Will Death Do Us Part?

[Nayr]

He scoffed playfully at her curious comment.

"Come now. You found me in plain clothes lying in a garden completely ignoring you until you fall on me. Of course I have food and wine."

He pointed to the bench nearby, under which was a picnic basket with a bottle of wine peeking out the near side. It hadn't been there a moment ago but he doubted that she'd particularly noticed, what with being distracted by him and all. He didn't mind much. He'd kept it hidden specifically so that there wouldn't be a chance of her noticing it until he was ready for her to do so. Now that they'd made a proper greeting of it, they were ready to partake of a modest feast. They'd have to see what became of their time together from there, and he was completely prepared to improvise depending on how lunch went over.

___________________________________________________________________________


Ishazi was deep in thought when they arrived in Rini's bedroom. How lucky indeed that Pluto decided he was sturdy enough as a person to bear a rough "landing." It mostly only hurt his pride, but whatever quips he would have made about that were utterly lost in the more urgent concerns of the moment.

"I've brought you back to approximately one hour after we left. There was a bit of a difference in time flow between here and there, but nothing too bad. It's nothing at all like the dissimilarity that exists between Ethera and Ushan. If you're lucky, no one will have even noticed you were gone."

"It isn't as though they're unused to me larking off somewhere every now and again." He did, after all, get into all sorts of misadventures periodically in order to secure for himself the pleasure of Pluto's company.

He got up and walked over to Rini's bedside, putting a hand onto her forehead gently. It was warm and gave no indication of the absence of the spirit within. He probed with his magic and could sense the thread connecting her mind to her body still whole and strong.

"She's all right, wherever she is," he said finally, "I can go after her, but I'd appreciate it if someone was watching from this end to make sure I don't get lost or something. I'm not completely sure where she went, after all, and am essentially just following the thread to wherever it leads. If I get into trouble or get lost, I'll need someone to guide me back."

It was utter hogwash, of course. The same trick that would tell him where the princess had wandered to would guide him back just as surely. Either the goddess would be ignorant of this particular magic theory as she was of so many other trifling matters that weren't under her purview, or she would see it as the transparent attempt to give her a reason to stay that it was. Possibly both. How he wanted her to stay behind, though. Nothing would cheer Rini so much as seeing Pluto again. Granted, it hadn't been so very long since the days where she would sneak off, but a lot had happened in the intervening time. A lot of sad and painful things had happened, and Ishazi was out of ideas as to what to do about it.

[Mini]

Rini shot him a sulky little frown.

"I did not fall on you! You grabbed my ankle," she playfully argued, sticking her tongue out at him. A soft giggle followed, and the smile that had been in hiding for days finally made an appearance.

Her attention diverted to the direction he was pointing off to. There, sitting under a bench she hadn't really noticed before, was a large picnic basket. A bottle of wine was poking out from the top of it. Laughing in disbelief, she simply shook her head in wonder. "You really do have food and wine, don't you?" she asked softly.

Rini slowly untangled herself from Korrino and stood up. Smiling down at the sight of him still reclining back in the grass, she offered a hand to help pull him up. "C'mon, Mr. Plainclothes. You're not gonna make me do all the work and set everything up myself while you just lay there looking pretty, are you?"

~*~

Pluto's expression didn't change in the slightest as Ishazi pointed out that there was a high likelihood that nobody had even noticed him missing. This was a sad but true fact. Even when he wasn't busy wrecking havoc in other realms, it wasn't hard for the demigoddess to imagine him loafing around on the rooftops or setting fire to something in the cellars. Did Isara know what kind of role model she had selected for her daughter?

As Ishazi walked to Rini's bedside, Pluto walked around to the other side of the princess's bed. She felt slightly uncomfortable being here like this, completely unannounced and without permission from her Father. That was really what the issue was - that her father had not granted her permission to leave her post. It was bad enough that she had left in a flurry to come in person to Ethera in order to speak face to face with Ishazi, and it was worse still when she had let him spirit her off to that quiet, sunny little place eons away. By all rights she should have simply returned to her place in space and sent Ishazi home through the Door. There was no reason for her to come back to Ethera.

Except she was looking right at the two biggest reasons in existence for why she should be here. Ishazi had his hand resting on Rini's forehead. His eyes were halfway shut as if he were deep in thought about something, but Pluto could see past the main level of focus on his face. What she saw was a man who was a worried wreck about his beloved princess, a man who was at his wit's end about what to do but would never admit it out loud. She saw passion, concern, fear, and love in his eyes and on his face. Laying in bed, nearly as pale as her sheets, was poor Rini, who was so much more than just a highborn royal who needed education, training, and protection. Even asleep, Pluto could see the effects that the last few days and weeks had had on her. Her skin was gaunt and drawn, and it looked as though she had lost weight. Although her sleep appeared to be peaceful, there were moist streaks running down her cheeks.

