Eden led Felicity all over the city. At least that’s what it felt like. They started out by strolling around the city. During their tour, she passed by several of the colleges, including Queen’s, Newnham, Pembroke and Eden’s alma mater, Peterhouse.
As for Felicity, while she tried her best to pay attention, she was still in shock that at this time the previous day she hadn’t even known Eden’s Message glyph. Now she was walking around Cambridge with her, fully cured of her misdiagnosis. If someone had told her all of this was going to happen, she’d think they were trying to psychologically torture her.
After the roughly two-hour-long tour, the duo arrived at the Lion Yard, a shopping mall with high-end stores and cafés. Next door was a shopping center called the Grand Arcade, which featured even more high-end shops, with some having items that reached into the price range of over 100,000 HDMs. Far too rich for her blood.
The duo decided to have lunch at a pub inside the Lion Yard consisting of fish and chips. Oddly enough, the fish and chips in Sydney tasted much better to her. Perhaps it was because fresh seafood was often cooked the day or the day after it was caught.
After lunch, they meandered around the shops. Felicity bought an off-brand pastel purple winter coat, preferring functionality over branding. Eden gifted her a pair of winter boots to go with the coat, stating soon enough it’d start snowing and she’d be quite happy to have a good pair to keep her feet dry.
It was about three in the afternoon when they finally arrived at Eden’s workshop. Located on the corner of Tennis Court Rd. and Lensfield Rd., Eden’s workshop was one of five occupying the building. The other occupants were Enchanters who’d recently graduated from Cambridge and were now freelancing.
As they entered the building, Felicity could smell the scent of old books lingering in the air. Strangely enough, the house was absolutely silent. Even the noise from the street outside had ceased once the front door had been closed.
The narrow entranceway consisted of two doors, one on each wall, a floating wooden stairwell on the left wall and a door at the end of the hallway. The floating stairs themselves led up to a small balcony, where a door stood on each side of the wall.
“Is this entire building warded,” Felicity asked out of curiosity.
“Yep, the entire building is warded and the rooms each have wards of their own. The people we work for appreciate their commissions being kept secret, and we Enchanters have secrets of our own. But my rule still applies: among us sisters there are no secrets,” Eden replied, pausing for a moment before continuing. “Well, except Skylar, but that’s a different matter at the moment. Anyway, I’m up on the second floor.”
The elder Enchanter began walking up the wooden stairs, which for some reason creaked below her feet. Felicity followed suit, careful not to put too much pressure onto the railing which appeared fragile. Then again, this was Cambridge. Shoddy craftsmanship would surely get someone fired, or possibly worse.
At the top of the stairs, Eden produced several glyphs. With a quiet thud, the door unlocked. Before entering, the elder sister turned to her younger sister and opened the door.
“I’m going to have to teach you the glyphs for this place. Anyway, I’ll let you go in first. I have a feeling you’re going to be amazed by what you see.”
“Thank you Eden, I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time,” Felicity replied as she walked into the room.
To her surprise, Eden was right. What she saw absolutely amazed her, though not as much as when she learned she could be cured of her misdiagnosis. The girl was still recovering from that revelation.
Overall, the workshop had a refined elegance to it. Its red rosewood features were elegantly carved, and the room carried a modern aesthetic. It was large too, allowing for projects like astronomical grandfather clocks and short-range teleportation closets, things she’d heard of but never seen in Sydney. At the same time, it was small enough to retain a cozy, welcoming feeling.
Upon entering the large room one was looking directly out the windows, which allowed sunlight to enter. Along the walls opposite of and to the sides of the entrance was a long counter with cupboards underneath, having the occasional opening to allow one’s legs room underneath. The cabinets all featured glass fronts so one could see what was inside. Some had shelves with tools, others had cubicles with Enchanting materials. Some even had piles of HDMs in them.
To the left of the entrance from the floor to the ceiling was a large storage cabinet with an array of small cubbies, mostly empty but some full of hard to find materials and components for enchanting. There were lights in each storage slot, likely for displaying what was inside. Of course, all of the storage slots were covered by individual glass windows, likely enchanted to prevent theft.
On the other side of the wall was a small set of storage containers. A small plaque at the top of the organizer read ‘Finished.’ Only five pieces were visible within: two rings, a pair of earrings and what appeared to be a cane of some sort.
