Maria walked along the path towards the hill. Right behind her, the small Steven trotted onwards with his downed to the grassy, dirt trail. Mr. Welkins was with them as well. He and Arthur walked in front, motioning stances and strokes as they ascended the hill. She wondered how those two found the energy within themselves to seem so enthusiastic about this upcoming ordeal. Maria, for one, was exhausted, mentally torn and more than likely, about to collapse. Upon hearing that she could still be of help to Sarah, despite not mastering her ability, the girl had felt a surge of relief funnel through her body. But even so, she couldn’t sleep without thinking of those dreadful Elves, waiting for their moment to wreak havoc within the quiet little town. So eventually, she had craved and snuck through the window when Sarah was asleep. She practiced her magic until a little before three in the morning, when she then returned to the cabin to have her morning sessions with Sarah. They ended at four, so overall Maria had gotten two hours of quality sleep for that night.

“Are you okay?” Steven asked from beside her.

“I’m fine.” She replied in a mutter, too tired to even pretend that she was fine.

“You need to sleep more.” Steven said, concern in his voice. “You look like a mess.”

“That’s funny coming from you.” Maria said, gesturing to the baggy, dark circles under Steven’s eyes. But, of course, she knew that those had been there for as long as she knew her younger brother. It was just a desperate attempt of a counter point.

“I’ve always had these.” Steven retorted. “And besides, you look even worse than me right now. You can’t even walk without slouching and you occasionally close your eyes for too long to be considered blinking.”

He was right. She did look terrible. But what was she to do? She had the power to end all of this, to keep everyone safe. She had to at least try or else she couldn’t forgive herself.

“I’m fine.” Maria repeated and paced forward. She walked ahead and left Steven behind.

~

The blade glimmered golden in the sun. A spark lit as Arthur struck the blade against Mr. Welkins who parried it to the side. The sword was now covered in flashing sparks of lightning that stopped at its hilt. Mr. Welkins had dropped his sword on contact with Arthur’s, the lightning had conducted itself through the man’s blade and gave him a quick shock. However, it didn’t do much. The blade as it was now could only give someone a small jolt of electricity, or a warming touch, or a little chill to their spine.

“Isn’t it supposed to do more?” Arthur asked. “I can’t possibly fight any monsters with this.” He added as he stuck the blade in to the Earth and knelt down to catch a breath.

“The blade responds to its master’s will. The stronger your determination, the stronger it attacks.” Mr. Welkins straightened his crooked glasses. He hadn’t taken them off even when they were training. “If you were wanting to kill someone, it would become a terrifying weapon of destruction. But say, you’re merely sparring with an old teacher, then a small shock would suffice.” Mr. Welkins then picked up his blade and pointed it forward. “Shall we continue? This time, let’s not use any cheap parlor tricks.”

Arthur got up as well and uplifted his sword from the Earth. With not even another word spoken, he lunged forward and sliced the air. Mr. Welkins blocked it with his own sword, then spun his arm nearly sending Arthur’s sword soaring through the air. But the boy responded quickly and pulled back, tightly gripping his sword as he advanced again. Mr. Welkins parried his sword to the left, then struck for Arthur’s throat. It was over. The battle didn’t even last a minute.

“You’ve improved.” Mr. Welkins complimented as he retracted his blade.

Arthur gritted his teeth. “Not by much, so it seems.”

The professor gave him a grin. “Cheer up. You’ve only practiced sword play for a few days now. Considering that you’re already this good, you’ll be even better than me in due time.” The man then took another stance, one leg to the back and the other aiming to advance forward. “Shall we go again?”

Arthur focused himself, took a stance and swung his blade.

~

Steven had yet to tell Teya what he had learnt from Chaos. The girl wasn’t in the main room, or Sarah’s room (only Maria was in there), or his own. So he went outside and made his way down the hill. He noticed Arthur and Mr. Welkins sparring as he did so. Arthur was getting better at his swordplay from what Steven could tell. It was almost enchanting to watch the two in action. But Steven quickly returned his attention to finding Teya, he descended the hill and as expected, found her at the forest’s edge.

