The Bonds That Tie Us

Lis followed her sister upstairs after taking the hidden set of keys she kept behind a loose brick in the wall by the door, locking well the entrance behind them. She set the keys and the bowl of still fresh cakes on the table, the lemony smell wafting to perfume the small apartment. Elise didn't intrude in whatever her sister was up to behind the folding screen separating the sitting area from the bedroom, instead, she went over to the fire to add a couple of logs and stir the smouldering coals and hot ash back into a crackling flame. Also to sneak a swig from her hip flask, she'd need it to deal with the willful teenager Ara had become. The woman needed to find a bigger place to live now, maybe having her own space would help her baby sister feel more like herself.

Ara's answer was sharp and dismissive, making Elise's hairs rise in the back of her neck as she bristled, feeling frustration rise in her throat. When they were younger, this was the point where she would start screaming at Ara and the girl would scream back. Their mother would have to separate them, settling the dispute. Right or wrong, they'd have to apologise and make up, but their mother wasn't around any longer and, even though Elise was now a woman and quite changed through loneliness and hardship, she was just too emotionally spent for the argument. Her only response was a deep sigh.

Elise stood up, intent on leaving Ara alone to cool down a little. It would probably help. Her honey-colored eyes were stoic as they gazed into her sister's green orbs, glinting with annoyance back at her. Elise walked over to her dresser while speaking. "Depends on the evening." She'd not say she sometimes just drank and gambled or succumbed to a lack of sense and brought Connor over to her apartment to do nothing good. Or the second-story work she did for the guild and the occasional duels Lis got herself into sometimes less sober than she should. Her self-destructive tales were not for Ara's innocent ears, no matter the kind of abuse that the girl might have suffered.

"This evening I unfortunately have work to do and my job is not the kind that can be postponed at a whim." Elise separated a cream nightgown with green mockingbirds embroidered on the hem and around the collar, laying it out for her sister to sleep in on the bed and returned to get a few items she'd need going after the Mage Hunters. That's when her fingers brushed the box, sliding the lid just a smidgen, but enough to make the light pierce through. She had forgotten the item already, and took it out just then. It was a clear crystal, perpetually glowing a warm yellow. She didn't know if it was more than that, but it reminded her of the jars of fireflies mother sometimes brought Ara who had been afraid of the dark most her childhood, so Lis kept it. Without any explanation, not to set Ara off, she placed the item atop the nightgown and walked back into the living room.

"I left you something to sleep in, there's tea by the fire, cakes, bread and cheese on the table and fruits in the cupboard. I think there's peaches." She recalled Ara liked those as a kid, or had she moved to pears? Elise thought she had those too in any event. Grabbing hold of the satchel with her tools and other necessities, Lis looked at Ara again and said." Will you be alright? I shouldn't take all night and this area is made very safe because of Mama's influence." Elise sort of braced herself for another snide remark, shoulders stiffening.
 
Ara’s heart plummeted, at the news that her sister was leaving. Now, there would be no one to stop her, no one to tell her to stay and that she was wanted. Only now that her sister was leaving did Ara even realise how badly she wanted that. She never did get what she wanted though, and the life she wanted with her sister could never have been so. Her sister had cemented that.
"This evening I unfortunately have work to do and my job is not the kind that can be postponed at a whim."
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That’s what she was… a whim. The word hurt like a knife in her gut. You could not live life on whims, and that’s all she was to her sister. A sudden fancy. The whim would pass, and Ara would be gone by then.
She watched as her sister laid out some night clothes though she knew they would not be needed.

" Will you be alright? I shouldn't take all night and this area is made very safe because of Mama's influence."
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Ara frowned, pushing down the longing she felt. The desire for her sister to stay, to tell her she was loved and wanted and welcome. Instead of voicing this she turned her back to her sister.
“I’ve already told you I’m fine.” She said a little more harshly than she intended, “Just go.”

Ara remained with back to her sister until she heard the front door ease open before it was shut harshly. Even then she stood for several minutes before she could bring herself to turn around to what she knew would an empty room. Ara then set to work struggling out of her new clothes and folding them neatly on the end of the bed, before putting on her old, ragged dress once more. As she did so, she caught her reflection in the cheval mirror, her hand once more finding the markings along her neck. Lis wouldn’t miss one handkerchief surely. Grabbing the silk once more, she tied the pretty material back around her neck. It looked ridiculous, the fine silk harshly contrasted against the cheap, ruined cloth of her dress, but Ara took no notice.
Untying the mass of knots on her boots took several minutes but eventually she managed to pull her feet out and remove the socks. She swung her bag around her shoulder, considering the apartment and what she should take or leave behind. Food was most likely important, she didn’t know how quickly she could find work after all. Ara grabbed a few apples and pears as well as some bread cheese, keeping them safe in the satchel. She felt guilty for taking them but she figured her sister would just be glad to be rid of her whether her food was stolen or not.

