Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sparks of light floated in the darkness, each one a different color. Their outlines sharpened, revealing themselves to be not sparks but beautiful glowing rings.

One ring, the one glowing pale blue, glided to the front as if signifying itself the leader. A young man with blue hair, his appearance slightly wispy and almost ethereal, shimmered into existence just behind the ring. He smiled warmly, as if greeting an old friend.

“Alear,” he said. “The time has come for you and your allies to find us. Seek us out, Alear, for we must help you to protect this world.”

The rings began to fade into the darkness, but the young man remained where he was.

“We are the Emblems,” he said. “Remember…Alear.”

The phone on the bedside table went off, blaring out a loud song. Alear Hikari groaned and reached out her hand, slapping it on the table next to the phone. When her attempt to turn off her phone alarm resulted only in a zing of pain in her hand, she opened her eyes and forced herself to raise her head from her pillow.

Her eyes still blurry from sleep, Alear groped at the phone, picked it up, and finally managed to turn off the song. She sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes.

“Finally turned you off,” she mumbled to her old enemy, the morning alarm. But despite now being (mostly) awake, the dream she’d just woken from kept playing on loop in her head.

“What a strange dream,” she said to herself. “Somehow, I feel like it means something…”

Her twin brother, Ryu, poked his head into her room. “Morning, Alear!” he said. “Still half-asleep?”

“Huh?” said Alear. She blinked. “Oh. You’re already dressed.”

“Yeah, I’m about to go have breakfast,” said Ryu. “You’d better hurry before you run late for school.”

“Ack!” said Alear, sitting up straight and throwing the blankets off herself as Ryu gave her a quick wave and headed downstairs.

Alear swung herself out of bed and ran over to her dresser. Ryu’s right. I can’t keep thinking about some weird dream, or I’ll be late! I already overslept…again!

When Alear finally made it downstairs, her mother smiled and set a plate of eggs in front of her place at the table. “Good morning, Alear.”

“See you at school!” said Ryu, who was already heading out the door.

“I’m relieved that you made it downstairs on your own,” their mother said as Alear wolfed down her breakfast. “I thought I might have to come up and check on you.”

“Mmph…sorry,” said Alear, reaching for a glass of juice. “I had a weird dream and couldn’t get it out of my head.”

“Oh?” said her mother. “What was it about?”

Alear saw the clock behind her mother and yelped. “Never mind, I should get to school!” she said, stuffing the last bite of breakfast into her mouth and leaping up from her chair. “See you later, Mother!”

Yanking on her shoes, snatching up her backpack, and grabbing the lunch her mother held out to her, Alear ran out the door and down the sidewalk. She shook her head, internally scolding herself.

She and Ryu were in high school now. Their teacher wasn’t going to take oversleeping—or strange dreams—as an excuse for running late. She had to hurry.

Alear kept running, managing to make up for her lateness a little. At least, that was what she thought until someone shouted, “Hey, you be careful!”

Alear stopped short, startled to see a construction worker. A huge construction site was blocking her usual route to school.

“Ah—sorry!” said Alear, glancing back and forth. Drat, I forgot that the construction here was supposed to start today. How was she going to get to school now?

She’d have to take a detour. She turned and ran in another direction, toward a section of the neighborhood that she didn’t often visit. The part she and Ryu sometimes called “the fancy section” because most of the houses were bigger and it was the place where a lot of the richer families lived.

As Alear hurried through the fancy section, too rushed to stare at the huge houses, the front door of a particularly large house across the street swung open. A pale-skinned girl with bright pink pigtails and a bedazzled backpack leapt out through the open doorway and totally stuck the landing, playfully putting her hands on her hips and grinning.

Alear froze, hoping the girl wouldn’t see her. She’d forgotten that the Elusia family lived in this section.

“Hortensia Elusia is HERE!” cheered the girl, doing a quick little dance. “Hellooooo, neighborhood! Time for school!”

Hortensia was only twelve years old (and often acted younger), but she’d skipped two grades in middle school, which meant that this year she was a freshman in high school, just like Alear and Ryu. Being in the same class with a prodigal tween (who dyed her hair bright pink on top of that) made Alear kind of nervous.

“And now the entire neighborhood is awake,” said a low-pitched, wry voice. “Sometimes I find it hard to believe that you and I are related.”

A girl a little older than Alear—a sophomore, maybe?—with a calm, composed demeanor and long dark brown hair with purple streaks in it followed Hortensia outside. “But anyway,” she said. “Let’s go to school, shall we?”

“Try doing something cute for a change, Ivy!” Hortensia said, taking off running. “It’ll be good for you!”

“Hortensia!” the older girl—Ivy—called. “You’ll trip and fall if you run like that!” After a moment, she sighed and ran after her. “Hortensia! Wait for me!”

Alear stood still and watched them run out of sight. Right. Of course Hortensia had an older sister. Everyone knew that Hyacinth Elusia, one of the richest people in town, had two daughters, not just one.

But Alear had never seen Ivy before. She was totally different from Hortensia.

And…wow, she’s so beautiful.

Alear shook her head so fiercely that the dragon charm on her backpack swung into her hip.

Don’t think about some cute girl right now, Alear! You have to get to school!

She took a deep breath, straightened up, and took off running once again. Unfortunately, she tripped and fell before she’d gotten more than a few feet, just barely catching herself with her hands.

“Ungh…what a morning,” she said, starting to push herself to her feet. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a ring lying on the sidewalk.

Alear crawled over to the ring, picked it up, and looked at it. The ring had a simple but pretty golden band with a blue stone in the middle of it. It looked exactly like the ring in her dream—the one that a young man had come out of.

She stared at the ring in surprise. The ring didn’t glow like it had in her dream, but something about it seemed magical. She felt herself strangely drawn to it.

Alear forced herself to stand up and put the ring in her skirt pocket. She could give it a closer look later.

Then she ran the rest of the way to school.

—----------------

“I’m here!” said Alear, tearing into her classroom. Then she stopped short and panted for breath, her running over at last.

“At last,” said her teacher, looking up from his attendance sheet. “Ryu arrived nearly ten minutes before you did.” He frowned. “Did you oversleep again, Alear?”

Alear lowered her head. “Sorry, Vander.” It was hard having a teacher who’d been friends with your mom since you and your brother were toddlers. He knew way too much about you.

“That’s Mr. Brooks when we’re at school, Alear,” said Vander. “Or Mr. Vander if you can’t manage that.”

“Sorry, Mr. Vander,” said Alear. “I didn’t actually oversleep that much. That new construction site was blocking my way, and I had to take a detour.”

“Then I will not mark you late,” said Vander. “An unexpected detour is a reasonable excuse. Now, take your seat.”

“Don’t worry, Alear,” Ryu said as Alear gave Vander a grateful smile and started walking to her seat. “I had to take a detour too. That construction site really takes up a lot of space.”

“Hey!” shouted Hortensia, leaping up from her seat. “Don’t you dare go talking about the construction site that way!” She planted her hands on her hips. “Father says that his company is building something very important there! He’s funding that project!” She folded her arms and tossed her head back. “And of course Mr. Morion Brodia says we don’t even need that building. He criticizes EVERYTHING my father does and I’m not having anyone else do it!”

Alcryst Brodia, the younger son of Hyacinth Elusia’s business rival, propped up a textbook on his desk and hid his face behind it.

“Wait, slow down, Hortensia!” said Ryu, waving his hands. “I’m not criticizing anything!”

“Hortensia,” said Vander, his I-mean-business voice cutting through the air harshly enough to silence even Hortensia. “That is enough. Please sit down and do not disrupt the class again. You are in high school now, and you should act as such.”

Hortensia had a distinct pout on her face as she sat back down. “Fine…”

Alear let out a sigh of relief. What with her having a short fuse and having skipped two grades, Hortensia was honestly kind of scary sometimes.

“Now,” said Vander, writing something on the attendance sheet. “To start with, I shall make the announcements…”

—----------------

“You feeling all right?” Ryu asked, biting into a sandwich. “You’ve been kind of flustered all day.”

“I just had a really weird morning,” said Alear. “Had to run all the way to school. And I had this dream about magic rings. Someone actually came out of one of the rings and said I had to find them and use them to protect the world.” She pushed her long reddish-brown hair out of her face. “It’s lunchtime now and I still can’t get that dream out of my head.”

“Wow,” said Ryu. “Yeah, that’s a really mysterious dream.”

“And it gets weirder,” said Alear. “I tripped and fell on the way to school, and I landed right next to a ring. It looks just like one of the rings from my dream.”

“Really?” said Ryu. “Did you pick it up, or…?”

“I still have it with me,” said Alear. “I really don’t know what…”

“Oh, hang on,” said Ryu, turning and waving at a blond-haired white boy and girl standing nearby. “Alfred! Céline! Over here!”

The boy waved back and ran over to Ryu and Alear, with the girl close behind. Alear smiled as the two sat down beside them.

“Hey, Alfred,” said Ryu, a slightly goofy smile spreading across his face. “How’re you doing today?”

“Doing great!” said Alfred, pumping his fist before going back to opening his lunchbox. “Hard to wait for PE, though.”

Ryu laughed, scooting a little closer to him. “They made a mistake leaving your PE class until the afternoon.”

Alear shook her head and smiled.

“Those two,” said Céline, voicing Alear’s thoughts exactly. “They do make a good pair, though. No matter how silly they act around each other.”

Alear nodded. She didn’t feel much like chatting, though, what with the dream and the ring on her mind, so she focused her attention on her lunch.

Alfred Firene and his younger sister Céline were neighbors and old friends of Alear and Ryu, and Céline, who was the same age as the twins, was in their class this year. Alfred, who was a year older, was basically Ryu’s unofficial boyfriend by now, but Alear and Céline had drifted apart over the past few years and were mainly friends by association these days. Sometimes Céline didn’t join her brother and the Hikari twins for lunch at all, preferring to sit with her friends from middle school or with her other childhood friend, Alcryst Brodia.

“Hi, Alear!” said Alfred, snapping Alear out of her reverie. “How’re you doing? You look like something’s on your mind.”

“Huh? Oh, no, I’m fine,” said Alear. “I just had a weird dream and ran late for school, that’s all.”

“Oh. Weird dreams,” said Alfred. “Happens to the best of us.” Céline nodded sympathetically.

“That reminds me,” said Ryu. “Mother asked me to go downtown after school and buy some things for dinner. Do you want to come along, Alear?”

“Sure, I’ll come,” said Alear. “An errand might clear my head.”

After lunch, shortly before it was time to head back inside, Alear pulled the ring out of her skirt pocket and took a look at it again. The ring had started glowing.

Or was that a trick of the sunlight?

—----------------

When school let out, Alear and Ryu walked downtown together, chatting about a few inconsequential things as they headed to the little produce store. Alear kept one hand in her pocket and her fingers around the ring.

“Yeah, it’s really weird,” said a perky female voice nearby. “It’s almost like the block is haunted or something.”

Alear and Ryu stopped short two shops away from the produce store and turned in the direction of the voice. “Huh?” they both said.

A black girl a little older than them, with a high ponytail and dark eyes that sparkled like stars, looked over at them in surprise, then laughed. “I was talking kind of loudly, huh?” she said. “But yeah, something weird’s going on downtown. Someone just told me and my friends about it.”

“You said it’s like the downtown is haunted?” said Ryu, adjusting the strap of his backpack. “What does that mean?”

“Apparently the shops on this block have been getting trashed after closing time,” said the girl, nodding to the two girls on each side of her. “A few days ago, the jewelry store over there had all its displays knocked down, and the rings and necklaces were scattered all over the floor. But really weirdly for a jewelry store, nothing got stolen.”

“It is exceedingly strange!” said the orange-haired goth girl on the left. “The next day, the same thing happened to the shop next door to it!”

“They’ve kept going down the block,” said the tomboyish-looking girl on the right. “This morning, that shop there was the target.” She pointed to the shop next to the shop they were in front of. “It’s like someone’s breaking into the shops and looking for something.”

“That’s really weird,” said Ryu, his eyes wide. “So would that mean that the next target is going to be…” He looked at the shop they were in front of. “Here? The Khadein Magick Shop?”

“Yeah, if they keep going with the pattern,” said the first girl. “Apparently the owner is panicking because his shop might get trashed tonight.”

Suddenly the ring, which Alear hadn’t let go of, felt red-hot in her hand. She yelped, let go of it, and yanked her hand out of her pocket.

“Alear?” said Ryu, whirling around. “Are you okay?”

“Uh…yeah, I’m fine. Suddenly that ring…” Alear broke off, feeling like it was too weird to explain. What just happened? “Never mind.”

The trio of girls gave Alear a funny look, but their leader shrugged. “Well, now you know about the weird stuff downtown. See you around!”

As the girls skipped off, Ryu gave Alear a worried look. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” said Alear, though she looked nervously down at her pocket. “I’m just…having a really, really weird day, I guess.”

“If you say so,” said Ryu. “Let’s go get those veggies for Mother.”

Alear nodded.

—----------------

When she finished her dinner, Alear took her dishes to the sink and said, “I’m going to go upstairs.”

“Really?” said Ryu. “No anime?”

“I just…need a breather after my weird day,” said Alear. Close enough to the truth.

“If you say so,” said Ryu. “Guess I’ll just rewatch all my favorite episodes while you’re in your room.”

Alear grinned, but she frowned again as she headed up to her room.

Why couldn’t she get thoughts of that dream or that ring out of her head? And why did she still feel drawn to the ring even after it had almost burned her hand?

Taking a deep breath, Alear closed her bedroom door and sat down on the edge of her bed. She tentatively reached into her pocket for the ring, and finding it had cooled down, pulled it out and took another good look at it.

She turned the ring over in her hand, seeing that the ring was glowing just like in her dream. It even seemed to be glowing brighter than before.

Okay. Here goes nothing.

“Hello?” Alear said to the ring.

Silence.

“Hello?” Alear tried again. “I feel really weird asking this, but…do you talk?”

Was the ring glowing a little brighter?

“I saw you in my dream last night,” said Alear. “You were a person, and you talked to me…or something. You wanted me to remember you and seek you out. That wasn’t just a dream, was it? Are you…really a person? Or something like that? Please tell me I’m not going nuts.”

The ring shimmered.

“I don’t remember you,” said Alear. “But I want to! Please—tell me what my dream was all about!”

The ring shimmered brighter and brighter…and then suddenly, it flashed.

Alear yelped and covered her eyes as white light illuminated the room. When the flash faded, she uncovered her eyes, blinked, and gasped in amazement.

The white light had cooled to a calm, light blue glow. In front of her, there hovered a young man with blue hair, the exact person from her dream. And yet the ring was still in Alear’s hand…

“Greetings, Alear,” said the young man. “It is a pleasure to meet you at last. I am known as Emblem Marth.”

Still clutching the ring, Alear scooted backward on her bed in surprise. “What?”

“I am the Emblem of Beginnings,” said Marth, giving her a courteous bow. “The leader of the Emblems who reside in magical rings. When we find brave young women worthy of bearing our rings, we lend them our power so that they may protect this world. And just in time to protect your hometown of Lythos, I have finally found you, Alear.”

Alear stared at him wide-eyed. “What?” she repeated. “This is…oh my gosh…are you saying I’m some kind of Chosen One?”

Marth smiled warmly. “Yes, I am. As I am the Emblem of Beginnings, you are the Embleteer of Beginnings. The leader of the team of Embleteers that you will find.” His face grew serious. “And I can sense that there is already evil in this town. Downtown, to be precise.” He held out his hand. “Engage with me, Alear, and I will lend you the power you need to fight the evil downtown.”

“Uh…this is kind of a lot to take in…” said Alear, still wide-eyed.

“I understand,” said Marth. “But this is your destiny, Alear. This is what you must do on behalf of the town of Lythos. Stand up, please, and place my Emblem Ring on your finger. Then you will be able to speak the words you have been waiting all your life to say.”

“Okay…” said Alear, getting off her bed and nervously sliding the ring onto her finger. To her amazement, as soon as the ring was on, words flowed into her mind, and she knew exactly what to say.

She took a deep breath, raised her hand, and shouted the words that were waiting for her.

“Shine on, Emblem of Beginnings!”

Marth held his hands out to Alear, who instinctively took them. Suddenly, the Emblem turned into blue light, which zipped toward Alear and seemed to dive straight into her heart. Pale blue light coursed through Alear’s hair, turning one half of it blue and deepening the other half into a rich red.

The light swirled around Alear, materializing into a bright blue dress with a knee-length ruffled skirt and three-quarter ruffled sleeves. A large golden breastplate popped into existence on her chest, gauntlets shimmered themselves onto her hands, and knee-high boots swirled up her legs.

A beam of light hovered before Alear, solidifying itself into a beautiful blue sword. Alear reached out and gripped the sword’s hilt, slashing it out to her side and instinctively striking a pose.

Then the light cleared away from Alear’s surroundings, and she blinked in amazement, hardly believing what had just happened.

“Wow…” she breathed.

Welcome, Embleteer of Beginnings, said Marth’s voice. Now, let us hurry downtown and battle the evil that is there.

Alear yelped. “Are you inside my head?!”

We have temporarily become one, Marth explained matter-of-factly. When you are Engaged with me, I may easily guide you.

“Um, can I have a few minutes to take this all in?” said Alear.

Unfortunately, time is of the essence, said Marth. Fear not, Alear. When we find our enemy, you will know what to do. Such is the power of an Embleteer.

“Well, okay…” said Alear, looking toward her bedroom window. With the hand that wasn’t holding the sword, she opened the window and jumped out of it, landing on her feet on the sidewalk below—and suddenly striking another pose with her sword.

Well done! said Marth. Let us hurry downtown!

“Right!” said Alear, and she took off running.

When she reached the downtown (thankfully, no one was around), she stopped and looked around. “Okay, if there’s ‘evil’ downtown, where are they?” she asked. “Do you know, Marth?”

Now that we are closer, I can sense its presence more precisely, said Marth. It is in that building over there, with the purple awning!

Alear’s eyes widened. “The Khadein Magick Shop?” The shop that was likely to be a victim of another break-in?

Of course! That was the evil Marth wanted her to fight. She was supposed to keep the store from getting trashed!

She ran up to the Khadein Magick Shop, threw open the door, and ran inside.

Then she looked around, giving her eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness. This shop didn’t have very good lighting, and it got dark early in fall anyway…

Seeing a dark shape hunched over the counter, Alear approached it and held out her sword.

“That’s enough!” she said. “You aren’t going to trash the Khadein Magick Shop! I’ve got a sword, and I’m not afraid to use it!” Okay, actually I kind of am, but they don’t need to know that.

“Grrah,” said the dark shape.

“Huh?” said Alear.

The figure straightened up, its head moving in an unnatural way, and turned to face Alear. “Grrah,” it said again, its breath coming out as a dark gray cloud.

“Uh…” Alear took a step back.

The creature raised its hands, showing pointed black claws. “GRRRAH!” it roared.

“AAAAAAH!” Alear screamed, turning around and running for the door.

Alear, what are you doing?! Marth gasped as Alear turned again and pressed her back to the door, staring at the creature in horror. That is an evil monster known as a Corrupted! You must defeat it before it tears apart this shop!

“When you said I had to fight evil, I sort of pictured a burglar or something!” Alear protested. “That thing is…” She shook her head. “The really scary thing is, it looks familiar! Like I saw it in a childhood nightmare or something!”

That Corrupted has come here for a reason! said Marth. Whatever it is here for, it must be stopped! Use your sword, Falchion, to cut it down!

The Corrupted growled and started running toward Alear. Letting out another scream, Alear swung her sword just as the creature raised its claws over her.

The sword—Falchion—slashed across the monster’s chest, leaving a bright red line. The Corrupted shrieked and staggered backward.

Yes, that’s it! said Marth. I know you can do it, Alear!

Landing an actual hit made Alear feel braver. This Corrupted really gave her the creeps, but she could defeat it! She could cut it up with her sword!

She leapt forward and slashed again, deflecting the monster’s attempt at a counterattack. As she landed another hit, Alear noticed something gleaming on the Corrupted’s ashy finger.

As the Corrupted stumbled back again, Alear readied her sword, and another, more powerful sword attack flashed through her mind. She’d make her next attack be the last!

“Fate has brought us here!” she shouted, her voice seeming to be in sync with Marth’s. “Lodestar…RUSH!”

Alear unleashed a flurry of sword slashes, nine to the exact count, striking the Corrupted again and again. Falchion flashed with a blue light as she cut the monster in two with her last slash. The Corrupted shrieked again and dissipated into red sparks of magic. A ring dropped to the floor and rolled on its side for a few inches before coming to a stop.

And then all was silent again.

“I just killed a monster,” Alear said in disbelief. “With a sword. While wearing a flashy outfit.”

Well done, Alear, Marth said, and Alear could hear him smiling. As you keep your hometown safe, I shall aid you with my power—your ally until the very end.

Alear smiled for the first time since she’d jumped out of her bedroom window. “Thank you, Marth. I couldn’t have done it without you.” Then she looked down at the floor. “What’s this? Another ring?”

Another Emblem Ring! Marth gasped. This must have been what the Corrupted was searching for.

Alear crouched down and picked up the ring, admiring its band, a paler gold than Marth’s ring, and bright red stone. “Are you saying that maybe that Corrupted was trashing shops downtown trying to find this? And it was here in the magick shop?”

Most likely, yes, said Marth. It seems the shop incurred some damage, but we were able to defeat the Corrupted before it could escape with the ring.

“So there’s an Emblem in this ring too,” said Alear. “Can they hear us?”

They are likely dormant, as I was, said Marth. Try speaking to them.

“Okay,” said Alear. “Hello? I’m Alear, the Embleteer of Beginnings. Are you all right?”

“I am, thanks to you,” said a voice. “I am happy that you have found your partner, Marth.”

The ring flashed, and a young woman with a white dress and bright red hair appeared in the shop. “Good evening, Embleteer of Beginnings,” she said with a kindly smile. “I am Celica, the Emblem of Echoes.”

“It’s good to meet you, Celica,” said Alear, smiling back.

Then, Marth materialized beside Alear, whose clothes and hair changed back to the way they had been before.

“Oh,” said Alear.

“There are several more Emblem Rings you must find, Alear,” said Marth. “And an Embleteer for each of them. Know that you will not have to fight alone. However, you must seek out your allies and battle the Corrupted along the way.”

“Really? It’d be great to have some friends helping me,” said Alear. “So…I need to find your Embleteer, Celica?”

“Yes,” answered Celica. “I can sense that she is nearby, but I unfortunately cannot sense her location.” She smiled. “I will know who she is when I find her. However, you will have to help me.”

“I can do that!” said Alear. “I’ll bring you to school with me tomorrow.”

“That would be very helpful,” said Celica. “Thank you.”

“Now, shall we return to your home for now?” said Marth. “You will need to rest and restore your strength for the challenges ahead.”

“All right,” said Alear, putting Celica’s ring in her pocket. “Um…could you two go back into your rings for now? You kind of stand out.”

The Emblems laughed and disappeared back into their rings.

So that was a really weird day, Alear thought as she got into bed that night. That said, if I’m some kind of magical girl now, things are probably going to get weirder. And I’m probably going to have to fight more Corrupted.

Which means tomorrow, I’d better look for the Embleteer of Echoes. It’ll be nice to have a friend with me—besides the Emblems, of course. They’re really nice, too.

Alear smiled, turned off her bedside lamp, and went straight to sleep.

Chapter Text

The morning light shone through the gap between the flower-embroidered curtains covering the window, illuminating the painting of a field of tulips on the opposite wall. Céline Firene stirred in her bed and opened her eyes, blinking in the light.

The phone on her bedside table started playing Vivaldi’s “Spring.” Smiling, Céline sat up, reached for her phone, and turned off the alarm. Then she set the phone back down and stretched her arms before pulling back the blankets and swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

She hopped down to the floor, then walked over to her dresser and pulled out some clothes to bring to the shower with her. A short while later, she was heading downstairs, ready for the day.

“Good morning, Céline,” said her mother, poking her head out of the kitchen. “I’m heating some water for tea. I assume you want some?”

“Good morning, Mother,” said Céline, walking over to the kitchen counter, which had an assortment of teabags. “Yes please. How about this blend today?”

She held out a teabag to her mother, who nodded and took it. Then Céline joined her mother behind the counter to make herself some breakfast.

Only a few moments later, the front door swung open and Alfred walked in, waving and grinning. “Morning, Mom and Céline!”

“Good morning, Alfred,” both of them replied, and Céline followed this with “Did you go on a morning run again?”

“Sure did!” said Alfred, kicking off his shoes. “And it felt great! Nothing wakes you up like a good old-fashioned workout!”

Céline rolled her eyes. “And your only reason for waking up extra early on a school day is to run around the neighborhood. Sleep is necessary for good health too, you know.”

“Awww, Céline,” said Alfred. “You know I’ve got that covered! Anyway, what’s for breakfast?”

“Yogurt with fruit, plus a more protein-rich meal for my brother the barbarian,” said Céline.

Alfred grinned a big, goofy grin. “You know just what I like!”

Céline gave a rueful smile and shook her head.

—----------------

The thump of someone’s hand hitting the bedside table was louder than the alarm music on Alear’s phone and produced a startled yelp from both the owner of said hand and the ring on one of the hand’s fingers.

“Ow!” said Alear, sitting up and shaking out her hand. “Sorry about that, Marth.”

Rubbing her eyes with one hand and snatching up her phone with the other, she managed to turn her alarm off.

“Are you all right, Alear?” said the kind voice from inside her Emblem Ring.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” said Alear. “I should probably try opening my eyes before I grab at my phone next time.”

She set her phone down and got herself out of bed, walking over to her dresser. “Anyway—morning, Marth,” she said, smiling at her ring. Then she looked at the other ring, which was sitting on her dresser. “Morning, Celica.”

“Good morning, Alear,” said the two Emblems.

“I have to admit, it feels kind of weird having two extra people in my room,” said Alear. “Especially since I’m going to be carrying you around all day.”

“If it helps, we cannot see you while we are inside of our rings,” said Marth. “Celica and I will not peek. You have our word.”

“Actually, I was kind of worried about that,” said Alear. “Thanks. I’m going to get dressed now.”

As she started to get dressed, Alear said, “So I’m going to carry your ring in my pocket, okay, Celica? From there, you can figure out who your Embleteer is, right?”

“Yes,” said Celica. “I will be able to sense her. Once I learn who she is, I will let you know.”

“Okay,” said Alear. “Though, um…you two are going to need to keep quiet while I’m in school. My teacher is big on ‘order in the classroom.’ I don’t think he’d like hearing voices coming out of my pocket.”

“We’ll be quiet,” Marth promised. “You have nothing to fear.”

Once she’d finished getting dressed, Alear picked up Celica’s ring and put it in her skirt pocket. Then, with Marth’s ring sparkling on her finger, she brushed her hair and headed downstairs.

“Good morning, Alear,” said her mother. “It’s so wonderful to see you wide awake so early.”

Alear laughed sheepishly. “Thanks. It feels good.”

“Were you talking to someone earlier?” asked Ryu. “I thought I heard voices coming from your room.”

Alear froze. “Uh…”

I’ve never kept secrets from Ryu before. But this whole ‘I’m a magical girl now’ thing is probably going to take a while to explain, so maybe I should save it…

“Voices?” said her mother.

“I was thinking out loud,” said Alear. “Yeah, that was it. I was thinking out loud!”

Ryu gave her a funny look, but he didn’t ask any more questions. Neither did their mother.

Alear tried not to let her relief show on her face. I really lucked out with my family. They’re so understanding, even when I’m being weird.

It makes me wonder about the Embleteer of Echoes. I hope she’s the same way.

—----------------

Alear and Ryu walked to school together and took their seats in class. Vander smiled at them approvingly as he called the roll.

Once Alear had said “Here,” she took a moment to look around the classroom, her gaze falling on several different girls. I wonder which of them is the Embleteer of Echoes. Of course, she might not even be in my class…

Well, Celica can “sense” who her Embleteer is, so I’ll probably know by the end of the school day!

