My sleep was disturbed by a rumbling noise. I rolled over as much as my wings let me and opened my eyes to see Allison’s staring at the window. I couldn’t tell if she was sad or lost in thought. The angle didn’t let me see. Looking at the window myself, I noticed it was still somewhat early. Probably sometime past noon.

“Is something wrong?” I asked, getting her attention.

“Hey, little one,” she cooed. “Does it still hurt?”

Oh right, that happens when I sleep.

“No, it doesn’t hurt now Allison.”

Not enough to mention it, anyway.

She sighed. “I’m glad. They told me you’d be fine, but you squirmed a lot and didn’t wake up at all. I was worried they were wrong.”

“Don’t worry, they know their stuff. It rather was nice to fall asleep peacefully for a change.” A second grumbling made Allison’s hunger clear. “Shall we go eat something?” I suggested while stretching. I didn’t know how long it had been since I fell asleep, but I felt hungry too.

She nodded and lifted me from her lap. I was disappointed when she continued holding me instead of placing me on the floor. She sat me on her left arm while she opened the door, and I instinctively held onto her shoulder to avoid falling.

“I can walk, you know,” I protested.

Allison giggled and used her right arm to secure me after exiting her room. “I can’t! You are too cute to let you go!” Noticing my discomfort, she smiled and added, “It’s also faster if we go like this.”

I could only pout at her. Her teasing aside, she had a point. Given our clear size difference, I wasn’t able to keep up with her on foot unless I ran, and I preferred to avoid any unnecessary pain. Although that didn’t make being carried around like a baby any less embarrassing.

Dr. Blake’s shameless smirk when he saw us approach made the situation even worse. He stopped eating and introduced himself. Then he welcomed Allison to her new home as she finally set me free. Anna and Lily arrived shortly after, showing how nice our timing had been. Once the four of us were done ready, we went to get our food.

It didn’t take long for Allison to find the first complications of being a giant outside of her room. For starters, she had to sit on the floor so the table was within decent reach. Not that there were any chairs big enough for her in the cafeteria. Then, since the special sized dishes and silverware they ordered for her hadn’t arrived yet, they had to improvise by giving her kitchen tools like a carving fork and a serving spoon. The kitchen staff didn’t look too happy about sharing those.

Getting clothes was an even bigger issue. The giant gown she wore was only a temporary solution after all. Fortunately, it was long enough to reach her ankles, preventing anyone from getting a free glimpse from below. In fact, it looked more like a plain long dress than a hospital gown like mine. Despite the inconveniences her new size brought her, she never stopped smiling and even joked about it whenever she got the chance.

After lunch, Dr. Blake went to his office as usual whilst the rest of us were free to do anything we wanted. Because of this, Anna suggested going outside to show us the latest project they had been working on.

Walking out to the back of the building, we were met with a huge terrace full of wooden furniture that matched perfectly with the surrounding forest. It was entirely fenced except for a section in the middle. This opening connected to a wide flagstone path that led us into the forest. It was as if we were suddenly transported to a resort.

As we walked along that path, Anna explained that Dr. Blake had decided to revamp the place so it could be much more than just an investigation centre. After what happened with Lily, he wanted to give us a place where we could feel at home and protected. Because of that, once he was given the green light, he dedicated an important percentage of his income to make the place friendlier for those who no longer had a place to go back to. It made me wonder how much the government paid them.

Not far from the terrace, we saw a large playground full of swings, slides, monkey bars, nets, and other oddly inviting structures they built by using the forest’s trees as support. Considering that it was meant for kids, it made sense that it was the closest to the main building.

The whole area was floored with a springy yet firm combination of dirt, leaves, and mulch, and it was surrounded by a tall black iron fence. I imagined the latter was meant to keep dangerous wildlife away, but it was strange that the path only had a short wooden fence if that was the case.

“Why isn’t everything fenced like this?” I asked Anna, pointing to the black bars.

“Because it’s too expensive. We also have rangers who keep the bigger animals and campers away from this place, so it’s not like a bear will show up anytime soon. Still, it isn’t a bad idea to stay alert. The fence is there in case something does manage to slip through security. The least we want is a kid getting attacked while playing. There aren’t any children here yet, but we know it’s only a matter of time until it happens. It’s better to be prepared, don’t you think?”

She looked at me in silence before a mischievous smile emerged on her face. “Actually, do you want to be the first kid to play here, Nora?”

