Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Aelwyn sighed as she sipped at her tea. It was Saturday, so she didn’t have work today, but it didn’t mean her mind was fully at rest either. She had just attempted her weekly Scrying on their mother. The spell had given non results the last three times she had used it, and it was frustrating.  There was no point in trying again today- once the spell didn’t work, it wouldn’t work for another 24 hours. She would just have to try again tomorrow. 

Adaine was always better at it, Elven Oracle and all. But as her sister and her friends had been away on a quest, Aelwyn had taken it on herself to do their weekly checks. But Adaine would be home soon. Her texts from last night made it sound like they had found the eldritch monster they had been after for the past week. 

If they were lucky, they might be home today. The quest hadn’t taken them too far outside of Elmville, just north of Bastion City- their target choosing to cause trouble close to home.

Spell aside, Aelwyn would have to find something to occupy her day. The house was always much quieter when the Bad Kids were gone, the noise not being something Aelwyn thought she would miss. So instead, she gathered herself, looking at whatever chores and tasks needed doing. Jawbone and Sandralynn insisted she didn’t pay rent; but she needed to make herself useful in some way, if nothing more than for herself. 

As such, Aelwyn started in on the slight chaos that was the living room, letting herself lose herself in the mundanity of the task. She hadn’t realized just how much time had passed when she heard Gorgug’s van pull into the driveway.

Her sister was home. 

She continued busying herself with the laundry she had been folding, watching as Jawbone and Sandralynn headed outside to greet their daughters. Adaine always got a little overwhelmed if everyone came outside at first- Aelwyn could wait her turn. Maybe tonight they’d have a slumber party in her bed, let Adaine truly settle down for the night and recuperate from the adventure she had just had. 

But the sight that greeted her a few minutes later was not what she had expected.

“Winnie!”

For one, the name threw her for a loop. Sometimes she was ‘Win’ to some of the bad kids on a good day, but Winnie was exclusively reserved for her baby sister. For two, there was a small child in the kitchen, leaping out of Fig’s arms and running for her legs. She was a little girl, no older than three or four wearing clothes that hung just a little too big on her. She was a cute kid, but where was Adaine? 

“Hi there, and just who are you?” She awkwardly put a hand on the back of the little girl. It was a foreign feeling, but she was trying to be normal about it. This was a little kid, she didn’t deserve Aelwyn’s default distrust.

The little girl laughed, wrapping her arms around her leg. She peeked her head up, smiling at Aelwyn. “You’re so silly, sissy. ‘T’s me, Adaine! 

Adaine? Adaine was this young girl holding onto her leg? No, no. Adaine was a teenager. This was not her Adaine. Her eyes burned with fire as they met with Fig’s when she slyly walked forward. “ What happened? ” she asked coldly, eyes darting between her sister and her step-sister. 

“Well, hello to you too,” Fig said, grabbing a drink from the fridge before sitting down at the island. “She’s fine; she’s not hurt.”

“I would hardly describe this as fine , Figerouth.” Aelwyn stared daggers at her. “What happened? Is this really Adaine?” The little girl- Adaine, this was Adaine- was too distracted by hugging onto her leg she figured to get caught up in the conversation she figured. “Why is my 16 year old sister nothing more than a baby? What the hell happened?”

Fig sighed and took a drink before responding. “She was hit with a chronomantic spell,” she explained. “She's finally stopped de-aging I think. But her memories, they...” Fig bit at her lip. “They were fading in the car. By the time we got to the house, yours was the only name she recognized.”

Aelwyn looked horrified. All of her memories were gone? How far back had it gone? It must have been pretty far for her to react this favorably to Aelwyn, knowing what she knew about their parents and the ways they tried to break any kind of actual sisterly bond as children. She looked down as the small child began to shake, a quick turn of events for the smiling girl that had bounded towards her. 

“Adaine? Adaine, what’s wrong?” she asked, slowly crouching down to face her sister who was now teary eyed and anxious.

“I made you mad, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Adaine said, tears falling freely down her cheeks. 

Aelwyn felt a pang in her heart. Despite an entire adolescence of making Adaine upset, this hurt so much worse. She reached an arm around her baby sister the way that she had always wanted to, but had paused for fear of their parents, and embraced her in a hug. “It’s okay, Addy. It’s okay.” 

The nickname slipped far more easily than it ever had, trying to give Adaine something to hold onto, something that showed she really wasn’t mad. She hadn’t used it since they were very small, not much older than Adaine appeared now. Maybe she would have remembered it.  “I’m not mad at you.” Carefully, she wrapped an arm under Adaine’s legs and settled her against her hip. “I’m not mad at you.”

“You promise?” she asked, laying her head against her big sister’s shoulder and sucking on her thumb. Aelwyn hid a grimace, stifling back memories of her parents’ punishments for her old habit. It didn’t bother her personally, but the images of her trying to stop Adaine from sucking on her thumb to prevent their parents’ rage as a young child appeared in her head. It was fine. They were fine.

“I promise.” Aelwyn kissed her sister’s forehead gently, stroking away a few stray hairs. “Have you had dinner yet? Maybe we can have something to eat and then a slumber party in our room?”

“For real life?” Aelwyn couldn’t help but chuckle a little, even in the face of this absurdity. It was clear the bad kids had been watching that one children’s show again. At least it was age appropriate for her, now even littler, little sister. 

“For real life. Come on now.”  Aelwyn met eyes with Fig again. “Will you be joining us tonight, Fig? Sister sleepover and all that.” 

Fig finished her drink and stood up from the table quickly, grinning menacingly. “Hell yeah I am! We’ll watch movies and stay up late, do our nails, all that.” Fig met her eyes in return. There would be time for more answers later, but at least for now they had a little sister to take care of.

Being an older sister was always something that Figerouth Faeth had wanted to be. As a young kid, she had seen so many of her friends with little siblings who followed them around like they hung the moon. She had begged her mother and Gilear for a baby brother or sister for so many Solstices, wanting nothing more than to have someone to play with and have that same connection.

Alas, they had always told her that it just wasn’t the right time, and they were happy with their family the way it was. In hindsight, Fig can’t help but think it was probably for the best that she didn’t have any other siblings involved in the chaos of what happened after her horns emerged. But fate had a funny way of granting her wishes in the end.

It was meant only to be a quick quest, a checking of a box. The Night Yorb had counted for their junior year main quest, but Augefort still required a series of smaller quests as a part of their class credits in order to fill their yearly requirements. It was a simple task: bring down an eldritch horror on a farm just outside of Bastion City. 

They had done their due diligence and learned what they could on this type of monster. Overall it shouldn’t have been a difficult task. They’d spent time with the family to know what kind of damage the monster had been doing; Ayda had teleported them to the Compass Points for a day to learn more on its weaknesses and resistances; their weapons were sharp and their magic was full before they took on the fight.

But even some things couldn’t be accounted for. 

In the fight there had been small patches of energy pulsing out through the monster’s paw. At first it looked as though it was changing the properties of the surroundings bit by bit. The grass had turned a dark brown, crops shrank down to the grown, and birds became much smaller. They had done their best to dodge the effects, but accidents happened.

“Adaine? Adaine!”

Fig looked on in horror as a magical effect took over her friend. The monster they had been fighting had a talent for chronomancy. As the magic grazed over her, Fig watched helplessly as Adaine's body began to shrink. Gorgug struck the creature down with his axe as Fig ran towards her. 

Fig cradled her sister in her arms as Adaine’s eyes rolled back, quickly losing consciousness. She was still breathing, and Fig didn’t think she was dying. Her body continued to shrink bit by bit as the battle continued behind her. She didn’t know what else to do and simply cast a quick Healing Word with a kiss to Adaine’s forehead. 

“Kristen and I cast just about every spell we could think of, but nothing came up.”

Now hours later, Fig sat comfortably in Adaine’s bean bag chair in front of the bunkbeds, a sleeping Adaine against her chest. She slowly stood, adjusting herself to get into the lower bunk with Aewlyn. “We stopped and took her to a hospital in Bastion City, and they said the magical effect could last up to a month.”

Fig saw as Aelwyn sat up straighter, trying to compose herself. “You took her to a hospital and you didn’t think to call home first?”

