Libra's Lament, a Magical Girl Quest [Complete]

The Adige Spring orphanage was not a bad place to live in. The halls were wide and well tended to, the staff was nice...

But Anastasia did not particularly care. She got along with the adults just fine and that was enough for her. She had been here for years, ever since her parents died in the first attack on Verona.

Breakfast went as usual; she took her place at the long table, as far away from the other children as possible. She disliked them for being so childish when everyone had to do their best to help and they disliked her for that. Not that it mattered, being strong was what mother and father would expect from her.

It did not matter.

The young girl calmly ate her bread and finished her juice, making sure that not even crumbs and drops were left. Being wasteful was a bad thing.

She was still hungry for some reason, stealing another glance at the group sitting across from her; some were older, some were younger, all of them seemed happy for some reason. How stupid.

But it would be nice to... no, stop. Not those thoughts again.

Shaking her head, Anastasia got up and brought her plate to the kitchen. Her tummy was not really full, but she refused to bring extra work for the staff by asking for seconds; they worked enough as it was.

Once she was without her plate, the blonde made her way back to her room and gathered her things for school, then turned around and began to head out. The others would take longer again, just as usual; she ignored them on her way outside.

The cold air helped wake her up some more and she wandered through mostly empty streets on the usual way; it was even marked for the younger children, in case they went by themselves instead of in groups.

It was still early and she knew that... but she did not want to walk with all those groups around her.

Today however, her tummy insisted on more food for some reason; it growled quietly and she pressed a hand on her belly to make it stop. This was embarassing if anyone heard!

But there was no one around, so she was safe for now; Ana shook her head again and walked a little faster. She had as much breakfast as she had every day, so why was she still hungry like that?


As usual, she was the first in class. The clock on the wall told her that she still had a little more than twenty minutes, so the girl picked her folders out of her bag and looked through the homework that was due today. There was a mistake in her calculations and she caught a spelling error in that English-assignment, but everything else was fine.

Then she saw them enter. Those twins, those... ugh.

Instead of turning her head away, she just glared at their backs. Those girls were the worst of all, always running around as if they were not still rebuilding everything. Ana almost growled at the thought, but caught herself.

These two had no business being as happy as they were. They just played around and never did anything, they even still had their mother with them, so why could they not be more grateful for what they had and work hard?

...

Whatever.

Others entered the room in small groups, talking among each other about unimportant things. Then their first lesson started.

But it did not help much... the hunger grew stronger and stronger, a weight building in Ana's tummy.

Ugh... soo... hungry...

"Mommy?"

You can not look her in the eyes and Rico looks away, too. With everything that happened... Anastasia had to run away and... and if it had been you, you would have to leave just like her.

This is... she should know, right?

"What is it, Eva? I never saw you talk with her, but what happened must have been hard on you."

A hand gently rubs your head, but you quickly shake it and pull away. "We let her go."
"...Come again?"

"We let her go. Big sister told her how to get out of the city and let her run away."

You can feel her gaze on you, but then your mother turns her head to look at Bianca, who appears no different than usually. She is still sorting through her things, writing down notes and stuff... but your parent does not look angry at least. Rico feels as bad as you do, too.
"And why did you?"

Bianca closes her eyes for a moment, not meeting your eyes either. This feels so awful...
"Because this was the better choice for her."

Now... that sounds weird. Living in the forest is better than going with the government? You... uh, you heard that some Magical Girls get taken away, but no one ever talked about what happened to them. Rico gets to ask before you, though: "What happens to the girls that stay and get caught?"

Are... are big sister's hands shaking? Maybe it was just your imagination. Bianca sighs and puts down her notes before looking at the three of you in earnest. "Those that do not resist have only the choice to work as UES-Enforcers. They get to hunt other Magical Girls."

She pauses and shuffles in her papers for a moment... for no reason. Is she nervous?
"I don't like it, but I can't overrule the rest of the council by myself. The older ones just get bombs implanted into their bodies to make them comply, the younger ones get indoctrinated."

You gulp at the first part, but tilt your head over the last word; bombs you know, but what is indoctrinated?

"Brainwashed, basically."
Oh.
Is Bianca reading your mind again?

She looks down and sighs once again, her arms resting on the table... limp, much different to how untiring she usually is. "Nothing particularly bad and no violence, at least. They just go and show them what the Magical Girls that run did, explain over and over how many people died because of them and so on. The girls grow up sheltered and learn that their own people are horrible, which is why they fight them."

You actually want to change the topic, but this makes you even more curious about what is going on. Anastasia was weird when she transformed...
Hearing what would happen if you went with the military sounds bad, too.

"I heard that most Magical Girls destroy a lot when fleeing."

She gives your mother a look you can not really read. "Those that get away, yes. I recently had a case where a girl was shot after resisting arrest... then she got back up and fell in a frenzy, destroying half of a major city."

Oh.

Oh.

"And what is worse", Bianca continues without waiting for you, "is that all of this is a self-fulfilling prophecy."

She is just talking now and you do not interrupt her... there was probably no one else she could speak to about this at all...

