Chapter Two: Power
When she awoke the pulsating pains were gone, but her stomach was blackened with bruises. She slowly sat up, supporting herself on her elbows as she attempted to focus her view. She expected the spices to be gone and her heirloom necklace stolen, and yet, the sack had not moved. She turned around to a startling sight. The man who had scourged her earlier was still standing over her, with a blank expression across his face. Even as Serenity scampered away from him, he did not move from his stance. She saw this bizarre display as a trap to bring down her guard she backed up against the wall and shouted "Back off!". He complied without hesitation and took pronounced backward strides until he was almost out of the alley. These actions made him even more startling then before, his docility was unnerving. She wondered why he was doing what she told him to, was he afraid of her? "Now hit the sand!" the man took the order literally and instead of running, knelt down and began bashing the ground with fervor. She took this opportunity to grab the spices and run, stepping on his back as she passed.
Night had almost fallen, and dinner rush at the tavern had likely begun already, so she took the back entrance directly to the kitchen, where the chef was waiting for her with the reddest face she'd ever seen. "I'm sorry" she said "I got the spices". The chef flared his nostrils and stomped up to her and snatched the sack from her arms. "Who do you take me for? You have been gone for hours, and what, to get your hair dyed? We've lost customers because of you!" The chef grabbed her by the forearm and yanked her into the larder. "Do you think you can ruin this places reputation for good food and get away with it!?" He reached to a shelf beside him and brandished his rolling pin like a street thug. "I want you to know, girl, that this will hurt you more than it will hurt me!" the brutish man advanced, laughing manically like he was playing out a cruel joke rather than a punishment. He swung overhead. Serenity dodged to the side and tried to squeeze past him, but before she could make a run for it, the chef clutched the back of her shirt and threw her to the ground. She had the wind knocked out of her and could only barely see the chef standing over her through teary eyes. "Now you get double bashings!". Helpless she covered her face and shouted "NO!" It was as before. The man stood blankly, as if awaiting instruction. She was too startled to say almost anything, only managing to croak out "Move." The chef slowly backed out of the larder and leant up against a hot oven. His breathing changed and his eyes started to water but his body refused to move without command. She almost told him to get away from it, but her pain and anger told her he needed to suffer. She ran past him to retreat upstairs to her family.
Her parents were still waiting tables and clearing dishes for the dinner rush like they did every night, but greeted her with a look of shock and only stared at her hair when she started recounting the events of the day. "...and there was this tall, tall man, and he sold me these snowflake candies, but i had to eat 'em all real quick, and then-" her speech was cut off by the sound of many plates smashing, and before the pieces could even settle, Remedy had scooped up Serenity and started dashing down the stairs, with Clarity following closely behind. They had gotten halfway down the street before Serenity had a chance to ask "Where are we going? Why are we running?" Remedy abruptly replied with a tone she had never thought her father would use. "We're going to Shade, to get those out of you" Serenity had countless questions, and as if she sensed it, her mother explained "What you ate were dust drops, magical candies used to boost hunters and huntresses, but they are dangerous, and its a miracle that you are still walking, let alone alive after swallowing them all." Serenity was confused. "Why are we going to Shade?" "Because they're the only real power here dear, and they have more doctors and more experience with dust use than anywhere else in the kingdom." Remedy followed up "So they could have an idea of what happened to you and your hair, and how to fix it." Fix. Was she broken? She started to worry about what these changes would mean, about how her parents would be punished for breaking the dishes, and how what happened to the chef would appear. All this worry, paired with the uneven thumping stride of her father carrying her made her feel queasy. Before she could complain about it, the exhaustion took her and she fell asleep in her dads arms.
