Several weeks past. Valimos had some sort of deal going on with the head Bishop of Dion church, and Komugi was prohibited from leaving the church without an escort. He would leave during the day at times, and return with a smug look. Komugi had studied up all she needed to know to become a Prophet while locked in Valimos' room, and now awaited the day she'd go to Oren where she would be ordained.
One morning, while she shuffled around the cathedral, she heard someone shout "SHARMIN!" Her heart leaping into her throat, she dashed to the door and looked out, just as someone blinked out of existence at the Gatekeeper who stood outside. Gatz stared at the Gatekeeper in bewilderment, and Komugi's face brightened. She took a breath and moved to step outside of the church, but was halted by a hand on her arm. She turned to find Valimos glaring at her angrily, and she wrenched her arm from him.
"How DARE you! I'm not your property!" she snarled, turning away from him to dash after Gatz. He had seen her sister, maybe he knew where she was headed, and she could leave the nightmare of Valimos behind. The Dark Elf was frighteningly possessive, and seemed to think he could order her to do whatever he pleased. "Gatz!" she called, waving as he turned to look at her in surprise. His face brightened as he saw her and just as he took a step towards her, Koyori stepped between them.
"Well well well, if it isn't the flat chested wonder. I see you've matured in your face, but your body still seems to be lagging behind." She stated smugly, pushing her chest out. "Oh my, are those Sage Rags you're wearing?" she giggled, holding a hand up to hide her mouth. She turned her hips slightly as if to show off her white, blue and shiny Blue Wolf robe set, a symbol of an accomplished magus.
"Go explode, you bimbo." Komugi hissed, her hair prickling out. Of all people, why did Gatz have to choose Koyori as his tagalong healer?
"Komugi, wow, it's been ages!" Gatz exclaimed, pushing Koyori aside. She made a disgusted noise and glared at him. "I just saw Sharmin leave, did she come back with you?
"So you really did see Sharmin?" Komugi exclaimed. Gatz looked at her in surprise then.
"You mean you weren't together?" he asked curiously as Koyori snorted in amusement.
"No, she's together with me." Valimos sneered, putting an arm around Komugi's shoulders. Komugi ducked under it and pushed him away.
"As if you disgusting slime bag!" she smoothed her hair down from where he mussed it. "This guy has been keeping me prisoner for the past three weeks in that church." She spat, glaring at him.
"Really." Gatz stated more than asked, taking a defensive step forward, glaring at Valimos.
"Now now, don't get involved in their lovers quarrel." Koyori purred, giving Komugi an oily grin.
"Puh-LEEZE Koyori, as if I'd ever lower myself to your level and date a Dark Elf." Komugi said, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, I'm really glad to find you guys again to save me from the obsessed stalker here, but I'd really like to find out where my sister has gone so I can at least TRY and reclaim some semblance of the normal life I lost months ago." With that she turned and marched to the Gatekeeper.
After speaking with the absent-minded blonde for several minutes, they were able to get out that she had sent Sharmin to Oren, just as Valimos had predicted. However, when they consulted their money bags, they didn't have enough money to port to Oren after lending Komugi enough for the fee. She tried to get them to let her go on by herself, but they wouldn't hear of it, and instead came up with the alternate plan of traveling to Giran to make the lost money. This aggravated Komugi, and she knew Valimos went with it both to keep her under his thumb and at his healing beck and call. Koyori watched her trudge after Valimos as they ran between Giran Castle town and Breka's Stronghold. Most of the monsters were much too weak to be profitable from, but Komugi knew that they wouldn't travel south towards stronger prey, as they'd be closer to Devil's Isle. After a few weeks, she, Valimos, Gatz and Koyori gathered their money together and finally had the Gatekeeper send them to Oren. Komugi pushed herself to her feet from where she landed in front of the church to dash into the crowd wandering about the city. Valimos appeared seemingly from nowhere and grabbed her arm, pulling her back.
"First you become ordained, and then you search out Sharmin." He commanded sternly, pulling her towards the church.
