What a nightmare! My Internet has been down for a week (stupid KTC!) and it took me forever to get this loaded (stupid dial-up!). But as for atm36's questions, as far as I know, I'm the only one who asks my fans anything other than rhetorical questions like "What do you think?" and "So that guy's a jerk, huh?" Psh! As if anyone's going to answer those! I've only ever come across one Thank You chapter in all my reading and I thought it was a cool idea, so I decided to mimic it. You'll see when it comes out. (I just hope it's not a disappointment)

Chapter 12: Breakfast

Risa worked diligently in the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Mr. Tsubouchi was busy in town that morning and wouldn't be back until noon, so she'd decided to try her hand at cooking again. Delighted with herself at not burning the food, she cheerfully put the pot of steaming oatmeal on the table.

The dining room door swung open and Riku came in with a mess of bed-hair and a bad attitude. "What are you doing?"

Risa looked up and the smile froze on her face. "Imbri isn't…?"

"No," Riku snapped. "Are you trying to poison me again?"

"What? How can you say that? Riku, I worked hard and I watched it this time! Can't you just try it?"

"The only way I'd eat another one of your 'masterpieces' is if you held a shiny object in front of my face and twirled it." But Risa's hurt expression made her reconsider. The elder sibling rubbed her temples and sat down, feeling she was going to regret this. "Believe me, I'm not going to spare your feelings."

"That's why I'm looking forward to letting you eat it!" she said joyfully, pouring a serving of gray-brown goo into her sister's bowl.

Riku stared at the mess for a moment before working up the courage to dip her spoon into it. Risa stood over her, looking on with apprehension and expectation. Slowly the mash made its way into her mouth. Riku almost gagged but bravely managed to swallow it.

"So, how is it?"

"Did you try it first?" her sister asked in a hoarse voice, still trying to get the lump all the way down her throat.

"Of course not! What kind of a cook would I be if I ate what I made for my sister?"

"More like your victim! I think I just swallowed cardboard."

"Well, oatmeal is supposed to be a little bit…blah."

"Risa, that stuff would have to work its way up to 'blah'! What did you use?"

"Well…uh…I don't really…remember. I was trying to make it impulsively. That's how some of my best dishes turned out."

"Yeah, the ones that didn't kill people. I'll have cereal." Riku stood up and retrieved a box from the pantry and a jar of milk from the fridge.

Risa sat down opposite her and stirred the ruined oatmeal absently. "Where do you think Imbri went? You said you sent her home yesterday, right?"

"Yes, at lunch. But the nurse said she didn't show up in her office. I don't know where she went after gym class. Takeshi did say something about her stalking him but I figured he was just spouting."

The younger twin sat back listlessly. "I want to be me again. It's nice being strong and everything, but I want to see my friends. There's nothing to do around the house and I have to act like Imbri around Mr. Tsubouchi. I can't do anything!"

"Don't worry. She'll show up eventually. If there's anyone who can take care of your body, it's Imbri. Hey, I've got plans tonight with Ritsuko. We're studying for the test on Tuesday so you can eat supper without me, okay?"

"Not only am I going to be bored all day long, but you won't be here until late tonight. Perfect," Risa sighed tiredly.

"Read a book."

"Don't make me laugh, Riku."

(X)

For the second time Imbri woke in her new body. She sat up quickly but groaned at once and clutched her head. The sunlight streaming through the window was so brilliant that she had to shield her face. It took a minute or so for her oversensitive eyes to adjust, then she managed to look around.

Her surroundings could easily be described as lavish. The king-size bed had satin sheets, and the furniture lining the walls reminded her of the museum somehow. The odor that accompanied old artifacts lingered here as well.

And yet, everything about the room was in disarray. The bed was unkempt, the desks overflowed with loose papers, books littered the floor, and more besides. She had her suspicions about its occupant, but—

"Do you remember what happened yesterday?" an unfamiliar voice asked.

Her eyes snapped leftward to see a boy with blue hair standing in the doorway. It disturbed her that she hadn't sensed him. She didn't answer his question. It wasn't worth replying to.

"I suppose this is your home?"

He nodded once.

"Is this your bed as well?"

"It is. I slept on the couch. When was the last time you ate or drank anything?"

"Yesterday morning."

