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[She turns into him, closing the space between them, or at least, what little there already was.] Perhaps.

Leaving it up to me, then?

[she can get as close as she wants]

Why ruin the surprise?

Because not everything has to be a surprise.

[She rolls onto her back, breathing in slowly. It's not the worst secret, but it's one the secrets that she'd kept to herself. The role of the vigilante was thrilling, but in the end, it did nothing lucrative for her.] I did do something heroic once. Legitimately heroic, mind you. I was young, 16 perhaps, and in school. I wanted the answers to a test. Philosophy bored me, as you can imagine, so I hacked into the school's system. I stole the test answers, and every other test to come, naturally, but I found something else. Long story short, I exposed the professor of having affairs with the students and I leaked it to the press. No one knew it was me. No one still knows it was me, aside from my father. At the age of 16 I had outperformed even the best hackers. [She scrubs a hand down her face.] I had so many men and women trying to find me for so many different reasons. It was a slap to the face of the institution. If they ever found out a nothing like me had done it they'd have even more reason to run me out. The heroics are not worth the trouble, I learned.

[he listens quietly, but he can't help but snort at the end. He knew very well that heroics weren't worth it, and had known it since he was a child, and heard of all the stories of grandeur that were told, as if that was supposed to make him want to become head of the family any more]

That's quite impressive, I imagine, for one that young. [a little wryly] I don't see what's so wrong about an affair, though, but that may be because my time's . . . standards? Are a bit different. But it does sound impressive.

[he hums after another moment of silence, then:] When I was very, very young, I wanted to be a hero. That ended rather quickly, though.

Mm, of course. Your 12 year olds were married to 50 year olds. Unfortunately, things have changed and now we have laws forbidding those sorts of affairs. The students were 15, the professor was at least 35. There were older students as well, but that involved another set of laws.

[She stays quiet, thinking.] Most children want to be a hero of some sort. I didn't. All I wanted was my freedom, food and a place to sleep. Not in the orphanage, of course, that was a nightmare.

That's a bit of an exaggeration, my dear. There are some standards, and many wait until they're at least fifteen. There is no point marrying so young when one won't be seen as a legal adult until then.

[he grows quiet again, before nodding, faint] I can imagine. I've heard stories of the ones in my world.

[another pause] My file lovingly leaves out the important details of why I did what I did. But that was the only way I could gain my freedom.

[She hums. She knows she's done enough in her life that would have most others reeling.

Isha turns to look at him. Her fingers touch his chin.] We all have our demons, love.

[that makes him laugh, a low, forced noise before he closes his eyes and reaches up to find her hand, threading his fingers through hers]

I have a brother, a few years younger than me. He looked up to me, as most younger brothers do, and like me wanted to be a hero like our father. My family wasn't just nobility; they were powerful wizards, and we wanted to be the same. I would lead the family, and my brother would help when we came of age. [he makes an amused noise] We had it all planned out.

But I turned out to be a black sheep. [he wiggles his fingers playfully] I have the potential, but I can't cast a bit of magic. A first, in my family. It became a bloody scandal, because the eldest son couldn't fulfill what was expected of him. My father still wanted me to succeed him, but the rest of my relatives were against it. Hell, most of them wanted me dead or sent away. My father had no choice but to forbid me from ever leaving our property, out of fear for my life, and fear that the other families would learn the truth.

So I decided I would get myself disowned, and ensure my brother's future. And with his blessing I went after the servants. [a long pause] And the rest, as they say, is history.

[She listens to the story, wondering if she'd do the same, had she been born with siblings. She's glad her world doesn't have to deal with the added political scandals of magic. Power through blood alone made enough of a mess.]

I can't fault you for taking your life into your own hands like that.

[he turns his head to look at her and can't help but smile a little]

Would you still say that knowing that I enjoyed it? The most fun I had as a child was killing my way out of my family. Even if I had my reasons for doing it.