London.

Sunday Evening.

Far from the Frontier City of Sydney, the bustling city of London worked endlessly, taking in resources sent from its Frontiers, always growling for more. The smog-filled city was held in high regard by many, but for others it was seen as the epicenter of humanity’s troubles. In a time when peace reigned and everyone ought to be banding together in preparation for a calamity, no one seemed to show the slightest concern for a potential calamity.

When Arthur was but a child, he learned the lesson of always being prepared the hard way. His father, a Magister, was killed abroad in one of the various conflicts humanity was involved in during the early 70s. Despite his rank as Magister it wasn’t something to be unexpected, as the man spent most of his life on the front lines.

After spending half a decade on the Frontlines himself, he knew what lay out beyond the cozy walls of the cities. A raw, untamed world full of savages and lesser beings needing to be dominated by humanity. The younger generation, however, seemed to have more sympathy for the demi-humans. At least the dregs of society did. Eventually the day would come when many of them were screaming and begging to be spared from death, a serenade to his ears.

Such was the nature of humanity without conflict. If they had nothing to fight, they would lose form and grow weary more quickly in battle. When the time came, Arthur knew that there would be a culling amongst the generation currently coming of age.

Perhaps that was the reason why he disliked the younger generation so much. They hadn’t known the pain and suffering of the flames of war and they were wholly unprepared for it. Such a shame, but he knew it couldn’t be helped. The higher reaches of the Mageocracy were too afraid to force their children to the frontlines, and he had no say in the matter. He was apparently just a lowly war mage.

Besides, he currently had more pressing concerns. Particularly the unexpected failure of the team he’d paid good CCs to retrieve Felicity and, when they’d failed to do that, Skylar. Of all the outcomes he’d expected, Skylar seeking shelter with her oldest sister was wholly unexpected. Now she hadn’t been seen in days, apparently still holed up inside his eldest daughter’s residence.

If he could flog Eden he would have done so by now. However, that wasn’t possible. His eldest had garnered favors from such a wide range of people now that it was entirely possible someone in the highest reaches of the Mageocracy owed her something. The ice below was oh so thin, and one wrong misstep could cost him more than just a few CCs like it had on the past—especially given his habit of somehow winding up taking the blame for everything.

Unfortunately, he now had a rather annoying problem presenting itself before him. He’d promised the elf his wife adopted to another elf from Snowdonia. As he could no longer rely on his acquaintance to make certain his wife was absolutely loyal to him and his children stayed in line, he would require someone far more powerful to ensure the status quo of their family would return to the way he envisioned it.

To think that woman approached and could offered him exactly what he desired out of the blue. How fortuitous had that meeting been? She may be a filthy demi-human, but there was no doubt in his mind that she was useful and perhaps even worth sparing.

However, the problem that presented itself before him wasn’t going to be solved so easily. He’d managed to convince London’s Tower to let them return earlier than planned by puppeteering his wife into signing a letter stating they would quietly hand over Luna to Snowdonia as a gift. Aside from receiving his small wish, the gift would curry favor for his country, giving them a small degree of leverage over Snowdonia.

However, Nathaniel, the man from the Grey Faction he was using to facilitate the under the table exchange, had apparently failed spectacularly. In under the span of a day, he’d been conveyed to society as a sexual predator who had an underage girl kidnapped. That was the most he’d heard yet, but Arthur knew that plan was in complete shambles. Even worse, he’d burned most of his bridges on the way out in an effort to make his youngest daughter and the elf appear obscure, so he wouldn’t be able to pull any strings in that regard.

Whatever he was going to do next, he’d need to do soon, within the next few months. On the other hand, moving too soon was a non-option. Undoubtedly his youngest was involved. She had to be, because the goal was to distract her and then have Ghillana take Luna while Iris was busy trying to rescue Zoey.

It honestly seemed like a foolproof plan, but he should have expected Nathaniel to find some way to mess it all up. The man was about as useless as they come.