"The poor thing. Was she crying in her sleep?" she asked softly, a heartbreakingly sad look stealing its way across her face. "You truly think she's all right?" Pluto asked in a whisper, so as not to awaken Rini. Her attention shifted back to the slumbering princess. Hesitantly, she started to reach out towards her, as if to brush the hair out of her face. As soon as she was conscious of the motion, she stopped herself.

"Ishazi, are you sure she's not just dreaming deeply? How do you know for certain that her spirit has left her body? To me, it looks like she's simply in a deep sleep," she pointed out, perking a curious eyebrow. "And where do you think she's ventured off to, and what will following her there accomplish? Why not just try waking her up first, mmm?"

[Nayr]

He smiled broadly as his queen stuck her tongue out at him after making a mild correction to his word choice. It was followed by a soft giggle, but more importantly it was followed by his favorite smile. It was as though the sun had risen in his heart, complimenting the sun above them that had finally started to peek through the clouds.

"You really do have food and wine, don't you?" she asked, as if to herself.

"Of course," he replied, "Isn't that what I said?"

Rini untangled herself from him and stood up, seeming to ignore his words. She smiled down at him and offered a hand.

"C'mon, Mr. Plainclothes. You're not gonna make me do all the work and set everything up myself while you just lay there looking pretty, are you?"

He chuckled a little.

"The thought had crossed my mind, actually."

If the hand was still available after the joking lie, he would take it and stand. Otherwise, he would simply stand under his own power and walk to the bench to extract the light lunch. Within the basket, naturally, was a blanket upon which to sit. The stone bench was fine, of course, but what garden picnic featured sitting on a hard bench when a blanket laid out before it was so much more comfortable? Once it was properly laid out, he offered her the basket and bade her sit with him on the blanket.

"Would you like to do the honors?" he asked pleasantly.

______________________________________________________________________


Ishazi didn't fail to notice her conflicted expression, nor fail to hear her concern for Rini. This wasn't surprising, but the Lonely Guardian always did her best to hide that eponymous quality from everyone. It interfered with her mission or something like that.

"Ishazi," she interjected in response to his request, "Are you sure she's not just dreaming deeply? How do you know for certain that her spirit has left her body? To me, it looks like she's simply in a deep sleep. And where do you think she's ventured off to, and what will following her there accomplish? Why not just try waking her up first, mmm?"

Fair point. He had simply assumed that she had wandered off somehow. It was also likely that Pluto didn't want to disturb the Treasured One's slumber.

"I'll try to reach her again," he said, conceding the point, "Perhaps the boundaries were interfering with my connection."

Also hogwash, but worth a try. He focused on the connection between them and instead of trying to change the direction of her dreams silently beckoned her to wake. He had the power to force her awake, but now was not the time for such antics. He would bring her back gently, or go in after her quietly. Subtlety was called for here, so the tiger paced its cage anew as the clock ticked by. If she responded to the quiet summons, then all was well. If she didn't, then more direct action was called for. Pluto was right, however, in that this was no time to do things the hard way. The power he had at his disposal made him apt to try things in a more difficult manner than necessary simply because if he always did it the easiest possible way he'd likely fall asleep on the job. Also, it was more expedient to remind the dunderheads of neighboring lands why it was good to be at peace with Ethera. Better that they know at all times that it was unwise to provoke him. Also, the High Wizard of Ethera was not without his foolish pride and occasionally liked to remind everyone how powerful he was so that he felt better about the problems that were actually bothering him, which existed on a scope they couldn't fathom if they tried.

[Mini]

Had they been together under normal circumstances, Rini might have very well kicked Korrino in the ribs for such a comment. As it were, she settled for rolling her eyes at him. When he reached out for her hand, she pulled it away only once before grinning at him and helping him up. Her fingers looped through his and she kept hold of him while they walked to the picnic basket. She remained linked to him in some way or another while he got to work spreading out the blanket and setting out the food, readjusting herself if she needed to, but not once letting go of him. Korrino would probably notice this, and if he was observant he would likely catch her staring at him in wonder with those great big eyes of her. It wasn't until he asked her to "do the honors" that she seemed to realize that she had been staring.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry," she stammered bashfully. "I just... this is all still so unreal," she whispered as she smiled at him. "I'm scared to death that I'm going to wake up and find out that this has all been some wonderful, awful dream. But it's not, right?"

Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she took the picnic basket from him and sat down, pulling him down with her. For a moment, she looked very distracted. Funny, she could have sworn she had just heard someone else talking, but she knew that nobody was there. A quick look at Korrino confirmed that he hadn't said a word. Rini decided to shrug it off.

