Interlude- Mina's Tale/Leaving Windia

Ugh. Is it morning already? Damn. I really shouldn't have stayed up so late. Stupid party. How'd I get roped into that? We got a long journey ahead of us, after all, and I can't be up all night all the time. Got to be refreshed for the long walks I have to take, after all.

After opening my eyes slowly, my focus set in on the ceiling above me. Thankfully, it wasn't spinning around too crazily. I thanked Ladon I didn't feel like I had a hangover. I've only had a few before, but man, are they bad.

I sat up and shook my head violently to clear any last remnants of drowsiness from my brain. Woooo. Time to get ready for another long day. Hopefully, this one wouldn't involve meeting any mutated insects, battling a demon-led gang, or any such other crazy stuff. I had had endured enough the past week or so to make me never want to travel again. But still, my commitment to helping Bow still stood, and I needed to help him. And now that I had finally gotten some info on my thief (albeit not too much), my confidence was bolstered, and I felt much better about the situation than I had in a long while.

Being careful to take as much time as I could, I went over to a basin in the corner of the room and washed up, combed my hair, and all that. I then slipped on the uniform that was laid across the dresser to my right. Finally, I grabbed my sword, which I had hidden beneath the bed, and tied it to my belt. All right. Now it was time to go.

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As I stumbled my way into the kitchen (having been directed there by two very irate guards), I noticed a spot had been set up for me next to the king, who was already seated and eating, along with Hilda, Nina, Mina, and Katt. Well, at least I hadn't completely missed breakfast.

"Howdy, people," I said as I walked over and plopped down. "So, what's going on?"

"We're eating, Ryu," Nina answered. "Or did the champagne from last night muck up your eyesight?"

I hated girls sometimes, especially when they were sarcastic. "Yes, Nina, I can see that. My question was not really asking what was happening now, but more of a future question. Like, 'what is going on…today?' is what I probably should have said."

"Oh. Right. Well, then, do forgive me, please. I had no idea of what you were really trying to say. I thought you were merely being a fool and stating the obvious."

Ouch. From sarcasm to insults. Great way to show your princesshood, Nina. You're real proper. Oh well. "Yeah, whatever, Nina. Anyways, King, I have a question for you---"

"Hold it," he interrupted, his mouth full of toast. "Don't call me King, Ryu. I hate it when people do that in my own castle. It's casual here. No need for formalities. Just call me Harold."

"Oh. Um, okay. Well, then, Harold, I have a question for you. You know that town you were talking about yesterday? Capitan?"

"Yes. I do remember that place."

"Well, here's the thing. I was thinking about it last night, and I though, is that the only place that the thief could have gone to? Or is there someplace else?"

"Sadly, it isn't, to be perfectly honest. There is the entire west side of the globe that the thief could easily access through a ship. Capitan is a port town (sort of) and has a ship service running constantly. I'm not going to say for sure that she did indeed go on a ship, for, as I said yesterday night, Capitan would be a really good place for her to go and lay low for a while. And over on the other side, so far as I know, there is a frog kingdom, Simafort, and a witch's tower. And those frogs don't take too kindly to humans, from what I've heard. Very tight knit group over there. And as for the witch…eh, she's crazy. No person ever goes into her domain without a very good reason. So, unless our thief is related to or has business to conduct with Nimufu, which is highly unlikely, my guess is that she went to and remained in Capitan."

"Ah. All right, then. Well, I shall go see that place first, then, I guess. And if that doesn't work, I'll just go across the sea and check out that Simafort place, and try my luck there. Thanks a lot, Harold." Man, that sounded weird.

"Not a problem, Ryu. Now eat up. You have a long journey ahead of you."

"That's an understatement, Harold," I said, just before diving hungrily into my eggs.

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"Well, Mina," I said afterwards as I was packing, "your father certainly knows how to make a good breakfast. That was the finest meal I have had in ages."

