A Rational Magic || ONC2022

Three || Changes

Lani's made fast friends with Mercury in that way she does, and we end up sitting together all the way from Ercaster to Terrenfell.

Which isn't a problem. I have a new book to read, and I'd prefer to not find out too much about this boy. He did kinda get kidnapped.

And said kidnapping attempt did get this train delayed quite spectacularly, so now there's something else to deal with.

The fact that Aunt Jessica has been expecting us for the past three-quarters of an hour, and we're only just getting off the train.

She comes over to help us all wrestle bags off the train, shining in a way that is so unnatural Lani asks me whether I think she's an impostor.

I'm not sure why anyone would pretend to be a lonely woman like Aunt Jessica, but Lani's off on a wild theory spree, and so I don't bring this up.

"How come you're so late?" she asks us, giving Mercury a curious look.

"We just stopped a kidnapping," Lani shrugs, gaze trained on two people further down the platform. In an incredibly creepy similarity to the Ercaster Incident (as we're undoubtedly gonna call it), they don't really look related.

"You... what?"

"We stopped a kidnapping," I repeat, gesturing vaguely at Mercury. "It caused a delay, as you'd expect."

Aunt Jessica opens her mouth to speak, and then closes it again. She's apparently too shocked to ask how any of that even happened, or maybe why her twelve-year-old nieces were the ones stopping the kidnapping and not, say, adults.

"Um... are you okay?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine!" It's in a 'what I say is not what I mean' sort of way, but I pretend we don't all know that she's lying. "Anyway, you are both alright, aren't you?"

We both nod, since we are both fine. It's very lucky that neither of us got hurt, thinking about it, since I was making stupid decisions and Lani was... well, Lani was being anything but Lani.

Weird.

For someone who believes in fairies, she's not particularly... you'd think she'd be more weak, and silly, I guess, but she just isn't.

Perfectly, painfully logical.

"Well, that's alright then!" Aunt Jessica beams, and then waves towards the woman and boy standing a short distance away. "Sara, over here, come meet my nieces!"

We turn to give each other looks, the sign that this is time to be Anya-and-Lani, Lani-and-Anya. Connected in that way that twins do seem to be. Even if telepathy doesn't really exist, there's something.

Some sets of twins make their own languages up, you know.

A friend?

Maybe more than that.

There's no way, Anya.

Strange, for someone so focused on feelings and instincts, to not see what's between these two. That's... anyone could tell that this isn't really a 'friendly' look they're giving each other. And why on earth would this boy be here if they're not waiting for someone truly connected to them?

"Girls, this is Sara, my..." She hesitates, suddenly looking a bit duller, a little less confident. Nervous. "My girlfriend."

Lani's jaw drops. Why wouldn't it?

And, alright, I'm a little surprised as well, but at the same time... well, people are unlikely to stay lonely forever.

Love is a rather unstoppable thing. Mum's always said so, Dad's always said so... everyone does, really.

"It's nice to meet you," I say, trying to keep my tone polite. Don't act too surprised, since that's rude, and rudeness is a bad thing.

And I'm pretty sure this is normal, however much Lani is gaping. It's not like it's a horrific crime, is it?

"You must be Lani?" Sara guesses, and I can't quite help the wince. "Oh, sorry, Anya?"

"Yeah..."

Lani introduces herself brightly, and then immediately begins bombarding both women with questions. I keep quiet.

I'm good at that.

~|•

In the car, I finally learn who this boy is, and more importantly the entire situation. Aunt Jessica's house is the same — it is not big, and the guest room is no longer available for guests, as it belongs to him.

And that is fine. They have spent the last week clearing out the attic instead, and the two beds from the guest room (as we were the only guests, really) have been wrestled upstairs.

We've never been allowed in the attic. Aunt Jessica always said it was dangerous, and we believed her, because we were young and didn't see a reason for her to lie.

She was lying, though. The worst thing upstairs was dust, and maybe some things she didn't want to get broken. Nothing that was exactly harmful.

Adults lie all the time, though. They tell the truth about as often as they tell falsehoods, but the point still stands.

Sara's son, I guess our cousin (we already have two, on Mum's side, and I think we're at five on Dad's without counting this boy), is called Soren.

Lani misheard it as 'Siren', somehow, and almost died of laughter for some reason. I assume it's one of her fantasy things.

Though I admit, sirens are a pretty interesting thing in myth. Less so in modern stories, if Ivy is telling the truth about that book she considered burning. She's our older cousin on Mum's side, and she's awesome.

Mostly because she's really good at Science, and, well, what do you think my favourite school subject is?

Soren, it turns out, is eleven, and in our year at school — his birthday is the latest it can possibly be, at the end of August. Which means there'll be two birthdays to celebrate while we're here, since Aunt Jessica's is early August.

(It's Lani who points that out, much later, when we're alone upstairs.)

There's a window that overlooks the sea in the attic, and Lani immediately drags an old chest from one end of the room to the other to create a makeshift window seat. It's a sturdy thing, with a very secure lock — and I should know, because she tried breaking it — so it should be safe to sit on.

And, you know, she falls to making up a story about who it used to belong to. Pirates, naturally, is what I expect, but Lani thought different.

I really have to admit, she makes up the best stories.

And since falling asleep in new places has always been an issue for me, it's helpful to listen as she spins a tale of mermaids and monsters lurking beneath the waves.