"Our world is going through the most difficult times we ever had," the Lady said, sitting down on a couch with folded hands. "From what I have learned, the Dark Spirit is actually more powerful than it was a millennium ago and we do not have our Lord to help and guide us. I am wonderfully blessed to have my son back, of course. But, as happy as I am, I'm very sad to have gained my son in such a time when I am about to lose him to war. The Dark Spirit is an evil, merciless, and extremely powerful creation that is practically impossible for one to fully comprehend and if my son steps out there on war, without a single back-up plan, he's in grave danger."
Chihiro swallowed softly, the spark of terror in her eyes growing.
"My ambition is merely my duty: to protect this world, defeat the Dark Spirit, and later, to hand the throne down to my son," the Lady continued. "In order to achieve my ambition, I would like to assemble a team of extremely smart spirits who will be able to study the complicated creation of the Dark Spirit - and some scientific information I have - in order to defeat it. This is a challenging task, I know; but it is crucial for the good of our world. It will take some time, of course, and unfortunately I cannot wait to act."
The Lady resisted the urge to smile with triumph when Zeniba rose her hand. "Your Highness, I believe that I can be of some help. My sister, Yubaba, is working for the Dark Spirit and she's a major help to it. I do believe that there is no way of talking my sister out of this 'service', so-to-speak, but I do have a plan in mind that can stop her."
"Mind telling me about it, Zeniba?"
The witch shook her head wholeheartedly. "I can make certain potions and liquids that, if added to some things such as spider-web, make a very powerful barrier that does not let magic pass it. The barrier is also invisible and one could walk through as walking through air! I will make this barrier around my sister's bathhouse and, whatever curses my sisters sends, will go right back to her."
The Lady smiled politely. "That would be wonderful, thank you. However, I see that the process is quite complicated. Do you need any help?"
Zeniba looked sideways at Chihiro, who shook her head reassuringly in response. "We do not need any help, thank you, Your Highness."
The Lady nodded. "All right."
"Mother, can you tell us why Chihiro is here?" Haku asked cautiously.
Chihiro looked wide-eyed at the Lady, but the spirit queen ignored her. "Indeed. Chihiro came here several days hence and did the most selfless thing I ever saw in my entire life: she offered to save our world by killing the Dark Spirit, well knowing the consequences of such actions."
Zeniba gasped loudly in horror and grabbed the human girl's arm. Chihiro burried her face in her hands, desperately trying to block out the terrified looks of her friends and to stop crying.
"Mother, that is out of the question," Haku said firmly, hand clutched into a fist.
"Rest assured, Chihiro will be safe," the Lady promised. "I admit, it did take me some time to come down to this, but Chihiro won't be killing the Dark Spirit. Since opening the portral or teleporting Chihiro to her own world will be too dangerous, I will see to it that she's safe."
"Your Majesty," Chihiro gasped at an inaudible level, looking up at the spirit queen with lips parted and eyes round as the full moon. It was then that she saw the Lady in a different light: the Lady wasn't just someone who is strikingly beautiful and has a caring side. She possessed such a big heart, that Chihiro was certain that it was bigger than the entire Spirit Realm.
"Thank you, Mother," Haku murmured, relieved.
The Lady smiled warmly with a faint nod. "Of course, son. Now, one more thing concerning Chihiro: she hasn't been feeling well lately."
Zeniba did not wait for the Lady to say another word. She gripped Chihiro's hand gingerly and stared her in the eyes. "Child, what's wrong?"
"W-well, I ..." Chihiro's voice faltered as she touched her temple. "I've been feeling very weak, Granny."
"I've been meaning to ask you, child, about this pearl," Zeniba said, pointing at the azure pearl that hung from a silver necklace around Chihiro's neck. "You wear it all the time because you either like it very much or it is very dear to you."
Chihiro blushed. "I-it is dear to me," she murmured. "It's Haku's present."
Zeniba rose an eyebrow and cast a knowing glance at Haku, who also blushed. "Quite nice of him, isn't it? Mind if I see that?"
"'Course not," Chihiro replied, taking the necklace off her neck and dropping it, gingerly, on Zeniba's large palm. Zeniba didn't give the pearl a second glance before closing it inside a tightly clenched fist and, with eyes shut closed, began to chant quietly in some foreign language. A bright light began to seep through the fist as a painful frown creased Zeniba's sweaty brow.
Anybody could see that the spell was draining energy from the witch.
"Granny," Chihiro breathed worriedly, gingerly touching Zeniba's knee for a second.
"She'll be all right," Haku whispered cautiously, giving Chihiro's hand a reassuring squeeze.
Chihiro nodded faintly in acknowledgement and continued to stare at the aged witch with unwavering worry.
Zeniba drew in a shaky breath and, no longer chanting, opened her eyes. Her gaze fell upon the brunet human and she chuckled sadly. "I'm sorry if I worried you, child. That spell takes up a lot of ... concentration."
"But Granny, what did you do?!"
"I put my best protection spells on this pearl," came the reply. "Whatever you do, don't take the pearl off."
"Thank you," Chihiro murmured and, taking the necklace, clasped it around her neck. Instantly, the brunet human felt energy come back to her and her previous "illness" drop from her. Yet, in the back of her mind, Chihiro felt outrage; somebody else's foreign outrage, and this planted a seed of curiosity within the girl.
"As much as I have enjoyed my time with you all, I have to go now," the Lady said with a bright smile. "Thank you for coming, Zeniba."
"It has been a pleasure!" Zeniba said reassuringly. "I, too, have to be going back home."
The Lady's eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Would you like to have somebody escort you home, Zeniba? It is quite dangerous nowadays..."
"I'll be fine, thank you."