It was hard for Alear to concentrate on school when the much more exciting subject of being a magical girl looking for her teammates kept pushing itself to the forefront of her mind. Curiosity flooded her thoughts, but it was curiosity about the near future rather than about Vander’s lectures. Unfortunately, Vander seemed to notice that she wasn’t paying as much attention as she should; he called on her twice.

“Now, who can tell me the solution to this problem?” Vander said a couple of long hours later. “Anyone?”

Alear tensed. Oh no. He’s going to call on me again, isn’t he?

Céline, who was sitting two seats away from Alear, raised her hand straight up.

“Alear?” said Vander.

“Huh?” said Alear, sitting up straight and looking at the incomprehensible math problem on the chalkboard.

“I beg your pardon, Mr. Brooks,” said Céline, her hand still up, “but you’ve already called on Alear twice today. May I try answering this time?”

Alear looked over at Céline in surprise.

“With all due respect, Miss Firene, I must make sure that Alear is paying attention,” said Vander.

“She seems preoccupied, Mr. Brooks,” said Céline. “I know how difficult it is to have a restless mind. She will likely feel better tomorrow, and you can call on her then.” She smiled kindly. “May I answer this problem? I’m quite sure I know the answer!”

Alear stared in amazement while Céline (correctly) answered the question. Wow…that was so kind of her. She totally rescued me without even knowing what was distracting me!

Then she sat up straight in her chair. I’ll thank Céline as soon as I can. For now, I should try to concentrate a little better! Still, maybe it’ll be easier for me to concentrate if I check in with the Emblems…

She raised her hand.

“Yes, Alear?” said Vander.

“Excuse me, Vander—I mean, Mr. Brooks…” Alear gave him a sheepish smile. “Can I have a hall pass?”

“Very well,” said Vander.

Alear gratefully headed out of the classroom, grabbing a hall pass on the way. I’ll ask Celica if she knows who her Embleteer is. It’ll be easier to focus on school if I just know!

She walked into the nearest girls’ bathroom and quickly checked underneath all the stall doors for feet. Once she was sure she was the only one there, she ducked into one of the stalls, closed the door behind her, and pulled out Celica’s Emblem Ring.

“Hi, Marth and Celica,” she said, looking at the ring on her finger as well. “How are you doing?”

“We’re doing just fine,” said Marth.

“Good,” said Alear. “Have you figured out who your Embleteer is, Celica?”

Celica let out a sigh from inside her ring. “Unfortunately not,” she said. “Our powers as Emblems are strongest when we are together. With myself and Marth being the only two Emblems who have awakened, I can sense only how close my Embleteer is, not who she may be.”

“Oh,” said Alear. “I didn’t know.”

“I have sensed her presence, though,” said Celica. “She is certainly in your class.”

“That’s great!” said Alear. Then she frowned. “Still, that doesn’t narrow it down too much. There are a lot of girls in my class.”

“I understand,” said Celica. “I’m sorry I can’t help you more.”

“No, that’s okay,” said Alear. “At least I know she’s a girl in my class. And if you can tell when she’s nearby, we can narrow it down even more when there are fewer girls around, right?”

“Yes, exactly,” said Celica.

“Then we’ve got this!” said Alear. “I’ll talk to all the girls in my class one by one if I need to. We’ll figure out who she is!”

“Yes!” said Marth. “We will find her. There is no question of that!”

Alear smiled, feeling more confident now. “Great! Okay, I should get back to class before I miss out on too much more. Probably need to be careful around Vander for the rest of the day just in case. After school we can start to work out who the Embleteer of Echoes is!”

Marth and Celica made affirmative sounds.

“Time to go back to class, then,” said Alear, putting Celica’s ring back into her pocket. She opened the door and walked out of the bathroom stall—and then she froze, seeing a girl from her class staring at her.

“Uh…” said Alear. Dang, she didn’t even remember this girl’s name.

The girl narrowed her eyes. “Were you talking to yourself in there?”

“What? No, I was talking to Ce—uh…” Alear laughed nervously. “Yeah. Yeah, I was talking to myself. It’s a great stress reliever! You should try it sometime!”

Avoiding the girl’s stare, Alear ran over to the sinks and washed her hands with record-breaking speed, promptly tearing out of the bathroom the second that she’d dried her hands a little. “Anyway have fun in the bathroom bye!”

After getting a few feet away from the bathroom, Alear stopped short so that Vander wouldn’t see her and scold her for running in the halls. She shook her head and blushed with embarrassment.

Then she looked down at her pocket and whispered, “It wasn’t her, was it?”

“No, it wasn’t,” Celica whispered back.

“Phew,” said Alear.

—---------------

At lunch, Alfred sat with Alear and Ryu, like usual, but Céline didn’t come with him.

“Where’s Céline?” Alear asked.

“She’s eating lunch with her friend Alcryst,” said Alfred. “Does that a lot. Yeah, see, she’s over there.” He looked over at another table and waved.

Alear followed Alfred’s gaze to the other table. Céline smiled and waved back at Alfred, then turned back to Alcryst.

“What, you miss her?” said Alfred. “Sometimes I do too, honestly.”

“I kind of wanted to thank her,” said Alear. “Earlier Vander called on me when I was distracted, and Céline rescued me. Maybe I can talk to her later.”

Alfred smiled and nodded. “It’d be nice to see you two spending time together. Sometimes I miss those good old days when the four of us would squish together on the couch and watch anime.”

Ryu smiled and leaned closer to him. “Me too.”

As Alfred and Ryu launched into a verbal ping-pong match of do-you-remembers, Alear started eating lunch and let herself zone out, her gaze drifting to Céline at the other table.

Céline was still chatting with Alcryst, who gave her a small smile as he responded to a few of the things she said but otherwise didn’t talk much. They looked so comfortable with each other.

It feels almost like I don’t know Céline Firene anymore, Alear thought. She looks like she’s such a good friend to Alcryst. I wonder if she wants to be friends with me again…

—----------------

Alear pushed thoughts of Emblems and Embleteers out of her head for the duration of her afternoon classes and paid more attention to Vander. As soon as school finally let out, she let herself think about the Emblems again. Maybe this would be a good time to talk to the girls in her class and try to figure out which of them was Celica’s Embleteer.

She gave Ryu an excuse, which worked out because he wanted to spend some time with Alfred anyway, and then she started following her classmates out of the building, looking around at the different girls once again.

Now, how do I open some quick conversations with them?

“Alear?” called a voice.

“Aaaah!” Alear yelped, startled.

She spun around to see Céline, who was alone for once, rather than with her brother or any of her friends.

“My apologies,” said Céline, her eyes wide. “I didn’t mean to startle you. Are you all right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” said Alear. “I’ve just felt kind of distracted all day. So…how are you doing?”

“Quite well, thank you,” Céline replied. “Would you like to go for a walk together? It would be nice to have some company on the way home.”

Alear’s eyes lit up. She could spend a little time getting to know Céline again! “Sure!”

Once the two of them were off the school grounds and on their way to their own neighborhood, Alear came out with, “So, you’re by yourself today? I mean, except me.”

“Yes, since our brothers are apparently occupied with each other,” Céline said with a wry smile. “And most of my friends live in different neighborhoods, so it’s impractical to walk home together.”

That was Céline, all right—always the practical one. “It’s just…I sort of thought you always walked home with Alcryst these days,” Alear admitted.

“Yes, I do,” Céline acknowledged, “but not every day. Today is the day the archery team practices, so that’s where Alcryst is.”

“Archery?” said Alear. “I didn’t know Alcryst did archery. That’s cool.”

“Yes, everyone agrees that Alcryst has a natural talent for it,” said Céline, smiling. “And he certainly enjoys it very much.” Her smile grew a little sad. “Alcryst has very low self-confidence, so I’m happy to see him feel talented at something. Sometimes I worry about him.”

“Oh. I had no idea.” Alear lowered her head. “I don’t really know anything about Alcryst, other than that he’s really shy.”

“Well, Alcryst is also very kind,” said Céline. “The kindest person I know. I’m very grateful for his friendship.”

Alear smiled. “That’s great. Oh, hey, speaking of kindness…thanks for earlier.”

“Earlier?” said Céline. “Oh, do you mean when I helped you in class?”

“Yeah,” said Alear. “That was really nice of you. Thanks for that.”

“I just wanted to help an old friend,” said Céline. “Even if we haven’t spent much time together recently.”

“We’ve kind of drifted apart, haven’t we?” said Alear. “But…it’s been really nice talking to you. So, Céline…” She hitched up her backpack. “Do you want to spend some more time together before we go home? I’d really like to catch up with you.”

Céline smiled. “That sounds wonderful. Why don’t we go to Zofia Gardens?”

“I’ll follow you!” said Alear.

—----------------

“It’s nice to know that Zofia Gardens is still one of your favorite places,” said Alear. “I remember we used to go there all the time.”

“Yes. Nothing makes me happy quite like being around flowers,” said Céline. “Particularly since it brings back those childhood memories, honestly…”

“I haven’t been there in years,” said Alear. “Maybe you could give me a tour and remind me of all the best spots?”

“I’d love to,” said Céline.

—----------------

Soon, the two of them were walking through the gardens together, admiring the flower patches all around them.

“Even in fall, this place is so colorful,” said Alear. “Oh, right! There’s that gazebo we used to sit in all the time!”

“Why don’t we sit there again?” said Céline, starting to walk toward the gazebo. “We can look around at the flowers and talk.”

So they sat down on the bench in the gazebo and set down their backpacks, happily relaxing their shoulders and breathing in the scent of the flowers.

“Sometimes I miss those days when the four of us would spend almost all our time together,” said Alear. “We’d play in these gardens or visit the tea shop nearby or just cozy up at your house and watch anime.”

“In which our brothers would fawn over the bishounen boys while you developed crushes on at least three different magical girls,” said Céline.

“Hey!” said Alear, grinning. “Those girls were super cute! You thought so too, right?”

“Well, yes, but I wasn’t the one who doodled fanart of them in the margins of my school notebooks,” said Céline.

Alear gave her a playful elbow, and they both laughed. Still, thinking about magical girls reminded Alear of Emblem Celica.

“Hey, Céline?” she said. “Can I ask you about something really quick?”

“Yes, of course,” said Céline. “What is it?”

Alear frowned thoughtfully, wondering how best to open the conversation. “Well, uh…so the thing is…”

A high-pitched scream split the air.

Startled, both Alear and Céline turned in the direction of the noise. That hadn’t been just one scream; it had come from several different people.

“MONSTERS!” someone screamed. “There are monsters in the conservatory!!!”

Alear froze.

“What in the world?” said Céline. “What do they mean, monsters?”

Alear glanced down at her hand, and she saw that her Emblem Ring was glowing.

“Uh…just a minute!” said Alear, leaping up from the bench. Céline looked up at her in surprise.

“I…uh…I need to go check on something!” said Alear, already running out of the gazebo and in the direction of the conservatory. “Just wait here, okay, Céline? I’ll be right back!”

There was a crowd of panicked people in front of the Mila Conservatory, screaming about monsters. Alear ran through the crowd and jostled a few people. “Sorry!” she said. “Sorry. Sorry. Coming through.”

“Where are you going?!” someone shouted at her.

“Mila Conservatory!” said Alear.

“Didn’t you hear us?!” someone else shouted. “There are MONSTERS in there! You’re gonna get yourself killed!”

“No I’m not!” said Alear. “I’ve got this!”

She pushed her way through the crowd of incredulous people, finally reaching the entrance. She yanked open the door and ran into the conservatory, her eyes darting back and forth for the monsters.

Then she said, “Oh no.”

“Grrah,” said one Corrupted.

“Rrrreh,” said another.

Alear took a startled step backward, but the door had already swung shut behind her.

In the Khadein Magick Shop, she had had to fight only one Corrupted. In Mila Conservatory, there were at least ten. Corrupted were coming out from behind the plants and fixing their creepy glowing eyes on her, growling and hissing.

“Yikes,” said Alear, frozen in place.

“You must Engage with me and fight them, Alear!” said Marth. “Quickly! Time is of the essence! From the second time onward, you need only say ‘Emblem engage’ to activate my Emblem Ring.”

“That’s a lot of Corrupted,” said Alear, looking at her opponents nervously. “But…okay. Got to do my best.” She took a deep breath and raised her hand above her head. “Emblem engage!”

Marth held his hands out to Alear, who instinctively took them. Just like yesterday, the Emblem turned into blue light, which zipped toward Alear and dove straight into her heart. Once again, pale blue light coursed through Alear’s hair, turning one half of it blue and deepening the other half into a rich red.

The light swirled around Alear, materializing into a bright blue dress with a knee-length ruffled skirt and three-quarter ruffled sleeves. A large golden breastplate popped into existence on her chest, gauntlets shimmered themselves onto her hands, and knee-high boots swirled up her legs.

A beam of light hovered before Alear, solidifying itself into a beautiful blue sword. Alear reached out and gripped the sword’s hilt, slashing it out to her side and striking the same pose as she had yesterday.

Then the light cleared away from Alear’s surroundings, and she readied for a fight.

Only to find that all of the Corrupted—at least fifteen—had formed a tight semicircle around her, all of them with their claws raised.

“Grrah,” said the one directly in front of her.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Alear screamed, pressing herself up against the door. The Corrupted advanced closer.

Alear, you must not panic! said Marth. Fight back!

Alear slashed with her sword out of pure instinct, screaming again, and managed to injure the Corrupted closest to her. “I didn’t expect them to surround me while I was transforming!” she protested, flailing frantically with her sword. “In every anime I’ve ever seen, transformation sequences are instant! Or at least the bad guys always act like they are!”

What is “anime?” asked Marth, sounding genuinely curious.

“Uh, never mind!” said Alear. She successfully took out one of the Corrupted, which shrieked and dissipated into red sparks of magic. Then she tore through the opening in the semicircle, spinning around a few yards ahead so she could put her sword between herself and the remaining Corrupted.

“I had no idea there’d be this many!” said Alear.

Nor did I, said Marth. If only we had the Embleteer of Echoes with us! Emblem Celica’s power is especially good at defeating Corrupted.

Alear took a nervous step back, then yelped as a large tropical leaf brushed against her cheek. “They’re coming closer!” she said, shoving the leaf away with her free hand.

Do not give up, Alear! said Marth. Use my power!

“There isn’t enough room to use Lodestar Rush!” said Alear. “If I tried, it’d chop up all the plants—”

“Alear?” said a voice. “What’s going—” There was a gasp. “On?”

The Corrupted stopped where they were, as if they were just as surprised as Alear was. “Céline?” Alear gasped.

Céline stood just inside the conservatory, the door swinging shut behind her. “There really are monsters,” she said, her eyes wide. But she didn’t seem afraid—just surprised. “I heard you scream, and I came running.” Then she blinked. “What are you wearing?”

Celica’s voice came out of the pocket of Alear’s Engage outfit. “It’s her! My Embleteer!”

“What was that voice?” said Céline.

Alear couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of this before. Of course it was Céline!

“No time to explain!” said Alear, pulling Celica’s Emblem Ring out of her pocket and holding it over her head. “Céline, catch!”

She threw the ring in an arc, and somehow it smoothly glided straight into Céline’s cupped hands. Céline stared at the glowing ring in amazement.

“I’ll keep the Corrupted busy while you transform!” said Alear, finding fresh courage. “Corrupted! Over here!”

“What…” Céline instinctively slid the ring onto her finger. “What in the world…”

“I am Celica, the Emblem of Echoes,” said a voice from the ring. “And you are my partner, the Embleteer of Echoes. Engage with me, Céline, and I will lend you the power you need to rescue your friend. Speak the words waiting in your heart.”

Céline wasted no time. As an incantation flowed through her thoughts, she raised her hand and called out.

“Care for us, Emblem of Echoes!”

Celica flew out of her ring, smiling warmly and extending her hand to Céline. As Emblem and Embleteer joined hands, Celica turned into a bright red flame that dove into Céline’s heart. Fire coursed through Céline’s long blond hair, turning it a rich red.

Flames swirled around Céline, materializing into a short red sleeveless dress with a ruffled skirt. Fire spiraled up her legs, turning into a pair of high white boots, while a curtain of flame spread across her shoulders and back, becoming a knee-length white cape.

Red sparks shone around her legs between her skirt and boots, changing into a pair of trailing red ribbons. Red bows popped into existence on her wrists, while large white bows shaped a little like butterflies appeared in her hair. Céline raised her right hand, a ball of fire glowing just above her palm, and struck a pose.

The light cleared away from Céline’s surroundings, revealing that Alear was still locked in combat with the Corrupted, trying her very hardest not to harm any plants. Alear glanced over at Céline and gave her a distinctly relieved look and a quick thumbs-up.

Welcome, Céline, Embleteer of Echoes, said Celica’s voice in her mind. With my power, you may defeat the Corrupted easily. Attune yourself to the magic within you and unleash the sacred fire of Seraphim!

“All right!” said Céline, holding out her hands in front of her. “Corrupted! You have no place in the Mila Conservatory!”

Fire shot forth from her hands, striking two of the Corrupted from behind. Both of them shrieked, instantly disintegrating.

“Wow!” said Alear, staring at the space where the Corrupted had been. “You’re a spellcaster, Céline?”

“Yes, and I am here to help you!” Céline replied. “Let us fight together!”

A Corrupted leapt toward Alear, who had dropped her guard talking to Céline. Alear let out a shout of alarm and only barely deflected the monster’s claws.

Realizing another power that she had, Céline focused on her desire to help Alear. Suddenly, she disappeared into thin air, reappearing in a swirl of red light at Alear’s side.

“That’s enough!” Céline shouted, unleashing another burst of fire magic and destroying the Corrupted in front of her. As another Corrupted charged toward her and Alear, she destroyed it with equal ease.

Alear’s eyes widened. “You can teleport?!”

“Apparently so,” said Céline, sending one Seraphim spell after another at the Corrupted. “Though I feel I can teleport only short distances. Take that!” she added as another Corrupted dissipated.

“This is amazing!” said Alear, stabbing a Corrupted that tried to come at her from the side. “It’s like I don’t have to be afraid of these things with you around!”

“That’s what friends are for,” said Céline, defeating the last remaining Corrupted in the conservatory. She turned and smiled at Alear. “And I would very much like to consider you my good friend again.”

Alear beamed back at her. “Yeah! You’re the best friend I could ask for, Céline!”

The two girls smiled at each other, their eyes shining. They might have stayed in that spot for longer, if not for the sound of another scream.

“There’s MORE of them?!”

“What?” Alear and Céline gasped.

“MONSTERS!” someone outside screamed. “More monsters! Coming toward the gardens! EVERYONE RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!”

“More Corrupted?!” said Alear. “We need to get outside!” She frantically glanced back and forth. “Where’s the back door?”

“Celica?” said Céline. “Can I take others with me when I warp?”

Yes! said Celica. You can bring others with you as long as they are willing and you are touching them.

“Understood,” said Céline, taking Alear’s hand. “I know of a faster way to get us outside, Alear. Here we go!”

“Okay, I’ll follow y—WHOA!” said Alear as Céline warped the two of them to the field behind the conservatory.

Sure enough, there were more Corrupted approaching the conservatory from behind. People were running away at full speed.

“At least there’s only five of them,” said Alear, letting go of Céline’s hand. “That one in the middle looks tough, though.”

Céline smiled and clenched her hands. I can feel Celica’s fire magic flowing through my body. I’ve never felt so strong—or so certain that I know what to do.

“Leave this to me, my friend,” she said.

Without waiting for a response, Céline held out her hands to her sides and fixed her gaze on the Corrupted a short distance away. She warped forward, appearing right in front of her enemies.

“Grant me strength!” she shouted, her voice in sync with Celica’s as she charged the fire magic within her. “Warp…RAGNAROK!”

A massive ball of flame descended upon the group of Corrupted and immolated them in an instant. The monsters shrieked and vanished, leaving the field empty of any sign that they had been there. Even the grass was unharmed by the fire.

Céline exhaled. “There,” she said, lowering her hands and smiling with satisfaction.

“Céline!” Alear called out. Céline turned to see Alear running toward her.

Alear stopped a few feet away from Céline and panted for breath. “That was amazing,” she said. “I’m so glad I have you as a friend, Céline. And I’m so glad that someone as fierce as you is on my side.”

Céline laughed. “I am always happy to aid and protect you, my friend. Thank you so much for coming to Zofia Gardens with me.”

Marth and Celica materialized beside the Embleteers, changing Alear and Céline’s hair and clothes back to normal.

“Well done, both of you,” said Marth. “I can see that we have found some truly capable Embleteers. However, there are still Embleteers and Emblem Rings left to find. Your adventures have only just begun.”

“We understand,” said Alear. “So there aren’t any Emblem Rings nearby?”

“Unfortunately not,” said Celica. “You will need to continue searching. But we have no doubt that you will find all of your allies in good time.”

“Thank you,” said Céline. “We will work hard.”

“And we’ll keep learning more about how the Emblems’ powers work,” said Alear. “Like, apparently our transformation sequences actually take a little time.”

“Duly noted,” said Céline. “We can warn the other Embleteers of that restriction when we find them.”

“But we should go home for now,” said Alear. “We still need to have dinner and do our homework, just like the other high school girls.”

“Then we had better return to the gazebo and pick up our backpacks,” Céline remarked.

The two of them laughed.

—----------------

That evening, just as Céline was returning to her room after getting ready for bed, she heard her phone go off. She walked over to her bedside table and picked up the phone, smiling to see a text from Alear on the screen.

How’re you doing? I hope you’re not too tired out from our exciting day at the gardens.

Sitting down on the edge of her bed, Céline unlocked her phone and typed out a reply. I’m not tired out, though some sleep will be welcome. How about you?

Alear texted back, I’m just glad I already have a friend with me. You really saved me today.

I’m happy to hear it, Céline texted. See you tomorrow, my friend.

See you tomorrow! Alear texted back, adding a smiley emoji.

Céline set down her phone again and held up her hand, looking at the Emblem Ring on her finger.

“I’m going to go to bed now,” she said to the ring. “Goodnight, Celica.”

“Goodnight, Céline,” Celica replied. “Sleep well.”

“Thank you,” Céline said, and she got up to turn off the light.

Chapter Text

In a large bedroom where almost everything was pink and/or sparkly, Hortensia Elusia slept with her face buried in a pink heart-shaped throw pillow she was hugging to her chest. She mumbled something unintelligible, her voice muffled by the pillow.

A bright pink alarm clock with hearts and stars all over it went off, letting out an alarm that sounded kind of cutesy and magical but mostly just annoying.

Hortensia groaned, her voice still muffled by the pillow. “Five more minutes…”

The alarm kept playing.

“Okay, fine!” said Hortensia, opening her eyes and raising her head. She threw the throw pillow aside, where it bounced off her bed and onto the floor, then pushed herself up with one hand and used the other hand to slam the off button harder than was strictly necessary. “Enough already! I’m awake!”

When the alarm finally stopped, Hortensia threw back her blankets and sat up, rubbing her eyes. “Stupid alarm,” she muttered. “I wish I had a phone with an alarm app instead. Those are so much better…”

She hopped off her bed and onto the floor, straightening up and putting her hands on her hips. “Anyway, time to get dressed!”

Soon, Hortensia was skipping out of her room, her pigtails tied and a cute dress sparkling on her, ready for the day.

Despite its name, Elusia Mansion wasn’t technically a mansion. It was big and fancy enough that it might as well be, though. Hortensia loved living in an almost-mansion, especially since it meant she had a big bedroom all to herself.

When she reached the dining room, she leapt in through the doorway and called out, “Good morning, everybodyyyyyy!”

Her mother chuckled and looked up from her breakfast. “Good morning, Hortensia. Your breakfast’s already at the table.”

“Nice! Thanks,” said Hortensia, running over to her chair and sitting down in it before promptly digging into her breakfast.

A moment later, her sister Ivy entered the dining room herself, with the same stately posture as always. Her entrance is always so boring, Hortensia thought.

“Good morning, Hortensia,” said Ivy, walking over to her own chair. “Good morning, Father, Mother.”

Hortensia’s father looked over at his daughters. “Are the two of you looking forward to school?”

“Of course I am!” said Hortensia.

“Mm-hm,” said Ivy.

Their father smiled. “Good. Now, don’t forget—we’re having dinner early so that we can attend the school concert this evening.”

“Of course,” said Ivy.

“The concert?!” said Hortensia. “UGH. I forgot about the concert. Do we have to go? Those are always so boring!”

Ivy shook her head ruefully. “You know we should go, Hortensia,” she said. “You and I are high schoolers now. We should support the seniors and their music. Besides, they’re wonderful players. We learned that last year.”

“But concerts are so boring,” Hortensia repeated. “You just sit there and listen to music.”

“Hortensia,” said her mother. “Attending the concert is good for culture and for school spirit. Besides, your father donated to the school last year. It would be poor form for us not to attend the seniors’ concert.”

Hortensia’s shoulders slumped with annoyance.

“And that reminds me,” said her father. “We are having a rather busy week. There is also the dinner party tomorrow night.”

“UUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH,” Hortensia groaned, putting her head down on the table. “Dinner parties are the most boring things ever!”

“Even if they’re boring, they are very necessary sometimes,” said her mother. “Your father has some important things to discuss with Zephia Maxwell about the construction project.”

Hortensia raised her head. “Who?”

“Zephia Maxwell,” said Ivy. “Remember? Father’s new coworker? He mentioned her last week. She’ll be coming here with her partner tomorrow night.” She set down her fork and clasped her hands. “Please don’t complain, Hortensia. You know that this construction project is very important to Father.”

Hortensia sighed and gave in, though she made a very definite sulky expression as she finished her breakfast.

Two boring evenings in a row. How am I gonna survive?

—----------------

Céline followed Alfred out of the house and looked toward the Hikaris’ house. To her delight, Alear and Ryu were just now heading out their front door.

“Céline!” called Alear, excitedly waving. “Alfred! Mind if we walk with you?”

“Good morning!” said Céline. “Yes, please join us!”

Ryu ran over to Alfred and promptly struck up an excited conversation with him. By some unspoken agreement, Alear and Céline hung back for a few moments as their brothers started walking to school, so that it would be easier to talk privately.

“Our current objective is to find the remaining Emblem Rings and their Embleteers, yes?” said Céline. “Do we have a good place to start our search?”

“I don’t know,” Alear admitted. “Finding my ring and then yours just kind of happened.” Her eyes widened. “Hang on! I have an idea.”

Alear grinned and held up her hand, putting it close to her ear as though she was giving someone a call. “There,” she said, looking over at Céline. “If you do this too, Marth and Celica can talk pretty quietly so our brothers don’t hear them.”

Céline nodded and copied Alear’s gesture.

“Did you hear that, Marth?” said Alear, lowering her voice.

“Yes,” Marth answered, speaking quietly. “And Celica and I can inform you that now that we are both united with our Embleteers, we have enough power to sense the presence of dormant Emblem Rings nearby.”

“Ooh!” said Alear. “Like how Celica sensed Céline?”

“Yes, exactly!” Celica replied. “Unfortunately, there currently aren’t any other Emblem Rings nearby.”

Alear frowned. “Okay,” she said. “Guess Céline and I should go exploring, then?”

“We’ll have to look for excuses to travel to different places around town,” said Céline thoughtfully. “We may have to save that for tomorrow, though. Mother and Alfred and I are attending the school concert tonight.”

“Oh, hey, we’ll be there too!” said Alear. “That’ll be fun.”

Céline nodded, then gasped. “Alear, watch out!”

Alear stopped short just in time to keep from straying off the sidewalk and onto someone’s lawn.

“Yikes. I was about to trip on that lawn gnome,” said Alear, taking a step back. “Thanks, Céline.”

“Perhaps we should save talking to our rings for later,” said Céline, lowering her hand. “You weren’t really looking where you were going.”

Alear gave her a sheepish grin. “Good idea.”

“Are you okay, Alear?” said Ryu, turning around. “What happened?”

“Uh, I wasn’t looking where I was going?” said Alear, taking another step back. “Don’t worry, though! I’m okay!”

