10. Screaming with Sirens (3)

Sera sat on the toilet as she released her fluids. It had been a long time since she held her pee that she surrendered herself to her mother to help.

When she finished, she exhaled out of relief. She clenched her fist and pouted. "I will show him that I can do everything myself!"

Unlike the previous days, her trust in humans became fragile. It was an indication that she was ready to accept Kou in her life. Still… "I hate him. Treating me like a kid? He had been mocking me ever since."

After finishing her session, Sera recalled what Maki told her on how to use the toilet. "Push the lever down and turn the knob to the right?" Sera doubted and wandered until she saw a lever and a knob beside the toilet.

As Maki instructed, Sera pushed down the lever which made a flushing noise. Sera parted her lips after seeing the water forming tornadoes below her. "This was high-level magic I couldn't even do!"

After the water calmed down, Sera turned the knob 180 degrees, not hesitating about what will happen. A hose underneath the toilet shot a huge water pressure to her privates.

Sera stiffened as giddiness hit her. Her skin tingled as her heartbeat raced. The sheer cold scattered throughout her body. Her face reddened and her hands moved in jerks. A second after contact, she jumped away and shouted.

"KYA!!"

When Sera exited the bathroom, Maki greeted her with an innocent smile. Sera flared her nostrils, furrowed her eyebrows, and pouted at Maki.

"Sera-chan, I screamed like that when I first rode a roller coaster. I can bring you to an amusement park. It's more fun in there."

"W—W—What was that, Mom!?"

Maki giggled, covering her lips. "Seeing my angry daughter… It's too cute. Fufufu…"

"Is that thing another magic device created in this world? It's creepy, Mom! It cast a water spell on my…"

"It was a bidet, darling. It dispenses water to clean your genitals. Didn't you experience it before?"

Sera calmed after ensuring that the bidet wasn't hostile. "I didn—I DID!" Sera exclaimed but stuttered with clammy lips. "W—We use it t—to clean our privates! We eject water from our hands with magic!"

Maki clasped her hands and exclaimed. "Oh? I would love to see Sera-chan doing magic! Can you summon me a bird or something?"

"S—Soon!" Sera squealed and smirked. "I can assure you that I could show you my magic when I became a high elf."

"Really!? I'm looking forward to that, Sera-chan."

Sera smiled, but her smile soon turned flat. She thought: When I became a high elf, you wouldn't be able to see it anymore, since I'm back to my world already.

Sera entered back at Kou's room and stared at the black-screen TV. The movie already finished playing. Sera sat on the bed, stared at the TV for seconds, and muttered.

"I want to play it again. I didn't understand a thing." But I can't ask anyone to make the TV work. What should I do?

Sera held her temptations. Instead of replacing the disk in the DVD player, Sera played her flute for an hour. Within that time, the thought of watching a movie or playing the flute combated in her mind.

Maki entered the room. "Sera-chan? Oh… Kou-kun was lucky to hear such a lovely melody. It's like I sneaked into a soap opera without a ticket."

Sera halted. "M—Mom… What brings you here?"

Maki shook her head and sat in Kou's chair. "Nothing… I wanted to check on my lovely daughter if she's doing well. It turns out… I don't have to worry," Maki grinned.

"I—I'm fine… though I still had nothing to do. I don't find the flute… fun to play anymore…"

"But still, you sounded too perfect. I couldn't compare even a professional band in a match of your skill."

"It's…" Sera gazed away with worry on her face.

The same phrase gave her mind a memory she was bound to forget. Before she got transported in the world, Annietta caught her playing the flute and spoke with the same lines Maki gave her.

'Your sound was too perfect. I couldn't compare even a professional bard in a match of skill, Princess Sierra.'

Sera clutched her flute and rocked in place. Her mind shifted like her soul left her comfort zone. Her limbs tingled and her breaths shortened. When she looked at Maki, Annietta's image overlapped in her view.

"Sera-chan? Is there something wrong?"

Sera returned to reality after hearing Maki's voice. She gulped, shook her head, and faced Maki with a pretend smile. "Nothing, Mom… I just find it… Nostalgic…"

Knowing what Sera felt, Maki lost her bright smile. "If you have some worries, feel free to tell them to me. You know, I hated Kou-kun because he was too secretive to me. If you did it like him, you'll end up hurting yourself more."

"Y—Yes…" Sera slacked her mouth and half-smiled. Maki grinned in reassurance.

Maki gazed at the open TV, showing nothing but a blank screen. "Sera-chan… A watch party must be fun… Did you open it?"

"H—How did you know the terubi was open!?"

"It's TV. Of course, I know, my dear! I've been a fan of TV ever since. Kou-kun might have rushed earlier to entertain you even without him. Look how sweet he was to you makes me—" Maki cringed.

