Mercury didn't stop thinking about the strange man and the letter all day, and she didn't stop thinking about them the next day either. But it wasn't until her family sat together at dinner the next evening that she thought about actually bringing it up.
The conversation had died down. Her parents were both busy with their plates of mac and cheese; Mercury was eating slowly, even slower than usual, taking tiny bites and chewing so carefully one could think she was expecting to bite down on a diamond at any given second. Inside her head she was rehearsing phrases, thinking of things to say, how to bring up this strange topic without sounding like she was making the whole story up. If it was even real in the first place. Maybe it really had been her imagination playing tricks on her, and if she mentioned it–
No, she wouldn't know until she tried. And she wanted to know. She wanted to find out so many things, if all of this was real, what Principal Blake had been talking about.
She didn't know much about magic, she realized.
Okay...She had to tell them. There was no way around it. Right now nobody else was speaking, she wouldn't be interrupting anybody if she spoke up out of the blue...The moment was ideal. All she had to do was take a deep breath–
–and let it out again as her courage failed her.
Principal Blake really was amazing, she thought, going up to her, a total stranger, and casually bringing up such a bizarre topic without batting an eye. She couldn't even mention it to her own parents. For crying out loud–
One more try. This time for sure. She knew what she had to say...a deep breath...
"By the way," her father said just as she opened her mouth and quickly closed it again, groaning inwardly. "Reggie, our best friend showed up at the shop again today." He gave a meaningful roll of his eyes.
"Oh, him," her mother answered, making a face like the macaroni and cheese had just turned sour in her mouth. "What did he want this time? Did he complain about embarrassing himself with the red roses after you told him not to get those?"
Her parents laughed, and Mercury spaced out again as they chatted on about stories from work, doing comical impressions of people she had never met in her life. She clenched her fists in her lap. Missed her chance...Now what? When would she get her next one? Would she not get one at all? What if she didn't and lost her slim chance of ever learning how to use her own magic? What would she tell Principal Blake?
"By the way, Mercury," her father's voice cut through her thoughts, making her drop her fork onto her plate. "Did you want to say something earlier?"
Mercury looked up and found both her parents looking down at her with curious eyes.
She gulped. For a second she considered lying her way out and telling them some meaningless story from school. Then she gritted her teeth, stubbornly fighting off the temptation and mentally chiding herself for even thinking of chickening out. This was her chance. She had to say it, or she'd never have the courage to bring it up again.
"Actually..." She didn't meet her parents' eyes. "There was something."
And before she could change her mind once more, she quickly told them about the bizarre encounter in front of the house.
Her parents were quiet when she stopped talking. They simply looked at her with amazement in their eyes, not saying a word.
Mercury shrank in her chair. This silence was killing her. "Um..." she began, fidgeting with the hems of her sleeves. "This is...a bit weird, right? I mean, I never heard about a third kind of magic before...You didn't either, right? Or you'd have told me...it's..." She hung her head. "Probably nothing, huh...I'm sorry...I don't know why I brought it up..."
"No, I think this is real."
Mercury looked up. Her mother's expression was thoughtful, but the slightest of smiles was playing around her lips.
"I've never heard about these...Twilit Mages before either," she said, her gaze fluttering as she repeated the words. "But I know old man Sullivan. He's a serious researcher...If he says it, it has to be true." She grinned. "So he's principal now, huh? Suits him. He doesn't sound like he's changed one bit."
Mercury's heart skipped a beat. "So I can go?"
"Study magic? Yeah, well." Her mother sighed resignedly, but she was smiling. "Now that you now you've got powers, there's not much of a choice, right? If you're okay with it, Gabe."
Mercury looked expectantly at her father.
He hesitated, bright eyes flitting back and forth between his wife and daughter. "I don't know Sullivan Blake too much," he said, "but if you say he's trustworthy, Reggie, I'm all right with it. He's reliable, right?"
"Definitely. He looks after everyone he's responsible for, and he knows what he's doing." Her mother smiled wistfully as old memories crossed her face. "The only ones he got into trouble with were the authorities. Always bending rules, that one."
Mercury perked up, remembering what Principal Blake had been saying earlier. "Like the rule that he's..." She fidgeted, trying to find a good way to phrase it. "Not allowed...to talk about you, Mom?"
Her father raised an eyebrow in concern. Her mother gave him a meaningful look. "Yeah," she said. "Because I'm an exile. You know how marrying your dad was illegal for me because he's a Light Mage? And how they kicked us out of our communities?"
Mercury nodded. She knew the story by heart, even if her parents had never told her any details.
"You know," her mother continued, "when somebody's exiled from a magic community, they become an unperson. The others aren't allowed to see them, interact with them or talk about them. They're not even allowed to mention they ever existed, so old man Sullivan did some serious bending of the rules there." She shook her head. "Typical."
Mercury blinked, almost wondering if she was joking. No, she looked serious. But then...
"They have to pretend you don't exist?" she repeated, horror-struck. "Just because you married Dad? Even your friends...your..." She swallowed hard. "Your family?"
She couldn't even imagine that. How did that feel like? It had to feel like dying to everyone– no, worse. It had to feel like everyone you ever held dear had died all at once.
Her parents had gone through that? All by themselves?
That was worse than anything she had imagined before.
"Why?" she whispered, clenching her fists in her lap as tears welled up in her eyes. "Just because you fell in love...That's not a crime! That shouldn't–"
"Tell me about it." Her father frowned darkly. "But it's always been like this...and rules are rules. Light and Dark mages have hated each other for centuries."
Mercury shook her head. She couldn't believe this...this was so much worse than everything she had heard before. "This is so stupid! Hating each other just because, because–"
"This is nothing," her mother interrupted with a dry smile. "At least they aren't trying to kill each other anymore."
Mercury fell silent. She had forgotten what she wanted to say.
Mages who hated other mages for the nature of their magic...In all honesty, she wasn't so sure she wanted to be a part of that anymore.
~ ~ ~
"Whoa– Oh hi there, Miss Day." Sullivan Blake took his feet off the desk and swiveled around in his chair, facing the girl who had popped up in his office, hovering, semi-transparent, in the shadow of the door. "Didn't expect you here this late at night. Who taught you about astral projection?"
"My parents helped me." Mercury's eyes seemed strangely clouded, her voice much more grave than this afternoon. She was fidgeting with her shirt, playing around with her curls, looking down at her feet and then around the office again, taking in the minimalistic furniture and shelves full of equipment she had undoubtedly never seen before. "Um...Am I intruding? I'm not disturbing you, right? If it's too late then I can–"
"'S fine, Miss Day. You wouldn't even get in here if I thought you were intruding." Sullivan smirked as the girl relaxed, the tiniest smile making its way on her face. "Just surprised...Shouldn't you be in bed?"
Mercury turned scarlet. "I–"
"Just kidding, Miss Day." Sullivan chuckled. "Do you want anything?"
Her eyes were still darting about as she moved her lips, as if trying to put the words in her head into the right order before she spoke. "I...yeah," she said quietly. "There's...well, nothing against you, but...how do I put it..." Her gaze lingered on the window, meeting eyes with her own reflection. "I heard some things that made me, you know, worried, and I...I have questions." She swallowed. "And my parents said I should probably come to you with them."
Sullivan raised an unsurprised eyebrow and straightened up in his chair. "I'm all ears."
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