at the base of its neck and tore it open. The creature did have facial features. Bloodshot and lidless eyes, a pointed hole where a nose had once been, a lipless mouth filled with needle thin jagged teeth, all held in an oozing face of exposed muscle.


    It had a face, it just wore a skin mask over it. It unclenched its wretched mouth and a cloud of black gas began leaking out of it.


    "My lady!" Sam growled and I saw his yellow light vanish once again.


    Frozen with fear, all I could do was watch as the noxious cloud spewed towards me.


    Thunder hammered against my ears and the white light coming off the back of the boarding house flickered.


    A second lightning strike slammed into the ground before me, blowing me back onto my ass and tearing into the ground. Seeming to flow endlessly from the sky, it coursed into the small crater that formed under it with a tearing roar. The creature still holding its skin mask from its face spewed its black breath just as endlessly but when it reached the lightning, it burned away. Within the deepening crater, the silhouette of Sam stared down the creature.


    He''s protecting me. I realized.


    Just as the lightning ended its downpour, the creature let out a final plume of black breath before it dropped its skin mask back down over its disgusting face.


    Sam vanished and appeared within it. My familiar had no lungs but when the gas began to be drawn within him, the only word that I could use to describe what followed was an inhale. When the last whisp was taken in, I saw the yellow flits of Sam''s eyes wink out and he fell onto his side, rigid.


    "Sam!" I yelled, moving towards my fallen defender. One of the creatures'' massive hands swept me back onto the ground and It grabbed my familiar''s body in its palm.


    A burst of audible cracks sounded as the creature squeezed and threw Sam away in pieces.


    He''s dead. The notion struck me and I had just enough presence of mind to start crawling away from the oncoming creature. Its ribcage of arms spread open as it crawled towards me and I heard the lich in my mind yet again.


    Let it take you. It will bring you to me.


    Sun warmed grass, sea salt, death.


    A flash of silver light in the form of a massive set of fangs closed around the creature''s middle. It moaned in pain and frustration as it was dragged back from where I lay, cursed hands stretched towards me. Before it was pulled out of range, it dug one of its large black nails through the cloth of my pants and into my skin.


    "Mother fucker!" I screamed, crawling away from it as fast as my exhausted body could manage. I didn''t look down, seeing what damage had been done would only make it more difficult to go on. With my left hand, I squeezed the spot on my calf that burnt and stung. When I brought my hand to my face to see, it was slick with a mixture of my blood and traces of something black that swirled within it.


    The creature clawed against the silver fangs that sunk into its sallow flesh but could find no purchase. Just as it moved to anchor itself to the ground with its massive hands, I heard a fearsome growl and the creature was lifted into the air. The silver fangs clutching its middle released and the creature was thrown backwards. It crashed into the tree line in a wave of broken branches and thrown up leaves and for a moment, I could take a breath.


    "Well done Auden!" A voice I recognized but did not expect to hear came from the boarding house.


    The Lao''s all, huddled against the house and the short stairs that led to the back door, wore wide eyed stares that were pointed to my left. From the section of wood line that was the furthest from the house, the unfamiliar familiar limped out of the dark forest. All four of its eyes were shining bright silver, but it had been gravely injured. Its left foreleg drug across the ground, being held on to its shoulder by nothing but a twist of flesh and sinew.


    "Are you out?" The familiar voice called to the injured familiar.


    The silver eyed wolf twisted its head down in an angle that seemed like it would break its neck if it strained much more and closed its jaws around its nearly separated leg. With a sharp wine and another fearsome growl, it tore the ruined limb away and threw it to the ground with a toss of its head. Then, it raised its snout to the night sky and let out a clear howl. Silver light, like the ethereal jaws and trails of light I had seen the familiar produce before, extended from its newly limbless joint and formed into a shining new leg. The familiar tested its weight on the replacement of what it had lost and turned its gaze to the trail of ruined trees it had thrown the creature into, answering. "Not yet."


    "Tough old bastard." The voice I recognized spoke again.


    I turned to lay my eyes on the speaker, absentmindedly returning my hand to the wound on my calf.


    Mrs. Mole, with her long grey hair and hunched from age, side stepped her way down the stairs. She glanced at the huddled Laos when she reached the bottom and I could just hear her say. "I would tell you all to go inside, but I''m afraid you won''t be any safer. Try not to move and this should be over quickly."


    The unfamiliar familiar, what had she called it, Auden, was Mrs. Mole''s? How did an old woman like her have a familiar? Was she from Zenithcidel?


    "Dearie," The old woman called to me. "Are you alright?"


    I didn''t answer. She started hobbling towards me regardless.


    What started as a pained walk, knees, hips, and ankles worn down from a long life, quickly smoothed into an open stride. Her back straightened as she pulled her glasses off of her face and threw them to the ground.


    Maybe it was the pain of my calf, maybe it was the fear of one of the creatures getting its filthy hands on me, or maybe it was the lack of restful sleep I had gotten recently but it took me entirely too long to understand what was happening.


    Mrs. Mole, was and had been since the moment I met her, been wearing a glamor.


    She was not a she, by the time she had reached me, a man stood in her place. He was taller than me but shorter than Arthur, with shoulder length silver hair and a square jaw. He wore a suit, all in gray and black stripes, and did not look unkind when I met his eyes.


    "My apologies for the smoke and mirrors, they were necessary, I assure you," He said with an accent I couldn''t place. Before I could realize it was happening, the man had picked me up as if I weighed no more than Sam when he had been a kitten and sat me on my feet. "This will not suffice in the long term, but it will keep the blood in your veins while we rid ourselves of the horrors that hunt you."


    Sam. . .


    A strangely metallic burning, sharp and cold, bloomed on my calf as the man shaped his aura against my wound. It was gray, like the sky on an overcast day or a worn blanket that had once been black. I couldn''t tell if he had channeled it through his palms or somewhere else, but when he released his hold on my calf, the burning vanished quickly. I checked my wound again, looking at it that time. Smooth skin, pink like a new scar ran the length of what looked to have been a large gash. Exposed by the rip in my pants, my sock had bunched around my ankle and was no longer white.


    I had lost a lot of blood. There was a chill in my fingers that had nothing to do with the cold night that confirmed that fact.


    Mrs. Mole had been Mrs. Mole only through a glamor. The four eyed familiar, Auden, was his. He could manifest his aura and had healed me with it.


    The man could only be one thing. "You are. . .?"


    "A Sorcerer of The Spire, yes. You may call me Eames," The man said, standing and pulling off his overcoat. He folded it neatly, placed it on the ground, and stretched and smoothed the gray vest and shirt he had been wearing under it. He ran a hand over the head of his familiar as it reached us. "Of course, you have made the acquaintance of my familiar, Auden, twice now if I understand correctly."


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Sorcerer''s stole the Mother''s magic. I had experienced one in a memory and he had done nothing but try and kill the Sorceress whose memory it had been and assassinated a king. In the small amount of knowledge I had about the lands outside of Zenithcidel I knew that The Mothers were at war with the Sorcerers and had been for longer than I could know. Eames''s familiar had been skulking about the woods and the Sorcerer himself had lived under my feet in disguise practically since the moment I had taken residence at the boarding house.


    I looked at him, unsure if I should be allowing myself to stand as close to him as I was.


    "We''ve no time to build your trust in me. You are unable to kill the creature alone and Auden and I would fare much better with your help. You have had no knowledge of my true nature these past months. If I was a threat to you, don''t you think I would have attempted something during the times you were asleep or elsewhere? Think of my actions and deicide. I will not allow the undead monstrosity to take you."


    As if I was in some story being told around a hearth fire by a Precept to a bunch of witless maidens, the sounds of the creature beginning to stir sounded from within the dark trees, reminding me of the danger on my heels while I was trying to make one of the most difficult decisions I had ever been faced with.


    "What can I do?" I asked, turning my own attention to the place in the woods the creature would undoubtedly finger its way out of.


    Eames smiled. "Right. You''ve no training or experience, I know that much, but for what you need to do, isn''t needed," The sorcerer manifested his gray aura around his hand, forming a coat of power that sharpened on either edge. "Awakened color or not, you can channel through your palm, yes?"


    He is a palm. I noted just in case his willingness to help was an illusion just like Mrs. Mole had been.


    "I can," I answered. I focused my own aura, colorless and weak, and pushed it through my newly discovered channel. Only managing to cover the pinky side of my hand, I kept my channel open and my aura flowing to maintain the pitiful blade. "Kind of."


    "Good enough! The creature is from beyond the grave, sewn together by something that I imagine you know more about than I do," He raised an eyebrow at me. "We are going to pop the stitches. Have you noticed them when you have gotten close to it?"


    I hadn''t. "The only thing I''ve noticed is that fucking thing is trying to take me somewhere."


    "Right. You will see them. Every spot that the wretched pieces of it connect, you''ll see them. You pop enough stitches and whatever dark magic is holding the thing together will fail."


    "How am I supposed to do that? All I''ve managed to do is get my familiar killed and my leg cut open. If Auden hadn''t come along, I''d be as good as gone." I said, panic and fear creeping back into my voice.


    Eames held his hands up. "Easy, easy. You''ve got to stay calm in situations like this. Your familiar is not dead, but petrified. I saw it happen. If that cursed black breath was turned on you or me, I imagine we would be asleep for a decade, but familiars are made of sturdier stuff," He said, nodding to Auden''s leg of silver power. "It didn''t use it on you though. The damned thing isn''t trying to kill you, it''s trying to capture you. I''d wager it wouldn''t kill you if you got down on your knees and begged it to. That gives you enough room to get in and cut the thing apart."


    I didn''t know if the fact that the Sorcerer seemed excited to face off against the second most horrifying thing I had ever seen should make me feel any more confident or if it should cause me worry, but there was something in his voice that made me feel like his own confidence wasn''t misplaced. Maybe it was his accent, the way it all rolled together through the vowels gave his words a casual grace.


    "What will you do?" I asked him, keeping most of myself focused on maintaining the working that covered half my hand.


    "While you''re busy butchering the thing, Auden and I will do what we do best," Eames said and flashed me a devilish grin. "Piss the thing off so much it can''t help but try and kill us."


    The Sorcerer laughed, but cut it short as a strange rumbling sounded in the backyard of the boarding house. The ground beneath my feet began to shake. A mound of displaced earth formed just beyond the wood line and started snaking its way towards us in a raised trail of winter yellowed grass. Eames yelled. "Jump Dearie!"


    I didn''t.


    The ground underneath my feet erupted, the two black nailed hands stretching out of it like a venus fly trap made of sallow skin.


    Eames grabbed me by the back of my coat and threw me straight up in the air. "The stiches!"


    At the peak of my ascension, I glanced over and realized I was almost even with the window of my room that Sam had spent so much time staring out of.


    Beneath my feet, Auden had clamped his magical fangs down on one of the massive hands of the creature and his master was repelling the eight sprawling hands of the creatures rib cage with a complex series of strikes and blocks with two bars of his gray aura connected in the middle by a string of his will. He spun them up and around his head, bludgeoning the small limbs with each impact a moment before they reached him.


    "Remember Dearie, Mr. Mole is no small man!" Eames yelled, spreading his legs into a wider stance and redoubling his efforts. The speed of his strikes increased, his aura leaving gray trails, like Auden did when he had dashed, swirling around himself. The power of his impacts sent splatters of black blood into the air with each violent strike.


    I started to fall, Knowing that Eames must have been using some of his aura to keep me aloft and out of reach.


    Auden, one massive hand still in his ethereal jaws began jerking backwards, snapping his head from side to side. The flesh that connected the hand to the body stretched to its full extension and I saw the stitches.


    So faint that I could have convinced myself I imagined them, I could see small tendrils of moving magic being stretched by the force of Auden''s pull.


    I dipped my head like I was preparing to dive into a pool and shot myself straight down, using the solid footing made of the Sorcerer''s aura that I found myself elevated by, and extended my half bladed hand in front of my face.


    Eames aura was not there to cushion me when I crashed into the ground.


    My own aura reflexively flared and prevented my arm or neck from breaking from the impact. The landing, or rather the lack of a landing, still hurt and I rolled onto my back with my entire body pulsing with pain.


    The disgusting black blood of the creature rained down on my face, cold and putrid, as one of its massive hands was dragged away lifelessly by the four eyed familiar.


    I did it. I realized. And I didn''t die.


    "Fuck you," I screamed in triumph. "Justice!" Jumping back to my feet in my excitement, heavy breaths wracked my chest, but my focus remained. I poured more of my power out of my palm to maintain the blade and darted my eyes around the moaning creature for more of the stitches.


    "The other hand." I heard Eames say calmly from the other side of the creature.


    The sallow flesh of the creature was tinted red and through that glow, I could see the stitches connecting the remaining massive hand clearly.


    I could also see the same traces attaching its featureless head to its neck.


    Maybe it was my inexperience or maybe it was the thrill of amputating one of the horror''s limbs, but I didn''t listen to the Sorcerer.


    I went for the head.


    Learning as I went, I pushed my own aura beneath my feet and gave it a pulse, sending me through the air in an arc that left me colliding with the back of the creature''s neck. I locked my legs around it and squeezed, bringing my bladed hand down in a savage swing.


    It hit the cold flesh of the creature and I heard my bones crack and break, sounding just like when Sam had been crushed. I screamed in pain and nearly lost my saddle as the creature tried to turn its face towards me.


    "I said the other hand," Eames spoke. I could see the Sorcerer, surrounded by the trails of his own vicious attack, losing ground. One of the eight arms of the creature''s rib cage had him by the front of his vest and though it was slow, the man was being pulled, inch by inch, into the crushing grip of the cage. He didn''t look like he cared at all. The man''s gray eyes were unfocused and dull but he did not stop his attack. "I will keep it busy."


    Just as the man spoke, another of the creature''s smaller arms closed around his right wrist. Eames''s assault slowed momentarily, but he passed his working from the captured hand to his free one and continued with a blank expression on his face.


    Red tint faded yet again, I tried to ignore the pain shooting up my arm but I couldn''t. Every attempt I made at focusing my aura and manifesting it back into the blade was met with increasingly more intense waves of pain.


    "I''m going to be sick." I said under my breath, feeling the wave of nausea wash over me.


    Silver light flashed before my eyes and I saw the ethereal fangs of Auden''s power close around the neck of the creature, just above the stitches. The thing''s head was pulled down, laying its neck out for me like a slab of meat on a cutting board.


    Auden, several steps behind his master, had his chest and head pressed to the ground, desperately trying to hold the creature''s head down.


    "If you can''t do it now, I will die." Eames said, his free hand being caught and pulled into the grasp of the rib cage fully. The arms folded around him and began to squeeze.


    Tears in my eyes, I forced my aura through my palm, grinding my teeth all the way. I couldn''t make the blade, I would have lost consciousness if I kept trying, but I did manage to run a single tendril of my will up my pointer finger and cap my nail with a razor sharp edge. One by one, I snapped the stitches. Every magical link I severed sent a new wave of pain down my arm. The fifth stitch split beneath my will and the force of Auden''s grasp did the rest, tearing the creature''s head from its neck in a geyser of black blood.


    My leg lock slipped over the now headless neck and I fell onto my back.


    The creature slumped to the ground and a single mote of flame burst from the center of its back. The mote roared into open flame and consumed the creature, sending a trail of thick black smoke from its body into the air. The speed at which the flame ate the fetid mass away made me think of the dry shavings the houseman at my mother''s home used to start fires. In only a couple of moments, every physical trace of the creature had been burnt away and vanished into the air, not even leaving ashes.


    "Autumn!" I heard Anna call. A second later I saw her leaning over me, a terrified expression on her face.


    "Was that sad?" I asked, sitting up and cradling my broken hand. In the distance, I could see Arthur holding Sam''s body and one of my familiar''s separated legs. The tall man held them against one another before they linked in a quick flit of blue light and he reached down to grab another section and continue the reconstruction.


    Ms. Lao, still pressed in the corner of the house and the stairs, held her head in her hands.


    "What do you mean?" Anna asked, her look of fear changing to confusion.


    "You told me I''m full of sad shit, was that sad?" I asked.


    "No," Anna shouted. "That was fucking terrifying. You''re a monster!"


    New tears, not caused by my exhaustion or my pain, threatened to spill onto my cheeks. "Oh. . .I''m sorry."


    "I didn''t mean it like that! You are a monster, but you''re my monster." She said smiling and helped me to my feet.


    A wave of dizziness nearly sent me back to the ground where I belonged, but Anna kept me on my feet. "How are they?"


    "Uhm," Anna said, and we both looked at Arthur, who had finished reconstructing my familiar and was holding his boney back legs and shaking him downwards like he was a bag filled with treats. "Arthur is fine, better than that actually. When," She gestured in the general direction of the battle that had just taken place. "All that was going on, I tried to explain things to them so they wouldn''t go crazy like I almost did. Arthur took it like I was telling him about the weather."


    I couldn''t feel myself from feeling a flush of anger at the notion that more people knew about me, the real me, but I pushed it away. Beyond me leaving when I had known I should have long before then, it was unpreventable. Alright, it wasn''t unpreventable but there was nothing I could do to change it then. Eames and Auden were sat together on the spot on the ground that the creature had burned away in, the Sorcerer had a stream of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth, but was passing his hand over his familiar, presumably healing him first before he tended his own wounds.


    Ask him to heal your hand. I thought. I would after he had healed himself. I believed he meant me no harm, everything he had told me had been true and we had shared the battlefield together as allies. Even as inexperienced as I was, I knew that meant something.


    "Ms. Lao?" I continued.


    "She thinks she is dreaming," Anna answered, her expression turning down despite a weary smile. "She is tough though, I think she will be okay."


    "I could calm her down." I offered meekly, not wanting to cross any lines.


    "We''ll see, if she needs it I''m glad to have you here to do it." Anna replied.


    "She wouldn''t need it if I wasn''t here." I muttered.


    "Don''t start that bullshit." Anna said, giving me a gentle nudge.


    Footsteps approached from behind and Anna and I turned around.


    "Well done Dearie, well done," Eames smiled at me, miraculously looking as if he had just had a shower and a shave. "It''s easy to tell you''re an amateur, but who isn''t rough around the edges when they first start out."


    "What happened to you?" I asked, despite the uncountable amount of other things that were more important. Seeing the man become emotionless to the extent that he didn''t react when he had been pulled into a death grip was exceptionally odd. Offering my broken hand towards him with my other, I added. "Can you fix this?"


    Eames''s face turned into a confused expression. "You don''t know? Horrible," Then, he answered himself. "But, ah, you haven''t found your color yet. have you. That makes sense then."


    "I don''t know what?"


    "That is a very long list, which is a tragedy that could have been prevented. Here is not the place or time for you to learn but know this, as you grow stronger, the cost of using your aura gets a bit more complicated than needing a meal and a nap. Let me see your hand." Eames said, taking my offered hand gently in his own.


    I studied the Sorcerer''s face. Life had come back into his eyes and I didn''t think he was being dishonest but I was too damn tired to learn anything, even if it was something I really wanted to know.


    "I''m no healer Dearie, but as you''ve seen I can tend to a battle wound or two. I''m afraid I can''t fix your bones but I can delay the pain." Auden appeared beside him, his flank pressing against his master''s legs. The shining silver leg he had made for himself was replaced by one of flesh and bone. Eames''s accent made me like him, I couldn''t help it.


    That made it hurt all the more when I discovered that he wanted something from me.


    "I''ll be glad to heal your hand just as soon as you agree to travel with me to The Spire." Eames continued, still smiling.


    "What? Why?" Anna chimed in.


    "Because I know who you are Dearie. I know what you have. It''s. . .," He paused and shook his head. "You''re not safe here if you can''t tell." He said.


    Eames, the Sorcerer, knew about The Well. That''s why he was in the boarding house. That''s why he had helped me kill the creature. He wanted to take me because of The Well. Regardless of his assistance, the knowledge he had given me, or the fact that I found myself wanting to add him to my newly formed list of friends, he was just as bad as I had been warned that sorcerers were.


    Feeling my aura stirring within me, I glared at him. "I don''t want to go with you."


    The Sorcerer sighed and spread his hands out in exasperation. "Ahh. I had hoped to avoid you feeling that way. You will be coming with me, in what manner that outcome is entirely up to you."


    Auden bared his fangs at me, his silver eyes threatening and focused.


    Turns out, there were two monsters that wanted to steal me away that night.

 Chapter Twenty Five: Trea Sees Red

    Eames took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. "Peace or violence? What will it be Dearie? Either come with me to the Spire freely or I will drag you there. Either way, you can rest easy that you will be safer. Despite the amoral nature of it, I have overhead you refer to where you''ve come from as a prison. Come with me and you will be free to learn and do whatever you desire. We can teach you all of the things that you have been cruelly deprived of. You will find no bars and no guards within the Spire."


    I didn''t answer, feeling that his beguiling words were being offered because of what I possessed and not because of any actual kindness to me.


    Arthur approached the tense group I found myself in, but the Sorcerer and Anna did not turn their eyes from me.


    "I put him back together but he still isn''t moving," Arthur said, passing the rigid bones of Sam into my arms. "I''m sorry."


    I started to tell Arthur that it was okay, but a pressure I had never experienced pushed against my mind and left me momentarily mute.


    There is another. Sam''s voice sounded in my mind.


    "I can heal your familiar. Honestly, I didn''t think I could hate sorceresses any more than I did. The fact that they have left you wandering about unprotected and in possession of what you have, I have been proven wrong." The sorcerer sighed.


    He never saw the second creature drop out of the sky just behind him and crashed into the ground.


    "Run!" I screamed, pushing the siblings back towards the boarding house and passing Sam back to Arthur.


    As soon as we had turned, I saw Eames and Auden being thrown through the wall of the second story of the boarding house. They crashed through the siding and disappeared in a clatter of splintering wood and breaking walls.


    I let my friends gain some distance between us and I spun on my heels, coming face to face with the featureless creature. I knew at that moment that the horror I was staring down had been what had torn my familiar apart in the woods earlier in the night. My eyes immediately locked onto the stitches that ringed the creature''s neck.


    I had unmade one of them already, how difficult would a second be?


    The creature pulled its flesh mask up immediately like the first one had and I had to throw myself to the ground in a roll to avoid being enveloped by the black breath that spewed from it.


    Just as I slid back to my feet, the cold flesh of one of the creature''s massive hands closed around my broken arm and I was lifted off the ground.


    It would put me in its arm cage and finger its way away with me. Sam was down, the sorcerer and his familiar had been thrown out of the fight, I had lost.


    At least when it left with me my friends would be safe.


    Call for the mothers. The thought came and went from my mind faster than I could recognize I had had it.


    The creature did not embrace me in its fleshy cage. It threw me towards the woods it had appeared from and I crashed into the ground, hard.


    The pitiful trace of aura I had left softened my fall just a bit, and I looked up to see the creature turn its back to me and began fingering its way towards the boarding house.


    It had thrown me away because it wasn''t after me.


    Ms. Lao and Anna screamed. The mother and daughter pressed themselves against their home and clutched each other, their eyes wide with fear.


    I remembered the lich turning its lifeless face towards my friend and could hear what it had said to her. Ahhh, It had sighed, almost pleasurably. Come.


    The lich had not sent the second creature for me.


    It had sent it for Anna.


    "Ahhh!" I shouted, trying to tell them to get away but in my panic I was unable to shape my command into words.


    The creature was too fast, I couldn''t get to it before it got to her.


    Ms. Lao and Arthur would be nothing but in the way.


    They would be nothing but bodies.


    Almost without thinking, I pushed whatever small amount of my aura I had left out of my hand with a wild scream and the last of my power streaked through the night air and collided with the creature.


    It broke apart in a flash of shimmering light against the creature''s back with no effect.


    New pain, clawing and tearing all the way from my hand up through my shoulder nearly sent me falling to the ground.


    One of the uncountable holes the creature''s fingers had left did. My foot slipped into it and I tripped, crashing to the ground face first.


    "Arthur! No!" I heard Ms. Lao shout. Her voice, full of the authority and weight I had come to know, was frayed at the edges. High pitched and quavering, the fearful pitch sounded odd coming from the woman.


    I looked up just in time to see Arthur stand and plant his feet in front of his family. Unable to do anything but watch, the undeniable truth of what was happening pressed against me. My friend''s mother and sister were in mortal danger, what choice did he have?


    Son. Brother. Friend.


    Arthur Lao, still in his ghost hunting overalls and canvas jacket, stared into the eyeless face of the oncoming horror and did not blink. Gone was his usual friendly grin, replaced by a hard set jaw and determined eyes.


    He had told me his father had been a warrior.


    Regardless of the fact that Arthur had never known the man, my friend had decided to follow in Mr. Lao''s footsteps.


    Just before the creature collided with my friend, a terrible sound that I had not heard in a long enough amount of time that I had forgotten it echoed within my mind.


    Thunk.


    "No. No. No. No." I muttered, pushing the heels of my palms against my and pressing into my head. I couldn''t, not then.


    The creature reached Arthur and the tall man shoved his hands against its middle and dug his feet into the ground.


    Thunk.


    "I don''t want to go!" I yelled, grinding my teeth. I took the thumb of my left hand and pushed it directly into the place on my right hand that hurt the most. Flashes of white light blinded me for seconds at a time and I was nearly sick.


    The creature raised one of its massive hands and brought it down towards Arthur.


    Thunk.


    Everything that I had come to care about faded from my sight and I felt my mind be swallowed by The Well.


    When Precept Cannenta had found me in the variegated fields of the Shattering Grounds long after the Dyeing had concluded and brought me to her study, I''d had so many nicks and cuts along my legs and arms that she had healed me outright instead of wrapping my wounds. I knew she was breaking the rules when she did it, but the relief I had felt quelled any thoughts about the right or wrong of her actions. When she had left her study and returned with a tray of buttered bread that was still warm from the oven and cups of warm milk for us both, the strangeness of her kindness struck me.


    I had not awakened the color of my soul. The Dyeing had ended. Other than gathering my things from the chest at the foot of the bed in the temporary room I had been assigned, I was out. No coven and no patron, the same way I would remain until I could work another ten years to afford to attempt again and that was only if the academy opened its doors for applicants again. Precept Cannenta bore no obligation to me any longer and I didn''t understand why she wasn''t at the festivities with everyone else that taught at, had been accepted, or worked at the academy.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    When she began asking questions about what all twenty years of my life before I had hung my cloth for The Dyeing had been like, it felt even stranger. Despite my reservations, her soft spoken assurance and the kindness in her eyes had convinced me to answer her questions.


    When she had revealed to me, just like me, that she had been born outside of Zenithcidel and came to the place of The Mothers after her fifty-second year of life, I was surprised. Had any of the other maidens, the same ones that had tormented me since the moment I entered the academy grounds for my own origin, known about Cannenta? When Lillian Loral had tried to drown herself in the eastern garden fountain after she had found her color, did she know that the woman that had pulled the water from her lungs and breathed new life into her was motherless?


    Precept Cannenta had asked me to stop calling her Precept. She had said that the amount of time we had spent together in the Infirmary, which was considerable due to the way I had attacked the Dyeing, had left her feeling close to me and that it felt right that I call her by her name alone.


    I agreed, but found the strangeness of it all too relevant to ignore. So, I asked her why. Why had she come and found me after I had failed? Why had she healed me outright with her power and given me food and drink? Why had she inquired about me and offered details about herself in exchange. I had been gone, I had been the act of physically leaving the academy grounds away from being the least popular hostess at Madame''s again.


    Cannenta had told me that I possessed tremendous potential.


    I had heard the same from every Precept I had encountered during the Dyeing, but I had found that potential was useless if you couldn''t harness it.


    Cannenta had told me that I reminded her of herself. That I would have to work and learn how to assist her in the infirmary, but she couldn''t stand the thought of me not being at the academy.


    I hadn''t understood and it took her several attempts at explaining to me before I could allow myself to believe her words.


    Cannenta was going to be my patron in exchange for helping her in her duties. She had told me that I would be free the majority of days to study, learn, and practice my skills with the vast resources the academy offered. She had said that when they reopened the gates and began another Dyeing, that I would be first priority when it came to admissions.


    Again, It had taken several repetitions for me to accept that she wasn''t helping Lillian Loral pull one last cruel trick on me.


    When it had sunk in, I''d leapt from my seat and thrown my arms around Cannenta. I''d kissed her on her plump cheek and given her an endless stream of thanks until she had begged me to stop through a belly laugh.


    I''d had no choice, she had given me the only good news I had ever gotten out of nothing but the kindness of her own heart.


    Then, she had asked me if I wanted to attend the celebration that had still been filling the halls of the academy with a festive hum. She had told me that while I hadn''t been able to participate in the First Naming, I was technically part of the staff after accepting her offer and there was nothing to keep me from participating.


    I had been shocked, but had been unable to hide the desire in my eyes. Cannenta, with nothing but a faint sienna glow appearing from her navel, had fitted me with a dress and shoes in the small amount of time it had taken her to make a joke about disappearing at midnight.


    When I could hear her returning from her quarters, she had left to change into her own non-illusory dress, I had caught sight of myself in an ornate mirror. Cannenta had not just changed my clothes. My long black hair had looked as if it had been washed and brushed, falling past my shoulders in a sleek curtain. My skin and the mottled spread of bruises and cuts that had adorned it had been healed and I had been left looking clean and well rested.


    Cannenta had taken me in and changed me into something that I had found pleasure in looking at. I had no longer been Madam''s Trea or the motherless wretch. Cannenta had made me see myself as Trea.


    I had known then that I would die for the woman. All she would have had to do was ask.


    When Cannenta had taken the stairs to join the rest of the precepts and staff in the upper balconies of the ball room, she had turned me away. With a smile and a wink, she had told me that I should go and dance, that I should go enjoy myself because I had earned it. She had told me that cadets from all of the different disciplines that comprised the Armory Enclave had attended and I was sure to find a strapping young soldier to show me a good time. Despite my desire to attach myself at the hip to my patron, I listened and entered the dance hall feeling nervous.


    Just like Cannenta had said, I had not taken more than a couple of steps into the dance before a particularly large man, a Hezbelth if his size and stature were anything to go by, had offered me his hand and had spun me onto the floor. To a rhythm I had not known, there had not been much time in my life for me to attend balls and dances, the Hezbelth lifted me onto his boots and carried the weight of our dance on his own. That had left me with nothing to do but smile and enjoy how it felt to have fortune fall in my favor for the first time.


    I should have known it would all crash down on me.


    The song had ended and my partner had placed me gently on the ground and bowed. Surrounded by dozens of others that felt the spirit of the evening the way I had begun to, someone had spoken to me.


    "How did you sneak in here?" Lillian Loral sneered at me. Matching the color she had found her soul to be, she wore an icy blue dress that was adorned with white pearls and lace. Her blonde hair had been done up in braids and curls and by all means she was the prettiest Maiden at the ball. Except, she was no longer a Maiden. She was Underwitch Loral then, all of the Maiden''s I had hung my cloth beside had gained new titles.


    I was the only Maiden left in the whole of the academy.


    "I didn''t sneak. I was allowed to attend." I said, hating how quickly I had lost the lightness that I had felt only moments before. With the lack of music, I felt the eyes of everyone on the dance floor settle on to me. I wished desperately for the power to turn myself invisible.


    "By whom? Who could have possibly thought that someone like you should be allowed to attend when you have no color. Why would someone like you deserve to celebrate with us?" Underwitch Loral bore into me.


    No one spoke up. Not the other Underwitch''s, not the Precepts I assumed were watching from the balcony, not even the Hezbelth that moments before had been spinning me around like we were in love.


    I couldn''t blame any of them, I didn''t either. I answered the question in nearly a whisper. "Precept Cannenta."


    "Liar," Underwitch loral laughed. "As if any one of the Precepts would waste a moment of their time on a motherless outcast like you. Tell me why, tell me why you, in that glorified rag, were allowed to come here."


    New dress and the promise of a more certain future aside, I had been at the cutting edge of Underwitch Loral''s sharp tongue for months and that moment was no different. I answered, but knew I should have stayed silent as soon as I finished speaking. "She likes me, she is like me. Motherless."


    Underwitch Loral did not rebuke my answer or accuse me of lying again. Instead, her face tightened into a look of disgust. "That explains it. One outcast trying to help another haunt a place they don''t belong. I knew she had a stink about her, I just thought it was because of her size."


    Perhaps it was the wild swing between the high I had entered the dance hall in and the low I had been reduced to by the woman standing before me, I didn''t know, but when I heard her insult Cannenta, I snapped.


    The entire ball room was cast into a carmine tint. I saw red, literally. Before I knew what I was doing, I had stepped to Underwitch Loral and drove my fist, cloaked in red aura, straight up into the chin of the woman that had suddenly discovered there was an end to the amount of verbal punishment I would take.


    She flew up and crashed through the banister of the balcony.


    Without knowing how I was doing what I was doing, I launched myself after her, coming down on the balcony a step before where she laid amongst the wreckage. The carmine tint had left the room, but my fist was still covered in a swirling mass of what I understood to be my aura.


    I had awakened the color of my soul. Regardless of if I had been announced as such, what better first act as Underwitch Trea was there than to knock the teeth out of the woman that had insulted the only person that had ever been kind to me.


    I dropped to a knee over Lillian Loral and drew my fist back. I growled, wanting nothing more than to leave a bloody smear where her head was. "Three months from now, when they unwire your jaw, I hope you''ve spent the time you won''t be able to open your mouth thinking about how you are going to apologize."


    Cannenta''s sweet voice broke the stunned silence of the crowd. "Maiden Trea! You are not yourself! Cease your actions!"


    I hesitated, looking up to see my patron standing over me. "She deserves it. She insulted you."


    "I appreciate your loyalty, but this is not the way to proceed. Take my hand and I will help you calm down." She offered her hand to me.


    I don''t know if I took it or not. In the moment between her offer and what I chose to do, Cannenta, Lillian Loral, the ball room, it all fell away as I felt my mind drop away and sink into complete darkness.


    Emptiness, complete senselessness.


    Then, a sound came.


    It was not a scream or cry, but rather sounded like a sudden and violent exhale.


    My sight came next. I wish it hadn''t.


    The creature, Anna held within the cage of arms that made its torso, had lifted one of its massive hands.


    Black nail glinting in the light coming from the boarding house, Arthur was speared atop the longest finger of the creature''s hand. It had run its finger through his back and out of his stomach. His arms and legs hung limp. His blood ran down the finger in stark contrast to the pale flesh of the creature.


    With no warning, the creature snapped its hand down and slung Arthur''s body to the ground, lifeless.


    Arthur is dead. I realized, and it felt different than when I had thought the same about Sam. Sam was a familiar, he was made of stronger stuff. My friend hadn''t been.


    The creature unfurled all of the fingers of its massive hands and fucking flew, every down stroke of its hands, it ascended higher and higher.


    It had killed my friend and was taking off with my other.


    I only had the two.


    From where I lay on the ground, I saw the sky go red and suddenly felt like I could move again.


    "Autumn!" I heard Anna scream for her cage of flesh.


    I stood up and saw the red tint from my eyes condense out of my vision and an unusual twinge pained my belly button. I looked down and raised my shirt. The Seal of the Nine Mother''s had sprung a leak. A thin tendril of my aura, no longer colorless but a dark swirling red, leaked out of the seal.


    I couldn''t let it take her.


    I wouldn''t let it take her.


    With my left hand, I grabbed the tendril and pulled. Drawing my aura out with nothing but my will and snapping it out to my side like a whip, I went to save my friend.

 Chapter Twenty Six: Coming to Life

    Being in a state of knowing was not something I was familiar with but as I ran towards the rapidly ascending creature, all doubt had been expelled from me. Mind, body, and soul.


    I had found the color of my soul and its shade matched my own desire. The cord of my power that had found a weakness in the Mother''s seal was so bright it was nearly pink. I had seen that particular shade not so long ago. In the little room I had lived in on the third floor of the boarding house that I had brought to ruin, standing dangerously close to Anna and feeling like we were something much deeper than just friends, I found her cheeks blushed with the same heat I had felt in my own. That blush, that heat, had manifested from my will and I could feel the truth and power of it running through my hands. Those feelings allowed me to know.


    From that unfamiliar state of knowledge, came action.


    A step outside of where the horrid creature had taken flight, I looped my right hand once with my aura and drew my arm back. Pain still stabbed through my arm and there was a numb, detached, sensation from the base of my thumb, but nothing could stop my pursuit, I would not allow it.


    From underneath the creature, I could see Anna, held within the rib cage of arms, staring down at the body of her brother and her mother laying over it.


    "Anna Lao," I called, pulling my arm back and feeling the end of my aura drag across the ground. She looked down at me between the pale flesh of the arms of her captor and I couldn''t hear if she replied, but her recognition of me set my heart ablaze. "Witness, Autumn Aubrey unfettered!"


    My words sounded over dramatic and strange to my own ears, like I was reciting lines from one of the plays that I knew were put on within Zenithcidel. Where they sounded strange however, they felt like I had always been meant to say them and I found myself emboldened at their end.


    I snapped my arm forward and sent the energy of my movement rolling through the desired colored cord of my will. When it reached its tip, it did not snap or crack, but went piercing through the night sky like an arrow loosed from a great bow. As it went, I fed more of my aura into it and it lengthened into what I needed it to be.


    Flying in defiance of the dark night, the light of my power streaked past the creature just over its right shoulder. With my left hand, I placed my thumb just above the loop on my right and plucked the cord like Arthur had plucked the strings of his instrument the night I had met him and sent a wave through my power. When it reached its tip, it reversed its direction, forming a loop around the throat of the wretched creature.


    A panicked moan echoed from above as the creature strained against the binding force of my will. I spread my feet and pulled against the creature''s ascent, bringing my hands down to the ground.


    The creature was pulled from the sky like a struck bird. I had taken the air from its "wings", and it descended in a mad spiral.


    Familiars are made of stronger stuff. The memory of the sorcerer''s words came and went from my mind.


    Anna wasn''t made of stronger stuff. Anna was plummeting to the ground still in clutches of the horror.


    That brought me no fear or panic because she would not be crashing into the ground. I cared for her too much to allow such a thing to happen.


    I knew nearly nothing about fighting or how to use my new found power but I found myself not needing the knowledge, because all that was required of me was to allow my will to shape reality. I desired my cord to tighten around the neck of the creature that had tried to steal away my Anna and it did. Crushing against the life sapping cold of the lich''s dark magic, my will was tested against the stitches that held the flesh puppets head on its neck. I hadn''t felt it, or rather, I hadn''t known what I was feeling when I had felt it, but I was sure then what the creature was. As soon as what I understood to be a physical manifestation of my soul touched the stitches, the same flurry of scents that had washed over me both times I had encountered the Lich came again. Sea salt, sun warmed grass, and wild blossoms, the scents filled my nose and were followed by the constant undercurrent of sweet decay. A new sensation, auditory in nature, filled my ears for just long enough that I could understand what I was hearing. The joyous sound of a man and a woman laughing together brought another dimension to the lich''s ethereal residue. Somehow, from whatever ruined pit the lich resided in, it was controlling the creature, pulling the strings of its own horrid creation.


    I would save Anna, I would rid her and her mother of the terror they had found themselves in on my behalf, I would avenge Arthur.


    I would cut the puppeteers strings.


    As I thought, my will made it so.


    I ran my left hand over the cord and used the slack to create a second loop like I bore on my right. With both hands, I twisted my hips and wrenched my aura back and away. The flurry of senses that contact with the lich''s magic had brought about faded.


    I pulled harder.


    The senses vanished.


    Headless, the creature went limp and began to sputter and smoke. The small arms that had made the flesh cage Anna had been captured and released before being burnt away. In less than a second, the remains of the creature had dissipated and left Anna free falling towards the cold hard ground.


    As if I had been training to do the exact series of actions necessary to catch my friend, I simply acted. No thought was necessary, because I knew I would not let her fall. For the first time, I felt myself coming to life. Not Dani or Autumn the thief, but Autumn Aubrey, the maiden whose soul burned so bright it defied the oppressive finality of a seal laid on her by the hands of the nine Mothers.


    Brought to life in part due to Anna Lao. My first friend. Who I understood in the moment had seen the color of my soul long before I had.


    Without the need to express my will, my cord of aura drew back into my hands and I split it. With my left hand, I cast it to the ground where it spread in a flash and I stepped onto it. With my broken right, I sent it up my arm and down the other and braced. Just as Anna crashed into my embrace, I released, simultaneously cushioning her impact and reinforcing my own stance. Her momentum ended in an instant and I gently placed her on her feet.


    Her eyes were red from crying but as soon as I looked into them, she threw her arms around me and we embraced.


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    We had hugged before, and though it was hardly the time for it, it felt different. Her body pressed into my mine desperately, surely out of fear and exhaustion, but I found more in the contact. The curve of her, the smoothness of her hair, the feeling of trust and acceptance I felt when she threw herself into my arms.


    I had killed for her. Granted, it had been an undead flesh puppet, but I had ended its second life on her behalf. Holding my friend in my arms, I thought I would die for her just as willingly.


    All she''d have to do was ask.


    We separated and I saw the tears begin to fall from her face when she turned and saw her brother.


    Ms. Lao, a horrible and broken sound coming from her between silent gasps for air, held her son''s head in her lap. She was absentmindedly running her hands through his dark hair and had laid her jacket over his middle. Anna to her mother and dropped to her knees beside her brother. I could not hear the words she spoke, but Arthur didn''t answer her. She brought her hand up and patted it against his cheek, continuing to speak without receiving an answer. She did not moan or gasp like her mother was, but I could see the impact of her sobs from behind her as she laid her head down on Arthur''s chest.


    I approached slowly, shedding my own tears, but staying aware that while he had been my friend, Arthur was their family.


    "He needs a hospital, go get the phone." Ms. Lao snapped at Anna, giving her a half hearted push.


    Anna raised her head from her brother''s breathless chest. "Ma, there is nothing they can do for him, he''s already dead."


    "Call the ambulance Anna!" Ms. Lao yelled savagely.


    Anna caught sight of me and her eyes went wide and she patted her mother''s shoulder in a hurry. "Autumn can help," She whispered. "She can fix him, she''s magic, Ma," She continued, her words coming out quick and unsupported. She turned to me and waved me over. "Can''t you? You can fix him."


    I dropped to my own knees beside her, finding that the state of knowing had become suddenly absent. "I. . ," I trailed off, raising Ms. Lao''s blood soaked coat to see Arthur''s wound. Even in the light of the back porch light, I couldn''t make sense of what I was seeing. A hole as thick as my thigh had been ripped through the overalls directly over Arthur''s stomach. Beyond the scraps of fabric and pooling blood, I had no knowledge of what I was looking at. "I''ve never done something like this before."


    "Alright, and? You''ve done a lot of fucking things tonight that you''ve never done before. You can do it, you can fix him! I know you can. I believe in you." Anna pleaded, staring into my eyes.


    All she had needed to do was ask.


    I moved the coat off of him. Anna looked away. Ms. Lao looked at me, her panicked eyes momentarily hard set and focused. "Do not hurt him. Please."


    I brought my aura to my hands and exhaled. With no knowledge to help me understand what I needed to do, I moved to lay my hands on the grievous wound.


    Arthur coughed.


    A drop of blood landed on my cheek and all three of us jumped in surprise.


    "Arthur. Arthur. Listen to me, the Dani girl is going to help you." Ms. Lao shouted at her son.


    His eyes rolled in his head before finding their way to me. Blood leaked from the corner of his mouth and down his chin. "You dyed you hair."


    "What?" I muttered, realizing that Arthur didn''t know my name or who I really was. At some point during the seemingly endless struggle of the night, my glamor must have faded.


    "Autumn''s gonna help you alright? You are gonna be okay." Anna said, new tears flowing.


    Arthur forced his head up enough that he was able to see his ruined stomach. "Oh, I don''t think so," He coughed before looking at me again, his voice ragged and strained. "Have you always been this pretty?"


    I didn''t get a chance to answer. Anna placed her hands through my aura and onto my own. "Alright, you can do this."


    I was almost certain that I could not, but I would try. For her and for him. I owed them much more than that.


    The light coming from the back of the boarding house winked out and left us all in total darkness save for the nearly pink luminescence of my aura.


    Arthur coughed again and raised a shaking finger off the ground. ¡°See,¡± another bloody cough. ¡°It?¡±


    We all turned to see where he was pointing.


    From within the dark woods, light broke through the silhouetted branches into a pale blue mosaic. Brighter and closer, it grew, until it left the cover of the trees and flew through the air by the way of two great wings that sent motes of ghostly light cascading down with each beat.


    ¡°Arthur,¡± Anna whispered. ¡°It¡¯s your ghost. . .¡±


    With what would likely be the final act of his life, Arthur did what he had always done, and let his signature grin spread across his blood trailed face. ¡°I told you I didn¡¯t make it up.¡±


    "It''s not a ghost. It''s a spirit." I said, watching the ethereal owl descend in a spiral and land between Arthur''s sprawled legs.


    A morose hoot escaped from its beak and it turned its head to each of us in turn. "Boy plays," It clicked its beak three times. "Dying, dying, dying."


    Anna whispered to me. "What is it doing?"


    "I don''t know." I answered honestly.


    Three more clicks. "Watched. Growing, growing, growing."


    The spirit paced back and forth, but kept its head forwards and pointed at Arthur. After several more rounds of clicking its beak, it hopped onto him, ruffled its wings, clicked its beak and then hoped off. "Out of time. Go, go, go."


    Without another word or click, the spirit flared its wings and took flight, heading back towards the direction it had come.


    "Ma, I told you there was a ghost." Arthur said weakly, a satisfied smile on his face and his eyes closed.


    I looked back at my own hands, still held within Anna''s and tried to refocus on the futile task at hand.


    I would try. For her and for him. I owed them much more than that.


    "My sweet boy, I know. I should have believed you." Ms. Lao whispered, and kissed her son on his forehead.


    Like someone had turned the gas up on a lantern, pale blue light brightened above our heads. I shot my eyes up to see what was happening.


    The owl spirit, its wings tucked to its sides and a dust of ethereal motes trailing behind it, plummeted from the sky and towards Arthur.


    Three clicks of its beak.


    It slammed into Arthur''s ruined stomach and disappeared with no trace except for the glimmering motes. A moment of shocked silence passed and then Arthur arched his back violently before falling back to the cold ground.


    "Ma! Look!" Anna shouted, pointing at her brother''s stomach.


    The wound was closing.


    The spirit''s ethereal light emanated from the hole in Arthurs stomach, bright enough that I had to close my eyes until it dimmed, shone out. When it did dim, the wound was closed, with nothing but a patch of pink skin to suggest it was ever there.


    Arthur coughed and no blood came out.


    "Arthur?" Ms. Lao asked, her question coming out hesitant and fragile.


    "I feel weird," The tall man said, opening his eyes. "I don''t think I''m dying though. Unless, I''m already dead?"


    Arthur sat up on his hands. "What does being dead feel like?"


    As soon as the words left his lips, his eyes lost their focus and he fell back into his crying mother''s lap.


    I wish I could have enjoyed what I understood to be a rather large miracle, but the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and a horrid feeling washed over me.


    I was being watched.


    Just as I realized it, the porch light winked back on and I saw who was watching me.


    "I hate to interrupt, it makes me feel happy that the boy did not die, but we unfortunately have an unresolved matter to attend to." The Sorcerer Eames said, looking down at me with glowing grey eyes.


    Then, he moved.

 Chapter Twenty Seven: Three Little Words to End it All

    Without warning, I was thrown backwards across the ground and sent into a rough roll. Every narrow hole in the ground that had been left by the slain creature¡¯s black nailed fingers I crashed over felt like blows from unseen attackers.


    The state of knowing that had come with finding the color of my soul returned, and I rolled to my feet and clasp my hands together in one fluid movement. Dragging both of my palms across the other, I manifested my near pink aura through the channel on my right palm and opened my arms as wide as they would go. The working grew between them and I willed another cord, longer and thicker than the first had been, into reality. My right hand was still broken, but fortunately still mostly numb. and I grasped the end of my working within it.


    I snapped my right arm out, whipping my working out beside me, I readied myself for battle.


    The sorcerer had moved, I had seen him do it, but I hadn¡¯t seen him hit me. Another attack could come at any moment and I had no indication of what direction it would come from.


    Standing just a few paces from where I had come to my feet, the sorcerer stared at me, his hands encased in his own gray aura. ¡°Look at you,¡± He said, an expression of wonder appearing on his face. ¡°Not even in the afterglow of your awakening and still standing on your feet. Most lose themselves their first few times. The fact that the old crones in their hiding hole seemed to have not taught you anything is all that is keeping you from outclassing me completely,¡± His eyes narrowed and his look of wonder turned to what I identified as suspicion. ¡°Just who are you? How did you come into possession of The Well? With the right training, you could be. . . Fuck!¡±


    The Sorcerer screamed and recoiled, bringing one of his hands to his cheek. A gash, running from the corner of his eye to his jaw line began to bleed down his face.


    I had grown very tired and wished to be with the Lao¡¯s, I hadn¡¯t had the patience to listen to him talk.


    So, I whipped him across the face with my aura.


    ¡°I was paying you a compliment, girl. That was very rude.¡± The sorcerer growled, turning a savage glare to me. The aura around the hand that covered where I had whipped grew more intense. He pulled it from his face, and thought the size of the gash had diminished, blood still leaked from his cheek.


    It seemed I was not the only one who had grown tired.


    ¡°Leave me be or I will show you just how fucking rude I can be.¡± I said, and I meant it. How different would it feel to kill someone and not something? I knew it would be a much larger difference than I was willing to recognize, but the thought was not enough to sway me. I would not be taken from the Lao¡¯s.


    "Why are you fighting me, Dearie? I am not and have not been a threat to you," The sorcerer asked, a furious scowl had pinched his face but his word did not sound angry. "I will not harm the mortals that I can see you have grown attached to. I have no quarrel with them. I''ll admit I''ve grown fond of them myself. I''ve made no move to hurt you seriously and have no intention to. What is driving you to struggle against me?"


    I didn''t like what I was feeling. The night was ending and the sky was beginning to brighten. So much had happened that I had forgotten it was cold until that moment. Every part of my body ached, both through exhaustion and the strain of the battles I had been faced with. The sorcerer, Eames, was not lying. Granted, he had thrown me backwards with what I reasoned could have only been his aura and had implied he would resort to using force if I didn''t go with him freely, but that hadn''t been all he''d done. He had taught me and given me the information necessary to defeat the horrors that had come for me and my friend. He had willfully entered combat at my side and had nearly died because of it. I knew, somewhere deep down, that his main motivation was my possession of The Well. That didn''t explain his actions, however, because if that was all he was after he would have stolen me away in the dead of night when I had been asleep or trapped in a memory. There again, I found myself being calmed by the rolling accent he spoke with and I couldn''t understand why.


    I noticed my aura beginning to fade as I spoke. "Can," A shiver ran through my body as the cold creeped further into my bones. "If I go with you," I nodded at the Lao''s. Arthur still lay with his head in his mothers lap either asleep or unconscious. Anna was caught in a loop of moving her eyes between me and the man that she thought had been Mrs. Mole. "they are coming with me. They aren''t safe here."


    I meant for my demand to sound strong and nonnegotiable, but it came out sounding weak.


    Eames, walking towards me slowly, cautiously, dropped his voice down low. "Of course, Dearie. I wouldn''t dream of leaving them here. I don''t know why the things that are hunting you are hunting you, you can explain that to me on the way, but what kind of man would I be if I left them here?"


    The sorcerer got to close for my comfort and my aura flared back to life. I snapped my working onto the ground beside me without meaning to.


    "Easy, easy," He said, not slowing his steps but holding his hands out in a placating gesture. "Is it the mothers? Is that why you have a bone to pick with me? The same people that placed a seal upon your flesh? Why devote yourself to something that treated you so harshly you had to run away and hide? That''s not right, Dearie. They''ve probably filled your head with lies about The Father''s and I. Told you stories about how we stole their magic and meant to destroy them, made you think we were all rampaging tyrants too power hungry to have anything in our minds but war. Lay down your whip, Dearie. Despite what you''ve been told, we aren''t monsters."


    He was wrong, The Mother''s had never told me. . .anything. That is, anything I could remember. I had proof that I had been in their presence once in the way of a seal made of colors and shapes over my navel, but I didn''t remember it. They had restricted me, I had never been allowed outside of my mother''s quarters. The first time I had seen anything outside of it that hadn''t been a memory had been when I had charmed the guard and made my escape.


    Ten-Moons had hated the sorcerer Edwuin enough that she had been willing to kill him on sight however. I didn''t think she was a murderous loon, she must have had a reason. Sam, where was he?, had spoken of the war between The Mothers and the sorcerers with enough heat in his voice that I understood the seriousness of it. Even my own mother had spoken of it in passing before.


    Despite a twisting feeling in my stomach that told me I should not listen, I understood his logic and that understanding washed away any will to fight I had left.


    I was tired, it hadn''t been that hard to let go.


    My aura faded completely and the loss leveled me. My legs gave out and my vision swam, I was going to pass out.


    If it hadn''t been for Eames catching me, I would have collapsed to the ground.


    "There we are. There we are. You''ll be back on your feet in a moment, Dearie, your a tough girl." He said.


    It felt so relieving to not have to support my own weight any longer, but that twisting pit in my stomach would not relent. Cold sensations, like I had felt when Eames had healed my leg, appeared on my wrists and ankles. Then I felt it wrap around my middle and press against the mothers seal. "Thank you for healing me again." I whispered, trying to force my vision to focus.


    "Yes. Yes. I will heal you in a moment." Eames said.


    I felt the man lift me onto my feet and support me until I proved I could stand on my own.


    "Autumn?" I heard Anna call and the sounds of her running towards the sorcerer and I followed.


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    The sound of an impact crashed into my ears and I heard Anna shout in surprise. Her panicked voice was enough to focus my eyes and I saw her standing several steps away from me. Just in front of her feet and glowing grey, a section of the ground had exploded into a patch of ruined earth.


    "Don''t come any closer and I won''t have to do that again, understand?" The sorcerer growled towards my friend.


    The realization that I had been lied to hit me and the twisting pain in my stomach tore through me. "You said they could come with me."


    "Aye, I did, but they won''t be. They''ll just slow us down, Dearie. I''ve got to get you to the spire as soon as I can." Eames said, looking at me as if what he was saying was the most obvious thing in the world.


    I bit him.


    I bit him in the neck.


    I bit him in the neck and as my mouth filled with his blood I let out a skin muffled scream. "Fucking liar!"


    He grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled my teeth from his flesh, gritting his teeth. With his free hand, he slammed me across the face twice. "You don''t know what you''re doing, girl. You don''t understand what''s happening to you right now."


    I didn''t fucking care. I didn''t care that he had slapped me and I didn''t care that he was clutching my hair. I threw my fists wildly at his face and swung a kick at the spot where his legs met. I wanted to kill him, I needed to kill him. It was the only way to make things right.


    He slapped me again and if he hadn''t been holding my hair, I would have been knocked to the ground. I looked up at him, feeling a hot welt forming on my bottom lip and spat. Reaching for my aura, I imagined what he''d look like with my hand running through his stomach.


    "Can''t let you do that." He smiled, and I noticed the small gray band around his pinky. He turned it between two fingers without releasing me and everything stopped.


    All I could see, all I could hear and feel, vanished. In my senses, there was a blinding flash of cold pain that left me prone on the ground. When the pain had receded and I could make sense of the world again, I noticed the gray bands that matched the one the sorcerer wore around his pinky linked around my joints and middle.


    "I knew your afterglow was gonna be a bad one, I had to take some precautions didn''t I," The sorcerer asked, pulling me off the ground and over his shoulder. "I''d advise against reaching for your aura again, wouldn''t want to empty your soul now would you?"


    I''d lost. There was nothing I could do. Powerless to stop him, I felt him turn to the woods I had escaped from earlier that night and begin to walk.


    Mothers help me. The thought came and went from my mind faster than I could recognize it. It felt so unlike what a regular thought did, that I questioned if Sam had found a way to contact me again from wherever he was.


    My running away, all the memories I had seen, the friendships I had made, they were over and for nothing. I had lost. The sorcerer would take me and I''d never see Anna or Arthur again. I had lost. I had been lied to and believed it like a silly little girl. I had lost.


    The Mother''s hadn''t.


    Three little words to end it all.


    Mothers help me.


    I had no choice.


    I went through the internal motions that under normal circumstances would have brought my aura to the surface.


    I had none left to focus.


    Even if I had somehow been able to scrap anything else off of my soul, I was fairly certain the sorcerer''s shackles would have prevented me from using it.


    I had never felt so empty in my life.


    If you had done this the first time you thought of it, none of this would have happened. I thought, powerless to deny the truth of it.


    None of it would have happened.


    Anna would not have been exposed to a dark and powerful entity that not only had compelled her to come to it from within her own mind but had sent a horrific creature to take her away. Ms. Lao would not have had to see her son die at the hands of the horror. Arthur, wouldn''t have had to learn what it felt like to be gored through the back and out of his stomach by something that should have only existed in his nightmares.


    None of it would have happened if I had not been so selfish.


    My soul would still be colorless and weak. I wouldn''t have been around long enough for Anna''s curiosity to spark into a friendship that I would protect until my dying breath. Arthur wouldn''t have found his ghost. He would have spent the rest of his life believing in something that he knew to be true but was utterly unable to prove to those he loved.


    None of it would have happened if I had not been so selfish, but I couldn''t make myself believe that it wasn''t worth it.


    The three little words that would end it all were coming quickly to my lips, and I knew I had no other choice. I had to prevent me, The Well, from falling into the hands of The Mother''s greatest enemies. I owed them much more than that. I would call for them and though I knew it would end with me in so many chains that I would have to ask permission to blink, it was my responsibility to protect them.


    I raised my head and looked at the Lao''s beyond my hair and hoped that in the moments that followed I would be able to tell them goodbye.


    "You''ll only have to be like this until you calm down, Dearie. We have many miles to. . .," The sorcerer must have felt something, because he threw me onto the ground before him. "Wait! what are you doing?"


    With the intention of lacing my words with my power and the twisting rage I still felt in my stomach, I spoke. "Mother''s help me."


    In an instant, The Mothers would arrive and put an end to the sorcerer without so much as saying a word. Then, I would be thrown to my knees at their feet and reprimanded. They might decide to withdraw my opportunity to repay my debt and retain my life in the process and just kill me. Why would they offer me such a kindness when all I had done with it was run away and fall into the clutches of a Sorcerer of the Spire. I could make peace with all of that, but the heavier question that came to my mind was what would happen to the Lao''s. Would they kill them? I was under the impression that mortals who knew of what lay outside their understanding of reality were not viewed favorably and it wasn''t just that they knew about aura or The Mothers, but they knew about me and what I possessed. They wouldn''t be left to just return to their lives as if nothing had happened, of that, I was certain. Maybe, A foolish thought ran through my exhausted mind. They will bring them to Zenithcidel.


    I didn''t get the opportunity to find out however, because The Mother''s never came.


    "Right, as I was saying, We have many miles to cover." The Sorcerer said when nothing came after my call but silence.


    Auden, who had been waiting patiently just outside of the wood line for his master and me, suddenly bared his fangs and turned his four silver eyes in the direction of the trail that led to the house.


    What was at first a gentle roaring sound gradually grew louder until a car burst from the side yard and came to a sliding stop in the grass behind the boarding house. A short man, bearing a tangled mess of wispy blonde hair atop his head and a brown suit that hung off his shoulders and didn''t reach his shoes, stepped out of the still running car and flashed an utterly too intense smile at me.


    "Mr. Bill," Ms. Lao shouted with a glance at her ruined home. "Go inside, but please forgive the mess. I have not had the chance to clean!"


    Mr. Bill Argus started walking towards us. "Autumn Aubrey, has he hurt you?"


    It took me a moment to realize the man that had moved in after me and had left a sour taste in my mouth every time I saw him had spoken to me.


    He had used my real name.


    Did no one respect privacy in that house?


    Every step he took towards us in the low light of the morning left a print of pastel yellow light in its wake.


    Mr. Bill whistled, a quick and sharp melody that sounded more like the chirping of birds than a song, and a flock of shining yellow birds made of what could only be aura obscured him from view.


    "I knew it!" Eames growled, bounding past me and towards the new arrival, his gray aura springing to life in his own hands. Auden, following his master, began speeding towards Mr. Bill Argus.


    Just before they reached their target, they had to slow and brace themselves against the impact of thousands of workings. Each bird pelted into them and burst into tiny bursts of sparks upon impact.


    The rapid stream ended suddenly and Mr. Bill Argus had disappeared.


    In his place, a spritely woman who shared his jumbled mess of blonde hair and nothing else stood in his place. She was barefoot, wearing a dress that matched the color of her aura and barely managed to cover the places that clothes are supposed to cover. A wild smile stretched across her mousy face and she laughed at the halted sorcerer. "Begone, thief! Return to your dilapidated tower immediately and I will have no need to further humiliate you."


    "Is everyone wearing a fucking disguise?" I heard Anna say, confusion evident in her voice.


    "Anna!" Ms. Lao gasped at her daughter''s vulgarity.


    Just as Mrs. Mole had turned out to be Eames, Mr. Bill Argus had been a Sorceress under the guise of a glamor.


    Weakly, I heard Arthur whisper behind me. "That''s the prettiest man I''ve ever seen."

 Chapter Twenty Eight: Morning

    The sorcerer Eames spat at the sorceress and began to move towards her. "It''s not a tower, it''s The Spire."


    Just as he finished speaking, Auden''s ethereal fangs appeared around the woman and closed.


    The ground under the sorceress''s feet became illuminated from her yellow aura and she jumped, a gale wind carrying her into the air.


    The fangs snapped closed onto empty air.


    The yellow aura rose up the sorceress''s muscled calves in a neat line before disappearing into her dress. They reappeared under the straps on her shoulders and fanned out, leaving her body and stretching into the air behind her where they fell like an unraveled curtain. I understood a moment before her working manifested fully what she was doing.


    Wings of manifested aura, identical to those of the flurry of birds she had sent towards her enemy in every manner but their size, formed off her back and held her aloft.


    "That''s hardly fair!" The sorcerer yelled, dashing in a throwing a spinning disk of his own gray aura up at the sky bound sorceress.


    She answered in turn by beating her wings down at him. They separated, sending down bolts of her yellow aura in a hyper focused spread of bolts. The sorcerer''s projectile was caught by the bolts instantly and sent back to the ground.


    Eames bent and placed his hand on the ground before snapping back up and raising a gray wall in front of himself and hunkering down behind it. The bolts showered down around him and stuck into his wall when they struck it.


    The sorceress glided to the ground, wingless and as if she weighed no more than a feather, and landed precisely where she had jumped from. "Oh my," She smiled wildly. "It''s been too long since I''ve gotten to do that." She spread her bare feet across the ground and traced a yellow arc in the dirt in front of her with a pointed toe.


    Just as the rain of aura ended, Eames dropped his wall and took a step toward his enemy.


    The sorceress extended her arc into a full circle around herself and spun into a momentous kick. Violent wind, like the precursor to a storm, erupted from the apex of her kick and battered into the sorcerer. He braced himself and though he managed to keep his footing for a moment, the gust was too strong and he was sent tumbling backwards.


    "Oops, sorry! I didn''t mean to blow you away like that." The sorceress laughed.


    Eames struggled to his feet and did something that I didn''t expect. The sorcerer, with a single pointed glance at me, turned tail and ran into the woods.


    "Coward." The sorceress muttered before she sprinted after him, a trail of yellow footprints being left in her wake.


    Something pulled me away by the wrist of my broken hand.


    "Hey, hey, hey! What''s the plan here? You called her, right? That''s what the whole "Mothers help me" shit was about?" Anna demanded.


    I, uhm," I began, realizing that if she hadn''t gotten my attention that I wouldn''t have looked away. The Sorceress, any amount of dislike I had held for Mr. Bill Argus gone just like her glamor, was fucking astonishing. There was something different about seeing power of that magnitude through my own eyes and not through someone else''s memory. "I didn''t call for her specifically, but yes."


    Anna led me the short distance away from where I had been standing awestruck and over to where Arthur still lay in Ms. Lao''s lap in a hurry. My hand had been numb for so long that I was beginning to worry that the broken bones were the least of my worries, but I could feel the warmth of my friend''s hands in her gentle hold. With Arthur only avoiding death by the whims of a fickle forest spirit and the potential for Ms. Lao to still lose her grip on her sanity still very much at play, I shouldn''t have found as much pleasure in her touch as I did.


    I couldn''t blame myself too much though, could I? The amount of time I had left with her, with any of them, was rapidly approaching a point with which I could only count it in minutes.


    Anna crouched and put her hand on her mothers shoulder. "Ma, we should get him inside, alright?"


    "Okay." Ms. Lao answered, not looking up at her daughter. The blue light of the morning made the sick woman look pale and small against the dark shape of the woods behind her. She stood, legs shaking from weariness or the cold, but never looked up from Arthur. "He needs a hospital."


    Anna looked at me and I understood. The two of us both went to Arthur and raised him into a sitting position. His eyes were open but struggling to focus.


    Anna slapped him. "Wake up. You are too big for us to carry."


    "Hey, that hurt." Arthur whined, but the small pain seemed to bring him back just enough that he listened to his sister. With his help, each of his arms thrown over our shoulders, we managed to stand him up. Then, the four of us, no, the three Laos and I, I was not a part of them no matter how bad I wanted to be, started the short walk to the stairs of the ruined boarding house.


    We reached the steps and began to struggle to get Arthur''s annoyingly long body up them because of the difference in all of our heights. Before we could pass Arthur''s lankiness through the open back door, a growl echoed off the house from behind me.


    "Autumn. . . turn around." Anna whispered. She had taken her brother under his arms and had walked her half of him up the stairs backwards.


    I dropped Arthur''s legs and whirred around on the second step of the stairs. Auden, the sorcerers familiar, stood less than a step away from me. His four eyes were alight with his silver power and his terrible fangs were bared. Every part of him seemed oriented to send him up to my throat at the blink of an eye.


    "Hey Auden, you are a good boy, right?" I didn''t know what else to say. I couldn''t fight him. I had nothing left to fight him with. I risked a glance up from him and into the backyard. The sorcerer and sorceress were nowhere to be seen, but rapid flashes of yellow and gray light coming from within the embattled woods told me their struggle had not been settled yet.


    Auden, without relaxing himself at all, answered. "I. Am."


    Which, from his perspective I supposed was the truth. He held no allegiance or responsibility to me. Capturing me for his master would be exactly what a good boy would do.


    Just as the cold weight of all the things I had already felt began to settle onto my soul once again, which all manifested in one manner or another from the core feeling of both loss and what I was losing, a deep hum filled the air like static before a storm. The windows and broken pieces of the house rattled from its reverberations and I could feel the stairs beneath my feet shaking violently.


    Another growl rose from Auden''s throat and I knew my time was coming to a close.


    Just before he pounced and locked his maw around my arm or leg to drag me away, the four eyed wolf became surrounded in a blue energy that was so dark it was almost black. It snapped its head to my right and I followed its gaze.


    Just appearing from around the corner of the house, was Sam. Dragging himself forward and cloaked in the same dark blue, half his boney body remained rigid and frozen. Only one of his eye lights were present, alight with the same color as the energy that surrounded the two familiars, the other being nothing but an empty socket.


    Auden''s silver eyes shone within the dark blues and his silver power began to coat him and push back.


    Sam, nearly half way to the stairs despite having to crawl, stopped and the low hum rose in the air. My familiar, spoke. "Elid."


    Without warning, the blue energy surrounding Auden collapsed in a violent burst of sound and the four eyed wolf vanished.


    Slack jawed, I stared at the spot the familiar had been in only a moment ago. Trying to understand what had just happened, I turned to my still partially petrified familiar. "What did you just do?"


    Sam, still dragging himself towards me, remained consistent. "What is your name?"


    So much had happened, I had almost forgotten that I had been dragged into a memory just before I had slain the second and hopefully final creature. How many hours ago had that been? And yet, whatever directive Sam was under still compelled him despite the time that had passed. I had reached a point where his questions didn''t annoy me. I knew, no matter what I did, I would have to answer them before he could move on. So, I answered them in quick succession while I went and picked him up off the ground.


    "How did you do that? Is he dead?" I asked Sam, moving through the then empty doorway. He was heavier since his rebirth, which made sense considering how large he had grown.


    In his standard hypnotic basso, he answered. "I sent him away."


    I carried him into the boarding house and the door shut behind me suddenly.


    Ms. Lao turned both locks and pointed towards the kitchen. "Go sit at the table."


    Her commanding tone had returned and without ever really deciding to listen to her, I went and did just as she said.


    Head laid down on his own folded arms, Arthur sat at the table. Anna sat on the side opposite her brother and pulled out the chair next to her for me to sit. I did. Just as I sat down and placed Sam''s half stiff body on the table, the night caught up with me. My face hurt and I could taste blood in my mouth. Every part of my body ached in ways I had never felt before. The numbness in my hand waned and a throbbing pain came roaring in its place. I was beyond tired, feeling so worn out, so ragged, that nothing seemed real. I looked at Sam and then Arthur, but it felt like it took my mind an extra second to process what I was seeing. Raw, that was the only word that I could find to fit the way I felt. Then, the thoughts came. Flashes of the different horrors and feelings I had been rung through the night before collided in my mind and it was too much. I couldn''t take it.


    "Mortal," Sam growled at Anna. "Comfort her, I am unable to."


    Silent tears rolled down my cheeks because I was too tired to cry. The sound of Anna''s chair screeching against the wooden floor of the kitchen filled my ears and then I felt her wrap an arm around me. I refused to close my eyes, despite wanting nothing more than to do that very thing, for fear of slipping into The Well. My friend didn''t speak to me. Which, I was grateful for because I would have been unable to answer.


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    I heard Ms. Lao''s voice and it sounded distant and watery. "How is she?"


    A hand touched the shoulder that wasn''t buried into Anna and I looked up to see the stern woman looking down at me. I tried to blink the tears away but was unable to do so fully. "A little breakfast and you will feel better."


    Without another word, I watched Ms. Lao turned away from me and performed one of the most impressive feats of small magic that I had ever seen. Within a matter of what seemed like minutes, a veritable feast had been spread over the table. At some point she had moved Sam off the table and placed him on the ground, where the skeletal cat had begun stretching his way into full mobility again. Arthur had raised his head as soon as the first plate of what I would later learn were referred to as pancakes and began to devour them three at a time. The man who had been gored through the stomach just a few hours before seemed to have no issue filling his gut. Eggs, round sausages, thin potatoes that had been shredded like cheese, the pancakes, and pitchers of milk and orange juice had all been laid on the table faster than I could have buttered a piece of bread by the woman who I knew to be fatally ill. She sat beside her son and passed plates and utensils to her daughter.


    Handing me a clean white cloth, she gave me a little smile. "Dry your face and eat."


    After a moment, I did as she said.


    I wiped my face with the cloth silently, finding myself unable to say thank you. Just before I took a bite of the thin potatoes, three sharp knocks came from the back door and everyone in the kitchen turned to look at it.


    Did she beat him? I wondered, terrified of who was outside the door if she hadn''t.


    "Keep eating." Ms. Lao stood and left the kitchen.


    Arthur was the only one that listened to his mother, barely taking enough time to breath between bites.


    A moment later, Ms. Lao returned. The sorceress, with her messy blond hair and revealing dress, followed behind her barefoot.


    I looked up at her and had the strange feeling that I was underwater or in a dream.


    "Autumn Aubrey. . ." The sorceress began.


    Ms. Lao held up a hand and glared at the wild looking woman. "Breakfast first. She has been through enough for now."


    Her words were firm and unyielding, but I knew she didn''t have the knowledge necessary to understand who she had just interrupted. The sorceress had answered my call for the Mothers and had evidently defeated a sorcerer in open combat without even dirtying her dress. If the sorceress willed it, no one in the kitchen would even know they were being killed.


    In what would have shocked me to core if I hadn''t been too exhausted to feel, the sorceress nodded at Ms. Lao in agreement and sat in the chair at the head of the table. "Yes, of course. Breakfast first."


    Somewhere between when the meal had begun formally and the point with which it seemed like everyone but me was solely focused on their respective plates, I lost my appetite.


    The food was good and in truth was one of the better meals I had ever had, but after the flood of overwhelm that had washed away everything but my pain and weariness, I just wasn''t that hungry. Perhaps after my other needs, a shower, my hand, the month of sleep I felt like I needed, were met I would want something to eat.


    I snuck glances at the unnamed sorceress whenever I thought she wouldn''t notice. The woman who would take me back to what amounted to a prison, the woman that I had called for, wasn''t what I had pictured. Allowing herself to be commanded by a mortal and answering in turn by sitting down politely and sharing a meal wasn''t exactly the fierce response I had anticipated when I thought about being discovered or revealing myself to the Mothers.


    Did you reveal yourself to her, really? A thought came. Unless most of the mortal world was just sorceresses and sorcerers living under the mask of glamors, I had a point. If I had a stone for every time a mortal turned out to be someone in a magical disguise, I''d have two. Which isn''t a lot but its strange that it happened twice.


    Without really meaning to speak, I muttered. "How did you find me?"


    The sorceress looked at Mr. Lao and then at me. "You called for help, How could I not?"


    I followed her logic. "What happened to Eames?"


    She raised an eyebrow at me. "The sorcerer?"


    "Yes." I answered, meeting her eyes and then looking back down at my half cleaned plate.


    A memory, one that I was fairly certain was mine, played in my head whenever I looked at her. My mother had been holding me in her lap. It couldn''t have been long after I had stolen The Well because everything was out of focus and blurry. A woman I didn''t know had been there. When she had entered the room, where she had come from, or who she was, I didn''t know. She had made my mother cry, I remembered that. I remembered crying myself, because somehow I knew that whatever the woman had told my mother had been bad and I had been the cause of it.


    Whenever I met the sorceress'' eyes, I instantly felt like that little girl sitting on her mother''s lap and crying because she knew she had done wrong.


    "Gone," The sorceress said bluntly. She glanced at the Lao''s, starting with Anna and ending with Ms. Lao. "Can we agree that the meal is over? I am certainly full."


    "We can. Who are you?" Ms. Lao answered, earning the full attention of the sorceress.


    "My name is Ulet. I have answered Autumn Aubrey''s call for help in the place of the nine Mothers. I have come to return her to Zenithcidel." Ulet answered.


    I was grateful I had cried my eyes dry not long before. It was impossible to break down further than I already had without literally falling to pieces.


    Ms. Lao opened her mouth to respond but then closed it without speaking. Which made sense after all the sick woman had witnessed that night. Anna had some idea of what Zenithcidel was, about aura and The Well, and the truth of wider reality. She had told me that she had attempted a brief explanation but Ms. Lao hadn''t understood.


    Ulet continued. "There is an unusual energy emanating from your son," She spoke, her voice clear and fluid. Calm. "I do not know what the sorcerer did to him. I would inspect him before we depart if you will allow it."


    Arthur let out a snore from within his folded arms. He had returned to the position before he had even finished chewing his last bite of breakfast.


    The sorcerer? Ulet didn''t know about the spirit. I had only called for help after the black nailed creatures had burned into thin air. When she had arrived, still wearing the glamor of Mr. Bill Argus, all she had seen was Eames and his familiar. Could she sense that I had awakened the color of my soul or that I had opened a second channel the way she could sense the spirit within Arthur?


    Spiraling down that vortex of questions and realizations, a much more important question came to mind and I was powerless to stop myself from asking it. "You''ve been here the whole time. I find it terribly odd that there were two sorceresses in disguises that just so happened to stumble upon the same boarding house. Why didn''t you take me back as soon as you arrived?"


    Something brushed against my hand, and I peeked down to see Anna''s fingers intertwine with my own beneath the table. She pulsed her fingers twice and I responded in turn.


    "It is not odd at all. I did not stumble upon this place, I was led to it." Ulet answered.


    "By who?" I questioned.


    "Your familiar," She said, nodding down to Sam who was shaking the last stiff spot out of his boney tail. "I spotted him the moment his paws landed on mortal soil and tracked him to your location."


    "Impossible." Sam interjected, his voice full of disbelief.


    "As for why I did not apprehend you upon our first meeting, I could not be sure it was you until I saw you without your glamor. For a maiden with no training, you were able to cast doubt into my mind with your working." She pushed her chair back from the table and crossed her muscular legs, sending the hem of her short dress perilously high up her thighs. Despite having fought on dew damp and disturbed ground or chasing her enemy through dense woods without shoes, her feet were clean and unmarked.


    That''s the difference. I realized, remembering the state my own feet had been left in after my first walk in the woods behind the boarding house. A smirk turned the corner of my mouth up just a bit. The only thing holding me back from being just as strong as Ulet was learning how to keep my feet clean.


    I would have laughed if I could have summoned the strength for it.


    Ulet yawned and ran her hands through her wild blonde hair. "Shall I look at him?"


    Ms. Lao rubbed her palm against one of her eyes. "Why?"


    Ulet raised her eyebrow. "It is unusual for mortals to radiate energy. That is reason enough."


    "No," Ms. Lao waved her hands in front of herself. "Apprehend? Tracked? Why are you returning her anywhere?"


    "She is a fugitive? A criminal? A thief? An escapee?" Ulet responded as if it was shocking that the mortal woman in front of her was not well versed in the criminal underbelly of Zenithcidel.


    Ms. Lao''s face pinched into a grimace and she closed her eyes.


    Anna pulsed her fingers in mine again. "But she called for you. She is turning herself in, doesn''t that mean anything?"


    I looked at my friend, knowing it would probably be the last time I saw her. I was too exhausted to go through the mental processes of recognizing how much I owed her and how much risk I had introduced to her life. After it all, she was still trying to help me. If there were better people than Anna, Then I and none of the other women''s memories I had lived through had met them.


    "No, It does not," Ulet answered and stood. "She called for the Mothers out of self preservation. That is hardly a redeeming reason."


    The sorceress Aura sprang to life at her feet as she stepped back from the table. Lines, like those that had stretched up her back and out into wings when she had been facing Eames, extended out from her and ran in two clockwise arcs before they met and formed a circle.


    Sam bounded from the ground and up to the table, where he did not anticipate his claws to clink against the white plates atop it. Faster than I could see him land, he jumped again and wound up on the counter by the sink.


    "If you could all be silent for a moment, this is very delicate working and requires a great deal of my strength." Ulet warned, eyeing my skeletal familiar.


    "She doesn''t want to go." Ann said angrily.


    "That is unfortunate but irrelevant." Ulet answered.


    The circle around her rose into perfectly symmetrical lines of yellow power from the ground, reaching up past her body and meeting above her head.


    It''s a cage, I realized. for me.


    "I want to go with her." Anna continued.


    "That is unfortunate but irrelevant." Ulet repeated, strain evident on her face.


    Anna let go of my hand and all my tired eyes could see was one of the dirty plates spinning through the air and shattering against the wall in a high pitched break.


    The symmetrical lines fell back the way they had come and the circle around Ulet''s clean feet vanished.


    Anna, eyes wide in disbelief at her own actions, was holding her breath.


    Ulet''s face spread into the wild smile she had worn moments before she had outmatched a full fledged sorcerer. "You should not have done that, you silly little girl. It seems that I will be the one to teach you why mortals should not mettle in a sorceresses affairs."


    "Ms. Ulet! You will not threaten my daughter." Ms. Lao snapped.


    Arthur snored in agreement.


    Ulet glared at me and seethed. "You don''t know enough to even understand this, but using power like that has a cost. I can not simply start over and act like nothing happened. I can not simply shrug off the desire I have to pull each of your fingernails out of their beds one by one. I must return you to Zenithcidel and all of you would do well to remember what I am capable of before you continue to disrupt me!"


    Arthur snored in defiance.


    A positively wicked fire burned in Anna''s eyes. I knew, just by seeing it, that as soon as my captor began to construct my cage again, that another plate would go sailing through the air.


    From some part of the house above the kitchen, a heavy thud echoed down the stairs.


    All of us except Arthur turned our eyes to the ceiling.


    Another thud came from the top of the stairs.


    "Av." Ulet sighed.


    A large bird swooped into the kitchen and landed directly on the sorceress''s tangled blonde hair like it was a nest. It folded its wings and revealed that it was no larger than a finch or sparrow. Its wings however were the size of an eagles or a hawks. With a head that looked like it had been shaped by someone pinching their thumb and forefinger together and pulling upward, it let out a confused series of chirps and notes.


    Ulet''s face ran pale. "Are you sure?"


    The bird, who must be Av and her familiar, chirped in response.


    Ulet refocused on me. "The situation has changed. If your friend interferes with me again, I will kill her."


    "What?" I asked.


    "Because of the breakfast and the throwing of plates, an entire council of sorcerers are on their way here as we speak." Ulet growled.


    Arthur snored.

 Chapter Twenty Nine: A Bird Doesnt Understand

    "What does that mean?" Ms. Lao asked, and I could see the remnants of the fear she had worn the night before beginning to reconnect and grow.


    "Apologies, I forgot who I am speaking to," Ulet sighed and some of the tension she held clenched in her jaw released. She turned to me. "The one who had you by the hair? He isn''t strong enough to be a part of a council. A weakling, hardly worth considering a sorcerer at all."


    Through the memories I had viewed, I had heard the word coven several times and I gathered that a council must be the male version of that. "How many are there?"


    "Nine, each of them far stronger on their own than the sorcerer you faced and beyond what I am currently able to do myself," Ulet said bluntly. She waved me towards her. "Hurry now, your familiar too."


    I turned to look at Sam, still on the counter by the sink. Next to him was exactly what I needed at that moment.


    I would not be leaving the Lao''s to meet the terrible danger I had summoned.


    Quick as I could manage, I left my seat and stepped to where Sam sat. Pulled from the wooden block it had been sheathed in, I brandished a large kitchen knife in the direction of the sorceress.


    "Honestly? You mean to attack me with an ordinary knife?"


    "Of course not, I am not stupid," I said, turning the knife and placing the length of its blade in line with the big vein on my wrist. "If I die, The Well goes with me. How long do you think it will take me to bleed out?"


    I''d won, I knew it and I could see that Ulet knew it in her furious eyes.


    "I do not have time for this." She said flatly.


    "That is unfortunate and irrelevant." I threw her own words back at her.


    Ms. Lao let out a momentary burst of laughter before she clamped her mouth shut with a hand.


    Jaw clenched, I saw her force the symmetrical lines of the cage up from the power gathered at her feet again.


    "Autumn Aubrey, come to me please." Ulet spoke, her voice gentle.


    I dropped the knife and did as she asked. It would have been awfully rude of me to deny her request. She had said please, after all.


    "Autumn! What are you doing?" Anna shouted, standing up from her chair. It looked like she tried to move but it seemed like her shoes were stuck to the ground.


    That was a funny thing to happen to someone.


    I looked down at my own feet. Ulet had been nice enough to draw me a line with her yellow aura to follow so I wouldn''t get lost on my way to her cage.


    "She has been charmed." I heard Sam say.


    "Come on kitty, it''s time to go." I said to my familiar just as I stepped into the cage Ulet had made for us.


    The bird atop Ulet''s head let out a mad jumble of chirps and whistles and the sorceress rolled her eyes. "Honestly?"


    The bird chirped again.


    "Fine," She made a gesture with her hand. "Come, all of you. There is little time."


    Anna stepped through first, holding on to me. Ms. Lao helped Arthur up from his seat and stepped timidly into the cage. Sam came last and sat his boney ass right on top of Ulet''s barefoot.


    "If any of you move, we will all die, so be still please."


    The yellow lines that made the cage widened until they closed us in completely.


    Then, suddenly, I felt like all of my insides were being inverted.


    The next moment, the cage vanished and all of us went spilling out of it.


    The bird, Av, unfurled its oversized wings and flew out of the broken structure we had landed in. Dilapidated stone wall surrounded us with entire sections crumbled to the ground in heaps. A hard packed dirt floor and a ceiling that steadily let streams of dust fall to the ground completed the structure.


    Ulet had stood and held herself up against the far wall with an extended arm.


    I went to her.


    ¡°How did you do that? I asked


    ¡°I do not know.¡± Ulet replied, sitting herself down on the ground and leaning against the wall.


    ¡°How can you not know?¡±


    Eyes closed, Ulet grimaced as if my question had physically harmed her.


    ¡°When a feline or a snake has slithered or crept into its nest, does a sparrow need to understand how it is able to fly before it takes to the sky? Or, does it escape the predator and let the wind take it because it is a bird and that''s what birds do?" Ulet seethed, the very fact that she was having to speak to me seemed to continue to pain her.


    "What kind of fucking answer is that?" I continued, unsatisfied.


    "I did it because it is within my nature to do it. We are sorceresses. Shaping reality to our will is what we do." Ulet answered.


    "That''s why you charmed me?" I asked. The only reason she hadn''t left the Lao''s for dead was because of the strongly worded birdsong of her familiar. if that was part of the nature of being a sorceress, I wanted no part of it.


    "What? No. I charmed you because you are a petulant child who was going to doom us all to a long and torturous death because you couldn''t accept the consequences of your actions." Ulet said, a vicious sneer spreading across her beautiful face. She stood up fully, and though we were very near the same height, It felt like she was looming over me like a vulture does a dying animal.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    "That''s," I started.


    She cut me off. "If I were one of the Mothers, your life would endanger The Well no longer. It would be back within the protection of Zenithcidel and you would be a trouble no longer."


    I backed away from her. With every step she took towards me, I took one back. I ran out of space to back into and found myself standing next to Anna.


    "What''s wrong with her?" Anna whispered into my ear.


    "I think," I remembered the blind fury I had felt within myself when I had bitten a chunk out of Eames neck. "It has something to do with how much of her aura she has used."


    Ulet glared at me. She did not look like she wanted to hurt me or like she was angry with me. She looked at me like I was foreign, unwanted, like she saw my very existence as a stain upon the world.


    "You aren''t yourself right now." I tried.


    "When you''ve done this as much as I have, you realize that the afterglow is full of truth. Truth, that is too unpleasant to accept when you are whole. I hate you, because you deserve to be hated. They told me how difficult you could be, that you were dangerous, but all I''ve seen is a silly little girl who deserves none of what she''s been given!"


    What the fuck have I been given?


    Just before Ulet could continue her tirade, I saw all the tension leave the sorceress''s body and she fell backwards.


    From outside, a woman strode inside the starlit ruins and caught Ulet before she slammed onto her back.


    "There, there. You''ve done quite enough. Rest." The woman said, her voice soft and sweet.


    "I. . ." I trailed off.


    "Autumn, who is that?" Anna whispered.


    I barely heard her.


    The woman laid the now relaxed Ulet to the ground gently and stood. She had lustrous red hair that came down to her shoulders before it was joined in a braid that reached the middle of her back. Pale skin and emerald eyes standing in contrast, she wore a cream colored wrap that covered all but her hands and shoes. She dusted the dirt off her dress and looked at me.


    With the exception of the infinitesimally small changes that age had brought on, it was like looking in a mirror.


    "Autumn?" Anna whispered again.


    "Mom. . ." I sighed, not realizing I had moved until I threw myself into the arms of my mother.


    She smiled and laughed, pulling me tight, and sighed. "My little Delpha."


    Whatever part of me that still held a shaky fingertip grasp on the piece that held me together let go. I let my mother support my weight and she gently lowered us to the dusty ground. Tears did not fall, I''d rid myself of those back at the table in the kitchen of the boarding house, but a different kind of relief flooded my exhausted soul. My head cradled in the ruffled fabric of her dress, I lay on my back and wished to never move again. The last time I had seen my mother before I had charmed the guard and made my escape came to my mind. She had left after our morning memory and gone out into the city to handle some sort of issue that I had no knowledge of. I had been very careful to not let her know that the morning was going to be any different than any of the others we shared. How had she felt when she returned home, probably with some sort of sweet bought just for me, and discovered I had gone.


    After all I had put her through, the first thing she had done was welcome me into her arms.


    "I''m sorry, I. . ." I didn''t know what else to say. No words I could find were strong enough to express to her what I was feeling.


    "Shhh," she hushed me gently, smoothing my hair back from my head with the palm of her hand. "You are forgiven by me, little Delpha. The joy of having you back is settlement enough. Who have you brought with you?"


    I sat up with my mother''s assistance and looked at the Lao''s. A weak looking Ms. Lao leaned against the dusty stone wall of the dilapidated structure we had appeared in. Anna stood in front of her, eyes locked on my mother. Arthur stood in front of his family, evidently having regained some portion of his strength. Sam sat rigid in front of all of them, his segmented tail swishing violently.


    "Sorceress Idensyn, I am Samsara." My familiar spoke, his deep voice taking on the rigidity of formality.


    "Well met Samsara, You are my daughter''s familiar I take it?"


    "Indeed." Sam rumbled in agreement.


    My mom looked down at me and whispered. "Is his voice always that low?"


    Sam answered for me. "No. I merely speak at this high of a frequency so I can be heard."


    "Ohhh," My mom responded. "Is that so?"


    I stood, wincing from the pain in my hand when I used it to push myself up.


    Not a moment later, the pain receded and then vanished completely.


    The glimmering, colorless, light of my mother''s aura washed from her hands over my broken one. A strange series of twinges made my fingers twitch and then she was done, her aura disappearing back into her palms.


    "You will have to explain to me later how you managed to break your thumb in five places."


    Flexing my healed hand several times to make sure the pain was truly gone. I noticed my mother had turned her emerald eyes up to Arthur. "Mom, this is Arthur, Anna, and Ms. Lao," I struggled to find the words necessary to give an accurate description of the family I had brought along with me. "They have been taking care of me."


    Even though it was rather reductive, it was true.


    "Then I am in your debt, Ms. Lao, Anna, and Arthur. I will ensure you return to your home safely."


    "No!" I blurted, surprising myself at the volume and intensity with which I spoke.


    I took a breath and tamped down the momentary flare of anger. "Its not safe where we came from. You can''t send them back."


    "You mean for them to stay with us?" My mother asked me.


    "I didn''t mean for them to be here at all. I didn''t mean for them to know who I was. But they are and they do and I owe them. I owe them more than I am able to repay and I know I''m not in the position to ask you for anything but you can''t send them away, I need them." I snapped, angry at. . .angry at, something. I couldn''t articulate what that something was, but I very much wanted to hurt it.


    "Calm, calm," My mother said, pulling me to her chest and smoothing my hair gently. "I can feel the truth in your words. I will take them home with me and see what I can do."


    "With you?" I asked, knowing my mother well enough that she chose her words very carefully almost always.


    "With me." She agreed and kissed the top of my head before clasping my shoulders and separating us.


    "And me?" I asked, a cold drop running down my spin and making me feel miles away from everyone around me.


    "My little Delpha. You must go before The Mothers." My mother sighed.


    Of course I did, I knew that, but in the moments of relief I had found in my mother''s embrace, I had forgotten.


    She led me out of the ruins and I found myself on a hilltop overlooking the city above Zenithcidel. I knew it existed but had never seen it with my own eyes.


    Night reigned from above, all encompassing and all reaching, but standing in defiance of the darkness beyond were thousands upon thousands of lights. Each of them powerless on their own, but together, they illuminated the sprawling city like it possessed its own sun. I had been within its streets and attended the various institutions that were scattered around it through the eyes of others, but none of the memories had impressed upon me the sheer scale of it.


    "Beautiful isn''t it?" My mother asked, turning me away from the dazzling view.


    "Yes." I agreed.


    "Down there, there are uncountable people, cultures, civilizations. All of them journeyed through chaos and placed their roots here, just for a chance to be near The Mothers," She hugged me again. "This would not be true if they were not fair and reasonable. You are to be punished, but do not fear it my child. I trust in their mercy."


    We turned the corner and I saw the black gate. A free standing archway built of some strange black stone that seemed to swallow the starlight around it, stood waiting for me. It was the very same type of gate that I had snuck through when I had ran away.


    I heard a shuffle from behind me and saw Anna peaking around the corner.


    "You will see her soon, I swear on my power that you will," My mother reassured me. "All that''s left is to step through, my little Delpha, they will be waiting on you."


    With nothing else to do, I crossed through the black gate to go before The Mother''s, to face the consequences of what I had done, to meet my fate with a small hope in my ragged little soul that my mother was right.

 Chapter Thirty: No, Mother

    If I had ever been to the place I arrived once I crossed through the black gate, I did not remember it.


    The first thing I noticed was the cool sensation of my bare feet stepping onto water.


    I looked down and saw my reflection, wavering with the gentle ripples in the water I had stepped into, looking back up at me.


    I didn¡¯t look nearly as worn out as I thought I did. There were no bags under my eyes and my hair was smoothed and clean. The places on my lip that had been busted by the hand of the sorcerer Eames had closed. Somehow, It seemed like I had just woken from a very long and restful slumber.


    The clothes that Anna had given me, the ones that had become filthy and torn and ruined by my struggles the night before, were gone.


    In the nonexistent space between the two sides of the black gate, I had somehow been healed, cleaned, and adorned in a simple white dress.


    Running my hand through my hair and over the dress, trying to understand how what had happened could have happened, I noticed it was not just my appearance that had been renewed.


    I no longer felt the ground down feeling that I had just moments before. The feeling of rawness that had come with being exhausted physically, mentally, and. . .I couldn¡¯t think of a word to describe the exhaustion of my soul so magically would have to do, was gone. I reached for my aura and to my surprise, found it full and replenished within me.


    I looked around and found myself standing atop the surface of dark water that stretched farther than my eyes could see. The light that seemingly had no source was dim but not dark, and gave the space a sleepy feeling.


    The black gate was nowhere to be seen and I felt a growing sense of unease at the difference between what I had expected and what I had been met with.


    Where were the scowling faces of the Mothers? Why had I not been thrown into chains and had my mind torn apart by their collected wills?


    After all, I had added several crimes to my already severely criminal history. A bath and clean clothes was absolutely not what I had imagined.


    I felt the water ripple against my feet and knew I was not alone.


    I turned and met a pair of deep blue eyes.


    I recognized them. I couldn''t remember how or when I had seen the woman before, but I knew that I had.


    A woman wearing a dress not dissimilar to mine had seemingly appeared out of thin air no more than a step behind me. Her hair, midnight blue at its roots but near white at its end and her icy eyes stood in stark contrast to her dusky skin. She was lean like a runner and radiated an aura of calm and stillness.


    I could see it in her eyes however that underneath that calm, was a roaring strength that could drown me in less than a moment if she so desired.


    I slowly lowered to my knees, her eyes following me fluidly as I went. Hoping I did not offend her, because no one had ever taught me the proper way to address a Mother, I spoke and bowed my head. ¡°It is an honor, Mother. I submit myself to my punishment.¡±


    I was scared, but it was a fear without the instincts that normally came alongside it. I felt no need to run because I knew the futility of it. I had no thoughts of fighting because I knew better than to try and fight what equated to a force of nature.


    ¡°Close enough,¡± The Mother spoke in a clear voice while stepping towards me. I could only see her feet, They were clean which further proved my theory, and moved with a lightness that almost made it seem like she was floating. She placed a single finger under my chin and raised my head to look up at her. ¡°Do not cloud your mind with fear of punishment. We have not arrived at that instance as of yet.¡±


    Her finger was cool to the touch, and I yet again found myself confused with the lack of anger and fury in her eyes.


    ¡°I know you.¡± I whispered without realizing the words had left my mouth.


    I could have imagined it, the light was very low after all, but I thought I noticed a momentary shift in her expression.


    Then, I could see nothing as she wrapped some manner of cloth over my eyes and tied it around the back of my head. Letting her cool hands guide me onto my back, I felt myself being raised from the surface of the water.


    ¡°She said she recognized me.¡± The Mother spoke in her calm tone.


    A new voice answered. ¡°You should not have spoken to the girl, I would not have given her the chance to see me.¡±


    "I felt bad for her." The Mother I had recognized said.


    The new voice spoke with an exotic accent that rolled and dipped in pitch as it went.


    Another Mother. . . Were they all there?


    Another new voice, low and punctuated followed. ¡°This is precisely why we should remove The Well and be done with this. It is too much trouble.¡±


    Three, I had counted three different voices and all of them had varied widely in attitude.


    A fourth voice, high and feminine and friendly just by the sound, came next. ¡°You weren¡¯t here the first time, Nami, but she¡¯s grown up to be so pretty.¡±


    One of them gasped and a tense silence filled the air.


    ¡°Leave it to you to make such a reckless mistake.¡± A fifth added.


    Light, from somewhere above me, shone through the cloth over my eyes and the fibrous silhouettes of the nine Mothers leaning over me appeared.


    The cloth did what it was intended to do however, I could not make out any specific details or features to differentiate any of them from one another.


    The sixth voice, measured and monotone, began. ¡°All of you would do well to remember that while she cannot see us, she can hear us. Which is why we all agreed to remain silent before she arrived,¡± I did not recognize the voice, but It did remind me of the way Eames had spoken when he had been nearly crushed by the creatures sent by the lich. ¡°Maiden Aubrey,¡± She addressed me, bringing my fear from where it had settled back to the front of my mind. ¡°Because of your actions, we must ensure the stability of The Well. Do you understand?"


    I didn''t. "I do."


    The hands of the nine Mothers were laid on my body. Two cradled my head, but beyond those the sensations were too close together for me to separate them.


    Laying there, in the moment following the Mother''s touch, a terrifying thought entered my mind. The place in my memory that held the days after I had stolen The Well was still a faded blur over eight years after they had occurred. Only after weeks and weeks of my mother holding my broken mind in her caring hands had I found myself again. If they were going into The Well through me, would I lose it all again? Was I going to forget it all? Sam, Arthur and the spirit, Ms. Lao, and everything else that had happened, would they be washed from my mind? Would I come out of the strange endless place after my trial by the Mothers and not be able to remember Anna?


    Would I even come out of the trial at all?


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    The only answer I received was a metallic sound thundering in my mind.


    Thunk.


    The Mothers using me as a conduit was surely the cause, I couldn''t have been slipping into a memory, not then.


    Thunk.


    Absolutely not, I refused. I would open my eyes and be standing within The Well with the Mothers. Well, no, I would open my eyes and see the darkness caused by the cloth blind within The Well with the Mothers. Would I though? I had never paid any attention to if what I was wearing in reality determined what I was wearing in the ethereal structure that was housed within my mind.


    Thunk.


    The fibrous silhouettes and that light from above that allowed me to see them faded and I fell straight down into the void.


    I opened my eyes and found myself at the bottom of The Well.


    The blindfold had not followed me into my mind, but I was still wearing the simple white dress. An seemingly endless amount of the trimetal walkways, hallways, and platforms were suspended above me but unlike every other time I had been in the structure, the only thing that was under my feet was the strange black material that seemed to hold the place together. As soon as I gathered my bearings and took a breath, an uncomfortable but familiar feeling settled over me.


    I was being watched.


    The bottom of The Well was a large semicircle made entirely of the black material. There was no sign of the Mothers. Only me, and after looking around for a second I realized, the faint outline of a door. Made of the same material as the rest of the space, if it had not been for the slight break that disrupted the otherwise seamless surface of the wall, I wouldn''t have seen it.


    The feeling, that unsettling vulnerability that only occurred when I was being seen by the unseen, was coming from behind the door.


    "Hello?" I asked aloud. An image flashed in my mind. A memory that I had lived through the eyes of the sorceress Reyna. Her companion, head held in the palm of the lich, screaming as the last of her life vanished.


    The lich was in The Well. That''s why I was able to hear it. That''s why it had known where to find me and where to send its creatures. It had been in my mind the whole time.


    I reached for my aura. If the Mothers were somewhere in The Well, I had to warn them.


    "There is no Lich in this place." A voice that sounded like nothing I had ever heard spoke from beyond the door.


    "Then what the fuck are you?" I asked, not convinced.


    The voice ignored my question.


    "The young ones have entered this place through you," There was something metallic about the way it sounded, a sharpness and uniformity that was utterly unhuman. "They will be displeased if they learn that I have undone the barriers."


    Young ones? I thought. "The Mothers?"


    Its voice ended at the precise volume it began in and did not waver throughout. There were no pauses or breaths, only a metallic stream of words. "I shall inform them of this if you wish."


    "Who are you?" I asked, walking slowly towards the door.


    "A question that you do not have the time for me to answer. Do you wish for me to show the young ones that you have been beyond the barriers?"


    Did I? Would they find that evidence enough that The Well was unstable and if they did, what would that mean for me?


    "I will show them." The metallic voice said.


    "Wait, No," I said, waving my hands in the general direction of the door. "Don''t do that."


    "As you wish." It spoke, followed by an all too familiar Thunk.


    Is this what''s been dragging me into memories? I thought, still trying to make sense of what was happening.


    "Yes. I sense that you are displeased with that." The metallic voice answered my thought.


    It answered my thought. . .


    "How did you do that?" I asked, reaching the door and running my hand over the faint outline of it.


    "I am within your mind," It answered in its strange scraping voice. "You are displeased with what I have shown you. Yet, you have benefited from my interruptions."


    "It''s just, that it hasn''t always been at the best time," I could find no hold or gap that I could push one of my fingers into to open the door. The notion that I not only held an ethereal structure within my mind but that there was something living in that structure had piqued my curiosity to a dangerous extent. "How long have you been here?"


    "The question is how long has here been around me." The grinding voice spoke again in its rising and fading way.


    Thunk


    "Wait, why are you doing that?" I asked, banging on the door.


    "It is time for you to leave, the young ones will be suspicious if you do not return from here when they do."


    Thunk


    "Why are you doing any of this?" I asked, not just wanting to know why it had brought me to the bottom of The Well. Why had it lowered the barriers and given me free roam? How fucking old did something have to be to call the Mothers "young ones"? I couldn''t understand any of it.


    ""I do it," The metallic voice said. Sounded like the clinking of chain armor or the crossing of swords, I heard whatever had been speaking press itself against the otherside of the door. "Because you remind me of Him."


    Thunk.


    Without another instance passing, I felt myself being pulled straight backwards and my consciousness crashed back into my body.


    The hands of the Mother''s left me and I opened my eyes against the cloth that covered them. Still silhouetted by the light from above, I focused my mind to try and prevent myself from making some movement or shift that would allow them to know that I had not just been laying there. I didn''t know why, but I knew somewhere deep inside of me that I should not inform the Mothers of my encounter with the thing at the bottom of The Well.


    The sixth voice that had spoken after the Mothers had arrived, spoke again. "Maiden Aubrey. How did you charm the guard outside of Idensyn Aubrey''s quarters?"


    There were things that I was going to choose to willfully withhold from the Mothers, but I did not wish to lie to them. Fortunately, I could answer their question honestly. "I do not know. When he caught me, it just. . .happened."


    The third voice, the low one that reminded me of someone knocking on a door, followed on the heels of my answer. "Liar!"


    "Silence," The sixth voice returned. "Maiden Aubrey, we will now inspect our seal."


    There was no question from the Mothers on if I understood, only a pressure over my stomach from all nine pairs of their hands pushing against the seal.


    "Already? It makes no sense," The second voice I had heard when the Mothers had arrived spoke, her voice sounding moody and dark. "I laid it without flaw."


    A twinge of pain jabbed through my navel and I arched my back in reaction. As quick as it had come, the pain vanished and I relaxed with a heavy sigh.


    "Maiden Aubrey," The fifth voice addressed me. The sound of it bore a quality that demanded it be listened to and respected. "Do you understand the weight of the decisions you have made?"


    Here it comes. I thought, knowing that though I didn¡¯t understand the lack of anger I had experienced, retribution was coming. "Yes, Mother."


    The first Mother, the one I had recognized, asked the next question. "Do you regret the decisions you have made?"


    The answer came to me before she ever finished speaking. Everything that had happened since I had escaped to the mortal realm ran through my mind, the good and the bad, the parts the Mothers knew and all of the things they didn''t, what I had lost and what I had gained. My answer came instantly. If I should speak honestly took me more time, but after it all, I couldn''t lie to the Mothers. Even if it meant I made things much, much, worse for myself.


    "No, Mother." I said, feeling all the heat leave my body in anticipation of what would come next.


    All that followed was silence.


    The light from above winked out and returned me to the unknown of full darkness.


    I did not move. I did not know how long I had laid there but I tried, I really fucking tried, to not speak. I tried to let whatever was coming to me, come to me, but I could only be kept in the dark for so long.


    "Hello?" I said aloud, wondering if being left in the dark, unable to move and unable to see, was the price I would pay for what I had done.


    A hand, cool to the touch, grasped my right hand. "You will keep your blind until you leave this place."


    She wasn''t asking or advising. It was a command backed by that terrifying strength I had felt when I looked in her eyes.


    "Yes, Mother." I agreed.


    A small exhalation came from her and I felt myself be lifted and placed onto my feet atop the water that filled the space.


    "I am leading you to a gate. Once you cross it, you may remove your blind." The Mother instructed.


    I did not allow her to lead me into a step. "Wait," I said, turning my head to look around the darkness. "Why aren''t I in chains or having The Well ripped out of me? Is that it?"


    "That is it," The Mother said in her calm voice, but when she finished her sentence, that strength she held within herself had come roaring to the surface. "For Now."


    I didn''t like that. I did not like that one little bit.


    "The gate is before you Maiden Aubrey. Step forward please." The Mother said.


    I hadn''t moved. Had she moved me or the gate? Does it matter? I thought, decided that it didn''t, and asked the much more important question aloud.


    "Are you Nami?" I asked.


    The Mother sighed. She placed her hand in the middle of my back, right between my shoulder blades. "Yes."


    Then, she pushed me.

 Chapter Thirty One: Gone Home

    Not being able to see is not something I would recommend to anyone that could help it.


    My hands had shot up and began untying the cloth over my eyes before Mother Nani¡¯s hand had ever left my back.


    They had not been quick enough however and I crashed to the ground of wherever was on the other side of the black gate in a heap.


    I rolled onto my back and wrenched the cloth from over my eyes and immediately wished I hadn¡¯t.


    Light, painfully bright and blinding, forced me to recover my eyes with my hands until they adjusted.


    Something sharp pricked my side and I jumped to my feet, still struggling to see fully. ¡°Hey!¡±


    ¡°Refrain from repeating your action and I will have no need to repeat mine.¡± Sam said, staring up at me with his blue eye lights.


    ¡°Next time I¡¯m blinded and pushed through a portal, I will make sure to look out for you before I fall.¡± I said, balling my fists and placing them on my hips. I wasn¡¯t actually annoyed, not completely. Seeing Sam had actually made me smile, just a bit.


    ¡°Thank you, my lady.¡± My familiar answered in his deep voice.


    The gate that I had been pushed through had disappeared and I had fallen into an ornate hallway and onto Sam. We were the only two souls in the hall that was all white marble and stone. The ceiling was low and small and bright lanterns hung from it every few steps.


    ¡°Where are we?¡± I asked.


    My skeletal familiar stood and circled once around my feet before beginning to walk towards the end of the hall to my right. ¡°I do not know, but I am to take you to your mother.¡±


    I took up beside him. Still finding it strange that he had been barely as tall as my ankle only days before. I found it easier to focus on what was in front of my face instead of engaging with the vortex of unknowns my meeting with the Mothers had left, so I asked. ¡°Why have you started calling me that sometimes?¡±


    ¡°I have never called you that.¡± He stated flatly


    ¡°You know what I mean! ¡°My lady¡±,¡± I dropped my voice as low as it could go to mimic how he sounded. ¡°Is it one of the things about being a familiar that you are not allowed to know, or another of your compulsions?¡±


    Sam was silent for a time, which meant he was taking time to think or he was flat out ignoring my question, there was no in between.


    We reached the end of the hall and I followed Sam through several turns and archways that all matched the grandeur of where I had landed. After the last left turn, I saw my Mother engaged in conversation with a man I didn¡¯t recognize.


    I didn¡¯t realize until I had taken several steps past him, but Sam had stopped walking as soon as we had turned the corner.


    ¡°Come on, you haven¡¯t taken me to my Mother yet.¡± I turned and said to him.


    I received nothing but silence, stillness, and the unwavering gaze of his two blue eye lights.


    ¡°Are you petrified again? Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°I will not move any closer to that man.¡± Sam growled.


    I looked at the man, only the second man I had ever seen in Zenithcidel, and could find nothing off putting about him.


    Tall, long white hair tied tight off the back of his head, and a wolfish face gave him a dangerous look but it seemed to only be skin deep. My mother seemed utterly relaxed standing just a hand¡¯s breadth away from him. Even the two hilts, one gold and the other black as night, that I could see peeking out from his left hip did not give me pause.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Sam flinched. ¡°I cannot know. Please do not ask me again.¡±


    Understanding that there were parts of Sam¡¯s mind that would hurt him if he tried to reach them, I wondered what the wolfish looking man could have done to Sam in his past life, whoever he had been, to leave a negative impression so large that it transcended my familiars death and rebirth. ¡°I get it, I¡¯ll come back for you in a minute.¡±


    I started towards my mother, but Sam spoke before I took a step.


    ¡°I am bound to you Autumn Aubrey. I call you my lady because that is precisely what you are.¡± My familiar said in his low voice.


    ¡°So it is because you are my familiar then,¡± I sighed, actually feeling somewhat disappointed. ¡°I thought you had begun to grow fond of me.¡±


    ¡°A truth is capable of being rendered true for more than one reason.¡± Sam said and promptly turned his attention to pretending to lick the bones of his paw.


    Wait, had he just said what I thought he said?


    I opened my mouth to try and find out, but fell short of words when a hand cupped my shoulder.


    "Come my little Delpha, it is time for us to go home." My mother said, her sweet voice immediately calming the spike of fear that came with being touched unsuspectedly.


    "Who was that you were talking to?" The man was no longer in the hall, which allowed Sam to walk beside my mother and I.


    "Some form of guard or retainer, I believe. We struck up an idle conversation while I was waiting for you," I saw her look at me out of the corner of her eye. "You look well, better than I understand you have been since you left."


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    She must have been talking to the Lao''s, asking questions as to what my time away had been like. I didn''t disagree, I hadn''t realized how many small pains and aches I had accumulated until they had been washed away. Through only being able to move through the boarding house at night and then being unable to get restful sleep due to the fact that every time I closed my eyes I was pulled into a memory, I had been worn out to my bones. The restoration that had happened when I had entered the space I had met the mothers in had been utterly thorough and complete.


    Which, absolutely did not make any fucking sense.


    We reached the end of the ornate hallway and my mother stopped us in front of the first door I had seen in whatever building I had been dropped into. "Stay by my side, Autumn. This may be overwhelming for you."


    What? I thought, not understanding what she meant. She put her arm over my shoulders, pulled me close, and took me through the open door.


    Through memories that were not my own, I had seen glimpses of cities, schools, and towns but they had not prepared me for the bustling streets I walked into within the embrace of my mother.


    More people that I had ever seen in my life, combined, streamed through the spaces between buildings both short and tall. The noise, I couldn''t believe the noise. Murmurs, conversations, yells and shouts, all blended together with the dull percussion of thousands of footsteps landing on the cobblestone streets.


    I was too busy trying to take it all in to resist my mother pulling me into movement. She moved quickly, effortlessly weaving us through aurament clad soldiers, a group of short purple skinned traders who were locked in a vicious argument about some object I could not see, and white aproned men that stood just off the street around a pot bigger than the tub in my bathroom at the boarding house.


    Whatever they were cooking filled the city air with a heavy smoke that smelled of spices.


    Everything I managed to see and smell and hear from beyond the cover of my mothers arm was all new to me. "Where are we?"


    I felt my mother sigh. "We are within the first plane of Zenithcidel," She turned us off the busy street. We came to a large white bricked building that stood separate from any others. A black metal fence surrounded the massive building and when we came to the gate, it parted in its middle on its own. My mother walked us through it and it swung closed. Still moving at a speed that kept me from seeing anything for more than a moment, she wrapped us around the side of the building, through a nondescript door, and down several flights of stairs. Then and only then, did she release me and take a breadth. "Just beyond that door lies the black gate that you escaped to earth through."


    Standing in the stairwell of what I realized was the place I had lived for literally as long as I could remember, I realized that there had been nothing but walls and a gate separating me from a massive city. "We are underground? There were clouds and a sky? I saw the sun."


    "The Mothers are truly great, let that be a lesson to you." My Mother answered.


    The mention of the Mothers brought all of the unknowns I had been left with back to my mind. "Why am I with you? Nothing happened to me. I don''t want to hear the shit about how the Mothers are merciful. It doesn''t make sense! I thought I was gonna die or get thrown into chains, " I didn''t mean to, but my voice gradually rose until I was yelling and I could not stop the flow of words coming from me. " For fucks sake, I deserve it. . . Why didn''t they punish me? I put everything at risk and nearly lost it, but they reward me? I don''t understand!"


    A great pain and sadness appeared on my mother''s face. She put her hands on my arms and squared me straight to her. "My child, you have not been punished yet. I have been tasked with delivering your sentence."


    It seemed to cost her greatly to say the words she was being forced to. "Tell me. I need to know what''s going to happen to me Mom."


    "What will happen to you will come in time. Each of the nine Mothers will come for you when they chose to. When that happens, each of them will punish you in the way they see fit."


    "But," I started, trying to wrap my mind around what my mother was saying. Nine punishments, when they chose, how they see fit. "What does that mean?"


    She hugged me then, but my mind was too occupied to find any comfort in it. "I do not have the knowledge necessary to know what the nature of their punishments will be, and I know how terrifying this must be for you but," She squeezed me harder. "It means that you are alive, it means that you are with me, and it means that they have given you mercy."


    Normally, understanding something makes it easier to contend with the reality of it. I understood completely what my mother was saying. I didn''t know when, but I would have to pay for what I had done nine separate times.


    I let her hold me. What else was there for me to do?


    My stomach groaned audibly.


    "Mom?" I said.


    "I believe that you need something to eat." She answered.


    "I believe that you are right." I said over another of my stomach''s ravenous growls.


    We took the last flight of stairs to the floor that I had lived most of my remembered life on and stopped in front of the door I had left through when I had made my escape. "Where is the guard?"


    "They didn''t think it necessary. You have returned by your own free will." She paused and the look of sadness returned to her face.


    I didn''t like that one bit. "What? What is it?"


    "The mortals that accompanied you. . .I''m sorry, but. . .They have been returned to where they came from." My mother said, pain evident in her words.


    Sam spoke. I had forgotten he was with us. "I would not have told her that Lady Idensyn."


    I was suddenly out of breath and I could not catch it.


    Anna? Gone. Arthur? Gone. Ms. Lao? Gone. All of them gone home.


    I growled. "You swore. You swore that I would see her again."


    A dark and terrible desire rose within me. Could I make it to the gates before I was stopped? The only one around to stop me was my mother. Would I resist? Did I really have it in me to fight the woman who birthed me?


    My mother, Idensyn Aubrey, Sorceress of the Second Circle, laughed. "I didn''t want to do it, but Anna insisted."


    She opened the door and gently pushed me into the first home I had ever known. Through the small entryway that led to the kitchen I had eaten most of my meals in, I saw something that I could have never imagined in my wildest dreams.


    The kitchen had people in it that were not my mother and I.


    My mother had not broken her word.


    They Lao¡¯s were in the kitchen, my kitchen, each of them busy cooking and making food.


    Anna looked down from the pot whose contents she was stirring and saw Sam''s skeletal walk into view. She stopped stirring, let her spoon fall into the pot, and bolted to where my mother and I stood.


    "Did you do it? Did she believe you?" She asked my mother hurriedly, throwing her arms around me.


    "I don''t think," I said, hugging my friend back. "I''ve never been happier that I was lied to"

 Chapter Thirty Two: Dinner

    ¡°Three days?¡± I repeated in utter disbelief.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand why she is surprised.¡± Ms. Lao said to my mother from across the table.


    We all sat around the table that I had eaten at alone more times than I could remember. Suspended in the air at just the right height, it bore no legs and hung from no chains. The scattered remnants of the food I had devoured with a focus I had rarely found myself able to harness spread from end to end.


    It had been the first time that I had eaten at that table with more than just my mother as company.


    The same was not true for everyone else.


    ¡°It is evident to me, Ms. Lao, that something transpired to make the three days past feel like hours. I believe that is why she is surprised.¡± My mother answered.


    ¡°Ah. That makes sense,¡± Ms. Lao nodded. ¡°And I asked you to call me Mai.¡±


    Mai Lao. I never knew Ms. Lao had a first name. I looked at the two women who could not appear to be any more different. My mother, long red hair and brilliant green eyes, seemed to be genuinely enjoying talking to the dark haired woman opposite her.


    ¡°My apologies, Mai,¡± My mother answered, placing special emphasis on using the name she had been asked to. ¡°After a century and a half, it becomes very difficult to break old habits.¡±


    Arthur leaned forward. ¡°Wait, how old?¡±


    ¡°Arthur! Don¡¯t be rude.¡± Ms. Lao snapped.


    My mother smiled. ¡°Mai, he has not offended me. Naturally, as all of you grow accustomed to what is normal here, there will be moments of surprise,¡± She looked at Arthur. ¡°I am just past my one hundred and fifty ninth birthday. Which,¡± she added with a raised eyebrow and a pointed finger. ¡°Is still considered quite young.¡±


    I met Anna¡¯s questioning eyes and nodded, reaffirming the truth in what my mother had said. My mother had once told me that the oldest Mother was nearly one thousand years old. I didn¡¯t fully understand how it happened and my mother had said herself that she was hardly an expert, but something about using your aura, your soul, kept the body young.


    ¡°Ma! You¡¯re like a third her age.¡±


    The disbelief in Arthur¡¯s voice combined with his eyes shifting between the two women said exactly what he was thinking.


    Ms. Lao scowled at her son.


    Arthur seemed to choose his words very carefully. ¡°You are so. . . young!¡±


    Ms. Lao smiled, though her brows remained furrowed. ¡°Good boy.¡±


    I took the opportunity to interject. ¡°Mom. How was I gone for three days?¡±


    ¡°I do not know, my little Delpha,¡± She answered, shrugging her shoulders. ¡°There are uncountable amounts of ways such a thing could be done.¡±


    Anna spoke. ¡°How many names do you have? What is a Delpha?¡±


    My mother laughed and I couldn¡¯t help but smile at the sound. It was a wonder that she was not utterly heartbroken over what I had done. ¡°It¡¯s not what is a Delpha, but who is Delpha.¡±


    ¡°It is a story she used to tell me when I was young.¡± I said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t break my heart. You are still young.¡± My mother said, feigning falling into hysterics


    ¡°What''s it about?¡± Arthur asked.


    ¡°Delpha is this little fox,¡± I began


    My mother interrupted. ¡°A very curious fox and she isn¡¯t little because she is small, she is a cub.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± I continued. ¡°Delpha is this little fox cub and is very curious. She lives in a burrow with her parents, Papa rabbit and Mama rabbit.¡±


    ¡°Papa and Mama found Delpha in the woods when she was a baby and took her in. And they live in a warren, not a burrow. That is very important.¡± My mother corrected me.


    ¡°What is the difference?¡± Ms. Lao asked.


    ¡°A burrow is little more than a hole to hide in but a warren has tunnels and rooms. Plenty of nooks and crannies to keep a curious fox cub busy.¡± My mother answered.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± I said. I never liked the part in the warren which explained why I had forgotten. ¡°But Delpha gets bored and wants to leave. So, she goes to the rabbits and tells them.¡±


    My mother jumped back in. ¡°You are leaving out so much! When she goes to her parents, Papa says,¡± My mother dropped her voice and put on a stern look, giving us her best impression of a gruff rabbit. ¡°No. There is a dragon that lives on top of the mountain and he will eat you like he ate all the rabbits that used to live here with us.¡±


    I took up my imitation of the high voice my mother always used for Mama. ¡°When you are older and bigger, we will go with you but you have to stay inside where it¡¯s safe.¡±


    My mother cackled at my voice. Her laughter spread to Anna and Arthur. Even Ms. Lao let out a chuckle.


    Any hint of reservation or embarrassment left me then and I threw myself into the story fully. ¡°You''re right, I did leave something important out. For Delpha''s whole life, these terrible earthquakes shake the warren and make dirt rain down inside the tunnels. Anyways, Delpha isn''t just curious," I paused.


    "She''s mischievous." My mother filled my pause in a wicked tone.


    "So she waits until Papa and Mama go to sleep and she sneaks outside."


    My mother sighed and drank the last sip of her wine. "This really isn''t a proper way to hear the story for the first time. I will have to write it out or see if I can find a copy."


    "Keep going." Anna encouraged me, looking at me with a smile on her face.


    "What about the dragon? Does it swoop down and attack Delpha?" Arthur asked, literally on the edge of his seat.


    "No, the little fox cub crawls out of the warren and finds. . ."


    I stepped in. "There are fallen trees all over the mountainside and big gashes torn through the ground, but no dragon. Her curiosity gets the better of her and she begins to climb."


    "Don''t forget the crow." Said my mother, tipping her empty bottle into her cup and frowning when nothing but a single drop came out.


    "I won''t forget the crow," I assured her. "The higher Delpha climbs, the more torn up the mountain side gets. Nothing but moonlight to guide her way, she jumps onto the biggest fallen tree yet and begins to walk up its trunk."


    "Then, one of the earthquakes shakes the tree under her little paws and she is thrown off the tree and to the ground below."


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    I continued from where my mother had left off. "When she gets back on her feet, she stands up and sees that she has fallen into a pit filled with the bones of the rabbits from the warren."


    "No!" Ms. Lao gasped.


    I ignored the laugh that wanted to bubble out of me and continued. "Delpha gets very scared and she starts to miss Mama and Papa. She turns around to go back home, wishing she had listened to her parents, but a big black crow lands right in front of her and stops her in her tracks."


    My mother played the part of the crow in her raspiest voice. "Little fox, where are you going?"


    I played Delpha, finding it easy to color my voice with fear. "It''s cold and I miss Mama and Papa. I don''t want to get eaten like all the rabbits."


    "The crow flaps its single wing," My mother added, folding her arm and acting out the gesture before returning to the crow''s voice. "You will not."


    "How do you know?" I said, continuing in Delpha''s terrified voice.


    I smiled before my mother spoke. The next line was my favorite and I couldn''t keep myself from mouthing the words alongside her. "You are not a rabbit. It is not in your nature."


    "Delpha heard the truth in the crow''s words. She was still cold and still missed Mama and Papa, but she no longer wished she had stayed in the warren. That''s what rabbits did and she was no rabbit."


    "The crow flaps its wings again," My mother flapped her arm again. "I''ve fought the dragon. It took my wing like it took all of the rabbits. I can tell you how to defeat it."


    Still in Delpha''s voice, I asked. "If you know how then why didn''t you?"


    Arthur rolled his eyes. "I would have flown off and left her if I was the crow. That''s insulting."


    Anna hit her brother in the shoulder. "Shut up, she''s curious. Its in her nature."


    "Very good," My mother beamed at Anna. Then, she retook her crow voice. "You have to bite its tail. I am not a fox but a crow. I have no teeth to latch on with."


    I skipped forward until the moment Delpha reached the top of the mountain. "Delpha reaches the peak and sneaks up until she sees the dragon. It''s big, much bigger than her, but it isn''t moving."


    In her own voice, my mother took over. "She moves silently, feeling more and more fearful of its pointed teeth and sharp claws. Then, the dragon snores and she realizes that it is asleep."


    "Reminding herself one last time that she is a fox and not a rabbit, she creeps over to the dragons tail and sinks her little fangs into it."


    My mother turned to me. "You keep missing the details! What did the tail look like?"


    "Right, right," I agreed. "She creeps over to the dragon''s fluffy red tail and sinks her little fangs into it."


    "Dragons do not have fluffy red tails." Ms. Lao asserted. It surprised me how involved with the story she had continued to be.


    "Exactly!" My mother clapped her hands in delight.


    I finished the last important part of the story. "The dragon, shocked awake, jumps out of its own skin. Except, it was no dragon at all."


    "It was another fox." Anna said in understanding.


    "Yes! But only another fox could ever find that out," My mother sighed and we all settled in to the lull that comes with a story ending. "So, that is why I call her my little Delpha. In all my years I have never met someone as curious and mischievous as she is. Those two traits led her to The Well and is what eventually led to you all being here."


    Sam, perched on a small shelf that nearly but his newly larger head at the ceiling spoke up. "The crow was enjoyable."


    "I didn''t like it," Arthur offered, crossing his arms. "It''s a way better story if this little fox actually slays a dragon."


    Anna glared at him. "You completely missed the point," She turned back to me. "What''s The Well like, I mean, what is it like going to a place in your own head."


    I wished I wouldn''t have but I looked to my mother for permission to answer the question.


    She shook her head to give me permission.


    "It''s like, think of a library but instead of books its just all doors. When I go through a door, it puts me in a memory." I answered, not satisfied with my words but unable to bring any more fitting ones to my mind.


    "A library of doors, you''d have to draw it out for me." Arthur said.


    "I wish it was a library, maybe then it would be organized."


    Ms. Lao let out a big yawn through the cover of her hand. "I am sorry, please excuse me."


    "Don''t apologize, it''s my fault that we are up so late," My mother said, standing. "We should all get as much rest as we can manage, we have a full day tomorrow."


    "Why is it full?" I asked, realizing I was the only one left sitting and moving to remedy that.


    "We are moving. I thought I told you that already?"


    "I think I would remember if you told me that, why are we moving?"


    "The Laos have been recognized as members of my house, unless you want to live all piled on top of one another, this place no longer suits our needs." My mother answered.


    Ms. Lao spoke to me. "My house was destroyed and your mother said it was dangerous. We had no other options."


    Something bright and happy threatened to bring tears to my eyes. The Laos were staying for what seemed like the foreseeable future.


    I had run away, taking a priceless and dangerous construct with me. I had broken through the barriers the Mothers had placed in the construct in my mind and encountered an evil that had subsequently come after me. Revealing myself to mortals was a small mistake compared to bringing them back to Zenithcidel with me and that was nothing compared to how close a sorcerer had gotten to stealing me away. After it all, I had told the Mothers to their faces that I regretted none of it.


    And yet, I had been healed and restored. I was still very much alive and unchained. The people I had come to care about and put their lives at risk by bringing them to Zenithcidel were not only being allowed to live, but had been made members of my house. Above it all, my mother was the happiest I think I''d ever seen her.


    None of it made sense. Why did it feel like I was being rewarded?


    Sometime later, I found myself in my room laying in the small bed I had hardly ever used. In the three days since Ulet had brought us back to Zenithcidel, a second bed had been added. Anna lay on it, A wall hung lantern between us.


    "It''s kind of exciting isn''t it?" She asked.


    "What is?" I asked, putting my thoughts away for a while.


    "We live together now. Like, really live together.


    The lantern between us winked out. "Silence. Both of you."


    For a moment, the only light in the room was Sam''s blue eye lights reflecting off of the surface of the shallow pool that was set into the floor. It had been my inspiration for using the bathtub to access The Well.


    Then, Anna snapped and the light winked back on.


    "You are happy with what has happened? You don''t secretly wish you never met me?"


    She stuck her hand out to me. "Shut the fuck up. I thought we were past that shit. Of course I don''t. I had literally nothing going on before I opened your door that morning."


    I grabbed her hand and rolled onto my back, the beds were placed close enough that it was comfortable. "Sorry I flashed you."


    "Sleep." Sam commanded and the light winked out again.


    Anna didn''t snap it back on. I didn''t either. The two of us laid there in near complete darkness and silence, holding hands.


    After a while, Anna spoke. "Do you think that someone here can fix my mom?"


    I knew it was possible but I didn''t know if I could make it happen. I was barely more familiar with Zenithcidel and dealing with sorceresses than Anna was. I lied. I lied to my friend. I lied to my friend because my eyes were getting heavy and I was sure that hers must be as well. I lied, because it was a small comfort I could offer my friend. "I''m sure of it."


    Quiet reigned then and after a time, I felt Anna''s fingers relax into my hand as she drifted off to sleep.


    I didn''t let them go despite sleep not coming to me the way it had her.


    An uncomfortable feeling that I had experienced entirely too much had been nagging at the back of my mind since dinner had ended.


    In that dark room, I knew that no matter what I did going forward, something would be watching me.


    Sam, with his irritating questions.


    The Mothers, coming with their nine punishments.


    The lich, who remained unknown to those that could protect me.


    I had no way of knowing who the watcher would be, but I knew where I could go to be unseen.


    Anna''s hand still held in my own, I closed my eyes and let myself slip effortlessly into The Well.


    End of Arc One.


    Continue following Autumn¡¯s journey in. . .


    The Near Infinite Names of Autumn Aubrey Volume Two: Passion and Rage (Releasing now!)

 V2: Chapter One: Suri

    I limped out of the dark night and into the flickering torch light that illuminated the bridge to Erosette, shouting. ¡°Guards! Guards! A demon! A demon in the hills!¡±


    ¡°Halt!¡± One commanded, drawing his sword and pointing it at me.


    I stumbled, nearly falling at their feet. The rip in the hem of my dress tore and ran further up my thigh. The guard that didn¡¯t have his sword drawn stepped forward and caught me gently.


    Between heavy breaths, I tried to tell them what they needed to know. ¡°Demon. . . Azeralphane. . . Coming.¡±


    The guard, still holding his sword, narrowed his eyes while his counterpart helped me regain my balance.


    ¡°Smit,¡± He grunted. ¡°Is that her?¡±


    Smit, the guard that had caught me, shrugged his armored shoulders. ¡°Dunno. I¡¯ve never seen her before. Springier and Woolie are on duty back up at the manor, they¡¯d can tell us.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what they were talking about. I had no interest in finding out. I¡¯d gotten what I needed.


    To get close to them.


    I let go of Smit¡¯s supportive shoulder and dropped until my head was even with the other guard''s crotch. Before they could realize that I had moved, I drove the point of my elbow up and into the man''s prized possessions.


    He dropped with a pained wheeze, his body folding reflexively around the place he had been struck. I caught his fallen sword out of the air as I rose. Snapping it towards Smit, I held the point of it at his throat with my arm bent enough that I could easily kill the man if he did not listen.


    ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡± Smit froze, his own sword caught halfway out of its sheath.


    The other guard groaned. ¡°It¡¯s the girl, she¡¯s lost her mind. Sound the alarm!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t, Bool. She¡¯ll kill me.¡±


    ¡°Smart boy,¡± I had no worry of the other guard being able to do anything. He¡¯d be lucky if he came away with all the bits he had started his shift with. ¡°Your sword.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s hardly fair. You¡¯ve already got one.¡±


    I pricked his throat just enough to make him feel a trickle of warm blood run down his neck.


    ¡°Alright,¡± He cried. ¡°Take it.¡±


    Without withdrawing the blade from his neck, I reached and pulled his own from the sheath that hung off his hip. They were identical short swords that could have been mistaken for normal weapons if not for the center section cut out of them and the crystalline pink pommels.


    The sight of the color brought a violent tension into my hands.


    ¡°You have a choice,¡± I said to the guards. ¡°Jump into the river or have your blood turned into one.¡±


    ¡°Hold steady, We must not allow her to enter the city.¡± Bool growled through clenched teeth at his counterpart.


    ¡°It is your choice.¡± I reminded the terrified guard, pushing the sword just a little more to renew the pain.


    ¡°Ahh, Mothers forgive me. We¡¯ll jump.¡± Smit spat.


    With the swords held ready incase they did anything but what I had told them to do, I watched Smit drag his prone partner over to the bank and drop over the edge and into the rushing river below.


    By the time they washed up at the next bridge, my business would be done.


    I didn¡¯t know why I had woken up so close to Erosette and had made it to the city itself without being captured, but I was not one to let an opportunity go to waste.


    I knew, with every part of me, that I had finally been delivered the chance to kill Mother in Red.


    ¡°Ironic.¡± I said, stepping onto the smooth bricks of the bridge. I hoped that it would hurt her more knowing she had been killed by weapons she had empowered.


    I made it halfway across the bridge before I heard quick footsteps running up behind me.


    ¡°Autumn!¡±


    I turned to see a dark haired girl standing where the guards had been only moments before.


    ¡°Summer,¡± I answered, not understanding why we were naming seasons. ¡°Who are you, what do you want?¡±


    My words seemed to hurt her for some inexplicable reason, but she approached regardless of the pain in her eyes.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know who you are.¡± She said.


    I couldn¡¯t waste anymore time. I brought the blade in my right hand up and pointed it at her. I had no ill will towards the girl but I would kill her if she delayed me any longer. ¡°I am Suri. Remember my name. It will be all that is on Zenithcidel¡¯s lips come morning.¡±


    I turned back to the city. The Mother in Red was in there somewhere, probably mindlessly lost in one of her countless celebrations. I hoped she was, then I would have an audience.


    Will he be there?


    ¡°Do you remember the first time we met?¡± The girl called after me.


    ¡°How could I not?¡± I called back without turning. It had been only a moment ago. Despite that, something in the girl''s voice made me hesitate.


    ¡°You were naked and it embarrassed you so bad, your whole body turned red.¡±


    ¡°What are you on about?¡± I shouted back at her, looking over my shoulder.


    ¡°Or when we got drunk and I went to get you seconds but you fell asleep before I came back?¡±


    Did I. . . know her?


    ¡°Go somewhere and fuck off kid.¡± I called back to her, shaking my head. Of course I didn¡¯t know her. I¡¯d never seen her before in my life. If it got any later, I¡¯d risk The Mother in Red being asleep. I wanted the ditzy bitch to still be drunk or wrapped around one of her play things.


    Hopefully, both. I wanted her to see me coming.


    I stepped off the bridge and onto the cobblestone streets of Erosette, but before I could take another step, someone grabbed me by my wrist and spun me around.


    It was the damn girl. I should have taken her head right then and there, but my blade stopped just short of her neck. ¡°Do you truly wish to die this badly? Will I have to kill you to get you to leave me alone.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± she said without hesitation. The fact that there was only a fingertip so space between the blade and her neck did not seem to bother her. ¡°What about last night? Do you not remember begging me to sleep in your room because you were too scared to sleep alone?¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t scared,¡± I said, the words feeling strange coming out of my mouth. ¡°I just didn¡¯t want you to go.¡±


    I, No. Not me, Suri. . . and what it felt like to be her, vanished.


    The girl was Anna and I had almost killed her.


    I stepped back from her and the swords clattered to the stone street when I dropped them from my hands. ¡°Oh fuck, It happened again. Did I hurt you?¡±


    As if he had folded out of the air itself Sam strolled into the small space between where I stood and Anna.


    ¡°Mortal, I commend you. Though your flesh is weak, your mind is strong.¡± My familiar spoke, his deep voice not sounding as strange as it once had. He still looked like a cat, a blue one at that, but his kitten days were long past. Standing on all fours, his back came to just below my knees.


    ¡°Where were you? This is supposed to be your job.¡± Anna said, putting her hand on her hip and giving Sam a nasty look.


    ¡°The blame is mine,¡± My mother said, walking quickly to the city side of the bridge where we stood. ¡°Samsara, I see you have returned.¡±


    Sam turned his blue eyes to my mother. ¡°I left her in your care, Lady Aubrey. And yet, there is a recently dead boar, far outside of Erosette, that is quickly growing cold because you did not restrain her.¡±


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    My mother came to me and began a rapid inspection. Raising my arms, smoothing my hair, checking the tears on my dress. ¡°Why did you go? You told me you wouldn¡¯t until Samsara returned. Are you hurt,¡± Her eyes wandered down from me and to the sword laying on the ground. ¡°Who did you hurt? Where are the guards?¡±


    ¡°Down here.¡± Came a grunt from over the side of the bridge.


    All of us, even the cat, peered over the side and saw Smit crawling up the bank, dragging his partner by the collar behind him.


    My mother ran and gave the soaked man a hand up and helped pull Bool off the steep bank that was slick from climbing. They both laid on their backs, armored chests heaving from their effort.


    ¡°Are either of you injured?¡± She asked, lowering herself to her knees by their side.


    Smit answered her. ¡°She nicked me fairly well on the neck, but it¡¯ll heal on its own. Bool over there,¡± Smit said with a nod towards his partner. ¡°She got him fairly worse.¡±


    My mother slid over the wet grass, unaffected by how dirty her long dress was becoming. ¡°Where does it hurt?¡±


    ¡°Hmphhhh.¡± The guard Bool groaned, hands clutched around where his legs met.


    ¡°I,¡± I began. Almost deciding to not continue, but the guilt I felt was enough to push me onwards. ¡°I hit him. . . there. . . really hard.¡±


    ¡°Damn, Autumn.¡± Anna sighed, a little laugh sneaking out of her mouth at the end of it. She threw her arm over my shoulders and pulled me close to her.


    ¡°The lowest of blows.¡± Sam added.


    ¡°You poor man, let me see it,¡± My mother said, wrenching Bool¡¯s hands away from himself and replacing it with her own. The man''s eyes went wide and he struggled to sit up but my mother pushed him back down. A momentary brightness came from my mothers palm. Bool slumped back to the ground with a relieved sigh and closed his eyes. With two gentle pats on the area of interest, my mother stood and said. ¡°There. There.¡±


    A cold weight had settled into my stomach and if it hadn¡¯t been for Anna supporting me, I would have sunk to the ground. I couldn¡¯t look away from my mother. From the moment she stood, her blazing green eyes burned into me with a heat that rose with every step closer she took.


    I had to say something. I had to make her feel better. ¡°I didn¡¯t, I just thought that, I didn¡¯t know it would happen.¡±


    My mother held up a hand and the stream of words coming from me ceased. ¡°You told me that you would wait.¡±


    She paused, which felt like permission to speak. ¡°I know,¡± I cried in an accidental whine. ¡°But whenever I¡¯m not,¡±


    She cut me off. ¡°I understand who you are, my little Delpha. Your. . .¡±


    ¡°Clear the road!¡± Someone shouted, cutting my mother off.


    All of us, even the cat, turned back to the city.


    A man, wearing nothing but a white cloth wrapped around his waist ran towards us at a brisk pace, repeating. ¡°Clear the road!¡±


    From where I stood, only the back half of Anna¡¯s feet were off the bridge and actually on the stones of the city street. What could that possibly have been obstructing?


    ¡°She is coming! Clear the road.¡± The man turned up the street that lay opposite the bridge and ran further into the depths of Erosette, parting a stream of people that had suddenly appeared as he went. Excited chatter rose from the crowded street as every person gave way to the runner and packed together against the buildings on either side.


    ¡°What is happening?¡± Anna whispered to me.


    Before I could answer her, a heavy rhythm echoed from the direction the runner had come from. It bounced along the walls and out over the river, loud enough that I could feel it pounding in my chest. The parted crowd before me erupted into cheers and claps once the rhythm reached them and the sound of it all drew me in completely.


    A stream of women dressed in nothing but thin white robes that flared and flowed around them danced around the corner. Seven, fourteen, twenty one, more than I could count, they spun and swayed to the rhythm as they strummed the golden lyres in their hands. With every up and down swing of the rhythm, the hems of their white robes showered small red flower buds over the stones of the street. By the time the first of them had nearly reached the bridge, the street had been covered with their crimson tide.


    I had never seen anything more entrancing in my life.


    ¡°Mothers forgive me,¡± My mother said under her breath behind me. Then she raised her voice. ¡°All of you, return to the manor immediately. Do not stop until you are within our walls.¡±


    I looked at Anna and saw that she shared the smile that had spread across my face. Then I turned to my mother. ¡°What is this?¡±


    She did not seem to be enjoying the procession as much as I was. ¡°Go home, I will explain once I return.¡±


    ¡°But, I,¡±


    ¡°Autumn. Not another word,¡± Her emerald eyes bore into my own. She wasn¡¯t yelling, but her words carried an intensity that forced me to pay her attention. ¡°You must not be seen. They will take you away from me. Do you understand?¡±


    There was something in her voice that I had never heard before.


    My mother was scared. . .


    ¡°I understand.¡± I said, my voice coming out flat and emotionless in my shock.


    The rhythm pounded louder and louder at my back and a roar from the crowded street rose over the music.


    My mother wrapped me in her arms and planted a kiss on the top of my head. Even with her speaking directly into my ear it was hard to hear her over the procession. ¡°I cannot let them take you from me, Autumn. Go home, we will speak once I make peace with the guards.¡±


    She released me. ¡°Samsara, Anna, see her to the manor?¡±


    I caught a glimpse of the rhythm makers. Two rows of men, each with a drum larger than themselves strapped to their chests, stretched out of sight around the corner. Every violent impact of their mallets against the tight skin of the drum sent flares of momentary fire out in rings. Sweat poured from their muscular bodies, dripping off them onto the crimson buds that had been left in the dancers wake. The muscles of their arms and legs shook with every step, but despite their effort, each wore an expression that was alight with joy.


    Anna gently took me by my hand. ¡°Let''s go, dinner might still be warm.¡±


    A ravenous groan echoed in my empty stomach at the mention of food. Anna always knew how to get to me.


    I tore my eyes away from the entrancing spectacle and let my friend lead me away.


    ¡°Hurry along,¡± My mother rushed us as we passed her. ¡°Samsara?¡±


    My familiar sat in the middle of the bridge, unmoved. ¡°I will return to my hunt after I speak with you, Lady Aubrey.¡±


    I had no issue hearing the cat''s baritone.


    A new sound rose above all the others from around the corner. Clear and high, a female voice sang loud enough that it could be heard over the lyres and drums and cheering people.


    My mother hurried us off the bridge and onto the path that led to where our home sat atop the rolling hills. ¡°Do not be seen. Do not slow until you are behind our walls.¡±


    Anna listened, pulling me up the path by the hand. Tripping and stumbling as we went, I tried to keep my eyes on the parade. The voice sang in a language I did not recognize, but its sound alone stirred my heart into a desperate longing that ached in my chest. It carried the lightness of hope and a burning passion within its notes and if I had not been being pulled away from it, I would have sprinted back across the bridge until I could lay my eyes on the singer that was making me feel the way I did.


    We reached the top of the first hill and a rough voice disrupted the song.


    ¡°Girl, how did you get out?¡± The rough voice shouted.


    Anna stopped pulling me. The manor stood in the distance, but the guards that should have been posted at its gate were sprinting up the otherside of the hill we stood atop.


    The one who had shouted, either Springer or Woolie if my memory of being Suri was trustworthy, slid to a stop before me. His hand clutching the hilt of his sheathed sword, he dropped into a ready stance and scowled at me. ¡°We can do this the easy way or the hard way.¡±


    ¡°Shut up Springer. She¡¯s almost here.¡± The other guard, who by elimination could only be Woolie, said as he ran right past us. He dropped to the ground facing Erosette and was still.


    ¡°Damn it all,¡± Springer clinked his sword in its sheath. ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡±


    Anna gave me a confused look. ¡°I think what your mom said matters more than what they say, let''s go.¡±


    ¡°Wait, come here.¡± I said, taking my turn to pull her. Springer did not sit next to his partner, but Anna and I dropped to the dirt path beside him, hand in hand. Just as we got settled, the singer''s song rose into a high note that echoed across the hills as it was sustained.


    The rhythm makers passed through the crowded street and the song faded away with their exit. An eager stillness settled over the crowd. The pounding of the unseen drums remained and though I could no longer feel their impact in my chest, I found myself nodding to their beat.


    ¡°There!¡± Springer shouted, pointing at the corner the parade had first rounded.


    A blur of rose colored fire burst around the corner, blazing over the flood of crimson flower buds that covered the stone street. The buds did not catch fire and burn away under the roaring flames. Rather, their petals unfurled as the heat passed over them, blossoming into thousands and thousands of perfectly red roses. The blur landed on the city side of the bridge with an audible impact and the crowd burst into raucous cheers. The flames flickered and spread in a cluster of blinding flashes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t stare at it, dummy.¡± Anna pulled me into her and shielded my eyes. When the light had dimmed and I felt her relax, I looked back down.


    Taller than the buildings standing before it, a blur no more, the shape of a lion made entirely of rose colored fire lifted its maned head and roared. Mounted on its blazing back, a rider clad in shimmering armor raised a shining sword above their head.


    The singer. I had no evidence it had been the rider, but I knew in my soul it was true.


    ¡°Who is that?¡± I asked aloud, feeling like I already knew.


    With the raise of the rider¡¯s sword, the newly bloomed roses rose into the night sky and vanished into the darkness, leaving the stone streets clean. A moment later, explosions of colored embers appeared in the sky above Erosette in dazzling patterns. Each heralded by a pop that played over the quieting beat of the rhythm makers and echoed over the surrounding hills.


    ¡°Fireworks,¡± Anna said to me. ¡°Have you ever seen them?¡±


    The rider atop the lion of rose-fire raised their shining sword once again and whipped the crowd back into a chorus of cheers and shouts. With another deafening roar, the lion bounded from the ground and onto the top of the buildings in front of it before vanishing deeper into the heart of the city.


    I grabbed the guard Woolie by his sleeve and asked again. ¡°Who was that?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t be sure if he had been crying or if his nose had an itch he desperately needed to scratch, but it seemed like he wiped his eyes before he answered my question.


    ¡°Where are you from girl? Everyone knows who that was.¡±


    Anna raised her hand. ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±


    Springier, still standing, cleared his throat. ¡°Neither of you know?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Anna and I said in unison while we helped each other back on our feet.


    ¡°It is not often that you meet someone who has never seen one of her displays,¡± The guard gave himself a settling shake and placed his hand on the red pommel of his sword and smiled. ¡°It makes me remember my first time.¡±


    ¡°Your first time with who?¡± Anna asked, annoyance evident in her voice.


    ¡°Who the fuck was it?¡± I added.


    Woolie, who definitely was wiping tears from his face, finally answered my question.


    ¡°The rider was,¡± He paused and looked up at the sky, the fireworks reflecting within the moisture in his eyes.¡± The Mother in Red.¡±

 V2: Chapter Two: Sleepover

    The fireworks could be heard within the manor, tempting me to run back down to the city all the way up until I shut the door to my windowless room.


    Springer and Woolie had marched Anna and I back to the house not a moment after The Mother in Red had disappeared into the city on the back of her rose-fire lion. What remained of dinner had been cold but that had not stopped me from throwing a loaf and a half of bread and however much meat I could stack on top of it onto a plate. When we climbed the stairs to where Anna and I¡¯s rooms were, on the third floor of the manor, I shut the door behind us and placed my plate on the empty desk that sat in the big space.


    ¡°I have seen power like that,¡± I began, unable to hold my excitement within me any longer. ¡°In memories, but, seeing it with my own eyes, feeling it, hearing it, It. . .¡±


    I trailed off, unable to find words that could carry what I felt. I took up pacing, the pattern of roses and thorny vines on the soft rug that covered most of the brick floor seemed more fitting after what I had witnessed. Bringing every detail of what I had seen back to my mind in quick succession, I knew I would never forget it. I knew in my heart that I would never be as mighty as The Mothers. That was why they were The Mothers and I was a criminal but I couldn¡¯t keep myself from imagining myself riding on the back of the lion, a city full of people jubilant at the sight of me.


    ¡°It was something.¡± Anna said with a shrug and walked to the left side of my bed.


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t just something, that was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. How can you not be awestruck like I am?¡± I asked, my hands on the hips of my torn dress.


    ¡°She¡¯s one of the ones you have to be punished by. Doesn¡¯t it freak you out that she can do all of those things?¡± Anna asked, lowering herself to her hands and knees and crawling under my bed.


    Fuck.


    ¡°Not until you said that,¡± I muttered. All the excitement, all the wonder I had felt from seeing The Mother in Red left my body in an instant. My weight doubled and I dropped to the ground, wrapping my arms around my knees. ¡°Now I can¡¯t stop thinking about it.¡±


    There had been little spoken by anyone, including myself, about the nine punishments that had been hung around my neck like a chain in the two months since my sentence had been delivered. The chain The Mothers had chosen had given me too much room to run and it was all too easy to forget that at any moment they could come for me. If she could do the things I had witnessed on the bridge for nothing more than a parade, what awaited a girl who she had a reason to hate?


    I would be roasted like the meat on the desk had been.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean,¡± Thump, the sound came from under my bed. ¡°Shit, hold on,¡± Anna shimmied herself backwards, the sound of glass clinking against glass following her along. She sat up and placed two bottles of wine in front of her and pressed her hand to the top of her head. ¡°I think I¡¯m bleeding.¡±


    I crawled over and kneeled in front of her, running my fingers through her black hair so I could see her scalp. When I found nothing, I glared down at her. ¡°Did you even hit your head?¡±


    ¡°No, but it got you out of whatever rabbit hole of torture that was in yours,¡± She looked up at me with a wink and tried to stand. ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯ve got to keep me around, I can read you like a book.¡±


    I pushed her back down. ¡°That is not very nice. I was worried about you.¡±


    ¡°Good. You should have been. That is a normal human reaction.¡± I almost pushed her down again, but chose peace instead and helped her to her feet. She had been right after all, I had been in the process of getting stuck in my mind.


    Anna picked up her bottles and uncorked the one that was not entirely full. She shook it. ¡°I drank more than I thought I did last night. Do you want to finish this one off?¡±


    I refused, shaking my head. ¡°I need to keep my mind, my own, if we are going to get any work done.¡±


    That was all the more true after I had assaulted two guards and nearly attempted to assassinate The Mother in Red thinking I was someone else. Did the Mother know there was a sorceress named Suri that very much wanted her dead? I would tell her when she came for me, maybe it would keep her from melting all of the flesh off my bones.


    I took the full bottle from her and pinched the short amount of cork that stuck out from the dark green glass with the thumb and forefinger of my right hand. She turned the open bottle up and drained it before sitting it on the desk next to my cold dinner. With little to no effort at all, I brought my aura to my fingers and pulled the air tight cork out. Pop.


    Anna took it from me. ¡°What if your mom comes up here when she gets back? She said she was going to talk to you. Our little experiments aren¡¯t going to go over well with her if she catches us.¡±


    She had a point, but I knew what I wanted. ¡°It has been weeks since we moved and she has never come up here.¡±


    ¡°Months,¡± Anna corrected me. She took her bottle and slipped through the crimson canopy that hung over my bed. ¡°We¡¯ve been here for two months yesterday.¡±


    It was all too easy for me to lose my sense of time considering I spent most of my waking hours buried in the past.


    ¡°That proves my point further. We have done this every night for two months and she has never caught us.¡± I said, turning away from Anna as she drew the canopy up and tied it, her open bottle pressed between her legs. ¡°Here, this will make you feel better.¡±


    ¡°Do you really want to risk getting into more trouble?¡±


    I didn¡¯t answer, focusing my aura and turning my attention to my door.


    My door was unique, being the only one in the manor house that could not lock. No deadbolt for me to turn or clasp for me to fasten, I found the need to improvise.


    Half on the door and half on the stone wall, I placed my hand over the small gap and pressed my aura through my palm. Iridescent power swelled from my skin and I traced the outline of the door with my colorless light. I released with an exhale and my power glimmered as it hardened into the shape I had drawn.


    It wasn¡¯t a lock, exactly, but it would hopefully keep anyone from barging in. Would it? I had never done it before, but the logic of my working made sense. There was no way to know for sure until someone tried.


    ¡°Autumn.¡± Anna said, having settled into her usual post on the edge of my bed. The leatherbound journal that held the findings of our previous experiments opened beside her. ¡°Do you really think that would stop your mom if she wanted to get in here?¡±


    By sitting at her post, she had agreed to work. I answered honestly, no need to continue to convince her. ¡°No. Where are we starting?¡±


    ¡°Glamor.¡± Anna sighed, shaking her head.


    I snatched a hunk of bread and meat off the plate on my desk and threw it into my mouth. Taking up my own post, standing in the middle of the room facing Anna, I swallowed and nodded to her that I was ready.


    ¡°Me.¡± She said, telling me who I needed to make myself look like.


    ¡°That¡¯s too easy, give me something harder.¡± I complained.


    ¡°Do it or I¡¯m going to sleep.¡± She threatened. Her threat was not empty, she had left me standing there more than once.


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    My aura came easy and the glamor came easier than that. It was hardly a challenge when you knew the person''s face down to every last intimate detail. I stared back at her, a perfect mirror of her own face. It was not new to us. The first week we had started doing our late night work, I had glamored myself into her exclusively. Learning that the small scar on her eyelid had come from a young Arthur throwing rocks at her while she had been reading and that she was embarrassed that one of her ears were bigger than the other had only made me like her more.


    ¡°Fail.¡± She said simply, marking in the notebook.


    ¡°How?¡± I snapped, the glamor vanishing from my face in an instant.


    ¡°I keep telling you that you make me too pretty,¡± She sighed. Something was bothering her, I could feel it. We had stayed awake into the small hours of the morning more times than I could remember and even then, when neither of us could keep both our eyes open, she hadn¡¯t seemed as disinterested. ¡°Manipulation next. The bottle.¡±


    I didn¡¯t question her. She meant for me to move the empty bottle from the desk and back down again, but I needed to get her attention. Bringing my aura to my palm, I set my eyes on the green glass between her legs and closed my hand as if I was grabbing it. Glimmering light enveloped the neck of the bottle and I raised my arm.


    ¡°Hey, wait. I meant the other one, dummy,¡± Anna sputtered, reaching for the bottle that I held above her head. As long as I maintained the belief that I was holding it, I could do whatever my heart desired with it. If that belief wavered, it would drop to the stone floor and shatter. ¡°Give it back," She demanded, rising to her knees and snatching it from the air. She cradled it to her chest like it was her baby. ¡°Why did you do that?¡±


    The loss hit me with a momentary wave of dizziness. The heaviest thing I had ever managed to lift was an empty bottle just like the one that sat on my desk. I hadn¡¯t considered what the added weight of the wine would cost me. Another hunk of cold bread and meat replenished me. When I was certain I would not faint, I asked. ¡°Did I pass?¡±


    ¡°Only because you¡¯ve never done that before. If you would have dropped this,¡± She took another drink. ¡°I would have beaten your ass.¡±


    ¡°Is that so,¡± I questioned, still feeling some unspoken resistance from her. ¡°Charm?¡±


    ¡°Make me sleepy.¡± She sighed, her face beginning to redden from the alcohol.


    I couldn¡¯t ignore it any longer. I had to take a direct approach. ¡°Is there something on your mind? Did I do something wrong?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± She shook her head, drank, then shrugged. ¡°Yes, but it''s not a big deal,¡± She tried to change the subject. ¡°Make me feel like I need to sneeze.¡±


    I stared at her, silently refusing to let it go until she continued.


    ¡°Fine,¡± She sighed. ¡°Why did you go to The Well? You knew Samsara was not here. You promised your mom you wouldn¡¯t. You didn¡¯t tell me you were going. Couldn¡¯t you have waited?¡±


    ¡°I could have.¡± I agreed. It was true after all. Waiting for my blue familiar to return from his murder quest would not have killed me.


    ¡°If I hadn''t seen you jump the wall, who knows what would have happened.¡±


    ¡°Nothing good.¡± I agreed, the burn of embarrassment in my cheeks making me wish I hadn¡¯t asked her. I cast my eyes down from her and started tracing one of the vines on the rug with my toe.


    She snapped her fingers at me to get my attention. ¡°Stop it, I¡¯m not mad at you, I just want to know why. I¡¯m your partner, right? I help you train every night until you drop. I keep secrets from your mother for you, and she¡¯s probably one of the only reasons my family is alive. It just doesn¡¯t feel good when you suddenly start leaving me out of the loop. ¡±


    There had been a time where lying to Anna had been necessary. I hadn¡¯t enjoyed it, but it had been what I thought was right. That time had passed and I had learned that no matter how badly I didn¡¯t want to, telling her what I truly felt was usually the best option. ¡°Every day that goes by without me chipping away at The Well is another day that I am not free. It''s a reminder that my life is not my own. I thought I would slip in, do something small just to make myself feel better. I didn¡¯t know I would come out of it thinking I was someone else. That only happened with Willa and I had been in The Well for days.¡±


    ¡°That''s it, that makes sense,¡± Anna nodded. ¡°I¡¯d do the same thing if I were you.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± I asked, reaching for the wine and taking a drink to wash down the lump in my throat.


    ¡°Probably not, but I get why you do it. You aren¡¯t really known for following the rules you know?¡±


    The resistance I had felt from her had dissipated, but it had left me feeling low and I wanted nothing more than to crawl within the canopy of my big bed and go to sleep.


    Anna had other plans. She took another long swig and wiped her mouth. ¡°As long as you promise that the next time you go to The Well when Samsara isn¡¯t here, you come get me, I won¡¯t hold this over your head. I brought you back tonight, I can do it again,¡± She offered me her hand. ¡°Deal?¡±


    A smile spread across my face and we shook on it. ¡°Deal.¡±


    ¡°Alright, you¡¯re warmed up enough and I¡¯m starting to feel too good to give a shit about this. Are you going to try?¡± She asked me, standing up at the foot of the bed.


    One more hunk of bread and meat down my throat, I nodded to tell her I was beginning.


    This is what the training was for.


    I closed my eyes and reached within myself. My mind brushed against the fluttering resonance of my aura. If my desire was to cast a charm or paint my face with a glamor, all that was left for me to do was focus my will but I was in search of something that I had only ever done once before. Something that was much deeper. Deeper I went, plunging my mind through the surface of my aura and pushing further into my soul. Every instant was a desperate fight against the impulse to turn my mind away and open my eyes. Further. A spot of color within myself came to my mind. My knees buckled, Anna caught me and held me upright.


    Red, red within my soul, I could almost reach it if. . . I. . . went. . . further.


    ¡°Hey.¡± I heard Anna¡¯s voice.


    Something patted against my cheek.


    ¡°Autumn.¡± I heard her say my name. I liked when she said it. It sounded. . . right.


    I didn¡¯t like being repetitively slapped on my cheek.


    My eyes opened and I clutched her hand with my own. ¡°Stop that.¡±


    I laid on my back, the roses and thorns of the rug standing out against the white of my dress.


    Anna held my head in her lap and made no move to push me off her lap despite my return to consciousness. ¡°That was a bad one, you nearly bounced your head off the floor.¡±


    ¡°I almost had it. I¡¯ve never gotten that close before.¡± I sighed, the remnants of the fluttering feeling fading from my body.


    ¡°Its fucking scary. If something happens and you get hurt, I¡¯m leaving you on the ground. You won¡¯t catch me being the one to tell your mother that you¡¯ve been lying to her since you came back.¡±


    I could not fault her for that. She was my mother and I didn¡¯t want to be the one who told her. I hadn¡¯t meant for there to be secrets and lies between us, but Sam had decided it was necessary during the three days I had been with The Mothers. She knew nothing of the channel on my palm, the lich, or that I had found the color of my soul.


    Other than Anna, only Sam knew about the nightly sessions and that was because he had been the one to suggest them.


    ¡°I¡¯m feeling better now,¡± I said sitting up. The first night in the manor house that I had tried to harness my color, I had fainted and fell straight back onto the hard stone of the floor. ¡°Thank you for catching me.¡±


    Anna stood and yawned, the exhalation bringing her all the way up to the tips of her toes. ¡°I¡¯ve got to go to sleep.¡±


    The training had not been the only nightly ritual Anna and I had taken up in our new home.


    ¡°You can¡¯t leave yet, I wish to try again. I know I can do it.¡± I said, jumping up and blocking the door behind me with my arms wide.


    Anna laughed and raised an eyebrow. ¡°If you want to have a sleepover, Autumn, you¡¯re gonna have to come right out and ask me. You know my rules.¡±


    ¡°That is not what I meant.¡± I snapped, crossing my arms and looking away from her, lying.


    ¡°Right,¡± She dragged the word out as she sat her second empty bottle on the desk next to the first and my mostly eaten plate of food. She moved towards the door I had foolishly left unguarded. ¡°I¡¯m going to bed then, I¡¯ll see you in the morning.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± I stepped back between her and the door. ¡°If you wanted to sleep in here, it would be very rude of me to turn you away. The window in your room has no curtain and the sun rises very early here in Erosette.¡±


    ¡°Oh so that¡¯s why you want me to stay. You are worried the sun will rise too early?¡± Anna said, a hint of a smirk touching the corner of her lips.


    ¡°Naturally,¡± I insisted, taking up the proper and proud posture my mother carried herself with constantly. I could have asked her. I had done it before. I even knew that she would agree, but there was much more fun to be had if I didn¡¯t. ¡°The Mothers know how much we all need our beauty sleep.¡±


    ¡°You might,¡± She said, turning away from me and walking towards the bed. ¡°I still think you are scared of sleeping alone in this big old room.¡±


    I had won, she had given up with much less of a struggle than usual but I couldn¡¯t blame her, much had happened that night.


    She snapped the lights out before I crawled into my side of the bed and could her breaths deepen into the rhythm of sleep a few minutes later.


    The nights when I could feel her weight beside me as I drifted off and I knew that she would be there when I woke, I slept soundly because The Well would not take me in her presence. The nights she didn¡¯t sleep in my bed, I left her side made up.


    Sleep took me before I could decide what that meant.

 V2: Chapter Three: The Well House

    Anna had been dead to the world and I had left her that way when I had quietly left my room just after sunbreak.


    Sam had pressed the habit into me. After two months of waking me at dawn by thumping me in the face with his paws, I found myself unable to sleep in.


    It had been cuter and much less painful when he was small enough to fit into my hands.


    Down the stairs, past Arthur¡¯s door, and out of the backdoor I had gone without making a single sound. It was much easier to move silently over the brick and stone of the manor house than it had been over the creaking stairs and worn wooden floors of the boarding house.


    Even in the low light of the new day, the sun just peaking over the rolling hills that surrounded Erosette had turned the morning air pleasantly warm.


    It was never cold in the realm of The Red Mother.


    That made more sense to me after seeing the flames of her parade.


    A moment later, using my aura to bridge the gap between where I wanted to go and my physical ability to get there, I pulled myself onto the section of roof over Anna and I¡¯s rooms. We were quartered on the third floor of the manor and the limit of what I could see from there was caused by my eyes alone.


    The weather was never a concern. Everyday bloomed into a cloudless blue sky that never turned gray or overcast. The breeze that blew in every afternoon was just gentle enough that it was never a bother. The nights were warm enough to never think of needing a coat.


    Down the long path that led to the city and over the bridge, the streets that had been filled with citizens and flower buds were quiet and empty. Countless stone buildings, all in the same style as the manor, stretched out of sight below me. Spread throughout them were bursts of vibrant green gardens that I imagined were larger versions of the verdant maze behind the manor. Even before the spectacle of the night before, on any of the countless mornings I had met the new day perched high atop the roof like I was my familiar, the city had practically begged me to jump the wall that surrounded the manor and get lost in its streets.


    I couldn¡¯t do that of course, but nine unimaginable punishments hanging over my head or not, what I had witnessed the night before had done nothing but make me want it more.


    Everyday was perfectly pleasant in Erosette.


    I fucking hated it.


    Hate may have been a strong word, but I couldn¡¯t help but miss the old house that had been left in ruin because of me. The sneaking around, the cold, the rain, none of it had been particularly enjoyable at the time but I had caught myself wishing for it instead of the warmth I had been moved into more than once.


    It wasn¡¯t a mystery as to why I wanted to go back.


    I had been free.


    Just before the day had truly begun, the sound of a struggle disrupted the quiet calm of the morning and I moved towards it before I gave myself a chance to consider if I was being foolish or not.


    I lowered myself from the third story roof, scraping my knee against the rough stone of the wall as I dropped onto the second story. The uneven surface had become easier and easier for me to traverse as time had passed. The sign of my progress that morning was that I only tripped once on my way to the front of the manor.


    I stepped one foot onto the pointed rise of the roof and peered down.


    The two guards, neither of them any I had met the night before, were fighting.


    ¡°Hey!¡± I shouted, nearly tipping over and falling to the ground.


    Each of them froze at the sound of my voice. They did not stop, stand up, or look at me. They literally froze, becoming utterly still in the positions they had been in before I shouted. The one on my right stood low, his left hand held behind his back and the fingers of his right digging into the stomach of the other guard.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I asked.


    Only their eyes shifted up to me.


    ¡°The girl, she is on the roof.¡± Said the guard on my left, the others fingers still pressed into his bare stomach.


    ¡°We are forbidden from talking to her,¡± The guard on the right said. ¡°What do we do?¡±


    The guard on the left shrugged and stood. ¡°Ignore her?¡±


    The guard on the right rose as well. ¡°Wise, very wise. My point?¡±


    ¡°Your point,¡± The guard on the left agreed. ¡°Keep playing?¡±


    The guard on the right dropped back into a ready stance in answer. One arm pinned behind his back with the other held in front of him, he pointed his fingers at his opposite and nodded. The guard on the left mirrored him and without another word they were at each other once again.


    Neither of the men seemed to be trying very hard to hurt one another and fighting with one hand didn¡¯t seem like a very effective strategy, but both of them were pouring sweat and wore furious scowls on their faces. The guard on the left arched his back wildly and folded under the spearing hand of his opponent but could not bend himself enough to avoid having two fingers jabbed into the bottom of his chin.


    He fell back onto his ass and his opponent pumped a fist in the air, celebrating a victory that I did not remotely understand.


    The guard on the ground stood back up. ¡°You got me again, you win, but don¡¯t get all cocky just because we¡¯ve got an audience.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got it wrong my friend, If she hadn''t been here I would have taken your head clean off your neck. You should thank her for rendering me merciful.¡±


    I did not enjoy being talked about as if I wasn¡¯t standing right there, but what happened next was so strange I could do nothing but watch.


    The guard that had somehow lost straightened and held both his arms behind his back.


    The guard that had won squared himself and gently placed his open hand on the cheek of his opponent.


    Some show of respect? I wondered, intently focused on what was occurring beneath me.


    The victor drew his hand back and slapped the loser across the face so hard that the man went spinning to the ground limply.


    ¡°What the fuck!¡± I shouted


    The victor shot a quick glance up at me before casting his eyes down to the loser and helping him off the ground.


    The front doors of the manor swung open under my feet and Arthur strode out of the house. ¡°Have either of you seen Autumn? She¡¯s about this tall, red hair, green eyes, last seen wearing a white dress?¡±


    The guard that had been knocked to the ground had been helped to a sitting position and he swung his arm up in my general direction without looking.


    ¡°Up here.¡± I leaned forward, resting my weight on my knee so he could see my face.


    ¡°Your Mom is,¡± Arthur said, looking up at me. ¡°Autumn,¡± He shouted, whipping his face back down violently and covering his eyes. ¡°I can see right up your dress.¡±


    The heat of embarrassment stung my face instantly. I dropped down as fast as I could and ducked behind the pointed rise I had so proudly been displaying myself from. Pressing the fabric of my dress over my legs, Icalled down. ¡°Did the guards see?¡±


    I heard Arthur whispering, presumably asking them.


    ¡°No.¡± He answered too quickly and calmly.


    I snapped back up, the heat of my embarrassment quickly rising to anger. ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me!¡±


    Between the uneven footing, the heat I felt in my face, and my sudden movement, I lost my balance and went tumbling off the roof head first.


    My aura flared within me reflexively


    I didn¡¯t need it.


    Arthur caught me in his arms, spun my momentum away, and placed me on my feet as if it was a well practiced maneuver that we had repeated until we could no longer get it wrong.


    I braced myself against him to give my head a chance to stop spinning. Arthur had always been tall, but I didn¡¯t remember him being quite so big. I knew I wasn¡¯t a gargantuan behemoth that weighed as much as a mountain, but I weighed something and he had moved me as if I weighed nothing.


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    ¡°Lucky I was here,¡± Arthur said with a wide grin. ¡°That could have been bad.¡±


    ¡°Why are you out here? You were looking for me, right?¡± I asked, beginning to get my bearings back.


    ¡°Your mom is waiting for you in the well house, she asked me to come tell you.¡±


    A nervous jolt shot through my veins. Why wasn¡¯t she waiting for me in the garden? We had lunch there everyday. She would bring food, I would meet her there between memories, it was one of my favorite parts of the day. The fact that she was in the well house left me thinking that she was still angry or disappointed with me over what had happened the night before. I didn¡¯t think I could bear it.


    ¡°How did you know I was out here?¡± I asked, only realizing that he had come out of the house asking if the guards had seen me. Turns out that falling off a building was rather disorienting and my mind was still moving slowly.


    ¡°Anna said she could hear you running around on the roof. How did you get up there?¡±


    Had Arthur knocked on my door expecting me to answer and woken up his sister or had Anna gotten up unusually early? He was alive and unwounded, so I assumed it was the latter.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got to go to my mother.¡± I said, the longer I knew she was waiting for me the worse I would feel. Turning to take the path that ran between the manor and the wall., Arthur stopped me by my hand.


    ¡°Hold on, can I talk to you about something first?¡± A hint of his usual smile the only thing distracting from his otherwise serious expression.


    ¡°Let me go see my mother and I¡¯ll come find you. Sam isn¡¯t back yet so I¡¯ll have nothing but time after.¡± I meant what I said. Arthur got serious so infrequently that I knew well enough to pay attention when he did.


    ¡°Yeah, alright. We will talk then.¡± He said, his smile mostly returning.


    I left him then, heading for the path along the wall. Before I turned the corner and was out of ear shot, I heard one of the guards speak up.


    ¡°Oi, Ugi, you''re a Hezbelth right? You know how to play Points?¡±


    ¡°Ugi?¡± Arthur answered.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, I¡¯ll teach you.¡±


    I added forcing the guards to talk to me onto the short list of things I needed to do. They had seen up my dress after all, was that not the least they could do?


    The well house was built from the same brick and stone as the manor but stood free of the house. The garden had taken an imperialist stance with the structure and overgrown it with vines and flower blossoms of every color. The heavy door, made of the same pink marble that the statue in the garden alcove shared, stood ajar. Other than myself and my familiar, not a soul had been inside since it had become my space.


    I slipped through the door with a string of excuses already bubbling out of me.


    ¡°I know I promised I wouldn¡¯t


    But It¡¯s all I can think about


    That¡¯s only happened once before


    I didn¡¯t know what I was doing


    I promise it won''t happen again.¡±


    My Mother looked up at me from where she sat on the edge of the pool, her legs resting in the eternally warm water. Her hair flowed over her shoulders in copper waves and when I met her emerald eyes with my own, despite my fears, she looked genuinely pleased to see me. ¡°Come sit.¡±


    She patted the stone floor next to her and I did as I was told, sitting down next to her with my legs crossed. I spent enough time in the water to not find any additional time appealing. I began again. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°Do not apologize, the fault is mine.¡± She said calmly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°I know your nature, my little Delpha, I did not protect you from it. Samsara insisted I lock the well house while he was away, I should have listened.¡±


    If I had come to the door and found it locked, would that have been enough to stop me? I was still the same girl that had thrown herself into the first portal she had seen after spending the previous ten years confined to the same three rooms after all. ¡°I still broke a promise. You should be furious with me! I didn¡¯t know I was walking out of my mind into a parade, but if Anna and you hadn¡¯t of been there, I would have,¡±


    She held up her hand and I stopped speaking. ¡°We were there however and nothing unforgivable occured.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°Do the guards feel the same? I could have killed them.¡±


    Suri, the sorceress who I had thought I was, had been particularly violent.


    ¡°I managed to negotiate their silence,¡± In the dim light, I saw a smile touch my mother¡¯s lips before she hid it away behind her hand ¡°Do you remember the guard you struck in the crotch?¡±


    Memories from when I was still in the mind of another were blurred at the edges, like a dream, but I did remember Bool. Particularly, the groan of pain that had come from him and how he had crumpled to the ground when my elbow had been driven into him. I thought of my mother grabbing him. . . there. . .to heal the damage I had done, new shame washed over me. ¡°I didn¡¯t know what I was doing.¡±


    ¡°When I woke this morning, he had sent me the most beautiful bouquet of wildflowers. He had picked them himself not ten paces from his post.¡± She giggled, sounding like a Maiden from one of the memories I had lived through.


    ¡°You¡¯re blushing!¡± I pulled my Mothers hand away from her face and her left cheek had indeed become red.


    ¡°You weren¡¯t the only one that spent most of the last ten years locked in a room. It feels nice to be flattered.¡± She said, a playfully defensive tone in her voice.


    I had not considered how my sentence had affected that part of my mother¡¯s life until she had brought it to my attention. I had not considered that part of my mothers life, ever, but she wasn¡¯t just my mother. She had been Idensyn Aubrey for one hundred and forty one years before she had become my mother.


    ¡°Have you,¡± I hesitated.


    ¡°Go on, ask me what you will.¡± She encouraged.


    ¡°After my father died, I mean, when he wasn¡¯t around anymore,¡± I couldn¡¯t quite figure out how to word what I wanted to say.


    ¡°Do not fret over the details, you will not offend me.¡± My mother said, patting my knee.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been alone since he died.¡± I said, unable to make it a question.


    ¡°Nonsense. I¡¯ve never been alone,¡± She smiled at me. ¡°I¡¯ve had you and you are more than enough.¡±


    She had not answered my question, not the way I had meant it at least, but I couldn¡¯t keep myself from leaning into her for an embrace. ¡°What was that last night? The dancers and drummers? The lion and everything else?¡±


    ¡°I wondered if you listened to me and came straight here or if you found a way to see it to its end,¡± My mother said, pulling the hem of her wrap up and drawing her legs out of the water. ¡°What you witnessed is known as Amoranora.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± I asked. Is that her name? The Red Mother?


    ¡°What, not who. It is a festival honoring The Mother in Red¡¯s seven lovers. Each receives their own day of celebration and last night marked its beginning. I had forgotten it myself until the rhythm makers began their drumming.¡±


    ¡°The guards, Springer and Woolie, said it was her, at the end. Are all of them like that, The Mothers?¡± I asked, moving through the images of the parade in my mind.


    My mother stood and took one of the clean white towels stacked on the bench beside the pool. She dried her legs with it and stretched it out over the stone floor to dry. ¡°We must leave the discussions of last night where they lay for now,¡± She offered me a hand and I took it, rising to my feet. ¡°There is a serious matter I must speak with you about.¡±


    I didn¡¯t like the way that sounded. I didn¡¯t like it at all. I had not eaten breakfast, my stomach suddenly felt hollow and empty.


    ¡°There is no better time for me to tell you this. I have received word from The Mothers.¡±


    A terrible daydream spun to life in my mind upon my mother¡¯s words. Smoke filled the air of the well house. The water in the pool steamed before erupting into a boil. The rose-fire lion stalked into the small room, stone melting under its blazing paws. It snatched me into its massive jaws around my middle. I screamed as the fire burnt me away and all my mother could do was watch.


    ¡°The Mother in Brown has chosen to be the first to punish you.¡±


    The daydream ran out of things to burn and snuffed itself out of my mind in a puff of smoke.


    ¡°The Mother in Brown,¡± I repeated, a different kind of fear weighing on my chest. ¡°What will she do to me?¡±


    My mother wrapped her arms around me and I buried my face into her. ¡°I do not know. That will be between The Mother and you.¡±


    Had we not just been smiling and laughing a moment ago? All of that lightness that the meeting with my mother had brought me had left the well house.


    The Mother in Red seemed to have an affinity with fire and it had seemed a safe assumption that my punishment would come in that way, but what could The Mother in Brown have planned for me? Something terrible with mud or tree bark, maybe? I didn¡¯t have anything as visceral as fire to point my mind in the right direction.


    ¡°What is her name, The Mother in Brown?¡±


    My mother sighed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry my little Delpha, I have been forbidden to tell you. She insisted on you learning her name from her lips. They all did in fact.¡±


    Nami. The Mother in Blue¡¯s name appeared in my mind. She had told me herself that it was hers in the dark room filled with nothing but water. Knowing one name did not make me feel any better about the eight I didn¡¯t.


    ¡°That seems like the way they would do things,¡± I agreed. ¡°Have you been forbidden from telling me what she is like?¡±


    A terrified scream came from somewhere outside the well house and my mother and I both froze.


    ¡°Stay here until I return for you.¡± She commanded, running out the door.


    ¡°No.¡± I denied and followed at her heels.


    She tore over the path to the manor and burst through the back door, pushing past Anna and heading towards the kitchen. ¡°What, in the Mother¡¯s names, is the matter?¡± My mother demanded, slowing to a stop at the entrance.


    I ran straight into her back and pushed my head under her arm so I could see.


    If I had eaten breakfast that morning, I would have been sick.


    A corpse, blood dripping from its snout and open throat onto the light stones of the floor, bulged off the large table on every side. Its hot scent that hung thick in the air filled my nose and my eyes watered.


    The guard that had been the victor appeared on the other side of the kitchen, fully dressed with his armor and his sword. ¡°There was nothing I could do to stop him, Lady Aubrey.¡±


    Ms. Lao stood with her back turned to the corpse, bracing herself against the wall with a shaky hand. ¡°I am sorry I screamed. I thought I was being attacked until he showed himself.¡±


    ¡°Stop who? Who showed himself?¡± My mother asked, searching the room for someone, anyone, that could give her an answer.


    A hypnotically low voice gave her the answer she was searching for.


    ¡°I have returned,¡± Sam leapt from where he had been unseen and landed atop the massive flank of the slain boar, his tortoise shell blue fur smeared with gore. ¡°with a gift.¡±

 V2: Chapter Four: Ola Gresha

    Could a cat truly be blamed for being a cat?


    Even if said cat was in reality, a reincarnated soul that could harness powers beyond my understanding and grew larger every time his skeleton burst from its flesh?


    It was a perfectly natural occurrence for house cats to bring their prey back to the door of their masters, out of a desire to consume it in a place of safety or by the instinct to impart the art of the hunt to others. Under normal circumstances, however, the slain prey was a bird or a rodent and not a boar whose sheer mass threatened to crack the table it lay dead atop.


    I could say with almost complete certainty that Sam had not been searching for safety.


    No, I didn¡¯t think Sam could be blamed. Arcane nature or not, if it looked like a cat, it was at least part cat.


    ¡°You have my gratitude, Samsara. Your gift is well received.¡± My mother said, quick on her feet. ¡°What do you intend for us to do with it? We could build a pyre and burn it in your honor?¡±


    ¡°It is to be eaten. How you chose to prepare it is of no concern to me. I had my fill with its mate.¡± My familiar stated as if he wasn¡¯t subservient to the daughter of the head of the manor.


    A hand gently touched my back.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Anna whispered into my ear.


    I moved out of the way so she could see.


    ¡°Eww, what the fuck is that?¡± She said, turning away from the boar as soon as she laid her eyes on it.


    ¡°Language!¡± Ms. Lao snapped.


    My mother glanced at me, terrible mischief in her emerald eyes. She addressed the guard that had been the victor. ¡°Driskt, you and the other guards are able to clean and prepare the beast?¡±


    ¡°Expertly, Lady Aubrey.¡± Driskt answered.


    My mother smiled. ¡°Do so. It is Amoranora after all. It would do us all good to have our spirits lifted,¡± She addressed everyone that had packed into the kitchen, including the boar. ¡°Save your hunger. Tonight, we feast!¡±


    The mischievous little fox my mother saw in me had not come from nowhere it seemed.


    Minutes later, the guards had dragged the boar back out of the manor with Arthur¡¯s help and Anna had gone to help her mother back to her room. My mother had thrown herself into preparing for the feast, which was something she had done for me a handful of times before I had escaped.


    Sam, evidently having found the time to groom his blur fur free of the gore, spoke to me. ¡°If you intend to visit The Well, now is this time. Sleep will take me soon.¡±


    With everyone else occupied, there was nothing else for me to do. I started towards the back door. ¡°Shall we?¡±


    The light in the well house was cast from four lanterns that hung high off the ceiling by chains. Their light was dim, making the small room feel like it was caught in an eternal dusk. Once I had closed the heavy marble door, it was just bright enough for me to not trip over my feet when I was undressing or getting in and out of the pool.


    Sam padded around the circular pool, his big blue eyes held upward. ¡°Still, even during my absence, you refuse to provide me with somewhere suitable to observe you.¡±


    The stone walls were bare, which meant there was no ledge or hold that my familiar could climb up to in order to gaze down at me in judgment.


    ¡°Do you ever,¡± I asked, pulling my dress over my head and throwing it in the general direction of the bench. ¡°miss the boarding house?¡±


    Sam answered without hesitation, his deep voice echoing shallowly up the walls and off the ceiling. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Honestly? Not even the lights over the mirror? You loved that spot.¡± I slipped my legs into the pool, just like everything else in Erosette, it was pleasantly warm. I never had any reason to fear coming out of The Well in a fit of shivers or running out of enough hot water to view another memory. It was always the same inoffensive temperature, always. And, the water was salted. I never put salt in it, I never saw anyone put salt in it, and the walls and bottom of the pool were solid marble so it did not salt itself.


    I sank into the water and lay on my back. I did not understand how, but the salt kept me afloat on the surface of the water without any effort.


    Sam settled himself on top of the bench. ¡°I do not love, I . . .¡±


    The water filled my ears and deafened me momentarily. I closed my eyes. I may have missed the old house and my bathroom, but the well house had been made with a purpose in mind. The only time it had ever been easier for me to sink into The Well was when I had been asleep and not known I was doing it.


    The last ripples from my entry into the pool bobbed my ears out of the water long enough to hear Sam finish what he had been saying.


    ¡°Are no birds here. There were birds there.¡±


    Then I left reality behind and felt my mind spiral into itself.


    I opened my eyes in the only place that was my own.


    Temporarily.


    The same as it always was, I found myself standing in a circular room made entirely of a seamless black material. I took the black door from the room that had once held the trimetal walls and entered The Well proper.


    It was the only door left in the place inside my mind.


    The Well had changed.


    Sometime before I had been moved to Erosette, I had compared The Well to a library. In the time it had taken for me to be moved, get settled, and become comfortable enough in the well house to enter The Well, my comparison has been rendered true.


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    I had never actually been in a library, my only experiences within them had come from memories.


    The near infinite amount of halls and doors had given way to a near infinite amount of shelves and books. A trimetal staircase spiraled up from the center of the room and led to an uncountable amount of identical rooms above, all filled with books that held the memories within their pages that the doors once contained. The same was true of the staircase leading down.


    There was only one explanation for the sudden changes to the ethereal structure inside my mind and it wasn¡¯t me.


    The thing at the bottom of The Well that had spoken with me and kept The Mothers from learning I had broken through their barriers, whatever it may be, must have heard my words and taken them to heart.


    If it has a heart. I had tried to speak to it several times once I had gotten back into the routine of things. It hadn¡¯t answered, which I should have expected but it annoyed me regardless.


    It had lived within my mind for over ten years and had communicated to me once in that time. At that rate, I would have to carve a reminder to myself in my skin so I could remember to ask why in ten years time.


    The Well¡¯s new form was not just shelves and books. A collection of comfortable chairs spread around a roaring fireplace waited for me on every floor. At first, having fire so close to so many flammable books had seemed like a terrible accident waiting to happen. Then, I had remembered that everything I could see was a part of an ethereal structure that only existed within my mind and dismissed the notion that the fire was even real. If I was wrong, having a near infinite amount of books go up in flames would probably be enough to melt me from within and at that point I would be beyond the ability to worry.


    Walking between two high shelves, I ran my fingers over the spines of the books as I went. Every new spine the tips of my fingers brushed over, a momentary glimpse of the memories bound within it flashed in my mind. Seleca, Etain, Givins, Wing, Melathandra. I passed hundreds more, dropping my hands down before every brown binding only to raise them up once it had been left behind me.


    The Mother in Brown had chosen to punish me first. I didn¡¯t know what was going to happen to me or when it would happen, but I couldn¡¯t keep myself from avoiding the color all together.


    I reached the end of the shelves and started for the next when a sound stopped me in my steps.


    Sounds in The Well that were not caused by me were rare and in my experience, they were normally the prelude to me being smashed or the floor dropping out from under me. I spread my feet and braced myself against the shelf, waiting for something to happen.


    It had not been the thunk that sounded so much like a metallic heart thumping within The Well and after a moment, I found the courage to move.


    Around the corner, a book with an orange binding had inexplicably fallen from its place on the shelf, its covers laid open and its pages bent and folded against the floor,


    ¡°Did I shake the shelf?¡± I asked aloud, knowing I hadn¡¯t. Even if I had, the empty slot where the book had been before it had fallen was on the shelf opposite the one I had braced myself against.


    How had it fallen? Had the thing at the bottom of The Well decided to communicate with me?


    I remembered the last words I had heard from its strange voice. You remind me of. . . him.


    I picked the book up by its spine between my thumb and forefinger. As soon as I touched an open page I would enter a memory and I had learned that falling out of a memory was much more comfortable if I did it while in the safety of a comfortable chair.


    Ola Gresha.


    The thing at the bottom of The Well making Ola¡¯s book fall seemed much more likely than it actually falling, and I had no way of knowing which had happened, but I couldn¡¯t just put it back.


    It wasn¡¯t in my nature.


    Throwing myself down in the biggest chair that sat in front of the ethereal fireplace, I got comfortable and ran my thumb over the pages until It split open and I was pulled into a memory.


    ¡°Come back to bed. It¡¯s much too late for you to be awake.¡±


    I hadn¡¯t known Aster had woken until she had spoken.


    Under the amethyst glow of the stars she had painted on the ceiling before we had been together, the smoke from my last burner drifted up and spread into wild white shapes.


    I took another drag, not even enjoying the smoke. My hands had just needed something to do.


    Aster moved, wrapping her legs around me and brushing my short hair back behind my ears. She reached around and took the burner from my hand, stealing one of the last drags I could have before morning came. ¡°Tell me what is troubling you, Ola. It will ease your mind.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just restless.¡± I lied, knowing full well why I was restless, but bringing her up to Aster in that moment would have been a manner of cruelty that I was unwilling to commit.


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± Aster said, carefully placing the burner back to my mouth, a faint purple stain from her lips marking the white paper. ¡°You have not been tired out enough.¡±


    I finished the burner and snuffed the smoldering remainder out between my fingertips.


    I did need something else to do with my hands, if I didn¡¯t occupy them, the numbness I could already feel deadening my fingers would continue to spread. Before she had been called away, in the peaceful days before The Mother in Blue had strode from Zenithcidel and faced down the demon Azeralphane, the numbness had been nearly forgotten.


    She had done that.


    Just as I decided to let Aster ease my mind again, a knock sounded on my door.


    ¡°Ola?¡±


    ¡°Go away Constance. It¡¯s late.¡± I spoke up. Why was she awake?


    The knock sounded again. ¡°Ola?¡±


    Aster wrapped her arms around my middle and dragged me back down to the tangled sheets. ¡°Ignore her, she will go away eventually,¡± She threw her leg over me and ran a finger from my throat to my navel, tracing the dotted line of my tattoo. ¡°We have much more important things to do.¡±


    A violent impact hit the door, swinging it inward on its hinges and slamming it against the wall.


    Trea, her pouty face shifting from annoyance to shock before it finally settled somewhere between a smirk and anger, stepped into my room. ¡°Come to the circle now, she is back.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± Aster demanded.


    Constance peeked her head into the room, saw the state Aster and I were in, and vanished. I would have to find her and make her talk to me later if I didn¡¯t want her avoiding me for a month like last time.


    When it had been with her.


    I didn¡¯t need to wait for Trea¡¯s answer to know which she, she, had meant. The feeling in my fingers had begun to return the moment the door had been broken open. It was a trick of my heart surely, but even with the floors between the sleeping quarters separating me from the circle, where she must be, I thought I could sense her.


    Trea, the knowledge of the mess that had just been made because I had taken Aster into my bed present in her eyes, turned her pouty face away from me and walked out of my room.


    Sitting up and pulling the sheets along with her to cover herself, called after her. ¡°Who are you talking about?¡±


    As if in answer, she stepped into view. Like Trea, her deep blue eyes went from shock to anger in a matter of moments, but they settled into a cold threatening stare.


    ¡°Nami.¡± I said.


    Then, the water came.

 V2: Chapter Five: I Need a Pen

    ¡°Nami, I. . .¡±


    Without a word, her midnight blue washed through the white dress she always wore. Just over her navel, two streams of water coiled out from her and around each other, a vortex forming.


    ¡°After a year, you are not allowed to march down here the moment you return and take offense to what has happened in your absence.¡± Aster commanded in her authoritative voice.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know,¡± I started, staring at Nami. ¡°You just left,¡± There were too many things I needed to say. I hated the shame I heard in my voice. I hadn¡¯t done anything wrong. She left, not me. ¡°I waited. I sent you letters,¡± The silky fabric of the bedsheet I had unknowingly clutched in my hands slipped out of my fingers as they numbed. ¡°I. . . ,¡± I had done nothing wrong. Why did I feel like I had? ¡°Waited for you.¡±


    The vortex ripped into a whirlpool and a torrent of raging water rushed through the air towards me.


    Aster ripped the sheet off of herself. Her feet enshrouded in amaranthine shadows, she kicked her pale legs over the side of the bed and left a swathe of purple gloom painted in the air behind her like ink spilled on a page.


    The torrent crashed into the gloom and dissipated into a faint blue cloud.


    ¡°Stay out of this Aster.¡± Nami warned. She was looking at me without meeting my eyes and no matter how hard I tried, she wouldn¡¯t.


    ¡°You should have stayed out of all of this. You are the one who left.¡± Aster shouted, the shadows around her feet creeping up the pale skin of her legs like animate bruises.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you talk to me? Why did you just leave me wondering?¡± I asked, feeling like I was staring down a tunnel that blocked everything from my sight but Nami.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t,¡± She whispered, casting her eyes down. Then they snapped to Aster. ¡° I didn¡¯t think I had to.¡±


    A second torrent broke from her navel.


    Aster swept one leg out in front of herself and sent a rippling arc of her purple gloom stemming up from the floor in a flush. It swelled into a shadowed swathe between the rushing water and where I laid. The torrent split, one current vanished against the shadow and the other ripped underneath it.


    It crashed into me before I could so much as raise my hands.


    They wouldn¡¯t have been any use to me, even if I had.


    Cold water drilled straight into my chest where my tattoos met between my breasts. The unrelenting force pushed me back into the headboard and washed me to the floor like driftwood caught in a tidal wave.


    ¡°Nami.¡± I gasped from where I had settled, both from the cold and the aching in my chest.


    Another torrent struck me in my side and the water pressed me into the wall.


    ¡°How dare you!¡± I heard Aster yell. The room grew darker. Between desperate attempts at filling my cold shocked lungs, I looked up. The stars Aster had painted across the ceiling dimmed and trickled into an amaranthine mass.


    My body shook as I crawled to my hands and knees, looking back up at Nami. Aster glided across the floor with her gloom, her purple aura enshrouding her up to her chest. With a sweep of her leg, the mass dropped from the ceiling just as Nami spun another torrent towards me.


    Trea appeared in the doorway, wide eyes on her pouty face. ¡°Oh shit, they are fighting, fighting.¡±


    The mass ensnared Nami, dropping onto her right shoulder and rippling down her side. Without a second passing, her face flushed as Asters gloom sapped the strength from her. Only then, did she finally meet my eyes.


    I saw the girl that brought the feeling back in my hands, that slept with her head under her pillow every night, that walked on the tips of her toes when she got excited, I saw all the things she had been for me and that I had been for her slipping away within her blue eyes.


    The last torrent rushed towards me.


    I raised my left hand in a fist and waved my fingers from pinky to thumb, unspooling my aura within me. Five wires, each looking like they had been spun from a sunset, fanned out from my fingertips as I cast them. They cut through the torrent and were tangled together by its current.


    I opened my hand and split the rushing water into a burst of cold mist. Reeling the threads back, I snapped my wrist and sent them whipping through the air towards the mass of gloom that clutched Nami. I couldn¡¯t stand to see her in pain.


    I hadn¡¯t seen Constance come into my room.


    My hands numbed.


    I couldn¡¯t feel my threads.


    I couldn¡¯t throw them off their path.


    They struck Constance across her cheek, leaving five lines of blood welling on her tawny skin.


    Nobody hit Constance, even by accident, she was off limits when we fought. Fighting happened much more often than any of us would admit, even without matters of the heart being involved.


    Trea stormed into the room towards me, carmine aura encasing her fists. ¡°I hoped I would get to do this.¡±


    Aster swept her back foot forward and then her front foot to her side, sending rippling gloom towards Trea and tightening the mass around Nami.


    A tendril of water burst through the gloom over Nami¡¯s navel and snaked its way around Aster''s pale throat before she could realize it had happened.


    I did nothing.


    With my hands fully numb, I could do nothing but watch my threads lay useless on the floor.


    ¡°Enough.¡± Constance said, one hand covering the cuts I had marred her cheek with.


    The room shook.


    Curls of living wood burst from the floor and ceiling. A root, thicker than my body, wrapped over my back and burrowed its end into the floor. It pulled me down until my stomach was pressed flat into the cold water beneath me. Breaking through the gloom around her, wood circled up Aster''s pale legs and rooted her to the ground. Catching her in her stride, Trea¡¯s wrists were caught and she was lifted off the ground. The mass ensnaring Nami was displaced by a series of roots coiling around her middle.


    Constance alone stood free, speaking through heavy breaths. ¡°Enough. That''s enough, from all of you.¡±


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    Trea, her legs flailing wildly, tried to turn herself around to face Constance and shouted. ¡°Let me go. She hit you!¡±


    ¡°Keep your voice down, do you wish to wake her,¡± Constance insisted. ¡°I will release each of you, individually, and each of you will return to your own rooms.¡±


    I heard what she was saying, it made sense considering she had needed to bind us all, but I couldn¡¯t go along with it.


    I needed to talk to Nami.


    ¡°Trea, you first.¡± Constance began


    All of the lights, including what bled through the doorway from the common room, died out.


    ¡°I can¡¯t see!¡± Trea shouted from the ceiling.


    ¡°None of us can,¡± Constance sighed. ¡°We woke her up.¡±


    Tarnished light from no source painted the room a dull gray that did not cast any shadows.


    Standing between Nami and Aster, where no one had been a moment before, Grey yawned. She was a head shorter than both and her white hair concealed all of her face but her mouth and slight chin.


    Constance, with her hands on her hips and her eyes cast to the ground, spoke. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Grey. I tried to keep them quiet.¡±


    ¡°Lady Nami. You are needed.¡± Grey said, her voice utterly devoid of interest in the battle she had appeared in the middle of.


    ¡°For what?¡± I blurted, unable to keep myself from speaking out of turn.


    ¡°A new sun. The sorceress sent to prevent it has failed. Your water should have no trouble.¡±


    ¡°What does she mean, a new sun?¡± Trea snapped.


    ¡°If it continues to gain mass. It will kill us all. The gate has been prepared.¡± Grey said, no emotion or urgency in her voice. We called it her nothing voice, because other than the words she said, it held nothing.


    ¡°Let me go, Constance.¡± Nami said.


    Grey yawned again and the wood crumbled to dust from around us. My wires left five sunset colored lines of dust across the floor. The coil of water around Aster¡¯s neck turned to dark blue glitter on her bare shoulders. What remained of Aster¡¯s amaranthine mass fell into a purple mound at Nami¡¯s feet. Trea fell to the floor and landed on her ass before her carmine aura streamed down onto her dark hair.


    Without another word, Nami turned and left my room.


    I tried to stand, slipped, and then got to my feet and ran after her. Through my door, I watched her take the stairs that lay between Grey¡¯s room and the empty one next to it. I would run her down and make her talk to me. Before I could chase after her, a hand caught me by my wrist.


    ¡°Let her go.¡± Grey said in her nothing voice, holding me back.


    I stopped, despite how much it hurt.


    Feeling like I was being torn in half from the inside. I watched her disappear up the stairs in the shadowless light.


    It had been a year, an entire year, since Nami had been called away and I was watching her leave again after what could not have been more than a quarter hour.


    Grey turned her head up to me. ¡°You are naked. Did you know that?¡±


    Before I could answer her, my vision flickered. The numbness in my hands spread up my arms and through my body.


    Then, I fell.


    ¡°What is your name?¡±


    I sat up in the pool, my feet touching its smooth marble bottom and the water coming up to my chest. ¡°Nami, shit,¡± I pushed my dripping hair back from my face. ¡°I know I¡¯m Autumn. Autumn Aubrey.¡±


    ¡°Who is Autumn Aubrey?¡±


    ¡°I need a pen. I don¡¯t want to forget,¡± Sam started to repeat his question but I gave him his damn answer before his low voice could settle at the end of his who. ¡°A Maiden of Zenithcidel, daughter of Idensyn Aubrey, thief and possessor of The Well and debtor to The Nine Mothers.¡±


    I pulled myself out of the pool, bringing the salted water out with me and splashing it to the stone floor. It echoed off the walls, drowning out Sam¡¯s third question. Nami, Ola Gresha, Aster. . . I repeated the names in my mind and snatched one of the plush towels off the stack. Pressing the water off my body, drying my hair with my aura the way my mother had taught me, and throwing my towel in the general direction of the one my mother had used earlier, I repeated again. Nami, Ola, Aster. . . Fuck, what were the rest?


    ¡°What were you doing?¡± Sam¡¯s voice echoed, he had stood fully and his blue eyes had narrowed.


    ¡°Calm down, cat,¡± I sighed, trying to untangle my dress from the mess I had thrown it into without allowing my frustration to cause me to tear it into pieces. ¡°Viewing memories from The Well so it may be extracted from me and returned to The Mothers.¡±


    Obsessive directive satisfied, Sam stated. ¡°You are leaving.¡±


    I slipped my dress over my head but the straps were crossed and I nearly choked myself trying to get it off. ¡°I will only be gone for a moment, I need a pen.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Sam rumbled.


    ¡°Names. I do not want to forget them.¡±


    Nami, Ola Gresha, Aster. . . Constance!


    ¡°Speak their names. I shall not forget.¡± Sam stated.


    ¡°You might not forget but,¡± My dress still resisted me. ¡°How can it be this tangled? It¡¯s not that fucking big,¡± I dropped it onto a wet spot on the floor and snatched it back up before any of the water could soak into it. ¡°If you decide you don¡¯t want to tell them back to me, I might as well have forgotten them.¡±


    ¡°I will not keep them from you.¡± Sam stated.


    A knock came from outside the pink marble door. ¡°It¡¯s Arthur.¡±


    What had the guard called him? Ugi?


    ¡°Hold on.¡± I called back. He had already gotten a look up my dress and that had been one time too many.


    ¡°If you¡¯re busy I can,¡±


    ¡°Hold on,¡± I said, finally managing to cast out whatever malicious entity had possessed my simple white dress. I pulled it over my head while I listed the names to my familiar. ¡°Nami, Ola, uhm. Oster. No, Aster! And, uhm, . . . Constance! Fuck, there were more. I don¡¯t remember.¡±


    I stormed over to the door of the well house and cracked it open. Despite its size and that it was made entirely of pink marble, it took no effort to pull it open. ¡°Hello, Arthur.¡±


    The tall man, wearing the same lightweight tunic and pants he had been wearing that morning, had walked almost out of sight of the door. He turned back and waved when I called his name.


    Why is he dirty? There were dirt stains on his knees and the back of his pants. Who else was there? I asked, my frustration and Arthur¡¯s interruption already making the memory slip from my mind.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to bother you. Well, I did mean to bother you but I didn¡¯t know you would be this busy. I¡¯ll just talk to you before dinner.¡± The tall man said, wearing most of his wide smile and rubbing the back of his head.


    He had gotten bigger. The clothes he had been provided after our arrival in Erosette had not fit him nearly as tight just a couple of months ago. I had told him I would talk to him after he had kept me from being a broken heap that morning, but I needed to focus. I couldn¡¯t let myself forget the names I had just learned.


    ¡°I will seek you out and find you myself.¡± I said, smiling back at him.


    I closed the door as soon as I knew my putting him off had been accepted.


    ¡°Sam. Tell me what I said.¡± I commanded my familiar.


    The blue tortoise shell cat sat on the stone bench staring back at me with his blue eyes, unblinking. With none of my inflection or tone, he repeated my words back to me in his monotone baritone. ¡°Nami, Ola, uhm. Oster. No, Aster. And, uhm, . . . Constance. Fuck, there were more. I don¡¯t remember.¡±


    ¡°Again.¡± I stopped repeating the names I had told him in my mind and tried to stumble back across the others.


    ¡°Nami, Ola, uhm. Oster. No, Aster. And, uhm, . . . Constance. Fuck, there were more. I don¡¯t remember.¡± Sam repeated.


    ¡°And. . . ,¡± I trailed off, hoping for something to rise out of nothing. ¡°I have to go back.¡±


    ¡°These names are important?¡± Sam asked, watching me pull the dress off that had taken a heroic effort to pull on not five minutes prior.


    ¡°You said fuck,¡± I slipped my feet back into the pool, the water it had lost from my swift exit having been inexplicably refilled. ¡°I¡¯m proud of you.¡±


    Sam growled. ¡°Do not leave me in ignorance, child. Why are these names important?¡±


    I dropped into the warm water and stretched my arms above my head before leaning back. ¡°They are important, because they are the names of The Mothers.

 V2: Chapter Six: Blossom

    ¡°What is that?¡± Momma asked, pointing to the bright place we were going to when it was light outside again.


    On top of the big hill where our camping spot was by the broken wall, the bright place looked smaller than my thumb if I held it up to it.


    The City Above. Leaves whispered into my head.


    ¡°The City Above!¡± I said. Leaves always told me the answers to what Momma asked me even, even when I couldn¡¯t see him.


    ¡°Very good, Blossom!¡± Momma clapped for me.


    Very good, Leaves. I thought at Leaves.


    Momma pulled her map out of her pack and pointed at something on it. ¡°If this is The City Above,¡± She moved her finger down. ¡°Then what is this called?¡±


    The City Below. Leaves whispered again.


    Colors were under where Momma was pointing. Red, blue, some I didn¡¯t know, and then green. I liked the green the most. Momma¡¯s aura was green.


    ¡°Blossom? What is this called?¡± Momma asked, hitting the spot she pointed to with her finger.


    The City Below.


    ¡°The City Below!¡± I said, looking at the colors again.


    ¡°Very good, Blossom,¡± Momma clapped. She moved her finger down the map. ¡°All the way down here is where I grew up. That is where we are going to live, do you remember what it is called?¡±


    The Mother in Green¡¯s domain. Leaves whispered.


    ¡°Why did you leave where you grew up?¡± I asked. I didn¡¯t know where I grew up yet.


    Momma looked down at the bright place. ¡°Because of you.¡±


    I liked when she talked about me. ¡°Because of me, why?¡±


    ¡°Well, it took me a long, very long, time to be granted permission to try and have you. When I did, I knew that there were thousands of Maidens of Zenithcidel and I wanted you to have a special name, one that could be all your own.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m Blossom of Everblossom!¡± I said, not needing leaves to whisper my name to me.


    ¡°Very good! If I would have had you here,¡± she tapped the green spot on the map. ¡°You would have been Blossom of Zenithcidel.¡±


    ¡°But then I wouldn¡¯t be special!¡± I said.


    Momma laughed. ¡°Your name is not what makes you special. It just lets others know you¡¯re special. Now, one more try and then we need to get some sleep,¡± She tapped the green spot on the map again. ¡°Do you remember what this place is called?¡±


    I didn¡¯t need to wait for Leaves. ¡°The green momma¡¯s place!¡±


    Momma covered her mouth and laughed so hard she snorted. ¡°Isilisk, what have I told you about helping her. She will never learn for herself.¡±


    A big lizard, not big enough for me to ride anymore but still big, crawled down the wall beside us.


    ¡°That¡¯s where you were!¡± I said, reaching up to grab him by his tail. The wall was broken like the others and Leaves must have been right on the other side the whole time.


    ¡°You push her too hard, My Lady. It is late. She is small. We have traveled far.¡± Leaves said.


    Momma called him by his other name but I called him Leaves because he was made of them, his whole body.


    ¡°Perhaps you are right,¡± Momma said, pulling the big blanket out of her pack and laying it down on the ground. ¡°It is time for bed, Blossom. Come rest.¡±


    I was tired, so I did.


    ¡°Momma,¡± I yawned. ¡°Will I get a Leaves?¡±


    Momma yawned back. ¡°Someday, possibly. No one knows The Weaver¡¯s design. If She wills it, then you will.¡±


    Whoever She was would give me my own Leaves, because I was special. I would just have to tell her my name.


    Sometime after I closed my eyes, I felt myself fall.


    I opened them to see the dim lights of the wellhouse hanging high above me and hearing an all too familiar voice.


    ¡°What is your name?¡±


    ¡°Autumn Aubrey.¡± I answered my familiar, stretching my arms and legs in the warm water. I never felt quite right when I came back from the memory of a child.


    ¡°Who is Autumn Aubrey?¡±


    ¡°I am a Maiden of Zenithcidel. Daughter of Idensyn Aubrey. Thief and possessor of The Well. Debtor to The Circle of the Nine Mothers,¡± I rolled my shoulders and pointed my toes until my calves strained. ¡°Does the name, The Weaver, mean anything to you?¡±


    Sam ignored my question. ¡°Who was Autumn Aubrey?¡±


    I shot my legs down and stood up in a splash. ¡°What the fuck did you just say?¡±


    ¡°Who was Autumn Aubrey?¡± Sam repeated.


    My familiar, who was under the influence of an arcane directive that compelled him to ask the same three questions every single fucking time I came out of a memory with an obsessive and unyielding fervor, had just asked me a new question.


    ¡°You understand you cannot change one of your questions after countless, identical, repetitions and expect me to take it in stride?¡±


    Sam stood up to all fours atop the bench. His low voice grew louder and echoed shallowly off the stone walls. ¡°Who was Autumn Aubrey?¡±


    ¡°Blossom. Blossom of Everblossom. Is that enough? I was a little girl overlooking The City Above with my mom.¡±


    Sam sat. I had evidently given him enough.


    ¡°Your mortal came. I did not grant her entry.¡± Sam stated.


    The most miraculous thing that had ever happened in his service to me, including bursting from his flesh and turning into lightning, and he acted as if it hadn¡¯t happened.


    I wanted my own Leaves. How nice would it be to have a familiar that gave me answers instead of questions?


    ¡°Are we going to pretend like that was the same it has always been?¡± I asked him, pushing myself out of the pool and sitting on the edge.


    ¡°It is the same.¡± Sam answered.


    ¡°Even by your standards, you are being unusually difficult today. You asked me a new question, Sam. I would like to know how.¡± I said, one more of his rumbling words away from commanding him.


    ¡°By answering who you were, you sate my need to know what you were doing. By answering who you were, you will never forget a name because I will never forget a name.¡± He started grooming himself as soon as he finished speaking.


    ¡°Why could you not have said that from the beginning,¡± I sighed, drying my hair and getting a towel. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so resistant to me.¡±


    ¡°I do. It is within my nature to dislike you,¡± Sam stated. Then, to my surprise, he added. ¡°Sleep calls for me. I am eager to answer it.¡±


    My wittle kitty is tired. I thought. Not wishing to antagonize him, I left it a thought. ¡°Which of my mortals came?¡±


    ¡°Your mortal.¡± Sam stated.


    ¡°Anna?¡± I pulled my dress over my head without any need for violence.


    Sam¡¯s silence was an answer enough for me to leave him in the well house.


    Without my daily lunch with my mother to mark the middle of the day, I had lost track of time. When Arthur had stopped by and helped my mind empty itself of things I very much wanted to remember when it had still been morning, but when I stepped out of the dim room, dusk had filled the sky over Erosette with its golden light. Sounds came from the otherside of the ivy and blossoms to my left, but the greenery was too thickly grown for me to peek through. The wall that surrounded the manor stood high to my left, a constant reminder of just how far my freedom went. Looking up at the window of Anna¡¯s room that faced the garden, I started towards the house.


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    When I had gone back into The Well, Ola¡¯s book had been nowhere to be found. Every shelf had been filled end to end and there was no orange book on the floor next to the chair by the fireplace. I had gone up several floors and then back down several more, but no matter how many spines I had run my fingers over, I hadn¡¯t heard any of The Mothers'' names again.


    Nami, Ola, Aster. Sam had another. I would ask him for it after the feast and write them down. Having his not new, new, question taking the names from me when they were fresh in my mind was convenient but it didn¡¯t help me remember.


    When I stepped into view over the packed dirt path, Anna was leaning against the bricks of the manor by the back door. She looked up and the golden light spread over her. A little smirk touched her lips and she waved me towards her.


    ¡°Come on, your mom gave me a job.¡± Anna said, holding the door open for me.


    I would never admit it to her, but I had been worried about what would happen after we moved to Erosette. Once I ceased to be the strange girl on the third floor of the boarding house, once she had learned all of my secrets and got used to my real face, once she realized that I was indeed a prisoner, I had worried she would grow bored with me. I had worried that she would regret our meeting and all that had happened because of it.


    ¡°What did she ask you to do?¡± I passed by her, content that neither of my worries had proved to be true.


    She herded me up the stairs in a hurry, but when we reached the top of them, she pulled me into her room instead of mine. It was nearly identical to mine, except her bed didn¡¯t have the canopy and there were two windows where mine had none. One faced the garden at the back of the manor and I could just see the well house peeking out from the greenery. The other faced Erosette and the crossroads on the other side of the bridge, where I had seen The Mother in Red, were in clear view.


    Anna stood in front of the closet. ¡°She asked me to make sure you wear something festive to the feast.¡±


    I slumped my shoulders and whined. ¡°Oh no, Anna¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make this difficult. I don¡¯t want to have to get violent with you.¡± Anna said, her face completely serious.


    Genuinely curious, I crossed my arms over my chest. ¡°Do you actually think you are capable of fighting me?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± She insisted, her face remaining serious.


    ¡°That is ridiculous. You watched me kill a creature that you were powerless to stop from stealing you away. What is your confidence founded in?¡± I asked, not understanding how she could have arrived at the conclusion she had.


    ¡°That¡¯s my point. It¡¯s not hard to win a fight if you are the only one fighting. I could do whatever I wanted to you and you wouldn¡¯t hit me back,¡± She opened the closet and walked in, snapping the overhead lamp to life. ¡°You care about me too much.¡±


    End to end, the entire circular room was a variegated stream of clothes. Pants, shirts, dresses, cloaks, and every other cut and style hung on a rail with shoes of every kind running around the bottom underneath.


    ¡°That¡¯s,¡± I hesitated, thinking about her words and the logic within them. ¡°That¡¯s not fair.¡±


    ¡°Then don¡¯t be difficult. Try this.¡± She tried to hand me a silky black dress that looked silky in her hands and shimmered in the lamp light.


    ¡°Where did you get all of this?¡± I asked, looking around and thinking of my own sparse closet, nothing but white dresses that were identical to the one I had on.


    Anna shook the dress in front of me. ¡°I asked for it. Here, put it on.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t black make me look too pale and isn¡¯t that too formal,¡± I asked, shaking my head. ¡°Who did you ask?¡±


    ¡°Your mom, and you would look pale next to snow, but whatever.¡± Anna answered, putting back the black dress.


    She passed over something gray and I refused a brown dress that had no straps. I had a bad enough habit of exposing myself with clothes that supported themselves. The brown dress was a disaster waiting to happen. The process continued for much longer than it should have.


    ¡°Just so I can keep track of where we are at,¡± Anna sighed, holding her hand up to count off her fingers. ¡°Orange?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I said.


    ¡°Yellow?¡± She folded one of her fingers back to her palm.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Purple?¡± Another finger.


    ¡°No.


    ¡°Green? Look at this one, it will look so good on you.¡± Anna said, pulling the end of a forest green garment out from the others. It was a wrap, the same style my mother favored.


    ¡°No.¡± I answered, knowing I would feel like I was wearing a costume of my mother if I agreed. I would never look as good in it as she looked in hers, besides.


    Anna let the dress go and continued folding her fingers back. ¡°I¡¯m wearing red, so that¡¯s out. I¡¯d die before I¡¯d let you wear white. Blue it is.¡±


    ¡°I still don¡¯t understand why I cannot just wear what I have on.¡± I sighed, absentmindedly running my hand over the hundreds of different fabrics hanging around me.


    Anna tossed the dress at me. ¡°Because we are going to a feast and I think you will look pretty in it. It¡¯s just like what you have on except it¡¯s blue.¡±


    I took it and ran the fabric through my hands. It was not silky or shiny, it had shoulders, and it looked to be close to the length of the white dresses I had made my uniform. ¡°I give up. I will wear it.¡±


    ¡°Finally. Let me out of here. I¡¯m tired of being in the closet.¡± Anna said, pushing past me and shutting the door behind herself.


    Understanding that If I left the closet without putting the new dress on, Anna would indeed become violent, I chose peace and changed. A moment later, I came out of the mirrorless closet having no idea what I looked like.


    Anna scrunched her nose and smiled when she saw me. ¡°You¡¯re beautiful. Let me do your hair.¡±


    ¡°I thought you like my hair?¡± I ran it through my hands over my shoulder, wondering what was the matter with it.


    ¡°I do, dummy. Just sit down.¡± She pointed towards the chair placed in front of the desk that was identical to the one in my room. With one hand, she grasped the lip of the desktop and pulled it upwards, unfolding a three sectioned mirror and locking it into place.


    My jaw dropped. ¡°I didn¡¯t know they could do that!¡±


    Anna shrugged.


    Like a thunder clap, a sudden sound rattled the windows of Anna¡¯s room and made both of us flinch.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Anna recovered first.


    Feeling like I already knew, I stepped to the window that faced the city and had my feeling confirmed. ¡°Firework.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t be, there was only one boom.¡± She said, coming to the window.


    A single shimmering flare climbed into the air from the heart of Erosette. Larger than any I had seen the night before, it shone, wine red, against the last golden light of dusk. Just as the day ended and the darkness of night took the sky, the firework dimmed and disappeared from my sight. A moment later, it burst in a blinding flash that sent an uncountable amount of small red werelights drifting down over the city like snow.


    ¡°This place is fucking crazy,¡± Anna said, staring through the window with wonder evident on her face. ¡°It¡¯s the first night of that Amoranore thing your mom told me about, right?¡±


    I wished I could share her excitement. I turned away from the window. I had tortured myself enough. ¡°When did you talk to my mother?¡±


    ¡°We talk everyday,¡± She grabbed my wrist and turned me back to her. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡±


    ¡°This place is fucking crazy,¡± I snapped, not realizing I was angry until the words came out of me in a rage. ¡°And all I can do is observe it from behind the walls of what amounts to a prison! It makes me so fucking angry I have to perch up here and imagine what it¡¯s like down there!¡±


    Anna didn¡¯t tell me to calm down. She didn¡¯t pull me into a hug or try to comfort me. She let my anger rush out and matched my temper. ¡°It¡¯s bullshit. You should be angry! Say more.¡±


    I did as I was told. ¡°I spend every single day of my life seeing through the eyes of others, doing things that have already been done, saying words that have already been spoken. I want to do something new, I want to do something of my own,¡± I shouted, balling my fists and stomping my feet. You did this to yourself. I thought, my anger dipping into a guilty frustration with a sudden swing. ¡°I know I stole The Well and I know I have to pay back my debt, but fuck! I want to live!¡±


    Anna mirrored my outburst, balling her own fists and shouting. ¡°Fuck!¡±


    A heated laugh slipped out of me and I took her hands in mine, my anger and frustration giving way to an unfamiliar feeling. ¡°Think about how much trouble we could get into if we could go down there. We could get drunk like we did in the woods behind your house and run through the streets as we pleased. I want to live, Anna. With all the memories in my mind you would think I have enough, but I want to make my own. I want to make them with you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s happening again.¡± She said, leading me to the chair in front of the newly discovered mirror and sitting me down.


    The emerald green of my eyes had been saturated with crimson light that shone back at me from the mirror. It had happened before, in the boarding house and the moments before I had found the color of my soul. ¡°Is this what it always looks like?¡±


    ¡°Every time I¡¯ve seen it.¡± Anna answered, brushing her fingers back through my hair.


    I could see her in the mirror, her straight raven hair contrasting against the soft red curls of my own. Seeming to be entirely focused on what she was doing, the hint of a smile played at the corner of her mouth as she let my hair fall and ran her fingers through it again. It could have been the glow of my eyes or it could have been that she was blushing, but her cheeks bore a red tint that made my own face grow warm.


    I looked back at myself. ¡°You were right.¡±


    She looked at me through the mirror, her dark eyes meeting mine. ¡°About what?¡±


    ¡°They are freaky. That is the word you used the first time it happened.¡± I answered and rubbed my hands against my eyes to see if that altered them further.


    Anna, her voice barely more than a whisper, spoke. ¡°Remember this. Remember how you feel right now, how angry you were and how it feels for me to do this,¡± She gathered my hair a final time and tied it behind my head in a neat bun. She ran the tip of her finger along my jaw, starting at my chin and ending just behind my ear. ¡°I like it like this, I can see your face better. Don¡¯t forget it.¡±


    I was paralyzed, completely unable to do anything but watch her through the mirror. ¡°I could never forget this.¡±


    Without any notice, she pulled the chair back and drug me out of it by my wrists. She shoved me towards her door and turned her back to me, walking back towards her closet. ¡°Alright, get out of here. I¡¯ve got to get ready now.¡±


    I did as I was told, leaving her room without a word of protest and closed her door behind me. I slumped my back against the wall and took a deep breath. I sighed. ¡°What the fuck.¡±


    Running to my own room, I pulled at the lip of the desk and the sectioned mirror revealed itself. Without unfolding it, I craned my face down to it and saw that the red glow had not faded from my eyes. I smoothed out the blue dress Anna had put me in. I wasn¡¯t sure what I had just felt, but I knew if I did not settle myself before I went downstairs and joined my mother¡¯s feast, she would know something had happened.


    I could not afford that.


    I needed Idensyn Aubrey to be as calm and relaxed as I could manage to make her. She needed to be carried along by the spirit of the feast and get lost in the festivities brought on by Amoranora. I needed her to be in the best of moods because Anna had given me an idea so grand, so ingenious, that it had never occurred to me in all of my life.


    Instead of throwing logic and reason to the wind like I had when I ran away or giving myself over to my curious nature and sneaking down to Erosette under the cover of night, I, Autumn Aubrey, was going to ask my mother for permission.


    What could go wrong?

 V2: Chapter Seven: Morrows Night

    Somewhere in the little room on the third story of the boarding house that I had holed away in after my escape to the mortal plane, the place I had never called home but was where most of my most significant memories were made, was a notebook.


    Mostly from boredom, I had taken rough notes of most of the memories I had viewed while I was away from Zenithcidel in its pages. Standing in front of the folding mirror and watching the red glow in my eyes dim and give way to my natural green, I wished I could look over what I had written once more.


    There had been at least two memories I could remember where someone had found the color of their soul. Maybe it was the pounding of my heart in my chest after what had happened in Anna¡¯s room, but for the life of me, I could not remember their names.


    Had their eyes emanated light like mine did? Nami and the rest of The Mothers had thrown around their power in that bedroom and none of their eyes had shone. Ola Gresha and. . . I could not remember her name. . .The Mother in Purple had been together before Nami had arrived and the fight had broken out.


    My heart thumped in my chest at the thought and the red glow in my eyes brightened in my reflection. I shut it out of my mind and bit the inside of my cheek, holding my breath until my green eyes had returned in full. The pounding in my chest that filled my ears settled enough that I could hear a small sound coming from within the canopy around my bed.


    Creeping up to the bed and gently slipping my fingers through the gap in the fabric at the post, the bed was perfectly made, not a wrinkle or crease to be found.


    The small sound came again, rhythmic and rough, like stones being ground against one another in quick bursts


    I looked up. A dark shape sagged in the middle of the canopy. Slowly, I raised my hand and gently pushed the tip of my finger into the shadowy mass.


    The small sound momentarily got bigger and I realized what had invaded my room.


    Using the sturdy post to pull myself up and balancing my feet on the narrow footboard, I peered over and laid my eyes on my familiar. Sam, curled into a not so little blue ball with his face tucked against his body, was doing something between a purr and a snore.


    My familiar was snurring.


    I had only seen him sleep a handful of times and all of them had been in the boarding house after he had hunted. When I was moved to the manor, the amount of space Sam had to roam increased dramatically and he had never been in my room after dark for long.


    Which made it all the more strange why he had chosen to fall asleep where he had.


    Ask him when he wakes up. I thought, lingering for just a moment. He really was cute when he slept. Of course, all of the very not cute and terribly intimidating things about him were suppressed when he slumbered. If I tried really really hard, I could almost make myself believe he was just a strangely furred cat, a pet even. Instead of being a thorn in my side at every opportunity, I imagined he spent his days sleeping and meowing for his next meal.


    What had he said? It is within my nature to dislike you.


    My poke had not woken him. Could I scratch behind his ears without being mauled? Slowly reaching my hand out and risking my flesh for a compulsion I was powerless to ignore, a voice broke the tense silence.


    ¡°That dress isn''t very long, you know.¡±


    ¡°Fuck!¡± I shouted, every part of me jerking violently from the sudden voice. My feet slipped off the footboard and I fell straight back off the bed. My aura flared within me, rushing to my navel before being stopped dead by the Seal of the Nine Mothers. Driven by nothing but fear and instinct, it turned and streamed out of my right palm, almost quick enough to catch me before I hit the floor.


    Almost.


    My elbows hit the unfortunately thin rug first. Then, the back of my head, my ass, and my legs. Bolts of pain shot up my arms and curled fingers. I kept my eyes closed and let the rest of me fall to the pattern of roses and thorns, more embarrassed than hurt. ¡°Did he wake up?¡±


    Anna answered me. ¡°Did who wake up?¡±


    I pointed in the direction I thought my bed was in. ¡°Sam.¡±


    I heard her bare feet step over me and the wood of the bed frame creak as she climbed it, just as I had. Creaks and rustling sounded as she shook the bed and then I heard her drop back to the floor.


    ¡°It¡¯s strange how easy that is when someone isn¡¯t sneaking up on you. Do I need to teach you how to knock?¡± I said, opening my eyes.


    ¡°We moved past knocking a long time ago, dummy,¡± Anna stood over me with one foot on each side of my legs. She held her hands down to me and I took them, letting her pull me up. ¡°Besides, the door was open.¡±


    Anna¡¯s raven hair was pulled up into a higher bun than she had tied mine and not a single strand of her straight hair was out of place. The neck of her crimson dress met her jawline and the rest of it clung to her slim body before seamlessly flaring out at her waste. The hem falling just above the floor and her thumbs hooked through little holes in the sleeves, nearly all of her was covered.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me too long, you just calmed down.¡± She said with a smirk.


    ¡°You should wear this everyday.¡± I said, running my hand down the silky surface of her sleeve. I did not like that texture on my own skin, but my opinion was all together different when it was on hers.


    ¡°We have to work on your banter. If you say what you are really thinking from the jump, it ruins the tension.¡± Anna said, one hand on her hip.


    ¡°Why would I want tension between us?¡± I asked. I did not think I could handle her being mad at me.


    She sagged her shoulders and dropped her head, sighing. ¡°Samsara is dead asleep, I shook the bed and pulled his tail, nothing. Why is he sleeping up there?¡±


    ¡°That is the bravest and the most dangerous thing I¡¯ve ever heard of anyone doing,¡± I thought about the no longer little claws and fangs of my familiar tearing through the thin sleeve over Anna¡¯s arm. I thought about Anna¡¯s hands running through my hair, her finger running up my jaw. ¡°About what happened earlier, in your room.¡±


    All at once, hurried footsteps pounded up the stairs and down the hall towards my room, heavy and quick. Arthur slid into the doorway on the heels of his boots. He wore a simple white shirt with a high collar and a brown leather vest over it. His hair had been combed and there was no dirt on his pants. ¡°Autumn,¡± he panted, hands on his knees. ¡°Your mom said,'''' He stood up and slicked his hair back with his hands. ¡°To come out back, right now.¡±


    ¡°The Mother in Brown, she has come for me.¡± I blurted. Between the urgency in Arthur¡¯s arrival and the poor timing, there was no other explanation. I had seen her, in a memory before Anna had met me outside of the well house. I couldn¡¯t remember her name and my notebook of a cat was dead asleep, but she had not seemed unkind. She had restrained the other Mothers by manifesting roots that twisted and turned around her sisters. The Mother in Brown had not been punishing them. The wood would have thorns for me. She would trap me in it and send it coiling around my body, a constant flaying that would only end when she decided my pain was sufficient.


    ¡°Nope, that¡¯s not it,¡± Arthur said, looking at me with an eyebrow raised. ¡°It¡¯s time to start the feast.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± I whispered, the panic that had risen within me refusing to settle down.


    Anna placed her hand in the small of my back. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you lead with that instead of scaring the shit out of both of us?¡±


    ¡°In hindsight, I can see how that would have been better. Sorry, Autumn.¡± Arthur said.


    ¡°Get out of here, we will be down in a minute,¡± Anna said and then turned to me. ¡° Are you okay? Do you want to sit down?¡±


    Arthur walked into the room and passed by where Anna and I stood on the rug. ¡°I can¡¯t do that. Autumn¡¯s mom made me promise that I wouldn¡¯t come back down without you,¡± He walked behind us and pushed. ¡°I¡¯ll carry you if I have to.¡±


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    ¡°If you touch me again I will do to you what Autumn did to that guard down by the river.¡± Anna spat, raising her fist towards her brother.


    ¡°I heard about that, poor guy,¡± Arthur sighed and then pushed us again. ¡°Let¡¯s go. I¡¯m hungry.¡±


    I caught Anna¡¯s arm midswing, my panic having calmed enough I could be a person again. ¡°I am fine. We will go peacefully. I am hungry too.¡±


    Anna glared at her brother. ¡°If she hadn¡¯t stopped me, you¡¯re lucky,¡± Anna said, turning away from Arthur and leading me out of my room and towards the stairs. ¡°You look stupid in those clothes, like some big dumb thing that lives in a swamp.¡±


    ¡°And the only reason you can wear a dress that tight is because you¡¯re flat.¡± Arthur snapped back.


    We took the stairs down in complete silence, Arthur at our backs, and Anna practically radiating a furious heat. The back and forth between the siblings had brought me out of my self induced panic and by the time we turned down the hall to the back door, I had cracked a smile. It was strange and amusing how the brother and sister pretended to dislike each other despite the love I had seen between them.


    Just outside the back door, Amoranora had reached the manor on the hill. Everywhere I looked, the werelights that had been cast down over Erosette from the firework I had seen through Anna¡¯s window hung in the air like they had been placed individually. The color of a dark red wine, they cast a flickering light over everything that gave the back of the manor a relaxed feeling from their light alone.


    ¡°Whoa.¡± Anna said.


    ¡°Whoa, indeed,¡± My mother smiled, standing just before the mouth of the garden path. She met us halfway and plucked one of the wine lights out of the air with her thumb and forefinger before placing it in front of our faces. She wore a dress the same color as the lights and her red hair was tied back in a complex overlay of perfect braids. Green eyes shimmering with the same mischief that had filled them when the feast had been nothing but an idea, she spoke. ¡°Anna and Arthur Lao, you both have done well by me in completing the task I assigned you. I owe each of you a favor for your efforts.¡±


    My mother and I shared so many features and so much of our faces looked the same, but my earlier feelings that had made me refuse the green dress were confirmed when I noticed the difference in how Arthur looked at my mother compared to when he looked at me.


    ¡°I did not realize the firework cast these all the way up here,¡± I said, reaching up to touch the wine light. ¡°What are they?¡±


    ¡°They didn¡¯t. The people of Erosette will not miss what I have borrowed,¡± She turned to me, untwisting one of the straps of my dress that I hadn¡¯t realized had been twisted. ¡°I am surprised to see you in blue. Green seems much more like your color.¡±


    ¡°I tried. She wouldn¡¯t go for it.¡± Anna said, smoothing a wrinkle out of the front of my dress.


    I swatted their hands away. ¡°Why is everyone so interested in what I am wearing all of a sudden?¡±


    ¡°I like what you normally wear.¡± Arthur chimed in, not fussing over my dress


    A sudden flash of him looking up at me when I had been on the roof came to the front of my mind. He could have not told me that he had a straight line of sight up my dress but he had looked away and told me immediately. ¡°That is why we are friends, Arthur.¡±


    ¡°I thought it was because of the hot chocolate.¡± Arthur said.


    I could not tell if he was being earnest or not.


    ¡°Look at the three of you,¡± My mother beamed. ¡°Autumn is wearing a color, Anna is dressed for a ball, and I finally found Arthur nice clothes that fit him properly,¡± She turned to Anna and I. ¡°That was no easy task, I assure you both.¡±


    Another repetition of Delpha and The Dragon or one of her other stories would be in all of our futures if my mother got much happier. She could not help it, it was in her nature.


    ¡°First, I must share a story with you,¡± My mother said, dropping her voice to a pitch that she only used when beginning a long tale. ¡°It is later than I wished it to be, so I must be brief for the sake of the evening.¡±


    I knew it.


    ¡°Not very long ago, far from here in a place within Chaos known as the Subseas, a young sailor found himself marooned on one of the thousands of islands scattered throughout the subterranean ocean. The island was haunted by a demon, Othilie, that had taken the lady of the isles light and scattered it across the island in a fit of rage when she refused his offer of marriage.¡± My mother took the werelight out of the air before us, making sure we understood the obvious symbolism.


    ¡°What does this have to do with food?¡± Arthur asked.


    My mother held her finger to her lips to silence him and continued. ¡°The lady of the isle visited the young sailor, Morrow, on the shore and told him that if he could steal her lights away from the demon and bring them to her ruined tower atop the island that she would cast the demon off and help Morrow off the island.¡±


    I thought I understood what was happening. ¡°Were we not going to just have a feast?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but I wanted you all to experience Amoranora in earnest. Now, let me finish. You know how I hate to have a story interrupted,¡± My mother insisted. Seemingly from nowhere, she flicked her wrist out to her side and three bags with long straps dropped from her hand. ¡°On this Morrow¡¯s night, all throughout Erosette, everyone who feels the passion of The Mother in Red has taken to the streets with bags just like this slung over their shoulders.¡±


    ¡°So, the island lady was the demon, right?¡± Arthur asked.


    ¡°No, the lady was the Red Mother,¡± My mother huffed. ¡°I will tell the story properly over dinner.¡±


    My mother stepped in front of Arthur and raised herself to the tips of her toes to hang the bag over the tall man¡¯s shoulder. Without needing to stretch, she did the same for Anna and I before retaking her place in front of us. ¡°Whichever of you collects the most werelights before I can catch you will win The Red Mothers heart as Morrow did.¡±


    She reached behind her back and pulled out a small chest adorned with polished brass and glimmering rubies.


    I did not care about the chest or what was in it. My entire concern was that my mother continued to stay in high spirits. I would play her game, despite my desire to participate in the genuine tradition taking place in the city below, and do whatever else I had to do for my impending question to be received as well as I could ensure.


    ¡°Is her heart really in there?¡± Arthur exclaimed.


    My mother laughed and covered her mouth with her hand. ¡°No, dear boy. It¡¯s a metaphor.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Idensyn,¡± Anna said. Since when did she call my mother by her first name? ¡°He fell down a lot as a child and I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s made him a little slow.¡±


    ¡°Shut up, I¡¯m not slow,¡± Arthur snapped. ¡°We live with witches and a talking cat in a mansion outside of an underground city that has its own sky. A heart in a box seems pretty normal all things considered.¡±


    ¡°A fair point!¡± My mother agreed.


    ¡°It is a fair point, Anna.¡± I said, pushing my elbow into her ribs playfully.


    She glared at me so fiercely that I felt it would have burned my eyes if I had looked back at her.


    ¡°Oh no! Somebody does not like to be wrong.¡± I ribbed her with my elbow again.


    Sharp pain stabbed into my ribs and I clutched my arms around them. ¡°I was joking.¡±


    ¡°I told you she can get violent.¡± Arthur said, patting me on my back.


    ¡°Each of you are ready?¡± My mother asked, bringing our attention back to her and ignoring the death blow Anna had just delivered onto my ribs.


    Through pained inhales, I asked. ¡°Did you say before you catch us?¡±


    My mother nodded. ¡°Someone has to play Othillie, of course.¡±


    ¡°I want to play.¡± Ms. Lao said from behind us


    I had not heard her come out of the manor.


    In such a big house, days would pass with me only seeing Ms. Lao at dinner. Of late, she had taken her meals in her room more often than not and in that time, the mortal sickness that she refused to have healed had made her less. From where I stood, the wine red light cast its warm glow over her and it was difficult for me to tell just how much weight she had lost, but the shawl and robes she wore hung loosely off her shoulders.


    ¡°No, Ma. You need to rest.¡± Arthur said, "I''ll take you to the table.¡±


    Ms. Lao slapped her son¡¯s hand away. ¡°Hush. All I have done since we got here is rest. There is nothing to do but rest. I will play.¡± She said quickly.


    ¡°Wonderful Mai!¡± My mother smiled, flicking her wrist out and making another bag appear. She placed it over Ms. Lao like she had the rest of us.


    ¡°Arthur,¡± Anna whispered. ¡°She can¡¯t.¡±


    Arthur cleared his throat. ¡°Ma, I don¡¯t know if,¡±


    Ms. Lao cut him off. ¡°You are scared that I will beat you.¡±


    Arthur opened his mouth to respond and then closed it.


    ¡°The time has come,¡± My Mother announced, passing the gold and glittering box in front of each of us one last time before concealing it behind her back and bringing her hands out in front of her, empty. ¡°Un, Deux, Trois, begin!¡±


    Stillness


    Arthur broke first, sprinting towards the garden path.


    Anna stuck out her leg and tripped him, sending the tall man stumbling to the ground


    Holding her long dress up with one hand to keep herself from tripping, she disappeared into the garden with Arthur at her heels.


    If they were taking it that seriously, I at least needed to try.


    My mother grabbed my arm as I ran past her, spinning me around in a circle. ¡°Isn¡¯t this fun, my little Delpha?¡±


    I caught sight of Arthur pulling a werelight from the air and pushing it into his bag at the mouth of the garden before running deeper into the path. ¡°Yes,¡± I laughed. Feeling something I had never felt before. ¡°Let me go. I don¡¯t want to lose.¡±


    My mother had done all of it for me, Arthur and Anna were throwing themselves into a tradition of a people they hadn¡¯t known existed before a few months ago, and instead of running into a garden decorated with lights the color of wine with a smile on my face, I could have been being shredded to pieces by The Mother in Brown.


    The night was new, a feast was still to come, and I was truly having fun.


    Stepping onto the stone of the garden path and plucking my first werelight from the air, all I could think was. Why is this not enough?

 V2: Chapter Eight: Where the Werelights Were

    How many times had I taken the stone path through the twists and turns of the garden to have lunch with my mother?


    Without the will to stop and count backwards, I plucked the werelights out of the air from where they hung. I was certain it should have been enough to prevent me from getting lost as soon as I had passed through the mouth of the garden but my certainty was misplaced.


    When I had turned back to look at my mother, all I was met with was a wall of green ivy that reached far higher than it had a moment before.


    I turned back to the werelights, grabbing every single one that I could reach before following the stone path further into the garden. The stones were warm, they always were, but something about them felt different on the soles of my feet.


    I was doing something. Snatching the werelights, punching them into the bag, looking out for my mother playing the stalking demon, I was taking part in a tradition I did not understand. Anna and Arthur were doing the same. We were doing something together. I had never seen what I was doing through the eyes of another in a memory. It was a completely new experience and I should have been enjoying it more than I was, but it wasn¡¯t real.


    I stopped, gathering a cluster of lights I had wandered into and pushing them into my bag.


    It was constructed, contained, controlled, the same way everything else in the parts of my life I could remember had been.


    The heart. The thought sounded in my mind, louder than the others that kept me from what I was doing.


    The heart, The heart of the mother in red. What could be in that little chest? What treasure could my mother possibly have gathered? I did not care, not really, but what if I won it? Could I trade it back to my mother for permission to go into the city?


    I started again, finding myself reaching for the lights as quickly as I could gather them, but before I could take more than a step, I ran face first into a wall of ivy. I turned around and found the way I had just come down blocked by more ivy.


    ¡°How did I get turned around?¡± I said aloud. The path to my left and my right were open and shimmering with the wine colored lights.


    Stuffing the last of the lights I could reach from where I stood into my bag, the hair on the back of my neck stood up. A shiver ran down my spine and I whipped my eyes to each side of me, one after the other, finding nothing that had not been there a moment before.


    I chose not to trust my eyes. I had felt that same feeling often enough to know what it was.


    I was being watched.


    ¡°Anna? Arthur?¡± I called out, deciding it was better to be watched in motion than to remain still.


    A half second after the sound of each of my steps, a strange sound followed behind me, like the shallow echo of the well house. I walked faster and left the werelights where they hung as I passed them. The little echoes stopped suddenly and I could not keep myself from throwing a quick glance over my shoulder.


    Where nothing had been, my mother stood only a few steps behind me. Bent at the waist with her arms dangling limply in front of her, she wore an orange mask with terrifying features carved into its surface. Two sharp horns rose from its brow and I could not see my mother¡¯s eyes within the holes cut into the mask


    ¡°This is supposed to be fun, right?¡± I asked, holding two strange feelings in my chest. I knew it was Idensyn Aubrey hunched before me in the garden. The same woman who had helped me out my mind back together after The Well had flooded it, the same woman who had welcomed me back after I had run away and accepted the mortals I had drug along behind me into her house without an angry word, the same woman who had kept the secret of my most recent escape a secret despite the damage it could cause the mothers. I knew she loved me and would never harm me, but in that moment, despite my knowledge, I was absolutely fucking terrified of her.


    One of her limp hands twitched and I broke into a full sprint away from her, my bare feet pounding against the stone as I plunged deeper into the garden.


    Left.


    Right.


    Left.


    ¡°Fuck the heart, I don¡¯t want it,¡± I yelled, letting the werelights I was supposed to be collecting stream past me. Turning again, I dared not look back. She was on my heels, I could feel it. ¡°The garden is not this big! You cheated!¡±


    I took the next right, hoping my mother would not be crouched and ready to pounce on me.


    I slammed into something hard.


    My upper half stopped dead.


    My lower half kept going without me and I slammed to my back onto the stone path. A weight landed on top of me and drove the air out of my lungs in a harsh ¡°Uhfff.¡±


    Anna pushed herself up from me, rubbing her arm. ¡°Damn it, that hurt.¡±


    It had not hurt me nearly as bad as it should have. Being landed on had not felt nice, but crashing into her and falling down shoulder have hurt more.


    ¡°Did you just?¡± Anna asked, surprise in her voice. She straddled me and I pushed myself up until we were face to face.


    Iridescent light streamed out of my right palm and down the back of my arm. It trailed down my legs and held me off the ground by a thin layer. As soon as I looked at it and realized what had happened, it vanished into dust and I dropped a miniscule distance to the ground. ¡°I think I did.¡±


    Both of our satchels had opened and spilled the wine light around us. Anna, her face very close to mine, patted my cheek with her hand. ¡°All those late nights are starting to pay off. Do it again.¡±


    She pushed me back down and jumped off me, sweeping our scattered lights into her open satchel.


    ¡°Hey, wait, that¡¯s not fair!¡± I shouted, throwing myself into gathering the were lights.


    ¡°Life¡¯s not fair, dummy.¡± Anna said, laughing.


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± I agreed, my aura still ready from the fall. I focused on the lights in Anna¡¯s satchel and swept my hand towards my own. Just like the bottle. Dozens more than what I had gathered before we had crashed into each other were pulled from her bag and the ground and swept into mine. ¡°It isn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not fair!¡± Anna shouted. She tried and failed to grab a single light before they vanished into my bag and I snapped it shut.


    I stood up, pushing off the top of Anna¡¯s head as she tried to drag me back down.


    ¡°Stop,¡± She shouted, clutching her head with her hands. ¡°That really hurt.¡±


    Before I knew I was doing it, I dropped down to her and ran my hands over her messed up hair, a string of apologies streaming out of me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. What happened? I didn''t mean to hurt you. I got carried away.¡±


    ¡°Dummy.¡± Anna said, pushing both her hands into my chest and tipping me over backwards. She stood up and tried to run away from me.


    She tried.


    When she went to pull her back foot off the ground, I held it to the stone underneath it with my aura.


    ¡°Let me go!¡± Anna shouted, hopping on her free foot to keep from falling.


    ¡°Give me your bag and I will release you.¡± I said.


    ¡°Fuck you!¡± Anna shouted back at me, laughter in her voice.


    Using my power was new to me. I had been and was still forbidden from using it. Inexperienced as I was, I was confident in my ability to out might and maneuver a mortal that had no power to speak of.


    Unless, that mortal was Anna Lao.


    Pulling against my aura, she bent at her waist, threw the hem of her dress up, and mooned me.


    My focus on my aura broke immediately and she was freed. She found her footing and vanished back into the garden without another word.


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    It had only been for a moment, but the shock of what she had done left me stunned on the ground. When I was able to feel anything, I found myself smiling. That smile gave way to a laugh. Anna had shown her ass to escape my magical clutching and it had worked.


    Only because her underwear had matched her dress. I assured myself. The sheer improbability of anyone having the will to color match their outfit down to what they wore underneath it had been so unexpected that it had broken my focus.


    Before I could pick myself up, heavy steps sounded from the path to my right. ¡°Fuck, my mom!¡±


    Arthur sprinted into sight, his bag held open above his head, catching all of the werelights I was too short to reach in groups.


    ¡°Hey!¡± I shouted, climbing to a knee.


    The tall man nearly trampled me before he skidded to a stop on the heels of his boots. ¡°Why are you always on the ground or falling when I see you?¡±


    I grabbed his wrist and used it to pull myself to my feet. ¡°That is a very good question.¡±


    ¡°Have you run into your mom yet?¡± He asked, looking back over his shoulder.


    ¡°It seems like we both have,¡± I answered, looking back at the way I had come. ¡°Arthur?¡±


    The ivy on both sides of the path had detached from their respective walls and reached toward each other. The green tendrils met and wove themselves into one another, closing the path off as they intertwined. The sound of them rustling and rubbing against one another sent a chill over me and I shivered as I watched it.


    Stepping through the intertwining vines, my mother appeared in her orange demon mask.


    I whipped my head around to see the other paths being closed in a similar fashion, nothing but moving ivy and shrinking spaces.


    Arthur stepped in front of me and pushed me back with one of his massive hands. ¡°Go, I¡¯ll distract her.¡±


    My mother, if it really was still my mother behind the mask, took a terrifyingly awkward step towards us. ¡°You will lose?¡±


    ¡°And you will win. I¡¯m hungry anyways. Go.¡± Arthur insisted, pushing me further behind him.


    I knew it was a game, I knew no one was going to get hurt, but as I crawled through the quickly closing ivy behind where Arthur had made his stand, I knew that I or any of the people I had been had ever met a better person than Arthur Lao.


    Glamor, my mother had to have cast a glamor over the entire garden. There was no other explanation for the garden¡¯s sudden expansion or arcane capabilities. I ran until I could no longer tell which direction I had come from and then I ran some more.


    With Arthur out, all I had to do was outlast Anna. I had taken nearly all of her wine lights and if I could avoid my mother and pick up a few more lights along the way, whatever was in that chest would be mine.


    A high pitch scream echoed through the enchanted garden and I was powerless to keep myself from running towards it.


    ¡°Anna?¡± I called.


    Another scream.