As soon as he was seated, she leaned against him and started rummaging through the picnic basket. It occurred to her to wonder where on earth the food had come from, but she decided that trying to answer that question would just hurt her brain. There were sandwiches and cookies, but she quickly spotted a bunch of freshly-picked grapes lurking in the corner. Her plan was to distract Korrino and stuff some into his mouth while he was busy talking, but out of nowhere came the sound of Ishazi's voice. Startled, her head jerked up and she looked up in front of her, expecting to see him standing right there. When she saw nothing there but the garden, she blinked several times. "Korrino, did you... Did you just say something?" she asked, a disconcerting look on her face. "I could have sworn I just heard... but that's impossible," she mumbled as she looked around, turning this way and that in search of the mysterious voice.

~*~

"Yes, try reaching her again, if you don't mind," Pluto said, watching as Ishazi started focusing on trying to gently reach Rini.

"You've a bad habit of acting like a testosterone-laden bull in a china shop in situations like this, you know," Pluto muttered mostly to herself, though loud enough that Ishazi probably heard it, and the smug look that crossed her face for the slightest of moments said that she didn't care if he had overheard her. "A very fussy bull, at that."

[Nayr]

Korrino chose not to comment on how she seemed to insist on clinging to him or staring at him, and smiled as she voiced her concern that it was all a dream.

"I promise that it isn't. Like I said, before you go I'm going to teach you how to get back here. This is a real place inside your heart where I really live."

Once they were seated, she proceeded to begin laying out the food when she paused.

"Korrino," she asked, "Did you...did you just say something? I could have sworn I just heard..but that's impossible."

He had been distracted at the time, but he had an idea as to what she might have heard.

"It could be Ishazi," he replied, "He has been watching your dreams, you know. Making sure that he would be by your side when you woke and all that. He's probably trying to wake you out of concern. He probably hasn't encountered anything like this before."

____________________________________________________________


Ishazi maintained his concentration and alternated calling gently to her and waiting for any response. This did not prevent him from hearing every word the goddess spoke.

"I'll have you know that I'm neither testosterone poisoned nor fussy. I just prefer a challenge, and the impressive display convinces people not to bother me when I'm trying to defy rules I shouldn't even know about."

He said it all in an absent, matter-of-fact tone, as if he had prepared himself to say it and wasn't even really aware of the conversation. Part of him conceded the point she was making. After all, he readily admitted as much to himself every now and again when he realized belatedly that there was a much less flashy way to accomplish whatever task he had just bulled through, to borrow her analogy. He considered it a product of his upbringing that he tended to overuse his bountiful gift, and while he felt no guilt whatsoever he did acknowledge that he tended to lack finesse in how he approached things.

[Mini]

Confused, she tilted her head to the side. The motion made her look a bit like a cute and confused puppy dog. "Ishazi?" she repeated, giving Korrino a perplexed look. Still looking very confused, she crossed her arms as she puzzled over the voice she still wasn't sure if she had heard or not.

"I mean, now that you mention it, it did kind of sound like him," she admitted slowly. As she shut her eyes to concentrate, she started chewing on her bottom lip. "This is really weird. It's like I can almost hear him, but I can't make out what he's saying. It's barely audible."

Rini opened her eyes and let out a sigh as she flopped back against Korrino. She still had the bunch of grapes in her hands and was absent-mindedly plucking grapes off the vine. "I don't get it. How is it Ishazi? He said he'd keep an eye on my dreams, but he wouldn't actually watch them. He said he'd just kind of keep an eye on them and make sure that they were happy. Well, I'm not really even dreaming right now, am I? And I don't even think that I could name anything better than being with you," she added softly.

She sighed again. The sensation was very much like having that little voice inside your head that told you to do the right thing had come to life, only hers had turned into Ishazi. That was quite a voice to be hearing on and off over and over again. "Mmm... Can't I tell him to just bugger off or something and leave us alone?"

~*~

"Oh no, not at all fussy, I'm sure that the first thing the citizens of Al Deboran would think to call you," Pluto quipped right back, her voice equally matched in tone to his. She had wandered away from the Treasured One's bedside to take a quick peak at some of the trinkets laying about on her vanity. There were two hooks on either side of the mirror that held quite a collection of colorful necklaces, a decorative bowl that held bracelets, a blue glass bottle, several story books stacked up on top of each other, an odd assortment of quills and parchment, a painted stick with some colorful feathers glued to one end, a black King chess piece, some shiny rocks, a beautiful doll with curly golden hair dressed in a blue and yellow gown, and a few small wooden horses. There was also a beautiful music box in the shape of a golden star resting towards the back. This caught the demigoddesses attention, for she knew she had seen it somewhere before, but it hadn't been here in Rini's room.

Meanwhile, Ishazi would be lucky to receive a very slight but grumpy emotional response from Rini. It was rather the equivalent of trying to gently shake someone awake only to have them moan, roll over, and pull the blankets over their head, except in this case, Rini's body didn't move at all.