“We panicked,” Fig said, holding up her free hand as if to defend herself. “She’s okay now though. That’s the important part.” 

Aelwyn took a deep breath, settling back against her pillows and trying to relax. “So. Take it from the top. You all were fighting a monster with chronomantic magic and Adaine got hit and now both her body and memories are reverted back to when she was three years old. And she doesn’t know that our biological father is dead or that our mother is trapped in a mystical forest but can somehow recognize me even though I’m much older now?”

“Yep.”

“Fuck.”

“Yep.”

Fig settled down beside her, Adaine still snoring against her chest. She grabbed the blanket that Adaine loved so dearly and covered them up, leaving a little for Aelwyn. 

“You know. It’s not all bad.” She watched as Adaine rocked gently with the rise and fall of her chest. Adaine had never looked so at peace in all the time she had known her. Her forehead was free from the creases of worry; the circles under her eyes were considerably less pronounced; her shoulders were loose. “She doesn’t remember much.”

Aelwyn took another long breath, covering herself with the remaining blanket. “And how is that not bad, Figerouth? The whole problem is that she is small and can’t remember anything of the last 13 years.”

“A lot of bad shit happened in that time,” Fig provided, an easy hand playing with Adaine’s wisps of hair. “She doesn’t have to be weighed down by any of that, at least for a little while.”

Aelwyn turned over, reaching forward to rub Adaine’s back. “She gets a second chance at childhood.” 

Fig looked at her softly. “Not just her.”

Aelwyn tilted her head slightly. “Did someone else get de-aged?”

A soft chuckle. “You know, for a wizard, you really are stupid sometimes.”

A huff. “Fig, will you just shut up and tell me what you’re talking about?”

Fig gave another laugh. “I don’t know how I can shut up and tell you what I’m talking about.” The sudden movement caused Adaine to stir, causing Aelwyn to shoot daggers at her with her eyes again.  “What I mean is,” she said, continuing to rub her sister’s hair, “you get a second chance at being her older sister too you know?”

Fig could tell Aelwyn was contemplating her words carefully as her hand stilled, and she had that spacey look in her eyes that she often got when thinking about her childhood. Though Adaine was their diviner, Fig could see her imagining the different futures they could have, even if only for a month. 

“I can protect her this time,” Aelwyn whispered, as if she were breathing a silent prayer. “She won’t be alone. Or scared.” 

“She won’t,” Fig affirmed, offering her free hand to squeeze Aelwyn’s. “Neither of you will be.” 

“It gets to be different this time. She gets to have a mother and father who love her and care for her and a-” Aelwyn paused, “-two older sisters to protect and watch over her.” She squeezed her hand back, watching Fig with tears in her eyes.

“It gets to be different this time.”

Chapter Text

“Well good morning, sweetheart.”

Jawbone couldn’t help but smile as the little girl toddled down the stairs and into the kitchen on her own. Adaine was slowly getting braver, straying from her sisters’ sides more in the two days following her magical age regression. 

“Good morning, Uncle Jawbone.” They had decided it would be easier to tell Adaine that Jawbone and Sandralynn were friends of their mother and father- trying to explain that Jawbone was her adoptive dad now and the reasoning behind it would only put undue stress on Adaine. They hadn’t quite figured out what Adaine remembered or thought about her birth parents, but it seemed better to avoid the topic than to open up a wound on a three year old who couldn’t express her feelings.

Adaine smiled up at him, puttering over to where he sat at the table. She opened her arms, asking to be picked up, to which he happily obliged. While his daughter was mildly affectionate as a teenager, this younger version of her was far more so. He tried to ignore the slight pang in his heart when he thought about what drove away this happy and curious child. Instead, he picked her up and sat her on his lap. 

“Did you have a good sleep?” Jawbone asked, cuddling her close and kissing her head. Sandralynn had explained to him that Adaine likely wouldn’t trance at this age. Though she may retain the memory of how to trance somewhere deep in her mind, her body was still young and needed the rest. It was probably for the best, they wouldn’t need to worry about staggering sleep schedules to keep up with a toddler running about the house in the middle of the night.

“Mhm,” she hummed, closing her eyes and sleepily sucking on her thumb. “Winnie ‘nd Fig still s’eeping though.” He chuckled at that- while Adaine had been getting braver about straying from her sisters, her sisters still didn’t like to be that far from her. He knew Aelwyn had tried to trance the last two nights to keep on alert for her sister, but her body was still a bit too weak to go on anything except sleep. 

“They’ll be up soon. They both have to get up for school. What if we made them some breakfast so they can go to school with full tummies, hmm?” Jawbone asked quietly, tickling at her stomach. Adaine laughed in a way Jawbone wished he could keep forever. “And I think we need to fill your tummy too, yeah?” 

She nodded gleefully at him before pointing at his stomach. “Your tummy too! Your tummy too!”

Jawbone carefully stood, settling Adaine onto his hip before wandering to the cabinets. “Mhm, my tummy needs to be filled too. What should we fill it with?”

Adaine tilted her head slightly as she looked back at him. “I get to pick?”

He smiled with a little chuckle. “Sure do, baby girl. So long as we have it.”

“Woah.” Her eyes filled with wonder as she looked up and down the cabinets. “Pa never lets me pick. Says I should just eat what the unseen servants make.” 

“Good thing you’re at Uncle Jawbone’s then, huh?” It reminded him so much of the weekends that Tracker used to spend with him before he had taken her in properly. “Let’s see here. We’ve got cereal, toast, eggs, pancakes-”

“Pancakes!” The little girl interjected joyfully. He wouldn’t say he was surprised- whenever teenaged Adaine got her pick, that was always her go to.

“Alright kiddo, let’s make us some pancakes. Then we’ll get you ready for school too hmm?” Getting magically deaged had happened often enough at Augefort that there was a contingency plan for it: a child care center run for both deaged students and young children of the staff. They’d called Adaine in sick yesterday to give her an extra day to readjust, Jawbone and Aelwyn both staying home from work with her. But today they all needed to go back to work and school respectively. 

“I get to go to school today too?” 

“Sure do. Remember where we dropped Fig off yesterday morning? You’re gonna go there and spend the day with some other kids about your age. Fig will be in class most of the day.” Or at least she should be, but Jawbone wouldn’t be surprised if she cut class to go down to the child care center. “But she’ll come visit you at lunch and I’ll come see you too during the day.”

Adaine’s shoulders tensed up and she frowned. “What about Win? You said she had to go school too? She's not gonna see me though?” 

Jawbone shook his head. He had a feeling Adaine wouldn’t cope well being away from Aelwyn for a long stretch, but Aelwyn still needed to go to work at Oakshield. “She’ll get to see you when we go home. She has to go to a different school a little bit away. She’s one of the teachers.”

“So she won’t be there? But you and Fig will?” 

“That’s right, baby.” 

Adaine hid her face in Jawbone’s shoulder. “I don’ like that. Want Winnie to come too.”

He sighed, giving her a reassuring rub on the shoulder. “I know, baby girl. I don’t either. But it’s only for a little bit. And you’ll have fun with all the other kids too!”

“You sure?” she asked, still a bit uncertain about the whole situation.

“Well, nothing’s a guarantee, but I have a pretty good guess that you will.” He kissed her forehead sweetly. “But why don’t we make breakfast first, and then we can talk about all the fun things you’ll do at school today?” She nodded, a little uneasy but better than she was before. “That’s my brave girl. It’s okay if you get scared too, you know? It can be scary doing something new.”

“I can be scared and brave at the same time?” she asked, confused.

“Of course ya can. I get scared all the time.”

“You do?”

“Course. So does Fig. So does Winnie.”

“Woah,” Adaine said, wide eyed. “But you're the bravest people I know.”

“So then,” Jawbone said, gently pushing a few stray hairs out of her face. “What does that mean?”

She pondered for a minute wearing the same thoughtful look her older counterpart often did only to be replaced with a bright smile. “I can be brave and scared too!”

“That’s right.” He tapped her nose lightly. “You’re so clever.”

