Pain. She could see it etched into every part of the man's face. She
reached out to try and comfort the stranger, tell him that everything would
be all right. He seemed so familiar. Her hand passed right through him and
as she watched her hand pass through him, she felt an icy cold tingling
sensation in her hand. He looked at her, violet eyes filled with sorrow.
She started to pull away, frightened that she couldn't help someone for
once. He grabbed her hand and she was surprised that his hands didn't go
through hers. He spoke to her, his voice soft.
"No, please do not go. Please. I- I know you feel like you can't do
anything to comfort me, but just you being here comforts me. Please stay,"
he said. She smiled, a gentle, almost non-existent smile that brought
warmth. The man smiled in return. Suddenly, golden rays of sunlight washed
over the landscape, making the snow on the ground seem silver in hue. She
gasped, stunned by the blinding light, and then disappeared. The man cried
out and tried to grab her, tried to make her stay, but she was gone and he
was alone once again.
Pan sat on the edge of her bed, her knees drawn to her chest, her arms wrapped loosely around them. She was lost in her thoughts, oblivious to the comings and goings of the servants. She only stirred when Aquarii, the servant woman, touched her on the shoulder and asked her if she would like some dinner. Pan looked up at Aquarii, shook her head, and returned to her thoughts. Aquarii sighed, then left. An elegant gold and silver clock that had gems shaped like numbers around the edges ticked away in the corner of Pan's room. Pan hardly moved when the clock chimed softly, declaring the hour to be midnight. Pan then stood up and stretched her arms, legs, and wings. She bound back her silver-gold hair, weaving it into a braid and binding it with a length of blue silk. She threw open the doors to the balcony that overlooked the cliff that the palace was perched on, and the sea. Pan breathed in the salty air, enjoying its familiar scent, not quit ready for her trip to the mortal world. Her last trip had been disheartening, to say the least. She had watched a mortal woman die in the arms of a mortal man. She had followed the man, waiting for him to fall asleep. When he finally did, she entered his dreams, hoping to bring him comfort. But she could find no way to comfort him, though his dream-self claimed that her mere presence was comforting. Pan felt distraught that she was unable to offer him permanent comfort. She hated being a death fairy and a dream fairy. Because she was, she was sent to comfort people in their dreams after the death of a loved one. Occasionally, there was a mortal that she couldn't comfort, and when there was, she felt so thoroughly depressed by the thought that she would spend entire days just sitting in her room, her thoughts always coming back to the poor mortal. She grasped the marble railing of the balcony, her knuckles turning white. She sighed. She had to leave now. There was a revolution in Japan, and she would have to work quickly if she wanted to be able to comfort those who had lost loved ones. She was grateful that she wasn't the grim fairy. She had to take souls to the Judges, which wasn't always a pretty thing, especially if the soul was an evil thing. Often they struggled with the grim fairy, inflicting some damage as they did so. Pan turned back to her room, shutting the doors to the balcony firmly behind her and drawing all the curtains in the room. Then she changed from the long, flowing gown she wore around the palace into the clothes that she wore while she was out in people's dreams. She choose a silver-blue half tunic, which had loose sleeves that started to flare at the elbow and ended at her wrists and was tight around her chest, stopping just above her stomach and had a square neckline. She put on a pair of matching pants that were tight at the waist and loose every where else, making it look like the pants were narrow bells. She kicked off the silver slippers that were mandatory around the palace and slid on blue flats that tied at her ankles. She also slid on silver bracelets that wound their way up to her elbow, silver in color, shot through with bits of gold and had little jewels embedded in them. For a final touch, she put on her silver dream-weaver tiara, which formed a wide v-shape at her forehead, a single emerald jewel on the point of the v. She grabbed her staff, silver, and wound about with gold wire, topped with a crescent moon and star emblem, the symbol of dream fairies. She threw open the balcony doors, leapt up onto the railing, and took off into the cool night.
Kenshin woke clutching his blanket. He could have sworn he had heard something. He listened for a moment, then laid back down to go back to sleep. He was dreaming of the girl again. She was beautiful. She had silver wings that had specks of blue and gold in the feathers and silver-gold hair that was in a long braid. Her emerald eyes had looked into his amethyst eyes, searching for a way to take away his grief. She had visited him in his dreams after Tomoe had died, trying to comfort him, and failing. He somehow knew that she wasn't just a dream, just a figment of his imagination. He always wondered who she was and why she was in his dreams. He remembered her strange clothes, how they left parts of her bare and how he had been shocked by this at first. Most women would never leave their stomach bare. He had eventually grown use to it, and he wished he could speak to the girl, who looked no more than sixteen years old. But every time he saw her in his dreams, he was never able to ask her a single question, could only tell her that she shouldn't worry about not being able to take away his grief. He had only really met her once. The rest had all been dreams, memories of her, though he wished they weren't. He wanted her to come back. Kenshin looked out the window of his room at the Kamiya Dojo. He smiled as he remembered Kauro and Yahiko chasing each other around and around the yard that night before everyone went to bed. He sighed and drew the blanket back up around his neck and closed his eyes, summoning sleep to return to him once more.
Pan crawled under the covers of her large bed just as the sun was starting to rise. It had been a long night. Even though the number of deaths had dropped dramatically since the end of the revolution in Japan, there were still far too many deaths in the world for them to be caused by nature. Pan curled into a small ball as she wondered what in the world was happening to all the mortals. But the last thing she thought of as she fell into the black depth called sleep was the mortal that she had seen so long ago.
Pan was shaken awake by Aquarii early the next morning. "Milady. Milady, wake up. It is almost breakfast, and the King said that he would like to hold council with you before hand," she whispered to the sleeping child. Pan blinked sleepily, her eyes clouded with sleep. She had gotten in very late last night, later than she was supposed to. Pan silently cursed how odd the mortal world was. She always forgot that mortal time was different from Layavi time. She sighed and sat up. She kicked off the shoes that she had worn last night, and slipped her feet into the silver slippers that sat next to her bed. She looked down and realized that she was still wearing her clothes from last night. She cursed silently once more. She wrestled her way out of the shirt and slipped on a gown, telling Aquarii not to bother with her hair, she'd fix it later. She slid off the baggy pants she had worn and dashed out the door, towards the King's council area, two floors down. She arrived two minutes later, out of breath, her hair falling out of its braid. The King smiled, amused at the disheveled appearance of the young fairy. "Hello Pan. Please, have a seat," he said, motioning to a wooden chair. Pan sat slowly, taking comfort in the King's firm, but gentle voice. "Your majesty, Aquarii told me that you wished to speak with me previous to breakfast. What is it that you wish to discuss?" she asked, bowing her head a little. The King chuckled a little. "Well, Pan, as I understand it, you will be soon reaching your one-thousand five-hundredth birthday soon. What would you like to do to celebrate?" he asked. "After all, the heir to the throne should have a grand party, to match their own magnificence," he said, smiling down warmly on his heir. Pan blushed. "Your majesty, you know as well as I do that the fates only picked me to be your heir because I was the only one young enough. Anyway, I don't really think I should have a party. It's not an important date. It's not like it's my coming-of-age or anything," she said. The King chuckled again. "Very well. You may go to breakfast now. I suspect you're starving. If I'm not mistaken, you missed dinner again last night." Pan nodded. She rose from the chair, bowed to the King and left the room, careful not to turn her back on him. She respected the King greatly and she did not want to show him any sign of disrespect. She walked down to the dinning hall, her stomach growling loudly. She pulled out her chair and sat down heavily. She immediately dug into the delicious food that was before her, eating quickly. This month she was seated next to the grim fairy and she did not wish to endure an uncomfortable silence all though breakfast. The grim fairy wasn't mean, but she was silent, speaking rarely and uncomfortable silences seemed to follow her. On Pan's other side sat one of the chaos fairies, a happy girl named Calypso. Calypso was always chattering constantly, and although she seemed a bit flighty at first, she was as level-headed as anyone. She had once confided in Pan that she wished she hadn't been born a chaos fairy, because she liked to see people happy, but when Pan suggested that she try to speak to one of the fates about it, Calypso had looked absolutely horrified. Pan finished her breakfast quickly and left the dinning hall, telling Calypso that she would talk with her more later. Pan almost ran out the door and kept running until she reached the garden paths. Once there, she slowed her pace, taking in the beauty of the gardens. She stopped at the patch that she had helped the garden fairies plant just last year. She was happy to see that her little seedlings were starting to bloom, and were already giving off a sweet scent. Pan placed her hand on the dirt and gave a bit of her life force to the plants, wanting them to grow and flourish so that the garden fairies wouldn't have to dig them up. The ground glowed where her fingertips touched, and then the glow faded. Before her eyes, Pan's flowers seemed to straighten and grow taller. Pan smiled and then turned back the garden path. A crashing sound made her look away from the tall sunflower-like plants that she had been admiring. She looked behind her and saw a man sitting there, a dazed look in his eyes. Pan's eyes widened when she saw that he had no wings. She panicked and her thoughts started to become confused. 'Mortals aren't allowed here! What am I going to do? Should I hide him? Should I bring him to the King?' While she was thinking, the man got to his feet, still looking a little dazed. Pan felt like she should remember something about this man, he looked so familiar, with his red hair and violet eyes. And the cross shaped scar on his cheek. He was wearing a gi and hakama and had a sword tucked into the belt of his hakama. He looked at her for a moment, and then gasped. He was about to speak to her when Pan decided to speak first. "What are you doing here? Mortals are not allowed in our realm. How did you get here?" she demanded in Japanese. He looked confused. "What? Where's here? Where am I? Do I know you? You look familiar," he said. Pan silently thanked the gods that fairies were taught languages at an early age. "I don't think you know me. This is Layavi, the Fairy Realm. I ask again, how did you get here?" The man shook his head. "I don't know. I had just fallen asleep when I felt like I was falling and then I crashed here." Pan suddenly heard the sound of footsteps. She grabbed the man's arm and shoved him into the tall plants, whose broad leaves hid him fairly well. "Hide," she hissed at him. A death fairy suddenly appeared on the path. "Hello, Princess," said the fairy cheerfully, then continued on his way. Pan nodded. "Hello, Telesto," she said politely. She waited until she could no longer see his wings, then pulled the man out of the plants. "It is dangerous for you to be around. I don't know how the others will react. We've never had a mortal find his way here. You better pray that they don't all kill you on the spot. I think I'll bring you to see the King, he'll know what to do," she told him. "Is the King your father?" asked the man. "What?" asked Pan. She'd never heard a more foolish question in her life. "Is the King your father? I heard that man address you as 'Princess'. Wouldn't that make you his daughter?" he explained. Pan laughed. "Oh, I forgot, you mortals inherit royalty. Well, here in Layavi, the heir to the throne is chosen by the fates. It has nothing to do with birth. I was chosen to be the next heir. That is why my title is princess," she explained. "Oh. Well, my name is Kenshin Himura," he said. Pan nodded, acknowledging him. He looked at her expectantly for a moment, then spoke again. "What's your name?" he prompted. "Pan Elveleg," she said shortly, not really wanting to tell him her name. She quickened her pace, hoping to get to the council room before anyone saw her with this mortal. She practically dashed up the palace steps, Kenshin sprinting alongside her. She reached the council room unseen by the other fairies. She knocked firmly on the door, praying that no one except the King was in there. "Come in," called the King. Pan gently pushed open the door. "Ah, Pan. What can I do for you?" Pan stepped into the council room, relieved to find that the King was alone at the moment. She bowed her head slightly, then spoke quickly. "Um, your majesty, I found a mortal out in the gardens and I was wondering if you knew what we should do with him," she said. The King looked startled for a moment, but then recovered. "Ah, yes, I was afraid this would happen. May I have a look at him?" asked the King. Pan nodded. She reached behind her and grabbed Kenshin's arm. She pulled him into the room. Kenshin bowed to the King. The King walked in a circle around him, examining him. Kenshin stood tall, shoulders back, head high. "Hmm, seems healthy enough. More than I expected from a mortal. Tell me, mortal, do you know how you got here?" asked the King. Kenshin shook his head. "I'll tell you. I summoned you here because I wish to know more about the mortal realm. I also wish to know more about mortal swordsmanship. Can you help me with that?" Pan gasped. "Your highness, I beg your pardon, but to drag a mortal away from his home simply to satisfy your own curiosity is- is abominable. The fairy council would not approve. I'm summoning them now! They must know of this... this indecent use of magic!" said Pan, nearing outrage. The King placed a hand on Pan's shoulder. "Calm down, little one." Pan narrowed her eyes when he said little one. "I have already spoken with the council and they wish to know more about the mortals. I assure you that he'll be quite all right," he said, his soothing voice making Pan's anger disappear. She bowed her head once again as a way of apology, but looked disturbed at the fact that the council had approved such an act. The King turned back to Kenshin. "So, tell me what you know of the mortal world."
