The Morning After

Meagan awoke to the jingle of bells, little peals of golden laughter as she sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes. They were gone by the time she realized they had been there. She shrugged, changed from her pajamas, walked to her mirror, and gazed at her new appearance.
The Gate had copied her clothing almost exactly, giving her the same leather vest and gauntlets with her cotton shirt, except that instead of tanned brown, her clothes were now black. Meagan sighed and thought back to her talk with her mother the night before. Could she change into Valkyrie essence at the moment, on a whim? She closed her eyes, feeling her heartbeat. It was so much faster than a Valkyrie's, she knew, and so much more rhythmical. And around her heartbeat, there were strings of emotions and feelings that Valkyries did not have, wisps and strands of things Valkyries could not do. These were purely Victuran- for some reason, she couldn’t feel the Gate at all, though she didn’t worry too much about it. It was almost a relief. In any case, if she wished to switch essences, she’d have to unravel the threads, weave the wisps, and slow down her heart at the same time.
Meagan took a deep breath and began her attempt, but stopped as she felt a deep pain in her chest. She gasped and instantly retracted from the unconscious place where she could sense her heartbeat, her emotions, and glanced back at the mirror. Nothing had changed.
It's going to take a lot of practice. You can't do it just like that, Jemma chided. Not yet, anyway. Ah, it's too bad there are so few Victura left. Otherwise you could have had a proper teacher to show you the ropes.
“Oh, big deal,” Meagan said aloud.
The smell of bacon drifted towards her. Cracking a smile, Meagan made her way to the kitchen and greeted her mother good morning.
“Good morning,” Mrs. Pronozuk replied. “You've slept quite a bit. It's almost time for lunch.”
“Oh.” Meagan sat at the table, and Mrs. Pronozuk placed a plate of hot food in front of her. “What are we doing soon?”
“Just relaxing. Take a break from all this risking-your-neck. Talk with Jenni a bit.”
“Where is Jenni, anyway?”
“In her room.”
“Ah.”
Meagan ate quickly, dropped the dishes into the sink, and then bounded upstairs. “Jenni!” she called.
“Yes?” Her sister, fully dressed, emerged from the bathroom. Her hair was wet, water forming puddles on her shoulders.
“Um... you should probably dry your hair.”
“It's fine,” Jenni dismissed.
“It's really wet, Jenni.”
“I said it's fine, Meagan.”
“All right. Are you okay?”
“Why wouldn't I be?” Jenni frowned. “You're acting strangely.”
“I am not!”
“Never mind,” Jenni vindicated. “Come on- I want to go to Merlin’s for some candy.”
“But what about your breakfast?”
“I already ate.”
Their mother was waiting for them downstairs. “Jenni, you'll catch a cold,” she said when she saw her daughter's wet head.
“I'll be fine, Mom.”
“Are you su-”
“I'll be fine!” Jenni snapped.
“Okay, okay,” Mrs. Pronozuk backed down. “Where are you two going?”
“Merlin’s.”
“Are they even open after the siege?”
“I dunno, we can always check…” Jenni pleaded, “Please please please let me check!”
Meagan put her hand into her pocket, feeling the bag of Peppy Melts within. The Gate had saved those for her. How nice. She wasn't going to eat those, not unless there was a huge emergency on hand and she really needed that “extra punch”- after all, she didn't know what the Gate did to candy.

Jenni walked with Meagan down the cobbled street. People milled about in groups; no one was alone. They shot Meagan strange looks, glancing away when she made eye contact. Meagan amused herself by trying to guess what they were wondering. Isn’t that the Pronozuk girl? Where’s she been? What happened to her wings and eyes? Since when was black her color? And her sister! Wasn’t she missing?
They made it to Merlin’s Magical Mints and found it open, Morgan actually at the counter, wiping it down with a black cloth. “I was surprised you’d be open so soon after the siege,” Meagan said after she greeted Morgan.
“I was too.” Her tone was bitter, and she started scrubbing at the counter harder.
“Why’d you open?” Meagan asked as Jenni started to peruse the shelves full of candies.
“It’s what he would’ve wanted, and anyway, I needed something to do. I can’t spend all day planning a funeral.” She scowled. “I need to figure out what to do with the midget too.”
“What do you mean?” Meagan asked, a lump forming in her throat. Plan a funeral… surely Merlin and Noah weren’t…
Morgan looked up. “Oh. No one’s told you, have they? Noah got killed last night, and Merlin too… I got stabbed, and Merlin performed a switching spell.” Noticing Meagan’s blank look, she explained, “It’s an old form of magic Merlin picked up on his travels. Basically, he transferred all my injuries to himself, effectively switching places. Arthur tried to heal him, but he was too hurt… and Noah was already gone.” Her eyes were dry, but her voice was rasping. Meagan could tell she’d cried a lot in the morning and wasn’t wasting tears on a second fit of sobs.
