Felicity couldn’t believe the day she was having. Kono let her sleep in, she had the chance to work with Eden for a little while and make a few copies of her favorite trinket and then Skylar woke up.

While it was awful that her sister had no recollection of what had occurred during the past three years, she was determined to make sure that Skylar felt as comfortable as possible. She also understood the sentiment of not wanting her older sister around while they talked. While Felicity knew that Eden meant no harm, she could also understand how overwhelmed Skylar was feeling. Her sister had just lost three years of her life and hadn’t had more than an hour to process it.

After Eden left, Felicity continued to relax on the bed next to her older sister and caught her up to speed on what had occurred in Sydney during the past few years. Overall, Skylar seemed flabbergasted.

When she reached the point of her parting with their younger sisters at the ISTC station, Skylar lost it. It took a few minutes to get her sister calm enough to understand what happened after the situation and that if it weren’t for Eden she would still be in serious danger due to the growth inside of her. It was entirely reasonable that she might have even died from it because of the damage it was doing to her body.

Skylar was understandably upset with their parents, but she acknowledged there was nothing she could have done to help because Felicity had no access to a Message device. Reluctantly, she admitted it was for the best that Felicity be brought to London against her will.

“So, what happens now?”

“I don’t know. I know Eden wants to move to Kyoto with her girlfriend. Leaving behind the Mageocracy may mean giving up many opportunities, but at the same time it means gaining many more?”

“You’re considering leaving the Mageocracy?”

“I know I’ll look like a traitor, but I can learn far more from Eden than I could ever learn here. Becoming an Enchantress that others can rely on is my dream, and I wish to pursue it relentlessly. So I want to go with her, wherever she goes.”

The vivid thoughts of Eden’s first time tutoring her here in Cambridge immediately came to mind and strengthened her resolve. The right decision for her lay in front of her, waiting for her to walk the path that followed. That path would lead to a bright future as far as she was concerned. Perhaps one day, she could even achieve the level that Eden was currently at.

“I see. I’ll admit I’m not so certain about becoming a normal Enchantress myself. I’ve always wanted to be a mage out in the field, fighting monsters and delving into dungeons. Sure there are branches of Enchantment that excel at buffing and things like that, but I don’t want to be on the back lines.”

The thought of Skylar flinging offensive spells at humanity’s enemies was something which she’d never thought about until Skylar told her. She was always a little rowdy, but Felicity never assumed her sister would be one who wanted to stand on the front lines against humanity’s enemies.

“Are you sure that’s what you want? What if you get hurt?”

“Then I’ll get hurt knowing I did my best to protect the things I love, my little sister. We know just how bad things are for those who can’t fight; we lived in a Frontier city after all.”

“You’re right. Things are pretty bad back home. The Mermen are a constant threat, let alone the savage Saurians.”

Skylar nodded at her, her face becoming dark and concerned.

“I’m worried about Iris and Luna,” the woman admitted.

“Don’t worry. They’re more than capable of handling themselves. If anything, we should be worried about our own safety.”

Her sister nodded at her after sucking her lips inside her mouth.

“We’re between a rock and a hard place from what you two have told me. It doesn’t seem likely that we can just simply waltz out of the Mageocracy. Staying holed up here isn’t something that can be done either though. I can understand why you want to go to Kyoto because of that. At least I think I do.”

Felicity nodded. Part of her reasoning behind wanting to leave with her eldest sister was because she’d be able to roam freely about in Kyoto without having to look over her shoulder every other second. The Tier 1 City was at odds with the Mageocracy, and as such there were some restrictions in place that prevented most mages from the Mageocracy from visiting. At least that’s what Seiko had told her.

It was a safe haven for those humans and demi-humans who wanted to live amongst one another in peace. So far it had worked out quite well, though it was a wonder why such an ideology hadn’t spread further throughout the world. Perhaps it was because Japan as a whole wasn’t exactly welcoming to the permanent residency of foreigners.

“Skylar, why don’t you come with us,” she asked.

Her sister stared at her, her expression one of hesitance.

“You do understand that once we leave, there will be no coming back. As you said before, we’ll appear as traitors, and I’m not so certain we’ll even be able to set foot in the Commonwealth again because of that.”