She smiled, but shook her head. "Well, I thank you for your courtesy, Ryu, but actually my father has never had to cook for himself in his life. I mean, I hate to sound arrogant, but we are royalty, after all. We do have several servants employed here, including, I believe, three or four top quality cooks. So none of us, not even Mother, have to cook. Though, occasionally, her, Nina, and I will assist the cooks. Father never does anything, though."

"Of course. Kings and queens always have servants to cook and clean and what not. I don't know what I was thinking. So sorry."

"Don't be, Ryu. It's not a problem whatsoever."

"That's good." I sighed deeply. "Well, I hate to leave you all like this so soon, Mina, but that's the way these things go sometimes. I have a feeling if I remain here any longer, I'll never want to leave."

She nodded. "I understand. Your friendship with Bow is very important to you. And so is the quest you are on right now." She sighed as well, though with a more wistful feeling to it. "I only wish that I could accompany you. The palace is so boring sometimes. I hate to say it, but yesterday was the first time I've felt alive in years."

I raised my eyebrows. She noted this and quickly said, "Oh, don't think I enjoyed being kidnapped by those ruffians. Ladon no. It was just the feeling of excitement, of being out there in the open, walking through the fields, being able to smell all those fragrances nature provides us with. Of course, I didn't enjoy the way I was able to experience these things, tied up and being carried by three very unruly creatures, not one bit, but I digress. All I really want is a chance to explore the world, spread my wings, see things I've never seen before. Mother and Father always have grand stories to tell, about the adventures they used to have in their heyday, and even Nina gets to travel some. Sure, it's just to Hometown, and it's just for school, but still, all the same, I would love to have the chance to do that for a day or week."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," I said. "It used to be that way with me back in Gate, my real hometown. I mean, it was boring as hell in that place. There were about 10 people in the entire place, and all but two of them pretty much hated me. So, naturally, when eighty percent of a town hates you, you want to get away as fast as you can. And I did. Or at least, I tried. And so every day for two straight years, I would walk over to the guard standing at the entrance of the town and ask permission to leave. And he never allowed me out. He always said, and I have this quote etched in my brain, that it was "too dangerous for little kids without any knowledge of combat" to go outside the town. And as soon as he said that, he would give me a boot in the rear and sometimes a smack on the head, and tell me to get on home. And I would go, and the next day, I would go back, and the cycle would repeat itself. Of course, I could have left at night, because he was gone then, but even I did not want to tempt fate by going out on the grasslands alone at night. And so, two years passed by, approximately, from the time I first asked him to the time I was finally able to leave."

"I see," Mina replied. "Did the guard die or something?"

"Oh, it was nothing like that. Actually, I did end up leaving when it was night. See, this thing was, one day, I was in the mountains at the back of the village with my father and sister. And they go and leave me behind. And all of a sudden, I got really tired, and took a nap right there in the grass. When I woke up and went back to the village, it seemed different. I talked to two women whom I had known, and they acted as if they had never seen me before. So, I went over to the church to see if my father knew what was going on, and he wasn't there. There was some old hunchback instead. But still, he was nice, and he let me stay in the upstairs bedroom, because he thought me to be an orphan. So I went up there, and I met who is now my best buddy, Bow Recondall. He was a thief at the time, and as soon as he figured out the church had nothing to steal, he started to leave. I got up and asked to go with him, and he said sure. So we left the village together, and since it was night, there was no guards anywhere. We wound up in this dark little cave, and that's where we met this hideous demon that nearly killed us both. And after that, after I woke up from the coma the creature put me in, I never saw Gate again."

Mina was silent for a few moments, soaking in everything I had just told her. I had to admit, it was quite a bit to handle at once.

"Listen, Mina," I said. "Don't worry about what I just said. That's all in the past now. It doesn't affect me like it used to to talk about it."

She nodded slightly. "All right, Ryu. Whatever you say."