[Nayr]

Korrino nodded, putting it all together at last.

"That must be it, then. He sensed your displeasure earlier, and when he discovered that you weren't dreaming anymore, he grew concerned. He probably thinks he's losing you or something."

He chuckled at her question.

"You certainly can. I can't guarantee how well he'll take that, but I won't stop you."

He looked over meaningfully at the picnic lunch.

"If you'll be staying a while longer, shall we eat?"

Not that he was anxious to get some of that sweet wine in her, but if that was still possible in this scenario he certainly wouldn't complain. The pleasure of her company was easily sufficient by itself to make him happy.

_______________________________________________________________


"That was completely different and you know it," Ishazi responded, "Also way to take the low hanging fruit. You know I didn't have a choice."

He opened his eyes and watched the goddess look over the items on the princess' vanity. Now that his attention was drawn to it, there were some things there he didn't recognize. He tried not to pry into Rini's affairs, but little things like this reminded him of how crazy the last while had been. By the time she looked so grown up normally, she'd have had time to accumulate the fond memories and pretty trinkets of a lovely young woman. As it was, her jewels and trinkets were equal parts young girl and troubled woman. He said nothing about the vanity or the goddess' inspection of it, but did notice that something over there had caught his friend's eye.

"She shrugged me off," he commented, moving her attention gently back to the matter at hand, "Wherever her mind wandered off to, she much prefers being there to being here. I can insist, but there's nothing stopping her from continuing to ignore me."

[Mini]

Tilting her head up so that she was staring straight up at Korrino, Rini shook her head in disbelief.

"Really? Everything that's going on and food is all you can think about?"

Unable to resist the temptation, she gave him a good poke in the stomach. "I see your stomach is still in working order. Your hearing seems a bit off, though. Of course I'm staying! Weren't you listening? I just said I'm not going to leave you. Not for a good long time, at least, if I can help it," she added softly. "Ishazi's smart. Maybe he'll figure it out for himself. Or maybe he'll at least figure out that I'm not, like, dying or whatever he thinks is happening and just leave me alone. Now then, for a very important question." She paused for dramatic effect and tried to look important, but she couldn't help but grin.

"Wine first, or sandwiches first?"

~*~

"I hear those words come out of your mouth quite often," Pluto quipped without missing a beat. She left the locket on the vanity and turned her attention back to Ishazi. When she next spoke, her voice was much deeper and quite manly sounding as she did her best impression of the High Wizard. It didn't sound a thing like Ishazi, but she didn't seem to care.

"I didn't have a choice. Right. 'Oh, sorry, Pluto, I didn't have a choice! I just had to blow up the side of this large, immaculate structure to get a better view! How was I supposed to know it was the most sacred place for 500 miles in any direction?' 'I had to set the whole forest ablaze to keep the Rafs from catching me - I didn't have a choice.' 'I had no choice but to mouth off to the big ugly brute who was three times my size and just so happens to be the Thunder Guardian of Gasbard!' You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd almost say that--"

Pluto was interrupted by two things happening at once. The first was Ishazi remarking that Rini was apparently ignoring him. While this was an interesting and important turn of events (and also far more important than her poking fun at her friend), it was nowhere near as exciting as what happened next - there was a knock on the door.

Normally a knock on any door would not merit such excitement, but then again, Pluto was not a normal person. More importantly than that, she was a special somebody who by all accounts should not be anywhere in Ethera, let alone in the princess of Ethera's bedchambers. The demi-goddess nearly had a heart attack at the innocent sound. Her head whipped to Rini's door, the color drained from her face, her knuckles turned white as her grip tightened around her staff, and her eyes widened in alarm. Beads of a cold sweat started running down Pluto's back. This was it! She was doomed!

The door swung open after the knock and in bustled an older woman dressed in a simple servant's garb. She was carrying a large pile of blankets. "Good evening, your Highness, forgive the intrusion! Your royal mother told us to let ourselves in, since it seems you've been refusing to let anyone in at all! That's-- oh, dear me!" the maid exclaimed, stopping about halfway across the room as she looked over the stack of blankets to see Rini asleep in bed, Ishazi sitting on the bed besides her, and Pluto standing next to the bed. Her eyes lingered on Ishazi for a moment, then over to Pluto.

"Well! Forgive me indeed, my dears! I didn't know the Treasured One has visitors. And what fine visitors indeed!" the maid laughed. "How wonderful to see you checking in on the princess, your Royal High Wizardship, sir. My, my, what a lovely young lady friend you have with you, as well! What a beautiful dress that is, my dear! Why, it looks fit to be worn by a goddess!"

Pluto almost fainted. "U-Um... Thank you," she somehow managed to say. Somehow, Pluto remained standing and did her best to look calm, cool, and collected on the outside, but she shot Ishazi a very frantic and panicked look the instant the maid started putting blankets away. Ishazi, get her out of here!! NOW!

