Elizabeth narrowed her eyes and looked at Morrigan's gloves. “Can’t see any rings I gave you with those on."

On a bright spring day many years ago, Elizabeth sold her step-mother’s jewelry in the farmer's market, already tall enough to stand above the booth. Elizabeth was fidgeting with a homemade ring between her fingers, gliding it back and forth, when she showed up for the very first time, ghostly and nervous.

“What are you doing here? You don’t look like you could afford this,” Elizabeth questioned, her voice demanding but still shrill and high-pitched from her young age.

“I really love your pendants, miss,” replied Morrigan, peering over the edge of the table as her small hands grabbed the edge.

Elizabeth softened, dropping her shoulders. “Thanks, I made all of them by myself,” she grinned as she tilted her chin up and squared her shoulders.

A brief conversation would lead Elizabeth to whisk Morrigan into a welcoming forest and, despite fear of her step-mother’s discovery, give her a small, gold colored ring with a flower in the center. Unable to pay, Morrigan would first fold her small shirt pocket inside out, revealing a button and some string, before she weaved together a dandelion crown and place it atop Elizabeth’s head, laughing breathlessly in the tall grass as Elizabeth claimed that she defeated ogres in this very spot with her magical powers.

Growing up humbled both of them very quickly and brutally.

“The gloves are just temporary, so don’t worry! I’ll wear your rings again, soon,” she warmly replied.

She gestured her head over to Juro. “What’s he here for?” She seemed to glare at him from the doorway while he responded with an awkward wave.

“Well, I wanted to ask if you could come with us to Alyssa’s place, but it’s fine if you’re busy,” Morrigan replied, waving her hands in the air to dismiss any sense of urgency.

Elizabeth shook her head, “No, it’s fine. The meeting wouldn't be the same without me. Let me put my little sister to bed, since it’s her nap —” she was cut off when a little girl came up from behind her leg, nervously looking out. “Aw, here she is! Say hi, Camila!”

Morrigan hoisted Camila onto her hip and cooed, “You’re getting so big now, look at you!” Camila laughed and wrapped her arms around Morrigan’s neck, hugging her. Morrigan made a pouty ‘isn’t she adorable?’ face as Elizabeth sarcastically crossed her arms.

Elizabeth took Camila back in her arms before saying, “I’ll catch up with you guys along the way. Juro will probably slow you down anyways.”

Morrigan and Juro headed back on the gravel road, with Elizabeth meeting them about halfway. When they arrived at Alyssa’s house, Morrigan was still shocked by its splendor despite having seen it many times before. The large, marble pillars, the looming doorway, the grand scale in comparison to the houses she was familiar with. Everything about it was extraordinary, especially considering Alyssa wasn’t a Leith. However, despite their seemingly endless wealth, it heavily relied on the exploitation of the common people by Alyssa’s parents. One of their ancestors sold the citizen's revolutionary plans to the Leiths in order to gain status equivalent to that of the Leiths. That legacy continued on today, even though Alyssa did her best to dismiss it and shut it down.

As Morrigan peered through the front gate, she saw Bruno exiting from the main door, seemingly in a rush. “Hey, Bruno! Could you let us in? I wanted to talk to all of you about something.”

He looked startled as he faced them, but he quickly ran over and opened the gate. “Alyssa is just finishing up something right now, and her parents are home. Maybe we can pick a different time or place?”

“Yeah, I think that works bett-" began Juro before he was interrupted by Morrigan.

“We can wait a bit, it’s fine. We can just go through her window.”

Juro slowly turned to face her. “Seriously?”

The three headed toward the back of the house, trying to dodge the windows that led into the living rooms. After climbing up a ladder, Morrigan knocked on Alyssa’s window, smiling and waving as Alyssa abruptly turned around. She was tearing up some paper and throwing it away, mouthing ‘what are you doing?’

Morrigan gestured for her to open the window, Alyssa walking over and gently lifting the latch. Alyssa seemed to radiate a certain splendor. Even the way she walked delicately, almost seeming to float across her room, carried a magnificence and vitality so rarely found in this world. Morrigan quickly jumped in, followed by the rest of them.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

She let out a breathy laugh as she took a step back. “Can someone explain why you all flooded into my room. From my window.” Her black hair was tied back in a long ponytail, her almond-shaped eyes stared questioningly while her thin brows furrowed, finding the entrance hilarious.

“I had an announcement!” Morrigan declared, sitting on the large rug beside Alyssa’s bed. “Okay, I’m going to try to get through this soon, because I had an idea. It’s a bit of a walk there though, and I wanted everyone here to know first.”