That night, Pan wasn't on duty. She lay in her bed, wondering what surprises that next day would bring. She had protested greatly when the King had put her in charge of the mortal's welfare. When he suggested that perhaps one of the nightmare fairies should look after him, she accepted in a rush. "I wouldn't subject anyone to the nightmares you can get if you stay in close contact with a nightmare fairy," she said with a shudder. "I take it that you've been in close contact with a nightmare fairy before?" he asked. Pan nodded, but didn't elaborate, her face an expressionless mask. Kenshin let it drop. She led him down a long hallway that had wood doors on both sides. Kenshin couldn't stop staring. Almost every surface had been covered with a precious metal or jewels. Even the doors had patterns made out of gold and silver and inlaid with many jewels that winked out from the intricate works when they caught the light. Pan stopped in front of a door that had a pattern of a silver vine with flowers and leaves growing from it with sapphires for flowers. She pushed open the door and ushered him inside. "You'll stay here. If you need anything, ring this bell next to the door. It leads down to the servant's quarters. They will attend to you every need." She stepped out of the room and pointed at a door at the end of the hall. It had a pattern made out of both silver and gold and had emeralds in it. "That's my room. If you have a problem, come talk to me. Everyone in this hall is under my watch. I take care of them. Many are refugees that I saved from an evil overlord," she said, her emerald eyes darkening at the memory. "Also, we will provide clothing for all social events, so please consult the servants on what to wear if you know that an important event is occurring. Tonight there isn't anything going on, so you may wear what you like. You will find fresh clothes to your liking in that wardrobe," she told him, pointing at a handsome wardrobe made out of what looked to be carved mahogany. "Please do not hesitate to ring one of the servants or come and get me. Also, there is one last thing. During the day, if you think you might run into a watcher fairy, please wear loose silver pants and a tunic. The watcher fairies like everyone to be in palace uniform during the day, but if you're just going to be in your room, or you don't think you'll run into one, you can wear whatever you like. I have to go change from my palace uniform into something suitable for dinner. Make yourself comfortable." And with that, she had disappeared into her own room.
The morning dawned bright and clear. Pan woke to see Aquarii sneaking silently around her room, doing her best not to wake the young girl. Pan smiled at the consideration of her motherly servant. She faked a yawn, sat up and stretched. Aquarii turned and smiled at the girl. "Ah, I see you are awake, young mistress. I have good news for you. The watcher fairies have all gone to some sort of meeting." Pan resisted the urge to whoop. She disliked all dresses, preferring pants and a half tunic. She went to her wardrobe and pulled out an emerald green, silk half tunic that matched her eyes. Then she pulled out a pair of light blue pants that rested on her hips and flowed down loosely to her ankles. Then she pulled on emerald boots that came up to about mid-calf. She sat down on the chair that was in front of her vanity as Aquarii brushed out her hair, which was tangled from not having been brushed the night before. Aquarii finished by putting it into the braid that Pan liked best. Then Pan slid simple silver and gold bracelets onto her wrists. She threw open the door and walked down to breakfast. She sat down and once again began eating quickly. Suddenly, she slapped herself in the forehead. She had forgotten about Kenshin. She stood up quickly, practically knocking over her chair and flew out of the dinning hall. As she was about to fly into the hallway that led to her and Kenshin's rooms, she saw that one of the other fairies had cornered him. "Why, aren't you just the cutest thing?" she asked him. Kenshin looked very uncomfortable. Pan's presence went unnoticed as she hovered at the end of the hallway. "Oro?" The fairy girl smiled. She ran a finger down Kenshin's cheek. "Don't you like me?" she asked him in a seductive whisper. For some odd reason, Pan's blood boiled. Kenshin tried to slip away without hurting the fairy. "Please miss..." he started. Pan took off, flapping her wings, gathering tremendous speed. She slammed into the girl fairy hard, catching a glimpse of Kenshin's surprised face. Pan landed on her feet in a fighting stance, staring down menacingly at the fairy who was now sprawled on the floor. "You. Do. Not. Touch. Him. He. Is. Mine," she forced out through gritted teeth. "Under. Stand?" she asked forcefully. The fairy nodded, her eyes filled with fear. She stood up and ran past Pan and down the stairs. Pan turned back to Kenshin. "Sorry. Some fairy girls are... well, like her. Fairies are very possessive, so I'm sorry if I call you 'Mine' in the future. It's not a sign of enslavement or anything, just a fairy thing." Kenshin nodded. Pan smiled at him for the first time, and Kenshin felt... happy. He didn't know why, but for some reason, when she smiled at him he felt a sense of peace and happiness that was almost indescribable. Then, something deep in his mind stirred. "Oh! You're the girl from my dreams, aren't you?" he asked. Pan's smile froze and then slid from her face. She blinked once, twice. Finally, she spoke. "W-what?" she asked in a quivering voice. Could he be...? No, he couldn't. He just couldn't. The chances were just too... it wasn't probable. "You visited me in my dreams after my wife, Tomoe, died, didn't you? I'm sure it is you. You tried to offer me some comfort, but there wasn't anything you could do. I grabbed your hand, told you that just your presence was a comfort. I remember that smile. I remember feeling calm, just as I do now. It has to be you, I just know it!" he cried. Pan felt scared and shocked. A single thought kept running through her mind, leaving no room for her to think of what to say to Kenshin. 'The prophecy...the prophecy...' She shuddered and forced the thought from her mind. "I believe I am."
Pan didn't sleep well that night. Knowing that one of the mortals that she hadn't been able to heal was nearby was not a comforting thought. She tossed and turned, falling into a light, nightmare filled sleep for a few hours, then waking to toss and turn again. The sun had just started to come over the sea when she finally fell into a deep slumber, taking her nightmares with her. So many memories fell into her dreams, evil and blood- filled. She was dimly aware that at some point she made a mad dash for the bathroom and threw up, but she dismissed it. She woke later to find Aquarii hovering over her, pressing a cold cloth to her forehead. In her semi-conscious, fever induced state, she couldn't understand why. She tried to push the servant away, but the woman stubbornly stayed put. Then she felt something being poured down her throat. She gagged and fought. She heard Aquarii calling and then warm hands restrained her arms and legs. She fought more, but her mouth was forced open and more of the liquid was poured into her throat. She finally fell into a hazy sleep, so light that she woke whenever Aquarii so much as blinked. When she finally woke, free of fever and sickness, she didn't know how much time had passed. She sighed. Aquarii walked into the room at that moment. "Milady! Are you all right? Do you feel better? How's your fever?" she whispered. "I feel fine now. Thank you for taking care of me," she whispered back. Aquarii smiled. "I was only doing my duty to you, milady," Aquarii whispered modestly. Pan smiled back. "Why are we whispering?" she asked. Aquarii giggled. "Oh, that's because Master Himura is asleep in a chair by the door," Aquarii told her. Pan sat up fast, causing her head to spin, but she ignored it. "What? Why? Why is he in here?" she demanded. Why in the world would the mortal be in her room? "He said something about paying you back for saving him from another fairy. He did a good job keeping watch over you. He also helped me get you to drink a healing draught, along with the King." Pan was confused. "Kenshin? He watched over me when I was sick? Man, he must have a magnified sense of guilt or something. How long was I sick?" she asked, secretly glad that he had. "A glivet." "A glivet!?" screeched Pan. She had no idea she had been sick so long! (Glivet = ten days) Over by the door, Kenshin stirred. He opened his eyes and blinked once or twice. "Oh, Miss Elveleg, I see that you are better. I'll be going beck to my room then," he said, rising from his chair. Pan could only stare after him.
