Calpernia Beithioch

-10+ Years ago-

I had to spit the sand out of my mouth, the salt of the water burned up my nose as I got my head out of the oncoming wave. I was covered in sand and only a good swim might get some of it out. Ahead of me a figure bounded up through the water and hoisted me up to my knees and pushed some sand out away from my nose and mouth.

"How did you manage to trip over your own feet?" He asked. He was only two years older than me, but after I had managed to trick him he promised not to torment me again. That didn't mean he couldn't point out when I was messing up or doing something foolish.

I spat out another wad of snot and sand. "I thought I felt a crab," I said, using his hand to get up. "I panicked."

He let out a small huffing laugh and got me to the firmer sand on the beach. I was stoked though it felt pleasant in the ocean-kissed breeze. "A crab would have pinched you, silly." he shook his head and looked to the lush jungle we lived near. I couldn't see the house, but I could smell lunch cooking on the air.

"Rumple," I said using my brother's nickname as I glanced his way. "They're going to make fun of me again aren't they?"

His bright blue eyes squinted in the light of the sun. "I don't think so, we've all panicked if we thought we were stepping on a turtle nest or crab. You're just the baby of the family." He threw an arm over me and we walked back to the shade of the nearby trees. "You know, there are stories where the youngest have to save the day."

"There are?" I asked my voice cracking at the hope to hear a new story. "Will you tell me about it?"

Rumple ruffled my hair and slowed down our walk as we reached the dirt path that would take us home. "Once upon a time."

"Cause it's always a different time," I said.

"And a different place." He added with a grin. "There was a family of six children. One day when the parents were out a man came to the door and the eldest answered. The man said he was in need of some help at his home and the eldest agreed to help."

"Did he make him agree to a Deal?" I asked my voice getting higher in pitch.

"This was not our family," Rumple said and shook his head. "No, you see the man tricked the oldest. Once the eldest got to the house they were told they needed to wait there, but they couldn't go into one room of the house. Well, curiosity is a pain, the eldest looked into the room and he screamed. The man heard his scream and knew he had looked into the room. So the brother vanished. Without a trace."

"Did the other siblings go look for him?" I asked cutting through the story. "Did they avenge him?"

"Well no one saw where the eldest had gone to, and the man went to the door again and the next eldest had the same fate, and the one after that, and the one after that. It wasn't until the youngest realized, she was alone that the man came to the door and she knew what she needed to do. She agreed to go with him and when he brought her to the house, he again told her about the door, and excused himself to get some supplies to fix the house." Rumple stopped his hands mimicking the next part. "The sister looked at the door, seeing that it was unlocked, and knowing all of her siblings were gone, she assumed the worst. She opened the door and there, laying in a mass grave were all of her siblings in bits and pieces!"

My heart pounded in my chest as I shook my head. "No, they had to be alive! Why would he kill them all!?"

Rumple shrugged. "Monsters take a lot of different faces, this one looked like a man. The youngest knew what was coming, she had guessed her siblings were prisoners or dead and knew better than to scream, she had always been the quiet one in the family. she closed the door and when the man returned he was impressed she hadn't looked into the door. He offered to take her as his bride, and she accepted, but, she was smart, she demanded she invite all of her siblings and her aunts and uncles to the wedding. The man was put off but this but he had to agree.

"The youngest went out the house's front door and called 'To all my aunts and uncles, attend me at my wedding'. and then, she turned to the door, throwing it open she showed the man she already knew what was there and called out. 'My brothers, rise up, be made whole, and attend me at my wedding'. The Man had not known the youngest child was actually a witch, one strong enough to summon her family back to her. She only needed enough time and strength to do it.

"The body parts all started to fit themselves back together, her five brothers coming out of the room, all ready to do one thing. To take vengeance on the man who murdered them." Rumple's mouth ripped into a grin, one that I mimicked as the story took a vengeful turn. "The brothers captured the man and soon the youngest's Aunts and Uncles also arrived, they were eager to take vengeance on the man who would hurt their family. They gutted him instantly, but not to have him pull the same trick the youngest pulled, they ate him. Every bit of skin, every drop of blood, none of them was left to bring back when they were done with him."

I was clapping as the story came to a close. "The youngest sounded so powerful!"

"She was a witch." He said with a chuckle. "And you could be a witch one day too Cal, Father knows people who can teach you things. How to do magic that would shake the world."

"Magic that would let me keep everyone together." I said taking the moral of the story from what I saw, that it was never wise to underestimate the youngest. "To survive anything."

He nodded and we started back down the path again. "Now you know why the others won't make fun of you. One day, you could save us all."

=

-Today-

It had been a little bit after our trip to the Shroud and I was trying to keep warm by the fire. Each crackle from the wood soothed my mind off the worries I had. Holly was safe. Valerian had been in contact only a little while ago. I had made sure to keep away from all of my family and friends for their safety. No one should be able to touch me. I'm a shadow, someone no one knows anything about.

'Do you want to see Vaymond soon?' Anne asked. She was curled up inside of my shadow, and outside of her, I was alone. She was the only one who knew what it meant to be me. To be the youngest who got free and was looking for my siblings. She had seen me and expressed my story had to be interesting.

I hate to admit that it's probably been rather dull for her since she joined me. We found my eldest brother, but the others have been like catching a firefly during a hurricane. 

"He knows I can't see him right now. He's too busy looking for a wife and taking care of the island. It's not safe. And he needs to keep our family line secure." I muttered and I was grateful my brother chose that path for himself. To be the last Beithioch means we are the only one able to keep the door open, if it's gone, then everything we collected will be lost. 

Closing my eyes I tried my best to relax the gnawing fear in my heart. The fear that something horrible was about to happen.

Silence filled my mind.

I opened my eyes to look at my shadow. The normal darkness inside of it was missing and I sat up more in my seat as I realized the constant monologue in my head was missing.

