"Where are we going now?" Emily asks as we walk through the central district.

I bite my lip, far more nervous about this than I was with Beth. "The only one left is Marrianne..."

"Oh. That's, umm, the woman who... uhh," she glances around at the people in the street around us, then takes my hand. I bob my head faintly, forming the telepathic connection and giving her a nudge to let her know. She goes on silently. "She's the one who took care of you after you left the rail unit program, right?"

"Yeah."

We keep walking. I'm not sure what to say, what I'll even tell Marrianne. I just... I feel like I need to talk to her, before I go. So we keep walking in silence. It's been months since I lived at Marrianne's house, but I still remember where it is, just below Main Street near the East Gate. The walk is pretty long from the clinic, but I hardly notice. My head is spinning, worrying more and more about what I'll say.

----------------------------------------

The building comes into sight, the ordinary three story wooden building, fixed up a bit better than the similar ones across Main Street, in the northeast district. On its ground floor, Marrianne's house. Squeezing Emily's hand tighter, I approach the front door. Even with my thoughts swirling with anxiety and worry, part of me wonders if she's even home.

Somehow, that makes me grin. She's definitely home. I just know. She has to be. Grinning weirdly at the door even as my heart pounds in my chest, Emily looks at me worriedly. "Aria, do you want me to come, or would you rather do this alone?" she asks.

I open my mouth to answer. Of course she should come with me. She's always there to help me. But... I can't say it.

I look up at her, blinking and confused. "Actually... I... I think I need to do this alone." I don't really know why.

Emily smiles and rubs my head. "Sure. I'll head home first. I'll make us something to eat tonight, sound good?"

"Yeah."

She gives me a long, calming hug, then waves and walks away. After she disappears down the road, I take a big breath and look back at the house in front of me. I'm going to talk to her. About what? I have no idea. Is this even a good idea? There are so many things I can't even tell her about, and the things I can are all tangled up in my head...

Before I lose my nerve to my terrified thoughts, I knock on the door.

Immediately, there's some muffled sound from inside. I jolt, some part of me wanting to just flee from all of this. But I stay standing, tears threatening behind my eyes, listening to the footsteps as they approach. It's hard to breathe, my heart's in my throat. Then the door opens and Marrianne is standing there.

"Wun- I mean, Aria?" she looks surprised, which I guess makes sense, just showing up out of nowhere like this.

"H-hi..."

Then a big smile spreads over her face. She kneels down, opening her arms up, and without a second thought, I hug her. In an instant, all of my worries vanish. "It's good to see you again," she says quietly.

"Yeah..."

We stay like that for a bit, before separating, and she brings me inside. She has me sit down, just across from the doorway, my old bed, which I now realize is actually a bench. I smile a little as I sit, and she goes into the kitchen, returning shortly with a cup of water. I accept it gladly, sipping at it as she sits down right next to me.

"So, what brings you here today?"

A bit of nervousness comes back, but I try to keep calm and just speak. "I wanted to talk to you. I realized I never really finished explaining things to everyone last month, so I've been going around trying to explain better."

"Oh, I see." Her tone doesn't betray her nerves at the topic, but her eyes do, just a bit. "So what do you want to say about that?"

I grin, feeling awkward, but thankfully nowhere near as anxious as before. "Actually, I couldn't really figure that part out," I admit, which makes her chuckle a little. "I knew I needed to talk to you, but..." I shrug. "I don't really know what to talk about. I mean, I guess I should explain more about how being Reena's angel needs to be secret from the other gods, Eryk and Beth said that wasn't clear enough when I explained it the first time."

"Sure, if you'd like," she agrees easily, rubbing my head softly. It feels so nice and comforting, it's almost distracting. Even so, I explain, about the same way as I did with the others. She listens without interrupting, the same sort of concerned expression they had. Once I'm finished, she frowns. "Hmm, so that's what you meant when you said you had responsibilities... But Aria, why Reena? Why do you follow her even when she makes you do things like that?"

That... is a bit new.

"I'm sorry, it's complicated. There are a lot of things I can't talk about because they have to stay secret. I wish I could tell you, but I can't..." I sink a little in the seat next to her, but she just hugs me to her side.

