I woke up with a scream, breathing heavily, sweat covering every inch of my body. Trembling, I tried to calm myself down, "1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3..." I counted, trying to steady my breathing, though having little success. Thoughts swam around my head... dark, horrible, twisted thoughts, surrounding me and closing in on me, drowning me in a sea of my own deepest fears.
My breath hitched in my throat, I was starting to have a panic attack. I heard a soft knock at the door, "M-Mistress?" called a soft voice from behind the door. I knew who it was, but I couldn't answer, my throat was starting to burn and itch. I stumbled out of bed, struggling to breathe, and used my magic to weakly throw the door open just as I dropped to the floor, my vision going black.
* * * * *
I awoke about half an hour later, my eyes were still closed, but I could tell that I wasn't on the floor any more, no... I was warm, I felt... safe. I slowly opened my eyes, stirring a bit as I woke up a little more with each passing second. I felt arms around me, I looked up, "W-Will?" I mumbled, straining my eyes to look at the figure next to me. Granted, my vision was blurry, but I could still make out who it was. "Will, I-I-"
"Shhhh, Mistress, I know, it's okay."
"It's the night terrors again." I said quietly, closing my eyes again and feeling embarrassed.
Will gently pulled my chin up to make me look at him, "It's nothing to feel bad about Mistress, it's normal. It tells me that you have a strong imagination." He said, with a small smile, trying to cheer me up.
"Thanks... but I thought I was over them, but... I guess they never really left. I hate them, I don't want them anymore. They... they frighten me." I admitted, feeling even more embarrassed.
"I know Mistress, it's okay, I remember you used to have them as a child, all that time ago. Dreams can be scary sometimes, yours certainly are, and no, that doesn't make you weak, not at all."
"How do you...?"
He tapped his forehead with a knowing smile, "Dream-"
"Demon." I finished for him, cuddling up to him. He didn't try to move away, but instead ran a warm hand through my soft brown hair, letting me curl up on his lap, and settle down. "Brother and sister dear would laugh at me..." I whispered, knowing that he would be able to hear me.
"Uhh... No Mistress... they wouldn't. And even if they did, they wouldn't mean it, they love you very much."
I sighed, "I know, I know, it's just... here I am, crying like a baby, like a child, even. I feel so pathetic. Why can't I just be like them? They're so strong, and brave and... special."
"Hey, hey, you are special." He soothed, "A-and crying is fine, Miss. Everyone does it, it's just our bodies' natural reaction to dealing with things we find tough, or hard, or unfair."
I nodded, sighing again, and laying my head on his chest, the steady rhythmic tick-tock of his heartbeat lulling me to sleep. "You are like them Mistress, you're very much like them. You're alike in so many ways that I couldn't even begin to list them, well... except that you're not as cruel as they are to me. But you're also unique, you are your own person after all. Take Mason, for example, would kill you in a heartbeat, but he can be passive and kind once you get to know him, or well... once he gets to know you, he'll never let you close to him until he decides you can. When we're alone, or not around too many people, he's not so bad to me, and... he proves that he's not just a cold-hearted psycho."
"And... take Mabel," He continued, "Possessive and demanding on the outside, but sweet and funny on the inside. She takes more pity on me than Mason does, but it doesn't mean she punishes me any less, in fact, I think she may be the harsher twin in some circumstances, but still, it's not her fault, I love her just the same. In a... friendly-don't-kill-me way." He said with a small chuckle. "Just as Mason is, she's nicer to me when we're alone, and not around other people. So, Mistress, you're not so different from them either, you... are, err... perfect on the inside too." He finished, his voice hinting at a sense of pride for his word choice at the end there.
He continued stroking my hair, I was still crying, but not as much. I simply nodded again, "But they... they... their magic is so powerful, and look at mine, I can barely control my elemental, the only thing I can get perfect is just a stupid little flame." I blurted out. A blue flame lit in my palm, proving what I just said. It danced around in my hand, it's dazzling reflection lighting up my eyes, and the room, in a light shade of ocean-blue. Will hovered his hand over the flame, and it dwindled out, to nothing. I sighed, letting my hand drop silently onto his lap again.
"You know, no-one starts out perfect-"
"You did."
"Yes Miss, but I... I'm not... I'm not exactly..."
"Human?"
