The Road Not Taken

Aileen's fingers drummed against the dining table. Her Uncle looked up cautiously, and for good reason. She didn't wear that smile, one less bright and all too sharp, unless her determination had reached the peak of action.

It had been a more frequent occurrence than not, those days.

"Yes, dear?" Exhaustion dripped from his voice like boiling water against her skin, and she suppressed a flinch. She knew her constant insistence had been wearing at him, troubling him like the ever-ticking clock hovering above her decision, and despite what he thought, she didn't enjoy it.

He had been good to her. She hadn't forgotten.

But if she didn't act now, her life would grow to be the very opposite.

At thirteen, she lay at the crossroads every child of the Astéri School of Magic faced before them, and her choice would lay the foundation for the life ahead of her.

She could attend Durmstrang or Hogwarts or any of the other myriad of magical schools in Europe as a transfer student. Astéri students were known to favor Durmstrang, and the subjects would not be too different. Astéri was only a prep school, after all. She'd studied all the elementary forms of magic in her five years there, and she could easily pursue a specialization in Durmstrang if she didn't want to slog through years of more general education as a third-year at Hogwarts. That was one of the many advantages afforded to those having started their education at eight.

The other advantage, and the only one that really mattered to her, was being able to attend Chalcioecus School of Magic. To be able to study magic and the martial arts in one of the best combined programs ever conceived… Aileen could dream of nothing better. She'd enter a first-year, and leave a warrior.

Astéri and Chalcioecus had a long history, a bond stronger than even what the former shared with Durmstrang. Chalcioecus offered six years of training in the art of war, the skill of the sly and mighty, and the entrance test required a caliber which the years of prep at Astéri afforded. Aileen thought she could make it. She wanted to make it, so bad that her heart raced at the mere mention of the school.

Her parents had been warriors. She remembered being five and curious, creeping into their shining armory, and she remembered freezing, wonderstruck. She remembered the years spent in hiding, because her father had bitten off more than he could chew when he went after a politician powerful enough to tip the scales, and she remembered the thrill beyond the fear, the sharpness in the uncertainty of tomorrow. Maybe it was because no matter the situation, her parents were always kind to her, considerate of her, but she remembered those as the best years of her life. She remembered training under their watchful eyes, the flush of victory whenever she got a move or exercise right. She remembered their loving brush against her hair, when it was all over.

Aileen never felt more alive than when she was exerting her body to its peak, honing herself into something sharp, something dangerous, something safe because it had reached there on its own merit.

They caught her father eventually, torturing and detaining him for a brutal month. Her mother, determined and afraid, hopeful and hopeless, left Aileen in her brother's care and set out to free him, and never returned.

Sometimes, Aileen wondered what she would ask her if she got the chance to see her again.

Were you confident it would work?

Are you happy, even after the way it all turned out?

She wanted the answer to be yes, because she was sure she would have done the same.

Chalcioucius was her dream, but also a means to an end. It was her everything, because she would have her chance at nothing if she didn't make it there.

For her parents, who died doing the right thing. For herself, who wanted to be every bit like them.

She'd nail Tom Marvolo Riddle to the pyre.

But she needed to have the strength to do that, first. She needed to be able to get there safely, to hell with the aftermath.

Chalcioucius would give her that.

"I need to go, Uncle." Her voice didn't quiver at all.

"Do you?" he sighed, "Nothing good ever comes to those who attend that damned school, Aily."

"My parents—"

"You know better than anyone where it landed them," There was a hint of warning in his tone, but Aileen could hear the pain most of all, "Where it landed them, and where it landed your sister."

Aileen's throat clenched, like it always did at the mention of her missing twin, though she could never figure out why. Her main memories of her were of petty fights and hmph-ing acknowledgments, and they fell pale in front of the brighter, more vivid memories of her mum and dad. She wasn't even sure she had liked Clara very much, but every mention of her, every hint at the missing gap by her side where there should have been something solid, something real, hurt.

"I won't end up that way," Aileen insisted, "My life is very precious to me."

Until Riddle's no more than a faded, disgusting memory.

Her Uncle didn't look like he believed her. And that was the problem, she supposed.

Trust.

He didn't think she could take care of herself.

Somehow, the thought made her bristle.

"You don't understand how important this is to me!" Her voice was an octave away from shouting, "My whole life, I— you don't—"

"You're thirteen," he frowned, "I understand you really want this, but a passion at such a tumultuous time in your life is not worth making the same mistakes again!"

His head sunk in his hands, and there was silence.

After a moment, Aileen thought she heard murmurs, broken and sorrowful. His grip on his head tightened until his knuckles began to whiten.

"Oh Ella, what am I to do?"

Ella.

Her mother.

It always came back to this.

He didn't think her mother had the right of it, very few did. But if her Uncle was stubborn, Aileen was the very image of her Mum.

She wouldn't back down.

"This is my dream," she said softly, "Just because… because things might not have gone well for mum and dad, doesn't mean I can't have the same dream."

He looked up.

"You know what a dangerous school Chalcioecus is, right? You will be unable to live a normal life."

Aileen almost laughed. Instead, she took a deep breath, and gave her best determined look.

A sigh. "I only want what's best for you, Aily. If… if you really feel so strongly about this, I— you can give your name."

Her heart beat rapidly against her chest, and suddenly any frustration she might have held for him vanished.

"Thank you!" Aileen's smile required no trying on her part, "You won't regret this, Uncle, I promise!"

"I hope not, Aily." He looked weary, but also a little pleased to see her face light up. "Go, get your dream. The admission booth closes today, I think."

She thought it best not to mention that she'd already had someone on stand-by, ready to submit a previously filled form in case he did something to detain her today, and nodded.

Then she burst out of the house and rang up her best friend. One of the main advantages to living in Rhodes was that the ambient magic levels were extremely low, leaving little to interfere with electronics.

"Aily? What is it?" Ravi's voice crackled through the connection, concerned, "Did he say yes?"

"He did," Aileen almost couldn't believe it. No, she couldn't believe it, "He did."

"That's awesome, Aily!" And she could hear it in his voice, "My parents submitted the form for Adraskenakia ages ago, and I didn't get the chance to savor it. Come over, and let's submit your form together!"

Adraskenakia, the all-boys alternative to Chalcioecus, paid particular emphasis on Arithmancy, Alchemy and Runes, where Chalcioecus gave attention to Charms and Transfiguration.

Ravi had always been a bit of a Runic maniac, so Aileen had no doubts he would fare well.

He hadn't told her he'd applied, though.

He must have heard the unspoken words in her silence.

"I didn't want to talk about it when your Uncle was acting like he wasn't going to let you go," Ravi said quietly, "That seemed… conceited."

Aileen shook her head, "You can share anything with me, Ravi, feelings be damned. Keep that in mind, will you?"

"Yeah, I will," she could hear him smiling, "Oh, I see you by the fountain!"

Aileen scanned her surroundings and spotted the wheat-skinned boy leaning against his apartment railing.

She waved, and he made a grandiose waiting gesture before jumping off and landing with a double flip on the ground, unscathed.

"That will never not look jarring," Aileen muttered at him, cutting the call, but her eyes were fond. No one around spared the feat a second glance, used to Ravi's everyday antics. He simply knew Runes well enough to apply them even mid-air and stabilize his fall.

He told her the first time the insane idea had popped up in his head, he'd broken three bones.

Minerva's sword, but she wanted to be like that.

It was only trying, time and time again, that had gotten him where he was.

And now she, too, would have her chance.

"Come on," She said, a laugh beginning to bubble up her throat, "Let's go and submit that form!"

They rushed to the small wizarding settlement's Club House in a game of race, with Aileen losing by three whole seconds.

"One day," she grumbled, "One day, I'm going to seriously beat you."

"Hey, cheer up!" Ravi mussed her hair, "It was better than last time."

"Yeah, I know," a small smile flitted across her mouth.

They got in line at the admission booth, tightly crowded and suffocating, even though it was the last day and Aileen thought that if she had had the choice, she would have been the very first to sign up, a month ago when applications had started.

The wait for her turn was not nearly as crawling as she had imagined, however. Ravi did his utmost to distract her, and when that didn't work, excited her all over again at the prospect of attending her dream school.

"We'll be in different schools, though," He said, amusement and something she couldn't put her finger on coloring his tone, "You have to promise to keep in touch."

"Of course I will," Aileen reached on her tip-toes and thumped him on the head, "You too, alright? You better remember me."

"How could I not?" Ravi winked exaggeratedly, "It will be an honor to know a warrior maiden such as you ten years down the line."

That made her feel a pang of guilt. When she set off for Riddle, Aileen planned on leaving no stone unturned, and the most natural and obvious consequence would be the targeting of those near to her. Those who meant something to her.

She didn't want Ravi to be caught in the crossfire.

"I'll be off doing dangerous things then," Aileen said shortly, "It might be better for you to be less proud."

Something flashed across his eyes, and she could tell he understood, because when had he not?

"Same goes for you," and he squeezed her hand and left it there.

People did not attend a school like Chalcioecus, Aileen was beginning to ponder, unless they had a goal seemingly impossible, and possibly treasonous.

"Your form, Miss?" The receptionist held out a hand.

Aileen blinked. Their turn had arrived, apparently. She reached for the form, neatly folded and pressed, and passed it over.

The receptionist looked over the accompanying documents, once, and ran some sort of spell over them before humming in acknowledgment.

"The First Entrance Test — Practical I, will be conducted on the 29th of this month, at 8:00 a.m. sharp," he said, "You've been assigned to Center no. 9. Do not bring anything other than your wand. Attire is expected to be the standard white martial art robes, issue no. 416. Please sign here."

Aileen swallowed and did, and then let Ravi steer her away from the crowd through a different route.

"My mom showed it to me the last time I came here," he explained, brown eyes looking black in the indoor shade, "It's less crowded."

She nodded her acknowledgment.

"You've gone quiet." Ravi surveyed her, "It's unlike you."

"I'm not talkative by any standards, Ravi," Aileen said, a little dry.

"Perhaps not, but I've gotten a feel for when you do talk. And typically, now would be around the time when you'd go gushing about Chalcioecus."

"I do not gush—"

"Sure you do. So, what is it?"

"It's nothing, I just— I never thought I'd actually make it this far. I didn't actually expect Uncle to give in, determination aside. I don't know. It feels so real now. Only two tests, and then I'll be on my way, starting a new course of my life."

"I had that whiplash during my submissions too," Ravi smiled, "It's only natural— life moves on, and sometimes we are left racing to catch up."

"Yeah," Aileen said, "Yeah, I guess it does."

The next few weeks passed in a blur, and if you asked her to recall them, little came to mind. She threw herself into her martial arts practice with a renewed fire, but while she landed more blows on her opponents than before, she also received equally more. Her Uncle said it was the adrenaline, clouding her thoughts, but Ravi said it was the worrying.

Aileen just practiced.

Her test was a mere few days away. There was nothing else she ought to be doing, right?

And so it was that when Ravi popped in by her training room in the public Dojo to see her, he found her clashing practice swords against another one of their classmates from Astéri, panting but unrelenting.

Aileen's sword slashed against her opponent's chest, but she parried it and tripped Aileen with her foot, taking advantage of the moment of imbalance Aileen had opened herself to to make the blow in the first place. Aileen landed hard on the ground, air escaping her for a moment, and the girl's sword was pinned below her chin before she knew it. It stayed there for a few seconds until the referee announced her the winner, and then she brought her arm down to pull Aileen up.