"Oh honey, I'm not mad. I'm just so worried about you, it sounds like Reena is taking advantage of you."

"She's not." Hearing that from her hurts more than it did from Eryk or Beth. At first I'm not sure why - why it makes me so determined to explain, so she won't think like that about Reena.

Then I get it, some piece of memory coming back to me. It's that motherly feeling I got from Reena when she was helping me through things, like when she saved me from Mister Fredricson, and taught me to calm down. Even if I don't understand how she could possibly feel that way, it's the same feeling I get from talking to Marrianne.

I think I get it now. Basically, after Marrianne, Reena is the closest to a mother I've ever had.

That's why I can't let her think like that about Reena. I just can't.

But I don't know how. I was able to explain enough to Eryk and Beth that they grudgingly let it pass, but only because they knew there wasn't anything they could do, since it's not their place to mess with the gods' business. But they definitely didn't really trust her. There's no way for me to explain well enough on my own...

"Do you want to talk to her?" I ask, before I even realize the words are out of my mouth.

"Her?" Marrianne's eyebrows shoot up. She knows exactly what I mean. "Is that even possible...?" From her tone, I don't think she's actually expecting an answer, but I nod anyway. She takes a deep breath, then gets this strange, determined expression, and says, "Alright."

Since I'm already leaning into her side and she's rubbing my head, I start to reach out into Marrianne. But then I hesitate. How do I actually do this with three people? Or do I just let her talk to Reena alone?

I guess I'll just ask Reena. With that thought, I channel my mark, and Marrianne's eyes go wide. She mumbles a little in her surprise, her hand moving to touch the mark, thumb lightly rubbing on my cheek, like she expects to feel something there.

Meanwhile, I feel Reena's presence. She doesn't hesitate to form a quick connection so she can question what I'm doing right now. I say that Marrianne wants to talk to her, and I'm not really sure how to do telepathy with three people, or if I should just let them talk privately.

She considers for a moment, then moves her connection over to my mana well.

"Hold on, I'll ask her about it," says Reena. Then I feel her mana split, one section staying connected to me while the other disappears through my barrier, into Marrianne. I follow it with some of my mana, but once I reach inside Marrianne, I'm distracted for a moment by the feel. She doesn't have that much mana, I guess because she's not that old of an adult? I think she's maybe eighteen or nineteen years old...

A quick look at her barrier shows it's a lot like Emily's. It's hard to tell without messing with her mana to check, but I feel like she has somewhere around as much room for mana as I do. Somewhere between four and five, I think.

Getting back on track, I quickly catch up to Reena as she reaches into Marrianne's well. Looking at it, it's pretty average size. Small, like normal people and animals have. I watch as Reena connects to Marrianne's well, and she suddenly jolts a little bit. She looks kind of confused, but still determined like before. Then she nods, probably something Reena's saying to her...

Reena speaks up again. "She said you should listen too. Just use use telepathy on her, and it should work fine as long as we don't try to speak too much at the same time."

"Ok." As I move to form the connection, I consider that last bit. Since telepathy works through manipulating her soul into hearing our thoughts, I guess it wouldn't work right if we both tried to do two different things at the same time...

Connecting my mana to Marrianne's inner barrier, I think, "Done."

"Wow, she can do it..." With her thought, Marrianne looks at me with wide eyes. It makes me realize that I never showed her any of my magic before. Of course I didn't, I didn't even know how to use it back then...

The smile that comes to my lips is somewhere between nervous and embarrassed, as I explain aloud. "Yeah, I, umm, learned how thanks to Reena."

"Aria taught herself, after seeing me do it once," Reena immediately adds with a heavy amount of pride, skipping over all the... unpleasant details.

Marrianne blinks. "That's... how much can you do?" she asks, but her thoughts go in a different direction. "I knew she was a sweet child, but she has these mysterious powers too. She really is special..." She clearly isn't used to telepathy, that definitely wasn't meant for me to hear. I immediately sit up straighter, blushing at the absolutely sincere praise.

Of course, my reaction makes Marrianne realize, and she jerks a little.