Arthur knew he had nothing to worry about so long as he continued to keep up the act in front of others that he was now being a ‘good boy.’ In the meantime, he could manipulate his wife’s mother and curry favor with her by puppeteering his wife about. Rebuilding their status and connections after being away for so long was important. Perhaps they could even work their way back into the nobility as official members.

Another pressing matter, he supposed, was how he would now wrangle their children back into line. Eden was already out of the question, but if he could somehow lure Skylar and Felicity away from her he could easily ensure that they wouldn’t dare go near her again, even if it meant getting a bit physical in doing so.

Slowly sipping his drink, he mused at the thought of what that would do to his eldest daughter. While it was true he couldn’t directly manipulate her, it was possible to do so through her sisters. Such an idea was devious of course, but if he were to threaten their safety if she didn’t obey him, then it was likely Eden would be under his thumb.

The only issue in all of this would be that pesky oriental girl that was currently leading her astray. Though his youngest was freakishly intelligent, that woman rivaled her and even stained her chastity. Such a sinful relationship only served to tarnish their family’s name. It wasn’t love, that was for sure. Instead, what was driving their actions must have been nothing more than sinful lust and desire. Something that he was keen to stamp out.

Glancing up, Arthur stared into the soulless eyes of his wife and smiled.

“To our family dear. May the future burn ever bright for both of us,” he toasted, raising up his glass.

Mechanically, Elsie reached for her glass and lifted it. After gently clinking his against hers, Arthur took a long drag of his scotch, then gestured to her.

“Another please,” he ordered.

As per his request, his wife stood up and gently took the glass from him, then made her way over to the alcohol cabinet to pour him another round. Her obedience tickled his heart and made him feel wonderful.

He relaxed in his chair, dreaming of the boons he would be receiving not far off in the future.

Cambridge.

Monday morning.

Eden didn’t sleep well the during the night. Though the weight of her youngest sisters’ safety had been lifted off her chest thanks to Magus Stone, the weight of what happened to Skylar was still eating away at her more and more as time went on. Her nagging feeling wasn’t sitting well with her either. If this was all her father’s doing, then she couldn’t begin to imagine what he’d done to their mother.

Ultimately when they rose in the morning Seiko made it clear that she would take Skylar to the hospital if the girl wasn’t conscious by the time she got home, as there may be a serious underlying issue that’d needed a specialist to diagnose. Reluctantly, Eden agreed.

Presently, she was making her girlfriend’s lunch, a delicious bento in the form of a mix of fruits and vegetables with dipping sauces.

A kiss greeted her cheek as her girlfriend sidled up next to her and nuzzled her gently.

“You always make the best lunches,” she cooed as she picked up a slice of cucumber and popped it into her mouth. “I miss the Enclàve’s produce. So succulent and delicious.”

“And in a few months we’ll be looking for a home there.”

“Mmm. It’ll have to be big enough for your sisters too. When do you think we should sit them down and ask them?”

“Once we’re reunited with Iris and Luna,” Eden said as she finished packing the last of the grapes into the box and gently covered it with a lid. “I think they should have the opportunity to make that choice together.”

The question of how she was going to get Felicity and Skylar out of the country immediately came to mind when she thought of her youngest sisters. Sighing, she passed the bento over to her girlfriend, who rubbed her shoulder lovingly in response.

“Seems like something’s on your mind.”

“Yeah. It’s not a conversation for now, but when Skylar wakes, we’ll need to have a discussion on whether or not she wants to come with us to Australia. And if she does, then how are we going to get both of them out of the country.”

“Mmm,” her girlfriend hummed as she stored her meal. “Something to think about. Don’t worry, we’ve made it this far together, we’ll figure it out like we always do.”

That reassurance was set her at ease. Eden couldn’t tell whether it was because she was able to settle herself down or because her beloved was radiating her aura, but whenever the woman comforted her she felt like everything would be alright.

