Mira

Of all the times I had woken up in a bed different than my own, this one was quite pleasant.

I was laid on a plush bed with blankets and covers that felt like heaven against my skin. I had been changed into a t-shirt and pajama pants, my skin smelling freshly of clean soap and my damp hair pulled back away from my face. I couldn't feel any needles or tubes pinching and prodding into my skin, only the soft blankets and puffy pillows. When I opened my eyes, I didn't see doctors in white lab coats or nurses with syringes. I saw my best friend, my sister, now reaching farther than just blood relations.

Imani was quick to hug me tight, making me hiss through my teeth as her arms unknowingly hit against my sore ribs.

In stark contrast, my injuries were not very pleasant.

I felt like I had been sat on by an elephant; my chest ached terribly and it hurt to even breathe. I didn't even try to move my limbs, they all were sore and tired anyways. There were small bandages on my face and arms, and I was pretty sure my face had swelled up to make me look like a multicolored chipmunk from all the bruises. While everything hurt, I was still pretty happy. It was nice to wake up and not be barely alive because of my heart. I didn't know if I'd ever get used to never waking up like that again.

"You're finally awake!" Imani cheered happily as she pulled away from me, a big bright smile on her face.

"Finally?" I grumbled out, reaching a sore arm up to rub the sleep from my eyes.

"You've been out for a few days silly. I mean, so has Louis, so I guess it's okay." Imani shrugged, but the mention of Louis made me quickly sit up before wincing and laying back down. My eyes scanned the room I had been placed in, a sigh of relief escaping me right after.

The only reason why I believed this awakening was pleasant (other than the whole bed situation) was because when I looked next to me, I saw Louis fast asleep in his own bed. We were still together, still going strong.

Louis must have been cleaned up and changed as well, a similar set of clothes to mine on his body. He had some bandages wrapped around his wrists, but other than that he seemed unharmed. His hair was ruffled and messy the way it always was whenever he had been sleeping for a while, and he was wrapped up in a warm cocoon of blankets.

"We've been asleep this whole time?" I asked Imani, who dug in a bag by her feet for a few moments before pulling out a bottle of water and handing it to me.

"Yup. Your dad has been you two's primary healer while you were asleep. He's been in here to check up on you and Louis and make sure everything's okay so many times." Imani said.

"And Allister?"

"His soul is still trapped in your little bubble and locked in a box deep below the Sanctuary. His body, on the other hand, is on its way to a portal across the world in Africa. Once you separated his soul from his body, everyone who had ever been possessed became themselves again and Allister's powers vanished. Marissa is headed to a high-security prison in a portal in Russia, so we won't have to worry about her either." Imani explained, making my mouth part as I remembered I had done it. I had stopped Allister.

"Harry and Kaguya?" I remembered hearing they had been taken by Allister before our battle began.

"They're themselves again. Allister had them locked in a room in the Sanctuary, but once you stopped him, they managed to get help to free themselves."

I took another glance to Louis sleeping in his bed. I didn't remember him getting hurt on his wrists.

"What's with the bandages?"

Imani smiled faintly before explaining those too. "When your soul left his body, I guess you could say you made your mark on him."

I stayed quiet, too confused to pick out Imani's clever wordplay. The African girl laughed at my expression before she continued speaking.

"You gave Lou runes of his own on his wrists. They're blue, not gold, and the healers don't even know if they protect him from anything, but they're there."

Imani let me process everything, my mind racing with thoughts as my heart swelled when I realized I had marked him. Louis and I had already shared so many intangible things together, but now for one thing to be visible to the rest of the world was something completely different.

"Minerva told me that you two talked about Louis being born barrier-less?" Imani asked, my head giving a slight nod as my gaze stayed fixated on my sleeping Sorcerer.

"The healers now understand what that does to someone. A person born like Louis can house another soul in their body and use the talents of that said soul." Imani held a finger up as I opened my mouth to say something. "However, a barrier-less person can't house just any soul. They can only house their soul mate's soul. That's why everything happened the way it did a few days ago."

I was amazed. All this time, that was what we had up our sleeve in the battle against Nox? If so, we were quite the force to be reckoned with. I looked over to Louis once more before wondering what I should do now that Nox was just a bad memory. Imani had promised to get Dad to come talk to me and check on me, and once Imani left my healing center room, I had the perfect idea of what to accomplish next.

