Stronger... and Younger

Arianna knew damned well why her new closet was filled with gowns for a child who was wasting away, all huge on her, and all designed to make her look as positively ghastly as possible. It was hard not to know why when her father kept parading his visiting guests past her, as if to say 'Look what the Emperor has done to my poor daughter.'

She was beginning to feel a great deal like a pet whose loyalty is repaid by dressing them up in silly clothes and making them perform tricks. Arianna believed her father thought her a loyal dog. She was feeling rather like a cat about the matter, as she was tempted to rip the clothes off and shred them.

She very well may have, decorum be damned, if Lucia hadn't continued to walk with her each day. Within a month, Arianna had graduated to walking unaided, and she was even allowed to walk in different places now. Which was good because alongside the pajamas her father had her wearing, she had also been increasingly tempted to commit senseless destruction on every single bit of artwork in the trip she had taken daily. She had a particular issue with a duck statue that she had never noticed before how annoyingly it looked at you when you were at the same height as it.

Charlotte seemed to have a never ending font of giggles, seeing Arianna glare down the duck statue, clutching her brother's teddy bear in her arms. Arianna still held reservations about the girl, but she admitted that she seemed capable.

That was about all that occured for the period of time directly after Arianna and Lucia's birthday. They hadn't been able to have much more than a whispered conversation here and there since, and certainly not enough to plan anything.

When Arianna was finally cleared for walks in the garden, she and Lucia had a picnic, which largely involved having servants set out a blanket and snacks and then pouting until the servants laughed and stepped out of hearing range.

Arianna picked up a napkin and tied it around Ser Snuggle's neck to keep the teddy bear clean during the picnic. Lucia started giggling. "You do not seem much like an adult when you're caring for Ser Snuggles like they couldn't just be washed later."

Arianna made a face at her sister. "Yes, because you seem terribly grown up while you pick the cucumber off your sandwich." She replied, nodding at the handkerchief that was swiftly becoming round from the bits of food Lucia was picking out and hiding in it.

There was a moment of silence as Arianna settled the teddy bear into a seated position and Lucia chewed thoughtfully on her meal. When it was broken, they spoke almost simultaneously.

"I feel like we're getting younger-" Lucia started.

"We're definitely regressing mentally-" Arianna said.

The two of them paused and giggled before sighing.

Arianna finally spoke again a moment later. "So we've both noticed it then. More and more, our actions are starting to be dictated by the age of our bodies and not our minds."

Lucia simply nodded her confirmation. She bit her lip. "I admit, I'm a little afraid of what that means for us. Are we going to forget what happened? Your magic is gone, we haven't got another chance to fix things."

It felt a little odd for Arianna, being the one to give her sister hope. She reached out and patted her sister's head with a smile. "I haven't forgotten anything yet, and I've gotten a record together of important events. I asked for art supplies to draw with while I was recovering and I used some of them to make a timeline that I've hidden away. And... I don't think it's the worst thing that we're acting our physical age." She admitted, shifting over so she could rest her head on Lucia's shoulder. "We're acting the role of six year olds. As much as the adult me would not glare at a duck statue-"

Lucia, who hadn't looked entirely comforted by the explanation from her sister, started giggling at the mention. "You really loathe Leonard, don't you?"

Arianna sat up and looked at her sister in shock. "Someone gave that monstrosity a name??" She snapped, forgetting for a moment how important it was to discuss things with her sister when she had a chance.

Lucia nodded, tears of laughter in the corner of her eyes. "Yes. His name is Leonard. And I heard our father talking about putting it outside your room, since you had taken such a shine to it."

Arianna was aghast. She was horrified. She would have to glare down that damned duck everytime she went anywhere? She was also beginning to notice that her sister was intentionally changing the subject. She forced herself to stop thinking of ways to 'accidentally' demolish Leonard the duck, and to focus on her sister. "Lu..." She said softly. "It's going to be alright. I'm just as frustrated as you are, feeling like my mind isn't doing what it should, and feeling like we're wasting time that we might not have."

Arianna took her sister's hand. "I admit, if I could have chosen when to come back to, I may not have chosen the age of six, there's not exactly a lot we can do, just yet. But we are doing some things. You're studying earlier than you did originally, and I walked all the way here and only had to stop twice." Arianna said, puffing up with pride, for all that it was a walk that her brother and sister could both manage in the time it took her just to take a break and start walking again.

She squeezed her sister's fingers. "Lu, we're going to change things, I promise. How about we think about what we can change next, okay? Plan ahead a little."

Lucia's stiff expression had slowly softened with some relief as Arianna spoke. She wasn't completely certain that all would be well, but it helped her to think about the things Arianna mentioned. Or rather, specifically that Arianna was getting stronger. Lucia could still read the exhaustion on her sister's face, but she could also see how Arianna's legs shook less when she started walking, or how she could feed herself without other people's help now.

They might not be able to change enough, because they were losing maturity and fast, but they had already changed one very important thing. Lucia resolved to remember that.