"I don't see why you need me along for this, Anna," I said crossly as she dragged me by the arm through the streets of Ylisstol. "Visiting your sister doesn't seem like a particularly good use of my time. I have more important things on my agenda today."

"Because Robin," she said cheerily, "it's not every day that my sister sends me a message about coming into possession of a legendary gemstone."

"Oh? That's probably something you should have led with," I said as I stopped resisting her grip quite as much. "Although I'm still not sure what that has to do with me."

"I want to buy it from her, obviously. And she's only in Ylisstol today."

"Clearly I'm still missing something, because you continue to not make it clear why I need to be here."

"I know my sister, Robin. She's going to try to price gouge me. You're here to make sure she doesn't." We passed a few of the stalls being run by the traders who were coming through the city for the day. Anna's sister's was apparently near the city gate. A few people tried to stop us, but Anna kept doggedly moving forward.

"How?"

"You're a smart guy, and a big guy. You'll think of something."

"...Right. So what is this legendary gemstone?" Even though she wasn't facing me I could tell that her face had lit up and my question. Of course it had, we were talking about a valuable product she'd be able to sell for a huge profit.

"It's called Mila's Tear. The legend says that when the great hero Alm released Mila with his Falchion, she gave up her physical form and became a spirit. The gemstone was the single tear she shed before her body disappeared."

"Let me guess. In reality it's just some low quality diamond someone found and built up a legend around it," I said. Anna believed in the gods, but she wasn't really one for myths and legends.

"It's an amethyst, actually, and my sister says it's pretty high quality, but otherwise you're right. But people buy into legends, which means they buy legends." And the obvious truth was spoken out loud.

"Fine," I said. "You can let go of me now. I'm convinced."

"Thanks Robin, I owe you one," she said happily. She finally let go of my arm and we started walking together at a more leisurely pace.

"Yes you do, especially since you made me do this today."

"Oh you'll live," she said. "Look, there's her tent," she said as she pointed to a tent that was the same shades of red and yellow as her outfit. Gods, did they all dress the same way too? Were red and yellow the family colors?

As we reached the entrance a disheveled-looking man walked out and bumped into me. He mumbled and apology and kept walking. Anna looked annoyed as she followed the path he took away from us.

"I can't believe my sister lets people like that shop at her stall. There's no way he had enough money for a decent sale. She's always been too generous for her own good," she said grumpily.

"What, does she only charge fifty gold for a bushel of apples instead of seventy-five?"

"That was one time, Robin. And they were really good apples."

"Okay," I said, "that's fair." They had been. We were about to enter the tent when Anna came out in a rush. The other Anna, that is. The sister who was visiting and who was also dressed the same as the Anna with me and who looked exactly the same as the Anna with me and...gods, how did they keep track? Other Anna looked frantic as she bumped into us.

"Wh—sis? You're here? And you must be Robin. You've gotta help me!" She sounded just as frantic as she looked.

"What is it?" I asked gently.

"Did you see a shifty-looking guy pass by?" I suspected I knew where she was going with this line of questioning.

"We did."

"He stole the gem! Mila's Tear is gone! You have to help me!" I had never seen my Anna look so angry or determined even as she continued to track the man's path.

"After him, Robin! That's my rock he's got!" She took off after the man. I was a step or two behind her. The man saw us, not that we were hard to miss, and took off at a dead sprint. Fortunately his clothes made him stand out from the crowd so we could see where he was going. He bumped into someone and knocked them into a stall, which caused a bit of a ruckus. Anna and I got a little bogged down in the confusion and the man gained a step on us.

He turned down an alley. We were hot on his heels but when we turned the corner we didn't see him. What we did see was a grate that covered a hole that led into the drainage tunnels that led out of the city. It had been carelessly tossed aside. It wasn't hard to guess where the man had gone. Anna was still ahead of me and she fairly flew down the ladder and into the tunnel. I followed her a second later as I heard her call out.

"Robin! Get me some light!" I landed next to her in the tunnel and made a small fireball in my hand.