"Magic is formed by what we believe it does, the rules are malleable and can change. Humans believe that magic is not for everyone, so only one in a thousand has magic. Humans believe that Magical Girls are a thing, so they are... humans believe that Magical Girls are horrifying creatures hiding behind innocent faces... so they are."

Her shoulders slump and she lets out a last sigh. "I really shouldn't talk this much."

You look at each other over this. It sounds really bad and terrible... but the worst is that is makes big sister sad. You do not like to see her that way and Rico thinks the same, you can tell from how she looks at you.

You slowly get up and walk over to where Bianca sits, then pet her head like she does for you all the time. "It's okay, big sister. It's not your fault."

She looks up at you and smiles a bit, but not enough for you... so you do not stop petting her. Her hair is fluffy... but a little slick too, maybe from sweating. No matter, you just pet on.

"I know it's not my fault, but thinking about all those girls being forced to become monsters hurts. I can change things from where I am, but it goes much too slow for so many of them..."
You continue petting and let her talk it out; she will feel better when she is done, just like you always do. "You saved Ana today."

"We will see about that."

"Um... are all Magical Girls really bad?"

Rico's question makes you look to her; Bianca does the same and blinks before smiling. "No, there are exceptions. Most are not even bad people, they just get some form of horrifying power forced on them with no way of making it stop."

Those exceptions... you are two of those, right? You do not have any bad or mean powers.

At least your big sister is no longer so sad. That makes you happy and you hug her.
"Say, Bianca... what kind of powers are you talking about?"

The arms around you stiffen for a moment, but she does not let go and there is nothing in her voice telling about her actual feelings.

"Let me see... one I can talk about with children in the room would be... ah. There is a girl that can increase the growth-speed of plants... with the twist that everything she helps grow turns into flesh and starts smelling very soon."

Oh... that does sound bad. But what does a flesh-plant look like?

"She can grow animals, too. In fact, I know she used to have a little dog like Ludger."
He is looking up from where he sits over hearing his name, you can see it through Rico's eyes. "Once she was done using her magic on it, it was a six metres high monster."

Uh...
"And the worst part? She doesn't see it. To her, the plants just grew strong and the dog became big. Unless someone tells her what she is doing, she has no idea what actually happened."

Her arms hug you a little tighter, so she is still sad even without showing it... but that is okay. You just hug back and try not to think about how this monster might look like.

Then you think of a really big Ludger. He would be as big as your house, how cute!
Rico squeals, too... you probably brought the thought to her and mother looks at her now and oops, that is weird with what big sister just said...

Uh... right. There was something else. You slowly let go and get back to sitting. It feels better like this; you want to be near her, near Rico... Bianca goes back to her paperwork after a moment. She takes a deep breath. "Thank you for listening. I think I needed that."

"It's fine, Bianca. Everyone needs to speak their mind once in a while."

You guess now is a good time?
"Can we say something, too?"

Rico is not looking at her and you slowly start looking away yourself. Even after all of this was said, you are still scared of what will happen now.

You can see big sister from where you are looking; she has her hands on the paper and watches you with a calm look. When she sees you watching her, she gives you a nod while your mother shifts slightly.

"Go ahead, what do you have on your mind?"

You dare peaking up at her and find her looking at you with a similar look to Bianca.
"We are.... we are Magical Girls."

Rico mumbles it quietly, but she is heard and your parent turns her head, then slumps over a little. "I see."

It sounds... resigned? Was that the right word? Not at all happy, but you were not hoping for that. Both of you look away again; big sister said she would accept you anyway, but...

An arm winds around your shoulder and pulls you into a hug right next to Rico; just like with big sister yesterday, but you can feel mother pressing you against her with all her strength. She keeps quiet for a while and you just hug her back.

"You said everything was fine..."
"I lied."

Bianca answers her question as calm as always from somewhere to your side. "I promised them not to tell."

"You... you don't hate us, do you?"

Rico is still so quiet and afraid and you know because you feel the same... but you both shake a little from how hard your mother shakes her head. "No. No, I don't... I won't. And don't you ever think that again, Rico, Eva."

Her words make you feel so light all of a sudden.
Everything will be okay, everything will be fine.

You are warm now and your mother will not go away.

You do not know how long the hug lasts, but you let go at some point. Rico does the same and you finally can look your parent in the eyes without feeling bad again.

Both of you sweep happiness back and forth and even Bianca smiles. "See? Mother will not think worse of you."

Yes, she is right. You never should have doubted her... or big sister. Even when she just said she lied to your parent, she will not lie about how much you can trust someone.

After nodding slowly, you look up at your mother. "Can we watch something together?"
They cancelled school for Friday, so you can stay up a little late... and you really, really want to cuddle now. You want to cuddle with everyone, because you want to be close to them.

Rico pokes you with warmth and you poke her right back and your mother starts to smile again. "I don't mind. What do you think, Bianca?"

You all look at big sister now... her gaze goes back and forth between you and the papers on the table, but then she pushes them aside and sighs. "Fair enough, I can do the rest later."

She comes over and you pat the seat to your left... and she sits there. Now you are right between the adults and much more happy than before. But who do you lean against?

