Blazz stepped back into her cell with a sigh, twirling a lollipop around in her hand as she did. Another many years went by- more than she bothered to count. She had grown a foot or more, she had finally begun brushing her own hair for the first time since she was a young girl. But she was far from the same girl she was way back when. Blazz stood there in her cell- which had become far more than a containment to her. It had been decorated, lived in for many years. This was her room, and the entire Ward was her house.

The girl stepped forward and glanced at herself in the mirror, pulling the lollipop from her mouth as she leaned in and pulled her eyelid up. Her eyes weren't bloodshot. They looked rather healthy. She opened her mouth and looked at her teeth. They were clean. She was brushing them more. She rubbed her nose. It didn't make any weird popping sensations. It was fine. Finally, she leaned back and looked herself over, head to toe, in the mirror over the sink. She stared a few moments, one arm crossed over her chest and resting in the bent elbow of her other, which held the lollipop of which she stuck back in her mouth. One second of staring, two seconds. Five seconds. Then, almost without any forewarning, she smiled.

She smiled brightly. Not a maddened smile, but a genuine one. A smile she hadn't smiled since she was hardly able to read and write. A smile she hadn't ever seen before in her own life. She blinked, and the smile faded. She smiled again, like she was trying to get used to seeing her own teeth make that expression.

"...Wow, do I really look like that?"

She crunched down on the lollipop and finished it off, throwing the stick into a trash can nearby. Once again, she opened her lips and smiled, but this time, she leaned in and inspected herself as she did. Eventually, she leaned back again, and rested her head on one hand.

"...Wow. I really do look like that."

She was silent for a moment. Then, out of nowhere, she suddenly chuckled. A slight, short scoff.

"I look…"

She tilted her head back, still watching herself in the mirror.

"...I look better. I look so much better. When did that happen? I FEEL better. When did that happen?"

Another chuckle. A familiar voice rang out from behind the door.

"Blazz? Are you alright?"

"I'm just fine, Mr. Don. I'm actually doing pretty good."

"Is that so? Sounded kinda like you were talking to yourself."

"I sorta was. I was talking to my reflection. Y'know, just thinking out loud."

"Ah, alright. May I ask what about?"

"...Well, me. Look at me."

"I see you. What about you?"

Blazz stepped back, opening her arms out.

"Don't I look better?"

"Better than what, Blazz?"

"Than I did when I first got here. I remember looking at my reflection when I got here the first day, and I remember thinking.. well, I remember being scared of myself. Now, I look at me and I think… 'wow. I am really looking good, now'."

"Well, it's good to see you have more confidence in yourself. But don't go letting that get to your head."

"Well, yeah. But I mean- this is such a huge step up."

"It is. How about that? One heck of a change."

"Yeah, you're right."

"Come on, you just got back from lunch, do you want to go get some exercise?"

"...Yeah, sure. Sounds fine to me."

The pyromaniac stepped out of the cell again, this time following her friend and mentor, Mr. Don.

The lighter stayed on the cell table.


Blazz sat in the library of the complex, with piles of books stacked up on the tables and floor around her. She sat in a chair with a book in one hand, and a candy cane in the other. She leaned her chair back on its rear legs, a snarky grin on her face as she crossed her legs that were propped up on the table. She shut the book in her hand and tossed it onto the table, then reached over and picked up another one. The last book was titled 'Physics, An Explanation Of How The World Works'. This next book, "The magic behind Magic, a Deep Dive into Spellcasters". The many books around her were titled similarly. She had been spending her time doing nothing but researching nearly anything and everything.

Only a couple minutes into this book, however, she shut it and tossed it aside with a huff. Mr. Don, who was nearby, glanced over at her.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine, doc. It's just- why does any of that have to exist?"

"Any of what? Magic?"

"Yeah! I mean, all of this science and technology makes sense. I can understand it all, no problem. It's cool, even- but magic? Where's the sense to any of it? Where's the logic and understanding?"

"That's part of magic's 'thing'. It's not quite supposed to make sense. Magic is manipulated like an energy, something the soul controls-"

"YEAH, I figured that part out on my own already- but it just doesn't make SENSE. Things need to make sense in this world, don't they? How else are we gonna get anywhere? How are people like me supposed to help society progress if it's constantly relying on something that doesn't apply to everyone- something we can't ALL understand and use?"

"That's a good question. You know what I think about it?"

"What?"

"I think you've got a point. And when you're eventually out of here, I think you've got the potential to change the world."

"..You think so? How?"

"Well, you're intelligent. And it looks to me like you want to understand the world around you. Maybe you can spread that knowledge."

"Huh."

She picked up another book and glanced at the title. 'Chemistry and Thermodynamics- Understanding Reactions'.

"I like that idea, actually."

"I figured you might. You have the kind of demeanor for that."

"Do I? What kinda demeanor is that?"

"Well, you've got the confidence and eagerness to learn. That's a strong leadership quality."

"You don't say. Maybe I could rule an entire nation, then."

"Well- I wouldn't get too confident, heh. But you've definitely got a lot of potential."

Blazz let out a short chuckle mixed with a scoff.

"Nation or not, I'm going to master this kind of stuff. And once I do, I'm going to teach as many people as I can how to do the same."
"You really care that much about spreading your knowledge? Maybe you should be a teacher."
"Maybe, maybe. The way I see it, if I have something someone else doesn't, why don't I use it to make them better? I mean, even if I do become the smartest woman alive, it's not like I'm going to be the entire reason society progresses. That's why I need other people to know what I know. Knowledge is meant to be shared, isn't it?"

She set the book down and opened it, then picked it up with both hands and leaned back further in her chair. Behind the cover of the book, she smiled even more widely, deeply inspecting every page- every iota of detail the book provided to her. If there was anything she wanted to know the most about, it was this. Mr. Don simply sat across the table, making sure she was okay.

Blazz learned more than her strengths, that day. She learned more than her passion and desires. She learned her future, far sooner than she would ever come to realize until many years after she had reached it. But, for the time being, she sat and read, the thoughts simply fermenting in the back of her mind, fermenting in a pool of ego that was beginning to flood the recesses of her brain.