Angelique, bearing the face of a forty-five-year-old with the body of a twenty-year-old, approached and took their hands. The twins, who stood a full eight inches over her, looked down at Angelique with anxious smiles. 

“My goodness, is this what you two do when I let you train alone?” she spoke in French. 

“Angelique! You scared us!” Schala said nervously. 

“We can’t have privacy anywhere!” Remilia lamented. 

Angelique looked around the setting, pleased, her smile never fading. “You’ve certainly come far since last month. The Atelier spell to make full-blown fantasies? I honestly never thought of that.” 

The twins looked at each other incredulously. “You sure about that?” Remilia asked. 

Angelique’s brown cheeks blushed, and she fought a girlish giggle. “Well, we won’t talk about that. But there were some guys long ago…” 

She snapped her fingers, and the Atelier spell cracked like glass and shattered. A veil tore itself from top to bottom as reality bled back into view. The twins and Angelique stood in the middle of the girls’ bedroom, which was large enough to be its own loft apartment – bookshelves adorned the walls around one side of the room, amber lights shone down from the ceiling from rag-covered lamps, sapphire blue curtains, and embroidered sheets across two king-sized beds. 

Schala and Remilia’s clothes changed from fantasy attire to tunic-like dresses with knee-high boots. 

“Trying on your birthday clothes already, I see,” Angelique chuckled, examining them closely. “The tailor did a damn good job.” 

“Please don’t tell mom,” Schala pleaded. “I really don’t want to hear her mouth tonight.” 

“She’s already driving us crazy preparing for tonight.” 

Schala assumed a posh mannerism and spoke as such: “Your grand eighteenth!” In her natural voice, she continued, “Crossing over into womanhood. A big day for a Sorcerer. Celebrating a whole day early.” 

Angelique sat on Remilia’s bed, adorned with a sheet of an embroidered raven amidst a twilight sky. “And you think you’re ready for it?” 

“Well, it’s gonna come,” Schala said ruefully. “We got no other choice but to face it.” 

Their aunt frowned. “You make it sound like a death sentence.” 

The twins shared a glance. Remilia propped herself on her scepter while Schala folded paper with one hand into a dragon. It fluttered its wings into Angelique’s hands. 

“We just want more,” Schala said. 

“More magic?” 

Schala nodded. Remilia opted to let her sister talk most of the time. They were mostly on the same page, and if the record wasn’t straight, she’d set it right immediately in a blink. 

“Yeah,” Remilia started. “I’m more—well, we’re more focused on refining our sorcery. I hear about so many new ways to approach magic, but how? How do we learn more?” 

“Mom’s throwing a big party to show off as usual,” Schala spoke up, “but what’s that gonna do for our careers?” 

“You’d think the Sorcerer community in Paris would be more supportive, but they’re just fat cats suckling at society’s teat. We want something more stable to look forward to, not a party where a bunch of blue bloods smirk at you.” 

Angelique snickered at the image of fat cats getting fatter. Schala called the paper dragon back to her hand, and it belched a plume of shredded paper. 

“Since you two are fretting so much about what has yet to come, show me something new right now. Show me you can go to the next level.” Angelique locked her fingers and rested them in her lap. 

Remilia nodded and sighed. She tapped her scepter’s blunt end on the hardwood floor and a small gargoyle appeared from a plume of dust. It flew upward and hissed at them. 

Schala performed sleight-of-hand; rectangular slips of paper appeared between her fingers. In a blink she flung them, and the gargoyle split in half, dissipating back into dust. 

“C'est génial!” Angelique exclaimed in a hushed voice. 

Schala pulled out a sheet of paper with runic writing scribbled across it. She put it on the wall across the room, walked back to her bed, and huffed a few times. 

“I got something I’ve been…refining.” 

Remilia smirked. “Don’t get a nosebleed this time.” 

“Shut up.” 

Schala took a deep breath, then hyperventilated. She snapped her fingers and a booming, static noise rumbled the room. In an instant, Schala smacked the wall, face-planting into her sheet of paper before she fell. Droplets of blood peppered the paper and the wall. 

“What was that?!” a woman’s voice called from another room. 

“Nothing! I fell!” Schala responded. 

“Where? Off a cliff?!” Hurried footsteps approached the door. 

“Sister,” Angelique said, “I’m talking to the girls. We’re fine. Go back to the library.” 

The footsteps stopped and an exasperated sigh was heard. The twins glanced at each other, and moments later, the footsteps departed. 

“Yeah, she’d kill me if she caught me practicing this kind of spell,” Schala groaned. She wiped her face clean of blood and pinched her nose’s bridge. “Still some side effects.” 

“Like a possible concussion,” Remilia chided. 

Schala picked herself up, counting in her mind, rubbing her gloved hands obsessively. Remilia spotted this and approached her. “Hey,” Remilia said lowly. “It’s all right. We’re right here.” 

Schala hyperventilated until Remilia touched the underside of her hands. Schala snatched away without hesitation and looked around, then exhaled. Remilia smiled. 

“Thanks, Rem,” Schala squeaked. 

“What’s a sister for?” Remilia smiled. 

Angelique sat in silence, a solemn feeling descending upon her. The twins spotted her expression souring and called to her. 

“You two got a lot of potential,” Angelique deflected. 

“Ever since I fixed my hands, I’ve done nothing but study. I swear I’ll have that spell perfected in a month,” Schala declared. 

Remilia laughed to decrease the feeling of tension she picked up. 

“And what about you?” Schala said in playful derision. “Tried riding your dragon again?” 

Remilia furrowed her brow and waved her middle finger at her sister’s face. “Yeah, yeah. At least I don’t bleed in each experiment.” 

“If you don’t bleed for your art, can you really call yourself a great sorcerer?” 

