The girls finally arrived back at home. It was really late. The sky was almost pitch black. Thorn and Leaf walked very stealthily, while grabbing onto Berry’s hand and leading her through. Leaf was grabbing onto the cat with her other arm. They moved slowly, making sure to not step on anything that could make a sound.

-You think dad is asleep…?-

Leaf whispered to Thorn. Before she could give a response, they both heard some very heavy snoring coming from upstairs. Thorn smiled.

-Does that answer your question…?-

Leaf sighed with relief.

-Good… Okay… let’s go.-

The cat jumped to the floor, to not be extra dead weight on Leaf, and started stealthily following them.

The girls finally walked up the stairs, on their tiptoes, and practically carried Berry up. Despite their silence, the snoring suddenly stopped, and they saw a shadow approaching them.

-Where have you been?-

Papa Phistopheles’ voice resonated through the room. Leaf got scared, so much so that she almost threw Berry to the floor.

-H-Heeeeyyyy… daaaad… W-Where have YOU been?-

She laughed nervously, trying to come up with some excuse. Thorn interrupted her, looking at her father with all the confidence in the world, and replying.

-Hey dad. We were taking private magic lessons.-

Papa Phistopheles nodded.

-I see… With who?-

Leaf responded, laughing nervously.

-No one in particular… Just… this nice old lady from the forest… One that is completely nice and not at all scary…. And one that DOESN’T live in the Fog at all!-

She laughed nervously. She didn’t like lying. It was almost as if her brain did short circuit when she did.

-So you’ve met Cytrus.-

Papa Phistopheles said, and Leaf replied shocked, letting Berry fall to the floor.

-SO YOU DO KNOW EACH OTHER?!-

Papa Phistopheles scratched his back.

-We… errr… are ole’ pals.-

Thorn lifted an eyebrow.

-You’re actually gonna tell us that story this time?-

He scratched his back again, feeling a bit nervous.

-Ehhh… maybe not this time… it’s a pretty long story.-

Berry got up from the floor, still very tired, rubbing her tired eyes.

-Did I hear “story”…? I wanna hear it…-

Papa Phistopheles smiled and caressed Berry’s head.

-You’re all tired. We’ll leave it for another day, yes? Now, go to sleep.-

-Ow… bummer.-

Thorn said.

-By the way… I… Also need to tell you something else…-

Leaf said, as she crouched and picked up the cat and showed it the her father.

-We… kinda… got… a cat…-

The caid lifted its paws and legs, meowing afraid of Phistopheles.

He looked at the cat for a good minute, but then his eyes became full of cuteness.

-Oh my! What a handsome little fella we have here!-

He took the cat in his arms slowly and with a lot of care, and started petting it. The cat quickly grabbed some confidence, as it started meowing of pleasure for Phistopheles’ petting.

-Who’s a good little kitty? You are! Yes, you are!-

Leaf sighed with relief.

-I’m so glad you’re letting us keep him…-

-Of course! Who could say no to such a pretty face?-

He slowly gave it back to Leaf.

-We still need to give him a proper name… But…-

She yawned, slowly laying down in her bed, with the cat between her arms.

-I guess we’ll have more than enough time tomorrow…-

Berry fell asleep again, slowly leaning to the side. She would’ve fallen, if not for Thorn quickly grabbing her and walking her to the bed and helping her lay down. She instinctively started hugging her pillow. She was adorable.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

-Good night girls…-

Papa Phistopheles said while warmly looking at his daughters.

-I love you.-

Thorn smiled and covered both Leaf and Berry with blankets.

-We love you too dad.-

He turned off the lights and went downstairs.

Thorn sighed and removed the headband that was keeping her hair together in a ponytail. She sat down at her bed and looked at her sisters one more time with a smile. A smile that slowly faded away as she got sleepier and sleepier. She just shook her head and laid down, covering herself with a blanket, alone.

The sun would rise, revealing the morning. Thorn was placidly sleeping. Grumpy did not make his usual awakening screech, so she was able to sleep more than usual. As she was asleep, she frowned a little, opening her eyes and going from laying to sitting. It wasn’t long before she got up and was about to walk to the bathroom, until she stopped in her tracks. Her expression changed to one of surprise when she noticed her sisters weren’t there.

-Oh no… Oh no! No! No!-

She looked under the blankets, the beds, in the closet and the bathroom. After noticing they weren’t there, she quickly went down the stairs.

-GIRLS?!-

Once there, she saw the kitchen. There, her sisters were cooking and laughing. Leaf was using the pan to fry some tortillas, as Berry was making them on the counter. And Papa Phistopheles was making the table, cutting up some herbs, garlic and nuts and putting some juice on their glasses. They made her favorite.

-Morning, sleepyhead!-

Said leaf, looking at her and smiling.

