~Chapter 29~

Ki

Rashaad so rarely travelled since he had began selling babanas, having chosen to keep to his businness and taking care of his daughter after that fateful run-in with Shadar. But the past was in the past, and after boarding the Iron Wyvern during a manna-outbreak and getting a glimpse of the world again after the defeat of the White Witch, he felt he could see the world, namely only travelling when his daughter was, hoping that, by chance, they would cross paths and he could make sure she was doing well, even though he could trust Swaine- though was more trustworthy of Oliver, which made him glad the young wizard could be travelling with them by now.

He was on his way to Ding Dong Dell to visit King Tom, deciding to see how the king was doing, let alone see how the kingdom was handling its latest 'flash flood', travelling over the Rolling Hills, seeing that they were still drying, a few puddles and streams of water still scattered about, the ground muddy, but nothing as serious as when the rains started to fall. The kingdom itself was sealed behind a giant stone wall, built to prevent the flood from reaching the city, though often water managed to get in through cracks, and of course the was the rain pouring down overhead- it was fortunate the city had a vast amount of storm-drains.

Entering the city, he looked around. The streets were dry, save for some puddles in the gutters, and the water in the pond and creek was a few inches higher, but no damage so far (unless you were Dickory Dock down in the sewers- the mice had to evacuate to higher ground a day ahead of the storms, until the sun came out afterwards).

As he came up to the kingdom, he was surprised to see a familiar face on the steps. "Queen Cassiopeia, I did not expect to find you here," he stated.

Cassiopeia looked his way, smiling. "Rashaad! I didn't expect you, either," she exclaimed, walking over. "I was just delivering a gift for King Tom. I heard he was a bit moody because of the flood, so I thought I'd cheer him up," she held up a box, full of round jingle-bells. "I heard he loves bells, so I hope he likes these,"

Rashaad chuckled. "I'm sure he will. Shall we see him together?"

"Of course!" They began walking up the steps. "I'm glad to have run into you here. There's something I'd like to ask of you,"

"What is it, your majesty?"

She giggled. "Well, first, you may address me as 'Pea'- a name I grew up with as a young child. But, that aside, I'd like to ask if you would like a place on my new council. I've already asked the rulers of the three kingdoms, and the sages- I have asked Khulan to join, as well as her fiance, Kublai. I've decided, since you all had a part in saving the world, and myself, that you may join my council."

Rashaad pondered this a moment. "You want to make a council made up of other rulers and sages, for your own kingdom?"

She nodded. "I believe, if we all have a steady union, there will be less of a chance that there's a repeat of history's events. I also believe that, considering this whole world is home to so many, we should have a council with someone from every area- to make sure everything is in order, assist one another if there is any kind of problem, and do our best to keep peace amongst all the kingdoms."

"You speak like a child... A child who knows her goal, has an honest heart, and determination to achieve." He smiled, giving a nod. "Yes, I shall join your council as well."

She smiled, then handed him a white flower with a golden-yellow trim. "Wonderful!"

"Is there anyone else you plan to ask?"

"Yes. I'm hoping to find Swaine, Esther, and the Lord High Lord of the Fairies- all who have assisted Oliver in his quest. I heard that they're travelling, but have yet to see them."

"I'm sure you will come across them, somewhere. I also believe there's one member of their party you should ask as well,"

Cassiopeia cocked her head. "Really?"

Rashaad gave a nod, as they entered the castle. "Yes. Did you hear that the Pure-Hearted One has returned?"

*0*0*0*0*

As soon as the buildings had rotated, and people began pouring out, Abyssa had been searching near-and-far for any sign of a witch- her eyes occasionally looking up to the air, as if to spot Ki on her cloud-sweeper. Granted, she should have been searching for Oliver and his group, as they may have found her first...

