“Huh?” I said intelligently.

  Mum shook her head. “You aren’t human, Julie. Not any more, anyway.”

  I was understandably dumbstruck by this revelation, so Cassie took the lead. She seemed weirdly calm about the whole thing. “What is she, then? And what do you mean ‘not any more’?”

  My mother’s solemn expression didn’t change. “I will tell you what I know. I’ve thought of a few theories over the years. It is a bit of a story however, if you want the context.”

  I felt strange, like I was in a waking dream. The last few days had been a lot of excitement, but this was too much. When I had walked into this room to ask Mum about this, I had been expecting to be told there was a magical accident nearby when I was young, or that some bloodline curse had rolled around this generation. Not to be gently informed that I was apparently a different species to my own mother.

  Eventually I managed to pull myself together enough to speak. “What context?” I said flatly.

  My mother’s solemn expression broke slightly, a small smile appearing on her face. “Well girls, let me tell you about the best decision of my life.”

  ------------------------------------------------

  One warm evening in late spring, Jenna was cursing Fate himself. She was alone in her house but for her newborn daughter, a girl named Julianne. Little Julianne was not wailing, not crying, not making a nuisance of herself. This was not out of a lack of desire, but a lack of strength. Julianne was very sick, to the point that the midwife had not initially believed she would survive birth, not two nights ago. She certainly wouldn’t survive her first month, a fact that was spoken with heartbreaking certainty by the elderly woman.

  It was for her daughter that Jenna was cursing, for surely such a new and innocent life could have done nothing to deserve this fate. Jenna had tried much in the last few days, of course. She had tried herbal remedies from old folk tales, had contacted the local witch to beg for help, she likely would have turned to a devil deal had she known how. To put it lightly, she was desperate. It was for this reason that she found herself springing to life when a knock came on the door. She knew that nobody from the village would visit her now, not until after the girl’s passing.

  She brushed down her wrinkled dress before opening the door to reveal a strikingly well dressed man. His clothing seemed to be made of a fine silk, pure white to match his flawless pale skin striking white hair. It was long and flowing to complement his elegant movements. He was tall and lean, bordering on gaunt, and had the sharp ears and slightly slitted eyes of an elf. He had an air of uncanniness about him, although Jenna couldn’t name any one feature that was off. When she opened the door he smiled, wide and genuine.

  “Good day, my lady,” said the man, bowing lightly to her. “I understand that you are in something of a predicament.”

  “Maybe.” Jenna responded flatly. This man carried himself like nobility, which was strange indeed for such an out of the way village.

  “’Maybe’,” the man scoffed. “No need to be coy, young lady. I am fully apprised of the situation, and find myself in a position to help. You may call me Fel. May I come in?”

  Jenna’s suspicion only grew as the man spoke, but she did not fear for herself. Perhaps it was foolishness or desperation, but if this man could help then she would take what she would get. Rather than respond verbally, Jenna simply walked from the door and left the door open, allowing Fel to walk inside. When he took the implied invitation and ducked into the doorway, Jenna breathed a silent sigh of relief. Not a vampire, then.

  “You said you knew, so I won’t explain. If you’re going to help, then help.” Jenna said blandly. Under any other circumstances she wouldn’t be nearly so aggressive with a guest, but she was at the end of her rope. She seated herself on her favourite chair and began to knit absently. She needed to do something with her hands.

  In response, the man simply raised a single long finger. “First, some context. I am, if you’ll believe it, in a rather similar situation to yourself.”

  Jenna started at that. This man too had a dying child? Why ever was he offering aid to some random village seamstress?

  Fel continued on, seemingly oblivious to Jenna’s confusion. “In fact, it is for this reason that I am here today. I believe that we can help each other. I see that you are confused, so let me explain. My child is dying, and I believe that I can save them if you allow me to save yours.”

  “How,” Jenna said, putting down her knitting needles. The strange elf was speaking like saving Julianne was a matter of permission, not strength. Jenna felt the guttering sparks of hope reignite in her chest.

  “Well, the how is rather complicated. The gist is that our children shall be… bonded. They shall become one.” Fel’s brow furrowed as he spoke. “Apologies, it is difficult to explain in this language.”

  “Easier to explain in Elvish, is it?”

  “… Sure, let’s go with that. In any case, our children shall mend each other. Mine will not be without physical form, and yours shall not be without life.”

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  “What precisely do you mean by ‘become one’?” Jenna asked, more than a little concerned with how the man was wording his solution.

  “Exactly as it sounds. They shall merge, in mind, body and soul. For any conceivable purpose they would be a single individual.”

  “She would still be my daughter though, right?” Jenna was worried now. If this solution was untenable, she wasn’t sure she could survive having her newly found hope crushed so soon.

  “Of course. Neither of our children have done more than begin to develop, and they would continue to develop as one. Both would be your child, and both would be mine.”

  Jenna let out a shaky breath she hadn’t known she was holding. This deal was… unorthodox, to say the least. She knew she should seek out more information, but she couldn’t help but feel a little excited. Her little girl, abandoned by all others, was going to live!

  “Alright. I think you should do it.” Jenna said, a little unsure but growing more certain by the moment.

