My Mother Might Be Stranger Than Me

"But for now, get up. Ray woke up this morning." My mother announced. Those were all the words I needed to hear as I shot up out of bed and ran out of the room. I could hear my mother chuckling from behind me. But I did not care.

"Bella! Don't run!" Mimi's voice chased after me, but those words only served to make me run even faster.

I ran to the other wing and quickly arrived at my brother's room. Preston and my father were already there. When I saw Ray sitting up in bed talking with them, tears began to roll down my cheeks. Just remembering how he tried his best to protect me brought tears to my eyes. I ran forward and jumped up onto the bed, and hugged him. "Brother Ray!"

"Bella!" Ray called my name as he hugged me back.

"Ray, I am so glad that you are okay." I nuzzled my nose into his chest, hugging him tightly.

"Bella, don't squeeze him too hard, or he might end up needing to see a doctor again." My father teased, causing me to turn and stick my tongue out at him.

"Is it wrong to want to hug my brother who got hurt protecting me?" I asked while pursing my lips.

"Makes me wish I was the one who got hurt," Preston muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Don't worry, Preston, you are not the only one." My father added in. I ignored them as I hugged Ray once more before letting him go. I then inspected his face a few times, and when I only saw a slight cut on the side of his lip, I let out a relieved sigh.

"Bella?" Ray called out to me once again.

"Thank you, Ray, for being there for me," I said as I hugged him once more.

"Bella worked very hard to bring you both back to safety. She is back to normal now, but she had actually had to transform into her demon form in order to do it. She is only five, yet she worked hard." My father's voice made me lift my head as I shook it.

"Father, Ray was willing to risk everything to protect me. If anyone deserves praise, it is him." I did not think that using some kind of cheat was worth any praise. What was worth praising was how my brother was willing to risk his life to keep the man from touching me. He was the true hero.

"You both did wonderfully." My mother said as she walked into the room. "A brother who was willing to do what it took to protect his baby sister and the baby sister who was willing to give up her humanity to save her brother. This just proves how much you both love each other."

"That is true." My father agreed.

"I still wish I was the one who was there. Then Bella would be hugging me," Preston complained, causing everyone to laugh.

"Thanks, Bella. Although I do feel ashamed that I could not show you my cool side." Ray finally spoke up.

"I would rather become a demon than allow anything to happen to the warmth I so longed for. I love each and every one of you and am happy to be reborn into such a warm, caring family."

---

Later in the day, I was outside in the yard, my black feathered wings spread out to each side of me. "Mother, are you sure you are not part demon!?"

"That would be you, dear." My mother answered back with a chuckle. Today I found something new out about my family, or should I just say my mother in general. It seemed she was highly trained in many kinds of weapons and even normal hand to hand combat. My mother's side of the family is a military family. They are a noble house of knights and her father, my grandfather, is the commander of the royal knights. And as of a few hours ago, she began putting me through the wringer.

As for why my wings were back out, well…. I kinda only needed to picture what had happened to my brother, and they would come out. It was not the best trigger since it was probably not something that would work every time, but for now, it worked. As such, because my strength was beyond that of a normal adult, my mother has been having me do sparring matches with her. And to be honest, she is crazy strong! Who would think such a beautiful woman was actually a demon in disguise!?

"Let's take a break!" My mother announced, causing me to slowly land on the ground. "Bella, while your natural instincts are good, you are still lacking in the frontal attacks. So every day in the morning, we will try to figure out how to activate your different forms until you can activate them at will. Whether or not you can activate them, your daily training will be based on that. I had wanted to wait until after your awakening, but this is good too. In a year from now, you will sign up for the Royal Junior Magic Competition."

"Royal Junior Magic Competition?" I was confused as to what she meant.

"It is where those who have awakened the year before compete to see who has the best overall abilities. The first place winner will be able to get a scholarship to the Royal Academy. While the scholarship is good and all, the real reward is the prestige. Both of you brothers won it." It was only now that I remembered that both my brothers were home from school. I had forgotten about it since it had been a month since their return.

"Then I will do my best!" I said while pumping my little fists in the air. But my mother was right. My frontal assault game was a bit lacking. I only knew how to kill by surprise as that is what assassins do. I knew hand to hand combat, but when it comes to fighting someone who is trained especially in that…. Well, if I could not escape, I would end up dead.

"Alright, take a break then." My mother clapped her hands as she turned and began walking over to the pavilion not far from us to sit down. Mimi came to my side and handed me a towel.

After wiping my sweat, I walked over to the pavilion myself and opened my menu once more. My mother watched me as I stared off into space and poked at the air in front of me. Luckily now they believed me when I said I had a system. So they knew I wasn't acting crazy.

What I wanted to do now that I was not being put through the wringer was check out this shop. I clicked the button to have a new menu pop up in front of me.

[Demon Shopping Center]

"What kind of stupid name is Demon Shopping Center?" I muttered to myself. But as I looked at the items in the list there, the first one in the list caught my eye. "Dominance control?" I clicked the small question mark next to the name, and a new window with information popped up.

[Dominance Control]

[A passive skill that allows the host of the Demon or Goddess System to freely change between Angel, Demon, or Neutral forms.]

[Shop Points Cost]: 0

"Bella?" My mother called out to me.

"Mother, I think I might be able to change between all three of my forms from now on without needing a trigger anymore," I explained as I hit the buy button.

[Acquired Neutral Skill: Dominance Control ]

As soon as I got the notification of gaining the skill, information about the skill filled my mind. Within seconds I knew how to use the skill as if it was the most natural thing in the world. I smiled as I decided to see what my angel form looked like.

"So cute!!!!!!!!!!" My Mother cried out as she basically leaped over the table and hugged me. "What is this!? It matches your hair so well. And this golden ring!? Wait, I can't even touch it! No fair!"

I suddenly felt like a doll, and my mother's uncharacteristic actions stunned me. But now that I think about it, my mother seemed to have done this same thing when she saw me in my demon form as well, just in a calmer manner. But one thing I can say is that I don't have a tail. I do have a pair of white feathered wings, and from what my mother just said, I seem to have a golden ring on my head.

But really, why does she feel the need to play with the feathers? I am starting to think that out of everyone in the family, that my mother was the strangest of us all. She might be even stranger than me. It might sound rude but she seems to have an obsession with feathers! "Mother… Can you stop?"

"Huh? Why? Look how beautiful these wings are. My precious daughter looks so cute. I need to call a painter to come and make a painting of all of your forms. Yes… I will do this. I will talk to your father later to find the best painter in the kingdom!"