Twilit Mage

Chapter 3: Exiles

Mercury didn't stop thinking about the strange man and the letter all day, and she didn't stop thinking about them the next day either. But it wasn't until her family sat together at dinner the next evening that she thought about actually bringing it up.

The conversation had died down. Her parents were both busy with their plates of mac and cheese; Mercury was eating slowly, even slower than usual, taking tiny bites and chewing so carefully one could think she was expecting to bite down on a diamond at any given second. Inside her head she was rehearsing phrases, thinking of things to say, how to bring up this strange topic without sounding like she was making the whole story up. If it was even real in the first place. Maybe it really had been her imagination playing tricks on her, and if she mentioned it–

No, she wouldn't know until she tried. And she wanted to know. She wanted to find out so many things, if all of this was real, what Principal Blake had been talking about.

She didn't know much about magic, she realized.

Okay...She had to tell them. There was no way around it. Right now nobody else was speaking, she wouldn't be interrupting anybody if she spoke up out of the blue...The moment was ideal. All she had to do was take a deep breath–

–and let it out again as her courage failed her.

Principal Blake really was amazing, she thought, going up to her, a total stranger, and casually bringing up such a bizarre topic without batting an eye. She couldn't even mention it to her own parents. For crying out loud–

One more try. This time for sure. She knew what she had to say...a deep breath...

"By the way," her father said just as she opened her mouth and quickly closed it again, groaning inwardly. "Reggie, our best friend showed up at the shop again today." He gave a meaningful roll of his eyes.

"Oh, him," her mother answered, making a face like the macaroni and cheese had just turned sour in her mouth. "What did he want this time? Did he complain about embarrassing himself with the red roses after you told him not to get those?"

Her parents laughed, and Mercury spaced out again as they chatted on about stories from work, doing comical impressions of people she had never met in her life. She clenched her fists in her lap. Missed her chance...Now what? When would she get her next one? Would she not get one at all? What if she didn't and lost her slim chance of ever learning how to use her own magic? What would she tell Principal Blake?

"By the way, Mercury," her father's voice cut through her thoughts, making her drop her fork onto her plate. "Did you want to say something earlier?"

Mercury looked up and found both her parents looking down at her with curious eyes.

She gulped. For a second she considered lying her way out and telling them some meaningless story from school. Then she gritted her teeth, stubbornly fighting off the temptation and mentally chiding herself for even thinking of chickening out. This was her chance. She had to say it, or she'd never have the courage to bring it up again.

"Actually..." She didn't meet her parents' eyes. "There was something."

And before she could change her mind once more, she quickly told them about the bizarre encounter in front of the house.

Her parents were quiet when she stopped talking. They simply looked at her with amazement in their eyes, not saying a word.

Mercury shrank in her chair. This silence was killing her. "Um..." she began, fidgeting with the hems of her sleeves. "This is...a bit weird, right? I mean, I never heard about a third kind of magic before...You didn't either, right? Or you'd have told me...it's..." She hung her head. "Probably nothing, huh...I'm sorry...I don't know why I brought it up..."