It was midnight by the time everyone arrived at the stronghold. A part of Em wished that they chose to take her parents up on their offer to spend the night at Rudick's Hollow. They had a busy day, and while it was nice to be home, it was a long ride.
The exhaustion was seen in everyone's faces. Everyone was happy at the party, but as the adrenaline and happiness from defeating the Spectral Hand worn off, so did their energy. Even Piper, whom Em thought had limitless energy, was quiet.
Arkayna muttered a quick "night," before heading to her room, as did Malvaron and Doug. Zarya didn't even bother to do that, and simply carried Choko to her room as the foz slept in her arms.
Em grabbed a glass of milk and was just about to go to her room herself when she saw Piper sitting on the couch. The young elf was just staring into space, and Em couldn't tell if she was overtired or had something on her mind.
"You're still up?" Em asked.
"It's not like I have a bedtime or anything," Piper said.
"Hey, I'm not mad or anything," Em said, raising her arms in protest. "I'm just surprised, that's all. You're usually the first one to go to sleep."
"Good," Piper said as she's turned away for Em. "It's not like you're my mom or anything, so you can't make me go to bed."
Em realized what was wrong. "You miss your parents, don't you?"
"It's just not fair," Piper said, and while Piper wasn't looking at Em, it sounded as though the young elf begun to cry. "You had your parents and brothers, and Arkayna and Zarya had their mom, but I didn't have family to celebrate with."
A wave of guilt washed over Em. While Em was hugging her family, she was vaguely aware of Piper with Doug and Malvaron and Zarya and Arkayna with their mom, but didn't think anything of it. She didn't realize how lucky she was to still have her family.
"You miss them, don't you?" Em asked.
Piper nodded, and turned towards Em. "Sometimes. I'm usually fine, but when I see other people with their parents, I feel like it's unfair."
"I get it," Em said. "Losing family is hard."
"I was abandoned," Piper said quietly.
"What?" Em asked.
"After one show, someone approached my parents, offering them a role in a larger circus," Piper explained. "He said that one condition would be my parents leaving me behind."
"And they did," Em said.
"I tried to follow them," Piper said. "I begged them to stay, and promised I'll become a great performer, so our circus becomes famous. But they left me in the old circus anyway."
"And then what happened?" Em asked.
"The circus we were in took care of me for a bit," Piper said. "But one night, these weird bone-like structures surrounded me. When it cleared, the circus was gone, leaving me all alone."
"Do you think something happened to them?" Em asked.
"I did at first," Piper said. "But the more I think of it, the more I think that someone from the circus did that so they can leave me behind."
"What would make you think that?" Em said. "Why would you think that the circus abandoned you?"
"The ringleader, Cagim, always complained about how my parents left me with him," Piper said. "And we did have someone who was amazing at illusions."
"Piper, I'm sure that's not the case," Em said. She could believe that Piper's parents would leave her behind assuming their old circus would take care of her, though it did anger Em to think that Piper's parents would choose fame over their own daughter. But the idea of adult abandoning a child in such a cruel way was something Em couldn't comprehend.
"Then where did they go?" Piper asked. "And why didn't they find me? I mean, everyone knows that we're Mysticons now, so we're not that hard to find."
Em pulled Piper into a hug. "I don't know, Piper. But you do have a family now. You have me, Arkayna, and Zarya."
"Zarya has a real family now," Piper said.
"That doesn't matter," Em said. "I know she still sees you as a sister, just like Arkayna sees Proxima as a sister."
"Pinky promise?" Piper said, extending her pinky out.
Em smiled and wrapped her pinky around Piper's. "Piper promise."
Piper wiped her tears. "Thanks."
"Anytime." Em yawned. "Well, I know I can't tell you what to do, but I'm heading to bed, and maybe you should to."
"Yeah, I guess you're right. 'Night, Em."
Em smiled. "'Night, sis."
Em watched as Piper headed to her room before heading to her own bedroom. Along the way, she saw Zarya coming down.
"Is everything alright?" Zarya asked. "I just saw Piper going to her room, but she's normally in bed earlier than us."
"Everything's fine now," Em said. "Though maybe tomorrow, you should have some sister time with Piper. I think she could use it."
Zarya looked confused for a moment, but then a look of realization came over her. "That sounds good. Thanks."
"Anytime," Em said. She thought about telling Zarya about Piper's parents, but decided against it. If Piper wants Zarya, or anyone else, to know, she figured that should be her choice to make.