“I’m so lucky to have you.”

“That you are. Don’t worry about your sister too much. I’d leave Camilla here with you in case Skylar wakes up, but I know you’ll be worried about my safety without her around.”

“You know me too well,” Eden said before leaning and kissing her girlfriend on the cheek.

Seiko hugged and kissed her once more in response, then made her way for the door.

“If she wakes up make sure she drinks plenty of water, but not too much, and Message me immediately.”

“Will do. Have a good day at work.”

“I’ll try,” Seiko replied sarcastically as she slung her backpack over her back and made her way out of the apartment.

“Bye Kono. Have a good day at work,” Felicity chirped from upstairs.

“Have a great day Felicity. We’ll make up that workout later,” Seiko replied before closing the door.

The sound of feet thumping down the stairs quickly followed.

“Good morning sis,” Felicity greeted her with a big smile. “Skylar’s still asleep but I told her she’s welcome to join us for breakfast.”

Suddenly, Eden felt the weight on her heart quickly beginning to return once again: the oppressive feeling on her chest that had left thanks to Seiko. To tell or not to tell her sister, that was the question.

It had been so long since she’d seen Felicity, and right now she seemed happy as could be. That was something she didn’t want to take away, but at the same time it was cruel and unfair to do so. Not telling her the grave situation Skylar currently faced would likely hit the younger Enchantress like whiplash should something go terribly awry.

Thankfully it was still too early to tell her younger sister of the situation Skylar was currently facing in full detail. The girl looked like she’d just gotten out of bed. Breakfast came first, then she could ease her into that difficult conversation that she knew neither of them would look forward to having.

“Good morning sis. We had breakfast earlier but I can make you something if you want.”

“Don’t worry about it,” the girl said as she sleepily rubbed her head. “Right now I think it’s best if I quickly pick up the basics of taking care of myself. At least that’s what Seiko recommended.”

Eden smiled and nodded.

“Just don’t get too crazy, okay?”

“I won’t. Promise,” Felicity assured her as she made her way over to the fridge and pulled out a jug of juice. “What’s the plan for today?”

A good question the elder sister supposed. Eden looked toward the garage. While it wasn’t her workshop, it was a place where she could work on the smaller projects she was carrying with her. Barring anything too serious interrupting her, she might even be able to mentor her younger sister a bit.

“Once you’re done and you’ve gotten ready for the day, come meet me out in the garage. We can’t just leave Skylar here, but I’ve still got projects that need to be finished. We can do most of the aesthetic work here.”

“Sounds wonderful. I’ll be out soon.”

Eden watched her sister start making breakfast for a brief moment, then quickly made her way out into the dusty old garage.

Poor planning, as would be the case at the moment, meant that she hadn’t turned on the space-heater in preparation and thus the room was absolutely frigid. After summoning a winter coat from her medium storage ring and wrapping herself inside of it, she proceeded to turn on the space heater and hoped it would quickly warm up her surroundings.

In the meantime, she dusted off the workbench that straddled the residence facing wall and proceeded to unload her current projects onto it.

Now that she thought about it, she’d need to stop accepting projects immediately and not take any further ones, as she’d soon be leaving the country and the given the relationship of shipping things out of Kyoto to the Mageocracy it was likely any projects that were unfinished by the time she had to leave would remain completely unfinished. Depending on when they left, that could force her to cancel some of the commissions she’d already begun, digging into her pockets for a while.

Alas, that was the nature of being a freelance Enchantress such as herself. Sometimes you score big, and sometimes you lose huge. The freedom that came with it was what kept her from pursuing a more stable path of Enchanting.

She emptied her storage ring of her old tools which Felicity had passed over to her and the ones that she always brought along for working on the go. Then she picked out a carving-scraping hybrid tool and set to work on carving into a piece of circular stock that was intended to work as an Alarm device, alerting its owner whenever it was touched.