"S-sorry, I can hear anything you think like this..." I apologize, trying not to meet her eyes.

"Oh it's fine, sweetie." She rubs my head a little more. "You really are a special little girl."

"Y-yeah, thanks..." I don't know how else to respond to that. Especially since I still have mixed feelings about being called 'special.' I hold those thoughts back though, and just try to accept her well-meant praise.

Suddenly, Reena speaks up again. "She truly is wonderful, special powers or not." Her too?! I have no idea how to react to this...

"Aria? What's wrong?" Marrianne asks.

"I, umm, I'm not used to praise..." I mumble out honestly, still looking anywhere but at her.

"Oh." I can feel her shock, immediately followed by pity. She really isn't good at hiding her emotions from telepathy... It makes me kind of guilty for admitting that to her... "In that case..." Suddenly, she leans in close and wraps me in another hug. She lifts me up into the air, and I squeak and flail at the unexpected position. When she speaks, her voice is sweet, and her thoughts show that she's being absolutely sincere. "You're kind, and helpful, and strong, and brave."

"You're brilliant, and empathetic, and so well behaved," Reena suddenly joins in again.

My whole face goes deep red and burning hot at the sudden piles of praise they heap on me, and I sputter, completely unable to respond, as Marrianne stands and spins me around playfully. That finally gets me to smile, giggles leaking out on their own as she spins me and my legs fly out behind me.

After a few more spins around, she sets me down. I feel wobbly on my feet for just a moment, then it passes. She pulls us back onto the bench again, and I shyly say, "Thank you," still blushing a little.

"You're welcome. Now..." I can feel her attention turn to Reena. She goes on, thinking instead of speaking when she addresses the goddess. "Goddess Reena," Marrianne greets her respectfully, "thank you for taking care of Aria."

I get the impression of her smiling as she answers, "I should say the same. Thank you for taking Aria in when you did."

Marrianne warms a little, but keeps her thoughts on point, not getting distracted. "So... I don't mean to question your will, of course, but Aria has been explaining some... concerning things to me. I was hoping you might deign to explain them a little more so I can understand."

"Concerning things?" Reena questions, but she's already picking up some of the details from Marrianne's stray thoughts that come with her words. "Oh yes, I see. You're right to be concerned about my marking her so young. Don't misunderstand, I didn't want to. I have something of great importance I absolutely need her help with, but I don't need it done immediately, and Aria still needs time to grow. If I had it my way, I wouldn't have marked her for another five years or so."

Her explanation is met with wordless surprise from Marrianne, who then wants to know more, but doesn't ask directly. She thinks it would be impertinent of her to ask something like that. Even I'm surprised. Five years before she needs me to do whatever it is? What could she possibly have planned out that far ahead?

Reena puts out a small amused feeling toward our thoughts, and starts to explain. "I marked Aria this early because she needs my help. She's... in a bad situation in life. She's found people to support her - they were the ones you met before, after the attack on the city - but she doesn't have anyone to raise her or protect her. There is only so much I can do, but I'm trying to support her the best I can, until she grows up."

"Oh, that's..." Marrianne considers her words briefly, and I can feel her uncertainty. Should she believe Reena or not? Just the bit she's seen us interacting today makes it seem like she cares for me. But then one thing come to her mind, and she feels somewhat skeptical as she asks, "Wait, if you don't want her to do anything for you until later, what responsibilities was she talking about? Things so important she couldn't stay with me?"

"That..." Reena hesitates. "That is something Aria is dealing with. Honestly, I disagree with her decision in regards to it, but I made a very bad mistake trying to force her to change her mind before. Because of that, we had a really bad falling out and it put her in a very bad place emotionally at the time..."

As Reena speaks, Marrianne grows more and more shocked by what she reveals, and even I start to get worried that she's going to say too much. "But what is it? What is she doing?" Marrianne asks with a hint of desperation.

"That's for Aria to explain." Then she nudges me, like she actually expects me to?

"What?" I frown, kind of mad. "You know I can't tell her!"

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"Why not?" Reena gives off a gentle feel, like a warm smile. "She cares about you as much as I do. It'll be fine," she encourages me. But, but she's totally off base here! What is Reena thinking? "Aria? You don't need to be so worried, I'm sure Marrianne will understand."

