Day 10

“Can you feel it, Estella? Can you feel the gentle flow of time?” Cassie asked.

“Currently all I feel is that I’m hungry…” Estella yammered.

“Estella, come now. You wanted to become a nun at our church, right?” Cassie said, a little sternly.

“I do!” Estella said.

“Then pay attention. How can you hope to become a nun of time if you don’t at least make an attempt to feel time,” Cassie said.

“She is right, you know,” came Lavini’s sudden voice. She had just entered the living room with the same gentle smile on her face as she usually had.

“Mother!” Estella cheered, hopping off the couch to hug the hourglass time elemental.

Cassie gave a sigh of relief and approached her lover. “You’re back,” she said.

“I am. Forgive me for staying away for so long,” Lavini said.

“What took you so long?” Estella asked.

“Your cheerfulness happened, my little grain of sand. It was inspiring to me, and I have tried taking it to heart. You have helped me reconcile with some of my own baggage,” Lavini explained.

“I did? I mean, I did! I’m the best, right?” Estella laughed.

“You would be if you finally started focusing on feeling time,” Cassie laughed, rubbing her hand on Estella’s head and ruffling up the girl’s hair.

“Hey!” Estella complained.

Day 11

“So… do you still think the same way you did before Estella came to live with us, Akita?” Bridget asked. They were strolling hand in hand through the park and they tried their best to ignore some of the stares they were given, especially by a lot of the men but by some of the women too.

“Alright, I will admit, I’ve been slowly changing my mind. Seeing how much fun Estella seems to be for Cassie and Lavini…” Akita said.

Bridget grinned. “I still maintain that I think you’d be a good mother yourself,” she said.

“Perhaps… I just don’t really see myself going to an orphanage somewhere to adopt a child,” Akita said. “Estella kind of fell into our lap and I’m not sure we’ll get another person like that.”

“Perhaps not… but who knows what the future will hold, right?” Bridget mused.

“True, true. For now though, I think it’s more important that we begin planning for the next new year’s eve. It’s fast approaching after all,” Akita said.

“That’s right… I had almost forgotten!” Bridget gasped.

“How can you forget about it? It was YOUR idea to organize a big new year’s eve party at the church!” Akita laughed.

“I know! I just… what with Estella… and the church opening… and Lavini… and Cassie…” Bridget stammered.

“Excuses! You’re not avoiding my ridicule that easily.” Akita teased.

“Noooo,” Bridget yelped, blushing madly.

“Alright, I’m sorry,” Akita said, still giggling. “It’s gonna be exciting though! We’ll finally get to ring that centennial bell.”

“Right! I really wonder what it’ll sound like,” Bridget pondered out loud when their thoughts were interrupted by quite the commotion going on up ahead. Curiously, they wandered closer, only to find that it was just a bunch of construction workers preparing for the midsummer festival. It had initially been a Nipshonian tradition but over the years, it had slowly gained traction in New Stepolis as more and more cultures kinda blended together.

“Right, that’s a thing,” Akita commented.

“You think we should attend?” Bridget proposed.

“Maybe…” Akita answered hesitantly. She had never really been one to enjoy large crowds.

“In yukata?” Bridget proposed, trying her best to wiggle her eyebrows suggestively but failing miserably in the process.

“Heh… you’re making it more appealing… I’ll think about it. I bet Estella will get a kick out of it though. She should be done growing by the time the festival happens,” Akita said.

“Right, we’ll have to bring it up then when we get back,” Bridget nodded.

“And begin planning the new year’s party?” Akita asked.

“... And begin planning the new year’s party…” Bridget repeated, blushing again.

Day 12

Estella wandered into Akita’s lab, her eyes wide with disbelief. She didn’t say a word yet. All she did was just… stare ahead of herself.

“Ah… good morning, Gigabyte! What’s up?” Akita asked, who was just taking some time for herself. She could see that Estella had grown considerably since yesterday. There were also tell-tale signs that the young girl had started her puberty since there were now two small but noticeable bumps in her shirt.

Estella stared at her aunt in silence, still with those huge eyes. It made Akita feel quite awkward until finally, the pink-haired girl spoke up. “... that story you told me… about the stork… that was false, wasn’t it?” she said, as if she had just learned of some great government conspiracy.