She giggled as he tapped on her nose. It was a sound he never wanted to forget. As horrible as an ordeal this had all been, he was thankful for the memories he got to make even if she may not remember once it was all over. She finally could have the parents she deserved at this age. It was his honor to do so.

“Come on, kiddo. Let’s make us some pancakes.”

The thunder crashed loudly as Aelwyn read her book, curled up on the top bunk. It was still weird to sleep in Adaine’s bed even after a week of this new arrangement. Granted she still ended up sleeping in her own bed after a certain point of the night- Adaine fussed frequently in her sleep and just needed some light soothing to go back to a steady state of calm. She briefly wondered if this had been what it was like when they were still small and living in Fallinel. It seemed a lifetime away from where they were now. 

Another flash of lighting glowed blue against the walls of their wizards tower, followed by another crash of thunder. Aelwyn had hoped desperately that her little sister would be able to sleep through the noise, though she didn't have too much faith in it. As a teenager, she often awoke out of trance from thunder scared and afraid. She remembered that from the old house in Clearbrook. But even with as little as she had been paying attention then, Aelwyn could tell it had been worse since their visit to Sylvaire.

In fairness, it scared Aewlyn too. Every kind of lightning, be it organic or magical in nature, made her heart beat a little faster or caused a drop of sweat to fall. With every flash she could see the bolt her father directed straight at her, feel the thunder that moved through her and nearly killed her all those months ago. 

It was something that didn’t die easily. The same as her. 

“‘Win?” She heard the nervous call of her little sister down below. Her voice was shaking as if she were trying to be brave, trying to hide that fear. It seemed some lessons were learned far earlier than any of them had hoped they were. 

“Yes, Addy?” she asked, careful to use her nickname, a tacit reminder that she was safe and loved and cared for.

“It’s loud,” she mumbled. It was both easier and harder to pick up on Adaine’s anxiety after her de-aging. She didn’t have the words to express herself, but her tone and body language were much clearer. Not even seeing her sister yet, she could tell this was more than just a light wake up.

“It is, isn’t it?” Aewlyn said with a reassurance that she certainly didn’t hold for herself. She began gathering up her blanket and climbing down the ladder at the end of the bed. “Too loud, isn't it?”

Adaine was curled up on her side, sucking on her thumb and a soft blanket and stuffed toy clenched against her face. Boggy ribbeted quietly in his terrarium, staring over at Aelwyn as if to ask to protect her. Adaine hadn’t wanted Boggy to hold as much since her transformation, her age regression also managing to subdue her arcane abilities. She could still cast a few cantrips, but anything beyond that had proven to be a lost cause. But he was still there, still a manifestation of herself and her magic waiting quietly until his owner was up to being with him again.

“Too loud,” Adaine affirmed, covering her ears up. The noise must have been bothering her on top of being scary. 

Aelwyn crawled into bed beside Adaine, pulling her underneath her arm. “Why don’t we do something about that, huh?” she asked, quietly wiggling her fingers overhead and letting her arcane energy become visible for just a second, a glittering orange that complemented Adaine’s blue energy. 

“Magic?” Adaine asked, eyes full of wonder and locked onto the space where Aewlyn's fingers were moving.

“Mhm,” she affirmed, toying with the arcane weave in her mind, imagining her spell book. “Should we make it totally quiet? Where we can’t hear anything, not even each other?”

She smiled as Adaine bit on her lip, carefully pondering the proposition. She then shook her head. “No. Still wanna hear you.”

Aelwyn nodded, pushing aside the prepared Silence spell. “Hmm, maybe something that can make it so there’s pretty lights to look at instead of the scary lightning?”

That seemed to go over a little bit better- Adaine smiled slightly. “Dance-y lights?”

Aelwyn nodded again, pulling at the cantrip. That would be easy enough to do. “What color should we make them?” she asked, helping settle Adaine a little closer to her side and pulling her into a loose hug. Her breathing was getting more even at least. 

“Hmmmm, rainbow!” Aelwyn chuckled. Of course her sister would want all of the colors. It just fit her personality. 

“We can try, Addy. Let’s see what I can do.” Small lights pulsated out of her hand. Technically she should only be able to pull out four lights. But if she managed to split her lights in halves, she might be able to make a rainbow. Carefully she made two red orbs, a green orb, and a blue orb, piercing them into multiple parts. Slowly she combined the pieces, making a small rainbow of light in their room,  “What do you think?”

“Rainbow!” Adaine nodded happily, pointing at the light orbs that hung above them in the bunk. “Pretty.”

Another flash of lightning illuminated the back wall and she felt Adaine curl up as if to protect herself from the scary light. “It’s okay, Addy. It’s okay. I won’t let anything happen to you here.”

“Nothing?”

Aelwyn felt a tug at her heart. How many times had she wanted to make this promise when they were actually small? How many times had there been this silence she couldn’t fill or force herself into breaking? “Nothing. You just stay right here with me, and we’ll wait this storm out all night alright?” Aelwyn would be tired at work tomorrow, but her students wouldn’t mind a video day, she was sure. 

“All night?” Adaine would probably still be tired tomorrow too. It would almost definitely take her a long while to go back to sleep tonight, but she could at least have an extra nap at the child care center.

“All night, my darling. As long as you need.” Aelwyn kissed her sister’s head gently. “You’re safe here.” Slowly, Aelwyn pulled Adaine up onto her chest and held her close. With the hand not holding to Adaine, she tapped once again into her arcane energy. Orange light sparkled out from her fingers, magic forming into a hexagonal shield over them. “See this?”

“Mhm,” she nodded, clearly still afraid.

“With this, even if the storm does try to hurt us, it has to get through this first.” She felt Adaine take a deep breath, slowly starting to calm down. Her little sister nodded and allowed herself to relax, her eyes drifting closed and breaths even. “Nothing’s gonna hurt you here.”

Not like before. 

Never like before again.

“The grass song! The grass song pleaseeeee, Kristen!”

Kristen couldn’t help but laugh. This version of Adaine was so different from the one she had known as a teenager. As a teenager, her playful nature was far more subdued, shining in between little cracks of Abernant grown manners and sarcastic wit. However, her three year old self had no such qualms. 

She and Ragh and Lydia had taken off for the afternoon to the park to help give the rest of the manor a bit of a break. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to care for Adaine, in fact it was the opposite. They had been spending so much of their time toddler proofing and watching and playing, other household responsibilities had fallen wayside. So to the park they took their young wizard while everyone else got caught up.

Honestly though, Kristen loved it. She loved getting to play with Adaine and help keep her busy during the day: be it at the child care center between classes at Augefort or helping out around the Manor. It reminded her of her past days with her brothers and her past days as a camp counselor at Helioic camps. It was good. It felt right. And if all Adaine wanted was to play and sing the little game songs she used to sing with her brothers as a kid, then Kristen was more than happy to do so.

“Alright, alright. We’ll do the grass song. Can you start it for me?” Kristen laughed sitting down on the ground, crossed legged in front of Adaine.

“Ragh too! Ragh too!” she squealed gleefully, tugging at her cousin’s leg. 

“Oh yeah? We’re gonna play the green grass game? Love that one!” Ragh smiled, coming down and rolling on the ground beside Adaine. 

“Green grass! Green grass!” Adaine tumbled down, sitting cross legged with them. “Hmmm okay okay okay, starts, start with ummm.” Kristen could see how thoroughly she was thinking through the song trying to remember its start.

Kristen gently moved Adaine’s hands to make a big ‘O’ shape. “There was a hole wasn’t there?”

“There was a hole!” Adaine bounced on the ground, holding her hands in the ‘O’ shape and starting to sing. “There was a hole. In the middle of the ground. “

Kristen smiled at her brother, singing back to Adaine. “In the middle of the ground.”

“The prettiest hole that you ever did see!”

“That you ever did see!” Kristen and Ragh repeated, bouncing gently beside her, laughing as Adaine had gotten excited and skipped a few calls and responses.

“And the green grass growed all around all around and the green grass growed all around!” She laughed, spreading her arms out all around. 

“What comes next, chickadee?” Ragh asked, putting his elbows up and stretched out to give her a hint. 

“The tree!” She smiled. “In the hole, there was a tree, the prettiest tree that you ever did see!”