"Anne?" I asked.

Nothing responded.

Getting up from my seat I didn't know what to do. Anne was always with me from the moment she swore to protect me. She was my shadow. She was the monster I wanted to be like. I was her friend. That was our agreement.

"Anne?" I called out this time louder not caring if others in the house heard me. If they asked who I was talking to, I wouldn't have told them in the past, but now...

I listened to my mind again, but still, there was nothing. No music, no voice humming, no words blabbering about whatever story she wanted to read. It was a lonely hollow feeling in my mind and I fell back into my seat as I tried to process what I was feeling.

'OUTSIDE NOW.' Anne's voice roared into my mind, slicing me open with how fast she spoke. 'Outside, outside, outside, outside. You're in danger!'

Anne had a code phrase with me. Telling me if I was or wasn't in danger. Being in no real danger meant she could mitigate the damage I was facing. In no danger meant nothing harmful was going to happen. In danger... I could be hurt and she couldn't stop it.

Getting up from my seat again I didn't speak to anyone as I bolted out of the house. Following her instructions because not following them could lead to my death or worse. The cold of Ishgard clawed at me as much as any great beast and soon I felt my nose go numb.

"What's going on? Is it the assassins?" I asked.

But there, in the road in front of the house, lay a body.

My world was a solved jigsaw puzzle thrown up into the air. The pieces break apart, and all images are distorted into a blur. The man had long black hair, and dark skin that matched my own. His clothing looked more suitable for a semi-tropical environment, not the ice cold of Ishgard. My feet stumbled forward and down the steps of the house till I came up to the mass.

As I turn him, unfocused cornflower blue eyes that match my own look back at me with the sign of death. I knew all of my brother's faces at one point, but now they are blurry.

"I'm so sorry," I said to the man, and I knew what I was about to do would prove strange, but I had to know. I lifted up his left arm sleeve. Before my brothers and I were going to escape from our captors as children, we cut a number into each of us. Mine was on my middle back where no one would see it. My brothers all marked their arms as they assumed if they were punished their arms wouldn't be scared, unlike their backs. It had been a brutal precaution, but one I'm now grateful for.

Rolling up his left sleeve my heart sank further as the jagged '5' was still plain to be seen on his skin. Rumple, Rum, my brother.

My voice cracks as I whispered his real name, where no one could hear it. In another life, in another story that would be enough to take him from his death. But I'm not in a world with that sort of magic. His soul was already gone from his body, probably racing back home where it would be safe away from the predators this world had. He wouldn't come back...

And it was my fault.

Crumbling forward my heart twisted in my chest. I had spent months looking for Rumple and someone managed to do it before me. My job was to find my family, to bring us all back home, and I have failed in part. I took my time, I let myself be around people instead of focusing on my job. Rumple was dead because I waited.

'You tried looking for him.' Anne said, she knew my thoughts already, so of course she had to speak up.

"Did I though? I knew his captain was on the list... I knew he might be in danger and I did nothing." I had gone from sadness to anger without feeling the tears forming in my eyes. "I did nothing. I thought doing nothing would keep him safe."

Anne's form did not materialize, thankfully. She would be seen as a horror unknown to Ishgard and I didn't need that as well as the knowledge that this was my fault. Anne's voice was softer, cooing as she tried to calm me down. 'What are you going to do about it?'

"I'll make sure there is nothing for them to bring back," I replied and placed a bloody hand on my brother's head. Seeing his blood my stomach turned. I have eaten a lot of creatures before and had their blood on my hands. Seeing my own family's blood though, was sickening. "We need to get him inside, I need to go home. Vaymond and I need to mourn. The company... they don't know."

I needed someone to go with me, I couldn't carry my brother home by myself. Someone would have to help me, and that meant telling someone, everything.

There were only a few people I trusted... I just had to hope all of them were going to be alright to make the journey with me.

Rumple.

Rum. 

Ru. 

All of the names he had gone under since he was a child. Since the moment his mother had told him about a mischievous beast that turned straw into gold. All it wanted was simple, it only wanted someone's child. He was clear about the payment, he was honest in his deals. What else could a Beithioch want to be?

Rum walked down the streets of Limsa with a hum in his throat and a spring in his step. He had managed to talk himself out of yet another debt that he didn't feel like paying. Part of him knew sooner or later people would be after him, but they would have to deal with the tricky wording of the verbal contracts he had put them under. He always wanted to be Rumplestiltskin, and now, he got to be. Minus stealing a child from a mother. That sounded like a lot of work for him.

Night time had fallen and he made his way to an inn he frequented when he was in the city, the rare few times he was that is. Living a transient life was part of his long plan to stay away from the people who kidnapped him and his siblings when they were children. But it did mean he never got to see any of his siblings again. If he had been more adventurous he'd try to find the way home. He would wander the woods in the Black Shroud and eat dry rations under large canopy trees. But that sounded boring, and like more work than he wanted to do. One of his siblings would find him one day. No one ever told stories of the middle child. It was always the youngest and oldest who did anything in the stories.

Inside the tavern, the first thing Rum noticed was the change of staff. Everyone in the tavern he had known was now gone. That wasn't a red flag, in fact, it meant there were new people for him to manipulate and trick.

'New prey for me, don't mind if I do.' He thought with a jovial bounce in his step. He sat down at a chipped wood counter and waved to a barmaid. "Hey, ale, something with flavor."

The woman nodded and would get him his drink. Rum tried to listen in on the conversation happening, but that's when he realized no one was talking. Again, that wasn't too strange. Sailors after being on a boat for months on end tended to have little to talk about with the people they were with.

Swallowing a long drink from his ale he looked around again, and then it hit him. They were looking at him. He didn't think he looked too strange for a Hyru. That was a perk of the family, they blended in everywhere they went. Unassuming, the wolf just off the path to bite the little girl who needs to get to her grandmother's house. But suddenly he wasn't a wolf amongst sheep, he was a wolf surrounded by hunters.

