I slowly sit up in bed, feeling both much better, and incredibly groggy. And thirsty. I managed to sleep through the night without any more strange dreams. Just my usual nightmares, barely held at bay by Marrianne right at my side.

"Good morning," I croak as she starts to rouse. Couldn't she have slept with me instead of sitting in a chair at the bedside? Now I feel bad for her being uncomfortable...

"Good morning, Aria," she replies, rubbing at her sleepy eyes with her free hand. "How are you feeling?"

"Thirsty," I answer dully.

"Come on, let's get you some breakfast, alright?"

"Sure."

As she helps me gently down from the bed, Marrianne says, "Aria, you should learn to say please, it's more polite." I'm confused, blinking at her as we start to walk, and she smiles at me. "I'm talking about learning good manners, to be polite and respectful." Why is she suddenly bringing this up now? I wonder tiredly, my mind still moving in slow motion. "It's something children should learn when they're growing up. You probably should have started learning this already, but it isn't too late to start."

Oh, that's why.

"Ok," I have to clear my dry throat, then ask, "How do I do that?"

I lean on her as we slowly move down the upper hall, and walk down the stairs to Eryk's front room. We move extremely slowly on the way, while Marrianne talks about how saying please and thank you for things is important, and gives me some examples of where to make sure to say them. Especially saying 'yes, please,' when people offer me things. I listen intently through her brief lesson, which she quickly finishes as we arrive at the middle of the large room, and Irene taps her way into the room from some small opening that looks like it heads toward the back of the house.

"Good morning, ladies," she greets us with a polite gesture of respect, though not too respectful. Looking up at her, I see that she's dressed in her usual dark outfit, but the trim is blue today. Besides that, her reddish hair is in its neat braid too. "Master Eryk is still in bed, would you like me to prepare a light breakfast?"

"Yes, please," Marrianne responds, then glances down at me, and I realize that she's showing me how to do what she just told me about. I perk up a little, and nod to show her I understand.

Letting our silent exchange pass, Irene waves us into the dining room. She has to get pillows for me to sit on to reach the table and help me into my chair, and I make sure to thank her, receiving a small nod of praise from Marrianne, which makes me smile, before Irene heads off to the kitchen. She isn't gone long, coming back with an unfamiliar meal.

At a glance, it just looks like some cut up vegetables in a plain wooden bowl, but some of them are more leafy than the ones I'm used to. It isn't even hot, and she gives us forks to eat with instead of spoons. No knives either, so I do my best to remember how I learned to eat at Kathy's house.

As soon as I think that, I stop myself, and stare at the fork in my left hand. Have I been eating left-handed this entire time? Was Kathy the only one who spoke up about it? Claire was right, I really do need to pay more attention to myself...

"Is something wrong?" Irene questions when she sees me hesitating before eating my food.

"Ah, no, just thinking..." I mumble, and grab the glass of water to take a drink. I'm even more thirsty than I realized, because I drink most of the glass before stopping with a happy sigh. Thankfully, Irene lets the topic drop as I begin eating. I'm glad she doesn't comment on me eating left-handed, now that I know I'm doing it. Should I switch hands? Claire told me being left-handed is fine though...

I'm worrying about that while I stab at the unfamiliar vegetables. They're kind of rough and crunchy, so I have to chew them a lot, and they taste pretty weird. Kind of tangy and bitter. I don't know how I feel about the flavor...

While we're eating, another set of footsteps catches my attention, and I turn in my seat to see Eryk.

"Good morning, Master Eryk," Irene greets him right away, with a more respectful gesture than earlier. I stare, leaning around my chair. I've never seen him like this before. Loose hanging clothing, with his black hair all messed up and sticking out randomly, with a little bit of stubbly hair on his face, like he's starting to grow a beard?

"Good morning, Irene," he returns the greeting briefly, then looks right at me and I jolt, tearing my eyes away. "Good to see you up, Aria. How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright, I guess," I answer a little uncertainly. "I'm still pretty hurt and I can't walk much, but I'll be fine."

