Chapter 5: 5. Hanging out

As I sat on the sofa in my sister's room, I felt a sense of comfort wash over me, making me forget about the suffocating dinner for a second. The soft glow of the sun lit up the room, casting shadows on the walls as Elly sat across from me in her chair.

Broaching the elephant in the room, she caught my eyes and asked me, “So…are you okay?” she hesitantly asked.

“Yes.” I looked down, lying unconvincingly.

Unimpressed, she raised one eyebrow, giving me the look “riiiiight.”.

“Fine, I’m not,” I said as I crossed my arms. “I made a fool of myself, I let them walk all over me. Didn’t even have the courage to answer them!” I followed up, raising my voice with emotions. She furrowed her brows.

Fuck, I shouldn’t talk so advanced. Puffing my cheeks, “They were so mean sis,” I said in a low voice “why are they so mean? I didn’t do anything bad.”

She let out a deep sigh, “you didn’t do anything wrong Amber. That’s just how it’s always been, even before you were born.” she explained softly. She stood up, walking towards me and took a seat next to me as her eyes adopted a faraway look. “She used to bully me as well, you know,” she confessed in a melancholic tone, “when mom wasn’t there to watch over me. She never hit me but the insults she threw hurt too.” She looked down as her lower lip trembled.

Seeing her facial expression stumped me. In all those 5 years I’d been in this world, she had barely shown this side of her. This expression doesn’t suit you, sis. I moved towards my sister, sitting in her lap and taking both her cheeks in my small hands. “You’re the best sister I could have asked for. Nobody would make a more awesome sister than you would,” I told her urgently as I pulled her closer and looked deeply into her left eye “so don’t be sad, okay? She is just a bad person, and if you need a hug, I’m here for you.” I ended softly.

Her lips quivered as she tried to hold back tears, successful for only a moment before the floodgates opened. Don’t cry sis. As my own eyes began glistening, I asked tenderly, “Why are you crying? Don’t cry, sis.” as I grabbed both her hands.

She sniffed, “I was supposed to console you, not the other way around,” she responded shakily. She chuckled, “I am the big sister, I’m not supposed to cry.” she regained her voice.

Smiling the brightest she had ever smiled for me, “Don’t worry, I’m not sad. I’m happy, I’m happy that I have such a cute and amazing and bright little sister!” she claimed energetically as she hugged me with way too much force.

Feeling the panic inside of me turn into joyful emotions inside of me, I started chuckling, “You’re killing me, sis, let go a little” I playfully tapped her back.

Slightly loosening her grip around me, “Noooo, I’ll never let you go again. You’re mine now.” She cheered.

“I don’t mind,” I chuckled as I adjusted myself in her lap and enjoyed the moment.

A few minutes into the hug, I started to wonder though. They shouldn’t have a reason to hate us though? As far as I know we didn’t do anything to warrant so much hate. "Hey sis," I started. "Does our stepmother really hate us for no reason? Why would she do that when she has more important things to do?"

"Ahh, well she has always been like that," my sister sounded uncertain as she tried to explain. "I remember mom telling me once that she hates us because mom was the first wife and stepmother really wanted that spot. Father always cared about mother more. She also comes from higher nobility, our stepmother is actually from earldom, that’s one rank below what mom was. Maybe that’s why?"

"I see," I said as I moved out of the hug. Feeling sorry for our stepbrother, who had to have someone like that as their mother, I inquired, "so how old is our stepbrother?"

"That idiot huh, I think he’s two years older than you right now, so 7 years old. I was actually really surprised when father started shouting at him, he usually doesn’t show emotions."

I deadpaned, "Really? I hadn't noticed," following up with a smirk. "but yes, he was really scary in that moment. Did you also notice the lights flickering? The shadows seemed alive too somehow." I frowned at that.

"That? Yeah, it was pretty scary. Father is a really good shadow mage. I've heard he can cast spells all the way up to the Grandmaster stage. Maybe he used his magic?"

Furrowing my eyebrows, I asked, "what do you mean, Grandmaster stage?"

Her eyebrows shot up. "Oh right, you haven’t started your education yet," she realized. "There are 7 stages when it comes to magic spells, each one is more devastating than the other, generally spoken. The higher the stage, the harder the spells are to control and the biggest ones require a ton of mana to cast. The Grandmaster stage is the 3rd highest level. There are not a lot of people with that level of skill at father’s age." 

"My eyes widened. Wow, I didn’t know he was so strong. I wish I could start learning magic too, but Alaya keeps insisting on not teaching me anything." I rolled my eyes.

My sister chuckled at that. "Yeah, well I’ve been told it’s very dangerous to use magic without control, apparently it’s even possible to blow yourself up if you aren’t carefully controlling the mana inside your body. That’s why you only learn it when you go to the academy at age 12, it’s way to dangerous to use without supervision."

I frowned at that. Must be because kids cant follow instructions. I wouldn’t trust a kid to carry a gun either, even if the kid was taught etiquette on how to carry it.

"Anyways, enough about boring stuff, lets go to the garden and play something!" she said while standing up, pushing me off of her in the process and walking off.

"Wait for me!" I called as I ran after her.

 

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As I followed my sister, stepping out of the grand doors of the estate and into the expansive garden, I took a moment to admire its beauty.