Akita just burst out into laughter.

Day 13

The current time is… 12:34:18…?” Estella said questioningly.

“Good, good, that is correct. You really have improved,” Lavini smiled.

“Phew,” Estella sighed. “Can I go now? I wanna go out!”

Lavini laughed. “Very well,” she said.

“Yes!” Estella cheered. She jumped off the couch and began running for the stairs that led up to the main church.

“So long as you remember to keep a low profile and stick close to your mom. We do not want people to begin questioning things about you, after all,” Lavini called after her.

“I know, I know,” Estella sighed. “Cya later, mother!” She had felt so cooped up inside of the church for so long. Today, she was finally going to leave it and see the city for herself!

At the front door, she ran into her other mom, Cassie. “Hi mom! Let’s go!” Estella said.

“Hold on, young lady!” Cassie said sternly.

“Oh come on, what is it now? I did my lessons, and mother said I was allowed to go out,” Estella stammered.

“I know… but you are not going out without shoes,” Cassie said, pointing at the excited girl’s bare feet.

Estella looked down and blushed madly. In her hurry, she had kind of forgotten about that. “I’ll… go get them,” she said and rushed back again, much to Cassie’s own amusement.

Day 14

Dear diary,

When I bought you yesterday, I wasn’t really sure I was gonna use you at all but mom said it would be a good idea so here we are. What are you even supposed to write in a diary? Mother told me that it’s as if you’re writing a letter to a friend, talking about your day. So… here I go, I guess?

Well, let me start by writing about yesterday. I didn’t do that yesterday because I just crashed into bed right away when we got home. I had so much fun going out into the city! I can’t wait to do that more often! There are so many different kinds of people out there. Humans like me, orcs, dwarves, elves. I even saw a dryad. I didn’t think dryads would come anywhere near big cities!

But as fun as yesterday was, today was kinda dull. Just more lessons about time from my mothers and my aunts. I know it’s important if I want to become a proper member of the church but I really don’t like sitting still all day… 

I did get to go up into the main church again afterwards at least. While there, I saw someone. I don’t know who he was but his eyes were very pretty… I hope he didn’t catch me staring! Who knows, maybe he’ll show up again at the church soon? o.o

Aaaaanyway, there’s some things I have a lot of questions about. I don’t think I can get answers from a diary like you but I can still write them down at least. I was supposedly someone else before and I wanted to start life anew. Everybody tells me that I didn’t want to remember who I was before so… I guess I don’t want to either but it does make you wonder what would drive someone to want to forget all of that. Did my previous self do horrible things they want to forget? Or do they really just want to change things up a little? Heck, I don’t even know if I was a girl before or not. That’s kinda strange to think about. I guess it doesn’t matter since I am Estella now and that’s that but I have been a bit curious… 

Oh! I completely forgot to write about everyone at the church! So, first, there’s of course my mothers, Lavini and Cassiopeia. I love them <3 but they can be a bit overbearing at times. Mom (Cassie) especially. She can be quite stern. I still shudder thinking back to how she scolded me when I accidentally broke a clock in the living room…  well then don’t put that clock on an uneven table!

Mother (Lavini) is more relaxed about things. She’s a noblewoman! Which… does that make me a noblewoman as well?! Wow, I never even thought about that until now. I don’t feel particularly noble. Still, ‘Lady Estella’ does have a nice ring to it. Mother does always insist I raise a pinky if I’m sipping tea and I never really got the point of that. She says it’ll make me more sophisticated… whatever that means. Now… I said mother was more relaxed but she can sometimes be even more hectic than mom. I know why that is now at least. She told me about her own ‘mother’ the other day and… wow. Poor mother… Maybe I should buy something nice for her next time I go out into the city?

Then there’s aunt Bridget and aunt Akita. They’re great fun! Aunt Bridget is so good at dancing but I think she’s cheating with that clockwork body of hers… Then again, everybody assured me that she was already good at dancing before her transformation as well. (I wonder what everybody looked like before they transformed, come to think of it). Aunt Bridget also seems to be the most devout follower of the goddess of time. She usually takes on the leader position together with Lavini too and everybody listens to her. I hope I can be like her someday.