“That you ever did see!”  Kristen thought about correcting the call and response, but decided to leave it. It was far cuter this way. They could always work on it at school when she was playing the game with the other kids. 

“The tree in the hole in and the hole in the ground and the green grass growed all around all around and the green grass growed all around!” Adaine sputtered as she sang, struggling to remember both the words and the motions that went along with the song. Kristen and Ragh helped where they could, but ultimately let Adaine lead the song and its cumulative counting.

“Oh are we playing Green Grass?” Lydia rolled up beside them, slowed slightly by the actual not-quite green grass on the ground. “Hoot growl! That was one of Ragh’s favorites as a baby.”

“Auntie Lydia!” Adaine pouted slightly. “Can you help? They’re playing wrong!”

“And how’s that, baby?” she asked, opening up her arms for Adaine to crawl in her lap. Adaine happily obliged.

“They gots to say the- the whole thing with me! It’s hard to remember by myself.” Kristen snorted. So Adaine did know she was doing it wrong, she just couldn’t figure out how. It made sense, it was usually Kristen or one of the older kids leading the song. She was so precious.

“I’ll say it with you, baby girl.” Lydia gave her a gentle kiss on the head. “Now where were you?”

“That’s not fair! Adaine wasn’t giving us a place to say it!” Ragh teased playfully, lightly punching his mom’s leg.

Lydia playfully swatted his hand away. “Then you gotta help her. She’s just a baby after all,” she said, snuggling Adaine in her lap. “Isn’t that right, sweetie?” Adaine nodded sharply, hiding her face into Lydia’s chest. 

That caused Kristen to laugh again, quickly getting up and lifting Adaine out of her lap. “A baby brat, more like it,” she teased, tickling Adaine gently. Adaine laughed gleefully, enjoying the light teasing. It was nothing like the teasing and actual bullying her parents had put her through. This was exactly what her little cousin should have had, just as Kristen had had before. 

Kristen tossed her over to Ragh which made Adaine laugh even harder as they roughhoused. “Come’on, Addy. We gotta finish our song!” Ragh said, putting her over his shoulder playfully before helping her tumble back to the ground. “Now, what comes next?”

“The branch!”

As the late autumn sun sat behind them, Kristen couldn’t feel anything but joy. The year had been stressful and tiring, but there was just something about sitting with Adaine and Ragh and Lydia like this. Like something from a time before and maybe something of a time to come. And though she missed her brothers and the times she had spent before, getting to have this moment now was something truly special. 

Like all things at Augefort Adventuring Academy, the rules about de-aged students didn’t make a ton of sense. De-aged students still needed to come to school, but they didn’t need to attend their classes. They could attend individual classes, but everyone had agreed that having Adaine attend wizarding classes on her own would be too intense for her given just how young she had become. 

The only exception to this was party-oriented classes. Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, Fig picked up Adaine from the child care center so she could attend junior year Party Dynamics . It wasn’t too bad- the class was generally active and moving anyways so Adaine was able to pay attention easily enough. 

Today was a primarily melee focused class, so Porter was the instructor much to Fig’s annoyance. Even if he was Fig’s paladin advisor, some of his teaching methods were still unsettling such as this one: party member vs party fights. 

The goal of the exercise was supposedly to see how a party held it together in the face of manipulation. Porter and a handful of the other paladin students would cast Command on a party member (supposedly it was at random, but Fig couldn’t help but notice it was only fighters, barbarians, and monks who had been selected) and the rest of the party needed to subdue their party member without magic.  

Adaine had been tense the entire time in Fig’s arms as Porter explained the exercise, and even more so when it was determined that Gorgug would be the one under the spell. There was no way Adaine would be expected to participate in this right?

“That would be incorrect, Miss Faeth. If you were out in the field with her like this now, you would still have to protect her and keep her away from Mr. Thistlespring. Consider it extra experience. Now, Gorgug, attack! ” 

Without a moment’s hesitation, the red light of a Counterspell crackled with a snap of Fig’s fingers dismissing Porter’s Command in a fraction of a second. “ No. ” Adaine began crying, her breathing getting caught up in the familiar pattern of a panic attack. Fig instinctually squeezed her a little bit tighter. “I’m taking my sister, and I’m leaving.”

“Now Miss Faeth, you’re really testing my patience today,” Porter said with a heavy sigh. “You’ve already caused me to waste a spell slot. Get out of my classroom, and go to the principal’s office!”

“Good!” Fig screamed at him. It didn’t matter where they went as long as Adaine got out of there. “Come on, Addy.”

Fig ran for the hallway, as Adaine burrowed her head into Fig’s shoulder. If she wasn’t having a panic attack before, the screaming probably finished her off. “F-fig?” she said, tears falling freely and chest heaving.

Fig slowed down considerably, finding a little cove in the hallway for them to sit. “Yeah?”

“My tummy hurts real bad and- and- everything was real loud and scary and- and my chest hurts like I can’t breathe any and- and- and-” Heavy sobs cut her off from saying anything else. Fig hugged her little sister tightly, arms wrapping around her to protect her from everything else outside. Adaine had been doing really well and not had any full panic attacks in this form. But it appeared there was a first for everything.

“That’s okay, Addy,” she muttered, rocking Adaine gently as they sat. “That’s okay. That was scary, and Porter shouldn’t have even considered having you play in that.”

“But- but-” Adaine sniffled, picking her head up to look at Fig. “I got you in troubles. Didn’t mean too. I’m so sorries!” 

Fig rested her forehead against Adaine’s and shook gently, being mindful of her horns. “Nah, you don’t have to be sorry. You’re always worth getting in trouble for. Anything to keep you safe.” 

Adaine’s breathing began slowing, but it was clear the whole experience exhausted her. She pulled away from Fig, resting her head on her chest and beginning to suck on her thumb. “You tired there, rockstar?” she asked, smoothing some of the hair out of her face. Adaine nodded, eyes closing.

It wasn’t all that different from when teenage Adaine had a panic attack. She’d say she was fine, but Fig and they’re friends could all see how tired she was in the aftermath. She almost always needed a short trance afterwards, Fig could only imagine it was more impactful on her smaller body. “Why don’t we run by your classroom and get your blankie? Then we can take a nap in Uncle Jawbone’s office, hmm?”

“But you were supposed to go to the principal’s office?” Fig couldn’t help but chuckle. Of course Adaine would be worried about her getting into more trouble. It was sweet. 

“He said I had to go, he didn’t say when ,” Fig assured with a little twinkle in her eyes. It wasn’t as though the principal would do much to her anyways. Of all the Bad Kids, Arthur Augefort hated her the least after all. “Don’t worry about me, rockstar. I’ve got this.”

Adaine squeezed Fig’s middle. “You’re the best big sister ever.”

It took everything for Fig not to cry at that. It wasn’t the first time Fig had protected Adaine, not by a long shot. Nor was it the first time that Adaine had shown that appreciation. But something about Adaine being so small and letting herself feel that safety, letting Fig protect her unequivocally, letting Fig be her big sister, it got her a little misty eyed. 

“You make it easy.” Fig pressed a gentle kiss to her head, moving to stand. “Being the best little sister and all.” That caused her to giggle and relax just that bit more. “Come on. We’ve got a nap to go take.”

“Adaine, baby, it’s time to get ready for bed.”

“But I’m not tired!”

Sandralynn gave a tired smile, rubbing at her eyes as she watched Adaine pout on the couch. With a house full of teenagers, she had forgotten just how much of a daily struggle it was to do bedtime. Adaine wasn’t trying to cause trouble, she knew that, but it was still exhausting nonetheless. “Sure, you’re not. Your eyes are just droopy on their own like that yeah?”

“Not droopy,” Adaine said with a little yawn and shaking her head incessantly. Between the yawning and the droopy eyes and the fact the tips of her ears were turning that familiar shade of red, Sandralynn figured she had about 15 minutes before she fell asleep or had a full meltdown, something they all would prefer to avoid.

Sandralynn came over to where Adaine had been curled up and staring off into space. Not tired, her ass. “Not even a little bit?” she asked, going to pick up Adaine and set her against her shoulder.

