Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Edwina noticed the black cat on her way home.

It was a thin little thing, fur slicked back after the pouring rain all day. The hounds were barking at it, barely held back by their owner, who was still scrolling on his phone, not even sparing a glance to the tiny creature his pets were harassing.

A furious force swelled in Edwina’s chest. She looked around, but all the other adults in the park were walking by as if the increasingly noisy scene was nonexistent. A few of them even tugged their curious, kind-hearted children away.

She took a deep breath, willing herself not to lash out and lose control. No use feeding the rumors of her being a freak.

Boots against the bricked pavement, she jogged to the cat, ignoring the way water splashed onto her socks, cotton sticking to skin unpleasantly.

Edwina turned away from the man, and crouched down. Holding the umbrella between her neck and shoulder, she took off her sweater, shivering as soon as the fabric left her shoulders. It was a considerable effort, with her backpack being in the way, but she managed to wrap the cat up in the soft wool sweater. The cat never looked away from her.

“Sorry,” she made her voice as boyish as possible, nodding to the apathetic owner. “That was my cat. I’ll get out of your way now.”

As she hurried out of the park towards her home, now with a soggy cat in her arms, she could feel the man’s steely gaze on her back.

When she finally got back home, it was to her mom’s hours-long grumbling and mumbling. “No, Edwina, you can’t just snatch an… an animal home!” “What if it has rabies, hah?” “Aiya, vets don’t earn nearly as much as doctors!”

Dad helped her get the black cat in a bath, washed it, and dried the fur. Miraculously, it didn’t fight even once as she carefully lowered her (Edwina checked between the legs; yep, it was a girl) into the water. The moment she got out of water, the cat shook her whole body, flingling water droplets onto Edwina’s arms.

Edwina studied the cat as she dried her with a towel. She was of that awkward size where one might think she was either a kitten about to enter adulthood, or an unhealthily small adult cat. Judging by where Edwina found her, the latter seemed more than possible.

The cat peeked her head out of the towel burrito for the first time since Edwina picked her up in the park, and lightly butted her nose against Edwina’s hand. Emerald eyes stared at her, unblinking.

Even with her mom’s warnings of rabies, Edwina couldn’t help but pet the cat’s back, stroking it slowly.

The cat stared back, before slowly butting her nose against Edwina again. She leaned on Edwina’s hand, neck resting on her arm as she rubbed her head back and forth.

Edwina thought of naming the cat, before deciding against it. Dad always taught her that every living being was its own master; naming a cat hours within meeting seemed rude. Edwina herself hated when she was called by any name other than “Edwina”, so she reasoned that the cat wouldn’t like it either.

When dinner came, Edwina set aside a saucer of milk for the cat next to her chair. The cat happily lapped up her meal, oblivious to the silent battle between Edwina and her mom.

Adam, bless him, tried to sneak a shrimp to the cat, but Dad swatted his hand away under the table and shook his head subtly.

“You will take her to the shelter first thing tomorrow morning, Edwina, and that’s final,” Mom even pointed at her with her chopsticks.

Beside Mom, Adam raised an eyebrow, eyes soft. You already got an A minus for math this week, he seemed to say, don’t pick a fight, A-mei, please.

“Of course, Mama,” Edwina said, head down as she bit back a retort about abandoning animals.

“I wish I could keep you,” Edwina whispered late at night, when the cat sneaked up from the living room to her room.

The cat looked up with her, green eyes shining, as if she could understand what Edwina was saying. She clumsily climbed onto the bed, and curled up next to Edwina.

It felt nice. Too nice, even. Edwina didn’t ever remember sharing a bed with anyone; Mom was insistent that she learnt to be independent as soon as possible, Dad thought it would be awkward, and Adam spent most nights on his phone under the cover.

The cat was warm, and smelled nice after the bath, occasionally moving against Edwina. In the quiet of the night, Edwina could hear the cat’s faint breathing.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Edwina fell asleep peacefully, mind clear of any thoughts of calculus and chemistry.

Edwina woke to disappointment: the cat was already gone.

Mom was elated, and called her a good girl for waking up at the crack of dawn and taking the cat away before the rest of the family was awake.

Well, Edwina wouldn’t correct such a convenient excuse.

She missed the cat, though, irrational as it might sound to miss someone after having known them for only one day. Not even a single conversation.

For weeks Edwina distracted herself with more homework, and more studying, and more college research, and those breathing exercises she found online (she probably had anger issues, or some other kind of issues; her chest felt weird whenever she was emotional). The feeling of missing something only amplified every minute, whenever she walked through the hallway trying to ignore the quiet mocking, or when she sat at the front every class, surrounded by empty tables, or when she walked home alone.

Something had to be done.

Observation: Edwina felt awful. More awful than usual.

Hypothesis: the feeling was caused by her missing the cat.

Prediction: if Edwina found a cat to be with her, she wouldn’t feel alone anymore.

Testing: to test this, Edwina needed to find a place where she could be around cats all the time.

Perhaps, she could work at a pet store? Summer break was coming.

Hours of research, three discard drafts, and one powerpoint presentation later, Edwina managed to convince Mom to let her work at the nearest pet shop for the summer. “It would look good on the profile when I apply to med school, Mom, shows my empathy and willingness to help and all that.”

“Med school” really was the magic word that got anything done.

The job was okay, Edwina thought as she had to wrangle a cat into the bathtub for the fifth time that day. The animals were adorable, and her boss Sharon and co-workers were decent enough that she felt much less terrible now.

Why can’t you just play nice? Like my——

Edwina realized simultaneously that: 1) she kept thinking of the cat she met for one day as her cat, and 2) she missed that specific cat.

Where on Earth was she going to find one single specific cat? In all of Singapore? “Black cat with green eyes”? That was basically every single black cat!

Edwina’s day just got a lot worse.

Clearly today was not her lucky day, because Darold and Destiny Lee chose that day to shop for a new pet.

Destiny was already a bitch at school, the kind who would bring an LV backpack and then loudly talk about it at lunch, but with her older brother? Edwina couldn’t imagine how obnoxious the pair could be.

And of course, the guy she rescued the cat from a month ago was Darold Lee. Of course it had to be him.

What had Edwina done to deserve this?

“Gege, I want a new cat!” Destiny said, her voice a whole octave higher than usual, pulling on Darold’s sleeve for extra effects.

“I thought we already had one?” Darold hummed, one hand absently petting the girl beside him on the head.

Edwina only noticed the other girl now. She was much shorter than the Lee siblings, standing a step behind them in her plain black dress with suspenders and white blouse and carrying bags of shoppings. Edwina was no fashion expert, but even she could tell the mary janes were cheap ones worn for years.

One of their many servants, probably. She looked a bit too young to be employed, though.

The girl stiffened at Darold’s touch for a moment, before she forced her shoulders to relax.

“A bigger one!” Destiny gestured with her arms wide apart, before turning to Edwina, “Like, ooh, do you have Kurilian Bobtails?”

Darold hummed, his hand now wandering down to the servant girl’s waist, “we’d hate for our kitty to feel lonely, you know?”

Edwina had no idea who the fake smile was for; Sharon was in the back room, and Edwina herself knew Destiny too well to fall for Darold’s… charm.

“Unfortunately we don’t have that specific breed,” Edwina put on her fakest customer service smile in return, “we do have some other kinds, though, if you want a bigger cat.”

Destiny sniffed, looking around the shop with her hands on her hips, no doubt thinking of new ways to mess with Edwina. There was simply no way she didn’t recognize the girl she spread rumors about every day.

Edwina felt sorry for whichever animal Destiny would bring home today. She’d definitely be a lousy owner.

The spoiled girl finally walked over to the aquarium right next to Edwina. Out of sheer spite, Edwina shifted a few steps away, fighting to keep the smile on her face.

Destiny swayed on her feet and waved her arms widely in the air, one arm hitting the aquarium before swinging it onto the floor.

The glass broke from the impact, splashing water onto both Edwina and the servant girl. Shards were everywhere, mixed with the pool of water quickly spreading across the tiles, as the fish flopped helplessly, suddenly finding themselves much drier.

Edwina held back a sigh, actively pulling her facial muscles back to keep the smile on. “Excuse me, let me go get the broom and mop, and clean that up.”

They were right in the supply closet, and she rushed back to where the Lee siblings were, who were grumbling about “terrible service” already. As if Destiny didn’t knock over the aquarium on purpose.

“My dress!” Destiny gasped loudly as the servant girl dabbed her clothes dry with a handkerchief. She pointed downwards impatiently, and the girl immediately crouched down to work on the bottom of her dress. “It was straight from Chanel’s summer collections!”

“I’m sure the shop will pay for any damages,” Darold smiled, all teeth, eyes never leaving Edwina.

Off the corner of her eyes, Edwina could see the girl dropping to her knees as she wiped the water off Destiny’s legs, heedless of the broken glass around her.

“Watch out,” Edwina swept the pieces around her before her knees would touch them.

The girl glanced at her, hands still working. Her eyes were a warm hazel, with hints of green, Edwina noted. A beautiful color.

“Thank you,” Edwina managed to hear the girl under Destiny’s whining.

Up close, Edwina could see the girl’s dress was clumsily stitched back at the helm, the lines uneven and too wide apart to be expertly repaired.

“Are you quite done yet, Brettany?” Destiny asked, annoyed.

Brettany (that must be her name) abruptly stood back up, still a step behind her mistress. Edwina did not miss the glare hidden behind her wavy bangs.

Darold simply elected to ignore Edwina, and marched towards the door. “Let’s go, Destiny, we can always find a cat elsewhere. Somewhere with better service.”

Again, Edwina felt something stirring within her chest. She forced it down with a subtle breath.

Destiny followed her brother out with a harrumph, no doubt on their way to harass the other poor pet shop employees in Singapore.

“Kitty!” She yelled.

Brettany gave her a slight nod and bow, and hurried out to join her employers.

Edwina felt a pang of sympathy for the girl. Being employed by the esteemed Lee family sounded wonderful to many people, but to her, there was nothing enviable about serving the family’s youngest children. Destiny was a b- witch, let’s say, who took pleasure in humiliating people beneath her, and Darold turned a blind eye to all of his sister’s cruelty. She couldn’t imagine what life was for Brettany.

She must have been really mad at Destiny Lee, enough that seeing her a good ten feet away a whole week later still showed on her face.

“You look like you just swallowed a whole lemon.”

Edwina didn’t look up. She had twenty minutes for lunch, thank you very much. “Hello to you too, Davina.”

“‘Sup,” Davina sucked on a straw, even though whatever she was drinking was empty by now.

“I mean, Destiny,” Edwina gestured vaguely out the shop’s window at where the aforementioned girl passed.

“Ugh, what a bitch.”

Edwina made a face at the word, but didn’t say anything. She didn’t like using the b-word, but if anyone deserved it, it was Destiny Lee.

“She went through years bullying you, Ed!” Davina’s voice was louder now.

“You still can’t punch her, Davina,” Edwina sighed. How many times had they had this conversation? “It’ll just get you into trouble as well.”

“Yes, yes, no pissing off the nepo baby, I know,” Davina sat down next to her.

“I’m serious, Davina, no revenge schemes.”

Davina was suspiciously silent for a few moments.

“Not even kidnapping her violin?”

“No!” Edwina pointed at her with the half eaten ham sandwich. “No instrument abuse!”

“But Eddy…” She didn’t even need to look sideways to know Davina was making puppy eyes at her. “She’s horrible at it! Even the cheapest violas don’t deserve her. I would be rescuing her violin from her.”

It didn’t work as well as Davina hoped, though, because she was over six feet tall, which makes her more “intimidating” than “cute”.

(Brettany would look cute doing it though. She’s short and tiny enough.)

(Where did that even come from?!)

“No,” Edwina laughed. “You’d get into prison, and I can’t bail you out. I’m broke.”

The bell above the door chimed.

“Sorry, are you on lunch break right now?”

Edwina turned to see Brettany at the door, fidgeting with the helm of her blouse.

“Hey!” Edwina couldn’t help but smile. “Nah, I’m just about to finish up.”

Brettany frowned, scooting forward. “You sure?”

Edwina nodded, quickly stuffing the rest of the sandwich into her mouth. Beside her, Davina snorted.

“Yeah, what does that Destiny bitch need?”

“Davina!” Edwina hit Davina on the arm. “Sorry, that’s how she is. No offense,” she rushed to add.

To her surprise, Brettany cracked a tiny smile at the dig against someone who was technically her employer. “It’s fine, she deserves it anyway. She needs, ah, cat food.”

“So she managed to find a new cat, huh?” Edwina raised an eyebrow. She hoped not; she hoped Destiny had a hard time as she ran across the city trying to find a cat that fit her long list of requirements.

“Yeah, a Maine Coon.”

“Oh nice! Big and fluffy, I like cats like that. Any special requirements?” Edwina asked, already walking over to the shelf of pet food.

“I- one of the cats has a nut allergy,” Brettany ducked her head.

“Alrighty, nut free cat food… let’s see…” Edwina muttered to herself, running a finger across the bags of pet food before getting to the “limited ingredients” ones. She picked out a few bags.

“Lemme guess, Miss Density doesn’t know anything about her cats?” Behind her, Davina asked Brettany.

A quiet laugh, surprisingly low-pitched. “You could say that.”

“Oof, man. I feel sorry for her pets.”

She sounds so nice when she laughs. I wish she would do that more.

——again, what the eff, Edwina?

“This should work,” Edwina handed the cat food to Brettany, who had a strange look on her face Edwina

couldn’t quite understand, pleasant pink dusting her cheeks. “You should talk with a vet about the cat though. They could probably start them on a diet and work around that allergy.”

Brettany bit on her lower lip, frowning again. She looked very cute when she stuck out her lips like that, Edwina noted. “I’ll think about telling her that.”

“Great!” Edwina beamed, ringing up the cashier. Brettany took out a card——the Lee’s, of course——and paid for it.

Brettany nodded in thanks, about to step out, when Davina spoke up.

“Hey, sis, you free now?”

Brettany blinked a few times.

“Yes? I mean, I have to give this back first,” she lifted the bags of cat food in her hand, “but yeah, I have Saturday afternoons off.”

“Slay. Wanna come get pizza and bubble tea with us?”

Brettany opened and closed her mouth rapidly, eyes unblinking for a few moments, before she visibly snapped herself out, “sure.”

“Nice. Meet here at two then.”

Brettany nodded, still a bit stunned, before she ran off with shocking speed.

Edwina picked up her jaws from the floor.

“What were you thinking?”

“I’m thinking of getting you, no, getting us a date,” Davina grinned.

“Wha- Don’t you have classes?” She hissed. “I thought you barely passed physics!”

“Yeah, and I’m ditching.” Davina shrugged in all her leather jacket and too-short skirt glory. “I’m just gonna call in sick. Cough cough.”

“I’m on shift!”

“Until two.”

Edwina grumbled. “She’s not even your type.”

“Ooh,” Davina looked like the cat who got the canary, “does someone have a little crush?”

“No!” Edwina squeaked, voice almost breaking. “However cute she looks, it’s the inside that matters to me. I’m not that——what’s the word for 膚淺——” she snapped her fingers. “Shallow! I’m not that shallow.”

“So you do think she’s cute.” Davina now looked like the cat who got the cream and the canary.

Edwina avoided her eyes. “Aren’t you the one who asked her out?”

“I mean, she’s tiny and cute. We could play her G string all night long.”

“She could be a minor, Davina!” Edwina gasped, mortified.

“I’m joking,” Davina said, her face blank as always. “You do think she’s tiny and cute then?”

“I have work to do now,” Edwina loudly announced, sitting back behind the cashier.

Brettany eventually came back five minutes early just when Aaron arrived for the next shift, with a nervous smile.

“I’m here.”

Edwina was probably grinning like an absolute idiot, but Brettany really looked pretty when she smiled.

“Great! Let’s go then!”

They left the store, Edwina the last one to do so. She saw Aaron discreetly giving her a thumbs up.

Was she that obvious?

She blushed at the thought.

Looking back, that summer was the happiest Edwina had ever been. Davina, winner of Most Annoying Girlfriend Ever, came to see her at work just about every other day with new juicy gossip. She didn’t kidnap any violins, but she did screw around with Destiny’s tuner. No wonder she was out of tune for a whole week in orchestra. Somehow, Davina managed to teach herself to cook without blowing up an entire kitchen (maybe what people say about the Italians do have some truth in it), and brought her lunch whenever she dropped by. Edwina felt like a giggling schoolgirl with her first crush whenever she saw Davina coming.

And of course, Brettany.

Brettany.

Edwina always thought it was her and Davina against everyone else. The two loners sticking together to fight back against bullies and rumors and jeers. But Brettany had wormed her way into her heart, like Davina did.

“I’ll put pineapple on your pizza,” Brettany’s voice pulled her back to the present.

“You’re evil,” Davina grumbled.

“Wait—— why?” Edwina turned back to her friends.

“She wants to break a violin!” “It’s Destiny Lee’s violin!” They yelled at the same time, pointing at each other like kindergartners telling on each other to their teachers.

“That’s a crime against humanity,” Edwina gasped, swatting Davina. “No. Instrument. Abuse!”

“Pineapple on pizza is a crime against humanity.”

“It’s Hawaiian pizza, dude,” Brettany laughed. It was a loud and bright sound when she was with them, Edwina noted.

“There’s only two things that belong on a pizza,” Davina said, nose up in the air, “tomato sauce and cheese.”

Edwina grinned. She had her! “I thought you like pepperoni?”

“Betrayal,” Davina deadpanned, “betrayal from my own girlfriend.”

From the corner of her eye, Edwina could see Brettany stiffening. It was hard to spot, just a minute movement in her shoulders and jaw, but she saw it.

“I didn’t know you’re dating,” Brettany said casually.

“You got a problem with that?” Davina asked mildly. Edwina put a hand on her arm. Don’t blow up yet, maybe she’s just asking.

Brettany blinked. “Oh no no no, I’m not being homophobic or anything, I just- I never noticed it. That’s it.”

Davina visibly relaxed. “It’s still casual between us.”

“Yeah, we’ve known each other for a few years, so you know, why not start dating?” Edwina shrugged. It didn’t change much anyway; they still studied in the library together and got bubble tea and coffee and sat at lunch together. It just happened that now they also sneaked in kisses when no one was watching.

“Must be nice, having someone with you together,” Brettany smiled, but it was a small smile, tinged with something akin to bitterness.

“Yeah,” Davina looked at her, eyes soft. She smiled back, picking up Davina’s hand and interlacing their fingers.

“She’s really good with the G string.”

Dammit, Davina!

Brettany’s ears were slightly pink. “Damn, Edwina.”

Edwina had never lost at anything (not even her virginity, technically!), and she wasn’t about to lose this competition.

“You’re very good at slapping the bass too,” she wagged her eyebrows.

Brettany’s ears were now burning. “Damn, Davina.”

“Wait,” Davina turned to the furiously blushing mess, “how old are you?”

“Sixteen and a half. My birthday is February twenty-second.”

“See?” Davina said, “Nothing to worry about. If you want to try it, all you need to do is ask.”

Brettany buried her face in her hands.

“You broke her,” Edwina whispered.

“I just think that we can fix her, y’know?”

“Anyway!” Brettany picked herself back up, and said loudly. “Say no to instrument violence!”

“Yeah, no damaging instruments, Davie,” Edwina grinned. “Even the baby agrees.”

“I’m not a baby!” Brettany said, all high pitched like a baby.

Davina rested an elbow on her head, ruffling her hair up. “Baby.”

As they ate their food in the food court, Edwina saw Brettany freezing up for a fraction of a second again.

Sure enough, an obnoxious voice soon followed.

“Aww, Eddy, dressing up again?”

Edwina shut her eyes and took a deep breath. If she didn’t see Destiny, Destiny wasn’t there.

“It’s such a shame, you could’ve been a model. You’re tall enough,” Destiny said. Edwina didn’t need to look at her to know she was wearing a fake mocking smile again.

“Not for the dresses though,” one of her girl friends piped up.

“Ooh, maybe a suit then? All the muscles.”

The girls sighed, acting over the top, as Edwina willed herself not to cry. She would not give them the satisfaction. They were just jealous of her, of her good grades and friends. That was all there was to it.

“Shoo, Dexterity,” Davina snapped. “It’s none of your business how we dress.”

“But it is my business who my servants hang out with.”

Brettany sighed very, very quietly. Edwina saw her fighting not to freeze up under Destiny’s touch as the girl threw an arm around her.

“What would my brother think if he knew about this, Kitty cat? You’d make him so upset, hanging around bad influences,” Destiny honest to god pouted.

“Sorry,” Brettany visibly deflated. The sight of her upset and resigned fueled the fire in Edwina. She deserved better than living under someone else’s thumb all the time.

“Leave her alone, Destiny,” Edwina stood up.

“Yeah, she’s off work right now,” Davina joined in, towering over the girls in all her six feet glory. “She can do whatever she wants.”

“What are you gonna do?” Destiny lifted her chin up, her friends shuffling around to back her up, “Run and tell the teachers?”

“Good luck with that,” one of them laughed. “You’re just a freak in a dress, Edward.”

What happened next, Edwina couldn’t remember clearly. But she remembered the sensation of a bomb going off in her chest, flames burning her through the veins. For a brief moment, she wanted to burn the girl into ashes.

Just as quick as it came, it was gone. Something cold and soothing touched her wrist, and she felt the fire leaving her, retreating back to the simmering furnace.

With a splat, the iced coffee in the girl’s hand was crushed, light brown liquid splashing all over Destiny and the girl.

“Nice hair dye, Destiny,” Davina grinned, the smile never reaching her eyes.

Destiny screamed, and fled the scene with her friends.

“I have pics of that!” Davina yelled after them.

Brettany watched them leave, and heaved a sigh.

“Thanks for that, you really didn’t have to do it.”

“We’re friends,” Davina said, completely serious as she tugged Brettany closer. “Of course we’ll stand up for you.”

“Still.” Brettany frowned at Edwina, “you gotta be more careful next time though. You almost lost control there.”

Edwina felt heat creeping up her cheeks. “Was I that obvious?”

“Yeah,” Brettany nodded, “you were about to lose it. It was a bit scary.”

“And hot,” Davina added.

“I’m sorry,” Edwina said, and found that she meant it genuinely, “I didn’t know what came over me.”

Brettany tilted her head and peered at Edwina with a peculiar look on her face for a few moments, before shaking her head again. Edwina caught her smile right before she sucked her head, the smile reserved for her and Davina.

“Are you okay, though?” Brettany asked. “She was being very rude to you too.”

Honestly? No. Edwina had more than enough trouble dealing with her parents’ passive aggressive comments along the lines of “boys will be boys” and “why don’t you trade those earrings for something nice, hmm?” and “you don’t need eyeliners, honey.” Every day she dreaded waking up and seeing him in the bathroom mirror, awkward spiky hair and gapped teeth, and then she went to school where she had to sit through eight hours of glances and whispers. It wasn’t a pleasant experience per se. She really, really didn’t need a reminder on her day off, right when she was being happy and free with her friends, that she was a freak.

As if Edwina didn’t tell herself that every morning and night already.

“I’m fine,” she forced a smile.

“No, you’re not,” Brettany said. Edwina had to take a moment to even understand that. It was just so… weird for Brettany to be so certain of herself.

Then again, she probably didn’t know Brettany well enough to say that. They’ve only been friends for around a month.

“No one feels fine when they’re called a ‘freak’.”

“I don’t want to talk about it, okay?” Edwina said, but she regretted it as soon as the words left her mouth. Brettany was just trying to be nice, and here she was, snapping at the girl.

“Sure,” Brettany shrugged. “You should talk to someone about it though.”

“Yeah, what she said,” Davina joined in. “I’m right here, babe. You can trust me.”

They were staring right at her, eyes intense with care and kindness.

Davina was right. They had been together for over a year now, and Edwina did trust her. She just didn’t want to be a burden to her girlfriend; Davina was already juggling a forbidden relationship, getting through high school and being a loner at school, she didn’t want to add more to her plate.

“It’s stupid,” she said eventually. “You’ll think it’s stupid.”

“We can decide what we think, Edwina,” Davina said not unkindly.

Edwina sighed. Why was Davina so smart sometimes?

“Fine, fine!” She threw up her hands. “I hate it when they call me that, okay? Like, I already think about that every day, I don’t need someone to remind me that i wasn’t exactly in the right body! I know that! What did she think it felt like every day when I shower, huh? Or when I change clothes at home? Or even when I go shopping and I can’t go to the women’s section without looking like a fucking pervert? I’m just so… so fucking sick of all of this shit!”

She was starting to run out of air, and stopped to take a breath as she tried to wack her leg with a fist, only to find out she couldn’t. She felt Brettany’s hand on her wrist, holding it down gently.

“Babe…” Davina hugged her tightly. Her hugs were always warm and pleasantly tight, wrapping around Edwina like a weighted blanket. Guess that was a perk of having a girlfriend a whole head taller than you.

“And it’s so stupid! Why do I even care what they think? I don’t even like them! I hate their guts! And you… you, Davie, you made it seem so easy. You just… you just let it fly over your head.

“I wish I were more like you,” Edwina felt her throat constricting as she buried her head into Davina’s chest, inhaling the scent of lavender from Davina’s freshly done laundry.

Davina patted her back in a regular rhythm, her fingers drumming on Edwina’s back.

“You know, it still bothers me sometimes too,” Davina said quietly. “I just act like I don’t care because it pisses them off.”

“Yeah, um, can I say something?”

She peeked to see Brettany scooting a bit closer. “Sure, man.”

“Destiny calls me loads of names too,” Brettany said, eyes on her fidgeting hands.

“Like… ‘kitty’?” Edwina asked carefully. She always thought it was simply Brettany’s middle name, something like “Katherine”, but now that Brettany said this, she was starting to think otherwise.

“Yeah, like that. Please don’t ever call me that, though,” Brettany flinched, hands clamping together, “it brings back some, uh, not so good memories.”

“Of course not,” Davina said. “We would never.”

“So there’s that, and some… some less charitable ones. I mean, I can’t complain though, I’m living under their roof and getting paid and all that…

“So I guess what I want to say is, I get that,” Brettany said, looking up straight into her eyes. “I’m not lying when I say that I really do. It probably doesn’t mean much, but I know how you feel, Edwina.”

They were so close, Edwina’s nose brushing against strands of Brettany’s hair. It would be so easy, so simple, just to tilt her head a bit and kiss her. Edwina could see every single eyelash framing her eyes, her lovely pink lips like a cupid’s bow, the mole right next to her right eye.

For a moment, she was overwhelmed with the want to kiss Brettany. On her lips, her head, the mole by her right eye, her neck… she could feel Bretany’s breath, brushing against her Adam’s apple.

But she had someone already. Davina was right next to them. She couldn’t do that to Davina; snarky, amazing, radiant Davina, who had never been anything less than an ideal girlfriend. Davina, out and proud, agreed to hide their relationships from everyone else they knew, and this was how she repaid her?

“Thanks, Brettany,” she whispered, “it means a lot to me.”

Edwina settled for an arm across Brettany’s shoulders, and tried not to think about the weight of Brettany’s head on her shoulders.

Chapter Text

For the next few weeks, Edwina tried not to think about Brettany at all. Why was she even that obsessed anyway? She only saw Brettany once a week for a few hours. Maybe she was just extra horny that day. Yes, that had to be it. She was just bored and needy for human contact, and Brettany just happened to be right there. That was it.

Edwina had heard of the white bear problem, so in a stroke of genius, she tried to think more about Davina instead. Which was very easy, since she could see Davina every day at school now that school had started again.

“Hey,” she said as she heard Davina sliding into the seat before her without looking up. Davina had a very distinct footstep, if she should say so herself.

She was about to go on to part (d) when a large hand slammed down and covered the whole question.

“What are you doing here?” Davina asked. “You haven’t had lunch yet.”

Edwina tried to nudge the spidery fingers aside, but they weren’t budging. “Davina, move it.”

“You take the textbook away first.”

“But Davina!” Edwina jabbed at the page with her pen. “I need to study!”

“You already know everything there is to know about, what,” Davina turned her head to look at the page, “matrices? Plus, the test is three days away. You’ve got more than enough time, Ed.”

“It never hurts to prepare well,” Edwina mumbled, but she knew it was a losing battle.

“And you are preparing well by eating lunch,” Davina rolled her eyes. “You won’t do better on an empty stomach.”

Davina tugged her wrist. “Come on, let’s get some food.”

“Fine,” Edwina felt her lips pulling up. It did feel good to be cared for, not that she’d ever admit it out loud.

They sat down outside the tuck shop, balancing the food on their laps.

“Odd how Destiny and her minions haven’t bothered me for weeks,” Edwina noted the quietness around them.

“I took a pic of her drenched in coffee back in summer,” Davina didn’t look up from her lunch, “and sent it to her with a ‘I can send this out whenever I want to’.”

“Oh damn!” Edwina laughed, feeling much lighter for the first time in her math-filled week.

“Mhm,” Davina took a sip from her water bottle. “So, what are you gonna do for Halloween this year?”

Edwina frowned. “Davie, it’s more than a whole month away.”

“Eh, nothing wrong with planning ahead.”

“I’d love to dress up for once, but it’s a school day, so…” Edwina shrugged.

“That’s a shame,” Davina looked around to check that no one was around, before leaning in to whisper, “after school date?”

“Can’t,” Edwina sighed. “It’s a Friday.”

“Right. Orchestra practice.”

“I’m sorry,” Edwina turned to Edwina, adding a piece of pork to her lunch as an apology, “I know you really want to spend a holiday with me.”

Davina quietly chewed on the pork for a few moments before she replied, “it’s not your fault. I know what it’s gonna be like from the beginning.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You gotta stop this habit of always apologizing,” to her surprise, Davina actually gave Edwina her uniquely small lopsided smile. “It’s not your fault we’re keeping this a secret.”

“But it’s hard on you——”

“I chose this,” Davina set down her fork. “And I think it’s worth it, okay? So stop blaming yourself.”

Edwina was about to say sorry again, but managed to stop herself at the last second.

“We can always go on a date on Saturday, yeah?” Davin nudged her with her elbow. “We can go out all morning, and then meet up with Brettany after lunch.”

Brettany again. Why did Davina have to mention her name?

“I didn’t know you like her that much,” Edwina said, slightly harsher than she intended.

“I thought you like her a lot,” Davina said with a small frown. “We can always say you got a stomach flu or something, though, if you want.”

“No!” Edwina felt awful; Brettany probably didn’t have a lot of time away from her job, canceling the few hours of free time she had every week felt cruel.

“I just… I thought you wouldn’t want me spending that much time around other girls. Y’know, we already don’t have a lot of alone time, so I thought you wouldn’t want us on a date with a third wheel.”

Because that was all Brettany was. A friend. An unfortunate third wheel to Davina and her. Nothing more.

“I don’t mind that at all,” Davina shrugged. “It’s not every day we get a real friend either, y’know?”

Edwina felt even worse now. In all her selfish pining, somehow she forgot all about her girlfriend. Davina was just as much of a loner as she was; she managed to escape the bullying, but not the isolation. They were always the last two people left behind that no one chose to do a group project with; and gravitated towards each other because of that loneliness. They had pretty no friends outside of each other.

“Of course.”

“Yeah, so, I really like hanging out with you two together,” Davina shrugged.

“It’s nice to know you’re not, uh, jealous or anything,” Edwina said, not quite able to bring herself to look at Davina’s eyes.

“Why would I be?” Davina asked, honestly confused. “I’m confident in our relationship. I think,” she frowned slightly, “I’m not that experienced, but I’m confident in us.”

Edwina felt like the worst person ever. Davina was so sure that they were equally in love with each other, but for what? Edwina wasn’t falling out of love with her, no, but she was falling in love with someone else, which in Edwina’s opinion, was even worse; she was unfaithful and greedy and dishonest.

What had Davina ever done to deserve someone like her?

“Me too,” Edwina forced a smile and hoped that it didn’t look too fake.

The bell rang, shrill as always. They hurriedly dumped the empty plates back to the returning window, and ran up the stairs.

Davina held her back on the stairs, and kissed her quickly. Edwina wanted to chase the sensation, to kiss back and enjoy the moment, but the bell was ringing again, and students and teachers were starting to fill the hallways and stairs.

They let go of each other after only a moment.

“See you after school?”

“See you,” Edwina smiled, this time genuinely.

“Hey,” Davina said, just before they reached their classroom, “you know you can always tell me anything, right?”

“I know,” Edwina lied, and rushed into the room.

Edwina was honestly excited when Saturday finally came. She thought she did pretty well on the math test, didn’t screw up at all during orchestra as the new concertmaster, and finally got to dress up a bit now that she was outside.

Holed up in the men’s bathroom, she carefully applied the eyeshadow. She managed to do the foundation and some contour at home safely, but anything else would tip her mom off. It was just a subtle shade of brown, nothing too obvious, not enough to out herself to anyone.

She’d love to experiment and have fun, but Singapore was really small, and she just couldn’t risk being seen by anyone she knew.

Davina didn’t really do a lot of makeup, so Edwina had to make do with Youtube tutorials. They weren’t bad, but she wished she had someone right next to her who could walk her through the cosmetics, the way the other girls at school did with their moms and sisters.

She had moved on to the eyeliners, when someone came in.

Shit. She should have done it in one of the cubicles.

“Thought you’d be in the girls’ bathroom,” Destiny sing-songed. “Freak’s finally moving on from your phase?”

Edwina stuffed the eyeliner pen back in her purse, but it was too late.

“Are you doing makeup?” Another girl leaned forward.

“Ew!” Coffee-girl from last summer exclaimed. “Can you imagine guys like that creeping around?”

“I bet he’s doing this so he could sneak into the girl’s bathroom and spy on us.”

Deep breaths, Ed, a Davina-sounding voice said in her head. It was much less effective, though, since Davina-the-person wasn’t here with her.

“Yeah, I do makeup. Is that a crime now, officer?” Edwina snapped. She really didn’t know why Destiny even bothered her. Didn’t the coffee trick teach her to mind her own business already?

“It’s just, wrong,” Coffee-girl wrinkled her nose. “You look ugly and weird.”

“You look like one of those pedo uncles who kidnap kids on the street,” a girl commented.

“Yeah, if you’re not acting like this, you could actually look cute, y’know?” The girls sized her up and down, muttering to each other as they pointed at her, probably leaving some more cutting comments to themselves. “I just don’t get why you have to go through all that trouble.”

“Such a shame to see potential squandered,” Destiny shook her head.

Edwina felt naked under judging eyes. Naked from head to toe, where they could all see who her body belonged to. Instinctively, she tugged down on her sweater and hugged herself tighter, trying to let the loose fabric swallow her and hide her flat lines where there should be curves instead. Her eyes were starting to sting.

She bit down on her lips, hard enough to bruise.

“Why do you care so much?” She asked, a question that had kept her awake on so many nights. “Can’t you just- mind your own flipping business and go on with your own day? You’re seriously barging into the men’s bathroom to, what, harass some random girl you know in school for doing makeup? Because you’re the one looking like a creep here.”

She sniffed. “I’ve never done anything to you. Can’t you just leave me alone?”

Destiny and the girls actually fell silent, their ringleader even taking a small step back. For a few moments, they simply looked at each other, eyes exchanging unspoken conversations. Edwina didn’t dare hope that her little outburst could actually change their minds, though.

She sighed quietly. She had never spoken out so much to them, and in her rush to get the words out, she was starting to run out of breath.

Whatever they were thinking, the spell was broken when the door opened again to reveal Davina.

“Aww, sissy number two is here!” Destiny took no time to react.

“Sorry if I want to check on my g- friend,” Davina said. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Harassing me,” Edwina crossed her arms. It was a beautiful morning, and she just wanted to go on a date with her girlfriend, but no, they had to come here and ruin it before it even began, and Edwina felt her temper flaring up even more than usual.

“Are you gay?” Destiny shrieked. “Oh my god, are you gonna fall in love with me?”

Two of the girls actually scooted even further away from them, sneaking glances up and down Edwina as if she was a specimen to be inspected under the microscope.

“I heard gay people stick their… you know, that thing into their asshole,” Coffee-girl whispered.

“So you’re a real sissy,” another girl wondered.

“Disgusting!” Destiny turned her head away, as if the very sight of the couple hurt her eyes.

Edwina wanted to say that it wasn’t true; that she and Davina had kissed, and even did things their parents would never know, but it was wonderful and tender because she was doing it with someone who loved her and what would you know anyway you bitch——. But at that moment, she had only one thought:

”Shut. UP!”

In the blink of an eye, Destiny was flung backward, her back hitting the door before she flopped to the ground, the impact hitting the door open. Her friends gathered around and started poking at her; Coffee-girl screamed and pointed a finger at Edwina, scrambling backwards from her.

Right outside the chaos was Brettany, standing stock still.

Oh god, what had she done?

“I- I’m sorry——” She took a step forward, only to stop as the girls huddled closer together.

“Get away from me, freak!” Destiny yelled, face pale as paper.

“I didn’t mean to,” Edwina could barely manage the words.

“You won’t get away with this,” one of her friends hissed at Edwina. “Wait till we tell everyone in school about this!”

“Yeah?” Davina raised an eyebrow, looking unimpressed as always, “you’re the ones going into the men’s bathroom, ladies. You’re the one looking for a fight? Well, you got it.”

Edwina whipped her head around to look at her girlfriend leaning on the sink, taking her side even before she fully understood what was going on. Davina never failed to amaze her with just how much she could love her.

The girls exchanged a few looks, and practically fled from the bathroom, uttering words about monsters and freaks. They didn’t even spare a single glance at Brettany, who was still by the door.

Oh god. She saw it too, didn’t she?

“Please don’t scream,” Edwina blurted out.

Brettany blinked slowly, head tilting to one side.

“Oh,” she looked as if a lightbulb had gone off in her head. “You didn’t know.”

“Know what?” Edwina and Davina said at the same time.

“It’s not something you’d want to talk about in public,” Brettany cringed. “It’s very private.”

Edwina exchanged a look with Davina.

“We can always go back to my place,” Davina suggested.

“I wouldn’t want to ruin your day,” Brettany gave a small smile. “I know a place, though. We can go there, if you don’t mind, of course.”

“Sounds exciting,” Edwina tried to match her smile, but she was still in a daze over what just happened.

“Lead the way then, General Brettany,” Davina uncrossed her arms.

Brettany took it very literally, as she dragged them away from the bathroom out of the mall.

When Brettany finally stopped skipping along the streets (didn’t she get tired?), they were in front of a bubble tea shop a few blocks away from the city center.

“Three black sugar bubble teas, half sugar less ice,” she called out.

“Got it!”

Brettany stopped in her tracks for a second.

“Mr. Ray? I didn’t know you’d be here so early!” She bowed her head to the young man behind the counter.

“The lovebirds are busy,” Ray shrugged as he turned to make the drinks. “You don’t miss me?”

“I see you all the time.” For a moment, Brettany almost reminded Edwina of Davina’s signature blank face.

“Ouch,” Ray handed Brettany the bubble teas and straws, as well as a bowl of instant ramen, dramatically drawing them across the counter in a semi circle. Brettany smiled at it.

“Thanks for that, Mr. Ray.”

“How many times have I told you, Brettany, just Ray is fine,” Ray sighed with a fond smile.

Edwina took two drinks for Brettany, as the other girl went ahead and opened the door to the supply closet before disappearing.

That was weird, she thought as she followed her up what was apparently a secret set of stairs.

Brettany waited until they entered the room upstairs, before closing the door quietly behind them and turning on the lights.

Edwina looked around; it was about the size of her room at home, but there was only a small cot and a thin blanket instead of a proper bed, and most of the space was taken up by thick volumes of books. Brettany herself sat on the cot, balancing the bowl between her crossed legs as she dug into the ramen.

Edwina carefully sat down on the floor, nudging a few books away. It was getting hot in the small room, and she took off her sweater, setting it on the floor.

“So, what was all that about?” Davina was the first to ask, sipping her bubble tea.

“It’s gonna sound ridiculous,” Brettany warned, her glasses foggy from the hot noodles.

“I just saw Destiny being thrown across the room by nothing,” Davina raised both her eyebrows, a sign that she was really taken off her guard, “I think we can handle a bit of ridiculousness.”

“Right,” Brettany downed a whole slice of spam like it was nothing, and took a huge sip of her bubble tea.

“You,” she pointed her chopsticks at Edwina, “are a witch.”

Edwina’s mind gave up on her.

“Uh huh. That’s not very funny, Brettany, Halloween’s a month away.”

Brettany only looked at her with half-lidded dead eyes. Immediately, Edwina could feel the bubble tea in her hand trying to escape towards Brettany. Irritated, she tugged it back.

“See?” Brettany grinned, one hand now holding another drink, her own set on the floor. “Witch.”

Edwina glanced at Davina, now bubble tea-less.

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Edwina argued. “Maybe I just have really strong biceps.”

“Of course,” Brettany set the bubble tea forward back to Davina with a flick of her fingers, who barely caught it, “definitely. It’s not like I was doing anything spooky to the bubble tea.”

“Were you using… a spell?” Davina squinted her eyes.

“Sure, call it a spell if you want,” Brettany bit around the sunny side up, carefully leaving the yolk untouched. “We don’t have owl mails, though. That’s animal abuse and exploitation.”

“Hold up, hold up,” Edwina was still trying to wrap her head around “witches are real” and “I am a witch” and “everything I know about science is wrong???”. “Are you a witch?”

She couldn’t see Brettany’s face as the girl brought the bowl up to dip the noodles into the egg yolk and slurped them up.

“I can do magic, if that’s what you’re thinking. Like recognizes like and all.”

“Wait,” Davina gasped, “remember last summer when the coffee splashed all over Destiny?”

“Yeah?”

“Was that you?” She turned to Edwina.

“Oh my god, did I?” Edwina yelped. “I think I did! I remembered I almost wanted to strangle her!”

Brettany looked up, as she drank every last drop of the ramen soup and licked the bowl clean. Edwina had never seen anyone eat that fast, and she was there when Adam went through his growth spurt.

“You almost lost it there,” Brettany wiped her mouth with her handkerchief. “I had to stop you from seriously hurting anyone.”

Now that Brettany brought it up, Edwina was starting to picture that scenario again. She did feel very angry back then, until a wave of something washed over her and calmed her down, and there was someone holding her by her wrist… she assumed it was Davina and brushed it aside at that time, but that meant…

“That was you?”

“Yeah,” Brettany admitted. “You felt furious.”

That made sense. Brettany did her a huge favor, then. As much as she hated Destiny, Edwina wasn’t sure if she actually wanted to hurt the girl in any way. More than anything, she just wanted Destiny to leave her alone.

But that still left one question.

“So you knew I was a witch already?”

“It was really obvious,” Brettany said. “If any other witch were passing by, they’d have recognized you, too.”

“And you didn’t tell me?” Edwina felt a little hurt. Why would Brettany hide something so important from her? And for such a long time, too. If Edwina hadn’t lost her temper today, would Brettany just… not say anything?

Brettany gave her a sheepish smile. “I, ah… I thought you knew already…?”

Why- What- Who would just casually assume someone knew magic? Why was that even her default theory?

For the first time, Edwina truly felt that she and Brettany came from very different worlds.

“What.”

Beside her, Davina started wheezing. Traitor.

“I- I thought you were just really good at hiding it!” Brettany widened her eyes, hunching her shoulders. “I don’t know, like, a really talented witch!”

“Is everyone you know a witch or wizard?” Edwina only meant it as a joke.

As seconds passed and Brettany kept her silence, Edwina started to think it wasn’t that much of a joke.

“Holy—— really?”

“It’s… it’s complicated,” Brettany winced.

Edwina sensed that Brettany wasn’t exactly thrilled to talk about it. Better leave that alone for now.

“Ooh-kay,” she side-eyed Davina, who gave her a “well, what can you do about it” look.

“So, what do we do now that we know Edwina is a witch?” Davina asked.

“You’ll have to train your powers, of course,” Brettany said, as if it was the most obvious thing ever.

“How?” Edwina looked around the messy small room. “I don’t even know anyone. Is there a Hogwarts in Southeast Asia?”

“No? It’s a stupid school system anyway. Who sorts kids into ‘brave’, ‘smart’, ‘evil’ and ‘miscellaneous’?”

“I thought it’s ‘cunning’,” Edwina corrected without thought.

“So, basically evil,” Brettany shrugged. “Point is, we go by the apprentice system more, we don’t have enough witches running around to start a school. And you do know people; Ray can teach you, I’ll help him.”

“Have you even asked him?” Davina asked, a hint of amusement in her voice.

“He’ll say yes,” Brettany uncrossed her legs, her feet touching Edwina’s sweater on the floor. Before Edwina could apologize for throwing her things around, Brettany had already picked it up, dusted it off and put it on her bed, before heading for the door with her empty bowl.

With how certain Brettany sounded, Edwina had a sneaking suspicion that she had anticipated something like this for quite some time.

She glanced at Davina, who was already sneaking behind Brettany, and decided to follow them downstairs.

“——ay,” they heard Brettany saying, as the water tapped was turned on.

“What are you planning now, Brettie?” Ray sighed.

“Mr. Ray… can you help Edwina with her powers?” Brettany asked.

From the bottom of their stairs, they could see Ray looking sideways at Brettany, tired but fond. “Somehow, I’m not surprised.”

“Please, Mr. Ray,” Brettany said, her voice small, before looking up suddenly. “I can help around, I can help you! I just- she’s the first one I’ve known, y’know? It… she means a lot to me.”

Ray scrubbed the bowl with a sponge. Privately, Edwina wondered why he didn’t just use his magic to do the dishes for him.

“You know I can never say no to you,” Ray wiped his hands on his apron and ruffled Brettany’s hair, ignoring her “Mr. Ray!” As her curls became messier.

“I’ll help,” Edwina could hear the smile in his voice.

“When are you free, Edwina?” Ray raised his voice.

Shit. When did he know they were listening?

“You could learn a thing or two from Brettie when it comes to sneaking around,” Ray nudged at Brettany.

“Brettie,” Davina mouthed at her. It sounded even cuter than “Brettany”, which meant it fit the girl perfectly.

“I can do Saturday afternoons,” Edwina answered in reflex, before her brain caught on the part where Ray just called her by her name. “How did you know——?”

“Your name?” Ray laughed, “Brettany told me. She’s been going on and on about you.”

Brettany coughed and hid behind her hands as the corner of Davina’s mouth pulled upward.

“Really?” Something warm bloomed in Edwina’s chest. “I hope they’re nice things about me.”

“Oh, definitely,” Ray smirked. “She said you’re very smart, and brave, and——”

“Oh my god,” Brettany’s face was buried in her hands, but Edwina could still see the pink tips of her ears. “Mr. Ray!”

“But yeah, we can start building you up as soon as you want,” he shrugged.