The unprepared pale girl crept slowly to the door, wishing there were something or someone to make her stay. Her mother perhaps, to tell her to stop misbehaving; to stay indoors where it was safe, to listen to her sister. But she was gone and at this moment, so was Elise. She reached a shaking hand towards the door, a glint catching her eyes and stopping her in her tracks.
The ring.
Lis would have regretted giving it to her anyway, once the excitement of having a sister return had worn off. She slid it off her bony finger placing it on top of the bed clothes. It was then she noticed the shining crystal sitting beside the clothing. She felt a comfort radiating from it, she felt a need for this light. Before she had realised what she was doing, the glowing crystal was packed snuggly in her bag. Now she could leave.

Much quicker this time, with a refusal to look back, Ara pulled the door open and breached the boundaries of one life and into another, pulling the door shut behind her, effectively ending the life she could have had with her sister. Her shaky yet determined legs led her out into the street with no real sense of where she was headed.
 
Her sister's dismissal had hurt. Elise had studied, turned it around, retraced the steps of what led them from their happy encounter, from Ara forgiving her, Lis taking her in, telling her she was home and that she'd never let anything happen to her little sister again to this... Was it all because of her alias? Because of boots? Could Ara be so fickle and so cruel? Elise kept telling herself her sister had been a kid when she was taken, she had suffered unspeakable things. It helped quench the rising anger at her sister telling her to 'just go'. She closed her eyes and sighed, looking at Ara giving her back to her like she was the enemy. It made Lis feel ashamed of the choices she had to make. No. The choices he forced me into.

Elise noticed that she had left her cloak in The Black Flagon in her hurry to follow Ara. The temptation to go in and have a few drinks would be too much in her current state, so she took her 'work' cloak, the light black thing was oiled, so it would help on the fading drizzle as the rain outside was coming to an end. "Make yourself at home..." Elise muttered a little dispassionately, perhaps too low. The door on the top of the stairs clicked behind her and she took the steps two at a time, not being to get out of their fast enough, feeling the boiling rage over the life her father thrust into them years ago. If she catches him... the thoughts that came to mind were so spiteful and cruel it even scared her.

A gust of wind slammed the alley door behind her and she winced. Great. That will make Ara that much happier... Elise thought ruefully. She pulled the hood over her head and started walking through the falling shadows as evening faded into night. Lost in thought, several streets down, it startled Lis to hear Connor's grave voice behind her as she headed out of the district. "Going somewhere, stomping so fiercely, Vi?"

Elise turned on her heels, saber half out of the scabbard. Perfect. Connor was the perfect target for her to lash out all the frustration, pain and anger of the day on. Especially as the man left his post watching over her sister, and she had made a deal with Mama Kerr and everything for the added protection. This was going to be a welcome distraction before she got her hands on the first unwitting Mage Hunter she could follow home...
 
Ara walked with her head down, her clothes still damp from the previous rain, now absorbing the new droplets that fell from the darkening sky. A miserable day to leave, she would need to find shelter from the rain tonight. She had thought she would enjoy it when she had dreamed of seeing rain again from the weatherless cell in the Mage Tower. Now that she was stuck out in it, she couldn't care less if she never saw the evil droplets again. Shivering, Ara followed from street lamp to street lamp unwilling to venture into the dark. She never did like the dark. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. She could be dry and warm, cuddled up in a bed by now. It was too late though. Even if she wanted to return, her mind had not been memorising her path. She didn't know the way back.

The underused muscles in her legs ached and the growing darkness began to feel stifling. She felt the blackness creep closer and the shadows move threateningly around her. She hated the darkness even as kid but her time in the Mage Tower had only worked to worsen it. The absolute darkness,where you could no longer see the end of your nose. That was the darkness she had been forced to endure every night. Nothing good ever came in the dark. The thought of the hands she had no control of. Memories she did not want to recall. Ara shivered feeling sick to her stomach and finding herself standing unable to put one foot in front of another. Her heart began to hammer and Ara was suffocating on the darkness. She could feel the memory's hands on her and she felt herself folding into feotal postion.
And suddenly the hand was real and it was grabbing her by the shoulder.

"Pretty young lass." The voice gruff and filled with a drunken slur.