Sitting up straight Rum thought through his next actions. He had been alone all this time. He didn't need a family to protect himself. Unlike everything he had been taught as a child, his family could not protect him.

"I take it you're all from Ul'Dah?" He asked keeping his voice level. There was no reason to sound like he was panicked, panic would not save him.

No one responded.

His stomach twisted and as he got up to his feet he felt his balance had been thrown off and fell back hard into his seat. "The fuck?" He cursed and tried to settle his nerves. He had to find a way out, there was always a way out.

Survival was the duty of all of his family. He had lived on a slave boat, then he had gotten free to work with pirates, he had survived so much. This wasn't going to be the end.

Reaching in deep he got to his feet and pulled a dagger out of the back of his pants. Holding it close so the blade was pressed against his arm he waited for the people in the tavern to strike. If the poison he had ingested was going to take him out, he needed to find a healer to purge his system. But to do that he'd first have to cut his way through the room.

Two men got up from their seats and drew cutlasses that were crude and chipped. Rum launched forward and slashed one man's upper arm, disabling the man's dominant hand for the moment. Rum could try to make a run for it, to get to one of the guards and use them as protection, but authorities weren't to be trusted, even in a city like Limsa. They might side with his attackers anyway and then he'd be right where he was before, only with more people to hide from.

Rum kept up his attack keeping himself on the offense to run the disabled man head-on and push him on the table. The world throbbed around him for a moment, the poison was still crossing through his veins. He powered through it and sank his blade into the man's neck, blood sputtered out and soaked his chest and face with the pressured spray. Rum didn't turn away from it, the first time he had been covered in humanoid blood was one of his first memories of being with all of his family. It was a comfort, a happy memory soaked in hot sticky blood.

In another world, this would have been a sacrifice.

If only he had gone home. Maybe he could have been the Beast his siblings all dreamt to be.

Looking up Rum saw three other men come closer. They blocked the door and the barmaid pulled out a spell book. This was an ambush, whoever was after him, they would leave the room with more dead than they were planning. He'd make sure of that.

"Who sent you?" Rum asked as he got enough distance to plan out his next attack. His heart was pounding, and his mind was growing fuzzy.

The barmaid smiled sweetly. "Your sister has been looking for you, we're going to deliver you straight to her."

Calpernia. 

Rum's blood froze in his veins as he thought of his younger sister. The sister who had been annoying and bothersome up until she proved she was as much of a Beast as him. She didn't cry after they were held captive, her pale blue eyes were as haunting as his elder brothers. She would tell stories to calm their nerves, and when he cut the number six into the center of her back, he had sworn he would find her one day.

She was still alive. There was one Beithioch who still drew breath. He had been alone for so long that he had been sure he was the last. A Beithoich alone in the world is a tragic and dangerous thing. Far more dangerous than them together.

He had to live, he had to see her at least once more. That he could walk to the beach and talk about the monsters they loved.

(( BOLD always or almost always applies | | italics are situational or occasional )

aggressive | arrogant | authoritarian | bitter | brutal | callous | cannibal | careless | cold | cold-hearted | compulsive | controlling | corrects others constantly | cowardly | critical | cruel | delusional | demanding | disillusioned | domineering | envious | emotionally stunted | greedy | grim | guarded | hard | harsh | hypocritical | impatient | impolite | intimidating | irritable | kidnapper | lazy | liar | lustful | materialistic | mean | merciless | messianic | mistrusting | murderer | narrow-minded | obsessive | opinionated | over-bearing | over-critical | over-emotional | over-thinking | patronizing | proud | remote | repressed | rigid | rules with an iron fist | ruthless | sarcastic | self-righteous | self-indulgent | serial killer | taciturn | torturer | touchy | traitorous | unsympathetic | unpredictable | uptight | vain | vengeful

--

Pern's family were created to be perfectly morally grey. She herself is the nicest of her family. She doesn't seek out ways to trick people, she doesn't want to hurt people, yet. I can see her falling into a villain arc if stuff happens to her, but she would still be accepted by her family. They accept monsters as they are, not expecting them to be something they aren't.

Tagged by: @fantasy-so-far

((WARNING: Graphic talk about death, decay, and gore. And creepy little girls))

You know what I said about me cracking the code? It only worked for the first few pages. The assholes switched up their code every chunk, probably changing the code so people would be thrown a curveball. Like me. I'm the one who had the curve ball thrown at her.

I did get a small bit of information from the start of the book. There were no Client names. If there was a cipher for the names, it wasn't able to be cracked with the information I had from the book. The next thing I realized was just how old these records were. Many of the entries near the start of the book could be dated before Sil'dih fell if not when it was still thriving.

I spent a good day or two copying the passages I needed to be translated. Then I did the thing everyone at the house had warned me not to do. I left Ishgard, without another person with me. More other people they could see. I made sure to take two different aetherites before I went to my official destination. 

How I got home, I'm not going to explain that. As my hands grazed over the rough rock that would lead me home the heat of the island invaded the thick sweater I was wearing. Pulling it off I let out a long breath. Cold was a reminder of horrible days, but now on the island, I could let the heat of the tropical environment seep into my skin. 

A shadow raced past me as I left the boundary. The shadow transformed in front of me, the Miqo'te girl with sage green hair and pure white pupilless eyes ran forward her arms up. Anne could experiment with how she looked when she was here. I'm surprised she didn't pick something else, but maybe she liked having cat ears? No matter what she tried though, she couldn’t get eyes on people right.

"Can you tell Vaymond I'm here?" I called after her.

She stopped her dress forming, it looked far too pretty to belong to a being like her. Like a princess grown in sage green and gold. "Why can't you get him?"

