Becoming Good Enough

Water dripped onto Airi’s head. She sat with her back against the slimy dungeon wall. Whenever she tried to move, metal chains dug into her skin.

After being dragged into a dank tunnel behind the waterfall, the guards had thrown her into a reeking cell that was hardly big enough to lie down in. She was technically in Magisbury, right?

She couldn’t even lie to herself. It was a disaster.

Her wrist ached. She pried at the chains on her hands and even smashed them with her crystal hand, but they didn't budge—they must be reinforced with a spell or something. The bars were the same way.

She heard a staccato of footsteps down the corridor—a pair of guards on patrol.

Airi needed a plan to escape. She closed her eyes, which was a mistake. All the thoughts lurking in her subconscious came prancing into view: stars searing the sky, the Mother of Plenty’s face, Kazuko laughing, blue sports cars, grinning teeth. That malnourished little girl kneeling in the dirt, sucking her thumb. Nestor calling her a liar. A braid covered in flower-shaped hairclips.

I want to go home.

But home was a world away. Who was she kidding? She would never see her home again. Perhaps that was for the best.

For the first time, Airi wondered if she should have just let her soul fade away, rather than accept the demon’s bargain.

She heard footsteps. It sounded like just one person this time. They were walking fast, but not hurrying: the person couldn’t be in a rush. Surely she wasn’t in so much trouble that they had to send someone to torture her? But maybe they tortured all the prisoners.

The footsteps stopped at each cell, getting closer and closer to hers. Airi leaned her head back and pretended to go to sleep.

“I heard they’d locked up someone claiming to be my friend,” said a familiar voice.

Airi opened her eyes to see star-shaped irises glaring at her through the cell bars.

“So you actually followed us to Magisbury,” Mildred said. “You leeched off the boy’s mana and ambition to get yourself here. How despicable.”

Airi felt a thrill. Mildred knew nothing about her. Was she that easy to read?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Airi said. “He’s my brother—”

“Cut the nonsense. Your mannerisms are strange, even for someone from Star’s End. Who are you really?”

“If I tell you, will you let me out of here?”

“No.”

“Then I’m just a hermit from Star’s End.”

Mildred made a displeased noise. “Telling lies is how you got sent to the dungeons, I’m told.”

Airi barked a disbelieving laugh. “You think I belong in the dungeons?”

“You tricked that boy into leaving Star’s End with those lies of yours. He’s only six years old.” Mildred’s eyes were filled with disgust.

“Tricked? He had ambitions. I helped him follow them.”

“You took him away from his mother!”

“His mother hated him! I was doing him a favor!” Airi shot back.

They were practically shouting. Airi couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so angry with anyone other than Dad. She looked at Mildred’s neatly braided hair, her milky robes, the gold star crest over her heart.

“Must be nice, having everything handed to you on a silver platter.”

Mildred huffed, “You talk a lot for someone who doesn’t know anything.”

“What’s the matter?” Airi prodded. “Are you going to tell me your sob story? Let me guess, you had to study so much as a child, you never had time to go on vacation. Your private tutor was soooo mean to you. Your servants didn’t put enough jelly in your jam tart. Meanwhile, there are people out there starving to death, and you sit in your cushy palace—”

“You think being a mage is all starlight and rainbows.” Mildred’s voice was higher than usual. “I was trying to help him. He would have been happier in Star’s End.”

“Right. So you helped him by crushing his dreams.” Airi smiled, bright and false. “I bet that made you feel like a real hero, huh? The first mage he’s ever met, and you tell him he’s not good enough and leave.”

“Yes. Because he wasn’t good enough. That spell—”

“He’s six years old! What did you expect, a bestselling novel? Maybe he could become good enough in the future.” Airi looked into Mildred’s eyes. “If you gave him a chance.”

“‘Become good enough,’” Mildred whispered with something like a wry smile. For a moment, it looked like she was about to say more, but then her face turned stony. “Enough of this. I shouldn’t waste my time talking to you.”

“Fine! Who wants to talk to you anyways?” Airi called, gripping the bars. “But if you don’t believe me, why don’t you ask Nestor? Ask him who he thinks is the good guy and who he thinks is the bad guy in this situation.”

Mildred stood still. “He’s just a child. He doesn’t know better.”

“Who’s lying now?” Airi said.

The corridor fell silent.

“...In truth, he hasn’t gone to his classes,” Mildred said.

“What?”

“He refuses to leave his room until you’re released from the dungeons.”

Airi felt a bloom of warmth. “Oh.” She stared at the floor, unsure what to think about that. If she were in Nestor’s place, she wouldn’t have wasted a day of magic classes. Did that make him a fool?

When Airi looked up, the bars over her cell had disappeared, and Mildred was slipping Wolf at the Door into her white robes. “Do you want to stay in there, or are you coming?” she asked.