  “Of course.” Fel spoke with a smile that spoke of relief. Put together as he seemed, he must have been on a time limit with his own mysterious offspring. He stood and walked over to where Julianne was sleeping fitfully in the corner of the room, placing his hands on her temples and closing his eyes. “As I begin, I would like to walk you through our child’s… unique traits, as it were. I am sure this will come up at some point, and it would be best if you were prepared.”

  “Unique traits? She’s going to be different, right?” Jenna had already assumed as such, although she had no clue what differences there would be. Would her girl be some kind of half-elf? She would admit to not knowing much about elves, but as far as she knew they reproduced much like humans, so maybe not.

  “Oh, very much so. Fear not, she will not be too overt with them, at least not at first. I would imagine that most will not become conscious to her for some years, maybe even until adulthood. Human adulthood is around eighteen years, correct?” As he spoke, his hands began to glow a faint blue, and Julianne’s now open eyes mimicked the colour. It took everything that Jenna had not to reach out to her child. Instead, she simply nodded and beckoned to the elf to continue.

  “First, she will fall ill rarely, if ever. A welcome relief I should imagine, after her troublesome birth. She will also be capable of adapting her form, although this is something that I imagine she will do largely unconsciously until her awakening. As such, she will never heave to fear her own reflection, for whatever she should wish shall appear before her.” The light from his hands flared, before beginning to dissipate into the room like mist. The light that broke off circled Julianne like a mobile above her crib.

  “She will likely be faster and stronger than many, although this too will come over time after her awakening. Most importantly, she will hold dominion over the forces of life, drawing it in for consumption or releasing it for aid.” As Fel spoke with gravitas, the ever-thickening blue mist around Julianne began to draw into her, like smoke into a wind tunnel.

  “That is is for the guarantees. There are many other things she could become, things we cannot know for sure. She may live for mere decades, she may never age beyond her prime. She may have a connection to natural forces, or individual elements, or nothing beyond life. All have to be discovered in time.” Fel’s explanation ended just as the last of the mist was drawn into Julianne’s body. Her eyes ceased glowing as Fel moved his hands away, and she fell into a far more peaceful sleep.

  “… Okay, that was a lot more than I expected.” Jenna admitted. “I have questions, but there’s something more important that I need to do first.” She looked pointedly at her daughter, rushing over when Fel nodded. She picked up Julianne and drew her into her gentle embrace. She seemed solid in a way she hadn’t before. For the last few days, Jenna had felt like she was holding a glass sculpture rather than a child, as Julianne had been cold and frail. Now she was soft, warm and somehow still asleep.

  After a few minutes of embracing her daughter, Jenna placed her back in her cot so as not to risk her waking up, although that seemed increasingly unlikely. With tears threatening her eyes, she barely hesitated a moment before lunging at Fel, wrapping him in a tight embrace as the stress of her child’s sickness bled from her. She wept then, not caring for her appearance in front of her daughter’s saviour. Her saviour. For his part, the elf seemed completely taken aback by the display of affection, but eventually wrapped his arms around her as well.

  Several minutes later, Jenna pulled away in embarrassment and sat heavily back in her seat. By the time Jenna had composed herself, she realised that she had never asked her questions.“What do mean by her ‘awakening’?” Jenna asked.

  “Ah, that is where the tricky part comes in.” Fel seemed almost… ashamed?

  “Tricky part?”

  “Quite. An awakening is the closest translation to a coming of age ritual, one typically done spontaneously. Among those like Julianne, something will eventually bring them to realise that they are not as they appear, that they can do things that others can’t. Often, this is in times of stress or desperation.”

  Realisation dawned on Jenna. “She has to realise it herself, doesn’t she?”

  Fel nodded. “Quite. If you were to tell her, her development would soar initially. But it would then stagnate. You would be crippling her, forcing her awakening before she is ready.”

  Jenna felt dread settle over her. “How am I meant to keep this a secret? I mean, you said that she would be able to do all these things, surely someone will figure it out?”

  Fel made a placating gesture. “There will be little evidence of her nature before her awakening. She may change visually a little, over the course of several nights. She may have slightly above average endurance, or struggle with learned magic. However, all of these can be attributed to things that are far simpler than ‘she’s a changeling’.”

  Jenna relaxed for a moment, before her mind caught on Fel’s words. “’Changeling’. Is that what she is?”

  Fel nodded. “That is the mortal term, yes.”

  Jenna thought back to the stories her own mother had told her when she was young. “Aren’t changelings supposed to be stolen or something?”

  Fel chuckled. “Not at all. That is simply the story most end up telling, because people can’t explain what caused two mortals to have a magical child. Besides, it makes it easier for some to rid themselves of the ‘different’ child if they can convince themselves they aren’t theirs.”

  Jenna nodded. “I see,” she lied.

  Fel walked towards the door. “I had best go. I don’t imagine that we shall be seeing each other for quite some time, not with how things are looking back home. I would ask that you look after our child, but I know I needn’t do so.” With that, Fel opened the door and stepped out, stopping on the doorstep.

  “Oh, and I am no elf,” he said, closing the door quietly behind him. Jenna suddenly felt the need to thank him again, and rushed to the door to call after him. The words caught in her throat when she saw that he was already gone.

  She returned to her home, and looked fondly at her daughter. Despite all of the worry, the stress and the fear, she would be okay. Different for sure, but if different meant that she could live then praise the abnormal.