“Are things as I have asked?”

“Yes my lord, the men await your signal and more sit on standby should things go beyond our expectations.”

Expectations! Have those fools not done anything since I last checked on them?

A loud crack sounds as my ringed hand meets the scribe's cheek, blood wells on his face.

“I’ll say this once more for you incompetents, if you don’t perform as well as I intend you to, this will be the end of your employment under my family’s name. Understand?”

Several voices cry out.

“Yes, lord!”

They flee the room in terror the moment I wave them away. Idiots the lot. All I asked of them was to survey the movements of that harlot Victoria and here they are sprouting such nonsense as the Black Shields being a threat.

Do they not know of my family’s might? Hells I bet even I could ravage a few of the uptight bastards.

Enough waiting. If my plans are foiled, forget firing them I’ll see them all in a debtors prison hanging by the ankle!

—{}{}{}{}{}—

Emma.

It’s really blue today. I hate blue days because they're always so cold. It's going to rain soon and rain always makes things harder, it already hurts. Shutting my eyes doesn’t help a whole lot but I can’t do anything else with so much going on.

White fills the room pushing away all of the blue. It still hurts because there’s so much outside but I can at least open my eyes.

“Emma! Time to get up, you’re gonna miss Dad leaving!”

My blankets are warm but my coat is warmer and it’s a pretty pink that I painted myself. Anna helps me get dressed and we leave the warmth of the house. I’m blinded again but staying close to Anna helps me enough so that I can see still. All the other kids are staying inside today because of the party so I can't play with anyone until tomorrow. Playing always helps the colors go away but it’s going to rain tomorrow so I won’t get to.

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Dad’s talking to Uncle Oliver I can’t understand what they are saying, too many big words too fast. Anna is sad that dads leaving but with the way white keeps drifting toward Xavier I think she’s sadder that he won’t be here. She really likes him, not like how I like my new picture books but how Clara likes Tommy. It’s kinda gross.

Anna waves as they all leave, I do too. I’m not sad like Anna is but I am upset that both Xavier and Dad are leaving. Dad makes things so much better when I stand close to him, all the colors vanish, and for a little while I can see normal. The same thing happens when I stand next to Xavier but it always lasts longer. He seems happy when I read with him and it helps boring days go by faster.

People are setting up a big fire in the middle of everything so I spend a while just watching them. A flash of orange cuts away some of the blue and the fire starts, someone cheers, it’s one of the older boys that doesn't like to play with me and the other kids. The fire sends out lots of orange and red turning the air purple, I like it when I can see the colors change. Anna's an adult now so she can move the colors I want to be like her.

I can smell something really good, Clara’s mom likes to use lots of butter so everything smells really good when she cooks for everyone. I could risk sneaking a piece but the last time I did she hit me with her stirring spoon.

It’s been a while and Anna doesn’t seem as sad anymore now that she's going around helping everyone get ready. I don’t know why we’re celebrating today because every time I ask Anna gets really sad and tells me it’s just a special day. She’s not a good liar at all, I think it has to do with her and Xavier but I don’t know how. All the old people are out now drinking from the glass bottles, Dad doesn’t like me to be around when they do that so I go inside and read.

I can’t find any books I haven’t already read in my room so I have to get a new one from the bookshelf. I’m not tall enough to get the really pretty books on the very top but all the ones on the bottom are super hard to read, I’ve tried them before. The desk has a super big book on it. I’ve seen Anna and Xavier reading from it a lot they don’t always look happy but it might just be a sad story. The chair is heavy but it’s the right height for me to read the book if I’m on my tippy toes. My colors make the chair not heavy and I climb up super fast.

Even with the colors helping me the book is almost too heavy to open. I really want to read it now even if it’s too hard! The cover opens with a loud bang but it’s loud outside so no one would notice anyways. I read the first line and all the colors vanish. It’s so sudden I almost don’t notice it happening. One second the world is so bright it hurts the colors always moving making it hard to focus unless I really struggle, and the next it’s all gone. No blues, no reds, nothing. I look down and there aren’t any browns or grays blinding me.

The book is really hard to read but the more I do the easier I can do it. This isn’t a storybook, it’s a book about magic! I think that’s what Dad calls the colors, a lot of people here can move the colors so maybe that’s why Anna was helping Xavier read it. Dad and Anna keep saying he’s got special magic, or was it broken magic?

Hey! Maybe that’s why my eyes hurt so much! I’m like Xavier, my magic has to be broken and I need to read the book to fix it!

The pages keep moving but nothing changes as I read them except they get harder and harder. It’s at the point where I can only read every few words and I don’t know what they mean. I can’t even make the right sounds for those words, I want Anna to help me but the party is so loud outside I doubt I’d be able to find her.

I can always wait until tomorrow.