That morning, after breakfast, the King called Kenshin to his council room. Kenshin entered warily, wondering what the King would ask him next. The King had already giving Kenshin a very vigorous interrogation, and Kenshin wondered what was left for the King to ask. "Ah, Kenshin. Thank you for coming so promptly," the King said when he spotted him. Kenshin merely nodded. "Listen, I have a project for you. I want both you and Pan to go to a special destination that I have chosen. It is a desolate area, specifically chosen to suit your guy's needs. You will stay there for two weeks. While you are there, I want Pan to train you in our ways of living and fighting. I want you to teach her mortal ways. It will be a learning experience for both of you," said the King. Kenshin looked shocked. "Two weeks!? Alone with Miss Elveleg!?" he asked. The King nodded. "That's right. Two weeks. I trust that you'll keep her out of trouble." Kenshin stood there stuttering for a moment before he could gather his wits. "Does Miss Elveleg know about this?" he finally asked. The King didn't make eye contact with him. "Well, not exactly." Kenshin fell over anime style. "She should be here any moment, I'll tell her then," he finished. Kenshin sweat dropped. "I don't think that it'll go over very well with her," he said. Just then there was a knock on the door. The King grinned at Kenshin. "Here goes nothing."
Kenshin was pretty sure that everyone in the palace could hear Pan's shocked shrieking. His ears were still ringing. Despite Pan's protests, they had been ready to go in two hours. Kenshin was wary of the huge winged horses that Pan had said were called 'Pegasus' at first, but he eventually got used to the violent rocking motion that he felt every time that their wings came up. Pan seemed to enjoy the ride, though she was still fuming a bit over the change in plans. She didn't speak at all during the ride and Kenshin didn't mind it. It gave him a chance to try and reflect on what was happening, to get a tighter grip on reality. An hour later they landed in front of a small house, barely bigger than Pan's bedroom at the palace. Pan groaned, cringing at the thought of having to share such small space. Kenshin didn't show any outward signs of disappointment or irritation, but he too groaned, if only in his mind. Pan sighed and walked inside, taking her pack off the Pegasus. It flew off as soon as it was relieved of its burden. Kenshin followed suit. When he got inside, Pan had already unrolled her sleeping bag and had claimed the entire right side of the house. Kenshin placed his stuff on the right. Pan pulled a sword out of her bag and grinned evilly at Kenshin. "Let's get started."
Thirteen hours later, Pan and Kenshin finally took a break, mainly because they didn't think their swords could take much more. Pan flopped down onto her sleeping bag and was asleep almost instantly. Kenshin smiled at her, then went to raid the small kitchen in the back. Back there he found food stored in the cupboards. In one of the cupboards, a note was sitting on the lowest shelf. Kenshin pulled it out and read it. 'Dear Pan or Kenshin- Don't worry about food. These cabinets are magicked to refill themselves when they get empty. Also, there is a special charm on the cabinets to keep all the food good for a long time. Hope you have fun!' Kenshin could practically hear someone laughing evilly at the last sentence of the note. He grabbed some food out of one of the cupboards and started to make himself some dinner. He ate quickly, then went to sleep on his side of the room. He woke up about six hours later to the sound of Pan screaming. She kept flailing her arms as if to get away from something and she kept crying out, something about people dying and her not being able to do anything. Hesitantly, Kenshin crawled over to her side of the room. "Pan? Are you okay? Wake up Pan," he said. She didn't wake up. He hesitated a little, then reached out and pulled her into a tight hug. She had given him comfort when Tomoe had died. The least he could do was to try and comfort her. She grew still in his arms, her tense muscles relaxing. He heard her sigh contentedly. He smiled and leaned against the wall, taking joy in watching the girl sleep. He didn't remember falling asleep still holding her.
Pan woke in the morning feeling totally at peace, as if nothing in the world could hurt her. Then she realized that Kenshin's arms were around her and that he was asleep, leaning against the wall. She remembered that she had had a nightmare, and then had suddenly felt safe. It occurred to her that maybe Kenshin was the reason she had suddenly felt so safe. She was a bit puzzled, but she let it pass. She decided that she didn't want to wake him just yet. He had a hard days training ahead of him and besides, he looked so sweet and innocent when he slept. Pan wanted to laugh. She wondered what Kenshin would say if anyone ever told him that. She leaned her head against his chest and went back to sleep.
Kenshin woke to find the sun in his eyes and Pan nestled safely in his arms. He could tell that she had probably woken at some time because she had shifted position slightly. He blushed slightly, thinking about what Sano and Yahiko would say about this, then started to panic when he thought of Miss Kauro. He relaxed a bit. If she ever found out, he would explain that he was just trying to comfort her. She would understand, she knew he always told the truth about important stuff like this. Besides, he loved Miss Kauro. He didn't love Pan the way he loved Kauro. Pan was kind of more like a little sister than anything. He felt Pan stir and he looked down at her. She looked up at him and grinned. "Have a nice nap?" she asked him, trying to keep the laughter out of her voice. He smiled down at her. "Yes, very nice," he told her. She laughed, a sound like lots of little bells ringing. She stretched a bit and sat up and Kenshin dropped his arms. She spun around where she sat and faced him. "What are you making for breakfast?" Pan asked. Kenshin raised an eyebrow at her. "Wait, I don't have a choice as to whether or not I make breakfast?" he asked. Pan grinned evilly. "No, you don't." Kenshin rolled his eyes. "You are under my control, MORTAL!" she shouted. Kenshin sweat dropped. Pan leapt up and pushed Kenshin into the kitchen. He sighed, then started to make some breakfast. In the meanwhile, Pan did some warm up exercises, using a wooden sword to practice her kata. Kenshin heard a shattering sound. He opened the door and poked out his head. "Is every thing all right in there?" he asked. He saw Pan sitting besides the wall, a dazed expression on her face, shattered pottery scattered around her. "What happened?" Pan shook her head and stood up. "I was practicing. I'm supposed to practice with a jar on my head everyday and it accidentally shattered. I'm okay," she said. Kenshin rolled his eyes again and went back into the kitchen to finish cooking breakfast. He called Pan into the kitchen and placed a tray with the breakfast food on it in front of her. Pan chowed down, pieces of rice flying everywhere. Kenshin joined her quickly. Both of them were starving. Suddenly Pan stopped and slammed her bowl down on the table. Kenshin jumped a foot into the air. "What is it? Why'd you stop eating?" questioned Kenshin. Pan didn't answer him. Her eyes seemed to be some place else. Then she blinked and her eyes returned to normal. "Something bad is happening... somewhere," she whispered. Kenshin stared. Pan stared back. "What?" she asked. Then she slapped herself in the forehead. "That's right. You mortals don't really know about telepathy and that sort of psychic stuff yet. Sorry, I forgot," she told him. Kenshin just stared some more. Pan sighed. "Fairies can send messages to each other in each other's minds. I got one from the King. It worries me, mainly because he didn't finish speaking. All I got was 'Pan, stay away, there are,' and then he stopped. I think something is happening back home, but if I go back and nothing is wrong, I'll get in trouble. Decisions, decisions," she said. She slammed her fist down on the table. Everything seemed to get really quiet for a moment. Then the table shattered into a million pieces of sawdust. Kenshin raised an eyebrow. "You know, a guy I knew named Sanosuke Sagara could do that." Pan grinned. "Yeah, it's a child's game," Pan said calmly. Kenshin shook his head. "Well, if you aren't going to go back, we should start training."
Most of the days went by uneventfully, until about a week later. Pan was making some lunch using her magic. She didn't notice the small ember that fell from the oven when she used her magic to put more logs into the wood burning stove. She didn't notice how it started to smolder on the floor. She went out and kicked Kenshin awake, because he had fallen asleep on his sleeping bag. He groaned as he sat up. Pan put a tray down in front of him, grinning evilly. He eyed the food warily. "You didn't poison this, did you?" he asked. Pan's grin grew wider. "Silly. Why in the world would I do that? We have to train more, so eat fast. Hurry!" she said. Kenshin sighed, then ate his food as quickly as he could without choking. Pan hovered over him, her wings making an annoying humming noise. Kenshin looked up at her. "Will you please stop that? It's very distracting," he said. She sighed and stopped hovering. She sniffed the air, a faint tendril of smoke crawling up her nose and invading her senses. "Kenshin? Do you smell smoke?" she asked him. Kenshin stopped eating and sniffed. "Yeah, I do. It's coming from the kitchen. What did you do?" he asked her. She shrugged. She stood up and pushed open the kitchen door. Flames leapt out at her. She yelled and jumped back. The edge of her pants and the sleeve of her tunic caught on fire. Kenshin grabbed her and slapped at the flames until they were out. Then he dragged Pan out of the house. They watched as the whole house was engulfed in flames. "Wow. That fire is burning fast," said Pan. "What are we supposed to do now?" asked Kenshin. Pan shrugged. "I guess I should contact someone and tell them that we have to come home because there was an accident," said Pan. She closed her eyes and concentrated on finding the King's mind. She had only been at it for a moment when she cried out in pain. "Ah! Ow, God, that hurt!" she said. Kenshin gave her a puzzled look. "Someone put a mind block on the King's mind. I don't think I should try again, the next time that happens I could get seriously hurt. I don't know what to do!" she yelled. Kenshin didn't know what to do either. He sat down on the ground next to Pan and analyzed everything that had happened. "Okay. So, the house burned down, we can't contact anyone. We are left with only our weapons and the clothes on our backs," he said in a dejected voice. "Pessimist. I'm going to try and call the Pegasus. Maybe they are free." Pan whistled shrilly. Then she sighed. "No, they aren't." She swore loudly. She leapt to her feet. "Well, at least we know that things can't get any worse," she said. Suddenly, the clouds above them poured rain down on them, soaking them in seconds. Kenshin glared at her. "You just had to say it, didn't you?" Pan shrugged. A small bird, its feathers very damp, clipped her in the head. "Ow! What's this?" she asked as the bird flew past again, dropping a rolled up piece of paper at her feet. She waved her hand in the air and some sort of protection against the rain formed around her. Kenshin was dumbfounded. "You couldn't have done that before?" he asked. Pan shook her head, then read the roll of paper. She gasped. Kenshin got up and read over her shoulder, though it was made difficult by the violent shaking of Pan's hands. 'Pan- I'm writing this in great haste. I did not manage to finish my mind message to you, so I am sending this. Stay away. There are Dracos invading. Do not come back to the palace unless a note is sent to you from me. No heroics this time Pan. They are more deadly now. They have better weapons. I'm sending this with our fastest owl. King of Layavi, Sir Jon Montoya P.S. – I hope that you are teaching the mortal well. KEEP HIM SAFE!' "What does he mean, 'no heroics this time'?" Kenshin asked. "Did something like this happen before?" Pan nodded stiffly. "Yes. I happened to be out on a hunting trip when the Dracos invaded. I scraped together the members of nomadic fairy tribes and we took their fortress, freeing the fairies," said Pan. She clenched her fist, crumpling the letter. "I don't care what he says, I'm rescuing them!" she said. She turned to Kenshin, spreading her wings. "Don't move," she said harshly. He froze. Pan leapt into the air and flew behind him. She grabbed him around his waist and she flapped hard. Kenshin nearly had a heart attack. He was used to being very fast, but the speed at which Pan was flying was insane! "Ah! Tree!" he screamed. Pan had headed towards a dense forest and she was flying so fast that she would sometimes just barely miss a tree. Kenshin though that it was ironic that he had spent so many times locked in deadly battles with strangers and he was going to meet his end now, in the hands of a person he had grown to trust. "Ah!" he screamed again. Pan pulled up and shot out of the trees into the air above them. She was laughing, barely able to keep her grip on Kenshin. She glided over the trees, letting herself drop low enough so that Kenshin's toes almost were caught in tree tops. "You couldn't have flown above the trees in the first place?" he asked, swirly-eyed. Pan just laughed again, then grew serious. "We have a long way to go, so I'd appreciate it if you just chilled."
