Runebelle sat quietly across from Dr. Lorraine. The pills hadn’t worked. The exercises hadn’t worked. Nothing had worked. Her face was still frozen in that hauntingly sad look. The weight of her despair felt heavier than ever.

  Dr. Lorraine studied Runebelle with a face that had softened over their sessions.

  “You’ve done everything I’ve asked,” Dr. Lorraine said gently. “This isn’t your fault, Runebelle. I see how hard you’re trying.”

  Runebelle’s gaze went straight to the floor. She barely registered the next words as Dr. Lorraine softened to a whisper.

  “You remind me so much of…”

  The sentence hung unfinished, and for a moment, Dr. Lorraine’s eyes seemed distant.

  “Dr. Lorraine?” Runebelle called out after looking up.

  The doctor blinked rapidly. She rose quickly and moved to Runebelle’s side. “I... I’m here, honey,” she said while placing a hand on the girl’s shoulder.

  But when she leaned closer, Runebelle’s head lolled slightly and Lorraine noticed her eyes fluttering shut. “Runebelle!” she exclaimed with panic.

  When Runebelle opened her eyes again, she found herself lying on a hospital bed. The room had darker lightning than most rooms.

  Runebelle tried to sit up but a sharp sting to her head prevented her from moving quickly. “What’s going on here?”

  Dr. Lorraine sat beside her smiling softly, though her eyes held worry. “You fainted. We had to bring you here for examination. Your well-being is our—well… my top priority.”

  Runebelle’s eyes searched Lorraine’s face with words settling in her chest like a weight she couldn’t ignore. “I… I finally understand,” she whispered. “You remind me of her... my mother…”

  Lorraine had tears appear in her eyes on Roselle’s statement. She reached for Runebelle’s hand and held it tightly. “Runebelle…Ignore my job, my title, my past… I want to be the mother you need. I can fill the void left by Rune. You don’t have to be alone anymore.”

  Runebelle stared at Lorraine. The tears that had refused to come for weeks finally spilled over .Before her eyes closed again, she whispered one word:

  “Mom…”

  Runebelle’s mind suddenly began to unravel. A soft ringing filled her ears and she felt herself being pulled further from the sterile hospital room into the vast emptiness of her own mind. Her vision blurred and she found herself standing in an infinite black space. There were no walls, no floor, no ceiling. Just the sensation of being suspended.

  Suddenly, a voice, bright and cheerful pierced through the stillness. “And after that… you died!”

  The words were said too clear to be ignored.

  “Who… who was that?” Runebelle called out while looking around. “Who said that?”

  She waited for a response, but the voice did not speak again, and no other sounds filled the emptiness around her.

  What had just happened? It didn’t make any sense at all. She had just been in that room with Dr. Lorraine.

  Runebelle couldn’t remember what happened next. It was like a story cut off mid-sentence; however, through the fog of confusion, one clear truth emerged: that memory, whatever it was had been a moment of happiness.

  ….So why did it end so sadly?

  Runebelle's consciousness drifted from the realm of her former existence to the present. Slowly, she awakened within the tube that enclosed her.

  She directed her attention to her new body and discovered that she had taken on the body of a young girl. Her hair was a mesmerizing blend of blue and pink, just like the one she had before. For some reason, this felt familiar.

  Runebelle gazed at a young girl with long, flowing yellow hair who had her eyes wide with astonishment. She clung to the tank and seemed genuinely surprised by Runebelle's awakening.

  Dr. Kintovar walked into view. She glanced at the young girl who was attached to the tank. "What do you think you’re doing?”

  The girl glanced at Dr. Kintovar and then back at Runebelle. "Sorry! I just…I couldn’t wait any longer! I... I’m so happy she’s awake!"

  Dr. Kintovar gave her a stern look, but there was a soft edge to her speech. "I told you to wait elsewhere, Roselle, not to startle my new creation."

  Roselle immediately lowered her gaze with a frown. She muttered, "Sorry, Dr. Kintovar..."

  The green water surrounding the tank encasing Runebelle began to recede which allowed her to walk out of it. She felt disoriented while stepping onto the cool, unfamiliar floor. Her legs were shaky but she managed to steady herself.

  Dr. Kintovar's eyes were focused on her, and with a soft tone, she addressed Runebelle directly. "Welcome to the world. You are Runebelle, Codename: Project Rune."