But something inside had her banish that idea. She shouldn't have to rely on a group of strangers- especially Swaine- even if one of them did save the world! She didn't really care much for that, anyway, whether or not the world ended... It was going to end someday, she believed. And how the young wizard wanted to bring his mother back from the dead? ...No wizard could achieve such a thing. And even if he could, why would he want to bring her soul back from Heaven, back to this ill-gotten planet? Why did he have to wait and realize that bringing someone back to life was not only immoral, but impossible? True, Mr. Drippy had given him the idea- believing that if he saved her 'soul-mate', that would magically revive his mom- but in the same sense, it was kind of... morbid, in her opinion.

Sure, the kid had lost his mother... but at least she loved him. Not like Abyssa's, did. Alicia deserved to go on to Heaven, to continually watch over her son and husband...

Wait, Oliver never mentioned his father. Maybe he didn't have one around. Huh, no wonder he was so determined to bring his mom back from the dead... going through life without any parents was tough on a kid- Abyssa knew this from experience- and it probably didn't help that he had to save the world on his own... okay, he had Swaine, Esther, and Mr. Drippy, but that kid was powerful! What good did those friends of him do?

Abyssa shook her head, clearing her mind of such matters. Whatever, it's none of my business... and as soon as we get the Azen back, they'll be out of it quick. she thought, looking around for any signs of a witch.

She paused just then, looking ahead. There was a man with a scruffy, graying brown beard, wearing a flannel ski-cap, dark-blue vest over a black shirt, mud-stained cargo pants, and black hiking books. The drifter backed away, ducking behind a corner and hoping the man hadn't spotted her, while trying to keep her breathing steady. No... he's supposed to be in jail! ...Wait, how long was his sentence? Five years? Ten? Twenty? ...oh, please don't let him recognize me...

"Abyssa?"

"GAH!" Abyssa yelped, spinning quickly while whipping out her gun-blade, taking aim... only to see a startled Esther behind her. She took a deep breath and sheathed her weapon. "Flippin' heck, Esther! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Y-Yes, I see why... *ahem* I was looking for you. I spotted the witch over by the Cat's Cradle, she's going to meet us over by Swift Solutions in half an hour, after she finishes a delivery." Esther replied, as they began to walk. "...Did something happen? You looked tense."

The drifter rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah, because a normal person should ALWAYS be calm, after some creep tried to make them plummet over 100 feet, had to fake their death, and try to find... something very important that they didn't want in the wrong hands."

Esther put her hands on her hips. "No need to be cheeky! I was just asking, to see if maybe you noticed any suspicious characters or something,"

Abyssa scoffed. "We're travelling with a suspicious character, blondie- unless princes like to dress like bums, these days."

She sighed. "I think you should lighten up on Swaine. I know he's done some rotten things in the past, and is cynical at times... but he's been through quite a lot. If you just took time-"

"We're wasting time, right now. Lets hurry up to Swift Solutions- it'll take us half an hour to get to it from here, anyway." With that, Abyssa stormed ahead, as she always did.

The familiar-tamer sighed, following. She didn't know why she kept trying to reason with the girl, yet she knew she just wanted to help- not for the drifter's sake, but also Swaine's. Even if they did retrieve the Azen, chances were Abyssa wouldn't forgive the thief... maybe even take off from the group, alone in the world, even though someone was after her.

If she kept her heart closed, Esther knew, she would be in more danger than she thought.

*0*0*0*0*

Oliver, Marcassin, Swaine and Mr. Drippy managed to meet up near the Hootenanny. The wizard and sage had finished with helping out with the repairs, and the thief had been wandering around, paying back the people he stole from over the years. "I'm telling you, the way some of the people acted, I felt like I was being robbed myself!" Swaine was telling them as they walked down the street, keeping an eye out for Esther and Abyssa. "I stole 500 guilders from one man... and he claimed it was more than 1000!"

"Maybe it was... How would you remember how much you stole from every person?" Marcassin replied.

Swaine scoffed. "When you've lead a life on your own, and faced a few traumas, you tend to remember little things like that. I still remember the number of buttons on the shirt of a thug I picked a fight with!"

Marcassin cringed. "Nonetheless, it's good you're working hard to pay back so many people- even if some of them aren't very honest,"

"Still, you'd think for someone trying to make amends, they shouldn't act like criminals,"

"That's an ironic twist on youer life, en't it?" Mr. Drippy quipped, earning a glare from Swaine.