Ara did not look to see the owner of the voice, her feet moved faster than they had in many years, and she could not see through the darkness and the memories and she could not breath through burning lungs and her thundering heart. She had to get away, as far as she could.
It wasn't until she tripped and ground to a painful halt that Ara realised she had left the lights of the city a ways behind. It hurt so much. Her head, her chest, her everything. The magic was burning, fighting to erupt. Ara grabbed at her head, pulling at the chunks of hair, trying to relieve the pain as she writhed on the ground.

Only the light of the small crystal, tumbling from her bag, distracted her and reached for it, clutching it against her, waiting for the pain to stop or the sweet release of death. In the end it was not death that claimed her but sleep. Curled up in the dirt, hugging the glowing crystal.
 
Rough hands grabbed Isaac by the shirt collar and pulled him from his chair, sending him crashing him to the floor in a painful awakening. "Wake up," his brother Carson demanded, even as Isaac was already rubbing his now aching shoulder. "Second time this week you haven't gotten up in time to fix breakfast, scrap. The sun's already risen and I've lost daylight." He scoffed as Isaac started to protest. "Gods, I'm the one who does all the real work around this place, and still, you're the one that sleeps like a woman."

With a grunt of effort, Isaac grabbed his crutches, which leaned up against the side of his desk, and hauled himself to his feet. He forced himself to swallow his anger. That wouldn't help with Carson. Although he had found that few things helped with Carson, besides waiting for him to go away. "I'm sorry," he muttered, straightening the books on his desk so he didn't have to look up. "Give me a minute, it'll be fast." Stupid. He had been up late the night before reading and he must have fallen asleep at his desk.

"Don't bother." Carson shook his head, still glaring. "I did it myself. I'm heading out to the fields now. Just make sure you have everything packaged and ready to be loaded on the wagon by sundown. I need to get to the market early tomorrow to get the best spot."

Isaac nodded his understanding, glad he would have to spend that much less time with his already angry brother. And when Carson left for the market, he reminded himself, he would have two or three whole days of peace. Though market days had always been his favorite with his father, he would more than willingly give up the bustling streets and tables piled high with goods for some time alone. "Have you brought Pa his medicine yet?" He tucked his book under his arm carefully and headed to the door.

At that, Carson snorted. "No, idiot. That's your job. I'm not going to do everything for you." As Isaac passed, Carson gave his left crutch a slight kick, sending the younger boy crashing to the ground yet again. "You don't get to be entirely useless."

This time, it was harder for Isaac to breathe through the urge to explode and calmly pick himself up again. Carson was truly in a foul mood, more so than usual, and Isaac didn't want any part of it. "Understood. But I can do nothing if you don't let me get out of my room." His tone was a bit sharper than he would have liked it to be, but luckily enough, Carson didn't seem to care.

"Ready to load by the time I get back!" Carson shouted after him as Isaac made his escape into the small kitchen.

Breakfast really wasn't a big deal, Isaac thought to himself in exasperation as he fixed two bowls of porridge, one for himself and one for his father. The only reason it was his job was that Carson liked to make Isaac get up before he did. Still, Isaac didn't shirk from odd jobs around the house. He couldn't work the fields, no, but he could do this. From a jar by the hearth, he pulled three small leaves, crushing them up to make a tea. His father had been growing weaker and weaker each day, and the only thing Isaac had been able to do to help so far was ease the pain some with a simple brew he had found almost a month ago. He had been staying up into the night poring over his books to try and find something he had missed, but so far the only thing it had gotten him was bags beneath his eyes, and now, a bruised shoulder.

When he had finished, Isaac quickly downed his own meal and gathered his father's on a tray. He took it slowly down the hall, keeping it from spilling, and knocked lightly on his father's door to announce his presence. "Pa... it's me." There was no response, and Isaac quietly let himself in. His father was still sleeping, and Isaac had not the heart to wake him, so he left the tray on his father's nightstand. Late as it was, Pa would likely be up long before the tea got cold.

Carson had already left for the fields when Isaac made his way out to the wagon. He groaned inwardly at the amount of work that greeted him. On his crutches, it would take him hours to fill the dozens of crates Carson had left out, and his arms would be left aching. Isaac looked around. His father was basically bedridden, and Carson wouldn't be back until sundown... Taking a deep breath and concentrating, Isaac allowed power to fill his chest like a cool breeze on a hot day, then directed it through his legs, strengthening twisted flesh and sinew and rooting him to the ground. With one final look around him, Isaac laid the wooden crutches on the ground and stepped forward to load the crates.

