Envy

*Two Weeks Later*

“Do you need anything else, Ms Selena?” Aqua asked, rubbing his face with a towel as he headed back to work. Selena shook her head. “I’m good. Thanks for the tea.” Aqua put his sunhat on and returned harvesting the fruit trees. While it was nothing like the industrial farms in their world, Aqua’s greenhouse and backyard were shocking large for an ordinary individual living in a town. Though, considering that this was a world of magic and a structure like the Great Library existed in the middle of town, a mini farm in some kid’s backyard wasn’t that much of an anomaly. Impressive or not, Aqua worked hard and still had a modest lifestyle, so the enterprise wasn’t as profitable as it looked. The fact that he was insistent on doing everything himself didn’t help.

Selena shook her head and blew on the hot beverage he’d been nice enough to give to her. ‘Shouldn't judge the poor kid so harshly...he’s taking care of us at his own expense. But you’re a legal adult! For God’s sake, grow a backbone! You're such a pushover!’ Regardless, she had a job of her own to do. Lying in the shade, surrounded by books, she was doing her best to figure out this world.

She’d only intended to read the book detailing the history between Aetheron and the elves of Filavel, but had quickly run into the problem of her utter ignorance about Nyxphiria. The result was her needing to cross-reference things and falling into side-trails trying to comprehend things like geography, topography, climate, laws, and biodiversity. It was a drawn-out process and she’d barely progressed five pages into the initial book! Fortunately, Madoka regularly studying at the library meant Selena could use her as a go-between to pick up books and advice. While they both helped Aqua with his business, Selena’s distinct lack of hands meant she couldn’t do much until it was time to deliver the produce and, with Madoka attending magic lessons regularly and Aqua busy, she had nothing but time on her paws.

‘Hmm, from what I’m seeing, the elven view of humans' borders on wanting a freakin’ ethnic cleansing! There’re no illustrations of them but, based on the descriptions, these creatures look exactly like the beautiful elves from the stories in our world... but underneath they’re extremely prejudiced and racist against humans.’ Selena pored over the history book and three accompanying texts. ‘In a nutshell, they think humans are dirty, evil, corrupt and weak, and have unmatched magical and physical prowess and immortality. I have yet to get to the historical records of their interactions with this kingdom, but good god! If they’re that hateful and so powerful, that doesn’t bode well...’

“Hey Aqua!” she called to the nearby gardener. “Some questions about...those creatures. You can just answer yes or no. I’m trying to understand.” Turning, Aqua grimaced but nodded in agreement. “Do the elves have a history of war crimes against humans?”

“Yes.”

“Have they engaged in crimes or abuses against humans who weren’t hurting them? Have they targeted and harmed humans for being human when there was no active war at the time?”

“Oh, yes.” Aqua said, his eyes communicating clear shock at being asked such a foolish question.

“Have elves ever engaged in slavery? Both in general, and specifically enslaving humans.”

“No, but that isn’t exactly something to praise them for.” Aqua said, contemplating how to explain it. “I don’t want to oversimplify or paint any race as being a monolith, but elves are...rather haughty.” He jumped at his own slip of the tongue. “Ahem, I mean, they consider themselves to be the most superior of all beings that aren’t directly divine. They never engaged in the practice of slavery, but it’s because they could never tolerate having “lesser” races around, especially humans.  I can’t overstate how visceral and strong their hate for humanity is.” Aqua looked apologetic. “I know how that sounds and I’m not claiming that humans, much less Aetheron, are exactly innocent. We’ve been active participants and done some pretty messed up things, too. The difference is humans hate them for being so cruel to us. Maybe there have been a few kind ones but, overall, there hasn’t been a single notable non-aggressive...elf...in this world’s recorded history. We don’t like them because they’ve never been anything but an active threat to us. They hate us just because we exist and live next door, even when we hadn’t done anything to provoke them yet. And they already had a history of attacking humans and invading human kingdoms unprovoked even before Aetheron was established.”

“Wow, that’s bad.” Selena stared in shock. ‘No wonder no one wants to talk about elves! Maybe things are a bit sensationalized, but I don’t blame anyone for hating the elves back. I mean, what do you do with someone who thinks you have no right to exist?’ “How is this country even still standing? If elves are so powerful and are immortal, then why haven’t they wiped everything out?”

Aqua turned back to his work as he continued talking. “Well, just because they are strong doesn't mean they are all powerful. There are plenty of strong warriors and magicians who can handle them. An...elf...of average ability will still be weaker than a well-trained soldier or adventurer from any other race or nation. Their sense of worth is overinflated but they’re still powerful enough to make it an eternal on-and-off fight with no clear winners.It’s no real threat to us humans if we aren’t in the army or living in the borderlands.”

“Thanks” Selena sighed. ‘It seems like we’ll be safe here. But, seriously, how do the people here act like it’s normal? I guess all I can say is that things are different here, but that doesn’t make it make any more sense. I really can’t wait until we get back home.’

“Have you figured anything out about ways to return to your world?” Aqua asked, attempting to make polite conversation as Selena continued skimming her books. “No...I couldn’t find anything in the library research system. I asked Elfrida for help, and she promised to do the research for us, but she’s found nothing. I was hoping that the jerk who got us trapped here was just being overdramatic. I mean, you’d think a world full of magic would mean it would be easy to pop between dimensions, right? But it really does seem like the idea of other worlds and interdimensional travel is stuck in the realm of legends and hypothetical speculation here, just like in our world.”

