Chapter 7

The next day, after the restaurant closed, a girl stuck her head in the door.

"Can I come in?" she asked.

"Shelke! So nice to see you again!" Tifa walked over and hugged the woman, a pretty girl in her late twenties.

"Tifa!" The girl pulled back after a hug. "Is Vincent here?"

Tifa shook her head. "He just left." Shelke and Tifa exchanged a pointed look that seemed to speak volumes. Tifa turned to Minna. "Minna, this is Shelke."

"Hey, Shelke." Minna shook the outstretched hand. "Vincent mentioned you."

"He did?" Shelke cocked her head.

***

"Where is Vincent?" Minna asked Shelke later, as she had agreed to accompany her to the store. They were walking back as she asked this. "He's been gone for hours now."

"If you really want to know, go down that street there and…" Shelke gave her directions that led out of Edge.

Minna followed her instructions to the letter. She found herself outside a cave. When she entered, she found a small pool with a woman encased in crystals at the center. Looking around, she saw that the cave had materia crystals scattered around it. So this was what a natural Mako spring looked like; Minna had never seen one before.

Lying on the ground near the pool was Vincent. At first, Minna was scared that he was dead or hurt; but closer examination showed that his breath was regular- he was only asleep.

"So he does sleep…" Minna murmured. She covered him with his cloak, and looked around the cave once more. This time, all the details fell into place. This was Lucrecia's cave. And the lady in the crystals- Lucrecia herself. Overcome with a sudden sense of intruding on something personal, Minna left the beautiful cave.

When she returned, everyone looked up at her expectantly. "He's sleeping." Minna said, taking her place at the dinner table.

"Vinnie sleeps?" Yuffie asked.

Tifa sighed and closed her eyes in frustration. "Yes, Yuffie. Everyone sleeps."


A/N AWWWW! Sleeping Vinnie! *Rapes Vin in his sleep*