I was wide awake now, thankfully Auntie hadn’t done anything worrying. She just stood there looking at me. Her light was calm and measured, I don’t know if it was intentional but it prodded me. Was it a spell? Or perhaps a talent of some kind. Tani didn’t seem to notice it, however. Her continued silence made me uncomfortable and I found myself sucking on my thumb. 

     “It's ok cutie,” Auntie said breaking the awkward, for me at least, silence. “First. Are you really my niece?” She asked her tone becoming dark and suspicious. I felt a shiver run up my spine as I nodded. Her face broke into a smile again and she picked me up. Her earlier demeanor vanished almost as soon as it appeared.

     “Ahti?” I had to think fast. I don’t want to reveal too much accidentally. How would she react if she knew I was actually a forty-two-year-old woman from another world? Would I be taken away and studied? Exploited? KILLED!?!?

     “Yes?”

     “Riri bad?”

     “Are you bad?” she repeated. I nod my head and she resumed speaking. “You aren't bad, just special.”

     “I say?” I asked her. My inability to say certain sounds was beginning to bother me.

     “Of course, you can stay. Does anyone else know about you?” Tani stiffens slightly as I shake my head. I don’t know how Auntie would react to her and I don't want to put Tani at risk. She picks me up to her eye level and begins to speak in a firm and even tone. “Now now Lili. Don’t lie to me, who else knows about you?”

     How did she know? Tani? I glance over at her.

     “You can tell her. She’s a dangerous and terrifying enemy. But she will protect you better than even your parents will.”

     “A pi-pit,” I say cursing my body's inability to speak properly. 

     “A spirit?” she asks. I nod and she gets a thoughtful look on her face. “Can I talk to her?”

     Tani didn’t give me a chance to ask instead she began to cast a spell. A sigil appeared in front of her and vanished with a flash of blue light. 

     “Hello,” she said once the spell was completed. “My name is Titania.”

     “Hello, my name is Jean Forteau. I thank you for taking care of my niece,” she said with a small bow. “How long have you two known each other?” 

     “About half her life at this point. You have a very special niece. She's very gifted,” Tani said.

     Thank you Tani, I'm sorry.

     “It’s ok my sweet flower. Someone was bound to figure it out eventually,” she said hugging my cheek and nuzzling it. “I’ll preempt the question and tell you that she can talk to me without speaking.”

     “How did you find my niece?” she asked. Her light became agitated.

     “Can I tell her?” she asked looking at me.

     Go ahead, she won’t stop till she gets the answers she wants.

     “I met her roughly half a year ago when she broke the barrier around your house.”

     “That was her?” Auntie asked. Her light looked … pleased? I think. “So Lilli you can manipulate ether then?” she asked looking at me. I nodded and her light grew brighter.

     “Auntie teep see-tet?”

     “Of course baby Lilli.”

     “Fwom Mommy too?” I asked her. I didn’t even want her to know but I had to live with my mess up. I just want to be a normal baby Lilli for Mommy. 

     Her light dimmed slightly before she nodded. “For now I’ll keep it a secret, but that's just because I don’t want to worry her. And we need to keep news of you from spreading. You’d be taken in a heartbeat if people knew what you could do.”

     “I swong?”

     “Well if it was you who broke the barrier as the spirit claims then you are already stronger than ninety percent of the kingdom's magicians.” 

     “Since I trust you, she’s stronger than even the legendary heroes. I have been delaying her progress in magic as a result. She could easily bring ruin to a nation by herself. So I have been waiting to teach her until she was a little more mature.”

     Auntie's light became dull and sluggish. “Is that so? We must be very careful then.” She fell silent again. Clearly, she had been given a lot to think about. “One last question. Can you actually see?”

     Tani tell her for me, please.

     “Technically she can’t. But she can see the Ether in people's bodies. It allows her to see people and their clothes. And she can see the ether in enchanted objects.”

     “I see wight,” I said, “Auntie wight bwight and happee.” 

     “Is that how you two communicate?”

     “I wite wif wight,” I say hoping that she can understand me. Talking like a toddler is embarrassing. Apparently, this was her last straw and she squealed and hugged me tight.

     “Oh my god, Lilli you’re just too precious,” she cooed and nuzzled me. Her light bubbled and sparkled, filling the room. “Titania, I thank you for taking care of my niece. I assume it was you who dealt with those intruders.”

     “Yes ma'am, I’ll make sure no one lays a hand on my precious Lilli. I was actually the one to give her that necklace..”

     “Oh, that was from you?”

     “Yes, I made it for her. It has a number of enchantments on it. The strongest one is protection from spells. Even the heroes of the past couldn’t break through it easily.”

     “How long will it last?”

     “It depends on the strength of the spells but once its Ethereum crystal runs out it will fuel itself off hers.”

     “What happens if it drains it all?” her light dimmed slightly.

     “I go sweep,” I chimed in. I was getting a bit upset they were talking about me but not to me. “Ten my powa gwow.” 