Angelique smiled. “Either way, I’m still proud of you two.” She hugged both, almost squeezing the air from their lungs. 

“I still can’t believe you girls are gonna be eighteen,” Angelique continued. “Feels like yesterday I was teaching you to harness Kimoyo. Now, you got your foot in the door of the world.” 

Schala snorted. “After tomorrow, mom and dad’s gonna jump down our throats about the path we’re supposed to take—” 

“—And we don’t even know what kind of career we want. At least, I don’t know.” 

“What about the family business?” Angelique suggested. “We’re never short on need for another demon exorcist.” 

Schala and Remilia looked at each other with pursed lips and wary eyes. 

“We’ll consider it,” Schala answered. 

“Yep, sure,” Remilia added. 

Schala wrested herself free from Angelique’s hug, followed by Remilia. The twins caught their breath and fixed their frazzled hairs. 

“I mean, we’d need to go to actual school for mastery exams,” Schala spoke up. 

“Going to an actual school would be a nice change of pace; when you’ve been home schooled, you get—” 

“Bored,” Schala snorted. 

“Yeah. Extremely bored. No one new to meet, no new experiences. Only other time we’ve really met someone in the Sorcery Society is when we got our roses,” Remilia said. 

Angelique looked at the twins’ forearm, Schala’s right and Remilia’s left; wrapped around their wrists and leading up their forearms were intricate thorn tattoos, and snaking up their biceps were roses, the right being lavender and the left, sapphire. 

“My two concrete roses,” Angelique endeared. “I know a place where you can learn exactly what you need for a mastery exam. My alma mater.” 

The twins sat on both sides of her, their faces glowing with intrigue. “Well, don’t stop now, tauntine!” Remilia said. 

Schala added, “What’s it called?” 

Proudly, Angelique answered, “Scalefall Academy.” 

Schala and Remilia beamed like children with the toy they’ve wanted for weeks or a boy with a new game system right at the beginning of its lifespan. The twins heard of Scalefall; everyone in the Sorcery Society had heard of Scalefall.  

If you really wanted to make your name known in the world of Arcanacraft, you’d graduate from Scalefall and finish the Mastery Exams. 

Any sorcerer worth their salt graduated with full mastery of Arcanacraft. Anybody who wants to take the right path to greatness, the academy won’t steer them wrong. 

“It’s an institution that caters to talented witches and warlocks. Your mom, dad, and I went there when we were little.” 

The twins share a glance, one of confusion, then of piqued curiosity. 

“Tauntine, you’re over 150—” Schala began, catching her mouth to shove the words back in. 

Remilia bumped her sister’s shoulder and snickered. “—Not that you look a day over 40.” 

“We’ve actually been eyeing Scalefall for a while now. They’ve got everything!” Schala snapped her fingers and flitted through her grimoire, coming across her notes on the academy. 

“The professors there are all big names in the Society. Professor Alain Boone most of all…” Remilia commented, swooning over the name. 

“She fancies him,” Schala teased. 

“Old Alain Boone. He was one of our schoolmates. Head harder than concrete. If he’s a professor there, then he’s come a long way after all these years. It’s inclusive for all walks of life, and not a single moment of learning will be wasted there.” 

Angelique held her nieces close as Schala jolted with passion. A thought settled onto Remilia like a dreary cloud, turning her demeanor dim. 

“What’s mom and dad gonna say?” she spoke up through a small cough. 

Schala snapped back to reality; the mention of their parents’ reaction was sobering, indeed. Their mother and father had been adamant on making sure they were home-schooled and limited their interactions with the Sorcery Society growing up. If it wasn’t for Schala’s…condition, things might’ve been different. 

There isn’t a day that passes that Schala isn’t reminded of that. Every step around the Claymore mansion feels like it needed verification from a parent or family member. The day Angelique agreed to oversee their training felt like liberation – in a sense, it was, for their parents were strict teachers. 

“Scalefall’s a pipe dream. They don’t want us going to America. I’m sorry for sounding so negative, but they’ll just shoot it down with all their might,” Remilia continued. 

“This is our future. You don’t want to be stuck here, plodding along until mom and dad decides our fate, do you?” Schala brushed the underside of her hands, her eyes quivering. 

Remilia locked eyes with her twin, knowing that Schala needed her validation or else she may never speak again like this. 

“You’re right, Schal.” 

“We’re Claymores, aren’t we? We seize the day!” Schala announced proudly. 

“But you know mom and dad. You know how they get.” 

Angelique interjected, “Let me talk to them first. You two just sit tight and relax your minds. It’s your birthday tomorrow, so get excited!” 

The twins gave a dejected “Woo-hoo!” for their aunt. 

“I’m sorry, tauntine, but I’m not in an excitable mood right now,” Remilia sighed. 

“Give me time,” Angelique said as she stood and walked to their door. “I’ll come back with good news.” 

The door shut behind their aunt, leaving the twins in a short silence. 

Schala heard a loud ding from her cloak; she withdrew a cell phone and checked it, immediately clicking it off. Her eyes danced quickly; she pushed her phone back into her cloak. 

Remilia sensed her sister’s distress. She stood and put her hand on Schala’s shoulder, which made the latter jump. 

“You good, Schal?” 

“I might’ve done something. Something big,” Schala said, turning to her. “You must promise to go along with it. It’ll change everything.” 

Remilia could do nothing but stare. What could Schala have done that would make her anxious? It evaded Remilia’s mind. 

“Promise me, Rem,” Schala said, grabbing her shoulders. 

Schala stretched a smile across her lips and winked. Remilia returned the smile and nodded. 

“Now who’s not in sync?” Remilia chided. 

Schala did nothing but scoff and laugh.