Alear and Céline hurried to catch up with their brothers.

—----------------

“There,” said Céline. “At school without further incident. Even if we had to detour around the construction site again.”

“Yeah,” said Alear. “I hope the bulk of the construction is done soon.”

Céline nodded as they followed their brothers into the building.

Suddenly, once the group was in the hallway and joining the crowd of high schoolers, Alear and Céline’s Emblem Rings started glowing.

“Huh?” said Alear, startled.

Céline glanced from side to side, then grabbed Alear’s hand and started pulling her along.

“Bathroom!” she called to Alfred and Ryu. “We’ll be right back!”

The girls ran into the nearby bathroom, looked around for other people, and then breathed sighs of relief.

“Phew,” said Alear. “That was some great quick thinking, Céline.” She held up her hand and looked at her glowing ring. “What is it, Marth?”

“There is an Emblem Ring somewhere in this building!” said Marth. “I cannot sense its exact location, but it is certainly nearby.”

“Here?!” said Alear, exchanging a wide-eyed glance with Céline. “In Lythos High School?”

“Yes!” Celica confirmed. “I can sense an Emblem Ring in your school as well.”

“It’s a relief to know that the third Emblem Ring is so close by,” said Céline. Then she frowned. “But one small ring in this entire school building, almost certainly not on someone’s finger? Even with your help, this will be like searching for a needle in a haystack.”

Alear nodded, frowning as well. “Céline’s right,” she said. “Besides, we already came to school. If we go looking for the ring now, we’ll get in trouble for skipping class. And since Ryu’s in our class, he’ll worry about us when we don’t catch up to him.”

“We could search during lunch break and free period, but even that won’t give us very much time,” said Céline. “There’s the concert tonight, and we’re almost to the weekend…”

Alear winced. “Talk about bad timing. It’d be awfully hard to get into the school on a Saturday.”

“Well, we don’t have time to formulate a plan now,” said Céline, folding her arms. “The tardy bell is going to ring any minute. We’ll see if we can come up with something during lunch.”

“Right,” said Alear. “Okay. Marth, Celica, we’ll see what we can do. For now, we’d better head to class.”

The Emblems made affirmative sounds, and Alear and Céline hurried to class together.

They managed to get to class in time without running in the halls. Ryu waved to them when they headed in.

“There you are,” said Vander. “Well done arriving on time, Alear.”

“Thanks,” said Alear, breathing a sigh of relief. She hadn’t been sure that she and Céline would make it.

“We’re sorry about the delay, Mr. Brooks,” said Céline, unzipping her backpack and pulling out her flower-patterned pencil case.

Alear nodded to Ryu and gave him a sheepish grin as she took her seat. Ryu grinned back before turning his head back toward Vander. Céline nodded to Alcryst, who smiled at her as she took her own seat.

I can’t believe there’s an Emblem Ring right here in our school, Alear thought as Vander started taking attendance. I wonder where it is…and how Céline and I can go looking for it. I hope we can think of something.

Her expression turned fierce. I shouldn’t try making a plan right now, though, she told herself. I’ve learned my lesson. I better not zone out during class today!

She heard a voice saying something, but she couldn’t make it out. Then Ryu, in the seat next to her, poked her in the side.

“Huh?” said Alear, snapping out of her reverie.

Vander’s eyes were narrowed. “Alear Hikari?” he said with the tone of someone who’d had to repeat himself three or four times.

“Aaah! Sorry!” said Alear, her face turning red from embarrassment. “Here!”

Much to her further embarrassment, she heard Hortensia snicker. Ryu gave his twin a sympathetic look before hearing his own name called and replying “Here!”

—----------------

Although Alear concentrated as much as she could, thoughts about the third Emblem Ring kept coming in, and she had to force them out of her head so she could focus on school. It was a relief when lunch break finally came.

As Alear and Ryu made their way to the cafeteria, Céline caught up to them. “I told my other friends I was having lunch with you today,” she said to Alear. “There’s something I’d like to talk to you about.”

“Yeah?” said Alear.

“Hey, everybody!” Alfred called, suddenly running up to them.

“Alfred!” said Ryu, his eyes lighting up. “Wait, were you running in the halls?”

“Just for the last ten feet or so,” said Alfred.

Céline facepalmed.

“Let’s go have lunch!” said Alfred. “I’ve got a really funny story for you, Ryu. You wouldn’t believe what happened in class today!”

Céline’s eyes widened, and then she smiled. She looked over at Alear and mouthed the word Perfect. Alear smiled and nodded, knowing what Céline meant.

If Alfred and Ryu were busy chatting (with the background noise of the cafeteria on top of that), they wouldn’t overhear whatever Céline wanted to tell Alear.

Definitely perfect.

—----------------

Once Alfred was telling his funny story to Ryu, Céline turned toward Alear with the air of someone getting down to business.

“I have an idea,” she said. “Both of us are going to the concert with our families tonight, yes?”

“Yeah,” said Alear.

Céline smiled. “Once the concert is over, people will be leaving the school building. If we come up with an excuse—forgetting a textbook, for example—to get away from our mothers and brothers, we should have a reasonable amount of time to search for the ring without anyone interrupting us.”

“Oh my gosh! That’s a great idea!” said Alear. “Since there won’t be any people around, we can just run around talking to Marth and Celica and have them play Hot and Cold with the ring’s aura! We’ll find it in no time!”

“Exactly!” said Céline. Then she chuckled. “It’s rather like Cardcaptor Sakura, isn’t it? Sakura had to sneak into so many different places to capture the Clow Cards. The first place being her own grade school!”

Alear laughed excitedly. “Oh, wow, that brings back memories,” she said. “I loved the episode where she snuck into the aquarium! Sakura really did have to sneak into half the buildings in town after closing time.”

Céline’s eyes twinkled mischievously. “She was lucky that the only security measure in the art museum was a night watchman who took an hour to make his rounds.”

Both of them burst out laughing. After a moment, their brothers turned and looked at them.

“What’s so funny?” Ryu asked.

“Oh, nothing much,” said Alear, still laughing a little. “We were just reminiscing about Cardcaptor Sakura.”

Ryu smiled. “Oh, that one’s so good. Eriol was the cutest.”

“Guess you two are friends again, huh?” said Alfred. “I always hoped you’d spend time with each other again.”

“I’m really glad I have a friend like Céline,” Alear said, smiling at her. Céline smiled back.

She’s smart, she’s nice, she’s practical, and she’s funny. And she’s given us a plan. We’ll find that Emblem Ring after the concert tonight!

—----------------

It was already dark outside when it came time to go to the concert, so Alear and Ryu’s mother drove to the school. Ryu sat in the passenger seat, while Alear got into one of the backseats, pulling out her phone once the car started moving.

“It gets dark so early in fall,” said Ryu. He smiled. “It’s weird going to the school building when it looks like it’s night.”

“Yeah,” agreed Alear, opening her messages app and clicking Céline’s name. “Hang on, I need to check something.”

As her mother and brother started talking to each other, Alear reread the texts that she and Céline had exchanged after school. They’d spent a little while planning reasonable excuses to get away from their families after the concert.

As Alear reached the bottom of the exchange again, a new text popped onto the screen.

Are you ready, Alear?

Alear smiled and typed out a reply. I’m ready.

Then she turned off her phone.

“Alear?” said her mother. “Don’t forget to silence your phone before the concert.”

“Oh, right,” said Alear. “Sorry.” She turned on “Do Not Disturb” before putting her phone back in her pocket.

At the school, the only lights still on were the ones in the hallways leading to the school auditorium. Alear looked around the darkening school, her eyes lighting up when she saw someone familiar waving to her.

“Oh!” said her mother, noticing at the same time as Alear. “It’s the Firenes!”

Alear hurried over to Céline. “I was wondering where you were.”

“Fancy meeting you here,” Céline said wryly. “I don’t know how many seats are taken, but with luck, perhaps our families could sit together.”

“That’d be great!” said Alear. Especially since then I wouldn’t have to go look for Céline before we put our plan in action.

“Hi, Alfred!” said Ryu, catching up to Alear. Alfred grinned back as their mothers exchanged greetings.

As the two families headed into the auditorium to find seats, Céline briefly stepped away to wave at a family sitting down nearby. “There you are!” she called over the din of voices. “Hello, Alcryst!”

Alcryst turned around in his folding chair and gave Céline a small smile and a wave.

“Oh, it looks like the seats behind you and your family are free,” said Céline. “Do you mind if we sit behind you?”

Alcryst’s eyes lit up. “If you don’t mind…”

“Of course we don’t mind,” said Céline, turning back to the group she’d left. “Over here, Mother! There are empty seats behind the Brodias!”

They all hurried and claimed the seats before anyone else could. “Phew,” said Alear, settling into her folding chair as best she could. “Nice catch, Céline.”

“All the good seats are taken already?!” complained a familiar high-pitched voice. Alear froze. Hortensia. “Where are we even gonna sit?”

“Well, I suppose there are those seats over there,” said a low, level male voice that could only belong to Hyacinth Elusia. “But I refuse to sit next to the Brodias.”

“Same to you, pal!” shouted Morion Brodia, turning around in his seat.

Alcryst’s older brother, Diamant Brodia, turned and scolded his father.

“We can sit over there,” said a voice that Alear had heard for the first time just two days before. “Those seats are still close to the stage.”

“Phew!” said Hortensia. “Thanks for being the smart one, Ivy. Besides me.”

Even though she was tensed up from being so close to the Elusias, Alear turned her head to see them head to the seats. After a moment of looking, she found Ivy.

Oh, wow. Ivy was just as pretty as she’d been the other day. She was staying calm in the bustling crowd of people, though she did look from side to side a bit. She was wearing an elegant purple dress that looked like it could belong to a princess.

Alear was trying very, very hard not to stare.

“Who are you looking at?” Céline asked, startling Alear.

“Oh! Uh…” Alear blushed from embarrassment as she turned around again. “Nothing.”

“The Elusias?” said Céline. “They are very well dressed.”

“And Ivy Elusia’s pretty,” said Alear. Then she clapped her hand over her mouth.

“Oh?” said Céline, looking intrigued. “Hortensia’s older sister?”

Fortunately, the auditorium darkened at that point, sparing Alear more embarrassment, and the concert began.

—----------------

After a few minutes, Alear was able to relax in her seat and just enjoy the concert. Céline did the same, smiling contentedly.

Eventually, the seniors finished their last song—they’d made a good pick for the finale, Alear thought—and the audience gave them a big round of applause.

And then the concert was over, and people were getting out of their seats and heading for the doors. Alear and Céline’s families were among those people smart enough to stay in their seats for a bit and wait until the initial rush was over.

When the chatter started to quiet down a bit and Céline was done waving to Alcryst and bidding him goodnight as the Brodias left, Alear waited a few seconds and then said, as spontaneously as she could, “Oh, shoot!”

“What’s wrong?” Ryu asked.

“I forgot to pack one of my textbooks today!” said Alear, glancing back and forth. “I can’t believe it slipped my mind!”

“That’s an unfortunate time to remember you forgot something!” said Céline. Wow, she’s a good actress, Alear thought.

“We are still in the school,” said Alear’s mother. “Why don’t you fetch your textbook?”

“I should do that before I forget again,” said Alear, standing up. “Thanks.”

“I’ll come with you,” said Céline, standing up as well. “I’ve heard that empty schools are rather spooky. I can keep you company.”

Alear smiled. “Really? Thanks, Céline! You’re a lifesaver.”

“We’ll wait for you outside,” said Céline’s mother. “The air is getting a little stifling in here.”

Alear and Céline nodded. “We’ll be right back,” Céline said, and they hurried out of the auditorium.

The girls hustled past the remnants of the crowd and toward another hallway, in the direction of their classroom (just in case their families glimpsed them). Once they were safely out of sight of other people, they held up their rings.

“Okay, we’re ready to look for the next Emblem Ring,” said Alear. “Can you tell us how close it is, Marth?”

“It is quite close by,” said Marth. “But I also sense…” He gasped.

“Corrupted!” said Celica.

“What?” Alear and Céline gasped.

“Yes, I sense Corrupted nearby!” Celica said fiercely. “They are…” She appeared beside Céline, glanced from side to side, and pointed. “That way.”

“Corrupted in the school?!” said Alear.

“You’re pointing in the direction of the back entrance, Celica,” said Céline. “They must have come in through there!”

“They must be after the Emblem Ring!” said Marth, appearing beside Alear. “We need to find them!”

Céline, looking determined, turned back to Alear. “We should engage now,” she said. “Before we fight the Corrupted.”

“Uh, right,” said Alear, still in a bit of a panic. There are Corrupted in the school. There are Corrupted IN THE SCHOOL.

“We have to find the Emblem Ring before they do!” said Céline, raising her hand.

“Right!” said Alear, raising her own hand.

Both girls said in chorus, “Emblem engage!”

Marth held his hands out to Alear, who instinctively took them. The Emblem turned into blue light, which zipped toward Alear and dove into her heart. Pale blue light coursed through Alear’s hair, turning one half of it blue and deepening the other half into a rich red.

The light swirled around Alear, materializing into a bright blue dress with a knee-length ruffled skirt and three-quarter ruffled sleeves. A large golden breastplate popped into existence on her chest, gauntlets shimmered themselves onto her hands, and knee-high boots swirled up her legs.

A beam of light hovered before Alear, solidifying itself into a beautiful blue sword. Alear reached out and gripped the sword’s hilt, slashing it out to her side before striking a pose.

Meanwhile, Celica smiled warmly and extended her hand to Céline. As Emblem and Embleteer joined hands, Celica turned into a bright red flame that dove into Céline’s heart. Fire coursed through Céline’s long blond hair, turning it a rich red.

Flames swirled around Céline, materializing into a short red sleeveless dress with a ruffled skirt. Fire spiraled up her legs, turning into a pair of high white boots, while a curtain of flame spread across her shoulders and back, becoming a knee-length white cape. Sparks shimmered up her arms and became elbow-length white gloves.

Red sparks shone around her legs between her skirt and boots, changing into a pair of trailing red ribbons. Red bows popped into existence on her wrists, while large white bows shaped a little like butterflies appeared in her hair. Céline raised her right hand, a ball of fire glowing just above her palm, and struck a pose.

The light cleared away from their fields of vision, and Alear and Céline nodded determinedly at each other. Then they took off in the direction Celica had pointed, running to find the Corrupted and defend their school.

They still needed to find the third Emblem Ring. But this came first.

—----------------

“It already seems like midnight outside,” said Ivy, looking around at the dark sky. “It’s…rather unsettling, honestly. I’m not used to being out so late on a school night.”

Hortensia grinned. “Ooooh, I think I see a creepy shadow moving over there,” she said, pointing.

“Where?!” said Ivy, taking a startled step back.

“Gotcha!” said Hortensia. “It was just a tree.”

“That is not something to joke about, Hortensia!” Ivy snapped. “Were you trying to scare me?”

“Just trying to mess with you a little,” said Hortensia, shrugging. “Anyway, let’s get home already.”

But as Hortensia took a step forward, she felt like something was missing. She stopped and patted her side, quickly realizing what was wrong. “Darn it! I think I dropped my purse!”

“Here?” said Ivy, looking around while hugging herself nervously.

“We should check the parking lot, then,” said her mother.

“Wait, no…” Hortensia frowned. “I think I took it off at the beginning of the concert and then forgot.” She turned around to face the school, then glanced back at her family. “I just need to grab it from the auditorium. You guys wait for me!”

Without waiting for her parents to say yes, Hortensia dashed back to the school, jostling some people still walking out. “Oof! Sorry! Forgot something! Coming through!”

Soon she was back in the dark school, running through its front hall. By now, all the lights were off, but she remembered where the auditorium was, so she wasn’t slowed down that much.

She heaved open the door and ran back into the auditorium, glancing back and forth, running forward in the darkness, and then suddenly crashing into a chair.

“OW!” Hortensia shouted, rubbing her knee. “Stupid,” she muttered. “Didn’t let your eyes adjust to the darkness and your boring old-fashioned phone doesn’t have a frickin’ flashlight...and even if it did, my phone’s in my purse…”

After standing still for a few moments, rubbing her knee the whole time, Hortensia could see well enough to spot her purse. She darted between the chairs to grab it.

“Phew,” she said, hugging it to her chest. “Now I just need to get back outside.”

“Grrah,” said something behind her.

“Huh?” said Hortensia, turning her head. “Who’s there?”

A creature that looked only vaguely like a human started pushing its way between the seats, moving with a shambling gait like the zombies in some of the scary movies Hortensia liked. Hortensia couldn’t see it very well, but she didn’t need light to see its glowing red eyes.

“Grrrrrah,” said the creature, slowly making its way toward her.

“AAAAAAAH!” Hortensia screamed.

—----------------

“I can’t believe all the lights are already off,” said Alear. “Empty schools really are spooky.” She held up Falchion. “My sword kind of glows, but still, it’s hard to see anything.”

“Agreed,” said Céline, holding up a fireball as a kind of torch. It worked better than Falchion, but not by as much as she’d hoped. “It’s just like when Sakura had to capture the Shadow card.”

Alear glimpsed an open door and ran over to it. “Yeah. And her friend Tomoyo helped her out by turning all the lights on. Maybe we can do the same.” She poked her head into the room and promptly started coughing. “Gah! It smells terrible in here! This must be the chemistry lab.”

“Are you all right?” Céline asked. “We need to hurry and find the Corrupted. They likely made their way further into the school while we were transforming!”

“I know,” said Alear, groping in the darkness. “And I’m fine. Just trying to find a light…” A few attempts later, she said, “I can’t find the light switch.”

“Then we’ll just have to continue in the darkness,” said Céline, facing forward again. “Come to think of it, we keep the contents of our pockets, don’t we?”

“Oh, right!” said Alear, running back out of the chemistry lab. “We can use our phones for light!”

Céline smiled triumphantly. “Exactly!”

Both girls reached their off hands into their dress pockets and pulled out their phones. A few seconds later, they had turned on their phone flashlights.

“Much better,” said Céline, holding her phone up in front of her. “We certainly have better technology at our disposal than Sakura and Tomoyo did. We were so silly to forget.”

“Except for the drone that doubled as a flying video camera in Clear Card,” Alear pointed out.

Céline rolled her eyes, though she smiled as she did. “That’s an exception. Clear Card came out over fifteen years later!”

Alear grinned, then held up her own phone. “Uh…Corrupted?” she called. “Come out, come out, wherever you are?”

“Celica?” said Céline. “Can you and Marth still sense them?”

They have moved quite a bit, said Celica. They are…er…somewhere a fair distance ahead of where you’re facing.

“Drat,” said Céline. “It seems we’re back to playing Hot and Cold.”

But the Emblem Ring is very close by! said Marth. It is to your left, and its Emblem is beginning to awaken! That may mean its Embleteer is nearby as well!

“Wait, really?!” Alear gasped.

“Did Marth tell you something?” Céline asked.

“The Emblem Ring’s this way!” said Alear, turning left. “Come on!”

—----------------

The moment she’d stopped screaming, Hortensia took off running, kicking aside a nearby chair and using another one for momentum as she ran from the monster.

What’s going on?! Is that a zombie? In SCHOOL?

She threw open the door and dashed out of the auditorium, but as she turned back toward the school doors, she saw two more sets of glowing red eyes in front of her.

“MORE zombies?!” Hortensia yelped, frantically glancing back and forth. Where do I run where do I run?

Instinct took over, and she ran in the opposite direction of the monsters, tearing into the first room she saw and slamming the door behind her.

Phew, she thought, panting for breath. Safe. For now. But how do I get out of here?

She looked around the room she was in. Thanks to a window letting in some moonlight, it was better lit than the auditorium. She could see a sign that said Daein Music Room.

“Hello?” said a womanly voice. “Can anyone hear me?”

“Ack!” said Hortensia, glancing back and forth. “Who’s there?”

“I am Micaiah, the Emblem of Dawn,” said the voice. “I’m over here. Follow my voice.”

Hortensia turned in the direction of the voice and saw a small object glowing brightly on top of the piano.

This is the weirdest night of my life, Hortensia thought as she walked up to the piano and picked up the glowing object.

It was a ring, with a thin golden band and a yellow stone framed by gold filigree. It arguably wasn’t Hortensia’s style, but it was the prettiest thing she’d ever seen.

“So are you…” Hortensia frowned. “A talking ring?”

“I am an Emblem, a guardian spirit of your world,” said the ring. “I have been seeking the Embleteer who may make use of my power. And now I have found you. The Embleteer of Dawn.”

Hortensia stared at the ring in disbelief.

“Uh…” she said. “Are you saying I’m some kind of chosen one?”

Before the ring could respond, the other door to the music room flew open, and two girls in flashy, colorful outfits ran inside. Their hair was different and one of them had an actual sword, but Hortensia recognized them easily.

“Okay, what?!” said Hortensia. “Alear? Céline?”

Alear and Céline straightened up, their eyes wide. “Hortensia?” Alear gasped.

“Uh, yeah?” said Hortensia. “Why are you wearing those flashy dresses? I’m jealous. I want one. Also, why are there zombies in the school? And do you know why there’s a ring talking to me?!”

Alear and Céline looked at each other. “Oh my gosh,” said Alear. “Hortensia is an Embleteer?”

“Then you KNOW about all this?!” said Hortensia.

Céline looked at the ring Hortensia was holding. “Excuse me. You must be an Emblem, yes?”

A glowy young woman with silvery white hair suddenly appeared next to Hortensia, who yelped in surprise.

“Yes,” the woman said. “I am Micaiah, the Emblem of Dawn, and this girl is my Embleteer.”

“Phew,” said Alear, looking relieved. “Glad we found you.”

“Hortensia,” said Céline. “I’m afraid we don’t have time to explain, but everything will make sense soon. The ‘zombies’ you mentioned are called Corrupted, and they’ve invaded our school. Alear and I have already been fighting them, but we would appreciate your help as well.”

“Engage with me, Hortensia,” said Micaiah. “Speak the words your heart has waited to say.”

Everything was happening so fast. Still, an incantation popped into Hortensia’s mind, and suddenly she knew what to do. She put on the ring, then raised her hand high.

“Heal us, Emblem of Dawn!”

Micaiah reached out her hands to Hortensia, who took them, weaving their fingers together. Micaiah turned into a yellow light, which flew around Hortensia like a little bird before diving into her heart. Silvery white streaks striped through Hortensia’s pink hair, with a softly glowing light weaving white ribbons into her pigtails.

Light spread itself down Hortensia, changing into a ruffly raspberry-pink dress with a short, flared skirt. A big pink bow popped into existence on the back of her skirt, and light shimmered on her hands before solidifying into short white gloves. Beams of light spiraled up Hortensia’s legs, turning into a pair of knee-high pink boots.

A streak of golden light wrapped itself around her, changing into a narrow yellow scarf that trailed out behind her. A yellow bow appeared on her chest, secured to her with a brooch shaped like a sun. Hortensia spun around, her hands glowing with golden light magic, and struck a pose.

The light cleared away from her field of vision, and she was back in the darkened music room, looking down at herself in amazement.

“Wow,” she said. “This outfit is super cute! And I feel so powerful…”

“Nice!” said Alear. “Okay, let’s get those Corrupted out of our school!”

As if on cue, there came a banging sound on both of the doors into the music room.

“They’re trying to get in!” said Céline, running to one of the doors and throwing it open. “Incoming!”

Alear yelped, but she ran over to take out the monsters with her sword as they charged into the music room.

They will need your help, particularly in the darkness, said Micaiah’s voice in Hortensia’s head. As the Embleteer of Dawn, you may light the way with the magic of Shine!

Céline teleported to the other door and threw that open as well. “Hortensia!” she shouted as more Corrupted charged in.

Hortensia held out her hands in front of her. A shining golden light flew forth from her hands and struck the Corrupted in the front, destroying it easily. The light from the spell remained, spreading out and illuminating the room.

“Whoa!” said Alear, blinking in the light. “That’s amazing! It’s just what we need right now!”

“Yes, this is perfect!” said Céline, shooting fire spells at the Corrupted. “Now we can see!”

Hortensia cast another light spell, taking out another Corrupted. Soon, all of the monsters who’d charged into the music room had been defeated.

“There,” said Céline. Then she frowned.

“Is something wrong?” Alear asked.

Céline folded her arms and looked over at Alear and Hortensia. “Celica tells me that there are still more Corrupted in the school,” she said. “More came in during our battle.”

“There’s more?!” said Alear. “We’d better go find them, then. Hortensia, can you light things up for us?”

Hortensia grinned and held up her glowing hands. “Just follow me!”

As the three girls ran through the hallways, Hortensia threw one light spell after another, lighting up the hallways so they could see. Following the Emblems’ guides, they made their way to the gymnasium, which was filled with Corrupted.

“There are even more than there were in Mila Conservatory yesterday!” said Alear.

“We’d better go get them,” said Hortensia, focusing her energy and casting two light spells at once. They’d need more light in such a big room. “SHINE!”

As soon as the gym was well-lit, Alear and Céline charged forward, taking down Corrupted left and right. Hortensia ran after and started throwing more spells; she didn’t seem to have as much raw power as Alear or Céline, but she could still pack a glowy punch!

Suddenly a larger, stronger Corrupted grabbed Alear, pinning her arms to her sides. Alear screamed and kicked, surrounded by Corrupted eager to help her captor. “Help!” she shouted.

“Alear!” cried Céline, who was on the other side of the monsters. “Hold on, I’ll be right there…cover for me, Hortensia!”

Hortensia nodded, but as she started attacking more Corrupted and Céline started readying her magic, the Corrupted grabbing Alear gave a huge swing and threw her across the gym.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Alear screamed. Suddenly, she crashed into the opposite wall, crying out in pain as she fell to the floor.

Hortensia yelped in alarm, but Céline showed no shock. Instead, her eyes filled with fire and fury.

“You won’t hurt my best friend again!” Céline shouted, warping to the Corrupted that had attacked Alear. She spun around, streaks of fire magic whirling around her, and charged a massive fireball above her head. “Warp…RAGNAROK!”

The flames destroyed the group of Corrupted instantly, but Céline’s eyes were still blazing as she looked around at the remaining monsters.

Wow…I didn’t know Céline could be so scary, Hortensia thought, then shook her head to clear it. No, wait—there’s still more Corrupted to fight!

Alear was clearly in pain, but she struggled to her feet, using her sword like a walking cane as she hurried back to the fray. Then she pointed her sword at the remaining Corrupted.

“Get out of our school, right now!” she shouted. “Lodestar…RUSH!”

She unleashed a flurry of sword slashes, rapidly cutting through all the rest of the Corrupted. In no time at all, the Corrupted had been slashed to pieces, bringing the fight to an end.

Céline and Hortensia spun around to face Alear, who immediately fell to her hands and knees, breathing heavily. Her sword skidded across the floor.

“Alear!” said Céline, running over and kneeling beside her. “Are you all right?”

Alear winced, falling over onto her side. “It really, really hurts…I don’t know if I can walk…”

Hortensia stood there in shock. At first, I thought this was just an exciting adventure. But I guess we really can get hurt…

Then she heard Micaiah’s voice again. Hortensia. As the Embleteer of Dawn, you have the power to heal others. Tonight, only Alear needs to be healed, but your healing power can aid all of your allies if necessary.

“Really?” said Hortensia. She looked at Alear and took a deep breath as the healing magic flowed through her. “Okay. Here goes.”

Hortensia clasped her hands and focused, and her body began to glow. “Hope is on our side!” she said, her voice in sync with Micaiah’s. “Great…SACRIFICE!”

She threw her hands out to the sides, and light flowed out of her in a wave and illuminated the gym in light. Alear’s body glowed, and her eyes widened in amazement as her injuries healed themselves.

Then the light faded, and Alear slowly sat up, looking at her hands. “This is amazing,” she gasped. “Now it doesn’t hurt at all!”

Hortensia smiled. Then a wave of exhaustion crashed over her, and she fell to the ground just as Alear had.

Alear and Céline spun around to face her. “Hortensia!” they both gasped. “Are you all right?”