Next to this must be what Eden considered to be her prized toolsets. On deep, slanted, open-air shelves were high-end tools used for Enchanting. Just from a glance, Felicity could recognize the famous Lachlan and Monaghan logos on the lower sets of tools. But on the top three racks were tools that carried no emblems. In fact, if anything they looked they had a refined finesse to them that to a degree felt primal. Undoubtedly, they were custom. The Enchanter made a mental note to ask her sister more about them later.
At the center of the room was an island with the same countertop as the sides of the room. Currently, it had a flat piece of metal on it that looked like it was in the middle of being worked on and would take some time and dedication to finish.
Taking a second glance around the room before speaking, Felicity noticed one spot stood out in particular. There was a small space on the side facing the back of the building that had been cleared away of tools and materials that had been gathering dust. Assuming Eden had done the same thing for Skylar that she was doing for Felicity, it would make sense that was where Eden had cleared away her stuff so the woman could train under her.
“Eden this is amazing. You’ve got quite a setup here. It’s so spacious and well kept too,” the younger sister said in awe.
“The best part is that I own most of the materials here and my own set of tools. Everything else came with the place and is rented so I can’t afford to wreck it.”
Eden made her way over to the back of the opposite side of the room and began clearing things away.
“For now this’ll be your spot. I usually just leave my junk over here, so it’s not like I’m using it anyway.”
“My spot?”
“That’s right. If you intend to enter Cambridge as a student then you’ll need some remedial studies to be caught up with the average Enchanter who goes here. Though, you’ll probably be miles ahead of Skylar compared to when she came here. For today at least, I’d like to get an idea of your craftsmanship. Tomorrow we can see how well you imbue basic enchantments onto items. Don’t worry, I’ve got more than enough imperfect objects you can practice with. All I ask is that you give it your all. Sound good?”
A chance to greatly improve her skills and do it with her sister no less? That was something she absolutely could not pass up. Just the thought of being mentored by Eden was exciting.
“Y-Yes. Thank you so much Eden!”
“Ah, don’t worry about it. I’ve missed you and Iris dearly. And our adopted sister as well. Ah, we can talk about that stuff as we work. Come, let me show you what I’ll have you be doing today.”
The elder Enchanter walked to the other side of the room and lifted up what appeared to be an intricately carved piece of stainless steel. Next, the woman walked back over to the girl and set it on the counter. After, she walked over to her toolset and picked up an identical pair of her custom tools, which looked like picks with a short, sharp 60-degree curve.
“Because I have like 5 of these, I’m going to start you out with one and see how you do. If it doesn’t go too well, we can switch to the Monaghan one. The difference is, these are more mana efficient and were made to make working metal safer.”
“Working metal?”
“That’s right. Remember how I said I had a habit of burning myself?”
Felicity recalled how the nurse jokingly asked her elder sister if she’d burned herself in the hospital. The exchange was so casual that it only made sense it had happened regularly.
“I do, the nurse at the desk mentioned it.”
“The thing is, with the Monaghan version of the tool, the metal tends to get quite hot and remains hot even after the tool has finished working it. My custom ones still heat the metal but the moment the tool leaves the metal it instantly cools enough so that it won’t burn if you touch it.”
Given that the enchantments on the Monaghan tools were already expensive, one could only imagine how much Eden had paid for her custom version of the instrument. Immediately, the girl began to blanch.
“E-Eden, that sounds horribly expensive. Are you sure you’re willing to let me use yours?”
“It is if you pay out of pocket, but if you do a bit of bartering you can get yourself a long way. Part of why the stuff I make is so valuable is that aside from the fact that I’m a talented Enchanter, I’m also an excellent craftswoman. The more aesthetically appealing your work is alongside its utility, the more its usually worth.”
“I see.”
“Which is why I want to see what your level of craftswomanship is. Once I have a bead on that and your ability to imbue items with magic, I’ll be able to come up with a schedule for how you’ll improve yourself to be at the level the enchanters here are. Of course, you’ll likely have to spend time with a university enchanter as well, but it’ll be significantly less than normal because you’re under my supervision.”
If Eden could be trusted with remediating her knowledge of enchanting, then she must still be connected to the university somehow. At least that would make sense. Or perhaps she was just that good of an Enchanter.
“I see, that makes sense. I’ll do my best to make you proud.”
“Now that’s what I like to hear. One other thing before we get started, I want you to think about your style. Every craftswoman has their own style that they can be recognized by. My own personal style is based off the style of the druidic bits and bobbles I’ve seen over time, mixed with what naturally comes to me of course.”
“I see. So I let something that interests me be the base of my overall style and then I also go with whatever comes naturally to me?”