“So, uh, I just come here next week?” Edwina asked. The last hour had been a rollercoaster ride, and she just couldn’t believe the solution was something as simple as “come to this one store every Saturday afternoon”.

“Simple as that,” Ray nodded. “Every witch has that phase where they’re bumping around and hitting things. You just need to learn to control your power and use it properly.”

“Well, then…” Edwina tried to recall how Brettany greeted the man when they first came in so she could copy it. There was no such thing as being too polite, as her mom taught her, and Ray was basically her teacher now. “Thanks, Mr. Ray.”

“Just Ray, I insist,” Ray looked pained at the sound of the prefix. “I’m really not that old.”

“Thanks then, Ray.” Edwina smiled.

“Wanna go to the carnival now?” Davina asked her.

“The one at the coast park?” Edwina gasped. She had secretly wanted to go there for a long long time. How Davina learnt of it, she didn’t know. “Yes!”

“You coming, Brettany?”

“She has work with me,” Ray interjected. “Sorry, girls.”

Brettany gave her an apologetic smile, and waved at them as they left. “Have fun!”

Edwina felt herself smiling goofily at the sight of Brettany’s smile, and waved back through the window.

God, what a weird day!

“Sit down,” Ray said firmly but kindly, pointing his chin at the armchair in the corner as he flipped the sign to “closed”.

Brettany sank into the seat slowly, taking care not to show anything on her face.

“Were you seriously thinking of going out with a broken leg?” Ray pursed his lips, fixing her with a stare before disappearing under the counter.

Brettany looked up in shock, only to scold herself for it immediately. Stop giving yourself away!

“What, you think I wouldn’t notice?” Ray resurfaced with a first aid kit and a mug, walking around and kneeling down in front of her.

Brettany felt her ears burning.

“I thought I did pretty good with the healing spell,” she mumbled.

Ray took out a roll of gauze, a soft golden glow spreading through the fabric as he unwound it slowly before vanishing again, sinking into the gauze. Brettany could recognize some runes for healing upside down.

“You did very well with what magic you have on hand,” Ray’s face softened, as he started to wrap it around her right leg. “But it’s not going to last until the bone heals on its own.”

Brettany couldn’t quite hide the pain coursing through her bones as Ray tightened the gauze with every loop, and hissed quietly from the bone crushing sensation.

“You can’t always do this, Brettie, running around like you’re doing just fine when you’re not,” Ray frowned, worry leaking into his voice. “What if we didn’t find you back then? You could’ve——”

“I didn’t, and you found me. Isn’t that enough?” Brettany reminded herself not to snap at him. Ray was just worried about her, that wasn’t anything wrong.

“No!” Ray glared at her, before tying off the gauze in a knot. “Why can’t you at least give me a text and let me know if you’re hurt?”

“So you can sneak into the Lee’s manor at night like a thief?” Brettany snorted mirthlessly.

“If that’s what it takes to keep you alive? Yes,” Ray said bluntly, tugging on the knot. Brettany could feel the cloth hardening under his magic until it felt like planks of wood fixing her leg into place.

Brettany thought of her magic leaving her, of feeling drained after being forced to use her powers non stop for days, of her body belonging to someone else, and shuddered.

“They’ll kill you if you get caught,” she whispered. “I can’t let you risk it like that.”

“Not if I kill them first,” Ray muttered, as he pushed up Brettany’s sleeves and started rubbing medicine into her bruised arms. The air smelt faintly of herbs, which never failed to comfort her.

“I’m serious, Ray.” Brettany couldn’t just let this go. Ray was mostly a very sensible mentor to her, and the closest thing she had to a family, but he was also young enough and prone to occasional bouts of impulsivity.

“Don’t go look for trouble for my sake,” Brettany begged, before taking out her ultimate weapon, “who’ll look after me if you’re gone?”

Ray sighed. This was a recurring argument that he had never won.

”Please.”

“It’s wrong, what they’re doing with you. To you.”

“I can’t leave,” Brettany knew it far too well, but having to admit it out loud still left a bitter taste in her mouth.

“I know,” Ray’s eyes were full of nothing but empathy and pain, “I just wish I could do more to help.”

There was nothing Ray could do without putting both of them at severe risk, even with his level of power; the Lee’s were too powerful to go up against.

“It’s more than enough, Mr Ray, what you’re doing,” Brettany tried to give him a smile, but her eyes started growing wet as soon as she tried to pull on the muscles.

Ray pulled her into a hug quickly. “I’m sorry.”

Brettany hurriedly wiped her eyes dry. “It’s okay.”

He fished out a tightly sealed jar from the kit, filled the mug halfway from the jar, and gently pushed the mug towards Brettany.

“Drink up.”

Brettany took a careful sniff. It smelt stronger than a typical healing potion.

“Concentrated,” her question must have shown on her face, or maybe Ray knew her much better than she thought. “Even faster and stronger effect.”

“Can you teach me that?” Brettany perked up.

“After you get better,” Ray amended.

“I’m fine,” she protested feebly. At this point, it was more of a show than anything, but it was a familiar routine for her.

She felt her jaws aching to open, and a yawn escaped her lips.

Knowing Ray, he must have slipped in a sleeping potion.

“Yeah, that’s the side effect of a stronger healing potion,” Ray had the audacity to chuckle at her. “Even magic agrees that sleep is the best medicine.”

Brettany tried to glare at him, but found herself too tired to deliver a quality one.

“I’m not tired.” Brettany tried to stay in the armchair, but Ray was much stronger than her

“Of course you’re not. C’mon, up you go,” Ray gave her an indulging smile, an arm around her shoulders as he walked her up the stairs, slow enough not to jolt the broken leg.

“I can’t, I need to get back on time.”

“I’ll wake you on time, ‘kay? I’ll even drop you off a block away.”

Damn Ray and his thoughtfulness.

“Fine,” Brettany pouted.

As she lay down on the cot now mysteriously much larger bed, she felt exhaustion seeping into her bones. Her eyelids were fighting to remain open, and her mind was going blank. She allowed herself to curl up in the fluffy blanket, her hands resting on something warm and woolen, with a light lavender smell.

“Go sleep,” she heard Ray said, tucking her into bed, and felt him placing a protection charm on her, “I’ll take care of everything else.”

The last thing Brettany thought of, before she fell asleep, was the smell of black sugar, herbs and Edwina.

Chapter Text

As promised, Edwina returned to the bubble tea cafe the next Saturday, heart thumping wildly in her chest. She had no idea how her first lesson as a witch would really turn out, and she hated going into things blind.

“You’re here!” Brettany opened the door, “ten minutes early!”

“I don’t want to make a bad impression,” Edwina scratched her neck.

“So, what’s going to happen?” Edwina asked, when she sat down in the room upstairs again. For some reason, the room seemed much bigger than the last time she came in, and now had a window facing the streets. Must be magic.

“No idea,” Brettany shrugged, settling down on the windowsill. “It’s different for every pair of students and teachers.”

“Well, what’s it like for you and Ray then?”

“Mr Ray and I are… kind of a special case,” Brettany didn’t turn her head, looking out the window instead. “He didn’t really teach me from the very beginning. He’s just… he helps me more with my own issues instead? I don’t really know how to explain it.”

“Found family,” Edwina nodded sagely.

“Sounds cool, What’s that?” Brettany’s eyes narrowed into slits, peering at her.

“I don’t know,” Edwina shrugged, “it’s just what Davina talks about all the time. Says we could get one of them.”

“Oh hey, you’re here already!”

Edwina didn’t even need to look to see Ray was here, but she turned anyway and bowed her head slightly. “Afternoon, Ray.”

“How does it feel, knowing you’re a witch now?” Ray asked without looking at her, as he took out a saucepan, a few pots of plants and kitchen utensils from seemingly nowhere.

“Weird,” Edwina admitted. “It just goes against everything I knew about science.”

“Disorienting, wasn’t it?” Ray had a slight smile on his face. “Don’t worry, we’re not doing anything advanced today. You’ll just be helping me do a healing potion. Easy peasy.”

“On my first lesson?” Edwina felt blood draining from her face. She expected Harry Potter-esque witchy lessons where she sat at lectures and took notes with witchy quills, not hands-on lab practical on her first day!

Maybe Brettany was right. She really needed to stop with the pop media assumptions.

“Yeah, how else would you learn?” Ray said.

For the second time, Edwina reminded herself that yes, these are people coming from an entirely different world, and yes, of course they would operate under an entirely different set of rules. Really.

“She’s probably thinking about Hogwarts again,” Brettany said, her eyes closed as she leaned back on the windowsill. How she managed to balance herself on that thin piece of wood, Edwina had no idea.

“We don’t have tons of theories, sorry,” Ray said, sticking his tongue out. “Witchcraft isn't exactly an organized science.”

“Don’t you have communities?” Edwina was genuinely intrigued now.

“How?” Ray furrowed his brows. “We used to get burnt on stakes! Who would go, ‘You know what’s a great idea? Gathering together so the witch hunters could find us even more easily!’”

“Nowadays we just get thrown into mental institutions, or caught in black market rings,” Brettany said. “Progress!”

“Most of us can’t outrun arrows and bullets. Sorry,” Ray tossed a used piece of chalk to Brettany, who caught it without looking.

Damn. That was an impressive display of reflexes. Edwina wondered if it was some witch-enhanced abilities, or if it was unique to Brettany. She could easily picture the girl running circles around the jocks in school.

“Actually, no offense,” Edwina had to get the burning question off her chest, “but why are you a witch? I thought guys are called wizards instead.”

“That’s a really good question, Edwina,” Ray said, sitting on the floor as Brettany drew circles around him, “which we’ll leave for another day when we talk about our history in detail.”

“You never let me have any fun,” Brettany grumbled, scribbling squiggly lines between the rings on the floor.

“Brettie is very enthusiastic about this,” Ray chuckled. “Don’t ask her this unless you’re ready for a three hour long TED Talk.”

“Long story short,” Brettany sat up again, pressing her fingers down on the border of the chalk circles, “witches and wizards have different vibes, and they mean different things. So a witch is a witch, and a wizard is a wizard, no matter what you call them. The gender doesn’t matter. Some people use ‘wixen’ as a gender neutral alternative, though.”

“Really?” Edwina had never heard of the word “wixen” before.

“Yes. I have a list of sources if you want,” Brettany said, hazel eyes full of fire as she looked at Edwina. It was a complete one eighty compared to how she acted when they first met.

“I’d love to read them when I have the chance to,” Edwina smiled softly. She would love to see more of this Brettany.

She caught a glimpse of Brettany’s smile as the girl ducked her head, a small beautiful thing that lit up the room like the warm afternoon sun.

Ray coughed quietly.

“Right. Let’s get started?”

“Of course,” Edwina nodded, stealing a last glance at Brettany. “What should I do?”

Ray handed her a bundle of plant roots and a vegetable knife. “Chop these daffodils.”

Edwina didn’t know she had signed up for a cooking lesson, but as her mom drilled into her head “never argue with your teachers”, she had no choice but to try her best at using a knife.

It looked easy with Ray, but she soon found out that the knife was harder to control than she thought. She was going for dicing, but the knife seemed to fight against her, its blade slipping through the roots and cutting them slanted instead.

Edwina privately groaned.

Ray put down his twines and herbs.

“Harder than you thought, huh?”

Edwina mumbled a “yes”. She couldn’t believe she would fail such a simple task.

“That’s okay.” Ray turned to her with a small smile, “Not everyone was born a cooking genius. It’s your first time doing any kitchen work, I guess?”

Edwina couldn’t make herself look at him. “Never cooked at home,” she muttered.

“A new thing to learn then! Brettie,” he called towards the windowsill.

Brettany, curled up by the window in a shape that should be impossible for any human, peered at them, and blinked slowly for a few minutes before closing her eyes again.

“Brettany,” Ray called again, “Edwina here needs your help.”

The girl in question opened her eyes immediately and hopped down the windowsill, appearing right next to Edwina within a second.

She squinted at Edwina’s mess, and offered her hands. “That’s not how you do it. Can I?”

Without waiting for an answer, Edwina felt a pair of hands on hers, fingers nudging her hands to another position.

“Relax,” Brettany said, prying Edwina’s fingers on the knife handle loose, “you’re trying to cut the roots into thirds, not trying to slaughter a pig. Ideally, your wrists should be free, not locked like this.”

Edwina could only really comprehend half of what she was saying. Brettany’s hands were much smaller than hers, but her hold was surprisingly firm. She could feel the callouses on her palms brushing against Edwina’s wrists, a soothing sensation.

“And grab your daffodils tighter,” Brettany moved Edwina’s left hand onto the roots and clamped their fingers down, fingertips curled inwards.

As Brettany moved their hands in tandem, Edwina only had eyes for the tendons on the back of the girl’s hands, faint lines fading into sight when Brettany applied force on their hands. Brettany was warm from the sun bath, and Edwina’s wrists were getting pleasantly warm, the feeling spreading through her body nicely even as the sun was glaring down at them through the window.

“Now you try it again,” Brettany removed her hands.

Edwina mourned the loss of warmth for a second, before turning her focus back on the roots.

True to Brettany’s words, the knife was working much easier now. Edwina’s jaw dropped open as she felt the blade sliding through the bundle of daffodils in a straight line.

“Oh my god. Brettany, you’re a genius,” she gasped.

Brettany chuckled, ducking away. “Nah. It’s just practice.”

“Hey, if it works, it works,” Edwina sent her a smile, noticing the crinkles around her eyes whenever she smiled. It was oddly beautiful, almost like an artist’s touch that made their flawless creation truly come to life.

With quick work, she chopped up the rest of the daffodils, and handed them to Ray, only to find that he was kicking his legs back as the twines tied up the herbs in front of him in mid air.

“All done?” Ray asked.

“Yeah, sure,” Edwina said, eyes still on the twines. The ropes could have fooled her into believing they were alive, as she noticed a long twine loop around its bundle twice and tied it up with a completely unnecessary butterfly bow.

Ray took the daffodils and his own herbs, and put them all in a small satchel, tying it securely. He then poured water into the saucepan until it was almost full, and gently lowered the satchel of medicine into the pot. Beneath the saucepan, a small ball of fire came into existence from nowhere, hovering a few inches off the floor.

Edwina felt a wooden spatula pressed into her open hands.

“You’d want to watch it carefully,” Ray said, pointing at the potion in the making, “And stir it clockwise.”

Edwina could hear her heart thumping as she went nearer the exposed flame and the simmering saucepan. She could barely lower the spatula into the liquid without flinching from the heat, words of warning from her family floating through her mind.

“It won’t hurt you,” Brettany piped up while she stepped into the little circle close to the flame, as if she could tell what Edwina was worrying about. “The runes we drew at the beginning will protect us from any backlash.”

“Safety first!” Ray did the finger guns at Brettany.

Edwina recalled the things she drew on the floor right when they began the lesson. She brushed it aside as magic meant to help the potion making, but apparently it was much more practical than she thought.

“Oh, alright then,” Edwina imitated Brettany and got closer to the heated saucepan, “that does make me feel safer.”

At first, Edwina welcomed the change of task, being given something she actually knew how to do. But she soon regretted thinking that, when the cramps started setting in.

“Sorry,” Edwina tried to sound as casual as possible, “but why would we need to do all these things by our hands when we already have, y’know, magic?”

Ray looked right into her eyes.

“I was waiting for you to ask that.”

“Sorry.” she felt her cheeks grow warm. How did Ray always seem to know whatever she was about to say or do? Was it a wiz——no, witch ability, or just a Ray ability? She really should have asked Brettany more about Ray before to prepare herself.

“It’s fine. Most of us had the same question when we started, too.” Ray said, eyes focused on the pot as he absent-mindedly waved a hand. Abruptly, Edwina felt the spatula in her hand starting to slowly move on its own in circles. She let it drag her hands along.

“The most practical answer is that witches can vary in their levels of power. The more power you have, the more you can spend. Think of it like a battery. Most of us save our powers for when we really need to use them, so why waste them on tasks we can do ourselves?”

“But I saw you using magic non stop,” Edwina pointed out. It sounded a bit childish even to herself, but she was feeling very tired, her arms were starting to ache, and she really just wanted to sit down and jot notes on spells instead, not—— cooking 101!

“Like I said, our levels differ,” Ray said with a straight face.

“Also, and I know it sounds cringey,” Brettany said, curled up comfortably next to the ball of fire, “but what’s the point of life if you just let someone——or something else——do all the work? Humans have machines to do laundry and heat up food and take them to places, but they’re still miserable as hell.”

She shrugged. “Saving time on menial tasks doesn't always bring them happiness. People just go and find another boring thing to occupy their time with. They never stop working. What’s to say we wouldn’t turn out this way as well?”

Edwina turned to take in the full sight of the younger girl, long eyelashes painted gold from the fire dancing in front of her as her fingers picked and scratched her knees through her skirt.

“I never thought of this before,” Edwina quietly admitted.

“Most humans don’t.”

Noticing the odd phrasing, she couldn’t help but laugh for a moment. “You say that like you’re not human.”

Brettany looked away, eyes stuck on her skirt, before she eventually answered, “we are different from them.”

“Living longer than most people does give you that,” Ray nodded as well.

“When can I learn to do magic then?” Edwina said weakly, flinging her right hand to relieve the cramps.

“You’re already learning it,” Ray peered into the pot, took the wooden spatula from her, and tested the potion inside.

He nodded after a few seconds. “How did you feel when you were prepping the daffodils?”

Edwina bit the inside of her cheeks. “Nervous, I guess. I never did this before, and I didn’t want to mess it up.”

“Why not?” Ray asked, not unkindly.

“It’s a healing potion. For sick people. I- I don’t want to mess that up.”

“Exactly,” he sat back with a smile, the ball of fire disappearing with a poof!. “Witches have magic, sure, but what’s even more important is that we always use our magic for good. We don’t use it for money, or fame, or power. We heal the sick, we help the poor, and we protect the weak, just as those before us did.”

He handed Edwina a ladle and a glass jar, motioning at her to fill it up. She scooped up the thick liquid, and slowly poured it into the jar, taking care not to spill any of the precious potion even as her knuckle brushed against the searing hot saucepan.

“I want you to remember that, Edwina,” Ray said. “Always remember what your magic is for, so you don’t waste or misuse it. You’re scared of messing up? Good, that means you’re understanding your responsibility.”

Edwina screwed the first jar close and passed it to Ray, watching him pass a finger along the rim of the lid.

“People still go to us now?” She said quietly.

“Of course,” Ray let her continue filling the jars up. “You’ll see more of that when you come along with me eventually.”

Edwina must have been more obvious with her excitement than she thought, because Ray smiled briefly at her. “Of course I’ll bring you along someday, how else will you learn?”

Silently, she helped Ray clean up their impromptu kitchen.

“Thanks for the first lesson, Ray,” she said when they were finished. “I promise I’ll never become evil!”

Ray stared at her with an undecipherable look in his eyes.

“I trust you won’t,” he said eventually.

“Is this… actually usable?” Edwina pointed at the jars in his hands.

“Of course,” Ray put them in a small cabinet out of nowhere and locked it with a snap of his fingers, already moving downstairs. “Our most frequent patient will be very thankful for them.”

“Really?” Edwina couldn’t help but smile, her heart much lighter now.

“Why wouldn’t they? I trust you,” Brettany gave her a small smile in return, but she dropped it just as soon for a frown instead. “You hurt yourself.”

Edwina looked at her unfortunate knuckle, which was beginning to develop into a blister. “Oh, shoot.”

Brettany dug out a box under her bed, and opened it to take out a small jar.

“Mind if you try my work?” She asked.

“Sure,” Edwina shrugged. “You’re probably better at it than me anyway.”

“Don’t say that,” Brettany stuck her lower lip out as she carefully drew a drop of the potion with a pipet, and dropped it on Edwina’s knuckle.

“You could be very powerful one day, I think,” Brettany looked up at her briefly while she spread the potion around the blister gently, the corners of her mouth quirking up, “and I’m, y’know, I’m just a servant.”

Edwina widened her eyes as she felt coolness seeping into her skin, just numbing enough that she couldn’t feel the blister.

“No,” she said, “seriously, it’s working so well! If I’m not looking at my hand, I wouldn’t even know my hand was burnt.”

“Well, I’m glad you find it useful,” Brettany produced a roll of thin gauze and ripped off a short length of it.

She took Edwina’s hand and held it up gently, wrapping the gauze around her hand slowly. Edwina could feel the rough fabric slipping through her hand, before Brettany held it in place with her thumb, all the while holding her hand.

Brettany bit on her lip as her brows knitted together, which Edwina noticed was a habit of hers whenever she was concentrating. Something inside her made her feel tingly and warm as she thought of Brettany focusing on her, as if that tiny blister was the most important thing in the world to her right now.

Brettany still had her lower lip jutted out as she said something Edwina couldn’t quite catch, which Edwina found very adorable on her. It almost made her look like she was pouting.

Did Brettany pout? She looked like the kind of person who would do that, except she wouldn’t even know how effective it was, because Brettany also looked like the kind of person who had no idea how cute they look. Objectively. She just was objectively adorable and loveable and made Edwina want to cuddle her. Studies did show traits like big watery eyes in animals were evolutionarily advantageous in drawing sympathy from humans, meaning there were some traits that were objectively, measurably “cute”. So maybe Brettany pouted as a way of trying to look intimidating.

“Edwina?”

“Yeah?” Edwina was pulled back to the reality of Brettany’s round hazel eyes looking at her.

“I said, you really should be more careful,” Brettany scrunched up her nose. “First lesson, and you’re already getting burnt?”

“I’ll be more careful in the future, mom,” Edwina rolled her eyes with a smile. “Are you gonna kiss my boo-boo until I feel better, mommy?”

That should work, right? Making jokes about kissing or having sex was always a sure-fire way of getting people to leave her alone. Hundred percent success rate guaranteed.

Brettany looked down at their hands, the angle hiding her lips. This close, Edwina could see how pale she really was, greenish blue veins faded against milky white skin.

“If you want to.”

She bent down with Edwina’s hand held in both of her hands, and pressed her lips lightly against the strip of gauze wrapping around Edwina’s hand.

Even through the layers of fabric, she could feel the kiss burning on her skin, Brettany’s lips on Edwina’s skin, as if their shape was permanently branded on Edwina’s knuckles.

Brettany looked up again, and darted out her tongue to lick her lips, before looking away quickly. They were of a reddish pink color, Edwina noticed, like the subtler shade of lipstick Adam’s girlfriend used whenever they went on a date night, but much bolder than the type of lipstick Edwina usually bought. It contrasted nicely with her pale skin color.

She had such a nice face, and an equally cute figure, too. Small and pretty, like a girl should be.

(Edwina tried not to think about her naturally tanned skin and her gangly limbs.)

“Everything good up there?”

Edwina barely stopped herself from jumping, taking her hand back from Brettany’s hold quickly. Brettany seemed to have thought of something, eyes widening, and sat away from her as well.

Ray poked his head into the room, looking at the two of them innocently. Edwina could only hope they didn’t look too intimate for him to make wrong assumptions.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Edwina gave him her best attempt at a reassuring smile.

Ray frowned. “You’re hurt?”

“Just a blister. Nothing serious,” she gestured at the other girl, “Brettany helped me with it though!”

“That’s good,” Ray smiled again, much wider this time. For what reason, Edwina didn’t know. She supposed every mentor figure always had something to hide.

Brettany tried to creep behind Edwina and go downstairs, somehow managing to make no sound even with shoes on.

“The food’s downstairs!” Ray called.

He turned to Edwina, “she gave you her own, huh?”

“Wha- Oh yeah, I think so?”

Ray sighed, looking back at the staircase where Brettany had gone down. “She’s always far too nice for her own good.”

Edwina wasn’t sure what to respond; Ray sounded like he was talking to himself, rather than to her. This all felt too private for her own comfort.

“She’s very nice,” Edwina settled on. “I’m grateful to have a shijie like her.

Ray arched an eyebrow at that. “I’m sure she’s more than a shijie to you though."

“She is a very good friend,” Edwina had no trouble admitting that, at least. Brettany was a good friend, and they had a very nice friendship, of course.

“Of course, you’re friends,” Ray’s eyebrows went higher for some reason even as he grinned. “You like her?”

“Yes? She’s my friend.”

“Look out for her then, will you?” Ray sighed, and leaned closer. “She could always use a friend or two."

Edwina felt really out of her depth now. She had never been best friend material per se, too quiet and studious, and people only really talked to her when they needed to get a project done.

But it was Ray asking, which meant… what? Maybe Ray thought she was a positive influence on Brettany?

“Of course,” Edwina said. “Davina and I both like her very much.”

“Edwina!” Brettany yelled from downstairs, “Davina is here for you!”

“Okay!” She turned back to Ray, “can I…”

“Don’t let me keep you from your own fun,” Ray shooed her downstairs. “Same time next week, yeah?”

“Yeah. See you, Ray!” Edwina ran downstairs.

Davina was here!

Edwina rushed to meet her. God, she had so much to talk about!

“Davie!”

“Hey,” Davina lifted a bag in her hand with a small smile. “I brought afternoon tea.”

“I love you so much,” Edwina clambered for the plastic bag, only to nearly fall from her own weight when Davina made no move to stop her.

Normally, Davina would hold it up above her head because she liked to bully Edwina for their height difference. This was odd.

“I love you too,” Davina said back.

Okay. Davina saying words of affection in public? Very odd.

“Are you okay?” Edwina stepped back on the balls of her feet for a moment.

Davina’s face fell, as she carefully stepped inside the store and closed the door behind her. Edwina tried not to panic while they sat down.

“Mr Tan made us stay after tutorials today,” Davina muttered, “said he knew a student was dating someone and that the school highly discourages us students dating. The school doesn’t want our grades to slip and neglect our schoolwork and all that.”

Edwina felt air rushing out of her lungs.

This was bad. Were they talking about Edwina and Davina? Was it only Mr Tan? Or did other teachers know as well? Would they contact their parents? Edwina had heard of cases like this before. The school could call their parents to warn them of their kids’ “inappropriate behavior”. They could out them.

Oh god. They might be outed. She might be outed. To her family.

“He didn’t say anything concrete,” Davina added quickly. “Just a bunch of allusions.”

“This is bad.”

Davina winced. “I know. Some of the girls were looking at me the whole time.”

“Do you… need a hug?”

They turned abruptly to see Brettany bending down so she could blend in better.

Normally, Edwina would crack a joke about her uncanny ability to sneak up on someone, but she really wasn’t in the mood right now.

Davina nodded slightly. Just once.

Brettany sat down on the chair next to them, and hesitantly wrapped her arms around Davina’s much larger frame. The taller girl simply closed her eyes, and leaned into the hug, wild messy curls draping down Brettany’s shoulders.

“Sorry,” Brettany said, “I’m not a very good hugger.”

“It’s alright,” Davina mumbled and sniffed quietly. “Feels nice anyway.”

Brettany awkwardly patted her on the back a few times. “It’s a dick move anyway. I hope they didn’t make you come out.”

“I hope they won’t,” Davina sighed.

Edwina hugged both of them tightly, and felt Davina yanking her closer.

Closing her eyes as well, she let herself sink into the familiar smell of leather on Davina, and the sweet scent of the cafe for a moment.

Davina took a deep breath, and pulled away gently.

“That was nice,” she said, “thanks, Brettie.”

Brettany groaned. “Not you too.”

“It sounds cute,” Davina shrugged.

“Yeah, it sounds like it belongs to someone tiny and cute,” Edwina joined in, feeling safer when Davina was the one who started it (don’t blame her!), “like you, Brettie.”

“Why do I even hang out with you guys,” Brettany pouted.

“You love us,” Davina smirked, handing out convenience store sushi from the bag, and a couple of coffee.

Brettany humphed, and wolfed down three nigiri in the blink of an eye. “I do, unfortunately.”

“Coffee?” Edwina nudged one at her.

Brettany peeked to see if no one was around, and accepted it.

“Just black,” Davina said, “I wasn’t sure what your go-to Starbucks order is.”

Brettany frowned. “I don’t really go to Starbucks.”

“What do you like, then?”

“Well,” Brettany bit on her lips as she tilted her head, drawing out the word, “milk, I think? Yeah, I like milk.”

“I’ll get you a mocha next time then,” Davina said, booping her on her nose, “baby Brettie.”

“I’m sixteen and a half.”

“And you drink milk,” Davina spread her hands in a “what can I do” motion. “Baby.”

Edwina ruffled Brettany’s hair with her uninjured hand, messing up the petite curls even more.

“Have I told you, Davie, Brettany is a witch history enthusiast?”

“Oh no,” Davina’s eyes twinkled with mischief, “really?”

“Oh yeah. Watch,” Edwina turned to the girl in question. “Brettany, what’s the difference between a witch and a wizard?”

Brettany sat up excitedly, eyes shining.

“Very different. The words are very strongly influenced by gender expectations and involve different social hierarchies.”

Brettany left exactly half of the sushi to Edwina, and downed the coffee in one go.

“Spicy,” she commented. “I could get used to that.”

Edwina really hoped she wouldn’t become another caffeine addict like Davina. One was enough to deal with, but two? No thank you.

“Anyway, witches are usually more sketchy, ugly and up to no good in fairytales, right? That was how societies back then categorized people as witches, especially women. Because if you’re a guy and you act like you know a lot about medicine and the human body? Sure, you’re a doctor. But if you’re a woman, well, you’re obviously evil, because since when do women know about diseases?” Brettany scoffed and rolled her eyes, “clearly, they’re trying to curse you and your kids.

“Wizards, on the other hand, they’re much more heroic and wise, or at least they think so themselves, and they usually work for the kings. Even for evil wizards, we call them ‘sorcerers’ instead a lot of times. So when we say someone is a wizard, usually they’re very publicly respectable, and kind of a snob.”

“You don’t like wizards a lot, do you?” Davina smiled softly, chin in her hand.

“No,” Brettany said. “I’d rather work for free for old ladies who need meds and can’t go to the hospital. So that’s the most obvious difference between the two. But if you dig deeper into our common practices…”

As Brettany went on and on, Davina listening intently all the while, Edwina could only hope this peace would last long.

“We’ll be fine,” she said, willing all of them to be safe. “We will be fine.”

Chapter Text

The next few weeks were probably the happiest weeks in all of Brettany’s life.

She always loved going to Ray’s on her time off, but it was different with Edwina here along for the ride. Edwina was patient, curious, a good listener and a fast learner, sometimes staying behind to read up on an extra chapter from Ray’s collection.

Plus, Edwina was very nice to Brettany, which was always a bonus.

It always hurt to see Davina picking up Edwina when her lessons ended, though. Every time she saw them walking out of the cafe, the sight of their hands held together stabbed her in her chest.

At least she got to see the girl every week in the same room. Just Edwina and her.

(And Ray. But this isn’t about him, sorry.)

Edwina was already in the room when Brettany went in, nose deep in a new book she wasn’t reading for the last two weeks.

“Hey,” she smiled sheepishly, “sorry, but, uh, I saw it was unlocked, so…”

“It’s alright. I don’t mind,” Brettany couldn’t help but smile back.

She usually minded a lot when people came into her room unannounced, but for some reason, Edwina could never make her mad.

“Hey,” Ray knocked on the opened door, “guess what?”

“What?”

“We’re gonna talk about something new today!” He waved at the much thicker book in his hand.

“Really?” Edwina’s eyes lit up as she smiled widely. She had a really adorable smile; big and sunny, showing her adorable gapped teeth.

“Yeah! We’re taking a break from all the potions, how’d you like that?” Ray wriggled his eyebrows. They both knew Edwina hated making potions, even if she tried to be very polite about it. She just wasn’t cut out for tough work.

“Awesome,” she breathed. If she looked any happier, Brettany thought, Edwina might spontaneously sprout a tail and start wagging it.

Ray chuckled at her, and set the book on the table.

“So,” he flipped it open dramatically, “your magic has been getting better and better, which means it’s time for you to think about companions!”

“Companions?” Edwina frowned.

“Yeah. Some witches practice with another witch, their pet, or familiars.”

“I’m fine doing it on my own.”

“Yes, of course, very valid, but companions can help you get even better at your magic. They help you conduct your power.”

“You don’t have one, though,” Edwina pointed out.

“Yet,” Ray amended. “When the time comes, you’ll know it. And that’s why you need to learn about this now, so you can be better prepared when you find them!”

“Ooooo-kay?”

“We’re starting with familiars, because they’re very complicated.”

Edwina scrambled to get a notebook and a pen out of her bag, opened to a blank page, and nodded when she was ready.

“First thing first, familiars are supernatural. They can look like your household pet, or the plant you found at the market, but they’re not.”

Edwina hummed as she wrote it down. Her handwriting was very neat and tidy, almost as if it came straight from a typewriter. Brettany could easily read what she was writing upside down without much work.

“Is it because they’re magic?”

“Ehhh,” Ray pulled a face, “yes and no. Obviously they’re different because they can conduct your magic, but some familiars are thought to be spirits taking the form of an animal or plant. Think of them like faes; they’re entirely different from us. That’s the type you have to be careful with.”

He jabbed at an ancient drawing on the book with the blunt end of a pen.

Edwina bent over and squinted at the faded inscriptions on the side of the drawing, pink, full lips moving soundlessly as she followed the words. Her fringe fell down, framing her profile like a painting.

Brettany looked at both of them, absorbed in whatever was on the giant tome.

It’s fine. She won’t notice as long as you don’t come too close. It’s all fine!

Ignoring the voice of reason in her head, Brettany’s feet moved on their own and sat down a bit closer to Edwina.

Wordlessly, the girl tilted the book slightly towards Brettany.

Brettany could barely read what was written, as she realized with dismay that the words were Chinese. The squiggly lines made sense as individual words, but put together, they were so different from the Chinese she saw in books that she couldn’t make any sense of them.

Edwina finally looked up. “I… I don’t get it.”

At least they were suffering together. The thought made Brettany smile, even as she bit the inside of her cheeks so it wouldn’t show on her face.

“It’s ancient Chinese, very different grammar,” Ray quirked an eyebrow. “I don’t get it either, don’t worry. But! I have the translation.”

“Why didn’t you start with that?” Edwina groaned. “My eyes are so sore.”

“You started reading before I could say anything,” Ray shrugged, unapologetic, before he opened a slightly thinner book and flipped to whatever page he was looking for.

“Here,” he offered the opened pages to them.

“In wude jiu nian… oh, A.D. 626, okay. A.D. 626, as the son of heaven changed…? A pious monk, named Ling, went to the capital to warn of the chaos coming…” Edwina’s finger roamed over the page slowly before she skipped a few paragraphs.

“Honestly, that crow is so wordy,” Edwina whispered, chocolate brown eyes scanning the paragraphs quickly.

Brettany fought back a laugh at her eyeroll, but a quiet chuckle escaped her lips. “It probably rhymes better in Chinese.”

“The monk vanished from the city when it was clear the royals’ ears were closed, and neither the man nor his faithful crow were seen again, even as the newly ascended emperor sent his most loyal men to search for the duo all through the mainland.”

“Rumors of a bird who can speak on behalf of his master spread to this day. The author has seen a similar duo once in the woods far and conversed briefly, but cannot ascertain any relation between them and the legend,” Brettany took over and read the last part out loud. “Written in jingkang yuan nian, A.D. 1126.”

“Damn, that’s a really long time ago,” Edwina finally leaned back from the book.

“Yeah, that’s the legend of Ling Ling, the first recorded sighting of a witch in East and Southeast Asia,” Ray pointed at the drawing again, which Brettany could now see was that of a person cloaked from head to toe in gray, masking any identifiable traits, and a crow perched on their shoulder.

“Some people believe, to this day, that Ling Ling is one of the most powerful witches ever,” he continued, “having achieved immortality, and only coming out of hiding when a catastrophe was about to happen. This account was recovered from the then capital Bianjing after it was conquered.”

“Five hundred years apart,” Edwina blinked as she went back to the text, “must be really immortal.”

“I think so too,” Ray said. “Ling Ling’s familiar could talk on their behalf as an animal, and exhibit signs of codependency with them. That was no ordinary familiar.”

“The spirit kind of familiars,” Edwina’s eyes lit up. Brettany could almost picture the gears in her head turning.

“Exactly!” Ray clicked his fingers. “From this legend, we can see how powerful a witch can be, if they ever meet a spirit familiar and could handle them well. But, we can also see how dangerous the crow can be, if it is ever separated from Ling Ling.”

Brettany shuddered. Even through the ink and paper, she could feel the sheer rage and despair in the familiar when the emperor’s guards took it away. No wonder it killed them all in the ensuing fight.

“Does that mean the witch has to be powerful enough to match the familiar to begin with?” Edwina frowned again, writing down “rules of familiar” in her note.

“Most probably. There’s very few written accounts of spirit familiars to begin with, so we don’t know much about them, but that’s the trend we’ve seen.”

Edwina chewed on her pen. “How do I get one then?”

Ray fixed her with an unimpressed look.

“First, you’d need to be very strong with your magic. And second, you don’t ‘get’ a familiar,” he said, even doing air quotes with his fingers.

“So… I just sit around and train and hope a familiar would come to me?” Edwina looked like she was trying very hard not to pout, and narrowed her eyes instead. “That seems unfair. What if some witches never get one?”

“Then you will become a very powerful witch without a familiar,” Ray said blandly, as if he was discussing the weather. “I know a lot of good witches, plenty more powerful than I can ever be, all without familiars.”

Edwina looked down at her own notebook, and sighed very quietly.

“It sounds nice, having a spirit familiar,” she confessed. “Someone who can understand even the parts of you you don’t understand, someone who will follow you anywhere, someone tied to you forever…”

It sounded very… romantic-oriented, but Brettany had the faintest feeling that Edwina wanted something more than a girlfriend instead.

Privately, she apologized to Davina on Edwina’s behalf.

“But on the flip side, the consequences of a separation will be fatal,” Ray paused for a moment, “or even worse.”

“What can be worse than being dead?” Edwina snorted and looked at Brettany, as if expecting her to share the humor as well.

“I’ve heard stories where magic backlash can do things like,” Brettany swallowed, forcing herself to go on, “trapping your magic away, or souls torn from their bodies, or…”

She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, banishing the horrible images in her head away.

“It’s terrifying, Edwina.”

Ray took her hand and squeezed it tightly for a few moments, the pressure comforting and grounding her back to earth.

“That’s how it is with familiars,” he said gently. “The benefits are really powerful, but so are the consequences if anything goes wrong. If either one of them dies, the other one follows them quickly.”

Edwina widened her eyes, mouth opened like a goldfish before she covered her mouth with her hands, the sleeves of her hoodie pulled up to the palms.

“Holy… I never thought of that,” she finally said. “I’d rather die alone then.”

“It’s not that bad,” Ray softened his voice, “we all found other witches we like very much instead, and we built each other up like familiars can do. Some witches became very close friends, lovers… even forming their own families.”

“Yeah,” Edwina gave a small smile, “yeah, that doesn’t sound too bad either.”

“Good,” Ray smiled back. “Now, you wanna move on to the next text?”

Brettany sniffed the air. She could smell the faint scent of old leather and motor oil.

Davina must be here.

(Her third favorite human for now! After Edwina and Ray, of course.)

As Ray and Edwina poured over the second article on familiars, which Brettany honestly didn’t need to know, she crept downstairs silently, her feet instinctively avoiding the spots on the stairs that she knew would creak.

Sure enough, Davina was sitting in the corner with a cup of coffee, far away from the bustling weekend afternoon crowd. Hyung waved at her as she walked past and passed her a latte, and she returned with a smile.

“Hey!” Brettany hovered around the small table, meant only for one or two people. “Mind if I sit?”

“Sure,” Davina shrugged.

“Edwina will still be up there for,” Brettany looked up at the sun, “around two hours, I think. Sorry for the wait.”

“No, it’s alright. I’ll just be doing my work here then, cheers,” Davina took out her laptop.

Brettany nodded, and settled for a couple of hours of people watching. She had her latte (extra milk, nice) and her favorite chair in the cafe.

”Will you ever tell them the truth?” A voice in her head said, sounding suspiciously similar to her adoptive dad.

”I’m not… lying.”

“Lying by omission is still lying.”

She could imagine the way his brows furrowed, lips pursed tightly whenever he caught her doing something sneaky and bad.

Maybe she was lying, but it wasn’t like she had any choice! What was she going to do, walk up to Edwina and say, “hey, you’re really cool and I like you a lot and I want to be by your side forever?”

Did she want to be with Edwina forever?

What would it be like, staying with someone for eternity?

Brettany tilted her head, eyes focused on a couple on the other end of the cafe. A boy and a girl, probably one or two years older than her. She could faintly hear their conversation. The girl was shivering very slightly, and the boy immediately offered her his scarf, even as she insisted she was feeling warm enough.

With a huff, the boy draped the fabric just over the girl’s neck, and ordered for both of them, evidently knowing her order by heart. The girl simply stood next to him with a satisfied smile.

Brettany wondered when they were going to break up.

She didn’t know much about love and all that, but she heard that most high school couples were only “puppy love”, kids with no idea how to make a relationship work, or too immature to be in one. Only very few highschool sweethearts last all the way to adulthood. Not to mention, lots of adults divorce too.

She was sure Edwina didn’t mean much when she said “tied forever”, but forever was such a long time, and Brettany had no idea how long her life would be.

At the very least, she would probably outlive all the Lee’s currently alive, and all the people in the cafe right now. That could be anywhere from a hundred years to five hundred.

Sometimes she wished her parents weren’t who they were. Her life would be much simpler that way, no witchcraft, no familiar nonsense, no helicopter billionaire guardians, no murky gray areas where none of the current theories applied to her, leaving her alone to navigate this mess they left behind. Just an ordinary high school student whose worst nightmare was failing an exam.

Maybe she’d even get to meet Edwina and Davina in school. Maybe she would have been closer with her if they had met much, much sooner.

Edwina, Edwina, Edwina.

It always circled back to Edwina somehow.

Spending an eternity with Edwina… it actually didn’t sound that bad, if she were to be honest.

”But do you know for certain? You’ve known her for, what, a few months?”

“The world is cruel to people like us, Kitty,” he said a week after she was adopted, holding her hands tightly. “The moment they find out about you, they will do anything to use you for their own sake.”

Ten-year-old Brettany had no idea what all those words meant. She’d simply looked back at him, round eyes blinking rapidly.

“So you’ll have to stay by my side all the time, hmm? I’ll protect you from everyone else.”

“Okay!” She smiled widely. Being protected didn’t sound bad. It sounded like what those princes did with their princesses in the fairy tales Mom used to read to her.

She missed Mom. And Dad.

But all she had was Mr. Lee now.

Mr. Lee was right. How could she trust Edwina so quickly? Sure, Edwina was very nice, and she saved her a couple of times, but people could always pretend to be nice. Like Destiny, wherever she wanted a new handbag. Maybe Edwina was just being nice so she could get closer to Brettany for her magic.

Brettany couldn’t imagine what it was like, being chained to a witch who had no respect for her. She’d heard of the horror stories since she was a babe, tales of familiars bonded to someone against their will and forced to do their bidding, or vice versa, wicked spirits using witches’ corporal bodies for their own gain. There were very few beings powerful enough to force a bond so strong on someone, but the threat was still there.

She could always kill herself, she thought. Death was a mercy compared to slavery.

Worse case scenario, the witch could try to command her not to kill herself. She could still look for loopholes, though. Humans were often so very unimaginative, and she knew the old arts.

Alternatively, she could cut off her own magic entirely, a surefire way of making herself useless. It would be very painful, but she knew how to do that, the last trick up her sleeves that most witches had never heard of.

Perhaps it was safer to keep it a secret from them for now. For a while longer, until Edwina proved herself entirely trustworthy.

“Hey.”

Brettany whipped her head around to Davina, who had looked up from her laptop.

“Can I ask you something stupid?”

“Sure.”

“Do you…” Davina leaned forward over the laptop, as if Edwina was right in front of them and they needed to have this conversation behind her, “do you think Edwina is cheating on me?”

Brettany widened her eyes. This was something way out of her scope. Why Davina would even ask someone who only saw her girlfriend once a week this question, Brettany had no idea.

“No?” Brettany winced at how uncertain she sounded, which didn’t help Davina’s crisis at all. “At least, I don’t think so? Why would you think that?”

“It’s just… she's been getting distant for the past few weeks,” Davina said quietly, “like she’s hiding something from me. I told her she could tell me anything, but nope, nothing!”

That must be what people were talking about when they talked about puppy loves that wouldn’t last long.

“Maybe she’s planning, I dunno, a surprise birthday party?”

“Who would we even invite? We don’t have time for birthday parties anyway, and she’s not out yet.”

“I mean, it could be anything!” For a split second, she thought of teen pregnancies, before she remembered that Edwina couldn’t get pregnant anyway.

“She’s way less enthusiastic in bed,” Davina glanced up where Edwina was still with Ray.

“Maybe she’s tired?”

Davina glared at her. “Of me?”

“I- I don’t know, okay!” Brettany threw up her hands. “I’ve never dated anyone, how would I know why people stop wanting… that?”

She could feel her face heating up even without saying the word “sex” out loud.

“Well, she’s not into Ray,” Brettany plowed on, “and I know she’s not cheating on you with me.”

“You sure?”

“Ray is so old,” Brettany scrunched her nose up. The thought of someone like a big brother to her “getting it on” was so weird, she didn’t want to think about it at all. “And isn’t she gay?”

“So she could be in love with another girl,” Davina concluded from Brettany’s pure speculation.

“Well, it’s not me, if it makes you feel better,” Brettany shrugged.

“I’m fine with her having a crush on someone else. I just want her to tell me!”

“So she could break up with you?” Brettany tilted her head. “Sounds like a bad idea for both of you.”

“We could always work something out, y’know, polyamory or something,” Davina said casually. “I’m open to threesomes. But I can’t have a threesome if I don’t even know who she likes!”

“Ask her then?” The solution was so simple, Brettany didn’t even know why she had to spell it out loud to Davina, who no doubt had more experience in relationships than her.

“Yeah, it’s totally not going to devolve into a screaming match.”

“You can list out all the reasons you think she’s crushing on someone else, and then say, ‘these are my evidence, and based on my evidence, my conclusion is that you like someone else. Do you have any objections?’ Edwina loves doing things the scientific way.”

Davina sat back in her chair. “You know, maybe that will work.”

“Maybe she’ll like you even more,” Brettany suggested.

“Thanks,” Davina wasn’t smiling, but Brettany could feel the sincerity behind her blank face anyway. “That’s really helpful.”

“What’s helpful?”

Right. Edwina.

“Brettie was just helping me spell check my essay,” Davina lied smoothly.

“I like it very much,” Brettany quickly added.

“Wow,” Edwina winked at Davina, “finishing all your work before Sunday? Someone’s being a good girl today.”

“You ready to go?” Davina said with a straight face, but Brettany could see how she was avoiding Edwina’s look, the tips of her ears slightly pink.

