The Girl in the Cloak

...Birthday

The day before had been great. Only one thing had bothered her the entire day. The cloak had been rather quiet for some time. It would communicate when they were training but never when they were in free time. Rain had tried to write it off on a number of different excuses but now nothing made sense. She laid down in her bed and closed her eyes, wrapped up in only her cloak and tried to communicate.

"Are we ok?"

"Of course little one why wouldn't we be?"

"We never talk anymore."

"We apologize we have had something on my mind for some time. Since we got here if we are honest with ourselves. Why has the Queen not spoken to us since the first day of training? She only ever speaks to you." The girl had noticed it but rationalized it with it being proper to do it that way.

"Maybe it's considered rude to talk to you directly."

"Isn't that something for us to decide not her?" The cloak was right in Rain's opinion.

"Then let us remedy this now." The girl threw on some proper clothes and raced down the hall. She saw many faces but ignored them all. She only wanted to talk to Luna. This was important. It took her around thirty minutes but she found her finally in the garden where they usually trained.

"Hello, daughter. You're early. Are you eager to train?"

"No. Something more important has come up." Luna looked confused at Rain's response. "Why do you never address my cloak?"

"Does it not hear me?"

"Well, of course, it can but you never address it exclusively it's always through me."

"Then it doesn't know how to hear the echoes. I apologize I had no idea you had yet to developer that ability. Now that I think about it you may be too small." The cloak started to writhe in anger. "I am sorry again I did not mean offense. Let me show you what I mean." Luna waved her hand and a rip in space appeared in front of her. She reached in and pulled out her cloak, but this time the cloak kept coming and coming and coming. "This is the true form of my cloak." She finally pulled the last piece of it out and the girl saw that it was frayed just as hers was. "This cloak actually covers the entire realm we are in. If I tell it to it will shrink though watch." She said nothing aloud but suddenly the cloak began to shrink. When it finished, it was the perfect size for her to wear. It stopped just above her ankles but was still frayed at the end. "Do you see the fray there," She pointed at, "That is where I tore my cloak and made yours." The girl could feel the cloak start to rush with questions and emotions. "This tear here," She pointed at the hood over her cloak which was also torn, "is where my father tore his cloak and gave it to me. His is even bigger than both of ours combined. Although he is lost I remember him hiding it, I just don't know where."

"The cloak asks what the echoes are." The girl had started to relay its questions.

"The echoes are the voices in the cloak. If it listens closely enough it can hear anyone who wears a cloak speak through the echoes." Luna went silent and just stood there smiling. Nothing happened. "Strange you really are not able to hear the echoes. Here let me try something if you don't mind." Luna put a handout and waited. The girl asked the cloak and the cloak agreed it was worth the risk. Luna took the cloak and touched the two frayed parts together. She only looked at the two pieces of cloak for a moment until suddenly threads started to reach out from Luna's cloak to Rains. Rain started to panic.

"What are you doing it's my friend?"

"Just wait. Everything will be fine. Trust me." The fabric started to mix together until finally, the two pieces were whole once again. "The two pieces are again one and they now share the knowledge they gained on their own. And now if I do this." She started saying some words under her breath. As she did her hands started to glow."...I am sorry for the pain and thank you for the gift." Those were the only words Rain could make out before Luna tore the fabric in two. She held one part out to the girl. It was significantly larger than the cloak she had before. She put it around her neck. As she did the cloak took the familiar form she once knew. She felt the threads dig into her neck then her spine. Finally, she heard the voices again.

"Little one we have learned much." The girl could make out another voice this time. It was masculine and felt powerful but was soft at the same time. "We are the same but different, and now we can hear the echoes." A moment passed but then as she watched Luna's lips do nothing she heard Luna speak to her cloak.

"Welcome home and Happy Birthday."