"Good match," Aileen said, voice scratchy and throat painfully dry.

"You too," The girl, Merriweather, said, though Aileen could tell she didn't believe it. She thought it could've gone better.

That was the number one quality Chalcioecus looked for in its students, and Aileen felt her respect for her rise by several notches. Not letting herself be satisfied by a win and seeing room for improvement instead, she had the marks of a warrior more than one who had won a hundred matches.

"I look forward to another one, sometime," and this time her smile was genuine.

Merriweather nodded her head, and they bowed and went their ways.

"Well, that was intense," Ravi noted as Aileen plopped on the floor against the Dojo wall and took a tired sip of water.

"Was it?" Her voice sounded dull even to her own ears.

"Hey," Ravi bent down to reach her eye level, "You're going about this the wrong way."

"What are you talking about?" She was practicing. Only the best got into Chalcioecus, so she needed the practice. She didn't understand the concerned furrow in his brows, or the pitiful looks some of her former classmates were giving her.

Then again, her performance had only dipped instead of improving after the first few days these past few weeks, and maybe there was something to what they were trying to tell her.

Ravi, at least, Aileen knew would not waste her time with pointless words. Sure, he could be a bit of a jokester, unserious, but never about things important to her.

She ought to listen.

"Come for a walk, first." He said, looking about discreetly, and Aileen realized he didn't want to point out her mistake in front of everyone else.

"Sure," She got up, dusted herself off, and followed him.

They walked out of the Dojo and into a startlingly beautiful sunset. It wasn't that Rhodes didn't have beautiful sunsets, no, it was one of the things she loved most about this place, but it had been so long since she'd stopped and appreciated it.

"You've got a lot of nervous energy pent up in you," Ravi said finally, "and I don't think blindly throwing yourself into practice is going to make anything better."

"I'm only getting worse," Aileen whispered, and suddenly the chill of dread crept up her spine. A fear she had been ignoring took root in those hollow moments.

Aileen thought she could make it to Chalcioecus, if she tried hard enough. It was hard, it was rough, but it had never seemed like an impossibility.

Now, with the test three days away, it strangely felt more out of reach than ever.

What if this kept up? What if she didn't get better, only got worse, over the next few days? What would become of her?

She could take a gap year, she supposed, but the idea seemed to pinch something deep inside her, something that couldn't tolerate another year of distance from her goal. And then, Aileen was sure her Uncle would refuse. He had barely agreed for this as is.

Ravi rubbed soothing circles across her palms, and they stayed like that for a few moments, a thousand unspoken, heavy words hanging in the space between.

Some fears, she supposed, didn't need to be voiced to be understood.

Or maybe it was just like that with some people.

"Ravi… what am I doing wrong?"

His circular motions across her hand slowed, "Because you're tense, you've become more emotional, impulsive, during your fights, and not in a good way. You can normally see moves coming from a mile away, but now you don't notice it until it's almost at you, and that only makes your reactions more frantic. And then you become more tense. It's a continuous loop."

She almost laughed at his frank way of summing it up. Almost.

"And what can I do to fix it?"

"Take a break from fighting until you center yourself. You also need to improve your analytical skills." Ravi shrugged, "Focus on some mind games."

"Oh? Such as?"

"Chess, maybe."

"Chess," Aileen did laugh, this time, "You want me to play chess before a physical exam."

"It's good for the brain," Ravi defended, though he let out a chuckle too.

"I think I get what you're saying, though," Aileen sighed, "It's intimidating, if I'm honest, taking a break so close to the exam. But this approach isn't helping me either, and I do see the value in what you're saying."

"You'll be fine, Aileen," Ravi said, "You've got it in you."

She looked into his eyes, willing herself to believe it again. Aileen missed the confidence she had had before. She wanted it back.

"Yeah, I do," Something in her firmed, "And I'll prove it to myself."

He smiled, and they walked home with a golden sun seeing the day's end.

The next day, when Aileen went for her usual morning jog, she focused on regulating her breathing, an act she was surprised to realize she hadn't been doing in a while, and conserving energy for a longer jog.

Her mind felt clearer.

As Aileen headed on for her sixth round of the complex, some of her older courage seemed to return to her, and she knew she was on the right track.

Once done, she stopped by Ravi's place for a game of chess with his older brother. While perhaps not as enlightening as Ravi had suggested, it did give her mind something to sharply focus on, particularly because Raj was so good.

He'd won some national muggle championship, Aileen recalled.

One game turned into two turned into three, and while Aileen didn't win any of them, she could feel her intuition and observation sharpen. It helped when Raj pointed out the gaps in her defenses with a mind to teach her, and she evolved based on his feedback only to receive more.

While Aileen couldn't say she enjoyed the game, she definitely left for the Dojo with more knowledge and a sharper mind at her disposal.

This time, she didn't participate in any bouts.

She watched.

Aileen watched as turn by turn, others her age and not came face to face and fought. She watched for the mistakes they made, the openings they created and the ones that left them exposed. Aileen observed, until she got so used to identifying those weak spots that she didn't need to spare a second thought to confirm them.

A year her senior, Mark Ducharme sparred against another boy she'd only seen brief glimpses of before. Aileen noticed the way he always swept his feet in quick, broad strokes, always doing his level best to destabilize his opponent mid-spar.

It was incredibly clever. One only needed a moment of distraction to win, after all.

Just as the thought occurred to her, Ducharme's opponent fell prey to another one of his sweeps, and in the same breath Ducharme had his sword against his throat.

"Winner: Mark Ducharme," The referee intoned, and Aileen leaned back in her seat.

There was so much to be learned. Her eyes, aside from weaknesses in fighting style, began looking for what everyone did well, too, picking up interesting strategies or unique moves by virtue of her observations.

And only then did Aileen take part in a match.

And for the first time in three weeks, she felt like herself again.

Her sword pointed at her disarmed opponent's heart, unshaking and unwavering, she felt like she had regained her former confidence, without the rush setting off whatever new balance Aileen had reached for her emotions.

The referee signaled the end of the match, and her match partner, a fun, carefree girl named Drew gave her a warm, relieved smile.

"I'm glad to see you back to yourself again," she said, and Aileen felt a knot in her stomach ease.

"Yeah, me too."

She meant it more than anything else in the world.

The day of the First Entrance Test dawned swelteringly hot. That balmy morning, Aileen tucked her wand into her Astéri school-set holster and side-along apparated with her Uncle to Center no. 9 ten minutes early. He dropped her off there with a hug and a strange smile somewhere between sadness and pride, and she joined the other early applicants in the hall barred to their guardians, each receiving an allotment number after identification. Ravi would be taking his Test in Center no. 3, two cities away.

She took a deep breath and began stretching. As she did, she paid close attention to her competition, slowly filling up the hall around her.

All of them were girls, naturally, since Chalcioecus was an all-girls school, but even then Aileen saw a vast diversity in the bunch. Some had small, sleek builds, while others still stood out because of their sharply toned muscles. Even the ages seemed to vary by a couple of years, and it occurred to her that some of the people around her must have taken gap years to reach Chalcioecus.

Everyone here yearned for the same dream, and everyone had come prepared, honing their skills to their absolute best.

She had to stand out in comparison.

At eight o'clock on the dot, roll call began. Not one person was missing.

They were segregated based on their allotment numbers into groups of ten and were told each group would be led to a different room. And then—

"Close your eyes," their assigned supervisor commanded a girl beside Aileen. The girl acquiesced, wary, and the supervisor murmured a spell at her.

"We will be charming your eyes shut for about five minutes while you are escorted to your starting positions," she said, and then performed the procedure once more on a different girl.

Aileen tensed, but shut her eyes obediently when the wand was turned on her. She heard the murmur of a spell, but felt nothing. A couple seconds later, she tried to open her eyes, but to no avail. Her eyelids simply wouldn't move.

It was disorienting, listening to the loud and faint sounds around her and trying to make sense of them.

She felt an arm on her shoulder, steering her firmly down a path, and she followed, maintaining her composure.

She was led to a spot and told to stay there, and Aileen didn't need to try and disobey to know there was some magic lacing the command.

One of the most well-known facts about the Tests were that any disobedience or cheating led directly to disqualification, and Aileen would never give them any reason to disqualify her. The eye-spell earlier had been different— they hadn't explicitly said to not try and open one's eyes, and she had suspected it could be a test of cleverness.

She wondered at the surreal silence around her until, suddenly, her sight returned. She knew because the moment they were allowed to, her eyelids fluttered open of their own accord.

The room was flooded with light, and Aileen had to shut her eyes once more to ease a budding headache.

Slowly, gently, cupping her hands before her eyes to let in only muted light at first, she opened them again.

It took her about a total of five minutes to adjust, and then she could look around freely.

Only… something was wrong.

Her vision seemed to blur unnaturally no matter which direction she looked in. She had the vague awareness that she was in a large space, but somehow confined, and yet whenever she tried to focus, all she could really see was a fuzzy, blurred version of what should have actually been there.

It made her head ache acutely.

"Welcome, applicants," a deep, rich voice that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at all rang in her ears, and Aileen suspected the work of amplification sound effects integrated with runes, like the kind Ravi liked to mess around with except much more large-scale.

"Please do not move around, we will know if you do— the Test will commence shortly, so we ask for your patience and attention in the meantime. The Challenge is simple: You are in a maze. Each participant has a specific exit keyed to their starting location, accessible only to them. Find the best way out— the only route not permitted being maiming or death."

A pause, and then the voice began a countdown.

Five.

Aileen assessed her surroundings rapidly, but to no avail. Nothing she was seeing made sense—

Four.

Wait. The announcer had said they were in a maze. Then could her blurry vision actually be a screen—?

Three.

How many such screens were there? Was the entire maze built with them—?

Two.

It probably was. And there was only one reason to use such hazy, confusing screens in the first place— they wanted to make sure she couldn't trust her sight.

One.

And then there was silence.

The First Entrance Test had begun.

A plan started to take form in her mind, and the only problem being how ridiculously insane it was.

Aileen reached forward slowly, eyes set unwaveringly on her arm to avoid further confusion until she felt…

…jelly?

The blurred screen before her felt almost soft; squishy, really, but seemed to pose her no harm—

A strong, debilitating shock passed through her arm, and she gasped for breath, backing away several steps without even realizing it, right into another wad of blurred enchantments.

Her vision swam, strangely tinted purple, and she couldn't breathe.

Aileen was burning, a hot coal to a roaring fire the maze posed, and this is how she would die, a useless conductor to an intricate trap, merging into just another wall screen dangerous to touch.

The thought made her more sick.

Her panic urged out a primitive, raw magic caged inside of her, left untouched, perhaps, since her young accidental magic episodes.

It shoved her out of contact with the nightmare screen, and Aileen landed roughly against the floor.

For a moment she lay there, frozen in shock, mind blank.

Then slowly, some of her basic first-aid knowledge from Astéri came to her.

If you receive a shock, don't move unless you have to.

At least she hadn't lost consciousness.

Everything hurt, but in a strange, detached sort of way. As if she wasn't really there to feel it, as if she'd gone numb with too much to compute.

Aileen doubted she could muster up the concentration for the spell more than once, so she carefully considered every aspect of the recovery charm she could remember.

