Kaele eyed me silently, peering over the edge of the scroll she had been studying, as I sat down two bowls of mashed ashroot on the small table in between us. One for her and one for me. I simply hadn't felt like eating alone just because I had missed lunch. My sisters frown gave me pause. The spoon with its steaming content hovering in front of my mouth. Sure, it was frowned upon to bring food to the library, but in the end I went ahead anyway. I was hungry after all. “What? I'm not going to make a mess if you aren't going to either.”

She sighed. Obviously she wasn't entirely convinced. She put the scroll away anyway, picking up her bowl instead. “Come on, eat up!” I didn't even pause to encourage her, talking around the spoon in my mouth instead. That promptly earned me another deep scowl. But she really had to eat a little more. Just look at the two of us! I was tall and athletic while she was a tiny slip of a girl. Most people wouldn't be able to guess that we were twin sisters, considering just how different our build was.

For a little while we kept eating in silence. Except when I managed to bump one of my many bruises into anything. Kaele finished first. She must have been hungry after all. Had she skipped lunch? Mother wouldn't like that. I didn't like that idea either for that matter. Should I scold her? Maybe just a little? I was still pondering that question when I noticed her frowning my way again. “What? Do I have something on my face?” I knew the answer already, the thing on my face was one of many bruises she couldn't possibly miss, but asked anyway.

“You look terrible.” Her frown deepened. I gulped. When she got like that I was the one about to be scolded. “You should try harder to stay out of his way. And if you can't, like today, you should put more effort into putting him down hard enough to make sure he won't get back up to pummel you in return. Have you thought about what seeing you beaten to a bloody pulp like this does to mother? Or me? Have you? Probably not. You, you … dummy!” As she finished, her voice was shaking and tears were shimmering in her eyes.

“What a coincidence. I feel terrible as well.” My attempt at humor was not well received and didn't lighten her mood in the slightest. Great, now I felt even worse. In hindsight I could only wince at my terrible pun. I should have not said anything. I got up from my place and sat down next to her to pull her in a brief hug. I wasn't sure if I could find any words that wouldn't make matters worse than they already were, so I opted to keep my mouth shut instead. It probably was for the better.

After a while, it couldn't have been terribly long, she stopped crying, wiping her runny nose with the back of her hand for good measure. I just couldn't resist a quick quip at that. “You better not wipe that on my dress.” That earned me an elbow to the ribs. Usually I would have laughed it off, taking my punishment for my big mouth in stride. Not today though. Instead I toppled over, falling of the narrow bench with wide eyes. “Urk!” That was the best I could do as I lay there fighting to suck some air back into my lungs.

In the blink of an eye Kaele was on her knees next to me. “Oh, no, no, no! I'm sorry! Are you hurt? I mean any more than before?” She was really panicking. She grasped one of my hands and I squeezed hers, to reassure her a little. “Can I do something for you?” She paused briefly after that. “Of course I can do something for you! Just give me a moment.” With these words she was back on her feet and rummaging through the shelf with the scrolls. It didn't take her long to find the one she had been searching for.

I just focused on my breathing as she unrolled the scroll to study its content once more. That left me some time to think. The medicine should have numbed my pain. It probably did. That left me wondering how much worse it would have been without the pain numbing herb. No, that really wasn't a train of thought I wanted to follow any further. But it already was too late. You couldn't take back thoughts after all. And the idea alone, that it could be even worse than it already was, was enough to make me wince.

Thankfully I was pulled from my thoughts as the flow of Mana around us started to change in subtle ways. I looked up in Kaele's face, noticing the expression of deep concentration visible on it. She was mumbling words under her breath, most likely they were meant to help her focus while she constructed the arcane matrix of the spell she intended to cast. I was a little worried. That she took so much care constructing the spell's matrix meant that it was one she was not intimately familiar with yet. Please don't blow me up. Please don't turn me into a frog. Please don't fail. Please don't!

Maybe I should say something? I never got the chance. “Regeneration!” She almost shouted the spell's name as she let the magical energies she had drawn upon flow into the carefully constructed matrix. Going by the name it probably was some kind of healing spell. I could feel it connect to me. It felt weird. Almost like gauze wrapping around my battered body. It wasn't bad. It wasn't really comfortable either though. Heat wash through my body, almost as if I were breaking a fever. Was that intended? I really hoped it was.

For a moment I started at my sister and she stared right back at me. “Uh, did it work?” My voice sounded hoarse. “I'm feeling kind of hot.” I probably sounded a little worried as well. Good. I was after all. Oh, please sister dear, tell me everything is according to plan. Please, please, pretty please. Slowly I sat up. Immediately a dozen bruises decided to remind me of their existence. I wish I could claim that I didn't make a sound, but that would have been an untruth. I didn't make much of a sound, as I winced, but the pain must have been clearly written in my face anyway.

She shrugged her shoulders after helping me back onto the reading bench. “If you feel hot it probably works as intended. Ask me again in an hour or two.” Was that intended to inspire confidence? I wasn't quite sure. It certainly didn't raise my confidence though. I wanted to say as much but didn't get a chance to voice my opinion as she continued. “Regeneration isn't one of those flashy instant spells like Heal or Cure Wounds. It improves your body's natural healing.” She paused again. “You might start feeling a little tired as well.”

“But for now, just lean back and pay attention. I have spent some time thinking about which magic you should learn.” She pulled a few more scrolls from the shelf, all the while ignoring my twitching eyebrow. “I know you have been trying hard to learn some combat spells. But you'll have to admit your progress so far has been rather lacking. You know, maybe you should consider the possibility that your talents lie elsewhere. Yes?” Judging by her tone of voice that wasn't really a question.

Did she have to spell it out like that? The way she said it sounded a little harsh. And who wouldn't want to learn to fling about Fireballs or at the very least some Magic Missiles. Faced with the stern look she shot my way I didn't dare say so though. Trepidation built within me. “What do you have in mind then?” I probably wouldn't like the answer, but I had to ask anyway. Judging by the way her face lit up, the question was right what she wanted to hear out of my mouth anyway.

She unrolled the first scroll and showed it to me. “We are going to get you started with magic that will enhance your body. The first spell will be Cat's Grace. It should improve your agility and speed. It is one of the easier spells as well. Maybe we can even give it a try tomorrow. If you have healed up properly that is. It should go really well with your fighting style as well.” She flashed me a radiant smile and any thought of protesting fled my mind. “Now, listen up. I will read it to you. Try not to fall asleep, please.”