Why today? "Is this really the place?" I complain under my breath. Of course it is, Chisa saw her coming this way. Even if she's half asleep from having her usual sleep schedule interrupted to help me out, her eyes wouldn't lie. She definitely spotted Beth's blond hair heading into this building. "Stanley... Dining..." I slowly read the sign. A restaurant?

I hadn't even considered how I was going to manage going to Beth's clinic before I made it into the city. Since I obviously couldn't pass through any of the gates without drawing attention from the guards, Hilde flew me over the northwest corner of the city wall while it was still dark out. Not an easy task, since he's a little smaller than I am. He had to use his wind magic to get enough lift, so he won't be able to anymore once I get bigger.

At the same time, Chisa and Riko grudgingly woke up to get my clothes from my room, and went through the entire dance of passing them off to me and taking my robes and metal back. It was mostly thanks to Riko they managed to get it all done without waking any of the other girls up.

After that, I went toward the clinic, my injuries growing more and more painful the longer I walked on them. But my hobbling limp still only got me halfway there by the time the first bell rang through town and I realized that Beth might not even be at work so early. That still left my best option at waiting for her to get there to properly treat my wounds, especially the searing hot burns covering most of the right side of my body and making it hard to even use my right hand.

I had some idea that the special fire mana would be powerful, but I wasn't expecting that. Because it ate up all that other mana when I was at Kathy's house maybe?

But then, Chisa spotted her walking through the central district, away from the clinic instead of toward it. I followed, but she ended up going into this restaurant, Stanley Dining. Trying to make myself small and as unnoticeable as I can be in my current condition, I sit against a building across the street. I'll just have to rest and wait for her to finish.

Keeping my eyes on the door despite the slowly filling streets, I lean forward, chin on my knees and hug my arms close to my chest, doing my best to ignore the pain and the mix of disgusted and concerned looks aimed my way from the high class people who live around here. I'd worry about them calling the guards or something since I'm just sitting here like this, but they're so busy they probably wouldn't have time for it anyway...

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

My eyes are drooping. Everything hurts and I'm still really tired after the battle. I have to fight to stay awake. Should I move? Then I won't fall asleep, but I'm losing the energy to stand again as everything is starting to go dark...

Violently shaking myself just before I go under, I sit up a little straighter. I definitely can't fall asleep here, not like this. I'll start screaming and that will draw the guards. I look at the door again, blinking the sleep from my eyes and sitting up a little straighter.

Then a sudden jolt of movement draws my gaze, and my breath catches. Inside the restaurant, by a window near the corner of the building, there are a bunch of people I know, staring straight at me. Eryk, Beth, Marrianne, and Kathy?! Why are they all here?

There's a commotion, all of them pulling out money and throwing it down on the table before they rush out of the restaurant. Watching Beth approach, a heavy guilt lands on me.

"Aria, are you alright?" She asks, the first one to make it to me, kneeling down to my height.

"Y-yeah, I'm sorry, Miss Beth..."

"Sorry? For what?" Even as she speaks, she's looking me up and down, eyes staying longer on the layers of bandages I have wrapped all around my right arm.

I mumble, "I didn't want to interrupt your breakfast..."

"My bre- Oh sweetie, it's fine! Just look at you! Eryk, let's get her to the clinic." Without a word, he nods seriously, and sweeps me up from the ground. I grimace as much from the spike of pain as the knowledge that he's getting his nice clothes all dirty.

"Eryk, what's going on?" Kathy suddenly asks, grabbing his arm, the jerking movement hitting me with another lance of pain from my leg.

"Long story, we have to go," he answers, gaze shifting between Beth and Marrianne. Without another word, the three silently agree, and get moving.

"Hey! Eryk!" Kathy calls, following after them.

They all move fast, drawing clear attention from everyone we pass, the looks going between me and them, all dressed up in even nicer clothing than they usually wear. Thankfully, it's not a far trip to the clinic. When we enter, Nina looks up. "Sorry we're-" the words she was about to say die as she sees us. She stands from her seat, mouth moving soundlessly.