Which, given her state, wasn't much.

"Remedium lignorum," Aileen whispered, voice hoarse but firm, glad her wand was in her hand even if she couldn't move it.

Cutting down on wand movements made the working of a charm… improbable. Wandlessly, however, this would have been impossible.

Having poured all her remaining vocal capabilities in trying to incant with stability, even her whimpers went silent.

Aileen felt the healing magic slowly permeate her body, steadily flushing out the shock waves from her vital organs, blood vessels, seeming out from her skin. Returning her to her senses.

When she felt relatively normal, Aileen rolled to one side and pushed herself up.

"My goodness," she said, somehow dry and surprised at the same time, "Those were some vicious hexes at work."

Her plan now seemed ten times more dangerous, but something in her gut told Aileen she was on the right track.

The maze played on her sight, the only thing afforded to her being a blur that just increased confusions and mistakes. Aileen would never know how far away a screen was, not even if she was standing inches from one.

The only way to avoid further mistakes was to not let them use her sight against her.

Her mind flashed to the charm used on her and the other participants to force their eyes shut as they were escorted to their places.

Had that been a hint, a layered mind game after all?

She hadn't caught the charm, muttered too quickly and quietly, but there were simple enough solutions to that.

Aileen's hand reached down to the belt cinched at her waist, a symbol of years of pride and discipline in the martial arts. It was of two colors, horizontally striped a brilliant blue and yellow.

Their expected get-up for the First Test had been a specific issue of standard white martial art robes, but one thing no institution ever specified was the belt you could bring to the competition.

Your belt was earned, won only through relentless hardwork and dedication in your training, and remained yours till you were its.

To many, and certainly to Aileen, it was a relationship as special as one shared with a wand.

Belts were charmed to retain spells they'd been hit with, the number of spells increasing as you moved up levels. But irrevocably a part of your magic as they were, they couldn't retain your own spells. They were useful for chance hits where your opponent aimed wrong or unthinkingly and ended giving your belt another spell signature to play with, to be released effortlessly when called upon. The primary advantage, however, was that since it wasn't your signature fuelling the spell, it provided the closest thing to simultaneous casting if you released it while shooting a spell of your own.

Your belt would change colors by itself when it deemed you worthy, a bit of fascinating sympathetic magic Aileen's mother had always gone on about.

Aileen's freshest colors had been attained weeks before her graduation from Astéri, in the midst of her usual meditation. She'd beat one of her seniors, Ray Lantana, for the first time the day before, though, so she couldn't be sure what exactly had prompted it.

Either way, it was once again going to be of great use to her.

Aileen untied the knot holding it at her waist and raised it to her eye-level.

A deep breath, and then tied her eyes shut.

Had it been able to retain her magic, it would have been a simple thing to cast a transparency charm to see through it, its capacity to absorb all other spells nevertheless protecting her from the myriad of enchantments surrounding her.

But it couldn't, so instead Aileen was effectively blind.

It was better than having sight that only misled her in the end, though. She could already feel her thinking become clearer.

The sturdy cloth felt comforting against her skin, and for a moment Aileen took comfort in the fact that any spells by competitors aiming for her eyes or head to further capitalize on the confusion would most likely be absorbed by her belt.

Aileen's martial arts uniform covered most of her already, so she charmed it with a glossy, plastic-like surface to act as an insulator, surprised at how easy spell-casting felt without wonky vision messing with her head. It was as though the past ten minutes had been enough to make her forget how natural spell-casting was to her.

Aileen then conjured long plastic gloves for her hands, and an extra coat for her shoes. She could sense her magic giving the items shape, feel the scrape of plastic against her skin as the gloves adjusted themselves correctly.

Aileen hesitated, then sent a pulse of a more raw sort of magic, based on the sole intent to strengthen, through her conjurations. She didn't know if it would work, but it wouldn't hurt to try.

Then she took a calming breath and brushed her arm against a screen intentionally.

For a second her body tensed, expecting pain despite her logical conclusions, but she felt nothing but a brief, low-intensity tingle.

Aileen sighed in relief, and let a brilliant, bright smile overcome her features.

Now all she had to do was adjust to working with her remaining senses.

Without her sight, they already seemed far more enhanced.

Her ears perked, Aileen tried to distinguish the sounds around her. The first to come to her notice was the rapid, rhythmic sound of her breathing. She consciously slowed it, and felt a previously unnoticed tension in her shoulders ease up.

The next was the rapid beating for her heart, and after a faint acknowledgement Aileen forced herself to notice the sounds beyond her body, the ones that would really count.

There was surprising silence. Wait, no—

Aileen could hear a very faint buzzing, so quiet she certainly wouldn't have noticed had her hearing not been her only way to see the world, coming from all around her.

Could it be?

Aileen leaned closer towards the general directions of one of the screens, and felt the humming grow louder.

So there was a way to detect them.

Her smile only grew wider.

For a minute more Aileen stood there, searching for any further sounds. There was nothing.

She nodded to herself, and gripped her wand tighter. Now, she would truly take part in the test.

She probably had a lot of time to make up for.

Aileen took a deep breath, and plunged deeper into the maze.

The faint humming around her increased, coming from all directions, now, and she assumed the walls were pressing in closer, making narrower channels than the individual spaces the participants had been dropped off at to start off.

Aileen extended both arms to her sides to feel the parallel screens running alongside her. When the first opening appeared to her right, she cocked her head to the side and considered the choice before her.

One of the simplest ways out would be to pick a direction, left or right, and stick to it until it eventually led her to the exit. It would work, even if it took some time.

Doubts crept up on her, though. She didn't have that much time to spare, and it seemed to be an easy way out. Surely the examiners had put in some measures to counteract such a strategy?

What if… what if the maze evolved as she explored it? What if it was designed to orchestrate confrontations?

Aileen shook her head roughly to banish the thought, but it didn't go away. Instead the worry solidified into something like resignation by her side.

Of course, the examiners weren't stupid. If there was a way to make the Test more difficult, they would use it.

Still, she needed to follow some strategy, or else she'd just end up lost.

Aileen took the right.

Many openings presented themselves to her through the left in this new route, but she firmly ignored them and stuck to her chosen screen. After a while, she dropped her left hand to her side to cease the temptation altogether. Her right hand still trailed across the screen, tingling faintly now and then, and her ears buzzed, informing her of her close proximity to the wall as though her hand didn't serve well enough.

It would come in useful, though, when she had to finally let go of the wall to defend herself against whatever the Test threw at her. Aileen wondered what it would be; another competitor? A magical obstacle? It was surprising, really, that she hadn't come across anything yet—

She stiffened. A new sound had come into her hearing range.

Footsteps. Ragged breathing. Somewhere to her right.

Aileen's fingers grappled against the screen near her, searching for the nearest opening. The screen gave way into a new passage to her right a few feet away, and if it weren't confirmation enough, the sounds had grown louder.

She heard another girl cursing, and broke into a sweat.

The sound had come from the opposite direction, and far closer.

Caught on both sides, blindfolded… and she would have to fight her way out.

Aileem tapped into her belt, running through all the spells stored there.

She had had Ravi cast a runic list at it in preparation, and she formed a quick plan of action even as her wand trailed upwards in an arc towards the direction of the second girl.

Release, she thought, and her belt hummed before letting out a complicated runic sequence for invisibility.

The Dota 2 variant rune flashed before her eyes, followed by Dagaz among others, and they flickered, golden, forming a case of floating symbols around her.

It was beautiful.

Aileen's lips twisted in admiration as she brought her wand in a downward arc, a different spell at its tip. To an observer, it would resemble a misty-blue glow that seemed to sap energy even on sight.

When she heard the steps draw around her corner, Aileen was ready.

Aileen didn't have to worry about aiming— this was a spell with a pre-designed target, much like Flipendo always landed at the legs. A steady flick of her wand sent the spell flying into the girl's chest, and the girl let out a tiny gasp. There was a thump as she fell to the ground.

Aileen could still feel some of the magic left, however, coalescing into a ball near her. Not all of it had been absorbed by the girl.

The sounds to her right sounded all too close, now, and a great deal more cautious. Whoever it was must have heard something to put them on guard.

Aileen considered the merits of ignoring the girl, gasping and dizzy from the weakening magic she'd sent through her, and keeping the remaining magic left in the spell for a surprise use against her other opponent. The girl would fall unconscious soon, anyway, and having another trick up Aileen's sleeve could come in use.

But she couldn't see her, and on the off chance that the girl pulled a last-minute trick, the results could be damning. The ball of magic shifted a bit with Aileen's hesitation, and then rammed into the girl a second time.

Another thump!, and Aileen realized she had not fallen fully to the ground the first time. Her choice seemed safer, now, for the longer run. Aileen listened intently, but the sound of her breathing had evened out in a way that couldn't be faked— not with the panic she was earlier in.

She was unconscious.

"Homenum Revelio," the first girl— the one to her right —incanted.

Aileen startled, realizing that amidst her focus on her first opponent, she hadn't noticed the footsteps of her second drawing closer.

She resisted the impulse to tear her belt away from her eyes. Her game would be out with the revealing spell anyway— the girl would know that there were two other bodies around her, and Aileen couldn't defend herself well without even knowing from which direction and what type of spell was coming at her.

Before the impulse won out, the girl muttered, "Ugh, dammit. It's not working."

Blood rushed to Aileen's ears. It didn't work? Was it because the girl hadn't figured out a way out of the illusion magic, and it had impaired her? Or did the examiners set the maze up to not let any detection spells stick?

Either way, she could turn this to her advantage.

Aileen released a jelly-brains jinx from her belt, wanting to avoid sounding out the alarm through an incantation.

The spell fizzled into nothing.

Ah, thought Aileen, some part rueful and some insane part excited, they must have a shield activated.

Since the odds of someone around her age doing non-verbal magic were low, it had probably been released from the other girl's belt.

Shields were a tricky bit of magic to integrate into a belt— the girl couldn't be more than one level below her.

Well, Aileen loved a challenge.

She heard the whish of a wand slashing across the air to her right, and rolled to her left to dodge, her own wand whipping toward the source.

"Depulso," Aileen murmured, any regret at resorting to such an aggressive spell so soon overrun by her need to get the altercation over with.

The girl's body hitting against the screen made a much fainter sound than she had imagined, and Aileen realized she had probably mitigated the spell's effects through a half-cast counter.

The girl screamed, probably in response to the electrocution-like pain, but it was cut off abruptly.

Aileen's eyebrows slammed together.

What…?

A stinging hex grazed her at the hip, and she barely managed to suppress a hiss of pain.

It was moot, however, because her attacker probably noted where exactly some of the spell had been absorbed.

Aileen ducked, only knowing she'd missed another spell by the vague feeling of magic brushing past her forehead.

She'd tried to aim at torso level so that even if they didn't exactly hit their mark, the spell would've landed on some part of her.

Smart.

Aileen rolled to her side, taking the short time to prepare her magic for a particularly powerful shield.

For a moment, there was silence, and Aileen didn't dare to breathe.

Then she heard some shifting and let the whispered shield bloom into being around her.

Her attacker had probably figured out her general direction, but Aileen still had the advantage of her invisibility. The girl's aim couldn't be too astute save for luck.

Her ears twitched in response to a near movement. Aileen bent backwards to avoid the fist making its way to her face, sweeping the ground around her with an outstretched foot. A smile flashed across her face when she felt it catch on something, and she felt the girl tumble.

