Iris grabbed the handle of her suitcase and looked the train behind her. She no longer dressed in her acolyte robes, instead opting for a more modern blue dress her father had bought her. She adjusted her blue butterfly clip and looked at her sister, still donned in robes.
"You have one more chance, you know," Iris said. "You can come with me and Daddy."
"No thanks," Dahlia said, her face etched in stone.
"I still don't see why not," Iris said. "We'll be with Daddy, have a new start together in a big city, it's perfect. As annoying as you can be, you're still my sister. We should stay together."
"In a way, I'm doing you a favor," Dahlia said. "If I go with you, Dad will just give you up."
"You're wrong!" Iris said, stamping her foot. "Stop saying that, Daddy loves me!"
"Well, he's all yours," Dahlia said. "I'm staying with the Fey clan."
Iris crossed her arms and pouted. "Good-bye, Dahlia."
"Good-bye Iris," Dahlia said. She turned around and felt a hot tear slide down her face.
Iris got on the train, followed by her father. Dahlia saw her mother and stood next to her and the last passengers stepped on board. She looked up at Morgan Fey, who showed no hints of remorse or any other emotion.
"Mom?" Dahlia said.
Her mother didn't respond. She just watched as the train started up.
"Mom?" Dahlia repeated. "Are you sad?"
Morgan said nothing, she didn't even flinch
"Mom, look at me!" Dahlia yelled, stamping her foot.
"Why didn't you go?" Morgan eventually said.
That's all you have to say?" Dahlia said incredulously.
Morgan was stoic and silent.
Dahlia huffed. "I stayed because Iris is just a prissy girl and I like it in Kurain."
Morgan walked away as the train finally began its journey to the city. Dahlia followed a couple steps behind. This is how the entire trip back to Kurain Village went. It was almost as if Dahlia wasn't there. It was then that Dahlia made a decision she would stick with for the rest of her life.
She needed to find Mia. Dahlia knew she would help her, so the little medium-in-training wandered through the village in search of her older cousin. At some point, she passed by a screen door and heard her mother's voice. Curiosity got the better of her and she peeked into the room.
Morgan Fey was indeed in the room; talking to a man she had never seen before. He had sandy brown hair and wore a black business suit. He put his arms around Morgan's waist and whispered something in her ear. Dahlia quietly closed the door, she had seen enough.
Dahlia walked through the Winding Way of Kurain Village and found Mia in the garden. Just as she was about to greet her older cousin, Maya ran up to her.
"Hi Da!" Maya said. The perky little preschooler couldn't pronounce "Dahlia," hence the nickname.
"Da" took great pride in it and found her spirit lifted. She picked Maya up and held her. "Hey Maya, what are you doing?"
"I found a book," Maya announced, happy with her accomplishment. "It has lotsa pictures too!"
"That's great," Dahlia said. "Do you like it?"
Maya nodded her head with a big smile. "I love it! It called um, what book called?"
"Let me see it," Dahlia said.
Maya handed her a paperback with a group of colorful little creatures. "Poke-mon Adventures."
"Ah, that manga," Mia said, stepping onto the Way. "It's hard to find. Hello there Dahlia."
"Mia, just the person I wanted to see," Dahlia said. "What's a manga?"
"It's Japanese thing," Mia said. "You should try it."
"Could you read it to me Da?" Maya said.
"Sure," Dahlia said. She put Maya down and looked at Mia. "Hey Mia, can I ask you something?"
"What's on your mind?" Mia said, hopping onto the rail of the Winding Way. Her feet swayed and she watched Dahlia with a kind, interested face.
"Would you die my hair?" Dahlia said.
"Why?" Mia said, curious about the strange request.
"I don't want to look like my sister anymore," Dahlia said. "And it would bug my mom. So it's a win win."
Mia smiled. "I get it. Alright, I'll help you. Just don't blame me for it when Aunt Morgan tells you off."
"Deal," Dahlia said, glad it had been so easy.
"What color do you want instead of black?" Mia said.