Hortensia raised her head and grinned weakly. “Yeah…I’m fine. I’m just…really, really tired.”

The Emblems appeared besides their Embleteers, whose appearances returned to normal.

“It is known as Great Sacrifice because you must sacrifice your own energy to heal your allies,” Micaiah explained. “A good night’s rest will heal you in turn.”

“Okay, got it,” said Hortensia, grunting as she forced herself upright again. “Thanks.”

“Thanks for healing me, Hortensia,” said Alear. “That was amazing. Still, crashing into the wall like that really scared me.” She looked down at the floor. “I know being a magical girl isn’t all fun and games, but I didn’t expect to get hurt so painfully.”

Céline folded her arms and looked the smallest bit grim. “I had a feeling that something like this would happen sooner or later,” she said. “We have to fight evil, after all. The life of a magical girl is dangerous.”

Alear looked at her in surprise. “Really? How were you so certain?”

“I’ve watched Puella Magi Madoka Magica,” said Céline. “I know the dangerous side of magical girl adventures.”

“Really?” said Alear. “I don’t know anything about that series. What’s it about?”

“Let’s just say it’s a magical girl series with a dark side,” said Céline. “At least we have a healer, which is more than can be said of many magical girl teams. If not for Great Sacrifice, you may have needed to go to the hospital.” She looked worried. “You frightened us, Alear.”

“Hey, wait,” said Hortensia. “That means we don’t have to worry, right? We’ve got Great Sacrifice! No need to fear, Hortensia is here!”

“Great Sacrifice will make battles much easier for your fellow Embleteers, Hortensia,” said Marth. “However, it is not all-powerful. No power can revive the dead, not even the power of us Emblems. All of you must still be careful.”

Alear nodded. “Okay. Thanks for telling us, Marth.”

“We should return to our families for now, before they wonder what’s keeping us,” said Céline. “There’s something I’d like to mention, though. Something’s been bothering me.”

“Besides learning that we can get badly hurt if we’re not careful?” said Alear.

“I was thinking about the Corrupted,” said Céline. “So many of them invaded this school to search for Micaiah’s Emblem Ring. They came in through the back entrance, where no one would spot them. And yet the Corrupted are quite mindless creatures. I have a feeling that they aren’t conducting their searches on their own.”

Alear frowned thoughtfully. “I see what you mean. Earlier, the Corrupted were trashing stores downtown, trying to find Celica’s Emblem Ring. They kept going on down the line, not skipping any shops. You wouldn’t expect these monsters to be so methodical.”

“So wait, are you saying someone’s controlling them?” said Hortensia.

“Exactly,” said Céline. “We have a greater enemy. Someone must be pulling the strings. We need to find out who they are and prevent them from finding the remaining Emblem Rings.”

“We’ve got another goal, then,” said Alear. “Find the rest of the Emblem Rings, find the rest of the Embleteers, and figure out who our enemy is.”

Céline nodded. “But for now, we should return home and sleep. We’ll need to be well-rested for whatever comes next.”

Hortensia yawned. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

—----------------

“Are you all right, Hortensia?” Ivy asked, looking over at her sister in the back seat. “It took you quite a while to find your purse, and now you look exhausted.”

“I’m fine,” said Hortensia, slumping against the car window. “I’m just sleepy.”

Ivy smiled. “Then why don’t you sleep? Mother and Father can carry you to bed if they need to.”

“No way,” Hortensia mumbled, her eyes closing. “I can go to bed myself. I’m twelve…I’m not a baby…”

She slumped to the other side, lying down in the car seat.

Today was a really weird night. But…it was also a really exciting one…

And then Hortensia was asleep.

—----------------

As the magic she’d been using to direct the Corrupted suddenly flickered out completely, a woman with long white hair lowered her hands and let out a curse.

“Whoof. You’re sure mad tonight,” drawled a sardonic male voice, and a man stepped out of the nearby shadows. “Those Embleteers manage to kill all of your Corrupted again, Zephia?”

“Yes. Those accursed Embleteers managed to obtain another Emblem Ring,” Zephia snapped. “And now the third Embleteer has awakened as well. We’ll need to step up our search if we’re going to stop them from finding the others.”

“Want me to help with that?” the man said with an unhinged smirk. “I’ve been looking forward to picking a fight with those girls.”

“Oh, you’ll have your chance, Griss,” Zephia said with a cold smile. “But first, we have that dinner party tomorrow. We need to make sure that Hyacinth Elusia keeps playing into our hands.”

“Yeah. That. That’s gonna be boring,” said Griss. “But after that, we’re looking for more Emblem Rings. Those girls are in for a world of pain.”

“Why, yes,” said Zephia. “They are.”

Chapter Text

The next morning, Alear and Ryu were just finishing up their breakfast when someone knocked on the door. Their mother answered the door, and she sounded very pleased as she said, “Why, good morning!”

“Good morning, Lumera!” came the voice of Alfred. “We wanted to pick up our favorite twins. They done with breakfast yet?”

Ryu’s cheeks turned pink as he nearly tripled his previous speed loading his plate into the dishwasher.

“Almost!” Alear called, answering for her blushing brother.

A moment later, Alear and Ryu were excitedly running over to the entry room, greeting Alfred and Céline as they put on shoes and snatched up backpacks.

The twins’ mother smiled warmly as she watched the four longtime friends excitedly preparing to walk to school together. “Have a lovely day, all of you,” she said. “Just a few more hours before the weekend.”

“That’s right!” said Alfred, fist-pumping.

As the four of them walked to school together, Ryu walked close to Alfred and said, “I’ve been looking forward to the weekend. And our sisters are best friends again! Maybe the four of us should watch some anime tomorrow for old time’s sake.”

“Oh?” said Céline, her eyes lighting up. “Which anime? I’ve been craving some magical girl episodes.” She winked playfully at Alear, who grinned back.

“Aww, I was hoping for something sporty,” said Alfred. “And gay.” That made Ryu blush again.

“We can watch ‘something sporty and gay’ and also some magical girl episodes,” said Céline. “Do you have any particular cravings, Alear?”

“Oh,” said Alear, who honestly hadn’t thought about it. “Uh…we were chatting about Cardcaptor Sakura yesterday. We could watch some of that.”

Céline grinned mischievously. “How about the art museum episode?”

“The art museum?” said Ryu. “Oh, right, that one!”

“I’d also like to put in a vote for some Pretty Cure,” said Céline, putting up her hand.

“Hey, don’t forget about the animes with cute boys!” said Alfred.

“Then how about the ball-sports episode in Clear Card?” said Céline. “That episode at least will please all four of us, yes?”

The four of them laughed and chattered excitedly all the way to school. When Alfred had to go farther ahead to his sophomore classroom, the remaining three hurried to their own class, still with springs in their steps from their chat.

I know there’s Corrupted running around town, and we don’t know who our real enemy is, and there are more Emblem Rings and Embleteers to find, Alear thought. But somehow just chatting about anime and messing around with Ryu and Céline and Alfred took all of my stress away. I feel like everything’s gonna work out.

As Alear and Céline went to take their seats, Hortensia held her arm straight out and waved at them with a huge grin on her face. Alear was surprised for a moment, but she quickly joined Céline in smiling and waving back.

A little ways into the first class, someone poked Alear in the back. Alear jumped and quickly turned her head to find that the brown-haired girl who sat behind her was holding a finger to her lips and offering her a folded piece of paper.

Alear took the paper, which had For Alear and Céline written on it, and looked around carefully before placing it in her lap and unfolding it. If Vander catches someone passing notes, he’ll probably give detention to everyone who took part in it, me included…

The note was in a very cutesy handwriting style, with hearts dotting the lowercase “i”s and the cursive looping playfully. Alear felt sure the note must be from Hortensia. Cutesy handwriting aside, who else was audacious enough to pass notes in class under Vander’s watchful eyes?

Hi, Alear and Céline! We need to talk. I have something I HAVE to ask you. Take me to lunch with you, okay? We’ll share a table.

Love, Hortensia

P.S. Alear, pass this note to Céline.

Alear looked up nervously and waited until Vander was writing something on the whiteboard before she waved to the boy next to her (fortunately, Céline sat on the opposite side of her as Ryu did) and passed the note to him.

When the note had been successfully passed to Céline without Vander catching anyone in the act, Alear tried not to breathe a sigh of relief.

Okay. We’re having lunch with Hortensia.

I wonder what she wants to talk to us about?

—----------------

When lunch finally came, Hortensia stood up from her desk, and Céline walked over to her.

“There you are!” said Hortensia. “Okay, let’s go eat. And talk.”

“Alear’s and my brothers will probably join us,” said Céline. “Don’t worry, though; they’ll be busy talking to each other and won’t overhear us.”

This was as true as it had been the day before, though Ryu and Alfred did express surprise that their sisters were bringing Hortensia Elusia along.

“We decided we’d like to get to know her better,” said Céline.

“Uh, okay,” said Ryu. “Nice to meet you, Hortensia.”

Once Ryu and Alfred were busy catching up, Alear opened her lunchbox and looked over at Hortensia.

“Okay, we’re ready,” said Alear. “I have to admit you kind of scared me when you passed me a note, though. If Vander caught us passing notes in class, we’d probably all end up in detention. Including the classmates of ours who helped.”

Hortensia looked annoyed. “Who’s Vander?”

“Sorry. I meant Mr. Brooks,” said Alear, looking down at her lunch. “He’s friends with my mom. Ryu and I have known him all our lives. It’s just…he’s kind of strict. Before high school started, he told us that he wouldn’t go easy on us just because we were Lumera Hikari’s kids.”

“I can’t say I’m surprised,” said Céline. “But anyway. What did you want to tell us, Hortensia?”

Hortensia slapped her hands down on the table. “We NEED to get to know each other better,” she said. “Both of you are coming to my house this evening at seven.”

Alear and Céline started. “Uh, what?” said Alear. “This is kind of sudden…”

“There’s family stuff at my house right after school, so you can’t come over then,” Hortensia continued. “And then there’s dinner. So, seven. This isn’t gonna be a sleepover. It’ll be from seven to…” She thought for a moment. “Oh, eight-thirty or so.”

“Wait, Hortensia, we didn’t say yes yet…” Alear tried.

“It HAS to be tonight,” said Hortensia. “We can get to know each other and talk about Embleteer stuff. And I’ll FINALLY get to have friends over. Besides, today’s Friday! It’s not like we’ll have school tomorrow!”

“Alear and I almost never have plans on Friday evenings,” said Céline. “This is rather short notice, but we could make it.”

“Uh…” said Alear.

“Good!” said Hortensia. “And my parents AND my sister will be home, so it’s not like they’ll let us go wild or anything. We can just talk. And maybe eat candy.”

Alear froze. Wait…her sister? Hortensia’s sister will be there? I COULD MEET IVY ELUSIA? Oh my gosh, she’s probably even prettier up close…

“Alear?” said Céline. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah…yeah, I’m fine,” said Alear. “Sure. We can come. I’m kind of nervous about going into Elusia Mansion, but okay.”

“It’s not actually a mansion,” said Hortensia. “It just looks like one.”

Céline smiled and nodded. “All right. I can tell that this matters to you, Hortensia. Alear and I will come over this evening!”

Hortensia grinned. “Took you long enough to say yes!”

—----------------

“How did you say yes so quickly?” Alear asked Céline on the way home.

“I want to get to know her better,” said Céline. “She’s like a charming little sister. Besides, it’s quite clear that Hortensia is a girl used to getting what she wants. She was probably spoiled when she was little. Our saying yes was a foregone conclusion.”

Alear laughed nervously. “Yeah, I see what you mean. It’s just…I can’t believe we’re going to Elusia Mansion in a few hours…”

“We’ll have to tell our mothers,” said Céline. “One of them can drive us. But yes, I never expected today to take this turn.”

Alear nodded. “At least it’s a good chance for team-building. And we can still watch anime with our brothers tomorrow.”

“That’s right,” said Céline.

—----------------

“Hortensia!” Ivy called. “HORTENSIA!”

“I’m busy!” Hortensia shouted back, not even looking up from her jewelry box.

“Hortensia,” Ivy huffed, and then Hortensia’s bedroom door opened.

Without saying anything, Hortensia closed the lid of her jewelry box, folded her arms on top of her dresser, and gave Ivy an annoyed glance.

Ivy sighed. “I know you don’t like going to Father’s dinner parties,” she said. “They’re not my favorites, either. But Father insists, and we can surely do something more enjoyable once the meal is over.”

“We can?” said Hortensia.

“Of course we can,” said Ivy.

“Okay,” said Hortensia, straightening up. “Fine. I’ll come downstairs.”

“Good,” said Ivy, smiling just a bit. “They’ll arrive any minute.”

Right, Hortensia thought. The dinner party’s earlier than I remembered. I got the time wrong. Alear and Céline had better hurry up and get here before I die of boredom.

As if on cue, their mother called upstairs, “Ivy! Hortensia! They’re here!”

Ivy darted over to Hortensia, grabbed her hand, and hustled her downstairs as the doorbell rang through Elusia Mansion.

“They’re pressing the doorbell way too hard,” Hortensia grumbled. “It’s like they’re leaning on it.”

“Shhh,” Ivy whispered, but Hortensia was pretty sure Ivy felt the same way about the doorbell.

The sisters followed their mother into the entry room just as their father opened the front door and let in two adults. “Welcome, welcome,” he said. “It’s a pleasure to have both of you.”

Hortensia let go of Ivy’s hand and took a step to the side, putting her hands on her hips.

A woman with long, extremely pale hair and a skintight black dress strode into view, holding her head high. “So this is Elusia Mansion,” she said, looking around. “Greetings, Mrs. Elusia.”

“Oh, please, call me Vervain,” said Hortensia’s mother.

“Of course,” said the woman, turning to Ivy and Hortensia. “And you must be Hyacinth’s daughters. I am Zephia Maxwell, your father’s new coworker. If I recall, you are Ivy Elusia and you are little Hortensia Elusia.”

“Yes, those are our names,” said Ivy, nodding. “It’s good to meet you, Ms. Maxwell.”

“Don’t call me little,” said Hortensia, narrowing her eyes. “I’m twelve. AND I’m in high school.”

Ivy gave her that classic look that always meant Please, please don’t talk back, Hortensia. Hortensia ignored it.

“Ah, yes,” Zephia said condescendingly. “The young genius who skipped two grades.”

“Yeah, and don’t you forget it!” said Hortensia.

“That’s enough, Hortensia,” said Hyacinth. Hortensia jumped. What? What’s wrong with him? Father always takes MY side!

“Wow, your daughters are two peas,” drawled the man her father had been talking to. “Not.”

“Yes, they are very different from each other,” said Hyacinth.

The man stepped out into view and walked over to Zephia. “Hey there,” he said to the sisters. “I’m Zephia’s partner Griss. How’s it going?”

“Er, we’re doing fine,” said Ivy, but she looked like she was just as shocked by Griss as Hortensia was.

Their father’s coworkers were always stiff and formal and acted like boring aristocrats at dinner parties. Griss, on the other hand, had spiky piercings in just about every place you could get a piercing, plus his hair was dyed dark green and messy and his jacket and white shirt were downright sloppy.

“When’s dinner?” said Griss.

“It…should be ready,” said Hortensia’s mother, who looked nervous.

“Good,” said Zephia, turning back to Hortensia’s father. “We have some very important plans to talk about for that construction project.”

Hortensia folded her arms and looked down at the floor.

So much for dying of boredom, she thought. Even if they MIGHT talk about some boring stuff during dinner, these guys aren’t anything like Father’s usual coworkers. Zephia’s annoying, and Griss is kinda creepy.

Now I’m REALLY hoping Alear and Céline get here soon.

—----------------

Hortensia pointedly stared at her plate during dinner and frowned the whole time. She couldn’t tune out everything she heard, though, and soon her head was full of the usual boring stuff.

“Construction going along at a steady pace,” “Gradlon Building Company,” “Our boss is exceedingly pleased,” blah blah blah.

Soon she was putting her elbow on the table, just like her family kept telling her not to do at dinner parties. She rested her head on her free hand and wondered if Micaiah was bored too.

“My, my,” said Zephia’s condescending voice. “What a lovely ring, Hortensia. Did your mother buy it for you?”

Hortensia looked up for the first time during the meal. “What ring?” she said, determined to stay sulky.

“The yellow ring on your left hand,” said Zephia, leaning toward her. “Did your mother buy it for you, perhaps? For being a good girl?”

Hortensia shot Zephia a glare. “I’m always a good girl,” she said. “And no, my mother didn’t buy it. I, uh…” She glanced at her Emblem Ring. “I found it somewhere.”

“Oh?” said Zephia, holding out her hand. “May I take a closer look?”

“No,” said Hortensia, and she stuffed a big piece of meat into her mouth.

“Hortensia!” gasped her mother and sister.

“Can’t talk. Eating,” Hortensia said with her mouth full.

“Hortensia dearest!” said her mother. “What have we told you about table manners? And host manners?”

“So what?” Hortensia snapped. “I’m not a host. You and Father are. And Zephia’s all condescending! She treats me like some spoiled little kid!”

“Oh, am I?” said Zephia, sounding more condescending than ever. “Do I? I was just exchanging pleasantries.”

“Yeah, well, they were rude pleasantries,” said Hortensia.

“Hortensia!” Ivy gasped. She turned to Zephia. “Please forgive my sister, Ms. Maxwell. She is the most strong-minded person I know. And she is admittedly a little spoiled.”

“I see,” said Zephia. “May I ask where you found your ring, Hortensia?”

“Somewhere,” said Hortensia, taking another bite.

“That’s not an answer, Hortensia,” said her mother.

“Yeah, well, she’s being nosy!” said Hortensia.

“Me?” said Zephia. “Nosy? What a rude girl you are.”

Hortensia threw her fork onto her plate. “Okay, THAT’S IT!”

She leapt to her feet, standing up on her chair so she could glare down at Zephia instead of up, and put her open hands next to her mouth for max sound amplifying.

“Quit talking down to me and trying to walk all over me, RIGHT NOW!” she shouted. “Let me guess, next time you were gonna pat me on the head like a dog! And if I’m rude, you were rude first! You’re rude and nosy and condescending, and you treat me like some stupid kid who doesn’t matter at all and can’t get mad! Well, I’m mad! I’m really mad! And you better stop treating me like this RIGHT NOW, THIS SECOND, or I’m gonna—”

“Hortensia.” Her father’s voice cut through the air. “That’s enough. Go to the living room—without your dinner—until you can behave yourself. The way you’ve been acting is inexcusable.”

“What—” Hortensia looked at him in shock. “You heard her, Father! She started it! She’s the one who’s inexcusable!”

“Nevertheless,” said her father. “You do not talk to your elders—or my coworkers—like that. Go to the living room and stay there.”

Ivy stood up and pushed back her chair. “I’ll take her there, Father.”

She put her hands on Hortensia’s sides and lifted her off the chair, then took hold of her hand. “Come on, Hortensia.”

“What a disagreeable daughter you have,” Zephia said as Ivy dragged a struggling Hortensia out of the room.

“She’s not usually like this,” said Hortensia’s mother. “With all due respect, you were pushing all her buttons. And children deserve respect, too.”

Ivy dragged Hortensia down a hallway and into the living room, finally letting go of her in front of the couch.

“IVY!” Hortensia shouted, rounding on her sister. “Zephia was being a major jerk, and you just watched!!!”

“Because you shouldn’t shout at people like that, even if they are ‘major jerks!’” said Ivy. “I’ve told you so many times about decorum, and you still haven’t learned…” She sighed and shook her head. “That said, Zephia was quite deplorable. I’m shocked that Father didn’t listen to your side of the argument.”

“He just keeps buttering up Zephia and that creepy Griss!” said Hortensia. “I don’t get it at all!”

“I don’t like this dinner party—or Father’s new coworkers—any more than you do,” said Ivy. “But for the sake of good manners, I should return to dinner.” She gave Hortensia a small smile. “Why don’t I rant to you about them once they’ve gone home for the night?”

“Really?!” said Hortensia.

“Really, truly,” said Ivy. “Does that sound like something worth staying in the living room for?”

Hortensia grinned. “Of course it does!”

“Then I’ll see you later,” said Ivy, starting back to the dining room.

Hortensia waved to her, then plopped down on the couch and pouted.

Alear and Céline should be here any minute, she thought, looking at the clock. Only gotta tough it out a little longer.

—----------------

A small, humble car with flower and bird bumper stickers parked a short distance away from Elusia Mansion. Céline, who was in the passenger seat, unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the car door.

“Thank you for the ride, Mother,” she said to the driver. “I’ll text you when we’re ready to go home.”

Céline’s mother shook her head. “I’m still surprised that you’re spending the evening at Elusia Mansion. But still—have fun, girls.”

“We’ll do our best,” said Alear, who was opening a car door herself. “See you later, Eve.”

The girls stepped out of the car and closed the doors behind them. As Eve Firene drove away, Céline walked straight to the front door of Elusia Mansion, Alear following her.

“Gah, I’m so nervous,” said Alear, glancing from side to side. “Elusia Mansion! What if Hyacinth Elusia thinks we have bad manners? What if I knock over a fancy vase?”

“We’ll be fine,” said Céline, approaching the door. “Besides, if someone with Hortensia’s energy level lives here, we’ll survive.”

“The front door looks even fancier up close,” said Alear. “Oh my gosh. Their door knocker is a dragon.”

“A wonderfully carved dragon at that,” said Céline matter-of-factly.

“How are you not nervous?” said Alear.

“Deep breaths, my friend,” said Céline, raising her finger. “Now, let’s ring the doorbell before Hortensia gets impatient.”

Alear yelped. “Wait, no, I’m not ready—”

Céline rang the doorbell.

Alear froze in place, wearing a horrified expression that would not look out of place on a chibi.

“Hm,” Céline said without batting an eyelash. “It sounds like church bells.”

—----------------

“It’s such a shame that Mauvier couldn’t come and eat this truly delectable meal with us,” Zephia purred while Ivy picked at her food. “But then, someone has to sit for the babies.”

“Er, the babies?” said Ivy’s mother.

“I suppose they aren’t babies,” said Zephia. “But those two girls are nothing but trouble. And yet Mauvier actually likes babysitting them.”

“Mm,” said Ivy’s mother, looking uncomfortable.

Ivy clenched one of her hands underneath the tablecloth.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, making everyone except Ivy’s father jump.

“House callers at this hour?” said Hyacinth.

“I’ll get the door,” said Ivy, standing up. Anything to get away from this dinner party for a few minutes.

“Thank you, Ivy,” said her mother.

Ivy walked sedately out of the dining room, then picked up her pace and hurried for the door. “I’m coming!” she called.

She reached the entry room and opened the door to see two girls a little younger than herself, one of them smiling courteously and the other looking nervous.

“...Good evening?” said Ivy, surprised.

“Good evening,” said the blonde girl who was smiling. “Might you be Ivy Elusia?”

“Er, yes. I am,” said Ivy.

“It’s good to meet you,” said Céline. “My name is Céline Firene, and this is my friend Alear Hikari. We’re friends of your sister’s.”

Ivy looked over at the other girl—Alear—who had stopped looking nervous and was now staring at her wide-eyed. Alear blinked when Ivy met her gaze.

“Uh, Hortensia invited us over,” Alear managed to say.

Ivy felt heat rush to her face. This girl was adorable.

“Er…” Ivy cleared her throat. “You said Hortensia invited you to our house this evening?”

“Yes,” said Céline.

Ivy frowned thoughtfully. “Ah. Yes. I see now.”

“Is something wrong?” Alear asked, her face flushed.

“Hortensia didn’t tell us that she’d invited friends over,” said Ivy. “Our father is currently having dinner with his new coworkers. Tell me, did Hortensia tell you about the dinner party taking place this evening?”

Alear looked thunderstruck. “Uh, no.”

“We didn’t know there was a dinner party here,” said Céline.

“I had a feeling,” said Ivy, shaking her head. “I apologize for my sister. She must have deliberately withheld that information and invited you over to keep her from getting bored. She hates formal events like dinner parties.”

Céline smiled wryly. “That does sound like Hortensia.”

“But then…what should we do?” said Alear.

An idea came to Ivy.

“I’ll take you to Hortensia,” she said. “There are some hallways we can use to reach her in the living room without coming in sight of the dining room. But you’ll need to keep quiet.”

Alear put her hands on her mouth and nodded. “Okay.”

—----------------

Ivy Elusia is even prettier up close, Alear thought. And she’s so amazing. She’s actually sneaking us through here under Hyacinth’s nose! And keeping her cool! And she’s even smiling a little…

“Hortensia has already been banished to the living room,” Ivy said in a low voice. “She lost her temper with our father’s…unexpectedly condescending coworker. I’m sure she’ll be very happy to see you.”

Céline nodded.

“Here we are,” Ivy said a moment later. “My father and his guests likely won’t hear you from this room, but I wouldn’t shout if I were you.”

“Okay,” said Alear.

Ivy opened the door, leading them into a large living room with ornate dark green couches and a mahogany coffee table. Hortensia was sitting on one of the couches in a sulky position, but she looked up when she heard the door open.

“THERE you two are!” she squealed, leaping to the floor and running over. “I waited and waited for you! This has been the worst dinner party ever!”

“You invited your friends under your family’s noses through trickery,” Ivy said wryly. “You’re lucky I was the one who answered the door, not Father or Mother.” Then she smiled kindly. “Still, I’m happy that you’ve already made friends in high school.”

“Yeah, they’re fun,” said Hortensia. “Okay, come on! We’ll find something to do!”

Céline laughed. “You’re so full of energy!”

Céline followed Hortensia to the couch, but Alear stayed where she was and shyly looked over at Ivy.

“Um…” Alear fidgeted with her hands. “...Thanks for sneaking us here. That was really nice of you.”

Ivy’s pale cheeks flushed red. As white as snow, as red as blood, Alear suddenly thought, remembering the fairy tales from her childhood.

“You’re…very welcome,” said Ivy. She looked between Alear and the other two. “I should return to dinner before Father wonders what’s keeping me. But I…” she glanced at Alear again. “I’ll try and look for an excuse to check on the three of you soon.”

“Okay,” said Alear.

“With luck, I’ll see you soon,” said Ivy, heading out of the room. “Don’t bring the house down.”

“We won’t!” said Hortensia.

Once Ivy was out of the room, Céline smiled mischievously at Alear, who still hadn’t moved.

“Goodness, isn’t your face red,” Céline said playfully. “This reminds me of your old crush from Tokyo Mew Mew. What was her name again? Zakuro?”

“Uh…” said Alear. “I guess Ivy does look kind of like Zakuro. And she’s so amazing. She totally snuck us in under her parents’ noses.”

“What are you talking about?” said Hortensia, clearly annoyed to hear a conversation topic that she didn’t know anything about. “Who’s Zakuro?”

“Oh, Tokyo Mew Mew is a magical girl anime Alear and I watched when we were younger,” Céline explained. “Alear’s favorite magical girl in it was a wolf-woman named Zakuro who happens to look a bit like Ivy.” She pulled out her phone. “Let me find a picture for you.”

“She reminds me of Zakuro, but Ivy’s totally her own person!” said Alear. “I…I hope she comes back here soon…”

Céline smiled at her phone. “There we are,” she said. “A group shot.” She held out her phone to Hortensia. “These are the magical girls from Tokyo Mew Mew. This one, with the purple hair, is Zakuro.”

“Wow. They’re really cute,” said Hortensia. “Huh. I guess she does look sort of like Ivy. But I sure can’t see what Alear’s all excited about.” She looked over at Alear. “How come you’re acting all weird about my sister?”

“Oh,” said Alear. “Well…she’s…um…”

Suddenly, Ivy ran back into the living room, her eyes wide and her face even paler than before. “Something’s wrong!” she said.

Alear, Céline, and Hortensia turned to look at Ivy. “What is it?” Céline asked.

“It’s…” Ivy turned to her sister. “Hortensia, remember Griss?”

“The creepy guy?” said Hortensia. “Yeah.”