I cut my thoughts from being sent to Marrianne, and think to Reena, "What are you talking about?! Marrianne hates rail units!"

"She what?"

Totally baffled, I practically shout at her. "Her only daughter was taken by the program, she despises us!"

Reena reels, totally caught off guard. "I... I had no idea."

"How could you not know that?" Isn't she the goddess of knowledge?

"I spent months searching for a home for you, and she was perfect. She never mentioned anything about rail units when I was observing her."

Despite my confusion and shock, that one stops me cold. "Wait, hold on. Go back, what was that about searching for a home for me?"

Reena mentally flinches, and my mouth falls open.

"Aria?" Marrianne asks out loud, and I realize we suddenly cut her out of the conversation there.

But it's Reena who picks up to continue first, her thoughts clearly going to Marrianne again. "Actually, I feel like you should both hear about this. I sort of hinted at this before, Aria... I tried to push you into an easier path in life before." As soon as she says that, some fragmented thoughts come back to me, bits and pieces I'd already started putting together, and I know exactly where she's going with this.

"I knew you would need a place to live. A home where you could grow up, safe and loved. I searched all over town, and Marrianne is the one I chose. So when I saw the chance, I gave you a little push."

We're all quiet for a bit, just letting that sink in without saying anything. Then Marrianne thinks, "Goddess Reena, I don't mean to be disrespectful, but... I don't know whether to curse you for using me, or thank you for bringing Aria into my life."

Hearing that, I sigh, putting aside my own shock for now. "Yeah, Reena can be like that. I think there are a lot of things she isn't allowed to do because she's a god," I explain, "so she has to scheme, trick people, and do things secretly. She's done it before. It's really annoying, but she's always trying to help, so..."

Marrianne shakes her head a little and hugs to her side more tightly. "Oh, honey..." she murmurs.

"I'm really sorry about that," Reena apologizes, like always. "Like Aria said, I'm doing everything I can to help, but a lot of the time, my only option is to do it in ways that are very unpleasant. It was the same with you, Marrianne. I searched the city for months, and spent a lot of time observing you to determine that you would be a wonderful mother to Aria. Yes, I admit I was using you, and I'm sorry for that. But..." She mentally gestures at me, wordlessly expressing that Marrianne was exactly what I needed.

And she's right. I remember back to living with her, the warmth and love she showed me, that I'd never known before.

And from Marrianne, I pick up the other side. The joy and pain of finally getting to be a mother, caring for a wonderful child. I have to shake my head a little. It's weird, feeling her feelings like that, toward me. And embarrassing...

Marrianne heaves a long sigh, leaning over and rubbing my head gently. "Fine," she says, then goes on silently. "It's not my place to question the gods. Still, my image of them is completely shattered now," she admits. "Well, it is Reena." With it, the thought that Reena's not like the other gods, so it's probably just her being powerless.

She flinches, badly, realizing we heard her stray thought. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't really mean that," she tries to apologize, even as Reena gives a cringing, sinking feeling in response to the completely honest intrusive thought.

"No, it's fine," she waves it off surprisingly well. "I'm aware of my reputation, and you're right, this situation is completely abnormal. The other gods would never do something like this." Then, there's a sudden surge of anger and desperation, but Reena catches herself and pushes it down before she says anything else. What was that about...?

Clearly, even Marrianne caught her slip, her eyebrows drawing together with a low rumble of confusion, but it's clear that Reena isn't going to explain that, so she pushes past it, and looks down at me again. "So Aria, what is it that Reena wants you to tell me about? You said there's something you need to do? That you're responsible for?"

I jolt when she jumps back to that topic, then look away. "I-I'm sorry. I can't talk about it."

Even Reena joins in. "I apologize, there was a specific thing I was not aware of. In light of that, I realized it may not be a good idea for Aria to talk about that topic."

"Huh? Why not?" She blinks at me, confused. "But you just said..."

"My apologies, I was working with incomplete information," Reena just apologizes again. At the same time, she thinks to me much less certainly, "Are you sure you don't want to tell her? I still think her love for you could overcome her hate for rail units."