Aileen needed a second to regain her bearings, though, so she hooked her leg with the girl's foot and arched back into a standing position. The girl groaned at the pressure on her foot, likely dazed by the combined pain of the screen with no time for treatment and the hard hit against the floor.

Knowing the girl's exact location, it was the work of a second for Aileen to stun her.

She took a second to regulate her breathing and clear her head. The adrenaline made it hard to think, sometimes, and she'd made some of her most foolish decisions under its sway.

The art of fighting wasn't about devolving to your base instincts of survival. To stand a chance, one had to constantly be there, mind present through every punch and block and spell, thinking of effective ways to succeed.

When she had calmed down, Aileen decided to resume her method of taking all the right turns.

Hand brushing against the wall, she followed the trail quietly, ears ever-alert for any sign of life other than her own breathing, forced into something resembling normal, and her racing heart.

After about ten minutes, she tripped over something.

Aileen clattered to the ground, hands automatically raising themselves to protect her head. She asked her belt to release a shield in urgent defense, but felt no spell fizzle against it.

About two minutes of no reaction or attack, and Aileen frowned. She slowly felt around for the place where she'd fallen, alarmed when she found someone else's hand in hers.

It was limp, and Aileen realized that the person lying prone before her had probably been beaten by another competitor already.

She was about to get back up when, almost instinctively, her hand recoiled at the feel of something slick and sticky.

With mixed curiosity and dread, she brought her hand up to her nose.

There was no mistaking the unpleasant metallic smell.

Blood.

Aileen patted the figure down, searching for the source. The amount of blood she'd gotten on her palm in so brief a time couldn't have arisen from a mere scratch. The wound had to be significant, and fresh.

Her hand finally caught on the person's collarbone, and Aileen realized with a dull sense of horror that there was a sizable, gaping wound located just above their left collarbone.

"Episkey," the spell left her lips without a second thought. She felt the localized shift in temperature indicating ongoing healing, but knew it would probably not be enough.

Episkey was only for minor wounds, and she had the hysterical feeling it wouldn't be enough for a wound like this. She didn't know any better spell, though. They only taught basic first-aid at Astéri.

For the first time since she'd entered the maze, exhausted and sweat-dripping with her repeated encounters with either those damned screens or other competitors, Aileen began to feel cold.

The only route not permitted being maiming or death

Whoever did this— how dare they?

Had she not literally stumbled upon the girl bleeding out before her, did they even realize they could have cost her her life?

No, she could still lose her life, Aileen realized, blanching.

Her assessing hands told her that her interference had barely made a difference. The wound hadn't closed, only shrunk a little in size in a weak attempt at recovery.

“Get up, dammit,” she whispered urgently.

Her immediate course of action was obvious— She had to take the girl out of the maze for medical treatment.

But how?

Aileen certainly didn’t have in her to be able to fight off her opponents blindly while also carrying the poor girl before her.

She shook her head sharply. It didn’t matter. A girl had to do what she had to do.

Aileen muttered a quick bandaging charm and hauled the girl to their feet, struggling a bit at the disproportionate weight until she had her adjusted as comfortably as she could.

“You- you’re going to be fine,” she said slowly, not sure who she was comforting, exactly.

That was the last thing Aileen said to her for a time, focusing on navigating the maze once more.

The extra weight didn’t prove too heavy for her, Aileen realized eventually. It must have been the panic making her overthink things. She and Ravi had often borne each other’s body weight on days where they’d overdone practice, lugging the other across the kilometers of distance that lay between their homes and the Dojo.

Just because it wasn’t posing a problem now, however, didn’t mean it wouldn’t later, Aileen thought grimly.

Fighting in such a predicament would be… unfathomable, she realized. She couldn’t defend herself adequately if she had to worry about the health of another.

Deciding to leave that problem to the Aileen of the future, she continued to trudge through the maze.

Time passed in an unnerving silence, and Aileen was ready to grumble as she took a right turn for the umpteenth time.

A rush of fresh air graced her, splitting her face into a wide grin.

She had to be nearing the exit, now!

Her steps increased in pace almost helplessly, and she found a renewed strength enabling her to handle her injured companion better.

The girl's bandage, even reapplied, had been soaked through, and blood had pooled against Aileen's back at an almost numbing rate, but she felt none of it now.

She just had to get the girl to the exit, and the examiners would be able to do something about her—

The sharp whistle of something cutting through the air at an alarming rate stilled her, and she leaned back and just in time to avoid being pummeled by shards of… something against the screen.

Judging by the sound they made on impact, they had been very sharp.

Aileen retreated back several steps, sending an array of offensive spells aimed towards the place where she thought the shards came from.

She didn't need to see to know that none of her spells had landed. Hexes of that degree, and not a whimper of pain? They'd have to be a werewolf to shrug it off, and even then it would give them pause, not increase the number spells they sent in retaliation.

Amazing reflexes and a good shield made far more sense.

Aileen wondered how her opponent even knew where to aim for her, when it suddenly hit her.

I can't believe I've been so stupid!

She may be under a well-constructed invisibility enchantment, but the injured competitor she was carrying along with her certainly wasn't.

If her opponent had figured a way to look past the confusing spells their examiners had laced the place with…

Well, it was a blithering giveaway, wasn't it?

Aileen shook her head in self-disgust even as she dodged to her right and sent a bat-bogey hex in return.

As Aileen followed it up with the Knockback Jinx— her first offensive spell and Ravi's favorite —a ludicrous idea popped into her head.

A ludicrous idea that might just save her companion, and give her the upper hand in her duel at the same time.

Before she could overthink it, Aileen wasted a precious chance to step up in the duel and cast a powerful cushioning charm around the girl lying limp across her back.

Then Aileen murmured a quick apology and shot her with an overpowered banishing charm, hoping anxiously against hope that her guess that she was in the last corridor, leading straight to the exit proved right.

The air was too fresh, she thought, for it to be anything else.

The overpowered spell's recoil pushed her back a step, and Aileen leaned forward to regain her balance.

She could try to make a run for it herself, she thought wryly, before she was rid of all such thoughts and pulled into the inescapable grip of fast-paced dueling.

At least she was safe in the knowledge that her opponent had a different exit allotted to them, and so was likely to get to theirs after hers.

Aileen blinked as she cast a destabilizing spell in the general direction of her opponent's shield. On second thought, how was Aileen sure this was her exit, anyway?

Suppressing a groan, she cast a freezing charm against a whispered "Incendio".

Aileen could feel the two spells war, and she frowned as the strangest feelings overcame her. Her hand shook, a low tremble that raised to outright full-body shudders in only a moment.

It occurred to Aileen in the breath between her charm caving against the fire hex and the moment she found herself on fire.

Oh.

The girl had ridiculously overpowered it.

Then she was screaming. She hit the ground instinctively, rolling over and over and back and forth, covering her face and mouth with her hands to prevent them from getting burnt.

As the flames licked her clothes in a lethal game, a single thought consumed her.

Please! Make it stop!

She couldn't stop screaming.

Aileen didn't know how long she stayed like that, rolling desperately and screeching her throat hoarse— it couldn't have been more than a few minutes, really —but it felt like hours.

Like days had passed and she had been left to permanently slow-roast over a fire and await her damned fate.

A hurried pair of footsteps made their way to her, and suddenly Aileen found herself drenched with merciful, blissfully cool water.

She gasped.

"—I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to—" the girl sounded extremely harried.

Aileen hissed out a wordless indication to run more cool water over her.

The girl complied, falling silent, and Aileen tried to think past the sharp stinging that had enveloped her body. She wondered briefly why this girl hadn't left her and made for her exit like whoever had injured the other girl before.

For the same reasons I couldn't leave her, maybe? She thought.

Certainly, the burns felt serious enough to possibly maim her without receiving prompt medical attention.

When Aileen felt less like a roadkill, she pulled her burning limbs into some sense of coordination and pushed herself up into some semblance of sitting.

She pulled her belt off her eyes, blinking at the sudden disorientation that hit her.

The girl was only a foot away from her, though, so the enchantments didn't interfere much.

Aileen opened her mouth to say something, but found her breath stolen from her.

"You—"

The world had turned upside down, surely, for nothing else made sense. Pigs must have started to fly, and soon there'd be reports of floods in deserts, and Aileen was probably just the first to succumb to a bout of madness—

The girl's eyes widened, taking in Aileen's features just like Aileen had hers.

Long red hair, slicked back in a ponytail, eyes a soft green not unlike sea foam, but hard with determination and assurance, freckles dribbled all over her face like an artless sprinkling of salt.

The same chin, the same lips, curving slightly downwards in a parody of perplexity.

"Clara?" She whispered, at the same time the other girl, her sister, said—

"You-you're alive?" She snapped her mouth shut and moved back several paces, "I'm sorry, I just meant— because of the fire and all, you know. I was worried you might be dying."

Aileen's brows slammed together even as her lips moved automatically to reassure her.

"I think I'll be fine. Need treatment to ensure I'm not permanently scarred, though," she added, just to delay any further attacks. She was in no state to put up a fight, so she would use what she had to her advantage. While Aileen typically preferred to handle things head on, there was precious little she wouldn't do to get into Chalcioecus.

"That's a relief. Sorry again," The girl looked to her side, then back at her, "We sure look alike, huh?"

Aileen blinked.

"Uh, yeah…"

The girl sucked in a breath, "It's almost surreal."

"Mhm," Aileen cast about for something to pull her out of her shock. she was seeing things. She must be.

This couldn't be Clara. Her twin sister was missing, most likely dead. How could she have come to the Chalcioecus tryouts, looking very much like she had been well-cared for? Aileen eyed her healthy frame and the belt cinched tightly against her waist.

Belts did not come cheap.

Even her wand didn't hold the rugged look of most second-hand wands, shining neatly and primly in the grip of her palm.

More importantly, she couldn't be Clara because her sister would have recognized her. They hadn't been young enough to forget when they separated! Wouldn't Clara think it suspicious that she found someone who looked exactly like her when she was missing an identical twin?!

But…

"How old are you?" Aileen asked on numb lips, sending her magic through her limbs to stabilize her.

"Thirteen," the girl shot her an odd look, "You?"

"Same," her voice cracked, "Hey, you wouldn't happen to have a twin, would you?"

The girl shook her head wryly, though something unfathomable flashed past her eyes.

"Well, I did." Aileen said, just to see what she would make of it.

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry for your loss," the girl said awkwardly, noting the past tense, "Uh, are you okay? The fire— I'm sorry about that. I really thought you'd try to shield that. I overpowered it 'cause—"

"It'd cause high damage to my shield," Aileen said, nodding. An honest mistake. Aileen would've likely done the same, under different circumstances, "Your name?"

The girl hesitated, "Cl- Chloe."

Aileen restrained from bursting into an incredulous laugh.

"Chloe, huh?" She told herself the smile twisting her face did not look the least bit unhinged.

The girl grimaced, "Yeah. Listen, I've got to get going. The Test is still on. Do you need any urgent medical attention?"

Aileen considered the reports her magic was giving her regarding the status of her body, then shook her head.

"I'll manage."

Something flickered for the briefest of seconds in the girl's expression, and Aileen knew what was coming before the girl had even aimed her wand.

She tripped the girl with her foot and held her wand arm behind her back in a vice-like grip.