“Shortly after you went to the living room, I saw Zephia whispering something to Griss, and then Griss made a vague excuse and left the room,” said Ivy. “It’s been over ten minutes since then, and he still hasn’t come back. When our parents asked what was keeping him, Zephia made some strange gestures and said that it wasn’t their concern. And they stopped asking.” Ivy wrung her hands. “It looked so much like…like she was hypnotizing them...”

“What?!” said Hortensia. “I KNEW something was wrong with those two!”

“Are Griss and Zephia your guests?” Céline asked.

“Yes,” said Ivy. “And Griss unnerved me from the beginning. I don’t know why he left, but I have this strange feeling that he’s still in the house.”

“He better not be causing trouble!” said Hortensia, raising her fists. “Let’s go look for him!”

“What?” Ivy gasped. “Hortensia, that’s…”

“Dangerous?” said Hortensia. “There are four of us here. And Céline and Alear are tougher than they look.” She looked at Céline, then Alear. “You’ll help, right?”

“Of course we will,” Céline said fiercely. “If something’s wrong in Elusia Mansion, then we want to help.”

“Right,” said Alear. “Let’s all go and look for Griss. Together.”

Ivy stared at the three in amazement. Then her hands clenched, and she nodded. “All right. Let’s go.”

—----------------

The four girls hurried through the halls of the mansion, Ivy leading the way so that Alear and Céline wouldn’t get lost. Hortensia and Céline poked their heads into two different rooms and gasped, Céline in shock and Hortensia in fury.

“What?” said Ivy, spinning around.

“What’s wrong?” said Alear, doing the same.

“This room is in complete disarray,” said Céline. “The drawer of the end table has been pulled out with its contents strewn over the floor, and several decorations have been knocked over!”

“This room is a mess too!” said Hortensia. “It’s been completely trashed. I bet Griss did this!”

“But why?” said Alear. “Why would he do something like that?!”

“I don’t know, but I’m sure gonna find out!” said Hortensia. “Where is he?!”

“If he’s been away from the table for over ten minutes, these can’t be the only rooms he’s invaded,” said Céline. “We could follow his trail…”

Suddenly, there came a loud thunk of a large object hitting the floor, coupled by a shout that sounded vaguely like, “Oh, YEAH!”

“That’s Griss!” said Hortensia. “He’s upstairs! He better not be trashing my room!”

“We have to hurry!” said Ivy, running toward the stairs. “Alear, Céline, follow me!”

The girls raced up the stairs to see a walk-in closet with the door open, the clothes hangers and all the clothes on the floor. In the room closest to the walk-in closet, they heard Griss’s voice muttering.

“He’s in our parents’ room!” Ivy gasped.

They tore through the open doorway into a huge bedroom with a forest-green king-size bed and a finely carved dresser, among other elegant decorations. One dresser drawer was on the floor, and Griss was rooting around in it, throwing all of the shirts and blouses out and scattering them over the floor.

“HEY!” Hortensia shouted. “Those are my parents’ clothes!”

Griss stopped his task, leapt into a standing position, and gave the girls a sickening grin.

“Well, look who it is,” he drawled. “Hyacinth’s girls found me out. And they even brought friends. Isn’t this my lucky night.”

“What are you doing?” said Ivy, stepping further into the room and narrowing her eyes at Griss. “And why did Zephia tell you to do it?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” said Griss. “Your kid sister has an Emblem Ring. Zephia’s positive.” (Hortensia gave a furious shriek.) “She told me to trash this mansion looking for more. Gotta take every chance we can get.”

“What are you talking about?” said Ivy. “What’s an Emblem Ring?” She looked over at her sister. “Wait—the ring Zephia asked you about at dinner—” She shook her head. “I don’t understand…”

“It looks as though we’ve found our greater enemy,” said Céline, folding her arms. “Was it you and Zephia who set those Corrupted loose in the school last night?”

“What?” Ivy gasped.

“Heh. Yeah. Too bad no one got hurt, except for an Embleteer who got healed,” said Griss. “And you girls beat the Corrupted to that ring.” He looked around. “Well, three of you.”

“Hortensia…” Ivy stared wide-eyed at her sister. “What’s going on?”

“He’s talking about us,” said Hortensia. “Me and Céline and Alear.”

“Griss and Zephia—it must be them—are sending monsters into local buildings to find the Emblem Rings which make us magical girls,” said Céline. “But it seems as though tonight, they’re doing it themselves.”

“We’re sorry to spring all this on you, Ivy, but we promise we’re telling the truth,” said Alear, holding up her hand and looking at her ring. “Marth? Is Griss right? Are there any Emblem Rings in Elusia Mansion besides ours?”

“No,” said Marth’s voice from the ring. “There are no other Emblem Rings in this building.”

“Damn,” said Griss. “Guess I’d better leave, then.”

“No way!” said Hortensia. “We’re not letting you get away!”

Ivy looked completely bewildered. “Someone…will someone please explain what’s happening?”

“Block the door!” said Alear, and the Embleteers stood in front of the doorway. “Okay—one, two, three…”

Alear, Céline, and Hortensia raised their hands. “Emblem engage!”

Marth held his hands out to Alear, who instinctively took them. The Emblem turned into blue light, which zipped toward Alear and dove into her heart. Pale blue light coursed through Alear’s hair, turning one half of it blue and deepening the other half into a rich dark red.

Light swirled around Alear, materializing into a bright blue dress with a knee-length ruffled skirt and three-quarter ruffled sleeves. A large golden breastplate popped into existence on her chest, gauntlets shimmered themselves onto her hands, and knee-high boots swirled up her legs.

A beam of light hovered before Alear, solidifying itself into a beautiful blue sword. Alear reached out and gripped the sword’s hilt, slashing it out to her side before striking a pose.

Celica smiled warmly and extended her hand to Céline. As Emblem and Embleteer joined hands, Celica turned into a bright red flame that dove into Céline’s heart. Fire coursed through Céline’s long blond hair, turning it a rich, fiery red.

Flames swirled around Céline, materializing into a short red sleeveless dress with a ruffled skirt. Fire spiraled up her legs, turning into a pair of high white boots, while a curtain of flame spread across her shoulders and back, becoming a knee-length white cape. Sparks shimmered up her arms and became elbow-length white gloves.

Red sparks shone around her legs between her skirt and boots, changing into a pair of trailing red ribbons. Red bows popped into existence on her wrists, while large white bows shaped a little like butterflies appeared in her hair. Céline raised her right hand, a ball of fire glowing just above her palm, and struck a pose.

Micaiah reached out her hands to Hortensia, who took them, weaving their fingers together. Micaiah turned into a yellow light, which flew around Hortensia like a little bird before diving into her heart. Silvery white streaks striped through Hortensia’s pink hair, with a softly glowing light weaving white ribbons into her pigtails.

Light spread itself down Hortensia, changing into a ruffly raspberry-pink dress with a short, flared skirt. A big pink bow popped into existence on the back of her skirt, and light shimmered on her hands before solidifying into short white gloves. Beams of light spiraled up Hortensia’s legs, turning into a pair of knee-high pink boots.

A streak of golden light wrapped itself around her, changing into a narrow yellow scarf that trailed out behind her. A yellow bow appeared on her chest, secured to her with a brooch shaped like a sun. Hortensia spun around, her hands glowing with golden light magic, and struck a pose.

As the light cleared away, Alear saw that neither Ivy nor Griss had moved. Ivy was staring at the engaged Embleteers in complete astonishment, and also she was blushing for some reason, her hand on her mouth.

Meanwhile, Griss started doing a slow clap. “Flashy,” he said. “Nice dresses. Now hurry up and fight me already.”

Céline threw a punch into her palm, her eyes already blazing. “With pleasure…” she said, “...pervert!”

“Céline!” Alear gasped, both scandalized and pleased by her friend’s audacity.

“Heh. Pervert? Me?” said Griss. “All I did was stand and watch.”

“Exactly,” said Céline, holding out her hands. “Seraphim!”

Her fire spell hit Griss square in the chest, and he fell against the dresser. Then Griss gave an unhinged laugh and straightened up again, holding out his own hands and unleashing a spell that whooshed like wind but looked as sharp as knives.

“Yikes!” said Hortensia.

Alear deflected the spell with Falchion just in time, and the wind ruffled the carpet but fortunately didn’t harm it.

“That was close!” said Alear.

“You’d better be careful!” said Hortensia, hopping up onto her parents’ bed and striking a pose on it. “No trashing my parents’ room any extra!”

“We’ll do our best,” said Céline. “Stand back, Ivy. We’ll protect you.”

“That’s right!” said Alear. “I won’t let you get hurt!”

Ivy clasped her hands and took a step back, pressing herself against the wall.

“What…what did you say you were?” she whispered. “Embleteers?”

Alear nodded. “The Embleteers.”

She gave a shout and lunged forward, Falchion pointing directly at Griss. Her attack hit its target, but Griss still leapt backward, sprung off the wall with his feet, and leapt back to the floor without showing noticeable injuries.

“Nice,” he said. “Keep it up.”

Céline warped over behind Griss, landing on top of the bed beside Hortensia. Céline’s feet briefly sunk into the sheets, but then she leapt up again, throwing a fireball at Griss’s back and warping again while still in midair.

Griss let out another creepy laugh, spinning around. “Oooh, that was GOOD! Now where’d you go?”

“I’m over here!” said Céline, who was standing in front of Ivy. “And I believe I’m improving my warping skills!”

“Woo-woo!” shouted Hortensia, and she threw a light spell at Griss. “SHINE!”

While Griss was dazzled by the light, Alear slashed at him again, knocking him to the floor. This time she managed to stun him, and she seized the chance to step on her enemy’s stomach with one foot and point Falchion down at him.

“Gotcha,” said Alear. “Now, tell us what you’re after. We know you and Zephia want the Emblem Rings, but what about Hyacinth Elusia? What do you want from him?”

Griss smirked. “As if we’d tell you,” he said. “But sure, I’ll say that we’re from the Gradlon Building Company, and we’re helping out with that construction project. Boss’s orders.”

“Your boss?” said Céline. “Who’s your boss?”

“You’re no construction workers!” said Hortensia. “The Embleteers are kicking you out of the dinner party!”

“Yeah?” said Griss. “Well, how’re you gonna get me out of here? This is the second floor.”

Suddenly, he grabbed Alear’s ankle and wrenched it to the side hard enough to make her yelp, then swung his leg up in a kick that Alear dodged only by a hair. Alear fell against the bed, dropping Falchion as she pushed against the mattress to push herself upright again.

“Alear!” Ivy gasped.

“Seraphim!” Céline shouted, shooting a spell at Griss just as he was reaching for Alear’s sword. Hortensia jumped off the bed toward Griss and kicked him in the side for good measure before landing on the floor.

“Thanks!” said Alear, snatching up her sword.

“As loathsome as Griss may be, he has a point,” said Ivy. “We didn’t think this through! How do we evict him?”

“Céline and I can’t use our Engage attacks without destroying the room,” said Alear, slashing at Griss again. “It’s hard enough with our regular attacks. And Hortensia just has Shine!”

Griss fired another wind-like spell, but Hortensia shouted “Shine!” Light struck wind, and the two spells canceled each other out.

“Can’t…drop…our…guards,” said Alear, slashing or dodging with each word.

“...Not…even…for a…second!” said Céline, warping onto the bed again for a vantage point. “Seraphim!”

“Grrrr!” said Hortensia. “What do we do with this guy?!”

“What is this infernal racket?” said a voice.

Alear, Céline, Hortensia, Ivy, and even Griss all stopped right where they were and spun around to see someone standing in the doorway.

“I thought I told you to be quiet, Griss,” said Zephia. “Do you have any idea how many hypnosis spells I’ve had to cast on…” She smiled evilly at the girls surrounding Griss. “I see. The Embleteers caught you red-handed.”

I guess we didn’t think that part through, either, Alear thought. I never thought before just how noisy magical girls always are. We’ve probably been making a total racket up here.

“Zephia!” said Ivy. “You sent Griss to search our house for the Emblem Rings!” Her hands clenched. “And you’ve been controlling our mother and father!”

“Yeah, I knew you were the worst, but I can’t believe I didn’t expect you to be evil!” said Hortensia.

“Guilty,” said Zephia, still smiling. “And there are the other two Embleteers. The high school girls who are supposed to be the obstacles in our way.”

“We’re not just any high school girls!” said Alear, instinctively running toward Zephia and striking a pose in front of her. Céline warped to her side, and Hortensia leapt to her other side.

And that was when Céline spun around and held her hands out in front of her, fire glowing in her palms like a blossoming flower.

“I care for my allies as the Embleteer of Echoes!” Céline shouted. “With Mila’s divine protection, I shall strike you down!”

Hortensia clasped her hands in front of her, then threw them out to her sides, the sun-shaped stone on her dress shining brightly.

“I heal my allies as the Embleteer of Dawn!” said Hortensia. “With the radiant light of dawn, I will smite you!”

And Alear held her sword aloft, letting it shine like a blue beacon.

“I shine a light as the Embleteer of Beginnings!” she said. “Just as light triumphs over shadow, I shall triumph over you!”

“We are the Embleteers!” the girls shouted in chorus. “And we won’t ever back down!”

Oh, wow, Alear thought as the three of them readied their sword and spells once again. We totally said pre-battle speeches! Just like magical girls do in anime!

She heard Ivy gasp in awe.

“Well,” said Zephia, looking irritated. “You might actually pose a threat, if you’re strong enough to put weight in those little speeches.”

“Yeah, they might be covered in bows and ruffles, but they’re tougher than they look,” said Griss.

“That’s magical girls for you!” Céline snapped at him.

“You two troublemakers don’t belong in this mansion!” said Alear. She charged forward and slashed Zephia, ripping the woman’s dress and causing her to stumble back.

Zephia grimaced. “Falchion. That accursed sword used by the Embleteer of Beginnings.”

“Hey, let me get her too!” said Hortensia, leaping to one side of Alear and throwing another light spell. “Take THAT for talking down to me!”

“Argh!” Zephia shouted as the spell knocked her out of the room and into the hallway.

“Hey, don’t you go forgetting about me,” said Griss. “Where’s all that pain you girls promised me?”

The Embleteers spun around just in time to see Griss throw another wind spell at them. The spell hit Céline, who let out a gasp of pain and dropped to the floor.

“Céline!” Alear cried, but then Ivy shouted, “Look out!”

Alear spun around again at the very moment that Hortensia shot a ball of light at a ball of darkness that had just flown from Zephia’s hands. When the two spells struck each other, there was a brief explosion that looked like an unnerving, swirling yin-yang, and light and darkness negated each other.

“Thanks,” said Alear, her eyes wide. “We’re trapped on both sides!”

“Not if we can strike both sides at once!” said Céline, forcing herself to her feet and glaring at Griss. “You dare?!”

Céline lunged at Griss and struck him in the chest with a fiery explosion. “I’ll handle this menace,” she shouted. “Alear, Hortensia, you two deal with Zephia!”

“Right!” said Alear.

She lunged for Zephia once again, but Zephia cast a darkness spell that darted past Falchion and hit Alear in the stomach. Alear cried out and fell onto her knees.

“That’s better,” said Zephia, smirking. “Now, I believe I’ll be taking that Emblem Ring from your finger.”

“No!” said Alear, but her arm felt numb, and she couldn’t lift her sword. “You can’t…have…Marth…”

Suddenly, there came a loud THUNK. Zephia froze, looking appalled, and then fell against the wall.

Alear looked up in amazement to see Ivy holding up her parents’ bedside lamp, the unplugged cord dangling from it. She had hit Zephia with the base of the lamp.

“I may not be an Embleteer myself, but I can still help!” said Ivy, clutching the lamp tightly. Then she looked down at Alear. “Are you all right? I’m sorry I couldn’t unplug the lamp sooner.”

Alear gazed into Ivy’s dark brown eyes. She looks like a goddess. A goddess in a purple dress. “Thanks,” she managed. “You’re amazing.”

Ivy’s face flushed.

“Curse you, Ivy Elusia,” growled Zephia, beginning to stand again. “This isn’t over yet.”

“Guess it’s my turn to save the day!” said Hortensia, clasping her hands. “Great…SACRIFICE!”

Light flowed out of her, illuminating Alear and Céline and returning their strength to them. Both girls stood up straight and readied their attacks again as Hortensia let out a “phew” and fell against her parents’ bed.

“Seraphim!” Céline shouted, striking Griss once again, while Alear lunged forward and slashed Zephia again, knocking her against the wall.

“We’re not giving up!” said Alear. “And we won’t let you take our Emblem Rings!”

“That’s right!” said Hortensia.

“Ugh,” said Zephia, slowly straightening up. “I’ve had enough. You Embleteers are stronger than I expected.” She dodged to the side and glared at Griss, who was still locked in spell-combat with Céline. “Griss! We’re leaving.”

“Already?” said Griss. “We just got started.”

“Enough is enough,” said Zephia, running back into the bedroom, grabbing Griss’s arm, and dragging him out. “Don’t think we’ve given up, Embleteers! We’ll be back, and the remaining Emblem Rings will be ours.”

Before the girls could react, Zephia had already dragged Griss to the staircase and downstairs. The Embleteers and Ivy looked at each other, stunned. A moment later, they heard the sound of a car loudly revving up.

“Phew,” said Alear, letting out her breath at last. “They’ll be back, but at least we got them out.”

“And with minimal damage to Elusia Mansion at that,” said Céline. “It’s clear they’re quite strong, though. We’ll have to be ready for them when they return.”

“Jerks,” Hortensia muttered, slumping to the floor. Then she sat bolt upright, her eyes wide. “Wait! Mother and Father! They’re still hypnotized downstairs!”

Ivy gasped and hurriedly put the lamp back in place on the bedside table. “We’ll have to explain to them…somehow,” she said, helping Hortensia to her feet. “Alear, Céline, stay in the hallways. I’ll sneak you outside as soon as I can!”

—----------------

“Hm?” said Hyacinth, looking around with a slightly blank expression. “Where did our guests disappear to?”

“We were just talking to them about…something…weren’t we?” said his wife.

“Oh,” said Ivy. “Weren’t you bidding them goodnight? I heard Zephia say that something came up in a text and they had to leave early. Didn’t they just drive away?”

“Did they?” said Hyacinth. “Hmm…they must have…”

“They better be gone,” said Hortensia. “Those jerks.”

“Shhh! Not now, Hortensia,” Ivy hissed.

At least they were still partially hypnotized, Ivy thought. I doubt I could come up with a better cover story than this one.

—----------------

Soon, Ivy was sneaking Alear and Céline back out of the house. Once they were outside again, she said, “Well. There we are.”

“Thanks for getting us out of there,” said Alear. “I’m glad it worked out.”

“I’ll still have to tidy the rooms that Griss was in,” Ivy sighed. “Or come up with more cover stories. If only Hortensia hadn’t decided to go to bed early. But don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

“Thank you for doing so much to help us,” said Céline, pulling out her phone. “I should text my mother and tell her that the playdate ended early.”

“Early?” said Ivy, shaking her head. “Never has a night been so long for me.” Then she gave a small smile. “Or so exciting.”

“Come to think of it, why don’t we exchange numbers?” said Céline. “I noticed that Hortensia doesn’t have a conventional cell phone. If we formed a group text with you, then the Embleteers could communicate with each other.” She smiled. “And with their new ally as well?”

Ivy’s eyes widened. “Oh. Yes, of course. I’ll give you my number.”

When Céline’s mother drove up, Alear and Céline waved to Ivy, Alear finding it hard to leave. Ivy smiled as she waved back.

Céline winked at Alear. “It looks like you have Ivy’s number now.”

Alear blushed.

“I’m glad we have a new ally to help us,” said Céline. “We still have a long road ahead, and Ivy seems very reliable and smart.”

“Yeah,” said Alear, glancing back at the mansion. “Yeah, she does.”

—----------------

“Those accursed Embleteers!” Zephia spat. “And that Ivy Elusia, too! We must get the other Emblem Rings before they do.”

“So, more Corrupted tomorrow?” said Griss. “Can I go with them?”

“No,” Zephia snapped. “You and I must train our spells to use against the Embleteers when the time comes. In the meantime, we may as well unleash the other Hounds.”

“Them?” said Griss. “You think they can get the Emblem Rings?”

“We’ll have to make do,” said Zephia. “Besides, they’re more…physical fighters. The Embleteers will have to contend with a new threat that way.”

“Zephia?” said a calm, slightly gruff voice. “Griss? It seems you have returned early.”

“Mauvier,” said Zephia. “Yes, we’re relieving you of your babysitter duty early. There were…complications.”

“The Embleteers?” said the man who stepped out of the shadows. “Marni has been wanting to meet them.”

“She has? Good girl,” said Zephia. “She’ll get to meet them soon. As will you, Mauvier. The Four Hounds must defeat those nuisances at all costs.”

Mauvier bowed. “I will inform Marni tomorrow morning.”

“Good,” said Zephia. “Don’t you dare show those Embleteers the slightest bit of mercy.”

Mauvier frowned, but he nodded. “As you wish.”

Chapter Text

When Alear opened her eyes, midmorning sunlight was pouring through her bedroom window, and her phone was quiet on her bedside table.

Her eyes went wide. Oh no. I overslept again!

Then she remembered. Wait, no…today is Saturday.

Alear sat up in bed and stretched her arms upwards, beaming up at the ceiling. I slept great!

Once she’d finished stretching, she picked up her phone. It was nine thirty, and there were some texts from Céline and from…huh?

Alear unlocked her phone and opened her messages app to see that there was a group chat called “Embleteers and Friends.” When she clicked the group chat, the notification inside said that Céline had created it, complete with some introductory texts sent about an hour ago.

Good morning, Alear, Hortensia, Ivy! Welcome to Embleteers and Friends.

I founded this group chat for us to talk about Embleteer-related matters. When new Embleteers join us, we can add them to this group chat as well.

Ivy can be an intermediary to get information to and from Hortensia. We also hope you’ll continue to help us, Ivy; we couldn’t have managed last night without you, I’m sure.

Alear and I have a platonic anime date today, so we’ll have to figure out how best to look for the remaining Emblem Rings before Zephia and Griss find them. I look forward to your responses.

“I forgot what an early riser Céline is,” said Alear, rubbing her eyes. “Even on the weekends. I bet this group chat is gonna be really helpful, though. Magical girls in anime really don’t use the power of texting enough.”

“Magical girls?” said Marth.

“Huh? Oh, good morning, Marth,” said Alear, looking down at her ring. “Actually, Céline and I are watching some magical girl anime today. Our brothers will be there too, though, so you and Celica won’t really be able to watch.”

“That is perfectly fine,” said Marth. “I would like to learn more about anime when an opportunity comes, though.”

“Sure!” said Alear, smiling. “Oh, right, Céline texted me one-on-one. I better check.”

Céline’s texts, sent shortly after she’d founded the group chat, began with Good morning, sleepyhead. Since I don’t know how much you’re sleeping in today, why don’t we begin today’s anime viewing at 11? Alfred’s already texted this suggestion to Ryu.

Since we’ll probably still be watching anime by noon, my mother will make lunch for us. She looks forward to seeing you and Ryu.

I founded a group chat between us and Ivy. Be sure to check it if you haven’t already!

Alear smiled and quickly typed out a reply. Good morning, Céline. I just woke up.

She thought a moment, then added, I’ve already seen the group chat. Great idea! I’ll go reply to it.

Then she jumped to “Embleteers and Friends” and sent a message saying Good morning, Céline and Ivy! And Hortensia! It’s me, Alear!

I’m already excited about this group chat. Tty whenever you want!

Then Alear put down her phone, got out of bed, and went to shower and get dressed.

When she’d finished, she picked up her phone again, checking it as she started walking downstairs. Ivy had texted something to the group chat!

Alear excitedly opened the group chat and read Good morning, Alear and Céline. This is Ivy.

I’m sorry I didn’t respond sooner. I was showering when the first texts arrived.

Anyhow, I went over Céline’s texts with Hortensia. She says you told her that Emblems can sense nearby Emblem Rings. Perhaps Hortensia and I could explore Lythos and look around while the two of you enjoy anime?

Suddenly, Alear felt Ryu grab her and say, “Whoa! Careful!”

Alear hastily turned off her phone and said, “Huh? Ryu?”

Then she realized that she had been about to walk into the bookshelf close to the foot of the stairs.

“You really shouldn’t walk and text at the same time, Alear,” said Ryu. “You’re lucky I caught you in time.” He smiled. “Anyway, good morning. Happy Anime Saturday! Let me guess, you were texting Céline?”

Alear grinned sheepishly. “Uh, yeah. Happy Anime Saturday! And thanks for catching me.”

“No problem,” said Ryu. “That’s what twins are for. Anyway, Mother made pancakes and saved some for you.”

“Pancakes?!” said Alear. “Okay, I’ll be right there!”

The twins laughed as they ran to the dining room together.

—----------------

When it came close to eleven o’clock, Alear and Ryu put on their shoes and headed down the street to the Firenes’ house. When Ryu knocked, Alfred promptly answered the door.

“Hey, guys!” he said excitedly. “Come on in! Céline’s already setting up the anime!”

Alear and Ryu followed him in and greeted Eve, who waved to them. They headed into the living room together, and Céline looked over at them with an excited smile. The Umeboshi watchlist was already set up.

“Hello, Hikari friends!” said Céline, standing up from the couch. “Shall we perhaps begin with a Surprise Episode?”

“I can’t believe I forgot about Surprise Episodes!” said Ryu, clapping his hands together. “Okay, sure!”

Alear sat down on one end of the couch, Céline sitting down next to her. That left Alfred and Ryu to squish together on the remaining section, which resulted in some blushing, mostly on Ryu’s part. Céline winked at Alear as their brothers made themselves comfortable.

“Now, close your eyes, everyone,” said Céline. “We’ll begin with a surprise.”

She’s really starting by doing one of our old “Surprise Episodes,” Alear thought as she put her hands over her eyes. This already feels just like old times. She smiled. I never realized how much I’ve missed this.

“Oh,” came Céline’s voice. “I should ask: sub or dub?”

“Sub or dub?” said Alear, realizing that this narrowed it down a bit. “Okay, the surprise episode can’t be from Pretty Cure, since those are all subbed…um…”

“Clever,” said Céline.

“Hmmm,” said Ryu. “I’m remembering the animes we talked about yesterday…okay, I vote dubbed!”

Alear heard Alfred chuckle.

“Dubbed it is,” said Céline, and Alear heard the smile in her voice. “Just a moment…” Then she started humming a strangely familiar tune.

“I feel like I’ve heard you hum this before,” said Ryu.

Céline continued humming, sounding pleased with herself.

Alear kept her hands firmly over her eyes. Dang it, I know I know this song…

Then it hit her. “That’s ‘Clear’!”

Céline let out a joyful laugh, and the opening theme of Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card began playing. Alear, Ryu, and Alfred all uncovered their eyes, and Alear gave a laugh matching Céline’s.

Just a moment later, Alear and Céline sang along just as they’d sung along to “Clear” together years back, their voices still in perfect sync.

“Going, going, going, going on!” their voices rang out, and they exchanged beaming smiles.

“I love this song so much,” Alear said as she relaxed her body and fell against the back of the couch.

“That was amazing!” said Ryu. “You and Céline sang along, just like old times!”

Alear laughed, and Céline gave a contented smile.

—----------------

Unsurprisingly, Céline had picked the ball-sports episode she’d mentioned yesterday. It was a fun episode; a little bit of athleticism, a little bit of cute romance, a little bit of mystery and drama. And some pretty good dubbing, too.

Every time Sakura used magic in the episode, Céline gave Alear a playful nudge, and Alear grinned back at her. They let their own magical girl worries go for a little while and instead enjoyed a cheerful magical girl they’d always loved who always knew that everything would be okay somehow.

Alear couldn’t help letting out a sigh of longing when the episode finished. “Can we watch another Cardcaptor Sakura episode?”

“Oh, if you insist,” Céline said mischievously.

“Hey, let me and Ryu pick something too,” said Alfred.

“Cardcaptor Sakura is great, but could we have something shonen after this?” said Ryu.

