"Anne? What are you doing here alone? Where is your father?"

Mum was home, entering the room with Beatrix on her hip and Grandmother at her side. Daniel was panicking. He should have hidden behind the door before she came in.

"I left early," Daniel said with a crooked attempt at a smile, "I told them to let Dad know I had already gone home."

"You left early?" Mum stopped and stared. "You can't just go on your own. They shouldn't have let you do that."

"Urk!"

"Now is not the time for that nonsense," she said sternly, "Tell me exactly what happened."

Daniel was offered a brief reprieve by the sound of new footsteps coming up the stairs. Henry and Dad entered, and their eyes locked onto Daniel.

"I'll go let father know she's safe," Henry said.

Dad came closer and pulled up a chair to sit next to Daniel.

"What happened?" He asked.

Daniel tried to explain. He felt a surprising amount of guilt for not giving a completed unvarnished version of events. Surprising since guilt wasn't something he had experienced much when living completely unattached to others. But while he could be stupid in a lot of different ways, revealing too much here was not one of them. He felt he could probably trust his parents with aberration at his point. But this was not the time for the whole reincarnation thing to come out. Surprise dad, I'm actually an adult man in the body of your little girl. Super creepy right? Even that much consideration made him feel ill. Thoughts in that direction were banned.

Instead, he tried to keep it simple. He went to school and learned his skill and then noticed his thinking had changed and gone all weird which he didn't like so he left. His parents seemed more worried for him than angry, although most of the communication between them was being done in glances that Daniel could not decode. He started to wonder if he needed to be more forthright, to make sure it was clear something wonky was going on over there.

"You said it made your mind weird but what did you mean?" Mum asked, "How did it make you feel exactly?"

"It made me sick to my stomach," Daniel answered honestly. His mum reached out in worry and started stroking his back. He thought she was taking what he said in a different way than he had meant it, but that was ok by him. "I don't want to go back there."

"Do you feel alright now? Or are you still sick?" she asked.

"I'm fine now."

Daniel looked at his father, caught between his urge to make the problem clear and his urge to deny he was anything but fine.

Flame of Kyburad.

He summoned his flame on the tip of his nose. His parents laughed.

"What are you doing?" his mother asked.

He shrugged, moving the flame to his shoulder.

"What happens now?" he asked.

"We need to talk to the priests after your grandfather gets back," Dad said.

Grandfather loudly stomped his way up the stairs ten minutes later. He walked in with a thunderous expression, but then turned back and leaned into the hallway to check down the stairs. Turning to Daniel's parents, he had a twinkle in his eye as he spoke.

"Zachery is outside with Henry. You'll need to go down and speak with him. You should use my office."

"Are you alright?" Mum questioned, confused by his behavior.

"Yes, yes. Go on now. I'll watch over Anne don't worry."

Mum and Dad left down the stairs, leaving Beatrix with Grandmother, and Daniel to realise he wasn't supposed to deal with his own problems. A grin was breaking out on Grandfather's face as he watched them go, and then as they heard the sound of the front door opening, he strode back to the door and shouted down the stairs in an angry voice.

"Henry, fetch my sword before you come up!" and then he slammed the door loudly shut. Turning back to Daniel, the grin was now in full force. "Brilliant!" he declared, and then swept across the room, picking Daniel up and raising him high while laughing.

"Brilliant!" he said again. "Tell me, girl, you just got up and walked out?"

"No, I told them to tell Dad I'd gone home."

"Ha!" he barked out. "And they let you go?"

"Well, they had just said they would all die to protect my freedom."

"Aha! Brilliant!" he laughed again. "That's it, girl, I've decided. You're my favorite grandchild. Feel free to boss around any of the other ones."

"Why are you so happy, Grandfather?" Daniel asked.

"I just got back from shouting at priests, that's why! If Henry had been 5 minutes later, I think I would've gotten one of them to start crying."

He started laughing again. That didn't sound like a very nice thing to be doing. But still, mental manipulation basement, and besides, it seemed to make him happy.

"Let me tell you about those priests, girl. They love to tell everyone what to do. And people listen!"

He started to mimic a cringing voice.

"Yes priest, right away priest, whatever you want priest."

"Do you know why?"

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Daniel shook his head. Mind control magic?

"Because they are fanatics!" he stated emphatically. "They start going on about fighting to the death for their beliefs, and everyone gets too scared to say no to them. But you, my brilliant granddaughter, you slapped them in the face with their own beliefs. What can they say to that? Nothing! It's hilarious."

He started laughing again, and when he finally stopped the sparkle was stronger in his eye than ever.

"You rubbed it in their faces just like I told you to."

After a little time passed, Henry came up the stairs and reluctantly handed a sword to Grandfather.

"They want you down there Anne," he said, then added "Just Anne," when Grandfather moved to follow.

"Just call out if you need my support, girl. I'll be waiting." Grandfather said.

As Daniel started down the stairs, he could hear Henry lecturing Grandfather as he went.

"Honestly, father. I understand you want to have your fun, but you need to act smarter about this."

Downstairs, Mum was holding the door to Grandfather's office open and waiting for Daniel. Dad was sitting behind a desk, facing the door. Zachery and another priest Daniel did not know were sitting in front of the desk with their backs to the door. Mum ushered Daniel to an empty seat next to Dad, placing him on her lap since there weren't enough chairs.

"Zachery is insisting that we have your agreement for any solution," Mum said.

"Hello, Anne. Your mother is correct, there is no point in making a decision here if you cannot abide by it. Now, as I was just telling your parents, there is a magical effect to aid learning set up in the classrooms. It is quite rare for this to cause a negative reaction similar to the one you experienced. I would ask if you would be willing to try entering the classroom again to make sure this was not an unrelated issue?"

"What does the spell do?" Daniel asked. Zachery turned to the other priest.

