My eyes open slowly from a dreamless sleep, the light bringing my vision into focus. Mom has already left the room, while Rose lays beside me, sleeping on her side, her stretched apart legs visible as bumps in the crumpled blankets.

I sit up, focusing my mind just below my heart, where the energy of my mana pool ought to be. But I still find nothing. Is my illness permanent? Was the dream of Kenneth sifting through my mind just an illusion of false hope?

I cope and get out of bed. On the dining table, there is some cooked fish and fruit. At the back of the room, the elderly couple sleeps in chairs by the fire. I eat some fish and fruit for breakfast. Then, my mother walks in through the front door. She tells me good morning, orders me to look after Rose while she scouts for remaining monsters, then leaves.

Rose wakes up shortly after. She eats some breakfast, then stares longingly at the door. I try to distract her by starting a sightspotting game, giving her hints on objects in the kitchen and outside the window. But Rose cannot stand still, and grows impatient of making incorrect guesses.

"Rose, what do you want to do?"

Rose walks slowly and awkwardly in a squiggly line. She is unusually restless.

"I want to... climb a tree."

"You cannot leave the house right now. It is too dangerous."

"I KNOW. It is morning. I am not THAT stupid."

"You look like you are about to make a run for the door."

"I am NOT. I am going to work out."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Rose falls forward onto her hands and starts doing push-ups. In other words, exercise. I am disturbed by her level of energy this early in the morning. At the same time, she seems to have found a way to occupy herself. If she is so self-sufficient all of a sudden, why should I bother looking after her? I would rather go do something else.

"Are you going to keep doing that until Mom comes back?"

Rose says something unintelligible, which I interpet as a 'yes'. So, I discharge my role as Rose's bodyguard, and return to the solace of the bedroom.

I sift through the crates, deciding which book to to read. I select a book on the political history of the eleventh dynasty of Cantor. I adjust a pillow on the bed, and sit down. I sigh. Peace at last. I open the cover of the book, letting my eyes sink into the words.

Then, my entire body shudders as I hear loud and awful screams coming from the foyer.

I drop the book and sprint outside the bedroom. The three demon children are screaming and running through the house, and Rose has joined them. The elderly couple has sat up in their chairs, no doubt awoken by their behavior. The lone parent stands in front of the other bedroom door uselessly, meekly scolding their behavior.

The screaming and stomping of Rose and the other children pierces my ears and rattles my skull. I feel a deep rage boil within me. I step outside of the bedroom. I refuse to stand idly by as these spoiled brats rip away my solitude.

I command my mind to break through the barrier separating my mana pool from my body, and pull hard. I feel pain in my hands, my arms, my legs. Horrible, piercing, unintelligible pain.

But then the energy starts to flow within me. It is generous. It is enough to kill.

I begin to focus a lethal lightning spell into my hands. This is a crucial moment, worthy of my pain. I do not care if I injure myself, if in the end it brings me satisfaction. I could kill them all...

But death will not teach them a lesson.

With the return of magic comes the return of my inner voice of reason. I assess the situation. The screaming, stampeding children have so far refused to acknowledge my presence. The incompetent adult is unarmed, but I do not want to risk becoming defenseless against them. I will only punish one child. It will be sufficient, if the terror inflicted is deep enough. And they will serve as an example for the others.

I look to Rose, as she screams and spins and smiles spitefully. The child who was shy and meek, but then adopted the chaos to terrorize me. The child who insists she is not my sister, yet has a name so similar to my own. The child who pretends to be stupid, but then turns around and psychoanalyses my father as if she has known him her whole life. How deceptive and two-faced she is! What other secrets are you hiding from me, Rose?

I coalesce my energy into a ball upon my tongue, and focus my will upon her screaming face. My mind, idle in magic for so long, converges quickly upon the word with singular rage.

My voice booms, echoing through the house far louder than any child could counter.

"SILENCE!"

The burst of energy leaves my body. The voidfire lesions deepen in my hands, my arms, my legs. The pain is almost unbearable. But I plaster away my grimace and replace it with a proud smile, as I watch Rose collapse on the ground and look up to me with horror.

I walk closer to her so I can witness her suffering more clearly. The mouth of Rose opens and closes stiffly like the mouth of a stranded, gasping fish, as every scream, utterance, and grunt she attempts is deprived of sound, and her lips and tongue likewise refuse to move, making it impossible to discern any meaning from her face. And her legs, once so effective at making stomping sounds, now lie stiffly upon the ground. I am especially proud of that part. Usually, the spell only works on the voice.

