“A… thief?”

“Yes!” Emily exclaimed, her eyes sparkling.

“...Why?”

“Well, if you’re going to live here, then you need to get all your belongings, right?”

“Wait,” I quickly stood up. “I still haven’t… decided yet.”

“Huh?”

“If I can, I still want to go home, but…” My voice trailed off as I recalled what happened yesterday.

“Unfortunately,” Elena spoke up, taking a deep breath, “I don’t think that’s possible.”

 

“After you left, I had a chat with Grace,” she continued.

“She told me about what your parents are like, and the sorts of things they did when you were younger. I also tried to talk with them myself, so that I could get to know them, but…” 

Elena faced directly towards me, her eyes serious.

“In my professional opinion as a social worker, it is not safe for you to live there.”

The reality of the situation finally hit me, and I slumped back down into my seat.

I really… can’t go home anymore, can I?

…

No, I have to be strong. Melissa and Emily are offering me a place to stay.

“A-alright. I’ll live here.”

Emily suddenly clapped her hands, startling me.

“Alright, now that it’s settled… we have to move all your stuff here.”

“Do you have a plan?” I asked.

“Yes. First off, we need to make a list of all the things you need.”

Everything I need? So… my school supplies, phone charger… do I need clothes? I can just make them myself with spirit energy… though it might be good to have clothes to use as a reference.

“Alright, and then what?” I asked, while picking my empty plate up and carrying it over to the bench.

“Then, you sneak into your old home, while your parents aren’t there, and steal all of them back.”

You make it sound so simple…   

“Um,” I stopped for a moment as my anxiety started to build. “I… don’t know what Mum and Dad’s schedules are, anymore. I don’t know when they’ll be out.”

After that nightmare I had, I really don’t want to run into them again!

“Grace is still living there, right? We can get their schedule from her.” Emily’s tail was wagging as she spoke.

Why is she so excited about this?

“And then,” she continued, “we plan out a time, sneak inside, and take all your stuff. It’ll be great!”

“Um, there’s just one thing.” Zoey spoke up, sitting cross-legged in the middle of the table.

“What?”

“If Grace is there, can’t we just ask her to bring Flora’s stuff over?”

Emily’s ears immediately drooped down, and her tail hung dejectedly..

“But… that takes all the fun out of it.” She said, her voice full of disappointment.

“Fun?” I asked.

“Haven’t you always wanted to try something like this? Sneaking in under the cover of darkness, and then helping yourself to whatever you desire!” Her voice suddenly turned dramatic, as if she was a movie announcer.

I stood still for a moment, watching her taking a heroic pose, her fists clenched.

 

“...Plus,” she continued, “I wanted to make it fun, because... it’s kinda my fault that things ended up this way.”

“Huh? How is it your fault?”

“Come on, you remember what happened. I did that weird… voice thing, which messed it all up.” Emily’s eyes were downcast as she spoke.

She’s blaming herself for what happened, isn’t she…

“Honestly, I don’t think it made much difference.” I walked over to the table, sitting back down in my previous seat.

She looked up at me, confused.

“You know what my parents are like. They kept getting on my case whenever I visited you saying ‘we have to be supervised’ and so on. They even…” I quickly stopped talking as I realised something.

...No, I probably shouldn’t. What was it Zoey said yesterday? ‘Don’t out her, let her say it herself’? Grace should say it on her own terms.

“A-anyway, let’s just say that they’re not the sort of people that would react well to their son coming home as their daughter.”

Looking back on it, I should’ve expected this. With the way they are, there was no way Mum and Dad would accept me, now that I’ve turned into a girl.

“So don’t blame yourself, okay?” My voice was shaky as I spoke, and my eyes started heating up.

“But still… Wait, are you alright?” Emily asked.

“H-huh? Yeah, I’m okay,” I choked out. My vision went hazy as my face became wet with tears.

No, I can’t cry here. I have to be strong.

 

A light clattering sound echoed out from below, distracting me. Glancing down, I saw something sparkling on the table.

“What are these?” Zoey questioned, crawling across the table towards me. Reaching down, she picked something up and inspected it closely.

In her hands was a small gemstone. A translucent silver, it sparkled in a myriad of colours as it caught the light.

