PL vs. PW:AA does not belong to me, nor am I making profit from this fanfiction. Labyrinthia, its wonderful, quirky, lovable, awesome, silly characters, and its enticing locations all belong to Nintendo/Level5/Capcom. You can also expect to find spoilers for the game within this story.

...Now with that rot behind us, let me present to you...


Eve's Magical Adventure - by Pseudo Twili

Chapter 1: Of Strawberries & Surprises

"Come on, Eve! We're almost there!" the blonde girl cried, briefly turning her head toward her companion.

The other young woman muttered something about the "cursed forest" as she half tripped over a hidden root and nearly upended herself and the basket that she bore in the crook of her arm. "Oh, Espella, do stop running so fast!" she cried, and then muttered to herself, "I should have worn something other than these sandals…"

The object of her admonition did not cease pace, but only danced around a huge boulder with her own basket bumping against her leg, and then disappeared from sight. Upon coming around that same obstacle, Eve sighted her friend already spreading a be-flowered cloth over the soft grass in a shady portion of a sun-speckled glade.

"This is it," Espella said, smiling happily up at her. "Is it not a pretty spot?"

Eve let a few breaths restore her as she gazed at her surroundings; though she knew the forest well, she had hardly thought of places such as this for something so simple and mundane as a picnic. She had to admit, with the flowers and much greenery thrown carelessly in every direction and the sun warmly kissing all, it was quite charming, especially with the little stream that gurgled and giggled through one corner of the clearing. She knelt on the cloth, setting her basket next to the one the other girl had carried.

"Why did I let you talk me into this?" she asked, pursing her lips and disagreeably crossing her arms loosely about herself. "You know I appreciate the thought…but I have many things to do, Espella. There is so much work to be done in town and it will take much our time."

"I knew you'd say that. You're too prone to getting caught up in your work, just like Dad," the blonde girl declared, half exasperated and half saddened. Suddenly Espella grasped her hand, squeezing it tightly and fixing her friend with a softly wistful expression. "If we spent all day, every day together it would never make up for the time we lost when I forgot about you. I…I only want to spend some time with you, Eve…because you are my best friend…"

The other young woman almost choked on a stab of emotion that caught at her throat and which she attempted to disguise as something between a growl and a "Hmph!" She remembered all too well the similar pleadings that had passed the lips of a much younger Espella, and of the many escapades in which they took part, naughty adventures which were just as often a result of Eve's well-cultivated imagination than the younger girl's propensity for trouble.

She suddenly recalled one such instance in which they'd both been playing with their dolls and for want of something more exciting to do, the elder child had suggested that they pretend their toys were shipwrecked.

~O~

Though their parents had warned them about playing in unknown bodies of water, the tiny creek to which they ran was fairly harmless due to its shallow nature. They found a handy bit of branch, about two feet long, to which the elder child fastened their dolls with her two hair ribbons. However, as they removed their shoes, Espella's little brows crinkled and she cast a concerned look toward her doll and then her friend.

"They won't really drown, will they?" the little tyke questioned, for she dearly loved her doll, made so carefully by her mother.

"No, of course not. Look, we'll put the ship up here on the shore—see, they won't go anywhere—and then we'll build up these rocks so they won't float downstream."

They struggled with the slippery stones until they formed a half circle barricade in the middle of the creek. Espella still appeared doubtful about the safety of the whole project, but her friend assured her by placing their crude sort of boat in the area they'd prepared.

"See? They'll be perfectly all right. Our ship won't go over the wall. Now it's time for the shipwreck."

Eve pressed the pretend vessel downward, soaking both it and their toys.

"Oh! It's sinking! Our dolls are going to drown if we don't save them! Espella, what do we do?!"

"Um…" muttered she, gnawing at her knuckle. "Can't we untie them?"

"No, we have to send out another boat to save them. This is deep water, so they'd never be able to swim. A lifeboat is the only way! Hurry!"

Espella found herself getting caught up in the play as she looked for something that could serve as a rescue device for their unfortunate children. She spotted a much smaller, water-softened hunk of wood a few yards up the shoreline and ran for it.

"Here's the boat!"

"Here we go to the rescue," said Eve, and with much splashing she waded through the ankle-deep water to the perilously capsized vessel. "Oh dear! This is such a small boat that we can only rescue one doll at a time."

