"Ok," Oz said in a slight daze. He and Gilbert were riding back to the Rainsworth manor after winning an epic arm wrestling battle to gain back Gilbert's hat. They had discovered that both Alice and Break had mysteriously disappeared having only Emily as a clue to what happened. "Well at least we got your hat back..."
Gilbert just continued looking out the window.
Oz, getting no initial reply, decided to continue his conversation. "Aida gave you that hat huh?"
"Yeah" was the minor reply given by the raven.
"Ok then," Oz said gaining momentum on the conversation. "Can I ask you why my little sister gave you a hat?"
"Well she-"
"What did you do to her Gil?!" Oz asked teasingly.
Gilbert turned bright red. "N-nothing! I swear!"
"You don't have to hide it from me. Why'd she give you the hat, Gil?" He asked with a devilish smile
" Oz, it's not important."
"Yes it is! We just spent all day looking for it just because she gave it to you! Wanna tell me why?"
Gil sighed, "If I tell you will you stop bugging me?"
Oz nodded eagerly.
"Ok fine. It was a gift, as you know from your sister, young Ms. Aida. You see, when I was adopted by the Nightrays I felt as though I had betrayed the Vessalius house. In fact I knew I had. A few years after my adoption, when I was about 19, Ms. Aida spotted me in town. I tried not to let her see me but she did, and grabbed hold of my hand. I hadn't seen her for years. She had grown so much since your ceremony. Anyway, I told her we couldn't be seen together. She seemed upset at the fact I had presented to her but managed to maintain a cheerful disposition. She told me it was okay that she couldn't see me but if we had to be apart she wanted to give me something to remind me that to her I was always part of the family, that I could always come back. That's when she gave me this hat. She said that no matter how I aged or what I became she could recognize me by this hat, a symbol if my belonging." He let out a heavy breath. " That a good enough explanation?"
Oz beamed and nodded thankful for their brief conversation distracting them from the current situation. They rode the rest of the way to the Rainsworth manor in an anxious silence, fearful of the meeting to come.