"It's a start," he gives me a warm smile, then turns his attention to Marrianne. "Are you alright? You don't look like you got much sleep." Now that he mentions it, Marrianne has dark circles under her eyes. Her skin is a bit more pale than it should be, and she has a tired, glassy look in her eyes, even as she focuses on him intently.

"I'm fine," she waves it off. "I'll get some rest when I go home."

"I-I'm sorry," I apologize when I realize she stayed up all night because of me... again...

"Don't worry about it, honey." She puts a hand on my shoulder soothingly, and I hesitantly nod.

With no more than a small gesture, Eryk has Irene go back into the kitchen, then takes a seat at the big table. Marrianne is in the chair on my left, so he sits across from us, leaning his elbows on the smooth wood and covering his mouth as he yawns, then fixing me with a look. "So, what now?" he asks.

"Now?" I have no idea. "I... I don't know. What should we do now?"

Eryk smirks at my non-answer. "Well, I suppose the first order of business would be getting you home so you can rest and recover. For that..." he glances to Marrianne, and I immediately know what he's thinking.

"Uhh, no, I need more, umm..." I search for a way to say it, but I'm still pretty tired. "I need more... healing... magic...?" Saying it like that sounds kind of stupid, but it's all I can come up with.

"Alright, hold on." Eryk leaves the room briefly. While he's gone, Irene enters with another bowl for him, stopping to look around.

"Where did he go?" she asks, tilting her head in confusion in a way that looks kind of funny because she's usually always so... proper. I bring a hand to my mouth, trying to keep from giggling at the sight. She notices and shoots an unamused frown at me, so I quickly turn my attention back to my food.

"He... went to get Aria something?" Marrianne answers uncertainly. She helpfully gestures over to where Eryk was sitting, and Irene sets his food down for him, before returning to a spot at the far end of the table. It isn't long after that Eryk returns. He hands me a couple coins as he passes, before circling the table to return to his seat.

Feeling their eyes on me, staring at the pair of coins in my hand, I go very still. I can't do this in front of them! I mean, Marrianne is one thing, but definitely not Irene!

"U-umm, Eryk...?" I stammer nervously, sending a glance toward his servant, and he groans, rubbing his head.

"Right, sorry..." he mumbles, sounding exhausted himself. "Irene, can you..." he can't come up with anything? "Go... do... something?" He's still rubbing his head as she frowns faintly at the request.

"Certainly," she answers anyway, and leaves the room without complaint.

"Sorry about that," he apologizes again, and all I can do is shake my head stiffly as I try to recover from the worry over her seeing something.

"What are those for?" Marrianne asks afterward.

"You know how I told you I have different powers I can use my magic for? The way it works is really complicated, but basically, I can use some metals to make myself stronger in certain ways. I can use these to make myself heal faster."

"Oh my," she mutters, "that's amazing."

The compliment makes me look away shyly. "Thanks..." Then I generate the earth mana I need, making sure I don't go too high, and slide the coins back across the table to Eryk, who is starting to pick at his food.

"So, Aria," he says between bites. "You fell asleep while we were still talking. I wanted to let you know we gave Kathy the full rundown on you, Reena, and everything. She said she'll keep your secret as thanks for helping Thelia."

"But you did that, not me."

He shrugs. "You taught me how, walked me through it, and even then, I couldn't do it without-" he cuts short right before mentioning the manastone I gave him, his eyes going to Marrianne.

"Oh come on," she complains, mouth set in a thin line. "I don't care how dangerous it might be, you can tell me anything. You know I'd never do or say anything that would hurt Aria."

"That's fair," Eryk sighs, and looks to me for the decision.

Thanks to the earth mana, I open my mouth to tell her before managing to stop myself. No, I have to consider it first. But there really isn't that much to consider. Marrianne is right, she would keep my secrets no matter what. Even if I don't want to get her involved, she already is. So I take a deep breath, and tell her.

"Like you said, this is all extremely secret. You can't mention it to anyone except Me, Eryk, Emily, or... Francis," I finish awkwardly. Even she flinches a little when I mention him. I have to clear my throat, and force myself to go on. "I should probably tell Beth too, it will help me talk to her..." I think aloud. I won't need to be so careful with what I say in our counseling sessions. "Ok, Beth too, but I still need to tell her first. Anyway..."