The smaller girl followed closely at her heels to the scene of disaster. "Rescue my doll first, okay, please? She's a lot scareder."

"Okay, but you have to take the boat to shore. Hurry, Espella!"

After she untied the blonde doll from the ill-fated ship, the owner of said toy guided their one life preserver to shore. Placing her on a rock some feet from the shoreline, Espella patted the tiny cloth body and whispered, "Don't worry, you're safe now! I'll be right back."

Then they rescued Eve's doll, amid many more splashes and little screams that were supposed to come from the mouths which could not speak, but the girls were so often interrupted by their own giggles that the cries weren't especially convincing. Finally, both pretend children were safe but sopping on the sandy shore and the ship from which they had so narrowly escaped had one end only slightly above the water.

"We saved them just in time."

"That was fun! Let's do it again!" Espella crowed.

And again they did, saving their dolls from that waterlogged vessel not just one, but three more times. As they neared the end of yet another perilous mission of rescue, the little girls were but a few spots from being as completely soaked as their dolls. Their skirts were three shades darker and clung to their legs, slightly impairing their movement, and their heads were perhaps the areas least affected by the creek water.

Then, in her haste to bring her doll to shore, the foot of the younger one slipped against one of the rocks and she lost all balance. With a splash, she suddenly found herself on her hands and stinging knees in the water. This happened just as Eve was freeing her own doll from the ill-fated ship, a task from which she was distracted when she noticed her friend's tumble.

She hurried to her side. "Espella, are you okay?"

"M-my knee hurts," the younger child replied, and to her much of the pleasure had faded from their play. "My doll… Where is she?" she cried, alarm creeping into a tone already hinting at some tears.

They both lifted their eyes and scanned the trickling tributary around them. Espella suddenly screamed and pointed. "Ahh! E-Eve, sh-she's…"

She attempted to scramble up and retrieve the beloved toy that was now making its way downstream, but again her legs got tangled, her knees throbbed and her breath was too choked up with tears. Eve, on the other hand, was quicker; she darted through the water, half stumbling a couple of times and striking her toe on a stone, but in the end she rescued the doll before it could drift more than a dozen or so yards downstream.

"Oh, you got her!" the blonde tyke sobbed, stretching forth her arms for the toy as if she was welcoming a lost child.

"That was close," admitted the elder girl. She was surprised at how loudly the blood sounded in her ears as she attempted to rid herself of trembling hands by clutching at her skirt. "I'm sorry, Espella. I guess this wasn't such a good idea after all… Do you want to stop now?"

The other child nodded and, still clutching the doll to her heart, rose on shaky legs to make her way to shore. She took a glance about and it occurred to her childish mind that something was missing. "Where's your doll?"

Eve also turned to look at the poor sodden ship to which her plaything had previously been "clinging". The driftwood was still there, caught against the rocks that prevented it from sailing downstream, but the dark-haired doll had seemingly vanished. She stared for several moments, hardly comprehending what the evidence of her eyes told her.

"Oh no! Eve, your doll…" The tears of the younger girl began flowing in earnest. "Oh, E-Eve-e!"

"It's okay. You don't have to cry about it," murmured her friend in return, putting her arm about Espella's damp shoulders. Her voice was shaky and a few tears prickled at the edges of her deep, blue-green eyes.

But the blonde girl blubbered on, "You saved my doll…and n-now yours is gone! I'm so-orry!"

"Come on, don't cry now. We should go back…"

~O~

The recollection of that misadventure made a ghost of a smile steal to the young woman's lips as she knelt on the picnic cloth. For just a few moments she forgot that she was quite grown up and that she was being lax in her duty by taking time off for a picnic.

"Where are you, Eve?" came the voice of her companion, breaking through the cloudy veil of memory.

Had Espella said something just before? Eve realized that she had been staring toward the ground, past the hand that the blonde girl was still holding.

"Do you remember the time that we played shipwreck with our dolls?" she asked pensively.

Espella nodded. "I was so relieved that mine was safe, but I also felt torn because yours was lost…" She gave her friend a very knowing look. "…And you pretended that it didn't matter to you so much."

"I was a bit old for dolls, as I recall."

"You only said that because you didn't want me to feel bad about it. Didn't you want another?"

A very familiar, rather subtle smile found its way to Eve's face again as she replied, "My mother asked me if I wanted her to make another…but I simply couldn't think of replacing her. She was my only doll."