When she woke, a woman in a white coat with a green turtleneck sweater and big green eyes was holding a light to her face, and she had been stripped down to her undergarments. She started to panic, but her parents rushed up from behind the doctor. Clarity spoke first, tears in her eyes, her tone awash with relief. "Oh thank the maidens, we thought be lost you." The doctor stepped in "It's really quite remarkable what's happened to you young lady, your hair has retained residual dust from the drops, and i believe it will stay this symphony of colours for quite some time, if not permanently. When coupled with the adrenaline you were producing at the time of consumption, the dust also seems to have increased muscle density and elasticity simultaneously, and through some science-y bio mumbo-jumbo I'm not gonna bother you with, it has incorporated into your body's natural hormone production. In other words, when your body is placed under stress, it will actually start making dust that alleviates pain and increases your physical capability. Have you ever considered becoming a huntress? It might be a good idea." "Hold it right there!" Remedy stood between the doctor and Serenity. "My daughter is still far too young to even be thinking about risking her life out there." The doctor looked unphased by Remedy's tone. Serenity spoke up "How do you know all of this? About what is happening to me?" The woman looked back at her and smiled "Because i can see it, i can even see your heart beating" This baffled the entire family. "What do you mean?" Clarity asked. "It is my semblance. I am able to see the inner workings of peoples bodies. With my studies and understanding, I could 'see' the fear being produced by your brains. That leads me to ask, did you notice anything strange? Did anything happen to you that seemed even more out of the ordinary?" "...No" Serenity mumbled "Not to me at least, when i woke up, the man chasing me did whatever i told him to do, the chef did as well" "Astounding, may i ask you some questions?" Serenity nodded. She proceeded to ask things like 'How did it feel?' and 'Was it difficult?' Serenity answered as best she could, though her memory of the situations was foggy.
The doctor was frantically taking notes. This made Remedy uncomfortable. "Doctor, if you are unable to fix this then we shall take our leave. I have already expressed that I do not want my daughter to risk her life in huntress training." The woman sharply moved her eyes from her notes to him. "If i may Mr. Bliss, but she has already risked her life out there. There is already rumor spreading of a rainbow haired thief who destroyed a few market stalls by shoving customers into them, while being chased by an armed merchant." Serenity drooped. She hadn't been able to tell them that much, and they stared at her, with eyes that threatened to shrink Serenity away into her guilt. "What did you do?" "I had to, dad. I had to steal the spices. The money was all gone." The doctor saw the activity in Remedy's brain and stepped in. "You don't have to worry, they aren't going to come after her. As soon as the news got to the school, I had the merchants reassured and reimbursed." "But why?" Serenity asked. "Because I knew what was happening to you. Your semblance was forced to activate before your time, and you will need help to get it under control" The woman turned back to Serenity's father and continued "Help that she will only find here, or at another academy. Because though we covered today's incident, more will come without proper preventative measures. So I do highly recommend that your daughter stays here, not for the hunting or fighting, but for her own safety. There are no end of people that would find someone with a power like her's useful, and not many of those people will be polite about taking it." She walked over to a sink on the far side of the room to fill a glass of water. It made Serenity realise how truly thirsty she was. Remedy was solemn. He always did his best to be rational, and he saw the truth in her words. That wasn't making them any easier to hear. "There must be another wa-" "No, Rem. Didn't you hear her? I couldn't imagine our daughter being stolen away and used for...whatever some hooligan wished" she had to catch her tears and cover her straining mouth. "I think she should stay, it's not far away." Serenity didn't like the sound of being couped up in Shade, but she didn't exactly like the sound of being kidnapped either. "Then it's decided?" said the doctor returning with the glass. "It..." Remedy stumbled over his words, and looked back at his wife for reassurance. "It is. She will stay here, where she can be safe." "Wonderful." the doctor said with slight enthusiasm, and held out the glass with a wink. Serenity took the glass she had been so desperately wanting. She didn't remember ever drinking that fast, though she didn't remember ever running as much as she did that day. "Would I still be able to see them?" Serenity asked the doctor, with as much pleading in her voice as she could muster. "You will." Said the doctor, taking the glass back from her. "However we shouldn't try to pr...oke strong emo...ns within you just...case it creates another inc...dent." Serenity was confused. "Could you say that again?" was what she wanted to say, however when she opened her mouth, only the vowels managed to make it out. The doctor was looking at her parents, who in turn were looking at Serenity with sorry faces. She was losing her eyesight, but before it faded to black, she saw her parents say something to her, glance at the doctor, and leave.