[Nayr]

Korrino smiled warmly. Now that she was smiling again, they could continue. Her pause was clearly intended to have him awaiting the important question with bated breath and he indulged her with a questioning eyebrow, the rest of his face indicating that she could have whatever she desired for the asking. He laughed a little at the question when it finally emerged.

"Sandwiches," he said with a chuckle, "You know how you get when you start drinking wine. If we skip ahead, those poor sandwiches will go to waste."

Not that he cared one way or another about ridiculous things like picnic food right now, but it would serve to put her more at ease to just sit and eat a sandwich with him in her gardens. That alone was well worth the trouble.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


It wasn't that Ishazi hadn't noticed her bringing up the odd number of times he apparently had no choice but to do something ridiculous, it was that they had more important things to worry about. He'd get back around to those quips later, though. He had an excellent memory for such things. Her businesslike expression returned immediately upon being informed that Rini wasn't inclined to return to them for some reason, and vanished just as quickly as a knock sounded on the door. He turned his head to regard the door, equally startled by the idea of someone entering. He didn't notice his dear friend panicking, but didn't especially need to. He was just as panicked as she, and for rather the same reasons. If she were recognized by whomever came through that door it could mean a lot of trouble for them both from Uncle Chronos, who had been oddly indulgent so far today.

An older woman entered carrying a large pile of blankets. Ishazi did his best to remember as many of the servants that bustled around the castle as he could, but it was mostly a hopeless cause. Most of them were trained to keep out from underfoot or did so out of habit, and the rest avoided being involved in conversations that didn't concern them whenever possible. He wasn't unfamiliar with this woman but didn't know her name or if she was one of the servants assigned to Rini directly. She seemed to expect that Rini would be by herself, for as she entered she spoke deferentially but idly to the somnolent princess. She noticed in the middle of a sentence that they were there and exclaimed in surprise.

"I didn't know the Treasured One has visitors. And what fine visitors indeed!" she said merrily, "How wonderful to see you checking in on the princess, your Royal High Wizardship, sir. My, my, what a lovely young lady friend you have with you, as well! What a beautiful dress that is, my dear! Why, it looks fit to be worn by a goddess!"

The poor guardian seemed as though she were about to faint dead away at the mere mention of the word "goddess" and stammered her thanks for the compliment. He knew before her thought reached him that she would feel very much better if the woman were to be gently ushered out. The look on her face told him that she wasn't particularly inclined towards caring if he were gentle about it either. He turned without look or comment to the servant and went about doing just that.

"Would you mind terribly if we could have some privacy?" he asked softly, "The princess only just got to sleep, and Setsuna here is helping me work on a healing for what ails her. For now it's best to let her sleep for as long as she can. Rest is a fine place to start a remedy, don't you think?"

He could have been much more forceful but decided against it by simple virtue of the fact that if the woman understood why he wanted privacy, or at least thought she did, she might pass it along that they should all stay out of the princess's room for a while. Once the woman left, he sent a thought to the beleaguered goddess.

Why don't you sit down? That almost took years off my life and I'm not the one who'd have had to explain it.

He avoided using her father's name both because she knew very well what he was talking about and also out of superstition that maybe if he didn't speak the god's name then they could have a while longer before Pluto was summoned back to her duties.

[Mini]

The Treasured One's face turned a marvelous shade of hot pink as Korrino reminded her of what happened to her when she started drinking wine. It wasn't anything terrible, but she had taken a liking to a certain sweet wine that came from some exotic Ushanian fruit. The last time she had had some at dinner, one sip had quickly become three or four glasses (or possibly nine), and she honestly didn't remember much of the night after that.

A coy smile spread across her face as she sidled a bit closer to Korrino. "Ah. Those poor sandwiches. Can't let them go to waste, now, can we?"

She reached over and grabbed the handle of the picnic basket, pulling it into her lap. Rummaging around procured two plates and two sandwiches, one of which she handed to Korrino. Content for now, she settled herself against him and began nibbling at her sandwich.

It was incredibly peaceful and serene in the garden, and Rini finally started to allow herself to fully relax. It was the first time since leaving Ushan that she felt so at peace. The sun had slipped low into the sky, bathing the garden and its occupants in warm, soft, golden light. Water trickled from the fountain behind them. Crickets chirped softly in the distance. It was all so beautiful.

"How?" she finally whispered, staring off into the distance. "How is any of this even happening?"

~*~

The maid was seemingly oblivious to the look of dread that kept creeping across "Setsuna's" face as she put the fresh linens away. She hummed to herself as she stuffed Rini's wardrobe full of clean blankets and sheets, then turned over to where the tray of barely eaten food was resting. Noticing it, she tutted to herself and put her hands on her hips. "Ach. Still not eating, is she? That's no good, that is," she mumbled mostly to herself.

