The Butterfly Effect

{-Serafina-}

Ryobel hadn’t been “home” to her for quite a while—if it had ever really been a “home” to begin with. She knew full well the kinds of things they said about her behind her back—or, especially in the case of Kathrine, to her face. Serafina had long since stopped trying to prove them wrong. It wouldn’t have changed anything.

For a little while, she’d simply endured the rumors. But… then it turned into aggression. That’s how Serafina returned home unscathed, and two mad parents demanded retribution for their child’s broken nose.

“I’ve talked with my cousins,” her father said in a gruff voice. “They’re willing to let you stay with them for as long as you need them to.”

“Alright.” Serafina didn’t feel anything at the idea; this had long been something they’ve considered.

“We were thinking you could leave tomorrow morning. Would that be alright?”

“It’s not like I have any ties here except for the two of you. No one’s going to miss me if I’m not here.”

Her father seemed more upset by the fact than she was. He solemnly nodded. “I suppose you’re right. Go on and pack your things, then. I’ll join you up until the halfway point, then they should be able to bring you the rest of the way.”

…

When someone thought of an organization like Adidell—one that feared magic and wanted to get rid of it—they thought of the northern and western regions of Seothia. But Lord Raisul’s opinions meshed well with their own, so they could often find refuge in Tobiah territory; from there, they seeped into the outer regions of Jaden territory, though the magic users there kept them from going too far. And it seemed like one of their unofficial meeting places was in the same town she moved to, after she left Ryobel.

At first, Serafina had only intended on getting the things her relatives needed and heading back “home.” She couldn’t do a lot here; her piano was left at the inn in Ryobel, and she had no place to help out. Perhaps that’s why she often lingered in the streets—waiting for something interesting to happen.

She hadn’t really expected to find something interesting. But then she heard a few strangers whisper about something devious-sounding and, driven by a desire to leave the mundane, trailed after them.

And what she learned had made sure her life never became “mundane” again.

…

She didn’t really know what her plan was. But several years after leaving, her parents wanted her to return to Ryobel and perform at the inn for a special occasion. She’d heard a rumor that Adidell might be working on something there. It was, honestly, the only reason she accepted.

And if she’d had any doubts about Adidell’s involvement in this part of Seothia, those were gone by the end of her trip.

Perhaps her only wish was that any of her old “friends” had gotten wrapped up in it, so she had the grounds to pay back all of the “good” they did for her.

“Can I trust you with this?” she asked, handing the practical-stranger a stack of papers. It was all the evidence she needed in order to convince the king of Adidell’s presence.

She’d met them on her journey here, and thought that she could trust them. She felt sure of it, in fact, when they nodded and said, “I won’t stop until justice is done.”

She learned, later, that she was lucky those papers were the only thing she trusted them with. They’d been working with Adidell the whole time—if she’d told them just a little bit more, she would’ve put herself at risk. It made her consider who she told, and how much she told them. She couldn’t allow herself to get caught, not when her mission was so important.

…

After a while, she realized… telling the king wasn’t going to save anyone. The army would react with force, sparking Adidell to take up arms themselves. Not to mention, she didn’t trust her name would stay anonymous if she turned in any information. So, she simply resolved to do what she could from the shadows… whatever needed to be done, no matter what she had to do to do it.

Serafina felt that, when it came to Adidell, no news reaching the average Seothian was good news. The fewer people were affected—the fewer who knew about their plans—the better.

Just as she was trying to determine what she could do, she heard about it. The Homunculus Project.

After that, it was just a matter of doing whatever she could to slow them down. She took care of prominent researchers for the project, even if she could never reach Mei; she took what she thought they might need… and, when she heard they’d succeeded, she planned a heist.

“What do you think this means for our mission?” she heard a guard casually ask his companion. Neither had a clue that she was there.

“You’re new here, aren’t you? Just because Shui’s had a ‘child’ doesn’t mean that it’s going to amount to anything. For all we know all she did was have a kid. They haven’t run any tests to know exactly how useful it’ll be,” the other guard replied.

