Missing Piece

For as long as the little girl could remember, it felt like something was missing within her. She could never put a finger on why, but it made her a restless child, picking up and discarding games, struggling with consistently staying interested, and some days she just felt very strange.

Like that one stained glass window she had seen when her parents had taken her to a nearby city. All disjointed fragments that still managed to be a picture, but it would never be one entire, whole piece.

The stained glass window, at least, had been very pretty compared to the ugly feeling within her.

"Have you ever felt like something is missing inside you?" she asked her grandma who came to pick her up many a day while her parents worked.

Things were strange between Gran and her parents; she never talked to them, and they never talked to her, and she never set foot into their garden or house, preferring to wait for the little girl at the gate by the small dirt road.

Gran stilled, and when the little girl glanced up at her, her face had gone dark and grim. For the first time in the girl’s life, her beloved grandma, a joyful soul who loved her with all her heart, looked just a little bit frightening.

But her hand around the girl’s remained gentle, and the older woman kept walking at a sedate pace so her short little legs didn’t struggle with keeping up.

Everyone always said to the girl that she would grow to be bigger, and she couldn’t wait for that day to arrive.

Gran was silent for so long that the girl thought she was never going to answer.

"You best ask your parents about that," Gran said, at last, voice quiet and heavy with something unspoken. Strangely enough, her voice reminded the girl of a draft horse she had seen who had been forced to pull a too-heavy burden, body straining as it slowly and laboriously set one hoof in front of the other.

"Alright," the girl answered and grinned up at her grandmother, hoping to break up the awful mood her innocent little question had created. "Can we make blueberry cake today?"

Gran smiled, and it was like the sun returning after a dark, scary storm, her face brightening and looking as kind and loving as ever. "Of course, little chestnut." She leaned in, voice dipping into a conspiratorial stage whisper, "My wife picked an entire basket just this morning."

The little girl giggled, and soon, the two of them reached the end of the village, the conversation about missing pieces and the resulting, scary expressions forgotten.

The blueberry cake was delicious and maybe a bit messy, since the girl had tried to help a bit too enthusiastically, and the cute little apron Gran had made for her was stained with purple-blue juice where she had wiped her hands.

Gran’s wife, Tanya, arrived just as they had taken the first bite of a still-warm slice of cake.

"You baked without me?" she gasped in a mock-scandalized voice. "Oh, the betrayal, how it stings!"

She dramatically fell onto the kitchen table, and the little girl laughed when the two older women broke out into a full blown performance of over-the-top tragedy and lamentation just to ensure she kept laughing.

Later, Gran brought her back home just as the sun set, and a strong, steady wind blew in from the forest, bringing with it the smell of spring moss and damp, cool earth.

"If you ever meet any magical beings, be wary," Gran said as she stopped in front of the gate that creaked noisily when it was two thirds of the way open.

She looked down at the girl, her face serious. "One day, you might, and if you do, they will offer you deals, and nothing good ever comes from accepting their offers. They will only bring ruin in exchange for empty promises."

As solemnly as the little girl could, she offered her little pinky. "I promise to be careful," she said, and a shadow of a smile crossed Gran’s face as they hooked their pinkies around each other gently.

Gran leaned down to kiss the top of her head before she left with a glance towards the house, and the girl looked towards the forest.

It was an old forest, not quite as ancient as elsewhere in the world, but it was surrounded by stories and mysteries all the same.

The girl had heard rumors about creatures living in the woods, of magic being alive in ways the mages in the big cities could never hope to replicate.

She decided to be very careful whenever she went into the woods to pick berries and mushrooms. She had promised, after all.

She entered her parents' house, neatly putting her boots beside her mother’s, and when she looked up at her parents, the question tumbled forth without much thought: "Why do I feel like I’m missing a piece of myself?"

Her mother, who was working on a leather bracelet, stilled so thoroughly she might as well have turned to stone.

Her father, in the process of finishing dinner, seemed to freeze in place, the stirring of his ladle abruptly falling silent.

"You’re still growing," her mother answered, at last, voice quiet and her gaze on her work. "It will pass given time."

The little girl stared at her, startled silent and with increasing heartbreak as the seconds passed and no one spoke.

For she had just learned what her mother sounded like when she lied.

The conversation with her parents stayed with the girl as the months passed, and she never asked again. Gran said nothing, either, but every time she picked the girl up, she now glared at the house.

Gran knew, the girl realized, but either couldn’t say why she felt wrong or didn’t want to tell her.

Though, knowing her Gran, she probably couldn’t for some reason. Gran had been born a rebel and she said she would die one, encouraging all of the little girl’s bad habits, as her parents called them, with no remorse.

"This world will chew you up and spit you out if you let it," Gran told her when she picked her up from school, her hand warm and gentle. "So don’t be afraid to bare your teeth, little chestnut. Stand up for what you believe is right; that is the only way to slowly but surely kill off all things cruel and evil."