Getting back on topic, I swallow nervously, and Marrianne sits up a little straighter in her chair. "They are the only people who know about this, so you can't mention this word to anyone else. If the wrong people hear it... well, I have no idea what will happen. But it will be extremely dangerous. Alright?"

She doesn't hesitate at all. "I understand."

"Ok. The word is mana."

"Mana?" she repeats it quietly.

"Yes. Mana is a kind of... energy. Everyone has a little bit, but I can control it to do magic. I'm still not completely sure about what use of mana counts as magic, but Reena told me that mana and magic are connected. Also," I add with extra emphasis. "She made it sound like mortals aren't supposed to know that there's a connection between mana and magic. So we have to be extra careful not to mention that." Marrianne's eyes shoot wide open at that fact, and I turn to look at Eryk too, who returns a guilty grin while chewing his food.

"So..." I don't know how much of this I really want to get into with her. I don't think it actually matters to her at all. "Like I said, I can control mana. I found out that I can use metals to change it into different forms, and the different forms all have effects on your body and mind. Like... I said how I healed all the other kids at home, right?" She nods to confirm, and Eryk raises an eyebrow. "I used lightning type mana for that, which makes the lungs stronger, because they all had coughs. So I was thinking lungs."

"Oh, speaking of that, Aria," Eryk calls my attention, so I stop briefly. "Beth's daughter got sick too, I was thinking of helping her like Thelia."

"Beth has a daughter?" I ask, tilting my head a little.

"Yeah, she does. I... guess she never mentioned that?" I shake my head, and he shrugs lightly. "Well, she got sick, so I was thinking of helping. Could you refill the- Uhh, can I say it?" he asks, still uncertain in front of Marrianne. I'm glad Eryk takes keeping secrets so seriously...

"It's fine. I don't have any lightning mana though." Then I turn to Marrianne to explain. "I gave Eryk a thing called a manastone. Well, it's not really a manastone, but that's what I've been calling it. It's kind of complicated... But no matter what, you absolutely can't mention it either, just like mana." Marrianne raises an eyebrow, seeming amused despite the topic, but bobs her head anyway, and gestures for me to go on.

"So, the manastone I gave Eryk can hold mana. Like I said, I taught him magic, but he can't use it very well, and he can't really feel mana much, so there were all sorts of problems with the plan to have him help Thelia. So I put exactly the right amount of lightning mana he needed inside the manastone for him to use."

She considers that for some time, before replying, "Ok, I think I understand."

I smile. Even if I'm not getting into all the little details like with Eryk, I'm glad she has the basic idea.

"Oh, that reminds me," I think aloud as some part of that last thought catches in my memory. "Eryk, I found out mana amounts aren't linear."

"Mana... amounts?" he questions, a little confused for a moment. "Like how much you can hold?"

"Uhh, yeah. I don't have a good word for it yet, I mean the amount you can hold outside your well without hurting yourself," I clarify.

That makes him grin, and Marrianne tilt her head questioningly. "If it's the amount you can hold, the word you're looking for is 'capacity.' So I'd recommend 'mana capacity' as the term to use."

"Mana capacity..." I repeat to myself, then nod. "That sounds good." I'm glad I have another good term to use. "So, I'm still not sure of the details, but I, uhh, sort of overheard Reena thinking about something? It confirmed a guess I had about mana capacity increasing exponentially."

"Mhmm..." he mumbles, his look saying he's not totally sure where I'm going with this.

"Remember what I told you? That I could hold about four point seven five and you could hold sixteen point eight? Then I guessed our growth rates over time based on that?"

"Oh, right, I remember now," he confirms, nodding. When I glance at Marrianne, she's staring at me with wide eyes.

"M-Marrianne?" I ask nervously, and she jolts a little.

"R-right, sorry. I was just surprised, you're really good at math," she compliments me, with a warm smile and a loving pat on my head.

"I am? But I thought this math was normal for people in the upper classes?" I ask, confused. "Miss Claire never mentioned it being weird."

