I ran to Aidan’s room and frantically knocked on the door as well as slammed my body into it a couple of times for good measure. Nothing.

  “Aidan! I know you’re in there!” I shouted, frantically knocking.

  No answer.

  Maybe he wasn’t in there? I had been knocking and slamming to the point that his neighbor peeked out of her room and gave me the side eye. Right, I was causing a commotion.

  Well, either he’s in there or he’s not. And if he’s not, he’ll have to come back eventually. I’ll just wait here until he does.

  I sat on the floor with my back against my own door, keeping an eye and an ear out for when Aidan opened the door. For once, I was glad he wasn’t able to use teleportation magic.

  Okay, waiting was getting really boring. I kept my door open as I grabbed papers and pencils to draw with as I waited. I already sketched everyone back home… Maybe I should draw something here to take back home with me. Being lazy, I decided to sketch the hall.

  As I was about to finish, I heard the clicking of the elevator. I turned to see Aidan stepping out. Crap, he’s gonna see me and go back down!

  I grabbed the paper and used it to cover my face. It should at least take him longer to figure out that it’s me, right? And then I can chase him down if he tries to book it, right?

  That's exactly what I had to do.

  Halfway across the hall, he realized it was me and started walking quickly back to the elevator. I sprang up and rushed to catch him, tackling him to the ground in the process.

  “H-Hey, Ella. W-What’s up?” He grinned nervously.

  “I think you know what’s up! You’ve been avoiding me since the other day!” I shouted, grabbing him by the collar and shaking him, causing fear to spread across his features.

  “I-I didn’t want to bother you! I-I thought you were angry with me! A-And I was right!” He tried to wriggle out of my grip, but I didn’t let him.

  “I’m not angry at you! Well, I wasn’t angry at you. I’m angry at you now because you thought I was angry at you!” I shouted again. I took a few deep breaths and let him go when I was certain he wouldn’t take off.

  “S-Sorry…” he mumbled half-heartedly.

  “You lied to me.”

  “W-What?!”

  “You had no intention of letting Finn help your sister! Finn told me!” Maybe I was angry at him. It was bad enough he was avoiding me, but he had lied to me too?

  “And you believe him…” he muttered so quietly I could barely hear.

  “It’s the truth, isn’t it?!”

  “So what if it is?! You just assumed he was telling the truth and marched over here to me! Now what? Do you hate me?”

  “Of course I don’t hate you! You’re my friend! I could never hate you! …Unless you sabotaged my way home, but that’s another story.” I added the last part quickly.

  “You like Finn.”

  “I don’t like Finn! I don’t like him as anything more than a friend! I wish you’d stop making assumptions!”

  “I wish you’d stop making assumptions! That’s all people do! Make assumptions and blame other people for their own shortcomings! I’m sick of it!”

  “W-What are you talking about?” I stumbled back a little. Had I really set him off that badly?

  He sighed, sitting down on the floor with his back against the wall. I followed suit. I could tell this would be a long story.

  “My parents abandoned me shortly after I was born in the winter. They left me outside to die — and I would have had this one family not taken me in, as they like to remind me. Sylvis says it’s the reason my ether supply is so low — because I suffered irreversible damage from the cold. The couple didn’t think it was possible to have any kids of their own but were proven wrong when I was five. They left me with some acquaintance of theirs. Made me work all the goddess damn time. And for what? Scraps of food? I ran away when I was seven, and that’s when I met Nicola. We were both orphans; her parents had recently died, and she had nowhere to go.” I could see him blinking back tears and sniffling. He really did care about his sister…

  “We’d beg and steal food if we had to. I’d pick up a few odd jobs from anyone willing to risk putting a child to work. Nicola did the same until she became sick. We were lucky enough to find an abandoned shack for warmth where she could stay.” He hugged himself as if mimicking the cold.