“That’s right,” the elder Water Sorceress replied, handing her one of the tools.
The woman then pulled the piece of metal closer to her and, holding the base of the pick, flattened out the intricate carving that had once been there. A waste, her younger sister lamented, but such was the fate of a practicing material.
What was more interesting to her was that the metal was easily worked so quickly. How much time did it take to become so efficient with a tool such as this?
“So, you hold it like this,” the elder Enchanter demonstrated, holding the pick delicately by the middle. “And channel your mana into it while pressing it onto the metal. Other than that, I’d say play around with it a little before you start your design. Oh, and to flatten out everything just hold it by the handle and run the flat part along it. But don’t push away from yourself when doing that, pull toward yourself. That way you won’t burn yourself.”
“I think I’ve got it. Be gentle, don’t rush it, channel my mana and pull toward myself. And let what comes naturally to me by my design, right?”
“That’s right,” Eden nodded, flashing her a smile.
“Okay, let’s give this a try,” Felicity replied as she sat down on a stool and properly held the pick in her hand.
Channeling a little of her mana, she pressed the tip of the pick onto the metal. Immediately, the material surrounding the tip became liquid. As she moved it around, a short trail of liquid metal followed. Lifting up the pick caused the metal to be pulled upward along with it.
Playing with the amount of mana she was channeling into the pick, she discovered that the amount of metal that remained liquid around the tip grew and shrunk in response. In addition to this, there was a limit to how far off the base of the plate she could lift the metal. About two centimeters at most. The Water Sorceress supposed a specialized tool would be necessary if she wished to go further.
There was nothing like this in the Frontier. At least not that she’d ever seen. If an aesthetic tool could do this much, what could tools used directly in imbuing objects with magic do? Dozens of possibilities began to flow through her mind.
After toying around a bit more, she immediately wiped her plate of metal so that it was entirely flat and then began working on her design.
For inspiration, she thought of the place she deeply missed, Sydney. Drawing upon that feeling, she began working on an airy-beachy feeing aesthetic while maintaining what felt natural to her: the refined elegance of a blossoming young woman.
She’d become so enthralled that for the next hour she remained silent while her concentration was fully on creating her complicated aesthetic. It was only when Eden dropped accidentally dropped a small metal rod that she realized she’d completely zoned out.
“S-Sorry,” Felicity stammered as she came out of her enthrallment.
“Sorry for pulling you out of your zone. Is it going well over there,” her elder sister asked as she leaned over and picked up the rod.
“It’s going wonderfully. It’s a bit relaxing actually, being able to work on something after not having done so for a while.”
“Honestly, I was worried for a sec until I saw the concentration on your face. Talk about some serious determination. I figured since you picked up on it almost immediately and that I should leave you to it. You looked pretty focused after all.”
“It’s a bad habit I picked up. I tend to get a little carried away when I’m working or studying, eheh.”
“I don’t mind. It’s kind of relaxing, don’t you think? Working with your hands, that is.”
“It definitely is. And I’ve only used one of your tools, but I’m already surprised by the difference in quality from my normal tools. I’m surprised tools like this even exist though. Tools that can work metal so well aren’t common in the Frontier.”
“Now that makes me happy. And yeah, it’s an unfortunate fact of the world. London hoardes everything for itself and gives the Frontier cities little.”
Eden sighed then set her tools down. A dark look washed over her face for a brief moment before she shook it off and smiled softly.
“So, you up for catching up a little bit? I’d like to get an idea of what’s happened these past seven years.”
“Yes. I’m excited to hear what you’ve been up to as well big sis.”
Eden lifted the rod she was working on and walked over to store it, pulling out a mostly blank metallic box from her small work in progress area next to her materials.
“So, Iris and Luna. How are they doing? I was mildly surprised when Arthur told me they refused to come along and surrendered their citizenship.”
Felicity had to do a double-take, nearly smearing her work upon hearing Eden use their father’s name in the manner she had. Without a doubt, the two of them had some sort of falling out. Though she had no idea why they would. Perhaps that was why her mother was reluctant to give her Eden’s Message glyph?
“They’re doing well. Knowing Iris, she’s probably already absolved their master-servant relationship.”
“I hope so. If you remember, I blew a gasket when we had the family meeting about what their relationship was going to be. That man really wanted to make our little sister suffer and worked his connections with The Shard to make it happen.”