Aunt Akita is great fun! I think I can understand maybe half of her technobabble but that doesn’t make it any less fun to talk to her. She also made me that apple catching game which… I did get bored of after some time but it was a nice gesture. I hope she can make me another game. Or maybe she can teach me how to make one myself? That would be neat! Aunt Akita can be a little weird sometimes but I don’t think that’s a bad thing, even if she seems to think that it is sometimes.

I think that’s about it. There’s the automata around the church but they’re not really conversational partners, and there are so many different people coming to the church every day that it would be impossible to describe them all. So… yeah.

I heard that in three days, there will be a festival going on which we’re going to attend. Also, in four days, I will be done with my growth spurt. It would be nice to no longer be all secretive about me to the outside world. I know it’s for my own good and all but… you know.

Anywho, I think that’s about as much as I wanted to write for now. I gotta say, now that I have written all of this down… it does feel nice. I understand why mom talked me into buying you. So yeah, thanks mom, and thank you diary for listening to me. Cya tomorrow!

XXX

Estella <3

Day 15

“The duties of a nun extend beyond mere knowledge of time, Estella. There are several things that need taking care of around the church. One must be ready to step in when there are troubles among the guests and of course, Bridget, Akita, and Lavini will occasionally require your help as well during mass,” Cassie explained as she was walking around the main chapel with her daughter.

“Is there trouble often?” Estella asked.

“Sometimes. Most people will stick to the rules and if they don’t, then the automata will usually take care of them. However, that only happens if people come into places they are not supposed to for instance. Very occasionally, guests will just misbehave and harass others. Then you as a nun can step in and, if necessary, kick out the culprits,” Cassie said. There was something about the tone of her voice that seemed to suggest she secretly enjoyed doing that last part.

Estella was about to ask her next question when they both noticed some commotion happening somewhere near the far side of the church. “Is this one of those moments, mom?” Estella asked.

“It looks like it… let’s go,” Cassie said sternly. The two then hurried on over to the scene. Once there, they noticed a girl who looked just a little older than Estella must have been, surrounded by three tall guys.

“Come on, we just wanna talk with ya, baby,” one of them said.

“Yeah, don’t be so rude to us,” the second said while the third just chuckled menacingly.

“Please… leave me alone… I’m just here to thank the goddess…” the girl whimpered softly but her pleas went unheard by the men.

“Well, then let’s pray together. Just the four of us,” the first guy said again.

“OKAY, THAT’S ENOUGH OF THAT! LEAVE THAT POOR GIRL ALONE!” Cassie yelled sternly, causing all three guys to gasp.

“Fuck, it’s the nun!” the second guy shouted, while the third just just made some uncomfortable noises. It made Estella wonder whether he was even able to talk at all.

“Pssh! What’s one nun and one teenager going to do against three of us?” The first guy said, buffing himself up and standing at least two feet taller in height than Cassie.

Estella winced. “Look out, mom!” she called out, ducking and hoping that a fight would not break out.

Cassie however, remained unfazed and stared daggers at the man in front of her. Then, she reached out for the man’s right ear and pinched it so hard that the man couldn’t help but buckle over forwards and yelp out in pain. With ease, the nun was able to pull the man down to her level and subdue him. “Get. Out.” she hissed.

“I’m not fucking with that!” the second guy yelped and ran off, the third guy trailing behind him.

“Let me go, you crazy nun!” the first guy cried but there was nothing he could do against Cassie. Estella had never seen her mom do something so brave and strong.

“I’m going to take care of this guy. Estella, please check on the girl and make sure she is okay,” Cassie said before heading off with the guy in tow.

“Wow…” was all Estella could say as she watched her mom be the biggest badass she had ever seen. She definitely had to ask her how she did that, with the ear pinch… but for now there were more important matters to attend to. She turned around to look at the girl, who was just sitting on the bench trying to collect herself again. “Are you okay?” Estella asked.

“Oh… thank you, thank you, thank you… I don’t know what I would have done if it weren’t for you...” the girl said.

Estella came to sit next to the girl and put up a smile. “They’re gone now at least, and at least here inside, you can bet that my mom and I will protect people against those dicks,” Estella cheered.

“That was your mom? She was brave,” the girl said in awe.

“Yep! My mom’s the best, right?” Estella grinned. “What’s your name, anyway?”

“Ah… I’m Dawnyte,” the girl smiled.

