Amethyst stroked the pink-haired girl's brow, much as a mother would a child, despite the fact that even in her illness Minda was obviously older

Amethyst stroked the pink-haired girl's brow, much as a mother would a child, despite the fact that even in her illness Minda was obviously older.

"Come on, wake up. I'm going to make you better, but you need to be awake for it to work."

Minda struggled with her eyelids and eventually wrestled them open. Through her fuzzy vision, she uttered a word that broke Milphey's heart. "…Mother?"

"No, not your mother. I'm Amethyst. Your father is here, too," she added kindly.

"What's going on in he-" Tira's cry of worry was muffled by Onion's hand.

Amethyst's hands began to glow, much as Marron's had the first time he'd tried to heal Minda to no avail. The sheer volume of power she generated astonished even Milphey. He knew she was more powerful than her sister had been, but this was unbelievable… and then Minda sat up. She shook her head and looked around warily.

"Where am I? Oh, never mind, I remember," she chirruped. Her golden eyes fell on Milphey, who'd taken up a position in the corner. "Daddy? But you're… you're…"

Milphey sighed. "Dead. Yes, I noticed that one myself." Then he rushed across the small room and lifted her off her feet in an affectionate embrace. "I was worried you'd be joining me,"

When he let her go, Minda dropped the half-foot to the floor and turned to the girl who'd healed her.

"Thankyou…Amethyst, did you say? You look so much like my mother."

Amethyst nodded. "Your mother was my little sister. I felt I owed her to heal you."

"Balderdash! You just did something nice without a reason, and you're incapable of dealing with it!" Milphey laughed. He stopped immediately when he caught the poisonous glare Amethyst sent his way. "Sorry. I take that back. You're a cold-hearted bitch." She scowled harder and he felt the oddest constriction, as if someone was choking him with invisible hands… "…Okay! I take it all back! You're not incapable and not a bitch! Just let me go!" he squeaked.

Amethyst shrugged her shoulders and released her hold on his neck.

[Bitch,] Milphey thought to himself, rubbing his sore throat.

[I heard that,] Amethyst's mental voice cut in.

[Kidding!]

"Am I interrupting something?" Minda said quietly, trying to break up the scowling match taking place between her father and newfound child-size aunt.

"Of course not," Amethyst took hold of her hand and gestured for Tira to take the other. "Now you're all better, we can take you back to your friends. Hold onto your father or he'll be left behind."

"Whoa, someone's going to have to explain this to me with puppets pretty soon," Tira grumbled in confusion.

"It's simple," Amethyst smiled. "Milphey struck a deal with Enma to come back from the dead for a fortnight so he could help your friends defeat Shallot, who has been resurrected and is behind the kidnapping of Big Mama and the destruction of the Stellar Church. Only problem is, magic is a force of life, so he's pretty much useless in that department. As a result, he sent Carrot, Marron, Gateau and Chocolate to me for help, which was probably a dangerous thing to do. If he'd been with them I would have killed him on sight. I had every intention of doing so but then he told me about Minda still being alive, so I came to reverse the magic that did the harm and heal her. That's pretty much it."

Tira still looked confused. "And you are?…"

"I am Lady Amethyst," Amethyst said matter-of-factly, as if that explained everything. "And we had best go before your friends wake up."

"If you could reverse the magic used to hurt Minda, you must be very powerful," Tira half-said, half-asked.

"I suppose so. But it's neither the time nor the place to discuss such things." And with no further ado, she teleported the group away the way she'd arrived.

i

Deep in the Western Mountains…

Something warm was running down Dota's arm, but the sensation was far from pleasant. How long have I been asleep? She clenched her fist, and found she was definitely not in her bed. The surface her fingertips brushed against was cold, moist, and hard as stone. Hard as stone? What was going on? Where am I?…Momma! Milphey! Anyone…? Is anyone there? Why won't anybody help me?

A new warmth, as tears began to stream down her face. Forcing her dark eyes open, Dota attempted to flex her wings, and yelped in pain. She circled on herself as fully as she could, and burst into tears when she saw her blood-soaked feathers. Cradling the damaged appendages as best she could, the distraught cherub struggled clumsily to her feet, and eyed her surroundings. This looks like a dungeon. Why would I be in a dungeon? She spied a long, purple pile positioned in the wan light creeping from what was more a ventilation slit than a window. Pain forgotten, Dota cried out in alarm.

"Mama! Mama, wake up!" Dota shook the tall woman's shoulders gently, but she didn't respond. "Mama, what's wrong with you? Please wake up…"

From his gaudily decorated quarters upstairs, Zaha Torte watched this display through a viewing crystal with some amusement. Really, that ridiculous cherub is far from the brightest crayon in the box.

A hesitant knock on the doorframe. "What?"

The nervous servant slunk in the room like a hunted animal, and cowered at the furthest possible distance from Zaha himself. This action itself was enough to break Zaha's bad mood at being disturbed, and he eyed the short, balding man who was perspiring profusely in terror with feigned boredom. "Well? Are you going to tell me why you're in here, or do you want to be stuffed and mounted like that trophy you're dripping sweat all over?"

If it was possible, the servant paled and managed to look even more frightened than he had before. "L-lord Z-Zaha, P-P-Prince T-T-Tangin w-wants you to dine-with-him-and-the-others-tonight-sir." The terrified man cringed and flinched away, certain he was about to be summarily beheaded.

But instead of killing the distraught creature, Zaha laughed - a cold, humourless bark that almost made the servant cry out. "Very well. I will join them - they did bring me back, after all." He tapped his fingers together as he thought. "What is your name, man?"

The frightened servant had been edging towards the door - only a few feet away from where he actually stood, but it seemed miles away the instant the former leader of the Haz Knights had asked for his name. "T-Tiw, my lord and master,"

Zaha arched one eyebrow, and almost smiled. "Very well Tiw, you've managed to break me out of a bad mood. You're quite amusing, did you know that?"

With eyes almost as big as saucers, Tiw managed to look something other than frightened for a split second. "I am, sir?" he ventured, startled and confused. His colleagues had told him that this man was incredibly dangerous, and being sent to give him a message of any sort was undoubtedly a suicide mission.

"Yes. Now go. You could be useful…" the servant scurried off, and irritated at being cut off, Zaha sent a blast of energy after him. Craning his neck to view his handiwork, the Mage finished his sentence. "…If it snows and we need something to grit the path with."

He turned his attention back to the viewing crystal. Dota had given up shaking Big Mama and had fallen asleep, sobbing, bleeding and huddled against the unconscious woman. They weren't supposed to hurt the little fool, he thought angrily. Someone will pay for that disobedience. As he stroked the crystal, making the image in it fade, he muttered to himself, "Stupid woman. You should have known better than to oppose me. The dead never rest easily with so much undone, and soon there will be nothing left of you to fight."