“Yeah,” Felicity sighed. Every time Eden mentioned London Tower, it was negatively. “Honestly I’m glad they remained in Sydney though I badly wanted to stay with them. We both know Luna undoubtedly wouldn’t be safe here. Plus, Iris’ circle of friends have become so close that their bonds are basically unbreakable at this point. They won’t let anything happen to her”
“Oh,” the Elder Enchanter intoned as she perked her head up. “Do tell.”
“When Iris revealed Luna was an elf, they all took it mostly well. Eriza overreacted a bit, but that couldn’t be helped given how overprotective she used to be of her sister. Now they’re just as concerned about our adopted sister’s safety as I am,” Felicity explained while she finished a small seaweed detail, partially covering a starfish she’d made earlier.
“I’m glad they’re still getting along. As for Luna, I admit I’m also kind of relieved she didn’t come. Who knows what the damn Tower mages at The Shard would try to do. Speaking of Luna, how is she doing? She hasn’t had any issues with her core and the resonance from the shields has she?”
As far as Felicity knew, the answer was no. That was always a concern. Because Luna was part demi-human, she possessed a core. There was always the constant concern that her disruptor would suddenly fail for some reason. If that happened, then the odds of Luna surviving were less than slim because the resonance was so strong in the city.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“Fortunately she hasn’t, but it’s still a genuine concern.”
“Did she ever awaken to her Druidic magic?”
Druidic magic? What could that be? Was that the term mages in Britain used to refer to the magic elves utilized?
“Druidic magic?”
“Yeah, most elves are Druids. You know how modern spellcraft only came about recently in historical terms? Druidism is a much older form of magic. Prehistoric, even. If I remember correctly, there are even druids that mingle with humans in Ireland. Anyway, I figured she’d have had some sort of awakening or something like that by now. But then again, she’s been cut off from her species her entire life, so I suppose it’d make sense that she hadn’t awoken as a Druid.”
“I see,” Felicity trailed off, thinking about what Luna’s life may have been if she hadn’t been taken by humans. “Well regardless, she’s quite the impressive sorceress. In fact, she plans on going with Iris and her friends to a Tier 1 city in Japan to attend university and become an Aerial Combat Specialist.”
Eden paused for a moment and whistled. For a moment, the woman remained mum, and the Water Sorceress could hear the tapping of metal in the background.
“She’s that good?”
“She’s that good. She’s the top student in terms of flying at Lilith’s now, and she’s quite a talented fighter. What’s more, Iris is just as talented as she is. Our youngest sister makes her defense her offense.”
“Heh. I was quite surprised when she came out of the cognisance chamber her first time as an Abjurer-Transmuter hybrid. How’s that going by the way? Are her spells all signature spells, or is she able to use both schools independently and together?”
“The latter but she does have a unique spell. A tutor actually helped her create it, and it’s aptly named Water Coffin. Water Coffin allows Iris to launch water from either her shield or her hands and trap someone within it. If you get trapped in that you’re done for in a one-on-one fight. What’s more impressive is that she can manage more than one concentration spell at once.”
“You’re kidding me,” Eden said as she walked over to her cupboard and whispered a few invocations. “Knock.”
With a light click, the cabinet opened and she retrieved a small spindle of purple thread.
Felicity couldn’t respond immediately. For a brief moment, she had to focus on a small detail she wanted to add: a pair of fish swimming together over a small piece of coral.
“Definitely not. She may not be a natural Enchanter, but she definitely inherited other talents. Last time she came out of a cognisance chamber she was Tier 4. But with how hard Luna was pushing her before I left I have no doubt she’ll be Tier 5 within a matter of months. What she really needs is a master.”
“I see. That makes me proud. I’m quite happy to know that my two youngest sisters are doing well.”
The two sit in silence for another few moments. Eden lines the edges of the box with the thread and whispers a few invocations, causing the thread to suddenly disappear. She closes the box and then opens it, admiring her handywork.
“Now that I think about it, I do have to ask. Is Luna still hiding under a cloak when she’s out in public?”
“She is, partly because she’s afraid of what would happen if the wrong people knew she was an elf. Our adopted sister would rather not attract the attention of the Grey Faction, as she fears they’ll try to harvest her body. Iris, on the other hand, would rather keep Luna’s appearance hidden because she worries that people there will react xenophobically to her.”
“I see,” Eden replied, seemingly lost in thought.
Felicity, meanwhile, studied her progress. A mixture of wildlife fauna and symbols that came naturally to her were slowly spreading across the flat piece of metal she’d been working on.
“What about their friends? Did Zoey ever learn to chill out?”
