A/N: Probably the shortest chapter to date. I don't think it's the shortest chapter I have... But it might be haha. It's not actually THAT short, but it's still short by my standards haha.

Disclaimer: Game is owned by Hanako!

Chapter 7

Kitiara spent the rest of the week in her classes, polishing off her spells. She didn't have any more chances to run into either Damien or William, though Angela seemed to make it her duty to walk wherever freshman were gathered and scream at them, causing them to scatter like pigeons. Virginia was one of the few who would scream right back, and so the red-haired senior ignored Virginia as easily as Virginia ignored her. Kitiara seemed to be the only freshman apart from Ellen who was capable of discerning where Angela was going to be, and easily dodged her.

While she didn't learn any new spells, Kitiara had earned the reputation for being a very fast learner. Her spells were polished, smooth, and barely caused her a sweat by the end of the week. She could cast every single one of them, in a row, and she was only moderately tired.

That weekend, Kitiara received a letter from her parents. She'd been excited, but it seemed that things weren't that exciting back home. The letter was short, saying that they loved her, missed her, and that Alex had been taking care of half of the farm chores while Kitiara was gone. In truth, most of the letter was about Alex, which left a great deal of heart break in Kitiara's chest.

It was almost as if they didn't miss her.

Kitiara wrote a responding letter asking for them to tell her everything, no matter how mundane, and how home sick she was. She wanted them to know that she loved them, and that she always would, and that so far she'd been doing well. She wrote that she hadn't had a single incident (only a white lie) and that she was already feeling better (an outright lie).

After Kitiara had delivered the letter to Professor Potsdam to send out, she instantly headed for the small, secluded grove where she'd seen Virginia and that pink-haired girl, desperately needing the serene beauty of the wooded area and the silence it provided. She didn't want to go to the mall anyway.

Before she could fully reach it, however, Kitiara almost ran into Damien.

"Oh!" She gasped in surprise. "Damien!"

"Oh." His expression was oddly cold.

"What are you up to?" Kitiara asked after a moment of silence.

"Nothing of your concern." Without even waiting for a response, the violet-haired boy pushed past her, his blue Falcon Hall cape swirling around him as he went.

"Told you."

Kitiara turned to see Virginia eyeing the brunette sternly, and Kitiara shrugged.

"If Damien's busy, he's busy," Kitiara said. "I don't care. He can do as he likes."

Feeling sullen, betrayed, and very very lonely, Kitiara moved past Virginia, who made no move to follow her. She had realized that Kitiara was feeling some sort of sadness, and wisely didn't follow her. This was Kitiara's time to rest, to relax, and to try and reign control over her emotions.

No one was forgetting her. Kitiara was not being replaced. It just wasn't conceivable.

She spent Saturday avoiding everyone, and she would have spent most of Sunday doing the same had William not found her sulkily walking toward the alcove.

"Hey, Kitiara!" She turned to see him waving to her, a ball rolling on the floor beside him.

"Hey, William." She lifted her hand halfheartedly, and William abandoned whatever he'd been doing, jogging over to her with a worried expression.

"What's wrong, Kittie?" He asked, cocking his head at her. She raised an eyebrow and he chuckled. "Sorry. It really is much easier to say, you know."

"I can't imagine." Kitiara rolled her eyes. "I guess I'm just… I'm being silly."

"Why?"

"It's not important- I don't want to take up your time William."

"Kitiara."

The brunette turned to see expectant, kind green eyes watching her, waiting.

"Homesick," Kitiara said miserably. She felt like a child. "I've barely heard from my family, and it seems like they're-"

"Forgetting you?" William said gently. Kitiara narrowed her eyes at him.

"How did you know?"

"Kittie…" William gestured to her, and they walked into the alcove that she was beginning to think of as her own. "You remember the Choice… Correct?"

"Well… Yeah," she said, sitting beside Virginia's older brother on a bench. "I mean… It was hard to forget. I had to promise not to tell anyone one of the biggest secrets in my life."

"Yeah, well, that's because mortals can't know about magic."

"Aren't we mortals too?"

"That's beside the point." William shook his head. "If they can't know about magic, what kind of reason are they supposed to have for you coming out here?"

"Well…" Kitiara thought about it. "I guess… They'd have to come up with one. But my parents-"

"Will have to forget."

The sudden implications of the Choice hit her, and Kitiara lifted a hand to cover her mouth. There was a hard lump in her throat all of the complications that this could cause raced through her head.

"But if they have to forget…"

"Based on what kind relationship you had," William said slowly, "they'll come up with a story. If you didn't get along with your parents, they might think they sent you away."

"And if we got along?"

"Well… They might think they sent you away to help you."

"I was always a burden."

William blinked in surprise.

"Kittie, that's not-"

"William, you know exactly what I'm talking about." Kitiara turned calm brown eyes on him, big and steady. "I know I was a burden. We owned a farm. I couldn't handle some of the chores. Just lifting a pitchfork once broke my arm."

"Kittie-"

"It's fine." Kitiara looked forward, and her expression was thoughtful. "If I can cure myself, I could return. Look out for myself. Help."

