Rory pulled the sleek black cloak over her head, trying to disguise herself from the coven as she passed them. Eliphas was hesitant to let her borrow his dramatic cape but refused to be the one to go down to the village. Her job was to see who was in immediate danger. Her other task was to get a scope of the terrain, find a few hiding spots, and see how many witches were there. The village had an eerie silence, sending a trail of sharp shivers down her spine. She arched her back uncomfortably, feeling as if she had a million pairs of eyes on her. Tugging the cloak's hood over her face further, she nearly tripped over the cobblestone.
Her hand gingerly grazed over the walls of the houses in the village. If it weren't for the exotic appearance of the people, it would appear to have no magic at all. There was a dull feeling of dread lingering in the cold air. The buildings had a worn-out tan color, with rough walls and stone roofs. The people around her continued their labor while the coven seemed to watch.
It was reasonably easy to identify the members of the coven. Aside from their alarmingly evident egos, their outfits made them stick out. They wore sturdy black outfits, the shoulders scooping upwards. Chains draped across the front of their tops, connected by silver circles on each side. A few of them had more chains than others; those ones in specific appeared to have even more of an arrogance. The people of the village wore plain outfits, looking torn and dirty.
Rory attempted to avoid eye contact with anyone as she tried to get a headcount of the coven and the villagers. She couldn't help but feel nervous when she spotted a few warlocks looking in her direction and whispering. She didn't notice her hands began to glow with her star energy, but when she did, she quickly shoved her hands in her pockets. Trying to get out of the view of the coven, she rounded a corner without looking, still staring at the group of warlocks. Just as she got out of eyesight from the coven, she was pressed against a wall. Gasping, she felt metal surround her neck and wrists, pressing her against a wall. She struggled against her restraints, glaring at her captor.
A brown-skinned girl with shiny silver hair stared at her. Small, steel-blue eyes narrowed to slits as she scanned Rory's body. Her skin looked smooth despite a few jagged scars littering her arms. She had her hand out in front of her face, her fingers curved and moving slightly, the metal moving with it. Her silver bob cupped her face elegantly, a stark contrast to the dirt on her face and clothes. She squeezed her fingers together slightly, and the metal tightened its grip on Rory.
"Ah! Let me go!" Rory said with a grunt, trembling slightly under the girl's cold gaze. Giving her a crooked grin, the girl raised her other hand. Metal shards flew from the girl's pocket and surround Rory, threatening to pierce her skin.
"Who are you?" the girl questioned roughly, her voice raspy slightly. When Rory refused to answer, she tightened her fingers to a fist, the metal squeezing her neck and wrists. She waved the shards closer to her face.
"Rory!" she yelped out, eyes tightened shut in pain. "My name is Rory!"
Suddenly, the metallic girl was thrown backward by a stream of ice. She fell to the ground several feet away, losing her focus, which caused the metal to fall off of her. Malakai showed up behind Eira and used two shields to hold down the girl's hands. Grunting out, she tried to pull herself out from under her shackles.
"Now, before we kill you, who are you?" Eira asked as she crossed her arms over her chest. She had ice swirl around the girl's head warningly. "And why would you attack her?"
"Well, I'm sorry if I'm not too welcoming to strangers, my village made that mistake once," she pointed out with a glare. Rory turned as she heard the others show up behind her, slightly surprised they all stayed with her to help the village.
"Who are you?" Eira repeated with a shout. The girl's eyes bulged at the volume of her question, clenching her jaw tightly.
"Would you keep your voice down?" she hissed, eyes wide with worry. Glancing around, she hoped they hadn't drawn too much attention. A warlock glanced in their direction, seeing them use their powers. He started walking towards them quickly with a furious expression. "Too late."
Seeing a warlock making their way towards them, Eira stuck her hands out. Ice spurt away from her hands and freezes the man's feet. "No! Stop it!" the girl shouted in horror, trying to break free of the shields. Malakai was thrown off by her reaction, freeing her. Eira began to freeze the man in his place, the ice locking his legs in place.
As the warlock began to mutter a spell, Maximus swooped in and punched him in the face, knocking him out. He fell to the ground awkwardly, his legs still stuck to the ground. "Oh... Zark! Now you've done it..."