  After the words left her mouth, a flicker of hesitation crossed Dr. Kintovar’s face. Her eyes narrowed for a moment. But after a brief pause, she nodded firmly. "Yes. Project Rune. You are my latest creation! Welcome to a new beginning! I have high hopes for what you will accomplish."

  Dr. Kintovar carefully examined Runebelle's systems and scanned the data before her. To her surprise, she discovered that Runebelle's memory capacity was already at 50%. Her fingers grazed the headphones resting there, and she momentarily raised them to her ears. "This is... impossible. Memory capacity at 50%? How could this be?”

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  Roselle who stood nearby raised one hand to the side of her face. "Is that a bad thing, Dr. Kintovar?"

  Dr. Kintovar’s eyes shifted to the young creation. "It's not necessarily a bad thing, Roselle. It's just... unexpected. Well, for now, we’ll just continue with the planned assessments and see how her memory functions develop."

  Runebelle took hesitant steps forward. Dr. Kintovar observed Runebelle's arrival with a keen eye. She walked over to a nearby rack, where a fur coat hung and retrieved it. With a measured tone, she approached Runebelle and held out the coat.

  "Runebelle," Kintovar began. "Your full outfit isn't quite ready yet, so you'll have to make do with this for now. It should keep you comfortable."

  Roselle, who had been quietly observing the interaction between Runebelle and Dr. Kintovar suddenly spoke up and asked, "Dr. Kintovar, what about my outfit? I've been wearing this magic academy girl's outfit since I got back. You haven't said anything about it yet."

  Dr. Kintovar turned her attention to Roselle. After a moment, she replied, "Ah, yes, your outfit, Roselle. I haven't had the chance to provide you with a suitable one yet, but I assure you, I'll have something fitting for you soon. For now, that academy uniform should suffice."

  Roselle pouted and tugged at the academy uniform she wore. "But it feels so big on me, Dr. Kintovar. It's not comfortable at all."

  Dr. Kintovar offered Roselle a smile and said, "I understand, Roselle. I'll make sure your new outfit fits you perfectly. Patience, my dear. It won't be long."

  Roselle reluctantly nodded.

  Runebelle's eyes remained fixed on the ground. This was a lot to take in for her. Roselle noticed Runebelle's silence and spoke to her. “You know, Runebelle, we have a big sister named Risebelle. She's just like us, created by Dr. Kintovar. You'll meet her soon, and I'm sure you'll like her!"

  Runebelle’s face didn’t change from looking sad and distant. Roselle saw this and continued with a playful tone. "Actually…Risebelle is super serious all the time. You should see her face when she’s trying to look tough! Watch, I’ll show you!"

  Roselle puffed up her cheeks and attempted to imitate Risebelle’s stern gaze by squinting her eyes and furrowing her brow; however, she ended up looking more like a scrunched-up mess that could only be described as "confused potato."

  Roselle immediately burst out laughing at her own failed attempt. "See? It’s just not right! Risebelle’s face is way too serious for me to copy." But even her antics couldn’t shift Runebelle’s mood. The sadness lingered in her face.

  The duo along with Dr.Kintovar began walking through the lab. Roselle began speaking while eyeing Runebelle. “Hey Runebelle, is there anything you want to talk about? I can help you with whatever it is. Just call me 'Ask me anything' Roselle!”

  Runebelle’s gaze shifted to Roselle. She took a moment before finally speaking. “I really appreciate your kindness, Roselle but... I’m trying to understand my situation. My memories and now being here with sisters I never knew I had. I also have this… overwhelming sadness I'm feeling that won’t go away...”

  Roselle’s heart sank a little. Her gaze shifted to Dr. Kintovar, who had stopped following a few steps behind with eyes glued the data on her tablet.

  ‘What can I do? ’Roselle thought to herself. ‘How can I help her not feel so sad?’ She glanced back at Runebelle, who was lost in her thoughts. “I want to make her feel at home," Roselle mused quietly with a gaze between Runebelle and the stairway ahead. ‘Maybe showing her around could help. I mean, this place is confusing to me too but if I can be her guide, maybe that’ll help her settle in, right?’

  “Hey,” Roselle said aloud, “how about I give you a tour of the place. It’ll help you get to know everything better... maybe even make it feel like less of a maze. What do you think?”