"And she was special," the other girl mumbled, toying with one of her blonde plaits. "We both loved them like children."

"Whatever happened to yours, Espella? Did she…survive?"

She nodded, her own eyes misting over with a combination of tears and the memories that rose before her. "I left her on my bed in the tower. I… I guess she's been pretty lonely all this time…"

Shaking her head, Eve lifted her eyes, all traces of her previous emotions gone from her face. "Listen to the two of us…blathering on about dolls and their feelings. I feel very silly for initiating this conversation. I really should be back in town, overseeing the work."

"No, you can't leave now that we've come all the way here!" Espella said quickly. She released her friend's fingers and began removing the contents of first one basket and then the other. "And don't fear, I will keep you busy enough," she added, selecting two of the sandwiches so carefully prepared by both her hands and those of Patty Eclaire.

"What do you mean?"

"Vu'll fee," the younger of the two mumbled through the bread in her mouth. She pressed the other sandwich into Eve's hands, grabbed both baskets, now empty, and stepped gaily to the sunniest part of the clearing. She pulled the sandwich from her mouth after taking a small bite, gestured and called to her friend, "This way, Eve!"

"Espella, what are you up to?" the other young woman questioned, a hint of suspicion in her voice. All the same, she drew closer to the spot where the girl was crouched amongst the low-growing foliage, most of which bore leaves with jagged edges.

"Look!" Espella exclaimed softly, holding up a palm which contained five very luscious, brilliantly scarlet berries. "You must taste one, Eve! They're much better than even candy."

"Very well," she replied, taking one of the small fruits and slipping it between her lips, inhaling its sweet, ripe scent. The juice melted wonderfully over her tongue and a few of the seeds made little gritty sounds as they came in contact with her teeth; she found herself wishing for another such delectable morsel.

"Is it not a wonderful strawberry? I found this spot when I lost the path on the way to the shade village yesterday. Won't you help me pick a lot of these, Eve?" the younger girl pleaded. "I want to fill up these baskets and take them back to the bakery to make jam!"

The elder of the two turned her head aside, avoiding Espella's earnest gaze. For lack of anything else to do, she took one bite from the meat, lettuce and tomato sandwich. Was it really so important that she shirk all her important tasks to pick strawberries with her friend? She wanted to refuse, but something aside from the food in her mouth kept her from answering thusly.

"Eve?"

She met the dark blue eyes of her friend once more. "…Very well."

"Oh Eve, you're wonderful! Here, this basket is yours."

The dark-haired young woman gripped the basket in her scarred right hand and she noticed that Espella's sandwich was nearly gone. Even if they were both ravenous, she simply did not know how the two of them were supposed to finish the miniature banquet with which the baker had set them off.

"I don't suppose you have any other surprises for me?"

Espella was suspiciously silent for the next few seconds as she gulped the sweet berry in her mouth and twined a few leaves around her finger. "Uhm…"

Sighing, Eve pushed a lock of hair from her eyes. "What is it now?"

"Well… I, uhm… I asked Dad to come too. You don't mind, do you? I only wanted a nice little picnic with the people I love best… I invited Aunt Patty as well, but she has to stay at the bakery because there's no one else to look after it if both of us are gone, you know… Uhm, Eve? You're not mad, are you?"

The other young woman shook her head gently and spoke hesitantly. "'Tis not that. I'm only…worried. I caused him so much grief by my actions, and yet the whole time he still tried to protect me… I should think he would be very angry with me."

"I think Dad feels the same way about you. He was reluctant to give me his word when I told him you were coming. I made him promise in the end though." The blonde girl smiled as she plucked another perfectly ripe berry and extended it toward her friend.

"Espella, I don't know about this…"

"Don't worry so. Just remember that Dad isn't angry with you. I'm sure all he wants is forgiveness and to right the wrongs that he caused with all the illusions."

Eve was silent; the troubled expression on her features told the other girl that her words were being carefully weighed. Then she let a long breath escape and mumbled something about trickery.

"Dad told me he'd be joining us a little later, so it gives us plenty of time to pick these strawberries. Try not to eat too many of them!"

"What? M-me? You're the one who always ate more than she gathered!"

"Hee hee!" Espella giggled.