"Thanks Nina, we'll be in the back," Beth rambles as she rushes straight past. We rush into the back room, and Eryk sets me down so Beth can immediately began unwrapping my bandages. "Aria, what happened?" she asks as she works.

Looking away, I answer, "I can't talk about it." She already knows I can't talk about it...

Then Marrianne is at my side with fighting the tears at the corners of her eyes and rubbing my head gently. "Oh Aria..." she murmurs. "This is from what you had to do? Why...? Look how hurt you are..."

"I'm sorry..." I barely get the words out. A lump is rising in my throat. I never wanted Marrianne to know how dangerous things are. I never wanted her to see me like this...

But then her shoulders hitch, and without warning, she turns on Eryk. Grabbing him by the collar, she pulls them face to face, and demands, "What is she doing?!"

"Huh?" Everyone's reactions are the same, staring at her in shock, even Eryk himself.

"What do you have her involved in?!" I've never seen her angry before...

"Me?!" Eryk falters, his hands going up. "I have no idea!"

Growling, she shakes him, fists clenched and knuckles going white. "Don't lie to me! I know you're like her!"

"Like..." his mouth keeps moving, but no words form. Is she saying-

"I know you have powers! What are you-" as she starts to rail on, Eryk clamps his hand over her mouth, but it's too late. My mouth drops open. How could she possibly know that?! He looks around frantically, eyes landing on Beth, who's standing in shock, her hands actually stopped in the middle of removing my bandages.

Then he turns again, to Kathy.

"Fuck."

I can't think of a better response than the word he leaks out.

.

.

.

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

There is a long, stretching, heavy silence. Beth removes my bandages and clothes, makes burn ointment, and applies it to more bandages which she wraps gently around my right arm, and a good deal of my torso.

I even have some minor burns on my neck and cheek which she treats, before checking the already closed puncture wounds from those arrows. She can't do much for them because they're already a good way through healing, at least on the outside. So she just bandages them as well. Everything still hurts, but it's a lot better with the burn ointment, so I let out a slow, relieved breath.

"Done," she states flatly. It definitely seems like she wants to comment on my injuries as she looks me over one more time, but she doesn't. Instead, Beth turns her attention on Eryk, all three women staring at him as he shifts back to lean against a counter with a serious, conflicted expression.

"Now, explain," Beth commands, her eyes hard as she stares him down.

Eryk hesitates. "What about Kathy?" he asks. "Aria?"

"I..." I glance between Marrianne and Beth, their looks expectant. But I don't know Kathy, how do I know if I can trust her? But with how much she's already heard... But no specifics. If we just left it here, what would she say to other people?

I have no idea.

"Mmm..." I grumble, I can't figure it out. I don't know enough.

Then Kathy steps forward herself, addressing the whole room. "I don't know what's going on here, but you can't leave me in the dark now. Especially after you mentioned my brother having some sort of... what, strange powers? And how does this all relate to this girl?" she waves a hand at me, clear mix of anger and frustration in her movements.

"Urgh..." I groan, holding my head. "Eryk, do you trust Kathy? Miss Beth?" I put the question to them.

"Of course I do, but she's my sister," Eryk sighs. "I'm definitely biased."

"I do too, but we grew up together. Our families are friends," Beth admits, eyes on the floor. "I can't say for sure if she'll keep your secrets..."

I bite my lip. Do I tell her or not? As a last ditch attempt, I use telepathy to contact Reena. "Reena, I need help."

"Help? With what?" she asks, emotions wavering like she isn't sure whether it's something ordinary or dangerous.

"Eryk's sister, Kathy, sort of found out something's going on, but doesn't know what. I have no idea if I can trust her, and no one else can give me good advice. I don't have enough information. What do you think I should do?" Reena considers the question deeply.

"Aria?" Beth speaks up, raising an eyebrow questioningly, probably because I just suddenly stopped moving.

"S-sorry, can I have a little time?" I ask uncertainly.

"Of course, honey," she agrees immediately, stroking my hair with a gentle hand.

"Thanks." Then I close my eyes to show I'm thinking.