"Alright, alright," Eryk suddenly says with a big, guilty sigh, and we both look at him. "Claire is a genius," he admits. She is? "Before your initial interview, she guessed, just based on how evasive you were about your math skills, that you might be unnaturally skilled at it, and told me not to mention it because it sounded like you were insecure about it. That was before she even met you, and she nailed it perfectly."

"O-oh..." I have no idea how to respond to that. So I am really good at math?

"Anyway, go on," he tries to get us back on topic. "You were talking about mana capacity?"

"R-right, uhh, yeah, I was..." I have to take some time to pull back from that, and continue with what I was talking about before. "Yeah, so, I was saying... I thought that capacity increased at a linear rate," mentally referring back to Claire's math lessons on the difference between linear, exponential, and logarithmic functions. "When she was trying to figure out Kathy's mana affinity, she raised one point zero nine to the power of fifteen point seven five to get about three point nine."

Of course, there's no recognition on either of their faces, so I explain better. "So, from what I understood, Kathy has a mana capacity of three point nine. When I told Reena, she started raising different numbers to that power, to get her answer. So, working backward, that must mean Kathy's affinity is one point zero nine. It's raised exponentially, to get her mana capacity, three point nine. I... don't actually know what a mana affinity of one point zero nine means though, except Reena mentioning that it's below average. And I also have no idea why she is using fifteen point seven five for the powers."

After he takes all that in, Eryk blows out a big breath. "Wow, ok. I think you've finally gone over my head..." he chuckles a little. "But I think I get the main point. Her doing it like that must mean that mana capacity grows exponentially, right?"

"Yes, exactly."

"Meaning..." he squints down at the table, before reaching the answer. "Meaning your earlier guess, that Thelia might have an extremely small capacity based on her age, was wrong."

"Yes."

"Alright..." He keeps thinking hard, but can't come up with the next part, so I explain.

"So, because it's exponential, I think it's a little safer than I thought."

"Why is that?"

"Well... this is more of guess than anything, but it feels right? I know that the power should somehow include age, so I'm thinking that it's probably never negative." He still doesn't get it. "So, even if it's zero, that would still mean, no matter what a person's affinity is, they'll always have a capacity of at least one mana."

He tilts his head, clearly confused, until I finally see the understanding fill his eyes. "Oh! I get it!" A big smile breaks out over his face. "Good thinking, Aria!"

"Hehe..." I giggle a little at the praise.

"Umm..." Marrianne awkwardly raises her hand to get our attention. When we look her way, she gulps. "This... is a lot more complicated than I was imagining. Could you explain it a little more?"

Immediately feeling guilty that we sort of left her out there, I get to explaining. I go over how I learned that holding more mana than you should be able to normally causes damage to a person's outer barrier, how that capacity relates to affinity, based on the person's soul, and so on, going through different terms for everything as I talk. After I finish my glass of water, my voice starting to go hoarse and my injured lung really starting to hurt, Eryk goes to get me another drink, and I thank him, before finishing my explanation to Marrianne.

The whole time, she struggles far more than Eryk, but does her best. I skim over some of the more complex details of things, but eventually get her up to speed.

"So, when you raise any number to the power of zero, you get one. That's why mana capacity should never go below one, at least if my guess about the power never going below zero is right," I finish my entire explanation, and she sits back in her chair.

"Gods, that's really incredible..." she murmurs, staring past me, at nothing in particular. Then she finally meets Eryk's eyes, a hand rubbing her cheek absently. "Now I understand why you praised her so much, she's a savant."

Savant? I wonder. I can't recall Claire teaching me that word. I'm guessing it's a compliment?

"Umm, what does that mean?" I ask.

Smiling warmly, Eryk chuckles. "It means that you are gifted with intelligence beyond the comprehension of ordinary people like us."

I open and close my mouth a few times. He... he can't be serious... right? But I'm always being so stupid, why's he saying I'm smart? But... but he doesn't look like he's joking, or lying. I blink a few times, trying to figure out how to respond. I can't come up with anything.

"Haaa...." I make a meaningless sound, then Marrianne rubs my head and tells me to finish eating, so I do.

"So, I probably don't need to worry about giving Mia- that's Beth's daughter," Eryk explains, "I don't need to worry about giving her too much mana, but I'd still rather not chance it, just in case some of your guesses are still off."