With an exasperated yet good-natured huff, Eve stalked to another small patch of the berries some yards away from where her friend worked. She kicked off her shoes and knelt on the fragrant, loamy soil, selecting berries and placed them in her basket with the speed of a cat snapping up a mouse.

Both girls labored under the warm rays of the sun for some time, sometimes drifting into the shadow of the trees to go after more of the seeded little fruits. Eve felt both the perspiration prickling at her back, and the tingling of the muscles in her legs not used to all the crouching she was doing. Her long hair flowed loosely, covering both her neck and back and sometimes straying into her work; she looked to her friend, whose shorter tresses were braided as usual and falling over her shoulders. Sighing, she stood and used a length of ribbon to bind her hair. She gave no indication of quitting, though; once she had begun, she was determined to finish the job that would not be complete until her basket was filled to brimming with scarlet berries.

As she was about to drop one piece of fruit into the wicker container, she stopped. She blinked a couple of times and peered closer. "This one has some sort of insect in it," she said, holding aloft the new, if temporary, home of an unwelcome little guest.

"Eew… Please just throw it away, Eve. I don't want to see it," the blonde young woman pleaded.

"Hmm… " mused she, seeing an opportune moment to have a spot of playful revenge. "It seems to have dug its way into the flesh. It has such a lot of legs that perhaps it grew tired of walking around that it ate this little hole in which to rest itself. I don't think it has done much harm. I shall simply remove the little thing. It would be a pity to waste a lovely berry such as this, do you not think?"

Espella was on the verge of further expressing her disgust regarding the bug, but she was quite unexpectedly interrupted, first by a furious rustling that came from the trees at the edge of the clearing, and then as something small, short and white bounded toward her.

"Oh, it's Constantine," she realized at last. "You look so different without your cute little helm— Hey, no! Don't do that!" she cried, as the dog put his nose in her basket and all but inhaled a couple of mouthfuls of her berries before she could pull it from his reach. Some of the strawberries spilled out as she snatched it upward. "Naughty dog," she said, waggling her finger at him, and then giggling when he looked up at her with innocent expression. "I'd be madder at you if you weren't so cute, you know!"

Eve marched over, souring her pretty face with a scowl directed at the creature. "It's that mutt. When he's here, can his master be far behind?"

"Woof!"

As if he'd been summoned by a spell, the red-headed former inquisitor emerged from the trees in the direction whence his pet had just galloped. As soon as he caught sight of his dog and the young women, he proceeded with his usual purposeful stride; the distance between them became nothing in mere seconds. His grey eyes churned like stormy waters as he parted his lips to utter greeting to the two young ladies.

"Barnham, your dog has sabotaged our labors."

"Wh-what do you mean, Lady Darklaw?"

"He has helped himself to Espella's strawberries. Just look at him; he is caught red-mouthed," Eve told him in her authoritative tone of the high inquisitor.

He looked as she directed and shook his head sadly upon noting the evidence of guilt. The furry animal padded to his master's feet with a pitiful puppy face, his fluffy tail drooping sadly. "A knight never takes what does not belong to him," Barnham scolded his pet, his eyebrows dipping. He glanced up to the blonde girl. "On behalf of Constantine I am sorry, Miss Cantabella."

"It's okay," she replied, stooping to scratch the little fellow's head. "You didn't eat too many, did you, boy? Would you like a sandwich instead?"

Having received her forgiveness and with the promise of something delicious, he perked up considerably and with his tail wagging once more, he followed her to the picnic blanket in the shade, where she selected for him one of the sandwich triangles containing a particularly thick slice of meat. "Here you go," she said, and giggled as she watched him attack it as he would a formidable foe in blue. Then she moved to join her friend again, who was still sternly admonishing the knight for the actions of his dog.

"Are you aware that we've been laboring hard in the hot sun to pick these? It's not as easy to fill a basket as you might think."

Barnham's lowered brows remained settled directly on top his eyes. "Lady Darklaw, I assure you I will do what I can to make up for Constantine's actions."

"Very well," she conceded, turning toward her friend and watching as she approached. "I suppose I can ask no more."

Espella chose that moment to ask, "Uhm, Sir Barnham… I am surprised to see you back in Labyrinthia so soon. We all thought you would remain in London a while longer, after all."

If possible, his expression became still more rigid. "I thought that as well…" he said, and then faltered. He averted his gaze by turning his face toward the trees and ultimately in the direction of the great wall of the town.