    My feet stung with every impact on the stone path, feeling raw from running over the rough surface as I had that night. Any gathering gone from my mind and moving faster than I had when my mother had been shambling after me, I turned a corner just in time to see Anna back against a wall and dump the contents of her bag in front of her.


    ¡°Take them, I quit!¡± She yelled, pressing the back of her red dress against the writhing ivy.


    Where the werelights were, crawling over them without a care, my mother moved towards Anna with her hands outstretched.


    The way she moved with the demon mask on her face, the fear in Anna¡¯s eyes, the memory of being mooned, I forgot it was a game.


    I forgot my mother was my mother and not the demon Othilie.


    Without slowing down, I ran straight towards the demon and buried my shoulder into its side. Both of us went crashing through the greenery in a struggle.


    ¡°Got you.¡± I heard my mother say and then I crashed out of the ivy and landed on the grassy ground of the alcove.


    I patted myself down frantically, not understanding what had just happened.


    ¡°Here you are again, on the ground.¡± I heard a voice say.


    Arthur kneeled beside me, a stray leaf sticking out of his raven hair. He helped me to my feet for the second time that night.


    ¡°Lean down.¡± I said, finding that focusing on anything was all I could do.


    The tall man did as I asked and I pulled the leaf from his hair and smoothed it back for him. ¡°Did that happen to you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened to me,¡± He laughed. ¡°She caught me and then I fell out of the bushes. Your mom can be scary when she wants to be.¡±


    As if on cue, my mother walked into the alcove, still wearing her orange demon mask. ¡°You would do well to remember that fact, Arthur Lao.¡±


    ¡°I would do well to forget it.¡± Anna said, walking in after her.


    My mother lined us up in front of herself, an unnatural darkness welling behind her where the statue and bench normally were. She took off her mask and let it drop from her hand. As soon as it lost contact with her fingers, it vanished from sight without a trace. ¡°Arthur, though it was an honorable sacrifice, I caught you first. Your bag?


    Arthur ducked out of the bag and handed it to my mother, his chest puffing out just a bit at her words. My mother opened it and waved her hand above it, sending the wine red werelights swirling out of it where they gathered in front of Arthur.


    ¡°You would have gotten half of that if you weren¡¯t so damn tall.¡± Anna muttered. She must have seen his over the head strategy as well.


    ¡°I would have gotten double if you hadn''t tripped me.¡± Arthur glared at his sister, letting his honorable stature slip for just a moment.


    I have more, I thought. I didn¡¯t know how much I had but I felt like it was more than what was floating in front of Arthur.


    I can still win. I thought excitedly, still not caring about the chest or what was in it.


    ¡°Autumn, you were next.¡± My mother continued, reaching a hand out and grabbing my bag. The same display followed, with the werelights I had gathered spinning out and hanging in front of me. I could not be certain, but my collection of ethereal lights seemed slightly larger than the one next to it. ¡°


    ¡°That leaves you Anna. Arthur sacrificed for Autumn and Autumn sacrificed for you.¡± My mother said, waving her hand over Anna¡¯s bag.


    A single wine light drifted out and hung lonely in front of my friend.


    ¡°You only did that because you felt bad for stealing what fell out of my bag.¡± Anna said, bumping her shoulder into mine. That wasn¡¯t why I did it, but I would let her think that if she wished.


    ¡°You all did very well,¡± My mother said, turning her eyes to the clouds of light. ¡°And I admit I may have let myself sink into Othilie a bit too far, but,¡±


    ¡°Do not forget about me.¡± Ms. Lao commanded, appearing from the path.


    ¡°Oh, Mai, I am afraid I did,¡± My mother crossed her arms. ¡°After I caught the children,¡± she sighed. ¡°I was having a bit too much fun myself, my apologies.¡±


    Ms. Lao shrugged out of the bag. ¡°You have not named a winner. Do not apologize.¡±


    The small woman shook her bag over her head and a handful of werelights came floating out, barely more than what her daughter had ended up with.


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Anna asked, counting the little red lights.


    ¡°Ma, what were you doing, taking a nap?¡± Arthur laughed, his eyes shifting between his own collection and his mother¡¯s sparse grouping.


    ¡°Not getting caught. That is what I was doing.¡± Ms. Lao snapped back and dropped her empty bag onto the ground where the others lay.


    ¡°That is true,¡± My mother agreed, tapping her lips with the tip of her forefinger. ¡°In the spirit of Morrow¡¯s night, one who does not get caught by Othilie should be rewarded for it would have mattered none if Morrow had collected all of the lady of the isle¡¯s light and then got caught.¡±


    My mother waved her hand from Arthur¡¯s group, to mine, to Anna¡¯s and finally to Ms. Lao¡¯s. The werelights danced beneath her suggestion, coalescing into a swirling mass of wine red light that stained us all with its light.


    ¡°Mai Lao has won the heart of The Mother in Red!¡± My mother cheered, throwing her hands above her head and sending the werelights into the sky above the garden where they hung like hundreds of small lanterns. The welling shadows behind her were cast out and revealed a large wooden table set in the center of the alcove. Set for six, two high backed chairs sat on either side with one at the closest end. On the far end of the table, just in front of the pink marble statue, a chair upholstered with red velvet cushions and ornately carved wood headed the table.


    The lights glimmered in the Lao''s eyes and each of them were smiling. The setting was beautiful, we were all the right kind of tired from the game, and my stomach was rumbling in anticipation of the oncoming feast.


    Why did I feel sad? Why was it not enough?


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Anna whispered, pulling me into the circle around her mother.


    ¡°I wanted to win.¡± I muttered, telling her the part of the truth I knew. I had wanted to win, there had been little room for games in my life before that night and I was more competitive than I believed myself to be.


    ¡°At least you got a nice memory from the experience,¡± Anna sighed, patting me on the back. ¡°I bet you can¡¯t find something like that in The Well.¡±


    We stood in a circle around Ms. Lao and when my mother swept her hand over her other, the chest reappeared.


    ¡°Open it.¡± My mother smiled.


    All of us waited with held breath as Ms. Lao unlatched the small chest and lifted its lid. Golden light flashed out of it as it opened and revealed a sphere covered in thousands of tiny rubies that were set into its bronze surface.


    ¡°Oh my.¡± Ms. Lao said.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Arthur asked.


    ¡°How much is it?¡± Anna followed.


    I had no clue what it was or how much of what it was, it was, but I had never seen something so opulent in my entire life or any of the lives I had lived through.


    ¡°Take it, Mai. You have earned it well.¡±


    Ms. Lao raised her hands and cupped the sphere of rare stones and metals gently, her dark eyes focused on her prize. She turned it over, running her fingers over the small rubies that dazzled us all with its beauty.


    Suddenly, she stopped and raised a suspicious eyebrow at my mother. ¡°Is it?¡±


    ¡°It is.¡± My mother nodded excitedly.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Arthur repeated, asking the question for all of us.


    Ms. Lao raised the glimmering sphere of rubies and metals to her mouth as if she was going to kiss it. ¡°Something I have not had in a very long time.¡±


    ¡°Ma, you¡¯re old. That could be anything.¡± Arthur said.


    Ms. Lao didn¡¯t answer her son. Instead, she sank her teeth into the stones and bit a chunk out of the sphere and spoke as she chewed. ¡°A candy apple!¡±

 V2: Chapter Nine: Feast and Fainting

    The laughter that bubbled out of my mother, after all of us realized what The Mother in Red¡¯s heart had been, carried her all the way to the ornate table that she had somehow made appear in the garden alcove.


    Idensyn Aubrey, the head of her house, did not sit at the opulent chair at the head of the table. She pulled it out and gave a dramatic gesture for Ms. Lao to take the seat.


    ¡°No, You sit. The apple is enough.¡± Ms. Lao said through a mouthful of golden caramel and crystallized sugar rubies.


    ¡°Mai, I insist. You were the victor.¡± My mother said, practically pulling the woman into the seat.


    The rest of us followed suit. I sat next to Ms. Lao and Anna sat next to me on the left, with Arthur sitting opposite me and my mother sitting next to him on the right. With the wine red lights shining off the copperware and the aftermath of the wild emotions my mothers game had caused me to feel, I doubted I had a more beautiful memory than the one that was being made.


    My mother pulled one of the numerous bottles of wine off the table and raised her hand above it. No iridescent light, no sign of her focusing her aura or focusing on the cork at all, it twisted out of the long necked bottle seemingly of its own accord. Pop


    ¡°Before dinner is served, I will take the opportunity to tell you all the story of The Red Mother and her lover, Morrow, properly. Morrow had big hands,¡± My mother said, holding her open hands against one another to impress upon us the size of the man''s hands. ¡°Calloused from years of knot tying and rowing across the Subseas, they were rough, but a testament to his capable strength.¡±


    ¡°Ahem,¡± Ms. Lao cleared her throat and held her empty glass towards my mother, interrupting her story and distracting her from the interruption in one fell swoop. ¡°Idensyn. We love your stories, but it is late and I am hungry.¡±


    My mother filled Ms. Lao¡¯s glass, I still was not used to hearing her first name, and nodded. ¡°I understand, you will all forgive me if I press too much, it really is a wonderful story.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll forgive you if you tell me something.¡± Arthur said, his face set into a deadly serious pinch.


    Anna and I looked at one another, smiles playing at the corners of our mouths in anticipation of hearing what had made the tall man look like someone had threatened his life.


    ¡°What would you like to know?¡± My mother asked before taking a sip of her wine.


    Arthur stretched his long arms out and gestured to the garden. ¡°How did you make the garden get bigger? I was out here almost all day and I didn¡¯t see anything happen to it but when we were running around out there, it was like a maze.¡±


    My mother laughed. ¡°It was glamor, dear. An illusion. I am one of the most proficient sorceresses in all of Zenithcidel. If what I have heard about her time on the mortal plane is true, you know it as the same manner of working Autumn used to conceal her true appearance from all of you,¡± My mother sighed and smiled up at the werelights hanging above us. ¡°It was a pleasure to use my power after so long.¡±


    ¡°Can you do magic that big?¡± Arthur turned his interrogation to me.


    ¡°I, uhm. . .¡±


    ¡°Autumn is still very young, her strength has yet to blossom the way mine has.¡± My mother answered for me.


    ¡°How old are you?¡± Arthur questioned me further.


    ¡°I will turn nineteen next year.¡± I answered, briefly thinking how different my birthday would be compared to my last.


    ¡°That¡¯s not young! Unless years work differently here, we are almost the same age.¡± Arthur disagreed with my mother, turning back to her.


    ¡°The new year has already passed, you will turn nineteen this year,¡± My mother said to me and then continued speaking to Arthur. ¡°Being young or old is relative, dear. Most Maiden¡¯s do not begin their education properly until their second decade. Some wait as long as their third.¡±


    ¡°Ah,¡± Arthur exhaled with an air of great understanding. ¡°That¡¯s how you can be so much older than Ma and still be as pretty as you are.¡±


    Ms. Lao clapped her hands together once, the sharp and sudden sound that broke through the garden alcove snapped her son¡¯s attention to her. ¡°Enough questions, Arthur. I am sorry, Idensyn. He has always been a very curious boy.¡±


    ¡°Oh Mai, I do not mind. I am sure you all have questions. This night was the first time any of you saw glamor on that scale.¡± My mother answered, remaining constantly pleasant with the mortals I had brought into her life.


    Sometimes, usually over dinner, part of me thought she enjoyed them being with us more than I did.


    ¡°I think about the first time I saw you, the real you, all the time.¡± Arthur said to me. A hint of his smile cracked the serious pinch his face had been pressed into.


    He had called me pretty.


    Some kind of flesh puppet had ripped a hole through his stomach larger around than my thigh with a black nailed finger. Arthur had been dying and he had called me pretty. The lich¡¯s creature had nearly killed him and if it had not been for the spirit that gave itself to heal Arthur, he would not be sitting across from me.


    My mother did not know about the spirit, or the creatures, or that I had awakened my color and slain the lich¡¯s horrid creations. She thought the strange state Arthur had been in when The Sorceress Ulet had moved us from the soon to be besieged boarding house was caused by The Sorcerer Eames. If she learned of when Arthur first saw me, the questions that followed would not build a path for me to ask my mother the most important question I would ever ask her in my entire life.


    Arthur started to continue, but I cut him off.


    Where am I, of?¡± I asked, interrupting Arthur.


    ¡°I am not sure I understand what you are asking,¡± My mother responded. ¡°Arthur was speaking.¡±


    I carried on.


    ¡°One of the memories today,¡± I felt everyone begin to pay much closer attention to what I was saying. I consciously chose to not talk about The Well if I could avoid it. Keeping them separate, the inside and my actual life outside of it, gave me some small semblance of control. ¡°I was a little girl. Her mom left Zenithcidel and took her somewhere called The Everblossom so her name would be Blossom of Everblossom and not Blossom of Zenithcidel. What is my of?¡±


    My mother took a long drink, her eyebrow raised in my direction. ¡°This feels quite unusual for me to say, but I knew of Blossom of Everblossom. Let Arthur finish, I will answer your question when he is done.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know where you were born?¡± Arthur blurted, having been successfully distracted from the secrets he was about to spill.


    In for a penny, I thought, repeating some saying I must have picked up in a memory. I had no way of knowing if I was using it in the right context, but it felt right.


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember anything from before I stole The Well,¡± I dropped my eyes to the empty plate on the table before me and sighed. I had distracted Arthur, achieving the same with my mother would require more of me. ¡°It becomes harder and harder to keep track of the more memories I live through.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± my mother sighed. ¡°My little Delpha,¡± She reached over the table and patted my hand. ¡°You are of Zenithcidel. Autumn Aubrey of Zenithcidel.¡±


    Ms. Lao spoke, some of her old strength showing in her tired voice. ¡°I am Mai Lao of Alabama?¡±


    ¡°What is Alabama?¡± I asked, getting drawn in by the conversation my own misdirection had created.


    ¡°Did you fall down a lot as a child?¡± Anna asked me.


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember, remember?¡± I answered her.


    ¡°You lived with us for two months and you didn¡¯t know what state you were in?¡± Arthur added.


    ¡°State?¡± Last I checked I had been solid for the entirety of my stay in the old boarding house.


    My mother chimed in. ¡°The mortals I¡¯ve met within Zenithcidel refer to themselves as ¡®of the Mortal Plane.¡¯ Most sorceresses never bother to go there and more specific names like, Alabama,¡± she spoke the word carefully, emphasizing every letter. ¡°offer nothing but confusion.¡±


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    A man entered the alcove from the garden path. Cleanly shaved and wearing nothing but a banded tunic that left his muscular arms and calves painted in the wine red glow from above, he held his hands behind his back and announced. ¡°Lady Aubrey, honored members of her house, dinner is served.¡±


    Four more men, wearing identical tunics as the first, streamed into the alcove carrying copper platters filled with steaming food at his words.


    Sliced rounds of toasted bread with butter glistening atop them and mixed leafy greens drizzled with oil and berries and crumbles of cheese were placed around the center of the table in a circle. Atop a bed of roasted vegetables, purple, green, and yellow, a mound of blackened meat filled the circle and the air with its thick steam.


    Only when my mouth began to water from the scent of it all and the men stood shoulder to shoulder at the mouth of the garden with every inch of themselves held rigid did I realize I knew them.


    I had fought two of them the night before.


    No armor or weapons in sight, I had not recognized the guards that had been charged with protecting the city of Erosette and its citizens from me and the havoc I could cause if I lost myself.


    ¡°On a few hours notice and with not nearly enough time to practice, I could not have asked for more! You may all go enjoy the rest of your evening. Thank you.¡± My Mother raised her glass to the newly converted butlers.


    Springer, Woolie, Smit, a guard from the morning whose name I couldn¡¯t remember, and Bool all palmed their fists in front of their chests and bowed at the waist before turning to leave.


    The guard whose name I couldn¡¯t remember spoke to Arthur. ¡°Oi, Ugi, come see us when you are done here.¡±


    ¡°Do I have to wear a dress, like you?¡± Arthur said.


    ¡°You are gonna regret saying that.¡± The guard said before disappearing within the path.


    ¡°Ugi?¡± My mother asked Arthur.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. They won¡¯t tell me what it means.¡± Arthur shrugged and reached for a white boned rib.


    ¡°Wait,¡± My mother held up a hand to Arthur and looked at the only guard that had not left the alcove. ¡°Is there anything else, Bool?¡±


    ¡°You look very beautiful tonight, Lady Aubrey.¡± Bool said, bowing at the waist and then dashing back into the garden path without letting a moment pass.


    ¡°Now we may eat.¡± My mother signaled Arthur.


    Eat we did.


    It was not that long ago that most of my meals were whatever I could thieve from the kitchen of the boarding house. The memory of it was still fresh enough in my mind that I tended to push myself too far with dinner. None of us spoke, a sign of the quality of the food. After my one-sided interactions with them, I would not have guessed the guards were capable of cooking and serving a meal as delicious as what I devoured.


    Tearing into my seventh or eighth rib, I wasn¡¯t sure which and I could not afford to lose the time it would take me to count the cleaned bones piling on my plate, I brought my mind back to my all important question. Mother, this has been wonderful, may I please go down to the city I am forbidden to enter? Stupid. It sounded so stupid in my mind. You can come with me, I will conceal my face with glamor and no one will know. That didn¡¯t sound right either. Maybe, if the wine she had drank and the food she had filled her belly with had put her in a good enough mood, I could lead the conversation down a pitiful path and she would offer what I wanted most without me asking for it. If I could get her talking about the story behind the werelight hunt again, I could. . .


    My mother pushed herself back from the table with a contented sigh. While she refilled her glass, I watched her look at each of us.


    Ms. Lao had finished eating first, mostly greens and a single bone lay on her plate next to The Red Mother¡¯s heart. Anna had followed her mother, choosing to drink far more wine than she had eaten. I gave up at my mother¡¯s sigh. Arthur did not. Perhaps it was my mother¡¯s werelight hunt that had awakened the spirit within me, but I had been silently keeping track of who had eaten more and had pushed myself to out devour the tall man across from me.


    He was at least twice my size and once I stopped and the weight of what I had consumed settled in my stomach, I thought it may have been a battle too large for me to win.


    ¡°A toast?¡± My mother offered, raising her glass.


    All of us followed her lead. Arthur and I, the only two that were drinking spiced cider and not wine.


    ¡°To Samsara for slaying the beast that was the catalyst for this joyous night.¡±


    ¡°Samsara.¡± All of us said together.


    It felt weird using his full name. He was Sam or cat, not Samsara.


    ¡°I have enjoyed this so much, if you all are willing,¡± My mother began. We should take a stroll down to Erosette and see the real thing. Yes, even you, my little Delpha. I thought. She continued. ¡°We will observe every remaining night of Amoranora in this way and continue the festivities tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Arthur agreed before she ever finished what she was saying.


    It was not what I had hoped she would say, but I agreed alongside Anna and Ms. Lao.


    When the biggest smile I had ever seen spread across her face and her hands clasped over her heart, I knew my moment had arrived.


    ¡°I wonder,¡± I began.


    Ms. Lao cut me off. ¡°One of the men. The last one. He has taken a liking to you?¡±


    Fuck.


    My mother giggled. ¡°He sent me flowers this very morning.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯ll send you flowers too Ma,¡± Anna smirked, leaning back into her chair and wrapping her arm over the back of my own. She looked at my mother. ¡°Tell her how to get him to do it.¡±


    My mother blushed and covered her mouth. ¡°You are devious, Anna Lao. I must keep an eye on you.¡±


    ¡°What is she saying? What did you do?¡± Ms. Lao asked with possibly the first genuine smile I had ever seen touch her face.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know what I was doing.¡± I warned, holding my hands up, participating until the right moment returned.


    ¡°Autumn didn¡¯t know she was Autumn and she attacked the guards down by the bridge.¡± Arthur stated simply.


    ¡°The one who flirted with Idensyn, he got the worst of it.¡±


    ¡°Go on?¡± Ms. Lao said.


    ¡°I. . . ¡° I started, my face burning with embarrassment. I remembered doing what I had done to him, but it had that dream-like quality I had only experienced the handful of times I had lost myself.


    ¡°She hit him in the balls really hard.¡± Arthur said what I struggled to say as if he was commenting on the weather.


    ¡°Oh my.¡± Ms. Lao said slowly.


    ¡°I healed him and he has been smitten with me ever since.¡± My mother said, still covering her mouth.


    Anna tapped her mother on her shoulder and mimicked the motion my mother had used to undo the damage I had done to Bool. ¡°She healed him.¡±


    ¡°You?¡± Ms. Lao asked, mimicking her daughter¡¯s mimicking.


    Rolling bubbles of laughter came from behind my mother¡¯s hand as she nodded. ¡°The poor man, he couldn¡¯t speak, he was in so much pain.¡±


    Ms. Lao cackled.


    Anna looked at me and then back at her mother, laughing to herself. ¡°That really got you, huh?¡±


    Every time Ms. Laos'' laughter would begin to die down, she would repeat the gesture and begin again. Before I knew it, we had all been drawn in and were red in the face. Even though I had been the one to necessitate the healing in the first place, I found it so funny, how funny, my friend¡¯s mother thought it was. The woman was stern and firm with an impressive consistency. Being in a fit the way she was, looked good on her. The light it brought to Anna and Arthur¡¯s eyes looked good for them.


    She stood, trying to catch her breath between laughs. ¡°Oh, oh,¡± She wiped her eyes. ¡°Oh . . .¡±


    Ms. Lao¡¯s eyes lost focus and she gripped the edge of the table until her knuckles went white.


    ¡°Ma?¡± Anna asked, the festive air in the alcove suddenly vanishing.


    Ms. Lao fainted, falling straight back away from the table.


    ¡°Ma!¡± Arthur stood up fast enough that his chair went tipping behind him.


    The chair hit the mossy ground with a dull thud.


    Ms. Lao didn¡¯t.


    With her right hand cloaked in iridescent light, my mother held Ms. Lao off the ground with her power. ¡°Arthur, help me take her inside. She has overspent herself this night.¡±


    Arthur ran over and picked his mother up from where she was suspended.


    ¡°Put me down. I am fine.¡± Ms. Lao said weakly.


    ¡°Hush, Ma,¡± Anna said, standing up and following behind Arthur. ¡°It¡¯s time to go to bed.¡±


    I watched them leave the garden, Ms. Lao looking so small in her son¡¯s arms, and stayed seated. What could I do? It was best if I kept out of the way.


    ¡°Thank you for tonight, my little Delpha. I believe we all needed something like this.¡± My mother said to me and gave me a parting kiss on the top of my head.


    I asked her a question, my  question would have to wait. ¡°Is she going to be okay?¡±


    ¡°She is dying, Autumn. I would try to heal her, but her stance has not changed since her arrival. She is unwilling to let me try and I will not overstep her boundaries, even if that means she continues to wither away.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I asked. When I had found out that Ms. Lao was sick, my first thought had been how the sorceresses within Zenithcidel could heal my friend¡¯s mother.


    ¡°I do not know. I wish I did, for Anna and Arthur¡¯s sake,¡± She shook her head. Then, she squeezed my shoulder ¡°Go and sleep, it is late and we have another day of Amoranora drawing ever closer.


    Mother? May I run down to the city real quick? I won¡¯t steal anything or assault anyone, I promise. The ill formed question came to my lips just before my mother left the alcove, but I couldn¡¯t make myself say it. I was worried about Ms. Lao, yes, but I was more worried about Anna and I didn¡¯t want to go without her.


    Tomorrow. I decided. I would ask my mother the following day. One more night of waiting wouldn¡¯t kill me.


    Unless, The Mother in Brown came for me.

 V2: Chapter Ten: Hollow Column Thoughts

    There was no need for me to go thieving in the wine cellar for my usual bribe for Anna.


    I had been left alone in the garden alcove with nothing but the red werelights to keep me company, the last holdouts of a feast that had well and truly ended. I played the part of the pillager and walked through the unglamored garden to the back door of the manor with a bottle of wine in each hand.


    The rest of the house could be heard as I climbed past the second story but again, I knew the best thing I could do was stay out of the way. My first attempt at helping someone who was in the process of dying had ended in failure and Ms. Lao did not like me, even when she hadn¡¯t just fainted from laughing too hard.


    Dirty and sore and tired, my belly full and without Anna to distract me, there was nothing left for me to do but to get clean. I pulled the blue dress over my head, threw it in the general direction of the closet, and left Sam snoring on the canopy.


    The bathroom Anna and I shared on the third story of the manor stood between our rooms, but she spent much more time in it than I did. Spending most of my waking hours being salty and wet did not fill my heart with desires for a long warm bath.


    I closed the door and turned the brass lock closed. Undressing the rest of the way, I took a breath and enjoyed the feeling of knowing that no one could come through the door. The peace I felt inside a room that I had shut myself in had not been something I knew I would miss when my time at the old boarding house had come to a dark and violent end.


    The floor and the ceiling was made of the same stones and beams that made most of the manors material. A large mirror, taking up nearly half of the wall on the left side of the room, hung over a wide sink made of the same pink marble as the door to the well house and the statue in the garden. It was fortunate for my familiar that I no longer entered The Well in the bathroom because there were no lights over the mirror for him to perch atop. Set high on a perfectly cut slab, the bathtub and its pedestal shared the material of the sink.


    I had never used it. If I could help it, I never would. Unless I was physically forced into a bath, crawling out of the one in the old boarding house moments after I had opened the channel in my right palm and driven off the lich would remain my last.


    Anna had been through the same thing I had. She had gazed up at the lich, been beckoned by it, but she had no issue spending hours in the bath.


    At the back of the room, like a hollowed out column of the pink marble, a circular shower with a glass door that opened and closed by sliding on on brass rails stood. Whoever had built the manor or lived in it before us had a particular sense of style that I did not particularly enjoy, but I did like the shower.


    I stepped into it and pulled the glass door closed. Through several tired mistakes and cold water induced flailing, I had learned that the brass chain on the left was what made the water hot. Pulling it halfway down, the water poured over me and a moment later the rest of the bathroom was obscured from view by a wall of steam.


    The memory of the evening started playing back in my mind. Presumably, old big hands Morrow had gathered up all of The Red Mothers lights and freed her from Othilie. I shuddered at the thought of my mothers shambling gait when she had been playing the demon. The more interesting question was how had she lost her lights in the first place? The real question was how she had seven lovers and who were all happy to share? In the memory, Nami had assaulted The Mother in Orange and The Mother in Purple when she had found them in bed together. What if they had just been sleeping, the way Anna and I did?


    ¡°They weren¡¯t sleeping, Autumn.¡± I said to myself, opening an eye against the downstream of steaming water long enough to pull the chain the rest of the way down. The hot water felt too good on my tired body to get out yet. If Anna was asleep when I got out, I would have to wake her up and charm her before she could hit me. I didn¡¯t know what I would say, but I needed to make sure she was okay.


    Fuck. I needed to talk to Arthur as well. Not just because he had asked to speak with me, but because he had come perilously close to showing a thread that if pulled, would unravel much of the things that were my own. What would my mother say if she found out that I had broken the barriers within my mind and willfully hid that fact from The Mothers with the assistance of the thing at the bottom of The Well? How would I be punished if she discovered that I had been found by a dark entity and kept that secret from her?


    Punishment. The Mother in Brown would be first and there was nothing I could do to ease my fear except to ignore it, but ignoring it did nothing but give the fear room to breed. It would multiply and build within me, bursting from me in a swarm the way it had when Arthur had scared me before the game.


    ¡°Time to get out, Autumn.¡± I said to myself. Sticking my head out from underneath the still hot water and turning to crack the glass door so some of the warm steam would fill the room, I opened my eyes and reached for the brass handle.


    Someone was in the bathroom.


    A dark figure stood on the other side of the steamed glass, an unmoving and blurred shadow.


    My eyes closed reflexively against the water that ran from my hair over my face and I brought my hands up to wipe it away. ¡°Anna?¡±


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    No answer.


    Blinking the remaining moisture from my vision, all I saw was white steam. No figure. No shape.


    I reached back and pulled the brass chain past the end of its range and it snapped back up, the water pressure quickly slowing to a trickle before stopping completely. ¡°Anna?¡±


    No Answer.


    I pulled the glass door and let a cloud of steam into the bathroom, finding it empty except for myself. A slow step out of the pink marble chamber and onto the stone floor, I could find no sign that anyone had been there. The door was still locked, there was no window for anyone to climb through, and there was no black mist swirling on the ceiling.


    ¡°Tired,¡± I muttered, pushing my fists against my eyes and then grabbing two red towels from under the sink. If my eyes were playing tricks on me, that was the only conclusion that made sense, then I needed to go to bed


    No longer enjoying the ¡°peace¡± I felt by being locked in the bathroom, I wrapped my hair into one towel and dried myself with the other as fast as I could rub the water off my skin before quickly stepping into the hallway and hurrying into my room. Anna¡¯s door had been open but her lights had been off and the two pillaged bottles of wine sat untouched where I had left them on the desk. I sighed, getting dressed and pulling one of the clean white dresses from the closet and pulling it over the towel that was still wrapped around my head. ¡°Still downstairs.¡±


    Sam¡¯s little snores sounded from the canopy and a yawn forced my tired body to stretch as tall and as wide as it was capable of. Knowing that sleep would take me if I went to the bed, I pulled the little leatherbound journal out from under Anna¡¯s pillow and grabbed the bottles of wine before sitting down cross legged on the rose patterned rug with my back leaning against the footboard. I would be there waiting when she came back up, just like she would for me.


    Something patted my cheek. I furrowed my brows and tried to turn away from it, I had been sleeping so deeply.


    ¡°Autumn.¡± I heard a voice, but something was still striking my cheek repeatedly.


    ¡°No.¡± I mumbled, bringing my hands up aimlessly to try and stop whatever malevolent force was disrupting my slumber from striking me again.


    ¡°You can go right back to sleep, but you¡¯ve got to get in the bed first.¡± The voice said again, and I felt myself being dragged to my feet.


    My eyes partially blind from the sleep I had not known I was getting, I saw Anna pulling me up. ¡°Mom.¡±


    She laughed. ¡°No, not quite.¡±


    I sat back on the bed, the red fabric of the canopy draping over my shoulders like a cloak, and rubbed my eyes to clear my vision. Through a yawn, I asked. ¡°Your mom?¡±


    Anna sighed. ¡°She is fine, sleeping now I think.¡±


    She had changed out of her gown and wore a loose long sleeve shirt and pants cut off above her knees. It was what she normally wore to bed. Her dark hair had been let down and looked just a little damp. ¡°I waited up for you.¡±


    ¡°No, you fell asleep waiting up for me,¡± She corrected and unwound the towel that had dried to my hair. ¡°It¡¯s late, you should go back to sleep.¡±


    ¡°We have to train.¡± I said, standing up and stretching the sleep from my bones.


    ¡°I think you¡¯ve done enough tonight already.¡± Anna said, taking her leather bound journal and the bottles of wine off the floor. She tossed the journal up by her pillow and set one bottle onto the desk before handing me the other.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I said, having to try several times to focus my aura enough to grip the cork and pull it out.


    ¡°You caught yourself and me with your aura in the garden earlier. You were barely able to lift an empty bottle a few weeks ago. Missing one night isn¡¯t going to hurt. You¡¯ve already gotten stronger,¡± She took the bottle back from me and drank. ¡°You¡¯re in no shape to train anyways, you would fall back asleep if I stopped talking right now.¡±


    I started to disagree, but another yawn stopped my words short.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to be drinking for a while and I don¡¯t want to keep you up, but I¡¯ll see you in the morning.¡± Anna said, turning away from me.


    I caught her by her hand. ¡°You can¡¯t. I will not allow it.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± She questioned, a surprised look on her face.


    I nodded, feigning a serious expression and taking on my mothers manner of speaking. ¡°There has been a demon sighted in the garden this night. To ensure your safety, since you are so weak and helpless, I insist you stay in my quarters. No, I insist you stay at my side. Nothing short of that is protection enough.¡±


    Anna smiled then, playing our little game despite what must be troubling her mind ¡°Lady Aubrey, I couldn¡¯t. You must sleep to keep your strength up.¡±


    ¡°Do not concern yourself with my strength, Lady Lao. My hands are the biggest and most calloused in this land. I fear no demon, even without enough sleep.¡±


    We both laughed and she moved to crawl through the canopy on her side of the bed. I slid myself back and pulled the blankets over myself, relaxing into the mattress while Anna got settled.


    At least I won the game I valued the most that night.


    Anna sat with her back propped up against the headboard, the bottle of wine in her hands and the leather bound journal in her lap. Unable to keep my eyes open any longer in the shade of the canopy, I closed them and spoke. ¡°Tomorrow, I am going to ask my mother to allow us to go into the city.¡±


    ¡°Do you really think she will say yes?¡± Anna asked in return.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I yawned again. ¡°But I have to ask. It¡¯s all I can think about.¡±


    The sound of the wine sloshing in the bottle as Anna took another drink followed. Sam¡¯s little snores sounded rhythmically from above and I felt myself beginning to fade back into sleep. Just before my awareness vanished, I felt Anna reach over and gently take my hand into hers.


    ¡°Thank you for waiting up for me.¡± I heard her say quietly.


    ¡°Thank you for mooning me.¡± I muttered with a smile.


    Sleep took me.

 V2: Chapter Eleven: Twila Plaas

    The sorceress strode into the stuffy drawing room where Father and I had been placed, the long tail of her wheat colored cloak dragging trails of white cherry blossoms onto the floor behind her. Without removing her hood, she furrowed her brow and clasped her hands behind her back. ¡°Show me.¡±


    The firmness in her voice, the way it snapped through the small room, had me halfway off the lounge before I could decide I wanted to listen to her. I dropped back down and crossed my arms. ¡°Where is Cai?¡±


    ¡°I am here.¡± Cai answered, appearing from behind the sorceress like the woman¡¯s shadow had become animate.


    When she had arrived at our door in the little village that surrounded the loreium and delivered the summons for me to my father, she had looked just the same as she did then. From the tight wrappings around her head that left only her eyes unconcealed, down to her cloth shoes, every part of her was covered in pristine white fabric that fit her small frame snugly. In the two days we had traveled with her, through bogs and over rain slicked roads, not once had her white clothes become dirty.


    The sorceress ignored Cai¡¯s sudden appearance and repeated her command. ¡°Show me. We have little time.¡±


    ¡°Twila, do as she asks. All is well.¡± Father said from where he sat beside me on the lounge. He patted my knee with one of his hands and took a drink with the other, both were shaking and he grimaced from his drink. ¡°You have nothing to hide in this place,¡± He looked up at the sorceresses. ¡°Correct?¡±


    The sorceress did not respond. From within the shadows of her hood, I could see that her eyes were focused solely on me.


    Cai answered for her. ¡°Correct.¡±


    I pulled my long socks off and left them on the floor, taking my place in the center of the drawing room. Despite being in a place that I had only arrived at an hour before, the hardwood floor felt familiar under my feet. If I closed my eyes, the nervousness that jittered in my legs and the feeling of everyone in the room waiting for me to perform felt just the same as when I had been a girl and Father¡¯s colleagues from the loreium had gathered around to hear me sing. ¡°What shall I do?¡±


    ¡°It does not matter.¡± The sorceress said, an impatient insistence implicit in her voice.


    Cai gave me the answer I had asked for. ¡°Something small. There is no need to put yourself through the high and glow.¡±


    ¡°Something small.¡± I nodded to Cai in agreement. Had it truly only been two days before that the sound of her raspy voice had made me shudder? Much had changed in that little time because I found myself comforted by her presence. I leaned my weight onto my right foot and raised the left, flexing my toes into the hardwood. With two small bounces, I brought my raised foot down in a stomp and shook my aura out of me.


    A vortex of my lavender energy spiraled out from where I had stomped, spinning out from my foot and lifting the littered blossoms off the floor.


    ¡°The other.¡± The sorceress commanded not a moment after my aura had spun out and turned to dust at the baseboards of the drawing room.


    Father cleared his throat and encouraged me. ¡°Show her, Twila. This is why they have brought us here.¡±


    The opposite of what I had just done, I shifted my weight to my left foot and raised my right. Bouncing small twice, I stomped again, sending a ripple of honey colored energy washing out from my foot in a slow ring. When it dissipated against the baseboard just as my first display had, I exhaled and relaxed. Since the first time I had discovered my soul had two colors and not a week before Cai had showed up with the summons, Father and I had practiced being able to alternate between my two auras in secret. Performing it at will in an uncomfortable and unknown situation had left me feeling proud and happy.


    The sorceress took her eyes off of me for the first time and looked at Father. ¡°Her mother?¡±


    ¡°The Sorceress Tanja,¡± Father answered, stuffing his shaking hands into the folds of his robes and pulling out a tiny vial filled with burnt orange dust. ¡°This is all I have left of her. She passed not a year after Twila was born.¡±


    Other than what Father had told me about her and the little vial filled with the remnants of her aura, I knew nothing of her. She had died before I was old enough to remember her. ¡°What does my mother have to do with anything?¡±


    The sorceress ignored me and continued speaking to Father. ¡°Your own lineage, how far back can you trace it?¡±


    Father took another drink that again twisted his face with displeasure. ¡°My grandparents. Ephraimenoch Plaas and Silvian Plaas. Grandfather was one of the founders of the loreium in Don Vivin. Grandmother ran the household and raised my father and his sisters.¡±


    ¡°None of them had or were sensitive to aura?¡± The sorceress questioned further.


    ¡°Is this truly relevant, Father? Could you not have answered these questions at home?¡± I chimed in.


    ¡°Be patient, Twila,¡± Father scolded me, then turned back to the sorceress. ¡°On my memory, I swear. None of them.¡±


    The sorceress nodded to him and then turned to Cai, who was standing in the corner behind her and drawing shapes in my lavender and honey dust with the tip of her shoe. ¡°Keep them here, I must consult The Wellkeepers.¡±


    Cai agreed without looking up from her drawing. ¡°I will.¡±


    The sorceress strode out of the room without word or acknowledgment, trails of the white blossoms and my dust being pulled behind her.


    ¡°Father, what does this mean? Who are the Wellkeepers?¡± I went to the lounge and sat back down beside him, pulling my socks back on.


    After another drink and another grimace, Father answered, patting my knee again. ¡°I do not know, my daughter. But listen well, whatever follows the sorceresses return, know that I am so proud of who you are and what you will be.¡±


    ¡°Why are you saying these things? What will happen next?¡± I demanded, leaning back onto the arm of the lounge so I could see him fully. Though his hands still shook, there was a tight lipped smile peeking out from behind his dark beard. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out before he dropped his head and refilled his glass.


    ¡°Father?¡± I said, I had never seen him act the way he was.


    Cai spoke from her post in the corner, still drawing with her foot. ¡°Your father wishes to comfort you and to express his love for you, but the fear he feels is proving too difficult for him to disguise.¡±


    Of all things I expected to come from Father, a laugh was not one of them. ¡°I could not have said it better myself. Tanja could read me just the same.¡±


    ¡°But, why are you scared? What have we done wrong? They summoned us and we came without protest. She asked me to show her my power and I did, without protest. We have done nothing but offer them respect.¡± I pleaded, trying to get Father to meet my eyes.


    Again, Cai spoke. ¡°Having a Twinsoul such as yours is nearly unheard of,¡± Cai said, finally looking up from my dust. ¡°I have met only one other, though there are rumors of more.¡±


    Twinsoul. My lavender and honey, the purple and yellow color of my soul, had a name. It was rare, I had gathered that much from having been summoned by The Circle of the Nine Mothers and brought to the deepest level of Zenithcidel, but that was not enough explanation for me to understand why it suddenly felt like everyone but Cai was pretending I no longer existed.


    The sorceress burst back into the drawing room without bothering to look at me. She focused her eyes on Father and spoke. ¡°How many others know about her?¡±


    I answered for myself, unable to keep myself from sounding rude. ¡°Hundreds. I have a life. I have friends. What is the reason for bringing us here?¡±


    ¡°She means your Twinsoul, Twila,¡± Father said, looking up from his drink and at the sorceress. ¡°The Sorceress Bshara, she is a friend that lives near the loreium in Don Viven and I suspect she is the one who alerted Zenithcidel of my daughter''s abilities. I am a scholar not a sorcerer. When Twila was a girl and started showing her aura, I went to Bshara for guidance. It seemed natural to go to her when I found that my daughter¡¯s soul bore two colors.¡±


    ¡°You are certain that no one else knows?¡± The sorceress continued.


    ¡°On my memory, I am certain.¡± Father answered.


    Too much was being said too quickly. I stood up, leaving Father sitting on the lounge alone and held my hands up. ¡°Wait!¡±


    ¡°Cai, you will return to Don Viven immediately. The Sorceress Bshara must be brought to Zenithcidel,¡± The sorceress said, turning back to Father in the same breath. ¡°The Wellkeepers have investigated your lineage and have found that your grandmother¡¯s mother was a sorceress of the second circle, by the name of Frill.¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡± I shouted, stomping my feet one after the other. Colliding pulses of both my auras crashed into one another and washed back across the hardwood in lavender and honey waves.


    Father stood and placed a still hand on my shoulder. The shaking had left him and he spoke calmly, as if nothing strange or confusing was occurring. ¡°Calm yourself. Nothing is to be gained by further outbursts,¡± He squeezed his hand and smiled through his dark beard. ¡°Where does that leave me?¡±


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    ¡°With an unfortunate choice that you must make despite its difficulty,¡± The sorceress began, ¡°Starting from the moment you learned of her second color, we may remove the memories you have of your daughter. Cai will escort you back to Don Viven. Your life will remain intact, but you will live the rest of your days thinking that your daughter became a sorceress of Zenithcidel and that her life has grown to full to hold room for you.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± I shouted, whipping my eyes from Father to the sorceress and back again.


    ¡°The other option?¡± Father asked, holding onto my shoulder like it was the only thing keeping him upright.


    The sorceress lowered her hood, sadness evident in her eyes. ¡°We will put you to rest.¡±


    The feeling of Father¡¯s grip on my shoulder vanished. Cai and the sorceress fell away from my sight. My vision blurred and I felt myself fall away from the stuffy drawing room. The hardwood, still littered with the white blossoms and glittering remnants of my aura, did not meet me.


    Darkness surrounded me.


    In that void, I heard a voice. ¡°What is your name?¡±


    Sometimes, In the first moments after I left The Well and returned to my body, I would come back to myself thinking that I was still in the old boarding house. The infallible consistency with which Sam asked his questions, the warm water lapping against the edges of my skin that were not submerged, and the brief feeling of freedom that I enjoyed at the false thought painted a moment that would only last as long as I could remain still. If I moved my hands or my legs drifted down, they would not meet the tight walls of the bathtub that had been in my little bathroom and reality would force me to accept where I was.


    It had been anything but easy and I was almost certain that my time in Erosette had surpassed how long I had been on the mortal plane, but being able to set out into the dark woods without wearing shoes, staying awake until I couldn¡¯t, and sleeping until I decided to wake up had left a mark in my mind that my thoughts ran over all too often.


    ¡°Autumn Aubrey.¡± I answered my familiar, my ears alternating between the roaring nothing sound of being underwater and the shallow echoing of the well house.


    ¡°Who is Autumn Aubrey?¡± Sam continued, his low voice static and emotionless as it always was.


    I gave him the answer he required.


    ¡°Who was Autumn Aubrey?¡± Sam asked his final question, his new question, for only the second time.


    I let my feet drift down and touch the smooth marble underneath me. Standing up and sending the salty water I brought with me raining back down into the pool, I told him. ¡°Twila. Her aura. . . She had two different colors. Have you ever heard of that?¡±


    A sharp yarl resonated from my familiar and the sound of sudden movement echoed off the stone walls. I opened my eyes and snapped them to Sam.


    My familiar writhed across the stone floor beyond the pool, a confusing mess of blue fur and pained noises. In the low light, I saw him throw himself onto his back and rake his paws over his ears and eyes repeatedly, a subterranean growl reverberating out of him.


    A voice that should not have been in the well house spoke. ¡°What has happened to him?¡±


    I looked towards the pink marble door and saw my mother hurrying over to my familiar.


    She knelt beside him and placed her hand, cloaked in iridescent light, on the blue cat¡¯s flank. ¡°Samsara?¡±


    As soon as my mother made contact with Sam, my familiar let out a savage hiss that sounded like stones being ground together and he whipped himself away from her. He smacked into the back right corner of the room and continued dragging his paws over his head.


    ¡°Autumn,¡± My mother turned to me. ¡°What should I do?¡±


    I kept my eyes on Sam, nearly certain I knew what had happened. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I usually just wait for it to pass, but it has never been this bad before.¡±


    ¡°What are we waiting to pass? I never received a familiar, I am woefully uneducated when it comes to them.¡±


    ¡°If I saw something that makes him think about who he was before he was Sam, it hurts him.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± My Mother sighed in understanding. ¡°What did you say to him?¡±


    ¡°I. . .¡± I trailed off. Do not tell her. The thought came and went from my mind faster than I could realize it had happened. Even if my mother did not know about the trimetal walls that The Mothers had placed inside The Well to restrict my access to the memories, I could not risk her learning that I had removed them. She loved me and despite the shame and trouble I had brought her through my decisions, she had been nothing but understanding. Still, I could not shake the feeling that if she learned of my freedom that it would only be a matter of time before The Mothers knew as well.


    Sam¡¯s thunderous rumbling tapered off and my familiar stood, shaking his head in bursts and focused his deep blue eyes at me. ¡°Lady Aubrey is here to speak with you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. I do not think I would have realized that if not for you.¡± I said, walking over to the edge of the pool. I crossed my arms on the stone floor and let my weight drift down until my head was resting on top of them.


    ¡°Autumn. Do not be rude. Samsara has just experienced great pain.¡± My mother scolded me.


    ¡°That never stops him,¡± I muttered and pushed my soaked hair back so it would no longer drip over my face. I couldn¡¯t help but be a little annoyed at the painful boundaries within my familiar¡¯s mind. Sam could have been a scholar like the father in the memory had been and the knowledge he had collected in his first life could do nothing but stay useless. ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°I am. Do not speak of it again in my presence again.¡± Sam answered.


    Maybe I should not be so annoyed. He had just given me the perfect excuse to not tell my mother about the memory.


    A new thought came to my mind and I took the quiet that followed Sam¡¯s words as an opportunity to pursue it. ¡°What is the color of your soul?¡±


    My mother stood and turned her back to me, reaching down and pulling something off the stone bench behind her. ¡°I am surprised you have never asked me this. Though, there were never many reasons for me to use my power before,¡± She looked down at me, holding a small box in her hands. ¡°I do not have a color.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± I said. None of the possible answers I had expected to come from her, had. ¡°But you are a Sorceress?¡±


    ¡°Of the third circle,¡± My mother agreed. She handed me the small box. Potatoes, hunks of meat, roasted vegetables, and the end round of one of the loaves of bread from the feast the night before greeted me. ¡°Eat. You need to keep your strength.¡±


    I lifted myself higher out of the warm water of the pool and pushed a little of each thing into my mouth all at once. Between chews, I forced out questions. ¡°I know that, but what does that mean? How many circles are there?¡±


    ¡°Nine, The Mothers included,¡± My mother answered me and then sighed. ¡°I was right to not bother with utensils.¡±


    ¡°How do you get into the ninth circle?¡± I asked, taking in another mouthful. There was no reality where I was allowed to do anything more than what my days currently consisted of, but it interested me nonetheless.


    ¡°It is easy for me to forget how little you have been allowed to know. The ninth circle is the circle of The Nine Mothers. Once a Maiden, like yourself, finds her color or awakens it through one of the academy¡¯s, she becomes an underwitch and can begin earning the right to be named into the first circle.


    I am an underwich. Underwitch Autumn Aubrey. I thought to myself, suppressing a smile. I had found my color. Anna and I¡¯s efforts to refind it had been utterly unsuccessful, but the aura that had leaked out of the Mothers seal had definitely been a bright shade of red. Finishing off the leftover feast food and wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I continued. ¡°If your soul has no color, you could have never been an underwitch. If underwitchs are named to the first circle, then how are you in the third?¡±


    ¡°My path was much different than most. The Mothers being the sole exception, nothing in this world is absolute and though my soul is colorless, they took kindness with me. The same they have with you.¡± My mother said, taking the empty box from me.


    Knowing that The Mother in Brown could arrive at any moment and drag me away to an unknowable punishment did not feel very kind.


    My mother gestured to a neatly folded stack of red fabric that sat on the bench beside the pool. ¡°Tonight is Galahad¡¯s night. I will save the story until I am with all of you, but I have brought what you will wear to the festivities. When you are done here today, dress in them and then come to the mouth of the garden.¡±


    ¡°Is that why you brought my lunch here?¡± I asked, looking at the clothes. In the low light, I could not tell much about them, but the way the light reflected off the red surface told me they were unfortunately silky.


    ¡°Many preparations are still to be made if things are to be ready in time,¡± My mother said with a smile. She made her way to the pink marble door and pulled it open. ¡°Before I go, I have a question I must ask of you.¡±


    A pang of nerves started at the base of my neck and shot through my arms and legs. Something I had said had given my mother a question that would lead me into a mad spiral of compromising answers. I knew enough to know the difference between keeping things from her and lying to her directly would be enough to force me to tell her it all. If she asked about The Well, what I had said to Sam to make him twist into a contortion, or why I was so interested in the circles, I would tell her.


    ¡°Answer me honestly, Autumn. Have you noticed the change in Arthur since we have arrived here? The dear boy hardly sleeps and has put on nearly ten pounds of muscle since the move.¡± My mother asked, saying something that I had not expected for the second time since I had returned from the memory.


    He had gotten bigger. That truth had asserted itself when I had fallen off the roof and into the tall man¡¯s arms. I answered simply, scared to say more than was necessary. ¡°I have.¡±


    ¡°I sent word to Sorceress Ulet and inquired about the sorcerer she drove off to try and understand what he did to Arthur, but I have not heard back as of yet.¡± my mother continued, her words setting my heart to a pounding rhythm.


    The sorcerer hadn¡¯t done anything to Arthur. That had just been what Samsara had told my mother and threatened the Lao¡¯s into agreeing with. Anna understood how important it was to live as if that was the truth. I still needed to find Arthur and remind him of the importance, but the third Lao is who truly troubled me. Ms. Lao and my mother had become fast friends. If anyone was going to slip and tell how the events of that night had truly transpired, it would be Ms. Lao.


    I pivoted the conversation. ¡°Is she well, Ms. Lao?¡±


    ¡°It is as I told you last night. She is dying and I do not see her changing her mind on accepting help,¡± My mother gave me a sad smile that did not meet her eyes. ¡°In part, that is why we are celebrating Amoranora the way we are. Anna and Arthur have been through much these past months. I can not allow them to sit idly and watch her go,¡± Before she left me in the well house and stepped into the sunlight peeking through the cracked door, she added. ¡°Treat them well, little Delpha, as they have treated you. Watching your own mother waste away is a pain I hope you never feel.¡±


    She left me then and I found myself sinking back into the pool, feeling much heavier than I had a moment before. Dropping until the warm water rose to my shoulders, I tipped myself back and floated to the surface.


    ¡°You are returning to The Well,¡± Sam stated. ¡°Be brief. Sleep is coming for me again.¡±


    ¡°Why have you been sleeping in my room?¡± I called to him, closing my eyes and slowing my breathing.


    A small hiss came from him. ¡°I can not know.¡±


    ¡°Shame,¡± I said, feeling myself relaxing. ¡°I thought it was because you missed me.


    If he said anything, the roaring nothing sound of the water filling my ears drowned it out as I felt myself slip into The Well.

 V2: Chapter Twelve: Bea

    ¡°There.¡± Squirl chittered into my ear, camouflaged underneath my chestnut hair.


    ¡°Where?¡± I whispered back, searching the forest floor for where ¡°there¡± could be without slowing down. The destructive sound of my pursuer wrecking her way through the trees and underbrush behind me grew louder.


    Four little claws wrapped around my chin and I let my tiny familiar turn my head towards a massive tree. ¡°Here.¡±


    Behind a thick tangle of thorns and brambles, a dark hollow sat nestled between the thick roots of the tree that looked just wide enough for me to slip through. I dropped to my hands and knees and pushed myself backwards through the prickling blind, thankful I had chosen to wear pants.


    A strand of my hair caught on a thorn and tugged against my scalp. I leaned forward to untangle it, but two little hands reached up and did the job for me.


    ¡°Quiet,¡± Squirl insisted as the heels of my boots pressed against the back of the hollow. The thorns and brambles sprung back the moment I tucked my head out of the light and into the dark space.


    Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. I tried to slow my breathing, to not let my exhaustion overtake my need to stay silent, but listening to my familiar was more difficult than it seemed.


    ¡°Sweat.¡± Squirl chittered.


    ¡°What?¡± I whispered back.


    Sharp and jolting, the sound of a fallen limb cracking under a sudden weight came from much to close and I flinched.


    A single drop of sweat rolled down my nose, dripped off its tip, and pattered onto the dry leaves underneath me.


    ¡°Down.¡± Squirl¡¯s small weight left my shoulder and tugged me towards the ground by my collar. I flattened against the forest floor, the top half of me spilling out and landing on the underbrush with hundreds of little pricks of pain spreading across my upper body. The soil and roots underneath me shifted as the trunk of the tree was torn from its base in a tearing roar.


    I looked up, shielding Squirl and my head from the rain of splinters and wood dust, just in time to see the tree thrown back through the air like a twig being cleared from a foot trail.


    A savage laugh followed the distant impact of the torn tree crashing through the limbs of the forest and I pushed myself away from my pursuer.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got you now, Bea.¡± Jesnah loomed over me, her dark brown aura bristling around her wrists like the bear fur on her collar.


    ¡°Dirt.¡± Squirl chittered, tapping my right arm.


    I closed my fist and threw a palm full of the ripped up soil at Jesnah. She smacked it back down before it could pepper her face and it exploded into a dusty cloud between us.


    Squirl scampered over the back of my neck and pulled my hair to the right. ¡°Roll.¡±


    I listened, rolling to the right over the exposed roots of the destroyed tree just as Jesnah¡¯s hand pierced the cloud of dust and stabbed through the ground where my head had been a moment before.


    ¡°Stand.¡± Said Squirl.


    I jumped to my feet as fast as I could on the uneven ground without losing my balance.


    ¡°Duck.¡± Said Squirl.


    I ducked.


    Two violent swipes from Jesnah tore through the air, leaving claw marks made of her dark brown aura glowing above me.


    ¡°Draw. Channel. Jump.¡± Said Squirl in quick succession.


    ¡°You have. . .¡± I began, trying to follow my familiar''s foresight, but the shock at Squirl saying more than one command was too much for me to process. I drew my aura, but before I could bring it to my channel or shape a working, pressure closed around my left wrist and I was pulled up off the ground like a plucked carrot.


    The dust settled as Jesnah raised me up until we were eye to eye. She wore a savage smile and as the aura around her wrists crumpled off her tan skin, she chuckled. ¡°Seeing the future or not, I told you that the little squirrel wouldn¡¯t be enough.¡±


    She lowered me to the ground and let me go, pulling her furry hood off her head and running her hands through her hair. I reached into my own hair, where Squirl preferred to stay, and scratched my familiar on top of its little head. ¡°Not yet, but if we keep this up, you won¡¯t be able to find me. It gave me three words, there at the end. If I hadn''t panicked, you wouldn¡¯t have caught me.¡±


    Jesnah lifted my hair and looked at my familiar. ¡°I¡¯ll take that bet. You ready to go again?¡±


    I was, but before I could tell her, the feeling of scratching my familiar¡¯s little head faded. Jesnah and her wild smile seemed to grow further and further away from me as the forest fell away from my sight.


    I fell.


    With a violent flinch, like I had been nodding my way into an accidental nap and my head had lost its balance, I left Bea¡¯s memory and came back to myself still in The Well.


    Flames that only existed within my mind burned inside the fireplace that was set into the curved wall in front of me. An uncountable amount of books, each containing the memories of a different sorceress, sat on the shelves behind the high backed chair I sat in. A near infinite number of semicircle rooms that were identical to the one I had come back to myself in, except the memories they contained, rose above and sank below me by way of trimetal ladders.


    ¡°Why am I still here?¡± I called out. Once I had learned that there was something at the bottom of ethereal structure in my mind, it had become difficult to resist trying to communicate with it.


    Unsurprisingly, I received no answer.


    A book lay across my lap. It was not the one I had pulled off the shelf and sat down with. Bea¡¯s book binding had been a light brown, the same color as the soil in the forest from her memory had been. The book that rested on my legs was sea green and when I passed my hand over its blank cover, a name appeared in my mind.


    Zara Al Gareem.


    ¡°Was this you,¡± I called out again, truly not expecting an answer. ¡°This would all be much less confusing if you talked with me again.¡±


    Even more unsurprisingly than the first time, I received no answer.


    ¡°I don¡¯t bite,¡± I muttered, lifting the book onto its spine. ¡°That¡¯s not true,¡± I said, remembering that I had bitten somewhere before. The memory of how it had felt to sink my teeth into the sorcerer¡¯s throat made me shiver and I resettled myself in the large chair, pushing that rabbit hole of thoughts away. ¡°I did bite someone. Maybe you know that though, since you were there. But, I had a very good reason!¡±


    No answer.


    I sighed and let Zara¡¯s book fall open, placing my hand on the empty pages that showed themselves to me.


    I would spend the rest of my life in a self imposed nightmare of willingly walking into crowds of strangers and talking to each one as I passed if it meant I would never have to see another Gatekeeper.


    As soon as Bess and I stepped through the black gate and into the forest of ancient trees, four Gatekeepers slithered out from behind the surrounding trees. Enshrouded in heavy cloaks made of scraps of tattered black fabric, they moved fluidly towards the gate with the sound of shaking chains.


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    They were necessary, not even The Mother¡¯s could do what they did with the strange dark material and traveling through chaos without the gates would be a near impossibility.


    Not willing to turn my back to them, I walked backwards beside Bess, watching them swarm the portal like flies to a beached whale carcass ¡°Don¡¯t they just make your skin crawl?¡±


    ¡°Hush now, Ladies shouldn¡¯t speak that way. Everyone makes your skin crawl.¡± Bess said. The back of her sandals kicking up fallen needles that were still green and just as long as her legs were, she walked forward, oblivious to the unsettling presence of the strangers behind us.


    Were they even people? No one I had thought to ask had given me a straight answer. ¡°You don¡¯t make my skin crawl.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t pick any fights while we¡¯re here, I can think of a few ways I can,¡± Bess flirted back. She raised an arm and waved big, calling out in her constantly cheery voice. ¡°Hello!¡±


    ¡°Hello!¡± A voice boomed back from somewhere in front of her and somewhere behind me.


    Still walking backwards and much more importantly, keeping my eyes on the Gatekeepers, I followed the sound of my partner''s sandals clopping against the soles of her feet as she walked. They finished with the gate and slithered into a tight knit circle, starting in with their nonsense whistling. They would remain that way until we returned, so I finally turned around and took up beside Bess properly.


    The Maire of Wellindale and what looked like every other citizen of the city that held any kind of sway, down to an overly friendly blacksmith, met us at the cliffside. Any blacksmith that interacted with people in grander gestures and longer sentences than silent nods and wordless grunts was either an imposter or no good at their craft. The Maire favored his left leg just enough for me to know that if things became hostile, I could take him out if I targeted his right. The rest of the citizens of Wellindale that had gathered on the cliff overlooking their descendant city seemed to be just that, townsfolk that had come to meet the Sorceresses that had been sent to help them with the needs that proved to be out of their reach. The talkative blacksmith, if he was a blacksmith, would be the biggest threat.


    None of them turned out to be threats at all. Bess¡¯s earnest demeanor and more than likely her good looks had kept the crowd''s disappointment from turning into anything more serious and suited to my set of skills.


    While she acted as the diplomat, I peered down over the cliff side to see where we had been sent.


    The mountain we stood on stretched out and around, forming a loose circle that dropped hundreds of feet down to a tightly packed city that was cut in sections by a grid of water ways. Two rivers, one to my left and the other in front of me, spilled over the mountain tops in the distance and fell down to the city below.


    ¡°Seven hours.¡± I heard Bess repeat, none of her pleasant demeanor diminished by the furrowing faces of the crowd around her.


    ¡°We have been requesting aid for five months, and all The Mothers can spare is seven hours?¡± The Maire grumbled over the chorus of complaints coming from the crowd of citizens behind him.


    Bess looked up to the sky and smiled. ¡°It¡¯s closer to six and half now, so we should all make the most of it.¡±


    You¡¯re lucky it¡¯s not seven minutes. I snapped at the maire in my mind, but I kept it inside. Things tended to go much smoother when I let my partner do the talking. On our first outing together, I couldn¡¯t bring myself to call them missions yet, I had been a stiff breeze away from running through an entire company of Enclave spearmen. Bess had walked over and had them all apologizing to me one after another like they had genuinely felt sorry for trampling my lunch.


    I had not been in anything more than an argument since then. Granted, that had kept me out of trouble, but I wasn¡¯t good for the more nuanced needs that were expected of me like my partner was.


    ¡°That sounds like a good job for you doesn¡¯t it, Zara?¡± Bess smiled back at me without turning her back on the maire and his crowd. Her long braid, the light in her golden eyes, her wide brimmed straw hat and sandals, she could have been caught in a seastorm and still been the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I asked in return, not realizing I had lost track of the conversation.


    ¡°Something has blocked their waterfall, off to the east.¡± Bess pointed.


    ¡°Away from people and not in the city?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Bess nodded.


    ¡°That does sound like my kind of work.¡± I answered, tipping my sensible and practical cap at my partner


    ¡°You jest, surely? I¡¯ve sent dozens of Wellindale¡¯s finest men to clear that river and let our water wheels turn again. The three who returned have been petrified! Too stricken with fear to speak! She¡¯s little more than a girl.¡± The Maire blurted.


    ¡°We will see if you are still saying that in six and a quarter hours. Right, Zara?¡± Bess waved him off and hurried the crowd of people onto a lift that had risen to the cliff by way of two groups of men far down below us. She stepped on and I watched as they began to be lowered down. ¡°I¡¯ll go see to their wounded and meet you over there when I¡¯m done.¡±


    ¡°Right. Six and a quarter.¡± I answered her and watched her go for longer than I should have. Eventually I found the strength to turn myself away and began my trek around the rim overlooking Wellindale to find what was blocking the river.


    Later, approximately one and three quarter hours after we had stepped through the black gate, I found what had left the city¡¯s water wheels unturned. A towering wall of fallen tree trunks, packed tight with mud and branches, reduced the river to a trickle that disappeared into the muddy ground before it could make it ten yards. A single one of the hundreds of timbers that formed the dam stood wider than I could wrap my arms around. I was disappointed, they weren¡¯t quite big enough to scare me into silence like I had expected.


    I spun my aura into life within me and pulled it from my middle, shaping a sphere of seagreen and sticking into the tacky mud between two of the timbers. ¡°My kind of work.¡±


    Whistling as I went, two and a half hours into the seven we had been allotted, I heard the clopping of Bess¡¯s sandals coming up the riverbed behind me. She whistled with me, carrying the same simple tune that had sprung out of me when I had started working.


    ¡°I know I say this every time, but I love your color,¡± Bess said when she came up behind me. ¡°It¡¯s like the water in Calanizzina, right?¡±


    ¡°Only in the summer.¡± I said, happy that she had remembered. I placed my last sphere at the top of the dam and slid down the long timber to the muddy ground. Bess looked up at my work, having picked up a basket from somewhere during hers. From her feet, all the way up to the hem of her sundress, she was splattered with mud and looked all the happier for it.


    ¡°It¡¯s a shame Constance isn¡¯t here. She is the best at stuff like this.¡± She said, licking her thumb and wiping at my cheek.


    ¡°We don¡¯t need Constance.¡± I said, taking her by her hand and leading her out of the riverbed. Pulling her along behind me, I hoped she hadn¡¯t seen the anger in my eyes when she had said what she said. I knew she hadn¡¯t meant anything by it and I had a habit of making something out of nothing, but it was a sore spot that I had not managed to heal.


    ¡°Slow down, I only meant that she is good with wood. It¡¯s kind of her thing.¡± Bess said as I brought us up a small hill that overlooked the dam. We reached the top and I let her go, gesturing for her to sit. A small lake of stopped river water flooded the forest of massive trees behind the dam. I lowered myself onto my heels and pressed my hands together in front of my navel.


    ¡°Zara.¡± Bess said, placing a hand on my back.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got it,¡± I insisted, pulling a small sphere of my aura out of my middle and harnessing it within my hands. Keeping my mind focused on the feeling of my partner''s touch, I pulled against the tension of the small sphere, my hands shaking from the resistance. Light, the color of the moon shimmering over the green waters of Calanizzina, emanated from between my hands. The dozens of spheres I had stuck to the damn shone with the same brilliance. ¡°See?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s so pretty!¡± Bess cheered.


    I clapped my hands over the sphere between them and the dam broke in bursts of my seagreen destruction. Shattering timbers, a rain of displaced mud, and the remnants of my aura were thrown into a wave as the lake of water found its natural path and rushed towards the cliffside that was just out of sight.


    Falling back onto my ass beside Bess, I looked up to the sky, a tired smile on my face. ¡°None of them could do that.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you know that,¡± She said, placing the basket between us. ¡°And if what you taught me is right, we¡¯ve still got four hours to sit here and eat the lunch I brought us.¡±


    She rubbed my back with her hand and I kept my face turned to the sun. Somewhere in that warm little moment, I felt myself slip gently away from the hilltop. The sound of the rushing river quieted before dying down completely.


    I fell away from Bess and into nothing.


    The next moment, I opened my eyes to the eternal dusk of the well house.


    Sam followed my awakening with his first question. ¡°What is your name?¡±


    I answered and the warm feeling I had left Zara with felt so nice, I answered his second without complaint.


    ¡°Who was Autumn Aubrey?¡± Sam asked his final question.


    ¡°Zara Al Gareem. I was with a sorceress named Bess. I think both of them were Mothers.¡± I told my familiar. When there was a free moment, away from prying eyes or open ears, I would test Sam¡¯s memory of my memories. If Zara and Bess had been what I thought they were, and the names I had left in Sam¡¯s care were still there, I would be close to knowing the full set.


    ¡°Night has fallen. The others await you in the garden.¡± Sam said, scratching at the pink marble door for me to let him out.


    ¡°Where are you in such a hurry to go?¡± I asked, standing up in the pool and stretching my arms above my head.


    ¡°I must sleep. It will not be delayed any longer.¡± My familiar answered, swapping paws.


    I pushed myself out of the water and dripped over to the door, opening it for the blue cat at my feet. ¡°Stay out of my room.¡±


    Sam slipped out of the well house and padded towards the manor with a low and resounding. ¡°No.¡±

 V2: Chapter Thirteen: Galahads Night

    I dressed and left the well house not a second after Sam, but there was not a single of his blue hairs in sight on the narrow path between the garden and the wall that surrounded the manor.


    ¡°How does he get inside?¡± I asked aloud. There were no small doors that were his shape and size for him to pass through whenever he needed, that would be ridiculous, but he needed me to open the door for him to leave the well house.


    ¡°Familiars should come with guide books.¡± I said to myself, shaking my arms out to try and loosen the pinching fabric from under my arms. The clothes my mother had left me, like my familiar, needed their own instructions. All in red fabric that was thin and unfortunately silky, there had been a jacket that held no way to fasten it, tight fitting pants that fell to just above my ankles, and a strap of fabric that I had used to cinch the jacket closed.


    The night was pleasantly warm, as it always was in Erosette, but if it had not been for the glow coming from within the garden to my left, the night would have been too dark for me to see my hands in front of my face.


    A sudden swell of surprised shouts rose from the city beyond the wall. Far louder than what I had heard the night that Suri had taken my body for a walk to see the Red Mother¡¯s parade, the roar bottomed out into a chorus of disappointed noises before erupting into cheers and applause.


    I looked up the path towards the manor and then back over my own shoulder for good measure. No one was there to see me or stop me from what I was about to do.


    ¡°One little peak won¡¯t hurt.¡± I said, stepping to the wall and focusing my aura within me. I brought it to my right palm and pushed it through my channel. If I jumped up and grabbed the top of the wall, I could pull myself up and look down to see what the second night of Amoranora had transformed the city into. With a half step head start, I kicked off the wall and reached up, my hand glowing hand clamping onto the top like when I uncorked one of Anna¡¯s bribe bottles.


    My movement pulled the silky fabric across my skin in all the wrong places. The sudden sensation made me shudder and my focus slipped. Without my aura to reinforce my grip, my fingers could hold the wall any longer and I fell to the ground in a heap.


    Looking around to make sure no one had seen, I fought the bunches out of the uncomfortable clothes as I stood. The peaks and valleys of cheers and sighs continued to rise and fall from beyond the wall. I promised myself that I would be within the city''s limits as soon as I could find the right moment to ask my mother and ignored the dull pain from my fall, forcing myself to continue on my way.


    When I turned to take the garden path, I found that there was no path to take.


    I found no garden at all.


    The hedges stopped on both sides, but the stone path that would normally lead me to the alcove where my mother and I usually met for lunch had given way to a floor of lush green grass. In the middle of the cleared space, Anna and Arthur stood atop a white stoned platform wearing different shades of the same silky uniform I was.


    A hand was placed gently on my back and I looked up to see my mother smiling down at me. ¡°You were in the well house late this night. Was there a particularly interesting memory or were you struggling with the uniform?¡±


    I did not panic and felt no fear at my mothers inquiry into the memories because she had given me an easy out in the same breath. ¡°The uniform. It is too slick and I do not like how it feels on my skin.¡±


    My mother ran her hand up my back and pulled the buttonless jacket away from me in several spots, releasing the tensions from all the places the red fabric pinched me. ¡°Pull the front closed and hold it, your breasts are showing,¡± She instructed and I listened with a quickness that rivaled Sam¡¯s speed when he had been assaulting the lich¡¯s horror in flashes of yellow lightning. She untied my belt from my middle and lowered it to my waste, tying it back and pulling it tight. ¡°Better?¡±


    I stretched my arms out in front of me and tested the adjustments. ¡°Better.¡±


    ¡°Let me pull your hair up. It will get in the way,¡± My mother said, gathering it behind my head and fastening it with a small ring of her aura like she had when I was a girl. ¡°It has grown so long. I can trim it for you tomorrow if you would like?¡±


    I had no preference either way, but anything I could do to continue to keep her in good spirits would aid me when I eventually asked her for permission to leave the walls of the manor. Part of me wished to ask her then, to come out and say what I really felt. Mother? The manor is wonderful compared to the little rooms I remember living in. The well house makes repaying my debt to The Mother¡¯s nearly painless. The only two friends I have in all of chaos live with us and I am grateful that you took them in. I know you have been working very hard to bring Amoranora to us, but can I please disregard every bit of kindness you have given me and skip down to the city I am forbidden to enter?¡±


    ¡°I would like that. You did all of this since last night?¡± I answered and gestured to the open garden, keeping my thoughts to myself for the time being.


    ¡°After I left you this afternoon. I am afraid I have overdone it however. After not using my power for so many years, I am out of shape.¡± My mother said, pulling me onto the soft grass and towards the platform where Anna and Arthur waited.


    Months of walking nearly exclusively over stone had hardened my feet, but the mad dashing I had done through the vanished path the night before had left them sore. The grass my mother had grown, or had cast a glamor sufficient enough to make it feel real, soothed my feet as I walked over it. If I had not been being pulled or in the view of nearly everyone I knew, I would have stripped down and thrown myself onto the lush ground.


    Arthur raised his hand to me and clapped my own against it when my mother left me and crossed to the otherside of the white stone platform.


    ¡°You remembered!¡± The tall man said excitedly, looking like he could burst through the thin red fabric of his uniform if he truly wanted to.


    ¡°A high five.¡± I nodded, my spirits immediately uplifted by the wide smile my friend constantly wore.


    Arthur looked over at his sister. ¡°When we were back home, the first time I tried to high five her, she reached up and held my hand.¡±


    ¡°You two held hands?¡± Anna asked, looking past me and up at her little brother. She did not seem to find my previous naivety as humorous as her brother did.


    My mother raised her voice, pulling our attention to where she stood in the middle of the platform. ¡°On this second night of Amoranora, Galahad¡¯s night, I will tell you how Galahad the Lion won the hand of The Mother in Red.¡±


    Ms. Lao must have been too tired. I thought, realizing the evening was starting with only the four of us.


    Two of the guards stood behind a wooden stall decorated with red curtains at the back of the garden near the pink marble statue. One, Springer was his name, knelt next to a small fire beside the stall, slowly turning a spit filled end to end with what looked like large chickens. The other, Woolie, lined up four tankards on the stall counter. Both the men were wearing the clothes of a barmaid, complete with corsets and aprons, and both stopped what they were doing and looked up at my mother when she began speaking.


    ¡°Far into the reaches of chaos, somewhere that no longer exists where it did when these events took place, a wretched place known as the Lion¡¯s Maw long served as proving grounds for the mightiest warriors in known reality.¡± My mother continued, her eyes coming alive as she lost herself in her story.


    ¡°What is going on?¡± I whispered to Arthur and Anna.


    Arthur answered, his whisper loud enough that it earned a pointed glance from my mother. ¡°We are going to try and kill one another.¡±


    My mother did not lose her stride. ¡°When a warrior took up in the Maw, word would spread, acting as a calling card to any that thought they were the mightiest. The Mother in Red caught wind of the impending tournament and searched it out, meaning to offer the eventual champion a place as one of her knights. But much blood had been spilled in the Maw and it held an aura of its own that would twist any that dueled in its arena of bones into the most savage versions of themselves.¡±


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    My hand brushed against Anna¡¯s and I felt her pull it away.


    ¡°Many arguments and fights broke out amongst the warriors that gathered, all of them insistent that The Red Mother favored them more. Several warriors were killed outside of their assigned duels and to quell the unnecessary violence, she promised the eventual champion her hand.¡±


    Arthur interrupted my mother. ¡°Couldn¡¯t a witch like you or Autumn just show up and,¡± Arthur waved his hands through the air in front of himself, miming as if he was moving some great power or working. ¡°Nobody with a sword could beat that.¡±


    As she had from the moment she had found us in the ruins outside The City Above, she gave the tall man nothing but patience. ¡°Outside of Zenithcidel, Sorceresses are often excluded from competitions such as these for that very reason. The Red Mother¡¯s tournament this very night restricts any sorceress that enters from using her aura.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Arthur said, his disbelief evidently suspended.


    A roar of cheers and applause erupted from the city and all of us, even the guards in their outfits, turned towards Erosette.


    ¡°Are they really fighting? Actually trying to hurt one another?¡± Anna asked. I looked at her, but she didn¡¯t so much as glance at me.


    Had I done something wrong?


    ¡°No,¡± My mother answered. ¡°But that is for after I finish the story. Where was I?¡±


    Springer shouted from where he knelt by the fire pit. ¡°The promise of The Mother in Red¡¯s hand, Lady Aubrey.¡±


    ¡°A silent swordsman by the name of Galahad, whose face was concealed beneath a heavy winged helm and had long blonde hair the color of starlight, proved to be the lone warrior not taken with The Mother in Red. Hundreds of battles led to what would be the last, a duel between a dark haired outlander and the silent swordsman. The outlander was wicked and fast, rendered a true beast by the sinister aura of the Lion¡¯s Maw, but it was Galahad¡¯s blade that lay a hair off of the outlander''s neck in the end. Reborn Galahad the Lion, he removed his winged helm and revealed the face of a prince when The Red Mother offered him her hands. He did not wish to intertwine his own with hers and ask her for marriage as all the others had, but asked for aid in saving his sister. The same sister that had been taken by his treacherous uncle after he had slain Galahad¡¯s lord father. Moved by the soft spoken swordsman¡¯s brave heart and his shining beauty, The Mother in Red agreed.¡± My mother took a well deserved breath through the smile that lit her face.


    Marriage? I didn¡¯t know what the word meant.


    ¡°In honor of Galahad the Lion, we will be having our own battles to determine who is the mightiest among us,¡± My mother said with dramatic emphasis. ¡°And unless we are all much less friendly than I think we are, instead of swords and other arms, we will be playing the same game that is being played in The Mother in Red¡¯s tournament. Points.¡±


    Arthur leaned down and whispered to Anna and I. ¡°Good luck. I¡¯ve been playing with the guards when no one is around.¡±


    ¡°Do you wash your hands after?¡± Anna replied, actually whispering.


    The not knowing proved to be too much for me to ignore. I spoke without bothering to hush my voice. ¡°What is marriage?¡±


    ¡°When a man loves a woman.¡± Arthur began.


    ¡°When two people love each other.¡± Anna corrected.


    My mother gave me an amused expression. ¡°When two conscious beings want to devote themselves to one another, they gather in front of those they love and intertwine their souls in a ceremony.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I thought it was something to do with aura.¡± I said, feeling more confused by knowing the answer to my question.


    ¡°We can all discuss this between the duels. If we do not begin immediately, Galahad¡¯s night will pass without us crowning the Lion,¡± My mother looked over her shoulder at the barmaids. ¡°Woolie?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Lady Aubrey?¡± Woolie snapped to attention after placing a small barrel on the counter behind him.


    ¡°Can you give us a history of Points before I explain the rules?¡±


    Woolie adjusted his little red corset and scratched at his short beard. ¡°I learned it at the Enclave, Lady Aubrey.¡±


    My mother turned back to us. ¡° A short history indeed. As for the rules, the purpose of the game is to simulate combat between two individuals without anyone getting hurt.¡±


    Arthur raised his hand.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Idensyn. You may have to repeat yourself two or three times for his sake. He is a bit slow.¡± Anna said.


    ¡°Put your hand down, dear. I am not your precept. You may speak freely.¡± My mother acknowledged Arthur, smiling pleasantly.


    ¡°Can I explain it? I learned it in like five minutes and I¡¯m ready to play,¡± Arthur asked, already walking to where my mother stood in the center of the platform. When he reached her, he took up the same pose I had seen the guards at the front of the manor in the morning before. ¡°You can only use one hand.¡±


    My mother mirrored him. Both of them looked ridiculous in the silky red uniforms that all of us but the guards were dressed in.


    ¡°Everything below the waist is off limits,¡± He gestured to my mother¡¯s off limits with two fingers. ¡°Hands are worth two points, everything else is worth one. If you hit the head,¡± Arthur slowly stretched his pointed fingers out and placed them against my mothers forehead. ¡°You get three points. Three points is a kill. You get a kill, you win.¡±


    ¡°Oi, Ugi! Don¡¯t forget about the reset.¡± Woolie shouted from the stall.


    Arthur pressed his head into the heel of his palm. ¡°Right. When you get a point but it¡¯s not a kill, you reset to how you started.¡±


    ¡°That is much less detailed than how I would have explained it, but time is of the essence. Do you both understand?¡±


    Between Arthur¡¯s explanation and what I had gathered from the morning I had fallen off the roof, I thought I understood the game well enough. ¡°Do you understand?¡± I asked Anna.


    She didn¡¯t answer me. ¡°What do we get if we win? An apple?¡±


    My mother laughed. ¡°No, no. You get what Galahad the Lion received, The Red Mother¡¯s hand.¡±


    ¡°It is probably some strange hand shaped fruit.¡± I said to Anna, holding my hand out.


    She glanced at me and let out a half hearted exhale from her nose.


    She is ignoring me. I realized. Should I have not pushed her to stay in my room the night before? Was there something she had asked me to do and I had forgotten? Had I been so tired that my snoring had kept her awake all night?


    Another thunderous crack of noise came from the city as iridescent light bloomed between my mother¡¯s hands. ¡°Come, draw your lots so we may begin.¡±


    Arthur reached his hand into my mothers aura and pulled out a small strip of paper that held a shimmering number two across it. I went next, my number being two. Anna drew last, looking back at the manor just after she pulled the number four.


    ¡°That leaves me with number one,¡± My mother said, her aura and the papers turning to dust in  all of our hands. ¡°Springer?¡±


    The guard left his post by the fire and hurried over to the stall, leaving the big chickens unturned. He pulled the red curtain from the front of the wooden structure, revealing a black board where he furiously scribbled the lots and names my mother called out to him with white chalk. A moment later, a box that showed each of the combatants was laid out for all to see.


    ¡°First up, Anna and I,¡± My mother announced, pushing Arthur and I off the platform. ¡°Go eat and drink. It is not a proper meal, but if there is a food better than roast chicken and ale for watching a sporting event, I do not know it.¡±


    I would eat and I would drink, but as soon as my feet touched the soft grass, I turned around and watched as my mother and Anna went to the center of the ring and faced one another. Both of them dropped into the stance that Arthur had demonstrated and held their left hands behind their backs


    I had not known Anna very long where time was concerned, but in that time, I had come to know her deeper than I knew anyone else. She was not a fighter, but there was a tension in her body that I had never seen before.


    One of the guards, I didn¡¯t turn to see which, counted off the start of the match. ¡°Un, deux, trois!¡±


    Anna turned her eyes to my mother¡¯s right hand, bringing her own across her body to strike it and score a point. The moment my mother pulled her hand back to avoid the attack, Anna pivoted and shot her pointed fingers towards her opponent''s face.


    Then, it was over.


    Anna¡¯s shoulders slumped and my mother withdrew her two fingers from my friend''s forehead.


    It began and ended in less than a quarter of a minute, and Anna had lost.


    Her and my mother left the platform and she walked by me without a word.


    ¡°That was a very smart strategy, I did not expect you to be as aggressive as you were.¡± My mother said to her as they walked to the stall.


    I needed to know what I had done to her. With her ignoring me, none of what we were doing was fun. All I could think about was when I had wronged her and what I could do to make it right.


    One of the guards called through another round of roaring applause from the city. ¡°The next match will be Autumn versus Arthur.¡±


    Arthur appeared beside me, still chewing what must have been a bite of the big chicken. ¡°I¡¯ll go easy on you. I know it¡¯s your first time.¡±

 V2: Chapter Fourteen: Un, Deux, Trois

    The observation that I and shortly after, my mother, had made about Arthur¡¯s growing mass turned to an undeniable knowledge when I found myself opposite him in the tense moments before our match started.


    Ten-moons. She was easier to remember than most of the other eyes I had lived through because I had performed a pale imitation of her workings when Sam and I had gone to meet the lich¡¯s horror behind the boarding house. The men, if they could really still be called men, had made the small sorceress look like a child beside them. The difference between Arthur and I was not that stark, but it felt more like I was preparing to fight a giant than playing a game with my friend from the mortal plane.


    ¡°Un, deux, trois!¡± One of the guards counted off.


    Arthur did not move the way his sister had. No feint, no fight, he did not move at all.


    For longer than the entirety of the tournament¡¯s first match, we hung in the ready stances, searching each other¡¯s faces for any sign of decision.


    ¡°The key is to not move until you are sure you can get a point," Arthur said, most of his usual smile suppressed. ¡°If you strike blindly, you will wind up getting killed, like Anna did.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± I asked, not enjoying being lectured to by my opponent.


    ¡°Like this.¡± Arthur said, moving much quicker than someone his size should have been able to. His two fingers pushed into my shoulder before I could so much as take a step back.


    ¡°Point, Arthur.¡± My mother called from where she stood outside the platform.


    ¡°Now we reset.¡± Arthur said, pulling his fingers from me and retaking his stance on his side of the center of the platform.


    How am I supposed to hit him? I wondered, his arms were so long compared to mine. If I moved close enough to strike any part of him, he could simply step back and out range me. My aura was off limits both because of the rules and the watching eyes of my mother, but I could not help it rising within me. Even with my limited power, I could think of countless ways to use it to ensure my victory.


    I reset my feet, glancing to the side of the platform for only long enough to see that Anna wasn¡¯t watching us. Her back was turned to us and she faced the manor, one of the tankards from the guards stall turned up as she drained it.


    ¡°Un, deux, trois!¡±


    We had gone to sleep next to one another like any other night. The night had been long and late enough that both of us were too tired to train, but why would she be mad at me for that? If Sam had said something to upset her when I had been on the roof that morning, I would have to find a toilet tank to leave him until he apologized.


    Something hit my hand.


    ¡°Two points, Arthur!¡¯ My mother called.


    ¡°That¡¯s a kill. I win,¡± Arthur smiled down at me. ¡°Don¡¯t feel bad though. Driskt and Daphne beat me like ten times each before I ever won.¡±


    I lost? I thought, realizing that I had been too distracted to realize the match had continued without me. ¡°Fuck!¡±


    ¡°The next match will be Autumn versus Lady Aubrey.¡± Springer announced, marking the black board with my loss.


    I stormed off the platform with my fists clenched. It was not fair. If I hadn¡¯t been so fucking distracted I could have beaten him, freakishly long arms or not.


    Arthur didn¡¯t leave his spot at the center of the platform. Instead, raising his hand and waiting to be called on like he had done before.


    ¡°Yes, Arthur?¡± My mother called on him like she was his precept.


    ¡°Can I go ahead and have my next match? Autumn lost so fast I barely got warmed up.¡± The tall man said, rubbing the back of his head with his hand.


    Right there, right then, if my mother had not been watching, I could have killed him.


    ¡°It would be better if we maintained the proper order of this, but who would he be dueling next?¡± My mother called back to the guards in the stall.


    ¡°Anna, Lady Aubrey.¡± Woolie answered after leaning over the wooden counter and looking down at the black board.


    At the sound of her name, Anna left the empty tankard on the grass below the platform and took up across from her brother. With none of the urgency and tension she had shown me before, she took up a half hearted shadow of her brother''s stance.


    Too angry to stand idly and do nothing, I went to the stall and took one of the tankards from the counter. The ale was light and slightly sweet. The bubbles burnt my throat as I drank it. The silky fabric of the uncomfortable uniform annoyed me with every movement I made, and I had fucking lost.


    I brought the empty tankard back down harder than I had meant to, banging the bottom of it against the wooden counter and making ale slosh out of its full mates. At the sound, Woolie, the guard that had been taken with The Mother in Red¡¯s arrival at the end of the parade just as I had, looked at me suddenly.


    ¡°I¡¯m,¡± I started to apologize. A jostling pressure rolled up through my chest and burst from my mouth in a bassy burp. I covered my mouth with my hand a moment after it had passed, staring at the guard dressed as a barmaid with my eyes wide in surprise. ¡°Sorry.¡±


    Woolie looked just as surprised as I felt, but the corner of his mouth twitched with a grin that he seemed to be resisting. He had thought my unintended expulsion of air to be funny. I knew I shouldn¡¯t try and speak to him, all of the guards were forbidden from speaking to me, but I could not resist. ¡°I should mind my manners in front of a lady.¡±


    Woolie looked down at his corset and apron. A rolling laugh rumbled out of the big man as he slapped his hands onto his belly.


    Springer, stuck his head through the red curtains at the back of the stall and snapped at his fellow guard. ¡°Woolie, calm yourself! It is forbidden!¡±


    ¡°No harm has been done,¡± My mother said, appearing next to me and placing her hand on my back. ¡°I thank both of you for your dedication to your duty. No ordinary men could don the barmaids garb with such strength and confidence.¡±


    Woolie and Springer both stood a little straighter at my mother¡¯s words. She led me away from the stall, but the wicked smile that had spread across my face from making the guard laugh fell away and the anger that had filled me upon my defeat returned.


    A realization came over me and I looked up at my mother. ¡°You? Why would you forbid them from speaking with me? I thought it was The Mother¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°It is for your protection as much as it is for theirs, my little Delpha,¡± My mother answered, her emerald eyes filled with a softness that soothed the heat in my body. ¡°To know you is to love you. The guards must be able to perform their duties without influence.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± I sighed, understanding her logic without finding pleasure in the truth.


    ¡°Un, deux, trois!¡± Springer counted off again, starting the match between the mismatched Lao¡¯s.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°Do you remember what I asked of you in the well house this afternoon?¡± My mother said, speaking to me in barely more than a whisper.


    Treat them well, little Delpha, as they have treated you. I heard what she had said echoing in my mind. ¡°I do.¡±


    My mother unbound the ring of her aura from my hair with the touch of her finger before gathering it back up in her hands. ¡°Anna is deeply troubled this night. A shadow has been cast over her and you are just the one who can bring her back into the light.¡±


    Arthur touched his sister''s shoulder in the same spot he had scored on me. It seemed like she had not moved at all to avoid it.


    ¡°Point, Arthur!¡± Springer called from where he knelt by the black board.


    Anna and Arthur reset on the white stone of the platform and were counted off to begin again.


    ¡°Despite the pain it might cause you when you face her, make your goal to bring her back to us, not to win. Do this and I will owe you a favor. It brings me great displeasure to see her this way.¡± My mother said, binding my long hair behind my head with another ring of aura.


    ¡°Two points, Arthur,¡± Springer called, marking the tall man''s victory over his sister. ¡°Arthur is the victor!¡±


    Words passed between the siblings, but they were too quiet and I was too far away to hear them. Arthur held his hands in front of himself and shrugged his shoulders, a confused expression on his face.


    Anna stepped towards him like she desired an embrace. She closed her fist and drove it into her brother¡¯s stomach. The tall man staggered back, holding his middle and looking more hurt than hurt. Anna left the platform shaking her hand and immediately went to the stall for another tankard.


    ¡°Autumn versus Lady Aubrey will be the next duel!¡± Springer announced.


    ¡°Come, I have something I must teach you.¡± My mother said, encouraging me off the soft grass and back onto the hard white stones of the platform.


    I didn¡¯t want to play any more. There was no one in all of chaos that could have given less of a fuck about The Red Mother¡¯s hand than I did. All I could think about was Anna. I wanted to go to her, to embarrass myself or assault her like I had when we were in my little bedroom after her understanding of reality had been shattered. Like most things however, that was out of my control, and I found myself opposite my mother in the center of the platform.


    ¡°Autumn,¡± My mother said, bringing my attention away from Anna and back to herself. The softness had left her emerald eyes and had been replaced with an intense fierceness that I had never seen before on her beautiful face. ¡°There will come a time where you feel that you are caught between two fires, the fire of those you love,¡± She glanced at where Anna stood in front of the wooden stall, swapping an empty tankard for a full one. ¡°and the fire of those that mean to harm you.¡±


    I focused back on my mother, trying to pay attention to what she was saying. ¡°Right, two fires.¡±


    ¡°At that moment, when your heart is divided, which fire do you pay attention to?¡± She asked me


    ¡°I. . .I don¡¯t know.¡± I said, my eyes darting between my mother and my friend.


    Springer counted us off. ¡°Un, deux, trois!¡±


    The sound of my mothers movement registered in my mind a moment before I realized her fingers rested against my forehead. Stunned from my sudden and absolute defeat, I stared slack jawed at her, her face less than a hand''s breadth from my own.


    ¡°The one that is closer to burning you,¡± She said in a tone that was so unlike her usual voice that it hardly sounded like my mother at all. A smile came from her and she pushed her forehead into mine lovingly. ¡°Learn that lesson well, my daughter,¡± She withdrew from me as one of the guards announced her victory. ¡°Now, do as I asked. Anna needs you.¡±


    ¡°Autumn versus Anna will be the next duel.¡± Springer announced as my mother left the platform and Anna took her place across from me.


    The sky above Erosette was clear of clouds and filled with an uncountable amount of stars despite the fact that it and every other part of Zenithcidel was deep underground. It must have been particularly beautiful to Anna that night because she kept her eyes just above my head when she took up her stance opposite me.


    ¡°Anna.¡± I said.


    ¡°Un, deux, trois.¡± My mother counted off.


    The moment my mother finished her count and the duel began, I ducked my head and drove my shoulder into Anna¡¯s hips, tackling her to the white stone of the platform. Using her shoulders to pull myself up against her struggling, I pinned her arms under my knees and stared down at her.


    ¡°What,¡± She tried to shake herself free of my weight, but I had pinned her well. ¡°The fuck are you doing?¡±


    I tried to think of something funny or antagonistic to say to her. I couldn¡¯t. Even with her looking like she wanted to actually kill me, I could do nothing but tell her the truth. ¡°You haven¡¯t looked at me all night and I don¡¯t like it one fucking bit.¡±


    She tried to push me off. ¡°It¡¯s not like that.¡±


    ¡°Are you not always insisting that you could beat me in a fight? Now is your chance to prove your empty words.¡± I said, pushing off of her and dropping into the most dramatic version of the stance as I could.


    Anna shot to her feet and faced me down.


    I had made her angry, but at least she was looking at me.


    ¡°Girls, a moment.¡± My mother called, holding up a hand. Her, Arthur, and the guards had gathered in front of the stall. Several points and hushed words later, my mother left the tight grouping and walked to the edge of the platform. ¡°Anna, we will be giving you a point because of Autumn¡¯s illegal tackle. Do you find this sufficient or would you prefer disqualification?¡±


    Anna didn¡¯t take her dark eyes off of mine. ¡°I¡¯ll take the point.¡±


    In all the time I had known her, Anna had been the one pulling me out whatever gloom or spiral I found my mind in. She was much better at it than I was, but that didn¡¯t mean I was helpless. While my mother counted us down again, just as her lips passed over ¡®trois¡¯, I stuck my tongue out and winked at Anna.


    ¡°Fuck you.¡± She snapped and tried to kill me. With a hard step, she jabbed her two fingers towards my face and if I hadn''t leaned to my right, they would have gone straight into the eye I had winked with. Close enough that I didn¡¯t need to extend my arm fully, I pushed my own fingers into the hard spot between her breasts.


    ¡°Point, Autumn!¡± My mother called, tying my score with Anna¡¯s. I stepped back, grinning. Having her being mad at me was better than having her be nothing to me.


    Anna rubbed the silky fabric over where I had struck her, taking up the starting position with a sigh. ¡°That hurt.¡±


    ¡°Then don¡¯t be so easy to hit,¡± I said, feeling bad the moment the word left my lips. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to hurt you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t apologize. It doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯m about to win anyways.¡± Anna replied, a hint of her usual self playing at the corner of her eyes.


    ¡°Is that so?¡± I asked, raising an eyebrow.


    Anna chuckled. ¡°Of course, how could I not?¡± I know your weak spot.¡±


    Once again, my mother counted. ¡°Un, deux, trois!¡±


    Without letting a second pass, I dropped low into my stance. Meaning to slip underneath any attacks Anna threw at my perceived weak spots and to come up and jab her in the same spot I had before, all I wanted was to keep her anger focused on me.


    I never got the chance.


    When I had reached the furthest depth that I could lower myself to, Anna withdrew her hand and faced me fully. She grabbed each side of her silky red jacket and pulled it apart, flashing me.


    It was not that the sight of her bare chest dazzled me to the point that I lost my balance and fell backwards. The sheer shock of her brilliant combat maneuver was the cause for my fall and nothing else.


    Anna closed her jacket and walked over to me, gently placing her two fingers on my forehead. ¡°If you could see your face,¡± She laughed, really laughed, and helped me onto my feet. ¡°It works every time.¡±


    ¡°Anna is the victor!¡± My mother called as we met her at the edge of the platform, she stopped me as I passed her. ¡°Well done, little Delpha. Think of something you want and ask me for it, I will provide it for you.¡±


    ¡°What just happened? Is that legal?¡± Arthur asked towards Woolie and Springer.


    Anna passed by her brother on her way to me, a tankard in each hand. ¡°In some states.¡±


    Springer, marking on the black board, spoke without looking up. ¡°That leads us to the final duel to break the tie between Arthur and Lady Aubrey.¡±


    I took the tankard from Anna and drank, still wondering what I had done to upset her.


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m sorry for how I¡¯ve been tonight.¡± She said, looking down at our feet.


    I swallowed and hoped another burp would not interrupt me. ¡°If I have,¡±


    ¡°We can talk later, I want to see this.¡± She cut me off as Springer began to count down to the beginning of Arthur and my mother¡¯s duel. She dropped to the soft grass beneath us and pulled me down beside her. I sat and took another drink, feeling her rest her head on my shoulder just as the duel began.


    A warm contentment settled over me. I had learned a valuable lesson on Galahad¡¯s night.


    A head on the shoulder was worth a thousand of The Red Mother¡¯s hands.

 V2: Chapter Fifteen: The Lion

    ¡°Un, deux, trois!¡±


    My mother stepped deep inside Arthur¡¯s range, striking at the center of his chest.


    Arthur twitched himself to the side with a surprising quickness. My mother¡¯s arm stretched past him and he sent his own two fingers streaking towards his opponent''s hand.


    My mother shifted her weight onto her back foot and leaned deep away from Arthur. In one seamless movement, like a twig springing back straight after being bent, she sprung upwards forcefully.


    Arthur stepped back and plunged his fingers into my mother¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Point, Arthur!¡± Springer called from the black board, a torn off leg of one of the big chickens clutched in his teeth.


    My mother threw back her head and laughed as they reset. ¡°Well done, dear. I will not underestimate you again.¡±


    Anna had taken her head off my shoulder and emptied her tankard. Not a moment after she had placed hers on the grass beside her, she eyed mine, sitting mostly full between my crossed legs.


    ¡°Are you going to finish that?¡± Anna asked, already reaching for the wooden handle.


    I pushed her hand away. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but it is for sale.¡±


    There was part of her that my efforts had not brought back. I could feel it. She raised an eyebrow at me, but it was short of her usual expressions, like a quarter of her was still pulled back and withdrawn, ignoring me.


    ¡°What¡¯s your price?¡± She asked, beginning to give into my game.


    I needed to keep her attention until I could find out what I had done to her. ¡°Make me an offer.¡±


    ¡°I could just get up and get another one.¡± She said simply with a shrug.


    I had not considered the availability of goods similar to mine. ¡°You could, but the fine ladies at yonder stall are not offering what I am. The ale in this tankard is special. Magic.¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡± Anna laughed, suddenly reaching for the tankard between my legs.


    I grasped it between my hands and held it to the ground, looking around wildly with false distress. ¡°Stop! Thief! Guards!¡±


    Springer and Woolie both looked at me, but neither of them came to save me from the black hearted ruffian trying to plunder my magic potion. Thankfully, my strength proved enough to stand against her thieving hands and after a moment, she relented.


    ¡°Truly a desperate thief who doesn¡¯t know what they are attempting to steal. You are so power hungry, you didn¡¯t stop to ask what kind of magic this concoction carries?¡± I asked, holding the tankard to my chest like it held all the secrets of reality.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, you¡¯re right,¡± Anna said, holding her hands up in a placating gesture. ¡°What does it do?¡±


    ¡°The liquid held in this commonplace container looks like ale, smells like ale, tastes like ale,¡± I said, waving my hand over the small wooden lid of the tankard. ¡°But in fact, it is actually milk.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a freak.¡± Anna said, seemingly unimpressed by the small wonder I was offering to sell her.


    ¡°I understand if you cannot afford such a treasure, most could not. It is no great shame.¡± I sighed, playing the part of the shopkeeper accustomed to disappointment.


    ¡°I can afford it. I could buy ten of them if you had them.¡± Anna said.


    ¡°Then make me an offer if you are so drenched in wealth.¡± I called her bluff and turned my nose up at her.


    Anna hummed, as if she was thinking over some complicated puzzle. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s worth what I have to offer.¡±


    Fuck. I thought, realizing my own game had been turned around on me. I suddenly, desperately, needed to know what she possessed that was worth ten of my magic ales. Trying and failing to not let her know how bad I wanted to know what she had, I offered. ¡°I¡¯m sure we can reach some agreement.¡±


    ¡°You give me the ale.¡± Anna said, holding her hand flat against her chest.


    ¡°The magic ale.¡± I reminded her.


    She nodded in agreement. ¡°You give me the magic ale,¡± She looked into my eyes. At that moment at least, all of her was focused on me, no shadow in sight. ¡°And I¡¯ll show you how to find your color again.¡±


    ¡°Point, Lady Aubrey!¡± One of the guards called out.


    Our tense haggling broken, Anna and I both looked up to the platform. My mother and Arthur were no longer in the center. While I had been focused on keeping Anna¡¯s focus on me, the final duel of our little Galahad¡¯s night had made its way across the white stones of the platform to the edge furthest from us.


    My mother lay on her back. Her long red hair had fallen and hung a finger length from the lush grass surrounding the platform. Arthur loomed over her. Holding himself above her with his hands pressed into the stone, the silky red fabric around his upper arms blew out, splitting in several places. He moved to stand and revealed my mother¡¯s two fingers pushing into his chest.


    ¡°Shit. We missed it.¡± Anna said, taking the tankard from my hands and beginning to drink immediately.


    Arthur helped my mother off the ground and the two reset in the center of the stage.


    The same gleam my mother had in her eyes when she had announced the feast the morning Sam had drug the massive boar into the kitchen glimmered in her emerald eyes. I caught a brief glimpse of Arthur¡¯s face as he retook his stance, but he looked nothing like the man I had come to know as my friend. There was no smile or relaxed friendliness, only an emotionless mask that turned his face into something intimidating.


    A roar rose from the city beyond the manor walls, drowning out whichever guard had begun counting the duelists off. Just before the cheers from the city died down, both of them moved in a sudden flurry of strikes and stabs and side steps.


    Arthur pressed forward, the force of his strikes my mother evaded blowing her hair backwards like it had been caught in sudden gusts of wind.


    Every step forward he took, my mother danced backwards, like water continuing to flow against a roaring gale.


    My mother¡¯s eyes went wide when Arthur began extending his strikes fully. He leaned into each attempted blow, nearly catching my mother in the center of her forehead twice with his improved range.


    She swept her front foot out and behind herself in an arc with such speed that she threw herself to the side in a low spin. Landing on her feet at his flank, she had caught him overreaching and pushed herself off the white stones.


    The band of my mother¡¯s aura holding my hair back turned to dust. My hair fell to my shoulders and down my back.


    My mother leapt from the ground


    Arthur bent at the waist, throwing himself backwards violently.


    My mother¡¯s aim was true.


    Her two fingers tapped Arthur¡¯s forehead. She landed onto the stone platform and caught Arthur by the hand, keeping him from falling onto his ass the way I had done.


    ¡°Three points, Lady Aubrey! Lady Aubrey is the victor!¡± Springer applauded from where he stood alongside Woolie. It could have been the two guards clapping echoing off the manor house, but I thought I heard a third pair of hands coming from somewhere else.


    ¡°Come, girls,¡± my mother beckoned for us to join Arthur and herself on the platform.


    I helped Anna up, her empty tankard and the hollow husk of my potion¡¯s container left laying next to the impressions we had left in the soft grass.


    ¡°You are much better when you are defending, remember that.¡± I heard my mother finish advising Arthur as we met them in the center of the stage. She patted him on his cheek before taking him by the shoulders and squaring his feet within one of the white stones of the platform.


    ¡°Anna, dear, you stand here.¡± She said, placing Anna in her own stone next to her brother.


    ¡°And that puts you here, little Delpha. Well done this night,¡± My mother smiled at me and put me shoulder to shoulder next to Anna. She took up at the end of the line beside Arthur and waved to the guards.


    Springer walked to the end of the platform, pulling up the front of his blouse to cover his muscled chest. ¡°In fourth place, Autumn Aubrey!¡±


    Applause followed the guards'' pronouncement. The section of white stone my feet were placed in became outlined in iridescent light. Then, I felt myself move as the stone raised from its counterparts. I turned to Anna and found that I had to look down at her to meet her eyes. She smiled up at me, but it did not meet her eyes fully. Part of her had slipped away again. Arthur¡¯s usual grin had shone through the placid mask he had been wearing only a few moments before and from my pedestal, I was almost an even height with him. Looking a bit tired around the eyes and with strands of her red hair stuck to her face with sweat, my mother applauded nonetheless.


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    I thought of The Mother in Red atop her lion of rose red fire, sending the people of Erosette into a frenzy from her arrival alone. All of the people in my life I was closest to were cheering for me. I felt full, warm, and present in that moment to a surreal extent. It could only have been a fraction of how she had felt.


    Springer interrupted my moment. ¡°In third place, Anna Lao!¡±


    Just like mine had, Anna¡¯s section of stone began to glow at its edges and I watched as she rose above, her pedestal twice the small height of my own. I expected her to gaze down at me from her superior height and say something snide about how she had beaten me or how easily I had been shocked by her desperate maneuver. Instead, all I received was a shrug of her shoulders before she turned to Arthur when Springer called his name.


    As it was the first two times, Arthur¡¯s stone glowed with what could only be my mother¡¯s aura and raised the tall man to new heights. He smiled, his crossed arms bulging against the blown out fabric of his sleeves.


    That should be me. I thought, finding it an impossible task to make myself clap for him. The only reason he had beaten me was because I had been watching Anna. A victory over someone who was distracted by worry for someone they. . .for their dearest friend, was not worthy of celebration.


    A roar from the city rose up again, dying down just as Springer finished proclaiming the victor of our little Galahad¡¯s night. ¡°Idensyn the Lion!¡±


    I clapped for my mother. Looking up at her standing above all of us, elegant and proud, how could I not? She was my mother. Even if deep down I thought I could beat her with enough practice, she deserved the height she had been raised to.


    She quieted us down with a finger to her lips.


    Sure of what I was hearing after the second time, someone indeed clapped a little longer than the rest of us from the direction of the manor.


    ¡°I am honored, thank you, but I cannot give the hand of The Red Mother to myself,¡± She turned on her pedestal and lowered her hand to Arthur. Bare for only a moment, her thin fingers washed in her iridescent aura before it bled into a laced glove of pure crimson. ¡°What will you ask of me?¡±


    Like he had known my mother would pass the prize to him and had spent the evening thinking about his request, Arthur enveloped my mother¡¯s hand within his own and looked up at her. ¡°Marry me.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Anna blurted.


    ¡°No.¡± A deep voice gasped, its speaker unseen from somewhere beyond the hedges.


    Springer and Woolie played the part of the shocked barmaids, gasping and covering their mouths with their hands.


    I was speechless. Granted, I had only learned what ¡°Marriage¡± meant a couple hours ago, but I was nearly certain I understood what Arthur had just asked of my mother.


    My mother was silent and unmoving, wide eyed disbelief painted across her beautiful face.


    A full body laugh bent Arthur at his waist. He leaned down without releasing my mothers hand, his face turning the same color as her laced glove. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I had to,¡± He wheezed, standing back up and wiping his eyes. ¡°It was too easy.¡±


    No one found Arthur as humorous as the tall man found himself. Everyone else in the garden let out a collective sigh as the sudden tension caused by the joke vanished.


    Everyone but my mother.


    She waited until Arthur had settled and then squeezed his hand. ¡°I accept.¡±


    ¡°What? Anna blurted again, looking at me as if I had any control over what was happening.


    ¡°No!¡± The same deep voice shouted from beyond the hedges.


    My mother lowered herself until she rested on her heels, looking down at Arthur like a keen eyed hawk that had just spotted its soon to be prey. Arthur had gone completely still, looking up at my mother like a rabbit that had just realized it had caught the eyes of something that meant to eat it.


    ¡°There is no reason to delay, dear. Let us fetch your mother. She should be present for the wedding of her child.¡± My mother said, deadly serious.


    Arthur shook his head. I could not be certain because his back was turned to Anna and her back was turned to me, but it seemed like he was desperately trying to pull his hand from my mother¡¯s grip.


    ¡°No, wait. I,¡± He sputtered. ¡°Wow, you''re strong. I, uhm, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t think,¡± He exhaled, making an exasperated fheww sound. ¡°I was joking!¡±


    My mother took her turn to laugh. ¡°So am I. You sweated less during our duel.¡±


    We all found my mother just as humorous as she found herself, laughing alongside her once it was clear that there would be no marriage on Galahad¡¯s night.


    Everyone except Arthur. He chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head with his hand and looking like he narrowly escaped some unfortunate and painful fate.


    ¡°Now,¡± my mother said, the change in the tone of her voice enough to bring us all back to her. ¡°No more jokes, what will you ask of me.¡±


    Arthur, still looking partially distressed, gave his request. ¡°Can I have a longer bed? I asked you when we first moved here, but you must have forgotten. My feet hand right off the end of the one I have now.¡±


    ¡°Oh, dear boy. Is that why you have not been sleeping soundly?¡± My mother exclaimed, concern filling her emerald eyes. The pedestals that had lofted us in the unfair order we had finished the tournament in sunk back to the platform below us.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think anyone had noticed.¡± Arthur shrugged.


    ¡°Springer. Woolie. Come with me,¡± My mother commanded, pulling Arthur off the platform and towards the manor.


    The guards, unfettered by their barmaid outfits, hurried away from the stall at my mother¡¯s word.


    Woolie, the one I had made laugh by calling him a lady, stopped in front of where Anna and I had been left on the white stones of the platform. ¡°I left what you asked for on the counter, Lady Anna.¡±


    ¡°What did you ask for, more ale?¡± I asked.


    Anna shook her head. ¡°No, I saw you weren¡¯t eating and asked Mr. Woolie to set some of the chicken aside for you.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± I said. Even when she had been mad or upset with me, I still had to figure out the which and why, she had cared enough to make sure I ate dinner. If we had not been in full view of the guard, I might have kissed her.


    Springer shouted over his shoulder from the mouth of the garden. ¡°Woolie, hurry.  I think Bool¡¯s keeled over from a broken heart¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Woolie.¡± Anna said to the guard.


    ¡°Your welcome, Lady Anna.¡± Woolie nodded, a pleased expression behind his dark beard.


    ¡°Thank you, my lady.¡± I said, bowing to him with every bit of manners I could muster.


    The big man, dark chest hairs curling over the bosom of his dress, looked over each of his shoulders. Then, he turned his eyes to me and spoke. ¡°You are welcome, Lady Autumn.¡±


    At that, he broke into a heavy trot across the lush grass and Anna and I were left alone.


    Wrapped neatly in a piece of red fabric that looked conspicuously close in width and length to the torn away corner of the curtain that hung off the back of the stall, Anna took the chicken and finished the last remaining tankard of ale that had been left full. We reached the backdoor of the manor and found it propped open. A confusing mess of shouts and commands echoed out of the house. Just before we passed Arthur¡¯s room, the tall man himself came sliding backwards out of the room, holding one end of his upturned bed.


    ¡°Leave it to you to wait until it¡¯s late to tell someone you can¡¯t sleep.¡± Anna said to her brother.


    ¡°Pivot!¡± One of the guards shouted from within the room.


    ¡°Shut up,¡± Arthur said as he was flattened against the wall, the wooden footboard pressing into his torso. Through clenched teeth, he grunted and pushed the bed back through his door. ¡°Hold on.¡±


    Was that why he had wanted to talk to me? Had he been trying to tell me that he couldn¡¯t sleep? Something, I did not know what, made me feel like that wasn¡¯t the case.


    Anna waited for me at the foot of the stairs as I skulked around the kitchen and gathered two bottles of wine for her. We started up to our rooms, but my mother¡¯s voice stopped me in my tracks.


    ¡°Autumn,¡± She said. I looked down at her. The silky red robes she had been wearing just a few moments before had been replaced by one of her usual wraps and a cloak fastened around her neck by a white pearled broach. Despite her clothes, she looked like she was on the verge of sudden and inescapable slumber. ¡°Tomorrow¡¯s preparations will require much from me. I will not be able to meet with you.¡±


    ¡°Can I wear my normal clothes?¡± I asked, counting down the seconds until I could be free of the sweat soaked silky torture device. Maybe The Mother in Brown will drag silk over my skin to punish me. An errant thought ran through my mind. As relatively gentle the imagined punishment seemed, I did not think I could bear it if it was true.


    ¡°Yes, my little Delpha, there will be no uniforms for tomorrow''s celebration.¡± She answered, taking the small velvet purse I had not seen in her hand and tucking it into her cloak.


    Anna chimed in. ¡°Where are you going? It¡¯s pretty late.¡±


    The dress, the cloak, the purse, how had I not realized my mother was leaving?


    ¡°I can not bear the thought of one of the members of my house being unable to rest. I must acquire proper bedding for your brother before I rest.¡± My mother sighed.


    She¡¯s going to the city. She owes me a favor. Ask to go with her. The thoughts came quickly in my mind, but not quick enough.


    ¡°Sleep well, girls. Tomorrow is my favorite night of Amoranora.¡± My mother said, leaving us and the manor through the double doors at the front.


    Before we finished climbing the steps to the third floor, I was pulling at the red sash tied around my waist. I left the loose pants strewn outside my door. Without pause, I put the bottles down on the desk and dashed into the closet to free myself fully.


    Anna knocked on the door just as I pulled one of my simple white dresses over my head and let out a relieved sigh when the fabric didn¡¯t slide over my skin smoothly.


    ¡°Can I wear one of your dresses? I don¡¯t feel like going back to my room.¡± She asked.


    I opened the door and swapped places with her. ¡°I¡¯m not giving, you are borrowing.¡±


    Anna went into the closet and snapped the lights on. She closed the door most of the way, leaving a crack so I could hear her. ¡°I never got those clothes back, you owe me.¡±


    ¡°When you find a trader that sells mortal clothes somewhere within these walls, show them to me. I will steal them for you.¡± I answered, taking the curtain wrapped chicken from where Anna had placed it and dropping myself to the flowery rug. The skin was blackened from the fire, but the meat was moist and tender. I tore into it with my hands, leaving nothing but a pile of clean bones and burnt ends a moment later.


    ¡°You really are a monster, aren¡¯t you?¡± Anna asked from where she sat on the edge of the bed, the leatherbound notebook resting beside her.


    I had been so possessed with devouring the food in front of me that I hadn¡¯t noticed her leaving the closet. My white dress looked good on her. It stood out against her tan skin and dark hair in a way that it did not against my own paleness. ¡°Still your monster, right?¡±


    She had called me that, behind the boarding house after the first of the lich¡¯s creatures had burned away into thick black smoke.


    ¡°Of course,¡± She said, looking confused. She pointed at one of the wine bottles sitting on the desk. ¡°Open that and let''s get started, Samsara won¡¯t wake up will he?¡±


    I looked up and sure enough, a dark lump sagged in the middle of the canopy that hung over my bed. Another thing the chicken had distracted me from. Standing up and opening the bottle with a little help from my aura, there was one thing I had noticed.


    Anna had returned. Any trace of the shadow that had been cast over her earlier had vanished.


    Did I risk bringing the darkness back by asking what I had done to her or pretend like nothing had happened?


    ¡°Glamor is up first. Make yourself me.¡± She instructed.


    I did as told.

 V2: Chapter Sixteen: Red to Blue

    ¡°Alright, stop it. That¡¯s too weird.¡± Anna said, holding her hands up to shield her eyes from me.


    I let my glamor fade and returned my face to its natural state. ¡°You¡¯re the one who told me to look like Arthur.¡±


    Peeking out to make sure that I looked like what I was supposed to look like, she lowered her hands. ¡°I didn¡¯t think about what it would do to me, seeing my brother¡¯s face on your body, but what else am I supposed to ask you to do? You already look like your mom, you¡¯ve got me down, mostly, I¡¯m running out of options.¡±


    ¡°I could look like someone from one of the memories?¡± I offered. Bess had been recent enough that I was confident I could craft her sweet face.


    Anna shook her head. ¡°No. You might know what they look like, but I don¡¯t. How could I tell if you did it right?¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± I placed my hands on my hips. She said we would talk inside. I remembered, thinking about asking her what I had done instead of thinking about what I should have been. Standing there in front of her, it could have been any other night. Once she had started telling me what to do, we had fallen into the familiar training routine we had built over the last two months. Still, I could not shake how it had felt to be ignored by her and to see her truly troubled by something.


    ¡°What about stuff like what your mom has been doing with the garden? Could you do something like that? Outside of yourself?¡± She asked, taking a drink from her wine.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I answered honestly. My mother had told Arthur on Morrow¡¯s night that she had changed the garden with her glamor. How the fuck she had managed to make the grass under my feet feel so real or the podiums raise up from the ground was beyond my understanding.


    ¡°Try this,¡± Anna held her bottle steady with one hand and reached back on the bed, throwing one of the red pillows at me. ¡°Make this blue.¡±


    I tried to catch it, but wound up knocking it down onto the rug. How could I do what she had asked me? More than likely because I had spent several months wearing constant glamor, changing my face had become so easy that I hardly felt a loss from it. Changing something outside of myself, even something as simple as the color of a pillow, seemed like a much more difficult working. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can.¡±


    ¡°Try or I¡¯m marking down that you failed.¡± Anna threatened.


    ¡°That¡¯s not fair, I¡¯ve done three already.¡± I argued against her unjust ruling.


    ¡°Those are the rules, kid. At least when I¡¯m coaching you.¡± Anna said, shrugging her shoulders and taking another drink.


    I glared at her, but focused my aura anyway. Picking up the pillow, I pushed my power through my palm and willed it to cover the soft surface. A thin wave of iridescent light spread over the right side from where I gripped. The further the end of it moved away from my skin, the harder I had to push. My hands began to shake and I felt myself beginning to thin.


    ¡°Hey, are you okay?¡± Anna asked.


    ¡°I can¡¯t do it.¡± I strained out, struggling to not lose any ground. Something inside me, right behind my navel, felt like a string wound too tight between two fingers. If I pushed further. . .


    The image of Arthur¡¯s blown out sleeves popped back into my mind.


    Blue like the sky over Erosette when I met my mother in the garden for lunch.


    ¡°Autumn?¡± I heard Anna say my name, but I couldn¡¯t answer her.


    Blue like the dress Anna had made me wear.


    ¡°Hey, stop it! You look like you¡¯re going to pass out.¡± She said, jumping off the bed.


    Blue like. . . Sam when he was wearing his skin.


    The red fabric of the pillow, to the end of where my aura quavered across its middle, darkened to blue.


    ¡°Blue.¡± I said through gritted teeth. The tension behind my navel released, like it had unwound from the fingers that had tightened it. My focus broke and my glamor turned to dust on the once again red pillow. I couldn¡¯t grip it any longer. It fell to the ground, sparkling dust and all. My head swam. Suddenly unable to hold myself up, I followed the pillow down.


    Anna tried to catch me as I tipped forward, but my weight knocked her back to the footboard. I crashed into her and slid down her legs before finally settling on the floor.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± I muttered. Keeping my eyes closed until the dizziness left me.


    ¡°If I didn¡¯t know better, I¡¯d bet that you were the one who had been drinking all night.¡± Anna said.


    I rolled off of my knees and threw myself back against the footboard. Anna slid down off the bed and sat beside me. ¡°No,¡± I said with my head hung between my knees. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°For what? You didn¡¯t hurt me or anything.¡± Anna said. I felt her look at me.


    ¡°For whatever I did to upset you tonight.¡± I mumbled, not realizing I had made the choice to bring it up until I had said it.


    Anna placed her hand on my arm. ¡°You didn¡¯t upset me? What are you talking about?¡±


    Everything came out all at once. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t look at me until I pinned you down and forced you to. I spent all night wondering what I had done to you to make you not talk to me because I know you wouldn¡¯t do that if you hadn¡¯t had a reason. I haven¡¯t figured it out, but I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°Shit.¡± Anna sighed. I heard the slosh of wine as she drank again.


    I managed to raise my head enough to peak out at her. The shadow from before had settled back over her and though she sat close enough that our shoulders were touching, the distance between us had grown. I asked, speaking quietly. ¡°What did I do.¡±


    She let out a small laugh. ¡°Nothing. You¡¯re just naive and I¡¯m an asshole. I¡¯m the one who should be apologizing. I thought, you just have so much on your shoulders,¡± She rolled her head from side to side as she spoke. ¡°The Well shit, The punishments, trying to keep secrets from your mom. I didn¡¯t want to let my bad mood bother you.¡±


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    ¡°What was wrong? Why were you in a bad mood?¡± I asked, looking up a little more.


    She drank and quirked her head so our eyes met. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. But I promise, you haven¡¯t done anything wrong.¡±


    ¡°It does matter. If something is troubling you, I want to help you with it. It is what you would do for me.¡± I said, sliding myself around until I faced her.


    Anna waved me off. ¡°It¡¯s nothing you can help with. It¡¯s nothing anyone can help with. Besides, didn¡¯t you say you were going to ask your mom to go into the city? What did she say?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t try to distract me. What shadow darkened you tonight?¡± I pursued.


    ¡°Autumn, it¡¯s nothing. Did you see Arthur¡¯s sleeves split? I think something is going on with him.¡± She tried to divert me yet again.


    I pushed her, just hard enough to make her look at me. ¡°Quit that shit,¡± I quoted her to her. ¡°Talk to me.¡±


    ¡°You will probably do something stupid like tackle me if I don¡¯t, won¡¯t you?¡± She sighed through the question, mirroring my position.


    ¡°I had something much worse planned, but yes.¡± I answered. I had not planned on doing anything of the sort, in truth, but it did sound like the manner of thing I would do if she did not start talking soon.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like talking about it but,¡± She drank. ¡°It¡¯s my mom.¡±


    I didn¡¯t speak, letting the air hang heavy in the room. Just before I thought that she had said all she was going to say, she continued.


    ¡°I knew she was sick. I knew she was going to die, but it was different when we were back home.¡± She drank.


    ¡°How?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Because she was the same. She still woke up at the same time, drank coffee on the front porch if it wasn¡¯t raining, and would give me the same list of a thousand things to do every morning. She might take a nap after lunch or go to bed a little early, but it was still Ma.¡±


    ¡°Do you,¡± I said, thinking I understood. ¡°Want to go home?¡±


    ¡°What? No. I am home. I just mean that it was different when we were somewhere she couldn¡¯t get better. It''s just,¡± She stood up and walked to the door before spinning back around on her heels, anger suddenly lacing her words. ¡°Your mom has offered to try to heal her, which is apparently just something that she can do, almost everyday since we got here.¡±


    I had killed, seen people die, felt the life leaving my body, all through the eyes of others. Through all of the memories I had lived through, nothing had felt like seeing the hurt on Anna¡¯s face. The hushed and harsh way her words came out of her, it hurt me. It hurt me that she was hurting.


    ¡°She won¡¯t do anything. All she does is insist that,¡± Anna mimicked her mother¡¯s punchy way of speaking perfectly. ¡°When it is my time, it is my time,¡± She finished the bottle of wine in one long pull before handing me the other one to uncork. ¡°Seeing her pass out like she did last night, it just. . .it feels a lot more real.¡±


    There had been enough strength left in me to open the bottle for her and I handed it back. She raised it and drank until a red line trickled out of the corner of her mouth and dropped into the shoulder of the white dress she was wearing, blooming into little wine colored blossom stains. Anna wiped her mouth, her eyes glistening. ¡°The worst part is that I feel fucking guilty. It should make me sad, right? But I¡¯m not sad. I¡¯m fucking angry. How can she just let herself go? Isn¡¯t that selfish? Does she not care about Arthur and me?¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what to say. A punishing weight had settled on my chest, but something made me resist the urge to try and distract her or turn her mind away from what was upsetting her.


    Anna paced back and forth across the room. ¡°Then there is Arthur. He just walks around, all smiles and laughs, as if Ma isn¡¯t upstairs getting closer to death by the second. That¡¯s why I hit him. He should be as mad at her as I am.¡±


    She stepped onto the torn scrap of red curtain I had left on the floor that was still slick with chicken grease and her foot slipped out from under her. Back she fell, her dark hair thrown forward over her face as she went. I pushed myself forward and layed out across the roses and thorns of the rug, my right hand extended towards her.


    Anna stopped a hair above the ground, caught by the thin layer of iridescent aura I had been able to force out of myself. A small pain twinged behind my navel and my aura turned to dust beneath her as she landed gently on her back.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ve had enough to drink tonight.¡± She sighed, brushing her hair back off her face.


    ¡°That was my fault, I shouldn¡¯t have left that on the floor.¡± I said, laying my head on the rough surface of the rug. If I had been tired before, that last little burst of aura I forced out of myself had well and truly exhausted me.


    ¡°True, but I¡¯m not sure what it says about me that I can fall like and not spill a drop of wine.¡± She answered.


    ¡°Maybe you are magic after all.¡± I said, raising myself to my hands and knees despite the shaking weakness in my arms and legs.


    Anna laughed. The sound of it alone gave me enough strength to crawl the short distance to where she lay. I looked down at her, blowing a strand of my hair to the side with a sudden puff of air. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m not better at this. You are the one who usually says the right words and makes me feel better, but if I¡¯m not allowed to keep things from you, you aren¡¯t allowed to keep things from me. That¡¯s how this is supposed to work, right?¡±


    ¡°This,¡± She said the word slowly, a strange look in her eyes. She repeated what I had said through a sigh. ¡°That¡¯s how this is supposed to work.¡±


    My arms and legs could support my weight no longer. I dropped, my head bouncing off of Anna¡¯s stomach. Rolling onto my back, I left my head resting on her middle like a pillow. ¡°I could charm you? If you wanted me to, that is.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve already done that.¡± She answered, brushing my hair out above my head with her fingers.


    I threw my arms in front of me and sat up. ¡°Wait! You said you knew how I could find my color again.¡±


    Anna climbed to her feet, using my shoulders to push herself up. Her bottle of wine was left on the stone just off the rug. ¡°I did and I do, but not tonight. I¡¯m drunk and you can hardly hold your head up.¡±


    She offered me her hand and I took it, letting her do most of the work of pulling me up. My legs shook as soon as my weight settled onto them. Through the open canopy at the foot of the bed, I let myself fall forward and crawled up into the blankets.


    ¡°You never answered me,¡± Anna said, getting into her side of the bed and snapping the room dark. ¡°Did you ask your mom about going into the city?¡±


    I closed my eyes, sinking into the full darkness of the room. ¡°No, but I earned a favor from her tonight. I¡¯m going to ask her tomorrow and you are going with me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like that.¡± Anna said.


    I felt her weight shift. Underneath the blanket, her fingers found mine and we intertwined our hands. Nothing but the sound of Sam snurring above us on the canopy, I could almost see what her delicate fingers looked like in the grip of my own.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want her to die, Autumn.¡± Anna whispered.


    Before I really knew what I was doing, I had pulled Anna towards me by her hand. Laying on my back, she fit herself to my side and rested her head on the inside of my outstretched arm. Near silence stretched for an indefinite amount of time, but when I felt her breaths deepen into the rhythm of her sleep, I spoke quietly. ¡°She will not. I promise.¡±


    Whatever manner of celebration my mother managed to craft out of seemingly nothing, I would ask her to go into the city. My power to resist the rash and irresponsible impulses that plagued me every time I looked down into the city would only last for so long, but I would not be using my favor to do it.


    I had discovered a much more important use for such a precious prize.


    Who would I be if I let Anna hurt the way she was without doing everything in my reach to stop it?

 V2: Chapter Seventeen: Aster

    One of the more notable things about my familiar was that when he did anything, he did it with terrifying fierceness.


    When he hunted a bird, all that would be left of the poor creature was sparse feathers and smeared blood. When he was compelled to ask his questions, he would pursue them to no end, only ceasing once they had been answered. I had seen him literally burst from his own flesh to defend me.


    That savage dedication extended to his sleep.


    When I woke, I carefully untangled myself from Anna so I wouldn¡¯t disturb her, but Galahad¡¯s night had left her so exhausted that she did not stir. She slept soundly through me climbing onto the footboard and grabbing Sam by the blue scruff of his neck.


    It took both my arms to lift him up and throw him over my shoulder where he hung limply like a towel, his own sleep uninterrupted by my disturbance. I grabbed the leatherbound journal and pen that Anna used to track my training, stepped over the greasy chicken rag, and slipped out of my room silently.


    The rest of the manor was still thankfully asleep as I crept down the stairs and made for the garden. I passed Arthur¡¯s door and after too long spent sleeping on a pile of wadded up blankets without a mattress myself, I hoped my mother had come back with an appropriately sized bed. Knocked out the way his sister was in my bed upstairs, that is what the tall man deserved.


    I made it outside before the sun could begin to brighten the third day of Amoranora.


    The garden was not there.


    A iridescent wall of what could only be my mother¡¯s aura shimmered where the hedges and mouth of the garden should have been. So high up I could not see its end, I thought of my training the night before. My limit had been half of a pillows width and it had brought me to my knees to do that. I turned my back on the display of my mother¡¯s power and set myself to the first challenge of my day.


    If my familiar had still been the little blue kitten that he had been a few months before, moving his limp body off of my shoulder and into my hands would have been no trouble at all.


    He wasn¡¯t and I was still weak from my training.


    I dropped him.


    Sam smacked into the stone walkway head first and crumpled into a confusing mess of blue legs and tail.


    I held my breath.


    My familiar continued to snore like he was still curled into himself atop the canopy of my bed.


    ¡°I think I like you best when you are asleep.¡± I said, the horrible vision of what would have happened to me if he had woken up bringing me a newfound appreciation of his silent slumber.


    Only because it was all too easy to think of him as a normal cat when he was asleep, I felt a little guilty, but I did not dwell on it. If he could survive his skeleton being broken into individual bones and scattered about, a little bump on the ground was nothing for me to fret over. The only thing left for me to do was to try and figure out how to get him onto the roof. I couldn¡¯t carry him, I had just learned that.


    I would be lucky if I could get myself up.


    Technically an underwitch or not, I did not use my aura to move my familiar to where I needed him to go. I picked him up, bunched his limp body onto my hands, and threw him above me as hard as I could.


    He didn¡¯t make it.


    ¡°Oh no!¡± I said, rushing forward and trying to catch him before he crashed to the ground again.


    Sam¡¯s deep blue eyes snapped open just before he collided with me. The claws of his forepaws dug into the skin over my collarbones with no impact.


    Pressure and weight, more than my familiar¡¯s body should have been able to produce, gradually forced me down until my knees buckled and I fell to the ground. Further, the force pressed me until I was flat on my back.


    Sam scowled down at me, evil in his deep blue eyes. ¡°Petulant child. Coward. You wish to be rid of me badly enough to try and assassinate me in my sleep?¡±


    The reverberations of his low voice shook through my chest. I opened my mouth to speak, but did not have enough air to form a word. I shook my head from side to side and tried to push my punishing familiar off of me.


    Sam¡¯s inexplicable pressure released enough that I could gasp out a ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°You do not wish to be rid of me. You only wished to harm me.¡± Sam growled.


    The pressure continued to release and I was able to take a short and shallow breath. ¡°Couldn¡¯t wake you,¡± I took another breath. ¡°Throw you on the roof.¡±


    ¡°Explain.¡± Sam demanded.


    I gave up trying to force him off me and accepting that he would remove himself at the time of his choosing. I spoke at the pace the receding pressure allowed. ¡°Needed your help,¡± Inhale. ¡°Alone,¡± Bigger Inhale. ¡°I thought you¡¯d like it because of how high it is.¡±


    The pressure vanished completely and Sam pawed off of me. ¡°I understand.¡±


    Once I caught my breath, I crawled up to my feet and rubbed my spots on my chest that stung and bled. ¡°I could have explained that much quicker if you had not tried to crush me.¡±


    No answer. My familiar was nowhere to be seen. ¡°Sam?¡±


    From above, I heard his deep voice call down to me. ¡°You are still on the ground.¡±


    Sam stated it with no emotion in his voice, no tone or emphasis, but for fucks sake it sounded so condescending. Focusing my aura felt like stretching a painfully sore muscle, but I forced enough out of myself to let me pull myself onto the roof.


    ¡°You are weak.¡± Sam said simply.


    ¡°You really know how to make a girl feel special,¡± I sighed. I could not put a name to how it made me feel watching him walk straight up to the wall and bound up it without so much as a running start, but it annoyed me enough that I continued to climb despite my exhaustion. ¡°I pushed myself too far last night. I was surprised we did not wake you. But then you slept through me dragging you out here and dropping you.¡±


    ¡°Sleep is not the same for me as it is for you. If it is before I am fully rested, there is little that could wake me.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have a room now,¡± I grunted, finally pulling myself up to the roof above my room. ¡°Can¡¯t your eternal slumbering be done there?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Sam answered.


    ¡°Why not?¡± I threw the leather bound journal down at my feet, the sky beginning to brighten from black to dark blue.


    ¡°I do not know. It is as it was the day I went into the woods with you and the tall mortal. Much like what possesses me when you return from The Well. It is not that I feel that I need to be somewhere. I must be in that place, I am powerless to resist it.¡± Sam answered me, a single of his blue hairs blowing off his back and down to the city below by the morning breeze.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make me feel any better. Is there going to be a monster crawling out of my closet or some cross-dressed sorcerer hiding under my bed?¡±


    ¡°I do not know.¡± Sam answered.


    I sighed. ¡°I know you don¡¯t, but it would be nice if you did.¡±


    Sam sat in front of me, forcing me to look into his eyes. ¡°I am stronger than I was then. As is my duty, I will protect you.¡±


    I looked away from him and down at Erosette. For a moment and barely that, I thought I heard care in his voice that felt much more human than the tone he took during his usual arcane duties. Not knowing how to respond to him, I didn¡¯t. ¡°Do you still remember the names I have been giving you?¡±


    ¡°Do not insult me. They will remain in my mind until it fades from existence.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Give me the first of them, from the day you changed your question.


    Without pause, My familiar did as I asked. His low voice sounded strange speaking in my cadence. ¡°Nami, Ola, uhm. Oster. No,¡±


    ¡°Hold on,¡± I interrupted him, furiously scrawling the names on the last page of paper in the journal. Nami. Ola. ¡°Onward.¡±


    Sam continued from where I had stopped him. ¡°Aster! And, uhm, . . . Constance! Fuck, there were more. I don¡¯t remember.¡±


    Aster. Constance. I added to the list and ran back through them, trying to trick my mind into remembering the rest of the Mothers that had been in the bedroom brawl. ¡°Nami, Ola, Aster, Constance, and. . .¡±


    Sam finished what I was saying. ¡°Fuck, there were more. I don¡¯t remember.¡±


    ¡°Shhh.¡± I hushed him harshly. Nami, Ola, Aster, Constance, and. . .


    Who was the and? I closed my eyes, running any detail I could remember from the memory through my mind. Ola and Aster had been together. Nami had not taken that well and attacked them. It had devolved from there. Constance, with her dark brown hair and chestnut skin, had come in to try and stop the fighting. Someone had hit her. The first Mother whose name I could not remember had entered the fray at that. I remembered her pouty red lips, her sleek black hair, the anger in her eyes, but I could not remember her fucking name.


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    Sam placed one of his paws on the list. ¡°Continue with what you know instead of clawing at the edges of what you do not.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± I wrote angry red onto the list underneath Constance. The last Mother from Ola¡¯s memory, the one who had appeared after the lights had gone out, had seemed younger than I was. I knew that meant nearly nothing considering an average sorceress''s extended life span and ability to change her appearance on a whim, there was no end to what one of The Mothers could do, but the night gown and overgrown hair had not rang true to what I imagined they would be like. I wrote gray girl underneath angry red and took my familiar¡¯s advice. ¡°The names from yesterday after my mother left.¡±


    Sam repeated my words in his voice. ¡°Zara Al Gareem. I was with a sorceress named Bess. I think both of them were Mothers.¡±


    They were still fresh enough in my mind that I did not truly need Sam to tell them to me, but I needed to be thorough. The list I was making were the names of the nine terrifyingly powerful sorceress that were going to come for me, one by one, and punish me for what I had done in the manner they saw fit.


    What had I done? The thought came and went from my mind before I could focus on the question.


    Sam spoke each name when I finished adding the two newest entries. ¡°Nami, Ola, Aster, Constance, angry red, gray girl, Zara Al Gareem, Bess.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s only eight,¡± I had counted on my fingers as he rumbled the names. ¡°It is ¡®The Circle of the Nine Mothers¡¯, not ¡®The Incomplete Circle of the Eight Mothers.¡±


    ¡°Your list is incomplete,¡± Sam answered, removing his paw from the page and turning to look over the brightening city. ¡°I enjoy this view, my lady. Thank you.¡±


    It had been months since my familiar had called me that, but I was too focused to give him shit for it. Had I heard or seen the missing name or Mother and just not known it? I brushed my hair back with my fingers, knowing I would not be satisfied until the list was complete. ¡°Who is the ninth?¡±


    ¡°Autumn?¡± I heard my name being called from somewhere below.


    Sam and I both moved to look over the edge. My mother waved up at us, wearing nothing but short white shorts and a tight long sleeve shirt that fit her like a second skin. ¡°Good morning daughter! Well met Samsara. I went to the well house but did not find you there!¡±


    I knew I had a bad habit of accidentally exposing myself to nearly everyone I met at one point or another, but my face burned with embarrassment when I saw what my mother was wearing. Even from the top of the manor, there was nothing but shades of pink left to the imagination. Every curve and crease of my mothers shape was on full display in the tight white clothes. I yelled at her. ¡°What are you wearing!¡±


    My mother looked down at herself before smiling back up at me. ¡°Not very much I suppose! I should be careful to not let the guards see me or they will all be in need of my healing!¡±


    ¡°Mother!¡± I snapped, desperately searching the ground to make sure no one else had heard her.


    ¡°Come down and speak with me. I do not wish to wake the rest of the house by yelling back and forth.¡± She called me down.


    Nami, Ola, Aster, Constance, angry red, gray girl, Zara Al Gareem, Bess. I took one last look at the list and closed the journal before making my way back down from the roof. Climbing back down was always easier. Even being as weak as I was, I only skinned one of my knees on the rough stones on the way down. A minute or six later, I met my mother where she stood in front of her towering wall of aura.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look so embarrassed, little Delpha! No one has or will lay their eyes on me in this state of undress with the exception of you and Samsara.¡± My mother said, evidently noticing how hard I was trying to not look at her in the light of the new day.


    I shuddered to think about what other curves and creases would be revealed under full sunlight.


    ¡°Why are you wearing that? What about your dresses? I like your dresses.¡± I muttered.


    ¡°The preparations for tonight''s celebration require much from me. Tights such as these allow me to move without restriction.¡± She said, gesturing to herself.


    Unrestricted movement or not, her eyes looked heavy and tired. I asked her about it. ¡°Did you sleep last night?¡±


    ¡°Not enough. I will admit that I have learned just how out of shape I have become as of late,¡± She sighed through a sleepy smile. ¡°But I will rest soon. The fourth night of Amoranora will be observed without the need for my power.¡±


    ¡°What is tonight?¡± I asked, wondering if I would fill out like my mother as I aged. I didn¡¯t know if I wanted to. It seemed like a life that would be lived with a sore back, but Bool fancied her and Arthur had said that he found her attractive in much less direct words.


    I couldn¡¯t help but wonder what I would look like in tights like hers.


    ¡°I cannot tell you,my little Delpha, it would ruin the story when I tell it. That is why I wanted to speak with you, however. You may wear whatever you like, but you must not come to the garden empty handed.¡± She said, a mischievous grin turning up the corner of her mouth.


    ¡°Is there any garden left?¡± I asked, peeking behind her at the iridescent wall of aura.


    Would It take me one hundred years to work my aura into something of that scale?


    ¡°In a certain manner of speaking, yes. You must come tonight with a story to tell. Any that you find compelling will do, but I ask you it not be Delpha and the Dragon. We all have heard it before.¡±


    A story? Had some wayward soul told The Mother in Red a bedtime story so engrossing that she had fallen in love with him? There was no end to the stories I could tell, if I could remember them. I had an ethereal structure within my mind that was full to the brim with every manner of tale. ¡°Am I the only one who is going to tell a story?¡±


    My mother shook her head before planting a kiss on the top of my head and walking through the iridescent aura behind her. ¡°You will have to wait and see. I must return to my work if I hope to finish in time.¡±


    I didn¡¯t care what I saw as long as my mother was covered the next time I saw her. Not a moment after she had disappeared into the garden that may or may not have still been there, My familiar spoke from beside me. ¡°Come. I must hunt soon.¡±


    At that, I followed him to the well house and brought my mind back to my work. Sam took up his spot on the bench and I lowered myself into the pool after undressing. ¡°You said there was little that would wake you before it was your time, whatever that means, what is the little?¡±


    ¡°You have learned this lesson before. There is little I will not do if you ask it of me directly.¡± Sam answered as if I should have already known that.


    ¡°Of course.¡± I sighed, tipping my weight back and floating to the top of the pool. I may have moments where I missed the boarding house and how my life had been there, but damn if the warm water didn¡¯t feel like comfort incarnate on my weak body.


    Nami, Ola, Aster, Constance, angry red, gray girl, Zara Al Gareem. I began repeating the list in my mind. If I could keep them there while I slipped into The Well, I would be able to search out The Mother¡¯s memories specifically.


    Nami, Ola, Aster, Constance, angry red, gray girl. I closed my eyes. Something kept me from accepting that angry red had been The Red Mother in her shining armor and atop her rose fire lion. The two just wouldn¡¯t merge in my mind.


    Nami, Ola, Aster, Constance.


    Nami. . .Ola. . . Aster. . .


    I felt myself slip inwards as my mind entered The Well.


    No circular room of strange black material, no finding myself standing in the near infinite library, no searching, only my hand resting gently atop a book bound in a purple so dark it was nearly black. It sat on a shelf whose height was even with my hips and if I did not know that I had been in the pool just a moment before, it would have felt like my hand had wandered over it as I was walking past.


    A name appeared in my mind. Aster.


    ¡°It fucking worked!¡± I cheered. I snatched the book off the shelf with a smile on my face, almost not believing that something I had done had gone the way I intended it to. Just in case something had given me a little help and because I thought that expressing gratitude to the thing that lived at the bottom of the ethereal structure in my mind could only be a good thing, I called out into the seemingly endless library. ¡°If that was you, you have my thanks!¡±


    Too pleased with how I had found myself, I opened the purple book without bothering to go take a seat around the not real fireplace and felt myself be pulled into the memories of Mother Aster.


    The door to my father¡¯s study slammed open and he limped into the room. Half a dozen crossbow bolts jutted out of his back. Through the fingers of his hand that he held pressed against his stomach, blood splattered to the floor as he grunted. ¡°We have been betrayed! They have breached the inner gates.¡±


    Onward still, his face drained of color and gray like a corpse, he stumbled forward towards the back of the room where Ari stood. The smell of smoke from the ongoing siege blew into the room behind him and mixed with the iron scent of my father¡¯s blood.


    Mousecrop ran into the room a moment after, the hem of his long purple cloak soaked through with the blood my father must have shed on his mad dash to the study. He gave me a solemn but hurried nod when our eyes met. ¡°Princess Aster.¡±


    ¡°Come here boy, come here!¡± My father shouted and pulled my brother by the arm into the middle of the room.


    Ari did what he always did, looked sleepily around the room and stayed silent. He had been that way since he was a boy. If it required more from him than eating or relieving himself did, it was beyond his small limits.


    ¡°Father, you cannot do this. How can he be king when he cannot so much as bathe himself,¡± I pleaded, all too aware of the violent sounds of battle echoing ever closer through the castle. I loved Ari. Sometimes it felt like he was the only soul in all of chaos that understood me, but he was unfit for Selahmeire¡¯s throne regardless of his blood. It was an ugly truth, but a truth nonetheless. ¡°Pass the crown to me, father. I beg you.¡±


    ¡°Quiet! He will be King because he has you. He will be protected because of your talents. He will rule until the end of his long life and pass the crown to his son the way I am now and the way my father did before me. This is your duty, my daughter, in the name of The Night Queen. Swear to me on your power that you will ensure this.¡± My father wheezed. He lowered himself to his knee before my brother, the movement sending a pained scream from his throat and gush of blood onto the floor.


    ¡°I. . .¡± I began, my words falling short.


    ¡°Swear it!¡± My father snapped at me.


    ¡°Upon my name as Princess Aster of Hollowshade,¡± I felt my aura leaking through the bottom of my grieves, dark and heavy. ¡°I will be my brother¡¯s keeper.¡±


    ¡°Do it, Mousecrop. I will not live a moment longer.¡±


    Mousecrop, my father¡¯s most trusted advisor and one who I had spent long hours with during my time of grieving after my mother had passed, placed his fingers gently on the amethyst crown atop King Auger¡¯s head.


    ¡°Under the eternal eyes of The Night Queen, I crown thee, King Ari of Hollowshade.¡± Mousecrop said, hands shaking as he transferred the circlet of jagged purple stone from my father to my brother.


    As if it was all that kept him clinging to life, my father sagged to his left and fell onto the floor, a king no more.


    King Ari did as he always did. He looked from me to Mousecrop and back again before stepping back into the corner my father had dragged him out of.


    I felt more than I could handle, but with my aura casting a dark purple light over my father¡¯s corpse and the sound of the final set of walls being pounded down by the soldiers that would leave us all as corpses, I could not let them rule me. ¡°Mousecrop, quickly. There is a passage below the desk.¡±


    Mousecrop reached into his purple cloak and revealed a crossbow that was already cocked with a bolt.


    ¡°You don¡¯t mean to stand and fight? Even with my aura, there are simply too many of them.¡± I said, shocked by the man¡¯s sudden courage.


    Only a fool would have mistaken cowardice for courage the way I did.


    Without a word, Mousecrop shot the crossbow and made me a fool.


    The bolt pierced through King Ari¡¯s head and pinned him against the bookcase like a hung coat.


    The amethyst crown that had not been on my brother¡¯s head long enough to settle into his thin hair fell to the ground and bounced somewhere out of sight.


    Mousecrop dropped the crossbow to the floor next to my father¡¯s body and a weary sigh came out of the man. ¡°It is done. Oh, Princess Aster, it is done.¡±

 V2: Chapter Eighteen: Haimi

    Even in death, with a trail of blood leaking down his face, Ari looked as he always did.


    Peaceful and unaware, the life having left his body only making him look more himself.


    ¡°Mousecrop.¡± I whispered, my eyes watching the blood drip over the bridge of my brother''s nose before falling to one side.


    ¡°Forgive me for what I have done, Princess Aster. Please. You of all people must understand the absolute necessity.¡± My slain father¡¯s most trusted advisor dropped to his knees.


    The blood reached Ari¡¯s pale cheek and turned back towards his mouth. ¡°Mousecrop.¡±


    ¡°You yourself begged King Auger to stop his raiding! He would have never seen reason and ceased his aggression. We both know this. And your poor brother. Oh, Prince Ari, forgive me. With or without you, he was not fit to rule.¡± The man that I had known since my birth crawled over to where my brother hung from the book case and signed the stars like he was kneeled before The Night Queen¡¯s altar.


    ¡°Mousecrop.¡± The trail of blood hung off my brother¡¯s chin. I had sworn to be his keeper. His first and final act as King Ari had been to die. I had sworn upon my name as Princess Aster of Hollowshade. On my honor, I had sworn. . .and I had failed.


    ¡°Fret not Princess, Lord Rhaeywin has many sons that he has assured me you will have your pick of. You will not be able to marry him under the Stars of Selahmeire, but you never cared much for your father and I¡¯s faith.¡± The blood dripped off my brother¡¯s chin and struck Mousecrop in the center of his upturned forehead.


    The man died that way.


    ¡°May you never find sleep in the shade of The Night Queen.¡± I cursed him, A tensioned spike of my inky purple aura running through the back of his neck and out of his open mouth from the floor. My power, my essence, had seeped out of me and flooded the study in the moments after Mousecrop¡¯s betrayal. I had never been able to manifest anything near what was running out of me.


    An ear splitting crack echoed up the halls. Shouting and the sound of armor clinking followed.


    The soldiers had broken through and were rushing to slay whoever they met.


    ¡°The passage.¡± I said to myself, looking at the spot on the floor that would lead me away. If I could slip into it before they cornered me in the study and left me a cold corpse like the rest of my family, I could live.


    ¡°It should have been me,¡± I said, looking at Ari hanging dead off the wall. ¡°I should have been king,¡± I turned my head up to the sky, where my father would be watching down at me from beyond the reach of the sun. ¡°Watch me, King Auger! Watch me, King Ari! See who should have ruled Hollowshade!¡±


    My shouting did not go unanswered.


    A voice filled my mind like darkness does a room when the flame of its sole candle is suddenly blown out. ¡°For you, Gloomwalker.¡±


    ¡°Selahmeire!¡± I shouted. The Night Queen had spoken to me.


    My aura trickled back from the edges of the room. It slithered back from Mouscrop¡¯s mouth and out the back of his neck, dropping him limply against the wall. My father¡¯s corpse shifted as the inky purple withdrew from under him and writhed up my legs, forcing its way through the gaps in my grieves and breaking them away into their sections.


    ¡°Take this and darken the land wherever you may stride.¡± The Night Queen spoke to me again.


    Like glass being shaped when it was molten hot, all of my power formed around my legs and waist into a living armor that was made for me, from me. Dark bell blossoms hung off my hips like a fauld and the surface of my new grieves seemed to dim any light that touched it.


    ¡°Let¡¯s be all nice like and none of us will have to get rude, Princess.¡± A rough voice snapped my attention towards the door.


    Through the small entryway, Dozens of Lord Rhaeywin¡¯s soldiers scowled at me with battle darkened faces.


    How dare he insult me by calling me princess. I told him how I felt, my words laced with the weight of my essence made manifest. ¡°That is no way to speak to a king.¡±


    The soldier that had spoken chuckled. ¡°Girls can¡¯t be kings.¡±


    It was the last thing he ever did.


    It was the last thing any of them ever did.


    Bringing my foot up and stomping it in front of me, a tendril of my gloom rippled across the floor and under the boots of the soldiers crowded outside of it. I turned my nose up at them and they went the way of Mousecrop, with hardened points of amaranthine mass stemming up from the floor and spiking through them. They couldn¡¯t so much as scream, but the panic shouts of their fellows behind them filled the air for them.


    I strode forth, every step I took in Selahmeire¡¯s gift sending pulses through the power that flooded from me. I was made to take those steps, to walk into the gnashing violence of those who had besieged Hollowshade and make them feel the pain they had caused me.


    Like sliding over mud behind the stables after a three day downpour, I burst from the study faster than any of the soldiers could react. Dozens of them were packed into the hall. Brandishing swords, spears, and clubs all. With no effort required but sweeps of my feet and the direction of my will, I left them crushed and pinned to the floor and ceiling as I slid through the broken doors of the castle and left it devoid of life.


    Chaos reigned within the inner walls of Hollowshade. Screams, cries, and the silencing impacts of violence broke through the smoke filled air. Every thatched roof of the subjects I had grown into a woman knowing blazed with bright orange fire and black smoke. One of the stable boys, he had not been around long enough for me to learn his name, lay dead on the ground at the foot of the castle stairs. As if he had been nothing but a fallen log, a group of the invaders wearing the blue of Lord Rhaeywin trampled over his corpse on their way by.


    In the distance, my eyes found the Lord and his retinue.


    Under the arch of the inner gates and atop his mount, with his retinue by his sides, Lord Rhaeywin watched the carnage ensue like he was watching trees being cleared on a patch of newly purchased land.


    Like vats of bubbling tar had been tipped over at the top of the stairs, my power flooded out from me, sending a creeping tide in every direction. Any who stepped into it were caught at their ankles and pulled to the ground.


    I painted Hollowshade purple with my power.


    I washed myself off the castle steps like I was being carried by an ocean wave, my gloom following in my wake. Every burning house, every broken body that littered the ground, every soldier that found themselves in my vengeful path was swept under and sunk by my punishing tide. ¡°Lord Rhaeywin!¡±


    Like I had left the halls of the castle, no life remained behind me as I came to a stop before the Lord. Tendrils of my gloom writhed at my feet, desperate to lash out and coil around my enemies.


    ¡°Look, my sons. This is the princess that one of you will marry. Isn¡¯t she a fetching young lady?¡± Lord Rhaeywin called out to the men mounted at his sides. He swept his blue gloved hand out over the ruins of Hollowshade. ¡°It may not look like much presently, but the one who courts her will be bequeathed this land and made a lord in his own right.¡±


    Selahmeire spoke to me again. ¡°Be who you are, Gloomwalker. Do not let them dishonor you.¡±


    ¡°Father? Does she not seem ill-tempered to be a princess?¡± One of the lord¡¯s sons asked.


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    ¡°I am not a princess,¡± I seethed, the pressure of my power quickly boiling to a breaking point under my feet as my voice rose. ¡°I am King Aster of Hollowshade! The Gloomwalker! Chosen by The Night Queen herself! You will live only long enough to regret ever setting foot on this soil!¡±


    Lord Rhaeywin laughed. ¡°She does seem to be strong willed.¡±


    Lord Rhaeywin¡¯s sons laughed at their father¡¯s words in agreement.


    Like the soldiers before them, it was the last thing they ever did.


    Like dancing on a patch of ice, I widened my stance and brought myself up into the air with my aura. Higher and higher I rose, first casting a shadow over the arrogant invaders and then darkening the arch and wall they stood between.


    Their eyes gradually widened with fear as I ascended. One by one, they broke away, driving their panicked horses away from me as fast as they could. Lord Rhaeywin stood firm the longest, but when my power blotted out the sun behind me and threw shadows across the fields of wildflowers outside of the wall, his cowardice overcame him and he fled.


    They could run as fast as they wanted, it would not save them.


    Feeling as if every moment of my life had been a prelude to where I found myself then, I leaned forward and brought my amaranthine power crashing down.


    I rode the punishing wave as it broke through the castle walls like they were made of paper. The invaders ran desperately, trying to escape my shadow that darkened the land, but there would be no reprieve from me.


    My cresting wave of gloom incarnate slammed each of them to the wildflowers below as it crashed to the ground.


    Lord Rheaywin alone remained. I loomed behind him, moments away from sending him to be with his sons, and shouted. ¡°Say my name! Say it!¡±


    One final, terrified, glance back at me was all the lord could manage before I threw a violent kick towards him. A purple tendril shot out from my gloom and coiled around his middle. Like a screaming child plucked from the ground, he was lifted off his mount and brought back to the ground with such force that he died before my tide washed over him.


    ¡°For my father! For Ari!¡± I shouted to no one, feeling like I could swallow the earth with my newfound might. In the sparse moments since I had crowned myself king, I had been chosen by The Night Queen, I had avenged my family, and I had slain the invaders all.


    My gloom spread out over the land and I was lowered back to the ground just as I reached the edge of the hunter¡¯s forest. The sun shone back over the land as my tide dissipated and just as my feet touched the ground, I caught sight of the castle.


    Little more than ruins, I had left pure destruction in my wake. Everything was drowned in my gloom, choked by my dark power that laid out behind me like a purple lake. No smoke, no flickering fire, no sounds of violence, only a sickening quiet and stillness that had settled over Hollowshade with my will.


    A dark coldness chilled the tips of my fingers.


    ¡°All hail Aster, King of nothing.¡± I whispered to myself, realizing what I had done.


    Starting at the soles of my feet and aching up my bones, cold pain shook my legs.


    My coil of bell blossoms crumbled into dust off my waist.


    Blinding pain and a nauseating crunch slammed into my senses. I dropped to the ground, clutching at my left hip desperately. Like I had been shot by Mousecrop¡¯s crossbow, my right hip cracked and leveled me. Unable to do anything but hold my breath and dig my fingers into the ground beneath me, I watched as my power faded from my legs. Every section that fell away in streams of dust, broke the bones of my legs as they left me.


    King or not, there was only so much pain I could take. Just as the pale skin of my ruined legs was left bare, nothing enveloped me and I fell away from consciousness with a silent scream.


    My eyes opened.


    Night had fallen.


    The pain in my legs had swollen into an incomprehensible throb that forced my eyes closed with every pang. I looked to the ruins of Hollowshade and found a sudden desert of amaranthine sand that glittered in the silver moonlight, remnant dunes of my gloom.


    ¡°What will you do now, King Aster?¡± A woman''s voice spoke from somewhere out of my sight. I tried to turn to her, but only managed to send myself into another bout of held breath and clawing fingers.


    ¡°I want to die. Selahmaire, please. Make it stop,¡± I pleaded, ashamed of what I was saying but desperately wishing for the pain to end. ¡°Take me into your shade, I beg you. Take me to my mother.¡±


    ¡°Your time has only just begun, King Aster,¡± The pain dulled in my legs as my lower half went numb. Relief washed over me and I closed my eyes and sighed. The Night Queen continued. ¡°I will take you from this place, ease your pain, heal where you are broken, and teach you how to be Gloomwalker once again. There is only one thing I ask of you.¡±


    ¡°Name it. Whatever it is, I will give it to you.¡± I answered.


    ¡°You will forget Hollowshade and never return. You will run headlong into your new life as my apprentice and never look back.¡±


    To abandon my kingdom and to leave whichever of my subjects had managed to survive the invaders and my destruction of them, there was no greater dishonor I could place on myself. I should have died with my family. I wished I had died alongside them in the study. That would have made it so easy to not say the weak and shameful words that served as my answer.


    I sighed, beginning to feel sleepy in the wash of relief. ¡°I agree.¡±


    A small weight was placed on my chest. ¡°Your crown, King Aster. I thought you would want to keep it.¡±


    I placed my hands on the jagged amethyst and ran my fingers over its sharp edges, feeling myself drifting into a heavy sleep. ¡°Thank you. Selahmeire. I am yours.¡±


    Darkness, blessed darkness.


    I burst back into consciousness and staggered backwards. My back slammed into something hard and the impact sent me sliding down to the ground.


    ¡°My legs!¡± I shouted, running my hands down them in fear of the blinding pain returning. Inexplicably, they were unbroken. A purple book lay closed at my feet and every part of my being willed me to reach down and open it. It was one of thousands that adorned the variegated bookcase that stretched above me as far as I could see, but I was drawn to it in particular.


    I was in a library?


    Where had The Night Queen gone?


    My crown, I couldn¡¯t find my crown.


    No. The thought came and went from my mind suddenly.


    I was not in a library, I was in The Well. At that realization, the questions came from me without thought.


    ¡°What is your name?¡± I asked myself. Ast-no, Autumn Aubrey.


    I was Autumn Aubrey, not Mother Aster. The purple book at my feet was full of her memories and I had just lived through one.


    ¡°Who is Autumn Aubrey? I continued. A Maiden of Zenithcidel.


    A bright red book fell from above me, landing hard against the floor and interrupting my answer. I looked up and saw the top of the shelf teetering back and forth from when I had fallen into it. Another book tipped off the edge and dropped down towards me.


    ¡°Fuck,¡± I said, having to throw myself to one side to avoid being impacted by the gray tome. Without meaning to, I kicked one foot back into the shelf. I heard the pages of dozens of books fluttering as they fell. Blue, yellow, brown, orange, green, all of them thumped to the floor around me, their covers open and pages waiting to pull me into their memories. Flattening myself against the shelf, I covered my head with my hands. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I get in the fucking chair?¡±


    The rain of memories tapered off after a moment and I found myself in a loose ring of books that had somehow all missed me, I looked up to see if the memory storm had ended.


    ¡°Oh no.¡± I said, just as the white pages of a final cast off book enveloped my face and pulled me into the memories within it.


    ¡°. . .don¡¯t know how to swim, Haimi!¡± Isla insisted again, her bare foot stomping on the sun bleached planks of the dock.


    Convincing her to undress, even though we were miles from Merrowcrest, had been the hard part. Only Isla would be worried about being seen in her underwear when the only eyes around were mine and the fish in the water with me.


    I pulled myself up with the old wood and propped myself out of the water on my elbows. ¡°I told you this morning, all you will have to do is hold your breath. Get in before I drag you down here.¡±


    ¡°If I drown,¡± She pointed her finger at me in warning, but sat down beside me and dangled her legs above the water. ¡°Or get eaten by some seabeast, I will haunt you until I drive you mad.¡±


    I cradled my head in my palms. ¡°Promise?¡±


    Isla pinched her nose shut between her fingers and closed her eyes before kicking her legs out and scooting herself off the dock.


    Slipping back off the old wood, I caught her before her head dipped below the surface of the water and held her afloat despite her mad flailing. ¡°Easy, be easy. I¡¯ve got you.¡±


    Once she realized that she was not descending into her watery grave, she settled and let her weight rest onto me. ¡°Okay,¡± She sputtered, brushing her sandy hair off her face. ¡°It¡¯s warmer than I thought.¡±


    ¡°Catch your breath and then take a deep one,¡± I told her, beginning to wade us away from the shoreline. ¡°It will only take us a few moments but you won¡¯t be able to breathe until we get there.¡±


    Isla, despite the top of her head being bone dry, couldn¡¯t manage to keep the water out of her eyes. ¡°Okay, you¡¯ve got me wet now. I am in the water. Will you tell me where you are taking me?¡±


    ¡°Take a breath,¡± I reminded her again, wrapping my arm around her middle and preparing to dive down. She listened, pinching her nose with the hand that wasn¡¯t digging into my arm and puffing out her cheeks. Just before we slipped below the surface and left our clothes unwatched on the old dock, I told her. ¡°We¡¯re going on a date.¡±

 V2: Chapter Nineteen: Ferrolaine

    The ocean was made for me.


    Even dragging Isla¡¯s weight beside me and being unable to use my left hand, I moved us through the water with as much effort as it took to walk on solid ground. My aura trailed from my free hand, propelling us deeper with every kick. The sunlight dappling above on the surface of the water washed out most of the azure glow.


    Diving us down towards a small opening in the ocean floor I had found on one of my nightly swims, I tapped my fingers on Isla¡¯s side to get her to open her eyes.


    She fluttered them open against the water before they went wide. With unfocused and directionless spasms, Isla tried to swim away from me in a sudden panic. Bubbles of her precious air rippled out of her nose and careened for the surface.


    I spun myself to face the direction she desperately was trying to move away from and saw what had startled her.


    A dark shape moved through the water. It swam closer, growing larger with every passing second and unobscured its details as the distance between us closed.


    Jagged white teeth, black emotionless eyes, a shape that was meant to cut through the water at terrifying speeds, Isla had opened her eyes and seen a shark.


    Not just any shark, she had seen the God of Merrowcrest¡¯s coast.


    A beast so old, he was probably a father when the Mother¡¯s were babies. If he so willed it, he could have bitten the little beach town off the coast in one or two bites. I had seen mountains smaller than him.


    Jotuza.


    The closer he swam, the more Isla panicked. I didn¡¯t blame her, I hadn¡¯t entered the ocean for a month after my first meeting with him. He moved close enough that I could see the hundreds of old scars spread across his snout. Isla¡¯s panicking ceased as she was shocked into stillness. I looked at her and held my finger up to my lips, hoping the shushing gesture would be enough to tell her that she needed to be calm.


    Swimming towards Jotuza with my arm extended to the mouth that could swallow both of us whole, I pressed my hand against his rough skin and pushed him to the side. Letting a current of my azure aura flow out of my palm as he passed, I willed some of his scars closed.


    A payment for allowing me to enter his territory.


    The massive beast took my direction, turning from his curious path and continuing past us. I pulled Isla as close to me as our bodies would allow and brought her hand up. Her fingers brushed against Jotuza¡¯s body as he faded back into the darkness beyond our sight.


    Isla tapped me, a surprising smile on her face. She held up her hand and said something that was lost in a sudden blur of bubbles. As soon as she realized she had just released the last of her air, panic came back into her eyes.


    Isla couldn¡¯t swim.


    I could.


    Streaking through the water, we passed through the rocky opening that had been our destination. I held Isla¡¯s front tight to my own so the rough walls would not scrap her skin. We passed through the twists and turns of the dark passage with nothing but the azure glow of my aura to light our way. A moment later, we breached the surface and I pushed her off me and onto a sandy bank where she fell back, desperately trying to catch her breath.


    I stood in the shallowing water and leaned over her. ¡°What was so important that you would give up your breath to say it?¡±


    ¡°I thought,¡± Gasp. ¡°Shark skin,¡± Gasp. ¡°Would be smooth.¡± She answered me, the rising and lowering of her chest gradually settling.


    I pulled her up by her shoulders and helped her sit up. ¡°Here, you will catch your breath quicker like this. I¡¯m proud of you, you know? I didn¡¯t think we would run into Jotuza, but you handled it better than I did the first time.¡±


    Isla raised her arms above her head, taking slow and deliberate breaths. ¡°That thing has a name? And it is just out there? Do people know?¡±


    Her long hair was wrapped around her neck and face in half a dozen places. Gathering it into my hands, I pressed the water out of it and watched it drip down the small ridges of her spine that could be seen on her bent back. ¡°He isn¡¯t a thing. His name is Jotuza and he is a gentleman.¡±


    ¡°Haimi. Sharks cannot be gentlemen. That¡¯s ridiculous.¡± She insisted, almost breathing normally.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that,¡± I left her on the bank and went to the basket I had left in the place earlier that morning. Opening it and unpacking it, I continued. ¡°He could have gnashed us into chum if he wanted to, but here we are.¡±


    ¡°Where is here?¡± Isla asked, standing up and looking around where I had brought her.


    From a natural sky light, just large enough for someone to lower a basket through, the sun lit the small cavern in a rippling glow. A sandy mound that was more than likely pushed through passage we had swam through when the currents were right, acted as the ground. The air was cool and dry, perfect for a picnic.


    ¡°I stumbled into it by accident a few days ago,¡± I said, letting her help me flatten out the blanket over the sand. From the basket I pulled two bottles of wine and both halves of a long sandwich that had been cut down its middle and filled with cheese and smoked meats. One piece of my picnic remained at the bottom of the basket, wrapped in a handkerchief the same azure shade of my aura. ¡°It was filled with these big black oysters.¡±


    ¡°And you thought that made it a wonderful spot for a date. Why couldn¡¯t we just go have dinner at Sara¡¯s like usual? There are much fewer Jotuzas there and it doesn¡¯t require me to enter a realm I am powerless in.¡± Isla said, taking a seat and uncorking one of the bottles of wine.


    I pulled out the last piece and sat opposite her with my legs crossed, ignoring the nervousness that teemed just below my surface. ¡°Because this is not a usual date. I have something important I want to ask you,¡± I unwrapped the handkerchief and showed Isla what I had made. ¡°I opened one of the oysters up, looking for a snack, and found these little pearls in them. The same color as your aura, see? Milly helped me string them up.¡±


    Isla gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.


    ¡°Do you like it?¡±


    ¡°Haimi, I love it,¡± She said, taking it from me and wrapping it around her slender neck. ¡°Oh, it fits perfectly,¡± She smiled, craning her head down so she could see the nine golden pearls resting against her collarbones. ¡°Is this - your question. . .Do you mean to?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡± I nodded to her.


    Isla launched herself across the blanket and wrapped me in a tight embrace. ¡°Yes!¡±


    The nervousness within me vanished and I let her momentum carry us down. Before I felt the sand under my back, the feeling of her holding me slipped away and I felt myself fall from the little cavern with a smile on my face.


    The next instance, I opened my eyes and saw a jumbled mess of books strewn out about me.


    Shaking my head, I pushed myself off the floor. ¡°Isla?¡±


    I tried to stand. My foot slid back and over the empty white pages of one of the books. Like I was caught in a rip current, I felt myself being dragged into it


    Snapping jaws, murderous growls, sickening whines. Every gap and trail I cut through the dark forest was filled with the canine cacophony.


    Wolves, why did it always have to be wolves.


    ¡°Lady Ferrolaine!¡± One of the Imari trackers that I had hired to help me hunt The Houndsman shouted from behind me.


    All around us, I could smell them closing us in. Running us into a pinch point like frightened elk. Taking long and violent swings at anything that slowed my escape with my aura bladed hand, I yelled back. ¡°Yes, what is it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never hunted dogs that could disappear, is there some lady magic you could do to fix that?¡± The tracker shouted.


    I cut down a low hanging branch that blocked my way and struck out with my hand a moment after it had fallen to the first floor. My blade met flesh and with a high pitched whine, the invisible wolf that had almost crushed my ankle between its jaws faded into sight. ¡°How do you hunt what you cannot see, gentleman?¡±


    If they answered, I never heard it. Before I could pull my aura from the slain beast, I fell to the forest floor and darkness enveloped me.


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    ¡°With your nose!¡± I growled, coming back to myself on my hands and knees. Out of breath and my stomach twisted in knots, the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. Any moment, fangs would sink into my skin and I would be torn limb from limb by the unseen canines. Invisible wolves, what idiot thought that to be a good idea? I crawled forward regardless, not willing to let myself become pieces of meat.


    My hand came down on the soft white pages of a book. What in the devil was a book doing in the middle of The Houndsman¡¯s forest? For the second time in too short of a span, I never got an answer. My eyes were drawn to the empty pages underneath my fingers and the knots in my stomach twisted tighter. The nausea brought me low and I closed my eyes to keep from vomiting, feeling like I was being pulled into the ground.


    If I could see what was happening to me. . .If it had not been for the low light and the sheet draped over my legs. . .


    All that kept me from giving up was the rough skin of my husband''s massive finger clutched in my hand.


    ¡°Push, Ten-Moons! Hezbelthorag is with us!¡± Gresh growled, unaffected by my death grip.


    I screamed, feeling like I was being torn in two from the inside. The Mother¡¯s, I need The Mother¡¯s. I pleaded silently, unable to form words.


    Then, the pain seeped out of me and gentle greetings came from the midwives between my legs.


    Gresh roared in triumph, leaning down and planting a sloppy kiss on my forehead. ¡°You¡¯ve done it, Ten-Moons. You have made me a Fatier!¡±


    ¡°The baby,¡± I whispered to him weakly. ¡°It¡¯s not crying.¡±


    One of the midwives spoke, her voice quavering. ¡°My King, she is not breathing!¡±


    Gresh¡¯s face darkened into a hardlined scowl. He raised his wrist to his teeth and tore through the skin with his teeth. ¡°Give her to me.¡±


    ¡°My king, it is too late,¡± The midwife cried. ¡°She is already cold.¡±


    Steaming blood running down the hand I had been clutching only moments before, Gresh shouted. ¡°Give me my daughter!¡±


    My visions swam and all I could understand was momentary glimpses of what followed.


    A baby, my baby, cradled in one of her father¡¯s massive hands, unmoving. Gresh raised his wrist above her mouth. Hot blood splattering down her cheek as he rolled his fingers to force more out.


    My strength failed me and my head slammed back onto the mound of pillows beneath it. The low light of the room dimmed and disappeared as my mind slipped into the void.


    Just before I fell away, I heard the most blessed sound a new mother could ever have filling her ears.


    The baby, my baby, let out a strong and sudden cry that I carried with me into the dark.


    The dark gave way to light while the echoes of my daughter''s first cries still rang in my ears.


    I rolled off of my side. White hot pain tore through my middle and came to a point where my legs met.


    Thunk.


    ¡°Gresh?¡± I cried out, falling limply onto my back. A sob wracked my chest as I stared up at what looked like an infinitely tall series of bookshelves. The Mothers, I needed The Mothers. Where were the midwives? Where was the bed? Where was my daughter? ¡°Gresh?¡±


    My head lolled to one side, and my tears rolled down my face and into the open pages of a misplaced book.


    Darkness reclaimed me, my ears filled with nothing but quiet.


    ¡°Over here, Dear. We are about to begin!¡±


    I hurried over to where the other sorceress had formed a loose circle around the massive clear crystal.


    ¡°You¡¯re a navel right? Just walk right up and lean into it, it¡¯s easier that way.¡± The foreman told me, dropping to the ground. She pressed the soles of her feet against the crystal, sending skin colored refractions through the internal facets.


    The sorceress to my left chimed in as she rolled up her shirt and pulled her head through it. ¡°If you wear your shirt like this, you won¡¯t have to fuss around with it the whole time.¡±


    I hesitated.


    The foreman encouraged me. ¡°Don¡¯t be bashful now. There is a sorceress of the third by the name of Dandy that insists she can channel more when she¡¯s naked. None of us mind, it''s about whatever gets the job done.¡±


    Hoping I wasn¡¯t on the wrong end of a joke being played on the new girl, I pulled my shirt over my head and leaned into the crystal.


    ¡°Alright,¡± The foreman yelled from her seat on the ground. ¡°Draw, focus, flood, whatever you have to do. I¡¯ve got a date after lunch and don¡¯t plan on missing it. So, give it everything you got!¡±


    I worked my aura up within me and brought it to my navel.


    ¡°Ready?¡± The Forman called.


    ¡°Ready.¡± I said, my voice lost in the answers of the other sorceresses around the crystal.


    ¡°Go!¡±


    I pushed my aura out of me and into the crystal, a trickle of my lemon power spreading into it like dye dropped into water. All around me, every shade of yellow, from the color of dark mustard to nearly white, began to fill the clear space and swirled together in a brilliant kaleidoscope.


    ¡°Hey, new girl!¡± A sorceress called from somewhere on the other side of the crystal. I could see her interrupted outline pressing her palms against the vessel.


    ¡°Her name is Fennel,¡± The foreman shouted before looking up at me. ¡°Right?¡±


    ¡°My name is Fennel!¡± I shouted back, feeling more alive than I thought I ever had before. Pushing my aura and mixing it with those of my sisters, doing something worthwhile for The Mother in Yellow, I was a part of something.


    The sorceress yelled back. ¡°Nice tits!¡±


    Everyone laughed.


    Maybe it was the high from using so much of my aura or maybe it was because I did not want to be embarrassed, but It didn¡¯t not feel like they were laughing at me.


    They were laughing with me and I found myself laughing with them.


    A part of something.


    Thunk.


    Giggles bubbles out of me as I sat up and wrapped my arms around my laugh cramped stomach. Tears streamed from my closed eyes and I felt like I would pass out if I couldn¡¯t settle my laughing.


    ¡°Nice tits!¡± I wheezed. I couldn¡¯t stop myself from slapping my hands onto the ground as I desperately tried to stop laughing.


    Lightheaded from not being able to breath, a sudden force pulled me back down to the floor.


    ¡°Clarus, I have no choice.¡± I snarled at my familiar as I slid out from behind my cover and over the moss covered marble on my knees.


    High above me, atop the jagged stone of a broken pillar, gray smoke billowed out of the sorcerer''s baggy sleeves. The smoke obscured him and roiled through the air in rolling plumes that spread towards me like gassy tar.


    Clarus, my familiar that looked like a hand sized dragonfly made entirely of glass, landed on my right cheek. ¡°Nothing I can do for you if you miss, Lady Gael.¡±


    ¡°Do your job and I won¡¯t,¡± I answered him, pulling my aura up from my foot in an arc with my hand. I closed my eyes and inhaled through my nose. An acrid scent ruined the clear air, but I found a quiet peace just as my lungs felt like they were going to burst. I exhaled, lacing my words with my aura and speaking the name that would cause me great pain and save my life. ¡°Sunshard.¡±


    My arc of aura blazed to life and flared into a bow the substance and color of wildfire. I rose to my feet and drew back the string of my living will, a coiling spiral of flame nocked between my fingers. ¡°Do it.¡±


    Clarus flittered his wings as I looked into the plummeting mass of smoke. The sorcerer unseen by my naked eye, my familiar''s wings sped into a blur that smoothed into the illusion of a perfect surface.


    My arm shook from the strain of holding Sunshard ready just as a clear vision of the sorcerer came to my sight. One hand still spewing the gray smoke, he lit a match off his boot with the other and threw it into the dark cloud.


    Fire erupted in the air above me as it caught on whatever noxious fumes made the roiling plumes.


    I loosed my fingers and sent my spiral of flame roaring out of Sunshard, literally fighting fire with fire. It snapped a hole through the sorcerer''s pitiful assault and struck through my enemy.


    I hit the ground and the last thing I saw was the flickering aura of Sunshard, my soul manifest.


    Thunk.


    A heavy shudder shook the ground underneath me. The sound of books snapping closed and fluttering pages filled the air. My eyes snapped open to the sight of dozens of tomes rising above me before they sank into the dark ceiling and disappeared.


    I couldn¡¯t care less.


    The hard sound of a deliberate footstep echoed from somewhere near me. Some part of me thought it might be worth looking at who or what was approaching, but it wasn¡¯t worth it. Laying on my back and staring up at the library that had miraculously sprung up around me felt nice enough that I didn¡¯t think I would ever move again.


    A shadow spread over me.


    Thunk.


    The dull sound of someone beating on a door found my ears. Warm rain splattered down onto me and the heavy heat of swirling steam filled my nose.


    Why was I naked?


    The pounding continued. I sat up and rubbed the water from my eyes, finding myself at the bottom of an empty marble pool.


    ¡°Let me in!¡± The muffled voice of a girl yelled from somewhere I could not see.


    Fire rolled across the high ceiling and was choked out as it reached the edges.


    ¡°You stupid fucking cat! Let me in!¡± The voice came again.


    A beast whose fur was every shade of blue that I knew to exist and some that I did not, appeared over the edge of the pool above me. With furious eyes and bared teeth, it spoke to me in a voice that shook me to my bones. ¡°What is your name?¡±


    ¡°Ga. . .¡±


    Thoughts, like a whirlwind had been trapped in a bottle and was uncorked at the moment, swept me away. My baby. . .where was my baby? Thank The Mothers Isla had liked my necklace. Nice tits! What was the name of the sorceress who liked to do her work naked? The wolves! They were all around me, I could smell it. Where in chaos had Clarus gone? I could hardly see. Blood, Gresh¡¯s blood, running crimson down our daughter''s pale cheek.


    With his fur standing savagely on end, the beast asked his question a second time over the sound of the dull pounding. ¡°What is your name?¡±


    I gave him my honest answer, my aching head clenched between my hands. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

 V2: Chapter Twenty: I Know You

    ¡°Autumn, let me in!¡± The girl''s muffled voice came again.


    Autumn. . .


    Like I knew I needed air to breathe and food to keep myself from starving, I knew the girl could help me. She could make the twisting pain stop.


    ¡°What is-¡± The beast began to ask its question a third time.


    ¡°Her! I need her. Please.¡± I begged, my voice echoing shortly and strangely off the walls of the empty marble pool.


    The beast stared down at me, unmoving. There was little sign of what it wanted from me or why it wanted to know my name, but I did not feel like it intended to hurt me. A droplet of water fell from the ceiling and plunked onto one of its ears, sending it into quick twitches. At that, It turned its deep blue gaze away from me and disappeared behind the edge of the pool


    Brighter light reflected off the steam momentarily, showing me the blackened ceiling and water covered walls before dimming away to the sound of a heavy door being closed.


    ¡°Shit. What happened?¡± A dark haired girl appeared above me and said.


    She wore a white dress with dark red stains on one shoulder and her almond shaped eyes were pinched with concern. She threw her legs over the edge of the pool, like Isla had off the dock, and slid down the slight curve of the marble.


    ¡°Hey,¡± She extended the word, like she was comforting a fallen child. Sitting as close to me as she could, she spread her legs and placed them on either side. ¡°Talk to me. What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Tears welled in my eyes at the sound of her voice. One of the sorceresses around the crystal? No, she was a midwife. That¡¯s why she looked so concerned. I had just become a mother. ¡°Do you know where they took my baby? I haven¡¯t even given her a name.¡±


    Her dark eyes went wide.


    Something had happened to my daughter and she didn¡¯t know how to tell me.


    No! She had seen something creeping up behind me. The steam filled air would only offer the already invisible canines further concealment. I whipped my head around, rose to a crouch, and tried to sharpen my aura. ¡°The wolves! They¡¯ve found us!¡±


    The girl gently pulled me back to the floor by my shoulders and leaned me back. There was comfort in her touch and I let myself settle into her as she gathered my wet hair into her hands, the same way I had done with Isla.


    ¡°There¡¯s no wolves. There¡¯s no baby. Those are memories,¡± She said softly, wringing warm water down my shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re safe. You¡¯re with me.¡±


    That couldn¡¯t be true. I had just heard their growls and whines. One had nearly snapped the bones of my ankle with its jaws not a moment before. My thoughts spun in the vicious whirlwind, feeling like they would be carried away and leave my mind empty, but I repeated the girl¡¯s words to myself. No wolves. The wolves had been in The Houndsman¡¯s woods. I was naked, at the bottom of an empty marble pool, and using a girl I thought I might know as a chair.


    There were no wolves. I believed her.


    But then, where was Gresh? I had been torn. I needed help or I would bleed out. Where had he gone after I had seen him spill his hot blood into the mouth of our daughter. No baby. I thought suddenly. My hand went to my stomach and I pressed a finger into the skin below my navel.


    There was no pain. I looked down. There was no blood. There was no baby. I believed her.


    They were memories.


    ¡°Are you Autumn?¡± I asked, seeing the blue beast prowling through my peripherals and back into my full sight. Its eyes did not so much as flicker from me the entire time it walked around the edge of the pool and sat down above.


    ¡°I¡¯m Anna.¡± She corrected me, separating my hair into three sections. One down the middle and on each side.


    ¡°You are Anna,¡± I repeated. ¡°The sorcerer? Did you know where he fell? I need to find the key and I can¡¯t see very well without Clarus.¡±


    ¡°There is no sorcerer. You don¡¯t know anyone named Clarus.¡± She said, her voice quiet but firm.


    I had talked to the clear dragonfly, manifested the bow of wildfire, and burned the sorcerer in two, but she was right. I did not know anyone named Clarus.


    They were memories.


    ¡°How do you know all of this?¡± I asked her, closing my eyes so I didn¡¯t have to see the beast staring down at me with its tail swishing behind him. Some part of me felt that while it didn¡¯t mean to harm me, it did not particularly like me.


    ¡°Because I know you.¡± She answered, taking the right section of my hair and continued to press the water out of it.


    I believed her. She had to be one of my midwives, the one that had draped the sheet over me after Gresh carried me to the bed.


    No. There is no baby. She is not a midwife. I repeated in my mind until it stood firm in the quieting storm. Those are my memories.


    ¡°I trust you. Why?¡±


    For the second time in just a few moments, she answered. ¡°Because I know you.¡±


    ¡°And I know you.¡± I said, feeling safe with her folded around me. There was a fondness for her I felt, something strong, a bond between Anna and I that I had helped create.


    Suddenly, I raised myself onto the balls of my feet and spun around on the slick marble. ¡°Are you the one who said I had nice tits?¡±


    Apparently needing to jog her memory, she glanced down at my bare chest. Her face reddened with blush and she returned her eyes to my own.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get all bashful now, it¡¯s about whatever gets the job done, right?¡± I asked her.


    She shook her head. ¡°Wrong. You don¡¯t have a job and I¡¯m positive I have never told you that I think you have nice tits.¡±


    ¡°Damn. I thought I had it,¡± I said, turning and sitting myself back between her legs. I closed my eyes to avoid eye contact with the blue beast. ¡°Keep playing with my hair.¡±


    Anna did as I asked, her hands moving to the section she had separated on the left.


    ¡°We¡¯re friends, right?¡± I said, furrowing my brows.


    ¡°You could say that.¡± She agreed.


    ¡°I did, but it didn¡¯t feel right. We are closer than that. Are you a friend of Isla¡¯s?¡±


    Quiet but firm, like when I had mentioned any of my memories. ¡°You don¡¯t and I don¡¯t know anybody named Isla. That¡¯s-¡±


    ¡°A memory.¡± I finished her sentence. A memory, not my memory. The distinction felt important. It was a shame. I thought I loved Isla, but I believed Anna. I had never known her.


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    The storm still blew in my mind, but trying to remember how I knew Anna steadied my thoughts against the disorienting winds. ¡°Are we sisters?¡±


    ¡°No, we aren¡¯t that.¡± She said, starting on the largest section of my hair. The sensation of her fingers brushing against my scalp felt so familiar. She had done this to me before, I just couldn¡¯t remember how or why.


    ¡°Then what are we?¡± I demanded, a small rise of frustration flaring up against the comfort I felt in her embrace.


    A little laugh came from her and I felt it on the back of my neck. I wanted to hear it again. I wanted to hear it forever. It made me feel light, like I would float up to the blackened ceiling of the strange little room if she had not had her legs around me. ¡°That¡¯s something we should talk about when you actually know who you are.¡±


    ¡°I wanna know, so hurry up and tell me who I am.¡± I demanded.


    ¡°Your name is Autumn Aubrey.¡± She said with another little laugh.


    I tried to shake my head in denial, but her hold on my hair was firm. ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t think so. I don¡¯t feel like Autumn Aubrey.¡±


    ¡°That was your name when you fell asleep holding me last night. I didn¡¯t know it yet, but that was your name when you kissed me several months ago. That-¡±


    ¡°Was it?¡± I blurted out. I had kissed her?


    She continued, speaking slowly as she took all three sections of my hair in her hands and began to weave them together. ¡°-was your name when I did your hair and put you in the blue dress.¡±


    ¡°Do you always do my hair,¡± I asked, opening my eyes to see that the blue beast had sloped down the empty marble pool and sat an inch from the bottom of my feet. Still, I didn¡¯t think it meant to harm me, but I got the impression that I had displeased it in some way. ¡°What is that?¡±


    ¡°Samsara. He is your familiar,¡± She answered my last question first, her fingers working down my hair. ¡°I could if you wanted. It¡¯s so long, there are all sorts of things we could do with it.¡±


    ¡°It has gotten long. My mother said she would cut it today, but I think she has forgotten.¡± I said.


    A different kind of laugh came from her, sounding more surprised than amused. ¡°Who is your mom?¡±


    ¡°Idensyn Aubrey.¡± I said, wondering why Anna had asked. She knew my mother.


    ¡°Who is her daughter? Who does that make you?¡± She continued, finishing the long braid she had woven my red hair into and throwing it over my shoulder for me to see.


    ¡°Autumn?¡±


    Silence. The last remnants of what had been a violent whirlwind in my mind died down and quieted.


    I stood straight up, all the pieces of myself that Anna had collected suddenly braiding back into me like she had done with my hair.


    Nami, Ola, Aster, Constance, angry red, gray girl, Zara Al Gareem. The list! The fucking list! Falling out of Mother Aster¡¯s memory was what caused everything.


    ¡°Are you back now?¡± Anna asked.


    I spun on the slick marble like I had before and threw myself on top of her, a jumble of words tumbling out of me. ¡°Thank you! How did you know how to do that? I wouldn¡¯t. . . I don¡¯t think I would have come back to myself if not for you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already told you twice,¡± She laughed, throwing her arms around me and hugging me tightly. ¡°I know you.¡±


    I pushed myself up until I was sitting on her flattened legs, feeling alive in a way I did not think I had ever felt before because of her. ¡°Your dress, I mean my dress, is soaked. I¡¯m sorry,¡± I remembered that I was wearing no one¡¯s dress, because I was wearing nothing at all. I covered myself with my arm and hand. Taking in the drenched room and burnt ceiling through my eyes for the first time since I had woken in the empty pool. ¡°What the fuck happened?¡±


    Sam¡¯s deep voice boomed in the small space of the well house, making me turn to him in surprise. ¡°- your name?¡±


    ¡°Autumn Aubrey.¡± I answered my familiar. Unlike the two times I had come back from The Well and not been myself, there was no dream-like blurriness to my memories of what had just happened. He had asked me his first question twice already. I needed to give him my full attention if I did not want to be taken to the blue room he had dragged me into before.


    ¡°Who is Autumn Aubrey?¡± Sam continued.


    ¡°A Maiden of Zenithcidel, daughter of Idensyn Aubrey, thief and possessor of The Well and debtor to The Nine Mothers.¡± I answered he is the familiarity of the words bringing me pleasure after suddenly not knowing who I was.


    ¡°Who was Autumn Aubrey?¡± His final question came, needing a much longer explanation that I had ever had to give before.


    The real question was who the fuck I had not been.


    ¡°Mother Aster, A sorceress named Haimi,¡± The first two came quickly and I remembered nearly all of the little glimpses into their lives I had gotten. I remembered the feelings, what it had been like to be the others, but the names took me longer. ¡°Sunshard, uhm, Ten-Moons. Ferrodaine. No, wait. It was Ferrolaine not Ferrodaine. And, uhm, Fennel. I think that¡¯s it.¡±


    ¡°Do you have to do this every time?¡± Anna asked from behind me.


    I moved my hand from my front to my back. ¡°Every. Single. Time.¡±


    Sam relaxed the small amount he was capable of when he was not asleep. ¡°How did this happen?¡±


    I crawled out of the empty pool and helped Anna up after me as I explained to them the bombardment of books that had assaulted me. I told them about coming out of every memory not remembering where I was and the endless cascade of falling into memories. Wrapping a towel around myself, I told them about the floor shaking metallic thunks and the footsteps that had come after the books had disappeared above me.


    ¡°You are fortunate the mortal was near. If I had taken you into my domain, I would not have had the strength to hold you there until you returned.¡± Sam said.


    I offered Anna a towel, but she refused. ¡°Is that why you didn¡¯t ask your questions? I¡¯ve gotten too strong for you to deal with?¡±


    ¡°Do not insult me, child. I have already told you that I must hunt. My questions were asked. I suspended them when I thought the mortal could be of use. I have watched her bring you back to yourself not a week ago.¡±


    ¡°I did do that. Maybe I should be your familiar.¡± Anna said.


    Sam crossed to the other side of the well house, looking larger than normal because of the humid air, and turned back to Anna when he reached the door. ¡°Well done, mortal.¡±


    The huge door of pink marble swung open, seemingly of its own accord, and Sam walked into the sliver of daylight that shone through.


    ¡°Hold on, you make me open the door for you all the time,¡± I called after my familiar, realizing he had just let himself out. ¡°You can just open the fucking doors?¡±


    Sam¡¯s deep voice called back, the blue cat unseen. ¡°Small rebellions, it is in my nature just as it is yours.¡±


    I sighed, thankful that some of the steamy air was leaking out of the cracked door. Anna sat down beside me. ¡°Sometimes, I wish you were my familiar.¡±


    ¡°If she continues to perform my duties, I will be unmade and you will receive your wish.¡± Sam said suddenly from the door.


    Anna and I both jumped at his reappearance.


    ¡°Mortal.¡± Sam addressed Anna directly.


    ¡°Samsara?¡± Anna answered.


    ¡°My lady is not to be trusted. You must keep her from The Well while I am away.¡± My familiar commanded Anna. The sound of his no longer little paws trotting away from the well house at a rapidly quickening pace gave Anna no choice but to accept the duty he had given her.


    Even still, the two of us waited for longer than we should to make sure the blue demon would not reappear. When nearly all of the steam had wafted out of the open door and the air had begun to cool, I thought it was safe to speak. ¡°How did you know I needed you?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t. Your mom said she couldn¡¯t have lunch with you today. I didn¡¯t want you to go hungry, so I came down to bring you food. I was on my way when it sounded like one of the fireworks from the other night went off in her.¡±¡± Anna explained.


    I sighed again, feeling very heavy. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you had to do that. With things being the way they are with your mother, having to pull me back together is the last thing you need to worry about.¡±


    Anna shoved me. There was nothing friendly or playful about it. She glared at me with anger obvious in her almond shaped eyes. ¡°Stop that shit. That¡¯s how this is supposed to work. I get drunk and you hold me, you lose your mind and I help you find it. No more trying to not bother each other, okay? It makes me so mad, I¡¯m going to wind up hurting you.¡±


    This. I remembered her saying the night before when I had said a much less aggressive version of the same sentiment.


    ¡°Okay.¡± I said in agreement, thinking about what she had said to me at the bottom of the pool.


    ¡°Promise?¡± Anna said, raising her hand with only her pinky extended.


    I wrapped my hand around it and shook. ¡°Promise.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± She shook her head, pulling my own pinky and wrapping it around hers. ¡°Like this. It¡¯s a pinky promise. If you break it, I will break your pinky.¡±


    I laughed. ¡°Why does it not surprise me that you enjoy this type of agreement?¡±


    ¡°Because you know me.¡± Anna replied, unfurling her hand and holding mine properly.


    My stomach felt like thousands of small insects were fluttering around within it, but it was not hunger. I was nervous in a way I never had been before. ¡°I know who I am now, can we talk about what this is?¡±


    Anna stood up and let go of my hand.


    The small insects turned from fluttering to a panic inducing buzzing in a matter of seconds.


    ¡°Yes, but I need to go get some things first,¡± She said, turning for the door. ¡°This place is a wreck and we need to clean it up before your mom sees.¡±


    I watched her go, literally counting the seconds until she returned.

 V2: Chapter Twenty One: Coach, Friend, More, Villain

    ¡°One thousand nine hundred and thirty two seconds.¡± I said to Anna as she walked back through the door of the well house, the bugs in my belly stirring at the sight of her.


    ¡°Did you really sit here and count the whole time I was gone?¡± She asked me, throwing a stack of clean white rags onto the floor.


    ¡°No. I made up a number to see what you would say.¡± I had counted, but my mind would begin to wander not long after I had reached one hundred. Not like when it had been blown about, bouncing between the memories of five different sorceresses, but to very specific memories that were only mine and Anna¡¯s


    The way my aura had shimmered on her lips after the lich had gone away and when I had dropped my glamor and stopped being Dani came first. How we had fallen asleep holding hands the first night we had stayed in Zenithcidel together, in the little room that had been my first prison, felt more significant than all of the eight years before it. On Morrow¡¯s night, when she had put my hair up in her room and time felt like it had slowed down just for us, it still brought heat to my cheeks when I thought about it.


    Those and all the other small moments between us were the clearest memories I had. Even when I had not been able to remember them, the mark they had left on me had made it perfectly clear that calling us friends was akin to when I called Sam a cat. It seemed true on the surface, but there was much more beneath the fur.


    ¡°It¡¯s gotten a little late for lunch, but you should eat anyway. Who knows what your mom has planned for us tonight.¡± Anna said. She had changed out of the soaked dress of mine and into something that reminded me of Arthur¡¯s overalls. It was all one piece, black, with small sleeves that ended before they left her shoulders. The long bottoms had been rolled up and cuffed to keep them from dragging through the water. The dark color did not wash her out like it would have me. It made her skin look warm, almost golden. She made me stand so she could wipe down the still damp bench.


    ¡°Did you see the walls around the garden?¡± I asked at the mention of my mother. The memory of my small glamor compared with what stood just outside of the well house door, still stung. That comparison and only that comparison, made me rewrap my towel around me a little tighter.


    ¡°Yeah, how does she do all of that stuff? Is it because she¡¯s old?¡± Anna asked, throwing one of my white dresses at me. It was clean and dry, unlike the one I had worn into the well house that morning.


    I stood and let my towel drop to the floor, pulling the dress over my head and untucking my braid from the back of it. ¡°I could live for a thousand years and never be able to do anything like that.¡±


    ¡°Bullshit. I¡¯m your coach. We can have you doing stuff like that by next week.¡± Anna said, unwrapping a red table cloth from the kitchen and revealing two sandwiches that were both spilling scrambled eggs out of their sides.


    I snatched the one off the top as quickly as I could get my fingers around it. Losing your mind was hard work, and I finished the sandwich before Anna had finished chewing the first bite of her own. ¡°I stole food from the kitchen whenever I could, but an egg sandwich was the first thing you ever made for me. You left them outside my door with a note.¡±


    ¡°I remember that,¡± She said, reaching up and wiping what could only be a scrap of egg off my face with her thumb. ¡°That¡¯s when I found you on the floor,¡± She looked up at the ceiling, its stone still blackened by the fire that had rolled across it when I had returned. ¡°Before I got to know you, I thought you were actually crazy. You¡¯re lucky I didn¡¯t ask Ma to throw you out.¡±


    ¡°Why did you not?¡± I asked her, feeling my heart beginning to speed in my chest.


    ¡°Honestly? If you hadn''t flashed me the first time we met, I might have,¡± She said with a smile. ¡°But seeing the seal and how cute you were when you realized you weren¡¯t wearing anything, I just had a feeling that you needed someone. It didn¡¯t take very long, but I figured out I wanted to be that someone for you,¡±She laughed. ¡°Shit, you called me Autumn like ten seconds after we met. You were a mess.¡±


    I stood. I needed to hide myself away from her, find somewhere to quiet my mind and slow the thumping in my chest. She wanted to be my someone. . . She was my someone. Few truths I knew felt as certain as that, but what did that mean? I had done none of the great things any of The Mother in Red¡¯s lovers had done for her. The way Zara had looked at Bess, I felt that way when I looked at Anna. Nothing made me happier than seeing her asleep on her side of the bed every morning. We had not been together the way Ola and Mother Aster had. Did she want that?


    Did I want that. . .


    I wanted to give her something like what Haimi had given Isla. Not a necklace made of what I could pull out of oysters specifically, but something to show her how I felt so I didn¡¯t have to try and find the words.


    ¡°Autumn?¡± Anna said, bringing my thoughts and my heart and the fluttering insects all together within me.


    ¡°I¡¯m still a fucking mess,¡± I blurted. She was looking up at me like there was nothing in all of chaos that could possibly amuse her more. I clenched my fists and told her how that made me feel. ¡°I want to go swimming.¡±


    Anna cocked her eyebrow up at me and huffed out of her nose. ¡°Yeah? There needs to be water in your pool to do that.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I snapped, surprised at the heat in my voice. ¡°I want to go swimming with you. Not in the pool, but in the ocean. I see all these places and watch all of these things happening and I know I want to do them and see them for myself, but I want to do them with you. I want to do everything with you,¡± The words came out of me all at once. ¡°If you were trapped by a demon, I¡¯d steal all the werelights. I would paint stars on the ceiling for you if you asked me to,¡± I sighed, dropping back down beside her and holding my head in my hands. ¡°I know I¡¯m not making any sense. I¡¯ve never felt this way before for myself, and I don¡¯t want to fuck it up.¡±


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    I felt Anna brush against me. She¡¯s leaving. I thought, the insects buzzing back into sudden panic within me. Gently, she pushed my head out of my hands and brought them down to where she sat below me. She held them within her own and met my eyes.


    ¡°You couldn¡¯t if you tried. If it helps, this is new to me too. I¡¯ve never felt this way about another girl.¡± She said, and kissed the top of my hand.


    I would challenge The Circle of Nine Mother¡¯s in open combat if it meant I could feel it again.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never felt this way. Ever.¡± I whispered, watching a red glow slowly grow in her dark eyes.


    ¡°So, here is the plan. I¡¯m here for you. This is whatever you want it to be. You have way more on your shoulders to deal with than I do. When you need me to be your coach, I¡¯ll be your coach. When you need me to be your friend, I¡¯ll be your friend. When you want me to be more,¡± She kissed my hand again. ¡°I¡¯ll be more. I¡¯m following your lead, got it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a terrible idea. How can you follow someone who doesn¡¯t know where they are going?¡± I asked honestly. It took all of my will to not slide off the bench and show her how much more I needed. If her lips on the skin of my hand felt it as good as it did, how would they feel on my own?


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to know where you are going and you don¡¯t either. You just told me that you wanted to do everything with me. That¡¯s enough. It was enough a long time ago.¡± She smiled.


    ¡°You will go swimming with me? When I am done with The Well,¡± I looked down at my stomach, where the Mother¡¯s seal lay over my navel behind the soft white fabric of my dress. ¡°When I am free, will you go with me?¡±


    ¡°We would go right now if it wasn¡¯t for this.¡± She answered, placing one of her palms over the unseen seal.


    I stuck out my little finger, not asking but telling. ¡°Promise.¡±


    ¡°Promise.¡± She wrapped her pinky around my own and gave it a small squeeze before standing up. ¡°Alright, It¡¯s getting late. I¡¯ll wipe down the walls if you can handle that.¡±


    I followed her eyes up to the ceiling, seeing the red glow that could only be coming from eyes, and remembered that there had been fire roiling above me when I had returned from The Well. ¡°Sam left so quickly, I did not get the chance to ask him what happened.¡±


    Anna handed me a rag. ¡°It had to be you, right? Samsara uses lightning.¡±


    I shrugged my shoulders. ¡°I don¡¯t know. That makes sense, but I don¡¯t think I can do anything like that. Covering the pillow was beyond my limits.¡±


    ¡°Ask him when he gets back. He is the easiest to deal with after he eats.¡± Anna said.


    Not long after I had met her, she had spent three days alone with my unfriendly familiar. He had gone from detesting her very existence to explaining my status as the thief of The Well to her in that short time. If anybody knew how to deal with him, it was probably her.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you make some manner of compact with Sam? When I was in The Well for three days?¡±


    Sharp knocks sounded on the other side of the well house door and the slab of pink marble swung open slowly.


    Bool, the guard I had given my mother cause to heal, stood backlit by the golden glow of the setting sun. ¡°Lady Anna, tonight''s celebration is beginning. Lady Aubrey has requested that you make your way to the garden.¡±


    ¡°We should go.¡± Anna said to me.


    Bool did not so much as glance at me. He said what he had been ordered to say, and then turned and walked back into the sun.


    ¡°Hey!¡± I yelled after him.


    The guard stopped midstep, one of his arms flinching towards his crotch at the sound of my voice.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for what I did. I hope your balls are okay.¡± I said.


    Laughter burst out of Anna and a smile spread across my face. I meant the apology, but if making one of the guards laugh had gotten him to acknowledge me, I decided it was worth a try with the rest.


    ¡°Thank you, little Aubrey.¡± Bool grunted in acceptance before continuing to walk away, moving a bit faster than before.


    When he had disappeared around the corner of my mother¡¯s wall of aura, Anna took the dress I had worn that morning from where I had thrown it into the corner and laid it out across a section of the floor that she had dried. The leatherbound journal that held notes and records of my nightly training in its front and the list of The Mothers on its back page, tumbled onto the ground.


    ¡°We can come back and clean up before we go to bed tonight, I don¡¯t want to keep your mom waiting,¡± Anna picked the journal up and sat it on the bench, placing the stack of rags and a towel on top of it. ¡°What were you doing with this?¡±


    I followed her out of the wellhouse and closed the door behind me. The well worn footpath felt rough against my water softened feet, but after being in the little stone building for almost an entire day, the change was welcome. I found myself wanting more and took Anna¡¯s hand in my own. ¡°I learned some of the names of The Mothers and needed to write them down. I know it sounds silly, but it makes me feel better if I can learn about them before they come to kill me.¡±


    ¡°They aren¡¯t coming to kill you. They are coming to punish you,¡± She said as we took up next to one another, walking side by side down the narrow path with my mother¡¯s wall glimmering beside us. ¡°And it¡¯s not silly. That makes a lot of sense.¡±


    We were quiet then, and took our time walking to the mouth of the garden. For the first time since I had been moved to the manor on the hill, I found myself enjoying the gentle heat from Erosette¡¯s sun and no part of me missed the old boarding house.


    ¡°If she makes us fight again tonight, you will not get off so easily.¡± I warned Anna.


    She snorted. ¡°Don¡¯t forget, me being whatever you need me to be includes becoming a villain, if I think you need it.¡±


    ¡°What is a villain next to a monster?¡± I asked, smirking.


    ¡°Someone who can tame the monster by flashing her tits.¡± Anna replied all too quickly.


    Clever words and comebacks were not my area of expertise. She had me. It shouldn¡¯t have surprised me though, she always did.

 V2: Chapter Twenty Two: Dreamtongues Night

    Anna and I held hands until we turned the corner and found two of the guards waiting for us where the mouth of the garden should have been.


    Bool and his counterpart, Schmidt, stood guard in the center of my mother¡¯s iridescent wall. Two shoulder packs made of a sandy colored canvas sat at their feet. Anna and I¡¯s names were sewn into the packs on the left and the right respectively.


    ¡°Shoulder your burden and enter the fold.¡± Schmidt said in a dramatic voice once we stopped in front of them. Just like they all did, he only looked at Anna when he spoke. Knowing my mother¡¯s reasons for forbidding them from talking to me did nothing to make it any less annoying. If anything, it only made me want to bother them more.


    ¡°Do you know what that means?¡± Anna asked me.


    ¡°Not in the slightest. I would ask, but they are too scared to acknowledge me. I would hate to make one of them wet their pants out of fear.¡± I said, watching both of the men to see if I got a reaction. Bool kept his eyes forward, his face calm and unbothered.


    Schmidt, the taller and younger of the two, looked just annoyed enough for me to notice. I had meant it as a joke, but I would remember how it affected him. Any strategy to force the men who had been charged with protecting Erosette from me into an interaction was valuable.


    ¡°Shoulder your burden and. . . I can¡¯t do it, Bool. Who talks like that? Let¡¯s just tell them.¡± Schmidt dropped his cryptic speaking and looked at his partner.


    Bool shot him with a murderous glare and a harsh whisper. ¡°This is for Lady Aubrey! You will do as she asked or I will report you to the captain!¡±


    Schmidt sighed, giving a half hearted. ¡°Shoulder your burden and enter the fold.¡±


    ¡°I think we are supposed to take these,¡± Anna said, picking up the packs and handing me the one with my name. She slipped her arms through the straps and settled the weight onto her shoulders. ¡°Yours is heavier than mine.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not carrying this fucking thing if I don¡¯t know what¡¯s in it.¡± I said. Holding the pack to my chest with one arm, I unbuckled the two buckles that held the top flap down and flipped it open. A band of my mother¡¯s aura, like what she used to hold my hair back, was wrapped tightly around the cinched top of the bag. Pushing the bunched canvas down through the band, trying to wedge my finger underneath my mother¡¯s aura, turning the damn thing over and shaking it, I tried everything I could think of to learn what was in the pack and found no purchase.


    ¡°Are we supposed to walk through here?¡± Anna asked, pointing at the section of iridescent wall between the two guards.


    ¡°Shoulder your burden and enter the fold.¡± Schmidt rolled his eyes and repeated, nodding his head in affirmation.


    ¡°Come on. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find out soon.¡± Anna said, stepping between the guards.


    I was not happy about it, but I slung the pack over my shoulders anyways. ¡°I want to know now.¡±


    ¡°Knowing your mom, it would probably ruin the story if you did.¡± Anna said, stepping through the wall of aura. It gave over to her shape as she went. The next instance, as if she were never there, it rejoined with itself and left me alone with the guards.


    I followed her lead and took a step in. I don¡¯t know why, but it was strange to me that I felt no sensation on the bare skin of my leg. I had always imagined that Anna had felt something, a tingle maybe, when my own colorless power had been sparkling on her lips.


    Just before I took another step and plunged myself fully into the shimmering wall, the guards broke into a hushed argument.


    Schmidt whispered to his partner. ¡°She¡¯s a Sorceress, Bool. She isn¡¯t going to fall in love with you because you treat every word she says as law.¡±


    ¡°Do not sully my dedication to my duty!¡± Bool seethed


    ¡°She might,¡± I said, looking back over my shoulder. ¡°Being given clothes is all it took for me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a little shit, you know that?¡± Schmidt snapped to me, the annoyance that had been on his face blooming beautifully.


    Unless they were ones that I possessed, some questions were better left unanswered. So, I left him that way and followed after Anna. It took no time at all because as soon as I crossed through the wall, I ran straight into her back.


    ¡°How did she do this?¡± She said, her head turned up to the sky.


    Where there had been nothing but the nightly cloudless dusk above us a moment before, Heavy clouds hung above us like trapped smoke. Every shade of gray, from ash to near black, coiled and roiled against a perfectly flat bottom.


    I stepped forward, my bare feet squelching in the thick mud that covered the ground, and took in what my mother had done. A shadowy fissure split the ground to our left and ran as far back as I could see. Like scraps of paper that had been sent rising on the updraft of a hearth fire after burning away from their pages, uncountable shapes swirled out of the fissure and rose towards the dark cloud cover.


    Without answering Anna, I walked forward until one of the shapes came dancing before me. Outlined in a inky black substance, like orange embers would paper, a small visage of a frozen snowscape swirled upwards in front of me. It did not burn away or crumble into ash. With every twist and turn, the inky outline rippled and grew larger, revealing more of the jagged wintery window.


    Cold creeped through the thin fabric of my dress as it passed. I crossed my arms over my chest, hooking a thumb under the straps of my pack, trying to brace myself against the sudden chill.


    How had she done this? I understood the garden maze she had created on the first night of Amoranora in principle. The rising platform and open ground of the previous night made less sense, but it was nothing compared to what had laid behind the walls of her aura.


    An ugly feeling brought tension into my hands as I finally answered Anna. ¡°I can¡¯t even change the color of a pillow. I don¡¯t understand how this is possible.¡±


    ¡°Are we even in the garden anymore?¡± Anna asked, reaching her hand up to one of the jagged little windows with a look of wonder on her face.


    ¡°We have to be. I am not allowed to leave the manor walls, remember?¡± I said. It wouldn¡¯t have made me feel so weak if we had unknowingly walked through one of the black gates. My mother would never openly defy The Mother¡¯s in that way. The only explanation was that she had used her power to transform the garden into the strange space and it had only taken her an afternoon.


    It wasn¡¯t that I was mad at her specifically, but the difference between what she and the sorceresses in the memories could do compared to my own pitiful power left a sour taste in my mouth.


    ¡°Are you still going to ask her to go down to the city?¡± Anna asked me.


    Before I could answer her, a shout came from somewhere behind us. We both turned and saw Arthur sprinting towards us from much to far away considering the actual size of the garden.


    ¡°Why is he running like that?¡± Anna asked.


    Arthur gained ground quickly with his long strides. Pointing at every one of the little winter windows he passed with a disjointed urgency. ¡°Get down! It¡¯s going to happen again.¡±


    The tall man did not slow down, not even a little, as he reached us and drove us both to the muddy ground.


    ¡°What the fuck!¡± I yelled as my back hit the ground with a wet sounding slap.


    ¡°What is your problem? Get off me!¡± Anna shouted as her back hit my front and forced the breath from me.


    Arthur dropped on top of his sister. The combined weight of the siblings pressing me further down into the mud reminded me of Sam¡¯s much more gradual pressure that morning. I was powerless to do anything but be ground down further as Anna tried to fight her brother off of us.


    ¡°Shut up! Look!¡± Arthur grunted with a sharp nod to the sky. He reached down and dug his hands into the wet soil on either side of me.


    From beneath the shroud of Anna¡¯s dark hair, I saw that the spreading little winters were not aimlessly sailing into the clouds. They spewed out of the fissure in a fluttering dance, finding their place among one another above us. Faster and faster they came, each window growing larger and larger as they connected.


    Howling wind rose from the fissure, drowning out every other sound. My hair and dress were blown upward and whipped violently as it felt like all of us would be lifted off the ground.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Arthur stared down at me with his jaw clenched and the veins in his neck pressing out against his skin. He was holding us down, resisting the violent wind with nothing but the strength in his body.


    Piece by piece, the little winters covered the dark clouds above. Just as Arthur¡¯s grip slipped from the muddy ground, the final section snapped into place and the gray was blanketed completely by pure white.


    For a half a moment, the frozen snowscape hung above us.


    Then, it fell.


    The harsh white curtain crashed to the ground in a violent avalanche. Swelling from its own impact, a silent wave of snow rushed towards us. Fear mixed with the tension that had built in my hands. I extended my right palm and focused my aura, sending a burst of my power through my channel just before the snow collided with us.


    Impact. Darkness. A twinge of pain behind my navel. Cold so chilling and complete that I felt like my skin would crack if I moved crawled into my bones. The weight that held me down lessened and light returned as Arthur stood up and broke through the snow that had buried us.


    Arthur pulled Anna off of me.


    I took a much needed breath and the freezing hair stung my throat.


    Both of the siblings grabbed me by an arm and hauled me out of the snow, holding me up until I found my balance. Once I insisted that I could indeed, stand, they let me go.


    ¡°You could have hurt her,¡± Anna said, shoving her brother in the middle of his chest. ¡°But thank you.¡±


    Arthur grinned, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. ¡°Lucky it was just snow this time. It rained so hard when I first got here that I almost drowned.¡±


    ¡°Does anybody know what we are supposed to be doing?¡± Anna asked, turning away from us and looking around the newly frozen space.


    I could see their breath as they spoke. My bare feet had already begun to numb and my teeth were beginning to chatter.


    The snow to our right began to shift and fall away as the shadowy fissure swallowed what had filled it. New shapes, much smaller than what had greeted Anna and I when we first crossed the threshold, began to rise towards the soft gray sky.


    ¡°There,¡± Anna said. ¡°That looks like fire, right?¡±


    I didn¡¯t look. Shivering all the way, I high stepped through the snow until I could see what new visage the shapes contained. Flashes of jagged purple lightning arced across a black background in violent spread. Just like before, thousands of the little windows flowed up from the fissure and made their way to the sky.


    Rain and snow was one thing, being caught in a lightning storm was not something I felt like doing.


    ¡°I think we need to leave.¡± I said to the siblings, feeling like the shapes were forming together much faster than before.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Arthur asked me, adjusting the shoulder pack that was just like Anna and I¡¯s on his shoulders. One of the little windows flashed by his face and his eyes went wide.


    ¡°Look, doesn¡¯t that look like a cave?¡± Anna said. Arthur sprinted past her in the direction she was pointing, puffs of snow being thrown up as he went. ¡°Where are you going?¡±


    I followed Arthur¡¯s lead, pushing Anna into movement as I spoke. ¡°Lightning.¡±


    ¡°Is your mom trying to kill us?¡± She demanded.


    ¡°It¡¯s my fault! She¡¯s probably heart broken that I wasn¡¯t serious about marrying her!¡± Arthur called back to us.


    We ran beside the fissure, falling into the deep tracks Arthur was plowing into the snow in front of us. Under the quickly darkening sky, I was glad to find that Anna¡¯s sight was sharp and true. Save for the flickering orange light that could be seen from within its mouth, the cave that was covered in the same snow it rose out of was well concealed.


    The wind began to howl. The soft gray light dimmed to black and I held on to the back of Anna¡¯s pack so I wouldn¡¯t lose her. A final gust nearly knocked me off my feet just as the strange space fell silent once again.


    Explosions of sound erupted. Wicked purple lightning impacted the ground around me, sending violent bursts of snow into the air.


    Anna and I stumbled into the cave unable to do anything but try to catch our breath as we watched the lightning destroy the ground we had just crossed over.


    ¡°Did you ask her already? Is that why she is mad at us?¡± Anna panted out a joke, her hands on her knees.


    ¡°Ask me what? Why would I be mad with you?¡± My mother answered Anna¡¯s question.


    I turned away from the violet violence that flashed outside of our shelter and looked towards my mother. A large black pot hung over a roaring fire. Sat on the rocky ground around it where my mother and Ms. Lao. Arthur laid on his back, his cast off pack being used as a headrest.


    ¡°It was a joke,¡± Anna said, standing fully. She winked at me and then caught sight of Ms. Lao. ¡°Ma? What are you doing out of bed? Did you go through that?¡±


    There was heat in her voice that I knew came from a place of care and not of anger. After everything that had happened earlier that day, I knew I could not continue to let her suffer the way she was. When the time was right, I would use my favor to end it.


    My mother waved to the floor around the pot. ¡°I helped her out here and she did not argue with me about it. It was quite pleasant actually. Now, come sit, both of you. I am eager to start.¡±


    The warmth that I could already feel filling the cave was too enticing for me to resist my mother¡¯s command. Anna and I walked over and sat, letting our packs slide to the ground beside us. The fire was indeed warm, but when I went to rub the cold out of my toes with my fingers, there was no mud. I snuck a hand behind my back and brushed it against my dress. My fingers came away clean. There was no melting snow on me or the siblings despite the fact that we had been dusted with it not a handful of moments prior.


    No trace of the elements we had all traveled through and against were left to be observed.


    My mother, Idensyn Aubrey, had used her glamor create the illusion of it all. She made us see the fissure, the little windows, and the volatile weather. Not only that, but she had made each of us feel everything we had felt.


    And I couldn¡¯t even change the color of the pillow.


    Fuck.


    My mother was only my mother. The Mother¡¯s were on a completely different magnitude.


    And they were going to punish me.


    Fuck.


    ¡°The third night of Amoranora, Dreamtongue¡¯s night, is my favorite.¡± My mother began, bringing some of my attention out of my thoughts and back to her.


    I leaned back onto my hands and Anna did the same, placing hers on top of mine. Glancing at her, she raised an eyebrow at me. With no words at all, I knew she was asking if I was alright. Was my face truly so easy for her to read? I flexed my hand under hers and nodded slightly in response, focusing on the story my mother was beginning to tell.


    ¡°For days and nights, The Mother in Red poured her soul into the Split, desperately trying to hold the tear in reality closed. Nearly burning away her soul and leaving herself Hollow, she collapsed and lost consciousness right on the very edge she had held closed for so long.¡± My mother said, but there was something in her words that was lacking.


    ¡°That¡¯s what the big crack was outside, right? A split?¡± Arthur asked, still laying on the ground.


    ¡°Do not interrupt!¡± Ms. Lao snapped at her son


    My mother continued. ¡°When she woke, which came as a surprise to her because she did not think she would ever wake again, she was not dangling off the perilous edge where she had fallen. She was laying next to a big pot inside of a cave, just like we all are. There was a man-¡±


    ¡°Dreammouth!¡± Arthur blurted.


    Ms. Lao reached over and flicked her son on the tip of his nose. ¡°Do not interrupt!¡±


    ¡°There was a man, who introduced himself as Dreamtongue. Dark of skin and lean of body, the man had a speaking voice that could charm a dragon. Rich, articulate, and full of warmth, he explained to The Mother in Red how he had found her not a moment before the Split had swallowed her whole.¡± My mother¡¯s eyes looked all too heavy. It was strange to see her sitting next to Ms. Lao and looking like the one who needed a rest.


    She covered her mouth and stifled a yawn before continuing. ¡°The Red Mother was weak and empty. So much so, that she could not even summon the strength to thank the man who had saved her life. Dreamtongue told her that he was the last of his people and had been alone for quite some time. He assured her that she could rest for as long as she needed. He would nourish her body with the stew from his pot and replenish her soul with the stories from his mind,¡± My mother took a long breath and stretched her arms above her head. ¡°Dreamtongue was the last of a people known as Murmerers. When he spoke in his musical voice, visions of the tales he told would appear in the air and act out the stories.¡±


    Arthur sat up suddenly, complaining. ¡°Is that what we are doing tonight? We are just going to sit around and tell stories?¡±


    ¡°Arthur!¡± Ms. Lao snapped again.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Anna followed her mother¡¯s lead.


    Truth be told, I was wondering the same thing. I did not blame him for asking.


    With a small smile on her face, undoubtedly amused by the Lao¡¯s, my mother continued. ¡°Dreamtongue told The Mother in Red stories from the furthest reaches of chaos, painting the cave air with his visions and when she grew strong enough to eat, he fed her.¡±


    There was none of her usual enthusiasm, no glimmer in her emerald eyes. From my earliest memories of her laying next to me on my small bed and telling me stories until I fell asleep, she always took care to tell the story. The way she spoke the story of The Mother in Red¡¯s third lover, with no emphasis or adornment, made it very clear what was wrong with her.


    My mother was exhausted.


    ¡°As her strength returned, both from the food and the sound of the man¡¯s voice, she began to share her own stories. After three days and three nights, the two had formed a bond. One had needed to be cared for and the other had needed someone to care for.¡±


    Anna squeezed my hand as the story ended, bringing the final words and thoughts of her together in my mind.


    One had needed to be cared for and the other had needed someone to care for. I repeated in my mind. I think I agreed with my mother. Dreamtongue¡¯s story was my favorite as well.


    ¡°So we are just telling stories?¡± Arthur asked again.


    ¡°No, dear. We are all going to cook a big pot of stew and then tell stories.¡± My mother corrected Arthur, pulling a pack just like mine out from behind herself.


    Two realizations struck me.


    I had forgotten to come up with a story and I had never cooked a single thing in my entire life.


    Fuck.

 V2: Chapter Twenty Three: Meat and Potatoes

    At my mother¡¯s command, all of us placed our packs in front of us and flipped the flaps open.


    ¡°Any good stew starts with the broth, which I have brought.¡± My mother said, reaching into the big black pot and pulling out a lid that had been concealed by the upturned lip.


    Fragrant steam wafted out from the bubbling brown liquid, filling the cave with a rich scent that melted away the last remnants of the cold my mother had made me perceive.


    The sound of the violent lightning that my mother was somehow making us all hear had died down and a question came to me. ¡°Is all of this,¡± I gestured broadly, meaning the walls and everything they contained. ¡°Happening in the city?¡±


    ¡°No, my little Delpha. Most of the citizens of Erosette are gathered around The Red Mother¡¯s pot in the heart of the city, listening and watching her and Dreamtongue make their stories come to life.¡± She answered, looking at me through the thick steam.


    ¡°Then why the snow and lightning? The fissure and all?¡± I asked.


    ¡°As I have said, Dreamtongue¡¯s Night is my favorite. This first time I participated in it meant much to me and I wanted to give you the feeling of really being there. It was a pale imitation, but I wanted to show you what being near a Split truly felt like.¡± Through her tired eyes, I could see how much she meant what she said.


    My mother had done all of this for me. In hindsight, the werelights and the maze, the tournament and ale, she had probably done it all for me.


    Knowing that, made the desire I had to go into the city and experience the real version of Dreamtongue¡¯s night feel all the more wrong. I should not want to lay my eyes on The Mother in Red as bad as I did. I should not want to explore the streets of Erosette arm in arm with Anna the way I did. By the looks of her, my mother had pushed herself to her limits the way I had with the pillow and she had done it so I would feel a little less like the imprisoned thief that I was.


    Beauty and space aside, the manor on the hill was a prison still. Anna and Arthur, my mother¡¯s efforts, the well house, and my small interactions with the guards made it all too easy for me to forget that fact.


    It was more than I deserved and I was still dreaming of breaking out and running off, just like I had done when I took the black gate to the mortal plane.


    ¡°What are Splits? You said they are tears in reality, but what does that really mean?¡± Anna asked my mother.


    ¡°You are a very good listener Anna. Chaos, which is what we call everything outside of Zenithcidel, is exactly that. Chaos. It is volatile, ever changing, a Split is formed when a section of reality can no longer hold itself together.¡±


    ¡°Are they related to Shifts?¡± I asked, flickers of cracking sky and a huge pink moon running through my head.


    My mother raised an eyebrow at me. ¡°Where did you hear about Shifts?¡±


    Fuck. I had said too much. Scrambling, I strung together an explanation that would not expose the fact that having full access to The Well was something I had enjoyed for months. ¡°It was in a memory. I was a maiden in a library and there was a book on a table that mentioned them.¡±


    ¡°Oh. I see,¡± My mother nodded. Phew. ¡°They are related in the manner that morning rain is to a hurricane, but any explanation further than that is beyond my understanding.¡±


    From where he had hung his face over the pot, taking lungfuls of the enticing steam through his nose, Arthur spoke up. ¡°Are there schools to learn all of this? You¡¯ve got magic people, but the boys and the girls are at war. There are all these places and all these terms, but none of it makes sense when you think about them together. How does anyone know what''s actually going on?¡±


    My mother cracked a tired smile. ¡°There are the Loreiumns in Don Terrisabia, but without a black gate it would take you several years to reach the border and that¡¯s only if it is still in the same place it was when I last visited it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I mean,¡± Arthur threw his long arms up. ¡°How can a place not be in the place it always was?¡±


    ¡°I do not know the how or the why, dear, but I trust the Mothers. All of us do. They know all and use that knowledge to shield us from chaos,¡± My mother said and snapped her fingers. The bands of her aura that held the packs closed crumbled to dust and she let out a sigh. ¡°A good stew is just like a story. I have brought the broth, the blank pages we will write our story on. Anna, open your pack if you will.¡±


    Anna listened, pulling the cinched canvas open with her fingers. I leaned over, trying to see what was within the pack.


    ¡°What have you found?¡± My mother asked.


    Anna brought her full hands back out. ¡°Potatoes and carrots?¡±


    Already cut and cubed, orange chunks of carrot were interspersed amongst a bunch of fat potato chunks.


    ¡°Now, why would I have given you those? What role does root vegetables play in our stew?¡±


    Arthur looked at his sister. ¡°She looks like a potato, so it makes sense that way.¡±


    ¡°Shut up,¡± Anna said before answering my mother¡¯s question. ¡°I don¡¯t know, they get mushy while they are cooking?¡±


    ¡°They ground the stew, thicken it, and root every other element together. They are the substance that the other ingredients stand upon,¡± My mother said. I didn¡¯t know if it was because of the tired way she was speaking or if her metaphor just didn¡¯t work for me, but I couldn¡¯t not make the connection between Anna and the potatoes. ¡°Dump them in, dear. Arthur, you are next.¡±


    Anna held her pack over the bubbling broth and a cascade of potatoes and carrots fell out, plopping into the pot like rocks in a pond.


    ¡°It¡¯s a bunch of little jars.¡± Arthur said, pulling out just what he said from his pack. Reds, greens, blacks, and tans filled the small glasses.


    ¡°It is spices, Arthur.¡± Ms. Lao corrected her son.


    ¡°Why would I give you spices? What purpose do they serve?¡± My mother continued.


    Anna chimed in. ¡°Because he would be bland without them.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not bland? My joke was way better. You¡¯re the bland one.¡± Arthur insisted.


    ¡°All you do is stand around and smile. The most interesting thing about you is that I¡¯m your sister.¡± Anna said, rolling her eyes.


    Ms. Lao clapped her hands once. ¡°Enough. Both of you. Ms. Aubrey is trying to entertain all of us and I will not let my children ruin it.¡±


    Again, it struck me that next to the willfully dying Ms. Lao, my mother was the one who looked worn out.


    ¡°I gave Arthur the spices because he brings an excitement that would be sorely missed if he were not here. If not for him, I would have not broken a sweat during our tournament last night. The story I plan to tell this night was brought to my attention because of him. Go ahead, throw them all in.¡± My mother answered.


    Was The Mother in Red spinning some metaphor to the citizens of Erosette the way my mother was to us? I couldn¡¯t help but wonder what the point was.


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°Autumn, we¡¯ve reached the need for the burden I had you carry.¡±


    I opened the pack and peered down into it. ¡°It¡¯s full of meat.¡±


    My mother nodded in agreement. ¡°Why would I give you meat? What role does it serve in the stew?¡±


    Arthur spoke first. ¡°Because she¡¯s skinny and needs to gain weight?¡±


    Then came Anna. ¡°It¡¯s the best part.¡±


    ¡°Both of you are wrong,¡± Ms. Lao said. ¡°The meat is the point.¡±


    ¡°Well said, Mai,¡± My mother agreed. ¡°What is a stew without meat? What is a story without a character to be built around? The meat is your burden because without you, none of us would be here. There would be no point to the meal we are all constructing.¡±


    Everyone was looking at me, like I was actually a piece of meat. I didn¡¯t want to be the point. The weight my mother had placed on me through her metaphor only made me feel worse about my desire driven ungratefulness.


    Just to make it end, I shook the contents of my pack out and into the big black pot without needing to be promoted. ¡°When are we going to start telling stories?¡±


    ¡°We can begin now, it will take time for everything in the stew to cook into one another properly.¡± My mother answered, pulling a long handled ladle from somewhere beside her and dipping it into the pot. The orange flames beneath grew brighter as she began to stir.


    ¡°I would like to go first.¡± Ms. Lao said.


    My mother passed the ladle to her. ¡°Whoever is talking must stir the stew. If it sits idle too long it will not cook evenly.¡±


    ¡°When I was a girl,¡± Ms. Lao began, fresh streams of delicious smelling steam rising from the pot with every circle she stirred. ¡°Before my Ba died, he told me about Thanh Giong.¡±


    The steam thickened and swirled. Shapes formed within it and grew more defined. Rough figures outlined by iridescent light, one a little girl and the other a tall man, sat across from one another.


    ¡°Whoa!¡± Arthur exclaimed, a wide smile on his face.


    Anna scooted closer to me, a more reserved look of wonder on her face.


    I couldn¡¯t see them, but I knew my mother¡¯s fingers were cloaked in her aura. She was shaping the little vision while holding together everything else she had worked around us.


    I wish I could have enjoyed it, but all I could think about was how little I knew and how small my power was.


    Ms. Lao continued. ¡°Invaders had ravaged the land and the King¡¯s army could not repel them.¡±


    The little figures in the steam gave way to dozens of soldiers, armed to the teeth with spears and swords.


    ¡°Thanh Giong was a child. Little more than a baby, but when he heard his Ba and Ma speak of the invaders, he spoke for the first time. He told his parents to bring him every scrap of food they could find. He ate and ate and ate, until he had grown into a man. After only a few days, he was taller than his Ba and was as strong as ten thousand men.¡± Ms. Lao glanced at Arthur as she took a breath, but her son had eyes only for steamy vision playing out over the big black pot.


    Just as Ms. Lao had said, the shape of a baby stood up on its feet and grew as it moved through the motions of stuffing its little face. It grew, standing tall and strong only a few moments later.


    ¡°He rode to the battlefield on the back of an iron horse,¡± Ms. Lao smiled, the image her words described forming in front of her. ¡°And faced the invaders. Where the King¡¯s army had failed and fled, Thanh Giong drove them out single handedly.¡±


    The shape of Thanh tearing through the armed men from before played out. He pushed them back until they disappeared and he raised his arms in triumph.


    ¡°When the battle was done, Thanh Giong climbed the tallest tree he could find and flew away, immortal.¡±


    Tree climbed, flying flown, immortal immortalized, the vision returned to steam and my mother clapped for Ms. Lao.


    The rest of us joined in, and Ms. Lao nodded in appreciation.


    Delpha and the dragon was a much better story. It made sense. Nobody could eat for days and suddenly become a giant.


    ¡°Thanh Giong, wonderful.¡± My mother said through a yawn. The lowlight and the warmth from the fire had to be making her more tired. Even with the bad feelings I held within me, I thought I could lay down and take a nap in the cozy cave.


    ¡°It is silly. I know, but I loved it as a girl. I wanted to name you Thanh, Arthur, but your father would not let me.¡± Ms. Lao said.


    ¡°You should have anyways. I am as strong as ten thousand men.¡± Arthur agreed, his voice serious.


    ¡°And just like Thanh Giong, you¡¯re actually just a big baby.¡± Anna said, smirking.


    Ms. Lao held the handle of the ladle out in offering. ¡°One of you go next. I am finished.¡±


    ¡°I want to go last.¡± Anna said, shaking her head.


    ¡°I¡¯m not ready either.¡± Arthur insisted.


    My mother looked at me. ¡°Autumn? You prepared a story like I asked?¡±


    I had not. Granted, I had not known I was Autumn for most of the day, but I could not tell that to my mother.


    Despite my unpreparedness, I reached out and took the ladle from Ms. Lao. My nasty feelings and the reminder that I was indeed a prisoner still fresh in my mind had brought a memory up from my memory. I had viewed it not long after I had been moved to the manor on the hill.


    All I had to do was change a few details and I was confident it would not raise any suspicion within my mother.


    Again, everyone focused their eyes on me. I let them look, taking a slow moment to get my story straight.


    A girl, an underwitch at least, had been locked in a tower by some crazed old man. Her familiar had arrived to save her, a much nicer version of when Sam had first shown himself to me.


    I could see her, skinny with long hair, but what had her name been?


    It came to me.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to tell you about a maiden named Nova and her-¡°


    Arthur snatched the ladle from my hands. ¡°You took too long, I want to go.¡±


    He started stirring, filling the air between us all with the stewing steam, and jumped right into his story. ¡°So, there was a soldier- no- he was a warrior, a knight!¡±


    The steam coiled around itself. Transitioning quickly from the shape of a man holding a club to the shape of a man holding a spear, it settled on the figure of an armored man bearing a sword and a shield.


    Anna snickered, but I hadn¡¯t caught what she thought was funny.


    ¡°The knight was in love with a fire princess, but before he could tell her, an old witch had come and taken her away. The witch was ugly, and lived deep in a swamp.¡±


    A feminine shape that flickered at the ends of her hair and hands like the fire beneath the big black pot did at its ends appeared in the steam. Spindly, thin, fingers clutched her shoulders and snatched her away, leaving the figure of the knight standing alone.


    ¡°The knight rode-no- he flew into the swamp and fought the witch. He slayed her and saved the princess. They kissed and he asked her to marry him but before she could answer, a dragon came.¡±


    At my mother¡¯s will, the steam played out a rudimentary display of the events Arthur described. Witch slayed, the figure of the knight swept the fire princess off her feet and the two shapes met.


    ¡°You''re really just making this up as you go along, aren¡¯t you?¡± Anna interrupted.


    Arthur denied his sister¡¯s accusation. ¡°No I¡¯m not! Not all of it.¡±


    ¡°How can the knight even kiss the princess if she is made of fire? He would get burned.¡± Anna said, seemingly very annoyed at her brother¡¯s story.


    ¡°Shit. I didn¡¯t think about that.¡± Arthur snapped, his brows knit together in sudden contemplation.


    My mother cleared her throat. ¡°What happens with the dragon, dear?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Arthur continued. ¡°He slays the dragon.¡±


    ¡°And then?¡± My mother encouraged.


    ¡°An army comes to try and take the princess.¡±


    My mother gave a tired smile. ¡°Does the knight slay the army?¡±


    ¡°Naturally.¡± Arthur nodded.


    A little laugh came from my mother. ¡°This is a very devoted knight. Is it safe to say that eventually, all the evil is defeated and the knight and the princess live happily ever after?¡±


    With a sharp glare at Anna, Arthur agreed. ¡°If I remember correctly, that is how it ends.¡±


    The steam swirled and showed the figure of the knight standing hand in hand with the fire princess before an altar.


    ¡°Well done, dear. Well done.¡± My mother said, clapping for Arthur¡¯s story.


    Anna leaned over to me and whispered in my ear. ¡°That was the worst story I have ever heard.¡±


    I laughed, I couldn¡¯t help it. Her annoyance at her brother was humorous to me alone.


    ¡°Now, no interruptions this time. It is your turn, Autumn.¡±


    ¡°Right, I said, retaking the ladle in my hand and beginning to stir. ¡°I am going to tell you about a maiden named Nova and her familiar, Murk.¡±

 V2: Chapter Twenty Four: Sorry For the Mess

    With everyone looking at me, I began to stir the contents of the big black pot and told my story.


    ¡°Nova was a maiden who had done something bad a long time ago. Ever since, she was locked in a room at the bottom of a school by the precepts,¡± I began, not really looking at anything. There was a spot on the rocky ground, just beneath the flickering flames that my eyes had settled on. I continued my story, trying to weave untruths around the honest core. ¡°She has been locked down there for so long, her hair had grown over her eyes and she couldn¡¯t remember how long it had been since she had bathed. She had been being punished for so long, she had forgotten what she had done to get in trouble in the first place.¡±


    There had been no school and no precepts, but rather a tower and a crazed captor. The emotions felt the same regardless.


    ¡°Nova was empty. She felt nothing. She had no dreams in her mind and no hope in her heart. Anything outside of the room she had been imprisoned in did not exist and anything inside of it was temporary.¡±


    I swallowed the lump in my throat. I did not want to cry. I wanted to tell the story, but the further I went along, the harder it was to keep myself under control. ¡°The Precept would come in, seemingly at random to Nova, and bring her just enough food to not starve.¡±


    Was that not my truth as well? For whatever reason, one that I certainly did not understand, The Lao¡¯s had been allowed to stay. We had all been moved to a place that never rained, the weather was always perfect, a beautiful place that I would have loved to live it was not my prison. It was my food. Just enough to keep me from becoming starved.


    ¡°Something dark and unknown appeared to Nova,¡± I pressed on, thinking of Murk and his billowing folds. ¡°An animate shadow of fabric as black as night.¡±


    For the first time since I had started telling my story, I looked up to the vision my mother had formed out of the steam rising from the big black pot. The shape of a girl, with long hair covering her face completely sat aimlessly as a shapeless cloud swirled around her.


    ¡°The shadow introduced himself as Murk. He told Nova that he was to be her familiar and his first act in her service would be to rescue her from the school,¡± I said, skipping all of the details of the escape itself. ¡°Murk folded himself into the shape of a giant bat and took flight off the top of the school.¡±


    I glanced at my mother as the shapeless cloud began to take on hard lines. Sweat glistened on her forehead in the flickering fire light. Her emerald eyes were focused on the vision of my story. It could have been a trail of sweat, but I thought there was a tear leaking out of the left corner of her eye. Did she feel the pain I had felt behind my navel when I had reached my limit? The vision, the cave, the Split outside, how much power was she using to keep the illusion alive?


    ¡°Nova found herself feeling something for the first time in as long as she could remember. Just as The Precept that had punished her reached to pull her back from the edge, she jumped. Murk, who had only been a dark and mysterious stranger moments before, caught her. Free from her prison, she slept on the back of her familiar as he carried her away into the night.¡±


    I took a deep breath and watched as the end of my half true story played out. The steam returned to steam and all was quiet in the illusory cave save for the rolling bubbling off the stew I was stirring.


    ¡°Well done, my daughter.¡± My mother said, giving a gentle clap after she wiped her brow on her sleeve.


    Everyone clapped, everyone but Arthur.


    ¡°Nothing happened? You said a bunch of sad stuff, skipped the exciting part, and then it ended.¡± Arthur said bluntly.


    ¡°You really are the dumbest person I have ever met,¡± Anna said, looking past me and at her brother with murderous intent. ¡°She could say nothing and it would have been better than the shit you made up.¡±


    Arthur snorted. ¡°My story had romance and danger. You can¡¯t just talk about what someone¡¯s day was like and call it a story.¡±


    Ms. Lao cleared her throat. ¡°I thought it was very good. Thank you for sharing it, Autumn.¡±


    It felt strange that she spoke to me. It felt even stranger that she spoke to me in a friendly tone. The fact that she spoke to me while staring at her daughter the entire time was even stranger than that.


    ¡°You are welcome.¡± I said earnestly, realizing Anna was looking at me. She did not look sad, exactly, but my story had affected her in some way. I would tell her the actual story of Nova and Murk when we were alone.


    My mother leaned up and took the ladle from my hand. She brought a small stone bowl up from somewhere behind the big black pot and filled it with the stew. Yawning, she offered it to Anna. ¡°You requested that you go last. Could I ask you to allow me that placement? I am not yet ready to take my turn.¡±


    ¡°Oh, uhm, okay.¡± Anna agreed, taking the bowl and passing it to me.


    ¡°Thank you, dear. Let us all eat before we continue. Dreamtongue¡¯s night has been long for us all.¡± My mother handed Anna another full bowl and then did the same for Arthur and Ms.Lao before finally serving herself.


    ¡°Mai?¡± She asked Ms.Lao.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Ms.Lao answered.


    ¡°Utensils?¡± My mother said.


    Ms. Lao frowned. ¡°Yes, I am sorry.¡±


    Arthur took the spoons from his mother and passed them along as he took the last gulp of stew from his bowl. Exhaling, he reached for the ladle and took a second helping. ¡°What kind of teacher locks a kid in a basement? I¡¯m sorry Autumn, I don¡¯t buy it.¡±


    ¡°And a knight that can fly somehow makes more sense?¡± Anna said, continuing to defend my story.


    Arthur furrowed his brow. ¡°We live with witches, it¡¯s way more believable that someone could fly than a teacher would be mean enough to lock somebody in a basement.¡±


    Anna turned to my mother. ¡°Are there schools like that? If a maiden did something bad, would they be punished that way?¡±


    ¡°I am not sure,¡± My mother began. It could have been the low flickering light, but I thought I saw r bowl shaking in her hand. ¡°There are hundreds of different schools of varying size and importance. I am sure it is the same on the mortal plane. I have not been to them all.¡±


    Ms. Lao raised her finger. ¡°Is it the same? There are elementary, middle, high schools, and college?¡±


    ¡°No. There a Maiden¡¯s schools. Then there are academies for underwitches to receive training for various vocations. Each of the Mothers has their own school, but admittance is by invitation only.¡± My mother answered.


    I finally took a spoonful of the stew. It was good and only good. The richness of the broth, the softness of the vegetables, and the tenderness of the meat were all a pale imitation of the stew Anna had given me the night we had drank together in the woods.


    For a moment, I felt like I was in my little room again. Anna had only known me as Dani. Hours before, I had charmed her out of losing her mind. Days after, when I had finally come out of The Well, I had shown her myself. I had dropped my glamor and shown her it all.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Taste alone brought me back there and as Anna began to tell her story, all of my internal anguish was replaced with a singular focus on her words.


    ¡°My story doesn¡¯t have any dragons or giant babies in it. It¡¯s not really a story, but whatever,¡± Anna said, looking down at the flames licking the bottom of the big black pot. ¡°Some girls were mean to me at school. I thought I would die if I had to stay. I made myself throw up in the bathroom so they would call Ma.¡±


    Anna took a breath.


    The steam formed into the shape of a little girl but did not go through the motions that Anna described.


    So slight, I almost convinced myself I was imagining it, a trickle of colorless dust fell to the ground from the top of the cave behind my mother


    When she continued, she was speaking directly to her mother. ¡°Do you remember that? I rubbed my forehead so you would think I had a fever and everything. You knew as soon as you saw me that I wasn¡¯t sick, didn¡¯t you.¡±


    Ms. Lao nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°But you didn¡¯t get mad. Without me saying anything, you knew something was wrong with me.¡± Anna said.


    The steam had returned to just that, and all of our eyes were on Anna.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Ms. Lao said again.


    A sad smile spread across Anna¡¯s face. ¡°You took me to that little diner in town and we had breakfast. That was the first time I had coffee, you let me get whipped cream on all of my pancakes,¡± she laughed a little laugh. ¡°I think I ate like ten orders of pancakes.¡±


    ¡°Six.¡± Ms. Lao corrected her daughter, a small smile on her own face.


    Anna kept going. ¡°You took me to the bookstore, you let me get three books, we got ice cream, we went to the park, not once did you ask me why I wanted to leave school. You were just being my Ma, you know?¡±


    Ms. Lao was silent. Cold had crept into the cave despite the flames just in front of my feet.


    Anna did not wait for her to answer. ¡°I read and ate and played. By the time we went to pick up Arthur, I couldn¡¯t even remember what the stupid girls had said to me. I told you why wanted to leave school because you deserved to know. You were the one who had made me feel better,¡± Iridescent dust shifted off the stone as Anna brought herself up to her knees. ¡°I can¡¯t take you to a diner. I can¡¯t take you to a bookstore or a park, but I want to make you feel better-¡°


    ¡°Anna.¡± Arthur said, his face turned to the stony mask he had worn during his duel with my mother.


    ¡°And you won¡¯t let me! What the fuck, Ma? What are we supposed to do? Should we just pretend you aren¡¯t sick and watch you die?¡±


    Every angry word the left Anna¡¯s lips sent another trail of dust streaming down from the ceiling. Her face had grown red and her hands were balled into fists so tight, her knuckles were white.


    ¡°When it is my-¡° Ms. Lao began.


    ¡°Nope. That¡¯s not going to cut it, Ma. You are choosing when it is your time and I want to know why.¡±


    The steel that I had feared when Ms. Lao had only been my landlady appeared I her eyes. ¡°I am sorry Idensyn. My daughter should know better than to talk like this in front of you.¡±


    My mother didn¡¯t respond. By the look of her, I didn¡¯t think she could have if she wanted to.


    ¡°Ask Arthur. You like him more anyways,¡± Anna continued, passion pushing her words out roughly. ¡°He is just as mad at you as I am. Aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Arthur stood up and streams of iridescent dust trailed off of him. I did not like the way he looked then. His face was meant for smiling and laughing, but neither seemed to be close at hand when he looked at his mother.


    ¡°I¡¯m not mad, but you are being selfish.¡± The tall man said.


    ¡°Say more.¡± Anna demanded.


    Arthur listened. ¡°When we were home, I understood. There was nothing anyone could do. But now, Autumn¡¯s mom could probably fix you by snapping her fingers. You won¡¯t let her. It¡¯s selfish.¡±


    From the roof of the cave, a much larger stream of dust flooded down into the still steaming pot of stew. It poured down until the bubbling simmer quieted and the white steam had been choked out.