Using his power to walk unaided took a bit of concentration, but Isaac had practiced to the point where he hardly noticed it. The job that would have taken him nearly all day on his crutches was finished in a couple hours, while the sun was still low in the sky. With the rest of the day now free time, Isaac could go out to a secluded grove he had found by the edge of the forest, to read and practice his magic somewhere he would not be disturbed. He tossed his book into a bag, along with some bread and a waterskin, slung it over his shoulder and set off, crutches under his arm in case by some misfortune he ran into someone he knew. He'd only been walking for twenty minutes or so when he saw something that made him do a double take.

From a distance, it looked like a person, curled up on the ground. But at this hour, and so far from anywhere? Isaac didn't know what to make of it. He headed over, settling his weight on his crutches and releasing the power, just in case. It would be hard to explain his own presence out here, but still easier than explaining how the cripple-boy could suddenly walk.

As he got closer, Isaac realized his guess had been correct. The figure was a person - a girl - dirty and bedraggled from the previous night's storm. She was skinny enough he could see the delicate bones of her neck, and a chill swept through his body. He might not have to explain himself after all. "M'lady?" he asked gently, easing himself to the ground beside her and taking her skinny wrist to feel for a pulse. "M'lady, are you alright?"
 
Ara woke to a foreign pressure on her wrist. Her eyes shot open. Where was she? The sky was bright and the world open, certainly not the Mage Tower, and she wasn't alone either. A boy crouched all too close, clutching her wrist. She ripped her arm from the stranger and scrambled back. Lis... she was freed but where was her sister? The memories rushed back to her, and she felt a lump rise in her throat. She had left the city, she had left her sister, but she still did not know where it was that she now lay. There was concern in the boy's eyes and he did not seem much of threat, leaning heavily on the two wooden crutches like that. Looks could be deceiving.

Ara, still on the floor after scrambling away, climbed cautiously to her feet, keeping a very close eye on the boys movements. Like a frightened animal, ready to flee she watched the boy with her striking green eyes. And she would have fled too, if it wasn't for the small fact that her glowing crystal still lay near the boy. She could not bring herself to leave it, she needed it.

After a pause, both parties frozen in shock, Ara managed a barely audible,
"Give it back."
 
When the girl jerked back into life, she pulled away so fast Isaac nearly tumbled backwards. Well, she was definitely alive, that was for sure. He gingerly reached down to pick up what she had dropped, some sort of strange glowing stone. "I didn't take it," he answered gently. He felt the weight of it in his palm for a moment before slowly reaching out his hand to offer it back to the strange girl. He wasn't entirely sure what it was, but he knew asking now would only frighten the girl more, since she seemed to think he was trying to steal it.

"My name is Isaac," he added, trying to soothe her obvious panic with his words. "Are you hurt? Maybe I can help."

At a closer look, Isaac realized the girl was likely from the city. The beaten dress she wore was styled more for travel than working the fields, and the silk scarf tied around her throat must have once been of a higher class than what most of the working women this far outside Braedon could afford. The scarf had slipped some, revealing the tip of a reddened scar that made Isaac's breath catch. He couldn't be sure, but if his suspicions were right, this girl was in more trouble than he could fix. "You're a long way from home," was all he said.
 
ooc: Ara's non pc thinkings on the disabled does not reflect my own views :p

Ara hesitantly approached the boy who had offered the crystal's return. She reached a slow hand out before snatching the item back and hastily stuffing it into her pouch, safe and sound. Her breathing seemed to ease almost intantly.

She eyed the boy. He didn't seem a threatening figure and his voice calmed her some. What a pathetic 'independent adult' she was turning out to be. Afraid of a cripple boy. She had never met one before, but neither had she ever left the city, after all she barely got to leave the house as a child.

Determined to be the adult that she had left Elise to be, Ara moved to brush the dirt off her dress, before straightening her scarf and giving a slight nervous curtsy.
"I'm fine." She answered the boy before changing her mind, "actually I'm looking for work."

There was a moment before she realised she hadn't introduced herself and she blushed furiously at her mistake.
"My name is Ar-" the pale girl paused slightly before correcting herself "Annabelle, my name's Annabelle... or Anna. Yes Anna. That's me... Anna"
Ara blushed even more at her flustering tongue. This was not going smoothly, although honestly, it was her first conversation, since leaving the Mage Tower, with someone other than her sister.
 
Isaac eyed the girl skeptically. He might not have been from the cities, and he was used to people treating him like he wasn't there due to his crutches, but he wasn't a fool. The scar he had glimpsed, the way... Anna had quickly straightened the scarf over it, not to mention the glowing stone she was so protective over and the way she fumbled at her name- all of it added up to a girl it was best he stayed far away from. And for her own good, too. While Isaac was sure Carson suspected his powers, he was safe, for the moment. Pa would never forgive Carson if he turned Isaac in. But a stranger? She was fair game. And Isaac knew Mage Hunters often offered rewards to folk turning in runaways. No, Carson couldn't know about Anna. Not until she learned to lie better, at least.