The girl wasn’t sure she entirely understood, but she nodded seriously anyway. Gran always told her everything no one else wanted to, blunt and direct without scaring her or hurting her feelings.

Gran was strong, like a rushing river that wore down even the largest, toughest boulders over time. The girl hoped she could be like her one day.

It was her Gran’s teachings that got her in and out of trouble over the next years, and her words guided the girl into understanding when something was wrong.

And how important it was to do something when she discovered evil.

As the village turned into a cute little town, and more and more people moved in, drawn towards a hopeful future by their fertile lands and abundant forest, the girl had grown into a headstrong young woman.

Not once in all that time, however, had she shaken off the feeling like she was lacking something. Like something was missing that should be there.

Her parents could no longer deny that something was wrong, and their increasingly guilty and troubled looks said it all.

As the young woman lived, her very life showed that something within her was gone. As soon as someone looked into the little house she had moved into, they saw that no project was ever finished, every hobby dropped just after she had gained a modicum of skill in it.

She bounced from job to job, working for whoever hired her before losing that job, as well, sometimes by leaving, sometimes through more talented, more passionate people coming along.

It was that restlessness that caused her to drift far from the town one day, the feeling of wrongness seemingly guiding her step until she crossed paths with what she first thought was a kind of traveling circus.

There was a man, pale faced and primly dressed, leading the entire caravan of wagons. He was clearly a mage, considering his robes and pompous behavior as he hailed her down.

"We are no circus, young lady," he said when she asked about his business, but his eyes were cold and his smile about as pleasant as holding a palm full of slugs. "I am Master Egam, and this is my curious collection. I intend to thoroughly impress the local lords."

He made a sweeping gesture at the wagons, and she peered past him at covered cages and grim looking soldiers.

Her gaze fell back to the mage again almost immediately, however, and something ugly writhed within her chest. She couldn’t put a finger on what it was, but it felt like sharp, uneven edges pressed against her ribs from within, accentuating the feeling of wrongness.

"Now, which way to the nearest town? It’s growing rather late," Master Egam said, his smile wide and winning, and yet it caused something cold to drip down her spine. There was a sudden taste of wet iron and rotting earth on her tongue.

It took her a moment to realize why, for she had never experienced anything like it.

He had put magic into his words, and it filled her mouth with a nasty taste. His spell hadn’t worked, however, or at least she thought so, for she felt no different and thought no different.

She gestured over her shoulder after a moment and down the road, "This way, about a mile or so."

"Why don’t you guide us?" he asked, patting the coach beside him. When she hesitated only to spot a flash of curiosity and danger in his eyes, she offered a bland smile.

"Thank you," she said, climbing up to join him, careful to keep some distance between them.

He stared at her for a moment and she resisted the urge to shift uncomfortably. "You seem strangely... familiar," he mused after a moment. "Have I met you before? Or family of yours?"

When she looked genuinely surprised at his questions, he shook his head. "Right, that is very unlikely. Then again, you country bumpkins all look the same to me."

She was desperate to distract him from her, which was thankfully easy enough to accomplish. All it took was a question about his exploits, and soon, he regaled her with all the horrifying details. How he had captured creatures and soaked up their magic so he now carried it at his fingertips.

He was bragging, yes, but she could tell that every word was the truth.

That he had chained a vampire into enduring sunlight at his leisure, and that he had plucked all the feathers of a harpy to parade her around naked.

That he had a griffin eating out of his hand for his amusement, and that he had caught one the most dangerous beings of all: a forest spirit.

She was deeply relieved when her hometown came into view, and then she got to see the effects of his magic first hand.

His voice seemed to be made of gold, for all he had to do was speak, and people immediately rushed to obey with star-struck expressions as delighted, downright smitten smiles appeared on their faces.

She inched away from Master Egam and ended up by one of the wagons instead. Unable to resist she tugged a corner of the covering up and peered inside.

Green eyes that shimmered like all the shades of plant life in the forest met hers, and broken antlers rose from red and gold hair that tumbled down in long, thick waves.

This was the forest spirit, she realized as she stared at him, wide eyed. His face was sun-kissed and freckled, and even chained down as he was, she could sense his innate power and grace.

The broken antlers disappeared, swiftly replaced by wolf ears as he now bared vicious fangs at her, wicked claws scraping over the iron lining the bottom of his cage as he growled.

"Careful with that one," Master Egam’s voice made her jump and drop the tarp. "He’s the most dangerous one I ever caught. A nasty piece of work."

"Why do you keep them? Why not steal their power and let them go?" she found herself asking, and as she looked up at him, she already knew the answer before he opened his mouth.

"Because I can," he said, his smile as empty as his eyes were cruel. "Because the wild powers in this world need to know that they can and will be tamed. Now, run along and don’t tell anyone about this."

His magic tasted of iron and rot as it spread in her mouth. She nodded, hastily pasting a smile onto her face. It felt like fleeing as she turned and hurried away, her heart racing in her chest, and the ugly, vile feeling that had scraped around her ribcage while in his presence finally lessened.

