Gracious's Last Wish {{ Extended Version }}

The Book

"Maybe my hut would do you some good.~" came a hoarse voice.

Jack turned his head and noticed an old lady hunched over a little in a black cloak that covered her eyes. She had long, black, sharp nails and long gray strands of hair that spilled over her shoulders. Her skin was very leathery and wrinkly.

".. You would allow a pair of strangers to stay with you?" Jack asked in a confused tone.

"You are the Blue Birch seekers. You have successfully found it. I must give you a place to stay at the least," she explained cheerfully.

"Ah. Well that is very kind of you," he smiled warmly.

The lady eyed Gracious and seemed to smile wickedly. "Ahh.. so the CrystalWings are not extinct yet, hm?"

"Erm.. actually, I am the last one," Gracious admitted.

"Oh? And you are not as evil as the rest?"

"No, ma'am. I am not evil in the slightest."

"Your master has raised you well, then.~"

Jack blushed slightly and scratched the back of his head, chuckling softly. "Well, I would never a family member to be evil.~"

Gracious blushed as well. Jack had never referred her as a family member before.

"I see. Well, let's not stay out here and chat. Come in, come in!~" she gestured them to come inside.

Jack lifted Gracious into his arms and entered the little hut. It wasn't much to look at, but it was a pretty nice place.

There were two red fluffy chairs facing each other. There was a small wooden table between the two chairs.

"Sit, sit.~" she insisted, sitting in one of them.

Jack plopped down in the opposite chair, Gracious in his lap.

"May I ask why you have come to Chiliad?" she asked as she removed the hood of the cloak from her head, revealing a wrinkled face and soft brown eyes. Even though she seemed very old, her face was quite pretty.

"We are in search of The Land of the Lavendars upon Purple Peaks. It is Gracious's dream to see the lavendars glow in the beams of the sun. She has been talking non-stop about them," Jack explained, smiling as he looked into her beautiful eyes which seemed to smile back at him.

"Ah, yes. CrystalWings have a love for anything purple and pretty. Like them.~"

Jack raised an eyebrow. "You know about CrystalWing characteristics?"

She nodded. "Indeed. I even wrote a book about them. Everything you need to know is written inside that book."

Jack was sitting up straighter now, clearly taking interest in this book. "May I read it? I have always been wondering about Gracious's past and her interests."

Gracious looked up at him. "I am not dead, why don't you ask me?"

"Do you remember what happened before I found you?"

".. You should read that book," she agreed.

"That's what I thought."

"Haha. Well let me go fetch it for you," the lady offered, getting up from her chair and disappearing into one of the rooms.

"I don't think anything in that book will help you though," Gracious said. "Since being raised by you, my characteristics could be different."

"That is true'" Jack agreed. "But I am very curious about your past. If CrystalWings were good or bad. How long they lived. If males looked like females. If they only like purple. If all CrystalWings were purple and had silver eyes".