Rose then claws at her throat with her hands, trying in vain to scrape away the intangible spell which now affects her.

I step my shoe upon Rose's hands to stop them moving, so that I can look clearly into her face.

"Tell me, Rose, how did it feel to think you were the only daughter? Were you an obedient, happy child? Or a rule-breaking, cynical one? Just kidding! I do not need to know the answers! Because I already know what they are."

The three other kids say "ooo" and giggle to themselves. They have huddled on the other side of Rose, so mystified by the terror I have inflicted upon Rose, that they have stopped stampeding. So, you children think this is a spectator sport? Fine. You watching is all the better to observe the lesson.

I prepare to pick apart Rose's ego. "I know a lot more about you than you think, Rose. I know your last name is Matterhelm. I know you are much smarter than you pretend you are..."

My mother crashes open the front door and runs toward me.

She shouts, "What are you doing?!"

I smile. Perfect timing. "Do not step closer, or I will kill her."

My mother's feet freeze onto the floor, and she looks at me with agony.

"I know that look. That is a look of a mother who is afraid for her daughter's life. Is Rose your daughter? Do not lie to me."

My mother pleads, "What terrible evil have you brought upon us, my child? What demonic spirit has compelled you... or magic, perhaps... such that you could kill Rose, the child you slept with, and not think twice of it? Yes, it is true. Rose is your sister. Please do not torture me in this way, for this lie I have told you."

"Why did you hide the truth from me?" I snap.

My mother flinches. "I was afraid you would leave me again, if you thought I had replaced you."

"I already told you the reason I came here! You knew I was not homesick. Tell me the real reason."

"That is the real and only reason. I swear by it." My mother hesitates. "Perhaps I have been irrational," she repents. "I do not even remember the reason you gave me for your return. My mind may have filled in some gaps. But that is of no consequence compared to the very fate of my younger daughter that you now hold in your hands. Please, Iris. Let your sister go."

No. I will not. Especially because you asked. Rose is my only leverage. And I like her under my foot.

"When did Rose spawn?"

"Three years ago."

"Why did she spawn?"

"She was a product of me and your father's love."

"Do you still love each other?"

"Of course we do."

"Do not lie to me!" I yell.

My mother flinches again.

"Well... if I'm honest, I wish we could have spent more time together. But with the war going on, and all that, it can't be helped."

I sigh, feeling unsatisfied. I sense the energy left inside me. It will last a few minutes. My mother is still hiding how she really feels. She distrusts me. And Rose is still a stranger to me. I want the truth. But this questioning is getting nowhere.

And I do not want just the truth. I want solitude. I want to be free of the chaos of humans which behave like animals. I want to have a room, just for myself, at all hours of the day. And I want adults to stop patronizing me and start treating me with respect. All these things I could demand for myself, if only I had enough magic. But I am too weak.

I cut off the flow of my magic which sustains the Silence spell I placed upon Rose. She should have learned her lesson by now. And I need to preserve what remains of my body.

I look down at the damage, and see the silver lesions glowing brightly on my arms and through my clothes.

The next day, my mother brings me behind the house to speak with me privately. She lectures to me on the importance of controlling my emotions. Then she starts talking about my magic.

"Iris, I do not know what motivates you to use magic in this way. Those glowing white webs which grow upon your skin... they are from a disease, a parasite. I do not know how else to explain it. But it is clearly slowly killing you, each time you try to use its power. And it seems to also be corrupting your mind. Such magic has no place in humanity. It is dark magic. I am not certain I can convince you to stop using it. There is a large part of your life which is hidden from me now. And I really, really wish you would tell me about it. But since that's not going to happen, I merely ask that you keep your dark magic a secret. Not for my safety, but for yours. Can you promise to me that you will do that?"

I nod reluctantly. Never have I felt so misunderstood and insulted, that my mother has mistaken this horrible illness as my magic. But there is truth in her words. Her irrational fear is the truth I wanted, the true sign of the disdain she really feels for me. Her disdain is a warning of how others in this town will perceive me. They will feel a fear and hatred, free of the tempering of a mother's love. I will never belong here.

And, after I have threatened to kill Rose, I do not think my mother will ever treat me the same.

I am alive and safe, for now. But the road forward is clear. I must exile myself on my own terms.