"Which way did he go?" I asked her.

"Probably that way," she said as she pointed what I assumed was east. "That way leads right to the castle."

"How do you...never mind. But what if he knew you knew that and went towards the castle?"

"He's a thief, Robin, they're not usually bright." She started east and once again I was a step behind her. Her instincts ended up being right. We heard splashing ahead of us a minute or so later. He was either getting tired or thought he had gotten away. Anna picked up the pace and nearly tripped. I helped her steady herself and we kept moving. He must have heard us coming because the pace of the splashed picked up. "Dammit, he's almost at the river. Hurry!" We started running harder. It was a little difficult since we were ankle-deep in water, but Anna was clearly practiced at this. I wasn't so skilled, but I still managed to mostly keep up.

We finally caught sight of him about a hundred feet ahead of us. I saw a flash of purple in his left hand which I presumed was the gem. He was about fifty feet from the tunnel's exit into the river. If he made it there all hope was lost. I wasn't a particularly talented swimmer and to my knowledge Anna wasn't either. If he was he'd be gone once he hit the water.

"Stop, damn you!" yelled Anna. Incredibly, he decided not to. Anna reached into her pocket and pulled out what looked like a metal ball. I wasn't sure what it was, but with her there was no way to know. Maybe it was just a metal ball or maybe it was some kind of good luck charm. Whatever it was, she wound up and flung it at the man on a dead run. It slammed right into his back and sent him tumbling head-over-heels about ten feet from the end of the tunnel. Anna cried out in triumph and rushed forward. The man scrambled to get back to his feet, looked over his shoulder at us, and apparently decided he was caught. Then he did something I didn't expect and Anna certainly didn't expect. He flung the gemstone into the river. "NOOOOO!" cried Anna as she tackled the man. They landed in the shallow water of the tunnel and started sputtering.

I caught up and offered Anna a hand. Then I dragged the man by the collar to his feet. He was coughing and gagging.

"How could you?!" she yelled angrily. I had never seen her madder than this. I interposed myself between the two before she throttled him to death.

"Anna!" I barked. "Calm down!"

"But Robin you saw...the gem...MY MONEY!" She lunged but I blocked her with one hand.

"Anna! Let me handle this! Step back. Now." She very, very reluctantly did so, but only because it was the hand that had the fireball in it. I turned to the man whose collar I was still holding. In the dim light I could see that he looked young and dirty and he had shaggy brown hair.

"Why'd you do it?" Once he had finished coughing he spoke in a very odd accent. I could barely understand him.

"Caught me," he said. "Weren't gettin' away wit' t' rock anyways. Figgered 'twas a loss. Best ta not let any fool 'ave it." Anna was clearly livid, but didn't say anything.

"That's it," I said to her. "It's gone now. If we're lucky maybe it landed at the bottom of the river, but it's probably in the sea by now."

"I'm gonna look for it," she said as she retrieved her metal ball. "Maybe it hasn't gone far."

"I'll take this one to the guards and come back," I said.

"Yeah. Fine," she said. She sounded despondent. I started dragging the man with me back towards the ladder we had come in.

About two hours of searching through hip-to-neck-deep water later we gave up and returned to the city.

"...It's gone," she said once we had finished drying off. "The most valuable gem in the world and he just threw it into the river. And now it's gone." I put a consoling hand on her shoulder.

"There'll be other gemstones, Anna. You can't let it get you down for too long."

"But this was Mila's Tear. If I had sold it for a good enough profit I could have retired." Her voice was filled with despair.

"Retirement wouldn't suit you," I said brightly. "There's no money in it."

"I...guess that's true," she said grudgingly.

"Come on," I said as I clapped her on the back, "I'll buy you lunch. I know it's a little late, but still."

"Yeah, sure...Thanks, Robin. For trying."