"Let go of me!" Komugi shouted, kicking him in the groin. Valimos groaned and released her arm to double over, and she took that moment to race into the crowd. She scanned the people around her with large eyes, searching for Sharmin's face. She wandered aimlessly, her esteem slowly seeping out of her until she came to sit on the steps of the Warrior Guild. She sighed and stared out at the people passing by, her chin resting heavily on her hands. Sharmin wasn't here after all. During the weeks they spent in Giran, she probably moved on to another place. Groaning in frustration she stood and kicked the step, then stared at the teacher inside of the guild angrily. He blinked at her blankly, then looked around to see if she were looking at someone else so murderously. When he realized there were no other bodies nearby, he scooted uneasily from her view. Sighing again, Komugi stomped off the steps and back in the direction of the church. Might as well go become ordained now and figure out the next place to go.
"Ne, did you hear?" a nun whispered to a Priestess as Komugi knelt before the head Bishop. He was chanting off her oaths and vows that she had to abide by as a Prophet, but she only listened with half an ear, distracted by the two women.
"Hear what?" the Priestess whispered back. Komugi opened one eye to look at them.
"There was this handsome man in town the other day looking for someone! He was so rugged, yet elegant! The Barmaids are saying he was a vampire!" the nun giggled. Komugi turned her head slightly to listen, now intrigued. Her heart began to pound lightly in her chest.
"A vampire? Oh my, I hope he didn't kill anyone!" the Priestess exclaimed softly, a hand on her chest.
"It would be a pleasuring death, let me tell you. I saw him myself and wished I were twenty years younger!" the nun said with a wicked grin
"Qi, behave!" the Priestess scolded, casting a worried glance at the Bishop who paused to glare at them. "You'll bring misfortune upon yourself if you talk that way!" They were quiet for a moment, and Komugi realized they were staring at her.
"You're done now, child." The Bishop said in a nasally voice, looking down at her sternly. Komugi blinked a few times and looked up at him, her cheeks pink. She'd been listening to the women so intently she didn't hear him finish her ceremony. Smiling at him nervously she bowed lightly and scooted over to the Priestess the nun stood next to for the list of new spells she had to learn.
"Excuse me, I couldn't help but overhear…" she began, smiling at the priestess.
"Obviously." The nun stated flatly, adjusting her spectacles. Komugi's cheek twitched for a moment as she tried to control her temper.
"…This man you talking about, did he say who he was looking for?" Komugi finished, folding the list the Priestess handed her and placing it in her robe pocket.
"Well, there are several different stories when you want to get that detailed." The nun said, pushing her arms under her breasts and wiggling, as if adjusting her chest support. "But the general consensus seems to be a girl of about fourteen or so. Why, do you think it's you?" She glared at Komugi as if inspecting her, and Komugi again struggled with her temper.
"Not particularly." She said carefully, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "What did he look like?" This seemed to be the winning question, and the nun's expression turned wistful.
"Oh he was so beautiful." She said dreamily, fanning herself lightly with her hand. "Blonde hair that reached all the way down to his waist…eyes that were hungry like a wolves. And blue! I'd never seen such a bright blue before. They were like the ocean near Heine!" she sighed and stared off into space. Komugi stared at her in shock. No doubt about it, she described Zaken perfectly. His hair was usually kept hidden beneath his coat, but the rare times she'd seen him in human wear, he'd left it visible.
"You've read too many romance novels, Qi, shame on you." The Priestess said bitterly, glancing at the nun.
"I had to give up a lot when I became a nun, at least leave an old woman with the dreams of what she missed out on." Qi huffed stubbornly, folding her arms. Komugi bowed lightly and rushed out of the church.
Zaken was still looking for her! The thought made her heart flutter, despite her mind still insisting that she weren't to fall for anyone until she turned sixteen. She had been worried that he would get the wrong impression from seeing Valimos kiss her as he opened the scroll of escape. A new idea hit her, and she stopped, her eyes wide. Zaken could help her find Sharmin better than any stupid Dark Elf! Why didn't she think of that before while she was with him?