I humphed, turning my head away with my arms crossed as my reply.

__________

How did this happen!?

That was my thought when I found myself swinging merrily, asking Allison to send me higher and higher with every push.

Am I becoming a child in mind too?

I know Anna isn’t exactly mature for her age, but I thought that was more due to her personality.

Perhaps the way everyone treats me has something to do with it?

I didn’t want to admit it, but I was having a good time playing like a kid again. Lily even joined me for the slides, which I’m sure were quite fun with her size. I still had to be careful and avoid things that required more physical effort to prevent my pain from rising, though. In a sense, it was fine. I didn’t want to embarrass myself any further by entangling my wings with a net or something like that.

It hadn’t been half an hour before Anna decided it was time to move on. She had probably grown bored from looking at me as I tried every single thing I could. It wasn’t my fault her joke backfired that much. I slid down one last time and walked over to the group obediently after she called.

We walked along the path for a few more minutes, and we reached a lake with water so pure and crystalline I could probably drink from it without risk. There was a small hut, and I could see some benches and tables scattered around. It was an ideal spot for relaxing. I could even picture myself sitting near the shore whilst playing the fessy or fishing.

I spotted Jack reading at one bench. He waved briefly when he noticed us before he returned to his book. I couldn’t understand that guy. Excluding the first time we met, he always acted cold towards me. Although he did wave at us this time, he was still expressionless. I wondered if being a ghost had somehow altered his personality too.

Not staying for long, we continued walking until we reached what Anna called ‘the training grounds’. It wasn’t anything special considering most of it was untouched forest. There were only two things that showed signs of human activity. The first, and most visible, was a rather tall tower standing alone at the centre of a clearing.

My initial thoughts were that this was a watchtower used by the rangers Anna mentioned previously. It even had a tiny cabin and a platform at the top from which they could observe the forest. The platform, however, was rather small and lacked railings or any other thing to prevent people from falling.

“What’s that tower for, Anna?” I finally asked.

“I’ll give you a hint,” she answered whilst smiling. “It’s something we made for you, Nora.”

It wasn’t hard to figure it out after that. “It's a flight training platform! I can’t wait to use it!” I yelled excitedly.

She chuckled. “Calm down. It’s way too early for that. We don’t even know if demons will be capable of true flight. There’s a chance you are only meant to glide.”

“I don’t mind. I can use it either way.”

I really hoped my wings would let me fly for real, but I didn’t care even if it was merely falling with style. To be honest, as long as they stopped being the dead weight they had proven to be ever since I got them, I was happy with it.

“Alright, just keep in mind that this thing will be the very last part of the learning process. We need to make sure it’s safe for you to use it, regardless of how capable those wings turn out to be.”

I nodded in response.

Right next to the tower was a big circle with some sort of yellow dirt as flooring. It looked like the kind used to fill house foundations. The place was clearly made for magic training in mind. It was devoid of any vegetation to prevent something catching on fire, assuming one of us learned something like that. The surrounding trees were covered with what I assumed to be fire retardant for the same reason.

When I asked Anna about any new magic, however, she replied by saying there were no reports of anyone doing anything different, so the only spells available were either healing or slight variations of brainwashing.

I really hoped we’d be able to throw fireballs eventually, since I didn’t see the point of practising psychic and healing magic in such an open area. I also couldn’t think of a way of learning those two without any real, and willing, test subjects. Thanks to that, I had a new goal. I wanted to discover a new type of magic. Although, I needed to find out how to use mana in the first place.

Fortunately for me, there were two magic users I could consult. While Anna was obviously my first choice, Jack seemed to be in a good mood today, if you could call it that. I couldn’t let the chance to talk to him go to waste.

The tour ended with Anna warning us not to go outside before lunch since the people working on this didn’t know what it was meant for. They were government employees, so they were trusted to keep the project a secret, but I already knew they wouldn’t be given more information than what they needed to get the job done.

With all these precautions, I wondered what would happen once my transformation was over.

Will I really be able to go home looking like this? And if so, will I have to stay inside so no one can see me?

I wanted to ask Anna, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear the answer. Instead, I decided to stay on the topic of magic. She was about to enter the building when I called her. “Anna?”

“What is it?”

“How do you use your magic?”

She gave me a concerned frown. “Don’t you think it is too early to try that? You may not be able to use it yet. Even if you are, it might be painful.”