Making sure not to leak my response to Marrianne, I answer, "I don't know, maybe?" I've seen and felt for myself just how much she loves me. I wonder if it's as much as a parent loves their real child? "But... I still can't do it. What if she doesn't accept me?"

I can't even put the thought into words, but I know I wouldn't be able to take Marrianne hating me. Forget any consequences like her telling others, just imagining her looking at me, the betrayal she would feel, the hatred, like how she looks when she talks about rail units... It makes it hard to breathe. If that really happened, I might just curl up on the ground and give up...

Catching my response, Reena silently grimaces, before recovering and addressing Marrianne again. "I can tell you that even if I disagree with her, it is something extremely important to Aria." Then her thoughts shift slightly more toward me even as she continues speaking to Marrianne. "I haven't been pressing her on it because of our past fights, but I promise you I will discuss it with her further. She is still very young, so I want to talk to her more about it and help her think things through."

Is she really saying she still wants to change my mind?! "I already told you, there's nothing to talk about," I growl at her.

"Aria?"

Immediately backing off, Reena mentally gestures in surrender, words coming quick. "Aria, please calm down, that's not what I'm saying. I just want to talk about it some more later. I promise I'll respect your decisions, whatever they may be. I just want to understand better."

I scowl at the floor. Since she isn't actually here to glare at, I make sure to do it as angrily as I can mentally.

"Young lady!" Marrianne's voice suddenly cuts through. She grabs my face roughly, turning me to look up at her. She waves a finger in my face sternly. "You're being far too disrespectful! Apologize!"

A lump immediately rises in my throat, tears stinging in my eyes when Marrianne scolds me like this. The shame pushes away my anger, and I lower my eyes. "I'm sorry, Reena," I mumble.

"For what?" Marrianne prods me, lips pressed into a thin line.

"I'm sorry for being disrespectful..."

"Good." Marrianne's face softens, and she pulls me into a hug. "You have to be respectful to others, especially your elders. And especially the gods," she adds with even more emphasis. "Even when you're angry... in fact, it's even more important when you're angry. Do you understand?"

Even as she speaks, I blink away the tears at the edges of my eyes and wrap my arms around her. Then I nod into her chest. "Nn."

"Good girl," she coos, stroking my hair. "Now you," she goes on silently after a pause, suddenly scolding Reena. "Didn't you say you're trying to raise her? Then it's your job to correct her when she misbehaves. You can't just let her speak to you like that."

Immediately embarrassed, Reena responds, "Sorry, I'm terribly out of practice, it's been a few centuries since I last raised children, and I'm not in a particularly good position to discipline her..."

Marrianne mumbles softly, displeased. "You really can't do anything? You marked her as your angel. Even if you aren't giving her her task until she's older, she is essentially your servant, right? You must be able to do something, right?"

"Well... No, not really," Reena admits. "Firstly, Aria is not my servant." She glowers a little, but not at Marrianne. "Next, I believe Aria explained that I didn't mark her normally. Because of that, I have no power over her. I'm completely unaware of anything around her and unable to act unless she is actively using the mark like right now. If she is angry at me and unwilling to listen, she can just turn it off, and I can't do anything about it."

"Oh, that's..." Marrianne worries about how that could possibly work. She knows that a stubborn child isn't going to listen unless they're forced to listen, which won't work for Reena like this...

My thoughts are pulled from her concern when out of nowhere, Myra speaks up, only addressing Reena. "I can help with that! I'll scold her real good when she gets stubborn and stupid!" I can feel her somewhat mocking grin, especially when she thinks back on the last time she did that, when I was mad at Reena and cut her off the other day.

Reena mentally jerks. "What was that?!" Her shock even affects Marrianne, who shudders a little.

Since Myra was only talking to Reena, I do the same. "That was Myra. She likes to joke around, but she does try to keep me on track," I admit. "She was the one who scolded me and made me apologize the last time I got mad at you."

"O-oh... then, uh, I'd gladly... accept her help..." I don't know why her response comes so haltingly, maybe because she's never actually met Myra before? In any case, Marrianne is looking at me expectantly. She's clearly picked up on when we're leaving her out of the conversation again.