The wrongness within her, however, remained as present as ever, a constant companion of subtle misery that dogged her steps, silent only whenever she found joy in things.

Joy that was always taken from her by its steady, suffocating grip sooner or later. It forced her to constantly keep searching for more things that made her happy.

As soon as she was home she began to pace, her mind whirring. She had to do something about those caged creatures, and whatever magic Master Egam possessed, she was somehow immune to it. She might be the only one who could think clearly around him.

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to calm down. Master Egam was dangerous, and she was just a magic-less young woman who was all wrong inside.

If she wasn’t careful, she wouldn’t have to worry about what was missing within her for much longer.

Thankfully, it wasn’t hard at all to find out that Master Egam was staying in the mayor’s house for the time being. The mage had tossed the mayor and his family out and now treated the most lavish place of the town like his own.

The mayor and his wife and two children seemed dazed, but they didn’t question what was being done to them; they just went to stay with their extended family.

The wagons were kept by the mayor’s house, blocking most of the street, and they were guarded by the soldiers in Master Egam’s employ, who were all armed and armored.

She watched them as the last sunlight faded, thinking. Beyond the window of the lavish house, she could see the mage, and people came to his new home, bringing downright decadent food with loving smiles and hazy eyes, before leaving again empty-handed.

He was certainly making sure that he was getting the best treatment possible.

An idea began to take form. A foolish one, most certainly, but it was likely her best chance. While Master Egam was busy feasting and ordering people around, most likely fancying himself a king among peasants, he would be rather distracted.

He might not even be traveling to impress lords but to, instead, enchant people until he could make himself king. Maybe even an emperor, one day, holding court among captured creatures and charming everyone into blind obedience with his magic.

His feasting was certainly her best chance to find out more or to even slip past him and his guards. She needed just one moment, just a minute of being overlooked and ignored.

So she joined a group of townsfolk who arrived with carefully made little cakes and desserts, and they barely acknowledged her. The soldiers didn’t even look at their group, most likely long used to this song and dance.

It was less easy to go unnoticed by Master Egam, but the man was easily distracted by the new offerings, already a good way through half the food he had been given.

No human should have been able to consume so much without bursting, she thought, and she wondered if this was the price of his magic. That he not only could eat far too much, but had to.

"Bring this to the beasties," he said, gesturing at a little bucket of bones and food scraps, and the young woman took a decisive step towards it, keeping her head down as she grabbed the bucket and stepping outside without being stopped. Her mouth was filled with the taste of iron and rot.

The soldiers didn’t pay her any heed now, either. They looked bored and hungry as they watched another plate of food being brought in, but they said nothing. She wondered if they even could, or if they were similarly charmed as everyone else. Silent and obedient.

"I need to feed them," she said politely to the nearest soldier who moved woodenly to stare at her with a slightly hazy gaze. Ah, that answered her question. "I need the key, please. Master Egam’s orders."

He handed the key over because why wouldn’t he? When everyone was always so fully under the mage’s control, there was no reason to doubt her words.

She went to the forest spirit’s cage first, ignoring his low growl as she pushed the tarp up and began to look for the lock.

He fell silent as soon as she slipped the key into it, and with a twist, it clicked open.

"I’ll get you out," she whispered, and his head tipped to the side, his wolf ears flicking as he considered her. And then, ever so slowly, without removing those intense eyes from her, he tipped his head back, baring his collared throat.

She opened the door just far enough to crawl into the cage. She made sure to pull the door almost closed again behind her, the tarp falling down and hiding what she was doing.

It also left her in murky darkness with only her slightly quickened breathing and pounding heart. She slowly inched forward, patting the ground, until clawed fingers carefully closed around her hand, guiding it up.

The collar had no lock, and she stilled, her heart leaping in her chest. What was she supposed to do now?

"Bleed," the forest spirit said, his voice such a horrible rasp that she was half-convinced his throat was full of glass shards. It sounded like speaking was incredibly painful for him, but still, he added, "Willing offer."

She wasn’t even thinking when she reached out with her free hand, gripping his fingers and pressing her palm against his claws. She felt him jerk in surprise, but the pain was already searing as her flesh was pierced, blood running down her hand in a hot line that grew cold almost immediately.

She reached out to press her hand to his collar, smearing as much of her blood on it as possible, and the next second the collar clicked open, crashing to the floor with a rattle of chains.

The forest spirit inhaled sharply, and then she felt his hands touch her shoulders, carefully helping her shuffle a bit to the side. Freeing the path to the cage door, she realized.

"Free the others, please," he whispered, his voice no longer sounding like he was gargling broken glass and gravel but instead charming and lovely-sweet.

Her mouth was filled with the faint taste of meadow flowers and cool spring water.

Then he was out of the cage, and she scrambled to follow him, catching the door before it could slam shut.

The guards were lying on the ground by the time she pulled the tarp aside, and she saw the forest spirit crouching over the last one he had taken down. Leaping to his feet, he raced past a confused man with a tart and headed straight into the house, snarling in rage.