Dahlia had already decided on it. Throughout her entire life with her sister they had worn the same clothes, had the same hairstyle, they'd even shared a bedroom. There had only been one physical difference. Iris had a purple Magatama and Dahlia wore a red one.
"Red," Dahlia said, without a hint of indecision.
"You got it," Mia said, sliding off the rail. "I love projects like this."
It had taken a while, but the girls managed to get their hands on some red hair dye. Mia filled a basin with water and had her cousin stick her hair in. Dahlia found it rather enjoyable; it was almost like they were playing. She giggled when Mia tickled the back of her neck.
"Careful!" Mia said between laughs. "Don't move. You don't want a crimson forehead, do you?"
Once the dye was thoroughly lathered in Dahlia's hair, Maya handed her a towel to dry her hair.
"When can I see it?" Dahlia said excitedly.
Mia read the back of the box the die had come from. "About 40 minutes."
"That forever!" Maya said.
"You got that right," Dahlia said.
"We'll just have to be patient," Mia said. "Hmm… I know! Hey Maya, maybe Dahlia can read to you now!"
Maya beamed with excitement. "Yay!" And with that, she sped off and retrieved Pokémon Adventures.
"Maybe I should have asked, hoe comfortable are you with reading?" Mia said to Dahlia.
"I'll be fine," Dahlia said. She took the manga and opened it.
"Wrong way," Mia said. "In Japan, you read from right to left."
"Neat. Thanks," Dahlia said. She sat down and Maya crawled onto her lap.
Dahlia soon found herself captivated by the story, reading aloud to Maya with great emotion. When she finished the last page, Dahlia put the book down and grinned at Maya.
"That was awesome!" Dahlia said.
"Yes," Maya said.
"Perfect timing too," Mia said. "Let's add the finishing touches."
The girls took the necessary steps to ensure the color set and at last, Dahlia revealed scarlet locks of hair.
"How do I look?" Dahlia said, making her hair sway slightly.
"Bee-youtful!" Maya said, bouncing with excitement.
"Really?" Dahlia said, grinning.
Mia gave her a handheld mirror and she admired her reflection. "This is perfect!"
"Red seems to be your color," Mia said.
"You think so?" Dahlia said. She couldn't be happier. Finally she looked different, and she wore it well. "High five!"
The cousins smacked each other's palms, beaming.
"Let's wash up," Mia said. "I don't want to be caught red handed."
"Hmm?" Dahlia said. She looked her older cousin's hands and saw they were red from the dye, along with her own right palm. She smirked. "Hilarious."
Mia smiled. "I know."
Maya giggled, and a toddler's laughter had a tendency to be contagious. As they laughed Dahlia looked at the Fey sisters, her cousins. In Dahlia's eyes they were so much better than her sister, or her parents. Dahlia glanced at her reflection again, mostly at her ruby red hair. She was a new person, and Mia and Maya were her family.
Later that day, Dahlia strode into her mother's room full of confidence. Morgan's mouth hung open at the sight.
"What did you do?" Morgan said, completely abashed.
"Dyed my hair, duh," Dahlia said.
Just then, the man Dahlia had seen earlier walked in. He froze when he saw Morgan, white fury burning in her eyes.
"Are you crazy?" Morgan shouted.
"What's the big deal?" Dahlia said. "It's just dye."
"You shall fix this mess immediately!" Morgan said; her tone laced with a warning.
"Can't," Dahlia said curtly. "It's not coming out until it fades away."
"Dahlia Hawthorne I cannot believe you would do such a thing!" Morgan said.
"Oh, and don't call me that anymore," Dahlia said.
"What? Your name?" Morgan said.
"Dahlia Hawthorne is not my name," the young girl said, looking her mother straight in the eye. "It's Dahlia Fey."
Mother and daughter just stared at each other, both daring the other to say something. Morgan's glared with the intensity of dry ice, while Dahlia's cold gaze was hard as stone. The sandy haired man gulped and took a step back.