"Sorry about this," Aileen muttered, before pulling her own wand out with her other hand and stunning her.

Aileen let out a slow, long exhale, trying and failing to shed all her anxiety and confusion in the same breadth.

She looked down at the girl that so uncannily resembled her, and wondered how it had come to this.

Her head fell in her hands.

"Oh Morgana, what am I doing?"

It felt like something fatally sharp had been lodged in her throat— an attempt to coax it down, and she'd probably bleed from inside, but she couldn't just choke it back out either.

Another fresh gust of wind hit Aileen as she wrestled with the intrusive thoughts of waking the girl and interrogating her again like they were in some kind of horror movie. She had a purpose, coming here, and it would slip out of her grasp if she didn't act fast.

The Test was still ongoing. Merlin knew how much time she had spent roaming the maze, anyway. For all she knew, Aileen could be skirting a score that would risk her future, and every second longer she spent in the maze would only further worsen her position.

She couldn't— She needed to go to Chalcioecus.

And where would Chl—Cla—this girl go anyway? She probably intended to attend Chalcioecus, and even if she didn't make the cut Aileen was bound to run into her after the Test was over.

Right?

Before she could question herself further, she got up on unsteady feet and walked down the corridor.

Aileen felt numb, almost animalistic as she walked away, but she wondered if it wasn't better that way. Her path once she reached Chalcioecus was clear, dangerous in its simplicity, and something she so obviously believed in. Was it really so surprising, then, that in her mental fugue the one thing she grasped was the one thing she knew?

The wind grew sharper, cleaner, and the closer Aileen got to her source, the more her vision improved. She realized the enchantments were fewer, out in this part of the maze, and that the exit wasn't covered with a screen at all.

When she took her first step outside, it was as though she emerged from a dream-like bubble that had obscured the world's true beauty. Aileen marveled at the details her eyes afforded her, the astounding clarity with which she could see.

Was this how it was before? Aileen thought, breathless, my, you really do have to lose something to appreciate it.

Perhaps somewhere down the road of the same old practice routines, she had forgotten the fantastical advantage each of her senses gave her as a warrior.

Aileen wouldn't forget again.

"Right this way, Miss Ross," a young, stern-looking woman said, the softness in her tone belying her outward appearance. There was something instinctively likable about her that Aileen couldn't quite put a finger on.

"Of course," Aileen said, then winced. She sounded awful.

The woman looked a touch exasperated, though Aileen did not think it was aimed at her. She followed her quietly, though, deciding to let her voice rest until she'd had it healed. Her throat hurt, anyway. She wondered if it was because of the screaming, or something else.

The woman led her to a small room with chairs not unlike the ones that she often spotted in muggle hospitals laid out in neat rows.

Aileen took one at random and sunk in, not caring that it was cold and uncomfortable and had some torn paper pieces stuck to the side with what looked like old, rotten chewing gum. By Minerva, she was tired.

She wondered briefly if she'd luck out and the other competitors would come out shortly so they'd all be sent home to await their results, before she realized it was to her advantage if they took longer. Great, now her fatigue was impairing her common sense.

And weren't there a myriad of things she ought to be doing right now, anyway?

Aileen rose slowly to her feet only to find a firm pressure on her shoulders guide her back to her seat.

"I leave for just a second to get these—" the woman from earlier muttered, gesturing vaguely at the thin, colorful strips of paper she brought with her, "And find you going out and about. Honestly, kids these days…"

Before Aileen could protest that she had not, in fact, roamed 'out and about' as yet, the woman shook her head as though to clear it.

"My name is Candice Lois," She offered with a slight smile, "though hopefully you'll soon know me as Healer Lois. Do I have your consent to perform some diagnostics, and in the event I find something, to Heal you?"

Aileen's eyes widened, "You're a resident Healer at Chalcioecus!"

The woman inclined her head at that, smile widening in amusement at Aileen's awed tone even as a frown marred her features at her hoarseness.

"I am. Your permission?"

"You have it," Aileen said easily. She had nothing to hide, and she had the distinct feeling she'd feel a lot better if she let the Healer check her over.

Healer Lois pulled out her wand with a nod and began murmuring a few diagnostic charms that sounded, to Aileen's admittedly inexperienced ears, like a load of gibberish.

Still, when she actually got to the Healing, Aileen felt a tingling sensation envelop her body and suppressed a grimace. It reminded her of the sensations she'd get even protected against the screens.

She did feel much better afterwards, however.

"Thank you," she said, flashing the Healer a tired smile.

"You're welcome," she said primly, jotting down something on one of the colored papers.

Aileen paused to let her finish, then said, "Um, Healer Lois? About that other girl— the injured one—?"

The Healer looked up, eyes soft, "She's just fine, dear. I put her in a healing coma to help her regain her strength faster, but it's nothing to be concerned about. Your timely intervention saved us all much trouble— I've no doubt she'd like to thank you herself once she has recovered." Her face took on a fierce cast, "The committee shall see the matter of her injury appropriately resolved. We take such things very seriously, I assure you."

Lois calmed herself, "Now, take your seat and rest up while you can. The results will be announced about an hour after all the competitors are either out or compromised."

Aileen couldn't pinpoint whether that seemed too long or too short a time. Either way, there was nothing she could do but sit and wait, so she nodded politely and took a seat once more.

She had a lot to think about, anyway.

Aileen made a quick note of the other occupants in the room before that, though. The number surprised her. Out of the twenty or so that had entered the maze with her, she spotted no more than four. Not as good as she might have hoped for herself when she entered, Aileen supposed, but not as bad as she had feared as she left either.

The other four looked even more worn than her, slouched over in their seats in a clear signal to leave them alone. Two of them looked half-asleep.

Reassured that she could still make something out of this, Aileen let her thoughts drift to the peculiar encounter troubling her.

Clara.

It had to be her, hadn't it? What were the odds that Aileen would come across a girl that looked like an exact replica of her, shared her age, had a penchant for being a warrior, who was not her missing identical twin?

She couldn't believe she'd fooled herself into doubting otherwise. What had she been thinking? Of course it was her.

But then… Why hadn't Clara thought the same? And if she had, why had she pretended otherwise? How did she seem so well-cared for? Why had she lied about her name?

Has she lost her memory? That seemed unlikely. Perhaps it had been tampered with? But no, Clara had seemed to recognize something in her, now that she thought back to their conversation. She had obviously deliberately pretended to not know her.

Unbidden, a fading memory resurfaced like dry leaves floating in the wind, and Aileen grasped at it.

"What is it, my dear?" Her mother asked her, easy greek spilling from her lips.

"Clara's hiding something from me, again, isn't she?" Aileen mumbled at her mum. Then, peering suspiciously, "You didn't buy her a belt early, did you?"

Her mother laughed, "Of course not, Aiy. You both are only getting belts after you're eight." She shared a conspiratorial grin, "Your sister might have something planned for your shared birthday, however."

Aileen's eyes lit up, "Really?"

Her mother's fond smile was an answer enough.

"Your sister isn't very good at hiding things," she said after a pause, "It just isn't in her nature. But neither is unkindness." She looked down at Aileen seriously, "Promise me you won't doubt her from now on, Aiy. She only means the best for you. Whether it's the belt or anything else, the first person she'd want to share her happiness with is you, you understand?"

Aileen nodded, her cheeks taking on a pleased tinge.

It seemed that childhood habits had carried on into their teenage years, Aileen thought with a measure of pain.

"Cl—Chloe,"

She'd stuttered. It could be a genuine mistake made in her flustered state, but Aileen knew it instinctively, like she had that day six years ago.

Her sister was hiding something from her.

And though Aileen wanted to believe the truth would be as benign once more, her doubts rankled her.

I'm sorry, mom, she thought sadly, I can't even keep this little promise.

Deciding there was nothing she could do about the whole mess but worry herself to death, Aileen turned her thoughts instead to the Test with a somewhat alarming focus.

A small part of her wondered how she could possibly set the matter of her sister aside so easily, but it was uncomfortably smothered. A feeling of suffocating wrongness seemed to flood her the longer she thought about Clara.

Instead, her mind roamed her path along the maze.

It was pretty evident now that it hadn't been an evolving maze. Aileen allowed herself a moment of relief over the fact that she hadn't psyched herself out over nothing.

How had they keyed the entrance to specific competitors, though? She had been able to send the injured girl out of the maze through what Aileen had assumed was an exit meant for her. How had that worked?

Perhaps it was an extension of the illusion magic? Only people keyed in could find the sensory clues that led them to their particular exit? That would make a great deal of sense— competitors would be able to find nearer exits, too, if they were clever enough.

Somewhere between analyzing her performance and wondering just how she was going to explain to her Uncle that not only had a girl been gravely injured against the rules set in place during the Test, but that Aileen had also seen her sister in a state that suggested disturbing memory alterations, or worse, an intentional runaway, Aileen fell asleep.

Her dreams were strange, even for her: she was trapped in a dark hole, grappling around sightlessly until her hands caught another's. Except it had gone limp, cold, and she froze, too late this time. Sticky blood clung to her hands, and Aileen whipped around—

And suddenly she could see. A girl with her auburn hair, her sea-foam green eyes stood over Aileen, watching her kindly. Except when their eyes met, her mouth twisted into a sneer.

"You were alive? Why were you alive? Can't you see I'm doing well? Did you have to interfere!?"

"No, I— Clara. Listen," Aileen stumbled over her words, "What are you— why are you—?"

But the girl had vanished, and in her place stood her mum and dad, and their gazes didn't even start off as kind. They stared at her in shock, somehow disappointed, and that hurt harder than anything else could've.

"...Am I doing something wrong?" Aileen said, voice cracking, "I'm sorry. I don't— I don't understand. Mum, Dad. Speak to me! Please!"

They said nothing before they, too, vanished.

Aileen opened her eyes, blinking back tears that had everything to do with the harsh light filling the room she was in, and nothing at all to do with her own goddamn imagination.

She straightened from the slouch she had adopted while she slept, head swaying from side to side. God, that must have looked so weird. She hoped none of the examiners had come in and seen her.

Aileen cast an eye about the room, taking in all the changes since she'd slept. Almost all the seats were now taken by other children, lounging with varying levels of energy. Good. That meant all, or at least most of them, had already come out.

Her results were drawing closer.

Aileen shook off her nerves by tackling another problem that gave her even bigger jitters:Her sister, hiding by a side pillar and stealing glances at her in what had to be the most conspicuous way possible.

A small smile flashed across Aileen's face before she could help it. In this, at least, she hadn't changed at all.

She rose slowly, stretching a bit to shake off any lingering heaviness, blinking twice to sharpen her vision, and then taking a deep breath.

I will get my answers, this time, Aileen thought firmly.

And hopefully my sister back, too, a smaller, subdued part of her whispered. It was funny how much hope so fragmented a part could pack though. Almost painful.

Ready, or as ready as she'd ever be, anyway. Aileen walked towards Clara with quiet steps, noting silently the moment the other girl noticed her approach.

Aileen's eyes flashed, daring her to run.

Clara raised her chin in silent response, though what that was meant to display Aileen couldn't fathom.

"So," said Aileen, a hint of something amused leaking through her voice as she placed a hand on the pillar.

"So." Clara repeated, and Aileen thought she spotted a mirrored amusement in her voice, too, but it was gone before she could be sure. "You wanted to talk?"