"Sweet?" Sera gazed up and pinched her chin. "Was Kou-kun that delicious!?"

"There's nothing but food in your mouth recently. Are you still hungry?"

"N—No, Mom! I'm not hungry at all!" Sera waved her hand in denial, but her cheeks turned beet red.

"Sooner, I will give you more serving. We always had our excess food in the fridge."

Sera's eyes glimmered. Her mouth slacked with a grin. Her excitement overtook her, but when she saw Maki's malicious smile, she retracted her face.

"How cute!"

"Stop teasing, Mom!"

"Oh? Did Kou-kun teach you how to replace disks? Did you forget? I'm still here if you want me to help."

"I… I can do it! I—I know how…" But I can't remember…

"Are you sure?" Maki smiled, and Sera nodded. Maki stood up and headed towards the door. "It's been lovely to see how you try to gain your independence… But if you need help, don't be afraid to ask. After all, we're family."

Maki exited the room. Sera put her clenched fists over her lap and pouted. "I needn't be spoiled. I will show them that I ain't a kid anymore."

Sera stood over the bed with shoulders back, chest out, and chin up. She took a deep breath and exhaled it without any obstruction. She pinched her chin and squinted at the shelf where Kou took the first movie out.

"What was these vibrant rubies and sapphires!?" Sera took the disk with a mix of red and blue. She opened and took out the disk, but the next thing to do… she didn't know.

"From what I remember…" Sera pressed every button on the DVD, starting with the power button that caught her attention. She scratched her head when the DVD lit off and never requested a disk.

"What happened? This must be what Kou-nii did. They might be hiding something from me… a hidden power I didn't know… Still, I can do this!"

Sera pushed the disk onto the horizontal hole above the closed disk tray. The DVD player didn't accept the disk even after she forced it. Not being able to hold the pressure, the disk bent and tore in half, scattering metal shards in the air.

Sera flinched back and closed her eyes. After the calamity, she felt a hot pressure lying on her palm. When she opened her eyes and witnessed blood gushing out from a wound. Her right arm numbed and trembled.

"Argh!" She gritted her teeth and hissed to hold onto the pain. She hovered her other palm over the wound and tried to cast healing magic, but she never knew its chant.

Healing magic was beyond her current level. Also, she couldn't feel the ether circulating her body. The fire spell wouldn't come out even after she cast it.

She took a white cloth from Kou's closet and wrapped it around the wound. Blood stopped rushing out of her palm. "No pain, no gain. Annietta's words never fail…"

'No pain, no gain. Victory tastes better when you strive for it.' Annietta advised it when Sierra was still taking her magical training. She couldn't even cast a simple fireball at that time.

Sera shook her head and slapped both her cheeks. "No, no, no! No mere wound could stop me! I should strive to pursue my growth!"

Sera didn't stop forcing disks onto the tray until half of Kou's possessions were murdered. Broken metal shards shined and flooded the floor. When she heard a knock, she flinched back and accidentally stepped on a shard.

Maki opened the door. "Sera? May I—Oh my… Only a diskhead could murder these many disks! What happened here!?" Maki sucked a quick breath. Her hand flew over her lips and her pupils dilated after seeing Sera covered with blood.

"M—Mom… I…"

Maki rushed at Sera, avoiding the shards on the floor, and gripped her hand. "Sera-chan, be careful! Don't step on any shards on the floor!"

"I'm sorry…"

"Save the apologies for later! Your treatment required utmost priority!"

Maki and Sera left the room in chaos and went downstairs. Sera lay on the couch. Maki took the first aid kit and treated Sera's wound first.

"O—Ow!" Sera exclaimed and hissed when Maki cleaned her foot wound with cotton and alcohol.

"Look at what happened, Sera-chan! You knew how uncultured you could be. You should've asked me for help if you want to watch a movie that bad," Maki said, wrapping Sera's foot with gauze.

"I'm sorry… I thought I already knew how to use those moving stories…"

"It's alright to discover things you don't know, my dear. But I can't overlook when you started hurting yourself."

Another memory visited Sera's mind. There was a time when little Sierra ran through the blocked area of the castle garden. Thorny flowers and spiky plants lived in there. Only when she noticed something stinging that she cry.

When Annietta found Sierra's legs full of scratches, she carried her out like a princess. She used her healing spell to recover Sierra's wounds. Annietta scolded,

'I can't sit still knowing you hurting yourself. There might be a time that I can't heal you anymore. You should learn to take care of yourself.'

Annietta… Was this the time?

Sera lost her composure until Maki asked her with a raised tone."Sera-chan? Are you alright!? Are you feeling unwell!?"