“Surprisingly enough yes, though she’s still a loose cannon when it works to her advantage. I’d say Eriza’s mother was the reason she finally calmed down, but I’m not too certain about that. Oh, speaking of Eriza and Ren, they’re both doing well. Eriza is a Tier 4 Lightning Evoker, and Ren is a Tier 4 Biomancer.”
“Ooof, people with Lightning affinities tend to be impulsive. But knowing Iris, she’ll figure out how to help her friend out with that. I must admit, I’m quite impressed Ren is such a high-tier Biomancer and hasn’t been dragged away yet. That kind of talent at her age is something special.”
“As if her friends would allow that. Anyone trying to drag Ren away would be going on a suicide mission. That’s how much the quintet looks out for one another. It’s almost as if they see each other as sisters.”
“That’s certainly not a bad thing. Having friends like that will get one a long way in the world.”
Felicity had to agree with that. Unfortunately, she had a tendency to be shy and thus never really made any friends while she was in school. Because of that, she tended to gravitate around her younger sister’s group when she wanted to hang out with someone.
“I agree. When the five are together, I fear anyone that gets in their way. I assume they’ll be an absolute nightmare to deal with in the future. There’s something about their synergy that can’t be replicated, you know?”
In response, her elder sister chuckled and cracked a wide smile.
“I get what you mean. A good team has to know and trust each other, and the deeper that trust is, the deeper the synergy,” the woman then looked up and her smile lessened a bit. “I’d ask about yourself, but I’m guessing that’s something you don’t want to talk about.”
Right on the mark. Eden was just as perceptive when it came to people as she was to her craft. The woman had grown quite a bit of empathy since she left Sydney, Felicity supposed. It was doubtlessly a good thing. Perhaps that’s why the elder Enchanter was doing so well.
As for her past, there was a reason Felicity didn’t want to talk about it. It was going to soon become a very dark mirror to look into, given how bright her future was beginning to appear. But then again, sometimes one had to stare into a dark mirror to grow stronger.
And right now, she felt like she could stare into that dark mirror.
“You’re right, I don’t want to talk much about it. But, I’ll try to give you a good idea of what’s happened to me over the past seven years.”
“Are you sure Felicity? Anything you’re uncomfortable talking about you don’t have to talk about.”
Her eldest sister was so caring that it made her a little sick, which disturbed her. Had she gotten so used to the suffering her parents inflicted upon her that she’d become unable to accept the kindness of her sibling?
No, she would disprove that here and now. She couldn’t let her parents continue to control her life. Especially not after all that Eden had done for her.
Continuing to work on her design, Felicity began to recollect the significant events of the past seven years.
“After you left, I dedicated myself to becoming a great Enchanter and for a few years I did pretty well with my tutors. Believe it or not, by time I turned 13 I was already at Tier 3. I was on pace for keeping up with you.”
The younger Enchanter remembered those days fondly. Someday, she was going to become an even better Enchanter than Eden, and certainly better than their mother. That was her goal: to show the world that her family’s genes produced the best enchanters in the world. Things seemed so bright back then.
Eden calmly continued to listen as she worked. At the moment, she was inscribing a small glyph into the inner side of the top of her metal box. But she was doing so slowly, making sure to listen to everything Felicity was saying.
“It was about two months later when I was misdiagnosed with Yarnick’s. I’d gotten sick and mother was concerned, so she took me to the hospital. I’ll never forget the look on her face, she was so upset when they told her I had an incurable disease. And it was just before Skylar left. But by then, Skylar had already changed. She went from a happy-go-lucky girl to a selfish, greedy woman. And then, when she finally left, father berated me daily for being a terrible daughter compared to you and her.
“On top of all of this, Iris and Luna were suffering because Iris had to pretend Luna was her servant instead of her adopted sister. And there was nothing that I could do but watch. I guess I just… kind of broke. I stopped progressing in terms of Enchanting and made a couple of trinkets over the course of the year following all that.”
The Enchanter drew another little starfish as she continued. A mermaid, she supposed, would also look cute in her design, even if they were often lethal and dangerous.
The work helped Felicity repress the dark feelings welling up within her. She wouldn’t let them control her again, especially not now. Perhaps it was because she wanted to show Eden how strong she could be, or perhaps it was to show herself how strong she could be. After all, she was cured of her misdiagnosis now.
Eden, on the other hand, had finished inscribing the glyph. By now she’d set her tools down and begun intently listening, giving Felicity her undivided attention. She’d left her little sisters to deal with the monstrosity her parents had become, and this was the result. Felicity would likely be damaged for years to come, if not for the rest of her life. And that was something she wouldn’t forgive herself for.