“I’m Estella. Nice to meet you!” Estella said, sticking out her hand.

“Nice to meet you too,” Dawnyte replied, shaking her hand

“Is this your first time here?” Estella asked.

“Yep! I’ve had to sail here from Kelahili. A faraway island over the mermaid empire of Listanta,” Dawnyte explained.

“Wow! Then what brought you all the way here?” Estella pondered.

“Well, long story short… there’s an annual mermaid uh… festival? Ritual? Both I guess… a mermaid party in spring where they honor the goddess of time. Though it happens underwater, they make air bubbles for us islanders to come and watch. I asked some mermaid friends of mine why they hold this party and they mentioned how there is an underwater temple of Alinavious,” Dawnyte explained.

“There’s a church there too?! I wonder if mother knows about that,” Estella mused to herself.

“Uhuh!” Dawnyte nodded excitedly. “However… it’s been closed off since… well, you know.”

“Right… I know,” Estella nodded. It actually surprised her how much of a painful jab it felt to be reaffirmed that the goddess was in fact dead…

“Anyway, when I heard about this church opening here, I just had to come so I can tell the mermaids all about it when I get back! They… couldn’t exactly join me up on land after all,” Dawnyte continued.

“That’s so cool!” Estella grinned. “I bet mother will like to hear that as well!”

The two girls talked among themselves for some time more. Estella mentioned how she was adopted by Cassie and Lavini but conveniently left out further details of her origins. Dawnyte talked a little more about the island life, and how she thought it was way too cold here in New Stepolis, even though it was the middle of summer! Estella talked about what life was like in the church. Dawnyte told Estella all about mermaids, since the latter had never seen them before. They talked until Cassie finally returned with a smug grin on her face.

“Estella, come. There is much more I wanted to tell you,” she said.

“Ah… coming mom!” Estella said, jumping to her feet.

“I hope my Estella didn’t talk your ears off your head?” Cassie asked.

“Oh, not at all, ma’am! I believe I was the one talking her ears off,” Dawnyte replied, giggling.

“Oh dear, and she already has trouble listening to me,” Cassie joked.

“Hey!” Estella gasped, blushing madly, which only caused Cassie and Dawnyte to burst out laughing.

“In any case, I hope you are doing well after that?” Cassie asked.

“Yes, I am. Thank you for stepping in,” Dawnyte said, bowing her head slightly.

“Will I see you again?” Estella asked.

“Heh, I hope so. Maybe not here though. Come visit me sometime? Remember, Kelahili island,” Dawnyte said.

“I’ll keep that in mind!” Estella cheered before finally joining her mom again. Her smile just couldn’t be larger. After all, she'd made her first friend.

Day 16

“Alright! So, we have several things on our to-do list for the new year’s party, and we have 5 months, 13 days, 11 hours, 54 minutes and 23 seconds to do it until the party starts,” Bridget said. She had gathered everyone in the living room and was standing next to a small chalk board on which she had scribbled several bullet points.

“If we want this party to become a success, all of us are going to have to do our parts. Everyone agrees on that?” Bridget continued.

“Of course, Bridget dear,” Lavini nodded.

“I will, my Terabyte,” Akita cheered with a wink.

“Naturally,” Cassie said, bowing her head.

“Me too?” Estella asked.

“Yes, you too, Estella,” Bridget smiled.

“Neat,” Estella said. She had been wanting to feel more important within the church after all. This was her chance to prove herself!

“First of all, the centennial bell. I’m still trying to figure out how to hook it up to the church’s clockwork systems. There’s something curious about this bell that I have yet to figure out. It’s almost as if it has a mind of its own,” Bridget said.

“Perhaps it is worth it to approach an expert on this matter?” Lavini proposed.

“You’re probably right. Since my transformation, I’ve gotten in contact with several clocksmiths around town so hopefully they’ll be able to help,” Bridget nodded. “Second on the list, entertainment.”

“I’m working on a prototype for a game system. I will have to work hard to bring that to fruition in time though,” Akita said.

“Alright. Just don’t over do it, Aki,” Bridget smiled.

“Of course, my Terabyte,” Akita nodded.

“Third, food. Obviously, we can’t exactly make the food right now but we will need food stands that need to be constructed and will require enough food for the amount of guests that we’ll be expecting,” Bridget listed.