Oliver cleared his throat. "I wonder where Esther and Abyssa are?" he said, deciding to change the subject.

"Perhaps we should ask around," Marcassin suggested, then walked over to a boy petting a dog. "Excuse me, have you've seen a blonde-haired girl wearing an Al-Mamoonian outfit, or a girl with a dark-blue tunic and long, silky, raven-black hair?"

The boy nodded. "Yes, your majesty. I believe I saw both of them heading towards Swift Solutions. ...The blonde one stopped to pet my dog, until the black-haired one yanked her away." he answered.

"Thank you," Marcassin turned back to the others. "They were heading to Swift Solutions, we can go there."

"Neato, I have some stamp-cards I can turn in while we're there." Oliver replied.

They walked into the shop, seeing the two girls. Esther was chatting with the man behind the desk, and Abyssa was looking at posts on the board, the former being the first to notice them come in. "Oh, there you guys are!" she said, smiling. "Abyssa and I were wondering where you were..." she paused, looking back at the drifter, who paid them no mind. "...Well, I was, at least."

Oliver smiled back. "We were wondering the same about you. Any sign of Ki?"

"Yes, I saw her at the Cat's Cradle- she said she would meet us here, and she should be here any moment!"

"Good, the sooner she gets here, the sooner we can get the-" Swaine began to say.

"Gee, I wonder how difficult a hunt for a malfuctioning Automata would be?" Abyssa said, quickly and quite loudly, while giving Swaine a glare.

There was an awkward pause, until Marcassin cleared his throat. "Shouldn't be too hard, though it depends on your experience. Have you've ever fought one, before?" he asked her.

"Several, and with my experience, the thing might try running for the hills,"

"Give me a break," Swaine whispered.

She turned sharply to him. "What was that, Swine?"

*Ding-Ding*

The doors opened, and in came a young girl of about 13, with dark-brown hair tied back with a purple ribbon, wearing a long dark-red dress with short sleeves, and accompanied by a black Puss In Boats. "Oh, good, you're here!" she said to Esther, out of breath. "I'm sorry I'm late, I got a little turned around in the streets, and had to fly in the air to find my way around."

"That's alright, I'm glad you made it." Esther replied, then motioned to Oliver, Swaine, Marcassin, Mr. Drippy, and Abyssa. "These are my friends: Oliver, Swaine, Marcassin, Mr. Drippy... and that's Abyssa."

Abyssa sneered at Esther's pause, but decided to ignore it, as she pulled out the picture of the Azen to show to Ki...

"Oh, Oliver! I was wondering when I'd see you again!" Ki exclaimed, smiling. "Thanks so much again for helping fix my Cloud Sweeper- I wouldn't have been able to finish my deliveries without it!"

"You're welcome, again." Oliver said, grinning modestly.

She then turned to Marcassin. "And greetings to you too, your majesty. I hope those tonics I brought over worked well,"

"They had amazing results, thank you once again." Marcassin replied, smiling.

"Um, hate to interrupt the thanks, but we need something from you." Abyssa spoke up, then nodded over to a corner, to make sure no one but Ki saw the picture. The witch followed her, and she handed her the picture. "Do you have something like this?"

Ki's eyes widened with fright, and her Puss In Boats let out a hiss as if to reflect her reaction, both of them backing into the wall, the familiar keeping its sword pointed at Abyssa. "What's wrong?" Oliver gasped.

"I... I got rid of that thing, years ago!" Ki stammered. "Why on earth would you want to find it?!"

"It... it used to be mine. Why are you so freaked out?" Abyssa asked.

"That necklace... as soon as it was in my possession, I could feel power growing from it. At first, I didn't think it was so bad- like maybe it was an enchanted amulet that could give me a special gift. But... but it only brought me trouble! It gave me a tremendous weight on my shoulders, as if someone cast a Burden spell on me, then... then horrible things seemed to be happening,"

"Let me guess, a stroke of bad luck?" Swaine guessed, figuring the witch had the same problems with the necklace as the Sky Pirates had.