When I turn my thoughts back to Reena, she responds. "Here's what I know: Kathy. Born of Yoron and Tillia, second of three children. Twenty two years old. Siblings are Eryk and Lora. Married to Bradford, with one daughter, Thelia. Works at Winslow's Glasswork, run by her father in law. Her husband works at the Glassmaking Guild." I'm surprised by the sudden burst of information. How much does Reena know about people? But she's not done yet, she's only pausing for me to think, before going on.

"Close family friends are Beth and Fina. Favored gods are Lila and Hurena. She usually works three days each week and spends the rest of her time with her daughter, visiting family, or attending social functions with vulgants and divants who do business in the region, most prominently the Liri Trading Company and Ebock Trading Company. She has dinner with Eryk once or twice each month, usually inviting Beth as well. She is a regular customer at the Gentle Waters bathhouse, Holly Tailoring, and Lola Fashion and Garments. She isn't particularly close to her husband because he spends almost all his time working, causing discontent in their marriage, but- Ah, I'll skip that part... She employs seven servants, most from families that have served her family for at least one previous generation. There are no signs they are mistreated and to my knowledge, none of her servants have ever quit."

I frown a little as I listen. I'm getting the impression she has a ton of connections like Eryk does. It sounds like she's nice, at least to her servants, but I can't really pull anything more useful out of the information than that...

"Anything about... like, how good she is at keeping secrets?" I try.

"Mmm..." I can feel Reena searching her memories, but they don't surface fully as she just skims them. "I'm thinking... yes. Despite being a decently public figure in the business community, I'm not aware of her divulging any particularly nasty secrets in the past." She stops speaking there, but another thought surfaces. She doesn't say it directly but she's considering it...

I gulp. "You... could do that, couldn't you...?" I ask nervously, a dark pit forming in my stomach.

"I could but... I really don't want to have to." She's frowning. "Not if there's any other way. And the more you tell her, the harder it will be. If you tell her everything and she takes it badly, I don't think I'd be able to... to wipe it from her memory. It's one thing if her-" but she suddenly stops herself. Something she can't tell me about?

"If her what?" I ask, but she can't say more. I don't even want to consider this...

She keeps thinking, then says, "I can't say exactly, but I could... check. To see if it's more or less likely to work, if it comes to that. But for that, you would need to channel your mark..." Which of course, would be revealing more information...

Channel my mark? So that Reena can use her mana in me? Searching for hints, I ask, "What else would I need to do?"

"Just touching her would be enough."

"Touch her? So, what, you need to check her soul or something? Or her mana affinity maybe?" I wonder at her, still seeing if I can get any more hints.

Reena's soul jolts. "You already know about that?" I got it?

"Uhh, which one?" I have to ask. The soul or the mana affinity part?

"You just said 'mana affinity,' what did you mean by that?" she asks.

"How well their soul works for controlling mana," I explain quickly. "I noticed the difference in people's outer barriers and how it related to controlling mana when I taught Emily and Eryk magic. The higher their affinity, the more mana they have, and the more mana they have, the harder it is to... do stuff to them. Like pulling mana out of them." That's why I guessed that, since it seemed sort of related, but we're getting off track...

"Yes, yes," Reena quickly tries to bring the conversation back. "You're exactly right." There's a wave of relief through her entire soul. "In that case, you don't have to reveal your mark to her. Can you check her affinity?"

"Well, I can try..." I open my eyes to the adults all standing around, watching me closely. Kathy looks a bit impatient and Eryk seems confused, but Beth and Marrianne look like they know what I'm doing and are waiting patiently. "Umm, Kathy, could you come over here?" I ask nervously.

She purses her lips, but the the surprise on the others' faces tells me they know I'm about to use my magic on her, even if they don't know what kind. She catches their looks, only becoming more wary. Even so, she takes a few slow steps toward the table, and lets me take hold of her wrist, her expression staying firmly worried the entire time.

Trying to ignore my own nerves, I reach inside to find that she's really small, not holding that much mana. Less than me, even though she's an adult. Her mana well isn't that big for someone her age. As expected, her barrier is totally hard when I touch it. Trying to judge, I'd say... somewhere between John and Emily, which her mana seems to fit with. A few more tests pushing and pulling mana shows that she can hold up to... about three point nine mana.