Eve's own eyes widened a little as she glanced quickly at her friend. Tempering her tone to be less severe, she inquired, "And did you order the construction supplies?"

He turned his body toward them again, but he still didn't look directly at them. "I did," he replied rather abruptly. "I brought what I could in the boat. The rest will be ready for delivery in a couple more days' time."

The former high inquisitor nodded. "Good. We have need for every bit of it."

"What did you do after that? Did Mr. Layton and Luke show you around the city? I think I would like to go back there sometime and see more of it. I remember the bridge that lit up at night."

This time he looked at them, his eyes flickering between the young women. "Sir Top Hat invited me for tea. Perhaps I should have desired to spend more time in the city, but during that one mere day, all my thoughts kept coming back here. Constantine was restless as well; in truth, he nipped Sir Blue Knight three times while we walked the streets."

"Oh, you were homesick!" Espella murmured. "I'm sure I would have felt the same way, had I been in your place."

"Indeed," he agreed, the corners of his mouth relaxing ever so slightly. "There is no place that compares to Labyrinthia. After all, my time will be better directed in working to improve this town. Therefore, I bid Sir Blue Knight and Sir Top Hat farewell and returned as I came."

Eve had the distinct impression he omitted some detail from his narrative. She was also feeling more and more unnerved at the glances the knight cast mostly her way as he was speaking to them. Hoping to shut him up, she pressed toward him the strawberry that she held, nearly pushing it into his mouth. "Here," she mumbled.

Actually, he'd been looking at her, albeit rather sideways, because she seemed so different. For one thing, her attire was remarkably casual when one considered the grandness of her usual dress. Her thick hair, which reached well past her waist, was bound loosely, wisps and locks of it escaping at will. She made herself seem as though she was not enjoying herself, but her demeanor, while certainly not blithely exuberant and brightly beaming as Espella's was, bore more than a hint of simple happiness at a simple outing. Barnham was struck with the realization that she was extraordinary pretty, which was more than he'd expected from the chilly beauty that she exhibited as high inquisitor.

He accepted the scarlet morsel and quickly did it disappear. "My thanks, Lady Darklaw."

"Hmph." Turning to her blonde companion, she said, "Let's get back to our gathering, Espella, before the ants—or the dog—come and devour our picnic."

"Oh, Eve! You didn't give him that berry with the bug in it, did you?!" the other young woman cried with a sudden, slightly horrified realization.

"O-of course not!" she replied, too quickly.

But he had already swallowed the tiny morsel and looking none the worse for wear. "I saw nothing in it," he said, without admitting that he hadn't examined it at all.

"It was that same strawberry wasn't it? You didn't throw it away?!" Espella questioned, half thinking that her friend may have done it on purpose, but discarded the idea as it was too mean.

Eve looked nervously to the basket in her hands and then hardened her gaze as she turned her eyes upward again. "It matters not. No one, not even you, Barnham, will die as a result of swallowing a single insect."

"I suppose you're right…" the other young woman acquiesced. "I still think it's disgusting…"

Both girls moved back to the spots at which they'd been filling their baskets, but Eve turned to face the red-head once more. She couldn't decide if he was angry or sad and it was because of his eyebrows.

"Well? Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to make up for your little companion's irresponsibility?"

He started slightly. "Yes, of course, Milady."

An exasperated sigh left her pursed lips. "And you needn't continue calling me 'Lady Darklaw'. I am no longer high inquisitor but just plain Eve Belduke."

"As you wish, Lady D—er…M-Miss Belduke."

Espella giggled behind her hand and quickly bent to select more of the wonderful scarlet berries. Had he been carrying his sword, she was sure he would have held it before him in a motion of obedience as he stammered those words.

While Barnham made all haste to find the nearest patch of strawberries where he rapidly went to work, Eve slipped closer to her friend and whispered harshly in her ear, "I trust this wasn't your idea as well, Espella?"

"No, no, no," the younger of the two was quick to reassure her. "I promise you it wasn't! I didn't even know Sir Barnham was back."

"'Tis as I thought, but I had to be sure you hadn't planned any more surprises."

"You don't mind that he came along, do you Eve? He probably just wanted to take his dog for a little stroll. They both seemed really glad to be here…"

"Hmm…"

"Do you think we could share the picnic with him? Aunt Patty sent us off with so much food that I'm sure we wouldn't be able to eat it all, even when Dad comes."

