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Adaine’s mother and father did not trust her. Not in the way that they trusted Aelwyn. She’d known that as long as she could remember.
Aelwyn was allowed to go over to her friends’ houses. Adaine was not.
They’d always claimed that it was only because Adaine was so much younger— but in the immortal span of an elf’s life, two years was not all that long at all. Besides, Adaine was almost certain she could remember Aelwyn having plenty of playdates when she was her age.
It didn’t matter, though, whether that was true or not. A part of her knew it to be true— they liked Aelwyn far more than they liked her, plain and simple. It seemed like Aelwyn knew that, too. Adaine doubted she’d be so arrogant if she didn’t.
It was a bitter cold winter’s day in Fallinel. Adaine’s seventh birthday had come and gone without much celebration save for her mother’s brief acknowledgment of it at the dinner table. If it hadn’t been like that the past six years, that might have been attributed to the big move coming up. In only a few short weeks, they’d be off to someplace in Solace.
With their mother busy preparing for the move and their father busy coordinating with his supervisors, Adaine and Aelwyn largely were left alone— according to their mother, Aelwyn was probably old enough to babysit and, besides, it’d build character for them to rely upon themselves for a while.
Adaine was less certain about the arrangement than her sister was, but she didn’t dare to argue.
Besides, she had bigger troubles to worry about.
At the dining table, all over her mother’s fine white sheets, she’d spilled her afternoon tea.
It wouldn’t have been a big deal— it shouldn’t have been a big deal. One prestidigitation and it’d be as clean as it ever was.
But try and try and try as she might, Adaine couldn’t do it. It was a simple spell. An easy spell. But she couldn’t do it.
She felt her heart beat a bit faster. Mother and Father would be furious, no doubt. Even if it could be fixed so easily, they’d chide her for not being able to solve it alone. They’d go on and on about how unbecoming it was, about how her older sister wouldn’t have even bothered them with it.
That was when Aelwyn made her presence known, stepping in through the doorway she’d been standing in.
“You ought to cast prestidigitation to clean that up before Father sees.” She advised unhelpfully, watching her sister already trying to do just that.
Adaine furrowed her brow, willing the tablecloth to clean itself to no avail. She fidgeted with her hands, looking at the other girl. “…could you? I can’t… I don’t know why, I-I can’t do it.”
“You can’t?” Aelwyn repeated— Adaine suspected she’d already known that. “Mother and Father are going to be so mad.” It was only for a moment, but Adaine could’ve sworn she saw the faintest grin on her face.
“I know they are, please, can’t you help?”
Aelwyn pretended to think about it. “I shouldn’t. Mother and Father wouldn’t want me to.” She paused. “They’re going to send you to prep school when they see this, Adaine. All the way in the Baronnies, I’ll bet.”
Adaine felt worry bubble up in her chest, and she met her sister’s eye warily. “…you’re not telling the truth.”
The older girl gave a small shrug. “Whatever. You don’t have to believe me. But I’m not lying.” She spoke, walking closer over to her. “I heard them talking about it last night. Because you’re no good at magic.”
“I am too good at magic!” Adaine protested. Both their eyes darted to the sizable tea stain on the white fabric.
Aelwyn didn’t say anything about that, which Adaine was thankful for. “You ought to tell Father. If you’re honest with him, he might only make you go to boarding school for a few years instead.”
And against her better judgment, Adaine listened to her sister. When their father stepped out of his office to take lunch, she found herself apologizing, pinching her arm in an attempt not to cry in front of him.
When she led him into the dining room to show him, though, the stain was gone, and the teacup was full once more. It was as if it’d never happened. Her sister was sitting in the seat beside hers, sipping from her own cup.
“Adaine,” she’d said. “You know, it really is very unbecoming of you to lie to Father like that.”
Once their father had left them alone in the dining room again, Adaine had asked why Aelwyn had seemingly changed her mind about helping her.
She couldn’t quite remember what her sister had said.
It was a short drive to Hudol, but it was one that neither Adaine’s mother or father wanted to take to take her to her entrance exam. Of course, it mattered to them a great deal how she did. They just couldn’t be bothered to actually drive her there.
That left Aelwyn.
Adaine wasn’t sure she’d ever seen her sister fail before. Certainly not in front of their parents, of course, though she was beginning to doubt that Aelwyn had ever failed at all. She certainly carried herself in a way that suggested she hadn’t.
If it was an act, it certainly was a good one.
For the most part, the drive was quiet. Trying to have much of a conversation with Aelwyn
“Did you remember to bring your spellbook?” Her sister stirred the quiet between them, though she didn’t take her eyes away from the road in front of them, even for a moment.