Because you forgot about her. An evil voice said inside her head. Glaring at it, she began walking through Oren's marketplace, nibbling on her thumbnail in thought. There had to be a way to get in contact with Zaken, but how? It was highly unlikely that he would return to Oren, as it was dangerous for him to travel such distances when the night was so short. He must've taken quite a risk to travel all the way to Oren and then back to Devil's Isle. No, her only other choice would be to somehow escape from Valimos or convince him to take her to Devil's Isle. Both seemed highly unlikely, and she growled to herself, biting her thumbnail hard.
"Please, won't you help me?" a light voice came from beside Komugi. She paused and looked over to find a black-haired Witch pleading desperately to a red-haired, Dark Elf Spellhowler. The Elf sighed and shifted, as if bored. Next to the Sorceress sat a large, plump white cat wearing a fancy brown coat, white and lavender striped balloon pants, with a pair of brown goggles perched on top of his head. He stood on two legs and swayed back and forth like a child.
"I'm terribly sorry, but I just don't have the time to be tagging along with you all the way to Heine." The Elf said in a bored tone, looking around the Sorceress as if watching for someone. Light bulbs went off in Komugi's head as she stared at them. Heine was near the Field of Whispers. The Field of Whispers was near Devil's Isle! But wait, Valimos wouldn't go someplace without good reason. Komugi thought quickly as the Sorceress continued to beg the Spellhowler. Of course, it was so clear! She could convince Valimos to go to Heine. From there she would trick him into going into the Garden of Eva in search of treasure. While they were in there, she'd conveniently get separated from him and make her way to Devil's Isle alone. It was a perfect plan!
"Please, you must come with me!" the Sorceress begged. "It must be a Dark Elf!"
"I can help you." Komugi said with a smile on her face, coming up behind the Sorceress. She turned to look at Komugi in surprise, then made a worried face.
"Thank you, but it must be a Dark Elf." She said sadly. Komugi's eye twitched, but she didn't break her smile.
"That's great then, as I'm traveling with a Dark Elf myself." She forced herself to say in a happy tone. Associating herself willingly with Valimos left a bitter taste in her mouth. "Come with me to the inn and we'll talk to him, ok?"
"Oh thank you!" the Sorceress said, taking Komugi's hands. Her eyes shone with happy tears. Her cat familiar meowed and put a paw on Komugi's hand, mimicking his mistress.
"No problem." Komugi said uneasily, pulling her hand away gently and turning. She cried out in startlement, as she almost ran into a large-eyed, red-haired Dwarf with a ponytail on the side of her head staring up at her.
"What's in Heine?" she asked curiously, looking at the two girls. Komugi lowered her eyes in annoyance at the Dwarf and turned her nose up.
"None of your business." She said in an elitist tone, stepping around her and marching away. The Sorceress bowed quickly to the Dwarf and then jogged to keep up with Komugi. Watching them go with a puzzled expression, the Dwarf shrugged and then posed on one leg, waving at them as they left. She then hummed a merry tune and went skipping in the opposite direction.
As Komugi walked briskly past the north gate, a group of weary fighters came trudging into town. They had just returned from a week-long stakeout, all of them hired to push the Lizardmen back towards the Timak Outpost. Sharmin stepped inside of the town and sighed, pushing her hair out of her face which was smudged with grime. She squinted and looked up at the sky, thinking to herself about how she wished it would rain. Sighing again, she walked wearily towards the inn.
"No." Valimos said flatly, turning away from Komugi and inspecting the weapons a merchant had laid out.
"Oh come on Valimos, now that we've missed Sharmin, I gotta do something." Komugi said, trying not to look at the Sorceress whose eyes were welling up with tears.
"Please, you're my last hope! It must be a Dark Elf!" The Sorceress, whom had introduced herself as Melissan, whimpered. "I cannot even hope to get into the Garden of Eva properly without one!" Komugi grinned inwardly as the Adena signs lit up in Valimos' eyes.
"Did you say the Garden of Eva?" he asked, interested. Melissan nodded.
"Yes, there is something I must do there, but I cannot go in unless I have a Dark Elf accompanying me!" she exclaimed, hope returning to her voice. Valimos visibly pondered it for a moment before nodding once.