Returning my attention to Reena, I tell her what I've found. "Mm, that's not too descriptive," is her response when I say she lands somewhere between Emily and John.

"Oh, you don't have any good way to measure that, do you?" I realize. "You don't actually know how theirs feel... Well, she can hold three point nine mana, if that helps." I feel like it should, there's definitely a link between the amount and their affinity.

"Three point nine? Good, yes, I can work with that. Let me think..." Then, she starts doing math. It's fast. Like, really fast, the motion of her soul so powerful it's hard to follow, too much coming all at once. But this time, it's math. It's so intuitive, I can get a feel for it, even through the stabs of too-much-information I get when I focus on it. I actually manage to pick out a few pieces. She's definitely raising different numbers to powers of... fifteen point seven five? I don't understand why she's doing what she's doing, but she does eventually reach something close to three point nine, which makes her answer... one point zero nine? What does that relate to?

"Alright, I've got it," Reena is silently nodding. "Good news, her affinity is below average. If things go really bad, I can probably manage to scramble her memories of the details, but... well, I really don't want to, Aria."

"I know..." I don't either. But what else can I do? Tell her everything, then when she freaks out, just let her go and tell everyone who will listen? That would be almost as dangerous as revealing that I'm a rail unit. I can't let that happen, but there's no way I can just not say anything either.

That's why I need a backup plan. As much as I hate it... "Should I tell her about you? Or just my powers?"

Reena sighs. "Honestly, I have no idea. The less you reveal, the easier it will be if things go bad, but you'll also have more secrets to deal with. What I'm saying is: if you think things will go well, tell her more, if you expect the worst, tell her less. That's the best advice I have here. I'm sorry..."

"No, thank you, really," I think to her as sincerely as I can. "I would have no idea what to do without your help."

That makes her smile. "I'm glad I can help with things like this at least. Let me know if you need anything else, alright?"

"Yeah, thanks Reena."

Then I pull away, returning my attention to Kathy standing above me.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

I release her wrist and let out a slow breath, which makes me wince, hurting more than I expected. My lungs are still in bad shape... "Alright, I think we can tell her... probably," looking over to Eryk. Then I gulp. I'm not doing this assuming it will go badly. Not if that leads to messing with her memories. "I'm going to trust... how much you trust her."

Kathy is staring down at me, eyes full of worry. Why does it have to be her, in a situation like this...? Forcing myself to move forward, I tell her. "I have special powers." I'm still careful not to mention magic specifically, since I have no idea what reason the gods are hiding its connection to mana. "They let me do things that should be impossible."

"Alright..." Her eyebrows are drawn together, I have no idea if she even believes me. Should I prove it? I can't think of any reason to leave her doubting me, so I touch her wrist again.

With a quick connection to her barrier, making sure I form it correctly so I won't hurt her, I think, "Yes, I can really do this," at her. Kathy jerks away so fast, I lose a chunk of mana inside her when the connection breaks.

"W-what was that?" she stammers, shoulders shaking.

Her eyes dart around, and thankfully, Eryk steps forward to calm her down. With a hand on her shoulder, he says, "That was magic."

"Ah-" I choke out. When he turns back with a questioning look, I realize I never had a chance to mention this to him. "E-Eryk... I... I don't think we were supposed to mention that..."

Even he gets a nervous look in his eye when he asks, "We weren't? Why not?"

"I don't know. She didn't say it directly, but I'm pretty sure there's some reason the connection between magic and -" I pause for emphasis. We both know we can't mention mana aloud, "- is secret. So I was trying not to mention it. I'm sorry, I never thought to tell you..."

He sighs, coming to pat my head. "It's fine, Aria. All of this is a secret between us, so it won't leave this room. Right?" He turns to each of the women in turn, and they nod, even Kathy, despite her clear reluctance, before he goes on. "Now, if we're going to tell Kathy everything, I guess we should start with the... big thing?" As he says it, he taps a finger to his cheek, clearly referencing my mark. Meaning Reena.