Hurrying to the next cage, the young woman found the plucked harpy who hissed a high-pitched shriek at her, but fell similarly silent when the door to the cage was unlocked.

Her collar, too, opened with blood and then the harpy was out, her feathers re-growing with a burst of magic that was full of downright painful relief. She took flight immediately, though she clearly struggled as she escaped, body thin and exhausted and stiff after being locked up for so long.

The griffin, too, took flight when the young woman freed it.

The vampire slunk out of his cage with a look of wild hunger and gratitude before he was gone between one moment and the next.

Just in time, as well, for the next second, all the windows in the house shattered outward in a massive wave of pressure. The forest spirit came hurtling through the air, and he crashed to the ground, wheezing and covered in blood.

The young woman was at his side in no time. As she gripped his arm, she saw him properly for the first time. Without the immediate distraction of his eyes, and with the light of the street lanterns, she realized just how thin he was. How his limbs shook as he struggled to his feet.

He stumbled, eyes going wide when she dragged him with her around the corner just before Master Egam stepped out of the house.

Magic whipped around him, a howl of rage filling the night air as he found all his cages empty and his guards unconscious – or perhaps even dead – on the ground.

"What are you doing?" the forest spirit hissed, but he seemed unable to free himself from her grip despite trying, which told her everything she needed to know. She wasn’t weak by any means, but she got the impression that he should be far stronger than her.

"Saving you," she hissed back. "You’re in no condition to fight!"

"Return them to me!" She heard Master Egam’s voice boom behind her, so loud and rattling it filled the entire town, making people cower and stumble, their gazes going hazy. "And find me the one who did this!"

Her mouth was filled with the taste of iron and rot to the point that she had to gag, but she managed to push on. She hurried towards the little house she had moved into after she could no longer stand the guilty silence of her parents.

The moment they were through the door, the forest spirit collapsed to the floor, breathing hard, sweating, and bleeding.

"His magic," he said as he stared up at her with wide, bright green eyes that she knew she could get lost in if she allowed it. "It doesn’t work on you. Why?"

"No idea," she whispered back. "Come, up, we have to hide you."

She had managed to empty out a large storage chest and squeeze him inside despite his protests just in time for her neighbors to come knocking.

"No one is hiding here, I just checked," she said, heart pounding and blood still dripping from her hand as she gestured at the hastily strewn about contents of her chest. "I made sure."

"Come help search," her neighbors murmured, gazes hazy, and she followed them outside, hoping that the spirit stayed where he was, that he wouldn’t be found.

She searched with the others until they were all ready to collapse, and only then did Master Egam order them to rest with such fury that the cobblestone cracked around him.

He had long since roused his guards – most of whom were still alive – and had sent them out to the forest to recapture those that had escaped into the woods.

"They can’t go far," she heard him mutter to himself as he turned around to head back into the house. "Not with the state I left them all in."

He wasn’t exactly wrong.

When the young woman returned home, she found the forest spirit still in the storage chest, asleep and looking utterly exhausted. She dropped into her bed and slept until hunger forced her awake again.

The smell of cooking food woke the spirit, as well and she stared in astonished surprise as he ate far more than expected, but he didn’t get sick from it, so she let him.

Half her pantry was gone by the time he curled up in front of the hearth and went straight back to sleep. She dropped a thick blanket on him and arranged pillows around him to hide him from anyone peering through the windows before she sat down, thinking.

Master Egam was powerful, and she had no idea if she could hide the spirit until he regained his full strength, especially if he needed that much food every day.

Even then, there was no guarantee that he’d be powerful enough to defeat the mage. But, she reasoned, he might be able to escape once he was doing better, which was just as good, in her opinion.

She dozed off and awoke feeling warm, blinking blearily to realize the blanket was now draped over her, the pillows carefully arranged to leave her in a little nest. Except the floor beneath her was a little hard. Peering around, alarm searing through her, she worried that something had happened, but she relaxed as soon as she saw the spirit.

He stood with his back to her, looking at all the half-finished projects she had lying around; she didn't have the heart to put them away even though she already knew she’d never finish them.

That this was it, and her love for a new hobby she had found was instead curdling into quiet, miserable grief. Like it always did.

"Thank you," he said before turning towards her. He already looked far better than yesterday, less gaunt and shaky on his feet. His injuries were gone, as well, leaving only a somewhat tattered, stained shirt, and worn, knee-length pants over hale and whole skin.

He tipped his head, and the way the light of a lit candle reflected in his eyes reminded her of the way animal eyes would look when a lantern swept past them in the dark.

"What do you want in return for your help?" he asked.

She paused after sitting up, then shrugged. "I don’t want anything."

Gran had been very firm about how bad deals made with magic creatures were. That they brought ruin more often than not, her voice harsh and bitter as she had said it. As if there was more to her words than mere warnings. As if she knew it from experience.

Besides, the young woman had grown up on stories about daring knights, wise mages, and courageous princesses and princes.

