I wasn't sure what I was feeling more at the time: afraid, confused, or pissed off. There was a woman on my bed, clearly a Sorceress. She knew who I was and where I lived, and I didn't know a damned thing about her. Had an Engel tipped her off? If so, why wait for me in my own home, and not approach me publicly with an Engel providing a field, as was common courtesy when meeting a new Sorceress?

Shutting the door, I gave her a more detailed examination. If she stood up she would be about as tall as me. She had shorter hair, coming down to mid length of her back, and it was a pure white. Crimson red eyes stared back at me; she knew I was sizing her up, but she didn't seem to care in the slightest. A black corset too and a blowing black skirt, a pair of black gloves, and a long pair of boots. Jesus she looked like a villain right out of a cartoon. "Yeah, totally, come into my house uninvited. Sit on my bed, take one of my sodas..oh, and you are?"

“I actually brought this from home, but I'm happy we have similar tastes.” The woman's red lips curled into a smile. "I'm someone who has been looking forward to speaking with you for some time now. I was unsure if I wanted to go through with this meeting or not, but after your performance today, I knew I simply had to. You were quite lovely, like an actor gracefully performing a scripted dance. It was breathtaking!"

Why was I not surprised that she had been watching me? Other than the fact that she knew where I lived, that i?. Oh right, the villainous appearance "Right, so this is the peanut gallery coming up to tell me she's my biggest fan, or the playwright who set that up?" I asked. I walked over to my kitchen and opened my fridge, pulling a soda can out. As I took a sip, my eyes moved to a crevice where I kept a pistol stashed. It was empty, she had taken the time to sweep my room.

I turned around to face the woman again. She shrugged. "I could be many things... But for you? I'd like one of those to be 'friend'. 'Savior' might be another one. I know you’re on guard because of all that Sorceress protocol stuff we all set up but, well, with the offer I'm about to make you? I don't want an Engel overhearing this."

I studied her further, and admittedly I was curious. She seemed sincere about that at the very least, her body wasn't tensed up tight, even if she was in her Sorceress State. Her smile hadn't faltered either. Her guard was completely relaxed- if I went in now she wouldn't stand a chance. But, more than that, she wanted to hide something from Engels. That was suspicious, I hated Lumina, but on the whole Engels were the benign beings that helped us fight against human enslavement. Yet the idea of annoying that annoying furball made me want to at least hear her out. "Oh yeah? And how do you plan on 'saving' me?"

My would be savior crossed her legs. "Well, a few days ago I had intended to approach you with a job offer. Sorceresses are rare, even rarer one that's retired. I was going to offer something that would keep the Engels off of you and you could do the activities you wanted in peace in exchange for monitoring your vitals for research purposes. But after today? I have a different offer for you...

Honestly, I didn't believe it at first... But I saw the way you treated your contractor. You aren't on some extended hiatus or enjoying a strange vacation. You want out. You've done your time and want to enjoy a world at peace. What if I told you I could make that dream come true? No more Engel harassment, no more getting dragged into things. You could live the life you wanted."

"I'd say you were trying to sell me a fairy tale. Once you sign up for this life those furballs can track you down to the ends of the Earth ". I say with a strained smile. “Next you're going to say you can get rid of daemons all together and make the world forget magic ever existed."

A bright, ironic laugh came from the porcelain skinned woman. "No, nothing so grand, I doubt anyone will get rid of those pests. They're here to stay and earth is slowly changing to reflect that. Magical black ops, weapons of magical control, augmentations, the biggest resource being a way to defend against mind manipulation... No, magic is here to stay whether we like it or not. But for you, Alexa Rivera? If you agree to my terms, I can seal your contract away, and your memories of being a Sorceress with them. No Engels, no combat, free to enjoy the life, and the world, that you helped bring peace to."

I froze mid giggle and stared at her. There wasn't a hint of mirth, no ironic laughter. It was her studying me this time. “You... You're actually being serious? You can seal my contract away? How, when not even Engels can do that?"

"The company I work for specializes in magical research and we have discovered a method of suppressing magical activity. Your powers won't be gone per se, just so dormant it would take something fierce to shock it back to life. Combined with some brainwave alterations, you could forget all about your life as a Sorceress. The only thing is that it's still in its experimental stages, we haven't found a willing subject yet."

"So, what, you give me magical birth control pills and erase my memory?" I asked. I was obviously hesitant at the offer. It sounded way too good to be true, even if she just admitted it was still in testing. 'What do you and your... Company, get out of it?"

A giggle. "Sweetie I don't think you realize how valuable having a Sorceress as a willing test subject is. The only other thing we need is to occasionally run checkups on you to make sure you’re okay. If we can successfully suppress a Sorceress, it will be a huge step in suppressing magic as a whole. We stand to make the world better, and a LOT of money in the process. When all is said and done, the world, and our company, will owe you a great deal. We pay our dues, Alexa."

That actually did make sense. I didn't know much about science, but I did know that if they could stop my powers, they would gain a fuckton of money. Hearing that, my mind started to wander. If I didn't have these memories, how would I be acting right now? Would I still be interested in pursuing track? Would I...be able to sleep without nightmares?

