One Hell of a Mess

Olivia was just about to open the front door when she heard a loud crash from inside the house.

Instantly sent into a state of panic, she burst through the door, lightning crackling over her hands at the potential threat.

The house was in disarray, the few possessions they owned all over the floor, messy and unorganized. She didn't see any enemies, but didn't dare let her magic fade away just yet—not until she knew her family was safe.

A moment later, a loud giggle echoed throughout the house as Bethany darted across the room, her hair and the pink bow that held it up flowing behind her as she ran. Karl trotted behind his sister, followed by Anders, who looked just as disheveled as the house was.

Half of his hair had fallen out of the ponytail he usually kept it in, the blond strands sticking out in every direction. He was heaving, out of breath, his cheeks flushed from exertion.

"Thank the Maker you're back," he breathed, leaning forward, bracing his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. His eyes darted to the sparks still dancing between her fingertips, and she finally relaxed, letting her magic fizz away.

"I thought they were taking a nap," Olivia pointed out.

"They woke up," Anders replied, unamused.

"I can see that… that's one hell of a mess."

"They haven't stopped," he said, another crash sounding from the other room. Anders stood up straight again, shaking his head as he looked up at the ceiling. Olivia bit back a grin as she rounded the corner into the room to see exactly what was going on for herself, Anders following behind her.

An array of broken ice shards littered the floor, Bethany standing in the middle of them with one of her dolls in her hands, something burnt and unrecognizable in front of Karl. Their daughter recognized Olivia's presence first, running over to her and tugging on her pant leg, her big brown eyes wide with excitement.

"Mama! Mama! Look what I can do!"

Olivia watched as Bethany held her doll in her palms, her eyes focused and nose wrinkled as she concentrated, until small wisps of ice magic left her fingertips. She froze the doll in a block of ice before throwing it at the ground with a laugh, smashing the ice around it to pieces and freeing the doll from it's cold prison.

"I see you've been practicing, Bethy," Olivia said, biting back laughter as her daughter bounced over to where the doll landed, a wide grin on her little face.

"Karl too," she announced, shooting her brother a look.

He shuffled forward, holding his hands out, eyes narrowed in concentration. She could see the beginnings of flames starting to lick at his fingertips, until a fireball burst forth from his hands, the force of it sending him stumbling backwards. Anders was there to prevent him from falling, the fireball hitting Bethany's doll, burning it to a crisp.

Olivia couldn't help the pride that swelled in her chest at their daily improvements in magic… and she couldn't resist joining in the twins' fun.

"That's very impressive, you two," she started, summoning her magic again. "But have you tried this?" Anders snapped his eyes to hers, shooting her a warning look and opening his mouth to protest. He didn't get a word out before she hit the fried doll with a burst of electricity, the twins' eyes sparkling with wonder at the feat. Anders sighed and shook his head as Bethany approached Olivia again.

"Mama, I wanna do that!" she shouted, bouncing up and down.

"Me, too," Karl mumbled, standing next to his sister.

"You will, one day," she reassured them, smiling at them both. "But right now you need to stop breaking things and help your father clean up the house."

"That's the smartest thing you've done since you got home," Anders said sarcastically, the twins both whining in protest.

Olivia ignored his remark, shooting the twins a serious look. "If you don't help Daddy and I clean up, we're not going to have any time to teach you more magic."

"But Mama!" they both said in unison, two pairs of pleading eyes on hers.

"No buts!" she said, placing her hands on her hips. "Start cleaning!"

They both huffed as they tottered off, Anders moving to her side as they watched the twins start to pick up the house. Within seconds, they were bickering with each other, and Anders released a weary breath.

"There's no doubting they take after you," he muttered, and Olivia laughed, slipping her fingers through his.

"No doubt at all."