“Not even a little bit,” Adaine said, not fighting even in the slightest as her head rested against Sandralynn’s shoulder. “I don’t wanna go to bed, Aun’ Sandra.”

“Well that's too bad, kiddo. Clock says it’s time for bed,” she said gentle but firm, rubbing a soft hand on the small of her back. Sandralynn headed up the stairs towards the wizarding tower she shared with Aelwyn. 

Adaine grumbled something against her shoulder, but seemed not to be too combative. Overall, even when Adaine was combative it was still a million times better than trying to get Fig down at her age. It was at that moment Sandralynn was able to make eye contact with her aforementioned daughter. Even if Adaine wasn’t fighting now, bedtime seemed to go a lot better with Fig or Aelwyn around.

“Come on, Addy. Mom’ll read us a bedtime story,” Fig said catching up to them. Her sweet Fig always knew the right things to say as Adaine began to relax properly now. Fig was a good big sister, and it was great to see it in these kinds of moments. 

“The elven princess one?” It was a story that Sandralynn had slowly been telling over the previous days- one that had been Fig’s favorite when she was growing up. Even Aelwyn had been enthralled in the story. It made Sandralynn wonder if their parents had ever done them the sweetness of a bedtime routine.

“I think we can manage that, baby girl. You wanna know what happened to Princess Rosamund after she escaped her branches, don’t you?”

Adaine nodded. “Aelwyn wan’s to know too.” 

Sandralynn chuckled. Of course Adaine still wanted to know that Aelwyn would get to hear the story too. “Well, why don’t I have Fig grab Aelwyn while we get you changed into your pajamas and brush your teeth?” she asked, making silent eye contact with Fig.

Adaine nodded again, another yawn slipping. “Okay. Just for a little bit. Not tired.”

“Nope, I know you’re not tired. Not one single bit.” Sandralynn kissed her forehead. Adaine was in that sweet point of sleepy and stubborn but not grumpy quite yet. Sandralynn hoped the story and her sisters would help keep her there and let her fall asleep soon. 

Quickly, Adaine’s teeth were brushed and she was in comfy pajamas, ready to settle down for stories. Aelwyn was lying on the bed waiting for her by the time they got done, holding up the covers to help keep away the late autumn chill. Fig had come back too, making for a nice cozy space for Adaine to lie in the middle of. 

Sandralynn couldn’t help but smile as Jawbone came in and gave each of the girls a goodnight kiss on the head. Unbeknownst to her that her sisters often got up after she fell asleep, it was important to Adaine that Fig and Aelwyn got tucked in, same as she did. It truly was a sweet scene. 

Sandralynn sat on the bed after her partner left and peeled back into the old storybook from Fig’s childhood. She never thought she would have these kinds of moments again, all of her babies now gone and grown. It was something special to cherish. “Now where did we leave off...”

It was bright when Adaine woke up. It wasn’t the normal kind of bright either. Usually there were a few arcane lights in the room when Winnie and Uncle Jawbone came to wake her up, but this was different. It was almost like it was white outside and shining into the room.

“Well good morning, sleepyhead.” Adaine grinned seeing her older sister sitting and reading in the beanbag chair near the window. Slowly she crawled out of the bunk with her blanket to give her sister a sleepy hug. Winnie obliged, picking her up and giving her a little cuddle. “Did you have good dreams?” 

Adaine happily snuggled up, warm and sleepy in her sister’s arms. She nodded in response to her sister’s question. “I dreamt we got to play outside today. I dreamt Mama was with us too.” She could feel her sister tense up a little bit, but she didn’t pay much attention as to why. “How long until Mama and Pa are coming home again?” 

“A couple more weeks, darling,” Winnie said, still a bit tense. She must have missed Mama and Pa too. She shook her head before readjusting Adaine in her lap. “Did you see outside?”

Adaine sat up a little, peeking out the window. The graveyard below was covered in something white! That explained why it was so bright in their room. The outside was bright too. “What is that?” Winnie chuckled, causing Adaine to pout a little. It wasn’t her fault she didn’t know what things were. “Winnie... Please, what is that?”

“That’s snow,” she explained softly, looking at the vast array in front of them. “Sometimes when it gets really cold like it does in Solace, the rain turns solid and makes this.”

Rain could turn solid and turn into that? It was incredible! “Woah...”

“Yeah.” Winnie gave her another little kiss on the head. “After breakfast, we can go out and play in it if you want? Snow’s a lot of fun to play in.”

“Yeah?” Adaine asked excitedly. It was like her dream was coming true! 

Winnie nodded and put her back down on the floor. “ Come on, can’t go play if we just stay up here after all.”

This was going to be the best day ever. 

Winnie was right: it was a lot of fun to play in the snow. They made all sorts of fun things: angels and devils in the snow, a snowman, and even a small snowball fight. But for all the fun she was having it didn’t prepare her for just how cold it was. Even in all the layers Uncle Jawbone bundled her up in, she could feel it deep into her bones.

They’d have to go inside soon, but Fig said they could play one last game of hide and seek before they went in. 

Adaine had found the perfect hiding spot: a little tree just off to the side of the yard where they had built a wall for their snowball fight. No one would ever think to look for her there! She sat and waited, ready to sneak away when Fig was coming close because the only thing better than one good hiding spot was changing hiding spots. As she waited, she noticed an arcane signature nearby, but it wasn’t any of her sisters or new friends’ and yet strangely familiar.

She looked over her shoulder and saw a navy blue Mage Hand tapping on her.

Mama.

Her dream really was coming true! Mama was home! Maybe she’d even play with her this time!

“Mama!” she cried out, running in the direction of the Mage Hand . Her mama was there holding an arm out. It wasn’t the same thing as the hugs Uncle Jawbone and Aunt Sandralynn gave her, but the hug was familiar and good. “You’re back!”

“Hello, dearest.” Mama smiled at her in the cool way she always did. “Yes. I’ve come to get you. But we have to be quiet. We don’t want the other to hear us.”

That confused Adaine. Why wouldn’t Mama want anyone else to hear them? “What about Winnie?”

“We’ll take care of Aelwyn later, dearest. For now, just come with me, alright? We don’t have much time.”

Adaine stood from her hiding spot and followed her mother out past the yard a little. “Where are we going?”

“Not now, Adai-”

“STOP!”

Adaine watched as harsh orange and red magic encompassed her mother. Why were Winnie and Fig casting spells at Mama? Weren’t they excited to see Mama too? “And this is why we need to be quiet, Adaine,” she spat. Adaine put her head down, not even two minutes of seeing Mama she had already made her upset again. 

“Did you really think a simple Command would be enough to hold me back, girls?” Mama kept a gentle hand on Adaine’s back, magic tingling at her own fingertips. “I’m taking my daughter back where she belongs!” 

And in a flash, Adaine’s eyes were covered in navy blue arcane energy, Winnie’s orange energy trying to seep through. But ultimately, the blue took over her like a heavy blanket. When her eyes opened again, Adaine was no longer in the cold snowy backyard of Mordred Manor but rather the warm capital city of Fallinel.

“Welcome home, dearest."

Chapter Text

Aelwyn’s mind was racing. They lost her. They were just playing hide and seek, and she was in plain sight and then their mother was there and they lost her . Aelwyn fell to her knees frozen in place, literally and metaphorically. 

How could this have happened? She was supposed to still be in Sylvaire being chased for unending days until the end of her days. How did she get her magic back? How did she know where to find Adaine? How how how?

“Aelwyn, you need to come inside.”

A furry paw was resting on her shoulder, pressing light pressure against her coat. Jawbone. Not only had she lost her sister, but she had lost his daughter . It was all her fault, she should have been watching better, she should have had See Invisibility on, she should have tried scrying again this morning, she should have, she should have-

“Aelwyn. I’m going to carry you inside now okay?”

Jawbone’s arms wrapped around her, picking her up with ease.  Her mind stopped. She didn’t deserve to be cared for. Her sister was gone and it was her fault. “I couldn’t- I couldn’t stop her,” she said quietly as a tear rolled down her face. Aelwyn tried to deny herself his comforts as her face was pressed up against his chest.