     “It would take nearly all day to drain her Ether. And in any case, she has others to protect her. So long as she wears the necklace though she’ll be safe.” 

     Now that the excitement was over I began to grow tired again. I yawned and Auntie stood up carrying me back to my crib.

     “Ok Lilli, it's time to sleep now. I’ve kept you from it long enough. I’ll be here when you wake,” she said lying me down. I held up my arms and she retrieved my bear for me. Snuggling up to it Tani settled next to me.

     “Nini Auntie, nini Tani. Wub ooo,” I said causing both of their lights to brighten.

     “Love you too Lilli,” Auntie said.

     “I love you my precious flower,” Tani said snuggling my cheek. I closed my eyes and heard Auntie sit down on the rocking chair. Exhausted as I was I quickly fell asleep.

*****

     “Hi there beautiful,” Tani said when she saw me awaken. 

     Hi there, where’s Auntie? She wasn’t in the room anymore. In fact, no one was.

     “I’m here,” she said as if reading what I wrote. There was a flush from the bathroom and she emerged. “Hey there sunshine.”

     “How wong I sweep?” I ask her.

     “About two hours,” she replied as she picked me up. “Let's get back to the party. It’s still your birthday after all,” she said booping my nose which made me giggle. “Just make sure to behave like a normal baby.”

     What was that? I asked as Tani flashed for a second.

     “I dropped the spell, I don’t want others to see me yet.”

     “Alright Lilli, I will do everything I can to keep you safe. But you must make sure to act like a normal baby at all times. I won’t tell any of the family about you for now. And I know you’re still hiding something but I won’t press you to reveal it,” she said. I just nodded and she carried me out of the room and walked back to the dining room.

     “I'm glad that it was your aunt that figured you out. While you were sleeping I had a nice long conversation with her. She's very intelligent and is already making moves to keep you safe.”

     What did you talk about? I asked, Auntie was walking pretty quickly her steps confident and powerful.

     “That's private,” she said in a sing-song tone. “We did talk about your future though. She's going to pressure your mom into converting a room into a playroom for you. It’ll be wide open and silver-sight friendly. So you’ll have more freedom and she won't have to worry about you hurting yourself.”

     Playroom? I found myself getting genuinely excited about that. I wanna be able to play and move around more.

     “You’re adorable,” she said with a giggle. “I’m sure you’ll have a lot of fun.”

     I felt myself blush and decided to change the subject. You said you were talking about my future? 

     “Yes about your education and magic. She wants you to begin learning about the wider world. Just in case…” She let the sentence hang. I don’t have anything to worry about but I can't help feeling a little trepidation.

     Auntie carried me back to the party. Some people left but most were still here. I know it was supposed to be my birthday but I kind of wanted it to just be over already. Maybe I would have more fun at my future birthdays. 

     I was held by Auntie until dinner. Anna was jealous, but she was a proper servant and didn’t let it show. While she held me Auntie was extremely possessive and looked at a few family members so aggressively they excused themselves and went to other parts of the room. She would whisper things to me occasionally. Telling me small things about our family members.

     At dinner, I was handed back to Mom. Her mood had soured a bit, her light was sluggish and disturbed. When she took me in her arms her light immediately brightened and she broke out in a big smile.

     “What happened?” Auntie asked quietly.

     “I’ll tell you later,” she whispered. I was carried back to her seat. This time she held me in her lap as we sat to eat. She didn't give a speech this time simply calling for the food to be delivered. The table was more casual this time. The food was picked at while people conversed. 

     Dad apparently had something urgent come up and had to leave. An uncle of mine took his seat and was talking to Mom. Apparently, he was having some problems with a mine of his. He was asking her for advice on finding out who has been embezzling. They had been taking valuable materials and money from him. Small enough that it escaped notice for a while. 

     Once dinner was finished the servants rolled out a lavish assortment of desserts and the whole family sang a song for me. After the song, I burbled happily and giggled. There were a lot of happy noises and elated emotions. I'm not exactly sure how long it was but eventually, people started filing away after giving their compliments and thanks. Many pinched cheeks and tickles later the room was mostly empty and the servants swarmed to clean up.

     “Jean walk with me,” Mom said as she started to pass me off to Anna.

     “I’ll take her,” she said holding out her hands, Mom gave her a look but she just continued. “It’ll be fine she's just a baby. Besides, I want to spend time with my niece. I have a year to make up for.” 

     With a sigh, Mom handed me over and motioned Anna to fall in line behind us. Mommy and Auntie walked next to each other making small talk. Anna followed behind us keeping a few steps behind. After a short walk, we came to Mom’s study. Auntie opened the door and I was assaulted by light. There were magical devices everywhere, so many that I could get a general feel for the layout of the room.

     As the three of us walked, or in my case were carried, into the room Anna bowed to Mom and closed the door. I heard the floor creak then the sound of her leaning against the wall.

     “So Miri, tell me what happened?” Auntie asked her light became sharp and aggressive.