  “I did everything I could for me and my sister. And still, it was never enough. We were always too cold — too hungry. And I’d get bullied all the damn time! I worked the hardest out of all the kids employed, and they were always jealous because I’d make a mero more than them! They’d beat me up and steal whatever I had on me. I returned empty-handed more days than not and had to quit that job because of them.” He tensed up more — his fists opening and closing as he spoke.

  “The bullying didn’t end there either. We were hated by everyone. We were just a couple of annoying dirty kids doing what we had to to survive. And they hated that. That’s why I hate people like Finn. If I could read people’s minds, I could’ve used that to my advantage and got my sister and me out of poverty! But what does he do? He parades around, loved by all thanks to knowing how to play people, no doubt. He doesn’t help anyone. He only cares about himself. He’s just like every other spoiled rich kid I met!”

  “I’m… I’m so sorry.” I barely knew where to start. I had blinked away my tears when he was telling his story, but they all came pouring out the moment I opened my mouth. Tears were cruel like that, but not as cruel as everyone else. “Everyone here has magic… But they don’t use it to help others! What’s the point of having magic if you have to keep it to yourself?! It’s not fair!” I hugged him.

  I felt him flinch for a moment before hugging back. “There’s no way I’m letting anyone else suffer the way I have. Once I figure out how to use my magic, I’m helping everyone! Sylvis can smite me all she wants — I don’t give a damn!”

  I released him, taking a deep breath. “You’ve worked too hard to keep you and your sister alive. That’s why… That’s why you have to let Finn help.” It was hard to say, but it was the truth.

  “W-What?! D-Did you not hear anything I just s-said?!” I didn’t expect the pure look of shock or for him to start stuttering again.

  “You said that you hated when people made assumptions about you. For someone who feels that way, you sure make a lot of assumptions about everyone else… You’ve lived a crappy life, yeah, that much can’t be denied. But not everyone is out to get you. Finn is one of the only people that’s actually willing to help you — if you give him a chance.”

  He paused, thinking for what felt like centuries. Had I finally reached him? Or maybe the opposite... “Guess I screwed that up, huh? There’s no way he’ll help me now.”

  “There’s only one way to find out.” I smiled.

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  As I had guessed, Finn had gone back to his room by now, as evidenced by him answering the door before we even knocked.

  “You can hear thoughts from the other side of the door?” I asked, realizing there was no other way he’d know we were there.

  “If I’m sitting by the door, yeah.” Finn shrugged.

  “Wow! How far away can you hear thoughts from?”

  “Twenty meters or so.” He shrugged again.

  “Can you guys stop talking about doors and let me apologize?!” Aidan whisper-shouted, looking in between the two of us. He clearly didn’t want to make eye contact.

  “Go ahead.” Finn looked him directly in the eyes, or at least tried to. It was hard when Aidan was looking everywhere but at him.

  “I-I’m… I-I’m sorry for making assumptions. A-And for not giving you a fair chance. I’m really the last person who should’ve done that…” Aidan apologized to my shoes.

  “Look me in the eye and say that,” Finn crossed his arms.

  Aidan’s gaze shifted from my shoes, to my face, and finally to Finn’s face. “I-I’m sorry.” He quickly averted his gaze again when he was done.

  Finn sighed, shaking his head and smiling. “Apology accepted. I’m not going to incinerate you where you stand, so stop worrying about that. That’s more Maverick’s thing than mine.”

  “R-Right!” Aidan surprisingly looked at Finn this time.

  “And yes, I’m still willing to help your sister if you want. But first, I’ll need some information. What exactly is she sick with?”

  “U-Um, I don’t know…?” He looked at Finn as if he would somehow have the answer.

  “I see. And that’s been going on for four years now. I have some ideas. And hey, worst case scenario, I fail! No harm done!”

  “I’m sure Aidan feels very assured now.” I crossed my arms.

  “What? I’m just saying the worst-case scenario isn’t that bad!” He just doesn’t get it, does he? I guess being a mind reader doesn’t make you any smarter. “Hey!”