Imbri had gone without eating for three days at a time regularly in the past and never felt any ill affects. She'd forgotten how much nourishment normal people required.

"You were weak from hunger and dehydration when I found you. I doubt you remember that I forced you to drink water when you arrived, otherwise I probably would have had to take you to the hospital. Come to the kitchen when you're ready to eat."

A wave of coldness swept into the room as he left.

The knightess needed to thank the stranger, but gratitude for his kindness was the farthest thing from her mind. There was something about his appearance, something she couldn't place. Her eyes fell on the bedside table.

A few minutes later she joined him and accepted the eggs and toast he'd made for her. She felt famished. While she ate the stranger watched, no emotion on his face. She grew more and more disconcerted by the second.

"I must thank you for saving me yestereve," she finally said, resenting the fact that she had to be saved, "and your hospitality was more than I could have expected. But this silence and your staring are beginning to border on rudeness. You haven't even told me your name."

"Neither have you. You look like Miss Harada, but you're not," he replied simply.

She narrowed her eyes and observed him carefully. Finally she realized what it was about him that bothered her. "You know who I am. As a matter of fact, you're the one responsible for my possession of this body."

Satoshi didn't bat an eye, but he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms as though amused. "Oh really? Would you care to state your reasons for such a claim?"

"I only have one, and it's right there on your wrist."

The blue-haired teenager flicked his gaze downward. Foolish. He should have remembered. He could see the other part of the Snaring Chain her wrist as well, visible now that the two pieces were so close. Outwardly he refused to reveal his annoyance.

"I see. Unfortunately, you're still talking to the wrong person."

"I suspected as much," she nodded. "When I saw that redheaded youth yesterday I noticed an unnatural shadow about him. I see the same with you. Dark is a part of him as Krad is a part of you."

Satoshi wasn't interested in explaining the role of Tamers to her. "Do you expect me to pass on a message?"

She ignored his sarcastic question. "He'll hear what I have to say whether he is in the forefront or you are. I want him to meet me tonight near the broken belltower. Just before dusk; no sooner. There's something very important I must discuss with him. I know he'll come."

Without another word she rose from the table and left through the front door. Every movement belied the fact that she'd been almost too weak to stand the night before. Satoshi felt Krad shift in the back of his mind. He was surprised at the amount of strength the white angel had recovered.

The boy idly readjusted his glasses and went back to his room with a heavy sigh. As he stood there, his brow creased and the feeling that something was missing entered his mind. It took him a few moments to realize that his nightstand was empty.

The Archer's Secret was gone.

(X)

"So weird…"

Risa sat on the roof looking over the crystal blue sea. She had been pondering Imbri's past for the last hour or so and still hadn't come to understand the other.

The girl at that initiation was so different from the one she knew now.

"Imbri said her sisters were all gone. How did that happen?" Her fingers reached up to touch the Memory Crystal in the pendant of a Pegasus.

"Males can't be knights."

"I'll do anything!" the man said, one hand on his son's shoulder. "He's just as good as the girls in your training houses. Better! He beat your best trainee at the Andora Celebration."

The boy glared defiantly at the knightesses gathered before them. His eyes rested enviously on Imbri. Or perhaps her weapon.

Coldness seeped through her fingers from the andora and she knew the decision of the gathered council should not side with the wealthy merchant and his son.

"I object to this. Our ranks are purely female for a reason," she spoke up. "Not to mention we are all orphans. Having a family might divide loyalties."

Everyone turned to her and she could see the disapproval in their eyes. Being the only knightess with an andora made her a member of the council without question, but few thought it a wise decision and fewer still listened to her advice.

"It has been tradition for far too long," the eldest knightess said tersely in reply. No one knew her true age, but she'd had an emblem for more than 150 years. "I believe it's time we left the path engraved long ago and welcomed new changes with open arms."

The weapon in Imbri's hands turned to ice so unexpectedly that she flinched. The others glared. Knightesses never showed weakness to each other and it was strictly forbidden to do so in front of civilians.

"We can't do this. Our ancestors had reasons for their traditions. Perhaps the reasons have been lost through the ages, but I believe they meant what was best and we should keep their wishes rather than depart from them."