“I’m willing to accept that. It’s better than being here, where the nobility would think of us former nobles as toys to play with. I don’t want to be a toy. Do you?”

“Of course not, I just don’t want to make the decision and then come to regret it soon after. Again, we can only make this choice once, and once we do, there is no going back. It’s not something that I can bring myself to decide upon while I’m still trying to understand how I’ve just lost three years of my life. I need time to think, to understand what would be best for me. While I doubt going with Eden is the wrong choice, I’m not yet certain it’s the right one for me.”

“I understand and will respect your decision, whatever it may be. I just want you to be a part of our lives again is all. Perhaps I’m just a little too sentimental.”

“Oh Felicity,” Skylar said, gently rubbing the side of her cheek. “That’s one of your best qualities.”

“Thank sis.”

Skylar stretched her arms out wide and yawned, then looked around the room.

“All of this talking has kind of wore me out. Do you mind if I try to get a nap in before Kono comes home?”

“Of course not. Rest all you need,” Felicity said as she pushed herself off the bed and twisted around on her feet.

“Thanks. Can you get the lights too?”

“Of course. Have a good nap,” Felicity said as she walked toward the door and flipped the light switch off. “And Skylar.”

“Yes?”

“I’m glad you’re you again. We’re going to have fun in the future, I promise you.”

“Me as well. I have some fun things in mind to challenge your mandala knowledge.”

Felicity smiled, then walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. Making her way back downstairs, she headed out into the garage where Eden was tinkering away with a different project now.

When her sister realized she’d entered the room, the woman lifted up one of the pieces of metal she’d been working on earlier.

“These little trinkets you’ve created. What do you call them,” she asked.

“I haven’t actually given a name to them. The Enchantments are extremely basic so it’s not really anything worth giving a name to.”

Next to her, Eden turned from her work and leaned in.

“I do. I find it fascinating how the mandala permanently scars itself when a little mana has been channeled into it. Furthermore, there seems to always be a trace of mana left behind, so if one had a diviner they might be able to track down the person who used magic on it. Furthermore, it can all be removed with ease via dispel, allowing one to cover their tracks. It’s quite a well thought out idea.”

Felicity honestly didn’t know what to say. That she was getting praise from her older sister for a little trinket that she’d made to play with stringing together Enchantments was surprising, but welcome. It helped to boost her confidence, as well as motivate her to continue to do well in the future.

“It’s not easy getting the mana signature to remain without a crystal of some sort to store the mana. Though it’ll only remain for about twenty to thirty minutes before fully disappearing. The mandala’s still imperfect, though I’m not exactly certain how to improve it.”

Eden smiled at her before manifesting an old book with no title on the front.

“I think you’ll come up with something if you refine your basic understanding of mandalas. First you’ll need to study this. Though it’s slightly dated, it’s a fantastic primer on advanced mandalas that ought to help correct the misunderstandings you currently seem to have. Once you’ve gotten a solid foundation with these mandalas, we’ll move on to something much more difficult.”

Felicity reached out and lifted up the book, then realized it was far too heavy for her. After quickly setting it back down, she slid it over in front of herself and flipped it open to the first page, where a four-ring mandala that she hadn’t the slightest clue how to understand lay before her.

Nervously she turned to look at her sister, who eagerly nodded at her.

“I know it looks tough, but by the end of the book you’ll understand what that mandala is and how to create the basic version of it. It’s nothing too difficult, and given your current understanding, it shouldn’t take more than a few days to burn through it.”

Given the size of the book was almost four centimeters thick, Felicity had her doubts she could work through it in a handful of days while keeping everything committed to memory. It was an incredibly demanding task that would not only challenge her but serve to test her ability to recall information.

“A-alright, if you’re sure,” she stammered, staring at the mandala that lay before her.

“Also, on your side of the workbench I’ve left several pieces of metal and other scrap materials for you to practice as well as data slate for note-taking. I know that book won’t be comfortable to get through, but the core knowledge of what’s there is undoubtedly worth the effort.”

“Thank you sis,” Felicity replied before deeply bowing.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Don’t thank me yet. It’s going to be difficult getting you caught up to speed, but we’ll get you there,” Eden replied as she continued to inscribe a Mandala.