Aileen inclined her head, wondering how best to phrase her questions.

"Is this about the Incendio?" Clara said softly. Hesitantly. Aileen's eyes narrowed. "I really didn't mean to, you know. I'm sorry. What did Healer Lois say?"

"She said it's fine," Aileen tilted her head, "I wanted to talk about something else, actually."

"Ah, I'm glad," Clara said, still bearing that regretful expression that rubbed Aileen the wrong way. She wasn't sure why— it should come as a relief that whatever Clara had been up to all these years, she hadn't lost her empathy, her consideration for others. Her responsibility.

But somehow, it rang untrue. Fake.

Aileen looked into her eyes and she knew, deep down, that this was all a ruse, an excuse to avoid talking about what really mattered.

The topic that actually troubled Clara, more than the thought that her awry Incendio could have maimed her sister.

Aileen wanted to know what it was.

"Chloe," Aileen tasted the name on her tongue, "Do you have a last name to go with it?"

"I do, actually." Clara's unimpressed stare told her her sarcasm hadn't gone unnoticed, "It's Chloe Shafiq—"

"Ah, Clara! There you are!" A heavily built girl with long black braids strode over, perfect white teeth shining in stark contrast to her dark skin.

Aileen could see a muscle jump in Clara's face even as she turned to face the girl with a forced smile.

"Hi, Kamalie," her eyes flicked to Aileen, "give us a minute, will you?"

Kamalie took in Aileen, eyes widening, "You- you both look so alike. Oh my gosh. I never thought I'd get to see a real life doppelganger! You haven't been hiding a twin from me, have you, Clara?"

Aileen had to give it to her: Clara didn't even grimace, "No, of course not." She laughed, "It is a bit fascinating for sure, though."

Kamalie shook her head with a laugh. "You guys should try an ancestry potion. You never know, and all that. This is really cool. Aight, I'll leave you to your talking then. Just wanted to wish you luck, dear, I hear the results will be out in ten minutes or so."

Clara nodded, and Aileen saw the first sign of sincere emotion in her. It flickered in her eyes, pumped a tension into her shoulders, ran her thumb over her clenched fist in a soothing motion.

Determination. Desperation.

It was the same look Aileen caught on her face every time she passed by a mirror.

If Aileen hadn't been sure of her twin's identity before, this would have sealed it.

"—you too," Clara was saying, Kamalie waving at her as she left the two of them in relative seclusion once more.

Her twin's gaze snapped back to her.

"Care to tell me why you lied about your name?" Aileen asked conversationally.

"Not really. I don't owe you anything." Clara shrugged. "Look, it's my private business, so kindly stop pushing it. I noticed your incredulity earlier. I don't know what exactly you're expecting of me, but I can't give it to you. So please stop—"

Aileen clapped her hands once together, loud and firm, and Clara stopped, eyes slightly wide. It was a simple gesture, but Aileen knew how easily it could disarm— Clara did too, for it was their father who taught it to them.

"I can tell when you're lying. Keeping at it would fool the average person, I think, but I—" Aileen took a deep breath and pushed on, "I know you, Clara. Why are you… why are you pretending otherwise?" She let some of her hurt, her confusion bleed into her expression.

It worked. For a moment, Aileen could see the conflict hashing between Clara's facade and her truth, could feel the latter gaining the upper hand—

But then a sharp voice cut through the words that had almost made it to Clara's tongue, words that had the power to change their lives irrevocably.

And yet, could Aileen begrudge it? Of course she couldn't— what that voice announced in a deep, booming voice, was just as important.

"Line up near the door, please. You'll be escorted to the grounds for the Declaration of Results shortly."

Clara seized it for what it was: an opportunity. Aileen blinked and she was gone, among the first in line, and Aileen knew that in the few seconds wasted in her shock, it was already too late to corner her for a while.

Quite a line had built up in between them already.

She shut her eyes and wondered for a mad second if this was the future her mother had envisioned for them.

Was that why her parents had looked so disappointed in her dream? Was this somehow Aileen's fault?

"You-you're alive?" The panic in those two simple words. The frustrated incredulity.

Aileen wasn't able to discard the doubt as easily as she had hoped. Clara had clearly been living the life she wanted, before Aileen had come in and started to tear it apart with her questioning. And yet… leaving the matter here would make her feel like a different kind of monster.

How could she? This was her sister, her twin, the last of her living family besides her Uncle.

And if— if she wanted to pursue Chalcioecus as Aileen had, then to see her everyday at school for the next six years, pretending to not know her even as she walked the same self-destructive path as Aileen did… it wasn't to be borne.

A pale boy in his late teens led them out to the vast, sprawling grounds around the center. Aileen and her fellow competitors filed in even as other groups arrived from their own test sites, a chaotic mix of emotions so thick in the air it was hard to breathe.

They faced a sleek black podium, hands clammy and voices lodged somewhere in between their lips and hearts, waiting in barely concealed patience.

The moment felt sacred. Aileen had never identified with anyone as she did with her fellow companions then, eyes somehow wide and wishing to close in the same breath, ears desperate to hear and shun all sounds in the same go.

Their Fate was suspended by a thin string, held up by the scroll currently held in one of the examiner's hands as she slowly approached the podium.

The Lady adjusted her mike, smiling warmly at the assembled children, "Welcome, my aspiring sisters, to the Declaration of Results." She smiled a bit wryly, "I know you're all eager to know our judgment, but first, a word from Examiner Markov."

A collective breath was released. Part exasperation, part relief, Aileen thought with some amusement.

For aspiring warriors, they were all proving fairly cowardly.

Another Examiner, presumably Markov, stepped forward. "Hello." Her voice was brusque, and her bearing did most of the talking for her. Tall, lean, and sharply-toned, but that itself was not so unusual as to command attention. She had a certain charm, a charisma that was evident in her slight smile, her glittering eyes. It set Aileen at ease even as her heart beat in anticipation.

"I am the Head of Regiment Six in Chalcioecus," Markov began, her smile widening ever so slightly, "But I too, remember being an eager aspirant once."

Head of Regiment Six? That would've required some serious skill. Chalcioecus had six regiments, Aileen recalled, in place of the Houses at Durmstrang or Hogwarts. But unlike those schools, when Markov said she was the Head, she did not mean she was the Head Teacher— that responsibility, in truth, was given to the most talented student in the Regiment. Kind of like the position of Head Girl, but more limited and expansive in the same breadth, with five other Heads also sharing a similar position to you. She assumed the other Heads would be giving their own speeches at different centers.

"I was brought up in a poor family, but what we lacked in resources was swiftly made up for with the care my parents showered on me. They hadn't been able to attend school— no money, no opportunity, as the saying in our town went, but they wanted all that they couldn't have for me. A chance. A dream. A choice." Markov's eyes surveyed them all, "And I had them all. It wasn't easy— no passion really is, but it was worth it. Every second of hard work was worth it." Her smile bloomed fully, taking Aileen's breath away. That was the pride Aileen aspired for herself, she thought. That was what she wanted— to set her eyes on her goal and let nothing hold her back. To be able to smile in victory.

Suddenly, the path before her was startlingly clear. If Aileen didn't make it this time, she would try again. Convince her Uncle somehow, take a gap year, train harder, smarter, and try over and over until she reaches where she wants to be.

Because this dream, this path was Aileen's to choose, hers to take.

She'd be damned if she let her worries hold herself back.

"—seen foul play," Markov said, a grim line replacing her smile. Aileen's attention snapped back to her.

"Elfie Desmond, on the stage, please." Her eyes flashed, harsh and unforgiving, "While I'm asking nicely."

A round-faced girl with neat blonde hair stepped to the side, drawing the crowd's piercing focus. She lifted her chin in a show of confidence, but Aileen saw the slight tremble in her hands. She hadn't expected to be called out.

The girl strode up the stage, and it was evident that she was warring between what position to take. Would it be ignorance, or guilt? Confidence, or fear?

What a fool. Nothing could or would save her now— there was a reason no one dared to break rules laid out by Chalcioecus. What you gave, so you got.

Aileen's gaze did not waver. As the person who had helped the victim get out safely, she felt it was her responsibility to see the incident till the end.

"I'll give you exactly one chance to confess," Markov said quietly, though her voice carried all the same. "The whole truth, if you would. Your last chance to save even a sliver of your honor."

Elfie's lower lip trembled before she pursed it in a futile attempt to disguise her fear.

"I—" her voice shook, so she took a deep breath and started again. "I'm assuming this refers to my blind encounter with a girl in the maze? The one where I shot a cutting hex? I'm sorry to have caused any harm. The enchantments were messing with my head and I had panicked, I'm so sorry. I didn't intend for any serious damage to be done."

Aileen almost felt a sliver of sympathy for her. She knew how badly those enchantments confused the mind. Almost.

"Your use of a panicked cutting hex is not the issue, Miss Desmond, although it only reflects poorly on you and would have certainly deducted marks from your candidature were you still in the running." Markov's voice was hard, and Elfie's shoulders slumped in the confirmation, "It is what you did afterwards that apalls us."

Aileen frowned.

"You stepped into your opponent's pool of blood. You had even made note of how sizable it was for such a short time passed." Markov laughed, and it was a sharp, cruel thing, "You knew it could be fatal for her, and yet when you realized you didn't know any healing magic to fix the mess you'd made, you fled the scene."

"You had not maimed her yet, Elfie Desmond, but you chose a coward's path and risked a girl's life. With the last of her consciousness, she tried to inform you of her condition, and you pretended not to hear it. Even with her life saved, she shall forever hold a scar to bear witness to your selfishness." Markov's eyes bored like drills into the shaking blonde, "Scholar, Warrior, Maiden. Those are the three facets of Athena, the three torches of Athenia. You had the knowledge of the Scholar— you made this decision not in ignorance, but you lacked the courage and camaraderie of a Warrior, the heart for others that a Maiden must always hold. You have failed yourself, caused harm to another, and disappointed us all. You disgrace the name of all aspiring Athenai."

Markov turned to regard her fully, "You should thank your lucky stars you hadn't made this mistake while you were one yourself. The Athenai believe in an eye for an eye, and you would not be let off as easily as you will be now." Elfie's shoulders sagged in something like relief, "As it is, your punishment will be to have the mark of the Unfit in your School Applications."

There was a collective gasp. To have been branded Unfit by any School of Magic, forgetting even the vast influence Chalcioecus held, was one of the most bleak starts to a future. You were only branded as such for immoral acts deemed unacceptable by a School, and it was not a word thrown around lightly. To be declared Unfit meant you were thought unworthy of admission in any School of Magic. While a School could still take you in if it wanted to, the fact of the matter was no one did. Who wanted a stain on their reputation?

Aileen didn't know how she felt about the punishment, but she didn't have time to think of it because as Elfie left the stage, head hung low and blinking back tears, Markov said, "We have another name to bring to notice today. Aileen Ross, would you kindly come on stage."

Her blood froze. What could they possibly be calling her for? Surely it couldn't be because of her involvement in getting the girl medical attention. Anybody in her place would have done the same. Had she, too, broken some unspoken rule?

Her heart leaping into her throat, she walked to the podium in slow, steady steps. She would show no nervousness when she had not knowingly done any wrong.

As she moved closer to Markov, she saw the lines of frustration that had not quite gone away after dealing with Elfie. Or perhaps it was due to her. Either way, up close, the Head seemed far more human.

