Magic, Aurelia thinks, is strange. It's so fickle, yet so obedient. It is strong, yet it can also be weak. But she never expected herself to have this same problem. It is like there are days when she holds a lot of power; then there are also days where she can't even summon a weapon. And today is one of those days. Each Homo Magi (as their people are called) gets a weapon; something that represents their magic and their strength. It can be anything, from a sword to a dagger to a bow or an arrow.

Clara uses a dagger; it is beautifully carved and has a double edge to it, to cause double the harm.

But Aurelia is unable to summon anything, let alone a stick. The ability to perform the spell appears to have disappeared from her body; she knows it is making her aunt angry. She knows Clara will not be patient anymore. So she tries again.

I hold my strength, I hold my heart. My strength is in....

But Aurelia Hall fails again; not even a spark is produced. She looks towards her aunt, who is staring at her with a scarily angry face. "I can't," She says. "I just can't do it."

"Again," Clara says with glare. "You will try. Again."

"Clara, I...I can't," Aurelia doesn't look at her aunt; she can't. There is a reason why criminals find Lumiere intimidating and she doesn't want to find out what it is.

"Aurelia, you will do it. Now."

There is no scope of defiance in her tone; neither is there any room for argument. Aurelia tries again and this time she puts in her best efforts to perform the spell. And yet again, she fails. She falls back against the couch and clutches her hair. "I can't do it. I just can't."

"Lia! This is not how things should go! You are a pure Homo Magi! Both your parents were descended from Homo Magi; do you realise how rare you are? You must understand, this spell is important for you and your protection, which is what your parents wanted" Clara scolds. Her tone is neither loud nor too soft; it is soft and clipped and precise which makes it hurt all the more.

"Well, my parents are dead because of you so..." Aurelia answers without thinking, a sneer on her lips before she realises what she's said and the gravity of it. Her Aunt is staring at her, slightly open mouthed and her eyes filling with grief. And there is only one reason for this. Clara Jarrett blames herself for their deaths.

"I..." Clara's face falls, like she is lost in memories. Ignoring Aurelia's cry of 'Wait!', the older woman walks out of the living room towards the direction of her own bedroom. A moment later, the door slams very loudly. Aurelia facepalms herself and curses herself in Latin. She shouldn't have even said it; she was wrong about it. It wasn't her fault and it wasn't like her parent's death affected her. She was too young to even remember it; too young to remember them.

Aurelia holds her face in her hands before she pinches the bridge of her nose. She hasn't even thought about her parents in a long time so where this sentiment popped out of, she doesn't know. She still remembers the day when Clara told her about her parent's death and the part she supposedly played in it. It was during the early days of Lumière's appearance and somehow there was an enemy who had chosen to attack the Hall family. The details given to Aurelia by her aunt were not complete; the only thing she knew was that Clara said that she lost control and her magic lashed out, killing her sister and husband (that is, Aurelia's parents).

The living room is silent and there is almost no sound, except for that of Aurelia's breathing. She closes her eyes and concentrates again; trying to visualise the weapon that represents her. She says the spell again and this time she feels something. When she opens her eyes, she sees her hands lit up with orange sparks. A sigh of relief and excitement escapes her lips and she almost calls out to her aunt before remembering she is in her room, and if Aurelia knows any better, she will have teleported out. Clara is stubborn like that.

Aurelia frowns. Maybe she should check up on Clara. But she stares out at her hands and sees that the orange energy is pulsating on both her hands, wrapping itself around her fingers. She sighs again and then closes her eyes, saying the spell with as much force as she can muster

I hold my strength, I hold my heart. My strength is in....

Even without opening her eyes, she can feel the energy increasing. Her hands seem to be growing warmer, as though preparing themselves to hold something really big. Aurelia opens her eyes but feels disappointed when she only sees the orange energy surrounding her fists (albeit, it's a greater amount than last time)

"What am I supposed to do now?" Aurelia asks out loud, staring down at the orange energy surrounding her hand. "Uggh I am so confused. Do I say the spell again or...maybe I should say the spell again. That could work...right?"

"Hmm okay," Aurelia takes a deep breath and then releases it, preparing herself to say the spell again. I hold my strength, I hold my heart. My strength is in... The word comes to her mind before the spell is even complete. It is strange. My strength is in...blades? Blades as in plural? Her hands (and she means both her hands) wrap around something, like a hilt of a sword. Aurelia slowly opens her eyes and then looks down only to see her hands holding two, very sharp, two feet tall swords.

Her mouth hangs open in awe as she turns the blades around, taking in their sides. Both of them are slightly curved and seemed to be made of some sort of white-grey steel. The hilts she is holding are also beautiful; they're made in lavish leather. The metallic blades themselves are covered in random symbols, all having something to do with magic. She slowly stands up from the couch and walks towards the curtain-covered windows, the blades hanging at her side.