She had always wanted to be like them, to do good with her own two hands whenever possible. Had secretly dreamed, as she had grown out of her childhood, about one day saving someone.

Helping someone who had been captured had been far more scary and harrowing than in her imagination, but she’d do it all over again in a heartbeat.

"You want nothing," the spirit repeated, sounding like he didn’t believe her. "Everyone wants something; help is never freely given. Especially not from my kind, and not when you saved my life. Do not take that kind of thing lightly; I owe you a great debt."

"All I want is for you to be safe," she said. "I don’t want you to get hurt again, does that work as an exchange for your life?"

The forest spirit inhaled sharply, pupils blowing wide until only a small ring of green remained while she felt a warm shiver go through the air. Like something powerful had just breathed a blessing into her home.

He said nothing for a long moment before he dipped his head, suddenly looking regal as the wolf ears melted away and antlers, which looked far more intact and grown than last night, reappeared. "Very well."

He joined her by the hearth, dropping down to one knee, and offered his hand. "Let me see your wound."

She held out her hand. The moment he took it in his own, she felt a tingle of magic and could taste soft, gentle meadow flowers and refreshing water as relief took away the lingering pain. Her palm was unmarred now, not even a scar remaining.

"You have no idea what you just gave me, do you?" he asked quietly. When she looked at him, his gaze so very captivating, it looked like the entirety of the forest had now gathered in his eyes. Shades of green and shimmers of pale gold like sunlight falling through the canopy.

She offered a small, crooked smile. "I’ve never been around magic," she said, all too aware that he was still holding her hand, skin warm like sunshine. "You can hide here until you’ve recovered."

He tipped his head to the side. "You would welcome me even now, despite knowing who is looking for me?"

"You’re safe here," she answered firmly. "He can’t charm me, and you need time to recover. Just make sure no one sees you."

"What do you desire in return for your help?" he asked. "And don’t say 'nothing' again."

She thought of the wrongness within her and wondered if magic could fix it. Then she remembered Gran’s warnings about deals and ruin and bit back a sigh.

"I’ll think of something," she said, though she didn’t intend to. Once the spirit was strong enough, he would either fight the mage or leave, but either way, she doubted she would ever see him again.

He didn’t look happy about that but accepted her answer graciously enough.

Getting to her feet, the young woman waved him with her to the kitchen corner. If he was eating her out of house and home, he could help with cooking.

When it became clear he was actually the better cook, since she hadn’t been able to learn too much before her wrongness had kicked in, she happily left him to it and grabbed her money, sneaking out.

The entire town was walking around in a strange sort of haze, half of them still searching and the other half catering to the mage.

She saw people bring more food to the mayor’s house along with other things. Jewels and prized possessions, feathers the harpy and griffin had lost, and one or two held squeaking bats in gloved hands as though hoping they might be the escaped vampire.

No one looked at her when she bought as much food as she could at the market, and she bit back bitter worry when she saw Gran and Granny Tanya bring blueberry cake to the mage with happy, hazy smiles.

Only her parents didn’t seem to be out and about. Strange.

She brought the food back home, and the forest spirit noticeably relaxed once she was back, thanking her quietly as he grabbed some vegetables in silence to add them to whatever he was cooking.

The young woman, however, could only stand the silence for so long before she began to ask questions.

Before long, she knew that the forest spirit had gotten captured in his sleep, that his home was to the north, and that he could sense the power of the nearby old forest.

They both fell asleep in front of the hearth, and by the second day, the young woman dragged her bedding out into the living room and made a proper place to rest for the two of them.

The forest spirit was in a better mood today, and she realized that under all the tense grimness, he was rather playful and humorous and, most of all, making her laugh.

As the days passed, and he began to regain his strength, she saw the gauntness disappearing faster than it would have for a regular person.

They kept busy in the small house in different ways. She watched him finish some of her craft projects, and when she taught him to dance, he conjured sprigs of flowers for them to "pretty up the place with," as he said.

He later let her brush out and braid his hair after a long bath, the bath water never cooling until they were both well and truly done.

Every night, they curled up on the hearth together, and they told each other stories until they fell asleep.

It was during one such night, as he looked at her, his hair a healthy, shining red and gold, his conjured fox ears perked to listen better, that the truth spilled out about how wrong inside she felt. He frowned at her in what she recognized as worry.

"May I?" he asked, holding out his hand, and she put hers into his without a moment’s hesitation. His face went soft and gentle in a way that ached somewhere around her tender heart as he held her hand with care.

He closed his eyes and she could taste meadow flowers and cold water, and his frown deepened.

"I – you must talk to your parents," he said, and as soon as the words were out, his head reared back a bit, ears pinning flat to his head as he blinked, looking startled and irritated. With a disgusted twist of his lips he muttered, "Oh, how nasty."

She stared at him, wide-eyed, and for the first time got the feeling that this issue with her was very, very wrong in a different way than she had previously thought.

"I’ll go now," she whispered, and he nodded, giving her hand an encouraging squeeze before she got to her feet.

