Disclaimer: i do not own anatopsis and/or any of it's characters (i wish i did, but hey! that's life)

Anatopsis

"Let it be, Ana." Barnaby Georges, prince no longer, said to the flaxen haired girl crounched down beside him, examining an injured worm on the footpath.

"But it'll die if we just leave it here!" Ana protested.

"In the end it'll just suffer more anyways, it's to far gone." Barnaby said, bending down to look at it.

Sudden, unexplained tears came to Ana's eyes, she's been feeling like this even since...ever since that day...Ana felt so emotion inside these days, like the slightest thing could bring her to tears.

Like this worm.Ana thought, it's dying.

"I...I can't just leave it to die out here...maybe we could bring it home and look after it till it gets better...or - " Ana pleaded, not with Barnaby or anyone else, but just with life, and death and all the gods out there, she felt so helpless. "If i still had magic...i.."Ana broke off and her shoulders drooped down, she let her hair cover her face, she didn't want anyone to see her like this.

Barnaby crouched down, worried about Ana. Ever since that fated day, she's never been the same. Barnaby was afraid that she wasn't thriving in this world, just like he wasn't back in the old, magical world. "Why does it have to be like this?" Barnaby wondered out loud, Ana looked up and he saw that her eyes were red, like she had been crying. "Ana..."

"Oh goody, there you are!" Uno panted as he bounded over to them, his sides heaving "I've been looking...puff... all over for you guys!" Barnaby noticed with dread that Uno's health wasn't too great, he used to be able to run for miles and miles on end without tiring, but now, even the slightest run could make him puff and wheeze like an unoiled rusty engine.

" What is it Uno?" Barnaby asked, helping Ana stand up. Uno skidded to a stop in front of him, his big, droopy brown doggy eyes looked up at him, large and urgent, his toungue lolled out of his mouth, dripping with saliva/sweat "It's..puff..your mother Ana..she's...!" Ana straightened atruptly. Her eyes wide and unseeing. Suddenly she torn herself away from them and ran like a wild thing toward their camp site.

"Ana!" Barnaby, alarmed by the look on her face, called after her worriedly. "Don't, just give her some space right now, she need to be with her family for this." Uno said wearily, flopping down at Barnaby's feet. "She'll be alright."

But Barnaby couldn't help but worry, staring after where Ana had gone.

"Dad!" Ana burst into the small hut which was her mother's home for the time being.

And saw her father, Sir Christopher, kneeling at the side of a still figure covered with a white cloth.

"No..." Ana whispered as she slid down on her knees, unable to keep herself upright for any longer.

"Ana, oh Ana, "Sir Christopher reached out to her and Ana saw that his face was shiny with tears. "I miss her Ana, even though she was a cruel old cow. She's, she's been different ever since she had her magic stripped away from her...i was starting to like her.."

Ana reached out to him too, and buried her face in his old, ratty tunic. But she did not cry, she may have lumps the size of baseballs in her throat and burning, itching eyes...But she did not cry. It seemed as if her tears had been cried out of her. And so Ana knelt there, surrounded by grief and sadness and death, and not a single tear spilt out of her.