"When I woke up, I couldn't remember anything," Nara says, pausing for a moment. It's normal not to remember anything; spirits rarely recall who they were before they died. "I was assigned to Alfonse a few years later, probably because of my different appearance... Even without memories, I didn't like him at all; I always had this feeling... I don't know how to describe it. He just bothered me, so I switched to Heinry." She finishes, looking at Maria.

"What about your memories? When did they start coming back?" the raven-haired girl asks.

"When you came," Nara replies, her gaze fixed on the ground. "When you took Heinry's hand. At first, everything was fuzzy, but a few days later, it became clearer and clearer until everything came back to me. I asked Heinry about it, and it all matches."

"Probably because you felt fear for Heinry before his death, so those memories returned by the same feeling," Maria speculates.

Nara turns to Maria, staring at her intently before continuing. "I would say the same, but maybe it's also because you look quite similar to Mai."

"Like Mai?" Maria asks, puzzled.

"In the face, I could easily mistake you for sisters," Nara tilts her head to the side. "I don't know if you remember your memories, but perhaps you're from the same lineage."

Maria ponders, "maybe, who knows."

"Don't you have your memories back?" Nara asks, looking a bit surprised. "I honestly thought you did."

"Why did you think that?"

"Well, I read somewhere that you said so," Nara continues.

"As far as I know, there shouldn't be any records about me," Maria argues.

"Really? Then I must have been mistaken..."

"Probably," Maria stretches, her body stiffening from sitting too long. "By the way, what do you want me to do with this information?" she asks casually. "Do you want me to tell Mr. Alfonse?"

"I would be very grateful if you did."

Maria just raises an eyebrow. "Do I look like a pigeon to you?"

"Well, no, but—"

She doesn't let Nara finish and cuts her off. "Maybe I'll mention it, but I don't know if he'll be interested in any way. Maybe yes, maybe no; he's never mentioned anything about it."

"Maybe he just didn't want to talk about it—"

"I didn't exactly ask, but that could also be a possibility," Maria looks around. "By the way, why are you here?"

"After your cook finishes, I'll go try on some new dresses and work on alterations for Heinry's attire for the ball."

"A ball?" Maria sighs in annoyance. "There's supposed to be a ball, and I'm once again clueless...?"

"Alfonse is invited as far as I know," Nara quickly blinks, "don't tell me you didn't know. If you don't show up, it could be quite a mess; after all, it's mandatory for all sons except the first two."

"I know, but Alfonse doesn't like going to balls, so he probably wanted to avoid it somehow." She pinches the bridge of her nose, not really believing what she's saying. "Thank you, Nara."

She just smiles, "if you want, I can keep you informed about similar events."

"That would be great..." Maria sighs and rubs her face. "When is it supposed to be?"

"In two weeks."

"Two weeks, I could get him something by then."

Nara scratches her chin thoughtfully. "If you want, I could give or lend you something from Heinry. Since he started practicing with the sword, his figure has grown a bit, and some of his clothing no longer fits him. Alfonse, if I'm not mistaken, is slightly smaller, so his old clothes might fit him." She quickly extends her hands in front of her. "Of course, I won't ask for anything in return. It's probably the least I can do as an apology, even though it's probably too late."

"Why didn't you say anything earlier? You've known about this for quite some time."

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"Well... I felt awkward about it. But as time goes on, it still bothers me."

The door bursts open, and the dwarf literally kicks Min out of the room. "Next!" She yells, her squeaky voice echoing throughout the room. Her vocal cords don't sound good at all.

Maria stands up, Nara imitates her, and both shake hands. "Until next time." They nod to each other in farewell, and Nara follows the dwarf back into the room from which Min just flew out.

"Ah...!" The redhead exclaims as she slowly approaches Maria. "Min thought she'd die!"

Maria rolls her eyes and heads towards the exit.

"Wait, Miss Maria!" Min calls out and runs towards her. "Miss Maria, where go with Min now?" She asks as soon as she catches up.

"Maria is going—" She doesn't even finish; how did she addressed her? Surprised, she blinks, quickly waking up from the slight shock and continues, this time at a slower pace so that the stiff redhead can keep up. "We're going to buy a cookbook."

"Books expensive! Miss Maria have money? Min no have money!" Min whines, rummaging through her pockets.

"Don't worry about money; a book is something Mr. Alfonse can afford." Maria continues as if nothing, but honestly, it made her internally happy, even though she tries not to show it. While it might seem mean, it's better if she learns to address people correctly as soon as possible; if, for example, she were to address one of the older brothers incorrectly... it wouldn't end well.