"Mhm." He hummed, nodding. "But as I was saying Miss, magic isn't just something you can... "have". You have to discover what you can and what you can't do, everyone is different. Some can do one thing, others can't. It's like a lottery, except you can't just throw away the ticket afterwards, what you get is what you get. I mean, sure, you could just buy another one, but the one you had first will always be your best shot, because it's the one you felt strongest about choosing. Your magic grows with you, not always because of you. The only thing you can do is try, just try, and maybe, hey, you know what? Maybe you'll discover something you couldn't do before. Having magic in the first place is a gift, no-one else in the world apart from you has it, well... only a few others, but it still makes you a one-of-a-kind. Always. And you always were, and you always will be Miss. I promise. It's like how you..." His voice trailed off, and his eyes widened, and his brain took him back to what I had said a few minutes ago. "Wait, did you say elemental?!"
I sat up, sleepily rubbing my eyes, "Yes, what's wrong?" I asked, mumbling the words as I couldn't force my mind to process more than a few words at a time.
"Uhh... Mistress, you, err, you, err..." He trailed off again. "That's why..." He whispered to himself.
"That's why what? What are you talking about?" I was curious, and I wanted to know. "Did I do something wrong?" I asked fearfully, making myself smaller against him.
"Oh! No, Mistress, no! Of course not! I just-... I just... I think I may know something now."
"Know what? What is it, Will?"
"I think I may know why you're feeling so terrible Miss..."
I nodded, "Go on..."
"A child your age shouldn't have been exposed to elementals yet, they're... dangerous."
"Whatever it is you're trying to say, just say it. My brain is whirring slower than a fucking snail right now, I can't understand." I said sarcastically, laughing to myself.
He looked worried, "Please Miss, you shouldn't have elementals yet."
"Oh yeah? Why not?" I said, a little more sternly now.
"Oh I er... Please forgive me Mistress, I meant no offense, it's just that... no-one younger than 17 has ever gotten an elemental before, no-one to date anyway. Not before now. You're the only one."
I gasped, "B-but surely you're just talking about us, right? You have elementals, your brothers do, loads of people have it. Surely just because I'm a bit younger, doesn't mean it's weird, right? Right?" I asked. I panicked, I was starting to get nervous.
He looked into my eyes, staring into my very soul. "M-Mistress, wh-when I said no-one, I meant no-one. Demons included."
"B-But- but, what do you mean? Look at you! You're- you're not even human! Maybe this is normal for us! And look, when I saw your brother last, he- he said he got all his elementals when he was well-past three billion!"
"Mistress, that's... 17 in human years... We count it differently..."
"What does it mean?! Why does that make me different?!" I shouted.
"Because elemental magic could change your whole life... I didn't... I didn't think anyone that young would be... an element. It just seems so... unfair."
"Why unfair?" I asked, calming down.
"Because Mistress, you... you're only 15, you're not... developed enough. Does your mother know?"
I nodded, "But she can't do much to help me. She has a reputation she needs to hold up, she couldn't look after me anymore, but she loves me more than anything."
"Does he know?"
"Yeah, but... he didn't seem worried about it."
'He'll be talking to me soon, I expect...' Will thought to himself. 'I'd better not stress her out about it though...'
"But don't worry about it Mistress, it's really not that bad and I... I was overreacting. Here, you should just try to get some sleep."
I nodded, only too eager to get away from the subject, and too tired to want to care anymore. I snuggled up to him again, and sighed, closing my eyes. I welcomed sleep, hoping it would come soon.
* * * * *
"Will?" I mumbled, rubbing my eyes. I looked over at the lilac clock beside my bed, and yawned, '2:18' was the time on the clock. "William?" I called softly. I looked up, he was half-asleep, I could tell by how relaxed, and slow, his breathing was. "Wiill..." I whined, gently nudging him.
He slowly opened his eyes, "Y-yes Mistress?"
"I can't sleep, I keep waking up." I said, turning over in the bed, so that I was now facing him.
"Okay..." He whispered. He tilted my chin up, so that I was looking directly at him. His eyes glowed blue, and he clicked his fingers, "Sleep Mary."
I felt my whole body go limp, and my eyes close. 'Thanks Will...' I thought to myself, hoping he would hear it, right before I felt myself fade away into unconsciousness...
* * * * *
I rolled over in bed again, groaning as I lifted my head up, and squinted my eyes to looks at the clock: 'five-past seven'.
I let my head drop back onto the bed for a moment. 'Will's gone.' I thought to myself. 'Must be making breakfast.' I sighed, and forced myself to get up. I lazily brought my feet to the floor, gasping and withdrawing them as soon as soon as I felt the cold marble wooden planks beneath me. "I'm asking Ford for a carpet." I told myself. Shivering, I walked over to the radiator and turned it up, placing my hands just above the top to warm them up. 'Feels like winter...'
