Kevin and Julie shared a smile of delight mixed with a bit of trepidation. After all, they had never counted on becoming the parents of identical quadruplet mermaid witches. Still, in the world of magic, families were often malleable, and they had certainly heard of worse, parents and kids switching places, everyone being separated, regressed, and distributed to other families, even unbirthing!
Besides, while all four girls looked five years old, only one of them had truly began as such. This meant that the others would be more mature from the start, especially Beth who was technically older than the rest of the family combined.
“So, who wants to celebrate?” Kevin called out. “Let’s order pizza!”
Of course, Patty cheered loudest while hugging Kat. Beth joined in as she launched out of the pool, transforming into a human midair before landing gracefully on her feet. Still in the water, Dani snorted and turned her back, not turning around until their chattering voices faded into the house. When her mother’s shadow fell over her, she flinched but remained sullen.
“These are yours now,” Julie said in a much softer tone than before, holding out a spell book and wand like the ones she had given Patty.
Dani rotated herself to face away. “Keep them. I’m not gonna use them.”
“You’re a witch now, honey,” her mother replied. “Of course you’ll use them.”
“Why should I? The only reason I’m even a girl is that you all hated me as a boy, and now, if I use these powers wrong, I’ll lose my mind, too. No, it’s better if I don’t use magic at all.”
Julie sighed. Perhaps, she had been a bit harsh, but she felt it necessary to break through her former son’s self-centeredness. In reality, she would never dream of erasing her own child’s memories, at least not permanently. Maybe a week as a mental female would scare her straight if nothing else would. Or it might drive a deeper wedge between her and her family. Hopefully, Dani would learn quickly before Julie would be required to back up her threat.
Before Julie could think of a response, Beth reappeared at her side. “Let me talk to her, Mommy.”
Relief washed over Julie, though a stab of guilt accompanied it. As the mother, it ought to be her responsibility to deal with Dani, but Beth knew what she was doing, didn’t she? Despite the whole “Mommy” act, the little witch was practically legend. Nodding, she placed Dani’s book and wand by the pool and left the two sisters together.
Beth sat down and dangled her feet in the water. “You know you’ll have to use magic to leave the pool, right?”
“Well, maybe I’ll stay here, then,” Dani snapped. “Didn’t you hear mom say how I failed as a brother? I probably fail as a human, too. I should just stay a mermaid.”
The other sister rolled her eyes. She had lived far too long to put up with a childish tantrum. Grabbing Dani’s wand, she jumped into the water, not even bothering with a fish tail.
“Hey! What are y-” Dani’s protest cut short when Beth shoved her new wand into her hands and placed a palm against her forehead. Immediately, her eyes crossed as information squeezed itself into her brain, wriggling into place beside her other memories.
“There,” said Beth. “Now you know the correct spell. Now use it.”
Dani shook her head to clear it. Against her will, the syllables came to her lips, but she bit them back. “No! I don’t want to be a witch! I don’t want to be a girl!”
Beth grabbed her shoulders and stared right into her panicking eyes. “Yes, you do. You’ve always wanted this, but you never knew it. How could you? It’s outside of your experience, but your family legacy calls to you, just as it has since your birth. It’s the same for your sisters. Just look at Patty. She’s still young enough to be honest with herself. You were just like her at that age, don’t you remember?”