That last bit brightened her spirits. Sitting down, Felicity turned to the second page. Along with the boring introductory paragraph, she could see a small note on the side of the page written by Eden, detailing her note format. Knowing her elder sister had left notes on the side to help her study and understand the material better motivated her.

Smiling, Felicity turned the page and began the long process of refining herself into a world-class Enchantress.

[https://i.imgur.com/hg5cY37.png]

Skylar quietly lay alone in the dark.

Her younger sister had left well over half an hour ago, but despite her exhaustion she found herself unable to sleep given her present circumstances. While she wanted to believe that this wasn’t happening, that three years hadn’t passed in literally the blink of an eye, she knew they indeed had.

Part of the reason why was because her body felt older. It didn’t feel fully like a teenager’s anymore. Instead, it felt weathered and matured. Despite its currently weakened state, she could also tell she’d gotten quite muscular while she wasn’t herself.

Thoughts of Felicity, Iris and Luna were flooding her mind. To think that two of them were now half a world away from her was hard to come to terms with. It was incredibly difficult to imagine what life would be like without them, but here she was.

Skylar clutched the sheets tightly in her hands as she thought of what was to come next. From what she understood, the person she’d been charmed into being was awful to the woman who saved her life, as well as Eden. Though Eden knew that wasn’t her, she was still upset that ‘she’ hurt her eldest sister and her girlfriend.

Facing the two of them after what apparently happened felt like it would be incredibly awkward. Even now she was feeling ashamed, despite having no recollection of what had occurred. Proving that she was in her right state of mind when she next saw Eden would be for the best.

Skylar was still concerned about what was to come. From what Felicity and Eden had said, they both intended to go to Kyoto. As for herself, she wasn’t so sure. Though she was disappointed Lucy Cavendish was the college she got into, she was still proud that she had been able to attend Cambridge.

So what would happen if she didn’t go with them? She knew her father was up to something. It wasn’t because Eden speculated so either. Only one person would have something to gain from her mind being so profoundly modified and that person was him. Alas, she knew couldn’t simply waltz up to and accuse him, a renown war mage, of such an atrocious crime without having solid proof to back her theory, so there was nothing she could do.

If she couldn’t stop him, then her safety wasn’t guaranteed. No matter how talented she may be, she wasn’t immune to mind magic, and it was entirely possible that someone could put her back under the spell once she returned to living in her apparent dorm.

Skylar shuddered at the thought of that. There would be no one to help her if she was put under such a spell again. That was something she had no desire to go through once more. She only had so many years to live, and three of her prime ones were just ripped away.

Clutching the blanket she was wrapped in, she allowed her mind to drift back to Kyoto. If she went there with her sisters then there would be no coming back. At the same time, she would be safe and with her sisters.

Was moving back to Sydney instead of Kyoto also a viable option for her? Could she simply leave the Mageocracy for the Frontier City with little issue, or would she be stopped at the gates like she assumed would happen? Such a difficult question clouded her mind.

There was another matter which she needed to figure out as well: whether she was a Magus or not. The heightened title came with greater responsibilities that she wasn’t exactly keen on taking up. If she did turn out to be one, leaving the country would quickly become much more difficult.

The stress of these matters felt awful. Anxiety clawed at her like a hungry beast, demanding that she give in.

Skylar continued to fuss over the matters at hand for a while longer, going back and forth on the topics until eventually she fell asleep, tuckered out from the stress of everything that appeared before her.

[https://i.imgur.com/luJKtxr.png]

Felicity lost track of how long it had been since she began working. The book that she’d been given, A Master’s Guide to Advanced Mandala Design and Techniques, had enwrapped her within its embrace. The material was difficult, but thanks to her sister’s helpful notes she was able to make significant progress.

The book didn’t hesitate to start by pointing out and correcting what it called the most obvious mistakes most Enchanters made. It then provided reasonable solutions to those problems and professed that shortcuts should never be taken.

A dozen or so pages of notes were strewn in front of her on the workbench, alongside several pieces of scratch paper filled with mathematical functions and Mandalas she’d failed to draw correctly.

Next to her, Eden was currently stretching out and yawning.

“I think I’m good for today. Since it’s Monday I have to cook, and I need to check on Skylar. I understand she’s tired but I don’t want her to ruin her sleeping schedule.”