    Anna and Arthur stared at their mother. My mother stared at their mother. Their mother stared at them.


    I couldn¡¯t take my eyes off of Anna. Just like the night before, it hurt me to see her hurting.


    Fortunately, I had the means to stop it.


    ¡°Mother?¡± I said, breaking the uncomfortable silence.


    ¡°Both of you feel this way? That I am being selfish?¡± Ms. Lao asked, steel in her voice.


    ¡°Yes.¡± The siblings said in unison.


    ¡°We still need you, Ma. You¡¯re our Ma.¡± Arthur said, a trace of his usual self slipping through the mask.


    ¡°I am sorry,¡± Ms. Lao sighed. She placed her bowl on the rocky floor and crossed her arms. ¡°I. . .We do not need to trouble Idensyn and Autumn with our business. We will discuss this when we go inside.¡±


    ¡°Nope. We¡¯ve done enough talking inside. They both know you¡¯re sick. They both know you won¡¯t do anything to get better. They deserve to know why.¡± Anna demanded.


    ¡°Mother?¡± I said again. Her emerald eyes were half lidded and she sat with her arms hugging her legs tightly to her chest.


    ¡°Fine,¡± Ms. Lao snapped, her voice reminding me of the times that I had snuck around the boarding house just to avoid gaining her attention. ¡°It took me months to accept that I was dying, that I would never see you get married, that I would never meet my grandchildren.¡±


    ¡°But you can do all of those things now?¡± Anna said.


    ¡°I came to terms with it. I looked forward to it.¡± Ms. Lao continued, her eyes hard set on her daughter.


    ¡°Why, Ma?¡± Arthur whispered.


    ¡°Because I miss your father! I found peace knowing that I would see him again,¡± Ms. Lao blurted, her face looking sad and furious simultaneously. ¡°When you find someone that makes you feel like you were made for them, being apart hurts more than anything. Do you understand that?¡±


    Just for a moment, Ms. Laos eyes shifted from Anna to me.


    ¡°Yes. I do.¡± Anna said.


    ¡°I have been selfish. I am sorry. I will let Idensyn try and heal me if we stop talking about this now.¡± Ms. Lao said.


    All at once, the dozens of streams of dust that had started in the cave, stopped.


    ¡°Really?¡± Anna said, stepping over me and throwing her arms around her mother.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Ms. Lao said, reaching her arm out for Arthur to hug her as well.


    My mother clapped just as she had done after everyone else¡¯s stories. ¡°Wonderful, Dear! I doubt there is a better story that will be told on this Dreamtongue¡¯s night.¡±


    The Lao¡¯s ended their embrace and Anna turned to my mother. ¡°That¡¯s why I wanted to go last, I didn¡¯t think I could get through it without things getting messy like that. I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t have a real story.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense. No story is realer than when you see it being formed with your own eyes,¡± My mother said, looking much more lively than she had all night. She continued speaking as she stood. ¡°I am afraid that the one I have brought will have to wait. I have grown too tired to tell it properly.¡±


    My favor had not been necessary. The resolution I had been planning to force, had been found somewhere in the messiness. Arthur¡¯s mask has slipped and his natural grin had spread back across his face. Anna walked around the dust filled pot and offered her hand to me.


    There were smiles all around. Our celebration was ending early. My mother looked relaxed and at ease for the first time that day.


    There would be no better time.


    ¡°Mother?¡± I said, looking up at her from where I sat on the ground.


    ¡°Yes?¡± She answered pleasantly.


    ¡°I want to use my favor.¡± I told her.


    She nodded. ¡°Of course, what have you decided to ask of me?¡±


    ¡°I have thought about it greatly. I want to go down into the city. I can wear a glamor, we can go together, whatever it takes, but I want to see the real Amoranora for myself.¡± I said, feeing those damn bugs buzzing nervously inside me.


    ¡°Fuck yeah! I haven¡¯t gone because I didn¡¯t think it was fair that Autumn couldn¡¯t. Please, Ms. Aubrey? I will keep her safe.¡± Arthur blurted, rapidly shifting from child like excitement to a straight backed stance.


    I felt Anna¡¯s hand rest on my shoulder. Her touch made the insects settle just a bit.


    ¡°Oh, my little Delpha, I¡¯m sorry.¡± My mother answered me, tears welling in her right eye. She reached her hand out to me over the dust filled pot, but I did not take it.


    ¡°Why are you sorry?¡± I asked, feeling like I already knew the answer.


    ¡°I cannot let you go. The answer is no.¡±

 V2: Chapter Twenty Five: Jailbreak

    With everyone looking at me, I found that what I wished for most in all of chaos was to suddenly gain the ability to disappear without a trace.


    ¡°What did you say?¡± I asked. Surely I had not heard her right.


    ¡°You cannot go. I must keep you safe. . .¡± My mother repeated.


    She continued to speak, but I couldn¡¯t hear her. Of course she had said no. There had never been a reality where she would have said yes, favor or not.


    The dream of being allowed to go into the city, and it had never been anything more than a dream, had been that of a silly little girl.


    A thieving, criminal, delusional little girl.


    It is not your fault. The thought felt distant, echoing, like the remnants of a dream vanishing from my mind in the moments after I first woke.


    Of course it was my fault. I had stolen The Well. I had ran away. I had been stupid enough to think that there was a possibility of my mother saying yes.


    ¡°Hey.¡± Anna said, giving me a small shake. Why was she looking at me like that? She had worn the same expression the night before when I had collapsed into her.


    Arthur, Ms. Lao, My mother, all of them were looking at me that way. It was like I had suddenly slipped and fallen, too clumsy to keep my feet underneath me.


    ¡°Autumn. I am sorry, but you must understand why I cannot allow you, no matter how much it hurts me to tell you no.¡± My mother said, a trail of tears running down her right cheek and a steady stream of iridescent dust pouring from the roof of the cave onto her left shoulder.


    ¡°No, of course. I understand.¡± I said, not realizing that I was moving until I felt the dust under my feet as I walked backwards to the mouth of the cave.


    ¡°Autumn.¡± My mother said, her tone careful and apologetic.


    I thought I was going to be sick. The way they were all looking at me, I couldn¡¯t take it for another second. They weren¡¯t just seeing me, they were seeing through me, seeing what I really was. . .


    ¡°I, uhm, I have somewhere to be.¡± I squeaked out before turning on my heels and running as fast as I could.


    ¡°Autumn!¡± My mother called after me, but I couldn¡¯t stop.


    Bursts of shimmering dust were thrown into the air every time my feet hit the ground. All around me, trails of my mother¡¯s power rained down. I broke through the mouth of the cave, and into the garden. The Split, the snow, the towering walls that had turned the garden into elsewhere crumbled around me. Soft soil and the garden hedges around the garden revealed themselves as my mother¡¯s glamor faded. None of it had been real. None of it had ever been real. It was all just food, just enough to keep me from starving.


    I tripped and fell. Pain shot through my wrists when I caught myself on my hands. I glanced back. The Lao¡¯s stood knee deep in mounds of dust that was the only trace of the cave that had been there moments before. I couldn¡¯t see my mother.


    The stew sat heavy in the bottom of my stomach, feeling sour and uncomfortable. I was nearly sick again, but I picked myself up and continued fleeing.


    I needed somewhere to hide, somewhere I could not be seen.


    Bool and Schmidt stood in my way just outside the mouth of the garden. Each of them were busy dusting the remnants of my mother¡¯s power off of themselves, but I didn¡¯t slow. I tried to slip through the middle of them. My right shoulder caught Schmidt¡¯s hip.


    ¡°Hey, you little shit.¡± The man shouted.


    The recoil of running into him bounced me into Bool. The older guard¡¯s arm wrapping around my middle was all the kept me from falling to the stone path.


    Like I weighed less than Sam, he lifted me up and sat me on my feet, his gloved hand holding my arm firmly to steady me. I locked eyes with him. His brows were dark and bushy. The color of his eyes were a darker green than mine or my mother¡¯s. Even he, a man that had been forbidden to interact with me for fear of him growing fond of me, looked at me like I was a child that had fallen and skinned their knee.


    ¡°Let me go.¡± I growled, swatting at his hand.


    Book glanced back at the garden. ¡°Mothers forgive me,¡± He said under his breath. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? We can help you sort it out.¡±


    I snapped my right arm towards him and drove my fist into his stomach.


    He was a guard. He was wearing armor. My fingers crunched against the hard metal over Bool¡¯s middle.


    It couldn¡¯t have hurt him, but he let me go regardless.


    ¡°Fuck,¡± I shouted, holding my throbbing hand and stepping away from the guards. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    If they said anything else, I didn¡¯t hear it. I made for the back of the manor and had climbed onto the roof of the first floor in a matter of moments. Knees, elbows, toes, I scraped all of them against the rough stone of the walls as I climbed to the highest point of the manor. I rolled onto the roof above mine and Anna¡¯s rooms and lay on my back, staring up at the night sky.


    There were no clouds, but there never were. The air at night was warm, but it always was. The breeze was gentle, but it always was.


    I was a prisoner.


    I always was, even if I had forgotten it.


    I was a criminal.


    I always was, even if I had forgotten it.


    It is not your fault. Came the distant thought again.


    ¡°Shut up.¡± I said to myself. Part of me wished that I would have been treated like a prisoner should be. If I had been kept under lock and key in a small dark room, nothing but three walls and iron bars to keep me company, I wouldn¡¯t hurt the way I did.


    The Mother¡¯s had given me enough room to run that I had formed desires. I wanted to live with Anna, I wanted to experience chaos instead of just seeing it. I wanted to go to school and learn. I wanted to be fucking normal. . .


    If I had never been given the opportunity to want, if all I knew was The Well and sleep, it would be so much easier.


    Maybe that was the point. Maybe they wanted me to want, they wanted me to wish that I could be normal, they wanted me to suffer. If they let me have just enough freedom to imagine what my life could be like without my debt or the seal, it would hurt me all the more when they stole me away for my punishments.


    I deserved it. I had brought it on myself. If I was not bad, there would have been no need for any of it. It was my fault.


    A far off chorus of laughs and claps sounded quietly from the city below. I was hallway off the roof before I forced myself to lay back down. I couldn¡¯t let myself look, no matter how bad I wanted to know what Dreamtongue¡¯s night was truly like. I couldn¡¯t let myself look because I didn¡¯t think I would be able to stop myself from jumping the walls and running away.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    I closed my eyes and wiped the tears that had leaked out. I would stay on the roof until I was sure everyone had gone to sleep. Then, I would sneak into my room. There was no part of me that thought I could stand being seen again.


    It is not your fault. The thought was quieter, weaker, than it had been before. It was almost as if the small piece of myself that wished to believe that had begun to doubt itself.


    I laid unmoving on the roof with my eyes closed, feeling numb and empty. It could have been an hour just as easily as it could have been ten minutes, but after some time, I heard a voice.


    ¡°Just, no-hold-on-Arthur! Put your hands like,¡± I heard Anna say in a harsh, hushed, tone. ¡°There. Now, when I step up, you push me. Got it?¡±


    Silence


    ¡°But how am I going to get up there?¡± I heard Arthur ask.


    ¡°Your arms are longer than I am. Just reach up and pull yourself up.¡± Anna assured her little brother.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m strong enough to do that.¡± Arthur said.


    ¡°Then just push me up and I¡¯ll get her to come down.¡± Anna insisted.


    ¡°Don¡¯t leave me down here, she¡¯s my friend too.¡± Arthur whispered.


    ¡°One, two,¡± Anna counted off. ¡°Three.¡±


    Anna suddenly appeared, her arms and legs flailing, and crashed to the rooftop.


    A furious scowl on her face, she picked herself up and glared back down from where she had appeared from.


    ¡°What the fuck was that?¡± She said, glaring down.


    A set of fingers clutched the edge of the roof at her feet and a moment later, Arthur had pulled himself up and stood


    ¡°I guess I¡¯m stronger than I thought I was.¡± The tall man beamed, striking a pose that flexed the muscles of his arms against the thin fabric of his sleeves.


    Anna slapped him open handed on the stomach. ¡°I can still kick your ass, be more careful next time.¡±


    Arthur doubled over and wrapped his arms around his stomach, his face squeezed into a pained grimace. ¡°Ufhh.¡±


    Only for a moment, the memory of him being gored through his stomach and the life leaving his body while he was silhouetted by the light of his childhood home snapped into my mind.


    Anna pulled her brother into her arms and was offering an endless stream of apologies.


    Arthur struggled to stand, but when he reached his full height Anna and I noticed the same thing immediately.


    ¡°You are a bastard.¡± Anna spat.


    ¡°Got you,¡± Arthur laughed, throwing his head back in a wild laugh. ¡°We¡¯re both bastards. Ma and Dad never got married.¡±


    Anna turned and walked towards me slowly, keeping her dark eyes on mine. ¡°You¡¯ve been spending too much time with Samsara.¡±


    I didn¡¯t get the chance to ask her what she meant.


    Arthur leaned back from another fit of laughter, his arms wrapped around his middle.


    There was no stone for his foot to land on.


    ¡°Hey!¡± I yelled, snapping off the ground and brushing past Anna just in time to see Arthur slam back first into the hard stone of the second story.


    ¡°Arthur!¡± Anna called down to him, standing beside me.


    ¡°Hold on,¡± Arthur grunted as he stood. He patted his hands over his body. ¡°I''m good.¡±


    Like he hadn¡¯t just fallen off of a roof, the tall man jumped and pulled himself back up with little effort.


    Arthur alive and not a broken mess, I sat back down where I had been before, desperately trying to ignore another echo of laughter from the city. ¡°What are you doing up here?¡±


    Anna lowered herself and sat opposite me. ¡°You know why I¡¯m up here. Look at me. Are you okay?¡±


    I looked at her, hoping she had not begun to hate me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I ruined everything. I¡¯m happy about your mom.¡±


    ¡°Shut up, you didn¡¯t ruin anything. Me too, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to do it without you.¡±


    ¡°Bullshit,¡± I said, rolling my eyes. ¡°How is my mother? Is she upset with me?¡±


    Arthur laughed. ¡°She¡¯s not upset with anybody. She¡¯s asleep. I had to carry her to her bed.¡±


    She is asleep. I repeated in my head.


    As if some wicked spirit had set itself to tempting me, more laughter echoed up from the city. I groaned, finding my longing for freedom beginning to grow again. It had been easy when I had been empty, but Anna¡¯s presence alone had sparked me back to life.


    ¡°If she¡¯s anything like you, she will probably be asleep for a week,¡± Anna said, standing up and walking behind me. ¡°Let me take these out, it¡¯s not good for your hair to stay braided for too long.¡±


    ¡°Ma thought you were running away.¡± Arthur said, walking to the far end of the roof and looking out over the city.


    ¡°I thought about it,¡± I said honestly. Enjoying the feeling of Anna unbraiding my hair. ¡°I have a history of doing things like that.¡±


    ¡°Makes sense. I would do it if I were you.¡± Arthur agreed.


    There was something comforting in that. ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Shit yeah! I would have jumped these walls a long time ago. Especially if I had power like you do. I don¡¯t know how you haven¡¯t done it yet.¡± Arthur answered.


    ¡°Me too. I think any of us would,¡± Anna agreed, brushing my hair out with her fingers. She came back around and helped me onto my feet. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Applause, much louder than any of the laughs had been, sounded from the heart of Erosette.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t leave you,¡± I said, a terrible idea beginning to burn in my mind. I looked into Anna¡¯s eyes and felt a wicked smile turn the corner of my mouth up. ¡°But you¡¯re here now.¡±


    ¡°Autumn. No, that¡¯s a terrible idea.¡± Anna warned, apparently knowing what I was thinking just by the look on my face.


    Arthur looked confused. ¡°What¡¯s a terrible idea?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m already a criminal. I¡¯ve already done it once when I didn¡¯t know who I was. It is the best idea,¡± I insisted, poking my bottom lip out.¡°Down and back, I just want to go see what it is like, please?¡±


    Anna covered her face. ¡°Don¡¯t do that to me! That¡¯s not fair. What about the guards? What if someone recognizes you?¡±


    ¡°The guards are all out front, even the captain.¡± Arthur offered.


    ¡°Shut up. That¡¯s not very helpful.¡± Anna snapped at her brother.


    ¡°The guards are all out front,¡± I said like I had known that all along. ¡°Even the captain! I¡¯ll take us down right here over the wall. They will never see us.¡±


    Anna and I were playing the same game we did almost every night we had lived in the manor. We both wanted the same thing, but she would make me convince her before she agreed. The prize was different, but the way it was played remained the same.


    ¡°Even if they do see us, they won¡¯t recognize me.¡± The excitement I felt made what I did next take no effort at all. I focused my aura and became someone else.


    Blonde hair, blue eyes, skin tanned by long days on a beach. ¡°Hello, my name is millime, would you like to celebrate Dreamtongue¡¯s night with me?¡±


    Anna stood firm, arms crossed, but she wanted to break. I could see it in her eyes.


    I covered my face with my hands and then pushed them back over my hair, letting my aura flow freely. Millime faded away just as my hair faded from blonde to gray. Hunching my back and placing my hand on my hip, I gave my voice a breathy quaver. ¡°Ohhh. Young lady, can you help me get back down to the city? I seem to have gotten turned around.¡±


    Anna rolled her eyes, but she couldn¡¯t keep herself from smiling.


    I had won.


    Rising from my stoop, I returned myself from the old woman to Millime. I kissed Anna on her cheek and pulled her to where Arthur stood on the edge of the roof.


    ¡°We will go to the river and then we are coming back, got it? Anna commanded.


    ¡°Right, right. Of course. Just to the river.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m serious. I won¡¯t sleep over if you don¡¯t listen to me.¡± Anna reinforced her previous statement.


    Arthur was looking at us with a strange expression on his face. ¡°You guys are fucking weird.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll show you something weird.¡± I said, wrapping my arms around Anna and throwing us both off the third story roof.


    ¡°What the fuck are you doing?¡± Anna yelled, nothing between us and the ground but empty air.


    My aura rushed out of my palm like I was full of the glimmering power. Just before we hit the ground, I sent a steady stream straight down and slowed our descent just enough that we rolled onto the grass uninjured.


    I answered Anna in a whisper when we rolled to a stop outside of the manor walls. ¡°I¡¯m doing what criminals do, breaking the rules.¡±

 V2: Chapter Twenty Six: Power and Grace

    Excitement, the cause of the lightness that made me feel like I weighed no more than a feather, did not suit a situation where I needed to be stealthy.


    Just as soon as Anna and I untangled from one another, I stood up and looked down at the city.


    Without a moment of hesitation, I ran.


    Dozens of campfires were scattered around the side of the city I could see, each a beacon that called for me to approach it in answer. Who were the souls sitting around their firelight? What stories did they have to tell? How could I not run towards them with reckless abandon?


    It was temporary, but I was free.


    ¡°Autumn!¡± Anna snapped, her voice a harsh whisper.


    The tall grass folding under my bare feet was soft and cool, a welcome change from the usual stone of the garden. I leaned into the decline, letting the hill speed me along as I went. My long hair trailed behind me in the night air as the city grew larger with each of my strides. Somewhere along the way, I realized I was laughing.


    Heavy footsteps sounded behind me, coming much less frequent than my own.


    The guards! I thought with a quick spike of panic.


    I glanced back.


    No, not the guards, only Arthur. He had joined me in my race down the hill.


    Unfortunately for him, I was the wind. How could he compete with a natural force that had been suddenly set free after months of agonizing containment? There was no reality where I would let him win.


    Nothing I felt was illusory. Everything I felt was mine and not a memory. My flight from the manor was beautiful and true in a way that little in my life had been. It was real, all of it, including the vicious thorns that punctured the bottom of my right foot when I saw the tangled track of vines a moment too late.


    A shapeless shout slipped from my lungs as sharp pain shot through my foot and I sailed towards the ground.


    I never hit it. Something coiled around my waist and held me aloft like I actually weighed as much as a feather.


    ¡°Stay low, the captain has eyes like a hawk.¡± Arthur whispered. Carrying me under his arm with seemingly little to no effort, he stepped over the perilous vines before lowering me gently to the grassy ground.


    I crouched like he did. The tall grass reached up to my chin, but only covered the tall man to his chest. ¡°Which one is the captain?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t met him,¡± Arthur said, looking up towards the manor. ¡°Daphne says he patrols the hills all night.¡±


    ¡°Which one is Daphne?¡± I whispered. I knew Schmidt, Bool, Springer, Woolie, but had never heard the name Daphne.


    ¡°He¡¯s supposed to be down at the bridge tonight, but all of them that are on duty are up at the gates.¡± Arthur whispered back.


    The bridge I had nearly crossed just a few days ago when I had thought I was someone named Suri lay somewhere out of sight on our left.


    ¡°So, which one is he?¡± I repeated, my punctured foot beginning to throb.


    ¡°He was out there the morning you fell off the roof,¡± Arthur said, turning back to me. ¡°He¡¯s the one who told me I should join the city guard.¡±


    Footsteps came from behind us and a moment later, Anna crouched down beside me. She grabbed my hand and thumped my fingers. ¡°You can¡¯t take off like that. It¡¯s against the rules.¡±


    In the low light, I knew her face well enough to know she wasn¡¯t truly angry with me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I got excited,¡± I dropped down to my ass and pulled my foot up with my hands. ¡°I stepped on some thorns.¡±


    Small spots of dark liquid leaked from half a dozen spots on my sole in a jagged line. I wiped the blood away with my hand and smeared it onto the grass beside.


    ¡°It¡¯s kind of stupid how little we thought about this. None of us are wearing shoes.¡± Anna whispered.


    ¡°We never wear shoes? Why is that a problem?¡± I asked, rising back to my feet and pressing my punctured foot against the ground to see how bad the pain would be.


    ¡°Stay low.¡± Arthur reminded me, pulling me down by my hand gently.


    ¡°Stepping on thorns for one,¡± Anna tapped the top of my foot with her hand. ¡°What if there are thorns the rest of the way? Why don¡¯t we go back and make a plan? We can try again tomorrow.¡±


    I heard her logic. It made sense. I knew she was right, but I would have rather died than turn around and willingly reenter my prison so soon after I had escaped it. Finding myself in a position to do something I rarely had the opportunity to do, I ignored her question.


    ¡°Arthur is going to become one of the guards.¡± I said, dropping the information and using the distraction it created to begin creeping further away from the manor.


    ¡°Bullshit!¡± Anna blurted quietly, shoving her brother.


    ¡°I think so, it¡¯s better than sitting around all day.¡± The tall man whispered back.


    ¡°How is it bullshit? What else is there for me to do around here?¡± Arthur said much too calmly for my liking. I had hoped to spin them into their usual bickering, but Arthur seemed like he did not wish to argue.


    ¡°What are you gonna guard, the garden?¡± Anna snorted and rolled her eyes.


    Arthur shook his head. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Have you told Ma? You know she isn¡¯t going to let you.¡±


    Arthur sighed. ¡°It¡¯s not her choice. I am a grown man.¡±


    Anna let out an incredulous laugh. ¡°I would love to see you tell her that to her face.¡±


    ¡°Keep your voice down. We¡¯re fugitives right now.¡± Arthur hushed his sister.


    Arthur¡¯s size was not the only thing that had changed about him since we had moved to the manor. There was a tone in his voice, a weight, that made Anna listen to her little brother and cease her teasing.


    Was that what he had been wanting to talk to me about, becoming a guard? I would make time to talk to him, when we weren¡¯t what he had called us.


    According to him, we were fugitives.


    I had been a fugitive when I ran away to the mortal plane, but I did not think the word fit what we were doing. I had every intention of returning to my elaborate prison. If someone caught us, surely they would understand that I was taking a short leave of absence from my sentence and not trying to escape it fully. Which was a perfectly understandable excuse and definitely not fugitive behavior. With the overwhelming fairness and understanding I had been treated with before, surely nothing too extreme would happen if I was caught.


    Despite the lack of bickering, my distraction had worked and the siblings followed me down the hill.


    The manor growing smaller behind us, I reminded myself that it was perfectly fair to bind and seal my aura behind an unbreakable barrier. While we slowly crept over more tracks of thorny vines, my blood from my previous encounter with them still doting the grass under my feet, I reminded myself that it was perfectly fair to leave me with nine unimaginable punishments hanging around my neck like a chain. When the air began to cool as we approached the flowing river at the base of the hill, I reminded myself that it was perfectly fair for my life to be clutched in the death grip of The Mothers because I had done something I couldn¡¯t even remember.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    Perfectly fair.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Arthur said at a normal volume and stood up. ¡°We should be good now.¡±


    Anna exhaled and used me to push herself up. ¡°How are both of you fine? I feel like my legs are on fire.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t sit around all day and drink like you do.¡± Arthur snapped his fingers and pointed at his sister.


    ¡°Look at it,¡± I sighed, walking right up to the river bank and looking at the dozens of campfires littering the streets in front of us. People of every age and variation sat around the flickering fires that littered the streets, big black pots like the one had been in the illusory cave served as the focal points. They all were laughing and smiling, undoubtedly engaged in the storytelling that came with Dreamtongue¡¯s night. Deeper into the city, beyond my sight, there was someone I had to see. ¡°She is in there, somewhere.¡±


    ¡°Who is?¡± Arthur said, holding his hands to his eyes like it would improve his sight.


    ¡°The Mother in Red, right? That¡¯s who you mean?¡± Anna said, standing beside me and brushing my hand with her own.


    ¡°Right, Angry red.¡± I said, my incomplete list of The Mother¡¯s names appearing in my mind. Subtly, my eyes on Arthur¡¯s back, I wove my fingers within Anna¡¯s. A jittery shallowness made my breath feel short in the best way possible. It was different, holding her hand behind her brother¡¯s back. It was a secret pleasure that, combined with the thrill of my momentary freedom, made me feel like I would float off the ground if I let her go.


    ¡°The guards all talk about her like she is a god, but I¡¯ve never seen her.¡± Arthur said, lowering himself and dipping his fingers into the river.


    ¡°You could,¡± I offered, thinking about how easy it would be to cross the water and enter Erosette properly. ¡°We all could.¡±


    Anna let go of my hand and crossed her arms. ¡°Nope. No we can¡¯t. No chance,¡± She said, asking her head. ¡°We came to the river. It¡¯s time to go back.¡±


    ¡°You are right.¡± I agreed, nodding my head.


    Anna continued. ¡°Even if we were stupid enough to go into the city, we can¡¯t cross the river without getting soaked.¡±


    ¡°Right, very true.¡± I said, slowly backing myself away from her and closer to the river bank. Cool droplets splattered against the back of my legs as I reached the water''s edge and focused my aura.


    Arthur grinned widely and winked at me, evidently realizing what I intended to do.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, you still have to train tonight anyways and you need to take care of your feet.¡± Anna said.


    Like when I had been in a desperate struggle against the lich¡¯s creature, I pushed my aura out of my palm and worked it under my feet. I did not use it to launch myself towards some twisted flesh puppet. Instead, I took a step back and held myself just above the rushing water with nothing but my will.


    ¡°Autumn. No!¡± Anna blurted, stepping towards me and trying to pull me back onto the grassy ground.


    ¡°First, we all could see her. We shouldn¡¯t, but we could,¡± I began, taking another step back. It was almost too easy to continue working. I wanted to cross the river. My will made it so that I could with hardly a thought. ¡°Second, I am crossing the river and seem to be dry as a bone.¡±


    Anna shook her head and I watched her initial anger turn to something else. Disbelief, maybe? Her eyebrows were knitted together but her mouth was held open in a smile.


    It was a wonderful conflict that only encouraged me to continue. Making a mental note to make her feel that way as often as I possibly could, I continued walking backwards across the river. ¡°Third, I¡¯ve never done this before. So It seems to be an appropriate replacement for my nightly training, Coach.¡±


    The sight of Anna being so confounded with me brought an energy to my aura that begged to be used. My confidence grew with every step I took and with a wink, I pushed myself off of my working suddenly.


    My feet landed on damp grass.


    Arthur clapped, his wide grin spread across his face.


    ¡°You¡¯re ridiculous,¡± Anna called to me. ¡°I love it.¡±


    She loved it. . . I thought.


    ¡°You are wrong, mortal. I am not ridiculous. I am power and grace personified.¡± I said playfully, flaring my arms and dropping into a dramatic bow.


    I felt so full of life that I thought it might start running out of my eyes and ears.


    Then, my foot slipped on the damp grass and I dropped head first into the cold river.


    My lower half had caught on solid ground, but before I could drag myself back up, sudden water filled my mouth and nose. Coming up gasping, both from the cold and the need for air, I threw myself back and tried to catch my breath.


    Power and grace all the time, that¡¯s me.


    I pushed my soaked hair back from my face and opened my eyes just in time to see Arthur drop Anna to the ground beside me.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t that deep, you could have walked.¡± He said, the water rising to just above his knees proof of his words.


    ¡°Shut up, you¡¯re like thirty feet tall,¡± Anna said. She turned to me. ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    Running my right hand over my hair and pushing the water from each strand with my aura the way my mother had taught me, I could smell the spiced scent of whatever was being cooked in the pot at the fire closest to us.


    ¡°Never better, honestly.¡± I said with a smile.


    Arthur stepped out of the river and I placed my hand above his right knee. From where the wetness ended, I pressed all of the water out of his pants leg and into the ground with my aura before doing the same to his left.


    ¡°You, uhm, look like you again.¡± The tall man said.


    I could feel him desperately trying to not look down at me. He was the weird one, not Anna and I.


    The short drowning must have broken my focus, but it took no time at all to shift myself back into the visage of Millime, whoever she was. ¡°Do you recognize me?¡±


    ¡°I do, but I don¡¯t think anyone else will.¡± Anna said, squaring my shoulders and looking me up and down.


    ¡°How do you?¡± I asked her, wondering if I should dull my facial features like I had when I was Dani.


    ¡°Your dress is filthy, your feet are beat to shit, and the way you look at me,¡± Anna listed quickly. ¡°But nobody else knows you the way I do.¡±


    Arthur cleared his throat. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to her Autumn, I¡¯ve never seen you before in my life.¡±


    Anna rolled her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t call her Autumn, dummy. That¡¯s worse than somebody recognizing her.¡±


    ¡°My name is Millime,¡± I said, turning from the siblings and setting my sights on the group of strangers gathered around the campfire just a little ways away. ¡°Millime.¡±


    ¡°You realize how bad of an idea this is, Millime?¡± Anna asked, taking up beside me.


    ¡°Completely.¡± I agreed.


    ¡°Just making sure.¡± Anna sighed.


    It did not take us long to walk within earshot of the gathering around the pot. All were quiet save for a sandy haired man that was deep in the rows of his story.


    ¡°Azeralphane haunted the city for three days and three nights, The walking storm they called him. The streets were flooded with water and washed away houses. Thunder so loud it broke glass every time it cracked echoed constantly. No one could escape for fear of being struck down by his blue lightning. After three days, the council broke and agreed to turn the boy over to the demon.¡±


    A smattering of gasps and sounds of displeasure sounded from the crowd.


    The man continued. ¡°What were they to do? Let all of Bebin be washed away? Azeralphane was relentless, he would not leave until he acquired what he seeked. . .¡±


    Another story caught my ear and led me further down the street.


    ¡°But the King''s wife was not in her bed chambers.¡± A girl, she didn¡¯t look much older than Anna or I but who could really tell, said to a circle of other girls. All of them wore the same lightweight red cloak and had their hair pulled into tight buns behind their head. The fire they sat around was in front of a large shop with an entirely glass front. Backlit displays of all manners of jewelry shone in the windows behind them.


    ¡°Where was the queen, Rijn? Stop drawing it out.¡± A girl with eyes like Anna and Arthur said.


    ¡°The queen was not in her bedchambers because,¡± Rijn paused. ¡°Because, she was in mine.¡±


    The girls in the matching cloaks burst into wild laughter and I realized it was their roars and howls that had tempted me before my escape.


    I began to giggle myself in the sweet smelling street. Several of them noticed I was participating in their humor, but Anna pushed me along before I could talk to them.


    Uniforms. I realized. School uniforms.


    The further we plunged into the city, the more pots and fires there were. Gruff looking men sat with dainty old ladies. Another twenty or so girls in the uniforms were captivated by a tall sorceress painting the shape of a woman in the air with her crimson aura. We wove through the maze of storyteller¡¯s and their audiences as nothing more than temporary observers. Several times, I looked back to make sure Anna and Arthur were still behind me and every time I did, I found them there. Snippets of stories and single sniffs of scents all filled the air with a tangible festiveness that I would have been content to spend the rest of my life wandering in.


    So many sounds.


    So many people.


    So much to see.


    My attention struggled to focus on any specific thing for more than a second before it would latch on to something else.


    Why did that man curl his mustache in that manner? Did I smell cinnamon? If there was a jewelry shop, there must be something I could find for Anna. I was being watched. Of course I was being watched, I was in a crowd. Someone was bound to be looking at me. Did that lady really need to be wearing two hats? Was that man staring at me or did it seem that way just because of the angle?


    So much. Too much.


    ¡°Hey,¡± Anna said, softly tapping me on my back. ¡°You¡¯ve been standing still for like five minutes. Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a lot,¡± I sighed, shaking my head and closing my eyes. I turned to her and leaned my head against her chest. ¡°I¡¯ve never been somewhere with this much . . . everything.¡±


    Anna wrapped her arm around me. ¡°I can imagine. Why don¡¯t we head back?¡±


    ¡°Shit.¡± Arthur said suddenly.


    ¡°What?¡± Anna asked.


    From somewhere in the crowd of people, I heard a voice I thought I recognized.


    ¡°Oi, Ugi! You finally came down! Come sit with us, bring your friends!¡±


    ¡°The guards.¡± Anna said.


    Shit, indeed.

 V2: Chapter Twenty Seven: Too Much Everything

    How could the guards protect Erosette and its citizens from me if they were lost in the swell of Dreamtongue¡¯s night just as I was?


    ¡°I thought you said they were all outside of the front gates?¡± Anna glared at her brother.


    ¡°They are,¡± He insisted. ¡°The ones that are on duty.¡±


    ¡°We need to run. They cannot see me.¡± I said suddenly, feeling a cold spot of fear behind my navel.


    ¡°Easy, easy. They won¡¯t see you, they will see Millime. Autumn is asleep in her bed, perfectly guarded. Millime is a girl we met in the city.¡± Anna said, reassuring me that I was not in imminent peril.


    Before I could settle and process what she had said, the guard that had called out to Arthur had made his way through the teeming streets and approached us with open arms.


    ¡°Finally decided to come have some fun eh, Ugi?¡± Springer said, the normally uppity man seeming much more relaxed than I had ever seen him. He wore a loose fitting tunic and his feet were bare.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Arthur clasped the back of his neck with his hand and smiled. ¡°You guys gave me enough shit, I figured I would get out of the house.¡±


    Springer wobbled out a bow. ¡°Lady Anna, it is very nice to see you.¡±


    Anna bowed back but she did not lower herself as much as the guard had. ¡°You as well.¡±


    ¡°And who is this?¡± Springer said, turning his flushed face to me.


    Arthur stepped forward, partially concealing me behind his back. ¡°I met her earlier, her name is Millime.¡±


    Springer laughed, a high sound that made me feel like he was not used to the feeling of it. ¡°So, you¡¯ve finally given up on-¡°


    Arthur wrapped his arm around the guards shoulders and turned him back the way he had come. ¡°Where¡¯s Woolie? I haven¡¯t told him he was ugly today.¡±


    ¡°Right, right. Our fire is just over there, let us go.¡±


    Arthur looked back at us and shrugged, following the man through the small gaps in the crowd he could fit through.


    ¡°What about your lady and Lady Anna, they should come too. Come girls, there is plenty of food and drink to be had.¡± Springer called to us and Anna pushed us into motion.


    Millime, Millime, Millime. I repeated in my mind. I was from Erosette. I had blonde hair. Earlier that evening I had met Arthur for the very first time. He must have known the drunken man from work or something similar. I had nothing else to do so I was tagging along with the tall man and his sister.


    I am Millime.


    At the edge of a stone alcove between two large buildings, complete with a pink marble fountain and crawling ivy, Springer dropped himself to the ground around a very small copper pot. Woolie, dark beard and burly arms, sipped a steaming drink held in a mug between his big hands.


    ¡°Ugi!¡± Woolie grunted affectionately when he looked up and saw Arthur.


    ¡°Hey you old ugly bastard.¡± Arthur said. Though his words were mean, his tone and demeanor was one of friendliness.


    Woolie grinned and took a sip from his cup. ¡°Lady Anna, who is your friend?¡±


    ¡°This is Millime, we met her on the other side of the city.¡± Anna said, seemingly relaxed and casual.


    ¡°It is nice to meet you, Millime. I am Woolie. I guard the manor these two live in.¡±


    Trying to ignore the memory of the big man wearing a perfectly fitting barmaids garb, I gave him a tight lipped smile. ¡°Hello, Woolie.¡±


    Springer pulled the top from the little copper pot and poured cupfuls of a milky liquid into mugs, one for each of us. ¡°Here. Pass these around, Ugi. This is my father¡¯s recipe. I only make it on nights such as these.¡±


    ¡°Why do you call him that?¡± I asked, realizing that the guards were forbidden from talking to me. There was no such edict preventing them from talking to who they thought was some city girl that had turned up around their fire.


    ¡°Yeah, why do you call me that?¡± Arthur said, raising his mug to his nose and inhaling.


    ¡°Lady Aubrey was supposed to tell the story in the garden tonight,¡± Springer said, leaning his back against the bricks behind him. ¡°Did you not pay attention?¡±


    Arthur shook his head. ¡°She got too tired. I guess she used too much of her power.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t let Bool hear you say that. He¡¯ll box your ears if you so much as imply that Lady Aubrey¡¯s power is not limitless.¡± Woolie said with a chuckle. The sound came naturally from him. He must laugh much more than his partner.


    I looked at Anna, thinking at her with all of my might. This is going so well. Of course they don¡¯t recognize me.


    ¡°Lady Millime, my apologies if this seems inappropriate, but what happened to your feet?¡± Springer said, his unfocused eyes pointing in my general direction.


    I looked down and saw the skinned patches of red that ran over my toe. Shit.


    Surely, with the entire city being made of stone and brick, It could not be that uncommon for someone to skin their feet. ¡°It is nothing, I-¡°


    Fortune came in the way of someone interrupting me and addressing all of us around the small fire. ¡°I am sorry to disrupt your celebrations, but I have grown quite tired. Is there room for me here?¡±


    An older woman with stark white hair and a thin, beautiful, face looked down at us with tired eyes. Despite the warm night, she was bundled in a heavy shawl that was torn and tattered at its edges.


    I had seen her before. I did not know when, I did not know how, and I did not know who I was when I had, but I was certain that this was not the first time I had seen her.


    ¡°There is room, please sit. Everyone else has gone to the heart to hear The Mother¡¯s story.¡± Woolie answered the woman.


    She nodded wearily. ¡°I can give a story in payment if you will allow me something from your pot, it smells wonderfully.¡±


    Springer shook his head and filled a mug for her without letting a moment pass. ¡°We will take it if you are willing to give, but it is no payment. It would be a gift, just as this is.¡±


    ¡°Please, give me a hand.¡± She said, looking down at me.


    Millime would. I would. I thought, offering my hand to her.


    Shakily, she lowered herself to the ground and patted me on my shoulder when she had settled. The mug was passed from hand to hand until she took it from me. ¡°My story is a short one, yet it is the only one I have to tell.¡±


    I drank from my mug, the golden milk tasting rich and complex on my tongue. Despite having sat through several stories already, in my mother¡¯s illusory cave, I found myself excited to hear what the older woman was going to say.


    ¡°There was a Lordling who, due to his position, was forced into an arranged marriage with a Lady for political reasons. It¡¯s a tale as old as time, we have all heard something similar before,¡± The older woman began, her drink seeming to wash away her previous weariness. ¡°But what the Lordlings father and the Lady¡¯s mother did not expect, was the most wonderful and unexpected turn of fate that could have happened. Meant to be pawns in their parents'' power games, the newlyweds fell in love and ran away together.¡±


    The older woman had been honest. Her story was indeed short and my mind had turned elsewhere by the time she had finished.


    If I could find an inconspicuous way to leave the guards'' fire, maybe I could lay my eyes on The Mother in Red before she finished her story.


    ¡°The Mother, has she begun her story as of yet?¡± I asked, draining the rest of my cup and placing it at my feet.


    Springer looked at the much less crowded streets and answered me. ¡°I believe she has, but not very long ago.¡±


    ¡°Oh? She is late this year.¡± The older woman said.


    ¡°My mate from the enclave said it¡¯s because of the war. Some sorcerer decided that Gemgrove no longer belonged to The Mothers.¡± Woolie sighed, casting his eyes down.


    Springer took on his partner''s sudden sullenness. ¡°It is all too easy to forget what chaos is truly like outside of Zenithcidel.¡±


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    I did not like the mood that had settled around the little copper pot. Standing, I glanced at Anna and then gave a little bow. ¡°Thank you all for your kindness, but I wish to see The Mother.¡±


    Anna understood and stood up beside me. ¡°Yes, thank you.¡±


    ¡°Already? But you¡¯ve only just arrived.¡± Springer pouted.


    ¡°You should go too, Ugi. You have never seen her before, right?¡± Woolie said.


    Arthur finished his drink and climbed to his feet. ¡°Sorry old man, I¡¯ve got to make sure these two don¡¯t get into any trouble.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your story, stranger.¡± I nodded to the older woman with the stark white hair before turning to slip back into the stream of people flowing deeper into the city. My confidence in recognizing her had faded, there must have been a white haired woman in one of the memories that hid in the shadows at the edges of my memory.


    ¡°Hold on, Arthur. Wait a moment.¡± Springer called after us, sounding much more serious than before.


    ¡°Yeah?¡± Arthur answered.


    ¡°Consider what I have said to you earlier. Do not let Drizkt and Daphne push you into something you will regret. Stick to points. There is always a tournament running in the city. Use that to get your thrills.¡± Springer said.


    ¡°Leave him alone. He¡¯s gotta make his own mind up.¡± Woolie grunted, refilling his mug with the golden milk.


    ¡°Just keep it in your thoughts, alright?¡± Springer asked.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Arthur nodded, the appearance of his placid mask becoming more and more frequent


    We left the alcove and rejoined the current that seemed to draw everyone inward, like bubbles spiraling towards the drain in a shower. Further towards the heart, further from the manor. Thoughts of the well house or the garden were as from my mind as could be.


    I led the three of us, stepping past and weaving through every kind of person. Behind me, I heard a quick exchange between the siblings.


    ¡°Are you really thinking about becoming a guard?¡± Anna said to Arthur.


    ¡°I dunno, what else do I have to do here?¡± Arthur said to Anna.


    Anna didn¡¯t respond to that.


    Just as we rounded the smoldering embers of a recently abandoned cook fire, something sweet filled my nose.


    ¡°What¡¯s that smell?¡± Arthur asked as we were forced to halt our progress.


    ¡°Vanilla?¡± Anna said, standing shoulder to shoulder with me.


    ¡°And cinnamon.¡± I added, finding myself beginning to be overwhelmed once again.


    A mass of people that were seemingly packed so tightly in the crowded street I doubted there was any air between them.


    Our journey into the heart had slowed to a true crawl when I heard a voice in the distance. With the eager chatter and noise of those around me, I could not make out the words, but I immediately knew it was from the same mouth as the song from the beginning of Amoranora.


    It was clear, bright, and filled my heart with a sudden longing.


    ¡°I have to see her.¡± I said, intertwining my fingers with Anna¡¯s.


    ¡°There¡¯s too many people. How are we going to get through?¡± Anna asked.


    Arthur crossed his arms. ¡°I¡¯m twice the size of everybody here, I could get us through.¡±


    ¡°What a great plan, little brother. Get everyone¡¯s attention by bull rushing through them. It¡¯s not like we have anybody that should absolutely not be out here with us.¡± Anna said, rolling her eyes.


    ¡°We don¡¯t. Millime isn¡¯t a criminal.¡± Arthur said with complete seriousness.


    Anna ran her free hand over her face, showing the reds of her eyes. ¡°You-I-sometimes-wow. . .¡±


    We had moved forward enough that I could see that the street opened up into a much larger space that was equally full of people.


    From the Indistinct words she spoke, I knew she was in there. Everyone had packed in just for the chance to see her.


    ¡°Just follow me.¡± I said, focusing my aura and bringing it to my palm.


    I want to go home. I thought, thinking about the pain in my feet and the aching in my bones. How nice would it be to turn in early, take a warm shower, and slip into my nice cool sheets. The night had been long and my ears had heard enough stories that my dreams would come easy and full.


    I want to go home. I repeated in my mind, placing my hand gently on the back of the large man standing in front of me. ¡°Excuse me, sir.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right. My apologies, I must be going.¡± The man said, nodding at me. He turned away from the crowd and made his way up current.


    I want to go home. I thought again, stepping forward into the space the man had vacated and brushing my palm against the forearm of the next person in my way. ¡°Can we slip past you?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± A friendly looking woman agreed. ¡°I was just heading home.¡±


    ¡°Are you?¡± Anna whispered, holding onto the back of my dress.


    ¡°I am.¡± I said, keeping my focus on my false homesickness.


    Step by step, person by person, my charm took and we slipped through the crowd like Jotuza had the ocean.


    Her voice could be heard between the reactionary sounds of the crowd, growing clearer and closer with every person I sent home to their beds. I want to go home. I could not let my thoughts be swayed by the excitement I felt.


    We reached the pinch point between a large library and what looked like a guard post. Just as I sent a mother with two young children away and began to walk down the incline of the large opening in the city, applause broke out and I realized that her story had just ended.


    Faster, Anna and Arthur staying close to my back, I pushed through the crowd. The wake of the charmed ones streamed behind us and I could see flashes of the platform that was the focal point of it all.


    ¡°She¡¯s there.¡± I said under my breath, cinnamon and vanilla drawing me in like an insect to the scent of a rose. All around me, save for those I touched, everyone cheered and clapped as if every desire in their life had been fulfilled. I could scarcely believe that I was truly in the heart of Erosette, but I realized the heart was not truly the center of the city.


    A momentary window through the crowd showed me a long leg peeking out from a crimson dress.


    Further towards angry red.


    Her hands, awash in rose colored aura, gently passing over the outreaching crowd.


    Further towards The Mother in Red.


    A sudden sound of surprise and the flare of firelight as The Red Mother mounted her lion of fire.


    Further toward the true heart of Erosette, The terrible vitality that would punish me to an end that only she knew.


    I was so close, so close, to seeing the face of one of my punishers with my own eyes.


    Just as we broke through the crowd and only a single layer of people kept me from running right up to the stage, the lion of fire bounded away from us and The Mother in Red was gone.


    So close. I had been so close. The force that had drawn me forward fell away and I suddenly felt very uncomfortable being around so many people.


    ¡°Oh, I am sorry. Am I too close to you?¡± The spritely woman whose back I had absentmindedly touched with my charmed hand said.


    Fuck. The energy of the crowd, the desire in my heart, I had lost my focus.


    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± Arthur said suddenly.


    ¡°I wonder, what are the chances that we would run into one another here.¡± The woman said.


    Like me, her feet were bare. She wore a yellow dress so light it was nearly white. It fit snuggly, emphasizing her slender but muscular frame. Her blond hair was wild, like a bird''s nest, and a strange looking bird with a pinched looking head sat atop it.


    ¡°The prettiest man you ever saw is what you called me last time we spoke.¡± Sorceress Ulet said to Arthur, a mousy smile on her face.


    Ulet, who had been Mr. Bill Argus and saved me from the clutches of the sorcerer Eames, was an inch in front of me.


    I heard Arthur laugh. ¡°I don¡¯t remember that, but it sounds like me.¡±


    She was not a normal citizen that would feel like they had suddenly wished to go home.


    She was a sorceress in full and I had charmed her.


    My face painted with Millime or not, surely she had recognized the touch of my aura on her back.


    ¡°And you, I see that you have no plates in your hands. Does this mean we can be more cordial this time?¡± Ulet asked Anna.


    The crowd erupted around us and I turned to see that someone new had taken the stage.


    A man with sleek black hair and red toned skin smiled and accepted the applause. When he spoke, he did not yell, but his voice sounded like he was speaking directly to me. ¡°Thank you all for making my night so enjoyable. Allow me to return the favor.¡±


    ¡°As long as you don¡¯t threaten to kill me.¡± Anna answered Ulet, stepping forward and placing herself in front of me like I was a stranger that had gotten in her way.


    Dreamtongue himself, one of The Red Mother¡¯s lovers, began his story. ¡°I will tell you of Siegfried.¡±


    The sound of something large swooping through the air above drew my eyes to the sky. Wings beats, like the pounding of the rhythm maker''s drums from several nights ago, silenced the crowd. A silhouette descended from the sky and shot cold fear through my spine.


    ¡°Siegfried the dragon slayer.¡± Dreamtongue continued.


    Fire exploded in the sky and a chorus of shocked gasps sounded from the crowd around me.


    The bird atop Sorceress Ulet¡¯s nest of hair broke out into a sudden flurry of chirps and whistles.


    Ooo? Had that been his name?


    Sam could see through my glamors. If that turned out to be a common trait among familiars, then my true identity could be discovered with little more than another chirp.


    From behind the space the siblings had made with their bodies, I stared at Ulet and wondered if her familiar had already given me away.


    ¡°By the way you are looking at me, I suppose we have met as well?¡± Ulet asked me directly, her mousey face looking genuinely curious. The siblings turned to look at me at the sound of her words.


    So slight that I was sure no one noticed it but me, Anna gave her head a small shake and pointed her eyes towards the direction of the manor. She was telling me to pretend like I did not know any of them and to go home. I don¡¯t know how I knew it, but her silent instructions could not have been more clear.


    ¡°No, I was trying to see The Mother in Red.¡± I lied, partially.


    ¡°You have just missed her, I''m afraid.¡± Ulet said apologetically, like it was her doing that had prevented me from seeing the mother.


    With an intentionally despondent sigh, I turned and began to make my way back through the crowd like all of the people I had charmed home before me.


    Dreamtongue must have painted some heroic image in the sky above me because as the crowd began to thin, a roar of cheers rose up behind me.


    Without the draw of the heart of Erosette to guide me, something unexpected happened to me.


    I got lost.


    No Anna, no Arthur, and no Sam.


    Alone.

 V2: Chapter Twenty Eight: Walkabout

    On my name I swear, I truly meant to go back to the river and wait for Arthur and Anna.


    The need to distance myself from Ulet had outweighed my desire to watch the imaginary battle unfolding between the dragon and Siegfried. If the introduction Dreamtongue had given his story had not told me how it would end, I may have not been able to remove myself. Starting a story that focused on the struggle between a warrior and a dragon by introducing the warrior as a dragon slayer left very little room for me to worry.


    So, I had left the heart of Erosette and returned the way I had come, gathering snippets of stories from each fire I passed.


    Standing at a little fire, complete with a little black pot, a wide eyed little boy tried his best to scare the other children gathered around him.


    ¡°It crawls out from under your bed and crawls up the walls. It¡¯s got eight black eyes and eight black legs and eight black fangs.¡± The little boy said, holding out his arms and baring his teeth in the light of the dimming fire.


    Not far from the children, a larger fire burned. Surrounded by what must be the children¡¯s parents and their friends, a woman with deep burgundy eyes and a strong jaw called to the little boy. ¡°Garon, must you tell such a dark tale?¡±


    ¡°Stop it, Mother! I¡¯m just getting to the good part,¡± Garon shouted. Without pause, he continued. ¡°It shoots out its web and wraps you up in it, blanket and all. When you can¡¯t move and it sucks all the strength out of you with its silk, it crawls down and makes you watch it eat you alive.¡±


    Once he had called her mother, the resemblance between the boy and the woman became clear. It was not as alike as I was with my mother, but some of the features were there.


    One of the other children spoke up, evidently unaffected by the terror Garon had tried to inflict them with.


    ¡°If it¡¯s small enough to fit under your bed, how is it big enough to wrap you up?¡± A little girl piped up.


    The child fire grew even dimmer as Garon voiced his displeasure at the girl¡¯s disbelief. ¡°You don¡¯t get it. Tell her, Gaught! Like you told me!¡±


    Garon¡¯s mother shook her head and let out a weary sounding sigh. ¡°You are where he has been hearing things like this?¡±


    The fire underneath the adult¡¯s pot spun like fallen leaves being picked up by a sudden wind. Taking form, the shape of a serpent extended its head of flame to Garon¡¯s mother and spoke in a hiss. ¡°My lady, my apologies. You know he will not sleep without being told a story.¡±


    Neither could I, when I was young. It had not been that long ago that my own mother would tuck me in every night and talk me to sleep. Garon and I had much in common it seemed.


    ¡°Dear?¡± Garon¡¯s mother called to her son, but he was looking at me.


    It was awfully rude of a child to not listen to their mother. Even I knew that.


    ¡°Dear?¡±


    Fuck. The slow pace I had taken so I could listen to the story about the spider had gradually turned to stillness. Probably wondering why some strange girl was lingering in the street, I had gained the sorceress''s attention.


    ¡°Is everything alright, dear?¡± She asked, her maroon eyes focused on my own.


    ¡°Oh, yes, I¡¯m sorry. I was just passing by.¡± I sputtered. With an apologetic smile, I began to move again. Every child around the little fire and every adult around the larger one, including the serpent of fire, were all staring at me.


    The sorceress stood and stepped out into the street after me.


    Fuck.


    ¡°But your feet are injured and you look like you have been dragged across the ground? You are a maiden,¡± She walked right up to me and ran her hand over the front of my dress. ¡°Yes. This is a maiden¡¯s dress. Has something happened to you?¡±


    I was filthy. The tops of my feet were scraped and red. I could see how she would think that something unfortunate had happened to me.


    ¡°No,¡± I said, not knowing what I was going to say before I started speaking. What could have Millime gotten herself into to end up in the state I was in? ¡°I, uhm, lost a game of Points.¡±


    ¡°At Seven Columns?¡± She questioned me.


    ¡°Yes.¡± I nodded. What the fuck is seven columns?


    ¡°But you are a maiden? They do not allow sorceresses to play.¡±


    ¡°I, uhm. . .¡± I said.


    Garon¡¯s mother smiled. ¡°Smart girl! You didn¡¯t tell them. I should have tried that,¡± She opened her arms and gestured to where she had been seated before. ¡°Come sit with us, my familiar can see to your injuries and you can tell me how you tricked old Bry into letting you in.¡±


    The serpent of flame raised its head in my direction. The same fear that I had felt about Ulet¡¯s bird possibly being able to see through my glamor rose back within me.


    ¡°I have to go.¡± I blurted out, turning from the sorceress with the maroon eyes and walking quickly past her fire. If she called after me, I did not hear it because a beastial roar erupted from the heart of the city and drowned out everything but the pounding of my own.


    When I glanced back as I turned onto a side street, there was confusion on her face, but she was not following me. Still, I turned again and continued to distance myself. I walked through a small street that seemed to be made entirely of different bakeries and slipped into an empty alleyway just as another roar came from Dreamtongue¡¯s dragon.


    The small space between buildings was the only place I had been in Erosette that was not completely full with people and I took the opportunity to lean back against the wall and close my eyes for a moment.


    I had seen more and had more interactions with people in the last few hours than I had in all of my life before. Whipping violently between panic and excitement several times since crossing the river had left me feeling thin, but a smile spread across my face despite it all.


    In part, the overwhelming slurry of faces and voices and feelings should have made me want to go running home to my mother. It was a lot, just as I had said to Anna it was, but I found that my appetite for it knew no bounds. I wanted to live there. I would forget the manor and well house without hesitation if it meant I could be a part of the sheer amount of life that every brick and stone of the city teemed with.


    I could run away again.


    There was absolutely no reality where I would leave Anna behind, but I could ask her to go with me. She said she would be whatever I needed her to be and I believed her, but did that extend to being a runaway? Would she leave her mother and brother behind to go with me?


    Even if she would, I did not know if I should ask her.


    ¡°Thank you all!¡± Dreamtongue¡¯s golden voice echoed into the alleyway. Cheers and applause followed quickly after and by the sound of it, his night had ended.


    Pushing myself off of the wall and opening my eyes, I set off to find Anna and Arthur. Before I could leave the alley, The small hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and a shiver shook me down to the stones beneath my soles.


    Autumn.


    A staircase was cut into the ground a few steps to my right. I could not see the bottom of it, but it stepped down towards the back of one of the bakeries. The warm glow of the city dimmed and died at the top of them, an unnatural darkness seeping up from the ground.


    Autumn.


    Something was watching me.


    Something dark and cold.


    There was nothing at the bottom of those stairs. Not a rat or a spider or roach. No life at all, only a void that sucked everything out of the air.


    And, it was watching me.


    Autumn.


    Calling me. . .


    My arms and legs would not move. My eyes were drawn to the staircase and I could do nothing but feel the cold truth that I was truly alone. I wanted nothing more than to turn and flee, but I knew I would answer the calling and there would be no one around to care.


    Then, as if nothing at all was strange or out of place in the alleyway, a group of red cloaked girls appeared and walked right by the staircase. Striding confidently and completely involved in their own conversations, none of them noticed me or the stairs as they passed.


    With one last glance at the seemingly normal staircase that was no longer drawing me in or devoid of light, I decided that I no longer wished to have a moment alone. As soon as there was enough distance between the uniformed girls and I that I would not raise suspicion, I followed them out of the alley.


    Their cloaks hung to just above their elbows and tapered down to a point at their waists. Each wore a dress that was similar to mine in style, but not color. Pink, crimson, maroon, and every other shade of red made the group look like a bouquet of warm toned flowers. They wore shoes that were barely shoes. A thin bottom covered their soles and were held to their feet by thin straps that ran over the top and up and around their ankles. Just like the dresses, the color of each girl''s hair differed, but they were all tied back in a braid like what Anna had done to mine. There was a unity that held the group together despite their differences. The uniforms, the confidence they walked with, the constant back and forth of their chattering and laughing, I couldn¡¯t help but continue to follow them as they navigated the crowded streets without hesitation.


    A large walled garden that looked like someone had cut a perfect section out of a lush forest and dropped it into the middle of Erosette came into my sight after several blocks of what looked to be homes, and the girls walked right through the open gate.


    Somewhere, in the back of my mind, I knew I should not have been so willing to throw myself into such a dark and hidden place with little to no apprehension. The only thing I should have been doing was going back to the river and waiting for Anna and Arthur. In truth, I should have been asleep in my room, but I was a long way away from my bed and the forest garden was very close.


    And, I liked their shoes. They looked comfortable. The way the thin straps would shift and reveal a pattern of suntanned skin with every step, there was something pleasing about it. As silly as it sounded, that was all it took for my hesitation to dissipate.


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Passing through a cluster of tightly packed trees, I could no longer see them fully, but the sound of them was enough for me to know which bends and turns on the twisted path for me to follow.


    ¡°-how she is when she is here.¡±


    ¡°-take me on a date. Can you believe that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m hungry, do you-¡°


    ¡°Jai said he would be waiting for me tomorrow after-¡°


    ¡°Pshhh. Jai is just trying to get under your dress, if I were-¡°


    ¡° -did I give my-¡°


    I could never hear a full sentence or follow the flow of conversation fully and I only caught glimpses of their red cloaks through the gaps in the branches. Still, I wanted to know who Jai was and what they wanted that was under somebody''s dress. Why is she the way she was when she was here?


    Those questions were enough to carry me past the pink marble statue that sat in a round of leafy vines at the gates and into a circular courtyard. A fountain, twice my own height, spewed streams of water that fell down in perfect arcs. Uniform sections of the patterned brick that paved the space were missing. Tangled mounds of thorny vines stood in their place. White stoned buildings surrounded me, leaving only the sight of the night sky over my head.


    The thorns were the same kind that had left half a dozen puncture holes on the bottom of my foot and the pink marble statue in the garden was a larger version of what stood behind the manor, but wherever I had wound up was infinitely more beautiful than the hillside or the garden back home.


    There was an issue, however.


    Having left the darkness between the trees and stepped into the courtyard fully, the group of girls I had been following were nowhere to be seen.


    Vanished, gone, I could not even hear their voices any longer.


    Something suddenly grasped my shoulder.


    I screamed and whipped around, my aura flaring within me.


    A pale faced man with eyes the color of blood dropped down into a ready stance and raised his fists at me, his wide brimmed hat unmoving atop his head.


    ¡°Who are you, girl?¡± He demanded. Though he had not attacked, there was a tension in his limbs that acted as a promise of violence depending on how I answered.


    ¡°I. . .¡± I began, but my words fell away.


    The group of girls with their short red cloaks and sparse shoes walked out of the dark garden.


    ¡°She has been following us for a while.¡± One said.


    ¡°Probably wants to sneak in here and steal something.¡± Another added.


    ¡°If I looked like that, I would steal a bath and a change of clothes.¡± A third said, sending the rest into pointed laughter.


    I did not find it funny because it was pointed at me.


    Seemingly finding nothing in my stance that indicated his promise needed to be fulfilled, the man rose to his full height. ¡°All of you go to bed. I normally don¡¯t give two dust bags about your curfew, but you know how she is when she is here.¡±


    ¡°But what about her?¡± One of the girls asked, already moving towards the tall building on my right.


    ¡°Are any of you the overseer? No? I didn¡¯t think so. Go to bed.¡± The man said.


    ¡°Goodnight, Nocti.¡± The girls each mumbled as they listened to the man and entered the white stoned building on my right.


    The man waited until they had all entered the white stoned building before he turned his crimson gaze back to me. He did not speak, he only peered at me from under the shadows of his hat silently.


    ¡°I was just going.¡± I muttered, unable to make myself move towards the garden for some reason.


    ¡°Why were you here in the first place? Is there a reason you were following the underwitchs?¡± The man asked.


    Underwitchs.


    ¡°Shoes.¡± I blurted. Why had I not just gone to the river and waited? In what reality has it been a good idea for me to wander off alone.


    ¡°You wanted to steal their sandals?¡± The man asked, only his eyes visible underneath the shadows of his hat.


    ¡°No, I did not want to steal anything. I liked their shoes.¡± I corrected him. Why could I not move? It felt almost as if he was holding me in place with nothing but his gaze.


    He held his hand behind his back. ¡°You expect me to believe that you wandered in here because you liked their sandals?¡±


    ¡°To be fair, I do not know where here is. And, you should believe me because it is the truth.¡± I answered honestly, choosing to meet his constant gaze with my own.


    ¡°Hmmm. What is your name?¡± He turned away from me and began to pace back and forth in front of the gate.


    ¡°Millime.¡± I said.


    ¡°Lie.¡± The man answered.


    ¡°What?¡± How could he tell?


    ¡°You were not lying when you said that you did not know where you were and that you like the underwitch¡¯s shoes, but Millime is not your name, ¡±The man said, straightening the brim of his hat between two fingers. ¡°If I had to guess, you are the type to fight or flee if I pressed you for more. So, I will not, but you must swear to me that you will not return here.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± He was playing with me. I did not know the game or what was at stake, but he seemed to be enjoying it.


    ¡°Because, I could have you draped in chains merely for setting foot in the garden. A young girl like yourself would not enjoy that, I don¡¯t think. Because I am a gentleman, I do not wish to do that. However, I am bound to perform my duty. If you cannot swear to me that you will never return, I will see you arrested.¡± The man said.


    Lie. I thought to myself. Nothing in his demeanor matched what he had said.


    ¡°I will swear it, for a price.¡± I answered, hoping my assumption of his playfulness was correct.


    It was slight, but I thought I saw a small smile flash across his face while he continued to pace.


    ¡°Freedom is not payment enough? Hmmm. I cannot give you sandals. Generally, I do not keep such things on my person.¡±


    ¡°Three questions. Answer them and I will swear what you have asked of me,¡± I said. He was smiling, and I found myself beginning to enjoy the game he had begun with me. ¡°First, where can I get sandals like what they were wearing?¡±


    ¡°A waist of a question. Every cobbler in Erosette sells them.¡± He answered quickly.


    ¡°Second, where did I wander into?¡± I continued.


    The man laughed. ¡°Could you imagine a rabbit wandering into a lion''s den and being innocent enough to ask the lion where it was?¡±


    ¡°Maybe, but what if the rabbit is actually a fox and the lion is being tricked.¡± I answered. There was something about him that reminded me of Sam. Threat if imprisonment included, his brand of intimidation was much more enjoyable than my little blue demon¡¯s.


    The man laughed harder than before. ¡°Shame you have to leave, you are quite entertaining. This is The Mother in Red¡¯s garden. It is where she cultivates what she finds meaningful.¡±


    ¡°What the fuck does that mean?¡± I blurted. I knew there was a garden, but what about the fountain and the buildings? Terrifyingly powerful had been the displays I had seen from angry red, but I doubted that she could grow buildings.


    ¡°Is that your third question?¡± The man said, his pacing having taken on a playful jauntiness.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Then ask it.¡± He insisted.


    ¡°There is a manor on a hill somewhere outside of the city. I need to know how to find the bridge that leads to it. Can you tell me?¡±


    The man stopped his pacing and became very still. ¡°What business do you have at the manor?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t. I¡¯m supposed to meet my friends by the bridge.¡± I half lied. Everywhere on the river bank was by the bridge depending on how general the question I asked was.


    ¡°Hmm. You aren¡¯t lying, but you are not telling me the full truth,¡± He sighed. ¡°You go back through the garden and turn left. Continue straight until you see the river and then turn right. You¡¯ll see the bridge not long after that.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll be going now.¡± I took a step towards the garden and then felt like there was nothing in the world I could do to raise my legs.


    ¡°Your swear?¡± The man reminded me.


    ¡°I swear that I, Millime, will not return to this place.¡± I swore seriously.


    The red eyed man laughed again, throwing his head back and letting the light of the night hit his pale face. ¡°A fox indeed. You are no rabbit, girl. Now be on your way before I change my mind.¡±


    ¡°And you are no lion.¡± I said as I made my way into the darkness within the trees. When I turned around to take one last look at him, the courtyard was empty.


    From somewhere that I could not see, I heard his voice again. ¡°This is a school, girl. Now be gone.¡±


    I had no way to prove if it was the truth or my imagination, but it felt like his red eyes watched every step I took back through the garden. It was only when I followed his directions and saw the clear water of the river running in front of me that I felt I was no longer being watched.


    Something I had never seen in Erosette hung over the city. Dark clouds swirled and rolled across the sky, low rumbles of thunder underpinning their movements.


    Most of the street that ran along the river had emptied. Some gatherings were still placed here or there, but their fires had begun to die down. Occasionally, I passed a person that had decided to lay down and fall asleep on the grassy river bank like it was the most comfortable place in the world. It spoke to the safety of The Mother in Red¡¯s domain. If people could sleep without fear in the dark of night of Erosette, there had to be little bad that happened there. Maybe, it spoke to The Red Mother¡¯s demeanor as well. If her place was so safe and the weather was always perfect, maybe Angry Red would not burn me alive like one of the flower buds from the other night.


    ¡°Autumn.¡±


    The sound of my name alone was enough to dispel any thoughts of safety.


    Being suddenly grabbed from behind for the second time that night was enough to make me feel like a fool for ever thinking I was safe.


    Just as I had with the red eyed man, I whipped around with my aura at the ready.


    Impact.


    Anna threw her arms around me and squeezed me tight. ¡°Where have you been? I¡¯ve been looking for you all over.¡±


    She pushed me away just enough that she could look me over and then kissed me on my cheek.


    The embrace and the worry made a warm spot bloom in my belly. The kiss, even if it was just on my cheek, turned the bloom to a blaze.


    ¡°Absence makes the heart grow fonder.¡± I said, tightening my arms around her in turn.


    ¡°If I grow any fonder of you I won¡¯t be able to function.¡± Anna sighed.


    ¡°Hey,¡± Arthur cleared his throat and walked up to us. ¡°I hate to interrupt whatever this is, but we have to get back. It¡¯s almost morning and it looks like rain.¡±


    As if morning had been a magic word that allowed my tiredness to catch up to my mind, I suddenly let out a full bodied yawn that lifted me to the tips of my sore toes.


    ¡°What happened with Sorceress Ulet?¡± I yawned.


    ¡°Nothing. She apologized for being rude the last time she saw us. She asked about you, but then she left. We¡¯ve been looking for you since.¡± Anna answered me.


    ¡°Hey, we can talk when we get home. Here is the plan,¡± Arthur said, stepping into the river. ¡°I¡¯ll go up first and distract the guards. When you see me climb the wall, start heading up the hill. Got it?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t lie to you, little brother. That might be the smartest idea you¡¯ve ever had.¡± Anna said, her face looking shocked at Arthur¡¯s intelligence.


    The tall man did not answer. Silently, he crossed the river and began to move up the hillside quickly. I lost track of him shortly after when another yawn forced me to close my eyes.


    ¡°Can we go to bed now?¡± I sighed.


    ¡°Not yet, there are some things we need to do first, " Anna said, stepping into the river. ¡°You are going to walk with me this time. No walking on water.¡±


    ¡°What do we have to do? It¡¯s already tomorrow.¡± I whined. Slumping my shoulders and letting my head drop, I followed her into the current.


    ¡°First, we both need to bathe. Second, I have something I want to try.¡± Anna said, a wry smile on her face.


    I gave her a hand onto the manor side bank. ¡°We are in water now, can that not count as bathing?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely not.¡± Anna laughed.


    We took a breath once we were on solid ground once again and Anna pointed at Arthur as he scaled the manor wall and disappeared over the top of it.


    ¡°How was it? The city, being out of the manor, was it what you thought it would be?¡± Anna asked as we began to walk again.


    ¡°No, it was better,¡± I smiled and took her hand in my own. ¡°Which is why we are going back tomorrow.¡±

 V2: Chapter Twenty Nine: Shape and Color

    Getting back into the confines of the manor walls turned out to be much more difficult than escaping them had been.


    Anna was not heavy, but I was tired and my feet hurt. After several attempts that were not nearly as quiet as they should have been, we slipped through the back door of the manor somehow undiscovered.


    The dark clouds that had suddenly formed in the sky had grown darker as we returned and mercifully chose the exact moment we stepped inside to let loose the storm they had been threatening.


    Saying it never rained in Erosette after only a little over two months of living there might have been presumptuous of me, I will admit it.


    Lightning flashed and thunder cracked as the roaring downpour struck the stones of the manor. The guards and Arthur started flooding through the front doors in a burst of hurried shouts.


    Anna sent me up the stairs with instructions to be quiet and to get clean before I could be seen.


    I managed the first task. Making it to the bathroom without so much as hinting at a sound, I could not make myself undress. The thought of reaching to pull the chain or closing the bathroom door behind me seemed entirely impossible for some reason. I leaned back against the counter top and waited until Anna came up the stairs.


    Not long after, she walked right by the bathroom door without noticing me, two green glass bottles of wine in tow. A moment passed. She took several long steps backwards and squared herself in the door frame.


    ¡°You look like you forgot why you came in here,¡± Anna said. ¡°You¡¯re dirty, remember?¡±


    ¡°I know. . . I just do not wish to be alone right now. I think?¡± I said.


    She stepped into the bathroom. ¡°Are you okay? Did something happen?¡±


    A momentary memory of the last time I had showered came to the front of my mind. Just for a second, it had seemed like someone was in the bathroom with me. No one had been, but it had felt that way. Then, earlier that night, there had been whatever the fuck had happened with the staircase. The underwitchs had walked right by it despite the dread it had made me feel. Almost certainly, the edges of my mind were beginning to crack from the pressure of The Well and I was seeing things, but the feelings felt much too real.


    ¡°Nothing happened,¡± I said, unsure of if that was true or not. ¡°Can you just stay in here while I shower?¡±


    ¡°Let me put these down. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Anna said and disappeared from the doorway.


    At her assurance, whatever feeling had stopped me in my tracks washed away like the first streams of hot water that swirled down the drain when I pulled the shower chain. I cast my filthy dress onto the floor, undressed the rest of the way, and slipped into the shower before she returned.


    That very afternoon she had helped me literally piece my mind back together. It made sense, the sense of safety I felt when she was near. Had it not been that way since she had made me trust that she was not a threat to me?


    I dipped my head under the water and felt myself begin to relax as the heat and pressure washed over me.


    Again, I felt the need to give her something. She needed to know how I felt, but that was a much harder message to deliver than it should have been. If I could not find the words to explain how I felt about her to myself, nothing I could say to her would be sufficient.


    A gift it would be.


    If I could find out what a cobbler was, I could get us both sandals, but that did not feel right. The things I felt about her were worth more than a pair of shoes.


    ¡°So, either Samsara is threatening me,¡± Anna called. I heard the door shut behind her and watched her steam obscured shape sit down on the edge of the raised platform that held up the bathtub. ¡°Or he gave me a present.¡±


    Damn cat. Stealing my idea.


    ¡°A gift?¡± I raised my voice and asked over the water.


    ¡°Look. It kind of feels like a threat.¡± She said, holding up a dark and blurry shape in her hands.


    ¡°I can¡¯t really see it.¡± I said, unable to make out any details of what she was holding even after pushing the water off my face.


    Anna leaned over the bathtub before standing and slipping her shoulders out of the seamless black suit she was wearing. Just like whatever Sam had given or possibly threatened her with, I could not see details.


    All I could see was shape and color.


    That alone was enough to make my heartbeat begin to speed in my chest.


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna take a bath, okay? Saves time.¡± She asked. It was a futile question considering she had already taken her clothes off, but knowing her, she would have gotten dressed again if I had said no. It was my fear of inconveniencing her and that fear alone that made me tell her that I didn¡¯t mind. It had nothing to do with the fact that I could not take my eyes off of the colored shape she made in the steamy glass.


    After much too short of a time, she vanished into the bathtub and my view became much less interesting.


    Something that one of the underwitchs had said when I was following them came back to my mind. It had been something about someone wanting to get under one of the girl¡¯s dresses.


    ¡°Anna?¡± I said when my heart settled enough that I could be sure my voice wouldn¡¯t shake.


    ¡°Autumn.¡± She answered.


    ¡°What is a date?¡± I asked sheepishly.


    She laughed, sudden and loud.


    ¡°Why is that funny? I genuinely do not know.¡± I snapped, stomping my foot.


    ¡°Today is a date. I don¡¯t know which, but it is one.¡± She giggled.


    From her tone alone I knew she was teasing me.


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant and you know it,¡± My cheeks began to burn with a heat that did not come from the water. I snatched the chain to stop the shower and stood there dripping. ¡°I want to know.¡±


    ¡°Easy, easy. I¡¯m going to tell you.¡± She said, her voice much easier to hear.


    ¡°Then why are you laughing at me?¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s funny, dummy. We practically live together and you don¡¯t know what a date is,¡± She answered. I heard her bath water slosh and shift as she moved. ¡°A date is when two people go out and spend time together romantically.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± I said, the truth of it being much less complicated than I imagined. We did not go out very often, but I did spend more time with her than anyone. If my understanding of what romantic meant was accurate, it helped give shape to the indescribable feelings I held for her.


    ¡°Did somebody ask you out? It wouldn¡¯t surprise me. Even with your glamor, you aren¡¯t very good at hiding how pretty you are.¡±


    Squeezing the bulk of the water out of my hair, I still did not understand fully. ¡°What does that have to do with getting under someone¡¯s dress?¡±


    Her bath water sloshed again, much more quickly than before. ¡°Did somebody say that to you? I¡¯ll fucking kill them.¡±


    I turned around and moved to open the shower door and hesitated. The small steps it would take for me to wrap myself in a towel seemed like a much greater distance when I knew Anna would be watching.


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    ¡°Nobody did. I overheard someone talking about it.¡± I answered her. One of the reasons that I had come to believe that locking a ten year old girl in a room was a terrible idea, no matter how heinous her crimes, was because I was constantly met with things I did not know. It would have been helpful to have some frame of reference to help me understand why hearing her be protective of me made my heart feel like it would burst from my chest.


    ¡°Promise?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I promise.¡± I answered.


    I heard the water move as she relaxed back in the bath. ¡°You can get out. I won¡¯t look.¡±


    If Anna Lao told me she wouldn¡¯t look, that was a fact. There was no need for me to ask her to promise, but my bare skin was not what I was worried about.


    She was in the bath.


    My will was strong, but I did not know if I could keep myself from looking.


    ¡°You are worried about seeing me naked aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Can she read my mind?


    ¡°Yes.¡± I answered honestly, letting my head bump against the glass door.


    ¡°I can¡¯t take you being this cute all the time. It¡¯s gonna drive me to drinking,¡± Anna sighed. ¡°You can¡¯t see anything. Come on.¡±


    Heart pounding, I slowly opened the door and stepped out in a whirl of steam. True to her word, Anna held her hands over her eyes. A mountain of bubbles so thick that I could not see the water they floated on, let alone any color or shape underneath the surface, covered her from chin to the tops of her feet.


    The pink marble of the bath, the white of the bubbles, the light bronze of her skin, I could paint my room with those colors and still never grow tired of it.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said once I was wrapped in one of the plush red towels. ¡°How do you make it bubble up like that?¡±


    ¡°These little dips here. If you put your fingers in them while the water is running, it comes out in all sorts of ways.¡± She demonstrated, pressing her fingers into the small indentions that I had never noticed before.


    ¡°I see. Is that why you take so long? You are playing with the dips?¡± I asked, wrapping a second towel around my hair. If the night had not been as exhausting as it was I could have used my aura, but I was much too tired to try.


    Anna ignored my question and sent a froth of bubbles onto the floor when she extended her arm. ¡°Look at this. It was right in front of my door.¡±


    I held out my hand and she dropped a bubble covered something into it. Small, white boned, with a short black beak that turned down at its end, the skull of a bird stared back up at me.


    ¡°It had to be Samsara right? Who else do we know with a history of slaughtering birds?¡± She asked, sitting up and crossing her arms.


    ¡°He has never given me a gift,¡± I muttered, surprised at my own displeasure. ¡°It is probably a threat, a mark. He means to kill you. I¡¯m sure of it.¡±


    I turned and placed the skull on the marble countertop and made a mental note to demand my insulting familiar show me more respect upon our next meeting.


    ¡°I know you are joking, but that¡¯s scary as shit. Hand me a towel?¡± Anna said, arm still outstretched.


    I did as she asked, feeling a powerful force begin to draw me towards my bed.


    ¡°Are we going to sleep now?¡± I opened the bathroom door and watched the white steam creep into the cool air of the hallway.


    A moment later, a towel wrapped Anna breezed past me and turned towards my room. ¡°We can, but I still owe you something from the other night. It can wait, but I think now is a good time.¡±


    ¡°What do you owe me?¡± I followed after her quickly, not remembering what manner of debt she had accrued.


    Sam slept atop the canopy, the fabric sagging in the middle from his weight. I would start locking my door before I left if I was allowed such luxuries.


    Straight into the closet Anna went and straight out of it she came shortly after, wearing the cutoff pants and shirt she usually wore to bed. ¡°Get dressed. We are starting later than I wanted to, but It¡¯s probably already light outside.¡±


    ¡°What do you owe me?¡± I questioned, taking as little time as possible to become properly clothed. I had to know. It would be all I could think about until I did.


    Anna stood in front of the spot on the bed she normally sat at when we were training. Her standing was not the only difference. The leather bound notebook was still in the well house and there was no bottle of wine in her hand. The skull that Sam had undoubtedly threatened Anna with sat on the made bed behind her.


    ¡°When I was being a bitch the other night, I told you I knew how to help you find your color.¡± She began.


    ¡°Fuck! You did! You have to tell me,¡± After everything that had happened since then, I had completely forgotten until that very moment. An excited stream of questions and demands spilled out from me. ¡°How did you figure it out? Where did you learn it? If you don¡¯t tell me, I think I¡¯ll die.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t tell you. I have to show you,¡± She said, pushing herself off the bed and stepping towards me. ¡°If any of this makes you uncomfortable, we will stop. Okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay?¡± I answered her question with my own question. How could she show me how to find my color again if she did not have any aura herself?


    She walked behind me and I felt the gentle touch of her delicate fingers against my scalp. ¡°Do you remember what I asked you to remember from the night we had the feast? When you got ready in my-¡°


    ¡°I remember.¡± I cut her off.


    She spoke to me like she had spoken to me then, and it had brought everything back immediately.


    I had been angry. The firework that had rained werelights down like the drops of water that were steadily hammering against the roof had made me understand just how free I was. Anna had taken part in my anger, sharing what I felt and encouraging me to feel that way. More had come after, but the words to describe it would not appear to me.


    ¡°Good,¡± She whispered, brushing my still damp hair out with her fingers. ¡°Every time your eyes have turned red, we have been close or you were angry.¡±


    I could feel the warmth of her breath against my neck and my skin felt alive and sensitive. She turned me towards the desk and pulled open the mirror.


    The eyes of my reflection glowing crimson greeted me.


    Anna retook her position behind me and continued her work. ¡°Unfortunately, I would do almost anything to keep you from getting angry. So, being close is our only option.¡±


    ¡°I like it when you say things like our.¡± I muttered looking away from myself. I saw her smile in the mirror. The air in my windowless room suddenly felt much thicker than it usually did. Slowly, I watched her arm wrap around my hip and she gently pulled me back until we were pressed against each other.


    ¡°I told you I could be anything you needed me to be. Do you remember?¡± She asked, her dark eyes staring at me in the reflection.


    ¡°I will never forget it.¡± I whispered.


    Every part of my body teemed with my aura. I was not scared, but there was fear. I felt no anger, but there was tension. Another feeling that I had only experienced in memories that were not my own and the night I heard The Mother in Red singing atop her lion of fire.


    Longing.


    I knew at that moment that there was nothing I wanted more than for Anna to continue to embrace me.


    If I had a wish, I would not waste it on removing the seal that kept my power locked away. I would not use it to lift the weight of The Mother¡¯s punishments from my shoulders. I would leave The Well in my mind unbothered. If I had a wish, I would gladly use it to make sure that Anna and I could stay close until the end of time.


    ¡°I can do things for you that you don¡¯t even know you need.¡± She whispered into my ear.


    Slowly, Anna pressed her lips against the side of my neck.


    The sensation forced me to hold my breath.


    ¡°Find it.¡± She commanded.


    I did as I was told.


    I closed my eyes and reached within myself. Gliding through the frenetic resonance of my aura, there was no resistance or impulse to turn away. Inward I plunged towards a spot of color that I had only harnessed once before. Everywhere I felt Anna pressing into me acted as a guide to what was mine. The color had always been mine, regardless of The Mothers. Damn The Mothers. I would bring forth my power and bear it in a display that would shame any that had come with Amoranora.


    My legs shook.


    Anna held me steady.


    Red, red within my soul, I could almost reach it. . .


    ¡°Autumn,¡± Anna whispered. ¡°Look.¡±


    I did as I was told.


    My eyes were their normal emerald green, but a crimson glow still remained in the mirror.


    A circle, one of the nine that made The Mother¡¯s seal, shone red through the white fabric of my dress.


    Pain pinched behind my navel and nearly sent me to the floor.


    Anna held me steady.


    I pulled at the hem of my dress, drawing it up until the seal was in full sight.


    Anna¡¯s hand never left my hip.


    Damn the seal. My color was mine.


    My power was mine.


    My soul. . .


    Mine.


    The red circle, the second from the outside, began to break and fall away into red dust.


    I spun on my heels and grabbed Anna by the hands, spinning her around in a circle. My aura flowed out of my hand and my navel, pink like a pearl, and coiled over my arm to hers. Like living ribbons, I bound us together as we stared into each other''s eyes.


    ¡°You did it, Autumn!¡± Anna cackled, pure joy scrunching her nose.


    I smiled back at her. ¡°Only because of you.¡±

 V2: Chapter Thirty: Lightning Rod

    ¡°Slow down, I¡¯m dizzy!¡±


    Without the need to think, I looped my ribbons around my wrists and pulled Anna against me. I did as she asked, slowing us down with every turn. My hands were wrapped around her waist, resting gently in the small of her back like we had been made to fit one another.


    We came to a stop and I rested my head on her hair while the room caught up to us.


    She leaned back and hit her fist against my chest. ¡°I¡¯m so fucking proud of you. No stupid seal can hold you back!¡±


    ¡°I want to marry you,¡± I said seriously. ¡°Romantically.¡±


    Anna¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Whoa, slow down, I don¡¯t think that means what you think it means.¡±


    ¡°Of course I do, my mother explained it the night of the tournament.¡±


    ¡°Autumn, that was two days ago.¡± She argued back.


    It was playful, I had seen how her eyes had glinted when I said what I said, but there was a point to her disagreement even if I did not understand it.


    ¡°Irrelevant. I would have asked you long ago if I had possessed the words to form the question.¡± That was not dishonest. The time with which I had any doubts about the girl with the raven hair had long passed. In fact, she had become one of the few things in all my life that I was doubtless about.


    ¡°How about we start with a date? If I¡¯m going to be your first time for everything, we should do it right.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to get under my dress? The way the boy the girls were talking about did for them? I have it on good authority that you would kill someone if they said that to me.¡± I said, smoothing the wrinkles out of my dress and batting my eyelids quickly.


    ¡°You are ridiculous,¡± Anna laughed. She looked down at my ribbons. I loosened them the second before she pulled against the binds, able to anticipate what she wanted by familiarity alone. ¡°How are you doing all of this? Does it feel different than normal?¡±


    ¡°A bird does not understand how it flies. I am doing this because I will it to be so,¡± I began, the words coming out without thought. It was as if I had practiced everything I was saying day in and day out, until I could not get it wrong, and then forgotten that discipline. The memory was there, it had just needed to be brought to my surface. ¡°It does not feel different. (I) feel different.¡±


    ¡°Say more.¡± She encouraged.


    I let my ribbons fall away into so much dust that shimmered against the flowery rug and stepped back from her. I would say more, if only because she asked it off me.


    ¡°Walls. Everywhere in front of me are walls made of stone, power, and debt. No matter what I do, I cannot pass through them. A presence looms behind me, breathing cold down my neck and whispering reminders that it is coming for me. I want to run, to hide away, but how can I? The walls are in my way. I cannot flee and any hope of defending myself has been sealed away.¡±


    All the light in the room dimmed as I spoke. Darkness grew around us and just before we were swallowed by it, I spoke again.


    ¡°Then, there is you.¡± I took her hands in my own and placed her palms upward. As if it was as natural as blinking, two small threads of aura coiled above our hands.


    Pink light illuminated us in the dark room. A smile, pure and awed, spread across Anna¡¯s face. My aura poured out of me without the need for effort or thought.


    ¡°Whenever I feel powerless, you make me feel powerful,¡± The threads above our hands grew longer as they spun. ¡°Whenever I am stopped dead in my tracks, you make me move again,¡± They sped faster and faster, coiling into an ever turning sphere. ¡°Whenever I feel something breathing down my neck, threatening to rip me from where I stand, I know that you will be there when I return.¡±


    My working had grown so large and so fast, strands of our hair were lifted and blown out from the force.


    ¡°Can you feel it?¡± I asked, feeling like all that existed in reality was Anna and I.


    ¡°Yes.¡± She whispered.


    ¡°It is because of you. All of it.¡± I said and threw our hands upwards.


    The threads unwound and ran across the ceiling in loops and bows. They ran blindly in symmetrical streaks before rejoining above the bed in a perpetual loop.


    Anna seemed to glow as my will painted the room an inebriating shade of pink. Her black hair, still damp from her bath, shone with streaks of my color. So slight, I could have imagined it if I did not know her so well, her hand reached for me before she placed it back at her side.


    I¡¯m following your lead. Her words echoed in my mind. Whatever came next, I knew I wanted it. I had never wanted anything more, but how did I make the next thing happen?


    Anna seemingly understood by looking at me alone.


    She bit her lip and scrunched her nose.


    Fuck. . . How could something that small draw me in the way it did. Just like when I had walked across the river, I knew I would do anything to make her make that expression over and over again.


    Silently, she stepped away from me without dropping her gaze. One, two, three, the bones of her feet stood against her skin with every footfall and the slight muscle of her thigh flexed and released. Every movement, no matter how slight, seemed like the most significant sight my eyes had ever seen. Then, she was gone. Like when we had been in the bathroom and the steam and rendered her into nothing more than color and shape, all she became behind the red fabric of the canopy was silhouette.


    There was a static in the air, an awareness that whatever happened next, I would never be the same. Some great change or understanding was steps away behind the veil and all I had to do was take it.


    All of my life that I could remember was spent in a false unknown. The memories in The Well were not known to me, but they had already happened. There was a beginning and end. Taking the slow steps towards my side of the bed, the burning I felt for within me drawing me closer, I was scared.


    I had been scared before.


    The first time I had met Anna and she had seen me in all my glory, I was scared of her and the impression I had made on her. She could have told Ms. Lao that I had exposed myself to her and that I was not a nice young lady.


    When my side of reality had first collided with hers and she had taken being compelled by a dark and terrifying entity on the chin, I had been scared of her. She could have outed me then and there.


    The day that I had dropped my glamor and shown myself to her in the little third story bedroom, I had been scared of her. An uncountable amount of things could have hurt me in the moment.


    She never told her mother.


    She had turned and been concerned with me the moment after her mind stopped trying to break.


    She had not hurt me, the real me, but had called me beautiful and looked at me with an appreciation that I had never felt.


    Every time I had been vulnerable, she had treated me with care and tenderness that I did not deserve.


    Under the light of my brilliant aura, I went to her.


    When I slipped into the canopy and sat in front of her on my knees, there were no words. There was only us. Not Autumn Aubrey the Well thief. Not Anna Lao the mortal girl.


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    Only us, together.


    I reached for her and though my hands were shaking, I had never been more certain about anything in all of my life.


    My brilliant light above us began to dim as my mind focused on her and her alone. I leaned forward onto my hands and moved to kiss her.


    Pop.


    My light winked out and my aura faded, leaving us both in the dark.


    ¡°Autumn?¡± Anna whispered, her breath hot and sweet with wine.


    So close, we were so close.


    Pop. A sharp sound came from somewhere in the dark room.


    ¡°What the fuck is that?¡± I whispered, tension growing in my veins.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± She whispered. I felt her weight shift in the bed as she reached for me. ¡°Kiss me, please.¡±


    Pop. The sound came again. Something was above us.


    ¡°Sam.¡± I sat back on my calves and looked up, snapping the lights back on in the room.


    Pop. Four little holes in the canopy were illuminated by the light. Sam¡¯s shadow sagged the fabric next to them. Pop. A white claw created another puncture. The claw dragged back, tearing through the holes and cutting a gash through the fabric.


    I looked at Anna. Despite whatever the fuck my familiar was deciding to do, her dark eyes were focused only on me.


    ¡°We can go to my room and lock him out,¡± She said, a pleading tone that made her words sound like a question.


    I traced the curve of her lips with my eyes. Flashes of when the garden had been filled with werelights and when I had stood opposite her as my opponent on the stone platform ran through my mind. Holding her the night before, imagining what the mountain of bubbles had been covering in the bath. . .


    I didn¡¯t want to go to her room. I didn¡¯t want to do anything but finish what had been so rudely fucking Interrupted.


    Moving on instinct alone, I leaned closer to her and took her face in my hands gently.


    Anna did the rest. She threw her arms around my neck and I felt her breath brush my face.


    Sudden weight crashed down on us the very moment before our lips met.


    ¡°Begone, mortal. This is no place for you now.¡± Sam thundered, every blue hair on his body standing on end. His body bent and tensed, he held himself between Anna and I.


    ¡°What the fuck are you doing?¡± I shouted, balling my fists to keep from striking him.


    ¡°Preventing you from hurting yourself. Mortal, go.¡± Sam commanded.


    ¡°Autumn?¡± Anna asked, confusion evident on her face.


    ¡°Is that why you¡¯ve been sleeping up there? We were. . .¡± I trailed off. I hadn¡¯t even had enough time to feel what her lips felt like before he had fallen on top of us. Our moment, the most precious unknown I had ever encountered, had been ruined.


    ¡°How dare you.¡± I seethed, throwing my fist blindly in his general direction.


    With one heavy paw, he swatted my hand down and dug his claws into my pale skin.


    Before I knew what I was doing, I had thrown myself back off the bed, ripping the section of canopy down in my wake. Flailing against the fabric until I finally threw it down at my feet, a deep crimson glow shone through my dress.


    ¡°Slow down, everybody slow down. I don¡¯t understand what is happening.¡± Anna said, standing on her side of the bed after pushing the canopy open.


    ¡°Pay me attention,¡± Sam growled at her without turning away from me. ¡°Your lack of understanding is why you should leave.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Anna asked.


    ¡°My lady is not in control of herself. She knows not what she is doing. Her attraction to you, the passion she feels, it is not her own.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not true.¡± I shouted.


    ¡°Even now, your passion is turning to rage. What would come to pass if I was not here? Where would your storm of anger focus,¡± Sam continued. Taking slow steps towards me. ¡°I knew not why I have been compelled to slumber atop your bed, but now I understand. I am to be the lightning rod.¡±


    ¡°Anna,¡± I said, every part of my body held still as stone. ¡°Fuck him. He is a cat. He doesn¡¯t know what he is talking about.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t I? When first you kissed the mortal, it was to charm her for your own gain. If not for the influence of your aura, what was soon to transpire would never have happened. You have been allowed to know so little, you are ignorant of the danger you lose to yourself and those around you.¡±


    I snapped my right hand out to my side and brought it back up in a sudden swipe. A blade of dark crimson aura cut through the air and sped towards Sam.


    Like he was pouncing on a bird, he sprung up and pressed my aura to the bed where it died in a drift of crimson dust.


    How?


    ¡°Mortal, depart before you are injured. It will do her no favors if she harms you.¡± Sam commanded Anna again.


    I gritted my teeth. Who the fuck was he to tell her anything?


    ¡°Stop talking to her.¡± I growled, throwing another blade at him.


    Just like the first, it was broken into dust under the paws of my familiar.


    ¡°You serve me, you fucking cat.¡± I spat at him, and sent as many bursts of power at him as quickly as I could.


    One by one they fell, a violent back and forth rhythm of throwing and tamping breaking out between Sam and I. As the last cut towards him, I brought back my ribbons.


    Only moments before they had the color of pearls, a pink that was gentle and brought Anna and I together. Then, it was a violent red. Meant to bind and restrain, to lash and punish, I sent it towards my familiar to catch him in the air.


    Somehow, jumping off of nothing, he danced around my snaking aura and landed back on the bed untouched.


    The ribbon cracked at its tip and broke against the wall behind Anna. Bits of stone and dust rained to the floor.


    I froze. I almost hit her. What if I had hit her. I could have killed her.


    Anna turned and left the room.


    I couldn¡¯t so much as call her name.


    The sound of the door clicking shut behind her broke me.


    ¡°I fucking hate you. I never wanted you. Why do you have to ruin everything.¡± I shouted, pulling my aura back and whipping it through the air.


    Snap.


    A tuft of shredded fabric exploded atop the bed where Sam had been.


    My eyes found him further up the bed.


    Snap.


    My pillow jumped and landed in two pieces that were barely connected by twisted threads.


    He reappeared where my first strike had landed.


    ¡°Cease this blind tantrum. You must calm yourself, my lady.¡± Sam said, his voice shaking the bed frame.


    ¡°Fuck you.¡± I rolled my wrist and sent my aura towards him again. At the last moment, I snapped my arm out to my side.


    Snap.


    My aim was true.


    A violent red line traced from the base of Sam¡¯s tale ran up his spine before snaking down his right shoulder.


    Everything fell. Tears fell from my eyes. The aura in my hand that I had struck Sam with fell away to dust.


    My legs gave out and I fell to my knees, gasping for air.


    Sam shuddered and fell.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. . . I didn¡¯t mean-you were-Sam. . .¡± I tried to choke down the lump in my throat, but I couldn¡¯t breathe.


    ¡°Sam?¡±


    Silence.


    ¡°Sam.¡± I cried.


    ¡°It is fortunate that I am not bound to my flesh, my Lady.¡± My familiar answered me after a very long and painful moment.


    Haunting yellow eye lights rose from where Sam had fallen. White bone popped and cracked as he stood and shook out of his ruined flesh. He bounded off the bed and landed in front of me.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I hurt you,¡± I muttered, letting my hair fall over my tear streaked face. ¡°But you were being so mean.¡±


    I hated how weak I sounded. How could I go from feeling like the strongest person in the world to a sniveling little girl in just a few minutes?


    ¡°What I did was necessary. I will not apologize. What state would you be in if I had not been here to draw you anger and the mortal was the one you struck?¡± Sam asked, thumping his honey paw against my knee.


    ¡°Ow, fuck! Why did you hit me?¡± I said.


    ¡°It will take me time to adjust to my new size. I was attempting to comfort you.¡± Sam stated simply.


    I wiped my tears. ¡°How did you even know any of this was going to happen?¡±


    ¡°I did not. I merely knew that you would have need of me soon in this room. Little of my existence do I have context or understanding for. I do not have the well of knowledge that-¡°


    ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± I cut him off and pushed myself off the floor. As quick as I could, I threw the section of canopy I had torn down over the rail and laid down on the shredded bed.


    ¡°What is it?¡± My familiar questioned.


    ¡°I do not have a well of knowledge. I have The Well of knowledge, and I am going to make the thing that runs it give me some fucking answers.¡±


    ¡°There is something in The Well?¡± My familiar questioned.


    I left him unanswered and closed my eyes. Forcing my mind to become still, I focused only on slipping into myself and learning what I desperately needed to know.


    When I did, I would go to her and make all the wrong I had done right.

 V2: Chapter Thirty One: Iper

    Through the round black room, I burst into The Well with violence in my movement.


    Speaking quietly and respectfully to whatever the fuck lived in my mind had not gotten me very far so far, so I held no space for niceties.


    ¡°Wake up! I am here and I will speak with you!¡± I shouted, taking extra care to stomp my feet as loud as I could.


    Silence came as my answer. It was no matter, I could get much louder.


    ¡°I lied! I do bite! If you do not come speak with me I will hunt you down and show you!¡± I yelled. What use was a near infinite collection of knowledge if there was no simple way to find anything?


    Through the variegated bookshelves I went, keeping a watchful eye above me. The last thing I needed was to be thrown from memory to memory until my mind was mush again. Now that Sam had shed his skin. Now that I had shed his skin, his earlier concerns about being strong enough to bind me were probably long gone.


    I could not afford to waste that much time.


    How must Anna feel knowing that I had nearly ruined her face in a fit of rage. Beyond my ability to describe, she had been kind to me at every opportunity. We were something, something grand, and how had I repaid her for her devotion?


    With blind violence.


    I wanted to go to her, pull her in my arms, and beg for forgiveness. My want was irrelevant. Even I knew that would mean nothing unless I could be sure It would never happen again.


    ¡°Hey! Fucker! I know you can hear me!¡± I shouted, coming to one of the near infinite seating areas around one of three near infinite fireplaces.


    Silence.


    ¡°I need to know why I get angry after I use my aura and unfortunately for you, you are the only one who will tell me,¡± I dropped down into one of the high backed chairs and crossed my legs. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving until you help me!¡±


    Yet again, silence.


    ¡°I can wait as long as I need to!¡±


    Unsurprisingly, silence.


    ¡°If you wished to remain unbothered, you never should have revealed yourself to me!¡±


    This isn¡¯t working. I thought, hoping that being inside my mind did not mean that the thing at the bottom of The Well could hear everything.


    In the moments after my arrival, I learned that I was a liar. I could not, in fact, wait as long as I needed to. Shifting back and forth in the chair, lifting myself up to resettle, tapping my foot impatiently on the floor, the waiting got the better of me much too quickly.


    All I could think about was Anna, alone in her room with the memory of my sudden violence fresh in her mind.


    I could not leave her like that.


    ¡°Remember, we could have done this the easy way!¡± I called out as I stood.


    What happened next was almost too easy and I found some strange pleasure in the movement.


    I pushed the chair I had been sitting in over on its back and kicked one of the legs until it bent from its place. Then, with all the anger and fury I had been burning with earlier, I grabbed the leg between my hands and ripped it from the bottom of the chair.


    Out of my hands and into the fire I sent it. The flames licked over the broken wood and caught, brightening the orange light and filling me with a strange sense of satisfaction.


    ¡°Oops! I hope that doesn¡¯t happen again,¡± I called out, snapping another leg off and tossing it on top of what remained of the first. ¡°It sure would be a shame if one of these books got burnt.¡±


    Silence.


    I left the light of the fire behind me and grabbed the first book that my hands could find.


    Aipheria. The name appeared in my mind as soon as my fingers wrapped around the light blue spine. Even though I was nearly certain that nothing would come of it, there was no part of me that was actually going to throw the memory filled pages into the fire. The broken legs looked like they were burning, the fire seemed like it would scorch my flesh if I got too close, but it could not be real.


    Still, I held Aipheria¡¯s book close to the flames and raised my voice again.


    ¡°My fingers are starting to sweat! I do not think I can hold this much longer!¡± I shouted, hoping that I had done enough to gain a reaction from whatever entity lived in my mind.


    Silence.


    ¡°Fuck,¡± I spat and began to beg. ¡°Please help me? I¡¯m just a girl. I will owe you?¡±


    As it had been every other time, no answer came.


    Silently, a spot of light formed on the floor in front of my feet. A warm shade of blue, it split and arced around me, forming a shape that I only recognized once it had been made whole.


    ¡°This is not what I had in mind!¡± I yelled as the door of light that had suddenly formed beneath me opened and I fell straight down into a memory.


    The gap between the floor and the slowly descending wall of stone that would either crush me or prevent me from completing my trial continued to grow smaller.


    I couldn¡¯t make it. My first task as an underwitch and I was going to fail.


    ¡°Not today.¡± I shouted, bracing my left arm with my right and sending a wild pulse of my aura crackling out of my palm. I kicked myself into a slide down the incline I had been running down, my dress doing little to shield my legs from the dust and rough stone.


    I would not fail. Exhausted or not, nothing would keep me from my victory.


    The stone wall caught my pulse and pressed it into the floor. Small cracks formed in my power, but I closed my fist and took on the pressure. Feeling like my hand was being crushed, I gritted my teeth and flattened myself on my back, sliding through the gap the moment before I could no longer hold my working.


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    With a grinding groan, the wall fell and my aura collapsed into blue dust that sparkled against the dark stone that I had swept clean as I passed.


    Torchlight lit the chamber I had entered and I realized it was the very same one I had left.


    ¡°Underwitch Iper, how do you feel?¡± Precept Jett stepped to where I lay on the floor and asked me.


    ¡°Powerful.¡± I answered. Knowing it was true in intention if not accuracy.


    ¡°If you could do it again, what would you do differently?¡± The tall dark haired woman that had become my teacher after The Dyeing said.


    I took a breath. ¡°I lost a lot of time in the pendulum room. I would not have bothered with the sliding either. The next time, I will hold the wall all the way up and walk through without filling my panties with dirt and dust.¡±


    ¡°You speak with great will, such is the high that comes with your color,¡± Precept Jett knelt beside me and sighed. ¡°But where there is a peak, there must be a valley.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked her, not understanding why she sounded so glum.


    ¡°This is the purpose of today''s trial. Not to see how you navigate a dark and treacherous space, but for you learn the cost and effect of your newfound awakening. Just as it is with my own, your will grows when you are working with your aura. When it is done,¡± She paused, and wiped a single tear from the corner of my eye. ¡°Sorrow will enshroud you like a shadow of sadness.¡±


    Her words were proven true by the sudden sob that shook my chest. I bit my bottom lip, desperate to not break down in front of my teacher.


    ¡°Let it out, dear. It is a burden that each of us must carry. Your sisters will all go through what you are now.¡± She reassured me.


    Even if I had wanted to, I was powerless to stop the stream of tears that flooded out of my eyes.


    ¡°It becomes easier with time. You find things that help. Even The Mother in Blue is at the mercy of the high and afterglow.¡± Precept Jett continued, firmly holding my hand.


    How it hurt to know that everytime I used my aura, I would be left a weeping mess. How was that fair? I was an underwitch and soon to be a sorceress. My lot was to stride forth into chaos and shape it into what I desired. Being brought low did not give me the feeling of strength and power I had been promised. It would be better if I quit. I would go back home, live with my mother and be a seamstress or something of the sort. Foolishness was all that had brought me to Zenithcidel in the first place.


    ¡°It should be beginning to fade if my measure of what you lost is accurate. How do you feel? Do you have any questions?¡± Precept Jett asked me.


    ¡°Why,¡± I cried. ¡°I want to know why.¡± I answered her.


    The torchlight faded and my teacher''s face faded into darkness. For a moment, all I could feel was the punishing weight that pressed down onto my chest and the grit of dust between my thighs. Then, everything fell away and I felt myself fall.


    ¡°What is your name?¡± Sam¡¯s deep voice rumbled in my ears


    ¡°Autumn Aubrey.¡± I muttered and sat up. Torn blankets and tufts of whatever made pillows soft lay all around me. My hand rested on something warm and wet. I jerked it away when I realized it had been laying on top of Sam¡¯s cast off flesh. A heavy sigh racked my chest. The last thing I needed was any more unfairness to my life. I am finally shown a way to circumvent that which binded my power, and I would not be anything near in control of it.


    ¡°Who is Autumn Aubrey?¡± The no longer big blue cat perched atop the footboard, nothing but white bone and yellow eye lights.


    ¡°A maiden of Zenithcidel. Daughter of Idensyn Aubrey. Debtor to The Circle of the Nine Mothers. Thief and possessor of The Well.¡± I answered, trying desperately to resist the impulse to lay back down and cry myself to sleep.


    ¡°Who is Autumn Aubrey?¡± Sam repeated.


    ¡°What?¡± I had answered the question just the same as I always did. Why did he have to be so difficult all of the time?


    Sam leapt off of the bed and vanished from my set.


    ¡°Sam?¡± I called after him and crawled down the bed to see where he had gone.


    ¡°Who is Autumn Aubrey?¡± He repeated. With one paw of bone, he swept through a line of pink dust that had once been a ribbon of my will and looked up at me.


    ¡°A maiden of Zenithcidel. Daughter of Idensyn Aubrey. Debtor to The Circle of the Ni-¡°


    Sam let out a wicked yowl and drug his claws back through the dust. ¡°Who is Autumn Aubrey?¡±


    ¡°What do you want?¡± I whined, feeling so heavy that I doubted my ability to continue to hold myself upright.


    The dust. What did the dust have to do with anything? Anna had helped me find my color and then. . .


    Understanding washed over me like cold water.


    ¡°An Underwitch of Zenithcidel. Daughter of Idensyn Aubrey. Debtor to The Circle of the Nine Mothers. Thief and possessor of The Well.¡± I said, the truth of it striking me all at once. I had technically found my color behind the boarding house, but Sam had never taken issue when I continued to call myself a maiden.


    Sam purred. A welcome sound despite his lack of the flesh necessary to produce it.


    ¡°Who was Autumn Aubrey?¡± His final question came.


    ¡°Underwitch Iper. She was completing some kind of trial on the order of Precept Jett.¡± I answered simply. There was no need to explain further, I had learned what I needed to.


    ¡°What did you learn?¡± Sam asked me, the question born of interest instead of compulsion.


    I crawled off the bed and made for my door. ¡°Don¡¯t you already know? You explained it when you chased Anna out of here.¡±


    ¡°Having awareness of something is not the same as understanding it, my lady.¡± Sam rumbled.


    How would I apologize to her? What if she didn¡¯t want to see me? It would hurt me terribly if that was the case, but I would respect her wishes.


    A nervous fear crept up my spine as I opened the door.


    Anna stood just outside my room.


    ¡°Finally! I don¡¯t think I could¡¯ve waited any longer,¡± She said, peeking over my shoulder and into the bedroom. ¡°It looks like things got sorted out. . . Kind of.¡±


    ¡°I almost hurt you, why aren''t you upset with me? I asked her.


    Anna rolled her eyes. ¡°One of these days, you''re gonna get it through that pretty little head of yours that I¡¯m on your team no matter what. I¡¯m your coach, remember. I left because I thought it would be easier for you to handle whatever was happening without me there.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± I said.


    ¡°So, what did happen?¡± She asked me.


    I did not answer her.


    Without the influence of my aura, my lips uncharmed and my heart fluttering, I leaned forward and kissed her.


    I felt her arms wrap over my shoulders as she kissed me back.


    The Mothers themselves could not have pulled me away.


    Her lips were soft and fit mine like they had been made for one another. The point and counterpoint of our moment was gentle and sweet. When the need for breath forced us to part, she kissed my cheek and I leaned my head down onto her shoulder.


    The most wonderful weakness I had ever felt left me quiet for a moment, but Anna held me in her arms without complaint.


    ¡°Just so you know, if I wasn¡¯t such a good person, we would have done that a long time ago.¡± She whispered, her face buried in my hair.


    ¡°A date,¡± I said, slowly bringing myself back up so I could look in her eyes. ¡°I want to go on a date with you, romantically.¡±


    Anna grinned. ¡°When and where?¡±


    ¡°Can we do it here? Right now?¡± I asked, finding her lips nearly irresistible now that I knew their shape intimately.


    ¡°No,¡± She laughed. ¡°It''s already tomorrow and we have some messes to clean up.¡±


    ¡°Tonight. I¡¯ll wear whatever you want me to.¡± I offered.


    ¡°It¡¯s a date.¡± She agreed.


    Framed by the light shining out of my room and into the dark hallway, I knew that through all of my memories and those that were not my own, nobody had ever been more eager for a day to pass.


    I held my pinky out towards her. ¡°Promise?¡±


    Anna looked down at my hand and then back up at me before kissing me on the cheek for a second time. ¡°Promise.¡±

 V2: Chapter Thirty Two: A Date to Remember

    Somewhere between helping Anna strip the ruined blanket and sheets off of my bed and trying to figure out what to do with Sam¡¯s discarded flesh, the day that had continued to stretch further and further beyond its natural limits finally caught up with me


    The unusual rain had continued to fall in the hours since we had returned from my temporary escape, and by the time we snuck out of the back door and took the path to the well house, it had become little more than mud. After months of nothing but warm sun and clear skies, I couldn¡¯t help but be thankful for the change in weather coming after so much had changed for me.


    It made the rain feel like it was for me, like something I had done had caused it.


    I knew that was not the truth, the amount of things I could control was very small, but no one could tell me not to let myself believe the notion. After all, everything else about the morning felt entirely different than the day before.


    I had plans.


    All we had left to do was retrieve the leatherbound notebook and to clean the scorch marks that I only vaguely remembered. Then and only then, Anna had promised me that we would sleep the day away before going on our date. No Well, no memories, no Sam, the whole day would be about nothing but us.


    If I was thrown into chains and locked away with the promise of release being contingent on if I could describe the perfect day, I would not have to change a thing. The next several hours of my life sounded like they would be the best I had ever spent if I could make it to them.


    Halfway to the well house, my legs decided that they were done holding me up and I let myself fall to the waterlogged ground with a wet squelch.


    ¡°Anna, leave me. I cannot go on. Promise to remember me fondly. Promise that you will not let time fade me from your memory.¡± I begged her, throwing my arm over my face in a dramatic maneuver. Too tired for the pounding rain to be a reason to move, I really could have sat there until I was washed away.


    Almost as soon as I began to sink into the mud, Anna had me by the wrists and was pulling me back up.


    ¡°Do you get dirty on accident or do you actually try to constantly need a bath,¡± She asked, throwing my arm over her shoulder and continuing on like I had been a fellow soldier cut low by a leg wound. ¡°You''ve been out of the house for like two minutes and you¡¯re already filthy.¡±


    ¡°Go on without me. Save yourself. I am too tired to walk.¡± I said as I limped along beside her, my  false drama giving way to a genuine whine as I spoke.


    ¡°Suck it up, We¡¯ve got work to do.¡± She said, her voice taking on a hard tone.


    ¡°Yes, coach,¡± I grunted, the strength in her voice inexplicably making me walk under my own power. I could blame it on my exhaustion or any other number of things, but my tiredness suddenly swung to a sort of delirious energy. I pushed off of her and took off towards the pink marble door of the well house. ¡°I¡¯ll beat you there!¡±


    Without a word, Anna joined my sudden race and sprinted towards the well house alongside me. Small splatters of displaced mud burst up from the ground from the impacts of our strides and the rain pattered against my face as we went. A short moment later, we slid over the slick stone floor clutching each other to stay on our feet.


    We came to a stop just before the edge of the pool and let out rough laughs as we regained our balance.


    All I could do was watch her.


    Months before, I had never seen her face, never heard her name, didn¡¯t know she existed.


    How could it be that she had been in my life for such a short time, but no matter how short it had been, that time had been more significant than everything that had come before it.


    ¡°You cheated.¡± Anna exhaled, out of breath with her hands on her knees.


    ¡°You need to train more. Maybe I should be your coach.¡± I joked back, unable to shape my feelings into anything resembling coherent words.


    Sandals. I have to get her sandals. I reminded myself, knowing that a gift would be the only thing I could do to let her know just how much she meant to me.


    ¡°Fuck you,¡± She sighed, smiling as she said it. ¡°Somebody has been here.¡±


    I looked around the lowlight room, and found that someone had done our work for us. The pool was no longer empty. I dipped my foot into the water and found it perfectly warm, as it always was. The floor, bench, and the walls were all dry as could be. My dress and the towels that I had left in a damp pile were folded neatly with the leatherbound notebook resting on top of them.


    ¡°Either they brought a ladder or they can reach up there without one.¡±¡± She answered and pointed up towards the high ceiling.


    The memory of the scorch marks that had been made when I had not known who I was could hardly be called a memory, as slight as it was, but the ceiling had definitely been wiped clean.


    ¡°My mother?¡± I asked. She was the only other person in the manor that had aura, but according to Arthur, they had practically had to carry her to bed. Had she woken at the crack of dawn and begun searching the manor for things to clean? If she had, what long and confusing series of decisions could have led her out of the manor and all the way to the well house.


    Had she looked through the notebook?


    What if she found my list? What if she found the notes Anna kept about my training? If she learned about what I had been hiding, I might as well write a letter to The Mother¡¯s admitting all of the secrets I was keeping. There was no way I could lie my way out of revealing all of my lies if one was discovered.


    ¡°Hey.¡± Anna said.


    Her voice brought me out of the spiral my mind had taken and I refocused on her.


    ¡°You are thinking about a bunch of bad shit aren¡¯t you?¡± She asked, an amused look on her face.


    ¡°No.¡± I lied.


    ¡°Of course you are,¡± She rolled her eyes. ¡°But I¡¯m about to teach you my most valuable lesson yet.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± I asked. She had taken the dry dress and journal from the pile and folded it over her arm.


    ¡°Whatever you were thinking about, is a tomorrow problem.¡± She said, saying the words with considerable weight and emphasis.


    ¡°How? If it was my mother and she looked through the-¡± I started.


    ¡°Easy,¡± She held her palm up at me. ¡°Even if she did, there is nothing we could do about it. All we have to worry about today is sleeping and our date, got it?¡±


    It was going to become a problem if I was rendered powerless anytime she used the words we or us.


    ¡°Got it,¡± I nodded. ¡°A tomorrow problem.¡±


    Anna breezed past me, pulled open the pink marble door, and looked out at the unrelenting rain. ¡°What do you say you make us an umbrella?¡±


    ¡°A what?¡±


    ¡°Goes over our heads? Has a curved handle? Keeps the rain off of us?¡± She asked, waving her hand over her head in demonstration.


    ¡°You do not like the rain?¡± I said, beginning to piece together how I could do what she had asked of me.


    ¡°What''s the point of having a magical girlfriend if I can¡¯t ask her to defy nature for me?¡± She winked at me.


    I understood that she was being humorous in some way, but did not understand how. That was one of the unfortunate side effects of being locked in a room for most of my life. Her intention was enough to give me the spark necessary to step forward and push what little aura I had left out of my palm.


    ¡°Shall we?¡± She asked, using her free hand to take my own.


    Her touch, the feeling of her fingers interlocking with my own, inspired my working and a wide dome formed above our heads. It extended out past the doorway and the pounding rain pitter pattered against its surface, causing momentary pulses of iridescent light to wash out and over my umbrella of aura.


    ¡°We shall.¡± I agreed. We made our way back down the side path towards the manor where we would get some much needed sleep.


    The walls of my mothers power that had surrounded the garden the day before no longer loomed over us. The natural barrier of vines and ivy had reclaimed its position with a newfound depth of green. They seemed stronger, more alive, in the sudden rain and I found myself feeling much the same. It had been messy, I had nearly maimed Anna, and had defleshed my familiar, but I had grown since the last time we had been walking away from the well house hand in hand.


    My umbrella lasted long enough that when my strength gave out and the working failed, we only had to take a few quick steps to make it back inside.


    ¡°You need to change again, but I think all of your dresses are dirty,¡± Anna said, pointing to the patches of wet mud darkening the hem of my dress. ¡°Let''s go find you something comfortable to wear in my room.¡±


    We passed Arthur¡¯s door and stepped into the kitchen to find that we were not the only souls up early that morning.


    Plates and cups and bowls and spoons all flew out of their place in the cabinets and glided through the air before settling into their proper settings on the table. Thick and sweet smoke rose from a pan on the stove top that was filled with sausages jostling from the heat. Eggs, bright and yellow, were being slowly stirred by a wooden utensil with a flat end and the contents of a tall pot bubbled and boiled gently, each burst sending the smell of spices into the air.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    I had never prepared a meal before. The stew we had made the night before was the closest I had ever been to cooking anything. Even with my lack of experience and knowledge, I knew that for a meal to be prepared, there had to be a cook.


    Food did not wake up and decide that it was time for it to be eaten.


    As if my disbelief had been the last required element for whatever performance I had walked into, the double doors at the front of the manor swung open and my mother breezed in. Her red hair was not darkened with moisture the way mine was. No part of her, in fact, was even slightly damp despite the rain that pounded outside.


    ¡°Good morning, girls. I see that I am not the only one who is enjoying this gloomy morning,¡± She smiled. With a gentle lift of her arm, she cast the basket off and it rose above the table. One after the other, glass bottles of milk came out and down  before settling onto the table. ¡°Breakfast will be ready shortly, perhaps you should both put on something dry,¡± She raised an eyebrow at me, taking in my muddy dress. ¡°And clean.¡±


    ¡°I agree.¡± Anna nodded and started me towards the stairs.


    ¡°Good morning, Samsara. Would you like breakfast? You are looking a little thin.¡± My mother offered, her emerald eyes sweeping over every joint and ridge of my familiar as he descended the stairs.


    ¡°I do not require sustenance while I am in this state.¡± Sam stated simply.


    Without another word, he vanished under the table with nothing but the sound of his claws clicking against the stone to mark his dissipating presence.


    In what reality did it make sense that my mother could craft a glamor as large and complex as she had the night before and have enough strength to stand, let alone cook a whole breakfast while she went out for milk. Her inexplicable awakeness did nothing for me but bring back the spiral of thoughts that led me ever downward.


    ¡°Little Delpha, wait and allow me to steal a moment with you alone please.¡± She said just before we slipped up the stairs.


    ¡°Yes, mother.¡± I tried to say calmly, but I feared my voice gave away the prickling nervousness that began at my fingertips and ran up through my shoulders. It was over and there was nothing I could do to stop it. As soon as she asked me about the notebook or the scorch marks, the floodgates would open. I knew that no part of me was strong enough to wade through the rush and only come clean about what she had asked specifically.


    Anna gave me a comforting look before taking the stairs and leaving me alone.


    That had to be why she had gotten up and made breakfast. The next words out of her mouth would be that she had read through the notebook and though she did not wish it to be so, she must tell The Mothers that I had somehow found my color despite their seal.


    ¡°Why does your familiar shed his skin? Does it have anything to do with the argument you had with him this morning?¡± My mother asked, her back turned to me as she directed the various pots and pans to the table and began serving equal portions of food onto every plate but one.


    Fuck. How had she heard?


    The yelling, the destruction I had wrought on my bed, all of it ran through my mind in a red blur.


    Of course she had heard, how could she not have?


    ¡°We, uhm. . .¡± I started.


    Anna swept back down the stairs and saved me, taking my answer from where it was dying in my mouth and breathing new life into it.


    ¡°We may have had a bit too much to drink last night and Samsara played the part of the disappointed adult,¡± She said, dragging her hand across my back as she passed us. ¡°Ma is on the way down. What can I do?¡±


    ¡°There is nothing to do, dear. Go have a seat.¡± My mother answered and stepped to where I stood at the base of the stairs.


    Anna did as she was told, and after a silent moment, I gave a quick smile and moved to go change, to distance myself from the person that could send me into a hysterical truth telling if she said the right words.


    Before I made it a step, my mother gently placed her hand on my shoulder. ¡°There is something different between you two this morning.¡±


    I knew as soon as she spoke that she was referring to Anna and I, but how could she tell? The ribbons, the closeness, our moment we had shared standing outside of my door, was it truly so easy to tell that those things had happened?


    Fuck, of course she had noticed. She was my mother. We had been each other''s sole company for most of my life. Of course she could tell.


    ¡°Yes.¡± I nodded, unable to prevent the corners of my mouth from turning up into a smile.


    ¡°Thank you for being honest. Every place is made greater when there is love present.¡± She smiled back and hugged me. ¡°It is about time. You should count yourself fortunate you have met someone who is willing to be so patient with you. It is a rarity.¡±


    Her embrace calmed my nervousness immediately and I let my weight lean into her. In the arms of my mother, every minute and moment since the last time I had slept came to bear. A yawn that threatened to force me to the ground wracked my body, but she did not waver. She held me up until it was done and made no move to hurry me off afterward.


    I did not deserve it. She had done nothing but try and make me happy despite the terrible things I had done. In all of chaos, I doubted there had ever been or ever would be a better mother and all that I had done to repay her kindness was lie and put her in danger. She had told me the night on the bridge that she could not bear to lose me. If I truly held any shred of respect for her, I would have taken that into account before I willingly broke out of the boundaries that had been rightfully placed around me.


    ¡°You must sleep soon, my little Delpha. You are exhausted,¡± She separated us and turned me up the stairs. ¡°Go and change. We shall eat and then you should take the day to rest. The mother¡¯s can wait a little longer for you to be done with The Well.¡±


    Arthur and Ms. Lao stepped down onto the landing above me, the tall man helping his mother keep her balance with his arm looped around hers.


    I turned to my side and stepped past them on my way up, the hunger the smell of my mothers breakfast had awakened momentarily giving me the strength to resist my exhaustion. Just as I turned to climb the last set of stairs, I heard Ms. Lao raise her voice.


    ¡°When I am better, we will be going home.¡± Ms. Lao snapped.


    Arthur disagreed. ¡°I can¡¯t do that, Ma.¡±


    What had she just said?


    I sprinted to my closet, stripped, pulled the cleanest dress I could snatch off the floor over my head, and took the stairs back down like all the secrets of reality lay at their bottom.


    Ms. Lao and Arthur stood around the table and Anna had turned in her seat to face them.


    ¡°You will do no such thing. We do not belong here.¡± Ms. Lao replied to something that Arthur had said that I had not heard.


    ¡°No,¡± Anna said, a sudden laugh slipping out of her. Though there was an open mouthed smile on her face, her dark eyes were deadly serious.  ¡°You can leave if you really want to, but I¡¯m not going anywhere. No fucking way.¡±


    ¡°Do not use that language with me, young lady! I understand that you have found a friend, but you can make new friends. And, Arthur, you get that thing inside of you and you think you can run around and play soldier all of sudden. We are going home. That. Is. Final!¡± Ms. Lao commanded.


    ¡°Can we not talk about this right now?¡± Arthur asked, his demeanor not matching the anger that was evident in his mother and sister.


    I watched my mother¡¯s eyes perk up when she heard Ms. Lao say ¡°that thing.¡±


    Fuck.


    ¡°Everyone, come and sit, it seems that I picked the right morning to prepare breakfast. We all have much to discuss,¡± My mother said. She pointed to the seat at the table that had not received an equal portion of food, but instead was piled high with three or four extra servings. ¡°Arthur, you sit there please.¡±


    Everyone listened to my mother, except for me.


    I did not move. The feeling that I was witnessing an argument that should have taken place between the Lao¡¯s in private and the realization that my mother did not yet know what that thing was, but she surely would discover it soon kept me frozen where my feet were planted on the last step.


    Anna stared daggers into her mother, her jaw clenched and her lips held tightly against one another. ¡°She is not just ¡®a friend¡¯.¡±


    ¡°I know it feels that way, but you are young. You will see that I am right when you get older.¡± Ms. Lao sighed, shaking her head.


    ¡°Ma, leave it alone.¡± Arthur begged.


    ¡°Has it occurred to you that you don¡¯t know what the fuck your talking about,¡± Anna crossed her arms and I could see her knuckles turning white from how hard she gripped herself. ¡°While you¡¯ve been waiting around to die, she has been the only thing that has kept me going. You barely even know her, how do you know anything about how I feel?¡±


    ¡°Shut up, Anna.¡± Arthur sighed.


    ¡°Enough! That is enough,¡± Ms. Lao shouted, slamming her fist onto the table. ¡°I am your mother and you are my children! I am sorry for the times that I have been lacking recently, but this place is not for us. We will go home. Both of you will return to school so Arthur can find a career and you can find a husband. I will not argue about this any longer.¡±


    ¡°No. You can¡¯t come out. Not right now.¡± Arthur whispered with his chin tucked against his chest and both his hands pressed against his stomach.


    Barely, just barely, I could see pale blue light leaking through his fingers.


    ¡°Arthur, dear, who are you speaking to?¡± My mother asked, standing at the head of the table with her emerald eyes focused entirely on the tall man.


    ¡°Oh, shit. I, uhm. . .¡± Arthur¡¯s head rolled to one side and then over to the other before his eyes flitted closed and he went limp.


    A shape made entirely of pale blue light erupted from his stomach and took flight. It circled the high ceilings of the kitchen one, twice, three times before descending and landing square in the middle of the table.


    Arthur¡¯s ghost, the owl spirit, had picked possibly the worst time imaginable to reveal himself to the only person in the room that did not know its existence.


    My Mother. . .


    With three clicks of its ethereal beak, it spoke in its strange, crystalline voice. ¡°Click, click, click. Boy is sad, sad, sad. All will stop, stop, stop.¡±


    ¡°I understand that by the looks on all of your faces that I am the only one who has not met this spirit as of yet. Why?¡± My mother asked, her words careful and a look of wonder painted across her beautiful face.


    Sam joined the spirit atop the table, his skeletal form sending the owl into a bout of sudden feather ruffling.


    ¡°Well met spirit,¡± My familiar said in greeting before turning his yellow eye lights and subterranean voice towards my mother. ¡°I forbid the mortals from mentioning it to you, Lady Aubrey.¡±


    ¡°Why would you do such a thing?¡± My mother questioned.


    ¡°To protect my lady.¡± Sam stated simply.


    ¡°Protect her from who?¡± My mother whispered.


    ¡°From you, Lady Aubrey.¡± Sam spoke in a tone so low that it rattled the plates on the table.


    My mother turned to me with tears brimming in her right eye. ¡°Autumn, is this true?¡±


    Before I could try and answer her, one of the doors at the front of the manor swung open and smacked against the stone wall loudly.


    Click, click, click. The owl spirit clicked its beak three more times before taking flight and beginning to circle the room again.


    ¡°Lady Aubrey!¡± Bool appeared in the doorway and grunted. The guard wiped the trails of rain water off of his face and stared at my mother.


    ¡°Yes, what is it?¡± My mother answered him.


    ¡°A gatekeeper, my lady! They have come for her! The Mother in Brown has sent her summons!¡± He replied.


    The air in the room dropped in temperature and a chill ran up my spine. Every soul in the room that was awake and not flying turned their eyes to me.


    ¡°Oh,¡± My mother said, leaving the table and rushing over to where I stood. She pulled me into her arms and buried her face in my hair. ¡°It is time, Autumn. I am so sorry, but it is time.¡±


    Fuck.

 V2: Chapter Thirty Three: The Mother in Brown

    When I had first learned of the nine punishments that had been hung around my neck like a loose noose, everything I did had been marked by the constant threat of the rope tightening around my throat.


    If Anna made me laugh with a story about her and Arthur when they were little children? My breath would run short because my next thought would be the recognition that I could be plucked from the happy moment with no warning. On our first day in the manor, when my new prison was large enough compared to the closet my mother and I had lived in for as long as I could remember that I had spent the first hour running in circles within the walls, my excitement had lasted only for an hour because I had remembered that my leash had been loosened but not removed. Any of the sunlit lunches I had shared with my mother in between memories had been quiet and calm moments that again, could be taken from me at the first whim of The Mothers and I would be powerless to prevent it.


    That had been months ago and with all that happened since the start of Amoranora, it had been so easy to let myself forget it.


    Too easy, it had been too easy because I was a silly little girl.


    I could not breathe. Despite my mother¡¯s embrace, every part of me felt cold and distant.


    ¡°Come, little Delpha. You must not make her wait.¡± My mother said, gently turning me to the door.


    She was right, I knew it, but I could not make myself participate in the movement.


    Two separate truths showed themselves to be equals in my mind. I must not make The Brown Mother wait, but I also could not go.


    I had plans.


    I had a date.


    One truth meant much more to me than the other.


    ¡°No.¡± I refused and dropped to the ground just before I was taken outside.


    Through the open door, I could see the black gate that had seemingly sprouted out of the rain soaked ground. Something dark, a human shape in the loosest sense, crawled through my line of sight. For a brief moment, I thought it to be one of the lich¡¯s creatures like the disgusting hand monsters that had had come for me behind the boarding house, but then I realized I knew what I was looking at.


    It had been through the eyes of someone in a memory, but I had seen the strange shape before.


    Covered in uncountable layers of shredded and tattered fabric, I understood that I was looking at a gatekeeper.


    ¡°Autumn. You do not have a choice,¡± My mother pleaded and placed her hands on me without actually hauling me up. ¡°She will be merciful. They have been nothing but that towards you.¡±


    ¡°If she wants to punish me so badly, she can drag me through that fucking gate herself.¡± I insisted, keeping my eyes on the portal that I would absolutely not be crossing through.


    Arthur, evidently awake again, cleared his throat behind me. ¡°Who are these people? Are they like queens or something?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± My mother answered him. ¡°The closest term that mortals use is ¡®God¡¯, but unlike what you all think of when I say that, they live among us and shape our reality with their will. The ground you stand on, the rain that falls from the sky, the sun that will return after Patience¡¯s night, all of it is held up and shaped by The Mother in Red¡¯s might and she is but one of nine.¡±


    Ms. Lao spoke to her son. ¡°What happened to you? Why did you faint?¡±


    ¡°What will happen if she refuses to go?¡± Anna asked.


    ¡°They could take her from us, leave her mindless, or execute her. Nothing is beyond their reach,¡± My mother spoke with the same terrifying tone she had used the night on the bridge. ¡°Which is why you must go, daughter. Face her proudly and accept what she delivers you. That is all you can do.¡±


    I looked at everyone who had gathered around me. The guard, my mother, Ms. Lao, everyone I could see had their eyes focused on me with worried expressions.


    What the fuck were they worried for? I had already told them that I would not be going.


    ¡°Autumn.¡± My mother said my name again.


    ¡°No,¡± I repeated. ¡°I have a date. She will have to send for me at another time.¡±


    Again, I looked at the gate. The last time I had crossed through one I had lost three days of my life and not known it until it was over. The gatekeeper came shambling out from behind it, crawling on its hands and feet despite the rain. I could not remember who I had been when I had first laid eyes on the repulsive figure, but she had been disgusted by the sight of it.


    I found myself in agreement with whoever she was. Was there really a person beneath the heap of tattered fabric? The sight of it was enough alone to make me want to shut it away and try my best to forget that it existed.


    My focus was so complete that I did not notice my mother standing and Anna kneeling down in front of me until she put her hands on my shoulders.


    ¡°Hey, look at me.¡± She began.


    I did as I was told.


    ¡°This is bullshit, but everything''s gonna be okay, alright? I¡¯ll be right here when you get back and we will go on our date.¡± She looked just as worried as everyone else did, but there was something else in her eyes.


    ¡°This is bullshit.¡± I sighed, repeating her words and blinking the moisture out of my eyes.


    ¡°Whatever happens, I will be here.¡± She insisted.


    I had to go. I knew I had to go from the beginning. Anything else except had been a fantasy to protect myself from the terrible unknown I was about to walk into. But, the something in Anna¡¯s eyes, whatever it was, gave me the strength to face my reality without the fantasy. I believed her when she said she would be here. No matter the state I returned in, after all we had been through, I knew that she would take me however I came. That surety, that belief, made it possible for me to continue.


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    ¡°Promise?¡± I asked her, more out of a desire to touch her one more time before I went than it was a need for reassurance, and stuck out my pinky to perform the hand shake she had taught me.


    In front of her mother and mine, Arthur and the guard, Sam and the gatekeeper waiting for me outside, Anna took my face in her hands and kissed me softly.


    ¡°I promise.¡± She whispered, withdrawing from me and pulling me up with her.


    Something brushed against my leg and I looked down to see Sam slink past me and place himself between my path and the gatekeeper, his presence much more intimidating than it had been days before.


    With my heart pounding for more reasons than one and my familiar standing guard against the unsettling presence that had darkened my door step, I found the strength to move forward and pass through the black gate with no idea what awaited me on the other side.


    I stepped through the threshold without looking back, knowing that if I did I might never be convinced to do it again.


    Darkness.


    Then, I fell.


    My hands and knees hit the ground hard, but the drop had not been far enough for it to take more than a few moments for me to collect myself and sit up.


    I did, and found myself alone in the strangest place I had ever been, both in the memories of others and my own.


    Glass, nothing but glass, stood around me. Four massive panes narrowed from their base until they met at a point above me. Each surface was so clear that if it were not for the near infinite stars that shimmered in the dark sky outside of the structure, they almost would have seemed nonexistent. The same material lay underneath me. I sat atop a raised section in the center that dropped down to the bottom and gave a clear view of dark shapes that I thought to be sweeping dunes of sand.


    The structure hung in the air with no support.


    Through the black gate I had stepped and fallen into a pyramid of perfect glass that seemingly existed under its own power


    Not its own power. . . Her power. I thought, knowing that must be the case.


    My greatest feat with my power had been holding a full bottle of wine.


    I closed my eyes and pictured the strong, calm, face of The Mother in Brown. The only time I had seen her, she had been trying to end a brawl that had broken out between the other Mothers. I had not known what to imagine my punishment from her would be like, but why would I be brought to a place that was so undeniably beautiful? Surely some dark corridor filled with sharp and painful things would be a better setting for my punishment.


    It did not bring me any peace that the place I was in was not a torture chamber. In fact, the opposite was true. The inexplicable place I had arrived in did nothing but make my mind run wild with the near infinite pains that possibly awaited me.


    Her name. What was her name? I thought, trying to slow my speeding heart enough that I could think. If I knew her name, could say it to her face when she arrived, maybe she would be impressed and take mercy on me. Or maybe, I just wanted to know it because it would give me some small comfort.


    Nami, Ola. . . I found no luck, only being able to remember the first two names from my list no matter how many times I repeated it. A terrible thought crossed my mind. What if she didn¡¯t arrive? What if my punishment had already begun and I had been too slow to realize it. If she meant for me to sit alone in the suspended prison with nothing but my thoughts to keep me company, how long would it take for me to forget how long I had been there?


    ¡°Hello?¡± I called out, my voice echoing off the glass surrounding me.


    From nothing, dust came.


    First, a handful of motes danced into the air from the transparent floor. Glittering and gold, more came, rising into a mound before being caught by some unfelt wind and taking flight. The golden spiral spun fast and taller and wider until the flecks of gold began stinging my cheeks as they whipped by.


    I fell back onto my ass and covered my face with one hand and kept my dress from blowing up with the other.


    An outline took shape in the golden storm.


    Black sandaled feet came first, so thin that I could see the bones standing against skin on the top of them. As the dust spun, they gave way to long legs the color of torch light reflected in polished bronze. Thin, slender hands formed within the dust and the fingers of the left hand rolled endlessly in a wave. A pitch black robe that bore only a right sleeve billowed out and streams of gold broke from the storm at the direction of one of her fingers. The streams flowed over the robe, trimming its edges and painting its surface in intricate patterns.


    I cast my eyes down. I could not bear to watch any longer. The little I had seen of her was terrifying and bone chillingly beautiful. It hurt me, somewhere deep in my heart, to see something so. . .perfect and know that I would be punished by her.


    The dust slowed and settled to the ground and I could do nothing but listen as she took slow steps towards me.


    Nami, Ola, Aster. . .


    ¡°You will look at my eyes now.¡± She spoke.


    I would have done it on my own, her voice alone could have made stone flow like water if she commanded it, but she didn¡¯t give me the chance.


    An overwhelming force pressed underneath my chin and snapped my head up to her.


    Irises the color of liquid gold burned down at me. Every sharp and graceful angle of her face was locked into an expression that expressed her superiority and unimaginable power.


    Truly, I had never feared anything more in my life. Truly, I had never been so enthralled by anything. Truly, I had never wanted to be something more than I wanted to be here.


    The second I met her eyes, words slipped through my lips before I could realize I was speaking it. ¡°You''re not Constance.¡±


    She was tall, at least as tall as Arthur, and thin like a blade. Sleek black hair framed her face sharply, ending in a taper that hung just below her jaw at its longest point. Starting just below her left ear, a complex pattern of black lines, none of them curved or rounded, cascaded down her neck and spread over the perfect skin of her exposed shoulder before they continued down to her fingertips. Fingertips, that twitched violently at the sound of my voice.


    ¡°You will not speak again unless I compel you to.¡± The Mother that was not Constance commanded.


    Her words became true in the same way that my lungs needing air was true merely by speaking it.


    I would not speak again unless she compelled me to.


    ¡°I am Mother Azza, I will punish you for your crimes.¡± Mother Azza spoke, the force of her gaze threatening to break me against the glass beneath me.


    It could have been moments just as easily as it could have been hours, but the last time I had been seen by others, their expressions had been filled with worry. They had worried for me because they cared about me. For different reasons and in much different ways, yes, but from my own mother to Anna to the guard Bool, each of them had a reason to be concerned for me. My mother was the easiest to identify. She was my mother after all. Anna was. . . what word had she used? Girlfriend. Anna was my girlfriend, as insufficient as the word felt. It was also easy to understand why she cared. Even the guard, who would be out of the job if he was not tasked with protecting the city from me, I could understand the reason for his concern.


    Despite her elegant face and the graceful way she stood, from the moment I met her eyes, an undeniable truth presented itself to me. The emotion in her eyes was not care or concern, it was not even anger or fury.


    The Mother in Brown, Mother Azza, one of the nine most powerful souls in all of chaos, looked down at me with nothing but pure hatred.


    And I was set to be punished by her.


    Anna waiting for me to return would mean little if I never made it back to the manor overlooking Erosette.


    I tried to open my mouth to speak, but found that I was no longer capable of making that decision for myself.


    Her words had become reality.


    ¡°Now, it is time to begin.¡± Mother Azza spoke as she turned and left me clutched in her unseen power.

 V2: Chapter Thirty Four: Pressure and Weight

    Mother Azza took her time.


    It should not have surprised me, it belonged to her after all. The illusion that my time had ever been mine dispelled the moment the gatekeeper had arrived outside of the manor.


    Every lithe step she took, every time the muscles of her legs pressed against her red bronze skin, was slow and deliberate. From her perfectly straight hair down to the unwrinkled robe that hung halfway down her thigh, no part of her was out of place.


    All I could do was watch her walk away from me and feel my chest tighten with terrified anticipation. My eyes were not all that was being held against my will. I tried to stand, not because of any desire to do anything once I found my feet, but because continuing to sit left me feeling vulnerable . My legs would not move. Any attempt to roll onto my knees or push myself up with my hands died as an intention. I could not so much as wiggle a finger or bend my feet against the unseen force holding me in place.


    ¡°This is the first lesson I will teach you,¡±¡± Mother Azza began, evidently aware of my attempts at motion. ¡°You are not in control. Do you understand this?¡±


    Yes. I tried to answer, but nothing came out. I do, indeed, of course, yes I fucking understand. My mouth was moving, my tongue was making the proper shapes in the proper places, but all I could produce was silence.


    ¡°You will address me properly when I allow you to speak.¡± Mother Azza said, also aware of my failed replies.


    After several more voiceless attempts, I stumbled upon the words that I would be allowed to say.


    ¡°Yes, Mother Azza. I understand.¡± I finally answered her, my voice sounding small and weak in the glass pyramid.


    How was I being held the way I was? There was not so much as a glimmer or glow of aura to mark the unseen working that I was being subject to. There was nothing, nothing but pressure and empty air.


    I did not understand it, not a single fleck or speck of it.


    Mother Azza reached the end of the raised platform and turned back to face me. It hurt me to look at her, to see the hatred that burned in her golden eyes, but she would not allow me to look away.


    Even if I could no longer remember it, I understood that stealing The Well had marked me as a thief in the eyes of The Mothers. I knew perfectly well when I escaped my mother''s quarters that running away would likely end with the end of my life. Even still, I found a large difference between my imagined punishment and how it felt once it was paralyzing me.


    ¡°The second lesson I will teach you begins with,¡± She continued, raising her black patterned hand. She pressed her thumb and forefinger together in the air above her head. Far enough in front of me that once my eyes focused I could see what she had manifested, an unremarkable speck hung before appeared before me. ¡°This. What is it?¡±


    Dirt, Mother Azza. I tried and failed to say. Not dirt, then. Definitely not dirt.


    She did not wait for me to think through her question or stumble upon the right words through trial and error.


    ¡°It is sand, child. A single grain of sand. Think of it as one of the stolen memories that you hold in your mind. Think of it as one of the problems left unsolved due to the knowledge you deprive us of. While you are foolishly allowed to bear what you have stolen, think of it as one of the lives you endanger.¡± She answered for me, every word she spoke feeling like it was striking me square in my chest.


    ¡°Yes, Mother Azza.¡± I whispered in return.


    ¡°Look down.¡± She commanded.


    Thrown down onto my hands and knees before I could follow her command, My eyes were turned to gaze through the glass beneath me. Down, so far down that I felt a twinge of fear at how far the fall would be, lay nothing but an endless ocean of sand. All I could see were dunes with windblown streams dusting off the top of them and valleys that stretched far beyond my sight


    ¡°The grain I have shown you represents one of the things I have described to you, think how many identical grains lay in my desert below.¡± Mother Azza continued, her presence alone making the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.


    It was an endless consideration. There was a near infinite amount of sand piled up into one of the dunes. Without accounting for the rest I could see or all that lay beyond my sight, the number was unimaginable. By the words of The Mother in Brown, I thought of every grain as a memory, a piece of knowledge, a life I endangered.


    She spoke the truth. There were times that it weighed on my mind more than others, but there had been less of those times as of late. Anna spent a considerable amount of time using her light to chase the darker thoughts I fell into away. The same as the imaginary noose I wore loose around my neck, it was all too easy to forget how my possession of The Well did not burden me alone.


    ¡°Do you understand?¡± She spoke, the scattered remnants of her golden arrival began to shift before me.


    ¡°Yes, Mother Azza.¡±


    ¡°The third lesson that I will teach you, is your place in this.¡± She spoke, her reference to me sounding like it had tasted sour and bitter in her mouth.


    Without warning, I bent back up and my hands snapped behind my back.


    The dust on the glass between me and The Mother in Brown shimmered away and spun into streams that coalesced in her upraised palm. She held her left hand over the top of the spinning sphere and widened her stance. The hem of her black robe parted. Every lean muscle of her bronze thighs flexed. The pattern that started beneath her ear began to glow and the smell of sun warmed soil filled the air. Burnt sienna light burned down her intricate lines until it crawled over her fingers. With the same power and grace that seemed to emanate from her, she pressed her hands together.


    Her long fingers braided together and concealed the sphere. Pressure filled the air and shook the glass panes of the pyramid.


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    My ears felt like they were going to burst within my skull, but I could not cover them with my hands.


    Then, just as quickly as it had illuminated her arm, her light withdrew and the pressure released.


    She came to me then, leaning close and wrapping her arms over my shoulders. Faint scents of spices, sun warmed stone, and clean linen came with her. I felt her lift the back of my hair before a thin warm line wrapped around my neck.


    ¡°You will wear this. It is a gift I have made for you.¡± She whispered into my ear before withdrawing from me and standing. She released whatever unseen force she had been holding with me and I slumped to the floor. I reached a hand up to understand what manner of gift she had bestowed upon me. Even with my chin to my chest, I could see little but the bottom of a stone the same sienna color as her pattern had become. With my fingers, I found a small chain that connected it to a seamless choker that bore no clasp or to remove it. It fit my neck like it had been made for me, which was fitting considering it had been not a moment before.


    When I had imagined my noose, it certainly had not been gold.


    ¡°You will wear this until your punishment is done. When I feel that you understand the burden my misguided sisters allow you to carry, I will be done with you and you will return from whence you came.¡± She explained, her molten eyes narrowed with every word.


    I do understand! I thought, feeling tears beginning to form in my eyes. I blinked them away. I would not cry in front of her. ¡°I do understand, Mother Azza.¡±


    She shook her head in disagreement. ¡°You do not, but you will. In that small manner, I believe in your ability. You will understand the truth that my sisters and your fool of a mother refuse to accept. You will come to know the pressure and weight that you are under in a way that you will ensure you never forget it.¡±


    A trickle of sand fell from above and dusted onto the top of my head.


    The trickle turned to a stream and the stream widened into a river. With nothing to steady myself, the dry current pushed me down and out as the pyramid began to fill with sand. It did not pile and mound the way it should have, it curved and bent, sweeping me towards the wall at my back. The Mother in Brown''s slender fingers rolled back and forth in a wave as she washed me back into the glass with her power. The current rammed me from wall to wall and took me higher and higher with its rising tide.


    I could not have given less of a fuck.


    Mother Azza had called my mother a fool.


    Idensyn Aubrey was not a fool. Even I knew enough to know that. She had taken my theft of a priceless piece of magic in stride and not loved me any less despite all it had cost her. When I had left her without so much as a hint, the first thing she had done when I returned was welcome me back with open arms. Not only had she taken me back, but the three mortals I had dragged along with me. After I entered a portal I had no promise to return from, she had accepted them as members of her house without pause. She had worked herself to exhaustion just so I would be able to experience some part of Amoranora. Almost every day, she brought me food at lunch time. She gave me my dresses. She was my mother.


    I fought against the writhing sand, thrashing and rolling to keep my eyes locked on The Mother. The pounding current of hot sand sent sweat dripping down my face, but the red anger that burned within me was an entirely different manner of heat. I threw myself off the inclined glass and landed near the torrent of sand flooding down from the tip of the pyramid.


    Mother Azza stood calmly atop the rising tide, her golden eyed glare boring into me.


    ¡°You-I-don¡¯t talk about my mother that way!¡± I yelled at her, wishing I could lash out at her the way I had done at Sam. I could feel my aura swelling behind my palm, begging for me to give in and express my rage.


    ¡°This is why I must teach you these lessons, child. You do not understand your place. I am The Mother Azza. You have no power here.¡± She spoke calmly, her voice clear in my ears despite the low roar of the shifting sands.


    I did have power. I held it within my hand, but as desperate as I was to whip it towards her, my mother''s words rang out in my mind before I could.


    They could take her from us, leave her mindless, or execute her.


    The memory of her words alone were all that kept me from trying to attack Mother Azza. There was much that The Mother¡¯s did not know. All I would gain by trying to strike her was death and my mother having to learn that I was never coming home again.


    Violence was not the answer.


    Yet.


    My anger coursed through me regardless, searching for any channel to escape through. I should have been in my bed laying next to Anna instead of being thrashed around like a ragdoll. I should have been disagreeing with Anna about what I would wear on our date instead of being reminded how fucking powerless I was. My arms and legs were growing too tired to continue struggling. I was losing ground and the sand would swallow me once they gave out. The anger found its way out of me through my mouth.


    ¡°This is bullshit! I was a fucking child! How do you hate me for doing something I can¡¯t even remember?¡±


    Mother Azza answered my ranting. ¡°I hate when the sky is grey and yet it does not rain. I hate when my mind is too restless for my body to sleep. I hate when my bath is neither hot nor cold. Do you understand this?¡±


    I tried to respond, but a mouthful of sand came in before I could get my words out.


    She continued.


    ¡°I hate indecision, child. The blame for your thievery rests on the shoulders of your mother and The Well-watcher,¡± Mother Azza walked to where I was drowning and pulled me up by my wrist. She lifted me out of the sand as if I weighed no more than a feather and forced me to look into her eyes. ¡°If I were the Mother alone, you would have been an unfortunate loss that came as the cost of protecting The Well. The blame for the continued danger you present rests on the shoulders of my sisters. I did not hate you, child. I merely wished for reason,¡± She paused. The air around me became charged with her power. ¡°Then, you escaped. Still, I did not hate you. Imprisonment is something I have known, I understand how it eats at you. When no measure was made to reclaim you and you returned with no regret, no remorse, my hate was born.¡±


    When I had laid on the stone table in the room of shallow water and all nine of The Mothers had gathered around me. One of them, I had no way of telling which, had asked me if I regretted what I had done. I had answered honestly and simply, giving them the words that had been nothing but the truth.


    ¡°Even still, I carry pity for you. Perhaps if you had been placed in my care, you would not have grown to be so petulant. Perhaps, I would not have grown to hate you,¡± I felt her begin to release her hold on me. ¡°But you did and so did I,¡± She dropped me. ¡°Take this punishment, Autumn Aubrey, and learn your place.¡±


    By the time I recovered from smacking against the shifting dune, Mother Azza was gone.


    Unseen force clutched my ankles and snatched me straight down. Beneath the surface faster than I could scream, I tried to claw my way back up, but my back met the bottom of the pyramid in a matter of moments. The weight came first, a crushing heaviness that ground every part of me into the glass beneath me. The pressure followed, forcing me to close my eyes and hold my breath. At any moment, my body would meet its limit and collapse in on itself and leave nothing but a red stain in the sand.


    I had been buried alive, but remaining that way did not feel very likely.


    When I thought I understood the extent of the torture I would endure, the sand began to move. It grinded against the parts of me that were not covered by my dress. Only uncomfortable at first, the slow scraping of my arms and legs quickly turned to pain as my skin became raw.


    As if that was not enough, the sand closed in on the loose space that had been left in my wake and total darkness swallowed me.


    It was then that I began to understand where my place truly was.


    Powerless, under an incomprehensible pressure and weight, raw and exhausted.


    With nothing left to do, I began to cry.

 V2: Chapter Thirty Five: Azza

    The sand was dry.


    The sand was hot.


    The sand was rough.


    Three truths that I had not needed to learn until Mother Azza''s punishment had begun.


    Tears caused from the slow pain had rolled down each side of my face until they had run dry. Sweat had poured from my body until it had gone the way of the tears and stopped altogether. While it had lasted, the moisture had softened the shifting sands and given me sparse moments of relief . Then, any trace of the sweat soaked sand passed me by and left me to be grinded away grit by grit.


    I had accepted that despite her telling me that she wished she could, The Mother in Brown did not mean to kill me. That did not come as the comfort it should have. When my living burial concluded and I had learned her lesson to her satisfaction, I would be sent home. How long would it take me to begin to forget how much pain I felt? How long would it be before my memory of the choking pressure and crushing weight began to fade? How long would it be before one of the eight Mothers that remained ripped me away from my life just as Mother Azza had?


    That was my future: Small periods of imprisoned happiness that would only last long enough for me to be suprised when I was thrust into the next unimaginable torture that awaited me.


    I could not live like that. Living like that was no life at all. It was its own brand of punishment that required willful denial if I wanted to do anything other than cry and wait for the next Mother to send for me.


    Sometime after my burial, there was no way for me to tell how long, my body had been reduced to one raw throb. Every second was filled with a slow, small, pain that urged me to shift or settle against the power that bound me. Then, in the unknowable span of time, the pain flared in countless places. Every flare sent a vision of a small blade tearing through my flesh wherever I felt it. Through the darkness and pain, I needed to know if the vision in my mind of my body red and bleeding was true.


    I needed to move. Not all of me, only a finger, and not very far in truth.


    The pressure and weight of my tomb held me in total suspension. Attempt to act against it did nothing but strip me of any amount of hope in my power.


    Power. I had power; I had my aura.


    If training and school had not been forbidden from me, maybe I could have learned how to heal myself or ward my senses from the pain. Most likely not, the reality where I could be like every other maiden had died the moment I had taken The Well. Still, I could not lay there and wait patiently for the pain to end or the pressure to relax. I had to do something. . . Mother Azza would know if I so much as scrunched my nose. She had known when I had struggled against her hold. Before I had said them, she had known when the words in my mouth were not to her liking . If I manifested my power despite the seal that she had helped lay over my navel, there was no way she would not know.


    But what was I expected to do? No matter how much she hated me, I was an underwitch, using my power was what I was supposed to do.


    Fuck it. She could keep her lesson, the pain was too much for me to continue to take.


    No. I thought to myself. You deserve this. You are here because of your own choices.


    I was right. Considering how infrequently that was true, it should have made me happy or proud.


    It did not.


    It hurt me in a way that was altogether different than the agony that every part of me not covered by my dress felt.


    Mother Azza had chosen the manner of my punishment, but I had given her a reason to punish me. Maybe, that''s what she had meant about learning my place. She meant to teach me that I did not deserve relief. I deserved to be at the bottom of it all, unable to feel anything but pain and the weight of what I had done.


    That new hurt, a cold ache that made my heart heavy and my breath thin, settled over me. A dry sob wracked my chest, but the pressure holding me in place kept me still.


    Even my ability to cry had been taken from me.


    On top of it all, the knowledge that even if I knew how to heal myself, all it would bring me is more trouble. None of The Mothers knew that I had fallen ass backwards into circumventing their seal. None of them knew that part of the seal had begun to break the night before.


    Power. . . I had power despite The Mothers. I had been born with it. It was made of my soul, my very essence, but for every reason, I could not use it.


    I wanted to go home.


    I wanted for my mother to hold me and make me forget everything but the feeling of her embrace.


    I wanted to open my eyes and be in my room with Anna, only awake long enough to reach out and know she was there.


    I sighed and another sob came, the thoughts of them only making me ache worse.


    Through my shut eye lids, light brightened. I rolled my eyes upwards to avoid the blinded glow.


    Truly, there was no comfort in my terrible imprisonment. I could not even lay and suffer without some new annoyance ruining the last shred of respite I had found. Why would there be light at the bottom of the pyramid anyways. My place at the bottom should have been reserved for other dark and wicked things only.


    How was there light where I was?


    I opened one eye and blinked until the sand that had settled on it was cast off. A small pocket of air surrounded my face. Death from suffocation would not have been enough of a punishment from Mother Azza it seemed. Driving out the darkness that had surrounded me when I had first been buried, a pearl pink wisp illuminated the small space. Smaller than the nail of my little finger, the wisp of my aura danced through the air above my lips.


    As soon as I laid my eyes on it, it snaked to my left and pushed the writhing sand back. I watched as the shoulder of my white dress led to the end of my sleeve and a small sliver of my arm was revealed. The sight of my cracked skin and the long red streaks cutting through it forced me to wince. Bloody stains like strokes from a paintbrush stained the bottom of my sleeve, but I could not keep my eyes on them. I looked to the wisp, which was circling a blot of blood higher up on my shoulder that was darker than the rest.


    My stomach began to turn and I had to close my eyes or I would have gotten sick.


    Where did it come from? I had not so much as focused my aura and yet, there it was in full color. Mother Azza would have to know that I had not done it on purpose. I took the fact that I had not been ripped out of my tomb as a sign that she did.


    My upper arm had some small protection, but if it looked the way it did, what hope was there for my lower half?


    No matter what happens, I¡¯ll be here when you get back. Anna had told me that right before she had kissed me.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    I wanted her to do it again. She could not heal the wounds the sand was leaving on me, but she could make the ache in my chest go away. The wave of nausea passed and I opened my eyes to the pink pocket that had become my world. The truth that I did not know when I would see her again brought me back through the empty motions of crying.


    The wisp went mad, looping endlessly around itself like animate string. It coiled and rolled, dipping and rising over the maroon splotch on my shoulder.


    The splotch that I realized in that moment was not my blood.


    It was wine.


    Anna¡¯s wine.


    She had spilled it onto the dress on Galahad¡¯s night after my mother¡¯s points tournament. In my rush to hear the Lao¡¯s argument, I must have grabbed it off the floor of my closet and pulled it on without realizing. My heart longed for her and my aura had taken it upon itself to show me that there was a little piece of her with me. A small smile stretched across my face. My lips were so dry that the small movements sent cracks down both of them and I inhaled sharply. The metallic taste of my own blood filled my mouth and the small pleasure I had felt died with the new pain.


    "Anna." I croaked, my throat as dry and raw as my skin.


    Thunk.


    A sound that I had never been so pleased to hear echoed in my mind.


    ¡°Please.¡± I whispered weakly.


    Thunk.


    ¡°Take me away from here.¡± I begged, terrified that I was imagining the rhythmic call.


    Thunk.


    The pink light began to fade. My mind began to slip away from the grinding pain and heat, away from the pressure and weight, away from my tomb of sand.


    With a bloody smile of relief cracking across my face, I took refuge within The Well.


    The Shift broke the sky over Yazz-Zararaz the moment before my execution.


    Found guilty for the unforgivable sin of being born different, Zultan Zufar and the rest of the city had gathered around to see my end.


    Magic of any kind was strictly forbidden. Any that possessed the potential to commit acts such blasphemy were marked and watched by Zufar¡¯s chieftains.


    What they did not understand was that asking someone like me to live without their souls being able to speak, was akin to asking the night to not be dark. It was my nature, I could not live without it. Being caught using my aura to alter the color of a garment and shortly after being sentenced to death for it was a high price to pay for a handful of coin, but I knew what I was walking into when I set out for the city of a thousand colors.


    ¡°Azza Ofnone,¡± The long bearded chieftain that had been appointed the officiant of my death began. He projecting his voice so the crowd that had gathered below the platform could hear. ¡°As Strazotl demands, you are to be allowed the chance to disavow your crimes as you look up to his kingdom. In the name of Sultan Zufar, I give you this moment now.¡±


    I took a breath.


    Your death does not seem to worry you as much as it should. A voice that only I could hear spoke.


    There is nothing for me to worry over. I do not plan to die. I answered it in my thoughts.


    You did not plan to be arrested. My daemon, as Old Acari had named it once I had come into her care, reminded me.


    From my place on the scaffolding that surrounded what was meant to be my grave, I had a clear line of sight to the unfinished tower to heaven. Every golden brick had been laid perfectly to form the structure that was already the tallest thing by a hundred feet for miles around. Positioned at the base of it, Zultan Zufar sat upon his golden throne. From where I stood, he looked like little more than a decorative display of vibrant fabrics. Waves of thin sheer in bright yellows, blues, and greens canopied down from the peak of his pointy hat. Behind the thin fabric, his shape could be seen, decorated in similarly colored robes. His face was concealed but there was one thing that kept my eyes focused on him.


    Sitting proud on his lap, was an entirely hairless cat. It looked like a plucked chicken hanging from a stall in the market. Except for the spot on its upraised leg that it was vigorously cleaning, it looked completely disinterested in anything else.


    I had never seen a more ugly creature.


    I had never loved anything more.


    The throne would be mine, every golden ounce of it, but the cat would come first.


    You plan to steal the creature, do you not? My daemon sighed, guessing at my intentions just as the chieftain cleared his throat.


    My moment with the sky god Strazotl was over and it was time to begin my execution properly.


    I plan to escape. If I can give the cat a much more loving and stylish owner in the process, so be it.


    ¡°Azza Ofnone. You will be made into an offering to Strazotl until the time he chooses to smite your figure.¡± The chieftain yelled out to the crowd. Every street and back alley was filled with the colorful people of Yazz-Zararaz.


    It was not known as the city of a thousand colors for nothing. The poor wore fabrics of every shade and hue in wild combinations. The traders and craftsmen wore bare whites that acted as a canvas for the higher quality scarves and sashes they decorated themselves with. The rich, who there were many of in the prosperous city, did not waist their wealth on their clothes. Instead, they used their wealth to dye their own skin. The women took soft shades that were the colors of the sparse flowers that grew in the arid climate and the men wore bold reds and blues and grays. The truly rich, like Zultan Zafar, wore the rarest commodity of all. Undyed fabric. Every color that was draped over him had come from far off lands and had always been the shade it was then. All gathered around to watch the first execution since I had arrived in the city. I had been among them for the last, a single dark spot in an ocean of color with my black robes.


    ¡°Step forward.¡± The chieftain commanded me and raised his hand to signal the drumrakers.


    A strange call and response began from the masked figures that stood around the base of the scaffolding. They struck three large drums in unison with massive mallets. The rakers, two of them at each drum, would then drag a thin flat blade across the taught surface. The sounds they made would be reminiscent of a thunderstorm to someone who had never heard a real one. Even though the sound was not accurate, the ritual was effective, as I had seen at the prior demonstration.


    Below me, walls had been raised to form a pit. Once I stepped into it, it would be filled with sand and a large metal rod would be stuck into the top of it. The drumrakers would continue their ritual until a streak of lightning arced down from the sky and struck the sand. The sand would turn to glass and all that would be left of me would be the patches of color my melted body cast through the clear tomb.


    That was how it had gone the last time at least.


    I, as soon as the sand covered the top of my head, would make my escape through the sand beneath my feet. My power, my illegal magic, may have been what led me to the execution, but it would also be what allowed me to escape it.


    ¡°Step forward,¡± The chieftain repeated. Then, he leaned and spoke in little more than a whisper. ¡°Please, do not make me push you. I do not relish these moments.¡±


    I never did as he asked and he never had to force me to.


    The moment after his oddly considerate plea, with the drumrakers rhythm reaching a volume that made the air around me crackle with energy, the sky split over the top of the tower to heaven.The ground shook and the crowd let out a chorus of startled cries. The chieftain nearly lost his footing and fell into the death pit he was ever so nicely trying to talk me into. Zultan Zufar gripped the arms of his golden throne and craned his head up towards the splitting sky.


    The hairless cat did not so much as blink.


    I had never seen a more wondrous creature.


    The crack ran as far in front of me as I could see and with a quick glance, I saw that the same was true behind myself. In an instant, it splintered out in every direction, turning Strazotl¡¯s kingdom into something that looked like a soon to shatter mirror. Then, one by one, the shapes formed by the cracks began to fall.


    They separated into dust that rained down onto me and everyone that had gathered to see the end of me.


    A dark sky, filled with volatile clouds that turned violently above, replaced the burning sun.


    The air became much cooler and a ring of mountains in the distance dwarfed the tower to heaven.


    I find it strange that you have lived less than forty years and have witnessed two Splits. My daemon offered its opinion on the sudden change of events.


    I find it strange that I have a voice in my head that won¡¯t tell me why it is here. I answered him. Do you think this will change their opinions of me?


    I have told you that if you go to the temple underneath, all will be revealed to you. And, no. I suspect this has made things much worse for you.


    Zultan Zufar cradled his cat, my cat, in his color washed arms and shot up from his throne. ¡°Witch! She blasphemes Strazotl¡¯s will! She commits dark magic to save her skin,¡± He screamed in a much higher pitched voice than I would have imagined. How could he truly be the leader of his people if he sounded like puberty had yet to take him? ¡°Kill her! Kill her now before she dooms us all!¡±


    My daemon was correct in his assumption.


    The situation had become worse for me, much worse.

 V2: Chapter Thirty Six: Azza Waves Her Hand

    The chieftain moved to draw the curved sword from his belt and obey Zultan Zufar''s wild command. Before he could, the sudden mountains that the Split had left in the distance moved.


    Once the last piece of shattered sky fell away to dust, the vibrant crowd held their breath in total silence. The shock of what they had witnessed seemed to have cleared their minds of the instinct to take shelter or flee.


    ¡°A wave! It is a wave!¡± The chieftain shouted and pointed.


    Their instincts returned at the sight of one of their leaders in fear and the crowd broke. The civility with which the colorful people had come to watch my death with was cast off like a soiled robe. Revealing that the flesh underneath was just as filthy, they mobbed the mouths of every street that led away from the danger.


    By the ceaseless thundering of their rhythm, the drumrakers did not share the crowd''s panic. If anything, the sudden change of scenery seemed to invigorate them. Their ritual charged the air around me with static energy.


    I smoothed the loose strands of my hair that were suspended by the pregnant nature of the air. Even in the face of near certain death, I could not stand for a single lock to be out of place.


    Zultan Zufar stood, leaving the precious flesh cat unattended on the golden throne. He shouted upward, caught in an unintelligible rant with his fists raised to the sky. All around him, his chieftains and the lower ranks of his guard filed past him. They rushed down the streets towards the wave with their swords drawn.


    ¡°No! Fools,¡± The chieftain next to me yelled after his brethren, but he made no move to leave the scaffolding. ¡°What do you hope to do, cut the damn water away?¡±


    Idiots. I thought to myself. Living within a vast desert gave no preparation for how to deal with an encroaching wave it seemed.


    You judge them while you stand and wait. At least they have taken action. Spoke my daemon.


    I was not thinking to you. What should I do? I asked, knowing by the way it towered over the tops of the city despite its distance that there would be no outrunning it, not even for me.


    As I have told you. Go to the temple underneath, seek out The Circle of the Nine Mothers. My daemon answered, repeating words that it had said to me thousands of times.


    How can I do that if I am to drown in less minutes than I have fingers on my hands? Everywhere I looked offered no feasible means of escape or shelter.


    Accept my bargain. You will go to the temple underneath and I will give you the knowledge necessary to survive. It replied.


    It is no bargain if I have no alternative. I smoothed my hair back down again. A buzzing ran through my teeth. The drumrakers reached a pitch and pace that should have been beyond their mortal limits. Only in that backwards city could changing the color of fabric be a crime worthy of death, but summoning lightning was not considered magic. I thought about my daemon¡¯s so-called bargain. From the moment I had broken my chains and escaped my former master¡¯s quarters, it had told me of the temple beneath. In the decades since, It had taught me much and rarely led me wrong. I had no other alternative. I accept your bargain, tell me.


    Harness your aura, all of it, and bring it to your palms.


    I did. There had been a time that holding a single grain of my power for more than a second would have left me dizzy. Fortunately, that time had long passed. And now? I clenched my teeth. There was no dizziness, but holding it all without letting it flow out of me took all of my focus.


    When it answered, my daemon¡¯s voice had changed into something dark and resonant that shook the scaffolding under my feet.


    ¡°Long I have told you of your rarity.¡±


    ¡°It is Strotzol! The sky god is with us!¡± The chieftain cheered.


    My daemon continued speaking aloud for all to hear.


    ¡°Be who you spent your nights dreaming you would be when all you knew was hunger and pain. Take what you desire most as your own with nothing but your might. Seek no permission or approval and shape reality into your own design. You are Azza, she who has no master, and I name you Goldluster. Bear your soul to those fortunate enough to witness and be nothing more than yourself.¡±


    My daemon''s words loosed my aura through my palms, but it did not feel like my own. Glancing away from the wave that would sweep the city away at any moment, I found that it was not my color either. Liquid gold flowed from the middle of my left palm like it was my blood. Thin lines spread up my fingers and wrapped around their ends before running over the top of my hand. I pulled my sleeve up to not disrupt their path. Past my elbow and half way up my bicep, they twisted into an end that wrapped around my arm. Every trace of my sun bronzed skin was washed in a seamless golden glove that fit my long fingers perfectly.


    ¡°Who are you, Azza?¡± My daemon demanded.


    ¡°Goldluster.¡± I whispered, knowing it to be true.


    Ritual lightning arced down from the dark clouds with a bludgeon of true thunder exploding in its wake.


    I caught it in the palm of my golden hand.


    The impact blew the chieftain back on his ass. His eyes wide at the sight of me taking the full force of the lightning without so much as flinching.


    The wave began to break away the outskirts of Yazz-Zararaz like they were made of sand. The sound of the violent water drowned out all but the crackle of the coursing lighting.


    Sand


    When the Split had ripped the sun and the desert from around the city, it had not taken the sand that it had been built upon.


    Sand, lightning, glass.


    It had meant to be how I would die. I would shape it into what would allow me to live.


    With a wave of my bare hand and nothing but intention, every single grain began to stream up the scaffolding. It spun up my ankles and circled my waist before compacting into a constant stream up my left arm. I flooded into the lightning and held my working in place with my will as thick globs of molten glass began to pour from my upraised palm.


    My right hand free, I spun the liquid glass into a river and sent it streaming towards the roaring wave.


    More, I needed more.


    ¡°Take it, Goldluster.¡± My daemon encouraged me.


    My eyes snapped to Zultan Zufar''s golden throne just as my river collided with the wave in a burst of steam.


    A curl of my pinky was all it took for currents of dust to begin to flow from the throne and into me. As soon as it joined with my lustering glove, ounce by ounce, it became one with my soul. Into the lightning I pushed it and let it flow out through the river, widening my working as it went. Wherever it touched the wave, it cooled to solid in an instant. From nothing but my will, my newborn glass towered upwards faster than the wave could fall. The violent water split to either side of my gold glittering wall.


    ¡°What are you?¡± The chieftain shouted up at me, peeking out through a crack in his fingers.


    ¡°She who has no master! She with the golden soul! She who will not perish this day! Do you understand this, chieftain? It is not your sky god that will save you, but I!¡± I shouted, knowing that my words were true.


    A torrent of water burst from an alleyway and crashed into the tower to heaven. Golden bricks toppled from its unfinished top and the tower began to fall.


    Zultan Zufar struggled to keep his hold on the cat that would be mine. A single brick landed at his feet and he looked at the tower too late to escape it.


    With another bend of my pinky, I unmade the tower and every loose brick that had broken off of it. Like a harnessed sandstorm, the golden dust spun into me and filled my soul with blinding power.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    I would allow no harm to come to the glorious creature fighting valiantly against its ignorant master.


    The crackling lightning attempted to dissipate, but I refused and held it in place with my will. Just as the liquid gold had spread up each of my fingers, I split my stream of glass into thin jets. Up every street and alley between the wave and I, they streaked. Wherever they collided, narrow walls of glittering glass towered upwards in bursts of steam. Wherever the wave broke between them, I sent another.


    Then, it was over.


    I released the lightning and let it die it''s instant death. Whatever sand had coiled around me atop the scaffolding fell away. The last traces of molten glass still in the air melded into my walls. My golden glove fell into dust like the jagged pieces of sky after the Split.


    I had won.


    The fingers of my left hand shook and curled inward in a sudden cramp. The small bones within it cracked violently. The sound of my arm snapping in two places, once high and once low, sent me to my knees with it clutched to my chest. The skin that had been gilded gold only moments before withered and blackened.


    I was powerless. All I could do was watch and suffer


    ¡°What is this? I do not understand!¡± I cried out in pain and confusion.


    Now is not the time for explanation, Azza. You will heal. It is the time for escape. My daemon answered, his voice returned to its usual state and place in my mind.


    I have just prevented this city from becoming a memory. I pushed the last of my aura through my arm and numbed the pain. I did not know how long it would take me to replenish the loss I had taken or regain the strength to heal myself. Feeling nothing would be all I could afford for the time being. They will not come for me.


    ¡°Again, drumrakers! Chieftain Kiel, seize her! She has stolen my throne and tower!¡± Zultan Zufar shrieked from the base of where the tower to heaven once stood. The cat that would be mine had settled in his fabric draped arms, but displeasure was obvious in it''s eyes.


    Chieftain Kiel glanced at me, but did not move to follow the task he had been charged with.


    I needed no other opportunity.


    Cradling my ruined arm to my chest, I rolled to my left and dropped off the scaffolding.


    Down I fell, from much higher than I had anticipated. I landed on top of the colorful crowd that had previously gathered to watch my execution.


    Rising much more quickly to my feet than those I had landed on, I bent my knees and began to move through the crowd with speed. The Zultan screamed for his people to apprehend me, to clutch onto me like ants in a flood, but none did. Bending at the knees rendered me close in height to the taller members of the crowd. I covered my dark robe in a glamor and brightened it to a color that would allow me to weave seamlessly into the patchwork shades of the crowd.


    Notice what you have done, Azza. There are very few that could rival such a feat. My daemon advised me.


    Only buildings remained in their original places. Everywhere I looked I saw the absence of what I had taken. The scaffolding that once stood level atop the ground was now raised atop a column of sand at least ten feet tall. The crowd had been lowered into in a sprawling pit that was the shape and form of the streets they once paraded down. High above the rooftops, surrounding the city completely, was my wall. It stood, a seamless dam of clear glass. Streaks of gold ran through it and they began to shimmer from the light breaking through the dark clouds.


    I had made something beautiful, in form and in function.


    Daemon, why did you not grant me this power before? I asked, ducking into a narrow passage that had been once been an alley before I had removed its bottom.


    I granted you nothing but encouragement. All that you have done has come from you. My daemon answered.


    Just as I reached the other end of the passage, the tip of a curved sword appeared a finger length from my face. The chieftain that had officiated my failed execution, Kiel, walked me back with slow steps and dangerous glint in his eyes.


    ¡°You did not break the sky. You saved Zultan Zufar despite his calls for your life. By Strotzel¡¯s golden beard, you saved all of Yazz-Zararaz. And yet, you have done this through acts of blasphemy.¡± Chieftain Kiel said.


    ¡°Yes.¡± I agreed. It was blasphemy to him and I had more enriching ways to spend my time than to argue with him. All I had done was to stay alive and prevent the precious life of the hairless cat from being cut short, but he did not need to know that.


    A short moment of silence passed between us. Without lowering his blade, he glanced down at where my arm hung limply atop the tie of my robe and then back up to my eyes.


    ¡°Be gone. May Strotzel shine on you for what you have done.¡± The chieftain said. Then, he sheathed his curved blade and hurried back the way he had come.


    I needed no further encouragement.


    Where do you mean to go? My daemon asked as I left the passage and rejoined the colorful crowd.


    To take what is mine. I answered, bending my knees to reduce my height yet again. I must have the cat.


    Before I could make it another step, my vision grew dark at its edges. The chaos of Yazz-Zararaz began to dim. I heard my daemon urging me to forget the creature and find somewhere to hide, but its voice sounded distant.


    Then, I felt myself fall. . .


    No pressure.


    No weight.


    No pain.


    Only flickering fire light.


    I could not keep my eyes open for very long at all, but through the small glimpses I managed, I knew I was in The Well. Around one of the near infinite fireplaces, in one of the near infinite arm chairs that surrounded them, I had come out of Mother Azza¡¯s memory and not been returned to her punishment.


    Many times before, I had woken just the same, but there was something very different than those times.


    I was not alone.


    Out of my peripherals, a dark figure sat in the chair next to me.


    My eyes slammed shut suddenly and my head became too heavy for my neck to hold. I fought against my exhaustion and forced myself to look back at the figure, too weak to resist the force for long. Beyond learning that the figure in my mind had arms, I was defeated and sleep took me to the sound of a strange, metallic, voice.


    ¡°It is time for you to leave, now.¡±


    Darkness.


    Pressure.


    Weight.


    Pain, so much pain.


    ¡°-nami! Why do you favor her so? She knows of Constance. We must take The Well from her, we are at war!¡± I heard Mother Azza speaking harshly from somewhere above.


    Azza, Azza, Azza. I thought, turning her name into a little song within my head. Azza, Azza, Azza, and her daemon.


    ¡°-two days. This is beyond punishment. This is cruel.¡± A new voice spoke.


    Nami. The name floated up from my memory like seaweed carried on a tide. Nami with the blue hair and dark skin. Nami, who had drowned a newborn sun before it could burn everything away. Nami, who had fought with two of The Mothers after walking in on them in bed together. It hadn¡¯t been the way Anna and I shared a bed, they had been together and that had hurt her.


    What would being together with Anna be like? I was not ignorant of what it would entail, The Well had shown me much, but the thought alone made me too nervous to dwell on it for long.


    Anna, Anna, Anna. I thought, wishing desperately to see her. It was then that I remembered how profoundly sad I was. The cold ache that had settled in my chest before The Well had taken me had been burned away. My breaths were short and my heart was speeding in my chest as an all consuming heat radiated over me.


    I snapped my eyes open.


    The choker locked around my neck was supposed to send me home when I had learned my lesson. My understanding was still painfully incomplete, it seemed. The wisp remained, still circling the wine stain over my shoulder, but I could not keep focus on it. Two more appeared beside the first and mirrored its movements perfectly. Then, they collided back with the first in a dizzying display. I looked up from the wisp to the sand illuminated pink by my aura. Where it had moved in a slow writhe before I had entered The Well, it reverberated in nauseating patterns.


    I was going to die.


    I was not strong enough to endure my punishment any longer.


    ¡°-end this, Azza, or I will.¡± Mother Nami said.


    They must have been standing right on top of me if I could hear them so well.


    ¡°As you command.¡± Mother Azza sighed.


    How would she feel when she realized that she had killed me? Joy? No, I did not think that would be the case. Even after all she had put me through, I did not think she saw me as an enemy. Pity and relief? That felt much more likely.


    The sand began to part above me. The pressure and weight that crushed me lessened and then released all together. A sigh passed through my lips as my consciousness began to fade into nothing.


    Mother Nami, who had met me in the room of shallow water, had come to save me.


    Nami, Nami, Nami.


    A hand with long slender fingers appeared above me, silhouetted by golden light.. Just as it clutched the front of my dress the darkness took me.


    Pain, so much pain.


    Light, faint and silver.


    Darkness in the sky above.


    A breeze, cool and gentle brushed my ravaged flesh.


    A campfire with two armored guards sleeping soundly around it painted the double doors of the manor with dancing shadows. Some distant cheer rose from Erosette and found my ears atop the hill.


    I was home.


    Mother Nami had saved me. My punishment had ended.


    No sand, only tall grass lay on the hillside next to me.


    I was home.


    Anna, Sam, My mother, Arthur, and Ms. Lao were all inside, only a short walk away.


    I was home, but I could not go inside.


    Biting my lip to stifle the screams that I was powerless to prevent, I threw myself off the footpath and into the tall grass. The night sky above me whited out in flashes and I tried to choke my expression of agony so I would not wake the guards. My vision swam. If I looked at the horrid mess I must be, I would likely faint yet again. I could not allow that. I needed to push myself further into the grass. I needed to roll down the hill so no one would find me. As soon as I could move again, I would.


    I was home, and all I had left to do was let myself die.

 V2: Chapter Thirty Seven: Goodnight Autumn

    Some part of me, whatever ragged piece that remained, thought that dying would not feel all that different than falling into The Well.


    I would fade, I would fall. . .


    Then, nothing.


    I hoped.


    A gentle breeze swept over me and forced my ravage skin to shiver suddenly.


    ¡°Hnnn.¡± A broken sound escaped from me despite my bitten lip, the sudden shaking forcing me to cry out. The taste of blood filled my mouth and I wet the bleeding cracks with my tongue. If it would not have made me scream to do it, I would have covered my face with my hands to muffle the sound.


    If I woke the guards, they would not have to search for very long to find me. When they found me, my time to die would pass without my permission.


    I still burned from the inside.


    I had only had a fever once in the part of my life that I could remember. For two days, my whole body had ached and shivered. My head had grown so hot, my mother had sat at my bedside and melted ice on my forehead until I could go to sleep. Nightmares, I had learned afterwards they were fever dreams, had haunted me. They had felt so real that I had woken up screaming to my mother about the shadows standing around my bed. I told her how they had loomed over me, that I could not see their faces, and how they had grabbed me. She had assured me that they had not been real and told me a story until I had finally fallen back to sleep.


    There were no shadows standing around me in the tall grass, but the burning I felt reminded me of the fever.


    Maybe, that would be how it felt at the end. I would get hotter and hotter until I cooked from the inside out.


    The thought of the guards carrying me on one of the bronze platters from Morrow¡¯s night made a laugh shake out of me. Red and white flashes of light blinded my view of the night sky and the laugh turned to a quiet moan as fresh pain washed over me. It never ended, but the flashes of color faded and I settled back into the slow agony that I had grown used to.


    I missed my mother.


    I imagined her laying in her bed, wondering when The Mothers would return me to her. Exhausted from the newest celebration she had surely created for Amoranora, she was probably fighting sleep just in case I came home. Continuing the festivities to distract the Lao'' s from their memory of me being torn away from them was exactly the sort of thing she would do.


    I missed her, but I would never see her again. The owl had come out of Arthur just before I had taken the black gate.


    I held no doubt that my mother had learned every secret I had been keeping from her in my absence. How could she not have asked how the spirit had come to be within Arthur? Once she learned that it had saved his life, her next questioned would have been why he had needed saving. Then, when she understood that a horror had gored him through the back of his stomach, she would ask where the horror had come from. From there, the channel on my palm, that I had found my color, and that I had slipped through the barriers in The Well would be revealed.


    She would be bound to tell The Mother¡¯s, and they would take me from her.


    I could not bear to face her. Being returned to my tomb sounded like a better time than having to see the pain and disappointment on her face. When I had run away, I imagined that the hope that I would be found and returned had helped her carry on. When The Mother¡¯s took me from her for the last time, no such hope would be allowed to live.


    I would not let that happen to her.


    Which was why Mother Azza had been wrong about my place in one small way.


    She had been right that I belonged at the bottom, that the pressure and weight of The Well should crush me. She had been wrong in thinking that the other Mothers were responsible for me continuing to live. There was no shame to be brought on my mother if I was dead. She could not be hurt by our distance if I was nowhere at all. I did not have to see how much I had hurt her if I could no longer see anything.


    I had learned that living was a choice, and I had the power to make that choice. It would allow me to commit a small and final act of rebellion. The Mother''s could take The Well back then, and everyone would be better off.


    The breeze came again and sent new flashes of red and white pain through me. I closed my eyes and thought of Delpha and the Dragon. I thought of all the times she had told it to me and all the times she had called me by the little fox kit¡¯s name. She would have to tell it differently after I was gone. Delpha would never wander out of the warren or make it up the mountain. She would never meet the crow or bite the dragon''s red bushy tail. It would become a much shorter story where the little fox dies when the tunnel she is in collapses.


    ¡°I am sorry, mother.¡± I whispered, finding fitting words for the end of me.


    Listen. The thought passed through my mind almost too quickly for me to understand it.


    A wild sound came from the hills beyond the manor. Somewhere farther out of the city than my place in the tall grass was, barks that into shrill whines echoed. I had heard a similar sound before. My mother would mimic fox calls during Delpha''s story to wake me when her words had begun to lull me to sleep.


    Again, it barked and whined, calling out into the night for its own mysterious reasons.


    After hearing the true sound, I realized how far off she had been. I did not care, she had tried after all. She had done nothing for me but try, despite how little I deserved her effort. and I understood how it would happen then. Death would not be like slipping into The Well. The heat within me would not burn me away no matter how much it felt like it would. Death was a cold ache that hung heavy in my heart.


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    The fox called out again and received no response. It was alone, just the same as I was


    I went numb from the cold and everything began to slow down.


    ¡°You have returned.¡± A sudden voice rumbled.


    My familiar had found me.


    ¡°Hey, Sam,¡± I said, feeling my bottom lip curl and my eyes trying and failing to well with tears. ¡°Did you hear the fox?¡±


    My fleshless familiar¡¯s skeletal face appeared above me, his yellow eye lights too bright in the darkness of night. ¡°Your mind is clouded and your soul is darkened. Why?¡±


    ¡°Because, you are the most fucking annoying thing I have ever met, but I¡¯m going to miss you." I sighed.


    ¡°Do not embarrass yourself. Where do you mean to go?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Nowhere. I am going to die,¡± I realized one other small power I still held. My words came out with as much strength as I could fill them with as I forced myself to stare into Sam¡¯s eyes. ¡°You are bound to my will, Samsara. When I am no more, you will ensure the safety and well being of Anna Lao. I command you to do this. in my name.¡±


    A moment passed.


    ¡°No.¡± My familiar denied me.


    Fuck.


    ¡°Please? I need to know she is going to be okay.¡± I begged.


    ¡°No.¡± He repeated.


    ¡°Fuck you,¡± I spat, and cringed at the pain that came along with the small motion. ¡°You gave her skull. Why can''t you do this for me?¡±


    ¡°Because you will not be dying. I will be unmade before I will allow you to perish.¡± Sam said, looking up from me and back towards the manor.


    Voices I recognized spoke in hushed tones.


    ¡°Go see what it is talking to. It gives me the chills, like something is walking over my grave.¡± Smit whispered.


    ¡°It spoke to you. It is only fitting that you follow it.¡± Bool through a yawn.


    The guards I had assaulted when I had not been myself had been awoken by my familiar. Once they decided who would investigate his strange behavior, they would find me.


    I tried to focus my aura and shape a glamor that would conceal me, but it would not come to me no matter how hard I tried.


    ¡°I¡¯ll play you in points to see who goes?¡± Smit offered.


    ¡°Mothers help you boy, not everything is a game,¡± Bool yawned again. The sound of his boots growing closer filled my ears.


    Die. . . faster. . . I thought, clenching my jaw as if that would quicken my demise.


    The footsteps stopped suddenly.


    ¡°Smit! Get Lady Aubrey!¡± Bool shouted. The shape of the man that fancied my mother appeared above me.


    ¡°What is it,¡± Smit called back. ¡°One of the refugees?¡±


    ¡°Go! Now,¡± Bool shouted over his shoulder to the sound of his partner running towards the manor. He looked me over before turning his face away in a grimace. Without a moment passing, he began ripping the armor from his body. He threw every piece away carelessly until only his red undershirt remained. With nothing but his thumb, he tore it off and laid it over his arms. ¡°This is going to hurt, little Aubrey, but you''re home now. I''m gonna help you inside.¡±


    ¡°You are not supposed to talk to me. It is against the rules.¡± I whispered, looking up at him.


    ¡°Damn the rules. Just close your eyes. I''ve got you." Bool said.


    ¡°Be gentle with her, mortal or I will come for you.¡± Sam growled.


    ¡°Yes, Cat.¡± Bool nodded at my familiar while he waited for me to close my eyes.


    I did as he asked and closed my eyes,


    The small piece that was left of me was torn away as he lifted me out of the tall grass.


    The sound of my own scream echoed off the hills and back into my ears.


    The lights of Erosette were a distant blur as Bool carried me in his arms.


    I caught sight of my legs.


    Whatever had been left in my stomach from the last time I had eaten came back out.


    ¡°That¡¯s alright, little Aubrey. Whatever you need to do. We all get sick sometimes.¡± Bool spoke softly, his eyes held forward in a hard locked scowl.


    My head rolled to one side.


    The double doors of the manor exploded outward and I saw my mother.


    One of her emerald eyes brimmed with tears and the sight hung in my mind like a painting.


    ¡°Momma. . .¡± I moaned.


    ¡°Inside. . .On the. . . Yes! On the table!¡±


    I could hear her voice between the darkness I teetering on the edge of.


    Bool stopped walking and lowered me.


    I screamed again.


    The wooden beams of the kitchen ceiling hung above me.


    ¡°Autumn?¡±


    A name, I heard a name. . .my name.


    And then, I saw her.


    Anna.


    She must have been asleep, her black hair was all tangled and messy.


    My heart thumped so hard in my chest It felt like it would burst through my skin.


    Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.


    Anna went away.


    ¡°Fix her. You can do that right? You have to fix her.¡± I heard her demand.


    Quiet.


    ¡°Lady Aubrey?¡± Bool said.


    ¡°I cannot!¡± A loud sound made my eyes snap shut and there was quiet.


    Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.


    ¡°They have forbidden me. . .We need water. Cold-no, hot water. And towels, as many as you can find.¡±


    ¡°Momma.¡± I moaned again.


    ¡°Oh, my little Delpha,¡± She cried and I felt her hands cradle my face. ¡°You''re burning up. . .¡±


    ¡°Delpha¡¯s outside. I heard her. Delpha¡¯s outside on the hill." I told her.


    ¡°Idensyn. . .¡± Anna said from somewhere close. I wanted to see her but I was too tired to open my eyes again.


    Quiet.


    Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.


    ¡°Forgive me, mothers,¡± My mother sighed. I felt her kiss my forehead. ¡°It is time to go to sleep, my little Delpha. Goodnight and sweet dreams. Tell her goodnight, Anna. She needs to sleep now.¡±


    ¡°Goodnight, Autumn.¡± Anna said.


    Thump. Thump. Thump. My heart beat on.


    Thump. Thump.


    Thump.


    ¡°Goodnight.¡±

 V2: Chapter Thirty Eight: Good Morning Autumn

    I woke up in a bed of wildflowers.


    A bright blue sky hung above me. The biggest clouds I had ever seen floated like listless white giants. The sun was just warm enough to feel it on my skin without it being hot. Nothing lay to my left, only a sheer drop down to the sandy beach and sea beyond it. A tower stood on my right, its base a large wooden house with a porch that went all the way around it. The top of it was all glass and a dim beam of light swept out into the distance.


    It was a lighthouse.


    Had I done it? Had I actually died?


    No. I thought to myself, remembering that Sam had found me.


    I did not know how or when, but I was certain that I had been there before.


    A sea breeze, bracing and carrying the briny scent of sea salt, blew over me.


    I had been there before, but why was I there now?


    A momentary memory of my mother crying came back to me. Tears brimmed in her left eye, but her right burned with white hot fury.


    Where had she gone?


    Where had I gone?


    The sea breeze came again and left a new scent behind after it had gone. It was heavy, staying around me like a cloud, and slightly sweet.


    It made my stomach turn. Some part of me screamed to find wherever the smell had come from and get as far away from it as possible.


    I would have listened to that part of myself if I had been able to move. My eyes watered from the cloying sweetness, and I blinked to push them away.


    Gone.


    From the blue sky to the lighthouse, everything was gone, and I found myself back in the manor. All the lights were out. A dim white glow cast stark shadows over the wooden beams of the kitchen ceiling.


    My whole body felt like one dull, itchy, throb.


    My mother stood over me with her red hair tied back. Sweat slicked strands clung to her face and her eyes were focused on something that seemed to be taking much from her.


    She met my eyes briefly.


    ¡°Anna, She is awake. Do not let her see. It will take me a moment for me to settle her back down again.¡± She said, her words coming serious and quick.


    Let me see what? I wondered, trying to lift my head off the table.


    Anna appeared opposite my mother, smiling sweetly. She ran her fingers through my hair and gently laid my head back down. ¡°Hey, let¡¯s drink some water.¡±


    I unstuck my tongue from the bottom of my mouth and nodded weakly. Of course she had known I was thirsty before I had.


    ¡°Turn her head to the side, dear. And don¡¯t let her drink too quickly, it could make her sick.¡± I heard my mother say.


    I realized I had closed my eyes when something cold touched my lips. They parted and cool water filled my mouth. I sighed as I drank, swallowing as much as I could before it was taken away. I tried to reach out with my hand and bring it back, but my arm was too heavy.


    ¡°Get some sleep, I¡¯ll be here when you wake up.¡± I heard Anna say, her hands wonderfully returning to my hair. Slightly, it was all I could manage, I shook my head against her touch. Sleep was where the smell was. I couldn¡¯t go back. There was something dark on that hill of flowers, something horrid and evil.


    ¡°Rest, my little Delpha.¡± I heard my mother say softly.


    My breaths slowed and the feeling of Anna playing with my hair sent me drifting off into nothing¡­


    The bed of wildflowers wilted beneath me. The blue sky darkened into an oppressive gray. Black mist rained down all around me, obscuring my view of the sea and the lighthouse. The cloying scent filled my nose, much stronger than before. It was so thick, it felt like whatever rotting thing that was producing it was right next to me.


    The ground began to shake. Through the black mist, the lighthouse''s beam faded as the towering shape sunk into the ground. The house went first, collapsing into whatever dark pit had formed beneath it. Moments later, the tower was swallowed and the shaking stopped.


    The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, and I realized I was being watched.


    I forced my eyes away from where the lighthouse no longer was, and looked up to see my mother and Anna.


    ¡°-no true healer. I cannot shield her from her pain completely because without it reacting to my working, I would be lost.¡± My mother said from the opposite side she had been on before.


    Anna stood next to her and raised a glass of wine to my mother¡¯s lips. Without looking away from me, she drank and Anna wiped her mouth once she was done.


    ¡°Thank you, dear.¡±


    ¡°There are people who are better than you at this?¡± Anna asked her in reply.


    ¡°Many. The Mother in Blue is the best of us all.¡± My mother answered, wiping the sweat from her brow on the back of her forearm. Glimmering iridescent aura covered her hand. A thin tendril of ran down from the tip of her middle finger and I felt the other end of it tug against my arm dully.


    I closed my eyes so they would not notice that I was awake again. No part of me wanted to return to the seaside hill, to where I was being watched.


    ¡°How much better could she be? This is already a miracle.¡± I heard Anna say.


    A snort came from my mother. ¡°The first time I met her, she had just returned from drowning a new sun before it could burn the world away. The sorceress that had been sent to stop it from happening had not called for The Mothers soon enough to save herself. The poor girl had nearly been incinerated and only had a moment left, but The Mother in Blue healed her with little to no effort at all. I have heard that the sorceress''s skin is radiant now. What I am doing is on the surface. The Mother repaired everything from the bone up.¡±


    ¡°Can you do it? Is she going to be okay?¡± Anna said, her voice growing quiet.


    ¡°Can or cannot is a choice, dear. I will do it,¡± My mother¡¯s voice grew much closer to my face. ¡°She will be sore in some places and numb in others I would imagine, my hope is to prevent her from scaring.¡±


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    I felt the same strange tugging sensation as the itching returned.


    ¡°Will it be like this every time?¡± Anna asked, nearly whispering.


    ¡°Let us hope that The Mother in Brown¡¯s punishment shall be the worst. Now, be ready incase she wakes, this will hurt he-¡±


    What felt like thousands of needles being pushed through the veins of my arm destroyed my ability to continue pretending to be asleep.


    My eyes snapped open and I came up screaming.


    My mothers colorless aura covered my body in a thin veil. Beneath it, the shredded flesh of my arms and legs bleed red through. The small patches of my pale skin that remained grew slowly outward, crawling towards each other to make a connection.


    Dizzy, weak, thin. My eyes lost their focus and I fell back down, fainting before I hit the table.


    Lost and spinning, my next waking moments came in flashes.


    ¡°She was just laying out there. In the grass, right off the path. The cat led us to her.¡± Bool spoke from somewhere out of my sight.


    Arthur passed by my right side, his shirt was off and his right eye was swollen and bruised.


    ¡°They just fucking left her?¡± Arthur shouted.


    ¡°Shut up, Arthur. Don¡¯t wake her up!¡± Anna whispered harshly from somewhere near me.


    I thought I could feel her holding my hand.


    Bool spoke again. ¡°Easy, Ugi. Lady Aubrey is almost ready for us to move her.¡±


    Somewhere between the next time the tall man paced by me and the one that followed, I was gone again.


    ¡°- and you are certain? You truly feel that way?¡± I heard Ms. Lao ask.


    ¡°Yes, Ma.¡± Anna insisted.


    Ms. Lao began to ask her daughter a question. ¡°Why did you feel you could not tell-¡±


    The sound of her voice quieted before tapering off completely.


    A soft sound, like a rain so kind it had agreed to gently crawl to the ground instead of falling onto it, was all I could hear. I opened my eyes when I began to feel the small pitter patters of the polite rain on my face.


    Black mist, not courteous rain, fell from the dark sky.


    I was back on the hill, laying in the bed of decaying wildflowers. The wind that blew was not the sea breeze I had felt before. It had turned into a vicious and cold thing that chilled me to my bones. So thick in the air I could almost see it, the scent of death remained, but I knew where it was coming from.


    The section of ground I could see in my peripherals, where the light house had been swallowed, felt wrong to look at. Something that should not be had happened there and I felt like I would be sick.


    Wake up, Autumn. Wake up! I screamed at myself in my mind, desperate to vanish from where I lay. Why. Can¡¯t. I. Fucking. Move?


    I couldn¡¯t, but something else could. A black cloaked figure rose from where the lighthouse once stood.


    The wind battered against me and then the figure loomed in the air above me. The shadows within the hood concealed its face, but I did not need to see it¡¯s eyeless gaze to know what had found me.


    ¡°I have been watching you, child.¡± The lich rasped, its voice taking what little warmth I had left out of my body.


    My breaths fastened and my eyes went wide. No.


    It raised its arms and its billowing black sleeves fell away, revealing two hands of sharp white bone that clutched the hood and began to draw it back.


    ¡°No.¡± I whispered, unable to look away.


    Long locks of straight black hair fell from the hood first. ¡°You should know where your place truly is.¡±


    Azza, it was Mother Azza. Even in my dreams I could not escape her.


    ¡°No!¡± I screamed. Darkness fell over me just as the nightmare hanging above me moved to show me its face. I shot up suddenly, like I had when I had seen the state of myself, and found myself alone.


    The lich, mother Azza, whatever it had been was nowhere to be found.


    I¡¯m in the kitchen. That was a horrible dream. I woke up and I am back in the kitchen.


    I was right about being awake, but I was not in the kitchen.


    There were no wooden beams above me, only a seamless sheet of pearl pink fabric. The soft blankets and pillows underneath me had certainly not been on the table in the kitchen. I let myself fall back down and stretched the heavy sleep out of my arms and legs.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± I groaned, every part of me feeling tight and stiff. I was in my bed. Only, it couldn¡¯t be my bed because it wasn¡¯t torn to shreds and I was in it alone.


    One of my feet caught on the blanket and tugged against it. That is new. I thought, running my hands over my arms and legs. When they didn¡¯t come away covered in blood or make me scream out in pain, I sat back up and snapped the lights on. Cloaked me in pale pink light, I saw that the bloody rag I had been wearing had been replaced with a clean dress. From the bottom of my feet, all the way up to my navel, were tightly wrapped bandages. The same was true from each of my shoulders down to my fingertips. My lips were no longer cracked and bleeding. I was sore like I had never been before, but I felt nothing of the pain I had been in after my punishment.


    ¡°Good morning, Autumn.¡± A voice came from outside my canopy.


    ¡°Mom?¡± I called back, painfully crawling to Anna¡¯s side of the bed and pulling open the curtains.


    ¡°How did you sleep?¡± I heard her ask before she leaned up from where she had been laying on the floor and gave me a tired smile.


    My mother had changed. Like she had aged twenty years overnight, streaks of gray ran through her usually perfect hair. The corners of her eyes and mouth bore soft wrinkles that diminished the radiant beauty she normally wore with ease. Dark circles wringed her eyes and she took note of what I was noticing.


    ¡°Do not look surprised daughter, you already know the cost of healing another with your power.¡± She said, half heartedly raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± I answered, matching her expression.


    A small smile graced the right corner of her mouth. ¡°The Mother¡¯s have forbidden me from teaching you about the power that sorceresses carry, just the same as they have forbidden you to step outside the manor walls. It is fortunate that you already know that healing another does not come at the cost of your body or mind, but at the cost of your soul.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± I nodded, understanding the line that she was walking for my benefit. ¡°I could have healed myself at any time with the knowledge I gained completely on my own.¡±


    ¡°Good girl,¡± My mother smiled at me. It could have been my eyes, they had not been very reliable as of late, but I thought I saw one of her gray streaks regain its color. ¡°It is also fortunate that you understand how difficult it would be to explain to The Mother in Brown, if she came to look in on you, how you had recovered so quickly. It is best to keep yourself covered, both to protect the wounds that have not closed and your modesty until the proper amount of time has passed.


    ¡°Right. Being ground away by sand is not something you can recover from overnight.¡± I agreed.


    ¡°She did fucking what to you?¡± Anna shouted from beyond the closed curtain on the other side of the bed.


    ¡°Good morning, Anna.¡± My mother chuckled.


    Anna ripped the curtain open and crawled onto the bed next to me, a smirk on her face. ¡°I know she¡¯s important and powerful or whatever, but I will fight her. Say the word. I¡¯ll go right now.¡±


    At her words, my mother fell into a deep laugh as she stood up.


    I saw it again, I was certain.


    Every moment she laughed, the grays in her hair brightened and the circles under her eyes faded.


    I leaned back into Anna, my body too sore to hold me up any longer. ¡°Is it also good that I understand that laughing makes you better?¡±


    ¡°It is good that you understand that laughing makes me better, and that it is different for each of us.¡± My mother corrected me, sitting on the edge of the bed. She still looked shy of her usual self, but the tired woman she had been when I had first seen her was gone.


    ¡°What will make you all the way better?¡± Anna asked for me, finding my words before I could say them.


    ¡°Laughing,¡± My mother reaffirmed. ¡°Dinner, wine, being with those I love.¡±


    ¡°There is one night left of Amoranora, right? Is it one of the fighting nights or do we get to sit around and relax?¡± Anna asked.


    ¡°Well, yes, Adrian¡¯s night is tonight and it is meant to be a proper masquerade. But, Autumn needs to rest. After all she has been through, she does not need to push herself.¡± My mother said.


    ¡°I want to.¡± I started, my voice breaking before I could say anymore.


    Tears, wet tears, welled in my eyes and spilled over my cheeks.


    They were not out of pain, fear, or anger.


    Joy, care, and relief were all that drove them.


    I cried because I was home.

 V2: Chapter Thirty Nine: Adrians Night

    The last day of Amoranora seemed to last no time at all.


    How could it be that time quickened or slowed depending on how it was spent?


    My crying had ended when the emotion had passed and not because my body had run out of tears.


    Quiet had filled the room.


    Anna and my mother let it be quiet. There had been little room during my punishment for me to wonder what it would be like when I got home. I was thankful that neither of them seemed to want anything from me. Both seemed like they would be content to spend the rest of the day sitting on the bed with me in silence.


    Mother Azza and her pyramid of glass were a memory, a painful one, but a memory all the same.


    If I dwelled on any part of it for too long, faint traces of how it had felt would come to my surface. When I thought of the pressure, my chest would grow tight. If sand so much as brushed against my thoughts, I would have to stretch my legs before I could settle. Every few minutes, I would press my lips together just to make sure they had not cracked again.


    I wanted to tell them. I knew I would eventually, Anna had a way of making me discuss things I did not mean to, but I couldn¡¯t yet. When the ghosts of my punishment were no longer haunting me, maybe.


    The memory of Mother Azza, with her golden eyes and long slender fingers, appeared in my mind. Without thought, my hands found their way to my neck. My punishment had become a memory, but the gift locked around my throat was still very present.


    I watched my mother¡¯s tired eyes follow my hand up to the golden choker.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Anna asked, helping me scoot to the edge of the bed when I failed to do it on my own.


    ¡°I want to see it.¡± I grunted and let my bandage wrapped feet touch the stone floor.


    My mother rested a hand on my knee. ¡°Slow, you have slept long. Give yourself time to wake.¡±


    I pushed myself up and fell right back down in one smooth motion. A hot line of pain streaked over my right thigh and I pressed my hand over it in a futile attempt to push it away.


    ¡°Are you sure you wish to celebrate Adrian¡¯s night? We could just wait and watch the closing ceremonies tomorrow? After all you have been through, none of us will fault you for choosing to rest.¡±


    ¡°No. I cannot sit up here alone while you all celebrate.¡± I sighed, beginning to push my finger under the wrap over the painful place on my thigh.


    My mother pulled my hand away from the bandage. ¡°There would be no celebration, my little Delpha.¡±


    ¡°None of us felt very festive while you were gone.¡± Anna added.


    Patience¡¯s night. I remembered. I had been taken on Patience¡¯s night. Something angry rose within me and I squeezed my fingers into my palm. Another hot line of pain let itself be known on my shoulder. The memory of the short sleeve of my dress being streaked with blood flashed in my mind.


    ¡°How long have I been gone?¡± I asked, feeling tears beginning to well in my eyes yet again.


    ¡°You were returned late into Nocti¡¯s night. A day and a night have passed since then.¡± My mother answered me.


    Small glimpses of the scattered and blurry memories of what had happened after Mother Nami had saved me were all I could recall. My mother had healed me despite being forbidden to do so, that along with her emerald eyes being split between sorrow and fury were the clearest. Anna had been right by my side for most of what I could remember. The lich had found me. Arthur had been angry about something, probably because of his black eye.


    No. The lich had not found me, that was a dream. It was a fever dream I had had sometime while I had been asleep. It had not even been the lich, it had been Mother Azza who had found me in the wildflowers. The nightmare had been woven together from the things that I feared but would not allow myself to think of.


    ¡°Patience¡¯s night, Nocti¡¯s night, and. . .?¡± I trailed off, trying to ignore the tension I felt when I spoke Patience¡¯s name. If I lived to ever see Amoranora again, I would plan to fall ill on the fourth night.


    ¡°Go¡¯s night,¡± My mother answered me. ¡°I can tell you of them, I know how you love my stories. Patience was a-¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I growled, regretting the anger in my voice as soon as I heard it. ¡°I think I need to go back to sleep.¡±


    I leaned back to crawl to my side of the bed, but only managed to fall onto my side and hold my breath until the pain passed.


    ¡°I am sorry, daughter. I would have given anything to prevent you from feeling this.¡± My mother said softly, sadness evident on her tired face.


    They helped me lay onto my back and took turns making sure I was comfortable.


    ¡°We are gonna go get everything ready, I¡¯ll come get you before dinner.¡± Anna said as they headed towards the door.


    I wanted to tell her to stay. I wanted to tell my mother that she had done more than enough already. That defying The Mothers to help me was the bravest and most useless thing I had ever heard of anyone doing. I wanted to tell them how stupid they were for sleeping on the floor next to my bed, but that I was thankful for how much concern they had for me.


    The lights were snapped out before I could and I lost most of the last day of Amoranora to sudden sleep. I did not toss and turn. There were no dreams. The Well did not come for me. My eyes closed and remained that way until the sound of my door opening woke me.


    Anna stepped into the room quietly, a silhouette alone. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s me. Dinner is almost ready.¡±


    I snapped the lights back on and blinked the sleep from my eyes.


    She looked like a queen from one of my mothers stories. A magical woman from some far off land that had come to my bedroom to deliver me a treacherous quest. Her pearl pink gown brushed softly against the floor as she walked. At her waist, it tightened into a corset that fit her shape perfectly. Her black hair was done up in separated strands that all led back to the bulk of it behind her head.


    A smile tried to spread across my face at the sight of her, but a yawn took me and I stretched into the soreness that clung to me like a second skin.


    ¡°How did you sleep?¡± She asked, coming and leaning over the edge of the bed. With one finger, she brushed away the hair that had fallen into my face.


    ¡°They must be so unimpressive.¡± I said, pulling myself up with her help.


    ¡°Who?¡± She asked, straightening my dress for me.


    ¡°The Red Mother¡¯s Lovers,¡± I answered, looking up at her. The amount of times I had seen her look beautiful in entirely different ways struck me. ¡°I have more with you than she does with her seven.¡±


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    Anna smirked and scrunched her nose. ¡°You¡¯re just saying that because I¡¯m your first.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I shook my head in disagreement. ¡°I¡¯m saying that because it is true. Is it time to go down?¡±


    ¡°If it wouldn¡¯t hurt you, I would throw myself at you right now,¡± She smiled, her hands gripping the fabric of her dress. She looked up to the ceiling and took a deliberate breath before continuing. ¡°Yes, your mom said you don¡¯t have to dress up so we can go straight down.¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to wear this anymore,¡± With both my hands, I moved to pull the simple white dress off of me. It caught on the choker halfway over my head and my arms hurt too much for me to continue. They slumped to my sides and I was out of breath from that small action alone. ¡°I want to wear pants.¡±


    ¡°In general or tonight?¡± Anna joked.


    ¡°And long sleeves.¡± I sighed as I felt her gently pull the dress the rest of the way off me. I wore nothing under it and a shiver ran through me as the air hit my bare chest. A sliver of my pale skin was visible through the bandages on my right arm. I pulled the wrap apart until I found the end of a thin red line that ran over the top of my forearm and curled up towards my elbow.


    I remembered how I had looked when Bool had been carrying me towards the manor and recovered it with the bandage.


    Anna wanted to ask me if I was okay, I could see it on her face.


    Something she saw on mine kept her from asking.


    ¡°Pants and long sleeves.¡± She nodded and left me alone, heading for her full closet seeing as how mine had nothing in it but the dresses I no longer could stand to wear.


    Under normal circumstances, dressing and getting down the stairs were simple tasks. With my body in the state that it was, the only way I managed to do either of them was due to the patience and care of Anna. She had returned with what I had asked for, a long sleeved white shirt that buttoned down the front and long pants that fit me tightly due to the bandages underneath them. To complete my costume, It felt like one even though I had asked for the clothes, she helped me pull on cuffed leather boots that ended halfway up my thighs.


    The pants were uncomfortable and having the shirt tucked into them made me feel like I had to hunch so I wouldn¡¯t pull it out.


    I liked the boots. There was enough of a heel that they made me slightly taller than Anna.


    I lost more of the day getting down the stairs. My body was sore, yes, but that was not what slowed me. Even with Anna to lean on and carry some of my weight, I could only take a step or two at a time before I had to stop and catch my breath. She would help me down, wait for me to stop sounding like I had just run from one end of Erosette to the other, and then we would begin again. She never complained or hurried me. If it had taken me a thousand years to make it to the backdoor, it seemed like she would be glad for the time we had spent together.


    Arthur, Ms. Lao, and my mother waited for us outside the backdoor.


    Warm light from the lanterns that had been hung atop tall iron posts lit the space between the manor and the garden path. A small table, looking just large enough for all of us to sit around, had been placed just a few steps away. Music, upbeat and cheerful, filled the air. I could not find where it was coming from, but my mother had a way of doing things that seemed like they should be impossible.


    ¡°Oh my, look at the two of you,¡± She smiled at us. Wearing a dress that was the same style as what Anna wore, she still looked exhausted. ¡°Do they not make a beautiful couple, Mai?¡±


    Ms. Lao, wearing a much less formal dress than my mother was, looked at me. Her hard eyes went from my face to my bandaged hands and then finally to her daughter, who was more or less the only reason I was standing. A tight lipped smile that did not meet her eyes came across her face. ¡°I am happy to see you up and about, Autumn. This place was not the same without you here.¡±


    Fuck. I almost lost it at her words. The tears I had been holding back since the morning threatened to force their way out, but I held them back barely. It seemed like no matter what I did, they would remain just beneath my surface, waiting until I was too weak to resist them.


    ¡°You look like a pirate. Are you here to pillage us?¡± Arthur chuckled as he walked up to us with his hand raised.


    It hurt, but I gave him the high five he was looking for.


    ¡°Your eye is better, did my mother heal you too?¡± I asked him.


    ¡°No. How did you know about that?¡± I noticed that the clothes Arthur wore and the costume I was in were not dissimilar.


    ¡°It seems that Arthur¡¯s spirit has given him regenerative capabilities of his own,¡± My Mother said, stepping into the middle of the loose circle we formed. She placed her hands behind her back and took on the tone of voice she fell into when she was telling a story. ¡°I did not have very much time or energy to prepare for this evening, but no masquerade would be complete without the masks,¡± From behind her back, she brought out a half mask with a short beak for a nose. ¡°I am the mockingbird,¡± The next mask she produced had two round ears coming off the top of it. ¡°Mai, you are the bear because of how fiercely you protect your cubs,¡± A feline looking mask followed. ¡°Arthur, I thought of making you the owl, but that would have been too obvious. Instead, you will be the lion,¡± She brought the next two out in tandem, one in each hand. ¡°Anna, for your undying loyalty for those you love, you are the hound. Autumn, my little Delpha, you are the fox.¡±


    Even for me, with all that I had seen in my life, found it odd to watch my mother visibly grow younger as we all donned the personas she had given us. By the time we all sat down and two of the guards served us while they wore masks of their own, my mother¡¯s hair was red in full. The lines at the corners of her mouth and eyes receded. She began her telling of Adrian, the first of The Red Mother¡¯s lovers. Once she had finished, her and all of her radiance had returned.


    I lost the rest of the day after that. I was at the table. I listened to the conversations happening around me. I watched as the lion took turns dancing with the mockingbird and the bear. The hound never left my side, but I played the part of the fox poorly. I brought no mischief and offered no snickers. I was there in body, but the rest of me had been left behind somewhere.


    Adrian¡¯s night grew late and the table was cleared, the food on my plate remaining untouched. Goodnights were given, the mockingbird kissed me on the top of my head before she took her bottle of wine up to her room, and the hound helped me stand.


    Certain that we were as alone as we could be, I took her by the hand.


    ¡°Follow me.¡± I told her, and started for the place between the wall and the manor. Several slow and painful moments later, we stopped in the darkness between the wall and the side of the manor that faced Erosette.


    ¡°What are we doing here?¡± The hound asked me.


    I pointed up at the wall. ¡°I¡¯m going to help you up there.¡±


    ¡°Wait, for what?¡±


    ¡°We are running away.¡± I answered and shook as I lowered myself to one knee.


    ¡°Autumn.¡± She said, not asked.


    ¡°We have to,¡± I said, grabbing her ankle and dropping it into my palm. ¡°Jump when my arms are all the way up. Ready? One, two, th-¡°


    Anna took her foot back. ¡°Slow down,¡± She knelt down and balanced herself on the balls of her feet, gently placing her hands on my arms. ¡°Take it easy.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t look at her. The spot on the ground below the hem of her dress was the perfect place to focus my gaze. ¡°Anna, I can¡¯t. We have to go now.¡±


    Anna pulled the hound mask from her face and dropped herself onto her ass. ¡°Autumn, you can barely walk. We can¡¯t do this right now. I¡¯m here, let¡¯s talk about this?¡±


    I had a choice. I could say nothing or I could answer her. There was no middle ground, no in between. If I said anything, I would be powerless to stop myself from saying everything I had spent all day trying to ignore.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to,¡± She reached out and moved to pull the fox mask from my face. ¡°We can-¡±


    ¡°Let me leave it on. Please. If I take it off I will cry and if I cry one more fucking time I think I¡¯m going to die,¡± I whispered, holding my hand against her own to stop her from revealing me. ¡°I don¡¯t know when I am going to be taken again. I don¡¯t know what is going to happen to me next time. What if it¡¯s worse? What if my mother can¡¯t heal me? I can¡¯t go through that again.¡±


    A moment passed.


    Anna did not speak. She did not pull my mask off. Gently, she pulled me into her arms and held me in the darkness.


    I pulled my legs to my chest and let my weight settle into her. The slight pressure of her embrace made my sore body hurt, but it was a welcome pain. Every place that I could feel the dull ache was a small reassurance that as long as she was around me, that she would hold me together. Nestled in the folds of her pearl pink dress, I did not cry. I focused on the rising and falling of her chest against me and closed my eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to pretend to understand how it feels to be you right now, none of us do. But, we¡¯ve got a bunch of shit that we don¡¯t know, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± I answered her.


    ¡°Fuck all that. Let¡¯s just worry about things we do know,¡± She continued, gently pushing me up until our eyes met. ¡°I know that when I go to sleep tonight, you are going to be next to me. That¡¯s easy right? Your turn. What is something you know?¡±


    My stomach let out an audible rumble, answering for me.


    ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± I said, knowing that to be the truth without a shadow of a doubt.


    ¡°There we go,¡± She smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s start there. We will get you some food and then go from there.¡±


    I nodded in agreement and we started the slow process of getting me back inside.


    I was starving, that was true, but another truth rang much clearer in my heart.


    It was not just The Red Mother who had less than I did with Anna.


    There was nobody who had what I did, and it was just a matter of time before I would be taken away from her again.

 V2: Chapter Forty: Pretend Time

    A little over a week passed before I could do anything but sleep, have my bandages changed, and eat.


    My mother had even offered to let me leave the manor walls and find a place on the hill to watch the end of Amoranora. Not even the promise of what I had spent months fantasizing about could coax me out of my room.


    Since I had seen the end of one of the wounds that had not closed, I kept my eyes closed whenever my mother came to rewrap me. The soreness had faded with every passing day. During the brief moments out of my bed, I found a heaviness that made it nearly impossible to move had replaced it.


    Arthur came to my room twice. The first time, after he had asked how I was, we had sat in silence for a time and then he had left. The second, he had not asked me anything. The tall man had come with his usual smile and two glass bottles of ice cold milk. One had been for me and we drank them in near silence before he left again.


    The first three days, Anna had only left my side when she needed to use the bathroom or to bring us food. We had not talked much. When I slept, she slept. When I ate, she ate. When she left, I stared up at the canopy and counted the seconds until she returned. On the morning of the fourth, my mother had taken her away from me. Along with Ms. Lao, the three of them had gone down to the city for something to help my mother heal the sick woman. When Anna returned, she came with books. There had been boxes of them in her room at the boarding house, but there had not been much time for reading then. Still, she had been truly excited at what she had acquired. Everyday after, whenever we weren¡¯t eating or sleeping, she had her nose buried in a book. In that, I found a way to pass the time. Between my long naps, I would watch the way her brow knit together or the sudden widening of her eyes when something she read suprised her. If she sat next to me on the bed, I could follow her eyes as they moved across the page and watch her hand sway as she took note of what she read. It did not matter to me what she was reading, I was just glad to see her enjoying something. I never asked about her reading and she never tried to tell me. Without the need for words, she understood something that had taken me days to realize.


    Mother Azza had not given me a gift. She had forced me into an exchange I had no power to refuse. She had taken something from me, and all I received was the golden choker locked around my throat.


    After all I had been through, I had become less.


    Mother Azza had taken me from me.


    I had never belonged to me to begin with, and I would continue to learn that lesson eight more times.


    Anna knew it, I could see it in her smile when she looked at me. There was something sad in the set of her eyes that told me she missed the Autumn she had known before.


    Still, she stayed.


    In that, I knew I could not lay in my bed and wallow until the next Mother came for me. Until that happened, I needed to make a show of it. I would pretend, go through the motions, to try and keep her from being sad.


    On the morning of the eighth day after Adrian¡¯s night, Anna gathered up her books and went down to the city with my mother and her own. I waited long enough to be certain that they were truly gone and crawled out of my bed. I stretched my arms and legs, feeling no pain from the injuries hiding beneath my bandages, and pulled on the cuffed boots from my costume. The air in them was cool and they fit much more loosely without pants stuffed into them.


    Even though all I had done was lay in bed, I needed to shower. My hair was tangled and oily. Every place where the parts of me connected under my bandages felt grimy. That small comfort was beyond me. I could not rewrap myself alone and there was no way for me to wash my hair without getting the rest of me wet. I did not bother with my closet, there was nothing inside of it that I would ever wear again. Instead, I left my room and dragged my feet towards Anna¡¯s.


    Two guards stood in the hall outside of my door. One I recognized and one that I did not think I had ever seen.


    Driskt, the one whose name I knew, turned to look at me when I stepped into the hall. He snapped his gloved hand up to his face and covered his eyes. ¡°Look away, Daphne.¡±


    His partner, Daphne, did as he had been told.


    For a moment, I thought that my mother had also forbidden them from looking at me. Then, I remembered that all that I had on to cover me were the bandages and my boots.


    ¡°I am sorry,¡± I muttered, realizing that I had yet again found a way to expose myself. I covered my chest with one arm and continued towards Anna¡¯s room. ¡°I did not know you were out here.¡±


    When I passed them, they both turned their heads in the opposite direction with their eyes closed.


    ¡°Is there anything we can do for you, Lady Autumn?¡± Daphne called after me.


    ¡°No, thank you though.¡± I answered, feeling too heavy to feel embarrassed. I closed Anna¡¯s door behind me and shuffled into her closet, looking for something that could cover me. If my mother was not who I knew her to be, I would have suspected her of tasking the guards with ensuring I did not try and run away. I had done it before, and that had been without having my entire sense of self ground away.


    That had not been her intention. I knew that she had placed them upstairs with me in case I needed help.


    I pulled something black off the hanger by its long sleeve. It looked like it would fit me well, but the fabric was thin and silky. I let it drop to the floor and found something else. It was too long to be a shirt, but too short to be a dress. The dark blue garment was not silky and the sleeves were loose all the way down to the tightened cuffs.


    Pulling it on over my head, I thought about Bool.


    When he had pulled me from my deathbed, had he remembered the pain I had caused him only days before? Either he hadn¡¯t, or he had and acted despite it. Whichever possibility proved to be true, both made the guard seem all the more honorable.


    Damn the rules. He had said.


    Even with my history of forgetting who I was, I would never forget the sound of the guard''s rough voice. As long as I was pretending, I should go find him and apologize. Not only had he found me and carried me into the manor, he had not so much as grimaced when I had become sick. The least I could do was tell him I was sorry.


    Back in the hall with only my face remaining uncovered, Driskt and Daphne had no need to turn away from me.


    ¡°Do either of you know if Bool is around?¡± I asked, stopping at the top of the stairs and turning to them.


    Unmoving and silent, the two guards held their eyes forward.


    ¡°You are only allowed to ask me if I need help, right?¡± I asked them.


    Without turning their eyes from the wall, both of them gave me small nods.


    On a different day, any of those that had passed before my punishment, I would have tried to aggravate them into disobeying their orders. I simply did not have the strength.


    What reason had my mother given me for her order of silence?


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    To know you is to love you, my little Delpha.


    My hand found its way around the stone hanging from my choker. If my mother was right about that, Mother Azza was immune to my charms.


    The stairs were not the long arduous journey that had been the last time I had taken them. They did not exhaust me, but every descending step I took away from my bed only made my longing to return to it grow. When I reached the kitchen, the sound of muffled impacts and distant shouts came from the back of the manor. With nothing better to do, I shuffled my way past Arthur¡¯s room and stepped through the open door.


    After so many days in the dim light of my windowless room, the Erosette sunlight forced me to shade my eyes with my hands. The sound of a bird quickly taking flight from somewhere above came. Two figures, one tall and one short, crossed swords in front of the garden. The taller of the two backstepped and blocked his opponent''s attack with his blade. When the two swords met, the shorter of the two did some manner of wrist twist that sent the taller one¡¯s sword to the ground.


    My eyes began to adjust and I realized the combatant that had been disarmed was Arthur. His opponent had been the guard Springer, and both of the swords were made of shaped wood.


    I walked towards them, feeling hot in my covering clothes.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter how strong you are, Ugi, technique wins every time.¡± Springer said, pacing away from Arthur.


    The tall man snatched his wooden sword up from the ground. ¡°You know, telling me that every time you win is starting to get annoying.¡±


    ¡°Ah, then stop losing and you will no longer have to hear it,¡± Springer¡¯s eyes flickered to me briefly. ¡°We have a visitor, a break perhaps?¡±


    ¡°Hey! Look who''s alive!¡± Arthur said and turned to walk towards me.


    ¡°No, do it again. I want to watch.¡± I said, holding up my hands to stop him.


    ¡°Uh. . .¡± Arthur said, his usually cheerful face looking conflicted.


    ¡°Come now, Ugi. Do not be shy. Let¡¯s give the lady what she wants.¡± Springer shouted, taking quick steps towards Arthur with his sword above his head.


    Arthur spun on his heels and swung the sword back in a wide arc. His reach was sufficient, but his height worked against him. Springer lowered himself without slowing his advance and Arthur¡¯s strike sailed over his gray hair without touching it.


    The shorter man spun his wooden sword in his hands and brought it snapping down.


    The flat side of it smacked against Arthur¡¯s ribs with a fleshy sound.


    Arthur grunted and brought his wood blade straight down, aiming for the head he had so narrowly missed.


    Springer sidestepped quickly to the left, dragging the blade across his opponent''s stomach.


    The tip of Arthur¡¯s wooden sword hit nothing but dirt.


    Springer''s blade broke free and he followed through the movement of the slash.


    ¡°Even with your little avian friend, I think that would have done you in, Ugi.¡± Springer said.


    Arthur flicked his wrist and sent his sword down into the dirt where it stood like a post. ¡°That¡¯s not fair, I was distracted.¡±


    ¡°Which is why you would have died. I¡¯m going to swap off with Woolie.¡± Springer moved to take the path between the wall to my right and the manor. When he crossed where I stood, he nodded and gave me a tight lipped smile. Then, he continued on his way and I walked over to Arthur.


    ¡°What were you doing?¡± I asked him. The tall man''s dark hair had grown and his sharp jaw was darkened by patchy stubble. Bright red bruises that would soon turn dark purple covered him like splotches of paint. Arthur looked different in a way that I could not quite put my finger on. He grabbed my hand and carefully placed it on the swollen red skin over his ribs. The place where Springer had struck him was hard with muscle and my hand looked so small in comparison to him.


    ¡°Shh. Watch this.¡± He shushed me.


    Pale blue light, the color of his owl spirit, sone dimly through his skin and illuminated my fingers with its color. Through my bandages, I could feel a gentle warmth that felt pleasant on my skin. The light faded and he pulled my hand away to reveal that the new bruise had faded and there was no sign that he had ever been hit.


    ¡°I bet Anna can¡¯t do that.¡± He smiled, pointing to all the places on him that were no longer bruised.


    ¡°Why have you not shown me this before?¡± I asked him. When Anna had forced him to tell me about his ghost, I had believed him. The night we went into the woods, I had not made fun of him the way his sister had.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been trying for a few weeks, but you''re always busy or something else is going on,¡± He shrugged. ¡°Right after we got here, my ghost came out of me and we had a long talk.¡±


    Fuck. I remember him coming and knocking on the pink marble door of the well house. Before that, the morning I had fallen off the roof, I had promised that I would come find him.


    I never had.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I sighed, and looked up at him. ¡°Truly.¡±


    Arthur shook his head. ¡°Stop it, I¡¯m not mad. I¡¯m just happy you are finally out of bed. I can¡¯t imagine sleeping for that long,¡± He stretched his arms above his head. ¡°You can meet him again if you want? He likes you. We will have to wait until it gets dark out though. He¡¯s still an owl.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t sleep anymore, do you?¡± I asked, remembering all the little things over the past months that Arthur had said that should have made me question him.


    A good friend would have.


    I had not.


    ¡°Nope! Your mom said that having two souls in my body gives twice the life or something like that. She told me that¡¯s why I¡¯ve gotten so big, but I think it¡¯s from the push ups.¡± Arthur said, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.


    I had almost forgotten that my mother knew about the spirit. It had been less than two weeks since the morning that should have been the start of my first date. It felt like it had been months. How could that feel so far gone, but the memory of my tomb of sand felt like I had just been freed from it?


    My hand crept back up to the stone hanging from my neck and a shiver ran over me.


    ¡°I know you aren¡¯t exactly choosing to wear it, but that¡¯s pretty on you, you know?¡± Arthur said, looking past me at the bulk of Woolie that had just walked around the corner.


    ¡°Why are you fighting with the guards,¡± I asked him. ¡°I thought they liked you.¡±


    Arthur laughed. ¡°It¡¯s not fighting, it''s training. They are helping me get stronger so the captain will let me join the guards.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I asked him, not understanding.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that hard to figure out,¡± He looked above me and waved. ¡°Hey, look who''s up!¡±


    I turned to see my mother walking out of the manor.


    ¡°I wondered where you were when I did not find you upstairs,¡± My mother smiled at me and gently placed her hand on my back. She looked at Arthur, every bit as beautiful as she always was. ¡°Springer asked me to remind you that technique beats strength every time. He says that you are having problems learning that lesson. Would you like me to assist you?¡±


    Arthur rolled his eyes and unstuck the tip of his wooden sword from the ground.


    ¡°I¡¯ll handle that, Lady Aubrey,¡± Woolie grinned through his thick beard and gave Arthur a small shove. ¡°He just needs a firm hand is all.


    I met the guard¡¯s eyes. In a different life, I would have bowed and called him my lady. I thought about doing it regardless of how heavy I felt but I could not find the strength.


    ¡°My offer stands if you change your mind, dear. I could take all of the guards at once if I had a mind to,¡± My mother insisted. Then, she looked down at me. ¡°I am happy to see that you felt well enough to come outside. The sunlight is good for you, but perhaps you should go rest again. I have need of you tomorrow if you are able.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± I asked, wondering what she could ever need me for. More than likely, she was going to want to know the reason I had hid so many things from her.


    ¡°Yes, around lunch, but not in the garden. I will come and fetch you from your room,¡± She answered and kissed me on the top of my head. Then, she whispered to me so only I could hear. ¡°A bath will make you feel better. I will be up shortly to wrap your wounds.¡±


    My mother left us then, and I was left alone with Arthur and Woolie.


    ¡°Can you help me back to the door?¡± I asked Arthur and stuck my arm out for him to walk with me like I had seen him do with his mother.


    ¡°Of course.¡± He agreed.


    The height difference between us forced him to stoop down. I used my contrived opportunity to ask him quietly what had not left my mind. ¡°Your mother agreed to let you join the guards?¡±


    The last I had heard, the elder Lao intended to pack up her children and go back from whence they came.


    ¡°No, but I¡¯m doing it anyway.¡± Arthur said, a hint of his mother¡¯s rigidness in his voice.


    ¡°Why?¡± I asked him for the second time.


    ¡°To protect you. And Ma and Anna. Your mom too. I can¡¯t sit around and do nothing like Anna does. I have to get stronger.¡± He answered me, his expression serious and without a hint of a smile.


    I thanked him for walking me and agreed to meet the owl spirit again. Then, I went inside and headed back up the stairs. Arthur wanted to protect me and his family. He had to get stronger to join the guards so he could do that.


    It was brave, noble even, but he was misguided.


    The guards were not meant to protect me.


    They were meant to protect people from me.


    I had not had the strength to tell him.

 V2: Chapter Forty One: A Brief Moment of Genuine Feeling

    My mother had been right.


    Every step I took on the climb back to my room, the thought of dropping to the stairs and laying there until I became one with the stone tempted me. They could not be that uncomfortable. Even if they were, I was certain I could stand it. I had lain in a much worse place before. Forcing myself to raise my boot and continue was not because of my discipline or indomitable will. All that drove me forward was the fear of being found. It would more than likely be Anna who stumbled upon me, and she would not leave me where I lay. She would say just the right words and the sight of her would make me just happy enough to convince me to carry on.


    I did not fear that happening. Most of our relationship had been some manner of that exchange. I feared what it would do to her on the inside. Behind her dark eyes, beneath her beautiful face, It would hurt her and I would be the cause.


    Giving into the weight I carried meant bringing her pain. I also carried the responsibility to prevent that.


    Until the next Mother ripped me away again, at least.


    Until then, I would do my best to pretend.


    The guards had no longer been standing in the hall when I reached the top floor. Would they tell their counterparts about the state they had seen me in? There was not much for them to talk about, all I had could be covered with one of my skinny arms, but they had still seen me. The thought had not lasted long. It was just the newest regret in my life that I could not undo and was powerless to control.


    My mother had been right, I did need to rest more. I could not be reminded of my lack of freedom if I was unconscious.


    I opened my door and found Anna sorting through the new stacks of books she had returned from the city with. She dropped the one she was holding at the sight of me and hurried over excitedly.


    ¡°I got you something.¡± She said, reaching her hands out to touch me. She hesitated before turning away and pulling open the pearl pink canopy around my bed. With a wide smile on her face, she held up a dress. It was white and nearly identical to those that hung in my closet. The difference was in the sleeves and the length.


    ¡°I know the pants weren¡¯t really your thing. I found it in a bunch of colors, but I thought you would like this the most.¡± She said, holding up one of the long sleeves to show me that they were long.


    ¡°I. . . You shouldn¡¯t have.¡± I muttered, suddenly aware of the fact that I had not bathed in over a week. It was perfect. I had grown comfortable in my dresses just the way I had with Arthur¡¯s sweatshirt and the long socks. When I put them on, they had felt like part of me, as if they were the only thing I could ever wear. Mother Azza had taken that from me as well. If my skin had been covered when she had buried me alive. . .


    ¡°You mom bought it. So, she shouldn''t have. All I did was pick it out. Do you want to try it on?¡±


    No. You don¡¯t deserve it. The thoughts were loud in my mind. You don¡¯t deserve them. Go lay down. Go lay down and wait until you are taken again. Don¡¯t bother them. It will only make it worse when you are gone.


    I did not answer her. Being given a gift from her, it made me feel. . . guilty. How could I return her kindness when I did not even know how to buy something? It was not a debt, but there was an imbalance between us that continued to grow. She was a constant source of all that was good. I was a void that took what she gave and offered nothing in return.


    ¡°Autumn?¡± Anna asked, worry beginning to mar her face.


    Pretend. For her. The thought came quickly and felt heavier than those that had come before.


    ¡°Uhm, I think I should shower first.¡± I said, touching the ends of my tangled hair.


    A little light came into Anna¡¯s eyes. ¡°That¡¯s a good idea,¡± Again, a small moment of hesitation passed over her. ¡°Do you need-can I help you? I mean with your bandages or your hair, I¡¯m not asking if I can take a shower with you. Unless, you want me to. . . I will.¡±


    I had become so weak, so fragile, that it seemed like she was scared that I would break apart if she said the wrong words. Being out of bed and walking around only made more moments for that apprehension to come to her surface.


    I could not blame her, it was probably true.


    Still, I swallowed my desire to ask her about it and continued pretending. ¡°If you want, you could do my hair.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± She nodded and laid the dress back over the bed.


    A moment passed, feeling like both of us had more to say, but neither of us spoke.


    With a sigh, I turned away from and dragged my feet to the bathroom.


    I left the long boots leaning against the door and undressed, keeping my back to the mirror. With my eyes closed, I unraveled the bandages from my arms and legs. Then, sightlessly, I stepped into the hollow marble column. I felt around with my hand until I was sure that I had grasped the right chain and pulled. Hot water pounded down onto me and forced the tension I had not realized I was holding to release. My hands found my hair and I ran my fingers through it, separating every tangle I found. I turned my face up to the water and let it beat against me, beginning to feel better than I had in too many days.


    Then, I fucked up.


    For a split second, I blinked against the water dripping down over my eyelids.


    Jagged, pink, swollen, I saw one of the wounds that had not closed on my left thigh. Bright against my pale skin just below my hip, the sight of it sent the rest of skin crawling. A momentary memory of when I had sat up on the kitchen table and seen my skin regrowing over my ruined flesh came.


    I shut the water off and stepped out of the shower with my eyes clamped shut.


    I wrapped a towel around my waist. Then, a second around my chest and under my arms. The third, I threw over my shoulders and crossed my arms so they were completely covered.


    Before, I would have blushed violently at the thought of Anna in the shower with me. In my cloak of towels, the thought of it made me want to find a very dark place to hide. If I could not stand the sight of my scarred body, I could not expect her to feel any differently. Rivulets of water dripped down from my hair, but there were no more towels for me to use. Eyes still closed, I reached up and placed my hand at my hairline, meaning to dry my hair the way I would after I had come out of The Well. When I went to focus my aura, I could not find it. There was no power teaming within me, not a wisp or a glow, only a hollow emptiness that seemed to have no end.


    That is what she took, Autumn. She took your soul.


    Tears flooded my eyes and a sob shook me.


    I took a deep breath and held it in my lungs.


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    I refused to let myself cry, all that would come from it would be tired eyes and a runny nose.


    Anna. Anna is good at making you not cry.


    Draped in my cloak of towels, I left the bathroom at a pace that would have been beyond me just a little while before. When I stepped into my room, Anna was laying on the bed with her head hanging off the end of it. She held a book open in front of her face. Her raven hair hung down to the floor and she seemed perfectly comfortable. Framed by the parted pink curtains hanging from the canopy atop my bed, she looked like she was made to be there.


    I had been made to see her.


    Yes, Anna was good at making me not cry.


    The best in fact.


    The burning in my lungs reminded me that I could not just stand and stare at her, I still needed to breathe.


    A harsh exhale and long inhale later, I walked over to the desk that was piled high with books. The stone floor felt strange on the bottoms of my bare feet after so long in bandages, but the fact that I could feel it all was welcome.


    ¡°What have you been reading about,¡± I asked Anna, picking up a book whose spine was cracked and the title faded. ¡°The Rise and Fall of the Northern Kingdoms?¡±


    ¡°That one is really interesting,¡± She said, putting her book down and stretching herself out of the chair and using the momentum to walk over to me. Again, just like the day before, something caused her to hesitate. ¡°It was written about the northern kingdoms, but none of the places they talk about are still in the north.¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡± I said, not understanding why Anna had suddenly become so interested in the geography outside of Zenithcidel.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to talk about it, tell me to shut up, but have you ever heard of Splits?¡± She asked.


    As a matter of fact, I had. From a strange perspective, I had lived through one not long ago. Surprisingly, I did want to talk. The light in her eyes, the tone of her voice, the books had brought something out of her I had never seen before.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been through them, in The Well.¡± I answered her. There was a distance between us. The physical space was small, but it felt larger than that. It felt like she was scared to so much as brush against me without my permission. I knew that she was following my lead, she had told me as much, but it did not feel the same. If it was before my punishment, we could have been standing exactly as close together and it would not have felt the same.


    ¡°Okay, I definitely want to talk about that! But, apparently, all the kingdoms in this book,¡± She tapped the cover of it with one finger. ¡°The ones that survived at least, are all somewhere in a mountain range in the south east.¡±


    ¡°Are you scared to touch me?¡± I asked her quietly, putting the book down.


    There was no misunderstanding. By her reply, I knew that she knew that I had noticed her hesitations.


    ¡°I¡¯m not scared. You¡¯ve just been through-¡± She started.


    I grabbed her hand and wrapped it around my waist. She pulled me into her and we were quiet for a moment, each of us looking down at the stacks of books. Being close to her was not an act. I did not have to pretend. A brief moment of genuine happiness came over me, the first since my punishment. I belonged there, in her embrace. I knew that to be true in the way that I knew the choker was still hanging around my neck.


    Then, the vision of a black gate standing ready to take me to somewhere horrible came to the front of my mind. It was a memory, a reminder, that it did not matter where I thought I belonged. I would be only where The Mother¡¯s allowed me to be.


    ¡°So, what have you been reading about?¡± I sighed, making myself leave my dark thoughts until I could crawl into bed and pretend to sleep.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have to talk about this right now, and you better stop me if you don¡¯t want to, but I¡¯ve been reading everything I can find about The Mothers.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I asked, not understanding.


    ¡°What¡¯s that old saying? Something about knowing your enemy?.¡± She answered, some of her mother¡¯s steel in her voice.


    ¡°The Mothers are your enemies?¡± I leaned into her further, barely holding up my own weight.


    She did not waver. ¡°Something like that,¡± She nodded. ¡°When you feel better, like all the way better, I¡¯m going to help you figure out how to keep anything like this from happening again.¡±


    I didn¡¯t speak. I let her hold me and spent the next several moments desperately wishing to believe her. Anna Lao meant what she said, doubly so if she had said it to me, but the punishments would be happening again. Eight more times, eight more times I would be ripped away and sent to bear witness what The Mother¡¯s hatred for me manifested as. Learning about my punishers would only make me dread what was coming more. I would not survive feeling any worse than I did. I would run. I would run and leave everyone I cared about behind to deal with the repercussions.


    My mother entered with rolls of clean white bandage in her hand.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go make us some lunch.¡± Anna said, giving me a gentle squeeze and heading for the stairs outside my room.


    I knew I wouldn¡¯t eat, the thought of food made me feel sick, but I did not stop her. The less she saw of the ugly wounds on my body, the better.


    In a strange way, I had come to look forward to my mother bandaging me. The routine had become well established and the small variations that were necessary did not disrupt that.


    ¡°You look like you feel much better,¡± She said, running her hand over my damp hair and succeeding where I had failed. ¡°That is good for tomorrow.¡±


    Mother? Mother Azza broke me. I thought as I dropped my bottom towel. All that I felt when I thought of my aura was that dark hollow emptiness. There was no reality where I told her that. Nothing good or helpful would come of it. All I would do is make her worry more for her runaway thief of a daughter. What had she thought I would be when I was born? She must have thought I would grow into a powerful and respected sorceress. How bad had it hurt her when the little autumn she had fed, bathed, and taught to speak, could no longer remember her efforts? How bad had it hurt her when she realized I would grow up to be nothing? There must have been long nights where the reality of future and my ignorance of the past weighed on her heart like a tomb of sand.


    She started in with one long loop around my middle, drawing a line over The Mother¡¯s damaged seal, just as she always had. The disrupted circle, a broken up red ring, was obvious, but she had never asked me about it. I supposed it wasn¡¯t necessary. She must know about my color, but I was still surprised that she had not spoken to me about it.


    Maybe the reason was because she understood what I had come to understand. The damage to the seal didn¡¯t matter. I knew my place. If I woke up tomorrow with the power to break it completely and shape the world to my will, it would mean nothing. I would have that knowledge retaught to me over and over again.


    ¡°Why do you need me tomorrow?¡± I muttered, leaning back on the bed so she could make the little loops around my toes. She probably wished for me to explain to her why I had been lying to her from the moment my feet had left the mortal plane.


    ¡°Because you are an underwitch, and I need your assistance to heal what ails Mai Lao.¡± My mother answered me casually. She didn¡¯t even look up from her work when she spoke. There was nothing in her voice to tell me that she knew she had just said something utterly ridiculous.


    ¡°I can¡¯t do that. And, why aren¡¯t you mad at me? Finding my color, I wasn¡¯t supposed to do that.¡± I said, carefully keeping my arms crossed under the towel over my shoulders.


    ¡°Of course you can, you have just not been taught. If I happen to feel the need to explain aloud in great detail as to what I am doing and you happen to be in the room, well, no one can disagree with the process I take to reach an end.¡±


    She looked at me then, her emerald eyes bearing the same mischievous glint that had been in them when she decided that we would be observing Amoranora.


    ¡°No, I mean it is forbidden. ¡± I said, not saying the full truth of my objection aloud.


    No. Mother Azza took my soul from me. I can¡¯t.


    My mother stood and pulled the towels from my arms and shoulders. Gently, she passed her hand over one of the scars that I refused to look at. ¡°So was this, but I found it necessary. I find you assisting me with Mai just as necessary. I am not mad at you because there is no reason for me to be mad. I knew much of what you were keeping from me already. The spirit was a surprise, but little else. I knew that you would come to me when you were ready to share. We will discuss things eventually, but those with power like we have are bound to use it for good, healing Mai is our first priority. Besides,¡± She gave my arm a gentle squeeze. ¡°I have my own secrets to keep now.¡±


    You have no power.


    ¡°How did you know?¡± I asked her, unable to focus on anything else.


    She smiled. ¡°Because I am your mother, my little Delpha. It is my duty to know.¡±


    She was my mother, and she had been right.


    I had needed to rest more.


    After she finished with my bandages, I crawled into bed without putting on Anna¡¯s dress.


    Somewhere after, I fell asleep.


    Beyond waking briefly when Anna crawled into bed next to me, I slept straight through the day and night.


    When I woke early the next morning, I turned onto my side and felt Anna¡¯s shape fit to my back like we were made for each other.