"Yes... I kept hearing this ungodly cackle, following me, and... and whenever I fell asleep, I kept having nightmares of a burning city,"

Abyssa's eyes widened.

Ki began to wince. "I... I couldn't handle it anymore, so... on my way to Yule, I threw it by the Glittering Grotto..." she looked at Abyssa. "I'm sorry, but... It was too much."

Abyssa took a deep breath. "It's... quite alright. I understand- that necklace was powerful, but because of some... reckless handling, it became cursed. Exactly, how long has it been since you chucked it?"

Ki thought. "It was... about 20 years ago."

TWENTY YEARS?! The drifter thought, growing pale.

"Jeepers, you don't look that old!" Oliver commented.

Ki gave a weak chuckle. "Well, magical beings such as ourselves tend to age slower than regular humans." she then began to walk out. "Speaking of which, I need to get back to the Tombstone Trail, my sister must be worried healthy about me!"

"Okay, thanks for your help," Esther said, waving to her as the young witch left.

"Blimey, what was that all about?" The man behind the desk asked Marcassin. "Looked like something worth posting on the board!"

"Don't worry, we're handling it," Swaine spoke up, as they all walked out.

"Twenty years... I can't believe it..." Abyssa groaned. "Anyone could have picked it up in that time!"

"We can still go look," Oliver replied. "Not many people know it exists, right? So no one else may be looking for it,"

"We can only hope..."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Marcassin asked the drifter. "If there's anything at all..."

Abyssa paused, taking in a deep breath. "Yes... there is one thing,"

"What is it?"

"Make sure your dumb-assed brother HOLDS STILL!" On 'holds still', Abyssa turned to sock Swaine square in the jaw, but Oliver and Esther managed to catch her in time and hold her back, the drifter flaying her arms out like a wild animal. "Let me go! I promise I won't kill him- I'll just maim him!"

Swaine, in the meantime, stepped behind Marcassin. "Keep away from me, I'm not the one who chucked it into the Grotto!" he snapped at her.

"You're the one who stole it first!"

"If it was so important, why did you let me handle it?!"

"ARGH! I'm going to send you up the Tombstone Trail in a flaming casket, you son of a-!"

"HEY!" Marcassin spoke up, standing between the two. "Yelling at each other won't solve anything- and if you threaten, let alone try to attack, my brother like that again, Abyssa, I'll see to it you'll be thrown in the dungeon, for treason!"

The drifter fumed- she forgot Swaine had 'royal invincibility' that he could use against her... though it seemed sad that his little brother had to be the one to enforce it, in her opinion. She calmed down a bit, jerking her arms out of Oliver and Esther's grips, though still continued to glare at Swaine, who returned the gaze.

"Now then," Marcassin said, his tone more calm. "It's quite obvious you all need to continue this trek, and find that amulet fast."

"Not so loud, please..." Abyssa muttered.

Marcassin ignored her. "I would be glad to accompany you, which I shall do immediately after all the storm damage is taken care of."

The drifter crossed her arms, rolling her eyes. "Joy."

"In the meantime, take this," Marcassin handed Oliver a piece of paper, which had the 'Foresee' spell written on it. "You may need it as you travel."

"Thanks!" Oliver replied, putting the paper into his Wizard's Companion, where it immediately attached itself with the rest of the pages.

Marcassin gave a nod. "Take care, all of you. If there's any trouble, I'll come to your aid,"

The group nodded, and Oliver took out Mornstar, casting Fast-Travel, and the group was gone in a flash.

The young sage headed back to the palace- he had a feeling he would have to use the Foresee spell, more than he thought he would. Gascon, please try to stay out of trouble, he mentally pleaded.

*0*0*0*0*

A/N: So close, yet so far...

And I know I altered Ki's appearance- namely because I didn't want to completely rip-off Kiki's look.

Now for some Reviewer Thanks!

Kai2: You're welcome! *hands you a full jar of cookies*