Maki's brows wrinkled. Her trembling arms resonated into Sera. Unlike the other days, Maki was a mother wholly concerned about her daughter's life.

Why was she shaking? Sera broke her eye contact and muttered. "… I don't know that those metallic things were fragile. Metals should be strong and sharp like a sword, right?"

"This is no time for you to say that, Sera-chan!" Maki exhaled and calmed herself. "Give me your palm."

Sera extended her palm to Maki. Maki removed Kou's white cloth and treated her wound with another gauze. "Later, Kou-kun would be the most disappointed person. Do you want to see him cry?"

"Why was it, Mom?"

"Those things… they're important to him. It is like what the flute was to you. They're materials that hold a deeper meaning to someone."

Silence distilled the air for seconds, then Sera clasped Maki's hand and cried with a pleading tone, "P—Please forgive me! I'm really sorry. I didn't know… I promise to pay him back! I swear! I will do anything!"

"You don't need to, darling. I will talk to him later. Those possessions of his can be bought with money. My husband had a seven-digit monthly income."

"It was all my fault… If I only became wary of my surroundings… If I didn't try to become independent… this wouldn't have happened."

Maki puffed her cheeks and cringed. "Ara, that was cute!" She covered her lips and giggled.

Sera blushed, widened her eyes, and exclaimed, "M—Mom!?"

"Sera-chan, aren't you tired? Do you want to watch a movie with me? We had a larger TV in here. I'm looking for someone to become my watch partner."

"I—I might destroy it again…"

"I'm going to set things up. You just need to sit beside me and relax. This should help you calm down a little bit. Are you still willing?"

"… If you wish, Mom."

Maki showed her a disk case featuring a human and a girl elf with blonde hair. Unlike Sera's preference, the book cover lacked vibrant colors. The title was 'I Won't Last a Day Without Her.'

"Let's try this! This is an award-winning tragedy movie that my friend, Eiko, recommended to me. Look, Sera-chan! The girl looked like you. You might have the potential to become an actress!"

"Actress?" Sera tilted her head out of confusion.

"I promise you. This movie will be worth it! If you don't understand something, don't hesitate to ask. I'll grab some snacks for us."

"Snacks!?"

Maki opened the huge bag of popcorn and gave it to Sera. She sat down before the opening credits finished.

"Mom, what is that?" Sera asked while chomping a popcorn each second. Her right cheek inflated.

"It wasn't the start of the story yet… Wait. Are you really that hungry!?"

"It was delicious and crunchy! I couldn't hold my temptations."

"You might choke yourself! Eat it gently. There's still more of it from our stash."

"Really!?" Sera beamed with her sparkling eyes. Maki slacked her mouth and thought: How cute! Her true colors are showing!

The movie started showing a scene on how elves in the forest lived their lives peacefully. The protagonist, the girl on the cover, was introduced as a kind and humble teenage elf.

Because of the ongoing wars as explained in the beginning lore, humans attacked the settlement of elves to claim territory. Many innocent elves died. Those who fought back didn't last long.

Sera clenched her jaw and darted her bloodshot eyes at the scene of the elf girl who was forced to leave. She stiffened and clenched her shaking fists. Her breaths shivered out her grinning teeth.

I forgot what was important… I need to go back home…

They were enemies.

Maki leaned back and sighed. "T—That's too brutal for a prologue… Sera-chan?"

Maki witnessed Sera standing, biting her lip, and clenching her fists. Sera shook in extremities. The popcorn fell from her lap and scattered on the ground.

"Sera-chan? Is there something wrong? Don't you like the movie—"

"I'm wrong…"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I'm wrong about you!"

"W—What are you saying…"

Sera's tears shed down her cheeks, and her lips stammered. She held her arm, shielded her body, and stared down her feet.

"Don't treat me like your real child! You're… You're brainwashing me… All of you humans were the same… It was never right to trust you…"

"I have no ill intentions, Sera-chan—" Maki reached out her hand to touch Sera's arm. Sera swayed Maki's hand away after contact. The air around her dampened where no one could reach.

Maki's open lips trembled, unable to speak as her tears crawl out her eyes. Her shoulders tightened while her heart squeezed in pain. She shuddered with chattering teeth. Seeing Sera's rebellion wasn't what she expected.

Sera cried, covered her eyes, and ran out the door out of the house. She climbed the fence gate which doesn't have a rotated knob and escaped.

"S—Sera-chan!" Maki chased her, but she couldn't leave her home. At their doorway, she kneels on the floor with tears falling down her eyes.

Will THAT happen to me again?

Not being able to do anything, she dialed Kou's number.

"Help me, Kou-kun… Sera-chan… Sera-chan ran away from home…"