Three hours later, Pan started to fly lower to the ground. Kenshin had fallen asleep. Pan shook him. "Kenshin!" He jerked awake so quickly that Pan lost her grip for a moment. Kenshin plummeted towards the ground. Pan sighed and dove quickly, catching Kenshin ten feet above the ground. "Good job!" she said sarcastically. Kenshin didn't say anything in return. "We'll be there shortly," she told him. He groaned and stretched his arms a little. "How long was I asleep?" he asked. "About two and a half hours," she said. "And you were dead weight the whole time." Kenshin grinned, an uncharacteristically evil grin. "Good. You deserved it for what you did to me. Scaring me when we flew into the forest, nearly making me have a heart attack." Pan rolled her eyes. Now she was low enough to the ground that Kenshin's toes were nearly skimming the grass. She let go of him and then landed in front of him. She crouched down low, and Kenshin almost lost sight of her. He walked towards her. "Pan? Where did you go?" he said. She reached up and grabbed his sleeve, pulling him down next to her. "Shh," she hissed. "Be quiet and stay close to the ground. Not everyone around here is friendly. I can't fly across this clearing. There are Dracos prowling around. I'd be shot down before I got half way across. Stay low and crawl after me," she whispered to him, then began to wriggle her way across the expanse of open grass. She stopped occasionally, listening and watching the trees on either side of her. Kenshin followed closely, almost crawling onto her feet at times. She wiggled a little beyond the line of trees on the other side, then stood up. She turned around and helped Kenshin up. Then she walked briskly into the forest. She stopped in front of a large tree that had a large hole in it. She plunged her hand down into the hole and pulled out what looked like a medium-sized black box. She pushed a few buttons on its side and then spoke into it in
Fayleth. Kenshin, of course, didn't understand what she was saying. "Iti Ushuwai Panethia," she said. She paused for a moment, and Kenshin could here a series of clicks and a voice coming from the box. It seemed to be speaking in the same language as Pan was. "Wi, uon omme," she said, then placed the box back into the tree. She tapped a knot on the side of the tree next to the hole and a door appeared in the side of the tree. Kenshin's jaw dropped. Pan turned around and looked at him. "Are you coming?" she asked. Kenshin closed his mouth and walked behind Pan. They descended down a long spiral staircase. Over the sides of the stairs, Kenshin could see a bustling metropolis, an underground city. Lantern light bouncing off of shimmering wings made the whole city look like a shinning master piece, an artwork created by a master painter. Suddenly, the whole city became silent, the only noise the buzz of many people whispering. Kenshin watched Pan, to see if she noticed the sudden silence, but if she had, she didn't react to it in any way that he noticed. The only reaction was that Pan's posture became even better and her eyes narrowed slightly. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Pan walked quickly towards a grand building in the middle of the city. Kenshin could hear the whispering all about them. "Dirty, half-blood. She's not suited to be our princess." "How could the fates choose a mucker?" "We'll see how long she lasts when she's queen." "I bet she's terrible at flying and fighting." The whispers were so hard to miss. Kenshin wondered for a moment if Pan had suddenly gone deaf, but then it occurred to him that she had heard these insults before and she was ignoring the whispers. A loud shout rent the air. "Mucker!" shouted a young boy. His shout was followed by a stone thrown at Pan's head. Pan caught the stone easily, not turning her head. She crushed it in her hand, reducing it to a fine powder. The whispers stopped for a moment, but Pan did not. She kept walking. Kenshin became aware of new whispers. "What's that following her?" "Think it's a sort of odd pet?" "It looks like a mortal. Maybe it's our beloved queen's betrothed." The last remark, said with liberal sarcasm, started a ripple of laughter. Pan walked calmly and slowly up the stone steps and up into the building. There, a large man greeted her warmly, quite the opposite of the people outside. "Princess, how lovely to see you again. Unfourtunetly, I have some grave news to discuss with you," he said. Pan nodded. "I know. The Dracos are invading. What do you plan to do about it?" she asked him, her voice sounding just as serious as the man's. Kenshin had never heard her this serious. It almost scared him. "Well, the only option that we really have is to send an military force to seize important people, people that are vital to Draco society. We can hold them ransom and demand that the Dracos retreat to their homelands on the other side of the ocean," said the man. "Sir McKinney, are you suggesting that we kidnap people? I do not approve of such a weak course of action. We need to fight back, to reclaim our land," said Pan. Kenshin watched, slightly amused. The man that Pan spoke to was a foot taller than her, which scared Kenshin because Pan was immensely taller than him, and probably weighed six times what she did. It amused him to see Pan arguing with the man who could probably beat her into a pulp easily. "Who will lead them Princess? The people are frightened, scared for their children's future. We need a leader who will not be afraid, but everyone is afraid. Who do you suggest?" bellowed the man. Pan narrowed her eyes at the man and the man fell silent. He seemed to quake under Pan's stare. "I will lead them. I do not know how well they will obey, but I will lead them," she said. Her voice was so quiet and calm, it scared Kenshin to his bones. He saw McKinney quiver slightly as she spoke. The man nodded. "As you wish, you highness. I will assemble a large group of my most loyal men," he said. Pan shook her head. "No. I will not be responsible for the loss of your men. I want volunteers. They are less likely to run from a battle if they join voluntarily. And I will not take anyone younger than I. And not just men. Any woman who wishes to join shall be allowed to fight. They are stronger then men," she said. McKinney hesitated. "Women stronger than men?" he questioned. Pan's eyes became a bit more narrowed. "I would love to see a man have a baby and not be a complete baby themselves," she hissed. McKinney shook. He nodded quickly. "Yes, your highness." He turned to a small man hovering in a corner. "Let it be known that the Princess has decreed that volunteers, both men and women, aged sixteen years or older, can sign up to help fight the growing threat of the Dracos," he said. The small man nodded. "No. Say Sir McKinney has decreed that. They will not come if it is said that I gave those orders," said Pan quickly. Again, the small man nodded. "I will go with you to answer questions. I think I have figured out the Princess's thinking enough that I can take on her frame of mind," said McKinney. Pan nodded in agreement. McKinney and the small man swept out of the room. Pan sighed and to Kenshin it seemed that she wilted slightly. "Pan?" he asked. She turned to face him, looking very weary. The three hours of flying had probably taken their toll on her, Kenshin thought. "Yes, Kenshin?" she asked. "What in the world is a mucker?" he asked her. "It's a person who isn't a full blooded fairy," she told him. Kenshin thought for a moment. "Aren't you a full blooded fairy?" Pan shook her head. "No. My father was an Elf. I'm half-Elven, half-Fairy." Kenshin could see that Pan was bit uncomfortable talking about her heiratege, so he let it drop. "Pan!" called a voice. It seemed to come from a staircase that was on the other side of the room. Standing on the stairs was a girl of about Pan's age. She looked almost exactly like Pan. She had the same hair and build, the only difference between them being height and eye color. This girl's eyes were an odd shade of purple-blue. She ran down the stairs and hugged the taller girl. "Oh, Pan, I missed you so much! I was so worried that you were at the palace when it was attacked, but you always seem to get lucky, don't you?" laughed the girl. Pan nodded, a grin on her face. "Kenshin, this is Pen, my best friend. We grew up together. She and her family used to live in the palace before her father was knighted and they came to live here," Pan said to Kenshin. Pen curtsied to Kenshin and Kenshin bowed to her. "He's a bit short, isn't he?" whispered Pen. Kenshin heard her. Pen continued, a bit louder now. "But he's really cute, for a mortal, isn't he?" Pan rolled her eyes and Kenshin blushed. Pen caught his blush and giggled. "Anyway," Pan said loudly, as a way of averting Pen's attention from Kenshin. "Where are the little demons?" asked Pan. Screams were heard coming from the staircase, sounding like a hundred little children were yelling at the same time. "Pan!" shouted three identical little boys at once. They ran down the staircase and tackled Pan. Pan laughed as she fell over. "Kenshin, these are..." she started. She grabbed one little boy and held him up, "Dragon," she said, letting go of the little boy, "Tiger, and Cat," she told him, holding up each small boy in turn. Dragon giggled and stood up. His brothers followed suit. Tiger studied Kenshin carefully for a moment, then walked up to him. "You look really funny. Where are your wings?" he asked. Kenshin smiled. "I don't have wings. I'm not a fairy," he told them. "Oh," said the one named Cat. "Are you an Elf then?" Kenshin shook his head. "No, I'm a mortal." This reply seemed to cause an amazing amount of noise. There was a split second of silence, then all three boys screamed at once. They ran to Pan and Pen and tried to climb into their arms. "He'll eat us! He'll burn us alive! He's a mortal! He's going to kill us all!" screeched the boys in terror. Pan nearly lost her balance as Tiger and Cat flew to her shoulders and clung to her shirt. "Chill, shorties. He's not going to hurt you. He's a cool human," said Pan. This didn't seem to relax the boys much, but they trusted Pan. Pan grinned at Pen and Kenshin. "Who's ready for a war?"