"R-right..." Looking straight at Kathy, my heart is hammering in my chest. While I'm trying to work up the courage, Marrianne comes over and hugs me gently. It helps calm my nerves a little. Pushing forward, all I can do is just say it. "I'm an angel of the goddess Reena." I stare, watching for her reaction as she opens her mouth slowly, but can't seem to form a response. I don't know what else to say, I don't even know if she'd even hear me right now.

So, I wait. I let her take it in and think it over. And I watch for how she might react to all of this. Please, please don't take this badly...

Eventually, she sets her shoulders, but turns her attention toward Eryk. "Alright. Now what about you?"

Eryk runs a hand through his hair with a heavy sigh, but before he can answer, Marrianne adds on. "I want to know that too." Her eyes are hard on him, even as she continues to rub my head.

"Yes yes... I meant to take this to my grave, I have no idea how you figured it out..." he grumbles, before speaking clearly. "Aria taught me to use magic."

"She... huh?" Marrianne is totally lost. "But then... Then why did you hire her? I thought..."

After she trails off, Eryk answers. "I don't know what you were thinking. I hired her because her abilities would be extremely helpful with a specific project I'm working on."

"So you are exploiting her," Marrianne comes back immediately, almost growling at him.

"No, of course not! I care about Aria, I would never take advantage of her," he answers seriously.

"But you are!" she insists.

"I'm really not, I swear."

As Marrianne takes a step around the table, Eryk's hands go up in surrender. Her finger jabs out, voice pitching up with barely contained rage. "You can't not claim it isn't exploitation when you hire a four year old child!"

"Ah-"

We all have the same exact reaction.

Oh no, I never actually mentioned my real age to Marrianne, did I?

"M-Marrianne," I stammer out, just as she's starting to look around at everyone, our reactions mixing confusion into her anger. "I'm actually seven years old..."

"You're- huh?" She blinks at me repeatedly, then glances around the room again. "But you-"

"I'm really small for my age." I stare down at the table, not meeting her eyes. "I was malnourished for a long time, so I didn't grow like I should have."

"Oh, honey..." Her anger vanishes. She comes forward and wraps me in a hug.

It feels so nice, it makes my shoulders shake and tears fill my eyes.

I hate this.

I hate having to explain this.

I hate what they did to me...

While I'm quietly sobbing, my arms wrapping around her tightly, she eventually continues speaking to Eryk.

"Even if she is seven, that's still too young to have her doing serious work you know. She's barely old enough for an early apprenticeship."

Eryk groans. "Fine, I know. I know. You're probably right, Marrianne. But she's such a wonderful, brilliant girl. She's figured out more in the last two months than we've managed in centuries." There's a long silence. My head is still buried in Marrianne's chest, so I can only assume they're all staring at him. "Word of this does not leave this room, alright?" Another few moments of hesitation follow, before he explains. "Aria has been helping me research how Eschalle makes their special metals."

"Really?" Kathy suddenly asks.

"Yes, really. And you know what? She figured it out with one test and a handful of weird questions. She's a genius," Eryk praises me, which finally gets me to smile a little.

But Marrianne responds darkly. "It doesn't matter how amazing she is or how much she's accomplished, using her like that is exploitative and you know it."

Her words draw another long sigh from Eryk. "Yeah, I know." The silence is heavy for a long moment. Eryk... is taking advantage of me?

Eryk's voice comes quiet and pleading. "I know it's exploitative at her age. I know that, so I've done everything in my power to pay her back for it. I've given her food, better than anything she could afford so she can get the nutrition she needs to grow - to overcome her earlier malnutrition. The best education I could find, from an instructor that's a walking miracle. And a safe place to stay during the day. You know how abusive her home life is, don't you? I took her to play with my niece because she's never played with children her own age before. Even if I can't be her father, I'm trying, I really am."

Hearing him say all that, I look up from Marrianne's chest. She's still frowning, but there's some softness there. When I tug on her dress, she pulls her eyes away from him to look at me. "Umm, I really like working with Eryk. I'm learning a lot from it. And I really want things to work out for him. That's why I taught him magic."

She's clearly still conflicted, but Beth cuts in. "About that-"

"I'd like some explanation of that," Kathy speaks up too. They both look at each other after speaking over each other, then just nod, and turn their looks on Eryk.