Adaine drummed her fingers against her knee, trying to distract herself. She nodded. “I have it.” She mumbled. She supposed she couldn’t judge her sister too harshly for not looking at her. Her own gaze was fixed down at her backpack at her feet. Besides, Aelwyn didn’t need to hide behind politeness to be cruel when the two were alone like she did when they were with their parents. It was better not to poke the bear, or at least try not to. Not when her nerves were starting to get the better of her, anyways.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Aelwyn roll her eyes. “Do you want me to pull over so that you can check?” She asked, a familiar bite of malice in her voice. “Put pride aside and check, if you’re going to be all jittery about it.”
“...no, I definitely have it, Aelwyn.”
“Then what’s the problem with you?” She let out a soft huff, almost sounding annoyed. “You’re acting like you’ve just seen a manticore.”
Adaine nipped her cheek, contemplating. In these mind games against her sister, she rarely came out the winner. Her hands felt shaky, and she could feel the thud of her own heartbeat ring too-loud in her ears. “It’s nothing.” She said quickly, shaking her head. Admitting anything about how she felt that she was spiraling, or about how it felt that her heart would beat out of her chest at any moment, or about how her mouth had gone dry and her hands had gone shaky– that would be showing the enemy her weak point.
There was a brief moment of quiet as they rounded the corner. Hudol was just down the road a bit further. Adaine swallowed hard.
“What, nervous about the test?” Her sister shook her head incredulously. “Oh, please, Adaine, you’re overreacting. You go up in front of the board, do some cantrips and some spells, they ask you some questions, then you take an exam. What, are you afraid of an exam?”
And after a moment longer, Adaine spoke again. “...Mother and Father are going to kill me if I don’t pass.” She said, lowering her voice slightly as if the two of them could hear.
Aelwyn waved her hand dismissively. “ Please . It’s going to be easy, even for you. You’re an Abernant, aren’t you? I’m inclined to believe that we must share at least some genes. You’ll do fine.”
Adaine wasn’t sure if that was meant to be comforting. Knowing Aelwyn, it probably wasn’t. She was teasing, she always was. Then again, it seemed to be the nicest thing that Aelwyn had said to her in a long while.
She’d been lost in her thoughts, and she hadn’t realized that they’d pulled in front of the school. Other young wizards were being dropped off, hurrying inside to take their exams.
Aelwyn cleared her throat. “Go on, you’re going to go, aren’t you?”
The sound of her voice broke Adaine away from her thoughts, and, with a nod, she grabbed her bookbag and stepped outside. She looked back before she left to say goodbye, but her sister spoke before she could.
“I’ll be back at noon to pick you up. Try not to mess up too badly. Don’t make us look bad.”
The car drove off, leaving Adaine alone. She watched it go until Aelwyn turned a corner and disappeared.
Adaine walked off towards the pristinely-clean doors of Hudol.
It was a hazy summer’s day in Elmville. Far too hot to do much of anything. It was far too humid, too— Adaine knew that without even stepping outside. Jawbone’s fur was all puffed out and his glasses were foggy when he stepped back inside the manor mere moments after announcing he was going outside to mow the lawn.
Far too hot, he’d decided.
The heat didn’t seem to bother Ayda and Fig much, but Tracker and Kristen had plopped down on the couch in front of the big box fan, complaining about the weather to anyone who would listen. It was a rare moment when the two of them were sat next to each other, but didn’t touch each other in any way. Too hot even for them.
Thanks to a cleverly placed Ray of Frost behind the small fan in Adaine and Aelwyn’s room, the wizards’ tower was cooler than the rest of the house. Not perfect, no, but it was comfortable enough.
Adaine was sitting at her desk, reading a historical novel on the development and usage of Mage Hand that she’d borrowed from the Compass Points– very fascinating, of course, though only Ayda and Riz seemed to agree. Her sister had sat down on the carpet beside the bunk beds in front of the fan, writing away in the journal her therapist had given her.
The hum of the fan, the soft scratch of Aelwyn’s pencil, and the occasional turning of a page were the sounds that filled the room. It was quiet, and it was peaceful.
A change of pace to be certain, but not one that either of them would ever complain about.
It was a comfortable silence, and it must’ve been nearly a half hour before Aelwyn spoke up.
“Adaine?” She said, though her voice was still soft as not to wake Boggy up from his nap on her sister’s pillow. “May I tell you something?”
After finding a place to stop her invigorating study of the often overlooked cantrip, Adaine looked up from the book. “Sure, anything.”
Her sister paused a moment or two, looking like she was trying to find the right way to say it. “...I know that things between us have been…”
“Bad?”
“I was going to say rocky, but I suppose ‘bad’ is just as apt.” Aelwyn shook her head, dismissing the semantics. “But, that is all to say, I feel very lucky that I get to be your sister.”
Adaine paused, and a soft smile crossed her face.
“...I’m very glad you’re my sister, too.”