Pan sat on the edge of her bed, her knees drawn to her chest, her arms wrapped loosely around them. She was lost in her thoughts, oblivious to the comings and goings of the servants. She only stirred when Aquarii, the servant woman, touched her on the shoulder and asked her if she would like some dinner. Pan looked up at Aquarii, shook her head, and returned to her thoughts. Aquarii sighed, then left. An elegant gold and silver clock that had gems shaped like numbers around the edges ticked away in the corner of Pan's room. Pan hardly moved when the clock chimed softly, declaring the hour to be midnight. Pan then stood up and stretched her arms, legs, and wings. She bound back her silver-gold hair, weaving it into a braid and binding it with a length of blue silk. She threw open the doors to the balcony that overlooked the cliff that the palace was perched on, and the sea. Pan breathed in the salty air, enjoying its familiar scent, not quit ready for her trip to the mortal world. Her last trip had been disheartening, to say the least. She had watched a mortal woman die in the arms of a mortal man. She had followed the man, waiting for him to fall asleep. When he finally did, she entered his dreams, hoping to bring him comfort. But she could find no way to comfort him, though his dream-self claimed that her mere presence was comforting. Pan felt distraught that she was unable to offer him permanent comfort. She hated being a death fairy and a dream fairy. Because she was, she was sent to comfort people in their dreams after the death of a loved one. Occasionally, there was a mortal that she couldn't comfort, and when there was, she felt so thoroughly depressed by the thought that she would spend entire days just sitting in her room, her thoughts always coming back to the poor mortal. She grasped the marble railing of the balcony, her knuckles turning white. She sighed. She had to leave now. There was a revolution in Japan, and she would have to work quickly if she wanted to be able to comfort those who had lost loved ones. She was grateful that she wasn't the grim fairy. She had to take souls to the Judges, which wasn't always a pretty thing, especially if the soul was an evil thing. Often they struggled with the grim fairy, inflicting some damage as they did so. Pan turned back to her room, shutting the doors to the balcony firmly behind her and drawing all the curtains in the room. Then she changed from the long, flowing gown she wore around the palace into the clothes that she wore while she was out in people's dreams. She choose a silver-blue half tunic, which had loose sleeves that started to flare at the elbow and ended at her wrists and was tight around her chest, stopping just above her stomach and had a square neckline. She put on a pair of matching pants that were tight at the waist and loose every where else, making it look like the pants were narrow bells. She kicked off the silver slippers that were mandatory around the palace and slid on blue flats that tied at her ankles. She also slid on silver bracelets that wound their way up to her elbow, silver in color, shot through with bits of gold and had little jewels embedded in them. For a final touch, she put on her silver dream-weaver tiara, which formed a wide v-shape at her forehead, a single emerald jewel on the point of the v. She grabbed her staff, silver, and wound about with gold wire, topped with a crescent moon and star emblem, the symbol of dream fairies. She threw open the balcony doors, leapt up onto the railing, and took off into the cool night.
Kenshin woke clutching his blanket. He could have sworn he had heard something. He listened for a moment, then laid back down to go back to sleep. He was dreaming of the girl again. She was beautiful. She had silver wings that had specks of blue and gold in the feathers and silver-gold hair that was in a long braid. Her emerald eyes had looked into his amethyst eyes, searching for a way to take away his grief. She had visited him in his dreams after Tomoe had died, trying to comfort him, and failing. He somehow knew that she wasn't just a dream, just a figment of his imagination. He always wondered who she was and why she was in his dreams. He remembered her strange clothes, how they left parts of her bare and how he had been shocked by this at first. Most women would never leave their stomach bare. He had eventually grown use to it, and he wished he could speak to the girl, who looked no more than sixteen years old. But every time he saw her in his dreams, he was never able to ask her a single question, could only tell her that she shouldn't worry about not being able to take away his grief. He had only really met her once. The rest had all been dreams, memories of her, though he wished they weren't. He wanted her to come back. Kenshin looked out the window of his room at the Kamiya Dojo. He smiled as he remembered Kauro and Yahiko chasing each other around and around the yard that night before everyone went to bed. He sighed and drew the blanket back up around his neck and closed his eyes, summoning sleep to return to him once more.
Pan crawled under the covers of her large bed just as the sun was starting to rise. It had been a long night. Even though the number of deaths had dropped dramatically since the end of the revolution in Japan, there were still far too many deaths in the world for them to be caused by nature. Pan curled into a small ball as she wondered what in the world was happening to all the mortals. But the last thing she thought of as she fell into the black depth called sleep was the mortal that she had seen so long ago.
Pan was shaken awake by Aquarii early the next morning. "Milady. Milady, wake up. It is almost breakfast, and the King said that he would like to hold council with you before hand," she whispered to the sleeping child. Pan blinked sleepily, her eyes clouded with sleep. She had gotten in very late last night, later than she was supposed to. Pan silently cursed how odd the mortal world was. She always forgot that mortal time was different from Layavi time. She sighed and sat up. She kicked off the shoes that she had worn last night, and slipped her feet into the silver slippers that sat next to her bed. She looked down and realized that she was still wearing her clothes from last night. She cursed silently once more. She wrestled her way out of the shirt and slipped on a gown, telling Aquarii not to bother with her hair, she'd fix it later. She slid off the baggy pants she had worn and dashed out the door, towards the King's council area, two floors down. She arrived two minutes later, out of breath, her hair falling out of its braid. The King smiled, amused at the disheveled appearance of the young fairy. "Hello Pan. Please, have a seat," he said, motioning to a wooden chair. Pan sat slowly, taking comfort in the King's firm, but gentle voice. "Your majesty, Aquarii told me that you wished to speak with me previous to breakfast. What is it that you wish to discuss?" she asked, bowing her head a little. The King chuckled a little. "Well, Pan, as I understand it, you will be soon reaching your one-thousand five-hundredth birthday soon. What would you like to do to celebrate?" he asked. "After all, the heir to the throne should have a grand party, to match their own magnificence," he said, smiling down warmly on his heir. Pan blushed. "Your majesty, you know as well as I do that the fates only picked me to be your heir because I was the only one young enough. Anyway, I don't really think I should have a party. It's not an important date. It's not like it's my coming-of-age or anything," she said. The King chuckled again. "Very well. You may go to breakfast now. I suspect you're starving. If I'm not mistaken, you missed dinner again last night." Pan nodded. She rose from the chair, bowed to the King and left the room, careful not to turn her back on him. She respected the King greatly and she did not want to show him any sign of disrespect. She walked down to the dinning hall, her stomach growling loudly. She pulled out her chair and sat down heavily. She immediately dug into the delicious food that was before her, eating quickly. This month she was seated next to the grim fairy and she did not wish to endure an uncomfortable silence all though breakfast. The grim fairy wasn't mean, but she was silent, speaking rarely and uncomfortable silences seemed to follow her. On Pan's other side sat one of the chaos fairies, a happy girl named Calypso. Calypso was always chattering constantly, and although she seemed a bit flighty at first, she was as level-headed as anyone. She had once confided in Pan that she wished she hadn't been born a chaos fairy, because she liked to see people happy, but when Pan suggested that she try to speak to one of the fates about it, Calypso had looked absolutely horrified. Pan finished her breakfast quickly and left the dinning hall, telling Calypso that she would talk with her more later. Pan almost ran out the door and kept running until she reached the garden paths. Once there, she slowed her pace, taking in the beauty of the gardens. She stopped at the patch that she had helped the garden fairies plant just last year. She was happy to see that her little seedlings were starting to bloom, and were already giving off a sweet scent. Pan placed her hand on the dirt and gave a bit of her life force to the plants, wanting them to grow and flourish so that the garden fairies wouldn't have to dig them up. The ground glowed where her fingertips touched, and then the glow faded. Before her eyes, Pan's flowers seemed to straighten and grow taller. Pan smiled and then turned back the garden path. A crashing sound made her look away from the tall sunflower-like plants that she had been admiring. She looked behind her and saw a man sitting there, a dazed look in his eyes. Pan's eyes widened when she saw that he had no wings. She panicked and her thoughts started to become confused. 'Mortals aren't allowed here! What am I going to do? Should I hide him? Should I bring him to the King?' While she was thinking, the man got to his feet, still looking a little dazed. Pan felt like she should remember something about this man, he looked so familiar, with his red hair and violet eyes. And the cross shaped scar on his cheek. He was wearing a gi and hakama and had a sword tucked into the belt of his hakama. He looked at her for a moment, and then gasped. He was about to speak to her when Pan decided to speak first. "What are you doing here? Mortals are not allowed in our realm. How did you get here?" she demanded in Japanese. He looked confused. "What? Where's here? Where am I? Do I know you? You look familiar," he said. Pan silently thanked the gods that fairies were taught languages at an early age. "I don't think you know me. This is Layavi, the Fairy Realm. I ask again, how did you get here?" The man shook his head. "I don't know. I had just fallen asleep when I felt like I was falling and then I crashed here." Pan suddenly heard the sound of footsteps. She grabbed the man's arm and shoved him into the tall plants, whose broad leaves hid him fairly well. "Hide," she hissed at him. A death fairy suddenly appeared on the path. "Hello, Princess," said the fairy cheerfully, then continued on his way. Pan nodded. "Hello, Telesto," she said politely. She waited until she could no longer see his wings, then pulled the man out of the plants. "It is dangerous for you to be around. I don't know how the others will react. We've never had a mortal find his way here. You better pray that they don't all kill you on the spot. I think I'll bring you to see the King, he'll know what to do," she told him. "Is the King your father?" asked the man. "What?" asked Pan. She'd never heard a more foolish question in her life. "Is the King your father? I heard that man address you as 'Princess'. Wouldn't that make you his daughter?" he explained. Pan laughed. "Oh, I forgot, you mortals inherit royalty. Well, here in Layavi, the heir to the throne is chosen by the fates. It has nothing to do with birth. I was chosen to be the next heir. That is why my title is princess," she explained. "Oh. Well, my name is Kenshin Himura," he said. Pan nodded, acknowledging him. He looked at her expectantly for a moment, then spoke again. "What's your name?" he prompted. "Pan Elveleg," she said shortly, not really wanting to tell him her name. She quickened her pace, hoping to get to the council room before anyone saw her with this mortal. She practically dashed up the palace steps, Kenshin sprinting alongside her. She reached the council room unseen by the other fairies. She knocked firmly on the door, praying that no one except the King was in there. "Come in," called the King. Pan gently pushed open the door. "Ah, Pan. What can I do for you?" Pan stepped into the council room, relieved to find that the King was alone at the moment. She bowed her head slightly, then spoke quickly. "Um, your majesty, I found a mortal out in the gardens and I was wondering if you knew what we should do with him," she said. The King looked startled for a moment, but then recovered. "Ah, yes, I was afraid this would happen. May I have a look at him?" asked the King. Pan nodded. She reached behind her and grabbed Kenshin's arm. She pulled him into the room. Kenshin bowed to the King. The King walked in a circle around him, examining him. Kenshin stood tall, shoulders back, head high. "Hmm, seems healthy enough. More than I expected from a mortal. Tell me, mortal, do you know how you got here?" asked the King. Kenshin shook his head. "I'll tell you. I summoned you here because I wish to know more about the mortal realm. I also wish to know more about mortal swordsmanship. Can you help me with that?" Pan gasped. "Your highness, I beg your pardon, but to drag a mortal away from his home simply to satisfy your own curiosity is- is abominable. The fairy council would not approve. I'm summoning them now! They must know of this... this indecent use of magic!" said Pan, nearing outrage. The King placed a hand on Pan's shoulder. "Calm down, little one." Pan narrowed her eyes when he said little one. "I have already spoken with the council and they wish to know more about the mortals. I assure you that he'll be quite all right," he said, his soothing voice making Pan's anger disappear. She bowed her head once again as a way of apology, but looked disturbed at the fact that the council had approved such an act. The King turned back to Kenshin. "So, tell me what you know of the mortal world."