"Anytime," I said. We walked to what I knew was her favorite restaurant in the city. It wasn't crowded at this point in the mid-afternoon, so we got a table right away. We ordered and had our food in ten minutes. She barely touched hers, but went wild on the three bottles of liquor she had ordered. When she had finished she sat in silence. I didn't really have anything to say to console her, so I just paid for the food when we were done. She stood up.

"Thanks," she said. Her voice was a little uneven from all the alcohol, but she didn't sound drunk.

"I'm really sorry," I said kindly.

"Yeah. Gonna go tell my sister. Lotta money. See you."

"You want me to come with you?"

"Nah. 'm fine." She walked out. I sat back in my chair and ordered a cake for dessert.

Ten minutes later, the disheveled man walked into the restaurant along with Anna. Not my Anna, though. The other Anna. The visiting Anna. The man's clothing was much nicer than it had been before, and his face wasn't dirty, and his hair wasn't shaggy or brown, it was neat and reddish, but it was still clearly him. They sat down at my table right as my cake arrived.

"You owe me big for taking that shot to the back, Bubbles," said Gaius.

"Oh please," I said, "you got paid. And besides, a third of this cake is yours."

"Mm...alright, you win. We're square." He cut himself a slice and started eating. "Ooh, that's the good stuff."

"I still can't believe she threw that at you," said Anna. "All of us get one of those when we get our first shop. It's a family tradition." Gaius shrugged and kept at his cake.

"She got it back. But what about you, Anna?" I said to her. "We never discussed payment. What do I owe you?"

"Oh gods," she said with barely-contained laughter, "you don't owe me a thing. The look on my sister's face was payment enough." She pulled a small package out of her satchel and handed it to me. "Well okay, the look and the agreed-upon price for this," she said. I handed her a small pouch containing the exorbitant sum of fifty gold. She took it and motioned to Gaius. "I'm surprised at how good this one is at jewelry-making. And also forging fake legendary gemstones." She looked over at him and flashed a trademark Anna grin. "You should come work with me. You'd make a great partner."

"Appreciate the offer, Red two" he said as he held up his left hand which now had a ring on it, "But I'm married."

"Tch. All the good ones are." She looked back at me. "You've got a good one with you here."

"He is a man of many talents, not least among them disguise," I said. "Still, I feel a little bad. She looked really heartbroken. And the booze was expensive."

"Oh she'll get over it," said Anna. "She kind of deserves the lesson anyway. And as mad as she'll be when she finds out, she'll be happier the stone isn't gone forever. Although she'll spend the rest of her life trying to buy it."

"I doubt that," I said. "My wife can be very...dissuasive."

"You would know better than me," she said. "Now...for the rest of my payment." She cut herself a third of the cake and put it on her plate, then took a bite. "Gods, he's not kidding. This really is the good stuff."

"Best cake in the city," I said as I helped myself to my portion. Once I had finished I ordered a second and paid for both. Once it came I had it packed up to take out with me and bade farewell to my dining companions. "Evening you two, and many thanks for all your help."

"No problem, Bubbles. See ya 'round," said Gaius.

"It was nice to see you!" said Anna cheerily.

"You too!" I said and departed. I carefully balanced the package and the cake as I walked home. It made the trip take an extra twenty minutes, but I didn't mind. I couldn't have been happier with how the day had gone. Okay, I would have been a little happier if Anna hadn't been so upset, but I consoled myself by saying that she had gotten a free lunch and a valuable life lesson about greed.

I reached the door of my house and carefully knocked with the hand that had the package.

"Who is it?" I heard from the other side.

"Your beloved father," I said. The door flew open and Morgan's bright smiled greeted me.

"Welcome home dad! Oh! Is that for mom? I got her out of the house like you asked, but it probably won't take her that long so you'd better hurry." I handed Morgan the package and carried the cake to the back room where it could stay hidden. Then I lit a couple of candles and started making dinner. It wasn't anything elaborate, just a liver-and-eel pie, but I at least knew it was the one thing I could make well.

"How was your day? Did everything go right?" asked Morgan.