-Hey Thorn! Look! We made breakfast!-

Berry said, smiling too, with her face stained with flour.

Thorn looked at them very surprised, even blushing from embarrassment.

-Oh… I… Don’t know what to say… I’m…-

Leaf laughed and approached her, took her hand and took her to the table.

-You don’t have to say anything! Plus, you’re always looking out for us. So we have to do the same once in a while too!-

Berry nodded

-Yup! Plus cooking is fun! Especially when you cook for people you love! Ain’t that right, Grumpy?-

Grumpy croaked, while devouring his plate of greens.

Papa Phistopheles smiled and served Thorn a plate.

-Enjoy, my little girl. You deserve it.-

-G-Guys! You didn’t have to…-

Thorn’s eyes became teary, as she pouted. She was the one supposed to do this to them, not the other way around. But it felt nice.

-You even made my favorite…

Berry approached Thorn and kissed her forehead.

-Of course we did! We love you, silly…-

Leaf approached too, doing the same and smiling.

-Yes we do! Now eat! Eat! Before it gets cold!

-Sniff… I love you too…-

Thorn took the tortilla and started eating, in between sobs from how emotional she was.

After Grumpy was done with his food he looked at the cat’s plate with jealousy. The cat meowed at him, as Grumpy croaked back with curiosity. The cat took some pieces of fish with his paw and left them on the floor, sharing them with Grumpy. He quickly hopped closer, starting to feast.

Berry and Leaf finished plating up their dishes, to then sit down besides Thorn.

-By the way, dad! You have a story to tell.-

Leaf said, while pointing at him with her tortilla.

-Hm? Oh yeah… I have… Well…-

He took a sip of his very bitter coffee and cleared his throat.

-When I was young… around… let’s say twenty years old… The Fog had happened very recently, and it was already on and about… I lost everything to it… I was left alone with my plants and my mediocre homemade medicine… But I will never forget that one day…-

He took another sip of his coffee, and then continued.

-I was alone… Food had already ran out. I didn’t know of any other nearby village that was still alive… I was starting to… lose hope… and accept my cruel fate… Until this… Big, muscular woman came up to me. She had beautiful long white hair… And she asked me if I was okay… I replied with honesty, as I always do… She took me into the Fog… and gave me aid in exchange for my knowledge of medicinal plants.-

He looked at his daughters with some reluctance, unsure if she should tell them the rest.

-We’ve been acquaintances ever since.-

Berry gasped and opened her mouth big and wide.

-Daddy had a crush on the big witch lady…?-

Leaf laughed because of that comment.

-That’s what you’re focusing on?!-

She looked back at her dad.

-She lent me a magic book… She’s so nice…!-

-And she taught us some magic tricks!-

Berry said.

Thorn nodded.

-Yes… She was good with us.-

Papa Phistopheles looked at them for a second, hiding his worry very well.

-I’m glad you had a stellar time with her. And also, no, I did not have a crush on her.-

Berry took a bite out of her tortilla.

-That’s a relief… She’s kinda out of your league dad.-

She said this with complete honesty and innocence. Leaf almost spat out her drink from laughter. Thorn slightly tapped the back of Berry’s head.

-Berry! That’s not nice!-

Papa Phistopheles took this with humor, and laughed.

-She’s right, though… But I have to say… your dad was quite handsome around that age! And not as… round… as now.. You should ask her. It can be nice to reminisce about old times.-

Berry nodded.

-Maybe we will! Her daughter Rayna is enrolling in our school!-

Phistopheles would lift his eyebrows, a bit nervous, sipping on his coffee with nervousness. Thorn got a little confused by her father’s body language, but she let it slide.

-Yup! Anyways… I’m going to study.-

Leaf said, while getting up with her tortilla still in her mouth. She approached the cat and lifted him in one arm, grabbing her backpack with the other. The cat would immediately relax and let her carry him.

Mephisto looked at his cup with some uneasiness, thinking for a moment. He then just sighed and got up.

-I will wash the dishes. You girls should rest.-

Berry would get up and hug him.

-Thanks dad! Oh… wait a minute…!-

Berry thought for a moment, remembering something.

-I HAVE TO DO HOMEWORK! BYE DAD, BYE LEAF, BYE THORN! I’M GOING TO GATHER SOME MUSHROOMS!

Thorn would quickly realize she had nothing else to do, and she quickly got up and followed Berry.

-Wait! I’ll go with you!-

Papa Phistopheles laughed one last time, proud that his daughters were being responsible, but afraid by their new acquaintance. He knew Cytrus was hiding dark secrets, things that he wasn’t ready to tell his daughters. He just shook his head, thinking that he probably should go talk to her. Getting his girls involved with her was too dangerous.