At Ishazi's words, she whirled around to face the pair of them. The woman seemed a bit confused for a moment, and perhaps even a little surprised that she was being asked to leave. She seemed to size the both of them up in her moment of silence. "Privacy? Ah, of course. Let me tidy up this mess with the food, here, and I'll be out of your hair. Setsuna, you said? My, what a pretty name. Pretty name for a pretty girl. I don't recall seeing you around before," she remarked, somehow not noticing the terrified smile plastered onto the demigoddesses face. Thankfully, the maid swept the crumbs off the table and gathered up the rest of the mess, then she started moving towards the door. Just as Pluto started to relax, the woman turned around and gave Ishazi a knowing look.

"Now, feel free to tell me if this really isn't my place to be prying, your Royal High Wizardship, sir, but are you two by any chance..."

A rather unique, high-pitched noise slipped out of Pluto as the maid trailed off.

"Are you going to be able to fix her? No, wait, fix isn't quite the right word. What I mean to say is... well... ah... Will she be stuck looking like that forever? Seems a shame, it does, for a girl of thirteen to have her growing up torn away from her right at the cusp of becoming a true young lady. Our poor Treasured One just hasn't been the same since her return."

[Nayr]

Korrino savored the blush that rose in his lover's face at the allusion to her reaction to wine. She recovered quickly, a smile rising on her face as she moved closer to him. It was at that moment that he started to notice some benefits to not having a physical form and its attendant distractions.

"Ah. Those poor sandwiches," she said, her voice silken and alluring to his ears, "Can't let them go to waste, now, can we?"

As she reached over to grab the handle of the picnic basket, he used that time to compose himself. If he'd had blood in that moment, it would be racing at such a rate that he wouldn't have been the slightest bit interested in lunch right then. Goddess, but his queen knew how to push his buttons. She handed him a plate and nestled up against him to nibble at the refreshment. He was pensive as he picked at his own. He loved having her near him and wouldn't trade moments like these for really anything he could imagine, but he knew that it couldn't last. Dreams never could and never did.

"How?" Rini whispered, breaking the silence, "How is any of this even happening?"

"Which part?" he asked by way of answering, "The garden is based off your memories of a place where you were always happy. The sun basically echoes your mood, the picnic is a special gift I have no intention of explaining, and the way things have unfolded these last months has been anywhere between completely random and part of a design so grand that none of us can grasp its magnitude depending on whom you ask."

He nudged her playfully.

"The big question on my mind is why I'm having a romantic picnic with my queen and she's busy waxing philosophical. I seem to recall a time when you could hardly focus around me when I did something romantic."

~*~*~

Ishazi had already moved on from the maid's intrusion in his mind, and thus was caught slightly off guard by the intrusion not actually being over as yet. The woman did an about face halfway to the door and spoke again with an oddly knowing look in her eye.

"Now, feel free to tell me if this really isn't my place to be prying, your Royal High Wizardship, sir, but are you two by any chance..."

He wasn't able to say or do anything during the pause, because his dear friend the oh-so-dignified daughter of Chronos let slip the sort of sound a nervous adolescent would make at the prospect of a secret love being discovered by her parents. It was almost so distracting that Ishazi didn't notice the maid resume her sentence. Almost.

"Are you going to be able to fix her? No, wait, fix isn't quite the right word. What I mean to say is... well... ah... Will she be stuck looking like that forever? Seems a shame, it does, for a girl of thirteen to have her growing up torn away from her right at the cusp of becoming a true young lady. Our poor Treasured One just hasn't been the same since her return."

It was a reasonable question, really. He couldn't answer it as completely as he was capable of doing, but he could provide the poor woman some comfort at least.

"I won't lie to you, it's complicated. The magic that surrounds her would be complicated enough to deal with on its own, but her heart is just as bad and there's only so much I can do to fix that. I asked Setsuna here because..."

He paused, unsure of whether he even wanted to press on much less what to say. Finally, he decided and continued.

"This is a secret of great importance, so I must ask you not to spread it around. Setsuna is no ordinary woman, as you might have guessed. I asked her here because she's beloved by the god of time himself. I can unravel magical tangles, but I've no gift for healing hearts. Setsuna is a high priestess with a loving heart whom I hope can bring our Treasured One around. Rest assured that I'll do whatever I can to set things right."

He chose not to include a subtle dismissal, because he sensed that this woman would only be leaving exactly when she chose to. That said, he hoped she'd get on with it before Pluto gave herself a coronary.

[Mini]

Her knowledgeable-as-ever king broke into a simple explanation of all the various intricacies currently going on as if he were talking about the weather. Rini was in the midst of fixing quite a bewildered expression on Korrino when he gave her a playful nudge. It was enough to break up the seriousness of the moment and also got her to break into a soft giggle.