"Well, it's a pleasure, Anna," he smiled, dipping his head in a slight bow. He didn't question the name. Isaac had no trouble keeping his suspicions to himself, at least not until he figured out what to do about them. Given the way Anna was behaving, pressing her or letting her know she wasn't fooling him would likely cause her to run off again. While she wouldn't be Isaac's problem anymore, there would also be no way he could help her.

"I think Goody Lawson was looking for a hand with her young'uns," he said slowly. The Lawsons were good folk, and he highly doubted they would turn anyone in, even a complete stranger. "But her place is a full day's walk farther from the city. My family's farm is much closer. Come with me, we can get you cleaned up some before you set off."

Suddenly remembering the lunch he had packed for himself, Isaac worked his bag off his back and handed it to Anna. "It's not much, but I have some bread and water. Eat, you look half starved." It would mean he himself didn't get to eat today, as that was his only portion, but Isaac figured that whoever 'Anna' really was, she needed it more than he did.
 
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Ara frowned at the offer. It seemed to be a common thing, people telling her she looking hungry, starved or thin and she wondered if she really did look all that different from everyone else. She didn't feel painfully hungry though she knew she could definitely eat. She was used to going without for stretches of time. Suddenly self conscious of the way she looked, Ara carefully took the bag from the boy if nothing else as distraction from the way she looked. Could they tell? Could everyone tell that she was a monster? A devil to be caged?
'Not anymore.' She told herself. Now she was free and her magic contained, although remembering last night sent shivers down her spine. She had felt so close to exploding, to losing it and letting it all out. Maybe she still wasn't safe around people and especially not kids. Perhaps it was also a good thing she was out of the city if there was still a possibility she was dangerous. But surely they would not have let her out if she was still a threat? She just had to stay calm and in control like her mother used to tell her.

Ara realised she had frozen, trapped in her own thoughts. Once more she blushed, a lot more self conscious of his presence. Could he tell she was a monster? How messed up she was?
"Thank you, um Isaac." She curtsied again, awkwardly holding the bag at the same time, "That's very kind."
Surely she couldn't do harm with a short visit.
 
"Of course." Isaac adjusted his crutches and nodded back the way he had come. "Follow me, then." Damn. He would have to walk the entire way back on his crutches. He couldn't trust Anna not to let his secret slip around the Lawsons. News always seemed to make it around in their small farming community, especially during market season.

"If I may ask, what brings you so far from the city, traveling alone?" Isaac asked carefully as they walked. "There are some rather unfriendly folk you could have run into." His brother, for one, popped to mind, but Isaac pushed the thought away. He would have Anna on the road well before Carson returned from work. She would wash up, rest a while, and then be on her way. It would not be a problem.
 
The boy's pace was slow but Ara wasn't in any rush and honestly her legs ached from last nights escapade.
She paled a little at the question. She hadn't given any thought to a back story and she had already proven herself to be a terrible liar. Perhaps part truths would do.
"My Mother died and the house was lost in a fire." Though not a lie she still could not look him the in face as she said it, "I have no family left, so I need somewhere to stay and some work."
Now that part was a lie but Ara felt it wasn't too far from the truth.
"Too many memories in the city to stay there." She finished fishing into the bag he had given her.
Feeling more comfortable now that her tale had been laid, she pulled out a chunk of bread and crammed too much of it into her mouth.
"Hab 'oo ea-en?" she asked him, mouth full, as she held the bread to him.
 
Isaac nodded as Anna told her tale. "Well, I'm very sorry for your loss," he said softly. Something in her voice told him it wasn't entirely a story.

He blinked as Anna held out the bread to him. "Uh, no, I haven't," he admitted. "If you're sure... thanks." He took the offered food and crammed a bite into his mouth. It was a little awkward eating while using his crutches, but after years of practice, Isaac had gotten an easy rhythm that didn't force him to drop his speed.

"It's the farmhouse up ahead," he commented through a mouthful once they could see it on the horizon. "My brother's out in the fields right now, we shouldn't run into him. Only one there is my Pa, and he's sick enough he spends most days in bed. There shouldn't be any trouble from him, either. You can wash up, if you like, rest from your travels, and I'll walk you partway to the Lawson's. It's a straight shot north of here once you get on the real roads again."