"Done what? We just saved you from one of the warlocks!" Aidan exclaimed in confusion.
"You didn't save me at all! You've doomed us all," she said as she stood up. "They're gonna find him sooner or later, you're lucky I'm feeling nice. Come with me."
"This is her feeling nice?" Aidan commented incredulously. The girl ignored his comment as she began to run away. The others frantically followed her, weaving in and out of alleyways. They could hear the coven shouting to find whoever did this as they ran away.
They scrambled to follow the quick stranger, a few of them wondering why they were trusting her at all. Rory could faintly hear Eliphas complaining about how they were going to get themselves killed for following a stranger. They eventually reached a small house, all piling in. Closing the door behind them, the girl slammed her hands down, metal covering the windows and the door being blocked as well. They found themselves in a small kitchen, surrounded by dirty pots and plates; the table appeared to had just been eaten at.
"They shouldn't be able to trace us back here."
"What the bloody Maloid was that?" Maximus grunted out, pinning her against the wall with superior strength. She gazed at him with hatred in her eyes.
"I just saved your life," she told him, maneuvering her hand slightly to have some steel cut the side of his cheek swiftly. He grunted, letting her out of his grasp. He turned his head dangerously back to her, the cut healing up quickly. This was new to Rory, she hadn't realized he had superior healing as well as strength. "My name is Saffire."
"What was that about?" Eira asked her, still catching her breath from running away so fast.
"It's funny, you know? You guys call us 'quod perierat', defending your lack of help with some fancy words. But you don't even know what happens here," Saffire shot at them, her anger towards them all evident, "the coven controls everything we do. From the moment they usurped us, they decided whether we were worthy or not."
"What does that even mean?" Rory asked her, shaking her head.
"Those with powers they considered to be 'unique' got the special treatment... at first anyway. They were treated with all the fine foods and clothing, treated like royalty. But I knew something was off, so I hid my powers. As you know, not everyone is born with explicit powers, sometimes they develop... sometimes you never find them at all. I told them I didn't have any powers, luckily my sister hadn't discovered her powers yet, so she was safe too. My parents weren't smart about it. They wanted our family to flourish. Eventually, the coven revealed their true intentions. They wanted an army of unique abilities. They took people with powers and ripped them away from their homes, taking them to train them into weapons," Saffire told them, gulping thickly as her eyes cast downward. "My parents refused; they didn't want to leave us. In retaliation, the coven killed my parents. It's just my sister and me now. We hide our powers, because if they know, then we'll be taken and used in a war we don't want to fight."
"Why are you telling us all of this?" Rory asked her gently, feeling sympathy for the girl.
"Because she wants our protection," Eliphas commented knowingly. The girl glanced at him, seeming to recognize him slightly.
"A warlock, eh? You just a stray?" she snapped, a glare evident on her face.
"More or less," he retorted with a smirk, tilting his head dangerously.
"Actually, I think I recognize you. How's Metus these days? Still at his beck and call?" Saffire questioned, causing Rory to frown at the name. Her frown deepened as everyone in the room flinched.
"Do not say that name! I left that man as soon as I had the chance. Do not speak his name in my presence, or you will regret it," Eliphas spat as he began to charge towards her. She wiggled some metal around herself with a smug grin.
"Well, sadly, not all of us can escape his grasp. Some of us don't have the choice to leave," she reminded him.
"Who is that? Who's Metus?" Rory asked, and Eira gave her a sharp look, clearly telling her to let it go for now.
"Can we get back on track, please? Why are you helping us?" Channing asked her, speaking up for the first time in a bit. Although she was surprised by the quick change in conversation, she didn't push on the subject.
"Because when I was wandering around earlier for spare metal, I heard some squabbling on whether or not you wanted to help my village. Then I saw this girl's hands glow, that girl shoot out ice, and that guy hold me down with glowing green shields. That's when I knew you weren't from here, and that's when I decided you were gonna help us," Saffire told them sternly. "You're the first people to even question helping us, I'm not letting that go."
"We don't know how to help, we're not exactly an army," Aidan told her with a sigh.