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Alfonse runs his uncombed black hair through his fingers; it's almost reaching his shoulders. He hates it when someone else cuts his hair, so Maria always had to take care of it. However, with the approaching ball, he'll have to go to a specialist. Maria didn't want to disturb him at first while he was filling out the documents, but it doesn't seem like he's nearing the end. If anything, she'd say he's dragging it out on purpose, judging by his mood.

"How long have you known about it?" Maria breaks the eerie silence that has prevailed since her arrival.

"A few weeks," Alfonse replies indifferently.

Maria sighs, her tone slightly sharper. "When were you planning on telling me about it?" She asks, but Alfonse doesn't pay her any attention and continues writing.

"Honestly?" Alfonse leans back in his chair and stretches. "I didn't plan on telling you, but I guess I'm out of luck now that you already know." He stretches grumpily and sighs.

"You know very well that this will be a problem." She rubs her face. "Miss Kasandra will certainly attend, and Father clearly told you that you must attend." She continues angrily.

"Well, I don't have much choice now, do I? Is that all?" He leans back towards the paper in front of him and dips his pen in ink. "If so, good night?"

Maria shakes her head but doesn't plan on arguing. "Don't stay up too late, or I'll have to cover up those dark circles under your eyes again." She turns to leave, but pauses the moment she reaches for the door handle and turns back to the boy. "I met Nara in town today."

"Nara is quite a character, isn't she?" Alfonse scoffs, confusing Maria. "She told you about the ball, didn't she?" Maria nods.

"She also told me about your past; what do you remember?"

Alfonse lightly bites his lip before answering: "Not much; my memories only start with Schmidtz." Before Maria has a chance to say anything, Alf steers the conversation elsewhere. "You won't even ask how today's meeting went?"

"How did today's meeting go?" Maria repeats indifferently, knowing the answer already. There wasn't one because Allney didn't show up.

"There wasn't one in the end because of Allney again." Alfonse grumbles, finally lifting his gaze from the paper. "I'd say it won't be long before Father's patience runs out." He looks down and scratches his head.

"If it's bothering you, why don't you go see him?" Maria suggests. Alf ponders for a moment before rolling his eyes. Maria squints slightly, but eventually she smiles and wishes him a good night before leaving the room.

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As soon as the door closes behind Maria, Alfonse sighs heavily and leans back in his chair. He lets his hands fall along the chair and gazes up at the ceiling. With an annoyed sigh, he ruffles his hair, then with a loud thud, he rests his head on the table. He just stares at the floor beneath him for a while before slowly getting up.

Drowsily, he staggers to the door and grips the handle. What if he meets one of his other brothers on the way? Heinry wouldn't be a problem, but Haffrey or, God forbid, Mattezs? When an elf knocked on his door to inform him that today's meeting is canceled, he felt relieved like never before. Just the thought of being in the same room as his brothers repels him, let alone breathing the same air as them. Whenever such a meeting occurs, he can't help but entertain paranoid thoughts that one of them will bomb it. While using magic wouldn't be possible, they would surely find another alternative. Sometimes he surprises himself at how long he's survived. Why did he have to be born human? Even if he were a stupid werewolf, he'd still have some means of protection without transformation. As a human, he's helpless... He takes a deep breath and exhales. He shouldn't dwell on these things; rather, he should plan what else to create.

Returning to the table, he reaches out to the corner of the it and picks up the glass of water lying there, taking a sip. He just watches its empty bottom for a while before placing it back in its place. Maria is right; he could go check on Allney. After all, he owes him a bit for always being kind to him when they were kids. But maybe it brought him bad luck; after all, everyone who is kind to him ends up badly. Witches, mother... Simon.

"No, no," he murmurs to himself, sinking back into his chair. "It was all just a bad coincidence because I was a dumb little kid," he pinches the bridge of his nose tightly and takes another deep breath. "I'm calm, I'm calm," he reassures himself aloud.

He claps his hands on his thighs and puts on a fake smile. "Allney probably just has his usual bad mood and apologized for it somehow; nothing's wrong with him, nothing's wrong with anyone."

He stands up from his chair and strides purposefully towards the door, lightly tapping his hands as he opens it and steps into the dark corridor. A loud 'pst' comes from the walls, followed by soft whispers. When this happened on his first day here, he couldn't even go to the bathroom alone for a few weeks. Now, however, any whispering from the mansion's walls doesn't scare him; on the contrary, it calms him. If anyone were to attack him, the house would protect him, hopefully.