“Are you going to give up trying to get back?” “Oh, hell no! I want my human body and opposable thumbs back!” Selena immediately answered. “Being in our world is best for my daughter. But I can only do so much. For now, I’m going to focus my research on understanding this world and figuring out what we need to do to stay alive here.” She stretched her stiff limbs. “Are you sure I can’t help you?” Aqua shook his head.

“Sorry, Ms Selena, but it’s best that I pick the apples myself.” He smiled cheekily “The customer won’t want teeth marks in their produce, and I don’t want you to hurt the trees. You can help me make the deliveries once I’m done here. Though it would be nice if I had another bucket. What in the world do these people plan on doing with this many apples...?”

“Here you go, Mr Aqua!” a metal pail floated down from the heavens. “Oh perfect!” Aqua casually grabbed the bucket. After a split-second of realization, he looked up in shock “Ahhhhh! Ma-Chan!” Aqua screamed and fell over backwards. Madoka laughed as she slowly descended from the sky. “You gave me a heart attack!” Aqua gasped with tears in his eyes.

“He-he! Sorry, Mr Aqua! I couldn’t resist! But I’ll help you finish picking the apples now that I’m back.” She touched down lightly on the grass. “I can float up and pick the ones at the top that are ripe, so they don’t go to waste.” Aqua stood up and brushed the grass off his clothes. “That would be a great apology for you nearly killing me” he said wryly. “But, seriously, having a mage to help around the place is lifesaver! My ability to harvest and deliver has gone up now that I have you two to help! Maybe I'll need to bribe you guys to stay with me forever, because the payoff is great! ”

Madoka smiled happily and laughed as Selena got to her feet and padded over to great her. “How were your lessons? You remembered to thank Elfrida, right?” She fussed as she rubbed against her daughter’s legs. The animal instincts were too strong to ignore, and she couldn’t exactly hug and love on her daughter the way she used to. Madoka knelt and scratched behind her mother’s ears. “I had a great time! We were discussing the use of magical seals and symbols in magecraft. Elfrida-Chan said that the basics normally take about a year, but we should be done with them by the end of the month and then she’ll start teaching me some healing spells! And yes, I did thank her at the end like always. I do know my manners, mama.”

The light in her daughter’s eyes was evident. The expected meltdown had never happened. Instead, Madoka seemed to be thriving and happy. Not even the lack of modern utilities or strange food seemed to overly bother her! Selena was still speechless at how her daughter had effortlessly slipped into a new life overnight. ‘This is the most relaxed and happy I’ve seen her since she was a toddler! Like, I can’t remember the last time she didn’t need any extra support from me!’ It was a moment that simultaneously made her feel both proud and guilty. She was happy her daughter was thriving but, at the same time, it was frustrating to her how easily Madoka was acclimating. If things continued this way, Madoka would never want to return to their world. While she was used to Madoka operating on her own logic, this was one of the few times that Selena found herself utterly unable to understand her even when trying to hypothetically put herself in the girl’s shoes. The idea of being happy and okay with this new world and situation completely incomprehensible to Selena. She didn’t hate the world per say; there were plenty of good things about the town and the people were kind; but she couldn’t bring herself to like it. While she was now about as used to her lupine body as she could ever hope to be, she still quite literally felt uncomfortable in her own skin. Everything about this world was just too much and too off. She couldn’t see herself ever wanting to stay here. But Madoka...

Her daughter was succeeding in a way she never had back home. Not only was the academic focus she’d prayed for materializing for the study of magic of all things, but Madoka was naturally gifted for it and considered a prodigy! Elfrida wouldn’t stop singing her praises about how hard a worker Madoka was and how easily she picked up new concepts. Her Madoka! The who girl would literally have meltdowns and hide under her desk when told it was time to do her homework! She hadn’t even had to prompt Madoka to study! Every night, she promptly sat down to read and take notes after dinner and, on the days that she didn’t have lessons, she was in the back yard obsessively practicing with her staff. In addition to consistently studying, she was also regularly assisting Aqua with his plants and making deliveries with him and her mother.

That was a whole other surprise; Madoka was somehow a natural at being delivery girl, too! She was excited to explore the world and meet the villagers, and her enthusiasm was infectious. Even with her limited social awareness, her genuine desire to know more about this world won over the customers they interacted with. People were constantly telling Selena that she was lucky to have such a wonderful daughter! She remembered how she would get looks of disgust or pity when Madoka was little. Other mothers would stay far away, as if afraid that her daughter would infect their “normal” children. It was a night and day difference. Of course, she’d known all along that there was nothing “wrong” with Madoka, but the lack of judgement was a humongous change after the years of social isolation.

She was glad that her daughter was finally succeeding in life...but the fact that it wasn’t their world that she was thriving in sucked all the joy out of her. It was a strange thing to admit, but Selena felt bitter. Jealous of Madoka, even. Bitter that her daughter was thriving while she felt miserable and yearned for home, and jealous of that happiness. It was a twisted feeling, and she couldn’t deny that. ‘I guess being “normal” has its limitations and weaknesses. I’ve hit one of them, but Madoka not functioning the way most people do has given her a strange sort of flexibility here.’

“Good.” Selena smiled and buried her complicated feelings for the sake of her daughter. “Did you have fun? Are you feeling okay about this world?” She asked the questions she had asked hundreds of times in their short time in Nyxphiria. Like always, Madoka gave her a smile so big, it looked like it would split her face. “Yes! Every day feels like an adventure here and I don’t feel stressed at all like I did back home!”

Despite her selfish feelings, Selena smiled in relief at her daughter. ‘Madoka is okay and that’s all that really matters.’