“I promise I’ll be careful. I just want to try! I’ll even use the training area!”

I did my best puppy eyes to convince her. Sadly, her expression told me they didn’t achieve what I expected. I had forgotten what they looked like. I turned away to avoid making her any more uncomfortable.

She laughed and rolled her eyes. “Fine, but you can’t practise alone. The last thing I want is for you to fall unconscious in the middle of the forest. Could you do me a favour and babysit her while I help around the lab, Allison?”

“Who needs a babysitter!?” I asked, irritated.

I was ignored. Allison’s eyes sparkled at the opportunity. “Sure! What’s all this talk about magic though?”

Anna covered her mouth with her hand. “I’m so sorry, Allison! Well, I guess it’s obvious already, but we can do actual magic now.”

“Oh!” Allison smiled eagerly. “In that case, I’d love to try that! Or... is it risky for me too?”

“Not at all, you could say Nora is a little special in that regard. Once her transformation is complete, there shouldn’t be any problem.”

“Great! Then yes, I want to learn.”

“Me too!” said Lily as she waved her arms over her head.

“Alrigh, then. First of all, you need to feel the mana within you. We produce it naturally through a new organ we simply call the ‘Mana Core’. It is there, sleeping and waiting for us to use it. What I did when I started was imagining the normal flow of blood within my veins. Once you do that, picture the core deep in your chest, next to your heart. Pull the energy stored in it and pour it slowly into your body. Let it mix with your blood. You’ll know when it works, trust me. The tingling sensation it produces at first is unmistakable, but it will be less noticeable as your body grows used to it.

“That should be it. I’ll come to your room once I finish my work at the lab, Nora. Try to be back before it gets dark and don’t overwork yourself, okay?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

She sent me another worried look before walking into the building. Once she was inside, we headed back into the forest and to the lake where Jack was still reading his book. He glanced at us, then returned to reading. No wave or anything.

Maybe this is not such a good idea after all.

I sent Allison a pleading look, but she only nudged me forward with her leg. I nervously walked over to him, successfully getting his attention. I couldn’t stop fidgeting. “I… uh...”

He raised an eyebrow, keeping the same stone face as always. I could feel his boring gaze through those shades. Allison crouched and patted my back, smiling encouragingly at me.

Lily, on the other hand, lost her patience and spoke up instead. “We want to know if you can teach us how to use magic.”

Thanks, Lily.

Allison sighed and explained further. “Anna already told us how she uses hers, so I guess Nora wants to hear if your way is different.”

He snapped his book shut and placed it next to him. “Sure.”

My eyes widened in surprise. “You will?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t I?”

“Well, I thought you hated me or something.”

He stared at me in silence. I hoped he didn’t change his mind because of that. “No, that wasn’t it. I just…” He scratched the back of his head. “Anna mentioned you were angry with me because I used magic on you and your family. I guess I felt a bit guilty about it. I’m sorry I didn’t apologize before, but I’m not very good with that stuff. It felt awkward to say something after a while. I was hoping you wouldn’t notice. I’m sorry.”

Well, that’s not what I expected.

“I don’t know what she told you, but she was probably teasing you.”

He looked away and scratched his forearm. Despite his sheepish behaviour, his face remained the same. “Yeah, that does sound like her, now that you mention it. I should have noticed. Sorry about that.”

I giggled. “Don’t worry. I was more surprised than anything. I understood it was necessary, so I was never angry at you. You don’t have to apologise.”

“I see. Thank you,” he muttered. “Regarding your question, my use of magic is very different from Anna’s. For starters, I can’t do that ‘mixing of mana and blood’ thing she does. I’m made of the stuff to begin with, so I can skip that step and cast it directly. You should learn how to use it with her method. The same goes for her healing magic. I can’t use that.

“Psychic magic, on the other hand, is something I can be of help with. The spells I can use are: ‘Telepathy’, ‘False Emotion’, ‘Hypnosis’ and ‘Memory Sculpting’. I don’t think I need to explain them since their names are quite straightforward.”

Allison sat on the ground and asked, “How did you come up with all of those?”

“I didn’t. Hypnosis is the only spell I discovered. I learned the rest from reports from other research facilities.”

“Okay, how do we use them?” I asked.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I’ll only teach you fake emotion since it’s mostly harmless. If you prove that you can learn it and use it responsibly, I will consider teaching you the rest. Are you okay with that?”