“Yep!” Edwina popped the “p” as she dragged Davina away. “Oh my god, I have so much to tell you!”

“Bye, Brettany!” Davina shot her the finger guns, “I’ll tell you how it went.”

“Thanks,” she smiled back, even though she didn’t quite feel like smiling, for some reason.

The sun was starting to set, and Brettany had to head home.

Sometimes, she’d rather stay here forever.

Brettany knocked on the door, heart thumping.

“Sir?”

Mr. Lee looked up from his papers, and beckoned her in. “Come in. And drop the ‘sir’, it’s just the two of us.”

Brettany took a deep breath. It’s fine, it’s just your weekly update with your dad. Don’t lie, don’t avoid eye contact, and you’ll be fine.

She moved to stand in front of him, only for Mr. Lee to pat on his lap.

“Sit.”

She sat down on his lap slowly. The wool of his trousers grated against her legs harshly.

Mr. Lee stroked her legs. “How’s your leg?”

“Fine.”

Well manicured nails dug into her skin. She bit down on her lip to keep herself quiet.

“It’s… mostly healed, thank you for asking, dad.”

“Wonderful to hear,” Mr. Lee smiled briefly, before he frowned again. “I’m sorry, but even I can’t reign in my sister. You know how it is, with her and that godforsaken woman.”

At least someone in the entire family was willing to acknowledge what an absolute nightmare Destiny and her mother was, even if that someone was Destiny’s half brother, fellow unfavorite of the family.

“You did your best, sir,” she allowed herself a small smile even as she reminded herself not to gossip. “That’s more than I could ask for.”

“Still, I’d hate to see you hurt just because Destiny didn’t like her food. Perhaps you shouldn’t run around so much until it’s completely healed.”

“Of course, dad. I never leave without permission.”

Mr. Lee hummed, feeling up her freshly healed leg.

“And yet you leave every week, unannounced,” his hand paused. “Don’t you trust me?”

“Of course not,” she said, and took a deep breath before she probed on, “but it’s my free time. I’m off work.”

“I know,” Mr. Lee said patiently, his other snaking around Brettany’s waist. With how short she is, he easily held her in one arm, fingers resting on her elbow.

“I just worry for you,” he reached up to brush her bangs aside and took off her glasses. (Mr. Lee loved to say that she looked even more beautiful without her tacky glasses, “such a shame, dear.”) Without anything to hide her eyes behind, Brettany felt naked in his lap.

She reminded herself not to duck her head, a worrying habit of hers. “You are my ward, and I expect you to behave as one, proper manners and all,” as Mr. Lee said when he first took her in.

“You have so much debt to pay back, Kitty, and yet every week you leave your work. I’d rather see you clear the debt sooner. We wouldn’t want you stuck here forever, hmm?”

“No,” Brettany said, suppressing a wince as they approached her least favorite topic ever.

“Of course, you’d have to work a bit more, but then what is success if not for the sacrifices we make?”

Brettany’s mouth felt dry. Of course Mr. Lee meant only the best for her, but this, this was the one thing he would never understand. Those precious few hours were the only time she had any freedom, the short window of fresh air she looked forward to all week, one of the few things she could hold onto, and now she couldn’t even have that?

“I can look for another job,” she tried not to choke up, tried her best to sound casual.

She must have failed, as Mr. Lee squeezed her arm, his hand warm as always. “Are the Lee’s not good enough for you, Kitty?”

“No!” She stiffened at the iciness in his words, at the idea of having disappointed him. “I am forever thankful to you.”

“Good,” Mr. Lee bit down on the words. “I’d hate to spend so much on you for your food, your clothes, your education, just to raise a white-eyed wolf, no?”

Brettany looked down at her frayed shirt.

“No,” she whispered. “I’m sorry, dad.”

“It’s alright,” he gave her an encouraging smile, the one he reserved for her only. “Teenagers! I know you don’t want to spend all day cooped up here.

“Come to think of it, do you know Ling Ling’s Bubble Tea?”

She couldn’t quite see Mr. Lee’s face through the blurriness, but his hold was enough of a reminder to never lie to him. They never lasted long, and he would only get angrier when he realized he had been duped, a lesson that Brettany had learnt very quickly.

Not this time, though.

“Only in passing,” she swallowed.

“I hear from Destiny that they’re hiring, always wasting her time going around,” Mr. Lee smiled again, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Perhaps you can join them, hmm? I know they’re full of witches and wizards too.”

Alarms rang in her head. Nevermind how the Lee’s found out about them, they were trying to send their one magical servant into a place heavy with magic, and they set her dad up with the task of luring her in. Clearly, they wanted something with Ray and his friends, even if Mr. Lee tried to sugarcoat it for her comfort.

“I don’t have a lot of powers, though,” Brettany confessed.

Even without her glasses on, she could feel a spike of irritation from her guardian before he quickly smothered it.

“You can still learn from them no matter what,” Mr. Lee said. “It never hurts to improve oneself.”

“Yes, dad.”

“We’ll contact them as soon as possible, don’t worry,” Mr. Lee stroked her arm gently in what might be a comforting gesture.

She felt goosebumps on her skin. This was dangerous. One misstep and the Lee’s would find out that she had allies outside of them, and then they would take her away from Ray. She needed to text him about this as soon as she got out of the office.

Thank god Destiny never said a word about Edwina or Davina. Hopefully.

“See? Looks like you can go out after all,” Mr. Lee smiled, voice sweet as syrup. “When have I ever denied you anything, Kitty?”

Brettany thought back to him teaching about posterity in his expensive tailored suits, withholding dinner until her magic was satisfactory, taking her out of the private tutorings shared with Destiny as soon as she reached sixteen even when she enjoyed it.

Except that wasn’t the whole truth, was it? Of course she should be austere, she wasn’t the one earning the money; he made sure she never starved, and if she was hungry for an hour or two, well, that just motivated her to do better; and they agreed on her work when she hit the age, he was just trying to look out for her by getting her a job at somewhere safe, no?

Maybe Mr. Lee was right. She should really be more grateful to him.

“Never," she meant what she said, she realized. "Thank you for everything.”

Mr. Lee’s hand wandered up to her thighs, as he held her closer. Brettany leaned on his chest, praying he couldn’t see her stinging eyes. She could feel the bracelet on his wrist resting on her skin.

Her bracelet.

“I’m sorry, but you know I did what I had to do, or else you would lose control and accidentally hurt someone, and people would find out about you,” he sighed. “I just want to keep you safe, Kitty.”

Of course. She knew he was right; she was far too volatile to deal with her magic alone. Mr. Lee did the right thing. But that didn’t make it hurt less.

Brettany closed her eyes, trying not to think of her magic draining from her into the keepsake.

"It’s for your own good.”

“I know, dad. Thank you for taking care of me.”

“You know I love you very much, right?” He kissed her hair.

There was always only one answer to this.

“I love you too.”

Chapter Text

Edwina got to the cafe early that Saturday, only to see Ray and Brettany standing outside.

“We’re going on a field trip today!”

Finally! Edwina mentally cheered for herself. Weeks of theories, and now finally some witchcraft in action!

“What are we gonna do?” Edwina ran up to the pair.

“Something very different,” Ray leaned closer to her, “something scary and spooky.”

He was even doing the wavy fingers at the last word.

“What Mr Ray means,” Brettany gave him a side glance, “is that he has a client who needs some witchcraft expertise.”

More specifically, he had a friend who ran into a problem.

“Is that how you call your Auntie Sophie? So rude,” Ray gave her a mocking pout.

“She’s only a few years older than me,” Brettany was clearly not buying into the whole “auntie” schtick. “And younger than you.”

“One of our books was stolen,” Sophie had said to Ray on the phone, he explained on the way. “I’m not sure who it was, but it smells like magic.”

Ray being Ray, he agreed to take a look at it, and he had two little angels with him, so could Sophie please let them tag along, he promised they wouldn’t cause any trouble, please and thank you.

(Part of Edwina felt a little embarrassed to be treated like she was Ray’s kid; the other part secretly liked it a lot.)

And that was how Edwina found herself on the other side of the town.

“You know, when you said you’ve got two kids, I thought you’d gone insane and adopted two kids,” that was the first thing Sophie said as soon as they stepped into her bookstore.

“Students, kids, po-tay-to, po-tah-to,” Ray was resting his arm on Brettany’s head, and took the chance to ruffle her hair. “Say hi to Auntie Sophie, kids.”

“Hey, Ms Sophie,” Brettany brushed her hair back in shape nicely, and bowed.

“Brettany!” Sophie went for a hug immediately. Brettany froze for a second, before her shoulders slowly relaxed with obvious effort.

“Good afternoon, Ms Sophie,” Edwina had no idea what to say, so she decided to just copy Brettany.

“This is Edwina,” Ray turned his focus to her instead, and messed up her hair as well even though they were almost the same height, “my newest student.”

“Lovely to meet you, Edwina,” Sophie smiled warmly as she closed the door behind them and flipped the sign to “closed”.

“So, what’s the situation?” Ray sobered up immediately the moment the silencing charms on the door frame were activated.

“I noticed one of my books in the storage room was missing this morning, when I was doing the usual check up,” Sophie said, glancing at a wall where the room was probably behind, “I triple checked to make sure I didn’t replace it, and then tried a locating charm, but it didn’t work.”

“How do you store your witchcraft books?” Ray sat down with his legs crossed.

“Usually with a standard locking charm, and then detecting runes as an alarm, and then a regular lock, and then a smart door lock,” Sophie counted on her hands. “Tea?”

“I can make some if you want,” Brettany shot up, and disappeared behind a shelf before anyone could say anything.

“I could’ve made them,” Sophie frowned, gazing at the direction where Brettany left. “Ray…”

“You know how it is with her, stubborn as a cat,” Ray sighed. “She just… couldn’t shake it off, I guess.”

Edwina had no idea what they were talking about, but she had the unique feeling that whatever it was, it was none of her business.

Better try to fade into the background for now, and pretend she didn’t exist. Yep, she could do that, she had plenty of training at school.

“That’s strange. You have both magic and mundane security, but whoever stole it can bypass all of them…” Ray trailed off, hands steepled.

Well, someone was a Sherlock fan.

“So whoever took it definitely knew magic, since they could charm the book to avoid any tracking,” Brettany picked up quickly, as she returned with a tray of hot tea, some milk and a small jar of sugar.

“Standard Earl Gray, I hope you don’t mind,” she said, putting down the mugs in front of the two adults first, and then Edwina.

“I don’t know how you take your tea, sorry” Brettany placed the milk and sugar in front of her directly.

“I’ve never really had English tea. You can add them for me.” Edwina then added, “I trust your taste.”

Brettany ducked her head and went back with Edwina’s tea.

Opposite them, Sophie and Ray were having an entire conversation with their looks alone, exchanging secretive smirks.

“But also, the thief can hack electronic locks,” Edwina said, if only so they can stop pretending she wasn’t there; it was awkward.

Ray gave her an encouraging smile. “If that’s the case, what does it suggest about the thief?”

“They’re a very good thief who knows magic?” Edwina asked.

“Could be an experienced thief,” Brettany walked back in, this time with the mug of tea for Edwina. “Electronic locks have to be hacked; it’s not something you can just learn to do on Youtube.”

She must have gone on similar cases with Ray before, Edwina thought as she took a sip of the tea.

She wasn’t expecting much, but the tea was just the right temperature, a bit milky and just the right amount of sweetness.

“Thanks,” she whispered to Brettany, “I really like it.”

“You do?” Brettany turned to her, a small, surprised smile on her face.

“Yeah. You have to teach me that someday,” Edwina bumped their elbows together.

Brettany nodded earnestly, before biting her lip and turning back to Ray and Sophie, who coughed quietly.

“Or, they knew someone who also knew magic, and had an accomplice who helped with the charms,” Ray added.

“But I thought we’re very secretive,” Edwina couldn’t help but notice, “if they’re not magic, how would they know someone magical? I haven't even told my family that I’m a witch.”

She told her girlfriend though; but that was different. She trusted Davina with things that she couldn’t trust her family with.

The corners of Brettany’s lips tugged up for the briefest moment, no doubt also aware of the irony.

Oh, shut it.

“Maybe underground connections?” Sophie raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“Not impossible, but rare,” Ray frowned. “I only know one witch with any criminal connections.”

“We’ll have to ask them, then,” Brettany said casually.

“I’ll ask him. You’re not going anywhere near them, young lady,” Ray arched both his eyebrows at Brettany in return.

Brettany pursed her lips and looked away.

“Hey, wanna have some?” Edwina nudged the mug closer to Brettany, if only to distract her.

Brettany turned to her with wide eyes, frozen for a few seconds, before she slowly extended a hand to get the mug.

Their fingers brushed against each other for a moment, Edwina’s long, tanned fingers covering Brettany’s shorter ones, feeling the smoothness of her skin, the well-trimmed nails on her hands.

If they lingered for a fraction of a second longer than necessary, Edwina wasn’t going to say anything.

“And what about motives?” Ray asked, looking intently at the two of them.

Edwina’s attention was abruptly pulled back, realizing that they still had a case on hand. It took her a few moments to fully absorb what he just asked.

“Maybe… we can see what the stolen book is?” She managed to pull something from her brain that didn’t sound like industrial grade bullcrap.

Where could they check the content of the books?

“You said you check the storage every day, right?” Edwina asked, recalling what Sophie said at the beginning.

Sophie nodded.

“So you should have a list of them,” Edwina continued, the puzzle pieces starting to make a bit of sense to her. “Can we take a look at them?”

“Sure,” Sophie reached behind the counter to get a personal laptop, “I have it here.”

She quickly pulled up a file, and turned the screen to them.

The list was neatly organized, listing all the books in storage by title in alphabetical order, dates bought in, author name, and subject matters.

“This is the one missing,” Sophie said, highlighting one row in bright yellow.

“Bonding: A Collection of Essays on Witch Bonds,” Edwina read out loud, the title pretty self explanatory in itself.

“So that’s what they’re after,” Brettany murmured, her face half hidden by Edwina’s mug, the steam fogging her glasses.

“Is there anything special about this book in particular?” Edwina leaned forward, chin resting on her hands. “I mean, I saw that you have more than one book on bonding. Why this one book?”

Ray and Sophie exchanged a glance.

“The book is fine on its own,” Ray said slowly, carefully searching for the words, “but it’s very… advanced, let’s say, and not a lot of people can really handle the theories it talks about.”

“It’s very theoretical and hard to understand,” Sophie nodded, “and a lot of newbies try to recreate the types of bonds they talk about, only for them to backfire horribly.”

“It did expand understanding on bonding though, especially bonds involving familiars,” Ray snorted, “thanks to all those accidents. Even the best witches I know only take it as speculations on what bondings can be.”

“And there’s no other way someone could get it?” Edwina asked.

“As far as I know, there’s only really a few witch-run libraries in the whole world who would lend it, and there’s very strict rules on borrowing it,” Sophie winced. “After one too many incidents, we all just decided that it’s bad news, you know, we wouldn’t want new witches to fall into this trap again.”

“Whoever wants the books is either an overconfident witch, or someone who knows nothing about the field at all then,” Edwina thought out loud. Following this logic, no serious witch would really want to read it.

“And,” she continued, “they have a reason that makes them desperate enough to steal it.”

“Otherwise, they could’ve just gone to the libraries to borrow it,” Brettany no doubt picked up on her train of thought.

Ray gave her a brief smile, a sign that she was doing well in this impromptu exercise, before he turned serious again. “This is bad.”

“Could we see the, ah, the crime scene?” He asked, queasy at the idea of calling his friend’s bookstore a crime scene.

“Why not,” Sophie shrugged. “It’s not like I’m going to call the police anyway.”

Of course, Edwina thought. No exposure to the general public.

The door to the storage room was unlocked, and Sophie raised a hand to cast a spell quickly before opening it.

“An elementary time freeze,” she explained to Edwina, upon seeing the plain curiosity on her face. “Ray hasn’t taught you that yet, has he?”

Edwina was not pouting. “No.”

“Wait until you’re a bit more experienced,” Sophie said, “messing with time is hard. And not really that important to know anyway.”

Everything in the room was coated with a light white glow, Edwina noticed as she stepped into the room, preserving them in the exact position Sophie found them in this morning. A few books were even suspended in mid air, stuck in permanent free fall.

She wrinkled her nose at the faint but persistent smell in the room.

Ray sniffed the air loudly. “What did you notice?”

Edwina gave a hard sniff as well, seeing what he had done. “Smells like… lavender?”

“And…?” Ray raised an expectant eyebrow.

Edwina tried her best to recall the strong herbal scent from one of her many lessons on making potions. Small red berries grounded into powder, white petals…

“Was that powdered hawthorn?”

“And what does that tell you?” Ray asked, already knowing the answer.

Shit.

Hawthorn and lavender… What could they do again?

Behind him, Brettany was hissing at her loudly, and mimicking sleeping with her head on her hands.

“Sleeping draught?” Edwina sounded out the words slowly.

“Yes! Very concentrated ones, in fact; the hawthorn was grounded and roasted to extract even more juice,” Ray pointed finger guns at her.

Brettany exhaled silently, and looked away as she sniffed.

“To use as a drug?” Edwina suggested.

“Could be a backup plan. Just in case there was someone here.”

“Thank god I didn’t stay behind that day,” Sophie widened her eyes.

“What else?” Ray clapped his hands together.

Scent, sight… What else?

The thief had to have walked into this room, with shoes on… so they would have brought in things on the bottom of their shoes with them inside… things like soil and dirt…

Edwina pressed her fingers on the floor lightly, and focused on the thought of footprints floating into existence, visualizing the way the tiniest of the dirt particles lighting up.

Magic flowed through her body to her fingertips, and she felt her revealing charm working.

Small footprints showed up on the floor, leading straight from the door to the messiest shelf.

“The thief probably wasn’t very tall,” Edwina said, putting her own foot next to one of the prints for comparison. “They’re probably much shorter than me.”

It was only slightly larger than Brettany’s feet, Edwina noticed. Someone a bit taller than her, then. “Roughly 1.65 meters, I guess.”

“Plus, they’re very sure about where to find the book,” she went on, pointing down at the straight path, “they clearly knew which shelf it was on.”

“So the mess is on purpose,” Sophie said. She looked disturbed; Edwina couldn’t blame her, she was feeling a bit threatened too.

“Whoever did this was trying to send a warning to you.”

“For what?” Sophie asked. “As far as I know, I’ve done nothing wrong against anyone!”

“They weren’t acting alone. There’s someone behind this.”

They all turned to look at Brettany, who was crouched down at the door, still holding the mug of tea.

“The thief is a hired hand,” her nose was practically touching the lock, a few hairs dangling in front of the metal. “The lock picking was done very cleanly. No hesitation, no missteps. They were very familiar with this type of lock, at least.”

Edwina stood there, bewildered. How?

Brettany held up the lock with one finger. “For someone who carries sleeping draught, it’s weird that they chose to pick the lock rather than break it open with a spell, which takes even less time.”

“They don’t know magic then,” Edwina was starting to see where this was going.

“Someone could be hiring them to steal the book,” Brettany concluded. “They needed it, but they couldn’t do it themselves for whatever reason, and they chose to hire a criminal instead.”

“Must be quite rich, then, to have that type of influence,” Ray mused.

“And they were wearing…” Brettany gave the smart lock a sniff as well, “Leather gloves and…”

She trailed off.

“What?” Ray asked, only for Brettany to turn to them, face pale.

“Perfume,” she said quietly. “House of Sillage.”

“Okay…?” Edwina couldn’t see where this was going.

Brettany’s hands were shaking ever so slightly. “I know someone who fits the bill.”

“Wow,” Sophie blinked, “that’s good then!”

“It’s… shit, it’s even worse.”

Brettany gingerly put the mug down.

“She used to be a bodyguard at the Lee’s.”

Shit.

The room was so quiet, Edwina could hear the mug vibrating on the floor.

“Shi——ttake mushrooms,” Ray cursed, burying his face in his hands.

“Shit indeed,” Sophie agreed.

Edwina approached Brettany slowly, careful not to creep up on her. Sometimes Brettany reminded her of a stray cat, skittish of strangers and even people she was familiar with.

Up close, she could see Brettany’s rosy lips shaking very, very slightly.

“Do you want to sit down?” She asked quietly, a hand hovering over Brettany’s arms.

Brettany blinked, as if she had forgotten how to do even that.

“I should probably do that,” she murmured, and slowly sank to the floor.

Edwina brought the still warm mug to Brettany.

“You’re heating the mug up all that time?” Edwina joked, just to distract Brettany from whatever was going on in her head.

“I didn’t want you to drink cold, rubbish tea,” Brettany said.

Her hands mechanically accepted the tea, and brought it to her lips.

Ray sat down gingerly beside her, exchanging a worried look with Sophie.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked gently, “you don’t have to if you don’t want to, of course.”

“We can always find this out from somewhere else,” Sophie reassured her.

“No, I should, shouldn’t I?” Brettany asked.

To Edwina, she sounded as if she was actually asking herself the question.

“She’s called Lisa Goh, I think,” Brettany said. “She was Mr Lee’s bodyguard. Has a criminal record. Old Mr Lee brought her in as a way of repaying her debt after he helped her secure an acquittal for bank robbery.”

“Was?” Ray caught on the key here.

“Officially, she was laid off for being incompetent in her job two years ago.”

Even if Brettany didn’t specify it was the official reason, Edwina would still have her doubts. A woman who was tried for bank robbery couldn’t protect a dandy businessman? Please.

“And unofficially…?” She asked.

“She had an affair with Mr Lee,” Brettany said, her face completely shut down.

“Mr Lee, as in… Darold Lee? Doesn’t he have a fiancee?”

Brettany nodded silently.

“Looks like someone’s bodyguard-CEO forbidden romance didn’t work out,” Ray remarked.

“And you’re sure it’s her?” Sophie asked, her face void of any judgment, “I’m not doubting you, but if this goes wrong, we'll have wronged someone innocent.”

“I know it’s her,” Brettany insisted, shaken out of her trance, “it’s a limited edition perfume, and she’s the only one I know who used that exact same perfume every time before…

“Before she went to see Mr Lee.”

Her face grew even paler, if that was possible.

The implication hit Edwina like a truck.

If Brettany was right, and Edwina trusted she was, that would mean they were going up against the Lee family

“And most criminals for hire wouldn’t be able to afford something like this,” Ray said.

“I’ll ask my friend about her,” he fished out his phone and started typing, “see if we can pay her a friendly visit.”

“How are we gonna do this?” Edwina asked. Truth be told, she wasn’t feeling so excited, now that Ray was going to drag her to go up against a criminal.

Ray’s fingers slowed down for a few moments, before resuming at his usual speed.

“We can say something like, ‘we’re from the bookshop, and hey, did you borrow a book from us?’”

“That doesn’t sound suspicious at all,” Edwina sighed.

“That’s the bad thing about being a witch: you can’t call the police even when something goes wrong,” Sophie winced. “You just have to work things out yourself.”

“We’ll think of something,” Ray shrugged.

He pocketed his phone. “Right. Shaun knows where she lives. We can go right now, before she has more time to hide it.”

“I’ll drop you off at the cafe on your way then, Brettany. Who’s on shift now?” Sophie asked.

“Hyung, I think,” Ray answered, still nose deep in his conversation as they walked to his car.

“I’m not leaving,” Brettany stood up shakily and followed them. “This is my case too.”

Ray stopped as well, hands on his hips. For a moment, he reminded Edwina of the dads she saw on American TV shows.

“Be good, Brettany,” he said. “I don’t want to see you hurt.”

“But you don’t care about Edwina getting hurt?” Brettany said, tilting her head towards Edwina.

Edwina found herself at the receiving end of two identical glares, and slowly raised her hands in surrender, inching towards Sophie. Whatever row they were having, she wanted none of that.

The two witches stared at each other for a long while, neither willing to give up.

“I just don’t want you dragged into whatever mess the Lee’s have going on,” Ray finally said.

“Bit too late for that,” Brettany turned her head away.

Sophie cleared her throat.

“Maybe we can all go together, and Brettany can wait with me outside?” She suggested.

Brettany didn’t look too pleased at that, but she turned back to Ray anyway.

“Please?” Brettany begged him with wide, round eyes.

“Fine!” Ray threw up his hands and began walking outside, “but no coming in with me, okay?”

“Okay!” Brettany smiled brightly, if a bit fake.

Ray parked the car quietly a block away, and handed Sophie and Brettany something from his pocket.

“Stay here,” he said, with the most serious look Edwina had ever seen on him. “You know how this works?”

“Magic activation, right?” Sophie asked, to which Ray nodded.

Brettany put it in one ear. “I’m not going anywhere, Mr Ray, and I know how to listen in on a conversation.”

With a last worrying glance at her, Ray hurried into the apartment building, and Edwina rushed to follow him.

“How are we gonna do this?” She asked quietly in the lift.

The small space felt almost claustrophobic, as if the walls had ears spying on them for the Lee’s.

“We’re probably gonna do this the hard way,” Ray didn’t look too happy about this either. “The moment she knew which store we’re from, she’d know we know about her theft anyway.”

“But she’s a criminal!”

“And we’re witches,” Ray simply said.

Her worry must have shown on her face, since Ray added, “all of us. Sophie can take care of herself and Brettany, don’t worry. Just let me handle it, and don’t speak unless I signal you to.”

“Okay,” Edwina inhaled, “okay.”

She took a deep breath as the lift opened, and followed Ray down the hallway.

Ray fixed an amicable smile on his face, and pressed the doorbell.

A woman peeked out.

“Excuse me?”

“Hi! We’re from the bookstore yesterday, and we’re just wondering if you’ve borrowed one of our books lately? Our neighborhood reading scheme, y’know,” Ray chirped.

“Wrong person, sorry.”

The woman’s face darkened at the word “bookstore”, and moved to quickly slam the door closed.

A foot shot out to block the closing door.

“I don’t think so, Ms Goh. We saw you there last night, after all,” Ray was still smiling, but it wasn’t quite reaching his eyes anymore, “just a lil chat, nothing more. I’d hate if this is a misunderstanding.”

Of course, it was less of an offer and more of a threat.

Lisa stepped back slowly, one hand behind her back.

Ray walked into the apartment slowly, hands slightly out so that Edwina was sheltered behind him.

As soon as the door closed, Lisa whipped an arm out towards the two of them. Quick as a flash, Ray shot his hand and blocked her fist by her wrist, a golden vine of light spreading down her arm.

Lisa looked up in shock.

“All we want is a little chat,” Ray repeated, letting go of her, “nothing more.”

With a last dark glance, the woman sat down on the bed, motioning at them to sit down as well.

As she sat down on the couch, Edwina took a second to take in the apartment. It was much smaller than her home, with only a tiny kitchen, a toilet, and the living room-slash-bedroom. Lisa fit Brettany’s description, down to her height, with long straight hair and thick eyelashes. Sitting in the small apartment, though, she looked larger than Edwina imagined.

It shouldn’t surprise her, but it caught her off guard that Darold Lee’s girlfriend was… poor.

“We know you stole a book from us yesterday,” Ray wasted no time cutting to the main point.

“Not even some small talk to begin with?” Lisa leaned forward, “you’ve got guts, coming straight into a stranger’s home and accusing them of a crime, Mr… I didn’t catch your name.”

“Chen,” Ray supplied.

“Mr Chen,” Lisa dipped her head in acknowledgement. “Innocent until proven, isn’t that what the law says?”

“We both know you operate outside of the law’s constraints, Ms Goh,” Ray said casually. “All we want is our book back, and we’ll be off your back.”

“I don’t have any of your books with me.”

Does that mean it’s already been given to the Lee’s?

Ray’s eyes narrowed very slightly, as if the same thought had also crossed his mind.

“Then you’d know where it is.”

“I told you, I didn’t do it,” Lisa said, surprisingly calm for a supposedly innocent woman accused of being a criminal.

“You have no proof of my… hypothetical crime.”

“Oh, but we do,” Ray smiled again, all teeth this time. “We have security cameras all around the shop, and your face was on it. In the storage room.”

Edwina fought not to show any shock on her face. We have a security camera?

It took her a moment to realize that he could be bluffing. If that was what he was doing, then Ray was a better liar than she’d thought.

“Could be a mistake. I’ve been told I look like a lot of people.”

“Your magical signature was in the room too. The exact one here.”

“Even if I did it, what can you do about it? You’re not seriously thinking of going to the police with bullshit about ‘magic’, are you?” Lisa had the gall to throw her head back and laugh at them.

Edwina’s heart sank. Lisa was right; this evidence would never be admissible in the court of law. She couldn’t help but glare at the criminal, unrepentant in her guilt.

“No.”

“The door’s that way then, Mr Chen.”

Ray didn’t move, thought, and simply cocked his head.

“I wonder what would happen, though, if your… friends learn of your connection to the Lee’s.”

Lisa visibly stiffened.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Mr Chen.”

“What would they think of you, a self-proclaimed criminal with close ties to one of the richest families in all of Asia?”

Ray looked at Edwina slowly, a sign for her to continue.

“They would be pissed,” Edwina said, realizing what Ray was aiming for. “I don’t think they really like the Lee’s.”

Of course not. Criminals like Lisa, unaffiliated with gangs and triads, were usually people of the lower classes, exploited by people like the Lee’s, some of them with no other choice than to go into a life of crime and sin just to survive.

“No, they don’t,” Ray’s eyes softened as they met hers, before hardening again towards Lisa. “Would be a shame if word was to leak out that you’re in tandem with the Lee family, Ms Goh.”

“You have no proof,” Lisa grinded out.

“Perhaps you should dial back on the perfume, miss. It has a very unique scent. Must be very expensive.”

“And rare,” Edwina added.

“Maybe it’s just a gift from a client,” Lisa leaned back in faux casualness.

“A client who can afford a thousand US dollar perfumes like it’s nothing? Or a lover?”

“I’m a professional, excuse me,” Lisa actually looked offended at the suggestion that she might become lovers with a client of hers.

Ray stood up and walked to the bedside table, picking up a small crystalline vial with two silver birds on the lid.

“Funny story,” he said, turning the vial in his hands, “but I think it’s called ‘Love is in the Air’. Odd choice for a mere client, no?”

Lisa said nothing, but Edwina could see sweat on her forehead.

“I even heard from the grapevine that you wear it every time you go to meet your boyfriend.”

“That bitch!”

Ray looked back at Lisa, who was fuming red.

“Where did you hear that from? Is it that little slut following him around?!”

Edwina flinched at the harsh language. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Ray’s eyes twitching briefly, before his mask of polite indifference was back on.

“I’m afraid I don’t understand, miss.”

“You know what I’m talking about,” Lisa growled like a feral animal. “Darold Lee’s precious little girl, always tagging along, clinging to him, squirming and sitting in his lap like a fucking whore.”

Edwina had a very bad feeling that she knew who Lisa was talking about.

“So it is Darold Lee,” Ray said instead.

“Of course it’s him!” Lisa exploded, “why else do you think I’m stuck here, with dead end jobs and shit pay?”

“It’s all her fault, I’m telling you, seducing him to bed so he could cheat on me,” she spat out. “I caught them once, you know. I told him, you either choose me, or that whore, and he fucking fired me! Said I was a shitty bodyguard when I have done nothing wrong in five years of my job! All so he could keep fucking that slut!”

Edwina desperately hoped Lisa was talking about someone else. Another girl working there who was at least an adult.

“If he can cheat on his fiancee with you, he can cheat on you too,” Ray said blandly, but Edwina could pick up the minute tremor in his voice after knowing him for months.

“You’re lying,” Edwina said, voice trembling as flames fired up in her chest. “Why should we trust you? You’re a professional thief. Maybe you’re just making all this up to frame someone else.”

Ray placed a warning hand on her arm.

“Is she still working there? Is she?! She was talking shit about me again, wasn’t she?” Lisa went on, as if they hadn’t said anything.

“Fine! I’ll tell you everything, I swear to god, I won’t let her get away with this!”

Ray and Edwina shared a glance. It was a win for them, but she didn’t feel relieved at all.

“Darold called me to his home the other day, said he wanted to meet up for dinner. I said yes, of course, I miss him. So I went to find him, stayed a night there, and he said he had a job for me,” Lisa recalled, even giving them a little smirk when she mentioned her night there.

“It was easy too, just stealing one book from an unguarded bookstore with another guy? Please, I’ve done way worse. But the pay was good, and I’d never say no to him anyway, so of course I took it. Fast forward to today, and bam, you two are here.”

“So you do have an accomplice.”

“He’s weird, doing the same shit you did when you came in, but he’s efficient,” Lisa shrugged.

“Do you remember anything about him?”

Lisa looked sideways for a few moments before answering, “not really. That’s weird, but I couldn’t really remember his face. Not that I care, though.”

He must have messed with her memory somehow.

If there were indeed two people in the scene, maybe the accomplice erased all traces of him with his magic then, Edwina thought, recalling the footprints they saw. That would explain how all the evidence made it seem like she was acting alone.

“Isn’t it risky, though, inviting you right into his house to hire you?” Ray leaned forward.

“We’ve been seeing each other for years,” Lisa rolled her eyes, “everyone knows we’re fucking. He gave me the job via a letter though, put it on my bed in the morning. I burnt it, of course, right after I read it.”

Dammit. They had no evidence then.

“I bet that bitch was the one who gave me the letter too, setting me up to fail,” the woman glared at them. “Darold would never do this to me, sending me to a risky job. Well, you can go to the Lee’s Christmas ball, mix in with the crowd, see if you can catch her with that damned book.”

“You gave the book to Darold already,” Ray stated.

“He’s very anxious about getting it ASAP, probably because that girl asked for it. God knows there’s nothing Darold wouldn’t do for her,” Lisa glowered, as if she could stare that girl to death by sheer will.

“Right,” Ray stood up slowly, his smile strained around the edges. “Thanks for that, Ms Goh. You’ve helped us more than you think.”

“As long as she suffers for it, I don’t care,” Lisa sniffed, eyes strangely glazed. “It’s about time that bitch gets her payback.”

If Lisa wasn’t a criminal who just slut shamed a girl, Edwina might have felt some sympathy for her. Being on the receiving end of two memory charms (the second of them being very strong) was probably unpleasant.

Edwina practically fled from the tiny apartment with a very quiet Ray, and ran down the fire escape to the car a block away.

The car where Brettany and Sophie were listening in the whole time.

Fuck.

She locked eyes with Brettany, face white as ash.

Chapter Text

“She’s lying.”

That was the first thing Brettany said on their way back.

Ray glanced at her from the rearview mirror, but kept quiet.

“I didn’t- I didn’t do anything,” Brettany continued, grinding out each word.

“Brettany…” Edwina sighed.

“Nothing happened, okay? Just- stop.”

Curse Edwina’s ceaseless drive once she had her eyes set on a goal, but she just couldn’t let this go. She was mostly shocked by Lisa’s venom for a teenage girl back in the apartment, but now that she had calmed down a bit, the whole thing was sending chills down her spine.

Brettany had said that Lisa was fired two years ago, and she must have walked in on… that before getting fired, so Brettany would have been fourteen at most back then…

Fourteen.

Jesus Christ.

She was fourteen.

Brettany had to know what this meant, right?

Right?

“Brettany,” Edwina said slowly, no idea how to breach the topic even though she felt she had to, “it wasn’t your fault.”

Brettany inhaled sharply.

“I mean, if what Lisa said was true, you’d be fourteen back then,” Edwina swallowed, “that’s- that’s statutory r——”

Before she could finish the word, a rush of power brushed past her cheeks, and Edwina felt a silencing charm enclosing the two of them in a bubble Ray and Sophie couldn’t hear.

She widened her eyes at the blatant display of power from the petite girl.

“He didn’t do it, okay?” Brettany glared at her, hazel eyes faintly glowing. “Mr Lee didn’t- force me into anything I wouldn’t want, or molest me, or- or, god forbid, rape me, so drop it. Whatever I’ve done for him, I agreed to it.”

“But Lisa said——”

“I don’t care what——”

“You heard her too! You were listening in as well——”

“She’s lying!”

“Would you just listen——!”

“Stop talking!”

“She said she had evidence!” Edwina blurted out.

Brettany went deathly still, hands clenched together tightly.

“She’s lying,” Brettany forced out.

“She said,” Edwina took in a shaky breath, “she said she had photos of you two- doing it.”

“She’s lying. You’re lying.”

“I’m not, she did say that. Told me that when Ray was already leaving, so you probably didn’t hear that,” Edwina couldn’t even look Brettany in the eye as she confessed that. “I’m sorry, I know it must be hard for you to hear that.”

She still had no idea why Lisa needed to tell her that. A desperate gesture to make herself look innocent and back up her baseless claim? A final stab in the back for the girl she detested? Or both?

If only she could bring that to Ray, he could definitely help her figure out the criminal’s motive. But then, part of her thought it wasn’t that relevant to their case, and telling him that felt like a betrayal to Brettany. Surely whatever she had gone through was her own story to tell, not Edwina’s.

Thinking back to what Brettany had said though, something was rubbing her the wrong way…

Back then, Brettany told her Lisa was fired for having an affair, but if the bodyguard did catch Darold Lee doing something so unsavory, evidence or not…

“I think…” Edwina gasped, “I think she might have been fired because she confronted Darold about that.”

Because if the affair had already gone on for forever since Lisa was his bodyguard, why would he fire her all of a sudden? Even the so-called “unofficial” reason made no sense.

Brettany inhaled sharply next to her.

“No, she was fired because she was his mistress, and she didn’t know her place, and she tried to force her way into the family and break apart Mr Lee and his fiancee, so he had to fire her,” Brettany said, words rushing out all at once. “She had nothing to do with this- this so-called ‘tryst’.”

“Tryst? Are you even listening to what you’re saying?” Edwina couldn’t help but exclaim at the massive understatement there.

“You’re the one being unreasonable here, Edwina!”

“I know she’s a criminal, but couldn’t you just——”

“Just what? What!? So you can call me a whore as well?” Brettany exploded. “I’m sorry, I know I have a shitty reputation, but I didn’t know you’d buy it as well!”

“I didn’t say that!”

“You didn’t have to!” Brettany cried, cheeks red. “You know what they said when one of the servants was caught having an ‘affair’ with Old Mr Lee? They called her dirty! They smeared her name all through the halls until even her boyfriend broke up with her because she was discarded good! That’s what they’d say about me if Lisa wasn’t fired! I am happy she was fired, good riddance!”

Brettany heaved and took a deep breath, deflating like a popped balloon.

“I know I’m a lot of things,” she sniffed wetly, “but a whore isn’t one of them.”

“I wasn’t saying——implying that,” Edwina said desperately. “And anyway, having sex doesn’t make you ‘unclean’!”

“Easy for you to say! Why don’t you tell your mom you’ve been boning Davina, huh? See what she’d think of you?” Brettany hissed, like a feral, injured stray cat backed into a corner.

The moment she mentioned Davina, Edwina felt rage (she could put a name to it now, the furious fire burning so often in her) swelling in her chests, and she fought not to lash out with magic.

“That’s none of your business!” Edwina yelled back. “And anyway, me and Davie love each other! We’re girlfriends! The two situations are different!”

A spike of her magic flared out, tongues of flames darting out from the ball of fire, only for Brettany to deflect it with a backhand and a burst of her own wave.

“And mine is your business?”

“I just don’t want to see you hurt——”

“I’d know better than you if I was hurt, excuse me! I’m not that stupid! You think I wouldn’t know if I was actually raped?”

“Sorry if I worry about you,” Edwina spat. “There are lots of cases like this! Drugging, alcohol, under influence, some people are unconscious when they’re assaulted!”

“I’ve never been drugged before, okay?!” Brettany screeched. “I can fend for myself! I’m more experienced than you, at least!”

“I’m just stating the facts! Just because you don’t know doesn’t mean Darold didn’t——”

“And now you’re trying to slander my adoptive father’s good name?”

“I’m just trying to say that he’s not perfect!”

Brettany whipped her head around.

“He’s not a bad person!”

“I didn’t say that!”

“No, you’re just trying to say he’s a rapist!”

“I know it’s hard to accept that he can be wr——”

“No, you don't!” Brettany choked out.

Edwina shut up immediately. Belatedly, she realized that she might have pushed Brettany too far.

“You don’t know anything, okay?”

Brettany took a few deep breaths, shuddering slightly. Edwina tried to touch her on her shoulder, just very slightly, just to calm her down, but Brettany scooted away.

The unshed tears in her eyes broke Edwina’s heart.

“He took me in when no one else would, clothed me, fed me, taught me, dealt with all my pesky issues, gave me a job to earn my way out, and cared for me when everyone else dealt with me like I was trash.

“And you,” she glared at Edwina, eyes red with fury and desperation, “you don’t even know what all that is like, when you have a perfectly functional family and a girlfriend and a shiny future at colleges, so don’t you- don’t you dare say he’d do something like that.

“He’s done more for me than anyone else.”

Edwina couldn’t breathe, the words weighing her down and pinning her to her seat. She always thought living with the Lee’s must be horrible, but now she felt like it was worse than she had imagined.

She just wanted to warn Brettany that her- adoptive dad was flawed as anyone else and could make mistakes from time to time, Edwina thought.

“That’s not fair,” she said instead, because Edwina was a bit petty. “I had my fair share of bullying too.”

You’re not the only one dealing with shit here, you know.

“I’m sorry, who’s being accused of incest just now?” Brettany bit out.

Edwina looked away. She couldn’t bear to look Brettany in the eye after what she’d just said. Mentally, she slapped herself for even trying to equate their situations.

“Right. Sorry, no trauma olympics. I don’t know what I was thinking, I just- I don’t see why anyone would lie about things like that,” she said quietly.

“She’s jealous,” Brettany looked out the window, “she’s upset that Darold would never call off his engagement for her, and she’s upset that he loves me more than her, and she couldn’t accept that he loves someone else, so she wants to sabotage our relationship and ruin my reputation as revenge.

“She’s just a woman who doesn’t know her place.”

“Her place?” Edwina repeated in a daze.

“She’s an ex-con bodyguard. She could never step up to a supermodel heiress,” Brettany sneered, the expression so unsuited to her lovely face, like an ugly smear of black paint across Mona Lisa.

The sight made Edwina a bit scared.

“And yet she thinks Mr Lee would give up a marriage beneficial to his family for him. She’s delusional,” Brettany rolled her eyes.

Edwina had never seen Brettany so riled up before; even when Destiny was blatantly humiliating her in front of Edwina and Darold, she only spared a glare when no one else could see it.

“But she’s jealous of you? Her lover’s daughter?”

“Who knows what she was thinking,” Brettany shrugged. “She’s always so obsessive over Mr Lee, couldn’t accept that she wasn’t the most important person in his life. Somehow she was convinced that she was his true love.”

Edwina thought back to the bottle of perfume in Lisa Goh’s apartment, standing out with its silver among the dull gray and brown of her otherwise lifeless, tiny home.

“He might’ve been her only hope of getting out of poverty” she mused.

“Like I said, naivety. Why would she expect him to give up everything for her?”

It wasn’t that delusional, Edwina thought. Or at least, it was understandably delusional. Who hadn’t ever heard of Cinderella, the lowly servant who won the prince’s heart with nothing but a dance? Who hadn’t ever fantasized about a prince swooping in to save them from their misery?

She thought back to Lisa, small and slim in stature, dark curls framing her objectively good looking face, with round amber eyes that hinted at her exoticness and long lashes. If she hadn’t known of Lisa’s background beforehands, she might have bought in this facade of harmlessness and goodness too.

Perhaps in her desperation, Lisa had thought that her beauty and hidden danger could win over Darold Lee too, like a dark Cinderella.

“She thinks he loves her,” Edwina thought out loud. “Does Darold love his fiancee then?”

“Mr Lee isn’t going to marry for love,” Brettany frowned. “They only got engaged because he has the money and status, and he needed someone who is easy to control and blends in with high society. She fits both criteria.”

Of course. What else could she expect from that man? Edwina might be biased, but she simply didn’t trust the man who couldn’t even speak up for his daughter when Brettany was humiliated.

“That sounds… lonely,” Edwina said slowly, searching for a not so negative word.

“He has me, isn’t that enough?” Brettany tilted her head.

“Mr Lee must mean a lot to you,” she tried carefully.

“He’s my father. He raised me; of course he means a lot to me,” Brettany looked at her, as if it was the most natural thing to say.

“I meant to say, you must really love him.”

“He’s… he’s nice to me,” Brettany looked down at her lap. “He’s the only one in the entire Lee family who really loves me, and cares for me when everyone else just treats me like a maid. When I first came in, I was just a ward, you know? He was the one who fought to make me his legal daughter. He gave me a family name.

“Of course I love him; anything less would be an insult to what he had done for me.”

He didn’t even do anything when you almost knelt on broken glass.

“But you don’t call him ‘dad’,” Edwina said instead.

“I work under the Lee’s now as his assistant,” Brettany blinked, “why would I call him ‘dad’ in public?”

Edwina couldn’t put a finger to it, but something about this just didn’t sit right with her. Brettany’s words seemed to both make sense and not, and she didn’t really know what was wrong with it.

“I’m sorry for stepping too far,” Edwina softened, and testingly put a hand forward in the space between them.

“I just don’t want to see you hurt.”

“I’m not hurt by him,” Brettany gave her a sunny smile. “Why would he? He loves me. He hugs me a lot, and he doesn’t do anything to me I don’t deserve, don’t worry. We make each other happy.”

Brettany took her offered hand, and slowly leaned onto Edwina’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you,” Brettany peered up at Edwina, round hazel eyes shining, rose pink lips quivering. “I didn’t mean to make you mad.”

“I’m not mad!” Edwina rushed to assure her. The thought of Brettany crying, or being upset in general, instantly sent her into a panic.

“I just worry for you,” Edwina continued, “I mean, I care a lot about you too.”

She belatedly realized what she sounded like.

“Not like- not like I like you. I do like you, but not that way- you know what I mean!” She threw up her hands. Today was not a good day for her tongue.

Brettany blinked, and for a moment Edwina feared she had really gone too far and upset her crush friend.

But then Brettany gave her one of her precious, fragile smiles, and Edwina felt like everything was okay again.

“I know you care for me too,” Brettany said softly, leaning onto Edwina even more. “I couldn’t ask for more.”

She felt Brettany hesitantly entangling her foot with Edwina’s, as the girl scooted closer and buried her face in Edwina’s neck.

Edwina stiffened at the feeling of Brettany’s nose and lips on her bare skin. She wasn’t thinking much when she picked the clothes today, but part of her was secretly glad that she didn’t choose the turtleneck.

Feather light, Brettany pressed a kiss on her exposed neck.

Blood rushed up Edwina’s cheeks and down her navel at lightning speed, and she hurriedly crossed her legs before Brettany could notice.

She glanced at Ray and Sophie in the front seat, but they seemed ignorant of the shouting just then.

The silencing charm must be really strong.