"Thank you. Anyways, the point of that entire, surely boring-as-hell speech of mine was to just show my agreement with you. I, too, once wanted to spread my wings and fly high into the sky, where there is nothing around me to hold me back. And I still do. It's just that, unlike you, I have been able to do that a little already, so my zeal for doing so has tapered off somewhat. But still, there's always room to have more freedoms. And you shall get your opportunity soon. Don't worry about it."

She smiled up at me, pushing back a strand of blue hair from her face as she did so. "Thank you very much, Ryu. That makes me feel much better about this whole thing."

"Don't mention it, Mina. And if you don't mind, I have a question for you."

"Go ahead."

"It's just a little thing, probably, but I'm curious just the same. Why aren't you taking magic classes along with Nina?"

She sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Well, to tell you the truth, it's really embarrassing for me to talk about it; plus, when I tell it, it kind of sounds like I'm ragging on Nina. So I don't like to talk about it much."

"Oh, come on," I coaxed. "Who would I tell? Katt? Bow? Would they even want to know? Would I tell them even if they did? No way. I can keep a story to myself."

She sighed. "All right. Now let's see, how did it go…

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It was the evening of November 25, the date of the annual Thanksgiving Ball. I was ten at the time, meaning it took place about seven years ago—maybe eight; I'm not too sure anymore. My wings had just begun to sprout, a sign of my entry into the phase known as puberty (yes, puberty comes early for us Windians; don't ask why, please), and Mother and Father had been talking during the past week about what they were going to do with me. I knew this because I had been listening at their door. It is part of royal Windian tradition to send the eldest daughter, when she's about 15 or so, to a magic school somewhere in the world. Now, bear in mind, there are indeed more magic schools in the world than besides the one in Hometown. In fact, there's one here, right in the castle. But Hometown's is the one with the most prestige, so generally, all the royal first born girls have gone there. And when they go, they stay there for years at a time. And as for the second borns, like me…well there's not a whole lot for them to do. Which is why they were discussing things.

However, in our case, it was somewhat different. Nina was the first born, yes, but she was also born with black wings (well, of course, she wasn't born with them grown out already; she had to wait ten years to find out their color, the same as me and everyone else). Anyways, it had long been prophesied that one with black wings born to the royal family would spell doom upon the city. Everyone in the city, in case you haven't noticed, has white wings. They are the everpresent symbol of our purity and goodness.

So, naturally, when Nina's tenth birthday arrived and her wings began to grow, and their black color was revealed to all, my parents grew quite nervous. They loved Nina with all their hearts, but they didn't want to risk the devastation of an entire kingdom just because they couldn't afford to "lose" their child. And when I say lose, I don't mean kill or anything horrid like that; I just mean to move away from.

Now, over on Mother's side of the family, there's some kooky old grandma of mine. And that grandma is one of those prophesiers of doom. And as soon as she heard about Nina's black wings, she immediately went on a city wide crusade against her. She even threatened to disown Mother if she didn't sacrifice or kill Nina in some way. Of course, Mother refused, and my grandma was thrown in prison on charges of instigating a revolt against the kingdom. Stupid charges, I know, but still, it got her put away, and she's been down in the basement ever since. She actually still tells all those who pass by of the legendary destruction at hand for Windia. She scares some newcomers, but that's about it. Almost everyone else had heard all the things about her and knows she's crazy. We actually passed her in her cell while we were coming up last night. Thankfully, though, she was asleep, for if she had been awake, she would have kicked up dickens seeing Nina and I strolling casually through the dungeon. Probably would have started yelling that Nina was freeing all the prisoners so that she could have an army with which to destroy Windia, or some crazy cock-and-bull story like that.

Anyways, even though my grandma was locked up and her voice silenced, her speech had still affected the population. People began to wonder about the whole thing. No one actually dared confront Mother or Father about the matter, but they still talked behind their backs, in the pub, in the shops, in the hotel, wherever they could. Always the same thing, day in, day out: Will Nina destroy the kingdom? Should they get rid of her? Is there any other way? It got to be both incredibly depressing and frustrating at the same time to hear my sister being discussed in such manners.