“Eventually I started to recover and things began to look up. Of course, I was still berated by father while mother stood idly by and allowed him to do so. Thankfully, I had Iris and Luna there with me. I would have went to some pretty dark places if it weren’t for them.
“When it finally came time to do so, I moved into Lilith’s dorm. Thankfully, father could no longer harass me every day. But I left Iris and Luna to deal with him alone, something I’m always going to be angry with myself for doing. They definitely didn’t deserve what they were receiving from him. The last two years of school went well though. I even got to study in Paris of all places for my field trip. I made a lot of progress as an Enchanter there, and I also began picking up transmutation thanks to the trip.”
The younger Water Sorceress smiled as she recalled the fond memories of that trip. She wondered what her mentor Leonie and her apprentice Nadine were doing now. Had Nadine gotten into the university she was working so hard to get into? If given the chance, she’d love to visit them someday in the coming years.
By now, Eden had already stood up and begun quietly walking over to her younger sister. If Felicity looked at her face, she’d easily be able to tell her older sister felt horrible for not being there for her just by her facial expression. In part because the woman had an inkling of what came next.
“Anyway, it was this past October when things started to get bad again. After I graduated at the end of September, I had to move back into our parents’ old estate in Kirribilli. Father began berating me again, though less so than before. Mother, however, continuously threatened me that if I didn’t do as she said, she’d make certain Luna mysteriously disappeared.”
Felicity set down her tools and turned around to see Eden approaching her. The woman wordlessly pulled the girl gently up into a hug. Felicity returned it, but continued to tell her story. She’d made it this far, she could finish it.
“If it wasn’t for Luna and Iris comforting me, I don’t know how I would have survived, looking back. That growth Dr. Kono healed probably would have killed me. Fortunately, those last two months were mostly a blur. When I arrived in London, I was sick from the long-range teleportation. I was taken to our parents’ new home, and tended to by a nurse. After that, I was locked in ‘my new room’. And, well, you probably know the rest.”
Felicity finished, her body lightly shivering. She did it, she managed to recount most everything to her sister. But instead of letting out the pain she felt in the form of tears, she instead felt sickeningly hollow. She’d let it all out, but it didn’t even feel remotely cathartic. And so she buried her head into Eden’s shoulder.
Why? Why couldn’t she be as fierce as all her other sisters were? Why was it that she was so demure in nature? She could put on as a brave a face as anyone, but when it came to standing up for herself she crumpled like a leaf.
She soon realized that while she was lamenting about how weak she was, her hands were gripping Eden tighter and tighter. It was only after a quiet groan of pain from the woman did the girl realize that she was hurting her sister.
“S-Sorry sis,” Felicity apologized as she let go and tried to take a step back.
Eden, however, didn’t let go, but continued to hug her little sister and rubbed her back, similar to how a mother would do when consoling their teenage child after a rough streak. In the her younger sister’s opinion, there couldn’t be a better big sister.
“Felicity, you’re safe here. They can’t get to you, I assure you of that. And if you ever want to talk about the darker things, I’ll always have an open ear for you. Bottling stuff like that up inside is an easy way to hurt yourself even further. Don’t forget that, alright?”
Felicity knew her sister was there for her, but hearing her say it made her feel more relaxed. The older Water Sorceress tightly squeezed the girl before easing up. She then smiled at her while ruffling her hair.
“Thanks Eden.”
“Hey, what are sisters for? I can’t fix the past but I can certainly help make your future better.”
Felicity smiled and gave her sister another hug, then sat back down. She needed a few moments to process what happened. In the meantime, she could listen to Eden explain what she’d been up to the past seven years.
“I suppose it’s my turn to share now. But uh, promise me you’ll ask questions over time. If I answered them all at once we’d be here all night.”
“Alright. And Eden, the same goes for you that went for me. You don’t have to share anything you don’t want to,” Felicity warmly offered.
Her older sister chuckled a little bit and smirked.
“It’s alright. I had it much better off than you did. You were just a kid and you made it through all of that. That’s no easy feat, though I suppose you could say what I’ve been up to hasn’t been exactly easy either,” the elder Enchanter mused as she walked back across the room and began to put away the materials she’d gotten out.
“So, seven years ago I arrived here in Britain. Immediately after I got here, I put in my application for Cambridge and was accepted into Pembroke College. Literally, within five days of getting here I already had a place at one of the better colleges here at Cambridge. But that wasn’t all that happened after I got here.