Should he try to talk to Anna at all, about the real reason she was running? Isaac didn't know. He felt bad, sending her off so fast, but if she had the full story, she would understand why she couldn't stay. But Isaac didn't know how to give Anna any real advice on her situation without revealing his own powers, which he hesitated to do even to her. No, he couldn't say anything. It was best to let the girl think she had fooled him, give her lies the practice they clearly needed, and send her off to somewhere he was fairly sure would be safe. Still better than letting her wander on her own. It was all too easy to run into those unfriendly towards spellcasters this close to the city.
 
The boy didn't want anyone to see her... was it because he could tell what she was? Ara fidgeted with her scarf self absently, patting it down to cover her telling scars. Was he embarrassed by her? The boy seemed nice and unassuming but there seemed to be more going on with him. He seemed as uncertain as she was and Ara could almost felt a kinship towards him, like her magic vibrated in harmony with something inside him. She had felt it with her sister but never anyone else.
The girl bit her lip wondering whether to voice all the question bubbling in her mind. What was wrong with his father? How did Isaac get crippled? Why didn't he want people to see her? Who was he and why did he feel so familiar?

Finally, Ara settled with a seemingly simple question as the farmhouse neared.
"Do you like it here?"
To be honest, Ara was very curious about what farm life was like. Isaac had a family, he had open air and space, a brother who probably loved him. A normal life. He must be happy.
 
Isaac gave a rueful smile, looking around. Well, if that wasn't a loaded question, he didn't know what was. The rolling fields of the farm and he endless line of the horizon were his home, the only world he'd ever known. And then there was his father, the only one who had ever shown him love. His mother, too, he knew, not that he could remember it. When he left for the city, he would be leaving his whole world behind to build a new one, on the blind hope that whatever he could create apprenticing under some doctor would be worth it.

But home was also fields he couldn't plow, and a brother who resented him, and living in fear of the secrets he had to keep. It was one slice of bread for lunch when his stomach growled for three. Sometimes Isaac looked out to the endless horizon and felt dwarfed by its magnitude more than awed by its beauty. When had the doors to all his options closed? When had Isaac become so trapped? Despite the open skies above him, sometimes it felt like he lived in a cage built of his own failings and inadequacies, with his brother guarding the door.

"You ask much with a single question," Isaac said finally, leaning on one crutch to unlock the door. He lead Anna inside, dropping his pack on the table. "Happiness is complicated, and I'm not sure it's as simple as you feel it or you don't." He debated the wisdom of continuing to speak, but the words were out before he had fully thought them through. "There are happy memories here, yes, but also sad. Some things I cannot tell my family, and I find holding a secret too long in a place taints it in a way you can never fully scrub off."
 
The fight with Connor had been ugly, and she felt a little ashamed for slapping him like some sort of offended pompous lady. He'd taken it like she'd expect, poking his tongue at the inside of the cheek, rubbing the reddening mark on his unshaven face and scoffing. He left without a word while Elise felt like an idiot. Connor and 'Viola' were rivals and the man relished in pushing her buttons, but they had been the occasional lovers too and she could not call him a bad man, criminal or not. He was, in his own way, perhaps concerned Elise might do something brash, but Connor had just presented her with the perfect opportunity to vent some frustration when he left his post watching her little sister and Lis took it too gladly. She wasn't proud of it.

In the years of burning rage and consuming guilt, Elise had come to know a good deal about the guard shifts of the Mage Hunters of the local tower. She knew when there would be a change of sentinels and bid her time, watching from the shadows on a rooftop. Normally, she'd be wearing her dark clothes with light armoring now, but she left home with so much hurry, needing to take a breath away from Ara, that she was not in the best attire for the deed, but she pressed on. Honey-colored eyes squinted at the sight of her target. Following home and using her magic to climb to his bedroom window, much like a spider, had been simple. The man was cruel and a loner, so easy pickings for Elise, she'd feel no remorse for what she was about to do... or so she thought.

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The man's muffled screams and the smell of his blood and charred flesh still made Elise's stomach roil. She had emptied what little stew she had scarfed down before Ara stormed out of The Black Flagon in an alleyway, just outside the man's home. Her mind reeled with thoughts of what he had told her and the implications of what she had done. What had she started? She had had the presence of mind in her bloodthirsty need for revenge to dispose of the body in a sewage exit, but there would be no disguising his absence or the gruesome traces of what she had done. For a while she wondered the darkened, miserably wet and muddied streets of Braedon, unwilling to return to her sister in such a state. Could Ara forgive her if she knew? Could she forgive herself?