So after months of hearing that stuff, hearing it every day, everywhere I went, I began to be slightly crazy; not really, but just tired of hearing it. I went directly to Mother and Father and asked them what the situation was and what their solution to it was going to be. They didn't want to discuss it at first, but then Nina herself came in the room and said that she too wanted to know. Well, they couldn't refuse us both like that, so they eventually told us what they wanted to do, just as bluntly as possible: send Nina away.

I was in shock, I was furious, I was scared, I was confused. I didn't know what to do, so I think I just cried, and so did Nina. We just sat down on the floor and started bawling. And Mother and Father tried to comfort us, saying everything would be okay, but we didn't listen. We probably cried for about ten minutes straight.

Finally, we stopped crying and started pressing them for details. Where to? When? For how long? For what?

Eventually, they answered all our questions. Nina would be going to Hometown, a small city south of us. There, she would attend the prestigious Magic School, home of the most elite magicians in the world. She would not stay there an entire year. They had set up a deal with Yoji, the headmaster, so that anytime Nina wished to, she could return home, provided she did not stay gone longer than two weeks at a time. The reason they gave us for Nina's having to leave was so that she could become a learned magician ahead of schedule (as I mentioned, generally, the first borns are sent around age 15). We both knew it was untrue, though; we knew the real reason was because of Nina's wings. Even though the people of the kingdom didn't express their opinions on the matter publicly, we all knew that they thought very little of the entire mess. If Nina stayed, she would be in danger of being harmed or abused in some way by the crazies of this town. Even though we knew this, we kept our mouths shut; since all four of us knew the real reason, there was no need to correct my parents.

After they finished telling us everything, we were, in a word, drained. It is an incredible experience to go from knowing someone will always be by your side to finding out that person has to leave in the span of two minutes. I was, of course, immensely saddened by the news of Nina's imminent departure, and, during the next few days, I begged my parents several times to think of another way. They did attempt to, too, but there was no other option; nothing else would have worked. With Nina in Hometown, the kingdom was safe. So, even though I despised them at that time for doing that, I still understood.

And so, eventually the day came for Nina to leave. She did so quietly, gracefully, full of calm and composure. I was not so formal that day. I clung to her, begged, screamed, cried, threw tantrums, anything to get someone to listen to me…and nothing. She left, accompanied by two of the best Windian winged guards on staff. Just before she left, she gave me a great big hug and told me to look after Mother and Father. I told her that yes, of course I would. She let go after a good fifteen seconds, and then departed out the door. It would be two months before I saw her again.

So, I was left, alone and bored, forced to attend stupid conventions like the Thanksgiving Ball by myself. I remember being there, and seeing all these people around me that I had never seen before, all of them coming up to me and congratulating me and all that for reaching my stage of puberty. I longed for Nina to talk to. Life simply wasn't much fun anymore.

Anyways, there I was, being bored out of my mind. And all of a sudden, I hear my name called by a voice that sounds exactly like my father's. I look around, and I see him standing near the head table, gesturing for me to come down. Everybody is looking at me by now, standing, staring intently. I felt scared, but I still managed to make my way down the center of the hall and stand next to my father.

"Mina!" he boomed. The crowd craned its collective neck to try to get a better look at me; I was even shorter back then. "Mina, my dear," he continued, "I don't know exactly how to tell you this, but your Mother and I have thought of an exciting new option for you. I know that you were greatly disappointed that Nina got to leave and you weren't able to go with her. So here's our proposal: you do a magic test, right now, here, in front of everyone. If you can pass successfully, wonderful. You'll be taken tomorrow to the Magic School of Hometown and there meet up with your sister. Doesn't that sound marvelous?" He beamed down at me.

"Father," I said softly. "What if I don't pass successfully? What if I fail?"