A lump formed in the pit of my stomach. "Because he's probably at the house."

"Oh." She looked in the direction of the house and frowned. "He's going to ask you to join him in there."

"I know." But I couldn't tell him why. Since we refound each other, I had made excuse after excuse to not walk into the house. I know there is a large number of boons I could use to save me, but that meant going through the front door.

My guts twisted like someone had stuck a fork through me and was trying to twirl up my intestines like pasta. Would there be stains still? Would my father's blood have left a mark on this world? A world he didn't belong to but decided to join? Would my mother's sword marks still be left in the wood from her trying to defend us?

Anne poked my cheek with a warm finger. "You're thinking too much." She said and then grinned, her mouth stretching too much on the skull she had chosen. "You're in no real danger!"

"You can say that, but my mind won't believe that yet," I muttered and looked in the direction of the house. "Can you get Vaymond?"

She frowned and nodded. “Fine.” But she didn't say another word as she skipped ahead of me to get my brother out.

I took my time to get closer to the house. My feet found the well-walked trail, one that once had been dotted by stones my father had a hand placed. He wanted us to have a secure way back home. Though that didn't work out well for us in the end. Not when we couldn't run far enough to get to safety.

Our house was a sprawling one story building that had a thick thatched roof and open windows. I could see white draps blowing, and in a dark part of my mind, I thought I saw my father. His pale face looking out from the window.

Did our family have ghosts?

I shook the thought as my brother walked out of the front door. He looked more like our father, angular features and thin nose. Though he had the same coloration as our mother. Grey hair, blue eyes, and tan skin. Seeing me he grinned with white teeth.

"Cal!" He called and launched into our family dialect. "Why did you send Anne?"

"I wanted to go to the beach?" But I had used that excuse recently. Holding my breath I waited to see if he'd catch me in my bluff.

Vaymond strolled up closer, he was a tall man. I'm tall for a Hyur but he's even taller than me. "You always want to go to the beach. Let's get some drinks in the house then go to the beach?" He started to turn towards the house but I froze.

"Vay-" My voice sounded like someone had put a boot on my throat. 

He paused and maybe the sudden shift in my tone caught his attention. "Cal. You don't want to go inside, do you?"

If I admitted that, I would have to admit other things that were hard for me to accept. "It, it's complicated."

His lips shifted into a small frown as he took a few steps closer and pulled me in for a tight hug. At first, I wanted to hit him, to push him off. But then he spoke quietly. "It took me two years till I was able to stay inside for any length of time."

Why would he have such a problem? I looked to meet his eyes. "You weren't here when they died."

A bitter sound escaped his mouth. "No, I didn't get to see a fresh corps. I found them. Liquified, animals eating them, some of their limbs were never recovered. I smelled death in that house for months after I gave them a burial. And then I left. I didn't come back for years and finally, when I did, I knew I needed to, or you and the others wouldn't find me. Our tormentors don't deserve to destroy our family like that."

My heart had claws digging into it. I hadn't thought about how my parent's bodies had probably been left to rot. It was a horrible fate for them. In our culture, we believed death was another stage of life. That being with a dead body was an honor, a way to mourn the family we lost. We would bury them with all they needed in their next life, and we could always call on them if we needed them. They weren't gone. They simply weren't here to easily speak to them.

Tears rose up and stung my eyes. "I'm sorry Vaymond." My voice cracked as I realized I hadn't thought about what he had gone through.

"Thank you." He then gave me one last squeeze of the hug before he took a step back. "Will you retake this with me? This is our haven. Our Forest. They were hunters who got lucky with a pack of wolves. Don't let them take our heritage from us."

That house, it was more than a place where my family had lived. My family had been on this island since we came here. All of my ancestors were buried here. My parents were buried here. I might be buried here with them one day. Our blood was a part of this island as much as it was a part of us. The house carried our inheritance. 

"I'm scared," I whispered.

Vaymond nodded and pulled my hand to follow. I did this time and we got closer to the stairs that lead up to the wrap-around porch. He didn’t push me forward. We instead stood looking at the stairs, waiting for me to choose my next move. “What does fear teach us?"

It was an old lesson. Fear, chaos, instability, and horror were not things we should suffer for long. What separates us from others that look like us is fear was a reaction. Chaos cannot be controlled but accepted as it is gives you boons. Instability like chaos must be met at face value. Horror... Horror is all the other things combined and should not be feared, but accepted as it is.

"That we suffered something we were not ready for," I said and slowly I put my hand on the wood railing, it was soft, butter-like in how worn the wood was. "Did their blood stain the wood?"

Vaymond stood beside me and I watched his jaw tense and intense. "They left their mark, and they would be proud. Predators took their fill of their bodies."

At least that was good. If we couldn't be buried properly, at least a fellow predator took their fill of any calories they could get. "Good." I could barely say a word as my foot found the first step.

Each step felt like it took a life time. Would I see them? Would their memories stain this home?

As I came up the step I looked to where my father had been split open in front of me. His last moments he had tried to fight off the men who attacked him. But he fell to the ground, his guts spilt and his blood everywhere. I could see myself, wearing my sleep clothes, may hair braided and in a scarf for while I slept. 

"Deep breaths," Vaymond whispered and I found I had stopped breathing the moment I had gotten to the top step.

"He fought till the end you know? For being married into the family, he took on being a Beast well." I whispered. "He told me once that he would kill anyone who'd touch us. He took out two of their men before he fell."

"He wasn't a trained fighter." Vaymond crossed his arms and looked at the spot I was looking at. "I know being away saved me, but if I was there I might have-"

"Been killed along with them. You weren't able to be manipulated like the rest of us were." I shook my head. "I'm glad you're here."

Taking a few steps towards the house I walked over the spot my father died and felt. Nothing. There was no shiver, no sense of dread. It was a spot. Every inch of the world had someone or something die on it. There is no great difference.