"It did," I said and ruffled her hair. "Thanks for doing your part. And thanks for taking care of your mom for me today."

"Don't worry, we had a bunch of fun," she said. "Although she was...a little disappointed that you were busy." I knew she would be. And I felt guilty about it, but I had known Anna was going to be dragging me out there from the start since I'd gotten the message from her sister. Apparently my Anna didn't know that we had met the other Anna once before.

"I know. I'll apologize to her when she gets back." Once the pie was in the oven I went upstairs to my bedroom to change into clean clothes before my wife got home. When the pie was about almost done baking I heard a knock at the door.

"Morgan dear, I'm home," said a gentle voice. I looked at Morgan.

"I'll get it," I said. Morgan nodded.

"Just a second, mom!" called Morgan. I walked to the door, unlocked it, and pulled it open.

"Hello Mor—Robin!" said Tiki. She broke into a wide grin.

"Hello, my love," I said. She was holding a satchel in one hand so I didn't pick her up like I had planned to, but I did throw my arms around her and give her a kiss. "Welcome home."

"I thought you would be busy all day," she said as she relaxed into my hug.

"I wanted to surprise you," I said, "so I came home early." Which was, strictly speaking, true. I thought Gaius was going to make the chase take a little longer. I kissed her again for a little longer. "Dinner should be ready in the next few minutes."

"Is it perchance liver-and-eel pie?"

"That is your favorite, no?"

"Of course," she said and decided it was her turn to kiss me. I wasn't complaining. She slipped an arm around my waist and we walked together into the kitchen. Morgan was waiting there. She looked disgusted.

"You guys are gross, you know," she said.

"You'll have a daughter who says the same thing to you one day," I said brightly.

"Dear Grandma I hope not." Tiki and I laughed. Tiki handed Morgan the satchel which contained some clothes she had sent off to get repaired. I took the pie out of the oven and sent a quick gust of wind over it to cool it off. I cut it into thirds and we all sat down to enjoy it.

"How was your day, darling?" Tiki asked me as she finished her serving of pie.

"Eventful," I said evenly. "How was yours?"

"Morgan and I had a wonderful day, though in truth I wish you were here to share it."

"I know," I said. "I'm sorry, I wish I had been." I did, but hopefully the results of my work would make up for it.

"Still, I'm glad you made it home in time for supper."

"Not only that," I said as we all finished. "Wait here." I stood up and went to the back room. I stuck the package in my pocket and picked up the cake. I carried the cake back into the dining room and was rewarded with Tiki's gasp of delight when she saw it.

"Oh! Robin! It looks delicious!" I put it down on the table and she jumped up to give me another hug and a kiss. I saw Morgan leave the room while pantomiming a gag.

"It's your favorite," I said in a low voice. "And I got you something. Be careful, it's fragile." I pulled the package out of my pocket and handed it to her. She opened it. The second gasp of delight and the smile on her face made every moment of running through the sewers and searching the river worth it.

"Oh Robin, this is such a beautiful necklace! The gem is so lovely, and you even used an amethyst!" I took it and placed it around her neck. It looked so beautiful on her that it made me want to cry. "Though it must have cost a fortune."

"Not really," I said, "I just had to do some work for it."

"Is that why you were busy all day?"

"Yes. Sorry I didn't tell you. I wanted it to be a surprise."

"It is, and a wonderful surprise at that. Thank you so much." We stepped away from the table. Now that we were clear of any obstacles, I finally had my chance. I swept her up in my arms. She squealed happily and hugged my neck. We shared our deepest kiss of the evening. When we were finished I rested my forehead against hers. She gave a satisfied sigh. Before I put her down so we could eat cake I finally remembered the one thing I hadn't told her yet. I flashed her my warmest smile.

"Happy birthday, Tiki."

A/N: At the suggestion of a guest reviewer, I'm going to move any and all side works over here to avoid confusion with the main work, or the chronology might get a little wonky.

Oh yeah, spoilers: The two leads whose epithets are the title of the work end up together.