Ever since the thing with the wolf happened, I started to notice Emma go to the doctor more often, but only because I didn’t know what that building was before. Whenever she would separate from us and leave me to play with Wing in Fals’ central area, she would often just go there while we’re not looking.

Every trip to town, she'd enter a specific building.

The minutes never mattered.

They were the longest minutes without her.

It was always when we were not looking.

She wanted to hide everything.

However, Emma wears loud pointy heeled shoes and gets nervous whenever she’s talked to when she isn’t looking. When I try to ask her what she’s doing, she would start to run away from me and lose me. Wing always has to grab me and drag me back into the center where he would read in the grassy planter thingy.

Still, there was some alley that only adults go to that Emma banned us from going in; I wonder what is beyond there. No matter how many times I try to convince Wing to go there, he would refuse me. I could just push him down and continue onward to adventure!

However, for some reason he won’t fall anymore. Now that I think about it, how come his head is higher than mine? How unfair. Did I shrink? Wing gave me a weird face and started to address my tries at shoving him.

“Eclaire... What in the world are you doing?”

“Nnngh! I was able to move you before!”

“Right… Anyways, Emma wanted us to pick up some sweets at the bakery or something.”

“Oh! Let’s do that!”

Adventuring can wait.

I start dragging him through Fals to the usual bakery Emma brings us to.

Tonight Emma is being weird. She kept avoiding us throughout the day after we went to Fals. Whenever I would follow her around, she would just spill whatever items she was holding at the time.

I think the weirdest thing she did was rebuild the garden shed. It looks less Ike an outhouse now, but not by much. If anything it makes it look like we store animals in it now. I think the funniest thing about the garden shack is how much of the same tool is in it. Even with my lack of knowledge, I know that it's not right to have eight different shovels for a small garden. When I kept pestering Wing about the shack, he told me to just let her do what she wants. Even if she wasn't great at it, she did enjoy watering it even if the ground is soft and spongy.

She finally entered the house at dinner time. I ran up to Emma expecting her to avoid me, but instead she just smiled at me while covered in dirt.

“HI Eclaire!”

“HI? You've been home all day.”

“Oh. Yeah.”

“You've been weird.”

“As expected from Eclaire, so mean.”

Rude. I'm not mean. I'm never mean! Emma ignores me and runs to the closet. I end up just walking to Wing, confused about Emma's weirdness.

“Well, Emma is always weird, it can't be helped really.”

“Yeah, but she's extra strange today.”

“You're right, but let's see where this goes.”

While we talked, Emma came to the dinner table with a sack. From it, she placed various baked goods on the table. They were a mixture of both mine and Wing's favorites. They were a bit lumpy though. Probably because when she put the bag in the closet, she was so panicked that she threw it pretty hard. Realizing the lumpy baked goods, Emma started to freak out again.

“Uh... Oops.”

Well, we already are eating it. I think we're used to Emma being weird, but she seems pretty serious so we stop.

“With everything happening before... I feel as if I haven't really taken care of you two as much as I would love to...”

The bread always tasted great, even if they were weirdly shaped.

But, at this moment, it had the best flavor, even if it was no different than usual.

Emma twiddled her thumbs as she tried to articulate what she meant. She reached to the bottom of her bag and pulls up two weirdly shaped lumps, tied with a ribbon. One of them was marked with Wing's name and the other one was directed to me.

We nodded to each other and Wing picked up his gift. The wrapper was weirdly shaped and very lumpy, but he just waved at us as he opened it.

What came out was a knife. It looked like some legendary knife with a jagged edge that looked like teeth.

“Uh... Emma.”

Wing stared at Emma and she nervously laughed in response.

“Yes, my dear sweet child?”

“Explain.”

“Whatever do you mean?”

“This is more than 'just' a knife.”

Wing glared at Emma as she started to fidget.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“Err... Well! You've been looking at those books with all the herbs and everything, I figured you could use a knife to properly get them!”

He looked at the threatening looking knife and back at Emma.