“Promise me you’re not mad?” Brettany murmured, lips barely brushing against Edwina’s skin, nuzzling Edwina lightly.

Tilting up to look at her with shiny eyes, Brettany looked gentle and sweet as ever, half lying in Edwina’s arms like a docile kitten waiting for her owner to pet her. She almost made Edwina think what just happened wwas only a figment of her own imaginations, as if she was so small and weak she couldn’t hurt a fly.

Brettany had never seemed so close, and yet so far away.

“I can make it up to you,” Brettany continued, a hand slowly wandering down her collarbone, still looking at her.

For a moment, Edwina almost wanted to take up the offer. Brettany was objectively very beautiful, and Edwina had shamefully thought of her more than once when she was alone in the shower.

No! She quickly put an end to the thought before her brain started imagining what Brettany looked like under her skirts and blouses. It was horribly immoral on so many levels: Edwina already had a girlfriend who she should have been happy with, she still wasn’t convinced that Brettany was entirely fine, and Brettany didn’t even seem emotionally well enough for this.

“You don’t have to make up for anything,” she said instead, gently removing Brettany’s hand under the guise of holding it.

Edwina slowly put her hand on Brettany’s head, and carded her fingers through her curls. The girl froze for a moment, looking at her with wide, confused eyes, before she melted under Edwina’s hand, leaning into the touch with her eyes closed, humming lightly under her breath.

She reminded Edwina of a cat sometimes. A tiny, adorable kitten purring.

Brettany paused for the briefest moment. “Do I?”

Edwina’s fingers stopped as well. “Did I say that out loud?”

Brettany nodded.

“It’s cute,” Edwina said with the gentlest smile she could do.

“You don’t hate it?” Brettany whispered.

“Nah, it’s cute when you do it.”

Brettany leaned back, as Edwina’s fingers moved through her hair again.

“I like it,” Brettany said quietly after a while.

“Like what?” Edwina asked, trying and failing to braid her hair for the third time. It was curly alright, but in a different way from Davina, and Edwina wasn’t used to it.

“This… whatever you’re doing.”

“The petting?”

“Your hands,” Brettany said instead. “They feel nice.”

She liked being touched, Edwina realized. It wasn’t any specific thing, Brettany just wanted some physical intimacy.

The thought stabbed at her heart, and she tugged Brettany a bit closer.

Brettany snuggled closer in her arms.

With sudden clarity, Edwina recalled the first time they met in the pet shop. Darold was very handsy with Brettany back then, too, she just didn’t think much about it back then because she was too busy dealing with Destiny instead.

The memory gave her creeps.

She really hoped there was nothing particular going on between them, for Brettany’s sake.

(She’d rather Brettany like her instead.)

Edwina blinked at the thought.

Did she… fancy Brettany?

Sure, Brettany was objectively very pretty, and Edwina really liked spending time with her, and Edwina had fantasized about her way too many times, but the sudden possessiveness in her surprised even Edwina herself.

Where did that come from?

It was wrong. Brettany was her own person, not something to be owned, Edwina told her sternly.

She really should stop thinking so much about the girl. She was still dating Davina, after all, and she didn’t want to lose her girlfriend either.

Her hand paused. Maybe she shouldn’t be too close to Brettany.

“Is something wrong?” Brettany asked quietly, wet eyes blinking.

She only hoped Brettany wouldn’t notice if Edwina started putting a bit of distance between them, for the sake of decency.

“Nothing,” Edwina lied, just as the car stopped.

Davina was waiting for her outside.

She hoped against hope her girlfriend didn’t see anything.

Davina did see them cuddling, unfortunately. What ensued was a miserable week for Edwina, full of tense silence and terse, clipped conversations that began with “How are you doing?” and ended with “Fine, thanks.”

She really, massively screwed up this time.

“We need to talk,” Davina said after a week of their cold war, cornering her in an empty classroom after school.

Her girlfriend was unreadable to Edwina, a one-eighty degree change from her usual openness.

“Okay?” Edwina couldn’t think of anything else to say. Please don’t let it be about Brettany.

In the silence between them, she could hear Davina’s faint breathing, before she audibly took a deep breath.

“Are you falling out of love with me?”

The question dropped on Edwina like a nuclear bomb, the accusation of infidelity pointing at her like a bow pulled taunt, ready to fire at any second.

“No!” She said, more on instinct than anything.

What was going on? Had she done something that led Davina to believe this?

Oh, you know what you did.

“Why would you say that?” Edwina said quietly.

“You have a crush on someone else,” Davina stated.

Edwina whipped her head around to face her girlfriend. How did she know…

She should say something, she thought, something to defend herself, or deny it, or even just a reassurance that she still loved Davina very much.

Looking at Davina’s profile, Edwina found herself out of words.

“You’re way less enthusiastic whenever it’s just the two of us, you brush off our dates with really flimsy excuses, you’re staring off to nowhere all the time, grinning like an idiot,” Davina continued, her voice monotone as if she was reading about someone else’s unfaithful girlfriend off a list.

“And, you were very intimate with Brettany last week,” Davina finished, voice trembling.

Edwina felt the air knocked out of her lungs with the simple words.

“It’s her, isn’t it?” Davina said, more of a statement than a question.

“I can’t believe I went to ask her about that,” she laughed, devoid of any joy.

Edwina widened her eyes. Davina talked to Brettany?

“I don’t have a crush on her,” Edwina said, but it sounded weak even to herself.

Davina snorted.

“You looked like you were kissing. She was practically sitting in your lap.”

No, she wasn’t! Her mind objected instantly. Right?

Right?

“We didn’t do anything,” Edwina could only say. “We didn’t kiss, or… or whatever you think we were doing.”

“Really,” Davina’s lips were tightly pursed. “Why were you two so close then?”

“I was just comforting her!”

“That’s what they all say,” Davina didn’t roll her eyes, but Edwina knew it was only because she was too mad to even bother.

“We had an argument, and I said something I shouldn’t have, and it really hurt her. That’s all,” Edwina said loudly. That was all there was to it, I fucked up and I had to make it up to brettany. That was it.

Davina sighed

“You know, if you really have a crush on her, you could just tell me,” she said after a moment of silence, surprisingly soft given the situation.

That lit the fire in Edwina.

“I don’t like her that way!” She cried. “I- I don’t have a crush on her, okay? What more do you want me to say?”

“I just want you to be honest with me!” Davina raised her voice as well. “I think I deserve to know if my girlfriend likes someone else!”

“I don’t like her! I don’t know what it takes to make you believe, but I don’t like Brettany that way! You’re just jealous that I spend time with someone other than you!”

Edwina had no idea how she could even convince Davina otherwise.

“Yes, I’m upset alright!” Davina snapped back.

Edwina shrunk back at the sight of her normally cool girlfriend’s anger.

“Davina…”

“It’s always been the two of us! Just us two against everyone else!” Davina gestured at them, “do you know how it feels, when someone finally decided to stop ignoring me?

“I was so happy when you asked me to work on our project together, because at least we can be lonely together.”

“Loners together”, that was what Davina joked about when they first befriended each other. Edwina always thought she was the lucky one, being noticed by the too cool to be true kid, the girl who had no trouble defying any rules deemed unreasonable.

Apparently, it worked both ways.

Maybe Edwina didn’t know everything about her girlfriend either.

Gods, she was really dense, wasn’t she?

“I’m sorry,” Edwina could only say, “I wasn’t considering your feelings.”

“No, you’re too busy playing witch instead,” Davina said, but it was without any bite in her voice. She just sounded… resigned.

Resignation didn’t match Davina at all. It must be lonely, watching her only friend always talking about something she could never be a part of.

Edwina reached out for a hug, but shirked back at the last moment.

“I’m sorry,” she repeated, not knowing what else she could do.

“If you want Brettany instead, I wouldn’t mind breaking up,” Davina muttered.

“I don’t even know why you think I like her.”

Davina looked her up and down, like a specimen under the microscope.

“You really didn’t notice,” she mumbled.

Edwina blinked.

What?

“You talk about her all the time, Dina,” Davina said quietly. “You’re always looking at her, and whenever she does something that amazes you, you just- your eyes light up.”

“I wasn’t doing that!”

“Yes, you were,” Davina said simply.

“That’s just because she’s an amazing witch!” Edwina felt the urge to defend Brettany. “She- she’s so tiny and small and cute and she looks harmless, but her silencing charm last week? It grazed my skin. Like a knife.

“And then there’s the time when I couldn’t get the spell right and my chopsticks just wouldn’t move on its own, and then she just swooped in and said ‘oh, that’s because you used the wrong latin here’ or ‘you weren’t imagining it hard enough’ or something, and then I got it right with her advice. She’s just so smart, Davie.”

“But you don’t have a crush on her,” Davina raised an eyebrow.

“No? I mean, I don’t even know that much about her other than he’s very cute and pretty and nice. I don’t like her the way I like you.

“I like you, Davie. I still really love you,” Edwina leaned forward impulsively and take Davina’s hand. “And- and I promise, I promise, I’m not ever going to cheat on you.”

Davina covered Edwina’s hand with her own, looking down at their interlocked fingers for a long while.

“I’m sorry,” she finally said, “but I can’t deal with so much uncertainty.”

Edwina swallowed a gasp. It was her fault, after all. She had no right to act surprised or wronged.

“I understand that,” she whispered. Maybe if she said it quietly enough, it wouldn’t become true.

“If you want to break up, I’m- I won’t fight you on that. But I don’t want to lose my best friend.”

Davina’s fingers drummed on her wrists.

Whatever she was thinking, Edwina didn’t know.

“One week.”

She looked up in shock, only to see Davina’s stoic face.

“One week for you to figure it out,” Davina repeated. “Whatever your answer is, no matter what you feel about Brettany, I want to know in a week.”

“But——”

“Give me an answer, and we can work things out together,” Davina squeezed her hand tightly. “Yeah?”

Edwina exhaled at her second chance. Anyone else could have broken up with her on the spot, as she rightfully deserved, but Davina somehow still had faith in her.

“I love you so much,” she breathed. “How can I ever…”

“I just want you to be open with me,” Davina said softly. “That’s it. I don’t want to lose you either.”

Edwina breathed and tried to smile at her girlfriend.

One week, she told herself. One week to find her way out of this mess.

How would she even start?

Chapter Text

When Edwina walked to the cafe the next Saturday, it was with a heavy heart.

She didn’t, or rather she shouldn’t, have a crush on anyone, especially Brettany.

But then, Davina did ask her to be honest with her for once. And unfortunately, that meant Edwina had to be honest with herself. Provided, of course, she wasn’t being honest before.

Maybe she should just try to act better, and then tell Davina resolutely that she didn’t like anyone else. Yes, that sounded like a good plan.

The cafe was busy in the afternoon as usual when she pulled the door open, chill air rushing in, but there was a strange silence in the air. Something in the normally cozy ambience wasn’t right.

It was as if the air particles had frozen in mid air with magic.

She tested the stairs, resting one foot on the sturdy wood lightly.

The moment she heard the slightest creak, she retreated instantly.

How did Brettany climb them up and down all the time without making a sound?

She gripped the railing tightly, and tried to step onto the stairs again, toes first instead of slamming the whole foot down. As soon as she was balanced on her toes, she repeated it again with the next step.

Slowly climbing, sticking to the edge of the stairs the whole time, she made her way to Brettany’s room.

Edwina took a deep breath, and summoned what little power she had, magic flowing to her hands.

Hands behind her back, heart thumping, she opened the door as casually as she could.

There was a figure cloaked in black, frantically searching through one of the many bookshelves lining the walls of the tiny room.

From the edge of the door, Edwina could see that he had already done the same to the other shelves, books scattered all over the floor.

A thief.

She thought back to last Saturday at Sophie’s, the day still fresh in her mind. Were they related?

She really didn’t have the ability to deal with a criminal heads on.

I should go find help.

As quietly as she could, she snuck away from the door inch by inch, eyeing the stairs.

Soon as she made her first step, however, something cool rested by her neck.

“Don’t. Move.”

Shit.

Edwina gulped, as a hand covered her mouth tightly and another dragged her inside.

They flung her into the center of the room.

The thief was literally cloaked all over, resembling more of a cloud of black haze than a person, although she can still see their silhouette faintly. Edwina remembered reading about magic spells to hide one’s identity.

This must be a cloaking spell.

The thief was magical as well, even though they might not be very strong.

Before she could scream for help, they were above her again, straddling her as they held a knife to her throat.

“Please don’t kill me,” she whispered, the first thing that came to her mind.

The knife moved up her face, the edge floating just a hair’s breadth away from her cheeks.

“Work with me, and you might live,” the thief whispered, a masculine voice.

This close to harm, Edwina could barely move a muscle. She was easily as tall as them, but she just couldn’t move even her pinky. It frightened her more than anything, that her body was working against her and trying to kill her.

“Okay,” she managed.

She couldn't tell if the thief was pleased by how agreeable she was; she hoped so.

They yanked her up her feet roughly

“Get me the copy of Familiar companionship here,” they commanded, and shoved her towards the shelves.

Edwina put a hand out so she wouldn’t hit herself on the wood.

The book was right there, at her knee level. It would be so easy, just to grab it and give it to the thief. She could walk away alive and well.

But she couldn't do that, not to Ray. The witch took her under his wings and taught her so much in the span of a few months already, fully ready to teach her everything he knew, and she was to repay him by helping someone steal from him?

No. Just- no.

Edwina was raised to be better than a common thief.

Your life matters more than anything else, a voice hissed. Just do what you’re told and run away.

But then, there was no guarantee the thief would honor their promise and actually let Edwina live. Who was to say they wouldn’t kill her to wipe off any witness? Then she’d die betraying Ray.

She grabbed a book at eye level, and subtly weaved her magic into the cover.

Took a quiet breath, and walked back to the thief waiting, their hand opened. Expectant.

She got as close to them as she could, her pace casual, and then——

Hard as she could, she whacked him in the face with the hardcover.

The thief stumbled a step back, before quickly recovering and catching her wrist in a vice grip.

“Bastard——”

Oh no. Now they wanted to kill her even more.

Edwina seemed to always make things worse, didn’t she?

Her foot slammed down on his toes before she could even think of anything, boot heels grinding into their feet.

She grabbed their wrists back, and dug her nails into their arms deep.

The thief dropped the book in shock and fell, pulling her to the floor with him.

She rolled out of his way as quickly as she could, but she soon felt fingers tugging on her short strands painfully, forcing her back.

“You wanna do this the hard way?” They hissed, hands on her throat, “fine.”

Edwina knew she shouldn’t breath so hard; it’d only use up oxygen quicker, but in panic, she panted as the hands started applying pressure.

She tried to pry their fingers open to avail.

Am I going to die here?

Just as she began to seriously panic, the pressure was gone all of a sudden.

The thief was knocked aside, slammed down on their back.

“Run.”

At the door was Brettany, fists clenched.

Even without a face, Edwina could sense the thief’s shock, their silhouette becoming clearer as their hold on the spell lessened.

“Run, it’s not safe for you,” she repeated, giving Edwina a fleeting glance.

“Fighting against us, now, are we?” The figure chuckled, like nails grating on a chalkboard.

“Too late for that, don’t you think?” Magic slithered down their arms, “I do hate leaving witnesses behind.”

A shot of wispy gray flew at her.

Blue light hit the gray off its course, the spell bouncing into a stray book and then into nothing.

Brettany had moved to stand in front of Edwina, her figure small and thin even when Edwina was looking up at her from the ground.

She stared at Brettany, mouth opened.

“Stay back, at least,” Brettany said, voice detached and cold, as she fired another spell out.

“What?” Edwina blinked to understand what she was implying. “No! I’m not leaving you alone with a thief!”

Brettany didn’t answer, too busy jumping around to avoid the two of them getting hit while shooting spells back at the thief between ducks

“Aww, how cute,” the presumed criminal cooed at Brettany, knife jabbing forward.

Brettany bent her back until her head was touching the floor, just in time for the blade to pass over where she was less than a second ago.

Edwina couldn’t breathe at the close call.

“You’ve got a boy now? Does he know you’re——”

Shut up!

Edwina flung her arms out, her mind only burning with the need to shut them up for daring to insult Brettany.

They lost their voice abruptly, muffled curses coming from behind their masked face. Brettany took the chance to jump on them, nails slashing across their chest.

A metallic smell wafted through the small room.

Her eyes twitched minutely, but didn’t turn to Edwina either.

“What were you thinking, attracting their attention like that?” Brettany hissed.

“They were being rude,” Edwina shrugged. “What else was I supposed to do?”

“Run away and fetch an adult you can trust?”

Edwina glanced at the thief. If I whisper really quietly, could they hear me with magic?

“You mean——”

“Don’t,” Brettany finally glared at her. “Don’t give them anything, you idiot.”

The thief coughed, which instantly set Edwina on edge again.

She should’ve picked a more useful spell. Or at least, a more long lasting one.

“You little bitch!” They spat, and Edwina felt more than saw magic coming her way.

A wave of light blue crashed over the spell and drowned it quickly.

“I told you,” Brettany told her, squinting at the thief, “I still have more experience than you.”

Having two people fighting against them instead of just one would hopefully inconvenience the thief long enough that Ray or someone else could come to help them.

“You?” the thief sounded incredulous, “You? Spare me the joke, girl!”

Brettany didn’t rise to the taunt, but only crouched lower to the floor, like a predator waiting for the moment to pounce on its prey.

Edwina desperately hoped Brettany was strong enough to be the predator, instead of the prey.

“So that’s what it is, you’re betraying us for a puppy crush,” the thief snarled.

Soon as they spoke, the thief shot a gray jet of light towards Brettany. Quick as a lightning, Brettany dashed to the side, her own blue magic deflecting the gray light.

She sprang forward to the thief.

The thief didn’t sound fazed, humming under his breath as he whipped out his knife at Brettany.

“Brettany!” Edwina screamed.

She should do something, a distant voice in her mind said, but her limbs felt heavy like lead, weighing her down to the spot.

Brettany probably didn’t need her help, though, as she leaned low enough to avoid the blade, shooting a spell back at the thief. They tried to counter it with their own magic, but Brettany’s spell sped through the gray and hit the thief.

They faltered, trying to quickly regain their footing.

“Your father will know about this, Kitty!”

Brettany narrowed her eyes like an angered cat, a leg swept out to knock the thief off their feet before kicking the knife aside towards Edwina.

The thief stumbled, and Brettany caught the moment to kneel in their stomach.

As they fell to the floor, they aimed a charm at Brettany’s feet.

“Daddy’s gonna be so mad at you.”

Brettany didn’t so much as make a sound as she hit the floor, rolling back up in the blink of her eye even as red gushed down her leg.

“Books!” She shouted at Edwina as she tackled the thief to the floor on all fours.

The books!

Edwina’s eyes landed at the bookshelves, open and vulnerable. The thief only needed an arm to steal the book if that was their goal.

Her hands moved with their own minds, and she pictured the strongest glass panes she could imagine closing off the bookshelves, tricky locks locking them in place, until the shelves were closed off from anyone undesired.

With a crack in the air, the glass panels shot from the floor and bolted themselves to the ceiling, melting into each other until there was no gap left between shelves.

That was the least Edwina could do for Ray and Brettany.

Just to be sure, she slapped the strongest locking spell on the glass.

A slam attracted her attention, and she turned back just to see Brettany being slammed down onto the floor, gray vines spreading to her arms, intertwining to pin her wrists in place.

“I’m not gonna kill you, girl, but your daddy will once I bring you back home all tied up nicely,” she didn’t even need to look to know the thief was grinning underneath their cloak.

Brettany panted, as the gray magic moved downwards, eyes narrowed into slits.

“And your little lover, too. We’re gonna have so much fun——”

Her eyes widened with fear, before hardening into something Edwina couldn’t read.

Quick as a flash, Brettany pulled them down, bit down on the thief’s arm and tore.

Blood spattered over her face.

She slipped out from their clutch underneath them just as they let go, clutching their bloody arm, and bit down to tear apart the magic tying her hands together, canines gleaming.

“You talk too much,” Brettany spat out a mouthful of flesh.

From the distance, she looked more like a beast than a human to Edwina. Strangely enough, the sight of her standing tall and bloody filled Edwina’s stomach with fluttering, beautiful wings.

The thief looked up at the glass wielding shut the bookshelves.

“Oops,” she blinked innocently.

“No!” They staggered towards the shelves, towards Edwina, eyes wild like a cornered animal.

Mouth bared in a snarl, they advanced onto Edwina instead.

“You bastard… you ruined all of this!”

Edwina should run, crawl away from them before they reach her, but she was ice cold and frozen on the spot, brain running much faster than the rest of her could catch up with, and she just couldn’t move.

In the blink of an eye, the world around her slowed down.

Think of something, anything!

Edwina’s mind was overwhelmed with too many possibilities, head flooded with the storm of panic. All the while, the thief was slowly but surely getting closer to her.

Her hands felt clammy and heavy as granite. Oh my god, am I gonna die here?

Someone was yelling at her, their voices muddled like she was deep under water.

Whattodowhattodowhattodo——

Ice pressed against her leg, shocking her limbs awake.

She looked down, and blinked.

There was a small knife dropped onto the floor.

Brettany did give her something to protect herself after all. She really should thank the small girl if after they both survive this.

With shaking fingers, Edwina picked the knife up and swung it around wildly, more out of a desperation to keep the thief at bay than to do any real harm to them.

The thief dodged side to side as her knife swung around, watching her like a cobra, never blinking.

They stayed in this stalemate for too long, and Edwina could start to feel her mind slipping away.

She willed herself not to look away, lest she lose focus. Mentally, she cursed herself for not being more athletic; her arms were already getting tired after a few swings.

That’s because your body is doing anaerobic respiration for the energy spike, and lactic acid——

——Not now!——

——okay, but that’s only because Mom says playing sports too much——

——should have worked harder in——

——Oh god, I’m gonna die because I’m bad at PE.

When she blinked to clear the spot off her visions, and her arms slowed down for the smallest millisecond, the thief seized the chance to jump on her, hands out in a chokehold.

GET OFF ME! Edwina’s mind screamed.

As soon as the thought formed, the thief was flung backward by an invisible force, their back hitting the glass shield across the room.

Before he could get up, Brettany sent a spell straight at them, pounced on him and spun around blue threads quickly. The thin ropes wound around them, tying their limbs up securely from the joints up.

“That’s how you tie someone up,” Brettany turned slightly to Edwina, “give me the knife?”

Dazed, Edwina did as told. Vision still too focused on near objects, she held onto the closest thing (bony under layers of cotton) to steady herself. As she blinked away the dizziness, Edwina saw faint blue marks on the magic holding the thief in place.

Probably a charm to strengthen the bond, she thought. She never saw a symbol like that before in her lessons with Ray.

Brettany tore off the hood, and held the knife to the thief’s now bare throat.

With the mask gone, Edwina could see they were a man, who she might call “handsome” if only he didn’t spend the last ten minutes trying very hard to kill them.

“Did Mr Lee send you?” Brettany asked, eyes burning with a fire Edwina had never seen before.

“Thought you’d know this, wouldn’t you?” The thief grinned. “Daddy’s little girl.”

“Yes,” Brettany pressed the blade down, drawing droplets of blood, “or no.”

“Scared to let them know your dirty little secret?” He taunted.

Brettany’s eyes were cold as stone, jaws clenched.

“Hey,” she turned to Edwina, “can you go find someone?”

Edwina didn’t want to leave Brettany alone with a dangerous criminal, but looking into her eyes, Edwina doubted she could say no.

“Sure,” she took the opportunity to run away from the scene as quickly as possible.

The wad of flesh was still there on the floor, blood turning darker. She swallowed the urge to throw up her lunch.

They needed Ray.

When she went back, the room was empty with only Brettany shaking by the window.

“Where is he?” Edwina rushed to her.

Brettany pointed her chin at the window.

“Jumped out,” she said, eyes hollow, “gone.”

It was only now that Edwina noticed the broken glass at Brettany’s feet.

“Get away from that,” she tried to pull Brettany away by her shoulders.

Brettany let her drag her away from the glass shards on the floor like a doll with its strings cut.

“Did he do anything to you?”

Brettany blinked, lights only then slowly returning to her eyes.

“No,” more of a question than an answer.

She shook her head. “No, it’s- it’s fine. How’s your neck?”

Edwina waved a hand; the fact that she almost got killed was starting to sink in her. “I’m fine. You’re the one alone with him.”

She almost died.

If Brettany hadn’t arrived in time, the thief might have choked her to death and got away with it. Male, seventeen, found dead in an empty attic. She could imagine how the news would announce it.

One moment alive and breathing, and then- dead.

Dead.

Dead with unfulfilled ambitions and potentials, leaving behind only a grieving, shattered family. Mom, Dad, Adam, Davina, Ray, Brettany. Dead at seventeen, a high school student.

Not even a med student.

“Edwina?”

Brettany waved in front of her face. Something cool spread through Edwina.

She instinctively shuddered at the strange sensation.

“Sorry, just want to see if you’re hurt,” Brettany said quietly. “Where’s Ray?”

“I’m not hurt, and Ray should be here soon,” Edwina insisted. Brettany was the one who fought off the man, she did nothing.

“Right,” Brettany sighed, and then again, louder. “Right.”

“What were you thinking, Edwina,” she said after a long pause. “You could’ve gotten seriously hurt.”

“Says you,” Edwina retorted, because she could never pass up a chance to bicker. “You threw yourself at him.”

“I know what I’m doing. I know how to fight.”

Edwina hated that Brettany was right.

“Doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous for you.”

“What else am I supposed to do? Leave you alone with him?” Brettany asked.

“Find help like you asked me to! One injured is better than two dead!”

Brettany mumbled something about “worth it” under her breath. Edwina didn’t even want to ask her what she said; she was too tired.

“You fought like you’re a dead man walking,” Edwina couldn’t help but add, leaning forward to wipe the blood off Brettany’s mouth.

Brettany flinched backward the instant she came closer.

It’s okay, she doesn’t mean it. She just got off a fight, it’s the adrenaline.

It still hurt to see, though.

“I just- there’s blood on your face,” Edwina resorted to pointing at the stains on her face.

Brettany licked the back of her hand to wet it, and wiped the red on her chin away.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to pick a fight with you,” she said quietly when Edwina nodded with satisfaction.

“It’s fine, it’s just the adrenaline talking.”

Honestly, Edwina was too tired to argue. She just wanted a good long nap now, preferably with some dreamless potion.

“Sorry if I was too… if I scared you back there.”

“No! I’m a bit shocked, maybe, but you were amazing,” Edwina felt the need to say this.

When Brettany said nothing, Edwina pressed on, “You really are. You- you’re right, you do look like you know what you’re doing, and you’re wielding your magic so well while fighting him at the same time.”

“Weird,” Brettany made a sound that might have been a laugh. “Usually I get called feral and uncivilized instead.”

“Why?”

“Most people I know think you should stick to fighting with your magic, or your body. It’s the civil way to do it. Dual fighting like this is like cheating.”

“Eh, who cares about civility when you’re fighting for your life?” Edwina shrugged. “Manners don’t save lives.”

Brettany looked at her like Columbus discovering a new world.

“You know, I think you’re the first one I’ve met who says that,” she said quietly after a long while.

“What about Ray?” Ray wouldn’t call Brettany that, Edwina thought.

“He doesn’t fight that well physically,” this time Brettany’s chuckle was much more genuine, “not that he has to.”

“If only Ray was here, we could’ve ended this much faster,” Edwina sighed.

She only realized the implications after she said it out loud.

“Not that you’re not good!” She rushed to add, “you were amazing back there, it was really cool, what you did with all the kicking and dodging and all that! If you didn’t come in right then, I might’ve——”

It was exceedingly hard to admit out loud that she came that close to death.

“So, thanks, really. You saved me.”

Brettany’s whole being froze, still half crouched on the floor. Her blinking eyes were the only part of her still moving, long eyelashes against her pink cheeks, mouth opened slightly like an absurdly adorable goldfish.

Edwina would kiss her right there on those soft lips if she could.

“You really don’t mind?” Brettany finally said.

“Mind what? You kicking ass?” Edwina frowned, “You were so badass and looked really cool back there.”

“Thanks,” Brettany looked away, but Edwina caught a glimpse of a smile.

A rush of footsteps, and she looked up to see Ray finally here.

“Oh my god, Brettie, Edwina, are you hurt?”

“We’re fine,” Brettany said, but her sock was all soaked a dark red by now.

Ray must have spotted the blood as well, as he started fussing and insisted on bandaging her leg and checking up on them. Even Edwina couldn’t escape him when he found out she was almost choked.

Brettany didn’t make a sound at all, contend to look into the distance, the small mysterious smile still on her face

The sight of the simple curve of her mouth shot an arrow straight through Edwina’s heart, and she found herself sucked into watching Brettany even as she absent-mindedly answered whatever Ray was asking them. Maybe other people were scared of Brettany’s power, but Edwina couldn’t deny that she’d love to see this side of her more, protective and even violent in her righteous anger. She wanted to be by Brettany’s side forever.

Shit.

I think I’m in love.

The three dots in the text bubble bounced up and down for a few seconds.

davina

you can’t just drop this on me via text, love

She could hear Davina’s exasperated sigh through the screen.

ed

Sorry, but I just realized this and I really, really need to talk to you right now!

What do I do???!?

davina

we’ll talk when i come pick you up, k? i’m not mad, i promise

Okay.

At least Davina wasn’t mad at her.

“So,” Davina said, when they were finally away from the cafe after a major freak out where she learnt her girlfriend nearly got killed, “explain.”

Edwina gulped. It was now or never.

“I think,” she took a deep breath, just rip the bandaid off, it’ll hurt less if you’re fast.

“I think I love Brettany.”

To her credit, Davina didn’t immediately react.

“Do you want to talk about it?” She asked gently.

“She’s just- she’s perfect, Davie. She’s so pretty and cute and smart and she kicked ass today and it was so badass and hot? Like, she’s still very cute but now I’m like, ‘you can step on me and I’d thank you, Brettany.’ And I told her ‘wow you were so cool back there’ and she smiled?!”

Edwina grabbed Davina by the arm. “She smiled. And it’s- she’s so cute?! She does that lil head duck whenever she smiles for real, but you can still see the dimples, and I just- ugh! I just want to kiss her right there so she can keep smiling, because it was so- so flipping cute!”

“Not that I kissed her,” she cleared her throat awkwardly, and let go of Davina’s poor arm. “You’re my girlfriend, and kissing someone else feels like I’d be cheating on you.”

Davina looked down on her lap, filing her nails on the thin helm of her skirt.

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t,” she said, “because, yeah, I’d feel like you were cheating on me without asking me first.”

Edwina nodded along, only for her brain to skid to a full stop at the last words.

Wait.

“What.”

“I know it sounds freaky, but hear me out, I have an idea,” Davina didn’t look up at her even as she held Edwina’s hands.

“Go on?” Edwina asked.

“I was thinking that… maybe you can date both of us?” Davina finally peered at her.

That’s an option?

“But it’s unfair to you,” Edwina gasped. “You’d be sharing me with someone else!”

“But you do want to date Brettany,” Davina stated.

“Yeah…? But it’s a bit different from you?” Edwina brushed her bangs backwards roughly; feelings were so hard sometimes. “I like you as a friend-slash-girlfriend, but I like Brettany more as a crush than a friend. It’s- I don’t know how to explain, I want to do the same things with her that we do, but the feelings behind are a bit different?”

She huffed. “It’s a mess.”

“You don’t have to figure it all out right now, I haven’t either,” Davina confessed. “Just- no offense, but are you sure you want this? You’ve only known her for a few months, from the day you met her at the mall. Are you sure that you love her?”

“I think so, yeah.”

“Because if not, you’d be stringing her along, and… that would be really cruel to her,” Davina reminded quietly.

Edwina thought long and hard about it, turning the idea in her head like a jigsaw puzzle to inspect.

“I think I’ve always had a little crush on her, because- y’know, she’s just very lovable. But today is different. I- I feel like I saw a completely different Brettany today, and I still really like it when she’s cute and sweet and gentle and bandages my hand, but I like it just as much when she’s throwing all her might to keep me safe. I love seeing this other Brettany, and I think I want to see more of this her,” she said, and she could feel the fact cementing in her mind as the words were spoken into existence.

Davina didn’t move much, but Edwina knew her well enough to know she was absorbing what she said.

“It’s nice to know that you actually like her and thought it through,” she commented.

“Of course I have, I care about her a lot,” Edwina frowned.

“I mean,” Davina coughed, “you think with your heart a lot.”

Edwina gasped, maybe a tad more dramatic than she had to. “I do not! I am very rational!”

“Mhm, sure,” Davina nodded. “Of course you are. It wasn’t like you threw coffee in Destiny’s face and threw her across a room.”

“When will you stop bringing them up?” Edwina huffed, without much heat.

Davina smirked, a smug but soft little thing only Edwina had the privilege of seeing, before pecking Edwina on the cheek. “Never.”

Edwina laughed at the tickling sensation, before she fell quiet again.

“Can I tell you something else?” She whispered.

“You can tell me anything, I told you.”

Edwina took a deep breath.

“I… might or might not have jerked off thinking of her once or twice…”

“Or three or ten times?” Davina quirked an eyebrow, teeth biting down on her lips.

“You’re not mad?”

“I am a bit jealous,” Davina admitted, and cracked out a smile, “but I can also see the appeal.”

Edwina stared at Davina. Is she serious?

“You… mean it? You actually don’t mind us getting together with her?”

“Yeah,” Davina shrugged. “I was your friend long before we started dating. I want you to be happy, and if both of us can make you happy, why not?”

Edwina’s mind went blank.

This is probably what it feels like when your brain shuts down, her brain said helpfully after a good long while.

“How?”

Davina shrugged. “I don’t know for sure, but I think I want to keep doing what we’re doing, but now Brettany can join us on our dates as well. That’s pretty much what dating is, isn’t it? Hanging out on dates, and then some kissing and sex.”

Edwina had never thought of it that way from Davina’s point of view. They did get together after a long friendship where they experimented on each other a few too many times to only call themselves “friends”; from that, it wasn’t hard to see where Davina got her conclusion. If Edwina wasn’t carrying her unique, strange, new feelings for Brettany, she might have thought so too.

“What about… do you like Brettany?”

“I don’t like her that way,” Davina said, “but she’s been a good friend to me. Of course I care a lot about her.”

“Plus, I won’t mind threesomes with her either,” she added, after a moment.

Edwina choked on air.

“What? I did say I’d like to play her G string. That hasn’t changed.”

How Davina could say something so casually, Edwina had no idea.

“I don’t get it. Aren’t you- worried I’d start loving her more than I love you?”

“A bit, maybe. But also, I think you’ve got enough love for both of us. You have a lot of love inside you, Edwina.”

Edwina’s eyes were starting to get wet.

“I do love you both,” she squeezed Davina’s hands. “You know that, right?”

“I know,” Davina smiled, her constant smirks softened around the edges.

Edwina couldn’t help but return the smile. God, it felt wonderful to finally let it off her chests.

She leaned on Davina’s shoulder. “I thought you’d break up with me.”

“Nah,” Davina flicked her on her forehead. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

“What have I done to deserve you?” Edwina sighed, content.

“Being a hot math tutor?” Davina joked.

“Well, I’m glad you like my head at least.”

They shared a glance, and promptly collapsed in laughter. When they ran out of air, they simply sat there for a while, breathing in the same air.

“We should probably both ask Brettany out,” Edwina finally said.

“Yeah, sit her down and explain to her how we feel and all that,” Davina hummed.

“What if… what if she doesn’t feel the same?” Edwina hoped that wouldn’t happen, but if there was one thing this afternoon taught her, it was that she didn’t know Brettany as well as she thought so before.

She’d give anything for a chance to dive deeper until she could see all of Brettany. Her joy, her rage, her sadness and pain, all of it, flawed perhaps, but even more attractive.

“Then we’ll keep being good friends with her,” Davina said quietly. “Can’t control how she feels about us after all.”

“You don’t think she’d be freaked out?”

Davina turned to her and fixed her with a flat stare. “Babe, from what you told me, she’s like a ninja witch raised with magic. I don’t think there’s a lot that can freak her out. Don’t you witches even form bonds with animals and spirits and all that?”

“Familiars? Yeah.”

“See? How can three people dating at the same time be weirder than that? It’s not that deep. At least we’re all humans.”

“For what it’s worth,” Edwina whispered, a secret reserved only for the two of them. “I’m glad things turned out well.”

She hoped it could become a secret for three instead.

Chapter Text

Brettany had been kneeling on the floor for what felt like hours when the door finally opened.

Her heart beat like war drums, almost drowning out the crisp sound of Oxford heels clicking on the stone floor. She fought not to look over her shoulders to where Mr Lee no doubt was, eyes fixed on the tomes of history on the towering bookshelf instead.

She’d give anything to read it, pouring over historical texts and centuries old illustrations for hours, but he wouldn’t let her. It wasn’t her place in the house, after all.

Hands folded in her lap, back straight, head high, sitting on her heels, just as she was taught to.

Her legs hurt, bony knees against the marble floor. She couldn’t breathe.

She beat up someone sent by Mr Lee, someone she was on the same side as, when she should have helped him escape instead of sending him home crippled.

Punishment was inevitable. It was only a matter of how.

The silence was torturing.

She wished she could say something to defend herself, just to break the suffocating silence. But speaking out of turn meant more punishment.

From the corner of her eyes, she saw Mr Lee sitting down.

He threw down a file at Brettany, the sharp corners of the binder scraping against her legs.

She couldn’t help but shudder as it fell to her feet with a slam.

The barely perceptible echo was the only sound in the room.

“What were you thinking?”

Mr Lee finally said softly.

Brettany bit down on her lips hard to stop the shiver.

“I asked you a question, girl.”

The silky voice did little to hide the steel in his words. She gulped at the dismissive address.

“There was already a witness in the room. I had to act as one of them,” she said, having rehearsed the words for hours.

Not that those hours were particularly useful, the tremble obvious as she spoke.

“And to do that, you fought against one of my best agents, someone you knew was working for me.”

The fingers drummed on the desk right above her head.

“I had to blend in to earn their trust.”

A foot kicked against her stomach, hard enough to bruise.

The other shoe slammed against the floor.

“Look at me when you speak.”

Brettany looked up sharply, scrambling to do whatever she was told to.

“I’m sorry, sir,” she hastily added. “But I had to blend in with the rest of them so they would trust me with their books.”

Mr Lee hummed, face still as a statue.

“You landed the man in intensive care,” he said blandly. “He wouldn’t walk on his legs for a whole year, at least. You cost me an invaluable aid.”

“He chose to jump out from the second floor,” Brettany whispered despite her mind telling her not to. She knew, she knew not to speak unless spoken to, but she had to let him know she didn’t do it.

The glare was cold enough to freeze her to ice.

“Sorry, sir.”

“I don’t care. What I care about is that I’m now one agent fewer. That’s another debt on you. Not to mention, you seemed to have overdone the damage, when you could have settled this with much less of a hassle.”

Ice shocked through her veins at the thought of even higher debts and betrayal.

“Sir—”

“One might almost think you were on their side, Kitty, what with all the damage you’ve done to me.” Mr Lee crooned, a heel digging into her leg, right where the newly stitched cut was.

She bit down even harder on her lips to stop the instinctive cry of pain, knowing the stitch was torn up now. His tone terrified her more than anything else, though; the softer his voice, the angrier he was.

“I am loyal to you above anyone else, sir,” she said quickly, tears welling up in her eyes.

“Actions speak louder than words, haven’t I taught you that?” He added pressure onto his leg.

Blood gushed down her leg from the reopened wound, staining the priceless carpet dark.

“Or was I too inept a guardian to you? Have I not taught you gratitude and mercy?”

“You have, sir. You taught me all I need to know and more,” she whispered.

“And yet you went ahead and put him in the ICU anyway. You’re not very convincing here, dear. Perhaps I should go to the authorities and tell them everything, I’m sure they’d love to know how an adult man gets repeated bone fractures after one fall down a second story window,” he said, fingers twirling his favorite pen.

Her blood froze.

He did fall out of the window to escape, she insisted to herself. I didn’t do anything. It was just self defense. I’m not guilty.

“No,” her throat made a strangled noise from fear.

“I need time to convince the witches to trust me,” words rushed out of her mouth before Mr Lee could say anything. “I- I need to demonstrate my loyalty to them. I had no choice but to fight against him, so they could trust me with their books. The other staff was almost killed when I got there, and I had to hurt him so they’d think I’m on their side. I had no choice.”

She swallowed a sob.

“I’m sorry.”

Mr Lee hummed, the twirling stopped, pen held tightly between his fingers.

“Travis told me you got a boyfriend behind my back.”

“He’s- he’s lying,” she said instantly. “I didn’t do anything indecent.”

“No? He said you cared a lot about that boy, even covering for him so he could run away. You let a witness escape.”

She swallowed her fear.

“It was intentional. I was trying to get closer to him fast so he could tell me where the valuables were. He’s under the witches’ tutelage, he knows a lot.”

Mentally, she apologized to Edwina. It was a flimsy excuse, but she had no other option now.

She waited for the inevitable storm when he saw through her pathetic attempt at a lie, raining down her any second.

Moments passed with silence, only her increasingly heavy breathing filling the room up.

She felt a bit dizzy.

Instead, Mr Lee tilted his head in surprise and laughed, a short burst as he clapped, delighted.

“You really surprise me sometimes, Kitty. How you came up with that, I had no idea.”

Years of watching the men in the house changing their partners like Destiny constantly buying new handbags taught her the way to survival. A pout, a well placed whine, a few artful tears, nothing she couldn’t do.

It was unnerving for Edwina to turn her offer away, though. It had never failed with her father before that. Edwina was weird.

She must have been a really faithful girlfriend to Davina. That was the only reason Brettany could think of.

(What would it be like, to be the subject of such devotion?)

“Oh, poor kid,” he wiped his eyes, as if he could possibly feel sorry for Edwina, “he doesn’t know what just hit him.”

Neither did Brettany; she had no idea what hit her either.

It scared her, to know that Edwina wouldn’t reject their friendship if Brettany wasn’t up to her standards. Edwina wasn’t following the script Brettany knew; people didn’t behave like that. When Brettany failed to be useful to them, then they left. Edwina, though…

Every weekend, Edwina never failed to make her feel brighter, as if her very presence lit up the world around Brettany, which made Brettany let her guard down, which meant danger. She was already slacking off; she shouldn’t have lost her temper around Edwina, she should have stayed quiet and calmed Edwina down instead. She was lucky that Edwina didn’t do anything in her anger that time; the girl could probably overpower her very easily if she wanted to. Hopefully Edwina didn’t notice anything wrong, but she couldn’t afford the slightest slip up.

Except she did slip up. She let loose in front of Edwina again. Edwina didn’t leave her, but it was only a matter of time.

She was just too good to be true.

And good things never lasted long.

You’re getting attached, a voice inside her mind said.

This won’t end well.

Mr Lee tilted her head up.

“You’ll break it off once this is over, of course,” he said, eyes cold as ice. “No mercy, Kitty.”

But she… she couldn’t cut off Edwina, not now. Edwina had such nice hands, and her hugs and touches were… not uncomfortable. With Edwina, her hands never wandered too far down or stayed for too long. They were light and soft, just firm enough to anchor Brettany to reality.

She wanted just a sprinkle more of that.

She couldn’t lose her. She was addicted to Edwina by now, and cold quitting wasn’t an option anymore.

“Of course,” she lied. “Only for the intel.”

“For your own sake, I hope you didn’t lie to me,” he gripped her chin, fingers digging into her jaw as he whispered in her ear.

“Of course not, sir,” she didn’t have to fake the tremble in her voice, “I’d never betray your trust in me.”

He hummed, sitting back in his chair.

“You speak beautiful words, Kitty.”

The hand on her chin forced her to look upward at him. She had no choice but to stare at him, too afraid to even break eye contact.

“Sometimes, I even wonder how much of it is true under that pretty little face of yours,” he mused, tracing her quivering lips with a finger lightly.

Brettany flinched, naked terror wracking through every cell of her body.

“I’ve never lied, sir,” tears were starting to clog up her voice. “I don’t know how I could possibly convince you, but I’d never lie to you. I- I love you, father.”

She didn’t dare look away from his laser-focused eyes even as they pinned her down on the stone-tiled floor, shoulders shaking as she closed her eyes before she could start bawling shamefully.

A few tears escaped her lashes and rolled down her cheeks onto his palm.

“Good girl,” he finally smiled.

Cold lips pressed against the corner of her eye for a few seconds too long.

Brettany didn’t dare breathe a sigh of relief. Anything could give away her lie.

She scooted closer until her nose was only inches away from his legs and slowly rested her head on his lap.

“I’m sorry, sir,” she blinked rapidly, unshed tears blurring her vision. “I didn’t want to upset you.”

His fingers carded through her curls, sharp nails against her scalp.

“I know, Kitty, you always do your best to please me.”

“But still,” he tugged on her hair so he could look into her eyes, tendrils of pain creeping down her neck, “you let yourself lose control. You upset me, even if you didn’t mean to.”

Her heart sank.

Please don’t let the dogs out. Anything but the dogs.

She still had bite marks all over her from last time.

Mr Lee stood up without any warning, leaving her lying on his chair.

“I’m sorry, sir.”

He went to lock his door tight, shoes clicking on the floor in a steady, slow beat.

She could only hope it wouldn’t hurt too bad.

Brettany waited for him to come back with bated breath, metals clinking together as he took off his belt.

“Ten lashes today.”

She could cry with relief right there, if she wasn’t taught not to cry. She deserved much more, twenty at least, but Mr Lee might be feeling kind just for a day.

Fingers roamed over her back, the chill spreading from his fingertips down her spine. The thin cotton blouse did little to warm her.

The air whistled, and the first hit came down on her back.

One.

She bit down hard on her lips to stay quiet. She could never get used to the feeling.

Two. Three.

The sting of the leather was fire hot on her back even as the swing of the whip brought in cool drafts of air. The contrasting senses made her shiver.

She dug her nails into her legs, deep enough to draw out bloody crescents beneath the helm of her skirts. It was fine, Mr Lee wouldn’t spot it anyway.

Four.

What did her back look like? Did the scars ever fade, or were they still here like it was on her torso, ugly jagged lines crisscrossing her back like the filthy fields when snow melted and the water mixed with the soil to make mud?

She hadn’t looked at herself in the mirror naked for a long time now. Years probably. She lost time somewhere down the road. What good would it do her? Last time she checked, she hated what she saw.

The belt trailed across her burning back, the cool leather bringing her some comfort even as her muscles tensed at the drawn out wait for the next hit.

Five.

She choked back a pained sob; if she made any noise, Mr Lee would add five more lashes.

Mud clung to her skin, even after the belt slipped away from her back. Her canines pierced her lips, so the pinprick of pain would keep her alert.