On the wood there was an impression, but I didn’t feel anything. His spirit did not stain the ground. It was only his blood that had perminately stained the wood. Vaymond’s children will know their grandfather died there to keep the family safe.

Letting out a breath I took in the first room, the walls had painted murals of the island. To an outsider there would be no way to know we were anything but some island dwellers. I reached up and touched a drawing of a palm tree and tried to breath. My mind told me I could still smell blood, but it wasn't there.

"Cal." Vaymond took a step closer. "I got a room ready for you. You know you can always be here."

Even if I could walk into the house, I listened to the window blowing through the windows from the sea. I knew this wasn't the safe haven Raymond saw. At least it wasn't for me. Not anymore.

"Can I get some Chai?" I asked and then reached into my pouch and held up my notebook I had copied some passages in. "I also need your eyes on something."

Vaymond frowned, but it was small, barely a twitch of his lips. He must be catching on to how I deflect now. One day he'll call me out for it, but he waved a hand to follow him to the kitchen. "I'll make some stew, you're staying for dinner."

I wanted to protest, but refusing to eat with him would be rude after I took the chance to walk into the house. And I know he had a lot of food he was working through and it would be wrong to not help him.

-

Dinner was made and laid out between the three of us. Vaymond, Anne, and I sat at the table that was tucked into the corner of the kitchen, an open window blowing in the smell of tropical flowers and the brine of the sea. A thick stew of savory spices was to be shared between us. A tower of flat bread, and a portion of rice between us made our meal.

I ripped up some of the flatbread and dipped it deeply in the stew before fishing out a good amount with a long strip of meat. Popping it into my mouth I nodded to the open book beside Vaymond. "See, the code goes to a number cipher."

Vaymond had pulled out a separate book for him to take some notes. He took some rice with his right hand and then scooped up some stew as well. "Yup, interesting in construction."

"It's been nothing but annoying." I admitted.

“I told her if you couldn’t do it, I could call my Auntie.” Anne said her tone peppy. I only knew a limited amount about her ‘Auntie’, the woman or entity was not something I wanted to invite into my life.

"But you got the first round of ciphers done," Vaymond smirked and winked at Anne. Her disturbing eyes didn’t affect him. "You know, when we were kids you would go off with Rumple and figure out our riddles. I always wondered if you would take to it or not."

I wanted to roll my eyes, but I ate more of the stew with some rice this time. The meat fell apart in my mouth and I gratefully swallowed it. Being able to eat meant I was able to have this chance with my brother. "Thanks, but what do I do now?"

"There are only so many things that can be done. You made copies of the pages?" He said as he nodded to my book.

"I did." I leaned closer to him to see if I could see anything from upside down. "Why?"

He turned a page and pointed. One of the pages that baffled me was a long string of numbers that then had a grid at the end. "Why is there a grid," He asked and a thick eyebrow quirked up as if he had unlocked what was happening. What I had missed.

"I don't know," I said though that couldn't be right.

“It’s for tic-tac-toe,” Anne said nodding though there were too many squares for it.

"Do you remember the Playfair Cypher?" He drew it out on his notebook and gestured to the grid. "Focus on this here." He pointed to the chain of numbers and started to write them down. "There are two repeating numbers. Thirty, three, zero. Why do you think that's important?"

I blinked a few times before it became too clear to me. "They're spaces."

"Bingo. Did you make a cipher for each variation of the Ceaser Cypher?" He asked and took another large portion of stew as I flipped through the pages.

"Of course." I then started to shake my head. "Why didn't I see that?"

"You're good at following you're gut, also we never played too much with the Playfair cipher, mom told me it was unfair to use it on all of you when you were so much younger than me." He shrugged and kept eating.

I started to translate the block of numbers into letters. It was the Playfair cypher with a devious twist. The letters were not placed in alphabetical order, but at random, via the code written in a standard Ceascar cypher, or replacement cypher. Putting the next bit down I gleefully did my translations again.

“See!” Anne pointed at my translation. “Tic-Tac-Toe.” She grinned and for one of many times, I had no idea if she actually knew what was happening or not.

“Good job,” Vaymond said his smile far fonder of her. “You’re Auntie is going to be proud.”

“Mom is going to be proud.” Anne nodded and watched me continue my work.

For a long moment, my work became my focus until Vaymond coughed and got my attention. "Your stew is getting cooler by the minute. And you don't want it to go cold again." He smirked and nodded to the stew.

Part of me wanted to kick him under the table for the horrible joke, but I chose not to as he did mean well. I kept eating and read out the translation until a passage hit me.

'Captain Cornilius Harborn'

My heart lurched. "Vay." I suddenly lost my appetite.

Looking at the translation my brother had no context for the man who was named in this book. He hadn't been hunting for our brothers. His job was to look after the estate, the island, the vault, and the way home. I'm the one who knew who this man was.

"This was the Captain I'd been looking for. Rumple, was once on his ship. From what I learned our attackers sold him…” I shook my head and closed the book. "He's not mentioned in any of the human trafficking sections. The client number isn't the same. Why would they be going after him?"

"A person who sells and ships people is being hunted." Vaymond shook his head his eyes unblinking. "Why is this a problem? Other than we can't kill him."

"I need him alive to know where Rumple is," I said and pointed to the name. "What if I lose my lead?"

Vaymond then frowned and nodded, the dots connecting. "He must have angered someone. Is there any way to intercept?"

It wasn't like cutting through a path in the wood. Finding a sailor on the open ocean was like finding a wave before it crashed back into the sea. "No." I admitted and leaned back in my seat. "If I lose this, I'll find another lead. Rumple's been the easiest to track."

"His stupid nickname really makes him stand out." Vaymond groaned and shook his head. "I never should have told him that story."

