Slowly, I turned toward the voice that had called out to me. My new sister, Theresa, sat atop a crate beside our home, her stillness and the angle at which she perched had caused me to overlook her presence entirely.
Glancing down at my bare hands and mismatched shoes, I felt a surge of panic. This would look strange to anyone else. Dang it! I’m a terrible liar! I had been trying to avoid contact with my family, but how long would it take for them to notice I had changed? My mind raced with questions. Wait—how do I know I’m a bad liar? I couldn’t consciously remember anything! Yet somehow, I just knew that if I tried to deceive them, it would lead to inevitable failure.
Seeing my prolonged silence, Theresa chimed in, “Dad doesn’t let us touch his tools. He’ll be mad if he finds out you touched one of his axes.”
“Would you believe that your nightmares are actually visions of the future?” I replied, my voice steadier than I felt.
She shot me a disbelieving look, but I pressed on. “It’s one of several powers in our bloodline. I know because I’ve seen the future too, or experienced it in some way. Search your feelings; you’ll know it to be true.”
“Tha… That’s not true! That’s impossible!” Theresa stuttered, her nervousness palpable.
Looking her square in the eyes, I adopted a serious expression—too intense for an ordinary child. “If you want the truth, ask our mother if it’s true that she was the Hero Scarlet Robe!”
Theresa’s jaw dropped at the revelation that one of her favorite story heroines might be her own mother. “You can tell her you overheard it in town outside the tavern while playing with me. But if you tell her it was me and that I took the ax into the woods, there will be consequences for you too.”
“Nuh-uh! Mom and Dad will think you’ve lost your mind!” Theresa retorted, her eyes wide with disbelief.
“Then I’ll tell them the reason I went crazy is that I hit my head this morning, and it’s your fault,” I threatened, feeling a sickening twist in my gut at the manipulation.
It felt wrong to twist a child’s thoughts like this, but it was a lesser evil in the grand scheme. The game had always portrayed her blindness and struggles as the worst fate, but I knew better. In the Twinblade quest, the hero freed two women said to be the night’s entertainment for Twinblade. It was heavily implied he would take advantage of them against their will. I doubted such a man would overlook the body of a beautiful, helpless blind girl, treating her as a mere possession. He may have saved her life, but he was also one of the causes that hardened her heart in that timeline.
Gripping my father’s smallest ax, I headed into the woods, unconcerned about the confusion my absence would cause. I needed experience now, and I would deal with my parents later. Convincing them of the truth would be easier if I possessed powers. I spent the rest of the day, until well after sundown, hunting beetles and the occasional wasp, gathering might experience. Without knowledge of how to draw experience to me, I had to pick it up or step on it. Eventually, I accumulated enough that it felt like I could do something with it—a strong sensation of knowing washed over me.
As I returned the ax to its place, I overheard my parents arguing about how the truth of my mother’s identity had been revealed. Their voices were hushed, enough to avoid alarming the neighbors, but I could see Theresa curled up in the fetal position, crying behind our house.
“Mother was upset, wasn’t she?” I asked, concern washing over me. I hadn’t meant to hurt her. “She’s not mad at you, sis. There’s a very bad man who wants to hurt us, and he only gets what he wants if he destroys our whole family and Oakvale along with us.”
She looked up at me with tear-streaked cheeks, her red eyes full of confusion. “Why?”
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“Because he’s a monster, and we’re the only ones who can stop him. This isn’t just my opinion; it’s what destiny is telling us,” I assured her.
Wiping away her tears, Theresa stood up, her face brightening with determination. “Then I want to be strong too!”
“You don’t know what you’re asking for. In the other timeline, you developed your powers without training,” I cautioned. A sudden revelation struck me: she had never received proper training, yet she had grown so powerful. If allowed to develop her abilities early and join the Heroes Guild with me, my sister could become an extraordinary force.
“Alright,” I interrupted before Theresa could object. “But we’re going to need to kill a lot of bugs in the next few days.”
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Slowly I turned towards where the voice of my new sister just came from. She was sitting atop a crate by the side of our home. The angle she had been at and a lack of movement on her part had caused me to overlook her presence.
looking at my current shoe and gloveless appearance that to all present would be strange I panicked. Dangit! I'm a bad liar! I was trying to avoid contact with these people as much as possible. How long will it take observing me day to day before my family realizes I've changed, my mind raced. Wait how do I know I'm a bad liar? I can't consciously remember anything! Yet somehow I simply knew if I lied it would inevitably lead to failure.
Seeing my prolonged silence Theresa chimed in, "Dad doesn't let us touch his tools. He will be mad if he finds out you touched one of his axes".
"Well, first would you believe your nightmares are a vision of the future?"
Theresa gave me a disbelieving look but I continued, "Its one of several powers in our bloodline. I know because I too have seen the future or experienced it in some fashion. Search your feelings you'll know it too be true".
"Tha... That's not true, That's impossible!" Theresa nervously stuttered.
Looking her square in the eyes with a serious look too intense to be done by an ordinary child I stated, "If you want the truth ask our mother if it's true she was the Hero Scarlet Robe!"
Theresa's jaw dropped at the revelation that one of her favorite story heroines was possibly her own mother. "You can tell her you overheard it in the town outside the tavern while playing with me but if you tell her it was me and I went to the woods with the ax there will be consequences for you too".
"Nuh-uh, Mom and Dad will want to hear you got a screw loose" Theresa retorted.
"Then I'll tell them the reason I went crazy was from hitting my head this morning and it's your fault." I threatened.
It put a sick feeling in my gut to manipulate a small child like this but in the end, it was by far the lesser of many evils. The game had always made out her blindness and struggle was the worst of it but I knew better. In the twin blade quest, the hero releases two women who were said to be that night's entertainment for twin-blade. It was inferred that he would have his way with them against their will. I doubt such a man would overlook the body of a beautiful and helpless blind girl that he treated as a valuable possession. He saved her life but he was one of the causes that made her so cold and murderous in that timeline.
Taking off to the woods with my father's smallest ax in hand, I didn't care about the confusion that would happen next as I would still achieve my goal. I needed experience now and I could sort out dealing with my parents later. It would be easier to convince them of the truth should I need to if I had powers. Spending the rest of the day until past sundown killing beetles and the occasional wasp I gained mostly might experience. Not knowing how to draw experience to me I had to pick it up or step on it. Eventually, I got enough experience that it felt like I could do something with it. It was simply a strong sensation of knowing.
Placing my father's ax back in place I overheard my parents arguing over how the truth of my mother's identity got revealed. It wasn't loud enough for the neighbors to overhear but Theresa was sitting in the fetal position crying behind our house.
"Mother was upset wasn't she?" I asked concerned for the little girl. I hadn't meant to do this to her. Continuing I said, "She's not mad at you sis. There is a very bad man that wants to hurt us and ultimately he only gets what he wants if he destroys our whole family and Oakvale along with us".
She looked up at me with red eyes, "Why?"
"Simply because he is a monster and we are the only ones able to stop him. This is not my opinion but what we've both seen destiny telling us", I assured her.
Wiping away her tears Theresa stood up and excitedly declared, "Then I want to be strong too!"
"You don't know what you are asking. In the other timeline, you developed your powers without training over time." A revelation suddenly overcame me as I realized she was never given proper training and yet she grew so powerful. Perhaps allowed to develop early and join the Heroes guild with me my sister would be far more powerful.
"Alright," I said interrupting Theresa before she could object to my previous statement but were gonna need to kill a lot of bugs in the next few days.