9 When I was a child, spoke as a child, thought as a child-

I felt better the following day. It was oddly warm here.

As I roused awake something wrapped itself around me.

my eyes shot open.

"!"

My heart that braced itself to explode.

Amelie?!

It's just Don Don.

My shoulders relaxed, my heart melting.

That's right when we were kids we used to sleep all cuddled up like this.

My childish heart was tickled.

"Wake up, we have to go to class Donny." I couldn't stay here.

He buried his face into my chest, something he would typically do back then.

But...

We weren't kids anymore, for one I had boobies now. The breath of his nostrils I could feel permeating through the cloth into my skin and even my flapjacks for a chest could feel soft pressure. One would think it would have felt heavier or harder...

Both our eyes shot open.

Donald released me as he flung himself back.

"I-I'm sorr-

He rolled backwards off his bed in the process. I heard a loud whump, his legs were on the edge of the bed but he hit the back of his head.

It was a high bed and he had grown tall but still... while marveling at the length of his legs, I peered down.

"...Are you alright?"

He wasn't moving.

An arm was covering his face, hints of red surfaced all the way from his face to his ears and neck.

"Sorry, just let me lie here..."

"...Is it...the mana constriction?"

"Huh? no....I..." He sighed and removed his arm, his eyes misty.

"What's wrong?"

Did he hit his head too hard?

I climbed down to help him up when he yanked me down into his lap and hugged me.

? The sudden force left me speechless. As if I was snatched away by those vicious fairies...

Something wet touched my shoulder.

"Hmmm?"

He was crying, he was definitely crying. It's true Donny was a crybaby growing up but I was also one. But we're older now. Why is he crying?

I stroked the back of his head.

Pain pain go away...

He leaned his forehead on my shoulder. Sniffling.

"What's the matter?" I quietly tried once more.

"I missed you so much, my emotions got the better of me. Sorry if I startled you." When he leaned away he was back to his old self.

"You cried because of that?"

"Ah, no, I was just frustrated about something."

"About what?"

His smile just widened.

"A secret."

The heck? That was disturbing, he stood pulling me up by the hands.

He seemed to want to change the subject so I'll let him have it.

"It's morning now, you'll be seen by other boys if you go out like this."

I was also worried about that.

I nodded.

He walked to his wardrobe and pulled out his change in uniform.

"Here, change into this."

"Hmmm?"

"I wove a spell into the cap, a gender concealment spell."

A smile stretched across my face. "Look at you! You're well onto page 500 of the Book of the Veil, aren't you?" When did he prepare this? Those take hours to make!

He blushed. "Why do you make it... sound so condescending like that when you've read the book as well?"

"Huh?"

Indeed we read it many times when we were kids. My mouth hung open I had also nearly forgotten it. Yet it naturally come out of my mouth meaning I had been aware but also not. Odd. This body...was I a stranger to even myself?

"That wasn't my intention..." Did I sound condescending? I was actually happy for him.

He pulled the hat down over my face and turned away.

"You...can change in the bathroom."

"okay..."

He pushed me away but my mind was turning gears.

The Book of the Veil...book of the Veil?

An ominous looking brown book bound by weird faces. In the Holy Library of the Cathedral where Donald lived nearby, we'd read it together...

How did I forget all those spells memorized? Why now is it only coming back to me? As it resurfaced into my memories it was alarming with the clarity I could remember each page. Right now that book was sitting in my mind, like a folder I could open on a computer screen.

The memories of the real Anais... so there were still things this body I hadn't remembered?

"The contents of this book...remain inscribed forever..." Two clumsy kids leaned over the book twice their sizes on the floor and read.

A book that would forever burn itself into someone's memory...such a relic like that...yes, we had gotten in so much trouble when His Grandfather came in... we had thought so but he just sat us down and asked us how we opened the book. When we told him we just opened it he didn't seem to believe us. It's because of that later I was trained with Donny to be a priestess. Yes.

What don't I know that that old man does?

Ah, thank you Donny. This interaction was a big help to me.

It's time to steel my heart now. I didn't feel as lost as I did before.

Albeit, even if I hadn't, I still would have left.

I'd been compiling a journal of what I knew based off memory the moment I arrived.

Using my memories to remember who went missing and when. There were lots of stories but the main reason was because those girls had been alone.