In the end, you switch between the two; Rico pouts that she sits far away from big sister... and you do not really notice what kind of movie you are watching. You are so warm and happy... and...


When your eyes open, you are in your own bed and not in the forest.
And you are crying.

You press your hands over your eyes and sniffle over that dream. Is this what happened to her? How terrible...

There is a whimper above you and Rico pushes against your mind, sad just like you... oh, it is still early. You climb up to your sister, hug her and fall back into slumber.

When the two of you leave your room later, your sister and mother are already awake and busy making breakfast together. Bianca looks more at ease than she did yesterday, you can tell when her shoulders are all stiff... but now she is relaxed.

"Good morning, sleepyheads", your mother smiles at you and you mumble a greeting back; Bianca does not even turn away from the stove where... wait. Are that... are those pancakes?

Your eyes widen in realisation and you bounce up to look around Bianca... and yes, she is making pancakes! For breakfast, even!

You squeal happily and big sister pets your head. "Go and wash up, they aren't done yet."
""Okay!""

Rico saw the pancakes, too; you both beam at each other and then run off to the bathroom.


"I want you three to come with me."

Breakfast had been quiet so far, mostly because you and Rico were busy eating. But what your big sister just said makes you stop... and everyone else, too. Bianca looks serious and has her hands folded in front of her.

"That's... pretty sudden, isn't it?"
You agree with your mother... not that you would mind it much to be with your big sister some more, but all your friends are here... and the school... and...

"It is... but there was an attack just a week ago and another Magical Girl awakened on top of that. People will be keeping a close eye on what is going on here and the girls are not safe."

"But in Berlin, with half a million people living there?"
You do not really get why it is bad that there are so many people... but you understand what your sibling means; when something happens, everyone looks out for more trouble... and if they see you... oh...

"If they are found out over there, I am around to react on time; I can get them out of trouble at least... and I couldn't do that here, not in time."

You keep quiet and watch the adults talk; big sister does make sense... but you would have to leave the house and friends... and... almost everything else.

On the other hand, big sister. You can stay with big sister all year.

You look at your twin, who is as conflicted as you are; Rico likes all her friends a lot and she has many more than you have, but... big sister. Everyone would be together... and you could write letters, right?

Your mother is still thinking about it; her left brow is scrunched up in this weird way that shows she is thinking really hard. You watch her for a moment, then look at Bianca again. "Um... what about our school? Can Mommy be a teacher there, too? And can we write letters to our friends?"

She starts smiling as you ask away. "Of course, to all of those. It will be a bit more difficult to talk to others, but your English is good enough for that. More teachers are always needed, too."

You hum over that and poke your sister, who pokes back with confusion... no, the word is different.... where you are not sure what to do...

"I'm not expecting you to decide right away... but we should get this in the clear soon. I can make arrangements for basically everything necessary within two weeks."

"I will think about it."

It gets quiet again after your mother says that. You get back to your now lukewarm pancakes and eat up... and now you have nothing to do; you got no homework yesterday... soo... you can play with big sister, right?

"Big sis?"
"Hm?"
"You're good with weapons, right?"

Bianca looks up from her own plate and gives Rico a look; the one where she wants an explanation. You are curious, too. Why is this im... oh. You have weapons and can not use them, but she can show you. Rico is smart!

Your sister shuffles a little in her chair and looks away. "Um... I was thinking you could help us use ours? I mean, just in case..."

She turns her gaze away to think and you can see your mother having this blank look she always has when she does not like something. "Is this really necessary? Chances are good that we can hide this properly."

"No, mother", Bianca replies before either of you can. "A single wrong word at the wrong time, one bad move can make all of this undone. We can't watch our every step like this, that's not healthy... so I'd rather see the girls prepared for when it happens, because there is no 'if'."

She sits quiet for a moment, then looks at the two of you. "Eat up and wash your hands, we'll get started once you're ready."


It is... boring.

Bianca has you take a stance she shows you and then you have to practice swinging... and she sometimes comes over to correct how you hold your scepters, but this is it.

You thought this would be more interesting.

At least you can pass the time with wondering why your sister is now shining a little brighter than yesterday... and Rico says it is harder to see your face properly. Something is... uh... overshadowing it? Big sister said that shows you have grown stronger.

But really, there is nothing else to do. You still try to concentrate on swinging just like you were told to, your feet planted on the ground and your whole body lowered a little... but... ugh.
Rico seems to have fun hitting imagined bad guys, though.

Your mother did not want to watch when you asked her, she just said to have fun and went to walk the dog. She does knock at the door at some point to call you for lunch, though.

---

What do you do with the remaining day? Pick two:

[] Do something with big sister
-[] Write-in what

[] Do something with your mother
-[] Write-in what

[] Play with Ludger

[] Do more of this weird training

[] Double down (picks the other option again)

[] Write-in


[] EXP-Plan
-[] Write-in what to buy
-[] Save it

+4xp Mommy Loves You

EXP gained: 4 + 4 = 8
Total EXP: 72


Now then, things will change soon. You have yet to do more training to get this modifier off of your backs, though.