I do not own magi or the characters. I do own my oc.

Chapter 15: Maat

—Leila'a POV—

"Hey."

I turn towards the door spotting Maat.

After they dropped the bombshell about my family on me, Abasi and Hasina had basically forced Salena and I to stay. They weren't going to let us wander around and find an inn. I'm kind of glad about it though. My mind is still swimming and Salena is tired.

"Hi."

"Quiet puppy." Maat and I turn towards Salena. She fell asleep quickly, Star immediately climbing into bed with her. Now she's hugging the dog still sound asleep.

And apparently talking in her sleep.

Maat and I share a quick look before trying to not laugh.

"I was wondering if maybe you wanted to talk," says Maat, done laughing. "You were pretty quiet earlier."

"I don't know. I still feel overwhelmed and like I haven't processed everything."

"Then maybe some tea. To help you sleep."

"Well…I wasn't exactly going to sleep."

I watch as Maat looks at me confused.

"I don't really like sleeping in new places right away," I say feeling the reason is a dumb one. "To make sure they're safe before I put my guard down."

"Things have been that rough, huh? I guessed, but…"

"It not-"

"You don't have to lie about it," remarks Maat cutting me off. "The scars on your neck gave it away."

I stop my hand, having forgotten that I took off the choker. I didn't want people to see them.

Salena stirs a little, until I gently touch her arm.

"Do you want to talk downstairs, so we don't wake her up?"

"That's probably not a bad idea."

Before following Maat, I tuck Salena in a little more watching as she snuggles into the blankets.

I make sure to shut the door quietly.

"You're really good with her," says Maat, so I turn to face her. She smiling like she knows something. "You act just like a big sister."

"Well I…"

"You okay?"

"I may have something important to tell all of you…"

"That's not cryptic at all," laughs Maat. "It's okay, really. You don't need to tell us everything right away."

"Thanks. It would just be overwhelming for everyone."

I follow Maat as she goes towards the kitchen area, watching her. She's a few inches shorter than me, but seems taller with how confident and purposefully she walks. On the slender side, she pretty up and down. Not a lot of curve and a smaller chest. Maybe that's why she's dressed in a plain white dress with open sides from the waist up. Her skin is the deep rich color that most people here seem to have and her hair is a creamy white cut short to frame her square face. Her eyes hold this intelligence to them in the same green tone as her brothers.

She's isn't happy though.

She doesn't smile much and when she does, it's forced, not even close to reaching her eyes. And in reality she doesn't make eye contact with me much. Tonight was the first time I actually got to really see her face, with thin eyebrows, prominent cheekbones and a small button nose.

"How would you feel about a mint tea," asks Maat putting some wood in the stove.

"You don't have to."

"It's not a big deal," she says filling the kettle with water from the pot. "Could you get cups from the corner cabinet?"

"Sure." I pull them out and set them by the stove before finding I stand there kind of awkwardly. "So tell me about you."

"What do you mean?" Maat looks at me with a raised eyebrow and her head tilted to the side a bit.

"You all told me a lot about Vartan and Keket. I want to hear about you all. You're the ones here."

"Well…um…"

"Sorry. It was a stupid-"

"How about you ask a question and then I do," says Maat as I look over at her again. I nod, honestly, wanting to avoid any topic about what I was told. "You first."

"Favorite color…?"

She tried to not laugh, but doesn't succeed.

"It was all I could think of."

"Green," she says still laughing. "You're so awkward. It's really surprising."

"How so?" She gestures for me to sit at the table, so I do.

"People like you generally aren't shy and insecure or quiet."

"I don't get that."

Before answering, she comes over with two cups of tea handing one to me. She takes a sip before leaning back.

"You're clearly powerful. You and Salena don't have more than a scratch on you after traveling the desert. Heck, my Dad even confronts you and you don't even flinch. You're supposed to be this confident and self-assured person based on that."

"You would know about that." I watch Maat pause and look at me confused. "You aren't happy being just another soldier to attribute to you family's legacy."

"How would you know that?" Based on the slight anger on her face I know for certain that I am.

"It's just an observation. I know a lot of people like that. I'm just curious about what you actually want to do with your life."

"I'm not following," she says tensely. Her shoulders are squared off. "What's with all the questions?"

I blink for a moment trying to figure out what to say.

"I've seen a lot of people fighting for things that they don't quite believe in." She raises an eyebrow urging me to continue. "There's always something keeping them there though. I know a man, about my age. He fought for his country because of a girl he cared for. It took a lot for him to leave, including realizing people there weren't fighting for him the same way. This guy was to fiercely loyal."

She sips her tea, deep in thought.

"So what's keeping you?"

"Family…"

I knew I was on to something.

"So…what do you really want to fight for?"

"Answer your own question first."

She's firm and standing her ground. I sip the tea before answering. It's flavor is bright and fresh as it burns my tongue slightly. The flavor takes me back to Partevia. During my recovery, Esra would give me mint tea to settle my stomach. She would sit with me and talk, doing everything she could to make me feel at home and safe with her and Sin.

"I'm fighting for a home." I can feel that my smile is sad. I miss Esra everyday. "I had chance after chance to have a real home and lost them all. I'm going to give everything I have to have a home with the people I care about."

Maat nods, deep in thought. I always think that what I say about that sounds ridiculous, but it's honest.

"Your turn."

"It sounds ridiculous."

"No more than mine does."

"I want to fight for a place where magicians aren't treated as tool."

I pause mid-sip. That was not an expected answer.

"I'll bite," I comment setting the cup down. "What's the reason? Are you a magician?"

"Not at all." She smiles sheepishly. "Heliohapt isn't exactly kind about them."

"I know, but then why?"

"When I was little, I saw this woman using magic to heal a man. He was deathly ill and nothing anyone could do would help. She saved the man's life and was completely calm. I was with the twins and ran over to the woman. She was so surprised, but eventually smiled at me. I started asking her questions, which she answered over and over. After a while, a man came and grabbed her by the hair to drag her away. I wanted to do something, but my Dad came and stopped me. My first thought was that he was going to help her, but he just told the man not to hurt her in front of children."

She pauses her story. It was clearly something that left an impression in many ways.

"I argued with him and wouldn't stop bothering him about it for days. Eventually my Mom stopped and explained how things work with magicians here. I have never felt so confused. They're people and she saved a man, but is treated horribly. I can't stand that still. If there's something I can do to change that, I will."

"Sounds pretty definitive." Maat looks down. "It's a nice thing to work towards. Helping people who can't help themselves quite yet."

"There you two are."

I turn around as Nour comes into the room. A sleepy Salena is next to him as he smiles widely at us.

"Everything okay?" I get up and go over to Salena. "Are you feeling okay, Salena?"

She nods and hugs me, fighting the urge to yawn.

"She woke up and you weren't there," answers Nour. "I found her wondering around and helped her look."

"Don't worry," I say smoothing Salena's hair down. "Let's get you back to bed. Okay?"

"Okay."

I say a quick good night to the two sibling before taking Salena and guiding her out of the room.

"There's something different about her." I pause at the quiet comment from Maat. "I don't know how to explain it."

"Maybe you don't need to." Nour's reply is calm. "Maybe that's the type of person you need though."

"What-"

"Just trust me." He sounds like he's a protective older brother. "Get to know her. I think it will be good for you."

"Leila?"

I look down at Salena. Her eyes are tired, but she looks worried.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Suddenly though, I feel as tired as Salena looks. "Let's get some rest. Tomorrow we can explore a Heliohapt."