“I will do my best to approach different people and ask them to come to our party. I will make sure that we have a variety of different kitchens at our disposal,” Lavini said.

“Great, Lavini! Then next on the list are the decorations. We still have to buy that and then set it all up of course,” Bridget continued.

“I will look into hiring people to do that for us as the time approaches. Naturally, I can help decorate as well myself,” Cassie said.

“Fantastic! Then, the last important task on our list would be advertisements. Obviously, the people will have to be notified of the fact that we’re holding this party in the first place. Aside from calling it out in the church as the date approaches, we’ll need to make posters and hang them up around the city, after getting clearance to do so,” Bridget said.

Estella stood up at that. “I guess I can do that!” she said.

“Are you sure you’re up for that, Estella dear?” Lavini asked.

“Advertising can be a lot of work, and the city is large,” Cassie said.

“Yeah, I can do that! I just… don’t know how to make a poster,” Estella chuckled nervously. She was not going to be deterred here.

Bridget laughed. “Don’t worry about that. We can hire someone to make that poster. You will then go out to ask the city guard if it’s okay to hang up posters, and then, well, spread them around.”

“Easy peasy!” Estella cheered. How hard could it be, right?

“Very well then. Of course, there are going to be smaller things that will come up as the time approaches but for now, I think these are the most important parts,” Bridget said.

“Actually, I would like to bring up the matter of the last three divine trinkets we still have in our possession,” Lavini commented. “There is a good chance that we might find another chosen at this party, and if we do we are probably going to attract a lot of attention.”

“Ah, good point, Gigabyte. What do you propose we do?” Akita asked.

“It might be wise to have the items on display somewhere to see if we get any resonance with any of the guests,” Lavini proposed.

“But… that will make the church a little more attractive to thieves as well,” Cassie said.

“Can’t the automata defend against that?” Estella asked.

“They can but professional thieves wouldn’t be that obvious. We’ll need to take extra precautions if we are going to keep the trinkets on display. Maybe we can mix in some lesser artifacts to obfuscate the display. Either way, someone will have to be present to keep an eye out on things at all times,” Bridget said.

“We could alternate. I don’t think any of us will want to stay by that display case throughout the entire night,” Akita proposed.

“Yeah! We’ll make those thieves think twice before they try and steal the clock thingies!” Estella said.

“Sounds good. We’ll have to think of extra precautions as time goes on. For now, though, I think that’s about it,” Bridget said with a smile.

“Yeah. We got a different festival to think about happening tomorrow,” Akita chuckled.

Day 17

The midsummer festival was very exciting. Exciting and incredibly busy with people. There were so many different activities and things around. There were rides, game stands, food stalls, and even a podium where some kind of transformation show was taking place.

Bridget and Akita were both wearing yukata and had decided to wander around the festival on their own, agreeing to meet back up again when the fireworks were going to start later that night. Meanwhile, Estella and her mothers remained together. Lavini had insisted that Estella and Cassie dress up in something fancy as well and so they were both wearing satin (even though Estella thought it didn’t suit her all that well).

Estella took everything in. All of these different people coming together sure was a sight to behold. She saw people having a contest on who could drink the most beer before passing out. She saw a big, muscular man being turned into a bunny up on the stage. She saw a raven haired girl defend a pair of twins from an angry man before the latter got taken away by the city guards. There was so much and Estella loved every moment of it.

Of course, Lavini’s glass body attracted quite a lot of attention. It didn’t really give the family of three all that much privacy but it did ensure that people stepped out of the way for them. However, they were also approached quite a lot by people who either knew them from the church, or who just wanted to get a closer look. Seeing as Estella’s mother and her two aunts were the only time elementals in existence as far as they knew, this was to be expected. Estella sure didn’t mind talking to some of the cute boys they came across, much to the dismay of her mom Cassie.

When the time for the fireworks show was finally approaching, Cassie went off to look for Akita and Bridget while Estella and Lavini looked for a place they could claim for themselves.

“This looks like a good spot!” Estella said, pointing to a grassy area by the water. There was a barge on this lake from which the fireworks show would take place.

“Excellent,” Lavini smiled and sat down carefully.

Estella just plopped herself down next to her and looked around at all of the different people that were slowly seating themselves around the water as well.

