- Day 63 of 366 Days of Writing Challenge: Eternal

- The Emotion Challenge: Optimistic

- Potions Club - Shrivelfigs: Write about internal beauty.

Pairings/Characters: Hesper, Eduardus, Phoebe

Word Count: 421


Walk of Life

You might wake up and notice you're someone you're not.

Hesper glowered at her younger sister, Phoebe, as she danced around the grand ballroom which their family frequented. She hated how good Phoebe was at dancing—the young, slender girl had the grace of a floating feather; she was as light as air and she was completely at ease with the flexibility of her body. Mr. Black clapped happily as he watched his daughter dancing around the room. "Beautiful, Phoebe, simply beautiful."

Hesper had no amount of grace or beauty. Both sisters had hair the same shade, but Phoebe's chestnut curls were thick and vibrant, whereas Hesper's lank brown hair was thin, and never grew past her shoulders. Both sisters had deep, dark blue eyes, but Phoebe's were more of a sapphire glimmer, and Hesper's were dull and sad. Hesper was short and stocky, but Phoebe had legs up to her neck, and her hips were slender and her bosom ample.

Of course, Hesper was dreadfully jealous of Phoebe. It seemed like Phoebe already had everything, and now she was a perfect dancer, too. When Hesper had attempted to twirl around the ballroom in the hours prior, Mr. Black had curled his lip and told her that if she carried on the chandelier would fall down.

It had been enough to stunt Hesper's confidence for a good long while.

Her brother, Eduardus, came to sit beside her as they watched Phoebe. "I do not know why you worry so much, Hesper," he told her. He reached out and pushed a strand of hair from her face. "You are beautiful in your own way, and you have all of your own talents. You need not be so jealous of Phoebe."

"You don't understand, Eduardus," Hesper rebuffed, shrugging his hand away. "I am Phoebe's older sister. I should be the one bettering her, and teaching her how to do things. But instead, she is better than me in all walks of life."

"You may yet learn to dance," Eduardus quipped with a small smile. Hesper rolled her eyes.

"Your eternal optimism does nothing to boost my spirits," she said. Eduardus laughed, and wrapped an arm around his sister.

"Hesper. Phoebe may have strengths where you do not, but you also have strengths that outweigh her. You are the most intelligent young witch that I know, and you can whip up a poison antidote quicker than anyone I know."

"That doesn't mean anything."

"Just have faith," Eduardus finalised. "Your time will come."