“It’s not your fault. Don’t think that this was your fault, kiddo.” He was clearly holding back his own tears, trying to keep calm and collected as he wiped away hers. “We’re gonna get her back. But we need to be smart. And the first thing is getting inside. Don’t need neither of you catching pneumonia out here.”

Aelwyn sat up just slightly in his arms. She had forgotten, it wasn’t just her outside before,  “Fig-”

“-is with Sandra Lynn. She’s okay.” 

She settled back down in his arms, letting him carry her inside. There was a lot to be done, but it didn’t matter. They were going to get Adaine back. They had to get her back.

“Mama, how come Aelwyn was casting spells at you? Thought she'd be excited to see you too?” Adaine clung tight to her mother's shoulder. Even though Uncle Jawbone and Aunt Sandra Lynn’s house was fun, she was glad to be reunited with Mama. She didn't know if her mama would ever come back after all.

Mama held her close, rocking her a bit like her sister did. She had been changed out of her cold weather clothes and into something more proper for Fallinel's heat: a blue dress comfier than any she could remember in her whole life. She was so comfy she could have fallen asleep right there in Mama's arms.

“She's just jealous, my darling. She knows you have an important job to do. That's all. But we'll take care of her soon enough.” 

Adaine fought the sleepy feeling that passed over her again. “I have an important job?”

Mama kissed her head and gave her a little rock. “That's right you do. Do you remember when I used to tell you stories about the Elven Oracle?”

Adaine tilted her head in slight confusion. If she was honest, she didn't ever remember Mama telling her stories. At least not stories that were about anything as interesting as an oracle. She shook her head, looking wide eyed at Mama.

“Yes you do,” Mama teased at her. Adaine hoped Mama would tell her more anyways. “The Elven Oracle is the most brilliant diviner of the Elven people at any given time. Her gifts are one of prophecy and legacy, information and interaction.”

“Woah.” Adaine looked once again wide eyed. “But what does she have to do with me?”

“It's your job to help make sure she grows up happy and loyal to Fallinel.” That seemed like a rather important job for someone as small as her.

“But how do I do that?”

Mama shifted Adaine in her arms, jostling her a little. “You just keep being my sweet happy baby, my dear, and it will all work out just fine.” She could do that, she was sure. Adaine was good at being happy- Uncle Jawbone and Aunt Sandra Lynn said that a lot.

A yawn escaped from her. “Are you tired, my sweet?” Adaine nodded, resting her head against Mama’s shoulder. She sucked quietly on her thumb, and whined as her mother pulled her thumb from her mouth. “None of that now, my sweet. Big girls don’t suck their thumbs. And you’re a big girl aren’t you, Adaine?”

Adaine frowned, but nodded and complied with Mama’s request. “That’s my good girl. We’ll be home in just a few minutes. And then we can get you all comfortable and cozy and have a nice rest.”

“Promise?” she asked, eyes fluttering shut. She was so tired. 

“Promise. There’s one last thing we need to do and then you can rest.” Mama reached into her pouch and pulled out a glittering dust. “Close your eyes, my sweet. This won’t feel good in your eyes.”

Adaine closed her eyes on purpose now, making sure they were squeezed tight as possible. She felt the cool magic of her mama wrap around her like a blanket. Some of the glittering dust made her sneeze, but she could feel an aura of protection around her. “All done. You can open your eyes again.”

Her face relaxed and eyes opened for just a moment as they approached the familiar flat Adaine remembered as home. “What was that, Mama?”

“Glad to see you’ve still got your natural curiosity,” she heard Mama whisper under her breath. “Just a spell, baby. A spell to help keep you safe here.”

“Like Aelwyn’s?” 

Mama tensed up a little bit, but Adaine paid it no mind. “It’s not exactly your sister’s abjurations, but something similar. Enough of that for now though. I think someone is ready for a little trance, hmm?”

Adaine nodded, ready for a nap. Aelwyn and Aunt Sandra had used ‘trance’ and ‘nap’ interchangeably sometimes. Whichever it was, Adaine was ready for it. “Love you, Mama,” she said, drifting off once again.

“And I love you, my sweet.”

“Do you think you would be able to scry on her?”

“I haven’t been able to scry on my mother for almost a month now. She must be using Nondetection or doing something else to prevent the spell from reaching her now. It’s probably tied to wherever she’s getting her magic. I wouldn’t doubt whatever she’s doing to herself, she’s done to Adaine too.” 

Fig and Aelwyn were sitting around the kitchen island pouring through texts of arcane spells and lore to try and piece together anything that would have explained what happened to their sister. Various other members of the manor were about doing tasks to try and bring Adaine back, but ultimately, Fig and Aelwyn were the ones digging into the magical aspects.

Aelwyn's fingers drummed nervously on the table as she read through her own Nondetection spell once again, trying to think of anything that could have bypassed the spell. Locate Creature hadn't turned anything up on her, telling them that at minimum Adaine wasn't within a thousand feet. 

“It doesn't mean you shouldn't try though.”

Aelwyn sighed, her own anxiety building. It wasn’t as though she didn’t want to try Scrying on her little sister. Her real worry came from the possibility of what would be revealed with the spell. Was her sister hurt? Was her sister scared? Would she try to resist the spell? Had their mother already turned her against them? Would the spell not work at all? She only had one shot. And if it failed, then it would be 24 hours before she could try again. There were too many possibilities in her mind, and she couldn’t even verbalize it.

“Fig...”

“Please. You have to try. If not for me than for her. For yourself.”

Aelwyn took another deep breath, trying to focus her thoughts. “Any luck on that fiendish trace we found outside?”

Once they had gathered themselves enough after Adaine’s abduction, Fig and Aewlyn had cast Detect Magic over and over and over again in the yard to find anything that could bring them a step closer to their little sister. After a long search, all they were able to find was a trace of fiendish conjuration magic. The conjuration she could easily identify as their mother’s teleport spell, but the fiendish influence gave something to be desired. 

Fig sighed herself, scrolling through her crystal. “Not yet. There could be fiendish magic for any number of reasons. Your mom could be in a pact with someone, she could have some hidden devilry in her bloodline, she could have died and come back as a devil-”

“It better not have been that last one, Adaine and I have vengeance to sort out,” Aelwyn mumbled under her breath.

“Can I have a drop of your blood?”

“No! Absolutely not! Why?” Aelwyn’s eyes blinked rapidly. What the hell was that?

“Figerouth, you simply cannot ask someone for their blood without context even if it furthers your research. I have found this out first hand from many pirates.” Ayda wandered into the kitchen with multiple tomes from The Compass Points, and pressed a kiss to her paramour’s head. “Have you had any success with your spellbook?”

“She won’t cast Scrying, and it doesn’t make sense. And I don’t understand what you’re so afraid of!”

Ayda tilted her head looking at Aelwyn. “You haven’t cast Scrying? Why? Would you like me to cast it?”

“No!” Aelwyn answered before she could even think. She needed to be the one to see what was going on with her sister. But the idea of something going wrong with the spell, the uncertainty of what she would find on the other end of it was paralyzing. “I'll- I’ll do it. You don't need my blood, Fig.”

Fig rolled her eyes. “It wasn't so I could cast Scry ,” she said, putting her crystal down and giving Aelwyn her full attention. “If your mom has devil ancestry, then you would have it too. We could use it to link back to your mom.”

“I'm almost certain that we don't have devilish or demonic ancestry. That feels like something that would have come up when we needed a demon in the Forest of the Nightmare King,” she sighed again. “And my mother prides herself too much on her wizarding abilities to become a warlock. There's got to be some other explanation.” 

“Well perhaps not,” Ayda replied, eyes focused on the book in front of her. “Cassandra's will was to take away your mother's magic, is that correct?” Aelwyn nodded, keeping her own eyes averted. “Well there is the old artificer statement ‘as above, so below’.”

Aelwyn looked up incredulously at Ayda. “I'm not sure if I follow?”

“Who cares less for the guidance of a god than a devil?” Ayda mused. “If Cassandra can remove a wizard’s magical abilities, perhaps a fiendish influence can restore them.”

“That's what I was trying to tell you,” Fig said, coming behind and wrapping her arms around Ayda. “Even if it's not devil’s ancestry, she may have a pact with someone and new warlock magic to boot.”