The soft grass tickled my feet, and the sweet fragrance of the blooming flowers filled my nostrils. The garden seemed to stretch on forever, with rows of neatly trimmed hedges lining the paths that wound their way through the greenery. I could see all sorts of trees and bushes, some bearing fruit, others with delicate petals in shades of pink, yellow, and purple. The sun shone down, dappling the ground with light and shadow. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves, and I could hear the distant chirping of birds.

I got taken out of my thoughts by my sister playfully booping me on my cheek. “Ok, listen up,” my big sister started explaining, her voice filled with excitement. “We’re going to play hide and seek, knights and bandits edition. I created the game and the rules are this: One of us is going to be the knight and the other one a bandit. The goal of the game is for the bandit to hide from the knight, and for the knight to find the bandit within 5 minutes. If the knight can’t find the bandit, the bandit wins. And the punishment will be a spanking with this mighty sword.” She smirked, eagerly swinging a thin branch she had picked up from a nearby tree. “Since I’m the older one, I’ll let you choose if you want to be the bandit or the knight this time.”

Chuckling, I thought to myself, She probably wants to be the knight. She has always been a bit obsessed with being a knight, even going so far as to train her swordsmanship daily. “I think I want to be the bandit.” I told her.

“Okay,” she squinted her eyes. “Oh, and remember, you’re only allowed to hide somewhere in the garden, so don’t cheat and go back inside.” she warned me.

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“Yes, I know,” I rolled my eyes.

“Ok, ready? I’ll count to 60.”

“Ready.”

As she started counting, I ran through the big garden, as far away from my sister as I could. I imagined myself in the role of a bandit, on the run from a dangerous knight. My sister was the knight and she had to find me within 5 minutes or she would lose.

As I ran, I came across the perfect hiding spot. I crawled under a tall hedge and ducked low, trying to blend in with the greenery. As I waited for her to end the countdown, I heard her shouting, “Ready or not, here I come!”

I was determined to not be the loser, so I did my best to keep perfectly still and quiet. I held my breath, slowing it down as much as possible. I didn’t want her to hear me after all, that would make for a bad bandit. A thrill of fear and excitement overcame me as I waited for my sister.

Laying quietly in my hiding spot, I could hear the sound of her footsteps getting closer and closer. My heart started to race as I focused all my attention on not making a sound. I held my breath and stayed as still as possible, hoping that she wouldn't be able to find me.

The soft rustling of the bushes and leaves around me seemed to get louder and the moment turned more intense as the knight’s steps approached. Right when I thought that she found me, I could see a pair of feet walking by from under the hedge.

I held my breath until the knight’s footsteps turned silent. Finally, I stopped holding my breath and frantically filled my lungs with new air. The bush I had been hiding under started rustling from my movement.

As I waited for a few more minutes, a bit longer than necessary, I stepped out of my hiding spot. I scrunched my face as I started noticing that I was still wearing the same dress from earlier, now dirty with smears of dirt from the undergrowth. Damn it, Alaya will be furious!

As I searched for the knight that was about to get a spanking, I heard footsteps behind me.

“Aha!” I shouted as I turned around, “You lo-“ I stopped midway as I realized who it was. Fuck, I opened my mouth in surprise. It was my evil stepmother, scowling at me.

“Look at you,” she sneered “dirty from head to toe, looking more like a poor peasant beggar than anything else.” She looked me up and down.

“I-“ she interrupted me before I could even say anything.

“But then again, I shouldn’t expect anything else from that whore’s spawn,” at that I clenched my teeth in anger and glared at her. “You know, it would have been better if you just died with that Whore mother of yo-“

“Shut up!” I interrupted her, as she did me. “Bullying a 5 year old, does that make you feel powerful? Do you feel excitement and joy? What a joke of an adult you are.” I realized the mistake I had made as her face changed to the mixture of angry with a vicious smirk.

I took a step back as she raised her hand, preparing to slap me. I closed my eyes and pulled up my arms to block the blow.

I heard another pair of quick footsteps and heard a dull thump, but I felt no pain. I opened my eyes and saw the scene of my very angry sister blocking the slap with her left hand. In her right hand she carried a stick, one a whole lot bigger than she was holding earlier.

“What is wrong with you?” my sister started, shouting at my stepmother. “You would hit a child? For playing in the garden? Even for you that’s a new low!” she took my hand and we took a few steps back.

Looking surprised, but quickly calming her expression she tried justifying her actions “I was just disciplining her. Look at the state of that dress, did no one teach her manners?” she said evenly, not a hint of remorse to be seen “In fact, you should thank me. I’ll do what should have been done a long time ago!”

My sister clenched my hand so hard it hurt. “You have no business disciplining a child that isn’t yours,” she pointed her stick at my sick stepmother, “and before you discipline Amber, how about you beat the ego out of your own child? God knows he needs it!” she countered with a sneer “would be quite fitting too, as everyone knows just how crazy you are!”

Sis took a deep breath, “The next time you see it fitting to ‘discipline’ Amber, I’ll make sure to let father know much ‘good’ you are doing to her growth, and that people might create rumors. You were about to hit her in broad daylight after all.” Sis glared hatefully, “You know how much he cares about the family name.” She ended ominously.

As we walked away, hand in hand, I tried to burn her baffled expression into my memory. But also the powerlessness I felt when she was about to hit me. If sis wasn’t there, I gulped, not wanting to think further about how it would have ended.

I needed power, and I needed it now. It’s time. Tonight I would sneak into the library, gods be damned if I was waiting until I was 12 to learn magic.

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Picture of the stepmother

 

 

 

 

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