That night, Pan wasn't on duty. She lay in her bed, wondering what surprises that next day would bring. She had protested greatly when the King had put her in charge of the mortal's welfare. When he suggested that perhaps one of the nightmare fairies should look after him, she accepted in a rush. "I wouldn't subject anyone to the nightmares you can get if you stay in close contact with a nightmare fairy," she said with a shudder. "I take it that you've been in close contact with a nightmare fairy before?" he asked. Pan nodded, but didn't elaborate, her face an expressionless mask. Kenshin let it drop. She led him down a long hallway that had wood doors on both sides. Kenshin couldn't stop staring. Almost every surface had been covered with a precious metal or jewels. Even the doors had patterns made out of gold and silver and inlaid with many jewels that winked out from the intricate works when they caught the light. Pan stopped in front of a door that had a pattern of a silver vine with flowers and leaves growing from it with sapphires for flowers. She pushed open the door and ushered him inside. "You'll stay here. If you need anything, ring this bell next to the door. It leads down to the servant's quarters. They will attend to you every need." She stepped out of the room and pointed at a door at the end of the hall. It had a pattern made out of both silver and gold and had emeralds in it. "That's my room. If you have a problem, come talk to me. Everyone in this hall is under my watch. I take care of them. Many are refugees that I saved from an evil overlord," she said, her emerald eyes darkening at the memory. "Also, we will provide clothing for all social events, so please consult the servants on what to wear if you know that an important event is occurring. Tonight there isn't anything going on, so you may wear what you like. You will find fresh clothes to your liking in that wardrobe," she told him, pointing at a handsome wardrobe made out of what looked to be carved mahogany. "Please do not hesitate to ring one of the servants or come and get me. Also, there is one last thing. During the day, if you think you might run into a watcher fairy, please wear loose silver pants and a tunic. The watcher fairies like everyone to be in palace uniform during the day, but if you're just going to be in your room, or you don't think you'll run into one, you can wear whatever you like. I have to go change from my palace uniform into something suitable for dinner. Make yourself comfortable." And with that, she had disappeared into her own room.
The morning dawned bright and clear. Pan woke to see Aquarii sneaking silently around her room, doing her best not to wake the young girl. Pan smiled at the consideration of her motherly servant. She faked a yawn, sat up and stretched. Aquarii turned and smiled at the girl. "Ah, I see you are awake, young mistress. I have good news for you. The watcher fairies have all gone to some sort of meeting." Pan resisted the urge to whoop. She disliked all dresses, preferring pants and a half tunic. She went to her wardrobe and pulled out an emerald green, silk half tunic that matched her eyes. Then she pulled out a pair of light blue pants that rested on her hips and flowed down loosely to her ankles. Then she pulled on emerald boots that came up to about mid-calf. She sat down on the chair that was in front of her vanity as Aquarii brushed out her hair, which was tangled from not having been brushed the night before. Aquarii finished by putting it into the braid that Pan liked best. Then Pan slid simple silver and gold bracelets onto her wrists. She threw open the door and walked down to breakfast. She sat down and once again began eating quickly. Suddenly, she slapped herself in the forehead. She had forgotten about Kenshin. She stood up quickly, practically knocking over her chair and flew out of the dinning hall. As she was about to fly into the hallway that led to her and Kenshin's rooms, she saw that one of the other fairies had cornered him. "Why, aren't you just the cutest thing?" she asked him. Kenshin looked very uncomfortable. Pan's presence went unnoticed as she hovered at the end of the hallway. "Oro?" The fairy girl smiled. She ran a finger down Kenshin's cheek. "Don't you like me?" she asked him in a seductive whisper. For some odd reason, Pan's blood boiled. Kenshin tried to slip away without hurting the fairy. "Please miss..." he started. Pan took off, flapping her wings, gathering tremendous speed. She slammed into the girl fairy hard, catching a glimpse of Kenshin's surprised face. Pan landed on her feet in a fighting stance, staring down menacingly at the fairy who was now sprawled on the floor. "You. Do. Not. Touch. Him. He. Is. Mine," she forced out through gritted teeth. "Under. Stand?" she asked forcefully. The fairy nodded, her eyes filled with fear. She stood up and ran past Pan and down the stairs. Pan turned back to Kenshin. "Sorry. Some fairy girls are... well, like her. Fairies are very possessive, so I'm sorry if I call you 'Mine' in the future. It's not a sign of enslavement or anything, just a fairy thing." Kenshin nodded. Pan smiled at him for the first time, and Kenshin felt... happy. He didn't know why, but for some reason, when she smiled at him he felt a sense of peace and happiness that was almost indescribable. Then, something deep in his mind stirred. "Oh! You're the girl from my dreams, aren't you?" he asked. Pan's smile froze and then slid from her face. She blinked once, twice. Finally, she spoke. "W-what?" she asked in a quivering voice. Could he be...? No, he couldn't. He just couldn't. The chances were just too... it wasn't probable. "You visited me in my dreams after my wife, Tomoe, died, didn't you? I'm sure it is you. You tried to offer me some comfort, but there wasn't anything you could do. I grabbed your hand, told you that just your presence was a comfort. I remember that smile. I remember feeling calm, just as I do now. It has to be you, I just know it!" he cried. Pan felt scared and shocked. A single thought kept running through her mind, leaving no room for her to think of what to say to Kenshin. 'The prophecy...the prophecy...' She shuddered and forced the thought from her mind. "I believe I am."
Pan didn't sleep well that night. Knowing that one of the mortals that she hadn't been able to heal was nearby was not a comforting thought. She tossed and turned, falling into a light, nightmare filled sleep for a few hours, then waking to toss and turn again. The sun had just started to come over the sea when she finally fell into a deep slumber, taking her nightmares with her. So many memories fell into her dreams, evil and blood- filled. She was dimly aware that at some point she made a mad dash for the bathroom and threw up, but she dismissed it. She woke later to find Aquarii hovering over her, pressing a cold cloth to her forehead. In her semi-conscious, fever induced state, she couldn't understand why. She tried to push the servant away, but the woman stubbornly stayed put. Then she felt something being poured down her throat. She gagged and fought. She heard Aquarii calling and then warm hands restrained her arms and legs. She fought more, but her mouth was forced open and more of the liquid was poured into her throat. She finally fell into a hazy sleep, so light that she woke whenever Aquarii so much as blinked. When she finally woke, free of fever and sickness, she didn't know how much time had passed. She sighed. Aquarii walked into the room at that moment. "Milady! Are you all right? Do you feel better? How's your fever?" she whispered. "I feel fine now. Thank you for taking care of me," she whispered back. Aquarii smiled. "I was only doing my duty to you, milady," Aquarii whispered modestly. Pan smiled back. "Why are we whispering?" she asked. Aquarii giggled. "Oh, that's because Master Himura is asleep in a chair by the door," Aquarii told her. Pan sat up fast, causing her head to spin, but she ignored it. "What? Why? Why is he in here?" she demanded. Why in the world would the mortal be in her room? "He said something about paying you back for saving him from another fairy. He did a good job keeping watch over you. He also helped me get you to drink a healing draught, along with the King." Pan was confused. "Kenshin? He watched over me when I was sick? Man, he must have a magnified sense of guilt or something. How long was I sick?" she asked, secretly glad that he had. "A glivet." "A glivet!?" screeched Pan. She had no idea she had been sick so long! (Glivet = ten days) Over by the door, Kenshin stirred. He opened his eyes and blinked once or twice. "Oh, Miss Elveleg, I see that you are better. I'll be going beck to my room then," he said, rising from his chair. Pan could only stare after him.
