Theodore looked down at his body, surprised by what he saw. He understood that increasing his stats would cause certain alterations to his body. But he thought those changes would have been limited to changes made to his physical stats. He never would have imagined that increasing his Charisma would have a physical effect on his body. He would have considered his new body to be handsome by normal standards. But now his skin appeared to glow with a sensual light. He also felt a sudden wellspring of confidence flow through his psyche. also felt as if his confidence had skyrocketed through the roof. I definitely made the right decision, he thought, satisfied by his results.

He crossed his arms over his chest and began to descend until he was standing atop the flashing webs of light. A feeling of power seeped into his every pore. Instincts that he knew at a base level came from memories held deep within the DNA of his new body created a hunger in him that had nothing to do with food. This urge, this desire, propelled him towards a very specific trio of webs. He stretched out a hand and watched as the webs intertwined and interlaced between each of his fingers his mind instinctively sought energy that best matched his psyche.

Sia maintained a discrete distance while this was going on. She watched each of his movements without comment. She understood why her reactions had changed. Though she was surprised that the increase in Charisma affected her. She paid excruciatingly close attention to every move he made. When she saw the webs break apart and weave themselves around his arms her breath caught in her throat. At first, she thought that the sudden distance would make her feel better, but she was wrong. The distance made her feel both better and worse at the same time and the incredulity of those emotions confused her. She presented as a mature woman but in actuality, her existence could be measured in mere minutes. How much maturity could she have attained in less than thirty minutes?

What are you? She wondered, confused by the unique emotions that were coursing through her body. These emotions combined with her natural attunement to the System left her with more questions than answers. Every time the System registered the addition of a new point, a part of her existence she wasn't aware existed would pulse with a surge of heat.

When she saw the force his body withstood when it assimilated a massive portion of the spiraling webs her non-existent heart caught in her throat. It took every ounce of self-control to stop her from throwing herself into the depths of the webs. Instead, she orbited his position, staying only as far away as she had too. 

She had no words to describe the feeling that surged through her when she saw how his body reacted to the influx of new energies. With her enhanced vision, she saw that even though his eyes were open he saw nothing. An irritated tick creased the corner of her left eye. He is such an idiot. Interacting with dark energies is going to hamper his physical body’s healing process. She didn't know how she knew this was true and in the end, it didn't matter. 

She knew him as well as she knew herself. During the short time that she's known Theodore, she believed that she had a firm understanding of his general make-up. But the more time she spent with him the more she came to realize how much she didn't know. There were a few things she’d been accurate about. He was a pervert with a single-minded desire for easy debauchery. This impression morphed into something else that she couldn't accurately express. But she definitely saw a thoughtful desire for excellence beneath all the bluster. Though she knew for certain that this wouldn't stop him from fulfilling his carnal desires when the chance came up. 

She stopped her circuit when a sudden flare of energy blocked Theodore from her sight. The urge to help was strong but she knew there was nothing she could do. At this stage, she just wished she knew what was happening.

There was a knock at the bedroom door. They both looked up from their seated position at the disturbance.

”Who is it?” Lisey asked for the sake of appearances. There were very few people who would have dared to come to this room at this specific time to interrupt them.

”I'm— I’m the maidservant that would have been assigned to the young master today.” A respectful yet hesitant female voice replied. The maid put as much sincerity as she could into her words because her life depended on it. Lady Powers has forbidden any of the young masters assigned servants from entering this wing of the house without good cause. The punishment was left unsaid but everyone knew what the ultimate consequences would be.

Lisa’s eyes widened in surprise. ”This must be important.” It would take extraordinary circumstances to force one of the house staff to disobey a direct order from any member of the family let alone its matriarch.

”Perhaps,” her mother hedged. When her son had first taken ill she’d sent all his servants away. That fact that one of them had returned to deliver a message… ”Why have you come here. You are well aware of my edict, correct?” If words were swords hers would have severed limbs. 

On the other side of the door, the servant shivered visibly, thankful for the limited protection it provided her. ”My apologies, My Lady,” she replied even more respectfully. ”I happened to be the closest maid available when the guest was announced.” 

”Who is it?” Lisey asked, curious despite the circumstances.

The maid was so relieved to not find a sudden dagger in her back that she almost fainted. She quickly collected what little shreds of dignity she had left, wrapped herself in the years of training she had endured and passed on the message she'd been given. ”My Lady the Tower has sent a female Ranger here to speak with you.”

”Where is she now?”

”The doorman placed her in the visitors' parlor closest to the entrance, My Lady.”

”Good you have done well. You are dismissed.”

The maid gave an audible sigh of relief. She bowed low and retreated quickly.

Lisa gave her mother a displeased look. ”You could have at least invited the servant into the room.” Her mother was notorious for her, what could only charitably be called the modest ill-treatment, of the staff. 

Lisey gave her daughter a genuinely confused look. ”Why? She served her purpose by doing her duty. Nothing she did require that I actually grace her with our presence.” She flicked her delicate fingers, dismissing the notion as quickly as she had dismissed the maid. Instead, she gave her daughter a questioning look. ”I find the Ranger’s timing...interesting. What do you think the Ranger wants?”

She released her brother's hand, stood, and strode a slow deliberate circle around his bed. A total of three complete circuits were completed before she finally stopped at the head of his bed. She looked down at her brother's face and couldn't help the wistful smile that slipped past her guard. She absently used her hand to brush several stray strands of hair from his forehead. Is it just me or does he look different?