“Estella, dear?” Lavini asked, a little quieter.

“Yes, mother?” Estella replied.

“I have been meaning to ask and I would like your honest answer. Are you… happy with us?” she asked.

The question came so out of the blue and Estella certainly wasn’t expecting it. “Why do you ask?”

Lavini chuckled. “Tomorrow, you will be 18 years of age. You will stop growing at an accelerated rate. I would like to know… if we did a good job as your mothers,” she asked.

“Well, yeah!” Estella cheered. “I think I can count myself lucky to have you and mom as my parents!”

Lavini looked over her daughter as tears of sand left her eyes. “Thank you, Estella dear. I… am happy to hear that,” she said.

“Aww, mother, you’re making me blush…” Estella said, looking away for a moment.

Lavini chuckled and wrapped her arm around Estella. “I consider myself very lucky to have you as my daughter,” she spoke softly.

Estella’s blushing only got worse from that and so she was thankful for the fact that Cassie had reappeared again with Bridget and Akita in tow, right as the first of the fireworks went up into the air.

Yes… Estella was very happy to be a part of this family.

Day 18

Estella tugged on her clothing. Just that morning, as a celebration for her reaching the end of her accelerated growth, Lavini, Akita, and Bridget had granted her the title of nun of time. Of course, Estella was very happy to have achieved this honor. She just had to get used to this new outfit of hers. She was also very glad that she no longer had to be all that careful about appearing in front of people.

But there was something that did bother her. She had tried to hide it and force it back but she had written about it in her diary almost every day now. She had mulled it over so often in her head but she didn’t want to ask those questions out loud. She didn’t want her parents to worry about her after all. However, today, she couldn’t really contain it anymore. And so, after her mother’s mass had ended, she asked her and her mom together.

“Mom, mother, I wanna know… Who was I?” Estella asked.

Cassie and Lavini looked at each-other, both nodding. “We… had kind of figured that you would still be curious after we told you,” Cassie said.

“We simply did not want to ask you straight up and instead chose to wait for you to come forward with it yourself,” Lavini said.

“I… you’re not mad I didn’t ask you sooner?” Estella asked.

“Why would we be mad at you for that?” Cassie asked.

“Huh… I don’t know actually,” Estella admitted.

“Now, Estella dear, we have made a promise. A promise that we intend to keep. I am afraid that we cannot tell you who you were or what you were like,” Lavini said.

“But… but you made that promise to me and I wanna know…” Estella said.

“We made the promise to who you were. Not who you are now,” Cassie corrected.

Estella sighed. “So I’m not gonna get to know at all?” she yammered.

“Now Estella. We promised that we would not tell you anything. However, that is why I had arranged for something,” Lavini continued.

“Arranged for what?” Estella questioned, sounding hopeful.

Lavini then nodded to Cassie, who stood up and went over to a nearby shelf from which she retrieved a sealed envelope.

“We had asked your previous self to write you a letter,” Cassie said.

Estella gasped. “That’s… for me?” she asked.

“Your previous self wished to never read this but never made us promise not to give it to you,” Lavini said.

Estella carefully took the envelope in hand, as if she had just been given a precious treasure. “This… details me, huh,” Estella asked.

“No. It details who you were. Not who you are,” Lavini said.

“R-right…” Estella said.

“We have talked it over several times together. We feel that you are free to read this if you feel ready for it but we would also like to warn you. What you will read in this letter might end up changing you, or it might not. There’s no telling of course. All we wish is for you to be happy,” Cassie said.

“Regardless of what you decide to do with this letter, we will support you,” Lavini said.

Estella looked over the envelope and to her mothers. She could open this letter right now and satiate her curiosity. She would finally have her answer to the questions that had been plaguing her.

But… doing so could irrevocably change her. Suppose she found out that she used to be a crime boss? Or that she had caused a terrible accident? She would be filled with guilt for the rest of her life… and even if not, what would she think about her family here? There were so many unknowns here… perhaps it actually was a safer option not to open this letter?

“I… don’t think I want to read this… not yet, at least,” Estella said eventually. “Thank you for giving this to me though.”

Both Cassie and Lavini leaned in to give their daughter a tight hug, which she eagerly returned. Perhaps letting go of the past truly was the best option for Estella Providence.