That morning, after breakfast, the King called Kenshin to his council room. Kenshin entered warily, wondering what the King would ask him next. The King had already giving Kenshin a very vigorous interrogation, and Kenshin wondered what was left for the King to ask. "Ah, Kenshin. Thank you for coming so promptly," the King said when he spotted him. Kenshin merely nodded. "Listen, I have a project for you. I want both you and Pan to go to a special destination that I have chosen. It is a desolate area, specifically chosen to suit your guy's needs. You will stay there for two weeks. While you are there, I want Pan to train you in our ways of living and fighting. I want you to teach her mortal ways. It will be a learning experience for both of you," said the King. Kenshin looked shocked. "Two weeks!? Alone with Miss Elveleg!?" he asked. The King nodded. "That's right. Two weeks. I trust that you'll keep her out of trouble." Kenshin stood there stuttering for a moment before he could gather his wits. "Does Miss Elveleg know about this?" he finally asked. The King didn't make eye contact with him. "Well, not exactly." Kenshin fell over anime style. "She should be here any moment, I'll tell her then," he finished. Kenshin sweat dropped. "I don't think that it'll go over very well with her," he said. Just then there was a knock on the door. The King grinned at Kenshin. "Here goes nothing."
Kenshin was pretty sure that everyone in the palace could hear Pan's shocked shrieking. His ears were still ringing. Despite Pan's protests, they had been ready to go in two hours. Kenshin was wary of the huge winged horses that Pan had said were called 'Pegasus' at first, but he eventually got used to the violent rocking motion that he felt every time that their wings came up. Pan seemed to enjoy the ride, though she was still fuming a bit over the change in plans. She didn't speak at all during the ride and Kenshin didn't mind it. It gave him a chance to try and reflect on what was happening, to get a tighter grip on reality. An hour later they landed in front of a small house, barely bigger than Pan's bedroom at the palace. Pan groaned, cringing at the thought of having to share such small space. Kenshin didn't show any outward signs of disappointment or irritation, but he too groaned, if only in his mind. Pan sighed and walked inside, taking her pack off the Pegasus. It flew off as soon as it was relieved of its burden. Kenshin followed suit. When he got inside, Pan had already unrolled her sleeping bag and had claimed the entire right side of the house. Kenshin placed his stuff on the right. Pan pulled a sword out of her bag and grinned evilly at Kenshin. "Let's get started."
Thirteen hours later, Pan and Kenshin finally took a break, mainly because they didn't think their swords could take much more. Pan flopped down onto her sleeping bag and was asleep almost instantly. Kenshin smiled at her, then went to raid the small kitchen in the back. Back there he found food stored in the cupboards. In one of the cupboards, a note was sitting on the lowest shelf. Kenshin pulled it out and read it. 'Dear Pan or Kenshin- Don't worry about food. These cabinets are magicked to refill themselves when they get empty. Also, there is a special charm on the cabinets to keep all the food good for a long time. Hope you have fun!' Kenshin could practically hear someone laughing evilly at the last sentence of the note. He grabbed some food out of one of the cupboards and started to make himself some dinner. He ate quickly, then went to sleep on his side of the room. He woke up about six hours later to the sound of Pan screaming. She kept flailing her arms as if to get away from something and she kept crying out, something about people dying and her not being able to do anything. Hesitantly, Kenshin crawled over to her side of the room. "Pan? Are you okay? Wake up Pan," he said. She didn't wake up. He hesitated a little, then reached out and pulled her into a tight hug. She had given him comfort when Tomoe had died. The least he could do was to try and comfort her. She grew still in his arms, her tense muscles relaxing. He heard her sigh contentedly. He smiled and leaned against the wall, taking joy in watching the girl sleep. He didn't remember falling asleep still holding her.
Pan woke in the morning feeling totally at peace, as if nothing in the world could hurt her. Then she realized that Kenshin's arms were around her and that he was asleep, leaning against the wall. She remembered that she had had a nightmare, and then had suddenly felt safe. It occurred to her that maybe Kenshin was the reason she had suddenly felt so safe. She was a bit puzzled, but she let it pass. She decided that she didn't want to wake him just yet. He had a hard days training ahead of him and besides, he looked so sweet and innocent when he slept. Pan wanted to laugh. She wondered what Kenshin would say if anyone ever told him that. She leaned her head against his chest and went back to sleep.
Kenshin woke to find the sun in his eyes and Pan nestled safely in his arms. He could tell that she had probably woken at some time because she had shifted position slightly. He blushed slightly, thinking about what Sano and Yahiko would say about this, then started to panic when he thought of Miss Kauro. He relaxed a bit. If she ever found out, he would explain that he was just trying to comfort her. She would understand, she knew he always told the truth about important stuff like this. Besides, he loved Miss Kauro. He didn't love Pan the way he loved Kauro. Pan was kind of more like a little sister than anything. He felt Pan stir and he looked down at her. She looked up at him and grinned. "Have a nice nap?" she asked him, trying to keep the laughter out of her voice. He smiled down at her. "Yes, very nice," he told her. She laughed, a sound like lots of little bells ringing. She stretched a bit and sat up and Kenshin dropped his arms. She spun around where she sat and faced him. "What are you making for breakfast?" Pan asked. Kenshin raised an eyebrow at her. "Wait, I don't have a choice as to whether or not I make breakfast?" he asked. Pan grinned evilly. "No, you don't." Kenshin rolled his eyes. "You are under my control, MORTAL!" she shouted. Kenshin sweat dropped. Pan leapt up and pushed Kenshin into the kitchen. He sighed, then started to make some breakfast. In the meanwhile, Pan did some warm up exercises, using a wooden sword to practice her kata. Kenshin heard a shattering sound. He opened the door and poked out his head. "Is every thing all right in there?" he asked. He saw Pan sitting besides the wall, a dazed expression on her face, shattered pottery scattered around her. "What happened?" Pan shook her head and stood up. "I was practicing. I'm supposed to practice with a jar on my head everyday and it accidentally shattered. I'm okay," she said. Kenshin rolled his eyes again and went back into the kitchen to finish cooking breakfast. He called Pan into the kitchen and placed a tray with the breakfast food on it in front of her. Pan chowed down, pieces of rice flying everywhere. Kenshin joined her quickly. Both of them were starving. Suddenly Pan stopped and slammed her bowl down on the table. Kenshin jumped a foot into the air. "What is it? Why'd you stop eating?" questioned Kenshin. Pan didn't answer him. Her eyes seemed to be some place else. Then she blinked and her eyes returned to normal. "Something bad is happening... somewhere," she whispered. Kenshin stared. Pan stared back. "What?" she asked. Then she slapped herself in the forehead. "That's right. You mortals don't really know about telepathy and that sort of psychic stuff yet. Sorry, I forgot," she told him. Kenshin just stared some more. Pan sighed. "Fairies can send messages to each other in each other's minds. I got one from the King. It worries me, mainly because he didn't finish speaking. All I got was 'Pan, stay away, there are,' and then he stopped. I think something is happening back home, but if I go back and nothing is wrong, I'll get in trouble. Decisions, decisions," she said. She slammed her fist down on the table. Everything seemed to get really quiet for a moment. Then the table shattered into a million pieces of sawdust. Kenshin raised an eyebrow. "You know, a guy I knew named Sanosuke Sagara could do that." Pan grinned. "Yeah, it's a child's game," Pan said calmly. Kenshin shook his head. "Well, if you aren't going to go back, we should start training."
Most of the days went by uneventfully, until about a week later. Pan was making some lunch using her magic. She didn't notice the small ember that fell from the oven when she used her magic to put more logs into the wood burning stove. She didn't notice how it started to smolder on the floor. She went out and kicked Kenshin awake, because he had fallen asleep on his sleeping bag. He groaned as he sat up. Pan put a tray down in front of him, grinning evilly. He eyed the food warily. "You didn't poison this, did you?" he asked. Pan's grin grew wider. "Silly. Why in the world would I do that? We have to train more, so eat fast. Hurry!" she said. Kenshin sighed, then ate his food as quickly as he could without choking. Pan hovered over him, her wings making an annoying humming noise. Kenshin looked up at her. "Will you please stop that? It's very distracting," he said. She sighed and stopped hovering. She sniffed the air, a faint tendril of smoke crawling up her nose and invading her senses. "Kenshin? Do you smell smoke?" she asked him. Kenshin stopped eating and sniffed. "Yeah, I do. It's coming from the kitchen. What did you do?" he asked her. She shrugged. She stood up and pushed open the kitchen door. Flames leapt out at her. She yelled and jumped back. The edge of her pants and the sleeve of her tunic caught on fire. Kenshin grabbed her and slapped at the flames until they were out. Then he dragged Pan out of the house. They watched as the whole house was engulfed in flames. "Wow. That fire is burning fast," said Pan. "What are we supposed to do now?" asked Kenshin. Pan shrugged. "I guess I should contact someone and tell them that we have to come home because there was an accident," said Pan. She closed her eyes and concentrated on finding the King's mind. She had only been at it for a moment when she cried out in pain. "Ah! Ow, God, that hurt!" she said. Kenshin gave her a puzzled look. "Someone put a mind block on the King's mind. I don't think I should try again, the next time that happens I could get seriously hurt. I don't know what to do!" she yelled. Kenshin didn't know what to do either. He sat down on the ground next to Pan and analyzed everything that had happened. "Okay. So, the house burned down, we can't contact anyone. We are left with only our weapons and the clothes on our backs," he said in a dejected voice. "Pessimist. I'm going to try and call the Pegasus. Maybe they are free." Pan whistled shrilly. Then she sighed. "No, they aren't." She swore loudly. She leapt to her feet. "Well, at least we know that things can't get any worse," she said. Suddenly, the clouds above them poured rain down on them, soaking them in seconds. Kenshin glared at her. "You just had to say it, didn't you?" Pan shrugged. A small bird, its feathers very damp, clipped her in the head. "Ow! What's this?" she asked as the bird flew past again, dropping a rolled up piece of paper at her feet. She waved her hand in the air and some sort of protection against the rain formed around her. Kenshin was dumbfounded. "You couldn't have done that before?" he asked. Pan shook her head, then read the roll of paper. She gasped. Kenshin got up and read over her shoulder, though it was made difficult by the violent shaking of Pan's hands. 'Pan- I'm writing this in great haste. I did not manage to finish my mind message to you, so I am sending this. Stay away. There are Dracos invading. Do not come back to the palace unless a note is sent to you from me. No heroics this time Pan. They are more deadly now. They have better weapons. I'm sending this with our fastest owl. King of Layavi, Sir Jon Montoya P.S. – I hope that you are teaching the mortal well. KEEP HIM SAFE!' "What does he mean, 'no heroics this time'?" Kenshin asked. "Did something like this happen before?" Pan nodded stiffly. "Yes. I happened to be out on a hunting trip when the Dracos invaded. I scraped together the members of nomadic fairy tribes and we took their fortress, freeing the fairies," said Pan. She clenched her fist, crumpling the letter. "I don't care what he says, I'm rescuing them!" she said. She turned to Kenshin, spreading her wings. "Don't move," she said harshly. He froze. Pan leapt into the air and flew behind him. She grabbed him around his waist and she flapped hard. Kenshin nearly had a heart attack. He was used to being very fast, but the speed at which Pan was flying was insane! "Ah! Tree!" he screamed. Pan had headed towards a dense forest and she was flying so fast that she would sometimes just barely miss a tree. Kenshin though that it was ironic that he had spent so many times locked in deadly battles with strangers and he was going to meet his end now, in the hands of a person he had grown to trust. "Ah!" he screamed again. Pan pulled up and shot out of the trees into the air above them. She was laughing, barely able to keep her grip on Kenshin. She glided over the trees, letting herself drop low enough so that Kenshin's toes almost were caught in tree tops. "You couldn't have flown above the trees in the first place?" he asked, swirly-eyed. Pan just laughed again, then grew serious. "We have a long way to go, so I'd appreciate it if you just chilled."
