Eileen was flamboyant in all the ways Erza wasn't. She had the same shade of hair as Erza but every strand obeyed her perfectly – there were never wisps hanging in her face and her ties never slipped from the ends of her braids leaving everything to unravel. The older Scarlet sister was free spirited and traveled frequently. She'd left the bakery behind at seventeen to float around the world on a breeze of her own making. Eileen carried an air of fantastic confidence where as Erza battled insecurity.
Instead of overthinking how she'd break the news of her flubbed spell to her sister, Erza focused on garlic knots. Those were simple enough.
"If you twist those dough strings any tighter you'll have knots so dense you'll need to soak them in sauce to be edible," a humorous voice said from across the table. Erza gasped and fumbled the dough. Eileen smiled in her typical disarming way.
"How did you –"
"Get in?" She laughed easily. "I grew up here, too, Erza. I know all the secrets. I brought you something."
Erza's eyebrow twitched upwards in curiosity. She wiped her hands on her apron and made her way around the work table. Eileen dropped a sachet into the palm of her waiting hand.
"It's an anti-anxiety charm." Eileen smiled knowingly. "I made it last night and I'm glad I did! I could sense your messy aura halfway down the street." Erza sniffed the bag and smiled.
"Am I so obvious?"
"Incredibly so." Eileen's eyes widened in mirth before she let them fondly run over the kitchen. "You haven't changed much around here."
"No, I – I like it the way it is." Erza's face flushed when her sister reached out to touch the frayed end of her braid that hung over her shoulder.
"I'm glad. I know I haven't been around much but..."
"You don't have to apologize for following your heart, Eileen. You were never the homebody I was, and I've never resented you for it."
"I missed you." Eileen smiled and Erza felt her heart lift and her courage rally. "It's good to be home."
"Eileen there's –"
"Erza!" Meredy's voice called out from the front of the shop. The bells above the door jingled and Erza sighed.
"A customer?" Eileen asked quietly. "It's awful early."
"No, that's just Meredy." Erza couldn't explain who Meredy was without letting the cat out of the bag so, instead, she slid the anti-anxiety sachet into her pocket, tossed aside her apron, and tried to scrape together an appropriate introduction. Eileen followed her through the kitchen to the front end. Meredy's wide eyes slid from one sister to the other.
"I didn't know you had a twin sister, Erza!" she said in awe. Eileen laughed and leaned her hip against the edge of the counter.
"It's the hair, isn't it?" she asked with a knowing smile.
"I never even met one person with hair like Erza's before and now there's two of you!" Meredy said, her eyes still fixated on Eileen's thick braids.
"We aren't twins but that was always a fun game," Eileen laughed. "Pink is the color sensitivity and tenderness, did you know that? I bet it suits you... I'm sorry I didn't catch your name?"
"Meredy Fernandes," the girl said easily. At the sound of her last name the blue-grey cat came prancing down the stairs and leapt to the edge of the counter. His tail swished regally. Eileen's eyes immediately slid over to him and stayed there. Erza's palms began to sweat when her sister's gaze narrowed inquisitively. Suspiciously.
"Erza," Eileen said with a slow grin. "I didn't know you had a cat."
"Uh –"
"He's new!" Meredy piped up helpfully. "He just kinda showed up when my brother left to serve overseas! Isn't he pretty? I told Erza she should keep him since he's so friendly." She reached into her pocket and brought out a few crumbs of left over sausage roll. The cat took them from her daintily.
"He does appear to be very socialized, Erza. How fortuitous for you to have such friendly company."
"He's um –"
"When my brother comes home I think he'll be happy Erza wasn't alone while he was gone."
"My sister is ever faithful, Meredy. Your brother is a lucky man." Eileen said winking at the cat salaciously.
"I hope she punishes him for leaving so abruptly. He didn't even say goodbye! Can you believe that?" Meredy adjusted her school bag and glanced at the wall clock. "Anyway, I have to get to school. I'll come by tonight for dinner bread. My dad wants yeast rolls."
"Of course," Erza said, working up a smile. "I'll have them ready."
"Thanks Erza!" Meredy called turning back to the door. "It was nice to meet you Eileen!" The bells jingled and then fell silent as the door shut behind her.
"Well," Eileen said dramatically. "I think you'd better introduce me to your cat." Erza sighed heavily and stretched her arm out to run her fingers over Jellal's downy soft fur.
"Eileen," she began. "This is Jellal. He's... well he's Meredy's brother –"
"And your lover who's supposed to be fighting a war overseas?" Eileen bent down over the counter and peered into Jellal's eyes. He blinked slowly.
"Yeah," Erza mumbled. "I never meant for the spell to turn out like this."
"Famous last words," Eileen said with a smile. "How long has he been this way?"
"Since late October. It was just a protection spell with all the regular things plus some lavender oil."
"What were your words?"
"Et recordare ut custodiant," Erza muttered quietly.
"The devil is always in the details, Erza. Spells steeped in love and desire can be a messy business. There were always rumors," she added absently. "But grandmother never put anything but rosemary in the hearth bread." Eileen's finger touched the tip of Jellal's ear. "You love him, yes?"
"I do."
"And he loves you?"
"Yes." At her answer Jellal crawled into Erza's arms and tucked his head and front paws into the curve of her neck. "I've tried a few things but nothing comes close to working. Is there anything that can be done?"
Eileen tapped her fingernails on the counter top and Erza could practically hear the cogs turning in her head. With a finality, Eileen tossed one thick braid over her shoulder and nodded.