A few more of them fell onto the table as I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down.

“Queen?” Aeriel called out. Looking over, I saw her rubbing her eyes sleepily, Mira standing just behind her.

Any semblance of drowsiness disappeared from her face as she looked at me, still crying, and she quickly ran towards me.

“Queen? Are you alright? What happened?” she asked, panicking.

“I-I’m okay,” I responded.

“Are you sure?” Aeriel leaned forward, concern evident on her face.

“Y-yes. I’m just glad I have somewhere to stay, now that I… can’t go home anymore.”

I flinched slightly as I felt a gentle touch on the top of my head.

“It’ll be alright.” Zoey’s voice softly rang out next to me. “Everything will be fine.”

Turning towards her, I was speechless for a moment as I saw her floating in front of me, her wings fluttering. She reached up, placing a small hand back on my head to gently pat me.

 

“Y-you’re flying,” I gasped.

“Huh?” Zoey’s eyes turned wide, and she frantically looked around. “Waaa- I… I just…”

She flailed her arms and legs around, wobbling slightly in the air. Her face slowly turned red, and she covered it with her hands.

“I just wanted to pat your head…” she mumbled, her voice muffled slightly.

I giggled slightly as I watched her, bobbing up and down in the air as she continued turning red, all the way to the tips of her ears.

I didn’t even notice, but… her ears are pointy. Like an elf?

The bright sparkling from the gemstones sitting on the table caught my eye, and I looked down towards them.

“Um, what are these?” I asked.

“These fell onto the table as you were crying.” Zoey shakily fluttered down towards the table, picking one of the gemstones up and carrying it towards me.

“They’re so pretty.” Zoey dropped it into my hand, and I lifted it up, taking a closer look at it.

 

“...Are these my tears?”

Aeriel leaned in close over my shoulder, startling me. She stared intensely at the gemstone.

“Yes, I believe so,” she declared. “These are the ‘Tears of the Spirit Queen’.”

What’s with that overly fantasy-like name?!

“They’re considered an extremely rare and valuable resource among the humans from my world,” she continued.

Halfway through her explanation, Mira leaned in over my other shoulder, trying to get a closer look at the gemstones.

“If a human gains the favour of the Spirit Queen, it is said that she will provide them with these, which can cure any illness.”

T-that’s way too overpowered! Am I some, like, mythical entity or something?!

…

Actually, given the way Mira and Aeriel treat me, that’s entirely possible…

I slumped forward, resting my head on the table. 

“You alright?” Emily asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just having a moment…”

Zoey stood up in front of me, gently patting my head again in an attempt to comfort me.

 

After a few moments, an interesting thought ran through my head.

Here’s a question. If my tears turn into… these things, the ‘Tears of the Spirit Queen’ or whatever, then why hasn’t it happened before? I’ve cried quite a few times since turning into a girl, but my tears never turned into gemstones, until now.

Actually, now that I think about it, I’ve kinda cried a ridiculous amount recently. I’m really not in control of my emotions any more…

 

“Ah, one more thing,” Aeriel said, standing up straight.

“It is said that if the human who receives the Queen’s Tears tries to sell, or otherwise profit off of them, then they will lose their power.”

“Oh?” How does that work?

“This is because the human will lose the Spirit Queen’s favour, and thus the compassion that forms the tears will also be lost.”

Wait… compassion?

My face began turning red as I realised what had happened.

I cried because I was upset at the fact that I couldn’t go home, I was worried because Emily blamed herself for it, and I was glad that she was letting me stay here. Is that it? Because I was worried about her?

“You look like you’ve realised something important.” Zoey had a smirk on her face as she spoke.

“Ooh. What is it?” Emily asked, with an inquisitive expression.

I… have to tell them, don’t I? This is super embarrassing…

I lifted my face up, trying to ignore how self-conscious I felt as I turned towards Emily.

“One of the reasons I was crying earlier was… because you blamed yourself for what happened, and I was worried about you.”

“But,” Emily sputtered, her ears standing straight up, “that was because I did that weird voice thing!”

“And I said that it didn’t make any difference!” I retorted.

“I still messed up the process! For something like that, it’s always better to be straightforward. Don’t you agree, Elena?” She turned to where Elena was standing before, seeking her input.

