Episode Two

After dinner, we walked home side by side. The city was quiet now, the noise from earlier almost impossible to imagine. Full dark had fallen.

My head felt heavy.

I kept my unsteady body moving through sheer will, and followed her inside.

“…I’m home.”

I dropped my bag and sank into the sofa as though something had pulled me down. My favourite cushions, wrapping around me on every side. Normally I’d go boneless with relief — but tonight I couldn’t quite let go.

“Sion — manners. Sit properly. There are still people who could see you, even in the guild.”

A cool voice poured down at me as I melted into the cushions.

In the world that exists only between the two of us, there’s no White Witch and no Black Witch.

No bright smile. No polished voice. What Selene turns towards me, here at home, is a flat, even tone she uses for no one else.

“Let me rest for five minutes. I’m tired.”

Whatever had been holding me up wasn’t coming back quickly. I didn’t even have the energy to look at her face right now.

“No. Go and have a bath first. Or would you rather I give you your supply now?”

Selene dropped down beside me on the sofa. Her slender fingers found my chin and tilted it up, gently but without asking. I couldn’t look away.

“…Not yet.”

Her voice was cold, but the hand touching me was warm. I pulled away on instinct, and escaped my gaze to the edge of the sofa.

“You’re so wilful. Sion, just do as I say.”

“If you want me more compliant, try acting like the White Witch at home too. If you did, maybe I’d actually listen.”

“There’s no need to perform for you. When no one’s watching, neither the White Witch nor the Black Witch has to exist.”

She said it as she stood, and let her gaze rest on me.

She smiles so perfectly for everyone else, then puts it away when it’s just us. She used to smile normally when we were children — when did that stop?

You’re prettier when you smile. You could just leave it on.

“What’s the point of playing at being witches, anyway? You could tell me, at this point. I’ve earned it.”

“You don’t need to know.”

She said it without hesitation, and pulled me upright from where I’d gone boneless on the sofa.

“Can you walk?”

I gave a small nod, and made my heavy way towards my room. I wanted to collapse and sleep right now, but after a full day out, there was probably enough grime to justify the effort.

This is something I’ll never understand — doing that when I’m in this state.

I’d have a long bath, get the wretched supply over with, and go straight to sleep.

I hung my robe on the wall, gathered my change of clothes, and headed for the bathroom.

I didn’t want to think, so I just soaked there, letting time pass without much of anything. When I finally got out, I’d lost track of how long I’d been in there. By the time I made it back to my room, my body had taken on too much heat.

Oversoaked, or was it the mana depletion — my head felt thick and strange. When I lay back on the bed and looked up at the ceiling, it seemed to rotate, slowly.

The sound of running water from the bathroom had stopped, which meant she was out too by now. I didn’t want to go — but if I didn’t, there would be consequences.

I sat up from the bed, moved carefully out into the dark of the living area. Even crossing that small space had me nearly out of breath.

I stopped in front of the door with the light under it. Took one breath. Knocked.

“Come in.”

I pushed the door open at Selene’s voice — and the strength left my knees all at once. Standing was suddenly beyond me, and I slid down to sit in the doorway.

“…It’s — bad tonight. Please. Make it quick.”

I looked down so she wouldn’t see my face twist. I couldn’t manage the Black Witch right now.

“Understood. Undo your buttons.”

The same flat, toneless voice as always. And yet she was immediately beside me — which meant she was worried, probably, in her way.

The shallow sound of my own breathing filled the quiet room.

“Just your hands — please, quickly—”

The hand I extended was gently set aside. Her fingers went to my shirt buttons instead.

I didn’t say you could touch me.

“…Hey. I don’t have the energy to argue tonight.”

Tonight was one of the bad nights. Whether it was the price of having used too much magic, or something else — it was worse than usual.

“Be still. Hands take too long.”

I didn’t have the strength to stop her. She undid two buttons, and the collar of my shirt fell open, baring my neck and one shoulder.

“…Pervert.”

The word barely escaped before something warm and damp pressed against my throat. From just below my ear down to my collar, her tongue traced the same path over and over, her breath coming hot and slow against my skin.

Each soft, wet sound she made pulled my breathing shallower, and the grip I had on her shoulder went slack. The sensation of mana flowing into me tangled with something else — something warmer — and I couldn’t sort out what I was feeling.

“Wait—”

With what little strength had returned to my arms, I pressed against Selene’s shoulder. She drew back, and the lips that moved away from me caught the light, still damp.

“…Too much at once. It’s — going in too fast. Feeling sick.”

Everything was too hot. No matter how many times this happened, I couldn’t get used to it, and the frustration of that was almost worse than the sensation itself.

“Drink this. It’s cold.”

She held out a glass. I pressed it to my lips. Cold and clean and good — but I couldn’t swallow properly, and water spilled from the corner of my mouth, running down my neck and cooling the skin she’d been warming.

I could hear my own breathing and hated it. I kept trying to even it out, but it wouldn’t settle — too fast, chasing the pulse that wouldn’t slow down. This would take time. It always did.

