“Hey, you aren’t supposed to ask the person who asked you!” Francesca called Theo out.

“But Maddie did it to you!” Theo said.

Francesca lifted her chin indignantly as she followed some of the steps. She joined in dancing on occasion if her mom wasn’t around. She usually danced with Barry, the elf that liked darkening the area on occasion. “She was the birthday girl, so she gets to do what she wants.”

“Truth,” Mot said to Theo, not letting Francesca bail him out from Theo’s intentions.

“I wanted you to pick dare,” Theo grumbled. “Fine. Will you never dance with Maddie again?”

Mot grinned as I frowned at my big brother. “Sorry, I can’t do that. I like dancing with Muddie too much for that.”

Francesca pinched Theo. “That’s not how you play the game! Right Elliot?”

“Should we spend some time in town square?” Elliot asked, surprising us all. “I think Maddie would like that.”

Theo cast a betrayed expression at his best friend. “No!”

Francesca lightly elbowed Theo. “Come on. You can dance with pretty girls. You’ll have to actually dance though. I don’t think you completed your dare properly.”

“It’s a stupid dare. I’m not playing anymore!”

***

Word got out I was a decent healer with rumors on the verge of extraordinary. Over the course of a month, I healed people that came to our door until my parents, with Wilfred’s suggestion, shut that constant barrage down. Instead, I was appointed a sort of job. Every week after church I would stay behind and heal whoever needed it. I didn’t want to get roped in with the church as a saintess or anything, and Wilfred assured me it wasn’t anything tying me to the church, rather it was the tower lending my power to the town through them.

Working in the church that my father helped build kept my interest. I spent some of the sermons studying the architectural details of the building, wondering what he worked on. I didn’t see any of the designs he used for our furniture at home, but he had said over and over that the church officials had been insistent about every facet of the project. It was a beautiful building that came up into a steepled roof. The high vaulted ceiling gave the priests and priestesses’ voices resonant echoes. They preached about being kind, good people to help lift everyone collectively into better lives. I liked the message and had asked Mom after a healing session why we hadn’t gone to church until now.

The only religion in town before had been one that relied on taking money from their members and that answered my question. This church was fresh to town with their newly constructed building. They hadn’t talked about any beliefs after death so far and curiosity niggled at me as to what they taught because I had reason to be fairly certain reincarnation or something akin to that was what happened. Mot didn’t go to church, either one in fact, but Penelope’s and Francesca’s families did. Elliot’s family belonged to the other church.

The book Draven left with me contained magic techniques and knowledge to help with every stage and spell of the light element. It helped immensely. Just understanding more about how to heal effectively made a considerable difference to my healing capability. I was able to handle every case that was brought to me, recovering with naps afterwards. I even made my little light able to be a rather large one with tips from the book.

***

“Do you really think this is a good idea?” Elliot asked as Mot held up a sewing needle.

“If you don’t want your ears pierced, you don’t have to do it,” Mot said as our group of friends were out in the forest for his fifteenth birthday. He had asked for us not to prepare anything, but to come with open minds.

“I want earrings! Me first!” Francesca said as Penelope shied away with the clear indication that she wanted no part of this.  

Mot held the needle out to Theo, who happened to also not be on board with Mot’s offer. “No thanks.”

“Use fire to clean the tip,” Mot requested. “You don’t have to do anything else if you don’t want to.”

Theo reached out his hands around the needle and a fire sparked to life, turning the metal red hot.

Francesca rummaged through the jewelry box she had brought, in on Mot’s scheme before I was. She picked her earrings out as Mot approached her.

She sat down on a good-sized rock. “Penelope, can you hold my hair?” Penelope looked away as she held Francesca’s blonde hair away from her ears. “Okay. I’m ready.”

“Hold still. It will sting for a moment, but then it’ll be over,” Mot cautioned as he got in position to pierce her ear.

Francesca let out a measured breath through her mouth. Mot set a cork behind her ear and jabbed the needle through her earlobe.

Francesca winced, but didn’t cry out. She glanced at Elliot and Theo. “See? You babies, it’s no big deal. It’s just a pinch and then it’s done.”

Mot put in the stud earring, cleaned the needle, and moved on to the other ear, eyeing both sides to get them even.