I took the bread, and my appitite returned, though for a new reason. If Black Fall was dealing with my brother's captor, then I would need to find out what happened to the man. If he's captured, then we can still get justice.

"I need to leave here early in the morning." I took a large bite of the stew-covered bread. "I need to tell the others I cracked most of the book."

"Will you tell them about this?" He nodded to the passage about our brother's captor. Human trafficking had been one of my fears for my siblings. I know I had been kept as a doll for nobles to mold and corrupt. But my brothers could have worse fates.

I shook my head. "I'll tell them about the kind of people they are acquiring for jobs but," I shook my head. "I can't tell them about Rumple. It means explaining too much about who I am. “

Vaymond picked up another round of flatbread and ripped off a piece. Fishing out some of the stew he looked at it, like the stew would answer a question that’s been simmering in his mind. “What if we told them? Everything? Where I've been, people are accepting.”

My hand gripped the edge of the table as I watched him. “You’re joking.”

“If we are open about our situation, maybe they can help locate the others?” Vaymond then looked to Anne. Like she would be a good person to ask. “Do you think they would accept us?”

Anne opened her mouth then closed it as if she could sense my anger rising.

Vaymond was sheltered in his island. He never had to deal with the outside world. He got to walk in places we were safe. If he said something out of place, people understood what he meant. I knew what my group was like. I had seen them look at me like I had lost my mind.

“They recently released a prisoner. Because one person made an agreement with said prisoner, they let them go. I don’t know if the person even remembers who we are, what we do, what the inside of the house looks like. I don’t know… And I’m too low in the group to point out these things.” I licked my lips, some of the gravy had lingered there and the salt and spices fueled my mind. “From what I know right now. They are all nice people. Good people. Not heroes. But not Beasts. I’ve met only two Beasts and one has begged to not know what’s going on. The other, I still need to prove myself to.”

“You don’t have to prove you’re a monster to a monster,” Anne muttered before she fished out a piece of stewed meat and gleefully took a bite and hummed happily.

My brother let out a small understanding ‘ah’ sound. “I thought they were more like the people…” He paused and waved a hand. “You’re the one who knows outsiders. I’m sorry. If you think they’d ever understand?”

“I think they’ll be good allies, but nothing closer than that. I don't know if I'd ever trust them to come here. Traveling here.” I knew it was harsh for me to say it. That I had to clinically look at the people who swore to stand beside me and know if monsters came to their door, I would stand with them. But if I went out to seek my own vengeance, I wouldn’t want them there. They didn’t need to see my true self. They needed the bard, the kind smile, the person who could dance at a club, and the extra face in a crowd. 

They didn’t need what I really was. 

((This happened almost two weeks ago, sorry for the delay!))

I think deep down, I'm glad to know I might have found people like me here. The way everyone watched me their eyes full of judgment as worry as Violetta confessed there was a prisoner still being held. They all assumed I was going to be scared maybe? Or disgusted.

I don't think they could do anything to disgust me.

Putting down a large mug of tea I open the book and the journal I had started during the meeting. Behind me, just off in the shadows, I could see two pinpricks of light looking back at me. Anne. She was always with me, always watching. During the meeting, she noticed Violetta's notebook and reminded me to pull my book out as well. As if I could copy the people around me to fit in better.

'I love puzzles!' her voice sang through my mind, unhearable to anyone but myself. 'Have you solved a lot of puzzles?'

The first few pages were strings of words I couldn't distinguish. As I flipped through the book I finally noticed a different 'language' and wrote down my theories. "My brothers and I would challenge each other to word games, making ciphers, and giving each other codes. Vaymond was the best at it, he's still the best at it."

My brother, my eldest brother was always on my mind now. With my return to him, I had known one absolute truth. I was not alone. We joked in our family that a lone Beithioch was a terrifying thing. There was no telling what we would do without a family to protect. Vaymond had worried he would be alone, and our reuniting was a revelation for us. There was one other person in both of our lives that we could lean on. We could look at one another and understand some fundamental truths about each other.

'My Auntie is good at puzzles.' Anne said the shadows flickering out of the corner of my eye. 'She would tell me stories about how princesses could get out of situations by using puzzles. Do you think that's true?'

I flipped a few more pages and thought to humor the entity. Anne meant well by her rambling and while in another person's mind, her words would swirl their brains like soft serve. "That a princess could use puzzles to save herself? I don't see why not. Anything can be a tool for survival."

'Spoken like a Beithioch.' She teased then let out a small squeak as someone was coming down the steps. It was one of the folks in the house and they easily shambled past to make it to their own bunk for the night. 

Looking back to the book I noticed a cypher I had used when I was little with my brothers. The symbols were basically the same, they were a box like structure that would corilate to a key of two three by three squares, and two x's with the letters of the alphabet filling the spaces. I drew out the key and started to take down notes, of course, what I got was pure gibberish.

Frowning I looked up from the book and to the shadow that rested near me. I waited till I could hear snoring from further away before I whispered my next theory. "It looks like they are using an Eligan Cypher, but it's not working. There might be another key that will tell me how to make the cipher."

Anne's shadowy presence pulled close. I could almost feel her numerous hands on my shoulders as she looked over my work. 'It's pretty... I have no idea how to do this. How do you do it?'

I pointed to the key and started to write in the language. My brothers used this along with our family's dialect to teach us how to pass messages to one another. My father would catch us occasionally but found it endearing how the six of us were trying to find fun ways to keep learning our heritage. "But their key is different than mine. They could be using a Ceaser Cypher... I don't know what it's called here, a replacement cipher?" 

Again my shadow was still as she watched me work. I wrote down a few more clues from the book. There was a section where numbers were used, but again, simply transposing the numbers to the correct letter of the alphabet gave me nothing. There had to be a place to start, a clue in the book in case the book was given to someone who didn't know the cipher yet. 