  Runebelle’s gaze lingered on Roselle for a moment. The sadness still weighed heavily on her, but there was something warm in Roselle’s suggestion. Slowly, Runebelle nodded. Her lips curved ever so slightly in what could almost be called a smile.

  “Alright,” she replied softly. “I’ll go with you.”

  Roselle’s face lit up with a bright smile. “Awesome! Let’s go then.”

  The two of them walked down the stairway to the first floor. Roselle led the way and pointed out various rooms along the way, talking excitedly about the different areas.

  Runebelle only nodded at Roselle’s explanations. It wasn’t until they reached the large door at the end of a narrow hallway that she truly began to focus with slight awe in her gaze. Roselle stopped in front of it and spoke quieter.

  "This, Runebelle, is the door to the outside world. Beyond this door lies the mystical forest, where we'll carry out our missions. But we gotta be careful. Our enemies are humans, and they will stop at nothing to destroy us."

  Runebelle’s thoughts swirled. Her mind struggled to piece together the fragments of her memories. She had been alive once, in a different life and yet she couldn’t recall much of it. She remembered not fitting in, always feeling out of place and then... her mother’s abandonment. The pain of that moment lingered. Was it the humans who had caused that pain? Had they been the ones to take everything from her?

  "Humans…" she whispered under her breath. “They did that to me… didn’t they?”

  Roselle turned to her with a confused frown. “Huh? What are you talking about, Runebelle?”

  Runebelle’s gaze hardened. She turned her eyes back to the door. “I understand… They’re the reason for everything.”

  Roselle blinked. "Really? You understand? That fast?"

  Runebelle nodded solemnly. "I understand."

  Roselle rubbed the back of her neck and avoided Runebelle's eyes for a moment. “Well, if they try to attack us... we'll... um…we’ll have to handle it…But that's not something we need to think about right now."

  Runebelle’s face hardened further despite the sadness glued to her face. Roselle wondered: Was she angry?

  Runebelle said, "No, I need to understand something. What did we do to make them hate us so much?”

  Roselle’s eyes flicked back to the large door. But then, with a sigh, she said reluctantly, "The humans... they don’t want us to exist. They don’t want magic or technology like ours because they think it's too dangerous. We’re creations, things that go against the natural order of things so... they want to get rid of us."

  "They’ll try to kill us?"

  Roselle winced, but she didn’t look away. "Yeah. They’ll stop at nothing to make sure we get turned into nothing but piles of parts. We’ll have to fight back and protect ourselves, even if that means…um…killing…”

  Roselle then reached out to open the massive door to the outside world. She turned back to Runebelle and her face lit up with a sense of excitement.

  "But enough about that! Runebelle," Roselle said with rising enthusiasm, "are you ready to explore the mystical forest? It's a whole new world out there!"

  Runebelle nodded; however, before they could step outside, Dr. Kintovar echoed from the stairway.

  "Wait," Dr. Kintovar commanded. "You can't let Runebelle explore the forest just yet, Roselle. We need to test her abilities first."

  Roselle turned to face Dr. Kintovar with frustration. "But Dr. Kintovar, you didn't do the same for me! You sent me out without any experience or training in eliminating humans, and I had to learn all on my own!"

  Dr. Kintovar's response was measured. "The circumstances were different then, Roselle. My life was in danger and I had no choice but to send you out. But now, with Runebelle, we have the opportunity to prepare her properly and ensure her success."

  Roselle's frustration simmered beneath the surface but, she knew better than to argue further with Dr. Kintovar.

  "Sorry, Runebelle," Roselle said with a sad smile. "It looks like we'll have to hold off on our forest adventure for now. Dr. Kintovar has her reasons, even if I don't completely understand them."

  Dr. Kintovar's eyes settled on Roselle. “Roselle, I need you to teach Runebelle how to use her magic because Risebelle is currently occupied with a crucial task. She won't be available to assist with Runebelle's training for the time being."

  Roselle eyed Kintovar with curiosity. "Um...But what's Risebelle doing, Dr. Kintovar?"

  Dr. Kintovar hesitated for a moment before responding, "Risebelle is working on a mission of great importance. She's assisting me in gathering very essential data that will aid in our future endeavors. It's a task that requires her full attention right now, so the responsibility of teaching her magic will lie upon you this time."

  A nervous smile crept onto Roselle's face. She stammered, "Wait…I-I have to teach her Magic?"