*** Kiara ***

  Kiara awoke in a very comfortable bed. Much better than what she was used to. She was ravenous. It felt like she hadn’t eaten anything in days, but even more pressing was her thirst. Her throat felt hoarse and dry. A carafe with water stood beside her bed, and a single spoon and a piece of cloth.

  She gulped down all the water in an instant. Then she took a second look around. She was in her parents' bedroom. Her mother was lying on the other side of the bed. Her brow furrowed in sadness and worry. Her hand stretched out in her direction.

  “Mum,” she whispered. Then, once more, a little louder, “Mum”

  Her eyes snapped open. It took her a moment to grasp the situation, but before Kiara could react, she was pressed firmly against her mother's chest.

  “Oh, Kiara, are you alright? How are you feeling? I am never letting you out of my sight again. I am so sorry I wasn’t there for you.” Tears were streaming down her face.

  “I am so happy you are back,” she sobbed. Her hug was threatening to suffocate her.

  “Sorry, I am sooo sorry. I was stupid. I shouldn’t have done that. I am sorry I made you worry.” Kiara started sobbing. Her mother had been nothing but kind to her. She had been born into this family and had found a second home, and in return, she had done nothing but lie and pretend to be someone she was not.

  “It’s not your fault. I should never have left you alone with my mother. She is an evil manipulative bitch sometimes. I thought she changed. I really did. I am so sorry.” Her mother sobbed.

  “No, it wasn’t her fault. I mean it, I just wanted to be helpful and to be finally useful again.”

  “You don’t have to defend her. You’re just a kid. She is the adult, she should have known better! I told her not to mess with my children. She messed up my life enough. She has no right to mess with yours.” More sobbing followed, and the hug grew even tighter.

  “Mum, I cannot breathe!” Kiara squeezed out with her last breath.

  “Oh, sorry,” her mother immediately released her and held her at an arm's length. Looking concerned at her.

  “I don’t know what Grandmother Magdalena did in the past, but this time she is truly not to blame. She did not even know what I was attempting, and before talking about that, I think I have something to confess to you and Sarok.” She said meekly.

  Maya was just about to reiterate that it was not her fault, but something in Kiara’s eyes made her halt.

  “I am so sorry. You have been a wonderful mom, and, and, and I am so sorry.” Her sobbing overwhelmed her, and she cried.

  It took Maya a while to calm her daughter down. It was the middle of the night. Sarok snored loudly on the kitchen bench. Another cup of water and some hot porridge finally calmed her down enough to speak again.

  “It wasn’t Magdalena's fault.” She said nervously. She feared being rejected and being castaway. In her mind already making plans on how she could survive alone on the streets of Northwind.

  “I, I died.” A blank expression from his father and one full of concern, but also slightly confused, from her mother was all the reaction she got.

  “Honey, you are alright, everything will be fine,” Maya said.

  “No, no, you don’t understand. I don’t mean right now. I died about five years ago on another planet, probably another universe altogether. We, my girlfriend and I, were hiking and there was this mud slide, the ground beneath our feet was suddenly gone, and we fell and we died. Something strange happened. There was a light, and I think I was pulled along by mistake. I am so sorry! I am an impostor!” she started crying again. It had weighted on her conscience for the all her life and suddenly the damn broke and she was a sobbing mess once more.

  Sarok took a moment to think and then pulled his daughter to his chest and gave her a hug. He did not let go.

  “Whatever happened in the past, whatever will happen in the future, you are my daughter, Kiara, and I am proud of you and I am proud to be your father.” He whispered gently into her ear. Her mother joined their hug. Kiara was tired and exhausted. She fell asleep in her parents' arms.

  ***Maya***

  “So let me get this straight. You died in your past life and got reborn as my daughter and are now looking for your girlfriend, but don’t know anything about her?” The whole situation had thrown me somewhat into a loop.

  It explained a lot, which was the only reason I was even considering it. Her daughter had always been a fast learner and oddly well-behaved. As I look over to my husband, I am shocked. He looks calm, deep in thought, and as if his suspicions had been confirmed.

  “He knew! Or at least he had suspected something.” The thought frustrated her. Had she been so absent-minded in recent times? How had something so major slipped by her?

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Kiara nodded and swallowed a big spoonful of porridge.

  “Or at least I want to do that sometime in the future. It’s not like I can just go and search for her,” Kiara admitted, “but I would like to meet her again sometime.”

  “Sounds reasonable,” I said, still struggling with the whole situation.

  “What else have you been keeping from us, and what the hells happened two days ago?” I asked half accusingly. I felt hurt, I will admit it.

  Kiara told us of her old life, of her training with my mother, and her recent work with Sia. She apologized a hundred times.

  I took my time to think the situation through before replying.