"Kittie…"

"My friends used to call me that." Kitiara looked at him ruefully. "I don't even know what they're doing. I haven't heard from them, haven't heard about them."

"Listen to me." Green eyes bored into brown eyes. "Kitiara, I know they had to have loved you as much as they could. I… Virginia was born prematurely."

Kitiara blinked in shock. William didn't seem to notice and continued talking.

"Because of it, there were a few times when she… Had to go to the hospital. She almost died… A lot."

"But- your family is magical."

"With babies, it doesn't work that way. A sick baby can't be healed with Green Magic the way a grown person could. There's just something stopping it from working right."

"So…"

"Virginia's always been weak," William said softly. "Neither she nor Donald know this. She wasn't physically weak… Some bugs she catches easier than others, and they're more likely to be dangerous."

"So that's why…"

"I know what it's like for the people around you, Kitiara." William took a deep breath. "And I know they love you."

"But the Choice-"

"Just means that it's harder for them to think about you."

Kitiara put her face in her hands and rubbed it, hard.

"This is a mess."

"Is it still worth it?" William asked quietly. "It is possible for you to give this world up and return to yours. The damage isn't permanent…"

Kitiara heard the unspoken word at the end of the statement and smiled ruefully at him.

"Yet," she finished for him. "You mean yet."

"Yes," William said gravely. "Your Choice is still an option for you, Kittie."

"Maybe if I was normal," Kitiar said, shaking her head. "I'd just end up going home and being more of a burden than ever. At least whatever I learn here I can use in my future to make me less of a bother."

"You are not-"

"I can't even run without the fear of falling on my face and breaking every bone in my body," Kitiara said bitterly. "I can't kick anything, I can't play sports, I can't run or jump or just walk without thinking about the implications. Do you know how hard that was three years ago? I was the clutziest person in school!" She threw her hands up in the air. "It was a wonder I ever got the grades I did, what with how many times I was sent to the hospital. No, I can't return to that life," she added in an undertone. "I can never return to that life."

"I understand," William said, and he gave the small brunette girl a squeeze around her shoulders. "If you ever need someone to talk to…"

"I know," Kitiara said, smiling a watery smile at him. "Thank you."

"And Kitiara, please…"

"I'll look out for Virginia," the brunette said. "I promise I won't tell her or Donald, either. Trust me, I know what the price of naievety is worth."

"Thank you." He hugged Kitiara tightly before standing and stretching. Kitiara followed suit, finding that she somehow felt better. Now that she knew where she stood, and knew exactly what was happening and what she was giving up, she felt more serene, more capable.

"Why don't you and Damien get along?" She suddenly asked, as she followed William out of the small alocove. He winced, then smiled grimacingly at her.

"Just don't trust him, okay?" He muttered. "He's not what he appears to be."

"It appears like he's bi-polar."

"He probably is. Two-faced is another thing he might be."

"I have a feeling that you have a great deal of nicknames for Damien, and 'two-faced' is the kindest of them."

"I would never," William said mockingly, placing a hand on his chest and pretending that her words had wounded him. Kitiara laughed, throwing her head back with the force of it. It felt good to be so light-weight again.

"What are you up to?" Kitiara watched as William approached the small red ball that he'd been working with, before she'd interrupted him.

"Watch." He whipped out a thin brown wand and waved it at the red ball, which floated smoothly into the air, rolled over a few times, and then floated over and around Kitiara. She laughed admiringly.

"That's brilliant!" She said. "Do you think I could pull it off?"

"Why not try and see," William said, and he grabbed the ball. Kitiara readied her hands- wands, she'd learned, weren't necessary BUT were used as focusing tools for one's magic- and when William tossed the ball at her, she focused her magic at the ball.

It stopped in midair, floating right in front of her face, and she concentrated. It didn't move, but shuddered slightly before falling to the ground.

"Shoot," she said, frowning.

"It takes tons of practice," William said, jogging over and re-collecting the ball. "Remember, Kittie, I'm a senior. You aren't expected to know everything."

"Right," the brunette chuckled. "I suppose I should remind myself of that whenever something goes wrong."

"Definitely." William laughed, and Kitiara gave him one last hug.

"Thanks for distracting me, William," she said, smiling up at him. "You make a very good brother."

"At least some people think so," William said ruefully. He shook his head at Kitiara's questioning look and waved her on. "You go enjoy your Sunday. I'm going to stay here and practice some more."

"Sure," Kitiara said hesitantly. She abruptly decided that it wasn't important for her to know, smiled up at him reassuringly, and turned to walk back to her dorm. William watched her go, his face clouding with the worry he'd been holding back while they'd talked.

Her sickness hadn't felt anything like what Virginia's felt like. Virginia's was solid, and it wasn't always present. She was a healthy girl but for certain sicknesses, like the common cold. Kitiara was something else; it was a near constant suffering that felt like it WAS her, like he was trying to diagnose her soul- or even her magic.

William made a mental note to see Professor Potsdam before tossing the ball into the air once again.