Tha Lady nodded and, rising from her seat, opened the door. All four walked out of the room briskly and stopped at the end of the corridor. That end of the corridor led to the empty and gloriously decorated throne room, and Chihiro sighed quietly at a certain memory.
"Have a safe trip, Zeniba," the Lady bid with a small smile.
"Thank you, Your Highness," Zeniba said, giving a stiff bow. Then she turned to Chihiro.
"You be safe, my dear," the witch whispered, putting a hand on Chihiro's shoulder. "Remember what you promised me: not to put yourself in danger."
"Y-yes, Granny," Chihiro stammered, flushed.
"I'll try to see you soon - if that will be all right with Her Highness?" The last sentence came out as an inquiry and Zeniba glanced at the Lady for approval, who nodded.
"I'm happy," breathed Chihiro.
"And you, Haku." Zeniba turned to the silent river spirit with a stern facial expression. "You, too, take care of yourself. Your job is a hard one, indeed."
"Thank you, I will," Haku replied.
"Granny, take care! Thanks for everything!" Chihiro cried, an obvious bittersweetness and nostalgia in her voice.
Zeniba smiled warmly at her said granddaughter and, waving goodbye to the three, hastily left the Imperial Palace.
The Lady turned around to face her son and the human girl. "I presume you still have some unanswered questions, son?"
"A few, Mother."
"It's been a long day for all of us. I will answer all of your questions after you get some rest," the Lady assured firmly. "I have to escort Chihiro back to my room."
"Y-Your Majesty, I can go by myself," Chihiro stammered shyly.
"I know you can; but as I said, your presence must be kept under high secret," the Lady reminded her.
Chihiro nodded dryly.
"I'll see you at your study, Mother," Haku said, withdrawing his hand from Chihiro's. The Lady gave a short, haste nod in response and Haku, flashing a promising smile at the human girl, strode down the corridor.
"Zeniba's spell will undoubtedly bring you some weariness later on," the Lady warned, grasping the brunet's hand. "Some rest may be dire right now."
"Your Majesty, I ... wanted to ask you a question," Chihiro murmured, her brown eyes scanning the throne room and the corridor.
"I'm listening."
"Why did you choose to save me?"
The Lady was expecting that question, of course, and the answer was immediate. "It's wrong for you to die when you have a life to live and a family to be with. Besides, my son took a rather very found manner to you, dear - to say the least."
"Your Majesty!"
"Yes?"
Chihiro clasped her hands together. "Thank you. For everything."
The Lady tilted Chihiro's chin and smiled down at the girl in a motherly fashion. "You're very welcome. Now, let's get going. As I said, rest for you is quite dire."
Chihiro could only agree as a sudden weariness made its way to her.
No-Face was pacing the room. Where was Zeniba? It has been hours since she left! Of course, the shadow spirit did understand that it took time to get to and from the Imperial Palace and talking with the Lady was no two-minute chore; but this was beginning to worry him.
If she doesn't come soon, I'll have to go out and search for her, No-Face thought. If he had a face, he would have undoubtedly frowned.
The door flunged open and No-Face was just about to snatch the rolling pin - a rather pathetic weapon for defense, of course - when relieve dawned at his face. Grunting frantically, the shadow spirit made his way to the exhausted witch and helped her to the chair.
"I'm fine, No-Face," Zeniba breathed shakily. "S-sorry for worrying you."
No-Face, of course, was not to be detered by such a simple response. He eyed the witch expectantly and repeat his question.
"Well, to begin with, Chihiro's here."
A loud, demanding, questioning grunt that made Zeniba chuckle dryly rang through the room. "Yes, my granddaughter's here. However, she'll be safe. The Lady promised that."
No-Face cocked his head to his side in a disbelieving pose.
"She will be," Zeniba said, firmly. "According to the Lady, Chihiro came to her and offered to ... kill the Dark Spirit, well aware that such an act will cause her own death. However, the Lady said that Chihiro won't kill the Dark Spirit and - since it is impossible to send her back to the Human World - she'll make sure that my granddaughter will be safe."
No-Face sat down with a heavy sigh. How Chihiro actually found out about the myth was beyond the shadow spirit and frankly, it did not matter. What mattered was that Chihiro will truly be kept safe, and that was a very difficult task to accomplish.
"There's some dire business I have to do," Zeniba said, rising from her seat. "After that, I'll go straight to bed because I am quite tired. You do not mind if I answer your questions tomorrow?"
No-Face shook his head wholeheartedly.
"Thank you," Zeniba said and briskly left the living room.
No-Face turned around and, wistfully, looked out the window. Luckily, the weather didn't worsen but it didn't lighten up, either. As the white snow swirled, No-Face prayed that when this whole disaster was over with, Chihiro would be all right.
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR UPDATE: I, most likely, will not be able to update anytime soon at all due to some major issues. I can be updating as late as end of December. :( I will be posting "update news" on my profile; so if you'll be wondering how long it will be until I update, check my profile! I apologize for these circumstances and I'll get back to writing as soon as I can. Wish me luck! :)
Now to my dear reviewers:
James Birdsong: Thank you very much! Best is still ahead! :)
AlyonaKK1: Thank you so much for your awesome review! So glad you liked that chapter ... :)
OtakuFanGirl001: I'm glad you liked that chapter, considering that I had writer's block with it and all ... thanks for reviewing! :)
.94: Thanks for reviewing! I do apologize if this chapter wasn't really good, but next one should be better ... :)
fandomnerd12: Haha, thanks for the encouragement! Your review made me smile! :)
imawesomeoftheawesome: Phew, glad you liked that chapter ... thank you for reviewing! :)
I do apologize if this chapter isn't really good, but the next one (considering that I will also have a lot of time to think of it) should be better. Thank you all for reading and do leave me a review! Till next update (which hopefully won't be too long) and Happy Holidays! :)