I nod a little, that makes sense. "Do you have any durite?" I ask, and he shakes his head. We've moved to one of the smaller side rooms, he called it a 'sitting room,' which I guess makes sense with all of the couches and chairs around. Taking a little bell from a table, he rings it, and not long after, Irene comes in.

"Yes sir?"

"Could you send Kristene over to the refinery? Have her pick up a few metal ingots. Here, I'll write them down." He waves a hand, and she bobs her head politely before pulling a little, thin wooden block from somewhere in the back of her dress and handing it to him. Then she fetches a pen and some ink from a table near the wall and sets them down in front of him, before leaving again.

I'm still low on water mana, because I can't really hear her footsteps as she moves through the house, until a heavier set comes back. Just as Eryk is finishing jotting down what he needs, Irene returns with the much larger, more imposing Kristene. Eryk passes off the wood block with a few short instructions, and she says, "Sure, you got it!" in a loud voice, then sweeps out of the room.

Marrianne raises an eyebrow, then Irene shakes her head and sighs. Eryk just grins awkwardly. "You certainly have... lively servants." The comment draws another sad sigh from Irene, but she doesn't say anything.

Then Eryk clears his throat. "Alright, I think I can take care of things from here, Marrianne. You should head home and get some rest. Aria, will you be going home today, or would you rather wait for tomorrow? To my understanding, your wonderful caretaker is gone," he says with a heavy eye roll, followed by a dark scowl, "so you shouldn't need to worry about him beating you again when you return."

I think about it. Without Mister Fredricson there to punish me, there's no real reason to go back tonight, unless he gets back before I do... "Can..." I glance down at the floor. "Is it alright if Emily comes here? I want to tell her I'm alright." Actually, I should tell her either way...

"Sure, that's fine, but... Uhh, how?" Eryk questions uncertainly, and my shoulders jerk at the realization.

I scratch my cheek. "Uhh...." I blink a few times, looking between the three adults, especially the clearly concerned Irene. Like I've done a few other times, I realize that my only reasonable response here is... nothing. "Alright, I'll stay here tonight." Then I look meaningfully at my injured leg. "I think I'll be able to walk better after a day of rest."

They all frown at my obvious evasion, but Eryk cuts through it. "Alright. Irene, can you get Selena? She'll take care of Aria today. Marrianne, you can head home and get some rest."

She nods, but the thought of her going home forces me to speak up. "U-umm!" She stops, just as she's beginning to rise from the couch beside me. I grab her sleeve, and plead. "Please, don't be mad at Francis. He isn't hiding things from you because he wants to. There's a really, really good reason he can't tell you. And it's my secret, not his. If you have to blame someone, blame me, not him. Please?"

When I mention that, she presses her lips together firmly, frowning with a sour look. "I'll think about it. I have a lot to talk about, to both you, and him."

As much as I want to look down guiltily, I force myself to hold her gaze. "Ok. Thank you, Marrianne."

After a few moments longer, her expression finally softens. "I'll see you again later, sweetie. Be good for Eryk, alright?"

"I will." She kisses me softly on the forehead, then follows Irene out. While their footsteps are retreating, I ask Riko to go tell Emily I'm here, since she's just around the block from the bar. She's a little grouchy with everything I've asked of her lately, but understands how important it is for Emily to know I'm alright, so she goes without too much complaining.

Then Eryk speaks up, pulling my attention back to myself. "Alright Aria, I have to go to work. Just try to relax and enjoy yourself today. Alright?"

"Sure-" but Marrianne's lesson comes to mind, so I try to change my response. "Yes, thank you." He smirks a little, then rises from his chair and leans over the table to ruffle my hair.

"Hehe," I giggle a little.

"See you later."

"See you later, Eryk." Then he goes, leaving me to sit alone. Sighing a little, I sink back into the comfortable couch. I'm not entirely sure what time it is, I've heard a couple bells ring, but I don't even know when I woke up. It might be nearly lunchtime already.

Doesn't matter, I tell myself. For now, I have time to just rest and recover after the battle. Everything else can come later.