This particular project was easy money. All in all most of the fee was due to the piece having to look intricate and expensive. About 200 HDMs for the craftsmanship, and 50 HDMs for the piece itself. She was looking to make quite the profit at the moment.

She soon settled into work, making the piece into something that looked exotic, with a hint of elvish and dwarvish inspiration mixed in. After the past few days of worrying and feeling somewhat sick to her stomach, the work was relieving. She could almost mindlessly set herself to working on something and feel relaxed.

Soon the lines and designs began to blend and weave in with one another, leaving a story in their wake. As she continued to work, her pace only became faster and faster, the path for the story quickly being laid out before her.

“Sis,” Felicity said as she gently rested her hand on elder sibiling’s shoulder.

Eden realized she’d gotten so focused on what she was doing that she’d lost track of time. Standing next to her, Felicity wore a concerned expression.

“I tried getting your attention but you seemed lost in what you were doing so I decided it would be best to gently draw your attention. I hope I didn’t cause you to mess anything up,” she explained.

“No, no it’s fine,” she assured the girl.

“So, what will you have me do today?”

Eden smiled at her younger sister and gestured to her tools. From her ring, the elder Enchantress conjured a variety of different pieces of metallic scrap.

“Show me what you can do. Make something simple that doesn’t require much effort, but that you’d be willing to sell, regardless of how much you’d sell it for.”

“And if you have any questions, please feel free to ask away. Once I have a proper gauge of your basic abilities, I’ll have a starting point for helping you become a more adept Enchantress. Of course I still expect you to attend uni.”

“I’ll do my best to make you proud,” Felicity replied happily as she began sorting through the scraps once again.

Eden focused back down onto her own current project and realized that she was making her way through it much faster than expected. She might even finish this project and make significant progress on another before Seiko returned home.

Next to her, Felicity pulled out a stool from beneath the workbench and began to toil away at a specially made piece of thin sheet metal that was leftover from a metallic box of storage she’d made. Immediately, she began to flatten the metal and cut it into small squares.

As Eden got back to her own work she pondered how best to broach the subject. Would another topic make the matter easier to delve into, or should she be honest from the get-go? Such a difficult subject wasn’t easy to approach regardless, but with the way Felicity had been living until a couple of days ago, it probably wouldn’t be smart to put pressure on her mentally just yet. Despite the cheerful attitude, the scars that lie below were still there and wouldn’t heal so easily. She personally had experience with the pains of the heart’s woes when left unchecked.

Glancing up from her work again, she watched Felicity appear to incant something over one of the squares she cut, then smile and nod before continuing onto the next piece. She appeared to be so happy right now, just as she had been when they were at the workshop on Friday.

Sucking in a deep breath, the Enchantress prepared to break the news to her sister gently.

“Eden there’s something you want to tell me, isn’t there,” Felicity asked while continuing to toll away.

So much for subtly trying to broach the ever-difficult subject, she supposed.

“That’s right. I wanted to talk to you about Skylar.”

Next to her, Felicity sulked but continued to fiddle around with another square piece.

“I heard you and Seiko talking about it the other night. About how she might not recover…”

“I’m not saying it’s going to happen,” Eden assured her younger sister. “Remember, Seiko herself said that it was entirely possible Skylar could come out fine. I just wanted to make sure you knew before she woke up in case something goes terribly wrong.”

“I understand sis. Honestly, I can’t blame you for being worried about me. But this is our sister we’re talking about. We need to be open with each other because we both care about her.”

“Yeah. I guess I’m just a little overprotective, you know?”

“I can understand that. Iris is basically the definition of overprotection when she thinks her friends are in danger or at risk of being in danger. Our youngest sister really has turned out to be quite a monster on a battlefield.”

Eden smiled as she thought of their little sister, who, as she recalled, was probably braver than herself when she left for London. She looked forward to the day when they would see one another once again, so that she could show her little sister just how strong she’d gotten. That day would come soon enough.

