Punishment Dealt

The sound of a rasping moan, like that of someone thirsty, made Elias’ eyes open. As he adjusted to the dark, he saw Serena standing at the foot of his bed. She leaned toward him, still wearing her undergarments. Her toothy smile, like a starving wolf peering through a window at a feast, made Elias’ eyes squeeze shut.

“Serena, a-are you okay?” he squeaked.

She did not answer, and she eventually returned to her bed.

Dawn came only an hour later, and as they left the shack, Elias didn’t look at Serena.

“Is everything all right, Elias?” she said. The concern in her voice sounded so sweet, as if she hadn’t been the one to make him so wary to begin with.

“You really don’t remember?” he said. She tilted her head, and he elaborated. “You were at the foot of my bed, staring at me.”

“You must’ve been suffering a nightmare,” said Serena. “Maybe you’re just nervous about Kuchisake’s training.”

“Maybe.” Elias let out a dubious hum, but didn’t protest. “Did you sleep all right?” he instead said. Serena said she suffered nightmares. Maybe sleepwalking was part of that.

“Wasn’t too bad,” she said, but avoided his gaze as she spoke.

He didn’t pry, but instead gently squeezed her hand for a moment before releasing it. Then Serena grabbed Elias’ hand and squeezed tight. His body shifted in surprise at the sudden contact. He could practically feel her knuckles whiten. Her face was a stony vigil, eyes facing straight ahead.

“You okay?” he said.

“I’m fine,” she said.

Elias did not press further, but interlaced his fingers with hers after a moment. She stared at him for a moment, and smiled.

They left the meadow filled with flowers and buildings, and made their way along the path to the island shore. Upon stepping onto the beach and getting an unobstructed view of the sky, Elias looked up at the heavens. The stars looked normal, but he’d never studied the constellations to be able to know if any persisted in this Inkyard. Granted, the Inkyard was a completely different world, so the constellations would probably be completely different than the ones back home.

They walked along the beach, and Elias savored the silence. The crash of ink against the shoreline and the gentle breathing from Serena made for a hypnotic combination.

“This is nice,” he murmured. “Peaceful.”

“Yeah.” She smiled, but it didn’t meet her eyes.

“We could do this every morning if you want,” offered Elias.

“I’d like that.” Her smile turned warm and true. “Taking my pretty kitty for a walk.”

Elias blushed.

“Please don’t call me that in front of anyone else,” he begged, knowing full well how much he’d be teased if anyone overheard.

Serena laughed. The sound, light yet strong, nestled deep in Elias’ mind.

“It’ll be our secret then.” She brought a finger to her smiling lips for good measure.

Looking at Serena now, Elias could scarcely fathom how this girl and the smiling ghoul standing at the foot of his bed an hour ago had been the same person. Maybe he had suffered a nightmare, or imagined her expression. He had been sleeping soundly up until then, after all.

Eventually they saw Kuchisake up ahead, a lantern on the ground illuminating her frame and baggy clothing, and walked over to her. Most of the woman’s face was hidden by her long mop of dark hair, but Elias somehow felt her gaze linger on their held hands and intertwined fingers. He separated from Serena, but Kuchisake still remained silent for a few moments.

“So we’re here,” Serena said. “What did you have in mind, Kuchisake?”

“What sort of magic are you going to teach us?” Elias tacked on. “My sister can enhance whatever she sees as a weapon. We’re twins, so I could learn that too, maybe?”

Kuchisake tossed each of them a stick as long as Elias’ forearm, and ended in a feebly glowing blue stone.

“Waaands,” she said, and motioned for them to pick the sticks up. They each picked them up. “Focusssss.”

Elias wasn’t sure how, but nevertheless closed his eyes and concentrated on the wand. He focused on how it felt in his hand, but then his attention climbed up the length of the wand until it settled on the blue stone at the top. His nostrils flared as he focused on the warmth emanating from that stone. He imagined spreading that warmth along the length of the stick.

A gasp of wonder from Serena coaxed Elias’ eyes open. He looked at the stick, mouth agape, as he beheld blue and black veins covering the length of the wand. They throbbed as though alive, and then a thin jet of blue light streamed from the wand's tip.

“I did it!” he cried. “Whatever it is!” His eyes lit up as he beamed at both Kuchisake and Serena. This smile at the latter faltered, however, when he saw that she hadn’t succeeded yet.

“Goood.” Kuchisake nodded approvingly. “Fiiiirst Steeep.” This approval faltered as her gaze drifted to Serena as well. The girl blushed and looked down at the sand.