"Fine, you have a deal. We'll escort you there, but only for a fee. Two million now, two more when we arrive, alright?" He smirked. Melissan stared at him blankly for a moment and Komugi's grin turned into a groan. There was no way a normal person could afford such a steep price!
"Alright then, I accept." Melissan said with a smile. To both Komugi and Valimos' shock, she held her hand out to the cat who produced a fat money pouch. From it she pulled the required money and dropped the heaping mound into Valimos' hand. "We'll meet on the south path at noon, alright? Thank you so much!" Melissan waved to them as she and her cat turned and disappeared into the crowd, leaving Komugi and Valimos to stare at each other dumbly.
Komugi woke early the next day and dressed in the teal Karmian robe set that Valimos purchased for her with the money Melissan had given them. The robes consisted of a long-sleeved tunic that was off the shoulders, and a long skirt that reached to her knees. Her tunic was richly embroidered around the hems with a silver link pattern, and lace fluttered around her shoulders. A choker came with the robe set, which she gratefully used to cover the lingering scars from Zaken's 'kiss'. She had requested dual swords when it came time for a weapon, but he ignored her and picked out a traditional magus staff. Looking at herself in the mirror and taking a deep breath, she grinned. It wouldn't be long now. She'd have Valimos out of her hair soon enough.
Or so she thought. Several hours later, way past the meeting time with Melissan, Komugi stood outside of the inn and tapped her foot impatiently. Nearby, Valimos stood at a merchant's stall, pondering between identical Gatekeeper scrolls.
"Come on Valimos, what do you need to do still? We've been here for an hour." She whined, kicking the toe of her boot into the stone pavement. It seemed like he was being slow on purpose, and it aggravated her. They could have been to the Skyshadow Meadow by then! Valimos ignored her and plucked a scroll from the pile, seemingly satisfied with it.
"Patience Komugi, I'm done now." He said, paying the merchant and turning away. Komugi cheered lightly, her fist thrown into the air. She composed herself as Valimos turned to glare at her and pretended to stretch. Folding her arms behind her head, she walked ahead of him; trying to ignore the penetrating look he was giving her. "Wait, stop here." Valimos commanded, pulling her over to a merchant selling potions. Komugi made an exasperated noise.
"Must we? Seriously, we should have everything by now!" she grumbled, looking at the jewelry another merchant had laid out next to the potions seller. She sighed and blew a strand of hair from her eyes, wishing one of Shilien's dragon children would siege the town in search of Dark Elf meat.
"Komugi?" she suddenly heard someone call. She lifted her head and looked around curiously. It almost sounded like Sharmin…
"Something wrong?" Valimos asked, looking at her. Komugi squinted into the crowd, straining her ears to hear the voice again. A strange feeling of dread began to descend over her, and she struggled against running away from it.
"I thought I heard someone calling me…" she said softly, eyes scanning the passing faces. After another moment she shrugged and returned to looking at the necklaces. She frowned; her face turned away from Valimos, and put a hand to her chest. What was this strange feeling that suddenly plagued her? She felt as if something important were going to happen that she needed to be there for.
"Alright, I'm done." Valimos finally said, packing away the potions he purchased. Komugi stood and followed him without question, still frowning. He paused at the city gates and turned to look at her, confused by the silence. "Well, are you ready to go?" he asked inspecting her expression. Komugi suppressed the dread feeling long enough to groan and roll her eyes at him.
"I've been ready to go for ages, have you not been listening?" she grumbled.
"Of course not, you're quite the nag, sometimes I wish you'd shut up." he sneered, proud of himself.
"Bastard, I'm not healing you." Komugi hissed, her hair standing out. How dare he treat her like she was an annoyance when it was he who wouldn't let her go!
"Ok then, I'm letting you die." Valimos reasoned, walking away from her. Komugi stared at his retreating figure for a moment, her temper in full tilt before stomping down the hill leading from the town after him. They turned south, making their way towards the Skyshadow Meadow, as Sharmin, whom Komugi hadn't even noticed, ran north, towards the Ivory Tower.