    For a brief moment, I felt like all was right in my life.


    Then, I shifted closer to her slightly and felt the stone hanging from my throat brush against my collar bone.


    Sleep came for me again, but it brought visions of molten golden eyes and long slender fingers along with it.

 V2: Chapter Forty Two: Sum

    As foolish as I knew it was, I could not wait for noon to come.


    Anna and I slept late into the morning. When we both woke, she went down to make us breakfast. I sat on the edge of the bed and remembered all the ways Mother Azza had haunted me in my dreams.


    I doubted that the next Mother would have such long fingers or molten eyes. Unless they all had an obsession with sand, the threat of my next punishment being the same seemed small. The not knowing is what continued to eat at me. They would not look like Azza. They would not act like Azza. They would all punish me how they saw fit and my first impression of that had not left me impressed by their mercy.


    After nearly two weeks since my living burial, I had woken up looking forward to something.


    There would still be a reckoning with my mother. Which, at any other time in my life would have terrified me. At least I knew she did not mean to give The Mother¡¯s additional reasons to hate me. She did mean to teach me how to use my aura to heal. I hated it, but I felt excited. The amount of times I had actually been how to do something with my power was one and it had been how to dry my hair. Every other charm, glamor, and working was the product of fumbling around with scraps of knowledge I had collected from The Well. I no longer had power to use, but the thought alone gave me a reason to put the bottoms of my bandaged feet on the floor and stretch my stiff body.


    The long sleeved dress Anna had brought back for me fit perfectly and hung just above the top of my cuffed boots. How she had been so accurate in her knowledge of my dimensions, I did not know, but it felt natural to wear. I knew I did not deserve it and if I was dragged away while I was wearing it would undoubtedly be ruined, but I wore it just as well.


    As long as it made Anna happy, I would ignore the ugly truths and continue to pretend.


    When she came back into my room, her arms were full. A genuine smile spread across her face. ¡°Sometimes I hate how pretty you are first thing in the morning. Looks like I got the size right.¡±


    I took the bowl of oatmeal from her hands and took a spoonful into my mouth. It was thick and creamy with butter and milk. The scent of sugar and spices filled my nose. When I swallowed, I could feel the sticky warmth drop all the way down into my stomach. It was almost enough to make me do a little dance. Oatmeal was good, that was a truth that I knew with absolute certainty.


    ¡°How did you know it would fit?¡± I asked her before I shoveled another heap of the good stuff into my mouth.


    ¡°Well,¡± She said, putting the big notebook and collection of pens she had brought back with her onto her stack of books. It had been concealed within the fold of her arm, but she revealed a jar of cold milk and handed it to me. ¡°I spend most of my time looking at you. There isn¡¯t a lot of you I don¡¯t have memorized.¡±


    Just like oatmeal, milk was good. When they were consumed in combination, the sum was much greater than their parts. Within moments, I had scraped the bowl clean and drained the cold milk in one long draught.


    Without thinking, I tossed the empty dishes down on the wadded blanket. Stepping to Anna quickly, I kissed her on the cheek. ¡°Thank you. For the dress, but mostly for the oatmeal.¡±


    She scrunched her nose and wrapped her arms around my waist without hesitation. ¡°I¡¯ll go back down right now and make you more if I get one of those every time I do.¡±


    I smiled, genuinely. I knew she was playing, but I also knew she would if I asked her.


    ¡°I¡¯m serious. I¡¯ll feed you oatmeal until that dress doesn¡¯t fit anymore.¡± She insisted.


    The static feeling of attraction drew my face closer to hers.


    Somewhere, in the small distance between our lips, I realized that I was letting myself get too happy. What was happening felt normal, natural even, and I very much wanted to kiss her.


    At the last second, I turned my cheek and rested my head on her shoulder. I felt her sigh against me before she tightened her embrace and held me.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± I muttered into her skin. If I let my pretending convince me as well as Anna, nothing but hurt came from that. A very real part of me wanted to do nothing but kiss her. I still wanted to steal her away to the city and have our date, but how could I let us do that? I could not let myself forget the dark and painful punishments that were likely to come at any time. I knew if I felt the softness of her lips or anything that would come after, it would tilt me in a direction I could not lean back from. Days or months would pass just like they had before. My attention would slip towards her and it would hurt us all the more when I was taken again.


    Anna raised my head and smiled at me. ¡°There is nothing to be sorry about, seriously. Whatever you need, I¡¯m here.¡±


    She meant what she said, I could see it in her eyes.


    I looked away. The end would hurt, but what about the indefinite time until then? If I really meant to hold back my desires and keep distance between her and I, would it be worth it? ¡°What if I don¡¯t know what I need?¡±


    ¡°You start with what you do know,¡± She reached up and grabbed a lock of my hair. ¡°Like this, I know that you need to brush your hair. You start there.¡±


    ¡°I thought you said I was pretty first thing in the morning.¡± I feigned being hurt before peaking up at her and letting a small smile show at the corner of my mouth.


    Anna pointed a finger at me. ¡°As soon as you are all healed up, we are gonna fight. You got that?¡±


    Fuck. I thought, realizing just how difficult it was going to be to restrain my desires.


    We separated. She took my empty dishes off the bed and sat them on the only open area on the desk. With her back turned to me, she opened the big notebook and took the smaller leather journal in her hands. Flipping straight to the back, she ripped the page that held the list of names I had written and laid it down on the big blank page.


    ¡°Your mom said to send you down after you finished eating.¡± She told me.


    I walked over and stood beside her, reading the list. Nami, Ola, Aster, Constance, angry red, gray girl, Zara Al Gareem, Bess.


    ¡°That is wrong.¡± I said, picking it up.


    ¡°What do you mean? You wrote it.¡± Anna raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°I was wrong,¡± I put my finger on the name Constance. ¡°That¡¯s not The Mother in Brown.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. That¡¯s helpful. . .Who was she, actually?¡± Anna asked, hesitation in her voice.


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    ¡°Mother. . .¡± Azza.


    What the fuck?


    ¡°Mother,¡± Azza! Her name would only sound in my mind. When I went to pronounce the opening syllable of her name, my voice would leave me.


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s happening? You looked confused.¡± Anna questioned me.


    ¡°I can¡¯t say. . .name! Her name is Mother. . . Fuck,¡± Azza, Azza, Azza! I threw the list down to the desk and tried to shout her name another hundred times.  ¡°She took my voice, Anna. I thought she just took my soul, but I can¡¯t even say her fucking name.¡±


    Anna seemed undisturbed by my sudden anger. She placed a pen in my hand and moved it down to the empty pages of the big notebook. ¡°She didn¡¯t take your soul, dummy. Write it down.¡±


    When I pressed the tip to the page, black ink formed a round dot underneath the pen, but my hand would not move.


    ¡°I can¡¯t! She won¡¯t let me.¡± I squeezed the pen between my fingers, trying to break it in my anger.


    ¡°Try to rewrite the list. See if it¡¯s just her name.¡± Anna said, tapping the piece of torn out paper.


    Nami. I wrote. Ola. Aster. Followed quickly after, but when I curved my fingers to write Constance, my hand froze again.


    Three sharp knocks came from my door and I heard my mother call my name. ¡°Autumn?¡±


    ¡°Oh shit,¡± Anna said under her breath. She took the pen from my hand and closed the notebook before sliding it under my bed where she normally hid her wine. ¡°We can finish this later, if you are up to it?¡±


    ¡°Why did you hide it? My Mother knows everything, doesn¡¯t she? She is who took you to the library.¡± I asked, my anger giving way to confusion.


    Anna stood up and smoothed her hair with her hands. She took the empty dishes from the desk and moved like she was going to leave my room. ¡°Not everything, and I don¡¯t think she can lie to them. That¡¯s why she had to tell you about the bandages the way she did. Act natural, she is coming in.¡±


    The door opened and my mother stood in the hall, her hair tied back and wearing a simple cream colored wrap. ¡°Have you finished breakfast? I am eager to begin.¡±


    ¡°She wants to brush her hair first and then she is ready.¡± Anna said, slipping past my mother and giving me a quick wink before continuing down the hallway.


    Was it natural for me to stand in the middle of the room with my fists balled? I hoped so because that was the only act I had been able to put on before my mother had come in.


    ¡°It does look rather messy,¡± My mother said, squinting and looking me up and down. ¡°Be quick, my little Delpha. Mai will become progressively more difficult the longer we make her wait.¡±


    She left the doorway and disappeared down the hall, just the way Anna had, and I was left alone.


    ¡°. . . .!¡± Azza! I tried to call out again. How was it even possible that she could prevent me from saying her name? Doing it when I was on my knees in front of her? I had the basis of knowledge necessary to understand that it could be done. Weeks after I had been anywhere near her? It did not make sense.


    I did not go brush my hair. Instead, I pulled the tangles apart with my fingers as I took the stairs down to the second story of the manor. It was not until I reached the landing that I realized how quickly I was moving. There was no pain, no heaviness, none of the things that had weighed me down the last time I had taken them.


    The anger, the rage I had felt at being unable to use my voice had carried me forward. It did not concern me the way the static moment between Anna and I did. There was no worry of forgetting my place within it because the source was the weight I felt from the punishments hanging over my shoulders.


    I took a breath and pushed it away for later.


    My mother had said she needed me. My complete ignorance of anything beyond a basic glamor aside, I would do whatever she asked. She had done that and much more for me. Besides, if Ms. Lao was no longer sick, that would be nothing but good for Anna.


    She was most of the reason I was out of bed to begin with, I needed to do whatever I could to actually be helpful.


    When I stepped into Ms. Lao¡¯s room for the first time, I was surprised at how bright it was. Large windows filled the back wall from end to end. The wall on the right was similar, with the windows only parting where the headboard of her bed rested. The dark haired woman lay on her back with my mother standing on her bedside. Just as I had been on the kitchen table after Mother Nami had pulled me from my tomb, my mother¡¯s iridescent aura covered her from head to toe.


    ¡°Come, daughter. Show me that your words are true and join your aura with mine as you said you were able to.¡± My mother instructed me.


    I understood what she meant and why she was speaking the way she was, but I did not go to her. Before the truth that there was only a void where my aura should be could become relevant, Ms Lao stopped me in my tracks. It felt wrong seeing her the way she was. It felt like I did not belong in the well lit room.


    ¡°It is okay.¡± Ms. Lao gave me a tight lipped smile and a slight nod.


    Against my apprehension, I walked to my mothers side and tried to play the game that she was being forced to play. ¡°When I told you I could do this, it was before my time away. I am no longer able. That power has been taken from me.¡±


    The words hurt coming out. It almost felt like saying them aloud made it more real. Anna was wrong. Mother Azza had taken my soul, and I had just told my mother. There was no hiding it anymore.


    I expected her to console me or for her to stop her working and tell me it would be okay.


    She did neither.


    ¡°Now is not the time for jokes, daughter. As you already know, you can render yourself hollow if you overwork yourself, but not even The Mother¡¯s could take your aura. You told me yourself that all you had to do was find some joyful memory and it would come back,¡± She placed my hands over the tops of hers and enveloped them in her glimmering power. ¡°While you are preparing, I am going to speak the details of my work aloud so I may understand them better.¡±


    Ms. Lao¡¯s dark eyes shifted between my mother and I, but she did not seem confused.


    My mother began. ¡°The sickness feeds off of her. I believe that it started in her lungs, but it has since spread rapidly through her body.¡±


    I closed my eyes and thought about the oatmeal. The memory of the warm goop brought me back to the static between Anna and I. I did not have to wonder what it would have been like if I had given into that feeling. I knew how her lips fit mine, how soft they were, and I had never felt more alive than when I had learned those things. Every small moment of happiness that I could bring to the front of my mind, I did. I held them there, all together, and reached into the dark void within me to find my aura.


    ¡°I have found ways to slow it, sever the mass, but it regrows in too short a time.¡± My mother continued.


    Deeper into myself I plunged, searching for a spark, a glint, a glow. There was no light within me to be found, neither my colorless iridescence or my pearl pink color. Only an emptiness that no amount of happiness or passion could fill.


    ¡°As you suggested due to your prior knowledge and experience, the hope is that the sum of our powers when they are interwoven with one another and brought to bear against the sickness shall be enough to eradicate it at the source. Have you found your aura, daughter?¡± My mother asked, her emerald eyes flickering towards me for only a moment.


    ¡°No.¡± I pulled my hands from her and turned to the window behind me.


    The sun beamed over the garden. Arthur stood opposite something that was the shape of the top half of a man. It looked like it was made of some thin material and tufts of yellow hay cascaded down from it whenever the tall man struck it with his wooden sword.


    He was training, getting stronger, while I was inside being reminded that I had no strength at all.


    My mother spoke like I had said something else. ¡°That is a fair point. I will continue to keep the sickness at bay, and you will seek out some sort of trigger to help you find your power again. I agree that exploring other avenues than ones that have served you in the past is a wise course of action. I wish I would have thought of it myself.¡±


    The anger that I had pushed away decided that later was actually that exact moment. I moved with the same speed that had carried me down the stairs so quickly just a short time before.


    I did not believe what my mother said, she did not know how black and endless the void inside of me was. Even if I did, there was no part of me that knew where to start.


    Regardless of it brought my aura back or not, beating the fuck out of something with a wooden sword seemed very compelling.


    So, I found my way out the backdoor of the manor to do just that.

 V2: Chapter Forty Three: Training

    As soon as I stepped outside, the heat radiated against me.


    A bird, silhouetted by the brilliant sunlight, flew high in the sky above.


    Arthur was so involved in his cuts and slashes against the sack of shaped hay, that he did not notice me walking towards him.


    He wore no shirt, only long pants and boots. Sweat dripped down off of his upraised arms when he was still and flew out in arcs when he swung the wooden sword. Every motion he made sent his muscles standing rigid against his skin. There was a memory that came drifting up in my mind. A king, a giant even in comparison to his own giant of a son. They had been bulky in the way that looked like they could pull a mountain from the ground but would struggle to scratch their own backs.


    The man with the ghost in his belly did not share that stature. Arthur¡¯s muscles were long and lean. He had been tall before his change, but that had made him lanky as a result. Every hard set line that appeared when he strained seemed like some master craftsmen had sculpted his body.


    All that defined my body were the seal and my scars.


    ¡°Hey!¡± I said, raising my voice to get his attention.


    He snapped his eyes to me just as he brought his wooden blade down towards the hayman. My distraction forced him to miss. The blade dinged against the iron pole that his target was mounted on and he dropped the sword.


    ¡°Hey, Autumn,¡± He grunted, rubbing his hands together with a grimace on his face. ¡°Did you have to yell like that?¡±


    I slipped past him and picked up the wooden sword from where it had dropped to the ground. ¡°I want to do what you were doing. How?¡±


    ¡°Uhm. . .¡± Arthur trailed off.


    ¡°Please?¡± I begged, willfully puckering my bottom lip and fluttering my eyes. Begging was not beneath me if it got me what I wanted.


    ¡°Okay, step back here,¡± Arthur nodded and placed his big hands on my shoulders. He pulled me back and squared me with the hayman. ¡°Put your left foot forward and turn your shoulders just a bit.¡±


    ¡°Like this?¡± I looked at him for approval.


    ¡°No, like this,¡± He laughed, physically adjusting my stance until he was satisfied. He guided my hands to the proper place on the handle, one at the bottom and one up high. ¡°There you go, now hold it with your top hand even with your chest.¡±


    I did.


    He reached out and tapped the hayman on its shoulder, right where the tied sack that served as its head started. ¡°This is where you are going to hit,¡± He pointed to the place that would have been the hayman¡¯s hip if it had a lower half. ¡°This is where you are trying to cut to. You¡¯ve got to follow through the whole way, got it?¡±


    Arthur barely managed to jump out of the way before my strike hit the shoulder. The wooden sword bounced out of my hands and fell back to the ground. The hayman seemed utterly unaffected by my attack and all I had gained was stinging in my hands.


    ¡°Alright, that was terrible. Are you going to try and nudge it to death?¡± Arthur laughed, recovering the sword.


    My face grew hot and I suddenly wished to inflict great pain on my mortal friend. ¡°Don¡¯t laugh at me, it was my first time!¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make it any better. Ma could do better than that.¡± He said, continuing to laugh at me after I had explicitly asked him not to.


    I spun on the heels of my boots and stomped back towards the manor, needing to put as much distance between myself and Arthur as I could.


    The tall man grabbed my wrist before I could make it a step. ¡°Hold on, slow down. You can¡¯t just do it once and quit.¡±


    ¡°Why did you laugh?¡± I demanded, spinning back around to him with my fists clenched.


    ¡°Because it was funny. Here,¡± He offered the handle of the wooden sword to me and flashed his usual wide smile. ¡°Try it again, you¡¯ll get the hang of it.¡±


    No. Go back to bed where you belong. Go hide under the blankets and wait for your punishment.


    ¡°If you laugh at me again, I am going to hit you instead of the hayman.¡± I said, snatching the sword back from him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do that, I hate being tickled,¡± Arthur teased. Still guiding me with his hands, he shaped me back into the stance and adjusted my hold once again. Chuckling, he continued. ¡°Now, the hardest part is remembering to hold onto the grip while you swing it.¡±


    An angry smile forced its way onto my face. Despite the humor I found in his teasing, I still wanted to hurt him and make him stop.


    ¡°Fuck you.¡± I snapped my elbow back and tried to dig it into Arthur.


    He was too strong. Against my attempts to hit him, he brought my arms up with his own.


    ¡°Look, just like this.¡± he said, moving me through the motion of the strike that I had failed at just a few moments before.


    The blade touched the place on the hayman that would have been where its neck met its body if it had been made of flesh and bone instead of rough fabric and hay.


    ¡°See what I mean?¡± He asked, stepping away from me and rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I grunted. Somewhere in the compelled movement, I could feel the rough edges of how to properly slice with the sword. There was a flow, a perfect way to perform the strike, and I would not have brushed against it without his guidance. ¡°But I¡¯m not happy about it.¡±


    ¡°Good. Try it again.¡± Arthur said, pointing at the hayman.


    ¡°Do not tell me what to do, mortal.¡± I glared at him and tried to fill my voice with the same disdain my familiar managed to effortlessly speak with.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to sleep anymore, right? Oh wait, that¡¯s me. I almost forgot,¡± Arthur said, smacking his palm against his forehead like he had genuinely forgotten. ¡°I¡¯m way less mortal than you are. So, do not tell me not to tell you what to do,¡± He snapped his fingers and pointed back at the hayman. ¡°Try it again, slowly. Pay attention to the motion.¡±


    ¡°I am doing this because I want to, not because you told me to.¡± I insisted. Grip held, shoulder turned, foot forward, I took up the stance. Slowly, just as Arthur had said, I repeated the movement and ended with the blade on the same spot it had when he had guided me.


    ¡°Better. Again.¡± He said, his hands clasped behind his back.


    ¡°When did you get so demanding?¡± I did as he told me, moving back through the slash with a little more confidence.


    ¡°Again.¡± He said again.


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    I rolled my eyes and brought the wooden blade back down.


    ¡°Alright, you''re ready,¡± Arthur said. He stepped over and placed his hand on the hayman¡¯s head. ¡°Really knock the shit out of it this time. Don¡¯t forget your form, but hit it as hard as you can. I like to think about whatever is making me angry or sad or whatever, and then I take it out on the dummy. Do you think you can do that?¡±


    ¡°I will not have to think of anything that is making me angry as long as you keep standing there.¡± I answered him with playful heat in my voice.


    I had plenty to be sad about, but my time with Arthur had made me feel distant from them. My words had only been partly playful. Part of me wanted to reach out and knock the wooden sword against his ribs like Springer had. It would do nothing in the long run, the spirit within the tall man would heal him in a matter of moments. What he had said about the difference between each of our mortal status had been right. I could not heal myself if my life depended on it. I could not heal another if their life depended on it. The first time my mother had ever truly asked me to anything, and I couldn¡¯t even fucking help her.


    ¡°Hey, Autumn?¡± Arthur asked.


    ¡°Shut up. Go talk to your owl.¡± I growled. If he said one more stupid thing, I was going to hurt him. I didn¡¯t know how I could do that to a man twice my size, but I would find a way.


    ¡°Autumn.¡± Arthur said again, his voice hard and serious.


    I raised the wooden blade and brought it down with violence in my mind.


    Light, dark red like the color of blood, flashed in my eyes. My hands were washed in it and it left trails as I swung the sword down and smashed it into the hayman.


    Like little lines of lightning, red cracks splintered up the wooden blade in every direction. When they reached the tip, it exploded in a burst of blood red light.


    Torn cloth, hay, and wood dust sprayed into the air. I fell down onto my ass from the force of the sword splitting, and the light around my hands began to dim.


    What the fuck was that?


    Arthur crouched down beside me and placed his hand on my back. ¡°You alright?¡±


    Weakness washed over all of me. If it had not been for his hand, I would have fallen the rest of the way to my back. My vision swam and I let out a weary sigh. The only time I had ever felt the way I did then was after I had taken a loss from using my aura.


    I had used my aura.


    ¡°She didn¡¯t take it,¡± I squealed, throwing my arms around Arthur¡¯s neck and squeezing. ¡°I still have a soul!¡±


    ¡°Why are you so surprised? I thought you knew how to do that already?¡± Arthur laughed, hugging me back with one of his long arms.


    I squeezed him tighter. ¡°Not like this, I have to go tell Anna, She¡¯s gonna be so happy.¡±


    My girlfriend had been right, Mother Azza had not taken my soul. My essence still burned within me and it was not alone. I had been a coward. How could I have let that moment of static pass between us? The Mother¡¯s could do whatever they wanted to me, as long as Anna was waiting for me to return, I could take it. As soon as I could get off the ground, I was going to sprint right up the stairs and show her what she meant to me.


    The light faded and my new aura fell away from my hands into blood colored dust.


    ¡°No. You broke my sword. You owe me.¡± Arthur said, putting space between us.


    My burning desire ran cold. A scowl darkened my face and my fists clenched. I glared at the tall man, every muscle in my body tensing.


    ¡°Hey, easy,¡± Arthur said, holding his palms towards me in a placating gesture. ¡°It was a joke.¡±


    I leaned towards him until my feet were under me like a spring. Then, I kicked off and drove my shoulder into his ribs.


    I didn¡¯t move him an inch. My right fist swung wildly into his stomach and my left beat against his back in a savage flurry.


    I had broken his sword. I did owe him.


    I fucking hated it.


    Even worse, I hated that no matter how hard or how many times I hit him, all it did to him was make him laugh. With little to no effort, he caught me by my wrists and pushed me away.


    ¡°What is wrong with you? I can buy another sword,¡± He chuckled, literally laughing in my face. He turned away from me and spoke to someone else. ¡°Sam? Can you help with this?¡±


    My eyes flicked over to the large cat skeleton standing just inside the mouth of the garden. He watched my assault with no more concern than if I was sitting calmly and twiddling my thumbs. It had been weeks since I had caught a glimpse of my familiars yellow eye lights, but the sight of him brought a memory back to my mind. The night that Anna had coaxed my color out of me, Sam had been there to be my lightning rod. Without him, Anna would have been caught in my storm once my aura faded.


    Arthur was effortlessly withstanding that same storm.


    I was not mad at him. No part of me wanted to hurt him. It was my aura, or rather the release of it.


    ¡°Fuck,¡± I sighed suddenly, ceasing my attack and letting myself sit back down on the soft grass. I peaked up at Arthur through my hair. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Did I hurt you?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so. Sorry if I was playing around too much. I didn¡¯t mean to make you mad.¡±


    ¡°You weren¡¯t and you didn¡¯t. It''s something called afterglow,¡± I muttered, failing to find my familiar again. It seemed he had shown himself just long enough to make me think about him. ¡°After I use my aura, it makes me feel anger that is not mine.¡±


    ¡°Huh,¡± Arthur said. He jumped up to his feet and offered me a hand up. ¡°That sucks, there being a pretty major drawback to your magic. Kind of makes it feel like it¡¯s not magic, you know?¡±


    I took his hand and let him pull me to my feet. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°When I think of magic, I think of old wizards with pointy hats and long beards. They normally have a staff and can like make lightning or fireballs. The whole point of having magic is doing things normal people can¡¯t. It''s pretty shitty that you get all violent after you use it.¡± He said, brushing the hay and dust that had settled onto him off with his hands.


    ¡°I am sorry about the sword, I would offer to replace it but I cannot just walk down to the wooden weapon shop and purchase it.¡± I said, beginning to return to something resembling normalcy.


    Arthur waved me off. ¡°Forget it, money makes no sense here anyways. Help me train and we will call it even?¡±


    ¡°But I broke the hayman and your blade?¡± I shook my head, and had to wipe the sweat from my eyes. I had not anticipated the long sleeves and bandages making me feel hotter when I was out in the sun.


    The tall man put his right hand behind his back and took on a stance that I recognized immediately. ¡°Do you remember how to play points?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but how is that training? It is a game.¡± I said, unable to hide the fact that the thought of playing excited me.


    ¡°The captain says that it makes your reflexes and thinking quicker. Besides, if you don¡¯t play, I¡¯ll just go play with the guards out front. They will probably give me a better game anyways.¡± Arthur said, his smile stretching across his face.


    I leaned back, mirroring his stance with my own. The places under my bandages that my mother had not managed to close felt tight through the movement. It did not hurt, the opposite was true in fact. Though the skin had been injured, it needed to be stretched. That was the only way it would ever begin to feel normal again.


    ¡°Should you count us off, or should I?¡± I asked Arthur.


    ¡°We don¡¯t really do that unless it¡¯s a tournament, you come at me whenever you are-¡±


    I stepped forward suddenly and knocked my two fingers into his. ¡°Two points, Autumn.¡±


    The tall man laughed as we reset. ¡°Alright, I see how it is.¡±


    Arthur was the one that moved next. He quickstepped in, which drew a reaction out of me. My fingers aiming for his shoulder, he took a small step back and held his hand straight out in front of himself.


    I was too slow to avoid it.


    My forehead met his fingers without my fingers meeting his shoulder.


    Arthur had won and all he had needed to do was stand there.


    ¡°Don¡¯t feel bad, the captain is the only one that can beat me consistently. I¡¯m pretty good.¡± Arthur smiled down at me.


    ¡°Fuck you. Let¡¯s play again.¡± I grunted, resetting and counting the seconds until I could go at him again.


    Hours later, the sun had begun to set. I don¡¯t know how many games we played or how many points I had scored. We sat on the ground next to the ruined hayman, both breathing heavily. My dress was soaked through with sweat and the bandages on my hands had long since been torn off and thrown away. Those that had covered my feet had been shredded not long after I had decided that the cuffed boots were slowing me down.


    I never won a game, I had not even come close if I really thought about it, but I did not care. Not once in the hours that we had been playing did I think about The Mothers. I had become so involved in trying to push my fingers into Arthur¡¯s flesh that I had even forgotten about the golden choker locked around my neck.


    ¡°It is getting dark, can I see your spirit?¡± I asked, breaking the long and comfortable silence that had settled between us.


    ¡°Another night,¡± He answered, pointing at the backdoor of the manor. Anna had just come through it and given me a happy smile. ¡°He isn¡¯t the biggest fan of my sister.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± How could anybody not be a fan of Anna? I wondered. That sort of thing wasn¡¯t possible.


    Arthur turned his head to me and shrugged. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. You wanna come train with me again tomorrow? You¡¯re a lot easier to mess with than the guards are.¡±


    I smiled, again feeling pleasure at the thought of playing.


    ¡°Only if you want to get beaten by a girl.¡±

 V2: Chapter Forty Four: After Dark

    ¡°She will only need to wear these for a few more weeks. She was right when she said that enough time would have passed by then that she would have healed naturally.¡± My mother said, looking at Anna but speaking to me.


    ¡°Damn, I think they look cute on her.¡± Anna sighed. She sat in a high backed armchair that had been placed in the corner of my room sometime while I had been outside.


    I blushed. I was used to her compliments and flattery, but they felt very different in front of my mother.


    Before she left the room, my mother continued her double speaking to Anna. ¡°From what you have told me, you assisted my daughter with bringing her color out before, with what she accomplished today, perhaps you are correct in thinking you could help her again.¡±


    ¡°What have I accomplished? How did you know?¡± I asked, knowing what the answer was but not understanding how she knew.


    She looked at me and gave a mischievous smile. ¡°I am your mother, my little Delpha. It is my duty to know.¡±


    ¡°You were watching from the windows, weren¡¯t you?¡± My patience for carefully arranging my words to sound like I wasn¡¯t talking to my mother had run out.


    My mother flicked her eyes from side to side like she was checking for the presence of any eavesdroppers. ¡°Yes, but that sounds much less mysterious. Goodnight, girls. Get some sleep.¡±


    She left us at that, closing the door and sending us to bed.


    ¡°I laid out clothes for you on your side of the bed, I should have known you would get the dress dirty as soon as you put it on.¡± Anna said as she reached under the bed and pulled out the big notebook I had written in that morning. ¡°I know they aren¡¯t exactly the same, but they were the closest I could find.¡±


    Folded neatly on top of my pillow was a gray long sleeve shirt and a pair of lacey purple shorts. The shirt was entirely too big. The ties that were meant to cinch the neckline hung down my chest and the sleeves hung well past the ends of my fingers. The shorts fit me strangely. They formed to my waist before puffing out and retightening at my bandaged thighs in lace cuffs.


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure the shorts are lingerie, but there aren¡¯t really any sporting goods stores around here.¡±


    ¡°What is lingerie?¡± I asked, repeatedly pulling the stretchy cuff of the shorts out and letting it snap back to my leg. In all of my memories, both my own and others, I had never heard the word before.


    ¡°Uhm, it¡¯s what you wear when you are trying to impress someone.¡± She said, shaking her head as she spoke. She sat back in her new chair and put the notebook on her lap.


    ¡°Are you impressed?¡± I pulled the hem of the baggy shirt up so she could get a clear view.


    Something changed in her eyes and her voice dropped in pitch. ¡°You have no idea.¡±


    ¡°Well, that means it is lingerie,¡± I walked over to her and sat cross legged on the ground. ¡°They are supposed to be like the sweater and shorts I wore at the boarding house, right? That¡¯s why you picked these out?¡±


    Anna nodded. ¡°Yeah, I thought they might make you feel more comfortable at night. With everything that has happened. . . You deserve that, you know?¡±


    No you don¡¯t. You. . . I pushed the thought away. Every line of thinking that it would lead to led me further away from Anna. Being outside with Arthur, the full feeling in my belly after eating a proper meal, and another self blinded shower had left me in a state I was not quite ready to let go of yet. There would be all the time in the world for me to think about the perilous state of my life when the lights were out and Anna was asleep.


    ¡°How do you keep getting all of this? The dress, these, I¡¯m pretty sure you were the one that fixed my bed?¡± I asked her, choosing to keep as much of myself out of the dark as I could.


    ¡°Your bed? I¡¯ve slept in it more than you have. At this point, my room is just the place I have to walk through to get to my closet,¡± She rolled her eyes playfully. ¡°And all I am doing is picking stuff out. Your mom pays for everything. I haven¡¯t gotten her to admit it, but I¡¯m pretty sure she is rich.¡±


    ¡°Rich?¡±


    ¡°Like, wealthy. It¡¯s not called money here, but she has a lot of it. You saw the house back home, we weren¡¯t poor, we did okay when the rooms were full of paying tenants,¡± She gave me a little wink. ¡°But she doesn¡¯t even ask about prices when we are in a shop.¡±


    I had never really had to think about money before. When Ms. Lao had told me that renting the room at the top of her boarding house came with a cost, the numbers had meant nothing to me because I had never meant to pay. Was my mother rich? If she was, how had she become that way? Even I knew that doing little more than babysitting your thief of a daughter for ten years probably did not pay well.


    ¡°I am sorry about that, truly.¡± I said, looking her in her eyes.


    ¡°What, the rent? Who gives a shit. If I would have known it would lead to all this, I would have paid you.¡± She smiled down at me.


    ¡°Lead to the manor and everything, you mean?¡± I knew perfectly well what she meant, but I put on my most innocent face.


    She nudged her foot against my middle playfully and rolled her eyes again. ¡°No, dummy. You know what I mean.¡±


    ¡°Nuh-uh, I¡¯m just a poor dumb prisoner. I don¡¯t know anything about anything.¡± I shook my head from side to side, playing up my persona.


    ¡°Well, I guess I''m going to have to tell you then,¡± She said, placing the notebook on the stone floor beside the chair. There was hesitation, just like there had been before, but I kept my eyes on hers and nodded slightly, silently telling her that whatever she was about to do was okay. At my encouragement, she slid to the end of the chair, the hem of her thin black nightgown bunching at the middle of her thighs, and lowered herself to the ground in front of me. She spread her legs, one on both sides of me, and leaned back against the chair. ¡°I mean that it led to this, me and you, us. I know it seems like I do alot for you, but you do a lot for me too.¡±


    ¡°I can do something for you right now.¡± I said, feeling my face grow hot as I considered what that something would be.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe it,¡± Anna said, her jaw dropped. ¡°You just actually flirted with me.¡±


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    ¡°That was not a flirt, it was a declaration.¡± I whispered, bringing myself up on my knees. Instinct alone brought my hand to Anna¡¯s knee. My eyes locked on hers, I slowly walked my fingers down her thigh.


    ¡°Whoa, whoa, whoa,¡± Her eyes widened and a sudden laugh bubbled out of her. She stopped my hand with her own. ¡°What happened to you being all awkward and shy?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have the time for that anymore.¡± I whispered. The massive shirt she had gotten me was baggy enough that I could slip the collar off one of my shoulders once I loosened the ties in the front. I did and let it fall just far enough to make her think I was going to reveal myself.


    ¡°Yes you do,¡± She rolled her eyes and sat up properly. Almost as soon as I had let it fall, she reached over and pulled the shirt back over my shoulder. ¡°Besides, we have work to do.¡±


    I did not understand. ¡°How can you say that? That I have time?¡±


    Anna smirked and held her arms out for me to help her up. Once we stood, she smoothed my hair back from my face and tightened the ties of the big gray shirt. ¡°You can¡¯t walk around with these undone, if someone sees your tits I¡¯ll have to fight them.¡±


    ¡°Oops, you are gonna have to fight two of the guards then.¡± I said, doing my best Arthur impression by rubbing the back of my neck with my hand.


    ¡°Autumn! Which ones? Give me their names.¡± Anna scowled and raised her fists.


    I knew she was joking, mostly, but her false fury at the notion of someone seeing me inappropriately only made me want her more. ¡°You did not answer my question. How can you speak so confidently about having time and being patient? Do you not remember that we were supposed to be on a date while I was being ground to dust?¡±


    There was no part of me that felt confident that The Mothers were not going to burst through the door and drag me out of the manor by my ankles. The way my day had left me feeling aside, I did not understand how she could be so certain.


    ¡°Of course I remember,¡± Anna said, her eyes growing serious. ¡°I also remember when you got sent to see them the night that bird lady took us from the boarding house. You know what they have in common?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I answered a little too quickly. I needed to know what she knew and I did not wish to stand there and guess.


    ¡°Both times, you came back.¡± She said, simply.


    What did that have to do with anything? Of course I had come back. If I had not, we could not have been having the conversation we were.


    Anna seemed to notice my displeasure with her answer. ¡°Think about it. None of it makes sense. You ran away. If The Well is important enough to put the seal on your stomach and lock you in a room for ten years, wouldn¡¯t they have come and found you immediately? When you were sent to see them, wouldn¡¯t they have just locked you up again? If you are what they say you are, they should have, but they didn¡¯t. They put you in a nice ass house and left you alone for months. I know The Mother in Brown¡¯s punishment was not easy, please don¡¯t think I¡¯m saying that,¡± She placed her palm on my arm to emphasize what she was saying. ¡°But you are here. We know you are going to get punished again, but we have more evidence that you are going to come back.¡±


    ¡°Okay, and?¡± I followed her line of thinking, but I could not see how it gave me any more time.


    ¡°So, the way I see it, things are going to be hard for a while. They are going to punish you, but you are going to come back. And when it''s all over, when you''re done with the punishment and The Well, me and you are going to leave. We are gonna go somewhere that we can swim, like you said you wanted to. We are gonna be together, it''s just a matter of time. My goals for us aren¡¯t tonight or next week, I¡¯m thinking about things in the long term.¡± She smiled at me, holding my hands down by our waists.


    I spoke, honestly, but I had never been very good at lying to her anyways.


    ¡°I do not know if that is true. That is why I want to. . . ¡± I whispered and wrapped my arms around her waist.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to know right now. I know it enough for the both of us,¡± She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. ¡°And believe me, I want it to, but we shouldn¡¯t rush. Besides, I need your help.¡±


    ¡°With what?¡± I asked, unable to think of anything I could possibly help her with.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so surprised, you''re good at tons of stuff. Actually, you''re the only person that can help me with this.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°Unless you need me to steal or trip over something, I don¡¯t really know what-¡±


    ¡°Shut up,¡± She gave me a playful push. ¡°If you think you can, I need you to go into The Well for me.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I asked her, confused.


    She bent down and picked up the big notebook from the floor. I could not keep my eyes from tracking the hem of her dress as it rose up the back of her legs.


    ¡°We are going to figure out who the fuck The Mothers actually are. That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been doing all this reading for, but the books can only tell me so much when it seems like it is illegal for anyone to know The Mother¡¯s names,¡± She flipped open the big notebook to the page I had written on that morning. ¡°The names from your first list aren¡¯t right, right?¡±


    ¡°One of them isn¡¯t. Nami,¡± I said, surprised that the name had actually come out of my mouth. ¡°She is The Mother in Blue, I think. She has blue hair at least.¡±


    Anna flipped to a clean page and wrote down what I had just told her. ¡°The one that has already punished you, The Mother in Brown, were they similar?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I shook my head, Anna¡¯s excitement making me want to give her everything I could. ¡°They could not be more different. The Mother in Brown was tall and slender. Her eyes were like liquid gold and I knew she hated me from the first time I saw her. I saw Nami in memories before I met her. She is why I came back from my punishment when I did, I couldn¡¯t see her, but she made,¡± Azza. ¡°Fuck, it¡¯s annoying not being able to say her name. She made The Mother in Brown send me home.¡±


    It took Anna a few minutes to finish writing all that I had told her.


    ¡°How is this helping you?¡± I asked, still not understanding.


    ¡°Have you ever seen The Mother in Brown in a memory?¡± Anna asked, still writing.


    ¡°Yes, during my punishment. I think the thing that lives at the bottom of The Well showed it to me.¡± I had forgotten about waking up around the fireplace after Azza¡¯s memory until that very moment. It had been there, sitting next to me, hadn¡¯t it?


    Anna nodded. ¡°If you had seen it before your punishment, do you think you could have guessed what she was going to do to you?¡±


    I thought about the city whose name I had already forgotten and all its literally colorful people. The sand, the hairless cat, the split, all of it came back to me in flashes. I remembered the wave and how she had used the sand and the lightning to stop it. She had been sentenced to death for using her power, for being who she was, and she had saved the very people that were trying to execute her. The voice she had called her daemon and the name it had given her, how had I forgotten it all so soon?


    ¡°Goldluster,¡± I said, surprised for the second time that the word had come out of me. ¡°It¡¯s one of her names or something like that.¡±


    ¡°We should have been doing this the whole time, I couldn¡¯t imagine trying to keep track of all this in my head. You are strong as shit, if I had to do this, I would lose my mind,¡± Anna said, writing again. ¡°Do you think it would have helped you?¡±


    ¡°Maybe?¡± I said, shrugging my shoulders.


    Anna closed the notebook. From where I stood, I couldn¡¯t help but look down and see the curves of her chest that were barely concealed by her nightgown. ¡°Maybe is better than no. The idea is for you to go into The Well and try to find one of their memories. We could learn something about them or a different name, but either way we can try to prepare you from whatever bullshit they do to you next. Are you in?¡±


    She had called me strong. I didn¡¯t think anyone had ever called me that before. There was still a large part of me that wanted to curl into a ball and hide under my blankets, but a larger part of me wanted to please Anna.


    It was no longer pretending, I had moved past that. I would try to do as she asked because I wanted to, not because of some backwards desire to hide my pain.


    ¡°We can¡¯t do it here,¡± I said, forcing myself to turn away from her. There was only so long I could keep my hands from wandering to her again. ¡°I¡¯m not going to be able to focus. We need to go down to the well house.¡±


    Anna laughed. ¡°You try to seduce me and now you want to sneak out, you really are Autumn aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m whoever you want me to be.¡± I answered with my back to her.


    ¡°Two flirts in one night, you¡¯ve got talent, kid,¡± Anna laughed, coming up beside me with her notebook in her hands. ¡°Keep up the good work and you may make it to the big leagues one day.¡±

 V2: Chapter Forty Five: Nami

    Anna pushed me against the stone wall of the dark hallway and covered my mouth with her hand.


    ¡°Shhh,¡± She whispered, flattening her body against mine. ¡°We have to be quiet.¡±


    I spoke into her hand, my voice muffled. ¡°Why? We are not doing anything wrong, are we? My mother knows what your plan is, she is just pretending she doesn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Shhh,¡± Anna shushed me again. ¡°She knows I have a plan, that¡¯s it. You have to be quiet though, It¡¯ll hear us.¡±


    ¡°It?¡± I whispered into her hand.


    She nodded insistently. ¡°It¡¯s big and ugly. It never sleeps and is too stupid to do anything but eat and break things.¡±


    I bit her hand just hard enough to make her snatch it away. ¡°What the fuck are you talking about?¡±


    One of the double doors at the front of the house swung open. A sweeping column of orange firelight passed through the kitchen and leaked into the hallway. It cast away the darkness that concealed us and we stood deadly still within the glow.


    Arthur and one of the guards, I couldn¡¯t tell which came through the door.


    ¡°You can win these little bouts all you want, Ugi. It¡¯s not gonna matter when I beat you tomorrow night and drink away all your coin.¡± The guard laughed.


    Both men were shirtless and glistening with sweat. Neither of them noticed us and a moment later they headed back out of the door with their hands full of my mother¡¯s wine.


    ¡°Just because it¡¯s a tournament doesn¡¯t mean you''re gonna suddenly be able to beat me.¡± Arthur said, closing the door behind himself and leaving us in the dark.


    Big, never sleeps. . .I didn¡¯t know about the other stuff but I suddenly understood who the it Anna had been referring to was.


    ¡°Why do you not wish for him to see us?¡± I asked her as we started for the back door again.


    ¡°You already spent all day with him. And besides, he would want to know what we are doing.¡± Anna answered me.


    ¡°Would that be so bad?¡± Arthur was a large part of why I wasn¡¯t still laying in bed. Maybe he could help, if he knew.


    ¡°Yes. Then he would want to come. I don¡¯t know about you, but I don¡¯t like the idea of him sitting around and watching you float naked in the pool.¡± She said, a little heat in her voice.


    We took the side path to the well house and I realized how long it had been since I had been in the dim room. The time that had passed since I had been taken for my first punishment had been the longest I had ever been without choosing to enter The Well.


    ¡°Why do you get to do that?¡± I asked Anna, wanting to hear her answer more than actually needing an explanation.


    The dark shape of a bird took flight from the overgrown vines that covered the top of the stone outbuilding in a sudden flurry of fluttering wings and shrill chirps.


    Anna pushed open the pink marble door and stepped inside. ¡°I think that¡¯s the first bird I¡¯ve seen since we moved here. There aren¡¯t any bugs either. Have you noticed that?¡±


    In the small moment between the end of her question and my first step through the door, Anna screamed.


    I pulled her back and stepped in front of her, my body tensing to defend her from whatever evil had made her scream.


    ¡°Quiet, mortal. It is I.¡± Sam rumbled, his no longer little skeleton sitting still on the stone bench next to the pool.


    I took three quick steps and moved to grab my familiar by the scruff of his neck. Due to him not having flesh, my angered attempt at clutching him managed to gain me nothing but one of his boney paws slapping my hand away.


    ¡°Where the fuck have you been? Aren¡¯t you supposed to help me? I¡¯ve been in agony for fucking weeks and you have been nowhere to be seen!¡± I shouted, not realizing I was angry at the skeleton of a cat until I had seen him.


    ¡°No thank you is necessary. You are welcome.¡± He said simply, seemingly unbothered.


    ¡°Thank you? For what? You haven¡¯t done anything!¡± I shouted.


    Sam looked past me and leveled his yellow gaze on Anna. ¡°Mortal, has her mind been slowed,¡± He asked her. He looked back at me. ¡°Think about it, child. When have I ever been a comfort to you? ¡®Considering the frail state you were returned in, the most beneficial way I could serve you was to remove myself. In your mind, you will find this to be true if you still have the ability to think.¡±


    ¡°Fuck, you¡¯re such an asshole,¡± I turned away from him and snatched the shorts down off my waist. By the time I managed to defeat the big shirt and finally pull it over my head, Anna had walked over and placed her notebook on the bench next to my familiar. The worst part of it, the part that made me want to separate him into each individual bone, was that I knew his words were true. I had barely been able to handle being awake for weeks. If my ever so loving familiar had given me a small portion of his usual respect and reverence, I would have fallen to pieces. The bandages my mother had wrapped not an hour before unraveled from me, I slipped into the pool and gave the yellow eyed skeleton a mean glare. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°The two of you are about the cutest thing I¡¯ve ever seen,¡± Anna said, sitting down. ¡°Do you know which one you are going for?¡±


    ¡°Watch your tongue, mortal. I am nothing of the sort.¡± Sam rumbled.


    I tipped myself back and floated to the top of the salted water for the first time in what felt like forever. ¡°Nami, I would rather not see the other one again so soon. Before I go, you never answered my question. Why do you get to sit up there and stare down at me? It is not fair.¡±


    ¡°If you want Arthur to do it, I¡¯ll go get him for you, I¡¯m sure he won¡¯t mind.¡± Anna teased.


    I shook my head, sending countless ripples across the surface of the water wherever the ends of my hair drug across it. ¡°No, It¡¯s not fair to me.¡±


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s get some work done and we will see if we can make it even.¡± Anna said with a wicked smile that made my heart thump in my chest despite the dim light.


    If she said anything else, I did not hear it. The only way I could keep myself from doing something foolish was to let my ears sink below the surface and close my eyes.


    Nami. The Mother in Blue, I thought, repeating her names in my mind without pause. Nami, with the hair that faded from a blue so dark it was almost black to one one that was so light it was almost white. The Mother in Blue, she who had drowned a newborn sun and healed a sorceress from ash with nothing but her will. Nami, whose heart had been wounded by who I thought to be The Mother in Orange.


    Somewhere in my recollection, I felt myself slip inward and sink into The Well.


    I stepped through the black gate. My bare feet left the cold stone of Chromagora and when they fell again, warm wood greeted them.


    The Mother in Yellow, as un-motherly as she seemed, had crossed right before me, but she was nowhere to be seen.


    The gate had lead me to a tree so large that a full table and chairs sat comfortable in the middle of its trunk. Branches that were thicker than my body spread out in a sprawling canopy. Leaves of every shade of yellow shone in the gentle sun. The air was crisp and just cold enough to sting in my nose. It was like when the beaches would fog during winter back home. It would be as sunny as could be but the sea breeze would never grow warm.


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    A woman, wearing nothing but a small slip that was the color of the setting sun, sat silently to my right. She was long, feline, and every inch of her was wound with muscle that looked like braided cord. Her hair was short, with wild tails running down past her shoulders on each side. She had either not noticed me or had not found my arrival notable enough to greet me.


    I had been told about her enough that I knew who she was just by looking at her.


    ¡°Hello,¡± I said and bowed fully, suddenly aware that I had left most of my clothes on the floor in Ola¡¯s room. ¡°You must be The Mother in Orange. I am Nami, The Lady in Blue, but I¡¯m sure you know that.¡±


    Silently, I wondered if Ola had mentioned me to her Mother. Even with what she had told me about her, she was not what I had expected. If it had not been for Mother Katarina¡¯s encouragement, I would have never gained the courage to tell The Lady in Orange of my feelings for her.


    The slender woman did not move her eyes from the clouds above. Her hands continued the intricate turns and shifting of the black knife, locked in some idle practice that I did not understand.


    I should not have respected her silence and left her to her knife turning, but I could not help myself. ¡°Can you help her? Ola, I mean. Can you help her with her hands?¡±


    The damage that had been done in the afterglow of her first soulstage had not healed properly. If she used her aura at all, they would become numb and useless. The amount of nights I had spent massaging them with my own was no small amount. I did not mind it, being able to help her brought me much joy, but she had been crippled in more ways than one.


    It seemed my question fell on deaf ears.


    The Mother in Orange continued her knife turning with the same blank stare on her face.


    ¡°She isn¡¯t being rude, I promise. I talk to her all the time and she hasn¡¯t said a word to me in a couple hundred years,¡± The Mother in Yellow giggled as she reappeared from behind a massive branch. Every step she took came off her toes, with her heels only touching the ground when she stopped. She seemed light, like she was made of air, and the sight of her was enough alone to bring a genuine smile to my face. ¡°Would you like some coffee? I know it is the middle of the night, but who couldn¡¯t use a pick me up?¡±


    ¡°Yes please, Mother.¡± I said. I still did not know why I had been pulled from a restful sleep, but The Mothers did nothing without reason. If they had deemed it necessary for me to be wherever I had been taken, I should at least try and be alert.


    ¡°Stop it, you shouldn¡¯t call me that now that we are sisters. My name is Glim and your name is Nami, okay?¡±


    At Glim¡¯s words, The black knife The Mother in Orange had been holding sunk blade first into the massive branch opposite her. The blank stare remained on her face but her eyes had shifted to Glim.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be mean,¡± Glim balled her fist and stomped her feet. She stuck her tongue out and made an ugly face at The Mother in Orange. ¡°She is going to find out in a few minutes anyways, so what if I tell her before everyone else gets here?¡±


    Sisters? What had she meant by that?


    ¡°Glim,¡± I said, making sure she heard me intentionally call her what she had asked me to. ¡°Is Mother Katarina coming?¡±


    I hoped so, she would be pleased to hear the Blue had visited me twice since last I saw her.


    Glim¡¯s playful smile and the light in her eyes turned down and dimmed into something sad. I had only known what the woman looked like for ten minutes, but sadness did not belong anywhere near her face. It was wrong and changed the air of the treetop overlook instantly.


    ¡°Mother Glim?¡± I asked, not content to stand in the strange air.


    ¡°What have you told her? Is it truly impossible for you to keep your lips sealed for any length of time,¡± A voice came from my left before its speaker was revealed. A swirling cloud of golden dust had appeared in the sprawling canopy out of nowhere. ¡°Do you not understand the weight of this situation?¡±


    When I had been small, long before I knew of The Mothers or Zenithcidel, back when I thought the blue light I could make meant I was a cast off child of a mermaid, an old fisherman named Rip would tell me one of his sea tales if I could bring him a clam bigger than my hand.


    The shape of a woman appeared in the golden cloud, looking like one of the ocean goddesses in any number of Rip¡¯s stories. She was built like Ola, long and slender, but the similarities ended there. Her skin looked like it was made from sculpted bronze and her movements were perfect and graceful.


    Mother Azza, I thought. It must be.


    Each of The Ladies were beautiful, undeniably. The Mothers were a step beyond that. The Mother in Orange with her blank stare would overshadow any number of great beauties on her worst day, even if it was their best.


    It was no doubt due to my personal preferences, but The Mother in Brown was so perfect that I immediately crossed my arms over myself in a futile attempt to hide my inadequacy.


    ¡°What would happen if you were captured by a Sorcerer? All they would need to do is smile at you and you would tell them anything they wanted to know,¡± The dust drifted down and disappeared amongst the branches below and The Mother in Brown stepped into the canopy. ¡°As old as I know you to be, how can you be so childish?¡±


    Glim made the same ugly face at Mother Azza as she had The Mother in Orange. ¡°You don¡¯t be mean either!¡±


    Mother Azza ignored Glim and turned to me. ¡°So, you are The Lady in Blue. Katarina chose well it seems.¡±


    Her eyes, like molten gold, met mine and I dropped to my knees.


    Everything fell away. The branches that reached up to the sky spun above me and I felt myself fall. . .


    A torrent of bubbles streamed out of my mouth as I screamed silently underwater. A weight that I was powerless against pushed me down. My arms and legs would not move. All I could do was watch as the dim light above the surface grew smaller.


    Something grabbed me under my arms and dragged me up.


    ¡°Hey, you''re okay, I¡¯m here.¡±


    Anna. I realized. She had pulled me up. I was in the well house.


    ¡°What is your name?¡± My familiar¡¯s deep voice echoed off the stone walls.


    ¡°Fuck,¡± I coughed, taking several deep breaths before I could answer him. ¡°Autumn Aubrey.¡±


    By the time I finished his questions, Anna had leaned us back against the wall of the pool and collected my long hair into a single wet cord.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± She sighed sadly. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have asked you to do this yet. Let''s go to bed, I should have known better than to push you like this.¡±


    I cleared my throat and wiped the stinging salt from my eyes. ¡°Shut up, don¡¯t you want to know what I learned?¡±


    My hand found its way to the golden choker around my neck. Even though I had met them through the eyes of another, the sight of Mother Azza¡¯s had been enough to push me out of Nami¡¯s memory. It had felt like the unseen pressure she had compressed me with in the glass pyramid had tried to drown me. It had hurt, inside more than outside, and I could not lie and say that it did not make me want to curl up in a ball and cry.


    Still, I had found what I went into The Well to find regardless of her molten stare.


    ¡°You can tell me when you are ready, it doesn¡¯t have to be tonight,¡± She squeezed me a little tighter. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    I pushed myself away from her and told her what I had seen before it could slip from my mind. ¡°Glim. The Mother in Yellow¡¯s name is Glim. Nami-¡±


    ¡°Oh shit, hold on,¡± Anna interrupted me. I heard her pull herself out of the pool in a hurry and splatter water over the floor as she went for a towel and then the notebook. A moment later, she was sitting on the bench with Sam¡¯s haunting shape right next to her. She held her pen above the page and nodded. ¡°Alright, go.¡±


    I repeated what I had already told her about The Mother in Yellow before continuing. ¡°Nami is not a Mother, or she was not then, at least. She is or was The Lady in Blue. The Mother in blue is someone named Katarina.¡±


    ¡°Someone can become a Mother? I thought they were just The Mothers, like the way the sky is the sky or Arthur is Arthur.¡± Anna said, looking up at me. I could not look at her long, the dim light and the brightness in her eyes proved to be a very dangerous distraction.


    I shrugged. ¡°I did too, but the way Mother Glim was talking makes me think that is not true.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. What else?¡± Anna said.


    ¡°The Mother in Orange was there, but I did not learn her name. I think something is wrong with her. It did not seem like all of her was there,¡± I told her, thinking of the fierce looking woman staring up at the sky with nothing in her eyes. ¡°Then, Mother-Then, The Mother in Brown,¡± I corrected myself, still unable to say her name. ¡°arrived. When she looked at Nami. . .When she looked at me, I fell out of the memory.¡±


    Anna clapped and gave me a genuine smile. ¡°I¡¯ve got to say, as your coach, I¡¯m impressed.¡±


    ¡°You did well, my lady.¡± Sam rumbled from his place next to Anna.


    ¡°Oh, so you ignored me for weeks and now you are suddenly on my side? Would it kill you to compliment me more?¡± I glared at the feline skeleton right in his stupid yellow eyelights.


    ¡°I am bound to your will. I am always on your side. You usually do not accomplish things worthy of my praise.¡± Sam said simply.


    Anna stood from the bench and closed the notebook. She extended the towel she had barely used towards me. ¡°I am sorry, I didn¡¯t think about what it would feel like for you to see her again. We can stop.¡±


    I did not take the towel. Instead, I tipped my weight back and let myself float back to the top of the pool. ¡°If you apologize to me, I¡¯m going to make you sleep in your room tonight.¡±


    ¡°Oh really? What are you doing?¡± She raised an eyebrow and put her hand on her hip. Her black nightgown was still wet from when she had jumped into the pool and it clung to her hips and thighs so tightly that I did not have to imagine much.


    ¡°I¡¯m going back. We still have work to do.¡± I said, closing my eyes before I could no longer keep myself from her.

 V2: Chapter Forty Six: Dont Be Sad For Him

    The next morning, just before the sky began to brighten and blue, I left Anna asleep and made my way to the roof of the manor.


    The wounds that my mother had not been able to close had long since healed and turned to scars, but every part of me was tighter than I was used to. That tightness presented the first difficulty that made my climb much harder than it should have been. The second difficulty was that dark void within that was where my aura should have been. It was not empty like it had been the day before, there was a minute sliver of iridescent light that I managed to focus. Actually pushing it through the channel on my palm and using it to pull myself onto the roof left me weak.


    I could not even glamor the color of my eyes if my life depended on it. I thought, laying on my back and trying to gather my strength for the next part of my climb.


    A bird, visible against the dark sky only because of its movement, peaked over the edge of the roof above and dipped back only long enough for me to see it.


    Someone else has taken up my perch, I thought, pushing myself up and starting to climb again. I wonder if it knows that there is a predator lurking about.


    Several minutes later, I pulled myself up and slowly climbed to my feet. With my hands on my knees, I let my aura go and the loss hit me in my legs. They shook violently and I knew that if I let myself drop to the rooftop that It would be beyond me to get back up again.


    The bird was nowhere to be seen, but I could not blame it. If I saw some dark figure that was wrapped in bandages and baggy clothes, I probably would not wait around to tell it hello.


    In the last few moments of true night, I took shaky steps to the far edge of the roof and looked down at the city below.


    The rolling hills I had grown used to seeing had changed. The sky had begun to blue with the light of dawn and everywhere there used to be green, there was red. A near infinite amount of red roses blanketed the valley, a shadowed sea of red petals and sharp thorns that ran all the way down to the river.


    ¡°The Mother in Red.¡± I whispered to myself. It had to be her, there was no one else that could have done it. When I had first caught a distant glimpse of her, she had been riding her lion of fire over the crimson buds that her flower girls had flooded the street with. I knew then that she was capable of creating beauty that I could never be capable of.


    I could not understand it. She was a Mother. She held a festival of love that had sent the city and the members of my mother¡¯s house into a week-long celebration. The guards that were charged with protecting the people of Erosette from me all carried a reverence for her that would make one think she was the most pure thing in all of chaos. If she was truly the way she was, would that not mean the other Mothers would be similar? How could someone that brought so much to the people of her city be the same person that was going to torture me? Mother Azza must have her own place within Zenithcidel, that¡¯s probably where the glass pyramid had been. There was no part of my mind that could imagine her being seen the way the guards or the citizens of Erosette saw The Red Mother. I could see her being feared, ruling with an iron fist, making examples out of anyone who opposed her will.


    I had no way to prove it. My attempts to return to The Well after Mother Nami¡¯s memory had failed. First I had tried to find The Yellow Mothers. When all that had accomplished was me floating with my eyes closed for a few minutes, I had turned my focus to The Mother in Blue. Finally, when nothing else had worked, I had thought of Azza.


    If I was being honest, I was thankful that I had not slipped into her memories the way I had with Nami. There had been no books, no shelves, and no fireplaces. One moment I had been in the pool and the next I had been in Mother Nami.


    The thing at the bottom of The Well had deemed it worthwhile to assist me in my search, but had felt no desire to do it again when I came with other names in my mind. Why had it talked to me while The Mother¡¯s had been checking the sanctity of The Well? Why it had sat next to me during my punishment? All the strange things I had heard and seen, what game was it playing?


    You remind me of him. That¡¯s what it had told me the first time we had spoken.


    ¡°Who the fuck is him?¡± I asked aloud, knowing that I would never get an answer.


    As the new day brightened, I learned that the hills were not all that had changed. On the other side of the river, all along the bank that I had once stood upon, were hundreds of tents. Like a patchwork mountain range, they rose and fell in tight rows that went all the way to the streets of Erosette.


    ¡°That¡¯s new.¡± I said to myself, wondering where they had come from. Had the Mother in Red moved on from Amoranora to some kind of strange carnival? I had never been to one myself, but the tents reminded me of a memory I had viewed from back before I had made my escape to the mortal plane.


    ¡°Refugees. The Mother in Red took them in after their city was destroyed.¡± Someone replied to the words I had said to myself.


    I spun on my heels and whipped myself around.


    Wearing a thin dress the color of wildflowers, a woman with a wispy mess of blonde hair sat atop the roof with her thin legs stretched out in front of her. A bird, the bird that had looked down at me just a small time earlier, swooped down from up above and landed on the woman''s hair.


    ¡°Sorceress Ulet?¡± I said, realizing who had snuck up on me.


    ¡°Hello,¡± She said with a small smile. ¡°You have grown since last I saw you.¡±


    I hate you, because you deserve to be hated. I remembered the contempt she had spoken to me with and the fury that had been in her eyes after she had brought me back to Zenithcidel. All I¡¯ve seen is a silly little girl who deserves none of what she¡¯s been given.


    ¡°You are surprised that I am here. Have no fear, I have not disobeyed The Mothers to come and bring you trouble.¡± She said.


    Mother Azza feels the same. I thought, wondering how many sorceresses there were that hated me even though they had never met me.


    Her familiar let out a quick sequence of chirps and whistles.


    ¡°Yes, Av, I know we aren¡¯t supposed to be here,¡± Ulet said to the ruffled bird before she continued speaking to me. ¡°When last we met, I was unkind to you. I have come to apologize before I make my leave of Zenithcidel. It has brought my mind no end of trouble and I want you to know I regret the way I treated you. Caught in my afterglow or not, I should have been better.¡±


    The same way I could not imagine Mother Azza being kind, my memory of Ulet came into conflict with the woman sitting before me. She was pretty, and not in a general way. I thought she was pretty the way I thought Anna was pretty. The way my heart sped when my eyes wandered over the wire thin straps that hung the dress off her soft shoulders told me that much. She looked well rested and relaxed. None of her felt like the woman who had told me that if it was up to her, The Well would be taken from me and I would be dead.


    Something she had said caught my attention.


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    ¡°Why are you not supposed to be here?¡± I asked her, my body still tense.


    A little laugh escaped her. ¡°I have been forbidden. From the day after I brought you and the mortals here, I have asked for permission to apologize to you. I was not willing to take no for an answer so I have spent the last several weeks trying to find a moment I could speak with you alone.¡±


    ¡°You came here despite being forbidden,¡± Why has her power not been sealed? Why does she still have skin? I thought to myself, angry that she had done what I had been punished for doing and seemed unconcerned with the repercussions. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I have told you this before. We are sorceresses, bending reality to our will is what we do. It is in our nature. Now, I must make my leave before I am caught.¡±


    The sight of her had made the memories of that night behind the boarding house come spinning up from whatever dark corner of my mind I kept them in. Later that morning, I was supposed to attempt to help my mother heal Ms. Lao again. The two of us would give our life force to the sick woman to try and destroy the sickness that was slowly taking her own. When my mother had regrown my skin or when she had healed my broken hand, she had been doing the same exact thing.


    I had been healed before, by someone I had foolishly thought I could trust. Regardless of his intentions, he had given a small portion of his soul to end my pain.


    Ulet had walked to the edge of the roof next to me. Just before she stepped off, I grabbed her by the wrist and looked her in the eyes.


    ¡°The sorcerer, Eames. What happened to him?¡± I held my breath as I waited for her answer.


    ¡°Hmph,¡± She exhaled through her nose and her expression hardened. ¡°Swear to me that you will not tell your mother that I was here and I will answer you.¡±


    I nodded eagerly. ¡°I swear.¡±


    ¡°I killed him. He is dead.¡± She said with no emotion in her voice.


    ¡°Oh.¡± I sighed. I knew I should hate him for what he had done to me, but he could not have been all bad, could he? The man had healed me. He may not have had the best intentions, but at least he hadn¡¯t hated me. It felt strange feeling sadness for someone who had attack me and whose neck had been cut by my teeth.


    ¡°Do not be sad for him, Autumn Aubrey. Sorceresses are many things. We are fickle and cruel just as much as we are gracious and giving. Those like him, sorcerers, are monsters who can not control their dark and violent nature.¡± She said through her own sigh.


    ¡°All of them?¡± I let her wrist go. How could all of any kind of person be exactly the same? I had seen through the eyes of hundred of sorceresses and they were all different in their own way.


    Ulet pointed down to the tents beyond the river. ¡°Those refugees? Men, women, and children all left without a home because a single sorcerer could not control himself. I do not expect you to understand what being at war means, you are much to young, but all of those people lives were changed forever because the sorcerers of The Spire decided that they wanted control of a city that no longer exists,¡± She looked back down at me and there was fury in her eyes that made her look more like the woman she had been the night I had met her. ¡°There may be some quiet souled sorcerer tucked away in a back corner of chaos, so it may not be all of them, but it is enough. Remember that should you ever cross paths with one again.¡±


    The morning breeze blew her wispy hair up against Av and flat headed bird chirped and whistled once again.


    ¡°Autumn? It is time to begin.¡± My mother¡¯s voice called out from the backdoor of the manor.


    ¡°Thank you, Av,¡± Ulet said to her familiar as she scratched its head affectionately. Without warning, she turned around and stepped backwards off of the roof of the manor. She did not fall down to the roses below. Instead, she hung in the air while she pressed her dress down against the whipping wind that held her aloft. ¡°Goodbye, Autumn Aubrey. I hope you accept my apology.¡±


    No matter how long I lived, I would never forget how she looked with the brightening sky hanging behind her.


    Without another word, she descended slowly and met the ground like it had been the most natural thing she could have done. I watched her go. She ran all the way along the manor wall and turned the corner, disappearing from my sight. A moment later, I saw Av rise above the back wall by the beats of his wings.


    In no time at all, I found myself outside the door of Ms. Lao¡¯s room. Thoughts of Ulet floating in the air and power mad sorcerers had made my climb down seem much shorter than it actually was.


    ¡°Come in, my little Delpha. I have already begun.¡± My mother instructed.


    I did as I was told and joined my mother at Ms. Lao¡¯s bedside.


    ¡°Good morning, Autumn.¡± Ms. Lao gave me a tight lipped smile.


    ¡°Good morning.¡± I returned the greeting, trying to hide my reaction to the sight of her. She looked worse than she had the day before. Her eyes were dark. Her face looked sunken and thin.


    ¡°I understand your efforts yesterday were successful. Will you show me that what you have said previously is true? You spoke of being able to join your aura with mine, that seems like it would be helpful.¡± My mother said, taking up the roundabout way of speaking she apparently needed to use to talk to me.


    I did as I was told, placing my hands on top of my mothers the way I had done the day before. Eames, the memory of him at least, still hung in the front of my mind. With the knowledge of his death and Ms. Lao¡¯s pitiful state darkening my heart, it was even more difficult for me to focus the sliver of my aura within the void.


    My aura met my mothers immense power and I nearly dropped to the floor.


    ¡°Steady, your eyes will adjust in a moment. It is good that you know the second sight I am showing you is the best way to see beneath the skin.¡± My mother said, her voice taking on a tone that made a cold spot appear in my stomach.


    Ms. Lao lay on the bed with her eyes closed. Over the top of her, or maybe I was seeing inside of her, was a wash of different colors of light. A wash of reds and blues in all different shades intermingled and showed me what could only be her muscles and veins. Black spots were littered throughout her body. The worst was beneath her ribs, on what must be her lungs. They spread down over amorphous shapes that I did not have the knowledge to identify. The spots did not belong within her. They were wrong in the worst way and my skin crawled at the sight of them.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry,¡± I whispered to Ms. Lao, trying to keep myself from crying. I spoke to my mother without taking my eyes off of the sickness. ¡°What is this? Why is it in her?¡±


    My mother dropped the double speak and looked at me out of the corner of her eye. ¡°The mortals call it cancer. I do not know why it has taken her so, but it has been a slow war between it and I. It is a ruiner. It never rests. Even now, the efforts I made yesterday have been undone overnight.¡±


    Ms. Lao cleared her throat. ¡°It is getting worse, isn¡¯t it? You can no longer keep it at bay?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± My mother said with anger lining her beautiful face. ¡°It is time to consider taking you to the luminar in Hymneth as we have discussed. This has advanced well beyond my abilities. Even with Autumn¡¯s power included, there is nothing we can do but slow its growth.¡±


    The reds and blues faded as my mother ended the second sight. Her iridescent aura faded and I let mine go with a sudden exhale. My legs began to shake again, but before I could fall my other brought me to her so I could regain my balance.


    She kissed the top of my head. ¡°I am sorry, daughter. I will have to discuss my process for healing with you another time. I did not anticipate it continuing to grow in strength as it has.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t apologize to me,¡± I said, and reached my hand out and grabbed Ms. Lao¡¯s hand. She looked confused at my touch, but she did not pull away. ¡°You. . .¡±


    Ms. Lao squeezed my hand and a sad smile spread across my face. ¡°That¡¯s enough, girl. I know what you are trying to say. Thank you.¡±


    How could she walk around everyday carrying something that dark within her? The pain, the weight, I could not imagine what she must have felt like. Still, she had carried on in a place that she had not known to exist until a few months before.


    ¡°You still wish for Anna to accompany us? We will depart tomorrow morning so it is best to give her time to pack.¡± My mother asked.


    Wait. . .what?


    ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t think I could make it without her.¡± Ms. Lao answered.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± I let go of the sick woman''s hand.


    ¡°Down. We will travel to The Mother in Blue¡¯s domain. There is a place there where all of Zenithcidel¡¯s greatest healers gather. They will succeed where I have failed.¡±


    ¡°And Anna is going?¡± I asked. Nothing but selfish thoughts about my bed being empty when I went to sleep ran through my mind.


    ¡°I know you will miss her, my little Delpha, but her mother needs her.¡±


    I bit my tongue to keep myself from asking the terrible question that nearly slipped out of my mouth.


    Can I go with you?


    I knew the answer, but the foolish part of me that was still a little girl desperately hoped that I was mistaken.


    With the taste of blood filling my mouth, I held my tongue and accepted the fact that I would be by myself.


    No Anna and no mother.


    Alone.


    That thought scared me more than I wished it would.

 V2: Chapter Forty Seven: Glimmer

    ¡°Mother Glimmer?¡± Bess asked, from where she balanced on the final branches of the thin tree top next to mine.


    I had accepted long ago that the ditzy girl would never just call me Glim no matter how many times I asked.


    ¡°Yes, Lady Bess?¡± I answered her.


    ¡°Uhm, I should have told you that I am scared of heights.¡± She said, a funny little quiver in her high voice.


    Fall had turned the forest I had chosen for my lady in waiting''s training into a shining swathe of yellow gold. The air was cool and crisp atop the tallest of the trees, but there had been no better place that Bess could reach to see the whole of the place.


    ¡°I always found that a bit silly,¡± I looked at her. Her arms and legs were wrapped around the tip of the tree in a death grip. From the wide brimmed straw hat she wore down to the sandals hanging loose off her feet, she still looked like that same farm girl I had found asleep in a field of sunflowers all those years ago. ¡°Heights? There is nothing to be scared of. Falling? For someone like you, there is nothing to be scared of. Hitting the ground? I understand.¡±


    The wind made her sway just a bit and she clamped her eyes shut as the color drained from her face. ¡°Couldn¡¯t we not just try and talk to Yellow the way we always do? I don¡¯t need to learn anything new. I¡¯m strong enough already and you¡¯re gonna be The Mother in Yellow for forever.¡±


    ¡°Nope! You¡¯ve gotta learn this now. Let¡¯s try again. See if you can hold it for more than a half a second this time. Tell me when you are ready.¡± I commanded.


    Bess did as she was told. The pretty little bumpkin was lucky I hadn¡¯t taken her to where acid pooled out of the ground in acrid yellow puddles. There were far fewer places in chaos that were full of yellow than I would have liked. My sisters should thank reality daily that I did not have access to oceans or mountains like they did.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to interrupt whatever you are doing, but are you ready yet?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready!¡± Bess squeaked, every part of her clenched as tightly as she could manage.


    She would never be able to open her soul that way, but we had to start somewhere.


    ¡°Remember, Bess, I chose you for a reason and it wasn¡¯t because of how damn cute you are. Now, find your aura and let it swirl beneath your channel.¡± I began again, following my own directions as I gave them.


    My aura, my essence, my soul, was nothing but wind and light within my palms. I held it there patiently, knowing that the ease I could let my aura blow and flow with had not come quickly. Bess would need longer, and since I was playing the part of the wise old mentor, I would give her all the time she needed.


    There were a handful of apple trees not far from the little ramshackle cabin we were staying in. If she managed to get the first part and open herself, I would pick them clean. Lucky for me, the only thing that came more naturally to The Yellow Lady than using her power was cooking. I had tried to shower her mother and father with all manner of gifts a thousand times to thank them, but they seemed perfectly content running their little farm in their little village.


    All we want is for our daughter to be safe and happy. How many times had they given me that polite refusal to accept anything I offered? They weren¡¯t fools however, when I had filled their cellar with casks of wine and sent traders to buy all of their stores, they had thanked me earnestly.


    If they could see her, squeezing the life out of the thin tree trunk, they wouldn¡¯t think I was honoring their wishes.


    I was, she was safe and happy in a general sense, but I doubted they would be able to understand that.


    ¡°I have it. I¡¯m ready.¡± Bess called out. Some of the tension had left her face, which was a marked improvement from our first few attempts.


    ¡°Very good! Very, very, good,¡± I cheered, my delight doing nothing but making my own aura spin into a gale wind within me. ¡°Let it out of you, but don¡¯t let it loose. Like my wind, remember?¡±


    From her navel, her aura appeared and surrounded the tree trunk in its color. Like the last rays of dusk sunlight beaming through the broken roof of a hay loft, the color of it was much darker and warmer than my own.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Bess grimaced, her teeth clenching from the effort of holding her power without direction. ¡°I¡¯ve got it.¡±


    I did not mirror what she was doing, the next step was unnecessary for me.


    ¡°You''re amazing, Bess! Now you have to let go. Hold your aura together, push it out, let go and feel the tree with your power.¡± I yelled excitedly, we had never gotten this far before.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any sense,¡± She laughed. The high had come over her, which was good if she could keep her focus. It would only make her stronger as long as she could handle the joy. ¡°Oh! Mother Glimmer! I¡¯m doing it! I can feel it!¡±


    I squeezed the trunk of my own tree between my thighs to hold myself steady and let my own power flow down out of my palms. I shouted at her. ¡°Look at me, watch what I am doing!¡±


    Yellow wind, the color of canaries and marigolds, breezed out of my hands and streamed down the tree like the ribbons of a maypole. I turned my hands and my aura turned with it, painting the tree the color of my soul.


    I could feel it, the life that the tree bore. Every fall and spring it had stood through small death and remained until it bloomed into new life, was evident to my touch. That life, that power, teemed within every single yellow leaf like living joy.


    Bess¡¯s mouth hung open in a slack jawed smile, still managing to hold her aura outside of herself.


    ¡°When you have opened your soul to something and can feel it within yourself,¡± I said through my own spurts of giggles. I would never get tired of feeling Yellow, no matter how long I lived. ¡°All that¡¯s left to do is take it.¡±


    ¡°Oh no!¡± Bess called out suddenly, The sunlight aura flowing out of her spasmed and burst away in a flash that sent dust raining down all around her.


    She had lost her focus.


    The force of her power broke the thin tip of the tree. My lady in waiting went sailing towards the ground, very much not happy and very much not safe.


    I took from the tree. I took its life and its color within myself. I took all it had to give and turned it to power.


    ¡°Hold on, Bess!¡± I laughed, the wash of energy filling my little body too strong to resist.


    I released my hold on the tree top and dove straight down towards the ground after her. Quick as the wind, I wrapped my arms around her waist in a matter of seconds.


    The branches that threatened to split us in two if we hit them made for easy places for my power to push us off of. When we slipped into a bare pocket of air, I turned us upwards and pushed my aura towards my feet.


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    Bess clung to me desperately and I briefly wished that I was built like Ali. Being small had it¡¯s advantages but carrying the weight of another was not one of them.


    ¡°I¡¯m too young to die!¡± Bess shouted into my coat.


    ¡°So am I,¡± I giggled, knowing that there were only a handful of souls in all of chaos that were old enough to call me young. ¡°So how about we don¡¯t?¡±


    Impacts, loud and yellow, struck the forest floor and sent plumes of dead leaves and dirt up towards the sky. Everytime my aura slammed against the ground, the force that blew back up caught the folds I had willed around us and we slowed.


    A moment later, we were on the forest floor and as safe as could be.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to die!¡± Bess shouted again, her legs shaking with fright.


    ¡°Hey, I was right,¡± I said, patting her back and making her look at me. ¡°You were up high, you fell, you didn¡¯t hit the ground. That¡¯s the only part you ever have to worry about.¡±


    The Lady in Yellow sniffled. ¡°Only because you saved me. Can we take a break?¡±


    A single transparent leaf, visible only by its stem and its veins, floated down from above and danced between Bess and I.


    ¡°Nope. You have to learn how to do that.¡± I smiled, and took her around the waist again.


    ¡°Wait, no, What are you doing?¡± She sputtered.


    With nothing but my will, I sent us back to the treetops.


    Just before I placed her on an unbroken tree, I felt myself fall.


    The next moment, I opened my eyes and found myself back in the well house.


    ¡°Ali!¡± I called out and brought my feet down to the marble bottom of the pool. My skin was wrinkly and waterlogged and my hair felt hard with salt.


    After Anna, my mother, and Ms. Lao left, I had not been willing to sit around and do nothing until they returned. I hadn¡¯t been able to find Arthur, though a new wooden sword had been propped against the hayman outside of the garden. So, without any other options that were not devious or forbidden, I had gone to The Well. Yet again, I had slipped into a memory without any sign of a book or fireplace.


    If you can hear me, I thought at the thing that lived inside my mind. Thank you.


    ¡°What is your name?¡± My familiar¡¯s thunder voice came from where he sat at the edge of the pool.


    Right, I have to get it all out while I remember it.


    ¡°Autumn Aubrey.¡± I answered him as I climbed out of the water and wrapped a towel around myself.


    I answered his second question as I forced my aura to my right palm and dried my hair. It was still harder than it should have been, but I thought that focusing it was easier than it had been the day before. The bandages my mother had wrapped me with that morning lay in a tangled pile on the floor.


    ¡°Who was Autumn Aubrey?¡± He asked his final question as I pulled the big sleep shirt Anna had gotten me over my head and the lingerie shorts up to my waist.


    ¡°Glim. Glimmer. The Mother in Yellow,¡± I told him. I did not bother using complete sentences after that. Instead, I went through all the things that I could remember that seemed important. ¡°Bess. The Lady in Yellow. Lady in waiting. Ali. Open your soul. Clear leaf. Giggling. Uhm, I think that''s it. Can you remember all that?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It seems that your search was successful. Well done, my lady.¡± Sam rumbled before walking over to the door and sitting back down. The bones of his body clicked loudly against the stone floor and he swished his tail back and forth. How could the segments of bone bending and waving be enough to make me feel like I needed to rush.


    ¡°If you keep calling me that, I¡¯m going to start thinking that you are growing fond of me.¡± I said, pulling the door open for him despite the fact that I knew he was perfectly capable of doing it himself.


    The big cat skeleton slipped through the doorway and ignored what I had said. ¡°Arthur came for you while you were away.¡±


    I stepped out of the well house and found that the sun had already begun to set.


    ¡°Wait, hold on. How long was I in there?¡± I asked, not understanding how so much time had passed.


    ¡°Nearly nine hours.¡± Sam said without turning around.


    Why does it seem like he is in such a hurry? I wondered, that pulling my attention more than the day that I had floated away.


    ¡°Samsara, where are you going?¡± I demanded, making my voice sound serious.


    My familiar arched his spine and snapped his yellow eye lights back around to me. In the low light of dusk, I realized just how fucking terrifying Sam would be if he was not bound to my will. He had more than tripled in size since he had first entered my service. If that trend continued, I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about him killing birds for very long. I would have to find a big bell to strap around his neck so he couldn¡¯t sneak up on people.


    ¡°My flesh is beginning to reform. It is unpleasant and I wish to be alone.¡± Sam growled.


    I opened my mouth to say something sarcastic, I hated when he got moody, but I didn¡¯t. There had been a time not very long ago that ago I had been actively trying to let myself die. I did not regret that, it was a small wonder that I had been able to think at all, but Sam was the reason that I was still here. He was annoying, mean, and down unpleasant, but he had been there for me when I needed him most.


    ¡°Take your leave, my familiar. I shall not have need of you until your change is done.¡± I said, choosing to not be the contemptuous little girl that Sam thought I was.


    Without a word, he quick stepped towards the manor and by the time I left the side path to the well house, he was gone.


    Arthur stood on the other side of the hayman with his sword raised. When he noticed that I was there, he let it fly out of his hands and began to approach me.


    ¡°Hey, there you are! We¡¯re matching!¡± He smiled and pointed to his shirt.


    Sure enough, he had on the same long sleeved shirt that I did, complete with the open neckline and ties. Seeing him wear it, I was nearly certain that the one I had on was exactly his size.


    I know they aren¡¯t exactly the same, but they are the closest I could find. That¡¯s what Anna had told me the night she had given me my new clothes. The sweater I had stolen out of the laundry on my first day in the boarding house had been Arthur¡¯s. She really did get the closest things she could.


    ¡°I think mine is a little big.¡± I said, pulling the sides of it out and looking down at just how much fabric there was around me.


    ¡°Maybe you''re just small,¡± He laughed. ¡°I thought you were never gonna come out of there. I¡¯ve been waiting around all day to train with you.¡±


    ¡°Really? I¡¯m here now!¡± I said, excited at the thought of having something to do. There was no part of me that wanted to go inside and exist within the Anna-less manor.


    ¡°Yeah, but I have to go. There is a points tournament down in the city. Driskt and Daphne are waiting for me out front.¡± Arthur sighed.


    ¡°Then why are you still back here?¡± I said, turning away from him. There was yet another thing I couldn¡¯t go do. I hadn¡¯t been able to go with Anna to The Mother in Blue¡¯s domain. I couldn¡¯t go with Arthur down to the city. My stupid cat didn¡¯t even want to be around me.


    ¡°Because your mom put me in charge of you while she¡¯s gone. I¡¯m supposed to tell you to not worry about your bandages. You just have to stay inside.¡± Arthur said through a laugh.


    I spun on my heels and hit him in the chest. ¡°Even if she did, you are not in charge of me!¡±


    ¡°I am, my word is law,¡± He insisted, seemingly unphased by my violence. ¡°Go up stairs, shower, and go to bed. It is too late for you to be awake.¡±


    I was going to kill him. I didn¡¯t know how I would manage to bring him down, he was practically a giant, but I would not be talked to that way.


    ¡°Fuck-¡± I started.


    ¡°While you do that, I¡¯m going to walk down to the city and wait by the river right over there,¡± He said, pointing in the direction that the patchwork tents stood on the riverbank. ¡°If I meet someone that acts like you and sounds like you but isn¡¯t dressed like you and doesn¡¯t look like you, then there is nothing wrong with that is there?¡±


    Arthur. . .I thought, realizing what he was saying.


    I threw my arms around his middle and squeezed the tall man as tightly as I could. ¡°I was going to hurt you, you know? Thank you. Let¡¯s go now.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be our little secret, alright? I really don¡¯t want to get on your mom¡¯s bad side.¡± He laughed, patting me on the back.


    My stomach groaned audibly and the realization that I was starving struck me.


    ¡°Before we go, can you make me something to eat? I don¡¯t know how to cook.¡± I said, stepping back and giving him the most pitiful look I could manage.


    ¡°You''re helpless aren¡¯t you,¡± He continued to laugh. ¡° When we- when I meet someone down by the river, I will buy her dinner.¡±


    He left then, going out front to meet the guards he was going to the tournament with and I made for my room. I would change, change my face, and then break out of my lonely prison for the second time.


    The only thing that could have made me happier was if Anna had been there.

 V2: Chapter Forty Eight: The Captain

    For as long as it had taken me to decide to break out of my prison and hop the manor walls the first time, it was almost insulting how easy it had been to do it a second time.


    Honestly, what were the guards for if I could climb up to the roof and jump down without being seen? Besides the first few moments I had crouched in the darkness at the base of the wall, I had not even bothered with trying to be stealthy.


    The cuffed boots that I had decided were mine regardless of their origin made the thorny walk down the hillside much less painful than it would have been without them. Crossing the river had not been the feat that it had been before either. I didn¡¯t want to take my boots off and I did not have the strength to try and walk across the water and maintain my glamor at the same time. I was excited, almost as much as I had been on my first trip to the city, but my aura had been barely strong enough to change my face.


    Even if I had gone the way I had the first time, dozens of people surrounded the collection of tents that lay on the other side. Men, women, and children, just like Sorceress Ulet had said. Letting them see me walking across water did not seem like a good way to remain inconspicuous.


    I couldn¡¯t walk to the bridge somewhere in the distance on my left. Two of the guards would be waiting for me. Going forward was not an option and I would die before I went back up to the manor.


    For once in my life, instead of doing something wrong, I went right.


    The cool air coming off the river passed through the thin fabric of the dress I had stolen out of Anna¡¯s closet easily. After being wrapped in bandages and blankets for so long, it felt good on my skin. The last time I had been outside of the manor had not been nearly as pleasant and I couldn¡¯t keep myself from smiling.


    Go home. You are going to get caught. They will give you nine more punishments. Nine more, for each of them. Mother Azza will come for you nine more times.


    ¡°Shut up,¡± I said to myself. I started walking faster and the walking gave way to running. ¡°That is a tomorrow problem.¡±


    If I would have stopped, those terribly honest thoughts would have caught up to me. They didn¡¯t because by going right, I found that there was a bridge that was nearly identical to the one that led up to the manor. There was only one difference. When I walked over its stones and crossed into Erosette, there were no guards to stop me.


    The street around the outer edge of the city was nowhere near as crowded as it had been on Dreamtongue¡¯s night. It felt so strange passing by people that had no idea who had just walked by them. A boy and girl that were young enough for me to think of them that way were so caught up in whatever they were talking about that they nearly ran right into me. Not long after, a normal looking man nodded his head and gave me a small smile as we passed. I watched a group of red cloaked girls walk away from me down a side street. All of them were wearing sandals and I was reminded of how bad I wanted to get Anna a pair of them.


    No one I walked by knew I possessed The Well and none of them knew I was forbidden from being there.


    It made me feel. . .something. What that something was, I could not name, but there was a strange sense of something like pride that my glamor was working as well as it was.


    I bet I could walk right by Arthur and he wouldn¡¯t even know it. I thought with a smile as the range of tents came back into my view.


    There was a giant roaming the streets of Erosette and his name was Arthur Lao. Not a single soul that walked by, looked at, or looked near him could keep their eyes away. He was at least a head taller than the two men standing outside the tent closest to him and nearly as wide as the both of them combined.


    Deciding to test my glamor, I approached him as if I was just another citizen of Erosette who was out on a nighttime stroll.


    A group of kids, none of them could have possibly been older than five or six, all walked together and crowded around the tall man. Their clothes were dirty and I saw more than one of them with bandages somewhere on their body. They were the refugees that Ulet had talked about, the ones who had been cast off from their homes by a single sorcerer.


    ¡°The man, Atrean, let him be.¡± A sweet faced woman called from where she sat inside a tent. Her shirt was open and she cradled something to her chest with her arms. It was a baby, the first I had ever seen through my own eyes. I realized that she was feeding it. Right there in front of me was a mother and a child that was probably only weeks old.


    They should be in a home, with a fireplace and somewhere comfortable to sit, not in a fucking tent. I thought, as something dark and angry twisted to life within my stomach.


    My eyes lingered too long and the woman noticed me looking at her. She gave me a small smile and a little wave with nothing but pleasantness on her face.


    I waved back, not understanding why I felt like crying.


    One the children tugged on Arthur¡¯s pants leg. It may have been Atrean or it may not have been, I couldn¡¯t be sure, all I could see was it was a girl.


    ¡°So big? Why?¡± She asked Arthur.


    A little boy with one arm hanging limply in a cloth sling stepped out from the group next. ¡°Are you a giant?¡±


    Arthur laughed and knelt down. ¡°No, I was little like you once. Giants are big when they are born, I think.¡±


    ¡°Can I?¡± The little boy asked, holding his free arm up like he was flexing his muscles.


    ¡°Come, Atrean. Time for bed.¡± The sweet faced woman called out again.


    The little boy looked over at her quickly enough that I was certain he was the one she was calling for.


    Arthur pulled something out of his pocket and put it in Atrean¡¯s palm. ¡°Take care of your Ma. Buy her something sweet and you¡¯ll get big and strong in no time.¡±


    I passed by them then, walking around the group of kids like I had somewhere to be.


    What an idiot! He didn¡¯t even notice me. It was nearly impossible for me to not break out into an excited run despite the fact that he was the only reason I was in the city in the first place. Anna is a good coach.


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    As if he could hear my thoughts and had waited until the most ironic moment to dispel my arrogance, Arthur walked up beside me and nudged me with his elbow. ¡°You trying to stand me up or what?¡±


    ¡°How did you know! I specifically made myself look the least like myself as I could.¡± I snapped, stopping in my tracks.


    ¡°I could pick you out of a crowd if I was blind,¡± He nudged me again. ¡°Come on, you need to eat before we go to Seven Columns.¡±


    I didn¡¯t move. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you. My hair is black, I¡¯m wearing a red dress, I changed my lips and gave myself a tan. Something had to give me away.¡±


    When I had looked at myself in the mirror on my way out of the manor, I had looked nothing like myself. I had looked pretty. How had he been able to recognize me so easily?


    Arthur tapped his finger against the sienna colored stone that hung from my neck. ¡°You did all that and forgot about this.¡±


    Fuck. The fucking choker.


    I covered it with my hands, suddenly having a reason to panic. ¡°What if somebody sees it and knows what it is?¡±


    Arthur started walking. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry about that. Unless it has to do with points or drinking, you¡¯ll be lucky if anyone notices you at all.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± I asked him. Part of me thought I should try and glamor the choker itself, turn the gold to silver and the stone blue. With my aura as weak as it was however, I risked breaking my hold on everything else. The more I thought about the fact that I was wearing a glamor, the harder it would be for me to maintain it. Some precept I had never met from some memory I had viewed had taught me that.


    The first step to making a successful glamor is to forget that anything has changed at all. I tried to repeat the lesson in my mind. The words weren¡¯t exactly right, but I knew what they meant.


    ¡°As the sun shines,¡± Arthur assured me. He gave my hand a little tug and pulled me into motion. ¡°I¡¯d never put you in danger.¡±


    My worry lingered for longer than I wished it would have, but I followed him anyway. He led us towards the heart of Erosette, away from the river and the tents. His legs were much longer than mine, but he walked slowly so we could stay side by side. One or two turns later, I was well and truly lost. Even if it meant my punishments would be removed from where they hung around my neck, I didn¡¯t think I could find my way back to the bridge I had come in on.


    ¡°How do you know where we are going?¡± I asked, my eyes darting from building to building and down every street we passed.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been coming down here a lot at night lately. There¡¯s not a lot for me to do when everybody goes to sleep and I don¡¯t,¡± He answered, turning us down an alleyway. ¡°There is always something going on here.¡±


    ¡°You are still unable to sleep?¡± I had recently spent several nights staring at the ceiling and waiting for morning to come. There was little pleasure in it. I could not imagine how it felt for him after doing it for months.


    ¡°I can, the little guy just has to come out of me, but I¡¯ve gotten used to it. Hell, that¡¯s how I got to be buddies with the guards. If I had been asleep the whole time, the captain would have never given me the time of day.¡± Arthur said, leading us out of the dark alley and onto a street crowded with people.


    The largest mass of them were crowded around the front of a tall wooden building that stood out against its neighbors from the difference of material alone. A swinging sign hung just above one of the large windows and several people hit it with their hands as they passed under it.


    ¡°The Seven Columns,¡± I read aloud. A second piece of wood that looked like it could be removed and swapped out was tacked beneath the painted name of the place. ¡°Points tournament. Five dyme entry. No sorceresses. No fighting.¡±


    I had been so caught up reading that I hadn¡¯t noticed Arthur duck into a stall that was barely tall enough for him to fit without stooping.


    ¡°What is a dyme?¡± I stepped into the stall and ran straight into his back.


    ¡°Hey there, Ugi. Three, like usual?¡± The man behind the counter asked, evidently friendly enough with Arthur to call him by his nickname.


    ¡°Six, I¡¯m not alone,¡± Arthur smiled. He brought something out of his pocket and held up for me to see. A thin coin gleamed in the lantern light of the stall. It was as big around as my palm and made out of some sort of bright red metal. ¡°This is a dyme. It¡¯s what people use as money around here. You didn¡¯t know that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never really needed money.¡± I muttered, feeling my cheeks beginning to burn from embarrassment. Why did it feel so bad to admit to him that I didn¡¯t know something? I had no reason to be embarrassed, he knew I had been locked in a room for most of my life.


    Arthur extended the dyme to the man behind the counter in exchange for whatever he had bought.


    ¡°No, no, no. It¡¯s on me tonight. Enjoy your date,¡± The man waived, refusing the money. ¡°Besides, you¡¯ve spent so much here the last few weeks, you¡¯ve earned it.¡±


    Date? We aren¡¯t on a date!


    ¡°Oh man, thanks! I¡¯ll be back tomorrow,¡± Arthur said as we left. He handed me three wooden skewers that were wrapped all the way around with some kind of bread. These are for you.¡±


    ¡°What are they?¡± I asked, giving one of them a tentative sniff. It¡¯s scent was warm, heavy, and just a little sweet. My stomach groaned in desire at the smell of it.


    Arthur shrugged and spoke through a full mouth. ¡°They have some weird name for it, but the best I can tell it¡¯s just fried meat wrapped in bread. Kind of like a corndog. It¡¯s good, try it.¡±


    Whatever they were, Arthur and I finished them before we ever made it inside Seven Columns. Several people exchanged greetings with him as we slipped through the small gaps in the crowd. Just before we crossed through the door, he grabbed my hand and pressed the big red dyme into my palm.


    ¡°Here, that¡¯s worth ten. The entry fee is five, so you should have enough for a couple of drinks between your matches,¡± He smiled back at me as we went inside. ¡°The captain is gonna ask you if you are a sorceress. Tell him you aren¡¯t and try not to do anything magical. Got it?¡±


    ¡°I thought you just brought me to watch, I didn¡¯t know I was going to compete in the tournament,¡± I said, excitement coming over me so strong I felt like I would float off the ground. ¡°But I can¡¯t take this. You need it to get in.¡±


    Arthur laughed and shook the pocket of his pants with his hand. The sound of metal clinking against metal met my ears over the constant hum of chatter that Seven columns was filled with. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve got plenty. Winning these things pays pretty well.¡±


    Following the tall man through the crowd was easy despite the overwhelming amount of faces and voices we passed by. We approached an older man sitting at a small wooden table. Some sort of list, a coin purse, an open bottle of what I assumed to be alcohol, and a knife whose tip was sunk into the wood littered the top of it.


    ¡°Back again I see, aren¡¯t you supposed to be watching the girl?¡± The man grunted when he saw Arthur. He had a muscular jaw and black hair that was salted with white. Every part of him looked strong and his posture told me that he was one who knew how to use his strength.


    ¡°Hey, captain. Springer and Woolie said they had it handled.¡± Arthur said, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand and giving the man a smaller dyme than the one he had given me.


    The captain let out a humorous grunt. ¡°Drunk and asleep. I¡¯d bet you two bags of dust that¡¯s all they have a handle on. Who¡¯ve you brought with you?¡±


    ¡°Oh, uhm, this is-¡± Arthur began.


    Fuck! I hadn¡¯t given him a name. Uh. Autumn. No! That was my name. Uhh. . .Arthur! No, that was his name. I remembered the mother who had been feeding her baby in the tent. What had her son¡¯s name been? Tree? Atree? Trean?


    ¡°Trea,¡± I said, stepping up to the table and handing over my own dyme. ¡°I¡¯m Trea and we are not on a date.¡±


    The captain took my dyme and dropped it in the coin purse.


    Then, without warning, he ripped the knife from where it lay on the table and stabbed it wildly straight towards the middle of my forehead.

 V2: Chapter Forty Nine: Seven Columns

    I am going to die.


    The captain moved so fast, realizing that was all I had time to do. I couldn¡¯t fight and I couldn¡¯t run. The blade would sink into my skull and I would die. I would not live long enough to know why the captain of the guards charged with protecting Erosette from me had killed me.


    My aura, weak as it was, tried to flare out of me in an instinctual defense. There wasn¡¯t enough. The void where my soul should be was too empty and my aura gave out before it could protect me.


    The tip of the knife streaked towards my head. The moment before it ripped through my skin, it stopped dead in the air.


    One hand on the hilt and the pommel, the captain glared at me with his steely gray eyes. With his blade so close to my skin I thought I could feel it, he spoke. ¡°You¡¯re not a sorceress are you, girl?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I squeaked, too scared to shake my head.


    ¡°Ugi, you wouldn¡¯t let her lie to me would you?¡± He grunted at Arthur.


    Arthur, his face far enough away from the knife wielding old man that he could shake his head, answered as if nothing terrifying had just occurred. ¡°No sir. She¡¯s just a girl.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± The captain sighed and relaxed. In one smooth movement, he withdrew the knife and flicked its tip back down into the worn wooden table. There were dozens of indentations in the table top that showed his sudden action was not the first time he had done something of the sort. ¡°I¡¯ve told you about messing around with sorceresses, they are nothing but trouble,¡± He pulled out five small dymes from the coin purse. Each was the size of my thumb nail and made of the same red metal as the one I had given him. He handed them to me with an apologetic smile. ¡°Sorry about that, boss. That¡¯s the best way to tell. If you were one of those damn women wearing magic on your face, your aura would have come out to protect you.¡±


    It almost did. I thought. The only reason that everyone in Seven Columns did not know I was a sorceress was because I had lost touch with my aura. If I had been anything close to what I had been before my first punishment, there would have been nothing I could do.


    ¡°You don¡¯t think there is a nicer way to do that,¡± Arthur asked the man and took the money from my hand. ¡°I¡¯ll hold onto these, that dress doesn¡¯t look like it comes with pockets.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± The captain grunted. He used his hand to slowly lower himself back to his chair. ¡°Starting on Patience''s night, I had this same sorceress try to sneak in here and sign up for a week. She had pretty eyes, maroon, and she was nice enough, but if I let one in I¡¯ll have to let them all play.¡±


    There was something about the captain that I did not like. I couldn¡¯t quite tell what it was. Other than the fact that he had nearly split my skull a few moments before, there was nothing evidently unpleasant about him. He was handsome, and his features made it impossible for me to guess his age. His hair was graying and he moved like an old man, but his eyes and face looked like he was not that much older than Arthur.


    What is it? I wondered. When last he spoke, It was like the sound of his voice or the words that he said had soured in my mind.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re Trea. You from around here? You know how to play?¡± The captain asked, taking a small sip from his bottle.


    ¡°She¡¯s just visiting,¡± Arthur said, smiling and rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. ¡°I don¡¯t really remember where you said you''re from though.¡±


    The captain scowled up at the tall man. ¡°You should treat the young lady with more respect than that, Ugi. She looks like she¡¯s got quite the temper on her. I¡¯ll be waiting patiently to-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m back again, Bry,¡± I heard a man¡¯s voice say from right behind me. ¡°This lot want to drink until my pockets are empty again.¡±


    I stepped to the side and towards Arthur.


    Four or five girls, their crimson half cloaks making it difficult to count, stood behind a pale faced man with eyes the color of blood. He removed his wide brimmed hat, ran a hand back over his black hair, and smiled a devilish smile. ¡°None of them seem eager to stay in their dorms and study since she has been here.¡±


    The captain took another, longer, drink before he responded. ¡°My apologies ladies, she''s been quick tempered since the day I met her. You and your, uhm. . . brother, will have tougher competition than you¡¯re used to tonight.¡±


    ¡°I did not tell you that he was coming, how did you know?¡± The red eyed man asked with one of his eyebrows cocked up.


    All these years and not once have you come to play and he hasn¡¯t,¡± The captain turned to Arthur. ¡°Ugi, this is Nocti. His, er. . . brother,  is the reigning champion of my little tournaments.¡±


    ¡°Patience is coming?¡± One of the girls tugged on Nocti¡¯s sleeve and asked.


    ¡°Patience is coming!¡± Another declared excitedly.


    All of them started chattering amongst one another. Evidently, the fact that Patience was coming brought them the same amount of joy that being freed from my punishments would bring me.


    I still wanted sandals like theirs, a pair for Anna and a pair for me.


    ¡°Look at this,¡± Nocti sighed and shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m the one who cooks for them, I¡¯m the one who cleans for them, I¡¯m the one who keeps watch over them while they sleep, and all they want to do is see Patience,¡± He stuck his hand out to Arthur. ¡°It is nice to meet you, Ugi. And the only reason he is the champion is because I let him win. He is a terrible loser, like a spoiled child really.¡±


    Arthur returned the handshake with his eyes wide. ¡°Are the Nocti from Amoranora? You¡¯re a vampire aren¡¯t you? That¡¯s the only way the story makes sense.¡±


    ¡°So this is the mortal you have taken under your wing,¡± Nocti laughed with a glance at the captain. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t put so much stock in stories, my friend. And who do we have here?¡±


    Nocti turned his blood colored eyes to me.


    ¡°I¡¯m Trea.¡± I muttered, unconsciously moving backwards until my back pressed into Arthur.


    Lie.


    He did not say it, but I could see that he had thought it. Nocti could see through my glamor. Atleast, that was the impression he had given me the first time I had met him. I had not been Trea then, I had been a blonde haired girl named Millieme. She hadn¡¯t been wearing shoes and had scrapes and bruises all over her feet. He had known I wasn¡¯t who I said I was then just as much as he knew I wasn¡¯t whoever in the fuck Trea was.


    All of the red cloaked underwitchs, students at whatever school I had stumbled into on Dreamtongue¡¯s night, had started staring at me as well.


    Fuck, fuck, fuck.


    ¡°It is nice to meet you, Trea,¡± He nodded to me before returning his eyes to Arthur. ¡°A man your size, I think I would be a bit too fast for you to beat.¡±


    ¡°A man your size, I might knock you out of the ring the first time I hit you.¡± Arthur said with a smirk.


    ¡°Ooooh.¡± The underwitchs howled in unison.


    Nocti glared down at them. ¡°Stop that, you all are suppose to be on my side.¡±


    The captain waved us off. ¡°Go have a drink, Ugi. I¡¯ll be sure and pair you two up first thing.¡±


    ¡°The bracket is supposed to be random, is it not?¡± Nocti asked.


    Arthur led me away from the captains table and into the jubilant crowd before I could hear the answer. Groups of rosy cheeked men, drinks in hand all, laughed and spoke with impassioned tones. Several different couples of women, some young and some old, clung to each other in a way that I could only describe as romantic. Armor laden guards that were dressed differently than the manor guards I knew were littered throughout, each wearing calm and placid expressions.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Fortunately, the tall man that I was not on a date with did not have to walk through the crowd the way anyone else would. Every time we approached a place in the room that would have required us to slip between people or ask them to move for us, they would part in a rise of greetings. Arthur would return the pleasantries and I would follow in his wake before the tight packed crowd could close on the space it had made.


    I had no idea where we were going exactly. My mind was too distracted for me to even think to ask. Nocti being able to see through my glamor was not what was troubling, he had seemed rather uninterested in it all things considered. The dislike I had felt for the captain shortly after meeting him had not had anything to do with the man. It had been because of something he said. Nocti and one of the underwitchs had said the same word. Only, it was not a word, it was a name.


    Patience.


    Even thinking his name was enough to make me feel like something bitter had been slipped into my mouth.


    All I knew about him was that he was one of The Mother in Red¡¯s lovers, just as Morrow, Galahad, Dreamtongue, Go, Adrian, and Nocti were. Unlike the first three, I had not been around to learn of Patience on his night of Amoranora. Azza had seen to that. He was also unlike the red eyed man that had an unfortunate tendency to run into me whenever I committed the crime of entering the city. I had met him.


    How could someone I had never met make me feel so. . . conflicted? That might not have been the right word, but it was close enough. As strong as the bad feeling was when I heard his name, there was an equal desire to see his face. There was an interest that was beyond my curiosity about the rest of The Mother in Red¡¯s lovers, and I did not understand why I felt anything at all.


    Does not make sense. I thought to myself and shook my head


    ¡°-that¡¯s about it, what do you want?¡± Arthur asked me, bringing me out of my thoughts.


    The tall man had stopped walking and I had been so wrapped up in my mind, I had lost track of where we were going. We were no longer in the same room the captain had been in. Arthur was looking over his shoulder at me and a woman dressed like the guards had been on Galahad¡¯s night was doing the same from her place behind a bar. Both of them seemed like they were waiting for me to speak.


    ¡°Uhm. . .¡± I started, trying to recall what had been said to me with no success.


    Arthur nodded to himself. ¡°Right. You haven¡¯t heard a word I¡¯ve said have you?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I answered honestly, trying to look as pitiful as possible.


    ¡°She¡¯ll have what I¡¯m having,¡± Arthur said to the barmaid and slid two small dymes towards her across the bar before turning back to me. ¡°Are you feeling alright? I know that crowds and stuff freak you out. We can go home if you want, I can always come back tomorrow.¡±


    I thought he would be mad that I had not been listening to he is not concerned for my well being.


    He was right however. The sheer amount of people that were packed into the room I hadn¡¯t known I had entered was overwhelming. The patrons of Seven Columns all stood outside of the seven columns I could see in the center of the large room. Through the gaps in the crowd I could see a raised wooden platform that must be where the points tournament was set to take place. Everyone in the place looked happy and excited to be there, like a festive madness had taken them. Whether or not that was because of the games they were about to watch or the drinks they were all drinking, I did not know. It was a lot for me to handle. At times it felt like too much. Just like the night I had snuck in to the city the first time, I found myself feeling alive in the madness.


    ¡°Here you go,¡± Arthur smiled down at me and handed me a tall tankard full of some kind of liquid. ¡°Try it, you¡¯ll like it.¡±


    My friend had been right about the bread wrapped meat, so the decision to trust his opinion on the drink was an easy one. It was cold and thick like milk. It went down sweet and smooth without leaving any kind of burn in my throat.


    My eyes went wide as I drained the tankard. When I placed the empty vessel back on the bar and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, I looked up at Arthur. ¡°Can I have another? What is it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t know what it is though. The first time I came down here with Woolie and Springer I asked for the sweetest drink they had and this is what they gave me. It¡¯s good right?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm. Very good.¡± I nodded, searching for the barmaid. I had money. Well, Arthur had my money, but nonetheless I could afford another one of the drinks. That small power was in Arthur¡¯s pocket and at my fingertips.


    ¡°They guards all make fun of me for drinking it. They tell me it¡¯s a girl dr-¡± Arthur started.


    ¡°Ugi!¡± Someone called out.


    ¡°We were starting to wonder if you got lost.¡± Someone else added between hiccups.


    Driskt and Daphne, the two guards that Arthur had said he was going to the city with, shambled over to us with big smiles on their faces.


    I felt my cheeks begin to burn with embarrassment. The last time I had seen the two men, they had seen me wearing nothing but my bandages. Azza¡¯s punishment had left me in such a poor state, I had not even cared. Thankfully, my face did not look like my own and even if my blush did show through my glamor, it could be explained away as my cheeks warm from drinking.


    The two of them looked remarkably similar. Both had dark hair and deep green eyes. They were each a head and a half shorter than Arthur, but were of the same height with one another. Had they always looked that way or was I much less perceptive than I thought I was?


    ¡°So this is who you snuck off to meet, eh? What happened to that blonde girl Springer told me about?¡± Driskt asked, looking at me and nudging Arthur in the ribs with his elbow.


    ¡°A different girl every night,¡± Daphne hiccuped. He tried to look at me but his eyes could not hold their focus for very long. ¡°Your heart is still hurting because of little Aubr-¡±


    Arthur cut him off suddenly. ¡°How about I buy us all a round while we wait on the bracket? It¡¯ll make you two feel better after I walk away with the purse tonight.¡±


    ¡°I knew I liked you, Ugi. I didn¡¯t know why, but now I do.¡± Driskt laughed.


    Arthur¡¯s heart is hurting?


    ¡°We saw her not long after she got back,¡± Daphne¡¯s mood seemed like it had soured in an instant. He spoke with his eyes cast down to the wooden floor underneath his boots. ¡°She was wearing a necklace just like that,¡± He nodded in my general direction. ¡°What they¡¯re doing to her, The Mothers,¡± He hiccuped and took the tankard Arthur had offered him. ¡°It¡¯s not right.¡±


    The crowd began moving all at once. I drained the second tankard of the cool, milky, drink that Arthur had bought me with my heart beating heavy in my chest.


    A young boy who couldn¡¯t have been more than six or seven had climbed up the back of the bar. His bare feet stepping carefully between the different colored bottles as he hauled himself up from shelf to shelf, he pulled a large piece of rolled paper from under his arm and spread it out. He pulled two small tacks from his mouth and pinned the paper to the wood of the shelf.


    ¡°First match tonight is Trea versus Nocti!¡± The boy leaned back and shouted, like a pirate hanging off a rope.


    The crowd cheered at his announcement. The paper he had hung was filled with angular black lines and names, the bracket for that night''s tournament.


    ¡°Damn, I thought I was gonna get to play him first,¡± Arthur sighed. ¡°Oh well, I hope whoever he is fighting is good. I can figure out their strategy that way.¡±


    The tall man looked down at me as he spoke, seemingly unaware that I was the person whose name just got called.


    ¡°Arthur?¡± I glared up at him.


    ¡°Yeah?¡± He grunted as he drank his tankard.


    ¡°I¡¯m Trea.¡± I said flatly.


    ¡°Ugi! You don¡¯t even know her name,¡± Driskt shouted and hit Arthur in the shoulder. ¡°We taught you better than that.¡±


    The boy cried out again. ¡°Trea versus Nocti!¡±


    Through the crowd, each of them looking around for me despite not knowing what I looked like, I could see the man with the blood red eyes waiting for me on the platform in the middle of the room.


    ¡°Get up there, the captain will disqualify you if you take too long.¡± Arthur said, putting his big hand on my back and giving me a little push.


    Once I had been moved, everyone who had been standing around looking for me found me. An uncountable amount of eyes all watched as I walked to the platform and stood opposite my opponent.


    ¡°We have to stop meeting like this,¡± Nocti smiled. ¡°If you tell me how to beat your friend, I will let you win.¡±


    I took up a ready stance with my hand outstretched.


    Nocti mirrored me in perfect time, like he knew what I was going to do before I had done it.


    ¡°Nocti! Nocti! Nocti!¡± The underwitchs the pale faced man had arrived with chanted from the side of the platform. Every single person had gathered around the platform and quietly waited for something to happen.


    Arthur elbowed his way to the front of the crowd at my right. ¡°It¡¯s just like the other day, the match starts when one of you moves. Go for his chest, he looks slow.¡±


    ¡°Slow,¡± Nocti flicked his eyes to Arthur and made an ugly face. ¡°I could beat you before you ever knew I moved.¡±


    While he was distracted, I took two quick steps forward and pushed my two fingers towards his chest.


    Arthur may have been right because my strike connected and the boy that was still hanging from the back of the bar shouted out the result. ¡°Point, Trea!


    The crowd broke into applause and cheers that filled the room.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t even move!¡± One of the underwitchs cried out.


    ¡°How embarrassing!¡± Another added.


    ¡°Patience would have won!¡± A third declared.


    Nocti sighed and muttered something I couldn''t hear.


    Before we reset, while I was still standing well inside his guard, I asked him a question that had come to my mind as soon as I had met his eyes.


    ¡°You know what I am, why have you not told?¡± The captain and him had seemed well beyond friendly. If sorceresses were not allowed to play and the red eyed man knew I was wearing glamor, wouldn¡¯t he feel obligated to tell his friend that someone had slipped through his security measures?


    Nocti smirked. ¡°Because. . .¡±


    He didn¡¯t finish his sentence. Instead, he looked up at the staircase that led down from the entrance room.


    ¡°Speak of the devil.¡± He said, still wearing his smirk.


    ¡°Patience!¡± All of the underwitchs called out at once.


    Coming down the stairs and walking right up to the edge of the platform, a man so attractive the only word I could use to describe him was stunning, waved up at Nocti. ¡°Do not mind me, I will not interrupt you while you are being defeated.¡±


    A truth so overwhelming I could not ignore it became clear to me.


    I needed to get as far away from Seven Columns as I possibly could because as soon as I saw the man known as Patience, I knew that I would either kill or kiss him.


    There was no in between.

 V2: Chapter Fifty: Suri Wakes Alone

    Shock and confusion alone kept my feet on the wooden platform.


    I snapped my head back to Nocti, unable to look at Patience for any longer than the spare few seconds I had.


    I hate him. I thought, feeling in my bones that it was true. Mothers help me, I think I love him.


    Violence ran through my fingers, begging me to turn and wrap them around the man''s throat.


    He has hurt me. He had the power to hurt me because I love him. I thought, the words feeling wrong in my mind. How could someone I had never met hurt me the way it felt like he had. The anger, the bleeding edge of pain that made my heart hurt and my breath short, it felt so real. The love, the swell of heat that made me want to throw my arms around him and squeeze until he broke into my grasp, felt wrong. Not only because the feeling was not mine, but because it felt warped and twisted in my chest.


    ¡°Shall we reset? If you stand here any longer I will take it as an invitation to dance.¡± Nocti smiled down at me.


    Fuck.


    While I had been standing there having a mental breakdown, a tavern full of people had been patiently waiting for me to do literally anything. I needed to move, to try and act, but I could not shake the feeling of Patience¡¯s eyes on my back. I knew he was looking at me and he had no idea how I felt about him. He did not know because he did not know me. The hatred and love waging war inside my heart were not mine.


    A memory? Had I seen him in a memory before?


    ¡°Au-uhm-Trea?¡± Arthur tapped me on my shoulder from where he stood off the platform.


    ¡°Right, right,¡± I nodded. The feeling of my friend''s touch broke me free and I walked backwards from Nocti. I could not risk seeing him again, not while I was the center of everyone¡¯s attention. Making myself giggle, I squeaked out an apology. ¡°Sorry, I think I¡¯ve had a bit too much to drink.¡±


    I dropped back into the ready stance and my opponent mirrored me perfectly, again.


    All I needed was two points. Two points more and I could quietly take my leave.


    He won¡¯t be distracted this time. If I go for his chest again, he will try and defend that. So when I turn and actually go for his hand, I¡¯ll catch him off guard.


    I leaned forward ever so slightly.


    Two fingers pressed gently into the middle of my forehead.


    The match was over.


    Nocti had won without me being able to take a step.


    Where they had clapped and cheered for me, they erupted for my opponent''s victory.


    ¡°Would you call that slow? Perhaps you should reconsider your opinions of me, boy,¡± Nocti said, his red eyes flickering to where Arthur stood off to the side. Then he focused back on me and spoke in a voice that only I could hear. ¡°To answer your question, You aren¡¯t the only one in this tournament with secrets.¡±


    His eyes flashed from red to yellow just long enough for me to notice. Then, he pulled his fingers from my forehead and bowed.


    ¡°Thank you for the bout, I look forward to beating your date in front of you.¡± He said as he left the platform and rejoined his group of red cloaked underwitchs. They all stood with their back to him and were talking to. . .


    ¡°Next match, Arthur versus Patience!¡± The boy hanging from the back of the bar shouted.


    The way the crowd reacted, you would think someone had told each of them that their greatest wish was going to be fulfilled. The excitement that filled the room felt like it would blow the place apart if it continued.


    ¡°Hey, are you okay?¡± Arthur asked me, gently placing his hand on my back.


    I looked up at him. His usual smile was gone and had been replaced with the stony expression I had only seen on his face a handful of times. As oblivious as he could seem at times, he had noticed the change in me.


    ¡°No,¡± I whispered, trying to choke down the burning pain I had felt after seeing him again. ¡°I need to go, I¡¯m sorry. Thank you for bringing me here.¡±


    Without giving him the opportunity to say anything, I spun on the heels of my boots and made to leave Seven columns. I couldn¡¯t run, all that would do is draw attention to me. Keeping my eyes on the wooden floor, I walked as quickly as I could without running into people.


    I tried, at least.


    Just before I made it to the stairs, a pair of shoes stepped into my sight and I ran head first into whoever was wearing them.


    ¡°Oh, excuse me. I did not mean to run into you.¡± A pleasant sounding voice said.


    I looked up.


    Patience smiled down at me. His hair was short, like it had been shaved clean not very long ago. The features of his face were all sharp and savage, like a hawk or an eagle. His smile was what made him so absolutely stunning. It brought a warm and inviting beauty to his hard features. It felt like a promise, a promise of care and gentleness from someone capable of great violence and brutality.


    Patience was a weapon, but his smile was a choice to keep his edges carefully sheathed.


    Even still, the sight of him hurt me deeply and tears welled up in my eyes.


    ¡°If you ever fight Nocti again, the secret is to not look into his eyes. I wanted to tell you that. It makes my heart feel light when I get to see him lose.¡± Patience chuckled, his attention making me feel like I was the only person in the world he wanted to talk to.


    All I wanted was to feel him hold me in his arms again. We could sit somewhere quiet and he could tell me about what he was studying at the loreiumn. How many evenings had we spent just like that before she came and ruined it all?


    ¡°Have I upset you?¡± Patience asked, his smile fading into a look of concern so genuine that it made me feel like I was the sole soul in all of chaos that he loved.


    The tears threatened to spill over my cheeks and I was vaguely aware that others were beginning to look at me.


    I met Patience¡¯s eyes again and drove my fist straight into his stomach.


    He doubled over with a pained exhale.


    A loose spread of sudden sounds of alarm came from the tavern goers that were the closest to us. Before I could be stopped and questioned, I broke for the stairs. Any attempt to remain unnoticed had crumbled to dust the moment I had struck him.


    Seven Columns went by in a blur of confused faces and warnings to slow down from the patrons I pushed through. I slipped through the open door and sprinted toward the alley next to where Arthur had bought us food. When I felt that I was far enough out of sight, I threw my back against the wall and took several ragged breaths.


    How do I get back to the manor?


    Why the fuck did you not pay more attention when you were following Arthur?


    You just punched a man you have never met and ran out of Seven Columns like you stole something.


    I miss Anna. She could help me if she were here.


    The part of me that still felt like me worried that I had forsaken Arthur to a stream of questions that he would not be able to answer. All he had been trying to do was give me an enjoyable night. After he had been nearly killed and taken from his life because of me, it had given me some small amount of peace that he had found something for himself. The guards, playing points, wanting to be a guard, all of it made me feel just a little better about the effect meeting me had placed on him.


    I hope he still gets to play. I hope he gets the money he wasted on me back. I hope I haven¡¯t gotten him in trouble with the captain.


    All I could do was find my way back to the manor and hope that my friend¡¯s decision to include me would not ruin the rest of his night.


    Heavy footsteps echoed down the dark alleyway.


    My instincts snapped me into motion and I ran blindly away from the sound.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Someone shouted.


    I flinched at the sound. The toe of my right boot scraped against the ground and I lost my balance. My aura flickered to life inside me, but just like when the captain had come at me with a knife, it was too weak to protect me. The moment before my face met the stones, something wrapped around my waist and hauled me back up as if I weighed no more than a feather.


    ¡°Is there a reason you fall so much or do you just like doing it?¡± Arthur asked as he placed me back on my feet gently. His hand lingered on my arm, holding me steady until I could do the same on my own.


    ¡°Why are you here,¡± I panted, still feeling torn on the inside. ¡°What about your match?¡±


    Arthur¡¯s face was serious, but I could see the concern in his eyes. ¡°I forfeit. The real question is why you ran off like that. Did something happen?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I lied. ¡°You should go back and have fun. I¡¯m just gonna go back to the manor.¡±


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    Arthur snorted. ¡°First, you don¡¯t even know where you are. Second, don¡¯t give me that bullshit. I know you''re not fine. You can talk to me. You¡¯ve literally seen my guts, remember? Is it something with that thing in your head?¡±


    I had seen his guts. His Mother and his sister had begged me to heal him. He wouldn¡¯t have needed the healing if it was not for me. I had not been able to and yet, there he was, trying to help me. It had probably never crossed his mind that he had nearly died because he had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting me.


    ¡°I do not know,¡± I muttered. ¡°It started with Patience.¡±


    ¡°Have you been waiting for this to happen?¡± Arthur said, literally scratching his head in confusion.


    ¡°No! Patience the person! The man you were supposed to play against. Everytime I heard his name, I started feeling strange. When I actually saw him. . . It was like I was someone else-no, it was like I was feeling someone else¡¯s feelings. It has to be because of a memory or The Well, but I don¡¯t know. I just want to go back to the manor.¡± I snapped, the words coming out all at once.


    ¡°Damn, That¡¯s got to be frustrating,¡± Arthur sighed and shook his head. ¡°Let¡¯s go then.¡±


    Let¡¯s? As in let us? Is that what he just said?¡±


    ¡°What about the tournament and the guards? You should go back, don¡¯t let me ruin your night.¡± I muttered, unable to meet his eyes. I felt bad enough that he had forfeited his first match. I couldn¡¯t let myself be the reason he lost the tournament.


    ¡°Shut up,¡± He laughed and started walking down the alley, away from Seven Columns. ¡°You are my night. That was the whole point. How often do we get to hang out without Anna? I can always come back down here tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Wait, no.¡± I said, walking quickly to catch up with him.


    ¡°No, and yes. There is a bakery around the corner that should still be open. I want to stop there before we head home,¡± Arthur looked at me through his peripherals when I caught up to him. ¡°Maybe, you should wait for me outside though.¡±


    ¡°Why? Why are you looking at me like that?¡± I questioned him, noticing the change in his eyes.


    As we left the alley, he pointed at the bakery he had spoken of. Its single window was still bright with lantern light. ¡°Because you look like you again. Wait here, I¡¯ll be right back.¡±


    Fuck. I shouted in my mind as I watched him walk away. Sure enough, the shoulders and the front of the red dress I had stolen from Anna¡¯s closest was littered with my iridescent dust.


    I did not have the strength or focus necessary to recreate Trea in full, but by the time Arthur returned with a wrapped parcel in his hands, I had managed to darken my hair to a shade somewhere between brown and black. We walked together all the way to the bridge I had crossed to enter the city. He left me with the promise that if I could get back to the manor wall before he did, he would share the contents of the mysterious parcel with me.


    The thoughts and feelings that had sparked to life within me once I had laid my eyes on Patience weighed down on me like damp clothes. I felt sore and moist on the inside, like I needed either a cold shower or a full day in the sun to wash or bake myself back into feeling normal.


    Sam had not appeared, which meant there had never been any danger of me losing myself to whoever¡¯s memory had been triggered. Mind breaking or not, I was upset at how the night had gone.


    The threat of a knife in my skull aside, I had liked Seven Columns. The energy, the drink that Arthur had gotten me, playing points, I had enjoyed it all.


    Yet again, the truth that I was Autumn Aubrey had ruined something else. If I had not stolen The Well, regardless of if I remembered doing it or not, there would have been no conflicted feelings for me to feel about Nocti¡¯s brother.


    That was what the captain had called him. Is that how they all thought of one another? Who was I to judge them, I had never been one of seven lovers to a sorceress so powerful she had her own sun far underground. I had never had siblings. For fucks sake, I had never had a friend until I met Anna.


    Arthur appeared on the top of the manor wall well before I reached it, a giant silhouette against the night sky.


    ¡°Looks like I get all the sweets to myself. Shame, I brought us milk too.¡± Arthur whispered harshly, his voice carrying easily across the rose blanketed hill.


    Does he really think he is being quiet? I thought, unable to keep myself from smiling.


    I had never had a brother, but if I had, I was pretty sure it would have felt like being around Arthur.


    With one hand, the tall man was strong enough to haul me up and set on top of the wall. From there, he jumped down and gently lowered me to the ground with no more effort than it would have taken me to blink.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I told him, being grateful for once that I was safe behind the manor walls. ¡°For tonight I mean.¡±


    ¡°Save it. The night is not over yet. Come on.¡± He said and started walking towards the mouth of the garden.


    ¡°It is late? What else is there for us to do?¡± I asked, having to run to catch up to him for the second time that night.


    ¡°I don¡¯t sleep anymore, remember? There are all sorts of things to do. Plus,¡± He said, weaving through the garden path like he knew it by memory. ¡°If you change your hair back, I¡¯ll share the sweets with you.¡±


    Once we were in the garden alcove, Arthur grabbed the parcel from the bakery and two glass bottles of milk from where he had left them on the marble bench.


    ¡°You had time to come back here and come all the way back out before you climbed the wall?¡± I asked him, sitting down beside him on the ground.


    ¡°It really wasn¡¯t a fair race. My legs are twice as long as yours,¡± Arthur opened the parcel and revealed a large stack of some kind of bread. He let me take my pick and handed me a bottle of milk once I did. ¡°I don¡¯t know what these are called either, but they are kind of like jelly filled doughnuts.¡±


    Like the bread wrapped meat and the creamy drink at Seven Columns, one bite of the sweet was enough for me to form an unshakable trust in my friend''s taste in food. It was light and airy. When I bit into the middle on my second bite, some kind of filling spurted onto my tongue.


    ¡°Which one did you get,¡± Arthur asked, taking half of his sweet in one single bite. ¡°I got strawberry.¡±


    ¡°Lemon, I think.¡± I answered through a full mouth.


    ¡°Damn. I wanted that one.¡± Arthur sighed.


    With one hand, I held the lemon sweet towards him and took the strawberry one from his fingers with my other. ¡°Here. I want to try both anyway.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, alright.¡± Arthur agreed with a stupid looking grin on his face.


    I crossed my legs and tried the strawberry sweet as I looked around the dark garden. Finding that I liked it so much more than I had the lemon, I finished it quickly and washed it down with the cold milk. When my feasting was over, I wiped my mouth on the back of my hand and began eyeing what was left resting on the unwrapped parcel. ¡°You said there are all sorts of things you have learned to do since you do not sleep anymore, do you have something in mind?¡±


    ¡°Oh, shit, right,¡± Arthur said with an exaggerated nod. The tall man lay back on the mossy ground and pulled the bottom of his shirt up past his muscular stomach. Then, his middle began to glow with pale blue light. ¡°He really wants to meet you again and Anna isn¡¯t here so I thought this was the best time.¡±


    The owl spirit. I realized, momentarily being brought back to when I had first met it in the woods behind the boarding house. That had not been very long ago, all things considered, but it felt like it had been years.


    It rose out of Arthur and unfurled its wings. One, two, three times, it beat them before taking to the air and ascending into the dark sky. Motes of its pale blue light drifted down as it flew, painting the garden alcove with gentle shadows. Almost like one of my mother¡¯s stories from when I was a child, it gave the place an enchanted feeling and some of the turmoil in my heart was washed away.


    The owl spirit swooped down and landed at my feet in an instant.


    ¡°Name for a name, for a name, for a name.¡± It spoke in its crystalline voice and snapped its beak as it looked up at me. Click. Click. Click.


    ¡°Does it have a name?¡± I whispered to Arthur.


    The tall man was still laying on his back. He craned his neck up to look at the spirit that lived inside of him. ¡°No. I mean, I¡¯ve never thought to ask him.¡±


    ¡°No, no, no. Never asked, never asked, never asked.¡± The spirit chirped in triplets. Click. Click. Click.


    ¡°How can you have something living inside you and not ask its name,¡± I said, giving him a playful push. I turned back to the spirit and nodded. ¡°A name for a name. I am Autumn Aubrey. Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Hoo!¡± The spirit hooted.


    I could have imagined it, but it almost sounded like it giggled after its hoot.


    Did it just tell a joke? I wondered, smiling widely. The owl was so full of life, so pure, I could not help but be happy in the face of it.


    ¡°No, no, no,¡± Click. Click. Click. ¡°Autumn, Autumn, Autumn,¡± Click. Click. Click. The spirit broke into what looked like a little dance. Three hops to the left, three hops to the right, and then it would ruffle its wings thrice. ¡°Name for a name, for a name, for a name,¡± Click. Click. Click. So many motes of its pale blue light were scattering to the ground that its talons were leaving tracks as it danced from side to side. ¡°Opa, Opa, Opa!¡±


    ¡°Your name is Opa?¡± I asked, reaching my hand out to the owl.


    It nuzzled its head into my palm and nipped at my fingers with its beak. ¡°Opa, Opa, Opa!¡±


    Click. Click. Click.


    ¡°You are a cute little entity aren¡¯t you?¡± I laughed.


    Opa stepped back and gave me one last repetition of his dance. ¡°No, no, no. Autumn, Autumn, Autumn.¡±


    Click. Click. Click.


    The owl spirit took flight again, circling high above where we sat in the garden in a matter of moments.


    ¡°Did you hear that? Its name is Opa.¡± I turned and said to Arthur.


    All that was left on the parcel paper was scattered crumbs. The tall man¡¯s bottle of milk lay empty next to it. Still stretched out with his head cradled in his hands, Arthur¡¯s eyes were closed and the slow way he was breathing told me that he had fallen asleep.


    ¡°So much for not needing to sleep, huh?¡± I said to myself as I laid down beside him.


    Opa had flown so far upwards that all he appeared to be was a pale blue dot with a trail of light swirling behind him. I finished my milk as I watched him make swooping loop after swooping loop. The night had brought a gentle coolness to the air and sometime after I heard Arthur begin to snore, I decided that sleeping on the mossy ground would not be the worst idea.


    After all, it was not as if Anna was upstairs waiting for me.


    The sweet faced woman who had been feeding her baby inside the tent crossed my mind. If I ever went down to the city again, I wanted to find her. I didn¡¯t know what I would do once I did, but it felt important to me that I saw her again.


    If I ever went down to the city again, I would do anything within my power to not see Patience again.


    It became a struggle for me to keep my eyes open and on Opa.


    The last thing I remember thinking about was how Patience, right before I had driven my fist into his stomach, had come and told me how to beat his brother.


    If I didn¡¯t feel the things I felt about him, I wonder if I would like him. I thought and drifted off to sleep. . .


    ¡°Patience?¡± I called out as soon as my eyes opened and I found myself in his bed alone.


    There was no answer. I did not hear him making breakfast in the small kitchen or taking a morning shower.


    ¡°Patience?¡± I shouted again, desperately hoping that he had not heard me the first time.


    Alright, Suri. I¡¯ll stay tonight. When he had told me that the night before, after so much arguing and begging, I never imagined that he would leave.


    I never thought that he would actually choose her over me.


    His absence taught me the truth of my arrogance.


    I threw myself out of the bed.


    If I hurried, I could stop him before he left Don Viven to go meet her at that inn along the south road.


    I thought of her and that little black headed brat that tailed along behind her like a lost puppy.


    If I could not stop him, I would kill them both.


    The dress I had worn the night before was laying in a heap on the floor. I snatched it over my head and pulled my long red hair back. Without taking the time to so much as pull on my shoes, I left his little room and stepped out into the cold with his name on my lips.


    ¡°Patience, how could you?¡±


    I thought of her and that little black headed brat that tailed along behind her like a lost puppy.


    If I could not stop him, I would kill them both.

 V2: Chapter Fifty One: Suri Loses Patience

    I made it from the loreium to the south gate of Don Vivin so quickly that I hardly remembered the run.


    The four gate guards had formed a line when they took note of my rapid approach. One with a golden stole, their commanding officer, shouted out to me. ¡°Halt! You must present your card before you pass!¡±


    ¡°No time.¡± I growled. My card was in the inside pocket of my coat, hanging on the hook in Patience¡¯s kitchen. Breaking Don Viven¡¯s cardinal rule and disobeying the guards would cost me, but I would take it with my head held high if it meant I reached him in time.


    The snow on the road had fallen that morning and had not been hard packed by boots and horses yet. I let my aura flow down into my feet and threw myself into a sideways skid, kicking up the loose white powder. When my sole touched the cold ground, I channeled my power and pushed it out of myself in a burst that ran the width of the road.


    Tinted red like candy apples, my power sent every bit of red snow up and towards the guards in a sudden wave. They tried to shield themselves, but no mortal man could hope to stand against the force of nature that a sorceress could be if her heart was set on something.


    Channeling what I had built in my back foot, I kicked off the ground and landed on the other side of the gate. A small mountain of snow flecked with red dust and a clean patch of road was all that was left in my wake.


    If only I could fly like The Mother in Yellow, I would speed towards the inn and snatch what was mine from the ground like an eagle would a rabbit.


    The inn lay around a bend several miles from the city, it would take me entirely too long to follow the road. With my aura worn around my feet to protect them, I broke through the wood line at an angle. The forests outside Don Vivin were not traveled often. Savage bandits and thieving beasts roamed them in the hopes of finding some young scholar to rob or eat. Where they were while I was breaking through the drifts of snow, I did not know. Maybe they could feel the danger that would befall them if they slowed me.


    A fallen tree, laying at an arc on the other side of two standing trunks I slipped through, was concealed completely within the soft white powder. I did not realize this until my knee rammed into it and my momentum slammed my face into the ground.


    Blood, from my busted lip and my knee, stained the white ground. When I managed to push myself up to my feet, I slipped in one of the slick red spots underneath me.


    ¡°I¡¯m coming,¡± I grunted, spitting the blood that had welled in the crease of my lips away. ¡°She¡¯s probably charmed you.¡±


    Yes, that must have been it. All the terrible things the man I loved had said to me the night before, all the things that I would kill to forget, that had not been true. The Mother in Red was powerful beyond belief. She had charmed my love against me and towards her because I had something precious that she wanted. I pushed myself forward, unable to rechannel my aura back around my feet. The pain and the loss from the working I had buried the guards with were too much. It would take more time than I had to regain my strength.


    Later, I limped out of the snowy forest and laid my eyes on the inn. Farther up the road than I was, within spitting distance of the place I knew she was, I could see Patience walking with his absurdly large pack on his back.


    ¡°Hey!¡± I yelled and ran after him, ignoring the growing pain in my knee.


    The man I loved did not turn around, but the sight of him alone was enough to bring my power back to me.


    ¡°Patience!¡± I yelled, kicking a flash of my power out from my uninjured leg and sending it streaking by him so he would know it was me calling after him.


    He probably thinks I¡¯m a bandit or one of the whisperers. Of course he didn¡¯t turn around.


    Patience did turn around. He turned around at the worst possible moment and my power hit him in his side. He dropped to the ground instantly and a plume of disturbed snow and red dust went up around him.


    I dropped to the ground beside him so quickly, it almost felt like the space between us had never existed.


    ¡°Oh no, I¡¯m so sorry. I¡¯m so sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m okay, I know you did not mean to,¡± Patience groaned as he shrugged out of his pack and rolled onto his back. He looked up at me and his eyes were immediately filled with worry. ¡°What happened to you?¡±


    A drop of blood rolled off my lip and splattered against his cheek.


    ¡°I¡¯ve come to save you. I know you would never leave me. She must have charmed you or is black mailing you. Fuck, I don¡¯t care how strong she is, I¡¯m going to save you.¡±


    ¡°Suri. . .¡± Patience trailed off. He cast his eyes away from me but made no move to wipe my blood away.


    ¡°This is unfortunate. I am sorry, child.¡± A new voice said.


    I knew the voice.


    She had arrived.


    When facing an enemy you know to be stronger than you, swift and overwhelming violence can balance the scales. I had learned that at the school of The Mother in Red on my first day in Erosette. She had taught me that lesson herself.


    I thought it fitting that I would use her own words against her.


    ¡°Suri, don¡¯t, please.¡± Patience begged, holding on to my arms as if his life depended on it.


    I leaned down and kissed him on his forehead. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Her charm will dissipate once I am done with her and you will be free of her influence.¡±


    Patience gripped me tighter. He was a scholar, but years of climbing ladders and hauling books around had left him plenty strong. I could not pull my arms from his grasp without hurting him.


    I brought all of my power to my feet and streamed it through my soles in violent streams. Using his hold as a pivot point, the force of my aura spun my legs upwards and I twisted into a wild kick.


    It would not be enough to kill her, but if I could wrap my legs around her throat, it would go a long way towards it.


    Something caught my ankle and stopped my momentum dead. Patience¡¯s strength was forceful enough to keep my arms in place. The strength that caught my attack was a force of nature.


    I was pulled up from the ground as my working fell down onto Patience in a flurry of red dust. At first, all I could see was her fur lined boots and the hem of her long red dress. She lifted me with one arm and turned me with the other. When she placed me on my feet, she held me by my shoulders between her hands and forced me to look at her.


    ¡°I am sorry, child. I wish that this was easier for you.¡± The Mother in Red said to me with sadness in her voice. Her clear blue eyes were brimming with tears. I had known her for so long, I knew she was not acting. I knew that she actually felt bad for me.


    I narrowed my eyes and spit the blood from lips onto her face. ¡°Fuck you.¡±


    The Mother in Red did not so much as flinch. Her tears rolled down her cheeks, streaking the crimson splatter I had painted her with, and she sighed. ¡°I am sorry, child. Rest now.¡±


    Everything got blurry all at once. My head dropped to one side and I tried to fight off the sleep she was undoubtedly charming me with.


    ¡°No,¡± I muttered, only being able to force my eyes to flicker open for a moment at a time. ¡°Patience, no.¡±


    I remember the first time I had seen The Mother in Red, when she had asked me to come and study under her in Erosette.


    If I had known. . .it would lead. . . to this. . .


    Her charm was too strong, I looked into her eyes one last time and I felt myself fall.


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    When I opened my eyes again, a pale blue star circled in the night sky high above me.


    I lay on my back on mossy ground that was soft and cool to the touch. A man slept next to me. He had dark hair, almond shaped eyes, and was possibly the largest person I had ever seen. All around us were tall walls of overgrown leaves and vines. There was a stone bench not very far away that lay behind a pink marble statue.


    I had seen it¡¯s kind before, it was a statue of her.


    ¡°A dream then,¡± I said to myself as I climbed to my feet. ¡°A memory. She has brought me back to Erosette.¡±


    It made sense. She had kept me charmed and asleep all the way from Don Vivin. I had learned much about her in my time as one of her apprentices. I knew her name. I knew the names of all of her lovers. She knew that she had made an enemy out of me and that I was dangerous to her.


    The pale blue star above me began to descend.


    ¡°Some kind of overseer?¡± I said, not intended to stay and find out. I did not know how I had broken her sleep charm, but I would not waste the opportunity.


    I had awoken at the back of some kind of garden maze. When I was free of it, I entered the back door of the manor I had found in front of me. The inside was dark and there was no sign or sound of anyone. No guards, no sorceresses, no black haired brat to stop me.


    ¡°Arrogant.¡± I said under my breath as I crept towards the double doors at the front of the manor. She had been so convinced of the strength of her charm that she had not thought it necessary to station anyone in case I woke up.


    I stepped out of the manor and laid my eyes on Erosette. Patience was there, probably still completely unaware that he had been charmed.


    She was down there, and I would kill her to save the man I loved.


    Patience would laugh about it eventually. Me, slaying the wicked sorceress to save him, the damsel in distress. After the thousands of books he had read, I bet he never thought he would be a part of a story so compelling.


    ¡°Little Aubrey?¡± A man¡¯s gruff voice pulled me out of my pleasant thoughts.


    Two city guards, each wearing one of her auraments at their hips, stared at me from where they stood around a campfire.


    One had a sharp nose and looked so high strung that a slight breeze would be enough to set him off.


    The other, the one that had spoken to me, wore a big dark beard and had kind eyes.


    ¡°Let me pass. I have no quarrel with you.¡± I told them, reaching for my aura. The big one with the beard would go down easy if I hit his legs. I couldn¡¯t quite get a read on the other.


    ¡°We can¡¯t do that, why don¡¯t you go inside. Lady Aubrey wouldn¡¯t want you to be out this late.¡± The bearded guard said, his voice low and quiet.


    ¡°Stop it, Woolie. She is not herself. Look at her posture. When have you ever seen her stand like she knew how to fight? It is as it was when she fought Bool and Schmit,¡± The sharp nose guard said to his partner as he stepped out into the road and squared himself off with me. ¡°Prepare yourself.¡±


    ¡°Where is her cat? This is his job. I don¡¯t want to hurt her.¡± The bearded guard said, taking up beside his partner.


    I had given them a chance to let me go peacefully.


    They had not taken it.


    Fools.


    With no warning, I shot towards the bearded guard and tried to push my power to my feet.


    It wasn¡¯t there.


    All that was inside me was a pitiful glimmer of colorless aura that I couldn¡¯t so much as charm myself with. Without being able to perform my working, my sudden attack failed.


    What has she done to me? Is this what it feels like to be hollow?


    ¡°Here we go,¡± The bearded guard grunted. He locked his hands together around my arms and chest and held me off the ground like I weighed no more than a feather. ¡°I¡¯ve got you, little Aubrey.¡±


    I did not struggle against his hold, my opportunity for escape would come soon enough.


    ¡°Let¡¯s take her inside. I¡¯ll go find Ugi. Maybe he will know where the cat is.¡± The sharp nosed guard said to his partner as he walked up to where I was being held.


    Yes. One step closer.


    He took it.


    I brought my knees up to my chest and kicked my feet back against the guard that was restraining me. Just like when Patience had been clutching my arms in his charmed confusion, the guard''s hold acted as a pivot point. I used the momentum of my kick and drove my heel up into the other guard''s sharp nose.


    ¡°Ah! Damn it!¡± He screamed and stumbled backwards, covering his face with his hands.


    I relaxed my shoulders and slipped down in the bearded guard''s grip far enough that I could curl my back and throw my legs around the back of his head. Top heavy as I had thought he would be, the shift in my weight made him lose his balance and he fell onto his back.


    I needed to get to Patience more than they needed to stop me.


    By the time either of them recovered enough to yell at me, I had run far away from them down the road that would lead me to Erosette.


    They would pursue me, I had no doubt, but I had always been quick and I was not wearing armor.


    There had been no sign of them by the time I rounded a corner and saw two more guards standing on my side of the bridge. For a brief moment, I thought about ducking into the ocean of roses to my right. I could muss my hair, stumble out of them, and scream in distress about a demon or some other trouble. As the good natured men of honor they were bound to be, they would come to help me and I could push them into the river before they ever knew what happened.


    All that would take time, time I was not willing to waste.


    My only option without my aura was to fight or flee. I hoped my speed would be enough to confuse them.


    ¡°Autumn!¡± Someone shouted from behind me.


    At the sound of the shout, the guards snapped their heads up the hill towards me and drew the aura laden swords hanging off their hips. Both of them stepped inward, directly blocking my way onto the bridge.


    ¡°Autumn!¡± The shout came again.


    Autumn never came to Erosette. There was only a never ending summer that would lull you into obedience if you stayed too long.


    ¡°Little Aubrey! Slow down!¡± The guard on the right called out to me. He was the younger of the two and looked much weaker than the man next to him.


    It was almost too easy, the younger guard didn¡¯t so much as raise his sword to defend himself.


    I threw myself into a slide and drove the sole of the boot I was wearing into his ankle, throwing his foot out from under him.


    I pulled at the sword belt around his hips and tipped him head first into the dirt.


    Without letting a second pass, I threw a savage uppercut into the crotch of the older guard as I rolled onto my knees.


    The bones in my hand crunched and broke.


    White pain flashed in my eyes.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± I screamed.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, little Aubrey. I do not believe in making the same mistakes twice.¡± The older guard said, looking down at me and placing a hand on my shoulder.


    I slapped his hand away and through my shoulder into his thigh. Driving forward until I tipped up onto my toes, I stood and pulled his boot off the ground. The man had not made any move to defend himself and I had all the leverage. All it took was two staggering steps forward for me to push him backwards off his free foot. He fell and began to slide down the slope of the river bank, struggling all the way.


    I turned and ran, knowing that once I got into the city, none of the guards would ever be able to find me.


    Before I made it halfway across the cobblestone bridge, something slammed into my back and knocked me to the ground.


    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re not you right now, but I¡¯m gonna help you get back okay?¡±


    The dark haired man who had been sleeping next to me in the garden rolled me onto my back and tried to pin my arms underneath his knees.


    ¡°What the fuck are you talking about?¡± I struggled against him, flailing my arms wildly to avoid his attempt to restrain me.


    ¡°Your name is Autumn Aubrey. Uhm, you like milk. You''re a sore loser,¡± I slipped my hand through his grip and clawed my nails into his forearm before he managed to grab it again. ¡°Damn it! I should have paid more attention. Uhm, I¡¯m pretty sure you are in love with my sister. Her name is Anna, do you remember Anna?¡±


    ¡°My name is Suri and I will end your life if you do not release me!¡± I yelled. The dark haired man was strong, strong in the way she had been when she had lifted me off the ground. I could not resist him for much longer and without my aura, I would be caught.


    The four bloody gashes my nails had dug in his arm began to glow with pale blue light. Slowly, the blood ceased to flow and his skin began to close.


    I ceased my struggling and opened my eyes wide in shock. ¡°What. . .what are you?¡±


    ¡°I am Arthur, your friend. You¡¯ve seen my guts. We held hands-¡±


    He had relaxed when I stopped struggling.


    Fool.


    I did not wish to kill him. Despite the nonsense coming out of his mouth, I did not know the man.


    I did not wish to kill him, but I had to save Patience.


    As quickly as I could, I slipped my arms from under his knees and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. I jerked him down and sunk my teeth into his throat, ripping back and tearing at his veins.


    His eyes went wide and warm blood ran into my mouth and splattered down onto my face. When his hands went to his wound and his weight shifted backwards, I bucked my hips and pushed myself out from under him.


    I climbed to my feet panting. My whole body was weak, too weak. I had trained for years to be able to fight, run, and use my aura for hours on end. How was it that I felt like I was going to collapse?


    Thunder boomed in the dark sky above.


    It never rains in Erosette. I thought, whipping some of the blood from my face with my unbroken hand.


    It truly was a story out of one of Patience¡¯s books.


    I turned to cross the rest of the bridge.


    Bright yellow lightning arced down from the cloudless sky and struck the bridge in an explosion of broken stone crackling energy.


    ¡°Mother fucker, what is it now?¡± I yelled, shielding my eyes from the blinding light.


    When it ended and the following thunder shook the bridge underneath my feet, a demon stood before me.


    As tall as my knees, some sort of blue furred feline arched its back and stared at me with haunting blue eyes. Yellow streaks of lighting ran around its body in frenetic loops and white fangs peaked out of its closed mouth like small sabers.


    When it spoke, I felt its subterranean voice in my chest like the thunder from above.


    ¡°What is your name?¡±

 V2: Chapter Fifty Two: The Lich Illusion

    ¡°Suri! What the fuck are you?¡± I shouted back at the blue furred demon.


    She takes my aura, places incompetent guards in my way, makes me kill someone I don¡¯t know, and now sends a demon after me. The Mother in Red is doing everything in her power to not face me herself.


    I smirked and readied myself to fight the monster she had sent in her place.


    There was only one reason she had not come to face me herself.


    Rhiannon fears me.


    The feline demon¡¯s tail swished violently. ¡°What is your name?¡±


    I reached for my aura. If I could pool just enough in my soles, I could throw it off the side of the bridge by the scruff of its neck. The demon was still a cat after all, even if it could summon lightning and had thunder for a voice.


    Struggling to even grasp the small wisp of power inside me, the demon asked it¡¯s question a third time.


    ¡°What is your name?¡±


    I focused my will on the bristly fur behind the demon¡¯s head and whipped my leg off the cobblestones.


    The power that should have been the color of candy apples came to life on the demon¡¯s scruff in a puff of iridescent dust.


    My working had failed.


    "I am left with no other choice," The demon growled and locked its deep blue eyes with mine. Its voice echoed off of itself, giving it the sound of two speakers pronouncing its words. ¡°Dominus.¡±


    ¡°Let,¡± I spat, trying to struggle against the sudden power that had locked my body in place. ¡°Me. Go!¡±


    A blue black shadow darkened the city beyond the bridge. Pressure, like the air itself was trying to crush me into so much dust, kept me from even moving a finger. The taste of the dark haired man¡¯s blood hung in my mouth, but I could not spit it out.


    Thunder cracked against my ears and my eyes flinched closed at the violence of the sound.


    Erosette receded, growing smaller and smaller until all that was left was a solid blue darkness that left me feeling cold. Whatever hold on me released and I dropped to the ground with my legs bent underneath me.


    The demon folded out of the darkness at my feet, sitting as still as a corpse.


    "What is your name?" It demanded.


    ¡°Suri.¡± I spat the blood in my mouth at my captor.


    The pressure returned.


    "You are in my domain. You will not so much as think without my explicit command," The demon growled, stalking towards me. "Your name is Autumn Aubrey. You are a underwitch of Zenithcidel. You were viewing memories in The Well and have lost yourself."


    ¡°I will not be refused. I must free him. I must save Patience!¡± I shouted.


    The demon droned on, circling me and repeating his words every time he reached the spot directly in front of me. "You are in my domain. You will not so much as think without my explicit command. Your name is Autumn Aubrey. You are a underwitch of Zenithcidel. You were viewing memories in The Well and have lost yourself."


    After the ninth time, he stopped.


    "I am Samsara. I am your familiar. I am bound to serve you. What is your name?" His voice filled my mind, forcing me to struggle to have any thoughts outside of its words.


    ¡°Suri! The man I love has been taken and charmed by The Mother in Red! I will save him!¡± I screamed, unable to do anything else.


    ¡°Pain has not broken the hold,¡± The demon growled. Its blue eyes focused on the hand I had broken when I had struck the older guard where his legs met. ¡°I am left with no other choice.¡±


    The demon folded back into the blue black darkness, like he had never been there at all.


    It¡¯s hold on me vanished along with it. Slumped on the floor of whatever blue hell I had been dragged into, I tried to form a plan to escape. My captor, the darkness, the pressure, it could all be glamor and illusion. There were very few sorceresses that were gifted enough to create something as elaborate, but they did exist. Cai, The Mother in White¡¯s partner could. I hoped it wasn¡¯t, because if she was indeed behind the demon and the lightning, all hope was lost. Patience would live the rest of his life charmed into being unaware that he had been taken from me and I would be put back to sleep.


    If it wasn¡¯t her, there was a small hope that I could escape if I could bring my power back to myself.


    The reason I had been sent to Don Viven, the reason I had met Patience, was because I had lost my color. My father had died suddenly, I had been there to see it. All that made my life colorful and full had gone along with him. Rhiannon had let me grieve. After months of being able to do little but get out of bed, Nocti had come and told me that I was needed in Don Viven. I had not wanted to go, but if The Mother in Red willed it, so it would be.


    I sighed, remembering how cruel I had been to Patience the first year I had known him. He was a scholar assigned to help the sorceress from Zenithcidel navigate the near infinite halls of the loreium. Harsh words, threats, actual attacks, I tried everything to get him to leave me alone.


    Patience, more than anyone I had ever met, was patient.


    Time had passed and just as my love for him had, my color had returned slowly.


    Where I had once sought out Rhiannon to accept me as her apprentice, to bring honor and glory to my father¡¯s name, new passion had begun to burn within me. We spent several too short years collecting knowledge about a bloodline of people that could turn their bones to steel.


    Something cool and wet touched my face and brought me out of my reminiscing. The attempt to remember my color back had not succeeded. I was just as empty and weak as I had been a moment ago.


    I opened my eyes. Black mist fell all around me in the blue darkness. A figure, so obscured it was hardly a silhouette, stood in the distance.


    ¡°Face me, Cai!¡± I screamed. There was no part of me that wondered who was behind my imprisonment.


    It has to be that bandage wrapped freak. There is no one else this skilled with glamor.


    A sound, so inherently wrong that it made my skin crawl, came from behind me. It was low, harsh, and almost sounded like a laugh. Only almost because there was nothing in it, no lightness or joy. It was a sound of absence, void, and everything else a laugh shouldn¡¯t be.


    Deep down in the place inside me my aura should have been, I shivered from the cold that had taken root there.


    The hair on the back of my neck stood on end.


    Something was behind me.


    I could not move.


    In my peripheral, the white bones of a fleshless hand slowly crept into my sight.


    ¡°I have been watching you, child.¡± A voice, like broken hope and dying dream, breathed down my neck.


    No. I thought, unable to speak the pitiful word.


    The hand closed on my shoulder. I whipped my head around and screamed.


    Nothing was there.


    My scream died down. As the black mist continued to fall all around me, I took several heavy breaths and turned back around.


    The something that had been behind me loomed in front of my face. Hollow eye sockets, skeletal teeth, a presence that threatened to swallow my life. It would swallow me, silently, and I would slip below its surface without anyone releasing that I was drowning.


    The lich! The lich has come for me!


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    My body snatched back and I kicked myself away from the lich as fast as I could.


    ¡°Leave me alone!¡± I screamed.


    The lich rushed forward with another broken cackle. ¡°I have been watching you, child.¡±


    Anna. Where was Anna? The lich would take me and she would never know what had happened to me. My mother, Ms. Lao. . . Arthur.


    A memory flashed in the front of my mind. Arthur¡¯s eyes wide and white, the musky iron taste of his blood in my mouth, the feeling of him growing weak as I kicked out from under him. . .


    ¡°What did I do, what did I do, what did I do!¡± I cried, pressing my fists into the sides of my head. The stone hanging from the golden choker locked around my neck was covered in Arthur''s blood. The collar of the red dress I was wearing was dark with the same.


    The lich dissipated suddenly and the black mist ceased to fall.


    In its place, taking slow and careful steps towards me, was Sam.


    ¡°What is your name?¡± He asked, looking like he would pounce if I did not provide the answer he seeked.


    ¡°Autumn Aubrey.¡± I whispered, my voice quavering between a sob and a scream.


    It had happened again. I had lost myself in the memories of another. Suri, the same sorceress I had come back as on the night of the parade that marked the beginning of Erosette, had come out again. The unpleasant feelings at the mere mention of Patience¡¯s name and the confused conflict I had been thrown into at the sight of him made sense. Already, moments after I had come back to myself in full, the memory of being her was already beginning to blur.


    ¡°Who is Autumn Aubrey?¡± Sam asked his second question.


    "An underwitch of Zenithcidel. Daughter of Idensyn Aubrey. Thief and possessor of The Well. Debtor to The Circle of the Nine Mothers." I answered in a ragged sigh.


    Arthur. I have to help Arthur.


    "Who was Autumn Aubrey?" Sam spoke his final question, his tail swishing weakly behind.


    "Suri. A former lover of Patience and one of The Mother in Red¡¯s apprentices." I answered simply. That had been the truth, her mind would just not allow her to accept it. Patience had left her for. . .Rhiannon. . .and she had not been able to cope with the betrayal.


    Sam relaxed and asked a question that I did not expect. ¡°Are you well, my lady?¡±


    ¡°No. I hurt Arthur. Release me.¡± I whispered, a painful knot twisting my guts into agony.


    ¡°As you will it,¡± Sam agreed. ¡°Laxo.¡±


    Thunder filled my ears and I watched the blue darkness recede from where I sat on the ground. The bridge, the city, the night sky, all of it came rolling back in place of my familiar¡¯s domain.


    Without having to turn around, I learned of Arthur¡¯s fate.


    ¡°What the fuck was that,¡± I heard the tall man shout. ¡°That was badass, Sam! How did you do that?¡±


    ¡°The tall one does not seem injured to me.¡± My familiar said, coming and sitting next to where I had fallen on my side.


    ¡°Is it over? Is little Aubrey herself again?¡± Another voice said. It was Bool. I doubted I would ever forget his voice as long as my mind remained my own.


    That¡¯s alright, little Aubrey. Whatever you need to do. We all get sick sometimes. That was what he had told me after I had vomited all over him.


    Tears flowed from my eyes and dropped to the cobblestones beneath me with a blood red tint. I could not face them. Whether I had been myself or not, the blurry memories of my assault against the guards and my attempted murder of Arthur were very real.


    ¡°Yes, mortal.¡± Sam answered Bool¡¯s question.


    ¡°Sam,¡± I whispered, noticing just how large my familiar had become. ¡°Why do you keep getting bigger?¡±


    It was so much easier to focus on that small truth than it was to consider the aftermath of what I had just done.


    ¡°Because your need of me only grows larger. The tall one approaches.¡± He answered me simply, as if that answer was the most obvious thing in the world.


    ¡°Hey,¡± Arthur said softly, placing his hand on my shoulder. ¡°You okay?¡±


    Another set of footsteps sounded on the cobblestones behind me. ¡°Ugi, we need to get her back home before someone sees. There is no use in making trouble.¡±


    ¡°Her hand is broken. You will be careful with her.¡± Sam warned, his tailing giving another violent swish.


    ¡°Shhh. I¡¯m talking to her,¡± Arthur said, giving me a gentle shake. ¡°Hey, you ready to go back? We¡¯ve had a long night. I¡¯ll carry you. Your legs are too short to keep up with me anyway.¡±


    I pushed myself up and held my throbbing hand to my chest. Slowly, still terrified that I was imagining Arthur and he was actually dead on the cobblestones behind me, I turned myself around to look at him.


    Arthur wore his usual smile despite the blood drying on his chest and shirt. The place I had tore his throat open had closed. All that was left as a marker was the small white scars where my teeth had punctured his skin.


    ¡°How can you possibly be smiling right now,¡± I asked, the words tasting sour in my mouth. ¡°I almost killed you.¡±


    Arthur shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s not how I see it. Whoever you thought you were tried to kill me, not you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, little Aubrey, but we must return to the manor. You¡¯re not safe out here.¡± Bool said apologetically.


    ¡°Safe? Why in the fuck are you worried about my safety? I wasn¡¯t worried about yours,¡± I snapped, standing up and wincing at the pain in my hand. ¡°Why are none of you mad at me?¡±


    Arthur picked me up like I weighed no more than a feather and started walking back towards the manor. ¡°I already told you. That wasn¡¯t you. We know that. Right, Bool?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Ugi.¡± Bool grunted.


    ¡°Put me down!¡± I yelled, struggling to free myself from Arthur¡¯s grasp.


    ¡°No.¡± The tall man said simply, still swearing a smile on his face.


    I hit him again. When there was no reaction to my strike, I gave up my struggle and let him carry me.


    None of it made sense to me, the almost casual way the guards were treating my almost escape or the good humor my attempt on Arthur¡¯s life had left him in. It was like none of them understood that I was a danger. I was a danger to everyone. Even though the memories of what had happened were becoming harder and harder for me to hold onto, I still had clear visions of the guards barely doing anything to stop me. How were they going to protect Erosette from me if they were not willing to use their weapons?


    And Arthur. . .


    How it had felt to rip my teeth into his flesh, the taste of his blood, the shock I had seen come into his eyes, all of it would fade with time. I could hardly recall when I had come back thinking I was a sorceress named Willa or the first time that I had been Suri. It all would blur and feel like nothing more than a particularly memorable dream.


    The scar my teeth had left in his throat would not.


    I had marked him the way the scars from my first punishment marked me.


    No matter where his life led him, he would have a constant reminder of the time that a silly little girl who had lost her mind tried to kill him.


    Sometime later, Arthur put me down on the stone floor of the manor and Bool pulled out a chair for me to sit.


    ¡°Now, I can¡¯t heal you like Lady Aubrey could, but I know a thing or two about treating field wounds. Ugi, go find some of those bandages she has been wearing and bring me a wooden spoon.¡±


    Sam and I silently watched the man wrap the spoon Arthur had brought back to my hand in a way that kept me from bending my wrist or fingers. It was bulky and uncomfortable, but I knew better than to try and pull it off. There was nothing I could do for it after all.


    Later, after I had spent the better part of an hour washing Arthur¡¯s blood off of me and changing into my night clothes, an ugly truth found its way to my mind.


    I was hurt, I had hurt others, and the person that always found a way to make me feel better was gone.


    I would be sleeping alone for the first time since I could remember.


    Sleeping on her side of the bed was a small comfort, her pillow smelled faintly of her hair, but it was nothing compared to the real thing.


    What would she have done if she had been here? Arthur had tried his best to talk me back into myself and I had nearly killed him for it. Would I have hurt Anna?


    No. The answer came to me with speed and force.


    She would have been able to bring me back to myself. I did not know how or why, but she had something that allowed her to speak directly to my soul. None of them had felt as strong as Suri did, but she had pieced me back together when I had thought the memories of multiple sorceresses were mine. Violent or not, she would have fixed me.


    Every time my thoughts of her almost relaxed me enough to fall asleep, my hand would throb. When the pain in my hand would recede, I would remember one of my attacks on the guards. Thinking of the attacks would lead me to thinking of Arthur¡¯s blood spilling into my mouth. Then, I would stare up at the dark canopy of my bed until the cycle started over. Sometime in that cycle, it could have been ten minutes just as easily as it could have been an hour, I drifted off.


    Wild flowers lay all around me. A gentle breeze brought the scent of sun warmed grass and sea salt to my nose. A white boned hand reached out a billowing black sleeve and wrapped its fingers around my throat.


    I screamed and shot up in my bed.


    The door to my room swung open and a silhouette stood in my doorway.


    The lich. I thought, my small aura lighting inside of me.


    ¡°Autumn?¡± The silhouette spoke.


    Arthur.


    ¡°Sorry I think I was having a bad dream,¡± I sighed, wondering how he had heard my scream and ran upstairs before I could realize I was awake. ¡°Were you already out there?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± He raised his arm up and rubbed the back of his neck. I could not see his face, but I could tell by his tone he was smiling. ¡°I just thought since I was the only one here and you¡¯ve had such a long night that I should be close.¡±


    ¡°Oh, thank you. That isn¡¯t weird.¡± I said, not understanding how he did not understand that I was not worth the effort he was putting forward.


    His shape leaned against the door frame. ¡°Your dream, was it that thing that Sam showed you in the blue place?¡±


    How had he seen that?


    ¡°Yes.¡± I answered him.


    ¡°That thing is what sent the hand monsters. It¡¯s what Anna saw in your bathroom back at the boarding house.¡± He said.


    ¡°Yes. It is a lich.¡± I said.


    Arthur laughed. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry about it too much. As long as I¡¯m around, I won¡¯t let it hurt you.¡±


    Everything the last several hours of my life had brought came crashing down on me at once. I cried properly and Arthur took up the place on my floor behind my closed door. He promised to keep watch so I would feel safe enough to sleep and I did not tell him no.


    The tall man must have thought that I was crying out of fear.


    After it all, he was willing to spend his time sitting on the floor of a dark room just so I could have a chance at restful sleep.


    His efforts were not in vain. When the tears stopped and I wiped my face, I had become well and truly tired again. Just before sleep took me for the third time that night, I heard him speak.


    ¡°Goodnight, Autumn.¡±

 V2: Chapter Fifty Three: Katarina

    When I woke, it was not gentle.


    I did not slowly open my eyes and welcome the new day. My mind was not clear and well rested. My body did not feel refreshed or recuperated.


    When I woke, three pains met me before I could so much as yawn.


    My hand, throbbing under my back where I had rolled over on it. My head, aching behind my eyes like nails had been driven through them. My face, stinging like it had just been struck.


    A fourth feeling that was not pain, but discomfort, weighed down on my chest.


    Thump.


    Light flashed behind my eyelids, red and bright.


    Did something just hit me? No. It had been the foggy remnant of a dream. That was all.


    Thump.


    ¡°Arthur?¡± I called out, grimacing at the second red flash.


    Thump.


    ¡°No.¡± A voice said, it¡¯s pitch so low I could feel it rumbling in my chest.


    Sam. I realized, forcing my eyes open and blinking against the sudden light.


    His deep blue eyes locked in a furious feline scowl, Sam raised his hand sized paw and slapped it against my forehead.


    Thump.


    ¡°Why are you,¡± I groaned. I threw my hands up to shield my face and the wooden spoon bandage to my right collided with my forehead. ¡°Fuck. Why are you hitting me?¡±


    ¡°You have slept enough.¡± Sam growled.


    Sudden stabs of pain pricked through my night shirt as my familiar stuck the skin underneath my chest with his no longer little claws.


    ¡°Alright, Alright! Is there not a nicer way to do this?¡± I shouted, pushing Sam off me and shimmying myself up until my back rested against the headboard.


    Being smacked by his paw was far less cute than it used to be when I could fit him in one hand. Looking at the massive cat, I doubted I could pick him up comfortably anymore. Sharp fangs stuck out of his mouth and the variation of light and dark blues on his coat seemed more dynamic than the last time there had been fur.


    ¡°You will go to The Well now and resume your investigation into The Mothers. Katarina will be next.¡± Sam commanded me.


    ¡°Slow down,¡± I rubbed the sleep from my eyes with my unbroken hand. ¡°What happened to you avoiding me while I recovered?¡±


    ¡°You have made much progress since then.¡± Sam said simply, somehow managing to gracefully leap to the floor despite his large size.


    I slide my legs off the side of the bed and let my feet touch the stone below. ¡°I expected you to be all mad and yowling about last night. Why aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°You told me that you would not have need of me until my change was complete. You did, which provides two possible realities. You were dishonest with me or it happened without your consent as it has before.¡± Sam said without facing me. Anna¡¯s big notebook lay open next to where he stood, flipped open to the list of The Mother¡¯s names she had written the night before she left.


    ¡°And you trust me to not lie to you.¡± I said, a recognition of the implication of his words.


    ¡°For now.¡± Sam growled.


    The impulse to go grab my cat and treat him like nothing more than a pet that had just made me very happy almost won, but I kept it at bay. Sam was my familiar, he was bound to me by forces that neither of us understood. Though I spent much of my time wanting to strangle him, I would not punish him for treating me fairly, no matter how bad I wanted to tell him what a good little kitty he was.


    ¡°Come.¡± My familiar said, leaving my room.


    Despite the fact that I was his master, I obeyed his command. All that staying in bed would bring me was loneliness and pain. The well wouldn¡¯t heal my hand, but I would be able to forget it for a while at least.


    I thought about Anna all the way down the stairs and out the back door of the manor. How did The Mother in Blue¡¯s domain compare to Erosette? Had the sorceresses down there been able to heal Ms. Lao? Did she miss me the way I missed her? I hoped she had as much to tell me as I did her. Maybe when she got back, we could finally go on our date. I had a much better idea of what that should look like after going to the city with Arthur.


    I stepped out into the afternoon sun and saw him moving through some series of strikes with his wooden sword. Like he had been waiting for me, he immediately sunk the tip of his sword straight down into the ground.


    ¡°Finally, I thought you were going to sleep the whole day. How is your hand?¡± The tall man said, reaching me with several long strides.


    ¡°It hurts, but I¡¯ve felt much worse before,¡± I held up the sleep wadded mess of bandages and spoon for him to see. My eyes went to the dotted white scars that lay over one of the big veins of his neck. ¡°How is your throat?¡±


    ¡°Better than this. It''s blown up like a balloon.¡± Arthur said with a troubled look on his face.


    No matter how hard I tried to ignore them, I could not keep my eyes from the scars I had left on his skin. I knew that it had been Suri who had made me bite him, but I could not stop the regret that stained my heart like spilled ink.


    ¡°If it makes you feel better, I asked Opa to let it scar,¡± He said, handing me my hand back. He raised his shirt and pointed to the place on his stomach a massive black nail had once pierced through. ¡°I don¡¯t even have scars from that. So don¡¯t feel bad. I wanted it.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I asked, confused as to why he would want a reminder of what I had done to him.


    ¡°Because I¡¯m gonna be your knight one day. You''re gonna finish all this Well bullshit. I¡¯m gonna join The Enclave when I¡¯m strong enough and we will go on all kinds of quests together. It¡¯ll be badass. If anybody ever gives you trouble I can point to this and scare the shit out of them,¡± He scowled and dropped the pitch of his voice, acting out some imagined encounter. ¡°She did this to me and I¡¯m her knight. She won¡¯t be nearly as kind to you, villan!¡±


    The light in his eyes and the excitement in his voice made me break into a disbelieving laugh. Not very many hours before, the man¡¯s throat had been torn out and he seemed better for it somehow. He reminded me of the boy whose mother¡¯s familiar had been the talking snake of flame. I had stumbled upon them the first night I had gone down to the city. The passion and seriousness with which he had been telling a group of other children about some spider monster carried the same energy Arthur had.


    ¡°Is that so?¡± I asked the tall man, unable to do anything but smile and laugh.


    ¡°On my name,¡± He nodded vigorously. ¡°Bool sent word to your mom by the way. About your hand.¡±


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    ¡°Did he-¡± I started.


    ¡°No. I asked him not to. You should be the one to decide if you want to tell her about last night. None of the guards are gonna say anything, I made them swear they wouldn¡¯t.¡± Arthur cut me off, seemingly knowing what I wanted to know without me having to ask.


    Without a word, I threw my arms around his middle and hugged him.


    Between The Mothers place as the lords of my life and the thing at the bottom of The Well deciding when I got to be myself, the amount of decisions I was actually allowed to make were few and far between.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said into his shirt, too happy to let the pain in my hand stop me.


    ¡°Uhm, you''re welcome?¡± Arthur chuckled, patting me on the back gently.


    I doubted he understood it, but he had just give me something that I had very little of in my life.


    Power.


    I would tell my mother. After learning most of the truth about what had happened at the boarding house, I trusted that she would not tell The Mothers. Being able to choose to do so made it feel so much better than if she would have found out from the guards.


    Arthur stepped back from me. ¡°Bool said that if he didn¡¯t hear from your mom by tomorrow that he was going to ask the captain if his wife could come and heal your hand for you.¡±


    ¡°The captain is married to a sorceress?¡± I asked, thinking of the test he had subjected me to.


    ¡°Yeah, she is pretty powerful from what he says. He¡¯s who told me about being a knight and all. That¡¯s how he met her,¡± Arthur pointed to my right. ¡°I think he is waiting on you.¡±


    I looked over and found Sam pacing back and forth at the mouth of the path to the well house.


    Why is he in such a hurry? I wondered. First he hits me and now this.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really think we should play points until your hand is all fixed, but I¡¯m cooking you dinner tonight so I hope you''re hungry. I¡¯ll start when you are all done back there.¡± Arthur said, taking his leave and retaking his sword from the ground.


    I moved towards Sam and followed him all the way through the pink marble door and it closed behind me as soon as I was fully inside. I undressed but left the spoon bandaged to my hand. Letting it float freely without me being conscious seemed like it would be a painful mistake. My descent into the warm water was much less smooth than it normally was. Before I tipped my weight back, I asked Sam a question that I hoped he could answer.


    ¡°Why do you think that the two times I¡¯ve been in Suri¡¯s memories, I¡¯ve come back thinking I was her?¡±


    Sam was silent for a moment. Then, he answered. ¡°By your actions while you thought you were her. She seems to be impulsive, emotional, and violent.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± I nodded, for once not finding myself disagreeing with my familiar.


    ¡°Perhaps the closer you are in personality to the memory maker, the more likely it is for you to lose yourself.¡± Sam said, taking his spot on the stone bench.


    That makes a strange kind of sense. I thought, holding my broken hand to my chest as I leaned back and felt myself rise to the surface of the water.


    Katarina. Katarina. Katarina.


    ¡°Wait,¡± I said suddenly. ¡°Did you just call me impulsive, emotional, and violent?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Sam said simply.


    I should reach up and drag him down here. I thought. Finding the pleasure I felt at the idea enough to not need to actually do it, I let him stay on his bench and returned to my work.


    Katarina. Katarina. Katarina


    Katarina. Katarina.


    Katarina. . .


    Somewhere in the uncounted repetitions, I drifted off and felt myself slip downward into The Well.


    The gaze I shared with Jaka was so all encompassing that I did not notice Cleara had returned to my chambers until she wiped the sweat from my brow with a soft cloth.


    ¡°You have visitors, my lady. The Mother in Red and her lady. Shall I send them in or would you like me to serve them tea first?¡± my midwife asked, speaking gently with a pleasant expression.


    Jaka turned his ocean blue eyes up to look at Cleara.


    ¡°Not six hours old and already curious about all that is around him,¡± I brushed the thin white hair my third son had been born with gently with my thumb. ¡°Are Alexei and Mir well? I¡¯m sure they are eager to meet their brother.¡±


    ¡°Slate has taken them to the square to see the celebration. All of Hymneth shares in their Mother¡¯s new joy.¡± Cleara said, smoothing out the blankets of my bed and fluffing each pillow behind my back.


    ¡°I hope that Mir is enjoying himself. Alexei is too rough with him.¡± I sighed, looking towards the wall of arched windows that looked down over my city.


    Cleara¡¯s pleasant expression soured. ¡°Do not trouble yourself, my lady. Put your trust in Slate, he will look after them.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you are right. Though, when you become a mother, you will understand my worry.¡± I told my midwife, knowing it to be true.


    Just before Cleara left, she reminded me of why she had come to my chambers to begin with. ¡°Shall I let them in? If you wish for more time, I will serve them tea.¡±


    Before I could answer, The Mother in Red passed through the open door with her rose colored eyes in full bloom.


    ¡°Is that what you do when you do not wish to see someone? You serve them tea and leave them waiting?¡± Rhiannon asked softly, her eyes on the bundle I held in my arms.


    All it took was a glance and Cleara understood my meaning, closing the door and leaving me alone with my visitor.


    Appearing as she always did, like something a great sculptor would carve out of marble, The Mother in Red came to my bedside and peered over to see my newborn son.


    ¡°Look, Jaka. This is one of my sisters. You will come to know her well¡± I said, turning him gently so he could see.


    ¡°Oh,¡± She said with her eyes beginning to fill with tears. ¡°He looks just like you, Kat. May I?¡±


    I smiled, my heart full at the joy on her face, and passed him to her. After knowing her for as long as I had, I trusted Rhiannon with almost everything.


    ¡°Hello, little Jaka. When you get older you can come and stay with me in Erosette where it¡¯s warm and sunny,¡± She pointed her finger down at him. His deep blue eyes focused on it before he raised his little hand and grabbed it. ¡°Oh my, So strong already.¡±


    ¡°Can you see the brightness in his eyes? Does it not seem like he is understanding what is happening around him?¡± I asked, eager to hear her answer. He was mine, I was inclined to believe he was the brightest boy that had ever been born regardless of the truth.


    She nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t sound so surprised, he is your child after all. What are you planning for him to supplant?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I feigned ignorance and pretended to be too tired to hold myself up any longer.


    ¡°His name, Jaka, it means supplanter.¡± Rhiannon said, her rose colored eyes watching me carefully.


    ¡°Is that so? It came to me just after he arrived,¡± I forced myself to yawn and made my eyelids hang heavy like I was nearing sleep. ¡°Your lady did not wish to see him?¡±


    My sisters full lips pressed into a tight frown. ¡°Do not take offense. Not a week ago she found that her husband¡¯s grandmother was a sorceress by the name of Phera. They were trying for a child. I had hoped that bringing her here would show her there are more ways than one to find that kind of love in your life, but she refused.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that truly is a shame.¡± I sighed, grateful that the conversation had changed.


    ¡°His father? We have not seen each other much since the last gathering of the circle.¡± Rhiannon said, her eyes back on Jaka.


    ¡°The same as Alexei and Mir. You must see them both before you go, you know how much they love you.¡± I yawned again.


    Rhiannon was asking entirely too many questions for my comfort.


    ¡°Hmm. I thought I remember you saying he passed,¡± She said, bringing a hand down to her navel. The rose light of her aura shone through her thick coat and a moment later she brought her working up for my son to see. ¡°Here, a piece of me for you.¡±


    She held the small heart she had made for him in front of his face.


    Jake shakily raised his arms up towards the pretty little thing.


    So faint that I would have missed it if I had blinked, a a tiny wisp of blue light slipped from his palm and pierced the heart.


    ¡°Did he just?¡± Rhiannon asked, her jaw dropped.


    I covered my mouth with my hands in disbelief. ¡°He did!¡±


    Jaka had used his aura.


    A sad smile spread across my sister''s face. ¡°It reminds me of-¡±


    ¡°Stop it,¡± I shouted, any attempt at feigning tiredness gone in an instant. ¡°Do not dare to say his name, not now, not today. Today is a joyous day.¡±


    My sudden shout scared Jaka and he cried for the first time.


    I reached for him, but before Rhiannon could pass him to me, I felt myself grow weak and fall.


    My vision went black.


    The startled cries of my son filled my ears as everything fell away.


    When I came back to myself and opened my eyes, I knew I was being watched.


    The small hairs on the parts of my body that were not submerged in warm water were standing on end.


    I looked to my right.


    Anna Lao smiled down at me from her place on the bench.


    If I had sat up any faster I would have thrown myself out of the pool.


    ¡°What is your name?¡± Sam¡¯s low voice came. It reminded me that I could not throw myself at the dark haired girl.


    Not yet, at least.

 V2: Chapter Fifty Four: Date and Time

    ¡°I was gone for one night, how was there enough time for all that to happen?¡± Anna said after I finished telling her about every single thing that had happened since she left.


    ¡°It felt like ten years.¡± I shrugged, closing the pink marble door to the well house. I crossed to her right side and held her hand as we walked towards the manor. After I answered Sam¡¯s questions, I had not been able to keep myself from her. Any moment we were not touching felt like a shameful waste of time.


    Anna laughed as we walked. ¡°You go on a date with my brother, punch someone who doesn¡¯t know you, lose yourself in a memory, beat the shit out of the guards, break your hand, and almost kill Arthur.¡±


    ¡°Why is that funny?¡± I asked her, feeling my face beginning to burn from embarrassment.


    ¡°I¡¯m just glad I came back. You would have overthrown The Mothers or cut your arms off if I was gone another night.¡± She chuckled.


    ¡°It was not a date.¡± I muttered, my mind choosing to focus on that specifically.


    She raised an eyebrow at me. ¡°Kind of seems like it was. He took you to dinner, took you to a bar, you bit him. That¡¯s practically the definition of a date.¡±


    I nudged her with my shoulder, knowing she was teasing me. The small impact made me move my right hand and I winced with pain.


    ¡°I thought you said it didn¡¯t hurt?¡± Anna asked, holding the back door of the manor open for me.


    I held my hand to my chest and answered honestly. ¡°It didn¡¯t when you asked me.¡±


    ¡°I can wrap it better than it was with the spoon, but if we don¡¯t hear back from your mom by tomorrow, I¡¯m going to find you a doctor.¡± Anna sighed, walking much too quickly down the hall. All the lights were off in the kitchen and she disappeared into the darkness just as I passed Arthur¡¯s door.


    A small flame flickered to life, lighting the dark room dimly.


    A candle?


    Anna lit another, and then the rest that had been placed in the middle of the big table in the kitchen.


    ¡°What is this?¡± I asked, taking in the low light and the wavering shadows they cast.


    ¡°Well,¡± Anna smiled, reaching into a large basket that sat on the table top. ¡°Arthur''s on his way to see my mom. Your mom is still gone. I thought we would have dinner together. It should still be warm, come sit."


    I did as I was told and watched her empty the basket. Two bottles of dark wine, a long loaf of still warm bread, and a deep walled ceramic dish that was filled to the top with still steaming soup.


    ¡°Where did you get all this?¡± I asked, taking in the inviting scents and feeling my stomach groan. The last thing I had eaten had been the strawberry sweet I had shared with Arthur the night before.


    ¡°Hymneth. I bought it all right before I came back. There is this cute little family that makes the soup everyday. When I told them where I was going, they threw in the pot and the bread for free.¡± Anna answered.


    I furrowed my brow and held my throbbing hand against my chest with my other arm. ¡°That does not make sense. How is it still warm if you brought it all the way from The Mother in Blue¡¯s domain?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve only been back for an hour or so, and most of that was spent watching you,¡± Anna left the kitchen mid sentence. When she came back, she brought rolls of white bandages with her. Gently, as she always was with me, she wrapped my fingers together as she spoke. ¡°I used one of those black portal things. There is a whole room of them at the bottom of the luminar.¡±


    ¡°What was it like? Is it warm all the time like it is here?¡± I asked, finding a feeling of comfort in the small pain of her treating my wound.


    She shook her head. ¡°Not at all. The family that I bought the soup from says that it snows every day of the year. It¡¯s like a little winter village except it¡¯s huge. Your mom said it''s twice the size of Erosette. Everything is made out of wood too, the buildings and bridges and all. It¡¯s cozy, the whole place. Except Solacia. It¡¯s this big tall tower that The Mother in Blue lives in, kind of looms over the whole city.¡±


    I thought about The Mother in Blue. There was nothing about Nami that made me think of snow or a looming tower, but Katarina had spoken of Hymneth like it was hers. Like the girl with the big straw hat that had been with Mother Glimmer or when Katarina had asked The Mother in Red about her lady, there was something there that I did not understand. Who was who? Who was The Mother in Blue, truly?


    ¡°What are you thinking about so hard?¡± Anna asked, looking up at me from where she had knelt between my legs.


    Static, that was the most fitting word I could find to describe the unseen force that drew me towards her. Even though she had been gone for less than three days, my longing for her felt like it had been a year. I wanted nothing more than to slide down out of my chair and wrap my legs around her.


    ¡°Autumn?¡± She said, taking one long loop of bandage and wrapping it under my right arm. She stood and tied the loop around my neck, just below Mother Azza¡¯s choker.


    I let the weight of my arm hand against the loop and let out a small sigh of relief when it was supported.


    ¡°The Mothers, I have a lot to add to your notes. I remember some of it, but Sam-¡± I started, ignoring the static.


    Anna cut me off with a look of warning in her eyes. ¡°Dinner first, then I need a bath. After that you can catch me up. You are with me right now, not them."


    I smiled and nodded in agreement, finding comfort in her words.


    We split everything she had brought from Hymneth down the middle, including the wine. Both of us were so hungry that there was little talking during the meal. The wine was sweet and tart. The bread was as good as bread always was. I did not care for the soup much, it left a strange sour taste in my mouth. Still, I would not have traded it for anything because Anna had brought it for me. I could have hated every spoonful of it and I would have left the bowl dry and clean.


    By the time Anna went to take her bath, my face was warm and the pain in my hand had been dulled by the wine. I could not remember a recent time that I felt better than I did then. I sat on the edge of my bed and waited, knowing that there was nothing I wanted to do without her. Sometime later, she came into my room wearing the black night gown I had seen her wear many times before. She moved a large pack away from the front of the arm chair in the corner and sat down with her big notebook.


    ¡°Alright, what did I miss?¡±


    I went and lowered myself to my knees in front of her.


    ¡°Glimmer. . .¡±


    I said, but my words trailed off. Anna¡¯s lips were red and slightly chapped. I couldn¡¯t take my eyes off of them.


    ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± She asked, the tone of her voice telling me that she knew exactly what the reason was.


    I felt the static once again, and gave myself over to it.


    I rose onto my knees and took her head in my hands. Her dark hair brushed against my swollen hand as she relaxed back into my hold. Our lips met and a hunger I had never felt before came over me. There was no static when her lips parted and she bit my bottom lip gently, only a burning heat that drove me to do the same.


    She made a small sound of pleasure when I slipped my hand from her head and down her shoulder.


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    Her skin was so soft, I couldn¡¯t help the nervous giggle that bubbled out of me.


    Her hand found its way to the small of my back and pulled me closer. My own small sound escaped me and our mouths separated long enough for us to laugh softly together. As if I had been made to do it, I brushed her hair aside and kissed her neck.


    The scent of her, like dew dampened flowers, only drew me in further.


    She leaned her head back and I felt her hips rise up and flex against me.


    Anything, I would do anything to make her do it again.


    Anna pushed herself up. Her hand brushed against one of the scars on my thigh and I shuddered. Our lips met again and by the movement of her mouth alone, she slowed the frantic pace that crept over me. She gave me one long kiss that felt final, like when someone said The End after the last line of a story.


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty good at that.¡± She sighed, her face flushed and her voice breathy. She let her head fall back to the chair behind her and closed her eyes. Her lips were blushed red, just the way mine felt, and they spread into a slow smile.


    ¡°Why have we stopped?¡± I asked, my eyes wandering down her neck line and over her collar bone. The thin black night gown covered her, but it could not hide the slight slope of her chest. I did not want the story to end. There was so much plot left to be told, so many mysteries left to be revealed, so much land left to be explored.


    ¡°Because we¡¯ve been drinking. That¡¯s not a bad thing, but I want to treat you the way I wish I would have been treated.¡± Anna said quietly, keeping her eyes closed.


    ¡°What if I wish to continue?¡± I asked, my heart beating wildly in my chest. I took her hand and brought it back to the scar, sliding her fingers under the tight band of my shorts.


    She looked at me. I could see her desire burning in her dark eyes like smoldering coals, but she would not give in to her want.


    ¡°Because as bad as I want to,¡± She said, the truth of her words evident with the feeling of her hand squeezing my thigh. She brushed over the rough flesh of the scar and it sent a shiver through my body. ¡°We should take it slow. It¡¯s better that way. Your first time should be special. Most people aren¡¯t lucky enough to have someone like me saying that.¡±


    I nudged myself closer to her, leaving very little room between us. ¡°But if we keep going right now, it won¡¯t be my first time anymore and you will have nothing to worry about. We could do this whenever we wanted.¡±


    ¡°You are a monster,¡± She laughed, her nose scrunching. She gently pushed me away. ¡°We don¡¯t need to rush, we just had our first real kiss like three weeks ago. Besides, I brought you something.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± I sighed, trying to let go of the heat that had built within me.


    ¡°I brought you a gift from Hymneth.¡± She said, reaching for her pack and sliding it across the stone floor.


    ¡°Oh?¡± I said, trying to ignore the frustration I felt growing within me.


    ¡°I saw it and thought you would think it is cool,¡± Anna said with a wink. She pulled out a small velvet sack and slackened the draw strings. From within the velvet, she pulled out the bird skull that Sam had given her and a ring with half a dozen small white stones and set them on the floor. Then, her hand still in the sack, she gave me a command. ¡°Close your eyes and hold your hand out.¡±


    I did as I was told.


    ¡°Not the broken one, dummy.¡± Anna laughed.


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± I nodded blindly, trading my right for my left.


    Something as cold as the water in my bath used to be when I came back from The Well stung my skin. I opened my eyes and saw a thin ring of silver wire hung around the base of my hand. Resting gently over the vein of my wrist was what looked to be an intricate shape made entirely of light blue ice.


    ¡°It¡¯s a snowflake. The shopkeeper said it would never melt and always stay cold. Do you like it?¡± Anna asked, the tone in her voice turning up nervously at the end of her words.


    I scowled up at her, and let an angry exhale out of my nose.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to keep it if you don¡¯t like it,¡± She muttered, looking away from me. ¡°It¡¯s not worth very much anyways.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I shook my head. ¡°I love it. I¡¯ve never seen anything so beautiful. That¡¯s why I¡¯m angry.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t underst-¡±


    I cut her off. ¡°I was supposed to get you sandals. I was supposed to get you a gift, not the other way around. You give me so much and all I do is take from you. . .¡±


    A piece of me for you. The words The Red Mother had said to the newborn son of Katarina echoed in my mind.


    ¡°Fuck it¡± I snapped, snatching the bird skull off the floor beside us and standing.


    I reached for my aura. The sad little sliver that had been all that I could find within myself for days had died. In its place, A blood red streak circled and bent violently inside of my soul, demanding to be freed. Without the need for thought, I brought it to the channel behind my navel and let it loose through the damaged seal. My night shirt billowed up from the sheer force of my power. Dark red light painted everything around me in my color.


    Anna stood, her eyes wide and focused on my navel.


    I brought the skull down and suspended it with my aura, like I had hung it before me with unseen wires.


    ¡°Autumn?¡± Anna whispered.


    ¡°Say my name. Say it again, please.¡± I begged her, my heart feeling so full that I thought it would burst in my chest.


    ¡°Autumn.¡± She did as I asked.


    ¡°A piece of me,¡± I said. Focusing my aura around the skull, I closed it in my palms despite the pain that made my broken hand shake in agony. The light that had painted the room was reduced to glowing red seams that shone through the cracks between my fingers. I walked behind her and placed my arms over her shoulders. ¡°For you.¡±


    My hands separated and I worked my aura back from the skull, shaping it into brilliant ribbons that I joined at the base of Anna''s neck.


    The moment they met, I could hold my power no longer. I released it in a shower of red dust and fell straight back. Through the pink canopy and onto the bed, I went. I tried to catch myself but only managed to send my hand into nauseating waves of pain when the bulk of my weight landed on it.


    ¡°Fucking metal balls!¡± I groaned, rolling onto my side and folding myself around my arm.


    The sound of my hand crunching against Bool¡¯s crotch rang in my mind as clearly as the moment it had happened.


    ¡°I¡¯ll kill him. I¡¯ll kill all of them!¡± I screamed between heavy breaths.


    My feet tangled in the blanket as I tried to roll onto my back. I threw myself into a wild flurry of kicks trying to free myself.


    ¡°Bastards!¡± I screamed again.


    Then, the loss washed over me.


    Unable to do anything but gasp for breath and seethe, Anna came to me.


    She climbed into the bed and fit herself to my side.


    ¡°Shhh,¡± She said softly, brushing my tangled hair back from my face. ¡°You''re in the afterglow. You just did something amazing with your aura and it¡¯s making you feel angry.¡±


    I kicked at the blanket again, needing something to hurt the way my hand hurt. I needed to break something the way my bones had been broken. Every part of me wanted to throw myself out of the bed and destroy everything in front of me.


    ¡°Shhh. You¡¯re okay. Look at what you made me. It¡¯s beautiful.¡± She said, still brushing her fingers through my hair. With her free hand, she raised up the bird skull for me to see.


    It was no longer white bone alone. Veins, the same blood red as my aura had been, snaked throughout it . A thin red ribbon looped through a similarly colored ring at the base of the skull wrapped around Anna¡¯s neck loosely.


    ¡°I did that?¡± I whispered, feeling my rage seeping out of me. I shaped a piece of my soul and hung it around her neck like a necklace.


    ¡°You¡¯re the only person that could have done it,¡± She raised it up and pressed it to her lips. ¡°I¡¯m never going to take it off. I love it.¡±


    The afterglow ended, but the loss had made me tired and weak. Before I could so much as think about what I was saying, words I had never said to anyone passed through my lips for the first time.


    ¡°I love you.¡±


    Silence.


    Anna blushed and bit her lip as a smile spread across her face.


    ¡°I love you too.¡± She whispered.


    We kissed, but it was not like it had been before. It was soft, sweet, and soothing in a way that left me feeling calm in the deepest parts of my soul.


    There were no words after. We lay there together in a blissful silence for what could have been forever.


    Eventually, Anna snapped the lights out and we fell soundly asleep in each other¡¯s arms. . .


    Light.


    Moonlight, luminous and green, found its way to my eyes.


    I rolled onto my side with a pained groan, heavy and slow with sleep.


    Dry leaves crunched under my weight as I moved. I was no longer in my bed. I was on the ground.


    ¡°Anna?¡± I called out, beginning to understand that something was very wrong.


    With a weak whimper slipping from my mouth, I pushed myself up and tried to blink the blur in my eyes away.


    The malachite moon hung pregnant in the sky above me. Its light broke through the twisted tops of the barren trees that surrounded me and cast wild shadows across the leaf covered ground. The air was cold and my thin clothes did nothing to shield me from it¡¯s bite.


    Am I dreaming?


    ¡°Anna?¡± I called out again, the first pricks of panic beginning to rise up in my chest.


    Somewhere in the darkness beyond the trees, a branch snapped.


    Every part of me froze in sudden, cold, fear.


    Dozens of sets of eyes, shining in the moonlight, stared at me from the darkness.


    Above them all, a final set appeared that emanated a haunting shade of green light.


    ¡°You wanted to run away from us,¡± A voice came, cold and rough. ¡°So-¡±


    Savage snarls and barks sounded from the darkness. Flashes of sharp teeth and gnashing maws appeared within the green glow.


    ¡°-Run.¡±

 V2: Chapter Fifty Five: Beast

    Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. The first thought I had been able to have ran through my mind.


    I threw my back against a tree that was just thick enough to conceal me.


    I stood just inside a patch of darkness that the green light of the moon had failed to infect.


    The snarls and high pitched whines of the beasts that hunted me echoed all around me in a chorus of violent sound. I stood just inside a patch of darkness that the green light of the moon had failed to infect.


    Help. I need help. My second thought came silently because I was too terrified to speak. They would hear me and my small moment would end the same way I would, with gnashing fangs and shredding flesh.


    My hand sent waves of blinding pain through me with every passing second. I could run no longer. If it swung loosely into my chest one more time, I would lose consciousness. I knew it the way I knew the golden choker was still locked around my neck.


    Run. They¡¯re coming. The third thought I had been able to have since I woke up ran back through my mind.


    I was not in The Well and the living terror I had woken up in was not a dream. The uncountable nicks and cuts on my feet and ankles were proof of those truths. The blood that leaked out of them was no one else¡¯s but mine.


    Cold sweat dripped from my brow and pattered against the leaves under my feet.


    Anna. The fourth and most important thought came to me again. All I could remember was falling asleep in her arms moments after we had said I love you to each other for the first time. Was she lost in the same dark woods that I was? The dogs, hounds, wolves, whatever they were, were they after her too?


    I could not call out for her, all that would bring me was a quick and violent death.


    The savage sounds of the beasts tapered off into sudden silence. I filled my lungs and held my breath, desperate to not make a sound. Quiet steps slowly padded over the leaves behind me. Quick bursts of sniffing came with it and I knew that the tree I leaned against was all that kept me from being found.


    Breathe. My chest burned from the lack of air. I couldn¡¯t keep my mouth closed, I was going to gasp and give myself away if I didn¡¯t do something.


    I bit into the inside of my cheek. The iron taste of blood filled my mouth but the pain let me hold my breath for another agonizing moment.


    The beast stepped into the green light of the moon on my left with its drooling maw bent to the ground. It was following a scent, my scent, but it did not notice me.


    It was the first time I had laid my eyes on one of the things that pursued me.


    Wolf? No, it couldn¡¯t be. I had met a familiar before that was mostly a wolf and the monster walking next to me with its muzzle to the ground looked nothing like it. Shaggy and black, it looked like a ragged shadow that had been brought to life by some dark power.


    My chest began to heave in protest of my breathlessness. As soon as I gave in to its burning demands, the beast would hear me.


    A very stupid idea found its way to my mind.


    I had no choice.


    As loud as I could, I opened my mouth and screamed.


    The beast broke into a startled sprint away from me at my sudden noise and I took off in the opposite direction.


    All around me the whines and snarls of the beast¡¯s packmates whipped up again and my small moment with my back pressed against the tree ended. The sound of my bare feet pounding against the cold ground and the pained whimpers that slipped from me with every stride were all I could hear at first.


    Within seconds, those that hunted me closed in.


    Flashes of wild eyes glinting in the eerie moonlight brought new pangs of panic every time I caught sight of them.


    ¡°Leave me alone!¡± I screamed, trying desperately to hold my hand against my chest.


    The beasts did not listen to my demand.


    A tangled mess of underbrush woven through a cluster of barren trees lay in the distance before me.


    Hide.


    I glanced back to see that one of the beasts broke out of the darkness and followed me at my heels.


    It lunged towards me the same moment I threw myself blindly into the underbrush.


    Its wicked maw snapped closed with so much force I felt the air coming off of it.


    The beast let out a pained whine at the same time that I screamed.


    The underbrush had not been bushes or other plants.


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    Thorny briars ripped through my night clothes and pierced my skin in every place they touched.


    Fear pushed me forward despite the pain.


    I turned in the twisted thorns and kicked myself further in until my back pressed against the trunk of the tree. The beasts circled me like vultures, lunging and tearing small amounts of vine away with every savage bite.


    ¡°Go away!¡± I screamed, too terrified to cry.


    Again, the beasts did not listen to my demands.


    Snap. Another long vine was torn away.


    Snap. They were getting closer


    Snap. I had to fucking move.


    I couldn¡¯t run.


    Any attempt to push my aura into my broken hand made my eyes swim. If I actually tried to channel it, I would lose consciousness. If I ever woke up again, it would be to a reality where I was being torn into pieces by those that hunted me.


    Above me, just low enough that I thought I could reach it if I jumped, a low hanging branch gave me a way out. I pushed myself up as one of the beasts tore away another vine.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± I screamed again, the thorns tearing through my shirt and dragging shallow cuts over my skin. I pulled them away from my bandages and everywhere else they hooked into me with my left hand. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end as the whines and growls from the beast''s rose into a maddening pitch.


    I jumped for the branch.


    The air in my lungs burst out of my mouth all at once when my left arm slammed down on top of the branch. The skin on the soles of my feet scraped against the rough bark as I clawed myself upwards.


    Snap.


    I shook my waist over the branch and looked down.


    One of the beasts sunk its teeth into the branch less than a finger tip from my hand. It hung from the tree with its shining eyes locked on me.


    ¡°I told you to leave me alone you stupid fucking dog!¡± I shouted, bringing my fist down on its nose.


    The beast did nothing but snarl and shake from side to side.


    When the branch let out a sharp cracking sound, I hit the dog again. It yelped and released its hold, dropping back down to where its packmates circled the base of the tree.


    Every part of me shook with exhaustion. Luckily, I had spent nearly every morning for the last several months climbing up to the top of the manor to enjoy some small amount of freedom. Even with a broken arm, I was a much better climber than those damned dogs could ever be.


    I wiped the sweat from my brow on the back of my bandaged hand. Wedging my foot in a crook where the trunk of the tree split into two, I pushed myself up and made myself that much safer. The wolves were just wolves. If they had truly been demons, a tree would have not offered me the protection that it did. All they could do was bark and whine as they looked up at me and tore at the briars.


    ¡°Anna!¡± I called out, searching the woods for any sign of her.


    There was no answer.


    ¡°Anna!¡± I screamed, sending the beasts into a chorus of hollow howls.


    Then, there was silence.


    Dark clouds crept over the sky and turned the eerie light of the moon into full dark. Not even the eyes of the beasts could be seen in the black.


    Glowing green eyes opened and cast their color on the woods. Towering over those who hunted me to such an extreme that it made them look like puppies, a black furred demon crept out of the darkness. Its pack mates all lowered their heads and cowered in its presence, none of them daring to so much as bark.


    ¡°She can not hear you. Save your breath, you will need it.¡± It growled as it walked to the base of the tree.


    ¡°What the fuck are you? Why is this happening to me?¡± I yelled down at it, cold tears of fear spilling out of my eyes and over my cheeks.


    ¡°I am a hunter-¡± The demon growled and snapped its jaws around the trunk of the tree once, twice, three times.


    I held on, nearly being shaken to the ground by the force of the bites.


    The demon ceased its ravaging and turned its glowing green eyes away from me. Just before it rejoined the darkness completely, it spoke again.


    ¡°-And you are here to be hunted.¡±


    The tree shifted underneath my feet. A sickening crack sounded from the trunk as dark green smoke began to roll out of the punctured wood. Another crack, the tree shifted again and my foot almost slipped out of the crook.


    Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I thought, coughing as the acrid smoke filled my nose.


    A tearing sound, loud and long, came from the tree and it began to fall.


    I hit the hard packed soil. It did not break my body like I thought it would. Instead, I broke through it and continued to fall.


    My aura sprung to life inside of me and faint shimmers of iridescent light leaked through my bandages.


    Before I could realize what was happening, my back slammed into something hard and the air was driven from my lungs.


    Gasp. . .Gasp. . .Gasp


    Branches, each thicker than my body, stretched all around me. All I could do was lay there as dirt and leaves rained down onto me. Green moonlight leaked through the hole in the ground above me that my body had made. Echoing from above, the sounds of the beasts lessened until I was left in silence.


    My breath came back to me. A broken, sad, sound slipped out of my mouth as I sat up and held my broken arm to my body. Every part of me hurt. I was cold, dirty, scared, and alone. There was nothing I could do but cry.


    I had fallen onto one of the thousands of vines that coiled around the massive branches. The air was stale and smelled of loose soil, but it felt like no matter how much I took in, it was never enough. All that lay below was a darkness that threatened to swallow me whole if I happened to slip and fall.


    Hide. Push yourself up against the trunk and hide among the vines. They are big enough to conceal you. I thought, unable to make myself move.


    If only I had been able to learn how to heal myself from my mother, I could have fixed my hand. That had not happened. I had not been able to learn anything because I had been too weak. Weak, just as I was then. A crying little girl that could do nothing to protect herself from the terror she had been thrown into.


    At least the beasts are still up there. I thought to myself, a futile attempt at giving myself some little comfort. There was no comfort for me. There was only the demon and its beasts.


    But, I couldn¡¯t just sit there and wait. I had to find Anna, I had to figure out where I was.


    Call for The Mothers. You did not choose for this to happen, they will not punish you for it.


    Before I could truly consider the thought, a low grinding sound filled the dim forest.


    The vine underneath me began to move.


    The small amount of moonlight shone against the dark green shape as it began to slither.


    That¡¯s not a vine. . .


    It was a serpent.


    The demon¡¯s words echoed in my mind.


    And you are here to be hunted.

 V2: Chapter Fifty Six: Serpent

    Sometime after I had been moved to the manor overlooking Erosette, in one of the countless memories I had lived through, I had seen a creature as large as the serpent only once before.


    Whoever¡¯s eyes I had been looking through, I could not remember their name, had not been scared of the sea beast. She had treated it with respect and reverence, even going as far as to heal a wound it had taken. Her partner had not felt the same. She had nearly drowned herself out of fright when she had seen what was swimming towards her.


    I found that I had much more in common with the memory maker''s partner.


    The sound of the serpent''s massive body slithering over the giant tree branches was enough to send cold waves of dread washing over me.


    Could something that big even feel my small weight landing on top of it? Would it even notice that a weak and injured thing had literally dropped from the sky and landed in its forest?


    If there had been anything I could have done to avoid learning the answers to those two questions, I would have.


    Climbing back up was not an option. Even if one of my hands wasn¡¯t broken, the next branch was twice my height and too thick for me to wrap my arms around. Dropping down from where I had landed was almost as impossible, but I could do it if I ceased caring about my bones being solid and unbroken.


    I had been taken from my bed sometime after Anna and I had fallen asleep. Whoever had taken me had kept asleep while I was moved to the place in the forest above the forest I was in. And, from the moment I had opened my eyes, I had been hunted by beasts with sharp teeth and gnashing maws.


    No part of me kneels where I was or what I should do.


    Every part of me was worried about Anna.


    Once the beasts no longer had me to chase, had they turned their glowing eyes to her? Had they turned their noses to the ground and sniffed out her dew dampened scent? When they found her, had she been able to evade them the way I had?


    She cannot hear you. The demon wolf¡¯s words echoed in my mind.


    She isn¡¯t here. It¡¯s only me. I thought, almost certain that was true.


    The part of me that was not certain, the same part that kept me up at night with thoughts of one of The Mothers ripping me away again, spoke to me.


    She is here. Laying somewhere on the ground. Cold and-


    I shook my head violently from side to side. No. I will not think that. I cannot think that.


    The demon knew about Anna. That was the only way it could have known that the girl I was calling out for could not hear me. She was not wherever I was. That was the only possible reason that she could not hear me.


    I reminded myself that I was not in a memory by reaching down and feeling the nicks and cuts along my ankles. I knew I was me. The pain was mine. The thing at the bottom of The Well had not pulled me into myself. If I was in a dream, it was the realest nightmare I had ever had, but I did not think that was it either. The nightmares that I had lived through before had never shared the cold, hard, reality that I found myself in.


    That left two explanations for my terrifying situation.


    The lich? No. Some part of me knew that was not true. There was no smell of sea salt or sun warmed grass. There was no black mist swirling around me or fields of wildflowers to be seen. None of the signs that had come with the dark entity were present.


    The second explanation was beginning to make all too much sense.


    The sound of tree limbs cracking and leaves rustling filled the forest and the branch underneath my aching feet began to vibrate.


    A dark shape rose into my sight, led by a forked tongue that was as long as I was tall. The tip of the branch below me bent and broke against the head of the rising black serpent.


    I knelt behind the part of its body that still shared the branch with me and held my breath.


    One massive eye appeared in front of me and the serpent stopped. Its eye was pale and cloudy, like milk had been spilled in it.


    It stared directly at me and I stared back at it from the hiding place that it had given me. Motionless except for the occasional flick of its forked tongue, I began to wonder why I was not being bitten and swallowed.


    Could something that big even see something as small as I was?


    For a length of time that could have been a minute just as easily as it could have been an hour, I looked into the serpent''s eye, too scared to move.


    Then, without warning, the wood under my feet began to vibrate as the serpent continued its ascension.


    I let my breath out all at once and struggled to slow my pounding heart.


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    Monster. I thought, thinking of all the times Anna had called me just that. If she truly thought that I was a monster, I had something to show her so she could understand the word better.


    Watching the serpent had petrified me. It could have eaten me and I would have been able to do nothing but watch. I had become so focused on it, I did not notice that a different snake had coiled itself up my right leg and around my waist until it squeezed.


    ¡°Hey,¡± I shouted, throwing my bandaged arm down onto the creature in my surprise. ¡°Fuck!¡±


    The pressure it put on my leg buckled my knee and I slipped from the branch with the snake still wrapped around me.


    I dug the fingers of my left hand into a patch of moss on the trunk of the tree.


    It ripped and tore as I went, not slowing me in the slightest.


    The snake hit the mossy top of a lower branch first.


    Then, I landed on the snake with a painful thud.


    I handled it better than the predator that was wrapped around me. I kicked and struggled against it with reckless abandon, like I had done in my afterglow not long before with the blanket on my bed. It raised its head somewhere around my feet as its coils tightened around my right leg. Its jaw opened and a long high hiss followed.


    ¡°Go away!¡± I screamed and slammed my heel into its nose.


    Its head whipped back.


    I kicked it again and pushed the coils around my leg off with my free hand.


    With one final kick, the snake went sailing off the mossy branch and vanished in the darkness below.


    My chest heaving, I slumped back to the moss and tried to catch my breath. If the snake would have wrapped itself around me one more time, I would have been powerless to keep myself from being eaten.


    The moment the back of my head touched the green blanket underneath me, the trunk of the tree behind me exploded.


    ¡°You must know better than this, girl. You must never rest when you are being hunted.¡± A voice that I recognized spoke.


    It was the same voice the demon wolf had spoken in.


    Debris and dust rained down all around me.


    I covered my face with my left arm and flattened myself against the mossy branch.


    A new monster hung above me.


    Its jaws had closed around the tree trunk and broken it. Its smooth scales that were as black as night shone green in the dim moonlight. It was not the same incomprehensible size that the serpent with the cloudy eyes had been, but it was still large enough to darken my face and petrify me.


    From where I lay, I could see the head of the new serpent that had nearly bitten me in half. The color of the moss was fading where it had struck, moving inwards towards it white fangs.


    A moment later, everything that had been green was transparent, hollow, empty.


    A memory of a memory, one of a single transparent leaf, drifted down into my mind.


    The yellow mother. She did that same thing to that tree. I thought, remembering the memory.


    The serpent unhinged its jaw and slid its arm length fangs from the wood, coiling back and hanging its diamond shaped head in front of me.


    Its eyes, glowing green so bright I could not look at them directly, were locked on my little shape.


    I had seen them before.


    They were the very same eyes that the demon wolf had possessed.


    Everything made sense all at once and a laugh that sounded more like a scream echoed out of me. I had been running for so long, I spoke without thinking about what my words would do to me.


    ¡°You¡¯re being controlled by a Mother! The Green Mother! This is my punishment, only she didn¡¯t have the common fucking decency to tell me that!¡± I shouted from my place on the clear mossed branch.


    The green glow of its eyes became all that I could see as it withdrew into the darkness that hung within the trees. Silently, waves of different shades of green began to alternate out from its slit shaped pupils.


    Smoke, that had rotted the tree away when the beasts had been at my heels, began to billow out of the punctures the serpent had bitten the trunk.


    There was only a single crack of the wood to warn me.


    The moment after I heard it, the branch broke away and I dropped down into the darkness beneath me.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± I screamed as I fell into a pit of perfect darkness.


    The only way I could tell I was moving was by the air whipping against my face. My aura pressed against the broken bones in my right hand, forcing my teeth to clinch from the pain.


    A faint iridescent glow shone through my bandages just bright enough for me to see that I was about to hit something.


    I broke through it like a cobweb stretching across an open door frame and continued to fall.


    My descent slowed.


    The light in my palm illuminated the ground I hung above. The moment I realized what I was looking at, I was thrown back upwards.


    More times than I could count, the same back and forth was repeated until I finally bounced to a stop.


    The wine, soup, and bread that Anna had brought me all the way from The Blue Mother¡¯s Domain went to waste. My stomach emptied itself and left me heaving as I tried to regain my bearings.


    Help. I need help.


    I went to roll onto my back, but I had to rip my arm away from the tacky surface I had landed on.


    The light in my palm gave me small glimpses of a forest choked in white. It was not snow or ash, but silk. Every tree, branch, and vine was wound as far as I could see with spider silk that looked like fog so thick it had clung to what it had settled over.


    I tried to lean up to find somewhere to hide or someplace I could run, but the ground held me to itself.


    I¡¯m not on the ground.


    All around me, I hung within an intricate web that had been woven out of the same silk that covered the bottom of the forest.


    I thought of the Demon wolf and how it made its pack mates look like lap dogs.


    I thought of the serpent that dwarfed the massive trees it slithered amongst.


    ¡°No, no, no, no.¡± I said to myself, trying desperately to shake my way free of the sticky silk.


    I was terrified of spiders, which was a truth I did not understand until that very moment. A life spent mostly in one small room and another that I had never seen any insects in had not given me many opportunities to discover that fear. Being caught in a web that did not give me hopeful feelings as to the size of the slide that made it, did.


    From above, eight glowing green eyes opened in slow succession.


    ¡°Mothers help me!¡± I screamed, shaking violently against the web that held me.


    The same voice as before, laughed.


    ¡°There is no need to shout, girl. I am already here.¡±

 V2: Chapter Fifty Seven: Spider

    No. . . Being hunted like I had was no punishment. It couldn''t be.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you,¡± I yelled, shaking myself against the tacky hold of the web. ¡°Let me go!


    The horror hanging in the darkness of the deep forest could not be a Mother. They had sealed my power and kept me imprisoned for all of my life that I could remember, but they were not literal monsters.


    ¡°Your believe is Irrelevant. The truth is all that matters. I will give you two of them, listen well. I am Gwyn Ar Temis. The Huntress. The Mother in Green. And, you have nowhere else to run.¡± The dark green spider said, lowering itself further into my sight. All eight of its eyes shone in the silken dark.


    Long black fangs that were as long as my arm came into view. Drops of liquid dripped down from the tips of them and pattered onto the web on either side of me.


    Help. . .I need help. I thought, trying and falling to rip myself free. No one can help me.


    Where the liquid touched, thin green tendrils of smoke spun up suddenly. The demon wolf had rotted the tree underneath my feet with its bite the same way the serpent had. All the spider had needed was small drops of its venom. My fall the first two times had been much longer and I had not been able to bring myself to my feet fast enough to run.


    The third time was different.


    ¡°Fuck you!¡± I shouted, turning my back to the spider and running as fast as my exhausted body could carry me.


    I did not make it far.


    The spiders skittering steps filled my ears and in the panic that it brought me, I tripped.


    I fell back onto the trunk of a fallen tree. One long leg at a time, the monster came creeping out of the darkness. It pinned it''s legs over my shoulders and raised itself until its eight eyes were even with my own.


    My nails dug into the rotting bark underneath them, desperately trying to find any small amount of space that I could press myself into.


    ¡°Do you know what happens now, girl? I¡¯m going to wrap you in my web, sink my fangs into you, and watch you rot.¡± The spider whispered, its long black fangs twitching a finger tip from my face.


    There was nothing I could do to make myself move, but a truth came clear to the front of my mind. I clung to it like I had the tree when the beasts had been at my heels.


    ¡°Mother Azza wanted to kill me, but she couldn¡¯t! If you are The Mother in Green, neither can you!¡± I screamed, covering my face and pressing myself back against the stone.


    The spider laughed. ¡°Do I look like Azza, girl? She is much nicer than I am.¡±


    Azza? Nice?


    A sound, like a mountain sized mirror cracking, broke through the deep forest. Far above me, the crashing roar of trees beginning to fall echoed down.


    At the breaking sound, the spider snapped still with its eyes turned up to the trees.


    "Fuck! Why now?¡± The spider spat, its voice full of sudden anger.


    Fingertips broke through the place in the middle of the spiders eyes, splitting its head in half. The black carapace brightened to the same shade of haunting green the moon above had infected the forest above with. Like they were parting a curtain, the hands tore open the hole they had made. The spider split and crumbled to glowing green dust at the feet of a woman.


    Her long black hair was tied back into a tight knot. A skin tight black body suit fit her form so tightly that I could see the ripples of muscle over her stomach and the tips of her breasts standing against it. It ended at her shoulders and thighs, revealing the luminous pale skin of her limbs.


    I met her eyes.


    A swathe of black had been painted from her brow to just below her nose, leaving only her mouth and jaw undarkened. Within the painted shadow, her upturned eyes glared at me with the same shade of green as the dust that mounded around our feet.


    She will kill you. I thought to myself. As soon as I our eyes met, I knew that I was being stared down by a predator. Lithe and lethal, every part of her looked like she had been made for violence. From the veins standing faintly blue against her forearms to the long canine teeth that gave the scowl she wore a carnivorous bend, The Mother in Green was terrifying in the most beautiful way.


    The breaking sound shook the deep forest again.


    "Silkshifter." She said under breath. Green light shone from her palms and flowed up her arms to her shoulders. It formed around her neck and burst into thousands of writhing strands. Like shredded green silk, a cloak of her power draped down over her and she covered her head with its hood.


    Goldluster. The memory of Azza''s memory sounded in my mind, bringing visions of a golden glove shaped out of The Mother in Brown''s will.


    ¡°Come, girl. I must reach him.¡± The Mother in Green said, wrapping her arm around my waist and throwing me over her shoulder.


    ¡°Hey! What are you doing?¡± I shouted, flailing against her grip uselessly.


    She did not answer my question and she did not release me. Her arm shaking from my weight, the silk cloak began to move. The uncountable strands writhed and stretched up the arm that held me, forming around each of her fingers and covering her pale skin.


    Then, with a rise of her green aura, it expanded to twice it''s size and The Mother in Green shook no more.


    Sharp talons extending from an arm made of dark green scales curled around me.


    The tightness pressed my broken arm against my chest and old pain became hot and new once again.


    How did she. . . What I had just witnessed was no glamor. The monstrous arm that had grown from her own was no illusion.


    With the sounds of the forest above us breaking, She dropped to the ground and held me in the air. Balancing on her free hand and the balls of her feet, the rest of the cloak writhed over the rest of her body. Her color brightened all around her and then she was gone. The illuminated cloak spun down from the shoulder that held me aloft and twisted down into a wide paw. Green fur, so dark it was almost black, grew over her and she took the shape of a feline terror.


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    The wolf, the serpent, the spider. She had not been controlling them, she had been them.


    A fallen branch crashed to the forest floor in the distance, bringing a shroud of white web down with it.


    ¡°Do not struggle. I will not slow myself for your comfort." I heard The Mother in Green say from somewhere inside the panther.


    ¡°Will you please tell me what is happening? Is this part of my punishment?¡± I begged, letting myself fall limp in her clutches.


    She did not answer and gave me no warning of what was to come.


    The instance that her transformation was complete, she moved.


    By the time my eyes adjusted, she had us whipping through the deep forest so fast that all I could see was a black and white blur. As if it took no more effort than brushing a loose strand of hair away, she leapt from the forest floor and carried us forward in great bounds.


    ¡°Schwarz!¡± She called, her voice the only thing I could hear besides the roar of destruction from above.


    A fragment of the night sky that had hung above me not very long ago crashed through the trees in a plume of sparkling dust.


    ¡°Schwarz!¡± She called out again, turning us suddenly and making the shattered piece of sky disappear from my view.


    I no longer needed The Mother in Green to answer my questions.


    I knew what was happening.


    I had lived through something like it before.


    The eyes I had been looking through had not been mine. Neither had the body or the talking metal familiar, but there was no doubt in my mind what was happening.


    ¡°It''s a split! That''s what''s happing?¡± I yelled at The Mother in Green.


    ¡°Yes! I have to get to him be for it takes us!¡± She yelled back, her relentless sprint unyielding.


    Him?


    ¡°Schwarz! Wake up!¡± She screamed. Her voice was ragged, high, and full of fear.


    Whoever the him she was calling for sounded like he was very important to her.


    We snapped in a different direction again. The monstrous arm that clutched me broke through a massive branch just as it crashed to the ground. Shimmering dust fill forest and I saw a sliver of the green moon break away into even more out of the corner of my eye.


    The Mother in Green threw us straight up into the air and brought me to her chest with her monstrous arm.


    ¡°Do not move.¡± She commanded. The false face of the panther split into uncountable strands of silk and revealing her own. Like thousands of spiders crawling across my skin, I felt her cloak wrap around me and bind me to her.


    A sea of white web lay under us.


    The Mother in Green swung the monstrous arm out and spun us into a dive.


    I was powerless to stop the scream that slipped out of me.


    We broke through the web head first.


    Darkness.


    The smell of dirt and stale air filled my nose.


    I clamped my eyes shut and buried my face into The Mother in Green, a nauseous pit making my insides feel cold.


    Then, just as quickly as we had started, we stopped.


    I felt the cloak crawl back from me and I dropped to the ground.


    ¡°Come, girl,¡± The Mother in Green commanded, taking me by unbroken hand and pulling me to my feet. Down, she led me down a lightless tunnel much too quickly. I couldn¡¯t keep up and stumbled over my own feet once, scraping the skin on top of my toes.


    ¡°Schwarz!¡± She screamed again, eerie green light shining from her cloak and illuminating the tunnel she had taken us to.


    A low roar, like the way the ocean tide had sounded in the ocean side memories I had viewed, filled the decrepit place.


    The tunnel opened to a cavernous room that covered from end to end with black webs.


    A dark shape moved at the back of the room, an unsettling silhouette behind the woven silk.


    A wheezing voice that felt like it was speaking directly in my ear spoke and made my skin crawl.


    ¡°What is it, girl?¡±


    ¡°A split! We have to be touching to go to the same place. Hurry!¡± The Mother in Green shouted back.


    Is she crying?


    The Mother in Green reaching out for the shadow as we ran but could not reach it in time.


    Everything changed.


    The black webs twisted and warped as they vanishing from my sight. The hard packed dirt under my feet was not there to meet my next stumbling step. A wash of black, brown, and green spun before my eyes.


    I fell into the wash, losing any sense of where I was or what was happening.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let go, girl!¡± The Mother in Green screamed. I could not see her. The grip or her hand had on mine was all that remained.


    I couldn¡¯t keep my hand from slipping from her grasp.


    ¡°Help me!¡± I called out to her as I felt her touch vanish and I spun away from the sound of her shouts.


    Light.


    Sunlight and blue sky all around me.


    I was falling.


    I was falling down towards a cloud of black smoke that hung heavy in the air below me.


    The split had taken me from the decrepit tunnel and dropped me in an unknown sky.


    I only realized I was screaming when my throat spiked with pain and I began to cough. The air whipping by my ears was too loud for me to hear anything else.


    Like a stone thrown into a lake, I broke through the black smoke and saw what I was falling towards.


    Smoke trickled out of a hollow mountain peak like a sputtering candle. All around the base of the mountain lay a desert of dark red sand that glimmered too brightly in the blinding sunlight.


    I¡¯m going to die. The thought came clearly without panic or fear. It was a truth, a cold certainty that my life would only be as long as it took me to hit the ground.


    Anna. The girl I loved came to my mind and I held her there. From the first moment our eyes had met to the sound of her telling me that she loved me too, I focused on it. She was the last thing I ever wanted to think about.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something falling in the distance.


    The Mother in Green spun wildly in the air far out of my reach.


    She would not die. She would use her cloak and shift herself into something that could save her from being a broken red stain on the stone below.


    I was just a silly little girl with a broken arm.


    At least I had woven the little power I did have into the skull for Anna. At least she had something to remember me by.


    With the mountain top rising faster and faster to meet me, The Mother in Green¡¯s Aura surrounded her lithe form. She gathered it in her hands and pulled an arm back like she was drawing the string of a bow.


    Still falling, she turned herself towards me and let the string loose.


    Something hit me, hard.


    Just as it had felt before, the sensation of thousands of spiders skittering over my skin ran over me.


    Strands of green silk, alight with The Mother in Green¡¯s aura, stretched themselves over my chest and around my neck. Like it was alive, it reached and pulled all around me. Then, a sound I had only heard the spare few times that I had been around Opa thumped in my ears.


    I stopped falling.


    Dark green wings unfurled from my back and carried me upwards.


    The cloak had stopped my death plummet and lifted me into flight.


    Green dust fell into the hollow far bellow and struck the surface of some transparent liquid.


    The hollow was not hollow, it was a lake.


    Where the dust touched, new billows of black smoke erupted into the air.


    It was a lake of clear fire.


    All I could do was watch as The Mother in Green spiraled down towards it, her power used to save me instead of herself.

 V2: Chapter Fifty Eight: Gwyn

    Without warning, the dark green wings folded in and I began to speed towards the lip of the mountain hollow.


    Water streamed from my eyes as I forced them to stay open against the air blowing by me.


    Just before I crashed into the jagged rocks, the wings flared and whipped me around. I dropped to a ledge just wide enough for me to not fall off of. The Mother wings crumbled into a flood of green dust around me that ran off the ledge and down to the clear fire below.


    The Mother in Green''s long black hair had come loose from its knot and streamed behind her as she fell.


    ¡°Mothers help me. Mothers help me. Mothers help me.¡± I repeated, pushing my pitiful power into my desperate pleas. I could not save her, but they could if they heard my call.


    As if in answer, a black spot appeared on the stone beside me. It began to hum as it widened into a swathe of perfect darkness.


    Thunk.


    ¡°No. No. No, not right now!¡± I yelled, knowing what the sudden metallic sound meant.


    I wiped the sweat from my eyes on the back of my bandages as something began to appear from the humming darkness.


    The tip of a leg like The Mother in Green¡¯s when she had been a spider stretched out of it. Then, another and another, until they surrounded the edge of the darkness.


    A voice whose speaker was unseen began to speak to me.


    ¡°The scent of one of my mother¡¯s creations hangs around you,¡± The whispering voice that the silhouette in the tunnel had possessed said. ¡°It is fitting that she will be here in some small way.¡±


    The darkness widened further. The stone broke as the speaker pushed itself into my sight, cracking and crumbling under the sudden force.


    ¡°Gwyn has used too much of herself. When this is done, she will take her loss out on you.¡± It continued, eight black eyes meeting mine.


    A spider, every part of it black and massive, rose out of the mountainside and hung there like it was on flat ground.


    Thunk.


    Every part of me snapped still at the sight of it. I knew, deep in my soul, that I was in the presence of a walking nightmare. If I moved, it would kill me. If I breathed, it would kill me. If I did nothing, it would kill me.


    The Well was taking me. My mind would be lost within myself the next time I heard that metallic heartbeat and there was nothing I could do to stop it.


    Schwarz. The Mother in Green''s desperate calls echoed in my mind. The spider was him.


    ¡°You are not my prey, girl, but it is good that you feel fear at the sight of me. Anything else would be arrogance,¡± The spider whispered, bringing two of its long legs towards me. The tip of each was as wide as my body and brought strands of black silk along with it. ¡°She has chosen to save you. When this is done, you must care for her.¡±


    I found her in the sky, still plummeting towards the lake of clear fire.


    Schwarz began to weave his black webs over the rocky surface of the ledge. When his pattern formed a circle, the web and the space within it blackened into humming darkness that was the same as the place he had appeared from. He brought one of his legs behind my back and pulled me into the woven darkness.


    As soon as my ass left the rocky ledge, I dropped and fell into it.


    The next instance, rocky ground appeared an arm length under me and I crashed into it face first.


    Black gate. The words came with the recognition that I had been through something exactly like the darkness before.


    The air was much cooler than it had been on the ledge. Schwarz had dropped me at the top of the hollow mountain just as The Mother in Green fell below it.


    I leaned forward and followed her shape with my eyes.


    Smoke plumed up from the clear fire violently, the lake disturbed by the rock that Schwarz¡¯s arrival had sent tumbling down into it.


    The black spider threw himself off the stone and broke large chunks off the wall with the force. His black web spread from his abdomen to the tip of each of his eight legs, he sped towards The Mother in Green.


    She fell too fast for him to catch.


    The moment she dropped past his reaching grasp, he vanished into the darkness he had woven underneath himself.


    The Mother in Green would burn.


    Schwarz had failed.


    Thunk.


    The edges of my sight began to fade and blur.


    A dark shadow formed on the surface of the clear fire just below where The Mother in Green would hit.


    I slumped to the ground limply, my broken arm pinned underneath my stomach. Not even the pain that it brought could stop The Well from taking me.


    My eyes fluttered closed and I felt myself fall. . .


    I ran my hand over the last mark in the dirt wall that Da had carved. From the first one I had found on a tree just outside of camp, I had followed them all the way to the bottom of the deep forest. His marks had continued below a big white spider web and I had fallen down a dark tunnel trying to follow them.


    I had been smart enough to not call out for Da and Ma. They were on a hunt, I did not want to scare off their prey. No matter how bad I had wanted to, I hadn¡¯t made light for myself. I had walked down the lightless tunnel with nothing but the feeling of Da¡¯s marks passing under my hand to guide me.


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    In the darkness beyond, I could feel that something was wrong. The tunnel and whatever was beyond it was the wrong kind of quiet.


    I thought about the morning before, the last time I had seen my parents.


    ¡°And what do you do if two suns pass and we do not return?¡± Da had asked me for the thousandth time.


    ¡°Follow your marks back to Crim¡¯s and, uhm,¡± Something in Da¡¯s hair had caught my eye as I braided it. I had wound it around my finger and snatched the gray hair away. ¡°You are getting old.¡±


    ¡°It is not age that takes the black from my hair, daughter. It is stress. Next time, there is no need to pull it from my head.¡± Da had said, rubbing the place on his scalp with his hand.


    ¡°Which is why we should pack up and go home,¡± Ma had said, crawling out of the tent and stretching her arms to the foggy morning sky. She had looked more tired than normal. ¡°We have enough. We do not need the bounty from this.¡±


    Da had sighed and turned away from her so I could finish his braid. ¡°Enough, Effie. I have told you that this is not about coin. How are we suppose to disappear into a quiet life knowing that something like that is creeping around so close to home?¡±


    Ma had laughed as she pulled on her boots. ¡°Don¡¯t play at being so noble and honorable with me. You forget who has listened to your thoughts when your mind is restless for all these years. You and I both know that you want to be known as Arawn Ar Temis, the hunter who slayed Blackreep.¡±


    Da had sighed again and slumped his shoulders. ¡°Is that so shameful? Your name was known by thousands the moment you were born in Zenithcidel.¡±


    I had pretended to be asleep the night before when they had fought about the same thing.


    I had finished Da¡¯s hair and brought him his boots. Ma and him both didn¡¯t speak the rest of the time they were getting ready.


    Later, the fog had gotten so thick that I couldn¡¯t see the tent unless I was standing right in front of it, they had made to leave camp despite their arguing.


    ¡°Only leave the tent if you are going down to the river to fish,¡± Ma had said for the thousandth time as she darkened her face with charcoal and pulled up her hood. ¡°And only use your aura if you are in the tent. No one is to see your color.¡±


    ¡°If we aren¡¯t back in?¡± Da had trailed off, resting on his haunches with his face already dark.


    ¡°Two suns.¡± I had answered, rolling my eyes.


    ¡°You follow my marks back to Crim¡¯s. What do you do on the way?¡± He had continued.


    ¡°Stay in the shadows, only move at night, start no fires.¡± I had repeated the same three rules he had forced me to repeat a thousand times.


    ¡°Very good, Gwyn,¡± He had smiled and offered me a hug. ¡°When we get back, I will teach you a new wire trap.¡±


    Ma had lowered herself and placed her bow on the ground. She had wrapped her arms around both us and squeezed. ¡°We love you. Keep your eyes open.¡±


    ¡°Keep your eyes open.¡± I had groaned, acting like their affection annoyed me. It had, some, but not enough for me to push them off.


    Da had chuckled as he rose. ¡°Ten years old and she is already tired of us, Effie. What will you do when she is your age?¡±


    ¡°What will we do?¡± Ma had corrected him as they walked into the fog towards the deep forest.


    After practicing my knots with the roll of twine I carried in my pack, I had climbed a tree, went to the river, caught a fish, and ate. When the sun had begun to set and turn the fog orange, I went into the tent and fell asleep.


    The next morning, before the first sun began to rise, I had rolled over and felt something hard jab me in my back.


    I had jumped up from my bed roll and ripped the blankets away, thinking that some woodland creature had snuck into the tent.


    ¡°Da¡¯s wire.¡± I had said to myself, picking up the spool and wondering how he had forgotten something so important. How was he supposed to set wire traps if he didn¡¯t have the stuff to make the trap out of?


    If they hadn¡¯t of been fighting, he never would have forgotten it in the first place.


    It had not been long after that I had used the charcoal on my own face and raised my hood. I had thought that if I was quick enough, I could catch up to them before it got dark.


    I had never caught up.


    The marks had led me underground to the wrong feeling silence.


    Ma had taught me the different kinds of silence when we had been stalking a deer and a big black panther had been stalking us.


    That same feeling of being watched by something unseen made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end as I crept forward into the darkness beyond the tunnel.


    Cold fear formed a pit in my stomach as I heard the sound of something big moving around me.


    A voice that sounded like it was being whispered directly into my ear spoke.


    ¡°Have you come to slay me as well, girl?¡±


    I screamed in fright and my aura jumped out of my palm like a rabbit that had been flushed from its cover.


    My green light glinted off of eight black eyes that stared down at me from behind long black fangs.


    ¡°Your,¡± I said, my voice shaking. I couldn¡¯t move. I felt like a deer whose grazing had just been interrupted by the sharp sound of a cracking branch. ¡°Blackreep.¡±


    ¡°No, but you are in my nest. Have you come to slay me like the first two?¡± The spider whispered, stepping down from the black web that it hung from.


    I fell and kicked myself away, the spool of wire cutting my hand from the force of my terrified grip.


    ¡°Ma! Da!¡± I screamed into the darkness beyond my aura. I needed help. I should have stayed at camp and waited for them.


    ¡°Ah, you are their young,¡± The spider crept towards me, each of its hairy black legs as thick as I was. ¡°I will tell you this truth so that you may know I am not cruel.¡±


    ¡°Leave me alone! I don¡¯t want to die!¡± I screamed, my back hitting the sticky wall of the spider''s nest.


    ¡°Two truths then. The first, there is no use in calling for your parents. They are no longer alive,¡± The spider said, lowering itself until our eyes were even. ¡°The second, unless you mean to kill me, you are in no danger here.¡±


    Ma and Da. . .


    Dead?


    ¡°Why?¡± I whispered, tears spilling over my cheeks.


    The monstrous spider sighed. ¡°I am not cruel. They came to slay me, but I was a better hunter than they. All you are is a lost child searching for her parents. I have been where you are, girl.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t move. I couldn¡¯t think. All I could do was look into the eyes of the thing that had killed my parents and cry.


    The sight of it dropped out of my sight and I felt myself fall. . .


    Pain.


    My arm felt like it had been split in two.


    I opened my eyes and shut them just as quickly.


    ¡°Too bright.¡± I groaned, rolling onto my side and gasping at the hurt that streaked up my arm.


    ¡°Schwarz, let me go! I am fine.¡± I heard someone shout.


    The shift, The Mother in Green, the spider, all of it came rushing back to me and I remembered who I was. I was Autumn. The Mother in Green had taken me for my second punishment and a split had taken us both to the sky.


    My eyes struggling to stay open against the blinding sunlight, I pulled myself forward and looked down at the lake of clear fire.


    A massive black leg appeared and broke the rock of the stony cliff next to me.


    Then came the spider, The Mother in Green held next to its black body by two curled legs. He dropped her and threw himself over the edge.


    Smoke came with him, one of his legs burning to char within the fire that covered it.


    ¡°Help him!¡± The Mother in Green shouted at me as she ran to the spider and tried to tamp out the flames with her bare hands.


    ¡°Enough,¡± Schwarz shouted in his whispering voice and pushed The Mother in Green away. He clutched the burning leg between two of his others and ripped it off. With no more ceremony than I would have cast off a loose hair with, he threw it back over the edge from which he had risen. ¡°Hear the truth I give you, girl. I do not need help. It is my time to die.¡±

 V2: Chapter Fifty Nine: Vowkeepers Anguish

    The Mother in Green fought against the massive black spider¡¯s remaining legs. She knocked them away one by one and stepping inside its guard, lying her hands on it.


    ¡°Where are you injured? Let me heal it.¡± She demanded, her aura glowing green against his black body.


    ¡°Girl.¡± The spider said in its whispering voice.


    ¡°Take it, take all of it. I don¡¯t know how your body works, but here!¡± She shouted, the light from her palms growing brighter and brighter as it spread over the spider.


    ¡°You have nothing left to give. You will leave yourself hollow.¡± The spider insisted, struggling to stand on his seven legs. He brought one down and struck The Mother in Green square in her chest.


    It knocked the lithe woman back onto the ground and the expression on her face twisted into something savage and furious.


    ¡°Let me fucking help you!¡± She shouted, slamming her balled fists down onto the rocky ground below her and leaning forward onto the balls of her feet. She crawled over to the spider on her hands, her black hair hanging wild around her.


    The spider threw its front legs up into the air and exposed its long black fangs. ¡°I do not wish for your help. I was ancient before half of you Mothers were born. It has long been my time to die, I have held it off for your sake only. Should I waist away in my burrow until I am blind like Izez? Do you wish for me to age until I can no longer hunt like Shuck?¡±


    ¡°No, but. . .how am I supposed to go on without you?¡± The Mother in Green said, her voice shaking.


    ¡°How you do is irrelevant. You will. Keep your eyes open, Gwyn Ar Temis. Remember what I have taught you over these long years. ¡± A whistling hiss came from the spider and his legs gave out under his weight. He slammed down to the rocky ground, his voice growing quieter.


    ¡°Girl,¡± It spoke to me. ¡°You must care for her until she returns to herself, but it can not be done here. Take her, leave this mountain of anguish and flee.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I answered, my voice rough and ragged from all of the screaming I had done.


    ¡°I am a titan, girl. When something like me dies, it is not without an aftermath.¡± The spider answered.


    Titan?


    With a final hiss, the spider rolled onto its back and its massive legs curled inward towards its body.


    The green glow of The Mother in Green¡¯s Aura began to fade as she threw her arms around the unmoving spider and cried. It was not dramatic. She did not wail or scream. The only sign of her grief was the one sided embrace and the tears pattering to the rocky ground beneath her.


    I do not know how long I sat and watched her. Every few moments, a part of all the strange things that had happened to me since I had fallen asleep in Anna¡¯s arms would come to the front of my mind. The shift, the lake of clear fire, and the death of Schwarz were not some elaborate part of my second punishment.


    Her tears seemed real enough and the spider had not moved in quite some time.


    All of it had been some unfortunate turn of events.


    With her aura growing ever dimmer, The Mother in Green lowered herself to the ground and pulled her knees to her chest. Her long black hair draped over her like a veil when she settled. One of her hands had been burnt, either from the clear fire or the flames that had burned Schwarz¡¯s leg, but she seemed not to care.


    New light caught my eye. So small, I thought I was imagining it, a pale blue mote floated up from the tip of one of the spider''s black fangs.


    Opa. I thought, remembering the times I had seen the same kind of light coming from the owl spirit that lived inside Arthur.


    Like a swarm of blue, more and more motes rose from the massive black body until they formed a glowing blue swarm.


    You must care for her. Schwarz¡¯s whispering word¡¯s returned to me. I did not know how old she was or how long they had known each other, but by her emotion alone, I could tell that the spider had meant very much to her.


    I could not heal her. If I was capable of that, my hand would no longer be broken.


    There was someone who had shown me what being cared for meant. I was not her, but I could pretend to be.


    With a pained grimace, I ducked my head out of the bandage that held my broken arm and pulled it from the rest. All of them were dirty, torn, and hanging loosely, but the one around my neck was mostly clean.


    Standing was a struggle. I finally crawled to my feet and took slow steps towards her. If her afterglow was anything like mine, I did not want to scare her into attacking me.


    ¡°Hey,¡± I said, trying to mimic Anna¡¯s soothing voice. ¡°You are okay.¡±


    I squatted down and gently took her burnt hand in mine, careful to not touch the places that it was injured.


    The Mother in Green flinched at my touch and the last remnants of her aura turned to dust in her hands.


    ¡°You are okay.¡± I repeated, using the bandage I had taken off to wrap her wound.


    ¡°This,¡± She flinched again. ¡°Wasn¡¯t supposed to happen.¡±


    ¡°You are okay.¡± I repeated again, tying the bandage off with a sloppy knot. I didn¡¯t know how to make it look all neat like Anna did.


    The motes that rose from the body of Schwarz, the little blue lights that took tiny pieces of him away as they left him, had reached a number that I had to swat them away with my hand. It felt so strange trying to comfort a Mother. Not very long before, she had stolen me from my bed as I slept and had proceeded to hunt me in the shapes of all manner of terrifying monsters. Instead of punishment, she had been left in my care by something that called herself a titan.


    Mother¡¯s help her.


    Maybe, if I could distract her from the way she felt, she would come back to herself sooner rather than later. Thinking that it made enough sense for me to attempt it, I asked her a question.


    ¡°Where are we?¡±


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    ¡°A volcano. Vowkeeper¡¯s Anguish, I think.¡± The Mother in Green answered me weakly after a big sniffle.


    It worked! I thought, looking around the mote filled air. They had begun to settle on the ground all around us like a dusting of pale blue snow.


    ¡°What is that?¡± I continued, a little more confident than before. Had Schwarz been wrong? The Mother in Green did not seem angry at all.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± She sniffled again. ¡°She won¡¯t tell me.¡±


    That was when the ground underneath us cracked.


    A low roar, like what I had heard before the shift had dropped us in the sky, filled my ears.


    ¡°No, no, no,¡± The Mother in Green shouted, kicking herself back from the spider¡¯s body. The crack in the stone had appeared directly under it and the roar made it feel like the ground was shaking. ¡°It¡¯s happening. Oh fuck. Sisters help me!¡±


    ¡°What is happening?¡± I asked her, standing and helping her on her feet.


    Her hair hung down to her hips and I was surprised to find that we were close to the same height. After Azza, I had begun to expect all of The Mothers to be much taller than me.


    Her eyes were wide and her lithe legs shook as she walked backwards from the crack.


    ¡°A split. It¡¯s what happens when a titan dies. I have to get away from here.¡± She whispered, her eyes darting from me to the spider to the pale blue crack in the rocky ground.


    With a breaking echo, the crack widened and Schwarz¡¯s body shifted downwards into it.


    Sudden heat blew up from the broken stone, breaking my whole body into an instant sweat. The clear fire from within the volcano bubbled up through the crack and began to burn the spider''s body wherever it touched.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± The Mother in Green whispered. Without another word, she spun on her heels and dashed away. She ran straight down the mountainside, leaving me standing alone on the cracking ground.


    ¡°Hey!¡± I shouted after her, the shock of her flight leaving me unable to move.


    The sound of liquid caught in a rolling boil brought my attention back to the widening crack. A clear bubble that was growing entirely too slow bubbled up from the crack and burst, sending small droplets into my legs and feet.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± I screamed, taking quick steps back and slapping my skin wherever it had been burned. Pain streaked through my broken hand when I smacked it into my shin.


    The ground shook so violently that it nearly took me off my feet as the crack split once again. Schwarz¡¯s corpse burned away as it dropped further into the bubbling fire. Pale blue light, in streams instead of motes, flowed from the spider like upward streams. The breaking mountainside was stained with the color and the sky had begun to darken from the black smoke that billowed from the lake within it.


    I went the way of The Mother in Green, locking my eyes onto her long black hair and running as fast as I could after her.


    There was no part of me that knew what a split entailed. If there was, I could not remember. However, I knew from the small beginning of it that I had witnessed, that I did not wish to learn about it through experience.


    ¡°Wait,¡± I called after my should be punisher. ¡°Mother Gwyn, wait!¡±


    How is she that fucking fast? I thought, watching the distance grow between us no matter how hard I pushed myself. Every stride she took carried her away from me and she seemed to have none of the trouble I did with running over the loose rocks and shaking stone.


    She¡¯s abandoned me. I realized. Somehow, that thought hurt worse than the memories of her terrifying me before the shift.


    ¡°Mother Gwyn!¡± I shouted again, watching her leap down from ledge to ledge. Her feet touched a big white rock that jutted straight out of the side of the mountain the same moment that the ground shook again. The crack I had left behind me closed the distance between us and continued on its way past me.


    In one long jagged line, it ran up the big white rock just as The Mother in Green bent her knees to drop to the next ledge and split in half underneath her.


    She fell.


    Straight down into the newborn fissure, she vanished.


    ¡°Mother Gwyn!¡± I shouted, moving as fast as I could to where I had watched her drop. Every step brought sharp jabs of rocks digging into the bottoms of my feet. Her bandaged hand appeared over the edge of the rock just as I reached her. With my unbroken hand, I grabbed her and threw my weight back, dragging her out of the crack and over the top of me in one quick jerk.


    She rolled off of me and the two of us lay on our back, looking up at the smoke filled sky and trying to catch our breath.


    I felt her looking at me, and turned my head to meet her eyes.


    They went wide and she pushed herself away from me.


    ¡°You. . .You have The Well.¡± She whispered, looking at me the same way I had looked at her when she had been any of the three monsters she had hunted me as.


    Schwarz had not been wrong about her afterglow. I had been wrong expecting it to be like mine was.


    The Mother in Green was not filled with blind rage, she was filled with fear.


    ¡°Yes, I have The Well.¡± I said, sitting up and trying to look as harmless as I could.


    As soon as I moved, she threw herself back and ran away from me for the second time.


    Terrified or not, I could not let her abandon me. Her afterglow would pass eventually and she would take me home. Which was something that I was completely incapable of doing on my own.


    The longer I waited to move, the farther away she would get from me. So, I rolled back to my feet with a pained groan and ran after her.


    ¡°Why are you running from me? I am no danger to you!¡± I shouted.


    ¡°Because you¡¯re chasing me!¡± Mother Gwyn shrieked back, her voice shrill and shaking.


    The rocky mountainside gave way to the first of the dark red desert I had seen when I had been falling from the sky. Every long step she took, white sand that lay underneath the red went flying into the air behind her.


    Too strong for me to stay upright, The volcano shook me off my feet and I went rolling end over end into the red sand.


    I crashed into something and slowly came to a stop, my eyes swimming and my stomach turning.


    Able to focus just in time to see it, the mountain exploded.