"I think we can work some magic but –"
"I'm willing to do anything."
"Oh, sister," Eileen said softly. "Vague words like those are what got you into this mess to begin with. I'm afraid you stumbled onto something quite complicated. There's a full moon in two days. We'll need it."
Erza relaxed back against Eileen's knees. Strong fingers worked through her wet hair and Erza realized how much she'd truly missed her sister. The weight of Jellal's absence settled over her shoulders and she swallowed back her tears.
"He only comes back to you on the full moon?" Eileen asked quietly, still twisting Erza's hair into a complex plait.
"Yes." Erza wicked away two tears surreptitiously. "After the sun sets he changes back until sunrise, I think."
"You think?"
"Well, I've never seen it happen." Erza's cheeks burned. She didn't want to admit that he kept her distracted until she was asleep. "When he's human things are –" Eileen cut her off with a laugh.
"Erza, your lover appears to you once every twenty-nine days. I don't judge you for wanting to make the most of your time together." Eileen was silent for a long moment before speaking again. "I suppose it was lucky that your last night with him was on a full moon. Such a basic spell wouldn't have had the same potency under a different, less powerful, moon. A feline body is unfortunate but dying across the ocean in a political war is much worse."
"Grandmother never taught me difficult magic."
"She wanted to protect you."
"By hiding things from me?" Erza's irritation took her by surprise.
"Mm." Eileen fell silent again and Erza waited. "I remember a lot of whispered arguments after dad died," she finally said. "Mom lost so much of herself and grandmother had to watch her slowly destruct. It couldn't have been easy."
"I don't recall any of that."
"You were so little back then, I'm not surprised you don't remember. Mom wanted to expose us. She wanted to take money for magic." Eileen held out her hand for the hair tie. "There's nothing wrong with being a professional witch but –" Erza felt a tug on her braid just before it was laid over her shoulder. "As I'm sure you have realized by now, intentions and words are crucial. Mom was too reckless to be trusted with magic for others. It would've ended badly."
"I never knew."
"Grandmother was so careful with you."
"She always said you were more like mom and I was like dad."
Eileen laughed and slid off the edge of the sofa to join Erza on the floor. "I think that's a fair assessment. I remember dad being very kind and quiet, and he always went out of his way to help others. If that's not you I'll buy a big crazy hat and eat it."
"You won't – I mean –" Erza blurted. "You're my family."
"Erza, I'm not our mother. You're my family, too." Eileen glanced over to the arm chair near the wood stove where the cat was curled into a ball. "I promise we'll fix Jellal so you can make cute little witch babies with red hair."
"What about you? Don't you want to fall in love and all that?"
"Maybe one day when I've seen all there is to see in the world. Men are such a hassle sometimes." She nudged Erza with her shoulder and smiled.
"So you can't reverse it?" Jellal asked, even though he already knew the answer was no.
"I'm afraid not," Eileen said with a grimace. "Magic doesn't always work that way. Erza tried to protect you and she wove her emotions into that spell. It can't just be undone."
Erza bristled in frustration. Jellal slid his arm around her shoulders and tangled his fingers in the strands of her hair. The gentle tug was eased the tension in her chest. His ability to smooth over her anxiety was something she missed on every other day of the month.
"If it can't be undone, maybe it can be countered instead?" Jellal offered.
"You're quick." Eileen grinned and produced a sachet that looked very similar to the one she'd given Erza. "Here's the catch, though. The power of Erza's spell came from her heart. That's the center of her magic. All witches have a center. But you–" Eileen's eyes fixated on Jellal. "Aren't a witch. So you'll have to supply something physical that's representative of your intention."
"I don't understand," Erza whispered.
"I have to give something up," Jellal said returning Eileen's gaze. "Something important to me."
"Not just something important to you, but something meaningful for Erza, as well. She wanted to protect you from circumstances that might pull you from her side. As a cat you're still her companion and once a month you can be together, but she gave up your human form. If you want to get that back, there has to be a balance of magic. An offering."
"I see," Jellal muttered, tightening his fingers in Erza's hair.
"Even with an offering, I don't think you can fully be rid of the cat form. You'll probably be stuck with it every full moon." Eileen held out the sachet for Jellal and when he took it she closed her hands around his tightly. "Ut et dimittere," she whispered. "Don't forget those words."
"I won't."
"Good." Eileen's lips ticked up in a smirk. "I need some night air, and I think you two have things to discuss."
Erza emerged from the bathroom with a pair of scissors. Jellal took them from her reluctantly.
"You have to," she insisted.
"I know," he said, grimacing. "I just... I hate to see it go."
"And I hate to see you go," she added in a breath. Jellal stood and pulled her into his arms. He didn't pull away until the hands of the clock struck one. The moon wouldn't wait forever.
Erza turned around and squeezed her eyes shut. She'd never had more than a few inches trimmed off her hair before. Losing most of it would be entirely new. Jellal gathered everything into a loose ponytail and snipped his way through. Once the bulk of her long, scarlet hair had been tied off with a ribbon and slipped under her pillow, Jellal evened out the remaining bob. The ends didn't quite brush her shoulders but he smiled and touched the fringe that always fell in her face.
"How does it look?" she asked.
"Like you." He smiled and reached over to turn out the lamp. "Even if it never grows back, I'll still love you just the same."
Her head felt surprisingly light when she fell into her pillows. Jellal would – hopefully – still be a human in the morning but she didn't want to risk missing his skin against hers. Just before she fell asleep she heard him breathe the words against the back of her neck.
"Ut et dimittere."
