"Let's see, no not that one…" The Witch Princess mumbled to herself as she looked through the shelves of her shack. "No, no…"
KNOCK! KNOCK!
"Now who could that be?" She asked herself as she went and opened to door to find Jack. "Hello Jack, it's been awhile."
"I know, but it's just that I need to ask you something." He replied as she motioned for him to step inside.
"What is it?" She asked as she shut the door after he stepped in.
"With Princess," He began before taking a deep breath. "Does the name Keira mean anything to you?"
The mention of Keira caused the Witch Princess to freeze up for a moment. "I… I haven't heard that name in a long, long time." She said slowly.
"So you know who she is?" He asked.
"I knew her long time ago Jack; I mean a long time ago. Back when she stilled lived up here on the surface she stole something from me… something that meant a lot to me." She told him.
"What? What did she steal from you?" He asked.
"It doesn't matter Jack… Not anymore…" She replied in a sad tone.
"Is that why you cursed her to live down in the mine forever?" He asked.
"Wait, how do you know about her and her curse?" She asked.
"Earlier today I was down in the mines fighting some of those dark creatures when one of the walls on the lowest floor opened up and I found her." He explained.
"You mean the barrier fell down?" She asked.
"Yes." He replied.
"And you just left her there?" She asked sounding a little worried.
"Well yah, I mean she said she'd be fine down there…" He replied.
"Oh Jack this isn't good, not good at all." She said.
"What do you mean? What's wrong?" He asked.
"I made it so that once the barrier falls the curse would be lifted from her." She told him.
"What does that mean?" He asked.
"She's no longer immortal; she's just like you and the rest of the town. More importantly she needs food now, she could starve down there." She explained.
"Oh man, I only gave her an apple. I have to go back." He said about to leave.
"No Jack." She said placing her hand on his shoulder to stop him. "You'll tire yourself out too fast."
"But I can't leave her down there alone, she could die!" He shouted in a panicked tone.
"I know that but if you're constant go up and down the mine to help her you'll only hurt yourself." She said.
"But what am I suppose to do?" He asked, still sounding scared.
"I don't know Jack; I never really thought she'd be down there this long." She replied in an apologetic tone. "I can't tell you what to do about her Jack, I'm sorry."
"Alright, thanks for being honest with me." He said as he turned around and placed his hand on the doorknob.
"Finest curry…" The Witch Princess whispered as she looked at the ground, just loud enough for Jack to hear her.
"What?" He asked.
"Finest curry, that's her favorite food." She said again quietly.
Jack simply nodded his head in thanks and then proceeded to leave the house.
After leaving the Witch Princess's house Jack made his way over to the inn in order to get food for the following day.
"Hey Ruby." He said to her as she stood behind the counter when he entered the inn.
"Welcome Jack." She greeted. "How can I help you?"
"If you're not too busy I was wondering if you could make me some finest curry." He said.
"I'd love to; I haven't cooked anything in ages. I'll be right back." She told him as she went back in the kitchen.
Jack began to stand around in lobby of inn when Nami began to make her way down the stairs nearby.
"Hello again Nami." He said as she approached him.
"Oh hello Jack." She said happily giving him a quick smile.
"You seem pretty happy about something." He said taking note of her mood.
"Oh, it's just that I looked at the calendar and saw what was coming up." She replied.
"Really? What's coming up?" He asked.
"Why Spring Thanksgiving of course, how could you have forgotten? Don't you have someone special in town?" She asked as she leaned into him a bit causing him to slightly blush.
"Well uh, not at the moment… But that could always change." He replied a little nervously.
"That's good to hear." She said with another smile before exiting the inn.
About a minute after Nami left Ruby reentered the room carrying a plate covered with saran wrap.
"Here you go Jack." She said as she handed it over to him.
"Thanks Ruby, how much do I owe you?" He asked.
"Oh it's alright Jack you don't need to pay me. I love to cook." She replied.
"Really? Thanks." He said.
With the plate in hand, Jack left the inn.
The sun was barely peaking over the horizon of the valley when Jack left his house the following morning. He had woken up early in order to quickly reheat the serving of curry he had gotten from the inn the previous day before heading towards the mine. The town and sky were just barely waking up when he reached the dig site and began his decent. He could waste no time, after all, if what the Witch Princess had told him was indeed true he would have to act fast in order to reach Keira in time.
A/N: R&R and enjoy. And despite what's said near the start, it does still matter.