Alyssa pursed her lips but sat down nonetheless on top of her desk, kicking the trash can filled with the paper underneath while everyone else sat down on the rug beside Morrigan. Juro pointed towards the trash can, which took on an almost eerie feeling so hidden under the desk, and he asked, “What are you tearing up?”

“Oh, just some really old homework assignments,” she said, glancing towards them.

Morrigan clapped her hands together to redirect the attention and declared, “So, I'm not sure how to make this less awkward, but I’m a Leith!” She beamed at the group, hands still pressed together, while they all blankly stared at her.

An awkward silence hung in the room before Alyssa interrupted it. “You broke into my house to pretend to have magical powers again?” Alyssa's expression was playful, slightly tilting her head while looking at Morrigan.

“Okay, that was a decade ago. And I’m not lying.” She stood up and snatched one of the small, potted plants in Alyssa’s room. “Look.”

Taking the base of the stem between her now ungloved hand, the plant stayed stagnant for a moment before rapidly growing, leaves and flowers sprouting all throughout it as it grew in height. Amazed gasps resounded throughout the room as they gawked up at her, watching the plant exponentially grow in front of their ideas.

“Wait, Morrigan, what the hell, do you know how incredible this is? This could literally change your entire life,” said Elizabeth, still in blatant shock over what she just witnessed.

“Yeah, that’s why I wanted to tell all you guys. More importantly, this isn’t even one of the existing powers, and it only just showed up.”

“Could it maybe be void?” Bruno quizzed.

“Do you really think I pulled out plant cells from the pits of nothingness?” she retorted, sarcastically narrowing her eyes while holding out the plant in front of her.

“I think it’s more logical than an entire faction disappearing and suddenly reappearing,” he responded, trying to find the most plausible explanation for Morrigan’s situation.

Juro intervened as well, much more assertive than Bruno. “I don’t think it’s one of the six even though it seems more logical. I think it’s related to that technological explosion. The one on the news a few days ago about the twins Victor and Josephine. The timings align perfectly, although I’m not sure of all the details. I mean, I can barely read so newspapers don't really do it for me.”

Alyssa, who had been silent for a while, nodded in agreement. “I think that could be it, but shouldn’t it also be related to Morrigan’s family and bloodline? It has to be from her mother, given her father’s condition.”

All eyes refocused on Morrigan, who suddenly became tense under the gazes of everyone in the room. “Um… that could be it? I couldn’t get anything out of my dad, but he definitely knows something. It makes sense given that my mother was arrested and that our crops have always been thriving up until recently.”

Morrigan’s mother had never been the topic of any discussion for quite some time. Morrigan looked upon their memories fondly. She loved her mother. Dearly. Her mother was kind, loving, a woman who endured great struggles in an attempt to create the best possible life for her daughter, a life she never got for herself. Before her mother was taken, she seemed to age quickly, hair turning white at a rapid rate. She would say don’t worry, she was just growing older, but she’d live to see Morrigan grow old and gray, too.

Morrigan cleared her throat. “Thanks, guys. I think I’ll talk to my dad about it tonight, since he’s likely to know the most about it.” She took in a deep breath for a second, starting to chew on her bottom lip again. “He seemed a little nervous about me touching him earlier today. He definitely knows something, but I also want to help him be healthy. I was also thinking about stopping by the hospital and helping some people there today.”

“I think that’s a really sweet idea, Morrigan. Do you want anyone to come with you?” asked Bruno.

“Elizabeth and Juro would be good. You and Alyssa can stay here for when we come back, since we’ll need someone to open the gate and window.”

“No, I think it’s best if Bruno goes with you,” interrupted Alyssa. “It would be bad if my parents caught him.”

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow while pointing back and forth between Alyssa and Bruno. “What? You guys break up or something? You’ve snuck Bruno over for entire days before.” She stopped when Morrigan rammed her elbow into her stomach to cut her off.

Alyssa’s face quickly flushed as Bruno waved his hands. “No, no, it’s not like that! We’re not a couple, and we didn’t break up,” he said.

The group laughed as Bruno embarrassingly covered his face with his hands before the trio headed out towards the hospital. The hospital was near Morrigan’s house, which made the loop back convenient. It was incredibly run down, receiving little to no government financing despite being a public organization. Many patients sent there rarely got treatment due to the medical supply shortage; death rate was high despite the expensive medical rates. Morrigan’s dad was originally a long-term patient until Morrigan couldn’t afford the costs anymore, so he became bedridden within their home.

When they finally arrived, Elizabeth's face violently contorted, disgusted and shocked.