    The sound cracked inside my ears and everything rose into a high pitched ring. Clear fire and black smoke spewed straight up into the sky like a geyser. Fissures, glowing pale blue, broke down the mountain in the jagged shape of lightning. Everypart of me shook from the force as the white sand rose up and mixed with the red.


    Only, neither colors were sand.


    The white was ash and the red was the glimmering dust that I had only ever seen aura turn into after a working.


    Something broke through the black cloud above me and streaked towards the ground.


    Impact, heat, a wave of broken stone and dust.


    A rock that was burning with the clear fire had slammed into the ground not very far from where I had rolled to a stop.


    It had only been the first.


    More, of all shapes and sizes, rained down from the sky and ravaged the splitting mountainside.


    Mother Gwyn ran over and ducked down behind me, cowering against my back. ¡°Save me, you have to save me!¡±


    ¡°How am I supposed to do that? You¡¯re The Mother!¡± I shouted back at her, unable to do anything but watch as Vowkeeper¡¯s Anguish began to crumble in on itself.


    Another molten rock slammed into the ground, much closer to us than the first, and we were blown back from the impact alone.


    I landed on top of Gwyn with a pained shout as my hand slammed into the ground.


    Concentrated shadow darkened my face.


    A piece of the mountain, as large as the well house behind the manor, broke a hole through the smoke above and came falling straight towards us.


    We would die, both of us.


    Even if my power had not been sealed away in part by the same woman that was using me as a flesh shield, there would have been nothing I could do.


    I was too weak.


    Just before the burning stone turned us into a wet spot on the red dust, shining sand streamed all around us and formed into a golden hand.


    It caught the stone within its massive fingers and squeezed, sending small rivers of molten gold streaming towards the ground.


    ¡°Fortune Favors,¡± A figure stepped in front of us as I felt the ground beneath us started to move. ¡°Both of you have called and so I have come.¡±

 V2: Chapter Sixty: Golden Seams

    The last time there had been sand moving under its own power underneath me had not ended well.


    The last time I had seen the sorceress standing before me, it had been one of the worst times of my life.


    The last time The Mother in Brown had come for me, it had been to punish me.


    I knew in my soul that it was her, that it was Azza, to the same extent that I knew the choker she had fit around my throat was still there. She was not wearing the black robe she had been during my punishment. The golden glove that had broken her arm in the memory of hers I had been shown was not alone.


    Her short black hair had been laced with golden wore that had been shaped into intricate patterns. A lustrous gown hung from her and down her thin frame. Each of her arms were gilded, from the tip of her long fingers to just below her shoulder, with the same shining gloves from the memory. The sharp black lines that started just below her ear was no longer black. They had grown over every place her tan skin was exposed and the sienna color of her aura shone from it.


    She who has no master! She with the golden soul! She who will not perish this day! The words I had once said when I was Azza rang in my mind like a struck bell.


    Goldluster. I did not know how I knew it, but that was who she was. Azza, The Mother in Brown, both of them paled in comparison to the shining golden form before me.


    ¡°Why is it you,¡± Mother Gwyn cried from her place behind me. ¡°Why couldn¡¯t it be Glim or Grey? You¡¯re gonna be so mean.¡±


    ¡°It could only be me. Harden your heart, little sister. I am here to save you,¡± Goldluster said, her words ringing with her gilded power. Without turning away from the molten destruction, she turned her words to me. ¡°Child, are you well?¡±


    I could barely hear them over the ringing in my ears and the roar of the split that Schwarz¡¯s death had evidently caused.


    Before I could decide if I wanted to answer her or not, the tip of the volcano fell away. Every pale blue fissure that had cracked down from it splintered out in every direction and Vowkeeper¡¯s Anguish began to collapse in on itself. One by one, all of the rocky ledges and loose stones that I had run over in pursuit of the sorceress that cowered behind me, were ripped from the ground. Unseen force drew them up the mountain side and pulled them down into the expanding split.


    ¡°I¡¯m too young to die!¡± Gwyn wailed, clutching my back like I had held on to her when she had thrown us down into the tunnel before the split.


    ¡°I agree,¡± Goldluster spoke. ¡°It is fortunate for all of us that I am here.¡±


    The golden dust that had formed her saving hand spun up from the ground and streamed back into her outstretched palms. Just like when she had made the choker, she brought her hands together and condensed it between her hands. The sienna light of her power shone out from the patterns on her skin so intensely that I had to shield my eyes.


    With one final push, her hands met.


    ¡°Fortune Favors.¡± She said under her breath, lowering her long arms to her sides


    Eight golden needles, each as long as her hand and clutched in between her closed fingers, gleamed in the smoke filled darkness.


    In one graceful step, she swept over to the pale blue fissure closest to us and snapped her wrist towards it. One of the needles shot from her hand like an arrow from a bow and disappeared into the fissure. With no hesitation, she glided on a sweeping wave of golden sand to the next and sunk another of her needles into it. Liquid gold rose from the first fissure in a metallic flood and ran back up the mountain towards its crumbling peak. The same incomprehensible working happened wherever she cast her needles, painting and melding the broken stone with golden streams.


    All I could do was sit and watch with my jaw dropped.


    She was not the Azza that had punished me.


    She was not Azza at all.


    She was a force of nature.


    Mother Gwyn clutched my shoulders and pulled me back down on top of her. ¡°Look out!¡±


    I had been so caught by Goldluster¡¯s gilded dance, I had not noticed the flurry of molten rocks that were dropping from the sky straight towards us.


    Something hit the stone between my legs.


    I snapped my head down to see one of her needles sunk halfway into the rocky ground.


    All around it, the stone broke away into golden dust. At first it was only in a small circle around the needle, but it quickly expanded outward. Just before the erupted rocks broke against my body, the mound of gold that had formed underneath Mother Gwyn and I splashed up like struck water and formed a protective wall.


    The rocks struck the wall in a scattered series of dull thumps.


    Every single impact brought a frightened whimper from Mother Gwyn.


    The wall continued to rise until it crashed down over us and left us in a dark tomb. The dust underneath me began to writhe against the bare skin of my legs.


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    Pressure and weight. Azza had made me understand my place.


    The golden dust brought my mind straight back to when I had been buried at the bottom of the glass pyramid. The memory of the slow grind of the sand against my flesh and the punishing weight that had held me there echoed up from within me. I remembered the dark red wine stain on the shoulder of my white dress. I had followed it down until my eyes had met the sight of my ruined flesh.


    Powerless.


    I had been powerless.


    My arms and legs still bore the scars from my first punishment and I could feel my dirty night clothes brushing against them.


    I screamed, unable to stop the painful memories from running through my head.


    Just as quickly as it had started, the golden dust ceased its writhing and a sound drowned out the ringing in my ears.


    Mother Gwyn was screaming as well.


    For a moment, we lay there in the dark. Me, holding my broken arm to my chest and taking shaky breaths as I reminded myself that I was not back in the glass pyramid. Her, screaming for reasons I did not understand.


    ¡°Why are you screaming?¡± I asked her once I caught my breath, placing my hand on the terrified woman''s leg. I still lay on top of her, but turning to look at her would do nothing in the darkness.


    ¡°Because you did. You scared me.¡± She whimpered weakly, a pitiful sound that I had a hard time imagining coming from The Mother in Green.


    Light began to shine through the golden tomb in uncountable places no larger than a pin prick. The dust receded from the place directly over my face and the walls of what seemed to be the shape of a dome returned to the ground.


    The first thing I saw was the red dust that blanketed the ground like freshly fallen snow.


    The second, was the peak of Vowkeeper¡¯s anguish.


    We had been moved inside the tomb all the way down the mountainside until we had come to flat ground. The golden streams that Goldluster had filled the fissures with had turned to seams. In every direction I could see, the mountain had been knit back together in every place it had broken and capped with a sharp pyramid shaped peak. No black smoke billowed from it. The ground no longer shook. There was no trace of pale blue light peaking through any of the cracks.


    Goldluster had stopped the split and held the mountain together with nothing but her will.


    The third thing I noticed was The Mother herself standing over me and offering a hand up.


    ¡°Come, child. You are safe for now.¡± She said with a warm, golden lipped, smile.


    Pressure and weight. Remember your place. The thoughts ran through my mind faster than I could realize I was having them.


    I did not take her hand.


    Even though it was a struggle and brought fresh stabs of pain through my arm, I rolled off of Mother Gwyn and climbed to my feet under my own power. The hatred that she held for me was not in her molten eyes, but it had been the last time I had seen her. It had burned me and that pain was still fresh enough that I did not want her help.


    She made no expression at my rejection. Her eyes went from mine, to the choker, my bandaged hand, and finally down to her sister


    Laying flat on her back on top of what was left of the tomb, she flinched at Goldluster¡¯s gaze and covered her face. Every part of her shook and a terrified whimper slipped out from her.


    ¡°Gwyn, her arm. Did it happen during your punishment?¡± She asked, her warm smile turning down into a sad one.


    ¡°No. She was like that when I took her.¡± Mother Gwyn answered through her hands.


    ¡°Before you began, you should have healed it then.¡± Goldluster sighed, turning to me with her arms outstretched. ¡°May I?¡±


    I kept it held to my chest defensively. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°It is not my wish for you to suffer unduly, child. For your mistrust, I do not blame you. Allow me to heal you. I will not have the strength to do so in a moment.¡± She said softly.


    Terrified that I would regret it, I slowly gave my hand over to her and held my breath. The look in her eyes was too sincere, her golden smile was too warm, and her words felt too true.


    I found myself trusting that my former punisher would do as she had said she would.


    I hated it, and part of me knew that as soon as she had me in her grasp that she would hurt me, but that part was wholly wrong. Her long fingers worked carefully to unwind the bandage from my hand. I felt no pain or discomfort and a moment later, she had clasped it between the cool touch of her golden gloves.


    ¡°This wound is several days old. How did it happen?¡± She asked as the warm brown of her aura covered my hand.


    This is a dream. I thought, certain that I had been knocked out sometime between the shift and the split. The beautiful woman healing my hand could not be the same person that had buried me alive and let my skin be literally sanded away. I ignored her question and asked my own, the conflict between the two versions of Azza frustrating me.


    ¡°I thought you hated me. Why are you doing this?¡± I asked, feeling my brows furrow as I spoke.


    ¡°The way I am in this moment. . .This is the best of me,¡± She looked down and smiled through a sigh. A single ray of sunlight broke through the dissipating smoke and Illuminated her. The wire in her hair, the golden gown, and her long gloves were thrown into a dazzling gleam. ¡°But, just as you have seen with my sister, you will soon see the worst of me.¡±


    The worst of Azza. . .


    The thought was enough to make me want to run as far away from her as fast as I could.


    ¡°It is unfair, but I must ask you a favor,¡± She continued, the hem of her golden gown beginning to fall away into the red dust. ¡°You must make Gwyn think that she is on a hunt. It will bring her back to herself.¡±


    I nodded, looking over at where the Mother in Green still lay with her hands covering her face.


    ¡°Listen to me, child. I will hold onto my power as long as I can, but you must bring her back before I lose my grip.¡± Goldluster said, the power in her voice making a chill run down my spine.


    ¡°Why?¡± I asked, new fear rising within me from her words alone.


    ¡°Because neither you or I are strong enough to stop me from killing you when the afterglow comes over me,¡± Goldluster said with a sad expression. ¡°She is.¡±

 V2: Chapter Sixty One: Tracks

    From all the memories I had viewed to the stranger situations I had been in through my own life, none of them had been quite so odd.


    The Mother in Green lay on her side atop the blanket of red dust that covered the ground. Her legs were curled up to her chest and her hands covered her face.


    The Mother in Brown had left her in my care shortly before she had entombed herself with the same golden power she had used to hold Vowkeeper¡¯s Anguish together.


    The way she looked, extending her transformation into Goldluster as long as she could to prevent herself from killing me, someone could mistake her as the most beautiful golden statue that had ever been crafted. Every single line and feature of her was visible, down to the individual lines of her short hair.


    You must make Gwyn think that she is on a hunt. I repeated Azza¡¯s words in my mind for the hundredth time since she had left me alone.


    If I was in any other situation that felt as strange as the one I found myself in did, I would have called for The Mothers.  The problem was, two of The Mothers were already near me, and I had somehow been left in charge of them.


    What the fuck do I know about hunting? I thought, lost at how I was supposed to perform the task that had been laid at my feet. Mother Gwyn had hunted me. She had seemed to be very excited about doing it. I doubted that dangling myself in front of her like the tantalizing string I had seen Arthur do with Sam would do anything at all.


    My punishment had ended with the shift. Unlike the first time, I still had all of my skin. Besides the cuts and scrapes running up my feet and legs, I was actually in better shape than I had been at the start. My hand had been healed by the same woman that had left scars on my arms and legs.


    Was she truly the same? I asked myself. She had told me herself that Goldluster was the best of her. When I had watched her work against the split, she had been beyond anything I had ever seen before, through my own eyes or those of another.


    The Mother in Green was not normal either.


    Silkshifter. That had been the words she said to summon her cloak of green silk. None of the forms she had taken had been glamors. She had actually taken the shape of those things with her power.


    It almost felt like someone was playing a joke on me. Two sorceresses so powerful that I could hardly understand it were under my care. One would kill me if I did not convince the other to protect me.


    I can¡¯t even take care of myself. How the fuck am I supposed to do this? The only reasons that I had not succumbed to the rage that my afterglows filled me with were Anna and Sam. Even if I thought it would help, I would rather die than comfort anyone the way my girlfriend comforted me. My familiar had been a lightning rod, a place of focus that my anger could be taken out without hurting anyone.


    I could not do that for Mother Gwyn. Sam had done everything he could to annoy me, was I supposed to do everything I could to terrify her?


    No. I shook my head, feeling a pang of anxiousness when I saw the small crack forming on the cheek of Azza¡¯s golden covering.


    Sam hunted.


    I had seen him leap from a tree and snatch a bird straight out of the air once.


    He had drug a massive boar from wherever he had slayed it all the way back to the manor.


    Wherever we were, there was no pig or birds in sight.


    There was nothing but red dust and the golden seams that held the volcano above us together.


    Lie. The thought came to me, quiet and sudden.


    There did not need to be something for Mother Gwyn to hunt.


    I only had to make her think there was.


    Last I checked, all I could do with my glamor was struggle to change the color of half a pillow. I closed my eyes and reached for my aura. The void that had been left in me after Azza¡¯s punishment was no longer as dark and hollow as it once was. Two small dots, one pearl pink and the other dark red like blood, swam in a sea of iridescent light. I remembered how difficult it had been for me to catch a glimpse of color within myself not very long ago. Before festivals and punishments had interrupted our training, Anna had spent many nights coaching me towards my color.


    I could do it. I realized. If I brought my color to my surface, I could work it into the shape of a bird and send it fluttering across the desert of red dust.


    You will be seen. The same quiet, rational, line of thinking came again.


    The Mothers knew nothing of my color and I did not know if Azza could see through her golden tomb.


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    The crack on her cheek lengthened.


    I had done nothing since she had left me in charge, and I was running out of time.


    Moving without really knowing what I was doing, I stepped forward and pressed my foot down into the red dust. Where the surface was warm from the setting sun, underneath it was cool all the way to the solid ground. I spun my foot in a quick circle before stepping forward and repeating the motion. Keeping my eyes shifting between Azza and Mother Gwyn, I made a trail of my little swirls leading away from the Mothers.


    When I felt that the false trail was long enough, I jumped out of the last swirl and landed on both feet as far away from them as I could.


    ¡°Mother Gwyn?¡± I said softly, when I reached where she lay on the ground.


    She curled into herself at the sound of my voice, keeping her face covered with her hands.


    I pitched my voice up and acted like I had just seen something exciting. ¡°There is a. . .bird. It keeps popping its head out of the dust. I tried to catch it, but I¡¯m not fast enough.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re lying. We are at Vowkeeper¡¯s Anguish, nothing lives here. Stop trying to trick me.¡± She whined, showing no sign of uncovering her face.


    ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± I lied. ¡°It left tracks and everything!¡±


    One green eye peaked out from behind her pale fingers and looked up at me. ¡°Tracks? What kind?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I shrugged, doing my best to play the bewildered little girl. ¡°I¡¯m not a hunter like you.¡±


    ¡°Where are they?¡± She asked, pushing herself up onto her elbow and brushing her long black hair back from her face. When she wasn¡¯t in the shape of a venomous serpent or a giant spider, her savage beauty was almost too much to look at. The black garment that fit her like a second skin showed every line of her lean muscles, but the length of her hair and softness of her jaw brought a certain grace to her lethal litheness.


    ¡°Right over here. I¡¯ll show you.¡± I nodded, offering her a hand up.


    She took it and I led her over to where I had made the first swirl.


    ¡°Your hand, it was broken before.¡± Mother Gwyn said.


    I had not realized I had helped her up with my bandaged hand.


    ¡°Mother. . .¡± Fuck! I was still unable to say her name aloud. ¡°The Mother in Brown healed it for me.¡±


    ¡°Shit! Azza,¡± Mother Gwyn spat, dropping into a squat and wrapping her arms around her legs. She flipped her hair forward and disappeared under her black veil. ¡°I messed up so bad. They told me not to take you to Deepwood.¡±


    ¡°There it is! Mother Gwyn look!¡± I said excitedly, tapping her on the shoulder and pointing in the direction of my swirls. My false excitement seemed to have been convincing enough. She stood and took my hand again, keeping me between her and where Azza sat as we walked.


    Night came quickly. By the time we reached the tracks, the sun had dipped behind Azza¡¯s golden peak in a blinding flash and left us in low golden light.


    Mother Gwyn dropped into a crouch as soon as she saw my marks in the dust.


    The same moment she did, the place on Azza¡¯s cheek split further with a sudden sharp crack.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Mother Gwyn screamed and shielded her face with her hands.


    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re okay,¡± I said softly, placing my hand on her back and doing my best impression of Anna. ¡°Have you ever seen tracks like this before?¡±


    Mother Gwyn slowly brought her hand down and stuck her fingers into the dust. She brought it up to her nose and gave it three short sniffs.


    ¡°Come, I¡¯ve got the trail. Do you know how to walk quietly?¡± She asked, setting her eyes to the next place I had disturbed the dust and ash.


    I did as I was told, knowing that the only scent she could have found was the smell of my feet. ¡°Uhm, I don¡¯t know what you mean.¡±


    ¡°Watch me,¡± She said, turning from me and moving towards the next swirl. ¡°Crouch and pad your steps as you move. Like this.¡±


    In the dark of the newborn night, I could see her roll her foot from heel to toe in the dust. Every foot fall fell silently and if I had not been watching her, I would have never known she was there. Staying in a crouch made the muscles in my thighs burn, but I tried to mimic her movement as close as I could. Mother Gwyn passed by the second swirl. I literally followed in her footsteps, hoping that my lies were being believed. At any moment, I felt like the thin fingers of Azza¡¯s hand would wrap around my arm and she would do to me what she had wanted to do to me since I stole The Well.


    ¡°That wasn''t bad,¡± Mother Gwyn whispered back to me when we reached the final track. ¡°If you had known how to walk like this when I was hunting you, I would have had a harder time finding you.¡±


    That did not sound like the terrified mess of a Mother I had been dealing with since she had saved my life.


    I stopped moving. ¡°Mother Gwyn?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± She spun on her heels and looked back at me.


    ¡°Behind you!¡± I yelled, pointing my finger at nothing and widening my eyes. If she was still caught in her afterglow, my sudden shout would terrify her.


    ¡°It¡¯s over, girl. It has been since you showed me the tracks,¡± Mother Gwyn said calmly. ¡°I was just seeing how long you would let me follow the trail.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I asked, standing.


    Mother Gwyn did the same. ¡°The day may come where I have to actually hunt you. The more I understand how your mind works, the easier that. . .¡±


    Her eyes narrowed suddenly and she took several quick steps to where I stood. With one arm, she grabbed me by the front of my night shirt and pulled me behind her.


    ¡°This, all of this is your fault.¡± Azza¡¯s spat as she rose to her feet within the golden ruin of her tomb. She was wearing the same black and gold robe she had been the first time I had seen her. No trace of Godluster, the best of her, was left to be seen. ¡°We did choose incorrectly after Lei. Zara would have never been so careless. Taking her outside of Zenithcidel, how could you be so foolish? Childishly trying to protect that spider of yours, grow up! You are a Mother.¡±


    She moved towards us, her molten gold eyes burning directly into mine. ¡°I will end this nonsense quickly. Step aside, sister.¡±


    Mother Gwyn threw herself forward and dug the side of her foot into one of the swirls I had made. A wave of red and white ash rose up from the ground and struck Azza straight in her elegant face.


    ¡°My eyes!¡± Azza shouted, stopping in her tracks.


    ¡°You should have kept your head buried in the sand, sister.¡± Mother Gwyn growled.


    ¡°What do I do?¡± I asked, feeling the cold wash of new fear spread through me yet again.


    ¡°Nothing. Watch if you wish, you might enjoy it.¡± Mother Gwyn said, dropping into a crouch and throwing herself towards the still stunned Azza.


    I did as I was told.


    I watched as The Mother in Green and The Mother in Brown went to war.

 V2: Chapter Sixty Two: Campfire

    It was not a long and drawn out war.


    There was no back and forth series of strikes and maneuvers.


    In truth, the war had ended before it had ever really begun.


    Mother Gwyn smashed her shoulder into the middle of the still blinded Azza.


    It was too dark and she was too fast for me to be able to see how she did it, but the very next moment, she had slithered up the tall woman and locked her legs around her neck. She coiled her arms around her sisters and pulled it to her chest, throwing both of them to the ground in a plume of red dust and white ash.


    ¡°Let me go!¡± Azza shouted, kicking her legs out and throwing more and more dust into the air.


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna break it if you don¡¯t calm down.¡± Mother Gwyn warned, squeezing Azza¡¯s forearm tighter to her chest and pushing her hips upwards.


    The look in Mother Gwyn¡¯s eyes told me that she meant what she said and it would cost her little to do it.


    A small part of me found pleasure in seeing Azza being unable to do anything but struggle futility against the pressure and weight of her sister.


    Their relation was not by blood, but by being two of The Mothers. There were supposed to be nine of them, but I had seen multiple versions of the two that were rolling around in the dust.


    Azza had essentially been three different people. The version of her that wanted me to die, the one that had healed me, and the one that would kill me if she broke free.


    Is this how it is for Anna?


    ¡°Release me! We must end this madness!¡± Azza shouted, arching her back and throwing her free arm up in a wild strike.


    ¡°Girl,¡± Mother Gwyn ignored her sister and spoke to me. ¡°Come here.¡±


    I did as I was told, walking in a wide curve to avoid getting too close to Azza.


    When I reached her, she nodded her head at one of the swirls I had made in the dust beside her. ¡°Reach straight down to the bottom, there is an old branch. I need you to pull it out.¡±


    How could the fearsome woman that was restraining The Mother in Brown like she was a child having a tantrum be the same soul that was wide eyed and screaming at every little thing not very long before?


    She let out a sharp whistle that snatched my attention back to her. ¡°Hey, keep standing there and I¡¯ll let her go.¡±


    Just like when she had threatened to break Azza¡¯s arm, I knew that she meant what she said. I dropped to my knees and buried my hand into the swirl up to my elbow.


    ¡°Child. Look at me. Look into my eyes,¡± Azza yelled. ¡°The scales must be balanced. Surely you must see this!¡±


    I did not do as I was told. I kept my eyes on the dusty ground and tried to ignore the feeling of the golden choker around my throat. My bandaged hand, the hand that she had healed, brushed against something hard.


    I wrapped my fingers around it and pulled.


    It snapped in my hand and I fell back on my ass, dragging up a broken off piece of charred wood.


    Mother Gwyn kept Azza¡¯s arm pinned to her chest with one arm and reached out to the wood with the other. She snapped her fingers against the charred branch once, twice, three times. A thin curl of smoke rose from the calloused tips of her fingers and dissipated into the darkness above. Without hesitation, she snapped three more times and a small ember jumped from her fingers to the branch. She sucked in a big breath and puffed out her chest, the ridges of her ribs visible against the fabric of her tight black garment. In a slow stream, she blew the air towards the ember through pursed lips and brought it to brighter life.


    It spread over the blackened surface of the broken limb and turned to orange flame.


    ¡°Tell me a story.¡± Mother Gwyn commanded, resettling herself around a silent Azza.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I said, confused.


    ¡°Tell me a story. That¡¯s what you do after a hunt. You sit around a fire and swap stories.¡± She insisted.


    How the fuck am I supposed to know that? I thought, feeling like she somehow expected me to be well versed in the rituals that surrounded hunting.


    Azza threw her legs suddenly, rolling her lower half onto her hip. ¡°Release me! Gwyn! I am myself again!¡±


    ¡°Liar,¡± Gwyn grunted, pressing her hips up and pinning Azza¡¯s arm back once again. ¡°Be still.¡±


    The small pleasure I had felt at The Mother in Brown¡¯s plight was gone.


    If Mother Gwyn let her go, Azza would come and kill me. Her afterglow, whatever dark feeling it had brought to her, would see to that. I knew that to be true, but seeing her struggle against the hold of her sister, it made my stomach turn.


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    It wasn¡¯t her fault. She felt the way she did because of the loss she had taken from saving myself and Mother Gwyn.


    I turned my eyes from them and looked out over the barren desert of red dust to try and distract myself. Why was there blackened and burnt wood buried underneath it all? Had there once been a forest around Vowkeeper¡¯s Anguish?


    Vowkeeper. . .


    The name felt the same in my mind as Goldluster and Silkshifter did. The name of the volcano that the shift had dropped us above, was it literal? Vowkeeper was either a Mother or a sorceress. In her anguish, with the same transformative power that I had now seen Azza and Gwyn use, she had manifested a working large enough to cover all that I could see with the remnants of her power.


    How?


    ¡°Girl,¡± Mother Gwyn whistled again, bringing my attention back to her. ¡°Hurry up, I don¡¯t want to be tied up like this all night.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Mother.¡± I answered, staring at the small flame that she had lit.


    ¡°Once upon a time, there was a little fox kit named Delpha-¡± I began, choosing the story I knew like the back of my hand.


    ¡°No. Not that kind of story,¡± Mother Gwyn interrupted me. ¡°Tell me about a journey you¡¯ve been on or a battle you¡¯ve fought. Something real.¡±


    The ridiculousness of her request struck me immediately. ¡°Being locked in a room or held behind walls my entire life hasn¡¯t given me many opportunities to go on journeys or fight battles,¡± I said, unable to keep the sudden heat of anger from lacing my words. Almost too long after I finished speaking, I made a vain attempt at making my words more respectful. ¡°Mother Gwyn.¡±


    ¡°Make something up then,¡± She answered, her green eyes narrowing at me. ¡°I just have to believe it happened.¡±


    If I did not count playing points or the times I had assaulted the guards, I¡¯d only ever been in one battle. The lich had sent two hands of horror to steal me away from the boarding house I had holed myself up in.


    The Mothers did not know about the lich. If they did, they would have known that I had found a way past their walls and had gained access to all of The Well. With their history of binding, sealing, and punishing me, I knew that they would not allow me to go without consequences.


    I would not tell her about my battle with the wicked hands. All I would do was make something up that never happened.


    ¡°A long time ago, I found myself in a cold dark wood,¡±I began. It had only been a handful of months ago in truth, but that was a long time to me. Most of my meaningful memories had happened in the same span of time. ¡°My familiar, Cat, had run off and I was searching high and low for him.¡±


    Mother Gwyn¡¯s eyes settled back in a calm expression. She took one of her arms away from Azza¡¯s and propped her head up with it.


    I continued with the sound of Azza¡¯s labored breathing underpinning my made up story. ¡°I did not know the woods very well and in my pursuit, I fell into a deep gully that was surrounded by a thicket of trees. Before I could climb back out, something started to move within the branches.¡±


    I thought about the faceless creature, how it had dropped to the ground like a corpse and unfurled its long black nailed fingers.


    A shiver ran through me at the memory, but I continued with my story regardless.


    ¡°With nothing but a pale fleshed torso, head, and massive hands, the monster started hunting me just like you did.¡±


    ¡°You ran?¡± Mother Gwyn asked.


    ¡°I ran.¡± I nodded. If she was following along enough to ask a question, I felt safe in the feeling that she was believing my story.


    ¡°Why did you not fight?¡± She asked, confusion evident in her voice.


    Anger brought heat to my cheeks. I pulled my night shirt up and pointed at the seal over my navel, having to literally bite my tongue to keep myself from speaking. To her, I was telling a story, not recounting my memories. There was no reason for me to grow angry if none of it had ever happened.


    ¡°Right,¡± She nodded, looking back down at Azza who had begun to stir again. ¡°Keep going.¡±


    I left out any mention of Auden or Sorcerer Eames. The Laos and the boarding house were left in my mind as well. I did not know how much she knew about my time as a fugitive. If I gave too much detail, she might begin to ask questions I did not want to answer.


    ¡°I ran as long as I could, but I was weak and terrified. So, when I tripped and fell into a clearing, all I could do was watch as the monster fingered its way towards me,¡± I swallowed and snuck a glance at Mother Gwyn. Her green eyes were entirely focused on me. ¡°Even if had been taught and allowed to learn about my power, it had been sealed away. I was a helpless maiden and there was nothing I could do but scream.¡±


    I did not have to fake the fear in my voice. The altered version of what I was telling her was not far off from the truth.


    I had stolen The Well and I had run away, but it was The Mothers fault that I had been so fucking helpless.


    ¡°I found a rock, a little bigger than my hand on the ground beside me. I picked it up and threw it straight at the monster''s featureless face.¡± I lied and took a much needed breath.


    ¡°Come on, girl. What happened next?¡± Mother Gwyn demanded, the flickering light of her small fire casting a dim orange glow on her face.


    I made her wait, pausing like my mother would to build suspense.


    ¡°I threw the rock,¡± I took another breath. ¡°I missed.¡±


    Mother Gwyn¡¯s jaw dropped. Then, she began to laugh.


    That was not the emotion I had hoped to provoke with my story.


    ¡°Very good, girl. That did it,¡± She laughed. The light of her eerie green power began to shine against Azza¡¯s bronze skin. The Mother in Brown''s angry golden eyes fluttered closed and her whole body relaxed against her sisters. ¡°That¡¯s it. Take a nice long nap.¡± Gwyn said, patting her sleeping sister on the cheek and pushing herself out from around her. She hopped to her feet and stretched her arms to the sky, extending her lithe body until she rose onto the tips of her toes.


    ¡°You charmed her?¡± I asked, keeping my eyes on Azza.


    ¡°That¡¯s what the story was for,¡± Mother Gwyn said, walking away from where I sat and reaching her hand down into the dust. ¡°It gave me just enough to put her to sleep for a while.¡±


    From the moment I had woken up in the dead forest, nothing had made sense. I had just watched one of The Mothers best another in hand to hand combat and charmed her to sleep. With no hesitation she had gotten up and acted like nothing had happened at all.


    ¡°Are you sure she will stay asleep?¡± I asked, feeling like the long legged woman would spring up from the dusty ground and leap for me at any moment.


    ¡°She¡¯s easy,¡± Mother Gwyn said, walking away from the fire and pulling more pieces of blackened wood from underneath the dust. ¡°We¡¯re both lucky it wasn¡¯t one of the old Mo- We¡¯re both lucky it wasn¡¯t The Mother in Red.¡±


    Old Mothers. She had almost let the words come out of her mouth.


    Mother Gwyn placed the branches she had unearthed gently around her small flame and dropped to the ground on the other side of it from me. ¡°We would have wound up just like these branches.¡±


    I spoke before I considered if it was wise or not. ¡°The Mother in Red is Vowkeeper?¡±


    Mother Gwyn pressed her forehead into her hands. ¡°Shit. I¡¯m not supposed to tell you anything.¡±

 V2: Chapter Sixty Three: Sisters

    I knew, if I chose my words carefully, that I had a valuable opportunity to learn things that I had been forbidden to know.


    The Mother in Red is Vowkeeper. I repeated in my mind.


    Silkshifter, Goldluster, Vowkeeper.


    When Azza had appeared as Goldluster, she had been entirely different, transformed. She had said that I was encountering the best of her. When Mother Gwyn was Silkshifter, had that been the best of her? When she could use the green silk to take the shape of whatever she desired, was it the same as Azza? If there was some kind of consistency between the two Mothers transformation, what could Vowkeeper have been to leave a desert of her dust around the volcano?


    Without being hasty, I let the silence between Mother Gwyn and I grow until the blackened limbs that she had added to the fire began to break away into coals.


    She had wrapped her blue veined arms around her legs and brought her knees to her chest. With her long black hair covering her like a veil just as it had after Schwarz had died, she seemed to be closing herself off from everything around her.


    ¡°Mother Gwyn? Schwarz said he was a titan, what does that mean?¡± I asked, choosing to start there instead of directly asking about The Mother in Red.


    Her voice filled with sadness instead of fear, she answered me without raising her head. ¡°He was powerful, more than me or most of The Mothers. That¡¯s why chaos split when he died, his life weighed too much for reality to bear.¡±


    More powerful than most of The Mothers. . .


    ¡°Are there a lot of things like him?¡± I continued, desperately wanting to know more.


    Mother Gwyn sniffled, and I realized she was crying. ¡°There is no one like him, but there are-¡°


    ¡°Enough, Gwyn. Do not speak another word.¡± Azza spoke suddenly, interrupting the answer I had coaxed out of The Mother in Green.


    Every part of me snapped to attention at the sound of her voice. The charm had worn off and The Mother in Brown had awoken.


    From where she lay on her back, Azza rolled onto her hands and knees. She arched her back and raised her head to the night sky. She bent it upward into a bridge and used the momentum to roll onto her feet. In one graceful movement she straightened her legs and stood, lifting herself one section at a time like she was stacking stones.


    Mother Gwyn watched her, slow tears rolling down her pale cheeks and her mouth closed.


    ¡°When we first came to the deepwood to find you and you had all eight of us lost in those cursed tunnels,¡± Azza glanced at me and stepped towards Mother Gwyn as she continued. ¡°The Mother in White found the spider first.¡±


    ¡°I remember.¡± Mother Gwyn nodded and whipped her nose on the back of her hand.


    I kept my eyes on Azza, waiting for her to leap over the small fire between us to try and kill me.


    ¡°She told me afterwards that the Schwarz spoke of you like she would her daughter. I never knew my parents and could never stand to be around the spider, but I know that you have lost, sister. My heart is with you.¡± Azza said softly, helping Mother Gwyn up to her feet. She wrapped her long body around the smaller woman and embarrassed her.


    What the fuck. I thought, unable to look away from the intimate moment despite feeling like I was seeing something that should have been private.


    Mother Gwyn rested her cheek against the front of Azza¡¯s dusty robe and let herself be held.


    ¡°I had finally talked him into moving to Blackwood,¡± she sniffled and rubbed her face into the front of Azza¡¯s dusty robe, drying the tears from her cheeks. ¡°So I could be in Zenithcidel more. I was going to finish digging his nest out after I gave her my punishment.¡±


    ¡°The split brought him here with you?¡± Azza asked, rubbing Mother Gwyn¡¯s back like my mother would mine if I was upset.


    ¡°No, he voidwalked with his webs and saved me after I saved her. It dropped us in the sky above the volcano. Why would it bring us here?¡±


    Azza glanced at me again before answering her sister. ¡°We will discuss this once we are within Zenithcidel once again.¡±


    We will discuss this when we are not around a thieving little girl. I thought, knowing that I was the reason Azza would not let Mother Gwyn speak freely.


    ¡°Right,¡± Mother Gwyn sighed, looking up at the golden peaked volcano with sadness in her eyes. She wrapped her arms around Azza¡¯s middle and squeezed. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can leave him.¡±


    ¡°You must,¡± Azza answered, separating from Mother Gwyn enough that she could brush the long black hair off her sister¡¯s face. ¡°I am not confident that my power will hold reality together for long. Every moment we delay our leaving, the danger grows.¡±


    Azza knocked the dust off of Mother Gwyn¡¯s black body suit and spoke to me. ¡°Maiden Aubrey, you are able to walk?¡±


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    ¡°Yes, Mother.¡± I answered and stood. If she still intended to kill me, she was going a long way to settle me into a false sense of security. Despite my fear, The Mothers were the only way I could conceivably get back to the manor. I would ignore the confusing feelings I felt and try to avoid provoking either of them.


    Azza¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°Around your neck, is that?¡±


    I knew what she was asking after immediately, she had been the one to put it on me after all.


    ¡°The necklace you placed on me during my punishment, Mother Azza. You said it would come off when I understood my place.¡± I answered, speaking honestly with no emotion in my voice.


    Mother Gwyn wiped the tears from her face and looked at the choker.


    ¡°The way your punishment ended, I did not realize. You have been wearing that this whole time?¡± Azza asked


    ¡°Yes, Mother. I have been unable to take it off.¡± I answered, my hand finding its way to the sienna stone hanging from the choker without my intention.


    Mother Gwyn ran her hands back over her hair and began to tie it back into the tight knot she had been wearing the first time I had seen her. ¡°You put that on her?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I did. I will look at it.¡± Azza sighed, her posture and expression making it a question rather than her words.


    I made no move and said no words to disagree. I kept my eyes on the flickering fire that was slowly running out of wood to burn and let her do as she wished. Standing so close that her scent filled my nose, I felt her long finger trace the shape of the choker all the way around my neck.


    How does she do that? I wondered, not understanding how she still smelled of spices and sun warmed stone after everything that had happened.


    Mother Gwyn, her hair tied up once again, approached and narrowed her eyes in my direction. ¡°What is it for?¡±


    She did not bring subtle scents like Azza had. She brought the appropriate smells of sweat, dust, soil, and smoke along with her. I more than likely smelled the same considering that I had been through all that she had. That meant that Azza¡¯s spice and stone scent was some kind of small magic or charm.


    It was one that I wanted to learn.


    ¡°Nothing, now. I hope it is not too tight.¡± Azza sighed, pushing her finger between the choker and my neck.


    ¡°If it is no longer (for) anything, will you remove it, Mother?¡± I asked, choosing my words as carefully as I could. It was easy for me to fall into long periods of forgetting I was wearing it, but the best way to make those long periods even longer was for it to be taken off of me.


    ¡°No,¡± Azza said flatly. ¡°I cannot. Unfortunately for both of us, I am a master craftsman. It will be days before my power returns enough to break it. I will make arrangements once we return to Zenithcidel.¡±


    I kept my face neutral and tried to hide the cold pit forming in my stomach. I would have to see Azza again. There would be another day where the scarred flesh on my arms and legs would writhe at the sight of her.


    ¡°Could you make me one? I think it¡¯s pretty.¡± Mother Gwyn asked, taking the stone in her hand.


    Azza took her by her wrist and pulled her away from me. ¡°Do not be so thoughtless, sister. I am sure that Maiden Aubrey does not appreciate a reminder of her punishment being treated as a bauble to be admired.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Sorry, girl.¡± Mother Gwyn apologized, actually looking remorseful.


    ¡°Besides, when have you ever worn anything but dirt and those tight things you insist on traipsing around in?¡± Azza asked with a smirk.


    I did not answer her.


    I stared into Azza¡¯s golden eyes and refused to look away.


    I had spent many moments of my life thinking that I was someone else. When memories had fallen onto me and pulled me in and out of themselves by my touch alone, I had thought I was half a dozen souls at once. Never had I ever felt as confused as I did then.


    The eyes I stared into were not those of the afterglow ravaged sorceress that would have killed me if she had the chance. Neither were they Goldlusters, who had saved my life and healed my broken hand.


    I was looking at Azza, the same souls that hard buried me alive to punish me.


    Why was she concerned with what I appreciated? I did not understand the inconsistency with which she treated me.


    Her gaze did not falter. She held her golden eyes on mine until I could no longer stand it and I looked away.


    ¡°We must take our leave now. As weak as we are, it is unwise to remain so exposed.¡± Azza said, turning away from me and beginning to kick dust onto the dying fire.


    Mother Gwyn¡¯s face darkened. She looked up to the peak of Vowkeeper¡¯s Anguish and wrapped her arms around herself.


    Once the light of the fire had been buried and choked out by The Mother in Brown, she came and wrapped one of her long arms around her sister¡¯s shoulders.


    Again, I felt like I was witnessing something far too intimate, but I could not look away.


    Nothing I had seen after the shift had been meant for my eyes. Schwarz, the volcano, all that I had learned of The Mothers, none of it. It was by chance alone that I was standing in the desert of red dust and ash, watching one Mother comfort another through her grief. When I did get home, there would be no end to what I had to tell Anna. She would be able to help me make sense of all the unexplainable madness I had witnessed, I could bet my life on that.


    ¡°When we recover, we will come back and I will raise a monument so all who pass through this place will know the name of Schwarz the titan.¡± Azza said softly.


    ¡°Swear?¡± Mother Gwyn whispered.


    ¡°On my name, I swear.¡± Azza answered with a gentle squeeze.


    ¡°Truth,¡± A sad smile touched Mother Gwyn¡¯s face. ¡°Where are we going?¡±


    Azza led us away from where the fire had been, in the direction that were still marked with the swirls I had made in the dust.


    ¡°The shift brought Vowkeeper¡¯s Anguish close to. . .¡± She paused, evidently choosing her words carefully. ¡°The Ladies place.¡±


    ¡°So that is how you reached us in time.¡± Mother Gwyn said, taking up behind me as I followed Azza.


    ¡°Yes. The Mother in Blue will be waiting with a gate prepared.¡± Azza continued.


    The Mother in Blue.


    Nami.


    Which Azza would I see when I thanked her sister for saving me from her?


    Every step I took leaving a footprint of white ash in the red desert, I followed behind Azza intending to find out.

 V2: Chapter Sixty Four: Homeward

    I wanted to go home.


    By the time the sun began to rise and the red dust and ash had given way to grassy field, my legs had reached the end of their strength. The soft grass was a welcome change from the dust for my cut up feet, but every step I took came with the growing reality that they would give out on the next.


    Mother Azza¡¯s long legs carried her forward farther and faster than I could follow. If I lagged too far behind, Mother Gwyn would place her hand on my back and hurry me along.


    Both Mothers had exhausted their power, but neither seemed half as worn down as I did.


    Neither of The Mothers had spent most of their life locked in a small room. They walked wherever they wished whenever the desire struck them. I did not blame them, neither of them had stolen The Well or fled to the mortal plain with the ethereal structure inside them. If my circumstances were different, if I had a good weeks sleep and chose to be in the grassy field, It would have more than likely been a pleasant stroll.


    The morning was beautiful and I could not help but think about all of the other beautiful places in chaos that I would like to see with my own eyes. If I ever managed to free myself from my debt, I would go find them all. No part of me would ever be held anywhere against my will again.


    Mother Gwyn pressed her hand against my back and pushed me into a step. ¡°We are almost there, girl. Keep going.¡±


    I had not realized I had stopped.


    Yes, I would travel to the ends of chaos one day, but that particular morning, all I wanted to do was go home.


    I wanted to see Anna and tell her about everything that had happened before it could slip from my mind. Preferably with a mouth full of warm bread and a cup of cold milk in my hand, I would spare no detail. Then I would bathe and fall asleep with her in my arms.


    Home.


    ¡°If you can¡¯t keep up, you¡¯re going to make me drag you by your hair.¡± Mother Gwyn threatened, pushing me again.


    I had stopped again.


    The Mother in Green would do as she said. Taking another stumbling step was the better option compared to being drug, so I forced myself a little closer to the manor.


    Was that truly true? I did not know which direction we were walking. For all I knew, I could be growing the distance between where I was and where I wanted to be.


    ¡°Where are we?¡± I asked aloud, my voice quiet and my throat dry.


    ¡°Chaos.¡± Mother Gwyn answered simply.


    I knew that, and I felt like she knew that I knew that. ¡°Chaos is everywhere outside of Zenithcidel?¡±


    ¡°No more questions, Maiden Aubrey.¡± Mother Azza called back to me without turning or stopping.


    Mother Gwyn gave me an answer. ¡°No, everything outside the mortal plane is chaos. Zenithcidel is within chaos.¡±


    ¡°Gwyn!¡± Azza snapped, stomping her foot on the ground suddenly.


    ¡°You told her that she couldn¡¯t ask any more questions. You didn¡¯t say that I couldn¡¯t answer the one she had already asked.¡± Mother Gwyn said with a wicked grin on her face.


    ¡°I will be telling The Mother in White of all the mistakes you have made during your time with Maiden Aubrey, understand this.¡± Azza said flatly.


    ¡°No, wait,¡± Mother Gwyn sputtered, running past me and grabbing Azza¡¯s robe by its single sleeve once she reached her. ¡°I¡¯ll stop. I¡¯ll be good, I promise.¡±


    ¡°Do not look at me like that, it makes you look like the same savage little girl you were when we found you.¡± Azza sighed, but a look of amusement had touched her usually fierce face.


    ¡°Maybe I still am, that was only a couple of decades ago.¡± Mother Gwyn shrugged her shoulders, looking up at her sister.


    ¡°Hush!¡± Mother Azza sighed, clamping her hand over her sister¡¯s mouth and snapping her golden eyes to me.


    A couple of decades. Mother Gwyn had been found by The Mothers in the deepwood. The Mother in White had talked with Schwarz for a long time. I thought, connecting the two revelations and repeating it silently in my mind.


    ¡°We will discuss this once Maiden Aubrey is returned to Erosette.¡± Azza said with a serious look at Gwyn. Then, she turned and gestured for us to continue to follow her.


    Mother Gwyn waited for me to pass her before she moved again and we started down the gentle slope the grassy field had settled into.


    The more time I spent in the presence of the Mothers, the more disconnected it all felt. After my punishment from Azza, I had been terrified of her to the point that seeing her had been enough to push me out of the memory I had been viewing. The scars on my arms and legs still broke into itching if I looked at her long enough, but I no longer feared her. Seeing her be a comfort to the younger Mother Gwyn, it had made me understand that she was not a painfully beautiful monster.


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    She was Azza.


    Azza had been exactly what she was meant to be inside the glass pyramid, my punisher.


    When she had arrived at the place that reality was splitting, she had been exactly what she was meant to be, my savior.


    Healing my broken hand, she has been exactly what she had meant to be, kind.


    If I gave a reason to punish me again, she would. If I gave her no reason to be cruel to me, she would not.


    ¡°Mother,¡± Azza. I tried and failed to call her name. I sighed and tried again. ¡°Mother in Brown?¡±


    Azza did not answer me. She took several more long steps and then stopped at the end of the slight slope. I waited until I caught up to her to try and speak with her again.


    ¡°Mother in Brown?¡± The words felt strange to say. It would be so much easier if I could just call her by her name.


    ¡°Watch your step,¡± She warned, stopping me in my tracks by placing one of her hands on my chest. ¡°There is nowhere for you to take it.¡±


    Mother Azza was not lying.


    The soft grass of the field ended abruptly and the ground fell away to a mist filled nothing. Without warning, everything had ended and I could see nothing in the distance beyond the edge.


    Azza gently pushed me back. She brought her hand up to the single sleeve of her robe and ripped it off at her shoulder at its seams. Without hesitation, she tore it in half lengthwise and handed me one piece of the black and gold fabric.


    ¡°It will not take long for us to reach Erosette from here,¡± She said, her golden eyes focused and determined. ¡°But you will wear this until we arrive.¡±


    I sighed and slumped my shoulders, but brought the torn off scrap up to my eyes and tied it around the back of my hair. It brought her scent with it, but If I did not give her a reason to be cruel to me, she would not be.


    ¡°Now, why were you calling for me?¡± Azza asked, nothing more than a gold lined blur from within my blindfold.


    I unwrapped the ruined bandages from my right hand and let them fall to the ground beneath me. ¡°I wanted to thank you for healing me. I am not sure if I already did.¡±


    Genuine relief came to me as I opened and closed my fist without any trace of pain.


    I heard Azza let out a long and weary sigh.


    ¡°Hold on to me, I will prevent you from tripping,¡± She said, looping my arms around one of hers. She led me forward despite the lack of ground and asked me a question I could not answer. ¡°How did you break your hand?¡±


    I bypassed the walls that you and the other Mothers placed in The Well. There is a particular sorceress whose memories are very hard for me to come back from. One night, after I had run into someone from her memories, I woke up not knowing who I was and violently assaulted the guards that have been tasked with protecting the city from me. One of them, of course this wasn¡¯t the first time something like this had happened, had learned from our previous encounter and had equipped himself with some kind of metal underwear. I have a tendency to go for a man¡¯s balls when I find myself in conflict with them, so when I tried to strike them, I hit the metal and my hand cracked. Isn¡¯t that unusual?


    Despite the truth of it, there was no reality where I could tell her that.


    ¡°I fell down the stairs,¡± I lied, only being able to know where to walk because of Mother Azza¡¯s guidance. ¡°I am fairly clumsy.¡±


    ¡°That is true, you would not believe the amount of times he tripped and fell while I was hunting her.¡± Mother Gwyn said from the other side of me.


    ¡°Oh, well,¡± I felt Azza pat my arm with her hand. ¡°Try to be more careful.¡±


    The skin around the scars on my arms and legs crawled at her words. What she had said did not sound like the words of someone who hated me. If the Mother¡¯s were as powerful as they were confusing, I did not understand how there was even a war between them and the sorcerers.


    My feet touched a familiar surface and I had realized we had stepped onto some sort of stone. It was not warm the way the floors and pathways in and around the manner were. It was bitterly cold and sent the bones in my bare feet aching upon their first touch. The warmth of the morning sun vanished and a blustering wind blew straight through my thin nightclothes and sent chill bumps rippling over my skin.


    ¡°A more pleasant climate was beyond you?¡± Azza spoke, her long arm shivering suddenly within my grasp.


    A new voice answered her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mother. Gray is The Fair. She is the only soul I have ever met that thinks this is nice weather.¡±


    The new voice was deep, calm, and smooth, like the surface of an undisturbed water.


    Nami.


    ¡°Honestly, all of you must learn to watch your tongues.¡± Azza snapped.


    ¡°Is the blindfold truly necessary?¡± I heard Nami asked.


    ¡°Of course it is.¡± Azza answered.


    ¡°Is she here? I don¡¯t think I¡¯m up for a fight right now.¡± Mother Gwyn said.


    ¡°No, everyone else is out checking the gates. Both of you need to sit down and settle things though. Continuing to be at each other¡¯s throats is good for none of us.¡± I heard Nami say as Azza pulled me into movement again.


    ¡°Nami. Since you cannot seem to help yourself, you are not to speak again until I have crossed through the gate, do you understand this?¡± Azza commanded, her voice full of power and weight.


    ¡°Yes, Mother. It is the one on the left.¡± Nami answered.


    ¡°Gwyn. I will send one of my girls when I am ready to return to Vowkeeper¡¯s Anguish.¡± Azza said, bringing me forward.


    If Mother Gwyn answered, I did not hear it. Azza pulled me into a step and the cold stone under my feet vanished.


    The next moment, sudden sounds of violence started and I was thrown to the ground.


    ¡°My lady.¡± A low voice thundered in my ears.


    Sam?


    I ripped the torn sleeve of Azza¡¯s robe down off my face and looked up to see The Mother in Brown standing in a protective stance in front of me.


    Every hair on his big blue body stood on end. Thin arcs of lightning looped endlessly from the tip of his tail to the points of his ears. My familiar stared down The Mother in Brown with violence in his eyes.


    ¡°What are you?¡± Azza growled, the sharp black lines that ran over her body beginning to glow with her sienna aura.


    ¡°Relinquish my Lady to me and I will be nothing to you. Continue to hold her against her will, Sam growled, shaking the empty door frames that lined the circular stone room we were in. ¡°And I will be a demon.¡±

 V2: Chapter Sixty Five: Purpose

    Never in my short life had I ever felt so torn.


    The no longer little blue demon that was bound to my will did not make false threats. His electric arrival and thundering words had been directed at The Mother in Brown.


    Half of me felt some strange sense of pride that no matter the strength and power of who he faced, Sam would come to my defense. The other half of me was terrified at the notion that one of the only things in my life that was truly mine would be destroyed or taken.


    Sam would fight her, I knew him well enough to know that. What happened next depended on which Azza was standing defensively before me.


    ¡°Maiden Aubrey, why does this creature refer to you as its Lady?¡± Azza asked, the sienna glow of her aura washing out the blue light coming from the small arcs of lightning that circled Sam¡¯s body.


    ¡°He is my familiar,¡± I answered meekly. ¡°She is not holding me against my will, Sam. She is just bringing me home.¡±


    Azza looked back over her shoulder at me, anger in her golden eyes. ¡°When did you receive a familiar?¡±


    If I had received him, did that not mean that someone had given him to me? The best thing I could do was answer her honestly, despite the fear that I would say something wrong and find myself in more trouble. ¡°Shortly after I fled to the mortal plane, Mother Azza.¡±


    ¡°Hmph,¡± Azza huffed. ¡°Why was I not told of this?¡±


    ¡°When should I have told you? Before or after you buried me alive?¡± The words left my mouth faster than I could realize what I was saying.


    Azza¡¯s eyes narrowed and the elegant line of her jaw clenched. ¡°Fair. What is its name?¡±


    My jaw dropped. I was powerless to stop it. Azza had just agreed with me after I had said something sarcastic to her.


    ¡°I am Samsara.¡± Sam answered for himself. The arcs of lightning were no longer circling his body, but his stance remained tense and ready.


    ¡°Well, Samsara, it is fortunate for you that I am tired. If I was not, I would remind you that while she wove power into you, you are still just a cat.¡± Azza said, offering me a hand up.


    ¡°And you are just a sorceress, Mother.¡± Sam responded, turning his back to The Mother in Brown and beginning to groom his paw.


    ¡°Sam!¡± I whispered harshly. The last thing I needed was my stupid cat to give Azza a reason to be the version of herself that wanted me dead. I was almost home. I was almost back to Anna. The mass of blue fur coming to my rescue was evidence of that. I held my breath in the round room of doorways, unsure if I should attempt to apologize or try to flee.


    Azza laughed. ¡°Is it always this contemptuous?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± I answered, her laugh making me feel more uneasy than I had before.


    ¡°How cute,¡± Azza sighed, moving toward a set of stairs that served as the room''s exit. ¡°I always wished for a familiar of my own. Come, I will see you to your door.¡±


    I did as I was told, making sure that my familiar followed me out of the strange room. We walked behind Azza, her long legs carrying her up two steps at a time, and met a man that was waiting for us at the top of the stairs.


    ¡°Damn, Azza. You look terrible.¡± The man laughed, slapping his massive hand against his chiseled stomach. Hair that was nearly the same shade of red as my own billowed down from his head and blended with his big bushy beard. He wore pants that ended just above his ankles and seemed like they would split over his massive thighs if he were to squat. Azza was taller than him, but he was nearly three times her width.


    ¡°I am not in the mood, Go. Go find a tree to uproot or whatever it is you do with your time.¡± Azza sighed.


    Go. . . As in Go¡¯s night? I thought, knowing the barrel of a man standing before me must be one of The Mother in Red¡¯s lovers.


    ¡°Who have you brought into my home? The kitten I have met, the girl I have not.¡± Go asked, leaning to one side and peering at me past Azza.


    Despite his beard and ridiculously large muscles, there was a childish gleam in his eyes. He looked like he was doing everything in his power to stop himself from asking to play with the kitten standing guard at my feet.


    ¡°It is a matter of The Mother¡¯s. Is she here?¡± Azza answered and asked, regaining Go¡¯s attention by thumping him on the tip of his nose.


    For just a moment, the way he glared at the tall woman, it reminded me of Anna and Arthur. I looked around the room that the stairs had led me to. The ceiling was high and held up at each corner by pink marble pillars that were flecked with gold. My feet stood atop a floor of gray stones that carried the same pleasant heat that those of the manor did. Every doorway and window was hung with rose colored fabric that draped to the floor in red pools. From tall pots on either side of the doorways to the planters that hung off the walls, wilted roses let their dying petals drift down to the floor like a slow rain.


    Where am I? I wondered, knowing that it had to be somewhere in Erosette. Had The black gate led me to The Mother in Red¡¯s home?


    ¡°Yes. She¡¯s with Adrian.¡± Go grunted, rubbing his nose with the heel of his hand.


    ¡°Tell her that I have arrived and that I will come speak to her shortly.¡± Azza commanded, motioning for me to follow her out of the opulent room


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    ¡°Wait. You can¡¯t go out like that. Embpyre is tonight. Both of you will need robes.¡± Go said, halting us as he ran out of the room.


    I could hear every thudding step the big man took through wherever I was growing quieter and then louder as he returned. Without so much as glancing in my direction, he handed Azza two hooded robes that were the same gray the ash around Vowkeeper¡¯s Anguish had been.


    ¡°Another one of her ridiculous holidays,¡± Azza sighed as she pulled the robe over her head and shook her arms to settle the fabric. Tossing the second to me, she raised the hood over her sleek black hair and smoothed the wrinkles. It barely reached her ankles once she had it settled on her lean frame. ¡°She does realize that if there is some silly festival or party every night that they will begin to lose their meaning?¡±


    I pulled the robe over my head, just as she had and it swallowed me whole. The sleeves hung far past the tips of my fingers and the he of it bunched at my feet like the red fabric that draped the doorways.


    ¡°That one was meant for you.¡± Go chuckled, pointing at the ocean of gray cloth that I was drowning in.


    ¡°It is irrelevant. I will not be wearing it for long,¡± Azza said to me as she turned to leave again. ¡°Come.¡±


    Go followed us through the doors and out into a verdant garden that looked like a larger version of the one behind the manor. The sky over Erosette was dimming and I found a sense of relief in the familiar dusk. ¡°You won¡¯t stay?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Azza answered without slowing or looking back at the man.


    Go called after her as we reached the mouth of the garden. ¡°I¡¯ll have Morrow get that spirit you like, the one with the gold flakes in it?¡±


    ¡°Have him fetch it and we will see.¡± Azza half shouted and half sighed.


    I heard Go let out a triumphant laugh and smack his hand against his stomach once again.


    Following her through the mouth of the garden, Seven marble archways stood over the stone path under my feet. Beyond them lay a side of Erosette that I had never seen before. We reached the bridge that lay over the top of the river that seemed to circle the city and Azza stopped me.


    ¡°Hold still. I am still quite weak and cannot afford to do this twice,¡± Azza said, raising her hand to my face. She placed the tip of her forefinger in the center of my forehead and I closed my eyes against the sudden flicker of her aura. ¡°This will fade shortly, so we must make haste.¡±


    ¡°Is it glamor?¡± I asked, Azza¡¯s scent filling my nose and her power tingling on my face.


    ¡°She has made you look like a boy,¡± Sam answered my question, standing so close to my feet that It was fortunate I had not tripped over him. ¡°It is an improvement.¡±


    ¡°I will not risk you being seen by someone in the city. It is a simple but effective illusion.¡± Azza shrugged. She offered me her arm like she had when I had been blindfolded.


    I took it and let her lead me over the bridge and around the right side of the city. The streets were filled with people dressed in the same robes that Azza and I wore. Every one of them wore their hoods raised and they all spoke in hushed whispers.


    ¡°Do you know what all this is for?¡± I asked Azza sometime after the archways we had crossed through had been concealed by the city. A group of three robed people appeared out of an alleyway on our right carrying some kind of long chair.


    ¡°No and I do not wish to.¡± Azza answered simply.


    I do. I thought, noticing in the last few minutes of sunlight that everyone wearing the robes were all moving towards the heart of Erosette.


    The rest of the journey was made in silence. Azza¡¯s pace slowed the longer we walked and by the time the light of the manor became clear in the distance, she was barely  managing to walk without dragging her feet.


    My legs and feet were sore. I was beyond tired, but I had not been the one to weave reality back together to save it from splitting.


    Part of me felt bad for her.


    The other part remembered that part of her wanted to kill me.


    Having grown close enough that I could see the shape of the guards standing on the other side of the river, Sam sprinted out in front of us and turned onto the bridge. I lost track of him as he disappeared into the darkness at the edge of the city.


    One of the guards began to move towards us as we reached the edge of the bridge.


    Woolie.


    Azza held a hand up in his direction and he stopped in his tracks. Looking down at me, she reached into my hood and tapped the golden choker around my neck. ¡°I will make arrangements when I am prepared to remove this.¡±


    ¡°Thank you Mo-¡±


    ¡°Who is that?¡± Azza asked suddenly, her eyes turning back towards the manor.


    The shape of a person ran down the hill from the manor, little more than a silhouette. It turned onto the bridge and entered the dim glow of the city lights.


    Anna. . .


    Without slowing, she ran straight into me and threw her arms around me. ¡°Are you okay? Where are you hurt?¡±


    Before I could answer, she had thrown herself into a complete inspection of me. Pushing the sleeves up over my arms, running her hands down my sides, and pulling the pool of robe up from the ground and gingerly touching all the places my feet and ankles had been cut up.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to glue your boots to your damn feet,¡± Anna sighed before popping back up and throwing my hood back off my face. ¡°Oh fuck! What did they do to your face?¡±


    I had no clue what I looked like, but the relief and joy I felt in my heart at the sight of her shocked face sent me into true laughter.


    ¡°It¡¯s glamor.¡± I laughed, pulling her into me and getting lost in the feeling of her embrace.


    I got so lost in it that I almost forgot Azza was standing there.


    ¡°So this is one of the mortals that we allowed you to keep,¡± Azza interrupted, pulling the too small robe off over her head. ¡°The two of you seem like a wonderful pair.¡±


    Anna did not speak, she separated from me just enough to glare up at The Mother in Brown.


    Allowed me to keep?


    ¡°Maiden Aubrey, dispose of this for me.¡± Azza commanded, stepping back from us as the lines on her bronze skin began to glow. She threw the robe towards me and I caught it, but I could not let her leave without knowing what she had meant.


    ¡°What did you mean that you allowed me to keep the mortals?¡± I asked, clinging to Anna like my life depended on it.


    ¡°There was the purpose in allowing them to stay near you,¡± Azza sighed, the tips of her hair beginning to fall away into golden dust. ¡°You love her, that is plain to see. Behave and we will have no reason to take her away from you.¡±


    Without another word, The Mother in Brown swirled into a cloud of dust and vanished from my sight.


    Anna was staring at me, I could feel her dark eyes boring into my face.


    I looked at her, red anger lashing to life in my stomach.


    Her eyes went to my lips and then back up again. ¡°When are you going to be a girl again? I don¡¯t think I can wait much longer.¡±

 V2: Chapter Sixty Six: Two Autumns

    Once again, Azza had left me with a lingering mark that I could not ignore.


    It was not like the golden choker that was still locked around my neck. Nor did it feel like the scars on my arms and legs that had refused to yield to my mother¡¯s healing.


    Take her away from you. Azza¡¯s words repeated in my mind for the thousandth time since The Mother in Brown had disappeared in her cloud of golden dust.


    The Mother¡¯s had allowed the Laos to be named as members of my mother¡¯s house so they could use them against me.


    Woolie had come out and brought us back across the bridge not a moment after Azza had left. With Anna holding my hand all the way, I could not focus on the stream of questions that flooded out of her.


    Take her away from you.


    I felt like I was burning alive from the inside, but there was nowhere to direct the heat. Azza was gone and I could not go after her. I did not care what Azza I had to deal with, Anna was not some privilege that could be stripped away from me if the Mother¡¯s saw fit to do so. There was no hope for me to beat her with my power, but if I could be quick like Mother Gwyn had been, I could wrap my hands around her throat, she had healed them after all.


    ¡°Autumn?¡± Her voice broke through my wild thoughts and brought me back to where my feet were actually planted.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I apologized, shaking my head and looking her in the eyes. It was difficult to dispel the visions of me successfully defeating Azza and rescuing Anna from the bottom of a treacherous pyramid, but I managed. ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°Embpyre. It¡¯s some kind of celebration where you give up something. The guards said they were going to do it out front and we could join them if we wanted.¡± Anna said, closing one of the double doors at the front of the manor behind herself.


    I looked down at the ashen robe Azza had been wearing. Had I been blinded by my anger to the extent that I had not realized we had walked all the way up the hill or was my exhaustion to blame?


    ¡°Or do you want to shower first? You look pretty damn dirty,¡± Anna continued without waiting for my answer. ¡°No, wait! How long has it been since you¡¯ve eaten? Do those bitch¡¯s feed you when they take you?¡±


    Between licking her thumb to wipe a spot of ash off my cheek and hurrying over to the kitchen, she was so caught with the desire to give me what I needed I did not think she even knew what she was doing. Despite my tiredness and the remnants of the burning anger, I could have stood there and watched her fuss over me until the end of time.


    ¡°Shit! Your hand!¡± Anna shouted suddenly and stepped back to where I stood.


    ¡°All better.¡± I said, offering it to her so she could inspect it.


    ¡°How! Did you learn how to heal yourself?¡± Anna asked, her delicate fingers turning my hand over and tracing the lines of the bones that stood against my pale skin.


    ¡°No,¡± I let out a frustrated sigh. I still could not say Azza¡¯s name aloud. ¡°The Mother in Brown healed it.¡±


    Anna shook her head. ¡°What the fuck? She already punished you. We have so much to talk about. Unless, you don¡¯t feel like it. Say the word and I¡¯ll shut my mouth until you¡¯re ready.¡±


    She was being so careful with me. Beneath her excitement and her concern, she was watching me for any sign of pain or weakness. I could not blame her considering the state I had been in the last time I had returned from a punishment.


    ¡°Shhh,¡± I pressed my finger to my lips and hushed her. ¡°I¡¯m going to tell you everything, but I need to know who else is here.¡±


    ¡°No one. Arthur and your mom are still in Hymneth.¡± Anna answered, raising one of her eyebrows in a questioning expression.


    Do as you will. The thought that had been building in my mind took shape suddenly. It held no fear, no exhaustion, no anger. It was empty of anything but the truth it carried.


    Should I do what I wanted or what I was supposed to do?


    If I was a good little criminal, I would go upstairs, get clean, and go to bed. I would be thankful that The Mothers allowed Anna to be near me and do everything I could to return The Well to them as soon as I could. When the unseen noose around my neck was tightened again and my next punishment arrived, I would not pull against it. I would accept the pressure and weight that my actions had placed upon me and take what I was given, be it a tomb of sand or packs of wild beasts hunting me.


    No part of me wanted that.


    I wanted to go back down to the city with Anna wrapped around my arm. I wanted to weave our way through the crowd of hooded citizens and find our way to the heart of Erosette. We would be lost in the sea of ashen robed people and we could see for ourselves what Embpyre truly was. We would find something to eat from a place like where Arthur had taken me and we would walk the streets until we decided it was time to go back to the manor.


    Don¡¯t be stupid. Do you want them to take her away from you? I thought, every emotion my other thought lacked coming along with it.


    During my punishment and the chaos that had followed the shift, I had met and spent time with different versions of Mother Azza and Gwyn. Each of them had felt so different from the other that I could hardly believe they were the same people.


    As confusing as it was, I understood it. There were two of me in my mind, trying to decide which one would be listened to.


    ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± Anna asked, giving my hand a gentle squeeze.


    I knew which of the two Autumns that I wanted her to see. Almost from the first time I had met her, when she had seen almost all of me, she had done nothing but try and take care of me. She deserved more from me than to spend her night listening to me talk until I fell asleep.


    ¡°Put this on.¡± I said, tossing the robe that Azza had been wearing at Anna.


    ¡°Are we going to go watch the guards?¡± She asked, sounding out the words like she had suddenly lost the ability to understand them.


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    ¡°No, just put it on or I¡¯ll charm you and make you do it.¡± I threatened, letting a long moment pass before I winked at her.


    She scrunched her nose and furrowed her brow, but a grin spread across her face. ¡°I want to know about what happened. If I have to wake up and not have any damn idea where you¡¯ve gone, you have to tell me about it when you get back.¡±


    ¡°I am going to, I promise.¡± I laughed, sticking my pinky out of the massive sleeve.


    Anna narrowed her eyes and started pulling the robe on. ¡°I¡¯m gonna do it, but not because you told me to. I¡¯m putting it on because I¡¯m cold. That¡¯s the only reason.¡±


    Once her head was in the folds of the robe and she was blinded, I took several quick steps to the stairs and dashed up them as fast as I could.


    ¡°Hey! Where did you go?¡± I heard Anna call after me just as I reached my room.


    I moved quickly despite my sore feet, trying to outrun the Autumn that was terrified with what I was about to do. I gathered up the mass of fabric from the floor and stepped into my cuffed boots just in time to see Anna standing in the doorway.


    ¡°Are we going somewhere?¡± She asked. The robe that had barely been long enough to cover Azza¡¯s knees fit Anna perfectly. She had raised the hood over her dark hair and the tips of her fingers hung out of the sleeve just enough that I could see her nails.


    ¡°Yes.¡± I said, striding towards her as soon as my heels sunk to the bottom of my boots. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror atop the desk and skidded to a stop. My hair fell to just above my ears in loose waves and my jaw looked wider and firmer than it should have. I had forgotten the glamor Azza had painted my face with until I saw it with my own eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m. . .handsome.¡± I whispered. The longer I looked at myself, the more I could smell the warm spiced scent of The Mother in Brown and feel her power on my face like a coating of unseen dust.


    ¡°Yes, but I like it better when you are beautiful.¡± Anna said, appearing beside me in the mirror like some dark figure.


    ¡°When is that?¡± I asked, finding it difficult to look away from her in the mirror.


    ¡°Whenever I look at you or watch you,¡± She smiled and pointed at my reflection ¡°Except for right now. I¡¯m not a fan of this. Take it off.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can, but even if I could, there is something satisfying about disobeying The Mothers while wearing their power as a disguise.¡± I said, taking her by the hand and leading her out of the room.


    ¡°Wait! You just got back. Is this really a good idea?¡± Anna asked, evidently understanding what manner of disobedience I meant to enact.


    I did not wait. I led her down the stairs as I spoke. ¡°It is the best idea. I have just returned from a punishment. They are not going to come for me again tonight.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re exhausted. You need to rest!¡± She insisted as I pulled her out of the back door of the manor and made for the wall that bordered the path to the well house.


    ¡°I will. When we get back, I will sleep until Amoranora comes again,¡± I assured her. Dropping down to one knee, I took her by her ankle and brought her shoe up to my hands. ¡°Un, deux, trois.¡±


    I extended my arms and pushed her up with a small flash of pearl pink light. My will for us to go down to the city and experience Embpyre together was so strong that I had not realized my aura was so close to my surface. Anna landed on the top of the wall at her hips. Before she managed to pull herself the rest of the way up, I had jumped just like I did to get up to my perch atop the manor and used my aura to climb atop the wall.


    Erosette was alight with orange light that flickered over the river at the edges of the city. Every street and every building was bathed in the glow. At its center, in the heart, the light burned so bright that I felt like I could almost feel its heat.


    Erosette was on fire and we were going to run straight into it.


    The rolling hills that surrounded the city were no longer blanketed by the near infinite amount of roses it had been the last time I had seen it. Their color had darkened and their petals had fallen, covering the hill that led down to the river in a shroud of death and rot.


    I dropped down from the wall and landed softly atop the wilted flowers. Anna slid down and I caught her in my arms, spinning us around to prevent the force from driving us to the ground. Thorns crunched and broke under my boots as we went and Anna held a hand over her mouth to muffle her laughter.


    When the flower dies, the thorns remain. The Autumn that had brought me out of the confines of the manor spoke again.It left me the strange thought just as quickly as it had come.


    ¡°Will you tell me what happened now?¡± Anna whispered as I led us towards the city at an angle.


    I intertwined my fingers with hers and started from where our night together had ended. ¡°I fell asleep, but when I woke up, you were gone.¡±


    I told her about waking up in the forest with the green moon. I told her about the dogs and the green eyed beast. I told her about the briars, the tree, and how I had been terrified that she had been brought out there with me.


    ¡°Dummy,¡± She interrupted, playfully knocking her shoulder into mine. ¡°If I was out there, everyone would have known it because I would have been screaming.¡±


    ¡°I do feel dumb about it now, I should have known it was The Mothers.¡± I whispered.


    ¡°Don¡¯t feel dumb, they took you from your bed while you were asleep. I didn¡¯t even know you were gone until I woke up and Samsara told me. Nobody would have been in their right mind.¡± Anna whispered back.


    I did not feel that way, for fucks sake the moon had been green, but I trusted her enough to believe what she said.


    Continuing from when the tree had rotted away under my feet and I had been thrown through the ground, I told her about the massive serpent and the smaller one that had coiled itself around me. From the tree sized branch to the green eyed snake, I told her everything that led to my back being pinned against a fallen tree with the horrid spider looming over me.


    ¡°A hand pushed out from within the spider''s head,¡± I said, just as we reached the bridge that I had used the night I had met Arthur in the city. ¡°It ripped it apart and I saw. . .¡±


    ¡°What did you see?¡± Anna demanded, her eyes wide within the ashen hood.


    ¡°Her name. I can¡¯t say her name anymore.¡± I spat, balling my hands inside the billowing sleeves and squeezing them until my nails dug into my palms.


    Azza. I realized. Whatever power she had used to keep me from speaking her name, she had used it again to bind my tongue from saying Gwyn.


    ¡°They keep me locked away in a fucking manor? I don¡¯t go to school. I don¡¯t talk to anyone but you and my mother. Who the fuck are they scared I¡¯m going to talk to?¡± I shouted, my voice echoing off the buildings around us.


    Fortunately, the streets were empty. Not even the refugees that lived in the patchwork mountain range of tents were around.


    There was not another soul around except for the person that sprinted out of the alley next to us and collided with Anna and I.


    All three of us fell.


    I went first, Anna went on top of me, and the stranger went face first onto the stone street.


    ¡°Oh no, oh no, oh no,¡± The stranger cried in the panicked voice of a girl. She wore the same sort of ash colored robe that Anna and I were wearing. Her hood had come off her head from the impact and she pushed her short blond hair back with her hands as she looked at us. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to do that. She has to be close to ending it. Are you two late too?¡±


    It did not mean much in a place filled with people that could change their appearance as easily as they could change their clothes, but she looked younger than me. Her amber eyes and the freckles across the bridge of her nose gave her a warm, dazed look that did not suit the panic in her voice.


    ¡°Yes, we are late.¡± I lied, knowing that I did not know the implications of what I was saying. Anna gave me a confused look as she helped me to my feet. I could almost hear her asking me what the fuck I was doing just by her expression.


    The girl stood. Just beneath the gray robe, I could see a tiny sliver of red fabric around her neck. I had seen its kind before. It was the half cloak that the underwitchs from the school wore.


    ¡°Follow me, I know a shortcut,¡± She said over her shoulder, already moving again. ¡°We have to get there before The Mother in Red does.¡±

 V2: Chapter Sixty Seven: Embpyre

    The underwitch led us through the alleys and streets of Erosette like it was a labyrinth of her own design.


    Anna wrapped her arms around one of mine and slowed my pace, speaking to me in a tone that only I could hear. ¡°Autumn. This is a terrible idea.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± I whispered back, unable to keep a nervous smile from touching my lips.


    The underwitch had not stopped talking since she had run into us.


    ¡°-said they would come tell me when they were leaving. Surprise, they didn¡¯t. I should have known better and asked Nocti,¡± She continued, speaking as if Anna and I knew who they were. "He says they are mean to me because I¡¯m the youngest but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s it.¡±


    Knowing that I was willfully fanning the flames of danger that I was placing Anna and I in with every word I said, I spoke back to her regardless. ¡°What is it like, the school?¡±


    ¡°Oh, it is probably not like what you are thinking. There aren¡¯t classes or tests or anything,¡± She stopped suddenly and whipped her head back and forth between an alley on her left and an alley on her right. ¡°It¡¯s the hardest thing I¡¯ve ever done, but I wouldn¡¯t want to be anywhere else.¡±


    She went right and the air within Erosette grew hotter and hotter as we followed her deeper into the city. Everywhere the shadows of the buildings did not meet was painted with the flickering light I had seen from atop the manor wall. Through empty streets and past closed storefronts, we sped towards the glowing heart that shone like a small sun.


    ¡°Thank the Mothers, we made it.¡± The underwitch called back to us as she turned a corner and bright fire light washed over her.


    As soon as I stepped into the light, sweat began to form on my brow.


    Flames, as high as the buildings that surrounded the open space within the city, roared as they burned the mass at their base. Uncountable people stood around the pyre, packed shoulder to shoulder in an impenetrable wall of grey robes.


    The underwitch reached the back of the crowd we had appeared behind and raised her voice. ¡°Excuse us, we still have to give!¡±


    A man, wearing the same ashen robes as everyone else in the city turned and let us through. ¡°Hurry girl, she¡¯s almost here.¡±


    The crowd parted just long enough for us to pass before rejoining behind us.


    ¡°Are you okay? This is a lot of people.¡± Anna asked me, her hold on my arm one of the few reasons I was.


    ¡°What is this?¡± I answered her question with a question, unable to look away from the fire despite the burning in my eyes.


    We reached the front of the crowd and I felt like my skin would burn under my clothes if I stood too close for too long. Shapes formed the mass at the base. Chairs, metal cups, mounds of clothes, books, and every other thing I could imagine had all been thrown into a pile that had been set ablaze.


    The underwitch shoved her hand down the front of her robe and pulled out a wad of wrinkled and torn paper. She held it in her hands in front of her chest a closed her eyes. With a slow exhale, she threw it into the fire and it burned away to nothing before it could hit the ground.


    ¡°There,¡± She smiled and turned to Anna and I. ¡°What did you two bring. ¡°I¡¯m Pyreme by the way.¡±


    Anna wiped the sweet from her face on the back of her grey sleeve. ¡°We didn¡¯t know we were supposed to bring something to give.¡±


    ¡°What was the paper you threw?¡± I asked, still staring into the fire. There was a movement, a pattern, within the flames that drew me in. It was an endless dance that was equal parts hypnotic as it was destructive.


    ¡°It was the names of my sisters in my coven. They aren¡¯t very nice to me. The Mother in Red said that I should burn them, to try and let them go.¡± Pyreme said, casting her eyes to the ground. ¡°It¡¯s silly, but I do feel better.


    She knows The Mother in Red. She knows Rhiannon.


    ¡°That¡¯s what Embpyre is for,¡± Pyreme continued, her tan skin glistening from the heat of the fire. ¡°Whatever is darkening your heart, you give it to the fire and let it burn away.¡±


    What is darkening your heart. I repeated in my mind.


    Without knowing what I was doing, I pressed my hand to my face and brought my aura to my palm. I felt the hard lines of Azza¡¯s power everywhere she had lain it over my face. My dark red light met her glamor and the ghost of her scent filled my nose.


    ¡°You¡¯re a sorcerer!¡± Pyreme shouted at the sight of my aura.


    Like I was pulling off a mask, I pushed my power under the edges of the glamor and snapped my wrist forward violently.


    The illusion broke and fell away into dust.


    My hair unfurled and fell down within my hood. A weak breath shook out of me and the edges of my vision began to blur with the loss.


    ¡°You¡¯re a sorceress?¡± Pyreme whispered, confusion evident in her voice.


    ¡°Easy,¡± Anna said, keeping me steady. ¡°I¡¯ve got you.¡±


    Several heavy breaths later, I gritted my teeth and took a handful of Azza¡¯s dust into my hand and pressed it into Anna¡¯s. Then, I took a second and pulled us to the edge of the pyre.


    The folds of fabric around my feet began to smoke in an instant, but I did not step back. I threw the dust into the fire like it would kill me if I held it any longer. Following my lead, Anna did the same. I watched as it rained down atop the mass and began to burn away like everything else.


    Anna pulled me back by my arm and started stomping the ends of my robe like she was tamping out a campfire.


    ¡°You¡¯re on fire!¡± Pyreme said, joining Anna in her stomping. The underwitch wore sandals that were just the same as the other underwitchs I had seen wore.


    To my surprise, both of them were indeed stomping out the burning ends of my robe. When the flames were out, Pyreme turned to me and looked me in my eyes.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± She asked, nothing but genuine curiosity on her face.


    Anna put her hand in the middle of my back and I could almost hear her reminding me of where I was.


    I was in the heart of Erosette, with nothing but the hood on my head keeping my unglamored face concealed.


    I should have lied. I should have come up with a name and lied to the underwitch. Better yet, I should have taken Anna by the arm and made for the manor. We should have spoken to no one and made no stops on our way.


    I should have, but I didn¡¯t because I should not have to do those things.


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    Was stealing The Well, something I did not even remember doing, severe enough that I had to pretend I did not exist?


    No. I was alive, I had power even if it was small, I loved, I had wants and desires.


    I should not have to hide who I was.


    ¡°My name is Autumn,¡± I said, feeling the sudden anger that had flared to life within me grow into something I had never felt before. ¡°You said that you know The Mother in Red. Tell me what she is like.¡±


    ¡°Why? Are you trying to join her garden?¡± Pyreme asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I lied. ¡°We have traveled very far and I must know who it is I am to meet.¡±


    Pyreme¡¯s face brightened at my deception and the things I wanted to know began pouring out of her. ¡°Oh, I hope she accepts you! I¡¯m so tired of being the new rose. The Mother in Red is not what people think she is. I¡¯ve never met a more loving soul. I¡¯m not very strong compared to my sisters, but when she spends time with me she makes me feel like I¡¯m the most talented underwitch in all of chaos.¡±


    Her words did not lighten my heart because I knew that The Mother in Red she was describing would not be the one I would meet. Where she had shown Pyreme love, she would show me hate. The attention she had given her would not make me feel talented or valued. She would focus on me with the same intentions that Azza had with her sand and Gwyn had with her hunt.


    Silence settled over the crowd as quick as a wink, leaving the roaring of the flames as the only sound in the city.


    ¡°Here she comes.¡± Pyreme whispered turning and pointing to her left.


    Down the street that was the dividing line of the heart of Erosette, seven robed figures walked unburdened through the parted crowd. It did not reform as it had when I had come through it. The citizens stayed pressed against the walls on either side, their eyes watching something behind the seven souls that I could not yet see.


    ¡°Thank you all,¡± A woman¡¯s voice echoed, loud and clear enough that it could be heard over the burning pyre. ¡°It fills me with joy that all of you participate in my night of grieving.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s her.¡± I said to Anna, rising to the tips of my boots to try and catch a glimpse of Rhiannon. She had been the singer on the night before Amoranora. The memory was so clear in my mind, I would have recognized her voice anywhere.


    ¡°My loves, grief is nothing but the recognition of a memory. I will take what has darkened your hearts and turn it to ash,¡± She continued, stepping into my sight. A cascade of rolling blonde curls spilled out of the unnatural shadows within her hood. The curve of her chest and hips filled the ashen robe she wore and every step she took seemed deliberate and full of intention. ¡°May they remain unburned until we meet again.¡±


    The seven robed figures that had preceded her stopped a formed a line. The Mother in Red embraced each of them on her way to the pyre.


    The first, with golden blonde hair hanging within his hood. Galahad.


    The second, patting her back gently with a large hand. Morrow.


    The third and fourth held no feature that I recognized, but she embraced them just the same.


    The fifth stood a head taller and nearly half again as wide as his counterparts. When he wrapped his arms around The Mother in Red, she nearly disappeared in his bulk. Go.


    The sixth did not have his hood raised. In its place was a wide brimmed black hat that I had seen several times before. Nocti.


    Again, just like the third and fourth, I could not recognize the seventh. I knew that one of three I could not name had to be Patience.


    Without a moment passing, The Mother in Red left her lovers and walked into the flames with no more grandeur than if she was stepping into a shower.


    She did not scream. She did not writhe or show any sign of pain. Slowly, she climbed to the top of the mass appearing as nothing but a burning silhouette. The robe burned away from her, floating up into the night sky in scraps before crumbling to uncountable embers. She wore nothing underneath it, but her shape alone was enough to hypnotize anyone that had an appreciation for beauty.


    Like Pyreme had with her ball of paper, The Mother in red brought her hands up to her chest and held them in a dome. Thorny vines of her rose colored aura crawled down from her hands and grew until they hung just above her feet. They coiled and intertwined with one another, taking shape as she gripped the top of them like a handle.


    ¡°Upon this burning altar, I will keep my vows.¡± The Mother in Red spoke in the same clear voice she had before. The vines of her power burst into flame inside the fire, darker and slower than those around it. In their place, a sword took shape. Longer than her body and as wide as her waist, she raised it straight up above her head and plunged it straight down into the mass of freely given burdens.


    The heat that left my clothes soaked through with sweat vanished in an instant. Up from the gray stones of the street, rose colored fire swallowed the flames of the pyre and painted the heart of Erosette with its light.


    The Mother in Red raised her sword and swung the massive blade around herself in an ascending circle. With nothing but strength and power, she spun her fire into a spiraling vortex that concealed her burning silhouette.


    Wind that smelled of sweet wine and smoke blew the hood off of my head. My hair whipped against my face but I was too stunned to care.


    The fire swirled into the night sky at a dizzying speed and winked out as if it had never been there at all.


    Darkness reclaimed the heart. I had not realized that I was clutching Anna in my arms like my life depended on it until it was over.


    The Mother in Red was gone.


    No trace of the mass remained.


    Not a single stone on the street was so much as singed or charred.


    If I had not seen it with my own eyes, I would have never known that it had happened.


    No one in the crowd moved or made a sound. All of them, including Anna and I, waited. For what, I did not know, but something was coming. Embpyre had not come to an end yet.


    When the embers began to fall from the sky like glowing snow, the crowd finally broke into cheers and celebration.


    I reached up and caught one of them in my palm. It did not burn my skin, there was only a small feeling of momentary warmth. Then, the rose colored ember dimmed and died as two more settled onto my hand. Everywhere I looked, I found the same. The roof tops, the heads and shoulders of the ashen cloaked citizens, in Anna¡¯s raven hair, everything was touched by the little glimmering lights.


    ¡°Pyreme, come. We are meeting your sisters at Seven Columns.¡± A voice said suddenly, breaking me out of my dazzled observation.


    ¡°Yes, my lady.¡± Pyreme chirped, rushing past us.


    Two robed figures stood a small way away from where the three of us had stopped before the pyre. The one who had spoken faced the street The Mother in Red had appeared from. An ember found its way into the hood of the other and lit his face.


    The captain. I realized. Oh fuck, I told her my name.


    Cold panic ran rough against the warm air and I began to sweat for an altogether different reason than I had before.


    Pyreme spun back on the heels of her sandals before she reached the woman who had called for her. ¡°You two should come, I want to get to know you better.¡±


    I froze.


    On one hand, having drinks with Anna like I had drank with Arthur and asking the underwitch every question I could think of sounded nearly perfect. On the other, I knew in my heart that there was absolutely no way I could agree.


    ¡°Another time.¡± Anna answered for me, turning us in the opposite direction Pyreme seemed to be heading.


    ¡°Oh, okay. It was nice to meet you, Autumn.¡± The amber eyed girl said with a parting wave.


    Fuck.


    Anna led me away as fast as she could without actually pulling me into a run.


    I looked back over my shoulder to see the captain and the woman who had spoken holding hands as they moved through the dissipating crowd with Pyreme.


    Every step I took was a stumbling mess. Anna had the presence of mind to jerk the too long robe up from around my feet and the rest of our escape was much less unstable. Somewhere between the heart and what I hoped was the direction of the manor, we ducked into an alley that appeared to be empty enough to catch our breath.


    After a moment of nothing but heavy breaths and the warm touches of the embers falling on my face, Anna spoke first.


    ¡°Autumn?¡± She said, bent over with her hands on her knees.


    ¡°Yes?¡± I answered.


    ¡°What the fuck just happened?¡± She asked.


    ¡°A lot.¡± I said, looking down both ends of the alley to be certain that we were not followed.


    ¡°No,¡± Anna sighed and stood. She threw her arms over my shoulders and pressed her weight down onto me. ¡°Why did you tell that girl your name?¡±


    ¡°It was my afterglow, mostly. Like the night The Mother in Green took me. I¡¯m just so fucking tired of having to hide myself.¡± It did not take me long to answer, I had been asking myself the same question since the anger within me had died back down.


    ¡°I can¡¯t imagine what that feels like,¡± Anna sighed, pulling me into her embrace fully. ¡°But you won¡¯t have to do it forever. I¡¯m your coach remember? We are gonna get through The Well in no time. Then, you can scream your name off the roof tops. I¡¯ll help you do it.¡±


    It may have been foolish and there may have been countless reasons I should not have, but with the rain of gentle fire shimmering all around us, I believed her completely.

 V2: Chapter Sixty Eight: Rhiannon

    The sounds of my sisters arriving to the banquet echoed up the stairs and died once they crossed the threshold of my bed chambers.


    Cold, like winter itself taking root within me, crept through my veins as Nocti finished his drink.


    When the nights grew late and all of my loves had fallen asleep, when I was alone in my bed with nothing to distract me, I would wonder if that same cold would be there at the end of me.


    There was never any pain. In some small way, I even enjoyed it. A numb pleasure came with the cold that was similar to the heavy ease that came with having wine after dinner.


    If there was anything that I did not savor, it was the darkness. I understood why he thought it necessary to drink under the cover of dark. His reasoning did nothing but give me more of a reason to love him. Still, I found myself counting the seconds until the glow of his eyes would light the room once again.


    A burst of high pitched laughter bubbled up from downstairs and I could not help but smile at the sound.


    Glim.


    Glimmer, with her overwhelming talent to brighten any room she floated into and brighten the hearts of anyone within it.


    My counting did not reach any sort of large number.


    Red light, the same shade as the trail of blood trickling down my inner thigh, washed over me as Nocti opened his eyes and withdrew his teeth from my flesh.


    ¡°My apologies. Did I take too much?¡± He asked softly, refusing to meet my eyes. The shadows that his eyes painted over his face formed a savage mask. Despite it, he was still as beautiful as the night I had found him.


    A starving husk of the man I had come to love he had been. Possessed by his cursed hunger and roaming the catacombs of a city named Velcreis, he had nearly torn my throat out upon our first meeting. I had known then, with the air in my lungs escaping from the gashes in my neck before it could ever reach my mouth, that there was no end to what I would give him.


    There was only one other soul who had eyes like Nocti. After he was gone, I had thought I would never see them again. Like the rest of the members of my house I had taken him into my care. There was nothing else for me to do.


    ¡°No, my love. You could never.¡± I answered, brushing his hair back from his brow.


    On his knees at my feet, he wiped my blood off his mouth with clean white clothe and did the same over the bite marks he had left on the skin of my thigh.


    I could have healed myself. I had done it countless times before and it would have cost little. Even so, I took pleasure in watching him gently wrap the wounds he had marked me with. Of all my loves, Nocti took the most care with me. I did not know the reason, but it only deepened my love for him.


    After making sure his pale hands were clean, he careful rolled the hem of my dress back down and helped me off the edge of the bed.


    ¡°Are you certain that you have had enough? There is time if your hunger has not been sated.¡± I told him, straightening his cravat and smoothing the front of his waistcoat with my hands.


    ¡°You are too kind to me, my lady. I have taken more than enough from you.¡± Nocti answered, still refusing to meet my eyes.


    The way he looked after he drank from me, there was little that I had seen that was near as beautiful. He was like marble, with the faintest streaks of red showing against his skin in all the places my blood flowed through his veins.


    ¡°My love, look at me,¡± I said, gently cupping his jaw with my hand. ¡°I have told you to call me by name. I am not your lady. We are equal here.¡±


    Nocti sighed and did as I asked.


    The moment our eyes met, everything I longed for but could not have returned to me.


    How my cheeks had burned the first time I had blushed for a reason that was not embarrassment. The absolute peace of being held in arms that would and could tear the world in two to keep me safe. Being shown that the impossible was entirely possible if you had the heart for it.


    All of it came and I pulled Nocti into an embrace before it could leave me.


    ¡°I know what you think of yourself. I know why you turn off the lights and I know why you hesitate to look at me once we are done. There is nothing to be ashamed of. You are nothing to be ashamed of. Accept that, if not for yourself, for me.¡± I said, finding a new way to say the same sentiment I repeated every time he drank.


    Nocti agreed with a nod as he always did and then he looked away from me. ¡°We must decorate your room, my lady. We have been here too long for it to be as barren as this.¡±


    He was not wrong. The room had no windows and after I had moved the painting the small structure at the back of my rose garden, there had been nothing left but the canopy bed.


    I had never seen the point.


    ¡°It is my least favorite room, why would I spend time decorating it when there are so many more valuable things to do with my time.¡± I asked, hearing another of Glim¡¯s bursts of laughter.


    It would not be long before she challenged Morrow to another drinking contest if she was left unsupervised for long.


    Footsteps sounded from the stairs, sharp and evenly timed.


    Galahad.


    I knew each of my loves by the sound of their steps, bare footed or not. Nocti was the exception. There was never a sound when he moved unless he meant for there to be.


    Galahad appeared at the threshold of my bed chambers and spun sharply on the heels of his boots. His perfect hair waved behind him like a curtain of spun gold as he stopped square with the doorway.


    Like when I had looked into Nocti¡¯s eyes, it brought what I had lost back to me for a moment.


    ¡°Lady Rhiannon. Our guests have arrived and dinner is ready to be served.¡± Galahad spoke in his perfectly proper tone. Every stitch of his embroidered tunic was perfectly straight and his boots looked like they were made of black glass.


    It brought me joy that he had not tied his hair back. I had spent the morning brushing it out in the garden and would have hated if that had gone to waist.


    ¡°Let us go,¡± I said to Nocti, leading him out of the room and into the hall. ¡°This banquet is in your honor. Each of them are as complicated as I, but do not let them intimidate you. They will learn to love you the just same as they did your brothers.¡±


    I had said much the same to him several times that afternoon.


    ¡°Take caution with Mother Ari, brother. She is quick to take up arms.¡± Galahad said as he led us down the stairs.


    ¡°He tells you that from experience, my love.¡± I laughed, reaching down and running my hand through his silky hair.


    In the small time between Galahad stepping off the stairs and my own feet touching the stone of the floor, Glim swooped down and threw herself at me.


    ¡°Rhi!¡± She shouted, wrapping her arms around my neck and throwing her legs up with reckless abandon. It was a demonstration of her faith that I would catch her.


    It was placed correctly.


    ¡°Hello, little sister. It is nice of you to drop in.¡± I smiled down at her. She was so light, I could have carried her with one arm, but I still appreciated Nocti placing his hand in the small of my back to steady me.


    She blew a stray lock of her feathery hair off her face and held up three of her small fingers. ¡°Three things. First, you have to tell your lady to stop bullying mine. Bess is too nice to make her stop.¡±


    ¡°I thought I sent word that her and her beloved had been forbidden from-¡° I started.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Second,¡± Glim said, cutting me off and lowering one of her fingers. ¡°Morrow says he wont drink with me until after dinner but I and every other soul in chaos knows it¡¯s just because he¡¯s scared.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not scared of you, little bird.¡± Morrow called from somewhere out of sight.


    I carried her with me as we walked towards the dinner table. I was surprised and thankful that she had managed to put on a whole dress for Nocti¡¯s banquet instead of just a skirt like she had for Patience¡¯s. It was canary yellow and thin enough that I could have pushed my finger through it if I wished, but it was still a dress.


    ¡°Third,¡± Glim continued, leaving only one of her fingers remaining. ¡°Is there still a bed here for me to stay in or have you filled them all up with strange and mysterious men?¡±


    ¡°Glimmer, I am unsure if you realize that you just insulted our host.¡± Katarina said from where she sat in the kitchen. From the midnight blue gown she wore to her frost colored hair, every part of her was radiant.


    The ground floor of my home was filled with the scent of dinner and the sound of the conversations that would hopefully carry us into the morning.


    Glim unwrapped her arms from my neck and dropped to the floor. The moment her feet touched the stone, she bounded over to Katarina as if the forces that held everything else to the ground did not affect her.


    ¡°What do you think she should name it?¡± She asked, gently putting a hand on Katarina¡¯s very pregnant belly.


    ¡°Hymneth will have to thaw before you will accept that it is a him will it not? Rhiannon, this is him?¡± Her icey blue eyes had settled onto Nocti and I watched as she judged him from the top of his head to the soles of his shoes in one long look.


    From where I stood, I could see every one of my sisters and every one of my loves scattered throughout my house. The souls that filled my heart were all together and I should have been delighted at the sight.


    Part of me would not allow that. No matter how full I felt, no matter how much love there was in my home, something was missing.


    It would always be missing no matter how hard I tried to find something to replace it.


    Before I could take my seat at the head of the table and introduce Nocti properly, everything fell away. My sisters, my loves, my home, they all vanished and I felt myself fall. . .


    I opened my eyes and felt the open, vulnerable, feeling that only came with uncontrollable tears.


    ¡°What is your name?¡± A voice asked in a pitch that was so impossibly low I could feel the reverberations it made on the water I floated in lapping against my skin.


    A girl stood above me. Dark of hair and dark of eyes, the long patterned dress she wore only made her more beautiful. I did not have to hide myself from her. She knew me completely.


    Anna.


    As soon as her eyes met mine, I knew the answer to the question the subterranean voice had asked.


    ¡°Autumn Aubrey.¡± I said aloud. Bringing my hands up to wipe the tears that were flowing from eyes. I only managed to wash my face with the warm salty water of the pool.


    ¡°Who is Autumn Aubrey?¡± The voice rumbled again, sending fresh ripples across the surface of the water.


    Sam. I thought, unable to see my familiar from where I floated on my back. If his voice continued to drop every time he got new skin, he would shake the well house to the ground given enough time.


    ¡°An Underwitch of Zenithcidel. Daughter of Idensyn Aubrey. Thief and possessor of The Well. Debtor to The Circle of The Nine Mothers.¡± I answered, tipping myself forward and letting my feet drift to the smooth marble at the bottom of the pool.


    ¡°Who was Autumn Aubrey?¡± Sam asked his final question.


    Somewhere in our time together, I had accepted that he was as powerless to not ask the questions as I was to not answer them. They used to annoy me to no end, but I had found an appreciation for the stability they brought as of late.


    I pushed myself out of the pool before I answered. Anna handed me a towel and it joined the golden choker on the short list of things wrapped around me.


    ¡°Rhiannon. The Mother in Red. Nocti, the red eyed man I met at the school that can see through my glamor, he was drinking her blood.¡± I said, hoping that was enough to sate my familiars mental hunger.


    Anna had taken her place on the stone bench, her pen already pressed to the paper of one of her notebooks.


    Sam did not repeat his question which meant I had said enough.


    ¡°So he¡¯s a vampire?¡± Anna asked, writing down whatever she found important enough to help our cause.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what that is,¡± I answered, pushing the water from my hair with aura. I had to speak quickly or all the small details that I had learned would recede back into the darkness of my already crowded mind. ¡°But, there was a banquet. All of The Mothers were there. I spoke to The Mother in Yellow and one of The Mothers in Blue.¡±


    ¡°Names?¡± Anna demanded.


    The leg she held the notebook on bounced furiously.


    Some part of me, the part that had spent nearly every waking moment of the past months with the dark haired girl, thought something was wrong.


    Why is she nervous? I thought, feeling that there was no other explanation.


    ¡°Glimmer. She is small and light, like one of the faeries from a story my mother has told me. And Katarina, she was pregnant with a baby boy. I¡¯ve been in the memories of both before,¡± I answered, closing my eyes and forcing myself to hold onto the fading edges of the memory. ¡°Galahad, the lover from the night we all played points, he mention Mother Ali, but I don¡¯t know which Mother he was referring to.¡±


    Like water being poured into an already full cup, the excess was rolling over the edges and spilling out of my mind.


    ¡°Rhiannon. Underneath it all, she was sad, so sad,¡± I said, feeling my eyes fill with new tears. Regardless of who she was, seeing through her eyes and feeling what she felt had left a mark on my heart. ¡°There is someone she loved more than anything that is dead or gone. I don¡¯t know which and I don¡¯t know who he was.¡±


    Anna scrawled what I had told her across the page furiously, connecting the scraps of information we had as she went. ¡°She¡¯s sad, uses fire, and has seven lovers. Erosette is always warm and I can¡¯t blink without some kind of celebration happening.¡±


    Even her words came to quickly. Anna was uneasy and I needed to know why.


    I sighed and let myself drop down to the bench. Without the will to dry myself off, I would wait until the air did it for me before I got dressed.


    ¡°Both of your efforts are entirely useless.¡± Sam spoke suddenly, his voice full of anger.


    ¡°What?¡± I snapped, whipping my head around to look at my familiar.


    ¡°You are a foolish little girl in possession of something that you could not hope to understand. Worse, you have allowed yourself to be convinced by this mortal that you can somehow harness this power for your benefit. It is useless.¡± My familiar growled, every hair on his big blue body standing on end.


    ¡°Shut the fuck up.¡± I spat, my own anger building begin my navel.


    ¡°I can¡¯t do this.¡± Anna said through a sigh.


    ¡°I am bound to serve you. Since you are unable to determine what is best for you rationally. I will assist you.¡± Sam spoke, rising to his feet and setting his eyes on Anna.


    ¡°Sam!¡± I shouted, sudden heat pushing me to my feet. My aura, blood red and burning, pressed against my seal and begged for me to let it out.


    ¡°This will wound you know, but long after she would have died naturally, when you are still young and strong, you will thank me.¡± My familiar growled, prowling towards Anna with his fangs barred.


    In the dim light of the well house, I saw red.


    ¡°If you take another fucking step,¡± I said through clenched teeth. I brought my power to bear and flicked my right wrist out to my side. A cord of blood red aura ran from the channel on my palm and looped onto the stone floor. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you.¡±


    Sam pounced.


    I swung my arm and sent the end of my aura streaking towards him like a whip.


    The damn cat moved much too quickly and I only managed to leave a broken line in the stones of the floor.


    My familiar landed much too close to me for me to try and strike him again.


    ¡°Die, mortal.¡± His low voice rang out.


    Before he could move and before I could do much as think, Anna wrapped her arms around me from behind and held me.


    ¡°Why are you so angry?¡± She whispered, her voice shaking.


    Sam stared up at me from where he sat in a much too relaxed position.


    ¡°He is trying to kill you.¡± I answered, knowing that if I was quick enough, I could kick him right in his whiskers.


    ¡°Why does that make you angry?¡± She whispered again.


    It was not just her voice that shook, every part of her quacked for a reason I did not understand.


    ¡°Because I love you.¡± I said. It was the only answer I could have given.


    I would face down all of The Nine Mothers if they dared to threaten Anna. In the presences of unimaginable horrors, I had become more than truly was so I could save her. The anger, the rage, came from the unshakable truth that there was no end to what I would do for her.


    Something within me changed. The burning anger that I felt towards Sam shifted into an entirely different kind of fire.


    A thin tendril of pearl pink light snaked down my blood red cord and spread like creeping vines.


    The damaged red circle of the seal brightened and fell away from my flesh in trails of dust.


    The two shades of my aura burned together. From pink and dark red, they met in the middle, and melted into a pure and perfect red.


    ¡°Well done, my lady.¡± Sam said simply, his long blue tail swishing behind him.


    My focus broke and my new cord joined the dust from the seal on the floor.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Autumn. I didn¡¯t want to do it. I¡¯m so sorry.¡± Anna said, letting her head drop to the back of my shoulder.


    Sunlight brightened the dim room and I turned to see my mother stepping through the pink marble door of the well house.


    ¡°Anna, dear, did your suspicion prove to be true?" My mother asked, coming to where we stood and placing her hand on Anna¡¯s back.


    Anna did not answer her question. "I''m sorry, Idensyn. I can''t do things like that to her."


    My towel had fallen to the floor sometime during the moments that I thought my familiar was going to kill the woman I loved.


    The seal around my navel was less


    Where there had been nine circles, only eight remained.


    Understanding struck me like a bolt of lightning and I glared at my mother with a great tear forming in my heart.


    ¡°Why the fuck would you do that?¡± I asked, manifesting my new shade with as little effort as it took for me to breath.

 V2: Chapter Sixty Nine: Binding and Breaking

    Sam, as if nothing remarkable had just occurred, was the first soul in the crowded well house to speak.


    ¡°My hunger has returned alongside my flesh. I will hunt now.¡± The big blue cat said simply as he snaked through my legs and made for the open door.


    Anna dropped back down to the bench. She wrapped her arms around herself and looked up at me, her eyes brimming with tears.


    ¡°I never thought,¡± My mother spoke softly. ¡°Anna, if you ever-¡°


    ¡°No. Do not talk to her. Tell me why you have done this.¡± I commanded. The power I held in my right hand had left me feeling like all of chaos would kneel at my feet if I so wished.


    I could see how the tone in my voice hurt her, but I did not care. I needed to know why I had been terrorized the way I was.


    ¡°Anna,¡± My mother continued, her eyes focused on something that was just above my head. ¡°I have told you of the bindings that I cannot break? That there are powers much greater than I that prevent me from doing as I wish?¡±


    ¡°I know someone who¡¯s has the same sort of problems.¡± Anna responded, still looking up at me with tears brimming in her eyes.


    ¡°Samsara, I command you to stop.¡± I shouted, just as my familiar was stepping through the open door way. I do not know if it was the tone of my voice or the aura I was channeling, but the big blue cat obeyed my command.


    I could not think while he was moving, but I could not allow him to leave. He had been the cutting edge of the cruel trick that had just been played on me and he would answer for that.


    Bindings that I can not break. my mother¡¯s words repeated in my mind. Had The Mothers done something to my mother like what Azza had done to me?


    I looked down from the two people I loved more than anything else and tried to settle myself.


    Anna was in pain, but she had caused me pain. The desire to comfort her grinded against the anger I was filled with and I felt like I was being torn in two.


    The three of them had deceived me. Through that deception, one of the nine rings around my navel that suppressed my power had been broken.


    For the first time, I noticed that the dusty remnants of the seal¡¯s red ring was the same shade I knew to be the rose color of The Mother in Red.


    If not for the deception my mother had arranged but could not admit she had set into motion, it would still be locked around my navel. My power, my soul, would still be bound within me by her barrier.


    Standing there, with my newly coalesced aura hanging from my hand, I knew that I had my mother to thank for how I felt, but she had hurt Anna. She had arrived to the manor and convinced Anna to lie to me in the short time that I had been in The Well.


    I had been torn into the two versions of myself once again.


    The Autumn that had begged me to go inside and go to bed on the night of Empyre had been wounded grievously. She wanted to lash out in rage and hurt at both of the loved ones before her. With pain in her heart, she did not need to know why it had happened, she only needed to make the others feel the way she did.


    The Autumn that had carried me over the walls and down to the city not very long ago stood in stark opposition of the first.


    Whose Influence has made this deception necessary? She asked with no feeling in her voice. I knew the answer well before she finished the question.


    The Mothers.


    Before my punishments and the memories of theirs that I had lived through, thoughts of them came with nothing but awe inspired fear.


    Those days had past.


    The golden choker felt like it tightened around my neck when Azza¡¯s beautiful face appeared in my mind. Her molten eyes, the long lines of her lean frame, every part of her was perfect in a way that only she could attain. From the version of her that had saved my life and healed my hand to the one that had restrained me and buried me under crushing sand, she was a Mother.


    Mother Gwyn, in all of her shapes, came back to me next. Lithe and lethal, every movement she made carried more predatory grace than anything I could hope to do with one hundred years of training. When her power had been spent and her punishment for me had ended, all that had been left her was terror. Still, she was a Mother.


    Mother Glim, who I had both seen and been in The Well, seemed to be exactly what I had told Anna she was. A faerie, a sprit, the minute woman was joy incarnate from what I knew of here. Still, she was a Mother and my understanding of her had not yet been made real by her punishment.


    Katarina and Nami, whichever one of them I would meet would punish me just the same because they were Mothers.


    Rhiannon, whose memory was so fresh in my mind that I could feel the pain on her thigh that Nocti¡¯s teeth had made, I had seen more than any of them. I had seen her atop her lion of rose fire on the opening night of Amoranora and on Dreamtongue¡¯s night as well. Then, I had seen her through the eyes of Katarina on the day that a baby named Jaka had been born. She had walked willingly into a fire that was burning so bright I felt the heat from atop the manor walls. Once I had been her and felt the hollow place in her heart, I had almost begun to feel bad for her.


    But, she was a Mother.


    If they had not placed their binding on me, there would have been no seal to break. If they had not bound my mother like Azza had bound me, there would be no need for her to find infuriatingly complex ways to tell me things.


    If it were not for The Mothers, there was no end to what I could know and what I could do.


    A vision of myself was painted to life in my mind color by color. The porcelain skin of my face, the green of my eyes, and the bright red of my hair framing it all. I wore a simple white dress like I had loved to wear before my arms and legs had been scarred. My feet and legs were held within the brown leather of the sandals that I wanted so desperately. Over my shoulders, hanging to just above my waist, was a red half cloak like the underwitchs of Rhiannon¡¯s garden wore.


    There was no gold or sienna. I was free of the golden choker Azza had left around my neck.


    In my vision, I was one of The Mother in Red¡¯s roses just like Pyreme. I remembered her freckled face and her amber eyes and wished we could have been friends. We would have been, I was almost certain. There was a warmth to her that made me want to see her again.


    All of the colors dimmed and darkened until all that was left was the black truth.


    The Mothers were the cause of all of the frustrations and pain I felt, but I was the reason.


    I had stolen The Well.


    ¡°Daughter?¡± My mother asked softly, a single tear rolling down the left side of her face.


    Anna stayed silent, her legs still bouncing anxiously.


    What will you do now? The Autumn that was not ruled by anger or fear asked.


    There was nothing I could do, almost everything remained unchanged.


    The choker was still locked around my throat. I was still forbidden from leaving the manor. There was still six more punishments hanging loose from my neck, waiting to be pulled tight at any moment. My mother was still keeping her eyes carefully focused just above my head.


    The seal was different.


    It had been broken because of my mother, Anna, and Sam.


    I released my focus and watched as my aura joined the rest of the dust on the stone floor.


    The loss took me immediately. My legs grew weak and I stumbled forward, a wave of weariness washing over me.


    Without a word, Anna jumped to her feet and caught me under one arm. My mother caught the other and both of them held me up against what my aura had taken from me.


    ¡°I think I¡¯m gonna be sick.¡± I mumbled, shutting my eyes and trying to stop the room from spinning.


    Anna began to run her fingers through my hair and my mother rubbed my back gently.


    ¡°To answer your question, Anna, the more aura a sorceress uses, the worse her loss and afterglow will be.¡± My mother said softly, pulling more of my weakened weight onto herself.


    ¡°Is there anything a sorceress can do to feel better after she uses her power?¡± Anna asked. I could tell by the tone of her voice just how careful she was being.


    ¡°Rest, a meal, a bath, it is different for everyone of us. The journey of finding what feeds a sorceresses soul is one that that she must set out on for herself.¡± My mother answered, showing no signs that she would ever grow tired of supporting me.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    There was no journey for me to embark on. What fed my soul, or rather who fed my soul, was brushing out my hair with her fingers and willfully allowing my damp body to moisten her clothes.


    As much as the loss had taken from me, I was already beginning to feel my strength returning.


    Then, like the eyes of a beast glowing in the dark of night, my afterglow took light within me.


    I gritted my teeth and balled my fists. Every muscle in my body clenched and sent small twinges of pain through every nick and scrape I had received during my last punishment.


    ¡°You¡¯re okay,¡± Anna started, her voice low and soothing. ¡°Why don¡¯t we go have lunch. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re hungry.¡±


    ¡°I know what you are doing,¡± I growled. There was nothing I wanted more than to strike out and hit something. Fists, feet, arms, or legs, it did not matter. ¡°It will not work.¡±


    I kept myself still.


    If I did anything, if allowed the afterglow to rule me, I would hurt my mother or Anna.


    They did not deserve that. It was The Mothers that deserved my wrath. For fucks sake, they could not even punish me without a disaster like the shift nearly killing one of them.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m just a mortal. You are an all powerful sorceress that can make magic rope and seems to find a new way everyday to not wear clothes. I could never convince you of anything.¡± Anna said with a laugh so small I thought I imagined it.


    My mother¡¯s laugh was not small. It came from her belly and she threw her head back and reveled in it.


    ¡°Do not laugh at me!¡± I stomped my foot and shouted. Anger still burning within me, I was powerless to stop the corners of my mouth from turning up into a smile.


    ¡°The two of you, oh,¡± My mother sighed as her laughter continued. She wiped the tears off the left side of her face with a finger and took a desperate breath. ¡°It reminds me of when I was a girl.¡±


    My afterglow forced me into resistance, but Anna and my mother¡¯s attempts to comfort and up lift me drove it out in a matter of moments.


    ¡°Mother? Can we have lunch in the garden? It has been a long time since we did that.¡± I asked, standing with my own strength and looking into her emerald eyes.


    Of course she had not meant to hurt me. I knew that like I knew my own name. The only reason she had been forced to do what she had done was because of The Mothers.


    ¡°No, my little Delpha. I am sorry. I have only returned for a change of clothes. I shall not leave Mai alone for any longer than it is necessary,¡± My mother apologized with sadness on her face. ¡°Anna, I will speak with you alone before I depart, will you accompany me inside?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Anna nodded to her before turning to me. ¡°Get dressed, I¡¯ll make you something to eat, okay?¡±


    There was uncertainty in her eyes, almost fear, that told me she was still in the throes of guilt from being complicit in my mother¡¯s trick.


    The two of them left me alone in the well house and did as I was told.


    As I dressed, an uncomfortable thought came to me.


    If it had not been for the mothers, none of what had happened would have happened. If it had not been for them, I would have never run away and met Anna.


    The feelings that thought brought were too much for me to handle. I let out a sigh and looked through the open door at the sun outside.


    A dark shape darkened the doorway.


    Oh fuck. . .Sam! I thought, realizing that my familiar still stood in the exact position he had been in when I had commanded him to stop moving.


    ¡°Samsara, I release you from my command.¡± I spat the words out as quickly as I could form them in my mouth.


    As if time itself had frozen and unfrozen only for the big blue, Sam continued his nearly endless step and vanished from my sight without a word.


    ¡°Oh no,¡± I sighed, pulling the lingerie shorts of my night clothes up my legs until the lacy band reached my waist. ¡°I will pay for that.¡±


    Anna had washed my filthy clothes as soon as we had returned from Embpyre. There were holes in them that had not been there before Mother Gwyn¡¯s punishment. Regardless, like the simple white dresses before them, they were all I wanted to wear. The big shirt with its untied collar still smelled of smoke when I pulled it over my head, but I found it pleasant.


    I liked being the Autumn I had been while I had been wearing them.


    My mother and Anna were no where to be seen when my feet touched the worn out path outside the well house.


    Someone else stood in their place.


    ¡°I¡¯m your friend. You like me,¡± Arthur said, approaching me like he was facing down some snarling fanged beast. ¡°Don¡¯t try and kill me, alright?¡±


    The tall man wore the same stupid fucking smile he always did, but his movements were slow and cautious.


    Despite his teasing and the anger that had left me not long before, the sight of him brought a smile to my face. When I saw the pink scars that formed the shape of my teeth in the skin of his throat, the smile vanished just as quickly as it had appeared.


    ¡°Is that from me?¡± I asked, running up to him and placing my fingers on the bite marks.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know any other girls that have tried to rip my throat out so I¡¯m pretty sure it is.¡± Arthur laughed, turning up his chin to give me a better look at the damage I had done.


    I had marked him just like Azza had marked me.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t-my mother could-I am so sorry,¡± I said, every one of my scattered thoughts trying to come out of my mouth at once. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to heal it.¡±


    Arthur placed his big hand gently on top of me. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. You can just not be mad when I tell you what I¡¯m about to tell you.¡±


    ¡°Why would I be mad at what you are about to tell me?¡± I asked, confusion joining the shame I was already filled with.


    ¡°I signed you up for another points tournament at seven columns.¡± Arthur said, smiling down at me as if had not said something that was completely ridiculous.


    ¡°No. I can never go back there. I can never leave here. It¡¯s forbidden for me to leave these walls.¡± I pulled my hand back from him and shook my head in disagreement.


    ¡°That¡¯s never stopped you before,¡± He laughed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve got it all figured out. It¡¯s the championship tournament, so I used the Trea name like you did the night we went together and I made sure that Patience wasn¡¯t going to be there.¡±


    ¡°Arthur, no!¡± I yelled, thinking of all the reasons that returning to the place that I had driven my fist into one of The Mother in Red¡¯s lovers stomach was an awful idea. I did not mean to raise my voice, but thinking of what had happened that night brought the heat of embarrassment to my face.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t bite my head off. I just think you deserve to have a little fun.¡± Arthur said, rubbing the scar on his neck with his hand.


    ¡°Fuck you, that¡¯s not fair!¡± I yelled again, knowing exactly why he had chosen the words he had spoken.


    ¡°All¡¯s fair in love and war. I think that¡¯s how that goes,¡± Arthur laughed. He spun on his heels and started for the manor. ¡°Come on, we¡¯ve only got a couple of days and you need a lot of training if you don¡¯t want to embarrass yourself again.¡±


    It took a moment, a moment of wild thoughts and thousands of anxious questions, but I called after him the moment he turned the corner. ¡°Where are we going?¡±


    Arthur led me through the back door and into the kitchen, refusing to answer my question


    My mother stood by the front doors, speaking with Anna. A small pack rested on her back, the change of clothes she had returned for no doubt within it. When she saw me, a smile that made me feel like nothing in all of chaos could ever harm me spread across her face.


    ¡°There you are, my little Delpha. Come, tell me goodbye before I go.¡± She said, waving me over to her.


    Her command made me much less angry than when Arthur did it.


    ¡°I will be return shortly, two or three days at most. If all goes well, I will be bringing Mai home and our house will be complete once again,¡± She told me as she hugged me tightly and planted a kiss on the top of my head. ¡°If you need me, all you must do is tell one of the guards and I will be here before you know it.¡±


    I did not want her to go. Even though it meant I would have to sneak around if I decided to do something that I knew I shouldn¡¯t do, I wanted her to stay. Part of me wanted to eat her food and fall asleep at the table while she told one of her stories like I had so many times in the part of my life I could remember.


    That want only made it harder to let her go and watch her grow smaller and smaller as she took the path to the city.


    All of us watched her. Me, Anna and Arthur, and both of the guards outside the manor walls.


    When she reached the bridge, Arthur clapped his hands suddenly. ¡°Shall we?¡±


    ¡°Shall we what?¡± Anna asked him, her dark eyes narrowing.


    ¡°What if the captain comes?¡± Woolie asked his partner, running his thick hands down his long beard.


    ¡°His lady is in the city, he¡¯s practically dead until she leaves,¡± Springer answered. ¡°We can start now, I¡¯ve lost sight of her.¡±


    ¡°Will someone tell me what we are we starting?¡± Anna demanded.


    Arthur stepped over to her and spoke in a hushed tone. ¡°The guards don¡¯t know that I put Autumn¡¯s fake name in for the tournament, so let¡¯s keep that between us.¡±


    ¡°You did what?¡± Anna shouted.


    ¡°Get over it, you¡¯re not her mom,¡± Arthur said, pushing his sister on her shoulder playfully. He raised his voice to its usual volume. ¡°Springer and Woolie here have been ordered to not talk to Autumn, nobody has said anything about them playing points with her.¡±


    Springer scrapped his boot over the loose dirt of the path and took up the ready stance that any game of points began with.


    ¡°Really?¡± I asked happily, looking between the guards and Arthur. All three of them looked amused at my sudden delight.


    ¡°I told you, you need a lot of training.¡± Arthur chuckled.


    I threw my arms around his middle and squeezed as tight as I could before rushing over to stand opposite Springer.


    ¡°I¡¯m getting a drink.¡± Anna sighed and went back inside.


    The first match between Springer and I did not last long. They tended to go that way when one of the people playing could not manage to score a single point. After the first, we played another and then a third. Woolie swapped in for his partner and the games continued. After three with the bearded and burly guard, Arthur became my opponent and the rotation repeated itself every three matches.


    Arthur had been right. I did need a lot of training. We played all the way until the sun began to set and it became too dark for me to see.


    I walked over to where Anna sat amongst a bed of notebooks and wine bottles and dropped to the ground beside her. My hair was slick with sweat and my breaths came hard and heavy, but I wanted nothing more to try and win again.


    Arthur had been right. I needed a lot of training considering that I had not won a single of the uncountable games I had played. Arthur had no lost once, but there had been none of his usual teasing. All he had done was watch me.


    Anna gave me a sip of her wine to quench my thirst and smoother the stray hairs that were stuck to my face with her hand.


    ¡°You can be honest with me,¡± She said while we watched Arthur and the guards begin to build a campfire. ¡°You actually like getting dirty don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°What did my mother talk to you about? I can¡¯t take being tricked like that again.¡± I asked, already feeling my body beginning to grow stiff.


    ¡°Not that, I will never do that again, even if it is to help you. Besides, it should be pretty easy to tell when I¡¯m not being honest with you. I shake like a damn leaf.¡± Anna answered immediately, placing her hand on my thigh.


    ¡°Promise?¡± I stuck my pinky out to her.


    She took it in her own. ¡°Promise.¡±


    ¡°She told me about things that a sorceress who had just found her power could do to learn how to use it.¡±Anna said after a moment.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad she told you, but part of me wished she could just teach me herself.¡± I sighed, bringing my knees to my chest and resting my head on my arms.


    ¡°That¡¯s why she left, dummy. If she isn¡¯t here to see you using your power or sneaking over the walls, there won¡¯t be anything for her to tell The Mothers.¡± Anna said.


    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for The fucking Mothers, she wouldn¡¯t have anything to tell them.¡± I muttered.


    ¡°I¡¯ll drink to that,¡± Anna said, raising her bottle of wine and taking a long drink. ¡°Fuck The Mothers.¡±

 V2: Chapter Seventy: Lost

    ¡°What is your name?¡± My familiar¡¯s deep voice thundered in my ears.


    ¡°Autumn Aubrey.¡± I gave him his answer and pushed myself out the warm pool as quickly as I could. Anna sat on the bench with her notebook in hand and two clean towels beside her. She gave me a smile that made me very glad the days when all that would great me after a memory was my familiars scowling face.


    ¡°Who is Autumn Aubrey?¡± Sam continued.


    I told him the same exact things I always did, that I was an underwitch, who my mother was, what I had done, and who I owed. Keeping my eyes off of myself because the less I saw my scars the better, I wrapped a towel around my wet body and threw the other over my head.


    Sam¡¯s final question came from where he sat in the corner, staring at me with his angry blue eyes. ¡°Who was Autumn Aubrey?¡±


    ¡°Ali. The Mother in Purple. Or, I think she was The Mother in Purple. She was with The Lady in Purple and her aura was the right color. She seemed younger, like Mother,¡± Nothing but silence came from my mouth when I tried to say the name. ¡°She seemed younger, like The Green Mother,¡± I said, annoyance making me feel like I couldn¡¯t get the words out fast enough. ¡°She talked to herself, in her head, like there were two of her.¡±


    You do the same. I thought to myself. At least I haven¡¯t given the other me in my mind a name.


    ¡°What was she doing?¡± Anna asked without taking her pen from the page.


    ¡°I think the two of them were training, but it was mostly talking. When I get dropped in the middle, it''s hard to know sometimes. Aster did something bad, I think. Or, she thought she did, but Mother Ali didn¡¯t seem to care.¡±


    My memory of the memory was already beginning to blur at its edges. It was difficult for me to focus on it when it had been relatively uneventful. There was something far more interesting for me to do just outside the door of the well house. Still, there was a question The Lady had asked The Mother that would not leave me.


    ¡°I will hunt.¡± Sam said simply. His big blue body rubbed against my leg as he passed and I had to resist the impulse to push him into the water with my foot.


    ¡°You just went yesterday?¡± I called after him, unwilling to give him another command. He had not confronted me about my last, I would not test the boundaries of his limited patience so soon.


    ¡°You ate yesterday. You will eat again today. I am the same.¡± Sam stated as the pink marble door swung open. Without another word, my familiar left Anna and I alone.


    I would not see him again until I woke the next morning to return to The Well.


    Anna placed her notebook down and turned me by my shoulders. Straddling her legs behind me, she started drying my hair with the towel


    ¡°The memories are in books right? Like a never ending library?¡± Anna asked once she was done with towel and had started separating my hair out into sections.


    ¡°Yes.¡± I answered, thinking of how I could word the very unusual question I wanted to ask her.


    ¡°And when you touch the pages, you get pulled into a memory?¡± She continued.


    ¡°Mmhmm.¡± I could not deny it, the wild teeming feeling in my belly prevented it.


    I was nervous.


    Stop being such a silly little girl. She just spent the last few hours of her life looking at you naked. It¡¯s Anna. I thought, knowing that the words were true but finding no power in them.


    ¡°It¡¯s kind of strange that the first page pulls you into a random memory. You would think it would start with their earliest.¡± Anna said.


    A heavy sigh took all the air from my lungs. My shoulders slumped and my head tried to drop in defeat, but her hold on my hair kept it upright.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be still,¡± Anna warned, reaffirming her grip on the braids she was weaving. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Why did you get sad all of a sudden?¡±


    ¡°I never thought to touch the first page.¡± I muttered, embarrassment bringing a warmth to my face.


    ¡°Oh, Autumn, no.¡± Anna said through a rolling laugh. She leaned onto me as she laughed. The slight, repetitive, motion of her and the closeness made me feel not as foolish as I should have, but I still needed to ask her the question.


    ¡°Have you. . .¡± I started, but my will broke before I could finish.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Anna asked, drawing the word out in a tone that told me she was finding humor in my misery.


    ¡°Fuck it. Have ever thought about becoming a mother?¡± I said, spitting the words out like they had burnt my tongue.


    Anna laughed again. ¡°I don¡¯t think they would take me considering the only power I have is to make you blush.¡±


    What?


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I mean.¡± I said, shaking my head as far as the slack in my hair would let me.


    ¡°I know, dummy. I¡¯m just giving you a hard time. Stay still, I¡¯m almost done.¡± Anna commanded.


    I did as I was told, but I could not take the waiting for long.


    ¡°Well, have you?¡± I demanded after a length of time that truly only a handful of breaths long.


    Anna finished with my braid and stood. She handed me my clothes and did not answer me until I pulled the long sleeved white dress she had gotten me over my head.


    ¡°I have, but not seriously. Just day dreams,¡± She answered, giving me a hand so I could step into my cuffed leather boots. ¡°Come on, he¡¯ll be even more annoying if we keep him waiting.¡±


    I thought about the little boy I had seen on Dreamtongue¡¯s night.


    ¡°I can barely take care of myself.¡± I admitted, following her out of the well house and into the warm Erosette sun.


    ¡°I can barely take care of you,¡± Anna laughed again, holding my hand as we walked towards the manor. Her expression hardened, and she spoke to me with no humor in her voice. ¡°You do know that we don¡¯t have the right parts to make a kid together, right?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I said.


    ¡°Autumn, seriously. Do you not know?¡± She asked, shock evident on her face.


    ¡°Know what?¡± I said, giving my best impression of an even sillier girl than I actually was.


    Anna¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Fuck you. I thought I was about to have to explain how babies are made.¡±


    It was my turn to laugh and I reveled in it. She had believed me right to the very end. I was so delighted at the fact that I let it carry my lips all the way to Anna¡¯s cheek.


    ¡°Why would I ever need to be a mom when I have you to look after?¡± She asked, rolling her eyes and digging her elbow into my ribs.


    We parted way at the mouth of the garden. She left me with a request to stay clean and a promise that there would be warm food waiting for me when I was done.


    It took me no time at all to follow the stones of the verdant garden path and find Arthur waiting for me in the alcove.


    The moment he saw me, the same wide smile he always wore spread across his face.


    ¡°Look at you, you¡¯re wearing actual clothes today.¡± He said, holding up his hand for a high five.


    It took great effort for me to ignore the marks in his flesh my teeth had left, but he had assured me the scars did not trouble him the way mine did me.


    I clapped my hand to his and positioned myself the proper distance from him so we could begin. With my right hand held in front of me and my left pinned behind my back, I dropped into a ready stance.


    I had played for hours with Arthur and the guards long after nightfall the night before. The frustration I had settled into after not winning one of what was close to hundred games had transformed. When the tall man had told me he knew how to make me better, excitement had taken its place.


    ¡°Hold on, we can¡¯t just start playing. I¡¯ve got to teach you first,¡± Arthur said, showing me the palms of his hands in a placating gesture. ¡°When you start a match, what are you thinking about?¡±


    I let out my held breath and relaxed. ¡°Winning. Where to strike. Where to pretend I¡¯m striking so I can hit what I am actually aiming for-¡°


    Arthur laughed and cut me off. ¡°That¡¯s enough, I thought so. That¡¯s your whole problem. I can fix it.¡±


    ¡°How? Tell me, please.¡± I said, visions of me besting the tall man, the guards, and any other unfortunate soul who dared to stand in my path dancing in my mind.


    ¡°I had the same problem when I first learned. I couldn¡¯t have beaten any of the guards unless they were blindfolded, but the captain had me come to seven columns and he sorted me out. I haven¡¯t lost a match since.¡± Arthur said, lowering himself onto his haunches and idly picking at the mossy ground underneath.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    I thought about the captain and whoever he had been with in the ashen robes, calling for Pyreme to join them.


    ¡°That¡¯s a nice story. Tell me how to win.¡± I demanded. There was so much energy coursing through my body, I thought I would burst if we did not play soon.


    ¡°Alright, alright. Have you ever watched how I play closely?¡±


    ¡°Yes-no-I don¡¯t know. I think I have.¡± I answered.


    Arthur sprung to his feet and folded his arms behind his pack. Pacing in front of me like I had seen Precepts do to maidens in memories, he asked me a question. ¡°What do I do when a match starts?¡±


    I thought about every single match I had played with him that I could remember and found one consistency between them all.


    ¡°You never move first.¡± I answered, hoping that I was right.


    ¡°Yes! Good job, Autumn!¡± Arthur cheered for me.


    I couldn¡¯t help to stop the smile from brightening my face.


    ¡°I play defensively. If I only react to what my opponent does, I can never pick the wrong strategy,¡± Arthur said, finally taking up the stance that indicated we were about to begin. ¡°You always act. You always go into offense immediately.¡±


    I mirrored his movement and waited.


    ¡°When you do that, you over extend yourself and get caught in your commitment.¡± Arthur continued.


    He was not wrong. As soon as he had said what he did, I understood it.


    ¡°So, we are gonna start slow and you are gonna react to what I do. It¡¯s the same thing the captain did for me,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Ready?¡±


    ¡°Ready.¡± I nodded.


    Moving as if he was stuck in thick mud, Arthur slowly extended his pointed fingers towards my own. When he got close enough, I side stepped his strike and struck him in the chest.


    He laughed like Anna had when I had admitted that touching the first page of a memory book had never occurred to me.


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t bad, but you are supposed to go slow too.¡± Arthur smiled at me as he reset into his stance.


    ¡°Oh.¡± I sighed.


    ¡°Ready?¡± Arthur asked again.


    ¡°Ready.¡± I nodded.


    Hours passed with us playing the same agonizingly slow version of the game I enjoyed so much. My head, my hands, my chest, everyplace on my body that Arthur could score points, in every manner possible. As the day passed and the sun began to set, I settled into the defensive nature that Arthur wished me to.


    After an uncountable amount of games, Arthur held up a finger.


    ¡°Hold on, It¡¯s almost night time.¡± The tall man said, stepping back from me and shaking out his arms. Without warning, he brought his right back and swung it up like he was tossing a stone into the sky.


    Pale blue light ran through his arm and Opa burst from his hand already in flight.


    The owl spirit climbed higher into the air, saying my name all the way. ¡°No Autumn. No Autumn. No Autumn.¡±


    Feeling my heart grow lighter at the sight of the owl spirit, I called back to it. ¡°Good evening, Opa.¡±


    ¡°No Autumn. No Autumn. No Autumn.¡± The spirit repeated as he rose into the sky and became a pale blue dot.


    ¡°Alright, a few more slow ones and then we will see how you do.¡± Arthur said, retaking his stance.


    The lack of speed had let my mind wander as I became comfortable with reacting instead of acting.


    Just after we had reset for the one thousandth time and Arthur had sent a strike towards my face, I asked him the question I had asked Anna. There was none of the teeming nervousness for me to overcome, only the question.


    ¡°Have you ever thought about becoming a father?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Arthur answered immediately.


    The suddenness of his answer distracted me and I failed to stop the tips of his two fingers from pressing against my forehead.


    ¡°I would have to find the right girl first though.¡± He said, looking into my eyes with a strange look in his eyes. It was not the stone mask that he wore when he was serious, but it was far from the silly smile that usually graced his face.


    ¡°Because you have the right parts, to do that with a girl.¡± I said quietly.


    Arthur withdrew his fingers and dropped his head as a deep laugh rolled out of him.


    ¡°Let¡¯s try a real one, but don¡¯t forget what we¡¯ve been practicing. I¡¯m going to be aggressive, focus on your reactions. Ready?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Ready.¡±


    After playing slowly for so long, Arthur¡¯s speed shocked me and I did not react quickly enough. In one move, he tapped my forehead again and won.


    ¡°That¡¯s alright, it took me a couple of tries to. You will get it.¡± He said, waving off my sudden defeat.


    ¡°No, she will not.¡± A deep voice thundered from the back of the alcove.


    Sam leapt up to the back of the stone bench looking like nothing but gore and blue fur.


    ¡°I see that your hunt was successful?¡± I asked the engored cat.


    ¡°What do you mean that she won¡¯t get it?¡± Arthur asked.


    My familiar ignored me in favor of responding to the tall man.


    ¡°You are teaching her how to achieve victory in the manner that you do, not in the way that she will.¡± Sam stated, looking like he had just returned from a very bloody war.


    Seeing my familiar¡¯s feline face and fangs covered in the blood of some recently devoured creature reminded me of when he had been small enough to fit in my hand.


    In truth, little had changed.


    The second time I had met Anna, she had come into the kitchen of the boarding house with a similarly bloody Sam clutched in her hands.


    He had gotten much bigger and grown long fangs, but shedding his flesh as easily as I would take off my shirt was bound to come with unexpected effects.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± Arthur said, crossing his arms.


    ¡°You are tall. Your reach is long and your strength is greater than most you will ever meet. Because of those truths, you carry an advantage that she does not have,¡± Sam said. There was a vigor in his voice and a gleam in his deep blue eyes that almost made me feel like he was genuinely interested in what he was telling us. ¡°My lady does not have such luxuries. She is short, weedy, and weak. A strong wind would send her to her knees if she did not trip and arrive there under her own power first.¡±


    ¡°Hey! Shut up you stupid cat!¡± I shouted.


    Sam continued despite my outburst. ¡°However, she is deceivingly quick, capable of near instantaneous violence, and has a natural instinct for battle.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what did you just say?¡± I shouted again, in confusing instead of anger.


    Did he just compliment me?


    Sam rubbed his paw over his head in a sudden flurry. ¡°It is not enough for her to know the game. She must understand the way she should play it.¡±


    ¡°What should I do?¡± Arthur asked my blood soaked familiar.


    ¡°Watch. I will instruct her, but there is much for you to learn as well.¡± Sam stated as if there was nothing ridiculous about the notion of a cat playing points.


    With moments of actual violence or when he was Hinton as the exceptions, I had never seen Sam seem so interested in anything. I would ask him about it when I got the chance, if I could remember. Had whoever he had been before he was my familiar been a guard like Bool or the captain?


    Sam¡¯s eyes snapped up to where the path to the manor widened into the alcove just as someone stepped into sight.


    ¡°When I said I would have food ready for you, I kind of thought that you would come get it.¡± Anna said.


    She had changed in the hours since we had parted. Her raven hair was down and it nearly blended perfectly with the long black dress she had put on. In the glowing gold of the last hour of daylight, she looked radiant and warm in a way that I could not turn away from.


    Around her neck, hanging from ribbons that I had made with my own power, was the bird skull that Sam had given her.


    ¡°And, I thought I was making lunch instead of dinner. So, no complaints.¡± She added, placing the big covered basket she had brought with her on the mossy green ground.


    From the basket, she pulled wonderful things out, one after the other. A soft blanket, loaves of buttered bread, two bottles of wine, and a bundle of thinly sliced meat that was wrapped in wax paper. By the time she had smoothed the blanket out, Arthur and I both had thrown ourselves down and started eating.


    ¡°Thank you, Anna.¡± I said between bites.


    ¡°Thhnnu.¡± Arthur grunted through a mouth full of bread.


    Anna shook her head in agreement as she drank her wine. ¡°Did you two get anything done or did I spend all afternoon alone for nothing?¡±


    ¡°I almost gave up trying, but Sam here says that I¡¯m the problem. She isn¡¯t a bad student, I¡¯m just a bad teacher.¡± Arthur said, snatching the bottle of wine from his sister and taking a big swig.


    ¡°I agree with you, Samsara. You are very wise.¡± Anna said to my familiar.


    ¡°Thank you, mortal,¡± Sam said simply from his place atop the bench. ¡°What have you done to the skull?¡±


    ¡°You should ask our lady. She did it.¡± Anna said with a smile.


    Click. Click. Click.


    The sound came from above and I looked up to see Opa swooping down from the darkening sky. The owl spirit landed on the bench right next to my familiar with its back turned to us.


    Click. Click. Click. With three snaps of its beak and three beats of its wings, it turned it''s head all they way around and peered down at us.


    ¡°Sam?¡± I asked, his bloody state and the memory of him launching himself from a tree and plucking a bird from the air bringing a question to my mind.


    ¡°Speak.¡± The big blue cat growled as if he was giving me permission.


    ¡°Opa is a bird. You like to kill birds. Why haven¡¯t you tried to kill Opa?¡± I asked before I took another bite of food.


    ¡°He is not a bird in the same manner that I am not a cat. We were both something before we are what we are now.¡± My familiar answered.


    ¡°Opa?¡± Arthur said, looking up from his food for the first time since we had started eating.


    The owl spirit flared its wings three times and sent a flurry of pale blue motes swirling in the air around itself and snapped its beak three times. Click. Click. Click. ¡°Lost, lost, lost,¡± Click. Click. Click. "Lost, lost, lost.¡±


    Three more beats of his wings followed. Like the ghosts of the embers that had rained from the sky after Embpyre, so many motes floated in the air that Sam¡¯s fur shimmered with their light.


    ¡°What is it doing?¡± Anna asked quietly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Arthur said slowly, wearing his stone mask in full.


    I knew.


    I had been a sorceress name Willa Hollilock and lost in a desert, but I had seen something like it before.


    ¡°It¡¯s changing.¡± I whispered.


    ¡°Lost. Lost. Lost,¡± Click. Click. Click. ¡°Found. Found. Found.¡±


    With a great fluttering shake that started at the feathers atop its head and ended at the tips of its talons, the owl spirit shook away every part of it that was an owl.


    Hands, feet, arms, and legs, the shape of a boy took form. Still made entirely of pale blue light, where Opa had perched atop the bench before, he spun and swung his little legs idly from where he sat.


    I had been right, it had been just like when the desert spirit had changed from her feline shape into the shape of a woman.


    By his size alone, he looked to be the same age as the children from the patchwork range of tents that were crowded around the river. Not quite as old as the boy I had met on Dreamtongue¡¯s night, but still a boy.


    ¡°Opa, you¡¯re a kid?¡± Arthur asked, his jaw dropped.


    ¡°Hello. Hello. Hello,¡± Opa answered in his crystalline voice. With one glowing hand, he reached over and began to scratch Sam behind one of his ears. ¡°Found. Found. Found.¡±


    The beak clicking that usually followed anything the spirit said was replaced with three sharp claps of his little hands.


    All I could to was take in the dizzying display. Anna silently reaching over and taking my hand in hers told me that she felt the same.


    ¡°How?¡± Arthur asked, shaking his head and blinking his eyes as if something had found its way in them.


    ¡°Show. Show. Show.¡± Opa said. The spirit jumped down from the bench and bounced from one of his feet to the other in little strides until he reached the edge of the blanket.


    Arthur gave his hand to the spirit when it reached for it.


    The desert spirit had done the same thing before it showed me, Willa, visions of its past.


    ¡°Show. Show. Show.¡± Opa repeated, reaching out to me.


    The little spirits hand was cold to the touch, and as soon as I took it, my mind was pulled from the garden and taken away.

 V2: Chapter Seventy One: Found

    Opa brought us to where he wished through his touch.


    Cold rain pattered against the leaf covered ground, sounding like thousands of finger taps against window glass. A boy, wrapped in so many layers of worn out and ill fitting clothes that he could only waddle, followed in his daddy¡¯s footsteps. He was cold, tired, and wanted to go home so he could play with kitty by the fireplace, but he stayed quiet. He stayed quiet because his daddy had told him he was a good boy and good boys didn¡¯t make noise when they were hunting. One of his too small boots had come untied. He didn¡¯t notice it until he stepped on one of the laces and went tumbling to the wet ground. His fall did not hurt, the thick layers of clothes had seen to that, but it did scare him. With gentle hands, his daddy picked him up and brushed the leaves off of him. He spoke gently to the boy, calming him and making faces until he let out a little laugh. They went on their way then, but the boy could not help feeling like he should have been at home. He used to stay with his momma when his daddy went hunting, but she wasn¡¯t around to watch him anymore.


    The vision went dark like the slow blink of a tired eye.


    The boy sat squatted with his back against a tree. Underbrush and the thick branches above kept most of the rain from reaching his already soaked clothes. His daddy lay flat on his stomach atop the wet leaves with his rifle in his hands. There was a deer, the kind with antlers, and they had been watching it nose around the ground for a long time. The boy thought it was pretty. He wondered if it would like getting scratched behind the ear like kitty did, but he knew his daddy would shoot it. It wasn¡¯t the first deer he had seen die, and he didn¡¯t like watching it happen, but he knew it meant that they would eat that night. He knew they would eat the deer because his daddy had told him he was a strong boy and strong boys knew they had to eat. The deer raised its head and sniffed the air just as a tickle in the boys nose made him sneeze. His daddy shot his rifle, the deer ran, and the boy covered his ears with his hands. The deer fell behind a bunch of limbs and briars. The boy''s daddy jumped up and told him to stay as he left their hiding place and went towards the deer with his rifle raised. The deer jumped up and ran suddenly and the boy''s daddy ran after it, leaving the boy where he leaned against the tree.


    Another slow blink.


    The boy was alone. He knew it wasn¡¯t nighttime yet, but the rain got harder and the woods got darker until he could only see a few steps in front of himself. He had waited by the tree as long as he could, even after he heard the second shot of his daddy¡¯s rifle, he had waited. Then, the cold had gotten through his clothes and made his body shake and he had known he had to find his daddy. He left the tree and waddled deeper into the woods. It did not not take him long to get lost, but he knew what to do. Sticking his little hands out of his sleeves, he clapped three times and listened for his daddy to clap back. He knew that he should clap because his daddy had told him he was a smart boy and smart boys clapped when they were lost. When he didn¡¯t hear a response, he would walk for a while and clap again. Too long he walked and too many times he clapped without hearing anything but the rain. By the time he found where his daddy had gone, he shook from the cold so harshly that he could barely keep himself on his feet. His daddy laid on his stomach at the bottom of gully like when they had been watching the deer. Not like when they had been watching, the rifle was half covered with leaves beside him and his face was down on the ground. The boy clapped three more times, hoping his daddy would wake up so he didn¡¯t have to try and climb down, but his daddy never moved.


    Darkness came again.


    The boy had wedged himself under his daddy¡¯s limp arm to try and get warm. He lay on his side with his knees tucked to his chest so he wouldn¡¯t get any of the blood under his daddy¡¯s belly on him. His daddy was dead, dead like the deer, the boy knew that. He was cold, hungry, tired, sad, and scared. Still, did not cry or panic. He knew he had to stay calm because his daddy had told him he was a brave boy and brave boys stayed calm when they were scared. He had fallen down the gully when he had tried to climb down. Clapping, pushing, talking he had tried everything to wake his daddy up, but he couldn¡¯t. His daddy was dead like the deer. He couldn¡¯t leave him. He didn¡¯t know where he would go or what he would do, so he had laid down thinking that he would die too. He did get warmer and the cold rain tapered off, but he didn¡¯t move again until well after night had come. His eyes grew heavy. Between thoughts of kitty and his momma, he knew he couldn¡¯t go to sleep. He had to stay and watch his daddy because his daddy was all he had. Just before sleep took him away, an owl flew down from the tree tops and landed on the leafy ground in front of him. It did not stay long and did nothing but watch, but the boy began to wish he could be like the owl. If he was an owl and not a boy, he could stay up all night and watch his daddy. He wouldn¡¯t need to sleep. If he was like the owl, he wouldn¡¯t be cold and he could get dry high up in a tree. Something began to happen to the boy. He didn¡¯t know what it was, but he was pretty sure he wasn¡¯t dying or falling asleep. He knew, somewhere deep inside him, that he would be able to do what he wished.


    Darkness.


    From high above the ground, perched within the shadows of an old pine, the boy watched a new boy walking through the trees. The squirrels, rabbits, deer, and all the creatures he had come to know since he had gotten lost had all run and hid, but the boy had stayed and followed and watched all the way until it got dark. The new boy was lost, he had been wandering in circles for a very long time before he had huddled down inside the leaf mounded roots of a fallen tree. The new boy was not smart. The boy knew that because his daddy had told him a long time ago that smart boys clapped when they were lost. The new boy never clapped. Staying out of sight as he hopped from branch to branch, the boy led the new boy out of the woods and back to the big house where his little house used to be. It was easy, he had the shape of the owl when he wanted and arms and legs when he didn¡¯t. When the new boy was out of the woods and back with the girl and his mommy, the boy stayed and watched until morning came, wondering what ever happened to kitty.


    Light.


    The boy left the woods for the first time since the morning his daddy had died. He had watched as the new boy had gotten bigger and older, knowing that he wasn¡¯t smart and might need his help again. Monsters had come into the woods and everyone in the big house was in danger.


    Darkness.


    Blood. The monster had hurt the new boy and he was dying like a deer. He bled from his stomach like the boy''s daddy had in the gully. He wasn¡¯t smart, but he was brave. The boy knew that because his daddy had told him along time ago that brave boys stayed calm when they were scared. The new boy wasn¡¯t screaming or crying. The girl, the new girl, and his mommy was, but he wasn¡¯t. He was dying like a deer. Without knowing what he was doing, the boy pushed himself into the new boy, sharing his light and life with him so he wouldn¡¯t die, so he wouldn¡¯t be lost.


    Light.


    The vision ended and my mind was returned to the garden alcove in a stomach turning back slide. Arthur and Anna both looked as sick as I felt, but all of us were focused on the spirit.


    ¡°Found. Found. Found.¡± Opa said, his crystalline voice full of cheer. He squeezed my hand with his little cold fingers three times before letting go and shaking himself back down into his owl shape.


    ¡°Opa. . .¡± Arthur said softly, reaching towards the spirit with tears in his eyes.


    The spirit clicked his beak three times. Click. Click. Click.


    Without a word, All three of us clapped three times in response.


    The pale blue owl did a strange little dance, hopping from one foot to the other and fluttering his wings in obvious delight. He bounced over to Arthur and nipped at the tall man''s fingers with his beak before vanishing into his hand in a blue stream.


    Silence settled over the garden. It was not awkward. There was no feeling that one of us should talk. We sat quietly atop the blanket and let the weight of what we had been shown settle over us.


    ¡°My Lady. Arthur. Let us begin. The night grows late,¡± Sam said, his deep voice breaking the silence like a hammer would glass. ¡°Mortal, you may stay and watch.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right, thanks for your permission. I would have hated to have get up and go inside for no reason at all.¡± Anna said, wiping her eyes and returning the bottle of wine to its rightful place in her hand.


    ¡°You are welcome.¡± Sam stated simply. He bounded off the top of the bench and landed on the ground as if there had been no impact. Any trace of the blood that he had been smattered with before had been evidently groomed away while I had been focused on other things.


    A question that I was hesitant to ask came to me. I did not need or wish to know if Sam had ever thought about children. Opa¡¯s vision and my familiars admitted similarity had brought me something much less hypothetical.


    I left the blanket and joined him opposite Arthur. As quietly as I could, I asked him what I wanted to know. ¡°Do you ever wonder who you were before?¡±


    ¡°Unless your intention is to make me writhe in agony, do not ask me this again.¡± Sam responded without meeting my eyes.


    Barriers and binds can be bent and broken. The Autumn I had made a habit of listening to as of late said in my mind. Yet again, it was right. I had overcome the trimetal walls in The Well and the stone walls surrounding the manor. My mother, in her own upsetting manner, had found ways to teach and assist me despite the binds of The Mothers.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡°I can help you, if you ever want me to.¡± I told him, feeling somewhat certain that what I said was true.


    Sam did not acknowledge my offer, but I knew he heard it and I knew he would remember it. Which, was enough for me to not push the issue because he was going to teach me how to beat Arthur.


    ¡°If it is not for the purpose of a game, you should never be so foolish as to allow your opponent to become so close. You are a sorceress,¡± Sam began, the same interested tone in his voice that had been there before. ¡°Prepare yourself.¡±


    The tall man did as my familiar told, but he could not hide the silly grin that had spread across his face.


    It was a strange sight after all. Sam could not assume the stance, point his fingers, or hold his arm behind his back. Still, the same tension that came before every game was present between my friend and my familiar.


    Without warning, Sam leapt forward and the match began.


    Arthur sidestepped and swung his arm forward, a maneuver he had bested me with more times than I could count.


    Sam twisted in the air without losing speed and kicked off of the side of Arthur¡¯s arm untouched. My familiars forepaws struck first and were quickly followed by his back two as he pushed himself off of the tall man¡¯s face. Seconds after he had left it, Sam landed back on the ground as the victor.


    ¡°That¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve lost in months.¡± Arthur said like he could not believe it had happened.


    ¡°How the fuck am I supposed to do that?¡± I asked Sam, not understanding what I was supposed to learn from what he had done.


    ¡°You are not. It is the intention that you should mimic. The false attacks and trickery I have seen you use before are not why you fail. You lack an understanding of what you are meant to do.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Go on.¡± I demanded, still as lost as I had been a moment ago.


    ¡°As I did, you must use your speed and slightness as a weapon. You are not playing a game. You are not trying to score points. You are hunting. A trapped beast will defend itself by any means necessary. Be it talons, tusks, or hooves, but they are inferior. You are the predator, not the prey.¡± Sam said, so much weight in his deep voice that I thought I felt the ground shaking.


    I bit my tongue to stop myself from repeating my first question. He was trying to teach me and I doubted he would have much patience for a poor student.


    If I was the predator, that meant Arthur was my prey. To the extent of my knowledge, the tall man did not have talons, tusks, or hooves. He did have back steps, long arms, and counter attacks. I couldn¡¯t kick myself off of Arthur like Sam had, but I was quick enough to slip past him.


    ¡°I understand.¡± I said, taking up my stance and waiting for Arthur to do the same.


    ¡°How many times have we played? It won¡¯t be different this-¡°


    The moment Arthur got set, I began to hunt.


    My prey fell quickly and felt no pain.


    ¡°Well done, my lady.¡± Sam said, walking towards the garden path.


    ¡°Again. I wasn¡¯t ready and you know it.¡± Arthur laughed. The tall man gave me a playful shove and reset himself.


    I moved first.


    Arthur back stepped.


    Before, I would have hesitated or tried to avoid his counterattack, but I was no longer playing.


    I was hunting.


    The difference, was that my goal remained the same no matter what my prey did. The purpose was not to evade him or to enter an exchange of strikes.


    The purpose was to kill my prey, and kill I did.


    I followed him through his back step and prevented him from gaining the space he needed to touch me. The tips of my two fingers pressed against his brow and sent a wave of shock over his face.


    ¡°Again.¡± He grunted, shoving me away again.


    We played a furious series of matches until I was bent over and gasping for air. Keeping count had become impossible for me as I had gotten lost in the pursuit. Once Arthur had adjusted, I lost most of them, but Sam¡¯s teaching had given me something to pursue. It would not be long before the tall man wouldn¡¯t be able to do much as touch me.


    ¡°Can we go to bed now?¡± Anna asked from her place on the blanket.


    ¡°You can go to bed whenever you want.¡± Arthur said, rolling his shoulder and glaring at his sister.


    ¡°Why did you even sign her up for your stupid little,¡± Hiccup. Anna closed her eyes and held her fist to her lips. ¡°Why did you sign her up,¡± Hiccup. ¡°anyways?¡±


    ¡°She likes playing, I knew Patience wouldn¡¯t be there, there were a lot of reasons.¡± Arthur answered.


    Hiccup. Anna took one final swig of her wine and turned the bottle upside down to see if anything was left.


    There wasn¡¯t, not a single drop, in either bottle.


    ¡°Bullshit,¡± Anna threw her head back and laughed. ¡°I¡¯m gonna tell her about Craig if you don¡¯t stop lying.¡±


    Arthur¡¯s eyes went wide before his mask of stone settled over his face. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°When we were kids, there was this boy named Craig that-¡° Anna started telling me without hesitation.


    ¡°It¡¯s just that we get to live in the place and do whatever we want. It¡¯s always sunny, the food is good, I¡¯ve got the guards to hang out with,¡± Arthur said, cutting his sister off and speaking only to her. ¡°When she is playing, she isn¡¯t worrying about The Mothers or The Well, she is just her. She¡¯s just Autumn.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Anna said softly, looking like her brother¡¯s answer had confused her.


    There was nothing confusing about what he had said. The tall man was right. I had not thought about anything but what was in the garden for hours. Points, Opa, Sam, and Arthur and Anna had been all that existed to me since I had left the well house.


    No Mothers, no punishments, and no Well.


    Arthur had thought about me enough to try and create a situation where I could be myself, even if it was under the cover of glamor and a false name.


    I dropped back into my stance and stared Arthur down with as much intensity as I could summon.


    ¡°Really? You wanna go again?¡± Arthur asked.


    ¡°No,¡± Anna whined and let herself fall to her side atop the blanket. ¡°It¡¯s late, let¡¯s go to bed.¡±


    I held my position until Arthur shrugged his shoulders and mirrored me.


    Just like before, I did as Sam had taught me and hunted. Slipping past Arthur¡¯s range and following him through his back step, I did not strike him despite the ease with which I could have.


    I threw my arms around his middle and squeezed.


    ¡°Uh, I don¡¯t think you get points for this.¡± Arthur said with a laugh.


    ¡°For your words and for thinking of me, thank you.¡± I hugged him tighter.


    Gently, almost timidly, the tall man hugged me back. ¡°Just don¡¯t think this means I¡¯m gonna let you win if we have to play against one another.¡±


    ¡°You will not have to let me. I will do it on my own.¡± I said, leaving him and going to help Anna off the ground.


    It was not difficult.


    Keeping her upright proved to be the true challenge.


    I told Arthur goodnight and abandoned all hope of collecting the remnants of Anna¡¯s picnic. With her arm thrown over my shoulder, I managed to lead her through the garden path and into the manor in a slow stumbling walk. The moment we reached the top of the stairs, she tipped forward and pulled me down with her.


    ¡°You know, I drink the same every night, but I forgot to,¡± Hiccup. She leaned all of her weight onto me and I put myself behind her like she did when she was braiding my hair. ¡°Eat.¡±


    ¡°Do you need me to get you food?¡± I asked, ready and willing to do whatever she needed me to.


    Anna shook her head no against my chest. ¡°Opa hates me. The only reason I saw what he showed you and Arthur was because I was touching you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not true!¡± I answered just as the memory of Arthur telling me about his spirit¡¯s feelings towards her came to the front of my mind.


    ¡°And Samsara. He hates me too. You¡¯re probably the only person here that actually likes me.¡± She said, her words sloping into a mutter by the end of them.


    I did not know what to say. The sudden downturn of her mood had caught me off guard.


    Then, she laughed.


    Hiccup.


    ¡°I can literally feel you trying to figure out what to say. It doesn''t matter. I don''t need them to like me as long as you do. Let¡¯s go to bed.¡± She said, wobbling to her feet and pulling me along after her.


    She was wrong. I did not like her. I felt much, much, more than that.


    She was asleep before I could change into my night clothes.


    Later, I do not know how long, I woke and found her sitting straight up on her side of the bed. She faced away from me and had taken off her dress at some point while I had been asleep.


    ¡°Anna?¡± I said, reaching out and placing my hand on her back with a groan. I did not anticipate that I would be so sore so soon.


    ¡°Sorry, I didn''t mean to wake you up.¡± She whispered.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± I asked, knowing she wasn¡¯t by the sound of her voice.


    ¡°Yeah, it was just a bad dream,¡± A heavy sigh came from her. ¡°Do you ever think about-¡°


    ¡°The lich?¡± I said, not knowing how I knew but knowing that was what she was going to say.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± She whispered back.


    ¡°Sometimes.¡± I answered honestly, in full awareness of the fear that came with those thoughts.


    ¡°I dream about it. Not a lot, but it¡¯s hard for me to sleep when I do.¡± She said.


    I ignored my soreness and moved towards her, pulling her back to the bed. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled the blanket over us.


    After all the times she had been kind to me, it was my turn to comfort her.


    ¡°I¡¯m stronger now. If anything like that ever happens again, I will protect you.¡± I told her, meaning every word with every part of myself. She didn¡¯t respond and I didn¡¯t need her to. I held her until I felt her drift back to sleep and then decided that I would continue until I did the same.


    Opa had not been the only one who had been found.


    I had found the siblings and they had found me.


    With my pointer finger, I tapped three times against Anna¡¯s skin and gently fell asleep.

 V2: Chapter Seventy Two: Hide and Seek

    Amber¡¯s rush sealed off the far side of the tunnel just before we reached the bridge to Don Gaal.


    ¡°You are certain that there is no way for us to cross?¡± The man that had called himself Cres asked when he reached where I stood an arm length away from the rush.


    Like a silent river of variegated glass that had been shattered into uncountable slivers, it passed by without a single shard falling from the torrent.


    The man that had called himself Sol threw his pack off his back and took two hard steps towards Cres. ¡°This is your fault. We should have left yesterday.¡±


    ¡°Unless you wish for pieces of yourself to be scattered through chaos, I do not suggest you try,¡± I answered Cres, trying to prevent the two men from coming to blows again. ¡°All we can do is wait. It should pass in an hour or two.¡±


    The two men I had met by chance and agreed to travel with by choice seemed more like enemies than friends.


    Cres was tall and pale, with long black hair and dark clothes. Sol was short and tan, with wild white hair and light clothes.


    On our first meeting the two could not have seemed any more different. They had fought twice before we reached the tunnels. It made me wonder why they were traveling together at all.


    When I had asked for their names however, without any need to discuss it, the two had lied to me in unison. The names they had given me were not truly theirs and that had been interesting enough for me to agree to serve as their guide to Don Gaal


    Since I had spent several hours in their company, I had become certain of why their obvious hatred had not driven them apart.


    They were family.


    Of all the souls in chaos, I most of all understood how much someone would forgive when it came to their flesh and blood.


    ¡°Where did you two say you were from?¡± I asked, letting my own pack slide off my shoulders and loosening the straps of my sandals.


    ¡°Somewhere you¡¯ve never heard of.¡± Sol said from where he stood watching the rush. Every moment I had spent with him had given me cause to believe that he could not help his obstinance and impatience because they were a part of his nature.


    Cres sighed and gave me a more reasonable answer. ¡°I will tell you where we have come from if you will tell me how you were able to pass through the gateway without a single guard questioning you or Sol and I. You are a sorceress? They are spoken about like small gods in these parts.¡±


    I decided to agree to his offer. Despite the strange power I could feel shining within the two men, they were no threat to me.


    ¡°The guards are my guards. The gateway was placed there by me. Everywhere you stand until we cross the border into Don Gaal is under the aegis of my sisters and I. Now, where are you and your brother from?¡± I said, ending my explanation with a guess that I was nearly certain was correct.


    ¡°How do you know that?¡± Sol said in a tone that told me I was being given a demand and not being asked a question.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t, but I do now.¡± I said with a smirk.


    Cres shook his head and sighed again. ¡°We are from a place that you could not reach if you walked towards it for the rest of your life.¡±


    ¡°Your brother was correct. I have never heard of a place that I could not reach.¡± I said, wondering how I could ask after their power without provoking the volatile Sol.


    On your guard. Aurantius warned me in my mind, his voice a familiar and bracing thing.


    ¡°Come on, I¡¯m not going to just stand here and wait. We never broke the tie last night.¡± Sol commanded his brother as he snapped into a posture that looked like he was prepping for battle.


    ¡°Excuse us, he will not leave this alone until I give him what he wants. He is like a child in that way.¡± Cres said, giving me an apologetic smile.


    ¡°What does he want?¡± I asked. If the two were about to fight again, and it seemed like they were, I would place myself between them and Amber¡¯s rush to avoid disaster.


    ¡°To play points,¡± Cres said as he prepared himself for whatever points was. ¡°It¡¯s a game that hunters play to pass the time.¡±


    Without a moment passing, the brothers attacked each other in a vicious exchange of strikes. Sol was predictably wild and aggressive while Cres moved with grace and measure.


    I did not understand the rules of their hunter¡¯s game and I never got the chance to see who won. Amber¡¯s rush, the two brothers, the tunnel, all of it left my sight and I felt myself fall. . .


    As soon as I opened my eyes and found myself in the warm water of the marble pool, I rose to my feet and began to climb out of it. As it always did, my familiars deep voice rumbled his questions in my ears. I answered the first two in quick succession as I dried myself off.


    Every part of my body was sore and aching from the sheer amount of points I had played over the last two days. I did not dislike the discomfort. Every time I moved, it was a small reminder of the fun I had experienced.


    Sam asked his third and final question.


    ¡°Who was Autumn Aubrey?¡±


    ¡°I do not know. A Mother, I think, but I never learned her name. She was trapped in a tunnel because of something she called Amber¡¯s rush. I think it has to do with a shift or a split,¡± It had become a small pleasure of mine to watch Anna furiously scrawl the things I said after a memory. Her nose scrunched the same way it did when she thought something was truly funny. The way her eyes moved across the page reminded me of the blurry days after my first punishment when all she cared about was being near me. ¡°She was with these two brothers. Except, they didn''t want her to know they were brothers. They played points, but it wasn¡¯t like how we play it. They said it was a game from where they came from.¡±


    ¡°Is that all?¡± Anna asked, keeping her pen to the page.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I sighed. It had been a very frustrating day. Coming back from The Well without anything useful only added to that feeling. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, It¡¯s hard to think about anything else.¡±


    I had woken up brimming with excitement for the tournament. One more night and I would be in the city with the siblings, playing, eating, seeing.


    I could not wait.


    That excitement had made it nearly impossible to do my work. After my first failed attempt at entering The Well, Anna had told me about one of the disciplines my mother had mentioned to her for absolutely no reason. By happenstance, I thought it could be useful and a cycle had been born.


    I would dip into the pool, try and fail at letting myself slip into The Well, get out and practice the new technique, and then start over again.


    Having finally found my way into a memory and come back with nothing, I sat cross legged on the stone floor right next to where Anna sat on the bench and closed my eyes.


    I found my aura within myself and began to let it build.


    Bending branch. Like a bending branch.


    I thought about the choker locked around my neck and how it was a constant reminder of how little control I had over my life. I thought about Azza threatening to take Anna away from me like she was a toy I had been allowed to play with. I thought about the bindings that had been placed on my mother and the fact that she had to stay away from me to avoid them.


    Every single thing I hated, every source of rage I could summon, I fed to my aura and felt it grow.


    I thought about Anna and how there was never a time that the sight of her made me feel anything other than loved. I thought about my mother and how safe I felt when she hugged me. I thought about Arthur and all the times he made me feel like I had a brother.


    All of things I loved, all of the things I would fight for, I poured into my aura and filled myself with the color of my soul.


    Red, in my against the seal and against my palm. More, I poured more of myself into it and spread it to my left hand. Then, through my legs and down to my feet. When there was no where else for it to go and I could feel my power tingling behind my lips, the discipline began. There would be no loss, no afterglow, if I could only hold myself together against the tension building within me. The first teeming seconds were the most difficult. Like the fireworks from the first nights of Amoranora, I felt like my aura would burst out of me in explosive red streams


    I resisted the initial rush and a calm came over me. I did not relax, the calm was the opposite in truth. The feeling inside me was so overwhelming, so absolute, I could not focus on anything else. The tension remained, and I began to count against it.


    One. Two. Three. . .


    Like I had held my breath for a moment too long, I let out a ragged exhale and my grip on my aura slipped. It did not burst out of me or escape through my channels. It receded, taking everything I had given back with it, and left me panting for air.


    ¡°I got to three that time,¡± I smiled up at Anna as I tried to catch my breath. My first two attempts had ended before I could fill myself. Every time after had ended shortly after the first second. ¡°I¡¯m gonna try for The Well one more time before lunch. I''m starving."


    ¡°I think we missed lunch by a couple of hours.¡± Anna said, closing her notebook and placing it on the bench beside her.


    The pink marble door swung open and I turned around just in time to see my familiar step into the night air and disappear into the dark without a word.


    I took my night shirt from Anna and pulled it over my head. With a pained groan, I used the bench to pull myself up so I could dress the rest of the way.


    ¡°I think Samsara is offended that you changed the skull,¡± Anna said once we were walking back to three manor. She held the aura streaked bone in her fingers, the pearl pink ribbons I had created taught around her neck. ¡°He didn¡¯t come out and say that, but he has asked me what I did to it twice now.¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    I could not care less if he was offended or not. If the roles were reversed, he would spend no time worrying over my feelings.


    ¡°Do you like wearing it?¡± I asked, feeling a kiss of nervousness run down my spine.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t taken it off since you put it on me. I love it,¡± She smiled. ¡°This might sound dumb, but when The Green Mother took you, it didn¡¯t feel like you were as far away as the first time.¡±


    My nervousness evaporated from Anna¡¯s warmth.


    ¡°I wish I knew how I did it. I would make you all manner of things.¡± I sighed, knowing it was true. If the skull and the ribbons made her feel closer to me, I would drape her in my workings so I could always be with her.


    ¡°You will. It¡¯s just going to take time.¡± Anna said. She placed her hand gently in the small of my back as we walked.


    ¡°How can you say that with so much confidence?¡± I asked, sharing none of her certainty.


    ¡°Because I believe in you, dummy. You have a habit of doing things that you have been forbidden to do. Because you aren¡¯t allowed to learn or be taught, it¡¯s basically a guarantee you are going to end up knowing more than any other sorceress.¡± She answered as she held open the back door of the manor for me.


    I was still smiling when I found Arthur waiting in the kitchen.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t spend all afternoon in here cooking for you two to make me wait all night to serve dinner.¡± The tall man said with a furious scowl on his face.


    ¡°What?¡± Anna asked, opening the cabinets she usually found her wine in and coming away empty handed.


    ¡°You cooked for us?¡± I asked. Immediately, I began searching the kitchen for any kind of food that was hot and ready to eat.


    Arthur laughed and his usual grin spread across his face. ¡°No. The guards are roasting chickens, but they aren¡¯t done yet. I have been waiting though. I thought we were gonna train more?¡±


    Anna left the room and went through a door in the hall that I had never noticed before.


    ¡°I did not know it had gotten so late, I¡¯m sorry.¡± I said, feeling bad that I had kept my friend waiting for so long.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, we can get a few matches in while we wait for dinner.¡± Arthur said as he walked towards the back of the manor.


    ¡°She can¡¯t, Arthur,¡± Anna said. Her arms were stacked high with the bottles of wine she had retrieved from wherever the door led to. ¡°She¡¯s so sore already that she can barely walk. She needs rest.¡±


    ¡°Autumn?¡± Arthur asked me, evidently unwilling to take his sister¡¯s words as truth.


    ¡°I am sore.¡± I said sheepishly, hating that I had to disappoint him.


    ¡°We can just play another game then. I know if you two go upstairs I won¡¯t see you again until tomorrow.¡± Arthur said with a shrug.


    Anna uncorked her wine and took a drink. ¡°That sounds like a nice night.¡±


    ¡°You know, she¡¯s not yours. She can hang out with me if that¡¯s what she wants,¡± Arthur said with a vicious glare. ¡°What game do you want to play, Autumn?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know any games besides points.¡± I admitted, casting my eyes down in embarrassment. Twice in too few moments had I been reminded about how little I knew. I¡¯m sure there were games that maidens played when they were young and in school, I had just never gotten the chance to learn them.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know tag or hide and seek?¡± Arthur asked me.


    ¡°She didn¡¯t grow up like we did, idiot. Don¡¯t be so insensitive.¡± Anna snapped.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± The tall man shook his head. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean anything by it. I just know how much fun you would have. Let¡¯s play hide and seek. I¡¯ll be the looker first.¡±


    Anna rolled her eyes and took another drink. ¡°Fine.¡±


    ¡°How do you play?¡± I asked, wondering if I should drop into my stance like I did with points.


    ¡°We hide. He seeks. We used to play all the time back home when we were little. There were tons of good hiding places.¡± Anna said.


    I had to agree with her. The boarding house was where I had hid myself away in after all.


    ¡°You can¡¯t go outside. I count to one hundred and then come looking.¡± Arthur added.


    ¡°And if he finds you first, you have to help him look.¡± Anna finished the explanation as she moved towards the hallway again.


    ¡°Ready?¡± Arthur asked, covering his eyes with his hands.


    ¡°Wait! I just find somewhere to hide and wait?¡± I shouted, anxious energy running through my body like a chill.


    ¡°One.¡± Arthur said.


    Anna abandoned me. The same instance that Arthur began to count, she bolted up the stairs and left me alone.


    ¡°Two. Three. Four.¡± Arthur continued.


    Your room. You can hide in the closet or under the bed. No, that¡¯s the first place he is going to look. His room, Anna¡¯s room, your mother¡¯s room. The thoughts ran through my mind in a panicked blur.


    ¡°Nine. Ten. Eleven.¡± Arthur counted, his eyes still covered with his hands.


    Go somewhere he would never think you would be. The door, the fucking door!


    I sprinted towards the door in the hall and took it without another thought. Closing it behind myself as quietly as I could, I turned to find somewhere to hide in the room I had never been in.


    It was not a room. It was a stone staircase. With no floor for my foot to meet, I fell, skinning both my knees and shins on the way down.


    I landed in a heap, but I did not give myself time to hurt. In a matter of seconds, I would be pursued and I could not allow myself to be caught.


    The stairs led to a hall that split to either side of me. On my right was an alcove lined with small recesses, almost every one of them was filled with a different bottle. Unless I suddenly discovered a way to shrink myself down to the size Sam had been upon our first meeting, there was no safety for me there.


    On my left was another door. I took three quick, painful, steps towards it and found it unlocked.


    Big wooden trunks, each of them large enough for me to fit in, were stacked along the back wall of a small room. Letting instinct carry me forward, I pulled open the top of one and threw myself in.


    Soft fabric met my back. I let the top of the trunk close after me and waited in the near perfect dark.


    Time passed. I do not know how long I waited, but eventually I heard voices.


    ¡°Autumn,¡± Anna whispered. ¡°Are you down here? Arthur is upstairs.¡±


    Lie. The Autumn I liked warned me.


    Sure enough, when I closed my eyes and listened, there were two sets of footsteps coming towards my hiding place.


    The door opened and I held my breath, pushing pressure on the inside of the lid to try and keep it closed.


    One of the siblings approached and I felt them try and open the chest.


    I pressed harder and fought against my need for breath.


    ¡°Locked.¡± I heard Anna sighed.


    ¡°I told you she wasn¡¯t down here. She likes tall places like Sam does. She has to be in her mom¡¯s room.¡± I heard Arthur say.


    ¡°It¡¯s hilarious that you think you know her better than I do.¡± I heard Anna¡¯s voice grow quieter.


    The sound of the door clicking shut found my ears and a wicked smile spread across my face.


    Yes! Fuck yes!


    I threw the lid open and climbed back out, something hard digging into my back as I went.


    Clothes, of every color and material, filled the trunk. Underneath it all, I found what had left an aching spot right above my ass.


    A rectangle wrapped in thick brown paper lay at the bottom of the trunk. It was nearly the same size, and surprisingly light when I dug it out.


    I unwrapped the brown paper and uncovered a framed painting.


    Over a bright background of blush pink and pristine white brush strokes, the faces of three women stared back at me.


    The woman on the left had wild black hair that draped down from her head in a wavy mess. The painting was so detailed, it gave the impression that the patterned robe she wore was made of silk or some other horribly slick fabric. She had a soft, shy, looking face that was partially concealed by her black locks. Pale blue eyes brought an innocence to her that made me feel like she hid behind her hair intentionally.


    The woman on the right could not have been more different. Her features were sharp, severe, elegant. Where the woman on the left¡¯s silken robe had been patterned, the woman in the right¡¯s was pure white. It was the same color as the hair that fell just below her ears. She had green eyes that were a much lighter shade than mine or my mother¡¯s, like unripe apples instead of emeralds. The contrast with her pale skin almost gave them a glow of their own. Something about her, I did not know what, gave me the impression that she was not shy like her opposite.


    The third woman, painted higher than the first two, was difficult for me to look at.


    Knowing I shouldn¡¯t while I did it, I gently ran my palm over the slight texture of the paint, feeling every unseeable ridge and bump.


    Her opulent robe was embroidered in gold and patterned with blush pink flower petals. Both the colors and position drew my eyes to her own. They were white, haunting, and seemed like they were actually looking back at me. She wanted something. It was plain to see. And, when I looked at her, it felt like she wanted it from me.


    I covered her face with my hand and looked away.


    What is true will always find its way to the surface. The Autumn I liked spoke again.


    I remembered when I had dropped my glamor in front of Anna for the first time. There had been a near infinite amount of reasons I shouldn¡¯t have, but I had only needed the one reason that I should.


    Am I becoming wise?


    No. I answered myself all too quickly.


    I was probably right.


    I ran my thumb over the small signature in the bottom right corner of the painting.


    M.D.G


    It was the initials of the painter. Whoever they were, they were a master. Even with my hands covering the faces of the three women, I still felt like I was being watching by them. It almost felt like they would turn and try and speak with me at any moment.


    My mother had lived most of her life without me. The painting had to have been from then. Everything in the little room had to have been from then. What other things were there for me to find amongst the chests? Who were the three women?


    Anna and Arthur. I should show them. I thought, gently placing the painting on the floor and heading back up stairs.


    I heard them arguing before I ever made it back to the kitchen


    ¡°What is that? What does that mean?¡± Anna asked.


    ¡°If he gives me his recommendation, I¡¯ll begin training with the Knights. When I am knighted, I can pledge my service to a sorceress I choose,¡± Arthur sighed. ¡°If she will have me.¡±


    I stepped out of the hallway unnoticed, me and the game forgotten evidently.


    ¡°You know there is a fucking war, right? You can¡¯t fight people like Idensyn or that bird lady. Why the fuck do you want to do this?¡± Anna shouted.


    ¡°You sound just like Ma, you know? I¡¯m not exactly normal anymore. I can do things. I¡¯m strong.¡± Arthur shouted back, his fists balled so tightly that his knuckles had gone white.


    The siblings bickered often. Most of the time, I found it funny.


    What was happening between them then was different. It was not playful or good natured. It was real and angry and I could not take it.


    I closed my eyes and reached for my aura. The hurt I felt in my bleeding legs and the angst that the siblings argument filled me with were given over to it. All the warmth and all the joy I had felt went as well. I flooded my body with my power, searching for the all encompassing calm that came with bending branch.


    ¡°Why, Arthur?¡± Anna demanded.


    ¡°Because I want to be with her the way the captain is his lady! Is it that fucking hard to see that?¡± Arthur shouted.


    Filled with fireworks like those from Amoranora, I held myself against the explosive tension


    My hold failed against the pressure.


    The branch broke.


    Sudden streams of red light streaked out of the seal on my stomach and sailed across the room. Striking cabinets, doors, windows and walls, wherever they hit, they burst into storms of scattered red dust.


    One nearly struck Anna in her face.


    I couldn¡¯t stop them.


    Arthur ducked under one and tucked Anna under his arm like she weighed no more than a feather.


    The tall man ran towards the source of the destruction.


    He ran towards me.


    Just as the last of my built power left me, he took me to the ground. Shielding Anna and I both with his massive body, he waited until the bursts of my aura faded away before he rolled off of us.


    Silence settled over the destroyed kitchen. All three of us lay on our backs, side by side, and watched the remnants of my power drift down from the ceiling.


    After several moments, Anna laughed. ¡°So you¡¯re gonna be her knight, huh? That¡¯s what you wanna deal with?¡±


    ¡°Autumn will be a sorceress, I¡¯ll be her knight. Now we just have to figure out what you are gonna be.¡± Arthur said, reaching over and palming Anna¡¯s head with his hand.


    Anna yawned and placed her hand on her brothers. ¡°Drunk. I¡¯ll probably be drunk.¡±


    The afterglow took me as suddenly as my power had burst from my navel.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know any fucking games!¡±

 V2: Chapter Seventy Three: Market Morning

    The earliest I had ever been in Erosette was dusk.


    If someone asked Driskt and Daphne, the two guards standing guard in front of the manor, I had never been at all.


    They had been told that Lady Aubrey¡¯s criminal daughter had lost herself in her drinks the night before.


    Both because of her small size and the infrequency with which she drank, she had woken up terribly hung over. After emptying her stomach and spending several hours shaking on her bathroom floor, she had been cleaned and returned to her bed. The chances of her waking up long enough to do anything but take a drink of the water that had been left for her was little. In all honesty, she would sleep late in the evening and only get out of bed when her need for something warm to eat grew larger than her need for rest. When she did not find the other members of her house, she would come and speak to the guards because she did not know how to cook for herself.


    Arthur was clever when he had a reason to be. Strengthening the deception like nightfall does a shadow, Driskt and Daphne had told the tall man that they would do anything to avoid a second run in with Lady Aubrey¡¯s daughter when she did not have her senses about her.


    They would not disturb my sleep and I would not be there to have my sleep disturbed.


    I would spend all day in Erosette and the guards would be none the wiser.


    The tall man¡¯s plan was flawless.


    While the siblings had left through the front of the manor and given the guards their absolutely true story, I had been escaping the walls of my gilded prison.


    The morning breeze had been cool and gentle as it blew at my back. It almost felt as if the wind itself was accompanying me down the hill. I stayed low and took an angle that would lead me straight to the bridge instead of the river.


    Every step I took, my cuffed boots crunched over the dead and drying remnants of the roses that had once blanketed the rolling hills.


    The patchwork mountain range of tents that had been spread across the river bank the last time I had snuck into Erosette had thinned. Less tents meant less people and less people meant that there was less of chance someone would see me sneaking away from the manor.


    Fortune favored me.


    I made it to the bridge undiscovered and gave myself a moment of rest to let my sore legs stop burning.


    With my hair glamored dark black and my lips full and pouty, I stepped into the city under the disguise I had worn the night I had first gone to seven columns.


    Arthur¡¯s plan was flawless, except it did not account for my complete inability to control my impulses.


    A low flood of unintelligible conversation met my ears first. Underpinned by the scattered rhythms of uncountable footsteps that varied between sharp and soft on the stone street, a sort of shapeless music was formed.


    From where I stood on the outermost street of the city, not far from the thinned range of tents, I looked towards the heart of Erosette and found that the instrument being played was a long open air market. The musician was the collective sound of the people moving within it and they were playing a song that was full of life.


    I had passed by the same street several times before and nothing of the sort had been there.


    A sweet scent was stirred up by the cool morning breeze and it harmonized with the sight so wonderfully that it almost lifted me off the ground and carried me into the crowd.


    Everywhere I looked, there was something different being sold. One table bore stacks of pots, pans, spoons, forks, and knifes. The next had rugs of every color, pattern, and shape hanging around it. Children laughed and played as they weaved their way through the crowd carelessly.


    Too much caught my eye, to many things felt like a direct invitation for me to turn from my path and enter the market.


    Be quick. Down and back. Anna will worry if you keep her waiting. I thought to myself as I added the sound of my footsteps to the market¡¯s rhythm.


    I was so drawn in by it all, I did not know I was walking into a wall until I hit it.


    ¡°Sorry, little lady.¡± The wall of muscle apologized as he glanced back at me. Looking like a giant amongst the rest of the crowd, he had wild red hair and a similarly unkempt beard.


    Go. I thought to myself. The thought was not a realization that I should run. It was the man¡¯s name. I had met him not very long before when Mother Azza had brought me back to the manor.


    Go¡¯s attention on me was so brief, panic did not have the opportunity to sink its nails into me. He gave me his apology and then continued on his way, speaking to the woman he was walking beside.


    I knew her as well. The baby she carried in her arms brought her memory back to the front of my mind. Her son had stopped Arthur in the street and she had been feeding her child within one of the tents along the river.


    They had been brought there because sorcerers had destroyed their home. Sorceress Ulet had told me that the morning she had found me on the roof.


    As absolutely foolish as it was, I followed closely behind them without any understanding as to why.


    ¡°You are new here Ranee. You will learn that when she insists it is better to go along with her.¡± Go said through a laugh.


    The women, Ranee, let out a long sigh. ¡°You have all given so much to my people and I. We have no way to repay you. I couldn¡¯t possibly-¡°


    ¡°You will learn. She has given out of love and nothing else. Your people are our people now. Your boys will grow big and strong here. Accept her offer, all of us will be better for it.¡± Go said, his enthusiastic voice carrying easily to my ears.


    ¡°If she insists.¡± Ranee answered.


    I lost track of their conversation and turned away from my stalking.


    Between an older woman selling some sort of warm drink out of a copper pot and a stall that was lined end to end with small jars of spices, there was an open door.


    Through that open door, I saw something that I would do anything to have.


    Sandals.


    The same kind that the roses of the Red Mother¡¯s garden wore.


    Before I could consider the warm drink or think of what spices would be useful to have on my person, I was standing awestruck before what I desired.


    Several pairs, all in different sizes and shades of brown, lay limply atop the wooden counter.


    In truth, I did not know why the sandals excited me so. I did not know why I wanted them so badly. The visions of the thin leather climbing up Anna¡¯s calves brought me all manner of feelings, but so did seeing her wear anything. I wanted a pair for myself of course, but I was perfectly happy with the cuffed boots I was standing in then.


    Still, I could not stop myself from taking one into my hands. I thought about the leather pressing against my skinned shins. It would hurt, I had not doubt about that, but it would be worth it. One by one, I picked them up and pressed their bottom to the bottom of my boots. Without dropping down and pulling off my shoes, it was the only method I could think of to see if any of them fit.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Like when Anna and I placed our palms together, the last pair sandal I checked only had a small difference in its width and length.


    They would fit.


    They would fit like they were made for me.


    I knew it like I knew I hated silky fabrics or that Sam would be always waiting for me after I returned from The Well.


    I grabbed its mate and looked around the place I had only been vaguely aware I was in. The sandals had not grown up from the counter like fruit from a vine. Along every wall were boxes and crate full of every style of shoe I knew and many that I didn¡¯t. A work bench sat in the back corner, its top laden with squares of leather and tools I did not know the use of.


    I had none of the red metal money that Arthur had showed me, but even if I did. There was no one in sight for me to pay.


    There was no one in sight to stop me from just taking them. They were in my hands. They would fit me. Why shouldn¡¯t they be mine?


    Someone made them. The Autumn I liked told me something I very much did not like in my mind.


    It was true. They had probably been made on workbench in the corner with the tools I didn¡¯t know just like every other pair of shoes in the place.


    As desperately as I wanted them, as absolutely easy as it would be to walk back into the market and put them on my feet, someone else had made the sandals.


    I made the ribbons that held Sam¡¯s given bird skull for Anna. How would I feel if someone took that from her? Even if it was in the imaginary thief¡¯s hands and there was no around to see them take it, I had made them for Anna. They would never truly be theirs.


    The sandals had not been made for me, they would never truly be mine.


    With a disappointed sigh, I placed the ones that would fit back on the counter.


    The moment after they I let them go, three men came through the door way.


    The man in front, short and round with a head of thinning white hair, looked over his too small glasses and gave me a pleasant smile. ¡°Oh, hello! I¡¯ll be with you in just a moment.¡±


    The two men followed him in and gave me polite nods as they passed. Between the two of them, there was not a single piece of clothing that was without holes. Neither of them had shaved recently and both of them were barefoot.


    ¡°Nope, not those,¡± The short man said, rifling through the crates and boxes at a speed that could only come with the knowledge of what was in them. ¡°Too soft and too thin a sole, if you¡¯re going to be working her gardens, you¡¯ll need something that a thorn can¡¯t pierce. She has a fascination with roses,¡± The man continued, pulling out different pairs of boots and discarding them just as quickly. ¡°you¡¯ll want laces to keep them on your feet.¡±


    I should have spun on my heels and rejoined the music of the market right then. Before I could make myself move, the short man had stood up and passed two pairs of identical boots to the other two men.


    ¡°Go on, try them on. If the fit isn¡¯t right we will keep looking,¡± He said, showing them to a low bench and turning towards me. ¡°You are one of the roses from The Mother¡¯s garden? A new one at that if I had to guess.¡±


    I did not answer him, all I managed to do was hide my nervousness with a small smile.


    ¡°I thought so. You have that look about you,¡± The man smiled back. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, a very long time, since I¡¯ve made a rose her first pair of sandals. A blonde haired girl with freckles, was a half a day late to her fitting, I¡¯ve forgotten her name that was so long ago.¡±


    ¡°Pyreme?¡± I said before I could stop myself from speaking. The underwitch had said that it would be nice for her if she was no longer the youngest rose. It made nothing but sense that she had been the last to receive her first pair of sandals.


    ¡°That¡¯s the one! I never see you all after the first fitting. Master Nocti brings them on when they need repairs. Let me finish up with these two and I¡¯ll take your measurements. Have a seat and take your boots off for me while you wait.¡± He said, pointing to a bench that sat next to the wall behind me.


    Despite my desire to listen to the friendly shoemaker. I did not sit and I did not pull off my boots. Someone that I would recognize anywhere appeared in my peripherals.


    ¡°Ah! A perfect fit then. You get an eye for these things when you¡¯ve done this as long as I have.¡± The man said, clapping his hands once in delight.


    Arthur, looking like a walking shadow in his black shirt and pants, passed by the open door just in time for me to see him.


    The shoemaker raised his voice and I glanced away from the tall man.


    ¡°No, no, no,¡± He waved his hands and shook his head vigorously from side to side. ¡°I will not take a shaved dyme or a handful of dust. They¡¯ve already been paid for. We want all of you to get settled in her as easily as possible. Just make sure her flowers are properly fluffed, her hedges are brushed, and whatever else you¡¯re supposed to do with plants.¡±


    I looked back at Arthur.


    The tall man was gone.


    Staring and smiling at me from where she stood in the busy market street, like a peaceful rest in the chaotic music, was Anna.


    I waved at her.


    She laughed and mouthed something to me.


    What the fuck are you doing? I could not hear her, but I knew her voice well enough that I heard it in my head as I read her lips.


    I don¡¯t fucking know. I mouthed back and shrugged my shoulders, realizing that there was no good end to me continuing to let the shoemaker think I was who he thought I was.


    The two men blocked Anna from my view as they left the shop in their new boots.


    The shoemaker followed them to the door, a seemingly endless stream of goodbyes and pleasantries coming from him as he went. Then, he turned, and focused his attention solely on me.


    ¡°Let me go get my tape and we will get started,¡± He said, walking behind the counter a disappearing behind a shelf of crates and boxes. From where he had gone, he raised his voice and kept talking to me. ¡°I¡¯m surprised Master Nocti did not tell me she had taken another rose. What did you say your name was again?¡±


    ¡°Autumn,¡± Anna whispered harshly from the door. ¡°Come on.¡±


    I met her dark eyes and did as I was told, leaving the shoemaker¡¯s shop before he reappeared from the back of it.


    I looped my arm in hers so I would lose her in the market¡¯s song, and let her carry me along wherever she wished.


    We met Arthur at the opposite end of the market from where I had entered it. The tall man gave me his usual smile and handed Anna and I some kind of folded paper cup that was warm to the touch.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what it is, but try it, it¡¯s pretty good.¡± He said, taking a drink.


    I did as I was told and so did Anna. It was the same drink whose sweet scent filled the air. Thick like milk and swirling with spices, I could have gone and found one of the copper pots it was served out of and drank until it was empty.


    ¡°Too sweet.¡± Anna said, shaking her head in distaste.


    Having already finished my own, I took hers and enjoyed it as well. ¡°How could anything be too sweet?¡±


    ¡°It couldn¡¯t. She just doesn¡¯t have good taste like us.¡± Arthur said.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to get distracted. I¡¯m sorry that I made you both come looking for me.¡± I said, casting my eyes down to the stone street under my feet.


    ¡°Shut up,¡± Anna said, giving my arm a squeeze. ¡°We were going to bring you here anyways. I just wanted to go the exchange first.¡±


    ¡°The exchange?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Valtrass?¡± Anna asked back.


    ¡°It¡¯s like a bank.¡± Arthur added.


    ¡°Bank?¡± I asked again.


    ¡°It¡¯s where people keep their money. It¡¯s called Valtrass, but your mom is the only one I¡¯ve ever heard call it that. Everyone else just calls it the exchange.¡± Arthur explained.


    ¡°It¡¯s right by the library I go to, do you want to see it?¡± Anna asked me?


    I shook my head excitedly in agreement. There was no part or place in Erosette I did not want to see. With my arm still hooked in Anna¡¯s and Arthur leading the way, our walk to the exchange was set to our own rhythm.


    I had never heard a song I loved more.


    A short time later, so short in fact that it felt like no time at all, we stepped into the large marble building that was Valtrass.


    A line stretched from the wide marble counter, through a wide entryway, and back out onto the street. Hundreds of people that were carrying all manner of things stood and waited. Long rolls of fabric, stacks of dresses held over arms, bushels of red flowers, and two carts full of sacks of what looked to be collected leaves, everyone I could see had brought something to the exchange. One element was shared between the seemingly endless variety of things.


    From a handful of small stones to a long scarf of feathers, every single item was as red as my aura.


    I became so focused on the line, I did not notice that Anna had walked away until she returned to where Arthur and I stood.


    ¡°Try not to spend it in one place.¡± She said, pressing something hard and cool into my palm


    It was a small stack of dymes, just like the one Arthur had given me the first time I had gone to seven columns.


    ¡°Why?¡± I asked, holding the red metal coins in my hands like they were the most precious thing in the world and following behind them as we left the exchange.


    ¡°Your mom gives me an allowance to buy clothes or anything else you might need. It¡¯s your money anyways, you should be the one to spend it,¡± Anna said, pointing past a the marble fountain that acted as the center of the small circle of open space we found ourselves in. ¡°There¡¯s the library, do you wanna see it too?¡±


    Standing several stories higher than any of the buildings that neighbored it, I read the letters that were inset into the surface of the stone.


    Biblicus


    ¡°What about the tournament? Should we not go to seven columns?¡± I asked, not understanding why we were not going to the place I had escaped to go to.


    ¡°The tournament isn¡¯t until tonight. We thought you¡¯d you like to spend a whole day in the city instead of just a couple of hours. We can do whatever you want to do.¡± Arthur said, a different kind of smile on his face and an intent look in his dark eyes.


    The siblings had given me something I wanted so desperately and yet had never been able to name.


    Freedom.


    My heart felt so full I thought It would burst.

 V2: Chapter Seventy Four: Autumn Afternoon

    I followed Anna through the library for hours.


    She told me about all the different books she was going to borrow when she finished with what she already had as we went. I could have spent the rest of the day watching her without complaint, but the Biblicus itself had left me unimpressed.


    There had been no fireplaces or high backed arm chairs. Which made sense because the books in my mind could not catch fire and burn. The real ones, that were made of paper and leather, could. It had not been anywhere near as large as I had imagined it would be either. In all four dust filled floors there was maybe half of the shelves and books that were in one floor of The Well.


    Unlike the near infinite library in my mind, the real library had been organized. By some combination of colors and letters, Anna had been able to take me wherever she had wished without confusion.


    If The Well had some kind of guide or system, there was no end to what I could find. Anna¡¯s search for knowledge about The Mothers would be over in the same amount of time it took me to live through a single memory. It was rare that I ever even saw the library in my mind anymore anyways. Thinking of a name once I was floating in the pool had turned into a very effective and consistent method. Still, the thought having the memories sorted by who they were about made me wish desperately for that wonderfully organized fantasy.


    What if there is a guide? What if you¡¯re too stupid to know it? I asked myself without any hope of answering the question.


    Lost in my own thoughts, I followed Arthur and Anna from the entrance of the library to the fountain in the middle of the circle of buildings.


    ¡°Well, what do you want to do now?¡± I heard the tall man say.


    The thing at the bottom of The well. It would know.


    Anna sat down on the white stone of the fountain and let out a deep yawn. ¡°We stayed up way too late.¡±


    Yes. The Autumn I liked agreed. If I could force the entity to speak with me, I could ask if there was some unknown sorting system.


    ¡°Autumn?¡± Anna said, placing her hand on my hip.


    I shook my head and brought my attention back to what was in front of me. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Are you tired too? Do you need a nap like Anna?¡± Arthur laughed.


    Something in his voice told me he was repeating something he had already said.


    ¡°I¡¯m not tired. I just said we stayed up too late. Some of us still have to sleep, freak." Anna said, rolling her eyes.


    It had been late when I had finally shut my eyes.


    After Arthur had protected Anna and I from my accidental assault on the kitchen, the siblings had spent far too long caring for me through my afterglow. When I could finally move without losing control of myself, we had eaten the fire roasted chicken the guards had cooked and cleaned the mess I had made. Then, Arthur had gone over his plan and Anna had added an all important detail to it.


    All of the people Anna had seen on her numerous trips into the city had been wearing the same colored clothes. Tan, white, pink, and faded reds. The style and fit varied, but almost everyone wore those colors.


    If we all wore clothes that were none of those neutral warm shades, finding each other would be as simple as finding the dark spot in the crowd.


    By the time we deicided our color would be black and I had played a few games of points with Arthur, the night had nearly turned to day again.


    I wore a long sleeved black shirt that fit me tightly and a black skirt that ended just above the cuffs of my boots. Anna wore the dress she had the night that Opa had showed us where he had come from. I rather liked the way we all looked together. It was not so much the color, just the fact the we all matched. I imagined that pleasure, that feeling of togetherness, was what the underwitchs felt like in their crimson half cloaks.


    "So, what do you want to do? Whatever you want, this is your afternoon." Arthur asked me again.


    ¡°Whatever I want?" I repeated.


    "Whatever you want." Anna agreed.


    "I don''t know what I want." I answered honestly, turning away from them and letting my mind run with the possibilities. Even if it was under the cover of my glamor, I was free. If I felt like finding something to eat, I could. If I wanted to go see where The Mother in Red lived, I could. If I wanted to find one of the gardens that were littered throughout the city and take a nap, I could.


    I wanted to be done with my punishments and The Well. Unless there was shop that I could buy permanent freedom from and sell a priceless ethereal structure too, that was out of my reach. So was becoming one of Rhiannon''s roses. It wasn''t just the sandals or cloak that I wanted from that. To learn how to use my power, to be a sorceress in full, I desired that more deeply than I normally allowed myself to understand. Arthur''s dream about being my knight was something I shared in part. The siblings, Sam, and myself setting out into chaos and seeing all the wonderful places I only knew existed because of memories, I wanted that too.


    Free in the city or not, I could not make that happen in the hours before the tournament.


    The sound of hard footsteps broke over the stone street around us and echoed off the fronts of all the tall homes.


    ¡°Ugi!¡± Someone shouted from somewhere unseen.


    One by one, five little boys gathered around Arthur, all of them dripping sweat and panting.


    I recognized one of them. His mother was Ranee, the woman I had seen breast feeding within the tent the first time I had gone to seven columns. I had seen her just that morning, walking and talking with Go.


    Atrean. I remembered. His name had been the inspiration for the woman I was pretending to be.


    "The captain send you?" Arthur asked, kneeling down on his haunches and bringing himself down to the height of the boys.


    "He said that we couldn''t come back without you," Atrean said between deep breaths. "Don''t make this hard."


    Arthur laughed. "Are you threating me?"


    "Yes." One of the other boys answered.


    "Do you want to come or are you going to hang around and watch Anna take a nap?" Arthur asked me.


    Anna stood and rolled her eyes at her brother. "We''ll all go. I want to meet the captain anyways."


    All three of us followed the search party that the captain had sent for Arthur through the city. After taking what felt like entirely too many turns and having to run to keep up with them several times, we came out of an alley onto a street I recognized.


    As far as I knew, seven columns was the only wooden building in all of Erosette. Two men stood in a empty wooden frame that filled the space between me and the tavern, hammers in hand.


    "Captain!" Atrean shouted and led us over to where the man that had once brought a knife to my forehead stood.


    Streaks of white salted his dark hair, Every part of him looked strong and sturdy, like he could hold up a collapsing building if the need arose.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "We got him!" One of the other boys cheered.


    ¡°Well done, boys, well done,¡± The captain lowered himself to his haunches and waved the boys towards him. When all five had formed a semi circle in front of the man, he reached inside his coat and brought his hand back out. ¡°This is a big place and the streets don¡¯t make much sense. I expected it to take you all afternoon to find Ugi.¡±


    Into each of their little hands, the captain pressed a small dyme and gave them all a nod of approval.


    The boys stood a little straighter and wore expressions that I could only recognize as prideful.


    ¡°Now, you¡¯ve all done fine work today, but there¡¯s more if you¡¯re willing. You¡¯ll have to be fast and it might get dangerous, but I think it can be done.¡± The captain said with his eyebrow raised.


    ¡°I¡¯m willing!¡± Atrean answered immediately.


    All the other boys joined in his agreement.


    As silly as it was, I felt a small twinge of pride that my disguises name sake was showing his bravery.


    ¡°There¡¯s a flower shop on the other side of the city, by the north bridge. Does one of you know where that is?¡±


    One of the boys raised his hand. ¡°I do!¡±


    ¡°Good, good. Go there and tell them old Bry sent you. They are gonna give you a package. I need it back here before sundown. Do that, and I¡¯ll buy you all something to eat and make sure you¡¯re right up next to the stage when the matches start.¡± The captain said, his voice deadly serious.


    All the boys crossed their forearms in front of their chest in the shape of an X before turning and dashing away like a pack of wolves.


    With a grunt, the captain stood up and turned to where the three of us stood.


    ¡°So you¡¯re the one making my brother think he can go to war. Are you stupid?¡± Anna said, scowling at the man.


    ¡°And that makes you Anna.¡± The captain said with a nod.


    ¡°I told you she was mean.¡± Arthur laughed.


    ¡°Not mean, just concerned for you. That¡¯s what sisters are supposed to do. If it makes you like me any more, I tried to beat it out of him.¡± The captain said with a shrug.


    ¡°I should try that.¡± Anna said, pulling her fist back suddenly.


    The tall man flinched.


    The captain laughed and turned his eyes to me. ¡°I never thought you¡¯d show your face here again after what happened last time.¡±


    ¡°I-¡° I started, remembering how it had felt to drive my fist into Patience¡¯s stomach.


    The captain waved me off. ¡°I¡¯m just giving you a hard time. Ugi told me how much you hate losing. Just don¡¯t hit anybody tonight, alright?¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± I nodded.


    ¡°Good,¡± The captain smiled and clapped his hands. ¡°Lady Anna, I need to borrow your brother for a while. Does food and drinks from my humble establishment sound like a fair payment?¡±


    My stomach let out an audible growl and I felt everyone look at me.


    ¡°It does.¡± Anna agreed after a long moment of what looked to be intense thought.


    As we were walking towards seven columns, I caught a piece of Arthur and the captain¡¯s conversation.


    ¡°You never give anyone free drinks. Why are you in such a good mood?¡± Arthur asked.


    ¡°The boss is coming tonight, we don¡¯t get as much time together as we used to.¡± I heard the captain say.


    The distance grew to be too much for me to continue to listen. I followed Anna into the mostly empty tavern and sat down next to her at the bar.


    The captain had made a grave mistake.


    I realized it fairly quickly, but I hoped he would not come to know the depth of his folly until I was back in the manor, laying comfortably in my bed.


    He had not specified how much food and drink Anna was entitled to.


    The true misfortune of it all came with my discovery of the small wonder known as fried potatoes.


    Golden brown and just small enough to throw into my mouth, my first bite drew me into a trance. It did not end until the barkeeper told me they were out of potatoes and I would have to wait until they acquired more.


    He had looked confused when I asked for a glass of milk instead of wine or any other kind of hard drink, but to his credit, he brought me what I wished.


    More and more people milled into the tavern as I feasted. I was only aware enough to vaguely register Woolie and Springer when they passed through the door. After enough bowls of potatoes that I had built a small wall in front of myself and enough milk that I thought it would leak out of my navel if I had another sip, I came out of my trance and found Anna staring at me.


    ¡°What is it? Do I have something on my face?¡± I asked, leaning back from the bar top and wrapping my arms around my bloated middle.


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be possible for someone to be so disgusting and so cute at the same time.¡± She brought her hand to my face and wiped the milk from my lip with her thumb.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how you do it. You aren¡¯t big enough to eat that much.¡± Arthur said from where he sat on the other side of me.


    I had not realized he was there until he spoke, but I was too full to scream.


    The captain strode into his tavern with the same groups of boys from earlier that day following behind him. Working in unison, the boys lifted the large sheet of wood and hung it on the wall by the door.


    ¡°Listen up! We¡¯ve got two rules tonight. No cheating. No fighting,¡± The captain looked directly at me after his second rule. ¡°And for my sake, have some good matches.¡±


    As quickly as he came, the man was gone. A tide of people followed in his wake, all of them crowding around the bracket in a wave of noise and chatter.


    After the initial flood ran its course, the three of us made our way to the wooden board to see who Arthur and I¡¯s opponents would be. Small wooden squares that bore the names of all of the competitors hung in carved wooden tracks.


    I reached up and touched the square tile with my name on it. It slid up the track at my touch and I understood that having my tile climb higher on the bracket meant I would be closer to victory. Reaching the top of the upper most track, where all of the lines folded into one, would mean I would win the prize money.


    I would be the new champion.


    ¡°Your first match is with Colin. He''s one of the guys building the stage,¡±Arthur said, guiding me through the bracket with his finger. He nodded back to a table where a very pretty man had taken a drink. ¡°And then all the way over here, my first match is against Maro. The captain said he¡¯s the brother of one of the local sorceresses.¡±


    Hair that was closer to muddy brown than my natural red, Maro was much smaller than most of the men in seven columns. Still, there was a confidence in his eyes that told me he would be more formidable than he looked.


    ¡°Do you know the rest of them?¡± I asked. Arthur had been to several of the tournaments. If he could tell me about who I would possibly be playing against, I had a better chance at reaching the single line at the top of the wooden board.


    He brought his finger back to my tile before starting on the next match. ¡°We both know Woolie-¡°


    ¡°You and I know Woolie. Trea doesn¡¯t.¡± Anna chimed in.


    ¡°-I know Woolie. I¡¯ve never met who he is playing against or these two.¡± A wide grin spread over Arthur¡¯s face when his finger came to the next tile.


    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked him.


    ¡°That old man asleep in the corner? That¡¯s Kip. He¡¯s the best player in the whole tournament. You¡¯ll like him. He¡¯s playing against Unknown over there.¡± Arthur answered, nodding back towards the entrance of the tavern.


    Sitting in a lone chair just inside the door was a person that was covered from head to toe in clothing. A loose white wrap concealed everything but one of their eyes. Long white sleeves and pants were partially covered by a red robe that was bordered in purple and green. I had not seen them come into seven columns and would not have noticed them if Arthur had not pointed them out.


    ¡°I bet every dyme in my pocket that¡¯s Patience. Why hide your identity unless you wouldn¡¯t be allowed to play if the captain knew who you were?¡±


    Fair. I thought.


    ¡°You said he wouldn¡¯t be here. Do you not remember what happened last time she saw him?¡± Anna whispered harshly at her brother and thumped the scars on his neck that formed the pattern of my teeth.


    ¡°Shut up. Even if it¡¯s him, she can¡¯t see his face.¡± Arthur said, pushing Anna¡¯s hand away.


    A sudden pang of guilt echoed within me at the reminder of what I had done to my friend.


    Arthur continued through the bracket.


    ¡°Nocti is playing against somebody name Lawler. Galahad, he¡¯s one of Nocti¡¯s brothers, is playing against Thad. He lives upstairs. That¡¯s it. If we both win out, it¡¯ll be you and me in the finals.¡± The tall man said, holding his hand up for a high five.


    ¡°No. That won¡¯t happen.¡± I said, shaking my head in denial.


    ¡°How do you know that?¡± Arthur laughed.


    ¡°I will not be the reason you don¡¯t get your whatever it is from the captain. If it ends up being me and you, I¡¯ll quit.¡± I answered honestly.


    I wanted to win and I wanted the prize money.


    I wanted Arthur to get what he wanted more.


    ¡°Tell you what, if it happens, don¡¯t forfeit. You won¡¯t be able to beat me anyways. I¡¯ll get the recommendation and you won¡¯t be a quitter.¡± Arthur said, smiling as always.


    Before I could disagree, one of the boys from before stepped through the door and shouted over the noise within seven columns.


    ¡°Trea and Colin to the stage! Trea and Colin to the stage!¡±


    It took me an embarrassing amount of time to realize that I was Trea.


    I had played more games of points than I could ever hope to count, but after I weaved my way through the crowd and made for the door, I was nervous.


    What if I tripped or got distracted?


    What if I lost?


    ¡°Hey,¡± Anna grabbed me by my hand just before I went outside. So quick that I didn¡¯t realized what she was doing until it was over, she kissed me on the cheek. ¡°Good luck.¡±


    I was a fool.


    As long as I had her to do that for me, I could never be defeated.

 V2: Chapter Seventy Five: The Tournament

    Two of the three nights I had escaped to Erosette, there had been some manner of celebration or festival.


    On Dreamtongue¡¯s night, crowds had gathered around uncountable campfires to swap stories in honor of the celebration¡¯s namesake. Then, during Embpyre, they had all gathered again. Instead of small fires serving as the focus, it had been the single pyre in the heart of Erosette that had been set aflame. Built by the freely given burdens of the crowd, they had allowed The Mother in Red to rid them of what had darkened their heart.


    I stepped onto the newly built wooden platform and stood opposite my opponent, just the same as I did before every game of points.


    Long lines of thick wire had been hung from seven columns and stretched across the street to the buildings on the other side. Hanging from them, far above the top of my glamoured black hair, was a square hall of burning torches.


    The crowd that seemed to form in the city at the slightest suggestion were painted in warm light that kept the oncoming dark of night at arms length. They were packed shoulder to shoulder from as far back as I could see all the way up to the edges of the platform.


    By half at least, I was their focus.


    My opponent and I were the fire they had gathered around.


    The hair on the back of my neck stood up against the golden choker around my neck, the first sign of an all too familiar feeling.


    I was being watched.


    Of course you are being watched. You are on a stage in front of a crowd, dummy. I thought, hearing Anna¡¯s voice in my head.


    When Arthur had told me he had put my false name in for another tournament, no part of me had imagined it would be any different than the first.


    My heart pounded in my chest and my breaths came short and shallow.


    Too much.


    That internal admission cut through me with a freezing edge of panic and nearly sent me running from the platform. I closed my eyes and tried to pretend that I was standing in the garden with Arthur or in front of the manor with one of the guards.


    A small roar of excited chatter rose from the crowd and filled my ears. Unable to keep my eyes closed, I saw that my opponent had taken up his stance.


    Like the hundreds of matches I had played had formed a new instinct within me, I dropped into my own stance at the sight of it.


    Colin. He was one of the men who built the stage. That was what Arthur had told me. He had been wrong in part. My opponent was more of a boy than a man.


    With light brown hair and bright blue eyes, there was a softness to his face that made me think he was younger than me.


    ¡°You¡¯re a lot prettier than the people I usually play with,¡± He said with a smile. ¡°Can I buy you a drink before my next match?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not even old enough to drink!¡± I heard someone shout.


    I looked past my opponent and lost myself in the faces of those that stood behind him. From man to woman to child to man, there were so many people and all of them were looking at me.


    Something struck me in the middle of my forehead and the maze of people that I was lost in began to cheer.


    ¡°Three points, Colin! First kill, Colin! Reset for the next match.¡± The captain shouted over the applause.


    ¡°I lost?¡± I said aloud, shaking my head as I realized what had happened.


    My opponent had already reset and was waiting for me to do the same.


    ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll buy you dinner?¡± Colin asked me.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have any money, boy. You couldn¡¯t buy her a breath of fresh air.¡± The captain shouted and sent the crowd into a fit of laughter.


    Colin stopped smiling.


    Before I could summon the presence of mind to reset for the next match, a moving darkness appeared in my peripheral.


    Looking like two animate shadows, Anna and Arthur had pushed their way to the front of the crowd on my right. Following the slight nod of her head, I looked over the crowd and saw a familiar shape perched atop the place Arthur had bought me dinner the first time I had come to seven columns.


    Sam, sitting just outside the range of the torchlight, stared at me with his deep blue eyes.


    All that my familiar had taught me just a few nights ago came back to me in an instant.


    You are a hunter. I thought, glancing back at the frustrated looking Colin. He is your prey.


    Sam would not be dissuaded from killing a bird just because its flock was watching him. Knowing the big blue cat, an audience would only offer him encouragement. Nothing good would come of me allowing myself to lose again because I was overwhelmed by what was around me. Sam had taken time out of his unimaginably busy life to teach me something. I doubted letting him see me waist that knowledge would do anything to improve his demeanor towards me.


    Just as the captain called for me to reset again, I dropped back into my stance and stared into my opponents eyes. I had learned nothing from our first match considering that I had not participated in it, but for that same reason, he looked all too confident.


    Like he did not think I was the least bit threatening, Colin took a halfhearted step forward and brought his pointed fingers back towards my head.


    My own pressed into his chest before he ever made contact.


    ¡°Point, Trea! Reset!¡± The captain shouted over the crowd¡¯s applause.


    ¡°I was wondering if you were gonna play.¡± Colin said as he withdrew from me.


    His words could not hide the surprise I saw in his eyes when I had struck him.


    As I stepped back and assumed my stance once again, I caught sight of Anna and Arthur clapping along with the rest of the crowd. I had to bite my lip to keep from smiling.


    I would give them a much better reason to cheer for me.


    The moment my opponent settled into his stance, I struck his hand with my two fingers without giving him the chance to breathe.


    ¡°Two points, Trea! Second kill, Trea! Reset for the next match!¡± The captain shouted again.Stolen novel; please report.


    More applause, more cheers, more uncertainty in my prey¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°You won¡¯t get me like that again.¡± Colin warned me, the warm light of the torches glinting in his bright blue eyes.


    The crowd dampened into a quiet anticipation that was so dense I could almost feel it thickening the air.


    ¡°I could get you anyway I want to.¡± I whispered at a volume that only he could hear and winked.


    His eyes went wide and I took my opportunity.


    ¡°Three points, Trea! Third Kill, Trea! Trea advances to the next round!¡± The captain shouted.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I want to go anywhere with you.¡± Colin muttered as he stepped out of his stance and back from my fingers. I had won so quickly that he hadn¡¯t had the time to move before I had struck him in his forehead.


    He turned from me, my prey no more, and stepped off the platform next to where the captain stood.


    ¡°That alright, boy. Remember, confidence, not arrogance.¡± The older man said to Colin as he passed.


    I found Anna and Arthur in the crowd and let the joy of my victory carry me towards them. They helped me off the platform and we made our way through the crowd until we found a pocket of space that was big enough for me to breathe.


    ¡°If that little bastard flirted with you one more time, I was going to come up there and hit him myself.¡± Anna said with a furious scowl.


    ¡°He¡¯s like that with every girl. He doesn¡¯t mean anything by it,¡± Arthur said, waving off his sister and giving me a high five. ¡°You weren¡¯t paying attention when he won the first match were you?¡±


    ¡°He was. . .¡± I asked, having to take a deep breath before I could speak again.


    Fireworks came to life in my belly. I willed myself to take a slow breath to keep them from bursting out of me like they had in the kitchen the night before.


    I bent over and put my hands on my knees, unable to catch my breath or slow down my pounding heart.


    ¡°Hey, are you okay?¡± Anna asked, rubbing her hand on my back.


    ¡°I¡¯m just,¡± I started and interrupted myself with a sudden burst of giggles. ¡°I¡¯m just so happy.¡±


    I had won.


    I had spent the day with Anna and Arthur


    I was the fire the crowd had gathered around, and they had cheered for me.


    ¡°Hold my hands.¡± I stood and demanded, extending one to each sibling. Anna grabbed my right immediately, but Arthur hesitated.


    ¡°Why?¡± The tall man asked. His usual smile had been joined with color in his cheeks.


    ¡°Because,¡± I leaned over and took his hand since he could not summon the courage to do as I had asked. ¡°I¡¯m scared I¡¯m going to float off the ground if I¡¯m not held down.¡±


    I¡¯m our little pocket within the crowd, all of us shared the bubbling laughter that leaked out of me. The crowd had begun to refocus on the platform and the pocket got bigger with their growing absence.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we walk down there and let you calm down?¡± Anna suggested. She nodded toward the street behind us that had been filled with tents and tables. Like a larger version of the market I had walked through that morning, a louder and more dramatic song found my ears.


    ¡°No, Kip is about to play, she needs to watch him.¡± Arthur disagreed.


    Both of them waited for me to answer.


    ¡°I want to see Kip,¡± I nodded at Arthur excitedly. ¡°But neither of you can let me go.¡±


    Without another word, the tall man led our chain of hands through the crowd without much resistance. It seemed that there were benefits to his height beyond having a greater reach than me in points.


    We reached a place that all of us could see the stage just in time to see one of the players taking up their stance.


    The masked fighter, still very much masked, waited for their opponent to mirror their readiness.


    ¡°That¡¯s not Patience.¡± I whispered to Arthur. It was obvious once I got a full view of three concealed person. They were too short and their shoulders were too narrow. Even the way they stood told me that the person in the white clothes and red robe was not the man I had struck in the stomach.


    ¡°That¡¯s Kip.¡± Arthur said.


    The old man that had been sound asleep inside seven columns made his way onto the wooden platform. With every shuffling step, it seemed he would fall, but somehow he managed to stay upright. To the sound of every bone in his body popping and cracking, he leaned himself into some small suggestion of a ready position.


    ¡°That is the best fighter in the tournament?¡± I asked Arthur, feeling like Kip could be beaten with a strongly worded suggestion.


    ¡°Just watch. I couldn¡¯t believe it the first time I saw him.¡± Arthur said through a laugh.


    A long moment of tense anticipation settled over the crowd. I was no longer the fire, I was a part of the audience, which came with its own collective happiness. All the people of Erosette that had gathered to watch the tournament shared a focus for what was happening before their eyes. There was comfort in that, a feeling of belonging to something outside of myself.


    The moment before the match went for so long, that Kip fell asleep.


    ¡°Wake up, old man!¡± The captain yelled from the other side of the platform, but it fell on deaf ears.


    The masked fighter stepped forward and reached their pointed fingers towards their opponents unguarded forehead.


    The moment before they made contact, Kip¡¯s eyes shot open.


    ¡°I forfeit,¡± The old man yelled towards the captain. ¡°Every year you tell me that there will be players good enough to challenge me and every year you¡¯re wrong.¡±


    ¡°Kip forfeits! Unnamed fighter advances to the next round!¡± The captain shouted and waved for the two players to clear the platform.


    A reverberating chorus of cheers sounded from the crowd in one big. ¡°Kip!¡±


    ¡°What the fuck was that?¡± I asked, not understanding what had just happened.


    ¡°He¡¯s so good, he won¡¯t fight anyone that isn¡¯t as good as him.¡± Arthur laughed.


    ¡°I still don¡¯t understand.¡± I shook my head.


    ¡°It¡¯s a bluff. He probably can¡¯t even play anymore by the looks of him.¡± Anna said.


    ¡°Every time I¡¯ve seen him, he gets up and does the same thing. It¡¯s kind of a joke.¡± Arthur continued to laugh.


    Why? I asked myself and found that I was short of any useful answers.


    Just as the captain announced the next match, a lift of audible excitement drowned him out. Almost in unison, the crowd turned to the right of the platform and began to part near the stall that sold the bread wrapped meat sticks.


    Galahad came into my sight first. With his long golden hair flowing behind him and wearing a billowing white shirt patterned with roses, there was no one else he could have been. Both through story and the memories I had seen that were not my own, I recognized him immediately.


    Then, like a mother duck leading her ducklings, Nocti came next under the shadows of his wide brimmed black hat. The red cloaked roses followed closely behind him, their sandals concealed from me by the mass of the crowd.


    A vision of his teeth sunk into the soft flesh of The Mother in Red¡¯s thigh ran through my mind. In the same moment, small excitement sparked to life within me.


    Even if she could never know who I was, I hoped for the chance to see the underwitch Pyreme again. Something about her had made me feel like she and I could be friends. Not like Anna and I were friends because Anna and I had become much more than friends a long time ago, but there was something there. I had no reason to feel that way, but my feelings rarely came with reason to begin with.


    Before I could find her freckled face or blonde hair amongst the sea of scarlet cloaks, something dark and violent twisted to life in my heart.


    Patience, the man I had no reason to hate or live came through the crowd next.


    Tears filled my eyes, my teeth clenched, I dug my nails into my palms, and was moving before I knew what was happening.


    ¡°Oh shit. Hold on.¡± I heard Arthur say as he grabbed the back of my clothes and held me in place.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Anna asked, worry evident in her voice.


    I didnt care. I had to get to him. I had to put my hands on the man I loved. I had to hurt him the way he had hurt me. I had to make him feel the love I held for him that he had once held for me. If I could just make him understand, he would come back. I knew he would come back.


    ¡°That¡¯s him, Patience. The captain said he couldn¡¯t be in the tournament. Why is he here?¡± Arthur said. The tall man went from holding me in place to pulling me back.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand how you can be this fucking dumb,¡± Anna said, wrapping her arms around one of mind and speaking to me softly. ¡°Hey, let¡¯s take that walk. I think I need some fresh air.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± I shouted. My outburst drew the attention of the people in the crowd closest to me, but I didn¡¯t care.


    All I cared about was Patience.


    ¡°Come on.¡± Arthur grunted. He picked me up like I was a child throwing a tantrum and turned me away from the platform.


    ¡°Let me go!¡± I shouted again.


    I had to make him come back. The longing that felt like an iron spike had been driven through my stomach, I couldn¡¯t take it.


    Someone appeared in my sight just before Arthur carried me away.


    Her back was turned to me and I could not see her face, but as she greeted the crowd that had worked itself into a froth at the sight of her, I knew who I had seen.


    The Mother in Red.


    Rhiannon.


    I would kill her dead in her own city, and Patience would come back to me.

 V2: Chapter Seventy Six: The Alley

    The next thing I knew, Arthur sat me down on a stack of large wooden crates in an alleyway I hadn¡¯t known he had turned down.


    He clamped his big hands over my thighs and pinned the bottom half of my legs to the rough wood with his body. No matter how much I tried, I couldn¡¯t so much as wiggle under his pressure.


    There was pain over all the scabbed and bruised places on my knees and shins, but it did not sway me.


    ¡°Alright, alright, alright,¡± I said, waving my hands and letting my body relax. ¡°I¡¯m better. I¡¯m myself again.¡±


    ¡°Wait! She¡¯s lying!¡± Anna shouted a moment too late.


    Arthur had already lessened his grip and taken a step back.


    Finding myself at the perfect height and angle, I kicked my leg out and struck the tall man in the place that his legs met with the tip of my boot.


    He dropped to the ground and I was free once again.


    The crowd would be a problem. All of them would not stand by idly and watch me unmake their Mother. If I was quick enough, I could strike her to get her attention and then lead her away to somewhere isolated. After all, it was not the citizens of Erosette that had taken my love from me.


    I moved to jump down from the crate, but found something in my way.


    ¡°Hey, where you going,¡± Anna said, placing herself between my legs and stopping my descent. ¡°I¡¯m right here.¡±


    She put herself where she had with no reverence for how easy it would be for me to lock my legs around her neck or kick her into the stone wall behind her. She could only stand in my way as long as I let her and I had to get to Patience.


    If that was true, then why couldn¡¯t I bring myself to move her?


    Arthur began to climb off of the ground, his crotch held and defended by his massive hands. When he spoke, his breath was high pitched and weedy. ¡°I think I¡¯m gonna let Opa heal me all the way this time. Why do you always go for the balls?¡±


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t. Suri does, and she¡¯s not Suri. Right, Autumn?¡± Anna asked, wrapping her arms around my waist and staring up at me with her dark eyes.


    I knew who I was. I knew what was happening to me with complete understanding. I knew could not bring myself to hurt her or push her away because she was Anna. Her name alone had come to carry so much weight in my heart and mind, I knew I was powerless to cause her any pain.


    That knowledge burned much less brightly than the feelings that threatened to consume me from within when they came.


    I knew who I was, but the longing for the one I loved was strong enough to make me disregard that truth. I knew what was happening to me, but could not summon the strength to stop it. I knew I could not bring myself to hurt Anna, but the rage that commanded me to go for The Mother in Red would not let me restrained.


    I relaxed myself intentionally for the second time.


    Anna did not fall for my trick the way Arthur had.


    I leaned towards her and cupped her head in my hands, forcing myself to move slowly as I brought my face down to hers.


    ¡°Are you okay now?¡± She asked, her eyes narrowed.


    Just before the tips of our noses touched, I let out the air I had gathered in my lungs in a focused burst.


    The shock of it blowing against her suddenly made her hands flinch towards her face and close her eyes.


    I slid off the crates to the sound of splinters tearing into the back of my black dress. Through her loosened embrace and understand her arms, I slipped free without so much as touching her.


    One, two, three quick steps towards the warm torchlight that did not penetrate through mouth of the dark alley. Towards the roaring crowd and the platform, I would come alive on the streets on Erosette and challenge The Mother in Red where she stood.


    A shape appeared at the end of the alley and blocked my way.


    Sam.


    The sight of the big blue cat that I knew was my familiar weighed me down with momentary hesitation.


    A grip so strong it felt like the stone walls had opened up and swallowed my hand kept me from taking my fourth step.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know Patience would be here, really. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Arthur said, his free hand protecting the place I had already struck.


    He was protecting himself from me.


    Regret tightened my chest at the sight of the scars on his neck, but his mention of Patience burned it away and left me more desperate to escape the alley.


    All the small moments I had shared with him, all the hours spent together, I could not let them be fore nothing.


    I shifted my weight to throw my legs up and snap Arthur¡¯s arm like a green twig. Before my boots left the ground, Anna came to me again.


    She took my hand and placed my palm in the middle of her chest. Underneath the black fabric, I could feel something hard that was lain over her skin.


    ¡°Remember when you made me this? You gave me a piece of yourself. Autumn gave Anna a piece of herself, right?¡± The raven haired girl I loved said to me.


    ¡°Right,¡± I shook my head in agreement. ¡°But you don¡¯t know how it feels!¡±


    ¡°Neither do you. Suri does. Autumn doesn¡¯t,¡± Anna said softly. She kept my hand on the skull underneath her dress that hung from her neck on ribbons made from my power. ¡°Autumn knows what it feels like to sleep next to me or have me play with her hair.¡±


    Truth. The Autumn I liked thought clearly and calmly.


    Anna continued. ¡°Autumn knows what it¡¯s like to play points with Arthur or to get in the pool inside the well house.¡±


    Truth. The thought came again.


    The longing, the rage, the heartbreak, all of it began to flame out under the blanket of her calming reminders.


    ¡°Autumn knows how it feels to comfort me when I have one my nightmares, not Suri.¡± Anna said, her voice growing quiet.


    Truth.


    Arthur still held me firm in his grip of stone, but his face had donned its mask. His dark eyes, the same color and shape of his sisters, looked up to the night sky and away from us.


    Like the sun setting and turning dusk to full dark, everything of Suri that had come to my surface began to recede.


    ¡°It has made my heart so full to see you all here tonight.¡± A voice I recognized rang through the city at a volume and clarity that should not have been possible.


    All of it, all of Suri, came roaring back to life at the sound of Rhiannon¡¯s voice.


    I wrenched my arm back from Arthur¡¯s grip.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Damn the crowd. If any of them tried to intervene, I would kill them as well. I had to do what needed to be done at any cost.


    Anna threw herself at me. She locked her arms behind my back and snatched me towards her. Before I could escape of trying to and defend myself, her lips pressed against mine and everything went away.


    Arthur was not standing an arms length away and Sam was not blocking the end of the alley. There was no crowd gathered around the wooden platform or tournament taking place on the stage. The Mother in Red and Patience were no longer drawing the memories and feelings of Suri out of me.


    There was no city.


    In all of chaos there was only one singular thing.


    Anna and Autumn.


    Her and I.


    Everything else felt so small and insignificant that it took no effort at all to let it all fall away and leave me with the truth that Anna carried on her lips.


    Long after I had returned to being only Autumn, our lips parted and I let my head slump down to her shoulder.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I whispered, letting her hold me together in the dark alley for as long as she was willing.


    ¡°Well done, mortal. If you ever learn how to defend her from the powers that mean to harm her, I believe I will fall into the ethereal materials that make me.¡± Sam said in his deep voice as he padded to where we stood.


    ¡°Should we go back up to the manor?¡± Anna asked, her attention still solely on me.


    ¡°No. I want to stay. I want to play.¡± I said, shaking my head.


    ¡°Are you sure? What if, you know, happens again?¡± She said, concern evident on her face.


    ¡°It won¡¯t. Just stay near me in case I need you to do that again.¡± I said, fully confident that all she would need to do to ward off any feelings that were not mine was to kiss me again.


    ¡°The mortal presiding over this tournament has just announced Arthur¡¯s bout.¡± Sam spoke once he had leapt to the top of the crates that Arthur had pinned me on sometime earlier.


    He was on the other side of the bracket. How long had I been on the edge of losing myself to the violence and heartbreak of Suri?


    ¡°I¡¯ll, uhm, I¡¯ll come find you two after my match.¡± Arthur called back to us as he left the alley and stepped back into the torch light.


    ¡°Your glamor has faded, my lady. Do not return with your true face exposed.¡± My familiar rumbled from where he had climbed to the rooftop. Without another word, he left my sight, undoubtedly in search of some perch that he could watch the rest of the tournament from.


    I had not noticed the glimmering remnants of my disguise that had dusted the front of our black dresses.


    As we left the alley, I found myself searching the sea of faces for any sign of The Mother in Red or Patience. We made it all the way back to seven columns before I let go of my search. They had to have gone somewhere else. Even if they hadn¡¯t, as long as Anna could reach me, disaster would be avoided.


    With my face glamored once again, Anna and I weaved through the crowd with our hands intertwined. We were just in time to see Arthur step onto the platform and stand opposite his opponent.


    ¡°I think his name is Maro.¡± I told Anna, remembering when Arthur had pointed out the pretty man¡¯s tile on the bracket next to his own.


    Maro was minuscule in every way when I compare him to my small giant of a friend.


    I imagined that I must look even more ridiculous when I faced him down.


    The crowd settled into the partial quiet that seemed to prelude every match.


    Arthur did not move.


    Maro did.


    The brown haired man did not know what I knew. He did not know that he had fallen right into Arthur¡¯s trap. He did not know that he had lost as soon as he had reached for his opponents chest.


    It was not a bad strategy. Trying to score on a hand was difficult and going for the head when you were so undersized was a risk. Arthur¡¯s middle torso was large, there was more of it to hit, but the tall man knew that.


    Side stepping the same way he had against me an uncountable amount of times, he turned his shoulders and took his kill.


    ¡°Three points, Arthur! First Kill, Arthur! Reset for the next match!¡± The captain yelled over the applauding crowd.


    Cheering for my friend¡¯s victory brought a smile to my face. In a small way because of the countless matches we had shared, I felt that it was my victory as well. Surely, somewhere along the way, he had learned something from our games the way that I had learned from him.


    The tall man did not seem to share in the joy. His face was still covered in the stony mask he had worn in the alley.


    He¡¯s just focused. I thought to myself.


    ¡°The big guys pretty good, but there¡¯s no way he can keep up with Master Nocti or Galahad.¡± I overheard a bearded man say to the woman beside him.


    ¡°Not after the match those two just had. Master Galahad was probably the only player that had any hope of beating him.¡± The woman said back.


    ¡°Three points, Maro! First Kill, Maro! Reset for the next match!¡± The captain yelled.


    ¡°Oh shit, Arthur lost.¡± Anna said, squeezing my hand and pointing towards the stage.


    How? I thought. The conversation between the man and the woman had distracted me.


    ¡°Did you see what happened?¡± Anna asked me. She looked just as confused as I felt.


    ¡°No. Did you?¡± I answered.


    ¡°No. Here they go again.¡± She said as Maro started the match by taking a step forward.


    Arthur stepped back and speared his two fingers forward to catch his opponent in their advance. He had done it to me more times that I cared to remember, but his movements were much slower than they should have been.


    Maro avoided his counter attack easily. In the blink of an eye, he had placed his fingers on Arthur¡¯s forehead and won again.


    ¡°Three points, Maro. Second kill, Maro. Reset.¡± The captain yelled, barely loud enough for me to hear over the crowd.


    If the pretty man won again, Arthur would (lose) lose. He would be out of the tournament in the first round at the hand of someone he should have been able to beat easily.


    None of it made sense.


    Maro was not particularly good. I had played enough points to know that I could have beaten him before Sam¡¯s lesson. He was not fast, his reach was nothing to speak of, and when he had scored it had looked all too easy.


    Arthur should have been able to win without getting a point scored on him.


    ¡°Somethings wrong.¡± I whispered to Anna without looking away from the platform.


    ¡°I know. He looks-¡° Anna started.


    ¡°Sad.¡± I interrupted and finished her sentence.


    As the he turned and settled into his usual stance, nothing else about him was normal. There was no sign of the smile that was almost always on his face. His broad shoulders and back were slumped and bent. His mask of stone had cracked and fell away.


    I couldn¡¯t be sure, but I thought I saw the torch light from above flickering off tears in the tall man¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Did something happen? Do you think it¡¯s because I hit him where I did?¡± I asked, realizing that I had not apologized after Anna had put me back together. I knew he would wave me off and say it was no big deal, but I still needed to let him know I was sorry.


    Anna sighed and tightened her grip on my hand. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s it. It was probably hard for him to watch what happened in the alley.¡±


    ¡°Why? What had happened in the alley was a good thing.¡± I said, turning and looking at her.


    The same sadness that was on Arthur¡¯s face was on hers as well.


    A sound of shock and surprise rose from the crowd and I snapped my head towards the platform.


    Maro stood with their two fingers extended towards Arthur. The tall man¡¯s arms were by his side, looking like had given up.


    The captain stood between them, his hand the only thing separating Arthur from his opponents strike.


    ¡°Maro is disqualified! Arthur advances to the next round!¡± The captain called from atop the platform.


    Some members of the crowd clapped, but it was mostly a jumbled sound of confusion that came from them.


    Maro fell away into dust and revealed that he was in fact not a he. She was a sorceress, one I had seen before on Dreamtongue¡¯s night. Her son had been telling stories about some sort of spider monster and her familiar had been a serpent made of fire. The sight of her brought it all back to me in a dizzying blur.


    "Is it really that easy to trick people that way? If I cut my hair and stopped wearing dresses would you suddenly forget who I was?" Anna asked, disbelief in her voice.


    ¡°Really, Bry? You couldn¡¯t just let me play?¡± She yelled at the captain as he helped Arthur off the platform and towards where Anna and I stood in the mass of people.


    ¡°I was until you realized you couldn¡¯t beat Ugi and started charming him so you could win. Get out of here,¡± The captain yelled back before lowering his voice. ¡°This is why I¡¯ve warned you about sorceress, Ugi. There isn¡¯t a single one of them that won¡¯t try and cheat you if you¡¯ve got something they want.¡±


    Anna led me by the hand through the crowd and we met the captain halfway.


    ¡°Lady Anna, I have come to return the brother I borrowed from you. He is a bit worse for wear at the moment, but it should pass soon enough.¡± The captain said, passing Arthur¡¯s weight to us.


    ¡°What did she do to him?¡± Anna asked the older man.


    ¡°She charmed him.¡± I answered for him, knowing that had to be it.


    ¡°Hmm. You know about the things that sorceresses can do? Curious. Let us all hope nobody else that isn¡¯t suppose to be here interrupts the competition again.¡± The captain said. He turned away from us and walked back through the parted crowd.


    I squeezed Anna¡¯s hand so hard, I heard her fingers pop from the force.


    He knows. The Autumn I didn¡¯t like said in my mind, sending shots of fear all the way down my spine.


    If he knew, you would no longer be here. The Autumn I did like though calmly.


    Once he reached the stage, the captain raised his voice again and called out to the crowd. ¡°Apologies for the delay, we are on to the quarter finals! First match, Trea versus Woolie!¡±

 V2: Chapter Seventy Seven: The Quarters

    For the second time that night, I had become the fire.


    As the night grew later and the wooden tiles on the bracket inside seven columns had diminished, the crowd had reached a fever pitch.


    The cheers that filled my ears were not because of my victory, they came at my defeat by the hand of the guard Woolie.


    I had played with him many times before, but none of our games had prepared me for the onslaught the burly bearded man had unleashed upon me.


    A different kind than I, yes, but he was a hunter all the same.


    ¡°Two Points, Woolie! Second Kill, Woolie! Reset for the next match!¡± The Captain shouted, his voice barely audible over the sound of the jubilant crowd.


    I watched him step back from me and remembered the first time I had played points.


    It had been on Galahad¡¯s Night, when I had never stepped a free foot into Erosette or knew the weight of Mother Azza¡¯s golden eyes. Springer and Woolie had done their part at the request of my mother and dressed up as barmaids to serve drinks and keep score. I had made him laugh when I had called him a lady.


    It had been a real, genuine, moment. The sort that I had not shared with very many people.


    Excluding my memories of Anna and Arthur, it was one that I kept close to my heart.


    Neither guard had worn their flattering blouses to the tournament.


    Springer stood right next to the captain, every line and crease of his buttoned shirt perfectly in place as he clapped for his counterpart. Woolie turned back to me and bent at the knees to indicate he was ready for what would be our final match.


    The dark bearded man had come at me like a bear when our bout had begun, overwhelming me with his bulk and intensity. Every match since, he had charged me just the same. Twice, I had been able to sneak enough points to win before he closed, but it was hardly a certain path to victory.


    A toss up, nothing more.


    Atrean, one of the boys the captain had sent on a quest to the flower shop across the city, appeared at the edge of the platform. He handed the captain a bundle of red flowers that were wrapped in reflective red paper. The captain ruffled his head and sent him away before turning back to me.


    ¡°Reset for the next match!¡± He shouted, making me realize that everyone was looking at me. Woolie, the captain, and the crowd were all waiting on me to take up my stance so the dancing flames they had gathered around could continue to burn.


    I could not leave the outcome of three final match up in the air. The tournament was fun, yes, and I did enjoy playing, but I had a much more important reason why I needed to win.


    It was me and only me that needed to be Arthur¡¯s opponent once he made it to the final bout.


    No one else would let him win so he could get his recommendation from the captain.


    What he had said in the alley when Suri had been making my mind very difficult to tame was not lost on me. The tall man was in control of how much Opa healed him. That only left one thing for me to think in regard to the scars I had left on his neck.


    I couldn¡¯t lose. I couldn¡¯t let there be a chance of me losing. I had to find a way to snatch victory out of the air and away from the oncoming rush of Woolie.


    If the burly man had any idea who I was, I would simply ask. I¡¯m sure he would understand, he seemed overwhelmingly kind despite his rough appearance.


    Woolie didn¡¯t know he was playing against Lady Aubrey¡¯s criminal daughter, the same girl that he had been charged with keeping out of the city. He thought he was playing against Trea, a name I had come up with after hearing a refugee boy being called something similar.


    Looking into the eyes of my opponent, all I could see was the barmaids outfit wrapped around his bulk.


    That¡¯s it. I thought, realizing I had found the upper hand I had needed.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t hurt you did I?¡± Woolie asked, his expression and voice sincere.


    ¡°No,¡± I shook my head and stepped into my stance, unable to keep myself from smiling. ¡°I am certain I have met you before, I was just trying to remember where.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll see if I can help you after this.¡± The big man said as he broke from his stance and hammered his way towards me.


    I stepped back, the same as I had every match.


    He struck out for my hand, but I let myself fall back on my ass instead of tripping naturally like I had before.


    ¡°You¡¯re a bar maid are you not? I seem to remember you looking very fetching in one of those white blouses with the corset.¡± I said suddenly from where I sat on the wooden platform.


    Woolies eyes went wide and his face blushed red beneath his dark beard. ¡°Who told you that? Daphne? Schmit? Ugi?¡±


    There was my opening. I had halted his onslaught with nothing but my words. The high of my triumph was so all consuming, I almost forgot to reach out and press my two fingers to his brow.


    ¡°Three points, Trea! Third Kill, Trea! Trea moves on to the next round!¡±


    ¡°I usually would let a lady such as yourself win, but I¡¯m afraid the stakes are too high.¡± I said to Woolie over the noise of the crowd. They had become so loud, I could feel the wooden boards vibrating underneath me.


    Woolie sighed stuck his hand out to me. He helped me off the ground and bowed his head. ¡°Good match.¡±


    ¡°Good match.¡± I replied.


    ¡°Which one of those little shits told you about the barmaid business? I need to know.¡± The burly man said to me as we left the platform together.


    ¡°Uhm, I¡¯m not sure who I heard it from.¡± I lied. I had not heard it, I had seen it, but I could not tell him that.


    ¡°Has to be Daphne. He couldn¡¯t keep his mouth shut if his lips were sown together.¡± Woolie grunted as he helped me down into the crowd.


    I lost the burly guard after that. More people than I could count congratulated me. High fives, claps on the back, and offers to buy me drinks came like a flooding river that carried me away from the stage without my permission. It spat me out at the open door of seven columns and I found that the attention of everyone around me had turned back towards the platform for the next match.


    A shadow appeared among the gathered souls of Erosette and walked straight up to me. She grabbed me by my arms and gave me a little shake.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    ¡°You won!¡± Anna cheered, a look of pure excitement on her face.


    ¡°I won!¡± I smiled back at her. It was good that she had grabbed me. I was fairly certain I would not have been able to keep my feet on the stone street beneath me if she hadn¡¯t.


    ¡°What did you do to him to make him stop like that?¡± Anna asked.


    ¡°Let¡¯s run away together,¡± The words passed through my lips before I had the chance to think about them. ¡°Right now. There are so many places we can go. I have to figure out how to get us there, but I will.¡±


    I knew that there were an uncountable amount of reasons that it was a terrible and nearly impossible idea. If she had said yes, none of them would have mattered to me.


    Anna did not answer me. We stared into each other¡¯s eyes and it felt like everything around us slowed to a stop. From campfires to roaring pyres to tournaments, the people of Erosette gathered to focus on all manner of things. Anna was my fire and I was hers. The excitement of my matches and the way being with her made me feel did nothing but bring that knowledge to bear in the front of my mind.


    ¡°Excuse me. I hate to interrupt, but the two of you are blocking the door.¡± Someone said as they tapped me on my shoulder.


    Everything around us returned to its usual speed when we looked away from one another. We separated long enough for an unfortunately familiar man to pass between us.


    Patience.


    My hand reached for him before I could stop it.


    The tips of my fingers brushed against the back of his white shirt. Just before I grabbed him and spun him around to me, I was pulled back and spun around myself.


    Anna pulled me towards her and kissed me for the second time that night.


    I lost myself in it.


    When I returned, Patience was gone.


    In his place was Nocti. Wearing his wide brimmed hat and leading the flock of red cloaked roses that followed behind him, he passed by me without a second glance.


    ¡°Hey, are you okay?¡± Anna asked me, bringing my attention back to her.


    ¡°Because of you. It wasn¡¯t as bad as last time,¡± I sighed, thankfully that Suri was nowhere to be felt in my mind. ¡°I hope we see him again.¡±


    ¡°Because it gets easier each time? Anna asked.


    ¡°Because I get to kiss you again.¡± I said with a smile.


    ¡°Arthur and Springer to the stage! Arthur and Springer to the stage!¡± One of the boys from before shouted as he ran through the door of seven columns.


    As he went in, an underwitch came running out.


    ¡°Wait up!¡± She yelled, bumping into every single person she passed.


    Blonde hair, tan skin, freckles, I recognized her immediately.


    Pyreme.


    Like a duckling that had been separated from its mother, she vanished into the mass of people between the tavern and the platform in search of her flock.


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t that the girl from the other night?¡± Anna asked as we started for the platform.


    ¡°I want to talk to her again.¡± I said, taking Anna¡¯s hand in my own.


    ¡°That¡¯s really not a good idea,¡± She warned me. ¡°But neither is being here at all I guess, just don¡¯t show her your face.¡±


    The next match began before I could find Pyreme and it stopped me dead in my tracks.


    It did not feel like I was watching Arthur and Springer play a game of points.


    The uptight man that guarded the city from me was a sword. Sharp, efficient, deadly, he slowly took more and more of the platform from Arthur with each feint and advance.


    The tall man who had chosen to bear the scars I had left on his neck was a shield. Guarded, reactive impenetrable, he held Springer¡¯s attacks at arms length despite the ground he was losing.


    Either the sword would meet flesh or the shield would break the blade against its edge.


    If not for the edge of platform, their endless war for control over the small space between them seemed like it would go on forever.


    The heel of Arthur¡¯s boot slide off the wooden planks underneath it, but the tall man did not waiver. He held his ground as long as he could, but Springer struck first.


    ¡°Two points, Springer! Reset!¡± Came the captain¡¯s call.


    There was no conversation or hesitation between the two. The moment that Springer¡¯s two fingers touched Arthur¡¯s hand, the two men reset and began again.


    The turn around was so quick, the crowd barely had enough time to applaud properly.


    Just as it had been the first time, Springer became a sword and Arthur became a shield. The difference, was it was the tall man bearing down and pushing back his opponent.


    Springer¡¯s heel slid off the platform just as Arthur¡¯s had shortly before.


    ¡°Three points, Arthur! First kill, Arthur! Reset for the next match!¡±


    I held onto Anna and she held onto me as we watched the rest of the match. If there was ever an advantage given or taken, even for the slightest moment, it ended quickly with points being scored. Each match was the same impressive dance and I gathered that the two of them knew each other¡¯s strategies like the inside of their eye lids. To my eyes, whoever made the first mistake was the one to lose.


    In my mind, I knew that all of them had been holding back when they played against me. Woolie hadn¡¯t charged me when he knew it was me. Springer had never attacked me with the same complex series of strikes that he was Arthur. The tall man barely seemed like the same opponent I had faced more than any other.