"The First Test, as you all know, is monitored but not directly open to Examiners once begun. While we can control several variables, change paths when meeting certain requirements and create or lessen conflict, we cannot directly interfere while the Test is still on. Usually, the harsh rules in place for the cruel or misled are enough. We have not had a similar instance for 36 years. 36 years of testing so many batches of students across so many centers, and no aspirant has dared to step out of line. But I digress. The point is, as the girl Elfie left lay bleeding on the ground, we altered the paths of several other girls to stumble upon her. Some of them genuinely missed her, while others left without an awareness of her injuries, merely thinking her stunned and ignoring her. Others… Well, others knew she was injured, and we can only hope we do the right thing by giving them the benefit of doubt when they say they didn't know the extent of her injuries. Their behavior, of course, has been taken into account during the markings."

A sick feeling pooled in Aileen's gut. From the way Markov said it, several girls had come across the injured girl like Aileen had, and done… nothing.

What has the world come to?

"The girl's savior, and I daresay, the reason she has not undergone significant physical harm, is Aileen Ross." Markov flashed her another full smile, though Aileen could still see some remnant strain in her eyes, "Just when we were considering halting the Test altogether to check on her, Miss Ross came across the girl." Aileen briefly wondered at how awkward it must be to continue referring to the victim as "the girl" until she realized they were probably respecting her wish for privacy.

"Miss Ross initially tripped over her, and mind you, had no reason to think she was mortally injured. After all, she had just knocked two other competitors unconscious herself." Aileen felt a faint blush creep over her face and fought it off. "Upon further inspection, however, even as she was blindfolded she came to realize the depth of the injury and the consequences. Miss Ross tried her hand at medical treatment and even bettered the situation, shrinking the wound and bandaging the injured. No one would have looked down on her, had she walked away then. She had already spent a good ten minutes by the injured's side."

Aileen's eyebrows rose. Had she? She supposed the Healing had taken more out of her than she had expected given the nature of the wound, not to mention the time she must have spent in shock, feeling for the wound that had caused that much blood loss.

There was an odd silence as Markov went on, "But Miss Ross instead took charge of delivering the young girl out of the maze, substantially slowing her own operation time and even giving away her position to another competitor. Even when engaged in a duel, her thoughts revolved around the other candidate's safety, and she wasted precious seconds and took a dangerous spell in order to send the injured girl, her competition, out of the maze first."

An uproarious applause greeted Aileen's ears. She could scarcely believe the words herself. To hear Markov tell it, she was some kind of selfless hero who'd risked her future to help out an injured competitor. How could she explain that it wasn't a great thing she'd done, just a basic human deed anyone her place should've? How could she say that when she flung that girl away from her and out into the world beyond the maze, she had been thinking about how the girl gave her position away as much as she'd been concerned about her wellbeing?

She couldn't, so Aileen smiled uncomfortably and accepted the gratitude for what it was. Markov seemed to read it in her eyes, though, and her smile lessened just a bit in a way that indicated she wanted to say something and then thought better of it.

Markov set her sights on the scroll held casually in the hands of the other Examiner, then looked out at the crowd.

"I've no doubt she would've made the list even if she hadn't helped the girl," Markov said, and Aileen felt her throat hitch, "But as it is, I'm proud to declare that Aileen Ross has cleared the First Test with flying colors. I fully expect to see her at Chalcioecus this year, and am proud that she will be in my Regiment if so."

The applause doubled, and Aileen blinked back the sudden moisture in her eyes.

"Congratulations," Markov said, her fisted left hand coming against her right palm in welcome. Aileen reciprocated.

"Thank you," she croaked out as Markov handed her a certificate evidencing her clearance.

After that, the ceremony passed in a blur. Aileen barely registered the names being called to the stage, wondering at how close she was to the school of her dreams.

There was one name that struck out, though.

"Miss Clara Shafiq," the Examiner with the scroll called out, and Clara walked casual, serene steps to the podium.

Clara curtseyed, raising more than a few eyebrows, though mostly in curiosity. Aileen frowned. It was a flawless, elegant dip made with the ease of practice, and not one any physical coach would bother teaching. Where had she picked that up from? She could think of few places it would come in use, almost all in High Society.

Come to think of it, hadn't she heard the name Shafiq before? In the newspapers, perhaps, though she couldn't recall the details. Or perhaps it had been a book? In passing?

Aileen swore she'd look into it, if she wasn't able to wring the answer from Clara, anyway. For whatever reason, she wasn't as confident as she'd liked regarding her ability to corner her sister. What were you supposed to do when a person knew you knew they were lying to you but went on lying unrepentantly?

Clara took her certificate with a pleased smile, nodded to the Examiner, and made her way away from the stage.

Aileen intercepted her, but before she could say anything, the girl held up a hand.

She walked a few feet away from the group of kids glowing with pleasure at their results, and Aileen followed her.

Then, she murmured a privacy charm.

Aileen took this as her que to speak.

"Congratulations, Clara." She offered her a smile, "I was thinking—"

"Stop." Clara pinched the bridge of her nose, "Just stop, Ross." She spat her last name, what should have been their shared last name, like it was poison.

"Wh—" Aileen started, surprised and indignant.

"No. I don't want to hear what you have to say. Listen," She looked into her eyes at last, "leave me alone. We don't know each other. You aren't a part of my life, so stop pushing this. Don't make me report you!"

Aileen stared at her for a moment, uncomprehending.

Don't make me report you!

What in Minerva's name was that supposed to mean?

What was she—?

It hit her like a ton of bricks, like the wind had been knocked out of her and left her reeling.

A report. To the Aurors, the only Aurors that would care about a certain Aileen Ross.

British Aurors.

British Aurors, who were still looking for the 'traitor' Ross family. Who had only recently brokered a treaty regarding extraditions with Magical Greece.

Clara was threatening to give away her location. To turn in her, and by association, though she didn't know that, her Uncle.

The sickening feeling from earlier was back in full force, and Aileen fought against the bile rising in her throat.

Years. Aileen had spent years thinking of the moment she might find her twin, perhaps not wholly well but still hers, a tenuous but real string connecting them despite the time they'd lived apart. Her chest had ached with everything she wanted to tell her but couldn't say, and she'd made foolish promises into the twilight that she'd share them all with her someday, and they'd laugh about it before falling into an embrace.

Never in her wildest dreams would Aileen have imagined this was what would come of their meeting. Lies upon lies, and warnings that finally snapped into a dirty, disgusting threat.

Aileen took a deep breath before she could do something unhelpful like shake the girl profusely. Or scream.

"You're Clara Ross," she said forcefully, "No amount of pretty lying is going to get you out of that truth. You think you can call the Aurors and not get caught yourself? Think again."

"I have my ways," Clara said, unconcerned, "I wouldn't suggest it if it would bother me, Ross."

Aileen laughed, "You've turned into a right piece of work, you know that?"

Clara's eyes swept over her, amusement tempered by annoyance, "Says the traitor's daughter."

"He was your father too, you—!"

Someone cleared their throat uncomfortably.

Aileen whipped around to see another girl grimace in apology before gesturing at the line everyone was forming to leave the Center Grounds.

Clara quickly undid the privacy charm and addressed her, "We're coming, sorry."

The girl nodded and went off to join the back of the line.

Aileen stared at her twin for a minute, Clara holding her gaze evenly.

Then they walked to the line, not a word more spoken.

Clara had a dangerous threat on the table, and while Aileen didn't know if she had the cold strength to execute it, it wasn't a risk she was willing to take with her Uncle on the line.

And how would she take her revenge on Tom Riddle while rotting in a cell in Britain?

No, instead, she had to wait for the right opportunity, for the moment when she had the upper hand. The moment that tipped the scales in her favor.

If there was anything her admission prep had taught her, it was patience, Aileen reflected as she burrowed her head into her waiting Uncle's shoulder.

Her head lifted and rested on his shoulder, and Aileen watched with curious eyes as Clara shook her hands warmly with a well-dressed man with a cutting British accent.

"You okay?" Her Uncle asked gently. Aileen realized she must be concerning him.

She pulled away and flashed him a smile.

"Yeah. I made it, Uncle! Examiner Markov even said she'd be proud to have me in her Regiment!"

Her Uncle smiled back, though it was a bit uncertain. Aileen took it, because it was better than she had hoped for.

At least one thing is going nicely, some part of her tried to console her, he's trying to be understanding.

Yeah, and I'd appreciate it if I didn't have to worry about him being thrown in jail, another part of her returned, scathing.

Shut up, Aileen suggested to both of them.

Unsurprisingly, neither of them were inclined to listen.

She led her Uncle out of the Center quickly, shielding Clara from his view all the way. That was a can of worms she did not want opened with him.

They walked in silence for a time, as was usual practice. Her Uncle often believed she needed to let off energy after any "happening" event, whatever that was supposed to mean, and he preferred to take his own time in processing most of her actions and coming up with a suitable response. While he may not be a natural at parenting, this was one of the most wonderful parts of being raised by him: he cared. He cared about the effect his words had, he cared if she was hurt by his words or actions, and he cared enough to constantly try and improve.

Aileen could ask for little else.

"Hey, sunshine!" A familiar voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Ravi?" Aileen spotted the source in surprise, "Ravi! How are you? How was your Test? Did you make it? Who am I kidding, of course you made it—!"

"Whoa there, breathe," Ravi reached forward and pulled her in a hug, and she could feel his chest heave with a suppressed chuckle, "Your faith in me is flattering, I must say."

Aileen withdrew with an unimpressed glare. He grinned, and the pride in his eyes gave her the confirmation she was looking for.

"I can walk her home if you'd like, Mr. Yuwen," Ravi said to her Uncle.

Gotham Yuwen inclined his head, "If that's what the two of you wish." His eyes swept to Aileen, "Congratulations, dear."

A pause. "Your mother would have been proud."

A peaceful warmth flooded her, and Aileen closed her eyes without her conscious input.

When she finally opened them, shining with soft gratitude, she squeezed his arm.

"Thank you."

He nodded, smiling slightly, and Aileen let go of his hand.

Then, he apparated away.

"Oh Ravi," Said Aileen after a minute of silence, "I have so much to tell you."

Ravi ruffled her hair, "Remember the Oath we swear automatically when we enter the Center? You can't reveal or discuss anything regarding the Test process with someone who doesn't already know it."

Aileen nudged him, "I know that."

"I know you know. Still, a reminder never hurts, right?"

She frowned, "You're acting weird."

"So are you," he shot back.

She didn't know how he had noticed. Aileen thought she'd been doing fairly well at hiding her messy, emotional state.

Suddenly, Ravi ducked his head, "Sorry. Just… there's a part of the Test I don't want to talk about."

Aileen nodded, and didn't press further. It was an unspoken rule in their friendship: They could come to the other for help no matter what grave they might have dug for themselves, but there were some motivations, some ends they kept to themselves and expected to be respected.

"No problem." Aileen sighed, "To be honest, I'm not the most comfortable talking about this either, but I feel like a second perspective, especially one less… involved, would do me some good."

"I'm listening," Ravi said quietly.

Aileen took a shuddering breath, and then told him about Clara. Sweet, innocent Clara of six who now looked her in the eye as she lied without flinching. Caring, considerate Clara who made secret birthday preparations for her that now threatened to expose her identity and location to the British Ministry of Magic if Aileen didn't cut off ties with her for good.

