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The sky was a bright, clear blue; the afternoon sun was bright and cheerful as it shone on the children playing beneath it. On the outskirts of Lothering, out of sight from the town’s inhabitants, Daphne, Bethany, and Carver chased each other around. Harmless spells skipped between them. Sparks of light or summoning banks of snow to trip the others up came from Daphne and Bethany. Carver, meanwhile, was quick on his feet and better at dodging such spells than his sisters. It looked like typical play for a 7-year-old and two five-year-olds, though what they were playing was unclear. Maybe tag, but with no clear idea of who was “it”.
Shrieking laughs and giggles filled the air, a kind of careless joy only children could summon. It shattered when Bethany tripped over her own feet and landed face first in the dirt.
“Bethany!” Carver cried, rushing to his twin’s side with Daphne on his heels. Bethany pushed herself up, large brown eyes already full of tears. The skirt of her dress had come up above her knees, revealing where she had skinned one. She sniffed once, twice, and then began to cry. Carver panicked, looking between his sisters for guidance, but Daphne jumped into action.
“It’s alright Bethy, it’s just a little ouchie. You’re too strong for that to be a problem,” she said, plopping down next to Bethany. She waved Carver over, and he sat beside her, watching her with enormous eyes. Waving a hand through the air, Daphne gathered up the hem of her dress and covered it in frost. It melted, leaving the fabric wet, and she used it to clean the blood away from Bethany’s knee. “Besides, we have special sibling magic. We can heal it up no problem.”
“R-Really?” Bethany asked through her tears.
“Of course! Here, I’ll show you. Carver, kiss where she’s hurt,” Daphne said, letting her skirt fall back into place. Carver frowned a little as he looked at Daphne, but gave in and quickly kissed Bethany’s knee. “Now I’ll do it!”
Daphne leant down and pressed a quick kiss to Bethany’s knee, hoping this would work. Malcom had just taught her healing magic last week, and admittedly she wasn’t very good at it. If she could manage it, though, she should be able to fix Bethany’s minor scrape. She focussed, a lightness filling her, the rush of magic almost overwhelming. As she sat back up, Bethany’s knee was unblemished.
“Whoa…” the twins said in unison. Daphne smiled, wrapping her arms around the two and pulling them to her side. Both protested, trying to escape, but she laughed.
“See, so long as all three of us are together we’ll be safe and we won’t be hurt super badly.”
The sky was a muted grey; thick cloud cover obscured the sun. Any light that lit the siblings was faint, making the world look as dull as the sky. Daphne collapsed at Bethany’s side as their mother tried to make her wake up. She fumbled for one of her hands as Carver fell to his knees next to her. Everything sounded distant, as if nothing was real. Daphne shook Bethany, as if doing so would make her lifeless eyes regain their spark. Instead, Bethany’s head lolled. Blank eyes stared accusingly at Daphne.
“Bethy, wake up. Please,” Daphne begged, choking on a sob at the end.
Her baby sister remained limp, unmoving. Distantly, she heard Aveline give her condolences. That wasn’t right. Bethany would wake up. She was just messing with them. She wasn’t—
Daphne wasn’t supposed to outlive her baby sister.
Her mother said something about not letting ‘these things’ take Bethany. Daphne cupped her sister’s face, trying to will her to blink.
“She sacrificed herself for us,” Daphne whispered. In an instant, her mother rounded on her.
“I don’t want a hero. I want my daughter,” she cried, the first sound that wasn’t hazy. Daphne jolted back, Bethany’s hand slipping from hers. “How could you let her charge off like that? Why weren’t you protecting her?”
Daphne sat there in stunned silence, floundering for what to say. She barely registered Wesley offering to give Bethany her last rites, the words falling past her like water from her hands. The others got up and moved away, Carver being the only one lingering at Daphne’s side.
“There was nothing you could have done, we were too far away from her,” he said softly.
“I should have done something,” Daphne said, wiping at her eyes. She leant down, closing Bethany’s eyes and pressing a kiss to her forehead. She spoke under her breath. “Rest, Bethy. I’ll keep them safe, I promise.”
Daphne rose to her feet, unsteady. Flames sparked at her fingertips. In an instant, Bethany’s body went up in flames. All was silent aside from the crackling of the fire. Daphne wiped her face again before waving for Carver to follow, starting after their mother, Aveline, and Wesley.
“Let’s go, we don’t want to get left behind,” she said.