"This is your picnic, Espella. You do whatever pleases you."

The blonde girl brightened with a large smile. "Thank you, Eve!"

They drifted apart and closer together again in their movements on the edges of the clearing and into the dappled places under some of the trees. It was quite a good thing for them that the knight had showed up, as they would surely finish their berry harvesting sooner, Espella was thinking. She put most of hers into her wicker, but every now and then she could not resist quickly popping one into her mouth and relishing its sweetness.

So devoted was she to her work that she failed to properly notice a small white shape that bounded up to her once more, until she heard a muffled "Ruff!" at her side. Constantine stood there, wagging his cream-colored tail and holding his mouth open just enough that he would not tear the strawberry which sat between his teeth.

"Oh you sweet thing, you!" the girl exclaimed, putting forth a hand into which the dog loosed the fruit. "You're trying to tell me you're sorry, aren't you?"

The little fellow wagged his tail vigorously, yipped once and ran off again, leaving Espella to smile to herself and place the nearly perfect berry with the others. Several times did he repeat the process, and each time the young woman smiled as he dashed away for another, until her basket brimmed with those delightful crimson morsels.

"We have so many berries!" she exclaimed delightedly. "I have quite enough now to make lots of jam!"

"It was the very least I could do, Miss Cantabella," said the knight, as he relinquished the contents of his hands once more to her basket. He was left with sticky, bright red palms and fingers, which at first he tried to wipe on his trousers, but quit when he came to the conclusion that he could not actually remove the stain without washing his hands.

"Thank you, Sir Barnham. You must stay and have some sandwiches with us."

He appeared doubtful. "You wish me to join you?"

"Of course," she replied. "We have plenty, I assure you."

Eve approached them, her own heavily laden wicker weighing the crook of her arm, and with just a bit of a smile curving her lips. "Surely you haven't anything more urgent to attend to?"

"No, Lady D—" he began, but caught her flashing, green-blue eyes. "…Miss Belduke. I have not."

"Good, that's settled then," Espella declared, smiling her soft, warm smile.

She grabbed her friend's hand, the fingers of which were as sticky as hers, and pulled her to the shady spot at which their picnic awaited them. She set both baskets carefully in one corner, so as not to disturb the twin heaps piled therein, and covered them with a couple of napkins. Then she and Eve began spreading out the little dishes of fruit and vegetables, the varied types and cuts of sandwiches, pickles, relish, and sweet rolls covered in cinnamon and all but stuffed with raisins.

Barnham crouched at one end of the cloth and his pet pressed against his leg, panting happily; he lowered one hand and surreptitiously allowed Constantine to lick his sweetened fingers. He cast a glance to each of the young women and noted their cheeks were flushed slightly pink and realized he was also quite warm and perspiring from moving around in the mid-afternoon sun.

"I hope you're hungry, Sir Barnham," Espella said. "Aunt Patty prepared a veritable feast for us!" She selected one of the sandwiches and immediately bit into it.

"Indeed," the knight agreed, selecting for himself another of the same. He broke off a small portion of it, which he passed to his dog, and put more than half of what remained in his mouth.

"I wonder when Dad will get here…" the blonde girl mused between chews.

Eve rubbed a plum on the picnic cloth and said in return, "Did you give him adequate directions?"

"Of course. I told him exactly how to get here. I hope he hasn't lost his wa—"

A deep voice interrupted her: "I spent much of my youth exploring this forest. I know this place as I know the town; in fact, I took a shortcut to get here."

"Dad!" Espella cried happily, rising and running toward him. "I'm so glad you're here!"

Cantabella smiled wryly as he put his arm around his daughter's shoulder. "The alternative would have been less desirable, I must admit."

"That's right, I would have been so mad at you if you hadn't come. Come on, Dad! Aunt Patty made us a wonderful picnic!" She tugged at his hand, drawing him toward the others.

At the appearance of the Storyteller, Barnham immediately jumped to his feet and stood very upright before he remembered that he was without his sword and therefore could not properly salute. Eve also rose, but more slowly than her companion; she seemed as though she wanted to step forward in a greeting not quite as exuberant as her friend's, but she stopped herself and awkwardly turned her gaze away.

