The Butterfly Effect

{-Imena-}

She tried to have empathy for the people she helped, sometimes. But she was never good at it. Just as she was about to find something nice about them, she remembered something: mortals are directly the cause of their own problems. She’d proven more than a few times that they could know full well what they’d do—how it would hurt others—yet did it anyway.

Serafina was not a special case—she was actually no different than the rest. Her questions were thoughtful, but they all had to acknowledge it was an act. She knew full well what was going on, how she tied into it, and exactly what it meant for her family.

“If you were the one to hide Beika, then you know what the Homunculus Project is meant to do,” Imena pointed out. “They’re a weapon—something Adidell can and will use to further their plans. To kill everyone and everything that even vaguely possesses magic.”

“Beika shouldn’t be a part of this.” It was getting hard to tell whether Serafina was still keeping up an act, or was genuinely in denial about it. “Mei should have H100 by now. She doesn’t need Beika.”

“They… defected a couple of years ago,” Enebish mumbled. “Adidell can’t get a hold of them anymore. They’re running out of time to find them, and they don’t have the resources necessary to try again. Since they’re not about to give up, Beika is the next best option.”

“Do you really think they’re going to try to make a scene out of this?” Serafina asked. It wasn’t clear how she felt about what Enebish had said, exactly. “They usually know better than to draw attention to themselves.”

“They’re desperate,” Imena said. “And mortals will do all sorts of things when they’re desperate.”

Serafina was quiet for a moment. “How did you say you found me, again?”

“A network of Fos and Messengers,” was Imena’s simple answer. “A kind of network that Adidell could easily replicate. If anyone has found out who you are, where you are, and what you’re involved in, they definitely know just as much. There’s no escaping from the fact. You’re just going to be wasting precious time if you try.”

“Is there anything I can do to stop them?”

“You, specifically? Probably not—I’d expect they’ve come prepared for anything you alone could do. Us, as a group? I have a couple of things that can help. But I can’t do anything if it ends up being too late.”

“And what do you want to do?”

“I’m going to bring her somewhere safe, somewhere Adidell can’t find her—at least for a little while. All we need is to hide the targets on your back, and you can think of a more permanent solution on your own. She’s the person I’m supposed to be helping, so I’m going to make sure she’s helped.”

Serafina gestured to Enebish. “Who’s to say this friend of yours isn’t going to get through all this and turn us both in?”

“I’ve worked with them before,” Imena answered. “You can trust them.”

Enebish nodded. “All I want to do is help, just like Imena. Trust me, Adidell’s hurt my family, too—and I’m doing all I can to make sure they don’t get away with it.”

Serafina really looked like she might’ve argued a little bit more, but… she seemed to come to terms with reality. Good, they probably didn’t have a lot of time left to do anything—who knew how far along Adidell was in figuring out their location.

She stood up with a small nod. “Let’s go talk to Beika and Titham. I’d like you to bring them both with you, if you don’t mind. I don’t want Adidell to have any more leverage over me than they already do when they show up.”

Imena took that to mean, “I care about them both and don’t want either to get hurt.” Why Serafina didn’t just say that, though, was beyond Imena. But… she still couldn’t argue with that logic, so personal doubts aside, she felt she had no place to disagree.

“I’ll get them both to come over here,” Serafina mumbled when they left the room. “You two stay by the counter. Prepare whatever else you need to be ready to leave as soon as we’ve talked to them.” She left without another word.

“I think this is going well,” Enebish offered thoughtfully.

Imena couldn’t find herself getting as comfortable. “I’ll be happy when we’re out of here.”

“Worried about your ‘siblings?’”

Though at first a little surprised, she nodded. She’d admitted that much while they were waiting for Beika to come back with Serafina. The Fos—even those who, before, had barely been alone—were all over the place in an effort to save as many people as possible, after all. “I want to finish this quickly for everyone’s sake. But I… can’t say I’m against doing it quicker. Then I could meet up with Aither before he has to go alone. He’s already had a successful solo mission by now, but…”

“You just don’t want to see him hurt.”

“Yeah.”

She’d seen too many lights go out. Even if she couldn’t claim to be close to them… she didn’t want to see any more of her “siblings” face the same fate.

Serafina came back then, Beika and Titham following behind her. They looked nervous, but Imena guessed they hadn’t really been told anything; they probably didn’t even know whether or not they should be worried.

“Beika’s already met them,” Serafina was saying as she got closer, “but these two are Enebish and Imena. I’m going to need both of you to listen to them, alright?”

“Mom, did something else happen..?” Beika asked cautiously. “You’d wanted them to leave before. You’re not really making sense…”

Titham nodded. “I don’t recognize these two. Aren’t they strangers..? You told us never to listen to strangers…”

“This is something a little different,” Serafina tried in a half-explanation. “It’s true that I wanted them to leave at first, but I talked with them. I realized that they’re not the problem—in fact, they’re here to help.”

Beika’s frown deepened. “Help… how..?”

“We’re going to take you both on a little trip, alright?” Enebish gave them both a kind smile. They were better at that kind of thing than Imena was; she might’ve dealt with kids before, but she’d never been good at comforting them.

“And I’m going to have to stay here,” Serafina continued. “I promise, though, things will be alright so long as you listen to them. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Then can you tell us why we have to go..?” Titham asked cautiously.

“Someone needs to stay here and manage things at the inn. I can trust you with these two—they’ll make sure that you’re safe. But I can’t go with you, at least not right now.”

“That doesn’t say anything about why.”

“That’s not something I can say right now, but I promise it’ll all make sense eventually. I’ll explain it all once I’m done here, or perhaps these two could explain it for me. Just now that this is time-sensitive. I’d like all of you to be out of here and somewhere safe as soon as possible.”

Beika shuffled and, in a near whisper, questioned, “And why aren’t we safe here..?”

“Like she said, that can be saved for later,” Imena tried. “As long as you’re with us, there’s nothing to worry about. And trust me, I don’t make those kinds of empty promises.”

Enebish brightly offered, “This doesn’t have to be super serious, either! Once we walk around a little bit, there’s a story I want to tell you. I promise it’s not going to be as scary once we get going, alright?”

Beika and Titham both looked at their mother. Serafina avoided making eye contact with them.

“Go on and gather a few of your things,” she said. “Exactly like you’d bring when we go and visit your grandparents. It’ll be best if you leave in less than thirty minutes.” She didn’t really give them the option of questioning her; she ushered them to the other side of the table and up the stairs where Imena assumed their rooms were.

When she seemed satisfied that they weren’t going to try to come back down, she walked back to Enebish and Imena.

“Do you know what food serves as good rations?” she asked. “If Adidell is going to be looking for Beika, you should avoid drawing attention to yourselves—even if just one of you goes to buy something.”

Enebish nodded. “I’ve traveled a lot over the past few years, I have a good idea of what we’d need. I bought a bit earlier that probably would last two people a day or two, but I didn’t really expect Beika to have a sibling…”

“Alright. That door leads to the kitchen—everything’s well-labeled, you should have no trouble finding what you need. Wait there and when Beika and Titham come back I’ll show you all to the back door. After that, it’s just up to you to keep them safe.”

Imena wasn’t quite satisfied with that being the end of the conversation and asked, “What are you going to do?”

“As it seems you’ve forgotten, I’ve still got a business to run,” was Serafina’s simple answer. “The regulars are probably already about to ask questions. The more normal and under control I can make things look, the better. Now get going—we don’t have all day.”