“Now to I’m going to keep things a bit brief, because this actually is a long story and most definitely was a fiasco. I’ll tell it to you in more detail another time, promise. Basically, one of our cousins thought it was a smart idea to try and use me for their own personal gain. For weeks I thought she was trying to help me.
“As it turns out, our cousin was only trying to use me as the one to take the fall in case her rather questionable activities were brought to the light. Now, as you know I happen to take people using me poorly. And so when I found ouit what she was doing, well let’s just say things got crazy.
“Not only did I entrap her in her little plot, I caused such an incident that it made a corner square on the front page of the tabloids. News of what happened spread like wildfire because of that. For a few weeks after, I couldn’t walk down the street without someone asking me how I managed to completely embarrass the girl. It was a fantastic outcome. But not all good things last. The negative reputation that came with the incident was an awfully annoying hindrance.”
Eden chuckled as she lifted up the metal box she was working on and stowed it away. Locking a few of the cubbies in the enchanting material storage cabinet.
“In the end, against Grandmother’s wishes I resigned my title as mother’s inheritor to gain some peace and quiet for my studies. After all, who needs nobility when one wishes to take the world, am I right?”
“Wait, so you’re no longer a member of the nobility,” Felicity interjected, surprised that Eden would do such a thing.
Someone giving up their status as a noble of their own volition was rare. Normally one would be bribed or blackmailed into doing such a thing. But Eden seemed to not care about status whatsoever.
“Nope. Actually, it’s quite nice. I move about and work with greater ease now because few people look in my direction. To most, I’m a disgrace. Actually, our parents might have intentionally kept us out of contact for that very reason.”
“I-I honestly don’t know what to say. So you traded your nobility for peace and quiet?”
“That’s right. Anyway, by the time the incident died down it was around New Years. I was about a month into my remedial studies when one of Lady Grey’s underlings came to me to offer me the opportunity to study at Peterhouse. As you know I’m a terribly dedicated worker. The time my remedial studies would take was already down to half of what it originally would have been and, apparently, it caught the marchioness’ attention. Peterhouse is the oldest college here and well respected, so I saw no other decision but to gratefully take the opportunity.”
“Marchioness? Might I ask, who is Lady Grey?”
“She’s… an interesting woman and that’s about all I’d rather say about her other than I’m deeply grateful for what she’s done for me.”
Eden looked out the window toward Lensfield Road. Then she turned back to Felicity and leaned on the island in the middle of the room while facing her.
“Anyway, the next fall I started my college career at Peterhouse. That first semester was a complete blur. I was pulling an average of 12 to 14 hour days just to get ahead of the others. I also wanted to tier up badly, because at the time I was still a Tier 6 Enchanter who was also Tier 2 in transmutation. It was around Christmas when my labors began to bear fruit.
“Two important things happened around that time. The first of which is that I started generating some serious cash from my freelance enchanting, enough to start buying better tools and thus taking on more difficult commissions. The second was that I met Seiko.”
Felicity recalled hearing the name from earlier. When Dr. Kono had introduced herself, she had said her given name was Seiko. For the two to be on a first-name basis, they must have been quite close. At least from what she knew of Japanese culture, that was the case.
“You see, as I mentioned before, I was working long hours and I wasn’t taking weekends off either. That entire semester I didn’t take one day off, not even for our Grandmother. One of my instructors must have taken notice, because they invited me to a Christmas Eve soiree. Though I was reluctant, I decided to go as it would have been rude not to accept their offer. It was Christmas Eve after all, and I was missing you guys.
“So Christmas Eve came around and I decided to spend the day working before heading down to London for the party. Remember how I told you how the Monaghan metal extruder left metal hot?”
“Yeah, you mentioned you’ve burned yourself quite a few times with it.”
“Well, back then that was the only metal extruder I had. I ended up burning myself and it wasn’t anything too bad, but it still needed to be bandaged which meant I needed to wear something to cover the bandages. So I went to the party wearing gloves, which is something I never do. If I’m wearing gloves, something is wrong.”
“Anyway, I mingled with several people at the party, made some helpful connections and decide to take a break. There was this beautiful garden that was blooming even though it was winter. So I’m sitting out on a bench, looking at the delightful landscaping when out of nowhere, Seiko comes and sits down next to me. We awkwardly introduced ourselves to one another, and Seiko points out my instructor’s friend is her instructor, and they both thought we’d mesh well together.