The white-haired gentleman nodded to both. "Good afternoon, Eve," he said, his words a mite hesitant. Shaking his head, he added, "I…I am glad to see you are enjoying this beautiful day." Briefly, he fixed his eye on the knight. "Barnham. I did not expect to see you here."

"E-er…yes, sir. It seems I returned sooner than everyone expected."

"He happened along, Dad, and I invited him," Espella informed him.

"Ah. I see."

"Barnham, do stop looking like you could drop through the nearest worm hole!" the dark-haired woman hissed. "You're making me nervous!"

Father and daughter seated themselves on the cloth, followed by a very quiet Eve and lastly, and almost reluctantly, by a thoroughly embarrassed Barnham. Even the little white pup ceased his eager barking and goings back and forth into the trees, and instead placed himself quietly next to his friend and master.

"Do you know what Eve did?" the younger girl chattered.

"I have the impression you're going to tell me," the writer of stories replied. In an effort to disguise the smile that crept upon him, he reached for a pickle, his one visible eye taking in both females and their unexpected guest.

"Espella, please…" her friend tried to protest.

Without mercy, however, the blonde young woman continued. "She gave Sir Barnham a berry with a bug in it! I told her she should throw it out, but she didn't."

"Hmm…is that why he is so red in the face?" Cantabella mumbled.

Glancing to both former inquisitors, Espella noticed how very scarlet of face they both were, even considering the knight's seemingly perpetual tan. She giggled to herself again and took two of the sweet buns.

"Here, Dad. Aunt Patty and I made these especially for you. What do you think?"

He accepted the proffered morsel and bit into it, leaving some of its pale crumbs in his whiskers. "Hmmmm…" he mused, savoring the bun much too slowly for his daughter's sake. "I believe I have tasted the best bit of bread you've made."

"You haven't tasted my bread until now," she reminded him, smiling coyly as she imagined rectifying that problem over time with a great many more samples.

"Hmph," he rumbled under his breath. He swallowed the rest of the bun, its sweetness gone; the white-haired gentleman took a long sip of water. Selecting a sandwich filled with lettuce and tomatoes, he faced his head knight. "Well Barnham, what caused you to return to this town so soon? I thought that with the chance you would take more time to see the outside world after all these years."

"Lord Storyteller, I… I was not satisfied with any of it. The place I love is right here…this town. If you approve, I wish to remain here."

Cantabella could not find the right words for several seconds and only his daughter could glimpse his averted face. He chose to bypass the issue of his address, for the time being. "I…am very glad to hear that. I would like to you to continue to guide our town in your capacity as leader of the knights."

Espella gripped her best friend's hand and beamed toward her, as if to say, "Someone else who wants to stay!"

"I will continue to serve you and all in the town with honor, Milord!"

Eve was tempted to roll her eyes at her former subordinate's knightly exhibitions, but that would only have been a disguise for the nearly overwhelming feeling of gratification that surged within her. She hadn't much chance to think on it, but she realized how tiresome her tasks of reconstruction would be without him there to help her, to give her someone to vent her frustrations, even when her tongue was sharp, someone to handle the heaviest work that was beyond her, and who came up with constructive, if sometimes weird, ideas. Attempting to imagine what the town, nay, what her life would be like without him, brought her pause. She was so used to him being around that she could only barely recall when first he'd joined Project Labyrinthia.

The youngest member of the party swallowed some clear, cold creek water and watched with soft eyes as Barnham scratched his pup's ears. The little fellow then pounced upon a bit of meat which had somehow slipped from the knight's sloppily-held sandwich; he wrestled with it as he chomped it to bits. The girl chuckled and garnered the attention of the dog, who panted adorably and stared at her with little eyes that were fiercely cute. Upon glancing at her friend, she noted that Eve cast stealthy glares in the red-head's direction.

"Dad, do you remember the dolls Eve and I used to play with?"

"I certainly do. I do not know who was more devastated by the loss of her doll—you or Eve."

His brows lowered as he recalled the little doll with blonde braids lying for five years had on the bed of a girl who did not return. It was his fault that— Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted as Constantine found and began tearing a large, mayonnaise-covered leaf of lettuce.

Espella and even Eve laughed at the little fellow's antics. "Oh, do you remember that time we made hats for ourselves out of huge cabbage leaves?" the blonde girl giggled.

Barnham lifted his gaze to the two young women and his eyebrows also rose. Constantine paid no attention to anyone and continued his battle with the leaf.

