Notes: I miss having time to do fun stuff. Living at a hotel during a business trip is not amusing! I also miss my family and fiance a lot...

Nah wasn't proud of the fact that she was the youngest looking of her peers, as it made some people look down on her. And yet meeting her parents was worse, as all their peers looked down on them as if they were children as well. She wasn't tricked by Nowi, of course, but Ricken was indeed a kid among the adult Shepherds.

"Bet you can't balance an egg on a spoon!" her mother started while in the empty mess tent.

"I agree, I can't," her father admitted. "But I can make it so it seems I'm taking either out of your ear."

Nah glanced up from her meal, trying to mask her interest with a serious face. Her father almost had the egg and spoon fall to the floor, as her mother was bouncing up and down too much for this magic trick.

"I don't feel them coming out of my ear," Nowi protested. "Are you doing it correctly?"

"It doesn't actually come out of your ear, it just seems that way," Ricken explained kindly. "If it came out of your ear, I'd be more concerned than when you told me... Mhmp!"

Suddenly, his wife had tackled him and covered his mouth with both hands, eyeing Nah warily. "Not here!"

"Wait, what?" Nah said, a bit startled by the suspicious event. "Do you two have a secret so bad, it can't be shared in this empty tent?"

"It's not empty, you are here with us," Nowi answered, not minding being impolite.

"Is that so? You can't share your secret with me either?"

"Nope."

Nah smirked. "What about we play a guessing game, mother? I know you love games, so let's play for a while..."

Ricken saw through her ruse immediately, but Nowi seriously considered it for a minute before nodding. "Sure, Nah! I love it when you are playful, you should do it more often."

"Yes, I know." And she honestly tried, but a lifetime of keeping herself apart was not easily shaken away. "Sooo... I will try to guess something about you, alright?"

"This is going to be interesting," Ricken muttered, leaning on the table as his wife took the bait hook, line and sinker.

"I'm ready when you are!" Nowi exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Is your secret something about your age?"

Her mother grinned. "I knew you wouldn't let the secret topic drop. And no!"

Nah sighed. "Is it about your health?"

"Yes."

And she went all out: "Are you pregnant?"

Her father started chocking on air, but her mother just giggled. "Yes! Well done, Nah, you amaze me with your smarts!"

"What," she deadpanned. "Are you serious now?"

"Yes, I am!"

She looked at her father, who nodded. "Yes, she is." He was trying very hard not to blush.

"Well... I can't tease you with accusations of you marrying for honor again," she conceded, then tackled both her parents to hug them very tightly.