    If I did end up in the final match against Arthur, I would not have to let him win. If he came at me like he did Springer, I would lose no matter what I did.


    ¡°One point, Springer! Second kill, Springer! Reset for the final match!¡±


    Arthur did not return to the stage or enter his stance as he had before. He came to the edge of the platform that was the closest to where Anna and I stood and lower himself on to his haunches.


    Even with us packed shoulder to shoulder within the crowd, his dark eyes found us immediately.


    ¡°Hey,¡± He called out and waved. ¡°Watch this, I learned it from you.¡±


    Without another word, he stood and went to his place opposite Springer. He dropped into a stance that was very much unlike what I had seen him do before. His weight was held forward on his front foot and his arm was held much closer to his chest.


    Springer stepped forward, the same way he had at the start of every other match.


    Arthur began to hunt.


    Like I was watching a giant version of myself, the tall man leapt forward and passed his opponents guard.


    He went for the kill and met his mark without difficulty.


    An eruption of sound made me cover my ears with my hands. Anna snapped her arms straight up in the air as she cheered for her brother¡¯s victory. I saw the captain¡¯s mouth moving as he announced the end of the match, but I could not hear him.


    Arthur and Springer shook hands and parted from the platform in opposite directions.


    The same flood that had carried me to the door of seven columns rose up around Arthur, but he was strong enough to move against it.


    I offered him a high five when he reached us and he returned it with his usual smile back on his face.


    Anna punched her brother in the arm.


    ¡°What was that for?¡± He asked, rubbing the place she had hit.


    ¡°What was the point of wearing matching black clothes? I looked everywhere and I couldn¡¯t find you. Where did you go?¡± Anna demanded with a harsh scowl on her face.


    ¡°Do I have to get your permission before I go have a drink?¡± Arthur asked instead of giving a straight answer.


    ¡°Yes. Just because you can get up there and win some stupid game doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t still beat you up.¡± Anna said, her words threatening and angry.


    Usually I found it quite entertaining, but I did not pay much attention to their bickering. Standing in our little pocket of darkness, I couldn¡¯t take my eyes off the scars on Arthur¡¯s neck.


    I reached up and touched them gently before I really realized I was doing it. ¡°You left these on purpose. Why didn¡¯t you let Opa take them away?¡±


    I thought of my own scars on my arms and legs. There was nothing I wouldn¡¯t do to rid myself of them.


    Anna looked up at her little brother with a strange sadness in her eyes.


    ¡°I, uhm-¡° The tall man started.


    ¡°Ugi,¡± The captain said as he appeared in our circle of black with the red flowers still in hand. ¡°We¡¯ve got to do the semifinals out of order. Are you good to go again?¡±


    Arthur looked at me and then to Anna before he responded, the quiet moment between us feeling much longer than it actually was.


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about this later,¡± The tall man said to me and then turned to the captain. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re doing well, boy. Making me proud.¡± The captain said, clapping him on the back as the disappeared into the crowd.


    Anna let out a weary sigh and took my hand again. ¡°We should get you something to eat, you¡¯ll be playing again soon.¡±


    ¡°Do you know why?¡± I asked as we snaked our way through the small gaps in the crowd. My question being left unanswered had not left me satisfied.


    ¡°I think so,¡± Anna sighed again. ¡°But I hope I¡¯m wrong.¡±


    The captains voice rose over the packed street and announced the first match of the semifinals.


    ¡°On to the Semis! Nocti and Arthur to the stage!"

 V2: Chapter Seventy Eight: The Semis

    Wedged between the crowd and the edge of the platform, Anna and I waited for Arthur¡¯s match to begin.


    ¡°Nocti! Nocti! Nocti!¡± The underwitchs chanted in favor of their mother duck.


    Arthur was in his usual stance and Nocti stood straight with one foot forward. I do not know where his wide brimmed black hat was, but it was certainly not on his head.


    The pale man stepped forward and touched Arthur gently on the brow with his two fingers.


    ¡°Three points, Nocti! First kill, Nocti! Reset for the next match!¡± The captain yelled, his voice growing raspier as the night grew later.


    Arthur lost without so much as being able to blink.


    The tall man shook his head and slapped himself on the cheek as Nocti walked away from him.


    I had been on the other end of that very same thing before. Though I had rewarded him by driving my fist into his stomach, Patience had told me how to avoid it the first time I had come to seven columns.


    ¡°Hey!¡± I shouted at Arthur and waved my hands for him to come to the edge of the platform.


    The tall man listened and I pulled him down by the hand until his head was even with mine.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look in his eyes, he did the same fuckery to me when I played against him. It makes it seem like he¡¯s faster than he really is.¡± I whispered into his ear.


    ¡°Come now, Bry. Is this allowed? I didn¡¯t not realize we were allowed to have coaches.¡± I heard Nocti complain to the captain.


    If having magic fucking eyes that could paralyze someone if they looked into them was allowed, then telling my friend how to not fall victim to them should hardly be a concern.


    ¡°It¡¯s not, not, allowed,¡± I heard the captain answer. The older man entered my sight from behind Arthur and clasp his hand on his shoulder. ¡°Come on, son. You¡¯ve got to keep playing.¡±


    The captain met my eyes.


    He knows. The Autumn I liked, the (smart) Autumn, realized. The captain knew fully the advantage the Nocti brought to his matches.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t fair,¡± I stepped back and said up to the captain. I pointed at Nocti. ¡°His eyes aren¡¯t fair.¡±


    My words came out in a burst of anger. If Arthur lost because of Nocti¡¯s unfair advantage, he wouldn¡¯t get his recommendation. I didn¡¯t really know what the meant, but I knew my friend wanted it.


    ¡°Is Ugi¡¯s body fair? His arms are twice the length of anyone else here. It¡¯s not about what advantage your opponent has, it¡¯s what you do about it. You¡¯ve played enough that you should understand that, girl.¡± The captain responded. His tone was not mean or mocking. He spoke firmly but gently, a tone my mother had taken with me many times.


    ¡°Have you deicide to forfeit?¡± Nocti called to Arthur with a vicious smirk on his pale face.


    ¡°Nocti! Nocti! Nocti!¡± All but one of The Red Mother¡¯s roses began to chant again. The lone underwitch that had not joined in, Pyreme, stood with her back turned to the platform. She was the only face in the entire crowd that was not focused on what was happening with the tournament.


    The crowd was growing restless, with groans and calls for the matches to continue coming in place of cheers and applause.


    ¡°Ugi?¡± The captain asked.


    Arthur held his hand up to me. ¡°I wish I could stay and talk, but I¡¯ve got to go win my match. I¡¯ll see you in the finals, right?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s just a duck.¡± I said, nodding in agreement and pressing my hand to his.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what that means, but Opa agrees.¡± Arthur laughed as he stood.


    ¡°Good lad.¡± The captain smiled and patted the tall man on his back.


    I clapped my hands three times and hoped that the owl spirit heard me.


    Arthur returned the triplet of claps over his head as he made his way back to the middle of the wooden platform.


    ¡°Reset!¡± The captain shouted.


    His announcement cast away the growing displeasure of the crowd like he had lit a candle in a dark room.


    ¡°Nocti! Nocti! Nocti!¡± The roses¡¯s chant continued over the audible anticipation that filled the street outside seven columns.


    Arthur sunk into his usual, defensive, stance.


    Nocti stood straight and brought his pointed pale hand forward.


    A sudden breeze blew over the crowded street. The halo of torches sputtered in the passing wind and sent scattered shadows spinning over the crowded street.


    Nocti walked forward and stretched his fingers towards Arthur¡¯s brow without any appearance of urgency or effort.


    Arthur didn¡¯t move. He didn¡¯t so much as make an expression.


    Despite my warning, he had looked into Nocti¡¯s eyes and would lose for the second time.


    Just before the pale man reached him, Arthur shifted his feet and sent a wild strike towards his opponent.


    ¡°Three points, Arthur! First kill, Arthur! Reset for the next match!¡± The captain shouted.


    The match had turned so quickly, it took me and every other person watching a full breath to understand what had happened.


    ¡°Take that you fucking duck,¡± Anna screamed in triumph. She turned to me. ¡°Why is he a duck, exactly?¡±


    I didn''t answer her. My eyes had left the stage and my mind had continued to wandered from thoughts of the tournament.


    I was drawn away from the platform and the oncoming match by the sight of Pyreme. She still stood with her back to the platform and her head raised towards the tops of the buildings around us.


    I turned to move towards her, but Anna pulled me back by my hand.


    ¡°Hey, are we gonna be smarter this time?¡± She asked.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    ¡°Yes.¡± I answered immediately as we made our way over to her.


    Another swell of cheers erupted from the crowd and I just barely made out the captains shouting that Nocti had scored two points.


    I wanted to watch the match, but I needed to talk to Pyreme.


    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± I asked the blonde haired underwitch as I tried to follow her line of sight.


    She pointed to the corner of a tall stone building in the distance. ¡°You see a cat sitting there, right?¡±


    I did indeed see a cat. However, it was not just any cat. It was (my) cat, if I allowed myself to reduce him to that level of description.


    ¡°Yes, I see a cat, but it¡¯s not a normal cat.¡± I answered her.


    ¡°Phew,¡± she sighed. ¡°None of my sisters would look, I was worried I was seeing things again. Why isn¡¯t it normal?¡±


    ¡°Because it can talk and summon lightning. I don¡¯t know many cats that can do that.¡± I smiled, as Anna took my hand into hers and stood beside me.


    ¡°Really? Wait, no. Which one of them put you up to this? I¡¯m not dumb you know.¡± Pyreme said, her sleepy face growing angry.


    I shook my head and held my free palm towards her. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to trick you. He can really do those things. On my name, I swear it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my sisters aren¡¯t very nice to me. How do you know it can talk?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Because he¡¯s my familiar.¡± I answered honestly.


    ¡°Two points, Nocti! Second kill, Nocti! Reset for the next match!¡±


    The captains call came at the same exact same moment that Anna suddenly squeezed my hand. Hard enough that it sent a pinch of pain through my palm, I looked at her and realized I had evidently not been smart enough.


    ¡°You¡¯re a sorceress? You have a familiar? Nocti said that no one got familiars anymore,¡± Pyreme said, all of the anger vanishing from her face immediately. ¡°My name is Pyreme by the way, I¡¯m one of The Red Mother¡¯s Roses.¡±


    ¡°I know. We¡¯ve met before.¡± My voice cracked when Anna sent another pinch of pain through the bones of my hand.


    ¡°Hmm. I don¡¯t think so.¡± She disagreed.


    ¡°We met on Embpyre. You ran into us?¡± I asked, hoping the memory would come forward in her mind.


    ¡°Literally. You ran into us and knocked us over.¡± Anna added.


    ¡°You both look familiar,¡± Pyreme said in obvious confusion. She squinted her amber eyes at me and furrowed her brow. ¡°But Autumn had red hair.¡±


    ¡°I am Autumn. I¡¯m wearing a glamor.¡± I said honestly.


    If Anna spent more time training than she did reading and drinking, she would have broke my hand again with how hard she squeezed it.


    I knew she must think I was being reckless and impulsive, and I knew I was, but I could trust the sleepy faced underwitch. I knew that to be true in the way that I knew my mother would kiss me on the top of my head the next time I saw her.


    Pyreme didn¡¯t believe me. I could see it on her face.


    If I dropped my disguise, she would. I couldn¡¯t, of course, not being as close to the other underwitchs as I was. Even if it was just for a second, there were too many people that could see my face, but I needed her to know who I was.


    A sudden gasp chimed up from the crowd and I turned around to see Nocti descending from the air above like he had swooped down from a great height. The pale man disappeared below the heads of the audience and the street itself shook beneath my feet from the applause.


    ¡°Three points, Arthur! Second kill, Arthur! Reset for the next match!¡±


    ¡°Booooo!¡± The underwitchs called out in unison from where they stood at the edge of the platform.


    ¡°You threw a list of names into the fire. All the names of your sisters.¡± I said, my words coming out fast. Arthur and Nocti were tied at two kills each. I wanted to talk to Pyreme, but I needed to see my friend¡¯s victory.


    He would win. No part of me doubted that. I just wanted to be there when it happened.


    I watched Pyreme take in what I had said, think about it, and then accept that it was true. I did not anticipate the anger that came along with her understanding.


    ¡°I got made fun of because of you! When I got to seven columns and told everybody I met somebody that was going to be a rose, they all laughed at me!¡± Her amber eyes burned as she raised her voice at me.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry,¡± I whispered. ¡°I lied to you. I had to lie to you just like I have to wear this glamor.¡±


    Anna squeezed my hand and did not let go, pain coming as a constant instead of a sudden pinch.


    ¡°Why?¡± Pyreme asked in a similarly hushed tone.


    I didn¡¯t get the chance to answer.


    The crowd erupted into its loudest cheer yet and I had to cover my ears again.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Anna asked me once the initial roar had settled.


    A tide of red cloaks washed through the crowd and carried Pyreme away with it.


    ¡°Come on, Nocti. You said if you lost you would buy us all dinner.¡± One of the underwitchs called back as she passed.


    Nocti, his wide brimmed black hat back on his head, followed behind with his hands in his pockets and his red eyes cast to the stones beneath his boots.


    ¡°If Nocti lost-¡° I started.


    ¡°That means Arthur won.¡± Anna said, finishing my thought for me.


    As if he had been waiting for us to realize, appeared in the crowd. Shaking hands and bumping fists all the way, he pushed his way towards us with a smile on his face.


    One more match. I had to beat one more person and I could make sure that Arthur won the whole fucking tournament. He would get his recommendation and go be a knight. I was not entirely sure what that meant, but he wanted it.


    I would make sure he got it.


    ¡°Did you see? That guy is fucking nuts. I have to play with him again!¡± Arthur said with his fists balled and his arms flexed.


    The hair on the back of my neck stood on end and my eyes were drawn past the tall man. Through the crowd and over the platform, I searched for. . .


    I could not celebrate with my friend. A feeling that I had come to know all too well had come over me.


    I was being watched.


    ¡°Fighter and Trea to the stage!¡± The captain called.


    I found the masked fighter that had fought against the old man earlier in the tournament amongst the crowd on the otherside of the platform. They wore the same concealing white and green clothes that they had been in seven columns.


    They were who was watching me, and they did not stop for my entire walk to the platform. Every step I took, their eyes were locked onto me from within the white wrap around their face. Even when they stepped onto the wooden stage and took their place opposite me, their gaze did not waver. Under the halo of torches hanging above us, they stared at me like they were trying to bore a hole into my head.


    Next time I''m just going to wear a mask instead of bothering with glamor.


    One more match. All I had to do was win three more games and I could give Arthur what he wanted. I had not actually seen the masked fighter play. Beyond the green color of their robe and the truth that they wanted their identity to remain hidden, I knew nothing about my opponent.


    I looked to my right and found Anna and Arthur standing right next to the stage.


    Without hesitation, I dropped into my stance.


    Straight forward I went. Only meaning to discover how my opponent would react, my two fingers pressed into their chest with little to no effort.


    ¡°One Point, Trea. Reset for the next match.¡± The captain said clearly without having to yell.


    The cheering was much less enthusiastic than before because my opponent had hardly moved.


    Anna and Arthur were clapping for me just the same.


    That was all I needed.


    Two more games and I would be in the finals.


    The masked fighter reached out and pushed me back roughly with an open hand.


    ¡°Boss, don¡¯t. You promised.¡± The captain whispered harshly from the side of the platform.


    I looked down at the older man to see him stepping onto the platform. He still held the red flowers in his hand and his eyes were wide with what looked like panic.


    I looked back at the masked fighter just in time to see there fist swinging wildly towards my face.


    White light.


    Pain.


    The feeling of wooden boards under my hands and the faces of the crowd all frozen I¡¯m shocked expressions.


    Blood, the taste of blood in my mouth.


    The masked fighter snapped their hand out towards the captain and he stopped moving.


    ¡°Get up.¡± They spat at me.


    I climbed up to my feet shakily before I realized what I was doing.


    One, two, three, four drops of blood dripped off my chin and splattered against the wood under my boots.


    The street outside of seven columns had never been so quiet or cold.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know who you are,¡± The masked fighter growled as they swung their fist towards me again. ¡°But you are not Trea!¡±

 V2: Chapter Seventy Nine: Final

    I was not struck again.


    Swirls of light flashed in my eyes as I fought against the daze the first hit had sent me into.


    Arthur appeared in front of me. One second, the masked fighters fist was streaking towards my jaw. The next, the tall man was between us and shielding me from the sudden violence.


    He caught their strike in one of his massive hands. A sharp crack snapped into the air from the impact.


    ¡°Ugi, no!¡± The captain shouted.


    The unrelenting force of the masked fighter drove Arthur back and sent him sliding back on the wooden boards of the platform.


    ¡°Get out of my way.¡± The masked fighter commanded and swung their free fist at Arthur.


    He caught it just like the first, and leaned all of his weight forward. Still, he could not hold his ground against my attacker.


    What the fuck is happening? The first coherent thought I was able to have after being hit came. How was someone who was smaller than me strong enough to push Arthur back?


    Why the fuck did they hit me?


    ¡°Come on, boss. Just calm down and we can talk about this." The captain said, walking slowly towards the masked fighter with his palms held towards them in a passive gesture.


    Boss?


    The masked fighter ignored the captains pleading. ¡°I will not warn you again. Get out of my way.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Arthur growled.


    A single mote of light floated through the air and past my face. Another and another followed until streams of them formed on either side of me. Murmers and whispers from the hushed crowd rose into a chorus of quiet voices. Where they had been jubilant only minutes before, fear and confusion was evident on each of their faces.


    ¡°What is this?¡± I heard the masked fighter demand from Arthur.


    I raised myself onto the tips of my toes and looked over the tall man¡¯s shoulder.


    Arthur¡¯s eyes shone with the same pale blue light that Opa was made of. The ends of his fingers and thumbs were alight with sharp glowing talons. A line of the light appeared at the nape of his neck and came to life down the line of his spine. The tips of the tall man¡¯s translucent claws were sunk into the flesh of the masked fighter.


    When the lich¡¯s horror had clutched Anna in its horrid middle and taken flight, I had needed to become more than I was so I could save her.


    Arthur had come to my defense. When he had not been enough, the tall man had shown himself to be more.


    He had done it for me.


    ¡°Let¡¯s take a walk, huh? I¡¯m sure this is all one big misunderstanding,¡± The captain said. He placed his hand on the masked fighter¡¯s back and spoke softly. ¡°You promised me that you were just coming to see.¡±


    ¡°Who is this? What is this?¡± The masked fighter glanced towards the captain and demanded.


    "His name is Arthur, I¡¯ve told you about him. He¡¯s just protecting the girl. Right, Ugi?¡± The captain answered in the same tone that Anna used with me when I needed to be calmed


    Arthur stepped forward and brought his weight to bear against my attacker. The trails of pale blue light streaming from his eyes brightened as he spoke. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna let you hurt her again.¡±


    The crystalline quality that Opa spoke with ran underneath Arthur¡¯s words like a stream underneath ice.


    A furious exhale came from within the folds of the white wrap that concealed the masked fighters face.


    ¡°Shit! Get her out of here!¡± The captain looked past me and yelled.


    A hand took mine from behind and pulled me towards the edge of the platform.


    Anna.


    The masked fighter broke free of Arthur¡¯s spirit talons and drove their fist into his middle. I had done the same to Patience the first time I had come to Erosette as Trea.


    The crowd gasped collectively and their chorus came apart into a jumbled mess of shouts and yells.


    You¡¯re not Trea. The masked fighter¡¯s words repeated in my mind. They were right, I was an escaped criminal using forbidden power to conceal my true identity, but how had they known?


    ¡°We have to run!¡± Anna shouted as she jerked me off the edge of the stage.


    The masked fighter struck Arthur in his stomach again before connecting with his jaw. The impacts sent him falling towards the wooden boards of the platform. Before he hit, the captain caught him underneath his arms and held him upright. The tall man¡¯s head lolled to one side and his body went limp.


    My aura flared to life within me and filled my hands with a desperate desire to hurt the masked fighter the way they had hurt Arthur. To bring my power to bear across their face and fill their mouth with blood the way they had done me, I could not flee. Anger brought furious words to my lips and I shouted them as I stepped back onto the platform. ¡°Hey! Fuck you!¡±


    ¡°Autumn, no.¡± Anna whispered harshly from behind me.


    My attacker snapped their attention back to me and began to take slow steps towards me.


    Every place the bottom of their cloth shoes touched the platform, the wood cracked and broke away into bursts of splinters and dust. Red light shone through the gaps of their clinched fists as they stalked toward me and the heat of my anger turned cold.


    Fear, like freezing water was running down my spine, froze me in place.


    Another step, another radius of destroyed wood. The red light bubbled up between their fingers like the clear fire of Vowkeeper¡¯s Anguish and I knew it to be aura.


    A sorceress. They are a sorceress. I thought. I should have ran. I should have listen to Anna and the captain. I should have stayed at the manor like a good little girl and none of it would have been happening to begin with.


    ¡°You¡¯re not Trea. So who are you, girl,¡± The masked fighter asked me. Every word they spoke and every second they stared at me with their glowing red eyes was a promise of violence once they reached me. "A sorcerer? A sorceress? Who sent you here?"


    I took a shaking step back.


    They took a sudden step forward and carved a tear of broken wood from the platform. They closed the distance between us faster than I could think. With one hand, they grabbed me by the front of my dress raised their free fist behind them. Molten bubbles of their aura rolled back from the tips of their fingers and burst behind their wrists.


    I could feel their power on my chest through the black fabric of my dress and feared what would happen if they brought their fist to bear.


    "I will only ask once,¡± The masked fighter said and I knew there words to be true. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    I almost answered honestly.


    I almost dropped my glamor


    I almost gave up.


    I would have, if I had been alone.


    Three things happened all at once between the moment I took a breath to answer and when I opened my mouth to speak.


    Thunder cracked from the sky and shook the street outside of seven columns.


    Anna appeared at my side and slapped at the hand of the masked fighter that clutched me, screaming. ¡°Let her go!¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Arthur, his eyes and hands still streaming with pale blue light, drove his shoulder into the side of the masked fighter and took them to the platform.


    The fabric they clutched tore away from dress and I stumbled back, free.


    The crowd parted and Anna pulled me through them and away from the stage before I knew what was happening.


    We ran by the open door of seven columns just as someone stepped out of it. Like the first time I had met her, Pyreme collided with us. I fell hard to the stone street, the skinned places on my knees and shins coming alive with new pain on impact.


    ¡°Pyreme! Grab her!¡± The masked fighter shouted.


    Arthur lay limp on his back with my attacker kneeling over him.


    I looked into Pyreme¡¯s amber eyes and saw that she understood what had been asked of her.


    ¡°What did you say? I didn¡¯t hear you?¡± The sleepy faced underwitch called back as she looked away from me.


    Sam appeared beside me and nudged his big blue head into the side of my leg.


    ¡°Follow me, my lady. This place is not safe for you.¡± He rumbled as Anna helped me to my feet and pulled me into motion. We broke through the stunned crowd and dashed through the alley I had lost myself in earlier that night. The big blue cat lead us through so many streets and turns so quickly, that I would have been lost without him.


    We left the halo of torch light that had been so festive and warm far behind us and only stopped once I needed to catch my breath.


    "What about Arthur,¡± I wheezed with my hands on my knees. ¡°We can¡¯t-¡°


    ¡°He has Opa. He¡¯s fine. What the fuck happened? Why did that freak hit you?¡± Anna cut me off and asked through her own deep gasps.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. They know my name isn¡¯t really Trea.¡± I answered as I watched Sam pace back and forth in the dark backstreet we had stopped in.


    Light, red light, appeared from the direction we had come from and climbed up the walls as it grew closer.


    We were being followed.


    No, we were being hunted.


    ¡°Come, my lady. There is no time.¡± Sam insisted and we were off again.


    Everything was a blur. I didn¡¯t know the city very well under normal circumstances. It took very little for me to get turned around. I could not have named one building or street we passed until Sam led us out of the city and I saw the river.


    ¡°Where are we going? What is the plan?¡± Anna called after him as he turned to our left and continued.


    ¡°To the manor, mortal. Her safety is my only concern.¡± Sam said, his deep voice carrying back to us easily.


    ¡°Fuck that, We can¡¯t just run up to the bridge and act like nothings wrong. She has to go up the hill or sneak back in somehow.¡± Anna spat at my familiar.


    ¡°The time for secrecy has long passed. We are going to the bridge.¡± Sam commanded.


    Anna let out a shapeless, frustrated, sound as we round the outside of the city and the bridge came into our sight in the distance. She stopped running and grabbed me by my shoulders. ¡°Hey, I need you to bring your glamor back, okay? I¡¯ve got a plan, but it won¡¯t work if you look like you.¡±


    I brought my hands to my face as if I would be able to feel the difference. ¡° I didn¡¯t. . .¡±


    When had I lost control of my illusion? How many people in the crowd had seen my true face before we had escaped into the alley?


    ¡°I know, I know,¡± Anna smiled at me. ¡°You just have to do it one last time and then all of this will be over. We can go inside and be safe, alright?¡±


    The sight of Arthur being struck after he had come to my defense came to the front of my mind. The violence in my attackers words and the fear I had felt at the sight of their aura came with it. Every part of my body had settled into a dull throb once we had stopped running.


    ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± I shook my head and looked away from her, feeling embarrassed and pathetic as I spoke.


    The sound of thunder cracked through the air for the second time that night and Sam appeared at our feet. ¡°There is no time for this, mortal.¡±


    ¡°Yes you can. You can shoot fireworks out of your fucking belly button. You can do anything.¡± Anna said, bending down until she could meet my eyes again.


    ¡°Mortal!¡± Sam thundered. The big blue cat circled around our legs and slammed his side into me, his deep blue eyes staring back the way we had come.


    Like a small sun was moving through the city, carmine light shone up between the tops of the buildings and grew closer to us by the second.


    I couldn¡¯t do it. No matter how desperately I need to conceal myself again, I couldn¡¯t make myself do it.


    Thankfully, I didn¡¯t have to rely on myself alone.


    Anna reached down into the collar of her shirt and pulled out the bird skull necklace from within it.


    ¡°You made this,¡± she shook it in front of my face. ¡°From nothing. You can do it, I believe in you.¡±


    I sighed and a smile touched the corners of my mouth. ¡°Okay, I can do it.¡±


    We started moving towards the bridge, and much more importantly, away from the oncoming tide of red light and violence.


    Once we reached the bridge, I had glamored myself into Trea once again. Anna pulled my arm over her shoulders and took up a way of walking that made it seem like I could not support my own weight.


    Bool and Schmit met us halfway across the bridge, with their hands resting on the crystalline pommels of their swords.


    ¡°Lady Anna? What has happened?¡± Bool asked, looking from her to me to Sam and back again.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I think somebody robbed her. She¡¯s hurt. We need to take her up to the manor.¡± Anna said, her voice shrill and full of false panic. She did not slow our advance for a single step despite the guards rigid posture.


    I kept my eyes cast down to the stones of the bridge. With all the reasons it had been nearly impossible for me to glamor myself again, I didn¡¯t think I could take lying to Bool¡¯s face.


    He had found me after Mother Azza¡¯s punishment. The guard that was infatuated with my mother had given me as much comfort and care as he could have. I had gotten sick on him and he didn¡¯t so much as grimace.


    ¡°Take her to our quarters on the corner there,¡± Schmit pointed back towards the city. ¡°We can figure out who attacked her and go after them.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Bool said, and raised his sword out of its scabbard a small amount. He raised his free hand and pointed towards me. ¡°Little Aubrey wears a necklace just like that, does she not?¡±


    The choker, the golden fucking choker that Azza had locked around my throat. My dress had covered it in part before it had been torn away.


    ¡°She wears those same kind of boots too.¡± Schmit added.


    Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.


    ¡°Little Aubrey?¡± Bool asked.


    ¡°Fuck.¡± I muttered and watched as red dust rained from my face.


    ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be up at the manor, sick and in bed!¡± Schmit shouted.


    Thunder cracked from the sky for the third time that night.


    ¡°Mortal guards, someone is after my lady and means to do bring her harm.¡± Sam growled and turned his face back towards the city.


    The masked fighter had found us.


    Just like it had been on the wooden platform, every step they took broke and scattered the stone underneath their feet. The bubbles of their molten aura streamed fully up their arms and rose above their shoulders like armor made entirely of their power.


    ¡°Get behind us, little Aubrey. Schmit, send up the signal. That¡¯s a sorceresses.¡± Bool commanded as he stepped in front of Anna and I. He drew his sword full and took two quick steps towards the city side of the bridge.


    Schmit did the same. He raised the tip of his sword to the sky and crushed the crystalline pommel.


    Vines of rose colored light sprouted from the sword and climbs into the sky like the greenery that had overgrown one side of the well house. The vines met and spun into the shape of a rose before bursting into a shower of sparks.


    The masked fighter reached the end of the bridge and brought their fist straight down to the broken stone beneath them. A jagged line of their aura streaked through the stones and ran straight towards where Anna and I stood.


    Just before it reached us, Bool crushed the pommel of his sword and drove its tip into the stone. The same as Schmit¡¯s, rose colored vines grew from the blade and stopped my attackers power dead where they met.


    ¡°Why are you still here? To the manor, go. Now.¡± Bool commanded


    I did not obey. The events playing out before me made so little sense that I needed to understand it before I could think of anything else.


    ¡°Why are you protecting me? You are suppose to keep me from the city, guard its people from me, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°You have it backwards.¡± Schmit answered, the rose colored power settling over his blade like a solid flame.


    Bool drew his sword from the bridge and held it in front of himself, the same solid flame as his counterparts forming. ¡°We are your guards, little Aubrey. This is our duty.¡±


    ¡°Leave this place,¡± Bool shouted to my attacker. ¡°You have no business here!¡±


    The masked fighter stepped onto the bridge as the white fabric of their sleeves were torn away within their molten power. ¡°The girl, Bool. Whoever she is, give her to me!¡±


    ¡°Do you know who that is?¡± Schmit asked in a harsh whisper.


    ¡°No,¡± Bool grunted in response before repeating his words. ¡°Leave this place! You have no business-¡°


    The masked fighter reached out and ripped a hunk of stone from the ground like they were tearing off a corner of bread and hurled it towards the guards.


    Their power came with it, but Bool did not so much as flinch.


    The guard raised his sword in the exact same motion I had seen Arthur practicing with the hayman and brought it down in a savage arc.


    The rose fire of his blade cut the molten rock in two and sent each half sailing away harmlessly.


    ¡°Enough! Enough! Everybody hold on a second!¡± Someone shouted from beyond the bridge.


    ¡°Captain?¡± Schmit called back.


    Sure enough, the captain of the guards sprinted towards the bridge with two small shields buckled to his arms.


    ¡°This is all one big misunderstanding. Everybody calm down and we can talk about this civilly!¡± He shouted once he reached the masked fighter.


    ¡°Lets go. We need to get you out of here.¡± Anna said, pulling me back by my arm.


    ¡°I agree, mortal. Listen to her, my lady.¡± Sam growled from where he leaned against the front of my legs.


    ¡°No.¡± I answered. Whatever the fuck was happening, I wanted to know about it.


    Driskt and Daphne streaked past us and took up next to their fellow guards, their swords alight with the same power.


    ¡°This was suppose to be an easy job. We weren¡¯t suppose to get into any shit.¡± Daphne said under his breath as he passed.


    The captain passed by the masked fighter and planted his feet at the point of the battle ready guards. ¡°Boss, let¡¯s not do this again. Just calm down and let¡¯s talk.¡±


    The masked fighter answer came in the way of a sudden charge.


    On the bridge that connected the manor to the city, the violence that my attacker had promised came to pass.

 V2: Chapter Eighty: The Weight of The Well

    The captain stepped forward and caught the masked fighter''s violent strike on his shields. A flare of rose colored aura burst out from the impact in a sudden circle.


    Bool and Schmit dashed in behind the captain''s cover. They fanned to either side and slashed down at my attacker.


    The masked fighter swung their other aura cloaked fist into the captain¡¯s shields. Their molten bubbles boiled off of them and exploded against the blades of the guards.


    The power surrounding their swords cut through the bubbles like a warm knife through butter and sent a glowing red mist into the air.


    The masked fighter dropped to the ground.


    ¡°Autumn, we have to run!¡± Anna shouted as she dragged me off the bridge by my wrist.


    Between his legs, my attacker slipped their small shape between the captain''s legs. With one hand, they pulled him by his shirt and brought him down to the stones behind themselves.


    "Listen to the mortal, my lady." Sam growled. He bounded to the side of the bridge and disappeared below the river bank.


    Driskt and Daphne met the masked fighter and stood their ground. Like when Arthur had played against Springer, neither the guards nor the masked fighter were able to find an edge. Wild swings of carmine light flashed against the rose colored power of the guards blades.


    Under different circumstances it would have been pretty, almost like fireworks.


    Far behind the endless exchange, Bool raised his sword and brought it down across his body.


    A blade of rose colored power sliced through the air and struck the masked fighter''s back.


    They cried out and fell to their knees.


    In a matter of moments, all five of the guards formed a circle with the points of their enchanted swords held at my attacker''s throat.


    They were my guards. They were defending me. . .


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be able to this,¡± The masked fighter yelled as they ripped the white wrap from their face. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be able to use her power against me.¡±


    ¡°What the fuck?¡± Daphne spat.


    ¡°Captain?¡± Bool asked aloud.


    The guards let the tips of their swords sag at the sight of the unmasked fighter.


    ¡°Her will is to protect that girl, boss. We have to do this. Can we settle down and talk now?¡± The captain pleaded.


    ¡°She took my face, Byron! She took my name. Who is she?¡± My attacker shouted.


    The captain let out a long and deep sigh. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you, boss. You know that.¡±


    The small moment of relative calm that had taken shape on the manor side of the bridge ended.


    Stone broke under the force of my attacker''s sudden strike and the bridge began to collapse.


    Driskt and Daphne dropped through the broken stone first.


    Bool and Springer threw themselves to the sides, but could not find enough solid ground to keep their feet.


    The captain fell back to the far side of the collapsing bridge and my attacker made a mad dash for me.


    Anna jerked me into a stumbling run. Before we made it a handful of steps, the unmasked fighter took her by the arm and threw her away as if she weighed no more than a dyme.


    "Anna!" I screamed.


    I hit the ground hard and rolled onto my back.


    I looked up to see the face I had been wearing not long before. Dark hair that shone like black glass, full pouty lips, and furious red eyes, I had been walking around with the face and name of The Lady in Red.


    Thunk


    The glamor I had been wearing was not something my mind had invented. Atrean, the boy that I had first seen near the tents by the river, had not been the inspiration for my false name.


    In a way I did not understand, her name had come to me when I had needed to give one. I had chosen her face when I could not expose my own. It had been entirely by accident, but the truth was all the same.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± She growled, looming over me with one of her aura cloaked arms raised.


    I didn¡¯t answer her.


    I couldn¡¯t answer her.


    Within her glowing eyes, all that I knew of her appeared to me.


    I saw who I then knew to be The Mother in Red. She sat across from her within a radius of broken stones. A ballroom filled with girls in dresses and men in formal clothes was disrupted by the sound of fists hitting flesh and the smell of blood. A sweet faced woman looked down in anger and shock at what had happened. Then there was the captain, standing up right on his shaking legs only by his hold on his massive shields. Fire, black smoke, destruction, and the wyrm followed. Power, so much power, condensing around a fist and the horrible sound of tearing metal that came after. One of The Mother in Red''s roses were heartbroken over The Mother¡¯s newest love. An offer to visit Katarina and meet her new baby. Rage, blind rage at the mere mention of a newborn child.


    Thunk.


    ¡°Who the fuck are you?¡± She shouted down at me again.


    I couldn''t speak.


    She pinned my arms to the ground with her knees and brought her power down towards my face in response to my silence.


    Thunk.


    Before I was struck, everything went dark and I felt myself fall. . .


    ¡°Try and relax, boss. Everything will work out like it¡¯s suppose to.¡± Byron said as he sat and placed his hand on my leg to comfort me.


    Mother Rhiannon held me to her side with her arm wrapped over my shoulders and her hand idly smoothing my hair.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand how you can be so calm.¡± I said, my anger hammering in my chest with every word.


    Byron sighed and looked up to the ceiling of the dusty drawing room. ¡°Either we can or we can¡¯t. The decision is not ours. All we can do is accept what comes.¡±


    I stood up from the lounge and left their comfort behind me. The bookshelves, the white pedals scattered across the floor, the whole damn room, I wanted to break it. I wanted to tear the building down board by board until there was nothing left.


    The hammering rhythm of impacts in my heart would not cease until I brought my fists to bear with its beat. I tried something that Mother Rhiannon had told me about countless times, and let my anger out with my words.


    ¡°I was born with nothing. No parents to care for me, no home for shelter, nothing. When people realized I was special they stuck me in a mine before I was old enough to realize what was happening to me. Imagine it, little three year old me, sent underground to mine stones so the people of Broken Crown could grow fat and happy.¡±


    Mother Rhiannon and Byron were silent.


    I continued.


    ¡°You found me,¡± I said, pointing at Rhiannon. ¡°And left me there. I don¡¯t blame you, but damnit all, what if you hadn¡¯t? I wouldn¡¯t have had to do any of the terrible things I did to become a sorceress. But, you left me and I did.¡±


    The sound of the wooden floor cracking under my feet sounded in the drawing room and I realized that my aura was bubbling out of my hands.


    I continued.


    ¡°I was an orphan, I was a slave, and I became The Lady in Red. If I want to have a child with the man I love, no one should be able to tell me I can¡¯t!¡±


    My shoes broke the floor from the downward force my aura created. It streamed up my arms and I knew if I did not calm myself, my will would lead me to breaking everything I could touch.


    A single tear rolled down Byron¡¯s cheek.


    I had never seen him cry before.


    Mother Rhiannon stood and offered me her hand. ¡°Let me help you again.¡±


    ¡°Please.¡± I said under my breath closed my eyes in anticipation of her charm.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    She took my hand and covered my channel with her aura. The hammering in my heart began to lessen. Even though I had asked for it, my anger fought against the gentle soothing power.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care if it¡¯s forbidden.¡± I growled through my clenched teeth. More cracks came from the boards underneath me.


    ¡°Take a breath, my love. If Byron has no aura in his bloodline. This will resolve itself.¡± Mother Rhiannon said softly.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been here for three damn days! That¡¯s a long time to wait if he doesn¡¯t.¡± I said, the feeling of her warm comfort padding the hammer strikes and quieting my words.


    ¡°He was an orphan, just like you. It will take time for them to find parents,¡± She answered. ¡°No word is good. That means they have not found anything yet.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care if they do. We will run away together. I¡¯ll leave Zenithcidel. I don¡¯t want to be a Lady if I can¡¯t be a fucking mother.¡± I muttered over the last dull taps of the hammer.


    ¡°I know, my love. I know.¡± Mother Rhiannon sighed as she pulled me into her arms. I no longer had the strength to resist her charm and I let myself lean into her embrace.


    Byron came and placed his hand on my back. ¡°Thank you, Mother. For everyone¡¯s sake, I¡¯m glad you are better at that than I am. Boss, how do you feel?¡±


    ¡°Angry.¡± I sighed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you always?¡± Mother Rhiannon asked with a small laugh.


    The sound of footsteps echoed into the drawing room. Cai, wearing her stark white bandages, strode back into the drawing room for the first time in three days.


    I turned my face into Rhiannon¡¯s shoulder and shut my eyes again to prevent my anger from overwhelming me again.


    ¡°Well?¡± Byron asked, his hand still held on my back.


    So soft, I could barely hear them in the quiet room, another pair of footsteps entered.


    ¡°There is no need to kneel, child. Rise.¡±


    The Mother in White. I had only met her once, but I recognized her voice immediately. I never thought she would come.


    For a brief moment, that surprise brought me hope.


    Then, she spoke again. ¡°To both of you, I am sorry.¡±


    Whatever she said next, I didn¡¯t hear it. The Mother in White did not lie. If she started with an apology


    The hammering in my chest had not ended. It just had been hanging in the air, waiting to swing again.


    It fell and collided with my heart.


    I broke into pieces and fell away. . .


    Molten carmine light, black hair streaming back from a furious face, I came back to myself in the same moment that The Well had taken me.


    No time had passed at all.


    It felt like all I had done was blink my eyes.


    ¡°No, The captain shouted as he slid across the ground on his knees and locked his arms my attackers. ¡°You¡¯ll kill her, boss. You have to stop!¡±


    With all of his weight, he threw himself back and tried to pull her off of me.


    She didn¡¯t so much as shift.


    The rolling bubbles of her power tore away the leather straps holding his shield to his arms and they fell to the ground at our side. His sleeves went next, but no matter how hard he tried, his efforts were in vain.


    ¡°Get off of me! Why are you protecting her? Why is she protecting her?¡± She shouted back at the captain.


    ¡°Fuck it,¡± the captain grunted. ¡°Because she¡¯s the thief! She has The Well! We¡¯re all sworn to protect her.¡±


    At that, she stopped struggling. ¡°You¡¯re the thief?¡±


    ¡°And you are Trea,¡± I whispered, the sight of her blurring as tears filled my eyes. ¡°You wanted to have a child, both of you did. With each other.¡±


    Their eyes went wide and neither could hide the effect my words had caused them.


    ¡°You couldn¡¯t.¡± My voice was thin and the tears rolled down my cheeks as I began to cry.


    ¡°What?¡± The captain said, blinking his eyes and shaking his head.


    ¡°That¡¯s why you wouldn¡¯t go see Jaka. Thats why you are so angry all of the time. That¡¯s why you look out for all of the boys in the city. That¡¯s why you took Arthur under your wing.¡± I said, unable to stop myself from speaking.


    ¡°Shut up.¡± Trea spat with her words sounding furious but her expression shocked at what I was saying.


    All of the pain and all of the anger that had broken Trea¡¯s heart into pieces ran through me as I sobbed. I knew how much she hurt because I had been her. Not with my glamor or my false name, I had seen through her eyes. I felt what she felt. She loved the captain with all that she was. She looked to Rhiannon, not as a Mother, but as her mother. It was all so unfair. Despite her attack on Arthur and the fear I had felt from her, my heart broke for her and what she could not have.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry you can¡¯t be a mother. I¡¯m sorry you can¡¯t be a father. I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m so sorry.¡± I cried as I stared up at the two of them. My words had hurt them. They had hurt them in a way that could not be healed with medicine or magic.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t know that. You shouldn¡¯t know any of that.¡± Trea seethed, her face tightened into a savage scowl. The molten bubbles of her power began to speed off of her faster and faster past the captain¡¯s hold


    ¡°Boss, no!¡± The captain shouted.


    All around us, the other guards appeared and grabbed The Lady in Red anywhere they could. All five of the men tried to pull her off of me, but she could not be moved.


    Thunder cracked from the sky for the fourth time that night and Sam sunk his teeth into leg that pinned me to the ground. Small arcs of lightening coursed over my familiar but even his power was not enough to free me.


    Trea let out a short scream and her aura began to change.


    She was right. I shouldn¡¯t know anything about anyone. Most of my life that I could remember had been spent locked in a single room.


    I shouldn¡¯t know.


    The truth was that I did. I knew the wound in her heart and I hurt for her because of it.


    ¡°Rift,¡± Trea growled, the entire right side of her tunic tearing away and floating off into the air from the force of her aura. ¡°Rifthammer.¡±


    Her aura ceased to boil and condensed around her raised fist. Forming to her hand and arm, the gauntlet she had used to tear the wyrm in half took shape.


    When she brought it down, I would die. I would die at the hand of The Lady in Red.


    I could not bring myself to care. All I felt was her pain. All I felt was her desire. All I felt was her rage.


    This is the weight you carry. This is the weight of The Well. The Autumn I liked thought from some far away place in my mind.


    The same instance that the guard¡¯s strength failed and their grip slipped, it broke.


    The stone hanging from the golden choker around my neck cracked and small pieces of the sienna gem shot into the air.


    The sharp metallic sound of metal snapping followed. The gift The Mother in Brown had given me fall away from where it had sat since she had formed it around my throat.


    Trea¡¯s fist came free, but a wave of shimmering sand blocked it from my sight. Everything around me was washed away by a golden tide that covered me and left me in total darkness.


    My stomach turned.


    The gold fell away from me.


    No longer constrained, I sat up and whipped my head around to see what had happened.


    Trea, the captain, the guards, Sam, Anna, none of them were around. Neither was the bridge or the city. Azza¡¯s golden sand had taken me to the place in front of the manor that a black gate had once stood.


    I wiped the tears from my eyes and looked down to the bridge just in time to see the ground explode from where I had lain only a moment before.


    A swell of dirt and stone and carmine power filled the air. The ground underneath my feet shook and I was moving back towards the bridge as fast as I could make myself move.


    ¡°Anna!¡± I screamed.


    ¡°Autumn!¡± Someone called from behind me.


    I turned around to see my mother running out of the open doors of the manor. ¡°Mother? Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°Why am I here? No! Where have you been? Where are the guards? I have been worried sick,¡± She stopped in her tracks when she noticed the cloud of havoc that continued to plume higher and higher up the rolling hills. ¡°What has happened?¡±


    ¡°Anna!¡± I shouted and pointed at the growing cloud, unable to calm the panic in my mind and say anything more helpful.


    ¡°Anna did this?¡± My mother asked, confusion evident in her emerald eyes.


    There was no time for me to explain. I turned away from her and made to run down to the bridge. The cloud met me before I could take a second step.


    ¡°Inside. Now!¡± My mother shouted as she stepped in front of me and raised her hands.


    The cloud rolled and stopped against the iridescent wall that took shape from my mother¡¯s palms. Dirt and stone pattered against it like a hard rain. It climbed higher and spread wider until it seeped around the edges of her power.


    I stood behind her, frozen with fear just like I had been earlier.


    Something struck the center of the wall.


    A metallic red fist appeared from the swirls of halted dust and shattered my mother¡¯s power like a pane of window glass.


    I screamed.


    The cloud swallowed my mother. I covered my face against the dirt and dust that blew over me. It was all I could do to keep my boots on the ground in the storm.


    ¡°Autumn!¡± I heard my mother shout.


    I turned towards her voice.


    Two glowing red eyes stood a hands breadth from my face.


    I screamed again.


    The cloud began to thin and I saw The Lady in Red¡¯s RiftHammer barreling towards me.


    A hand was placed on my left shoulder from behind me. Another reached past me on my right and caught the killing blow like Arthur had done on the platform.


    ¡°Take a breath, my love. You are feeling very angry.¡± The person that stood behind me spoke.


    Growing thinner and thinner, the cloud reversed its direction and revealed Trea¡¯s face as it left us.


    The Lady in Red was crying.


    ¡°I can¡¯t stop. Help me, please.¡± Trea said through a ragged breath, her desperate eyes looking past me at the person who had stopped her attack.


    ¡°I know, my love. I know. All is well. This will hurt, but you will withstand it.¡± The person said, their voice clear and warm.


    Rose colored vines, the same shade as the swords the guards had used in my defense, grew over Trea¡¯s arm until it was covered from finger tip to shoulder.


    Standing several steps behind Trea with her back turned to us, my mother pulled the cloud towards herself with her iridescent aura. Containing it in the palm of her hand, she cleared the air fully and pressed the collected dirt back into the ground.


    Trea¡¯s face began to relax as carmine dust passed through the rose colored vines wrapped around her arm. The glow of her eyes dimmed and she lowered herself to her knees.


    ¡°Go to sleep, my love. You need to rest.¡± The person holding my shoulder said softly.


    Trea nodded as she lay down on her side and closed her eyes.


    A sharp series of cracks sounded suddenly from within the vines, but The Lady in Red did not cry out or move. Her arm had broken, just like it had after the wyrm, but she had been charmed to sleep and did not seem to feel the pain.


    ¡°Autumn,¡± my mother said as she ran to me and began to check every part of me for injury or harm. ¡°Are you hurt?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I answered simply.


    My mother glared down at the sleeping Trea just as the person behind me released her broken arm gently. The aura in their palm dusted from their skin, but the vines did not fade.


    ¡°What has happen is unclear, but do not be angry with her. There is much about herself she still has left to learn.¡± The person behind me said to my mother.


    I did not need to turn around to know who had saved me. I had heard her voice many times. I had heard her sing. I had heard her take the burdens from the people of Erosette. I had spoken with her voice in a memory not very long before.


    When she took her hand off of my shoulder and stepped around me, I thought about turning and running as far away as I could.


    I should have.


    I met her eyes and all I knew of her came to me just like it had with Trea. The vision passed and I was not taken by The Well.


    I was taken by the memory of Suri.


    ¡°You took him from me!¡± I shouted and threw myself at The Mother in Red.

 V2: Chapter Eighty One: Later Date

    The Mother in Red caught me under my arms before I reached her.


    Like she had caught a child at play that had leaped towards her in delight, she spun me around in a circle with no effort at all. Her face was all that my eyes could focus on through the wild movement. ¡°Who did I take from you?¡±


    ¡°Autumn!¡± I heard my mother shout. The sight of her was a red and green blur in my peripherals.


    It hurt to look her. The sound of her voice felt like salt on a fresh wound. Feeling the ease with which she held me up, feeling her unimaginable strength, it drove me mad. The arms that had once shielded me from danger had been used to rip what was most precious away from me. The voice that had been like water to a sapling for me had been used to lure my beloved away. The face that I had once found nothing but love in was only filled with pity.


    I tried to dig my nails into her arms, but I could not break through her skin.


    She stopped our spinning and placed me back on the ground in front of her. She held me in place with one of her hands on my shoulder. With the other, she placed a finger under my chin and gently brought my eyes up to hers.


    In my life or anyone else¡¯s, I had never seen such beauty.


    The soft blonde curls and waves of her hair were drawn up and held behind her head in a loose braid. Two strands fell on either side of her face and framed it perfectly. There was a softness in her jaw and a roundness in her cheeks that made it seem like she could never be anything other loving. Her heart shaped lips were pursed and her delicate button nose brought my attention to the symmetry of her face. When I met her rose colored eyes, All I knew of her came to me in an overwhelming swell.


    Vowkeeper¡¯s Anguish appeared before me. I saw her with Trea in the circle of broken stones and her face twisting in pain as snow fell all around her. Nocti looked up at her as he timidly sunk his sharp teeth into her flesh. Her lion of fire, the longing in the song she sang, the inferno she created atop the pyre of given burdens, all of it rose over me.


    A small twinge of pain came to life on my inner thigh. I could smell the dry dust of the ground and feel the cold that had brought the snow in. Echoes of her voice rang out over the crackling flames of the lion.


    The swell receded and I came back to myself in front of the manor, staring into her eyes with my mind hanging by a thread.


    ¡°Autumn, what has gotten into-¡° My mother started when she reached my side, her emerald green eyes shifting from me to The Mother wildly.


    The Mother in Red glanced at my mother and rendered her silent.


    ¡°Who did I take from you?¡± She asked me again.


    With my own thoughts and feelings lost in Suri, Rhiannon''s swell had left my mind in a storm. I did not know what was mine and what was not. Anger was easy. Even if it was Suri''s, it was blunt and took no great skill to grasp. Knowing that if I did not choose something that I would be lost in everything, I took the anger into my hands and let it light my way.


    ¡°You know what you did.¡± I growled at her and brought my knee straight up, aiming for her middle.


    She did not flinch. She did not try to avoid my sudden attack. She did not so much as blink when I drove my knee into her thigh.


    It felt like I had hit the stones of the manor walls instead of flesh and bone, but she did not let me fall.


    ¡°Autumn,¡± She spoke softly. ¡°Who did I take from you?¡±


    I knew that what I felt was not mine. I knew the urge I had to bring her to the ground and crush her throat between my hands was all Suri, but once I had taken it, I could not let it go.


    I spit in her face and started shouting things that were not mine to say. ¡°Patience! He was mine! And you couldn¡¯t stand it! You could have anyone in all of chaos and you had to take him!¡±


    I swung my right arm and hit her in the ribs and tried to rip her hand from my chin with my left.


    Unbothered by my attacks, she looked away from me at the sound of shouts and footsteps approaching the manor.


    Woolie and Springer came into my sight and dropped to one knee just as quickly as they appeared. Anna pushed past them and ran right to where I was being held.


    ¡°Hey! where did you go! How did you do that? Are you okay?¡± She asked, checking me for any sign of injury.


    ¡°Anna, dear,¡± My mother said quietly and pulled her away from me by the back of her dress. ¡°We are not alone.¡±


    Anna shook her head as if she was noticing The Mother in Red for the first time.


    ¡°Who the fuck are you?¡± She snapped with her hands balling into fists.


    For a moment so small that I could have imagined it, I felt Suri recede at the sight of her. All of the anger and desire to swing my fists again lessened.


    Then, The Mother in Red spoke to my mother again.


    ¡°This is because of The Well is it not?¡± She asked in her perfectly sweet voice.


    It was so sweet, it made me feel sick. Suri came roaring back to the front of my mind and I battered her torso with more wild swings with my useless fists.


    All I managed to do was flatten the folds of her loose white robe.


    ¡°I do not know, Mother. Autumn would not act this way.¡± My mother answered.


    Anna¡¯s eyes went wide when she heard the word mother, but she did not unclench her fists. ¡°She¡¯s not all the way Autumn right now.¡±


    ¡°This has happened before?¡± The Mother in Red asked, turning her eyes to Anna.


    ¡°Hey! I¡¯m trying to fucking hurt you,¡± I yelled, becoming angrier by the second. My face was hot and there was pain in my jar from the force I clenched my teeth with. ¡°Stop ignoring me!¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Anna nodded.


    ¡°You can help her.¡± The Mother in Red stated, continuing to ignore me.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Anna nodded again.


    One by one, everyone else that had been a part of the battle on the bridge appeared over the edge of the hilltop. Bool and Driskt were followed closely by Daphne and Schmit. Sam led the group of ragged men, his blue fur frizzed and dirty, but seemingly uninjured.


    Like their counterparts had before them, each of the guards dropped to a knee when they saw The Mother in Red.


    ¡°Autumn!¡± A rough voice shouted.


    Arthur, his face swollen and darkened with dried blood, ran past the kneeling guards holding his long arms around his middle.


    ¡°Arthur, what has happened to you?¡± My mother demanded


    ¡°That.¡± The tall man grunted in answer as he snapped his head down towards the unconscious Trea. Beaten and bruised, he stared down The Mother in Red, the tension in his tall body a silent threat.


    I took the arrival of everyone as the distraction it was and brought my right fist against the soft curve of The Mother in Red¡¯s jaw.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± I cried out, gaining nothing but pain in the bones of my hand.


    The unimaginable strength that held me in place vanished and The Mother in Red stepped back from me. ¡°Show me.¡±


    Anna stepped forward and took my hands in hers before I could throw myself at The Mother in Red again. ¡°It is kind of awkward with everyone standing around watching.¡±


    ¡°Do not be ashamed of something so beautiful.¡± The Mother in Red encouraged her.


    Anna sighed and brought her eyes to mine, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth. ¡°Hey, this is all pretty fucking crazy.¡±


    ¡°Mmhmm,¡± I nodded, trying to forget the rage that burned within me at the mere presence of the woman standing behind me. ¡°Help me. Please.¡±


    Anna leaned forward and placed her lips on mine.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    I inhaled and took her in. Her usual smell was mixed with the scent of sweat and dirt, but that did nothing but add to the effect it had on me. Every moment that passed pushed Suri further and further away from my mind until all I felt was her.


    She pulled back from me with a smile on her lips and blush in her cheeks.


    With nothing but a kiss, she had cast out the storm and brought me back to myself in full.


    I looked at my mother, her emerald eyes were full of worry and confusion. Arthur stood next to her with his head held up to the night sky. Sam sat between them, his tail swishing violently behind his big blue body. The guards still knelt with their heads bowed.


    With my hands holding on to Anna¡¯s like they were all that was keeping me upright, I turned to The Mother in Red.


    Tears rolled down her face and she looked like she had just seen something so impossibly beautiful that it had taken her breath away.


    ¡°There is not a soul in chaos that could write something so beautiful. You are yourself again?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Mother.¡± I answered, any trace of the rage I had felt only moments before where no where to be found. I knew what was mine and whose I was without question.


    It was only when she wrapped her arms around Anna and I that I understood just how tall she was. It was not the same slender height that Azza was built with. There was power in her body that reminded me of a king and prince that had fought alongside a grey sorceress in a memory I had lived through long ago.


    She pulled us into an embrace and kissed each of us on the forehead. ¡°It makes my heart sing to see such love. Thank you both.¡±


    The memory of a candied apple came to me at the mention of her heart.


    The captain came into view and limped his way over to where the unconscious Trea lay. The front of his shirt had been torn away and swollen patches of raised red flesh were splattered over his scarred chest. With a pained grunt, he lowered himself to his lady¡¯s side and brushed her hair back from her face.


    ¡°We all alright?¡± He called out as his eyes passed over everyone outside of the manor.


    ¡°Are you alright, Byron?¡± The Mother in Red asked as she left us and went to the ragged man.


    ¡°Just a little lovers quarrel. I¡¯ve been much worse. If I hadn¡¯t of wrapped myself around her arm, we¡¯d all be dust right now,¡± The captain said through a ragged laugh. ¡°I thought you were off to the cliffs, what are you doing here?¡±


    The Mother in Red sighed and smoothed her white robe down to where it ended above her knees. ¡°I came to tell young Autumn that I would be taking her for her punishment at a later date. She was not here when I arrived, but I believe I understand why that was. I am here now because now is a much better time to take her than later is.¡±


    Her words struck me and my legs gave out at their end.


    Arthur caught me and kept me from crumpling to the ground.


    Why now?


    Trea began to stir and she pulled her vines wrapped arm to her chest.


    ¡°Easy, boss. I¡¯m here.¡± Byron said softly.


    Trea opened her eyes suddenly and looked at me.


    ¡°You!¡± She growled and tried to sit up, but she fell back to the ground with a whimper.


    ¡°Trea. I will send for you when I am ready. Byron, you should come along. We will make a trip of it.¡± The Mother in Red said to the captain and The Lady in Red.


    Trea looked from me to The Mother and then closed her eyes with a sigh. ¡°Help me up, Byron.¡±


    Like he had carried her after she had torn the wyrm in two, the captain cradled her small shape in his arms and stood.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to be carried. Put me down.¡± Trea snapped up at him as he turned away from us.


    ¡°I know you don¡¯t need to be, boss. I¡¯m doing it because I want to,¡± He said, not putting her down. When he passed the kneeling guards, he called down to them. ¡°Come on, men. I think we all need a drink.¡±


    One by one, all them stood and took up behind their captain.


    ¡°Daphne?¡± The Mother in Red called after the guard.


    ¡°Yes, Mother?¡± The guard turned and answered.


    ¡°Send word to Nocti to have a black gate prepared. I had hoped to not have to use one, but time is short.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Mother.¡± Daphne nodded and started down the hill in a jog.


    The Mother in Red began to laugh. It was a low, rolling, giggle that under any other circumstances would have sounded warm and infectious.


    With Arthur being the only reason I was not on the ground, all it did was make my heart hurt. I did not know what she would do to me, but if Mother Azza and Mother Gwyn¡¯s were anything to go by, I would not survive it.


    Too much had happened. I was too tired, too worn out. Of course she had come for me. They only ever came for me at the worst possible times.


    The Mother in Red turned back to us and I noticed that she was wearing the same sort of sandals that all of the underwitchs wore. ¡°I will give you a moment to say goodbye. I know much has happened this night. But, we must be on our way soon. I only get three days with you.¡±


    Anna stepped in front of me and Arthur tightened his grip around me.


    ¡°No.¡± Arthur said with steel in his voice that reminded me of his mother.


    ¡°You can¡¯t take her,¡± Anna continued for her brother. ¡°Not now.¡±


    The Mother in Red smiled and a look of what could only be pride spread across her beautiful face. ¡°Your love and bravery are an inspiration. I will be taking her, but do not worry. I will not harm her.¡±


    ¡°Liar.¡± Anna snapped.


    Rose colored fire began to burn in The Mother in Red¡¯s palms.


    I had to do something. At any moment, The Mother could decide that she had grown tired of the mortal¡¯s defiant tone. She could kill Anna and Arthur with as much effort as it took for me to blink.


    The fire stretched to the worn footpath beneath us and licked across the ground in burning swirls. Like vines crawling across the ground, it fell from her hands and began to form at her side.


    I reached out and placed my hand on Anna¡¯s back. ¡°Stop it.¡±


    ¡°No! They can¡¯t just keep doing this to you! It¡¯s not fucking fair.¡± Anna shouted and turned back to me, her raven hair fanning out behind her she spun so quickly.


    I throw my arms around her and pretended to be stronger than I was. ¡°I¡¯ve done this twice now. Three days, that''s so short you''ll hardly know I''m gone.¡±


    I wished I felt half as certain as I managed to sound.


    She leaned into me and I felt the argument leave her as she accepted what was happening. We held each other for a long moment and then I turned to Arthur.


    The tall man looked terrible, but when I told him goodbye, his embrace was full of his usual strength. He clapped three times when we separated and I replied with three of my own.


    ¡°Oh, my little Delpha. I love you.¡± My mother cried and planted a kiss on the top of my dirty hair.


    ¡°My lady.¡± Sam said simply and I thought that to be a good enough goodbye.


    I turned back to The Mother in Red and found her fire taking shape.


    The lion. I thought, remembering the first time I had seen her atop it. She had been shining like she was made of metal and had a sword raised far above her head.


    When the last of its fiery mane shook out of its massive head, She threw herself over it and offered me her hand.


    I did not take it.


    She smiled down at me with nothing but patience in her eyes. ¡°It will not burn you. Come.¡±


    I had no choice but to believe her. I took her hand and she lifted me up with one arm. Placing me in front of her on the lion of fire¡¯s back, she called out to my mother. ¡°Idensyn? See to Arthur¡¯s wounds please. He is much too pretty for his face to be swollen so.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Mother.¡± My mother answered through her tears and reached her hands towards the tall man.


    "I''ve got it. I''ll be fine in a minute." Arthur waved her off, already looking better than he had.


    Without warning, the lion turned and bounded down the rolling hills. Much too quickly, everyone outside of the manor and the big house itself were pulled into a blur. Before I could turn my head forward, we had nearly reached the river outside of Erosette.


    ¡°You may want to close your eyes, the speed can make one sick if they aren¡¯t use to it.¡± The Mother in Red said softly in my ear just as my stomach began to turn.


    I listened to her and tried to fight the wave of sickness away.


    ¡°What happened to your legs? Did that happened tonight?¡± She asked over the crackling roar of her lion.


    All I could do was shake my head from side to side. ¡°Stairs.¡±


    The air whipping past my face stopped and after a moment, I dared to open my eyes. We were on a roof of flat stone somewhere in the middle of Erosette. The Mother in Red reached past me and placed her hands on my knees. Her rose colored power caught over my legs and my skinned skin began to heal.


    I remembered Azza reprimanding Gwyn because she had not healed my arm before she had started her punishment. That was all she was doing, making me whole so she could tear me apart in the manner of her choosing.


    ¡°There. All better,¡± The Mother in Red said happily as her weight left my back. My legs and knees looked so smooth that it was hard to believe anything had ever happened to them. ¡°Are we ready?¡±


    I barely had time to close my eyes before I felt us launch off the roof and bound through the city once again.


    When we finally stopped, The Mother in Red had to pull me off her lion to get me move again. My legs were shaking and lowered myself to the ground to avoid collapsing.


    Four stone walls were around me and there was nothing in the room besides the black gate that stood at the back of the space. It couldn¡¯t have been more than ten minutes since we had left the manor, but my body felt like we had been in movement for days.


    ¡°Is that your familiar?¡± I asked weakly when everything began to stop spinning.


    ¡°No. She has been dead for years and years. Although this is what she looked like.¡± The Mother in Red answered from where she waited patiently for me by the black gate.


    Familiars die? I thought to myself as an unsettling feeling came over me. Azza had been hostile from the first moment I had seen her. Gwyn had hunted me for hours before I ever saw her face. Rhiannon had been nothing but kind to me.


    It didn¡¯t make any fucking sense. She had come to take me for my punishment and I had not been there. Not only had I escaped the manor, I had impersonated The Lady in Red and earned her fury in turn. From a Mother¡¯s perspective, there was nothing I had done that deserved kindness.


    She¡¯s tricking you. She is going to make you drop your guard and then she will punish you.


    The Mother in Red offered me her hands again and smiled down at me. ¡°Come. It is late and I¡¯m sure you are weary. Let¡¯s get you to bed.¡±


    I let her help me up knowing that she would come for me once I was asleep. Whatever bed she laid me in would be a torture table that the next three days of my life would be spent trapped on.


    The lion of fire fell away into a mound of rose colored dust and we crossed through the black gate.


    First, I noticed the smell of sea salt on the breeze that brushed against my face. Second, I opened my eyes and found myself standing on a rocky cliff side that led straight down to a frothy white water. The low roar of the waves crashing into the rock filled the air with a gentle rhythm. Third, I saw the sorceress streaking towards us with her feet cloaked in violent red aura.


    The Mother in Red turned to face her with a heavy sigh. ¡°How ironic.¡±


    The sorceress launched herself into the air and spun into a kick, her heel aimed right for The Mother in Red''s head with a furious shout.


    ¡°You took him from me!¡±

 V2: Chapter Eighty Two: Nine Doors Eight Rooms

    I covered my mouth with my hand.


    Did I just say that? No, I couldn''t have.


    Like I was watching Sam snatch a bird out it¡¯s panicked flight, The Mother in Red caught the sorceress by the ankle with one hand. The aura covering her bare foot, the color of ripe red apples, shredded out in all directions.


    I shielded my face with my arms until the violent light had faded.


    The Mother in Red held her attacker up by the ankle with no effort at all. ¡°It is good to see you, Suri. How was your time in the Subseas?¡±


    Suri?


    It had never occurred to me that I didn¡¯t have the faintest idea what Suri looked like. Her hair was red, but lighter than mine or my mother¡¯s. It was difficult to make out anything further because her face was twisted into a upside down savage scowl.


    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Suri growled and swung her free leg into her captor¡¯s side. Another shred of her aura followed, but The Mother remained unmoved.


    ¡°Not as relaxing as I had hoped,¡± The Mother in Red sighed as she locked her arm around Suri¡¯s other ankle. ¡°Maybe somewhere cold this time? We will find you a nice cozy cabin in some snowy village. You could try reading again? Do you remember how much you used to love reading?¡±


    Suri pulled herself forward and bit The Mother somewhere around the hip.


    The breeze passed again and the sea salt scent broke me from the shocked trance that I had snapped into. The black gate still stood behind my back, the center piece of a row of seven identical frames. The cliff still fell to my right, with nothing but darkness and water beyond it. On my left, I found a house. Only, it wasn¡¯t really a house, I just didn¡¯t know the word to name it properly.


    If the manor was a hole in the ground, then the sprawling structure to my right was a house. If the manor was indeed a manor, then the structure to my right was something close to three of them lain end to end.


    ¡°You¡¯ve gotten stronger. I can feel it.¡± The Mother in Red said calmly to her attacker.


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep getting stronger until you can¡¯t feel anything anymore!¡± Suri growled through clenched teeth. Her clothes were dirty and ragged. There were dark circles under her eyes.


    I avoided looking into them directly. I could not take another storm of memories and feelings without having Anna there to shelter me.


    Anna. I thought, realizing that the black gate we had come through was still open. The Mother in Red was distracted. What was there to stop me from crossing back through it and making a mad dash for the manor? I could go to her and we could run away. We could find some far off corner of chaos to hole away in. We could even go back to the mortal plane, she would know somewhere we could disappear to and I would be much better at blending in a second time.


    That would only bring her danger. The Autumn I liked thought much too rationally.


    She was right, no matter how much I didn¡¯t like it. So far, it seemed like The Mothers were willing to do everything but kill me. I doubted they would extend such mercy to Anna if the sole reason they let her stay close to me was so they could rip her away when they deemed fit.


    Trying to escape back through the black gate was foolish anyways. It would only lead me back to Erosette. Trying to hide in the city would be like trying to escape my mother in the garden maze when she had been playing the part of a demon. The Mother in Red would summon her lion of fire and hunt me down before I could reach the river.


    That left one option, the cliffs to my right.


    I could swim, right? I¡¯d spent most of my life in baths and pools, it couldn¡¯t be that hard. Once I got in the water, I would pick a direction and follow it until I found somewhere to run away to. From there, I would have to sneak back into The Red Mother¡¯s domain and get Anna.


    It wouldn¡¯t be easy, but I could not sit around and wait to be punished while such a perfect opportunity to escape was right in front of me. Taking a slow step to my right, I tried to ignore the nervousness that made my legs shake. My skin had been ground away after I had been buried alive. I had been hunted by all manner of beasts and escaped. Jumping from a great height would be nothing that I could not survive.


    ¡°Nocti, my love?¡± The Mother in Red called over shoulder, still holding Suri upside down in her grasp.


    A cold hand gently grabbed my arm and kept my feet on the rocky ground.


    ¡°I am here.¡± Nocti said from beside me as he folded out of the shadows he had been perfectly concealed in.


    ¡°Take her inside and show her to a room in the west hall so she can get some rest. Any will do except for Gray¡¯s or Trea¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°Stop ignoring me while I¡¯m trying to kill you!¡± Suri shouted as her apple colored aura burst from her captured feet once again.


    ¡°And send for the gatekeeper. I will be inside once I see Suri off again.¡± The Mother in Red continued without an interrupted word.


    ¡°Of course,¡± Nocti agreed. The pale man in his wide brimmed black hat began to lead me away from the cliff side and towards the house.


    I took one last look at The Mother and Suri before Nocti closed the double door behind me.


    There was an immediate sense of familiarity that I felt within the massive structure. Every stone that formed the walls were the same color and shape as those that the manor was made of. Stairs, made entirely of pink marble, rose up at the back of the entrance and disappeared above the ceiling. Roses decorated every corner of the room in stone pots and vases. I had never been there before, but I had been in places so similar that it felt like I had.


    ¡°So, this is who you really are. I will admit, my theories about your identity grew more and more outlandish every time we crossed paths.¡± Nocti said as he removed his hat and hung it on a small hook inside the door.


    His coat came next and I saw the pale man in full light for the very first time. Black hair, porcelain white skin, features that made him look both fierce and refined, he was undeniably beautiful. Unlike every other time I had seen him however, his eyes were not red. They had dimmed to a dull grey that gave his face a tired, hollow, appearance.


    ¡°What are you?¡± I asked, unable to stop the words from leaving my mouth.


    Nocti laughed and gestured for me to follow him. After a moment of hesitation, I did and became immediately aware that his footsteps made no sound.


    ¡°Under any other circumstances, with any other soul, that would be a horridly rude question to ask,¡± The pale man said as he led me through a confusing series of doors and hallways. When we climbed a smaller set of pink marble steps, he continued. Fortunately for us both, I am used to being around impolite girls.¡±


    We turned left into a hall whose ceiling hung far above my head. Nine differently colored doors, five on the left and four on the right, marked the stone walls. For a brief moment, I felt like I had stepped back into the way The Well had been before the near infinite library had taken shape in my mind.


    Nocti walked past the grey door on his left and then the red one on his right before he began to open the rest as he went.


    ¡°Some, mostly mortals, would call me a vampire. Others, that are not so taken with stories and fictions, would say I am a soul that has been cursed by dark powers far beyond understanding,¡± The pale man spoke as he moved silently down the hall. ¡°Those that live in fear of what they do not know would call me a monster, a beast, a parasite. None of them are wrong. There is some truth in it all.¡±


    He stopped short of the last door in the hall and turned back around to face me.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    ¡°To answer your question, I am a man who was lead astray and has spent the decades since trying to find my way back,¡± He said with weary smile. He spread both his arms out and gestured to the open doors. ¡°Take your pick, they are different enough that you should be able to find something to your liking.¡±


    The first door on my left was orange and held a small room beyond its frame. Grainy planks of faded wood made up the walls and other than an unlit metal lantern on the floor, there was only the bed. No windows or closets, only rough looking blankets and a single pillow. There was a small metal tub tucked away in a tiny alcove and a single towel folded over its edge.


    ¡°Try another, I can tell that you do not like this one.¡± Nocti said as he pointed me towards the blue door on my right.


    Like a small piece of some other place had been grafted to the hall of stone, the room beyond the blue door did not seem like it should be where it was. When the tip of my boot crossed the threshold, dim pearly lights came to life along the floor and lit a path to the circular bed in the center of the room. The walls were painted so dark a shade of blue it was almost black and the air within was noticeably cooler.


    More out of curiosity than a desire to pick the most restful room, I went to each of them in turn and looked inside.


    Whichever I chose would not be used for sleeping. It would be used for nothing at all after I made my escape.


    An armchair sat in front of a small fireplace behind the brown door. There was a bookcase and a desk as well. While it was made of wood like the orange door¡¯s room had been, it was much more cozy and inviting.


    The green and yellow rooms were connected. Dead and dried flower petals covered the floor and there was no bed. A wide sail of fabric hung from large columns on either side of the room and every piece of furniture was cover with piles of cast off clothes.


    ¡°What are these?¡± I asked Nocti as I went towards the last open door.


    ¡°The Lady¡¯s rooms. Rhiannon wanted each of them to feel at home here if they ever came.¡± The pale man answered.


    Beyond the purple door, I found something out of one of my mother¡¯s stories. There were stars painted on the ceiling that shone seemingly of their own accord. A canopy bed, purple instead of red and much larger than the one in my room at the manor, took up most of the floor. A silver framed mirror that was much taller than I was stood between a bathroom and an open closet. The night sky hung behind glass paneled windows that took up almost all of the back wall.


    It was enchanting. If the circumstances were any different, I would enjoyed the thought of staying in it.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you open this one?¡± I asked as I went to the white door and opened it.


    ¡°Because there is nothing in there.¡± Nocti answered, reaching past me and closing off the completely empty room.


    ¡°Why?¡± I continued with my questions.


    ¡°Because there is no Lady in White. Now, if my suspicions are correct, I believe you favored this one the most.¡± The pale man said as he disappeared through the purple door and light began to shine out of it.


    No Lady in White. I repeated in my mind. Knowing that I would have to tell Anna that as soon as I could see her again.


    ¡°Here is the bathroom. Take whatever you wish from the closet. Is there anything else you need?¡± He said, waiting until I had entered the room fully before he went to the door and stepped back into the hall.


    ¡°No,¡± I said, shaking my head. Remembering to be polite, I added. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Without another word, Nocti closed the door and I was alone.


    Immediately, I went to the windows. High and low, I checked every piece of frame and every pane of glass for a lock that I could open. It was too dark for me to see what lay below or how far down the ground was, but slipping out of the window was the least terrifying escape route I could imagine.


    When I found nothing, I tore my way through the bathroom and the closest just in case there was some secret pathway that I could stumble across.


    There wasn¡¯t.


    My hand was turning the doorknob to open it before I remember that Nocti made no noise when he walked. I had no way to know if he had actually left. What if he was standing outside of the door, waiting to see if I would try and leave?


    Be patient, Autumn. I told myself as I closed my eyes and tried to count the seconds as they passed.


    I counted all the way to twelve a handful of times before I could wait no longer. I turned the handle as slowly as I could and gently opened the door.


    No lights, no sound, no unnaturally pale gentleman lounging in the hall.


    The sound of my own excited footsteps echoed off the wall and reminded me that there was a desperate need for me to be quiet.


    Fuck. I really should have tried to remember how I got here. I thought when I came to the end of the hall and had to choose which connecting hall I would follow. Both were dark and looking down either made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.


    Though my surroundings felt familiar, there was an emptiness that came with the high ceilings and wide walls. Maybe it was because it was dark and maybe it was because I had no idea where I or anything else was, but the whole place felt empty.


    I took the hall to my right and walked like Mother Gwyn taught me when we had been hunting my imaginary bird in the crimson dust surrounding Vowkeeper¡¯s Anguish. Crouching and padding my steps, I crept through the sprawling structure with absolutely nothing to guide my way. The further I went from the Lady¡¯s hall, the more I felt that I was being watched. The beasts that had hunted me under Gwyn¡¯s influence felt like they were coming up behind me and breathing down my neck. The hand horrors the lich had sent for me felt like they were reaching for me with their black nails and scratching at my back.


    My nerve broke and I began to run away from the imaginary monsters with no attempt at silence.


    Left, right, forward, up a set of stairs and back down a second that I found at the top of the first.


    I ran and hid and ran again until I saw light at the end of a windowless corridor.


    The made up monsters could not harm me if I was in the light. I knew that like I knew the ceiling was up and the floor was down. With as much speed as I could manage, I tripped over the turned up end of a long rug and fell into the safety of the lit room. After checking, double checking, and taking one last long look to ensure that my pursuers were indeed not real, I looked around to find myself back at the entrance.


    Nocti¡¯s hat still hung on its hook in the same place that he had left it.


    Somehow, someway, my fear had brought me to the exact place I needed to be.


    All I had to do was open the door and I would be free.


    Before I could, a warm scent found its way into my nose and my stomach let out a hollow growl.


    Fuck.


    The smell was sweet and fruity, both things too much for my empty belly to resist. I had no way of knowing how long it would be before I got to eat again and I had become quite skilled at stealing food during my time at the boarding house. Making a small attempt at stealth, I followed the scent through the darkness of the house until I came to an open doorway with a massive kitchen beyond it.


    On a free standing counter in the middle of the room, rows and rows of baskets covered the stone surface. Within those baskets, were mounds of still steaming muffins.


    Against every impulse I had to run in and grab as much as I could carry in my arms, I waited. I waited just outside the light of the kitchen with held breath for as long as I could to ensure that I would not be seen.


    Then, when I was absolutely certain that I was safe, I stepped into the kitchen and came fast to chest with a very large man.


    Go, his mane of red hair and beard messy and unkempt, looked down at me with a pan of uncooked muffin batter in his hands. He wore nothing but short pants that ended just above his ankles and a rose patterned apron that covered an embarrassingly small amount of his chest.


    ¡°I told Nocti you would need something to eat, but that pasty bastard wouldn¡¯t listen to me,¡± The man said with a satisfied smile. ¡°Go on, help yourself. Some are blackberry and some are blueberry, it¡¯s hard to tell once they are done, but they''re both good.¡±


    I thought about running, but that would only lead to me being caught. Even if I was faster than the mountain of muscle standing before me, he would surely alert The Mother in Red.


    ¡°You like to, uhm, bake?¡± I managed to say. I stepped past him and tried to act like I was indeed coming to the kitchen for a snack. All I was awake for was food, not to try and escape, I would never do that.


    Go grunted and laughed as he slid the pan into some sort of bricked in fireplace and slapped his chiseled stomach. ¡°That¡¯s what I do, girl. You don¡¯t get a body like this by eating greens and drinking water.¡±


    ¡°Oh fuck.¡± I sighed as I took a bite of one of the muffins and proceeded to shovel the rest of it into my mouth despite its piping heat.


    ¡°You can call me, Go. I saw you when you showed up with Azza, but she¡¯s so damn temperamental I didn¡¯t get a chance to introduce myself,¡± The big man said. ¡°Milk?¡±


    ¡°Mmhff.¡± I muttered through the third muffin I had managed to cram into my mouth. My escape had failed, but I was finding it difficult to be all that upset. I did not trust him, I still felt that I would be thrown into The Mother in Red¡¯s punishment at any moment, but I knew what I was eating was good.


    ¡°Take a basket, I¡¯ll tote your milk. You¡¯ve got a long day tomorrow. Rest is good.¡± Go said as he made to leave the kitchen.


    ¡°I. . .¡± I started to disagree, but could find no reasonable explanation for why I did not want to go back to the room I had been given.


    I followed him back and thanked him as I had Nocti, fully intending to attempt my escape again as soon as he left.


    Once the door was closed however, I ate another muffin to pass the time and chased it down with half of one of the cold milk bottles he had given me. Before long, I had eaten and drank so much, that my belly was full and the weight of my day settled over me.


    Eventually, after a very long argument with myself, I did use the shower that was thankfully in the bathroom. I riffled through the closet until I found a pair of white shorts and a loose white shirt. With nowhere else to sit, I crawled through the purple canopy with the last of my milk in tow.


    Looking up at the stairs painted on the ceiling of the fairytale room, I did not let myself sleep because according to the giant baker, I had a long day ahead of me.


    I had no intentions of being there to see it.

 V2: Chapter Eighty Three: Long Day

    When day broke and dawn began to filter through the windows at the back of the fairytale room, I found myself thankful that there had been no lock to unlock.


    The new light also brought me the knowledge that if Nocti had not kept me from throwing myself off the cliff side, I would have had no morning to wake up to.


    Once I could actually see it, the water that broke against the rocky coast seemed much farther down.


    The muffins and milk had run out long before daybreak, but I had not fallen asleep. It had not been that difficult to stay awake. The fairytale room was much nicer than a glass pyramid or a desolate forest, but the fear of sudden punishment had kept my eyes open wide.


    I had a long day ahead of me.


    Fire, pain, torture, there was no end to what could be done to me in a full days time. Would I be burned from the outside in or the inside out? What part of me would be thrown into unimaginable pain? Maybe, her punishment would have nothing to do with my body. Maybe she wished to hurt me in the places that could not be healed. My mind and my soul, what would she put me through to break my mind and dampen my soul?


    Whatever it was, no matter how terrible and painful it proved to be, there would be two more longs days that followed.


    I had thought about little else in the time since Go had halted my escape with his baking.


    I riffled through the hung clothes and full drawers inside the closet after I finally managed to make the stars on it''s ceiling come to light. If I had been wearing long sleeves and pants when I had been buried alive, there would be no scars on my arms and legs. If I had been wearing my cuffed boots and thicker clothes when I had fallen into the thorns, they wouldn¡¯t have sunk into my skin.


    I found a tight fitting under layer of long sleeves and pants that reminded me of the skin tight garment Mother Gwyn had worn. They were black, but did not cling to me the way hers had. Whoever they were made for was both wider and taller than me. Not by much, but enough that there was still slack in the waist and the need to cuff the sleeves and pants.


    The Ladies'' rooms. I remembered.


    If the colors of the doors were anything to go by, I was wearing The Lady in Purple¡¯s clothes. I couldn¡¯t remember her name, but I did remember her face. I remember the relaxed look in her half lidded eyes after she had been together with The Lady whose memory I had been in. I remembered how they had come to life with anger when Nami had entered the room. I remembered the gloom that had enshrouded the pale skin of her naked legs.


    I remembered how it had felt to feel her heart break when her brother had been killed.


    This is the weight that you carry. This is the weight of The Well. The Autumn I liked had helped me understand that in a way that the panicked and confused part of me had been unable to.


    If ever met her, all that I knew of her would come to me just the same as it had with Trea and Rhiannon. I was in her room. I had used her shower. I had stayed awake all night in her bed. All that had done for me was make me hope I never had to meet her.


    I hoped I never met anyone of note ever again.


    When I found the right time to escape, Anna and I would find somewhere to start a new life with new names. It would need to be somewhere near a library or a sorceresses school so I could continue to learn how to use my power.


    Sharp knocks sounded from the outside of the door just as shrugged into a big black coat that hung down to my knees.


    Every part of me snapped still and my planning fell away into uncollected thoughts.


    They had come for me.


    My long day had arrived.


    I immediately realized how much I loved the fairytale room. I loved it so much, I imagined a long and satisfying life spent without ever leaving it again.


    The Lady in Purple had such wonderful clothes, I thought I should slide between two of the dresses hanging in the closet and pretend to be one for a while.


    ¡°Lady Aubrey? Lady Rhiannon has sent me for you.¡± A man¡¯s voice called through the purple door.


    I didn¡¯t know if it was possible, but maybe I could glamor myself to look like one of the dresses so I could fully understand what it was like to be one.


    More knocks.


    ¡°Lady Aubrey?¡± The voice called again. Whoever he was, he sounded perfectly polite and proper.


    ¡°Fucking muffins.¡± I said under my breath. If I had slipped out through the doors instead of letting my empty belly walk me back into the depths of the manor, I would not have been there to answer.


    The voice called a third time. ¡°Lady Aubrey, are you well?¡±


    My body relaxed and I slumped my shoulders through a heavy sigh. As desperately as I wished too, I could not pretend to be one of the violet gowns and hide myself away. I had to face my punishment willingly.


    There was a small sense of power in that. At least I was being taken away from breakfast with the ones I loved or stolen from my bed while I was asleep.


    More sharp knocks echoed against the paneled glass windows and I opened the door before the polite sounding man could call my name a fourth time.


    Galahad. I thought, recognizing The Red Mother¡¯s lover immediately by the starlight colored hair flowing down from his head.


    The Red Mother had spent the morning brushing his hair out in the garden. It would make her happy that he had not pulled it up yet. That was why she had sent him for me, they had already been together. I had no way to know that was true. It felt like it was because there was not a single strand of his hair out of place and because of my memory of her memory.


    ¡°Good morning,¡± He said, giving me a polite node and smile. ¡°I hope your room was comfortable and your sleep was restful. Although, there is no need to wear such heavy clothes here, it is not cold.¡±


    My mother¡¯s story from his night of Amoranora ran through my mind at the sight of him. He was a prince. He had fought for the chance to ask The Mother in Red for her hand. From his posture to the openness in his bright blue eyes, every part of him rang true with what I knew of nobility.


    ¡°You are the lion.¡± I said, remembering my mother¡¯s words about The Lion¡¯s Maw or whatever it had been called. I stepped into the hall and he turned for me to follow him.


    When I finally found the strength to make my legs move again and we left the Lady¡¯s hall, he answered me.


    ¡°In a way, yes. Did you hear the story during Amoranora?¡± He answered and asked.


    ¡°Yes. You are a prince?¡± I replied in the same manner that he had. He started up a wide set of pink marble stairs, but I stayed at their base.


    If I was quick enough, I could run and hide before he would even know I was gone. Once the search for me began, and I knew it would, all I would have to do is work my way towards the entrance. I had stumbled my way to it the night before, it would be much easier with the light of day filtering through the place.


    Before I could make myself run, Galahad turned around and my opportunity had passed.


    ¡°Once, I was. Then, I was a king. Now, I am neither,¡± He said, looking down at me. ¡°Are you coming?¡±


    ¡°Do I have a choice?¡± I asked, realizing I had forgotten to pull on my boots before I had left the fairytale room. The Purple Lady¡¯s clothes would save my skin, but my forgetfulness would cost me my feet. I was sure of it.


    ¡°Of course? Why would you not? If you would like something to eat or a warm drink first, we will see to that. If you would like to go back to sleep, I will come for later.¡± Galahad said like I had asked a question that¡¯s answer was so obvious he was confused that I had needed to ask it.


    Nothing felt right about the beginning of my long day. Azza would have never given me food. Gwyn would have never let me know my punishment was starting.


    If I took my time and requested enough things, could I wait out the three full days?


    All of the pleasantness, the relaxed way The Mother in Red¡¯s lovers had interacted with me, it was all a trap. I was sure of it.


    ¡°What is she going to do to me?¡± I muttered and cast my eyes to the ground. My bare feet were planted on the stone floor just before the pink marble of the first step. If I knew what to expect, if I could prepare myself for what waited for me upstairs, I would be able to make myself take it.


    ¡°I do not understand what you are asking, Lady Aubrey.¡± Galahad said as he stepped back down towards me. He looked genuinely confused, but I knew that he knew what I wanted to know.


    ¡°My punishment. What is she going to do to me?¡± I repeated.


    ¡°No, damn it all,¡± Galahad snapped, shaking his head and sending his long hair into gentle waves. ¡°That¡¯s not what she sent for you for. I should have mentioned that. If I have caused you any undue worry, I am truly sorry.¡±This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Nothing about his posture or expression made me feel like he was lying, which only made my distrust for him grow.


    ¡°Come, I¡¯ll tell you about becoming the lion in the way.¡± He said with a smile and waved me forward with one hand.


    I took the first step, but I kept my weight on my heels and my the memory of where we had walked from in the front of my mind.


    ¡°Which version did you hear? Did I beat the dark haired outlander or the big bearded Hezbelth?¡± He asked me when I reached the step he waited for me on.


    ¡°The outlander, I think.¡± I answered as I searched the top of the staircase for any sign of danger. Despite it being very early in the morning, the marble was warm on my bare feet.


    ¡°Good. That is the better of the two. In truth, it was neither. It was Rhiannon who was my final opponent in that wretched place.¡± Galahad said, keeping us eye to eye by only taking a step for every two I took. ¡°She will never admit it, but she allowed me the victory and played as if I had truly bested her.¡±


    ¡°She could have beaten you?¡± If she was so skilled at fighting, perhaps my punishment would not come in the form of fire. Maybe she would just beat me senseless or cut me to ribbons.


    ¡°Easily. Do not take that lightly. There are only two souls in all of chaos that I know could best me in a sword fight. She is one of them.¡± He answered through a smile.


    We reached the top of the stairs and turned to our right. Masses of roses and sweeping red curtains lined the walls. I passed each as if someone or something would leap out of it and pull me into its clutches.


    ¡°The story you heard and the others like it came for her lips as well. She made sure no one would think my title as the lion was anything but hard fought and well earned.¡± He continued as he slowed his pace to match mine.


    ¡°Why?¡± I asked, genuinely curious as to what his answer would be.


    ¡°Because she loved me. She had heard tale of my plight with my thankfully departed uncle. She knew it would be much easier for the lion to gather soldiers behind his banner than it would be for some backwater prince without a bag of dust to his name,¡± Galahad stopped and opened a closed door on my left. ¡°Here you are, she is waiting inside.¡±


    So caught up in trying to make sense of what the starlight haired man had told me, I didn¡¯t realize I had walked into the room until I heard the door shut behind me.


    I threw my back against it and searched blindly for the handle.


    Windows just like what was in The Purple Lady¡¯s room built the back wall. Each panel was filled with the blue green water of the ocean beyond the cliff side. A rug that only allowed a small sliver of stone to show at its edges covered the floor with a symmetrical pattern of vines and roses. Soft looking chairs with red velvet pillows in each stood as the only occupants of the space beside myself.


    ¡°Autumn? May I ask you a question?¡± A voice called through the door behind me.


    The Mother in Red.


    I didn¡¯t answer.


    She continued regardless. ¡°The dark haired girl from last night? The mortal? Her name is Anna, is it not?¡±


    ¡°Why do you want to know?¡± I demanded, feeling my anger and aura rising up within me at her mention of Anna.


    ¡°I do not have to. I only want you to think about her. Whatever it is you love most about her. Her hair, her hands, her smile, bring it to the front of your mind.¡± She said with a small laugh playing at the edges of her words


    My heart pounded in my chest, but I found myself doing as she asked.


    ¡°If there is a memory that is precious between the two of you or something she has said to you that you could never forget, bring it forward.¡± She continued. There was something in her voice that made me listen to her. I did not think I was being charmed, but as she spoke, all I could think about was Anna.


    She called me beautiful the first time I had shown her my true face. She had mooned me to escape my clutches so she could win a game. When my mind had been in tatters and I had been some unfortunate mess of a half a dozen souls, she had put me back together again.


    She tried to open the door but stopped when I pressed against it. She could have thrown me across the room and through the windows if she wanted to, I had felt her strength first hand.


    She didn¡¯t.


    ¡°Take your time. Whenever you are ready, go to the middle of the room and close your eyes, but you must not stop thinking about her.¡± The Mother in Red said as she pulled the door shut again.


    I found myself in the middle of the flowery rug and closed my eyes as she had asked.


    The sound of the door cracking open nearly broke my focus, but my thoughts of Anna were stronger. Three days. Three days of whatever torture I would be put through and I would be back with her.


    ¡°Keep your eyes closed. Keep thinking about her. I am in the room now,¡± She spoke very softly as if she was trying very hard not to startle me. ¡°Now, tell me about her.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I snapped, my anger and aura reminding me that it was still very much alive within me.


    ¡°The meal she enjoys most or something that makes her laugh. Anything about her that you are fond of, tell me.¡± She said.


    The fact that I found her words encouraging nearly made my blood boil.


    ¡°Uhm, when she thinks something is cute or truly funny, her nose scrunches like she has smelled something rotten, but the rest of her face is happy.¡± I stumbled my way through my answer, but the thought of it brought a smile to the corner of my mouth.


    ¡°Very good, Autumn. Open your eyes.¡± She said.


    Again, I followed her directions without question.


    The Mother in Red stood before me, her rose colored eyes staring down into my own.


    Her hair was down and fell past her shoulders in soft waves and curls that were just tangled enough to make me think she had not been out of bed for long. She wore nothing but a thin white sleeping gown that fit her curves loosely and hung down to her ankles. It was creased, wrinkled, and I understood that she was wearing her night clothes.


    Even so, she was beautiful in a way that brought unwelcome comparisons to myself. Where I was skinny, she was strong. Where I was short, she was tall. Where she had curves, I was reedy and flat.


    Looking like she had just woken up, she was far and away more beautiful than I could ever hope to be.


    She was flawless, a work of art, a master piece.


    ¡°Something else, tell me something else. Hurry.¡± She nodded excitedly.


    I shook my head to break my eyes away from her. ¡°What are you doing? Why are you asking me these things?¡±


    ¡°Tell me something else about her and I will tell you what we are doing.¡± She demanded.


    ¡°She snores. It¡¯s really loud. Sometimes I think-¡°


    ¡°Come in, my love,¡± The Mother in Red interrupted me and called over her shoulder. ¡°Go on. You said she snores?¡±


    ¡°-she isn¡¯t breathing and then she will make this awful sound and continue to sleep.¡± I said as quickly as I could get the words out because of the anxiousness that had begun to run through me.


    Patience came through the open door and stood beside The Mother in Red. His hair was short and looked freshly shorn. He wore a partially open white shirt and cream colored pants. The morning sun shining through the window caught the three golden piercings on his left ear and sent a glare into my eyes.


    ¡°Good morning, Lady Autumn. Did you sleep well?¡± He asked pleasantly.


    My anger slipped out through my lips. ¡°Will someone please tell me what the fuck is happening?¡±


    ¡°You did it. Patience, she did it. You were right.¡± The Mother in Red said through a deep sigh.


    ¡°What did I do?¡± I growled, not understanding why I was being looked at the way I was.


    Patience cleared his throat and brought his hands behind his back. ¡°I understand that you have been having trouble with your particular burden.¡±


    He kept his eyes on The Mother in Red as he spoke.


    ¡°Particularly when it comes to seeing me or Rhiannon,¡± He continued after The Mother in Red gave him an encouraging nod. ¡°You just saw both of us and seem to be yourself.¡±


    What the fuck?


    He was right. Not a single thought or feeling had come from Suri at the sight of either of them. The first time I had seen Patience, I had driven my fist into his stomach. The first time I had truly seen The Mother in Red I had thrown myself at her with violent intent.


    I was annoyed, yes, but not enraged.


    What I did feel, was mine and not Suri¡¯s


    ¡°It is a wonder beyond all bounds that your Anna can bring you back to yourself, I only wished to help you find that strength in her even if you are apart.¡± The Mother in Red said as she leaned her head down onto Patience¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said, not believe the words as I spoke them.


    Why was I not being punished yet? Why had I not been set on fire.


    ¡°Do not thank me yet, these things take time. I know that better than anyone.¡± She sighed again and looked past me. Sadness came into her eyes and for a half a breath, it looked like she might cry.


    ¡°Which is why you will be spending the day with me,¡± Patience said. ¡°We¡¯ll start with a warning before I enter a room and go from there. Anytime I am coming, think of. . .I believe her name is Anna, yes? Whenever I give the warning, think of Anna.¡±


    Azza¡¯s punishment had been painful. Gwyn¡¯s had been terrifying. At least the two of them had not been playing with my mind. Every part of me wanted to be happy. All I felt inside myself was relief. Still, I knew the help I had been given was done in dishonesty.


    The real reason I was in the cliff side place was to be punished.


    I would not forget that no matter how hard they tried to make me.


    ¡°Now, I must be off. A Mother¡¯s work is never done, but I will see the both of you for dinner,¡± The Mother in red said as she planted a kiss on the top of Patience¡¯s head. ¡°I am very proud of you, Autumn. It took me years to master what you have just done on your first attempt.¡±


    The earnestness in her eyes, the sincerity, was too much and I looked away from her with a muttered thank you.


    She left, and Patience and I were alone.


    A moment passed before he brought his hands forward and clapped. ¡°Have you had breakfast yet? I believe Go has filled the kitchen from wall to wall with his muffins by now. The poor man can¡¯t help but bake when he is nervous.¡±


    ¡°What happened to Suri last night?¡± I asked, the memory of the pain in her heart easy for me to feel even without it taking me over.


    ¡°Oh, right. Rhiannon thought you might ask that. How much do you know?¡± Patience said as he turned away from me and started out of the room.


    I followed him. ¡°I know she loved you and The Mother in Red. I know she still loves you, I think.¡±


    ¡°The way things ended between us was unfortunate and there is much I regret, but Suri has lost herself in herself. If anyone can understand that, it is you,¡± He said, keeping himself in front of me instead of walking beside me the way Galahad had. ¡°When she finds her way back here or into the city, Rhiannon takes her away.¡±


    I remembered The Mother in Red saying something to her about going somewhere cold and how much she used to love reading.


    We started down the stairs I had climbed not very long before and how wrong it all seemed settled over me.


    ¡°I can feel your judgment and I know it seems cruel, but there aren¡¯t any other alternatives that Rhiannon is willing to take. If there was someone who was hunting you day in and day out with the full intent to kill you, what would you do?¡± Patience said, still keeping his lead on me.


    I thought about his question all the way until we crossed into the kitchen and could not come up with an answer.


    ¡°You could kill them. If you are someone with the power that a sorceress has, you could charm their mind to forget the anger that consumes them,¡± Patience stepped over the massive body of Go who was asleep on the floor with only his flour dusted apron as a pillow. ¡°Or, you could choose mercy as Rhiannon has and give them the opportunity to change no matter how hopeless it seems.¡±


    I opened my mouth to speak but could not find anything to say.


    ¡°Suri may still love me in her own twisted and damaged way, but Rhiannon has never stopped loving her. Despite every reason she should,¡± Patience said as he finally turned and looked back at me. ¡°Muffin?¡±

 V2: Chapter Eighty Four: A Very Long Day

    Patience and I crossed paths again once I reached the bottom of one of the seemingly endless amount of pink marble staircases.


    ¡°I¡¯m coming in from your right. Are you prepared?¡± He called from somewhere unseen.


    After I had watched him haul the unconscious Go up to the giant man¡¯s quarters, he had offered me a tour of the mansion as he had called it. From Go¡¯s dark quarters, he showed me his own and Galahad¡¯s. The two shared a hall that ended in a round balcony, but they could not have been more different.


    Galahad¡¯s had been the definition of order. His bed was made. The papers on his desk were squared, and the sword hanging on his wall gleamed like it had been freshly polished.


    Patience¡¯s had looked like a great and terrible storm had uprooted a library and thrown its contents into the place. Stacks of books lined the walls all the way to the high ceilings. Mounds of loose papers and scrolls were pilled across the floor in such a way that there was only a small footpath of stone to the bed.


    It had been then that he had first announced that he was going to show his face.


    Like I had done earlier that morning, I had thought of Anna. At the front of my mind, I thought about the blush that reddened her cheeks whenever she drank and I held it as he turned the corner and looked me in my eyes.


    Just like before, I had felt nothing from Suri.


    Patience had smiled and complimented me, and my guard had slipped. For half a moment, I had smiled back at him and felt proud of my small victory.


    Then, I had remembered why I was where I was and my smile vanished.


    Both of The Mother¡¯s halls, sitting rooms, sun rooms, studies, there had been seemingly no end to the place. Four more times, the man with the pierced ears and dazzling smile had disappeared. Four more times I had thought of the raven haired mortal and prevented Suri from taking me over.


    Each time I had needed to force my celebratory feelings. As soon as I dropped my guard, I would be made to pay for it.


    I was sure of it.


    ¡°Yes.¡± I called back with Anna on my mind.


    Patience entered with the same leisurely pace I had learned he always moved with. His smile, which at first had only shown when I had succeeded, was on full display and I hated how fond I was becoming of it.


    ¡°Anything?¡± He asked as he pushed up the rolled sleeves of his shirt.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± I answered flatly and ignored how hot the heavy clothes I had chosen to wear were making me. If I changed, if I put anything less covering on, it would prove to be a mistake.


    His smile faded and his hand went up to one of the golden piercings on his left ear. ¡°You are pretty strange, you know? Let¡¯s try something new.¡±


    Like I had all morning of my long day, I followed him when he turned and walked away from me.


    I¡¯m not the one who shares a lover with six other men. I thought in response to him calling me strange, but I did not say it aloud. There was little reason for me to antagonize him when all it would bring me was pain.


    ¡°There are things about you that I would like to know, Lady Autumn. But I, more than most, know that knowledge does not come freely. I propose a trade. I will ask you a question, and you will answer it. In turn, I will do the same for you. Agreed?¡± He said as we went, his hand still fiddling with one of the golden rings hanging from his ear.


    ¡°Why do you have those?¡± I asked, unable to ignore my curiosity any longer. Why anyone would willingly push metal into their skin was beyond my understanding.


    ¡°The earrings? They are a symbol of my rank with the loreium. Playing with them is just a nervous habit.¡± He answered.


    ¡°How do you get them?¡± I continued as we started down a narrow staircase that was made of the same grey stone as the floors. The further down we went, the colder the stone became on the bottoms of my bare feet.


    ¡°By knowing certain things. When you have earned the right, when you have proven that you can handle the knowledge, you get an earring, but that¡¯s two questions. It is my turn,¡± He said with a small laugh. ¡°Why do I get the feeling that you are expecting something terrible to happen to you?¡±


    ¡°Because it will.¡± I answered much too quickly. I could have lied. I could have played into the trap that was being laid for me and tried to gain some small advantage.


    ¡°Why do you think that?¡± He asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s two questions. It¡¯s my turn,¡± I repeated his words back to him. ¡°You said that Go bakes when he is nervous. Why is he nervous?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. A very good question.¡± Patience said as we reached the bottom of the stairs.


    The air had cooled to a temperature that made my under layer and jacket suddenly appropriate. We had stepped into another sitting room that was full of plush looking chairs and rose patterned rugs. Three different halls stood on all three sides of the room.


    Patience pointed to the hall on the left and then the one on his right. ¡°That¡¯s Adrian¡¯s workshop. I don¡¯t believe you¡¯ve met him yet. And, that is Nocti¡¯s quarters. Daylight is not the most comfortable thing for him, so he stays underground until dusk.¡±


    Through the sitting room, we crossed to the hall that stood opposite the stairwell.


    ¡°This, is my library. Go is nervous because he is very bad at keeping secrets. I finished cleaning it up the day before you arrived.¡± Patience said as he snapped the lights at the top of the room to life.


    He was not exaggerating. Complete with shelves, tables, and chairs, there truly was a fully realized library underneath The Mother in Red¡¯s mansion.


    It was not lost on me that he had answered my question. The way he had done it, slipping it in between two unimportant things, it had been intentional.


    What secret is Go nervous about keeping? I asked myself, knowing that it was not a question I would receive an answer to.


    ¡°Why do you think something terrible is going to happen to you?¡± Patience asked me again.


    I took more time to answer his second question as I peered down the long shelves of books. Alcoves and hallways spread along the walls and I got the feeling that it would be very easy for me to get lost.


    ¡°I am here to be punished,¡± I answered, satisfied that what I had said was both true and did not give away my nervousness. I joined the end of my answer with the beginning of my next question. ¡°Why have I not been?¡±


    Patience flashed his dazzling smile at me and let out a laugh that would have been contagious if I had heard it anywhere else.


    ¡°Strange might not be the right word for you, Lady Autumn. Cunning, perhaps,¡± He laughed and made his way to a wooden table that bore a roughly bound book on its top. ¡°I am a scholar, I¡¯ve spent my life thumbing through tomes and scrolls to try and understand what we all know as chaos. They say that knowing that you know nothing is the first step to true wisdom,¡± He flipped the book open and began to gently turn the pages. ¡°My love of words aside, I know that seeing something is often more effective than being told about it.¡±


    He reached the middle of the book and unfolded a page that was much larger than the rest. From edge to edge, scribbles and sketches filled the page with words and figures.


    ¡°Trisolde and her chosen death,¡± Patience read aloud. ¡°Are you familiar?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I said as I tried to make sense of the drawing. Two loose shapes that looked like angry mobs stood on either side of the page. A lone figure, the curves of their lines giving me a female impression, stood between them. At the top of the page, sitting on what looked to be an opulent throne, was a some manner of queen or lady.


    ¡°I have some business I must attend to. Familiarize yourself with her story, take a look around my library, there is much here that I believe you would find great interest in.¡± Patience said as he turned to leave.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t answer my question!¡± I called after him.


    ¡°Sure I did.¡± He shouted back over his shoulder and then he was gone.


    I turned back to the drawing and tried to understand what he was telling me. It was obvious that I had asked a question that he could not answer aloud. If my mother could be bound into silence by The Mothers, doing it to him would be a small effort if anything.


    That explained Go¡¯s nervousness. That explained why he had slipped one of his answers in between other things. He was not allowed to tell me certain things. All of the lovers were probably forbidden in the same manner if I had to guess.


    Were they prisoners like me? Had Suri been right? Did The Mother in Red keep all of her lovers charmed into submission?


    I flipped past the drawing and tried my best to read.


    Trisolde, a sorceress of the fifth circle.


    I shook my head and started over when the words on the page began to blend into an unreadable mess.


    Trisolde, a sorceress of the fifth circle.


    The words had been written by hand and the writer''s handwriting was too difficult for my eyes to follow.


    Trisolde, a sorceress of the fifth circle. I tried a third time and got no farther than before.


    ¡°Fuck it.¡± I sighed and left the book on the table where it lay.


    I set myself to exploring the library. Within the towering shelves, I found an order that I recognized from the library in Erosette that Anna frequented. Scattered throughout were tables and books that were laid out just as the first had been.


    Notable Battles of The Aura War. A History of Sorceresses in Don Viven. My time in Zenithcidel.


    I read each title as I passed but I could not make myself stop and read them. Each alcove held a comfortable looking chair and its own set of books, but none of them made me want to sit.


    At the back of the library, I found a door that bore seven locks. Each hung open and the door was cracked open just enough for me to notice it.


    Convinced that it would not be open unless Patience wanted me to find it, I pulled it open and stepped inside the dark room.


    I snapped my fingers and dim light came from a lantern hanging off a chain on the ceiling.


    The room was empty save for something large that was completely covered by a draping white cloth.


    I pulled it off of what it covered and sent a cloud of dust into air. Stepping back, I let it fall from my hands and took in what had been hidden away.


    Nearly as tall as I was and twice as wide, a painting stood in a ornate brass frame that was cloudy with tarnish.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    My eyes found the small initials scrawled in the top left corner first.


    M.D.G. I read in my mind. It was the same initials that the painting I had found hidden in my mother¡¯s things had been marked with.


    Dark and bright swirls of different shades of red glimmered with what looked to be small flakes of metal. They intertwined seamlessly into deep and dramatic shadows.


    The Mother in Red stood on the right side of the painting, her dress of pure white coming in stark contrast against the moody background.


    A white veil of lace hung down over her face, but it was undeniably her. Whoever the painter was, they surely had no equal. I had been with in a room with her only hours before and every detail was perfectly life like.


    She held a massive bouquet of roses in her gloved hands. Each petal was without flaw and matched the color of the glimmering stones that adorned every line and seam of her dress.


    I had never seen a person be more beautiful. The admiration I felt, the ache in my chest that came with the understanding that I would never be her, did not come from a place of attraction or affection. She was like a sunrise after a very dark and cold night. She was like the first glimpse of a towering mountain top that reached high into a perfectly clear sky.


    She did not stare back at me from within her veil. Her face was turned upward towards the man whose arms were wrapped around her.


    The Mother in Red was tall in her own right, the man holding her made her seem as short as Arthur did me when I stood next to him.


    If she was beauty personified, he was something beyond anything I had ever seen or imagined.


    His skin was tinted faintly red. It was not like he had spent too long in the sun. The tint seemed to come from within. Like the stones that adorned Rhiannon¡¯s dress, it seemed like he was made of the color.


    Every strand of his long and lustrous hair shone of its own accord. He wore a long flowing robe that closed at his waist and every inch of his stomach and chest was packed with rigid muscle. Piercing red eyes and a familiar smile graced his face as he looked down at The Mother in Red. He did not clutch at her with his massive hands, he held her so gently, the painter had not needed to paint impressions in the fabric of her dress.


    I only appreciated what I was seeing when I looked at the two of them together.


    The closeness between the two, the intimacy that radiated from their embrace, I could feel it. Even though I knew I was simply looking at paint and canvas, the warmth between them brought color to my cheeks and a slow sigh to my chest.


    The hem of her dress closest to the man was burnt black at its edges just as the ends of the mans robe were. Sitting at there feet, looking all too similar to the little blue kitten I had once been able to hold in the palm of my hand, was a tiny cub made entirely of fire.


    At the base of the frame, on a small flattened plate, I read an engraved description.


    Rubra and Rhiannon. Morning of the sixth vow.


    There was a third name scratched into the soft metal below the engraving.


    And, Bayle


    She has been dead for years and years. The Mother in Red¡¯s words about her familiar echoed in my mind.


    I sat down on the floor and leaned back against the wall. My lack of sleep was wearing on me, but at no point did I become drowsy. I stared at the painting with full attention and in that time I began to notice familiar things about the man named Rubra.


    His smile first, it was bright and wide in a way that I had only ever seen one other person have. Then there was his body. It was not one someone could obtain by drinking water and eating greens. The color of his eyes, hauntingly red and hypnotic if I stared at them too long, I had seen their ilk before.


    ¡°Not much of a reader are we?¡± A voice came from behind me and sent my body into one violent flinch.


    My aura came to my navel without hesitation and it was only the time it took me to turn around that kept me from manifesting it.


    Patience leaned against the doorframe, his eyes wide in surprise. ¡°Apologies. I didn¡¯t mean to scare you.¡±


    A memory of the time I had opened my eyes to see Anna and Arthur in my room at the boarding house long before either of them knew who I really was came to me. I had flinched then too. One moment I had been asleep and the next I was crawling up the bed like something had grabbed my foot.


    ¡°How long have you been gone? How long have I been down here?¡± I asked, standing and pulling the front of my coat closed. Cold had crept into my bones and I hadn¡¯t noticed until my focus on the painting had broken.


    ¡°Hours. It¡¯s almost time for dinner.¡± Patience said as he stepped into the room and gathered up the dusty white cloth.


    I watched him cover the painting and lock the locks on the door outside of the room with a key he pulled from his pocket.


    ¡°Why did you show me that? Why did you let me see it?¡± I asked him as we left the library and the vision of Rubra and Rhiannon refused to leave my mind.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see if I can get Dreamtongue to tell Trisolde¡¯s story at dinner. He likes to show off in front of guests anyhow.¡± Patience said.


    The smell of dinner reached my nose long before we reached the top of the stone stairs. My mouth began to water and an empty growl sounded from my stomach at the scent.


    I followed Patience past the kitchen and towards the back of the mansion. Through the paneled glass doors that had been pulled open, a long table had been set. Complete with decorative roses, wooden plates and bowls were spread across the table top. They were filled with all manner of delicious smelling food. Charred and blackened fish, fist sized red vegetables that were stuffed to their limit, a dozen different bottles of wine, and many things I did not recognize.


    If my reason for being there had been anything other than what it was, I would have thought it beautiful.


    The Mother in Red looked up from where she was serving Go and met me with a sunny smile. She wore the same style of white robe she had been the night before and the apron that the giant man had been wearing was tied around her neck.


    I knew it was a trick of the warm light coming from the setting sun, but for a brief moment, it looked like she was glowing.


    ¡°There you are! Considering you haven¡¯t tried to put this spoon through my neck, I take it your work today has been fruitful?¡± She asked with a playful wink.


    Her attention was too much for me to take. The openness and joy I saw light her eyes at the sight of me was too intense. I had to look away.


    ¡°Much better than expected,¡± Patience answered for me as we stepped out into the stone balcony. ¡°She has now seen both you and I without warning. How do you feel, Lady Autumn?¡±


    Everyone looked at me. The Mother in Red, Patience, Go, Galahad, and Nocti all waited for me to answer.


    ¡°I. . .¡± I tried to speak, but could not find the words. I felt like myself. I was more confused and suspicious than I had ever been before, but I know who I was. I knew those feelings were mine.


    ¡°Come and sit. Eat. Drink.¡± The food is much better for you than a basket of muffins. I made it just like my mother used to.¡±


    I don¡¯t know why The Mother in Red having a mother felt like such a strange thought.


    ¡°You should have told me you were hungry before I told you goodnight. It would have been no trouble. You have no idea how often the roses get our bed because they are hungry.¡± Nocti said towards me from underneath the shadow of his wide brimmed black hat.


    ¡°If I saw you in a dark hallway at night, I wouldn¡¯t ask you for anything but to leave.¡± Patience said as he pulled the middle chair out for me and sat down at my right.


    Go¡¯s face had sunk into a furrowed scowl. ¡°There is nothing wrong with my muffins.¡±


    ¡°She is a growing girl, Go. She needs food that will make her strong, not pure sugar.¡± Patience smiled and laughed.


    ¡°When is Dreamtongue arriving? Has anyone heard from him?¡± Nocti asked openly, his wooden plate empty and his cup unfilled.


    Galahad answered for the table. ¡°He was suppose to be here yesterday. Which means we will see him sometime in the coming months.¡±


    ¡°You should really try to not be so wrong all of the time, brother. I¡¯ve been here for hours.¡± A long haired man said from behind me as he went to the seat on the right side of the table. His clothes looked dirty with travel and his skin was a shade that made me think he had spent far too many days under the sun.


    Dreamtongue.


    ¡°Good, I have a story I need you to tell. Trisolde and her chosen death if you do not mind.¡± Patience said to the newly arrived lover.


    ¡°Not a chance. I¡¯m too tired. The City Above is a long way away from here.¡± Dreamtongue said as he poured himself a full cup of wine.


    ¡°You? Too tired to talk? Who the hell are you? What happened to Dreamtongue?¡± Go growled and brought his fist down to the table top.


    All of them threw their heads back into a chorus of raucous laughter that echoed off the mansion and carried out over the ocean beyond. The Mother in Red leaned over my shoulder and filled my plate. As she poured me something to drink, she whispered into my ear.


    ¡°Do not mind them. They are all excited that we have a guest. If it becomes too much, you may leave. None of us will think any worse of you.¡±


    What if you are wrong? I thought to myself as I watched her take her seat across from me and serve herself last. What if this isn¡¯t some elaborate mind game?


    I could not let myself slip into that way of thinking. There was only pain and hurt for me if I let down my guard. I had not slept. Much had happened to me before The Mother in Red took me. I was tired, that was it. I was reaching my limit and it was becoming harder and harder to keep my guard up.


    With all the lovers lost in their spirited conversation, I did the only thing I knew how to do.


    I ate.


    Without concern for those around me, I tore into the slab of grilled fish and all that surrounded it. When there was nothing left for me to eat and I had cleaned my plate down to the last smear of crushed tomatoes, I looked up to see Go bearing his fists at a resentful looking Galahad.


    ¡°You and I both know that you ate the damned pie.¡± The giant man growled as he stood up from his too small chair. The force of his movement sent his seat sailing over the edge of the balcony where it presumably fell to the water below.


    ¡°It¡¯s been years you big oaf. It was one pie. Does it truly matter who ate it?¡± Galahad sighed, the bottle of wine next to him nearly empty.


    Nocti, Patience, and Dreamtongue did nothing but laugh at their brother''s quarrel.


    That was the impression I got. The way they argued, the familiarity of it, it felt like watching Anna and Arthur snip at one another.


    The Mother in Red was smiling, her face was turned to the argument, but her rose red eyes were worlds away. She was giving the appearance of presence and delight, but it was only on the surface. There was a sadness in her eyes that made me think she was on the verge of tears.


    In between the playful shouts of Go and Galahad, she stood and silence fell over the table.


    ¡°I believe it is time for me to turn in, my loves,¡± She said, reaching out and touching each of them as she passed. ¡°Autumn, if you need anything, you must ask. I could not stand it if I thought you were less than comfortable.¡±


    The five lovers at the table all told her goodnight in their own ways and without another word, she was gone.


    The lightness that had been as much a part of the dinner as the fish was left with her. The dinner had ended with her exit and all that was left around me was a feeling of absence.


    ¡°Lady Autumn? I¡¯m sure you are tired as well. Shall I walk you to your room?¡± Galahad asked me through a sigh shortly after The Mother in Red had departed.


    ¡°Yes, please.¡± I agreed politely and stood.


    ¡°Goodnight.¡± The rest of the lovers said in collectively as I followed Galahad.


    I didn¡¯t say it back. In fact, I didn¡¯t say anything at all. My long day was ending just as it had begun. I followed the starlight haired man back to The Lady in Purple''s room and closed the door as soon as I had crossed the threshold.


    Did I have questions?


    Yes, more than I could count.


    Did I want to know what had happened at the table?


    Yes, desperately.


    Did I intend to take the time necessary to ask my questions or find out what had happened to The Mother in Red?


    No, I needed to run as soon as possible.


    If I tried to stay awake in the fairytale bedroom any longer, I would fall asleep. If any of her lovers were nice to me one more time, I would not be able to stay on my guard. If I spent another moment in her radiant presence, it would warm my heart and I would vulnerable.


    I waited. For how long, I did not know because the sun had already set by the time I had returned to the room. I waited until I could stand it no longer and then I waited to reach my limit again.


    Sometime later, with my cuffed boots in my hand and a pair of thick socks on my feet to pad my steps, I left the fairytale room and made for the entrance.


    I had learned from my mistakes the first night. When Patience had given me his tour, I had paid attention.


    Where my first escape had been a fear inspired stumble, my second was calm and quiet. Without any sign of the lovers and no sweet smell to lure me back into their clutches, I stepped through the double doors with no one being the wiser.


    As soon as I pulled my boots on and looked out over the land that led to the cliff side, fire rained from the sky.


    The sound of it struck my ears like a hammer to an anvil. I dropped to the ground and covered my head with my arms.


    Two steps out of the door and they had already come for me. I had been a fool to think I could escape. All the kindness, all the friendly words and gestures, they had all been waiting for me to step out of line. My punishment had arrived, just as I knew it would.


    Another and a third, I heard the explosions banging above me.


    Wait. I said to myself as I peaked my eyes up to the sky.


    Another explosion.


    I was not being attacked. My punishment had not come.


    There were fireworks in the sky. Just like those from Amoranora, they burst against the dark of night and painted it with shimmering embers.


    A cloud of smoke hung over a small rise in the distance, and I could see the shape of a man illuminated by some small fire.


    A moment later, he whipped around and plugged his ears.


    The sound came first and then the burst of embers high above him.


    I was moving towards him before I realized I had stood.


    ¡°Hey,¡± He called down to me as he waved. ¡°I didn¡¯t wake you did I?¡±


    I didn¡¯t answer him.


    He brought the small fire up to his face and stuck his hand out. ¡°I¡¯m Adrian. You¡¯re Autumn right? Do you wanna light one?¡±


    Never in my life did I think I would be so inconvenienced by people being nice to me.


    Just like it had been with Go, if I ran, Adrian would alert everyone else and I knew I would not make it very far.


    Besides, if I could shoot them out of my belly button, I should probably know how to use a real one.


    "Fuck," I started up the rise to go meet another of The Mother in Red¡¯s lovers and begrudgingly gave him an honest answer. "Yes."

 V2: Chapter Eighty Five: Too Short a Night

    By some unfortunate turn of absolutely terrible luck, I found it all too easy to like Adrian.


    Like I had felt towards every other lover, I had been weary of him at first.


    He had wild short hair that looked like it had been brushed at least once in his life. He wore big round glasses on his face and his white shirt was dirty with black smears of ash.


    As soon as I made it to the top of the rise, he had begun explaining all of the different types of fireworks he had assembled at his feet. How he had made them, what he had made them out of, and how he had discovered what would work, I heard it all.


    The excitement in his voice, the depth of knowledge he seemed to posses, I had not minded hearing it. From his impassioned words alone, I had become genuinely interested in the crates of constructed paper. Somewhere in his excited chattering, I found something that reminded me of Arthur when he had told me about the first time he had seen his ghost. Just like it had been with The Mother in Red and her lovers, the more time I spent with him, the more difficult it became to stay weary.


    He finished his talking and reached down into one of the crates at his feet


    ¡°Here. Throw it up. As hard as you can.¡± Adrian said and pressed a small firework into my palm. He struck a match on the bottom of his buckled shoe and lit the short white fuse.


    ¡°What?¡± I asked in sudden panic. I had heard him and understood what he has said perfectly, but the sight of the fuse burning shorter had left me unable to move.


    ¡°For fucks sake throw it!¡± Adrian shouted as he jumped back and covered his face.


    His shout broke my petrified state and I threw the ball of paper up just as the fuse disappeared below the surface.


    It exploded with a sharp crack the same moment that Adrian jerked me down by my wrist.


    A flash of light streaked by my face and another burst against the rocky ground between my boots. A crackling sound, like sudden and sharp rain, started and faded in a matter of seconds.


    ¡°Did you get burned? They really aren¡¯t that big of an explosion, but you really don¡¯t wanna be holding one when it goes off." Adrian said as he resettled his glasses atop the bridge of his nose with what was left of his middle finger.


    ¡°Did that happen because of these?¡± I asked timidly, not wanting to upset him. The firework had not burned me, a fact that I was much more thankful for after seeing what they could do


    "No. This happened because of me," He said as he wiggled his half finger. "They are tools, decorations, entertainment. Nothing happens because of them. If you cut yourself with a knife, would it be the knife''s fault?"


    "No." I answered after a brief moment of consideration.


    "Well, you were going somewhere weren''t you? Don''t let me keep you." Adrian said as he stood and knocked the dew off his pants.


    "I can just. . . leave?" I asked.


    "If that''s what you want to do?" Adrian said slowly as if he didn''t know why I had asked my question.


    With little success, I tried to understand the trap that I was obviously walking into. There was no way that I would be allowed walk away from the mansion and wander back to the manor, but I did not think the bespectacled man was lying. The game that was being played with me, and I was sure that there was a game, was too complicated. I didn''t know the rules and none of the players were acting the way they were supposed to.


    There was too much I didn''t know and my lack of sleep was making it all too difficult for me to try and piece it together.


    So, I gave up, and focused on what I did know.


    Throwing the firework had been fun. Terrifying, yes, but still fun.


    "Can I throw another one?" I said as I stood and eyed the contents of the crates.


    "You really want to? Go is the only one who likes to test them with my but he throws them so far it kind of ruins the point." Adrian smiled at me, excitement evident on his face.


    I bent down and slapped the top of one that was bigger around than my head. "What about this one?"


    "That''s the big one. You always do the big one last. It''s a rule," He said, taking several smaller ones out of the crates. "If you stick around though, I''ll let you light it when its time."


    I stuck around.


    One by one, Adrian let me throw, light, and set off each of his explosive creations. For a time, I forgot where and why I was where I was. In what felt like one long blur of shimmering colors and patterns, I lost myself in the cycle of sound and silence. I would light one, throw it up, watch the beautiful violence of it coming apart, and wait for the bespectacled man to take his notes. Showers, streams, some that whistled and some that made no sound at all, I made my own notes in my mind. Pinks, dark burgundies and nearly white bright shades of red, I saw every color that could possibly be named Red.


    I had gotten better at points with time and practice. Watching Sam, Arthur, and the guards had showed me the way to victory. It had been entirely on accident, but my aura had slipped out of my stomach in the shape of fireworks. By keeping my own notes on Adrian''s explosives, I could try and imitate them with my power.


    When the sky began to brighten and there were no more balls of paper for me to throw except for the big one, Adrian me on the rise with a promise to return shortly.


    How long have you been out here? I asked myself as I looked over the still mostly dark water beyond the cliffs. It was very difficult for me to tell the time without my usual touchstones to ground myself with.


    "So," I heard someone shout and I turned to see Go and Adrian returning. Go made the bespectacled man look much smaller than he actually was. "You aren''t strong enough to handle your own toy so you need your big brother Gosephellies to come play with it."


    "We really must work on your phrasing," Adrian sighed once they reached where I stood. "There it is."


    "I thought you said it was big? You can''t throw that?" Go said with a wink that was pointed in my direction.


    "Not all of us have Hezbelth blood. Just make sure you make it over the cliff." Adrian said as he lit a match and handed it to me.


    Go palmed the big one with one hand and held it towards me so I could light it. As soon as the fuse caught flame, he stepped aside and twisted it behind himself. With enough force that I felt the wind coming off of him as he went, he threw the massive ball of paper with all of his considerable might.


    Off the rise, over the cliffside, it vanished against the dying dark of night with nothing but thin whisps of smoke in its wake.


    All three of us waited in silence.


    "Shouldn''t have thrown it that far." Go said under his breath.


    "Shit," Adrian sighed. "I made the fuse too damn long. I''ve got to go back to the city."


    Without another word, he started in the direction opposite the manor and left the rise as he riffled through his notes.


    I watched him go, confused at his abrupt exit.


    "You''ve been out here with him all night?" Go turned and asked me.


    "Most of it." I said through a yawn. The sight of the rising sun and the recognition that I had been awake for far too long.


    "Will you come help me settle an argument? Then we''ll have breakfast and you can go to bed. Deal?¡± The giant man smiled through his wild red beard.


    I had done everything else The Mother in Red and her lovers had asked me to do. I still had skin. There had been no need for me to climb into a tree to avoid the gnashing maw of some ferocious beast. It seemed a harmless enough.


    "Deal." I nodded. I would do dark and terrible things for more of his muffins, there was no end to how good a full breakfast would be.


    I followed him back inside and through the kitchen to a place within the mansion that I had not seen during Patience''s tour. It was a long room with an unusual high ceiling. Small windows let the new days light filter through and it was filled from end to end with armor and weapon racks.


    "Good morning, Lady Autumn." Galahad said with a small bow and smile when we reached the middle of the room.


    ¡°Think about this. Let¡¯s say you live in some small village. It¡¯s nothing special, maybe you¡¯re the daughter of a blacksmith or builder, but you aren¡¯t a sorceress or anything like that.¡± Go said to me, looking up at the ceiling as he told his story.


    I still didn¡¯t understand what argument I had been brought in to settle.


    Galahad held his finger up. ¡°Don¡¯t use the narrative to persuade her one way or the other, brother. We will learn nothing unless she makes the decision her self.¡±


    ¡°Show me a place without a blacksmith or a builder. I¡¯m making it believable, rooting her in the story.


    ¡°A great big army marches in and starts raiding your little town, what do you do?¡±


    ¡°Run?¡± I said. The answer seemed so obvious, what the fuck was I supposed to do against an army?


    Galahad gave me an approving nod. ¡°Wise. Very wise.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re trapped then,¡± Go said, waiving his hands frustratedly. ¡°Lightning struck a tree. It fell and blocked your only way out.¡±


    ¡°So this army decided to invade a village in a storm? Stories are built in the details and your foundation is weak.¡± Galahad said with a mocking laugh.


    ¡°Mind your tongue, princess. I¡¯ve no issue with being violent in front of a lady,¡± Go threatened Galahad before continuing. ¡°You¡¯re trapped, soldiers are coming towards you, and your only choice is to fight or die. Which weapon would you pick up?¡±


    The giant man swept his arm over towards the wooden rack in a grandiose wave.


    From daggers to a great sword that was longer than I was tall, blades of every length and shape stood before me. They gave way to axes, clubs, and finally hammers. Just like the swords, they varied in size and form widely.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    The intensity with which Go and Galahad were staring at me told me exactly what argument I had been brought in to settle.


    For a brief moment, the notion that I was picking which weapon would be used for my punishment crossed my mind, but I no longer had the strength to hold onto the fear and suspicion.


    I was too tired, had breathed in too much smoke, had spent too much time with the lovers.


    If I was being tricked, if every minute I had spent in The Mother in Red¡¯s mansion was indeed a slow and deliberate arrangement that was meant to lull me into a false sense of safety, then so be it.


    I would play along.


    I would act as the deciding force about the weapons. I would go where she wanted me to go and do what she wanted me to do. I would eat her food and yes, I would sleep.


    If that led to me being more hurt by her punishment, then I would add that pain to the anger I carried for Gwyn and Azza.


    If it didn¡¯t, and every seemingly kind thing I had been through since she had taken me was genuine, then I would be thrown into a undeniably wonderful confusion that ran all the way into my soul.


    I would give and I would play along, it was that was left for me to do.


    ¡°If I was trapped and soldiers were coming towards me and my only choice is to fight or die. Which weapon would I pick?¡± I repeated Go¡¯s words and began to pace back and forth in front of the rack of deadly things.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Go grunted.


    ¡°A sword would seem like the right choice.¡± I said, allowing myself to enjoy the sight of the two men hanging on my words. Galahad had let a small smirk appear on his face. That meant he was in favor of the sword. ¡°If I knew how to use one.¡±


    ¡°Ha!¡± Go laughed towards his brother, the rough sound echoed off the stone walls of the big room.


    ¡°I would be more likely to cut my own leg off than I would be to drive off the soldiers.¡± I continued.


    ¡°Wise girl isn¡¯t she?¡± Go said with a wide grin on his face.


    ¡°But a hammer would bring me no closer to safety. I¡¯m not strong enough to lift one of the big ones, let alone swing it.¡± I said, giving the largest and longest of the blunt weapons a small tug. It didn¡¯t move at all. ¡°And I would be dead before I could hit anyone with a small one.¡±


    ¡°Very wise, as I have said.¡± Galahad said, his smirk no longer so small.


    I could not deny the fact that I was enjoying myself.


    ¡°If my only choice is to fight or die, and all I have is a hammer or a sword to defend myself with, then I think I would die.¡± I answered honestly.


    Galahad threw his head back and let out a long laugh the left him holding his middle in his arms.


    ¡°That¡¯s not-You have to pick one of them.¡± Go shouted in displeasure.


    ¡°She does not. Not unless this town¡¯s blacksmith is very limited in what he is capable of crafting,¡± Galahad laughed as he walked to a different rack that sat against the wall. ¡°Would your chances of survival be better with any of these?¡±


    I followed him, the only thing keeping me awake and on my feet was my position as the one who would settle the conflict between the brothers. There was power there, and I enjoyed wielding it.


    The second rack held a much wider range of deadly things than the first. Spears, maces, bows, and a spiked ball that hung limp from its handle by a length of chain lay before me.


    I thought about the soldiers and my imaginary peril that had come with the falling of the tree. Even if I knew how to use one, a bow would do me no favors. I would be rushed down and killed before I could pull the string back. The maces would bring the same issues that the hammers did, but the chained weapon caught my eye.


    ¡°This? Maybe? It¡¯s long enough that I could avoid getting too close.¡± I said as I took the pommel into my hands. It brought no risk of slicing through my own flesh with an ill timed slash.


    As soon as I wiggled the thing free of the wooden groove it rested in, its weight snapped my arms straight down. Narrowly missing my boot, it thunked down to the stone floor and the pommel was ripped from my hands.


    ¡°Maybe not that one then.¡± I said after trying to lift the ball of metal back up and failing miserably.


    Go approached and picked it up with one hand. The giant man out it back on the rack without anything resembling difficulty.


    ¡°A spear? They have tremendous reach and are deadly in anyone¡¯s hands.¡± Galahad suggested as he handed me one of the long lengths of wood.


    It was heavier than I thought it would be and I was much too tired to keep the long metal tip from sagging to the floor.


    Galahad pulled a similar sized one off the rack. ¡°Spread your hands and set your feet like so.¡±


    I did as he said, but I could not contain the yawn the slipped out of me.


    ¡°You will want to thrust with your arms, but that is a mistake,¡± The starlight haired man explained as he acted out a series of quick stabs. ¡°The movement should come from your full body or you will wear yourself out. Like this.¡±


    I watched him. I tried to follow his instructions, but it was all I could do to keep my eyes open.


    Sleep could be delayed, but it could never be pushed away. No matter how late its arrival turned out to be, it would arrive, and be all the more powerful when it did.


    I had reached my limit, it was only a matter of time before I lost the ability to choose to be awake.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± I said as I handed the spear back to Galahad.


    ¡°Spend time moving rocks and stones, big ones, so you can use a proper weapon like me.¡± Go grunted and slapped his hand onto his flexed arm.


    ¡°No to the swords, no blunt weapons, no spears, no bows. You are quite picky, Lady Aubrey. You are in luck however, we have some less than usual options for you to try as well. Come, brother.¡±


    The two men left me and I watched them go back into the armor filled room that they had led me through earlier. Another yawn took me and brought me to the floor. I lay down on my side and used the thick sleeves of the black coat I wore as a pillow.


    I would rest my eyes until they returned, that was it. I had no desire or interest in settling their argument any longer. I would find some reason to excuse myself so I could return to The Lady in Purple¡¯s room and actually use her bed for what it was meant for.


    I fell asleep before there was any sign or sound of them returning.


    It was a dead sleep, the kind of in and out void that only came for me when I was well and truly exhausted.


    I woke once to find that someone had placed a blanket over and was only awake long enough to curl myself underneath it.


    The second time, I rolled onto my other side and thought I heard the gentle sound of someone trying to move by me quietly. Deciding that it must have been the remnants of some already forgotten dream, I fell back to sleep immediatly.


    When I woke for the third time, I felt like I was waking from a small death. It took entirely too much effort for me to do so much as roll my shoulders or shift my hips. I rolled onto my back with a groan and opened my eyes to a dark room. The faint light of night coming through the windows told me just how long I had been asleep. I rubbed the crusty sleep from my eyes with my hands and unstuck my tongue from the roof of my mouth.


    Where had Galahad and Go gone? How long had I been asleep? Who had given me the blankets and pillows I laid on top of?


    A strange feeling creep over me.


    The hair on the back of my neck stood on end.


    Just loud enough that I thought I could hear it, there was the gentle rhythm of someone¡¯s quiet breaths.


    I was not alone.


    I was being watched.


    ¡°Autumn? Are you awake?¡± Someone said softly.


    The Mother in Red lay flat on her back in the middle of the armory. Her face was turned to me but all I could make in the dark room was her shape and the small amount of light that shone off her glossy hair.


    I slowly sat up and saw the long shadow she held balanced on the tip of her finger. It was a sword, the same one I had seen on the rack earlier that was longer than I was tall. Her arm did not shake under its weight and the massive blade did not sway in its place. How it did not split her finger like a cooked carrot, I didn''t know, but she seemed to be having no trouble at all.


    "Where are Galahad and Go?" I asked her as I began to stretch what felt like eight years of sleep out of my arms and legs.


    "Everyone else went to bed hours ago except for Nocti. Its somewhere in the late morning for him I suppose," The Mother in Red said. She extended her arm fully and brought herself into a sitting position underneath it. "I hope the pillows and blankets kept you comfortable, I thought waking up somewhere different than you fell asleep would not be very pleasant.¡±


    ¡°Someone should have told that to. . .¡± It had been so long since I had tried to say Gwyn¡¯s name that I had almost forgotten I couldn¡¯t.


    ¡°Told that to who?¡± She asked.


    I called her by the name I could use and the words tasted sour in my dry mouth. ¡°The Mother in Green. She took me from my bed while I was asleep.¡±


    ¡°Right. She did didn''t she? I will not apologize for her, but I will say she is still too young to realize just how young she is. That makes her reckless, headstrong, even foolish at times." She said as she gently lowered the massive sword to the stone floor. In one fluid motion, she left it standing on its tip and stood. Just as it started to lean, she took its handle in her hand and returned it to the rack on her right.


    ¡°How old are you?¡± I asked her without realizing the words were coming out of my mouth.


    ¡°Old enough to know how old I am.¡± She laughed.


    "Does that make you one of the old Mothers?" I asked, remembering the slip that Gwyn had tried and failed to cover up.


    "You have been around Gwyn," She laughed again and came to where I sat in the nest of pillows and blankets. "Come, they will grow tired of waiting very shortly."


    I looked into her eyes and knew I had been wrong. Maybe the sleep had cleared my mind. Maybe I had pushed away the notion of her actually not wanting to hurt me because the alternative was easier for me to handle. Maybe it was the relaxed way she moved or the care she had taken to not scare me when I woke. Whatever it was, I took her hand and let her help me to my feet.


    "I know how to get back to my room. You don''t have to show me if you don''t want to keep them waiting." I said, feeling light on my feet despite how stiff I was.


    She raised an eyebrow. "Who do you think is waiting?"


    "All of them. They are waiting for you to come to bed, right?" I said, thinking of how hard it had been to try and go to sleep without Anna when she had gone to Hymneth.


    "Oh, no, dear. I sleep alone. It is my sisters who are waiting for us. Your time here has come to its end." The Mother in Red said as if she hadn''t just told me I had slept for nearly two days.


    Silence fell over me as I tried to gather my bearings. She led us out of the armory and back into the kitchen where she produced a glass bottle of cold milk from somewhere below the countertop.


    ¡°That is why I took you when I did. You had been through enough with Trea already and I thought it best if you had a few days to rest before you were dragged in front of us once again. Drink, you should have a little something on your stomach.¡± She said, handing me the milk and tying her long hair up behind her head.


    "I didn''t-fuck-why. . ." I stammered, unable to stave off the cold fear that taken root in my veins. The Mother''s were waiting for me. I had escaped the manor. I had told Pyreme my name, I had shown her my fucking face.


    "Take a breath. Drink your milk. All is well." The Mother in Red said as she placed her hand on my back.


    "Why didn''t you tell me?" I looked up at her angrily.


    She sighed and rubbed my back. ¡°Would your time here have been any better or would it have eaten you alive knowing what was coming? It took you long enough to stop walking around like we were all out to kill you."


    "I. . ." I trailed off. She was right. I hated it, but she was fucking right.


    "I don''t understand. You aren''t going to punish me? I ran away. I stole The Well. Where is the sand? Where are the snakes?"


    "Your milk, dear." She nodded at the still full bottle.


    I took it into my hand and emptied in one long pull so she would have to answer my questions. "I don''t understand."


    "No, we both understand that sleeping on a stone floor is a sufficient enough punishment. And, we both understand that if my sisters ask you about what happened here that the things that have happened to you were so terrible that you cannot bring yourself to speak of them." She said with a wink.


    I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. She was speaking in the strange backwards way my mother had to when she needed to tell me something but couldn''t.


    There were bindings on her just like Azza had placed on me or there were barriers in her mind like those in Sam''s.


    My eyes went wide and she broke our gaze, but she nodded her head deliberately several times.


    "The gate will be opened by now, let us go." She gave me a small pat and led us out of the mansion. Adrian and his fireworks were nowhere to be seen, but the middle frame of the row of black gates was alight with the strange black energy that only they possessed.


    We reached it and she placed her hand on my shoulder.


    ¡°Autumn Aubrey, I have a request of you," She said, her voice much more serious than it had been before. "Whatever happens beyond this gate, you must promise me something. Promise me that you will be like you were the last time you were brought before us, when you said you did not regret what you had done. Promise me that you be as you have been on this much too short a night. That you will be without fear. That you will be honest. That you will be yourself.¡±


    The power in her voice, the resonance, I was powerless to deny it or disagree.


    "I promise." I whispered and stuck my pinky out to her the way Anna had taught me.


    She took it into her palm and gave it a gentle squeeze.


    "Why are you being like this? Why don''t you hate me like Azza and Gwyn?" I whispered as she held my finger, my mind only beginning to recognize how strange it all felt.


    ¡°Because," She said as she led me to the black gate. "I¡¯ve loved you since the day you were born.¡±

 V2: Chapter Eighty Six: Colosseum

    The Mother in Red¡¯s face twisted with pain after she spoke.


    She bent over and braced her hands on her knees, taking short inhales and holding them for long amounts of time in between.


    Even when she was in obvious agony, she still managed to be beautiful somehow. There was nothing I could do and there was nothing I could say. All I could was watch her suffer as her words repeated in my mind.


    I¡¯ve loved you since the day you were born. I¡¯ve loved you since the day you were born. I¡¯ve loved you since the day you were born.


    End to end and back again they went, each repetition bringing me no closer to understanding what she had said.


    I knew nothing of the day I was born. From what I did know, that was not because of The Well or anything else unique to my uncommon mind. Memories didn¡¯t usually start until someone was several years old.


    What was odd, was that I had never heard my mother mention the day of my birth in the slightest. As much as she loves stories, and as much as she loved me, would the day I was born not be one that was worthy of telling?


    Especially if The Mother in Red had been there, it didn''t make sense.


    I¡¯ve loved you since the day you were born. I¡¯ve loved you since the day you were born. I¡¯ve loved you since the day you were born.


    The Autumn I liked, the ration Autumn, the one who didn¡¯t let herself be swept away in panic and fear, spoke in response The Mother in Red¡¯s words


    Truth.


    ¡°Mother? Are you alright?¡± I asked her, trying to take on the comforting tone that Anna did with me when I was unwell.


    ¡°Rhiannon. Not Mother. Call me by my name,¡± She said with a wince. Standing and raising her arms above her head, she opened one of her eyes and looked down at me with a pained expression. ¡°I am fine, it is beginning to pass.¡±


    ¡°You were not supposed to tell me that, were you?¡± I said, taken aback with her insistence for me to use her name when my previous experience with the Mothers had been the opposite.


    Rhiannon let out a little laugh. ¡°Just like your wicked and terrible time here, if my sisters should ask about it, I would prefer it if it stayed between us. But, no, I wasn¡¯t.¡±


    I would do as she asked, for myself and for her, but I still didn¡¯t understand what was happening. ¡°Why? You are a Mother. Why can¡¯t you tell me what you want to?¡±


    ¡°I am a Mother, yes,¡± She nodded in agreement as she opened her other eyes and her face relaxed. ¡°I am older than anyone you have ever met. I am powerful beyond anything you can imagine, but I am still a person. I make mistakes and I am influenced by my emotions just the same as anyone else. There must be safeguards against that. Did you ever learn of Trisolde and her chosen death?¡±


    ¡°No, Mother.¡± I answered, thinking of the folded sketch inside the book that Patience had shown me.


    She took my hand and pulled me one step closer to the black gate. ¡°Rhiannon. Not Mother. I did not tell you about this because it would cause you to worry. There is much I wish to say that I cannot because there are much worse things than worry. As much as I hate it, we must go now. The gatekeepers are returning.¡±


    She turned her head to the side and I followed her gaze. Somewhere in the distance, echoing over the cliffside, there was a horrid sound growing nearer. Metallic and with an off kilter rhythm, I could hear footsteps that sounded like someone walking in chains.


    ¡°I¡¯m scared.¡± I admitted in a perfectly honest whisper. I felt no shame or embarrassment in telling her that. Both the gatekeepers and what waited for me beyond the gate were worthy of being scared of.


    ¡°Keep your promise, be yourself, and this will end much better for you than that the last time. That is my vow to you.¡± Rhiannon said. The rose red of her eyes grew deeper as she spoke and her words rang in my ears like hammered bells.


    I took a deep breath and closed my eyes as I exhaled. When my lungs were empty and there was nothing else for me to do, I stepped forward and crossed the black gate to stand before The Circle of The Nine Mothers.


    From the dark night and rocky cliffside outside of The Mother in Red¡¯s mansion to a torch lit tunnel, everything around me changed in a single footstep.


    The heat from the blazing torches flashed against my face. Trails of acrid black smoke spun up from where they hung on the wall and twisted into a cloud that hung above my head. The cracked stone walls and dusty dirt floor led to total darkness that my sight could not pierce.


    Rhiannon appeared behind me a moment after I had crossed over and the black gate closed another moment after that.


    ¡°Where are we?¡± I asked. The last time I had been brought before The Mothers, it had been to dark room that was filled entirely with water that could be walked on.


    ¡°A very old colosseum where all manner of terrible things have occurred. Tonight may be the first time anything good has happened in this place.¡± She said as rose colored light came to life in her palm.


    She did something with her hands, I wasn¡¯t sure what, and shower me a length of cloth that was the same deep red as her aura.


    ¡°This should have been done before we crossed, but I must cover your eyes,¡± She sighed as she stepped around me and brought the cloth to my face. ¡°Blind as a bat now, are you not?¡±


    I had watched her raise the cloth to my eyes. I had waited as she tied it behind my head. I felt a drop of sweat roll off my forehead and stop when it reached the fabric.


    Still, I could see almost as well as I could without it. Everything was just a little darker, like a cloud had cast a thin shadow over everything I could see.


    ¡°No, I can-¡° I shook my head and tried to tell her.


    She cut me off and turned me by my shoulders towards the dark end of the tunnel. ¡°As I said, blind as a bat.¡±


    ¡°But-¡° I tried again.


    ¡°Once you are on the table, we will inspect The Well, do you understand?¡± She asked and cut me off again.


    I heard a small muffled laugh escape from her and I understood what she had done for me.


    All she had done for the last three days had been for me.


    I¡¯ve loved you since the day you were born. Her words repeated in my mind once again.


    With Rhiannon walking behind me, guiding me, some of the cold fear I felt at the sight of the stone table burned away before it could get into my bones.


    It lay in the center of the colosseum''s ground. Stone archways formed the circular shape of the dusty pit. Torches were spaced throughout, but every other tunnel was obscured by the same darkness that had stood at the end of the one I had crossed into.


    The open air was much cooler than the tunnel had been. The sweat that had begun to dampen the long sleeves and pants I was still wearing thankfully subsided.


    Rhiannon whispered into my ear as she helped me onto the table and laid me down on my back. ¡°Remember your promise. Remember my vow.¡±


    She looked up from me and raised her hand to the sky.


    A trail of golden dust spun into a shimmering stream and The Mother in Brown took shape on my left.


    She scowled at Rhiannon with her eyes of liquid gold without so much as glancing down at me. Her slender arms were crossed over the front of her patterned robe. Every bone of her elegant hands stood against her skin as she held them in white knuckled fists. The sharp line of her jaw was clenched so tightly that the veins on her neck looked like braided cords.


    Even through the shadow that had been placed on my face, Azza¡¯s apparent anger was easy to see.


    Someone I had never seen before walked to the side of the stone table and stood beside The Mother in Brown.


    She was short. The top of her curly lavender hair only reached the bottom curve of Azza¡¯s breast. A burner, something I had only ever seen in memories, hung from her lips and turned to ash as she took a long inhale. A dark purple coat hung over her shoulders and clean white bandages were wrapped tightly around her chest.


    The Mother in Purple. I thought, knowing it to be true. I had never seen her before, but I had been her.


    The corner of her mouth turned up in a smirk and Azza let out a tiny sigh at the arrival of The Mother I knew to Glim.


    Petite and sprightly, she floated into my sight with a winsome grin spread across her impish face. She turned her back to me and sat on the edge of the stone table. The hem of her short ruffled dress splayed over me as she crossed her legs and flipped her hair back with her hand dramatically.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°Rhi? I would have died if I had to wait any longer. You know how hard it is for me to be patient. Why did you do that to me?¡± She asked with pouted lips and crossed arms.


    A sudden laugh burst out of Rhiannon and she covered her mouth to stifle it. The Mother in Purple continued to smirk, but Azza did not share in the humor.


    The Mother in Brown kept her golden eyes focused on The Mother in Red and seemed to grow angrier by the second.


    Nami appeared at my feet and another unfamiliar someone came into my sight behind my head.


    The Mother in Blue, if that was what she was, looked as she had every other time I had seen her. Serene, calm, and graceful, with a terrifying strength lurking just below the stillness in her ocean eyes.


    The unfamiliar someone looked down at me and was completely unaware that I was looking back up at her.


    The Mother in Grey. I thought. It must be.


    Where Azza¡¯s eyes were intense and gold, hers were haunting and silver.


    Like moonlight shining through cold glass, she studied everyone around the stone table without expression. Every strand of her neat hair varied widely across the greyscale in an ashen mix of blacks, whites and every shade in between.


    ¡°Has anyone spoken to her?¡± She asked. Her voice was flat, unfeeling, completely monotone.


    As if in answer, the sound of hurried footsteps thumped through the air and Gwyn shoved her way between The Mother in Purple and Azza.


    The Mother in Green looked like she hadn¡¯t bathed in years.


    Her long black hair was a tangled mess of leaves and twigs. There was so much dirt darkening her pale face that it looked like she was wearing a mask. Long tears in the skin tight black garment she wore ran across her middle and showed the half healed gashes over the muscles of her stomach.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I''m here.¡± She said with her hands on her hips and after several heavy breaths.


    The Mother in Purple took what was left of her burner and flicked it the ground somewhere behind her. ¡°Did you run all the way here?¡±


    ¡°Gwyn, your belly. Are you alright?¡± Rhiannon asked, concern obvious on her face.


    The Mother in Yellow leaned back over the top of me and hung her head off the other side of the stone table. She was so light that I could hardly feel her weight.


    ¡°Did one of your beasties sneak up on you?¡± Glim asked as she stretched her hands out and placed them on Gwyn¡¯s ravaged stomach. What looked to be collected yellow sunlight beamed from Glim¡¯s palms and the wounds began to close.


    ¡°When are you going to let me come to that forest of yours and hunt one of your (beasties?)¡± The Mother in Purple asked as she pushed her hair back with her hand.


    ¡°Ali, be kind.¡± Rhiannon said to The Mother in Purple.


    ¡°Never. If any of you knew what I have been through since Schwarz died, you-¡° Gwyn started.


    ¡°Am I the only one that remembers what we are here for?¡± Azza snapped.


    For the first time since she had arrived in her cloud of golden dust, she looked at me. It was only for a split second, barely a glance, but it was enough to send the scarred skin on my arms and legs into an uncomfortable crawl.


    ¡°You are right. Let us begin.¡± The Mother in Grey said in her emotionless way of speaking.


    ¡°Thank you, Grey. Thank you, Azza. Come, Glim. It is time.¡± Rhiannon said.


    Glim leaned back up and hopped down off the table, The Mother in Green¡¯s middle wounded no longer.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it rude that we just make her lay on this big rock? Rocks aren¡¯t for laying. She doesn¡¯t even have a pillow.¡± The sprightly woman said as she turned and stood beside Rhiannon.


    ¡°I was thinking much the same.¡± Nami said quietly from where she stood at my feet.


    ¡°Enough! We are all here. Begin.¡± Azza snapped again. The way she looked at Nami, I would not have been surprised if she tried to attack her. A trickle of blood dripped out of the bottom of her fist from how hard she was clenching it.


    Everyone around me grew quiet at her outburst. A moment passed and then another. A stillness settled over the colosseum and I realized Azza was wrong.


    They weren¡¯t all there.


    It was The Circle of The Nine Mothers, not The Circle of The Seven Mothers.


    Rhiannon, Nami, Glim, Grey, Gwyn, Ali, and Azza.


    Red, blue, yellow, grey, green, purple and brown.


    There was no orange.


    There was no white.


    I had been The Lady in Orange, but there was no Lady in White.


    ¡°Maiden Aubrey,¡± The Mother in Grey said as she brought her silvery eyes back down to me. ¡°Because of your actions, we must ensure the stability of The Well. Do you understand?"


    I didn''t.


    ¡°No.¡± I answered honestly like I had promised Rhiannon I would.


    In truth, I did not know what being myself meant, but being honest seemed like the best place to start.


    Rhiannon smiled at my answer and I had to bite my lip to keep myself from doing the same.


    ¡°Regardless. I am proceeding.¡± The Mother in Grey said in response.


    Silvery grey aura came to light in the peripherals of my sight. There was no heat like there had been on my chest when Trea had clutched the front of my dress outside of seven columns.


    Thunk.


    The metallic sounding heartbeat of The Well echoed in my mind. It would come two more times and then I would be pulled into myself. The Mothers would disappear from my sight when I was pulled into a memory I did not want to see. Or, would it be the thing at the bottom of The Well that I would see?


    No. I thought against the echo. I didn¡¯t want to lose myself inside the near infinite library in my mind.


    With no other options, I closed my eyes and reached for my aura.


    I thought of Anna. The smell of her hair, the way her nose scrunched when she laughed, and every other wonderful thing that I loved about her. I thought of Arthur and how he had tried so hard to protect me. I thought of my mother. I thought of Sam.


    I thought of Go¡¯s muffins, Patience¡¯s smile, and Adrian¡¯s fireworks. They had all brought me pillows and blankets so I would be comfortable and not wake up terrified. The way Rhiannon had looked in her bed clothes the morning she had been trying very hard to help me came back to me.


    I''ve loved you since the day you were born. I heard her voice in my mind yet again.


    Thunk.


    Even with The Mother''s preparing to enter my mind and the uncertainty of what they would do with me afterwards, my aura came roaring to life within me. Like the tension that built within a bending branch, it pressed against my channels and nearly burst out of me. I barely held against the rush and waited for the calm to come.


    "Is she gone?" Gwyn asked aloud as she turned her green eyes down to me.


    "I believe so, yes," The Mother in Grey answered. I do not see her, but I am inside."


    Azza unclenched her fists and slammed her hands onto the stone table right next to my leg. She scowled at Rhiannon "Do not think I don''t notice what you are doing. Explain."


    "I don''t know what you mean." Rhiannon answered with a look of confusion on her face.


    "What was the point of determining an order if you were going to take her when the notion struck you? I am no fool, sister. The timing is no coincidence either. Three days we have waited. She wreaks havoc in your city, the very same place you assured all of us that she would be under constant supervision, and you take her away for three days. Explain!" Azza said all at once.


    Even when she had been lost in her afterglow at the base of Vowkeeper''s Anguish and the threat of her taking my life was very real, she had not been as angry as she was then.


    Rhiannon opened her mouth to speak, but Azza did not let her answer.


    "Our names, you have made it a point to say each of our names aloud, I do not understand this. Have you forgotten the danger she poses to us just by being alive? Have you forgotten that not taking The Well back from her the day she stole it was your idea? I do not know what is worse, if you have grown careless or if you are hiding something from us." The Mother in Brown seethed.


    Thunk.


    The third beat of The Well sounded in my mind and I felt myself start to slip.


    Anna, Arthur, my mother, Sam, muffins, and fireworks, I held onto it all with every bit of focus I could summon.


    "Now is not the time for this, Azza. Your questions and anger are not unjustified, but I am certain that Rhiannon will be more able to answer them once Maiden Aubrey has been sent home." A voice said from somewhere beyond my shaded sight.


    "I have the same questions for you after what you did." Azza spat as she whipped herself around and walked away from the table.


    The pull of The Well began to recede and I slowly realized that I had succeeded.


    The silvery aura that covered the false blind over my eyes vanished and The Mother in Grey spoke in her flat voice. "The barriers remain. All is well. When she returns, we will inspect the seal."


    It tried to take me and I didn''t let it. I thought, having to bite my tongue to keep from smiling yet again. The firework feeling in my stomach only grew more intense as waves of pride washed over me. I did not understand what being myself meant, but if being honest was a good place to start, willing myself to stay conscious was an impressive next step. I was full, fully, like I had never been before.


    "She won''t come back because she never left." Glim said.


    "What!" Azza snapped.


    One moment I was staring up at seven of The Nine Mothers. The next, I blinked and found The Mother in Yellow staring down at me.


    The sprightly woman poked the middle of my forehead with one of her little fingers and smiled. "She''s been here the whole time. Right, Autumn?"


    I shouted in surprise and sat up reflexively.


    The Mother in Yellow sprung back and the ruffles of her dress fanned out. Small gusts of her aura curled out from her like visible wind as she slowly floated down above the heads of her sisters.


    Just like when it had happened in the kitchen of the manor, the branch broke.


    A volley of red streaks burst from my navel and sailed straight up into the night sky. With no cabinets or walls to break against, They climbed higher and higher until they exploded into showers of red embers.


    Every single Mother around the stone table stared up at the crumbling remnants of my outburst. The two that stood in the distance on my right had their backs turned and seemed unconcerned with what had just happened.


    When all of my aura had faded and fallen to dust, The Mother in Grey was the first to speak.


    "The seal has been broken. Maiden Aubrey, if you will lay back-"


    Rhiannon interrupted her. "She is a maiden no longer. We''ve all seen it. She is an underwitch."


    The black lines that ran down the side of Azza''s neck began to glow with her sienna aura. The edge of the table that she held in her fingers cracked in her hands and broke away.


    "Underwitch Aubrey, lay back so we may inspect the seal." The Mother in Grey said, her tone shifting into something that sounded slightly annoyed.


    I looked at Rhiannon, a swell of conflicting emotions taking root in my stomach. She was looking at me with obvious joy on her face.


    I''ve loved you since the day you were born.


    I had made her a promise. I had promised that I would be myself and act without fear.


    She had vowed to me that if I did those things, that my time in front of The Mothers would end differently than it had the last time.


    "Underwitch Aubrey?" The Mother in Grey said again.


    Unable to hide or suppress my smile any longer, I found the calm that came with the aura that had not escaped me and answered honestly.


    "No."

 V2: Chapter Eighty Seven: Understandings

    Telling The Circle of the Nine Mothers no was so relieving that I almost fainted.


    I did not want to lay down. I did not want them to inspect their seal. The effort it had taken to break the red ring, both by me and those who loved me, had been no small amount. The imbalance it had created within me once I had found my color had nearly led me to very violent mistakes.


    The blankets on my bed had been torn to shreds. Sam''s flesh had fallen off him like a torn shirt after I had brought my power to bear against him. I had been a handbreadth away from splitting Anna''s skull instead of the wall in my bedroom.


    Rhiannon had looked amazed at the sight of my fireworks. She was The Mother in Red, the ring I had broken was hers, and there was no evidence that she was upset by that.


    Once I had let go of my fear, there was absolutely no reason I would willingly lay back down and allow my aura to be sealed away again.


    "You are in no position to deny us, Underwitch Aubrey. Do not make this more difficult than it should be." The Mother in Grey said from behind me.


    "If you reseal it, I will break it again," I said honestly. "That''s not a threat. I''m not trying to be difficult. Still, I am a sorceress, could any of you live without being able to use your aura?"


    My words sounded strange in my own ears. I knew what I was saying and I knew that I was the one saying it, but I could not believe what I was hearing.


    "Enough of this." Azza growled.


    Pressure and weight, the same unseen force that had crushed me into submission inside Azza''s glass pyramid, pressed against me. It was not sudden. She slowly brought me down by the force of her will alone. I gritted my teeth and tried to resist, but I could not hold against it.


    "Is this truly necessary?" Nami asked, an unpleasant expression on her shadowed face.


    "Letting this continue any longer is no mercy, for her or us. There is still much for you to learn about being a Mother." Azza said as I gave into her will and relaxed against the stone table beneath me.


    It was uncomfortable, the scars on my arms and legs began to itch, but it did not hurt. Despite the fury in her golden eyes and the tension in her slender body, she was not trying to hurt me. If trying to kill me was the worst of her and healing my broken hand was the best, the restraint she showed in the throes of her anger was a fine middle ground.


    "Should we put her out at least?" The Mother in Purple asked, another lit burner hanging from her lip.


    "What are you two whispering?" Azza asked across the table.


    Rhiannon and Glim had stepped back from the table and were speaking much too quietly for me to hear.


    "Come." One of The Mothers that had been standing away from the table said as she passed by them.


    I could not see her face. The way she moved, it seemed like that was intentional. By the color of her hair alone, I knew which Mother she must be. Pure white and lustrous, it hung down the back of her silken robe and stood in stark contrast against the pale pink petal pattern.


    Rhiannon and Glim did as they were told. They joined hands with each other and did the same with The Mothers beside them.


    From Rhiannon to Nami, Nami to Azza, Azza to Gwyn, Gwyn to Ali, Ali to Grey, Grey to Glim, and Glim to Rhiannon, they formed a circle around the stone table.


    The Mother in White, with her back still turned to me, placed her left hand on Rhiannon''s shoulder. Each of her fingernails were long and painted a pearlescent white that made me think her touch would be icy cold. Her right went to The Mother beyond her. All I could see of The Mother in Orange was tan skin and muscles of her back and shoulders.


    "I don''t really know what I''m supposed to do." Nami said, her eyes shifting to each of her sisters nervously.


    "It is just Rhiannon''s circle that has been broken-" Grey started.


    "You don''t have to do anything," Gwyn interrupted her. "Push your power into her hand and she will do the rest."


    "Like the crystals." Glim said, her yellow aura already swirling around Rhiannon''s wrist.


    The Mother in Grey sighed. "Underwitch Aubrey, release your hold on your aura."


    How had she known that I was still bending the branch?


    "I would rather not." I answered honestly. The aura I had built inside me and the calm that came with it was all that kept me from panicking. I had no intention of using it, there was no reason for me to manifest my will.


    "Perhaps it is time for us to take the mortal girl from you?" Azza said angrily.


    "Let up. What if it was you on this table?" Nami said, the ocean of strength that lay within her coming closer to her surface when she glared at Azza.


    Azza opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.


    White and orange light washed over Rhiannon''s shoulder and the rest of The Mother''s followed The Mother in White''s example. Blue from Nami''s navel, warm brown from Azza, green from Gwyn, purple from Ali, and grey from Grey all joined together with Glim''s yellow. A variegated stream of aura passed from hand to hand and formed around me in a dazzling display.


    The Circle of The Nine Mothers had formed, and I was caught in its center.


    Rhiannon brought her hands forward and held them over my navel. Her eyes met mine through her false blind and her words repeated in my mind once again. Her rose red aura shone between her hands as the colors of her sisters flowed down her arms and joined with it. I felt my shirt climb up and the waist of my pants lower just enough to expose my stomach. With my flesh bared and the circle formed, Rhiannon lowered her hands and I felt a gentle heat against my skin.


    Under the brilliant colors of The Circle of The Nine Mothers, my power was sealed away once again.


    It had not been nearly as unpleasant as I had thought it would be and it would have been over if Azza had not said what she had. The anger her words had stirred into my aura had brought me two understandings.


    Perhaps it is time for us to take the mortal girl from you?


    While they had been sealing my navel, I had been gathering my power in my right palm. Azza''s pressure and weight faltered as they began to release their aura and I swung my right hand towards her.


    I pushed my power through my palm and my perfect red cord unfurled and coiled around her slender arm with a sharp crack. Drawing it back to my body, I rolled it around my hand until it was tight.


    Azza''s golden eyes went wide and the lines on her bronze skin began to glow.


    "If you touch her, you''ll have to fucking kill me." I spat my first understanding and meant every word. It was the most true thing I could say. Azza was a Mother. I knew how powerful she was. If she did come for Anna, I would be little more than an annoyance.


    But, I would annoy her until she stopped me. I would hit her, pull her hair, spit in her face. Like Suri did Rhiannon, I would never relent. If she took Anna from me, the only end would be my death.


    "That''s it." Azza said, her lips pressing into a tight line and her jaw clenching.


    Her sienna aura curled around my cord and turned to gold. It ran down the length of my power in a quick, shimmering, wave. Before I could take a breath, it ran over my hand and my heart began to race at the all too familiar feeling. My scars began to itch and I knew that


    Then, as quickly as it had come, it fell away from my skin and glittered on my shirt harmlessly.


    From Nami''s navel, an endless torrent of water spun over my aura and surrounded Azza''s arm like a whirlpool. Cool air drafted off of the working and the sound of it filled the air around the stone table.


    Still holding Gwyn''s hand, The Mother in Brown raised her free arm and golden sand swirled up from the ground and began to coalesce around her body.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    A slow swelling flash of green light shone out from Gwyn and when it faded, her left arm had changed. Just like when she had shifted in front of me in the depths of her deep forest, where her wiry arm had been before, something monstrous had taken its place. Dark green scaled, sharp white claws, she used her new limb to bring Azza''s hand back down and pin it to the stone table.


    Ali took a drag from her burner and looked up at the night sky. "Just once, it would be nice if we could all get together without it becoming so damn dramatic."


    "I will not be treated as if I am the issue here," Azza shouted, her golden eyes scowling at each of her sisters in turn. "I am not the thief. I am not the one who has broken our rules. I am not the one who attacked her. I do not understand this. Why do none of you see reason?"


    Within Nami''s whirlpool and against Gwyn''s hold, Azza''s dust continued to writhe around her body. Slowly, it took shape around her and understood that she was about to become what she had been at Vowkeeper''s Anguish.


    Goldluster.


    "Glim." The Mother in White said. She had taken her hand from Rhiannon and continued to face away from the chaos taking place on the table.


    "Azza," I shouted, bringing her attention back to me so I could deliver my second understanding. "Take it out. Just take it out. If it breaks my mind, so be it. I''ve had worse. I cannot go on like this. This is not a life. I don''t want to carry the weight anymore. Take it and you will never have to see me again."


    "Finally, someone here says something reasonable. Listen, sisters, even she sees the folly in this." Azza said through a triumphant sigh as her golden sand slowed to a crawl.


    "Do you mean what you say?" The Mother in White''s voice came and took up so much space in my mind that my cord crumbled to a stream of red dust inside Nami''s water.


    "Yes." I answered, unable to do or think about anything else.


    "Why?" She asked.


    My focus gone, the afterglow that followed the end of my power brought new anger to my lips and I could not resist it. "Because I would rather be dead or mindless that to have to live like I have. Anna is not some fucking toy that can be taken away from me. I''m not a thing that you can lock away and forget about."


    "This is very brave of you. Truly, I hope that you survive and we can wash our hands of this." Azza sighed again as she looked at me with what seemed to be compassion.


    I didn''t doubt that it was. She had healed me after all.


    "We can not do this." The Mother in Grey said from where she stood above my head.


    "Why? Who are you to fear something the girl is not afraid of? I will not stand for this!" Azza snapped, the compassion dying in the heat of her molten eyes. In an instant, her golden sand spun back up her body and her transformation began.


    "Then sit down." Glim said with a small laugh as she floated down and sat atop Azza''s shoulders like a child would their parent''s. Her yellow aura came to light against The Mother in Brown''s cheeks and Azza began to smile.


    "The fear is not for her, sister. The fear is for The Well. Just as there is the risk of her mind breaking if it is removed, there is risk that her mind will break The Well." The Mother in Grey said calmly.


    "We can''t have that can we?" Azza asked lazily with a pleasant smile on her face.


    Nami''s whirlpool withdrew and dusted to the ground beside the table. Her ocean eyes never left The Mother in Brown. Gwyn''s monstrous limb released Azza''s hand and turned to dust as her sister''s working had.


    "Rhiannon?" The Mother in White spoke and from her tone alone, I knew what she was asking.


    The Mother in Red turned to me and patted my leg. "You should rest, Autumn. Your afterglow will have passed by the time you wake."


    "No!" I shouted, but the charm had already begun to lull me to sleep.


    I drifted down into a bed of roses. The anger of my afterglow faded like a dream. All was well, all was warm, there was nothing in all of chaos that could harm me. Anna loved me. Arthur loved me. My mother loved me. Rhiannon loved me. I was safe. She made a vow to me and The Mother in Red, Vowkeeper, did not break her vows.


    I never lost sight of the fact that I had been charmed and I never fully fell asleep. Rhiannon had brought me somewhere safe, somewhere that I could rest.


    "She is not some twisted creature, she is a girl who made a mistake when she was too young to understand what she was doing." I heard Nami''s voice echo in my safe place.


    Sometime later, or it could have been the very next moment, I heard The Mother in Grey. "Yes. Well done, Namiana."


    Anna loved me. All was well, all was warm. Vowkeeper did not break her vows.


    "Do you think she hates us? It''s not fair that I have to go last." Glim''s high voice found its way into my bed of roses.


    Anna loved me. All was well.


    Anna loved me. . .


    The warm place, the safe place that Rhiannon had sent me to faded and I came back to myself atop the stone table in the middle of the colosseum. I ripped her false blind off my face and rubbed my eyes until they cleared.


    The Mother''s were gone, only their colored dust remained around me. No longer surrounding me, their newest mark on me stood as a reminder of them. Identical to the seal over my navel in every way except for its size, a new seal had been placed over my right palm. Nine circles, nine colors, nine new rings to remind me that my life was not my own.


    "Fuck!" I yelled in anger as I hopped off the table and kicked at a mound of Azza''s sienna dust.


    "Underwitch Aubrey." The Mother in Grey''s voice sounded from somewhere unseen.


    I whipped my head around and found nine of the archways that formed the inside of the colosseum had been darkened with unnatural shadow.


    They had sealed my power away, ran, and hid before I could wake up.


    Cowards. I thought angrily. Fucking cowards.


    I tried to call out to them, but the binding that Azza had placed on me kept my voice silent.


    Unfortunately for her, I had broken her power before and I was enraged enough to do it again.


    Just like the glamor she had left on my face after Gwyn''s punishment, I felt her power underneath my tongue. I could smell her scent of sun warmed stone and spices, I could taste it.


    I brought my aura into my mouth and broke it.


    Dust dried every bit of moisture in my mouth. I coughed and spit until the warm brown remnants of her binding lay in a damp mess at my feet.


    "Underwitch Aubrey." The Mother in Grey repeated.


    "Azza!" I called her name in triumph. After so long being tongue tied, the joy that came with saying what I wanted to say nearly sent me into a burst of laughter.


    There was no answer.


    "Gwyn, Rhiannon, Nami, Glim, Grey, Ali," I stopped my jubilant naming to take a breath and continued "I don''t know what the fuck the other two Mother''s names are. Why are you hiding from me?"


    I had made a promise. Rhiannon would keep her vow.


    I had to be myself.


    My aura built within me and slammed against the seals. I remembered when I had blown all of the water out of the bath at the boarding house. I remembered the pain I had felt in my palm before my channel had opened. The hole in the ceiling and the knowledge that most palms and most soles could channel through both sides. Focusing all of my power into my left hand, I stepped forward and brought the memory of Adrian''s fireworks to the front of my mind.


    In a sudden and violent burst, I willed the channel in my left palm open and sent streams of my aura sailing towards the nine archways.


    Red light, shimmering embers in the darkness, the faces of all but three of The Mother''s staring back at me.


    Darkness returned.


    Rhiannon and Glim had been smiling, I had seen that first.


    Azza had been leaning against the back wall with her head held in her hands.


    "Oh fuck, I can''t believe that worked." I laughed, bending the branch so my afterglow would not come for me again.


    "What do you want, child? What circumstances will prevent you from continuing to defy us?" The Mother in White said, her voice driving out every other wild thought in my mind. She had still been facing away from me. All I had seen in the flash of my power had been the back of her.


    What do you want? The Autumn I liked asked in my mind.


    What a terribly difficult question to answer that was.


    "I want sandals." I whispered, my eyes falling to the variegated dust that surrounded the stone table.


    "Louder! Like your trying to scare off a pack of wolves!" Glim shouted from somewhere within the shadows of the arch way.


    "I want fucking sandals!" I yelled back.


    "Is that it?" Glim shouted back.


    "No! I want to learn, properly! I want to be one of your roses, Rhiannon! I want to be able to go to seven columns without being terrified of having everything that I love taken away from me. I don''t want to break your rules, but I will. I can''t help it," I shouted, the power within me compelling me to lash out. All that I cared about swelled within me and the small passions I had found in my short life warmed me from within. "I want to be with Anna! I want to see chaos for myself! I want to be a sorceress in full!


    "Do you mean what you say?" The Mother in White asked


    "Yes!" I shouted back.


    The remainder of my aura escaped through my newly opened channel and the dusty ground around my feet burst into clouds of red embers and dirt. I leapt back to the stone table to escape my own accidental attack and the loss of what I had spent brought me down to my side.


    Silence blanketed the colosseum and when the dust settled, my afterglow returned stronger than ever before.


    "Hello?" I shouted.


    When there was no answer, I pushed myself up and shouted again. "Fucking answer me!"


    They didn''t.


    I jumped off the stone table and started for the archways.


    Rhiannon appeared from one of them and met me halfway.


    "It''s time to go." She said as she took me by my shoulders and turned me around.


    "Wait, no! What happened? What is going to happen?" I asked, digging the heels of my boots into the dust to stop her from leading me away.


    All I managed to do was throw dust into the air as she moved me regardless of my resistance.


    "Not here. I will try to tell you some other way on a different day. I must take you home. Know this, you kept your promise, and I have kept my vow." She whispered quietly through a mischievous grin.


    "I was myself?" I stopped resisting and asked her as we fast walked towards an open black gate.


    "Yes," She said and squeezed my shoulder lovingly. "And what a wonderful soul you have turned out to be."

 V2: Chapter Eighty Eight: Welcome Party

    From the colosseum, through the black gate, and back to the cliffside.


    All I could do was think about what Rhiannon had said. What a wonderful soul you have turned out to be.


    There were now two things that I would be repeating in my mind endlessly.


    It had hurt her to say it. The pain hadn''t left her face for minutes after the black gate had closed. Even then, I was certain that what truly broke her out of her grimace was the clinking rhythm of the on coming gatekeepers.


    "Lets go sit down. I cannot bear to be near them right now." She had said as we left the row of gates and walked to the cliffside. The mansion stood to our left, no signs of light or life in any of its uncountable windows.


    For a long moment, we stood in a silence that I did not find uncomfortable. She wore the same kind of white robe she had been on the night she had taken me from the manor.


    She hadn''t really taken me had she? At least, not the way Azza and Gwyn had.


    From somewhere in the back of my mind, I remembered seeing Rhiannon through eyes that were not my own. The sorceress that I had been had thought she looked like a statue carved out of marble. She was beyond beautiful, that was without question, but that was the end of the similarities for me. Marble was hard, cold, unalive. The Mother in Red was anything but that.


    I would never be as tall as her and my frame was much to skinny for me to hold out hope that I would fill out into curves like hers, but I couldn''t help hoping I would.


    "Have you been hurt? I should have asked you as soon as we crossed." She asked me as she lowered herself to the rocky ground and hung her legs off the side of the cliff.


    "My feelings hurt." I answered her. If I knew how far down the water was from where we were, she must as well and yet, she seemed to give no regard to the height.


    "Come sit, I will not let you fall." She said through a laugh.


    I had not been trying to make a joke, but she had evidently found my response funny.


    I did as she asked, sitting as close to her as I could without touching her and slowly lowering my boots over the edge.


    "How long have you been able to channel out of your palms," She asked me as the metallic sounds of the gatekeeper grew closer.


    "The right one for awhile, but I wasn''t very good at doing it. That was the first time I ever used the left one." I answered her.


    She turned and looked at me with one of her eyebrows raised. "You mean to tell me that you opened that channel only moments before using it?"


    "Did I do something wrong?" Her reaction had brought the tiniest trace of fear into my heart.


    "The answer to that depends on who you ask," She laughed. "But no, there is nothing wrong with that in the slightest."


    "Can I ask you a question? I don''t think it will make your head hurt." I said. Once I had become certain that she was not going to subject me to pain and torture, I found that there was a near infinite amount of things I wanted to know.


    "Of course." She said with a nod.


    "Why is it called Vowkeeper''s Anguish?"


    The rocks underneath her hands cracked and split suddenly.


    I touched her arm. "I''m sorry, I didn''t mean for it to hurt."


    "No," She smiled. "It didn''t, but I do not wish to relive that moment on what has proven to be a very good night. Remember what you carry within in you. If you remain curious, I am sure that the truth will wind its way to you in time."


    I turned around to see the gatekeeper slinking towards the closed gates. Nothing but a mass of tattered fabric and clinking metal, it reached out its hand and I saw the source of the metallic sound. Heavy Chains ran from the wrist of its sharp fingered gauntlet back into the frayed folds of its cloak. Too dark for me to see with what, it traced the inside of one of the closed gates with a horrible scrapping sound. When its returned to where it had started, swirling black energy filled the gate and the gatekeeper vanished.


    Rhiannon shuddered and stood. She wrapped her arms around herself like she had suddenly grown cold. "It won''t be long now.


    "What are they?" I asked her timidly, hoping that I would cause her no more pain.


    "People. Souls just like you and I, but the power of the gates, it corrupts, it changes them." She said with a sour look on her face.


    "Is that why you didn''t want to use them the night you came for me? You fear the corruption?" I carefully pulled my legs over the edge of the cliffside and scooted myself back before I stood.


    The gatekeeper reappeared from the black gate and held their gauntleted fist up towards Rhiannon. Without a word or other gesture, they stalked back into the darkness they had come from to the sound of their chained rhythm.


    "All power corrupts. But yes, I never want to use them. They are unfortunatly necessary however. Though I dislike it, crossing through them is relatively harmless. Never make a habit of using them too often, no matter what the circumstance is. Let''s get you home to your Anna." She answered, the same fare away look that had been in her eyes at dinner my first night with her evident in her eyes.


    We walked to the black gate, but I hesitated to cross.


    In truth, I didn''t want to go home. I wanted to see Anna and everyone else, yes. The thought of my own bed and the familiarity of my room was a pleasant one, but I had not had enough. It had taken me nearly the entire three days of my time with Rhiannon to accept that she was different than Azza and Gwyn. There were too many questions I needed to ask, and not enough time to hear the answers to them. She was too warm, I felt too safe around her, I was not ready to return to the half life of waiting the noose around my neck to tighten once again.


    I remembered the safe place that Rhiannon had charmed me into when I had been on the stone table.


    Anna loved me.


    Rhiannon, for reasons I did not understand, loved me.


    All was well.


    "Autumn? Are you Well?" Rhiannon asked, leaning down so she could look me in my face.


    "Can I ask you another question? Even if it hurts?" I said with my eyes cast to the ground.


    "One. I do not think I can take more than that tonight and I cannot promise I will be able to answer it." She warned.


    "The other Mothers, the ones that haven''t punished me, will they be like Azza and Gwyn or like you?" I whispered, feeling guilty for the pain I was going to bring to her.


    She stood up straight and laughed. It was a wonderful sound and I wished I had more time hear it again. "No pain. None at all. I was terrified for a moment. Think about what you saw, how my sisters acted, what you wish to know can be found there."


    It was not as telling of an answer as I had wished to receive, but if anyone was proficient at searching through memories, it was me.


    I crossed through the black gate and found myself standing out front of the manor.


    "My Lady." Sam''s deep voice thundered from where he stood outside the double doors of the manor. The big blue cat''s back was arched. His eyes were locked in a furious scowl and arcs of blue lightning circled his tortoise shell fur.


    Before I could answer, something hit me from the side and pulled me into its clutches.


    "Are you alright? what did she do to you? Did she hurt you? I''ll fight her right now if she did." Anna spat a flurry of questions at me as she checked me from the top of my head to the bottom of my boots.


    "I am sure you would," Rhiannon laughed as she stepped out of the black gate behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "I assure you that she has not been harmed."


    Anna did not so much as flinch at the arrival of The Mother in Red.


    "What is this then?" She said, snatching up my right hand and pointing at the seal on my palm.


    "That wasn''t her. It was not like how it has been before." I said, unable to keep myself from smiling at her bravery.


    Anna narrowed her dark eyes. "You didn''t grind off her skin or make her think she was being hunted?"


    "You have my word that nothing of the sort happened." Rhiannon said with a smile.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    Anna furrowed her brows even further. "I''m fucking confused."


    "I doubt there are any secrets between the two of you, Autumn will explain, I am sure," Rhiannon said as the black gate closed behind her. She took her hand off my shoulder and turned around. "You all are keeping very late hours. So late, that perhaps I should call them early."


    I turned to see who she was speaking to and found my mother, Arthur, and two of the guards sitting around a small camp fire.


    At the sight of The Mother in Red, Bool and Schmit threw themselves to a knee and bowed their heads.


    "I''m going to force both of you to retire if you don''t stop doing that. On your feet." Rhiannon said with a sigh.


    My mother stood from where she had been sitting next to Bool. She looked as she always did. Wearing one of her thousands of dresses, her long red hair down and her emerald green eyes bright, I nearly cried at the sight of her. The time that had passed since the last time I had seen her had not been very long or difficult, I did not release how much I had missed her until our eyes met." "They insisted on waiting up for her out here. I cannot fault them since I have done the same."


    "As you should. Autumn deserves nothing less than a welcome party as wonderful as this. I will speak with you alone?" Rhiannon asked her as she stepped to where the guards still knelt.


    With the tip of her pointer finger, she pushed each of them in the middle of their brow and sent them stumbling back to their asses. She laughed all the way through helping them up onto their feet and embracing each of them. "Trea didn''t bang either of you up too terribly I hope."


    "I thought the two of you were strong. How can you guard anything if you can''t stay on your feet? I would never get knocked over that easily." Arthur said as he stood. There was no sign of the damage that The Lady in Red had left him me. If I had not seen him at his worse, I would have never know he had been hurt.


    "Careful, Ugi. She will test that." Bool grunted.


    "Not tonight, I''m afraid. As much as I''d like to, it will have to wait for another day" Rhiannon said, looking up at Arthur with a strange glimmer in her rose colored eyes.


    My mother joined her and the two walked down the path that led to the city as they talked.


    "What happened? With your punishment I mean?" Anna asked and brought my attention back to her.


    "I had to sleep on the floor. It was awful. They only brought me pillows and blankets after I was asleep." I told her as I frowned and make my voice sound like it was the most horrible experience I had ever been through.


    Anna narrowed her eyes again and then her nose scrunched as she began to smile. "You poor thing, I''m amazed you survived. When did this happen?"


    She had never left go of my newly sealed right hand.


    "When I went before The Mother''s," I answered. A wicked smirk played at the corner of my lips. "I told them to fuck off."


    "You did what?" She demanded, her jaw dropped.


    "I didn''t, not really, but kind of. I will tell you later, but I haven''t eaten anything and that is beginning to be a problem." My empty stomach rumbled audibly in time with my words and Anna and I made for the kitchen.


    "I felt you entering The Well and then it stopped. Explain." Sam rumbled as he followed us through the door.


    "The Mother in Grey went into it to check the walls they put up inside of it." I started the explanation my familiar had demanded from me.


    "Which aren''t there." Anna said as she walked to the cooking side of the kitchen.


    "But they were. At least they were when she was in my mind. I hear this sound whenever it is going to take me. Usually, these loud metal thumps sound in my head three times and then I fall." I continued.


    "Like when those things were attacking us behind the old house and you just kind of fell over?" Anna asked back at me over her shoulder.


    "Right. I didn''t want to go. There were all sorts of things being said that I didn''t want to miss, so I did bending branch and held my aura. I never heard the third thump and it didn''t take me." I finished as Anna handed me a torn off hunk of bread with butter that was still melting into it.


    "That''s new! Right? You''ve never been able to do that before. Your getting stronger." She said with obvious pride on her face.


    "I agree with the mortal. That is a mark of growth. Soon, you will no longer have need of me and I will be unmade." Sam stated simply as he bounded onto the countertop and looked me in my eyes.


    Anna shook her head as she cracked several eggs into a bowl and began to stir them vigorously.


    "Is that true? Do you mean what you say?" I asked the big blue cat. Annoying as he was and as infuriating as he could be, I could not think of my life without his contemptuous stares and baritone insults.


    "I am unsure." He answered after a long silence.


    "Then don''t say shit like that. Sometimes I think you like making her sad." Anna snapped at him.


    "Sometimes I do." Sam said. Evidently having grown tired of being around us, he hopped back off the counter and disappeared to wherever it was in the manor that he went when he wished to be alone.


    Wishing to see her be proud of me once again, I staved off my hunger for another moment and left the plate of eggs she had made me untouched.


    "I have a surprise for you. Do you remember how Azza made it to where I couldn''t say the names of The Mothers?" I asked, standing up straight with my arms held behind my back.


    "You just did," Anna said as she took two quick steps towards me. "I remember everything about you there is to know, and you just said her name!"


    "I did? Fuck! I ruined the surprise!" I cried as I pressed my palms against my eyes.


    "No, shit, no you didn''t," She shook her head and stepped back from me. "I didn''t hear a thing. What were you going to tell me?"


    I crossed my arms and began to pout. "It feels stupid now, I know you heard it."


    "Autumn, if you don''t tell me what you were before, I''m going to eat your eggs." She threatened.


    "Rhiannon, Nami, Glim, Grey, Gwyn, Ali, Azza." I said the seven names of The Mother''s that I knew in quick succession and succeeded in bringing the pride back onto Anna''s face.


    From pride to shock to fear, her expression changed in an instant.


    "It would be best for both of us if you promised to only say those names when it is absolutely necessary." Rhiannon said as she walked into the kitchen with my mother at her side. She looked strange in the room. All that was different between it and the kitchen in her mansion was the size. Seeing her inside the manor with the memory of her in the larger version of the same room made her seem even taller than she actually was.


    "I''m sorry. I promise." I agreed and met her with my pinky outstretched.


    "This is the second time you have done this, what does it mean?" Rhiannon asked.


    I pointed at Anna. "She taught me. It means if I break the promise, you get to break my pinky. Right?"


    "Uhm, yes. That''s what it means," Anna stuttered. "I''m sorry, I''m having a hard time dealing with the fact that one of The Mother''s are here and it''s not the worst thing that has ever happened."


    "Do not apologize, my sisters have hardly given you a reason to like us. I am leaving, but I wanted to tell you goodbye before I went." Rhiannon said to me.


    The Mother in Red telling me goodbye was something that I never thought would bring me sadness.


    She took my pinky in her hand the way she had before I went before The Mothers. "I have kept my vow. For either promise, do not give me a reason to break your finger."


    "I won''t." I said, meeting her warm eyes fully and understanding what she was saying without the need for explination.


    And what a wonderful soul you turned out to be. I heard her words in my mind.


    With that, she left. My third punishment had truly ended. I still had my skin, I had not been hunted like a fox that had been chased out of its den, and I had a full plate of eggs to eat.


    My mother and Anna watched my ravenous consumption of the eggs with silent looks of revulsion and appreciation. The moment that I placed my wooden spoon on the empty plate, Anna broke the silence that had settled into the room.


    "Alright, I can''t wait anymore. I need to know what happened." She said as she produced two bottles of wine from beneath the counter and uncorked the first.


    My mother came and planted a kiss on the top of my head. "I am so pleased that you are home and unharmed, my little Delpha, but I cannot stay and listen. The less that I know, the easier it will be for me to be your mother. Goodnight."


    I knew that she was bound by The Mothers the same way I had been and the same way Rhiannon was, but I couldn''t help but be sad at her leaving.


    "Not yet, have you ever heard a story about sorceress named Trisolde?" I said as I pulled her arms over my shoulders and made her hold me.


    She chuckled. "I have, though I would need to read it again before I could tell it properly. Why do you ask?"


    "I think there is something I need to know in it. How does it end?" I leaned my head back against her and closed my eyes. Everyone knew that the end of a story was the most important part. Even if I had the book Patience had left out for me in my hands, it would take me my life over again to read it. The earliest memories that I could remember were of being told stories, if she told me the end, maybe I could learn what Rhiannon had been trying to tell me.


    "I don''t remember much of it, who was mad at who or what she did to end up where she did, but she was sentenced to death by some queen if I remember correctly. As an act of mercy, she was allowed to choose the manner in which she would die." My Mother said as she leaned me back and held my weight fully.


    "How could anybody choose that?" Anna asked.


    "Trisolde was many things, but most of all, she was cunning. When she was brought before the queen to deliver her decision, she gave the last answer that anyone would ever expect. She chose to die of old age and was freed to allow her to do just that." My Mother said.


    We all laughed. It was a good ending, but I did not find anything useful within it.


    My mother gave me a gentle squeeze and tried to tell me goodnight again.


    I shook my head and chose my words carefully. "Not yet. I have another question. Who was there when I was born?"


    "How strange it is you ask about that now. Anna was just asking about your birthday. What brings it to mind?" She said through a yawn that I was almost certain she had faked.


    "The Mother in Red," I said, making sure that I was keeping my promise. "told me that she has loved me since the day I was born. She would had to have been there for that to be true, right?"


    My mother sighed. "In all of my years, I have never met a soul that loves more than her. She loves everyone, truly. I am sure that is what she meant."


    That did sound like Rhiannon. She was content to have someone routinely try and take her life when she was perfectly capable of stopping it. Still, I did not think that was what she had meant. The way she had looked at me when she had said it, the emotion in her voice, it had not been a general declaration. It had been personal.


    My mother told me goodnight for the third time and I let her go.


    Light had begun to leak through the windows of the manor and a heavy yawn threatened to bring me to the floor.


    "I can wait until you get some sleep to hear what happened, but you are filthy and our sheets are clean. You have to take a shower." Anna said as we started up the stairs.


    "No." I disagreed.


    "Too bad. If you want to get into bed dirty, I''m sleeping alone tonight." Anna threatened, but there was no steel in her voice.


    "No. I mean I don''t want to take a shower. I want to take a bath." I clarified.


    Anna stopped in her tracks. "Are you sure? You haven''t since. . ."


    "If I can tell the Mothers no straight to there faces and attack the one who hates me the most, I can take a bath. I''m too tired to keep standing anyway. If you come in there with me, I can tell you everything before bed." I said, making sure to keep my other promise.


    "Maybe you need to go away more often. I think I''ve been holding you back." Anna laughed. "You leave for three days and come back all fearless and brave."


    "I''m just being myself." I said with a tired smile.


    For the time being, all was well.


    I was home and all was well.

 V2: Chapter Eighty Nine: First Day of Autumn

    When I finally woke, I was alone.


    Before we had finally fallen asleep in each other''s arms, I had told Anna about the days I had spent away from her three times.


    The bath had been thankfully uneventful. My bravery had been rewarded with the absence of any horrific entities appearing on the ceiling in a cloud of black mist. Once I had gotten in and relaxed in the warm water and foamy white bubbles, I had not wanted to get back out again. Twice, she had ran more hot water so I could continue to soak and tell her what had happened.


    The first time, I had started with the terrifying ride atop Rhiannon''s lion of fire. In one long breath, I told her everything I could remember up until the moment I crossed through the black gate and arrived home.


    The second time, after Anna had asked so many questions I thought it best to start again, I remembered more. It was the why of things that came with the second telling, as I understood them at least. Go baked his muffins because he was nervous. He was nervous because there were things he was not allowed to tell me. Patience had left the books out in his library because there were things he was trying to tell me. He had to leave his books out because there were things he was not allowed to tell me. Rhiannon had not told me about my audience with The Mothers because it only would have brought me worry and suffering. Rhiannon hadn''t told me until we were on our way to the colosseum because telling things at the wrong time can be painful.


    Anna expressed great interest in seeing Patience''s underground library and then continued asking questions.


    The third and final time proved to be mostly small details and my feelings on it all. Nocti only came out at night and didn''t eat. Galahad gave up being a king to be with Rhiannon and his hair was far more beautiful than his story had prepared me for. Go''s full name was Gosephellies and that brought an unreasonable amount of joy to my heart. I told her of the painting with Rhiannon, Rubra, and Bayle on the morning of the sixth vow. What the vow was, I didn''t know, but I did know that it was still being kept. I told her about the little pieces of the lover''s I saw in Rubra and how sadness would come to Rhiannon if she thought she wasn''t being watched.


    She learned all I could tell her of The Mothers and what I thought about each.


    Glim proved to be her favorite although she was still struggling with the concept that The Mother''s were not all cruel and evil torturers.


    When I began to nod off between my own words, she had drained the bath and we had gone to bed. What had happened between then and waking up to find her gone, I didn''t know.


    The room was dark, both because of the canopy and the lack of windows, but her place in the bed was still warm. She had not been gone long.


    Wondering if she had been visited by another of her nightmares, I sat up and threw the blankets off of me. "Anna?"


    I usually woke up before she got out of bed, but for the second time in a much too short span of days, I had no way to tell how long I had been asleep.


    A gentle knock came from outside of my dark room.


    "Are you awake, my little Delpha?" I heard my mother call.


    I threw open the canopy and stumbled through the darkness to the door. The light that flooded into my room when I opened it was entirely too fucking bright and I had to cover my eyes with my hands.


    "I was beginning to worry you would never wake up, how did you sleep?" My mother asked as she steadied me with her hand.


    "Where is Anna?" I rubbed my eyes with my balled fists until they stopped hurting and then blinked until my mother stopped being a painful blur.


    "She went down to the city for supplies not very long ago. All of had a late night, but it seems that you two most of all." My mother said as she snapped on the lights in my room.


    I brought my arms above my head and my entire body locked into a forceful stretch. "What time is it?"


    Supplies?


    "Late afternoon," She said as she bent down and picked up the pile of The Lady in Purples clothes that I had left on the floor in the same spot I had taken them off in. "What''s this?"


    What looked to be a firefly made entirely of bright yellow light flitted out of the black clothes and began to circle around the room in a wild path.


    I had seen its color before.


    Dimming and brightening, it circled over my head before diving down and landing on the sleeve of my night shirt. It tickled my arm as it crawled down it and disappeared underneath my wrist, leaving a wake of my soft hairs standing on end. I rolled my hand over and brought my hand to my face. My mother and I watched as the little thing circled the circles of The Mother''s seal with smiles on our faces. When it reached the yellow ring, it brightened as it ran until it burst into a small amount of glimmering yellow dust.


    I laughed, both at the small wonder I had just witnessed and at the thought that The Mother in Yellow had hidden something inside my clothes when she had laid over me. There had been no point, not one I could understand at least, but Glim did not strike me as one to make a lot of points.


    I did not need to search through The Well to determine if Glim''s punishment would be like Rhiannon''s. She had just told me herself.


    "You have no idea how good it feels to see you happy, my little Delpha." My mother said as I went to to the desk that was pilled high with Anna''s books and carefully poured the dust on top of one of them. I would have find a bag or some small glass to keep it in.


    I turned back around to her and noticed that she was not dressed normally. Her hair was brushed out and braided with white ribbon at its end. She wore a dress that was much more opulent than her usual wraps and there was a silver necklace fit around her neck.


    "Why are you dressed so nice? Why did Anna need to go get supplies?" I asked, the strangeness of it all settling over me.


    "You cannot tell it here in Erosette," She said as she went and opened each side of my beds canopy. After making the bed, she folded The Lady in Purple''s clothes and left them in a neat pile "But it is the first day of autumn, Autumn."


    "What does that mean, mother, mother?" I asked with my hands held behind my back.


    She gracefully brought herself to the top of my bed and patted the blanket in front of her to tell me to come sit. "It means that it is your birthday. That is why I gave you the name I did. The leaves had just begun to change when you came into this world and I could not think of a better name for a future sorceress to have."


    That didn''t feel right. Too much had happened in too short a time for it to have only been a year. I had lived more in the last several months of my life than I had in all the years before it.


    I did as she asked and she turned my back to her. I felt the slight coolness of her colorless aura against my scalp as she started to brush through my sleep tangled hair.


    "When Anna found out, she insisted that we threw you a party the way that mortals do. That is why she went down to the city. Today was supposed to be your day, fully, but you''ve slept most of it away and I''m afraid your party is set to begin shortly." She said with feigned sadness.


    I relaxed back into her and let myself enjoy the soothing sensation of her touch.


    "Have you ever had a birthday party?" I asked her.


    "No, my little Delpha. I understand that they lose their luster for mortals after thirty years or so. I''ve lived for so long, I''m not sure I even remember when my birthday is." She said with a little laugh.


    "What was it like, having me?" Her aura laced fingers caught against a tight tangle near the ends of my hair, and I felt her power untie it without any pulling or pain.


    "Easy. The easiest thing I had ever done. I felt like my entire life, everything I had been through, had all been preparation to be your mother." She said and by the tone of her voice, I could tell she was smiling.


    "Was my father there?" I asked another question and hoped it would bring her to the painful edges of her bindings.


    She sighed. "No. Unfortunately, he was dead long before I held you for the first time. Now, if you wish to wear those tattered things to your party, I will not tell you no, but I am certain we could find something to fit you that is a little more festive."


    "No. I know what I want to wear." I said as I slid off the bed and made my way into the closet. I changed out of my night clothes and pulled on something I had not worn in a very long time. Leaving my boots where they lay on the floor, my mother and I made for the stairs.


    I was dressed in the way I had found comfort in before I knew the pain my punishments would bring. Barefoot and with my arms and legs exposed, I felt none of the fear or apprehension that had marked me for so long.


    Anna met us at the bottom of the stairs. She wore a black thin black dress that hung off her shoulders. The aura marked bird skull hung from the ribbons I had made around her neck and her hair was pinned up behind her head.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    "You, uhm, wow. The tan line is a little strange, but you look beautiful." She stammered as she tried to hide the small leather bag she was holding behind her back.


    "Tan line?" I said and looked over myself to see what she meant.


    She too me by my hand and pulled me into Arthur''s room. We went into his bathroom and she stood me in front of the free standing mirror in the corner. There was indeed a pale ring around my throat where Azza''s golden choker had been for months, but that was not what caught my eye.


    "Look at my fucking hair!" I exclaimed as I took it into my hands. Every strand and gentle wave shimmered with the iridescent tint of my mother''s aura. I whipped my head from side to side and every wave of my hair left trails of shimmers in its wake.


    "Did I do well?" My mother asked as she stepped over one of the mounds of clothes that littered Arthur''s floor and joined us in the mirror.


    "Better than well. I already think she''s beautiful. This is almost too much," Anna said as we locked eyes in the mirror. "You are normally supposed to wait until after you blow out your candles to open your presents, but I think these will complete the outfit."


    I knew what was in the leather bag before she ever loosened the draw strings.


    She had gotten me sandals, the very same kind that Rhiannon and her roses wore.


    I had sunk to the floor and started crying before she ever handed them to me. I felt no embarrassment at my tears, not in front of them, not after I had received something I had wanted more than almost anything.


    "Thank you." I said more times than I could count. There were no other words I could find to show her my absolute gratitude. Anna and my mother comforted me and after much too long a time, I left Arthur''s room with my eyes dried and Anna''s gifts on my feet.


    They were light, nearly weightless, and fit me perfectly. I knew that they were just shoes, but they felt like so much more. Every time the straps shifted over my legs when I walked, every time I felt the air on the skin of my feet, was a reminder that I did not deserve Anna. She had been far too good to me from the first time we had met and she had only treated me better as we had fallen in love.


    I didn''t know how or when, but I would repay her. I would commit some grand gesture or get her something that was immensely valuable to pay back the debt that I knew she would deny existed.


    We took the back door out of the manor and I stepped into my party.


    The big table that we had all sat around on Morrow''s night had been brought back to the space between the manor and the garden. Its top was filled from end to end with bowls of the fried potatoes from seven columns, entire roasted chickens, and pitchers of what must be ale. The guards, all six of them and the captain, sat around it with Arthur and Ms. Lao. A wooden platform, a much smaller one than what had been at the tournament, lay near the right wall. Little lanterns that hung from iron posts were scattered through the space, standing ready to ward off the oncoming night.


    All of them stood when they saw us and let out a welcoming cheer.


    For the second time since I had woken up late into the afternoon of the day of my birth, I cried again. A stream of nods and greetings came from the guards as my mother led me to the table and I sat down at the head of it. Anna sat on my right and her mother was on my left.


    "Happy birthday, Autumn. Your hair is very pretty." Ms. Lao said as she gave my hand a small squeeze.


    "Are you better now?" I said through spurts of sniffles and wiping my eyes.


    She looked much better than she had the last time I had seen her. She had put on some of the weight she had lost and her eyes were much brighter than I had ever seen them.


    Anna answered for her. "She''s got to go back to Hymneth tomorrow, but she didn''t want to miss your birthday."


    My mother cleared her throat as she took her place at the opposite end of the table. "Before we eat, I would like to give Autumn her gift from me. I tried to tell it during Dreamtongue''s night, but now is a better time than then."


    "She doesn''t want to hear a story right now. Do you, Autumn? She wants to eat." Arthur groaned.


    Bool, with no attempt to hide his violence, drove his elbow into Arthur''s side. "Quiet."


    Arthur wasn''t entirely wrong. The fried potatoes called for me to consume them like I had at the bar in seven columns.


    "I will be brief," My mother said as she noticed the longing for the potatoes that must have been obvious in my eyes. "I know that there is a party to be had. The guards began to call you Ugi shortly after we arrived here and I wanted to know why. Like any story, they heard it from someone who had heard it from someone else. The Hezbelth''s tell it differently, but I like this version the most.


    She resettled herself into her chair and began to give me her gift. "Ugiphenel was a giant that was said to be so tall, that he could stand flat footed in the ocean and still see over the tallest peaks in all of chaos. Wounded by a fight with a terrible sea beast, he lay down on his side to rest. He lay there so long, that trees began to grow around him and soon he became one of the mountains he used to gaze over. Long after the giant had began his slumber, a dragon hatched and found herself in a next of broken eggs. Hezbelthorag was her name and she knew it before she ever opened her eyes as all dragons do."


    The back door of the manor swung open and a man stepped through it.


    "Master Nocti, what are you doing here?" My mother asked as everyone at the table looked towards him.


    ¡°Good evening," Nocti said with a tip of his wide brimmed black hat. "I did not mean to interrupt. We will come back at a later time."


    "No, no. No one wants to hear my story anyways." My mother sighed.


    "I do." I answered honestly. It had been far to long since I had heard my mother tell a story that I didn''t know like the back of my hand.


    "Thank you, my little Delpha. We will make time for you to hear it soon." She gave me a nod and I knew her words to be true.


    ¡°Wait! Do you bastards calls me Ugi because I¡¯m big and you think I¡¯m dumb. Understood. I thought we were friends but I¡¯m glad I know better now.¡± Arthur said, his arms crossed over his massive chest and his usual smile turned down into a frown.


    ¡°No, Arthur. That¡¯s not it.¡± Anna said, shaking her head.


    ¡°It sure as shit feels like that is what it is." The tall man declared.


    ¡°They call you Ugi because you are big and dumb.¡± Anna said with a plain face.


    The guards all burst into fits of laughter.


    When it quieted, Nocti reached into his long black coat and pulled out a wax sealed letter. "I have three matters to discuss while I am here and then I will darken your evening no longer. The first, is with Master Arthur."


    ¡°Oooooh!¡± Anna called. She looked at me with a wicked smile on her face. ¡°See, that''s funny because that¡¯s what people used to do in class when someone got in trouble."


    "I don''t understand." I said shaking my head.


    "Fuck it. Never mind." She sighed.


    "Language!" Ms. Lao snapped under her breath.


    Arthur stood and took the letter from Nocti. "Can you just tell me? I''m not much of a reader."


    "On hearing of Captain Byron''s recommendation of you to the enclave, The Mother in Red has sent an invitation for you to come and train with her." Nocti said, his bright red eyes beginning to shine in the dying light.


    Ms. Lao whispered at Anna. "What is he saying? What recommendation?"


    "Son of a bitch," Springer shouted suddenly and slammed his fist against the table. "I''ve been trying to train with her for years."


    "Whose big and dumb now?" Arthur called back over his shoulder.


    "It''s still you, Ugi." Anna called back.


    The guards burst into laughter yet again and I found myself doing the same.


    "Please consider it, it is not often that she takes interest in an unproven warrior," Nocti said quietly. "The second, is with Lady Autumn."


    Anna did not call out like she had with Arthur.


    I will try to tell you some other way on a different day. Rhiannon''s words returned to the front of my mind. That was why he had come. He was here to tell me that they were coming for Anna or that I would be locked away in an actual prison.


    "As to what you spoke of with The Mothers regarding your education, you are being permitted to join a school." He said, smiling.


    What the fuck? I thought as I threw myself up from the table and ran over to him. Tears filled my eyes for the third time that night, but I held them back.


    "I''m going to be a rose? I''ve already got the sandals, I just need one of those half cloaks." I said excitedly, feeling so light that I thought I might lift right off the ground and take flight like Glim''s little firefly.


    "No. There is a certain Mother that would not allow that. As it stands, it seems you will be sent to study under The Mother in Blue at Lun Arcanicil. It is in Hymneth, which is in her domain. The details are still being debated over, but she sent me as soon as she could." The pale man said.


    I was disappointed that I would not be a rose, but never did I think my enraged ranting would lead me to getting what I wanted.


    Vowkeeper does not break her vows. A fuzzy memory from Rhiannon''s safe place swelled in my mind as I began to understand what I had just been told. My legs grew weak and my heart pounded in my chest.


    Just before it all became to much, Anna wrapped her arm around my waist and held me upright. "I never thought I would be in a relationship with a schoolgirl."


    "The last matter is not mine." Nocti said as he stepped aside.


    The pale man was not alone. Walking out of the dark manor, dressed fully in her red half cloak and sandals, was Pyreme.


    ¡°You left this at seven columns. I thought you could maybe sow it back on.¡± The Blonde haired underwitch said as she handed me the piece of black fabric that Trea had torn our of the front of my dress.


    ¡°It is a shame, Lady Aubrey," Nocti said to my mother as he walked towards the table. "I must be slipping in my old age. To think that one of my charges could follow me all the way here without me noticing. It is embarrassing really.¡±


    "Very. Perhaps it is time for you to consider retirement." My mother agreed.


    I shook myself out of my surprise induced stupor. "At the tournament, you let me go, why?"


    Pyreme shrugged and turned her sleepy eyes to mine. "I don''t know, I like running into you I guess. It seemed like the right thing to do. And, you said I could meet your familiar. I''ve never seen one before and I don''t think you would have been around to show me if Trea got her hands on you."


    "This is so cute it hurts, let''s agree you two are friends and go eat. I''m starving." Anna said and turned me back around to the table.


    After a very compelling argument by my mother, Nocti and Pyreme stayed. The underwitch ate with the rest of us. Nocti didn''t. The food was so good I hardly remember eating it and the pitchers full of the sweet drink that Arthur had bought me when we went on out date.


    I drank more of the sweet drinks that I would ever be able to remember. I played more games of points than I would ever admit I lost. I laughed so hard and so long that I knew my middle would be sore for days to come.


    I did introduce Pyreme to Sam. She spent the rest of the night sitting near him and trying to carry on a conversation, much to his apparent annoyance. I knew that if he was truly annoyed he would have left or attacked her so it couldn''t have been too terrible for my familiar.


    There was a cake and candles. Pyreme had said I did make a wish after Anna explained the custom, but I would never remember what it had been. I had drank too much, felt too much, everything was too much. Long after the sun had set, Anna helped me inside and made sure I didn''t take a drunken fall when I tried to go up the stairs. Everything had begun to run together and the edges of my vision were one big blur.


    It had been the best birthday that I could remember having.


    I was home. I had lived nineteen years, could only remember half of it, and all was well.

 V2: Chapter Ninety: Who Will Hold Me

    When I finally woke the following day, I was not alone.


    I had fallen asleep before Anna ever got into bed. Sometime in the small hours of the night, I had found her sitting straight up and shaking. Another nightmare had come for her and I had helped her the only way I knew how.


    I held her.


    ¡°Do you ever think that we should tell someone about what happened with that (thing)? What if it comes back?¡± She had whispered right before I had been drifting back to sleep.


    ¡°I¡¯ll kill it. I won¡¯t let it hurt you. Promise.¡± I sighed and pulled her tighter. I had not slept long enough for the warmth that the sweet drinks had left in my belly to fade, but I had meant what I said.


    She had wiggled her hips and pushed herself as close to me as she possibly could. ¡°What if it tries to hurt you? I can¡¯t protect you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I have Sam, I think.¡± I had said through a yawn.


    I had taken her snores as a sign that my help had actually been helpful and let sleep take me once again.


    When I finally woke the following day, Anna was up and sorting through her books.


    She had opened her side of the canopy and snapped one of the lights on, but her hair was messy and she was still wearing her night clothes. I didn¡¯t move or make a sound. I laid there and watched her do whatever it was she was doing for as long as I could. From a book to her notebook and then back again, she seemed to be searching for something or trying to gather bits and pieces of information.


    The days after Azza had buried me alive had been some of the worst I could remember, but watching her do much the same thing as she was then had one of the few pleasures within them.


    ¡°What¡¯s this dust over here?¡± She said aloud without turning around.


    ¡°How long did you know I was awake?¡± I asked her, only slightly annoyed that she had seen through my attempted stealth.


    ¡°The whole time. I can tell by your breathing.¡± She answered.


    ¡°That¡¯s how I know when you are asleep. You start to snore.¡± I sat up and stretched my arms above my head.


    She turned around and glared at me with so much intensity I thought I might catch fire. ¡°I. Do. Not. Snore.¡±


    ¡°The Mother in Yellow snuck a firefly into my pants.¡± I said, answering her question from a moment before.


    She shook her head in what looked like absolute confusion.


    I rolled forward on to my stomach and propped my head up on my hands. "The dust. It was a firefly. I want to keep it. What are you doing up?"


    "I was thinking about something you told me that The Mother in Red said to you right before you came back," She said as she continued to flip through the books and take her notes. "She was right, more right than she knows I think. If we work hard, we can figure out all the things none is able to tell you. We have their names now. All it will take is time."


    "Yes, coach." I laughed and brought myself to the edge of the bed.


    ¡°It makes no sense. Old Mothers, new Mothers, red Mothers, blue Mothers. You run away and willingly come back, they hang nine punishments over your head. You get caught outside of the manor and attack them, and they give you what you ask for. We are going to figure it out." She continued.


    "Yes, coach," I repeated and stood up. My voice cracked when I tried to speak again. "I have something I need to ask you."


    Anna put her book down and leaned back against the desk with her legs crossed. "Are you okay?"


    I swallowed and looked down at the stones of the floor, feeling more nervous than I had when I had been brought before The Mothers. The question had come to me as soon as Nocti had told me about The Mother in Blue''s school, but it had gotten lost in the sweet drinks and games.


    ¡°They are letting me go to school. Not the one I wanted, but that doesn''t matter. It''s not here. That''s what is important. I, uhm, I won''t be here and. . ." I trailed off and swallowed again. There was a pit in my stomach that grew with every word I spoke. I felt vulnerable because I was allowing myself to be vulnerable.


    For fucks sake, she standing there in her underwear, you held her while you slept last night. What are you scared of? I asked myself.


    "And?" She said.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    "Will you go with me? I don¡¯t know what it will look like yet, but I can¡¯t imagine not being around you. I cannot stress enough how little I know about how this is going to go, but I need you with me. I know you came here because of me and I hope you aren''t angry that I''m asking you to go somewhere else." I said in one long, desperate, breath.


    Without another word, without so much as a nod or shake of the head, Anna turned on her heels and left me standing in my room alone.


    Fuck, fuck, fuck.


    The shock of her leaving left me unable to move. She already did so much for me. She had gotten me the sandals I had wanted so desperately and she had woken up with nothing but concern for my situation and I had asked more of her.


    Fuck, fuck, fuck. I repeated in my mind, feeling like I would be sick.


    "Hey, what are you doing? Come on." Anna said as she leaned her head back into the doorway.


    A full body shudder shook through me. I did as I was told and nearly ran out of my room after her. I followed her down the hall and past the bathroom. She opened the door of her rarely used room and we went inside.


    Two chests, just like the one I had hidden in when we had played hide and seek, lay open against the far wall. Anna''s clothes were piled high on her bed and the top of her desk. She pulled me into her closet and made dramatic gestures at the emptiness that filled it.


    "What does this look like to you?" She asked me with an amused look on her face.


    "I don''t know. I''m sorry I asked, I should have thought about it more or waited long-" I started.


    "Autumn. Take a breath." She said and brought her hands to my hips.


    I did as I was told. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.


    She looked me in my eyes. "My closet is empty. There are chests in my room. Think about it."


    "No," I refused. "Just tell me."


    Anna groaned. "I started packing last night, dummy. As soon as you fell asleep, I went down and asked Idensyn for the chests. Of course I''m going with you, I''m kind of pissed you even felt the need to ask. I love you. We''re together. Where you go, I go. I don''t give a shit what those dusty old bitches say."


    Before I knew what I was doing, I had thrown my arms over her shoulder and kissed her. The first led to a second and then a third. I let myself get lost in her without fear and she did not push me away. She wanted me the way I wanted her and neither of us resisted it.


    Only separated when my need to catch my breath could no longer be ignored, I realized that we had found our way to the floor.


    Anna relaxed against the stone wall behind her and I laid my head in her lap to try and let the heat in my face dissipate. She chuckled to herself and pushed her raven hair back from her face. "Well, that was something. How do you feel?"


    The hurried rhythm of my heart pounded in my ears and my aura had built inside me without my intention. I raised my left hand and let just enough of my power out to lessen the pressure against my seals.


    It came out in a streak no longer that my pinky and burst in red embers only a small height above my palm.


    The small one


    "Like that. You make me feel like that" I answered her honestly.


    "Will you go with me," She said, imitating my voice and laughing at her own joke. "When that Trea lady was holding you down and trying to hit you, I knew that she was going to have to kill me too. I''m weak, I drink too much, I don''t have magic, but I was going to try to choke her to death. When you were gone with The Mother in Red, I slept on your side of the bed and held your pillows so I could pretend you were still here. Shit, this is embarrassing. But, back when we were at the boarding house, before I ever knew what you really looked like, I used to sneak upstairs at night and listen to see if you were awake. I didn''t even really know why I was doing it, I just wanted to be near you. Besides, who''s going to hold me when I wake up with the spooks if I don''t go with you?"


    I didn''t answer her. I brought my hand up to the skull hanging around her neck and held it in my hand, perfectly happy just to be with her.


    After the excitement of my birthday and the news that had come with it, the days began to pass like they had before my punishments had begun.


    I would wake up and go to The Well. My mother and I would have lunch in the garden. I would go back to The Well until dusk came. Arthur and I would play points or I would watch him train with his wooden sword. Sam would hunt or lurk around in the shadows of the manor. Dinner was different every night both in what we ate and who was there to eat it. Anna would get her wine and we would go upstairs. She would interrogate me about the memories I had viewed and I would tell her. We would train with my aura and then I would go to sleep with her reading beside me.


    Her nightmares came every so often and occasionally, I would have one of my own. Whichever of us needed to be held would be and we always managed to get enough sleep.


    When I grew too restless and my mind began to wander to Erosette, the siblings and I would escape the walls of the manor and go down to the city. We were caught several times by the captain and Nocti, but nothing ever came of it. I ran into Pyreme enough that she began to recognize me despite my glamors the way Arthur and Anna could.


    Arthur left several weeks after his invitation from Rhiannon had come. Ms. Lao had not been happy about it and had come all the way from Hymneth to try and forbid him from going.


    The tan line around my neck faded and soon there was no trace of Azza''s gift left on my body. Only taking them off to sleep or to enter The Well, the criss crossed lines of my sandal straps quickly replaced took its place.


    I saw Patience once and felt nothing resembling rage or heartbreak.


    The six Mothers that had not punished me yet did not come for me while I was still at the manor.


    My mother had said that the day of my birth was the first day of autumn, but the time that came after it felt like one endless summer. The good days, and there were very few that were not good, passed by me in a warm drift.


    Rhiannon had kept her vow and all the things she had told me in her safe place were true.


    She loved me. My mother loved me. Arthur loved me.


    Anna loved me and all was well.


    End of The Near Infinite Names of Autumn Aubrey Volume Two: Passion and Rage

 V3: Chapter One: Ire

    For the first time in the short part of my life that I could remember, I had somewhere to be, and I was late.


    I was late, and cold like I had never been before.


    I was late, cold, and I couldn''t breathe.


    The sullen sky was too grey and the morning light was too bright. The thin air was too frigid and the knee deep snow between the evergreens was too white. My lungs burned with every breath and it took twice as much of me to move as it should have. Every hurried step I tried to take came with the sound of compacting groans as the snow under my boots crushed into slick mounds that threatened to take me to the ground.


    Nothing had gone right on the most important morning of my life,


    The gathering of maidens that I should have already been amongst stood scattered in small groups on the snow cleared road beyond the tree line.


    "Hasn''t started yet." I smiled through a heavy breath


    All was not lost.


    A gust of blustering wind whipped through the trees. It shook a flurry of snow loose from the branches above and sent it crashing down over me. I shielded my head with my arms and pressed on against the pelting until the tip of my boot caught on something hard.


    My foot crunched against it and I fell face first into the snow.


    The snow formed around every part of my body and tried to swallow me. All of the light left my sight. My face and hands stung on contact. A dull throb shot through my foot. The cold broke through my too thin jacket and tights so quickly that I might as well have been wearing nothing at all.


    The shock snapped me into a sudden spasm and I struggled against the chilling clutches until I managed to throw myself up with a desperate shout.


    Between the trees in the distance, a man stalked towards me from the direction I had come.


    The hairs on the nape of my neck stood on end.


    A feeling that was not unusual for me forced me to hold my breath and a shiver ran down my spine.


    There was someone else among the evergreens, and they were looking at me.


    It''s just the cold. You must have gotten snow down your shirt. I insisted to myself while I still searched the forest for any sign of prying eyes. All I could find was the trees, snow, the man, the grey stone wall that stood to my left, the mountain peaks in the distance, and the maidens.


    "The maidens!" I shouted and crawled to my feet as quickly as I could without falling once again. Sweat dripped down my face despite the cold ache that my body had become. Every step brought pain to my foot. Whatever I had tripped over had left me worse than I had it, but I could not let it delay me.


    I had somewhere to be.


    Much too long after my fall for how short a distance it was, I stumbled through the tree line feeling like I had been running for hours. My chest stung from the frigid air, but all I could do once I stopped was bend over and try to catch my breath.


    The crunching sound of one of the maidens approaching me found my ears shortly before their voice did. Whoever she was, she knelt down and rested her arms on her knees. "Are there wolves after you? What were you doing out there? There is nothing but trees."


    "I got," I said through a pant and forced myself to stand "Lost."


    "Were you coming from Hymneth? It would be damn hard to get lost if you were." The maiden said as she looked at me with obvious confusion on her face. Curved in a way that made her look strong and sturdy, she had sandy skin and chocolate brown eyes. As soon as I stood, she followed me back up and I found her to be much shorter than I was.


    The rest of the maidens seemed uninterested in my inexplicable appearance from the woods. All of them, including the one standing next to me, wore thick coats, dresses, or proper pants. Looking much more warm than I felt, they were all keeping their own conversations as they waited in front of the iron gates for the priming to begin.


    Before I could catch my breath or answer the muddy eyed maiden, the gates parted and slowly swung outward.


    "I made it." I sighed through a smile and wiped the sweat from my brow on my sleeve.


    I had seen the gates once before when I had arrived in the frozen mountains. The dark metal bars shaped a ring of circles, semicircles, and crescents that formed around a pearlescent moon of gleaming stone. It split down its middle when the gates opened, but it did not reveal what had been locked behind it. All that lay beyond the gate was gloomy grey sky and the snow blanketed mountains underneath it.


    A high female voice called over the wind and the shapeless din of the gathered maidens. "Pack in tight! You all shall lose any reason to be shy soon enough, if you are not shoulder to shoulder with the person next to you, you are not close enough!"


    The maiden that stood beside me made for the gates and joined the gathering at the back of all the others.


    Still trying to catch my breath, I limped my way around the side of the crowd to try and see who had called for us. She spoke again. The gathered maidens gave small laughs in response, but the snow crunching under my boots and the hollowing wind kept me from hearing her. I met the wall on the right, and still could not see the speaker. The same proved to be true on the left


    I had walked too far. I had too much snow melting through my clothes. Too many impossible things had happened for me to be where I was. I would not let myself freeze on the fringes while the others that had suffered none of the hardships I had were able to watch and listen.


    Making space where there was none, I slipped through gaps that were not there and shouldered my way into the heart of the crowd. The chocolate eyed maiden let me pass without a word. Some seemed bothered by my intrusion, but only punished me with looks of annoyance.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    I stepped past a girl with a blue stoned necklace hanging around her neck and laid my eyes on the speaker.


    She wore a thin cloak of icy blue that hung straight over the shoulders of her thick coat and ended at the tops of her polished boots. Her white gloved hands clasped together at her waist and her pale pink hair pulled back in a neat bun, every part of her was in perfect order. The pastel blue of her eyes shared their shade with her dress, and they shone bright and open without ever becoming sharp.


    "I am Precept Seram. For those of you that gain admittance into Lun Arcanicil as new moons, I will be your teacher in all things regarding Implementation. For this warm and pleasant morning however-"


    She paused and smiled as more small laughter came from the maidens. Having heard what had been said that time, I joined them.


    If the morning was warm and pleasant, I would freeze to death if I took a night time stroll.


    "-I am here to welcome you and tell you what we expect of you before and during your trial."


    The maiden with the necklace stepped back in front of me and blocked my view.


    "Most of you are here by way of a primary academy, your parentage, or the interest of one of our precepts, but it makes no difference how you arrived. You are all maidens and equal until proven otherwise." Precept Seram continued.


    I leaned to my left to try and see past the maiden.


    She mirrored my movement.


    "Before you cross through these gates, there are three rules you must obey absolutely while you are within the boundaries of Lun. " Precept Seram held up three of her gloved fingers and continued, her tone growing serious.


    I leaned to the right and the maiden did the same.


    "The first, is that none of you are to use your aura until the trial begins. No charms, no glamors, no throwing each other''s things about and making a mess. Understood?" Precept Seram asked.


    Everyone, including the infuriating girl in front of me, gave sounds of agreement.


    "Spotless," Precept Seram exclaimed and lowered the first of her fingers. "The second, and I should not have to say this, but every term that I do not, I regret it, is there is absolutely no duels or fighting. Understood?"


    I waited for the maidens to give their agreements again. When they did, I feinted right and slipped past the girl with the blue stoned necklace and reclaimed my place in front of her.


    "Spotless," Precept Seram affirmed and lowered her second finger. "The third rule is the most important of all."


    Someone tapped me on my right shoulder. I turned around to find that no one had needed my attention. The girl had stolen it and used it as an opportunity to step in front of me again.


    So quick that I was certain no one had seen me, I snapped my elbow into the fluff of her coat that hugged her side.


    "Maiden Tana, and I believe you are Maiden Ire, is there something you would like to share with the rest of us?" Precept Seram asked, her sudden attention bringing the eyes of all the gathered maidens to me and the girl with her arms wrapped around her middle.


    The wrong sort of heat reddened my face and in that moment I knew I should have just stayed behind everyone. I didn''t meet her eyes. I looked down at the snowy ground and wished it had swallowed me fully when I had fallen earlier.


    "Yes, Precept Seram." Maiden Tana said as she glanced at me, her smirk having returned to her face.


    The second rule. I had broken it not a second after it had been given. The girl was going to tell. She would say that I had hit her and all the other maidens would watch as I was cast out.


    "What do you have to share?" Precept Seram asked, the last of her raised fingers still waiting to be lowered.


    "If one of us here is no longer a maiden," Maiden Tana said as blue light began to tint the trampled snow around her feet. "Should she still participate in the trail or will other arrangements be made?"


    "I hope that she would remain silently confident about her chances because she listened to me and remembered that using her aura on school grounds was against the rules." Precept Seram said without dropping her smile.


    The maiden''s eyes all shifted to her and her face reddened just as mine had only a moment before. Her light turned to dust within the snow and her smirk died for the second time.


    It brought me no pleasure. I had just felt what she was and it had been awful. She had taken the precept''s and the maiden''s attention off of me however, and it did bring me some small relief.


    She hadn''t told. I hadn''t been sent away. All was not lost.


    "The third rule," Precept Seram began again. "If any of you are found out of your temporary rooms after nightfall, you will be barred from tomorrow''s trial and turned away. That leaves plenty of time for you to bring your things from Hymneth or whatever it is you need to do. Understood?"


    Maiden Tana, myself, and every other maiden agreed.


    "Spotless." Precept Seram said as she lowered her last finger and nodded.


    No aura, no fighting, inside by sundown, even though I had already broken the second, the rules seemed easy enough to follow.


    "Why do we have to wait? Can''t we go now? " The chocolate eyed maiden I had met earlier called out from the back of the gathering.


    "Maiden Reese, we were hoping you would come. We cannot go now because none of you have registered, inspected, assigned a bed, or received your parcels. Though your eagerness is welcome, come this time tomorrow, you will be glad you have had a good nights rest and a warm meal." Precept Seram said with a smile.


    "What are we being inspected for?" A different maiden said from somewhere beyond my sight.


    "The safety of Lun Arcanicil and those that are within her walls is of the utmost importance. To prevent anyone with ill intent from gaining entrance, you will be inspected to make sure you are not a sorcerer or some other ugly thing sneaking in under the guise of a glamor," Seram spread her arms out to her side. "Now, I know all of you would love to spend the rest of the morning sun bathing and enjoying the pleasant weather, but we must begin. Cross over and join Precept Mon-Zetta in the courtyard."


    More small laughter came from the maidens but there was nothing resembling good humor within me. Precept Seram was likeable in her own bubbly way, but she had just said the worst thing I could have ever heard and sounded perfectly nice while doing it.


    The moment that the maidens separated and entered the court yard, the wind bit back through my too thin clothes and a cold chill shook me to my boots. I pulled my black jacket tight and buried my aching hands in the crook of my arms.


    The cold was the least of my worries, but it could not be ignored.


    I would give them my name, but I would not pass the inspection. I would never receive my parcel or be given my bunk number. I was not an evil sorcerer trying to gain entry into the school of my enemies. Nor was I some malevolent demon whose interests lay in the maidens themselves.


    Still, the face I wore was not my own.


    "Is something the matter?" Precept Seram asked as she came to me where I had frozen in place.


    The other maidens were nowhere to be seen. There was only the neat woman in front of me, myself, and the gates.


    "Just cold." I lied as I met her eyes.


    Visions of black fire, a fat faced man gasping for air, and a bubble bursting bright blue, flashed in the front of my mind. A shudder shook through me that had nothing to do with the cold.


    "You will be inside and next to a warm fire before you know it. This should not take long," Precept Seram said as she pulled her pristine white gloves off her hands finger by finger. "Take these. It is a small comfort, but they will warm your hands."


    "No, I couldn''t." I shook my head in denial.


    She reached into her coat beneath her coat and pulled out an identical pair from somewhere in the folds of her dress. "It is no trouble. I always keep a second pair. Come, I am as eager for warmth as you are but I cannot go inside until all of you are sorted."


    I took the gloves and shoved my hands into them. Fur lined the insides and they were warm from her hands. She had been wrong however, as they were not a small comfort.


    If the precepts could see through glamor, my time at Lun Arcanicil would end before it began.


    All was not well.

 V3: Chapter Two: Ire is Taken

    The moment I crossed through the iron gates with Precept Seram, Lun Arcancil appeared.


    It did not fade into my sight slowly. Some fog or cloud had not been obscuring it.


    It simply was not there and then it was.


    I could not take it in all at once.


    Pieces and sections fought over my attention and my mind tried to fit them together.


    Two windowed wings built of greyscale stone jutted out from the structure. They ran down either side of the tapered courtyard and closed it off with the surrounding wall. It stood tall from the ground and the shape of a tower adorned the top of it. Trails of white smoke drifted up from the unseen roofs and snow dusted its stones like morning frost. There were more wings, some higher and some partially concealed, and I got the impression that I was only seeing a small sliver of Lun.


    The sight of it made my heart thump heavy in my chest. The way it loomed above me, the way it reached out for me with the wings of the courtyard, I had never felt quite so small.


    The square bricks beneath my boots formed the beginnings of an intricate pattern. The trampled snow that blanketed the open space kept me from being able to make out what that pattern was. Three massive tents ran lengthwise across the court yard and blocked my view of the entrance behind them. They were solid blue and there was no snow in a small area at their bases.


    Something as massive as the school could not just appear.


    I could not keep myself from giving in to the impulse of stepping back through the gates. Lun Arcancil vanished from my sight like it had been a bubble that had suddenly popped. I stepped back through and it flashed back into reality like lightning. Back and forth, I swayed over the threshold and watched come and go like the blinking of an eye.


    It''s a glamor. I thought to myself, knowing that it had to be true. There was no other explanation.


    "It is impressive," Precept Seram laughed in response to my obvious wonder. "And it keeps all of us safe and free from prying eyes. Come along, Maiden Ire."


    I did as I was told.


    The other maidens had gathered again in front of a severe looking woman that was standing guard before the tents.


    Her blue black hair hung from her head in a short jagged mess. She wore the same icy blue cloak as Precept Seram, but it was not long, straight, or wrinkleless. Hanging over her shoulders, it wrapped around both sides of her equally. and ended just above the crook of her arms. It was just short enough to show that the end of her right sleeve was folded up and pinned to the grey fabric of her shirt.


    Her arm. I thought, unable to stop myself from staring at the place her hand should have been. It did not make sense. Sorceresses could heal. I had seen someone whose body had been reduced to cinders come away from it unharmed. There had been a time that I had no longer had all of my skin. What had happened that had kept her from being healed?


    "I don''t have time to stand around and watch you little shits stroll about like you don''t have anywhere to be," She yelled. Her voice was low and raspy, like she had spent the night before screaming until her throat had become raw. "To me, now, before I lose my temper."


    "So vulgar, always so vulgar." Precept Seram shook her head and pressed her lips into a tight line as she pulled on her new set of gloves.


    The power in her voice, the command and demand it carried, brought the maidens and myself shoulder to shoulder in front of her in a matter of moments.


    Again, I found myself at the back of the gathering. Without the walls to halt me, I walked around the side and found a place at the front without crossing paths with Maiden Tana again.


    "I''m Precept Zetta. I''ll be teaching the ones that have enough spine to make it through the trial how to not die when you run into bastards that want you to," She nodded her head to her right and pointed her hand out to her left. "If your name starts with any letter between A and G, you''re on the left with me. H through P, in the middle. Everyone else, on the right. If you aren''t supposed to be here, leave. Any questions? Good. Line up!"


    I took two steps to the left before I shook my head and went to the back of the line in front of the middle tent. When the maidens in front of me passed through the tent and my turn came, whoever was inside would discover that the face I wore was not my own. They would cast me out.


    A shiver ran through me and the hairs on the nape of my neck stood on end once again. I could not deny it like I had within the evergreens. There had been no gust of wind and I was already so cold that most of me was beginning to numb.


    I was being watched.


    My eyes went to Maiden Tana to see if she was giving me another of her smirks, but she was nowhere to be seen. The other maidens, the iron gates behind me, I looked everywhere I could.


    Through the arched windows that gave a long view of what lay within the wall of the school on my right, I found a monster. Coiled against the clear glass from end to as far as I could see was an uncountable length of tightly packed bones. Thin and stemming down from a thick spine, the skeleton cascaded down in rows and filled the windows completely. It was a great serpent, the greatest I had ever seen, but it was not what was watching me. It was dead, an unmoving remainder, and what was dead could not see.


    There was no one, no thing I could find, nothing but the vulnerable feeling remained.


    "Hey, lost girl!" The chocolate eyed maiden yelled from the front of the line on my right.


    Maiden Reese. I repeated her name in my mind.


    "Yes?" I answered as I stepped forward and came closer to being discovered.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    "I saw you hit her," She called as she moved to enter the tent she stood in front of. She mimicked the way I had elbowed Maiden Tana and winked at me. "You should have done it harder."


    She went into the tent and I did not see her again for the rest of the short time that I waited in line. What she had said had brought a small smile to my face that persisted until there was nothing between the tent and I but cold air and fear.


    "Next!" A voice called from inside it.


    I could not move. No matter how hard I tried, I could not force my boots to leave the snow and step onto the uncovered stone.


    Precept Mon Zetta came striding out of the tent to my left. She turned on her heels and walked straight towards me.


    Still, I could not make myself move.


    "Next!" The voice from inside called again.


    You should have stayed in the snow. Freezing to death would have been better than this. I thought, any warmth and excitement I had felt when I had woken that morning long dead and cold.


    Precept Zetta reached me and pushed me as she passed. "In you go."


    I stumbled forward and broke through the heavy fabric. I barely managed to keep my balance on the damp stones. Warm air washed over me like a hug from my mother and I let out an involuntary sigh of relief. It burned against my numbed skin dully, but it was the best pain I had ever felt.


    "-hope none of them are admitted. I haven''t seen a single maiden worth-" The girl that had been calling for me to come in stopped what she was saying at my sudden entrance. She had her back turned to me. Her hair was light, almost white and pulled tightly behind her head. The pure blue cloak she wore bore the shape of a full moon on its back. She had been talking to a blonde haired girl whose moon was not nearly as full.


    "Name?" She demanded.


    "Uhm," I started, feeling my panic creep back into me despite the comfortable warmth. "Ire Ap Viven."


    "Another? Write this one, I''ve done the rest." She said to her counterpart as she turned around to look at me. Her expression looked annoyed, and she had a small crook in her nose that distracted from the rest of what was a very pretty face.


    "Hello." I said, trying to greet her, but she did not return the pleasantry


    "Long black hair. Neither tall nor short, average. Muddy brown eyes, no prominent features," Her bright blue eyes passed over me as she spoke. There was such an annoyed disinterest that I don''t think she would have noticed if I left. She grabbed my upper arm, my hips, and then my thigh in quick succession. "Skinny, almost gaunt, physically weak and underdeveloped."


    I''m not underdeveloped. I thought, beginning to feel insulted.


    "This is what happens when they let motherless maidens come from whatever backwater hamlet they grew up in. They rarely amount to much and if they do, they require much more assistance than someone born in Zenithcidel," She said to the other girl in the tent. Stepping back from me, bright blue light that was not quite as pale as the precept''s cloaks, came to light at her navel. "I would ask you if you were wearing glamor, but it is best to be thorough with your kind. Palms out."


    Maybe she was having a bad day, maybe she had been late as well, there were many reasons that her rudeness could have been an unfortunate circumstance.


    "Are you deaf as well? Palms out, Maiden Ire" She commanded.


    If I ran, neither of my two possible paths would bring me any help . One would lead me to the closed gate and the other would lead me further towards the school. If I did not let her inspect me for glamor and I ran further into the school, I would be taken for one of those evil sorcerers or demons.


    Maybe she knew, maybe arrangements had been made for me without my knowledge. I didn''t believe that to be true, but I couldn''t accept that I was about to be turned away if she found my glamor.


    I would have to charm her. Even if it was against one of the three rules Precept Seram had given us, I had already broken one, a second would be easy. I focused my aura and brought it to my left palm, thinking of every pleasant thing that I could imagine.


    "About time." I heard Precept Mon Zetta rasp from somewhere beyond the tent.


    "It could not be helped. How are you not frozen? You''ve been out here since dawn." A voice called from outside of the tent.


    Just before my inspector touched my hands, she snapped her head towards the new voice and her face twisted into a vicious scowl. "What is she doing here?"


    The front of the tent parted.


    The Mother in Blue stepped through with a gust of blustery wind beating at her back.


    she gave a violent shake that sent all of the loose snow that had caught in her hair to the ground.


    Nami. Her name appeared in the front of my mind and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling.


    She wore a too thin dress and sandals that looked like they belonged on a sunny beach instead of the frigid grounds of Lun Arcanicil. Her arms wrapped around herself, she gave a great shake that sent most of the snow falling down from her blue gradient hair. The small flakes that held against her melted in the warmth of the tent and gave her dark skin a beautiful glow.


    "Nami." The girl that had been about to discover my illusion said, the light of her aura deepening her sneer.


    "Underwitch Maletta," Nami replied with an unbothered smile. "While we are on school grounds, you will address me properly."


    "Namiana." Underwitch Maletta said ruefully


    Tension filled the room, a heavy mixture of Underwitch Maletta''s obvious disdain and Nami''s willful pleasantness.


    "That is as close as I will get with you I suppose," Nami said and turned her attention to me. "Maiden Ire, you will come with me."


    "Why? I have not checked her yet." Underwitch Maletta demanded as she stepped in front of the back flap of the tent.


    "The only why you need to concern yourself with is why you are questioning me." Nami said, the ocean of strength that I knew lay within her coming to the surface of her eyes.


    Without another word, she took me by my outstretched hands and pulled me through the back of the tent. My charm no longer needed, I released my hold on my aura and let it dissipate inside of me.


    Just as she had once before, Mother Nami had come to save me again. The panic and worry of being discovered had left me immediately once she had taken me. I was grateful, but it had returned my focus to the pain in my foot and the aching in my bones. The rest of the maidens were scattered through the back half of the courtyard, most of them holding and opening small white parcels. The ones who weren''t were lined up in front of a wide table that was piled high with unopened boxes.


    "Damn I hate the cold." Nami said as snow started crunching under our feet.


    I cleared my throat. "Are the underwitchs here usually so rude to you?"


    There had been many times that I had not given The Mothers the respect they expected or deserved. Underwitch Maletta had done nothing to hide what appeared to be full on hatred.


    "It is usual for her." Nami shrugged.


    "Why? You are a Mother." I asked, hoping that she would be able to answer.


    Just before we reached the end of the line of maidens, she gave me my answer. "You wouldn''t know it, but Maletta is the most powerful underwitch amongst all of Lun''s moons. She is rude because she hates me. If it was up to her, the closest I would ever be to being a Mother would be being sent to the medery in Hymneth."


    She stopped when we reached the back of the line and another great shiver ran through her.


    "She hates you openly?" I asked her, confused. There was another Mother I knew that would not be so accepting of the way the underwitch had been to Nami.


    Nami laughed. "It''s not that hard to imagine. I would think that you of all people would understand that."

 V3: Chapter Three: Ire is Spurned

    All of the maidens that remained in the courtyard could not keep their eyes off of Nami.


    Those that waited in front of me found every reason they could to turn around and steal a glance at The Mother in Blue. Brushing off their boots, pretending to look through the windows, searching the sky, nothing was beyond them. The ones who had already received their small white parcels did not have to disguise their staring nearly as much. Maiden Reese and Maiden Tana were among them.


    They all stood and stared until Precept Mon Zetta came striding towards them with her only arm pointed towards the entrance.


    "I didn''t realize you all loved the cold so much. If you are so keen on standing around in it, maybe you all should sleep out here as well." She shouted as she herded the terrified looking maidens towards the school.


    "Do they all know who you are?" I asked Nami as I watched them take their first steps through the towering doors of Lun Arcanicil.


    "I imagine that they think they do, but it''s best if I don''t introduce myself until after the trial." Nami said, rubbing her palms together. She breathed into them several times, evidently trying to warm her hands.


    I pulled Precept Seram''s gloves off my own finger by finger the same way she had and offered them to Nami. "Here."


    "You would give me your gloves?" She asked, her thin, seafoam colored, eyebrows raising in what looked like surprise.


    "My hands are warm, see? I don''t need them any more." I said and pressed the back of my hand on her freezing skin.


    It was the least I could do for her after what she had done for me.


    Nami smiled and nodded as she took the fur lined gloves from me, but her ocean eyes did not share in her graciousness. There was conflict within them, some disagreement in her mind that was all too easy for me to see.


    We stepped under the cover of an intricate overhang that hung above the entrance and out of the trampled snow as the last of the maidens hurried inside. Two great doors of iron and dark wood stood open just enough for them to slip through. Just as the front gates had been, a circle of moons adorned their front in shaped metal bars.


    A woman with a serene face stood behind a wide wooden table piled high with white parcels.


    A pure blue band held her long blonde hair back from her face. She wore robes that were the soft white shade of bedsheets in a dimly lit room. They washed down her in a cascade of layers, like she had added another underneath until she had found the right size. A hollow circle, the same blue as her hairband, stood on the front of her outermost layer. An icy blue scarf wrapped once around her neck before the remainder hung down to her waist.


    "She is a precept? That is what that blue means, right?" I whispered to Nami as we waited to be acknowledged.


    "Yes. She teaches Restoration." Nami answered.


    "What is that?" I asked quietly, small embarrassment bringing the wrong kind of heat to my face.


    The conflict remained in Nami''s eyes as she looked down at me. "Healing. She governs both the medery here and in Hymneth."


    "Ah," I nodded and thought of Precept Seram. "I understand. And Implementation?"


    Nami shook her head in dismay. "You have been allowed to know so little. Implementation is the study of using your aura practically. Fixing bridges, undamming rivers, things of that nature."


    I nodded again. "And Precept Mon Zetta?"


    "Something that I hope you never need to learn." Nami sighed.


    I had not realized we had reached the table until the precept behind it spoke.


    "Mother. It is wonderful that you have blessed us with your presence this morning. The skies are calm, the maiden''s eyes are bright, there was nothing to complain about before you arrived and now there is even less." She said as she bowed with her hands held behind her back.


    There was a softness in her voice, an easy flow to her words that made me want to sit down at her feet and listen to whatever came from her mouth next.


    "Precept Cherith. Far too many parcels remain. You have failed in bringing more maidens to these hallowed halls." Nami replied, her tone becoming serious and disapproving.


    The kind faced sorceress held her bow and kept her eyes turned to the table beneath her. "My apologies, Mother. Please forgive my failure. All I do is out of the desire to please you. I will collect my belongings and be gone before midday."


    "As you should. Anything else would be an embarrassment to us both." Nami agreed.


    There were so many dark and terrible places I would have rather been than where I was. What was happening in front of me should have been done in private. I did not know her from any other sorceress, but my heart ached for the soft spoken woman. I knew better than most what it felt like to be on the receiving end of a Mother''s ire.


    Precept Cherith raised her head just enough to look up at Nami and a small droplet of water sprung from the folds of her robes. It splattered against The Mother in Blue''s brow and both of them broke into sudden laughter


    "You know I hate it when you do that." Nami said through her laugh and wiped the wetness from her face.


    "Then do not be so easy to do it to. The only one who can protect you is you," Precept Cherith stepped out from behind the table and parcels. She went to Nami and the two of them shared a long embrace. "When will you learn to wear proper clothes? You are as cold as a corpse."


    "There are not enough clothes in all of chaos. Why anyone would build a school here instead of somewhere warm, I will never understand." Nami said with a shiver.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    They separated and Precept Cherith turned to me. "There is only one name left on my list and I believe that name to be yours, Maiden Ire."


    "Yes." I said and met her eyes.


    Worry ruined her serene expression. It softened her eyes and brought a small frown to her lips. "Oh, you are in pain. What is it that ails you?"


    "Has something happened to you?" Nami asked


    There was pain in the foot that I had thrown into whatever hard thing had been hidden under the snow, but how had she known?


    "No. I''m just cold." I lied and tucked my hands beneath my arms once again to bring truth to my words.


    "Let''s get you back then. Only the parcel. No room or bunk is necessary, she will not be staying with the rest of the maidens." Nami said.


    "Why? No," Precept Cherith stopped speaking and waved her hands in front of herself. "Forget I asked, I have too much to be concerned about already. I do not want to know."


    "It has nothing to do with what happened this morning. You have my word." Nami argued back.


    "No. Stop it. Knowing things is too much trouble. Do you know that, Maiden Ire? For instance," Cherith said as she began to sort through the small white parcels. "I know that as powerful as she is and for all the good she does, The Mother in Blue is still absolutely terrified of-"


    "Nothing. I am terrified of nothing." Nami snapped as she snatched the parcel from Cherith''s hands and passed it to me.


    Cherith let out a clear, rolling, laugh. "It makes me so happy that I can still do that to you."


    The sound of footsteps in the snow came from behind us and I turned to see Underwitch Maletta and her counterpart passing by. The tension from before returned in an instant and the entrance of Lun Arcanicil grew much colder as they passed.