“So I’ve heard. But from what you’ve said, Luna is just as talented.”

“She is, if not more talented than Iris. You really have to see her fight to believe it because she’s so dedicated to improving herself before attempting to learn spells at her current tier that she’s become peerless amongst the other students when limited to low-tier spells.”

“Mmm, I’d love to see them duel sometime soon. Perhaps we’ll even get to duel each other in the next few months.”

“You duel?”

“I do. I picked up Evocation after Transmutation for a reason. A little spice in my life was quite appealing to me. I could have picked up Illusion which would be a benefit to my Enchanting, but I wanted to be able to do something more than just make things.”

“I’m both curious and afraid of seeing you fight.”

“Oh don’t worry, it’s not a priority. It’s a hobby I picked up after Seiko encouraged me to do something with myself other than work and hang out with her.”

“I see. Is there anyone in particular you like to duel?”

“Camilla is pretty fun to spar with.”

“Camilla? But she’s so innocent and cute. And isn’t she a healing spirit?”

“Believe it or not, Camilla’s actually better suited to combat than healing. She does her best and relies on what she’s learned alongside Seiko, but in her heart she’s far better at fighting. For healing, she only aids Seiko by providing the accuracy she needs when my girlfriend feels she’s incapable of doing it alone. Ah but you should ask Kono about it yourself after you’ve gotten to know her for a while. She might just tell you more about how she and Camilla met.”

From Felicity’s expression, it seemed the girl understood what she was implying, much to her relief. Seiko would kill her if she outright spoke aloud exactly what their relationship was.

“I see,” Felicity said. “I hope I get to see you and her dueling sometime then.”

“Sure. Next time we have a bout, I’ll be certain to let you know.”

Silence returned to the room as they tinkered about with their separate projects. Eden was determined to finish her current project before noon given how simple it was after the decorative aspects were complete.

She soon lost track of how much time had passed. Just before she could put the finishing touches on the Alarm device, she was distracted by the sound of a soft, repeating thump coming from somewhere. Looking up from her work at Felicity, she noticed her younger was entirely still as well.

“Do you hear that?” Felicity asked.

“Yeah,” she said, getting up slowly. “Get close to me and keep quiet.”

Felicity did as she was told and immediately attached herself to Eden’s waist. Taking a deep breath and preparing herself for a fight, she slowly opened the door to a house.

“…anyone… there,” Skylar’s voice drifted throughout the house.

Skylar’s awake!

Instinctually Eden quickly sprinted to the stairs and made her way up the spare bedroom her sister had been put in. Opening the door, she saw Skylar, who was currently sitting up against the bed’s headboard.

Her younger sister seemed surprised to see her, and as soon as Felicity had joined them that surprise immediately doubled.

“Skylar, you’re awake,” the eldest sister said as she briskly walked over to her younger one’s side and knelt down.

“Eden, why do you look older? And what are you doing here,” Skylar asked in astonishment.

It took a moment for her to process what her younger sister had just said. Of all the possible outcomes she’d hoped for, this wasn’t one of them. It was one she was hoping that by some miracle she would be able to avoid.

Alas, that seemed it wouldn’t be the case, at least not this time. Before she could verify her fears, it would be best to nudge the girl gently toward the question she was about to ask her, and hope that by some miracle her memory was only a little fuzzy.

“Tell me, what’s the last thing you remember?”

Her younger sister puckered her lips inward and her eyes gazed into the distance toward something unseen.

“I was studying up on advanced Enchanting techniques. I want to craft something before I join you at Cambridge. Something that’ll wow everyone and get me into Queen’s College.”

Eden felt like she was going to be sick.

It seemed her initial estimate was far better than the reality currently presenting itself before her. Though both hesitant and completely reluctant, she slowly asked her next question.

“Skylar, do you know what year it is by chance?”

“Yeah it’s 1998. Today’s September 21st, isn’t it?”