Her parents looked worried and tense when they opened the door upon her knocking. They relaxed a bit when they saw it was just her, only for the tension to snap back into their frames. She realized immediately that they knew why she was here.

There was a reason why she and they alone weren’t slaves to the magic-charm of a mad mage. They must know why she felt like a piece was missing inside.

"What’s wrong with me?" she asked, sharp and hard in a way she had never spoken with them before, and they stepped aside to let her in.

They stood around the living room awkwardly until her father broke first, guilty and defensive and shoulders hunched, the silence around them heavy and thick and oppressive like summer heat before a thunderstorm.

"We didn’t know," he said, almost pleading as he looked at his daughter. "When we met that... that man on our travels. We didn’t know."

Something hot was wrapping around her heart and throat, and a bad feeling unfolded in her gut, wriggling to get comfortable like it intended to stay. "Tell me the truth," she demanded in a near hiss. "Now. You owe me that much, at least."

"We asked for a good life," her mother whispered, staring down at the ground, arms wrapped around herself and her head bent, shoulders tense. "We asked for nothing unreasonable, because being greedy only curses you. We asked for a good, warm house, for enough money to buy what we desired, and to lead long, healthy and safe lives. We wanted the sort of fortune that would ensure we would have everything we desired until the day we died."

The heavy tension in the air seemed to press down harder, like a thick blanket over sticky, sweaty skin, trapping heat and impossible to shake, no matter how desperately she wanted to get rid of it.

"What was the price?" the young woman asked, her tongue almost numb in her mouth. Though she already knew. Could feel it in the marrow of her bones, could feel it in the stained glass shape of her soul, all disjointed and wrong and missing missing missing. Always missing something.

"You were but a babe," her father answered before she had to ask again. "We didn’t think... when he asked for a piece of you, something that wouldn’t hurt you if he took it, we thought, well, if you grew up without it... you wouldn’t know what you were missing."

Her heart shouldn’t break over this, she thought as pain and anger and grief greedily dug into her chest and belly. It shouldn’t break when she didn’t even feel all that surprised to hear what they were saying. When a part of her had always known.

She thought of her life filled with things she couldn’t finish, couldn’t dedicate herself to no matter how deeply she loved them, like her hands were too restless, desperately trying to find something to fill the void with within her.

All the friendships she had lost over the years, the disappointed people she had worked for, and most of all, how miserable she had been all this time.

She thought about feeling wrong and disjointed. Weird, strange, not-fitting-in. Wrong.

Wrong, wrong, wrong had sung through her veins for as long as she could remember. She had walked through life feeling like a part of her was gone but unable to put it into words. Unable to even name what was missing.

Thinking that, maybe, this was just her lot in life. That nothing could be done about it. She had tried to do her best with the hand she had been dealt by fate.

And all this time, her parents had just... traded that part of her away. For small comforts. For a future they could have made themselves with their own hands had they cared to try. For a life bartered and paid for by someone else so they wouldn’t have to shoulder the burden.

And then they had lied to her about it, had left her thinking that nothing could be done to make her feel better. That this was normal.

"Who?" she asked numbly, and she blinked, realizing she was halfway to the door to leave. When she looked at her parents, hot anger crawled up her throat like a wave of lava upon seeing their wounded, self-pitying faces. "Who did you allow to hurt me?"

"Master Egam," her father whispered, his voice barely audible in the heavy, suffocating silence. "We can’t let him see us, or he might remember."

She was out the door before he could finish speaking, heart breaking and racing, and she wasn’t surprised at all, even though she thought she should be.

So that was why his magic wasn’t working on her, because he already had a piece of her. Her parents, in turn, were safe because part of their deal was to remain healthy and unharmed at all times. Just what had Egam taken from her to make a deal that protected them no matter what?

She didn’t remember the path home, but the moment the door fell closed behind her, she looked at the forest spirit, and all the breath rushed back into her lungs. He was waiting with a plate of cookies he had baked that afternoon, and his gaze was so gentle and understanding it made the wounded part of her tremble.

He opened his arms, a silent invitation, and for a moment there was so much awful anguish in her she didn’t know what to do. Had no idea what would happen if someone touched her, if it would drain the pain and anger or make it spill over, ugly and messy and raw. Like a wound that had had years and years and years to grow until it had spread and festered.

Then she moved and let him catch her and cradle her close as she broke down, crying as bitterly and harder than she had never cried before.

He held her tightly as she shook apart, her head tucked under his chin, and she cried and cried until she felt empty inside. Empty and wrong.

"They gave a piece of me to Egam," she whispered, voice thick and scratchy, and he stilled. She tightened her grip on the shirt she had gotten for him during one of her trips to the market where food had started to grow scarce in the wake of the mage’s constant feasts. "In exchange for a good, comfortable life."

He cupped the back of her head and kept holding her, offering no empty platitudes and no "I’m sorry"s, for which she was grateful. She didn’t want "sorry"s. She was...s he was too damn fucking furious for that, she realized, now that the pain had momentarily drained away.

