Dani thought it over for a while. “Can I ask you to do something to Kat?”
Her mother gave her a look.
“Yeah, didn’t think so. But can you blame me for asking? She destroyed my life completely. Even my friends don’t remember me as a boy. Kat has to pay somehow.”
Rachel sighed, settling down on Dani’s bed and beckoning her to sit next to her. “You two have always been like this, always arguing day and night about even the smallest things, holding grudges and never forgiving. I’ve often wondered why you couldn’t be nicer to each other.” She rubbed her daughter’s shoulders in an attempt at a soothing gesture, but the girl ignored it.
“Maybe because she thinks of me as some kind of inferior Mundane that she can treat like a lab-rat?”
“That isn’t true, Dani,” her mother said. “Well, not entirely, at least. Your sister’s motivations are-” She shrugged. “-rather complex. And not completely malicious.”
“Like that’s supposed to justify anything?”
“No,” Rachel admitted. “But if you could understand her better, perhaps you wouldn’t hold this against her so much.”
Dani let out a frustrated huff and fixed her mother with a glare. “Fine. Want me to understand? Help me understand, then. Tell me what I should know about her. Give me your best shot.”
A twitch of annoyance flickered over Rachel’s face, and Dani worried for a moment that she had pushed too far. However, the witch answered calmly. “That’s for you to discover for yourself. If you really want to know, your sister’s room is right next door. You can ask her yourself, if you can manage more than two words without a fight.”
Fat chance, Dani thought, but she backed down anyway, knowing she would get nothing more on the subject. Still, the mention of her sister’s room brought another disturbing revelation. Only a single wall stood between herself and her tormentor. If her mother could phase through her door anytime she liked, what would stop Kat from doing the same in the middle of the night?
“Um, if I can’t ask you to punish Kat, can I ask you to make this room magic-proof?” At Rachel’s questioning look, she clarified further. “You know, like a magic-free zone or something. I don’t want any magic in here, no phasing through walls, no magical spying, nothing.”
Rachel nodded. “I think I understand. Very well. I can set a ward around this room that will be tied to you alone. Only your own magic will work inside it.”
“Hey, I said no magic!”
“It’s the best I can do. Besides, you can still choose not to use that option. It will be up to you.”