The woman got up, reached into her shirt, and pulled out a black business card, and what looked to be a key of some sort, and sat it down on my desk. "I wasn't expecting an answer right now, I know it's a huge commitment. There's no time limit on the offer, so take as long as you need. The address is on the card and the key is needed to get in. I'll see you in the future. Your gun is under the pillow by the way ." With a giggle, she grabbed her umbrella and walked out.

I watched her go, and I didn't move for a little bit, still partially in shock. She could have at least bought me dinner before royally mind screwing me like that! This woman just popped in unannounced, offered me something tempting, and then walked out. The nerve of that woman!

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I examined the two items she had left behind. Starting with the black card. It hummed with magic, it wasn't explosive or anything, so I assumed it was concealment magic. On the front was the emblem of a silver crown. Under it in the same color was the name Hecate, and an address in central New Heaven. On the back in white cursive was a message 'Looking forward to hearing from you.’ -Doll.

Doll. I had a name to the face now. Her Sorceress name obviously, but it was better than nothing. The name was fitting if nothing else. Her skin, her elegant style of moving, her manner of dress, she did indeed strike the feel of 'Doll' At least I wouldn't have to refer to her as 'The Mystery Lady."

The second item was a silver key. I could also feel magic of a unique type as well. It tingled to hold onto it, humming. Doll said I would need this to get in to see her, maybe it dispelled a special magic or lets me see something. I put both this and the card in my desk drawer. I retrieved my pistol from under the pillow, loaded it up, and put it back in it's holster.

I flopped on the bed with a groan. Here I thought today was going to be a peaceful day. Turned out to be more chaotic instead. I couldn't get the conversation out of my mind, and I doubt anyone could blame me. I was still speechless from the sheer magnitude of what Doll was offering me.

I could stop. No more harassment. No more annoying furballs bugging me. No more flashbacks. No more feeling guilty for not telling my best friend anything. It sounded good, but I was frightened. That was a big part of me to forget, and I wondered how my brain would fill in all the missing gaps in my head. When I got recruited by Lumina a large amount of time was spent learning how to fight. Maybe I went on one of those journeys to better myself. At the age of 16..

I couldn't help but giggle into my pillow at the thought of a 16 year old girl with Climbing equipment running into the mountains to train under some sort of secret group of warriors. Oh boy, maybe I was a ditzy Discord after all, because that was just stupid!

But Still, If it was possible. If I could be free…

I closed my eyes, feeling myself melt into the pillow. It felt so good to just sink and let my muscles just relax after a long day, a feeling of peace washes over me, and I fade into sleep.

I had been so happy on that day. I hadn't seen daddy in over a week. I always tried to play off his absence by acting like one of those cool heroines on TV but...well, there was no denying I missed showing him my works. I didn't blame him for being gone, he had an important job to do. At least he was making time to come home on my birthday today!

I put down my pen and nod. In front of me is a stack of papers, each one filled with writing on it. It was just a short fiction I had written, but it had taken me quite a while to do it! I loved writing the ideas in my head, even if big brother told me they were weird, but dad always read them, gave me honest critiques despite me being a young teen, and I loved that most of all. "You have an amazing mind Alexa. Your writing is unique and it's clear you're growing up faster than we can keep up! I'm so proud of you!" Was what he had last told me, and I really cling to that. He was my only reader, but he was my biggest fan.

Today was already starting out well, I admit I felt like being a bit spoiled today. It was my birthday after all! Stapling my work together, I make sure it is where I can see it, and go out of my room. I can smell mom making something yummy, lasagna from the smell of it. Bro is playing a party game with a friend of his that came over, some action board game from the looks of it.

A light from the windows catches my eyes and I move over to it. The sky is a dark, purplish tint. Down below, people are looking up, they must have been as confused as I was. The lights trailing over the sky were purple and my favorite shade of blue, but even my inexperienced brain could tell that something very odd was occuring.

A bright light falls from the sky. Then another .... then another. The people begin running. I can't describe what's occurring as there are no explosions, no people falling or dying, just....

The door to the house opens up and my dad runs through, breathing heavily. He must have been running awfully fast , because he was an ex runner. " Get your shoes on. We're leaving for the lab shelter". He says. He looks at me with a mixture of fear and pity. "I'm sorry Lexi, but you need to hurry too. We'll have to postpone your party for a bit.”

I want to complain, but the panic in his eyes stopped me... I guess I could wait a little bit longer to have dad read my writing. The most important thing was that he was here at all. I go put on my shoes and my coat. The others look just as afraid as I was, my brother's friend was actually crying a little. I wouldn't say anything about it now, but I had teasing ammunition for later.

We left our apartment and started heading downstairs. More than once we heard shrieking and, when we did, my dad would lead us in the opposite direction and we would take a new path down.

I think we only had about two floors before we reached the ground floor , and that's when I first saw them. They were small and floating in the air, like humans but tinier, the size if my leg, and red skinned they made what seemed to be a finger gun motion towards me, and I could see a purple light forming at its fingertip.

Dad blocked my view as he ran in front of me."get out of here, and don't listen to me anymore-!" He says. He takes a step back, recoiling from the shot. He turns around-. His expression is clouded, the light of choice was gone from his eyes. Mom screamed and we turned to run the opposite way. I collide with my brother, who was still in shock, and we fell to the ground in a flurry of arms and limbs.

I look up and scream. One of the red dolls is holding its fingertip at me. It hits me.

I stop screaming. A slow smile creeps up on my lips.

I wake up in tears.