"Sorry," she said sweetly. "I guess I'm just a little distracted. Can you blame me, though? Sitting here in an unbelievable place like this, next to an unbelievable guy like you."

Her face was now bright pink, and she took a moment to suddenly become very interested in finishing her sandwich.

~*~

Being a demi-goddess meant that Pluto was capable of functioning on many levels at once. While at the moment, most of the parts that made her mortal were overly stimulated and freaking out and thus in almost full control of her right now, she was still able to have a piece of her heart go out to the neb-nosed maid who just wouldn't leave. It was touching to see a normal, ordinary person seem to care so much for the young princess. She was simply worried about the health and well-being of the Treasured One and was trying to gather information from quite possibly the only person in Ethera who was capable of giving her a proper answer. The woman had no intention of causing such chaos, so really, how could Pluto begrudge her anything? Never mind the fact that she had almost given Pluto not one, but two major heart attacks by this point.

Ishazi seemed puzzled as to why the maid was still there, but he started giving her an honest answer as to what was being done about Rini's rather unique situation. It was alarming to hear him say out loud that the magic around her was as complicated and delicate as the state of her heart. He was being incredibly open and honest with this woman... almost too honest.

"I asked Setsuna here because..."

This simple statement jerked Pluto out of her reverie. Her head whipped around so fast it was a wonder she didn't give herself whiplash. Her eyes practically bored holes into Ishazi's skull.

Ishazi, where are you doing with this? Just send the woman away all ready! Even through thought and telepathy, the alarm in her voice was as obvious as if fire sirens were going off.

The Wonder Mage paused, but kept on going. "This is a secret of great importance, so I must ask you not to spread it around."

Ishazi, stop. What do you think you're doing?! she mentally shouted at him, her voice shaking.

"Setsuna is no ordinary woman, as you might have guessed." He went on as if he hadn't heard her.

"Ishazi!!" Pluto hissed at him. She seemed startled by the sound of her own voice, as was evident by the reflexive way her free hand shot up to her mouth.

"I asked her here because she's beloved by the god of time himself."

Whatever else came from the High Wizard's mouth after that was lost on Pluto. At the mention of her father, her face had drained of all remaining color. Her eyes were wide open, but she was staring at nothing. Her outward senses shut down entirely as the world around her came crashing down. This was surely the end of everything. Had that really just happened? Had her nightmares finally come to life in such a terrible way? Betrayed by someone she cherished nearly more than existence itself to one as lowly and ordinary as a servant?! Any second now, her father would surely yank her back to her prison, or even worse, show up in person and smite the entire realm of Ethera out of existence, and it was all her fault. If only she hadn't left her post in the first place!

Somehow, the maid didn't seem bothered by any of Pluto's action, and in fact seemed rather awed and humbled to in the presence of one so glorious as she. She took a surprised step backwards as Ishazi "revealed" the daughter of Chronos to be a high priestess sent to help mend Rini's heart back together.

"Oh! Oh my stars, how wonderful. Ohh, bless my heart. I've never met a real high priestess before, or even dreamt of meeting someone as lovely as she! That is to say, yer High Wizardship, sir, you are surely right up there on par with those priests and priestesses, right? Well, I'd best just be leaving you two along to, how did you put it? Unravel them magical tangles and heal those broken hearts? Ah, so poetic sounding. You just let me know if you need anything, dearies. I doubt there's much a simple woman like me can do, but I do what I can for everyone in this palace. Kings and Queens can't run a country if they don't have clean sheets, and they shouldn't be trifled with matters such as that when they've bigger things on their plates, you know what I mean? I won't be far away if you do need anything at all, and I'll be sure to tell the rest of 'em not to come barging in here to bother you so while you're both so busy at work. Make sure the Treasured One gets some warm food in her stomach when she does wake up. She hasn't been eating much at all. Not a good sign, no, definitely not."

As she rambled on, the maid had managed to scoop up several discarded garments that were scattered around the floor, water the flowers on the table by the window, and pick up the dishes from Rini's last meal. With her hands full, she made her way back to the door and nodded cheerfully to both Ishazi and Pluto. "Best of luck, yer royal High Wizardship, sir, and you as well, my dear lady High Priestess, ma'am!"