"Umm, sorry, I think we basically just came up with a way to work that out?"

"Y-yes, I'll have to see how it works, but theoretically, I should be able to discipline Aria when she misbehaves." Theoretically? I guess she has her doubts about how well Myra can keep me in line? She wouldn't if she knew Myra... Just that thought makes the large creature chuckle to herself, but I let it pass, and she returns her attention to the forest around her.

"Oh, that's good." Marrianne is confused for a moment, but then goes on, suddenly very... I think solemn is the word. "Goddess, please take care of Aria."

"I'll do everything I can for her, I promise."

"Good." Marrianne smiles softly, giving a feeling that they've finished the discussion.

"Thank you for talking to Marrianne, Reena. Really." Even my words can't express just how grateful I am.

"You're welcome, Aria. I'm glad I had a chance to talk to you, Marrianne," she addresses her. "Now, I suppose I should leave you two alone. Aria?"

"Sure, thanks." At her encouragement, I let my mark fade, and she draws away, leaving me alone with Marrianne again. As soon as my mark vanishes, Marrianne shakes a little and thinks, "I just scolded a god..." and I immediately pull away before I overhear anything else. None of her panic shows on her face when she smiles at me and says, "Thank you, Aria. Reena isn't anything like I would expect of a goddess, but it was good talking to her. I feel a lot better knowing she's keeping an eye on you."

After a brief pause, Marrianne slides an arm around my shoulder, and I lean into her side happily. "So, how have things been? What have you been up to?" she asks.

"Not great," I admit. I don't know why, but as worried as telling her about my life makes me, I just... do. "I went to the orphanage, since I couldn't stay with you. I've been living there since." I talk a little more, tell her about Emily, and my roommates. How they're my friends too, but I don't really get along with Jannette. Then I get to Helen and I turn to show her my hair as I explain how she came up with the style.

"It's so pretty. Would you like me to brush it for you?"

I spin around so fast she flinches a little. "You will?!" I beam up at her, almost bouncing on the seat. That makes her chuckle.

"Of course I will, sweetie." Turning back around, I let her take my hair down. "Oh wow, I thought you must have cut it since you left, but it's still so long... Don't you have trouble taking care of it? How do you keep it so clean?"

"Well, Eryk's servant, Irene, told me I need to wash myself often. I can use my powers to make hot water easily, so that and some soap helps a lot."

"Oh my..." she mutters appreciatively, and I keep going on. As I speak, she finishes getting my hair down, grabs a hairbrush, and sits behind me. I close my eyes and she runs it through repeatedly, working out the snags here and there.

I kind of just babble, sometimes about the orphanage, or my friends, or work, my classes... I jump around a lot, when things need me to talk about other things. The good and the bad, even the dangerous things. Since I don't need to hide my powers, I tell her all about how I got kidnapped, fought that monster, cured the poison and got into that deal with Frank, and my work with Eryk. I know not to mention mana or magic specifically, so I just refer to things as using my powers, but it's such a relief, so calming to just talk about everything while she runs the brush through my hair.

She sounds really scared by the dangerous things, but I assure her that with my powers, I can handle things like them. That relieves her greatly, but what she won't forgive is Mister Fredricson, when I tell her about what he's done to me - the beatings, refusing Eryk adopting me, and how he plans to sell me to a noble when I'm older. She groans quietly and hugs me from behind when I tell her that part. "Oh Aria..." I smile sadly, caught between how thankful I am for her, and the memory of how terrible it all was. "Aria, why haven't you told anyone about this? You can't stay in an abusive home like that."

"Oh, no, I did. I told Beth, and she reported him to the guard for child abuse," I explain. Then I tell her about his letter from a noble, how he has permission to do anything he wants with us.

Marrianne sighs sadly, and returns to brushing my hair, muttering in a low voice. "If that's the case, then there's nothing anyone can do, as long as he holds your papers..."

"Papers?" I ask.

"Mm? I mean your guardianship papers. You... probably aren't familiar with those, are you?" I nod, and she explains. "When parents give birth, they..." she pauses, and when she starts again, her voice is quiet and sad. I can't see her, but I can hear her pain. "They have their child checked for the blight- You know about the blight, right?"