Lisey glimpsed the look in her daughter's eyes and smiled wryly. ”Did you plan on answering my question anything soon Lisa?”

Lisa looked at her mother and winced at her tone. ”Sorry, mother.” She gave the question serious thought, going over several possible eventualities in her mind before finally settling on one. ”She’s probably here to investigate the circumstances around Theodore’s illness.” The family's official stand on the incident was that her brother had simply fallen ill. The dispatch of a Ranger by the Tower obviously meant they didn't believe the official story and sought their own answers. 

”You're probably right,” Lisey conceded. She released her son's hand, sat back, and demurely used her hands to smooth imperceivable wrinkles from her knee-length skirt. ”We must be diligent when we interact with the unknown. It is imperative that we discern the exact nature of the Tower’s interest in your brother.” 

Lisa thought about that for several heartbeats. She retreated back to her seat, though she never quite managed to take her eyes off her brother’s face. Once she sat down she crossed her legs and placed her interlaced fingers on top of them. She tried to exude the same sense of refined calm her mother always gave off. ”The first clue would be to determine how strong of a Ranger she is.” If the Tower sent a lighter Jeweled Ranger then we could interpret that to mean that they weren't really taking this incident seriously.

Lisey sighed and fingered the hymn oh her skirt. ”Under normal circumstances, you would be correct, but unfortunately these aren't normal circumstances. I'm sure the Tower has sent a darker Jeweled Ranger to our dwelling.”

Lisa was taken aback by the certainty in her mother's words. “How can you be certain?”

Lisey gazed at the door intently. ”Because as soon as the maid told us about our surprise visitor I probed the entire mansion looking for unfamiliar psychic signatures and found nothing. Do you understand what that means? Whoever this Ranger is, she's strong enough to not only block my Jewels, she can make the energy they exert pass through her.” Frustration mixed with wounded pride clearly showed on her face now. ”I, an Emerald-Jeweled Sensor, am unable to sense a stranger in my own home. The Tower’s arrogance knows no bounds.”

She was about to respond to her mother's surprise declaration when she noticed her brother’s Jewel begin to glow gently. ”Mother look.”

”By the Jewels!” For the first time in a long time, true emotion could be seen on Lisey’s face. She’d quietly given up hope that her eldest child would ever live long enough to Awaken his Jewel. ”I can't believe this is actually happening.” 

”What was Theodore’s Birth-Stone?” At the age of ten everyone went through a coming of age ceremony that determined the base of the power and received their first Jewel. This Jewel would then be broken into two pieces, one piece fashioned for a ring, the other for a necklace or chain. These Jewels act as a reservoir for all the power a person would gain in life. 

Lisey looked at her son's deceivingly innocent-looking face and blew out a long breath. ”I suddenly don't have the energy to play the usual games so I'll tell you this only once. What I am about to tell you must remain between us.”

Lisa looked up from the glowing Jewel long enough to simply say to words. ”Yes, mother.”

Lisey put a hand on Theodore’s chest and felt the rhythmic beats of his heart. Instead of further explaining, she asked a question instead. ”Do you know what a Variant is?”

She thought about the question for a moment before she shook her head. ”No.” The term did sound vaguely familiar to her but she couldn't place its significance.

”It's what they call someone who's Jewels never settle on one color. Instead, it varies depending on the mood of the individual. At his strongest, Theodore had access to the Opal.”

”What does any of that have to do with Theodore?” She asked, confused by the sudden change in subject. Fear was also evident because tiny bits of memory were starting to surface and they pulled at a part of her she’d long suppressed. 

If Lisey noticed her daughter’s distress she paid it no heed. ”Usually Variants can't control which Jewel they manifested because it changed depending on their mood—“

”What does this have to do with Theodore?” Lisa uncharacteristically interrupted her mother. She didn't want a biology lesson; she wanted to know why her brother's Birth-Stone had anything to do with a Variant and why she even brought the topic up in the first place. 

Lisey ignored her daughter's disrespectful tone. At that moment her mind was somewhere else. She leaned over and stroked her son's hair and continued to speak as if she hadn't heard Lisa's outburst. ”My eldest.” She lovingly brushed her fingertips over a pale cheek. ”Is the one thing the Tower has been searching for, for decades. A Variant that can control what Jewel they manifest at will.”

The blood slowly drained from Lisa's face. She gawked at her mother with abject fear splashed across her face.

Lisey steadfastly returned the look and smiled sadly. ”And now you finally understand.”

Yes, she did. At least as far as the Tower’s sudden interest in her brother was concerned. But one thing still didn't fit. ”How did the Tower find out?”

”If I had to guess I’d say your father's Bonded slut figured it out and told them.” The words were spoken with a level of utter contempt that only came from years of suppressed loathing.

”So what do we do about the Ranger?” Lisa asked as she glanced nervously at the door. What happiness she'd felt was immediately tamped down when she thought about what the Tower could be planning. Fear was not an emotion she was accustomed to and its very presence turned her usually calm emotions into a gnarled mess.

Lisey kept watching the glowing Jewel that hung from Theodore’s neck. ”We will do what we must.” When she finally took her eyes off her son she directed them instead of her daughter. The look she gave her was full of crimination. ”We will speak with this Ranger and I expect you to carry yourself in a manner more befitting someone of your esteemed social class.”

Lisa heard every word her mother said. They were spoken in her usual clear and precise tones. But this time the underlying current expressed a barely restrained ire.  She took the implied hint, straightened her posture, and gave her mother a look of renewed determination. ”Understood mother.” She stood up and extended a hand towards her mother. ”Shall we go?”