Six, seven, eight.

Her hands caught herself at the last second just when she was about to collapse, shaking like a leaf.

Her back would hurt all day tomorrow, but at least it would heal a bit quicker with only ten hits.

Blood dripped down her chin onto her skirt. At least it was black; the blood wouldn’t show that well.

Nine.

She could taste metal on her tongue as it swept over her lips; so that was where the blood was coming from.

Ten.

The final blow landed, the harshest one of them all, knocking off all the strength in her body. She tried to breathe in deep, but the slightest movement brought about intense pain.

Still, she forced herself not to collapse to the floor. Etiquette demanded that she maintain a flawless posture no matter what, even when it was pulling the aching muscles in her back

“Thank you for the punishment, sir,” she whispered from rote memorization. Always thank someone if they take the time to educate you.

“Shh, it’s over now,” Mr Lee sat down again, leaning over her, mud cold hands reaching down the blouse collar to her back. “You’re still my good pet.”

She strained her neck so she could nuzzle against his lap, even though the stretch made her back hurt more.

“I’m sorry,” she let her voice break a bit, tears just barely spilling over her eyes. People liked it more when she was harmless to them.

Being harmless was safe.

“I know you are,” he said quietly. “I don’t like it either when I have to punish you, but it’s only for your own good.”

If she had to be honest, she didn’t regret one bit of it. The man—Travis—tried to kill Edwina, going out of his way to target her time after time. A short fall down the window was the least he deserved.

Edwina’s safety mattered more than anything.

Brettany leaned into his hands, allowing herself to nestle her head in his lap.

“I understand that. Please let me make it up to you, sir,” she pleaded. Anything to make her father happier.

He chuckled, the velvety smooth sound raising goosebumps on her arms.

“You really are a desperate little thing, aren’t you,” he muttered, uncrossing his legs.

The words stung her a little, but he was right nonetheless. She was desperate for forgiveness.

“I just want to make you happy, sir. I’m- I’m sorry for upsetting you earlier. You were right, I should’ve controlled myself better.”

Just for extra measures, she butted her nose against his thighs, let out a low whine, and peered up at him through her curtain bangs, allowing herself to blink her watery round eyes.

Her eyelashes were wet, drops of tears clinging to them.

She felt pathetic.

Hand on the back of her neck, he pulled her in closer, and took off her glasses gently.

She could hear the quiet clink! as he set it aside on the desk.

“Get to it then, Kitty,” Mr Lee tugged on her curls painfully, with none of the gentleness she felt just seconds ago.

She wanted this, she told herself. She wanted to make him happy.

It was- it was fine. She wanted this, it was fine. Edwina didn’t know what she was babbling about.

“Of course, sir.”

The belt laid on the floor, forgotten.

Brettany leaned over the toilet, back still numb from the ice cold shower.

Her stomach was churning, throwing back up her already scarce dinner. She tried to swallow down the bits of vegetable in her mouth, but gagged on it and spat it out anyway.

She closed her eyes. If she had to look at her own vomit, it would only make her throw up even more.

Of course. She couldn’t even do one single thing right.

At least she kept it down all the way to the bathroom after Mr Lee dismissed her.

Her throat was burning.

She gulped in mouthfuls of air, forcing her jaws shut. Anything to make it stop.

When her stomach was all but empty, throwing up yellow, awfully bitter bile at this point, she flushed the toilet.

Moved to the sink.

Brushed her teeth.

Up and down and up and down.

Washed her hands.

Water, soap, scrub, water again.

She tried to look down on her hands only, but her eyes glanced up for a fraction of a second.

Puffy, red-rimmed eyes, face white as paper, tangled curls, twig-thin arms… she honestly didn’t understand what people see in her.

At least none of them would touch a hair on her, not as long as she remained with Mr Lee.

Even through her old clothes, she could spot hints of bruises dotting her skin, just below the collarbone as the top slipped off her shoulder, lopsided.

Carefully, she ran a finger slowly along the bite marks. It had been a while since Mr Lee last let his hounds loose, but the scars hadn’t faded yet.

It was fine. No one would see it anyway.

She twisted her back, only to yelp from the pain.

The sudden noise made her extra alert, and she clamped her mouth shut, shuffling towards the door, ear sticking to the wood.

No footsteps, chattering, or any sound from outside.

No one was out there.

She was safe.

Thank god for that.

Maybe her back was worse than she thought.

Inch by inch, she turned her head and pulled up her clothes to her chest.

Pink jagged lines poke out from the pulled up top, running in parallel line diagonal to her back.

Her father was always an extremely organized person. She supposed there was some beauty in the organized injuries on her, a sign of well-deserved punishment rather than a leftover of senseless violence and abuse.

It wasn’t- it wasn’t anything wrong.

She deserved this.

She deserved this.

Mr Lee did nothing wrong.

She tried to hover a fingertip over the bottomest scar. The moment skin touched skin, she hissed from the searing pain.

It was Saturday night… so she wouldn’t have any healing potion to manage the pain until a week later.

Not ideal at all, but she would have to make do.

Brettany silently cast a cooling spell and froze the tiny well of water in the sink.

Hand dripping, she slowly pressed the block of ice on her back.

The initial cold shocked her, but she gritted her teeth and let the coldness seep into her bones. Relief washed over her as she felt her back numbing again.

Things could always get worse, anyway.

Things could always get worse, she told herself over and over for years, to the point where those words sounded more like vague, undefined sounds rather than any meaningful syllables.

Two hounds was still better than three, ten lashes was still better than twenty or thirty, a belt was still better than a stick, so she reminded herself.

“I just don’t want to see you hurt.”

Shut it.

Edwina was- she was wrong. Edwina didn’t know what she was talking about. She was just making godawful assumptions, because she couldn’t- didn’t understand that sometimes people had to be punished.

Brettany deserved the pain.

She earned the pain with her disobedience and lackluster performances.

She was punished, but the punishment was just.

It had to be.

It had to be just, because if it was unjust, it would hurt even more.

Plus, she wasn’t— raped anyway. What an awful word.

No, rape meant Brettany didn’t want it. Rape meant someone used her against her will. Rape meant someone holding her down and restraining her to do whatever they wanted with her. She was willing. She offered her service as was her job as Mr Lee’s assistant and maid. She wanted to make him happy after all the troubles she had given him. She wanted to calm his temper down and show him that she was sorry.

She chose this. She started this.

She wanted this.

Her body wasn’t worth this much anyway. Even Mr Lee knew this; her value was her magic, her unique blood. Why would anyone rape her? Silly.

Things could always get worse. At least she wasn’t sold into servitude like many other creatures were.

The thought of an unwilling bond made her shudder.

Her magic was kept by Mr Lee now, true, but it was for her own good. She agreed to that; being weak kept her safe from men with ill intentions. If she were to be torn away from her magic deliberately, though?

Her sanity wouldn’t- couldn’t endure that. Even spirits and familiars had their limits, high as they might be.

The ice in her hand was more of a puddle by now, water dripping onto the cold tile, onto her freezing feet.

She didn’t have that much magic left in her to freeze it back. She was already using the little power she had left in her to maintain her form, and the lashes would take up more magic as she healed. Any more, and she would lose control of even herself.

Losing control would be disastrous.

She hoped the numbing lasted long enough for her to fall asleep before it faded.

Today was horrible, and she just wanted to fall unconscious at this point.

The moment she got to her room, though, she felt her own magic giving up on her, as if even the primal sense within her finally got too exhausted to exist anymore.

It was worse than usual for her, for some reason.

She barely managed to lock the door before the world as she knew it sharpened and expanded, clear color contrast in the pitch dark room.

She fell, and rolled off the floor as she landed gracefully, now on paws instead.

Jumping up was much easier as a cat, at least. The pain was much more bearable, now that she wasn’t in her beat up human body anymore.

She looked at the clock on her otherwise bare nightstand.

Midnight.

One day to recover enough to turn back into a human. If she wasn’t wrong, Mr Lee would leave her locked in the room for all of Sunday, but she doubted it was enough for her this time.

She needed somewhere else infused with magic.

Or alternatively, someone.

The cafe was too heavily warded for her, so that left only one option.

At least Edwina wouldn’t kill her.

Hopefully.

She remembered vaguely where Edwina’s home was, and managed to narrow it down to one building, sensing her magic nearby.

There was only one window still lit.

Climbing up was a piece of cake, and she perched silently on the windowsill. With only a foot between her and the girl, she could already feel Edwina’s magic wrapping around her, soothing over her pain.

Edwina only had her desk lamp on, the soft yellowish light highlighting her face.

She had really nice cheekbones, Brettany thought. And beautiful lips, the cupid bows framing the adorable gapped teeth.

Edwina was nose deep in whatever she was doing, airpods in her ears, notebooks and textbooks covering every inch of her desk.

She looked beautiful whenever she was focusing. There was something in her furrowed brows, her sharp eyes, the way her gold rimmed glasses slowly sliding down her nose, that drew Brettany in.

Edwina must be a really good student. Brettany tilted her head to get a better look at the book, and to her confusion, found that they were all advanced math, questions full of greek alphabets instead of numbers. She’d never understand why math had so many letters in them.

Brettany adjusted her hinds and rested her head on her front paws. The peaceful scene was surely calming her nerves down as well.

Edwina blinked, and looked up abruptly.

Staring right at her.

Brettany froze on the spot. Her ears perked up.

“Hey, buddy,” Edwina said softly. “How did you get in here?”

She opened the window, and cupped a hand towards Brettany.

Brettany flinched backward in reflex.

“It’s okay, I don’t bite.”

Brettany slowly sniffed her hand.

The faint smell of ink was quite pleasant.

Edwina’s fingers were dotted with dark ink. This won’t do.

With an internal harrumph, Brettany licked at the ink. Would ink make her sick? Probably, but not in such a small quantity.

Edwina giggled. “It’s tickly.”

Of course it was, Brettany gave her an unimpressed look. That’s how my tongue is.

Slowly, Edwina’s hand moved to the back of her head.

The unpleasant memories resurfaced, and Brettany stiffened, but Edwina only shushed at her.

Her hand came down gently, and stroked her back, all the way to her tail.

Was she… petting her?

It was nice, Brettany supposed. Very nice. The regular motion was predictive enough to calm her down. Edwina had big hands that touched all the sensitive spots on her in one stroke; it was very pleasant.

Being a cat had its perks sometimes. Brettany felt slivers of Edwina’s magic leaking out into her tiny body, steadily stitching back up the wound in her leg and numbing her back.

She leaned into the touch, purring happily.

“Wanna come in?”

She really shouldn’t; but Edwina was too nice to reject. She should stay away from the girl before Edwina got dragged into her mess…

But she supposed she could make an exception for herself as a cat. It had only been hours since they last met, but she already missed Edwina so much; she just wanted to be near the girl’s presence, was that too much to ask for?

(Yes.)

What Edwina didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.

Yes! Her tail flicked up.

Edwina lifted her by her torso, and slowly brought her into the room. It wasn’t big at all, barely the size of Mr Lee’s own bathroom in his suite, but the fairy lights and the desk lamp brought some coziness to the room, a far call from the marbles, glass and bright white walls she was so used to.

The girl was pleasantly warm, like a fireplace in the middle of a winter storm. Brettany curled up in her lap, breathing in her warmth, and let it wash over her.

“God, you’re cold,” Edwina frowned.

Sorry, Brettany wanted to say, but it came out as a pitiful meow instead.

She usually ran cold, but it was harder to stay warm when her magic was burning low.

“You remind me of that one cat last summer,” Edwina said quietly. “Stray cat, thin and tiny, it’s kinda sad.”

Brettany was barely processing what she was saying, too tired to fight the urge to fall asleep right here. Things were different when she wasn’t acting human; for one, she could stop trying to think like one.

“She was like you too, hazel eyes, black fur, and some white on the chest. I wish I could keep her, but Mom said I had to give her away.”

Oh.

Oh no.

Brettany knew exactly what she was talking about.

She spent so long trying not to think back to that night, but now that Edwina mentioned it, Brettany could conjure up the phantom warmth from months ago.

“She’s such a nice cat, no biting or fighting, not even a tantrum when I washed her,” Edwina sighed, and buried her head in Brettany’s fur.

Brettany looked up at her, and blinked slowly.

Edwina blinked back, just as slowly this time.

“How many black cats are there in Singapore?”

Brettany had no idea either. She never got the chance to mingle with the local cat population anyway.

She whined when Edwina stopped petting her. Come back! You’re warm!

Humans were so stupid sometimes.

“Yes, yes, sorry, your majesty,” Edwina rolled her eyes playfully and continued stroking her back.

Hmph. Better.

She nuzzled her head against Edwina. Call her shameless, but she would definitely exploit being a cat to get close to Edwina. Edwina was just so pleasant to be around, and she was less passive when Brettany was a cat.

Every stroke and pet seemed to dig into the deepest corners of Brettany’s heart, making her sore and relaxed, content and yet starving for more and more.

“Hold on, are you that cat?”

Oops. Brettany stuck out her tongue.

“Yeah, you are that cat!” Edwina’s smile grew uncontrollably. “You’ve both got that mole in your eye!”

She gathered Brettany into her arms and hugged her tightly. The intimacy made Brettany melt in the embrace, paws scrambling to try and hug her back.

“I can’t believe you came back!” Edwina kissed her on her forehead, “maybe today is my lucky day.”

Brettany’s brain crashed at the kiss.

Did Edwina just—?

“I should probably sleep,” Edwina yawned, oblivious to Brettany’s shock. “Ugh, I feel like my brain’s all fried up. Fucking calculus.”

Edwina held her up, and inspected her under the lamp. Brettany struggled not to squirm under her gaze.

“You do look very clean,” she said, looking back and forth at the cat and her bed.

“Maybe you can sleep with me. Mom won’t know anyway.”

Before Brettany could do anything, Edwina scooped her up and set her down on her bed.

She scampered to curl up into a ball in the center, where all the reserved heat was. Edwina chuckled at that, and moved to lie down beside her.

Gently, Brettany rested her head on Edwina’s chest when it was clear Edwina wouldn’t mind it, listening to the steady heartbeat. Heartbeats always calmed her down, knowing someone was alive and well.

This was the closest she could ever get to Edwina. Face to face, sharing the same space, the same warmth in silence. She closed her eyes, and let her body soaked it all up, committing the warmth and comfortable quiet into her bones.

What she wouldn’t give to spend just one more night with Edwina like this.

Chapter Text

Edwina woke to soft rustling beside her.

Oh yeah.

Cat.

Since the alarm wasn’t ringing, she probably still had time to fall back asleep.

The ball of warmth was missing from her side, and she fumbled to grab at it, eyes still closed.

Only to touch something smooth, cold and decidedly not furry.

What the heck…

She reluctantly blinked her eyes open.

And blinked again.

“Brettany…?”

Brettany sat on the edge of the bed, staring back at her with wide eyes, hands grabbing at her blanket to cover herself, shoulders bare.

No, that can’t be right.

Since when does Brettany have… extra pointy things on her head?

She had to be dreaming.

Brettany, now clothed again, slowly slid her bare ankle from Edwina’s grip.

Edwina instinctively tightened the hold.

“This isn’t a dream?”

“You’re dreaming,” Brettany said, “go back to bed.”

Edwina bit down on her other hand, and winced from the pain, sleepiness now gone.

“It’s not a dream.”

She looked back at Brettany, still frozen on the spot.

“I’m not dreaming,” Edwina repeated in a daze.

Brettany sighed very quietly.

Edwina gestured at the things resting atop her head.

“What are—”

“Please let me go,” Brettany said, eyes wide.

Chastised, Edwina let go of her ankle. “Sorry.”

Brettany nodded, and made to climb out of the bed, but she hissed as soon as she stood up.

Edwina scrambled after her.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes,” Brettany gritted out, but Edwina noticed how she was carefully resting all her weight on one foot only.

She hurried to catch Brettany by her arms just as Brettany was about to fall.

“You don’t look okay,” Edwina said, alarms ringing in her mind.

“Just- let me go,” Brettany whispered, voice thin as a slip of paper.

Edwina took a moment to look at Brettany properly. Her face was gray as ash, sweat on her forehead.

“I don’t trust you to go home alone safely,” Edwina said, “sorry.”

“Are you holding me here against my will then?” Brettany asked, stone faced, but her grip on Edwina’s shoulders was already getting weaker.

“What? No!” Edwina frowned at the strange question. “I’m just saying… maybe you could stay for a while until you feel better?”

An idea was starting to form in her head.

“How about this: you go back to sleep again, and we can deal with this when you wake up feeling better again, yeah?”

Brettany blinked slowly, and promptly collapsed into Edwina’s arms.

Shit.

Edwina gently pulled her back to bed without much effort; Brettany was even lighter than she looked. Her shoulders were gaunt and felt like skin on bones when Edwina grabbed them.

She grabbed her pillow and slid it underneath Brettany’s head, fingers brushing against those… ears?

They did look like cat ears, when Edwina leaned in to look closer: black and furry, twitching as she touched them.

Brettany let out a muffled whimper at the touch, frowns etched onto her face even in sleep. She curled into herself more, face almost buried between her knees.

“Sorry, sorry,” Edwina apologized, “no touching.”

Something else moved under the cover.

Slowly, careful not to wake the girl, Edwina peeled back the blanket to see a black tail pressed against her legs.

Seeing the ears and the tail, a crazy theory popped into Edwina’s head.

Was Brettany… not human?

As Edwina gathered her blanket to tuck Brettany in, Brettany moved in her sleep, the helm of her rumpled shirt hitched up.

Edwina blinked at the purple bruise near her hips.

She glanced at the clock. It was barely sunrise, and she still had hours before her violin lesson…

Maybe she could head out to Ray’s to grab some healing potions and ointments, get back home, and then go to her lesson. No one would notice, hopefully.

She’d have to ask Davina to step in and look after Brettany while she was gone.

She looked back at Brettany, obviously injured and not well, troubled even in her sleep.

The sight of that tugged at Edwina’s heart.

There had to be something she could do.

Her hand moved as if it had a mind of its own, and carded through Brettany’s tangled locks.

Edwina still had a hairbrush for curly hair, something Davina left behind in her room after one too many study dates.

She moved to get up from bed and get the brush, but a bony hand gripped at her weakly.

“Don’t go,” Brettany mumbled in her sleep.

“I’m not going anywhere, ‘kay? I’m just gonna get something to brush your hair, that’s it,” Edwina said, hand still petting her head in a steady rhythm. She had no idea if Brettany could even hear her in her sleep, but she felt like she had to say something.

Brettany mumbled again, but her grip slackened. Edwina took the gap and hurried to fetch the hairbrush, sitting down on her bed again.

She started from the ends, brushing the hair neatly down to the tips of Brettany’s hair. They were soft to the touch, but the tips were frayed when Edwina looked closely under the rising sun.

It was too bright outside already, she thought. Normally it was no trouble for Edwina, who had to wake up early anyway, but it wouldn’t do Brettany any good to wake up too soon again.

She pulled down the curtains inch by inch, so that the old strings wouldn’t grate loudly as she let the curtains down.

Brettany didn’t make any more noise while Edwina worked the brush up slowly to the roots, patiently untangling the curls knot by knot, her frown gradually smoothing out into a neutral expression. She even hummed when the brush’s coarse hair brushed lightly against her head.

Edwina made note of that; Brettany liked the feeling of gentle brushing against her scalp.

She moved to loosen the collar of Brettany’s too tight blouse, just the top two buttons; it couldn’t be pleasant sleeping in shirts.

The blouse slipped down to reveal pink scars reaching up the back of her back, like poison ivy attaching itself to a wall and growing upwards.

Careful not to touch Brettany, Edwina peeked at her back, with a finger pulling back the collar.

She inhaled sharply; the scars lined Brettany’s back all the way from her hips to her shoulders, neat diagonals marking her skin in a clear sign of deliberateness.

“Who hurt you like this?” Edwina breathed, the scars stabbing at her heart like arrows.

If she didn’t have to practice for her lesson later, she might just go find out whoever did this to Brettany, and tear them apart limb from limb.

Edwina couldn’t really focus on anything else the whole morning, not with an injured girl unconscious in her bed. She gave Davina very detailed instructions on what to do if there was an emergency, but it didn’t calm her down the slightest. Even her normally strict violin teacher softened up a little when Edwina told her of the badly hurt stray cat near her home.

When she came back from lunch after the lesson, Davina was gently rubbing the medicine Edwina gave her into Brettany’s skin, her other hand rubbing circled on the back of Brettany’s hand, textbook resting on the bed near her.

“It looks bad, Dina,” Davina sucked in a breath, handing her the small jar.

“I know,” Edwina took over. She didn’t learn much about healing magic yet, but she tried to weave in some basic healing spells as she rubbed the ointment into a particularly large, thick scar.

Brettany hissed as soon as Edwina touched her back, curling into herself.

“It’s okay,” Davina immediately put down her book and started tracing circles on Brettany’s hand again. “It’s okay, it’s just some meds, alright?”

Edwina met her glance.

“It’s bad,” Davina said quietly, visibly disturbed, “she panicked whenever I tried to give her anything. She almost knocked me over when I first started.”

“At least you seemed to have calmed her down,” Edwina nodded over at Davina’s circling thumb.

“What’s up with the, uh…” Davina gestured at the top of her own head.

“Honestly, I have no idea either,” Edwina said, hating every word of it.

The two settled into a routine; they still had to study, but now they quizzed each other while they did their best to help Brettany.

She finally woke up when they were two thirds through.

“Hey there, sleeping beauty,” Davina said softly with a smile.

Brettany opened her eyes wearily, her back stiffening almost immediately.

“It’s just me and Davina,” Edwina hurried to add. “No one else. You’re safe, okay?”

Brettany chuckled at that, a wet, unpleasant noise from her throat.

“How’re you feeling now?” Edwina asked, just to take her mind off that awful sound.

Brettany blinked a few times, light and recognition slowly returning to those hazel irises.

“Better,” she muttered. “How…?”

“Dina got some meds to help you,” Davina nudged at Edwina.

“Thanks.”

Davina ruffled her hair, but Edwina swatted the hand away lightly. “I didn’t spend an hour brushing her hair for nothing.”

Davina raised an eyebrow, before she started smiling widely at Edwina.

Brettany visibly shrunk onto herself, “Sorry.”

The moment Davina’s finger brushed against her extra pair of ears, though, Brettany hissed loudly and scrambled away from them.

“Don’t touch me!”

Davina’s hand shrunk away.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

Brettany’s eyes darted back and forth, wide with panic.

“What’s the, uh, what’s the deal with that?” Edwina asked casually, gesturing at her own head.

Brettany looked at the two of them, shaking her head.

“It’s fine,” Edwina tried, “we’re not gonna tell anyone.”

“Promise,” Davina added. “You can tell us anything.”

Brettany shook her head faster.

“I can’t,” she looked down at the sheets, “you’ll hate me for it.”

I could never hate you for anything, Edwina wanted to say.

“Don’t say that,” she said instead.

“You were there when Edwina flung Destiny across the room too,” Davina reasoned, “do you hate her for it?”

“Yeah, I could’ve killed her,” Edwina shrugged, not very sorry about it.

Brettany glared at them. “It’s different.”

“Again, I almost killed someone,” Edwina felt the need to repeat it. “We’re not gonna judge.”

Brettany glanced at that

“Promise?”

Edwina nodded. “Promise.”

Brettany looked away, and said something under her breath, too quiet for Edwina to catch it.

“Sorry, what?”

Brettany took a shaky breath.

“I’m not… human.”

Edwina and Davina shared a glance, waiting for her to go on. Davina even gestured at her to continue.

Brettany seemed to prefer giving nothing more away, though.

“What are you then?” Edwina couldn’t help but chase after that.

Brettany’s eyes were fixed on the blanket, filing her nails with the helm of the fabric and nudging the dirt out beneath her nails.

“It’s hard to describe,” she finally said, “but the closest thing to me is, I guess… familiars.”

Edwina’s jaws fell open.

A familiar?

She thought back to the day before,

“Yeah, danger, risks to witches and all that, I know,” Brettany winced, and put down the blanket swiftly. “I’ll go now, if you don’t mind.”

“No no no!” Edwina threw herself forward and almost grabbed Brettany by the wrist, before she remembered how badly Brettany reacted to that.

“I mean, I’m not scared,” Edwina lowered her hand sheepishly. “Stay?”

Brettany stared at her.

“Are you insane?” She asked, “haven’t you learnt a single thing these few months? Did you remember nothing from the cautionary tales Mr Ray told you—”

“Yes, I know, but- I just don’t see how bad you can be,” Edwina shrugged. “You’ve never hurt me before.”

“You don’t know how bad I could be,” Brettany said. “I- my powers, they’re under control for now, but if things happen, if I ever lose control…”

Edwina shuddered at the threat.

“But you’re in control, right?” Davina said, “So it’s not dangerous now.”

Brettany huffed.

“You don’t get it, familiars are different from humans. We don’t operate on the same logic, we don’t see things the way you do, we’re from completely different worlds!”

Edwina frowned. “But you look human. You act human.”

“Are you actually sixteen years old?” Davina asked, eyeing her up and down.

“Wha- Did you even- Yes! This body,” Brettany pointed at herself, “is human! But it doesn’t mean anything. I’m raised by humans, I’m half human, but I’m still not one of you!”

She broke off at that, voice on the verge of breaking.

Edwina’s brain was turning rapidly at the words “half human”.

“So you’re a cat?”

“I can manifest in different forms, but a cat or a human are the ones I’m most comfortable in,” Brettany explained, sniffing. “They’re both my most basic forms that I’m born with.”

Edwina could feel the gears in her brain starting to turn, the ideas linking with each other slowly and clearing the fog in her mind.

“You’re the cat I brought home last summer.”

Brettany nodded, blushing.

“I should thank you for that. You saved me when I couldn’t defend myself,” she tried to kowtow.

Edwina caught her by her arms quickly when she realized what Brettany was trying to do. “It’s the right thing to do.”

“Still,” Brettany insisted. “You shouldn’t have to spend so much time around me. I’m too much of a risk already.”

“You’re not bad,” Davina recovered quickly for someone non magical. “You didn't lie to us, right? You’re still our friend.”

Brettany laughed, as if they had missed out on some great, cosmic joke.

“Listen to yourself. I’m not ‘bad’? I’ve- I’ve done crimes before, okay?! I’ve stolen and fought people! You can’t just- pretend it never happened!”

Edwina wished she could say something to deny it.

“I’m sorry,” she said instead.

“For what it’s worth,” Davina added, “I don’t think your efforts to keep yourself alive is evil.”

“I can’t- I can’t live the way you do, I can’t walk around in a form I’m comfortable in, I can’t even get close to anyone without putting them at risk,” Brettany went on, as if she was deaf to everything else. “I’ll never be human.”

Risk? Was she talking about the thievery yesterday?

“That man yesterday, he didn’t try to rob us because of you,” Edwina said gently. “He wasn’t here for you.”

Brettany snorted, but said nothing.

“And plus, I told you, I would’ve been in real danger if you hadn’t showed up in time. You saved me, Brettany. If anything, being with you kept me safe.”

Edwina gave her the gentlest smile she could muster, hoping Brettany would return with her trademark small smile.

Brettany only kept her head down.

Davina glanced between them. “I should thank you, for keeping Dina safe.”

“I almost killed him,” Brettany whispered.

Edwina squeezed her eyes shut, in a vain attempt at keeping the sight of the pool of blood slowly spreading on concrete, just below the second-story window.

“I didn’t know what I was doing, and I wasn’t really myself back then. I wasn’t thinking clearly, and I almost killed someone.”

Edwina didn’t know what to say to that. That it was okay? That it didn’t scare her at all, not even a bit? She had never been good at lying, andt even telling white lies to Brettany seemed cruel.

And Brettany deserved nothing but the best.

Edwina’s hand crept towards Brettany, fingers barely touching.

“Can I?”

Brettany took a few seconds, before she nodded very, very slightly.

Edwina took her hand in her own, the hold light and loose enough that Brettany could take her hand away anytime if she wanted to.

“I’m not gonna lie and say that it wasn’t scary at all,” Edwina said slowly, “but can I just say, I know you were doing it for- you did it to defend us. It’s moral, I think. And I just want to tell you that I’m not cutting you off for this.”

Brettany inhaled sharply.

“I don’t understand a lot about you, but I want to know more about you. You can morph into whatever form you want if you feel comfortable in front of me, you can be yourself to me. I’m not a tattletale, I won’t tell anyone. I just want to keep being— with you.”

Edwina swallowed the word “friend” at last second; she wanted Brettany as a friend, but it was more than that, now that she had talked with Davina about it.

“Thanks,” it was barely audible, but she heard it all the same.

The silence was much more comfortable, filled with something new and tender. Edwina had a feeling that this was the moment.

“Actually, can I tell you something else?”

Davina glanced at her, the question obvious in her eyes. Edwina nodded; it was now or never.

“I don’t just want to be friends with you, Brettany.”

Edwina took a deep breath, and plunged on before she had time to back out.

“I want to date you.”

Brettany whipped her head around, neatly combed curls falling apart again.

“I meant everything I just said,” Edwina leaned closer, cupping Brettany’s small hands in her larger ones. “I want to be with you, as a friend, but also as a girlfriend. I- I want to go on dates with you, I want to cuddle with you, I want to kiss you, even.”

The girl opened her mouth, jaws slacked.

“We talked about this, the two of us,” Davina’s hands covered Edwina’s. “And we wanted to date you, both of us. You’re a good friend, and you make Dina happy; I’d be very happy as well if you join us.”

Brettany sucked in a ragged breath, shoulders shaking.

“You can’t actually mean it.”

“I do,” Edwina said simply, staring right past her bangs. “I mean every word I said.”

Brettany froze on the bed, sheets loosely clutched in her free hand. Her eyes darted back and forth, glancing everywhere except at Edwina.

Davina gently pressed into Edwina’s side, a warning for her not to rush Brettany.

For a few moments, all she heard was Brettany’s shallow, uneven breathing.

“You can't say that,” she finally looked up, eyes shining wetly, “we can’t be together.”

Edwina’s heart seized at the words.

No.

“Why?”

“I can’t- I can’t be with you. You’re a human, and I’m a creature! You’re so lovely, and real, and human, and I’m not. You deserve someone better,” Brettany wiped a hand across her face roughly.

“And that someone is you,” Edwina said hotly. “I know who I love, and it’s you. Why can’t you see that?”

She took her hand out from the interlocked fingers and tried to wipe the tears away, but Brettany batted her hand away quickly.

“Don’t make this harder for me,” Brettany begged. “Please.”

“I can decide for myself who’s good for me, and I happen to like you a lot. Maybe you’re not human, but so what? You’re still the Brettany I’ve come to know in these months. You’re still the girl who bandaged my hand when I burnt myself, and taught me to make potions, and stayed with me so I could catch up on reading,” Edwina squeezed Brettany’s hand. “Can’t you accept that? Can’t you just- accept that I like you?”

Brettany buried her head in Edwina’s chest, knocking her glasses askew, and Edwina took the chance to wrap her arms around her.

“I don’t want to see you hurt,” Brettany said.

Beside her, Davina moved in to embrace both of them with one arm as well, taking care not to trap Brettany.

“We can take care of ourselves,” Edwina said, mostly to comfort her; what danger could come from dating her, Edwina honestly didn’t know. Brettany was overthinking.

“I know taekwondo,” Davina added. “I can kick ass too.”

“I still think you’re making a horrible choice here,” Brettany muttered.

“Edwina’s been crushing on you since, like, day one. She knows what she’s doing,” Davina said, the traitor she was, “hopefully.”

“Davina!”

Edwina felt heat creep up her face.

“My life has been amazing since I met you. You showed me a whole new world where I can be just Edwina, where I can be happy.”

She nudged back Brettany’s glasses on her nose.

“You’ll regret saying that one day,” Brettany said, still avoiding her gaze.

“You don’t know that, do you? Maybe I happen to like dating catgirls,” Edwina said. It sounded wrong when she said it out loud, but goddamn it if she didn’t prove Brettany wrong.

“I’m human,” Davina butted in. “Dina doesn’t have a pet kink. She’s just whipped for you.”

“You’re just amazing,” Edwina gently took Brettany’s hands in hers, drawing circles on the back of her hands with her thumbs. “You’re smart, and gentle, and angry, and fiery, and pretty. So what if you’re a bit different from us? You’re just as human as I am deep inside, extra ears aside. Why wouldn’t I like you?”

Brettany sniffed quietly.

“You’ve both been so nice to me, even when I’ve done nothing to really deserve it, and Edwina, I mean, you saved me back when you didn’t even know me and I was just a cat, and you keep helping me even if it’s going to put you in danger—”

“You don’t need to ‘deserve’ it,” Edwina interjected. “I helped you out because it was the right thing to do.

“Just— I like you, okay?”

Brettany hesitated for the slightest fraction of a second, and nodded slowly.

Edwina couldn’t help the goofy grin spreading on her face, and kissed Brettany on the forehead, just a quick, chaste peck.

“Is that okay?”

Brettany’s cat ears perked up quickly, before relaxing again.

“Yeah, I like that. It’s- it’s good.”

Davina chuckled at that, simply leaning back on the bed.

Brettany buried her nose in Edwina’s shoulders, and a moment later, Edwina felt a pair of lips pressing a kiss on her neck.

She shuddered; the kiss was right on her tickling spot.

Edwina dipped her head to catch Brettany’s lips, but Brettany was wholly focused on something else.

She inched forward as she kept peppering kisses, pulling Edwina’s sweater off gently and folding it with more care than Edwina had ever shown to her own clothes.

The kisses were so gentle, but they felt like hammering blows, stealing air from Edwina’s lungs.

She felt lightheaded, as if she was floating in the clouds.

Brettany’s hands moved to her waist, legs shifting until she was straddling Edwina.

One of her hands had wandered down to her hips when Edwina finally realized what she was trying to do.

“Hey,” Edwina said as gently as possible, “whatcha doing?”

Brettany looked back up, tilting her head.

“Did I do anything wrong?” She asked, hazel eyes wide. “Sorry, was it not good?”

“No, everything’s fine,” Edwina gave a small, hopefully reassuring smile. “I’m just wondering what you’re thinking right now.”

Brettany blinked. And then blinked again.

“We’re dating now,” she stated.

“Yes…?” Edwina did not know what that had to do with Brettany’s sudden switch in behavior.

“So we’re doing girlfriend things now.”

Edwina winced at the thought of getting naked, and having to look at that… thing.

She must have been more expressive than she thought, as Brettany scooted away, giving a bit of breathing space between them.

Edwina breathed a sigh of relief.

“If you don’t want that, I can do something else,” Brettany said meekly, leaning away until her nose was between Edwina’s thighs.

“No!” Edwina blurted out, crossing her legs.

Brettany’s shoulders closed in, a look of hurt flashing across her face.

“I’m not that bad at it.”

“No! I- I don’t really want this, you didn’t do anything wrong,” Edwina rushed to explain.

“But I can make you happy,” Brettany said, uncertainty written all across her face.

Edwina felt like they were conversing in two completely different, barely related languages, with twenty layers of google translate between them. Behind her, Davina sat up with a squeak from the mattress, a hand resting lightly on Edwina’s back.

The implicit show of support made Edwina feel a bit better.

“I am happy right now. You don’t need to do anything to make me happy.I’m dating my crush now, I’m over the moon right now! What more would I ask for?”

Brettany nodded slowly.

“Alright. You can tell me when you want to, or when you’re upset then, so I can cheer you up.”

“I- I don’t need you to offer sex to make me happy,” Edwina dragged a hand over her face, sensing that the argument was starting to go round and round in a circle. “You don’t need to give me a blowjob, or a handjob, or whatever just to make me feel better when I’m sad.”

Brettany only stared at her, the hurt having melted away to something akin to sadness and confusion.

“I care about you,” Edwina said, just to cut off whatever nonsense was going through Brettany’s brain before it got worse. “I want you to be happy too.”

“I’m happy as long as you’re happy,” Brettany insisted. “If sex satisfies you, then I’m okay with it too.”

Edwina sighed. Brettany’s logic was a tangled ball of yarn, especially stubborn with its kinks and knots.

“I’m sorry. I can just leave if you want,” Brettany looked down.

“I’m not upset with you,” Edwina gave her a gentle smile. “I’d just rather we start this slowly. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Brettany eyed her. “Really?”

“Really,” Edwina tugged her a bit closer, taking care to touch her only by her arms. “Is there anything you want to do?”

“You can decide,” Brettany shrugged.

“I’m serious. You can just tell me what you want, and I’ll try to fulfill that.”

Brettany shook her head to one side, before she stopped herself, cheeks dusted with pink.

“Could we… Could I have a kiss? A real, proper one?”

“A good place to start,” Edwina’s smile turned lopsided.

She leaned forward inch by inch, tucking a strand of Brettany’s curls away behind her ear.

Brettany gazed back, hazel eyes bright as gems.

“I love you,” Edwina whispered, watching closely for the moment when Brettany’s eyes widened and her breathing hitched.

And their lips met, stealing away Brettany’s gasp.

Chapter Text

She tried to recall what people do when they kiss in movies and TV shows, only to draw blank. Her hands simply hung by her side, unsure of what to do.

Edwina must have sensed her awkwardness, as she chuckled a little before pulling away.

“Sorry,” Brettany looked down at her hands, “I don’t really know how to kiss.”

“Hey, that’s okay,” Edwina tilted her head until Brettany couldn’t avoid her gaze. “Is there anything you don’t really want right now?”

The girl squeezed Brettany’s hands gently.

“Could you… could you take the lead? I’m okay with whatever you’re fine with,” Brettany could feel her cheeks getting warmer by now.

“Sure,” Edwina smiled again, the image utterly beautiful.

When they locked their lips together slowly, Brettany felt the tip of Edwina’s tongue pressing gently at her lips. She hesitantly parted her lips slightly, hoping it was the right thing to do.

Edwina slipped her tongue gently past Brettany’s lips, her soft, full lips sucking gently on Brettany’s own as Edwina’s tongue swiped at her lips lightly.

Brettany inhaled quietly at the cool sensation, her eyes fluttering close as she couldn’t help but smile into the kiss. In the darkness, she could feel Edwina’s calloused thumb brushing against her cheeks, carefully wiping away the tears. The gentleness of it all only made the tears flew faster, even as Brettany squeezed her eyes shut to try and stop them.

It was all so— so gentle and soft. The kiss was unlike anything she had ever experienced; she was used to Mr. Lee’s touches and forehead kisses, but they clung to her skin like mud sometimes, lasting just a few seconds too long for her comfort.

This, this, however… Brettany had no idea what this was. It was new and exciting and just a bit scary, and it tugged at her in all her sore spots that she had pushed back into the deepest corners of her mind.

The kiss was feathery light and softly glowing as the rising sun, and she realized with an ache in her chest that she wanted more of this.

Slowly, she put her hands on Edwina’s hips to pull herself closer into her orbit, letting Edwina deepen the kiss.

Everything about this felt perfect. For a moment, the world around her ceased to exist, and the only thing remaining was Edwina.

They broke apart reluctantly after what felt like forever, quietly heaving for air. Her brain felt fogged, the world before her both clearer and foggier than ever.

“I’m sorry,” Brettany said, rubbing her eyes to stop the tears. “I hope I didn’t kill the mood.”

“Not at all!” Edwina was still holding her lightly by the waist, “did you like it, or nah? We can just kiss, no tongues, nothing else, if you want that more.”

“I like it! I just- sorry, I don’t know why I’m crying,” Brettany laughed, her cheeks still wet, “this is awkward.”

“Don’t apologize,” Edwina cupped her face and wiped the tears away with her thumbs. Brettany leaned into the touch, feeling the way warmth lingered on her.

“Am I your first kiss?” Edwina asked.

Oh my god, I just had my first kiss—!

Brettany didn’t quite know how to feel about this. She felt like she was walking on clouds, weightless, floating, with just a bare thread hanging her up so she wouldn’t fall to death.

“Yeah,” she managed.

A peck on her cheeks. “Then I’m honored.”

Heat crept up her face again. “You keep talking like you’re a fairytale knight.”

Edwina paused for a moment, before her smile grew just a smudge more smug.

“I can be your damsel in distress if you want,” she said, and swooned, flinging out a hand in a dramatic arc.

Brettany instinctively caught Edwina. “Wouldn’t you be the wicked witch in the forest, though?”

“Excuse you,” Edwina faked a gasp, “but I’m much hotter than all the evil witches!”

“Plus, you’d be my evil little familiar, then, in that case,” she smirked, and booped Brettany’s nose. It was such a silly gesture, but it delighted Brettany far more than it should have.

She couldn’t help but flick her tail at the prospect of being Edwina’s familiar, snuggling closer and burying her nose in Edwina’s shoulder.

“That is, if you want to, it’s just a joke. I know it’s a huge commitment—” Edwina quickly backpedaled.

“I’d love to!” Brettany said at once, not even caring that she was technically being rude and cutting off someone else. “I want to be with you, once you’re powerful enough to handle it.”

“Another motivation for me to work hard, then,” Edwina smiled widely, showing off her gaped teeth.

“What motivation?”

Brettany looked up reluctantly to see Davina walking in with a plate of oranges.

Edwina’s eyes darted between Davina and the bed, slowly widening into saucers.

“Hold on,” she said, “weren’t you…”

“I figured you’d want some privacy for such an emotionally charged moment,” Davina said drily.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to neglect you,” Brettany rushed to say, embarrassed that she nearly forgot about Davina in the heat of the moment.

“It’s okay,” Davina shrugged, setting down the food on the desk, “we’re both closer to Dina than to each other. I’m not offended.”

Edwina picked up the plate of fruits, and took one.

“Want some?” She asked Brettany, gesturing at the food.

“Oh, I’m fine,” Brettany handwaved it, trying not to sniff too loudly at the fresh, light scent, “it’s your food, after all.”

“No, go ahead!” Edwina stopped for a moment, before saying quietly, “I’ve had a big lunch.”

Brettany’s hand froze beside her. On one hand, eating someone else’s food was ill mannered, and manners mattered even in hunger, on the other hand, Edwina was offering, and she didn’t want it…

“Thanks, then,” Brettany said, slowly taking a slice of orange, eyes searching for any hint of displeasure on Edwina’s face.

Edwina seemed oblivious enough to it, the smile still on her face the whole time.

Satisfied, Brettany bit down and tore the fruit away from the orange peel.

Sweetness bloomed on her tongue, with just the barest hint of sourness that she had braced for. The juice slid down her throat easily, moistening it.

She sucked the last of the pulp stuck on the skin.

“I didn’t know you like oranges,” Davina said.

“I don’t like sour fruits,” Brettany wrinkled her nose at the thought of the unpleasant taste. “But this is sweet enough for me.”

“Take them if you want,” Edwina put the plate next to Brettany. “My mom would love you so much when she finally finds someone who doesn’t complain about fruits.”

Brettany set down the orange peel carefully on one side on the plate, and took another slice.

Davina opened her mouth to say something, but shut it just as quickly.

“What?” Brettany asked.

“Nothing,” she said, “just thinking about how I have two girlfriends now.”

Brettany almost dropped the orange slice, cheeks warm, catching it quickly before it could drop and make a mess of Edwina’s bed.

“Girlfriends,” Edwina repeated, giggling.

“We’re dating,” Brettany said more to herself than to anyone else, mechanically eating slices of fruits. “We’re dating.”

“Yeah, we’re a throuple now,” Davina said, a small smile on her face.

The words slowly sunk into Brettany, the corners of her lips curving upwards uncontrollably.

“Girlfriends,” she said quietly, “I like the sound of that.”

Edwina smiled, utterly beautiful.

“So do I.”

They sat in comfortable silence for a long time, Brettany quietly finishing the plate of oranges.

“Can I ask you something?” Davina piped up.

“Sure,” Brettany said absent-mindedly, trying to suck out the pulp stubbornly stuck to a peel.

“Are you extra sensitive in your ears and tail? Just wondering, ‘cause you had a major reaction when I accidentally touched it.”

Brettany chewed slowly, the AC breeze brushing past her cat ears like a gentle stroke.

“It’s just something intimate,” she eventually said, already bracing for a curious fondle.

“Alright, no touching without asking first then,” Davina said easily.

Brettany blinked twice; the casual attitude was something she did not expect. She gently tucked them away, having enough magic after the rest to turn fully human again.

She offered them the last slice on the plate, but both Edwina and Davina turned it down.

“You take it,” Edwina said, “you’re the only one here who likes it.”

“I don’t know how I can thank you,” Brettany said, embarrassed, when she looked down the see the plate empty except for orange peels.

Edwina and Davina had done so much for her, and what did she have for them in return? Nothing.

“You don’t have to,” Davina said.

Brettany frowned, licking her fingers carefully to taste the last drop of the fruity sweetness so it would not go to waste.

Edwina squirmed and and moved her legs until she was kneeling on the bed.

“I hope I didn’t make your bed dirty,” Brettany could only say, “I don’t want you to get into trouble with your mother.”

“Oh, it’s fine, what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her,” Edwina shrugged easily. “If anything, I can always use a quick spell to vanish a little stain. She won't know that.”

Brettany widened her eyes. “Your family doesn’t know you’re a witch?”

“No.”

“Why?” She added in a rush, “sorry if it’s too personal.”

Edwina looked down at her lap, and eventually shrugged again.

“It’s fine, I just don’t feel comfortable telling them.”

“But you’re lying to them,” Brettany couldn’t fathom lying to Mr Lee like that.

“It doesn’t hurt them anyway. Would you tell your… dad you’re a familiar?” Edwina paused a little at the mention of Mr Lee. For what reason, Brettany didn’t know.

“Yes, of course,” she said with certainty, “it’s wrong to lie, even if it’s a lie by omission, and I shouldn’t lie to him.”

Edwina straightened her spine, a familiar fire in her eyes. Brettany tensed at the hint of anger, “sorry.”

Davina sent Edwina a look Brettany couldn’t understand, and Edwina relaxed again.

“Sometimes different families have different rules,” Davina said matter-of-factly.

“I’ll tell them when I don’t feel scared that they’ll overreact, okay?” Edwina’s eyes softened again. “It’s just how it is, a little teenage rebellion is natural, y’know.”

Brettany nodded slowly, trying to wrap her head around the terrifying concept of disobedience. “Okay.”

“I’m going to have to go soon, you coming?” Davina asked her.

Brettany scrambled to look outside, and saw the late afternoon sun about to set. The sunlight warmed where she sat, but she felt only coldness.

Everything about Edwina and her room was just so nice.

“Yeah, I’ll have to leave now, technically, I wasn’t supposed to come out of my room today at all.” Brettany sighed, and tried to laugh, “hey, I’m trying teenage rebellion!”

Edwina looked sad, for some reason. Even Davina, normally stoic, seemed uncomfortable. Brettany could only hope she didn’t make them feel bad.