"Right..." Eryk runs a hand through his hair, glances at me, then explains. "Aria was worried about what would happen with my work if she... if she couldn't continue to work with me in the future." Kathy raises an eyebrow questioningly, so he goes on. "To make metals like Eschalle, we need magnets- Uhh, magnets are these metals," he starts to explain, reminding me that I actually made up that word, so of course they wouldn't know it. "They interact in special ways with other metals, and only Aria can make them with her magic. So she taught me. It was supposed to be a secret, because according to Aria, no one can know about this, or it will be extremely dangerous."

"Dangerous? Why?" Beth asks this time.

"I don't know, it must be related to whatever she can't tell us."

"What do you mean by that? What can't she tell you?" Marrianne asks, looking down at me as she asks, but the question hits me with a wave of guilt, and I look away.

"No matter how much we ask, she won't tell us anything from... pretty much anything from before meeting you," Eryk answers.

"Before meeting me?" She glances his way, then back toward me. "Reena told me that she was actually behind us meeting."

"She what?"

"You spoke to Reena?" Beth is the only one with a different response. Eryk and Kathy both look at her, and she chuckles a little. "Aria told me her mark lets her talk to Reena."

"I wanted to ask about that," Kathy finally speaks up, addressing me for the first time in the conversation. She still looks incredibly shocked, leaning heavily against a counter. "You said you're an angel, but I didn't see the kitsu mark on you anywhere."

"I can make it appear and disappear," I explain, and her eyebrows shoot up even further.

Before I can explain any more, Eryk jumps back to the last topic. "What was that about Reena? You said you talked to her, and she said she got you two to meet? What do you mean by that?"

"Yes, she told me that... well..." She stands up straighter, drawing me closer and says, "Reena told me that she searched for a home for Aria and chose me. She wanted me to raise her." Then she looks down at me again.

Everyone's quiet for a bit after she explains that, with Eryk being the first to recover. "Yes, so before that... Well, we don't know." He shrugs. "Aria refuses to tell us anything. In fact, she specifically asked me not to look into her past as a condition for working with her."

"Really?" Marrianne leans down closer and asks, "Aria, why won't you talk about your past?"

I shake my head, trying to breathe through the guilt and terror at them all talking about this. "I can't talk about it." My answer makes her frown more deeply, before Eryk speaks again.

"That's all we ever get out of her. Everything about her from before meeting you is a complete blank."

Then Beth joins. "Well, not quite everything. From what I've gathered talking to her, wherever she was, she suffered constant physical, and probably emotional abuse. If not for her remarkable healing, any number of the past injuries she described should have been fatal." She looks at the floor, her jaw clenching. "If I had to take a guess, whatever it is she has to do, it relates to wherever she came from. Every time she comes back, she's covered in horrible injuries, like these," and gestures at me.

"W-why...?" Marrianne mutters, starting to shake.

"I have no idea." Then Beth stares straight at me, pinning me with her eyes. "Why, Aria? Why would you go back to the people who abused you like that?"

"I..." a lump rises in my throat, and I have to blink away tears. "I can't talk about it."

.

.

.

No one talks for a while. Even Kathy, only getting up to speed now, has a dark expression on her face.

Then Marrianne speaks again, a dull, terrified realization in her voice. "Nobles." Everyone's eyes snap to her, and my heart starts hammering in my chest.

"What do you mean, nobles?" Eryk demands.

"When I found her, she was wearing a white robe, the same kind the nobles dressed those rail units in." She spits the words out venomously, and I start to go light headed. It's hard to breathe. She made the connection! They're going to find out! "She must have come from somewhere with nobles."

"No!" I scream, hands clutching at her dress. They can't! They'll hate me! Marrianne will hate me!

Everyone jolts, cutting off as they stare at me, panting and shaking.

"Ari-"

"Marrianne, wait!" Eryk cuts in, lurching forward to grab her arm. "Stop. Aria told me before - Whatever it is that she can't tell us, she thinks it'll make us hate her."

"What? That's impossible!"

"I know, it sounds like nonsense. However, there are two people who do know, and they both agreed that anyone who finds out will hate her unconditionally."

