When the ship had docked, Berwald led Arthur and Yao off the ship and onto dry land. "So there's the road you'll take for Wall," Berwald told them as he pointed at a winding road. "Good l'ck on ya journey home, Yao, wherever that may be. And good l'ck to you, Arthur, with your Elizaveta," Berwald told the two of them.
"How can we ever thank you enough for your kindness?" said Arthur.
"Don't m'ntion it," smiled Berwald. "Oh, and Arth'r…" Berwald leaned forward and whispered something in Arthur's ear.
Arthur turned a bright red and stole a glance at Yao.
"J'st think about it," Berwald winked. "Well, give ma regards to England. It's been a pl'sure to meet you both." He waved at Arthur and Yao as they went on their way.
When they had walked a distance, Yao turned to Arthur. "What did the captain say to you, aru?"
Arthur had a questioning look on his face. "What did he say when?"
"Just now. When he whispered to you, aru."
"Oh," Arthur blushed lightly. "No… He was just saying we should get you a Babylon candle since mine ran out."
"But a Babylon candle is not that easy to acquire, aru," Yao stated.
"Doesn't mean we can't try, right?"
"He's back on land," Sesel told her sister.
Natalia growled. "I know. I couldn't get to the lake in time."
"No matter – he is on his way to the village of Wall. If you take the shortcut across the marshes, you should arrive in time to stop him."
Yao yelped as Arthur leapt on top of him, sending them both to the ground. "Are you trying to kill me, aru?"
"I'm sorry," Arthur apologised. "It's just that… I can't risk people seeing you. I don't trust anyone."
Yao frowned at Arthur. "Why not?" he asked.
"Don't you remember that a witch is hunting you down?"
Yao shrugged. "I thought it was just witches we shouldn't trust, aru."
"Well," Arthur looked around. "Better safe than sorry."
Yao looked into Arthur's eyes. Arthur stared back intently.
Finally, Yao asked, "Are you tempted, aru?"
"By what?"
"Immortality," replied Yao. "Let's say it wasn't my heart. Not me, aru. Just a star you didn't know."
Arthur snorted. "You seriously think I could kill anyone?" he asked. "I mean, even if I could... Eternal life? I think it would be kind of lonely," he finished sadly.
"Well," Yao began. "Maybe if you had someone to share it with, aru. Someone you love. Maybe then it might be different, aru," he reasoned.
"Maybe," Arthur shrugged. He glanced behind. "Come on, I think it's safe now."
Arthur and Yao continued walking until they reached a sign which said "Wall 60 miles".
"Hey, look," Yao pointed at the sign. "It says we have 60 miles more till we reach the wall, aru. How long will that take?"
Arthur shrugged. "Maybe two days if we walk."
"But Elizaveta's birthday is tomorrow, aru!"
Arthur glanced at Yao. "Yes, it is." But now he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to bring Yao back to Wall and show him to Elizaveta.
"We'll never get to her on time if we continue walking, aru!"
They looked around and saw an old lady with a caravan approaching them. It looked like she was heading in the same direction as they were. "Should we get a lift from her, aru?" Yao nudged Arthur.
"I don't see why not," Arthur shrugged. "Hey! Wait!" he called.
The old lady stopped her horse. "What do you want?" she grumbled.
"Hi, my name is Arthur. This…"
The old lady narrowed her eyes at the flower in Arthur's pocket. "Hey, that's my flower! I've been looking for that for eighteen years!"
Arthur took a step back as the old lady lunged at him. "Who are you?"
The old lady huffed. "I'm Mirelle. I trade at the market near the wall. Now, give that flower to me!" She reached out but her hand was grabbed by Arthur.
Yao, however, looked indignant. "It was a gift from his mother, aru!" he exclaimed.
"Well," Arthur said. "It's obviously very valuable to you, so you can have it in exchange for what I need," he told Mirelle.
"What do you need then?"
"A Babylon candle and safe passage to the wall," Arthur replied.
"I can give you a ride, however, I don't deal with black magic, so I can't give you a Babylon candle," Mirelle told Arthur.
"Okay," Arthur replied, as he reached into his pocket to retrieve the flower. "Safe passage," he repeated warningly.
Mirelle held up her hand. "I swear that you will arrive at the wall in the exact same condition that you're in now," she said.
Satisfied by her promise, Arthur handed Mirelle the flower.
Mirelle smiled as she took the flower from Arthur. "Do you have any idea what thing it was that you had?"
Arthur shrugged. "I don't know. Some kind of lucky charm?"
Mirelle smirked. "Indeed," she replied. "It provides you protection." She lifted her hand and touched Arthur's forehead. "In fact, it would have protected you from me doing this."
And Arthur felt himself shrinking and then he knew no more except that he was really hungry.
As Arthur transformed into a rat, Yao shrieked. "Oh my God, what did you do, aru?"
However, Yao was ignored by Mirelle. For she was cursed by Natalia so that she could not perceive the star.
As Mirelle bent down to pick Arthur up, Yao tried to grab the old lady and force her to turn Arthur back, but he just could not touch her.
Mirelle headed back to her caravan and placed Arthur in a cage. "There, food and lodging, even," she cackled evilly.
Yao leaned against the doorway and folded his arms. "Am I right in saying you cannot see or hear me, aru?" he asked Mirelle, but was once again ignored. "If so, I would like to say you're a horrible woman and I hope you rot in hell for what you've done, aru. And if you don't restore my Arthur, I swear – I will be your personal poltergeist forever!"
Mirelle exited the caravan, and it began moving once again.
"Arthur, aru?" Yao spoke up softly to the rat that was now sniffing around the cage. "If you can understand me, please look at me now, aru."
But the rat that was Arthur continued sniffing around the cage. Yao suspected he must be hungry so he pushed a little of the food in a corner towards the rat.
Yao sat down on a stool. "You know when I said I knew little about love? Well, that wasn't exactly true, aru. I've seen love – a lot of it. And it was the only thing that made watching your world bearable." Yao sniffed and rested his chin on his hands. He touched the rat lightly through the bars of the cage.
"All those wars, pain, hate… it made me want to turn away and never look down again, aru. But to see the way that humans love – it's just beautiful, aru. So, yes, I know that love is unconditional. But I also know it can be unpredictable, unexpected, uncontrollable, unbearable…" Yao sighed and pushed more food towards the rat.
"What I'm trying to say, Arthur, is I think I love you, aru!" Yao exclaimed. "My heart, it feels like my chest cannot contain it anymore. It's like it doesn't belong to me anymore, aru!" He got up and paced around the room.
"It belongs to you," Yao continued; he was afraid to look back and face Arthur even though he was a rat. "And if you wanted it, I'd wish for nothing in exchange – no gifts and no demonstrations of devotion. Nothing but knowing you love me, and not that Elizaveta, aru," he said sadly.
"Just your heart in exchange for mine."