“Did that happen while he was asking about-“
“My jewelry, yes.” Morgan stopped wiping the counter and tossed the rag over her shoulder. Meagan saw that she’d polished the mosaic of the twelve-pointed star and the gate that she now recognized as Ebbony’s Gate. Morgan must have been working on it for a while; the mosaic almost glowed with how brilliantly the colors stood out.
“Where did he get that mosaic?” she asked, pointing to it. The star meant nothing to her, but it did strike pangs in her every time she looked at it. The Gate, though, was ever-important.
“How should I know?”
“But, about Noah. What’s going to happen to him?”
“I asked around. He doesn’t have any family around here, only a tenant, Donny.”
“I know him.”
“Yes, well, I asked Donny if Noah had a will or not, and he said he didn’t know. Donny didn’t have any plans for a funeral, so I said I’d have a joint funeral- Merlin and Noah together, and Donny thought that was fine. I would’ve been planning for it but I couldn’t face the prospect of doing it, so I opened up shop instead.”
“I’m sorry.” They were simple words, but Meagan meant them.
“Don’t be.” Morgan rubbed her hands and winced, as if in pain.
“Is something wrong?”
“Rheumatism,” Morgan replied. “The spell switched his injuries with mine. I have a couple of scars of his, and I seem to have gotten Merlin’s rheumatism. It’s not that big of a deal. He did a lot for me, and I’m not going to complain.”
Jenni reappeared behind Meagan holding a box of chocolate. “Is this okay? Can we buy it?”
“Sure.” Meagan didn’t even look at the candy before giving her permission. Instead, she watched Morgan continually rub her hands to ease the ache and wondered how many others were affected because, somehow, someone had opened the Gate for only a sliver of a second- enough to let Malum and Mariale out. She sighed, dropping her eyes, and glanced down at her own hands- smooth, with rounded nails. The last of the nail polish that she had applied so long ago for the party was nearly off. Meagan couldn’t believe those hands were hers. Surely they should have been rougher, after everything she’d been through?
Morgan gave a little gasp and stopped rubbing her hands. “It stopped. What did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything,” Meagan shrugged.
“My hands glowed, and then they stopped hurting. It was magic, but it wasn’t me. Was it you?”
“Can’t have been. I don’t know how to use magic.”
“Then who-?” Morgan stopped as the bell over the door tinkled, announcing the arrival of another customer. “Welcome to Merlin’s Magical Mints,” she called, and then resumed talking to Meagan. “Who could it have been? Most people know when they use magic. It wasn’t me, it wasn’t you. Could it have been Jenni?”
“No,” Jenni said bluntly. “It was Meagan. I saw her do it.”
“It wasn’t me! I don’t even know any words- that violates one of the laws.”
“Yes, it was you.” Jenni frowned. “You didn’t see it. You whispered something, and then your eyes flashed weird- the color got a little brighter- and then Morgan’s hands stopped.”
The customer neared the counter. She was a tall, brown-haired woman with green eyes and a simple blue dress. At the sight of her, Morgan froze stiff but didn’t say anything. The customer, unaware of the disturbance she was unwittingly causing, looked at the boxes of candy. “Le Fay chocolates… Pendragon Puffs… Magical Mints…” A faint smile touched her lips. “Morgan, Arthur, Merlin- in candied form.” She picked out a box of each and turned, finally noticing that everyone’s attention was directed at her. “Oh, I’m sorry, was I interrupting something?”
Morgan’s jaw dropped. “Vivien?”
The woman nodded. “So where is Merlin? Napping in the back again, I suppose?”
Morgan closed her mouth and trembled a bit. Vivien either didn’t see it or didn’t react. Morgan looked Vivien straight in the eye and said, “He’s away.”
“Where? I’ve missed him so much, you know. Oh, now I recognize you! Morgan! My, you’ve grown. How long has it been?”
“Try fourteen years on for size,” Morgan replied. “I can’t believe I remember what you look like, you-“ She stopped, as if she was rethinking something she was going to say, bit her tongue, and then continued, “He’s on vacation. I told him to take it- needed sea air for his health. Doctor’s orders.”
“When will he be back?”
“I don’t know.”
Meagan was surprised Morgan could lie through her teeth like that while still staring Vivien in the eye.
“Well, I guess that’s too bad. Do you think I could give him a ca-“
“Get out.”
Vivien appeared startled at the command. “Pardon?”
“Get out. Now.” Morgan turned her back on her. “Keep those. Think of them as his last gifts to you. He really wanted you to try his candy.”
Vivien stood there for a moment, as if ready to say something in response, then snorted and stomped out of the store. Meagan, feeling that Morgan’s mood was getting a bit tempestuous, hastily paid and hurried Jenni out. As they walked home, Meagan realized that she couldn’t feel the familiar beat of the Gate or those around her.
Strange, Jemma said, their connection already strained. Maybe it’s no longer yours.
Meagan pondered this, thinking that it would be a wonderful relief and, at the same time, a terrible disappointment.