Now what is Aurelia supposed to do? Not only that, she is also incredibly confused as to why she has two swords. Her aunt always said that each weapon that came to a Homo Magi represented their soul, so did this mean that her soul was like two very sharp and beautiful swords? And why two? What does this even mean?

And then all Aurelia wants in the moment is for her aunt to come back.

"Enough is enough."

It's almost six in the evening and her aunt is yet to return from wherever she has disappeared to. This annoys Aurelia; if she is not affected by her parents' death then why should should Clara be? It has been too long (then again, Clara is a stubborn one). The swords have been kept against the wall, waiting to be shown to her aunt. Aurelia sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose; if her aunt doesn't show up in the next few minutes, she feels like she might just lose it.

She regrets not knowing a tracking spell, because right now it would have been damn helpful. But Clara is also good at masking her identity so there would be no point in casting the spell. Aurelia can only hope she didn't go to Themyscira or Atlantis, because both places are places she hasn't seen yet. Even though Diana and even Donna have invited her to come; same goes for Aquaman and Garth, his sidekick.

'Why can't she just come back home? She needs to be back soon.' Aurelia thinks to herself in anger. Then she hears it; it's a clicking noise coming from behind her. But it shouldn't been happening; there are incantations to protect the house from anyone. Without even thinking (bless her sharp instincts), she grabs the two swords and points it at the intruder.

"Jesus Christ! Aurelia, put the swords down!" Clara yells as she recoils, stumbling into the sofa. Aurelia nearly screams in shock before she drops her hands to her side, the swords hitting the floor.

"Clara, what the hell?! Where were you?" Aurelia questions, angry. But her aunt ignores her; instead her eyes have caught sight of the two blades and her expression changes from being startled to a one with awe.

"You got it? You got your weapon?"

"Weapons. It's plural. And yeah I did."

"Let me see."

Clara steps forward slowly and reaches Aurelia. She lifts the girl's hands and along with it the blade; her eyes seem to scan every inch of it with a strange interest. She does the same with the other sword.

"Am I supposed to have two of these or is this just like a me thing?" Aurelia says warily as her aunt continues to study the blade. Clara runs her fingers across the engraved symbols, looking at them with a strange intensity.

"Interesting," Clara murmurs. "I have never heard of someone like us being blessed with two weapons. Hmm...I'll have to talk to someone about this. Maybe Giovanni can help me...but he is not..."

"Uh, hello?"

"Right!" Clara suddenly jumps away and claps her hand with a smile. "How are you feeling? Drained? Tired?"

"No, but am I supposed to?"

"You are a special one, Aurelia. Seeing as both your parents had magic running through their veins, you have two different types of magic that have come together to give you your capabilities. You might possibly be one of the first pure Homo Magis in generations."

"I am so confused right now," Aurelia says as she puts away the blades. Now that she has summoned them once, they will return to her when she is need of them which is a good thing because as the sidekick to a powerful hero, she will definitely have a need to use swords. "But I still want to know. Why did you leave like that? I know I might have been a little rude, but I thought you said you were over their deaths a long time ago."

Clara's face falls and she sighs softly. "There's things in this world you don't understand now, Lia. But one day, you will." She ruffles Aurelia's hair and pats her shoulder. "You've done well today, I am proud."

Aurelia blushes slightly before shooting finger guns at her aunt. "Thanks! So...what now? What's the next step?"

"The next step," Clara says, rather thoughtfully but with the slightest smirk on her face. "Will be...fun."

"Fun? Fun?? Come on!" Aurelia says with a groan. "At least give me something to work with here."

"Okay. I'll give you multiple hints because I'm nice like that. Bow and arrow, Greek mythology, expressing feelings through something." With that, Clara walks out of the room, her long white hair swaying behind her. Aurelia is left alone and all she can think of at the moment is the hint given to her by her aunt.

"Bow and arrow, Greek mythology, expressing feelings through something...Apollo or Eros? And what are they the gods of again?" She asks herself as she goes towards the couch. "Apollo is music and light and Eros is...wait a second."

Of course, it's that. The one god she never really liked and the one branch of magic she found fake (like her aunt didn't believe in dream magic, she didn't believe in this). Although it may have existed outside of magic as well, being able to control it...that wasn't possible in her eyes. After all, it was such a fluid thing and you never could have a hold on it or control it.

It was love after all.

i liked writing this chapter so much; i know there hasn't been much of aurelia x dick moments in this but this chapter and the previous ones are important since i really wanted to showcase her training with clara. a lot of things said in this chapter are foreshadowing for what is about to come for aurelia. 

but don't worry, from the next few chapters, you will be seeing more of Dick and Aurelia and there's this one chapter that i am very excited for you guys to read.

till then, i hope you enjoyed this chapter. let me know your thoughts in the comments below!