Adventures of a Little Sister

Part Nineteen

The group had found the path Little Sister and her brothers would take to the village and decided to walk down it. Passing by her home, Little Sister just watched as they passed by, wondering if those bad men were still living there. Ivaylo put his hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Don't worry, they're not coming back to that house. I made it clear it didn't belong to them." He said, making the girl feel better. She wanted to go in and see, but she knew she would drag the group down and it would make the journey last longer. With that in mind, they continued to walk past.

The village wasn't too far off from her house. She remembered it felt like it took forever, but the otheres knew it was really only an hour or two away. Little Sister still didn't understand time completely, so when told something was going to take an hour, it felt a lot longer than what she thought and hour would be. But, when growing up, it seemed that's how it always was.

"I remember Laerorneth saying they were attacked the night Little Sister came to the forest." Xylia said. "Is it possible we might not find anything?"

"Xylia, don't say things like that with the child around" Ivaylo replied.

"I'm just being realistic here."

"Well there are times to say things like that and there are times when you don't. This is one of them." It was obvious Ivaylo wasn't going to have doubts being said around Little Sister while they were on their journey.

Énna didn't want any part in it, so she just had her attention focused on Little Sister, who had her head down, the hood of her coat hiding her face. The child hadn't thought of that before. She knew the village was being attacked the night she left, her brothers being called away was proof enough. They were supposed to leave in the morning, but the men from the army came during the night instead. Even though she knew the village was attacked, she didn't even think of it not being there now. She thought that because her brothers and all the able men went to fight, the village was protected.

The rest of the way was quiet, Ivaylo having quieted Xylia and Énna having nothing else to talk about. Maimu lied on Little Sister's shoulder, slowly falling asleep. The fluff ball was never really one for the mornings, and Little Sister knew it. She would always have a hard time keeping her pet awake until after breakfast or around noon time. She could've woken her pet, but she didn't feel the need to, and so she let it sleep, its tail curled around itself like a blanket. It squeaked every now and then while it slept, almost like it was snoring. The child would always chuckle at this, but at this moment, she didn't feel like being cheerful. This was rare, but with what she had on her mind about her brothers and her village, it was understandable.

Upon arriving to the outskirts of the village, they were quite surprised to see the shape it was in. Even Little Sister had to admit that she didn't think it would be in this condition a year after the attack.

"Well, I guess it'll be easier than we thought to get additional supplies and answers." Énna said.

Ivaylo nodded before starting his decent down the hill before Énna stopped him. "Wait, Ivaylo, don't you think there's a reason Little Sister hides her ears?"

The two of them glanced back at the girl as one of her ears flicked. Ivaylo sighed, becoming slightly annoyed.

"I don't care what they think Énna, you know that." He replied.

"I know you don't, but I think with this village you want to. Especially since we have Little Sister with us. We don't want them to get the wrong ideas about her family."

"Énna's got a point." Xylia spoke before putting a necklace on.

A shine came from the gem and her form began to chance. She started to grow and grow, until she reached the average height of a twelve year old. Smiling as the light died down, she wore a simple light blue dress with gold colored thread and belt. Her hair was tied into a loose braid down her back, and her wings were no longer visible.

"We need to be careful in some places, remember, not all humans accept other species very well."

Little Sister looked at her with amazement, rushing over and looking at the clothes. "Wow! I didn't know you could do that Xylia!"

"Of course I can, as long as I'm wearing this necklace I can change into my human form without using any magic."

"What would happen if I wore it?" Little Sister asked.

Xylia had to think about that, a hint of wonder in her eyes. "I'm not sure, but would you like to find out?"

"Yes!"

"Xylia, no experimenting on the girl." Énna said sternly, making Xylia huff and cross her arms.

"Aw but Énna, I wanna know."

"Not right now Little Sister. For now, we need to get to the village and ask if anyone has seen your brothers."

"I bet Grandmother has!"

The three looked at her confused. "Grandmother?"