While her friends and brother started negotiating, Alear furtively pulled out her phone. She was pretty sure she’d heard it go off at some point during the episode, and when she unlocked it, she saw that there were some new texts in “Embleteers and Friends.”

During the time between breakfast and anime viewing, Alear and Céline had responded to Ivy’s texts, and they had eventually decided that Ivy and Hortensia would walk around town together and see if Micaiah could sense any Emblem Rings.

And now Ivy had sent some follow-up texts. Hortensia and I are taking a walk downtown. Emblem Micaiah hasn’t sensed any more rings in our part of the neighborhood or near the school grounds. We’ll keep you updated.

Enjoy your anime.

Alear smiled and replied to Ivy. Thanks! Good luck! Tell Hortensia we say hi.

Ivy texted back I will.

“All right, time for more of Sakura’s adventures,” said Céline. “Are you done texting, Alear?”

Alear shoved her phone back into her pocket. I just kept staring at Ivy’s texts… “Um, yeah,” she said. “Release!”

Céline grinned. “Oh key that hides the forces of stars!”

“Show me your true form!” said Alear.

Their brothers laughed, and Céline pulled up another episode.

—----------------

“Sky Mirage!” Alear and Céline shouted in chorus. “Tone Connect!”

“Soaring Sky…” said Céline.

“...Pretty Cure!” finished Alear.

“Wow, you two sound like real magical girls,” said Ryu. “Have you been practicing or something?”

“Oh, we’ve just been…rekindling our love for magical girls,” Céline said innocently.

“You’re really having fun with it,” said Alfred, grinning. “Should I try getting you some Pretty Cure merch for your birthday, Céline?”

“Oh, you really don’t need to,” said Céline, glancing very subtly at her Emblem Ring. “Though I suppose I wouldn’t mind a Star Color Pen…” She winked at Alear, then turned back to the TV. “Now, let’s get back to admiring the Sky Cures.”

Alear rested her head on the arm of the couch and smiled. This is the best Saturday ever.

—----------------

“This is the worst Saturday EVER!” said Hortensia. “All we’re doing is walking around town playing Hot and Cold!”

“It’s for a good cause, Hortensia,” Ivy reminded her. “We can’t allow the likes of Zephia or Griss to take the remaining Emblem Rings.” She glanced around for passersby, then looked down at Hortensia’s ring. “I do hope my sister doesn’t cause you too much trouble, Emblem Micaiah.”

“Oh, it’s no trouble at all,” said Micaiah. “I find her charming.”

“I heard that, Ivy!” said Hortensia. Then she looked down at her ring. “Oh, never mind. Any idea where the other rings are?”

“Unfortunately, no,” said Micaiah. “That said, I also sense no Corrupted. Our opponents may still be seething over their defeat last night, which is advantageous for us. If we can find another Emblem Ring—or better yet, another Embleteer as well—we will be ahead in this race.”

Hortensia sighed. “I know. Anyway, there clearly aren’t any rings downtown. Where else can we go, Ivy?”

Ivy frowned thoughtfully. “Another neighborhood, perhaps? The one close to the middle school?”

“Worth a shot,” said Hortensia, but she still muttered, “Bored, bored, bored...”

—----------------

When Céline called for the necessary lunch break, Ryu got up to use the bathroom while Alfred went to another room to do some quick stretches. Once both brothers were out of the room, Céline turned off the TV and Alear checked her phone.

“No texts from Ivy,” said Alear.

“She and Hortensia are still exploring, most likely,” said Céline, looking over at her.

“I hope they’re doing okay,” said Alear.

“I’m sure they’re all right,” said Céline. “Ivy promised to text us if Zephia, Griss, or any Corrupted showed up in town. Or if Micaiah sensed an Emblem Ring.”

“I know,” said Alear. “I hope they’ll stop for lunch.”

Céline smiled. “Your lamp-wielding savior is surely doing well, Alear.”

“What—” said Alear. “Céline!”

“Oh, should I have called her your Zakuro instead?” said Céline.

“She’s not mine!” said Alear. “She’s Ivy Elusia!”

Céline smiled a little too innocently.

“That said, I’m curious as well,” she said. “I wonder what they’re doing right now.”

—----------------

“Micaiah?” said Hortensia. “Find anything?”

“I believe I can sense an Emblem Ring,” Micaiah said slowly. “However, the aura is faint. It is still a ways away.”

“Darn,” said Hortensia. She looked over at Ivy. “Can we go home now?”

“We can’t give up now, Hortensia,” said Ivy. “According to Emblem Micaiah, we’re at least getting closer. If we keep going in this direction, we may work out where the fourth Emblem Ring is.”

Hortensia looked dubious.

“I…have my purse with me,” Ivy said reluctantly. “It has my allowance in it. Would you be willing to keep going if I bought you some ice cream at the end of this search?”

Hortensia’s eyes widened. “Ice cream?”

“Ice cream,” said Ivy. “If we look for the Emblem Ring a little longer.”

“Deal!” said Hortensia, jumping in the air. “Just as long as you keep your ice cream promise!”

“It’s a promise!” said Ivy. “Now, shall we?”

Hortensia took off.

“What—” Ivy froze for a second, then spun around and ran after her. “The things my sister will do for sweets…Hortensia! Wait for me!”

—----------------

After lunch, Alear checked her phone again, but she didn’t see any new texts from Ivy. Frowning slightly, she closed her messages app, but she lingered on her phone for a little longer.

“What’s wrong, Alear?” asked Ryu.

“Huh?” said Alear, still looking at her phone. “Don’t worry, I’m fine. I was just checking something.”

Céline loaded her plate into the dishwasher, then walked back over to the table. “Shall we watch more anime together, everyone?” She leaned in Alear’s direction. “Alear?”

“Alear?” said Alfred. “You’re still staring at your phone.”

Céline peered over Alear’s shoulder and chuckled. “Oh. That certainly explains it!”

“Céline!” Alear yelped, hastily turning off her phone and putting it facedown on the table. “No peeking!”

“Apologies,” said Céline, but her smile showed that she had totally seen all the pictures of Zakuro that had just been on Alear’s screen.

“Anyway, yeah, let’s get back to watching anime!” Alear said a little too quickly, snatching up her phone and leaping up from the table.

—----------------

Late that afternoon, after Alear and Ryu had returned to their own house, Ivy sent a new text to Embleteers and Friends.

Hortensia and I are back home, but we need to decide on a plan of action. Is it possible for us to have a video call so we can discuss it more easily?

Alear’s eyes widened, and she quickly sent a reply. Sure! Does that sound good, Céline?

Céline’s reply was prompt. Of course. Let’s go to our respective bedrooms, and then I’ll set up the video call.

Soon, a three-way video call was taking place. Alear, who was sitting on her bed, held out her phone in front of herself, and her heartbeat picked up speed when she saw Ivy’s face appear on the screen.

“Good, everyone’s here,” said Céline, who had started the call. “What would you like to tell us, Ivy, Hortensia?”

“Today was SO BORING,” groaned Hortensia, who was sitting next to Ivy. “We were out there for HOURS and didn’t find any Emblem Rings.”

“We did find a lead, though,” said Ivy. “Emblem Micaiah was able to sense the aura of the fourth Emblem Ring. We don’t know its exact location yet, as our parents had begun to ask where we were—”

“And I wanted ice cream,” Hortensia interrupted.

“And Hortensia wanted ice cream,” said Ivy. “However, we had moved away from most of the buildings somewhat, so the next ring’s most likely location…” She nodded resolutely. “...is Sacae Park.”

“Sacae Park,” Alear repeated. “We’d better go there and start looking, except…” She frowned. “Dinner’s in an hour.”

“The same applies to us,” said Ivy. “Could we go after dinner?”

“It’ll be dark outside by then,” said Céline. “I doubt that our parents will let us go to Sacae’s hiking trails after dark. And the playground closes at six p.m. in fall.”

“Darn,” said Alear. “And we still don’t know what our enemies are up to. We could go tomorrow, since tomorrow’s Sunday, but what if Zephia and Griss beat us to it?”

“We’ll have to take that chance,” said Céline, her eyes fierce. “After all, there isn’t much choice. And…well. We may not be quite like conventional magical girls, especially since our transformations happen in real time, but Alear…” She smiled slightly. “How many magical girls have had the object or person they need practically drop into their laps at exactly the right time?”

Alear’s eyes widened. “Basically all of them?”

“Exactly,” said Céline. “With luck, the same may apply to us. We’ll have to trust in our skills. Tomorrow, we’ll search Sacae Park for the fourth Emblem Ring.”

—----------------

“There,” said Zephia, looking over the magically-created map of Lythos hovering in front of her. “We have the Corrupted ready to unleash in Sacae Park tomorrow morning. Now tell me, Mauvier…” She snapped her fingers, and the map disappeared. “Have you given Marni the necessary instructions? Griss and I are sending both of you there.”

“Marni is prepared for battle,” said Mauvier, his hand firmly over his heart. “She has already interacted with the Corrupted and learned how to give them orders.”

“Good girl,” Zephia purred. “She’s a fast learner. Not like the other one.”

Mauvier narrowed his eyes. “You should not speak of either of them that way.”

“I’m your leader, Mauvier,” Zephia said with a glare. “You will not talk back to me. I will refer to the girls how I please.”

Mauvier lowered his head. “I will inform Marni of your orders.”

“What’s that?” said a snarky, childish voice, as a girl of about thirteen stepped out of the shadows. “Did someone call me?”

“Why, yes,” said Zephia, giving the girl a saccharine smile. “Are you ready for battle tomorrow, Marni? You and Mauvier will accompany the Corrupted into Sacae Park tomorrow and search for Emblem Rings.”

“Count on me!” said Marni, giving her a quick salute. “And give those Embleteers a beating if they show up, right?”

“That’s right,” said Zephia. “Take their Emblem Rings if you can, but focus on searching the park and sowing chaos.”

“Oooooh,” said Marni. “Sounds fun.”

Mauvier looked askance.

“Marni, Mauvier,” said Zephia. “Be good Hounds. Do not fail me.”

“We will obey,” said Mauvier, reluctantly meeting her gaze.

—----------------

The Hikari family car parked in front of Sacae Park, and Alear and Céline hopped out.

“Have fun together,” said Alear’s mother. “I’ll pick the two of you up at noon for lunch, all right?”

“Okay,” said Alear. “Thanks, Mom.”

“I’m so happy that the two of you are good friends again,” said her mother. “See you later.”

Alear and Céline closed the car doors, then waved as the car drove away.

“There you are!” called a voice from behind them. “Let’s go look for Emblem Rings!”

Alear and Céline turned around to see Hortensia running up to them, with Ivy close behind. “Good morning,” said Céline. “Now, Celica…” She looked at her ring. “Are we in the right place?”

“Yes,” Celica answered. “I cannot sense the exact location, but there is certainly an Emblem Ring in this park.”

“Okay, then let’s go!” said Alear.

The four girls headed through the gates of the park and looked around. The nearest point of interest was the playground; even though it was still morning, there were already several young children playing there with their parents. For a moment, Alear missed the good old days and wished that she and her friends could be here for pleasure like everyone else.

But that wasn’t happening. They might still have fun, but there was an Emblem Ring to find. And they had to find it before Zephia and Griss did.

“Marth?” said Alear. “We’re walking by the playground. Is the ring there?”

“No,” Marth answered from his ring. “The ring is certainly close by, but not this close.”

“Okay,” said Alear, looking up at the others. “Where should we look, then?”

“Aside from the playground, most of this park consists of hiking trails,” said Céline, who was the one most familiar with Sacae Park. “We should head for the trail entrances first.”

Céline led the way to the trail entrances, and the other three followed. Soon, they stood before a trail that forked into two pathways, each marked with a sign. The sign to the left said “Lorca Trail,” while the sign to the right said, “Caelin Trail.”

“It forks?” said Hortensia, putting her hands on her hips. “Where do we start, then?”

“If we split up, we could find the ring faster,” said Alear. “Two of us on one trail, two on the other.” She looked over at Céline. “What do you recommend, Céline?”

“I’ve come here with Alcryst many times,” said Céline, looking at the trail entrance thoughtfully. “Lorca Trail is more smooth and flat, while Caelin Trail goes through the more mountainous section of the park. Both are scenic in their own ways, so…”

“Dibs on Lorca Trail!” Hortensia shouted, promptly linking her arm with Ivy’s, who looked down at her in surprise. “We’ll take the easy one.”

“Well, er, I don’t have a particular preference…” said Ivy, who looked oddly disappointed.

“You’re the one who really knows this place, Céline,” said Hortensia. “You and Alear can have the mountain-y one.”

“Well, all right,” said Céline. “We should use our phones to communicate if necessary. The trails are mostly independent, but they do connect via a side path…” She illustrated this with some hand gestures. “We’ll search our respective trails until we find the ring!”

Alear was glad to be with her best friend on a hiking trail she wasn’t familiar with, but she couldn’t help but notice Ivy looking back briefly as Hortensia dragged her toward the beginning of Lorca Trail.

“Well, shall we?” Céline asked when the sisters were out of sight.

Alear snapped out of her reverie and looked back at Céline. “Okay, let’s go. I’ll follow you.”

And they stepped onto Caelin Trail.

—----------------

“I wonder what the next Emblem is gonna be like,” Hortensia chattered as she and Ivy walked along Lorca Trail. “Like if she’s gonna be another magic one or if she’ll have some cool weapon. Or he, I guess. Might be a he.”

“Mmm,” said Ivy, quietly looking from side to side and admiring the trees.

“And who d’you think the next Embleteer’s gonna be?” Hortensia went on. “Anyone we know? Like a girl in my class or something? I hope she’s fun, though she better not be cuter than me. Sure hope she isn’t boring or anything.”

“Mhm,” said Ivy, carefully stepping around a large rock in the middle of the trail.

“But even when she shows up, she better not get those jerks Zephia and Griss all by herself. I want to get them back for treating me like a kid!” said Hortensia, doing a little punching motion. Then she stopped walking and spun around. “Ivy! You’re not even listening to me!”

“I am listening to you,” said Ivy, holding up her hands defensively. “I’ve heard every word. It’s just…” She looked around. “Hortensia, this is a hiking trail. There’s nothing wrong with talking while hiking, but I’d like the chance to appreciate the peaceful nature here.”

Hortensia huffed. “It’s just walking. With more trees.”

“Lorca Trail is beautiful,” said Ivy. “The trees may be losing their colors for fall, but they are still lovely to see. And when you’re quieter…you can hear the birds.” She smiled. “I’d love to come here again when we don’t have an Emblem Ring to search for.”

Hortensia now had that facial expression she got when something had the nerve not to make sense to her.

“By the way…” Ivy looked toward Hortensia’s ring. “Emblem Micaiah? Are we coming closer to the fourth Emblem Ring?”

“Yes!” said Micaiah. “It is very close now! Let us continue along the trail. I know we will be able to find it soon!”

“Finally!” said Hortensia. “Okay, let’s go!”

Ivy sighed. “I’m right behind you.”

—----------------

“This trail is beautiful,” said Alear, looking all around as she followed Céline up the slope. “You said you come here a lot, right?”

“Yes,” said Céline, glancing back at her. “Alcryst loves going for walks. It’s a good way for us to spend some time together.”

“Maybe I should get to know Alcryst better,” said Alear. “He seems really nice. He’s just so shy.”

“Alcryst can take some time to feel comfortable around other people,” said Céline. “It’s more than worth the wait, though.” Then she looked around and smiled. “Here we are! Up here, Alear. Come and see the view.”

Alear reached the top, panting for breath a little, and stood beside Céline. Then she gasped. “Oh, wow.”

The whole town of Lythos stretched out before them. The browning trees were like calming earth tones beside the more colorfully painted houses and other buildings, and there were so many familiar places that looked beautiful from this height. She could see Zofia Gardens, the flowers like a carpet of color, and there was the downtown, and wow, Elusia Mansion had such a dark green roof that Alear would recognize it anywhere…

“You can see the whole town,” said Alear. “What a view.”

Céline smiled. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

Alear nodded. “Yeah. Wish we could stay longer.”

“We’ll have to come here again sometime,” said Céline. “Now, shall we continue our search?”

“Right, yeah…” said Alear, looking at her ring. “Marth? Celica?”

“The ring’s aura is growing stronger,” said Marth. “We must continue along the trail.”

“We’re certainly much closer than before!” said Celica.

Céline nodded at her ring. “Let’s go, then!”

—----------------

“Are we getting closer, Micaiah?” Hortensia asked.

“Yes, I believe we are,” Micaiah answered. “The aura is strongest to your right.”

The hiking trail continued straight ahead. “Perhaps it’s on the connecting path that Céline mentioned?” said Ivy.

“Maybe?” said Hortensia, frowning.

“Since we’re new to these trails, I don’t like the idea of going off the beaten path until we’ve eliminated the other options,” said Ivy. “Why don’t we continue on this trail and then decide once we find the side path? It could be that the ring is closer to Caelin Trail than Lorca.”

“Okay, sure,” said Hortensia. “Let’s—”

A twig crunched behind them.

Both sisters spun around. “Huh?” said Hortensia.

“Grrah,” was the reply.

“Rrreh,” was another reply.

“Ugh, not more of you!” said Hortensia.

“What…” Ivy froze. “What are those things?!”

Oh, right. Ivy’s never seen them. Hortensia cleared her throat.

“Those are Corrupted!” she declared. “They’re those creepy monsters that keep showing up in town! We’re pretty sure Zephia’s behind them.”

Ivy’s eyes widened. “There are so many!” she said.

“Huh?” said Hortensia. Then she blinked, realizing that there were at least ten Corrupted.

“Grrrah,” said another voice behind her.

The sisters spun around again to see even more Corrupted. “We’re surrounded!” said Ivy, glancing back and forth. “There are even some in the trees!”

“Hey there,” said a childish voice.

Ivy and Hortensia turned their heads to see a girl of about thirteen, with her blond hair in swirls and her dark pink clothes covered with armor. She was holding an axe over her shoulder.

“Okay, who are you?!” said Hortensia.

“Call me Marni,” said the girl, who was smirking. “So you’re the Elusia sisters Zephia told me about. For folks who’re supposed to be giving us a ton of trouble, you look like a couple of losers to me.”

“Losers?!” Hortensia practically screamed. “Ugh, now I KNOW you work for Zephia!”

“And clearly Zephia didn’t teach you manners,” said Ivy, folding her arms. “Did she send you after us?”

“Yep!” Marni said way too cheerfully. “Didn’t expect you to be here, but this is perfect! We’ve gotta take your Emblem Rings.” She gave a come at me gesture with her free hand. “Give me yours. Or else.”

“I’m not letting another kid boss me around!” Hortensia snapped.

“Hortensia!” said Ivy.

“Ugh, fine,” Marni grumped. “Corrupted! Get ’em!”

“Grrah,” said the Corrupted, and they charged.

Ivy screamed despite herself. “Hortensia!” she said. “Quick! Engage with Emblem Micaiah!”

“Uh, I kind of can’t right now!” said Hortensia. “We transform in real time, remember? If I Engage…” She yelped and jumped out of the way of a Corrupted. “...they’re all gonna jump me!”

Ivy frantically looked back and forth, then saw something in the grass nearby. “There!” she gasped.

She dashed past the Corrupted in the way, dodging two of them and kicking another in the leg, pushing away her feeling of horror. With a speed she’d never known before, Ivy snatched up the fallen branch in the grass, gripped it with both hands, and hit the nearest Corrupted in the head.

“Whoa!” said Hortensia.

The Corrupted stumbled back, and Ivy ran back to her sister. She grabbed Hortensia’s hand and took off at a run, hitting the nearby Corrupted with the branch to make enough room for an escape.

“Hey!” Marni shouted. “Corrupted! Get them!”

Ivy kept running, pulling Hortensia along after her.

“Wow,” said Hortensia, looking at her sister in astonishment. “You’re pretty cool, Ivy.”

“Thank you,” Ivy said between breaths. “Don’t talk…save your breath…”

“Look out!” Hortensia yelped.

The warning came too late. Ivy tripped on a large rock and fell forward, accidentally pulling Hortensia to the ground with her. They sprawled on the trail, with the Corrupted still in pursuit.

Ivy breathed heavily, shaken from the fall. She’d dropped the branch, but it seemed mostly undamaged. That didn’t help if she and Hortensia couldn’t get up, though…

“Oops!” came Marni’s voice behind them, followed by an ungracious giggle. “Looks like you were stupid clumsy. You’re in trouble now!”

The Corrupted surrounded the sisters on all sides. Ivy and Hortensia were stunned and greatly outnumbered, and Hortensia didn’t have time to Engage. Marni cast a shadow over them, complete with her raised axe.

In pure desperation, Ivy took a deep breath and cried out, “ALEAR!”

“Huh?” said Hortensia.

“ALEAR!” Ivy screamed. “SAVE US!!!”

“Awww, an SOS?” said Marni. “They’re not gonna get here in time. Any last words?”

“MARNI!” shouted a low voice. “Stop right there!”

Suddenly, a man with dark gray hair and a small beard ran into view. He had a middle-aged appearance and carried a lance in his hand.

“What?” said Hortensia. “What the heck?”

“Ugh,” Marni groaned, lowering her axe out of the way. “Mauvier! I was just about to get them!”

“This is dirty fighting, Marni,” the man said in a stern voice. “You must not defeat them in a brief moment of weakness.”

“You’re so freakin’ rule abiding!” said Marni. “Crashing the party. I almost had them!”

Blinking in shock, Ivy and Hortensia carefully pushed themselves to their feet and looked around at their opponents and the circle of Corrupted.

“Greetings,” the man said with a nod to the sisters. “You must be the Elusian sisters. I am Mauvier. Marni and I are members of the Four Hounds. We have come to search for Emblem Rings.”

“IVY!” called out a voice. “We’re here!”

Ivy turned to see Alear and Céline running into view. “Alear!” she cried. “Céline!”

“Are you okay?” Alear called. “When we heard you scream, we came here on the side path! Sorry we took so long!” Then she stopped short. “Uh, who are these people?”

Marni groaned again.

“There you are!” said Hortensia. “These are Marni and Mauvier. Apparently they work for Zephia.”

“We do,” said Mauvier. “Zephia is the leader of the Four Hounds, and so she is the leader of us.”

“Not like you’re much help,” Marni snapped. “You’re such a do-gooder. Making me search this place alone just so you could evacuate all the bystanders first.”

“Um,” said Alear.

“Allow me to cut in,” said Céline, holding up her hand. “Regardless of your…differences in opinion, both of you are our opponents, yes? And you have brought Corrupted into Sacae Park, which is unacceptable!”

“I apologize for the Corrupted,” said Mauvier. “But yes. We must defeat the four of you. Corrupted, make room for the other Embleteers.”

The circle of Corrupted parted, making enough space for Alear, who looked nervous, and Céline, who looked surprised.

“Please, come in,” said Mauvier. “We will fight you once you are Engaged.”

“Stupid!” said Marni. “We’re just gonna stand here and wait for them to transform?”

“We must fight fairly,” said Mauvier.

“Um, I’d rather not go into a circle of Corrupted,” said Alear.

“Then we’ll come out here,” said Ivy, joining hands with Hortensia and leading her out of the circle, but not before picking up the branch. “I’ll be cheering the three of you on.”

Marni tapped her foot, but Mauvier simply nodded.

“So…this is weird,” said Alear.

“Such are the lives of magical girls,” said Céline. “Now, we have Corrupted and two minions to fight, as well as an Emblem Ring to find. Shall we?”

“Right, sorry,” said Alear, holding up her hand. “Okay, one, two, three…”

“Emblem Engage!” they chorused.

The Embleteers joined hands with their Emblem partners, who turned into balls of light and flame before diving into their hearts. Pale blue light coursed through Alear’s hair, turning one side of it blue and deepening the other side into a rich dark red while hair like glowing flames coursed down Céline’s shoulders and white ribbons weaved themselves through Hortensia’s pigtails.

Colorful, shining light and fire swirled along the Embleteers. Blue light materialized into Alear’s long ruffled dress, red fire spiraled upward into Céline’s high white boots, and yellow light shimmered into Hortensia’s white gloves.

A silver tiara streaked across the top of Alear’s head like a hairband, sparks changed into ribbons on Céline’s legs and bows on her wrists, and a big yellow bow popped onto Hortensia’s chest. Alear gripped her sword, while Céline made fire appear in her palm and Hortensia raised glowing hands. One by one, each of them struck a pose, Alear in the middle and Céline and Hortensia on each side of her.

Céline spun around and held her hands out in front of her, fire glowing in her palms like a blossoming flower. “I care for my allies as the Embleteer of Echoes! With Mila’s divine protection, I shall strike you down!”

Hortensia clasped her hands in front of her, then threw them out to her sides, the sun-shaped stone on her dress shining brightly. “I heal my allies as the Embleteer of Dawn! With the radiant light of dawn, I will smite you!”

Alear held her sword aloft, letting it shine like a blue beacon. “I shine a light as the Embleteer of Beginnings! Just as light triumphs over shadow, I will triumph over you!”

“We are the Embleteers!” they chorused. “And you will not best us!”

“Finally!” said Marni. “Corrupted, get them!”

“We have to be careful!” Céline said as the Corrupted charged. “We can’t harm the trees!”

“Okay, here goes!” said Alear, slashing at the Corrupted. Three of them fell to the ground; her swordplay was getting better!

Céline zipped from one spot to another with her warping magic, throwing Seraphim spells at the Corrupted from all the safest angles. Hortensia used her Shine on the Corrupted Alear and Céline didn’t get, and when a stray one approached Ivy, Hortensia also kicked it for good measure.

“I don’t get what all the fuss is about,” said Marni. “This is boring. Are we supposed to just sit and watch?”

“They are very skilled fighters despite their lack of training,” Mauvier remarked with a surprising amount of respect.

“We can hear you!” Ivy called. Then she glimpsed a Corrupted to her side, yelped, and whacked it with her branch, stunning it long enough for Céline to destroy it.

“There!” said Alear, slashing the last Corrupted in two. “We got them!”

“Grrrr!” said Marni. “You got all of them?! Guess we’ll just have to fight you ourselves!”

“I have been looking forward to this,” said Mauvier, raising his lance.

Alear struck a defensive stance with her sword, and Céline and Hortensia readied their spells.

They’ve got a lance and an axe, Alear thought. Not like Zephia and Griss, who use magic. This is going to be a new kind of fight. She gripped Falchion tightly. But I have a weapon too!

Marni charged forward with her axe ready to swing, and Hortensia charged right at her.

“Hey, mess with someone your size!” said Hortensia. “Shine!”

“Hortensia, be careful!” Ivy called.

Alear slashed at Mauvier, but he blocked and parried her with his lance. Alear yelped, stumbled backward, and attempted another strike, but Mauvier easily countered that as well.

“It seems you have never fought a lancer before,” said Mauvier, making a stabbing motion.

Alear jumped out of the way. “Uh, we’ve kind of been at this for less than a week,” she pointed out. “We didn’t even know who Zephia was until two days ago!”

Céline glanced back and forth. Who do I help? she thought. Hortensia is the less powerful attacker, but Alear is struggling… She clenched her hands. And if I’m not careful, I might make the trees catch fire! Celica, what should I do?

Ivy fretfully clutched her branch as Hortensia interspersed casting Shine with dodging Marni’s axe, Alear gritted her teeth as her sword clashed with Mauvier’s lance, and Céline breathed heavily from stress. What to do? all of them except Hortensia thought. What do I do?

Meanwhile, Hortensia just thought, This girl is a pain in the neck! How do I make her quit it with that axe? How does she even LIFT it?

Still, Hortensia’s Shine clearly had an effect. Whenever the light spell hit Marni’s armor, Marni made an angry sound and briefly faltered. After a moment of doubt, Céline took a deep breath and turned toward Mauvier in order to help her best friend.

“Over here!” Céline called, warping behind Mauvier and sending a fireball straight at him. “Seraphim!”