  Aidan led both of us to where he and his sister live. Had lived? Aidan didn’t live there anymore. I couldn’t help but notice how uncomfortable Finn looked walking through town. I tried wondering about it several times, but he never commented, so I figured he didn’t want to talk about it.

  “We’re here.” Aidan stood in front of a small house with orange bricks and a green roof. Strange color combination. It couldn’t have had more than two bedrooms — and that was being generous. “P-Please wait here while I talk to my sister. She’s not used to guests…”

  “Sure,” I said and Finn nodded in agreement.

  Aidan nodded in acknowledgment before unlocking the door and letting himself in.

  “Uh, no, last names don’t exactly exist here unless you’re someone notable,” Finn said out of nowhere. “You were wondering about their last name. Here we call them titles.”

  “Titles?” I raised an eyebrow. “What about things like lord and lady?”

  “Those are honorifics.” He raised an eyebrow, also seemingly confused.

  “But aren’t… Never mind.” This world was weird, and there was nothing anyone could do to convince me otherwise.

  “Okay, you can come in.” Aidan peeked his head out the door before opening it wider for us to enter.

  I took a step inside and immediately heard the floor creak. Some shoddy house Sylvis gave them, geez. It wasn’t very big either. I’m starting to think it’s just one bedroom.

  “You must be Aidan’s friends! It’s so nice to meet you! I’m Nicola!” She curtsied with her dress. She was so cute!!! Despite not being blood-related, she looked a lot like Aidan. She had two long blonde braids, green eyes instead of blue, and the cutest smile I’ve ever seen! I was getting a little envious that she wasn't my sister.

  “I’m Ella! And this is Finn!” I gestured to Finn.

  “Nice to meet you.” Finn smiled, and this was one of the few times I could tell he was genuinely happy.

  “Can I—” Coughing interrupted Nicola’s sentence. It was just a couple, but as she tried to speak again, her coughs became louder and louder before blood splattered on the floor. What sort of illness would cause this?! “C-Can I get you anything?” She smiled sweetly, but I could tell she was embarrassed.

  Finn shook his head. “Why don’t you have a seat? You don’t look too good.”

  “Oh! Thank you! But I really am fine. Why don’t you sit, too?” She motioned next to her on the red couch.

  Finn nodded and took a seat next to her, squeezing between the couch and a brown coffee table that’s probably not a coffee table in this world. None of the furniture here seemed to match, much like their exterior. I wonder if the furniture had been imported from their old house... They likely acquired whatever they could get their hands on. I felt bad for judging their interior design.

  “Why don’t you—”

  Finn placed a hand above her head, and she immediately collapsed.

  “What did you do?!” I shouted at him, my hands icing over. “Aren’t you supposed to be helping her?!”

  He looked taken aback at the accusation. “I just put her to sleep, don’t worry. She can’t know about magic, remember?”

  Right. “Wait, you can do that? Just put people to sleep?” What if he did that to me?!

  “Relax. It only works on regular people without magic. Their defenses are weak, as opposed to someone with magic who can easily guard themselves against something like that. …Come to think of it, it might work on you?” He smirked.

  “Don’t test it! Aidan!” I turned to the person in question. “You have my full permission to bonk Finn on the head if he ever tries something like that!”

  “Affirmative.” Aidan saluted me, causing me to chuckle and Finn to sigh.

  “Are you two going to let me concentrate or not?” Finn asked.

  “Sorry, sorry.” I put my hands up defensively and silently promised to let him concentrate as I sat beside him.

  Finn raised a hand over Nicola, and I could only faintly see that he was using ether. So, he hadn’t overestimated this time.

  A couple minutes passed, and he still wasn’t done.

  “How much longer is this going to take? I thought healing was instant?” I asked.

  “For cuts and bruises, yes. This is…” He grimaced. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s like... It's like she has two souls.”

  “W-What?!” Aidan and I gasped in unison.

  “Two souls?! How would that even happen?!” I shouted.

