Actually, while I’m thinking about parents, there’s another memory I’d like to share. After the spirit of the White-Silver Dragoon abandoned me and went to Miranda, and Dart and everyone went on without me, I spent a few weeks in Deningrad with Queen Theresa and the Sacred Sisters. They were very kind to me.

A lot of the Crystal Palace was damaged in the Divine Dragon’s attack. The upper storey was completely destroyed. Wink, Luanna, Setie and I crowded into Wink’s room to leave the others open for the wounded. They missed Miranda, and I missed Dart, so we all made do with each other. During the day, we helped clean up the city and took care of the people who had been hurt. At night, we would all sit together with mugs of tea and cookies, and Wink and I would cut and roll linen for bandages while the Queen told us stories.

We usually went to bed completely exhausted. One time I woke up from a nightmare, and the Queen had come in with a candle to kiss her daughters goodnight. I didn’t want to disturb her, so I pretended I was still asleep. She came over and kissed my forehead, too, as if I were one of them.

That’s what I would have liked my family to be.

But it’s more important now that Dart and I create a safe and happy place for our own kids to grow up (who are not arriving anytime soon, so stop asking!)