"Newton and Sara thought some strangely selective rabbits had found their garden," the Storyteller recalled, his own mouth twisting up into a gruff sort of smile.

"Must you repeat those…stories, Espella?!" the other young woman demanded, her cheeks once more a decided shade of pink. She would have bitten off her tongue before admitting how embarrassing it was. The last thing she needed was for Barnham to imagine her with a cabbage leaf on her head. He'd never respect her again.

"Oh, don't be such a wet blanket, Eve! There's no harm in it. We were only little girls!"

"I-I know…but…" she faltered. Protesting against her friend's soft eyes and contagious smile was like someone trying to fight stories which invariably came true.

Cantabella stared fixedly at her for a few moments and averted his eyes again. He grew increasingly quieter as the picnickers consumed all the kind baker had packed, save for a few crusts that Espella tucked away in her pocket. She had a very good idea what her father had on his mind and before he could ask anything, let alone look in her direction, she arose.

"I am going to find some birds to feed these crusts to. Won't you and Constantine come with me, Sir Barnham?"

"O-of course," replied a surprised knight, who also stood. To his embarrassment, he found that one foot had fallen asleep and he hobbled after the girl, trying to shake the blood back into it.

A full minute of silence passed, which only seemed to grow stiffer by the second. Eve felt that she could not raise her eyes to meet that of the man who still remained. She wished that she had gone with her friend, even if it meant some useless meanderings on a goose chase, and all the while she idly traced the old burn mark on her hand.

"Soon, I will be leaving Labyrinthia for a while," the Storyteller said at last.

"Y-yes, I know… Your operation," she murmured, still unable to raise her eyes.

"Yes. And while I am gone, I trust you will look after the town, as you always have."

Her eyes met his at last and she noticed for the first time how gentle he looked upon her, the same sort of gaze she'd seen before but had always assumed that he was critically analyzing her. "Of course. I always will."

"Thank you, Eve." He closed his eye. "I am sure you young people don't want a sick old man in your way…I'll take my leave now." He rose slowly and turned away.

She remembered how lost and alone she had felt after her father died and she was left to oversee the greater part of Labyrinthia's wellbeing on her own. She became the single citizen who constantly lived both in the town and without, who knew the truth behind the magic, and such a burden it was. If only she'd known everything then…

"No, wait!" she exclaimed, raising her voice more than she had intended.

He faced her again, his cold blue eye seeming to peer into her soul.

"…I am sorry. It is all I can say, but it is not enough to return you for the kindness you've shown me, Mr. Cantabella, through everything," she said, every second forcing the accursed tears to stay behind her eyelids.

He shook his head. "No, Eve. It is enough that you and Espella are friends again. I… It has been a long time since I have seen her so completely happy. No…" He pressed his fist over his heart and bent his head. "It is I who asks your forgiveness for everything I've done."

She'd never really been alone; she knew that now. Both her father and this man cared for her to such an extent that they tried to protect her from the horrible truth. To consider that she was so loved made her heart squeeze and her stomach to constrict with so many butterflies. It was a thought that she'd tucked deep into her soul to extract when she needed comfort.

"I know my father's research will not fail you…" she mumbled, struggling with the words. "I only wish he could be here to witness the results." The young woman mustered a sad little smile.

The Storyteller glanced up once more, the edges of his mouth turning up wryly.

Some few moments of silence passed, in which Eve pushed her toes against the picnic blanket and decided to find her sandals; she started off, but then she turned. "Don't leave yet, please. Espella will be upset if you go so soon."

He made a sound in the back of his throat and she knew that he wouldn't be going anywhere just yet. As she searched for her leather footwear, hoping they would be where she left them and her friend hadn't found them a new location, she made a vow to herself that she would continue to be the very best friend who for years had been missing from a certain blonde girl's life.


And this is what happens when I play too much of the game. About a year ago I got hooked on it all over again, played it a full three times and even wrote down the script for it. In that time I gained a whole new appreciation for it and its world. I've had some ideas for this story percolating in my mind for about a year as well. I'd be outside working and dream up more stuff to write. The problem is that it takes me so much longer to get it down on my computer than it does to come up with this stuff, but I have been working at this off and on and I thought it was time to start publishing it. I have many more ideas to go and plenty of interaction between the main characters. I hope you enjoy!

To Be Continued...


04-29-2017 ~ Published