“In only that?” Edwina gestured at her short sleeved shirt and skirt combo.

“I’m fine, it’s warm outside.”

“But you’re walking all the way home. It’s gonna take, what, an hour?” Davina frowned.

“It’s only forty five minutes if I’m quick,” Brettany tried to shrug, but it pulled at the muscles on her back painfully, and she hissed quietly.

“You’re still hurt?” Edwina sat up immediately, slipping a hand around Brettany.

“It’s already better, thanks,” Brettany felt warmth radiating from Edwina to her back, down her spine to her legs and all over her. She sniffed at the pleasant sensation.

Edwina took off her sweater, and pushed it into Brettany’s hands. “At least take this, so you wouldn’t feel cold at night.”

How did she know it’s drafty in my room at night?

“I can’t take your things,” Brettany tried to push it back towards Edwina. If Mr. Lee found it, it would just provoke him into another lecture on her lack of gratitude again, mooching off others shamelessly like a parasite.

“You’re not taking, I’m giving,” Edwina wrapped it around Brettany like a cape and tied it around her shoulders loosely with the sleeves. “No buts.”

“But you like it. I can’t just—”

“And I’m giving it to someone I like,” Edwina said with absolute confidence that her logic was flawless.

Brettany couldn’t say no to her earnest eyes.

Or at least, she wasn’t trying hard enough to turn down Edwina.

“I’ll do my best to take care of it, then,” she said quietly. She could always hid it with an invisible charm, or shrink it and tuck it into her pillow when she didn’t need it; there were thousands of ways to hide something.

Plus, logically speaking, Mr. Lee didn’t go into her room too often anyway. It was only once every two weeks, she could plan around it.

She gave it a sniff. The faint smell of lavender was there as she expected.

“Good,” Edwina smiled, chin tall like a proud lab retriever.

Brettany stared at her, unsure how to respond.

People kissed each other goodnight on TV, right?

She darted forward and kissed Davina and Edwina on the cheeks, her own face burning.

Edwina’s eyes widened, a surprised smile slowly spreading on her face.

“Bye,” Brettany blurted out, quickly turning back into a cat.

She jumped out the window and climbed down.

Faintly, she picked up a squeal just as she melted into the long shadows under the setting sun.

When Saturday finally came, Brettany woke up earlier than usual and finished all her chores a whole hour earlier, practically running out of the mansion to the cafe. She tried her best not to seem overly excited to avoid any suspicion, catching herself smiling over nothing a few times in the morning.

“Finally got together, huh?” Ray asked, out of the blue.

“What?”

“I said, did you finally get together with Edwina?” Ray repeated, slowly smiling.

“How did you know that?” Brettany said instinctively, before she remembered something else, whirling around, “hold on, I didn’t even tell you anything about her!”

“You’re always snatching for chances here and there to get close to her, it’s really obvious that you like her,” Ray raised an eyebrow. “I mean, you’re a bit more subtle than Edwina, but that’s a really low bar.”

Brettany felt her cheeks heating up, hoping it wouldn’t show on her face.

“She’s nice to me,” she settled on.

“And I’m sure Eddy thinks so too. So, are you dating now?”

Brettany resisted the urge to throw something at Ray, just to wipe that smug eyebrow raise off his face. “Yes.”

Ray punched the air. “Knew it! Look at you, all grown up with a girlfriend now!”

Brettany narrowed her eyes. “You’re not mad?”

“Why would I?” Ray tilted his head, “Edwina’s a good girl, she’s not a bad choice to crush on.”

“Not a crush,” Brettany mumbled, but Ray either didn’t hear it, or chose to ignore it.

“You have my blessings and all that, if that’s what you’re worried about, you’d make each other happy if everything works out. I’m not gonna give her a shovel talk,” he laughed.

“A what?”

“I’m not gonna threaten to break her bones or anything if she upsets you, that’s what I mean.”

“People do that?”

“Lots of dads, especially, are very protective of their daughters. They’d do anything to keep them safe and happy.”

Brettany’s mind instantly went to Mr. Lee. Would he do that? Part of her hoped not, for Edwina’s sake, but being protected sounded nice too.

Then, Mr. Lee did get furious once when he caught a bellboy trying to corner her and “touch what didn’t belong to him”, as he had said back then. That was probably a shovel talk.

“Anyway, what are we doing today?” She asked, just to get her mind off the weird memory.

“We still need to follow up on the book theft,” Ray reminded her gently.

“Of course, sorry for forgetting, Mr. Ray.”

“It’s fine,” Ray waved a hand, “you two went through something traumatic last week. Trying to forget is natural.”

“I’m not traumatized,” she snapped. “I’m fine.”

Ray hesitated for a brief moment. “Brettany, you almost got killed, both of you. And you saw someone falling out of the window. It’s okay to be not okay.”

“I’m not—”

Brettany shut up as Edwina walked into the small room.

“Hey, Ray,” Edwina waved, before turning to her with a radiant smile, softer, “hey, Brettany.”

“You can hug and kiss if you want, I don’t mind,” Ray made a show of turning his back on them.

Edwina blushed, but didn’t bother denying, and put an arm around Brettany slowly.

Brettany leaned in, enjoying the gentle warmth. She couldn’t help but smile back, just a small one. “Hey.”

Edwina wrapped her other arm around, and kissed Brettany on the forehead quickly. “I miss you.”

The words sent a fuzzy, strange but warm feeling down Brettany’s chest.

“Miss you too,” she mumbled into Edwina’s chest.

Edwina let go and sat on the floor, Brettany following her quickly.

“So, lovebirds, how’re you feeling?” Ray turned around again.

Edwina sent him a teasing glare. “We’re not that bad. But, uh, I didn’t really have any nightmares after all the calming potions you gave me.”

“Good,” Ray’s shoulders visibly relaxed. “You need anymore?”

“Nah, I’m good, I still have weeks’ worth.”

“Actually, I do have something new about that,” Brettany said slowly.

“Go ahead,” Ray leaned back into a comfortable position.

“I… I think the thief last week was definitely linked to the Lee family,” Brettany tried her best to ignore to sinking feeling in her stomach. “Mr. Lee was very angry that I hurt someone seriously while fighting, but he also kept referring the thief as one of ‘his people’. I think he’s called Travis.”

“He’s angry over that? Sis, you almost—”

Ray held out a hand, signalling at Edwina to calm down. Edwina closed her mouth, embarrassed.

“I mean, I did send someone who worked for him into ICU,” Brettany shrugged. “Anger is expected.”

“So, we now have at least a name, and a connection,” Ray said thoughtfully.

“I’m sure Mr. Lee wasn’t the one behind everything, though,” Brettany rushed to add. “He could just be carrying orders on behalf of his father, or someone else in the family.”

“Why would you think that? Just genuinely curious.”

Brettany could feel Edwina’s eyes staring holes into her head. She opened her mouth, but then caught herself at the last second.

I shouldn’t tell anyone about family affairs. It’ll bring shame to Mr. Lee.

“It’s just a hunch,” she said instead.

“I trust your instincts, but any details could help us prevent similar thefts in the future. From what we’ve seen, the two thefts seem connected,” Ray said gently, eyes smiling. “The books stolen can seriously hurt someone if this goes on.”

“Please?” Edwina linked her forefinger with Brettany’s, “we wouldn’t tell anyone else.”

This was unfair, Brettany thought. They had to know she couldn’t say no to Edwina.

“Don’t tell anyone else,” she glared at them, just as a warning. “No one else, not even Davina, or Sophie, or anyone else.”

“Sure.” “Of course not.” The two of them said at once.

“Well, you know how old Mr. Lee had a few wives?”

Ray and Edwina nodded, still puzzled.

“Mr. Lee, my father, his mom was old Mr. Lee’s second wife. Old Mr. Lee hated her, they only got married because he needed the social status of her family. She was old money, y’know, and he was still a new money back then, but apparently she was very headstrong and set in her ways. They cheated on each other all the time. Eventually he divorced her for his third wife after many years, who’s also Destiny’s mom.”

Edwina wrinkled her nose at the mention of the girl.

Brettany ploughed on, shutting out the voices yelling at her for her betrayal. “Anyway, old Mr. Lee doesn’t like Mr. Lee very much, which means the rest of the board and the family also don’t have much respect for him. If there’s any tough work or dirty deeds they need to do, chances are they’d give it to Mr. Lee to carry it out.”

“But Darold Lee is the most successful of all the Lee siblings right now,” Ray pointed out, frowning.

Brettany chewed on her lips.

“My best guess is that, old Mr. Lee hates him because he’s successful. I don’t know old Mr. Lee well, but seeing the son from your most hated wife doing better than all the kids from your beloveds… it was like the second Mrs. Lee had the last laugh over him.”

“What a messy family,” Edwina exhaled. “It does sound possible that Darold is only acting on someone else’s orders.”

“But then, you can’t rule out the possibility that he’s doing this for himself,” Ray said.

“He’d never turn on his family like that—!”

“I know, you have your reasons to think so,” Ray said firmly, “but we can’t rule that out unless we have evidence that says otherwise. For all we know, he might be doing this to win back some respect, or even his own glory.”

“Mr. Lee cares more about his family than himself,” Brettany insisted, but even she couldn’t help but wonder if her father had his own ulterior motives.

“But why would he even need the books?” Edwina asked. “Is Darold magical?”

“No,” Ray said. “I’m sure he’s not. If he’s magical, why would he even ask someone to steal the books? He should know he could just borrow it. Witches library are rare, but he can definitely travel to them to get the books if he’s that desperate for them.”

“So it’s more about owning them rather than reading the books,” Edwina reasoned. “If he’s not magical, though, how could he use them? He wouldn’t know how to do any of the spells or rituals in the books. They would just be… decorative pieces for him.”

Brettany squirmed, uncrossing and crossing her legs again.

Best to just watch and see how it goes on.

She could see the cogs turning in Ray’s head.

“We know Darold had at least one magical person under his employ, the thief last week,” he wrote out “Travis ???” on the floor with his magic, followed by messy notes under it that Brettany could barely understand.

“Lisa Goh also mentioned working with someone who knew magic while they were robbing Sophie’s place. This someone could be Travis, or it could be someone else,” Ray scribbled down Lisa’s name as well, linking her to a “???” equated with “Travis”, a big question mark in the middle of the “=”.

“There’s so little we know,” Edwina sighed, running a hand through her bangs.

“We know they’re all connected to Darold, though,” Ray drew lines extending from all the names to “Lee”.

Something tugged at Brettany’s mind, as she heard Mr. Lee’s name brought up again and again.

“If the two magical thieves were different people,” Edwina pointed first at “Travis”, then at “???”, “it might mean Darold had more witches working for him. Two witches working for the same person, for the same goal, is a bit weird, no?”

“Yeah,” Ray huffed, “one could be an isolated case, but two is too much of a coincidence, especially since us witches are so rare.”

It wasn’t just two, Brettany thought, technically, I’m working for him too. And he’s known about my nature for years.

It was— different. Mr. Lee never asked her to do anything immoral. It was all for the sake of his family, their family. She had never hurt anyone.

She wasn’t part of this. They didn’t need to know that.

“What do we do now?” Edwina asked, flopping back onto the floor.

“You said Travis is in ICU?” Ray turned to Brettany instead.

Brettany shot up at the sudden attention, fighting to maintain a neutral face.

“Yeah,” she said, doing her best to keep her voice level. “Mr. Lee told me that. He’s in Tan Tock Seng.”

“Not General Hospital?” Ray asked.

“No.”

Ray hummed. “I’ll pay him a visit later then.”

“I can come with you!” Edwina said immediately.

“Absolutely not. I’m not bringing you to see the man who almost strangled you just a week earlier.”

“But—”

“No.” Ray softened up as Edwina deflated, like a puppy who was told she couldn’t go play. “I’ll tell you girls about everything next week, but that’s it. It’s for your own good.”

Brettany slipped her hand into Edwina’s, hoping she wouldn’t argue with Ray. Personally, she’d rather claw Travis into pieces for hurting Edwina, but it would probably just traumatized her even more.

At least he was paralyzed below his waist for the rest of his life, thanks to that convenient tumble down the window and a little charm. No one knew this, but he would never walk again.

She wasn’t sorry at all.

“Fine,” Edwina pouted, oblivious, and squeezed Brettany’s hand gently, interlocking their fingers together.

Brettany smiled at the response, scooting even closer until she could comfortably lean on Edwina’s side.

Ray coughed.

“Well, at least that’s settled. Now, even more theories!”

Edwina gasped with delight. “I love theories!”

“I know,” Ray smiled.

“It’s just, it’s informative, it’s easier to study, it’s comfortable,” she shrugged.

“You’ll fall in love with the cauldron one day,” Ray pointed at her with a book, still smiling, “just you wait, young lady.”

Edwina stuck out her tongue in response.

As the two poured over theories and ancient tests, their low voices slowly lulled Brettany to sleep, leaning onto Edwina the whole time.

Edwina’s new sweater wasn’t quite as soft as her old one, but the lavender smell was still there.

(She didn’t need to know Brettany used her old one as a blanket, after all. That was none of her business.)

Chapter Text

Ray looked unusually serious one Saturday when he came in.

Even more unusual, Brettany was nowhere to be seen. Not only was her girlfriend not in the cafe, Edwina couldn’t sense her at all.

Maybe Ray sent her on an errand. That had to be it. Brettany was fine, she had to be fine. She was strong, she could take care of herself.

Something seemed off.

“I’m taking you two off our case from now on,” Ray cut to the chase immediately.

“What? Why?”

Edwina fired back before she could even think about it.

“It’s getting more and more dangerous for you two,” Ray crossed his arms. “And you’re still in training.”

Edwina inhaled sharply.

“I’m not unskilled! I can handle myself! And- and we’ve been doing so well these past few weeks! You’ve been teaching me so many more spells and charms, and- and I almost nailed the invisible charm, I just need one more week to perfect it!”

“Could you? Could you really take care of yourself in a fight if it happens again?” Ray asked, deadpan.

Edwina knew the answer was not the “yes” she wanted, but failure was simply unacceptable.

“Well, I, I did just fine when someone came in to rob us!”

“You almost died, Eddy,” Ray spat out the word like it was poison, “if Brettany hadn’t come in time, god knows what would’ve happened to you!”

God, why did everyone have to keep insisting that something bad happened to her?

Well, “almost” means it didn’t actually happen!.

“I’m fine, Ray!”

“No, you’re not! You’re a high school girl with no previous combat experience, who was strangled in your first ever fight!”

Something about the way he phrased it bothered Edwina.

“But I’m fine now! I’m safe!”

Edwina took a deep breath, trying to will her heart to stop beating so quickly.

“Look, you’ve been teaching me for months now! Just- teach me to fight with magic as well, and I’ll be fine!”

“And months are nothing compared to the rest of us. I’ve been a witch for over a decade by now, and it’ll take you just as many years to get to where I am, if not more!”

Ray sighed heavily, pinching his brows.

“I just want to keep you safe. It’s for your own good.”

It’s for your own good.

How many times had someone told her that?

Her mom, pushing her to go to med school, threatening her with no dinner if she didn’t practice, sending her stink eyes whenever she got too “friendly” with Davina in front of Mom…

And Dad, always brushing her bitterness aside with a “it’s for your own good”.

“I know what’s good for me!”

“For god’s sake, Edwina, you’re only still alive thanks to Brettie!” Ray nudged his head at where the girl normally would be.

Edwina spared the empty spot a glance. Unease flared up inside her again.

She really wanted to shut Ray up right now, just so he could stop with all this “you almost died” nonsense.

“At least she was there for me! At least she was there to fight back!”

Ray winced.

Edwina regretted snapping at him the moment she saw the hurt in his eyes.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say that”

Part of her knew it was a lie though. She meant it.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, eyes glued to the floor. “Sorry, I- I wasn’t thinking straight.”

Ray dragged a hand across his face.

“No, I’m sorry too, you’re not entirely wrong. I wasn’t there when you two were in danger. I left you alone with valuable books at a time when I should’ve known they were sought after by horrible people. It was- it was an incredibly stupid thing to do.”

He heaved a sigh again, looking much younger than the mid-twenty Edwina thought he was at that moment.

“You couldn’t know that,” Edwina said, guilt weighing down her stomach. “We thought what happened to Sophie was a one-off thing.”

“I should’ve known better,” Ray repeated. “I could’ve done better.”

“Sorry,” Edwina could only say, the word ringing hollow to her ears.

“I should’ve explained to you what’s going on before cutting you off like that.”

He sat down on the floor, and patted the space beside him as an invitation.

Edwina sat down, keeping a few inches of distance away.

She really shouldn’t have blown up at Ray like that, especially when he was only doing it for her safety.

“Thing is, there’s been a few more attempted robberies this week,” he said slowly.

“Most of the witches are fine, we’ve all been taking more precautions after what happened to Sophie and, well, us, but one of the younger ones got hurt.”

Edwina’s heart felt heavy, looking at Ray’s drawn eyebrows.

“Are they… okay?”

“They’re stable now, but the injury was pretty bad. I heard they were stabbed in the liver.”

She sucked in a breath.

“That’s horrible.”

“I know,” Ray exhaled. She had a sinking feeling that Ray saw how bad it was.

“But we’re… fine,” Edwina said, the word feeling wrong, “you don’t have to worry about us.”

Ray turned and looked at her.

“You came close to permanent injury at best that day, Eddy. I know it’s annoying for you to hear it over and over, but that’s what happened. You can’t ignore that.”

“And I told you, it wouldn’t happen again!” Edwina took a deep breath and fought to keep her voice down.

“Can you promise that, though? Can you?” Ray stared at her quietly. “Can you say for sure that you wouldn’t meet someone even more aggressive, even deadlier in the near future, when you’re still a young witch?”

Can you?

Edwina knew the answer, but she just couldn’t admit it.

She fixed her gaze on her shoes instead, looping a finger around her shoelace, unwound it, and wound it again mindlessly.

“Can you at least tell me about any new things you found out about the case?” Edwina asked, fully knowing Ray would probably say no.

“I won’t run off on my own to do some sleuthing,” she wrinkled her nose, mumbling, “I just want to know what’s going on. It’s still the first time I did practical work like a witch.”

Ray fixed her with a stare. “Promise me then. Promise me you won’t meddle in this.”

“I won’t.”

His eyes flickered around her face for a few tense moments, before he relaxed.

“I’m not going into too much detail, but I managed to talk to Travis last week after he was stabilized. It was a lot of work, but, heh, I managed to bait it out of him,” Ray allowed himself a small smile. “He is working for Darold Lee after all, and ratted out quite a few other witches they were going to target. We stopped most of them before they could happen, so that’s some progress.”

Edwina sat back. It was much better than she imagined.

“What do you mean, ‘we’?”

Ray quirked an eyebrow. “C’mon, you don’t think we all work alone? Our circles aren’t too big, word spreads quickly, and I know some really amazing witches who can help. We’re getting back our books from someone living in a literal mansion, after all.

“And no, you won’t be helping us with that. Too dangerous.”

Edwina pouted. It usually felt nice to be treated like a little sister, but it was times like these that irked her.

Adam, she understood; he was her actual older brother, after all. But Ray?

Maybe what Ray really needed was a sibling that he never got.

She shook her head clear, what was it she was wondering again…?

“How did you manage to make him talk?”

“He’s hired muscle,” Ray shrugged. “You convince him you’re the better option, and he’ll spill all the beans.”

“You’ll have to teach me that. I’m bad at socializing.”

“Oh, I got your back. Brettany is fantastic at that, always manages to make people talk. I’ll have to take you to see her at work one day.”

Edwina’s first instinct was one of disbelief, thinking back to Brettany’s head ducks and shy smiles.

Brettany was more than competent as a familiar, though, she reminded herself.

“Really? I… uh, I didn’t know that.”

“She’s sneaky,” Ray wiggled his eyebrows with a big grin, “sneaks right under your nose like that.”

Edwina glanced at the spot of air again.

Still empty.

“Where is she today?”

Ray frowned.

“I have no idea,” he confessed. “And I can’t call her. She doesn’t have a phone.”

“And she only comes out for a few hours every week,” Edwina added.

They looked at each other in dismay.

“Shit.”

Edwina crept alongside the wide, spotless corridors, careful to not make a sound.

The invisible charm was working well so far, thank god. Sneaking into the Lee manor was surprisingly easy: she managed to teleport inside on the third try. Security was mostly concentrated on the perimeters, and were far and few inside.

Still, it was work to constantly watch out for any people passing by and maintain the facade she only learnt a few weeks ago. If anything, the biggest problem was that she had no idea where Brettany could be; the manor was huge. She could barely sense any trace of Brettany’s magic at all, following the bare threads of blue blindly and hoping they turned out right.

They led her through twists and turns, revealing sections after sections of the building she’d never known existed, so far into the manor that she suspected she was at the far end of a wing by the time she stopped.

She checked around carefully; no one passed by for several minutes.

“Brettany?”

Edwina knocked on the modest door, ears against cool wood as she tried to detect the smallest sound.

Faint breathing came from the other side.

“It’s me. Are you in there?”

Something knocked against the door, a loud bang hitting Edwina’s side.

Concern rose in her chest.

“Can I sneak in? I just want to see if you’re okay.”

Edwina held her own breath, too loud in the silence.

It was starting to frustrate her, how Brettany just wouldn’t talk to her even when she was clearly not fine.

Say something, anything.

Please.

“I won’t- I won’t judge you, or laugh at you, or- or do anything cruel,” Edwina added quietly. “Just- let me in. Please.”

Her ears searched for any noise, heart hammering.

After a while, a small hum came out.

Edwina’s hands were shaking slightly from anticipation, not knowing what to expect at all. She fought the urge to yank the door open, worrying the sudden light would overstimulate Brettany, cracking just a sliver big enough for herself to peek inside.

“Babe?”

In the dark, small room, Brettany was curled up on her cot, face buried in her knees. Edwina picked up quiet, muffled sniffles.

She tried again, but Brettany didn’t respond at all.

Gingerly, Edwina slid onto the bed next to her. The cot was barely big enough to fit two people, and with how tall Edwina was, it was a struggle to slot herself into the available space without her limbs tangling together.

The smell of milk hit Edwina all at once, sweet and sticky in the tiny space.

She rested a hand on Brettany’s knee, only for the girl to shiver.

“Are you sick?”

Brettany flinched, as if she was trying to fold herself into nothing.

Something was very wrong.

Edwina leaned forward and tilted Brettany’s head up. “Let me take a look at you, yeah?”

From the thread of light seeping through the margins, Brettany’s cheeks were flushed pink, red lips parted as she panted, hazel eyes unfocused as she looked up behind skewed glasses.

Edwina pressed the back of her head against Brettany’s forehead.

Too warm.

“You might have a fever,” she hissed. The heat was like touching a boiling kettle. “Do you have any meds here?”

A burning hand caught her wrist just as she drew back her hand.

“Don’t go,” Brettany whispered.

“Brettany?”

Edwina leaned further forward, knees hitting something damp.

Brettany gasped, a breathy, low noise.

From the corner of her eyes, she saw Brettany’s other hand kneading at her skirt down there, and quickly averted her eyes.

Now that she had time to really look at Brettany, the girl looked a mess. Her curls were flying everywhere as if they hadn’t seen a comb for days, strands stuck to her forehead with cold sweat. Her shirt was hastily popped open, spots of dark color peeking out, and the suspenders were slipping down her thin shoulders to her arms.

Edwina carded a hand slowly through Brettany’s hair, brushing clumps of hair back and tucked them behind her ears. It couldn’t be comfortable, with the bangs hitting her eyes.

Brettany made a low noise from the back of her throat.

Edwina was about to withdraw her hand, afraid that she’d upset the girl. To her surprise, Brettany sat back on her ankles and leaned into the touch, rubbing against Edwina’s hand.

...okay, then. I can work with that.

Edwina scratched her scalp gently, nails clipped short and round. Her cool palm ran against Brettany’s heated face, hoping the cold could calm her down.

“What’s wrong?”

Brettany let out a high whine as Edwina’s fingers brushed against the spot where her cat ears would be.

“Sorry, no touching ears, yeah?” She quickly assured the girl, remembering what she said when Edwina first saw them.

“Can you try to talk to me?”

Brettany panted heavily, throat bobbing up and down, lips shaking.

“Take your time,” Edwina said gently.

“Too… much…” Brettany struggled to make out the words.

“Can you describe it to me, babe?”

Brettany shook, limbs seizing.

Edwina sighed. She had no idea what was happening, and she hated not knowing how to help her girlfriend.

In a perverse way, she was almost glad Brettany wasn’t sober enough to sense the frustration in Edwina. It wasn’t Brettany’s fault, no matter what was going on.

“Is there anything you want, then?”

Brettany’s cat ears perked up all of a sudden, eyes blown impossibly wide.

“What’s wrong?”

She looked towards the door, and shoved Edwina weakly.

“Go!” She mouthed.

Edwina looked around sharply. She couldn’t trust herself to climb down safely from the third floor, so she had to hide. The only problem was, the room was bare and had little hiding space.

She had to make do with the small closet then. It would be cramped, but at least better than under the bed.

The door opened just as Edwina managed to fold herself tightly into the closet and shut the closet door, eyes peeping out the small holes hollowed out as handles.

Darold Lee closed the door with a bang!, leaning on it in faux casualness.

Brettany jolted at the loud noise, still shuffling among the sheets.

“Right,” Darold sighed, “what’s with all this nonsense then?”

When moments passed without any response from his ward, the man walked over with a few strides, sizing the girl up and down, face devoid of any expression.

“Get up. I was in the middle of a meeting, and I could hear your noises all over there.”

Brettany moved her head, finally spotting him, and tried to sit up on her cot, arms shaking uncontrollably as she pushed herself up. She almost managed to support herself, only to lose balance at the last moment and slump forward, falling down again.

Even in the closet, Edwina could sense Darold’s anger radiating off him.

Get up! She silently urged Brettany, lying still, chest heaving.

She couldn’t breathe.

“Pathetic,” he mumbled. “Are you in heat again?”

Heat?

The word slammed into Edwina’s brain with the force of a sledgehammer.

Cats had heat cycles.

And Brettany was a cat.

She looked back at Brettany again, calves rubbing against each other, hands clutching at the sheets.

Oh.

The haze in her head cleared itself; all the strangeness up to this point suddenly became much more understandable.

Oh shit.

What had she barged into?

Perhaps sensing someone close, Brettany’s hands grabbed at the air, and managed to hold onto the corner of Darold’s jacket as she pulled herself up.

She said something, too weak for Edwina to catch.

Darold stared down at the sick girl.

Slowly, he reached out and laid a finger on her chin, as if anything more would stain him with filth.

“You’re always so needy, like a bitch in heat.”

Brettany whimpered, shoulders hunching into themselves.

“Then again, I suppose you are one,” he mused to himself, finger wandering along her jaw. The touch was light, but in Brettany’s oversensitive state, it probably felt like a carrot on a stick, baiting her in with the empty promise of something more.

Edwina felt fire in her veins at the blatant insult.

If it weren’t for her girlfriend’s safety, she would storm out and give the man a good kick in the balls.

The man grabbed at her curls with his other hand, undoing Edwina’s poor attempt to brush her hair with just her fingers, and yanked.

Edwina shuddered at the yelp of pain.

“Oh, shush, it’s not that bad. Be quiet, yeah?”

Brettany’s whole body was shaking.

A sob escaped her lips, and she bit down on her lips hard to muffle the sound.

“See? You can play nice.”

Darold laughed quietly.

“You look exquisite, pet,” he traced his finger down the middle of Brettany’s face, stopping on her lips, red and swollen.

The words sent chills down Edwina’s spine, even in the heat of the room.

Lisa Goh’s parting words made much more sense now. Too much sense, even.

“I’ll deal with you later.”

Edwina couldn’t bear to look anymore, averting her eyes as quiet sobs reverberated around the room.

Darold let go of Brettany unceremoniously, the girl falling back onto her cot at the sudden loss of support.

He turned back at the door.

“Don’t be late to dinner.”

And with another careless push, the door closed again.

Edwina exhaled. It felt as if a heavy smog on her was lifted, finally allowing air into her lungs again.

Brettany simply laid on the bed, legs twitching mindlessly.

With a count of ten, just to be sure, Edwina opened the closet, and crept next to her quietly.

“Hey,” she rubbed circles on Brettany’s shoulder. “I’m still here.”

Brettany tilted her head slowly, looking back with dull eyes.

Edwina counted Brettany’s breath, quick and shallow.

“Want… want you…”

“I’m here with you,” she clasped Brettany’s hands tightly with both her hands, feeling the slick coating Brettany’s shaking fists.

Brettany shook her head wildly, and shuddered.

“Want you… want you to touch…”

Edwina’s face heated up at the unsubtle request.

She just means a cuddle. That’s- that’s all she wants. A cuddle.

“Do you want me to hold you?”

Brettany crawled into her lap, holding her wrists together even after Edwina let go.

Edwina lifted her until she was sitting up in the embrace, and pressed the head of curls gently into her arms, feeling the heat burn through her thin cardigan.

“It’s okay,” she murmured and kissed the top of Brettany’s head, “I got you, ‘kay?”

Brettany whined and gasped, legs shifting as she sat up until her head was resting on Edwina’s shoulder, soft chests pressed against Edwina’s own.

Cold dampness spread on Edwina’s thigh, and she felt her cheeks burning as she looked down

Her girlfriend was grinding against Edwina’s leg, black skirt hiked up to Brettany’s thigh. Wetness was starting to seep through her cotton underwear onto Edwina.

Edwina felt herself getting hard at this.

“I didn’t know you’re that horny,” Edwina laughed, hysterical.

Brettany only panted even harder, kneading her nose against Edwina’s shoulder, tears staining the cotton.

“It’s just- it’s just a stupid joke, sorry, I’m not judging you,” she hastily amended, “it’s okay, nothing wrong with that, you, uh, you need some help?”

Even as she offered, Edwina dreaded thinking of it, of the… thing inside her pants. She knew if she looked down, she would see a bulge in her pants.

It was revolting to even get hard at this, when Brettany couldn’t say no.

Everything about this disgusted her.

She held Brettany tighter, hoping the boner could go away.

“Whatever… whatever you want,” Brettany inhaled shakily, oblivious to Edwina’s own struggles. “I’ll be good.”

“I don’t want— what do you want?” Edwina asked, desperate to find a solution that worked for both of them.

At least Brettany sounded more coherent now. Small victories.

She pulled Brettany’s face back, studying her for any signs of what to do.

“It hurts.”

Brettany kept grinding, eyes squeezed shut as tears flowed down her face.

“It’s- it’s not about me, it’s you, yeah? Remember what I told you a bit while ago? I don’t just want you to make me happy, you don’t need to do that.”

“I’ll be good,” Brettany insisted, “I’ll be good for you, I promise.”

Edwina groaned.

“You’re not— you don’t need to be ‘good for me’.”

“I’ll be good, I’m sorry,” Brettany sobbed, as if she hadn’t heard a word from Edwina. “Please don’t be mad.”

“What do you want?”

Edwina was truly at her wit’s end. She watched as Brettany’s brows knit together and unknit, eyes flitting wildly, panting quickly.

“I’m sorry,” Brettany spluttered, hands shaking in Edwina’s loose hold, “I don’t know, I’m sorry.”

“Do you… do you want me to help?”

Something about the whole situation made it hard for Edwina to say the words.

“I could use my fingers.” Edwina glanced down at her crotch, “or, you know—”

Brettany’s whole body flinched, physically recoiling and squirming in Edwina’s arms, repeating “no” over and over as her hips moved faster in panic.

The strong reaction frightened Edwina.

“I’m sorry,” Brettany begged, “don’t hurt me.”

“I won’t. I’m not gonna do anything to you.”

“Touch me.” Her voice was clogged with tears and mucus, “please.”

Edwina pressed their bodies together, the embrace pinning Brettany’s shaking hands against their chests.

“It’s okay, I’m here, yeah? You do what you need to, I’m okay with this.”

Edwina adjusted her arms, leaving just enough room for Brettany’s hips to move. She gently stroked Brettany’s head, hoping the familiar gesture she loved could calm her down.

“I’m sorry,” Brettany whimpered into her shoulder.

“Stop saying that!”

Something about the words fueled the fire to Edwina’s anger.

Brettany had nothing to be sorry for. She didn’t do anything wrong, she couldn’t do anything right or wrong now. How could she act like she was the one in the wrong here, when she was obviously in pain?

She was always like this, acting like everything was her fault and hers alone, and goddamn if Edwina wouldn’t fix it.

The subtle horror of it all took care of her boner right there and then.

Her words must have come out harsher than she intended, as Brettany stopped crying from sheer shock, hiccuping quietly now.

“Hey, hey, look at me,” Edwina touched the side of Brettany’s jaw. “Look at me.”

She cupped her face gently, and gazed into hazel eyes shining with tears.

“You have nothing to be sorry for. You are a wonderful person,” she said slowly, “and I’ll never hurt you.”

Brettany stared back, eyes hollow with delirium even as her pupils were blown wide with desire, a toxic mixture throwing her mind into dysfunction.

Edwina’s heart broke into a million pieces at the look of helplessness, hugging Brettany even tighter.

Brettany clutched at her weakly, shuddering and shaking in Edwina’s arms as she chased after the elusive high.

“I never want to hurt you at all,” Edwina planted a chaste kiss at Brettany’s neck. “I love you.”

Maybe it was or the hug, the kiss, or the promise she couldn’t quite comprehend, but something inside Brettany snapped, and she froze for the briefest moment, before suddenly collapsing in Edwina’s arms.

Edwina shook her lightly. She looked so fragile here, like a fine china doll, easily shattered at the slightest push.

“Brettany? It’s me, Edwina. You’re safe with me.”

Edwina squeezed Brettany’s hands as she spoke her name, letting the syllables soak into Brettany’s shaking, thin frame.

Brettany tilted her head.

“Hey, babe.”

Her hands scrambled at the sound, finding Edwina’s wrists after a few moments. Edwina loosened her hold as Brettany dug her nails into Edwina’s hands.

“…Ed? You’re here?”

Brettany blinked, a shred of sanity returning to her red-rimmed eyes. She felt around Edwina’s hands wildly, grabbing them like a starved man finding an oasis among endless sand dunes.

“Yeah, it’s me,” Edwina smiled. “How are you feeling?”

Brettany shook her head slowly, as if coming out of a daze.

“It’s all so much,” she whispered.

“Must be awful for you,” Edwina sighed, nudging her glasses right. “Can you tell me what happened?”

Brettany buried her head in Edwina’s shoulder again, and gave a low, frustrated whine.

“I don’t know. I just- I just want… and I wasn’t all here…” her voice broke as she trailed off at the end, still disoriented, and shuddered.

Edwina took one of Brettany’s hands in her own, drawing circles on the back of her hand with her thumb lightly. Brettany had very nice hands, pale and smooth as white jade, with faint pink floating on her knuckles for a hint of color. Even her cuticles were well-trimmed, and her nails neat as crescents. They reminded Edwina of jade sculptures depicting gods and immortals, beautiful but fragile.

Brettany’s breathing slowly evened out into the long, deep ones Edwina knew well.

“Feeling better now?”

Brettany hummed, still rubbing her face against Edwina’s shoulder.

“Feels nice,” she sighed, and manifested her ears and tail.

She had to be truly exhausted, to give up on her usual human facade that took constant energy and focus to maintain.

Edwina wrapped an arm around Brettany’s waist to pull her lower body closer, only for Brettany to let out a pleased low groan when Edwina’s fingers brushed against her tail, languidly swishing.

“Sorry,” Brettany blushed, instantly realizing what she did.

“I thought you’re…”

Brettany looked down at their intertwining hands with an unreadable face and sucked in a breath.

Curious, Edwina followed her gaze.

With some distances between them, she finally understood the dark spots around Brettany’s torso for what they were: bruises and scars. They dotted her paper-pale skin in circles of purple and green, faded browns and discolored, raised welts, like trails of mud and rotten fruits tainting a winter wonderland.

A testament of suffering and survival.

Mesmerized, Edwina traced them lightly, mapping them out beneath her fingertips. She wanted to smooth them all out, covering the ugly colors with love bites and lipstick marks until all that could be seen was her love and admiration for her girlfriend.

“Stop it,” Brettany’s face flushed as she turned her eyes away, hips swaying again.

“Because you don't want to be touched, or because you’re ashamed?” Edwina’s hand stopped on where she knew the sternum would be. Beneath her fingertips, she felt the telltale thumps of a heart beating quickly.

“Stop asking, you know why.”

Brettany was still blushing heavily, especially evident thanks to her unusually pale skin.

“You have nothing to be ashamed of,” Edwina said firmly, lips inches away, feeling her breaths brushing against bare skin as she spoke.

She bent down and pressed a kiss on the largest scar, running across Brettany’s chest from her right shoulder to under her left breast in a neat diagonal line that spoke of deliberate cruelty, peering up at Brettany.

Brettany inhaled sharply, cat ears perking up for a moment before relaxing again.

“Still want more, or no?”

“More,” Brettany whispered, “please.”

Edwina lovingly planted a kiss on a large bruise, then another, and another, peppering kisses all over as Brettany’s excited hitches turned to sighs and breathy moans, back arching in a way no human could until she was laying down on the cot again.

“No- no marks,” Brettany stuttered out, “we’d be found out.”

“Of course.”

The constant reminder of who she was, who she belonged to, ached Edwina.

She would get Brettany out of this wretched mansion, one way or another. She had to.

“Touch me,” Brettany breathed.

Edwina studied Brettany’s face, eyes squeezed shut, dark curls splayed out around her like a modest crown, beads of sweat on her forehead.

“You sure?” She asked, concerned, hands paused mid air. “I don’t want you doing reckless things when you can’t think clearly. I mean, you just— can you do this now?”

Brettany blinked rapidly for a few seconds, eyes shining like stars reflected in deep pools of sorrow.

“I don’t want to talk, I don’t want to think about it. Can’t you just—” she inhaled shakily, almost pleading, voice hoarse from crying earlier. “I want you to make me forget it. All of it.”

Edwina took a breath. Then another.

“I’d love to have you, I just worry about you,” she said quietly.

With more strength than she could imagine, Brettany pulled her down until their noses were touching, lips only inches apart. This close, Edwina could see the tears unshed, the way her lips quivered.

“I know I want this. I want you.”

Before Edwina could think on how being in heat made Brettany more direct than she usually was, Brettany leaned up and kissed her squarely on the lips, quick and forceful, hands holding the back of her jaw surprisingly gently.

Edwina’s eyes widened in shock at Brettany’s blatant display of desire, biting and sucking on her lips as if she could devour Edwina whole in her hunger, swallowing Edwina’s surprised squeak. She closed her eyes and let Brettany take control, pretending she didn’t see the stray tear slipping down Brettany’s face.

Let her have this, at least.

By the time Brettany let go, Edwina was starting to get a bit tipsy and light-headed, her mind pleasantly fuzzy. Under the warm afternoon sun, even the bare, miserable room looked almost cozy.

Brettany was objectively very beautiful, and the natural flush only added to it. The sight of her girlfriend laying herself bare in a show of vulnerability filled her with warmth, and Edwina took a moment to appreciate the sight, committing every curve and color to memory.

She slipped a hand to Brettany’s back, working her fingers around the bra to unhook it. When her fingers fumbled for a few seconds too long (honestly, why were bras so complicated!?), Brettany’s hands reached behind herself, leaned up and shrugged off the bra quickly.

Damn. Someone was eager.

She chuckled, circling the erect nipples with her thumbs lightly, only for Brettany to hiss and swat her lightly with her tail.

“I didn’t say anything!” Edwina mock protested, planting a kiss just below Brettany’s belly button and stroked the tail, drawing out a pleased hum from Brettany.

She took a moment to caress Brettany’s legs, thumbs tracing the scars normally hidden under the threadbare skirt. Edwina had imagined this for too many times, her mind filled with embarrassing fantasies, but the truth was far crueler than she had ever thought of.

Raising her legs up and parting them gently, she kissed a scar left on Brettany’s inner thigh, mixed emotions stirring in her. The excited minute tremble from Brettany didn’t escape her notice either.

Edwina slipped in a finger slowly, warmth swallowing her finger whole quickly, watching Brettany’s face intently for any sign of discomfort as slick dripped down. She slowly stroked and crooked her finger, taking care not to push Brettany over the edge again.

It didn’t take much to work her open; Brettany was much wetter and more relaxed than she thought.

“I want- want more, Dina.” Brettany exhaled raggedly, her parted lips red as a cherry ripe for picking, squeezing and rubbing her thighs together for more friction, begging to be filled and satisfied.

If Edwina had never known her, she might well believe the girl underneath her as a seductress, squirming and moaning, a paradox of virginal purity and lust-filled abandon. She might throw out insults and degradations, shaming the girl for daring to want a taste of pleasure in bed. She might have felt triumphant, even, to own a girl like that under her control.

But she loved Brettany, and she felt only a sense of terror and pain at the realization. It was unbelievable how much Brettany trusted her, to even let her in close at her most vulnerable. Edwina felt like holding a priceless china in her hands; the smallest stumble, and she would destroy her forever.

She couldn’t help but kiss Brettany again, right on her lips.

Brettany whined, a high and pretty sound, when the kiss ended too soon for her. She looked up with pleading eyes that Edwina could never say no to, and Edwina found herself giving her another kiss, deeper and longer this time.

“I’m giving you all you want,” she shushed.

Edwina smiled, treasuring the way Brettany’s long eyelashes fluttered quickly as she added a second finger, and leaned down to kiss her on the forehead, brushing her hair aside. Spotting the extra pair of ears, she stroked them gently to the pace of her fingers down there.

Brettany clenched down around her fingers, eyes closed in ecstasy. She bit down on her lips hard to muffle her pants in vain, gasping and mewling.

“You look so beautiful,” Edwina said sincerely, speeding up her fingers. “I wish you could see for yourself how lovely you are.”

She pulled herself up to plant yet another kiss on Brettany’s cat ears, grazing their tips with her teeth, and savored the feeling of her girlfriend under her lips as the ears twitched weakly.

“If I had all the time in the world, I’d kiss every inch of you, from your lips to your ears and tail to your hidden scars, and then I’d start over again, just to show you how utterly wonderful you are.”

Brettany’s breath hitched, tears slipping down her face freely.

“Ed…”

“Brettany,” Edwina said simply in return, taking care to remember the way each syllable danced on her tongue, clear as the liquid crystal falling onto the thin, yellowed pillow.

Warmth and slick wrapped around her fingers tightly. With a watery gasp, Brettany came, legs spasming. Her head lolled to the side, all the strength in her truly spent dry. For a moment, she looked almost like a broken doll discarded by its owner, a hand hanging limply off the side of the cot.

(It might have happened, as Edwina thought back to the brief… episode interrupting them.)

She watched quietly as Brettany’s chests rose and fell, half-lidded hazel eyes looking up in a mix of exhaustion and bliss and something else she couldn’t quite tell, snapping her out of her morbid imagination.

Edwina had half a mind to lick her fingers clean; it worked marvelously well with Davina every time when she wanted a second round. Instead, she simply wiped her fingers clean with a tissue paper in her own pocket.

“How was it?” She asked softly.

Brettany smiled, a small, soft thing dulled at the edges, humming and swishing her tail in relaxation.

“You wanna get cleaned up?”

It was something she said on impulse, before remembering where they were.

No doubt it was a cruel reminder to Brettany as well. She didn’t say anything, simply rolling over and nesting her head in her arm like a makeshift pillow, but Edwina saw the smile slipping off her face before she hid it in the crook of her arm.

Edwina laid down as well, legs dangling off the cot, and Brettany didn’t spare a moment before scooting forward and curling up next to her, the picture of peaceful slumber.

She knew Brettany wasn’t fully asleep though. Her breathing slowed down even more and she made the cutest snore when she actually slept.

Sometimes, for just the briefest moment, Brettany felt like a jigsaw puzzle with a few pieces taken out beforehand. Edwina wanted to piece her together, to see her in all her beauty and might, but she just couldn't.

Edwina looked at the ceiling and listened at the evening out breaths, knowing that safety and comfort here was only an illusion. For both of them.

“We should talk.”

Chapter Text

”We should talk.”

Brettany shifted and turned over in bed at the words, back facing Edwina. She really, really didn’t want to talk. At all.

Behind her, Edwina sighed quietly.

“We really should,” she said. “I mean, you were barely lucid just then, and you had a panic attack, and now you’re crying.”

Brettany pressed her face into the crook of her arm, feeling pressure building up behind her eyes again.

It’s fine. I’m fine.

“I just… I worry about you. A lot.”

She tensed, shoulders hunching together. Damn Edwina and her words, always making Brettany tear up with too much emotion.

“The sex is great, I had a great time, thanks a lot,” she mumbled.

Even with how muffled it was, she winced at how close to tears she sounded.

“You’re crying,” Edwina repeated quietly.

Brettany screwed her eyes shut, cheeks cool from the tears, still wet.

“Happy tears then.”

The silence between them seemed like an unbridgeable canyon.

“You know,” Edwina said slowly, “you can tell me how it really felt. I won’t be mad with… whatever it is.”

Brettany shifted and curled up even more. Curling up felt good and safe and warm, like Edwina’s touches and kisses. Edwina felt good, too good even, and Brettany couldn’t afford that kind of risk.

“It was good,” she said. “It was very good. I’ve never felt that nice before, actually.”

It was the first time she didn’t feel pain at all. The sensation of being pushed over the edge, fireworks bursting behind her eyes in an all encompassing white, and then being caught safely as she fell was something wholly new and strange.

And dangerous.

Edwina coughed. “Well, um, I’m glad you liked—”

“I do,” Brettany cut Edwina off quickly before she could stammer out something stupidly soft again. “I feel very good, so there’s nothing to worry about, thanks. And you really should go soon, before someone finds out you’re here.”

Edwina inhaled loudly. “I can take care of myself. You’re the one who’s not fine—”

“I am fine,” Brettany bit out. “I’m not the one who snuck into the home of Singapore’s richest man just to finger her girlfriend, ignoring how dangerous it is for her, with layers of security details ready to catch her if anyone knows she’s here.”

The words came out in a rush, harsher than she wanted to. Part of her stubbornly insisted she had nothing to backstep for, Edwina was too reckless with her; the other part of her was screeching at her to apologize at once, holy shit do you want another round of being yelled at?

Her mind was too loud for any one side to win the debate, muscles tensed by frozen in place. Her lips refused to move and say even a simple “sorry”.

She heard Edwina shifting and adjusting her legs until she was sitting up in bed. A hand landed on Brettany’s back, fingertips barely touching her.

“We were worried about you, Ray and I. You weren’t here at all today, and we didn’t know why. I just wanted to see if you’re okay,” Edwina said quietly. “I didn’t know you’re in heat, I didn’t know it’s a thing with you until just then. I wasn’t coming for sex.”