“This is a... I think it's called a sword breaker?”

“A what?”

I popped onto Wing's back to take a look at the knife. It was just as long as the kitchen knives we had at home, but it was much thicker. The teeth that I saw on it were pointy tabs that lined itself up till the handle. It had a sharp looking edge with minor scratches on it.

“That knife is called a sword breaker?! That's so cool!”

“I'd say it's more of a dagger than a knife...”

“Oooh! That knife is a weapon!”

“A knife was always a weapon!”

“So we cook using a weapon!”

“A dagger is different from a cooking knife!”

“But, the dagger is a knife!”

“Stop making it confusing, Eclaire!”

Emma looked at Wing and me, then directly into Wing's eyes. She joined our conversation with a big grin on her face.

“What's the difference?”

“Don't you use a rapier, Emma?! Surely, where you learned how to use that, these were mentioned at least a little?!”

“Uh... Maybe? I was told that I could hold a knife or buckler if I was taught properly.”

“Okay, and?”

“I just bought the most reliable looking one I could find for you... Unfortunately it was relatively cheap because they didn't have a sheath for it, though.”

“Let me rephrase that. You want me to use a weapon, not a tool, to gather delicate plants.”

“Oh. When you put it like that, did I mess up?”

She looked disheartened and about to cry over the rejection of the gift.

Knowing Emma, she probably had an initial correct decision of what she wanted to get, then kept switching between multiple bad ideas, ultimately settling in with a ridiculous one that overdoes what she meant to do.

Wing sighed and placed the knife down.

“Emma...”

“Yes?”

He gave Emma a smile, and hugged her tightly.

“Mom, thank you.”

“W-wel... You're welcome!!”

I hadn't heard him say that often.

I liked how Emma's beautiful eyes lit up when he said it.

I wondered if I had those rights.

I wanted to make her eyes light up the same way.

After Wing safely put the knife away, I looked at Emma expecting.

“Eclaire, next is yours!”

My gift was easier to open as it was just wrapped really badly. From the feeling alone I could tell it was clothing of some sorts. When I tore apart the papers holding it together there was some sort of clothing in it. I picked it up and spread it, but I didn’t understand what kind of shirt it was, there were no sleeves. I looked at Emma in confusion.

“A skirt?”

“It’s a shawl!”

“A shaul?”

Emma laughed a little and wrapped the clothing around my shoulders. At first I couldn’t see anything since my hair was in my face, but she pulled my hair out from the shawl and cleared my face.

It was at this moment that I felt whole.

I was alive.

“See? A shawl! You always love reading those fairytales and enjoying the stories of heroes and saving others. This isn’t a mantle or cape, but it’s to keep you warm!”

“A cape! I see! Emma you’re amazing!”

“Haha, oh you!”

“Thank you, mom!”

“Huh?”

Emma paused for a bit, and looked at me in shock. I think I said something I should have.

“Oh.. Well you know… I didn’t mean to… It’s just…”

I didn’t mean to say anything unnecessary… I just copied Wing. I had always thought about it because of the other children around us, always saying things like this in the stories and in the streets. Children talking, with big smiles.

“Mom.”

That word that made my heart beat with life.

I’m just happy to be considered, being with both of them is enough. They’re family enough to me at least. Emma then grabbed me and pulled me tight.

“No! No! It’s fine! It’s fine! I’m just really happy! No matter what happens Eclaire, you’re my daughter, okay?!”

“Y-yes!”

I jump into the air and twirl, this shawl thingy rises with my movements. It’s just like a cape! There’s also a noticeable warmness that I feel as it wraps around my shoulders. It feels very similar to the hug Emma just gave me.

In my joy, I grab Wing from his seat and rush to Emma.

“Ah—Wait! I’m still holding the kni—!”

Wing drops what he was holding and I run into Emma, hugging both of them. I start to nestle my face between the two of them. After their initial surprise, they both hold me tightly back. I don’t want to ever lose this gift.

My family.