Mauvier gasped and turned his head to see Céline readying another spell. “How did you—”

“Nice one, Céline!” Alear called, leaping forward with her sword. There was a loud ding as Falchion hit Mauvier’s gray armor, but the hit knocked him enough off balance for Céline’s next spell to be a decisive strike. Mauvier fell to one knee, his lance pressed against the ground.

“Now—shall we do another pincer?” said Céline, glancing toward Marni and then back to Alear, who nodded fiercely.

“Hortensia!” Alear called. “We’re here to help!”

Céline sent forth another fireball, catching Marni off balance. Alear looked at their immediate surroundings, nodded to herself, and raised her sword.

“You won’t be taking any Emblem Rings today!” Alear shouted. “Lodestar Rush!!!”

She unleashed a flurry of slashes, knocking Marni farther and farther back until finally, the girl flew back and crashed into a tree. Marni dropped her axe, but she quickly snatched it up again.

“Ugh! I’m sick of this!” said Marni. “Mauvier! Let’s get outta here!”

Mauvier got to his feet and wiped his forehead. “That was a good battle,” he said. “I look forward to crossing weapons with you again.”

“Yeah, yeah!” said Marni. “Come ON already!”

Before the Embleteers could fully react, Marni was already pulling Mauvier away, and soon the two were out of sight. After a brief awkward silence, the Embleteers and Ivy let out sighs of relief.

“Okay, that was…pretty intense, honestly,” said Alear. “I’m glad we made it. Are there any more Corrupted nearby, Marth?”

Fortunately not, Marth replied. You have defeated all of them. And the fourth Emblem Ring is very close by.

Alear beamed. “That’s great!” she said, returning to her regular form. “Okay everyone, let’s go get the Emblem Ring!”

—----------------

“By the way, Ivy…where did you find that branch?” Céline asked a few minutes later. The four girls were walking along the side trail, with their Emblems floating along behind them.

“Oh,” said Ivy, her eyes widening as she realized that she was still holding her makeshift weapon, now significantly damaged. “I found this on the ground when we were surrounded by Corrupted. Since Hortensia didn’t have time to Engage, I used it as a weapon.”

“It was pretty awesome, honestly,” said Hortensia. “Didn’t think Ivy could pull it off.”

“You protected Hortensia with that branch?!” said Alear. “Wow, wish I could’ve seen it…”

Ivy’s cheeks flushed. “You do?”

“Hold on!” said Celica, and the girls stopped walking. “The fourth Emblem Ring—its aura is strongest here!”

“So it is here on the side path after all?” said Céline. “Goodness. Alear and I must have run right past it when we heard Ivy’s cries for help.”

Ivy covered her face with her free hand in embarrassment.

“Okay, so where is it?” Alear asked. She crouched down and started examining the ground while Hortensia walked over to a tree and gave it a good shake. A jay in the tree gave an irate squawk, but nothing fell out.

“Hello?” Céline called. “Emblem? Can you hear us?”

“Hello?” Marth, Celica, and Micaiah called.

“Here I am!” called a female voice.

Alear gasped, leapt to her feet, and ran toward a nearby sign. Caelin Trail this way. She bent down, moved her hand around on the ground for a moment, then said, “There!” and picked up a ring.

The ring had a thin golden band, with a pale green stone in the center. Alear stood up and held out the ring for the others to see. “Hello?” she said. “It’s us, the Embleteers. Plus our friend Ivy.”

Ivy set down the branch in a nearby patch of grass just as a young woman with a high green ponytail appeared in front of the team. “It’s good to meet you,” said the Emblem. “I am Lyn, the Emblem of Blazing.”

“Emblem Lyn!” said Micaiah. “I hoped we would find you soon.”

“Thank you,” said Lyn. She closed her eyes and clasped her hands. “Now that I am together with the three of you, I can sense my Embleteer. She is somewhere in this town, about the same age as the Embleteer holding my ring, and…” Lyn’s smiling face turned serious, and she opened her eyes. “...and she feels as though she is all alone. We must find her as soon as we can!”

“Really?” said Alear. “Yikes, that doesn’t sound good. We better find the Embleteer of Blazing!”

“I’m glad we found you, Lyn,” said Céline. “Let me see what time it is…” She pulled out her phone and checked it. “We’ve spent quite a while at Sacae! We should head back to the parking lot before Lumera arrives to take us to lunch.”

“Already?” said Alear. “We might have to wait to find your Embleteer, Lyn…but if she’s my age, she’ll probably be in Vander’s class with us! Or maybe the other ninth-grade class. We can look for her at school tomorrow. I’ll take care of your ring for now, okay?”

“Thank you,” said Lyn, nodding. “I’m counting on you to help me find her.”

Alear tucked the ring into her pocket, and Lyn returned to her ring. “Okay,” she said. “Let’s head back, everyone!”

“Right!” said Céline, Hortensia, and Ivy.

—----------------

In the car on the way home, Alear clutched Lyn’s Emblem Ring in her pocket. So the Embleteer of Blazing isn’t Ivy…I was kind of hoping it would be, but we can still look forward to meeting whoever Lyn’s partner is. It’s amazing that Lyn’s strong enough to sense her partner’s emotions.

She turned in her seat and looked over at Céline, who was gazing thoughtfully out the window. Céline didn’t notice; she had too much to think about.

The Four Hounds…that implies they’re Zephia, Griss, Marni, and Mauvier, Céline thought. Is that all of them, or do they have a master?

Then she remembered what Lyn had sensed, and her hand clenched on the car armrest.

One step at a time, Céline. We have to find the Embleteer of Blazing right away. Whoever she is, I already feel for her. It’s painful…feeling as though you’re all alone…

Alear spoke, snapping Céline out of her thoughts. “Hey, Céline?”

“Yes?” said Céline, turning.

“Thanks for the great weekend,” said Alear, smiling. “Maybe we can watch some more anime after lunch?”

Despite her worried thoughts, Céline managed to smile back. “I’d love to. And thank you as well, Alear.”

Chapter Text

Darkness filled up with light as a sparkling pen drew stars in the empty sky. An ethereal woman who was dressed all in light green like Cure Milky but had stars on her skirt like Cure Selene and long wavy hair like Céline Firene appeared in a swirl of shimmering light.

“Alcryst,” she said, smiling gently. “It is good to see you. You wished upon my star, did you not? I am here to grant your wish.”

It took a few tries for Alcryst to get the words out. “I…made a wish? On your star?”

“Of course you did,” the woman replied, holding out a green pen that seemed to come out of nowhere. “So I offer you this. Draw your true self. Make your wish come true.” She placed the pen in Alcryst’s shaking hand and nodded. “Your wish to be a girl.”

Alcryst stared at the pen in amazement. “You…really want to give this to me?”

“Certainly,” the woman said as a soft vocal chorus reminiscent of the singing in Star-Twinkle Pretty Cure filled the air. “You’ve earned it.”

The woman disappeared back into the stars, leaving only the pen behind. The magical pen that could grant Alcryst’s dearest, most secret wish.

“Draw your true self. Make your wish come true…”

Alcryst Brodia opened his eyes, the chorus from the dream still echoing through his mind. He promptly squeezed his eyes shut again, wishing he could stay in the dream for just a little longer.

That was when the phone alarm started playing. Alcryst pushed himself upright, picked up his phone, and turned off the alarm before unintentionally letting out a sigh.

“If only dreams came true,” he whispered. Then he fiercely shook his head, got out of bed, and walked over to the dresser, forcing himself to look in the mirror.

He immediately glanced back down. Why did I think I’d wake up a girl today? No matter how many times I have those wonderful dreams, I always wake up looking just the same…

After getting dressed, Alcryst pulled out his glasses, which had large dark-red frames, and put them on. Avoiding the mirror, he brushed his hair and headed downstairs.

“There you are!” said Diamant, poking his head out of the dining room. “Morning, Alcryst! Did you sleep well?”

Alcryst nodded. “Good morning, Diamant.” Then he yelped as his father suddenly glomped him from behind.

“THERE’S my other boy!” said Morion Brodia, and Alcryst winced despite himself. “Your mother’s made us delicious breakfast, just like always! Come on, let’s go and eat!”

“Don’t squeeze Alcryst so tightly, dear,” Alcryst’s mother called from the kitchen. “Make sure he can still breathe.”

“Oops,” said Morion, looking down at Alcryst. “Can you still breathe, son?”

“Um, yes,” Alcryst managed.

His father let go of Alcryst and cheerfully slapped him on the back. “Let’s have breakfast, then!”

—----------------

Alcryst hitched his backpack up on his shoulder and took a deep breath, steeling himself for another day. Every minute at school, he wished he were somewhere else, but of course he wasn’t going to say so. Just another secret he’d probably end up taking to his grave.

“Want me to drive you?” Diamant asked as Alcryst followed him out the front door. “I don’t have to be at LCC for another half hour.”

“I think I’ll just walk to school today,” said Alcryst. “Thank you, though.”

Diamant smiled, waved, and got into their father’s car. Alcryst waved back, then turned and looked down the sidewalk.

A few houses ahead, Céline and Alear were walking to school together, chatting happily with their brothers and each other. Alcryst smiled faintly, glad that Céline was rekindling her old friendship with Alear.

I won’t join them. They need their time to catch up. And I shouldn’t impose anyway…

After waiting for the Firene and Hikari siblings to get far enough ahead that they wouldn’t notice him walking behind them, Alcryst adjusted his backpack and started making his way to school.

—----------------

“So…who do you think the Embleteer of Blazing is?” Alear asked once Ryu and Alfred were focused more on talking with each other. “Lyn said that she’s lonely, so maybe that can help us narrow it down. We should find her as soon as we can and become her friends!”

Céline smiled at Alear’s innocence, but then she looked down at the ground. “Lyn didn’t say that her Embleteer is lonely,” she said quietly. “She said that her Embleteer feels as though she’s all alone. Those aren’t the same thing.”

“Huh?” said Alear. “They aren’t?”

“Not necessarily,” said Céline. “You can feel as though you’re alone even when you’re surrounded by friends. It’s…it’s a very painful feeling. It’s imperative that we find her.”

“Céline…” said Alear. She stared at her friend for a moment, then shook her head. “Okay, so maybe I’m kind of naive about this stuff. But I can tell this is really important to you. And I want to find her too.”

Céline looked back up at her and nodded. “Yes. First things first, we must find her. Then we can do our best to help her.”

—----------------

“Now, to begin our day’s grammar lesson,” said Vander, writing up some sentences. “Can anyone tell me the correct place for a comma in this first sentence?” He turned to the class, frowning when no one raised their hand. “Anyone?”

Alear frantically searched her mind for the correct answer, trying to resist the temptation to look to Ryu for help. Vander had known her and Ryu long enough to recognize most of their nonverbal cues.

“Anyone?” Vander repeated. “Alcryst?”

Alear dropped her shoulders, relieved that it wasn’t her. Then she realized that Alcryst didn’t respond to Vander’s call.

“Alcryst?” Vander said again.

No response.

“ALCRYST BRODIA,” Vander said loudly.

“Hey,” someone muttered. “Girly boy. Old Battle-Axe wants you.”

“AAAH!” Alcryst yelped loudly enough that Alear turned around in her seat to see. “I-I’m so sorry, Mr. Brooks! I don’t know where my mind is this morning and I’m sorry I’m not Diamant, who I know was a model student with all A’s when he was in your class—” Alcryst had been standing up during this, but now he dropped back down in his seat and covered his face with his hands. “I’M SO SORRYYYYYY!”

“That was a run-on sentence,” said Vander, shaking his head. “Now, could you please come to the board and correct this run-on sentence?”

Alcryst shakily stood up again. “Yes, of course…I’m so sorry, Mr. Brooks…”

“Excuse me, Mr. Brooks,” said Céline, raising her hand. “That boy—I can’t remember his name—poked Alcryst in the back with a pencil. The pointy end, even. I saw him.”

The offending boy, who was still holding the pencil, put on a look of fake innocence.

“He did?” said Vander, turning to Céline. Alcryst, who was in front of the chalkboard by this time, turned to look at her as well, with a look of nervous surprise and a little guilt.

“Yes, sir,” said Céline. “And surely you heard the rude things he said.”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I did,” said Vander, glaring at the boy. “Call me Old Battle-Axe? Detention!”

“What?” said the boy. “What the hell? It’s true!”

“I’m sick of toxic masculinity,” Céline muttered just barely loud enough for Alear to hear.

“Um…” said Alcryst, holding up his hand. “Excuse me, Mr. Brooks…” He pointed to the sentence. “Did I put the comma in the right place?”

Vander checked. “Yes, you did,” he said. “Well done, Alcryst.” He nodded approvingly, then looked back at the rude boy as Alcryst put down the chalk and breathed a sigh of relief. “Now, you…come up here and place commas in the next two sentences! And after that, detention.”

The boy started loudly grumbling as he stood up. Alear looked from the rude boy to Alcryst to a still-seething Céline and back to Alcryst, not sure what to make of what she’d just seen.

—----------------

During the last class before lunch, Alear had to use the bathroom. Once she’d done so and finished washing her hands, she checked for other girls, then (seeing that she was alone in the bathroom) pulled Lyn’s Emblem Ring out of her pocket. “Hey, Lyn,” she said. “Are you doing okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” Lyn replied. “Thank you. I’m worried about my Embleteer, though…”

“Is she in Vander’s classroom with me?” Alear asked.

“Yes, she is,” said Lyn. “However, I also sensed her nearby while you and Celica’s Embleteer were walking to school.”

“Really?” said Alear, her eyes wide. “But you didn’t say any—oh, right, sorry,” she said sheepishly. “Ryu and Alfred were with us. So if she was nearby on the way to school, that probably means she lives in our neighborhood! Or at least she goes through there or the fancy section on the way to school.”

“It seems as though we are closer to finding her!” said Marth.

“Yeah!” said Alear. “Okay, great, that narrows it down! I’ll be sure to tell Céline during lunch.”

—----------------

As soon as class was over, Céline went over to Alcryst’s desk. “Are you doing all right?” she asked.

“Oh—” said Alcryst, blinking in surprise. “I’m fine. Thank you.”

“You’ve been very quiet lately. For you, I mean,” said Céline. “I’m worried about you, and I’ve been meaning to catch up with you anyway. Would you like to have lunch together?”

Alcryst slowly stood up. “All right. If Alear doesn’t mind…”

“Of course she won’t. You’re my friend too,” said Céline, taking Alcryst’s hand. “Let’s go.”

—----------------

“Huh? Oh, hi Alcryst!” said Alear. “Sorry, I know we have a mutual friend, but I’m realizing I don’t know you that well.”

“Um, it’s nice to see you,” said Alcryst, nervously standing just behind Céline.

“Hey, Alcryst!” said Alfred, making his appearance. “You and Céline gonna both sit with us today?”

“Certainly,” said Céline.

“Oh, wait,” said Alear, realizing. “What about Hortensia? And Ivy?”

“There you are!” said Ivy, finally reaching them. “I had to get through such a cluster of people…” She blinked. “...Alcryst Brodia. Good…good afternoon.”

“H-Hello, Ivy Elusia,” said Alcryst. “...Um…”

“Er…I already bumped into Hortensia on the way here,” said Ivy, turning her attention to Alear. “She’s having lunch with the girl who sits next to her in class. Apparently said girl is an expert on Lycia Mall.”

“Oh,” said Alear, nodding. “Okay.”

“Which…might be for the best,” Ivy admitted. “She takes our father’s anti-Brodia policy very much to heart. For my part, I wouldn’t dream of telling anyone that I’m sharing a lunch table with Alcryst Brodia today.”

Alcryst audibly swallowed. “That’s…a good idea for my father’s peace of mind, too,” he said. “I wouldn’t mind getting to know you, though. Diamant has never much liked our fathers’ rivalry…”

“It’s a deal,” Ivy said with a small smile. “Now, shall we?”

“And Alfred’s already run toward the cafeteria and pulled Ryu along with him,” said Céline, facepalming. “Fingers crossed that they save us a table.”

—----------------

Alfred and Ryu did save them a table, and everyone took a seat. While they were all opening their lunchboxes, Alfred and Ryu immediately started talking, but the others stayed quiet.

I wonder where the Embleteer of Blazing is, Alear thought as she bit into her sandwich. I can’t tell Céline and Ivy what Lyn told me, since we’ve got other people here…maybe I should make small talk with Alcryst?

“Hey, Alcryst,” said Alear. “How’s…uh…” I don’t know anything about him! Uhhhh… “...you’re really good at grammar!”

Alcryst blinked. “Um…thank you?”

“I should probably study harder,” said Alear. “Vander’s lessons make me feel like I don’t know anything about commas. Anyway, you were great up there at the board!”

Alcryst looked down at his lunchbox. “...Thank you,” he repeated. “Um…” He glanced up again. “Céline says you like magical girl anime!”

“Huh?” said Alear. “Oh, yeah, I do! Didn’t know that was your thing too…is it your thing?”

Alcryst’s eyes went wide. “N-No, never mind! I’m sorry! Please forget what I just said!”

Alear blinked in confusion.

“You two really don’t need to go out of your way to become friends,” said Céline, pulling out some grapes. “Especially if you’re trying to do so for my sake. Let things happen naturally.”

“Sorry,” said Alear. “You’re right.”

“I’m sorry,” Alcryst repeated. “Um…thank you, Céline.”

Ivy made a small smile. “I’ve never seen someone use grammar lessons for small talk before. Well done, Alear.”

“Really?” said Alear, feeling her face get hot. “Thanks.”

Alcryst didn’t talk much during the rest of lunch. Instead, he kept staring at his food and occasionally glancing over at Céline. Alear guessed he was probably just being shy, but Céline looked a little worried.

Then, toward the end of lunch, a familiar little-sister voice called out “IVY!” loud enough for the group to hear Hortensia halfway across the cafeteria. Ivy jumped, shook her head, and turned in the direction of the shout. Then she glanced back at the table they were all sitting at. “Hortensia’s coming over,” she said.

Alcryst’s eyes widened. Then he scrambled off the cafeteria bench and ducked under the table at an impressive speed. Alcryst was safely out of sight several seconds before Hortensia ran up to the table.

“Ivy!” said Hortensia, jumping up and down. “Goldmary says there’s a big sale at the cute trinket shops in Lycia Mall today! Can we go there after school?!”

“I’m not exactly in a position to say no,” Ivy said wryly. “All right. I’ll text Mother and Father about it, and I’ll take you to the mall as soon as school lets out.”

Hortensia really wasn’t someone to take no for an answer, was she? Ivy looked like she didn’t even want to go to Lycia Mall today.

Before Alear even realized, she was already saying, “I’ll come too!”

Ivy looked at Alear wide-eyed. “You will?” she gasped.

“Yeah, I’d love to!” said Alear. Ivy might want some company! If she’s okay with that! And if there’s a big sale, probably lots of girls from our class will be there! We might be able to find the Embleteer of Blazing that way! “I haven’t been to Lycia Mall in a long time!” Wait…oh no…what if I get all tongue-tied in front of Ivy?? “Want to come too, Céline?”

“Thank you for the offer, but there’s something else I’d like to do after school today,” said Céline. “Send me pictures?”

“Oh,” said Alear. “Okay, yeah, sure! We’ll take lots of pictures!”

Céline winked as she popped a grape into her mouth. “I hope you have a lovely time with the Elusia sisters.”

“Thanks!” said Alear.

—----------------

Once Hortensia was out of sight again (back to chat with Goldmary), Céline looked under the table and told Alcryst that it was safe. Alcryst got back out from under the table and got back to lunch, breathing a sigh of relief.

As soon as school let out, most of the girls in the classroom hurried out of Lythos High to check out the sale at the mall. Alear and Hortensia waved to Céline before going to meet up with Ivy.

As Alcryst put on his backpack and started to head out, Céline called out. “Alcryst?”

Surprised, Alcryst turned around. “Céline? I…I didn’t know you were still here…”

“I was wanting to talk to you,” said Céline, her green eyes gentle. “I can tell something’s on your mind.”

Alcryst’s body tensed. “It…it’s nothing,” he said, gripping his backpack strap and trying to ignore his suddenly rapid heartbeat.

“With all respect, I don’t think it is,” said Céline, frowning slightly. “Why don’t we take a walk together? I know how much you love walks.”

“I…” Alcryst looked down at the floor.

A walk did sound nice. And Alcryst had been missing Céline lately, as much as he didn’t want to admit it. But what did she think was on his mind? Yes, there was something he’d been thinking about a lot recently, but it wasn’t worth talking about…

Céline took hold of his free hand. “Zofia Gardens?” she suggested.

Alcryst glanced down at Céline’s warm, soft hand and nodded. “...All right.”

—----------------

Lycia Mall was a pretty cool place. Even though Alear felt kind of nervous being in a place she wasn’t very familiar with (with her only company being Hortensia and Ivy), she was really enjoying looking around. And even if being around Ivy made her heart beat really fast, it was great walking through the mall with her. Like a girls’ day out!

“Oh dear. There she goes again,” said Ivy, her eyes widening. “Hortensia! Wait for us!”

“She gets so excited,” said Alear, following Ivy after her. “Has she always been like this?”

“Her entire life,” Ivy said with a wry smile. “Even when I was five and she was two, she was always pulling me here and there. Many of my earliest memories are of her.”

Oh gosh, five-year-old Ivy must have been unbelievably adorable! “That sounds…really cute,” Alear managed.

“It is cute in my memories, at least,” said Ivy. “Now that that part of my childhood is safely over.”

Alear gave a little laugh.

“Over here!” Hortensia called, waving with both hands. “You two are so slow! Look at these adorable bracelets!”

“We’re coming!” said Ivy.

As Ivy and Alear caught up to Hortensia in front of the shop, there came a loud scream from several shops away. The three girls jumped and spun around.

“What was that?” said a girl trying on a beaded bracelet.

Alear desperately hoped that it wasn’t what she thought it was, but there were only so many reasons someone would make a terrified scream in a shopping mall. And if there was anything Alear had learned from magical girl anime, it was that the monsters of the episode almost always showed up where the magical girls were.

Terrified people, including a couple of girls from Alear’s class, streamed out of one of the nearby shops. “MONSTERS!” one of them screamed. “Monsters in the mall!”

Familiar-looking monsters, just as creepy as always, came running out after them. “Grrah!” they rasped.

“Oh no, not again!” said Alear.

—----------------

Taking a walk really did feel nice, especially with Céline there too. Still, Alcryst found it hard to say anything. The thoughts that kept swirling around in his mind were just getting stronger and stronger lately, even as he tried to push them away. Céline seemed to understand, and she didn’t try to talk to him for most of the walk, but she piped up once they were near the entrance of Zofia Gardens.

“Would you like to look at the flowers?” Céline asked.

Alcryst nodded, and Céline led the way. They sat down on a bench just inside the gardens, in front of a nice view of a flower bed. Alcryst and Céline took off their backpacks and set them down.

“Now, if you don’t mind…” Céline said quietly, “...would you like to tell me what’s bothering you?”

Alcryst clenched his hands in his lap.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” said Céline, looking at the flowers. “But it’s not good to keep things bottled up inside.” She looked over at Alcryst. “And please don’t forget that your secrets are safe with me.”

Alcryst knew Céline was right. If anyone knew about the dangers of bottling up your emotions, it was her. And these thoughts were so horribly overwhelming. But what would Céline think if he told her what was on his mind?

Céline’s voice dropped to a whisper. “You were there for me during the hardest part of my life,” she said softly. “Please…allow me to be here for you.”

Alcryst’s heart pounded. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Say something! She’s your best friend! SAY SOMETHING! Anything…

“I…” Alcryst swallowed. “I don’t…I don’t know where to start.”

Céline’s voice was still soft. “Anywhere. Start wherever you like.”

Alcryst forced himself to take a deep breath. “Okay…um…” He gripped the bench with both hands. “Um…the winter we were in fifth grade. Right after…you know…” His body tensed. “I’m so sorry…I don’t want to bring back bad memories…”

“It’s all right,” Céline said gently. “After my father passed, you mean?”

“Yes,” said Alcryst, feeling both relieved and guilty that Céline had said it for him. “When I came over to your house to check on you, I wanted to do something to help you feel better. And then I remembered that you liked anime.” He nervously looked over at Céline. “I’d never watched anime in my life, but I offered to watch something with you. Your choice. Anything that might help you. And you chose Star-Twinkle Pretty Cure.”

Céline smiled. “Yes. One of my childhood favorites.”

“It was the first time I’d heard of magical girls,” said Alcryst. “I…” His chest felt tight as he looked up at the sky. “I was riveted. They were so wonderful, drawing their best selves with magical pens and protecting Earth together…I couldn’t tear my eyes away. They were…they were so beautiful. I wanted to be just like them.”

He fell silent.

“Yes?” Céline said gently.

“Right. Sorry…I’ll keep going…” Alcryst took a deep breath. “So…I can’t remember exactly when, but at some point during our Star-Twinkle viewing, I dreamed that the two of us gained our own Star Color Pens. We had a transformation sequence and everything. And I…” Alcryst looked down at the ground, unable to meet Céline’s eyes. “During our transformation sequence, I changed into a girl. I was so happy…” His hands gripped the bench. “That dream was the first time I’d ever liked being me. We were still magical girls together at the end of the dream, and I woke up smiling because I was a girl. But then I headed over to my dresser and looked at myself in the mirror, and…I looked just the same as always. It was like I’d been flying, but with one look in the mirror, I crashed down to the ground.”

Alcryst tried to take another deep breath, but his chest was tight, and he couldn’t breathe all the way in. And Céline wasn’t saying anything.

But then Céline reached out and placed her hand on Alcryst’s, and the rest came tumbling out.

“I’ve had so many dreams like that since then,” said Alcryst, his voice in a whisper even though the only other person around was Céline. “Dreams where I wish on a star, or I get a Star Color Pen, or something else, and some way or another I get to be a girl. I had one just last night. The dreams always make me happy, but when I look in the mirror and I’m still a boy, all the happiness disappears. It’s gotten even worse since my voice started changing…I…I…” He swallowed. “I can’t stop thinking about it…I don’t want to be a boy…I don’t think I’ve ever been a boy…”

Céline squeezed their hand. “You don’t have to be,” she whispered. “You don’t have to be a boy if that’s not what you are. All that matters to me is that you’re my kind, brave friend.”

Alcryst finally found the courage to look over at her. “C-Céline…”

Suddenly music blasted from somewhere nearby, and both of them jumped and yelped.

“I WILL NOT FORGET THE PROMISE I MADE WITH YOU, I SWEAR—”

Céline sat bolt upright and yanked her phone out of her pocket. “I didn’t realize I’d left my ringtone on so loud!” she said over the loud music. She frowned when she saw what was on the screen.

“THAT I ALWAYS KEEP IT WITH ME…I CLOSE MY EYES, AND THE MEMORY CLEARS THE DARKNESS CLOUDING MY WAY—”

“Drat,” said Céline, standing up. “I’m so sorry. I should answer this. I’ll be right back.”

“O-Of course,” said Alcryst, reluctantly letting go of her hand. “Take your time…”

Céline gave them an apologetic smile and ran a few yards away before accepting the call. “Alear?”

“Céline!” Alear shouted loudly enough that Céline almost dropped her phone. “We really need your help!!”

Céline gripped her phone tightly. “What’s going on?”

“There’s a bunch of Corrupted in the mall!” said Alear. Céline realized in alarm that she could hear screaming in the background of the call. “Way too many for just us! We need you and Celica ASAP!”

Céline gritted her teeth. This was the worst possible timing! Why did this always happen to magical girls?!

“I-I’ll be right there,” Céline said quickly, suppressing the urge to shout something in frustration. “I know where the mall is. I can be there in less than ten minutes.”

“Okay, thanks!” said Alear.

“Alear!” Ivy’s voice shouted in the background. “I think I just saw Zephia!”

“What?” Alear yelped. “I’ve gotta go, Céline. See you later!”

The call promptly ended. Céline shoved her phone back into her pocket and toned down the words in her head to just “Argh!”

She ran back over to Alcryst, who was still sitting on the bench, their hands in their lap. “Alcryst?” she said. “I’m so sorry. Something’s come up, and I have to leave.”