Brettany opened her mouth, then closed it again, mind blanking on how to respond.

“Thanks. You should still go, though.”

“Right after you came? Nah, I’m not leaving you alone so soon.”

Edwina carded her hand through Brettany’s hair gently, fingertips scratching her scalp lightly.

Brettany tilted her head backwards, and leaned in to the gentle touch. She could feel tendrils of strength seeping into her, no doubt from Edwina’s magic.

She exhaled, letting it flow through her.

This was nice, she decided. She didn’t know how Edwina guessed at her exhaustion, but laying down and letting someone take care of her while she recovered was nice.

“I like your hair a lot.”

“Hmm?”

“It’s so beautiful, with the big wavy curls and that natural gloss. I’ve always wanted to dye my hair,” Edwina confessed.

Brettany hummed, still too tired to talk.

Edwina didn’t seem to mind her relative silence, though, as she went on blithely, “brown would be nice, I think. But y’know, I kinda want to try and let it grow out until it’s super long, and then I’d dye it blonde. I’d definitely pull it off, I’d be a very good ‘hot blonde girl’.”

Brettany took a moment to imagine Edwina with long, blonde hair.

“Suits you.”

“I’d be the hottest blonde in town.” The radiant smile shined through Edwina’s voice.

“Get a wig and try it out first,” Brettany suggested.

“Yeah, I should, when I get enough money and a place to stash it. It’s probably better to test it out before committing to it,” Edwina paused for a moment, thinking, “oh! I can ask Davina to hide it for me. Her mom’s much more accepting anyway.”

Brettany smiled at the thought of her other girlfriend. Nothing romantic between them, maybe, but she couldn’t deny Davina was a joy to be around.

Habitual uneasiness stewed inside her, though. She knew this wasn’t what Edwina wanted to ‘talk about’. No, whatever it was, it was bound to be uncomfortable at best and painful at worst.

Best to get it over with quickly.

“That’s not what you want to tell me, though.”

Edwina’s hands slipped, before resuming the light petting. “Sometimes I forget how uncannily perceptive you are.”

“You’re easy to read.”

“Right.”

Brettany waited for Edwina to go on, but from the occasional sighs and “um”s, Edwina obviously had no idea how to broach the topic.

The hesitation only served to add to Brettany’s nervousness.

“Babe, did you… remember what happened just then? Before I started kissing you?”

Edwina’s voice was barely above a whisper.

“Not really.” That was just how heat worked. Sometimes it came and went without making too much of a fuss, and sometimes it hit her full force and made even daily functioning a challenge. She evidently lost the lottery this time.

“You weren’t thinking straight,” Edwina continued after a few moments. “I didn’t even know if you could hear me.”

“I was in heat. It happens.”

Edwina’s fingers paused.

“Yeah. Do you know how I knew you were in heat?”

Edwina was normally quite blunt and wore her heart on her sleeves, which Brettany appreciated. This newfound subtlety was getting under her skin. She did not have the brain power to coax it gently out of Edwina right now, and she felt too spent to play the saccharine sweet girl she had to be.

“Just spit it out,” Brettany dug her nails into her skin.

Edwina didn’t say anything at once, simply breathing in and out quietly for a few long, torturous moments. Frankly, Brettany hoped she had had a change of heart and had decided to stop this painfully awkward conversation. It was unlikely, but she entertained the thought anyway.

“Your father came in,” Edwina finally said.

Brettany’s stomach dropped. Nothing good ever came of Edwina talking about her father.

“It’s not what you think,” Brettany objected on principle. Edwina had never been subtle with her dislike of Mr Lee.

“Your father came in, and knew you were in heat,” Edwina made a strangled sound, “and insulted you, and then, I quote, he said he would ‘take care of you later’.”

Brettany should feel angry. She should, at whatever misleading things Mr Lee said, at Edwina’s nosiness and sentimentality, but she was so tired. She just wanted to get this whole conversation over with, and fall into blissful unconsciousness again. From heat or sleep, she didn’t care.

“What did he say?”

“It’s, it’s really not nice, he was very rude, I suppose,” Edwina stammered. Brettany didn’t even need to look behind to know Edwina was probably looking everywhere at her, eyes shifting around.

Edwina really was quite precious, getting so concerned over mere name calling. Brettany had dealt with way worse. If anything, she was a bit curious about what Mr Lee said now.

“Can’t be that bad.”

Edwina’s fingers slackened their hold on Brettany’s curls for a brief moment, before the light scratching resumed.

“You really wouldn’t want to hear it.”

“I’ve dealt with way worse,” Brettany said casually. Really, she had a mental tolerance much higher than most people would assume, and much higher compared to them.

“He called you ‘a bitch in heat’,” Edwina audibly cringed, struggling to even pronounce the words.

It was such an old, uninspired insult, and Brettany chuckled without mirth. At what exactly, she didn’t know either.

“Ah, but he’s not wrong. I am one, I’m not even human.”

Edwina sucked in a breath. “You’re his daughter, god dammit! He should respect you, especially when you’re going through something you couldn’t control!”

Brettany tensed at the same argument, dressed in new wordings this time.

“I was in heat, and I was being a bother.”

“You didn’t choose that. You can’t control how you feel!”

“I can. I’ve had heats since I was twelve, I should’ve known how to deal with it quietly by now, and it’s never been that bad anyway. It’s just,” Brettany huffed, “it’s a lapse in judgment. That’s all.”

Edwina gulped, going very quiet.

“He was going to rape you.”

Brettany couldn’t help but gasp at the ugly word.

It’s not rape.

I’m not raped.

“It’s not- it’s not that. He’s just trying to look out for me, he’s- he’s doing what I need when I’m in heat. Heat doesn’t stop until I mate, and that’s just how it is. It’s not even that bad, honestly, he doesn’t do it all the time and he’s nice about it and he’s just trying to help—”

Someone hugged her from behind firmly. Brettany’s muscles tensed, mind screaming at her to fight back for the briefest moment, reminding her of white hot pain and .

Her elbow was about to slam into flesh before she felt the familiar scent of lavender around her and remembered it was Edwina.

“It’s not right,” Edwina whispered, warm breath tickling the skin behind Brettany’s ears. “You were a lil kid. He should’ve asked you first even now.”

“You don’t ask a dog before you breed it.”

Mr Lee said it once to Destiny, back when Brettany could still sit in on her private lessons. Destiny liked the purebreds; she once had a teacup cat. She liked Brettany much less when Brettany was allowed to walk around as a cat.

“It’s just the way things work,” Brettany said instead.

“You know it’s not.”

No, she knew it was wrong, or at least, she thought so a long time ago. But then, Mr Lee gave her shelter, food and warmth when she was alone and helpless, and he took care of her and taught her everything she knew about being human. So what if he had a temper sometimes and was strict with punishment? Brettany owed him everything. And what Mr Lee wanted, she always delivered without fail. Sex was just another way for him to take care of her, just another way for her to show her gratitude and please him, that was it.

She should answer Edwina, she really should; a lack of response was more damning than anything else. But she couldn’t think of anything to say.

“Do you even like it?”

The genuine confusion in Edwina’s voice lulled Brettany into a false sense of comfort, dredging up hazy memories.

Did she like it? Brettany had no idea. Sometimes Mr Lee would tell her she was a good girl, sometimes he said she was terrible at sucking cock, sometimes she was nice and tight, sometimes she was loose like a slut. She felt nothing and everything, too little and too much, utterly exhausted and craving more, beautiful and rotten.

Sex hurt. Having a cock inside her, slamming into her, it felt like she was being torn in halves, the brute force creating ugly jagged tears. She didn’t remember much, but she recalled the distinct feeling of fire in her veins, burning her down to the bones and eating at her, and the disgusting stickiness of the sheets she laid among afterwards, clinging to her like slime and mud, alone and naked.

It was just a trade. She begged for it, and she got what she wanted. There was nothing to complain about.

She stared up at the ceiling, mapping out the cracks she knew as well as the back of her hands.

“I don’t hate it,” she settled on.

She felt Edwina’s eyes boring holes into her back.

“Is that how you feel about us, too? You ‘don’t hate it’?”

The bitterness in Edwina’s words made Brettany squirm in her hold.

“It was great. I didn’t lie about that, it really felt wonderful.”

She didn’t want to sound so… dismissive. It did feel amazing to be taken care of, to be handled with care, but she couldn’t find the words in her to describe it.

Edwina hummed, and rested her chin on Brettany’s head, tucking her in.

“You know you can tell me anything.”

Can I?

Brettany’s lack of answer must have shown her doubt, since Edwina cleared her throat awkwardly, and added, “I won’t judge you. I won’t even say anything, yeah? I promise. Zip!”

The silliness lightened Brettany’s heart, a small, mischievous flicker of light amongst the heavy mist.

She didn’t want to think about how easily it could go out, smothered by the thick blanket of fog.

Edwina had to go before she was found, she couldn’t stay here forever. She had to go home, because she had a home to go back to.

“Don’t you have to go soon?”

Edwina shifted, one arm loosening the hold on Brettany as she checked her phone. “Not for a while. It’s barely four. Ray let me leave early today, he has other business to tend to.”

“Oh?” Brettany grabbed onto the topic like a lifeline. Anything else would be better, more comfortable.

“Yeah, he was trying to get the stolen books back with some other witches he knew. He’s taking us off the case, said it’s too dangerous for us.”

Brettany couldn’t help but smile at the pout in Edwina’s voice.

“He’s not wrong. It is dangerous.” For you.

Edwina grumbled under her breath, more out of stubbornness than actual disagreement.

“I’m not bad at magic.”

“No, you're pretty good with what training you have,” Brettany said sincerely. “But the thieves were adults much stronger than you. That’s it.”

She knew that first hand. Even Lisa Goh, completely mundane, could end a fight with her in a few minutes back when Brettany was twelve. Brettany could take on her without much problem now, but with her limited power, fighting against wizards like Travis was a gambit she didn’t want to take.

Unless it was for Edwina, of course.

“And, uh, Ray went to talk with that Travis guy.”

Brettany’s heart beat fast at Edwina’s evasive words. Out of worry for Ray, or for herself, she couldn’t tell.

“And?”

Edwina exhaled. “You’re not gonna like it.”

“Just… tell me.”

Edwina stopped for a terrifying second that had Brettnay’s heart in her throat. She pressed her cheeks into the mattress, but the familiar feeling couldn’t slow down the hammering of her heart.

“He was working for Darold Lee.”

“My father,” she echoed, mouth moving on its own.

She closed her eyes. Mr Lee was stealing books. Her father was stealing books. Her father, who taught her loyalty and honesty, beat them into her very bones with stern words and cold, unfeeling belts… was a thief.

How?

There had to be someone else ordering him to orchestrate all the thievery. There had to be. Maybe he was doing it for the family, for a favor to his friend, or- or for old Mr. Lee. It didn’t make sense at all for her father to steal books.

“I don’t understand.”

Like a criminal.

He was a criminal.

Edwina only drew her in even closer, burying her head in Brettany’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, I know it’s hard to accept that—”

“I- I don’t understand,” Brettany repeated, throat getting tighter. “He wouldn’t. He wouldn’t do this, I know him, Mr Lee wouldn’t—”

He couldn’t be.

He couldn’t

It was all just speculation, wasn’t it? Travis could be lying to Mr Ray, trying to throw suspicion off himself. Criminals were not to be trusted after all. Or, Mr Ray could have heard it wrong (he wouldn’t lie and frame her father, right? Right?); maybe Travis was being vague and misleading, he wouldn’t betray Mr Lee, he shouldn’t really, Mr Lee paid him very well and even paid all the medical expenses. Or- or Edwina might have heard it wrong; Edwina wouldn’t lie to her on purpose, she was a terrible liar with way too many tics giving her away, but she was biased against Mr Lee in the first place, maybe- maybe she interpreted what Mr Ray said differently, or—

She felt dizzy, mind scrambling with words and phrases and pieces of ideas here and there too fast for her mouth to catch up to.

“Hey hey hey, deep breath,” Edwina patted Brettany’s chest lightly. “Deep breaths. In and out.”

Brettany gulped in air and blew it out, instinctively obeying what she was told before she even thought about it, forcing herself to hold in air along with the regular rhythm even as her mind raced on.

“That’s it. You’re doing good.”

‘Good.’

She could do that. She could be good. She could behave for Edwina.

Brettany nodded hurriedly, chest heaving in an exaggerated manner Mr Lee would berate her for if he saw this.

“I’ll be good.”

Edwina didn’t say anything immediately, and Brettany's mind almost started panicking at the lack of positive response.

“You’ve always been a good person,” Edwina planted a kiss on her neck after a nerve wracking moment, just below her jaw.

Brettany really wasn’t. She was disobedient and disloyal as a ward, violent as a human, a failure of a familiar, and compulsively manipulative to everyone around her. She didn’t know what else it would take for Edwina to see it.

Edwina tapped on Brettany’s chest in a steady rhythm, fingers light as if she was some kind of treasure.

Her breathing slowly evened out again, the panic brought down by a familiar weariness.

“Feeling better?”

Brettany nodded again and hummed.

“You wanna tell me what you’re thinking?”

My father is a criminal.

She felt so goddamn tired.

“What more is there to say?”

Edwina’s hands had moved to playing with her hair again, scratching her cat ears lightly.

“Anything, I dunno, it doesn’t have to be coherent or logical, just- you can tell me whatever’s on your mind. Or don’t, if you don’t want to.”

Brettany should not trust her that easily. She really shouldn’t. But then, Edwina had seen even the ugly sides of her by now, her explosive anger, her violence, even her lust, and Edwina was still here, convinced she was a good person.

Why not add one more to the pile of mess that Brettany was, and see how Edwina would react?

“I ran away once,” she said, surprising even herself with what she thought of.

Edwina didn’t answer, the warm hug and light scratches the only sighs she was listening.

Brettany took a shuddering breath, and plunged on, “I was twelve, I think. Or maybe thirteen. I don’t remember well, but I remember I got bitten by the dogs. They belonged to Old Mr Lee back then. I slipped out to the garden as a cat at night, I was so bored stuck inside all day, and the dogs found me. They probably thought I was a stray or something, and they caught me, and…”

She thumbed the scar in her inner thigh, still warm with the phantom sensation of Edwina’s full lips pressed against it.

Warmth covered her hand, and she looked down to see Edwina’s hand holding her smaller one. Brettany almost slipped her hand away from pure instinct, but Edwina’s hold was firm and gentle, thumb caressing the back of her hand.

“I don’t know what happened next, but I was pretty much unconscious for a whole week, massive blood loss from all the bites and tears. Plus, I was in my first heat during that time, which… didn’t help. Without a conscious hold on my magic, I was probably a shivering, whining mess the whole week, even after the wounds healed.”

She sniffed, trying not to think about the hounds. “But Mr Lee was there the entire time. There was this moment, right before I fainted, when he found me in the garden. He looked so scared, panicking and checking me all over to see if I was alright. I even saw Old Mr Lee slapping him once outside the room, saying he was wasting too much time on me. He didn’t even deny it.”

Mr Lee’s bed was very soft, she recalled, like sleeping on clouds. The duvet covered her like gentle streams of water, lulling her to sleep. She had no idea where he slept the whole week, when she was using up his bed. Every time she was awake when her bandages needed changing or when she needed to take pills, he was sitting right beside her bed, waiting until she fell asleep again.

“He cares about me,” she whispered. “He loves me. He’s- he’s a good man, I don’t get why he would hire people to steal books for him.”

Edwina sighed. “He hits you, he rapes you, he twists your mind with threats and punishments. If he really loves you, why would he hurt you?”

“It’s just tough love, he’s trying to help raise me into civility,” Brettany said, but the excuse was so weak even she had a hard time believing it.

“You mean he’s trying to cut out the non-human half that he doesn’t like.”

“It’s not like that. He just wants to make sure I can survive among humans.”

“But you’re not one!” Edwina sat up, eyes alight with fury. “You’ll always be half-familiar! You’ll have powers we don’t have, a longer lifespan than all of us, a completely different set of experiences, and no amount of beatings and cruel words can change that!”

Brettany flinched, shivering from the sudden loss of warmth.

“I don’t get why he— why you’re so insistent on doing this to yourself! You’re a familiar, and that’s not a bad thing at all. Why can’t he accept that? And you’re just- letting him do this! You’re letting him walk all over you and grind you to the floor, and you’d even thank him for that—”

Edwina broke off, voice breaking, finally turning to Brettany. Brettany must have been too obvious, for Edwina’s eyes softened as soon as she saw her.

“I’m sorry,” Edwina grounded the heels of her palm into her face, groaning, “I shouldn’t yell at you, none of this is your fault. I wasn’t thinking, I shouldn’t blame you for- for being abused. It’s not your fault.”

Brettany wanted to protest, to say that it wasn’t abuse, but looking down at the scars and bruises on her, even she would not believe that.

“It’s just punishment. I deserve that. I was ungrateful for all he’d done, and I was being a brat. I almost killed a man, even,” she mumbled.

It’s fine.

Things could always get worse.

Edwina touched the side of her jaw lightly.

“Look at me.”

Brettany clambered to kneel on the cot, hands flying to her knees, spine straight, and looked into Edwina’s earnest eyes.

“You’re a wonderful person, and you deserve happiness,” Edwina said slowly, emphasizing the words as she cupped her face. “You deserve comfort, and respect, and love. I don’t know how else I can convince you, but you’re lovable. And don’t you ever let him make you think otherwise, okay? Because I love you a lot, and I hate seeing you hurt.”

Brettany felt as if she was shot in the heart, pain slowly spreading through her chest. It was a special kind of soreness that both hurt and comforted her.

“I wasn’t just saying shit when I said I’d kiss every inch of you, because I do love every bit of you. Even the parts you don’t like,” Edwina stroked Brettany’s tail gently, petting her in long strokes from her ears down her spine.

Brettany leaned into the touch despite herself, ears flattening in relaxation.

Edwina took Brettany’s hand, gently prying it from its position on her knee, and tugged her closer.

“I’m your girlfriend, not your master. You don’t need to ‘be good’ for me,” Edwina hugged her again, so tightly as if she was trying to squeeze out all the unpleasant memories in Brettany. “I love you the way you are.”

Brettany let herself relax and buried her face in Edwina’s chest, hiding the soreness pressing at her heart. She curled up in the warmth, as a purr escaped her at a particularly nice stroke.

“I love that too, it’s adorable,” Edwina smiled, before Brettany had the time to be embarrassed.

“You’re ridiculous,” she said, without much heat.

“Yeah, I’m your ridiculously awesome girlfriend,” Edwina laughed, the sound vibrating against Brettany. “With ridiculously good taste in people.”

Brettany hummed. Davina was pretty cool.

“So if I love you, that must mean you’re worthy of love.”

Brettany was prepared to laugh it off, before she blinked at the seemingly sound reasoning.

It was still hard to believe Edwina (and to be honest, Davina as well) actually liked her enough to want to date her. The affection was genuine, too, making it even more puzzling. Of course they said they loved her, but it didn’t make much sense, Brettany just- wasn’t that good of a person to be chosen by not one, but two amazing girls.

Maybe, just maybe, Edwina was right. Her solution offered up was so simple it sounded right. She might be wrong, but Brettany wanted to buy into that even if it was nothing but a fantasy. She had nothing to lose anyway, she might as well lose herself in the short living happiness while it lasted.

“See? It makes sense,” Edwina grinned, just a bit smug, taking her nonresponse as a silent agreement.

“Not really,” Brettany said in reflex, but found that she didn’t really mean it.

“It totally does.”

Brettany opened her mouth to bicker back, but Edwina swooped in to kiss her on the lips.

Cheater.

Brettany swatted at her with her tail, smiling in the kiss.

“Don’t ever forget that. You’re lovable.”

Chapter Text

Another Monday, another week of school.

Edwina didn’t actually like school, despite what a lot of her classmates thought. She didn’t go to school early in the morning and started studying before class started because she liked it; it was just what she was expected to do. She was to go to med school, which meant top grades, which meant endless studying.

At least there was no one to bother her now. With exams coming up in only a few months, and tests every week or so, everyone had only school on their mind. All her dates with Davina now were just study sessions, and brief goodbye kisses where the librarian couldn’t see them.

She spared a glance out of habit when someone walked into the classroom, and quickly returned to her mock paper again, only for her brain to catch onto something weird with the person.

Edwina had to do a double take just to make sure she wasn’t dreaming things, but yep, that was Destiny Lee coming to school early and alone.

Seemed like even the esteemed, spoiled princess couldn’t rely just on her money to get into NUS. Good.

Destiny sat down with her notes (overly fancy and cluttered, in Edwina’s opinion) and made a show of reading through them over the next fifteen minutes, but Edwina could see from occasional peeks that she wasn’t absorbing anything. It was the movement of someone still mostly asleep, who had no idea what they were really doing.

Edwina stifled a laugh. Watching Destiny fail at something made for some pretty good entertainment.

Just as Edwina made it through the paper, and was about to start scoring it, Destiny harrumphed and stood up. Not a moment later, the girl was standing right next to Edwina’s desk.

Edwina internally groaned, but made a show of not noticing her. It was way too early for Destiny’s bullshit.

After Edwina went through three pages, Destiny coughed loudly.

“I don’t have any cough drops on me,” Edwina said mildly. The good thing about throwing coffee at a teenage girl’s face was that it made you much more scary in her eyes, especially if you ruined her makeup, which Edwina definitely did.

“I don’t need— I’m fine,” Destiny replied, awkwardness leaking through her usual haughty tone.

“Wonderful,” Edwina said, and promptly flipped to page four, red pen already starting to mark down ticks and crosses.

Even without looking up, she knew Destiny was squirming on the spot.

“I don’t understand unit 4,” Destiny said in a rush.

Oh, so that’s what she’s here for. Great, free tutoring service now.

Instinct nearly made Edwina offer help immediately, but then, Destiny did make the last couple of years of school pretty awful. Edwina had absolutely no obligation to help her, she told herself, even as she could feel her resolve to ignore Destiny weakening.

“Go ask the teacher about it,” Edwina said, finally looking up with the blandest look she could manage.

Destiny’s eyes twitched.

“They’re not very helpful,” she gritted out.

Meaning, Edwina translated for herself, they didn’t indulge her like she was a five-year-old.

“Your tutors, then, I’m sure the esteemed young Mr Lee only hires the best for you.” Edwina fought to not grimace when she mentioned the man. His name left a bitter, revolting taste on her tongue, like ash.

“Screw him, as if he could make me do anything!” Destiny blurted out, indignant at the very thought of Darold having any sort of authority over her. Edwina cocked an eyebrow at that; seems like the family feud in the Lee’s is true.

Destiny must have realized her slip up, since she hastily added, “I don’t mean that I— I don’t go to after-school—”

“We all go to after-school tutoring, admit it,” Edwina said. Honestly, the lengths some people went to deny going to tutoring just to keep up the ‘good enough without needing outside help’ image grated on her nerves.

To her credit, Destiny’s face gave almost nothing away when the poor attempt at lying was exposed, save for her feet shifting slightly.

“Can I copy your homework?” Destiny asked quietly.

“No,” Edwina flatly denied. “One, I spent time and energy on my work and earned my grades. Two, you’re not my friend, and I don’t do free labor.”

Edwina kept her stare on Destiny. Part of her was very intrigued by what the entitled bully would say next.

Destiny’s whole face speedran through the five stages of grief, opening her mouth several times and making noises like a machine on the verge of breaking down.

“I want you to—, no, I—, hmm!” She wrinkled her nose. “Help me with it.”

The audacity!

Edwina was about to say no, but Destiny seemed to be on the verge of tears. The incoming waterwork might be a ploy for Destiny to make herself look small and pitiful, or it might be actual distress at the thought of having to ask for help, and from someone she looked down on for years, no less. Both were plausible.

“You haven’t even said the magic word,” Edwina raised an eyebrow, feeling cheeky.

Destiny stared back, confused. Edwina felt her eyebrow climbing higher up at her forehead.

“W- what?”

“Please,” Edwina sighed. Of course she never learnt that. “The magic word for asking something, it’s ‘please’.”

Destiny visibly flushed red. If steam could come out of her ears, she could go cosplay as a boiling kettle.

“Please help me with this,” Destiny whispered, looking to the side.

Seeing her former bully embarrassed did make Edwina feel great, something she can admit to herself with no shame.

“That’s not so hard, is it?” Edwina smiled.

Destiny smacked down the textbook and her notebook on Edwina’s desk, now less demanding and more trying to get over what seemed like an utter humiliation to her. “Just get on with it!”

“Of course, your highness.” Just for that attitude, Edwina wouldn’t share her most concise notes with Destiny. If she wanted it, she could start learning to take notes properly like everyone else had to.

“So, I heard you were friends with the brat now,” Davina said, sitting down across from Edwina and opening her can of coke.

“We’re not friends,” Edwina emphasized the “not” with a snap of her wooden chopsticks. “I just play teacher with her every morning, that’s it.”

“Without charging her, for almost a month?” Davina widened her eyes comically. “You’re being too nice!”

“I wish I could make her pay,” Edwina said, only half joking.

“She should offer some compensation,” Davina pursed her lips. “At the very least, free makeup and an apology for all the shit she gave you.”

“I’d rather not use her used stuff,” Edwina laughed. Pigs would fly before Destiny Lee learned the word “sorry.” Plus, Destiny’s makeup probably wouldn’t suit Edwina very well, taking into account their completely different styles.

“Free coffee then, anything, really. She can’t just— go from being a huge dick one day to expecting your help the next day as if all that never happened!” Davina scowled over the rice.

Edwina slurped on the noodles, taking a moment to enjoy how nice it tasted. “I know, it’s not like I’m amnesiac.”

“Good, you shouldn’t forget that,” Davina said fiercely.

“Don’t worry, I can take care of myself,” Edwina said, smiling at Davina. If anyone other than Davina and Brettany were to do this, Edwina would feel insulted, but she quite liked it when they got offended on her behalf.

“So…” Davina took the time to chew on her food, “why help her now? You know you can just say ‘no’, right?”

Edwina looked down at her bowl—curse Davina and her talents to strike where Edwina was weak at—and shrugged, not knowing what to say.

“She looked at you all sad like a kicked puppy?”

“In my defense, I did get Destiny to say ‘please’ nicely first…?” She gave a sheepish smile, as Davina harrumphed.

“I just… I hope that’s not her newest attempt to be a bitch.”

Privately, Edwina agreed too. For all she knew, Destiny could be trying to get closer to her to find out about her “weird crossdressing kink” (in the girls’ words), and spill it all out to the rest of the school. It had never happened to her or Davina, but Edwina had heard enough horror tales from her online friends and circles to learn to be afraid.

But then, Edwina wasn’t even in girl clothes at school. She still had to endure the ties tucked under sweater vests and ironed slacks five days a week. Being afraid all the time was tiring, and she had learned by now to live with it.

“I did what I could,” she grumbled, “it’s not like I’m wearing dresses in front of Destiny and her gang. I don’t even own one.”

“I know, babe.” Davina’s face sank, “I just worry anyway.”

The ‘I don’t know what to do about it’ went unsaid, but Edwina heard it anyway. It was an old, old conversation between them. At this point, it felt more like routine than actual words.

“It’s alright, I can deal with it.”

Edwina hated seeing Davina so resigned. It seemed like these days, everyone around her was perpetually depressed. The stress of exams, universities, their future… it was all piling onto them, one boulder on top of the last one.

“How’s Brettany?”

Edwina’s good mood evaporated instantly. “Still shit.”

Davina set down her spoon, just as morose. “And there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“Nope,” Edwina stole a piece of chicken from Davina. “I even asked Ray about it, and he said the same thing to me.”

“At least she has you,” Davina said. “You make her happy.”

Edwina snorted. It might be true, but that was less because of Edwina herself, and more because Brettany could get excited at even the slightest thing, like orange slices. Cats didn’t even like oranges.

“What? It’s true, she looks at you like you hung the moon.”

“She likes you too,” Edwina said, feeling oddly defensive.

“Yeah, but it’s different, you know that,” Davina shrugged.

It was. Edwina knew that Davina wasn’t in love with Brettany, and neither was Brettany in love with her. They were friends, sure, but the common point was loving Edwina. Sometimes it still felt a bit unfair that Edwina could receive twice the love. It reminded her of the argument with Davina before Edwina got together with Brettany.

“I’m sorry if you feel left out, I really didn’t want that, it’s just— you know how it is with her—”

“I’m not blaming either of you, and I don’t feel left out,” Davina reasoned, taking a sip of coke. “You see me every day, and she only gets a few hours every Saturday. If anything, she’s the one who got the short stick here.”

Edwina blinked; Davina was right, she did spend more time with Davina than with Brettany.

“I guess it just never occurred to me before,” Edwina said, sheepish. “Everything with her feels so much more intense, it’s like cramming a whole week into an afternoon.”

“If it tires you out—”

“I’ll let you know,” Edwina finished it for Davina. “I know that too, but there’s just some things that are not my place to tell, y’know?”

Davina hummed in agreement, biting on her straw thoughtfully.

“You know,” she said after a while, “maybe you should take Brettany on a date. Something relaxing and nice for both of you, you both need that.”

Edwina blinked.

“You know, I’ve never really thought of that, but Brettany could really use some fun time.”

“Both of you, that’s what I said,” Davina stared at Edwina with her trademark ‘don’t you dare look away, I mean what I said’ look. “You need to relax a bit too, you’ve been gluing yourself to your notes too hard these few weeks.”

“I have two tests next week, and then it’ll be Christmas holiday in a couple of weeks, and it’s the midterms right after we come back,” Edwina groaned. It wasn’t like Davina didn’t know about her schedule. Why Davina had to insist she take breaks, Edwina would never know.

“You need to let your brain rest so it can learn better,” Davina sighed. “You should know that better than me, Miss-future-doctor. A few hours away from your desk won’t fail your exams.”

Edwina stared back, miserable. “I could do a whole set of mock papers in one afternoon, the time matters.”

Davina nodded, face as serious as she could muster. “Mhm, and what if one day I find you planted firmly to your desk like moss, root and all—?”

“—Moss doesn’t have roots—”

“—See, you know your stuff already!—What will I do with my moss girlfriend, hmm?”

Edwina bit down on her lips hard in an effort to keep herself from smiling. Serious face, she reminded herself, you can’t let Davina’s evil plan to uproot you succeed!

As if knowing all about Edwina’s uphill against her facial muscles, Davina’s teasing small smile grew even as she pouted mockingly. “I’ll be stuck with a clump of moss, it’ll be very sad.”

If this was how Davina wanted to play the game, fine. Edwina pouted back, “it’ll be a clump of moss that studies! A useful clump of moss that goes to med school! Would you stop loving me if I was a clump of moss?”

“No,” Davina sent her a mournful, conceding look, to which Edwina flashed a winning smile. “But I still think you should get out of your room sometimes. Even moss needs air, sunlight and water to grow.”

Edwina wanted to say no, but deep down, she knew even she was getting sick of spending the whole day with only notes and papers. Her ass hurt after sitting in the same position from morning till night, honestly.

“Maybe I can take Brettany to the flea market. It costs nothing for us to just look around,” she said, already planning to buy Brettany something. “I’ll have to tell Ray and ask for a day off, though.”

“He’ll probably agree anyway,” Davina predicted. “He’s like Brettany’s older brother, we all know he loves her to bits.”

Davina turned out right on her guess, to none of their surprise. Saturday afternoon came, and Edwina found herself waiting at the door of the cafe, fingers playing with the sleeve of her hoodie.

She checked her watch again: Brettany was running late. Ray had told Edwina that Brettany needed a few minutes, but that didn’t really help with her nerves. What if Brettany didn’t want to go on a date? What if Edwina scared her?

Just as Edwina started drafting an apology in her mind, the door opened.

“I’m so sorry, we don’t have to go if you don’t want—”

Edwina blurted out, before she finally turned around to look at Brettany, and promptly shut up.

Brettany had added a sky blue sweater vest to her usual white blouse and a navy ribbon at the collar, and traded her black skirt for a chocolate midi one, swaying nicely in the breezy afternoon. Her curls were combed neatly, strands of stray hair tucked behind her ears. The look gave her an air of academia, as if she walked out of a university library and not the storage room of a dingy cafe. It did not escape Edwina’s notice that the outfit was far more covered up than Brettany’s usual clothes.

“You— you look good,” Edwina nodded, mouth suddenly dry.

“You too,” Brettany smiled at Edwina’s choice of baggy hoodie and jeans. The jeans were definitely a mistake, Edwina thought miserably. They were too tight and she felt like her skin couldn’t breathe under it.

“Oh, this? I just threw on what I have, laundry day y’know. Ooh, the jeans are really— ugh,” Edwina faked a laugh as they walked down the street. “Wait, no, I didn’t mean I don’t care— I do care, I just don’t really—”

“It looks good, relax,” Brettany’s eyes glanced at the jeans a few times, before looking away. “You look pretty, laundry day or not.”

“Thanks,” Edwina said, feeling her face heat up while she tried to walk in those tight pants as casually as can. Being called good-looking by someone beautiful was always a booster to self-confidence, even when Edwina didn’t exactly agree with those words.

As if able to read her mind, Brettany said, “if they’re too uncomfortable, you could always get a looser pair of pants.”

“Ah, that’s not—” Edwina’s face got hotter, “I’d rather not.”

Brettany tilted her head in a silent invitation for Edwina to elaborate if she wanted to.

“It’s just, the jeans mean a lot to me, and it’d be a bit weird for me to go shop in the women’s section again. I don’t think I can get away with lying about a nonexistent sister again,” Edwina said, eyes glued to the ground. Brettany knew she was trans, but admitting her weird shopping quirks still made Edwina feel shameful. Her parents, like any other she knew, taught her and her brother to be aware of perverts since they were kids, including perverts wearing dresses and smearing lipstick over their stubbled-covered faces. She wondered if someone taught Brettany to avoid crossdressing perverts as well.

Brettany didn’t reply immediately, eyes looking down as well. It scared Edwina that she couldn’t know what Brettany was thinking. She hoped Brettany would accept that. Crossdressing really was less weird than cross species disguise, if one thought hard about it. But then, most people weren’t very logical when it came to matters like this.

“It’d be nice to shop together, I think that will make things easier for you,” Brettany finally said.

Edwina exhaled in relief. “You really think so?”

“Mhm, and if that doesn’t work, I can fix the pants for you. It’s just magic,” Brettany shrugged, looking extremely unbothered by the thought of Edwina actually wearing women’s clothes. “I mean, I conjured up all my clothes today anyway.”

Edwina blinked in surprise, before looking closer at Brettany’s shoulder, trying to catch any trace of magic on the fabrics and stitchings. She knew well what Brettany’s magic looked like, felt like; she had seen Brettany doing magic for months.

Brettany chuckled at her squinting, but made no move to shift away from Edwina’s attention. If anything, she slowed down for Edwina to look.

Edwina finally threw in the towel. “I can’t tell at all.”

“Good, that’s what the aim of magic is,” Brettany did not smile, but Edwina could spot a tinge of smugness in her eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re an amazing spirit, we get it,” Edwina grumbled, good-natured.

Brettany hesitated for a moment before answering, “I can always teach you if you want. Right now, even.”

Edwina turned her head to look at Brettany so fast, she almost sprained a muscle. “Now?”

“Why not? Unless you want Ray to teach you that.” Brettany quickly tacked on, “which I don’t mind, by the way.”

Nah, Edwina suppressed a shudder, she would not tell another soul about her shopping preferences so soon. One coming out was enough for six months.

“I like learning from you,” she said instead. It was the truth anyway.

“You flatterer,” Brettany smiled this time, eyes crinkling. Edwina mentally congratulated herself on making her girlfriend smile, it made her feel like she was going to get a good grade in girlfriend-ing.

The rest of the walk to the market rushed past her. Brettany sacrificed her ribbon to show Edwina how she performed all kinds of charm on the piece of silk, and let Edwina practice on it.

“See? It’s not that hard,” Brettany said, when Edwina finally managed to turn the ribbon into a bow tie.

Edwina grumbled under her breath. Easy, as if she hadn’t almost ruined it more than a few times. By now, it was impossible for her to ignore the fact that Brettany simply had an aptitude for magic she did not have.

“Easy for you to say, you’ve lived with magic your whole life.” Edwina handed back the bow tie to Brettany, and watched as the girl transformed it in the blink of an eye into a tie, glossy and elegant.

Brettany folded it up with the familiarity of a retail worker, and tucked it into Edwina’s pocket. “Take it as a gift.”

“Babe…” Edwina’s mouth fell open; she had never anticipated Brettany giving her something.

The tip of Brettany’s ears were pink, worrying her lips, and she was conspicuously looking at anywhere but Edwina. “Just– take it. I thought you might hate wearing men’s clothes a bit less if you have something you like.”

Edwina couldn’t help but smile, so wide her cheeks hurt. The tie was black and smooth against her fingertips, just like Brettany’s fur. “That’s really thoughtful of you.”

“No problem,” Brettany gave an awkward smile, one that signaled she had absolutely no idea how to navigate the social norms of gift-giving.

Edwina reached for Brettany’s hand, and when Brettany showed no signs of flinching away at the touch, took Brettany’s hand in hers and gave it a light squeeze.

“I like it a lot, thank you.”

“Oh look, the market,” Brettany said loudly instead, dragging Edwina to the stands with a desperation that Edwina found very amusing.

“I haven’t been here for ages,” Edwina sighed happily, letting the hustle and bustle sink into her. Going out, seeing so many people and breathing in the air, it was all such a relief after spending weeks cooped up in classrooms and confined to her desk. Davina really was right: being outside was wonderful.

“Why not?”

“Eh, busy with schoolwork. It’s getting close to exam season, y’know,” Edwina shrugged.

“Yeah, Destiny’s been getting more busy too,” Brettany replied absentmindedly. She was looking left and right at all the crafts sold there, before spotting one selling cheap jewelry. Edwina was about to open her mouth and say something about her tutoring Destiny Lee for free, but Brettany tugged her over before she could say anything.

The woman behind the stand looked about in her early twenties, and she brightened up when she saw them walk over. “Come and take a look! It’s all handmade, quality goods!”

Edwina was unfamiliar with jewelry and didn’t really know what to say, but Brettany took care of that before Edwina could worry about looking like an antisocial idiot. Brettany put on an affable smile, her voice sweet and high, “oh, they look so nice! Did you make them yourself?”

“I sure did!” The woman stood up taller, and pointed at the finely done etchings on a thick bracelet, “me and my dad. He does all these designs, you know, and I work with metals and plastics.”

Brettany nodded as she listened to the woman’s ramble on jewelry making and made sounds of agreement and interest whenever appropriate, toying with the rows of earrings put on display, glancing at Edwina every now and then. Edwina had to admit the flower earrings were handsomely made, looking like fresh flowers even though they were made out of plastics. But she had her eyes on a bracelet instead, a thin silvery band with a cat’s eye stone fixed in the middle. Brettany had very pretty hands, bony and pale; Edwina imagined the bracelet would look perfect on her wrist.

“They would look lovely on you,” the woman’s smile softened when Brettany’s eyes stayed on something in particular. Edwina glanced over; it was a pair of earrings. Each had a bright pink fuschia dangling down the metal chain, with dark green leaves adorning it. Brettany ducked her head and smiled shyly, like any girl would when their beauty was called to attention, but Edwina could see that she wasn’t blushing at all.

“It’s for my friend,” Brettany explained to the woman quietly, still smiling, with a barely noticeable pause before ‘friend’.

The woman’s eyes flickered between them, a flash of disappointment across her face before her grin spread into something wider as she stared directly at Edwina. It was only now that Edwina realized Brettany was referring to her.

“Oh, me? I mean, ha, I’m a— a guy, yeah, earrings?” Edwina faked a laugh. Better not appear too enthusiastic at feminine things in public.

“Earrings have no gender,” the woman snorted as if Edwina had told a very unfunny joke, looking Edwina up and down. “They would look good paired with something nice and dark, makes the red pop out more.”

Seeing the woman’s nonjudgmental attitude, Brettany gave up all pretense and stood on her toes to put the earrings next to Edwina’s ears. “It’s fine if you don’t like it.”

Edwina thought about where to hide it if they bought it. Maybe she could put the small box in an old pencil case and shove it into the drawer under her desk? Her mom would not really check there. Plus, she had entertained the thought of getting her ears pierced for a while. It wasn’t very often that she was allowed to show the feminine side of herself, the side that she liked more about herself. And with how welcoming the woman was, she wanted to let herself out for once.

“I like them,” she said out loud. Brettany beamed at her, like a child who had gotten straight A’s finally after months of hard work.

Edwina took the cat’s eye bracelet and her wallet out. “How much are these two?”

“Hold on, I’m paying for the earrings,” Brettany frowned and blocked Edwina’s hand before she could take out the bills.

Edwina had no idea where Brettany could even get the money to pay for them. As far as she knew, Darold Lee did not pay Brettany anything. In fact, Edwina had some serious questions about the legalities of all the fuckery he put Brettany through. If only she could storm into his manor and give him a good punch in the face.

She turned to Brettany, trying to ask her are you sure? without saying it out loud.

Brettany nodded, almost imperceptible but certain. Trust me, her eyes seemed to say.

“I guess it’s a surprise gift exchange today,” Edwina chuckled and stepped back to avert her eyes after paying, not looking at the woman grinning like the Cheshire cat.

Brettany fished out the money for Edwina’s earrings, a tightly clutched bill and a handful of coins, from stray dollars down to the cents. When the woman raised an impressed eyebrow at the exact change, Brettany merely flashed her the same shy smile she had been wearing, and the woman paid no mind to the oddity anymore.

The woman handed her back a few coins. “Student discount,” she winked at Brettany.

Edwina doubted that; nowhere did the stand mention any sort of discount. She wisely kept her mouth shut, though, as Brettany gave the woman that same shy smile again. Jealousy coiled in her chest, while Brettany thanked the woman again and said her goodbyes.

From the corner of her eyes, Edwina watched Brettany’s smile slip off her face as they walked away from the stand, defaulting back to a thoughtful blankness. Within the blink of an eye, it was as if Brettany had aged a good few years. Edwina did a double take; nope, Brettany’s face was still the same, down to the freckle in her eye. With a jolt, Edwina realized this was maybe the first time she saw Brettany unmask herself.

It shamed her that she had gotten jealous over such little things back then, when in hindsight Brettany wasn’t attracted to the woman at all. With a tinge of guilt, Edwina brushed her fingers against the back of Brettany’s hand. Brettany frowned, puzzled, and seeing she didn’t react further, Edwina slowly hooked their fingers together.

“I bought this for you, actually,” Edwina took Brettany’s hand and slipped the bracelet on her, taking a moment to indulge herself and thumbed at Brettany’s wrist lightly.

Brettany squirmed. “What for?”

“Because I think it’ll look nice on you,” Edwina said, her thumb stopped moving. “You have very pretty hands.”

Brettany blinked slowly, realization dawning on her face. “Is that why you’re doing the—” she mimed her thumbs moving, “—thing?”

“Yeah, sorry, I can stop if it makes you uncomfortable,” Edwina made an embarrassed face, and dropped her hand, only for Brettany to twist her wrist and circled Edwina’s wrist instead.

“I don’t mind at all,” Brettany smiled. This time, Edwina could tell it was a genuine one; it was smaller, and Brettany’s eyes were warm. “It’s cute.”

Edwina’s heart skipped a beat with joy. She doesn’t mind it! She likes it when I touch her hands! Oh my god, her hands—

She intertwined her fingers with Brettany’s, and mindlessly drew circles with her thumb on Brettany’s hand. Brettany hummed with content, basking under the gentle touch just like the way she lounged under the sun as a cat.

“You know, I had a bracelet once too,” Brettany opened her mouth again after a few silent minutes.

“Yeah?”

“From my mom,” Brettany said with feigned casualness that Edwina could easily see through. “She left it on me as a baby before giving me up, I think. Good for storing some of my powers until I was of age.”

Edwina turned to look at Brettany with open shock. She had always thought Brettany had a family before something happened and brought her to the Lee’s.

“I was in an orphanage until ten,” Brettany explained before Edwina could ask her about it.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Edwina said, not knowing how else to react to someone’s messed up tragic backstory.

Brettany laughed, equally awkward, “I’m sorry for dumping this on you. Just— it brings back some memories, that’s it.”

Edwina didn’t ask her where the bracelet was now, or why she had never seen Brettany with it when it was something evidently important to her. It was so fucking obvious that Darold Lee had a hand in it. Which meant that he would be in control of Brettany’s magic. Her incredibly powerful magic as a familiar.

Something was wrong with this.

“But, um, anyway I’m very happy you gave me this. As a gift.” Brettany nodded, seemingly satisfied with herself before she added, “I really do love it.”

She looked around, and stood on her toes to kiss Edwina on the cheeks quickly.

Edwina’s face grew warm, and she clutched Brettany’s hand even tighter. Brettany was so light, and her hand was so cold, she looked as if she would slip away like a breeze the moment Edwina let go of her. It terrified Edwina that there was nothing she could do about it.

Maybe she should do something to help, she thought.

After all, wasn’t helping people exactly what magic was for?

Chapter Text

“I don’t know this one.”

Edwina held back a groan. “Yes, you do. It’s the same type of question like question three part B, and you got that one right.”

Destiny leaned forward and squinted at the two questions, eyes flitting up and down. Edwina put down her pen, chin in hand, and started watching the gears in Destiny’s head turn slowly. She could almost imagine the creaks and metallic screams as the long abandoned gears were finally put to use again. Maybe that was what Edwina was doing now: oiling them so they could work a bit better.

“But… five-C doesn’t have a graph…” Destiny finally said.

“Draw it yourself.” Don’t lose your temper, don’t lose your temper— “You’ve got the y-intercept, the coordinates of the vertex, the direction the parabola should face. That’s more than what you’d be given in the exams.”

Edwina didn’t want to sound mean, but she really didn’t understand how Destiny could be stumped on such an easy question. Destiny needed to train herself with even more mock exams, she thought, it was the only way to become familiar with math.

Edwina took out her own paper (finished and marked already, of course) and started noting down the questions she got wrong on her notebook, copying the questions in black, and then the correct answers and the steps in green. She was improving, getting a ninety-one this time, but it was still not good enough. For her mom, for herself.

She glanced at Destiny every so often, making sure the girl was doing her work. Edwina still disliked her a lot, but she could at least appreciate the efforts Destiny was making.

It took longer than the ideal time in exams, but Destiny did manage to solve the question, head falling onto the desk like she had just conquered a mythical beast as Edwina started marking it.

“Please tell me it’s right.”

“One of the solutions for x is wrong, so that’s one point off. You forgot to put the x you found into the equation for the area of a triangle to find the final answer, so that’s two more points off,” Edwina said. “But all the other steps are correct. Eight out of eleven, not bad.”

