The fire in Sylva’s throat felt like it was burning her alive. Her heart pounded and roared like a thunderstorm. The fire in her lungs couldn’t find burned the air she needed to breathe. Her mind twisted and churned like a boat lost in the middle of a storm. Her thoughts returned to the pain in her head and the fire erupting from her mouth, hands, and skin.
She remembered their scared faces. Their screams echoed in memories louder than even what she thought were her screams.
She didn’t see Sister Anna’s face or hear her voice. That was the only good thing to have happened. She didn’t know if she could handle Sister Anna looking at her the way everyone else had looked at her, how they looked at her in fear.
But also with validation.
Validation in knowing everything they had thought about her was proven right. The thought of it burned almost as bad as the tears in her eyes. But worse were the flames in her throat.
Every breath was a flame that spewed from her mouth and set the grass, trees, and flowers ablaze as she ran past them. Sylva could feel the fire pouring from her mouth caught on her clothes. She never felt the fire burn her skin despite how it burned through the cloth. The only thing Sylva could feel was her feet digging into the ground with every step with such force it was like her feet were trying to rip apart the earth beneath her. She felt a part of her hitting the plants behind her, like a limb flailing around.
A limb that wasn’t there before.
Sylva didn’t dare turn around to look. She didn’t want to know.
With her breath growing shallower, Sylva knew she would need to stop. But she needed to go farther and get away from everything--everyone. Get away so Sister Anna could never find her, see what was happening to her.
See how she lied to her.
How often had Sister Anna told her that she should ignore what everyone else said or thought? Everyone seemed to have this almost intuitive feeling that something was wrong with her. It wasn’t Sister Anna’s fault that she was wrong. Sylva had been lying to her.
She had to have been lying, right? Even if she didn’t know she was lying, she was lying. It couldn’t have been anything else. She had to have been--
Sylva felt something on her head and dragged her backward. The hard ground met the back of her head. Sylva gently grabbed the back of her head, with a slight hiss of pain passing through her lips. This time she didn’t feel any flame come from her lips. Sylva pulled herself up from the ground, stumbling as she moved forward. Every part of her body ached and burned.
She didn’t look at her feet. Or look behind her at whatever strange thing had grown from her backside. Her eyes flicked forward and spotted a pool of water.
Her throat felt burned dry. Sylva stumbled toward the pool.
The forest echoed with her scream when she saw her reflection.
Two long curved horns had grown from her head; red scales covered part of her face. Her eyes were a bright yellow, and her pupils had turned into vertical slits, like a cat or a snake. Her hands were also covered in red scales with talon-like claws sprouting from her fingertips.
She fell onto her rear and saw her feet. They were double-jointed, claws coming out of her toes like the feet of an animal. The same red scales covered her feet and legs. She saw something at her side.
A long red-scaled reptilian tail sat next to her. Sylva could feel it move; it was part of her. She felt the flame inside her begin to swell again as she felt another scream start to form in her chest.
“Sylva?!” a voice called out.
Sylva felt her heart stop. That was Sister Anna.
“Sylva, sweetie, where are you?!”
She had to hide--she couldn’t let Sister Anna see her. Sylva’s head snapped around, looking for somewhere--anywhere she could hide.
She could hear something making its way through the brush.
Sylva’s eyes focused on a single tree; it was thicker than the others nearby, something she could climb.
Her new claws dug into the bark, and her muscles flexed, pulling her up until she found a space to sit in the branches. Sylva wrapped her arms around her knees and pulled her legs to her chest; her tail wrapped around her ankles. She could still hear Sister Anna calling for her.
Sylva saw the black nun’s habit that Sister Anna was always dressed in, breaking through the brush to stand where Sylva had just been.
“Sylva!” Sister Anna called out, looking around the area, “Please, whatever happened, I’ll help you deal with it!”
Sylva swallowed the heat in her throat. She closed her eyes, remembering the mocking and jeering her ‘peers’ had been giving her earlier that day. It wasn’t new; they had done it before; Sylva had constantly bitten her tongue just like Sister Anna had taught her.
They weren’t worth fighting against, Sister Anna always said; prove them wrong and don’t give them anything to turn against you.
But not this time. Sylva’s anger burned too much inside, and then she burned on the outside.
And then one of the people taunting her was being burned too.
Sylva looked back down at the ground. Sister Anna had stopped calling; she was staring at a tree.
The same tree Sylva had climbed up.
Sister Anna’s head tilted upward, following the claw marks in the bark. Her gaze turned up and up…
Until her eyes met Sylva’s.
Sylva took a sharp breath, desperately scrambling backward, trying to find her way further into the tree to escape Sister Anna’s gaze.
Sister Anna’s wide-eyed, shocked gaze.
A loud crack rang out, and Sylva suddenly felt herself falling through the air; her back collided with the ground with a loud THUD.
Sylva could hear footsteps moving toward her.
“NO!!” Sylva screamed.
Her voice still sounded like she remembered it, but it rang out with a force that shook the inside of her chest and pushed the air around her away. The footsteps stopped.
“Sylva,” Sister Anna’s gentle voice pierced Sylva’s heart like a knife, “Sylva, that is you isn’t it?”
Sylva curled into a ball, clutching her head with clawed hands, her tail wrapping around her.