“…Thank you. Please — keep going.”

The supply continued for a while, and little by little, the weight that had been pressing through my body began to ease. When it felt like enough, I pressed against her shoulder again and straightened my clothes.

The damp sensation lingering on my throat made something stir in my chest, but I decided not to notice it.

What’s done is done. Better to forget it.

“…I’m fine now. Thanks for the mana.”

I tried to stand and leave, but her hand closed around my wrist.

“What are you doing tomorrow?”

“…Meeting Rizett. I’ll be back by evening.”

I answered shortly, eyes fixed somewhere on the wall. Talking normally right after that — we must both be unhinged.

“Rizett?”

“She was at the academy with us? Red hair, went to the Magic Association.”

Selene thought for a moment, then remembered.

“Ah… that… energetic girl.”

There was a fractional pause. She’d swallowed whatever word had come first — loud, maybe, or exhausting.

“What are you seeing her for?”

Selene still hadn’t let go of my wrist. Her hand is always warm, and I don’t hate it — but right now, of all times, I wanted to be away from it.

“Does it matter? We’re just having tea.”

“…Fine. Just make sure you’re presentable.”

Behave like the Black Witch. That’s what that meant.

“I know. Goodnight.”

I didn’t want to be in the same room as her any longer, not after all of that. I said it flat and clean, left Selene’s room, and fell face-down onto my own bed.

I’d planned to sleep the moment the supply was finished. But wherever she’d touched me felt like it was pulsing, with a life of its own, and there was nothing calm about it.

I was irritated with myself for not being used to it by now. I was irritated with her for continuing this. I burrowed under the covers with a small frustrated sound and forced my eyes shut.

It took a while to fall asleep — I think. But at some point, awareness slipped away from me. I dreamed something strange, though the contents were already gone. Dreams are like that — gone before you can hold them.

Light through the window made me squint.

I reached out and ran my hand over the stuffed animals on the pillow, one by one. Then I made the effort of pushing my heavy body upright.

I wanted to sleep longer. But I could hear movement from the living area — she was already up, which meant I should be too. I rubbed at my heavy eyelids and shuffled towards the kitchen.

“Morning. How are you feeling?”

Selene glanced at me, then looked back at the pot on the stove. The kitchen smelled warm and faintly toasty.

“Better now.”

“Good. There’s some for you.”

The table had a teacup sending up steam, and everything was set out neatly.

She always makes breakfast the morning after. Like some kind of guilt payment for the night before, maybe — though she’d never admit to feeling guilt.

She handed me a plate with fresh vegetables and bacon and I sat down across from her. I didn’t have much appetite, but I thought I could manage this.

Knowing I’ll only eat this much, and plating exactly that amount. Considerate of her. Annoying of her.

“What are you doing today?”

I tore off a piece of bread and asked. She looked like she’d already gotten ready for the day — unlike me.

“I’m going to the magical tools shop. I want to look at my staff, and I need to pick up a few things.”

“You should have yours looked at soon too. Want to come?”

“Like I said yesterday — I have plans. Mine should be fine for a while yet. I’ll go next time we have a day off.”

I had my magical equipment seen to maybe once every three months at best. Selene went at least twice a month. As the White Witch, performing in front of so many people — she probably couldn’t afford to let anything slip.

“Hmm. Be back before evening. It’s your turn to cook tonight.”

“I know.”

“And Selene — White Witch energy out there.”

I put some edge into it. Not that she would ever show her real self in public — unlike me, she had no cracks in the performance.

She held my gaze for a moment, seemed to decide against speaking, and said nothing.

I looked away and lifted my cup.

An unfamiliar sweet fragrance rose with the steam — and for a moment, my heavy eyes opened a little further. I brought it to my lips. Sweet, but clean and clear, with something that lingered. A sound escaped me before I could stop it.

“Is this new? This is really good.”

“I bought it recently. There’s plenty — help yourself.”

She said it simply and reached down for her bag.

“I’ll be off. Do the washing up.”

Before I could ask where she’d found it, or why she’d bought it when we had other tea already — she was gone, quick footsteps and then the door.

The sound of it closing rang out bigger than it should have in an empty room. The quiet that was left behind held only one person’s presence.

I sat there pulling small pieces from my bread for a while, but with no one to talk to, the thoughts I’d been avoiding found their way back in.

Selene living as the White Witch. Me finding work that doesn’t need magic. Just the two of us in this house together. That’s all I need. That’s all I want.

On our days off, when I don’t have to use magic, I always end up thinking things like this. She knows how bad the depletion feels. She knows how much I hate the supply. So why do we keep living this way — I genuinely don’t understand.

We’ve been doing this for so long that I doubt either of us is going to change it now. And as long as she holds what she holds over me, there’s nothing I could say that would make any difference.

Still — I think if we go on like this, one of us is going to break. I don’t know which of us it will be.

I sighed at the lingering feeling on my throat, and drank the lukewarm tea.