Flipping through the pages I got to the last, where the decorative last page was glued to the thicker board of the book's cover. Tracing my fingers over it I felt a small square ridge. There was something under the decorative paper. It could have been a flaw in the binding, but my gut told me otherwise as I traced the line. There had to be something hidden and who looks at the binding of a book when there is still a code to crack?

Pulling out a pocket knife I carefully cut around the ridge.

'Ooo this is like solving a mystery. I should get us detective clothing!' Anne said her voice a mock whisper for effect only.

The square fell free...

And it was blank.

Looking at the blank square I brushed my fingers over it, trying to feel any raised indentations. Fianlly an old memory roared back to me.

-

Rumple was sitting in the room he shared with one of our brothers. His face was inches from a page he was looking at. His graphite grey hair nearly covering his face so I couldn't see it. I had been watching him for a few minutes when I decided to speak up.

"Vaymond gave you the same paper didn't he?" I said and held up the rough brown paper that matched his.

Rumple was only two years older than me but looked so grown up. That was in a lense of a child though, he was a child, and we were both still children. He threw his head back his bright blue eyes looking from his paper then to mine. "You're going to ask me to solve it for you, aren't you?"

"I tried holding it up to a window," I said and pouted. "If we work together we can figure out what Vaymond is trying to tell us."

Getting up from his desk he held out his hand. "Make me a Deal."

I took a half step back. He had always been so quick to do this. My brothers, all of them, they made Deals like it was breathing. Like it was a screaming part of their souls. I never had that, and I still don't feel comfortable offering such a thing to the people I met. At that moment, when he held his hand out, I knew I was in danger. Family always trusted each other, but that didn't mean he would make the negotiation easy for me.

"Rumple." I said and lowered my voice. "I'll never make a Deal with you. I'll say your real name."

And at that moment his cocky expression vanished and he dropped his hand. "There's one thing I haven't tried yet."

Rumple out of all of my brothers disliked his given name. Names were important, they carried power unspoken, but that was a familial belief. Rumple chose his nickname when we were young and demanded everyone call him it. Letting the name our parents gave him rest in the shadows, known to us, but not spoken. 

He walked over to a lamp and got a match to light the wick inside. Once the burner was hot enough, he rose the paper to the glass, heating the paper to the point that a chemical reaction started...

--

My feet were carrying me as I heard Anne call to me, trying to pull me out of my mind. How could I have forgotten that? How one can use heat to oxidize lemon juice so it turns into a kind of ink. I slipped into the small seating area on the main level and reached the fireplace. Looking around the normal people were on their night shift so there were less people near by to listen in.

"Anne, hold this close to the fire," I whispered and offered the page up, and from my own shadow, a hand appeared and took the paper and brought it up to the flame. It needed to be close enough for the heat to react with the chemicals on the paper.

'This is exciting! Like spy work!' Anne's tone was as excited as a child would be if they were told they were a key help to solve a mystery.

On the paper, for one moment I thought i had predicted things incorrectly, but soon a series of lines started to appear. A symbol that looked like an s, inside of a d, inside of an N. 

"Gotcha," I muttered and took the paper from Anne's hand before rushing back to my bunk so I could write down what I was seeing before it vanished.

Back in my bunk I looked at the other ciphers I had identified and noticed this set of letters didn't fix anything I had seen previously. Letting out a huff I thought about simple ciphers that would be used to guide someone through this book. While this is challenging, they couldn't risk making it impossible to figure out.

Looking at the codes I tried the replacement cypher again, this time I started with a few different options for the replacement. I thought to the group, to if someone was cracking open the back of the book to get this clue then it had to be something they would all know. I then put in the word Black and started the substitutions.

The N became an S.

The D became an I.

The S became an x.

Six. 

Six what though? I frowned and remembered the Eligan script that was everywhere in the first part of the book. Six. If I started the script with F instead of A, what would that give me?

I charted out the course of the script. with the key in place I looked at the first few words of the script and started to translate.

'Client 8320432793'

My heart almost leaped out of my chest as I broke the first round of codes. "Fuck yes," I said and then covered my mouth knowing I wasn't alone in the bunk. Thankfully all I heard was snoring a little while away from me.

It was going to take a long while for me to translate what I had uncovered, and given the nature of the book was going to be linear instead of in sections, I would have a lot of fat to get through before I get to anything that's going to be useful to us.

Mirrors always have something new to say. Each time I pass a mirror, I'm a different person. I'm a young inexperienced adventurer. I'm the doting daughter. I'm the faceless bard. I'm the girl no one remembers.

I wanted that.

Why don't people remember me? It's simple, they're busy with their own lives. Who's going to worry about a young woman who didn't even tell them my real name? It's not their fault. I lied. Being a storyteller is partly being a liar as well.

"Pern." A woman called from outside the room I was in. That would be Leey, a lovely woman I had met while traveling. My travels had been needed after my fall. I needed time to think, time to rationalize what I was feeling. It was better to do that alone, with less risk of letting out my secrets.

"Coming!" I called donning a sing song voice.

The room I was currently sleeping in was all in order, and while it would look normal, I could sense a shadow just waiting behind the mirror. It watched me, not judging me but studying me with the childlike curiosity that I had come to know from it.

'You're in no real danger.' It whispered in a soft voice.

I relaxed and nodded at its advice. It hadn't steered me wrong yet. Not since I found it months ago.

Opening the door to my room I pulled on my best most animated smile. "Ready for a night on the town?" I asked and leaned against the door. I'm taller than most other Hyru women and normally I would try my best to shrink myself, but not with Leey. She didn't care I was a head taller than her.

Leey while small, she was also the opposite of em in all other ways I could imagine. She had soft blond hair, dark eyes, and pale skin, the sort of pale that reminded me of how I looked when I hadn't been allowed to be outside for ten years. It was a sick time, a time I never wanted to relive. "You're the one who wanted to do it." She said and while she smiled I could see the distress.