The warming heart of her older sister made Felicity smile. Now that Eden had somewhat admitted to not being fully honest she felt they shared a greater level of trust.

“You two have a schedule?”

“We do. Sort of. I do my best to cook during the week because she’s usually exhausted after work, and she tries to cook on weekends so we each spend about half the time cooking. We also like to split the chores too.”

“I see. I can help too if you’d like. You are letting me stay with you for free after all.”

Eden reached over and gently ruffled her hair, tousling it up to make a small mess of it.

“Your job is to get better. Once you’re actually healthy again then we can talk about chores and things like that. Same goes with Skylar. I know you two’d do the same for me if I were in your position.”

Considering the position her older sister was in right now with the stress she was under, Felicity pondered if she could help lighten the load a bit. Anything to repay her sister for her kindness, even though she’d just been told not to worry about chores.

“How about we make dinner together. I could show you some of the tricks I know.”

“I’ve been cooking for a few years now, you know,” Eden said, raising a brow.

Felicity nodded back at her sister.

“You’ve been cooking with ingredients from a Tier 1 City. I’m used to cooking with ingredients from a Frontier City,” she explained. “We have to scrounge all the mana we can get.”

Eden stared at her for a moment then smiled and ruffled her hair again.

“Alright. Sounds like you already have a few ideas in mind. Why don’t you show me what you’re capable of.”

[https://imgur.com/Ys9pKEb.jpg]

“Sis, dinner is almost ready.”

Skylar awoke with a start, the sound of Felicity’s voice was enough to wake even the deepest of sleepers, even though she knew that was a lie. Allowing her eyes to adjust to the light, Skylar shifted around in the bed and sat up to face her sister.

“Did you sleep well,” her sister asked in a sweet voice as she walked across the room.

Now that she had some actual sleep in her instead of being in a pseudo-unconscious state, she did feel better. Though there likely wasn’t any difference between the two states, she wasn’t yet willing to rule out the possibility.

“Yeah. I’m feeling much better now, though I’m still a bit nervous about Eden and her girlfriend. I came to realize I likely have nothing to fear but… well you know. Losing three years of my life is going to make me a bit untrusting for a while.”

Felicity gently pat her wrist and smiled at her.

“We’ll have the patience to wait for you to trust us,” she said. “Doing so on an empty stomach isn’t allowed though. We need to get something into you since you haven’t eaten in days, even if it’s only a little bit.”

Her stomach, enticed by the sound of a meal being offered, protested that she sate it. She was reluctant to disagree. Not eating for days definitely wasn’t healthy, though it wasn’t like she could have consciously eaten to begin with. There was just one issue.”

“That sounds delightful. But how will I get downstairs? I can’t walk so there might be some trouble.”

“Leave that to-“

“I heard there was a newly healed cutie in here,” a young teenage girl exclaimed as she darted into the room and flopped onto her legs, which thankfully only felt a dull pressure.

“Camilla, be gentle with her, especially with her legs. They’re not fully healed yet and we don’t need them getting damaged further.”

“Oopsie,” the girl said before picking herself up off of the bed and back onto her feet. “I was just so excited to finally see her again. Or wait, is it a new meeting since this is actually her?”

Felicity giggled and then gestured to the girl next to her. From what Skylar could tell, she definitely wasn’t human. The ears and eyes were the biggest giveaways. Her ears weren’t quite elven but they definitely weren’t human. As for her eyes, they were a bold purple. The attire the girl wore was utterly foreign as well.

“This is Camilla. She’s Kono’s Spirit and incredibly friendly. She spends most of her time sleeping so her being awake right now is a bit of a surprise.”

“H-Hello there,” Skylar said as she tried to gather what was happening. “Thank you for saving my life by the way.”

“It was nothing special. I’m glad you’re okay. Whatever meanie did that to you is gonna pay. I’ll personally beat them up since you’re like family.”

Felicity felt herself beginning to sweat nervously. Camilla was the Spirit of a healer, but she didn’t quite seem suited to healing. Rather, she seemed a bit feisty, like a combat Spirit, especially with the aura she was exuding. That, and despite her young age, she physique appeared toned.

On the otherhand, the weight of her fearsomeness was heavily downplayed by the fact how cute she was. Skylar felt as though she’d never seen anything as cute as Camilla was, and she had to resist her urge to gush praise and affection on the girl.

