^ew, fish yuck!^
^they're so slimey and gross!^

but mr. marakan's twin daughters aren't much fun at all anyway. mara and tara just like to sit around and play with dolls.

elly feels a tug on her line. carefully, just like daddy showed her, elly reels it in. the little fish wriggles like mad, splashing water everywhere.

ten minutes later elly is showing off her catch to her parents and dripping water on the kitchen floor. mommy seems more impressed, and annoyed, at the quantity of water elly's dress can drip onto her clean floor.

"elly!" mommy sounds angry, "you're absolutely soaked! and your dress! i just washed it! go upstairs to your room this instant and her changed into a dry set of clothes before you catch your death a cold."

elly moves to obey but her father stops her for a moment. "i'd better take your fish first, sweetie," he says, taking her catch. in a whisper, he adds, "nice catch!"

koh grins annoyingly with his mouth half full of toast. elly counters by sticking her tongue out at him.

"elly!"

she quickens her steps to her room.

"i swear, harry, she's got too much of you in her," emma says as her husband cleans their daughter's fish. "i'm worried she's going to turn out pure tomboy and not be able to make friends with other girls her age."

"if she wasn't punished for the rest of the morning, she'd be down here helping cook her catch. isn't cooking one of those 'girl' skills?" harry replies, "and where would she be that there are girls her age she doesn't already know? new families don't move in often."

"you know i'd like to see them go to greenleaf acadamy when they're old enough..."

"and you know i don't see any purpose in that! no fancy school can teach them any better how to run an inn than you or i can. neither of us ever went to a fancy collage. do you think we didn't turn out good enough? besides, i need them here," harry rattles off the same reasoning as always.

emma sighs. she wants her children to have better oppertunities in life than just this simple little inn, but she doesn't like to create trouble in her family so she doesn't argue further. after all, it is still a little while before elly is old enough.

"'the power they provid is.. magik. each run - rune provids for mag-ik-all powers. but the a-a-an-" elly looks to her mother for help on that word.

"ancient," mommy prompts.

"ancient mag-ik-an crow-ly fond a method of surp-assing teachings," elly reads out loud slowly.

"good!" mommy says when she finished the sentence. "That's enough reading for tonight. tomorrow we can finish." mommy puts the book away on the shelf and tucks elly in, but she didn't close the lantern or kiss her goodnight immediatly like she usually does. "elly," mommy asks. "what do you want to be when you grow up?"

elly is surprised at the question. she always assumed she would be an innkeep like mommy and daddy. she has never thought about anything else. "i-i don't know, mommy," she answers. "probably an innkeep like you and daddy."

for some reason, her answer makes mommy frown for a moment. then mommy kisses her on the forehead, picks up the lantern, and leaves, with the door open a crack for light.