When I had met Leey she had sworn that she was a homebody, but then lamented she never got to do anything. I took that as her challenge, she wanted to leave home. She wanted to see the world, she needed someone to kick her into motion.

I took her arm and pulled her down the hallway and into the main tavern. There was a group of bards already hard at work playing some music. I took pulled her on a near by dance floor and spun us around. "Come on, we'll start with a dance, drink a little, then ask some one else to dance with us."

While I was spinning I knew I wasn't graceful. I was no dancer, but I didn't have to worry about that. I wasn't the focus. Leey was. I was the catalyst, she was the star of the night. Around us folks were glancing in our direction. I noticed one of them was an attractive enough looking man and I guided us closer, almost running into him.

The man steadied Leey and when their eyes met I wanted to grin. Their moment came, and it passed. I watched only a foot away before the man cleared his throat and glanced to me. "Are you alright?"

"I'm just clumsy," I said, waving my hand and laughing. "I'm going to get some drinks. Leey, want some?" I asked 

Leey was still looking at the man her dark eyes transfixed on him. Maybe her story was going to be that of love? She could have a romantic night and tell me all about it the next day. "Yeah, some wine?"

I tapped the side of my nose knowing what she wanted and rushed away before anyone talked to me. They would remember me as a wisp of a figure, one easily forgotten. I was here to reflect what they needed and not be seen for the dangerous metal underneath.

At the bar, I ordered our drinks. I got myself water, drinking would fog the mind and I didn't need to be as foggy as their own remembrance of me. I took up the drinks and noticed Leey was laughing with the man when I turned. Taking my time, I counted. Watching and waiting was part of the game. Letting no one know me was part of the game.

No one really wants to know a Beast.

After counting back from sixty, giving them a whole minute alone, I started back and offered the wine to Leey. She was blushing when she took the glass. 

"This is Mikal." She said gesturing to the man. "And this is Pern."

I smiled as brightly as I needed to. "Do you have a dance partner tonight Mikal?" I asked.

The man opened his mouth looking at the dance floor then to Leey. "No, i was just passing through."

"So am I." I shrugged. "What a surprise? This place is so great to meet people and then move along. I think I'm going to sit down for a moment, it's warmer here than I thought it would be." It's another lie but I want Leey and Mikal to have all the time they need.

They didn't stop me as I returned to my seat, plopping myself down satisfied with my work. It wasn't my most flashy setup. But it told more of a story than what they would have. One day they would get to tell people how they met, bumping into one another. I will be closer to a fairy godmother who is written into one scene and then forgotten. Leey is lucky I don't have access to magical slippers, or I would have set her up that way.

It's a lonely life, being the mirror. Being the one to reflect what people wish to see. Being forgotten is safer. No one remembers the image they want to see. They will remember the difference, the outsider who sticks out. Being normal, being one of them, it's how I can survive.

I wonder if anyone else remembers me? Anyone important?

My water is savored, each sweet clean drop reminds me I don't have to worry about where I'm getting fresh drinking water. The days where I was hiding in the wood are over. The people looking for me, they probably wouldn't know me if they saw me. if any of them are still alive.

The last one who saw my face, I saw an arrow go into the side of their head. Killing them instantly. If any of the others still lived, they must think I'm dead as well after what happened. There was no way they would know I had survived, that I had managed to do the impossible.

I think somewhere, in our family history, we were told we were people who could do the impossible. Will I get to do the impossible? Will I get to be like one of them? The one the story is actually about. The witch, the wolf, the Beast, can I be any of those. Or am I the mirror?

"Pern!" Leey shouted half an hour later. Her face was flush but she was holding up some paper. "I got his address to write him!"

In my heart, warmth seeped in. Honest warmth, the warmth of knowing I had done something right. One day she'll realize I didn't give her an address for myself. One day she would wonder what happened to the bard who had introduced her to Mikal. But today, I was here, the side character to her life. The one who was happily playing along as she lived her best life.

"That's great!" I got up from my seat and offered her a hug. "Are you going to keep talking to him? It's not a problem if you do. I need to check on something at the stable."

Leey was blushing again her eyes darting back to the man. He was standing awkwardly against a wall, waiting to get my approval. I offered a wave.

"I'll talk to you in the morning?" She asked.

"I want every detail." I squeezed her hand and gestured for her to go to him. Once she turned and they were fully engrossed in their conversation I drank the rest of my water and walked to the stairs leading to my room.

It was time I left.

She'll go looking for me in the morning, but what she'll find is a note. When I get to my room I pen it.

Leey,

I had to go, family issues came up. I hope you had a wonderful time with Mikal. If I pass through I'll contact you.

Pern.

I placed the letter on the nightstand and glanced to the mirror. I was dressed for a night out, but on closer inspection no one going out would be wearing travel boots. My room was fully packed and ready to go. A second look, it would be like I had planned this.

'Why did you leave so early?' The soft voice behind the mirror whispered.

Putting my pack on my back I shrugged. "Because my part in her story was over. Let's head out." I reached my hand out, but the shadow behind the mirror was gone and outside I could hear the calling from its main form. Of the black Chocobo that had stayed glued to my side. The only being who remembered me was the only one who asked me questions I wanted to answer.

I snuck out the back of the tavern so Leey and Mikal didn't notice my escape. Out near the back gate, the Chocabo waited, her head cocked to one side, and around her neck was a thick opulent bow I had bought for her.

'Where are we going now? Will we get to go to the beach? I want to see a ship!' She said her voice only audible to me.

I smoothed her feathers under my hand, though they were silken, they didn't feel like real feathers. They felt like whatever she thought feathers would feel like. "I need to head north, while doing this is fun, it's not helping me locate my brothers."

The Chocabo nodded her head as I got on the saddle. 'We get to see the snow!'