“I just need more time,” she said. No, begged, based on her tone of voice. Elias winced. His mother’s comments made him feel inadequate compared to Tibby’s brilliance. He couldn’t imagine how Serena must have felt with an accomplished mage like Merloine as her father.

Kuchisake’s shoulders sagged. A resignation momentarily shone in her eyes. Elias couldn’t help but recall the time his mother had decided that he would never be able to reach the same heights as Tibby.

“She’ll figure it out,” Elias persisted. “Just have some faith in her.” Serena gave him a momentary look of surprise, perhaps not expecting him to speak up for her. But as she beheld Elias’ toothy grin, her posture shifted. Eventually she nodded, and slapped her cheeks.

“Let’s keep going,” she said.

Kuchisake’s gaze juggled between them. Her eyes misted over. A soft chuckle emerged from her split mouth.

“Cuuuuuute.”

Even after that show of faith from Elias, Serena could not accomplish the same spell that he had. But even though she’d failed, her jaw remained set.

Serena did not accompany Elias back to their room, but instead waved farewell.

“I have to go take care of something,” she said. “Won’t be long.”

“Oh. All right.” He returned the wave and returned to bed for a nap.

And that began a morning ritual where the pair of them would wake at dawn and practice for an hour. Serena would part ways from Elias after each lesson, and he did not pry into wherever she went off to. Probably remedial lessons with Kuchisake or something.

After a week, a break in the monotony came when a knock came from his bedroom door that evening. Elias opened it to find Kuchisake and the man with sandy-colored long hair from before, Leon. The man did not have the pair of cronies from last time with him. His head was bowed, and he sniveled. It was then that Elias realized that he hadn’t seen the man in a week, though he hadn’t been trying to pay the man any attention after how their first meeting had gone.

But all of that previous bravado had disappeared from the man’s posture and voice. He looked fed and cared for, but from the way he held himself, he seemed to have been starved of something just as important as food and rest.

“I’m sorry for stomping on your tail,” he blubbered. “Please forgive me. Please. Please.” His shoulders trembled as he spoke. It looked as though he would burst into tears at any moment, and this risk only rose with every desperate plea that flew from his mouth. The loudness of his voice made Elias wince, but then he realized that nobody reacted. People striding past the doorway didn’t even slow down or peek inside. Even Serena, who sat on her bed inside the room, did not look up from the book she’d been reading.

“It’s all right,” said Elias. “I forgive you.”

“You will? Really?” Leon raised his head and looked up at him. There was a faint black handprint on his right cheek. He whirled to face Kuchisake. “He forgave me, Kuchisake! You heard him. You heard him, so…please…” Tears streamed down the curtain of hair that covered his eyes, and dripped down his cheeks. Kuchisake’s eyes drifted from Leon’s weeping face to Elias’ expression of bewilderment. She reached out and touched Leon’s cheek. Kuchisake’s hand lined up perfectly with the handprint on his skin, and Elias shivered. The handprint faded away, and Leon straightened up.

He kept crying, but mustered words of gratitude through the sound.

Only then did Serena look up, give Leon the briefest of looks, before returning to her book.

“What’s going on?” Elias said.

“Puuuunishment deaaalt.” Kuchisake motioned Leon away, and the man ran down the corridor as though fleeing from death, or something even worse. She turned back toward Elias. “Lessssson tomoooorrow.” She left then.

Elias turned toward Serena.

“What just happened?” he said.

“It wouldn’t have been right if Leon got off scot free for stomping on your tail, right?” said Serena.

“I know that, but…” The sheer desperation on Leon’s face and the anguish in his voice turned Elias’ stomach.

“Would you like it if he could keep doing that to you?” Serena pressed. Elias shook his head, but he couldn’t keep the discomfort from his face. She sighed. “We have to preserve the peace somehow, Elias. Nobody is allowed to step out of line here.”

“Right.” He closed his eyes and inhaled. A mug of tea helped him relax. The fog over his mind comforted him until he’d forgotten what had bothered him so much in the first place.

Before long, a month had passed. However, that month hadn’t been fruitful for Elias either. The wands Kuchisake had given them were akin to training wheels on a bicycle. The true test would be to see if they could cast without the use of those wands. Even though he’d seen immediate success with the wand, he hadn’t been able to cast the same spell, or any spell, without it.

But in spite of their repeated failures, the two reassured each other. Seeing Serena’s doggedness day after day stoked a fiery passion in Elias’ chest. He also appreciated the structure that the dawn lesson brought to his day.