Alcryst’s eyes widened. “Is everything all right?”

“It…it should be,” said Céline. “I don’t want to leave you here…this is truly the worst timing.” She clenched her hands. “Please stay here…please be safe. I’ll come back here as soon as I can. It shouldn’t be long.”

Alcryst nodded. “All right. You…you be safe too, Céline. Whatever you might be doing!”

“Thank you!” said Céline, beginning to run. “I’ll see you soon!”

Once Céline had made it partway to the mall, she looked around for passersby. When she didn’t see anyone else around, she raised her hand. “Emblem engage!”

Celica smiled warmly and extended her hand to Céline. As Emblem and Embleteer joined hands, Celica turned into a bright red flame that dove into Céline’s heart. Fire coursed through Céline’s long blond hair, turning it a rich, fiery red.

Flames swirled around Céline, materializing into a short red sleeveless dress with a ruffled skirt. Fire spiraled up her legs, turning into a pair of high white boots, while a curtain of flame spread across her shoulders and back, becoming a knee-length white cape. Sparks shimmered up her arms and became elbow-length white gloves.

Red sparks shone around her legs between her skirt and boots, changing into a pair of trailing red ribbons. Red bows popped into existence on her wrists, while large white bows shaped a little like butterflies appeared in her hair. Céline raised her right hand, a ball of fire glowing just above her palm, and struck a pose.

“There,” she said. “Let’s go, Celica. And let’s make this as quick as we can. For Alcryst’s sake.”

Yes! said Celica.

With her speed and stamina enhanced by Emblem magic, Céline took a deep breath and ran the rest of the way to Lycia Mall.

—----------------

When Céline made it to the mall, she saw that a crowd of panicked civilians, including girls she recognized from school, was gathered outside the front doors. It was a relief to know that the civilians were safely outside, but…

“Look!” someone said. “It’s another superhero!”

Startled, Céline looked away, hoping no one had recognized her face. She warped inside the building, past the crowd, and arrived in the midst of a huge crowd of Corrupted.

She was ready for them.

“Seraphim!” she shouted, incinerating the monsters surrounding her.

“Phew!” said Alear, who was in her Embleteer form as well. “There you are, Céline! Ivy got everyone out of the mall—she’s amazing— and Hortensia and I engaged, but we could really use your help!”

“Especially since Zephia came in person!” said Hortensia, pointing to the top of the escalator. “She’s been up there gloating at us! It’s the worst!”

“Well, let’s make this quick, shall we?” said Céline, preparing another spell. “I have a friend to return to!”

—----------------

Alcryst sat alone on the bench in Zofia Gardens, pushing their feet into the grass and wondering why Céline had had to run away so quickly.

It had been terrifying telling Céline what they had been keeping secret for years. And yet, at the same time, Alcryst felt lighter. Less alone. They could stay here and wait for Céline to come back. They might even be okay…somehow.

You don’t have to be a boy. Such beautiful words.

And yet Alcryst didn’t want to stay here on the bench. Some strange instinct that was welling up in them and making their heart beat fast was telling them that they had to find Céline. They had to go and help her.

With a quick silent apology to the backpacks they were leaving behind, Alcryst stood up and took a deep breath. Their chest wasn’t nearly as tight as it had been a few minutes ago.

Hadn’t Céline said something about “the mall” during the phone call that had come so suddenly? Lycia Mall? Why would she have to go there in such a hurry?

The reason why didn’t matter. Alcryst felt certain that Céline needed their help. Like someone was calling them after her.

Alcryst ran out of the gardens and in the direction of Lycia Mall.

—----------------

“Seraphim!” Céline shouted, throwing one fire spell after another. “Seraphim!”

“Shine!” Hortensia shouted, blasting the Corrupted with light. “Ugh! I can hear you laughing, Zephia! Stop that!”

“My, my,” said Zephia, levitating herself down the escalator to the floor. “Does my voice really carry that much?”

“Gotta say, I didn’t expect you to be here,” said Hortensia, taking a step back for Alear to run forward and slash through a wave of Corrupted. “I assumed you were one of those lazy villains that makes their servants do all the dirty work for them.”

“Hortensia!” Ivy scolded from the shop door she was sheltering behind. “Don’t anger her!” Then she gasped. “Alear! Look out!”

Alear yelped as three larger Corrupted tackled her and knocked her down. Lyn’s Emblem Ring fell out of her pocket and rolled across the floor for several feet before spinning to a stop.

“Leave her alone!” Céline shouted. “SERAPHIM!”

The fire destroyed the Corrupted closest to Céline and weakened the other two enough to make them loosen their grips on Alear.

“Thanks!” Alear called, finishing the job with a slash from Falchion. She got to her feet just in time to take out another Corrupted coming toward her.

“What the—” Hortensia gasped. “Hey! Zephia! Get back here!”

“What?” said Céline, following Hortensia’s gaze. “Oh no!”

“Coward!” said Hortensia. “Come on! We’ve gotta follow her!”

“What do you mean, follow—wait a second, she ran off?!” said Alear. Then she heard a “rreh” right behind her, yelped, and did a quick spin attack.

“Yes!” said Céline, running forward. “She’s gone through the double doors leading outside! And more Corrupted are pouring in through the door!”

Ivy ran out from behind the shop door, and Hortensia ran over to her to protect her. The girls ran after Zephia, Alear taking out one more Corrupted before joining in the pursuit.

Alear? said Marth. You dropped—

“No time!” said Alear, running just behind her teammates. “We have to catch up to Zephia!”

By now the Embleteers had defeated all of the Corrupted in the initial wave, which meant that once they had followed Zephia out of the back entrance, silence reigned in Lycia Mall. Confused by the silence, Emblem Lyn materialized above her ring and looked around.

“So that’s what happened,” she said to herself, looking toward the place where the Embleteers and Ivy had gone. “My ring fell out of Marth’s Embleteer’s pocket.” She shook her head. “I suppose I’ll have to wait for them to return.”

Then an aura reached her.

“I sense my Embleteer!” she gasped. “She’s coming this way…running with the swiftness of the winds across the plains!”

—----------------

Alcryst ran as fast as they could toward Lycia Mall, their heart pounding with exertion each time they had to stop at a crosswalk. They had to get to Céline…they had to.

They couldn’t believe they hadn’t gotten tired out yet. They weren’t very athletic…not like Diamant was…except for the archery, and that didn’t really count, did it? They’d never been filled with so much adrenaline and determination before. They couldn’t understand it.

But at least it would get them to Céline a little faster!

Alcryst kept running, breathing heavily, until they saw Lycia Mall just up ahead, with a huge cluster of chattering people in front of the doors. That was strange. What was everyone doing just outside the mall?

Slowing down to give themselves a chance to catch their breath, Alcryst headed up to the crowd. “What’s happening?” they asked.

Several nearby people that weren’t talking promptly spun around to face them. Alcryst winced, startled by the number of eyes on them.

“There are monsters in the mall!” one of the people said, a tall white woman. “No idea where they came from, but they’re like the ones my sister-in-law saw in Zofia Gardens last week!”

Monsters? Zofia Gardens?!

“Something weird is going on here!” said a short white girl who looked a little older than Alcryst. “But at least it looks like there are superhero girls in there fighting those monsters?”

“I think they’re magical girls,” said a ponytailed brown girl next to her. “Remind me to show you Sailor Moon sometime.”

Alcryst’s head was spinning. Magical girls? Had Céline somehow become a magical girl?!

Wait, no…don’t jump to conclusions, Alcryst…she might be in this crowd instead…

“Um…I’m so sorry to bother you, but have you seen my friend?” Alcryst said. “About this tall, long wavy blond hair, light skin…”

The people they were talking to looked at each other. “Sorry, no,” said a large black man, shaking his head. “Haven’t seen anyone who looks like that.”

“All right, thank you,” said Alcryst, their hands clenched from worry as they glanced down at the ground and then forced themself to look up again. “Excuse me…I’d like to look for her.”

“Oh, sure,” said one of the girls, taking a step aside. The other people Alcryst was talking to did the same. “Good luck finding her.”

“Thank you!” said Alcryst, carefully stepping into the crowd. “Céline? Céline, are you here? Céline?”

Alcryst weaved through the crowd, wincing at everyone’s shouting and making a few apologies along the way, but there was no sign of Céline anywhere. Could she be still inside the mall?

Had something bad happened to her? Or was she secretly a magical girl?

I want to be a magical girl too… Alcryst thought before shaking their head. No! No, don’t think about that! Even if…even if Céline seems to be okay with you…not being a boy at all…

“Hey, careful!” a pale girl a little older than Alcryst said, grabbing their arm. “Didn’t you hear? There are monsters in there!”

“Y-Yes…yes, I heard,” Alcryst said as the girl released their arm. “But my friend is in there!”

“Then the magical girls will rescue her! Or him. Or whoever,” said the girl. “It’s safe out here.”

“I…I know…” said Alcryst, looking toward the front doors of the mall. “But I…” I need to find Céline. I need to talk to her. I can’t stop now…

“I’M SORRY!” Alcryst burst out, running toward the door, throwing it open, and dashing into the mall.

Alcryst stopped short and looked around as the door swung shut behind them. It was strangely quiet inside. Lycia Mall was completely empty, with no monsters or magical girls anywhere in sight.

And no Céline.

No, wait, there was one person…

“My Embleteer!” said the young woman nearby. “You’ve arrived!”

“What—” Alcryst gasped, whirling around to face her. “Who are you?”

The stranger glowed and hovered, and she smiled warmly like the mysterious women who turned Alcryst into a girl in some of their dreams. Who was she? What was she?

“It’s good to meet you at last,” said the stranger. “I am Lyn, the Emblem of Blazing. And you are the Embleteer I have been searching for.”

Alcryst couldn’t believe what they were hearing. “I…I don’t understand…”

Something at Lyn’s feet rose into the air and glided over to hover in front of Alcryst. A ring.

“I’m relieved that I found you,” said Lyn. “I sensed that you felt as though you were all alone, unable to be yourself…but now, I truly sense the courage in your heart.” She drew closer to Alcryst. “The other three Embleteers are locked in combat just outside this building. I feel certain that they need your help.”

Alcryst was silent, unsure what to say or even what to think. She didn’t know what was going on, but she felt a strange connection with Lyn. Like she’d known Lyn for a long time.

“Are you all right?” asked Lyn, looking concerned. “You are the girl I have been seeking, are you not?”

Alcryst’s heart briefly stopped. A girl?

“I have been seeking a girl both kind and courageous to be my Embleteer, my partner in battle,” Lyn continued. “Would you like to be that person?”

Is this really happening?

Alcryst’s heart was beating so fast that she could hardly hear her own voice. “I…I do,” she said. “If you really think I’m the…” She felt herself making a shy smile. “...the girl you’ve been looking for…then I’ll do my best. I’ll give it everything I have!”

Lyn smiled. “Then put on my ring, and speak the words in your heart.”

Alcryst took a deep breath, reached out, and slid the ring onto her finger. The ring gave off a gentle warmth.

“I won’t let you down, Emblem Lyn,” said Alcryst, raising her hand to the sky. The words flowing through her came out as a shout.

“Sweep across, Emblem of Blazing!”

Lyn reached out her hand to Alcryst, who joined hands with her. The Emblem turned into a pale green whirlwind, which flew toward Alcryst and dove into her heart. Green wind whipped through Alcryst’s hair, which turned light green and grew down to her waist before raising itself into a high ponytail, tied into place with a dark green bow.

Wind swirled around Alcryst, changing into a short-sleeved green dress with a long, flowing skirt. Whirlwinds wrapped themselves around her arms as fingerless green gloves, and breezes spiraled up her legs and turned into short green boots.

The frames of Alcryst’s glasses turned green, and a small dark green bow popped into existence on the hairclip pinning her bangs. A gale whipped up in front of her and solidified into a beautiful green bow with a taut green bowstring. Alcryst reached out and took hold of the bow, holding it out in front of herself and striking a pose.

“Oh my gosh,” she gasped, looking down at herself as the green lights and gales cleared away from her field of vision. “That was…I’m…”

There’s a mirror over to your left, said Lyn’s voice in her head. Would you like to see?

Her heart racing, Alcryst glanced at the nearby full-length mirror and told herself to walk toward it. She hadn’t liked seeing her reflection for years, but this time, she needed to see. She had to know that this wasn’t just a vivid dream…

Her breath caught as she saw herself in the mirror. She looked so strong and brave and colorful and…

“A girl,” she whispered, reaching out to touch the mirror. “I look like a girl. A magical girl. Emblem Lyn, is…is that really me?”

Yes, Emblem Lyn’s voice said gently. That’s you. What do you think?

“Th-thank you,” Alcryst breathed, feeling tears pricking at her eyes. “You knew who I was before I could even admit it to myself…”

My wish came true…

Then she remembered, and everything Lyn had said to her before “you are the girl I have been seeking” came rushing to the front of her thoughts.

“And so did Céline,” said Alcryst. “Lyn! Is Céline a magical girl too? An…an Embleteer?”

Yes! said Lyn. They’re still outside. And I sense Corrupted where they are. They likely need your help!

Alcryst didn’t know what “Corrupted” were. She still didn’t completely know what was going on. But she was a girl! She couldn’t deny it any longer. And Céline, wonderful Céline, who had given her so much support, was fighting outside, in need of help.

Céline…I’m coming! I’ll protect you!

Courage rushing through her, Emblem Lyn’s power making her footsteps light and swift, Alcryst followed Lyn’s direction and ran toward the other door.

—---------------

“So stubborn,” said Zephia, rising into the air with her levitation magic and zipping out of the way of Hortensia’s Shine spells. “Even when I left, you followed me outside.”

“Stop summoning more Corrupted!” said Alear. “You’re causing trouble for no good reason!”

“Oh, but I have a very good reason,” said Zephia, levitating above Céline’s Seraphim. “Hand over the fourth Emblem Ring, and I’ll call off the Corrupted. If you’re compliant, I might even let you live to fight another day.”

“We won’t!” said Alear. “Emblem Lyn still needs to find her Embleteer, and we’ll never give her to you!” She slipped her hand into her dress pocket to grip Lyn’s Emblem Ring protectively, only to realize that her pocket was empty. She blinked in surprise.

Er, Alear… said Marth. It fell out of your pocket when the Corrupted knocked you down. We will have to pick it up again later.

Oh. Oops, Alear thought sheepishly. Well, at least this way I definitely can’t give the ring to Zephia?

“And besides, an offer of a truce is clearly worth nothing from someone like you!” said Céline, readying another spell. “We will continue to fight, regardless of your attempts to sway us!”

“Oh?” said Zephia, rising high above the ground. “What if you cannot even reach me?”

Céline glanced up in Zephia in surprise, then clenched her hands. “We’ll see about that,” she said fiercely, warping into the air in front of Zephia. “Seraphim!”

Zephia zipped away from Céline’s spell, and Céline realized too late that she could not hover the way Zephia could.

“Céline!” Alear cried as her friend dropped from the sky.

Céline gave a shout of alarm, but she reacted just in time to warp herself safely down to the ground. Still, she landed awkwardly and lost her footing in the grass, falling to her knees right next to a cluster of Corrupted.

Zephia gave an evil laugh. “This is the perfect vantage point, don’t you think? None of you can attack swiftly enough to strike an airborne opponent.”

Reaching her hand up above her head, Céline threw a fire spell at one of the Corrupted approaching her, destroying it. But the Corrupted were surrounding her on all sides, and she was too stunned to attack quickly.

“Darn it!” said Hortensia. “Okay, we’re coming—”

“Céline!” called Alear, running toward her through the crowd. Please, please, let us get there in time…

A pale green arrow swifter than the wind arced through the air and pierced the largest of the Corrupted, which disintegrated instantly. Céline gasped in surprise.

“Leave her alone!” a voice shouted.

Shocked, Alear and Hortensia spun around in the direction of the voice. Even Zephia and the Corrupted froze.

A girl all in green, dressed similarly to Emblem Lyn, was standing a short distance away, her ponytail and long skirt blowing in the breeze. She began to draw her bowstring, poised to fire another shot.

“What?!” Zephia roared. “The fourth Embleteer?!”

“Who is that?” said Alear, wide-eyed. I feel like I know her from somewhere…

“Okay, who are you?” said Hortensia, staring openmouthed. Ivy narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.

Céline got to her feet, unable to look away from this beautiful new arrival. She looked so familiar, and she knew she’d heard that voice before, though at a lower pitch…

Then she gasped. “Could it be…is that you, my friend?”

As Alcryst drew her bow, another arrow materialized between her fingers and lengthened to meet her bowstring. This is so amazing, she thought. That’s why I don’t have a quiver…these arrows create themselves.

She couldn’t help smiling as she thought I’m like Cure Selene! She’s an archer too…

Wait…focus, Alcryst! You have to protect Céline! Thank goodness you arrived in time…

She released her arrow, which flew toward the Corrupted and struck another one, destroying it. The Corrupted all turned in her direction.

“Grrrah,” said one of the remaining Corrupted.

“Seraphim!” Céline shouted, taking advantage of her attackers’ diverted attention. Three more Corrupted fell.

Zephia growled and clenched her hands. “Corrupted!” she shouted, pointing at Alcryst. “Destroy the fourth Embleteer. Now!”

However, the Corrupted charged past Alear and Hortensia on the way to Alcryst. The Embleteers took action, striking all the Corrupted they could reach while Céline destroyed the stragglers. As for the few Corrupted that got past the three, Alcryst shot each of them herself.

“Woohoo!” Alear cheered, giving a little jump when the last Corrupted fell. “We got them!” Then her excitement faded. “But how are we gonna get Zephia? She’s too high up…”

Céline smiled, looking over at Alcryst. “I think I know a way.”

Alcryst’s breath caught as their eyes met. Céline recognizes me, doesn’t she? And she’s smiling…like she’s happy for me…

You know what to do, yes? said Lyn’s voice. The legendary bow Mulagir will do whatever you ask. And it is particularly effective against airborne enemies.

Alcryst nodded, took a deep breath, and ran closer to Zephia, who met her determined gaze with a glare.

Filled with more determination than ever, Alcryst spun around, her skirt swishing in the wind, and readied her bow once more. “I sweep across the plains as the Embleteer of Blazing! With the swiftness of the wind, I shall win this battle!”

Alear cheered again. “New speech!!”

“Curse you, Embleteer of Blazing,” Zephia spat. “Foiling all of my plans…”

Alcryst spread out her hand on Mulagir, and seven glowing green arrowheads appeared between her fingers. As she drew her bow, these grew into seven arrows with the sound of whooshing wind.

“Now I have you!” she shouted, her voice in sync with Lyn’s. “Astra…STORM!!!!!!!”

Alcryst aimed high and released her arrows, which sped upward, flying straight toward Zephia even as she attempted to dodge, and struck one after another. The final arrow knocked Zephia straight out of the sky and down to the ground.

“Embleteer of Blazing,” Zephia growled. “I won’t forget this…”

And she vanished. Suddenly, all was quiet.

Breathing heavily, Alcryst lowered her bow and placed her free hand over her quickly beating heart. Her first battle was over. She’d become a magical girl. She’d fought evil. She’d protected Céline and Céline’s magical girl friends. But now…

The other three Embleteers changed back to their regular forms (so Céline’s two teammates really were Alear Hikari and Hortensia Elusia) and ran up to Alcryst, with Ivy close behind them. Alcryst turned to face them, holding Mulagir close to her chest.

“That was amazing!” said Alear. “You totally saved us! And you’re a super cool archer!” She grinned sheepishly. “So, uh, who are you? Sorry, you look familiar, but I’m not sure if we’ve met…”

Alcryst’s body tensed. What should she say? She’d only just begun to accept who she was.

“Yeah, spill it!” said Hortensia, putting her hands on her hips. “You make a super cute Embleteer. I’m sorta jealous.”

Alcryst couldn’t meet the girls’ eyes. “I…um…”

“You don’t have to,” said Céline, her voice so soft and gentle that Alcryst looked up at her in surprise. “If you don’t want to tell us who you are, you can keep it a secret. You can be a dark horse sort of magical girl if you like.”

That…did sound sort of nice…

But on the other hand, Céline was helping Alcryst feel brave even now.

“Huh?” said Alear, looking over at Céline. “Yeah, dark horse magical girls are cool, but…”

Alcryst took another deep breath. “Thank you for the offer, Céline,” she said, closing her eyes. “But…I think I’d rather say who I am before I lose my nerve.”

Hearing Alcryst’s mental message of consent, Lyn ended the engagement, and Alcryst returned to her usual self. Everyone except Céline gasped.

“Huh?!” said Alear. “You’re…”

“What the—mmph!” said Hortensia.

“Shush, Hortensia,” said Ivy. “Let hi…them speak.”

Alcryst opened her eyes to see Alear wide-eyed, Céline with her hands over her heart, and Ivy looking at Alcryst curiously while removing her hand from an irate Hortensia’s mouth.

“I…” Alcryst swallowed. “When…when I was born, my parents named me Alcryst Brodia. I think I’d like a different name someday…but I don’t know what I want my name to be yet, so you can keep calling me Alcryst for now.” She hugged herself nervously. “I…I’m a girl. I just wasn’t brave enough to let myself be one until now…” She shyly looked over at Céline. “Thank you for your support, Céline. You did so much to help me today.”

“I’m happy I was able to help,” said Céline, smiling.

“So…wait, you’re a trans girl then?” said Alear.

Surprised, Alcryst looked over at her. “Yes…I guess I am,” she said. “I…I’m a trans girl.”

Alear smiled. “Cool. Your secret’s safe with us, okay?”

Alcryst smiled back.

“Wait, I don’t get it,” said Hortensia, frowning. “You’re Alcryst Brodia? Like Morion Brodia’s…are you his son or daughter or what?”

“Hortensia!” said Ivy. She looked over at Alcryst. “My apologies. Hortensia doesn’t know very much about transgender identities. And by ‘very much’ I mean ‘anything.’”

“Oh,” said Alcryst. “That’s all right…I understand…” She looked at Hortensia. “But to answer your question…I’m Morion Brodia’s daughter. Sorry…it must be surprising. I know our fathers have never gotten along…”

“Huh,” said Hortensia. “Well, you totally saved our necks just now, and you seem kinda nice…” She frowned again, but more thoughtfully this time. “So, uh…sorry for calling you a boy all the time when we were younger, I guess?”

Ivy shook her head ruefully.

“Oh! I have an idea, Hortensia,” said Céline, clapping her hands. “There’s a site called the Human Rights Campaign that has some good information about the trans community. I can find a link for you.”

“Uh, okay,” said Hortensia. “Sure.”

“That would be helpful,” Ivy agreed. “Thank you, Céline.”

Alcryst smiled. Things had worked out. She would really like to talk to Céline some more, though. Without the others.

She looked over at Céline again, hoping to silently get the point across.

“Hm?” said Céline, meeting Alcryst’s eyes.

“So…we should probably go home, huh?” said Alear. “Let’s sneak off before everybody outside tries to find us.”

“Good idea,” said Céline. “I’d like to talk with Alcryst a bit more, though…I’ll text a link to the appropriate HRC page over the group chat this evening, all right, Hortensia? Ivy can open it for you.”

“’Kay, then,” said Hortensia, nodding.

“Okay, see you two later!” said Alear, waving.

“Thank you,” said Céline, taking hold of Alcryst’s hand. “Shall we, my friend?”

Alcryst nodded. “Let’s go back to Zofia Gardens.”

—----------------

“I’m sorry I left our backpacks behind,” said Alcryst. “I hope they’re still there…”

“It’s perfectly all right,” said Céline. “You were in a hurry, just like I was.” She smiled. “I’m glad you arrived in time. Just like a classic magical girl.”

Alcryst smiled shyly. “Thank you. I don’t know where the instinct to follow you came from, but…I’m so happy I listened to it.”

“Oh, so am I,” said Céline. “You were wonderful.” Her gaze softened. “Are you doing all right, though? You’ve done so much this afternoon, both physically and emotionally.”

“I…I think I’d like to rest on the bench for a little while,” Alcryst admitted.

“Well then, it’s a good thing that the gardens are just up ahead,” said Céline.

Soon, they were sitting together on the bench in the gardens again. The gardens were still empty of other people, and fortunately the girls’ backpacks were right where Alcryst had left them.

“Now, how are you doing?” Céline asked, placing her hand on Alcryst’s again.

“I’m feeling better now,” said Alcryst. “I’m kind of overwhelmed, but…I also feel lighter. Like there’s a weight off my chest.” She squeezed Céline’s hand. “Thank you, Céline. I really needed someone to talk to about all of this.”

“I’m happy I was able to help,” said Céline.

“So much has happened in less than an hour,” said Alcryst. “I’m nervous about the future…but at least I have you and Emblem Lyn. And Alear sounds like she’s an ally, and Ivy seems nice, and Hortensia is trying, even though she dislikes my family…”

“I’m sure Hortensia will become more open-minded given time,” said Céline. “And no matter what you’re going to do next or who else you might come out to, you have us.”

Alcryst nodded slowly. Then, after briefly hesitating, she threw her arms around Céline.

“Thank you,” she repeated, tears welling up in her eyes. “Thank you so much for being my friend. For being here for me.”

Céline hugged her back. “Of course,” she said. “I’m here whenever you need me. Just like you’ve always been there for me.”

Alcryst sniffled and hugged Céline tightly. “I’m sorry…I think I need a moment…”

“It’s all right,” Céline whispered. “Take your time. I’ll stay right here.”

And so Alcryst finally let herself give way to tears of joy and sadness and pure relief as she buried her face in Céline’s shoulder. Both Lyn and Celica’s Emblem Rings gave off a comforting warmth.

I never needed to wish to be a girl, did I? Alcryst thought, smiling through her tears. I was a girl all along.

Alcryst didn’t know what was going to happen next, but she knew she had friends who accepted her for who she was. She had her Emblem partner. And she had kind, wonderful Céline, who was always there for her.

She had a feeling that, somehow, everything was going to be all right.

—----------------

“You’re all right with me going home, then?” said Céline.

They were standing in front of the Brodia house, both of them wearing their backpacks.

“Yes,” said Alcryst. “Um, sorry I cried all over you…”

“I don’t mind,” said Céline, smiling. “I’ll just change my clothes.”

Alcryst smiled back.

“I’ll text you in a little while, all right?” said Céline, looking over at her own house. “I can also catch you up on what we need to do as Embleteers.”

“That would be really helpful,” said Alcryst. “Thanks.”

Céline nodded and started to walk over to her house. “Best of luck with Diamant,” she said.

“Thank you,” said Alcryst.

“And, my friend…” Céline turned back toward her. “Zettai daijoubu da yo.”

“Huh?” said Alcryst. That sounded like Japanese. “Zet-tye…dye-joh-bu da yo?”

“It’s from Cardcaptor Sakura,” said Céline, smiling. “It means ‘I’m sure it’ll be all right.’”

Alcryst smiled and nodded. “I needed to hear that…thank you again, Céline. See you tomorrow.”

“Yes,” said Céline, walking away. “See you tomorrow.”

Alcryst watched Céline walking home for a moment, then took a deep breath and headed inside herself.

Alcryst’s parents wouldn’t be home yet, and that was fine. She didn’t feel quite ready to come out to them yet. But she wanted to talk to Diamant, who would be in his room studying.

Alcryst made her way to Diamant’s room and knocked on the door.

“Is that you, Alcryst?” said Diamant. “Come on in.”

Alcryst nervously opened the door and stepped into her brother’s room. “H-Hello, Diamant…”

Diamant turned around in his desk chair. “How are you doing? It’s rare to see you check in on me right after I get home from classes.”

“I know,” said Alcryst, fidgeting with her hands. “I’m sorry if I’m interrupting…”

Diamant smiled kindly. “I don’t mind at all. I’m always happy to talk with you. What is it?”

Alcryst came closer to Diamant. Even though she felt almost certain that Diamant would be okay with this, she was still so nervous.

Breathe in…breathe out…

“Diamant?” said Alcryst. “I need to tell you something.”

Zettai daijoubu da yo.

I know it’ll be all right.