This was a dream. A nightmare. She’d wake up, be back at the orphanage, she wouldn’t look like a monster, Sister Anna would--
Sylva felt a hand on her face. Her head snapped up, and Sylva was met with Sister Anna’s worried brown eyes. Sister Anna was young, only a few years older than Sylva, who had just turned twenty a few days ago.
“Oh, sweetheart…” Sister Anna whispered, wrapping her arms around Sylva and pulling her head into her chest, “It’s okay… You’re okay. I’m here.”
A whimper escaped Sylva’s lips. Her whole body shook with loud sobs; her vision blurred as tears welled up in her eyes. Sylvia felt Sister Anna’s fingers running through her long dark hair as Sister Anna hummed a gentle song. It was a song Sylva remembered that some of the older clergy at the orphanage sang when the other orphans couldn’t sleep from nightmares or were afraid of the dark.
“I’m sorry!” Sylvia choked out between sobs, “I’m sorry I lied!”
“Lied?” Sister Anna questioned, pulling away to look Sylva in her puffy eyes, “About what?”
“About--About this!” Sylvia spread her arms, gesturing to her changed body. Sister Anna shook her head.
“How did you lie about this?” Sister Anne took one of Sylva’s clawed hands in one of her own, “Did you know that this could happen before?”
“N-No…” Sylva stammered out, looking at the ground. Sister Anna put a hand under Sylva’s chin, turning her gaze back to look at her.
“Then how did you lie?” Sister Anna’s eyes were stern but hadn’t lost their kindness, “This isn’t your fault.”
“B-But what about…?” Sylva trailed off, sniffing as she remembered the young man she had set on fire.
“That idiot bully?” Sister Anna snorted.
Sylva’s mouth hung open, her eyes widening.
“What?” Sister Anna cocked her head, “Honesty is a virtue, dear.
“Besides,” Sister Anna shrugged, “he wasn’t burned that badly; he’ll live.”
Sylva swallowed the lump that had been in her throat. She hadn’t killed anyone. That was good, but…
“What does everyone else think about what happened,” Sylva wrapped her arms around her knees, “I remember them looking….”
“Like a mob was about to happen.” Sister Anna finished, “I can try to smooth things over, but….”
Sister Anna glanced across Sylva’s changed form.
“But I don’t think they’ll be very receptive at this point.” Sister Anna squeezed Sylva’s hand, trying to give her some comfort.
“I need to leave,” Sylva said, her breath shaky; she felt like she was about to collapse.
“Yes, you do,” Sister Anna nodded, “And I know where you can go.”
“What?” Sylva’s mouth fell open; Sister Anna took Sylva’s hands and helped her to her feet.
“This,” Sister Anna pointed up and down at Sylva, “has happened before. To other people.
“I need you to listen to what I’m about to say, understand?” Sylvia nodded
“When it comes to things like magic, there are a few ways of getting it,” Sister Anna started trying to fix some of Sylva’s messy hair, “You study like a wizard, which takes years, or you do like I have and serve a higher power.”
A faint light appeared in Sister Anna’s hands; she ran her hands over Sylva’s body, healing the little cuts and bruises that Sylva hadn’t noticed she’d gotten from running through the forest.
“And then there are people like you,” Sister Anna put a hand on Sylva’s cheek, looking her in the eyes, “People who have innate magic in them from some ancestral legacy.
“It’s usually from some kind of deal with a powerful spirit or a child conceived with a magical being.” Sister Anna brought her other hand, holding Sylva’s face in both palms, “I’m not sure what specifically yours is, but I know where others like you are.”
“There are more people like me?” Sylva swallowed, “Can they help me get rid of this? Get me back to normal?”
“This… This is ‘normal’ now, Sylva.” Sister Anna sighed, leaning her forehead against Sylva’s, “Once this ‘change’ happens, it can’t be undone.
“Now,” Sister Anna pointed past the pool of water, “That way is south. Keep going that way until you find a town called Dardrod. Ask for a man named Marlaine.”
“You want me to go somewhere with people?!” Sylva gasped, “While I look like this?!”
“I know that sounds like the last thing you want, but you have to trust me,” Sister Anna put a hand on Sylva’s head, “You do trust me, right?”
“Of course I trust you.”
“Good.” Sister Anna smiled, “Marlaine is my older brother. You mention my name, and he’ll help you.”
“Now, you need to get going before someone from the village finds us,” Sister Anna patted Sylva down, dusting her off as best she could, “I promise you’ll be alright.”
“You never mentioned you had a brother--wait….” Sylva grabbed Sister Anna’s shoulders, “Aren’t you an orphan like me?!”
“That’s… something you should ask my brother.” Sister Anna’s face made a strange expression that seemed like a bizarre mix of a smile and frown, “Mostly because I don’t have time to explain that right now.”
Sister Anna started pushing Sylva toward the pool of water.
“Go,” Sister Anna smiled, “I’ll handle any problems anyone has back at the village.”
Sylva paused for a moment, then she nodded and started walking.
“Oh, Sylva!” Sister Anna called out.
Sylva turned to look at her.
“You won’t seem all that out of place in Dardrod.” Sister Anna gave a warm smile.
Sylva could only nod before breaking into a run. She was worried for Sister Anna, but Sylva’s steps were lighter and the fire in her chest still burned, but it felt warmer and gentler than before.
