Intelligence

Their grandmother's will was a unique one to put it mildly. To her immediate family, she had left more or less the usual things - some money, assorted possessions, the deed to her house. To her grandchildren, however, she had left each a specific one of five rings, each inscribed with a word. Intelligence. Luck. Strength. Charm. And Wealth. Other than the word, the rings didn't look like anything special - they were just golden bands with some letters engraved into the top. They didn't even look like they were all that valuable. But her will was very insistent on which ring go to which grandchild, and that those were the possessions that be passed on to them.

Arianna was the one who got the ring inscribed with Intelligence. Like her siblings, she had been surprised not only by the seeming lack of compassion by their grandmother, but by the fact that the ring had fit her perfectly. It had been a smooth, comfortable fit, and she hadn't taken it off since she'd gotten it. But more than that, she had felt differently since her grandmother's death. It wasn't some kind of grief - she had never been that close with her grandmother, and she had felt largely unaffected by her passing. Mostly just confused by the will. But since putting on the ring, she had felt as though she could think more clearly. Things that had once confounded her in her everyday life had become clear and concise. Her writing became neater, her grammar better, and her vocabulary more expansive.

It took her only a couple of weeks to realize that it was the ring that was doing it. She couldn't explain how, even with her increased mental capacity, but the ring was increasing her intelligence. And as soon as she realized that, she realized that it must be true for the others as well. Something about the rings were amplifying their capabilities, and it was an incredible feeling. To no longer feel as though she was constrained by her inability to understand certain situations or problems. She never wanted to take the ring off again.

She wondered for a time what it would feel like to wear all of the rings. But as she thought about it, she realized that if she did not want to forfeit her ring, her siblings certainly would not either. In fact, they were likely to want to do so even less than she, for while she was wiser, the others had been given gifts that could make them more successful without having to work. Trying to convince them to forfeit their rings, even for a moment, would likely cause fighting. And if the group were to fight, it was obvious which of them would win.

It was best things ddid not come to that. She only hoped that the others realized that as well.