"You see…" Felora flashed a grin. "I'm a stolen soul too."
…What? Fiona was taken aback.
"You…you came from earth too?"
"Eh, is that what you call your world? Hmm, let's find out, ever heard of the Heiliges Römisches Reich?"
"The what?"
"In Kinder it might be something like Holy Römisches Empire."
"Uh, no, I don't think so. Wait, but reich? That kind of sounds like German. And uh… it means… like empire right? or state? Something like that I think."
"Mm, we might be getting somewhere. Ever heard of Romanum? How about Jesus Christus?"
"Oh! Yeah! Rome! I know that one. So we do come from the same world! Wait… but like, uhh, how old are you then?"
"Me?" Felora laughed. "I'm over a thousand. I stopped counting so it's hard to keep track. So what was the date over there? Like 2700?"
"Uh, no. More like 2025."
Felora frowned. "Strange. Time must move differently between the two realms then." She shrugged. "But enough of that, we can catch up about our old world some other time. I can't hold the dream that much longer, and I have one more thing to ask you."
"Yeah? What is it?"
"What do you wish to use your power for? When the time comes?"
Fiona took a breath. She had figured a question like this was coming eventually. Ever since that day when the Snake had last visited her dream and asked her what her goals for this life were.
"I just want to live a normal life." Fiona said, testing the words she had practiced in her head. "I just want to be a kid when I'm a kid—playing, laughing, being careless and free. And then when I grow up I want to find a way to live peacefully with people. To protect those whom I care about, if that's necessary, to be free to love whom I want to, to live and laugh without worry as much as possible, to grow flowers and read books and play games without a need for power, fame, or riches. That's what I want. That's what, if I'm given power, and am forced to use it, that's what I'll use it in search for."
Felora looked thoughtfully out the window towards the golden light. Finally she turned to Fiona. "Try not to forget it." And the dream rapidly faded into smoke.
"Oh and one more thing," the voice echoed in the edges of Fiona's consciousness. "Try to pretend not to know me."
Fiona woke up. The sunlight was streaming into her room through the gaps in the curtains. A maid stood by the doorway, ready to take care of her.
"Good morning, Miss Fiona," The maid bowed.
Fiona tried to spend the morning normally, playing in the garden and in the nursery, but her anxiety got the better of her. Lessons, Magic, Stolen Souls, Snake Lady. The revelations of the night before kept spinning through her head, gnawing at her stomach with anticipation for what was to come in the afternoon. All she wanted was a normal life, yet if what Felora said was true, the Snake of Time's attention was the least of her concerns.
People who want to use me, people who want to kill me. If being a stolen soul is really as special as she said, then I have to absolutely make sure that no one finds out. Or if they do find out, that I have the power to stop them. But is this thing normal? How did it happen anyways? And moreover how did Felora find out about it? If she could detect it, does that mean others have as well? Is she here not just to find out what becomes of me, but to stake a claim against any other possible bidders? God, this is all so messed up. Why can't I just be a normal two year-old?
Fiona layed down on the grass looking up at the clear blue sky. She reached her hand up. How many peaceful days do I have left? How long until they come for me? She sighed and let her hand fall.
"Fiona don't look well today, what do you suppose might be the matter," one of her maids whispered in the background.
"It's the lessons, no doubt about it. Look at her sigh, hehe. She'll be a stubborn one I'm sure."
Why does it feel like the world is already closing in around me?
"Here's Miss Fiona, Madame Felora." Emily came in the door and bowed. She turned to Fiona with a smile. "Don't worry, Miss Fiona. Alfred will be here if you need anything."
"Very well, thank you," Felora waved the maid away, and Emily retreated from the room. Alfred took up his post by the door, and Fiona reluctantly made her way to the witch known as the Snake of Time.
"Now Miss Fiona," Felora smiled, not unkindly for once. "Are you ready to begin our lessons?"
"I suppose," Fiona said with a sigh, and sat down next to Felora at the table in the center of the room.
"That's a good girl. Today we're going to be learning how to read."
"But I—"
"It's very important to start with the basics." Felora interrupted before Fiona could explain that she had already figured out how to read Kinder. "Reading is very important you know," She continued as if that wasn't what Fiona had been about to say. "Every little noble girl has to learn how to read or else they won't be able to do their job as nobles. It's the privilege of your position you see, for all the common little girls don't get the chance to learn, and that makes them ignorant and helpless. It's our job as mages and nobles to learn the things they can't so we can take care of them." Felora continued the nobility spiel as if she was the earl's first choice for a tutor for his daughter, and Fiona gradually caught on to what she was doing.
Ohhhh, she wants to paint me as a stubborn ignoramus, so that people don't catch on to my gifts…Well, maybe a little late with you coming to tutor me, but maybe you have answers to that too…I guess I should probably try to play along.
"But why do I have to learn now?" She said at last. "I'm only two years old!" She protested.
Felora smiled, her eyes betraying her approval of Fiona's scheme. "Hmm, let me tell you a story. Miss Fiona, do you like stories?"
"Yes! I love them!" Fiona answered honestly.
"This is a story from a long time ago, in my past. It was…"