"But that, that's insane..." Marrianne argues in disbelief. "No, wait, Reena! She wanted Aria to tell me something, then suddenly changed her mind. Could that be related? Who was it? Can't we ask them?"

He shakes his head. "They wouldn't say anything either. They even said they're protecting her, but I can't imagine from what. The two, well... The first is her friend at the orphanage, a girl named Emily. And..." Here, he glances away, and my heart falls, the tears still streaming from my eyes. I want to speak up, beg him not to say it. "The other is your husband."

Marrianne's mouth falls open. "F-Francis...? How...?"

Eryk sets his jaw, even though his hands are trembling. "He mentioned that when he found out, he fled from her, multiple times. I don't know any more than that. If it's something related to nobles, I could see it scaring most people off, but I have no idea why it would make us hate her."

Then Eryk looks down at me. He reaches out, stroking my hair gently. "I'm sorry, Aria. You asked me not to look into your past. We've been putting a lot of pieces together anyway, so I'm going to take a guess. I'll tell you right now, if my guess is right, you can tell me. It won't change my opinion of you - I promise I will not hate you. Alright?"

I swallow, still fighting for air. What if he guesses it? Even if he's fine with it, Marrianne won't be! But how am I supposed to deny it? I'm a terrible liar! Frozen in terror, I listen as he speaks.

"Aria, I think you're involved in some secret government program. The nobles are trying to... bring back heroes maybe. Or it's something related to the military. Like a group to support the rail units, or to reinforce the army in battle when the rail units aren't fighting. Or... maybe it's something darker, like a noble training assassins in secret. That would explain why you think we would hate you. But it's fine, even if they've forced you to do terrible things, it's alright," he coos gently. "No matter what, we won't hold it against you. So, is that about right?"

Throughout him speaking, I slowly calm down, my breath coming easier. Even though some parts of his guess were about right, like the nobles having me in a program for training, he's still off the mark. He must not be thinking I could be a rail unit because I don't act like them. Because I have emotions.

Letting out a long, slow, painful breath in relief, I let my head fall against Marrianne. With my nervousness draining, my fatigue is coming rushing back. I shake my head. "No, that's not it," I sigh out.

"You sound relieved..." he mutters at my response. "What could it possibly be then...?"

Marrianne says, "I don't think it matters. What matters is that she's going back to this dangerous place of her own accord. Reena told me that they had a big fight over it, and she's clearly been walking on eggshells on the topic ever since."

Everyone goes still. "You... had a fight? With the goddess Reena?" Kathy suddenly asks.

"Yeah..."

"What happened?"

I bury my head in Marrianne's chest before answering, so I don't need to see their responses. "She tried to force me to change my mind. To do something I didn't want to do. It made me so angry that we wound up yelling at each other and I insulted her... a lot... After that, I was so angry and spiteful that..." My voice drops nearly to a whisper when I explain it. "I was so angry I didn't listen to my roommates when they told me not to touch other people's things when I was cleaning our room, and Mister Fredricson beat me."

"Wait, that was-" Beth gasps. "Aria, that was the day you came in with those burns, wasn't it? I went to the guard to report him for child abuse because of that! That all came about because you got in a fight with Reena?"

"Mm..." I mumble quietly. I don't want to think about this anymore... No one has a response to that for some time.

It's actually Kathy who eventually speaks up again. "But... aren't you her angel? How could you speak like that to your master without her... smiting you... or something...?"

"She's not my master," I grumble at her. "She marked me as an apology."

"What?" Every response is identical.

"Mm..." I'm tired and don't want to explain it all... "Come here, everyone." They look at me uncertainly, but eventually come close. I get them all to put their hands on me, then say, "here, this is what happened."

Then, I pull my mana around, and reach into all of them at once. I've never done this before, so it's a bit difficult to keep track of my mana in all four at once, but I manage. Part of me notices that it's my first time reaching inside Beth. She's pretty similar to Kathy, with just a little more mana, and a slightly larger well.

I reach into their mana wells and connect to all four of them, then nod. The other end of my connection attaches to my own inner barrier. "Ok, here I go. This is what happened."