  “That’s what I’m trying to figure out! I wouldn’t even begin to know how to extract the other one. Or where to put it either because it needs a body. The most I can do is strengthen her existing soul’s ether and hope it can subdue the other one.”

  “How long will that take?” I asked.

  “I don’t know! I’ve never done it before!” he sounded exasperated. “You’re awfully concerned about the time. Have somewhere you need to be after this?”

  “You and I both know I don’t.” I crossed my arms, annoyed that he was asking a pointless question.

  I took this as an opportunity to look around from where I was sitting. Aidan had been standing this whole time next to his sister. This living room would struggle to fit more than four or five people. There was a kitchen table behind the living room, and next to that were two doors that I assumed led to the bedroom and kitchen. I guess this is still technically an upgrade from where they were living before, but seriously... Sylvis could’ve done so much better.

  Several minutes had passed, and Finn looked exhausted. How much ether did he possess to be going at it for this long?

  “I’m running out…” he answered. “I’ll have to come back later.”

  “No, y-you’ve done enough,” Aidan mumbled. I could tell he was worried about Finn rather than annoyed this time. I was concerned too. It seemed dangerous to put him through this a second time. But it also felt unfair not to help Nicola… Was there really nothing else we could do?

  Then a thought came to mind.

  “Can you extract ether from other people?” I asked.

  “Uh… That would depend on the person giving the ether. Usually, that person would just heal someone else to give their ether, but seeing as you two can’t use healing magic…”

  “There has to be a way!” I slammed my fists on the couch.

  “I might be able to extract it from you since you’re essentially defenseless right now. Do you trust me?”

  “Of course I do. You already know that.”

  “I just wanted your consent.” He chuckled. “Also, this is technically against the manor’s rules. Are you okay with that?”

  “We already broke one. What’s another?” I shrugged. “Ready when you are.”

  He took my hand in his, and I could feel my strength draining. It was so weird — I could almost feel ether…

  Suddenly, a look of shock flashed across his face.

  “What is it?” I asked, concerned.

  “Uh, nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

  “Okay, I won’t worry, but that just makes me even more curious.” I rolled my eyes.

  No answer.

  We stayed like this for a few minutes before Finn let go. He physically looked a lot better than he had when we started.

  “That’s it? You don’t need anymore?” I asked. “I feel like you can keep going for a bit, honestly. Though maybe don’t. Sitting still like that was kind of boring.”

  “No, I’m good.” He went back to placing his hand over Nicola.

  “If you say so.”

  A couple of minutes later, he stopped. Thankfully, he didn’t look as miserable as he had before.

  “That should do it.” He smiled at me and Aidan.

  “R-Really?! She’s all better now?!” Aidan gawked.

  “Should be. If not, well… I’ve done everything that I can.”

  “T-Thank you so much!” Aidan burst into tears.

  “Hey, don’t mention it. You’ll owe me one, okay?” He winked, causing Aidan to momentarily pale before hesitantly nodding. We should head back to give Aidan some time with his sister. “We’re gonna head out now, okay?”

  “O-Oh, uh, sure. S-See you later!” Aidan waved to us as we left the house.

  We stepped outside, and I was quick to close the door behind us.

  “What’s on your arm?” I pointed to a bruise on Finn’s arm that I had noticed as we were walking out.

  “Oh, uh…” He scratched the back of his head, looking away from me. “I may have overdone it the first time.”

  “Overdone it how?” I narrowed my eyes at him. He better not have almost killed himself!

  “I'm fine — really. You don’t have to worry about it.”

  “Of course I’m going to worry, you idiot! You don’t need to sacrifice yourself to save someone else!”

  He looked taken aback by this. “Ella…?”

  “Promise me you won’t overdo it again.”

  “I’ll try not to.”

  “Promise!” I stepped into his personal space to make a point.

  “Listen, if it’s you in danger, I’m not going to promise that.” He winked, causing me to stumble back, hitting my back on Aidan’s door.

  “W-Whatever!”