"Blight?" I'm not familiar with the word, but based on the context... "Is that the disease that makes kids into monsters?"

"Yes. It's called the blight. There are many bedtime stories about it, haven't you heard any?"

"No, I haven't." Did Emily not tell me any because I have the disease? Because she didn't want me to worry maybe?

"Mm, well, there are quite a few, like Jay and Missy Miss. Normally, parents will tell their children to teach them about it when they're still young, before they have to explain it fully."

"W-wait, huh?" I blink confusedly. "Jay? I know that story, what does it have to do with the blight?"

"Hmm?" Marrianne sounds as confused as I do when she answers. "It's a story about a sick child turning into a monster. It's supposed to be a warning not to interact with sick children because they're going to change and be extremely dangerous." Does the mean- Did Emily change part of the story? "Of course, the story is from, from before." I can feel her hands shake a little as she elaborates, her tone turning harsh even as she audibly fights to keep it even. "Before the rail units."

She takes a long, slow breath, and shifts, leaning in a little closer. "Unfortunately, you've already been exposed to rail units, even at your age... In any case, about the blight," she tries to get back on topic. "The stories are just to teach children slowly so it isn't too scary when they find out that the disease is a real thing. The truth is, it causes children to change into horrible monsters that kill everything around them. It normally happens at nine, but it can rarely occur as early as seven years old."

As soon as she says that, my blood runs cold. Between seven and nine?! Why didn't Emily tell me that?! Fighting not to move at all, worried I'll betray my panic to Marrianne, I stay completely still as she continues brushing my hair and speaking, her tone slowly growing darker and darker. "So, getting back to the original topic... Newborn children are checked for the blight now. If they're found to have the disease, they are taken away and made into rail units so they won't harm anyone when they turn into monsters."

Barely managing to push away my shock and fear, I swear that I'm going to ask Emily more about that later, and keep listening to Marrianne explain.

"Nearly all children are fine, the disease is incredibly rare. One in a million..." There's a bitter note in her tone. Because with that tiny chance, it was her child that had it... "Once they find that the child is healthy, they give the parents guardianship paperwork to sign. The papers serve as the proof that the child is actually theirs."

I stare ahead, mouth opening in surprise a little. I had no idea there was actually paperwork involved, I just assumed we couldn't challenge Mister Fredricson's claim because Eryk and Beth didn't... But of course if it was just their word against his, they would have done something... So duh, of course there must be paperwork for proof!

Even as I work through that, Marrianne goes on. "So, when I was going to adopt you, I asked about it. All you really need to do is go to the guard and ask for guardianship papers. You have to prove the child isn't someone else's, sign the paperwork, and that's it." So Mister Fredricson must have done that after I moved in at the orphanage... When Marrianne finishes, she sighs sadly. "I'm sorry, Aria, for you to be taken in somewhere so terrible..."

She hugs me from behind again, but I think I'm getting an idea. If those papers are the only proof Mister Fredricson has, without them, he can't do anything to me... What if I stole- no, stealing is wrong! Then, what if I just destroyed them? Without proof, he wouldn't be my legal guardian anymore. Anyone could challenge him, or claim me instead...

I keep these thoughts quiet for now, I'll have to think about it more, but I'm really glad Marrianne gave me this idea.

Since we're still on the topic, I get back to explaining about Mister Fredricson and the orphanage. Which means... how he treats the children there. And of course, how they all got sick recently, and he abandoned us so he wouldn't get sick himself. Even behind me, having returned to brushing my hair, I can feel the cold, silent rage Marrianne gives off. So I assure her that I healed them with my powers and quickly change topics again, getting back to happier things, like how I've been working and learning, my practice to get better with my powers, and even having some time to play too.

After finally cooling down, Marrianne asks questions here and there. What do I like most in my classes? What games did I play with Thelia? What am I working on with Eryk? I can't answer that last one, just telling her it's a trade secret, which surprises her into silence, and... and I actually feel good. Proud of what I've done. Of what I've accomplished.

It's nice.

Really, really nice...