I don't want to. Thinking back on that day hurts, the day when I broke down. When Reena gave me that vision and marked me. I'm a little unsure how clear the memory will be, given the time that's passed, but as soon as I catch onto it, pushing the entire experience across the connection to the adults around me - the instant the first bit of the memory comes back, the whole thing rushes in after, perfectly clear, like it was burned straight into my soul.

It flows through me. Reena's pain, fear, regret. Her apologies and begging for help with some unknown task, all of it. The strange, metaphorical impressions she filled me with, that I'm still not entirely certain of. It all washes through my mind, straight into the connection, to all of them as well.

Then it's over, with Reena's final declaration hanging in my head as I draw my connections back out, pulling my mana back into myself before they all break contact.

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

There is a very long silence once more, all of the adults staring off. Marrianne continues to hold me, and even Beth comes over to trail her fingers through my long, dirty hair absently.

"Aria." As usual, it's Eryk who's the first to recover enough to speak. "In that vision... Reena mentioned you being compared to 'your kind.' What did she mean by that? Are there more like you?" I grimace, I'm tired and didn't completely think that through. I'd forgotten some of her exact wording until I pulled that memory back up, and there were definitely a few things I'd rather they didn't hear. And of course, Eryk caught that one.

I turn away. "I can't talk about it."

"Oh Aria..."

When he doesn't say anything else, Marrianne speaks to me quietly, eyes shining with tears. "So that's how she marked you..." Held against her side like this, the hands in my hair and the aching burns not hurting so bad thanks to Beth's ointment, I'm starting to get pretty sleepy. Even after showing them all that, the uncertain looks passing back and forth between them, it's slowly getting harder to keep my eyes open.

"So..." Kathy speaks up again. "It might be a bit late for this, but I take it I've stumbled into something of import?"

Eryk answers. "Well, yes. Aria looks pretty tired, so I'll explain. I can tell her everything, Aria?" I nod, then snuggle with Marrianne, slowly but surely losing my fight with sleep, as he takes his time to explain things to her. Much more coherently than all the bits and pieces, jumping from one topic to another, like earlier. Everything from me having powers, to my connection with Reena. The blessings, my premonition, and finally being marked and becoming her angel. Then there's whatever dangerous thing Reena has me doing.

At that point, Marrianne stops him. The way she shifts jostles me a little more awake, as she says, "That's not right. Like I said earlier, Reena told me she isn't the one making Aria do it, she actually tried to stop her. That's why they had that big fight. So Reena only got involved in Aria's life after she got away from wherever she came from. And she's been trying to convince her not to go back."

"I think that sounds right," Beth joins in. "She mentioned something similar to me, but when I tried to tell her she didn't have to, she got really angry all of a sudden."

Marrianne goes a little still. When I look drowsily up at her, she's staring at me with deeply furrowed brows, and concern in her voice. "When Reena mentioned it to Aria, she got really angry and yelled at her. I had to scold her for it." She leans down a little, hugging me closer, and asks, "Aria, why do you get so angry when we talk about this? We care about you, honey. We can't just let you go back to people who are hurting you."

I swallow, gritting my teeth and keeping my eyes down. "I have to." That's all I can say. My hands shake, and I try not not to let my anger show. I don't know why this makes me angry. I don't want to be angry at them. They care about me. They actually care about me. How can I be so angry at them for that? It doesn't make any sense...

She hugs me close. "Aria, you don't. I know it might seem like you don't have a choice, but you do. You always have a choice."

"I can't..." I grumble, hands bunching in her dress. "I don't have a choice. You wouldn't understand." A human can't understand...

"Then help us understand, sweetie," she pleads quietly. But I can't. Sobbing angrily into her chest, I know I can't make them understand. They think I'm a person. A person would have a choice. A person could say fuck the program. A person can do anything they want.

But I'm not.

I don't get a choice because I'm not a person. I can't do anything I want because I'm a rail unit and rail units fight.

There has never been any other option.

But they can't see that, because they're human.

And as much as I can do, as much as I can feel. As much as Reena's said I can become...

As long as I have this soul in my chest...

and thing on my arm.

I'll always be...

just a rail unit...