 

“...She’s not here.”

When did she disappear? She did say she had business here, though. Something to do with Melissa?

“Okay, look.” I waved my hand in front of Emily, trying to grab her attention.

“Honestly, looking back on it, I seriously doubt that I could’ve convinced them of who I was. At this point, I’m just glad to have a place to stay. So… thank you for letting me live here.”

Emily stared wide-eyed at me for a moment.

“It’s… okay…”

 

A few moments later, while Emily was still staring at me, a gurgling sound echoed out from the table. Glancing towards the noise, I saw Zoey sitting on the table with one hand on her stomach, a startled expression on her face.

“Was that you?” I asked.

“...I can explain.”

Zoey hastily clambered upright, smoothing her dress out before gingerly lifting her feet off the ground. Emily and I stood up out of our seats, following her as she slowly flew over to the kitchen bench.

“When I woke up this morning, I was small again. I didn’t know how to turn back to normal size, so I snuck out of home and ran all the way here. So…” she held her hands behind her back sheepishly, “I haven’t actually had anything to eat today… and I’m really hungry.”

“And because you couldn’t fly until now, you were stuck on the table until one of us helped you,” I added.

“Yeah, basically. Plus, I can’t really make food while I’m this small.”

“What can you even eat at that size?” Emily asked.

“I have no idea. I need to find a way to have something to drink, too.”

“I’ve got a few ideas. Flora, can you grab the biscuit tub out of that cupboard?”

Reaching down, I opened the cupboard that Emily directed me to.

“I think we’ve got some tasting bowls in here somewhere,” she continued, “so if I just grab one and fill it with water…”

Placing the tub of biscuits on the bench, I opened it in front of Zoey. She immediately swooped down, picking up a jam tart in both hands. Gently landing on the side of the bench, she dangled her legs down, swinging them back and forth. I laughed a little, watching her nibble her way through the jam tart.

Her flying isn’t anywhere near as shaky as before. Is it just because there’s food involved?

Emily placed a small tasting bowl filled with water down next to her.

“Ah- fanks.” Zoey said through a mouthful of food.

 

Leaning back against the bench, I stared at the ceiling.

“So, if I’m going to move here, what do I actually need to do?” I asked, glancing towards Emily.

“Do you know what stuff you need to grab from home?”

“Some of it? I need my phone charger, school supplies, my books… what else do I need?”

“Toiletries, like your toothbrush and so on.”
Oh, that’s right. I need my toothbrush, my razor…

“Do I still need my razor?”

“Yeah. You may not need to shave your face anymore, but you still need to deal with body hair.”

Lifting my arm up, I stared closely at it.

“I don’t think I even have body hair.”

“So lucky…” Emily stared down at her tail. “I’m always slightly worried that I’ll start growing like, a fur coat, or something.”

 

“I’ll need to move my clothes, too…”

“Can’t you just make them yourself, though?” Emily interjected. “Using your spirit dress thingy.”

“Yeah, but I still don’t know that much about girls’ clothes. I’d just end up wearing the same shirt and shorts every single day.”

I mean, while I’d be fine with that, I think Emily would get annoyed, given her whole “You’re a girl now, you have to dress up” routine.

“Right, that’s true. What else is there…”

“Do you have a bank card?” Zoey spoke up from where she was sitting, carrying the tasting bowl in both hands and elegantly sipping out of it.

“Yes, I do.”

“Then you need to change your address. You should just be able to do it online.”

Wait, then what do I do about my name?

“Oh, and you don’t need to worry about changing your name,” she added. “You can’t do that anyway, until you legally change it.”

That’s… I’ll leave all that official stuff for later. It’s far too complicated for me to think about right now!

 

“Other than that, I think it’s just a matter of getting back into school.” Emily said. “Did Elena say she had a plan for that?”

Right on cue, Elena opened the door to the kitchen, walking in with a triumphant expression. I briefly glanced over towards her, noticing the lab coat she was wearing.

She was carrying a bag earlier. Was that what was in it? Is it for a costume?

Turning away for a moment, I did a double take as I realised that something was conspicuously missing.

“Wait, where did your wings go?!”