Aelwyn wracked through her mind. Was that even possible? Wizarding skills were born of the mind, not connection. But 16 year olds shouldn’t be able to become toddlers either. Nothing was exactly normal about this whole situation. “Would we be able to track down a pact she made, if she made one?”

Fig nodded, a fire lit in her eyes. “We can. If we go down to Hell, I can file through pacts. You’ve got enough of her DNA we should be able to find a match if there is one.”

Aewlyn sighed, covering up her eyes. “You’re still gonna need my blood?”

Fig shrugged, pulling on her shoes and blatantly avoiding the question. “Do you have Plane Shift prepared?”

Aelwyn nodded, getting her own things together. “One for the way there and one for the way back.”

Ayda stood nervously to the side. “I also have it prepared. Would you like me to come along, my paramour?”

“We won’t be gone long.” Fig pressed a kiss to her lips. “As much as I love you coming to work with me, I think it might be better for you to help with the aerial search.”

“As you wish,” Ayda kissed back, holding her lovingly.

Aelwyn rolled her eyes slightly at her little sister. “Come on lovebirds, we have work to do.”

“I am a partial bird, but Figerouth is-”

In the blink of an eye, Aelwyn and Fig were surrounded in flames and fire. Hopefully this trip wouldn’t be for naught.

Fire burned the landscape in front of her. It engulfed the air around her, never ending. Adaine reached out trying to see anything in front of her. She could feel the smoke burning in her lungs looking for anything solid around her. 

“Fig?”

A flash of her older sister’s horns appeared. They were covered in soot, a droplet of blood flowed down to her face, smiling with some sort of relief before she was shifted away back into the flames.

The sounds of swords and magic clashed behind her loudly. A Faerie Fire. A Lighting Bolt.

A Power Word Pain.

Where were her sisters? What happened to Fig? Where was Winnie?

“Winnie!”

The smoke cleared enough to see the crumpled image of her big sister on the ground. Lighting struck across her body in a way that was familiar, but she couldn’t place. Aelwyn was reaching for her, palm weakly seeking palm. “Adaine...” she whispered quietly. “You’re back...”

“Winnie! Winnie, don’t go!” she cried, running towards her big sister. No matter how many steps Adaine took, she couldn’t reach Winnie.

The wind shifted again, her mother appearing this time in the glades of trees. Her fingers crackled with light. “I won’t let anything happen to you, darling. You will always be my baby.” Her mother shot off a burst of light, more and more magic erupting in the forest. Adaine tried to run towards her mother, towards the promise of protection.

Her feet were stuck.

No matter how much she moved, her feet wouldn’t come loose. Another spell. Another attack. Adaine’s breath caught. The smoke was too heavy. She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t-

Adaine woke up, her mind whirling and spinning. Her dream had felt so real she didn’t understand and she couldn’t help crying. It was so bright and scary as tears trickled down her face and coughing as if she actually had breathed in those awful flames. “Mama! Pa!” She didn’t know what else to do.

Soon enough, Mama was back in the room, sitting beside her in the bed. “Adaine, my sweet, what’s wrong?” She gently pushed away some of her messy bangs. “Did you have a bad dream?” 

Adaine nodded, reaching forward to get a hug from Mama. Mama put an arm around her, but it didn’t feel as good as how Uncle Jawbone might hug her. She wiped at her eyes and let herself settle into her side. “It was scary. There- there- there was this fire and- and- Aelwyn was there and she was hurt and you were there and Fig was there and everyone was hurt and it was so scary and- and-” Tears shed from her eyes uncontrollably. “It felt so real.”

“That does sound scary,” Mama squeezed her shoulder lightly. “Can you tell me more? Did you see where the fire was?”

“Was all over,” she sobbed, rocking herself back and forth. 

“Were you inside a building? Outside in the forest? What can you remember, baby?” 

Adaine shook her head, tears flowing freely as she tried to escape the memory of her dream. “I don't know I don't know. Outside I think-”

Mama jerked her slightly to look at her. “Adaine, this is important. Were we outside? Where were you outside? Do you know when- What do you remember?”

Why was Mama asking her so many questions? Her brain and her heart were hurting and she just wanted a tight hug. She curled up into Mama's side and sucked on her thumb. “Lots of trees,” she mumbled. “I don't wanna think about it any more, Mama. Was too scary. You and Pa will keep me safe won't you?”

“Yes, my sweet. I’ll keep you safe.” She felt Mama breathe deeply before she squeezed again before pulling her thumb out of her mouth. “But to do that, we need to work on remembering your dreams. That's the best way to keep you safe.”

Adaine let herself relax more fully. Mama wouldn't let anything happen. They'd find Fig and Aelwyn and Uncle Jawbone and be a big happy family together. She just had to remember her dreams. Then it could be okay again. She could do that.

“How in the world do you ever find anything here?” Aewlyn scoffed, looking through another shelf of files. There wasn’t too much she could do without Fig, but looking through the few hard files Fig kept in the recording studio was a good enough starting point.

“Most of the time I can magic out what I’m looking for,” Fig shrugged, hunched over an old laptop. “It’s not a perfect system though.”

“You have my blood, wasn’t that supposed to be a ‘perfect match’ for any supposed pacts?” Aelwyn rolled her eyes, starting to work through the various warlock patrons that operated out of the fifth circle of Hell.

“A close match, not a perfect match,” Fig said, matching the eye roll. “The only perfect match would be if your mother had a twin. And if your mom had an evil twin, I’d hope you’d have told me by now.”

“I’m sure if my mother had a twin, she would be considered the evil one.” 

They had been at this for hours. Every passing moment was a moment that Adaine was away from them, that Adaine was in whatever kind of trouble from their mother. Whatever their mother had planned for Adaine, Aelwyn was certain she didn’t want to see it. 

Aelwyn took a deep breath, scanning over another file before looking up at Fig. For all the stress Aelwyn felt on her own shoulders, it was only in that moment that she had seen just how much Fig was taking this on herself. Her shoulders were hunched and eyes focused in a way that could rival Riz’s on a good day. Fig was just as much Adaine’s sister as she was and worried all the same.

Even before all this had happened, Fig was there helping Adaine, supporting and loving her. She had been the one there holding Adaine’s hand through panic attack after panic attack. She was the one who had led the charge to free them both from Caltherial Tower but a year ago. She was the one who had held Adaine as her body changed against her will but a month ago.

For a long while, Fig had been a much better sister than Aelwyn had ever been. 

Time had passed and sins were forgiven, but Fig was there in all the places Aelwyn hadn’t. Of course she had borne the same stressors and the same worries. 

“We’re gonna find her. You know that right?”

“I do.”

“No matter what.”

Even though her dream had been scary, Adaine was feeling much better than she had before. Mama was taking her out on an outing. She never remembered Mama doing all this in one day before. It was so much!

Adaine swung slightly as Mama held her hand walking through the streets. “Where are we going, Mama? Is it going to be fun?”

Mama didn’t make it easy to swing, keeping her arm stiff as they walked. “Enough of that, Adaine. We’re not going to have fun, darling. We have important business to take care of.”

Adaine frowned, trying to look up at her mother. She couldn’t say she didn’t expect this from Mama, but regardless she didn’t like it. “Business?”

“Elven Oracle business,” she said bluntly. Quickly she went and picked Adaine up. “We must pick up the pace. We don’t have time to dawdle and play. The Oracle has had dreams again.”

She crossed her arms and pouted, settling against Mama’s side. She was just trying to have fun while they walked. And if they couldn’t have fun where they were going, Adaine should at least get to enjoy their walk. “What does that have to do with us?”

“Your job, Adaine.” Mama was starting to get huffy herself. Adaine’s shoulders tensed, but she was too grumpy to be bemused by her mother’s irritation. 

Adaine tilted her head with a confused look. “Is she sad from her dreams?”

Mama huffed again, picking up the pace towards a large building off in the distance. “I think she was earlier, but that doesn’t matter now. I need you to report on her dreams.

“Why?” 

Mama grit her teeth before responding. “Because it is your job, Adaine. And if you don’t do your job then we cannot be in good standing with the Elven Government. Do you understand?”

