Oh god, I ate too much. That was… that was a little overboard. I shouldn’t have shoveled that entire grok steak into my mouth, nor all those taters. Yet it was so good. And the butter… I never knew butter could be so rich, mixing it with the veggies on the pte. What were they called? They looked like pink leeks—like an onion kind of pink—but they tasted a bit sugary, just sweet enough that they made my little taste buds dance. God, it was so good.

  I’d come to learn a lot about the foods of Enora. Some tasted exactly like the ones on Earth but had slightly different names. Like grok steak. Groks were just purple, oversized cows.

  Though it was fun to wonder about how creatures evolved this way, all I could say for sure was that they were freaking delicious. So much so that I gave myself a stomachache, and Father had to carry me home on his back when we left the Yogi’s Maw. The five of us, including Madam Soza, returned home te in the evening.

  “Go on, clean up and get to sleep,” Mother said. She cpped to a beat as she ushered Varis and me to the bathroom to brush our teeth.

  Being as tired as I was, I was in no shape to argue. Varis, though, whined, only to be cut off by my father, who reminded us of tomorrow’s surprise. That silenced all protests. After we washed our mouths out and freshened ourselves up, we took turns for pajamas. There was no way I was changing in front of him, nor did I want to see him. Yeah, we were siblings and all, but I wanted some sembnce of privacy. Once we were ready, Mother came to tuck us in for the night.

  “I hope the two of you had fun this evening,” she said as she made sure Varis was all nice and comfortable.

  “Yeah! I got thrown by a strider, and we ate so much food!”

  I cringed upon hearing that. The emotions still fresh on my mind. I took a deep breath. Stuff it away, Luna, I thought. Like the outhouse, just stuff them all inside. What happened, happened. No need to dwell on it.

  Mother ughed nervously and patted him on the head. “Well, I’m gd, but let’s try not to get thrown by a dragon again anytime soon, okay?” Varis chuckled and nodded.

  Then Mother came over to me, sitting on the edge of my bed. “What about you, my little genius? I saw you reading the big kid menu all by yourself earlier,” she said.

  Part of me wanted to ask what happened earlier, but as quickly as that thought came. I dropped it. Soza didn’t bring up that she found me in the outhouse after the fight, or if she did, I simply didn’t know. Instead, I decided to go along with things.

  As Mother got comfortable beside me, I couldn’t help but blush and shift a bit as she patted me on the head. “It wasn’t… so bad.” God, I’m feeling shy. “I can read most things now; it’s getting easier as I go.”

  “Spoken like a true schor,” Mother said as she booped me on the nose. “You know, when I was your age, I was still reading kids’ books, but you’re already reading those textbooks with Isa. She told me you read Chapter Three of the Twilight War all by yourself and understood it.”

  What can I say? It’s an interesting story: a man fell in love with the goddess of the sun, only to go mad when he learned he couldn’t be with her, be driven to insanity, and become a dark emperor? And in this world, that’s considered ancient history. Sign me up!

  “I really like it…” was all I could say as my cheeks began to burn. To make matters worse, my mother took notice and pyfully pinched my cheeks.

  “Oh, you’re so cute; your ears are burning up!” She ughed as she pinched the tip of my right ear, and I squeaked. Elven ears were so bloody sensitive. Mother sighed as her hand returned to my hair and tousled it. “Well, if you like those stories, I have plenty more in which you might be interested, though I’ll need to make sure they’re more in line with your age.” She hummed.

  When she removed her hand, a strange expression came over her face. Somehow it seemed she was looking at me for the first time.

  “Is something wrong, Momma?” I asked her, and right away she flinched and shook her head.

  “Sorry, I was lost in thought.” And once again she ughed, though this time I caught something else: she was nervous.

  “Oh, okay,” I said, and fell silent. Something was troubling her. Maybe I could try and cheer her up? It was time for Operation Cuteness Overload III. Or were we on IV now?

  With an idea in mind, I grinned and said, “I love you, Momma, and I will always be here, and so will Varis!” I looped my brother in, though he was already passed out.

  Mother, though, was frozen, focused instead on the floor, her eyes quivering. She looked back at me and sniffled before leaning in and wrapping her arms around me.

  “I’m sorry, sweetie,” she whispered. “Mommy has just had a really bad day today. But you just made it a lot better. Thank you.”

  Feeling her arms drape around me made my heart flutter. I didn’t know how to react; I hadn’t anticipated this. Going with my gut feeling, I wrapped my arms gently around her neck, and returned her hug. Mission success. That’s what I call textbook.

  “It’s okay, Momma; I’m here for you. I may be small, but I can help!” I giggled, hoping some humor would lighten her up, and thankfully it did as she snorted softly and pulled away.

  “You’re such a goof—a well-spoken one at that.” Then she said it: “Gods, sometimes I wonder if you’re really six years old.”

  Boy, if you only knew, though I hoped she never would.

  “Well, I am,” I snickered, but then a more serious thought came to mind. “Momma, can I ask you a question?”

  Mother wiped her eyes with her wrist. “Of course, Luna.”

  “Are you a wizard, or, uh, used to be a wizard?” Mother stared at me for a few seconds before letting out a low sigh and closing her eyes. I then squeaked, “I’m sorry if I’m being nosy again! I-I’ll—”

  “It’s okay, Luna.” She grinned, her hand resting on my leg. “Your father kind of gave it away earlier; he always gets excited when I cast spells.”

  “I—I also remember you using that same spell on me before,” I said with a firm nod, and my mother pulled back a bit, looking shocked.

