Celia held her arms out and Vision rushed into her embrace. As the older woman stroked her hair, she remembered what it was like the night she and her brother had been dropped on Celia’s doorstep. She could remember the way her hooded cloak had itched against her cheek, the way it had scratched at the back of her neck. She remembered a frightened blur of confusion, and the way her brother had sat, lip trembling, fists clenched at his sides. That night, the Amaya children, as they were, had died. Celia had renamed them and made them something new. Some part of her still trusted that her adopted mother could do it again.
“What do I do?” she asked with a sob.
“Tell me what happened,” Celia said.
So, they sat together and Vision told her everything. When she was finished, Celia sighed and spoke in a blank tone of voice Vision had never heard from her before.
“I don’t know what you can do,” she said.
Vision felt like she’d been struck.
“What? There’s got to be something. How do I fix this?”
“It sounds like you don’t have a choice but to join them.”
“You don’t think I should run?”
“Can you? The rebels aren’t a small-time group of thieves. If they found you here, they’ll find you anywhere in Apera.”
Vision stared at her.
“You’re pleased this has happened. You want me to work for them, you think it’s better than thieving.”
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Celia’s mouth twisted, “Well… yes. What do they want you to do for them, as Tynan?”
“Learn magic, they said.”
Celia’s eyes took on a faraway gleam, “That sounds… nice. Your mam would have wanted that for you. I want that for you, in truth.”
Vision shook her head.
“I don’t trust Arturo.”
“Like I said. It doesn’t sound like you get a choice,” Celia said, “You’re quite certain he threatened to harm you if you turned him down.”
“I think he’d tell the crown about me,” she said.
“That would be bad,” Celia confirmed.
Vision threw out her hands in frustration, “Worse than this? Why? Why would that be so bad? Why do we have to live like this? What did mam tell you?”
“She hid you in a brothel, with a note not to let the king find you,” Celia snapped, “Given that the same king still sits on the throne, it’s safe to say you don’t want him to know where you are.”
Vision stiffened, suddenly.
“It was you,” she whispered.
“What are you talking about, girl?”
“You told the rebels where to find me.”
“Vision…”
Celia winced at the girl’s accusation. Vision sprung to her feet.
“It was you, wasn’t it?”
Celia huffed, “I’m trying to keep you safe. You don’t know how to look after yourself.”
Vision jumped to her feet, and fled the room. She ran, trying to escape the brothel as quickly as she could. She ignored Daisy, who called out from the bar as she went by. Poor Daisy. Poor Fox. They might truly love each other, flawed as their relationship was. Would they be able to see each other anymore? Would the rebels leave Fox be if she agreed to join them? After several blocks, she stopped running, and leaned against a wall, sinking to the floor. Hugging her knees, she sat and thought. It didn’t sit right that the rebels wanted her so that she could do magic for them. No matter what she looked like, she wasn’t her mother and she certainly wasn’t a gifted mage. Besides, she was sure Arturo had any number of skilled mages at hand. There was something else going on, something she hadn’t figured out yet.
Like Celia had said though, she didn’t have a lot of options now. She couldn’t run. Now that they’d found her once, they would do it again, unless she left Apera, and that would be equally dangerous. Should she go to Fox? What could she even tell him? Maybe it would be better to let him have this extra time free of worry he couldn’t remedy. He’d always protected her. She resolved now, to do whatever she could to return the favour.