"I'm from Eltana. You ever heard of it?" Narrita asked. She watched the girl shake her head. "It's a small state in the mainland of Remcroft. That's where me, Horace and Pierce are from. I wasn't even a teenager when I met Pierce. Well, I didn't actually meet him. I raised him ever since he was a baby."

"Really? Was he a cute baby?"

Narrita smiled and bobbed her head up and down. "Oh yeah. Absolutely adorable. The funny thing about Manolazo Cobras is that they start out really small. They're about the length of my finger once they crack out of their egg." She took her pointer finger and wagged it from side to side. "Horace and I had already been friends ever since we were kids. Now, we had it rough growing up. Neither one of us had parents to look out for us. It was pretty much just us trying to get by, facing the world alone."

"What happened to your mother and father?"

"Wish I knew kid. Really do. Didn’t have any parents to look after me. All I remember were the bigger kids looking after the really young ones. Once I was able to walk and talk, I was on my own. But that's beside the point. If Horace and I wanted to eat, we had to get it for ourselves. No one wanted to feed us. It was our job to make sure that we were fed. And that means we had to resort to... improper means to do it."

"You stole?" Edith asked quietly.

Narrita nodded again, her face carrying a look of disappointment. "Yeah. That's basically what we did. I'm not saying it's right. But that's the only way we would have survived."

"I'm sorry," Edith said. She lowered her head and took in a deep breath.

"Hey! Don't feel bad. It wasn't your fault. If you didn't do anything wrong, then don't apologize. That's just the way life is for some people. It ain't fair, but we still gotta live through it."

"What about Pierce?"

"Oh, right. Like I was saying, me and Horace had to steal to get by. Funny enough, Horace almost ate Pierce! Would you believe that?"

"Is Horace the big man?"

"Yep, that's him."

"I believe it."

Narrita tapped her finger against her chin. "Yeah, now that I think about it, that's definitely in character for him. But when we were going through our loot, we just happened to come across a weird looking egg among the rest of the food. He almost turned poor Pierce into an omelette!"

"Oh no!"

"Good thing I stopped him. Manolazo Cobra eggs look weird. They're white and covered in dark green spots. Horace thought that it would taste differently. But I wanted to keep it safe and sound in case it was worth something. Took good care of the egg for a couple of days, then one day I saw it moving."

"I'm glad Horace didn't eat him," Edith giggled.

"Me too! I still remember when I first saw him pop out of the egg. His eyes were closed. He moved his little head in a circle and opened his mouth. Looked like he was trying to chew on air."

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"What does a baby snake eat?"

"Bugs. Lots of bugs. Good thing we lived in Eltana at the time. The warm weather by the sea meant that there were a lot of mosquitos and flies we could feed to him. But it wasn't long before he grew in size and was eating bigger things. Mice. Squirrels. Ra—" Narrita cut her sentence off to look at the still-dormant Mister Cuddles to her side. "Rats. I was going to say rats."

"I wanna see Pierce!" an eager Edith exclaimed.

"I'm sure he would have loved to meet you too. Even though most people are afraid of him because of his size... and the fact that he's a snake... Pierce can be very friendly around humans. He only likes to eat smaller animals."

Edith looked over Narrita's side and pointed towards her pet. "He won't eat Mister Cuddles, will he?"

"Oh no, no. Whenever I told him not to eat something, he'd listen. For the most part. If all this works out, I promise to make sure Mister Cuddles is safe around Pierce."

"All right. I don't want to have to wake him up again. Like I said, he gets mean."

"Err... right. I don't even want to think about how bringing back an animal that was devoured by another works. Sounds like it would be a mess to me."

"I never did it."

"And let's hope you'll never have to."

"Can I tell you about how me and Mister Cuddles met?"

"Of course, kid! I'm all ears."

"He was a gift!" Edith said eagerly.

"Oh yeah? What kind of gift?"

"Birthday."

"Oh, wow."

"From both of my parents."

"So he's been around for a long time then, huh?"

Edith nodded. "Ever since I was a little girl."

"You're still a little girl."

"Oh, right."

"Still a sweet story, kid. I'm glad that you have someone around to keep you company. I bet you still feel lonely though, huh? Being the only kid around here."

"Nope,” Edith said as she shook her head. “I still have Mother and Mister Cuddles around. That's all I need."

Narrita smiled. "I like the way you think, Edith. I really do. I might be able to learn a thing or two from you."

"And... could you teach me a few things?" Edith asked with her massive eyes.

"Like what? Not like I'm that good at many things."

"Stealing."

The Cutthroat's almost leapt from her seated position. "What? Why do you want to learn how to steal stuff?"

"Sometimes Mother hides treats away in a cabinet. Or she'll take one of my toys if she gets upset. Or—"

"So you wanna get into stuff that you shouldn't be getting into then, huh?"

Edith stared at Narrita in silence.

"Yeah. That's it. Well, unfortunately I can't help you there. Your mother does all that for a reason. I'm not gonna help raise someone else's kid. I'm especially not gonna show that kid how to take stuff from her own mother! Gertrude is a necromancer, after all. She’s got all kinds of crazy magic that me and the other Cutthroats never seen before. No way I’m trying to tick off someone with that much power. Not to mention she's helping me out with Pierce's little 'being dead' problem." She gave the disappointed child a few pats on the back. "Sorry, but that's going to be a no."

"Oh, I understand," Edith replied, keeping her head low but not hiding her disappointment.

"Tell you what. I can teach you something else. As a Cutthroat, I've acquired all sorts of skills."

"Like what?"

"Hmm..." Narrita tapped her finger to her chin. "You know how to tie?"

Edith shook her head back and forth. "No. Mother is the one that always ties on Mister Cuddle's bow."

Narrita smiled. "That's perfect! When I was your age... or at least your mental age... I was tying bows no problem. I can show you how to work with ropes, too. All sorts of interesting knots!"

"I'd like that!" Edith said with a wide smile.

"Great! Once your mother works her magic, I could probably show you a thing or two." Narrita turned her attention from the girl to the dormant rabbit on her other side. "But that means we have to get an Ivory Aster first. Think you could wake up Mister Cuddles for me so we can get one?"

"Sure." Edith skipped to her pet and lifted him up from underneath his little arms. "Wake up, Mister Cuddles!" she said joyfully. "You can nap when we get back home."

The rabbit opened his mouth and let out the most aggressive growl that a rabbit could muster. Although faint, Narrita couldn't help but be a bit intimidated by the unnatural noise.

"He's not going to bite, is he?"

"Hope not," Edith answered as she put the rabbit back on the ground. Mister Cuddles stared at Edith with one squinted eye before turning the opposite way and continuing further into the trees with some short hops.

"I think we're almost there!" Edith exclaimed as she took off after her pet.