[Nayr]

Korrino smiled at the compliment and instead of teasing her when she flushed and concentrated on her sandwich simply let the matter slide and took a few bites of his own. Even he wasn't completely sure of what twist of fate had allowed them to be together. He had lied and offered a mostly true explanation of how this thing could be. It was the explanation he himself believed, after all, but he had used it to cover the fact that he had no idea what was going on. She didn't need his uncertainty right now, he reasoned. She needed stability. She needed him to be well schooled in the arcane complexities of magics as deep and wide as creation itself, and she needed him to give her an explanation she could understand of what had become of their lives. If it turned out he was wrong, he was prepared to admit as much and rectify the errors in her understanding. Until then, it was enough to say that a piece had been broken off while the man called Korrino Dentata had been alive, and that piece was what allowed them to be together even after the death they both remembered. He allowed the silence to stretch on, simply being there next to her. Sometimes the greatest gift of love was just being together, not needing something to do or something to say to carry the moment. He drank her presence in greedily, like a man who wandered the desert unexpectedly coming upon an oasis. This place where they sat together was a gift, and he intended to take every second of it in and engrave it on his heart and on hers. If it all had to come to an end, at least she'd have a good memory to treasure.

~*~*~

Ishazi hadn't failed to notice the panic and alarm in his friend's voice as she bade him stop, but he pressed on. He hoped that she could trust him and that she'd give him the chance to apologize after the servant had gone, but for now all he could do was give the woman enough of an explanation that she'd go away without telling her things that she wasn't meant to know. As she went to the door and wished them luck, he nodded and smiled.

"One more thing," he called after her, "Priests and priestesses don't leave the temple, as you remember, so I would appreciate you keeping this visit a secret. I'll tell the queen myself what I'm doing, and everyone else should know only that I did whatever I could to help the Treasured One. Best not to start rumors that could complicate her recovery, right? Now if you'll excuse us, we need to get started."

Pluto, of course, would be very angry that he hadn't simply said that to begin with, but giving her more information about what was going on would solve more problems in the long run. He extended his senses as the maid left, waiting until she had scurried out of earshot with this new tale before addressing the goddess beside him.

"Whenever a maid senses something important in the offing, they do whatever they can to learn what's going on. Their curiosity is as impressive as their work ethic, sometimes more so. In giving her an explanation of what's going on here, I assured us some actual privacy."

As he spoke he continued sweeping the area for any listening ears. Only when he was assured that they were completely alone again did he continue.

"In telling her something scandalous like a High Priestess of the Temple of Time coming in secret to help mend the young lady's heart and then telling her more than once that it was a great secret, I also ensured one of two outcomes. One, she takes the admonition to heart and doesn't tell another living soul what she saw and heard here. Two, she tells the entire staff that a priestess named Setsuna came in secret to visit the Treasured One at the High Wizard's invitation. Either way, your secret is safe, especially because even if she goes to the temple right now she'd never recognize you. The frescoes and colored glass windows really don't do you justice in the least."

He knelt before her, bowing his head.

"I'm sorry, my goddess, for not sharing my plan with you and for letting you believe that I was capable of betraying you. I'll understand if you never want to talk to me again, but I truly hope that you'll find it in your heart to forgive me for scaring you."

There was really nothing else to say. Either she was going to go back to her post forthwith and never meddle in his life again, or she was going to forgive him. It was his wish to keep her in this room long enough for him to wake Rini. He had a sense that the Treasured One might want to embrace the daughter of Chronos, and that was a gift far greater than chocolate to give his lonely friend.

Speaking of which, he asked himself, Where did I put that, anyway?

[Mini]

For once in her life, Rini found that she had nothing to say, but that somehow by saying nothing, she said more than she could possibly ever express with words alone. Her sandwich was long since gone. Instead of trying to decide what to do next, she instead shifted a little bit closer to Korrino. She leaned against him, allowing her head to rest against his shoulder. Her hand found his. Fingers slipped softly into his. She didn't even need to look up to know that his smile mirrored her own. It was the rare moments like this that she treasured more than anything. Rini was no stranger to the busy lives that monarchs led. They had been so busy in Ushan, and everything that had since transpired felt like a whirlwind had blown time right out the window. Any time that the two of them were alone was a precious gift, even if that time was only a scant few moments here and there.

But what if this was their last moment together?

The thought snuck up on her without warning. With it came a terrible crushing sensation in her chest, like somebody had just punched her as hard as they could. Her smile faltered. Korrino's earlier explanation had made sense to her, but what if he was wrong? In her slightly biased mind, there was nobody out there quite as brilliant as he was, but it was a very real possibility that he was wrong. What if he was really here for this moment? What if this was only another dream? A painfully realistic dream, but a dream nonetheless. She would wake up soon and he would be gone. She would wake up and find herself alone. The pain would hit her stronger than ever before. Even if it wasn't a dream and Korrino was right, she still couldn't stay here in this strange place somewhere between wakefulness and dreaming. Eventually, she would have to wake up and leave him behind. When she woke up, she would once again be all alone. Her fingers tightened around his as she fought back a fresh wave of tears.

"Let's go look at the flowers," she suddenly declared, standing up without warning. Determined not to think about such terribly depressing thoughts, she pulled Korrino up with her and started to make her way towards the impressive array of flora flourishing around the fountain. Not once did she relinquish her tight grip on his hand.