~•~

A few days later, I sat cross-legged on my bed, my teeth clenched around the end of a blue pen as my mind raced. The blank pages in front of me seemed to mock me and inspire me at the same time, the pile of pages on my cleared breakfast tray waiting for me to make a mark. I groaned as I leaned back into the pillows, throwing the pen down onto the tray and remembering my burning and everlasting hate of anything relating to writing or reading.

There was a reason I barely passed English class throughout high school, and it was that I absolutely hated anything written. I ended up with a grade of a high C for my final senior English class, which was really saying something when your father was your teacher. Thank the spirits I hadn't gone to college when I could've, I'm sure I would've destroyed any and all books and assignments I would've been tasked with by my professor. At least protectors never had to write anything...until now.

Why was I even doing this again? Why was I putting myself through this torture?

A quick glance to my sleeping soul mate next to me was the only reason I needed. Louis hadn't woken up yet, still buried underneath his blankets and lightly snoring. He had been awake for a few hours the night before, which seemed like progress to all of the healers and Minerva. Louis always healed fast, yes, but this wasn't a broken bone or a nasty cut. This, as Dad explained it to me, was Louis' soul settling back into his body after Allister's possession. Souls needed time to heal, and I was willing to give Louis as much time needed to rest.

As I looked over to Louis, I found some new determination and picked up my pen again. This was for his sake, I had to do this. I tilted my paper to the left a little as I began, grimacing at my terrible handwriting.

Dear Mrs. Edith Jameson,

My name is Mira Lane, and while you have never heard of me, I have heard of you.

Geez, that sounded like I was some kind of serial killer...I might as well just write in big red ink that I was a stalker or something. I quickly balled up the piece of paper and tossed it across the room, choosing to start over.

Dear Mrs. Jameson,

I realize that this may come as a shock to you, but your adoptive son Louis is alive. Well, he's barely alive and kind of all bruised and banged up in the healing center, but he's still here.

Why not just give the poor lady a heart attack while you're at it, Mira? I crumpled up this letter as well.

Dear Mrs. Jameson,

...

...I couldn't think of anything good. This whole writing thing was hard, I didn't see how people could do it for fun or for a living. How on Earth was I supposed to tell her that her long lost son was alive? Would she even understand everything I was talking about with talents and spirits? Probably not. Where was I even supposed to start? How did one even tell a story like this?

With another glance to Louis sleeping safe and sound, I decided where I would start. Our love story was one that deserved to be told, even if it was only to a Terran woman. She needed to know how her son turned out to be, all the great things he's done for me, everything he is.

So after pulling my hair back into a messy ponytail and taking a deep breath, I set pen to paper and began to write.

Dear Mrs. Jameson,

My name is Mira Lane and I'm writing to you to help ease some stress and pain that you may have endured over the years. I know you lost your son, Louis, years ago and I'm sure you have done everything you can to bring him back home. I can assure you Louis is perfectly happy and healthy with me, and I would like to unite you two once more.

We can schedule a date for you to visit sometime in the future, but for now, I think it's important that you learn what has happened in the time since your son vanished. I'm assuming you're a very busy woman, so rather than talk for hours, I have decided to write everything down.

The story of Louis and I could claim to be one for the storybooks and fairytales, and I've spent a lot of time trying to decide where I should even begin. I'm not a very good writer, you see, but I'm willing to put in the time and effort to get our story to you. You may not like it at all, you may end up loving it, I don't know. What I do know is I love your son with all of my heart, and I'm willing to do anything for him. I want to bring you two closer again, and that goal all begins with this very long story of how Louis and I became...well...Louis and I.

So, here goes nothing.

I never understood many things in the world...

THE END

A/N: THERE WILL BE AN EPILOGUE DON'T PANIC AND GET MAD AT ME LOLOL

There will also be a surprise at the end of the epilogue that I hope you all like, I know I love it!

There were so many wonderful comments on the last chapter (and throughout the book), I have decided to dedicate this chapter to anyone and everyone who ever took the time to just click on my little book and give it a shot. Maybe someone recommended this book to you, maybe you found it in someone's reading list, maybe you even found it by accident, but regardless of how you found Sorcery, I'm so happy that you all stuck with me to the end. Had it not been for all of you amazing voters and readers, I probably would have never had the motivation to finish the tale of Louis and Mira. You all inspired me, and I want to take the time to say thank you, I love you all, and I hope you loved this story as much as I do. <3

Vote and comment your thoughts! -Maddie