He stared down at me, his frozen grin starting to evaporate. He held up his hands for total silence (there already had been, though), then knelt down on one knee to tell me privately.
"Mina," he whispered. "If you fail, nothing bad will happen. You will just stay home with your Mother and I. That's all. And you will still be able to visit with Nina whenever she comes back. So, don't feel ashamed if you don't display any powers. But just try, okay? This is a special exception for you, since you miss your sister so much; no other second-born in Windia's royal history has been offered this chance. So you see, it's for your sake, dear, not mine." He then stood up, ruffling my hair as he did so.

"And now," he announced. "The test shall commence now. Please, everyone in attendance, keep perfectly silent.

"Mina, I wish for you to do one simple task: produce a flame. That's it. It's probably the simplest task a magician can be asked to do." He stopped there. No encouraging words or anything. He just expected me to do it, right there, in front of dozens of people.

But, I'm not a magician, Father, I thought to myself; I dared not say that aloud. My father would have been embarrassed to death, and if there is one thing I hate to do, it's to make my father look bad in front of his subjects.

I took a deep gulp. A flame. Easy enough, even for a person like me, a girl who had never done anything even remotely magically inclined in her life.

I stood there for a minute or two, thinking. How does one go about making a flame from their bare hands anyways? It's impossible. Can't be done without proper experience. I must give up…but no. I cannot disappoint Father. I must try, at least.

I proceeded then to put on a big show; I waved my hands around, coughed loudly, snapped my fingers. I even tried several incantations. "Flame, out!" "Come, flame!" "I call upon the power of fire!" And a whole bunch of other junk. I was just babbling, basically, trying to make it appear that I had at least an inkling of how to produce a flame.

There I was, acting like a mad woman, uttering crazy phrases, my hands flying around everywhere. I was the very picture of the incompetent amateur. I'm sure everyone in attendance, even Father, was thoroughly convinced I was a lunatic.

Finally, after about two minutes of putting up with my nuttiness, my father came and put his hands on my shoulders. I immediately ceased my motions, and waited to hear what he had to say.

"Well, all of you…I hope you were able to see that show put on by my daughter Mina here. Let's give her a hand for at least trying her best." He took his hands off me and began to clap them together, slowly, powerfully, the bangs echoing all over the room. Soon, everyone in the room was doing the same. I was pleased they were nice enough to do such a thing; anyone could have told you my performance had been terrible, and the only things I should have been receiving were boos. But, they were being very kind about it all, and I was grateful to them for that.

So that was it. I had a chance to go to the Magic School with my sis, and I blew it. Big time, too, and in front of a sizeable crowd. That always makes it ten times worse. I was, naturally, quite depressed after that. After the applause was over, I slipped away and went to my room. I think I stayed there the rest of the night.

You have to understand, Ryu, Nina and I were tight as could be growing up. All those stories you might read about the princesses who have it out for each other…totally false in this case. We were about as best friends as sisters could get. Which is why it was so terrible for me when she was sent away. I mean, that tore my heart up; just absolutely ripped it apart. It was necessary, I knew, and she would have had to go anyways, whether or not she had black wings. And then, the one chance I have to alleviate the situation, BAM! I mess it up. Now, I wouldn't ever have a chance to see her again, except for two-week time intervals every few months, and that was hardly enough. So, my staying in my room was just a little demonstration of how much the situation meant to me.

The next day came, and I left my room to consult with Dad. I found him, asked him what I was to do since I had failed the test. He looked me square in the eye and said he had no idea. He wanted me to stay in Windia, really, and that's about it. I had free reign to go after whatever career I wanted. I could have been anything.

But I didn't become anything. For the past seven (or is it eight?) years, I have been wasting my life away, living in this castle of mine, doing absolutely nothing useful with my life. It was boring to be here, all alone, with no playmates, so I used to sneak off all the time and wander the countryside. Eventually, my parents found out, and they forbid me to do that anymore. Of course, I still did; only I did so more surreptiously than before. And this time, today, that I snuck out, of course, I got into trouble with the Joker gang. So, I have a feeling I might once again stop going on midnight strolls for a while.

