"Ya know, I'm starting to think that it's not too bad here," said Henrietta as she lied on the grass, her limbs sprawled out.

"There you go, that's the freeloading spirit," said Auguste lying down in very much the same fashion as Henrietta.

"Shaddap! Are yer still on about that!?" Henrietta yelled and tried to kick him, but her short legs only flailed about to no avail, unable to reach him.

"Maybe we should go inside," said Elaine. "The sun is setting and the Administrator is still nowhere to be seen. This might be a 'dream', but you can still feel cold and hungry. It's probably not 'real' food, but I can cook up someone back in the house."

Following Elaine's suggestion, they moved inside. Upon entering the house, Henrietta helped herself to the couch by the fireplace and sunk into the soft leather. Meanwhile, Auguste offered Elaine a hand in the kitchen. The fact of the matter was, he was indeed feeling hungry, and though he did not know whether or not consuming the food in this 'dream' will do anything for him, it was better than nothing. Hopefully.

Once the meal was done, they gathered at the table, Auguste and Henrietta setting it up as Elaine brought out the food. They had thought about it during the day, but this was a pretty big table, with enough room for six to dine comfortably on. Said table was feeling rather empty with just three of them sitting around it.

"Yer know, wouldn't yer feel kinda lonely living in this big house by yourself?" Henrietta suddenly spoke up on the dinner table.

"Why do you mean?"

"How should I put this? I mean, this is a 'dream', right? So you should be able to do whatever you want. So why are yer livin' in this house by yerself? Morganna lives alone in the forest, me and Auguste are just supposed to be stayin' temporarily, and even Finn had gone and lived on his own. As for Gladiolus, well, he's out there somewhere... Anyways, if this is a 'dream' why don't you just liven things up a bit around here?"

Since Henrietta mentioned it, Auguste as well found it odd that Elaine had everyone live apart from her. Had Auguste and Henrietta not arrive, would the 'dream' version of them be out traveling somewhere? Could this be what she wanted? To finally be alone without being trouble by the 'children' around her?

Looking somewhat surprised at the question, Elaine's eyes were wide open as she stared towards Henrietta. It did not seem that she expected to be asked such a thing. It was but a moment later did her gaze softened as she cast them towards the table.

"Well, that's just how it's supposed to be, right? My little brother can't be clinging to me forever. Though, even if we're apart, it'd be nice if I were still able to do something for him."

"Oh, so that's why we had to deliver the meals!" Auguste exclaimed as he made the connection. "I was thinking that it made no sense when they could have easily taken care of it themselves."

"Indeed, it certainly doesn't make sense at all. I suppose I might have been the one clinging to my little brother, to you guys, and my place as the big sister of the party. It's embarrassing to say, but I sometimes think of the rest of you as my younger siblings, aside from Gladiolus, of course."

"Well I for one certainly don't mind havin' yer as big sister," said Henrietta. "I'm an only child so I always wanted one, yer know."

"But aren't you older than Elaine though?"

"Shaddap Gusty! It don't matter! It's all about the feel of it, you know, feelings. Age and blood don't matter."

"Hmm..." Auguste turned his head heavensward to ponder. "You might just have a point there."

He was going to add that Henrietta doesn't feel mature enough regardless, but decided to keep his mouth shut. Instead, he looked around the house, one that was minimalistically decorated, which was a nice way to say that it didn't have much. It was a testament to Elaine's frugality perhaps, to the fact that she had given up everything to raise her brother.

Auguste recalled vaguely about a conversation Finn and he had, likely after they had a drink or two. He mentioned that his sister could have gone anywhere, that she would have been able to make it wherever she goes. However, she decided to stay, for his sake, she stayed. Instead of her own future, she chose his. For that reason, Finn would never turn from his sister, no matter what. Whatever his sister said would be right, even if it's wrong. If it meant choosing between the world and Elaine, Finn would choose his sister without question.

As someone who ran away from his mother, Auguste could somewhat understand the lengths Finn would go to for his sister. After all, to put it coldly and bluntly, it wasn't Elaine who chose to have her brother. It was her parents. Finn was a burden she had no choice but to inherit after their parents passed away, a burden upon Elaine who would have been but a child back then.

After spending a moment in silence, another memory sparked within Auguste's mind. This too was a vague memory from a while back.

"You know, I just remembered, but I think Finn mentioned that you could play the lute," said Auguste.

"The lute?" Elaine turned towards Auguste, surprised that something from so long ago was brought up. It made her somewhat nostalgic as well. It was something from the good old days, when the family was whole and happy, still dreaming of finding a new life in the frontier.

"My father taught me to play a little, but I haven't played for a long time. We ended up selling the one he had to pay for his funeral."

"How much did a funeral cost anyways? I mean, around where I'm from, we just got everyone together and dug a hole."

"I don't exactly remember, but it wasn't cheap. The bastards in Wilmot made it expensive, from the coffin to the small piece of land where you bury the dead, it all needed to be paid for."

"Yep, sounds like something the Merchant's Guild would do. Stinkin' bastards," said Henrietta, the disgust in her voice could not be missed.

"Hey," said Auguste, "do you think you can find your father's lute here?"

"Here?" Elaine was confused for a moment before understanding what Auguste was talking about. "Right! Because it's a 'dream', it might be here."

"Where do you think you'd keep it? If you still have it I mean."

"Where *would* I keep it..." It did not take long for Elaine to figure that out. "Wait here, I'll go see if I can find it."

With that, Elaine lit a stick of candle and headed right upstairs. After some moments of hearing sounds of rummaging from above, Elaine eventually returned. In her hand, there was something covered in an old, dusty cloth. Removing the cloth, what lied beneath was, of course, an old lute, one that, while bearing a few scratches here and there, was still in perfectly playable condition.

"I'm a little out of practice but, shall I play a tune?" said Elaine, beaming a bright, excited, and almost childlike smile.

***

End of Chapter 81