    I shuddered, but it was not from the wind or cold. Neither was it from the uncomfortable silence that hung between Nami and Underwitch Maletta.


    For the third time that early morning, the hair on the nape of my neck stood on end.


    I was being watched.


    I looked to the gates, the remains of the serpent, and the empty courtyard, but found nothing.


    A strange scent found its way to my frozen nose. Spices, sand, sun warmed stone, the familiar smells filled my nose and drew my sight to one of the then empty tents. Its blue fabric had been parted and nothing but darkness lay within it. In that too perfect dark, two golden eyes opened and I knew without question who had been watching me all morning.


    She was tall, thin, elegant and folded out of the dark with such slow grace that it looked unnatural. Her feet were bare and the thin snow underneath them melted with every step she took. She wore the same gold patterned black robe that she had every time I had seen her. Her umber skin, the tapered angle of her short black hair, her sharp jaw, all of her stood in stark contrast with the wintery surroundings.


    Azza.


    "Does she do that often? Turn around and stare away from those she is speaking with?" I heard Cherith say.


    "This day will not allow me to enjoy it. I will find you later, Cheri," I heard Nami sigh as she stepped in front of me. She whispered to me as she passed. "Do not speak. I do not know why she is here. I will end this quickly."


    I would do as I was told.


    "I hope to see you soon, Maiden Ire. As my student of course. Not as a patient. I hope to never see you as a patient." Precept Cherith said from behind me, but I did not answer her. I had been frozen once again, locked to where I stood by the memory of a pressure and weight that I was powerless to resist.


    The Mother in Blue met The Mother in Brown halfway.


    "Why are you here, sister?" Nami asked, her tone much less friendly than her words.


    "She looks much too happy. I do not understand this," Azza said with one long finger pointing at me. She looked past her sister and spoke to me directly. "Are you merely enjoying the experience of this miserable place or do you not yet know?"


    Nami did not speak or meet her eyes. She looked down at the ground and made no attempt to end the conservation.


    Azza''s jaw clenched and the bones in her hands stood against her tanned skin. "You go as far as to threaten to duel me over this and yet you do not tell her of the futility? All of you question my treatment of the girl, but you let her live in ignorance?"


    "If you had not threatened to duel-" Nami started.


    "Not here. This is not for her to know." Azza snapped.


    Bravery or stupidity, it was hard to know the difference, compelled me to speak.


    "Am I allowed to know what I don''t know?" I cleared my throat and asked, my hand idly scratching against my thigh.


    "I will do something for you that my sisters will not. I will tell you the truth," The Mother in Brown said as she brushed past Nami and came to where I stood. "The trial you will undertake tomorrow? It is impossible for you to overcome. This is The Mother in Blue''s school. You have the wrong sort of soul. When the trial ends and you have not completed it, you will be brought to my domain to bring an end to this madness."


    The little warmth that I held within me in a place the cold could not reach, the place with all my good memories, hopes, and dreams, froze over.


    "You had no right to come here. Wait for me in my quarters." Nami commanded Azza as she wrapped her arm over my shoulders and pulled me into movement. I hardly knew that Nami was leading me away from the courtyard until we crossed through the front gates and began moving along the outside of the walls.


    "This is your school. Can''t you just let me in?" I asked, clinging to the last dying embers of hope within me.


    "If it were that simple, I would," Nami yelled. She leaned her back against the wall for half a moment before throwing herself away from it and shouting. "Zozo''s black beads, that''s cold!"


    She wrapped her arms around herself once again and closed her eyes. "She shouldn''t-I-when-I did not tell you because it was irrelevant. I did not tell you about the ridiculous conditions that allowed you to be here because I was going to cheat. You should at least be allowed to learn. With her here, I do not think I can."


    I gripped the small white parcel so tightly in my hands that it split at its seams.


    I had been sent to Lun Arcancil with no purpose other than to fail.


    "What should I do?" I muttered, knowing that she would not be able to tell me or that telling me would cause her pain, but I could not accept what Azza had told me.


    Nami pushed her hair back from her face with her hands. "A moment. I must think."


    The man that had been following me when I had fallen earlier stepped out from behind an evergreen.


    His hair was as white as the snow that surrounded us and pulled tight behind his head. His left eye was covered by a black patch that let the ends of a wicked scar peak out at the top and bottom of it. Two swords hung off his left hip. Both were long and thin. One sheathed in white and the other in black, his hands lazily rested atop their ends. The eye that was not cut and covered was pure white and intently focused on The Mother in Blue.


    "Headmistress." He said simply.


    "Alexei," Nami grunted, her voice annoyed. "She is done here for the day."


    She pushed her gradient hair back with her hands and then snapped still. A smile appeared on her face and she pawed madly at her hair like something was crawling through it.


    "Your hair. That is it. Think about your hair and what you had to do to prepare for this morning," Nami laughed as she grabbed me by my shoulders. "She will never see it coming. Go home, get some rest, and think about your hair. All is not lost."


    Without another word, she turned on her sandals and disappeared back through the open gates.


    I followed Alexei through the snowy evergreens and did as I was told, hoping that her words were true.

 V3: Chapter Four: Little Wooden Shack

    The days were not long in the mountains that surrounded Hymneth and Lun Arcancil.


    If the snow had not risen to my knees with every painful step and my breaths hadn''t felt like short stabs in my chest, it may not have taken so long. Alexei had needed to stop several times along the way for me to lean back against a tree and try to find the strength to carry on. He never spoke to me, no matter how many times I tried to speak to him. He would stare at me silently with his one white eye and wait until I was ready.


    There was a wolfishness to his features, sharp lines and a dangerous set of his jaw that would have intimidated me if he had not been what he was.


    The days were not long and by the time I laid my eyes on the small wooden house I had rushed out of that morning, the grey sky above had begun to blacken.


    It was little more than a two story shack nestled within a clearing of evergreens. A small trail of smoke rose from the roof. Light leaked through the curtained window by the stairs and I saw the shadowy shape of a person moving behind it.


    I fought through the pain in my chest and hurried into the clearing as fast as I could make myself move.


    I had been brought to Lun Arcanicil to fail. I was as cold as I had ever been and I had eaten nothing since the night before.


    I needed to go inside more than I had ever needed anything.


    "Do not be late again." Alexei said when we reached the house. He stood in front of his door and would not go inside until I had climbed the stairs and closed my own behind me.


    "See you tomorrow, Alexei." I responded as I pulled myself up the steps by the rickety hand rail. It was a painful and exhausting effort, but when I finally limped my way onto the snowy landing, the door opened before I could reach for its handle.


    Anna Lao stood in the doorway, looking like she had been waiting for me to return since the moment I left. "Autumn. You look terrible."


    The moment I met her dark eyes and heard her say my name, my hold on my glamor broke. Streams of red dust spilled from my hand, my face, and my hair. It fell into small piles atop the piled snow at my feet as I became myself once again.


    At the sight of her, I thought I might fall into her arms, kiss her, or cry. I might have done all three if I had spontaneously discovered how to do three things at once.


    "Come on, you are letting all the cold in," Anna said as she reached out and dusted the crimson remnants off my jacket. She pulled me inside and locked the door behind us as I made for the black iron stove that warmed our little quarters. "Wait! Boots! You''re tracking snow everywhere."


    Her words had come too late.


    I threw myself to the wooden floor in front of the stove and dropped the crushed parcel beside me. I held my hands as close to the hot metal as I could without touching it and welcomed the sting that radiated over my skin from its warmth.


    Our little place, what Nami had told us used to be used for traveling sorceresses when they came to Lun to study or teach, was hardly more than a wooden box. Save for the small bathroom, there were no walls other than those that built it. The kitchen consisted of the stove I was warming my bones in front of, a sink that would only make cold water, and a countertop with a single cabinet above it. Our bed was in the corner next to the bathroom and we had been using the chests that we had arrived with as both tables and chairs.


    It was a long way from the manor, both in distance and in comfort. It was drafty, creaky, and smaller than my room had been at the boarding house, but it had windows. It had windows, it had a door that locked from the inside, and it had Anna. It had all of those things and it was ours.


    There was nowhere else in chaos that I would have rather been, and I very much did not want to leave it. Especially if it was for whatever sandy nightmare Azza planned to drag us into.


    "Take these off so they will dry out. Your socks are probably soaked too." Anna said as she pulled my foot off the ground and began wrestling with my boot. Once it was off and placed by the stove, It took all four of our hands to peel the long white sock off of my leg. The right came next and it came with pain.


    ""What''s wrong? What did I do," Anna asked when she saw my grimace. Before I could answer, she slid the boot off of my foot and her eyes widened. "Oh."


    "That is much worse than I thought it would be when I tripped." I said at the sight of my blood stained sock. From its tip to the highpoint of my foot''s arch, there was nothing but red.


    "Tripped? It looks like you got caught in a bear trap," Anna sighed as she brought herself to the floor and lifted my foot onto her lap. "This might hurt."


    I found a small clump of snow that I had tracked in and watched it melt. When it was nothing but a damp spot on the floorboards, I found another. I tried to pretend that was all that I was doing, that I was not waiting on the dull pain I already felt to sharpen.


    "You split your nail, see?" Anna said as she gently lowered my bare foot to the ground and stood.


    She had been so careful, I had not felt her pull the sock over my toes.


    I looked.


    I wished I hadn''t.


    It was only for a moment, but the sight of it made my stomach turn. Dried blood, sweat softened white skin, the jagged crack running down the middle of the nail of my big toe, It was too much. I laid down on my back and closed my eyes.


    "Alright, considering that there aren''t fireworks flying around the room and you are here, It seems like today didn''t go too good or too bad?" Anna said softly over the sound of running water.


    Making a half hearted attempt at sounding like I wasn''t on the verge of fainting, I answered weakly. "Bad, worse, then good. Bad, worse again, then very good. Terrible at the end."


    "It started bad because I kept you up all night and made you late. I''m still sorry about that. What made it worse?" She asked.


    Her apology wasn''t necessary. I had told her that after the tenth time she had apologized that morning. I would never sleep again and never need an apology if that was what she needed.


    "It''s so hard to breath up here and I tripped on my way to the gates. I don''t think it was a bear trap, but you saw what it did to me," I said and had to force myself to not look at my toe again. "But I made it on time. The priming started right after I made it out of the woods."


    A sweet scent found its way to my nose through the woodsmoke smell that filled the room.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "But it got bad again?" She called from somewhere on the other end of the house.


    "Yes," I sighed. "There was this maiden named Tana."


    I flinched and opened my eyes when I felt Anna''s touch return.


    "I have to clean it. I''ll count to three, okay?" She said.


    I sat up on my elbows but kept my eyes turned to the stove, knowing that if I looked again it would only bring more feelings of weakness.


    "One, two, three. That burns!" I counted with her and then yelled. Heat engulfed my toe and for a brief moment, I thought she had set it on fire.


    "It''s just warm water you big baby," She laughed at my outburst. "Tell me about Tana."


    It was only when she had wrapped it in bandages and assured me that I could not see it that I finally found the will to look. The feeling of bandages on my skin brought back memories of the long days I had spent with them wrapped around my arms and legs. It had not been that long ago, but it felt so far away in the frozen forest outside of The Mother in Blue''s school.


    I told her everything about the girl with the blue stoned necklace, what she looked like, how she had acted, the way she had broken Seram''s first rule.


    "You hit her?" Anna asked, her voice and face obviously shocked.


    I brought my hand up and held my thumb as close as I could to my pointer finger without letting the two touch. "A little."


    "You can''t hit someone a little, Autumn. You either hit them or you don''t." She gave an exasperated laugh as she came back to the stove from wherever she had taken my socks. From a pot she took off the top of it, she poured a steaming liquid into both of our cups.


    We only had the two.


    "Fine then, I didn''t hit her a little. I just hit her." I said, small anger bringing heat to my words.


    Anna smiled at me as she sat down and handed me one of the cups. "Good, it sounds like she deserved it. Here. Everyone needs a snack after school."


    "You made us hot chocolate?" I gasped and took the warm drink into my hands.


    "Mmhmm," She took a sip of her own and nodded. "What made it worse again?"


    I told her about the inspection and how Precept Mon Zetta had pushed me into the tent. She agreed with my dislike of Underwitch Maletta before I ever got to the part where Nami had arrived. Meeting Precept Cherith, getting my parcel, and all the times I had felt like I was being watched, I told her it all.


    Long after my cup was empty and the hot chocolate sat warm in my belly, I neared the end of what had happened.


    "The Mother in Brown said that it was impossible for me to complete the trial, that I had the wrong sort of soul. I don''t know if that''s true because I don''t know what the trial is, but she said that when I fail, she is going to take us to her domain." I said, trying to keep my promise to Rhiannon by only using their names when it was absolutely necessary.


    Anna finished her drink and shook her head. "No, that''s not it. You''d be more angry if it was. You don''t really have a history of staying calm when you are backed into a corner."


    "It makes my head feel like its gonna split in half trying to think of it all," I said and pressed the heels of my hands against my eyes. "Nami is The Mother in Blue, I think, but everyone calls her something different. Maletta called her by her name, Precept Cherith called her Mother, Alexei called her headmistress. She said she was going to cheat, but now that The Mother in Brown is here, she doesn''t think that she can. Now I''m supposed to think about my hair. She said to think about what it took for me to get ready, but that makes such little sense I wish she had not said it at all."


    Anna put her cup down and took mine from me before taking my hands in her own. "We can worry about that shit in a minute. Why aren''t you pacing the room and trying to figure out what she meant? Why aren''t you yelling about how unfair this all is? There is something else you aren''t saying. You can tell me, Autumn. You know that by now."


    Sometimes I hated how well she knew me.


    "I am angry, but some small part of me knew when we were packing, when we left the manor, or when we got here that it was too good to be true." I sighed and let my head hang down. My hair covered my face and I hid behind it in a sad state of shame.


    "Let''s think about this," Anna said as she squeezed my hands hard enough to press my finger joints painfully against each other. "You ran away and came back with three mortals, you got the punishments, but they let us stay with you. You''ve got a couple of scars, but you made it through the first three. You get caught in the city after sneaking out of the manor and nothing came of it. One of The Mother''s says she loves you. She didn''t punish you and helped you tell the other Mothers what you wanted. Here we are. This isn''t too good to be true, it''s the only thing good enough to be true. For whatever reason, things keep going your way. That''s not going to stop now."


    "How do you know that?" I muttered, resisting the way her persuasive words made me feel.


    "Because some of them are on your side," She said as she brought herself onto her knees and took my face in her hands. "Because I know you and how you have a habit of doing things that should be impossible. And, most important of all, because you have me."


    She kissed my forehead and left me looking after her longingly after she stood.


    Anna went to our bed. There was no canopy and it was much lower to the ground than the one at the manor had been, barely tall enough to fit a wine bottle underneath it. She braced herself against the simple iron frame and lifted the mattress.


    When she let it fall back in place, there was a thick pile of paper in her hand. The notes she kept about all of the stranger parts of my life had grown far past the first notebook she had started in during the warm days in Erosette. She rifled through the pile until she found what she was looking for.


    "The Mother in Blue, we think, told you to think about your hair. We think, when it comes to you, that she leans more to The Red Mother''s side of things than The Brown Mother''s. So she is at least trying to help you." Anna said as spread her notes out over the bed.


    "We think." I added as I pulled off my black jacket.


    It was actually The Lady in Purple''s, as were the black tights and shirt I wore under it, but it had been long enough without her coming to reclaim them that I had begun to consider them mine.


    "Right," Anna nodded, her hands on her hips and her face locked into a focused expression that made everything around her seem much less important. "Your hair is red, long, and just a little wavy."


    I watched her as she thought aloud, becoming horribly distracted by the small gap between the bottom of her tight shirt and the top of the pants hanging off her hips.


    "Are you paying attention?" She snapped at me without turning around.


    ¡°Yes, coach," I lied. "My hair is long, wavy, and just a little red."


    "The only time it gets brushed is when I do it and if I didn''t make you, it would never get washed. We were going to braid it before you left, but because I''m too scared to have a bad dream without needing you to comfort me, we both woke up late and didn''t have time." She continued.


    The plan had been to braid it. Anna had said once before that she liked my hair long and I had been letting it grow ever since. It reached the middle of my back when I wore it down and was becoming harder and harder to deal with the longer it got. We were going to get up early so she could brush it out and make sure it did not get in my way on my first day.


    She had shaken me awake and practically thrown me out of bed. The floor had been freezing cold and I had sprinted to the bathroom to put on my glamor.


    "Wait!" I shouted, my sudden realization bringing me straight up to my feet. The floor felt strange on the bottom of my foot because of the bandage, but I was almost too excited to notice.


    Anna stood as still as stone for a long moment while I smiled at my own brilliance


    "How long do I have to wait?" She asked after too much time had passed.


    "After we woke up, before I left, I had to run into the bathroom to put on Ire. My hair is red. Hers is black. I had to glamor the color away." I said in one rapid breath.


    "Oh shit!" Anna shouted and threw her hands up into the air.


    "It doesn''t matter if I have the wrong sort of soul if I make it look like I have the right sort!" I smiled as we met in the middle of the small distance between us and embraced.


    "I knew you were pretty and talented, but don''t tell me you''re smart too. That just wouldn''t be fair," She said through a laugh. "Let''s try it, it will count as your training for the day."


    "Yes, coach." I agreed, the part of me that had nearly frozen and died having come roaring back to life because of her.


    Our place may have seemed like little more than a shack hidden within the frozen forest, but it was ours, and we would not be leaving it.

 V3: Chapter Five: Training

    Anna had started taking her position as my coach much more seriously after we had learned that I would be admitted to Lun Arcancil.


    Every day since, without fail, she had pushed me to my absolute limits. Through a strict regiment that routinely and repeatedly left me sweating and shaking on the floor, she demanded more from me than I thought I was capable of giving.


    Even if I wanted to, which I didn''t, I would not complain. How could I? It was not as if I knew a better way to go about things. I didn''t know a way at all.


    I knew so little that when we put our minds together, it made Anna know less.


    That was half the reason I had wanted to become one of Rhiannon''s roses in the first place. I wanted to know things. I wanted to understand my power and what I could do with it beyond breaking beds and destroying kitchens. There were other reasons, Pyreme, the half cloaks, and the sandals, but the desire to learn was not the smallest of them.


    Still, hard as it was and as blind as we were, our training had not been without gains.


    Anna Lao was many things. Being a brilliant coach just happened to be one of them.


    We pushed the mostly empty chests out of the middle of the floor and left them under the window on the back wall. There was too little floor space in the place to do anything with them sitting out.


    Without needing to be prompted, I practiced bending branch and brought my aura to life inside myself. The hope and excitement that had sparked within me after solving Nami''s hint made it nearly effortless. I took my place in front of the bathroom door and looked to Anna for my orders. "Fireworks or the cord?"


    "Fireworks. A small one. That''ll be easier because you won''t have to hold it for very long, right?" Anna said as she stood opposite me in the kitchen. We had agreed to alternate who got to stand near the oven and stay warm, but it had been days since I had gotten to take my turn.


    "I have absolutely no idea." I answered her honestly.


    "It will be easier because you won''t have to hold it for very long. Remember, small and blue." Anna repeated with her notebook in one hand and a pen in the other.


    I held my left hand in front of myself and turned it up to the ceiling. My aura pressed against the seals on my right palm and navel, but I left them undisturbed. The time would come again when The Mother''s would summon me before them. When it would happen or what I would do to bring it about, I did not know, but it would come regardless. Anna and I had thought it best if I came to that inevitable moment with as little reason for them to be mad at me as possible.


    The reflection of my eyes beginning to glow red with my power came to light in Anna''s dark eyes as it built within me.


    I brought my power to my left hand within me and let the pressure build. If I held it for more than a moment the firework shaped working that came out of me would not be small. It made little sense to me how creating larger ones was easier. The fact that I could make anything at all was still new enough to be exciting enough to not let me get caught up in the small details.


    Control was what allowed me to alter the amount of my aura that I used, when I was able to harness it at least.


    As soon as my aura met the channel in my left palm, I brought the memory of Adrian''s fireworks to the front of my mind. The Red Mother''s lover had made all manner of explosives in every color and pattern I could imagine. Small, large, and every size between, there had even been a big one that had unfortunately been a dud. I remembered how the small explosions had echoed over the cliffside and the acrid smoke they had filled the air with. Keeping the memory of the senses sharp, I let myself feel the excitement I had felt before Azza had returned and cast it away.


    Then, without any idea how to do what I was going to try, I attempted to glamor my unmanifested working.


    Blue like the ocean. Blue like Nami''s eyes. Blue like Sam.


    The more I brought my focus to the thoughts that would turn into the glamors, the harder it became to hold my working. When I shifted my focus back to my working, the thoughts of the glamor would slip from me like water through my fingers. Quickly losing the ability to hold either, I let the built pressure push my working out of my palm. and a streak of red power jumped up from my hand and smacked against the ceiling with an audible bang.


    "Shit! I said to make it small!" Anna yelled as she shielded her eyes from the red dust raining down over her.


    "Sorry," I sighed as I took the small loss and waited for the angered heat of my afterglow to come for me. It would be minor, easily calmed, but I had learned that being prepared for it made it much easier to not let it take me.


    Anna slowly peaked her head out from behind her arm. "Let''s try again. The cord this time."


    "No." I snapped at her, but I brought my power back to my hand regardless of my ill temper.


    She had grown so used to my verbal disagreements that she had told me she found them more cute than anything.


    The longer we had trained, the more fireworks I made or times I could bring my cord out of me, the less consuming the rage of my afterglow had become.


    The first time I had felt it, it had been strong enough to reduce me into little more than a raging beast. I had torn out a sorcerer''s throat with my teeth and would have done worse if I had been able to. It had been blinding, all consuming, like the flames that had burned Rhiannon away on the night of Empyre.


    After months of practice and repetition, after the countless times I had snapped at Anna in anger, it had become a suggestion. As long as my workings were small enough and I did not hold them for very long, my afterglows were like the black oven that warmed the house.


    It was hot, I could feel it in my face and hands, but it would only burn me if I touched it.


    That wasn''t true if I let too much of my power out. Two weeks before we had taken the black gate to Hymneth, I had blown the rose patterned rug in my room at the manor apart and locked myself in my closet for several hours.


    That was how we had learned the valuable lesson that there were only so many times a night I could channel my aura.


    I waited for Anna to finish writing down whatever she had found important enough to record.


    "Ready?" She finally asked as her eyes left the page and returned to me.


    "No." I said, but nodded in agreement and brought my aura back to my palm.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    All it took for my cord to take shape was thinking of things I wanted that were out of my reach. I would have loved to be drinking the remainder of the hot chocolate that still steamed in the pot atop the stove. The half round of bread and soft cheese on the counter looked like a veritable feast to my empty belly. Anna. I wanted to take each of them into my grasp and let them fill the needy places within me.


    With those wants held in the front of my mind like the memories of Adrian''s fireworks had been a moment before, I lowered my hand to my side.


    Blue like the ocean. Blue like Nami''s eyes. Blue like Sam. I thought.


    Blue like the ocean. Blue like Nami''s eyes. Blue like Sam. Blue like hot chocolate. No. Hot chocolate isn''t blue. Blue like the ocean. Blue like Nami''s eyes. Bread. Cheese. Anna. Blue like Anna. I want the ocean. I want.


    "I can''t." I said as my focus broke and a plume of annoyingly red dust settled onto the floor at my feet like the ash that escaped from the oven when Anna added a new piece of wood.


    "Easy, easy. Why can''t you?" Anna asked me in her soft voice.


    The loss threatened to send me back against the door, but I fought against it. Kicking at the dust, I caught the tip of my injured toe on the wooden floor. In equal amounts of anger and pain, I balled my fists and stomped my foot. "If I knew why I couldn''t, I could."


    "The necklace." Anna reminded me as she brought her pen back to the page.


    I pulled the tight fabric of my shirt collar out from my neck and reached into it. A small glass vial hung from a thin chain around my neck. I brought it out and held it within my sealed palm. A lock of raven black hair packed down against the glimmering yellow dust that filled the vial and a tiny cork held it all in.


    The sight of it alone was enough to turn up the corners of my mouth. Anna had made it for me shortly after my birthday and unlike the only other piece of jewelry I had ever been given, I had chosen to put it on. The hair was Anna''s and the dust was what had remained of the yellow firefly that Glim had snuck into my clothes when I had been in the colosseum.


    Both things brought me joy and both things warded off the rage of my afterglow. The more I used it or the more of myself that I used would lessen how much it helped me, but it was effective nonetheless.


    "Better?" Anna asked.


    "Better." I answered her.


    "Good," She smiled. "Why can''t you do it?"


    I returned the necklace to its place beneath my shirt. "¡°It¡¯s like trying to walk to the left and the right at the same time. It''s impossible. It feels like I''m going to split in half, like I''m going to end up like one of those logs."


    A stack of split wood filled a boxy iron frame that sat against the right wall of our quarters. Alexei had refilled it for us twice since we had moved into the shack but I had never seen him cutting it.


    "Autumn?" Anna said, her nose scrunching as she held back a laugh.


    I pointed my finger at her and furrowed my brows "Stop looking at me like that. That means I''m doing something so dumb that you think it''s cute."


    "You are thinking about it too hard. You don''t have to do both at the same time." She laughed, having lost the war of restraint she had been waging against herself.


    "Yes I do? If I show my color and then change it all of a sudden, they will know what I have done." I argued back.


    "One step at a time, dummy. Remember when you couldn''t cover a whole pillow? Let''s just see if you can change the color at all." She said and waited for me to try again.


    "Fine, but I am taking a break after this." I told her and focused my aura for the third time.


    For all of my attempts, I had never stopped bending the branch. Part of my usual training was holding it for as long as I could and my ability to do so had grown gradually. There had been one night I had almost fallen asleep with my eyes still aglow with my color.


    I thought of the hot chocolate, bread, cheese, and Anna once again. With a roll and quick flick of my wrist, I pushed my power out of my left hand and sent it coiling onto the floor. It was half again thicker than my thumb and grew thinner towards its tip. My fingers wrapped around it like it had been made for them. I resisted the impulse to snap it down and break a hole through Alexei''s ceiling.


    Closing my eyes, I tried to create the glamor that would let me pass whatever trial I was put through the following day.


    Blue like the ocean. Blue like Nami''s eyes. Blue like Sam.


    It no longer felt like I was trying to split my mind. Once my cord was manifested, I could hold it in reality for as long as I could bend the branch. With all of my mind I focused on the glamor and the illusion I was trying to create.


    Blue like the ocean. Blue like Nami''s eyes. Blue like Sam.


    Nothing happened. My aura still pressed against my channel but I felt no more of it pass through.


    Blue like the ocean. Blue like Nami''s eyes. Blue like Sam. I thought harder.


    No matter how desperately I willed the red of my cord to cool to blue, I could not manage to do so much as stain it.


    My focus did not break or slip, I let it and my cord slip from my grip willfully and gave up.


    The cord turned to dust in the shape it had been coiled in. A heavy breath slipped out of me and I sagged back against the bathroom door feeling like I would fall to the floor.


    I closed my eyes against the afterglow that clenched my jaw and brought violence to my hands.


    I would fail. Azza would take us. My journey to Lun Arcanicil and the hope I had held at being an underwitch in full had been nothing but a joke to The Mothers that opposed me.


    Anna placed her hands on my arms gently and spoke in little more than a whisper. "Do you need it?"


    "Yes." I answered without opening my eyes.


    She kissed me, long and soft and sweet. Somewhere within it, the rage that was building inside me lost its heat and I became myself again. It was the most potent antidote we had discovered for the afterglow, but since both of us knew there would be times that she was not there to administer it, it was saved until it was absolutely necessary.


    The definition of necessary was different between the two of us, but we had found a compromise that we were both happy with.


    Anna pulled away from me but kept her hands on my arms. "You''ve had a long day. I''ll make dinner tonight, You''ve had to learn enough. Go take a bath. Take your trips and try to find something that will help. We will try again after you have eaten."


    Under other circumstances, all of the things she said sounded pleasing, but I did not believe I had enough of my antidote.


    "Autumn, no," Anna said as her nose scrunched once again, evidently able to see what I desired in my eyes. "This is serious. I''ll be here the day after tomorrow. The trial won''t."


    I could have slipped past her guard with little to no effort. The near infinite amount of games of points I had played had trained my eyes to look for every opening available to me.


    ¡°You could come with me. We could do it together like our first night here. It saves hot water and you know I won''t be able to find anything useful anyways.¡± I said, hoping my offer would be enticing enough for her to not hold me to the three memories a day standard she had set.


    Of course, we couldn¡¯t, literally. The bath was barely big enough for me to sit in it with my legs straightened. It was deep enough that I could bring the water to my shoulders while I was sitting straight up, but it was disappointingly too small to fit the two of us.


    "We had to do that. And, No." Anna said as she gave me a playful shove and went to start the water.


    Not long after, I had left my clothes in a pile on the floor and closed the bathroom door behind me. The bath looked like someone had stolen a giant''s wash bucket and hidden it away in the little shack so its rightful owner could not find it. It was nothing but wooden boards, iron bands, and the metal spigot that only produced freezing cold water.


    Our first night away from the manor, Anna had heated our bath water pot by pot on the top of the black stove, but it had taken so long to fill it, I had devised another method that was much quicker.


    Bringing my aura back to my palm, I thought of Adrian''s fireworks and let the pressure build.


    In a spray of cold mist and flashes of red light, I let my own explosives stream from my hand until steam began to roll off the top of the disturbed water.


    It was quick, but messy, and I took extra care to not slip on the wet floor boards as I swung my legs over the waist high lip of the bath. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the still cold wood. I made no attempt to think of a name or focus on one of The Mothers.


    There was no use.


    Those convenient days in the pool of the well house had long passed.


    All I could do was wait to slip into The Well and hope that I stumbled upon something useful.

 V3: Chapter Six: Greer

    I heard Vera walk quietly to my door and saw her shadow darken the light that leaked through the bottom of it.


    She knocked quietly against it like she always did before she cracked it open and let too much of my dark out. "Lady Greer? Have you finished your tea?"


    "It went cold." I answered and pulled my blankets over my head.


    "Would you like me to warm it for you?" Vera asked, still standing in the doorway.


    "No." I said, hoping she would understand that I wished to be left alone.


    "I will come and wake you for lunch. Three days is much too long to go without eating." She said. The door clicked behind her and I followed the sound of her steps until they became too quiet to hear.


    Vera had understood my silent request.


    She always did.


    My heart couldn''t hurt if I was not awake to feel it, so I closed my eyes and let myself fall back into the unfeeling oblivion of sleep. . .


    I came back to myself with a slow breath and felt the remnant dust of my fireworks scratching against the bottom of my outstretched legs. The bathwater had not lost all of its heat, but it was cold enough that I knew I wished to leave it.


    If I wished, I could have heated it again, but I just did not see the point. The memory of whoever Greer was had been nothing but her laying in a dark room and then going back to sleep. My recent trips to the well considered, it had been one of the more eventful memories I had witnessed.


    When I could think of a name and find myself in the name-bearers'' memories a moment later, the thing at the bottom of The Well had been the only explanation for the short cut. Ever since I had denied the metallic rhythm of its call for me when I had been on the stone table of the colosseum, it had denied me any assistance.


    That left me to wander The Well with nothing to guide me to anything useful.


    A woman waking and then sleeping again, a heated argument over what color dress a sorceress wanted to wear, long moments of complete silence in an empty room, those were the thrilling memories I had lived through as of late.


    Several weeks before we had left Erosette, I had opened the yellow bound book that belonged to a sorceress named Apple. Curiosity alone had brought my hands to the first page within it and I had lived through what must have been her first memory. A mind bending wash of colors and sounds had met me. They had waxed and waned like a particularly quick moon and managed to make recognizable shapes once or twice.


    When I had returned and learned that I had temporarily forgotten how to speak, I had decided that throwing my mind into the memories of a small child was not the best idea.


    There was no use in returning to The Well, but I still had to figure out how to glamor my own aura and I wouldn''t if I let myself prune in the bath any longer.


    I opened my eyes and pushed my damp hair behind my ears just in time to see a something smack against the still steamy window.


    Blood splayed across the glass from the impact and stained the white steam red.


    I threw myself back against the warm wood of the bath, trying to find space where there was none.


    The window slid open. A mess of blood and fur bulged through the small gap. It fell to the closed toilet with a wet thump and the lifeless black eye of what had once been a rabbit stared straight at me.


    Anna called to me from outside the bathroom. "Are you back? I didn''t hear-"


    I screamed.


    White claws gripped the window sill and a demon pulled itself into my sight.


    Its fur, a mottled pattern of every shade of blue, was darkened by the blood of the slain rabbit. Long fangs barred and its deep blue eyes wildly wide, my familiar dragged his big body into the bathroom.


    "What the fuck are you doing?" I shouted at Sam in an anger that was all my own. The dead stare of the rabbit was too much, but no matter how hard I tried I could not keep my eyes from snapping back to it.


    "What is your name?" Sam demanded in his low voice that shook the room like thunder.


    "Autumn Aubrey." I shouted and stood.


    "Who is Autumn Aubrey?" He asked his second question. A gust of wind blew through the open window and brought a flurry of snow with it. The iron scent of blood filled my nose and cold needled against my bare skin.


    My answer came quick and high as I ripped a towel from where it hung on the door and tried to shield myself from the frigid air. "An underwitch of Zenithcidel. Daughter of Idensyn Aubrey. Thief and possessor of The Well. Debtor to The Circle of the Nine Mothers."


    "Who was Autumn Aubrey?" Sam asked his final question as he leapt down from the window seal to where his slain prey lay.


    "Greer," I spat and turned away from the gory sight. I had answered his questions. He would have to answer mine. "Again, what the fuck are you doing?"


    "You were early. My hunt had not met its end." Sam said simply.


    "Could you not have left it outside?" I demanded as the bathroom door clicked open and Anna peaked her head inside.


    "No." Sam said simply.


    "Why not?" I shouted as a shiver ran through my body.


    "It would have fled." Sam said simply.


    Just as I had, Anna screamed at the sight of the rabbit.


    The sound of her fright stirred it back to life.


    The poor creature bolted from where it had been thrown and made a mad dash around the small space of the bathroom.


    Anna and I screamed together and tripped over each as we tried to get through the door. I dragged a flood of water out of the bath behind me and lost my towel somewhere before we both threw ourselves onto the bed.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    The rabbit was quick on our heels, running desperately around the room in search of an escape that didn''t exist. Sam stalked lazily into the room with his eyes locked on his prey


    The door to the outside swung open and a flurry of snow blew through it.


    Anna and I screamed again and threw our arms around one another.


    The gleaming tip of a pearlescent blade slowly crossed the threshold and gave way to the rest of its length. Two hands of a man clutched its white handle and their owner slowly stepped into inside with a predatory grace.


    ¡°Autumn Aubrey?¡± Alexei spoke calmly, his voice low. He glanced at Anna and I briefly before searching the room with his one white eye.


    The rabbit came sprinting out from behind the chests under the window. It ran right past Sam and through the legs of my guard without either of them so much as looking at it.


    Another flurry of snow blew in behind Alexei and swirled around him. His stark white hair was down and hung past his shoulders in a colorless curtain. The loose fitting robe he wore on his upper body was dark blue and open. What looked similar to the tights I had been wearing not long before hugged his muscular body and made him seem like an animate silhouette


    Sam stood opposite him, back arched and fur on end. Small arcs of yellow lightning circled around his clawed paws and ran all the way to the tip of his tail before repeating their path.


    ¡°Begone.¡± Sam thundered at Alexei. The windows rattled in their frame and splatters of the long cold hot chocolate came shaking out of the pot atop the stove.


    For a brief moment that felt much longer than it actually was, I thought my familiar and the man that had been charged with guarding me would come to blows.


    It was the third time in the small amount of days since we had left Erosette that something similar had happened.


    Alexei moved first. He relaxed out of his stance and sheathed his pearlescent sword in one smooth motion without breaking his gaze with Sam. ¡°I see that there is no threat here.¡±


    Anna shook her head and looked at me as if everything that had happened had only just caught up with her.


    ¡°Hey! Get the fuck out of here! You can¡¯t just barge in whenever you want to!¡± She yelled as she threw a blanket over me to cover my bare body.


    Alexei held one hand towards her as she stomped towards him, the other resting on the end of his sword.


    ¡°Peace, Lady Anna. I have done what I am meant to do,¡± He said, his voice neither friendly nor unfriendly. The neutral tone he took only made the weight of his words feel heavier. ¡°If I ever believe she is in mortal danger again, I will take the time to knock.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± Anna said as she crossed her arms and glared up at him. She shook her head again. "Wait. That''s not what I meant."


    Alexei turned on his heels and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.


    Sam relaxed once he was gone and the arcs of lightning dissipated over his fur.


    All I could do was sit there and shiver.


    Anna relocked the door and pressed her back against it. A small smile came to her face as she looked over the mess that our place had become.


    ¡°This makes you happy?¡± I asked, looking over the snow, water, and bloody paw prints that dirtied the wooden floor.


    ¡°Seeing him get all tense and scared looking, it makes me laugh,¡± She answered and looked down at my familiar. ¡°You really don¡¯t like that guy do you?¡±


    At her words, Sam let out a pained growl and raked his paws over his head.


    ¡°Careful. He is sensitive.¡± I said as I took my night clothes out from under my pillow and slipped into them. The first time Sam had laid eyes on Alexei, he run off into the woods and I had not seen him for nearly a full day. The questions I had asked when he had finally shown back up had sent him into spasms.


    Many times over his service to me I had brought him to the barriers in his mind, but none before had hurt him as badly.


    The cold air that my familiar and my guard had both let in brought me back to the warm spot in front of the stove.


    ¡°I am not sensitive. The two of you are careless.¡± Sam growled with his fangs barred and eyes still shut.


    ¡°Careless? You brought a half dead rabbit inside and now there is blood everywhere!¡± Anna shouted.


    Sam bent his big blue body around and hissed at Anna. ¡°Silence, mortal! If you cannot do it yourself I will take your tongue!¡±


    ¡°No, you won¡¯t. And what have I told you about yelling at Anna," I lowered myself and found a shaky balance on the balls of my feet. My familiar had grown so large, that his contemptuous blue eyes were even with mine when I knelt. "Have you thought about what I offered?"


    Sam stared back at me for a long moment before he stood. "I will finish my hunt. Release me."


    Evidently not. I thought to myself as I went and opened the door for him.


    He was perfectly capable of doing it himself. Only moments before, he had climbed to a second story window and opened it with a still alive rabbit in his mouth. Even so, I of all people knew how it felt to be bound against my will and it cost me little to indulge him in his small acts of rebellion.


    I knew he had not forgotten what I had asked either. As confusing and frustrating as he could be, he would tell me when he came to a decision. There were no barriers in my mind that hurt me if I met them, but I don''t know how willing I would be to throw myself against them if there were.


    Sam went after his rabbit and I locked the door behind him. Anna came back into the main room from the bathroom after closing the window


    "Well, if our relationship is anything to go by, you''ll be in love with Alexei by the end of the year," She joked. "Did you find anything in The Well?"


    I shrugged and took my towel from where it had fallen off me in my fright. Carefully lowering myself as to not put too much pressure on my toe, I began to dry the water off the floor. "Nothing with The Mothers and the thing still won''t talk to me. I just wandered around for a while, my head wasn''t really in my head I guess."


    "I don''t blame you. You''ve got a big day tomorrow." Anna said as she brought her towel down and helped me. We only had the two, they would need to be washed out before Anna could take her bath.


    "The last one I''ll ever have." I sighed, the reality of what was to come settling in my stomach like a stone.


    Anna put her hand on mine and met my eyes. "I''m going to go into town while you are gone tomorrow. See my mom, buy things for soup, get some wine. We can''t live here having only two towels. Is there anything you want?"


    I shook my head. "I don''t understand."


    "It''s a lot colder here too. You''ll need something warmer to sleep in or I''ll get another blanket for the bed." She continued.


    "Anna," I said seriously. "We don''t know if we will-"


    "It would be nice if I could find a little table and some chairs, but I don''t know how I would get it back here all by myself." She cut me off, completely ignoring what I had tried to say.


    I pushed myself over to her and pushed her down. "You are trying to make a point. Just say it, I''m tired."


    "I''m going because we need things. I''m going because I need to see my mom. She won''t admit it, but she gets lonely staying in the medery all by herself. I''m going because I know you better than anyone and there is no doubt in my mind that you are going to find a way through this. So stop arguing, lets eat dinner, and you think about anything you need from town. Got it?" She said in one long breath.


    I wanted to disagree. I wanted to tell her that she was wrong and that I was going to fail miserably, but I kept those terrible thoughts to myself.


    "Got it." I agreed.


    She helped me up as she stood and took the short trip to our bed. "Don''t be mad, but I opened your box. I''ve got good news."


    "Oh?" I asked as I followed the tracks she had left on the still damp floor and went after her.


    Anna turned around and pressed a tiny white dress against her front. It was made of cotton and was reminiscent of the maiden''s dresses I had worn frequently in Erosette. She and I were of a height, but with the straps of the dress held over her shoulders, it barely concealed the places that clothes were supposed to cover.


    "You''ve got to be at the gates an hour after dawn. You''re supposed to wear this and your shoes. No jewelry, no jackets, no tights." She said.


    I could see the little note that said the things she was telling me. I did not mind that she had opened it, I would much rather hear her say it than have to read it.


    "What is the good news?" I asked as I smoothed the soft fabric out over her stomach.


    "I think you are going to be inside. There is no way they leave you out in the cold wearing this. You would freeze to death."

 V3: Chapter Seven: Radomirs Pass

    Anna had been wrong.


    Dead wrong.


    She had been so wrong that I doubted she would ever be right about anything ever again.


    I had not been late, she had seen to that with a near violent dedication. She had fed me what she had called a proper breakfast of sweet oats and milk before literally pushing me out of the door. She had given me a kiss goodbye before she headed off to Hymneth and I had set of for the trial.


    The fear that she was wasting her time had not left me since she had.


    Alexei had been waiting for me at the edge of the clearing. My wolfish looking guard had given me strict orders to not mention his relation to me and to act as if I did not know him once we reached our destination. I knew that his demands for secrecy had come from Nami and had agreed to meet them. No matter how many questions about the trial I had tried to trick him into answering, he had said nothing else on our walk to the gates. Silent as he had been, I did not think it to be a coincidence that he had walked ahead of me and cleared a path through the snow as he went.


    The had been noticeably less maidens than there had been the day before and none of the Precepts had been there to greet us. Not the neat Seram, the savage Mon Zetta, or the serene Cherith. The small groups and loose scattering of the previous morning had not been present either. A silent understanding that the ridiculously small dresses we had been required to wear brought on had packed us tight together into a single shivering mass.


    I had not been late. I had arrived before the hour after dawn had come to pass, when the light of day had yet to brighten the sky above. A full hour had passed after that before the black iron gates had swung open and the pearlescent moon in their center had parted.


    A Precept I did not know had appeared from the glamor that concealed Lun and all that was held within her outer walls.


    She had tied back her mess of curly hair with a scrap of fabric as she approached. Her eyes half lidded and midnight blue, she had looked over our shivering group with a lazy grin on her sweet face. Where the other precepts had been wearing cloaks of icy blue to denote their rank, the new one only had a scarf bundled around her neck to show that shade. A too large overcoat that hung over her hands and dragged along the ground as she walked had concealed the rest of her. It had been all blue, covered in a pattern of small white stars, and had been the strangest piece of clothing I had ever seen. From the top of its collar, to the tips of its sleeves, and all the way down to its snow dusted hem, there had been pockets. No place on the over coat, front, back, or inside, had not held them.


    "Good morning, maidens. I am Precept Shanti." She had said through a deep yawn that had stretched and distorted her words.


    When the gates had begun to close behind her, doubt in Anna''s good news had first crept into my mind.


    When she had passed by the gathering and stepped into the wood line opposite the one I had arrived from, that doubt had ceased to creep. It had walked openly and made no attempt at stealth.


    When she had instructed us to follow her into the frozen forest, the doubt had arrived to the front of my mind and revealed itself to be a truth in hiding.


    Anna had been wrong.


    The maidens were not being taken inside to a place where our tiny dresses would be appropriate. We were being marched into the woods where I knew without question that I would freeze to death.


    The moment after Precept Shanti had made her announcement, Alexei had joined her at the front of the maidens with his hands resting on his swords.


    "Who is that?" A maiden shouted from inside our shivering huddle.


    I turned to find the short maiden with the chocolate brown eyes to be the one who had shouted.


    Maiden Reese. I remembered, glad to see that she was not one of the missing maidens.


    "Yes," I called out. If I announced that I did not know the man who was actually my guard, then no one would suspect that I knew him. "Who is he?"


    The other maidens joined into their own barrage of questions.


    "What happened to your eye?"


    "Who needs two swords?"


    "Why does he look so mean?"


    "What is your hair routine?"


    "Can I have your jacket?"


    "Are you single?"


    The gathering broke into a chorus of laughter after the last question. I laughed too, but only out of a desire to distance myself further from my guard. No part of me had found the hilarious flurry of questions funny.


    Precept Shanti held up her hands to quiet it back down and answered Reese and Reese alone. "This is Master Alexei. Phantom bears roam these mountains and he was kind enough to agree to keep them from devouring us."


    Phantom bear? I thought, not enjoying the vision that those two words created together in my mind.


    "What is that?" Reese called out again.


    "With Master Alexei here, you should not have the misfortune of finding out," Precept Shanti said through another long yawn. She rubbed her eyes with her hands and gave herself a little slap on her cheek. "Come along, we have a very long walk before we reach Radomir''s Pass."


    All of us followed her into the evergreens and their snow buried trunks forced us into a natural line. At first, there had been a certain amount of cheer that surrounded the group. Either from the excitement at the trial or the relief of moving against the bitter cold, most of the maidens chatted and laughed as we went. The heavy grey sky offered no warmth and the thin dresses that all of us were in might as well have been made of paper. Even still, the cold seemed to only push the other maidens forward in the early hours of the morning.


    Precept Shanti had not been lying when she said the way to wherever we were going would be long. The unseen path that she led us on took us through mounds of snow as deep as my chest and clusters of trees so tight that I had to slip through them sideways. We walked for so long and took so many turns, I had begun to believe that we were lost in the white wastes of the frozen forest.


    The chatter and excitement of the other maidens grew cold and stopped altogether after we had needed to crawl under a downed tree to continue.


    Is this the trial? I asked myself when all I could do was follow the tracks in the snow that the maiden in front of me had left. The thought felt true to the way that I knew sorceresses to be. To lead us into the forest under the guise of having a destination only to let each of us to fail or to give up, it sounded just wicked enough to be believable. If I had not known that the trial would require my aura, I would have convinced myself of it.


    After what had to have been hours but had felt like days, I was exhausted. The thin air stung my throat and would not let me catch my breath. My cuffed boots had done nothing but become heavier as they had filled with melting snow that sent my cracked nail into a dull ache. Every inch of my exposed skin stung and shivered from the wind and cold. I fit my boot into the larger impression the maiden in front of me had made and ran face first into her back. If her angry expression was anything to go by, she had turned around to say something to me but she couldn''t get it out through the chattering of her teeth.


    All the other maidens in front of me had stopped and were gathering together in front of Precept Shanti.


    "Have no fear, maidens. We are nearly there and you will have the choice to be warm once again." Precept Shanti yawned.


    I did not believe her. I would never be warm again.


    The sleepy sorceress stood in front of the jagged mouth of a small cave with her hands held in two of the uncountable pockets that covered her coat.


    Somewhere along the way, when I had been able to do nothing but stare at the trampled snow in front of me, the forest on our left had fallen away. The white tops of ever more evergreens ended far enough below my feet that I knew it would mean certain death if I fell. Barely more than a hollow of warm light and white smoke, the town of Hymneth lay within them. Like guards armed with the cold of winter itself, the snow whitened trees stood tall around the town all the way to the mountains in the distance.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Above one but below another, the cliffside that the jagged cave opened from rose so high above me that I could not see its top against the dreary sky.


    "This is Radomir''s pass. Our camp is just on the other side. We will have to take it one by one. If any of you are thin enough to pass through shoulder to shoulder, consider withdrawing. You will be too weak to survive the trial.


    Yet another line formed. Most of the maidens stood as far away from the cliff''s edge as they could without touching the frozen stone of the cliffside. They were so obviously scared by the height they kept their backs turned to it until they ducked through the entrance of the cave.


    I found a small amount of joy in it.


    After my bath and Alexei''s sudden intrusion into the bloody mess Sam had brought inside, none of my attempts to glamor my aura had succeeded. Dinner had not helped. The necklace that I had left laying on my pillow in my quarters that morning had stopped working. By the end of my trying, Anna had needed to give me so much of her antidote that any hope of further attempts had been lost.


    Even with my failure and the uncertainty I had woken up to face, the one I loved was amongst the trees as I looked down at them. She had more than likely already made it to Hymneth and was busy buying things for the place that she was certain would continue to be ours.


    I did not have a sliver of half the belief Anna had in me, but other than her good news, she had not been wrong about much in the time I had known her.


    If she trudged all the way through the deep snow to the little town and back again just for me to fail, I would never forgive myself.


    I hope she is warmer than I am. I thought to myself with a little laugh. How could she not be? She had not been required to wear next to nothing when she had left our little shack that morning. I was glad that I hadn''t, but I could not deny that I would enjoy seeing her wear the little dress I was freezing in.


    Just before it was my turn to enter Radomir''s pass, the maiden in front of me turned around and looked down her nose at me.


    It was the maiden from the day before, the one with the honey brown hair and probably had a purple bruise on her ribs from where I had hit her.


    Tana.


    "Where are you from?" Maiden Tana demanded. She wore the same thin dress that the rest of us did, but her blue stoned necklace still hung around her neck.


    She broke the rules. I thought at the sight of it.


    "I, uhm. . ." I stuttered. I knew where I was from, my mother, The City Below, the mortal plane, Erosette, any of those answers were true, but I was not Autumn. I was Maiden Ire. I was the underdeveloped maiden with the long black hair and uninteresting features. I was from Don Viven. I knew that, it just took a moment for me to remember it.


    Maiden Tana was not content to wait. "Uhm? I don''t believe I''ve heard of a place with such a name, it must be even worse than I thought."


    "Don Viven. I''m from Don Viven." I managed to say.


    "Ah, I knew it must be something like that," Tana snorted. "What was The Mother in Blue doing talking to a motherless wretch like you?"


    I didn''t understand. "What?"


    "I saw her with you yesterday. If she wouldn''t so much as speak to the rest of us, I thought to myself that she must have caught you cheating or breaking a rule. That was the only reasonable explanation to why she would speak to someone like you. My mother, Sorceress Tana, says that she could spot a maiden from outside Zenithcidel from a mile away. I have inherited that talent." She said with an ugly sneer.


    I had a mother. Tana was speaking to a glamor, an illusion, someone that did not truly exist. She didn''t know that, but her tone alone brought the heat of anger to my face and hands.


    "She should have inherited some common decency," Someone said from behind me. Just as I had the day before, Maiden Reese shouldered past the maidens behind me and stepped between Tana and I. "But if I had to guess, she doesn''t have any to spare."


    Reese laughed. The maidens behind me laughed. I laughed.


    Maiden Tana did not.


    Her sneer turned to a silent scowl and her hand went to her necklace.


    "Go on. You''re holding up the line and I''m freezing," Maiden Reese said and gestured for Maiden Tana to enter the pass. "I''m sure you can''t wait to try and suck up to one of the precepts again anyways."


    Tana stomped her foot on the snowy ground, turned, and stormed into the pass.


    If she had anything else to say, it was lost in the laughs of the other maidens.


    "She was being mean to me, wasn''t she?" I asked aloud.


    Maiden Reese gave me a wink with one of her chocolate brown eyes. "Yes, and she''ll keep being that way until you shut her up like I did. That''s the only way to deal with folks like that."


    "Well, thank you. I will remember that. I am Maiden Ire." I said. The only thing that kept me from feeling guilty about lying to her was the likelihood that I would never see her again after I failed the trial.


    She gave me a small push towards the mouth of the pass. "Hopefully not for long, right?"


    "Right." I agreed. From The Mother''s mouths themselves, I was already an underwitch. Maiden Ire on the other hand was probably doomed to forever be a maiden unless I spontaneously discovered how to split my mind in half.


    I lowered my head and stepped into the pass.


    Icy blue crystals adorned the cave walls and cast their dim light throughout it. The footing was not uneven. The ground underneath my boots had been worn smooth and I gathered that it had either been used for a very long time or frequently.


    Maiden Reese followed close behind me, her energetic voice making shallow echoes in the tight space. "Don''t pay any mind to that ''motherless'' shit. The Mother in Blue isn''t even from here. There is nothing to it."


    Nami isn''t from Hymneth? I thought to myself. She had said that she hated the cold, but I had thought it was because it was terrible and made her bones hurt like it did mine.


    "Can you walk any faster? I''m ready to be there." Reese said and gave me a soft push in the center of my back.


    I did my best to get out of her way while I carefully moved around the sharp ends of the crystals and reached the exit of Radomir''s pass.


    A collection of big blue tents, the same sort that had been in the courtyard the morning before, were connected into a large camp within a clearing. The dead grass underneath them was the only place in the mountain hollow that was not blanketed by snow.


    If there was no snow, that meant that the inside of the tents were warm like they had been yesterday.


    The sight of the other maidens running down the hill towards the camp told me that I was not the only one who had come to that conclusion.


    Reese pushed past me and joined them in their mad dash.


    Not wanting to be left behind, I did the same.


    A low roaring sound, so slight at first that I thought I was imagining it, found its way to my ears. The closer I grew to the camp, the louder the sound became. By the time I joined with the crowd of maidens that had formed on the outskirts of the tents, I was searching through the trees to try and find its source.


    Precept Shanti waited until the last of the maidens had made it down from the pass and Alexei had arrived at the back of the gathering to speak.


    ¡°Inside these tents, you will find everything you need to spend the next day and night of your lives in perfect comfort. Hot food, soft bedding, a steam room to warm your bones.¡± She raised her voice and said over the roaring sound.


    ¡°Can we go inside?¡± One of the maidens shouted from within our tight group.


    ¡°Patience, maiden," Precept Shanti yawned before she held up a hand and called out into the trees. "Precept Jasna!"


    Light, blue as the sky over Erosette, sliced through the snow to my right and threw flurries of it into the air.


    The ground underneath it began to collapse.


    With terrible speed, the hard packed snow broke away in a slurry of sky blue power and rushing water. The source of the roaring sound was revealed to be a white watered river that carved its way through the trees with constant violence.


    "This is The River Eae. The place over there that each of you will willingly throw yourselves into is known as the bitter deeps. The five of you that overcome it with your power and take one of the charms in the shallows above will be accepted into Lun Arcanicil as new moons in full." Precept Shanti said without yawning. Her half lidded eyes were deadly serious and her hands were held behind her back instead of one of her pockets.


    Five of us? I thought.


    "Five of us? What does that mean?" Reese shouted out the question I had just asked inside my mind.


    "Do not despair. Most years we only have one or two maidens succeed. It is far more likely that all of you will fail or quit than it is that every slot will be filled. Hear my words, maidens. Learn from the absence of those that were with you yesterday but are not today. When our rules are set, they are final. If any of you attempt to climb to the finish and only enter the river at the end, you will be sent away. If any of you interfere with another maiden''s attempt, you will be sent away. If any of you reach your limits and require healing from myself or the other precepts, you will be sent away.¡± Precept Shanti continued.


    None of the maidens said anything in response, not even Reese, and that seemed like a very difficult thing for her to do.


    Precept Shanti gestured at the tents behind her. "Before any of you can go inside, eat, or get warm, you must attempt the trial once. Only one of you may attempt it at a time. There is no limit to how many times you can try. But, if you have not passed by this time tomorrow, your opportunity has. Who will be first?"


    Only one hand raised amongst the gathered maidens.


    "Maiden Tana. Whenever you are ready." Precept Shanti yawned and her eyelids settled into the lazy position I had become used to.


    With visible confidence in every step she took, she went to the river and slipped out of her shoes.


    All of us followed in her footsteps and spread along the edge of The River Eae to watch.


    Maiden Tana flashed an annoyingly pretty smile at all of us and jumped in without hesitation.


    She crashed through the violent surface of the white water and for a brief moment I thought she had drowned.


    Then, the color of her aura had stained the bitter deeps with its light.


    All of us watched silently as she broke through the rapids and took one of the charms that hung across the shallows into her hand.


    Four slots left.

 V3: Chapter Eight: The River Eae

    My breaths came desperate and shallow.


    The River Eae cut against me like a river of frigid blades.


    Every part of me screamed for reprieve, to throw myself out of the river, to escape the freezing death that felt only a breath away.


    I could not keep my eyes open. A momentary glimpse of branches and grey sky was all I could see before the water hit me again and forced them shut. The numb feeling of my feet against the sharp rocks of the river bed was all I had to be sure I was facing the right direction.


    If the water had been calm, I was almost tall enough to keep my head above the water. With the violence it brought against me, I was barely able to stay out long enough to breathe.


    My weak grip was quickly slipping.


    I would be washed away .


    The river would best me.


    I would fail.


    I reached for my aura. I tried to focus it, but every time I touched the red of my soul, the water would cut through the numbness it had created and I would lose my hold.


    My feet slipped off the stones underneath them and I went under


    Blinding cold, water in my nose, the tips of my toes scrapped against the rocks.


    A sharp pain pierced the bottom of my right foot as it caught on the pointed edge of something solid.


    I only realized I was screaming when the deafening roar of the river left my ears as I broke back above the surface.


    I fought against the current as I gasped for air.


    Taking my aura and clutching it like it was all that would keep me alive, I let desperation bring it to my left palm.


    It nearly slipped out of me before I remembered the glamor.


    Blue like Sam. Blue like a bruise. Blue like my body will be when I drown. I thought.


    Trying to do two things at once felt impossible. Trying to do two things at once while I was a stuck stone away from filling my lungs with freezing water was nearly impossible. Doing all of that while not using the power I did have was impossible.


    My focus slipped the same moment my foot did and the rushing river washed me away like the snow that had covered it.


    My light did not stain the water. I did not rise up from the torrent on platforms of my power like Tana had. I had not so much as laid my eyes on one of the silver charms beyond the bitter deeps.


    The smell of spices, hot sand, and cold glass, all of it came to me in the water. Through my numbness, phantom pains on my arms and legs reminded me of a time when I would have given anything to not feel at all. The memory of two thin hands locking a choker around my throat made me feel like I would never breathe again. Two golden eyes shone from total darkness as opulent omens of what awaited me beyond my failure.


    I had failed and had been powerless to stop it.


    My back met something pillow soft and it cradled me gently against the current. Like I weighed no more than a feather and the water was no stronger than a light breeze, whatever it was pulled me from cutting rapids of The River Eae.


    "Have you died?" Someone asked as my cradle receded and I felt myself be sat down into wet snow.


    "N-n-no!" I cried through the chattering of my teeth.


    "Are you hurt or only hurting?" The voice spoke again over the roaring of the river.


    "H-hurting." I shouted and curled myself into the tightest ball I could, barely able to think of anything but the reflexive shaking of my body.


    "Do you withdraw your name from consideration?" The voice said from somewhere very close to me.


    I wiped the freezing water from my face and pushed the long black hair back away from all the places it clung to me with my shaking hands.


    A precept I had not met stood over me to my left.


    Three feathers adorned her downy black hair. Two were as white as the snow that surrounded us. They were braided into the long locks that framed her face. A third, much longer than the others, swelled back from the top of her hair in a brilliant blue that did not match her eyes. Her eyes were blue like the cloudless skies over Erosette and sharp like the aura that had cut through the snow that had concealed the river. Her icy precepts cloak split behind her and tapered down into points that ended just above the tops of her cloth shoes.


    She glanced down at me with a piercing intensity. "Well?"


    Precept Jasna. I thought to myself, knowing that it had been her who Precept Shanti had called for and that it had been her who had pulled me from the river.


    "I hate how shocked you all look after your first time. It''s pathetic. You must have known how cold you would be." Precept Jasna said.


    "S-s-sorry." I forced out of myself.


    "No," She rolled her eyes and hauled me up onto my frozen feet. "Don''t do that, it makes me feel bad. Go inside before you freeze to death."


    "N-n-no." I shook my head against the force of my quaking body. She glared at me so harshly that I had to look away from her.


    "You wish to try again? Now?" She asked.


    Walking slowly from where the maidens that still had not made their first attempt stood, Precept Shanti came to us before I could speak. "Is something the matter?"


    "We have a brave one. She wants to go again. " Precept Jasna answered her.


    Precept Shanti yawned and pulled her hand from one of her uncountable pockets before offering it to me. "You shouldn''t. You had so much trouble the first time. Go warm up and eat with Maiden Reese, the two of you seem to have struck up a friendship. There is no need to push yourself and there is plenty of time for you to try again. Not everyone can be like Maiden Tana."


    After she had taken me by my wrist and pulled me along behind her, Reese had thrown herself into the river. She had lasted longer than I did, but had not come away with a charm.


    She stood a small way away with her back turned to the tents, shivering as I was and waiting for me.


    "No!" I shouted, stomping my feet into the snow and making for the start point without waiting for permission.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    Maiden Ire was the one who wanted to go inside where it was warm. It was her that craved a belly full of soup and to curl up under a mountain of blankets. She had nothing to lose because she had been created to fail. When the trial ended and she was still a maiden in the eyes of the precepts, she would crumble into dust like her false face did when I returned to the privacy of my quarters.


    I would be left with her failure.


    I would rather drown than suffer her consequences.


    My skin would not be good enough, Azza would come for my muscles and bones next after all the problems I had caused.


    If I had given up after I had lost my first game of points, I would never have become as deadly as I was in the silly game. If I had accepted the boundaries of the manor walls as the ends of my life like they had been meant to be, I would have never met Pyreme or had fried potatoes. If I had let my punishments break my will and spirit, I would have never come to the trail in the first place.


    Every part of me except Maiden Ire knew that I had to try again.


    When I had gone down the river bank the first time, it had been step by shrieking step. The water had been so frigid that it had felt like I was losing each part of me that I submerged. My ankles, my knees, my waist, my chest, the cold current had taken all of me piece by piece.


    The second time, in my defiant haste, happened all at once.


    My numb feet slipped as soon as they touched the slick riverbank and I returned to the bitter deeps in a sudden plunge.


    My eyes clamped shut.


    A panicked shriek slipped from my mouth in a burst of bubbles and water came rushing back in its place.


    A deafening roar filled my ears and my knuckles scraped against something rough.


    Like I was being cut from every direction, like I was turning to stone, like my limbs would shatter from my body, in all of the blinding shock, I was lost.


    My hands found the river bed.


    I threw myself up against the water and broke through the surface with a desperate, coughing, gasp.


    So brief it could have been a vision brought on by desperate desire, I saw the small silver charms that hung over the shallows above. I reached for my aura and brought it to palm with my left hand outstretched.


    The charm. Blue like Jasna''s feather. Need to reach the charm. Blue like. . .


    The force tearing through my small white dress was unyielding. I could not keep my feet from sliding back over the stones underneath them.


    I slipped back suddenly.


    Charm. Blue like the charm. Blue like Sam.


    My aura answered my pleas for concurrent workings with unshakable obstinance. It was as useless as telling Sam to not ask his questions after I returned from The Well.


    Charm. Blue like Nami''s eyes. Blue like the tents. . .


    The current swept me off my feet. My aura leaked out in a red flash. The river won and I was swept away by the frigid current.


    The same sensory markers of failure that had met before came once again.


    The same pillow soft force cradled me that had only moments before. Precept Jasna helped me out of the water, and she held me on my feet until I could open my eyes again.


    Precept Shanti wrapped her arms over my shoulders, her too big sleeve and its pockets the first warmth I had felt in hours. "There now, come inside. Nothing good will come of you going again right now."


    "Listen to her, Maiden. Continuing to push yourself to achieve something you are incapable of is foolishness of the worst kind. You have tried. As disappointing as it is, you will have to take pride in that." Precept Jasna said.


    Precept Shanti sighed. "You do not have to be so insensitive."


    "I am keeping her from spending the rest of her time in pointless agony. If that is insensitive, then so be it," Jasna responded as she left us and made her way to the remaining maidens. "Next up!


    Precept Shanti pulled me into movement and it took all of her to keep me from shaking myself to the ground. "Pay her no mind, Maiden. She could probably use some time inside herself. Isn''t it nice that Maiden Reese has waited for you?"


    "Y-y-you''re crazy," Reese chattered through a wide smile as she took from me Precept Shanti and brought me towards the camp. She carried my boots and her own shoes in her other hand and seemed to be handling the cold much better than I was. Both of our tiny white dresses clung to us and offered nothing resembling protection. She laughed as she parted the entrance of a big blue tent and led me inside. "I would have died."


    In a distant way, I was aware that my feet had left the snow and stepped onto something soft and cushioned, but they were too numb to feel it fully. Warmth washed over the rest of me and I nearly wept from the stinging relief that came with it.


    An iron lantern hung inside the peak of the tent and gave the fabric built shelter a sleep feeling that made me want to be buried in the blankets of my bed.


    "Well done, maidens. Well done," A silver haired woman said as she appeared through a flap from somewhere beyond the entrance. She carried a stack of thick white towels in her arms and handed each of us two of them. "Let me see your dresses before you dry off, I''ll take care of them"


    Without either of us speaking, she reached out and placed her palms in the middle of each of our chests.


    "Cherith told me about you. You''re Precept Bellum, right?" Reese said as the water began to fall to the quilted floor from the hems of our dresses.


    The woman''s icy blue cloak told me that what Reese had said was true, but she looked much too old to be a sorceress. My mother was over a hundred years old and showed no sign of her age. Precept Bellum had crows feet at the edges of her eyes and the shade of her silver hair was inconsistent enough to look wholly natural. It had lost most of its darkness with age and only a sparse few streaks of dark brown remained.


    From the thin straps over our shoulders and all the way down, she pushed the remaining water from the fabric with unseen power. I thought it to be similar to how my mother had taught me to dry my hair, but she was doing it with both of her hands.


    "That I am. You must be the maiden from the medery that she has told all of us about. It is brave of you to have come. Both of you on to the right now that you are dry. "Precept Bellum said with a smile that reminded me of Ms. Lao''s in its firmness.


    Reese leading the way and me following behind her, We did as she told us to.


    Through a room filled entirely with steam and sweating maidens and into a larger space that held the same quilted floors and hanging lanterns as the entrance, we crept over mounds of blankets that covered the shape of those who slept. The cold that had numbed my skin only moments before was quickly losing its battle with the cozy heat. I wrapped my long black hair into one of the towels I had been giving and dried the rest of the water off myself as we walked.


    We stepped through yet another opening, I would have easily become lost if Reese had not been guiding me, and the scent of warm food wafted into my nose. Small tables and benches, partially filled with towel wrapped maidens, surrounded a circle of tall silver pots. Each held a different simmering soup, red and spiced, golden and creamy, dark brown with shreds of meat throughout it, and something cloudy and green. Tall stacks of bowls and spoons lay next to them among glass pitchers of clear water.


    "I''m gonna try one of each, do you want to do that?" Reese asked me with excitement in her chocolate brown eyes.


    "Sure." I muttered. The shivering and chattering had left me, but I had grown cold in a way that no amount of steam or stew could warm.


    "Find us a seat, I''ll get it." Reese said.


    I did as I was told. Sitting down at the one table that was completely empty, I watched the sandy skinned maiden ladle the red soup into two bowls and sprint over to our table. She nearly spilled both of them as she threw them down to the wooden table top and sat down opposite me.


    All it did was make me miss Anna more.


    "I didn''t think they would get that hot that fast," She laughed as she handed me a spoon. "I say we eat until we are full, go steam for a while, you can take a nap if you really need one, and then we can go again."


    "Sure." I agreed. She nodded at me and then raised the bowl to her lips and drank from it like it was a cup. I was the only other soul I had ever seen attack eating with the violence that she did. I wished I could have produced the laugh that the sight of it created within me. I wished I still had the vigor for the trial that Reese was bubbling with.


    I wished I could have found comfort in the fact that I was no longer cold.


    I would go out with her when she was ready. I would even throw myself back in The River Eae, but I would not be trying again. To see her succeed, I would pretend, but I could not pass the trial. My second plunge into the river had taught me that.


    I had the wrong sort of soul.


    It wasn''t fair. I should have never had to have stepped foot in the snow. I should have been allowed into Rhiannon''s garden. I should have been a rose. My sandals should have been wrapped around my feet and ankles, not laying at the bottom of the chest underneath the window in my quarters.


    A swell of excited cheers rose up from somewhere within the camp. There was clapping, shouting, and I thought I heard the willowy sound of someone crying. It echoed into the soup tent and a maiden I did not know poked her head through the closed flaps, a towel around her hair just like mine.


    "Another maiden passed!" She called and the other girls that were eating all reacted to her news.


    I didn''t.


    There were only three slots left, but I no longer cared.


    There could have been an infinite number and I still would not be one of them.

 V3: Chapter Nine: The Bitter Deeps

    If I did not allow my mind to wander outside the boundaries of my bedding, all was well.


    The ends of the blue blanket gave me more than enough room to pretend.


    It was thick and soft without being uncomfortably silky or plush. No matter how much I tossed and turned, it was big enough for there to be no danger of a hand or foot slipping out from under it. The cushioned mat and pillow underneath me were the final pieces that allowed me to imagine my reality away.


    It was like the safe place that Rhiannon had sent me to when I had been before The Mothers. If I squinted and stared just below the iron lantern hanging at the peak of the big tent, it almost looked like the canopy around my bed in Erosette.


    You never left the manor. Anna is sitting in her chair, reading one of her books and waiting for you to get up. I thought to myself for the hundredth time. I knew it was not true, but it felt better than admitting I was alone in a tent filled with maidens that I did not know.


    That''s not true. I corrected myself. I knew Reese, at least I knew her as well as I could after only meeting her yesterday.


    She had been the one who had needed a nap. When I hadn''t eaten any of the soup she had brought to our table, she had helped herself to them. I shuddered at the thought of someone who could eat six bowls of soup and not need to lay down, but for all her excitement and energy, they had defeated her.


    As long as I did not allow my mind to wander past where the chocolate eyed maiden lay sleeping on the mat beside me, all was well.


    I was not very experienced with making friends. I only had two, truly, and I wasn''t sure that Anna counted any more. Pyreme, Rhiannon''s sleepy eyed rose, was strange, but so was I. If I had not been bound the way I was or had there been more time, she would have counted. With Arthur, I had not really needed experience because he had done most of the work himself.


    Reese had done all of it.


    She had come to check on me after I had stumbled out of the wood line in front of the iron gates of Lun Arcanicil. If she had not taken up for me when Tana had been being mean, I would have just stood there and taken it. Without her dragging me to the river bank, I would have been one of the maidens who had shivered and waited until sunset to take their first attempt.


    Before she had fallen asleep, she had insisted that we both kept trying to brave the bitter deeps. I knew my attempts would be pointless, but I would. Maybe it would help her take one of the three remaining charms in her hand. Maybe it would help her become a new moon.


    Until then, we were camping. Nothing more and nothing less. We were in a camp after all. There was no trial, there was nothing at stake, we were just two maidens becoming friends.


    Lie. The Autumn that I normally liked said in my mind and brought a heavy sigh to my chest.


    The truth was that no matter how much I wished that to be true, it could not be. We were at the camp because of a trial that one of us could not overcome and the other hadn''t. I did not want to freeze and get beaten by the frigid water again, but I would go if she did, it was the least I could do.


    Truth. She spoke again.


    When it was all over, I hoped to see her again someday.


    I hoped I never saw Maiden Tana again.


    I hadn''t since she had walked up the river''s rapids on springs of her perfectly blue aura, and that was still too soon. Precept Shanti had taken her inside shortly after her victory, but I had not seen any sign of her or her blue stoned necklace in any of the places I had gone. There was no reason for her to be outside, but I found it unlikely that she would be sleeping quietly in the main tent that Reese and I were in.


    As long as I did not allow my mind to wander outside of the warm tents and kept my mind off the trial, all was well.


    The trial was ridiculous anyways. The Precepts had told me and all the maidens that there were only five slots for us, that Lun would only accept five of us as whatever a new moon was. Two of the charms had been taken and there had been nothing but failure in the time since.


    I still had not laid eyes on the second maiden that had passed the trial and I had no desire to. It was not as if I would have the chance to get to know her.


    Night had come, the forest outside had only grown darker and colder. Most of the maidens had withdrawn their names after their first drowning in the river. Precept Bellum and Shanti had praised their sensibility and welcomed them inside. They had said that it was better to recognize and accept a limit than it was to come to harm trying to surpass it.


    I and the rest of the sleeping maidens, with the exception of Reese, had agreed.


    She had not been nearly as kind as the others, but Precept Jasna had said much the same thing to me after I had washed up at her feet for the second time.


    The only memory she will ever have of you is how pathetic you looked. The Autumn I didn''t like, the real Autumn, thought.


    A strange notion came with her words. If I went into The Well and could somehow find Precept Jasna''s memories amongst the near infinite amount of sorceress''s books, I could open it. I could open it and place my hand on one of its last pages and see myself through her eyes.


    Shivering, soaked, and so weak that she had needed to pull me up from the snow, I had not just looked pathetic.


    That would always be her impression of me.


    Once the sun rose again, I would never see her or any of the precepts again.


    Alexei, Reese, the serpent skeleton that hung in the arched windows that looked over the courtyard, they would all soon be nothing but a memory.


    Anna and I¡¯s shack, our little place, would be emptied before it ever got the chance to be decorated. It was small and drafty, the windows rattled when the wind blew or Sam got mad, but it had been ours.


    A lump formed in my throat. I pulled my blanket over my head as I swallowed it and practiced bending branch. The power I built within me shone from my eyes and illuminated the inside of my blanket like a small candle.


    As long as I did not think about what would come with the morning sun and the finality of my failure, all was well.


    You are warm. You are dry. You can eat if you are hungry. You have all of your skin. There are no glowing eyed beasts hunting you. This is like Rhiannon''s safe place. You never left Erosette. Anna is sitting in her chair just beyond the canopy. I repeated in my mind as I sunk into the feeling of my aura and brought my reality back to the bundled edges of my blanket.


    If I did not allow my mind to wander outside the boundaries of my bedding, all was well.


    "Ire?" I heard one of the maidens whisper loudly.


    I closed my eyes so whoever was awake would not see my glow.


    "Hey, Ire?" The maiden whispered louder than the first time.


    Whoever they were calling for was outside of my blanket. Therefore, it was not of my concern. The things inside my boundaries that needed my attention were the cracked nail of my toe and the need to turn over that I felt aching in my hip.


    Something clutched my shoulder and shook me hard. "Wake up."


    "Reese?" I whispered harshly as I let go of my aura and rolled onto my back.


    ¡°You ready?¡± She asked as she stretched her arms above her head.


    ¡°For what?¡± I answered, keeping everything but my eyes tucked safely within the blanket.


    ¡°Time is running out, we can¡¯t lay around all night.¡± She said and stood, offering me her hand.


    ¡°No. I can¡¯t.¡± I told her and brought the blanket back over my head. I turned my back to her and hugged my knees to my chest as tight as I could.


    Outside was bad, cold, and hopeless. Inside was soft, warm, and required nothing from me. I thought I would be able to go with her when the time came, but now that the time had come, I knew I had been just as wrong as Anna had been the night before.Stolen story; please report.


    Reese pulled the blanket back off of me without hesitation. ¡°Look, I don¡¯t have anywhere to go if this doesn¡¯t work out. They¡¯ve made it pretty hard to resist, but I have to go back out."


    ¡°What¡¯s hard to resist?¡± I asked, not understanding what she meant.


    ¡°This,¡± She said and shook my blanket. ¡°The heat, the soup, all this cozy shit. They are trying to make it difficult for us to decide to try again.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I said again and tried to snatch my blanket back from her.


    Reese was much stronger than I was.


    ¡°Yes. That¡¯s what this is all about. It¡¯s about will. We have to choose to do this even though it is awful. Cherith told me that.¡± She said as she ripped my blanket out of my hands and pulled me into my feet.


    I reached for my boots and she slapped my hand away. ¡°Don¡¯t bother. If you put them on it¡¯ll be even harder to take them back off.¡±


    Without another word, she pulled me through the sleeping maidens and I tried my best to not step on any of them as we went.


    Precept Shanti sat by the closed flaps of the entrance, looking much smaller without her coat of pockets on. She looked up at us from her bowl of the red soup and yawned. "Be sure that Precept Jasna sees you before you go in.¡±


    "Sure." Reese grunted as she pulled me out of the tent and strode into the frigid night.


    A yellow moon shone through the thin spots in the grey clouds above with an eerie glow that cast a sickly tint over the snow. Dark shadows hung within the spaces between the evergreens and the constant roar of The River Eae filled my ears. Somehow, it had gotten even colder, and the freezing wind nearly brought me to my knees as soon as it broke through my little white dress.


    Precept Jasna and Alexei stood at the river bank, the two of them seemingly caught in some conversation that kept their attention wholly.


    ¡°Slow down!¡± I shouted as Reese literally dragged me towards them.


    ¡°Can¡¯t do that. I¡¯m gonna go, and then you¡¯re gonna go right after me.¡± She called back over her shoulder.


    At the sound of my shouting, Precept Jasna and my white haired guard both turned their heads towards us.


    She reached a hand out to him as he was leaving, but Alexei left her where she stood.


    When we reached her, her sky blue eyes looked like she would have killed us on the spot if she could have.


    ¡°Go inside. Neither of you have what it takes.¡± She said to us angrily, the feathers in her downy black hair whipping in the wind.


    Reese laughed. ¡°If I can¡¯t be a moon here, I won¡¯t be anything anywhere. I''m going in."


    ¡°That can''t be true.¡± I argued, hoping that if I could make her see reason that she would calmly let me return to my blanket and pad. With all of the difficult things I had in my life, I would still be something somewhere. If she had seals over her channels or housed a stolen ethereal construct, I think I would have noticed.


    ¡°I lost my mother not a month ago. That¡¯s the only reason I¡¯m here to begin with.¡± Reese laughed again.


    ¡°Your mother died?¡± Precept Jasna asked, her angry eyes softening at their edges.


    All I could do was stare at the chocolate eyed maiden. There had been no sign of the unimaginable pain she must have been in. I could not begin to think of something happening to my mother without feeling like I could not breathe.


    ¡°Worse, she¡¯s hollow, doesn¡¯t even remember that she¡¯s supposed to love me.¡± Reese said through a smile. "I don''t mean to laugh, I get very uncomfortable when I talk about it."


    Hollow? I asked myself, knowing that I had heard the word but not remembering what it meant.


    ¡°That is worse. You are the maiden Cherith invited, aren''t you?¡± Precept Jasna asked.


    ¡°Mmhmm. You''re next Ire. Get ready.¡± Reese laughed. Without another word, she jumped straight into the dark water of the bitter deeps.


    She vanished beneath the rapids and for too long a moment it seemed like she would never come back up. Then, the white water rushing past began to glow. Orange, like the coals of a dying fire or the waning light of a setting sun, illuminated her shape in the water.


    The snow stung my bare feet and I was nearly certain that the cold was trying to kill me specifically, but I could not look away.


    Her power formed between her soles and the river bed like mounds of small stones. She pressed off of them and took a shaking step forward, the pieces of her candied orange aura being carried off in her place.


    ¡°Shanti!¡± Precept Jasna shouted towards the tents.


    Reese broke through the surface of the water with a high pitched shriek that rose into manic laughter. Every step she took from the river came with more of her power standing underneath her in smoldering defiance against the current.


    Reese¡¯s soul was orange. She was no more blue than I was. We were both the wrong sort of soul.


    "Yes?" Precept Shanti called as she came dragging through the snow with a trail of maidens streaming out of the tents behind her. A smile touched her face when she got close enough for Reese¡¯s light to shine in her half lidded eyes. "You were wrong Jasna!¡±


    Through the drowning rapids, the maiden with the muddy brown eyes'' power turned the bitter deeps into a well of shining stars.


    Reese was much stronger than I was.


    I had barely managed to keep my head above the water, but she strode through it like she was walking downhill, her eyes alight with the color of her aura.


    The other maidens reached the riverside and began to follow alongside her as I was. Silent as she reached for one of the three silver charms that hung over the shallowing water on a length of wire, they broke into cheers when her hand closed around it.


    She did not stop once she took the charm. Her pieces continued to build under her feet and she continued to march up the river, climbing higher and higher atop the growing hill of her power.


    The hair on the nape of my neck stood on end and an all too familiar feeling took my attention away from Reese''s victory march. There was no long search or feelings of uncertain vulnerability before I found my watcher. As soon as I turned and stared into the darkness between the trees, two blue eyes stared right back at me.


    ¡°Precept Jesnah?¡± Precept Shanti called from the gathered maidens.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got her.¡± Precept Jasna answered as she stepped off the bank and onto the white water


    I let the gathering of maidens engulf me as each of them tried to get a better look at Reese. Like one of the rocks at the bottom of the river, they flooded past me and I sunk to the back of the group. When I was certain that none of them had noticed the separation forming between us, I stepped behind the trunk of an ever green and hoped I had not been seen.


    From where I hid, I saw the precepts carrying Reese towards the camp, one of her arms over each of their shoulders and her feet dragging shallow lines in the snow.


    ¡°Will I be sent to The Mother in Orange¡¯s School?¡± The chocolate eyed maiden muttered, her voice so quiet it was nearly lifeless.


    "No." Precept Jasna answered.


    Precept Shanti gave her a half lidded glare. "We will find the right place for you. You have done very well."


    They disappeared into the folds of the big blue tents and the maidens followed along in their tracks.


    I turned away from the warmth and the comfort that lay inside and went to meet my watcher. Well beyond the small radius of light around the camp, within a tight grouping of snow and shadow blanketed trees, was my familiar.


    "What are you doing here, Sam?" I asked in hushed tones, as I looked back over my shoulder to ensure that I was not followed.


    "Watching you fail. "The Mother in Brown is doing the same. She eagerly awaits it." The big blue cat said simply, his voice just as low as the roaring of the river.


    "Of course she is," I sighed and let my long black hair hang over my head. The moment the trial was over, she would come for me. I would need to tell Reese goodbye before the sun rose again. "But why are you? I''m not in danger and I have no intention of entering The Well."


    Sam pulled his thick clawed paw from the snow and revealed the folded piece of paper that had been hidden underneath it. "From the mortal."


    I unfolded it and read it silently to myself. Hymneth was good. Found a library. Got you milk. Clothes too. Playing dress up when you get back. See you soon.


    It was only a few tears, but her note made me cry.


    "Anna asked you to come all the way here to give this to me and you did?" I sniffled and wiped the freezing tear tracks off my cheeks.


    Sam did not answer for a long moment. "What the mortal asked of me and what I desired to do were not in conflict. How disappointed she would be to know that her note found you defeated."


    "Don''t do that to me. Azza set this all up so I would fail," I said, breaking my promise to Rhiannon. "There is nothing I can do. Anna and I will find a way to be happy when she takes us."


    Sam growled. " I find it embarrassing to be in the service of one who would give up so easily. Do not allow me to be bound to a coward. One of the few parts of you I respect is your history of defiance in the face of forces much greater than you. You would let The Mother in Brown defeat you now? Shame."


    There was a time in my life that I would have argued with him, but there was no use, no amount of anger would bring me any closer to becoming a new moon.


    Sam growled again. "Know this, my lady. She will not be taking the mortal if you fail. It is you and you alone that she will bring to her domain."


    "No, that''s not true." I said, shaking my head in absolute denial.


    "It is. She said as much to me when she crossed my path. If you fail, you will never see the mortal again." Sam insisted, his big blue eyes deadly serious.


    The heart breaking impact of my familiar¡¯s words left me stunned. Before I could so much as have a thought, I heard the sound of snow crunching under someone''s feet from behind me.


    ¡°Out here alone and talking to yourself, have you gone mad or were you always? ¡± A voice shouted from behind me.


    Underwitch Tana, wearing the right amount of clothes for the frigid cold, walked quickly towards me.


    ¡°Leave.¡± I whispered to Sam.


    My familiar did not obey my command.


    Tana''s perfect blue eyes shifted down from me to the big blue cat that placed himself in front of me. She stopped dead in her tracks and her jaw dropped.


    "You dislike her. Shall I be rid of her for you?" Sam asked as his back arched and he showed his claws.


    "Precept Shanti! Precept Jasna! Precept Bellum! Maiden Ire has a familiar!¡± Underwitch Tana shouted in a cloud of white breath. Her voice carried easily through the trees and I had no doubt that she had been heard.


    Too fast for me to have time to think, the precepts and all of the maidens that had been watching Reese a moment before had found their way to where I stood.


    All of them silently stared at Sam and Sam scowled back at them.


    I could not have cared less.


    Without hesitation or concern for those who watched me, I strode to the snow covered river bank and threw myself back into the bitter deeps.


    I would not let Azza take me from Anna.


    I would rather die.

 V3: Chapter Ten: I Will Will It So

    The tears that rolled down my cheeks were the only thing resembling warmth that I could feel.


    Precept Jasna stood over me, a black silhouette in the grey light of the new day.


    ¡°Give up, maiden,¡± She said, her voice not unkind. ¡°Desire alone is not enough. You have fought hard, failure does not distract from that. We will help you gain entry to one of the lesser schools.¡±


    I rolled onto my hands and knees, trying to stand. My body no longer moved like it should. Every motion I tried to take came slow and sloppy, like I was still underwater. The snow was slick with the water I had brought from the river after my most recent failure and I could not keep myself off the ground.


    Three more times since Reese had succeeded had I tried. Three more times since Sam had impressed upon me how absolutely necessary it was that I did not fail had I thrown myself back into the bitter deeps.


    Three more times, regardless of my need, I had failed.


    Each had happened quicker than the last as I had become more and more exhausted. An all consuming numbness had replaced the pain of the cold. When I managed to bring myself to my hands and knees, it felt distant in a way that made it seem like I was not the one moving at all.


    I had become a senseless and unfeeling puppet, animated by the force of my will alone.


    Precept Jasna, with her feathers and her sky blue eyes, did not understand. She did not understand that there was no lesser school for me. She could not understand that I would lose the little I loved in my life as soon as the trial was over.


    If I did not make the precepts think my soul was blue and clutch one of the two remaining charms in my frozen fingers, all of it meant nothing.


    I had made two promises to The Mother in Red. I had promised Rhiannon that I would be myself, but the colosseum and the stone table might as well have been a long forgotten dream. I could not be myself, I had to be Maiden Ire. Even if Maiden Ire shared the perfect red of my power, she could not use it without the precepts sending her away like they were Reese. Lun Arcanicil was for those whose souls were blue. To make them think that I was one of those souls, the lie I wore as a mask would have to find a way to lie through our aura.


    Shaking all the way, I let out an involuntary groan and forced myself to stand. I unstuck my soaked white dress from my frozen body and let new air chill me once again.


    ¡°The other maidens are already gathering to leave. It is over.¡± Precept Jasna said as she steadied me by placing her hand on my shoulder.


    ¡°A full day has not yet passed. Those are the terms of the trial.¡± Sam growled from where he stood below us.


    After Maiden Tana had discovered him and brought almost every other soul in the camp out to see, he had not left my side. Every time Precept Jasna had pulled me from the river after I had failed, he had been there waiting.


    He had not helped me with anything, there was nothing for the big blue cat to do, but he had stayed.


    ¡°Do you have any idea what happens to a familiar if their sorceress dies? Maiden Ire,¡± Jasna said down to Sam and then looked back up to me. "Whatever you think you will gain from this, it is not worth it."


    I took a staggering step towards the bitter deeps and tried to speak. "N-n-no gain. W-w-what I will l-lose is worth everything."


    Sam followed behind me as I stumbled towards the ever roaring rapids. Beneath the sound of my shivering and the noise of the river, a low growl rumbled in his chest.


    Precept Shanti and Bellum stood in the distance with all of the maidens who had failed. Each wore thick coats and scarves that the precepts had given to make the journey back to the school less brutal than the journey away from it. Shanti had come and offered them to me sometime before the sun had risen, but I remembered what Reese had said.


    It was about will, all of it was.


    I could not find the chocolate eyed maiden amongst the crowd, but I knew if she was able, she would have been at the riverside.


    She had done the work. She had made herself my friend.


    Maiden Tana stood away from the gathering with a maiden I did not recognize. Between two snowy evergreens, I could see the sharp sneer on her face and what looked like pleasure in her eyes as she watched me.


    My failures appeared to be pleasing to her for reasons I did not understand.


    I reached the starting point and slipped on the snow that had been hard packed into slick surface from the feet of all those who had attempted.


    Sam''s growl rose into a thunderous peak and the big blue cat struck the snowy ground underneath him with his savage claws.


    "My lady," He growled, pain apparent in his deep blue eyes. "Succeed, and I will agree to what you have offered."


    "R-r-really?" I stuttered.


    He raked his paws over his head and ears as he continued. "Your guard, Hymneth, this river, they all bring me to the barriers of my mind. Pass this wretched trial by whatever means are necessary and I will allow you to assist me in understanding why."


    That should have made me happy. I wished I could have told him without doubt that I would, but I felt no such joy or confidence. I barely felt anything at all anymore. All I could do in answer was to let myself back into the bitter deeps and allow it to take me once again.


    The freezing water no longer cut at my flesh.


    It was only the hammering force of the current that I could still feel.


    It struck my arms, legs, and every other part of me and spun me wildly as my head sunk beneath its violent surface.


    My feet found the hard rocks of the river bed.


    With the little strength I had left, I kicked off of them and broke back through the white water above me.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    I gasped for air.


    There was a blur of blue on my left that must have been Sam.


    Two silver charms hung over the river above.


    A shimmer of gold flashed between two evergreens on my right. It was so brief, that I barely had the time to understand what it was before the river pulled me back down again.


    Azza.


    Sam¡¯s words repeated in my mind.


    The Mother in Brown is doing the same. She eagerly awaits it.


    The golden eyed Mother had come to see me fail.


    When the river bested me again, it would be her that the current carried me to. She would take me to her domain. She would take me away from Anna and I would be powerless to stop her. That had been the reason for The Mother''s letting the Laos stay when I had returned to Zenithcidel from the mortal plane. In her eyes, they had given me a set of toys just so they could take them away if they felt the need to.


    I had not hated Azza despite every reason Anna said I should have.


    She had healed my broken hand in the rose colored dust of Vowkeeper''s Anguish. It had not been her intention, but without the golden gift she had once locked around my throat, The Lady in Red would have removed my head near the bridge to Erosette.


    I had known the reasons she treated me the way she did well enough. I hated it, but I had not hated her for it.


    Even then, knowing that she was standing somewhere above me while I flailed uselessly against The River Eae, I did not hate her.


    I had feared her.


    I had wished that I would never see her again.


    I had felt her weight and pressure in my mind long after her choker had unclasped from my flesh.


    Within the freezing water, so cold that I somehow felt like I could drift off to sleep if I quieted my mind, I didn''t even feel that.


    I felt nothing beyond the need to reach the charms.


    There was no part of me that knew what would happen once I left the river, but I did not care. I would be with Anna. I would learn how to use my power properly. I would help my familiar slip past the barriers in his mind. Anything else was irrelevant, be it the cold, the color of my soul, or Azza. Just as I had broken the seal of The Nine Mothers twice before, just as I had defeated the horrible hands that the lich had sent after me, just as I had escaped to the mortal plane with nothing but knowledge gained from The Well, I would clutch one of the silver charms in my fingers.


    I will will it so. I spoke to myself and reached for my aura as my feet met the riverbed once again.


    The red of my soul that hung within the center of all that I was had dimmed. I did not bend the branch and try to build it bigger. With the little focus I could hold, I brought myself inward to bring it into my unsealed hand.


    The jagged ends of the upturned river rocks stabbed into the soles of my feet, but I did not flinch away from them despite the new pain.


    I brushed against it and felt a hint of warmth from it. My touch was too numb, too cold, too empty and all of those things rushed from me and into it. Like morning dew turning to frost over a grassy field, my frozen touch spread over my soul in a white tide and every last ember of red smoldered out.


    The roaring of the current filled my ears and the burning need for breath in my lungs tore into me and nearly shook my focus away.


    Blue like Sam. Blue like Nami''s eyes. Blue like the clear skies over Erosette. I thought, imagining each shade as the words passed through my mind.


    The charms. I will reach the charms. I will will it so. I demanded from myself. I pressed through the pain in my soles and bared down onto the sharp stones. Every inch I pushed my left hand forward against the current and it sent violent quakes back through my arm.


    Diluted, dim, thin, the frost within me obscured the color of my soul until I could see it no longer.


    The rock underneath my feet gave way and I let go. I let go of my focus, I let go of my blue thoughts, I let go of it all and waited for the river to take me for what would be the final time.


    I will will it so.


    The violent current swept my legs out from under me, but I was not washed away.


    I snapped my eyes open against the freezing water of the bitter deeps.


    Bright blue light shone out from my left palm and vanished within the white water.


    The last of my air burst from my mouth in a silent shout as I coiled my fingers around the power and used the tension to bring my legs back underneath me. Bringing my right hand against the current as I had my left, I clutched the cord of blue light and took a shaking step forward.


    What I held in my hands was no glamor. I had come no closer to splitting my mind than any of my previous attempts.


    I had brought blue to my soul.


    I had willed it so.


    I would not be washed away.


    The River Eae would not best me again.


    Truth. The Autumn I liked agreed as I took another handhold from the river.


    I would not fail.


    Truth. She spoke again, the absolute certainty in her voice compelling me against the rapids.


    I would be a new moon of Lun Arcanicil.


    Truth.


    I would not be taken away from Anna.


    Truth.


    With every agreement from the calm and collected part of me, I pulled myself through the cutting current of the cold torrent and found my footing.


    I would take my charm.


    Truth.


    My head broke through the surface of the river and I filled my lungs with frigid air. Without the need to fight to keep my head above water, I saw Sam and Precept Jesnah standing on the bank to my left. The sorceress''s sky blue eyes were wide and her mouth hung open in obvious surprise.


    Much longer and thinner than my red chord had ever been, the blue line of my new power ran from my hands, through the rapids, and up the river. The end of it was buried into the stony riverbed of the shallows above and it was tight from the tension of my weight.


    "I will be an underwitch in full!" I shouted into the evergreens as I took the steps from the river that it could no longer deny me.


    When I grew close enough to see that the two remaining charms were little crescent moons made of gleaming silver, I let the cord fall limp from my left hand and ran.


    The same golden shimmer I had seen on the right side of the river when I had been drowning in it flashed between the trees on my right.


    I did not care.


    All that mattered were the charms.


    I hoped she had witnessed the impossible thing I had just done.


    I wished with all of my bright blue power that she understood what was truly futile and what was not.


    From my middle to waist and then down to my knees, I coiled my slack power around my wrist as I reached the shallows. All of me shivered uncontrollably and my feet dragged across the stones underneath them as I went.


    I had done it. I did not have the faintest idea as to how, but I had done it.


    The silver charms were nearly within my reach.


    The water only barely covered my ankles.


    Not coiling the bright blue cord fast enough, it caught the front of my foot and sent me crashing to the ground. Pain shot through my knees and my hands as I caught myself on them. Water splashed up against my face, but I paid it no mind.


    I had done it.


    I had passed the trial.


    I crawled forward over the river rocks and the tangled mess of power.


    The charms hung over my head and I raised my eyes to the little silver moons.


    I reached up and snatched both of them off of the wire, the small loop of fabric that held them tearing easily.


    I took both for no reason other than that I wanted them.


    Without knowing it to be so before that very moment, the days that I did not get what I wanted had ended in a wash of bright blue light.


    Truth.

 V3: Chapter Eleven: The Arrogant Tree

    The moment after my victory, the notion that I could split the mountains that surrounded me in half if I truly willed it struck me.


    If I could do what I had just done, there was nothing beyond my limits.


    Sam appeared on the snowy riverbank to my left. I could hear the low rumble of his voice over the low roar of the river and knew he was speaking to me, but his words did not make sense to my ears.


    I stumbled out of the shallow water towards him, the charms clutched in my right hand like I would die if I let them go. The snow under my feet was not trampled or slick like it had been at the deeps. It rose to my knees with every footfall and I carved two Autumn sized tracks straight through it.


    ¡°Sam! Look at me! Who is the petulant child now?" I called down to my familiar as I strode past him. Whipping my left arm out to my side, I tore the end of my bright blue cord from the rocky riverbed behind me and sent it rolling out over the snow. When it stopped, I flicked my wrist forward and sent my will coiling through it.


    With an audible crack when it met its end, it bit the trunk of an evergreen in front of me and tore into its wood like it was made of thin paper. Snow came crashing down like a burst bag of flour and splinters of bark pelted the surrounding ground.


    ¡°My lady you-¡° Sam growled as he threw his big blue body against my still wet legs.


    I drew my arm back and snapped it forward again, Sam''s words lost on me in my motion.


    Rolling my wrist outwards and taking long steps forward, it snaked towards the tree for a second time.


    The tip of it did not deal another explosive blow to the trunk or send another plume of snow shaking down from the partially uncovered branches.


    It wrapped once, twice, almost three times around it and I pulled it tight into the wound I had already made.


    "Samsara, I have decided that I no longer enjoy this tree where it stands. I think I will move it." I said and threw all of my weight back to fell the then naked evergreen.


    It was I who was felled.


    The tree moved so little and I pulled so hard, that all I managed to do was bring myself to my knees.


    "My lady." Sam growled again from my side.


    I shook my way back to my feet and reached inside myself for my aura.


    I wanted it to fall and it hadn''t.


    That was a slight so devious that If I lived for a thousand years, I could not forgive it.


    Cold, sharp like the taste of blood, as bright a blue as I had ever seen, my new found color crystalized with my will and pressed against the seals that ringed my flesh.


    Through the channel in my left palm, I coursed ever more power through my cord and slowly pulled it taught once again.


    The blue grew brighter from my hand, down the length of my working, and through the coils around the tree. It was so brilliant, I could not look at it for more than a moment without the glowing shape hanging in my eyes when I turned away.


    I would have what I wanted. The tree would fall purely because I wished it to. I would not be denied.


    A slow swell of sharp cracks, like the gradual downpour of a sudden rain, came from the tree as my cord tightened around it. The tearing trunk split from the weight of its branches and the evergreen crashed back into the waiting arms of its still snowy brethren.


    Powdery white havoc bloomed in the forest near The River Eae.


    A great cloud of disturbed snow hung clean against the mottled grey sky. The arrogant tree that had so foolishly defied me took a second and half of the branches of another down with it. With an impact so loud that it echoed off the mountains, my wooden enemy hit the ground and was defeated.


    My bright blue cord shone through it all, my will made manifest.


    "Victory!" I shouted as I threw my arms straight up in celebration and laughed. The mountain peak closest to me needed to find a way to move before I reached it or it would suffer the same falling fate.


    I turned to look at my familiar, hoping that he would deem the very difficult thing I had just done worthy of a compliment.


    I hated to admit it, even to myself, but the few times I had earned praise from him had left much too great a mark on me.


    The big blue cat had turned his back and was slinking away through the trees that had not earned my ire.


    ¡°Samsara! Stop!¡± I shouted, my words laced with my power.


    How dare he not pay attention to me.


    As if one of the lich''s horrid hand horrors had petrified him with their putrid black breath once again, he became utterly still mid step and tipped over.


    Before I could command him to return to me and to praise me for what he had just witnessed, I was snatched from where I stood and dragged down into the snow.


    As if I weighed nothing at all, two hands picked me up under my arms and brought me to a tree on the edge of the cloud of snow. They sat me ass first onto the snow, the hem of my thin white dress too short to cover me, and pressed my back against the trunk.


    A familiar face appeared in front of me.


    He had one white eye. A leather patch concealed the other save for the ends of the wicked scar that marred it. Stark white hair hung down over the shoulders of his black robes and the hilts of his black and white swords jutted out from his hip.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    ¡°Shhh.¡± My guard hushed me with a finger pressed against his lips.


    ¡°Unhand me!¡± I shouted as I began coiling my cord around my wrist as quick as I could.


    ¡°Your glamor has faded. I do not understand what you have just done, but you must not be seen like this.¡± Alexei said simply, his posture relaxed and his voice calm.


    "Oh." I stopped my coiling.


    I sat the silver moons on the ground beside me and brought the ends of my hair into my sight with my free hand.


    None of the black that should have been there, was.


    In its place was my natural, glamorless, red. The seal on my palm showed all nine of it''s colors and I knew my features had returned to my face.


    Somehow, I had passed the trial.


    I had done all I could do to be accepted into Lun Arcanicil.


    None of that would matter if every single maiden and precept near The River Eae learned that I was not who I said I was.


    I am Ire Ap Viven. My Mother is dead. I have never known my father. My hair is black and I could not pick myself out of a crowd if my life depended on it. I thought to myself as I closed my eyes and brought my power to my face.


    The sound of someone running towards us through the snow found its way to my ears and I looked up to see Precept Jasna looking down at me with wide eyes.


    Alexei raised his finger to his lips for a second time. "Shhh. Speak of this to no one, not even Cherith."


    The downy haired sorceress met my guards eyes and nodded, the blue feather atop her black hair almost glowing as disturbed snow settled around it.


    "Forget what you have seen. It is better for you if you do not know." Alexei spoke again.


    Precept Jasna nodded and turned away from us.


    I closed my eyes again and did not open them until I was certain I was no longer myself. Three more times I repeated the thoughts. I dulled and darkened every part of me until all that was left was Ire.


    "Call for her." Alexei said after peering down at me with his single pale eye for a long moment. He stood and walked backwards from where he had placed me, one hand resting on the hilt of his white sword.


    Most of the snow I had stirred up had settled. The white plumes no longer filled the space between the evergreens. Even without the obscuring wreckage, the wolfish man disappeared.


    One second, he was there.


    I blinked.


    He was gone, leaving nothing but his footprints in the snow as proof that he had ever been there at all.


    ¡°Here, Shanti!¡± Precept Jasna called and waved.


    "Hey." I said, looking up at her and rolling the fingers of my left hand against my end of my bright blue cord.


    She looked down at me. "Yes?"


    "Aren''t you glad I didn''t listen to you?" I asked and felt a smile come across my face. I took the silver charms back into my hand and squeezed them until the points of the crescents dug into my palm.


    She gave me nothing in response but the roll of her eyes.


    Precept Shanti came into my sight, her hands shoved into one of the near infinite pockets of her overcoat. Her icy blue scarf covered her face and she pulled it down as she lowered herself to the snow beside me.


    ¡°I thought," A yawn so consuming that she almost fell backwards took her. When it was done, she ran her hands through the messy curls of her hair and gave herself a small slap on the cheek. "Sorry. I thought we were all done for the year. Has your aura ever had color before?"


    "Never." I lied. It had never had the color that it did then, but she could not know that.


    "Well, we are happy you get to be with us. Aren''t we, Jasna?" Precept Shanti asked.


    "Overjoyed." Jasna sighed. She had turned her back to us and was looking towards where Alexei had vanished.


    Precept Shanti''s half lidded eyes looked over the destruction I had brought to the mountain forest and let out a lazy chuckle. "She seems strong. She''ll be in your class before you know it."


    "Doubtful." Precept Jasna sighed again.


    "You can let go now, Maiden Ire. You¡¯ve done enough and holding it any longer will only make it worse.¡± Shanti said as she patted my knee with her coat sleeve covered hand.


    ¡°Make what worse?¡± I asked, squeezing my cord and the charms in each of my hands as tightly as I could. I had worked so hard for both, why would I let them go?


    "You''re afterglow. You''ve felt the loss after using your aura before, yes? It gets worse once you have found your color," She said, her hands finding their way back into her pockets. "That''s why I¡¯m here. I¡¯m going to help you through it, but we cannot begin before you let go.¡±


    ¡°What happens after I do?¡± I asked for far more reasons than Precept Shanti knew.


    She answered with the things she thought I wanted to know and an easy smile. ¡°Jasna and I will take you back to camp and I will see you through your sorrow. Once you are yourself again, we return to Lun Arcanicil. You will have a few days to become settled. There will be the new moon ball for you and your sisters. Then your journey as an underwitch will truly begin.¡±


    With all that I was, I hoped it would be that simple.


    The precepts did not know because she could not know, but I was not inexperienced when it came to the after effects of using my power.


    I did not have my necklace with the tiny glass vial that held Glim''s dust and a lock of Anna''s hair. Unlike Maiden Tana, I had followed the instructions for the trial to the letter of the letter. Anna was hopefully tucked away in our little shack. If she had not gotten bored, she was probably reading by the stove and wondering when I would return.


    Both were far beyond my reach.


    I had never done quite as much with my power as I had during my assault on the arrogant tree.


    The loss and afterglow that came for would be one of the worst I had felt.


    If I stayed on the ground and kept the cold that was creeping back to life through my numbness close at hand, maybe I could keep myself under control. If I could stay on the temper tantrum side of my afterglows and avoid the sinking my teeth into the nearest throat side, all would be well.


    With a heavy sigh, I let my focus slip away from me and lost touch with the cold place I had created in my soul.


    The end of my cord crumbled to dust in my hand. It slipped through my empty fingers and glittered atop the white snow. From my hand, the coils I had wound around my wrist collapsed and piled into a knuckle deep mound. Like the fuse of one of Adrian''s fireworks, my cord fell away in the same shape it had been laying as I withdrew my will from it.


    I watched as my power turned into bright blue line of dust that snaked across the disturbed snow it had created


    In all of my life that I could remember, I had only ever seen one or two things that were more beautiful.


    When the tapered end of it joined the rest, the loss that took me came quick and strong.


    My head snapped back weakly. If it had not been for Shanti moving more quickly than I would have thought her capable of doing, it would have been the trunk that I hit instead of her pocket padded sleeve.


    "There we go," She said through a yawn. "You''ve done enough."


    Both precepts watched me as I sat silently and waited for the rage of my afterglow to take me. No matter how weak I felt from the loss, I had to stay in control if I did not want to hurt them.


    The rage never came


    There was no heat of anger or sudden lashing out. I did not ball my fists or stamp my feet. No one''s throat got torn out.


    In its place came a weight so heavy that it settled over my heart and shattered it like thin ice.


    A sudden sob racked my chest.


    I was sinking.


    I was sinking beneath the surface of the snow and would be swallowed by the ground underneath me.


    I began to cry.


    I began to cry and knew that I would never stop again.

 V3: Chapter Twelve: Afterglow

    The precepts had carried me from my place at the base of the evergreen, past the gathering of watching maidens, and back into the entrance of the camp.


    One of my arms held over each of their shoulders, I had been too weak to stand, let alone walk.


    Once we were inside the big blue tents, they had not turned right and taken me into any of the fabric rooms I had been in the night before. They had led me through an opening on the left, through spaces that could have only been their personal quarters, and into a low lit room.


    A padded mat, like the one that had been the foundation for my blanket bordered reality, had been sitting high on a raised table within it. They sat me on top of it and then Precept Jasna had left.


    The tears that rolled down my cheeks had not stopped at any point during the journey. The Precept''s clothes had darkened with the wetness of my still soaked dress and uncontrollable weeping.


    All of the maidens, including Tana, had seen the flood of tears and the sorry mess I had become.


    Once I was atop the table and my false black hair hung down over the face that was not mine, the tears fell from me and pattered against the quilted floor below.


    Through the blur in my eyes, I could see the shape of someone sleeping underneath a thick woolen blanket on the other side of the tent. Shanti turned her back to me and reached into a small box on the floor.


    "To dry your eyes." She said as she returned and offered me a small cloth.


    "There is no use." I muttered. Why wipe my tears away when more would rush back to replace them? I took the cloth anyway, not wanting to seem rude.


    It was silky between my fingers and I let it fall from my hands like it had burned me. The slick feeling of it brought a hollow ache into my chest that brought me down onto my side. I curled my legs to my chest as sobs racked my shaking body.


    "You dislike silk. That is good, Maiden Ire. Now we have somewhere to start." Precept Shanti said threw a yawn.


    It was not good.


    Nothing would ever be good again because of me.


    How long did they stand? The Autumn I didn''t like, the real Autumn, asked in my mind. How many years did they live through before you cut it down?


    "The tree," I whispered through another sob. "I didn''t. . ."


    Precept Shanti shook her head. "Don''t think of it again. Many maidens have done much worse after their first time. Have you ever had coffee?"


    From whatever seed an evergreen grew from, the trees had spent countless years growing tall and strong. They had probably been bearing the weight of the fallen snow long before I was a notion in my mothers mind. All that time, all that life, and I come along and end it with a flick of my wrist.


    The trees had not been arrogant, I had been drunk with my own power.


    They were felled senselessly because I wished them to be, there was no greater purpose.


    Ruiner. The Autumn I didn¡¯t like named me in my mind.


    "When I was a little girl, barely old enough to put my own shoes on, and my mother was called away for war, my father left the enclave to live with me until she returned," Precept Shanti said as she handed me a cloth that was not made of the horribly slick material. "He had no idea how to look after a child, let alone one that could do the things I could, but he tried his best to keep me happy."


    I wiped my face with the cloth and pushed my hair back so I could see her as I listened.


    "One morning when we were camping near the everblossom, I asked if I could try his coffee. Not wanting to disappoint me, we had not been together for very long after all, he said yes." She said with a smile.


    You do not deserve to hear this. She doesn''t even know who you are. The real Autumn spoke again.


    Precept Shanti''s lazy laugh filled the tent. "I didn''t sleep again for a month. He was an engineer and was no stranger to long nights spent scouting an planning. It didn''t occur to him that my staying up every night might be a problem until I couldn''t keep my eyes open without drinking at least two cups."


    The shape of the person sleeping on the other side of the tent stirred beneath the cover of their woolen blankets.


    Like she had never had a good night''s sleep in her life, a terrible yawn bent Precept Shanti over at her waist and brought her back up to the tips of her slippers. "Whenever I have to treat my afterglow, black coffee, the way he used to make it, makes it a little easier."


    He was, he had, he used to. Her words repeated in my mind. All of them led me to the heartbreaking truth that her father must have been dead.


    The hollow ache that the silken cloth had brought to me split my chest and resurrected my weeping. I had never known my father. I had no memories of him. I did not even know his name, but the notion that I would never have something like Shanti''s coffee with him brought a drowning weight down onto me.


    She had no idea that she had just shared a precious memory with dishonesty made manifest. Everything Precept Shanti thought she knew about me was untrue. The person sleeping behind the sleep eyed sorceress, whoever they were, had no idea they were in a tent with someone who did not exist.


    Liar. The Real Autumn spoke and gave me my second name.


    "Do you have something like this? Some kind of sweet or a favorite piece of jewelry? What is your coffee? Shanti asked, her hands finding their way into two of the uncountable pockets on her overcoat.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Everything you have is not yours. It is stolen.


    The small weight of both charms that I still clutched in my right hand brought truth to the real Autumn''s words. I had not needed both of the little silver crescents, I had stolen the second one purely out of my own greed.


    "No." I whispered, my voice sounding as weak to my ears as I truly was.


    Anna, Arthur, Ms. Lao, none of them had been given a choice to abandon all they knew and be taken to a place they had not known existed. I had wandered into their lives and brought nothing but havoc with me. I had stolen them from the mortal plane by means of impending death if they did not come with me.


    Even The Well, the source of all of the difficulties in my life had been taken by my hands and my hands alone.


    Thief. The real Autumn named me for the third time.


    I disagreed with none of them.


    "That can''t be true. Try this. It will make you feel better." Shanti said. She pulled out a small square of waxed paper from a pocket on her shoulder and unwrapped it.


    A square of dark chocolate sat squarely in the middle of the paper¡¯s creases.


    I shook my head, the thought of letting her give me something as sweet as chocolate feeling like a great shame after all that I had done.


    I didn¡¯t deserve anything sweet ever again.


    ¡°How about lemon? You seem sour enough to enjoy it.¡± She tossed the chocolate into her mouth and laughed. From the pocket on her shoulder to somewhere near the hem of her overcoat, she brought out a bag filled with little yellow candies.


    I held out my hand in denial. Unless it was sour enough to pucker my lips closed permanently, it was too good for me.


    ¡°Hmmm," Shanti hummed as she tied her curly mess of hair back with a scrap of blue fabric. ¡°Is it your mother? That¡¯s nothing to be ashamed of, it¡¯s quite common. What kind of dresses does she wear?¡±


    The mention of my mother sent another tear through my chest and I broke down even further.


    "It comes with potential, but you are a tough one, Maiden Ire." She laughed again.


    You can''t even be helped properly.


    In all of the memories in The Well, there had never been a more terrible soul than I.


    Without warning, the folds of blue fabric that acted as the door to the room parted, but no one appeared or passed through it.


    Precept Shanti''s half lidded eyes widened for just a moment as she looked down to the quilted floor. "Oh, hello."


    ¡°Wine. Red and sweet.¡± A low voice rumbled from somewhere underneath the raised table I was coming apart on.


    Sam.


    "I did not take you for a drinker.¡± Shanti said with a shrug. She reached inside her coat of pockets and pulled out a full bottle of wine from within it. Midnight blue light circled from her fingers and the cork came loose with an audible pop.


    ¡°No.¡± I muttered again, turning away from the green glass that was offered to me.


    "She only needs to smell it." Sam growled from somewhere out of sight. I had commanded him to stop and had left him petrified in the snow. That my familiar was in the same room as me and had not tore into me with his claws and fangs was far too compassionate. I knew how horrible it was to be held against my will and I had done it to him.


    All I could do was cry.


    A bitter scent found its way through my shade of black hair. It burned lightly before settling into something sweet and fruity. It was not the same as what Anna liked to drink, but it was close enough to bring aromatic memories to the front of my mind.


    When she had stained my simple white dress with it one late night in Erosette, the way it lingered in my room at the manor, the taste of it on her lips more times than I could count, all the wine soaked moments came pouring back into me.


    A shudder shook me from the top of my head, through the tips of my fingers, and out the soles of my feet. The hollow ache in my chest began to close and I no longer felt like I would bring the table down with the weight of my awfulness.


    "Your hair, my lady." Sam commanded.


    Just as my tears had started to dry out, the flood came once again.


    "I didn''t mean to leave you!" I cried out to wherever in the tent my familiar was.


    "Silence! Do not cry in the presence of others. Do as Lady Anna does with your hair!" Sam growled with such ferocity that my hands snapped to my head and I did as he said.


    The warmth of the tent had stopped my shaking, but the roots of my hair were still damp with frigid water from The River Eae. I kept both charms tucked against my palm and ran three fingers from my scalp to the end of my too long hair. The feeling was a sad echo of what it felt like when Anna did it, but paired with the wine scent, it was enough for me to pretend.


    The thoughts of her filled the hollow ache in my chest and the drowning weight that covered me lifted.


    The tears ceased to fall from my eyes and I dried my face with Shanti''s cloth.


    ¡°Someone you love very much has a deep appreciation of wine do they not?¡± Shanti said without a hint of a yawn.


    My lips pressed into a tight smile and nodded. I would not have thought to describe Anna¡¯s drinking in that way, but I knew that she would like the description.


    ¡°Perhaps you should keep a wineskin on your person. But, I¡¯m getting ahead of myself, you will learn all of that soon enough when you get your phases," Precept Shanti said. She knelt down and looked underneath my table. "Your lady should have told you about us before the trial, but thank you for your help. . ."


    "Samsara." I answered for my familiar as I sat up and stretched the last of the afterglow out of me. Between the anger that my red brought and the sorrow of my blue, I would rather break walls and skin cats than ever feel what I had again.


    "She did not need to know that." Sam growled again.


    "Thank you for your help, Samsara," Precept Shanti said as she stood and looked at me "Is he always so volatile?"


    "All things considered, he is being quite pleasant." I answered her honestly. From the relief of my afterglow''s end alone, I could not keep a smile off my face.


    Precept Shanti yawned. "I can''t remember how long it has been since a familiar has roamed the halls of Lun, whatever your temperament, you are welcome, Samsara."


    The folds of blue fabric parted again, but unlike when my familiar had entered, someone appeared through the opening.


    "Have you finished? The maidens are growing restless." Precept Bellum said, the lantern light shining on her silver hair.


    "Maiden Ire, are you yourself again?" Shanti asked me in response.


    "I am." I nodded, knowing that I was as much as I could be in front of the precepts. In the dishonest way I was Maiden Ire, it was not untrue.


    "Give them their coats and let us be off. There is still much to do when we return." Precept Bellum said and left the fabric walled room.


    The next moment, the shape of the sleeping person burst from the blankets that they laid under and sent them spiraling into the air.


    In the brief time before they fell back down on top of her, Reese stared up at me with obvious anger in her eyes.


    "Is it over? That took so long! Being blue is awful. All I had to do was take a nap!" She shouted as she fought the blankets back off of herself. Freed of her woolen restraints, she brought herself to her feet and marched past Precept Shanti.


    "You seem to be feeling better." Shanti said as she turned away from me and reached into a large crate at the edge of the quilted floor.


    "First, we are going to argue about you not telling me you had a familiar." Reese said as she jabbed me in the middle of my chest with her pointer finger.


    "I''m-" I tried to apologize.


    "Second," She cut me off and threw her arms around me in a tight embrace. "I told you that you would pass. I knew it from the first time I saw you."


    I cried again as I hugged her back.


    They were not sad tears and they were all my own.

 V3: Chapter Thirteen: No Goodbyes

    Not long after Reese and I wormed our way back through the pale blue confines of Radomir''s pass, we ran straight into the backs of the maidens in front of us.


    Unlike my first time in the narrow cave, I had let her go first.


    So taken by the icy light of the crystals and her endless questions about Sam, neither of us noticed the procession of precepts and maidens come to a halt.


    I apologized for both of us, but none of them seemed to notice that we had collided with them.


    There focus was entirely held by what surrounded us.


    Small mountains of upturned snow rose high up the trunks of the evergreens on either side of us. Broken ends of downed limbs jutted out of the mess of shattered wood and scattered green needles. Great gashes tore through the limbless trunks and their torn loose tops hung down toward the valley floor we stood in.


    All three precepts stepped up the snowy inclines and turned back to us. Bellum held a finger against her lips, a quiet gesture to command each of us to fall silent. Shanti pushed back her too long sleeves and held her palms out to tell us to stop walking. Jasna peered down at us and her sky blue eyes made us obey the others.


    There was visible tension in their postures and that unsettling sight sent a worried murmur through the maidens.


    "Why did we stop?" Reese called out, evidently not sharing in everyone else''s concern.


    Precept Bellum brought her hand up and snapped her steely eyes towards us. "There is a phantom bear ahead."


    "Unless any of you wish to be eaten alive by something you cannot see, be quiet." Precept Jasna whispered harshly.


    Precept Shanti finished rubbing her eyes and gave a mildly disapproving glance at Jasna. "Be quiet, please. Master Alexei will lead it away from us as we carry on."


    I had seen no trace of my one eyed guard since he had seemingly vanished into thin air at the final resting place of the arrogant tree. Not so much as a single white hair or a glimpse of his ever present swords.


    "I thought they were making up the bear things to scare us." Reese whispered to me.


    I thought they had lied about the existence of whatever a phantom bear actually was to have an excuse for Alexei to accompany me.


    Ruiner. The word appeared in my mind at the sight of the damage. Whatever had torn through the forest was much more destructive than I had been when my new power had intoxicated me.


    "Most of you should have learned how to dampen your footsteps at your primaries. If you cannot, walk softly until we reach the next rise." Precept Bellum instructed with her hands clasped behind her back.


    "Have you been taught how to do that?" Reese whispered again.


    I shook my head in denial. "I''ve never been to school before."


    "Shit, we can''t both be dumb." She said aloud.


    The maidens ahead of us looked back before parting to let someone through. By their expressions, the sheepishness in their eyes, I couldn''t help but fear that a precept was coming to punish her boisterousness.


    It was not Shanti, Jasna, or Bellum that appeared from the crowd.


    It was Maiden Tana.


    She wore nothing but the tiny white dress and woolen coats that we all did except for her necklace. Its blue stone swung against her chest from its silver thin silver chain and the light of her aura pooled blue underneath her bare feet. There was no sound from the snow as she walked over it, her movement was perfectly quiet.


    If I had known we would be allowed to break the rules and suffer no repercussions like she had, I would have worn my necklace to the trial.


    The all too pretty maiden stepped to Reese. With her voice so quiet that it could barely be called a whisper and so full of anger it could have burned me if she was any closer, she spoke. "Some of us have reasons to live. I will not allow you to put us all in danger by being too thick to know when to shut your mouth."


    Reese made no attempt at whispering. "You put yourself in danger by coming back here."


    "Are you threatening me?" Maiden Tana seethed as she brushed back a lock of hair that had fallen down onto her face.


    "Maiden Tana?" Precept Bellum whispered from where she had suddenly appeared behind the honey haired maiden. The old sorceress''s voice alone was enough to quickly snap Tana''s expression from anger to fear.


    All of the color drained from Tana''s face as she turned around silently and the aura that pooled at her feet dimmed. "Yes, Precept Bellum?"


    "I would expect that the gifted daughter of Pure Tana would wish to be at the front of this callithump instead of hiding at the back of it." Precept Bellum whispered, her grey eyebrows knit together in a tight knot.


    "They-" Tana started, gesturing back to Reese and I with her hand.


    "Shhh," Precept Bellum hushed her. "Go join Precept Jasna at the point. You will do yourself a service if she becomes familiar with you."


    Tana hung her head and muttered a quiet agreement as she walked back through the parted maidens without making a sound.


    "If I had any money, I would pay you to do that to her once an hour." Reese laughed, her face alight with joy.


    "Shhh," Precept Bellum turned and hushed her. "She forgets it sometimes, but Spring is a good girl. If you had kept your voice down like we asked you to, she would not have come storming back here."


    "You''re right." Reese whispered and put her hands on her hips. She unfocused her eyes like some great realization had struck her, but she gave me a glance out of the corner of her eye that told me it was not genuine.


    "Phantom bears are no laughing matter. If the two of you cannot keep your voices down, I will separate you, understood? Precept Bellum asked us quietly, the steel in her eyes telling me that she meant what she said.


    "Yes, Precept Bellum." We said in unison.


    "Good girls. Maiden Reese, when we return to Lun, collect your things at meet me at the stairs. Precept Cherith will escort you back to Hymneth." The old sorceress said as she left us where we stood amongst the watching maidens.


    It was not long after that we left the valley of bear born destruction behind us. Most of the maidens that had not passed the trial walked with iridescent power dampening the sound of their footsteps in the once again deep snow. The woolen coats that the precepts had given us fought off some of the cold that had cut into me on the way too The River Eae. The sky was still grey, the wind still whipped my long hair around, and my little white dress was still much too thin, but the way back felt altogether different than the journey to the trial had.Stolen story; please report.


    Without the impossibility of splitting my mind and the absolute necessity to do so weighing on my shoulders, lightness had returned to me. In the place of all the fear and frustration, my excitement for being a student at The Mother in Blue''s school had returned.


    Like the way that Arthur played points, I had carefully kept any thoughts that would ruin my excitement at arms length.


    There were many times that I could not understand why Anna loved me the way she did, but that did not change the fact that she did. The Mother in Red''s own self professed love did not make sense, but the way she had treated me had driven off my doubts. I had opened the channel in my right palm without any knowledge as to how I had done it, but The Mothers had still needed to seal it closed like they had my navel.


    I did not know how I had turned my soul blue and manifested it. To begin to think about it was enough to make my head hurt. Regardless, I had taken the silver charms that I still held in my hand by way of my bright blue cord and my lack of understanding did not change that.


    I had done all I could do. Considering that what I had done should have been impossible, I would leave the why and how for later.


    The maidens in front of us parted as they passed something of interest in the snow. Reese and I came to it and it took me far too long to release what I was seeing.


    Paw prints, each tipped with the shape of terribly long claws, ran across the path the precepts were leading us down. They were so wide that I could have sat down crossed legged in the center of any of them and my knees would not have crossed their edges. The broken limbs and torn trunks of the evergreens the prints led to could have only been made by the same thing that had created the small valley we had stopped in before.


    "Do you know what a phantom bear is?" I asked Reese as I made to follow the footsteps of all the other maidens and circle around the massive tracks.


    Reese did not answer. She crossed right through the middle of the tracks and disturbed their impression with her own. The chocolate eyed maiden had not spoken since Precept Bellum had told her that she would be escorted back to Hymneth.


    I pulled my coat tight around me as a gust of wind battered against me and placed my hand on her back. "Are you well?"


    "What do you mean?" She asked, shaking her head and looking over at me.


    "You aren''t really good at being quiet," I said, hoping that she would not become upset with me. I swallowed and continued speaking nervously. "You didn''t even notice the bear tracks."


    Reese looked at me for a long moment before she responded. "Who names somebody Ire anyways?"


    It was my turn to shake my head. "What?"


    "It''s a terrible name and doesn''t fit you at all. It''s like if my name was Loud. Who would name you that?" Reese demanded as we lowered ourselves to crawl under an impassible wall of fallen trees.


    "Someone who does not like me very much at all." I answered after having to think about her question for not very long at all. The cold ground forced a shudder through my body when my hands and feet met it.


    We had done the same in the opposite direction the morning before. The knowledge I had gained in regards to moving trees all but confirmed that the precepts could have cleared them from the path but chose not to.


    "Got it," Reese said from where she crawled behind me. "You''ve got mother problems like I do."


    The memory of Mother Gwyn hunting me in the shape of a monstrous spider came to me. I thought of when Azza had been caught in her afterglow and would have killed me if the unspidered Gwyn had not come to my defense. Each of The Nine Mothers looming around me when I had been laying flat on a stone table, that had happened more times than I could remember. Lastly, I thought of Rhiannon and how I had been convinced by my previous punishments that her kindness was deceit.


    I did not think that my new friend had the same issues I did, I sincerely hoped she did not, but I had issues nonetheless. In that, I found that I could speak to her honestly.


    "More than you will ever know," I stopped crawling and laughed. "Is that why you have fallen silent? Your mother is in Hymneth?"


    Reese rammed into the back of me and sent me sprawling out on the other side of the wall of fallen evergreens in a spray of snow.


    "What''s left of her is. Sorry for pushing you, I really thought I was going to have a life here." The chocolate eyed maiden said as she appeared above me and helped me back to my feet.


    "I understand. I get violent when I am angry too." I told her as we both dusted the snow off of each other.


    "You? Not a chance. You seem more like a cry when you''re angry sort." Reese disagreed.


    "I do that too," I said with a little laugh. "What are you going to do?"


    Reese fell silent for another long moment as we continued back towards the school.


    "Well, The Mother in Orange doesn''t have a school for some reason. It''s The Circle of The Nine Mothers, you would think if one of them has something, all of them would. But, whatever. Precept Shanti says that there are several Sorceresses that might take me as an apprentice, but she has to get in touch with them first. So, I don''t know. I have to wait around in Hymneth until somebody comes calling for me." Reese said in one long breath.


    I wanted to ask about her mother again. I wanted to know how she had come to Lun Arcanicil in the first place. There were an uncountable amount of things I wanted to know, but I was so terrified that I would offend her or say something wrong that I did not speak at all.


    After what felt like a much shorter time than the way there had, the evergreens fell away from the timeless grey sky and the front gates of Lun Arcanicil came into my sight. Its opalescent moon was split and its black iron shapes hung open to reveal nothing. Behind the glamor that I knew concealed the dark shape of the school would be the courtyard and the long halls that framed it.


    Reese and I stepped through them arm in arm, finding the cold even easier to keep away if we stayed close to one another.


    ¡°I want to step on the stairs again before I go. I¡¯ve never seen anything like them. I''ve never heard anything like them." She said as the greyscale stones of Lun winked into existence in front of us.


    The tents from the priming were no longer there to obscure it, but the pattern of the square stones underneath my boots had entirely too many maidens atop it for me to make out what it was.


    ¡°Stairs?¡± I asked. My eyes wandered through the glass on my left. The hall filling serpent skeleton had not slithered away in my absence and still hung clear in the arched windows.


    In mere moments, I would step through the doors of Lun for the first time.


    If Reese had not been holding me against her, I would have been powerless to stop myself from breaking into a full on sprint.


    ¡°The ones right through the front doors? The ones you couldn¡¯t miss if you were blind?¡± Reese responded.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen them.¡± I answered honestly, too caught in my own thoughts to realize what I had just said.


    She stopped in her tracks and pulled her arm from mine. ¡°I knew it! You''ve never seen them because you didn''t come inside after the priming. I looked all over for you, I would know!"


    I froze and tried desperately to come up with some lie that would explain away my absence and ignorance.


    "If you could see your face right now," She pushed me and laughed. "I don''t care. Keep your secrets, I don''t need them to like you."


    The sound of footsteps crunching fast over the snow approached where we had stopped and drew Reese''s eyes away from me.


    Alexei, his hands held behind his back and walking much faster than his usual pace, reached us. "Maiden Ire, come with me."


    My heart sped to a nervous pace at my guards words and my breaths began to come thin. I had known the whole way back from The River Eae that I would have to say goodbye to my new friend soon, but that time had come much too quickly.


    She was leaving.


    I was being called away.


    There would be no other time.


    "I-" I started to say to Reese.


    "Stop," The chocolate eyed maiden interrupted me and held her hand to my face. "You only ever tell someone goodbye if you are never going to see them again."


    In that moment, with Alexei standing right there, I found so many things I wanted to say to her. She had checked on me the first time she had seen me. When Tana had been being pointlessly mean to me, she had come to my defense. If it had not been for her, I would have never left the safety of my blanket in the tent. I would have never willed my soul to turn blue and passed the trial. The sheer weight of it all brought tears to my eyes and I had to swallow before I could try and speak again.


    Reese didn''t let me. "I''ll be in Hymneth for a few days at least and you are going to come see me. Whatever you''re about to say now, you can say then. Okay?"


    "Okay." I croaked, unable to keep my cheeks dry.


    Without another word, she left and joined with the other maidens.


    Alexei gave me the time I needed to collect myself.


    "Are we going home now?" I sniffled, accepting that my first steps through the front doors of Lun would have to wait.


    "No," The white haired man said simply. "The Mothers have gathered. I am to take you to them."

 V3: Chapter Fourteen: Parentage

    If I was not who I was, I would have told him no.


    If I had not done the things I had done or did not possess the thing that I did, I could have carried on with Reese.


    Instead, because of something I had no memory of, I was being summoned by The Circle of The Nine Mothers. They would take the impossible thing that I had done as defiance and disrespect. I had been sent to the frigid halls of Lun Arcanicil to fail. The Mother''s hadn''t known I was too dumb to do that properly.


    If their previous summons were anything for me to base my expectations on, they would punish me for having the arrogance to succeed. If they did not, it would only be because of Rhiannon and Glim, the two Mothers that I was sure were on my side.


    Even though I had done nothing that morning but trudge through the snowy forest, all I wanted to do was leave the courtyard and return to it.


    When I made my way to the little wooden shack outside of Lun''s walls, Anna would meet me at the door and yell at me to take my boots off. She would want to know everything that had happened, but I would not tell her. From my place in front of the stove, I would ask her all about her trip to Hymneth. What the library was like, which books she got, how she had fared on her wintery walk, I would listen to it all. She would feed me and inspect me for injury first, but eventually, she would return to questions about the trial. I would feign some great desire to not discuss it yet and suggest that we turn to my training until I was ready. She would pull out her ever growing stack of notes and papers and we would begin. When it was time to make my cord, I would harness the new cold of my soul and manifest my bright blue power without a word.


    The shocked look that I knew she would make would bring me no end of laughter. The afterglow that came after would, but I was not worried. If the smell of wine and my own fingers in my hair were enough, the true versions of those pale imitations would drive the sorrow away effortlessly.


    As much as my heart ached to turn on my heels and make a mad dash back through the black iron gates, I could not.


    I had been summoned.


    How dare I live my life.


    Alexei led me through a door on the great hall to the right of the courtyard that the big blue tents on the morning of the priming had concealed.


    Warm air met me as soon as I stepped inside, but I felt no relief. I was not ready to be warm and I did not want to be warmed by the fireless heat. I wanted to see split wood burn to coals inside the black stove of my quarters, preferably with a hot chocolate in my hands and Anna by my side.


    My first steps inside Lun were straight into darkness. Through yet another door and then a third, Alexei brought me into a dark storeroom so quickly that I had not had a chance to see anything else inside the hall. All I could see was the sway of his long white hair and the shape of his swords.


    "Speak of this to no one." He said as he pulled a sheet of dusty fabric off the back wall and revealed a wood framed painting. An ornate fountain stood in the middle of the large canvas, but I could make out little else in the darkness. My guard ran his hand along the right edge of the frame and then swung it out from the wall on hidden hinges.


    An opening lay behind the painting, an open passageway in the greyscale stone. Shorter and even narrower than Radomir''s pass had been, I found myself wishing for the pale blue light of the tunnel''s crystals to light my way.


    Alexei stepped to the side and gestured for me to enter the lightless hole in the wall. "This way."


    I made no effort to move. "It''s dark."


    "Yes." Alexei said simply, the white iris of his right eye all I could see of his face.


    "I don''t want to be in the dark." I told him honestly.


    "Make a werelight." He answered.


    "I don''t know how." I admitted.


    "Take hold of my belt. I will lead you." He said.


    "Is there not another way?" I asked.


    "No." He said simply.


    "I could go home? I''ll go straight there and then you could tell me what The Mothers want with me later?" I said, pouting my lips and trying to look as pitiful as I could.


    "No," He said, unaffected. "This way."


    I missed the guards in Erosette. They would not have agreed to my ridiculous proposition either, but at least Woolie would have laughed.


    Once we were inside and the painting had been closed behind me, Alexei was all that kept me from becoming lost. The dark space was cold. It smelled of stagnant air and dust. Where I only had to lower my head to keep it from dragging across the ceiling above, he had to crouch fully and practically crawl. He led me through so many turns and up so many sets of steep stairs that I could not have retraced our steps if my life depended on it. Without my fingers closed around the rough rope of his sword belt, the only thing I would have done was get turned around and starve to death.


    "Why is this place so small?" I asked, my neck beginning to ache from my stooping.


    "The sorceress who made them was small herself." Alexei answered as we climbed yet another flight of unseen stairs.


    Before I could question him further, Stone muffled voices echoed through the wall that brushed against my right shoulder. At first only shapeless sounds that were much too quiet for my mind to make sense of, they formed into words as we climbed closer.


    "-Lie."


    "They wouldn''t."


    "-within the temple."


    Alexei pulled me to the left at the top of the stairs and the scattered words knit together into understandable speech.


    "-Know why you wanted to do this here-"


    Nami. I thought, recognizing the sound of The Mother in Blue''s voice.


    She continued. "-Gone-It''s been three years, have I not proven myself to you enough?"


    "When you have known someone for as long as I knew her, you will understand how short a time that truly is. I miss her. You must understand this."


    Azza. The Mother in Brown''s voice was so close, it felt like she was standing right next to me.


    Three years since what? Who wanted to do what where? What did Nami have to prove? Who did Azza miss? Dark and decrepit as the passage was, I had heard more things of interest in a handful of moments than I had in all of my life that I could remember. There was no end to what I would hear them say as long as I stayed hidden within the lightless stones.


    Alexei knocked his knuckles against the wall six times in quick succession and all became quiet beyond the stone.


    There was no reason why I would be inside the walls with Driskt or Daphne, but if there were, they would not have given me away like my one eyed guard just had.


    Without warning, light flooded into the cramped space and blinded me. I shut my eyes against the sudden brightness as Alexei pulled me on towards it. Letting go of his belt when I felt him stand fully, I stepped into wherever we had arrived and promptly tripped.


    The tip of my boot caught something on the floor and I tipped forward before my eyes could adjust to the light.


    I did not hit the ground. My woolen coat and dress pulled tight against my front as something clutched the back of them and stopped my fall dead.


    Alexei pulled me upright as if I weighed no more than a feather and only released his hold on my clothes when I had regained my balance.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    We had come through an opening behind a painting that looked identical to the one we had entered. Same frame, same fountain, same hidden hinges, he gently pushed it closed and smoothed the white furred rug I had tripped over with his boot.


    He was not like the guards at the manor, but it was hard to dislike someone that kept my face from bouncing off the floor.


    "Thank you, Alexei." Nami said from behind me.


    "Headmistress. Mothers," Alexei nodded in turn as he stepped past me. "I will be in the hall."


    I turned around to watch him leave, but froze when I saw The Mother in Grey looking back at me.


    The flickering light of the fireplace she sat next to danced in her haunting silver eyes. Her perfectly straight hair hung down past her shoulders in an ashen meld of blacks, whites and every shade in between. She held her long gray robes tight against herself and seemed to be cold despite her closeness to the flame.


    Being able to look at her face to face instead of only seeing her from below gave me a much better understanding of how striking she was. When our eyes met, she turned away from me and jostled the burning logs in the hearth with the black iron poker she held in her hands.


    Mother Ali leaned against the wall by the door on the opposite side of the room. Her arms were crossed and her eyes were closed. Other than the clean white bandages that barely managed to cover all the things they needed too, she wore nothing. The dark purple coat that had hung over her shoulders in the colosseum was nowhere to be found, but an unlit burner was tucked amongst the lavender curls above her ear.


    "Underwitch Aubrey." Nami said, somehow still behind me.


    The Mother in Blue sat behind a wide wooden desk that was piled high with all manner of papers and books. She looked as she always did in her thin dress, but she was still wearing the gloves that Precept Seram had given me during the priming.


    "Mother Nami." I said, choosing to break my second promise to Rhiannon just so Azza would hear me say one of her sister''s names.


    Engaging in open defiance of Azza was absolutely necessary. I was sure Rhiannon would understand.


    The Mother in Brown lay on her side atop a plush looking bench. There was no smell of spices or sun warmed stone. She did not so much as twitch when I said Nami''s name aloud. Her back was to me and even with her legs curled to her chest, the bench was much to short for her length. Her short black hair hung off of its end and her sandals lay empty underneath it.


    She looked wrong.


    The idea of Azza laying down at all did not feel right in my mind. Her golden eyes were meant for staring at someone ominously, not for being closed. Her body was meant for looming and imposing, not rest and relaxation. I had never been in her presence without feeling her distaste grind against me.


    No Rhiannon, no Glimmer, no Gwyn, no Orange, no White. I''m not even worth the full circle anymore.


    A painting hung above her and I knew I had seen its kind before my eyes ever found its painter''s signature in the bottom right corner.


    M.D.G. I read in my mind. The painting of the three women I had found in the basement of the manor came back to me before giving way to the memory of Rubra and Rhiannon''s.


    Three boys, each with hair as white as snow, stood in a line wearing formal looking clothes. The one on the left was the tallest and had the shortest hair. He was very much a little boy, but his blue eyes were much too cold and emotionless. There was a rigidness to his posture that gave him the look of a soldier standing at attention.


    The boy on the right could not have been more different. His jaw length hair was tied back with a small blue ribbon. His little shoulders were slumped and the tips of his shiny black boots pointed inward. His eyes were turned upward and had just enough redness to them that it gave the impression that he had been crying.


    The boy in the middle was barely more than a baby. If it had not been for the other two holding his hands, I doubted that he would have been able to stand at all. His toothy grin that was so wide it closed one of his eyes told me that he had been laughing. The eye that was open was bright yellow and glimmering with obvious joy.


    A fierce looking woman stood behind the three of them. Her hair and eyes were faintly blue, the same icy shade as the precepts cloaks. The gaze she had been painted with had the same hypnotic effect that Azza''s did despite their difference in color. An elegant blue gown that shone like silk draped down from her and a shawl of white fur hung around her neck. A single earring hung off her right ear. I recognized it as a small silver crescent moon immediately because two of its kind were still clutched in my right hand.


    The iron gates of Lun Arcanicil stood tall behind them and I realized who the woman was before my eyes ever made it down to the silver name plate.


    Katarina. I thought to myself. I had seen her before through Rhiannon''s eyes.


    Mother Katarina and her sons. Alexei, Jaka, and Radomir. The engraved silver read.


    I had held the youngest boy in my arms when I had been within her memories.


    My head snapped from the painting and searched the Mother filled room for my white haired guard, but he had long since left.


    Alexei is Katarina''s son. . .


    I looked down at Azza''s still form and her muffled words repeated in my mind. I miss her. You must understand this.


    The way she was laying, the complete unazzaness of her behavior, it could have been no accident that she was facing M.D.G''s painting.


    She missed Katarina.


    Gone. It''s been three years. Nami had said. Have I not proven myself to you enough?


    I had become so used to things in my life never making sense. I was constantly kept in the dark and when I did discover something like the name of a Mother, I did not have the context necessary to make sense of it. I had become so used to being confused, that the quickness with which things were connecting in my mind made me dizzy.


    Something had happened to Katarina.


    Alexei was her son, and she was gone.


    "Underwitch Autumn? If you will." Nami said as she tapped me on my shoulder.


    I shook myself out of the rush of dizzy thoughts and tore my eyes away from the painting.


    All of The Mothers except for Azza had gathered around me. Ali stood with her arms crossed and a disinterested look in her lavender eyes. Grey had produced a notebook from somewhere within her robes and taken a seat on the fireplace. Nami stood closest to me and waited patiently for me to do whatever it was she had asked for.


    "This is unnecessary," Azza sighed from where she lay. "I saw it myself."


    "What is unnecessary?" I cleared my throat and asked.


    "We would like for you to show us your aura." Nami said as she stepped back from me to presumably give me room.


    Nervous heat rushed to my cheeks. "Uhm, right now?"


    "Right now." Mother Ali insisted.


    A memory of a memory came fading into the front of my mind. The sorceress that had been wrapped from head to toe in the white bandages that Mother Ali wore. A dusty drawing room that waves of lavender and honey aura had swept over. A kind faced older man that had remained all too calm considering the choices he had been given.


    My first promise to Rhiannon came spiraling up from my mind and I minded its thorns. I would be myself lest my pinky would be broken.


    "I will, but I want to know why I am here first." I said, my voice sounding entirely too high and shaky.


    The Mother in Grey spoke in an emotionless tone and gave me what I wanted to know.


    "If what we have heard is true-" She began.


    "It is." Azza interrupted.


    Seemingly unbothered by the interruption, Grey began again. "If what we have heard is true and you can channel both red and blue, then it is imperative that we understand your parentage. You have been summoned to demonstrate your ability while we wait for your lineage to be understood."


    I cleared my throat and made a passable imitation at speaking normally. "Why?"


    "Why must you provide a demonstration or why must we understand your parentage? Be specific in your speech, Underwitch Autumn." Grey said, looking at me without truly looking at me.


    "Why do you need to know about my parents?" I asked specifically. I didn''t even know about my parents. My mother had lived a life before me, she had told me that herself. She had also told me little details about my father, but I didn''t really know either of those things.


    Spring Tana''s mother seemed to be known far and wide. Precept Shanti''s father had given her coffee.


    My mother was my mother.


    My father was dead.


    Another secondhand memory, one of Rhiannon, Trea, and Captain Byron in the same drawing room as the first, flashed to life within me. Trea wanted to be a mother, she wanted to have a baby with the captain, but because of his blood, they had been forbidden.


    "We must be sure that your aura does not flow from both sides of your bloodline. That is the most common reason that someone would have a twinsoul." Grey continued after a moment of hesitation.


    "What if it does? Why is that bad?" Why is that forbidden? I continued my questioning in silence. The Mothers still thought that the barriers inside The Well kept me from accessing it fully. The last thing I needed to do was tell them otherwise.


    "Children born to a sorceress mother and a sorcerer father are. . ." Grey trailed off, her face pinched in what looked to be rigorous thought.


    "Monsters." Azza answered for her.


    "Unstable," Nami corrected Azza, her ocean eyes starring at me. "They are born with much greater power than a normal soul.


    "And not one of them ever stays sane." Mother Ali added, pulling the burner from above her ear and placing it between her lips.


    The sound of the door clicking open took my attention from what the mothers were saying. I looked to see if The Mother in Blue''s son was coming back into the room.


    Fiery red hair, emerald eyes, and a face that look almost identical to my own, Idensyn Aubrey stepped into the room of Mothers looking as beautiful as she always did.


    I ran to her without realizing what I was doing, Maiden Ire running off my face and hair in dusty blue streams as I went.


    She caught me in her arms and spun me around once before planting a kiss on the top of my head. "Hello my little Delpha, I am happy to see you too."


    I hugged her and would until I got good and tired of doing it.


    The Mothers would have to wait for their demonstration.


    The time when I did not get what I wanted had passed.

 V3: Chapter Fifteen: Acceptance

    It had not been very long at all since I had hugged my mother goodbye.


    Much had happened over the small amount of days since I had traded the cloudless skies of Erosette for the eternal gloom of the mountains. How much I had missed her did not strike me until she had walked into the room full of Mothers


    Neither had how absolutely ragged I felt until she had taken my weight into her arms.


    All of the walking, the slow drowning The River Eae had tried to kill me with, the will it had taken to down the innocent trees, it had all left me exhausted. The soup I had not eaten was long gone. My belly was painfully empty and ached for something to eat. Despite my weariness, three Mothers and my mother stood around me in silent anticipation for me to demonstrate my newfound power.


    The person I wanted to see it the most lay with her back turned to me and showed no signs of interest in anything but the wall she stared at.


    "You aren''t going to make me do this just to seal it away after, are you?" I asked The Mothers, keeping my first promise to Rhiannon close to my heart.


    It was not that difficult to be myself in front of them really. The remnants of Maiden Ire lay scattered over the white furred rug beneath my boots like blue glitter. My mother was in arms reach if the need for another embrace came over me. If I ignored the fact that my ability to live entirely relied on their mercy and goodwill, they were just women.


    Terrifyingly beautiful women who I was indebted to and were capable of bending reality to their will, but still just women.


    The Mother in Grey, as strange as it was, reminded me of Anna when she was nose deep in a book. There was something in her silver eyes that made me feel like she saw much more of me than she should have, but she could not keep eye contact with me for long. I could not explain it, but I got the impression that I made her uncomfortable.


    Mother Ali looked like she could tear down the walls around us if she wanted to, and she did look like she wanted to, but there was blood on her knuckles. I bleed, more often than I would like, and she did too.


    Nami was Nami. Her hatred of the cold and all of the little signs I had missed when they had happened made sense with what I had learned through the wall. Lun Arcanicil was not her school, it was Katarina''s. I did not think she loved me like Rhiannon did, but she had never been unkind to me. Through the beauty of her fading blue hair and ocean eyes, I knew that she had been hurt before and I knew that she had healed.


    Azza was not Azza, at least not in the ways that I had come to know her. Still unmoving and laying on the bench beneath the painting, she seemed the least Motherly of them all.


    "No, Underwitch Autumn. You have done nothing wrong." Grey said from where she sat by the fireplace, her notebook still open on her lap.


    "Yet." Ali grunted.


    Nami shook her head. "Stop it, Ali. You aren''t in any trouble, Autumn. We are asking you to do this."


    "Go ahead, dear. I am curious to see it myself. I did not know you had found a color at all until I was summoned here." My Mother said, her emerald green eyes held steady on mine.


    She was lying. It had been her that had devised the devious situation that had tricked me into breaking the red ring over my navel. From the look in her eyes, I understand that she had chosen her words specifically. I would be careful not to let anything slip from my mouth that I shouldn''t.


    I brought my left hand down to my side and searched the room.


    I wanted to eat something big and heavy that would leave me full and drowsy, but there wasn''t a single scrap of food in sight. I wanted to take a bath, with warm water, but I didn''t think anyone would react well to me stripping out of my coat and dress to find a tub. I wanted to lay down, but the only place in the room that looked anything close to comfortable was occupied by the sullen Mother in Brown.


    There was nothing tangible I could see that I wanted, but that did not mean that I was without desire.


    I would let her lock another choker around my neck if it meant I could understand what had happened to Azza. It was not so much why she was in the state she was in, I was fairly certain of the reason for that, but why she was allowing me to see her in that state. Not very long ago, she had charmed or bound my tongue, I was not sure which, just so I could not speak her or her sister''s names.


    The painting hanging above her brought several more questions to my tired mind. Alexei, with his long white hair and wolfish features, was Katarina''s son. Did any of the other Mothers have children? What man had the icy haired Mother deemed worthy enough to have a child with? If he was at Lun Arcanicil and had been charged with being my guard, where were his brothers?


    Most of all, what was truly gnawing at me, was what had happened to The Mother in Blue.


    She had been a Mother and the notion of any that were in the room with me dying seemed utterly ridiculous. Through other''s eyes, I had seen Nami drown a new sun and completely restore the sorceress I had been from being little more than a charred husk back to perfect health. With my own, I had seen Azza control an uncountable amount of sand as if it was water running off the tips of her fingers in the shower. She had arrived at Vowkeeper''s Anguish as it was splitting under the weight of a titan''s death. Goldluster she had been, and fortune had favored me when she knit the split closed with nothing but two golden needles.


    If I did not ignore those memories in pursuit of relinquishing my fear of them, I understood from first and second hand experience just how powerful they truly were.


    The notion that one of them had died or was gone away to someplace far enough that Azza seemed to be in the throes of full on grief, it would not make sense to me.


    I focused on those exhausting questions and reached inside myself for my aura.


    It came to me too easily. For weeks and months, reaching the red of my soul had been nearly impossible. The few times that I had managed to touch it, it had brought me to the ground if Anna had been too drunk to catch me.


    The blue spread through me and came to my left palm with little to no effort, turning the gnawing question in my mind into an oath.


    I will know what happened to Katarina. I thought to myself as my working took shape within my hand. I will will it so.


    The first time it had come to me, when I had been drowning in the cutting water of The River Eae, I had been too numb to feel anything. As my bright blue cord unfurled from my palm and coiled atop the white furred rug at my feet, a shiver ran up my arm. It was cool to the touch, like the cold glass of the windows in Anna and I''s quarters. It did not make my hand ache like every other frozen thing they had touched as of late. It brought me frigid certainty, a chilly confidence that whatever I wanted, I would have.


    I held two silver moons in the palm of my hand.


    With nothing but my will, I had brought blue to my soul.


    I was she who felled the arrogant trees and would not hesitate to do the same to all that opposed me.


    My eyes shifted around the room as I looked for The Mother''s reactions.


    Grey held her hands over the notebook on her lap with her haunting silver eyes inspecting my working. No pen, no pencil, nothing but the light of her silver aura scrawled over the empty pages and filled them with words so small that I doubted a spider could read them.


    Ali had lit her burner and had returned to her place by the door. Silently smoking and filling the room with a heavy sweet scent, I could not find anything in her expression.


    My mother had tears in her eyes and a pleased smile on her face.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Azza had still not moved.


    "What shade of blue would you say that is, cyan?" Nami asked, her arms crossed and her full lips turned up at one end.


    "Turquoise." Ali sighed with trails of smoke spilling out of her nostrils.


    Nami came to where I stood in the middle of the room and crouched. She brushed the back of her hand against my coiled cord. "No. There isn''t enough green in it. And it''s too blue to be baby."


    "Cornflower, perhaps?" My mother offered.


    "No." Ali grunted.


    Grey, evidently finished with her silver writing, closed the notebook on her lap and sent the remnants of her aura down to her grey robes. "The proper name for that particular shade is azure."


    "Ahhh" Everyone in the room but Azza and I agreed.


    "What does that mean?" I demanded, the fingers of my left hand rolling against the azure blue of my working.


    Nami stood and placed her hand in the center of my back. "That it is yours. This is no trick, we have seen enough. All that there is left to do is wait."


    As if in response to her words, the door opened again and for the second time, Alexei did not walk through it.


    A woman, her dress all pristine whites and pastel pinks took a single step through the doorway and stopped. A cloth veil concealed the lower half of her face and a large hood cast deep shadows over what was not covered. Her long sleeves held straight at her side, she bowed at her waist before she spoke "Well met, Mothers."


    "What have you discovered?" Grey asked.


    "It is as Sorceress Idensyn said. Her father was a warrior. He held no rank or renown within the Armory Enclave. He died from a grievous wound he received while guarding two sorceresses beyond the borders of Don Ro-Liber nearly ten years ago." The woman said


    For the first time since I had crawled out of the lightless passageway into the room of Mother''s, Azza moved. As elegant as she had been every other time I had suffered the misfortune of being around her, she turned on her hip and slowly lowered her feet to the floor. She brought her hands to her face and ran her slender fingers through her sleek black hair.


    "You are certain?" The Mother in brown asked, her head held down in her hands.


    "Yes, Mother. The bindings I have undertaken prevent me from willfully telling a lie, but our records are extensive. I am certain beyond doubt and my words are backed by The Mother in White." The woman answered Azza.


    "I know. I know. I know." Azza sighed into her hands.


    I will make my leave unless you have further need of me." The hooded woman said.


    "We are almost finished here. You may go." Nami answered her.


    The hooded woman bowed again before taking her single step back and closing the door behind herself.


    Azza stood and stretched her slender arms above her head, standing tall enough that she blocked Katarina and her sons from my sight. She slipped her feet into the black sandals beneath the bench and took a long step towards me.


    "Underwitch Autumn." She said, not an arms length away from me.


    The Mother in Brown¡¯s eyes were no longer golden. They were the same burnt sienna color as the stone of her choker had been and were red like Radomir''s were in the painting.


    Any trace of focus left my mind and my bright blue chord crumbled to azure dust in my hand.


    ¡°You will remain Maiden Ire while you are here," Azza began, only a ghost of her usual intensity evident in her eyes. "You will continue to stay in the groundskeepers quarters. If anyone discovers that you are not who you say you are, you will be removed and brought to my domain immediately. If you phase out of the school, You will be removed. If you step foot anywhere without The Mother in Blue''s permission, you will be removed. Do you understand this?"


    ¡°Yes, Mother.¡± I answered, her ghost still intense enough to make the scars beneath my too thin dress crawl. Still, I had never been able to meet her eyes as long as I did then. They looked tired, weary, sad.


    Katarina was gone, and I would find out why.


    "I am going to the temple." The Mother in Brown said as she left.


    "Wait just a moment, I will go with you." Nami called from where she stood beside me.


    Azza closed the door behind herself without another word.


    The loss from my dusted working, small as it was, washed over me. Nami''s hand on my back kept me steady as the weight of my afterglow settled onto my shoulders.


    It was nothing in comparison to what had come for me after the trial. The Autumn I didn''t like stayed silent and the tears that I did cry fell onto my mothers shoulder. Her presence alone was enough to keep me from the worst of the sorrow and it was not very long at all before I came back to myself fully.


    The Mother in Grey was the first to speak once my afterglow had passed. Her monotone voice bringing panic to my heart.


    "Ali, will you be taking her for her punishment now? She asked, smoothing the front of her long robes as she spoke.


    The months since Rhiannon''s punishment had been too calm. They had been too filled with good days and long nights with Anna. I had been too excited to come to Lun. For just long enough to make it hurt when I remembered, I had forgotten about my punishments.


    "No. She wouldn''t survive in the state she''s in. I''ll come back in a few days." Ali said, her burner long turned to ash on the floor.


    "We will discuss the details before you leave, it will have to fit around her cycles." Nami said.


    I did not enjoy being talked about like I was not in the room.


    "Wait," I shouted, balling my fists and stomping my feet. "I don''t understand what just happened."


    Grey spoke as she walked towards the door. "There is no indication of a sorcerer in your bloodline. It is exceedingly rare, but you are a twinsoul in truth."


    My mother cleared her throat. "As rare as it is, Mother, will further guidance be given to her on this matter?"


    The Mother in Grey did not answer in a way that made it perfectly clear that she had no intention of doing so.


    I shook my head and broke my second promise to Rhiannon for the second time. "That isn''t what I meant. Azza, what she said, I''m not in trouble? She isn''t taking me to her domain? Is she sick?"


    "We are Mothers, girl. Not gods. We all have our limits." Ali said, pulling a second burner from somewhere in her lavender curls as she made her leave.


    Alexei took her place in the room and made his way back to the painting that covered the passageway that he had led me through. I could not help but compare his wolfish features with those of Katarina''s. The cut of his jaw and the angle of his eye were mirrored perfectly in the painting. The similarities were not as evident as they were between my mother and I, but being able to compare them directly, there was no doubt. Even in the face of the painted boy version of the white haired man, I found small features that would grow into the man who had become my guard.


    "There are still matters to be discussed, Underwitch Autumn, but they will wait until tomorrow. You have three days before your cloaking ceremony and the new moon ball. I suggest you spend them resting," Nami said, as she walked me over to the open passage. "Reapply your glamor before you go, we must take no risks."


    I did as she said, enshrouding myself in the black hair and muted features of Maiden Ire. I retook my hold on the rough rope of Alexei''s sword belt and watched his white hair disappear into darkness as the painting closed behind us.


    The next moment, before my eyes could settle into the perfect dark, iridescent light illuminated the dusty tunnel.


    "You said you did not know how to create a werelight." My guard said as he turned his one white eye back around to me.


    "I don''t." I said, fully aware that he was not my guard even if he was guarding me. He was the son of The Mother in Blue or who had been The Mother in Blue, I was not sure. I had to literally bite my tongue to keep myself from asking him what I wished to know.


    "I do." My mother said from where she stooped behind me. A small sphere, no bigger than her finger nail, hung above the tip of pointer finger and illuminated her beautiful face.


    I shook my head in surprise, the dizzying amount of things I had learned in the room of Mothers having taken so much space in my mind that I had not thought about telling my mother goodbye.


    "What kind of mother would I be if I didn''t walk you home." She asked with a pleasant smile. "Carry on Master Alexei, you cannot be comfortable crouching like that."


    The passageway was much less confusing with the light of my mother''s colorless aura shining behind me. I could see the steep stairs before we came to them and could look down the branching paths that we did not take. Each that we passed led to dead ends walled by the backside of even more paintings.


    My mother''s presence made me happy, but I was not content. There was still too much I did not understand.


    "Do you understand what just happened? The twinsoul thing and what was wrong with Azza? I still don''t know how I did what I did. All Nami told-" I started as we were taking a set of stairs down.


    My mother interrupted me. "Remember, the less I know the easier it is for me to be your mother."


    "Right," I said through a frustrated sigh that became a wicked giggle as I had a terrible idea. "But you aren''t my mother. I''m Maiden Ire. You''ve never brushed my hair or told me Delpha and the dragon."


    She laughed. "¡°It truly scares me how devious you can be when you want something, my little Delpha.¡±


    "I don''t know who you are talking about." I insisted.


    My mother continued. "What I believe we just witnessed was acceptance, both The Mother in Brown''s and your own. She accepted what was happening and you were accepted into Lun."


    I nodded to myself, happy with her answer but still requiring more. The words of my next question felt nervous on my lips.


    Her father was a warrior. He held no rank or renown within the Armory Enclave. He died from a grievous wound he received while guarding two sorceresses beyond the borders of Don Ro-Liber nearly ten years ago. The hooded woman''s words repeated in my mind.


    "Now you are my mother, what was my father''s name?" I asked as we reached the bottom of the stairs and turned to our right to take another flight.


    "Oh, It makes sense that you would want to know that after today. His name was Auberon." She answered.


    "Auberon," I said with a smile. "Did he drink coffee?"

 V3: Chapter Sixteen: Sleep Walk

    When I woke the following morning, sore from all that had happened, all of me was one cold ache.


    Blind, I reached my right arm out for Anna to pull her close, but all my hand found was an empty bed. If we had still been in Erosette, I would not have thought it strange. My bed in the manor had been much larger than what we slept on in our little wooden shack.


    I rolled onto my back with an involuntary groan. Whichever part of me I moved burned with river built soreness so I decided that my only option was to never move again.


    The snow that drifted down and melted against my cheeks did not agree with my choices.


    How is it snowing inside? I asked myself, my mind still partially fogged by the shroud of sleep. I was well aware of how little I knew about weather, but I did know that the point of sleeping inside was to keep whatever weather there was outside.


    I rubbed my eyes until the sleep released them and looked up to see a flurry of snow swirling down from the wooden boards of the ceiling. Over to the black stove, the small light of embers was all there was to be seen through the slits in its iron face.


    Anna was not beside me, her place in the sheets and blankets was just as cold as I felt. I thought that she may be in the bathroom, but still found it strange that I had not woken when she had gotten up. After so many nights comforting her after a nightmare, I had developed a certain sensitivity to her weight in the smaller bed.


    A sudden gust of wind rattled the window by the door and even more snow floated into the grey light of our quarters.


    I pushed myself up and the soreness drove a jagged shudder of breaths from my lungs.


    Anna was not in the bathroom.


    The door of the shack stood open and flat against the inside wall beside it, a gaping hole that did nothing to stop the bitter winter outside from coming in.


    Anna stood in the doorway, her bare feet only barely keeping her inside the threshold. The wind whipped her long raven hair into a black mess and pressed her bed clothes flat against her front. Violent shivers shook her body, but her arms remained flat by her sides.


    Just like when Azza had been curled atop the bench in the room of Mothers, her posture alone was enough to tell me that something was very wrong.


    ¡°Anna?¡± I called to her as I forced myself to let my legs slide off the side of the bed. The floorboards were freezing when my feet met them and the cold shock was sharp enough to bring me groaning out of the bed.


    She did not answer or react to the sound of my voice. A quiet murmur came from her, much too quiet for her to be saying it to me. ¡°No.¡±


    I took two quick steps over to her and called her name again as I reached for her hand.


    Another gust of wind blew the black hair back from her face.


    Her eyes were closed.


    She was still asleep.


    ¡°Anna.¡± I said, pulling her from the door as I shut it and locked the winter back out


    All she did was stand there and sleep talk again. ¡°No. Don¡¯t.¡±


    I had never sleepwalked, but I had more than enough experience with waking up somewhere different than where I had closed my eyes. I was not very good at taking care of myself and knew even less about caring for another, but I brought her back to the bed as gently as I could.


    All that I knew to do was treat her how I would want to be treated.


    It was safe to say that I did not take her out into the woods and place her in a clearing surrounded by monstrous beasts or great serpents.


    Her eyes still closed and her body still shaking from the cold she had unknowingly let in, she did not resist me when I sat her on the edge of the bed.


    ¡°Anna,¡± I said softly as I gently squeezed her hand. ¡°It¡¯s time to wake up.¡±


    Nothing.


    ¡°Anna. Wake up.¡± I tried again, squeezing a little harder.


    Still, nothing.


    Rhiannon had left me sleeping on the floor of her armory for nearly a full day just so she would not scare me when I woke. I did not have the patience to find a sword that was longer than my body and balance it on the tips of my fingers.


    ¡°Hey!¡± I said a little louder and tapped her on her shoulder.


    She tipped over and fell back limply to the bed beneath her.


    It was good for her and I that I had not tried to wake her by the door. If she had slumped down the hard wood of the floor and banged her head or bruised her body, I didn¡¯t think I could live with myself.


    The same instance that her head bounced off the bed, her eyes snapped open and she threw herself back up in wide eyed panic.


    ¡°Don¡¯t Go!¡± She cried.


    Her sudden waking and the high pitch of her voice tipped me back just the way I had done her and I fell ass first onto the floor.


    Anna took a series of short and panicked breaths before she pushed her back from her face and saw me truly.


    ¡°Autumn? What are you doing out of bed? Did you just fall? Why is it so cold in here?¡± An avalanche of questions crashed out of her mouth as she slid off the bed and came to me on the floor.


    Her first thought after waking was asked after my well-being. I couldn¡¯t say I was surprised, it had been that way almost since the first time I had met her.


    ¡°You had the door open,¡± I told her honestly. ¡°I think you were sleepwalking.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± She asked, her eyes finding all the snow that had settled onto the floor of our quarters.


    I shook my head in agreement with my own words. ¡°I woke up and you weren¡¯t in bed. It was snowing inside and I¡¯m smart enough to know that snow is supposed to happen outside so I opened my eyes and you were just standing there.¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    A violent shiver shook her back up to her feet. She pulled the top quilt off of the bed and brought it down over my shoulders before she made for the split wood that was piled neatly in an iron frame.


    ¡°Were you having another nightmare?¡± I asked as I made the slow climb back to my feet.


    ¡°Yeah, but it¡¯s just like the other morning. We¡¯re in a new place, I¡¯m just getting used to it,¡± She answered as she opened the face of the stove and fit several of the logs into it. ¡°Hey, your mom was acting really weird last night, right?¡±


    She was trying to distract me. It almost worked, my mother had acted strange after she had walked me home.


    ¡°You were saying things. You¡¯ve never done that before.¡± I said, keeping my focus despite her attempt to waver it.


    She gave the dying coals within the stove a handful of deep breaths and the orange light of the reborn fire colored her face. ¡°Name another time your mom didn¡¯t jump at an opportunity to drink wine and tell stories. She¡¯s up to something.¡±


    ¡°You were saying ''No.'' and ''Don¡¯t.'' You shouted ''Don¡¯t go.'' I know you have nightmares, I know what they are about most of the time, but have you ever sleepwalked before?¡± I continued, the small flakes of snow that littered the floor bringing momentarily cold to the bottom of my feet as I went to her.


    ¡°No. Not that I know of, but I didn¡¯t know I was doing it today so, whatever. What do you want for breakfast?¡± She sighed as she turned away from me and went to our small cabinet.


    ¡°For you to stop trying to change the subject,¡± I said and threw the blanket off my shoulders and around her. I pulled her tight against me and caught the pinky of her right hand in the fingers of my own. ¡°We made a promise that we wouldn¡¯t keep things from each other.¡±


    ¡°Hey! That hurts.¡± She cried.


    I did not release my hold despite the shame that filled my heart at causing her pain. ¡°Then keep your promise and I won¡¯t break it.¡±


    Anna¡¯s dark eyes narrowed and she spoke in a low voice. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°So? The fact that I would threaten you at all should make you realize how worried I am.¡± I admitted. She was right, there was literally no reason why I would willingly break her finger.


    ¡°Shit, I¡¯m sorry.¡± She sighed and stopped fighting her blanketed restraints.


    The split wood she had placed in the stove had caught and its heat was slowly winning the war against the cold that Anna had allowed to invade our quarters. Her lean frame still shaking, I spread the blanket up over her shoulders and wrapped my arms around her. I had learned very recently just how long it took to get warm again and I wanted to give her every bit of help I could.


    ¡°Alright, I understand that hot chocolate is just heated chocolate, but how do I do that?¡± I asked as I pulled her over to where our pot lay on the small countertop of our little kitchen.


    ¡°Let me go, I¡¯ll do it. Go lay back down, you¡¯re cold.¡± Anna said as I practically dragged her with me.


    I laughed and did my best impression of her. ¡°I¡¯m not the one shaking out of her clothes. Shut up and let me let you tell me how to do it.¡±


    Making the warm drink was a relatively simple process that I made the most complicated thing we had ever done by refusing to let Anna go while we did it. Despite my ridiculous insistence on us being bound until we spilled the hot chocolate into our two cups, it had made Anna laugh and the drink was only a little burnt.


    The stove had taken its victory from the cold and melted all of the snow that had been blown inside by the time we sat down in front of it. I waited for Anna to take a sip and pretend that she didn¡¯t taste the bitterness that I had made a face at when I drank my own before I spoke.


    ¡°Your nightmare.¡± I said, crossing my legs and placing my steaming cup on the floor.


    ¡°We really don¡¯t have to talk about this. You know I have them. This one was just a little worse.¡± She said, not meeting my eyes.


    ¡°A little worse? If I had not woken up you would be just wandering out there right now.¡± I said, not angry with her but angry nonetheless.


    She forced herself to take another sip of her hot chocolate. ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal. They¡¯re just dreams. I don¡¯t have them very often anyways.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want you to have them at all, you should sleep like a baby every night.¡± I scowled down at the floor. All I could think to do was to charm her to sleep, but that was not real help.


    The beckoning of the lich that morning in the boarding house had left a mark on her just the way Azza¡¯s punishment had left scars on my skin.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about it. You do enough already when I have them,¡± Anna said, placing her cup on the then warm floorboards and reaching out to me. ¡°We still have to talk about what happened. How did you figure out the glamor thing? I knew you would, but I want to know the specifics.¡±


    Before my mother had made her all too quick leave the night before, I had told her and Anna both of The River Eae and the bitter deeps. They learned all about Tana and Reese, but my mother had excused herself because of a previous engagement right when I reached the part where Sam had brought me Anna¡¯s note.


    It was not the way I had imagined it, but I could still try and shock her with my reveal.


    I took her hands in mine. ¡°I didn¡¯t. I never got any closer to splitting my mind than I did while we were trying here.¡±


    Anna had threatened Azza multiple times after I had returned from my punishment. She was a mortal and had no power to speak of that could compare to The Mother in Brown¡¯s, but I had believed her. Even when The Lady in Red had come after me at the bridge to Erosette, Anna had tried her best to come to my defense.


    I would do the same for her.


    Without thought, I brought my aura to my left palm and azure light began to shine within our held hands.


    Anna stared silently, her eyes darting from my new light to my eyes and back again.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how, but you knew I wouldn¡¯t fail,¡± I began, my cord coming slowly out of me and gently around her wrist. ¡°Even when I had given up, you were out buying things because you knew we would be here.¡±


    The little white hairs on her arm stood on end everywhere my working touching.


    I continued, my voice ringing with confidence. "I know you cannot keep yourself from having nightmares. I know they worry you just as much as they do me, but I can put an end to them. Look at what I have learned to do, look at what your guidance and training has brought to me."


    Just like the pearl pink ribbons that held the bird skull around her neck, I coiled my bright blue aura up her arm and over her the shoulders of her new pajamas. She had bought us matching pairs of long sleeved shirts and loose pants. Hers were black as night and mine were snow white. With nothing but my will, I braided my cord over hers and took its end in my other hand, looping us together like I had with the blanket.


    "It''s so cold." Anna laughed through an open mouthed smile, her voice and eyes full of wonder.


    "I am so much more than I was when we saw the lich. I am so much more than I was because of you." I said. The fingers of both my hands rolled against the light of my soul and I brought her closer to me.


    "Your eyes." She whispered.


    Where there had once been red reflecting back at me in her dark eyes, the piercing shade of my blue shone in its place.


    "We will leave. We will leave Zenithcidel and set out into chaos. I do not know how and I do not know how long it will take, but we will hunt that decrepit thing down. I will slay it in front of you and present its skull as a gift to celebrate the end of your fear." I spoke, pushing my power into every word that left my lips.


    "You would do that for me? Give up going to school and run away again?" She whispered.


    Even then, she had no doubt that I could do the things I had said I would.


    "There is nothing that could keep me from it." I said, meaning every word.


    She laughed again and ran her hand over my power. "You know, you''re kind of scary sometimes."


    "Aren''t monsters supposed to be scary, even if they are little?" I asked her.


    Anna shivered and brought herself to me under the light of my working. "Running away can wait for now. You''ve got a new toy and I want to figure out just how cool it is. That''s gonna take awhile. And, I need to go to town. Plus, I''m pretty sure you are going to have a schedule full of classes and shit soon. Do sorceresses have gym?"


    A long moment of comfortable silence settled over us as I held her in the cold embrace of my cord. Later, I didn''t know how long, she spoke again.


    "Thank you, knowing that you would go that far for me, I. . ." She trailed off and I could tell by the sound of her voice that she was having trouble putting her feelings into words.


    I knew what that felt like. She had helped me out of many such moments.


    "Why do we," I corrected her earlier mistake. "Need to go back to Hymneth?"


    "Its probably best if we put another lock on the door."

 V3: Chapter Seventeen: Hymneth

    All was quiet in the clearing that surrounded Anna and I¡¯s little shack.


    Without the sharp pattering sound of the snow falling from the dim grey sky above to join what blanketed the ground, the morning would have been perfectly silent.


    There was no wind howling through the branches of the evergreens. No phantom bears had come through and ruined the forest beyond the edge of the clearing. Not even a single bird perched or chirped to tempt my blue furred familiar, wherever he was, into murder.


    Truly, in none of the many escapes I had mounted before, there had never been more perfect circumstances.


    After a long day spent showing Anna my newfound power, I had spent a short night doing my best impression of a dress up doll. She had bundled me up in a motley mix of the new clothes she had bought for me and what had once been The Lady in Purple''s. No thin white dresses in sight, I was warm as could be with my woolen dress, gloves, scarf, and hat. Once I had added Ire¡¯s dark black hair and muted features, we had crept out of our place to set out for Hymneth.


    I did not know if I was forbidden from going, but Anna had told me something that both of us knew she probably shouldn¡¯t have.


    It¡¯s better to ask for forgiveness than permission. She had said.


    Devious, wicked, cunning, it had been the most useful phrase I had ever heard and I felt like I had been waiting for my whole life to hear it.


    We had spent the rest of the morning tiptoeing around our room as we had gotten ready and eaten breakfast. With the door locked behind us, all that was left to do was sneak down the snowy stairs and make it out of the clearing without waking or alerting Alexei.


    Everything was perfect until I stepped off the stairs and sank into the deep snow beneath it.


    My back foot slipped from the sudden change in height and the sound of my fall broke the serene quiet of the morning. It was not the impact that was noisy, the white powder beneath me dampened that well enough. It was the involuntary scream that I had been powerless to keep inside that did it.


    I rolled myself onto my back, holding my breath in a desperate attempt to undo the damage I had caused the silence.


    Anna stood over the snow cleared streak my cuffed boot had left on the bottom stair. She covered her mouth with her hands, but the light in her eyes was enough to see that she was holding back a laugh.


    Frozen in the wake of the sudden sound, we stared at each other silently for a very long moment.


    Alexei never appeared. There was no sign of his white hair or single eye.


    I had not gotten us caught.


    We moved quickly after Anna helped me up. She led me into the forest, holding back her laughter all the way. We pushed through the wintery trees and headed away from the direction that Lun stood in. I followed in her footsteps as she used the painted blue marks on the trunks of the trees to navigate us onto the road that led to Hymneth.


    It was then and only then, when the little wooden shack lay far out of sight behind us, that Anna let her pressure built laughter burst out of her mouth.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got to start carrying around a mirror,¡± She laughed. ¡°You should see how dumb you look when something like that happens to you.¡±


    I let her laugh. After what I had said to her the day before, arguing that I had not looked dumb would only succeed at proving her point. It was no wonder why she had not accepted my offer to hunt down the lich, snow was enough to knock me off my feet.


    ¡°Yes, I am clumsy.¡± I shrugged and agreed as I pulled my hat back down over my ears.


    We had not been followed. The hair on the back of my neck was not standing on end. Seemingly free from prying eyes, I dusted the snow off the front of my woolen jacket and looped my arm in Anna¡¯s.


    The road to Hymneth was well kept. The cleared road sloped down towards the little winter town as the mountains climbed above us. Evergreens bordered each side until the frozen rock lifted them high above our heads. A snowflake drifted down past my face and fell to the square stones that paved our way. The moment it touched it, it melted away like all of its uncountable counterparts had done before it. Like the glamor that concealed Lun, I knew that the power must have come from somewhere or someone, but I couldn¡¯t begin to understand where or who that would be.


    My understanding wasn¡¯t necessary for me to appreciate how much easier it was to walk without knee deep snow fighting against every step we took. Wearing proper clothes and setting off for a day with Anna instead of a day spent in The River Eae left me feeling light on my feet. So light, that by the time Anna stopped laughing and mimicking the face I had made when I fell, Hymneth had come into my sight.


    Standing on the bridge that crossed over a frozen river bed, I took the time to take in the town that I had not been able to before.


    It was not nearly as large as Erosette and the townsfolk dressed much more warmly, but a lively song filled the air just as it had in The Mother in Red¡¯s city.


    A shapeless chorus of talking, shouting, and all manner of speech echoed off the wooden buildings and ran through the streets. The heavy crunching sounds of two burly men pulling a log filled joined the echoing well before it came into my sight. Just on the other side of the bridge, a group of children ran in a chaotic mess of laughs and yells. The sharp pattering of the falling snow underpinned it all, blanketing the town in a wintery rhythm.


    A sole building rose high above the tree tops in the distance. Made in the same greyscale stone and arched windows as Lun was, my eyes were drawn to it and my mind quickly followed.


    ¡°Maybe she just retired,¡± I said of Katarina, picking the conversation of the missing Mother back up from where Anna and I had left it the night before. ¡°She got tired of doing whatever it is that Mothers do and holed herself up in that tower.¡±


    "I don''t buy that for a second. Think about Rhi-shit-The Mother in Red retiring, not doing her celebrations and all that. It doesn''t make sense. Plus, from what you said The Mother in Brown said, she wouldn''t miss her so much if she could take a stroll and go see her. Something happened to her." Anna said, trying her best to keep my second promise to Rhiannon.


    The desire to know what had happened to The Mother in Blue had taken Anna just as it had taken me when I had told her about the painting and what I had heard from my place within the walls.


    "I know, I just wish the answer was that simple." I sighed, my thoughts returning to the terrifying idea of something happening to a Mother. The Mothers were the forces that happened to things. The seal on my navel and right palm were evidence enough for that.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    Anna squeezed my arm with her own. "It will be. You''ll keep searching The Well and I''ll see what I kind find in the library here. There has to be something about it with how important The Mothers are to these places. I''m going to research the twinsoul stuff too. I don''t know how I managed to get wrapped up with a sorceress in the first place, but now I found out she''s some kind of rare one? I''ve got to know about all of this silly shit. And when I want to know something. . .?"


    She trailed off for me to finish her sentence.


    "You get drunk and talk to yourself while you try to figure it out?" I asked, feigning innocence.


    She opened her mouth to respond, but the sound of someone shouting at us silenced her.


    "Oi, you two!" A heavily armored man rasped as he approached the bridge. Shining silver gauntlets and grieves, a fierce looking hammer with a blue stone on its pommel, and a white surcoat with a hollow blue circle over his chest were all draped under his long blue cloak. Between his long dark hair and his thick bristly beard, I could not make out much of his face, but the tone of his voice was enough to snap me still.


    He stopped at the edge of the bridge and waved us towards him. "Mind yourselves. After what happened not three days ago, it is not wise to linger around the fringes of town."


    "You could have said that without scaring us!" Anna shouted back at him, her brows furrowed in an expression that gave the man''s hammer true competition in the realm of fierceness.


    "Oh, my apologies. I could have spoken more softly. Forgive me," The man muttered as we reached him, real remorse on his bushy face. "Keep safe, girls. If you see anything strange or out of the ordinary, report it to the nearest guard you can spot."


    Anna kept her eyes hard, but I gave him a small smile and answered him as we passed. "We will."


    I couldn''t explain why, it might have been because he reminded me of Woolie, but I felt like he had shouted with the best of intentions.


    If I followed his warning completely, I would have to turn around and report to him about himself. When we had arrived in the frozen place within the mountains, I had seen no sign of Hymneth having armored guards. It had been a short stay before we were taken to the shack, but I did not think I had merely not noticed them. Nami had said something to Cherith on the morning of the priming that came back to me with the guards warning.


    "The priming was three days ago, right?" I asked Anna as we walked further into town.


    "Mmhmm, and when I was here the day you left for the trial, the bridge on the south side of the medery was crawling with guards dressed just like that one." She answered, still holding my arm.


    It was not nearly as cold as it had been every other time I had been outside, both because of the lack of wind and my warm clothes, but I hoped she would stay close to me for the rest of the day.


    "What do you think happened?" I said after we wove our way around the children I had seen before. They had stopped running and were arguing intensely about who was it.


    "I''m not sure, I asked the librarian but he didn''t know either. We''ll see if my mom knows anything, do you remember the list?" She said, stopping and unlooping her arm from mine.


    I let out a disappointed sigh before I answered her. "You do realize that asking me to remember a list is not the best idea?"


    "That''s why I did it," She tapped her forehead with her finger. "We''ve got to keep you sharp. So, what are we doing first?"


    "We are going to see Ms. Lao." I said, knowing that she already knew the answer.


    "See, sharp." She said with a smile as she took my arm again and pulled me into motion.


    I had never really thought about where Ms. Lao had gone when my mothers attempts at healing her had failed. Anna had been to see her, but I had been so caught up with being stolen out of my bed and not knowing who I was that I had never pressed her for details.


    In truth, besides its size, it looked just like every other building around it. It was built of wood and warm light colored its windows in an inviting orange. Snow lined the tops of its slanted roofs and the whole of it looked like it took up a quarter of the little town. Sorceresses, wearing the same cascading robes that Precept Cherith had been, were spread throughout long lines that extended back from the open doors.


    "Do all of these people need healing?" I asked as Anna led me to a different set of doors on the right side of the building.


    She nodded as she opened the door for me. "Mmhmm. One of the orderlies that works on my mom''s floor said that this is where everyone in Zenithcidel comes if they have anything worse than a scrap or a bruise. This is the visitor''s entrance."


    Two more armored guards, wearing the same surcoats as the first had, stopped us as soon as the door closed behind us. Staircases led up and down on both sides of us and we had come inside just in time for me to see someone I recognized.


    "Name?" One of the guards grunted.


    I did not know which one, because my eyes were following the gradient blue hair of Nami as she took the stairs on my left.


    "Lady Anna! You have returned!" Someone called from behind the guards and the armored men turned around just as a smile spread across Anna''s face.


    My curiosity took me and I was halfway down the stairs before I realized I had moved.


    Precept Cherith had met her at the bottom, looking just as serene as calm as she had the first time I had met her. Nami was still wearing the thin dress she had been the night before and had her arms wrapped around herself. Down a long hall that was thankfully empty, they walked as they began to talk.


    Padding my steps like Mother Gwyn had taught me, I followed them and tried to listen to what they were saying.


    "I''m sorry, Nami. Everything is prepared, we just don''t have the power necessary to do something like this." Precept Cherith said, her cascading robes flowing around her as she spoke in her alluring voice.


    "Don''t apologize, this is part of my duties. Besides, the negotiations are not going my way, I could use something good to bring them." Nami said, reaching up and rubbing Cherith''s back.


    The two of them turned from the hall and passed through the pure white curtain that served as its door. As quietly as my excitement would allow, I reached the curtain and pulled it open just wide enough that I could see inside.


    A pile of tattered black fabric lay in the far corner of the room, looking out of place in what otherwise was a spotlessly clean room. Obscured by the circle of white robed women standing around the raised table he lay on, a man was trying to speak. All that came from him was shapeless sounds and gurgles as Cherith took the empty place above his head and Nami stood behind her.


    I had seen the tattered fabric before and knew it to be a cloak.


    Nami placed her hands on Precept Cherith''s shoulders and the women around her formed a circle with their hands before they laid them on the man''s bare chest.


    He flinched and the metallic sound of clinking chains met my ears.


    Gatekeeper. I said to myself, knowing it to be true.


    Through the arms of the circle of women, I saw the source of the shifting metal. From the gatekeeper''s sharp nails to just below the crook of his arm, some strange restraint lay over around him in a series of cuffs and chains. Though the rest of him was sickly pale, the flesh held within the metal was as black as night.


    The sight of it made my own skin crawl and I had to force myself to not look away.


    Nami''s ocean blue aura flowed over Precept Cherith and joined with the teal light that she held in her hands. Red, grey, brown, and several shades of blue ran through the circle of hands and pooled together with Cherith''s.


    "Open. This will be over in just a moment." The calm faced woman said.


    The gatekeeper, eyes wide and face flushed, nodded once before he opened his mouth.


    A sick feeling rose up in my throat as my stomach twisted into a nauseous knot.


    His tongue had been torn off, cut, something, I didn''t know.


    Precept Cherith brought the wash of colors to his mouth and took the sides of his face in her hands.


    "Now, Nami." She whispered with closed eyes.


    The ocean blue aura streaming from The Mother in Blue quickly turned into a flood as it rushed over the other colors and swallowed them whole. The torrent of her power covered the gatekeeper''s face and the bloody stump where his tongue should have been began to grow.


    I was too weak, I let the curtain fall back in place and turned on my heels to go find Anna. If I had stayed, I would have lost the breakfast I had eaten not very long before.


    Before I reached the stairs, a great cough echoed down the hall and the gatekeeper began to shout.


    "The Walking Storm, The Blue Death, I saw him with my own eyes," He shrieked in high pitched panic. "He did this to me, Azeralphane!"

 V3: Chapter Eighteen: The Medery

    The Walking Storm. The Blue Death. Azeralphane.


    The gatekeeper''s words hung in my mind even as he continued to shout.


    I was thankful for the distraction. Without it, I knew that all I would be able to think about was the raw red remainder of his ruined tongue. Nami and Precept Cherith had healed him with the help of the circle of white robed sorceresses, I knew that, but the sight of it would never leave me.


    Neither would the ruined flesh within the cuffs and chains of his restraints.


    I ran up the stairs, any thought of being quiet or padding my steps very far away. As soon as I crossed the threshold of the floor above me, the echoing shouts of the gatekeeper vanished. He was not silenced. He had not stopped to take a breath. It was as if the hall beneath the stairs had disappeared with my arrival to the ground floor and all of the sounds had gone with it.


    Azeralphane. . .Where have I heard that name before? I asked myself, a strange jittery feeling rumbling in my chest at the thought. Somewhere deep within me, in the dark places beyond any clear memories, I knew that I should fear that name. White fog, pale blue skin, hypnotic yellow eyes, flooded streets, and glass shattering thunder, all bits and pieces of things I was sure I had once known but could no longer fit together into anything coherent.


    Regardless of my ability to understand what I felt, I knew the shaking fear I did feel was correct.


    Maybe Anna was right, I needed to start making lists so I could stay sharp.


    Whoever he was, he had cut out the tongue of a gatekeeper, and that was not the kind of things that safe people did.


    The guards that had asked Anna for her name met me in the same place they had been before I had followed Nami.


    "Name?" One of them demanded.


    "Oi, you look like you''re gonna be sick." The other grunted.


    Neither of them had mumbled or gurgled, but the vision of each of them trying desperately to speak without tongues appeared in my mind. I almost emptied my stomach right there on the floor in front of them.


    ¡°Let her pass,¡± Someone said from behind the guards. ¡°I saw her come in with Lady Anna.¡±


    The guards both looked annoyed but they parted to let me pass regardless.


    ¡°It defeats the purpose of having us here if you let everyone with a face inside.¡± One of them said as I saw who had spoken on my behalf.


    He was a young looking man and wore white robes that had less than half of the cascades that the others I had seen had. He pursed his lips at the guard that had spoken and turned his back to them as he led me away from the visitor¡¯s entrance.


    ¡°Having guards in a medery, have you ever heard of such a thing?¡± He asked me, his arms held neatly behind his back.


    I didn¡¯t know what the word medery meant until a few days before then. So, it was safe to say I had not ever heard of such a thing. I was still unable to speak for fear of making a mess on the soft white stone of the floor so I simply shook my head silently.


    He snorted and rolled his eyes. ¡°One person gets attacked and they act like we have the six wonders of The Blue Mother buried in the basement. Ridiculous. But, forgive me, I haven¡¯t gotten your name. I am Pirogue and based on how close you were with Lady Anna, I would think that would make you her lady love, but hmmm, I thought she had red hair.¡±


    I looked over at the chatty man with confusion evidently easy to see in my face.


    ¡°Oh my, forgive me. I don¡¯t mean to stir up trouble, I have just overheard her speak of her partner. I¡¯m sure she meant you. I am probably mistaken about the hair anyway.¡± Pirogue laughed a high pitched laugh and waved his hands erratically.


    More out of not knowing what to say than anything, I gave him a small smile.


    ¡°But we love Lady Anna here and Lady Mai,¡± He held his hand to his face and looked at me through his peripherals like he was telling me a secret. ¡°Although, I can¡¯t say I''ve ever met a more stubborn woman. Don¡¯t tell her that of course, I couldn¡¯t take it if she started to dislike me.¡±


    Rooms lined both sides of the hall, some with doors and some with curtains like what I had seen below. There were more sorceresses in the bedsheet colored robes than I had ever seen in one place, including all of the maidens that had gathered for the priming. Despite the rushing around they all seemed to be doing and the conversations that groups of them were having, there was a cold quiet to the place that left me feeling like I wished to leave it.


    Pirogue brought me to a door at the end of a hall that was cracked open just enough for me to hear the voices of those who were speaking inside it.


    ¡°Listen,¡± Ms. Lao whispered harshly. ¡°You need to have your own life. You need to have something that you do for you.¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t she be what I do, Ma? You don¡¯t understand. I love her, like really love her.¡± Anna snapped back.


    Through the crack in the door, I saw Ms. Lao shift in her seat and reach out for her daughter. ¡°I know you do. I am old, not blind and foolish. It just isn¡¯t healthy.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s what you did for me and Arthur.¡± Anna sighed.


    ¡°Because I am your mother. You two are partners, it must be equal.¡± Ms. Lao said, with steel in her voice and her eyes.


    They were talking about me. Ms. Lao didn¡¯t think I was healthy for Anna. She did not think things between us were equal.


    The sickness in my stomach sank into a cold pit as I realized the truth in her words.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Pirogue stood beside me, looking perfectly content to sit and overhear whatever was said next.


    Ms. Lao turned and spotted me.


    ¡°Shit.¡± I heard Anna say. The door opened fully and she pulled me inside with anger in her eyes.


    What did I do for Anna? She cooked for me, she treated my wounds, she kept me from spiraling into the dark places in my mind. All I ever did was make her laugh when I fell and put her in danger.


    ¡°Thank you, Pirogue. You may go.¡± Ms. Lao said to the young man as he walked into the room behind me.


    ¡°Oh, yes, of course. Happy to be helpful! The healers will be coming soon. I¡¯ll give the three of you a moment alone.¡± He said with another high pitched laugh as he closed the door behind himself.


    Ms. Lao stood and came to me, moving much more quickly than I had ever seen her move. Her face was bright and she looked well rested. It could have been the grey light leaking through the windows on the back wall of the room, but for a moment, her raven black hair seemed to shine blue.


    ¡°It is good to see you, Autumn.¡± She said with a tight lipped smile as she patted the top of my hand with her own.


    ¡°Hello, Ms. Lao.¡± I said in return.


    ¡°Where did you run off to?¡± Anna asked me, her dark eyes still angry.


    ¡°I. . .¡± I tried to speak, but the things that I had seen and heard had left me speechless.


    Ms. Lao sat back down in her wooden chair and made a mean face. ¡°That Pirogue, I¡¯ve never met anyone as nosy as he is. He¡¯s probably out there right now with his ear pressed to the door.¡±


    ¡°Don''t try to change the subject now.¡± Anna said.


    ¡°I have said nothing to you that I would not say to her.¡± Ms. Lao answered, her eyebrows knitting together into a tight knot.


    "Then tell her. Tell her that you think we care about each other too much." Anna said, laughing angrily.


    "I heard." I managed to say, wishing very badly for the tension between them to end.


    Ms. Lao shook her head. "That is not what I said. If you both wish to stay together, and I hope that you do, you need to each be your own person."


    "I saw a man with half a tongue." I blurted, unable to take their arguing any longer.


    Both of them stopped speaking and turned their focus to me.


    The words started spilling from my mouth like a knocked over glass of water. "I saw Nami when we came inside. I followed her before I really knew I was doing it. Both of you have seen a gatekeeper. She went into a room with Precept Cherith and there was one laying on a table. Under all that nasty looking fabric, they are just people. The skin on his arm was all black, like it had been burnt, and there were chains all over it. He kept trying to speak, but he-"


    "Hey," Anna said softly as she placed a hand on my back "Easy. Take a breath."


    The sick feeling had returned to my stomach and I had to swallow before I could continue. When I did, my voice came out quiet and quivering weakly. "Someone had cut his tongue off. All he could do was moan and gurgle. They healed him, but I couldn''t watch it. I think that''s what happened the other day. That''s why all the guards are around."


    "Pirogue is a gossip. He said that someone had been attacked when he was asking me if I had heard anything. That is terrible," Ms. Lao said as she turned away from us and looked out the window. "Something like that shouldn''t happen in a place like this."


    The spilling carried on. "I ran away because I thought I was going to vomit, but he started shouting before I made it back up the stairs. Azeralphane, The Walking Storm, The Blue Death, he called him a bunch of different names. I know I have heard it before, I know that I know things about whatever it is, but I can''t remember it all."


    A sharp round of knocks came from the other side of the wooden door and it clicked open not a second later.


    "Hello, Lady Mai. It''s us this morning." A cheery faced sorceress called through the door.


    Anna sighed and looked back at her mother. "I''ll come back soon, Ma. Probably the day after tomorrow."


    "Your brother sent a letter and said he would be on leave soon. Both of you should see him when he is here." Ms. Lao said.


    "We are leaving?" I asked, nothing left within me to spill.


    "It gets crowded in here when they come and I won''t be done for several hours," Ms. Lao answered as she came and hugged Anna and I simultaneously. "Congratulations on being accepted into the magic college."


    "Thank you." I said, only realizing she meant Lun Arcanicil after an intense moment of thought.


    Anna led us back out of her mother''s room and past the white robed healers. There was no sign of Pirogue on our way back out and neither of the guards asked for our names as we left the medery. The sun had risen high somewhere behind the clouds above, which only managed to lighten the shade of grey they always were a small amount. The snowfall had tapered off and its sharp rhythm had gone with it, but it felt much colder than it had earlier that morning.


    "What''s next on our list?" Anna asked as she straightened my hat and tucked the tail of my woolen scarf into the front of my jacket.


    "Your mother is right." I muttered, unable to meet her eyes.


    She raised her hand and thumped me right on the tip of my nose.


    I covered my face with my hands. The itching sting of her thump forced not one, not two, but three sneezes out of me in quick succession. "What was that for?"


    "The only thing Ma is right about is Pirogue being nosy. She doesn''t understand anything about us and I really don''t care if she does." Anna said, taking me by my hand and pulling me towards a building to the right of the medery.


    By the time I rubbed the tickling from my nostrils and wiped the tears from my eyes, she had stood us up in front of a large glass window. Clean and dark enough that I could not see what lay beyond it, our reflections stared back at us with Hymneth as our backdrop.


    "Look at us, we''re perfect. You would willingly get killed trying to slay some undead monster for me and I would spend the rest of my life waiting for you to come home if it happened. Who gives a shit what Ma thinks. We are meant to be together." She said, looking at me through the reflection and scrunching her nose.


    Every part of me wanted to resist the warm place her words had created in my heart, but Anna Lao was far more powerful than I.


    "How do you know that we are meant to be together?" I said, trying not to let my smile show.


    "Think about all the things that had to happen for us to end up right here, right now. Do you have a better explanation?" She asked.


    "No, but there is something wrong. We aren''t perfect." I said, hanging my head and slumping my shoulders. Without waiting for her to ask me what I meant or giving her the opportunity to thump me again, I let Maiden Ire fall from my face.


    I looked back up at our reflection and saw my true self staring back at me.


    "Damn it. I hate when you are right." Anna laughed as she turned me towards her and we shared a cold lipped kiss.


    I did not know if we were perfect, mostly because of how much of me that required, but our moment in front of the glass was, undeniably.


    We parted, and Anna returned to the task at hand all too quickly. "So, what''s next on the list?"


    "The lock, lunch, and then we were going to try and find Reese." I said, resisting the urge to pull her back to me. No matter how bad I wanted it, I needed to bring Maiden Ire back to my face before I was seen.


    Through my peripherals, I noticed a dark shape had appeared behind our reflections.


    "You will be doing nothing until you reassume your glamor," The shape spoke and I flinched at their words. Standing tall next to Anna and I, with his single white eye staring down at me, Alexei had appeared out of thin air. "Or I will return you to your quarters immediately."

 V3: Chapter Nineteen: The Corner Keeper

    Anna shoved Alexei square in his chest with both hands.


    Well, she threw both of her hands into his chest and tried to shove him, but the white haired man did not so much as blink.


    Anna shook her hands out before holding them to her chest. ¡°Are you made of stone or something? That hurt.¡±


    ¡°Your glamor.¡± Alexei said simply, ignoring Anna and seemingly unbothered by her sudden violence.


    ¡°I was going to before you just appeared. How do you do that?¡± I asked him, bringing Maiden Ire back to my mind.


    I am Ire Ap Viven. My Mother is dead. I have never known my father. I have come from Don Viven to study under The Mother in Blue. There has never been a more unremarkable maiden. I could forget what I looked like if I was standing in front of a mirror.


    The cold power of my azure aura came to me easily and the mask of Ire followed quickly in its wake. Black hair, dull eyes, and muted features ruined the reflection of Anna and I''s perfect moment alongside my guard''s wolfish looks.


    I hated to see it end, but it had been enough to dispel the cold sickness that had taken root within me.


    Anna squared her feet and tried to shove my guard again. ¡°What are you even doing here? Do you enjoy creeping up on women or something?¡±


    ¡°Where she goes. I follow. Cope.¡± Alexei stated without expression.


    ¡°Mmhmm, sure. You¡¯re just mad because we left without you noticing.¡± Anna said. She gave up on her assault and crossed her arms. Either she had forgotten just who Alexei truly was or she knew full well who she was yelling at and did not care.


    ¡°I notice the change in the air when your breaths rise from the depths of sleep, Lady Anna. There is nothing that the two of you do that I do not notice.¡± Alexei continued.


    His voice was not the same monotone droll that The Mother in Grey¡¯s was. Hers sounded like she had never felt anything at all and that the simple act of speaking was exhausting. Alexei spoke from a place of restraint. I could tell that there was feeling within him, he was just ringing it out of his words before they left his lips.


    ¡°Completely normal thing for someone to say to two women they barely know. I miss the guards in Erosette." Anna carried on, looking like she might try to hit him again.


    My true self hidden once again, I returned to what I had asked him. ¡°How do you do that?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± He asked, the focus of his single white eye making me turn my own to the ground. He was intimidating from a distance. Standing that close to him? I felt like a fox that had wandered into a dragon¡¯s den.


    ¡°Appear? Disappear? You did it at the trial and you just did it again. I would have known if you were following us around and watching us.¡± I said.


    The amount of times that the hair on the nape of my neck had stood on end or that sudden exposed feeling that came with being watched had struck me was not small. Considering the short amount of my life that I could remember, I doubted there was another soul in chaos that had been watched as much as I had.


    ¡°It is not for you to understand. What you will understand is that you will inform me if you plan to leave your quarters and on the times that you do, the rules of Lun apply to you here. You will return to your rooms before nightfall or I will return you. Understood?¡± Alexei asked, the force of his voice telling me that it was not a question in truth.


    Anna took me by my hand and pulled me to her side. ¡°You are her guard, you can¡¯t tell her what to do.¡±


    A small smile, so small that it could have been a trick of the light, turned up the corner of Alexei¡¯s mouth. ¡°I understand that your impression of what a guard should be has been sullied by those you had in Erosette. You will find no such weakness in me.¡±


    Anna turned around and tried to pull me along after her. ¡°Come on, Autumn. We have things to do.¡±


    I kept my boots on the snowy stones of the street. ¡°I understand. Thank you.¡±


    "What?" Anna shouted.


    Alexei gave me a small, silent, nod and I hoped he appreciated my agreeableness.


    He was the son of The Mother in Blue. Whatever had happened to her, wherever she had gone, dead or alive, he would know. If Lun Arcanicil was truly Katarina''s place and Nami was only serving in her stead, her son would have no small amount of knowledge about it. I did not know what he had been before I had become his charge, but it was obvious that he was some sort of warrior. Surely he had heard something about the attack on the gatekeeper. The white haired man was the best way for me to find answers to all the questions that would not leave my mind.


    Despite my desire to act just as Anna was, I knew that defiance was the way to get what I wanted from him.


    It had taken awhile, but one by one, I had broken the guards in Erosette. Smiles, jokes, unintentional displays of vulnerability, they had all fallen victim to the charms that I was told I had.


    To know you is to love you, my little Delpha. My mother had said this to me once. For my curiosity''s sake, I hoped she was right.


    ¡°We need to find somewhere to purchase a lock, can you show us the way?¡± I asked him. For good measure, I tightened my coat around myself and faked a shiver, trying to look as helpless as I could in the snowy streets.


    ¡°You actually want him to come?¡± Anna asked, looking as if I had just said the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard.


    ¡°Do you know where we can buy a lock?¡± I asked her back.


    She deflated. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Then we could use Master Alexei¡¯s help. I¡¯m sure he knows his way around town.¡± I said sternly.


    I would tell her my plan when we had a moment alone. She had a short temper when it came to how people treated me, but I had never seen her be quite so volatile. Especially considering that all he had done was scare us. That was relatively mild compared to most things that had happened to me.


    Alexei stared down at me for an intense moment before he nodded. ¡°Follow me.¡±


    I took Anna¡¯s arm in mine and we walked a small distance behind the white haired man as he led us back by the medery and towards the center of Hymneth.


    A short while later, we came to a large open square that was hidden amongst the snowy buildings. The only tree I had seen in the mountains that was not an evergreen stood tall in its middle. Sprawling branches fanned out from its twisted trunk, barren and coated in white frost. Thin black ribbons hung throughout its frozen limbs in a loosely woven web of dark arcs and the sight of it alone was enough to make me uneasy. From its low hanging bends to the thin spires that jutted from its branches, the decorated tree looked wrong in the cozy little town. Like stepping into the square had led us into a different place entirely. All the corners and sharp edges of Hymneth were rounded and softened by the white snow that blanketed it. The tree was sharp, angular, and entirely wrong when compared to what surrounded it.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Two guards, wearing the same white surcoats and armor that the rest I had seen were, met Alexei as we walked towards the tree and he stopped to speak with them.


    ¡°What is that?¡± Anna asked aloud.


    I took my guard''s momentary distraction for what it was and pulled Anna past him.


    ¡°Be nicer,¡± I whispered. ¡°He knows things.¡±


    She narrowed her eyes and dug her elbow into my ribs before whispering back. ¡°I know, dummy. If I annoy the piss out of him, it''ll make him like you in comparison.¡±


    My jaw dropped.


    I had to bite my tongue to keep myself from laughing and attracting the attention of my guard. She hadn''t been in a bad mood, she had been acting just like I had. Anna Lao was quite possibly the most devious soul in all of chaos.


    ¡°How did you know?¡± I asked, trying to keep my voice down.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t the only one with powers,¡± She winked. ¡°He is pretty scary though."


    "It''s like looking at a wolf." I whispered back, unable to keep the anxious grin off my face. I had never seen an actual wolf, but I had seen a familiar that with the exception of having four eyes, appeared to be one.


    "A pretty wolf," Anna laughed. " Look at him, he''s better looking than I am."


    Alexei was attractive in a dangerous sort of way, there was no denying that, but he could not begin to compare to the raven haired girl beside me. "If you say something like that again, I will charm your voice away. No one is better looking than you."


    "Wrong. There is one person who makes me look down right bad in comparison." Anna said, shaking her head as we reached the base of the blackened tree.


    "Who?" I asked, searching my memory for an answer and finding nothing. Rhiannon was indescribably beautiful, as were all of the other Mothers in their own unique ways, but it was not the same kind of beauty. They were like M.D.G''s paintings, whoever they were. I could observe them for hours and appreciate all the things that drew me to them, but it ended at the observation.


    They were like the pink marble statue that stood at the back of the manor garden in Erosette if it had been made animate. I knew they were just sorceresses, but they felt so unlike any other person I knew that they did not feel real. They were forces, unchanging as the wind or the snow.


    Anna was alive.


    She grew, learned, changed.


    I had seen her crying at what would have been her brother''s death if Opa had not intervened. More nights than I could remember, I had woken to find her in the terrifying grip of a nightmare. There were very few memories I had of her being truly angry, but I did have them. Her nose scrunched when something made her feel too much. When she was reaching the end of her nightly wine, her skin would take on a red glow. Not long after we had met, when it had been her mind that was dangerously close to breaking, I had charmed her with a kiss and left my power glimmering on her lips.


    In all of those memories and the near infinite number of others like them, not once had she been anything less than perfect.


    The thoughts of her brought heat to my face by the time she answered my question.


    "You, dummy," She said with a wicked smile and pointed at the strange tree before I had a chance to pounce on her. "Something is in there."


    I followed her finger and peaked through the black ribbons and tangled branches.


    A statue stood in the middle of the tree, like it had sprouted from the ground and the wood that embraced it had followed its growth. Distinctly feminine, the grey stone held the shape of a tall and thin woman with a heavy hood and cloak concealing her face. Three sets of hands hung out the folds of stone, held in a manner that formed the sharp lines of a box. The lower set made the bottom, the middle set shaped the walls, and the top set closed off the top.


    Like the tree that surrounded it, it felt wrong to look at. There were too many hands. The details were so life-like that it would not have surprised me if it raised her head to look at me.


    I would have been scared out of my mind, but not surprised.


    "Do you know what this is?" I asked over my shoulder. With all the books Anna had read and notes she had taken, it wouldn''t have been unusual if she had been able to answer my question in a well worded explanation.


    "Not even a little," She said as she leaned into my back and propped herself up on the branches. "Kind of creepy though."


    ¡°That is the corner keeper, and it is not an it, but a she." Alexei said suddenly from behind us, sending me into a panicked shout and Anna into another bout of unsuccessful shoves.


    The two guards that had stopped him were marching back down the way they had come and the white haired man had once again appeared out of thin air.


    "Why is it here, Master Alexei?" I asked as I dragged Anna away from him and kept her from continuing to push him. Knowing that she was acting, that none of her rage was real, it was very difficult for me to keep a straight face. I could have imagined it, but I thought I saw my guard''s eye twitch in frustration.


    Straightening the front of his robes as he watched me with his single white eye, he spoke calmly despite Anna''s attack. "Most that live here pray to her and give her offerings. Let us continue. What need do you have for another lock?"


    "To keep you from barging into our room." Anna snapped as we started back up again.


    If he was capable of noticing changes in our breathing, then there was no doubt he had heard her sleep walking the morning before. If what he said was true, there was nothing we had said to one another that he did not know. He knew that we knew who his Mother was and that we had spent a long while talking about where she could have gone.


    We would have to be much more careful when we returned home.


    From the statue of the corner keeper, whoever she may have been, we stopped at the library Anna had found while I had been drowning in The River Eae. I did not get the chance to go inside and compare it to the one in my mind, because the librarian turned us away at the door. It was closed for acquisitions, which sounded like much too interesting a thing for a library to be doing.


    Alexei led us from the library to the edge of town, with Anna taking every opportunity to annoy him along the way. We came to a bridge that looked just like the one we had crossed on Lun''s side of town and found a small army occupying it. A dozen of the white coated guards, each looking more surly than the last stood amongst the snowy trees and at either end of the bridge.


    Anna had said that the place the gatekeeper was attacked had been crawling with guards, the bridge fit that description perfectly.


    Even with my proper clothes, I was growing colder. My stomach was beginning to ache with emptiness and Alexei''s placid face had been set into sharp clench by Anna''s antics. I had been waiting all day for that particular moment without realizing I had been waiting at all.


    "Master Alexei," I asked, taking the opportunity for what it was. "Someone in the medery said it was Azeralphane that attacked someone. The Walking Storm, The-"


    "Impossible." Alexei cut me off. His entire body grew deadly still and he glared down at me with his one white eye.


    He had answered a little too quickly and with a little too much emotion in his voice.


    "Why is that impossible?" I asked in obvious confusion.


    ¡°I was warned about your curiosity,¡± Alexei said, his voice returning to its measured and even tone. Still, he answered with more words than I had ever heard him say at once. "The underwitches at Lun speak about him as if he will come and steal them out of their beds. If you heard his name in the medery, then stories will be told about him in every tavern for the next year. People love a demon, something they can place all their fears and angers on, but he''s no different than a dragon or the corner keeper.


    Anna snorted. "That sounds pretty dumb."


    "I don''t understand." I said, leaning into innocence opposite Anna''s acted annoyingness.


    "Dragons aren''t real. Azeralphane is not real. He is made up, a story that people are all too eager to believe," Alexei answered and took a slow breath that returned him to his usual state. "There is little light left in the day, if you wish to complete your list, we must move quickly."


    I did not press him. The moment he turned away, I pulled Anna along with me as we followed him past the guards. I had not learned anything further about The Blue Death or why someone would attack a gatekeeper in the first place, but I had learned something. What I had learned would prove to be much more valuable than anything else I had wanted to know.


    Alexei had lied to me.


    Truth. The Autumn I liked agreed, and I knew from experience that I could trust her.


    All I needed to know was why.

 V3: Chapter Twenty: A Visitor

    The Well had changed since the thing at the bottom of it had decided to ignore me.


    Ever since I had resisted the metallic thumps of its call atop the stone table of the colosseum, there had been no sound or sign that it existed at all.


    It was still a near infinite library filled with the memories of all the sorceresses that had ever lived.


    That was all that remained the same as it had been in Erosette.


    The thing had been watching when I had been somewhere underneath The Mother in Red¡¯s cliff side mansion. Gone were the fireplaces and the high backed arm chairs on every identical floor. In their place were tables and alcoves identical to a real library that I had been in before. There were no paintings, nor was there a pleasant mannered man with a warm smile. When I had gone to The Well for the first time after Rhiannon''s punishment, the ethereal structure in my mind had become a perfect mimic of Patience¡¯s library.


    Like his and the one that Anna had taken me to in Erosette, the books that the shelves held had been organized. Not by name or who had written them, but by color. Shelves of gradient blues lines the walls and were spaced evenly in the space between. From the shade of black water to a blue so bright it was nearly white. If there were any other rules they were sorted by, I was blind to them, but gone were the days when there was no rhyme or reason to the books placement.


    At the back of each room, by each of the strange black doors that had once served as my entrance, lay two sets of stone stairs. One led to the floors above and the other led to the floors beneath my feet.


    Above me would be nothing but reds, above the reds would be nothing but oranges, and above the oranges would be nothing but whites. Once I reached the sparsely spaced whites, the stairs would lead me to greens and it would begin again in a seemingly infinite loop.


    Green, Purple, Grey, Brown, Yellow, Blue, Red, Orange, White. I repeated in my mind.


    The loop and the organization should have made it easier for me to find something of note, but in practice, that could not have been further from the truth.


    I had been searching for Katarina¡¯s book for so long that I had lost count how many floors of blue I had been through. I had not found a single name I recognized. None of the six precepts, not Nami or Spring Tana, nothing.


    Even with Alexei¡¯s guidance, we had not found Reese in Hymneth the day before, and I had not found her amongst any of the orange tomes I had searched through.


    There were too many books, too many names, too many memories.


    After wasting my time running my hands over the spines of another blue floor, I sat down and leaned back against one of the strange black doors.


    If my freedom from the debt that I owed The Mothers depended on me viewing every single memory in The Well, then I would never be free. My life would never be truly my own.


    I could only remember less than half of my life. Most of it had been spent in one small place with my mother where nothing of note happened. It would take me even longer to view them than it had to live them. Each memory came with going in and out of The Well. Upon each return I had to answer Sam¡¯s questions. My mind had nearly broken before. If I did nothing but throw myself into the memories of others in pursuit of progress, I didn¡¯t think I could take it.


    ¡°The worst part of it all,¡± I said aloud, knowing that the thing could hear me no matter how bad it did not want to. ¡°Is I can¡¯t even be sad about it.¡±


    Anna and I had discussed The Well at length in the weeks before we came to Lun. Then, when we thought we understood what those conversations had pointed to, we had brought our thoughts to Sam.


    When The Lady in Red had been about to join my head with the soil underneath it outside of Erosette, I had gone into a memory of hers. I had not realized it at the time, but when I had come back and her power cloaked fist still had not crushed me, almost no time had passed at all.


    Sam had not felt the magical compulsion to ask me his questions.


    All of the normal after effects of The Well hadn¡¯t happened.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you understand how much shit I have to do in here, but I could use your help again.¡± I called out, knowing that I would not receive an answer.


    I had focused on Katarina¡¯s name when I had entered The Well that morning, but it had done nothing.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to start getting angry.¡± I warned the emptiness, wishing there were still fireplaces for me to cause nonexistent destruction with.


    I could not be sad because of the unusual way things had occurred during my flight and fight with Trea.


    With Sam''s agreement, we had discovered that time inside my mind did not run equal to time outside of it. If I had done it once, I could do it again, all I had to do was figure out how. When I learned how to do it at will, viewing memories would take much less of my life and I could be truly free at last.


    ¡°Will you at least let me leave? I don¡¯t want to see anything right now.¡± I shouted, my face burning with the anger I had promised.


    When there was no answer, I slammed my back against the strange black door behind me in frustration. It swung inwards and I went rolling back into the room that used to be all I knew of The Well.


    Thunk. Came the metallic heartbeat sound that rarely meant anything good for me.


    I rolled back onto my feet into the strange dark room. I had not been in it in longer than I could remember, but what I could remember had not been good.


    ¡°No! I do not want to be crushed!" I shouted, stomping my feet in anger.


    Thunk. It came again.


    ¡°Whatever you are doing, stop it!¡± I shouted again, my voice echoing into the emptiness of The Well.


    A long moment of silence came and I held my breath through it, waiting in jaw clenched tension for the third beat to sound. When it didn''t and the walls remained where they were, I sighed. ¡°Thank you. I''m sorry tha-¡±


    Thunk.


    The floor underneath my feet vanished and I dropped straight down into a lightless pit of nothingness. Only the echo of my scream met me in the never ending void, but even it grew quiet as I fell out of The Well. . .


    I did not come back to myself gently.


    I came back to myself shouting and flailing. My hands struck something hard and sent pain through my knuckles. It took far too long for me to understand that my dark descent had ended and that the wooden bottom of the bath was solidly underneath me.


    The water within its rounded walls had grown cold and my whole body shivered when my mind accepted that.


    It had not been when I had slipped into The Well earlier. Anna had woken me up with the tub already filled by an uncountable amount of trips she had taken from the stove to the bathroom. She had not done so I could view my three required memories first thing in the morning, she had done it out of kindness alone, but I had gone anyway.


    Without thinking, I brought myself to bending branch and let my aura build pressure behind my left palm. I thought of Anna and I¡¯s reflection in the window the day before during the small moment I had been myself and not been Maiden Ire.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Fireworks burst from my palm underneath the surface of the water, but they were not red.


    Bright blue and thin like needles, they shot through the water like tiny little icicles.


    I snatched my legs away and pulled myself up by the rim of the bath. My working swirled in my wake and felt like they were freezing the water around my skin.


    ¡°Autumn? Are you okay?¡± Anna called through the door.


    Sam sat beside the bath, his deep blue eyes scowling up at me like I had just personally insulted him.


    ¡°I will speak with you alone.¡± My big blue cat of a familiar growled, something more in his voice than his usual contempt.


    ¡°Don¡¯t come in!¡± I shouted back at her.


    ¡°Okay? I¡¯ll just start breakfast then.¡± Anna called back, confusion evident in her voice.


    The last time I had returned from The Well, there had been blood splattering against the window and Sam dragging the half corpse of a very unfortunate rabbit through it. He was doing nothing so morbid then, but that made me more uneasy than the horror from before.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± I asked him as I pulled a towel from the hook behind the door and wrapped it around myself.


    ¡°Nothing. Begone.¡± He said, twisting his feline face into an even more severe scowl. He showed me the white tips of his fangs before turning around and moving towards the window.


    ¡°No, wait,¡± I said, following right behind him and pressing my hand against the cold glass to prevent his escape. ¡°What is it?¡±


    He stood up on his hind legs and thumped his big paw against my arm, hitting me with enough force to knock my hand away, but he hadn¡¯t used his claws.


    Something was wrong with him.


    ¡°Release me.¡± Sam growled as he pushed the window up without leaving the ground.


    I pulled it closed and sent the glass rattling in its frame. ¡°Tell me what you wanted or I am going to tell Anna that you called her a lady.¡±


    ¡°Betrayer!¡± Sam¡¯s sudden shout shook the already shaking window with such violence that I cowered away from it in fear of it shattering.


    ¡°It was you who spoke the words, my familiar, and it will be you who suffers the consequences,¡± I said through a laugh, unable to keep serious as I matched the big blue cat¡¯s dramatic demeanor. ¡°I¡¯ll tell her unless you start talking.¡±


    The mottled fur along his spine and tail stood on end.


    ¡°One.¡± I counted and held up a finger.


    He let out a hiss that sounded more like stone grinding against stone than something a cat could make.


    ¡°Two.¡± I raised another finger.


    A single arc of yellow lightning appeared at his chest and coursed wildly over his body. Everywhere it passed, it brought his fur further up from his body. Between that, his deadly blue eyes, and the sharp claws of his paws, I found myself facing down a demon.


    Unfortunately for him, he was my demon.


    ¡°Three,¡± I furrowed my brow and raised my final finger. When Sam did not back away from my laughing obstinance, I turned my eyes towards the door. ¡°Ann-¡°


    ¡°Silence! I will speak!¡± Sam thundered and cut me off before I could deliver on my threat.


    ¡°Good.¡± I nodded. I gave him a moment to calm himself and pulled the drain at the bottom of the bath. The blue remnants of my aura swirled down with the cold water and I wrapped a second towel around my wet hair. The loss from my small working washed over me and I took a moment to let it pass before I turned back to him.


    With his back turned to me and his paws still held against the window, he stared out at the snowy forest outside as he spoke. ¡°When I came to you during your trial, we formed a compact that I never intended to keep. It has eaten at me every moment since. I would have this torture end."


    I remembered him telling me that would consider what I had offered when he had brought me Anna''s note. So much had happened since that I had forgotten about it.


    Anna''s note. I thought to myself. What had I done with it? Did I leave it laying in the snow, discarded as if I didn''t care about it or had I taken it into the river with me where it had been torn apart by the rushing water?


    I should have kept it. I should have folded it neatly and pushed into the tiny vial that hung from my neck. She had taken the time to write it just for me and I had treated it as if it meant nothing.


    Swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat, I brought my hand up to the vial of yellow dust and black hair and squeezed. The sharp points of the small silver crescent that Anna had added to the thin chain pressed into my palm. Glim''s firefly, my victory over The River Eae, Anna, all of the memories the vial brought held me together as the small sorrow of my afterglow passed.


    "Hey, Autumn?" Anna called through the door again as Sam lost his patience.


    He pushed the window open and dragged himself up to leave, heavy muscle rippling visibly underneath his mottled blue fur.


    ¡°Just a minute," I called back and then rushed over to my escaping familiar. It took all of my restraint to not grab him by his tail and pull him back inside. ¡°Wait, I can help.¡±


    "Tell me what you have proposed so I may be done with this.¡± Sam commanded as he made no move to turn around.


    I rewrapped my towel against the cold air that crept in through the window and told him how I thought he could surpass the barriers in his mind.


    ¡°When something comes up that reminds you of who you were before, it hurts right? I¡¯ve caused you a lot of pain that way. I¡¯ve had to deal with so many people having to find ways to tell me things because there are bindings or something else that keeps them from just saying it.¡± I began, thinking of the trick my mother had needed to play on me just so I could find my true shade of red. All the times she had needed to speak to me as if I already knew what she was going to say, she must have been tiptoeing around barriers of her own. Rhiannon had hurt herself willingly just to tell me that she loved me.


    Sam did not leave.


    My explanation had intrigued him.


    ¡°I won¡¯t say all the things I¡¯ve said or mention the times you have met your boundaries because whether you believe it or not, I don¡¯t want to hurt you,¡± I tried to choose my words as carefully as I could. ¡°If there was an other Sam, one that already knew the things you can''t but isn''t bound the way you are-"


    "Autumn." Anna said, with the sharp knock on the closed door.


    I did not answer her. I sat and waited to see if my familiar benefited from what I had offered.


    "Impressive, my lady." Sam said simply.


    I was glad his back was turned to me, I would have hated for him to see how big a smile his approval had spread across my face.


    "For example, you may not be able to tell me anything about what being a twinsoul means, but if the other Sam knew something. . ." I trailed off at the sight of his ears beginning to twitch violently.


    I had said too much.


    I had hurt him again.


    "This will take time, much more time than that." My familiar growled.


    "I''m sorry," I apologized, thinking of the accidental blue I had manifested in the bath. "It was worth a try."


    Without another word, Sam leapt from the second story window and landed in the wind blown snow against the side of the shack. I let out a deep sigh as I pushed my confused feelings aside and thought of my aura.


    I had found blue in my soul, but had that come at the cost of my red?


    Closing the window and leaving the bathroom, I started talking aloud as I went to the bed.


    "We have a problem," I said to Anna as I pulled the towel from my head and dried my still wet hair with it roughly. "You know how I warm the water with my fireworks? When I came back from The Well, which was a waste of time anyways, I couldn''t even find anything that rhymed with Katarina, but the water in the bath had gone cold."


    "Hey, hold on a second." Anna said from behind me.


    I threw my hair towel down to the wooden floor atop the damp spot I had left on the floor. Letting the one around my body fall as I felt the heat from the stove warm my chilly skin, I started to get dressed as I continued.


    "When I focused my aura and made my firework, it came out all blue and cold. I''m scared I lost my red, that it''s not in my soul anymore. What do you think I should do? Do you have something in your notes that you think can help?" I carried on as I pulled on the new pajamas that Anna had gotten me.


    "Uhm, we can definitely talk about that later." Anna said when I paused to take a breath, her voice sounded quiet and muffled.


    "Why later?" I asked, turning around to look at her.


    "Because we have a visitor." She said through her hands.


    The Mother in Blue sat right in front of our stove atop the empty chest that held my sandals. She wore a long and thin dress like she always did and the light of the fire that leaked through the iron grate beside her danced along her dark skin. Her ocean eyes met mine and an amused expression came over her. "Hello, Underwitch Autumn."


    I had been too busy talking to realize that Anna had been trying to stop me from dropping my towel and changing.


    "Why is she here?" I asked Anna, too ashamed to look at Nami again.


    Nami answered for herself. "I''ve come to take you to your permanent quarters, the new moon ball is tomorrow and your first cycle begins the day after."


    I may or may not have lost my red, I did not know, but the heat of embarrassment that stung my cheeks burned hot enough that I thought it would catch flame.


    If the floor under my feet fell away like it had in The Well, I would have welcomed it.

 V3: Chapter Twenty One: The Singing Stairs

    I had never died before.


    Through the memories of others, I had killed a sorcerer and felt what it was like to be killed by the lich. I knew that my death, when it came, would mean the end of many wonderful things that I would do almost anything to protect. In truth, the notion of ending, of not getting to be with Anna or anyone else I loved, was so terrifying that I could hardly think of it.


    Even so, there was a long moment after I met The Mother in Blue¡¯s ocean eyes that I wished for my short life to end.


    Something was broken inside me. Not only had I been born with an insatiable curiosity and tendency to cause myself trouble, but I had been born without the part of someone¡¯s mind that made them capable of not exposing themselves to every one they met.


    Anna, Arthur, two of the guards, two more of the guards, Alexei, and The Mother in Blue. All of them had been subject to my witless exposures.


    Anna did not count. She had seen me in ways that went far deeper than my skin. We spent so much time being so close to one another she could have painted what I looked like down to the scars on my thighs.


    Arthur, along with the first two guards, had only seen up my dress and all of them had been decent enough to look away immediately.


    Driskt and Daphne, the second set of guards that had seen more of me than I wished they had, were forgettable. All they had seen was a broken girl who had been unable to care that her bandages did not cover her chest.


    All Alexei had cared about when he had come up the stairs to my unnecessary defense was Sam. Anna had covered me with a blanket fast enough that I doubted the white haired man would have been able to see anything if he wished to, and I knew he didn''t.


    Nami was The Mother in Blue.


    It had been her who had met me in the dark room of shallow water and It had been her who had ended Azza¡¯s punishment of me early. She had threatened to duel The Mother in Brown over my admittance to Lun Arcanicil. When she thought that the only way for me to gain entrance to the school she looked over, she had told me how to cheat.


    And how had I repaid her? By showing her that I was a silly little girl who was too dumb to realize someone was in her room.


    It was not just the debts that I owed her that embarrassed me. It was the undeniable truth that I could not compare with her.


    I was thin and reedy, she was well proportioned and muscular. My skin was pale and scarred, hers was rich and flawless. The way her dress split at her hip, I could never wear something like that without feeling like I was playing dress up.


    When I had been in the memories of one of The Ladies, she had seen me naked then, only it hadn¡¯t really been me.


    Still, that should bring me some small amount of comfort, shouldn¡¯t it? Nami had seen other girls before, it wasn¡¯t that great of a shame, was it?


    It didn¡¯t and it was.


    Dying would not be so bad if it meant I could stop feeling the way I did.


    After what felt like days but was more than likely less than an hour, Anna managed to convince me to come back out of the bathroom. I kept my eyes on the floor, hoping that Nami had decided to leave quietly after I had locked myself away.


    ¡°When I first came to Lun,¡± She began from her place atop the mostly empty chest. ¡°I got caught sleeping with my dress as a pillow by Precept Bellum and all the underwitches in my coven.¡±


    The sight of her being in our little wooden shack was unsettling in the same way the corner keeper tree had looked in Hymneth the day before. Watching take one of the pancakes that Anna had made for breakfast was even stranger. Hearing what she said and understanding what she meant was just enough to throw me into bewildered laughter.


    ¡°What?¡± I asked, forgetting just who it was that I was laughing at.


    Nami chuckled and nodded as she chewed. ¡°I don¡¯t remember if it was my first or second cycle, I think it was the first, but anyway. We were in some forest, studying this purple fog a sorceress had left there that made people drunk if they breathed it in.¡±


    I sat down near the stove and took the stack of pancakes that Anna offered me.


    ¡°It was summer and hot, but I had never been anywhere that humid. Everyone else had gone to sleep, but I couldn¡¯t keep my eyes closed because my uniform was sweaty and sticking to my skin.¡± She continued, pulling her dress away from her body and fanning it as if she was in the conditions she was describing.


    I knew what she was doing. Not that it had been hard to see, but she seemed to have understood my embarrassment and was telling a story from her own life to make me feel better.


    I liked Nami, more than I should have considering who she was and what I owed her, but I did and I hoped desperately that she liked me too.


    ¡°I used to sleep on the beach that way back home, when I got tired I would lay down wherever I was and ball up my dress like a pillow. It was nice, the sea breeze kept me cool, the sand was soft and warm, I can¡¯t remember the last time I slept that good.¡±


    She crossed her legs as she ate another pancake.


    Maybe all of The Mothers weren¡¯t unchanging statues. Listening to her story felt like all the times I had sat at my mother¡¯s feet and done much the same thing.


    ¡°I went to sleep easy and woke up with all of my sisters standing around me in a circle. Precept Bellum thought I had been attacked. The next night, I was so embarrassed that I ran away. It took them three weeks to find me and bring me back to Lun.¡±If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°So you just slept naked on a beach? Is that normal where you are from?¡± Anna asked as she gave me the last pancake she had cooked.


    ¡°No, but considering I was the only soul on the island most of the time, I did not have to worry much about being seen,¡± Nami shrugged and stood. ¡°Now, pack your things. I¡¯ll have Alexei bring your chests later today.¡±


    ¡°You ran away?¡± I asked her, only vaguely aware she had said we were moving.


    ¡°Several times. Sometimes I think about doing it now. But, now we all know something embarrassing about each other, so I will keep quiet if the two of you do.¡± She answered, offering me a hand up.


    I took it. ¡°Yes, Mother.¡±


    ¡°So, why are we being moved,¡± Anna asked as she came to my side. ¡°Mother.¡±


    Nami narrowed her ocean eyes and reached her hands towards me. ¡°Is that? May I?¡±


    I did not know what she was asking but I agreed regardless.


    She took my vial into her fingers gently and nodded to herself. ¡°Cherith is right, Mother matters aren¡¯t worth the trouble. You are being moved because the two of you were never meant to stay in the groundskeeper¡¯s quarters for this long. It has been abandoned for years, I am surprised that you did not demand better accommodations after the first night.¡±


    We had not been there for very long, but sadness hung over my shoulders as we left the little wooden shack behind.


    Packing our things was a simple task beside the tense moments that Anna had shoved her pile of notes into her coat. Everything we had fit easily into the two chests and not long after Nami had told her story, we closed the door behind us and set off for Lun.


    I would never sit in front of the black iron stove again or sit inside the giant wash bucket of a bath. We had never even hung the lock we had purchased the day before.


    By the time we reached the front gates of the school, I had become well and truly sad.


    Then, I remembered the glamor and made a show of walking Anna across the threshold for the first time. Just like I had, she danced back and forth through the gates in disbelief at what she was seeing.


    Watching her take in the courtyard and skeleton of the great serpent hanging in the arched windows on our left brought a smile to my face.


    We came to the front doors, the massive iron and wood entrance that I had waited so long to step through, and we did, hand in hand.


    Both of us were awestruck as soon as we stepped inside.


    The dreary light that had somehow escaped through the clouds above snuck into the center of Lun. Once it was inside, it met the wide spiral of a crystalline stairwell and was transformed.


    Swells of pure sky blue, green river teal, deep ocean blue, and every other shade I knew to name shone from the steps and painted the walls with their colors. As far up as I could see and down below the stone floor, the ghostly column ran straight through the middle of Lun and looked too beautiful to be stepped on.


    It was a treasure, a wonder, something that was more than what it appeared to be.


    ¡°I felt the same way that you two look my first time seeing it. Most do. These are the singing stairs.¡± Nami said as she took the first step down.


    ¡°I don¡¯t hear anything.¡± I looked down at her from where I had stopped.


    ¡°You don¡¯t hear stairs.¡± Anna said, her head turned up and her skin lustrous in the ethereal light.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I said. Reese said you could hear them.¡± I answered.


    Nami smiled as she reached back and pulled both of us onto the step she stood atop.


    Like there was a little musician in my mind that had struck a note for me and me alone, sound reverberated through me. The moment my boot touched the smooth crystal of the step, a clear bell tone rang in my ears. I covered them with my hands to try and keep the sound inside, but it faded away and left me empty.


    I stamped my foot against the light blue crystal. All that came to me was the dull click of my heel.


    Anna pulled me down to the next step and a new note came with my footfalls.


    Nami looked around and over both of her shoulders before speaking to us in a whisper. "Run down to the bottom, the notes make a song."


    We did not need any further encouragement. In a mad dash, we ran past Nami and took the singing stairs as quickly as we could.


    Midnight, slate, cobalt, sapphire, spruce, cerulean, every glowing color came with another clear note. They rang together into a serene sounding song that ended much too quickly. We came to the end of the stairs and stopped in perfect time to let the last note ring out to its natural end.


    Nami caught up with us while we were still laughing and trying to catch our breath.


    "You will find many such wonders within these walls, but the stairs are my favorite. Follow me," She said as she led us through a door that lay partially hidden behind the spiral and closed it behind us. "Your quarters are on the left, Alexei will be on the right. If anyone asks why you are not staying in the dormitory with the rest of the new moons, Maiden Ire, you will tell them that special arrangements were needed for your familiar."


    She produced two silver keys from somewhere within her thin dress and unlocked a wooden door near the end of the narrow hall we had entered. She snapped her fingers as she stepped into what was meant to be Anna and I''s room.


    There was no stove, the floors were not wooden, and the only light within the space came from the lanterns that Nami had snapped to light. A fireplace stood empty on the wall opposite us with a neat stack of split logs sitting beside it. The bed, much closer to the size of the one that had been mine at the manor, lay on the right wall and what must be the bathroom was on the left.


    "The library is on this floor, I believe that you will find that very useful, Anna. Your uniforms are in the closet there, Maiden Ire, you will need to wear it for the ball tomorrow. Alexei will arrive shortly with your things and I will return around diner time to give you your schedule and show you where the dining hall is. Is there anything the two of you need?" Nami asked aloud.


    The room had no windows, it did have a door that could lock, but most importantly, it had Anna. I already missed the shack, but I had lived in worse places.


    "Does it have warm water?" I asked as I moved towards the closet. Considering I no longer knew if I could make my fireworks properly, that would be a necessity without a stove.


    Nami gave me the answer I hoped for and closed the door behind herself as she left.


    Anna went into the bathroom and I opened the door to the closet and snapped on its lights.


    Inexplicable horrors hung within it.


    ¡°No,¡± I cried, backing away until I ran into the bed and then crawling up onto it. Erosette would not be far enough away from what I had seen. ¡°It can¡¯t be.¡±


    Anna came back out of the bathroom and gave me a confused look as she went to see what had horrified me.


    ¡°Oh no,¡± She sighed and let her head hang down. ¡°This is awful.¡±


    ¡°We have to leave. I can¡¯t do it. This is beyond me.¡± I whispered, squirming my way under the blanket of the bed and pulling it over my head.


    ¡°Autumn, you have to be brave.¡± I heard her say as she shut the closet door and came to me.


    "Unfortunately for you, you have fallen in love with a coward." I cried from the safe place I had found in the woolen material.


    If bravery was what was needed from me, then I would be able to do nothing but let her down.


    Not a half hour after walking through the front doors of Lun, I would have done anything to leave it.

 V3: Chapter Twenty Two: New Moon Ball

    Precept Mon Zetta led me down the decorated hall nearly a full hour after I should have been in the ballroom.


    ¡°Hustle, Maiden Ire, or you will always be one.¡± She rasped back at me, her rough voice echoing down the hall and back again.


    I did as I was told, quickening my steps and cringing with every new wave of agonizing discomfort that brushed against my skin.


    ¡°Do not submit to her so easily. She is a teacher, not your master.¡± Sam growled from where he padded beside me.


    I did not respond. My familiar had been in a terrible mood since our move and all of me was too consumed by the slow torture that had been brought on by my uniform.


    It had taken me all day, but I had finally fought Anna to a standstill with my refusal to put on the fabric harnessed horror of my uniform. That wonderfully comfortable time had ended with Precept Mon-Zetta¡¯s sharp knocks on our door.


    It was not the long wool stockings that ended just above the scars on the top of my thighs that tortured me. Nor was it the grey leather gloves that covered my hands. I had not been able to wear either pair of the laced black boots, they had been much too large for my feet. I would have liked the coat, if it had not been pressing the silken fabric of the dress closer to my skin.


    Knee length, with a high collar and long sleeves, it was made of deep blue silk and made me want to rip out of my uniform every time it slipped against my skin.


    If it meant I would never have to wear the dress again, I would willingly return to Azza¡¯s glass pyramid and thank her for the opportunity as she buried me alive once again.


    That could not happen, no matter how bad I wished for it.


    There were five more identical uniforms in Anna and I¡¯s quarters. The moment I saw them hanging in the closet, I had known that coming to Lun Arcanicil had been a mistake of the gravest nature.


    Six silken dresses were far too many for them to only be used on formal occasions. I suspected that I would have to wear them anytime I did anything in Lun and I had never heard of a more terrible fate.


    The ascending song of the singing stairs had not brought me joy the way its descending opposite had the day before. All of the iridescent fabric that shimmered down the length of the hall in great arcs could not be enjoyed. Even the muffled sound of conversation that leaked through the wide wooden doors did not stir my heart.


    ¡°Those aren¡¯t the right shoes.¡± Precept Mon-Zetta said, looking down at my cuffed brown boots disapprovingly as we stopped before the doors.


    ¡°They were too small.¡± I muttered, unable to meet her eyes.


    Everything about the severe looking Precept intimidated me.


    Her blue black hair had been brushed back behind her ears and revealed her sharp features. She wore the icy blue Precept¡¯s cloak that hung down just past her shoulders. The same sapphire color as her eyes and trimmed in silver, she wore a courtly dress that honed her shape into a jagged edge.


    Starting at the wrist of her left arm, variegated bands of twisted fabric were tied and stacked into a sleeve of every color I knew existed. The arm she was missing was covered with a sleeve that fit what remained like it had been tailored for it.


    I wanted to tell her of my discomfort, to tell her that I would die a slow death if I had to take another step, but the words that came from my mouth were not the ones I meant to say.


    ¡°Why do you wear that on your arm?¡± I asked her, and tried to suck what I had said back in my mouth with a sudden inhale.


    ¡°It''s supposed to be so maidens like you don¡¯t stare at and ask stupid questions, but that¡¯s about all you maidens can do isn¡¯t it.¡± Precept Mon-Zetta said, her hand going to the shoulder of her missing arm.


    ¡°No, no, no,¡± I said quickly, shaking my head as heat came to my cheeks and I pointed at the colorful ties. ¡°I meant the bands on your arm.¡±


    ¡°Be on time when you come to my class and I will tell you." She said as she opened a normal sized door on my left and swept Sam and I into it.


    Precept Seram met us as soon as the door clicked shut.


    "There you are! Oh! And you look so nice in your uniform, Maiden Ire. It makes me reminisce about my own new moon ball. Join with the others, we have kept them all waiting long enough," The pale pink haired precept bubbled as she led me to to the other end of the small room. "Your familiar''s name is Sam, correct?"


    "Samsara." Sam growled his low pitched correction.


    "Spotless," Precept Seram agreed with a clap of her white gloved hands. Like Mon-Zetta, the perfectly proper precept still wore her icy blue cloak. It was all that remained the same from how she had been the morning I had first met her. Her dress was the same blue silk as the one that tortured me, but it fit her modestly. Bringing out her clean lined beauty without clinging to her slight shape, it looked perfect on her. "Underwitch Maletta will help you time your entrance when your name is called."


    "What is all this for?" I asked, a grimace on my face and the sound of the waiting school filling my ears.


    ¡°To make your introduction of course! Everyone waiting beyond this room has been named an Underwitch to Lun in this way. It is also for you to make an impression on the second crescents, one of them will take you as an apprentice as a part of their cycle. That was the original meaning of underwitch, did you know that? If you apprenticed under a sorceress you were under a witch. Of course, now it¡¯s used for any sorceress that has her color, but is that not interesting?¡± Precept Seram answered.


    Did Rhiannon''s roses have to be marched out in front of each other for an introduction? Had Pyreme been forced to wear something that she truly hated while she was named in front of souls she had never met before?


    "Precept Seram? I am not very comfortable in this uniform." I said, unable to take the silken torture any longer.


    She looked at me from the top of my clamored hair down to the bottom of my cuffed boots. "Well, I can see why, those are not the right boots at all! Were they the wrong size? I did not get the chance to fit you in the dorm considering the arrangements that were made because of Master Samsara."Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    "It''s the dress." I said, pulling at the hem around my knees to try and find some small relief.


    She reached over and straightened my jacket until its big buttons were straight down my middle. "We will find you one that fits properly tomorrow after class. Now, we really must begin. They will tear all of us apart if we make them wait any longer."


    She led me to two familiar faces at the other end of the room.


    Underwitch Maletta stood with their backs to me in quiet conversation with Maiden Tana. Both of them wore the exact same uniform as I was, and neither of them looked anything other than pretty.


    Maletta, the girl who had called me underdeveloped in the big blue tent on the morning of the priming, looked more like a Precept than a student. She wore her nearly white hair straight down her back and it covered the shape of the full yellow moon on the back of her cloak.


    Nami had said she was the strongest of all the Underwitches in Lun, and that had been after she had been rude to her. I hoped that she had no memory of me at all, things were bad enough with my dress.


    Tana turned around and had eyes only for Sam. "Precept Seram, it is not fair that she has a familiar."


    "I believe that what you mean to say is that you want one for yourself," Seram laughed as she went to leave the room. "You have said the same thing every night since the trial. They are not like a dress or a pair of shoes, you cannot have one just because you wish it to be so."


    "Correct." Sam growled from where he stood by my feet.


    Tana frowned. "My mother says there is somewhere I could get one."


    "I am well aware of what Sorceress Tana''s opinion on the matter is, but it is not for discussion tonight. I will see all of you out there." Seram said with a pleasant smile and entered the chatter of the ballroom.


    Tana held her frown and Underwitch Maletta had turned her attention to someone I had never met before.


    She was the second, she passed while I was in the tents. I thought, knowing by her uniform that she could only be a maiden like me.


    The three of them and the warmth of the little room brought a new edge to my discomfort. I had begun to sweat in my clothes and I could not help but compare how I felt to how they looked. They weren''t writhing in the horrid silk like I was. None of them were wearing a glamor like I had to or needed to wipe their brow on the back of their sleeve like I did.


    If there had been just a little less nervousness mixed into my anguish, I would have stripped the uniform away and lay on the floor until I cooled back down. My clothes stayed on mostly because I found fear in entering a room of people I had never met. Even if they weren''t really getting me, there were too many chances for all of them to not like me or for me to make them not like me.


    Heart pounding panic aside, if it had not been for Underwitch Maletta waving me over to the door, I still might have done it.


    ¡°So this is the Maiden you were telling me about, the one with the blue rope right?" She asked Tana, the crook in her nose drawing my eyes to it instead of the rest of her pretty face.


    "The familiar is hers too." Tana said, her immeasurable disappointment at my possession of Sam evident on her face.


    Underwitch Maletta nodded as a round of applause sounded from the ballroom and she pulled me to the door.


    "Your stockings, they are a bit twisted, let me help you," She smiled at me as she lowered herself into a squat that left her face all too close to my waist. I felt her pinch the woolen material between her fingers at the top of my boots and shift them around where they had become crooked around my thighs. "There, you look much better now. Go on out, it''s time."


    "Thank you." I said. She must not remember me from the priming, because she had been much more pleasant than I thought her capable after how she had been at the priming.


    Maybe it was because I was set to be an Underwitch and not just some maiden that would probably fail the trial.


    My stockings untwisted, I stepped into the new moon ball as the door clicked shut loudly behind me and I tried to not let my discomfort show on Ire''s face.


    Every single soul in the ball room turned to look at me at the sound of the door closing.


    All the underwitches in their perfect blue cloaks, a dizzying mass of eyes and smiles. The precepts looked down at me from where they stood on the balcony that wrapped around most of the room, each striking enough to be the heroine of their own story. Mother Nami stood on a raised platform at the bottom of the back wall of framed glass, her mouth open from what I understood to be my interruption.


    All at once I felt like I had stripped naked and walked out to face the crowd. Embarrassed heat washed over me except for my legs. They felt cold, like winter wind had chosen them and only them to blow against.


    Nami smiled in her white dress and spread her arms out with a little laugh. "Everyone welcome, Underwitch Ire and her familiar Samsara!"


    All of those who watched me broke into applause at Nami''s words and I tried to move towards the platform, but Sam halted my steps. The big blue cat circled my legs three times before he pressed himself against my side and pushed me forward with his weight.


    I kept my eyes on Nami and most of the Underwitchs kept their eyes on Sam, but by the time I reached The Mother in Blue, any trace of cold had left me. Sweat slicked my brow and I felt like I was burning alive in my silken prison.


    I was a fool. I should have never asked The Mothers to go to school. I should have stayed in the little room with my mother and been thankful that almost no one knew who I was.


    "The sorceress with the once broken nose is not to be trusted," Sam growled from where he stood at my side. In a voice that I was certain could only be heard by me, he continued. "She meant to embarrass you. She left a trace of her aura circling your legs. I disposed of it."


    Nami draped a perfect blue cloak over my shoulders and fastened it around my throat above where my little glass vial hung beneath my clothes.


    Sam would not have spoken if he was not absolutely sure. The cold on my legs had not been from my embarrassment or part of feeling exposed the way I did.