And there you have it: the real reason I am not taking classes with Nina. I hope that answered your question nicely, Ryu.

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"Oh, it did. Perfectly so. That was a great story, Mina. You have a good ability to tell anecdotes like that once. Very descriptive; I liked that."

"Oh…thank you, Ryu," she said, blushing. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. I wasn't aiming to make it good; that's actually the first time I've shared that particular story with anyone."

"Well, that just makes it better."

"Really?"

"Definitely. That was one of the best recounts I have ever heard. Be proud of yourself for being able to tell such a tale."

"Wow. I never expected you to like it that much. Thank you very much, Ryu."

"You are very welcome, Mina. And now, I must prepare for departure. I thank you graciously for your hospitality." I took her hand and gave it a kiss. "I might just return; I'm not sure. It depends on how long this quest will take, I suppose, and just where it ends up leading me to."

"Oh…..I see." I could tell she was thoroughly disappointed. "Well, I shall see you to the front, I suppose."

"Thank you." I began to walk out, and after a moment, she began to follow me.

We were in my room then, so the entrance to the castle was not that far away. When we arrived, I saw that Katt were already there, twirling her staff around, as well as, to mine and Mina's great surprise, Nina.

"Nina?" Mina asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Me? Why, what else do you think, dear sister? I am accompanying Ryu and Katt on their great adventure. Katt asked me if I wanted to come along, and I said sure. Of course, I haven't asked Mother or Father yet, and I know that if I do, they'll refuse me the opportunity to go. They'll say that my school is first and foremost above all other things, and that if I go on a journey, it will prevent me from attending school. But, I feel I must go on this trip; so even though I despise being deceptive, I'll go without telling Mother and Father. And don't you tell them either, Mina. This will be our secret. Okay?"

Mina stood there, silent. She was quite angry, I could tell. Once more, Nina would be getting the best of her, at least in terms of being able to travel. And this time, she would be doing it underhandedly, without even telling their parents. I would have been mad as hell too.

Finally, she spoke. "Of course, Nina. I won't ever mention your whereabouts to Mother and Father. You can go to the bank on that. Just…be sure to…enjoy yourself…out there…okay?" Her voice was beginning to break; I feared if this kept up much longer, she would begin crying.

Nina gave a great sigh of relief. Oh, thank Ladon, Mina. I was afraid you were going to say no. I have such a great sister!"

Mina nodded, slowly, deliberately. I could tell she was going to go crazy in just a few seconds, so I moved behind her and put my hands on her shoulders. "Well," I announced. "Mina's not feeling too well, so I'm going to take her to her room. I shall return momentarily. Just don't go anywhere." With that, I took and steered Mina in the opposite direction, down the hallway, to her room.

When we arrived, I sat her down on the bed. She still looked like she was in shock. She wasn't moving much, just staring off into space.

"Mina! Snap out of it!" I shouted. "Listen, don't be bothered by Nina. She's not trying to rub it in, she's just happy. She's not out to purposefully make you feel bad, but you sure seem like it's that way. Just accept it. Your time will come to make your own journey. But for now, you must wait here. It won't be that bad. Something good will happen to you, I just know it. Now, if you want, you can come out and give a proper good-bye to your sister. If not, then don't. I'll do it for you. But I do ask that you do so. You probably won't see her for a long while; I really have no idea how long this journey is going to take. So, please, come out, calmly, please, and say something encouraging to your sis."

She continued to sit there, giving no indication of ever having heard me. I shook my head. "All right, if that's how you want to be, fine. In that case, I bid a fond farewell to you. I hope I shall return soon, along with Nina. Good-bye, Mina." I turned and began to walk towards the door.

Not surprisingly, she suddenly came back to life. Just as I was about to open the door, she flung herself towards me and latched onto my leg.

"All right, all right!" she yelled. "I've changed my mind. Now let me go see my sister!"