  “Ok, I understand why you did what you did. However, you were foolish beyond belief. It’s only thanks to luck and my paranoid mother, you are even alive right now. Do you understand that? You might believe yourself an adult, but until you show the wisdom to prove it, you have lost the right to make any major decisions for yourself.” My voice was stern and surprisingly cold, but I wanted to drive the message home.

  “Things around here will change. You will accompany your dad and me one day a week each and learn what we can teach you. You will prepare dinner two times a week, and washing all the dishes will be part of your chores for now. For the next two weeks, you are forbidden to perform any magic or activate any of your skills. I don’t even want you to look at them! Do you understand me?”

  “Yes, mum,” came a meek reply from Kiara.

  She believed her daughter. The last two days had been draining. The worry about her, the guilt about leaving her alone. She felt tired to the bone, and it seemed she needed to both apologize and scold her mother.

  Her daughter had formed her own magic core naturally. Something which only happened in tales of old. She did not share the same keen sense for politics and the plays of power, but her daughter had just painted a target on her back.

  “Go up to your room and sleep! We will continue our discussion tomorrow.” Even to my own ears, my voice sounded tired.

  After Kiara left the room, I gave my husband a pointed look.

  “You knew?” I said, feeling a little bit betrayed.

  “No, not really,” he said and took me into his arms. “When your mother became interested in Kiara so early on, and she never misbehaved, I became suspicious, but nothing more. She always seemed like a good kid, and I thought if she had something to tell, she would come forward when the time was right. I still think she is a good kid,” he whispered.

  “You know what this means for her future?” I asked worriedly.

  “Yes, my dear. She won’t have an easy life, but neither did you. We will make sure she is ready for whatever lies ahead. It’s all we can do as her parents. Nothing has changed.”

  I held my husband tight and wept. He was right, but the stress was too much for me.

  “Mother, I have not forgiven you, but I want you to be present for what we are to discuss next. You will have your part to play, and I want your opinion on how to move forward. Kiara, close your eyes and concentrate. Deep inside your chest, there should be a knot. Focus on it and tell me what you see.”

  Her daughter did as instructed.

  *** Kiara ***

  It was a strange feeling. Her chest hurt when she aimed her focus inward. Her Mana source felt rough, uneven, and cracked. In the middle, she found a small white sphere. It reacted to her will, and she suddenly knew the following information. It was as if it had suddenly appeared in her mind.

  She read the information out loud. No one said anything, so she opened her eyes. Her mother’s eyes were furrowed, and her face was tense. Her father smiled proudly. Magdalena mimicked her mother, but seemed to be slightly disappointed.

  “Well, if that is not my amazing daughter,” her father yelled, laughing, and picked her up and threw her in the air and caught her again.

  I couldn’t help but reciprocate his smile.

  My mother and grandmother shared a meaningful look.

  “What is going on? I know nearly nothing about Skills and what all that means. Can someone enlighten me?” I asked.

  “Well, it’s difficult. On the one hand, your skills are amazing and of a high Tier. Enough to make you a target. On the other hand, you only have four skill Slots, which is far less than the average 7 one can expect with a high-tier Magic crystal. I mean, a lot of people don’t have high-tier crystals. Your father doesn’t, but he still has 5 slots. [Mana Resistance] is not really of much use under normal circumstances. You most likely gained it by exposing yourself to too much Mana when you formed your core.” Maya explained.

  “What worries me the most is that you have no defensive or movement skills. I myself only had the skill [Nimble Hands] from countless hours of drawing glyphs after glyphs. Over time, I merged other skills into it, and now it is called [Quick Movement] and sits at the expert tier or fourth tier. However, I already had [Nimble Hands] and two open slots I could use to select skills specifically to merge into it. You don’t have any, and there is little possibility of merging your skills. Mana Sense and Mana Manipulation might be possible.”

  I listened carefully to what my mother was saying. The picture she painted for me looked grim. It looked like I was destined to be a glass cannon, with limited offensive skills.

  “Fuck me sideways. Why couldn’t I just wait a little bit longer?” she lamented to herself.

  Magdalena raised a hand. Maya nodded.

  “To be frank with you, with this skillset, you will be best advised to stay inside towns and cities and depend on guards when traveling between them. You can become a weaver or an enchanter, not that I would recommend it, but in both professions, you will face an uphill battle because you are missing essential skills and will have to find ways to work around those. Alchemy might also be an option, but you are missing even more of the basics.”

  Tears began to well in my eyes. The dreams I had come up with seemed to go up in smoke before my very eyes.

  Sarok noticed and forced me to face him.

  “Look at me, my little angel. Don’t be disheartened and listen too closely to those two. They were both born with a silver spoon in their mouth, and even your mother had to fight for her dreams. It’s not important if the way ahead is paved and frequently traveled, or rocky and steep. What’s important is how we tackle the obstacles we are all destined to face sooner or later.” He smiled encouragingly.

  I tried to push back the tears and show him a smile. My mother tried to smile at me as well, but it looked strained.