“It’s nice to meet you Camilla. I must say, if I’m cute then you’re adorable.”

“Gah, you jest. In those pajamas you are by far the cuter one.”

Skylar felt her face flush with heat as she realized she was still in a pair of pajamas that hadn’t been washed in a couple of days.

“Before we go, could you two…,” she trailed off, hoping they would get the message.

“Sure,” Felicity responded, turning around. Camilla followed her lead, but did so with an adorable twirl.

Skylar searched her ring for anything casual that was clean. Unfortunately for her, most of what was inside wasn’t clean, and the few items she did sense were either far too formal or informal. There were a few other things inside as well, including one familiar device she’d received for Christmas when she was sixteen that was perfect for this situation.

Discretely pulling out a pair of modest sweats from her small storage ring, Skylar got changed out of the pajamas she was in. Wearing sweats was the right call, as she felt like she couldn’t move her body the way she wanted to. After, she pulled out her handheld prestidigitation device and channeled mana into, causing the spell to activate and cleanse her, just so she had the extra clean feel.

Once she was done, she packed the device away into her storage ring once again and shifted herself so her legs were dangling from the side of the bed.

“Alright, I’m ready.”

“Oooh, lazy clothes,” Camilla said as she approached her side. “Lazy clothes are the best, especially for napping.”

Felicity covered her mouth as she tried to stifle a giggle.

“Camilla sleeps on average eighteen to twenty hours out of the day.”

Twenty hours? How could something so human-like sleep for so long?

“I see.”

Before she knew it, an arm was wrapped underneath her bottom and another was behind her back. In one fluid motion, Camilla lifted her up bridal style. The unexpexted movement caused Skylar to scrunch up and cling to the whatever was closest to her, which just so happened to be the Spirit herself.

“It’s alright, I won’t drop you,” the Spirit warmly told her.

Despite the reassure, Skylar clung to Camilla. The girl was much stronger than her physique hinted to, and she had enough control of it to be gentle as well. Just what was she? Skylar silently cursed her currently lacking beastiary knowledge.

Soon they were downstairs. The warm modern interior was filled with the sounds of what must have been her sister and her girlfriend preparing for the evening’s meal. Judging by their hushed voices, they were in a good mood.

“Kono-tan, look who I have,” Camilla said while continuing to hold Skylar in her embrace.

Embarassed by the whole situation, Skylar waved at a teenage Japanese girl who definitely appeared underage, likely because of the effects of her positive energy. To her relief, instead of a scornful look, the woman was smiling at her.

“Well it looks like my handi-work was worth the effort. I know ‘we’ haven’t met before, so I suppose I should introduce myself.”

“P-Please, allow me to first thank you for saving my life miss,” Skylar stammered.

The Biomancer waved her hand reassuringly and grinned at her.

“It’s no trouble. I know if I had a sister in need, Eden would help her without thinking twice ,” she explained. “Anyway, you probably know it by now, but I’m Dr. Kono Seiko, your older sister’s girlfriend. It’s a pleasure to finally meet the real you, Skylar.”

“The same, miss Kono,” Skylar said. “Thank you for looking after my older sister while she’s been here in London.”

Kono giggled as she wrapped an arm around Eden, who’s face had flushed with color. Obviously she was embarrassed, but Skylar had never seen her sister get so flustered before.

“I think you’re sister’s the one who’s been keeping me out of trouble. This country isn’t the fondest of foreigners, even if they have immense talent,” Kono said before kissing Eden. “But enough about that. Lets eat before the food gets cold. Then we can talk.”

“Agreed. Don’t worry about eating what a normal person, just as much as you can handle,” Eden chimed in.

“Thank you so much for the meal,” she replied earnestly as Camilla eased her into the chair and helped her scoot in, then sat in a chair herself.

With that, dinner began in earnest. Skylar remained quiet while Eden told Kono about how Felicity surprised her with her quick picking up of advanced Mandalas.

As she kept and eye on them while eating what she could handle, she noticed they all seemed completely relaxed, and found herself soon relaxing. If this was an act, they wouldn’t be as relaxed they were. Though she wasn’t certain what the future would hold, nor why her mind was altered, she knew that here she was safe. That was enough for her.

That was enough for her.