"Good girl. Ok, let's go." I shook her off, opened the door up, and she tore through the opening, going as fast as I had ever seen someone go. I laughed, turned, closed the door, and began to follow her back to the entrance.

By the time I got there, Nina and Mina were still hugging each other. Mina had been right; they really did love each other a lot.

I slid over next to Katt. "So, I take it Mina's all better now?" she asked me, with just a hint of sarcasm.

"Heh. Yeah. One could say that."

"What'd you say to her?"

"Oh, I just played the guilt game. Told her that Nina wasn't trying to egg her on or boast or anything, and she was just happy about her good fortune. Then I said she wasn't going to see Nina for a while, and that this would be the last chance to say something to her for sometime. And I started to leave, and she just leaps out at me like some crazed woman and grabs ahold of my leg, screaming that she would do it after all. So I opened the door, and she just zoomed right through it."

"Yeah, she came in here super fast. I was talking with Nina, and then BOOM! She's being bear-hugged by her sister, just like that. It's touching, really. Seeing such a strong bond between two sisters. I never had any siblings, so I had no one to bond with."

"I hear you. My only sibling was a little sister, and did she ever get annoying at times. But still, she was too young for us to really bond. She was three years younger than me, and all she ever did was play with this huge dragon in the back of the town. So, I was pretty much alone for the time I lived in Gate, up until the night I met Bow."

"Ah. Interesting."

"What is?"

"The fact that you were a loner for most of your childhood. Explains a lot about how you are."

"I guess so. Most people I tell seem to think so as well."

"I would think so." She turned and looked at the sisters, who were still embracing. "Think we should do something about this?"

"Nah. Let's just wait it out. They can't take too much longer."

"Nope."

We stood there in silence for about a minute, waiting, just waiting, for Nina and Mina to separate. When they finally did, both their faces were streaked with tears. I sighed. Women always got so emotional. I had shed nary a tear when I had been separated from my family all those years back. Of course, I was weird like that, so I didn't blame the two for getting all worked up.

I walked over to them and put my hands around their shoulders. "Well, now that the world's longest hug is over, might I suggest, Nina, that we leave soon? We have no time to waste; who knows where that thief could be by now?"

She gave a great sniffle. "Yeah, sorry about that, Ryu. I know how important this mission is to you, but I just couldn't leave Mina behind without a proper good-bye."

"I understand completely. Don't think I'm angry; because I'm not, in any way. It's just, we're pressed for time, you see. You understand as well, right Mina?"

"Completely. And thanks, Ryu, for giving me this last chance to say good-bye. I really do appreciate it a lot." She gave me a quick kiss, and then sighed. "I don't know what was wrong with me back there. I was just…angry. Furious again at the fact that Nina was leaving without me. I'm sorry." She took a deep breath. "I'm just very emotional, that's all.

So, now, Ryu, I bid you farewell. And you too, Katt. And of course, you, dear sister. I must go now to my room, and think on life. Good-bye, everyone."

"Good-bye, Mina," we said in unision, Nina's voice distinctive among us due to its sad quality.

Once she had departed, we all looked at each other. Nina still was in tears, somewhat, but both Katt and I were pretty stoic. I stood there, listening to Nina, until I finally said "Okay, I guess that wraps that up. Now, are we all ready to go? Katt? Nina?"

"I am, Ryu," Katt said. "All my stuff's right here."

I looked down. I saw nothing on the floor; just her staff in her hand that she was once more twirling about. "That's it? Just your weapon?"

"Yep." She pointed at me. "You have everything else I need. Money, food, clothes, and what not. I don't know about Nina, though." She turned to her. "You have anything to bring, Nina?"

"Just my ring. And I have that on. So, no, really. My clothes are already packed in Ryu's bag, and that's really all else I need."

"Ok then," I said. "That's great. Then are we finally ready to leave?"

They both nodded. "Whew," I said. "I thought for a sec you were say there was something ELSE you needed to do. But, I guess not. So, let's go!"