“We started talking to each other and got along pretty well. However, I couldn’t stop grabbing at my hand because the burn hurt so bad. Seiko noticed this and without even pulling my glove off, healed my burns, continuing the conversation like nothing had happened. She was just glad she had someone her age who talked to her like a normal person. After that, we kept talking for what felt like half an hour, but turned out to be four hours. It was one of the best nights I’ve ever had.”
It seemed like Dr. Kono and her elder sister got along naturally, something that rarely happened. Anyone who could so easily grab Eden’s attention and affection was certainly someone special and highly intelligent.
Felicity made a mental note of this. When she next saw Dr. Kono, she’d have to keep that in mind. Perhaps she could learn a thing or two from the woman.
“After we parted that night, we decided to stay in contact with one another. Funnily enough, whenever I’d hit a terribly long streak of not taking a break from studying and working on commissions, Seiko would intercept me on a weekend morning while I was walking to the shop I was doing my freelancing at and take me off galavanting all day. If it weren’t for her, I honestly would have burned out.”
“So its thanks to her that you’ve had someone you could rely on to make sure you became the best Enchanter you could be?”
“That’s right. Once you get to know her a bit, she’s truly a wonderful person to hang out with. But for me, she’s a bit more than that.”
“A bit more,” the younger sister asked, slightly confused by what her sister was saying.
Eden blushed a little bit before she spoke. “Seiko is my girlfriend. Over the course of a year, we began to develop feelings for one another. One thing led to another and before we knew it, we were dating one another. Who’d have thought I’d fall in love with another woman, hehe,” Eden said, blushing as she did so.
That took Felicity a moment to process. So her sister was dating another woman? Whereas most would see it as taboo, she saw it differently. Eden was a rocket scientist who knew herself best. If she felt like she was in love, then she probably was actually in love.
And if Eden was happy, then she was happy.
“I’m glad for you sis. You don’t get too much attention because of it, do you?”
“Surprisingly enough I don’t. But then again, we keep quiet about it too. The people who we interact with often know, like that nurse you saw earlier. Most people haven’t seemed to have made the connection though.”
As far as the younger Enchanter was concerned, that was a good thing. So long as Eden and Dr. Kono weren’t constantly enduring insults for their relationship, then all was well.
“All I can do is wish you two the best of luck and hope it continues to work out.”
“I appreciate it,” Eden replied, scratching the back of her head but still smiling happily. “
Eden looks at Felicity, now smiling happily. “I appreciate it. I’m glad you’re not… you know.”
“Of course, I’m your younger sister after all.”
Eden continued to smile as she picked up her tools and began putting them away.
“Anyway, graduation came before I realized it. That’s when I ran into trouble. While in school, I’d focused on my enchanting studies. I’d learned a wide range of subjects regarding enchanting, but I had no idea what I wanted to do after graduation. On top of this, Seiko wanted to remain in Britain for a little while longer. Long enough for you, Iris and Luna to come. There’s something she wanted to offer to all of you, but I’ll leave that part to her to explain, as she explains it much better than I do.”
Something that her sister couldn’t explain to her? But she didn’t know Dr. Kono, so why would the woman want to talk to her? Felicity supposed she would have to wait to find out.
“I see. I guess I can wait to hear her out then. So is that why you’re working as a freelancer now? Because you’ve been waiting for me?”
“That’s right. I decided to set up shop here for the time being as an artisanal Enchanter, waiting for the day you all came here to Britain. Unfortunately, there was a bit of a hiccup because of our parents being our parents and leading me to believe you were like Skylar now, but I’m glad you made me realize you weren’t.”
“If only I hadn’t gotten sick. Then we could have met sooner.”
“Ah well, it is what it is.”
Eden smiled softly, then looked at the clock hanging on the wall.
“Hey, why don’t we surprise Seiko by having dinner ready when she gets home?”
“That sounds like a wonderful idea.”
“But first, let me just check and see how far you’ve come,” Eden suggested as she walked over and looked at Felicity’s design. After studying it for a moment, she seemed satisfied. “It’s not bad. It has a long way to come, but it’s definitely not terrible. A good start as far as I’m concerned.”
“Thank you for your kind words Eden,” Felicity replied sincerely and slightly bowed to her older sister.
In response, Eden reached out and with a finger pushed the girl back upright.
“Don’t worry about it. Now put your tool away so we can go.”
With that remark, Felicity put her tool away, and left the workshop along with her sister. Their destination: Eden and Seiko’s apartment, located in the Newcastle neighborhood.