"I want it back," she said, biting the words out like they were bones snapping between her teeth. "I want it back, and I want this monster gone."

He hugged her tighter, and she felt his smile press against her temple, sharp and dangerous and fanged and not the least bit afraid of her rage. Not the least bit judgmental unlike others who had seen to her anger over the years.

"Let’s shred him," he whispered against her hair, soft lips brushing her forehead. "Let’s get back what he stole from us."

It hadn’t taken too long to prepare for the confrontation. The forest spirit had recovered fully, and there wasn’t anything in town that could help either of them against a mage, but in the end, they didn’t need much anyway.

They didn’t need fancy tools or mage slayers. Not when the mage in question would give them the weapons they needed, born out of his own greed and hubris.

Born out of a deal he had made with her parents, and Gran really was right, deals only ever brought ruin. Because she and the part Egam had taken from her were about to become his.

The forest spirit gave her hand a squeeze, and they exchanged one more look as they got ready inside her house, his eyes fierce and so trusting it briefly stole her breath away.

"When this is over, travel with me," he requested, voice soft and hopeful. "I want to show you my home. The brooks and meadows and mountains and lake."

She smiled back with a warmth that had nothing to do with the burning rage spreading through her, smoothing down her edges and settling around her heart like a protective blanket.

"Gladly," she answered just as quietly, then her smile turned a bit crooked and teasing. "What, you aren’t going to ask for anything in exchange, leaf boy?"

He laughed and leaned down to press a kiss to the top of her head.

"You’re too precious for deals," he said, and she could taste his magic, sweet and cool, and it almost brought tears to her eyes, though she couldn’t quite say why.

"Let’s go," she said instead, and he reached up to gather his hair, pulling it aside to allow her to put the pilfered chain and collar from the wagon around his neck. They had stolen it back last night and scratched out all the symbols on the inside of the iron, destroying the enchantment that would block his magic.

With a bit of glue, it would stay shut for now, and he caught her hands once she was done collaring him, pressing a kiss to her knuckles until they stopped shaking.

They both took a deep breath and stepped onto the street, a glamour settling over his skin, making him look gaunt and injured once more. He limped, casting her one last wink before people noticed them.

The townsfolk paid attention to her for the first time in nearly a month as she went to the mage’s house. Word must have traveled ahead, for Master Egam was already awaiting them, and the mayor’s house was saturated with iron and rot magic.

She could see a few hints here and there of the chaos that must’ve reigned before he had gotten things cleaned up to welcome them, like the faint, spider-web cracks in the walls and the newly-repaired windows.

He sat on a padded chair in the main room like it was a throne when they entered.

"Bring him to me, girl," he said, beckoning, his smile benevolent, and his eyes glittering like cold glass shards. His hunger was deep enough to cut, and she bit back a shiver at the disgust that crept beneath her skin the closer she came to him.

"My prized possession," Egam murmured, already ignoring her, and his magic grew thicker in the air, almost making her gag. The forest spirit pretended to fight against the chains, snarling as he was dragged forward, looking like he was too weak to resist. "And you put him back in his proper attire, too. Good girl."

He absentmindedly patted her on the head, and she made herself smile at him, empty and dazzled like the other townsfolk, swallowing down bile. The spirit had told her that Egam had stolen a piece of his magic, too, forcefully instead of willingly, but it was in his hands all the same.

It was time to get back what belonged to them.

She handed over the chain, the mage's gaze resting solely on the forest spirit. He stared like he wanted to devour him whole, just like the monsters and villains in her stories growing up, greedy and cruel and insatiable.

Egam moved past her, already discarding her as unimportant and under his control. As just another country bumpkin. He was the powerful mage, after all, and, as he had said, he already had one of the most powerful beings under his thumb.

A powerless girl might as well be dirt under his boots.

That was the exact reason he didn’t see her nick her hand on a small knife hidden in her pocket. Why he didn’t see her smile at the forest spirit over his shoulder before reaching out.

He didn’t look at her, and therefore couldn’t react in time when she stepped back to his side and reached up and out, pressing her bloody hand over his heart at the same time that the forest spirit lunged forward.

The mage did react then, aiming his magic at the bigger,perceived threat like they had predicted. And just like they had hoped, his magic slid off of the forest spirit harmlessly.

For when the young woman had saved his life, and he had offered her compensation of the same magnitude, she had asked for him to be safe.

The forest spirit could not be stopped. He had cut his hand with his own claws and pressed a bloody palm to the mage’s chest, right beside hers, and his sharp, sharp teeth were bared as he snarled, "I undo the deal."

"I undo the deal," she spoke simultaneously, the words the forest spirit had taught her, steady and patient even as each one was nothing but pain in her throat.

Because she wasn’t supposed to say those words, but then again, parents weren’t supposed to give away what didn’t belong to them, either, so she had a right to this.

A right to undo what had been done to her, as long as she could get through the pain that tried to keep her from speaking.