“But if it is useful,” the first guard said, “what do you think will happen next?”

“Well, unless it grows quickly, nothing—not immediately. It’s just a ‘baby’ now. We’re probably going to have to wait at least ten, maybe even fifteen, years before we’re able to do anything. And that’s assuming we don’t run into any other setbacks along the way.”

Serafina slowly slipped past them, praying she wouldn’t get caught. All she knew was that she wasn’t going to let them get that far. She was ending this all here and now.

Of course, after all the stealth, and once she’d gotten to where the homunculus was being kept… “ending it” took on a different meaning.

She’d expected to find something just as unsavory, just as unpleasant, as the goals it was meant to achieve. But she stood there, staring at the child, not the least bit different than any other baby.

She started to hear shouting and clicks—someone must’ve noticed her. So she spared no time in hiding away her dagger, picking up the baby, and gently assuring her, “It’s alright. I’ll keep them from being able to use you.”

…

She named the baby Beika, then went as far from Adidell as she possibly could. It was how, ultimately, Serafina and the child wound up in Ilystalos. There, she decided to settle down, establishing an inn and continuing her parents’ work. She was almost surprised at how well they hid in plain sight.

Serafina had been taking care of a few things in the inn when Beika ran down the stairs.

In truth, Serafina was partially afraid something bad had happened, until she saw the look on the little girl’s face. With a smile, then, she asked, “What’s got you so excited?”

“Look!” Beika puffed out her chest in pride. “I got dressed all by myself!”

“That’s wonderful. Why don’t you have a seat right there and wait for me, alright? I’m almost done. Then we can head out.”

Beika enthusiastically nodded, practically stumbling over herself in her attempt to get into the seat as soon as possible. She looked up at Serafina with bright, excited eyes, perhaps not-so-patiently waiting for her cue to move.

Serafina couldn’t help but smile, and glanced over to the few patrons that were still in the inn. “I’m going to set the key right here,” she called. “Can I trust you to lock the place up when you leave?”

The familiar patron laughed. “Of course! What do you think I am, one of the unreliable sorts?”

“Don’t think of getting even a drop more of beer before you go. I’ll know if anything’s missing.”

“I know better than to mess with you!”

“Good.”

With one more check around the counter, she turned her attention back to Beika. “Are you ready to go?”

Beika was up in a heartbeat. “Yeah! Let’s go, let’s go!” She immediately took Serafina’s hand and began guiding her out of the inn and into the streets of Ilystalos.

When Serafina first moved here, she’d been adverse to interacting with the community; she couldn’t be sure about who all these people and their motives were, after all. But she found rather quickly that always dismissing the opportunities only brought more unwanted attention onto herself. So now, at the end of every week, she’d take Beika to the center of town. The nearby church told stories from their Commandments on that day, which had an odd effect of bringing most of the citizens together.

She let go of Beika’s hand as soon as they were in sight of the large fountain. Beika rushed to join the other children, while Serafina sat with the other adults—having a perfect view of her daughter, of course, in case anything happened.

And that was when she heard whispers from the people beside her. They had a baby with them, and their mumblings seemed to be about him; what they should do, if they should give him to the church even if his Seothian blood might prevent him from using magic.

Serafina found herself compelled by a strange force—one, perhaps, of maternal care, as she had felt when seeing Beika—and asked, “Do you need someone to look after him?”

The father seemed surprised at first, but nodded. He kept his voice down. “We don’t have what it takes to take care of him, but we want him to have a good home…”

“Have you heard of the Lost Lamp Inn? It’s more or less just down the street from here. I see a lot of people come in and out of the place, and I consider myself a rather good judge of character. I could… take care of him for you, until you and I can agree on a safe family to leave him with. And of course you can visit.”

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“Let’s say I’m helping out neighbors. Here, I can show you both there once the kids are done with their story. We can introduce him to my daughter, too—she’s right over there, see?”

They seemed to have some kind of reservation—as anyone would—but nodded in unison.

“What’s his name?” Sera then prompted.

His mother looked down at the baby, gave a small nod, and answered, “Titham.”