It was six thirty in the morning and I was reconsidering my life choices.

"Celica. Other Celica," I greeted as I washed my hands. Seriously. It was too early for…whatever she, or maybe they, were up to.

"She's a bit of a grump in the mornings, isn't she?" Other Celica, with her bluer skin tone and bright purple eyes, spoke as she braided Celica's hair.

"Her default mood is grumpy." Real Celica said as she applied some kind of makeup on her face.

"Makes me wonder why they ever thought Pixie would be a good fit for her." Other Celica didn't say that in a mocking tone. Just flat and relaxed. Like commenting on the weather.

It was a terrible pity that the nearest cup of coffee was about four hundred miles away.

Why did I think this was a good idea again?

"You should ask her about her hair," Other Celica stage-whispered to Celica.

"The longer the hair the more of a hassle it is to maintain," I explained. "Which is something I would think you understood."

It was the first time I had seen Celica without braids in her hair. I had no idea how she managed hair that went down past her waist, but that seemed like far, far too much work to really be worth it.

But it was her hair and time I supposed.

"It must be a non-elf thing. I would not be able to stand it that short." Other Celica commented in her perky tone.

I shrugged. "I cut it this short because I was worried about getting in and out of the bathroom quickly. In my defense I anticipated sharing it with a couple dozen other girls."

Real Celica laughed, "What is your aversion to crowds?"

"I just don't like people. High concentrations of them make me nervous." I shuddered at the memories of the crowded Pixie Tower. That sucked.

Real Celica turned to look me in the eyes instead of through the mirror. Other Celica didn't even complain about the movement and started humming to herself.

Seeing a legitimately cheery Celica was a bit unnerving.

I imagine they would feel the same if it was me.

"Maybe it's a human thing. Short hair. Remember those magazines Mom got a hold of?" Other Celica continued chatting.

"Remember the look on Dad's face when she showed him?" Celica asked her copy. "The boys laughed," she directed that to me.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

The boys? Oh right, her brothers.

"Is it just you and your older brothers?" I asked.

"They stopped with me, thankfully."

Other Celica was tucking the braids up and that's when I noticed what she was doing. She was covering her ears. Was that the point of the overly elaborate hairstyles?

"Why do you hide your ears? It's not like people won't be able to guess that you're-"

Real Celica interrupted me. "Do you know how many elves there are at our school?"

I shook my head.

Other Celica answered, "Just slightly higher than the number of Dragons. But most of them are brights." She didn't sound bothered by it. But given that this was the copy speaking I had doubts that it was one hundred percent how Celica felt.

I also had no idea what she was talking about.

Real Celica sighed, "Only dark elves get the skin or ears as obvious as mine. It's not as bad as Grandmother, but I have too much of my father in me."

Now that was a sentiment I actually understood.

"Oh don't say that. There's nothing wrong with looking like him," Other Celica chided.

"But it doesn't change the fact that you are the only person like you in this school," I commented as I processed what Celica was saying.

Real Celica looked at me in silence. Then she let out a sigh. "Exactly."

(*********)

Later that Friday morning at a more decent hour the five of us and Angelina were sitting at breakfast.

"I'm excited for the trip next week," Angelina said.

"I'm surprised Vivian is letting you go on that," Russel commented.

I shrugged, "I'm going because we're not allowed to touch anything anyway. Also as long as I don't use my magic nothing bad happens."

"How are you supposed to learn if you can't do any magic?" Jarec asked.

I smiled at him, "I guess there's a reason she makes me practice out in the forest."

There was a grimace from Angelina and Celica.

Yeah that's fair.

(*********)

There was something calming about the regularity of a schedule. I liked knowing where I was supposed to be. Sitting outside with images of various hoofprints and trying to label what creature they were from was nice. For schoolwork anyway.

Fethris was looking at me.

"What?" I asked.

"What are your thoughts on the Fall Harvest Celebration?" He asked.

A stone of dread formed in my stomach. I looked him in the eyes and tried to see if something terrible was about to happen. "I didn't really have any thoughts. I won't be going."

He sighed in relief. "Perfect. Celica was upset at me about not wanting to go or ask anyone. Mind if I tell her that she's wrong and that other people aren't going either?"

Oh thank the gods.

"Go ahead," I told him with a smile. "She hasn't said anything like that to me but I'm sure it's a matter of time."

If she thinks for a second that I'm putting on a dress and standing around in a room filled with people and loud music then she's about to be severely disappointed.

"I told her. She's furious at both of us now. Expect a lecture later."

I laughed.

(*********)

I should have heeded Fethris' warning.

"What do you mean you don't want to go to the Fall Harvest Celebration?!" Celica exclaimed while throwing open the door to the workroom.

I was trying to read a bit about curses before bed.

"It doesn't interest me. Have I somehow given you the impression that I care about dresses and groups of people?"

The glare I got was cold with a level of fury that made me worry for the state of our growing friendship. And then she dropped the glare. And then she smirked.

Oh no.

"Okay then Miss Uninterested." That tone worried me. She was up to something. "Wait here."

It was times like this where being a part of the telepathic group chat would be very useful. If she was going to try and force this, then we were going to have an issue.

Celica was back and carrying a book I recognized as being about Alchemy from a shelf.

"Sunday, after your Representative meeting meet me at the base of Spina Deorum. We have an assignment at the summit. First to get there wins. I win, you're going to the dance and I'm doing your hair and makeup for it. You win, and you can do whatever you want. I won't even bring it up anymore."

"You're not allowed to use magic and we have a deal."

She held out her right hand and I shook it.

At least she was more reasonable than Anubis had been with her challenge.

But joke's on her. I've been hiking up mountains since I was three.

You're in my element now.

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