And what had the man meant with 'Field Experiment'? It was obvious he knew precious little about her sister and what was going on, but he had said she was the first in a field experiment and confirmed her fears that Ara had a Mage Hunter following her. Was that the man she lost in the graveyard? Or were there eyes in the dark, watching their every move? She leaned against the wall on the corner of her street, gasping for air and stomach threatening to empty itself again through her heaving breaths. She managed to push it down and settled it with the last of her hip flask contents, shaking the metal vial over her open mouth for the last few drops.

Elise didn't get to see whether Connor was still watching her apartment or if another lookout had been there, she saw no one in the passing glance she dispensed the other side of her street. Approaching her concealed door, her hands trembled a bit when she looked for the right key in the ring she carried them. She definitely needed more mead. Her breathing stop and a cold shock went down her spine as she turned the lock only to find it opened. All of the heaviness of her shame and regret washed out of her and the panicky feeling of something having happened to her sister took over. She drew her saber and her rapier and carefully climbed up the stairs. One by one she moved quietly up, she knew well where they creaked and so no sound alerted a possible intruder to her presence. Well... that and the magic fueling her muscles with supernatural agility. It made her head pound, she had overused her powers that day, maybe one of the reasons she felt so sick.

The apartment had telltale signs of being looked through, but not rummaged or tossed about. She found no one in the sitting area and gathered the courage to call out. "Ara?" A few tentative steps led her around the corner to her room. Her breath caught and a lump rose in her throat at the sight of the empty bed. A quick run around confirmed the rising fear that made her heart thunder in her chest. Ara was nowhere to be seen. Her rage was taken on innocent bowls and vases and the delicate china of the tea set she purchased because it reminded of her mother, who had always wanted one. It took her a few moments of cursing and despairing to think straight. The bed was made. The nightgown was the same way she left. The crystal was missing and that... that was the ring she had gifted her sister. It was suddenly clear what had happened.

"Oh, Ladybug..." Elise's exasperation was part frustration, part heartbreak. How could Ara be so childish and leave her, not even 12h after they had met. Years they had been apart, grueling years of pain and guilt and cold rage. There was finally light in her world again and Ara tossed it away for what? Such thoughts were quickly discarded by the sobering realization her little sister was wondering this city alone somewhere. Maybe someone had tried to stop the stubborn teenager from going away but she was too set in her own ways to be persuaded to return? Then someone surely was on her tail and all she needed to do was talk to Mama Kerr. The idea filled her with a modicum of relief... but somehow it rang hollow. Something in the pit of her stomach told her it wasn't going to be that easy. Wiping the tears streaking her face, Elise got up from her now very messed and upturned apartment to go down to The Black Flagon before the small flame of hope she had lit got completely snuffed out by her own logical thinking...
 
Ara immediately regretted the question when she sensed a change of tension in the boy. Perhaps life was not as easy here as she had assumed. He had a secret just like her. Mixed memories too. Possibly that was the kinship she sensed in him? ...No it was something more that that, but she could not figure out what.

"I'm sorry." She whispered "I had secrets too... they don't last"
Her's sure didn't. Her father found out, as he was always going to and then she was punished for it. Secrets could never really keep you safe, not forever. And soon this boy's would fail too, she knew it would. She just hoped for his sake that it wasnt a secret with terrible repercussions.

She caught herself staring at him and pulled her eyes away to instead take in the house. It was quaint and she could see herself being happy here although it wasn't hard to beat a cell in the Mage Tower for comfort.
"I won't stay long, sorry for intruding."
 
"You aren't intruding," Isaac rushed to assure her. "I just want to see you to the road before my brother returns. Carson isn't the most accepting of strangers." And certainly not of strangers with scars on their necks from the Mage Towers, though he didn't add that part aloud. "Sit down, make yourself comfortable. I'll grab you something to wear while we wash your clothes."

He didn't wait to see if Anna followed the instructions. Something about the way she was looking at him made him uncomfortable, like she could see straight through the guise of his crutches. She had the power, too - for all he knew, she might very well be able to. Her words 'secrets don't last' echoed painfully in his head as he started down the hall to find her some old clothing. The words had been meant in sympathy, he knew, but given what Carson had begun to suspect, they felt almost like a threat.

As Isaac passed his father's room, he paused, the hint of a frown creasing his brow. It was past lunchtime now, and still, he heard no movement from behind the closed door. Suddenly, an inexplicable cold crashed over him. Something was wrong. With a glance behind him to the kitchen, he knocked gently on the door. "Pa?" When there was no answer, Isaac's gut clenched. "Pa, I'm coming in."

The first thing he saw was the tea he had made that morning, spilled all over the floor, the mug shattered.