I shuffled over to my wardrobe and picked out a clean outfit. It was a magenta mid-sleeve top, with a 'swishy' plum-purple skirt. It was formal, whilst still being casual enough. I carefully pulled them of their hangers, and then... threw them straight onto my bed. I wasn't going to go out till later today, so I didn't really need to look perfect, I could just wear what was comfortable. I scanned my eyes across the rack of clothes again, "Uhhh, those will do." I said to myself. There was an oversized black hoodie, with dying roses stitched onto the front. I loved it. And I also had a white skirt, and a pair of bright yellow, fur-lined crocs to go with it. What? I wasn't going to go out in them, I was just wearing to err... keep my feet warm. Yes, that's it, to keep my feet warm.
I quickly changed into them, and put my pyjamas into the wash basket for Will to wash later. I grabbed the door handle, fixing my headband onto my head as I did, and slowly walked out of the room. As soon as I did, a mouthwatering smell hit me. I knew what it was. I dashed downstairs and into the kitchen, practically tripping over into my seat. I saw Mason and Mabel at the table already.
Neither of them looked up, but I heard them snicker. "Someone's back into the 00's." Mason whispered to Mabel. She giggled and tried to hide her smile. I was confused, what was so funny?
"What's so funny?" I asked slowly, not sure if I wanted to hear the answer.
"Oh, nothing." Mason replied, trying to suppress a smirk.
"Don't give me that bull, just tell me what you're laughing at." I snapped back.
"Woah, woah, someone got out of the wrong side of bed." He teased, leaning back in his chair. "If it makes you happy, then we were just wondering why you were wearing... those." He said with a grin, pointing at my yellow crocs.
"No reason, they're just warm, okay? What, is there something wrong with that?"
"No, no, not at all, not at all." He said, nonchalantly waving me off with his hand. They both went back to idly looking around the room, occasionally making eye contact with the other. My stomach growled, "Ugh! What's taking so long?" I muttered to myself. It was ten-past seven, and I wanted my breakfast, I wanted it now. "WILLIAM, WHAT THE FUCK IS TAKING YOU SO LONG?!" I screamed. I heard a clattering sound coming from the kitchen, and a cry of pain. I smiled to myself, 'That'll teach him.' I thought with a smirk.
A couple of seconds later, I saw Will rush into the room, holding three plates. He set them down in front of us. "Good! Now what the hell was taking you so long?" I demanded, grabbing him by his collar, until his nose was practically pressed against mine.
"I- I- Uhh... w-we r-ran out of m-milk, s-so I-I h-had to g-g-o get s-some."
I tightened my fist around his collar, ever so slightly choking him. "I said, what took you so long?"
He was confused, but he still stuttered out his answer, "I- uhh, h-had to g-get the m-mi-"
"WELL NEXT TIME DON'T TAKE SO LONG, GET IT FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE, OKAY?!"
He nodded quickly, "Ah! Y-yes M-Mistress. B-But wh-where f-from, M-Miss?"
"I DON'T KNOW, A FUCKING COW! OR JUST ORDER THE FUCKING BASTARD! IT'LL ARRIVE FASTER THAN YOUR SORRY ASS CAN TO THE STORE! NOW PISS OFF!" I pushed him back from me, making him slam into the wall behind. I heard him hit the wall with a sickening crack, and heard him cry out in pain. I took no notice of him though, and delved into the plate of pancakes Will had made for me. They tasted fucking fantastic. I hungrily wolfed down the entire stack, and smiled. "Thanks Will!" I called over my shoulder, not even bothering to check if he was okay. He would be fine though, seeing as he was a demon. He was also used to this by now. I had a split personality worse than my brother sometimes.
I got up, and stood behind Mason and Mabel. I placed my hands on the backs of their chairs, leaning over to talk to them. "So... what we doin' today, fellas?" I asked with a smirk.
"Firstly, don't ever say that again, and secondly, not much, sister dear. But, we are going somewhere nice at around 5 o'clock, if you'd like to come?" Mason offered, looking up at me with a small, but smug, smile.
"Sure, why not?" I replied, grinning. "I guess I could go explore the town, see some old friends and whatnot."
"Yes, well I suppose you could, but-" He grabbed my hair, and yanked my head down towards him. "But Mary, Don't go past the arcade, and don't try to sneak into places where you don't belong, like that filthy Shack. We're not a charity, and neither will we ever be, so I don't want to see you hanging around there, are we clear?"
"Y-Yeah yeah, wh-whatever." I stuttered out, still being in a very uncomfortable position.
"Good." He said calmly, letting me go as if nothing happened. I rolled my eyes, rubbing my head a little, and walked out the kitchen door. "Don't be late." I heard him call out after me, not even looking at me whilst he said it.