A tension so tight that it nearly choked her invaded the room. Every woman stared at her with deeper anger than before. Imbri knew part of the reason was because of the weapon she carried. If her words had been voiced by any other knightess they would have been considered thoughtfully. As it was…

"This from a knightess with barely half a century behind her! Sir," the eldest turned to the man, "your son is welcome at the first moonrise for his initiation. We shall celebrate a new era this night."

Imbri could do nothing to stop them. They banned her from the ceremony, but she went despite their commands. Unfortunately, by the time she arrived it was too late. Far too late.

The boy's face was accented with a crimson spray of blood. A melted lump of metal on a chain was the cause.

At Imbri's appearance, the knightesses attacked. They screamed curses and blamed her for the ceremony. Only her skills with the andora rescued her. That, and the entrance of the dead boy's father.

Risa became aware of time leaping in years, watching flashes of angry crowds who condemned knightesses, safe-houses burning to the earth with female warriors trapped inside, shrieking women clawing at their bare necks and writhing in pain…

The visions went on and on so quickly that the twin could hardly understand them before they were gone. She saw Imbri released from different prisons, always because of her andora. She was revered as the only knightess true to the Old Ways. But nowhere she turned was there warmth or welcome. Time passed until hope faded to a vague memory. As far as she knew, all the knightesses were dead and she was alone.

Uncovering her eyes, Risa found herself lying flat against the roof with hot tears on her cheeks. The Memory Crystal glinted coldly in the afternoon sunlight. All the feelings of trauma Imbri suffered from watching the deaths of her sisters over the years began to fade as soon as Risa was fully awake. She was sure her friend still felt it keenly, though.

"How did she survive being alone?" she questioned, seeking answers with a touch.

Imbri sat up with a start. She was alone. The andora lay by her side and the flickering fire sent hulking shadows to stalk the small cave. She hugged her knees and stared at those blood-red coals wrapped within their blankets of flames.

"Gone…they're all gone… What am I even living for? I used to…I used to laugh. I used to play. I used to enjoy so many things. Is this what it means to be a knightess? To lose myself? To be alone forever? To give up everything I ever wanted? To forfeit my…dreams? I haven't dreamt since that night, and it's been years…"

Tears began to fall down her cheeks but she didn't move to wipe them away.

"Knightesses…never…cry…" she choked out.

Despair deadened the world around her, leeching away all the colors. Even the light from the fire seemed to dim as her grief washed over it.

"The only time I ever feel alive is when I fight. Is that what my purpose is?"

No answer came from the darkness. Her eyes fell on the andora and she caressed its rod like a friend. A feeling of hope stemmed from it, almost whispering to her heart:

There will come a time when you may laugh and sing and dance freely, but you must fulfill your duty first. One day you will be released from your oath and your emblem, and until then you must live…

The words that sifted through Imbri's mind touched her tenderly and she raised her eyes to the blazing constellations overhead.

"I won't give up!" she suddenly shouted, fiery resolve rising in her breast. "I am the wielder of the last andora! My own desires are nothing. I live for the people of Aeledria. It's high time I started acting like the knightess I am!"

Risa's mind returned to her body. She was now perched on the very edge of the roof overlooking a long drop that ended in wave-washed rocks. Stumbling backward nervously, she considered what she had seen.

The phone rang inside but she ignored it. Mr. Tsubouchi would get it.

How strange that Imbri would be so sad and depressed one second, then suddenly be a fire-spitting warrior the next. Had the andora really spoken to her or had it been her own thoughts trying desperately to give her something to hold onto?

Well, a living weapon was a bit of a stretch.

"Miss Imbri?"

Risa quickly slid down the sloping roof and landed with a thump on the balcony just as the door opened. Mr. Tsubouchi offered her a glass of lemonade and she took it gladly.

"The telephone was for you. Your cousin called and left a message."

"My cousin?"

"I believe her name was Andora. She asked if you could meet her on the south side of town tonight before sunset. She said you'd know where."

Risa's confused expression changed instantly as she understood Imbri's message.

Well, you got another quick look at Imbri's past. The true reason the knightesses were all killed off was a bit more complex, but for the fic I thought this would suffice. You don't need all that boring info (besides, there would be about 5 extra chapters). Next time we'll finally start getting somewhere. Oh, and tell me if you're a girl or a guy. It's crucial and time is almost up…