Once she was done, properly showing off her new earrings, she narrowed her eyes at me, grinning. “Are you going to get your ears pierced?”

Mot looked to me as water swirled around the needle before Theo cleaned it with fire.

“Sure. I’m not afraid to get my ears pierced.” I picked through Francesca’s ration of earrings.

Two hoop earrings came into my peripheral vision as Mot held them out. “I thought these would look good on you.”

I don’t know why I tried to hide my grin as I admired the simple silver hoops. His gift delighted me. “Thank you. I love them.”

“Wait, Maddie, I’m not sure Mom and Dad would approve of this,” Theo sputtered, glancing over his shoulders at the trees between us and home.

“I doubt they’d have a problem with it. It’s my choice.” I sat on the rock Francesca vacated and kept still. Francesca held my brown hair back.

Mot stepped close, looking from ear to ear to plan out the spots for the earrings he gifted me. I swallowed as I tried not to smile at that thought.

Mot moved right in front of my face, closer than he had been with Francesca. “You ready?” he asked softly. Theo made an unhappy, whiney sound.

I shot my brother a glare and he shut up. “Yes. I’m ready.” I swallowed again.

His fingers brushed the side of my head to tuck the wayward strands of hair behind my ear. My heart beat like a drum. Could he hear it? I wouldn’t be surprised if Theo and the others could hear it. I needed someone to catch the butterflies whirling about in my belly.

Mot set the cork to the back of my ear. I squeezed my eyes shut as a sting went through my ear. I released a sigh at getting through the initial piercing. Mot and Theo cleaned the needle as hair slipped free of Francesca’s hold, draping around my other ear. Not subtle on her part at all.

I went to tuck it back and brushed Mot’s hand as he beat me to it. His lips quirked and my heart leapt. I clasped my hands on my lap and sat stock still. My breathing came in and out shallowly through my suddenly constricted chest. Mot eyed me from ear to ear, with one rogue glance at my lips before he moved into position to pierce my ear. Too distracted by Mot, I handled the second time with only a tightening around my eyes.

Mot stepped back and my fingers went to the hoop earrings. I grinned at him, flustered at the strange feelings stirring within me. “This was a great idea. Thank you for doing this.”

“You’re welcome, but hey, we’re not done yet.” Mot surveyed a pale Theo, shaken Elliot, and knee-wobbling Penelope. Alarm rang in all their expressions before Mot chuckled. “Me. I want one ear pierced.”

“I can do it!” Francesca volunteered as Penelope hid behind Theo.

Mot looked to me as if to ask, “won’t you?”

“I can do it.” I had no idea if I ever did this in my previous life or lives, but I felt capable of doing this now, for Mot.

Mot happily held out the needle to Theo to clean it first before passing it to me. “I want it right around here. Just poke it straight through.” He put his thumb and finger around his left earlobe as we traded places.

“Okay.” I moved nearer to him, my breathe catching at being so close. He smelled sweet like flowers and the summer rain. I made myself focus on the task at hand. I couldn’t afford to botch this up. He trusted me to do this right.

I set the cork behind his ear to keep myself from pricking his neck and steeled myself. I stabbed the needle through his earlobe and pulled away a second later, somehow shocked I had done it. Mot grinned at me. I hadn’t caught if he had winced at the pain or not.

“Where’s your earring?” Francesca took charge since I found myself at a momentary loss.

Mot held up a silver stud with M carved into it.

My eyes widened before my addled brain made the connection that M was his nickname initial.

“Any other takers?” Mot asked once his earring was in place.

“No thanks,” Elliot said, voice shaky. Penelope shook her head emphatically.

“Yeah, no,” Theo said, eyeing me like I was crazy. “Won’t your mom kill you for doing this?” Theo asked Francesca like the thought just struck him.

Francesca tucked her hair behind an ear. “I dare her to kick me out. Then I’ll move in with my favorite cousins.”

“Sammy?” Theo pretended ignorance.

“That crybaby?” Francesca rolled her eyes before grabbing my hands. “Maddie, we could share a room! Or I could take Theo’s room and he could sleep in the living room.”

“Or I could move in with Elliot.” Theo smirked. Francesca scowled at him.

“I don’t think my sisters would like that,” Elliot went along with the joke.