It doesn’t take you much time to realise that Waffle’s new favourite room, without a doubt, is the Hall of Knowledge. They insist on spending most of their time there and, this time, they ask for your help with building a “fort”.

“We can do it like this!!” Waffle exclaims, holding a large papyrus scroll over their head. “We just gotta put these on top of those biiig stone slabs and we’re done!!!”

You know you really shouldn’t be messing with invaluable, ancient scrolls and tablets… but how could you say no to a face like that?

Together, Waffle and you build, well… it’s a flimsy tent more than a “fort”, but you suppose it will do. At first, you half-expect Waffle to throw it all together using their telekinetic powers but, instead, they seem to rely on you to lift them up and down.

Maybe their powers really are gone for good now, you consider, but quickly dismiss the thought when you catch a stone slab slipping, threatening to majorly squash your foot.

Screams, laughter, giggles. Those are the sounds that make up most of your activities. However, every once in a while, you notice Waffle breaking out into song. The tune reverberates across the Hall, deep and even mournful, so odd coming out of Waffle. You are about to inquire after it when, suddenly, you notice Paul has walked into the room. Immediately, Waffle launches themselves into his arms.

“PAUL!!! HELLO!!!”

“Woah, hey there pal! You doing okay?”

“NANCY AND I BUILT A FORT!!!”

“I can see that!”

He looks up at you and smiles that sweet, dorky smile of his. You nod towards the fort.

“We were about to inaugurate it. Care to join us?”

“Absolutely,” he says. “But before that…”

It is only now that you notice Paul is carrying a single red rose in his hands. He gifts it to you, and you feel your face burning up. “Paul!” You exclaim, almost lost for words. “This, this is so sweet. Where did you even get this?”

“Oh, a friend hooked me up,” he says. And then, reading the confusion written all across your face: “A big, plant-based Guardian friend. In the Great Hall.”

You chuckle at this. You’re still not very familiar with Guardian Sires Plant, but find it pretty funny that he’d be trying to help Paul with his love life. Although it’s not like he’s needed too much help until now. “Ah, I see,” you say. “Well, thank you!”

“No problem,” Paul says, and shuffling around a little awkwardly. But luckily, Waffle is here to shake him up:

“FORT!!!!” Yells Waffle.

“FORT!!” Paul yells back.

Together, you gather inside the makeshift tent and make idle conversation. Paul starts by asking Waffle how their chat with Sadiki went, and you watch as Waffle’s face goes red. Apparently, they’re just seeing where things go for now.

“But he doesn’t mind that I’m scary!!!” They say, beaming. “I mean, he’s not scared of me!! Well, he is… But not really scared of me!!!”

“Alright, that’s… good?” Paul says, a little doubtful, but Waffle’s vigorous nodding seems to reassure him that he said the right thing. Then, Paul looks at you meaningfully. You smirk.

“Just seeing where things go… that doesn’t sound half bad.”

Now it’s Paul’s turn to blush. He turns red, and gives you a little nod. “It doesn’t, does it?”

And, as he says that, you can already envision it: an eternity like this, travelling from Library to Library, hanging around with Paul and taking care of Waffle. No more music lessons. No more small gigs. No more Leeds, or David, or just drifting through life with everything spinning out of control. I mean, things would still be spinning out of your control here, you suppose. But it would be different. You know it would.

While you’re lost in thought, you feel Paul’s hand on your, and smile as he give it a little squeeze. It’s still kind of clammy, but not as bad as it was in the mural room with the fire trap, thankfully.

Pleased, you turn back to Waffle. No matter how cute Paul is, the child’s song from before is still bothering you, and you’re not going to throw away your chance to learn about Ancient Egyptian music. “By the way, that was a very pretty song you were singing before. Where did you learn it?”

“Oh, I heard it from my uncle, Iumeri!!”

…What?!

Waffle gives you an innocent smile. You and Paul look at each other, wide-eyed. Could this “uncle” be who you think it is? That mysterious scholar? It would make for a compelling drama, at least: two brothers at odds, one erasing the other from history.

“Your… uncle?” You ask, cautious.

“Yep!! He sang it a lot around the library! And I just sorta picked it up. Why??”

“We just didn’t know you had an uncle,” Paul says.

“Um, yeah,” says Waffle, suddenly a bit quieter. “But we didn’t really talk much. I was just….. around.”

“In his library?” You ask.

“Yes!!”

“And what did you do around there?” Paul asks, trying to sound as casual as possible.

“Um… I helped him with his writing, mostly!! There were things I could do and he couldn’t, like talking to snakes and so on. Although my father didn’t really like me doing that…”

“Snakes like the Serpent?”

Waffle thinks. “I suppose!!”

You recall stories Paul has told you, those of children at a place called “Amar’s Bookshop” who could not only see Guardians, unlike the adults there, but had befriended Waffle. And then, suddenly, it all makes sense. The Guardians were visiting Iumeri’s library, Hetepheres saw them, and then began telling her uncle about them! That’s why there’s a huge mural depicting the Guardians hidden within the tomb! That’s why Iumeri was erased from history as a heretic! You look at Paul, the same expression of realization plastered all over his face.

Now, there’s just one question left to answer…

“And what were the Guardians doing in your uncle’s library?”

Waffle blinks at you, confused.

“Were they looking for anything, Waffle?” Paul asks, trying his best to clarify what you meant.

Then Waffle swivels their head towards Paul and asks, with complete and utter honesty:

“Who is Waffle?”

Your blood turns to ice. For a moment you wonder if they’re joking, but the look of confusion on the child’s face is far too great for this to be a prank. But then, you begin to connect the dots: the death of Waffle’s powers, the break-down of their mask, their strange new mannerism, as if they had suddenly grown up.

And that song…

“…Hetepheres?” You whisper.

“Yes??” The child replies.

And that’s when tears start streaming down your cheeks.

“Wait!! Why are you crying???” Hetepheres asks, alarmed. But you are too choked up to give a response. Instead, you pull the child close to her chest and hug them. You hold, and hold, and hold, as if the power of your grief could make a difference. In your mind’s eye, you watch the new life you had envisioned for yourself shatter.

And now what? You think. Now what?!

You look at Paul, hoping, almost praying that he’ll have the answer. But all you see is a man, a man you might even love, crying.

“You too, Paul?!” Hetepheres exclaims, still held tightly against your body. “Oh man, adults really are weird.”

“Yeah, buddy,” you hear Paul say, choking up. “We really are.”