“Yes!” Lily and I replied in unison. Allison merely nodded.

“Very well. To use Fake Emotion, you need to choose a target and try to feel the emotion you want to change. Many psychic spells depend on your own comprehension of the mind. Once you have the main idea, make it as strong or weak as you want and try to project that same feeling on them. Imagine you are connected with a cable and you send the new emotion through it.”

After he explained, he reopened his book to continue reading.

“Really? Nothing else?” I asked, frowning. I felt his instructions were too vague.

“Well, there are a few things that you’ll want to keep in mind. First, while the spell itself is easy, practising it requires some additional effort. Psychic magic can be easily dispelled if the person is aware of it, so you must hunt your targets instead of asking them to help you. It’s also easier if you’re able to read the target’s current emotion and focus on replacing it with the one you want, so it’s a good idea to work on that too. Finally, the closer you are, the easier it is to access the target’s mind. Make contact with them if possible.”

“I see… thanks!”

“Don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t work at first. This magic is tricky.”

I was glad I asked for more. Now I had something I could work on after getting control of my mana. With that, we left the lake and walked to the training area. Once there, we tried to follow Anna’s steps. We sat on the ground and closed our eyes as we concentrated on picturing the core she mentioned before attempting to pour our mana into our blood. In my case, I imagined it as a shiny orb, floating in the darkness like the flame from the dream I had the day I was infected.

A couple of hours passed, but nothing happened. No flow, no tingling, nothing at all. I was about to give up when Lily shouted, “I feel it!”

Allison and I approached her, trying to spot any visible sign of it. I was expecting to see something like Anna’s glowing hands when she used healing magic, yet there was no change. We couldn’t discard the possibility of it being all in her mind, to which she added that it was the same feeling she had in her throat when she first woke up as a fairy. It only made things more confusing to us.

The sky was turning dark, and Lily claimed she could feel it twice more after her first attempt. Even then, she could only hold it for a couple of seconds at most. Allison and I had no such luck. It disappointed me. I knew it was only a matter of practice, but the child in me was impatient and wanted to use magic immediately.

We were supposed to go back before nightfall, so we stopped practising and stood up. Lily went back first, swiftly flying through the treetops.

Allison was about to follow her when she noticed I hadn’t moved from my spot. She walked up to me and picked me up, cradling me in her arms.

“It’s okay, we’ll get there soon.”

Embarrassing as it was, I was in no mood to fight back. Instead, I welcomed her embrace and buried my head in her shoulder. She then carried me all the way back. As she walked, I thought about what Anna said earlier.

Maybe it really is too early for me to try after all.

Still, I wanted to keep practising every day until I could. I had nothing to lose. My mood improved by the time we got to the building. Seeing this, Allison set me down, and I headed to my room to meet up with Anna. I didn’t see her when I entered, so I grabbed a clean gown from the drawer and took a shower to freshen up whilst I waited for her.

As I cleaned myself, I noticed the more my wings grew, the harder it became to wash them. I needed to ask for a long brush so I could reach properly next time. It reminded me that Allison wouldn’t be the only one with clothing problems. The gowns I’d been wearing were fine for the time being, but I would need to get clothes that fit around my wings and tail soon.

Fortunately, Mom was a seamstress, so I didn’t think it’d be too problematic for her. I also knew very well that she kept all of our old clothes stored in the attic. That would give her something to work with without spending anything.

Stepping out of the shower, I donned a new set of clothes and walked into my room to see Anna sitting on my bed with all the equipment ready for my daily examination.

“Before we begin, I have some news for you, Nora.”

I watched intently as she reached for her lab coat’s pocket and brought out her tablet. “I got these a few days ago, and I think they might be of interest to you.”

I took the device and looked at the screen with pictures of two demons, a guy and a girl. Both of them appeared to be in their teens, but I knew better. The girl had blood red hair, skin marks and eyes. The pattern on her face was similar, yet more intricate and vivid than mine. Her horns were also twice as big, probably because she was older. They were different. Slightly curved whilst mine were straight.

The boy’s hair was seaweed green and his eyes cerulean. The pattern on his face was even more complex than the girl’s as it went all the way down to his neck and branched off a few times along the way. His 10-centimetre horns were also much longer than hers, although they were straight like mine. Since they both looked to be around the same age, I concluded that men had larger horns and more intricate patterns.