The next thing he saw was his father, sprawled half on and half off the bed, utterly motionless.

"Pa!" Isaac rushed across the room. His father's skin was cool to the touch, and when Isaac put a hand before his mouth and nose, he felt no reassuring breaths. No, no, no. Isaac grabbed at his father's wrist, and when he found no pulse there, his throat. "PA!"

He had left. He had left, and Pa had been alone, and Pa had d- no. He wouldn't say it. He couldn't be responsible for this, not this, too. Isaac wasn't sure what was spinning faster, the world around him or the inside of his head. Everything was wrong, and it was his fault, his fault, his fault. The power was screaming inside his chest, so loudly Isaac was sure the whole world could hear it, and suddenly he didn't care if they did. "I won't let you die, Pa," he muttered, pulling his father to the floor and placing both hands firmly on his chest. "I won't kill you, too."

Isaac's hands grew hot, so hot he would have been forced to release the power if he had been in control of it at that point. He squinted to see through the white light that grew with every passing moment. He could feel his own strength ebbing as he struggled to keep the connection open, but he didn't care. If he failed, he was as good as dead anyway, and so was Pa. The pressure grew and grew beneath his hands until with a loud crack he was thrown back from the force of it, hitting the back of his head on the bedframe.

His father lay still.
 
Ara watched the boy leave, considering his advice to sit and wait for his return... That was until she heard a cry that shook her.
"Pa!"
Ara jumped at the haunting sound crackling through the silence. That was Isaac's voice. He had said his father was ill and Ara couldn't help but think the worst. She was frozen to the spot. Was this her fault? Her presence seemed to ruin peoples lives; her father's; her mother's; her sister's and now this young man's too? Was she a curse?
Her stomach was stone as she heard the second chilling cry. Unable to move, unable to do anything to stop the events around her. If only death and destruction would stop following her around like a shadow.

A sharp crack broke into her thoughts and she let out a squeal in fear. The boy! Had something worse happened? She couldn't allow herself to stay out any longer, wallowing in her own self pity while something bigger was going on. Slowly, one shaky foot in front of the other, Ara made her way toward the room that the shouts had radiated from, scared at what she'd see.
"Isaac?" She whispered as she pushed the already half open door further. The door creaked eerily in the, now, all too quiet room. An old man lay barely on the bed, his shirt torn and burnt at the chest by something unnatural. Her eyes then took in another body. Isaac's. Sprawled near the bed post, his crutches seemingly flung elsewhere around the room.
Ara couldn't breath and she couldn't move and she couldn't see and she could not stop shaking. Bodies haunted her mind. Dead, both of them. She couldn't stop it, the destruction around her. She wished her mother was here now, holding her like she was a child once more. Where all her worries could be mended with a cuddle. She would whisper that it'd be okay and not to lose control. She could feel the magic rising to her panic but it could not escape. Lis, she needed her sister. She was alive. She could fix this. She could make things better. But Ara was right to leave, if this was the damage she caused in her wake.

Finally, finding her self on her knees, Ara crawled over to the boy, studying his face, too scared to touch him as blood oozed from his skull.
"Isaac?" She whispered, her face inches from his, "Isaac please, Isaac wake up. Please, please..."
She was sobbing and her hands uncontrollable in their quacking. She didn't know how to fix this. She didn't know what to do. She was a child, just a child, unable to wake up from the nightmare that began it all.
 
The light hurt as Isaac's eyes slowly opened again. Someone was crying next to him. That girl he had found, Anna. Isaac felt sick. Well, his secret was out now. It didn't matter. His hand crept up to the side of his head, finding sticky blood matting his hair. "Okay, 'm okay," he muttered, not really focusing on the issue.

Pa. Where- where was Pa? Had he been able to- Isaac went to sit up, but the room was swimming. The knock to his head must have been harder than he'd thought- had he lost consciousness? He didn't know. All he knew was he needed to get to his father. Get to Pa, everything else was second. Pressing his palm to the wound, Isaac concentrated and allowed healing energy to flow, knitting the skin back together. The healing stung some, like cleaning a wound with alcohol, but it was irrelevant. The headache ebbed, too, though it didn't fully subside, and he was able to think again.

Anna was staring at him as though he had grown another head, but Isaac didn't have eyes for her. "Oh, gods." He crawled to his father's side but stopped short, afraid to even touch the still form. Pa's chest was burned, his shirt still smoking slightly, and the marks the shape of Isaac's hands. "Gods, Pa..." He felt his voice catch and it took him a moment to find it again. "I-I was trying to help." The words were barely audible, he didn't have the right to make excuses for himself. "I was trying to help."
 
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