  “Excuse me, when?”

  Oh crap, I forgot I was a baby the st time.

  “Oh, uh… A while ago, when I was young. Maybe it was a dream.” I tried to cover it up, though it was too te; she wasn’t buying it.

  “No, no… I did use it on you once, back when you were a year old. You were scampering around in your pypen. You’d always do these weird but cute little motions. Like you were actively exercising. Already you were standing and waddling. And during one of your little exercises in your pen, you fell back and whacked your head super hard—harder than usual.”

  Hearing her tell this story as if I didn’t remember it vividly was jarring, yet at the same time, very wholesome. Though I did want to correct her and say I was more like nine months old, I knew it’d be very awkward if I did.

  “I almost had a damn—oh, pardon my nguage; don’t say what Mommy just said. I almost had a heart attack because your father was supposed to be watching you. Oh, I chewed his butt out so bad afterwards that he about ran to the precinct.” She giggled. “But anyways, I did take you into the kitchen and conclude that you had a concussion, and so I cast Rejuvenation on you. After that, you were back to normal as if nothing happened.” She patted my head. “Though one thing I always wondered about is that no matter what, you never cried, even when I gave birth to you!”

  “Whoa, now, we don’t need to hear about that.” I giggled as my mother tousled my hair.

  “So, do you really remember that?” Mother asked, her eyebrow raised.

  I should py this next part safe. Don’t give anything away.

  “It’s hazy, but yeah, something like that. Though it could just be a coincidence.” I smiled sheepishly.

  “Spoken like a schor.” My mother booped my nose. “To bring it back to your question, dearie…” She took a deep breath. “Long ago, yes, I was a wizard. I went to a school far, far away from here and learned how to cast spells and figured out how the world works.”

  My eyes widened. “Oh, can you show me an example?”

  Mother blushed faintly before putting a finger to her lips. “Just this once, I’ll show you a little trick.” She turned away and held her hand up in the air, fingers spyed. Briefly, her blue eyes fshed bright as sapphires while tendrils of ethereal light bled off of them and evaporated into the air like smoke. “Mother of stars, your heavens are so bright; lend me your guidance on a path of light. Fireflies.”

  From her palm, radiance burst forth like a strobe. Suddenly the air in the room was filled with dancing light, illuminated. Dozens of little orbs floated about as if the stars above had descended to earth, simir to the firefly-like lights I’d seen downstairs except blue and brighter.

  Excitement burst from within me, and I nearly cried out with joy. I was shaking in my bed, clutching my bnket close to my face as my mother ughed and said, “Pretty neat, huh?” She reached out and poked one orb with her finger. It seemed to stick, and she guided it down to pce it on my nose.

  I practically went cross-eyed as I looked at the shining ball. Mother snickered and said, “Your mom is actually pretty cool.” She winked at me.

  I nodded rapidly, still too excited to speak. Seeing this magic firsthand was exhirating and knowing that my mother could do this made me wonder if, in the future, I could do the same. I had always dreamt of being a mage. In every RPG game I pyed, I’d always chosen the css… though back then I always imagined myself as a grizzled old man wizard, not an elven woman, but y’know. Both were cool.

  Mother snapped her fingers, and as quickly as the orbs of light appeared, they vanished. “Mommy gave this up long ago, but…” Her voice lowered, and her face fell. “Lately I’ve been thinking I might have to give myself a refresher.”

  I took a deep breath and probed a little deeper. “Momma, can I ask you a personal question? If you don’t want to answer, it’s okay.”

  She blinked at me. “Okay, but this is your st question before you go to bed.”

  “That’s okay. I just wanted to ask, uh, why don’t you like Mr. Bxen?”

  This question hit my mother like a freight train. She pulled away from me, and for a split second, I saw anger cross her face.

  “Oh boy, you really meant personal,” she said with a drawn-out sigh. “Most of that story is too much for you now… but what I can tell you is that Mr. Bxen did something really, really selfish and bad to both me and your father long ago. He lied to us, and that lie got a lot of our friends hurt, and one died.”

  That was what I heard earlier when listening in. As expected, she didn’t want to tell a six-year-old such a grim story. It was just another one of those things that’d have to “wait till I’m older.” To think I’d have to live through this tedious phase of life again.

  “Were all of you adventurers?” I asked. This time a small grin tugged at Mother’s lips, and she booped me on the nose again.

  “No more questions; it’s sleep time.” She winked.

  That fucking wink! I sighed.

  “Aww, okay.” I pouted as Mother got up off the bed. She tucked me in before kissing me on the cheek.

  “Don’t pout, my little star.” She then kissed me on the forehead. “I really enjoyed this little conversation; I don’t think we ever talked this much before. You should talk to Mommy like this more.” She poked my cheek. “Sleep well.”

  “Good night, Momma. I really liked talking to you too!” I watched as her heart melted and, despite turning to walk away, she came back and hugged me again.

  “Gah, you’re so cute! Good night!” She released me, and before I could stall her some more, she hurried out of the room and shut the door.

  Seeing her leave, my heart fluttered once more. This new family of mine was growing on me.

  The nd strider, also known by its schorly name, dracostridonai, is the fastest and most intelligent domestic animal in Enora. Being lesser kin, they ck many of the unique traits that True Dragons have. However, they can understand Common and Draconian speech. They only need to eat once every three days, allowing for lighter travel and easy caretaking, making them quick and efficient pack animals. —Family of the Lesser-Kin, Sari Struhammer