"Neither are they. There are only about twenty people from the coven here, the only reason they still have control over our village has been fear. They don't have their little army of powered people here, it's just a small village they don't think we'll ever fight back. In their minds, they have nothing to worry about. No one has stood up to them and lived," Saffire gushed out quickly, clearly desperate. She flicked her finger and a strapple of metal flew towards Maximus. He didn't flinch as it traced the fancy 'L' on his armor. Channing growled slightly, inferring this as a threat to his boyfriend.
She ignored the wolf, pulling her finger back, the metal flying back to her palm. "But, now that the royal family of Fantamia is here, I'm sure people could be inspired to fight back. There are plenty of other people just like me hiding their powers-"
"Saf?" a voice called out. Rory's head darted in the direction of the familiar voice, her eyes wide. A short girl walked into the room, her straight brown hair falling just above her shoulders. Rory gasped, stumbling backward slightly into Malakai, who stared at her strangely. Her breathing stuttered in shock before a grin covered her face.
"This is my sister-" Saffire began before she was interrupted.
"Luna," Rory finished in shock, her eyes brimming with tears from seeing her sister. She never thought she would ever see her sister again; happiness surged through her knowing that her sister hadn't died in the car accident back on Earth.
"How do you know my name?" the girl asked her slowly with suspicion, glancing at Saffire nervously. Rory immediately froze, not understanding how her sister didn't recognize her.
"I-" Rory choked slightly, swallowing a lump in her throat, "I... it's me, Luna. Rory, your sister."
"No, that's my sister," Luna pointed to Saffire, who waved awkwardly, "I don't know you; we've never met."
How does her sister not recognize her? Maximus pondered to himself before slowly coming to a theory. Just as her hands begin to glow, he saw the room begin to shake.
"All right, we need a minute. Do you have a spare room we can talk to her in?" Maximus asked the two girls who nodded and pointed him in the direction of a room. He and Aidan quickly guided her in there, the shaking following them.
"I- I don't understand, she's... she's my sister! Why doesn't she know who I am?" Rory hyperventilated as tears in her eyes formed from desperation and heartbreak.
"I have a theory for that, but why don't you just take some deep breaths first," Maximus suggested calmly, gently stroking her back as he sat her down.
"I c- can't," Rory struggled, hot tears streaming down her face. She was only getting more worked up by the second, and they both knew if they didn't calm her down soon, then her powers would get out of hand.
"Look at me, yeah?" Aidan told her, crouching in front of her face. He smoothed the strings of hair from her face, he took her hand gently and placed it on his chest. "Try to copy me, okay? Focus on my heartbeat."
He sucked in a deep breath, keeping his eyes locked with hers. Her breathing stuttered slightly as she attempted to copy him. Maximus rubbed her back for the next couple of minutes as they helped her calm down. Tears still streamed down her cheeks, but her breathing had slowed significantly. The shaking in the room had diminished, as well.
"I'm sorry... it's- it's just a lot. I thought my sister was dead. Then, when I see her again, she has no idea who I am," Rory spat out bitterly, closing her eyes.
"You know how there are two versions of you and Aurora?" Maximus reminded her, causing her to nod silently. "I think that there's a version of everyone in each universe, another copy of that person. They may not lead the same life or have the same family, but it's still them."
"So, that's my sister, but she has no idea? And technically, on Thera, we aren't related at all?" Rory clarified slowly, her eyes stinging slightly. "Well, that's just wonderful-"
"Rory-" Aidan started, but Rory didn't let him finish.
"No! Aidan, don't even try! You weren't taken from your home and forced into a new one! You didn't lose your life... your family still remembers you!" she shouted before her hands began to grab her hair desperately, the room trembling slightly. "God, I have no family left."
"Hey! Hey, listen to me," Maximus shouted at her forcefully, grabbing her hands and forcing her to look at him. "You're not alone. D'you hear me? You're not alone! We're your family now. Aidan and I, we're your family now. Blood or not, you are a Lucina. You- are- our- sister."
She stared at him with a blank stare, soaking in his words carefully. She had felt so alone ever since she got here. Despite their kindness towards her, she felt lost. But now, she had a family- Aidan and Maximus. She might not be related to them biologically, but they were her family. They were her brothers.