Inside the living room, Matthew was practicing his earth magic by creating complex structures such as: a sword, a spiked bat, a hammer and even a set of boots. He liked the idea of making boots for himself as it was a good back up plan for the rare scenarios where there were no earth around him, but that got him thinking 'If I can make boots, why not make a full set of armor?'.
CRASH
Waking up to the sound of something breaking, Mary stumbled groggily into the living room to see a fallen over Matthew with a full set of earthen armor on him.
Staring at the tipped over Matthew, Mary let out a chuckle before calling him an idiot and helping her son up.
"Y'know your not strong enough to wear armor yet right?" Mary teased. "I mean, you're still just a baby my sweet boy".
Looking frustrated and flustered Matthew mumbled something incoherent.
"Sorry, what was that?" Mary asked.
Matthew turned his head to face his Mother. "I said, I have to get stronger fast".
Cocking an eyebrow upwards, Mary couldn't help but let out a smile. "Who are you trying to get stronger for huh? Dear old Ma? Or sweet little Hazel?".
Blowing a raspberry, Matthew jerked his head away from his mother. "Because it's unfair...".
Giving her son a bittersweet smile, She hugged him from behind. "I know it is...".
"Now, tell me what you wanted to do with a full set of armor anyways?" Mary asked, changing the subject before it got too depressing.
"Well, I was thinking of a way to fight with earth when there was no earth around, and then it hit me, to just always have earth on me" Matthew answered.
Staring at Matthew in awe, Mary still couldn't believe that she was this lucky to have this smart of a son. "Why don't you just wear boots and gloves?"
Looking like he had just gotten a great idea, Matthew sprung up from his spot and shouted "That's it!".
After an hour had passed with Matthew testing things out and Mary just watching, Mary finally got up and washed herself before coming back to the living room. "Come on Matthew, let's go see your sister".
"Okay!"
. . .
Arriving at the hospital with a lot less dread than last time, the 2 walked inside and sat down in the queue.
"Mrs. Herzia? Is there a Mrs. Herzia?" A lady in a nurse's outfit called out.
Getting up, Mary raised her arm up to get the lady's attention. "Over here!".
"Ok Mrs. Herzia, your daughter is here" The lady said, revealing a sickly pale Hazel from behind her.
Running up to hug her daughter, Mary clasped her tightly around her arms. "Oh honey, Mommy's so sorry that she wasn't here with you".
She was fully expecting Hazel to burst into a fit of tears but to her surprise, Hazel didn't utter a single sound. Matthew was behind his mother when she ran to hug Hazel and he could clearly see something was off with Hazel, when looking into her eyes he noticed that they were vacant, like her soul wasn't there anymore.
Coming out from the shadows like a stereotypical Villain was Doctor Bill. "Don't worry, it's just the affect of the medicine, she'll return to normal with due time and if she doesn't, bring her back to me".
Getting up to greet the Doctor, Mary still envisioned Bill as a godsent savior while Matthew was starting to have second thoughts. "Yes, thank you so so much Doctor! I don't know what would have happened without you".
"Well, for one, your daughter's mana circulatory system would have been crippled for life as she had accidentally formed a mana clot inside there without knowing how to dematerialize it" He quipped.
A look of horror formed on Mary's face as she bowed deeply to thank Bill again, even going so far as to get on her knees. Matthew didn't like the fact that his Mother was bowing down before somebody but that same somebody had saved his sister's life, so he wasn't too mad, that is until he saw the cold look of disgust on Bill's face, staring at her like she was a cockroach. Gritting his teeth, Matthew restrained himself from outright just socking Bill right in the jaw.
Getting up from her kneeled down position, Mary did one last bow before leaving the hospital with Hazel in tow. Matthew looked over his shoulder as they were leaving and saw Bill fasten his belt as he went back inside his office. Something was up and Matthew wanted to find out exactly what.
Once the 3 of them were finally back home, Mary carefully placed Hazel down on the earthen sofa and sat down with her, just staring at her in silence. Matthew had also gone over to where Hazel was and was waiting for her to start crying but stared curiously at her when she never did.
"Hazel dearest, is everything okay?" Mary gently asked. "It's okay if you want to cry honey".
"..."
"Yeah sis, we're here for you if something's wrong" Matthew joined in.
"..."
"...Hazel? Are you...there? Earth to Hazel" Mary cooed.
Having enough of the silence, Matthew flicked Hazel on the forehead to get a reaction out of her and was quickly reprimanded by his Mother.
"Let's just give her some space Matthew" Mary said, getting up from the sofa and pulling Matthew away.
"Mom! They did something to Hazel! She was all fine until she went to the hospital!" Matthew shouted in a hushed whisper. "I bet it was that fatty Doctor Bill!".
"How dare you say that about Doctor Bill! He saved Hazel's life AND her future as a mage!" Mary said back, flabbergasted at her son for insulting Bill.
"I'm telling you, he's weird! I'll prove it to you somehow!" Matthew retaliated before storming off into his room before his mother could continue the argument.
. . .
In the middle of the night, a single sound was heard, it was the sound of Hazel shivering. Was it from the cold? Was it from fear? Was it from sadness? Who knew, maybe it was a combination of all the emotions that overwhelmed her. Whatever it was, it kept her up at night. Her Mother was next to her of course, gently sleeping the night away, oblivious to her daughter's suffering. It seemed like Hazel was on autopilot as she had no idea what she was doing either.
In her mind, a giant iron cage was placed around her and the air was a stifling cold, barely allowing her to move. It felt like a giant shadowy curtain was draped over her consciousness and even as a kid, she knew it was something bad. As if a curse was placed on her, she desperately pleaded to be let out but she couldn't remember why she was put into there in the first place and when she tried to remember, she would always wince in extreme pain and give up. There was one thing she remembered though...the sounds of a belt being unbuckled.