Adaine hugged her arms tightly. “No? My job is to keep her happy? So why do I have to report on her dreams?”

“Adaine, we do not have time for this.” Mama coldly carried her in her arms, a twinge of indigo magic at her fingertips. “I need you to quiet down and tell the people inside about the Oracle’s dreams.”

A shiver ran down Adaine’s back as she saw the familiar aura of magic. “Mama?”

“This is for everyone’s good, Adaine. Now, obey. ”

A wave overcame Adaine’s body and mind. Indigos and blues and oranges overtook her vision as magic swirled throughout her. Her body became limp and thoughts completely empty.

She was nothing.

“We have a match!”

Aelwyn jolted out of her trance. It had been several days since they had started their search, and her leads had long since turned cold based on what she could read in the archaic system. “Mother has a pact?”

“Yes!” Fig pulled up an old spreadsheet on the large monitor beside her laptop. “Medesi the Angered. Warlock patron for spiteful family members seeking revenge.”

“Wait, what?” Aelwyn ran a hand through her hair, unfocused. “How does that make sense? You would typically think that revenge would be for a family member who died, not against a family member.”

“I mean, you can look at it right here.” Fig zoomed in on the spreadsheet, reading as clear as day the pact her mother made but six weeks prior. “Says she's seeking revenge to bring back the Abernant family name. Seems kinda odd considering she married into her family name.”

“Not quite,” Aelwyn replied, an old memory toying at the back of her mind. “Mother and Father were married for nearly 300 years before they had us. I can’t even say I know who Mother’s family was. She abandoned them so long ago, I doubt she viewed herself as anything other than an Abernant.”

“At least she’s consistent if nothing else.” Fig dug further into the ancient seeming webpage associated with the name. Her eyes widened as she read on the page. “You need to cast Scrying right now on Adaine.”

Aelwyn was taken aback, hands instinctively reaching for her spell book. “What did you find? What’s wrong?”

“Your mom doesn’t have any protective spells active right now. Her last Nondetection was cast nine hours ago. We have a chance.”

Aelwyn’s hands shook as she took her focus from her bag. This was their best chance. They could find her again. 

They could bring her home.

For all the joy she had initially felt being with her Mama, Adaine could not feel anything other than fear. There were too many people about, and Mama was mean, and she couldn’t control anything it felt like. 

Instead of the warm glittering dust Mama had put on her before, now every eight hours her hair was combed with a brush shaped like a snake and drops of sweet smelling oil. Mama would say a few words and the haze would begin again. She couldn’t control what she was doing, she could only do what Mama asked of her. 

Mama took her and paraded her around various fancy looking people who would ask her questions about their lives. Mama made her answer, even when she wasn’t sure. Adaine didn’t understand. She was just supposed to help the Oracle, and yet people were treating her as if she were the Oracle Mama spoke of. It was all so confusing and upsetting. She was just tired and wanted to go home now.

“Mama,” she whined after a meeting with another elf in a fancy coat and top hat at his home in the forest. “I don’t feel good. My bones hurt.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Adaine. Your bones can’t hurt, and you aren’t hurt. So, carry along now.” Mama grabbed her hand tightly and began leading her off. “We have another meeting at the Capital to get to. We’ll cut through and be there only a few minutes late.”

Adaine felt rage pulse through her mind. “No! I want to go home!”  She tried to pull away from Mama. She didn’t want to be there anymore. “You can’t make me!”

“You insolent child!” Mama strengthened the grip on her hand. “It is your sins we are paying back! It is your fault that your father isn’t here and that we have to go through all these meetings and discussions to even get back a quarter of the life we had before you started galavanting with all those hellions in Solace! So you will quiet down and listen to my orders!”

The magic tried to take hold of her again, but Adaine could feel her own resistance. She was strong enough and could push through the navy blue aura filling her mind. “No!” 

A hand smacked her face, sharp and painful as it made contact.

Tears slipped from her eyes. Mama had hurt her. Why? All she wanted was to go home. More and more tears fell as the pain sunk in, what else could she-

“You will pay for hurting her!”

Off in the distance, balls of fire came towards them lighting the trees ablaze. A familiar voice had called out to her, followed by the calling of a spell: Faerie Fire and then a Lightning Bolt. 

Just like in her dream.

“Winnie! Fig!”

She moved to run in the direction of her sister’s magic when a sharp pain coursed through her body. The third spell from her dream. Power Word Pain. 

The pain in her bones exacerbated as if she were being stretched from end to end in her small body. She cried out looking for any comfort she could, only for them to fall on deaf ears. Before the pain overtook her, she heard one last call from her mother.

“I won’t let anything happen to you. Not so long as you listen and obey. You’ll always be my baby.”

And then everything was black.

“She's just a child!”

The rage that coursed through Aelwyn could only be rivaled by that of the grief she felt. Their mother, the mother who birthed them, the mother who was supposed to love them for their near immortal lives had struck her youngest daughter with a Power Word for the second time in her life. 

“How could you!”

Arianwen tapped her arcane focus against her wrist, preparing for another spell to be cast in their volley. “Children must learn their lessons. And one should never miss their opportunities, Aelwyn. I’m sure you know that quite well.”

Arcane lightning crackled in Aelwyn’s hand, the spell named for her sister charging and powering. “Oh, you certainly made sure I knew that.” She swung powerfully, only for Arianwen to dodge at the last second.

“And yet, you still missed, darling.” Actual lightning in tow crackled from her mother’s hand, luring her close with a strength Aewlyn could not challenge. Electricity scorched her body, pain radiating in the familiar path provided from her father’s near fatal lightning spell not even a year before. 

In the distance, she heard Fig’s guitar and the compliment that accompanied it. Aelwyn felt the power surge within herself again. She raised a fist and struck down.

“Not this time.”

Fig cradled Adaine as Arianwen let off her last piercing screech. She was still breathing, but the pain had been enough to knock her unconscious, even if the damage was not enough to kill. She watched as Aelwyn crawled over on hands and knees to be with the two of them again. 

“You did it,” Fig said simply, stroking hair from Aelwyn’s face.

“We did it,” Aelwyn replied, collapsing on the ground. 

As Adaine and Aelwyn lay exhausted in her lap, Fig produced a Mass Healing Word. It wasn’t the same as Kristen’s healing, but they hadn’t exactly prepared to go into battle. It was better than nothing. 

Suddenly, Adaine’s body shook violently. Was this an after effect of Arianwen’s spell? The last time this happened, there was no seeing the consequences. “Adaine, Adaine it’s okay,” Fig said, hurriedly holding up the young girl. “Breathe, rockstar. Breathe, please.”

“Fig, look. Look at her legs.”

Adaine’s body was growing right in front of her eyes, just as quickly as it had shrunk before. Her legs and arms stretched out, her face squinting as the rest of her body caught up. And before they knew it, Adaine was grown to her previous full size, clothing helplessly stretched. 

“Fig. Aelwyn.” She was breathless and vision darted everywhere around her. “Did you, did you get her?”

“Adaine.” The sisters didn’t even bother to answer her question, wrapping her into a proper hug. “You’re back. You’re really back.”

“I’m here. I don’t- I don’t remember everything,” Adaine confessed, teary-eyed and wrapped up in the moment. “But Mother, she- she cast her spell on me again didn’t she?”

Aelwyn nodded. “But she’ll never be able to hurt us, any of us ever again. I made sure of it.”

“She even used Adaine’s Furious Fist ,” Fig said, emotions overcoming her as well. “And I’ll make sure she rots with your dad. She deserves nothing less.” Adaine let out a sob into her sisters’ shoulders as Fig and Aelwyn held tight to her. “You never have to worry about her ever again.”

“Thank you,” Adaine said between tears.

“It was only fair,” Aelwyn said, relaxing her hug. “You took care of Father. Mother was mine to handle.”

They giggled at that, the serious moment having passed. “Can we go home to Dad now?”

“I would want nothing more.”

That evening, they would settle down. Fig would put on a silly movie; Aelwyn would make their tea; and Adaine would build a fort of blankets suitable for any teenager. Rather than adventurers who had saved themselves and their world, they were just three sisters spending an evening together. 

They wouldn’t have it any other way.