"I won't." I shouted back. I walked up the forever-winding staircase, and found my room again. I quickly pulled my other set of clothes on. "And to think I wasn't going to have to go out again 'till later, my my, my..." I joked to myself. I grabbed a pair of long, shiny black heels, and shoved them on my feet. I walked back out of my room, taking only my phone with me. And don't laugh at me, yes, I had a flip phone, what's so bad about that? And yes it was a Nokia brick, as people have dubbed it. Now leave me alone, who are you to judge me anyway?
I walked back downstairs, and out the front door, letting it click shut behind me. I sighed, and started to walk off in the general direction of the town, having to go through the forest to get there. Thankfully, I had a map of the town ingrained in my brain from all my previous visits here. Plus, this was already like a second home to me. I walked straight to the arcade, and found my favourite game. I was secretly a bit of a geek, as is Mason. I ran straight over to Alex Kidd, my eyes lighting up as I saw the screen whir to life as soon as I stood in front of it.
I got straight into the game, until a couple minutes later, I noticed someone staring at me. "What do you want?" I said in a low voice, not taking my eyes off of the screen. Whoever it was suddenly jerked their head towards the floor.
"U-uhhh, nothing. Sorry, I was just thinking about something." They started to shuffle away.
"No, stay." I said, sounding a bit bored. My eyes glowed red, and the person couldn't move away anymore. I continued the game for another minute, until my little character floated away after being hit. I gave a little laugh, and then turned around to look at who was there.
"Ah, Stitches, it's you." I said, with a smirk.
"P-Please don't call me that, you kn-know what my name is."
"I know Robbie, but I'm calling you Stitches because I can, is there anything else you'd like to say on the matter?" I felt my eyes flash a mix of red and blue, warning him that my powers had only gotten stronger since I had last seen him, and that it probably wasn't a good idea to mess me with right now.
"Uhh, no!" He said, vigorously shaking his head.
"Good, now let's go 'catch up'." I suggested. Well... it was more of an order than a suggestion really. I released my magic's grip on him, already striding off in my heels. He ran after me, and I led him outside, over to a nearby table. I sat down with him on the opposite side of me. He looked down, fidgeting a bit with his fingers. "So... you're back again." He said, breaking the silence after a while.
"Yes, and this time, it's permanent. I told you last time, you remember?"
He nodded.
"So, you still with that girl of yours, Red?"
"Red? Huh?"
"Wendy, you idiot."
"Oh, well then yes."
"Wow, I thought you'd broken up with her already. After the... incident~" I teased, whilst playing with my nails. I heard him gasp, and I looked up at him. "Ooh, someone's not told her about that, have we?"
He looked up again, "N-no I h-have, it's just that... I p-prefer not to talk about it." He said quickly. "Not to cold-hearted bitches anyway." I heard him mutter to himself.
"What did you say?" I looked him directly in the eyes, making him uncomfortable.
"N-nothing!" He backed away from me a bit, sitting on the edge of his seat.
"Hmm, that's funny, because I could've sworn I heard something. Like an annoying whining noise." I edged closer to him. "You know, the one that just makes me want to hit something." I said, loudly banging the table with my fist, and making him jump. I smirked, seeing his reaction.
He edged out of his seat a little, and started to stand up, "Well, uhh, nice to see you again, but I've, err, got to- err... go somewhere now, bye!" He said quickly, before running off as far away from me as he could.
"Aww, and I only just got to say hello!" I said jokingly to myself. I sighed, and got up, walking off in the direction of... well... nowhere in particular really. I started daydreaming about random things as I walked.
* * * * *
I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my head,and I fell to the floor with a cry of agony. I looked up, and saw that I was at the very edge of the town, near the barrier. I had no idea how I'd walked that far in so little time. I squinted at my watch, still in pain. I nearly fainted, '10:32' it read. How had I been out there so long...? I stumbled, trying to stand up, and had to hold onto a nearby tree to steady myself. I felt my hand pulsing, where Mason had inserted that chip thing. I suddenly remembered, he told me not to go any further. I heard my phone buzz, and I shakily held it up to my ear, after clicking the green 'answer' button. "What?" I said weakly into the phone.
"I told you not to go further than the arcade." Replied the tinny voice.
"Can't. Speak. Right. Now. What. Did. You. Do. To. Me?"
The voice sounded a little surprised, "Me? I did nothing dear sister. What's wrong? Are you alright?"
"I-" I dropped my phone, cut off by myself, as I felt my legs give out after me, and I passed out out onto the ground, feeling my vision fade to black and everything come to a standstill around me.
"Sister? Sister?! MARY?!"...