She spoke again when I returned the device. “We now know that the demon race’s aging rate is the same as giants. Demons just happen to be shorter than humans, so it hampered our early calculations. We estimate that the average height for demons will be around 1.5 metres for both genders. On the bright side, your age won’t revert as much as we thought.”

I’ll look younger because of my height, though. Isn’t it the same?

“Oh! I almost forgot. You will also develop a set of transparent eyelids called Nictitating Membranes. They’re something that animals like crocodiles and some birds have. They will help protect your eyes from the wind and dust. Think of them as natural goggles.”

“I see... Thank you, Anna.”

To be honest, I was too focused on using magic to care all that much about it. Knowing that things were almost over was enough for me.

“You’re welcome. That’s all I had for you today, do you have any questions?”

I thought for a moment and remembered there was something I needed to consult with her. “I do. It doesn’t have to do with me, though. Is that alright?”

She raised an eyebrow and nodded.

“So, I spoke with Lily earlier this morning, and she told me a bit about her life before coming here-”

“About her parents and Ashley, no doubt.”

“Oh…”

“Well, it’s been a few days since then. It’s only natural she said something regarding that. So? What is it that you wanted to ask?”

I bit my lip and paused briefly before sharing my suspicion. “Do you think they’re hiding something? Her parents, I mean.”

“Not just think, we know they are. We did some digging and found out that her grandfather chose to restrict his will to only validate if his daughter gave him grandchildren. It’s crystal clear that those two had a child because they couldn’t get anything without one.

“The document stated that they could only receive a fixed amount to live comfortably until she was an adult. The money would then be split between both parties, but the mansion’s ownership was given exclusively to Lily.”

I frowned, “If that’s the case, why would they abandon her like that? Don’t they need her?”

“Not anymore. Lily’s condition opened another possibility for them. Since they only had one child, if Lily died accidentally, the terms of the inheritance would have been nullified and everything would be automatically passed on to the closest living relative. Guess who they claimed was dead that day.”

“Will they be punished?” I asked.

Anna shook her head. “No, at least not yet. Even though their intentions were clear, the government chose to turn a blind eye to avoid making any unnecessary waves for now. Lily is alive, and she can claim what is rightfully hers once this whole secrecy is over. After a week of living with her, though, I think she’ll probably let them go. Whether they expected something like this or are simply lucky that things turned out this way, we may never know.”

“Lily said she still loves them.” I clenched my fist in frustration. “I can’t understand her.”

“You’re not the only one. She’s too kind for her own good.”

“I know.” I felt guilty for feeling jealous of her earlier. “That’s why I wanted to do something for her.”

“And you thought about bringing Ashley here so she could see her again.”

“...Yes.”

She chuckled and smiled at me. “I knew you’d say something like that. I can’t make any promises, but I’ll see what I can do, okay?”

“Thanks, Anna.” I said, returning the smile.

“Don’t mention it.” She stood up and stretched before looking back and extending her hand to me. “Let’s go through your check up so we can have dinner, shall we?”

___________

When we got downstairs, Dr. Blake was chatting with Lily, whilst Allison read a magazine. I walked over to Allison and climbed on her lap so I could see what it was about. Now that I was close, I could see it was a clothing catalogue. It was an interesting coincidence. I only realized what I did after that. Allison was surprised as well, but quickly returned to her usual smile and lowered it for me to see better.

“Robert says he knows someone who can make clothes for us. He gave me this magazine so I could mark the ones I liked.”

“Who?”

“Well, he didn’t tell me her name...” She replied as she looked at Dr. Blake in search of an answer.

The doctor laughed. “That would be me, Nora. I’m Robert.”

“Oh.”

He always presented himself as Dr. Blake, so this was the first time I’d heard his actual name.

“Sorry, I thought you meant his friend,” explained Allison.

I shook my head slowly. “It’s my fault. I should’ve been more specific.”

Dr. Blake searched through his pocket and offered me a blue marker. “Here, it’s still early for you, but mark anything you like. Avoid choosing anything too loose since it will hinder you during flight.”

I gladly took it. I knew I could count on my mother for this, yet I couldn’t turn down free clothing. The rest of the night was just us having dinner and talking about our progress with mana manipulation, after which they congratulated Lily for her success. I couldn’t help feeling dejected from my lack of results.

I’ll get it tomorrow.

I hope...