    "You saw her do it? Why didn''t you stop her?" I whispered down to him when Nami withdrew, keeping my eyes up at the crowd as they applauded the entrance of the maiden I did not know.


    "Never interrupt your enemy when they are making a mistake." Sam answered in his quiet rumbling.


    Tana followed the unknown maiden, and the applause for her was much louder than it had been for me. She smiled, waved, and touched hands with the underwitches as she passed, but when she met me, there was something ugly in her eyes.


    Nami raised her hands after cloaking Tana and the room fell silent. "We have had the rare treat of having a maiden pass the trial, but she is no blue, she is orange. As our guest for the evening, welcome Underwitch Reese!¡±


    Reese came through the door, her sandy skin aglow from the brilliant orange fabric of her dress.


    The joy and relief that filled me when I met her chocolate eyes died when I saw the pale blue trail of aura circling around her ankles.


    Tana saw it as well, but through my peripherals I could see the wicked smirk on her face.


    Reese did not have a Sam like I did.


    Maletta was trying to embarrass my friend in the same way she had tried with me.


    Without thought, I bent the branch and brought my left hand straight up above my head, gritting my teeth against the sliding of the silk against my skin.


    No one but me saw the sudden gust of air that blew Reese''s dress up her body and exposed everything she had to show. All of them had turned their eyes up to the flurry of thin blue fireworks I had sent crashing against the high ceilings.


    I saw Maletta appear through the door we had all come through as the loss took my and I sagged back from the weakness.


    "I would ask you what was the matter," Nami whispered as she caught my weight and helped me regain my balance. Her ocean eyes looked past the recovered Reese and found the scowling Maletta at the back of the room. "but I believe it is my fault."

 V3: Chapter Twenty Three: The Spinning Circle

    After the rain of my azure dust had been brushed off of all the underwitches and onto the floor, I understood that I had not needed help to be embarrassed.


    I had accomplished that all by myself.


    ¡°That¡¯s against the rules, Mother Nami. Is she to be punished?¡± The newly named Underwitch Tana asked The Mother in Blue.


    Still holding me upright atop the raised platform at the bottom of the wall sized window, Nami did not answer her. With a wave of her hand, an upbeat song began to fill the air of the room. I had not noticed them before, but a full band of musicians lined the left side of the balcony above. With the first notes that they plucked on their stringed instruments and the quick rhythm of their drums, they swung into a festive song and I was forgotten by the gathered underwitches.


    The new moon ball began in earnest. There were joyful shouts and screams as the open floor of the ballroom turned from a watchful crowd into a mass of moving bodies. Nami led me from the platform and around the fringes of all the girls that had taken up dancing in the middle of the room.


    She just saved me again. I thought to myself, Nami''s kindness making me feel like I would cry.


    I slipped my hand through the collar of my jacket and clutched the tiny vial hanging from my neck as the sorrow of my afterglow came for me.


    It was small, I knew that as soon as I felt its cold weight settle onto me, but any size sadness was too much that night. Tears welled in my eyes as the points of the little silver moon dug into my palm, but they did not fall. I was already uncomfortable, every step I took sent silken shudders of revulsion through me. I was already embarrassed, the way everyone had looked at me after my fireworks had left me feeling more naked than I had ever been. I already wanted to go back to my quarters, none of the terrible things I felt would be there, it would be only Anna. The last thing I needed was Tana, Maletta, or anyone else to see me crying. I would already be remembered as the girl who had lost control of her power not a second after she had been named an underwitch. Still, as small as it was, the weight pressed me down regardless of the size of my working and it came with an undeniable truth.


    I did not belong in the ball room. There was no place for me amongst the moons of Lun Arcanicil. I was a silly little girl playing at being a sorceress.


    Everything had been better when I had tucked away behind the manor walls in Erosette.


    I could wear whatever I wanted. There had been no crowd of watching eyes that I knew had judged every part of me. There were no mean girls that disliked me for reasons I didn¡¯t understand.


    The music, the cloak, the little silver moon, my new aura, I would give it all away if I could go back to the manor. It had been nothing but willful ignorance that had made me think I could go to a school and be a normal sorceress.


    The manor was not far back enough.


    I should have never left the little room I had shared with my mother. Spending my days viewing selected memories from The Well and listening to my mother''s stories should have been enough for me. If only I had been wise enough to know that there was nothing good outside of that place, I would not feel the way I did then.


    Nami led me somewhere underneath the balcony. Beyond the iridescent light of the decorated ballroom, tables lay in the moody shadows and Nami led me to the one closest to the corner before sitting me down. It was piled high with sweets and drinks, but all of them made me feel sick to my stomach, even the little cookies that were shaped like crescent moons.


    "A toast to you," She said as she sat next to me and handed me a thin glass of some kind of drink. "That was very quick thinking."


    I did as I was told and drank the amber liquid just as she had.


    ¡°It¡¯s,¡± I started, my face twisting into something between a grimace and a sob as a burp rolled up from my gut and burst out of my mouth. ¡°Bubbly.¡±


    Nami laughed. "I don''t like champagne either, but you are supposed to drink it at things like this. Maletta is to blame for what happened with Underwitch Reese, yes?¡±


    I nodded, unable to speak because of the lump that had formed in my throat.


    The Mother in Blue was too pretty. Her smile was too white and her skin was too smooth. Looking at her in her white dress and the dim light made my heart hurt. Thinking of Maletta and Tana, as mean as they had been to me, did the same.


    I knew I was not ugly because of the uncountable times Anna had complimented me, but she had said those things out of love.


    Watching all of the underwitches dance, laugh, and make merry through the blurry tears in my eyes hurt as well. Each was beautiful in their own right and looking at all of them together felt like trying to stare into the sun.


    I would never be like them.


    I was thin, underdeveloped, gangly. There were ugly scars that marred the skin of my arms and legs. I was so in over my head that I could not even wear my uniform without feeling like I was being tortured.


    I squeezed my necklace harder, but it brought me no relief. If I could pull it out and see Anna¡¯s hair or Glim¡¯s dust, it might, but that meant moving. Moving meant feeling the silk of my dress shift over my skin once again.


    The charm and the vial did not help, but seeing Reese weaving through the crowd did.


    I stood up and took two quick steps over to her as soon as she crossed into the shadows beneath the balcony.


    ¡°Everyone almost saw up your dress.¡± I cried as I threw my arms around her and buried my face into her shoulder.


    ¡°If I wasn¡¯t leaving tomorrow, I¡¯d spend every day of the rest of my life making that Maletta girl regret what she did,¡± Reese laughed and hugged me back. ¡°Thanks for the distraction, I think there''s still some of it in my dress.¡±


    All of the sorrow slipped from my shoulders, and I came back to myself as my afterglow ended. I was still deathly uncomfortable and had to fight the urge to run to my quarters and tear my dress off, but I was myself.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°She tried to do it to me too, but Sam stopped it. I looked all over Hymneth for you the day before yesterday. Where were you?" I asked her as we separated.


    "I was here, they finally found something to do with little old me." She answered, as she shook the hem of her orange dress and sent a trail of my blue dust out from it.


    In my rush, I hadn''t noticed that Reese was not alone.


    A sorceress with short blonde hair and eyes like the setting sun appeared and placed her hand on Reese''s shoulder. "Is this Maiden Ire?"


    "Not anymore. This is Underwitch Ire." Reese corrected her with a wide smile.


    I met the sorceress''s eyes and I was taken from the ballroom.


    There were stars on the ceiling, shining violet in the otherwise lightless room. Their painter, Aster, and all of her pale skin lay bare next to me. The taste of my burner laced my lips and the faint trail of its smoke passed by my open eyes. Memories of pleasure still hung in my fingers and toes, but the numbness would come back. It always did unless she was around.


    There was a knock at the door.


    Constance.


    Then, there wasn¡¯t a door.


    Trea.


    Nami was there, just as beautiful as the last time I had seen her. Everything that had mattered while she was away, all the anger and frustration, no longer mattered. All the things that had happened in the dark room not long before mattered much more than they should have.I just needed to talk to her. All I had tried to do for a year was talk to her. If we could just sit down, she would understand.Her water hit me and washed me out of my bed before I could even think of what to say.


    Suddenly, everyone was in the room. Aster attacked Nami and Nami hit me again. Trea came and Constance followed. When we are all tied up, the lights went out and Gray put the fight to rest.


    Then, just as quickly as she came, she was gone again and the numbness returned. . .


    The music, the balcony, the underwitches, all of it came back to me as a festive backdrop for Reese.


    ¡°-and this is-¡° The chocolate eyed underwitch was saying.


    ¡°The Lady in Orange,¡± I finished her sentence as I took a breath and pushed the lingering memories out of my mind. I knew exactly who she was, I had been her. ¡°Ola Gresha.¡±


    Reese shook her head. ¡°How¡¯s you know?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Lady Ola agreed. ¡°How did you know that?¡±


    She was lean like Azza, but not nearly as tall. The white skin that showed out from under the straps of her dress told me that the tan of her skin had come from long hours in the sun. A scar extended from the right corner of her mouth and it made her look like she was smiling even though she wasn¡¯t.


    All I could see when I looked at her was the pain that had been in Nami¡¯s eyes when she had seen her with Aster.


    The thought of Anna being with someone else crossed my mind and it only made me feel more sour at The Lady in Orange.


    Panic sank its claws into me as I tried to search my mind for a reasonable explanation as to how I knew who she was, but a terrifying amount of nothing was all I could find.


    ¡°You came.¡± Nami said as she appeared by my side, finding yet another way to save me from a situation I had no way out of.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be anywhere else.¡± Lady Ola answered as she reached out and took Nami¡¯s hand in greeting.


    A long moment passed and I had to look away as it grew. There was tension in the air between them. I wasn¡¯t sure exactly why, but it did not feel like the kind that would lead to fighting.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like this one bit. Hello, Mother Nami.¡± Reese said as she knocked their hands away from one another¡¯s with her own.


    ¡°Hello, Underwitch Reese,¡± Nami nodded in return. ¡°Are you still sure she is the right fit? We can keep looking if you wish.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s sure, I¡¯m taking her home tomorrow so I can make her wish she would have picked a normal teacher.¡± Lady Ola answered for Reese.


    ¡°Well, to you and Underwitch Ire, I would like to apologize for Underwitch Maletta¡¯s actions this night.¡± Nami said, straightening her back and taking on a serious tone.


    Reese laughed and stuck her foot out for all of us to see. ¡°She told me my shoes were untied. It¡¯s my fault for believing her.¡±


    Her heels had no laces that could be untied because they had no laces at all.


    ¡°How many times have I told you how you should deal with her?¡± Lady Ola asked with her arms held behind her back and a wicked smirk on her face.


    ¡°If only I was still a moon,¡± Nami sighed before continuing with Reese and I. ¡°I will speak with her and make sure that nothing like what happened tonight will come to pass again, you have my word.¡±


    ¡°If you do not, I will.¡± A deep voice thundered from somewhere below us.


    ¡°Sam!¡± Reese shouted and lowered herself to my familiar¡¯s height. She reached her hand out and pet him gently atop his head.


    To my immense surprise, the big blue cat did not bring his fangs and claws to bear against my friend.


    ¡°You assisted my Lady in her time of need. I will allow this as payment for that debt.¡± Sam growled as he sat still as stone.


    Lady Ola took a step back from the small gathering that had formed beneath the balcony. ¡°What is that?¡±


    ¡°Underwitch Ire¡¯s familiar. Are you scared of it?¡± Nami asked with a smirk.


    ¡°No. I just haven¡¯t seen one in a very long time.¡± Lady Ola crossed her arms and answered much too quickly.


    All the dancing girls that were not hiding under the balcony like I was came to a stop in a chorus of claps and cheers. When it faded, the band above my head began to play a different song.


    Slow and plodding, the drums would sound and the stringed instruments followed with a single chord in response.


    ¡°Oh no.¡± Nami let out a low laugh.


    ¡°You have to, you are The Mother now.¡± Lady Ola said, reaching out for Nami once again.


    A circle was forming on the dance floor. Every Underwitch joined hands with the ones next to her and they were beginning to spin slowly around the open space to the rhythm of the new song.


    The Mother in Blue took my hand. ¡°Come, if you don¡¯t do anything the rest of the nightl, you should do this.¡±


    ¡°Do what?¡± Reese asked for me.


    ¡°Dance.¡± Lady Ola answered for Nami and pulled Reese along behind her.


    Before I could protest or run away, both things crossed my mind, the four of us had joined the circle and I was pulled into the slow spin of the crowd. The underwitches screamed in delight at the sight of Nami and the song¡¯s pace began to hasten.


    I had never danced before. I knew less about it than I did using my aura. If there had been any chance for me to have a choice, I would have kept myself as ignorant as I could.


    My eyes went to Reese, but all she could do for me was shrug and continue to pull me behind her. Nami held my other hand and she made no effort to save me like she had so many times before.


    The song continued to gain speed and the spinning circle I was caught in continued.


    The feeling of my silk dress sliding against my skin nearly made me sick.


    I saw Tana across the circle from me and hated the joy that brightened her face.


    Faster and faster we spun, the song reaching a heart pounding tempo.


    The precepts on the balcony began to shout and stomp along to the beat.


    Before I knew it, all of us in the circle were thrown into a full sprint, held together only by the strength of our grasps.


    Reese wore a wide smile and Nami had her head thrown back in a close eyed laugh.


    When I thought my feet would leave the ground because of the wild speed and my arms were tight with the force of the circle, the silk was forgotten.


    Any feeling of discomfort or embarrassment was rung out of me and all that was left was the pounding song of the musicians


    For the first time since I had put on my uniform, a smile touched my face and grew as the circle continued.

 V3; Chapter Twenty Four: Storm Cracked Glass

    If I could have brought my power to bear and somehow held the spinning circle together, I would have.


    Not forever, there were things beyond it that I would have sorely missed, but I had not wished for it to end.


    The musicians had continued to increase the speed with which they played, and the circled had followed the frantic rhythm. Underwitches had begun to fall away from the circle, the gaps they left threatening to collapse the shape. Hands would meet in the absence and the circle had become smaller and ever faster.


    Reese had lost her balance before I did. Unable to take Lady Ola''s hand in my own, I had fallen out of the circle and onto the floor beside her. We had slid back and leaned against one of the beams that held the balcony aloft to catch our breath without taking our eyes off the shrinking circle. Another underwitch had fallen. Then, another and another. The song had reached a pace that could not be sustained. Where it had once been slow and plodding, it had become a jumbled mess of drum beats and desperate chords that echoed in the room like a heart set to burst from its beating.


    The circle had tightened, like water circling a drain, and a new circle had formed on the edges of the dance floor. All of the underwitches had stayed on the floor like Reese and I, and all of them watched as the dance came down to two souls.


    Nami and Lady Ola had joined both their hands and were turning so quickly that I had thought both of them would take a painful fall at any moment.


    I had still been smiling. My discomfort had still been forgotten. I had known that as soon as I could, I would go into The Well and search it for any of the souls in the ballroom. All I had wanted in that moment was to continue to be in it, and I was in possession of the thing that would allow that to happen.


    Just when It seemed like The Blue Mother and The Lady in Orange would spin off the floor and take flight, the wild song had come to a shuddering stop.


    The two women had released each other in perfect time with the final beat of the drum.


    Lady Ola had gone tumbling back and landed in the waiting arms of the underwitches across from me.


    Nami had needed no such help.


    A momentary flash of ocean blue light had washed down her legs and she had spun on her feet atop it, barely moving from the center of the room. When she had made her last turn and came to a full stop, the ball room had erupted into thunderous applause and I had sat in awe of The Mother in Blue.


    I knew I would never be like her, but that did not mean I could not wish to be.


    If it meant becoming half as graceful, as beautiful, and as powerful as she, I would wear the silken dress no matter how much I despised it.


    Reese had stood as the ball returned to its unfocused, festive state and we returned to the shadows under the balcony for a drink. When we had caught our breath, she had begun to tell me about all the sorceresses she had met with to be their apprentice. None of them had fit her, but when Nami introduced her to Lady Ola, she had found her teacher. I told her that I would not tell her goodbye if she came with me after the ball because there was someone I needed her to meet.


    As we talked and drank, the new moon ball carried on, but a new sound underpinned the joyful noise of the ballroom. There was a tapping sound, like water dripping from a faucet into a sink, and once I heard it, I struggled to forget it was there.


    "She has these wires that come out of her fingers. I didn¡¯t even know that someone¡¯s channels could be on their fingers, but I''ve never seen anyone that can do the things she can do." Reese said, ignorant of my distracted mind.


    I turned my eyes down to Sam. The big blue cat''s ears twitched every time the tapping sound could be heard under the festive din. He could hear it too and seemed to be having just as much trouble ignoring it as I was.


    "She''s taking me to where she is from first. She wants to see how much potential I have, whatever that means, but I have a feeling I''ll be back. Her and Mother Nami seem like they are really good friends." She continued.


    It was not coming from the band above, and as I listened, I heard it grow harder and harder until it spread into the sound of rain.


    At its arrival, the music from above died away and the sounds of the ball soon followed. The tapping sound rose in its absence and all that was left in the ballroom was the sound of Reese¡¯s voice.


    "Maybe too good a friends, I saw her coming out of Mother Nami''s quarters very early this mor. . ." She trailed off once she realized that she was the only person still speaking.


    All of the underwitches had gone still. The dancing that had filled the open space out from under the balcony had halted and all of them had turned to the great window at the back of the room.


    The snow that hung in the outside frames of the paneled window was washed away by the rain that pattered against the glass. As if it had been waiting for all of our attention, a crack of violent thunder broke through the room and sent several shrill shrieks through the silent room.


    The dark sky and the snowy mountains beyond disappeared behind the sudden downpour that followed.


    ¡°It¡¯s just rain,¡± Reese called out, looking around in confusion at the stunned crowd. She turned back to me. "You have seen rain before, right? I''m not the only one?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I answered, just as confused as she was.


    Precept Jesna and Alexei strode through the crowd and took the small step onto the raised platform before the window. She looked chillingly beautiful in her split back cloak and iridescent dress. Her downy black hair and feathers streamed back from her face as she moved with a seemingly weightless grace. My guard looked as he always did with his white hair, black eye patch, and both his swords. Presumably for the ball, he had traded his usual robe for one that was white and patterned with complicated shapes in the same icy blue as Jesna''s cloak.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    All of the Precepts on the balcony had come to their feet and Nami stood in their middle by the upper doors.


    Thunder boomed again and shook the massive window.


    More screams followed and a chill blew through the room.


    Lady Ola gave Nami a hand up as she stepped onto the railing of the balcony. Balancing on her bare feet, her ocean blue aura spun to life in front of her middle.


    Without hesitation, she stepped off the railing and into open air. Her aura swirled down her legs and formed under her feet. She walked down on the white tipped wave of her water as it crested and rolled underneath her, reaching the dance floor in a matter of moments.


    Her working washed out across the floor like the storm that had formed outside had found its way inside. It dampened the shoes of all the underwitches around me before reaching my own and turning to deep blue dust as it reached the walls. When it reached him, Sam kicked off the tops of my boots and wove his way nimbly through the crowd without letting his paws ever touch the wet floor.


    ¡°Hey!¡± I called and followed him through the tear of startled underwitches that he was carving through the crowd.


    My dress slid against my skin as I moved and forced a sudden shudder through my body. My cloak caught on something behind me as I chased after him and nearly ripped my head from my neck.


    Crooked lightning flashed outside the window with blinding brightness and violent thunder shook the floor underneath my feet.


    My heart pounded in my chest, but I did not understand why. Reese was right, it was only a storm.


    Another flash of blue light and shake of thunder sent a splintering set of cracks spreading out from the center of the window. From paneled pane to paneled pane, the cracks jumped through the frames and crawled to the edges of the glass.


    Sam bounded from the floor and landed on the raised platform.


    The glass shattered inward as lightning blinded me blue once again. I threw my arms up to shield my face, but nothing ever struck me, not even a single drop of rain.


    Through my arms, the light of Nami''s aura shone from her navel and washed the room with its color. I uncovered my face and watched her rise from the floor on two rippling torrents of water. Wrapping around her legs like the white crested wave had been during her descent from the balcony, she spread her arms out wide and caught the shattering glass.


    Like someone had brought The River Eae into the ball room, the sound of her roaring water joined with the pounding rain as she fit the glass back in its panes.


    Droplets of her water sprayed across my face and the taste of salt filled my mouth.


    Every shard and sliver of the broken glass fit back together. Nami''s power lined the jagged cracks that had splintered through it and it became a window once again.


    Through it all, the strangest thing in front of me was my familiar. Sam stood on the platform directly next to Alexei and showed no signs of the hatred he had shown for my guard every time they had been close before.


    The chandeliers that hung from the high ceilings snapped to life and cast out all of the iridescent light and moody shadows that had filled the room. Precept Seram clapped her hands from the center of the balcony and spoke in a raised but polite tone. ¡°Everyone, please return to your rooms. The new moon ball has come to a close. If we all move in a calm and orderly fashion, this can be done spotlessly.¡±


    I did not know if the underwitches listened to Precept Seram¡¯s commands because I was moving in the opposite direction she had told them to.


    ¡°Sam? Are you well?" I asked my familiar as I stepped onto the platform beside him.


    Nami''s feet returned to the floor before he could answer me.


    ¡°Alexei," She said, power evident in her ocean eyes. She looked from my guard to me and then back again. "Alexei!"


    ¡°Apologies, Headmistress,¡± The white haired guard said as he hardened his gaze and turned away from the restored window. ¡°I will search the grounds, I must be certain."


    I remembered Reese¡¯s question and repeated it to my guard and Mother Nami. ¡°Am I the only one that has seen rain before? What is the matter?"


    "It does not rain here." Alexei growled, feelings slipping through his usual calm.


    "It cannot rain here." Nami added.


    Alexei scowled down at me before turning to Precept Jesna. "Return her to her quarters, they are in the same hall as my own."


    Nami and my guard left the platform and ran through a small door on the right side of the room.


    "Come along Underwitch Ire." Precept Jesna said. She led me off the platform and towards the crowded mass of underwitches that were leaving the ballroom in disorderly fashion.


    All of the questions and confusion that I had left my mind when I saw Reese disappear through the big wooden doors at the back of the hall.


    She was leaving the next day and I did not have the faintest idea when I would see her again.


    I had to tell her goodbye.


    ¡°Reese!¡± I called out to her as I began to weave my way through the crowd.


    Precept Jesna placed her hand on my shoulder and turned me to my left. ¡°No, we are going this way. It is much faster.¡±


    ¡°I just have to tell my friend goodbye. She is leaving tomorrow.¡± I pleaded, looking down at Sam for help he could not provide.


    ¡°Alexei said that I am to take you to your quarters, not to let you socialize. That can be done nicely or-¡° She started to say.


    The sound of fabric tearing cut her off and both of us looked back at my familiar.


    Sam sat calmly on the floor with his paw on the long hem of Jesna¡¯s iridescent dress. A single white claw pinned it to the ground and a long split ran from it to just below the feather haired sorceress¡¯s backside.


    He stared at me with his deep blue eyes. It may have been because he was my familiar or it may have been because of how desperate I was to catch up to my friend, but I understood that he was providing me with the help he could.


    ¡°I knew I didn¡¯t like you. Get off.¡± Precept Jesna growled down at the big blue cat as she took her dress in her hands.


    Without a word, I ducked into the crowd and slipped in the small spaces between the underwitches as quickly as I could.


    I understood that it was a terrible idea as I was doing it, but I let Ire drop from my face and hair as I passed through the open doors. Brushing the remnants of her off of me as I stood back up, I bit my tongue to resist turning around.


    Jesna would be looking for Ire, not Autumn, and I could not take it if I missed Reese.


    I spotted her descending the singing stairs, but I dared not to call out to her.


    Some small part of me knew that I would be in terrible trouble if Jesna found me. A smaller part of me knew that I would be in even more trouble if Alexei caught me without my glamor. Despite that knowledge, I followed her down the stairs to the bell tone song of the crystalline steps and only remembered to bring Ire back to my face the moment before I caught her.


    ¡°Hey,¡± I said, shifting in my jacket and dress to try and find something resembling comfort. ¡°You¡¯re leaving tomorrow.¡±


    Reese shook her head and held me at arms length. ¡°Don¡¯t do it. I¡¯ll never speak to you again.¡±


    ¡°But I want to so bad! Good-¡° I tried to say, ignoring her threat.


    ¡°Luck,¡± Reese said and gave me a little push. ¡°Good luck with your classes and dealing with Tana. I¡¯ll see you soon.¡±


    I smiled and hugged her. ¡°Goodbye with Lady Ola. I will see you soon.¡±

 V3: Chapter Twenty Five: The Night Before

    I shut the door of Anna and I¡¯s quarters behind me and immediately pressed my ear against the cold wood.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Alexei. Her damn familiar tore my dress and when I looked up, she was gone.¡± Precept Jesna said, her voice already growing quiet as she moved away from my door. With my eyes closed, I could almost see the feathers in her downy black hair and the sky blue of her eyes.


    It had been Alexei who found me with Reese, not Precept Jesna. I¡¯m my peripheral, I had seen the wolfish man the moment he had crossed back through the front doors of Lun, and he had not been happy when he reached me. His voice had been even and his face had been expressionless, but I had spent enough time around him to know that he was restraining himself.


    The moment after I had told Reese good luck instead of good bye, he had turned me back towards the singing stairs and asked me where Jesna was. Before I could respond, the precept herself appeared from the still crowded stairs, her sky blue eyes filled with what had looked to be worry.


    All the way down to the bottom floor, I had not been able to enjoy the song of the crystalline steps. My attention had been consumed by the obvious tension between Alexei and Jesna. Whenever she had thought he was not looking, she had stolen quick glances at the white haired man. He had held his single eye forward, his face absent of any feeling.


    It was terribly uncomfortable and I had gotten the impression that they were only silent because of my presence.


    ¡°The fault is mine, I should not have. . .¡± Without the peaks and valleys that came with emotion, I could barely make out my guard¡¯s response.


    ¡°. . .Outside? It can¡¯t be, can it?¡± Precept Jesna asked.


    Their voices faded beyond my hearing and I let out a disappointed sigh when I accepted that I would hear nothing else from them.


    I turned around and immediately started liberating myself from my silken torture chamber, calling out to Anna as I stepped out of my boots. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to try even harder to make him like me now.¡±


    I should have paid more attention when Nami had fastened my cloak around my neck because for the life of me, I could not unclasp it. Giving up, I tried to pull it up over my head but only managed to get it stuck under my nose. Every single movement sent the silk sliding over my skin even more and spurned me into further desperation.


    ¡°Anna? Can you help me?¡± I called out in a brief moment of frustrated stillness.


    Blinded by the perfect blue fabric of my cloak, I waited in darkness for her to respond, but my patience ran out before she did.


    Must be in a bath. I thought to myself as I accepted my defeat by the all powerful collar of the cloak. I unbuttoned my grey jacket and threw it back off my arms. Bringing my right hand up the left strap of the blue silk dress, I grabbed it and gritted my teeth through the shudder that ran through me. Bending at my waist and twisting my arm into an angle that it should not have been held in, I pulled my arm through and gained partial freedom.


    Heat wafted against my skin and I stopped my struggling before I fell into the fireplace.


    The way the fabric dragged across me, the slick feeling that grated against my very soul, did not mix well with the warmth. Pain, like a nail had been driven into my temple, came to life in my head and I doubled over. My breath held against the sudden agony. My mask of Ire dust down over me as I slipped my other arm free and squirmed until the silken demon fell defeated at my feet.


    ¡°Victory!¡± I screamed with my arms held high in triumph. Relief washed over me and the pain in my head vanished.


    Trying to pull the cloak back down from where it had constricted around my face, the bottom of my woolen stocking met the slick surface of the discarded dress.


    My ass hit the stone floor hard and I crumpled onto my back, the new pain leaving me in stunned silence.


    ¡°Anna?¡± I cried out after a long moment.


    She didn¡¯t answer.


    I took a deep breath and began bending branch. There was no reason for me to use my aura, and I had no intention of channeling it. What I was looking for was the calm that came from building my power within me. Struggling blindly would only lead me to more pain and frustration. I had learned enough in the short part of my life that I could remember to know that.


    The cold of my azure aura bringing confidence to my fingers, I found the metal clasp that held the cloak around my face and snapped it free.


    I threw myself onto my feet as soon as I could see and took two quick steps before throwing myself onto the made bed.


    The blue silk dress lay in a twisted heap on the floor underneath my discarded cloak.


    I knew it was just a dress, and I knew that it couldn¡¯t, but I waited with my aura at the ready for it to move. If it coiled up like a serpent and struck at me, I would tear it to shreds. The moment it slithered across the grey stones of the floor, I would stomp it to death with my wool stockings. If it so much as settled from my escape, I would throw it into the flames of the fireplace and dance as it burned.


    None of that would happen because none of that could happen, but I would be ready regardless of the impossibility.


    The color, the way the fire light shone off of it, the things I imagined it could do, I hated it all. I hated it for the glamor I had to wear when I had it on and I hated it for how it looked on every other underwitch. For how little I knew and the punishments that were still hanging loose around my neck, I hated it. The distaste Tana had for me and the cruel trick that Maletta had tried to play on Reese and I only deepened that hatred.


    Most of all, more than any other reason, I hated the way it felt.


    Through it all, I learned a truth so undeniable that my belief in it could not be shaken.


    I hated silk.


    Truth. The Autumn I liked agreed with me in my mind.


    Resisting the urge to take it and all of its mates that hung in the closest and burning them to cinders, I turned around on the bed.


    The bathroom door was open and there were no lights on within the dark doorway. There was no sound of running water or steam wafting out of the darkness.


    ¡°Anna?¡± I called out as I hopped off the bed and went to the open door. Snapping the lights on, there was not a bottle of wine, a book, or a single raven hair in sight. The bathroom was empty, and when I turned around, I found the rest of the room to be the same.


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    Behind the door, under the bed, in both of the chests that Alexei had brought shortly after we had arrived, nothing.


    Anna was gone.


    I was alone.


    She had not even left a note.


    Slowly, I realized there was one other place that she could be. The closet that held the five other blue silk dresses I had been given because of my status as an Underwitch remained close.


    ¡°She can¡¯t be in there,¡± I whispered to myself. ¡°Why would Anna ever be in the closet?¡±


    Besides all of the times she had spent hours picking out her clothes and then spent even longer picking out mine, I could not think of one.


    What if she drank too much and fell asleep while she was unpacking her trunk? I thought as I crept towards the door with my aura still built inside me.


    The bright blue light of my eyes reflected off the wood as I wrapped my hand around the knob and slowly turned it.


    What if one of the dresses revealed itself as the manifestation of evil and has her bound in its clutches to lure you in so the others can grab you? I thought as I pulled the door open.


    A dark shape sat in the middle of the closet floor, but the darkness inside was too black for me to see what it was. I snapped my fingers three times in quick succession, holding my breath in what I knew to be unreasonable fright.


    The lights snapped on, then off, then on again, and I found the dark shape to be a pile off Anna¡¯s unhung clothes. On the far side of it, was her stack of notebooks and papers with a pen resting atop it.


    She had been in the closet, but she wasn¡¯t any longer.


    Another truth, just as strong as the first that had presented itself to me that night, rang out in my mind.


    I did not like being alone.


    Truth. The Autumn I liked spoke again.


    Keeping my eyes on the blue hidden horrors hanging on the right side of the closet, I brought myself down and leaned against the left wall. Atop the pile was the sleep shirt she had worn to bed the night before. I took it into my hands and buried my face into it, letting her scent fill my nose.


    We had been in her closet at the manor the morning after my birthday. The memory came rushing back with her smell and my face grew warm as her absence settled over me.


    I hadn''t realized it, but the expectation that she would be in our quarters when I returned had been one of the only things that kept me together.


    There were so many things I needed to rant about, but she wasn¡¯t there to calm me down. I needed her to offer to fight Tana and Maletta. I needed to tell her about the spinning circle and how I had actually had fun for a very brief moment. I needed to tell her about Lady Ola and Nami, and how I thought they had a lot more in common with Anna and I than we may have thought.


    I couldn¡¯t because she was gone, and she had not left a note.


    That did not make sense.


    Anna always left a note.


    That had started all the way back at the boarding house.


    Something has happened to her. The thought appeared in my mind and pushed everything away.


    She would not have left without telling me first. The only explanation was that she had not left of her own free will.


    I threw her shirt back down on the pile and climbed to my feet. Keeping as much distance between the dresses and myself as I could, I turned to leave the closet in search of her. Realizing that running through the halls of Lun in nothing but my wool stockings would draw too much unwanted attention, I turned back for the shirt and made my leave.


    Anna met me as soon as I stepped out of the closet.


    Every part of me recoiled and a startled shout slipped from my lips. All of the aura I had built within myself shot out of my left palm in slivers of bright blue light.


    They crashed into the fireplace and split the burning logs in a swell of embers and smoke.


    ¡°Hey, slow down. I was trying not to scare you,¡± Anna said softly as emptied her full hands onto the bed and came to me. ¡°Where are you going in such a hurry? I didn¡¯t think you would be back yet.¡±


    ¡°I thought something happened to you.¡± I said weakly as the loss from my accidental working was taken from me.


    Anna held me up against my weariness, confusion on her face. ¡°Why? I left you notes just in case you came back early.¡±


    ¡°No you didn¡¯t," I said, shaking my head and swallowing against the lump that had formed in my throat. "You always do, but you didn''t."


    My afterglow had come for me in full. I knew that I was happy to see her, but all I could think about was how she hadn''t left a note. It would pass, I had not used that much of my power, but it still took great effort for me to not cry.


    Anna pulled me along with her as she went to the bed, the fireplace, the bathroom and finally, the closet. "Okay, I made plans to leave notes, but I forgot."


    She brought my hand up and wrapped it around my vial necklace. The sorrow I felt was already passing, but there was something I wanted from her. The least embarrassing way to ask for it was to not ask for it at all.


    "It''s not working. I need it." I cried, giving my best impression of being much sadder than I actually was.


    Anna crossed her arms and took a step back from me. "You''re lying."


    "No I''m not." I snapped back, unable to keep my eyes on hers.


    "You just want to kiss me. Admit it." She said with a smirk. She leaned back against the bed with her hands behind her back and waited for me to respond.


    I let out a heavy sigh and stuck out my bottom lip. We were playing a game then, and I would not be defeated.


    Anna laughed as she pulled one of the three bottles of wine she had brought with her off the bed. "Its cute how hard you''re trying, but I won''t lose. I don''t have school tomorrow, I can stay up and wait as long as I need to."


    She walked back over to me, her raven hair streaked with the orange light of the fireplace and stood just close enough for it to be too close.


    "I went to the library today, and the kitchen," She held the bottle towards me for me to uncork it with my aura. ¡°I just walked in and said I was sent by Mother Nami. I know we aren¡¯t supposed to say their names, but it got me what I wanted. I think I could have had them prepare a feast if I really wanted to."


    She had won. I knew that no matter what I did, she would hold firm. So, I did the only reasonable thing I could when confronted with failure.


    I changed the game.


    Pretending to take the bottle to do as she wished, the second the cork popped loose from the glass, I sprinted away from her and into the bathroom.


    "Hey!" She shouted as she ran after me.


    The bottle held precariously over the bath, I held up a hand to stop her and spilled a single drop to show her that my threat was not hollow.


    "Okay, okay, okay," She said softly as she took slow and measured steps towards me. "I believe you. Let me help."


    I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling.


    I had won. Victory was mine. That happened far less than I wished it would during Anna and I''s little games.


    She pressed her lips to mine and I was immediatly lost in her kiss.


    The realization that I was being played only struck me when I felt her hand brush against the fingers I had wrapped around the bottle.


    I pulled back from her and raised my arm as high as it would go, more of the sweet smelling wine splotching red on the bottom of the bath.


    "Betrayer!" I gasped with the same intensity as I would have if she had just stuck a knife in my back.


    Anna stepped closer, but she did not reach for the bottle. When she spoke, her voice was low and sounded much sweeter than the wine smelled. "You''ve had a big day today and an even bigger one tomorrow. Let me take the wine, I''ll run a bath, and you can tell me all about it. We have to make sure you''re well rested for your first day after all."


    I held strong. I knew what she was trying to do to me and no matter how bad I wanted to let her, I wanted to win more.


    "This place is so big, and I''ve done so much walking, I think I need a bath as well." She said in little more than a whisper. Her hands went to my waist instead of the bottle and her breath felt cool on my blushing face.


    Faster than I had ever done anything in my short life, I brought the bottle back down without spilling another drop and gave it back to her.


    She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving me stunned where I stood.


    After entirely too long spent trying to remember how to speak, I called after her. "Wait! Was that part of the game?"

 V3: Chapter Twenty Six: First Implementation

    The short part of my life that I could remember had not been calm or absent of drama.


    I had faced down creatures that had been nothing but pale flesh and black finger nails. A near infinite amount of sand had crushed me against the bottom of a glass pyramid. Serpents, beasts, and spiders had hunted me in dark forests. I had come to blows with The Lady in Red, or rather, The Lady in Red had come to blows with me. I had stood in open defiance in front of The Circle of The Nine Mothers and had lived to quietly whisper the tale to the ones I loved.


    The amount of terrible and powerful things I had been through and stood against was not small. Thinking of all of them, I was certain that nothing had ever made me as anxious as I was while I was walking towards Precept Seram¡¯s class room.


    Be yourself. I repeated in my mind as I followed Alexei towards my first class as an Underwitch of Lun Arcanicil.


    It was the first agreement I had made with Anna the night before.


    After our bath and the seemingly endless amount of things I had to tell her about the new moon ball, the nervousness had come for me.


    I had never been to school before, and I didn¡¯t have a history of following rules or listening when I was told to do something. Underwitch Tana would be there and there had been nothing between us that told me she would be any different than she had been before. More importantly, Reese would not be there. She would not be able to pull me along behind her as she ran headlong into whatever we were asked to do.


    For all intents and purposes, I would be alone.


    Everything was going to go wrong. I knew that in the way that I knew my mother loved me or Sam tolerated me. I would find some way to embarrass myself or get into trouble. It was only a matter of time.


    What if I was asked to do something I didn¡¯t know how to do? Tana would start in on me for being motherless or about wanting a familiar, even though she did not know my real name and I had done nothing to receive Sam.


    I had agreed to be myself, but how could I when my place in the school depended on me (not) doing that.


    I had to be Ire, not Autumn.


    When we turned onto a short hall that¡¯s end was marked by a pastel blue door, the nervousness turned to full on panic


    Ask questions. I repeated Anna and I¡¯s second agreement through the panic.


    She had been playing with my hair when we had made it, so I had not been paying full attention to what she was saying, but I had agreed nonetheless.


    ¡°Master Alexei?¡± I said, hating the shake I heard in my voice.


    ¡°Yes?¡± He answered simply, not even turning to look at me.


    ¡°Do you know what this is going to be like?¡± I asked. There was no need for me to pretend to be innocent or timid in an attempt to make him like me. Both of those things were present without prompting and I could feel the irritation my guard had for me radiating off him.


    ¡°No. I have never been an underwitch.¡± He said simply as we reached the end of the hall.


    I made a poor attempt at humor in response. ¡°Good. I don¡¯t want to imagine you in one of these uniforms.¡±


    So slight that I could have imagined it if I had not seen it happen, the white haired man let out a little exhale through his nose. Though he didn¡¯t smile, the line of his lips curved just enough for me to notice.


    He thought that was funny. I thought excitedly, taking the slight and momentarily change in his expression as a victory. All I could think about was what I could say next to push him further towards a laugh.


    Stay calm. The third agreement came to me, and I took a deep breath.


    His snort and ghost of a smile were enough. I could not win him over in one fell swoop. In that way, he reminded me of Sam. My intentional endearment would be a slow and gradual process, so I took my small victory for what it was.


    ¡°I have word for you from the headmistress. She is searching for a twinsoul to mentor you, but for now, you are expected to keep your nature to yourself.¡± My guard said, his face making the slight change back to its usual state.


    ¡°Oh, I will,¡± I said, surprised. With everything that happened since I had been in front of the mothers, I had barely thought about my nature at all. ¡°Have you ever met a twinsoul?¡±


    Alexei peered down at me with his one white eye and I could not help but wonder if his mother¡¯s gaze had been anywhere near as cold.


    ¡°Your class is beginning.¡± He said without answering my question and opened the pastel door for me to enter.


    Stay calm. I repeated and entered the classroom without another word.


    Everyone within it turned their eyes to me as soon as the door shut behind me.


    It was a round room thats middle sunk on cascading terraces that circled the width of the room. There were six white curtains spaced evenly around the upper most level and I could see open space beyond them. A paneled glass dome topped the room with a blanket of white snow covering all of its frames.


    Precept Seram stood on the lowest level, every part of her standing straight and proper next to a worn wooden chair. ¡°Good morning Underwitch Ire! I was wondering where you were. Your place will be the one directly to your left.¡±


    The bubbly way she spoke and the bright smile on her face dispelled a fair amount of my nervousness immediately.


    Everything about her was light. Her pastel pink hair, her complexion, the clean white gloves on her hands, she looked perfectly happy to see me and I felt the same for her.


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    There were two underwitches I did not know on the far side of the room. Along with the one who had passed the trial before Reese and I had, they watched me take my place in front of the white curtain that I had been directed towards.


    ¡°Underwitch Tana?¡± Seram called out and I felt someone push past me in response.


    Her honey blonde hair tied up high on her head and her ever present blue stoned necklace shining atop the silk of her uniform dress, she went to the curtain on my right.


    Why was she in my place? I wondered as our eyes met and she looked like she would hit me if she had the chance.


    ¡°Over the next month,¡± Precept Seram began, bringing my attention back down to the center of the room. ¡°I will assist you in expanding the limits of your power and learning practical ways to apply it to whatever situations you may find yourselves in.¡±


    Something rubbed against my legs and I looked down to see Sam stepping out of the curtains behind me.


    I¡¯m a tone that only I could hear, he spoke. ¡°Your classmate attempted to persuade me to pledge my service to her.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I snapped, the ridiculousness of what the big blue cat had said leaving me shocked.


    ¡°Underwitch Ire, is there something you would like to share with the rest of us?.¡± Seram called up to me. Everyone¡¯s eyes returned to me and heat bloomed in my cheeks.


    Ask questions. The second agreement returned to me.


    ¡°Why is it only a month?¡± I asked, thankful that I found something to say without panicking.


    ¡°Right, forgive me. You were not in the dorm to hear my explanation yesterday. It is the first third of your first cycle. You will spend a month with me, a month with Precept Mon-Zetta, and a month with Precept Cherith. After the trials, I will see you again for another month.¡± Precept Seram answered happily with her white gloves held together in front of her waist.


    ¡°Trials?¡± I asked a second question.


    Tana let out an annoyed sigh and rolled her eyes.


    Seram answered in turn. ¡°You must earn your keep here at Lun Arcanicil. It is not like the primary schools all of you attended. If you fail to pass any of the trials, your place will be given to an Underwitch with more potential.¡±


    I had not gone to a primary school. It took me doing something that I understood to be nearly impossible to pass the first trial. The only potential I had was the potential to break down into tears, fall, or accidentally expose myself to someone.


    If I failed the trials, and my place was given to someone else, Azza would take me. There would be nothing I or Nami could do to stop her.


    Stay calm. Anna¡¯s voice sounded in my mind. Against the stream of worried thoughts, I brought my hand to my vial necklace and let the tips of the crescent charm dig into my palm.


    ¡°As a small demonstration, this is implementation,¡± Precept Seram continued. She took the worn wooden chair beside her and placed it on its side. Her aura came to light at her palm and with a measured touch, one its rickety legs split cleanly from the bottom of its seat. ¡°As is this.¡±


    She picked the separated leg back up and pressed it to where it had fallen from. The pastel blue light in her palm flared before dissipating completely. With a pleasant smile on her face she turned it upright and sat down atop it to demonstrate what her working had done.


    Tana clapped first, and then the rest of us followed suit as Seram stood and gave a small bow.


    ¡°Now, each of you enter your places, you will find your first assignment awaiting you.¡± Precept Seram instructed us.


    I did as I was told and Sam followed me back through the white curtains.


    ¡°What did she say to you?¡± I asked my familiar as I took my place. It was a small room with nothing adorning the walls but two silver hooks. A wooden table filled the back of it and a small metal square rested on the edge closest to me.


    ¡°Exactly what I said. She tried to convince me to pledge myself to her.¡± Sam answered, annoyance obvious in his low voice.


    ¡°Is that even possible?¡± I said as I unclasped my cloak from around my neck and hung it on one of the hooks. Keeping the first agreement by being myself, I took off my jacket and used the sleeves to pull the wretched dress of my uniform over my head.


    I had worn the black tights that had once been The Lady in Purple¡¯s underneath the blue silk dress after Anna had suggested it.


    Autumn Aubrey hated silk. I had not worn the tights with the intention of stripping down to the form fitting fabric, but being in my own little place gave me that opportunity.


    I had kept my word to Anna so far, and it had been much easier than I had thought it would be.


    If I continued to uphold the three agreements, we were going to go on a date. We were going to go to Hymneth, she would put me in something nice and wear something even nicer for herself, and we would have dinner.


    After the last night we had spent together, there was nothing in all of chaos that I looked forward to more.


    Sam answered me once I stepped to the table. ¡°I do not believe so. If it was, I would have found someone much more powerful than you long ago.¡±


    I ignored his insult and looked around for some hint as to what I was supposed to do.


    A glowing blue line appeared on the smooth wood of the table just before the back edge of it and a voice spoke behind me.


    ¡°Your first assignment is to push the weight from where it sits to the line I have made for you. I am sure that you have done similar things in your primary school, but this will be more difficult with the heavier weight." Precept Seram said.


    I turned around to look at her, but when I did, she was not there.


    "It is also important that you observe the rule about your uniform. Dressing down while you are in class is acceptable, but you must redress before you leave my room." She said again and I shook my head in confusion.


    I took a quick step to the curtain and pulled it open.


    Precept Seram floated in the center of the room. Her hands and feet were pressed against a massive bubble that surrounded her and held her aloft. Transparent except for the pastel blue tint that waved across its shiny surface when I moved, the sight of her brought a smile to my face.


    Her white gloves and laced boots had been placed neatly on the wooden chair she had broken and repaired not long before.


    "How do you do that? How can I hear you?" I asked aloud, wondering how fun it would be to be in a big blue bubble like hers.


    "Above you, Underwitch Ire," I saw her say and smile from where she floated in the center of the room. I looked up and found a miniature version of her bubble hanging just below the ceiling above my head. "I will help you find all of the wonderful secrets your soul possesses as long as you work hard and follow Lun''s rules."


    Her voice came from the bubble, but would go silent the moment my head crossed the threshold of the curtain. Just like I had with the glamor at Lun''s front gates I ducked my head in and out of the curtain and laughed as her voice disappeared and reappeared.


    If I had bubbles like the pink haired precept, I would leave one with Anna. That way, instead of having to constantly remind myself of our agreements, she could just whisper them to me when I needed to hear them.


    "Now, if you will return to the table, we may begin." Precept Seram said.


    I did as I was told, still caught in the fantasy of having Anna being able to speak to me whenever I needed her to.


    Ask questions. I heard her say.


    "Uhm, Precept Seram? What are the rules, exactly?" I said up to the bubble.


    From somewhere outside my place, I heard Tana yell. "Do you really not know anything?"


    She had been listening to what I said.


    I didn''t. I just wish she hadn''t known it.


    Stay calm.

 V3: Chapter Twenty Seven: The Hall of Conquest

    ¡°You may attempt again whenever you are ready, Underwitch Ire.¡± Precept Seram spoke to me through her little bubble.


    After she had finished telling me the rules and apologizing for Tana¡¯s eavesdropping, we had returned to my first assignment.


    All I had to do was push the square weight across the wooden table until it met the blue line.


    It was simple, something so small that it should have required little to no thought, and I could not do it.


    I had been bending branch and holding my power for what felt like hours. I had done everything short of picking the thing up and throwing it.


    The stupid square weight would not cross the stupid wooden table and meet the stupid blue line no matter what I did.


    I had forgotten how many times I had tried, but I tried again at my teacher''s words. I held out my hand and imagined the metal square sliding smoothly to the line and filled myself with my power. The azure light in my eyes shimmered off the reflective surface and cold needled against both of The Mother''s seals.


    Just like before, nothing.


    It moved so little that for a brief moment, I was convinced that I had become petrified and that nothing would ever move again. The weight and line would stand in opens defiance of my will until I eventually starved to death.


    ¡°You may attempt again whenever you are ready, Underwitch Ire.¡± Precept Seram repeated.


    ¡°I just did,¡± I snapped, my frustration making me forget who I was talking to. ¡°You know, it¡¯s kind of strange talking to a bubble.¡±


    ¡°Take heart in knowing that nearly every one of my students has said much the same thing. Perhaps you should take a small break and try to remember your lessons from your primary school.¡± Precept Seram said through her bubble, her voice just as light and bright as the suspended sphere it came from.


    ¡°I never went.¡± I admitted through a sigh.


    I had not been to a primary school, but I had been maidens who had. Most of the memories I had viewed before the walls in The Well had come down were of maidens performing small tasks and learning little lessons.


    Beyond that, I had another advantage that none of the other underwitches in my class had, not even Tana.


    None of them had been trained by Anna Lao. She was not a teacher, but a coach, and anything I had learned to do consistently had been because of her.


    Ask questions. I thought.


    What would Anna say to me to get me to do it? I asked myself instead of Precept Seram.


    I couldn¡¯t kiss myself. Even if I could, I didn¡¯t have those feelings for me or Underwitch Ire. I couldn¡¯t promise to make myself something to eat or to brush my hair out when I was done.


    Those were Anna things. Any time I had ever done anything of note with my aura had been out of desperation or in the pursuit of Anna things, and she wasn¡¯t there.


    There was nothing in the surprisingly comfortable classroom that made me feel even slightly desperate.


    The blue silk dress of my uniform still hung on one of the silver hooks where it could not harm me. Having my own place to fail without the eyes of my fellow underwitches to watch made keeping one of my agreements and staying calm much easier.


    ¡°Why the curtains? It isn¡¯t exactly what I imagined.¡± I asked the bubble, needing something to distract me from my frustrations.


    Precept Seram¡¯s bubbly laughed came in answer. ¡°I do not have enough fingers to count how many underwitches that would have been wonderful students if not for their nerves. I believe it is best to give each of you privacy until you deepen your understanding of your capabilities.¡±


    ¡°That is wise.¡± Sam said simply from where he stood guard just inside the white curtain.


    ¡°Thank you, Samsara,¡± Precept Seram said, pride obvious in her voice. Everything she said came with a proper tone and rhythm, like she had practiced what she was saying in front of a mirror until there was no room for error. ¡°Why you are performing a specific working is often far more important than how. There is an underwitch of the half moon rank that could do nothing unless she tied the act to a reward. Once she began bribing herself with hard candies, there were no assignments I could give her that she could not master in an afternoon.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± I asked aloud, finding it hard to believe that anyone other than me had issues with what seemed to be such a simple task.


    ¡°Yes. Each of us are different, Underwitch Ire. We all must find what is effective for ourselves. Underwitch Tana¡¯s mother, Sorceress True Tana, who was my implementation teacher when I was a new moon, can only perform a working if she absolutely understands why she is doing it.¡±


    I thought about having Seram¡¯s bubbles again and how easy it would be to have Anna praise me after I did anything. If I couldn¡¯t have her attached to my hip during all of my waking hours, nothing would be more effective than that. It would be no candy, but the sweetness of it would have done the same for me as it had for the sorceress that Seram spoke of.


    ¡°I do not understand your failure.¡± Sam rumbled without turning to look at me.


    ¡°It is only a failure if she refuses to try again.¡± Precept Seram corrected my rude familiar.


    Still refusing to look at me, the big blue cat¡¯s deep voice only added to my frustration. ¡°You have done much greater things than this with ease under the direction of the mortal. The bubble sorceress is much more powerful than her and you have regressed. I do not understand.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps you should take a walk. There is much within Lun¡¯s walls that could inspire you. The assignment will be here when you return.¡± Precept Seram suggested.


    ¡°I will not be.¡± Sam said simply.


    I didn¡¯t understand. ¡°I can just leave?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Whatever will help you progress, you are entitled to do. The tapestries on the fourth floor always bring me peace when I walk among them. But please, redress in your uniform before you go. Roam the halls and ponder why you wish to move the weight.¡± Seram answered as her bubble floated out of my place.


    I peeked my head through the white curtains and watched it rejoin with the larger one that the pink haired precept still floated inside of.


    Sam did not wait for me to complete the agonizing process of putting my uniform back on. By the time I left the classroom, there wasn¡¯t a single of his blue hairs in sight.


    Alexei waited for me in the hall, looking as if he had not moved since last I saw him.


    ¡°To your quarters?¡± He asked simply.


    ¡°No. I want to see the serpent.¡± I told him.


    His silence was enough for me to know that I needed to say more.


    ¡°The big serpent skeleton that you can see from the courtyard? I want to go there, to the snake room.¡± I said, holding my hands out wide to emphasis the length.


    ¡°The hall of conquest.¡± He said as he started down the hall.


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    From Precept Seram¡¯s pastel blue door, the white haired man led me to the singing stairs and all the way down to their base. The class room was on a much higher floor than I had ever been before and there were far more notes to the song as a result. Like crystal bells, the spiral steps chimed a calm and clear melody that washed the frustration from my body as I listened.


    Why did I want to move the weight?


    Beyond the fact that I had been asked to do it, I could not think of a reason. If Precept Seram had told me to do anything else, I would want to do that instead. There was nothing special about the assignment I had been given.


    Turning right from the base of the stairs, Alexei stopped in front of two great wooden doors, each plated with the same iron moons as the entrance to Lun.


    ¡°Can I trust that you will not run off or do I need to follow you inside?¡± He asked me, his hands resting lazily atop his swords.


    ¡°You are not coming inside?¡± I asked in return and tried to make it sound like I truly wished for him to do so.


    ¡°In a moment.¡± He answered simply.


    ¡°I won¡¯t run off. I promise.¡± I said and held my pinky out to him.


    After a long moment of silent consideration, he opened the door for me without taking what I had offered.


    Too much too soon. Stay calm. I reminded myself.


    I could not allow myself to be so hasty. It had taken me months with the manor guards, and I understood that Alexei would not be as giving as they had been.


    I stepped into the snake room and felt a cold spike of fear streak through me.


    From the vaulted ceilings, all the way down to the mirrored floor, uncountable ribs of white bone hung from nearly invisible wires and coiled around the inside of the hall. Sharp and curved, their number gave the walls a dizzying effect that I was powerless to look away from until they drew my eyes to their terrible end.


    Deep hollows where slit eyes had once been and jaws wide enough for me to stand in with my arms raised, the skull of the serpent lay at the back of the hall with its terrifying maw held open.


    A figure stood in the middle of the space, placed as if it were the only thing keeping the serpent from coming to life and wreaking havoc through the halls.


    I went to the figure, ignoring the fact that I could see up my own dress because of the mirrored floor.


    It was a suit of armor of pure silver, just as polished and reflective as the floor underneath my boots. The top of the helm came just to the top of my nose and all of it was adorned with deep blue stones and complicated lines.


    A long and thin sword was held in the hands of the engraved gauntlets. Its tip was buried into the base the armor stood atop, completing a pose that affirmed my thoughts about its defense of Lun.


    Even from the little I knew of her, the graceful lines of the metal and the little details that brought winter to my mind told me whose armor it was.


    Katarina.


    I heard Alexei approaching from behind me, which I knew was only because he wanted me to hear it.


    ¡°There used to be far more to look at in here, but space had to be made since the last time he moved.¡± The white haired man said with a pointed nod once he reached me.


    ¡°Is that why it¡¯s called the hall of conquest? Because she conquested the serpent?¡± I asked him honestly, my eyes still focused on the armor.


    ¡°No. It was named by a very angry little boy because he took offense to her slaying it.¡± Alexei said, a pale ghost of what sounded like humor appearing in his voice.


    ¡°She was so small.¡± I said in barely more than a whisper. Knowing that the armor would not fit over my shoulders if I tried to put it on.


    ¡°And mighty. There is no one else alive who could have slain Zizicoltain. It ruled these mountains for a thousand years before she put an end to it.¡± My guard added.


    The placid and expressionless mask he usually wore had slipped. In the reflection of the silver armor, I saw pride in his eyes and a small smile appear on his lips.


    There was sadness there too. I recognized it immediately because I had felt the same sorrow many times before.


    Alexei missed his mother.


    It took every part of me to not ask him where she was.


    I bit my tongue until it bled and repeated Anna and I¡¯s third agreement until the pain passed.


    He had just said more words to me than I had ever heard him say before. If I could just stay calm and take my time, I would learn what I wanted to know.


    ¡°Why would someone take offense to it being killed?¡± I asked, looking back at the skull that sent a shiver through my spine.


    ¡°Ignorance,¡± Alexei said simply, all of the small emotions that had been on his face dead and gone. ¡°She only did it because it was necessary.¡±


    Understanding shook my body like the freezing waters of The River Eae.


    I did not have to move the weight for the sake of moving the weight, I had to move it because it was necessary.


    ¡°I would like to go back now.¡± I said, spinning on my heels and not waiting for him to lead me out.


    Fast enough that Alexei had to run to catch up with me, I tore back up the singing stairs and sent their song into a frantic pace.


    An excited smile had stretched across my face by the time I stormed back into Precept Seram¡¯s classroom. Still floating within her bubble, she sent her smaller one back into my place before I could finish undressing again.


    Just as he had said, Sam was no longer there. It was only Seram¡¯s bubble, me, and the weight.


    ¡°By the haste with which you returned, I am safe in assuming that your walk went well?¡± Precept Seram asked once I settled in front of the table.


    ¡°Yes.¡± I said through my smile.


    I could not care less if the metal weight ever moved again. It could sit at the edge of the table until the wood underneath it rotted and the walls around it crumbled.


    I did care about keeping my place at Lun Arcanicil. No part of me wanted to be taken by Azza or have my spot taken by some other underwitch.


    I did care about having a room like Katarina¡¯s hall of conquest. I wanted to be mighty like she was and have a big room full of things to mark the long and exciting life I had lived.


    I did care about learning how to use my power, being better, getting stronger.


    I did not want to be weak and ignorant like I had been for all of the part of my life that I could remember. There was a longing in my heart that I had held for a long time.


    To do as my mother did and be able to shape the garden behind the manor to my will, to stand barefoot in a roaring pyre and not so much as sweat like Rhiannon, to drown a new born sun and bring a woman back from the verge of death in the same moment, I wanted to be able to do it all.


    More than being able to do the things they could do, I wanted to be the way they were.


    The obvious power that was in Rhiannon¡¯s body, the way Glim seemed like she could float off the ground at any moment, the slender grace that Azza moved with, I wanted to be like them all.


    Even more than my desires to be less like me and more like them, I could not let Anna down.


    She believed in me so much, that she left her life after only knowing me for a month. From the little room my mother and I shared, to her room in the manor, to my room in the manor, to our little wooden shack, and finally into our quarters that were hidden behind the singing stairs, she had come with me without question.


    If pushing the metal weight across the table with my power meant becoming something more and doing right by Anna, then so be it.


    I would do it because it was necessary.


    ¡°You do not have to try again so soon, Underwitch Ire. The others have all already gone to the covery.¡± Precept said, but her voice did not call down from the bubble.


    I turned around and saw her standing just inside the clean white curtain, no bubble in sight.


    ¡°Yes I do, and I don¡¯t even know what that is.¡± I insisted as I brought my power to life within me.


    I focused on the weight and the blue line shining on the other end of the table.


    I thought of myself in a room full of all manner of desirable things. Precious stones, fried potatoes, shoes, dresses, and whatever else I wanted would be there.


    A vision of the version of myself that I desperately wanted to be came to life in my mind. My hair flowing in the wind and shining so brightly in the sun that it looked like it was on fire. I wore a white robe like Rhiannon did. No, it was a wrap like my mother wore.


    That wasn¡¯t it either.


    I wore a suit of armor like Katarina¡¯s. There was no silk in sight, I had no scars or seals on my skin, and I was beautiful by my own definitions. Whatever I wanted, I willed it so, and there was no one in all of chaos that could tell me no.


    That wonderful thought gave way to Anna. We were by the river in Erosette, on the back balcony of Rhiannon¡¯s mansion, in any of the beautiful places that I had seen in memories. We were side by side and I had made her proud. She was safe because of me and the things I could do. She knew of my might and had helped me achieve it.


    All of those things would be mine if I could move the weight. I wanted to push it to the blue line because it was the first step to having everything I wanted.


    I brought my focus to the metal and pushed my palm forward like I held it in my hand, all of my desires placed in the center of the small square.


    It shook once, twice, three times, and shattered in a flash of bright blue light.


    Against the stone walls, off the wooden table, onto the front of my tights, tiny bits and pieces went flying around my place.


    When they settled, and all that was left of the weight was the marks it had left in the table, Precept Seram spoke.


    ¡°Well done, Underwitch Ire! That is common with Sorceresses that possess such remarkable potential. All you must do now is learn to control it.¡± She said and gave me a gentle pat on the back with her white gloved hand.


    I took a breath, thinking about what she had said.


    I have potential?


    Truth.

 V3: Chapter Twenty Eight: The Covery

    It was not long after I had broken the first weight that I decided I did not like having potential.


    After the fifth weight that Precept Seram had placed on my table went the way of the first four, I realized that potential was a nice word that meant I had done nothing yet.


    Truly, if it had not come from my perfectly proper precept, I would have thought it to be an underhanded insult.


    ¡°Let this be the last for now. For practical applications, there is a point where further attempts may only develop a negative habit. Unlearning something is often harder than the initial learning." Precept Seram said as she returned to my place within the white curtain.


    She stepped past where I leaned against the wall next to my hung cloak and placed an identical square weight atop the table.


    ¡°It is often best, when faced with a problem that seems to be beyond your current abilities, to take some time away and let your mind process what you have learned.¡± She continued.


    ¡°How would you do it?¡± I asked weakly with my vial necklace held tightly in my right hand. The afterglows from any of my previous attempts had not been terrible, a tear here or a sniffle there, but the losses had grown larger and larger.


    Like I had been running uphill through deep snow, I was out of breath and my black tights were damp with sweat. My left arm, shoulder, and back burned from my efforts. On my last attempt, I had needed to hold my unsealed hand aloft with my right to keep it from falling limply to my side.


    ¡°I am unsure as to how that will help you. These assignments are for you to discover what works for you.¡± Precept Seram answered, continuing to be nothing but patient and kind.


    I gave her an honest answer through my labored breaths. ¡°That is how I¡¯ve learned to do anything, watching others first and then trying it myself.¡±


    She probably imagined little Maiden Ire sitting and watching her mother perform a working before running off and trying it for herself, but it was not a lie.


    ¡°I see. Well, There is not a single way,¡± Precept Seram answered as she squared her shoulders with the table and removed the white glove of her right hand finger by finger. She held her bare hand up towards the weight and continued. ¡°If I am correct, you are focusing your will into the center of the weight, yes?¡±


    Her question brought nervousness in my tired body. I had agreed with Anna that I would ask questions. Over the course of my first day, I had become comfortable with asking Precept Seram what I needed to know, but there was new fear in having to answer her.


    If I told her the truth, and she told me that what I had been doing was wrong, then she would know just how little I knew.


    She would think me a fool.


    If I was locked in a windowless room and only allowed to see the sun if I could describe the perfect example of what a sorceress looked like, I would have described her.


    Watching her as a little bubble that was no bigger than the perfectly polished nail of her thumb formed over her palm, I understood that she was flawless.


    Not a single of her pale pink hairs were out of place. Her white robes and dress were pure and clean. Everything from her icy blue cloak to the laces of her small black boots were perfectly in line and her expression remained pleasant as she performed her working.


    It was not just The Mothers that I wanted to be like. I wanted to be like Seram too, as she was then and as she was in the faint memory of her memory that had come to me the first time I had met her eyes on the priming.


    ¡°Underwitch Ire? You are focusing on the center, correct?¡± She asked again and I realized that I had not answered her.


    ¡°Uhm, I don¡¯t know,¡± I admitted, keeping my eyes on her little bubble. ¡°I really wasn¡¯t thinking of it in parts.¡±


    Precept Seram clasped her hands together and nodded. ¡°I understand! That is why the weights have broken.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s dumb isn¡¯t it?¡± I muttered, casting my eyes down to the ground.


    She shook her head. ¡°Not at all. The opposite in fact. When we reach more complex assignments, that manner of thinking is necessary and most underwitches struggle to achieve it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. Is it a good thing that I can break them?¡± I asked as I met her pastel blue eyes.


    ¡°Spotless,¡± She smiled and nodded in agreement. ¡°In this case, I believe your lack of formal education has allowed you to achieve things that are far beyond your age.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± I sighed, her words and my feelings having trouble mixing together.


    ¡°You will understand soon enough, but for now, your focus must be smaller.¡± She said as her little bubble moved in a straight line towards the weight.


    ¡°Now, what is your assignment?¡± She asked aloud.


    ¡°To push the weight to the line at the back of the table?¡± I answered.


    ¡°Spotless! But, do not phrase it as a question. You knew the answer and it was correct. Be confident, Underwitch Ire,¡± Seram said as her bubble stopped a finger¡¯s width from the weight. ¡°The goal is to push the weight to the line I have made on the table. Not thinking of it as a whole, which part of it should we focus on?¡±


    ¡°The one that faces us?¡± I said, knowing that it would be impossible to reach the line if the weight were pushed from any other side.


    ¡°Spotless. And, remember, confidence.¡± Precept Seram agreed and reminded me.


    Her bubble touched the flat surface of the squared metal and did not pop like a normal bubble would.


    ¡°Once we understand where our will should be applied, the question becomes how much of it is necessary to achieve our desired outcome. So, how much of my aura should it take for me to move a five pound weight?¡± Precept Seram asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I answered honestly.


    She laughed a bubbly laugh. ¡°I would not expect you to know because no one does. Aura is not quantifiable, no matter how hard the dust collectors from the loreiums try to make it so. It will take much more from you to complete your assignment than it will from me, but there are sorceresses that could do much greater things than I and lose much less than I will from this. The power of any of our souls cannot be measured in inches or pounds, we cannot write out an accurate explanation the way an engineer could draw the schematics of a building before constructing it. If we cannot put a value or a measurement to our power, how do we know how much to use?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t. It can¡¯t be done.¡± I said, giving my best attempt at the confidence she had requested from me.


    ¡°Spotless,¡± She said with a pleased nod. ¡°If we use too much, we risk damaging the thing we are trying to affect. If we use too little, nothing will happen and the loss will be taken for nothing. The answer,¡± Her little bubble pressed against the weight and bent out of its round shape, but still it did not pop. As it flattened, its color began to deepen, and where it had been transparent before, it grew into the pastel blue of Seram¡¯s eyes. ¡°Is to start small.¡±


    The bubble grew and pressed back off the weight until it reformed into its original shape. Still blue and still whole despite the sharp edges that pressed against it, it reached the size of the metal square and began to gain ground.


    ¡°And only use the smallest amount possible to achieve the desired result.¡± Seram said as her working took effect.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    Slowly and smoothly, her bubble pushed the weight across the table until its back edge came even with the glowing line behind it.


    Once the goal had been met, her bubble did not pop or burst into pastel blue dust, it shrank. Receding down to the size it had been when it had taken shape from her palm, it dissipated into a tiny trail of dust that was the same color as the line.


    When it was done and all that was left of her power was a small mound, she spoke. ¡°To answer your question, that is how I would do it.¡±


    I clapped for her despite my exhausted body and the weariness that had settled over me.


    Having a teacher that did not have magical bindings that prevented them from actually teaching me was something that I truly enjoyed. Through all of her explanation, I had felt that there was nowhere else she would have rather been and nothing else she would have rather been doing. She had been happy to show me and I had understood it all.


    ¡°Thank you, Underwitch Ire, it is unnecessary, but thank you. Shall we call it a day? It is well past dinner and you are overdue for rest.¡± Precept Seram said as she slipped her white glove back into her hand and parted the curtains of my place.


    I disagreed a little too quickly as I took the weight in my hand and placed it back in its starting place. ¡°No. I want to try again.¡±


    ¡°If you insist. Then I will take you to the covery, understood?¡± Seram said sternly.


    ¡°Understood.¡± I agreed as I stood before the table.


    She gave her usual response before growing quiet. ¡°Spotless.¡±


    To the best of my abilities, I had kept Anna and I¡¯s third agreement. I had not stamped my feet or ran away from the classroom crying. I had been a good girl and avoided any violent spikes of emotion.


    I had kept our second agreement as well. I had kept it so well, that I was surprised Precept Seram had not become annoyed with my questions.


    For most of my first day, I had not known how to keep the first.


    I had continued to throw myself into the frigid waters of The River Eae during the trial. Long past when I thought I would suffer a freezing death or drown in the bitter deeps, I had continued. There were many nights at the manor in Erosette that I had lost so many games of points, that any sane person would have given up and never played again. When I had been all alone in my little room at the boarding house, when the only thing I had that resembled a friend was Sam, I had tried to remove the barriers in my mind until they had fallen.


    Throwing myself blindly against whatever was in front of me was what I did.


    I had to try again, there was no other way for me to keep that agreement.


    I did not know much about who Autumn Aubrey was, but I did know that.


    Raising my left hand and only managing to keep it up by holding it with my right, I brought my mind back to the weight.


    Thinking of Seram¡¯s little bubble, I practiced bending branch and felt the chill of my bright blue aura building beneath my palm.


    I focused only on the flat surface that faced me and imagined it slowly sliding across the table like it had before.


    The tiny little firework that sprung from my hand and smacked against the weight had not been my intention.


    My shoulders slumped and I sagged against the wall on my left, unable to hold my weight any longer.


    The firework bounced to the floor in an arc before bursting in a small pop of azure light that echoed off the walls around me.


    ¡°Well done, Underwitch Ire. You have gone well past your limits today. Come with me.¡± Precept Seram asked as she helped me back into the wretched silk of my dress. My blue cloak settled over my shoulders and my arm held over my teachers, she led me from her terraced class room and snapped the lights off behind us.


    Alexei waited in the hall in the same place he had been when I had gone on my walk earlier that morning.


    The afterglow from my pitiful working and the sight of him washed together into a teary weight that sent me into a heavy sob.


    I missed my own mother and she was just a black gate away. I had seen her just a few days before, but I still wished she was there to hug me and kiss the top of my head.


    No matter how restrained or placid my guard wished to appear, I had seen the same sadness in his eyes.


    Katarina was gone and her son was stuck following me around to guard me from myself.


    How much must he hate me that he had to spend his time keeping me from exposing myself instead of looking for his mother?


    Unless, he couldn¡¯t look for her because she was gone somewhere that she could not be found.


    If she was truly dead, how much pain was the white haired guard carrying around? Maybe that was the reason for his restraint. If he allowed his emotions to be felt and seen, it would show that his heart was a sad and broken thing.


    Precept Seram opened a door on the right side of the hall and snapped the lights on. ¡°This is the covery, while you are in my phase, this is where you will go to recover from your afterglows and losses. As it is in my classroom, your place is the first on the left.¡±


    Wiping the tears from my eyes and inhaling deeply through my runny nose, I took in the blue room.


    It was a round room, with only a small amount of the stones that shaped it visible. Rugs, blankets, curtains, and pillows all covered every surface of the room in every shade of blue. The light was low and cool, the color of new dawn coming through the icy window of Anna and I¡¯s little wooden shack.


    ¡°Oh.¡± I sighed as the calm of the room settled over me.


    Seram led me to the first of the six blue curtained spaces. ¡°From Precept Shanti¡¯s notes, I have made sure there is sweet red wine and a hairbrush for you. Whatever else you may need, you are welcome to bring here. It will be safe.¡±


    I brought my hand up to my vial necklace and held it like it was all that would keep me together.


    ¡°Do you not have a place?¡± I asked through my sniffles.


    ¡°No, Underwitch Ire. When you have been a sorceress as long as I have and done as much as I, the threshold for an after glow and a loss are much more difficult to cross.¡±


    That pulled my attention out of the sorrow that had consumed me. If there was a way to use my power without falling into tears or tantrums, I needed to know what it was. ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°Time and experience mostly. If you had gone to primary school, they would have taught you how to pool your aura. With enough time, you can surpass your limits and effectively raise your threshold.¡± She answered, still willing to answer my questions despite my tears.


    ¡°Pool?¡± I sniffled and moved to wipe my nose on the edge of my cloak.


    ¡°Use this instead,¡± Precept Seram said as she gently stopped my hand and handed me a clean white square of cloth from somewhere in the folds of her dress. ¡°Pooling is building your aura within yourself like you are going to manifest it and shape it into a working, but not channeling it.¡±


    I dried my eyes and wiped my nose with the cloth, beginning to feel like myself again. ¡°Oh, thats bending branch!¡±


    Precept Seram gave me a curious look. ¡°Where did you ever hear it called that?¡±


    I did not have to lie. I could tell her the truth. ¡°My mother taught me when I was younger.¡±


    ¡°Curious,¡± Seram nodded to herself as she walked back to the door of the covery. ¡°I do not make a habit of giving assignments outside of my classroom, but I do have one for you. While you are resting this evening, take note of your surroundings. A lamp, a book, a pillow or whatever else it may be. Think of how you would move it if the need arose. A night spent thinking of those things will bring you success come tomorrow.¡±


    She closed the door to the blue room behind us and told Alexei and I goodbye.


    My afterglow was gone, but the sadness for my white haired guard remained and I could not look at him without tears brimming in my eyes.


    All the way from Precept Seram¡¯s hall to the door of Anna and I¡¯s quarters, I kept my eyes off him and focused on the things we passed.


    Paintings, doors, the mounds of snow outside the windows we passed, I thought of all the ways they could be moved and how I could do it.


    The what and the how came easily, it was the why that I struggled with. I could conceivably tilt a painting crooked or open a door, but there was no reason for me to.


    By the time Alexei brought me to the door of my quarters, the efforts of my first day threatened to bring me to the floor.


    I went inside and found Anna sitting by the fireplace. Three bottles of wine sat next to her and a wall of books and papers surrounded her.


    ¡°There you are! I was wondering if you got into trouble or something.¡± She beamed up at me, her eyes half lidded from the late hour and her drinking.


    For the first time since I left Precept Seram¡¯s class room, I did not have to think of why what I was looking at needed to be moved.


    If Anna had not made me make my agreements with her, I would have never survived my first day.


    ¡°It went well then?¡± She asked me from within her barricade of books.


    ¡°Terrible. I couldn¡¯t even complete my first assignment. I was so pitiful, my teacher had to spend hours with me alone before I could even understand what I was trying to do.¡± I answered honestly.


    Unlike the weight, Anna was much too far away from me and I wanted her to be closer.


    I could not simply drag her to me. There was too high of a chance that she wound up on the floor. It would also make a mess of her books and I would never want to inconvenience her in that way. All the reading and note taking she did was for me. It deserved my utmost respect.


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem nearly as mad or sad as you would be if that were true. You¡¯re trying to trick me aren¡¯t you? You did great, didn''t you?¡± She asked as she stood, her brows knitting together in obvious suspicion.


    ¡°No,¡± I shook my head and smiled. ¡°I am telling the truth.¡±


    She crossed her arms. ¡°Then why are you looking at me like that?¡±


    I had begun bending branch the moment my eyes had found her. As soon as she stepped out of her books, I brought my desire, my power, and my will to bear and hoped that I used just enough to bring her into my arms.

 V3: Chapter Twenty Nine: Mess Maker

    Anna and I whispered to one another under the obscuring sound of rushing water.


    ¡°I could see it in his eye. He misses her. That has to mean something, right?¡± I asked her from where I sat on the edge of the nearly full bath.


    She answered me in the same hushed tone I spoke in. ¡°It could mean a lot of things. You are sure he said that there is no one else alive and not that there was no one else alive?¡±


    ¡°I am not certain. My memory is not the most reliable thing.¡± I sighed, disappointed that I could not give her a more firm answer.


    She reached past me and turned the silver handles closed just before the steaming water reached the lip I sat atop.


    ¡°Maybe you¡¯ll find something in The Well tonight. Get your memories over with while I go clean up your mess.¡± She said and kissed the top of my head as she stood.


    ¡°Wait! You tricked me,¡± I shouted and followed her up. ¡°You said we had to come in here so Alexei wouldn¡¯t hear us!¡±


    Anna laughed. ¡°We did have to come in here for that. He said he can hear when I wake up, we¡¯ve got to be smart. But, just because you¡¯re a busy little schoolgirl now doesn¡¯t mean you get to skip out on your other responsibilities, got it?¡±


    ¡°I should have known.¡± I said, shaking my head.


    If I had not been so tired and her shorts had not slipped up her thigh the way they had when she had gotten up off the floor in front of our bed, I hoped that I would have had the presence of mind to see her trick coming, but I was, they did, and I hadn¡¯t.


    ¡°Yes. You should have.¡± Sam growled from where he sat atop the sink.


    His presence alone was an insult to my intelligence. I should have known that he would have been nowhere to be found unless he knew I was going into The Well.


    I followed Anna to the door and looked at the mess I had made.


    A long trail of bright blue dust snaked across the floor. Starting where Anna had stood by the fireplace and ending in the scattered circle of dust we had landed in, I knew I had never made a working that was quite so large.


    My mask of Ire lay in a pile by the door and the empty plates that had once held the cold dinner I had devoured.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to clean up. I¡¯ll be happy to do it instead of my memories.¡± I offered.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind, really. You make messes, I clean them up. I knew what I was getting into when I decided to live with you.¡± Anna said with a smile that nearly brought me to my knees.


    ¡°I make messes?¡± I asked, perfectly content to watch her clean until I died of thirst.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Sam growled in answer.


    ¡°In more ways than one,¡± she laughed. ¡°Now go, it¡¯s late.¡±


    I thought about arguing with her, but as tired as I was, I had no illusions that I would win. So, I did as I was told and got into the bath.


    The warm water felt good on my tired body, and it took little to no time at all for my eyes to shut.


    Making no effort to focus on a name, my mind wandered from what Anna had told me about the empty library to the metal weight that I would be pushing the next morning. It settled onto the hall of conquest, with its mirrored floors and the serpent skeleton that Alexei had named but I could not remember.


    I had made progress with him that day, and if I stayed calm, I could do it again.


    Somewhere in the thoughts of my guard and his mother¡¯s silver armor, I slipped back into The Well and felt myself fall. . .


    From the circular room of strange black material, I stepped into The Well proper with a plan in mind.


    ¡°Hello?¡± I called out, my arm held limply to my side and taking slow shuffling steps towards the shelves of gradient yellows.


    Attempting to look as pitiful as I could, I wandered past shades of cream and starlight towards dark brasses and golden browns. ¡°Do you remember when we first met?¡±


    I did not have somewhere in mind that I was trying to get to. What was important was that I looked hurt, tired, and lost.


    ¡°You said I reminded you of someone. Do you have a habit of becoming involved with weak little girls?¡± I said with a pitiful laugh.


    There was no response, but I knew better to expect one so soon. Just like my attempted slow endearment with Alexei, creating enough pity in the metallic heart of the thing at the bottom of The Well proper would take time.


    It had taken me time to learn points. It was taking me time to complete my first assignment in Implementation. Anna and I had been attracted to each other almost immediately, but it had taken time for us to grow together and intertwine.


    I knew better than to expect a sudden change in the things behavior, but that didn¡¯t mean I was free from frustration.


    Staying calm and finding a new use for Anna and I¡¯s third agreement, I made my way back towards the black room.


    ¡°When Mother Azza was punishing me, you showed me a memory of hers. You brought me here and took me from my pain. I have never thanked you for that.¡± I said as I took the stone stairs and traded the room of yellow tomes for blues.


    I stopped at the top of the stairs and leaned against the wall like it had taken all of me to reach the final step. ¡°I think that is because I do not understand why you have helped me.¡±


    Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I continued. ¡°When I knocked all the books off the shelves and they were pulling me from memory to memory, you stopped it.¡±


    Ask questions.


    ¡°Why do you care? It can¡¯t just be because of a passing reminder to someone. How do you even know someone else? You are in my mind,¡± I shuffled my feet over to one of the plain wooden tables that had taken up in The Well after my time in Patience¡¯s library. ¡°Do you know that I don¡¯t remember stealing The Well? Or, stealing you? I¡¯m not sure what the right way to say that is.¡±


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    There was still no response and the silence grated against me like Azza¡¯s sand, but I kept myself calm as I hopped onto the table and let my legs dangle off its edge.


    I continued. ¡°You are stuck with me though. They can¡¯t take you out until I view every single memory in this place.¡±


    It could have been the memory of Azza¡¯s punishment or the fuzzy nothingness of when the books had fallen on me, I wasn¡¯t sure. Maybe it was how tired I was or how much I had used my aura. Maybe I had put on such a compelling performance that I had begun to believe it myself, but somewhere in my one-sided conversation, I stopped acting.


    Like Alexei¡¯s longing slipping through his restraint in the hall of conquest, my true feelings began to slip through the pitiful act.


    ¡°I need help. There are too many memories and I can¡¯t even start with what interests me because I can¡¯t find them. It¡¯s all too much,¡± I spoke honestly, my voice echoing through the shelves of blue. ¡°If there were anyone else I could ask, I would, I really don¡¯t want to be a bother, but you are it.¡±


    Sadness that had nothing to do with an afterglow brought a cold ache into my heart.


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know what you look like. Do you like being here? Do you have a choice? I don¡¯t even know your name. We could be friends. Anna likes me, you might too.¡± I called out.


    The silence was a different kind of loneliness than I had ever felt. To know that someone could hear me and was perfectly capable of answering my offer of friendship, but chose not to, made me feel even smaller in the near infinite library in my mind.


    With the smallness, embarrassment stung my cheeks.


    How actually weak had I just sounded? Why I had ever thought I needed to (act) pitiful, I did not know.


    Embarrassment gave way to shame and the shame gave way to anger. The anger pushed me off the table top and brought a writhing need to express that heat into my hands.


    My first agreement and my third agreement with Anna came into frustrating conflict with one another.


    I could not be myself and stay calm at the same time.


    Autumn Aubrey made messes.


    Autumn Aubrey hated silk and she made messes.


    Those two truths were as close to understanding myself as I had ever come.


    It may have been due to the limited experiences of my short life, but for the life of me, I could not think of a way to tear The Well apart calmly.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean that! I can¡¯t believe you thought I wanted to be friends!¡± I shouted as I brought my power to my palm and held it out towards the shelves of blue.


    What Anna did not know wouldn¡¯t hurt her. I was fairly certain she could not read my mind, so there was no way she would ever know unless I told her.


    I focused on the book closest to me atop the top shelf. It was sickly blue like a bruise, and tipped from its place with just the right amount of my will.


    It smacked against the floor with an echoing thump that did nothing to make me feel better.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t stuck with me! I¡¯m stuck with you! Laying around in the back of my head and you won¡¯t even talk to me? I¡¯ve never met anyone so rude! And Samsara is my familiar, he is the rudest thing in all of chaos!¡± I shouted as I tipped another book, and another, and another.


    Before I really knew what I was doing, I had emptied both of the top shelves and sent the blue books falling in cascading streams. They rained down at my feet and I decided that the rest of the books would look much better if they joined their fallen friends.


    Cornflower, periwinkle, midnight, shades of near black and blue stained whites all crashed at my feet in a tide of crumbled pages and open bindings.


    ¡°If only Precept Seram could see me now!¡± I laughed a high laugh and swept another shelf clear with nothing but my will.


    There were no more books on the shelves that surrounded me.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be your friend!¡± I screamed as I snapped my hand towards the shelf and sent it leaning backwards. For a brief moment, it hung in place, balanced on its bottom back corner.


    Like I was blowing a fly away from my face, I pursed my lips and pushed a short stream of air through them.


    The bookshelf fell back and took the one behind it down with it.


    One by one, they all fell in a wave of disarray that I had brought to bear.


    When the final shelf caught on the wall and all the books that fell from it had settled, I threw my hands above my head in triumph.


    ¡°I am the ruiner! I am the one who ruins! I have named myself so,¡± I shouted, feeling none of the regret I had for felling the arrogant tree. ¡°I don¡¯t need your help!¡±


    After the heat of my tantrum faded, which did not take very long, and all I was left with was the mess I had made, I found that I did not feel any better.


    I did not feel bad for what I had done, but I was still embarrassed, still hurt.


    I knew it was silly, but if there was one place in all of chaos that I got to be silly, it was in my own mind.


    Lucky for me, The Well had a near infinite number of other floors for me to try and feel better by destroying.


    I turned back for the stairs.


    I stopped dead in my tracks before I could take a single step towards my continued rampage.


    The hairs on the nape of my neck stood on end and an uncomfortable awareness settle over me.


    I was being watched.


    ¡°You are right, little ruiner.¡± A strange, hollow, sounding voice whispered from behind me.


    I whipped myself around in fright and took a blind step backwards.


    The shelves that I had knocked over stood upright once again. All of the books were back in their place, down to the bruise colored tome I had knocked down first. Any trace of the damage I had wrought had been undone in the time it had taken me to make my turns.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± I called out, my heart pounding in my chest and my breath held.


    The voice that answered me was not cold in the ways I knew cold to be. It did not creep into my bones or send shivers down my spine.


    It was nothing, and there was nothing in it that sounded like it came through the lips of a living thing. Like porcelain or stone, it was unfeeling, unchanging, a constant hollow sound.


    And yet, it spoke words I understood.


    ¡°The one whose name you do not know. The one whose face you have not seen. The one who you wished to be your friend.¡± The voice answered.


    A shape took form in front of me in an outline of a towering figure. Arms, legs, what looked to be the shape of long flowing hair, the figure was easily a head taller than Arthur or Azza. Keeping the colors of what lay beyond it, it took a single step before fading out of my sight like a fleck in my eye.


    ¡°I-¡° I started without knowing what I was going to say.


    It was the thing at the bottom of The Well. I had heard its voice before. It was the only thing besides me that could be in The Well.


    ¡°You are right, little ruiner,¡± The mouthless voice repeated. ¡°You do not need my help.¡±


    I shook my head, desperately searching the space between the blue booked shelves for another sign of the thing. ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°Her. The young one whose memories you seek. Call her name with your power at hand. What you wish for shall come to you.¡± The thing answered, sounding much farther away than it had a moment before.


    It cannot be that simple. I thought to myself, thinking of all the times I had searched aimlessly through The Well.


    ¡°Katarina.¡± I called out with my aura pressing against the seals over my navel and palm.


    It was that simple.


    Icy blue light began to shine in front of me like the ghostly embers of a freezing fire.


    The same pale shade as the crystals in Radomir¡¯s pass had been, it coalesced in my upturned palms and at long last, I held Katarina¡¯s book in my hands.


    ¡°I will trouble you no longer. Farewell.¡± The voice spoke again, but I did not answer it.


    Before I could think to sit down, I had opened the book and brushed my fingers against one of the white pages.


    Standing in the center of what had been a destroyed library only moments before, I felt myself fall into the memories of The Mother in Blue. . .

 V3: Chapter Thirty: Katarina and Garm

    The jagged fingers of the shade came to a shuddering stop just before they dug into my eyes.


    So close that my lashes brushed against their tips when I blinked, I found nothing in its featureless face.


    There were no eyes for me to see the pain it must be in, and there was no mouth for it to scream. It was absence made animate, a vicious void that had come to take whatever it could grasp within its hands.


    It was truly nothing, and I made it even less.


    With the turn of my wrist and the cold force of my will, it shattered into countless shards of broken ice. Pitch black and glittering atop the muddy ground, it joined all the other broken black bodies that lay at my feet.


    I dashed back and took the first small moment of rest I could since the battle had begun.


    Amongst the broken black shade and all those that I had slain before it, I pressed my back against my brother¡¯s and took a much needed breath.


    ¡°There is no joy in this, Kat. There are far too many for us to withstand the rush. Let us be done with this.¡± The giant man said softly over his shoulder. His wild black hair was beginning to fall loose from its knot. Every hard line of his body was slick with sweat and his muscles stood so staunchly against his mud splattered skin that it looked like it was set to split. He had taken off his glasses, which told me all I needed to know about how he intended to end things.


    Garm¡¯s words sounded sour in my ears, but they were not wrong.


    Reality had torn.


    A thin black line had opened from the void and the shades had come pouring out of it like flour from a split bag. We had not arrived to the tear quick enough to close it, and in the time since, we had been overrun by the ruinous invaders. The uncountable bodies that I had brought freezing death to met the shredded shadows of those that Garm had torn apart and formed a black circle around us. As ever more of them spilled from the tear, scraping and clawing mindlessly through the opening, all the colors around us had begun to fade.


    Thousands, thousands of them I had slain and a thousand more would fall by my hand, but I had never seen so many at once.


    The muck and mud underneath our feet was already becoming transparent. It would not be long before the animate voids took the light from the sky and the green from the trees in the distance. The weight of their nothingness would split the tear further then, and leave nothing but collapsing reality in their shadowy wake.


    What Garm intended to do would work, but I could not let it happen.


    ¡°You must close the tear until it can be properly sealed. Do so, then flee. Call for Fus. I shall hold them until he arrives.¡± Garm said, his oxblood power already bristling wildly up his massive arms.


    ¡°You mustn¡¯t. It has not yet been a month since you were able to walk again.¡± I called back to him as the mass of shades began to tighten the circle they had formed around us.


    ¡°And it has only been two for you." He grunted as he swung a vicious strike and destroyed dozens of the mindless shadows in one blow.


    ¡°But I have learned much since then. I will not hurt myself again.¡± I lied. I would get hurt, but my pain was worth Garm keeping his true nature buried deep within himself where it could not reduce the measured balance of his soul.


    He would have argued, and more than likely would have won, if I had given him the chance.


    "Kat." He sighed through another strike, but I could tell by the sound of his voice that he had accepted what I was going to do.


    In the small space between where Garm and I had stood and the circling shades, I brought the tips of my toes across the wet muck and drew a line. It took nothing but that familiar movement, one I had done a thousand times and would do a thousand times more, for me to find balance.


    That balance brought all that I was to my center. I let my power flow from my navel and wash over me with its breathtaking cold.


    With the first crescent draw, I spun and drew a second, connecting them into a perfect circle.


    Garm did not need to call his true name like I did. None of my brothers or sisters required such an embarrassing ritual to become themselves, but it was so much easier for me if I spoke my name aloud.


    "Upon the sign of the moon, I name myself Frostdancer!" I called out, having no time for the shame I usually felt.


    With another turn, my veil of white frost draped down over my face. On the next, my pale blue ice shaped into my dress of crystalline mail and spun around me in a glimmering wave. The final turn of my transformation froze the muck beneath my feet and sent a creeping tide of ice stretching towards the oncoming shades.


    Wherever it touched, whenever it met one of the animate voids, they became still as they were encased by the power of my wintery soul.


    I was almost complete. All of me had almost taken shape, but every warrior needed a weapon and every dancer needed a partner.


    "By my hand, you will meet The Bitter End." I shouted at the soulless black creatures as my spinning came to a graceful stop with my hands held high above my head.


    From my navel, my power spiraled up my arms and coalesced into my rapier of unbreakable ice. With a sudden, sweeping, bow, I brought it down with my right hand and felt the unshakable certainty that always came with its wicked point.


    With my eyes set on the tear, I let my partner lead.


    Without thought, I lunged forward and buried The Bitter End through a shade. My feet slid over the ice underneath them and carried me forward.


    The enemy could not withstand my piercing cold, nothing could.


    When the needle tip of my rapier was buried in the chest of one of the mindless creatures and none of its silver blade could be seen, I leapt. Landing and carving into the ice with the blades of my feet, a hailstorm erupted up from the frozen ground and tore through the shades like a volley of arrows.


    Pitch black bodies falling all around me like shadows in the light of the moon, I kicked off the berm of ice I had formed without the need to know where I was going.


    When my partner needed me to spin, I spun. If it needed me to back step or strafe, I made it so. When the need to press arose, there was nothing that could halt my advance. We were locked in perfect rhythm and we carved through the mass of shades without a missed step.


    In the heart of the dark creatures, I spun forward towards the tear and did what I was meant to do. Freezing the shades that were still clawing their way out of the ragged black line, I sowed reality back together again with nothing but my cold will and threads of pale blue ice.


    My dance was done.


    I knew it would not hold, but there was not a soul in chaos that could have closed it permanently alone.


    What I had done was beautiful, and though Garm had not been standing by idly and observing, he gave me the applause I deserved.


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    The applause came in the way of the vicious impacts he broke the remaining shades apart with. Every red brown strike he threw out from his massive arms turned the animate shadows into black sludge that seeped the color from the muddy ground. In the time it would take me to slay a dozen, he ravaged dozens of them with each wild swing.


    The flood of them stopped with my stitching of the tear, it would not be long before he had ended the rest of them without needing to transform as I had.


    My brother spun on his heels and sent savage claw marks ripping through the diminishing mass. His long black hair had come loose fully and it spun around him like my veil of frost did me. I met his button eyes as his spinning came to a heavy stamping stop.


    They always looked so small without his glasses.


    He raised his fist and shook it once in celebration, and then reality tore again.


    Right behind his back, the vision of the sky and distant trees behind him bulged out and split like an overfilled bubble. A flood of limbs and claws rushed out of the black tear and tore it open wider.


    Before he could react, the shades spilled out and drowned him in their darkness.


    "Garm!" I screamed, desperate for my voice to reach him in the writhing mass.


    My desperation did not come from fear for his safety, he was sturdy and the shades would not be able to devour him quickly enough. The fear I felt came from what I knew the sudden onslaught would lead him to do.


    I felt his power before I saw it.


    Like the ground was splitting beneath my feet, the frozen shades I had left in my wake broke apart into pieces. My balance could not be thrown off while I was my true self, but it was only by sheer force of will that I kept my own tear stitched shut.


    All at once, the mass of pitch black bodies burst up from the ground on towering spines of Garm''s power.


    His ursine helm raised to the sky, a guttural growl echoed out of his maw.


    My brother had shown his true nature, and he would be lost in it soon enough.


    Blinded by the fur that ran back from his helm and wove into his armor, Wildreaver had taken shape and the very land beneath him would pay for that truth.


    More and more of the shades poured through the tear and I was certain that they would never stop.


    Wildreaver brought his savage claws down to the muddy ground with so much force that the enemies that were caught beneath them were crushed before they could be cut.


    His massive shape sunk deeper into the muck and all that he had sent up in the air came back down in thick rain.


    The well spoken, bespectacled, man was gone. The true him, the worst of him, had been brought to bear and he would not stop unless he was stopped.


    He needed help that I could not give him no matter how desperately I wished to.


    Father Fuscus! Please! Garm needs you! I thought with all my might, fully aware of my own inability to give my brother what he needed.


    The shades that slipped through the tear were slain and added to the ruined corpses of the ones that had come before them as soon as they stepped into reality. Higher and higher they piled around him as he tore into the ground with savage snarls.


    In the same way that a tree falling would make anyone stop and watch, my brother''s true nature was strikingly violent.


    Father Fuscus did not answer. He did not burst from the ground and wrestle Garm to the ground. I could hear none of his hammer falls. There was no sign of his gems or stones.


    All that came from my desperate calls was a pure white mist that swept in over the top of the destroyed ground.


    All of my worry and all of my concern washed away as the mist began to settle down over my veil of frost.


    "Caerulus. You have come." I whispered.


    Walking atop the mist was she who had given me everything.


    "He called for me before he embraced his nature. You may release your hold on the tear, my moonbeam. I am here." Caerulus said softly. Her graceful steps atop the white mist came to an end and she became utterly still, like morning dew frozen on the tip of a leafless branch.


    Wildreaver¡¯s rampage carried on beneath her feet, his sightless carnage focused only on what his claws could rend.


    Such blind violence, such savagery, should have never been so close to her. The two sights together were dissonant, conflicting, and wrong.


    Like a new day¡¯s sun had warmed that same icy dewdrop and it had dripped down from the branch and landed on the still pond beneath it, she spun on the tips of her toes and let herself fall through her mist.


    Plummeting down towards Wildreaver in rings and ripples of white, her silver hair streamed up past her face, but her blue skin never met the sullied ground.


    As if reality itself had been created purely to hold her there, she hung weightless in the air with her toes pointed up towards the torn sky. She was like a crescent moon. The only sliver of light in an otherwise pitch black night.


    Wildreaver turned his eyeless ursine mask up to her and drew back his massive claws.


    With one of her perfect hands, she reached out and placed a single finger in the center of his brow.


    The massive man slowed his savage strikes before his arms fell limply to his side.


    She began to sing. There were no words, only a gentle melody of perfect notes that I felt like I had waited all my life to hear.


    As her song filled the shade smattered killing field, the tears began to close. Even beneath my own failing wall of ice, the pawing hands of the shades receded back into the nothingness beyond.


    Wildreaver fell away from Garm and settled into the muddy crater he had wrought in a sheet of dark brown dust. My brother¡¯s eyes were shut as she lay him onto the ground and the celestial vale of her power that covered him healed the wounds his transformation had left him with.


    ¡°You have come.¡± I whispered as I left my icy stitches where they hung over the tear.


    Still hanging in defiance of the natural laws of reality, she stopped her song long enough to speak with me.


    ¡°To me, my moonbeam. There is little time, but I will save you from yourself.¡± She said.


    I broke my hold on my wall of ice and ran towards her as Frostdancer began to fall away from me. The bitter end left with its end buried in the muck, I reached out my hand to join with her perfect blue fingers.


    Before I could touch her, before she could save me from the breaking, I felt myself fall. . .


    I came back to myself with nothing but blue books above me.


    Still in The Well. I told myself, visions of Katarina, Frostdancer, Garm, Wildreaver, the shades, all hanging in my mind like the blurring ends of a dream.


    Caerulus, appearing in every way to be falling, but remaining where she was, could not have been more clear. Her shape, color, and song, all of it avoided the blur for a moment longer than everything else did.


    I had heard her song before, several times in several different arrangements, whenever the singing stairs song found their way under my boots.


    Climbing to my feet, I searched for the thing, but saw no sign of it.


    ¡°Thank you! I am sorry about earlier,¡± I called out to it. ¡°I would like to be friends!¡±


    There was too much in my mind for me to wait around and be disappointed by the lack of response.


    I took two long skipping steps and lunged forward with an imaginary sword in a pale imitation of how it had felt to be Frostdancer. One, two, three times, I thrust my make believe Bitter End through the nonexistent shades and laughed at the power I had felt in her memory.


    When my dance was done, I swung my arms down the aisle like I was Wildreaver. What it would be like to be able to crush and tear anything that stood in my way.


    What would it be like to lose my senses and be little more than a beast?


    I knew the answer to that. There had been no pretty armor or dangerous weapons, but it had happened to me a time or two.


    My wild strikes brought me to the end of the shelves that surrounded me. When I turned around to continue my rampage, a realization struck me.


    Wildreaver, Garm, had been a sorcerer.


    Katarina had been fighting alongside a sorcerer; she had thought of him as her brother.


    ¡°I must tell Anna.¡± I said under my breath. There was too much I would forget if I did not leave The Well and tell her.


    Leaving The Well had never been easy for me. I had been crushed, dragged into memories, fallen from great heights, and gently fallen asleep.


    The icy blue of Katarina¡¯s book laying open where it must have fallen from my hands made it even more difficult.


    ¡°I am supposed to view three memories. I shouldn¡¯t disobey my coach should I?¡± I asked aloud as I skipped over to it and sat down cross legged before carefully pulling it into my lap.


    I wanted to feel like Frostdancer again. I wanted to know more about The Mother in Blue.


    I would remember what I had seen already, how could I ever forget?


    With the book laying open in my lap


    As carefully as I could, I opened the book to its final page.


    There was no black letter or cross mark to stain the last of the empty white pages. From my admittedly limited understanding, that meant two things.


    Katarina was still alive, and there would be no skeletal horrors waiting for me in her memories.


    "Thank you," I called out to the thing. "Again! This is very helpful.


    Pleased with my good fortune, I placed my hand and the last page of The Mother in Blue''s book and felt myself fall back into her.

 V3: Chapter Thirty One: Katarina and the Nothing Lie

    Nothing.


    I could see nothing.


    My eyes had been closed for so long that I had begun to doubt that I had ever truly seen anything at all. My children, my boys, I could remember how each of their perfect faces had looked before life had turned them into men, but it had been so long ago that the memories felt akin to a dream.


    Dreams were only real in the darkness of the mind.


    I could not reminisce about how they had once been. I had to remember them as they were, lest they become dreams themselves.


    Nothing.


    There had been sound in the beginning, but once it had faded, nothing had taken its place.


    It had been so long since I had heard anything but my own thoughts, that I could no longer remember what a song sounded like. Before, I had loved music. More nights of my life than not, I had spent dancing or being sung to sleep. After, all that was left was a deafening silence.


    There was no rhythm or melody to take me, no lullaby to bring me peace.


    I could not think about the cold quiet for long, lest my thoughts join with it and the little I had became nothing.


    Nothing.


    I could feel nothing.


    My body had been held frozen for so long, that I was sure I had turned to stone. If I had not, then I had nobody at all. I was nowhere and had no way of knowing if I would ever be somewhere again. Numbness was all there was and I only knew I was numb from the memories of being able to feel.


    Memories of nursing my children, carrying them on my hips, picking them up when they had fallen, all nearing the point of becoming dreams.


    I could not let them fade. I needed to remember them as they were. I needed to let them hurt me the way they should.


    The thought I could feel nothing, was a lie.


    It was a lie I told to shield myself from the pain of what I could feel because feeling nothing was favorable compared to the pain of the mortal wound in my broken soul.


    I let the ache and longing for my long grown boys bring the loneliness I felt to my mind.


    A memory of Caerulus¡¯s song, the sleepy lullaby she had written just for me, rang in my ears and I accepted how terribly I wished to hear it again.


    Alexei, Radomir, Jaka. I thought about each of them as they had been the last time I had been with them. My eldest, so little of the brash child he had been left in his one white eye. My middle child, torn between his brothers and content to hide away in his studies.


    My youngest, my baby boy, the one who would have turned my hair white if it had not already been. . .


    Gone.


    I did not want to see anything. I did not want to hear anything. I did not want to feel anything.


    So, I told myself the nothing lie once again and hoped that I would be stronger the next time I began to dream.


    Nothing. . .


    The pitter-patter of my tears falling onto the final page of Katarina''s book was all that let me know I had come back to myself. It took me a long time to remember that I had eyes to open and a body to move. When that knowledge returned to my numbed mind, I carefully placed the book on the floor in front of me and laid down on my side. Nothing had happened in the second memory, but the way she had been hurt.


    I felt her hurt and I hurt for her. Whatever had happened to her, wherever The Mother in Blue truly was, death seemed like a better fate.


    My tears ran out eventually and for a brief moment, I considered trying to leave. I had not yet viewed a third memory, but Anna would be all too excited with what I had seen to care.


    I took a deep breath and reached my hand out to flip to an earlier page in the book.


    "One more." I sighed as I fell into Katarina once again.


    After waiting patiently for my son to do what I had asked him to, he did not.


    If it had been his younger brother, It would have taken me aback. The shock of his unusual disobedience would have forced me off the sun warmed blanket I rested atop and sent me to check his temperature with the back of my hand.


    If it had been his youngest brother, I would have wondered why it had taken until well after noon to defy me.


    ¡°Why do we not have a father?¡± Alexei asked in the straightforward way that he was incapable of speaking without.


    I turned to him and hid my disappointment that he had still not . ¡°Is your question a distraction from our work or are you truly curious?¡±


    ¡°I want to know.¡± He insisted as he looked down at a lone dandelion that had dared to poke its head above the grass.


    He kicked it into a puff of white cotton and the gentle breeze carried the bloomless florets down towards the woods that led back to Lun. The deep scowl on his face was far too serious for his innocence. He was truly troubled by what he had asked me. Fortunately, I was his mother, and I would not leave him to be carried off by the wind like the disturbed dandelion.


    ¡°I am great, my little moon, but not that great. Of course you and your brothers have a father.¡± I answered him.


    ¡°Then where is he? Ferik and Lom¡¯s father is the captain of the town guards. Heath could not come to the Knight¡¯s ball because he was going to some big market on the coast with his father. Is he evil like Jasna¡¯s? Is that why he is not around?¡± Alexei said, his voice cracking as his volume rose.


    His white irises gave way to his beautiful blue as he ranted and I found a way to solve both of his issues at once.


    ¡°You are much too young to worry about those things. We will wait until Jaka is old enough to understand and then I will tell all of you.¡± I said dismissively as I laid back on the blanket and enjoyed the wonderful spring day.


    Terribly fast and totally silent, he loomed over me not a moment later with true anger shining blue in his eyes.


    ¡°I know what you are trying to do,¡± He growled. ¡°Just tell me. I don¡¯t even know his name.¡±


    ¡°Let it out, Alexei. Then we will talk.¡±


    A tear spilled from the corner of his eyes and ran down his cheek. And he spoke with an honesty that most boys lose once they become men. ¡°I¡¯m scared. I don¡¯t want to be sad again. I hate it.¡±


    I sat up and wiped the tear away gently with my thumb. ¡°Do not hate it, my little moon. It is a part of you. You must not attempt to bury it so.¡±


    It was not fair that what cursed him was the same power that was a blessing to me, but it could not be helped. My place as his mother was to show him how to cope with what was, not wishing for what could not be.


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    He was close. I could see it on his face. All he needed was for me to give him another little push.


    ¡°If you can cut them all down before I count to one hundred, I will invite Jasna to stay for dinner. You would like that, yes? I see the way you look at her.¡± I said with a wry smile.


    In my long life, I had never found a better way to embarrass a boy than to mention the name of who he liked and bring attention to the fact that he liked her.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like her!¡± He huffed as he turned away from me and stomped off towards the small army I had set up for him.


    I stood and followed, but stayed far enough away to give him his space.


    Haymen, little more than sacks stuffed with straw in the shape of a person, littered the hillside and the valley below. It had taken the town guards all night to set them up, and I was glad that they were not there to see how quickly they would be knocked down.


    The aura that jetted back from my eldest son¡¯s right hand was a much darker shade of blue than my own. When I saw it flatten the grass underneath his left foot, I knew my push had been just the right amount.


    I supposed that most parents thought the same of their own children, but all three of my sons were special. Radomir¡¯s mind was as brilliant as he was timid. Jaka was. . . I had never truly found the right words, but there was not a soul in all of chaos that was like him.


    Alexei was many things, but what was most remarkable in matters of his aura, was his speed.


    My little moon had inherited my balance. When he lowered himself into a starting stance, it brought a smile to my face because I doubted that even I could have been so graceful.


    ¡°One!¡± I called out to him and began my counting.


    Before I could bring my tongue to the roof of my mouth to call out the number two, he was gone.


    All my eyes could see was a blue blur tearing down the grassy hill and the destruction that was left behind it. Clouds of hay, torn fabric, and splinters of wooden stakes were thrown into the air like they were being assaulted with cannon fire. In one deadly sprint, he tore down the hillside before splitting along its bottom and unmaking any of the hayman that crossed his path.


    I never started counting again. There was no doubt in my mind that he would leave the hillside in ruin without needing half the time I had offered.


    Besides, I had already asked Jasna to stay and eat with us. After all she had been through, I did not mind playing the role of her mother while she found her footing.


    I would not tell Alexei that. He would actually deem it worthy to bathe if the girl he liked would be sitting next to him at the dinner table. Thinking that his efforts had made it so, he might even brush his hair.


    The light of his aura began to fade the moment after he had torn apart the last of his straw enemies. Down the grassy hillside, through the scattered remnants of the haymen, and over the banks of his blue dust that glittered in the afternoon sun, I went to him.


    "Did I," His back was turned to me, but I could tell by his stifle that he was weeping. "Do it in time?"


    "You could have defeated twice as many and still had a moment to catch your breath." I said softly as I approached him. The last of his power still circled his wrist and ankle. He would need another push to let go of his sorrow. Once one took on that weight, it became nearly impossible for them to cast it off.


    I knew that better than anyone.


    "How many did I? He asked as he wiped his nose on his sleeve.


    "An even three hundred. Twice as many as last time," I lied. It had only been two hundred and fifty, but that difference would mean more to him than the truth would. "What is troubling you, my little moon. You can tell me."


    He sniffled again. "It''s just that she spends so much time with Rado and Jaka. What if she likes them more than she likes me?"


    I laughed, but took special care to not make it sound like it was at his expense. "She is their babysitter. She spends time with them so I can spend time with you. There is nothing to worry about. Your brothers are much too young to challenge you in that way."


    I gave him a moment to think before I pushed him again.


    "Your father is a swordsman." I began as I sat down in the tall grass behind him.


    With a final wipe of his nose and one last sniff, the aura around him fell away and he turned around to face me. Gone was the blue in his eyes, and with his irises white once again, he looked all too much like the man who had helped me make him.


    "I am going to marry her. When I get older and become your knight, I am going to marry her and we are going to have three sons like you. Except, I''m going to be around like Heath''s father." Alexei said, his voice hard and full of certainty.


    I believed him. Afterglow or not, my eldest son did not have a habit of lying the way my youngest did.


    I believed him, and that was what made what I had to tell him so difficult.


    "Sit, please," I asked him as I patted the grass beside me. He listened and I continued. "You could marry her, if that is what she wants, but you will not be allowed to have children."


    "Why? You are The Mother in Blue. If you say I can, who is going to say no?" He snapped, as if he had spent all of his thirteen years of life thinking about becoming a father.


    I hid the weight that had settled over me with a laugh. "Jasna might."


    "Not if I''m your knight. Not if I can protect her." He insisted.


    Truly, I loved how certain he became during his afterglows. They were a far cry from the pain of my own.


    "So, you do like her then?" I asked.


    He shook his head violently at my words. "Why won''t you let me be a father?"


    "It is not I, my little moon," I sighed. "There are some things beyond me. There are some things beyond all of The Mothers. Both of you have power. It is forbidden for a sorcerer, which you are by definition, and a sorceress to conceive a child. That very reason is why I had to travel so far to find your father."


    "Who says?" Alexei asked, staring into my eyes with intense curiosity.


    Before I could find the right words to knit together into a lie he would believe, lost in the long dormant feelings that my son''s questions had brought back to life within me, his focused white eyes fell out of my sight.


    The afternoon sun darkened, and all the towering evergreens at the base of the hill vanished. Before I could speak again, darkness took me and I felt myself fall. . .


    The low rumble of my familiar''s deep voice met my ears as I came back to myself in full. ¡°What is your name?¡±


    ¡°Autumn Aubrey!¡± I shouted as I threw myself out of the once warm bathwater.


    "Who is Autumn Aubrey?"


    All of me was shriveled and shivering. I answered through my chattering teeth as I wrapped myself in every towel that was in the bathroom of Anna and I''s quarters.


    "Who was Autumn Aubrey?" Sam asked his final question.


    "Katarina," I began as I threw a towel over my head and rubbed my hair dry. "Kat. Frostdancer. The Mother in Blue. Alexei, Radomir, and Jaka''s mother."


    I continued as I dried off, telling my familiar everything I could remember as fast as I could. My body was sore and heavy, I was beyond tired and I knew the memory of the memories would fade much too quickly. As long as I could get it from my lips to his furry ears, it would not be forgotten.


    The sound of the bathroom door opening came just as I finished drying my hair.


    Anna.


    "I am unsure if you are aware how amazing I am," I said and threw the used towel down onto the stone floor. It felt like it had been a long time since I had returned with The Well with anything useful, and I was going to enjoy telling Anna all about it. "but you are about to."


    When I turned around to look at her, she was not there. The door was wide open and she was not there.


    "Anna?" I said aloud, looking all around the bathroom for any sign of her.


    Sam was gone.


    Anna was not there, the door was wide open, and Sam was gone.


    "Sam?" I called for my familiar as I left the bathroom and found the door to our quarters open as well.


    I stuck my head through the door just in time to see the blue fur of his tail disappear around the corner at the end of the hall.


    "Stupid cat." I said through a terrible yawn that brought me onto the tips of my toes. He was probably off to commit some violent act upon whatever creature he could sink his claws into first.


    I shut the door and locked it before turning around and finding where Anna actually was.


    One of her legs dangled off her side of the bed. All of the lights were still on. Three empty bottles of wine sat empty on the floor next to her, her foot resting atop one of them. The bed was still made and a book lay open over her face. So soft that if I had not heard it before, I would have thought I imagined it, the rise and falling sound of her snoring escaped through the pages against her face.


    Anna never fell asleep before I did.


    The rarest of opportunities had fallen right into my lap.


    I got the chance to take care of her.


    As gently as I could, I brought her leg to the top of the bed where it belonged and moved all three empty bottles to where they could not be knocked over. With my breath held, I took the book from her face and carefully placed it face down by the fireplace so she would not lose her place.


    The lights were the last to go and I had nearly completed my quiet caring when I stepped onto the cast off dress I had worn early that day.


    It slipped under my feet and I felt myself falling towards the floor in the darkness.


    By some stroke of sheer luck however, I found my balance before I could crash to the floor and get hurt or make a sound.


    She had not woken. My opportunity had not been squandered.


    I crawled into bed next to her with a smile on my face, knowing that I had done for her what she would have done for me and that her morning would begin with very good news.

 V3: Chapter Thirty Two: Push

    My first day as a new moon of Lun Arcancil had gone better than expected.


    Achieving that had not been a particularly difficult pursuit. It came down to the fact that I had not run away with tears streaming from my eyes or thrown a tantrum that ended with someone getting hurt.


    Precept Seram had taught me more about using my aura in a single class than I had ever been able to learn through The Well, on my own, or with Coach Anna.


    After putting Anna to bed properly, I had fallen asleep with visions of what I would accomplish in my second class. I had dreamed of the little metal square succumbing to my will and sliding smoothly to the line of my teacher¡¯s power. That simple dream had bloomed into a fantasy of hundreds of the weights circling around me under my complete control. I had worn white gloves like Seram, there had been no silk in sight, and Tana had been standing in front of me with her jaw dropped.


    If only that dream had found a way out of the darkness of my mind.


    My second Implementation class had not gone nearly as well as the first.


    It had not gone at all.


    Anna had fallen asleep before me because she had been waiting up for me all night. Not an hour after I had fallen asleep, she had woken me up to get ready to start the day that had crept up on me without my knowing.


    She had dressed me in my horrid uniform and pinched me on the back of my arm until I had been briefly awake enough to put on my glamour of Underwitch Ire. I had been so out of it, that Alexei had walked me all the way to Seram¡¯s class room before I truly realized I was no longer dreaming.


    Before I had been able to hang my cloak or pull off the silk dress of my uniform, I had leaned my back against the wall of my place and fallen back to sleep.


    It had taken far more than Precept Seram¡¯s voice calling down to me from her bubble to get me to open my eyes again. She had come and taken me to my place in the covery and encouraged me to rest as long as I needed to.


    My curtained off section of the blue room had been too much for me to overcome. There had been a padded table like what had been in the tent during the trial, but it had been pulled high with blankets and pillows that were cool to the touch. In the dim light, I had taken the bottles of wine and hairbrush from the table and placed them on the floor before crawling up and laying down.


    Sleep had taken me before I could cover myself with one of the blue blankets.


    I did not wake until Alexei had come and told me it was time to return to my quarters. The night sky outside the windows we passed as my guard led me back to my room had told me just how long I had been asleep.


    Somewhere in my sleep-addled mind, I had known just how many more questions I had for the white haired man, but I could not bring myself to care.


    All of me had felt much more tired than I should have. There had been countless nights that Anna and I had stayed up until the sky began to brighten. When we had lived at the manor, I had watched the sun come up from my perch atop the roof almost every morning. It could have been due to The Well or all my attempts with the weight the day before, but I had spent much more time in my mind and done far more with my power before and had not been half as tired.


    I had thought that it might have been because of the little sleep I had gotten. If I had been starving and someone gave me a single bite of food, it would have done nothing but make me even hungrier.


    Anna had met me at the door, and had done nothing to stop me when I threw off my uniform and crawled straight into bed.


    She had offered me dinner, but I had been too sleepy to eat. I had told her that I had many things to tell her, but that it would have to wait until the next day, and she had understood.


    Then, I had fallen asleep for the last time that day with her reading quietly beside me.


    My first day had gone surprising well.


    My second day might as well have not happened.


    When my third came, I had been lying in wait for hours to take it by its throat. Anna had barely managed to open her eyes before I had kissed her good morning and goodbye in one fell swoop.


    Alexei had been waiting for me as he always was, but when he had asked me why I was up so early, I could not help but see him as he had been with Katarina. When I had learned that my guard was the son of The Mother in Blue, it had not crossed my mind that he would have power.


    I had never seen him use it with my own eyes, but his ability to suddenly appear out of thin air and hear things that should have been much too quiet made a little more sense. Despite what Katarina had said to him in her memory, I had been unable to think of him as a sorcerer.


    Sorcerers were evil. They lied about what they wanted and tried to take it as soon as someone dropped their guard. Alexei was a lot of things, most of them scary or intimidating, but he was not evil.


    But, he was in love.


    There was a black haired precept that wore feathers within her downy waves and he wanted to marry her.


    Or, there had been a time that he had wanted to.


    I did not know. She had seen my true face after I had slain the arrogant tree. He had asked her to escort me to my quarters when the storm had ended the new moon ball early. There was obvious trust between them, but they did not seem to be together. Not in the way Anna and I were, at least.


    Still, I had not been able to help the wondering that had filled my mind on our way to the classroom. What I had then known to be Caerulus''s lullaby had rang in my ears as we climbed the singing stairs and I imagined Alexei and Jasna together.


    Did they sleep together like Anna and I did? Which one of them needed the other to calm their nerves and cast out their fears? Did she know how much the white haired man missed his mother?


    There had been no answers for me to find, but it had taken far longer for me to push the questions out of my mind than it should have.


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    Precept Seram had already been floating within her bubble, her hands and feet pressed against the faintly blue surface, when I entered her classroom. I had closed the clean white curtain of my place behind myself and hung the unwanted parts of my uniform on the silver hooks before the thoughts of my guard''s love life had finally quieted.


    The sight of the square weight had taken all of my attention as I pooled my aura within myself and raised my left hand towards it.


    I was too well rested, too prepared.


    I had thought about it, dreamed about it, far too much.


    With all that I was focused on the side of the weight that faced me, I had slowly brought my will against it.


    The weight had begun to slide towards the pastel blue line at the back of the wooden table.


    "Yes!" I had shouted in excitement and lost control.


    That was when the weight had promptly thrown itself into the stone wall behind the table with so much force that only one of its corners could be seen.


    After a long moment of my stunned silence, Precept Seram had spoken.


    "It is good to see you with your eyes open, Underwitch Ire. If you are not sleeping well in your quarters, please let me know and we will make other arrangements. I see we have made some progress?" The bubbly sorceress called down to me from the little bubble that hung above my head.


    "I didn''t do that," I said in denial as I shook my head. "I scared it when I came in and the poor thing hurt itself trying to run away."


    Precept Seram''s light laugh floated down from the ceiling as the weight shook within its partial tomb. Her pastel blue power began to glow around the exposed metal before it tore back out of the stone and settled back onto the table neatly.


    "Explain to me what happened. It is not in pieces and it moved in the direction you have been tasked with moving it. You are very close, Underwitch Ire. I will help you find the next step." She said from her bubble once again.


    I had enjoyed her teaching far more when she had actually been behind me, but I felt like what she said was true.


    "I started to move, but I got too excited and kind of lost control." I answered, feeling my shoulders slump as I spoke. I knew I could try again, but I had been so certain I would stride into the classroom and complete my first assignment with no trouble at all that I could not help but be disappointed.


    "I see. The larger the bubble, the more likely it is to burst." Precept Seram said.


    "No," I shook my head in confusion. "I didn''t make a bubble."


    She laughed again. "It is a metaphor, Underwitch Ire. Which is precisely what I believe you need. Understanding your power and all that comes with it is a life long pursuit. With the sheer amount of aura you seem to have, control will take time. In the interest of your progression through your tasks, there is a practice you may implement to assist your implementation."


    Sorceresses lived for a very long time. Easy sounded much better than taking on that indefinite pursuit.


    "Take a moment and think of your life and what you have been through. Find a memory that you can picture clearly. It does not have to be being pushed or pushing something exactly, all that matters is that you feel a connection between what you are envisioning and the working you are trying to perform. Let me know when you have something in mind." My teacher told me.


    I did as I was told.


    She had said it did not need to be exact, but the first memory that came to mind was one of my uncountable games of points with Arthur. I had not actually been pushing him, but the aggressive series of strikes I had aimed at his chest had driven him back towards the front doors of the manor.


    I shook off the small sadness that came from missing the tall man and squared myself with the table once again. I could think about him later, when I would be able to ask Anna if he had been in touch with her or her mother.


    "I have it." I said as I let my power build against my upraised palm and kept Arthur in my mind. We had eaten dinner not long before our game. It had only been a day or two before he had left for Rhiannon''s mansion, and I had known I would not see him for some time. We had played long after Anna and my mother went to bed, but I had never found the words to tell him goodbye.


    "Root your intentions in the memory, if you can hold it in your mind as you perform your working, it will shield you from distractions or sudden changes in emotion," Seram explained through her bubble. "For example, there is a very powerful sorceress that I once knew that needed to draw a circle around herself before she could truly use her power. The circle itself did nothing, but by feeling like she was contained within it, she could find her balance and let go of all that distracted from her goal."


    I thought about the weight atop the table, the line, and my pointed fingers jabbing towards Arthur. With the memory held in my mind, I attempted to complete my assignment once again.


    The metal square did not burst into pieces.


    It did not fly off the table and bury itself into the broken stone of the wall like it had earlier that morning.


    Like it was being pawed around by a bored Samsara, it lurched towards the line before jerking to the right. A final sudden movement sent it spinning off the left side of the table where it knocked against the floor with a metallic clink.


    "Ahhh." I growled in frustration as I released my working and felt the small loss it had taken from me mix with my disappointment.


    "You are nearly there, Underwitch Ire. I have been doing this for a long time. I know this. What you have just done will bring you success, I am sure of it. Think of a different memory. One that is more constant and gradual than what you selected the first time." Precept Seram said as she brought the weight back to the table with nothing but her aura.


    "No," I muttered as my stomach gave an empty growl. The afterglow was slight, but the amount of time it had been since my last meal felt like a true tragedy. "I don''t want to. I''m hungry."


    Precept Seram''s voice became even softer than it usually was. "Once more, with a more fitting memory, and then you will be able to eat whatever and however much you wish. Agreed?"


    "Fine." I sighed, somewhat wishing I would have argued against it, but I had a bad habit of being persuaded easily by beautiful women.


    "Spotless. Remember, constant. We are looking for something that flows and runs, not something sudden." She said happily as I brought my hand up once again.


    The new memory came to me without much thought. It had not been that long ago and something I knew I would never forget.


    Weight, line, memory, I channeled my azure aura and thought about the metal square being carried along by the frigid waters of The River Eae. Not the bitter deeps or the waters beyond them, I thought about the shallows that the little silver moon on my necklace had been hanging over.


    The weight moved.


    It did not jerk or lurch, there was no shaking or breaking, it slid across the table gently and made its way towards the pastel line in an orderly line.


    "Yes!" I shouted, unable to stop the excited word from slipping out of my mouth.


    The weight began to move faster, but unlike before, I knew what to do.


    I remembered the cold water trickling over the river stones above the violent rapids where I had become a new moon and kept control of my working.


    And just like that, the weight met my teachers line and my first assignment as an underwitch was complete.


    "Well done, Underwitch Ire! There is another new moon outside the classroom that means to go to the dining hall. I have asked her to wait for you. Go celebrate your success, you have earned it." Precept Seram cheered as I took a breath through the loss that came from my victory.


    "Thank you!" I shouted through a sudden sob as I threw the white curtain of my place open and made for the door.


    I had never been one to celebrate quietly, and if my teacher had not called me back, I was fairly certain I would have ran all the way to wherever the dining hall was.


    "Wait, Underwitch Ire. You must put on your uniform." She reminded me.


    I groaned in displeasure.


    What difference did it truly make if I was wearing the dress or not?


    Still, I did as I was told because without her pleasant and patient instruction, I would have never achieved the impossible task of pushing the weight.

 V3: Chapter Thirty Three: Pull

    Sam threw his big blue body into my legs and knocked me straight back to the hard stone floor.


    I would have normally gotten mad at him and called him a stupid cat. He would have had to sit silently as I lashed out about how he was bound to protect me, not be the thing I needed protection from.


    I would have, if the metal weight I had been trying to pull gently across the table in front of me had not decided to play the part of an errant arrow. My familiar would have been in for a serious scolding if my assignment had not quickly turned to mortal danger.


    Throwing myself flat on my back at the sight of it rushing towards me, it hit the white curtain behind me and did not slow.


    Through the blown open fabric, I saw Precept Seram floating upside down in her bubble.


    The transparent surface turned pastel blue under her palm the same moment that my runaway weight struck her enclosure.


    The weight stopped dead.


    The bubble did not pop.


    A ring of blue power spread out from the impact.


    It rippled back across the shape of my teacher¡¯s working before collapsing down the curve of its far side and bouncing back up once again.


    I rolled onto my stomach and turned Precept Seram right side up again.


    If she had not caught the weight, I would have gone from being her student to being the stupid underwitch that had lost control. I would have broken her head like I had done the wall of my place the day before. I would have hurt her.


    Stay calm. I said to myself, remembering Anna and I¡¯s agreements. It had been an accident. She had not been struck. I was fortunate that she was there or it would have gone tearing through the white curtains on the other side of the room. There is no use in letting yourself spiral into things that did not happen.


    Truth. The Autumn I liked agreed.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Precept Seram, I didn¡¯t mean to.¡± I said up to her bubble, my voice quavering weakly with the embarrassment I felt.


    With patience and kindness beyond what I deserved, Precept Seram spoke through the small bubble at the top of my place. ¡°Do not apologize, Underwitch Ire. I have spent much of my life protecting myself from inexperienced Underwitches. I am grateful that Master Samsara was here to keep the wind from being driven from your lungs. Perhaps choose a memory of something you desire less than the one you have chosen. Whatever you felt was much too strong for something this small.¡±


    In hindsight, I should have known that thinking of Anna might have given me a bit too much inspiration.


    It had not been a particular memory, but it had been built by them. All of the moments that we had been close, all the times we had come close to being closer, and all the times I had felt myself wanting to be but not knowing how, I had thought of them all.


    Pulling was much easier for me than pushing had been. It was all too easy to think of why I wanted something.


    Apparently, I wanted Anna so badly that I was willing to maim my teacher in the name of desire.


    Somewhere deep inside me, that realization brought a pleasant feeling of weakness because I knew I was powerless to resist it. If we had still been at the manor, finding the courage and time to approach her would have been less of an issue. But since I had come to the frigid halls of Lun Arcanicil and defied The Mothers by simply not failing, there were too many threads for me to pull up.


    Precept Seram returned the weight to my place and sat it neatly on the table with nothing but her power.


    ¡°You may attempt again whenever you are ready, Underwitch Ire.¡± Precept Seram¡¯s voice called down to me as the white curtain behind me slid closed.


    Sam sat underneath the table, his deep blue eyes staring at me with obvious distaste.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I sighed as I climbed to my feet and tried to rub the sore feeling from my tailbone. ¡°You knew I was going to hurt myself didn¡¯t you? That¡¯s why you came today?¡±


    ¡°No. As useful as it would be. I am not omniscient.¡± My familiar said in his low pitched voice with absolutely no expression.


    I already had one person in my life that tried their best to seem emotionless. The loss and afterglow from my failed working turned towards my annoyingly impassive familiar.


    ¡°Then why are you here? We both know you don¡¯t want to be around me.¡± I said through a sigh and closed my eyes.


    A low growl rose from him before he answered. ¡°You are too childish to understand this, but I have a vested interest in your development. This life would be much more tolerable if you were not so helpless.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t being any more mean than he usually was, but I was much more sensitive when I was still recovering from a working.


    ¡°Ah, so that¡¯s it then. You came to make sure I was becoming less useless so your terribly difficult life can be less miserable?¡± I asked, trying with all that I was to not give into sorrow and cry.


    ¡°No.¡± The big blue cat answered simply.


    My eyes still closed, I spoke quietly. ¡°Is it truly that bad for you, being with me? I don¡¯t ask you for much and the things you do have to do, I don¡¯t even ask you for. I¡¯m not as needy as I used to be. You ran off the other night before I finished answering your third question.¡±


    ¡°Do not speak of that here. We are not alone.¡± Sam growled, the table above him shaking from the reverberation.


    ¡°I will excuse myself if it is necessary, Master Samsara.¡± Precept Seram¡¯s bright voice washed down from her little bubble.


    How could she hold her workings as long as she did? She never sounded sad or tired like I did. I did not care how many different ways I moved the weight, I knew that I would never be able to do anything like she did.


    ¡°Complete this task and I will tell you why I have come, my lady.¡± Sam growled again.


    I opened my eyes and glared down at him as my afterglow began to fade from sadness to anger. ¡°I¡¯m not dumb. I know you are only calling me that so I will do what you want.¡±


    ¡°Cling to what you believe to be knowledge if that is what brings you comfort. I no longer care to tell you what I have to tell.¡± My familiar said as he stood and made his way past me.


    ¡°No, wait,¡± I called after him with my head hung in defeat. ¡°This will not take long. I want to know.¡±


    He turned around and sat back down just inside the white curtain. ¡°If you succeed on your next attempt, we will speak. If not, I will hunt.¡±


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    ¡°That¡¯s not fair! You said we would talk when I completed it, not that I had to complete it now.¡± I said, my anger growing warm on my face.


    All I received was his blank stare and infuriating silence.


    I put my hands on my hips and glared back down at him. ¡°You do know that I could just command you to tell me, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°You could, but you will not. You care far too much about what I think of you to bend me to your will for something such as this.¡± Sam said simply.


    Precept Seram¡¯s lighthearted laugh sounded suddenly from her bubble before stopping just as quickly as it had started. ¡°My apologies to the both of you. I do not mean to eavesdrop. Familiars are so fascinating, I could not help myself.¡±


    ¡°Are they all this difficult? I need help with mine, I think he is broken.¡± I called up to her as I turned back to the table.


    Precept Seram laughed again in answer.


    Sam was right. I hated him for it, but he was right. The only times I had ever given him a command had been when I felt like I had no other option or was too emotional to understand what I was doing. If I hated some of The Mothers for punishing me for something I could not remember, I would earn the same ire from my familiar if I made a habit of ordering him around.


    As difficult as he could be, I was fairly certain that the big blue cat and whoever he had been before had not asked to be bound to my will.


    ¡°I am trying again.¡± I announced as I raised my left hand towards the little metal square.


    Just as I had done before I had almost beheaded my teacher, I let Anna come to the front of my mind. I did not have to bring her there like The River Eae or what I intended to do. She was the thought that all my other thoughts had to compete against.


    Unlike before, I kept my focus far away from anything specific. All the details were what had caused me to lose control before. I could not think about how the hem of her shirt would ride up her stomach when she laid down on the bed or the way her long black hair draped down her bare back when she was getting dressed.


    I could not think about how she made me feel either, those were much more powerful thoughts than the things about her that attracted me. If I let myself weave my working with the feelings of acceptance and love that only she gave me, not even Sam could save me from what it would bring.


    So, I kept her as blurry as I could in my mind. With only her shape and color in my focus, I brought my aura to the channel in my left palm and wished for her to come closer. Not so I could throw my arms around her or kiss her, just closer.


    I pulled the metal square into motion and felt its heaviness resist my will.


    I let my vision of Anna become clearer. I imagined taking her fingers in my own and gently pulling her towards me.


    The weight slid across the smooth wood towards the blue line that shone at the front edge of the table.


    The thought of her laughing with her eyes closed and her nose scrunched as we came to together appeared in the blur.


    As my heart began to thump harder in my chest, the weight began to speed in turn.


    Just before it rushed past the line, I released my working and dropped my hand.


    If I had not, it would have gone the way of the first and I doubted Sam would protect me a second time.


    But, I did, it did not, and he did not need to.


    The little metal square slowed to a stop, the side that faced me ending up even with the back of Precept Seram¡¯s line.


    ¡°Well done, Underwitch Ire!¡± My teacher congratulated me.


    ¡°Well done indeed.¡± Sam agreed, his voice coming in stark contrast to Precept Seram¡¯s cheery tone.


    A small smile stretched across my face as I took my vial necklace into my hand in anticipation of the aftermath of my success.


    Completing my second assignment did not feel half as good as my first had. It had been too easy. There had been far less of a struggle for me to do what I had been tasked with doing.


    It had not taken much of me to accomplish it, and I was either growing used to the little sorrowful spells or they were not as strong as they had been at first. I still felt sad and cold, but the feelings that were not mine passed much quicker than they had in the days before.


    Still, I kept the edges of the silver moon charm dug into my palm until well after it had passed. The necklace was not just a touchstone to guide me through the wash of my afterglows, it was a physical reminder of all that I had overcome.


    I was never supposed to be a new moon. The trial was meant to be my only experience at Lun Arcanicil. If things had gone the way they were intended to go, I would be hidden away somewhere inside Azza¡¯s domain. I would likely never know anything resembling freedom again and my memories of it would fade with time.


    Clutching that little moon was that I needed to remember that I had defied the impossible. With nothing but my will, I had become a new moon and I was learning


    Pushing and pulling a weight under the constant encouragement of one of the nicest souls I had ever met was a far cry away from drowning a new sun or bringing another sorceress¡¯s body back from being nearly burnt to ash, but it was a something.


    In the short part of my life that I could remember, there had been precious few of those.


    ¡°If you would like to take a moment to speak with Master Samsara, now is the time. Perhaps you should eat as well, your assignments will only get harder from here. Another Underwitch is heading towards the dining hall, I will ask her to wait for you.¡± Precept Seram called down to me.


    ¡°You said the same thing yesterday, but no one was out there.¡± I called back as I pulled the wretched silk dress from its hook and pulled it back on over my tights


    The bubble above me floated out of my place as I fastened my cloak back around my neck and parted the white curtain to leave.


    ¡°She is waiting for you. I am sure of it. Though you all are learning independently now, you will soon be working together. Her name is Underwitch Plia, you should introduce yourself.¡± Precept Seram assured me as her little bubble rejoined with the big one that hung around the pink haired sorceress.


    A nervous buzz filled my belly as I left the class room, but I did as I was told.


    Alexei stood by the door as he always did. Sam walked beside me and Underwitch Plia was indeed waiting for me outside the door of the covery.


    She was a half a head shorter than me at least. It was hard to tell because of her uniform but she looked to be much thinner as well. Her hair was thin, short, and blonde, and she was starting down at the laces of her black boots.


    I had not known her name before, but I recognized her as the maiden that had passed the trial before Reese and I had.


    If it had not been for Alexei standing by the door when I had come through it, I would have slipped and introduced myself with my real name.


    "Hello, I''m Underwitch Ire," I said with my hands held behind my back and a small bow. "And this is Samsara. Precept Seram said your name is Underwitch Plia?"


    "Yes. Uhm, I have to go." The short girl muttered as she turned away from me.


    "Hey, wait! I''m pretty hungry, do you want to have lunch together?" I asked nervously as I reached out and took her by her wrist gently.


    She shouted and shrank away from me like I had been trying to set her cloak on fire. Her eyes met mine and I found genuine fear within them.


    "I didn''t mean to scare you." I said gently as I let her go.


    Without a word, she turned away from me and almost ran down the hall. In a matter of moments, she turned the corner and was gone from my sight.


    "That was strange." I said aloud, still trying to understand what had happened. Did my fellow new moon have a terrible fear of cats or greetings?


    Before I could even come close, Underwitch Tana appeared at the end of the hall and gave me a nasty look for the entirety of her walk to where I stood. Her blue stoned necklace bounced against the front of her dress and she apparently had no need for an under layer like I did.


    I was far more focused on Plia''s fear than I was the brown haired underwitch, so I stayed silent as she passed.


    "Master Samsara." She said with a small bow.


    Sam looked up at her and hissed a low gravely hiss.


    She flinched at the sound.


    I could not help myself, and even if I could, I didn''t thin I would have, but I laughed at her sudden start.


    Tana balled her fists, gave me another glare, and went through Precept Seram''s door.


    "Good cat." I laughed as I reached down and scratched the top of my familiar''s big head.


    He hissed at me.


    I flinched at the sound.


    I could not prove it, but I was nearly certain that Alexei let out a little laugh at my sudden start.


    "You have achieved what I required from you," Sam said quietly, his blue eyes flicking back towards Alexei before returning to me. "I came to speak with you this morning because I have achieved what you suggested."


    My familiar did not need to say anything more than what he had for me to understand what he was talking about. I squatted down and wrapped my arms around my legs to keep my balance. If he had managed to slip through the barriers in his mind, there was no end to what I wanted to ask him. "And?"


    "I have succesfully created the being known as Othersam." Sam said simply.


    Created. . .?


    Oh no.

 V3: Chapter Thirty Four: Left and Right

    The dining hall of Lun Arcanicil was something that I could not have imagined if my life depended on it.


    It was not the room itself, with its high ceiling and six fireplaces that were each large enough for someone to lay down within. The long tables that stretched from the entrance to the back wall were draped with ornate tablecloths in patterns of icy blue and cold white. Plates, pitchers, forks, spoons, knives, and every other piece of metal atop the table was untarnished and perfectly polished to a pristine gleam.


    Nor was it the uncountable underwitches that filled the hall with the shapeless sounds of separate conversations. Almost none of them wore their uniform like I was. There was a group of them that sat around one of the fireplaces in a talkative circle that wore only the blue silk dress I hated so much.


    No cloaks, no stockings, no shoes, just their thigh length dresses and the grey stone underneath them.


    One underwitch passed by me with her arms full of some reddish fruit. It was not the yellow half moon on her cloak or the black cloth that was tied over her eyes like a blind that caught my eyes. Watching her walk effortlessly through the other underwitches without being able to see was what drew my eyes to her.


    There was another underwitch that sat at the head of the table at the far reaches of the room. I could not be sure because I was too embarrassed to look again, but I was almost certain that she wore nothing underneath her oversized cloak.


    I had spent most of my visits to the dining hall in quiet observation of my fellow moons, but they were not beyond what my mind could create if it was given enough time.


    The sheer amount of food that was spread out along the back wall was a small wonder unto itself. There was bread in every shade of brown. Woven baskets of fruits I recognized and even more that I didn¡¯t brought vibrant colors to the table. Small barrels of different drinks and pitchers of milk that were cold no matter what time of day I came to eat stood in the middle of it all. The milk was a constant temptation to drink until my belly was full and find somewhere hidden to take a nap.


    Even the presence of that temptation and the freedom to do so was not the most remarkable aspect of the hall.


    I could have envisioned it all if there had been a need to.


    What lay beyond the limits of my imagination was the impossible speed of the kitchen.


    I made my way to the back of the hall, trying to ignore the sight of Tana, Plia, and one of the other new moons that I had not been introduced to yet. It annoyed me far more than it should that Tana did not scare Plia the way I had, but I resisted the urge to try and sit with them. The underwitch with the blue stoned necklace had made it fairly obvious that she did not like me.


    She did not truly know me, but none of them did, not even Precept Seram.


    I liked to think that Autumn Aubrey was more likable than Underwitch Ire because she actually existed, but I would never be able to know. I had to be Ire, even if that came with being disliked for being motherless and terrifying at least one of my classmates.


    The far right corner of the dining hall opened up into a small space that held the room¡¯s true wonder. I took one of the small pieces of paper off the open counter and wrote what I wanted to eat onto it like I had learned to do after far too long spent watching others do the same a few days before.


    A man stood behind the counter top that cut the rest of the room off. He wore a faded blue jacket that was thin and bore six silver buttons across its front. His eyes were squinted and tired looking, like the light of the hall was too bright or he had not had enough sleep.


    Anna looked that way sometimes after we had stayed up too late or she had drank too much.


    ¡°You¡¯re a new moon right? You know the rule?¡±


    ¡°If I don¡¯t finish what I ask for, I can¡¯t ask for anything for a week.¡± I answered him as I passed him my paper. He had told me the rule himself only a handful of days prior, but based on the rough shape he seemed to be in, I doubted he would remember if he had told me that same day.


    He pushed his messy hair back from his face and read my request aloud. ¡°Fried potatoes? Again? That¡¯s all you¡¯ve eaten for a week. You underwitches can do all sorts of impossible things, but not a one of you knows what a balanced meal looks like.¡±


    He disappeared from the countertop and returned not a moment later with a small silver plate full of what I had asked for.


    That was what was unimaginable.


    I had never successfully cooked a single thing in my life, but I did not need experience to know that making food took time.


    ¡°Do you really like them that much?¡± He asked as he handed me my seemingly instantaneous meal.


    They were golden brown, still steaming, and smelled of salted butter. They were the wrong shape and were not as good as the ones from seven columns in Erosette, but it was very difficult for fried potatoes to be bad.


    Over the last several days, I had watched Underwitches ask for everything from a plate of leafy greens and grilled meat to an entire frosted cake. They had all received what they requested and it had taken no more time than my own request had.


    It was magic, real magic like what was in one of my mother¡¯s stories.


    ¡°If they were all I had eaten for a thousand years, I would gladly eat them for a thousand more,¡± I answered the man with a pleasant smile. ¡°Thank you. How do you make them so fast?¡±


    ¡°Try to eat something different next time,¡± The man said through a sigh and waved me away. ¡°Go find someone else to talk to, I won¡¯t let a line form up.¡±


    I turned away disappointed. I had asked him the same question three days in a row and received much the same response.


    To know you is to love you, my little Delpha. My mother¡¯s voice echoed in my mind.


    That might have been true, but no one loved Ire and no one could get to know me as long as I had to pretend to be her.


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    I ate my food as I walked back to the entrance, but I did not particularly enjoy it.


    The man behind the counter had no interest in talking to me. I could not go sit with the other new moons without getting bullied by one and scaring another. Not even Sam wanted to spend time with me.


    I had seen no sign of him since he had run off after telling me about his creation.


    For several hours after, I had been worried that there was an identical big blue cat running around Lun under the name Othersam. I was still concerned with the possibility, but it felt much more likely that his way of telling me and silent exit afterward had given me the wrong impression.


    It would have been nice to be able to ask him.


    He probably knew I wanted to and that was precisely the reason that he was hiding from me.


    Leaving my empty plate on the end of one of the long tables like I had seen everyone else do, I left the dining hall feeling completely and utterly alone.


    I would climb back up the singing stairs and make my way back to my place in Precept Seram¡¯s class room. She would place her watchful bubble above my head and I would begin my new assignment.


    Alone.


    Being able to see and speak with me through a bubble hardly counted as company. Even if she was standing behind me like she had been on my first day, she was there for Underwitch Ire.


    Everything my bubbly teacher had taught me had been intended for Ire, not Autumn.


    When I had mastered moving her little metal weight from left to right across the table, it had been Ire that was praised. When I returned to the classroom and moved the weight from right to left, she would be praised for my success once again.


    There was only one person in all of Lun Arcanicil that truly knew me and no matter how badly I wanted to go and find her, I knew I couldn¡¯t. What had everything we had been through been for if I did not do what I had come to The Mother in Blue¡¯s school to do?


    I knew Anna would be happy to see me, the real me, but I did not need to bother her. Ms. Lao had been right about her needing to find something for herself. She had not been sleeping well and she already spent so much time looking after me that it would be nothing but selfish to interrupt whatever she was doing because I was feeling lonely.


    Alexei waited for me in the hall as he always did. He wore his long white hair down, a deep blue robe over his black under layer, and both his swords on his hip. The moment I stepped through the doorway of the dining hall, he opened his one white eye and pushed himself off the section of wall he had been leaning on.


    Ask questions. The memory of one of Anna and I¡¯s agreements echoed in my mind.


    As bad as I was feeling, I did not stop to think how the question that had come to my mind would affect my plan to slowly but surely trick my guard into caring about me beyond the bounds of his duties.


    I just asked.


    ¡°Do you know my name?¡± I said, standing in front of him with only a step between us.


    ¡°Underwitch Ire.¡± He said simply.


    I balled my fists even while knowing that I had no reason to be angry at him. ¡°No, my real name.¡±


    ¡°I do. But this is neither the time or the place to say it.¡± He answered, evidently unbothered by my visible frustration.


    ¡°So you know what I¡¯ve done? You understand why I have to have a fake name and wear a glamor? You understand the terrible thing I did and you still agree to guard me?¡± I let out in a harsh whisper.


    Alexei turned in the direction of the singing stairs and motioned for me to follow. ¡°If you wish to continue speaking of this, it will not be done where we can be so easily overheard."


    His white eye glanced past me. I followed his gaze and saw Tana staring at us from where she sat with the other new moons.


    The singing stairs were mostly empty as we climbed them. Unlike most of the times I had ascended or descended them, the lullaby that rang in my mind with every step up the crystalline stairs did not bring me peace. The ghostly glow of pale blues, purples, and whites that shone from them did nothing to calm my lonely anger.


    It took me several moments to push away the more ridiculous questions that were begging to be asked.


    Don''t ask him about Katarina. Don''t ask him about his power. You don''t need to know if he is married to Precept Jasna. I thought to myself as I waited for him to speak. When we reached the floor that Precept Seram''s classroom was on and he had still not said a word, I grew tired of waiting.


    "If you know who I really am, then why don''t you hate me like The Mothers do? Why haven''t you asked me about it? You aren''t curious how a ten year old little girl stole-"


    Alexei interrupted me in a sudden whisper, his eyes looking all around us as he spoke. "I know who you really are just as you know who I really am."


    I backed away from him until the wall of the hall pressed against me. There was no anger in his eye, no clenched teeth or balled first either, but his singular focus was so intense that I found myself holding my breath.


    "I am curious, yes, but I have not asked you any of the things that I wish to. You and Lady Anna are beyond curious about me and my mother, but you have not asked any of that things that I hear you both speaking of. Why is that?" He said, so much weight behind his whisper that it felt like a demand.


    There was something about the way he was standing that caught my attention and I could not answer him in time.


    After checking that no one else had joined us in the hall, Alexei continued in his hushed tone. "Because it is irrelevant. I have come back here to protect and prevent you from exposing yourself. You have come here to learn. Is that sufficient?"


    His left foot was closer to me than his right, and though his fingers were not pointed towards me, his left hand was resting on the end of his white sword. From his posture alone, I was reminded of something that I loved and had not done since arriving to Lun Arcanicil.


    I miss Arthur. I admitted to myself as I brought my right hand forward and placed the tips of my pointed fingers in the center of my guard''s forehead.


    As unbothered as ever, Alexei spoke. "What are you doing?"


    For the first time on that lonely day, I smiled without having to tell myself to do it first.


    "Three points, Autumn," I said quietly, thinking of all the nights Arthur and I had spent playing the stupid little game. "First kill, Autumn. Reset."


    Alexei took my hand and gently pushed it back towards me. "I did not know that you knew how to play points. It will be better for us both if you refrain from using your name aloud, understand?"


    "Do you know how to play?" I asked him back as he turned to finish walking me back to class.


    "Yes." He said simply.


    I had agreed with Anna that I would ask questions, and I had come too far to be halted by nervousness. So, I took a breath and swallowed my hesitation.


    "Do you think we could play sometime?" I asked him.


    My guard opened the door to the classroom and motioned for me to step inside as he answered.


    "No."


    It was all I could do to not stamp my feet and demand that he play with me, but I held my tongue and accepted his rejection as calmly as I could.


    ¡°Do you always let him go wherever he pleases?¡± Alexei asked as he looked past me once again.


    I turned to see what he had meant.


    Past Tana, Plia, and the other underwitch I did not know, I saw the big blue shape of my familiar turning down a hall on the other side of the singing stairs.


    ¡°Hey!¡± I shouted as I took off down the hall towards him.


    Sam¡¯s head snapped back and he scowled at me with his deep blue eyes before breaking away from me in a dead sprint.


    ¡°Come here you stupid cat!¡±

 V3: Chapter Thirty Five: Right and Left

    Running with my cloak fastened around my neck had the unexpected effect of making me feel like I was moving with wicked speed.


    It billowed out behind me as I ran straight towards the other new moons in pursuit of my contemptuous familiar.


    The underwitch I did not know stepped out of my way. Underwitch Plia threw herself against the wall of the hall with obvious fright on her face. Underwitch Tana, with her glossy brown hair and blue stones necklace, did not so much as lean away from me.


    Certain that she meant for it to happen, I had to skip to my left to avoid running into her or tripping over her legs.


    ¡°I would never speak to him that way.¡± I heard her announce for everyone to hear as I successfully evaded her attempt at being an obstacle.


    You¡¯ll never have a familiar to speak to. I thought to myself in annoyance at her. What did she know about what having a familiar was like?


    Nothing. She knew nothing.


    No one knew anything about it, which was what made being Sam¡¯s master so absolutely frustrating.


    Precept Seram could teach me all about how to use my power. Anna could connect the scraps of knowledge I was able to tear out of The Well with her books and notes. The only person that I knew had once had a familiar and would be willing to speak with me was Rhiannon.


    Had Bayle given her half the problems that Sam had given me?


    Unless I laced my words with my power and called to The Mothers for help, I had no reasonable way to get in touch with her. For more reasons that I could count, giving The Mothers a reminder that I existed was something I knew I should not do.


    So, without anything resembling guidance, I reached the hall that Sam had run down and slowed my pace to a slow stalk.


    ¡°Where have you been?¡± I shouted towards my familiar as he dashed across the hall from closed door to closed door, presumably looking for a way to escape.


    He did not answer.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t gone,¡± I paused and glanced back over my shoulder. The other new moons were nowhere to be seen beyond the singing stairs. Only Alexei¡¯s one white eye stared back at me. He knew who I was, there was no need for me to mask my words if no one else could hear. ¡°I don¡¯t feel comfortable going into The Well if you aren¡¯t there.¡±


    Again, as I crept ever closer to him, he did not answer.


    ¡°You can¡¯t just tell me you created something and then disappear. I don¡¯t even know what you meant. Is there another Sam running around now?¡± Growing more frustrated at his silence with every step I took towards him.


    No answer.


    The doors evidently locked, all that lay beyond my familiar was the back wall of the hall, two wooden benches, and a large paneled window that looked out over an endless ocean of white snow.


    There was nowhere else for him to run, no path he could take to escape, and he would answer to me.


    ¡°Samsara. I asked you where you have been.¡± I demanded as I cornered him against the bottom of the window.


    ¡°Wherever my paws have led me.¡± He growled back at me, his voice sounding unusually high pitched.


    In one sudden movement, he flipped himself forward and rolled until his back was pressed into the corner in a defensive position.


    All of him was wrong. His fur was not puffed out or standing on end, his claws were not extended towards me, and there was none of the usual contempt in his deep blue eyes.


    ¡°If you believe you have won, my lady, you are sorely mistaken.¡± He growled again in his new tone as he pawed the air in my direction.


    My jaw dropped as I spoke the words of an unbelievable realization. ¡°Are you trying to play with me?¡±


    My familiar became as still as the serpent skeleton that filled the hall of conquest. Then, he raked his big paws over his head and shut his eyes. Still in the strange high pitched tone, he answered. ¡°Yes, I believe that I am.¡±


    ¡°Sam? Are you well?¡± I asked as I lowered myself to my knees and reached a hand out to him.


    Just before I touched him, his eyes snapped back open.


    Burning bright yellow like the moons on the back of higher ranked underwitch''s cloaks, his deep blue was nowhere to be seen.


    I had looked into those eyes many times before. They had been flits of light floating in the empty eye sockets of his fleshless skull, but their color was one and the same with what stared up at me then.


    A moment passed.


    ¡°You will have to catch me if you wish for an answer.¡± My familiar laughed as he threw himself to his feet.


    Sam doesn¡¯t laugh. Ever. He is not capable. You have truly broken him. The disturbing thoughts ran through my mind as I made a desperate attempt to take him by the scruff of his neck.


    I did not know what I would do if I did catch him. The days when I could hold him in one hand or pick him up were long past, but I had to try.


    That was all I managed to do.


    I tried, and failed miserably.


    He slipped past me and streaked under the bench on my left.


    Before I could think to try and grab him again, he was tearing down the hall back towards the singing stairs. Alexei stood silently at its end and made no move to halt my broken familiar.


    I ran after him.


    I didn¡¯t really have another choice.


    Broken or not, he was my familiar.


    ¡°You could have helped me!¡± I shouted at my guard as I passed him without taking the time to hear his response.


    From the grey stones of the floor to the crystalline stairs that held the center of Lun, Sam bounded up from glowing step to glowing step at a speed that I could never hope to keep up with.


    ¡°Sam!¡± I shouted after him as my mind was filled with the singing stair¡¯s usually calming song. Deep blue, pale purples, watery greens, and pearlescent whites met the bottoms of my boots as I threw myself up them two steps at a time. Their song matched my pace, sounding hollow and incomplete without the notes that I leapt over.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Whoever Caerulus was, I doubted that she had meant for her lullaby to be heard in the sorry state my chase was playing it in.


    Sam reached the next floor of Lun and spun into a sliding turn as he left the stairs, his unusual laughter filling the air as he went. It was not a bad sound, most laughs weren¡¯t, but the fact that it was coming from was enough to send my thoughts into a sickening spiral.


    I remembered what I had told Sam specifically.


    I had not said create something known as Othersam. I had told him that if there was another Sam, that the painful boundaries in his mind might not hurt him as much.


    However he had interpreted my attempt at guidance was not what I had intended.


    My familiar was strong. He could survive all manner of grievous wounds and did not need his flesh to survive. With nothing but spoken word, he could take someone somewhere and hold them until he wished to release them. The big blue cat could summon actual lightning. If his mind had been broken or lost because of my words, there was no end to the havoc he could wreak. Stopping him was no longer about my anger at him for leaving me alone, I had to stop him to keep anyone from getting hurt.


    I turned off the staircase far too long after my familiar had done the same.


    My mind understood that I was no longer climbing stairs.


    My feet didn¡¯t.


    The tip of my boot caught on the perfectly flat and easily walkable floor and I pitched forward before I could ever begin to look for my familiar.


    Fortunately, there was a wooden bench against the closest wall and I managed to catch and throw myself onto it before I could hit the ground. Sitting up just in time to see an Underwitch appear from a door on my right, I crossed my legs and snapped into what I hoped was a believable imitation of rest.


    Either I was a wonderful actor or the underwitch was more interested in what she was reading than she was what surrounded her. I kept my eyes on the half moon that covered the back of her cloak as she passed Alexei without a word.


    The moment she left my sight, I snapped to my feet and called out for my possibly insane familiar once again.


    I had not seen much of Lun beyond my quarters, Precept Seram¡¯s classroom, the dining hall, and the hall of conquest. The floor I had followed Sam onto had the same shape and size as the floor that I was meant to be on, but it was not the same.


    A long rug ran down the length of one of the wings, covering the grey stone with its cool colors and intricate pattern. Weapons and suits of armor hung and stood all along another, each armament encased in what looked to be solid sapphire. There was one hall that was darkened by so many blankets and pillows that it looked like the mother of the covery on Seram¡¯s hall.


    If I were a cat that wasn¡¯t actually a cat and I was leading my master on the most frustrating game of hide and seek that had ever been played, where would I be? I asked myself, feeling like I knew the answer before I ever finished thinking of the question.


    He was too big to hide behind anything in the armory hall and I doubted the change in his eyes gave him the ability to flatten his body completely. That left the forest of blankets as the best place to start.


    I started towards it, but a sudden sharp sound stopped me.


    Alexei had snapped his fingers, and when I met his eye, he nodded down at my feet.


    I looked down, at the bench and then the floor. When I saw nothing, I looked back up at him and he nodded again.


    I knelt down and looked under the bench.


    Sam swung one of his massive paws out at me and smacked it against my cheek.


    ¡°Come here!¡± I growled as I shoved my hands under the bench and clutched at any scrap of fur I could get my fingers around.


    Yellow eyes shining in the small shadows, Sam twisted and turned around my grab. With a wicked laugh, he escaped me yet again as his tail slipped through my hands before I could close them around his tail.


    He tore towards the wing with the long rug.


    I followed as quickly as I could make my body move, but with my cloak tangling around my desperate movements, that was not nearly fast enough.


    I would never catch him if we went on the way we were.


    For a moment, he was painted even bluer than he already was by the blue light that leaked through an open door on the right side of the hall.


    I stopped before the open door and brought my power to life within me. Bringing that power to my words, I gave my familiar a command. ¡°Samsara, stop!¡±


    The big blue cat did as I said.


    ¡°Turn around!¡± I shouted.


    He did.


    ¡°Come here. Why are you being this way?¡± I shouted again and pointed at the section of rug beneath my feet.


    That was when my familiar broke my heart.


    "I am sorry, my Lady. I was only enjoying myself. I cannot remember the last time I could run free without pain. Surely, you of all people must understand that." He said in his high voice as he followed my orders and walked back to me.


    He was right, I knew all too well what sudden freedom could do to a soul.


    He passed through the blue light once again, and I swallowed the shame I felt at having commanded him. "You are just having fun? You have not lost yourself or created some other Sam?"


    "No. I have created Othersam as you suggested. It is he who feels the pain when the barriers of my mind are met. Without that pain, I am able to be more of myself." My familiar answered me.


    I knelt down so our eyes were on the same level and ignored the growing noise that had begun to spill into the hall alongside the blue light. "All the growling and meanness that I''m used to, that was because of the pain?"


    "No. That is part of me too, but this part has been-"


    A chorus of sudden shouts and cheers erupted from the room with the cracked open door. The light coming from it grew even brighter and I could not help but see what was happening. By the time I had peaked my head through the door, Sam had done the same, so I did not fear him suddenly running off again.


    Through the circle of Underwitchs that filled the otherwise empty room, I saw Precept Jasna.


    Her downy black hair and the feathers braided within it were flowing back from her head like she was facing a blustery gust of wind. The split tails of her icy blue cloak billowed out behind her as she stared at the source of the gale force.


    Three arcs of blue aura spiraled down into the hands of the underwitch opposite Jasna. The light of her power was too bright for me to see her face, but over the cheers of the others, I could hear her shouting. "I did! I did it! I did it!"


    "What is its name? You must call it out!" Jasna called to her as the aura began to coalesce.


    The shape of a blade began to grow up from her hands as panic filled her voice. "I don''t know, it''s too much, I don''t know!"


    "Calm, Iliza," Jasna said, one of her hands placed calmly on the underwitch''s shoulder. "What is its name?"


    I looked down just to make sure that Sam was still where I hoped he was.


    He was.


    "I don''t know!" The underwitch called once more.


    I knew what was happening, I had seen it many times before.


    Vowkeeper, Silkshifter, Gloomwalker, Trea and her Rifthammer, Goldluster and her Fortunefavors, Frostdancer and The Bitter End, whatever they were, the underwitch was attempting to do the same.


    The arcs that were forming the blade began to spin wildly and in a sudden flash, the Underwitch''s working came apart violently.


    The open door slammed shut in Sam and I''s face. I fell back to the intricate rug and held the heels of my hands against my eyes to try to rid myself of the flash''s echo. Through the closed door, without the cheering of the then silent underwitchs, I heard the one make Iliza scream out in pain.


    I knew what was happening to her then as well.


    Through the eyes of others, I had felt that pain in my hands and my legs.


    I opened my eyes as I stood, not wishing to be anywhere near that sound if I did not have to be. The memory of what it felt like in others memories was enough to make my stomach turn.


    "Come on, Sam." I said down to my familiar as I walked to where Alexei waited at the stairs.


    "I will come behind you, my Lady. I do not wish to be near your guard." Sam growled in answer, his voice no longer high and his eyes no longer yellow.


    Iliza screamed again, and my whole body cringed as I left my once again normal familiar where he sat.


    "She is fine." Alexei said once I reached him.


    "I know." I answered after yet another scream.


    My guard let a small smirk show on his normally placid face. "Then why do you look so troubled? That will be you before long."


    "What do you mean?" I said, feeling like I was on the verge of being sick. I was normally the one screaming in pain, and I did not have the stomach to hear someone else doing it.


    Still smirking, he gave me the worst answer I could have possibly imagined at that moment. "That is what being one of Lun''s moons is for, to break yourself."

 V3: Chapter Thirty Six: Lift

    I released my working and let the weight drop back down to the wooden table I had lifted it from.


    "Well done, Underwitch Ire! You have almost completed your first set of assignments!" Precept Seram''s voice called down to me from her bubble.


    "It would be easier to just pick it up with my hand." I said through the heavy breaths that had bent me at my waist and forced my hands to my knees.


    The tights I wore were too hot for the work I had been doing. Sweat dripped down from my brow and I felt like I had been standing in the sun for days. I would have taken my boots and stockings off in a desperate attempt to cool off if I would have been able to put them back on again.


    I had not known how much I loved the cuffed boots that had been so easy to slip in and out of until I could not longer wear them. They had been my mother''s or Anna''s, I could not remember which, but I should have appreciated them far more than I did. Under Precept Seram''s patient watch, I had tried on countless sizes of the laced black boots once I had returned from chasing Sam the day before. Some had been too little, some had been too big, but after much too long spent on the floor, we had found the right fit. By the time I had returned to Anna and I''s quarters with my cuffed boots in hand, two more pairs had been delivered to our door.


    What Precept Seram had not noticed or had been too kind to mention, was that I did not know how to tie my shoes.


    I knew I could learn, I had learned that much during my short time as a new moon, but there had not been enough time the night before. Between eating, giving Anna every excruciating detail of chasing Sam, and going to The Well, there barely been time for a kiss goodnight. So, even if I did manage to pull them off and shed the thick grey wool that was wrapped around my legs, I would have to untie them so I could put them back on. If I managed to untie them and then pull them on, there was no way I could retie them. I would have to tuck the laces into their tops like I had the day before. It had not been a problem when I had been calmly walking to my quarters.


    If Sam woke up from the nap he was taking underneath my table with his eyes shining yellow, I could not chase him with loose laces. There was no amount of wooden benches that could save me from the stumbling mess that would prove to be.


    So the boots and stockings stayed on, I stayed hot, and I got sad thinking of the underwitches in the dining hall that seemed to wear whatever they wanted.


    Precept Seram agreed with me just as my afterglow washed over me fully. "Yes, it would be easier as of now, but pushing the limits of your aura is how it will become easy. That is why my assignments are given the way they are. The slow increase in difficulty will expand your power without ever putting you at risk."


    "Until it breaks me." I muttered as a tear joined the damp spot on the floor that my sweat had made.


    "I could not quite hear you, Underwitch Ire. What did you say?" Precept Seram called down to me.


    Despite my sorrow filled heart, my mind knew that I had done nothing wrong by seeing and hearing what happened in Precept Jasna''s class room. Even so, I was hesitant to tell my bubbly teacher that I knew what her assignments were leading me towards.


    I did not want to break


    Hands, nails, toes, my mind, I had already been broken so many times in my short life that I would never wish for it again. All I wanted to do was be taught by Seram, complete her assignments as they were given to me, and not be terrified that I would destroy my body with my own power.


    "She is beyond these petty tasks." Sam growled up from where he was curled beneath the table. His eyes had not opened, but the low tone of his voice was enough alone for me to know that I need not fear another game of hide and seek.


    It was a silly thought, but I could have sworn that I saw Seram''s little bubble floating forward in an expression of interest.


    "Would you like to explain why you believe that, Master Samsara?" Her pleasant voice came again.


    I held my breath and hoped my familiar knew what Precept Seram did not and could not know.


    Eyes still closed and with every bit of his big blue body still curled into itself, he answered. "If you wish for her to become more powerful, put her life in danger or threaten one that she loves. That is how she has grown in the past."


    "Or, don''t do that," I said as I stood up and pushed Ire''s sweat slicked black hair off of my face. "Please."


    Seram laughed. "I will keep that in my mind when it is time for her second cycle. Thank you, Master Samsara."


    "When will that happen?" I asked, as my afterglow ebbed away and nervousness flowed back in its place.


    "Your life being put in danger and your loved ones threatened under my watch? Never. Your second cycle? After your first with Precept Mon Zetta and Precept Cherith." She answered.


    I let out a relieved sigh at the certainty in her voice. All was quiet until the depth of my breaths returned to something that could be considered normal.


    "Shall. . ." Precept Seram spoke before she trailed off and I was left looking up to her silent bubble.


    "Shall?" I asked up to it.


    "My apologies, Underwitch Ire. One of the other new moons needed me. Shall I prepare your next assignment or do you wish to wait until tomorrow?" Her voice returned just as quickly as it had left.


    It was so easy for me to forget what lay outside of my place while I was in it. Which, if I had to guess, was part of the purpose. When I was concealed behind the white curtains and focused on the assignment in front of me, I paid no mind to the fact that there were five other underwitches behind curtains of their own.


    "How do you teach all of us at once?" I asked aloud, too curious to answer her question. In the distant way she was, I always felt like Precept Seram was there.


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    She hummed, like she was mulling over a complex and difficult problem. "The easiest answer is that I am one of the greatest teachers in all of chaos. That is arrogant but true, so I am not ashamed to say it. A more accurate answer is that through my bubbles, I can speak with and watch each of you independently. The truest answer is that each of your needs and way of learning is so different that two of you rarely need me at once."


    Everything she said made perfect sense, but with that question asked and answered, the next one that came to my mind passed through my lips before I could think to stop it.


    "Why do all the older underwitches not have to wear their uniform?" I said.


    "Each of Lun''s moons are required to be in their uniforms when they are out of their dorms. If you have seen someone without it, know that they are breaking the rules." Seram answered calmly.


    A third question slipped out just as quickly as the second had. "When am I going to have to break myself?"


    "I am unsure as to what you are asking." She said, confusion evident in her voice.


    "On my way back from the dining hall yesterday, I got turned around," I started to lie. With the sheer amount of times I had needed to hide the true nature of things, it had become difficult to not fall into it. I shook my head and started again. "I was chasing after Sam and he went upstairs. When I caught him, I saw an underwitch with Precept Jasna. Her aura was forming something in her hands and Jasna was asking her its name. When it ended. . ."


    "Ah, I understand." Precept Seram said.


    "I didn''t mean to see it, I promise. It was an accident." I cried. It was only then that I considered the possibility that I had just admitted to something that would get me into trouble.


    Precept Seram let a little laugh out of her bubble. "Calm, Underwitch Ire. You have done nothing wrong. There are no secrets here, only questions that have yet to be asked. Only the most exceptional sorceresses are capable of attempting what you witnessed. If you prove to be one of them, it will be a decade or more before you join Precept Jasna''s class."


    "Promise?" I asked her. If I thought there was a way for the bubble to grab my pinky, I would have held my little finger up to her.


    "Yes, so put it out of your mind. Shall I prepare your next assignment?" Seram answered.


    I let her words put my mind at ease and let out a heavy sigh.


    Before I could tell her that I was indeed ready to do whatever was required with the little metal square, I heard her speak to someone outside of my place. "Rest well, Underwitch Plia. Tomorrow will be a better day."


    A sudden urge came over me that I knew I should not give in to.


    Be yourself. One of Anna and I''s agreements ran through my mind. I had managed to uphold all of them through most of my first week as a new moon. How could I live with myself if I prevented a date so close to when it would occur?


    "I, uhm, have to use the restroom." I said aloud as I carefully pulled the blue silk dress of my uniform from where it hung on the wall.


    "I will be here when you return." Precept Seram agreed


    Sam stayed curled up underneath the table with such unshakable stillness, that I doubted he would ever move again.


    Still fastening my cloak as I left Precept Seram floating behind me, I stepped into the hall just in time to see Plia turning the corner at its end.


    "Done?" Alexei asked from where he was leaning against the wall.


    I snapped my arm towards him with my palm out. "Stay. I will be right back."


    "I am not a dog." He said simply, but I did not stay to see if he would listen.


    As fast as I could without actually running, I passed the doors to the covery and the bathroom as I tried to catch up with Plia.


    I caught sight of her again at the end of the hall to the left of Precept Seram''s.


    In what felt like a different life, The Mother in Green had taught me how to pad my steps. With Gwyn''s lesson in mind, I followed after the short underwitch as quietly as I could.


    Truly, I wasn¡¯t trying to sneak up on her. She was not something for me to hunt like Sam used to do with the birds around the boarding house. All I meant to do was not scare her again and I felt that the sound of rushing footsteps would do nothing to calm her fears.


    "Plia?" I called after her in a hushed town, hoping she would hear my voice and calmly turn around. She would see me and wait for me to reach her. I could introduce myself again and the poor first impression I had made would be replaced.


    She didn''t hear me. Or, at least, I hoped she didn''t.


    Surely she would have stopped if she had.


    She went through an open doorway on the right and I gave up silence for speed. Down a narrow hall, I followed her into a room that looked like it survived solely by devouring closets full of clothes. Shoes, dresses, shirts, pants, and every other kind of clothing I could imagine lay scattered in the spaces between six different beds. Plia had gone to the first on the left and I waited until what felt like the least frightening moment to call her name again.


    "Plia?" I said aloud in the tone I would use when Anna was having one of her nightmares.


    My soft speaking did nothing.


    With a violent flinch, she screamed as she whipped around to face me.


    "What are you doing in here?" She shouted.


    "I wanted to say sorry for the other day. Why does it seem like you are scared of me?¡± I asked, taking a step towards her with my palms held towards her in a placating gesture.


    ¡°Because I am.¡± Plia said as she took a step back from me.


    Everything about her told me that she meant what she said. I felt my brows furrow and it took me several tries to be able to speak again. When I did, my voice was barely a whisper. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Spring said you were crazy. She said that¡¯s why you don¡¯t stay here with us. When you made those fireworks at the ball, she said that you were dangerous and couldn¡¯t control your power, that The Mother in Blue only let you come here so you wouldn¡¯t hurt anybody.¡± Plia cried.


    She stepped behind the post of what must have been her bed as she spoke, taking shelter from whatever violence she must have imagined I was about to bring to her.


    "I¡¯m not crazy.¡± I whispered, unable to say anything else.


    ¡°Right, because sneaking up on someone is a perfectly sane thing to do.¡± Plia said with anger in her voice.


    "I didn''t. . ." I started, but I could no longer stand to see the way she was looking at me.


    As I left the bedroom, Spring Tana was all that I could think about. From her honey brown hair to the stupid blue stone that hung around her neck, I no longer cared about why she did not like me. The thought that she had been telling lies about me to the other moons brought so much heat to my face that I felt like I had been set on fire.


    I would find her.


    In the covery, the dining hall, her place in the classroom, I didn''t care.


    I would find her and I would hurt her.


    Alexei met me halfway down the hallway.


    My white haired guard did not try to stop my furious march, but he did do what was possibly the only thing that could have brought me out of my growing rage.


    He called me by my real name.


    "Lady Autumn? Are you well?"


    How quickly my anger turned to sorrow.


    Sudden tears spilled over my cheeks as I threw myself against him.


    "I''m not crazy." I cried, wishing with all that I was that it was Anna who I was clinging to.


    A long moment passed.


    "No," Alexei agreed, his arms held behind his back. "but this is very unusual. I will take you to Lady Anna."

 V3: Chapter Thirty Seven: Catch

    When I woke in the blue darkness of the covery, I felt like I had been asleep for so long that I had turned to stone.


    I had no way to know how long I had been asleep, but Alexei had not come to take me back to my quarters so it could not have been too late.


    I had missed my mark.


    After a morning spent with frustrating failure after frustrating failure, I had made the incredibly easy decision to give up.


    The last day of my first week of Precept Seram¡¯s Implementation class had started out poorly. Staying up far too late into the night with my mind in Katarina¡¯s memories and then having to comfort Anna after one of her nightmares shortly after I had finally fallen asleep had left me little time to sleep.


    That little time had been reduced even further when Sam¡¯s eyes had suddenly begun to glow yellow in the darkness of the room. He had proceeded to sprint from one end to the other in a laughing dash until I had finally agreed to let him out to hunt.


    Waking up with my eyes sore and bloodshot, my body had felt like it weighed twice as much as it actually did. It had taken all of Anna¡¯s strength to get me dressed and all of her persuasion to convince me to leave our little room.


    I was exhausted in ways I had not known were possible before my acceptance into Lun Arcanicil, but that had not been enough to make me quit.


    Then there had been the final task of my first set of assignments.


    It had not seemed much different than any of the others. The only difference had been that the square metal weight had been held above the table by my teacher¡¯s magical bubble. When I had given her the word, she would drop it and it was my duty to keep it from dropping to the wood beneath it.


    Stopping its descent had been no issue. I had been able to do that every single time I had tried.


    Holding it in the air and bringing it down to the table gently afterwards had turned out to be the hard limit of what I could do with my power. No matter what memory I had held in my mind, no matter how many times I had tried, my working would fail.


    I would fail.


    It had not been like the struggles there had been with my previous assignments. I had not slowly improved or had a sudden emotional realization that gave me the understanding necessary to prevail. Precept Seram had said it was because I lacked stamina, that I was naturally talented at using my power in quick bursts, but sustained workings would be more difficult for me to perform.


    That had made sense to me. I trusted her guidance and knew that with it, I would eventually be able to catch the weight. I had been far too tired to continue to work towards that unknowable time however.


    Yes, it was purely exhaustion that had left me unable to care about anything. Even the knowledge of what tomorrow would bring brought me no excitement.


    I had kept Anna and I''s agreements


    I had asked questions.


    I had stayed calm, mostly.


    I had even managed to be as true to myself as I could be while I was living the black haired lie that was known as Underwitch Ire.


    Anna and I would take the snowy road to Hymneth early the next morning. We would spend the day together and have the date that had been promised to me. After the third or fourth time I had failed to hold the weight once I had caught it, I had tried to find some power or patience in what I should have been looking forward to, but had continued to fail regardless.


    After too many attempts, I had told Precept Seram that I was going to the covery to focus on bending branch and made my leave. I had not wished for her to know that I intended to sleep the rest of the day away because I cared very much about what she thought about me.


    Tana had more than likely made all the other new moons think that I was some violent mindless monster. Somehow, the idea of Seram thinking I was lazy felt worse than being thought of as crazy by my classmates.


    I sat up on the quilted table and stretched my arms above my head with a heavy yawn.


    Living the Ire lie made me untruthful enough. I would sit in the darkness and practice bending branch because if I didn¡¯t, I would be lying to Seram even more than I was already forced to.


    Before I could fill myself with my bright blue power, I heard a quiet conversation taking place just outside the drawn curtains of my place.


    ¡°I know we aren¡¯t supposed to be out past curfew, but I slept too long and missed dinner. It would be nice if one of you woke me up next time.¡±


    Plia. I recognized her voice even though the small amount of times I had heard her speak it had been filled with fear.


    ¡°We will, we will. Now tell us about when you saw the ghost.¡± another voice demanded.


    Tana. I thought to myself as a sour taste filled my mouth.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say I saw a ghost,¡± Plia continued. ¡°I saw something, but it was dark and I was tired."


    "Whatever. What did you see?" Tana said.


    "A person, a girl maybe, I don''t know. They were standing at the bottom of the stairs, but then Precept Bellum caught me and now I have detention tomorrow." Plia said in a rush.


    Careful not to knock the bottle on the floor over, I swung my legs off the quilted table and quietly stood. The floor was covered with a bed of pillows and blankets, so it was not difficult to creep over to the curtains and peek through them without making a sound.


    The other new moons sat in a loose circle amongst the blue sea of soft bedding.


    Tana lay flat on her back, the bottom of her bare feet resting not an arms length from the thin fabric I hid behind. Plia sat next to her with her legs held to her chest. The two underwitches I had not met yet sat across from them.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably Ire, sneaking around and waiting to attack one of us.¡± Tana said with a little laugh.


    It took me a moment to realize that she meant me, but I was not happy when I did.


    If walking quietly was considered sneaking, then I had snuck over to the curtains, but I hadn''t been waiting to attack anyone until she had said I was.


    How different could snatching her by her ankle really be from sliding a square metal weight across a table? I wouldn''t even have to think of a memory to guide my will like Precept Seram had taught me. If she was so convinced that I was violent and crazy, then why should I not bring truth to her beliefs?


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Anna had always called me her little monster.


    I had never known someone more deserving of experiencing my monstrousness more than the underwitch with the blue stone necklace. That wasn''t true, there were much greater forces that had put me through much worse than Tana, but at least most of them had a reason.


    Just before I brought my will to bear against her, I remembered one of the all important rules of Lun Arcanicil.


    It was forbidden for a moon to use their aura outside of the classroom. If I reached out and dragged Tana into my place like a demon dragging a maiden into their lair, I seriously doubted my ability to hide my breaking of the rule.


    I did not have proof that breaking it would directly lead to Azza locking me away in her domain, but that definitely felt like the sort of thing that would happen to me. So, I kept my will to myself and my tongue held, hoping the bright blue glow of my eyes could not be seen through the curtain.


    Plia was the next to speak. She shook her head and spoke with her eyes held down to the quilted floor. ¡°I think you are wrong about her. She is strange, but I don¡¯t think she would hurt any of us.¡±


    Tana argued back. ¡°Think about it. Why else would that guard be following her around everywhere? The classroom, the dining hall, he takes her to wherever they lock her up in at night. He is here in case she snaps, so he can stop her from hurting one of us.¡±


    ¡°I guess.¡± Plia muttered through a sigh.


    Even if it had been a half hearted defense, the skittish underwitch had taken up for me. In an opposite reaction to the one Tana had made me have, I wanted to burst from my hiding place and throw my arms around Plia. I wanted to thank her for what she had said and how it had made me feel, but I resisted the sudden wave of happiness and kept myself concealed.


    One of the underwitches I did not know smiled and snickered. ¡°I wish he would follow me around.¡±


    ¡°Whatever she did, I¡¯d do it twice if he would walk me home.¡± the other added.


    All of them laughed.


    ¡°He is kind of handsome in an intimidating way, isn¡¯t he?¡± Plia asked the circle of moons.


    Tana shrugged her shoulders. ¡°If you say so. He¡¯s too wild looking, like a stray dog. You will all see what I mean when Savian comes for The Lady¡¯s Ball at the end of the semester.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not like a stray dog, he¡¯s like a-¡° the underwitch that wished to be followed disagreed.


    The other cut her off. ¡°A wolf.¡±


    ¡°Ahhh.¡± Everyone in the circle sighed in collective agreement.


    When the agreeing faded, the underwitch that wished to be followed spoke in a much more serious tone. ¡°This place is haunted. You''ve all heard the sounds in the walls."


    They all nodded quietly at her words.


    I hadn''t heard anything coming from the walls, but I had been inside them. It brought me far more joy than it should have that I knew the sounds they were hearing was more than likely Nami and the precepts.


    "It''s not what''s in the walls that you should worry about, it''s what''s in the library." one of the nameless underwitches said quietly, like she was telling a secret she should not be telling.


    "Don''t start with that again, Mallory." The only underwitch whose name I did not know said with a wave of her hand.


    Mallory crossed her arms. "You tell me why no one goes down there then? The librarian won''t even step foot in the place. All he does is have books brought to it from wherever he is. They are all piled up in boxes inside the door."


    "What''s in the library?" Plia asked, hiding all but her eyes behind her crossed arms and knees.


    "A Monster. It almost ate Vanda and I last semester." Mallory gasped dramatically before falling into laughter.


    "Shut up," The Underwitch I then knew to be named Vanda said as she pushed Mallory over. "She''s just trying to scare you. It didn''t try to eat us. We didn''t even see it."


    "But there is something in the library?" Tana asked aloud.


    "Underneath it. I think. We all got detention and had to clean it. The later it got, the more we heard it." Vanda said in the same hushed tone Mallory had used before her.


    "There would be these sounds, like someone was banging on a door and the floor would shake." Mallory continued.


    "And the breathing. Every couple of minutes when we got to the bottom floor, we could hear something let out these big breaths." Vanda said in turn.


    "Before Ryslyn left Lun, she said that it was some kind of guardian, that the six wonders of The Mother in Blue are kept beneath the library, but I think she was making it up." Mallory continued.


    Plia had coiled around herself so tightly that it seemed like she had shrunk. "Mothers help me, is that what I am going to have to do? Did you get detention for being out too late?"


    ¡°No, we didn¡¯t have a curfew until this semester.¡± Vanda replied as she seemed to shake off whatever chill had crept over her.


    The hair on the nape of my neck had stood on end as they had spoken, but not because I was being watched. They had been wrong in thinking that no one went to the library.


    Anna did.


    Every time she had talked about it, she had said it was empty.


    Surely if there was some monster shaking the floor and breathing loud enough to hear, she would have told me.


    "The curfew is because all the people in Hymneth think Azeralphane blew in with the storm the other night and is terrorizing the village," Tana said as she broke the circle and stood. "But my mother says it''s all made up, that the precepts and Mother Nami are getting wrapped up in superstition."


    "I hope so. The stories I''ve heard say that he only goes after young sorceresses and we are all the youngest here." Plia said as she looked back over her shoulder.


    Tana looked down at her disapprovingly. "I¡¯m going to eat.¡±


    ¡°Did you finish your assignment?¡± Plia asked as she followed Tana¡¯s lead.


    ¡°No,¡± Tana said with a shake of her head. ¡°I could hold it if it didn¡¯t break through my working every time it fell. Seram said that I have natural talent for sustaining workings, but that I need to learn how to build my power up quickly.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, it took me my whole first phase before I ever got to the catching assignment.¡± Mallory said as all of them made for the door of the covery.


    ¡°I am not worried. I¡¯m Spring Tana. I¡¯ll be a full moon by the time any of you get your first crescent.¡± Tana said with a laugh that did little to hide the arrogance in her voice.


    Once they were gone, I turned away from the curtains and immediately began getting dressed.


    Tana was stuck on the same assignment that I was.


    That knowledge had come with me finally understanding what I had been missing that morning. The path that would lead me to completing my assignment did not need to be motivated by all the things that had brought me as far as I had come.


    All I needed was the thought of being better than her.


    For all I cared, she could tell whoever she wanted that I was crazy. If I knew that I was more powerful than her, that I could do more than her, what she said about me felt like it would matter so much less.


    She had even given me the memory that I would root my working to. Anger and happiness had swung wildly within me during my eavesdropping. I had felt them and had been so close to giving in, but I had stayed silent and held my tongue.


    I would catch the weight with the feeling of how it had felt to hear Tana talking about me in the front of my mind. Then, I would let it fade and be silent as I held the metal square like I had my dark desires.


    As soon as I could fasten my cloak around my neck, I left the then empty covery with an excited smile on my face and nearly ran straight into Alexei.


    ¡°I was coming to wake you. It is late.¡± My white haired guard said in his emotionless tone.


    Literally crying on his shoulder the day before had seemed to reestablish some of the distance between us that there had been before. It was a small set back in my attempts to endear myself to him, but I could not be concerned with it then.


    "Wait here. I have something I need to do." I told him as I made my way back through the open door of Precept Seram''s class room.


    My pink haired precept sat on one of the chairs in the lowest level of her terraced room. She was not floating and her bubble was nowhere to be seen. With her white gloved hands, she was tying the laces of her black boots in what could only be preparation to leave.


    "Underwitch Ire? I was certain that you had returned to your quarters. There is no shame in waiting until next week. Giving yourself time to process what you have learned will usually lead to improvement." She said as she climbed the terraces towards my place.


    "I''m sure you''re right, but this will only take a moment." I insisted, not bothering to take off the uncomfortable parts of my uniform that I had just put back on.


    Precept Seram''s pastel blue aura covered the little metal weight as she raised it from its place on the table. "Such confidence."


    I lifted my hand and let my power build against the seals on my skin.


    "Not confidence. Spite." I corrected my teacher with Tana held firmly in the front of my mind.


    Then, the weight fell.

 V3: Chapter Thirty Eight: Go Away Autumn

    I had become so good at comforting Anna after one of her nightmares that I didn¡¯t even need to open my eyes to do it anymore.


    How I woke up at all was a mystery that made me think the two of us were supposed to be together.


    The differences in our lives, the unimaginable distance that had been between us, the luck that had led me to her mother¡¯s boarding house, all of it led me to the knowledge that our meeting had been a rarity that defied all likelihood.


    Even more unlikely than meeting was what had happened after.


    The first time she had brushed against the truth of my life, when she had come rushing into the bathroom and looked up to see the lich reaching down to her, should have been the end of us instead of the beginning.


    I understood that the notion of two girls being together was not as common on the mortal plane as it was amongst sorceresses. It was almost too fortunate that Anna had the kind of feelings for me that I did for her.


    She had said it many times herself. We were meant to be together, and I believed that more than almost anything.


    I did not know what force made that true, but it did.


    The who or what did not really matter. There had been more reasons and things that should have split us up than I imagined most couples experienced in a lifetime. Who I was, what I had done, and what I still had to do was no small issue to overcome. Anna knew that, but she still gave all of herself to me without question.


    Almost everything that I knew I wanted came from her and the dreams we had for our future.


    That dream of freedom was a long way off and I still had a near infinite amount of memories to view, but if there was any dream worth believing in, it was ours.


    Whenever I needed her, whenever she thought that I needed her, she was there.


    It was what she did.


    When Anna woke up from one of her nightmares and needed me, I was there, despite possessing the ability to sleep for days on end no matter what was happening around me.


    It was what I did.


    Sometime in the early morning of what would be my first free day since I had begun my Implementation class, my mind returned from the nothingness of sleep just as Anna sat up on the edge of the bed.


    Still as I could be, I waited to see if she was just getting up to go to the bathroom.


    The low moan and sudden shiver that came from her sat me up and slide over to her as I always did.


    ¡°It was just a dream. You are safe. I am here. Let¡¯s lay back down.¡± I said softly as I placed my hand on her back and rubbed it gently.


    Anna gagged. Her whole body wretched forward as the horrid sound came from her and my eyes snapped open.


    ¡°Nuh uh,¡± She said weakly and shook her head. ¡°Drank too much. Didn¡¯t eat enough. Gonna throw up.¡±


    She was shaking like she had spent the night in the frigid cold outside of the school. Another heaving gag wracked her body and she covered her mouth with her hands.


    ¡°Oh, uhm, okay, let¡¯s. . .¡± I babbled as I slid down off the bottom of the bed and sprang to my feet. Two quick steps brought me around to her and my words came out all at once. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do but I know that I need to do something but I don¡¯t know what that something is.¡±


    ¡°Bathroom.¡± She whispered through her hands.


    Even in the pitch black of the room, I could see the sweat that slicked her dark hair to her forehead. Her eyes were closed tight in an expression of pain. The shallow breaths she took were ragged and rhythmless. My heart pounded in my chest as I helped her to her feet. She tripped over one of the empty bottles of wine that lined her side of the bed, but I caught her weak weight and held her up as we walked.


    She shuddered violently against me as we stepped into the bathroom. ¡°Floor is too cold.¡±


    I snapped the lights on just as she tore away from me and threw herself down in front of the toilet.


    ¡°Go away!¡± She shouted.


    A big of me wished I had obeyed her command.


    I had thrown up before.


    Those times had not been some of the more enjoyable moments of my life.


    Standing in the doorway with my eyes clinched shut and listening to Anna get sick was almost as bad as doing it myself. My own stomach turned at the sound and for a moment, I thought I would join her, but I swallowed my nausea because I knew she needed me.


    If we swapped places, she wouldn¡¯t run away like I wanted to, even if it made her sick to her stomach.


    When wretched sounds coming from her settled into a lull of desperate breaths and groans, I forced myself to look at her.


    She clutched the porcelain rim of the toilet like it was all that held her to the ground and her raven hair hung down over her face like a curtain.


    ¡°Hey.¡± I said in little more than a whisper, hoping that her sickness had left her.


    ¡°Go away.¡± She said weakly as she tried to brush her hair back. Before she could finish speaking, her body curled up and she was sick again.


    I waited until it was done and I went to her. With my face twisted into a grimace, I took her hair into my hands and tried to pretend that the damp feeling in my fingers was only water.


    ¡°Go away, Autumn. I don¡¯t want you to see me like this.¡± She rasped.


    If she had been anywhere near strong enough to hit me, I thought that she would have. Never, in all of time we had spent together, had I ever heard her sound so angry.


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    I knew she wasn¡¯t truly angry with me, so I let how it had made me feel disappear without a thought.


    ¡°I can¡¯t do that, Coach.¡± I said, trying to mimic the soothing tone she tools with me when I was upset or injured.


    ¡°Go-¡° She tried to shout me away again but another wave of sickness cut her off.


    ¡°You¡¯re okay. You¡¯re okay. You¡¯re okay.¡± I repeated with my face turned up to the ceiling.


    It was all that I knew how to do. If Ms. Lao or my mother could be there, they would be so much better for her than I was. They would be able to do so much more than hold her hair and try not to vomit.


    Charm her. The thought came to me suddenly and I tried to push it away.


    It won¡¯t work. I thought as I began to truly consider the possibility.


    Instead of trying to make her happy or sad, I could focus on memories where I had not been nauseous. I could rub her back and let my power flow through my left palm with all the times I had been blissfully unaware of my stomach held in the front of my mind.


    She was still for just long enough to begin to catch her breath before she was sick for the third time.


    I have to do it.


    With my right hand still holding her hair, I brought my left down to her back.


    Almost any of my memories would have done well enough, but the sight of Anna being unwell seemed to only bring thoughts of when she had not been sick.


    The way she looked in the reflection of the window in Hymneth, in the sunlit garden behind the manor, next to the guards campfire, and all the other times she had been well and at peace, I focused on them and closed my eyes.


    ¡°Water.¡± She croaked, her voice sounding raw in her throat.


    I was so desperate to do something helpful that the second she spoke, I literally jumped into movement.


    I let her hair fall down her back and released the charm I had almost placed on her as I leapt towards the sink. It was only after watching the water run uselessly down the drain for a full minute that I realized I needed a way to get it to her.


    ¡°Cups in one of the chests in the closet.¡± She muttered as she leaned back and slumped against the bath.


    I had been chased by horrors beyond my imagination, snarling beasts, tree sized serpents, a house sized spider, and worst of all, the infuriated Lady in Red, but I did not run half as fast from them as I did towards what Anna needed.


    Just as it had been with the water, it was only after fumbling through the chests in the near total darkness of the closet that I remembered to snap on the lights. Sure enough, when I could actually see what I was doing, I found the two cups that we had used while we were in our little wooden shack.


    I ran back into the bathroom, filled Anna¡¯s cup with the still running water, and took a step back once I handed it to her.


    She took several small sips and let out a deep sigh. Her eyes were bloodshot and she wiped her face with the sleeve of her night clothes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me. You¡¯re already way too pretty to be with me anyways.¡± She muttered through a weak laugh that came dangerously close to being a sob.


    ¡°I can¡¯t do that, Coach.¡± I said in response. She was horribly wrong, but I knew there would be a better time than then to tell her that.


    She laughed again and it did turn into the sob from before.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± She cried. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to wake you up. I know how hard you¡¯ve been working and I know you need your sleep.¡±


    ¡°Hey. Shut up. I¡¯m here. What can I do?¡± I said as I stepped over and knelt down in front of her.


    She looked up at me with tears in her eyes and her bottom lip poked out. ¡°Bread.¡±


    It was simultaneously the saddest and the cutest thing I had ever heard or seen.


    ¡°Right,¡± I nodded and stood. ¡°Don¡¯t go anywhere.¡±


    I made it through the open bathroom door before she called after me. ¡°No. I¡¯m fine.. You can¡¯t go out anyways. It¡¯s past your curfew.¡±


    I peeked my head back through the door. ¡°You and I both know that I am not scared of breaking a rule. Close your eyes, I¡¯ll be back before you know it.¡±


    ¡°Autumn, wait.¡± She called again just before I left our quarters.


    I went back and found her clutching the porcelain once again.


    ¡°You have to wear your glamor.¡± She reminded me.


    Even being as sick as I had ever seen someone be, she was still thinking of me.


    If I had to stand against The Nine Mothers themselves to get Anna the bread she needed, they would all fall by my hand.


    With Ire wrapped around me, I strode into the dark hallway behind the singing stairs and ran all the way to its end with no thought of being quiet.


    Alexei was not waiting for me in the hall like I had expected him to be and his door remained closed as I passed it.


    No time to wait. I thought to myself as I listened to the fastest rendition of Caerulus¡¯s lullaby I had ever heard. If he got mad at me because I didn''t wait for him during an emergency then so be it. All that would do is make the time it would take to win him over a little longer.


    There was only one place where I knew I could get bread.


    On none of my walks to the dining hall had I noticed how big Lun was or imagined how dark it could become. The school was filled with other underwitches during the light of day and I could see the high ceilings above and the ends of every wing I passed. In the darkness, all the stories I had heard the new moons talking about came nipping at my heels.


    I knew that there was nothing in the walls.


    I was fairly certain that there was nothing beneath the library, and even if there had been once, Anna would have told me if she had heard anything like what Mallory and Vanda had described.


    Alexei had told me that Azeralphane didn''t exist, that he was a myth like dragons or giants. I was still certain that he had lied to me, but if the thing that was known as the blue death was skulking around the school at night, I doubted that I would be the first to know.


    The reality and existence of those things did not matter in my mad dash towards the dining hall. All they were was an illogical fear that pushed me forward faster than I would have been able to move without them.


    With my feet bare, I found that the singing stairs were much louder. Because of that, I did not hear the conversation happening above me until I reached the floor that the dining hall was on.


    "He still won''t speak with her. The second phase will be here before we know it and we will have to change everything if she can not convince him of their safety." Someone said.


    A deep yawn came in response. "I don''t envy her at all, being thrown into all this so young."


    Precept Shanti. I thought, recognizing the constantly sleepy precept by the sound of her yawn.


    I had been scared of ghost stories and other imaginary things when I should have been worried about a much more real threat.


    Getting caught while I was on my quest.


    I was breaking two rules. Three, if I was being specific, but I was sure that a direct order from The Mothers meant more than Lun''s six rules.


    My glamor of Ire was one, but didn''t count. Being out past curfew was the second, and being out of uniform was the third. I had been in such a hurry to take care of Anna that I had not realized that I was wearing my night clothes.


    "Jasna and Maletta aren''t helping her either. They both pester her everyday about naming a new Lady." The voice I didn''t recognize continued.


    It was too late.


    They were much too close for me to run and hide. It was a small wonder that they had not yet laid eyes on me.


    In truth, I didn''t care if I got in trouble. All I cared about was getting Anna her bread.


    Before I could so much as take a breath, something grabbed me around my ankle and pulled my leg out from under me.


    I had been wrong, so very wrong.


    There was something skulking around the dark halls of the school, and it had taken me in its hand instead of nipping at my heels.


    The scream that I tried to scream fell silent against what covered my mouth and a violent struggle began.

 V3: Chapter Thirty Nine: Tender Loaf and Care

    A strange thought snapped through my panicked mind as I tried to free myself from the clutches of my attacker.


    I had fought them before.


    Only, they had not been quite so big the last time.


    Rolling into my back with a broken melody of notes ringing out in my mind, the mass of fur settled its too heavy weight onto my chest. All the fight and struggle left my body. I let my arms drop down to the hard edges of the singing stairs and looked up to see two glowing yellow eyes staring back down at me.


    ¡°Let me go, Sam. Anna needs me.¡± I whispered harshly, the sounds of Precept Shanti¡¯s conversation growing ever closer.


    There would be time for me to let my anger out at him later. I had to find a way to hide from the precepts and yelling at my familiar would not help my need for stealth.


    ¡°Silence, My Lady. You will be discovered by your betters.¡± Sam said quietly in his new high pitched voice.


    ¡°Dragging me to the ground and holding me down will prevent that, how?¡± I whispered, as I rolled my head back against the cold crystal underneath it and looked up the stairs above me. I had been pinned not two steps from the landing.


    Precept Shanti would have to be literally blind to not see me once she reached it.


    ¡°It will not,¡± Sam answered simply. ¡°Remain here, I will intercept them so you may continue unimpeded.¡±


    Before I could say another word, he bounded off of my chest and left my sight. I stared up at the bottom of the crystal stairs above me and remained as he had commanded.


    ¡°Well, hello there.¡± Precept Shanti yawned.


    ¡°This is one of the new moon¡¯s is it not? The black haired one with the cord?¡± The other voice asked.


    ¡°Underwitch Ire. She is the one that threw up her power at the ball before the storm rolled in.¡± Shanti added.


    ¡°Forgive that I do not remember your name. If I recall correctly, you can speak, yes?¡± The other voice said to Sam.


    ¡°MEOW.¡± Sam said in some monstrous imitation of a real cat. Even with the higher pitched voice that came with his yellow eyes, it didn''t sound all that different from one of Mother Gwyn''s snarling beasts.


    ¡°What do we do?¡± Precept Shanti asked.


    ¡°I am unsure. It has been many years since there was a familiar roaming the halls. Mother Katarina¡¯s children were still young enough to need someone to watch them.¡± The other voice answered.


    Three yellow flashes, like silent strikes of lightning, brightened the dark staircase suddenly.


    ¡°MEOW.¡± Sam¡¯s call came echoing down the crystal stairs once again.


    ¡°I think it wants us to follow it.¡± Shanti yawned, her voice sounding further away than it had before.


    ¡°MEOW.¡±


    ¡°Well, go on then, show us the way.¡± The other voice said with a weary sigh.


    I stayed on my back for a long moment and listened as their footsteps grew quieter and quieter. When I could no longer hear them, not even with my breath held and my body still, I rolled off my back and climbed to my feet amongst a chorus of crystalline notes. Sam''s sudden change had come with many things that I found annoying, but his horrible mimicry nearly made me laugh the cover it had given me away. Whoever had been with Precept Shanti had been correct, my familiar could speak, he had just deliberately chosen not to. Beyond that, he was perfectly capable of making actual cat sounds. Hisses, growls, meows, I had heard him do them all.


    Had Sam been trying to make me laugh?


    There was not nearly enough time for me to ponder the answer to that question, so I left it where I had been laying on the spiral staircase.


    From the stairs to the wing that held the dining hall, I ran as close to the wall as I could without dragging my shoulder against the grey stones. The small smile that Sam had put on my face faded as I reached the massive doors and tried to open one quietly.


    I tried.


    The darkness that surrounded me brought a prickling uneasiness to my fingers. So eager to begin moving once again, I pulled the door open a little too hard and sent it swinging out behind me. I threw myself down and crawled underneath one of the long tables just as the door smacked against the wall outside. The impact echoed back into the empty hall and I spent a long moment with my breath held and my heart pounding in my chest.


    The Precepts had to have heard the noise I had made.


    All of them.


    It would only be a matter of minutes before they all came rushing in and found me hiding under the table.


    I would be punished. In what manner or to what extreme, I did not know, but it would happen.


    My breaths became shallow and my whole body froze over in a cold sweat. A pit formed in my stomach at the thought of more punishments being wrapped around my neck. I still had six more from The Mothers and had no idea when they would be coming. At any time, I could be pulled from my quarters or Precept Seram''s classroom and thrown into some sudden torture. If I was caught in the dining hall, I could be pulled from the precept''s punishment and taken The Mother''s.


    I can''t. I admitted to myself as I tried to slow my breathing.


    I''ll leave. If I get caught, I''ll run away again.


    Anna can get new clothes. I''ve learned enough. I know twice as much as I did before I came here. How hard could it be to find a weight and a table in Erosette? With Anna''s coaching, I can get just as strong at the manor as I could in Lun.


    Anna.


    She was probably still slumped over on the floor, only holding herself up by her grip on the toilet. The floor was too cold. She had told me so. Unless she was caught in one of the violent wretches that emptied her stomach, she would be shivering from the chill and the strain. She was waiting for me to come back, and there I was hiding under a table in the dark. How would she feel if I kept her waiting and came back empty handed? What could I possibly say to her to explain that the one time she actually needed me, I had failed?


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    I couldn''t.


    I wouldn''t.


    I won''t.


    On my hands and knees, I forced myself to move forward through the darkness. With every single table leg and chair I ran my face and shoulders into, I would snap still in anticipation of my sneaking being ruined. When I reached up blindly and found that there was no table left above me, I stood and walked forward with my hands stretched out in front of me.


    There was not so much as single glowing coal in any of the fireplaces. Without the shapeless chattering of underwitches that normally filled the air, the quiet sound of my bare feet crossing the stone floor echoed softly against the high ceilings. I had ran from my quarters so quickly that the heat of my body was still warding off the cold of the empty place, but I could feel it creeping up on me like one of the horrors I had imagined on my way there.


    My hips hit the edge of the table that stood across the width of the room and I started pawing over all the food in search of what Anna needed.


    I felt like I did when Alexei had taken me through the passageways in the walls. How was I supposed to find bread if I couldn''t see my hand when I held it up in front of my face?


    Precept Seram had taught me many things, but I was no closer to being able to make a werelight than I had been when my guard had told me to.


    The longer it took me, the more likely it became that I was discovered.


    Anything that felt close to what I thought bread felt like got picked up and piled into my arms. Rough crusted rounds and soft loafs, slices and hunks, dry and moist alike, I stacked them into my arms as I moved from the left side of the table to the right.


    I placed a long and thin loaf onto the bread mountain I had formed in my arms and ignored the storm of crumbs that I felt spilling down my front like a cast off working.


    In my haste, I had not heard the footsteps approaching the dining hall until they crossed through the door I had swung open not very long before.


    My body acted before my mind could form a thought.


    I squatted straight down in front of the table and held my breath. Across all of the possible ways I could have tried and hid, I knew that I had picked the worst one as soon as my sudden descent came to a stop. Whoever was approaching me was too close. All I would do if I moved was make noise and draw attention to myself. My breath beginning to burn in my chest, I bit my lip as the footsteps stopped right in front of where I knelt.


    Pallid blue light appeared above me and my eyes flinched shut against the sudden brightness.


    I have failed. I thought to myself, hoping desperately that it was not Precept Seram who had found me. My teacher''s perfectly pleasant face looking down at me in anger or disappointment would be too much for me to take.


    I opened my eyes just enough to look up and see if my fears had come true.


    Plia stood half an arm from me, her grey blue aura shining atop the tip of her pointer finger in a little ball. The short sorceress wore a too long nightgown that bunched on the stone beneath her feet. Her werelight was too bright for me to see what she was looking at, but her lack of startled screams was evidence enough that she had not noticed me.


    If I stay still, maybe she won''t. I thought. What is she doing down here?


    The very next moment, she side stepped towards me as she reached for something on the table.


    I did not back away, but all of me tensed at her movement.


    The long loaf of bread fell from its perch and hit the floor in a burst of dusty crumbs.


    Plia screamed and whipped around to face me.


    Blinded by her power, I fell back and all that I had gathered tumbled out of my hands.


    The short underwitch clamped a hand over her mouth and silenced her own scream as I began to throw the scattered bread back into my arms.


    The time for stealth had ended.


    I would have to make a run for it.


    "What are you doing here?" Plia demanded in a hushed tone, her hand leaving her mouth just long enough to ask her question.


    "What are you doing here?" I whispered back.


    "I get hungry when I can''t sleep," She snapped as she lowered herself to my height and brought her werelight low enough that I could see her face. "Why are you following me?"


    "I''m not following you. My partner is sick. They need bread." I answered, real anger bringing an edge to my voice. Some of what I had gathered was not bread, so I left it where it had fallen and only took what I needed.


    "Oh." Plia muttered.


    She took the long loaf that had fallen near her feet and placed it gently in my arms.


    Without waiting for her to speak again, I stood and made my way back towards the door between the tables.


    She called after me. "Precept Shanti and Precept Bellum are awake. Don''t get caught."


    "I won''t" I whispered back, too concerned with Anna to stop and thank the new moon for her warning.


    My words were true.


    From the dining hall, back through the pitch black wing, down the singing stairs, and onto the hall that was hidden behind them, I saw no sign of the precepts. As soon as I laid my eyes on the door to Anna and I''s quarters, I broke into a full sprint that was only slowed by my need to return without leaving a trail of fallen food behind me.


    I did stop and leave the dusty remnants of Ire at the door.


    Anna did not need the dark haired underwitch.


    She needed me.


    All of the panic and all of the fear I felt vanished when I saw Anna laying on her side on the bathroom floor. She was asleep and snoring, but even in her rest I could see the poor shape she was in. Having nowhere else to put it, I dropped all the bread on top of the bed and went back to her.


    "Anna. You can''t sleep here. It''s not a bed." I said softly.


    She let out a weak laugh and brought her hands to her face. "I hadn''t noticed."


    I helped her sit up and tried to help her stand, but she resisted me.


    "Can''t, I''m disgusting." She said, shaking her head and reaching over to draw a bath.


    Without thought, without hesitation, without needing to be told what to do, I started the water and helped her up. She was dirty, anyone who went through what she had just been through would have been, but she was not disgusting. She could never be that, and I told her as much as I helped her get clean.


    In truth, with the relief of the warm water washing over her face as she began to relax, I could not think of time she had been more beautiful.


    "I''m sorry I took so long, I should have been back sooner." I told her as I dried her hair with my aura in the way that my mother had taught me.


    She made a stumbling turn towards me in response, but her eyes remained closed. Wearing nothing but her towel, she leaned against the door frame and pointed a lazy finger in my general direction. "You know I love you, right? And I''m not just saying that because I''m sick and drunk. I need to tell you that more. Because I do, I just need to tell you that more."


    I smiled a real smile, one whose warmth spread far deeper within me than my lips.


    "You don''t need to tell me anything. I know." I told her as I walked her to the bed and made sure she was all the way on it before I turned my attention to what I had brought her.


    "So, I think most of this bread. Some of it is cake, maybe. This is definitely cheese." I said as I looked over the spread atop the made bed.


    She opened her eyes then.


    I watched them find their focus and as soon as they did, she fell back on the bed in a fit of laughter.


    "What?" I asked in feigned anger, truly happy to hear it instead of the horrid sounds that had been coming from her earlier.


    I never got an answer, but that bothered me little.


    Watching her eat, brushing all of the crumbs she had made off the bed, and crawling into bed beside her once she fell asleep was enough for me.


    I had taken care of Anna the way she would have taken care of me.


    Nightmare or not, that was what I did.

 V3: Chapter Forty: A Little More Weight

    If I had learned anything over my second week in Precept Seram''s Implementation class, it was that five pounds weighed far more than it should have.


    My second set of assignments had been nearly identical to the first, only the weight of the little metal square had changed. I had been told of the increase, and seen how it was slightly bigger than the one that had been left on my table from the week before, but I had not truly known the difference until I had tried to push it.


    Branch bent, and the memory of The River Eae''s ever moving waters held in my mind, I had been confident that I would succeed without any of the failures or disappointments that there had been the week before. I had been wrong of course. It had taken me nearly all day to find the strength to push the weight to my teacher''s pastel blue line. The loss had brought me to the floor and my afterglow had kept me there crying, but I had done it nonetheless.


    Pulling and sliding the weight from side to side had been just as difficult. By the time I had reached the final class of my second week, I had barely reached the heavier version of the lifting assignment. I knew Precept Seram could have answered any questions if I had asked them, but everyday I had been in my place with one of her bubbles hanging over me, my mind had been somewhere else.


    It had been in dozens of places actually, and none of them were behind the clean white curtains of Precept Seram''s classroom.


    It had taken Anna a full two days to recover from her sickness. When I had not been by her side, getting her food or insisting that she did not get up, I had been Katarina.


    I had been in Lun Arcancil as her, but it had been in a part of the school that I had never seen with my own eyes. I had fought more shades with her terrible blade, that time with Rhiannon instead of Garm, whoever he had been. I had eaten meals, laid down to sleep, and woken up as her. Every night I would enter The Well and call her name. In the pages of her book, inside her memories, I had felt the pain of her injuries, the power of her will, and the care she had for everything she did.


    Sometime in the middle of the week, it was the day that I had almost passed out after I had tried too hard to slide my weight from right to left, nothing had happened in the memory that I had entered.


    Katarina had been getting ready for something. She had been nervous and had brushed her hair out for so long that it was a small wonder it had not fallen out. Having seen her reflection in the tall mirror that had been in the corner of wherever she had been, I knew that anyone who had known her would notice Alexei¡¯s resemblance to her immediately.


    They both had the same stark white hair. The color of their eyes were not the same, but the fierce looking shape of them was. Though the line of her jaw was not quite as severe as my wolfish featured guards were, she still managed to look just as intimidating as he did.


    She was modest too. All she had been able to think about when she was getting dressed was that too many of her sisters liked to wear such little clothes. It had not been out of distaste or disgust. I had been able to feel the overwhelming love she held for Mother Glim and whoever Broh-Lei was. She just could not understand letting herself be that exposed.


    All of the memory had been her trying on different dresses, brushing her hair, changing clothes, almost making it out of the door, and then turning around to start the process over from the top. Wherever she had been going and whatever else she had been doing in any of the memories, something had become very clear to me.


    I liked being Katarina.


    Other than the desolate nothingness at the back of her book, Every time I had come out of her memories, I had wanted to right back in.


    It felt good to be her.


    How light on her feet she felt and the way her graceful movement made it seem like every step she took or move she made had been meant to happen. Even if she was exhausted, upset, or injured, there was a certainty to her thoughts that made everything seem so simple.


    I had begun to wonder what Ire would look like with white hair or how it would feel to hold the rapier from the hall of conquest in my hand.


    Being in her memories was so much different than any of the others, and I did not really understand why. It could have just been her, that she was what was different, but I didn¡¯t believe that.


    At the very least, the fact that I did not have to worry about her coming and throwing me into some unimaginable punishment made me more eager to learn about her.


    She would not hurt me. Based on the state she had been in within the memories at the back of her book, she could not hurt me.


    It would not matter if my admiration for her continued to grow. It would not matter if I learned all the small details of her life, because I would never have to see her as my punisher.


    And the best part of it all, was that viewing her memories made Anna happy.


    Her attempt to understand The Mothers and The well through her books and my memories was furthered every single time I got to be Katarina.


    That was what we had planned for that evening.


    With no class the following day, I was going to view as many memories of the former Mother in Blue as I could. When I grew too tired to continue, we would go to bed and sleep as late as we wanted to the next day. When we did wake, we would have our date and there would be no sickness or mad dashes for bread necessary.


    After my last pathetic attempt at lifting the heavier weight had left my arm shaking and my knees weak, Precept Seram¡¯s perfectly pleasant voice called down from the little bubble floating above me.


    ¡°You seem to be less inspired this week, Underwitch Ire. Has something happened?¡± She asked.


    ¡°No. Why is it so much harder?¡± I said as I caught my breath, finally asking what I should have days before then.


    ¡°Progress is rarely linear. You may find your next set of assignments are easier than your second is proving to be even though they should be more difficult.¡± Precept Seram answered.


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    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense," I said as I stood and stretched my aching arm above my head. "If my next set of assignments are the same as the first two, but with a heavier weight, and I have a feeling that they will be, they should be harder. That makes sense. If you told me that, I would believe it. How could they be easier?"


    Precept Seram laughed. She had a habit of doing that when there was frustration in my voice, but I didn''t mind. It was such a pure sound, so light and cheery, that I had never been displeased to hear it.


    "In your time here, and whatever it is you choose to do when you leave Lun Arcancil, you will find that there is far more in chaos that does not make sense than there are things that do. Look at the wall in front of you, what do you see?" She said, the bubble she was speaking through floating down to my eye level.


    "A wall?" I answered, confused.


    "Yes, Underwitch Ire, but did you not break the grey stones it is made of with one of your weights just last week?" She continued as she circled the center of the wall with her bubble.


    I had.


    If I had been a little stronger when it happened, I likely would have broken through the wall and sent it into whatever lay beyond it.


    I had been watching when Precept Seram had pulled it from the wall with her power.


    My mind and memory were not the strongest parts of me, I knew that, but I also knew without any doubt that I had left a broken crater in the grey stone.


    "How did you do that?" I demanded. I stepped forward and brushed my palm over the rough surface of the wall.


    Not a crack, chip, or dent was to be found.


    If I was not absolutely certain that I had been the one to break the wall in the first place, I would have no way to know that it had ever been broken.


    "I did not. Lun Arcanicil repaired itself." Precept Seram answered as if she had not just said the strangest thing I had ever heard in my life.


    I crossed my arms and shook my head in denial. "No. I don''t believe that. You are trying to trick me."


    I had seen all manner of strange things, both through the eyes of others and my own.


    Mother Rhiannon had walked barefoot into a roaring pyre with no fear of the fire. I had been a body that was restored to perfect health from cinder and ash by the hands of Mother Nami. Arthur had been gored through his middle and was only alive because a lost little boy named Opa had swooped in to save him.


    Knowing that all of those things had happened, my mind drew the line at self healing walls.


    "Only a little," Precept Seram said through another laugh. "The structure itself does not repair itself of its own power. I only meant to have some small fun with you, my apologies. You are familiar with the glamor that conceals everything within Lun''s walls, yes?"


    "Yes." I said, thinking of when I had hopped back and forth across the threshold of the iron gates. With the memory of Lun vanishing and appearing recent in my mind, there was almost nothing she could say that would overcome my suspicion.


    "My point is that without my understanding, the glamor and the working that has repaired the damage that was done to the wall both exist. They do function even though I cannot explain to you how they were implemented. Only The Mother in Blue knows those things." Precept Seram said.


    I understood the point she was trying to get across, but my lips parted and a question passed through them before I could think about what I was asking. "Which one?"


    "Which one? Ah, I understand. Which Mother in Blue is what you are asking."


    "Yes." I agreed quietly, hoping that I had not upset her or invited her to ask questions that would eventually lead me to exposing myself. I liked Precept Seram enough that I did trust my ability to lie to her if I had to. She was my teacher, not someone that I had to protect myself from.


    "I believe that I am safe in assuming that you have heard tale of Mother Katarina around campus. But how could you not? Every room and hall of Lun is marked by her touch. To answer your question, I was referring to Mother Katarina when I made reference to the workings. Before she departed, it was she who cast the glamor to protect us, and it is by her power that the wall has become whole again." Precept Seram answered, the tone of her voice washing away all of the momentary fear I had felt.


    I had already asked one risky question and was nearly powerless to stop the second. "Where did she go?"


    For what had to be the first time since I had met her, some of the brightness left Precept Seram''s voice.


    "If only we knew, she may have already returned to us." My bubbly precept sighed.


    In the sad silence that followed, I had thought of a thousand questions to ask in response, and if Precept Seram had not changed the subject, I would have thought of a thousand more.


    "Now, redress and come to the center of the room. I have announcements to make before you all depart this evening. Some of the others are already waiting." Precept Seram said before I could speak again.


    I watched her bubble float out of my place and had to let all the unanswered questions leave me with a frustrated exhale. I pulled on my cloak, jacket, and horrible dress as Precept Seram had told me and left my place with my assignment incomplete.


    My teacher was not floating above the ground in her bubble as she usually was. With every one of her pastel pink hairs in place and not a single wrinkle in her dress, she stood with her hands behind her back at the lowest level of the room.


    Mallory and Vanda sat in front of her with two empty chairs on their right and two on their left. I went to the chair on the right. It was the closest to my place and the additional steps it would have taken to sit anywhere else likely would have left me on the floor.


    Tana came out of her place a moment after I sat down. She was still buttoning the buttons of her uniform jacket and it brought me a small amount of joy that I was ahead of her in more than way.


    As tired as I was, if we had come out at the same time, I would have ran to beat her to the seats.


    She took the chair all the way to the left, which was coincidentally as far away from me as possible.


    Plia was the last to reach the bottom of the classroom. Her thin blonde hair was visibly wet with sweat and she looked a shade or two paler than she had in the grey blue light of her aura the last time I had seen her.


    I watched her eyes dart from the empty chair between Tana and Mallory to the one between Vanda and myself. For a brief moment, it seemed like she was coming to sit next to me, and I was embarrassed at how excited that made me feel.


    Before she could take more than a step towards me, Tana reached up and pulled her down by her sleeve.


    ¡°As of today, we have reached the halfway point of your first cycle. Underwitch Mallory and Underwitch Vanda, both of you have improved greatly since your first semester. Underwitch Ire, Plia, and Tana, be proud of what you have accomplished. It has all been very promising." Precept Seram began just quickly enough to keep me from succumbing to the sudden impulse I felt to throw myself at Tana.


    ¡°Why did you say my name last?¡± Tana blurted out.


    "Because it is normal to start at the beginning of things. Save your questions, we have an important matter to discuss." Seram answered, her eyes much more serious than I had ever seen them before.


    The change in her tone was enough to set me on edge, but when she crossed her arms and squared her jaw, I became well and truly anxious.


    There was a hard edge to her voice as she spoke. "One week ago, very early in the morning, a loaf of bread was found at the base of the singing stairs. Myself and the other precepts already know which of you is to blame. I would like to give you the opportunity to come forward and take ownership of what you have done. Breaking curfew is absolutely unacceptable, but your honesty will be taken into account when determining your punishment."


    Her pastel blue eyes swept over all of the new moons as she spoke, but I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself still.


    The bread had been mine, and Precept Seram knew it.


    Mothers help me.

 V3: Chapter Forty One: Pinch

    As Precept Seram kept her hard gaze on the new moons, I discovered that what I wanted more than anything else was to suddenly gain the ability to shrink down into my chair and disappear.


    I wanted to be a little mouse sized Autumn, small enough that I could scamper out of the classroom unseen. Alexei wouldn¡¯t notice me in my miniature state. My white haired guard would stand there with his hands resting on the handles of his swords, more statue than man. It would take me much longer than I was used to, being little Autumn meant having little Autumn legs, but I would journey down the singing stairs and find my way to Anna and I¡¯s quarters. If I had suddenly discovered how to shrink myself, it only made sense that I would be able to do it to her as well. We would find some forgotten chest or crack in the wall to build our new little lives in. It would be much harder for her to turn the pages and she would grow tired from having to walk from word to word, but Anna would still be able to read her books. I would go from manipulating square weights to small bits of dirt and breadcrumbs, but I would still be able to train. We would feast for days on a single cut of meat and I would never run out of milk again.


    It was a beautiful dream, cute, cozy, and completely impossible.


    ¡°Well?¡± Precept Seram asked aloud, the sound of her unusually hard voice bringing me back from my little fantasy.


    Hearing her be anything but pleasant felt like finding a needle in the toe of my sock or sand in my bedsheets. She had been nothing but soft and comforting in my time. Discovering that she was capable of being rough was almost more unpleasant than the roughness itself.


    You have to tell her. She said it, your honesty will be taken into account. I thought to myself.


    Think. The Autumn I liked, the other Autumn in my mind, said in answer.


    I am thinking, that¡¯s the problem. She already knows it was me. She already knows it was Underwitch Ire. I thought back at her.


    If she knew, then why would she need a confession? The other Autumn asked in her calm and collected tone.


    The other me had a point.


    Precept Seram had just been in my place with me, talking openly and not getting angry at the very out of turn questions I had asked. If she had gone as far as to give each new moon a place of privacy to complete their assignments without the feeling of being watched and judged, why would she be trying to get one of us to admit our wrong doing in front of one another?


    She wouldn¡¯t.


    The other Autumn agreed. Truth.


    Precept Seram stayed silent for another long moment before her expression softened and her the brightness in her eyes returned. ¡°Forgive me, it was worth a try. But, I will remind each of you that you must not be out past your curfew. It is not a rule that is meant to punish you, it is meant to protect you, understood?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Precept Seram.¡± Each of us answer in a loose collection of agreements.


    ¡°Spotless,¡± She beamed back at us. ¡°Now, onto brighter things. Following our classes next week, I have arranged for all of us to take a short trip off campus. I wished to tell you of it now so you may be prepared when the day comes.¡±


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Underwitch Mallory asked.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t we do this last semester?¡± Underwitch Vanda added.


    ¡°Do we have to wear our uniforms?¡± Mallory asked a second question.


    ¡°Tana says she already knows, why did you tell her before us?¡± Plia joined the fray and asked.


    ¡°Do we have to go?¡± I offered a question of my own. Being away from Anna for my classes was one thing, but I didn¡¯t like the notion of spending more time apart. She hadn¡¯t been sleeping well and with her getting sick the week before, I needed to stay close to her.


    ¡°How long will we be gone?¡± Vanda asked her own second question.


    I was not used to the classroom being so noisy, but the sound of all of our voices echoed off the walls and made it feel like there was a hundred new moons all clamoring for answers in the circular room.


    Precept Seram did not seem to mind. She waited patiently for the torrent of questions to slow and then she answered all of them in turn.


    ¡°Here we go,¡± She began. ¡°I will not tell you. That would ruin the surprise. No two semesters at Lun are the same, all of you will learn that in time. Yes, you must wear your uniforms. Although, the temperatures will be cold and not as controlled as it is in Lun, so each of you might consider adding an under layer as Underwitch Ire has. I did not tell Underwitch Tana. It was she who had the idea in the first place and I would like to remind her that she has sworn to keep our destination to herself until we arrive. Yes, all of you are required to attend. Soon enough you will all be expected to work together much more closely than you do here and it will be a fine opportunity for you all to get to know one another. We will depart at the end of next week and return in the late evening of the following day. Understood?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Precept Seram.¡± We all agreed again.


    ¡°Spotless! Are there any further questions?¡± She asked us all with her arms held open in a welcoming gesture.


    ¡°No, Precept Seram.¡± We all answered.


    ¡°Spotless,¡± She smiled and clasped her the white gloves she wore on her hands together. ¡°Now, before you all depart, this is purely for my enjoyment. I have placed a hint as to the nature of our trip somewhere in the school. If any of you are to find it and understand what it means, come and tell me of it. If you are correct, I will tell you early.¡±


    Her obvious excitement bubbled out from her in a delighted giggle and I could not help but smile at the sound of it.


    ¡°Give us a hint!¡± Mallory demanded.


    ¡°The school is really big.¡± Plia said sheepishly as she pushed her thin hair back from where it had stuck on her face.


    ¡°You left us a hint about the Ladies ball last semester and I still haven¡¯t found it.¡± Vanda called out.


    Precept Seram¡¯s giggle gave way to a full laugh. When she quieted back down, she gave us the hint that Mallory had called for. ¡°It is within the library, in a place where you are your only company. That is intentionally vague, but all of you have sharp wits, you should be able to figure it out. You are all dismissed. Do not be out past curfew!¡±


    Every new moon except for Tana and I seemed less than thrilled that Precept Seram¡¯s hint was hidden in the library. Tana did not need the hint if the trip was her idea, and the others all swore that the library was haunted.


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    While I was in class, Anna spent almost every day in the very place that I needed to search. It took almost all of my restraint to not push past the rest of the moons and run straight down to where I knew Anna to be. It took even more of me to dismiss the thought that the trip itself was all an elaborate plan for Tana to embarrass me.


    I let that horrible thought drift out of the front of my mind and waited for Alexei to reach my side. It was early, there was much more light coming in from the snowy landscape outside the paneled windows we passed. If Anna was not in our quarters, I would go and find her and see if she could help me with Seram¡¯s hint.


    Alexei and I¡¯d walk was a quiet one, but I had become so used to his presence that I did not mind. Though I still intended to slowly charm details and truths from him, I never felt the need to speak. There was no awkwardness or uncomfortability. The white haired man was my guard, no more and no less. Until an opportunity to endear myself to him presented itself, I would not force it.


    When we were halfway down the singing stairs, he cleared his throat and directed my eyes to look back the way we had come with his own.


    Tana stood two steps above me. Her eyes were the same color as the blue stoned necklace that I knew was pressed against the flat of her chest and she used them to give me a sharp glare.


    ¡°Where is he?¡± She demanded, her fists balled and her legs spread out in a ready stance.


    She looked ready for a fight, like I was going to leap up from the crystal stairs beneath my feet and attack her.


    ¡°Where is who?¡± I asked in confusion.


    ¡°Master Samsara.¡± She said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know? Why do you care?¡± I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms in front of my chest. She had no right to ask me about my familiar. The fact that she had was enough alone to make me ball my own fists in anger.


    A tense silence settled between us.


    Alexei stood at my side, his one white eye looking up at the stairs above and away from the conflict happening before him.


    ¡°He is sick.¡± Tana spoke first.


    It was a small one, but I still counted it as a victory.


    Sam was a lot of things, but I had seen what being sick looked like very recently and I hoped with all of my heart that he would never need me the way Anna had.


    ¡°No, he isn¡¯t. I would know.¡± I said in response. He was shifting wildly between his usual quiet contempt and the very new unbridled joy, but he was not sick.


    ¡°Plia said that when she caught you in the dining hall the other night that you said that your partner was sick. If you aren¡¯t taking care of him properly, you shouldn¡¯t have him.¡± Tana said, the tip of her black boots coming dangerously close to taking another step closer to me.


    I clenched my teeth,squared my shoulders, and ignored her question. ¡°Why did you lie to her and tell her I was crazy? She is terrified of me!¡±


    My voice came out a bit louder than I had intended and the way it echoed off the stairs felt much too harsh in my ears. I did not enjoy being angry. The heat on my face and the tension in my hands did not feel good. The honey haired underwitch had done far less wrong to me than many others had, but for whatever inexplicable reason, she grated against me like no one else did.


    ¡°You really aren¡¯t very smart are you? Because I don¡¯t like you. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because you are motherless or because you have something that I want, but I can hardly stand the sight of you.¡± She shouted back as she took the next step down and the light of her aura began to glow out the top of her boots.


    She had looked me straight in my eyes and spoke without faltering. Her posture was tense and the corner of her mouth was turned up in a smirk that I very much wished I could knock off her face.


    In that moment, I could only assume that she meant to hurt me.


    My power came to my palm before I could think to stop it.


    I snapped my left arm out to my side and felt my bright blue cord begin to take shape.


    Tana¡¯s eyes went wide in the ghostly light of the singing stairs. In one smooth and seamless movement, she stepped out of her boots by stepping on her heels and pooled her sapphire power underneath her bare feet.


    She would have a very hard time using her channels when my cord was wrapped around her legs. Trees were not the only arrogant things that my power could fell.


    I brought my arm back to strike her.


    I could not bring it back again.


    At all.


    The first thing I noticed was the sound of my aura tinkling against the crystal steps underneath me as it fell to dust. The second, was the slight pain of Alexei¡¯s thumb nail pressing into the center of my palm. The third, was the fear in Tana¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°You would both do well to remember that using your aura and dueling are both forbidden. Underwitch Tana, leave.¡± Alexei growled, none of his usual restraint on his face.


    Tana shook herself as she backed away from me, the remnants of her aura leaving perfect outlines of her steps on the stairs. ¡°That is why you are with her all of the time, because she can¡¯t control herself. Because she-¡°


    ¡°Leave. Now.¡± Alexei commanded. He had not shouted, but the force behind his words felt much stronger than any raised voice could ever hope to be.


    I did not see if she obeyed my guards command.


    Tears blurred in my eyes well before my afterglow settled over me.


    What would you have done if I had actually hurt her? What if you had split her legs like you did the trunk of those trees? You could have killed her. . .


    Alexei turned me by my shoulders and pulled me into movement. If it had not been for his hold on me, the loss my already exhausted body took would have brought me to my knees. We passed people on the stairs that looked like a hand wiped mirror to my crying eyes, but it wasn''t until we reached the hall that both our quarters lay on that we stopped.


    He pushed me an arm''s length away from himself but did not withdraw his hands until I assured him I would not collapse.


    "Collect yourself." He said simply, his wolfish face emotionless once again.


    "I didn''t mean to break," I wiped my face on the back of my jacket sleeve, trying to do as he told me to. "the rules."


    Alexei furrowed his brow. "I don''t care about the rules. You''ve seen combat. Some sorcerer on the mortal plane if what I have heard is right. You''ve had a row with The Lady in Red too, right?"


    There had been two horrid creatures made of hands and pale flesh before him, but if sinking my teeth into his throat counted as fighting, then my guard had heard right. I had not fought Trea, she had nearly killed me and would have if not for Rhiannon and the guards.


    "The girls here, especially the new moons, they aren''t like you. Most of them don''t even know what it feels like to be pinched. I cannot allow you to do so, understand?" Alexei said, his voice low and steady as he spoke.


    I sniffed and wiped my eyes again. "She''s just so mean."


    Alexei agreed with me. "Yes, she is vicious, but most people are when they are young. Now, collect yourself. The headmistress is waiting for you in your quarters."


    "Mother Nami?" I asked aloud, beginning to feel like myself again. When it came to comforting me, my guard was nowhere near the top of my list, but I was glad he had been there. I disliked Tana greatly, but he was right. I could not let her anger me the way she had. For her well being and my own. Keeping my place as a new moon would be almost impossible if I left another underwitch in literal pieces on the stairs.


    "The headmistress, yes." He said as he led me to my room.


    "How do you know that?" I asked him as he opened the door for me.


    The white haired man did not answer, he gently pushed me into my quarters and shut the door behind me.


    The Mother in Blue sat on the floor by the fireplace.


    Anna''s books were spread around Nami in the same place that my raven haired partner had left them the night before. She wore one of the thin, loose dresses that she always did and her gradient blue hair was tied up in a knot behind her head. From within the wall of bindings and pages, she looked up at me in surprise at the sound of the door shutting.


    "Underwitch Aubrey." She said as she stood, looking utterly strange in the place that I had seen Anna in so often.


    Despite Alexei''s urgings, I had not collected myself fully. So my words came quick from my mouth. "What are you doing here?


    At least I wasn¡¯t bare naked and oblivious to her presence that time.


    "Truthfully? I am hiding, but I do have a reason for being here. We have brought a twinsoul like yourself to give you guidance. You will meet with her tomorrow," She stretched her arms above her head and the lean lines of muscle that played against her dusky skin made me very conscious of how gangly I truly was. "You have been crying, why?"


    My tears came rushing back to my eyes as I cried. "I dropped a loaf of bread."

 V3: Chapter Forty Two: Autumns Super Secret Training

    In a large room that lay somewhere beneath what I had once thought to be the lowest floor of Lun, I stood in front of a very strange collection of people.


    Each of them were not strange by themselves.


    Anna, a brand new leather bound notebook open in front of her, sat cross legged in a chair and was leaning forward on the table top before her, prepared to begin writing at any moment. Besides the layers of warm clothes that she looked very cute in, it would have been easy to imagine that we were back in our quarters doing what we did on most nights.


    My mother, whose knocks on my door early that morning had woken me up and stirred me into an aggravated anger that had vanished as soon as I met her emerald eyes, sat beside Anna. Even in a room with Anna and two of The Mothers, she somehow managed to be a kind of beautiful that was all her own.


    The Mother in Grey, Grey, had come in through a portrait of some purple haired sorceress and placed herself on the opposite side of the room. She wore a long sleeved coat and pants of some intricate weave that played a trick on my eyes every time I looked at it. She sat perfectly still, but the grey and black pattern of her clothes moved with my gaze. There was a small game between us, though I was certain she did not know it. Every time I would look away from her, she would peek out from behind her grey scale hair. When she thought I might see her, she would look away again and pretend that she had not so much as glanced at me.


    Nami stood at the back of the big room, looking more similar to some queen or princess from one of my mother¡¯s stories than she did to anyone else in the room. I had a new appreciation for the strength that dwelled within her ocean eyes. After my emotional admission the day before, she had dealt with me arguing with her for a long while. She could have silenced me at any point, but she had not. With an unyielding calm, she had spoken to me with words that assured me of her power without ever threatening me with it.


    A small smile playing at the corners of her full lips, she was talking quietly to the sorceress who was meant to give me guidance.


    It was an odd feeling, seeing someone that I had never seen before even though I knew what it was like to be her.


    I had been very careful not to meet either of her eyes.


    One was light purple, just a shade or two lighter than the Mother in Purple¡¯s, and the other was a rich honey brown. I knew the moment that I looked into them, that a vision of her memories would come flashing back into my mind.


    I already had a heap of my own emotions to deal with, I hardly needed to add anyone else¡¯s


    She was pretty, but I was beginning to understand that I thought mostly everyone was pretty in their own way.


    Reese¡¯s full figure made her appear strong and sturdy, like she could withstand a great storm without so much as a grimace. Plia¡¯s thin hair gave her a delicate look, like a flower¡¯s petals being blown by the wind. Even Tana¡¯s face, if I allowed myself to forget how I felt about her for a moment, made me very aware of how dull the features of Underwitch Ire were.


    Twila Plaas had a rough look about her that only drew my attention to her more. Her hair was long and tied back off her face with a strip of torn cloth. Dark at its roots and light at its ends, there were small traces of her purple woven within it. She wore a long black cloak that covered all sides of her like Precept Mon Zetta¡¯s. Along the fringes of the cloak was an intricate gold pattern that I had seen many times before.


    Azza. I thought. If the blue cloak of my uniform and the icy cloaks of the Precepts were related to Katarina, then a cloak like Twila¡¯s could only mean that she knew The Mother in Brown.


    The skin of her thighs that could be seen between the bottom of her cloak and the tops of her leg wraps was tan like Azza¡¯s. Her face had the same warm glow as well, a complexion that I understood people only got after long hours in the sun.


    If she was here under Azza¡¯s power, then I would have to be even more careful around her than I had already been commanded to be.


    Alexei was the last of those who had gathered in the big room. He leaned back against the wall beside the door, his arms resting on the ends of his ever present swords. Unlike everyone else, he had asked for my permission to come and observe. We had been standing in front of two of the mothers, and he had asked me.


    How could I have denied him after that?


    Then there was me.


    Not Underwitch Ire.


    Me.


    There was not one of my disguise¡¯s black hairs in sight, no muted features or darkened eyes either. I had let her fall from my face the very instance that I had stepped into the room.


    Not having to wear my glamor or my uniform had been one of the demands I had made at Nami.


    Anna¡¯s presence was the second.


    The third had not come to pass yet, but based on the success of the first two, I did not doubt that it would.


    In hindsight, The Mother in Blue had given into my demands so easily, that I had begun to wonder if I should have asked for more.


    I should have asked that Tana be sent away. I thought to myself.


    It was not strange that I was glamorless, with my long red hair and green eyes on display for all to see. Nor was it strange that I was wearing one of my old white dresses and my sandals. I had asked for both of those things to be so and so they had.


    Seeing everyone in the big room together was also not the reason for my unusual feeling.


    The true reason was because I was not in trouble.


    Almost every time I had seen more than one of The Mothers, it was because I had done something wrong or they had come to punish me. Gatherings around me usually only happened after I had been horrifically injured. My mind seemingly could not accept that there was nothing deeper and darker about why I had been brought to the room.


    I was a twinsoul.


    Twila was a twinsoul.


    Nami meant for her to teach me what that meant.


    That was it.


    I hoped.


    ¡°There is no sense in waiting any longer.¡± Nami sighed to the room, raising her voice for all of us to hear.


    ¡°Right,¡± Anna nodded in response as she scrawled madly across the top of her blank page. ¡°Let Autumn¡¯s super secret training begin.¡±


    Nami and I both laughed, my mother smiled, Mother Grey tucked a long strand of smoke colored hair behind her ear, Sorceress Twila began taking off her cloak, and Alexei made nothing even remotely close to an expression.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    All was well, I hoped.


    The fading edges of her laugh still playing at the start of her words, Nami turned to me. ¡°Underwitch Autumn, could you show us your colors? Something small, like a werelight or something of that sort.¡±


    All was not well.


    ¡°I, uhm,¡± I said sheepishly as I cast my eyes down to the floor. ¡°We have two problems.¡±


    ¡°She does not know how to make a werelight, Headmistress.¡± Alexei answered for me.


    Anna glared at him with such anger in her eyes that I was shocked his robe did not catch flame. ¡°I didn¡¯t know your name was Autumn, Master Alexei. Let her speak for herself.¡±


    ¡°Lady Anna, you make me wonder why she needs a guard in the first place with you around.¡± Nami laughed again.


    ¡°He is right though, I don¡¯t know how to make a werelight. That is the first problem.¡± I admitted, unable to look up from the rug beneath my sandals.


    The skin of my feet and legs had grown very pale in the wintery grey of Lun Arcanicil. I almost wished I had worn shoes that covered them fully so no one could see the pink scars and nicks that stood in stark contrast against the too white skin.


    Nami looked confused. ¡°How are you hallway through your first phase and you do not know how to make a werelight?¡±


    Her tone was not mean spirited or patronizing. I knew her well enough to know that her question had come from genuine curiosity, but it still made me start dreaming my little Autumn dream again.


    ¡°Maybe if she wasn¡¯t locked in a room for most of her life and forbidden from learning anything she would know how.¡± Anna said in a poor attempt of talking under her breath.


    Oh no. She¡¯s gonna get hurt because I brought her here. I said to myself. I agreed with what she had said and felt exactly the same. It was who she had said it to that made me fear for her.


    My mother reached over and placed her hand on Anna¡¯s knee. ¡°I am sorry, Mother, please do not take offense. I have rarely seen anyone as passionate about anything as Lady Anna is about my daughter.¡±


    ¡°I would be a poor Mother indeed if I got my feelings hurt from hearing the truth,¡± Nami said, her good humor still bringing light to her eyes. ¡°Not a werelight then. Whatever is easiest for you.¡±


    Still looking down at my feet and wishing I would have known it would be chilly when I decided to put them on, I answered. ¡°That¡¯s the second problem. I haven¡¯t been able to use my red since I found my blue.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm, that is a problem. Twila? Have you ever experienced something like that?¡± Nami asked.


    ¡°No, but I found both of my colors within a few days of each other,¡± Sorceress Twila said as she glanced around the room. ¡°How far apart was it for you?¡±


    I didn¡¯t really have an answer for that. My habit of forgetting who I was from time to time and jumping through the memories of others made it fairly difficult for me to keep track of dates and times.


    ¡°A while, I think.¡± I answered honestly with a shrug of my shoulders.


    ¡°Almost a year.¡± Anna corrected me.


    ¡°If she says it, it¡¯s right.¡± I said, looking over to her and trying to blush once she winked at me.


    Nami nodded and looked to Twila. ¡°Could that be the root of her issue?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m sorry, Mother. Mother Azza told you that I¡¯m not a teacher. I know how to use my power, that''s it.¡± Twila sighed.


    ¡°You are all that we have, Sorceress Twila. Perhaps explaining to Underwitch Autumn what using your power is like for you will be a better place to begin.¡± Mother Grey said in the flat, emotionless, tone that I had come to expect from her.


    I thought of her and Alexei being in a room alone in a room together and nearly laughed. The walls around them would crumble before either of them would express an emotion.


    ¡°Yes, Mother, but I am afraid that it will do no good. Sorceresses are so different already. My soul is halved down its middle,¡± She turned her different colored eyes my way and walked towards me. ¡°Does that help you, girl? Are you split like I am?"


    And not one of them ever stays sane. The Mother in Purple''s words echoed in my mind.


    "No." I answered honestly and cast my eyes back down just in time to not meet hers.


    Nami followed in her footsteps, one hand resting gently on the sorceress''s shoulder. "You can see this split within yourself when you reach for your aura?"


    "Yes." Sorceress Twila agreed.


    Nami kept her hand on Twila, but she turned and looked at my mother. "Sorceress Idensyn, when I reach for my soul, I see an ocean. What do you see?"


    "A mirror, Mother Nami." My mother answered.


    "And you, Grey?" Nami turned to the other Mother in the room.


    "Filaments." Mother Grey answered as if anyone else actually knew what that was.


    "Right," Nami nodded. "And Twila, you see a split?"


    "Not a split, Mother. I see window glass. One pane is lavender and the other is honey." Sorceress Twila said, confusion evident on her face.


    "And last but not least, Underwitch Autumn, what do you see?" Nami asked, placing her hand on my shoulder.


    I had been ready to answer as soon as she had asked my mother. In truth, I was almost excited at the feeling of actually knowing something or once.


    "Blue." I said confidently.


    "Blue? Just the color blue?" Nami asked.


    "My color blue. Azure." I explained.


    Nami nodded as I spoke, a look of understanding softening her ocean eyes.


    My mother was the next to speak. "I would like to remind us all just how young Autumn is. She has not yet seen your twentieth year. I would guess that she is the youngest underwitch within Lun Arcanicil by at least a decade. Could it simply be time that is the solution?"


    I thought of Tana, Plia, and the other new moons being ten years older than me and did not mind the thought. Tana was not just behind me in our assignments. She was behind someone considerably younger than her.


    It would be almost impossible for me to not let that slip the next time I saw her.


    "A fair point, Sorceress Idensyn, but time is something we do not have. Do to Underwitch Autumn''s special nature, it is imperative that she understands her power lest it begin to make itself known without her willing it to." Mother Grey said, the cold silver of her eyes focused intently on my mother.


    It is about The Well then. I thought to myself, paying special attention to the way she had emphasized the word special. I had made my three demands and in return, I had agreed to not make mention of The Well in front of Sorceress Twila. Grey was one of the least expressive and most direct souls that I had ever encountered. If she had been speaking of my twinsoul nature, she would have said so.


    "I understand, Mother." My mother agreed as she looked at me with a reassuring smile.


    "Am I supposed to see something else?" I asked.


    "If you are only seeing your color, it is likely that you have only been able to reach the outer edge of your power." Grey answered.


    "And as your mother has said, you are still very young. You have done nothing wrong." Nami said, her hand still on my shoulder.


    I knew I hadn''t, but hearing her say it aloud was a welcome comfort.


    Nami continued. "In order for Sorceress Twila''s time to not be waisted here however, we must find a way for you to be able to channel both of your colors. I see two ways for us to try and do that. The first is to trigger the emotions that first brought your red out of you."


    "I would prefer a method that did not require antagonizing my daughter into a state of anger." My mother said.


    "Or any other feelings." Anna added. I could have imagined it, but I was almost certain that she had blushed.


    "That is understandable," Nami said with an amused expression on her face. "Then, Grey, could you take a look inside her?"


    Anna''s pen dropped from her hand and bounced off the page she had been writing in. "Hey, you know what, I really don''t like the way that sounds."


    "If Underwitch Autumn will allow it, I will" Mother Grey answered.


    "All you will have to do is reach for your aura, like you would if you were going to perform a working. It will not hurt. Mother Grey is very skilled, you will hardly know she is there at all." Nami assured me.


    Alexei had not moved.


    Twila withdrew from me, but she no longer looked confused.


    Anna and my mother both wore expressions of obvious concern.


    The Mother in Grey remained motionless, looking in my direction but not directly at me.


    All of them were waiting on me. They were waiting for my approval. For the fist time in my short life, I felt like I could say no to The Mothers and they would respect my choice. The assuring look on Nami''s face told me that I would not be punished if I was not comfortable with what was being suggested.


    She has already been in your mind before. I thought to myself, taking as much time as I needed to make a decision.


    After so long spent in silence that Sorceress Twila went and took a seat, I looked to The Mother in Grey and spoke with as much authority in my voice as I could. "I will allow it."


    No harm would come to me.


    Nami had said so herself, and I could trust Nami.


    I hoped.