Pain that was worse than any wrongness had ever been, any loneliness and pain and grief and self-loathing from not being like all the other people around her.

It was worse than never getting to keep doing things she loved, forever moving on to other tasks. Searching for something she hadn’t known she’d have to buy back with blood and pain.

It was the worst pain she had ever endured, but it wasn’t stronger than the rage in her veins or the taste of iron and rot on her tongue.

A sun-warm hand took her free, unharmed one, grounding and strong. They clung to each other, the young woman and the forest spirit, giving each other strength to keep pushing forward.

The look of startled anger on the mage’s face swiftly morphing into fear was everything in this moment.

"I undo the deal made without my voice, without my consent, without my agreement. I undo it as it was made, in pain and blood and betrayal," they spoke in perfect unison, their only chance to both get back what had been taken from them.

Their only chance to catch the mage so by surprise that he did feel betrayed, that he was as helpless as they had been, asleep and a babe, respectively.

The moment the last word left her mouth, a sudden relief gripped her throat, releasing the burning agony that had torn through it as she had forced the words out. At the same time, she felt something big and warm spread through her chest.

The wrongness disappeared in an instant, the feeling of missing turning into wholeness so filling and great she almost stumbled back, her skin tingling and euphoria singing through her so brightly she had to sob.

Because that wasn’t just a missing piece, a sliver of her soul that he had taken that was now returned to her.

Magic, he had taken magic from her. It glittered like stars in the dark in her veins, spilled through her mind like bright sunlight on shimmering waves, and wrapped around her with a desperation like it had longed to return to her as relentlessly as she had wanted it back.

Egam was screaming as he stumbled back, and they let him, watched him trip and spill to the ground as he writhed, clawing at his chest where blood smeared, hot and red, and the forest spirit gripped her hand tighter.

His magic was heavy in the air, making her taste rivers and entire fields full of flowers, and even from the corner of her eye, she could see how much more vibrant he was now, the glamour long dropped.

He was captivating and downright otherworldly, beautiful and mesmerizing.

"What have you done!?" Egam shrieked, but his words no longer tasted of iron and rot in the air, and she blinked, realizing the power of his voice had been stolen from someone else, too. As she watched him seemingly shrink down, magic leaving him, her breath caught.

Oh. Her magic had been the first thing he had ever stolen. Her magic was what had bolstered all of his, and now that it was gone, he could not hold on to the rest by his own power.

Everything he was unraveled until it left behind a pitiful little man with eyes so mean and cruel he should belong in a story, not in real life.

"I promised you I would be your end," the forest spirit said, and his voice was filled with magic. The sort of magic that had previously been used by Egam to charm everyone.

The forest spirit lifted a hand. "I think your hunger and greed are better suited to a different shape and form. To something that grows, don’t you?"

Egam tried to scramble to his feet and run, but the magic of the forest spirit was so thick in the air, and her own magic was singing in return, bright and sparking, and the fury was still a living, roiling wave of heat within her.

She reached out without much thought, letting her magic wrap around the forest spirit’s, who threw his head back and laughed.

He laughed as Egam screamed in a pitch no human throat should be capable of. He laughed as the screams cut off and branches broke out of the mage’s back, his skin turning to bark, and the mage grew and grew and stretched.

The young woman found herself pulled out of the house by the forest spirit as floorboards and walls and doors and furniture and repaired windows were devoured.

She watched as a tree grew and grew and grew until the trunk was as wide as the house had been, and it reached high into the sky, the canopy so thick and wide it sheltered the entire town under its boughs.

And her magic was singing and singing and singing, and she was so hale and whole she felt like she was floating. The forest spirit turned towards her, grinning wide and fanged, and took her injured hand, pressing a kiss to the cut, smearing her blood over his lips as he healed it.

"We’re free now," he whispered, eyes so very green, and then she was laughing and crying and pulling him forward. He followed her, pressing kisses that tasted like fading copper and like bright flowers and cold water to her lips.

They were free. Free and whole, at last, and she felt like she was truly breathing for the first time since she could remember. Deep breaths that seemed to fill her entire body, her magic twining with his as it surrounded them, forest and sky, and her tears were wiped away with gentle, gentle hands.

"We are," she whispered, sinking her hands into his hair until she had threaded strands of magical starlight through it. "Let me introduce you to Gran and Granny Tanya, and then I want to see your home."

He laughed and picked her up and twirled her in a circle, and she found herself laughing as well, flowers blooming to form a crown on her head.

Where previously a quiet sort of misery, a sense of wrongness and missing, had loomed in her future, saturating all coming days, she now couldn’t wait to see what the rest of her life looked like.

Bright, she thought as she held his face in her hands, their foreheads gently pressing together.

Her future was bright and free and full of love and freedom, and she was still laughing and crying, happy beyond words. And her magic, finally, finally returned to her, sang and shone, filling her entire being and then spilling into the world around her when there still wasn't room enough.

At long last, she felt nothing but right inside.