She told him, and she watched his expression shift from his 'I can't believe that happened' face to 'Oh God what do I say?'

It was almost enough to make her smile.

"Can I hug you again?" He asked after a beat of silence.

Aileen choked on a laugh. A hug sounded nice, though she was too embarrassed to admit it.

He must have read the answer in her eyes, because he wrapped her in a comforting embrace.

"I just don't understand," Aileen murmured, "Why would she say that? Why would she…?"

"The Shafiqs are part of the Sacred 28," Ravi said, and Aileen's mind whirled as she finally placed the connection. "Those families are important to British politics. Maybe she…" he hesitated, "Maybe, since she was raised by them, she actually buys into the propaganda against her family? You were young while you remained with your parents, Aily, no matter how much you like to deny it. Memories can easily be twisted if everyone around you suggests that you remember wrong. It wouldn't even take much to…"

"...Change how she saw us," Aileen said slowly, her voice a breath away from horror, "Not when they had so much time at their disposal."

"Right. And although we don't know if it's true, if it is, the real question to be asked is why? Why would they expend that effort in turning her against you? Why would the Shafiqs take in a halfblood at all?"

Aileen nodded, those questions having occurred to her as well.

"I think the question is less why? and more of a who? There are always excuses people can give for their heinous actions, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's some petty reason. But someone put a great deal of energy into playing a long game that may or may not have panned out. A game we don't even know the parameters or stakes for. Somehow, I doubt it's the Shafiqs."

Ravi frowned, "I suppose. What are we going to do now?"

Aileen smiled slightly at the 'we'. It was good to know she wasn't alone in this.

"For now? We wait and see, Ravi." Aileen cast her eyes at the setting sun, "There's still the Second Test, and then the School world beyond it." She turned back to him, "I have a feeling I'll be seeing my sister at Chalcioecus."

"Fire runs in the blood, apparently," Ravi said with a slight smile.

"That it does," Aileen said, face darkening at the thought of whoever had thought to play with her life like this, "That it does."

They walked the rest of the way in silence, each absorbed in their own thoughts. When Aileen's home came into sight, though, it really sunk in.

She was coming back from the First Test. Victorious.

Aileen had been called to the stage first, because she'd done good and made an impression. Her Uncle— her kind, caring Uncle who was starting to come around, had said her mother would be proud.

"We did it, Ravi," Aileen said softly. "Only one more Test, now."

Ravi tilted his head, and then ruined the solemn moment by saying, "The Theory Test. I'm surprised you're not shuddering, Aily."

She punched him in the arm, "You did well enough in the Physical, Ravi. I didn't see you shuddering. Unless you were having nervous breakdowns in the bathroom or something."

"You caught me," Ravi said, eyes wide in mock alarm, "However will I endure the shame!"

Aileen rolled her eyes, before stopping to survey him. "Go get some rest, Ravi. You've got dark circles under your eyes from all those all-nighters you pulled in prep for the First. Your most difficult leg is over. You have the Theory Test in the bag."

His eyes softened, the tension and worry she had spotted right away bleeding out and relieving him.

"You always know what to say, Aily."

"Only because I know you so well," Aileen sniffed, "You should ask the kid down the street what he thinks of my attempts at cheering him up."

Ravi burst into laughter, "Oh please! You only tried once!"

"And he ran away crying. You can see why I might not have been tempted to try again."

Ravi shook his head in amusement.

Aileen placed her hands on his shoulders and gave them a squeeze, smiling a bit when she noticed they were almost level in height now. Ravi was short for boys his age, though.

"I mean it, though. Don't stress on the Test anymore, Ravi. You've done all the preparation you possibly could." Aileen had complete faith in his ability to ace the Theory Test. Other than the usual practice hours, every moment she spent stretching her body to its limit out of her own passion, she knew Ravi spent exercising his mind, always trying to learn new things. He would knock the Theory Test out of the park.

Aileen, on the other hand, needed to start revising at the earliest. She was a good student, but some concepts only came with a perseverance she seldom gave.

As if reading her mind, Ravi nodded towards her house, "I'm sure you'd like to start revising, but don't forget to rest today like you told me to. Whatever you may say, I'm sure the Test was taxing on you, too. Get some sleep. Nuh-uh," he added when Aileen opened her mouth to protest, "You know you'll function better once you've slept on things, too."

Aileen swallowed, throat dry. There was sense to his words, despite every nerve in her mind burning with the conflicting desires of analyzing every second she'd spent with Clara and going over the Test prep material.

She assured him that she would follow his advice, and the two of them parted ways.

The door swung open when Aileen placed a hand on it, recognizing her magical signature. Inside, her Uncle was dozing on the couch in a way that told Aileen he'd been waiting for her. The table had been laid with a delightful spread of her favorite greek salad, blueberries sprinkled with a personal touch, accompanied by spinach soup. While others might find the food odd, it would have been Aileen's dearest choice. Her mother had often made it for her, when they'd still been together. When she'd still been alive.

It must have come from her side of the family, because Uncle Yuwen's food tastes exactly like hers.

Aileen looked back at the man, touched, before hurrying and washing up so that she could have the meal. By the time she came out of her room in a fresh change of clothes, hair washed and wrapped up in a towel, her Uncle had woken and set two plates on the table. She tackled him in a hug from behind.

They ate with companionable chatter, with him sharing amusing experiences he'd had with his clients as a linguist. One involving a goblin who only spoke mermese nearly sent Aileen chortling.

All in all, it was a lovely dinner, and when Aileen finally settled into bed, she almost forgot about the worries plaguing her. Almost.

She sighed and closed her eyes, promising herself that tomorrow would be better. She'd make it better.

In that, at least, she succeeded.

The next morning, Aileen awoke at four and poured over her theory notes until her Uncle had to all but drag her to breakfast at eight. She consumed the food rapidly and went back to her studies, determined to grasp all those concepts that had eluded her before.

It came easier than she had expected. Perhaps she had a poor estimation of her own abilities, in Ravi's genius company as she often was, or perhaps the events of the past few days had instilled a renewed determination in her. Either way, she didn't let up in her fervor until she was absolutely confident she could tackle anything the Test would throw at her.

The Theory Test was always conducted an exact week after the Physical, starting exactly at eight and lasting three hours with no bathroom breaks. No reading time was provided— apparently, the time frame was supposed to be enough.

As Aileen looked over the paper with curiosity, a new kind of thrill running through her, she couldn't help but agree.

Her hands flew in rhythm with the Time over the answer sheet, a satisfied smile tugging at her lips whenever she knew something particularly well. In fact, she even had the time to picture Ravi's expression as he wrote his own answers. It'd be sharp, eyes narrowed with intensity at the paper, and you would be able to see the countless neurons in his brain firing away. While nowhere so wrapped up, Aileen had to say she quite enjoyed the Second Test herself. It seemed Theory could be fun when you actually put your mind to it, although she'd always prefer the Physical.

Two weeks later, the Merit list was out on the Town Square, and she and Ravi raced to the unassuming blackboard set on the main wall, pushing through the crowd to get a good look.

All around them, Aileen could hear a jumbling mix of elated shrieks, which made up for their lack of numbers in their excitement, and disappointed mutters interspersed with occasional heartbroken sobs. As she finally reached close enough to the board to read, Aileen scanned for the Chalcioecus results. There were, after all, a great other number of schools that had fateful news to share as well.

All the papers were spelled to prevent wear and tear and any kind of alteration, keyed to the official in charge of posting them here in the first place such that only he could remove them. The deliberate spell-work gave them an almost warded feel, slightly shimmering whenever seen from the corner of the eye.

Aileen' eyes caught on the life-changing paper.

Her eyes roved over it, and she didn't dare breathe until she spotted her name.

#4 Aileen Ross

Her eyes widened.

Rank 4.

She'd made it.

Her eyes flitted to the paper for Adraskenakia, the all-boys school, almost automatically.

Ravi's name was first on the list.

Aileen blinked, and suddenly there was the widest smile on her face, and she was sure she looked ridiculous but it didn't matter because—

Ravi pulled her into a fierce hug, and the crowd pushed around them and one of them jostled her arm roughly, but it didn't matter because—

Her eyes met Ravi's, and she recognized the burning in his eyes for what it was: elation, sharpened with a steely determination.

They'd reached the stairway to their dreams, and now there was only the climb left.

More people pressed around them, and they broke out of their trance and pushed back, making their way through from the throng of eager students and grim-faced parents.

Aileen didn't trust herself to speak, so she squeezed his hand in congratulations. Ravi seemed to be going through something similar, because he reciprocated.

They flashed each other a warm smile and went their ways.

Aileen conveyed the news to her Uncle as she stepped into her home, and if her voice was far more chipper than she'd ever allowed it be, the man didn't comment. Instead, he spoke a string of words that Aileen didn't quite register, just noting that they pertained to some sort of congratulations and wished her well. She thanked him and rushed to her room.

Aileen had never had anything alcoholic, but she thought no experience of getting high could compare to this. The world blurring around the edges, every existential worry fallen to the wayside; Everything felt so good.

That night, sleep came late. And yet when it did, Aileen could swear it was the best in the world.

The week of holidays she had left flew by quickly after that. Aileen ran through them routinely, always making sure to give her exercise its due time. The only real change was that she spent at least half an hour more than she used to with Uncle Yuwen. He embraced the change, taking the opportunity to etch every line of her face into his memory, apparently. Aileen caught him staring with an acute look of longing when he thought she wasn't looking, as though he was yearning to catch her before she chose a path too rash.

She wondered how to tell him that he wasn't going to lose his niece because of his decision, since he'd have lost her whether or not she went to Chalcioecus. Aileen would stop at nothing to get back at Riddle, and it was not a thing you came back from.

But as the proclamation would only make matters worse, Aileen kept quiet and smiled at him unreservedly.

Days stumbled in a race to outdo each other in how fast they could compress their twenty-four hours, and before she knew it Aileen had said a heartfelt goodbye to her Uncle and Ravi. The former had hugged her, a rare thing, and the latter had simply shot her a sad smile.

I'll miss you, she'd thought. Both of you.

Outwardly, she just asked them to take care of themselves. Then, as Raj led Ravi to his respective train, Aileen looked back at him and caught his eye.

Something pushed her to go back and say what she needed to. Who knew when Aileen would see him again? She took a few steps in his direction, and Ravi slowed. Raj gave them a look that mixed impatience and amusement. Her Uncle pulled back.

"Don't die yet," she told him, "I'll want to boast about my adventures when I return."

"As if," Ravi shot back, lips quirking. They both knew she was anything but a braggart. "You too, though. Whatever it is that you want to accomplish, Aily? You…" he swallowed, "You're strong enough to get it. Alive."

The words hit her like a gust of stinging hot air, and Aileen barely kept from reeling. He knew. Or he had guesses, at least, as to the nature of her goal. Of course he had. She'd given him enough of the pieces.

And he thought she could make it.

Alive. Safe.

She didn't know if she believed it, but his faith in her was flattering.

"Thank you," Aileen said quietly.

Then, she peeked behind him and noted the steam pouring out of his train's whistle as it rang. He followed her gaze, "I better get going."

"Yeah, same here. I just… take care, Ravi." She gave his hand one last squeeze, their silent, unspoken method of communication.

You'll be okay, it said.

He squeezed it back.

Of course.

Aileen left, and didn't look back.