Twilit Mage

Chapter 57: Parents and Daughter

Mercury was left with her parents, fumbling and fidgeting and unsure what to say.

So much had happened since she had last seen them both. So much she had hidden from them, so much she had glossed over in her texts and calls, pretending to be fine to keep them from worrying. So much she had wondered about. So much she had wanted to ask them over and over again, only to chicken out every time she had the chance.

"Mom," she began hesitantly, "Dad...um..."

She was half hoping for them to say something, but they only gazed at her with kind, expectant eyes.

"I...w-well, for starters...I'm very sorry I didn't tell you what's been going on here, I'm sorry I lied about being fine, it's just...um...I-I didn't want you to worry, and..." She trailed off, laughing nervously. "I've got...a lot to tell you, huh?"

Her mother smiled. "We all do, I think."

"That's true," her father said, moving over on his chair and inviting her to squeeze into it next to him, just like she had whenever she was nervous as a child. "But you can tell us now, we've got all the time in the world."

Mercury sat with him, barely fitting into the gap between his side and the armrest, and started to talk. Slowly at first, then faster and more steadily, she told her parents about everything, the first run-in with Raoul, the wait for the bus, the Otherworld journey, her arrival at the school and everything that had happened since, even the stupid and scary and embarrassing things. She had gone too long hiding things from her family. She had kept too many secrets. Then she had almost died, and she wouldn't make this same mistake again. No more hiding things. Not from her parents, who deserved to know more than anyone else.

Her parents didn't comment on her story. They simply listened, and when she got stuck and grew nervous and uncomfortable they quietly took her hands, encouraging her to go on. It wasn't until she was done that they both glanced at each other and then her with a sigh.

"You've been hiding all that from us," her father said, looking tired but somehow relieved at the same time. "That's a lot."

Mercury nodded, staring at the ground.

"Thank you for telling us," her mother said. "Even if it's late, better late than never. Besides..." Her eyes darkened, and her hand closed firmly around Mercury's as she gazed at Blake's empty desk. "At least part of what happened to you is my fault too."

Mercury shook her head. "Don't say that! What could you have done that–"

"I knew you could do magic since you were a baby."

Mercury froze. Her mother's words repeated in her head, over and over, but she refused to grasp their meaning. She must have heard her wrong. She refused to understand. She refused to believe.

"When I got pregnant," her mother said quietly, "I did research on children who were half Light Mage, half Dark. I wanted to know what effect it had on someone, if they got powers, what their powers were...all these things. It was hard back in the day. Everyone tried to hide your existence from yourselves. Paige & Turner's archive was the only place where I could at least hope to find answers."

Mercury swallowed. The archive...the very place she and Georgiana had failed to reach. If she had searched there, could she have found more answers on herself? Could she have found explanations for all the things that didn't seem to make sense?

Then a thought struck her, and she paused.

"Wait," she said. "Paige & Turner already existed back then? But..." She frowned. "They're so young..."