“Teya.” He called, not wanting to startle her and risk breaking his neck. She turned around and Steven immediately noticed that her eyes had lightened to her previous hue of blue. “You’re changing.” Steven said.

Teya nodded. “I feel as though I can. Before I wasn’t sure but now, I can feel my magic again. Perhaps whatever spell you used on me is wearing off.”

That was wrong. It wasn’t that the spell was wearing off, there was no spell that Steven had cast to begin with. He only broke the spell that prevented her from changing to a human. Teya was only getting used to that. And from the looks of it, she had managed to return but a part of her to Elven nature and as a result, she gained a little of her magic back.

Before Steven could explain, Teya spoke. “If I’m going to change back, then I should probably go back into the forest. If your mother sees in Elven form, she’ll want me dead.” Teya then took a step forward but Steven grabbed her hand before she could advance. He quickly pulled her back and then released his grasp from her hand.

“Teya, that’s not what’s happening. I didn’t cast a spell on you, I broke one.” Steven began. Teya’s face was puzzled. “I don’t know who did it but there was a spell that stopped you from changing into a human.”

“Why would I change to a human if not because of a spell?” Teya asked, her face riddled and confused.

“Well…because you’re half human.”

“What? No, I’m not. Both my mother and father are Elves.” Teya batted an eye. “I’ve seen them both.”

“Maybe so. But maybe that too was another trick.” Steven paused and then looked at Teya in the eye. “I could’ve been lied too as well. But there is one way to find out for sure. Why not try to change to an Elf, right now?”

“How would I do that?” Teya asked.

“What were you doing when your eyes changed?”

“I was thinking.” Teya looked to the forest. “About my people. And about my duties as an Elven.”

“Then try that.” Steven said. “Think about your Elven self. And hope for it to become truth.”

So Teya did just that. She looked at the forest for a good ten minutes and though it was subtle, she slowly changed back. Her hair began to lighten, her ears narrowed to a point and her eyes got even lighter. But she did not change entirely. And soon enough she stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Steven asked, seeing Teya down her head in sorrow.

“Perhaps you’re right. Perhaps I am but half an Elf. And perhaps that is why I cannot fathom the actions of my people. Maybe, just maybe, part of me wishes that I would stay human and not have to play any part in the battle yet to come.”

“But even so, you are an Elf. Half or not, I’m sure your people would not mind.” Steven tried to comfort Teya, though he still made sure not to attempt touching her. His neck was still hurting from when she last tossed him. But despite his efforts, Teya didn’t seem to get any better. And after a few minutes of silence, when Steven knew not what to do nor say, he eventually suggested that they head back to the cabin. So they did. And Steven noticed, that when they walked up the hill, the subtle changes that Teya made began to be reversed and she had once more looked the part of a full human.

~

“Who is that girl?” Welsh asked Sarah as she chopped chunks of pork and tossed them in a wooden bowl to be seasoned.

“She had no place to stay and we welcomed her here. That is all.” Sarah replied and continued what she was doing. Tonight, she was making a curry for the children. And Welsh being here, had taken it upon himself to be invited.

“Doesn’t she look familiar?” Welsh placed a hand on his clean shaved chin and braced himself against the counter. Sarah did not appreciate this at all.

“And who do you think she looks like?” Sarah asked, though she didn’t want an answer. She very much wanted Welsh to shut up.

The man glared at Teya for a bit, all the while stroking his chin. His eyes seemed to strain trying to recognize the girl but as expected, he soon gave up and ended with an “Oh well, guess we’ll never know.” He then thankfully went to the table and sat down, now starting a conversation with Arthur about swordplay.

Sarah stole a glance at Teya from the side. Welsh was right, the girl did look familiar. Though her hair, eyes and ears were different, she was the splitting image of that Elf girl that Sarah had seen speaking with Steven. But it would be impossible for that to be her. An Elf, even if they guised themselves, could not fool the barrier that kept them contained in the forest. And besides, like Steven and Arthur, that girl had no magic. Or at least, not any that Sarah could sense.

With that worry dispelled from her mind, Sarah continued to make her curry. Later in the night, she served it well on porcelain plates with cups of milk beside it (for the curry was quite spicy). And so the group ate themselves full before retiring for a long night’s rest.