“I’m gonna fail the midterm, aren’t I,” Destiny buried her head in her arms, long, silky black hair falling down like a waterfall. Damn her for her upper class grooming, when would it be Edwina’s turn for gorgeous hair?

“I think you can get an eighty something, if you keep up the work and keep working on practice problems during the holidays.” Edwina answered honestly.

“But not a ninety.”

“No. Your fundamentals are weak. It’ll be very hard to pull you up from a sixty to a ninety within a month or two.”

Edwina didn’t need to explain further; everyone knew that the further into the exam, the harder the questions. They were designed to separate the decent from the mediocre, the good from the merely decent, and the truly excellent from the good. A climb from ninety percent to full marks was much steeper than going from sixty to seventy.

“So, no NUS,” Destiny sounded more and more despondent.

Edwina didn’t have the energy to tell her that with Destiny’s connections and family background, she could probably go to NUS whenever she wanted. Her family, including her father and the godforsaken man that was her brother, were full of NUS graduates. The Lee’s probably were friends with a dean or two, even. Destiny could walk into it with a D.

“Darold’s gonna kill me,” Destiny took Edwina’s non answer as a ‘no’.

“He spoils you rotten,” Edwina grumbled. She could still remember the first time meeting him and Brettany. If someone told her back then that the girl trailing after the Lee siblings was their family, Edwina would probably laugh in their face for such a ridiculous joke.

That bastard dotes on you more than his own daughter.

Destiny rolled her eyes, like the ungrateful brat Edwina had always thought of her as. “You don’t get it, he’s always on and on about ‘personal responsibilities’ and ‘earn your own money’ and ‘bring glory to your family’,” her air quotes getting more and more exaggerated. “Like, we’re already on Forbes Billionaires, what more does he want? More money? I don’t get him. He doesn’t even bring me to his teatime with the dean in NUS like Father did for him and everyone else!”

“Imagine having to work day and night to fight for a place in the most prestigious university here,” Edwina said drolly. “What a nightmare.”

“He’s just being unfair to me!”

He doesn’t like you, Edwina didn’t say it out loud, but she remembered what Brettany told her about the Lee’s. You are your father’s favored child, his last daughter given to him in his old age, and Darold is the product of an unhappy marriage. You’re the one who’ll never have to work a day, while he’s managing the whole family business. Of course he doesn’t like you.

Not that Destiny would understand anyway. Everything was handed to her on a silver plate from the day she was born. Edwina fought hard to get into this famous high school, unlike her.

“You think he’s right,” Destiny turned her head to look at Edwina.

“I think you should spend more time studying, instead of wasting energy on complaining about your brother,” Edwina said instead. Family affairs were none of her business anyway, as long as they did not affect Brettany.

“He treats his servant girl better than me,” Destiny said, starting to get angry.

Edwina nearly laughed. ‘Better’? Darold Lee was the single shittiest father she had ever heard of, adopted or not.

“Brettany is his legal, adopted daughter, not a servant,” she said instead, putting emphasis on Brettany’s legal status and taking a deep breath to keep herself calm. No need to spill her girlfriend’s secrets to anyone, least of all Destiny.

“She’s not even a Lee,” Destiny didn’t sneer, but her words were barbed. “She’s just a runt he picked up from an orphanage for god knows what reason. Plus, she’s not even a good servant.”

It took Edwina all her strength to not snap her pen in half or stab Destiny with it. How dare she talk about Brettany like that, when Brettany was a hundred times a better person than her. How dare she talk about Edwina’s girlfriend like that.

“Don’t you think it’s rude to shit talk someone when they spend their whole day cleaning up your mess?” Edwina said instead. Better not tell Destiny about who Brettany was to her, she had a nasty tendency to run to her brother whenever she got upset. “Not to mention, she’s a year younger than us.”

Destiny opened her mouth in protest, indignant anger flashing across her pretty face, “what do you know about us anyway? You’re just a—”

Edwina slammed down her pen and gave Destiny a warning glare. Don’t forget, I can always stop helping you.

Perhaps Destiny remembered what she came to Edwina for as well, since she promptly shut up before she could start insulting Edwina.

“Sorry,” she muttered, only half sincere. But then, Edwina never expected any goodness from her, a half-hearted apology was better than nothing.

Destiny looked away, hands rifling through her backpack for a few moments, and finally produced an envelope. She slid it across the desk to Edwina.

“For you.”

Edwina stared at the envelope, wondering if it was a new prank from Destiny. She might have been her tutor for a while now, but Edwina still did not trust Destiny. After all, she knew very well how cruel the girl could be when she put her mind to it.

Honestly, if Destiny applied her mind to school instead of bullying, she might have been a much better student.

Edwina picked up the envelope slowly, still expecting anything from green smokes to pig blood leaking out of the paper. When moments passed and it became clear the envelope was harmless, she finally looked at it. It was of very high quality, with subtle patterns etched into the paper. The design of very pale beige paper with a gold border was simple but tasteful, and the address on it was done with excellent penmanship.

“It’s Edwina, not Edward,” she noted with a frown. The deadnaming was upsetting, but common enough that it was more of a dull, slightly troublesome bruise rather than a fresh wound. Destiny frowned as well in response, seemingly confused, but did not press any further. Good.

“Can I?” She gestured. Destiny nodded, looking at her fingernails intently.

Edwina opened it gently, afraid of ruining something so beautiful. Inside was a card with a design matching its envelope. She skimmed it quickly.

“I didn’t know your family would invite us plebeians to your exclusive, definitely very high class Christmas ball,” Edwina said.

Destiny’s eyes shifted left and right, embarrassed. “It’s… take it as a thanks for, you know…”

Now Edwina felt awkward as well.

“Thanks then,” Edwina gave a tired smile, not bothering to try and act excited. She would just think of an excuse if Destiny still remembered about this by Christmas. The last time she went to a party it was utterly miserable and ended with her in tears over nail polish, and she had long concluded that she and parties were just never going to get along well. Not to mention, she had never gone to a ball like this, where wealth would be expected and everyone was constantly judging and being judged. There would be tons of unspoken rules that she did not know, and then she’d fail on one of them and make a spectacle of herself, and really hadn’t she had more than enough taste of public humiliations?

“I’ve never managed to sneak into the Lee’s, their security is good! Where did you get that?” Ray’s eyes were wide as saucers when Edwina brought the invitation up on Saturday.

“From Destiny,” Edwina said, and briefly explained what she had been doing with the girl the past month or so, before handing the finely crafted paper to Ray.

“Are you friends with her now?” Brettany asked lightly, but Edwina could hear the carefully masked weariness and jealousy underneath.

“No, she just asked me to help with school.” It came out more vehement than Edwina intended, but she was telling the truth.

“And you said yes?”

“Teaching someone else the material is a good way to study.” Only after saying it did Edwina realize it probably sounded very defensive to Brettany. Brettany, who had even more bad blood with Destiny. Edwina added, “seriously, I have no plan to befriend her. She’s been an ass to me for literally years.”

Brettany scrutinized Edwina for a few moments, and nodded tightly after finding whatever it was she was looking for. “Good. Don’t trust her.”

“Yeah, I’m honestly not interested in this at all,” Edwina toyed with the fancy envelope, lowering her voice so that only Brettany could hear.

Brettany made a noise of agreement. “Me neither. Never had much fun in those balls.”

Edwina suspected Brettany’s lack of interest was less to do with discomfort and fear of sticking out, and more to do with the fact that she never had a chance to be a guest in the balls instead of a servant. She kept this to herself, quietly planning to bring Brettany to somewhere Christmasy one Saturday.

“Huh,” Ray finally spoke again, inspecting the invitation under his phone-slash-makeshift-torch, “It is genuine. Well, I didn’t know she can do something nice like this.”

“Yeah, who knew?” Edwina snorted. To be honest, she wasn’t quite sure why Destiny would invite her to the family ball either. Guilt at all the past bullying, some sort of bribery for her tutoring, or something else? Edwina wondered if Destiny was even capable of feeling guilt or sorry. It sounded nice in theory, to have Destiny finally understand and acknowledge all the hurt she heaped on Edwina, but part of her really would rather Destiny stay bitchy and nasty. She had no idea how to deal with a nice (nice, not kind, Edwina noted) Destiny Lee, acting like she deserved forgiveness. Well, too bad Edwina had no plans to forgive Destiny. Ever.

“Well, now we have a legitimate reason to go in and get Sophie’s book back” Ray commented casually, as if he wasn’t suggesting they mix into the crowd and steal something from a billionaire. Justified, but not in the eyes of the law.

“Are we… completely sure it’s with Mr. Lee, though?” Brettany said quietly, eyes shifting. Edwina couldn’t help but feel sorry for her; she was clearly still in denial about her adoptive father being a criminal.

Edwina exchanged a glance with Ray, spotting the same sympathy in his eyes.

“Not a hundred percent,” Ray amended, “it’s just where I think it’s most likely to be. I mean, if what you said about the other Lee’s giving him the dirty work to do is true—”

“—Of course it’s true, I’d never lie to you! You know that!” Brettany bristled, hazel eyes alight with urgency.

“—We’re not saying you are,” Edwina shushed her, fingers playing with Brettany’s hair absent-mindedly. Normally that would do the trick, but not this time. Brettany was still visibly on edge.

Could she be l—

No, Edwina cut her thoughts off. She would never suspect her girlfriend like this, especially without evidence.

Ray sent her a grateful look for trying. “We just think, based on what we know about the family, it’d be very likely if they let Darold Lee keep it. That way, even if it was found out, only their least favorite child would shoulder the blame.”

The words made sense, but Edwina had a feeling that Ray didn’t really believe in them. He was just saying them to get Brettany to calm down.

Brettany thought for a while, bangs falling down and masking her profile in a way that Edwina couldn’t see her face. Sometimes, Brettany was completely unreadable if she wanted to be. Her girlfriend nodded finally. “Yeah, alright. I could help you check his room, see if it’s there.”

“Oh no, you don’t have to do that, we can take care of that,” Ray immediately rose up and held up a hand in protest. “You don’t have to risk yourself like that at all.”

“But I want to. If Mr. Lee is being framed, I’d like to help solve that sooner than later too. He’s my father,” Brettany said, concern lacing her words. Personally, Edwina thought her concerns were wasted on that piece of shit, but she wasn’t about to tell Brettany that either. There were many things she’d rather keep secret from Brettany, most of them being honest thoughts on Darold Lee and all the names Edwina would like to call him.

“It’ll be dangerous, sneaking into your father’s office. What if you get caught?” Edwina tried instead, taking Brettany’s hand in hers.

“I’ll be fine,” Brettany said, squeezing Edwina’s hand. “I can handle a bit of sneaking, I’ve done worse.”

Edwina almost believed her.

Brettany silently shut the door behind her.

She should not feel nervous; she had already done the same to every other family member’s bedrooms and studies, and she got away with it every single time. (She refused to think about the implications of finding nothing on anyone else; her father had to be innocent. She knew he was.)

And there was really no reason for her to feel guilty either; tidying up her father’s study was part of her job, after all. She was allowed to touch the things in the room in order to clean them. So what if she decided to do a bit of extra cleaning on the bookshelf today? The books were starting to gather up dust on their spines. One more week and Mr. Lee would notice it, and then he would get angry with her. She was doing the right thing.

She took a moment to listen for any footsteps.

Dead silent. Mr. Lee was away in the company headquarter as she knew. Good.

Satisfied with her reasoning, Brettany walked to the shelves, tall enough to tower over her like her father. She quickly started dusting them, eyes roaming over the titles. Finance, politics, literature, history… Brettany was never particularly good at school (Why else would her father pull her out as soon as she turned sixteen?), but she longed to crack open a book or two and simply spend an afternoon learning and reading. She could almost imagine the smell of old paper, dust sparkling white under the sunlight and settling on the pages.

She shook her head; no time to indulge in fantasies now. She had a job to do.

It took her a while to check every shelf, but she finally found what she was looking for. Tucked behind a few thick tomes was Sophie’s book.

Bonding: A Collection of Essays on Witch Bonds.

Fuck. Edwina was right; her father really was a criminal.

Brettany wasn’t that stupid, she knew her rights from wrongs. She knew that what Mr. Lee’s team of “bodyguards” had been doing in the years she had known them were wrong. She knew that when he asked her to “bring” him something from his business rivals and return it secretly after he did what he needed to do, it was wrong too. And of course, throwing a defenseless Travis out the window was wrong, even if she had no qualms about it. She had seen worse, done worse things that stealing a book. (One day she would pay for everything wrong she had ever done, she just knew it would come.)

But it was different this time. Her father stole a book on witchcraft.

Her mundane, completely non-magical father stole a book on witchcraft.

No good had ever come from non-magical folks trying to harness power they had no comprehension of.

She spent a moment memorizing how the books were arranged to hide Sophie’s book so she could put it back afterwards, leaving no trace behind, and gingerly took the book out.

The quiet crack as she opened it, reverberating in the silent room, made her jump out of her skin. She took a deep breath, then another one, slowly exhaling, but it did nothing to slow her loudly drumming heart.

It’s alright. No one will know what you’re doing if you do it right.

Mr. Lee had bookmarked specific pages and written notes all over them. She skimmed the first essay he marked: a foundational text on bondings in general, including the basic necessities for any bonds. Unlike him, Brettany didn’t even need to read the words to know what they are: a recorded or written contract, blood and a bit of power from both sides that bind them together.

Written on a sticky note was a question on the possibility of the binder being non-magical. It was such a ridiculous question (the answer would be a resounding no; it was called a witch bond for a reason, sir), and yet Brettany felt a chill down her spine.

She suppressed the feeling, and kept flipping the book quietly. More essays on the specifics of different bondings. Mr. Lee made a lot of notes tying the ideas from different sections together, but they just looked laughably juvenile to Brettany. Maybe that was what her father saw when he looked at Brettany struggling with her junior high homework back then. It was strange to see their roles reversed now, Brettany wasn’t sure how she should feel about this.

Finally, she saw what she was looking for: the essay Mr. Lee stole the book for. It was hard to miss, covered with sticky notes meticulously written. She checked again and listened carefully: no one was anywhere near the room.

It was an essay on witch bonds with familiars.

Oh.

Brettany already had a bit of an idea at what Mr. Lee was reading it for, but she read the notes anyway. They started out general and understandable on the nature of familiars and how that affects a bond with them, but the further down she read, the notes became more and more specific, turning their focus on the details of previous relationship between the human and the familiar, the half-blooded nature of said familiar, the ways to obtain blood from both sides.

The very last note picked apart the wordings of the essay to figure out an answer to the question: would the lack of consent from either side affect the bonding?

Brettany felt sick. It took her no time to work out the puzzle.

Her father was planning to bind the two of them together. Forever. Whether she wanted to or not.

Oh god.

There was no mistake what Mr. Lee was planning; he knew only one familiar after all, and the notes he made were all based on the specificity of their relationship.

She had always known her father was an ambitious person, but this… this was an entirely different matter. Had he lost his mind, toying with things he did not understand?

Her body moved on autopilot, closing the book and putting it back exactly as she had found it. Mind whirling with thoughts, Brettany simply magicked the room to clean it. She had no time or energy to do it manually, even though she knew using her powers on room cleaning would use up a good chunk of her already restrained magic.

She stumbled to the bathroom (his bathroom in his suite, he owned everything here, she realized, even her), and barely managed to get to the toilet before she emptied her stomach into it. Nausea racked through her thin frame, one hand clumsily pulling her hair back while the other steadied itself on edge of the bowl.

Brettany heaved, gagging on air. She shuddered from the effort it took on her body, feeling even colder than usual. Vomiting was already a part of her everyday life, she never got comfortable with giving blowjobs. Throwing up was just another thing she could not get used to. Useless, like he said.

Except he wasn’t completely right, was he? She was apparently useful enough for her father to try and force a bond on her.

She would be bound to him until one of them died.

It was always ‘things could always get worse’; she told herself that countless times, but this time, she wasn’t sure anymore. Could things even get worse than eternal slavery?

He could have asked her. She would have said yes anyway, he knew she would never say no to her, so why would he— why not just ask her? She would say yes, of course she would, she would always say yes, he knew she would, he knew—!

‘But he loved me. He said he loved me—’

He loved her. Father loved her. Father loved her and taught her and disciplined her and controlled her and touched her and kissed her and fucked her and loved her, except he was also going to bind her. Bind her magic.

Edwina wouldn’t do that, right? Edwina said she loved her too, but she wouldn’t make a bond with Brettany without asking first. She told Brettany that. She knew it would be a huge commitment, so Edwina wouldn’t trap her in a bond, right? Someone who loved her wouldn’t do that to her, right?

Right?

If Edwina wasn’t lying, then Mr. Lee was. Did he lie about lov— caring about her? Everything he said and did, everything she knew about him, how many of them were lies?

How much did he really care about her, if he was willing to chain her to him without even bothering to ask?

Cold sweat dripped down Brettany’s forehead. Had her father been lying about him, about them, the whole time? Was she really his daughter, or just a tool?

She thought back to the time when they first met, back when Brettany was ten and still living in an orphanage. It was far from a bad one, decent even, but it was different from being adopted and having a family. Mr. Lee came for a PR show, but he saw her alone in a corner, and approached her, expensive, loafers polished to shine against cheap old tiles.

She was sulking after a friendship break up, Brettany remembered, because her friend found out she could turn spaghetti into worms and got scared of her, calling her a freak. Ten-year-olds were usually in the stage where they stopped believing in actual magic. It was fortunate that none of the other children believed her former friend, but unfortunate that they had decided she was a freak anyway, with strangely light-colored eyes and weird, almost nonhuman behaviors.

Ten-years-old Brettany spilled everything to the tall, handsome and kind-looking stranger, who listened quietly and stayed with her as she sniffed and pouted, spiteful at a friend lost. The stranger gave her his handkerchief to wipe away her tears, and asked if she wanted to go with him. And she nodded, only half understanding what he meant. He said, and she could still recite those words perfectly, “it’s just you and me now, girl, you’ll have to stick with me.”

Did he mean those words, as a comfort from one outcast to another, or was it a lie too? Was that salvation, or did she sign herself away to the devil? She had always thought that her father saved her from a childhood of isolation in the orphanage, but now she wasn’t so sure anymore.

Did he ever love her?

Edwina told her that good parents would not hint at their daughters to pay them back for shelter, food and education, that they would never hold their daughters down on the bed and demanded satisfaction from the children, that even raising a hand against their children as punishment was out of the question. Brettany had seen Edwina’s mother give her sliced oranges as study snacks too, she knew Davina’s parents readily let her grow her hair out when the other adults were still calling it a mental illness, hell, she had even seen how old Mr. Lee smiled and hugged Destiny whenever he saw her. She had always thought that her father simply chose a different way of parenting, of choosing tough love over spoiling, but now, she was starting to wonder if he had been a passable father at all.

If it was not love, then what he had done to her… it was wrong. Everything she knew about herself, they were all wrong.

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

It was wrong. Something wrong was done, and someone would have to pay for it because it was wrong.

Her back ached from bending over the toilet bowl. The new scars pulled and skin stretched over stiff muscles, pain causing her to shake like a leaf in the wind. She could see the colorful bruises and small grazes, droplets of blood just beginning to clot, on her thighs as she stood up, careful not to move her back too much.

Brettany scratched at the clotted wounds itching like hell, and yet the harder she scratched the more frustrated she felt, even as the skin started to turn pink under her nails. It was as if mud and slime had climbed onto every inch of her skin, coating her with layer upon layer of dirt and filth inside and out. She scrubbed at her hands, then her arms and legs, until they were raw and red and hot, numb from the pinprick sensation. Perhaps the intense discomfort of feeling like an alien in her body would stop when her skin couldn’t feel a thing.

If her father had never loved her, then the punishments from his belts, the “rewards”, her attempts to make him happy by climbing onto his bed… her suffering all these years meant nothing then.

(Someone would pay for it.)

(Maybe she would be the one to pay. Sacrificial lamb and all that.)

It was all so nonsensical, laughter bubbled out from her lips like pebbles. She might have been laughing at how pathetic she had been, handing her body, her magic, her soul, her everything to a monster planning to tear her apart and eat her alive bit by bit. (First the brain, then the heart, then the blood that spilled out along with her magic, how inconvenient, and finally her pretty face that can only smile and smile and smile through each bite because there’s nothing left behind those eyes—) Maybe she was laughing at how stubborn she had been, so stupidly convinced she was right and Edwina was wrong. Or maybe she was laughing at how stupid her father was, for believing she was worth keeping like a pet.

A fucking pet.

He took her in, all fragile, sharp, and wild like the waves crashing onto the shore and slowly eating away the stones into sand, and warped her, tamed her into a docile obedient pet who perks up at the barest show of affection. He probably had a lot of fun watching Brettany lose control of her body, turning human to animal when he allowed it to hybrid with those ridiculous ears and that tail and then back to a pale imitation of humanity.

Wetness dripped down her cheeks, cold and salty enough to turn bitter when she licked her lips. Her chest hurt. She laughed so hard it felt like she was being drowned, lungs burning as she gasped for air. She wiped her face roughly, only to find she couldn’t control even her tears because she had never been in control of her body. Wasn’t that absolutely hilarious?

Brettany couldn’t remember when was the last time she actually cried out loud and made noises. Muffling sobs in pillows was common when she was being bad. Feigning tears was easy, just a few drops falling down. She had been called a pretty crier before, she knew the show of fearful eyes shining and trembling lips appealed to people. Being weak, being pathetic, being pretty was safe, she told herself that countless. But she wasn’t so sure if she wanted to be pretty anymore.

Was that why her father took advantage of her, because of her face? That had to be it, right?

(It was wrong and someone had to pay.)

She spotted herself in the mirror. Red rimmed doe eyes, pale lips, ash white skin, face framed by messy curls. Ugly, but not ugly enough. Her fist moved on its own accord and punched at the glass, hard enough it shattered and distorted her face. Her own eyes stared down at her from every shard, hazel.

No. No no no no no, not hazel. Too special, too nice, always too eye-catching. Not enough.

(She had to pay. For what, she didn’t know.)

She shrunk back from the reflections, knees sinking. She wanted, no, she needed to dig all those pretty parts of herself out, cut herself open and dig them out so she could throw them away. (You should dig your eyes out, look how pretty they are.) Nails dug into her face, stopping inches away from her eyes because her brain was fucking stupid and hated being hurt and it wasn’t enough. The fingers climbed up her face, clawing at the skin (it was smooth, of course it was smooth) and sinking into her hair, scratching on the scalp and pulling on strands of hair, except it still wasn’t enough because they grew back out quicker than she could tear them out because she healed fast, and she could feel dampness under her nails as her curls tangled and flopped down and covered her eyes so she could see nothing, and it still wasn’t enough because nothing could ruin her, she was cursed, cursed, and nothing could ever fix that and it would never be enough—

Pain gnawed at her. It would have eaten her alive inside out if only there was still anything left in her after father was done with her.

(Someone had to pay for this hurt.)

(Someone would pay.)

Brettany curled into herself, utterly exhausted, hair in disarray. The high fell as quickly as it came. She wanted to cry, but she was just so tired. She wanted to bawl until tears stained her blouse, she wanted to blow her nose so loudly everyone down the hallways could hear her. It hurt so awfully, something in her had rotten away into nothingness and left behind a gaping hole (or maybe she had been emptied inside out for a long time and someone would pay for that too). She knew it was safe to be loud here; no one had ever heard her, heard them in her father’s suite all these years.

She took a quick, shallow breath, trying to let out her tears and sob, but they only slid down silently.

She could cry, she wanted to cry, wanted to let herself out more than anything else in the world, so why—?

Why?!

She didn’t know how to cry anymore. They took even that away.

(‘Someone will pay.’)

Brettany screamed.

Chapter Text

The dress was laid out on the floor, framing a circle and waiting for someone to step in it, to give it shape and soul.

Edwina nudged the dress with a toe.

Any moment now.

She eyed the other side of the room. Brettany was perched on the windowsill again, staring far out of the window.

Edwina swallowed her fear. “Hey, do you think you can, uh, help me with this?”

It took a few seconds for the words to register in Brettany’s brain, before she snapped her head to where Edwina was standing, blinking as if she just woke up.

That’s weird, part of Edwina thought, the part currently not dreading over the dress, she’s usually more alert than this.

“Sorry, what?”

“The dress, can you help me with it? And after that, can you… help me put on some makeup?” Edwina asked quietly.

“Sure.” Brettany stood up and walked over.

Edwina took a deep breath, then another, and another.

What would it be like, to wear a dress? She had never done this before, even women’s jeans were a huge risk to her, she had never dared to try on a dress. Edwina had fantasized about it, of course she had, light fabric swaying gently in the wind, but in her fantasy she also had long blonde hair, pale slender arms, smooth legs and small lips with no buck teeth protruding out. Dresses did not belong to him, only to girls like Brettany, and looking down at her too big feet, Edwina was acutely aware how very him she was right now.

She looked past her shoulders at her girlfriend, her beautiful girlfriend, and the feeling of wrongness only grew more intense.

“Oh, this is a terrible idea,” she blurted out. “Why am I even doing this, I should’ve just stuck to a tux like Ray does, like a normal proper—” Edwina fumbled for the right word, “person.”

Brettany said nothing. Normally Edwina would have been grateful for that, for the lack of any judgment, approval or disapproval, but there was nothing normal about this situation.

“God, won’t you ever say something!”

For the briefest moment hurt flashed across Brettany’s face, and her hands tightly holding together shook, and Edwina instantly felt awful again. Before she could apologize, though, Brettany’s face smoothed over, as if someone ironed out every wrinkle in her. Edwina fished for the next best thing to do, and stepped into the dress.

Brettany bent down and brought the dress up. Edwina obediently held out her arms to the side so Brettany could slide the straps up to rest on her shoulders, heart beating as she waited for Brettany to fire back. A retort, maybe, or a “you don’t get to tell me something”. Before she could get used to the pleasant way the straps draped loosely across her skin though, Brettany zipped up the dress in one swift motion.

Edwina held in a breath. The dress felt much tighter all of sudden, and Brettany’s silence was squeezing air out of her. Edwina resolutely looked anywhere except in the mirror, pulling at the dress where it clenched her at the waist. The way it hugged her body was surprisingly better than she had imagined, but unfamiliar all the same.

“It’s kinda tight. Why are women’s clothes so much tighter? First those jeans, and now this.”

Brettany stood up and adjusted the sleeves, straightening out the fabric with practiced ease. “People like to look,” she said, not bothering to look up. “I can adjust it for you if it pleases you more.”

“Yes, please,” Edwina said, a hint of desperation in her voice. How women could withstand entire nights in these dresses, she would never know.

Skillful hands pressed gently against her waist, and magic weaved itself into the polyester, loosening its hold on Edwina until she could breathe again. Warmth passed from Brettany to her, wrapping itself around Edwina like the hugs she used to get when she went home after school. She didn’t even realize how much she missed the feeling of home, of affection without judgment.

Oblivious to her thoughts, Brettany moved to do the same to Edwina’s armpit, where the dress cliched and muscles spilt out.

As soon as Edwina felt the cloth wrap itself snuggly around her armpit, she grabbed Brettany’s hands and brought them back to her waist, wrapping both their hands around her torso until her back was resting against Brettany.

“Was it still tight for you, or a bit too loose now? Sorry if the magic is too much, I’ll fix it for you—”

Edwina turned to see Brettany looking up at her, chastened and eager to fix a nonexistent mistake. She made a shushing noise.

“I like the way you hold me,” Edwina said.

Brettany did what was probably second nature to her—a head duck, and a shy smile, but this up close, Edwina could see the artificiality behind it. It was a practiced motion meant to project the image of a girl who was fresh and unused to being complimented, thank you for noticing me, for liking little ol’ me, how could I ever repay you, oh gracious one?

“It’s true,” Edwina squeezed their hands around her tighter, until she could feel heat radiating from Brettany to her. “You make me feel like a beautiful lady held in her lover’s arms.”

Brettany’s smile slipped a bit. “But you are. A girl.”

“But not beautiful. Not a lady. Not pretty like you.”

If she closed her eyes now, Edwina might be able to fool herself into believing it all. A graceful woman, perhaps an upper class socialite, in a dress showing off her curves and her smooth back, arms pale as jade resting against red silk, revealing as much of her as it left the rest up for imagination. And a lover helping her get dressed, light fingers resting innocently on her waist, her hips, or further down (how scandalous), dragging themselves across well-loved skin as a teaser for late night activities when the party was over, a promise of another day of loving and being loved.

Edwina looked down at the intertwining fingers, and pretended the smaller, bony pair of hands were hers instead.

Instead of commenting on it, Brettany wrangled her hands out of Edwina’s hold. Edwina turned to her, looking for signs over Brettany’s face that might tell her what she did wrong, but Brettany simply gestured for her to sit down on the bed, moving a chair over.

Edwina let Brettany maneuver her, cringing when she spot her lanky legs coming out from under the dress. She scratched herself, legs still itching from the shaving yesterday. Shaving cream had not helped much when she dragged the blade a tad bit too deeply, too hurriedly across her skin; she had been at once eager and scared to shave her legs, and it came out uneven.

And just like that the wonderful fantasy broke, and Edwina was back as herself. A not-girl.

“I probably look like a guy,” Edwina lamented. She had very good bone structure as a boy, tall and gaining some muscles, and looked very handsome, as she had been told many times, but those became a burden. “A guy in a dress.”

“It’ll look better once you have the wig on,” Brettany put what was probably meant to be a reassuring hand on Edwina’s shoulder, chin resting lightly on Edwina’s head for a short but comforting moment.

“Why not now?” Edwina begged. God, why did she look like that?

“You said you want makeup.”

“Now?” Edwina swallowed. She had been stealing glances at her mom’s small collection of cosmetics for a long time, but actually putting it on her face was different. She had the sense that she was standing at the edge of a cliff. One more step forward, and she would dive into the deep waters below.

“I don’t have much, but I can work with that,” Brettany fished out a small purse.

Edwina watched her take out a few discs of powder and tiny tubes, including a tube of lipstick. “I didn’t know you own makeup.”

Brettany hummed as she put foundation on Edwina’s face. Makeup really was a whole new world, Edwina thought. She felt like a canvas at the hands of a talented artist, as she closed her eyes so she didn’t have to look at her face all painted over.

“I stole them from Destiny,” Brettany said blandly, not a trace of shame in her voice. “She’s always buying new stuff without opening the older ones, especially with the concealer; trying to buy the paler shades and throwing a fit when they don’t fit her.” Edwina didn’t need to look to know Brettany was rolling her eyes at Destiny’s wasteful habits, “they’re all more than usable, don’t worry.”

Edwina almost nodded in approval (her sympathy for the Lee’s was extremely limited), before she remembered that it probably was not a good idea to move her head. She felt Brettany putting drops of cool liquid on spots of her face, before patting at her face gently with a sponge. “That day when we went out, did you steal the money from Darold too?”

Brettany’s hand paused for barely a second before she resumed. “I conjured them up. Bits of leaves and twigs.”

“Is there anything you can’t make?”

Brettany fell silent for a moment.

“I don’t know. It’s not really that hard.”

“Oh, come on, there has to be something!” Edwina said, incredulous, turning sharply to look at Brettany, “even metal? The coins?”

“It’s just like fabric, but harder,” Brettany shrugged, fingers firmly nudging Edwina’s head back.

“Of course not, you just have to make something from nothing, easy peasy,” Edwina snorted, earning a fondly reprimanding look from Brettany.

“Air is ‘something’, leaves and twigs are ‘something’.” Edwina couldn’t see Brettany’s face clearly, but she guessed Brettany was frowning.

“And you just… know how to do it? Man, I wish I had that talent. I’d make so many money bills and coins and get all the bubble teas in the world.”

“You’re such a flatterer,” Brettany muttered, and Edwina opened her eyes just to peek at the way the tips of Brettany’s ears turned pink. She decided not to point out that Brettany loved it when she got compliments about her magic, though. She wanted the lovely pink to stay, adding some well needed color to Brettany’s dreary monotonous appearance.

“Pretty girl with so much talent making me pretty, that’s who you are,” Edwina couldn’t keep a smile off her face as she teased. It was impossible to play cool and suave whenever she was around Brettany. She supposed that was what being smitten and in love really felt like.

Unlike the blush she expected, however, Brettany turned deathly still for a moment that felt like ages, and Edwina instantly knew this time, this time, she really messed up. Brettany’s face was ashen and scarily blanked, as if she had forcefully wiped all traces of human emotions on herself with bleach.

“Babe?” Edwina tried.

Brettany set down the sponge in her ever so lightly like it was a pack of dynamite.

“You keep saying that, since pretty much the first time we met.”

“Yes? You are very attractive, objectively,” Edwina’s cheeks heated up slightly at the mention of that. God, knowing in hindsight that Brettany had much better hearing than humans do, how much of her and Davina fawning over Brettany’s face did she hear? If Edwina could dig a hole in the ground with her feet right now, she’d gladly do so.

“I know,” Brettany said, but without the pride most people would announce it with.

Edwina nodded. “So…?”

Brettany frowned at the floor, scrutinizing the tiles the way Edwina stared at a particularly hard exam question while hoping an answer would appear from thin air. “And I assume you had thought about me— that is, you had fantasies of—”

“Yes, yes, I jerked off thinking of you a few times, do we really have to do this?” Edwina buried her head in the crook of her arms, ears flaming hot. Screw the makeup, her dignity was on the line. Some things were strictly between her and god and the bottle of shampoo that miraculously still hadn’t run out after months. And Davina, but only because she asked.

“It’s just- look, you’re a very beautiful girl, I am insanely attracted to you, and my hormones are crazy—”

“What if,” Brettany interrupted her, as if she hadn’t heard Edwina at all, “well, what if I don’t want to be beautiful anymore?”

Edwina slowly lifted her head at the odd question, trying to get a sense of what Brettany meant.

Brettany was clenching the powder-tainted sponge, staring at the floor.

“W- woah, don’t do anything stupid,” Edwina finally managed, still reeling from the shock, “don’t cut your face open or cut your wrist or do something like that—”

“Don’t worry, it won’t work anyway,” Brettany whispered more to herself than to Edwina, but Edwina heard it loud and clear anyway.

Panic seized at her, and she clutched Brettany’s hand, holding it like a log floating in the water. “Don’t hurt yourself, babe. I don’t know what you’re thinking about, but don’t do it. It’s not worth it, I’ll be very sad if you do it and Ray will probably cry, don’t.”

Edwina shook Brettany’s arm frantically, trying to wake her girlfriend up from the trance-like state she was in.

“I don’t want to be pretty, and I don’t know why you want to.” Brettany only said.

“But you are,” Edwina said, fear creeping into her veins. “You are beautiful inside and out, and I love you very much, what’s wrong with that? I don’t understand.

“Hell, I bet even Destiny Lee is jealous of your looks,” she tried for a lighthearted jab at their common enemy. “She has to put on makeup to look really pretty, but you’ve already got that natural glow. I mean, I wish I look half as good as you are!”

“No, you don’t.”

“Yes, I do.” Words rushed out of Edwina’s mouth. She wanted to be pretty, to be a real girl like Brettany, why was that so hard to imagine? “Pretty privilege, hello? I’m sure, no, I know if I look more like a girl, if I pass better as a girl, I wouldn’t get bullied and harassed for years. Because then people would actually see me as a girl, instead of a perverted guy who likes to wear girls’ clothes. I’ve seen the looks, I know that’s what people think. I know I look too… gangly, muscular, ugly as a girl, so yes, if I could look more pretty? I would take it.”

Edwina exhaled, watching Brettany’s face for any signs of understanding. Instead, Brettany only bit down on her wobbling lips.

“But I want to be like you. Tall, strong, handsome, instead of this,” Brettany gestured at herself.

“What’s wrong with the way you look?” Edwina asked, her heart sinking just a bit. What’s wrong with the way I want to look?

“This,” Brettany jabbed at herself again, voice strangled, “is fragile. It’s weak. It’s beautiful the same way a flower is beautiful. You step on it and it breaks and dies. There is nothing good about this.”

“That’s just not true,” Edwina protested, raising her voice. “You went berserk on that Travis guy and still look pretty! You can be strong and still pretty!”

“You don’t get it, people think you’re weak when you’re beautiful, you’re supposed to be weak if you want to look pretty, that’s the rule, it’s supposed to be a trade off. Bad things happen when you’re too beautiful,” Brettany spat out the words like they were poison. “People get jealous of you and bully you when you’re pretty, and you attract too much attention when you’re pretty, and they hug you and kiss you and—” her breath hitched, and with horror, Edwina realized what she meant to say right as Brettany audibly forced herself to go on, “—because you’re pretty, and then they’ll throw you away the moment you’re not perfect, and I just don’t want it anymore!”

Inhaling, Brettany’s voice broke off into a whisper, “ if I wasn’t so good looking and so fucking attractive, none of it would have happened to me.

“Don’t be pretty, it’s awful.”

Indignation flared up in Edwina, pushing down any shock she might have from Brettany’s rant. “But I want to pass, I need to! Is it so hard to believe I want to be pretty?”

“What part of it do you not understand? Prettiness is an invitation, Edwina. It’s a sign that there’s a free for all for people to take whatever they want from you. If there’s any sense in you, you wouldn’t wish that on yourself.”

“I don’t understand why it’s a crime to be beautiful! You say prettiness is punished, but I’m being punished for being an ugly girl too. I do want to be pretty, because I want to be a girl. Not a confusing, poorly thought out mix of Edward Chen and me, a real, proper girl.”

Brettany tilted her head, confusion clear in her red rimmed eyes. “But you are a girl. You’re Edwina.”

“Not to other people,” Edwina nudged her head at the window, the sound of traffic faintly passing through the window into the room. “They don’t see a girl when they see me, they don’t think I’m a girl even if I wear a dress and do makeup, because I don’t look pretty as a girl. Pretty girls would actually be called ‘Miss’ and not ‘Mister’. Pretty girls can shop for hours in the aisle for women's jeans without feeling like an intruder, and I want to be one of them. That’s what a real girl is.” She narrowed her eyes, “I’ve dreamt about this for years, I know I’m not wrong and by god, I won’t let you convince me otherwise.”

“What good will that bring you? You’d be a ‘real girl’, congrats, now creepy men will start bumping into you and grab your boobs. Or your ass.” Brettany sounded very tired. “You’re just trading one kind of harassment for another.”

The words weighed on Edwina’s chest like stones. She couldn’t stop thinking about it even as Brettany picked up the sponge and did the rest of her makeup quickly, fitting the wig over her head.

And she still looked like him.

Edwina stewed in silence, consciously trying not to squirm in her seat.

Destiny probably thought she was doing Edwina a grand favor by offering to give Davina and her a ride to the Lee’s mansion, but Edwina was seriously regretting taking that offer up now. The depressing, nauseating smell of new leather and artificial aromatics filled the vehicle, and Destiny’s constant staring and peeping from her front seat wasn’t helping either.

Edwina dug her left thumb into the soft patch of muscle between her right thumb and index finger, pressing in a circular motion. An old trick her mother taught her to fight off headaches and nausea.

Even thinking about stepping into the mansion itself was nerve racking, not to mention what Ray had planned with them. The fancy occasion, the elite crowds, the attire and manners she knew nothing about, not to mention the book st— retrieving with Ray… They were all terrifying.

“Look, it’ll be fine,” Ray said for what was probably the hundredth time from the room next door, right as Brettany zipped up Edwina’s dress. Embarrassingly, Edwina had to hold her breath for the zip to go up smoothly; she was beginning to lose any of her previous courage to go to the ball as a girl.

“We go in with our proper, legitimate invite, mix in with the crowds, go upstairs to get the book, and get out. It’ll be nothing.”

“Nothing,” Edwina repeated, her voice gradually rising higher, “stealing a book from the richest, most influential family in the city, who could probably convince the police to give me a life sentence if I get caught, or blackmail me forever to become their mook, or just unperson me and make me forever unemployable, yeah, totally peachy, nothing!”

Edwina surreptitiously took a few deep breaths, carefully keeping her eyes on Destiny’s back to avoid raising her suspicions.

Destiny glanced at her through the rear view mirror again, and Edwina couldn’t help but sigh, a bit louder than necessary.

“Look, it’ll be fine,” Destiny huffed, “I don’t see why you’re so nervous about this.”

Because I’m going to rob your brother in a few hours, Edwina thought.

“Sorry, your highness, but most of us plebeians have never been to a fancy ball, much less a ball held in a mansion belonging to the one of the richest families in the country,” Davina opened her mouth, words dripping with impatient sarcasm. Unlike Edwina, she seemed to be less anxious and more… generally displeased with the whole affair, if Edwina had to take a guess.

Destiny shrugged. “People go in, you listen to a speech or two from my dad or Darold, you go around and mingle, get something to eat and drink if you want, and that’s it. And maybe you dance.”

“I only know Tiktok dances,” Edwina said faintly. “I’m gonna make a fool of myself, and then I’m gonna die.”

Davina opened her mouth, but Edwina kept on going, panic slowly but surely squeezing her chest. “And who am I even gonna ‘mingle’ with? Some rich shi— person I’ve never heard of until today?”

“My friends will be there as well,” Destiny waved a hand dismissively, “it’ll be fine.”

Friends, right. As if she was ever friends with Destiny and her gang.

Davina didn’t bother to hold back her scorn, though. “Friends. You mean you and your friends that treated us, treated Edwina here like shit for years. Yeah, we’d love to mingle with y’all.”

“Davina—”

“And I haven’t even brought up how you treated Brettany.”

“What, did she whine to you about how hard her life is with my brother?” Destiny scoffed. “I don’t even know why you guys care about her so much. You hung out with her a few times during summer, get over her.”

Edwina swore to god, if she wasn’t scared of bursting a seam in her dress she would swing her fist at Destiny’s face, see if she could look any uglier.

As if she could read Edwina’s thoughts, Davina grabbed Edwina’s hand and kept their fingers interlocked.

Edwina looked out the window, and exhaled. She had tried to ignore Destiny’s relentless mocking and ostracization for as long as they knew each other, she threw a cup of coffee to her bully’s face, hell, she even offered Destiny an olive branch and agreed to tutor her every morning. But none of that ever stopped Destiny nastiness, did it?

“You’re a real ass, you know that?” She said tiredly, choosing the lightest insult in her book. “I don’t know if anyone’s ever told you that, but you’re such an asshole, Destiny. You just have to stick your nose into what I wear, what name I want to use, what Davina and I are—things that are absolutely none of your business—and tell the whole world what a freak I am.” Edwina should have been revolted at the word, ‘freak’, but the word had lost its hold on her by now. She heard it so many times, said it to herself so many times when she saw him in her reflection, it had become less of a word and more a meaningless sound. “What do you even get out of that, a sense of superiority? Congrats, you’re the richest girl within five hours of a car ride, good job on being born in the right family and with pretty genes, have a cookie.”

Destiny was still in her seat, mouth gaping open as she stared straight ahead at the road. The girl glanced at her driver for… support? Comfort? It was clear though that whatever she was looking for, she didn’t find it.

“Is this because of Brettany?” Destiny finally said.

“Did you even listen to a word of what I said?” Edwina couldn’t believe what she heard, wow.

She closed her eyes in frustration. If she even had to look at Destiny for one more second she might actually do something she would regret later. What it was, she didn’t know, but it would be bad. “It’s because of you being a bitch to me for years! Yes, it’s because of how you’ve treated Brettany, but it’s also because of how you treated me. You and your friends have been harassing me during school, at my part-time job back in summer, in the mall toilet… It was constant, neverending bullying and name-calling and shaming me for five years. And I’ve really had quite enough of that.”

For a few moments, the car was silent. Edwina nervously licked her lips, still high from pouring out what she had wanted to say since seventh grade. She wasn’t very used to doing this, she hoped she did it right.

“You’re just not a girl,” Destiny said. “You’re handsome as a guy, but too ugly to be a girl. The sooner you get that, the better off you’ll be.”

Edwina had heard the same thing from her over and over again, but something in Destiny’s voice struck her as particularly weird. Destiny wasn’t saying it to be cruel to her this time; she genuinely thought she was doing a favor to Edwina.

How could someone say that and think they’re being kind?

“Is that why you’ve targeted me for years? Because I’m ugly?”

“You don’t know your place.”

“And that’s why you go after Brettany as well? Because she doesn’t know her place?”

This time, Destiny didn’t hesitate for even a second before she answered. “It’s her fault, always swanning around acting all ‘oh poor little me I’m just a crybaby who only knows how to look pretty’, it’s annoying. Who would buy it?”

Your brother would, Edwina thought viciously.

“That’s not true,” she said before her brain could catch up with her mouth. Brettany wasn’t putting up an act for fun, and Edwina fumed at the way Destiny judged Brettany for it. Her father made her into this, your family forced her to fit into this mold, how dare you say that when you’ve never been in her shoes. But as she let Destiny’s words seep into her bones, she found that she instinctively wanted to reject them. Like poison indeed, she wanted to vomit and purge it from her body, and gears started turning into her head. Something was slowly starting to make sense to her.

“I don’t believe this bullshit. If I get bullied because I’m ugly, and Brettany is bullied because she’s pretty, then it looks like we’ll get stepped on either way. And if that’s the case, then it’s not anyone’s fault they look too pretty, or that they don’t look good enough, is it.”

Davina and Destiny both turned to her in surprise, although Davina’s eyes were filled with pride as well. Edwina steadily kept her gaze forward, leaning back into her seat. The unspoken implication of ‘you’re the one at fault here, not me’ hung in the air.

“You’ll see what I mean,” Destiny mumbled just as the car passed through decorated gates and rolled to a stop in front of stairs leading up to gigantic doors, black and imposing. Spotless pearl beige walls, arched glass windows, and a sloped rooftop lined with rust-red tiles all screamed extreme wealth and status to her. There was even a classic fountain facing the stairs, she noted with some shock.

Edwina and Davina walked out—with the driver holding the car door open for them, holy shit—following Destiny’s lead. She would have stopped for a moment to admire the impossibly large residence just for its grandness, but she hated the Lees’ so much, Edwina didn’t want to give Destiny even the satisfaction of seeing her middle-class classmate appreciating the most obvious sign of Destiny’s family wealth.

Instead, she walked right inside as Davina hurried to catch up, where someone (security? servant?) held out a hand at her.

Edwina took out the invitation and handed it over, trying to appear more confident and poised than she really was. Before the man could open his mouth, Edwina said, hushed, “yes, I know it’s addressed to Edward, my parents wanted a boy and they already named me before—”

“Miss Destiny’s friends, yes,” the man handed the envelope back to Edwina, “welcome to the ball, Miss Chen.”

Edwina bit on her lips hard to control herself, feeling so giddy she could burst into songs and dance right on the spot. She wanted to kiss the man on the cheek and thank him, god it felt so good, so right. Instead, she allowed herself a pleased, pointed look at Destiny.

See? “Miss”.