Three hours later, Pan started to fly lower to the ground. Kenshin had fallen asleep. Pan shook him. "Kenshin!" He jerked awake so quickly that Pan lost her grip for a moment. Kenshin plummeted towards the ground. Pan sighed and dove quickly, catching Kenshin ten feet above the ground. "Good job!" she said sarcastically. Kenshin didn't say anything in return. "We'll be there shortly," she told him. He groaned and stretched his arms a little. "How long was I asleep?" he asked. "About two and a half hours," she said. "And you were dead weight the whole time." Kenshin grinned, an uncharacteristically evil grin. "Good. You deserved it for what you did to me. Scaring me when we flew into the forest, nearly making me have a heart attack." Pan rolled her eyes. Now she was low enough to the ground that Kenshin's toes were nearly skimming the grass. She let go of him and then landed in front of him. She crouched down low, and Kenshin almost lost sight of her. He walked towards her. "Pan? Where did you go?" he said. She reached up and grabbed his sleeve, pulling him down next to her. "Shh," she hissed. "Be quiet and stay close to the ground. Not everyone around here is friendly. I can't fly across this clearing. There are Dracos prowling around. I'd be shot down before I got half way across. Stay low and crawl after me," she whispered to him, then began to wriggle her way across the expanse of open grass. She stopped occasionally, listening and watching the trees on either side of her. Kenshin followed closely, almost crawling onto her feet at times. She wiggled a little beyond the line of trees on the other side, then stood up. She turned around and helped Kenshin up. Then she walked briskly into the forest. She stopped in front of a large tree that had a large hole in it. She plunged her hand down into the hole and pulled out what looked like a medium-sized black box. She pushed a few buttons on its side and then spoke into it in
Fayleth. Kenshin, of course, didn't understand what she was saying. "Iti Ushuwai Panethia," she said. She paused for a moment, and Kenshin could here a series of clicks and a voice coming from the box. It seemed to be speaking in the same language as Pan was. "Wi, uon omme," she said, then placed the box back into the tree. She tapped a knot on the side of the tree next to the hole and a door appeared in the side of the tree. Kenshin's jaw dropped. Pan turned around and looked at him. "Are you coming?" she asked. Kenshin closed his mouth and walked behind Pan. They descended down a long spiral staircase. Over the sides of the stairs, Kenshin could see a bustling metropolis, an underground city. Lantern light bouncing off of shimmering wings made the whole city look like a shinning master piece, an artwork created by a master painter. Suddenly, the whole city became silent, the only noise the buzz of many people whispering. Kenshin watched Pan, to see if she noticed the sudden silence, but if she had, she didn't react to it in any way that he noticed. The only reaction was that Pan's posture became even better and her eyes narrowed slightly. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Pan walked quickly towards a grand building in the middle of the city. Kenshin could hear the whispering all about them. "Dirty, half-blood. She's not suited to be our princess." "How could the fates choose a mucker?" "We'll see how long she lasts when she's queen." "I bet she's terrible at flying and fighting." The whispers were so hard to miss. Kenshin wondered for a moment if Pan had suddenly gone deaf, but then it occurred to him that she had heard these insults before and she was ignoring the whispers. A loud shout rent the air. "Mucker!" shouted a young boy. His shout was followed by a stone thrown at Pan's head. Pan caught the stone easily, not turning her head. She crushed it in her hand, reducing it to a fine powder. The whispers stopped for a moment, but Pan did not. She kept walking. Kenshin became aware of new whispers. "What's that following her?" "Think it's a sort of odd pet?" "It looks like a mortal. Maybe it's our beloved queen's betrothed." The last remark, said with liberal sarcasm, started a ripple of laughter. Pan walked calmly and slowly up the stone steps and up into the building. There, a large man greeted her warmly, quite the opposite of the people outside. "Princess, how lovely to see you again. Unfourtunetly, I have some grave news to discuss with you," he said. Pan nodded. "I know. The Dracos are invading. What do you plan to do about it?" she asked him, her voice sounding just as serious as the man's. Kenshin had never heard her this serious. It almost scared him. "Well, the only option that we really have is to send an military force to seize important people, people that are vital to Draco society. We can hold them ransom and demand that the Dracos retreat to their homelands on the other side of the ocean," said the man. "Sir McKinney, are you suggesting that we kidnap people? I do not approve of such a weak course of action. We need to fight back, to reclaim our land," said Pan. Kenshin watched, slightly amused. The man that Pan spoke to was a foot taller than her, which scared Kenshin because Pan was immensely taller than him, and probably weighed six times what she did. It amused him to see Pan arguing with the man who could probably beat her into a pulp easily. "Who will lead them Princess? The people are frightened, scared for their children's future. We need a leader who will not be afraid, but everyone is afraid. Who do you suggest?" bellowed the man. Pan narrowed her eyes at the man and the man fell silent. He seemed to quake under Pan's stare. "I will lead them. I do not know how well they will obey, but I will lead them," she said. Her voice was so quiet and calm, it scared Kenshin to his bones. He saw McKinney quiver slightly as she spoke. The man nodded. "As you wish, you highness. I will assemble a large group of my most loyal men," he said. Pan shook her head. "No. I will not be responsible for the loss of your men. I want volunteers. They are less likely to run from a battle if they join voluntarily. And I will not take anyone younger than I. And not just men. Any woman who wishes to join shall be allowed to fight. They are stronger then men," she said. McKinney hesitated. "Women stronger than men?" he questioned. Pan's eyes became a bit more narrowed. "I would love to see a man have a baby and not be a complete baby themselves," she hissed. McKinney shook. He nodded quickly. "Yes, your highness." He turned to a small man hovering in a corner. "Let it be known that the Princess has decreed that volunteers, both men and women, aged sixteen years or older, can sign up to help fight the growing threat of the Dracos," he said. The small man nodded. "No. Say Sir McKinney has decreed that. They will not come if it is said that I gave those orders," said Pan quickly. Again, the small man nodded. "I will go with you to answer questions. I think I have figured out the Princess's thinking enough that I can take on her frame of mind," said McKinney. Pan nodded in agreement. McKinney and the small man swept out of the room. Pan sighed and to Kenshin it seemed that she wilted slightly. "Pan?" he asked. She turned to face him, looking very weary. The three hours of flying had probably taken their toll on her, Kenshin thought. "Yes, Kenshin?" she asked. "What in the world is a mucker?" he asked her. "It's a person who isn't a full blooded fairy," she told him. Kenshin thought for a moment. "Aren't you a full blooded fairy?" Pan shook her head. "No. My father was an Elf. I'm half-Elven, half-Fairy." Kenshin could see that Pan was bit uncomfortable talking about her heiratege, so he let it drop. "Pan!" called a voice. It seemed to come from a staircase that was on the other side of the room. Standing on the stairs was a girl of about Pan's age. She looked almost exactly like Pan. She had the same hair and build, the only difference between them being height and eye color. This girl's eyes were an odd shade of purple-blue. She ran down the stairs and hugged the taller girl. "Oh, Pan, I missed you so much! I was so worried that you were at the palace when it was attacked, but you always seem to get lucky, don't you?" laughed the girl. Pan nodded, a grin on her face. "Kenshin, this is Pen, my best friend. We grew up together. She and her family used to live in the palace before her father was knighted and they came to live here," Pan said to Kenshin. Pen curtsied to Kenshin and Kenshin bowed to her. "He's a bit short, isn't he?" whispered Pen. Kenshin heard her. Pen continued, a bit louder now. "But he's really cute, for a mortal, isn't he?" Pan rolled her eyes and Kenshin blushed. Pen caught his blush and giggled. "Anyway," Pan said loudly, as a way of averting Pen's attention from Kenshin. "Where are the little demons?" asked Pan. Screams were heard coming from the staircase, sounding like a hundred little children were yelling at the same time. "Pan!" shouted three identical little boys at once. They ran down the staircase and tackled Pan. Pan laughed as she fell over. "Kenshin, these are..." she started. She grabbed one little boy and held him up, "Dragon," she said, letting go of the little boy, "Tiger, and Cat," she told him, holding up each small boy in turn. Dragon giggled and stood up. His brothers followed suit. Tiger studied Kenshin carefully for a moment, then walked up to him. "You look really funny. Where are your wings?" he asked. Kenshin smiled. "I don't have wings. I'm not a fairy," he told them. "Oh," said the one named Cat. "Are you an Elf then?" Kenshin shook his head. "No, I'm a mortal." This reply seemed to cause an amazing amount of noise. There was a split second of silence, then all three boys screamed at once. They ran to Pan and Pen and tried to climb into their arms. "He'll eat us! He'll burn us alive! He's a mortal! He's going to kill us all!" screeched the boys in terror. Pan nearly lost her balance as Tiger and Cat flew to her shoulders and clung to her shirt. "Chill, shorties. He's not going to hurt you. He's a cool human," said Pan. This didn't seem to relax the boys much, but they trusted Pan. Pan grinned at Pen and Kenshin. "Who's ready for a war?"