"Field of the Pure Mind," he answered, "it suppresses effects which weaken the mind such as sleep deprivation or anxiety. It is particularly effective at helping children to learn, although we cannot say for certain why that is so."

Daniel could guess those reasons. if they were telling the truth. If. He supposed it was hypothetically fine. If the helpful magic helps, then use the magic. Why not? But they should have asked. Why should he trust people who didn't ask? It made him want to call on Grandfather to come to pick on them.

"I'm not willing. Are you willing to turn off the magic?"

"No. We will not hold back the entire class for one child. Besides, the magic is part of the building, it can only be destroyed, not disabled," Zachery said. "Instead, I would like to offer to handle your teaching myself, in my office. There are no such effects in place there. I should be able to handle your supervision while attending to my other duties, assuming of course, that you don't intend to escape as soon as my back is turned."

Compromise, urk! Disgusting.

"I thought you wanted to protect my freedom?"

"We wish to ensure your freedom to decide your own future. But let us not take this to the point of absurdity. You are five. We have a responsibility to your parents while you are under our care."

"Zachery did a lot of apologising today," Dad said.

Which probably meant he got shouted at a lot by Grandfather. Daniel warily considered the two priests. They hadn't shown many reactions, instead, they had been blanking watching him most of the time. It left him unsure how much they were reading into his actions. But, well, he needed to do more if a compromise was going to be possible. In for a penny in for a pound.

"What did you apologise for?"

"For losing you."

"I think you should be apologising for using mind-altering magic on children without asking first"

"Anne," Mum chided, not liking the obvious condemnation in Daniel's voice. The gaze of the two men swung to her as she spoke.

"Let her speak," Zachery said.

"The spell effect is a positive one," the other priest answered, "And some children would not fully comprehend the question unless we used the magic on them first."

"Then you should ask their parents for permission," Daniel replied. "Do you not think using mind-altering magic defeats your aim to allow children to make their own choices?"

"We do not," Zachery said. "Because we do not think of the magic in that way."

Daniel sighed as audibly as possible and looked at his parents.

"What do you want me to do?"

"You have to go back to school sweetheart," Mum said. "There are skills you need to learn for your future."

"Will you promise not to use any magic on me without asking first?" he asked Zachery.

"I promise unless your safety is in danger."

"And not to let any of the others do so,"

"I will do my utmost to do so."

He looked at his parents again. Could he just let this go? Trust these priests? There was always other options, but they seemed drastic and probably self-destructive. This is the point in the movie where the incredibly stupid character escapes by blind luck, but then foolishly goes back to give the villains a second chance. The priests hadn't liked Mum interrupting, but didn't object to her saying he had to go back. He was groping in the dark for the edges of their religious logic. Or was it just convenience?

"What do you think?" he asked.

"I know Zachery well," Dad said."I believe you can trust him."

Mum nodded encouragingly.

"Will you come with me tomorrow to check his office?" Daniel asked his Dad. Dad nodded with a smile, but the unnamed priest made a scoffing sound, his patience seemingly exhausted.

"I could ask Grandfather to come instead if you would prefer?" Daniel said.

"Please don't," Zachery replied.

"I will go back."

"Good, I am pleased we could reach an agreement, " Zachery said. "On another matter, Erasmus said that he saw you use the Flame of Kyburad before you left?"

Flame of Kyburad.

Daniel kept an absolutely straight face, ignoring his new nose highlight. If this doesn't count as wisdom training, nothing will. It's even starting to itch, and I know it shouldn't be able to cause that.

"Excellent. You missed it today, but as a rule, we check with a guidance stone that a new skill has been learned before ending a class. It helps to avoid mistakes."

The discussion over, the priests got up to leave shortly after. Grandfather was sitting on the stairs, working his sword with a whetstone while he waited. He got up to help show the priests out, walking directly behind the unnamed one while putting his sword back in its scabbard as slowly and noisily as possible. He winked at Daniel as he passed.

"Is that really necessary?" Zachery asked. Grandfather did not respond.

Mum led Daniel upstairs, and Dad and Grandfather soon returned.

"I'm glad that's over with, but Anne we still have to talk about today." Mom said sternly "You can't just leave the church and wander through town on your own."

"Is that really a problem?" Grandfather asked "Plenty of kids leave those lessons early, especially once they start to teach the more boring skills. And most of them walk there and back unsupervised once they learn the way."

Mum frowned.

"Older kids," she said.

"So she was ahead of the others. You can't lead from the back."

"She is five," Mum said, crossing her arms, clearly annoyed but not wanting to go too far.

"Fine. fine," Grandfather said, putting his hands up in surrender and walking away.

Daniel was not one to give up control over himself. He'd had jobs, and bosses, but that was something he had opted into. The distinction was stark in his mind. The same went for his parents, he accepted their authority but didn't respect it. Even that much had a time limit. But he knew that wasn't very fair to them. So he wanted to say sorry, to reassure his Mum's authority when Grandfather was undercutting it. He wanted to say sorry but he wasn't sorry for leaving. He also wanted to say he had come straight home, but that just seemed like an excuse. It left him feeling awkward about how to continue. He glanced toward his father. What had Dad said? Live up to your own principles. He needed to be honest here or he was just undermining Mum even more. And himself.

"How long do I need an adult with me to learn the route?" he asked finally.

"A few weeks at least," she said. The tone of her voice changed to teasing "You don't want to walk to school with me?"

"I do," he said simply. She smiled and he smiled back but had something to add. "If the priests use magic on me I'll leave early though."

The smile went and she gave him a complicated look, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry," he said, meaning it. Not for leaving, but for not being a kid who would simply do as his mother asked when she was worried about him.

"I know you are, poppet," she said, moving in for a hug. "I forgive you."