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The Winding Stairs
Epilogue
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"Where are we going?"
"To Devin. Just for awhile."
Liza glanced quizzically at Blue's back, but he refused to explain anything further. She knew he felt relieved, though. When he had come down from his room that morning, his expression had all but proved that he expected to find the area empty. His surprise that they had all been waiting for him at the entrance was almost endearing. He had never been too good at hiding his emotions, at least, not from an experienced young woman like herself.
Women always did have that sixth sense, as they say.
She was confused about one thing, though: her reason for staying. She would have thought that yesterday's incident would have driven her away for good. Yet that morning, she had found herself waiting alongside everyone else at the entrance. As usual. A questioning glance in Lute's direction -- for she had thought that other than herself, Lute was the one other person who'd been just as emotionally affected -- and he explained himself in a whisper:
"I couldn't leave it -- not in the middle. I'm not a coward, so I'm gonna see it till the end."
So would she. They had all already gone so far together. She would never dare call this ragtag bunch her 'second family', but they weren't just mere acquaintances either. Her curiosity, not to mention the need to see things through, was pushing her on to reach the finishing line in this strange, disturbing race. That, and she wanted to ensure that Blue didn't do something stupid on the way. Like he did with Kylin.
As the mist surrounding them gradually disappeared, the surroundings made a startling switch from her restaurant's classy arrangement for the stark greenery of Devin's Shrine. Multi-colored flowers dotted the green carpet under them, a collage of red roses and yellow daffodils and the light purple of lilacs. It was fortunate that they had left early -- the delicate morning glories were still in bloom, the sun having just peeked slightly above the horizon. Liza didn't mind the sudden detour: Koorong didn't have nearly as many flowers as Devin's Shrine; it was a nice change of scenery.
In the center of the shrine grounds, past the richly colored scarlet arc, a young purple-haired girl was sweeping away scattered leaves into a small mountain. As they walked further into the shrine, worn boots scuffing and dragging noisily against the stone pavement, she looked up with startlingly lavender eyes. Eyes that roamed suspiciously over the group's ensemble of characters before finally coming to rest on its leader.
Her expression showed recognition; she almost dropped the broom in shock. As Blue walked up to her, almost solemnly in his stride, it seemed she didn't need any explanation. Her head lowered slowly, her movements halting as she whispered brokenly, "So the Kylin is dead." It was not a question.
Blue only nodded. Something told him that he should try somehow, someway to comfort the young girl in front of him. It would be the right thing to do, after all. Yet what could he do, honestly? He didn't know any words of comfort; he froze like a blonde icicle whenever experiencing physical contact...so hugging was definitely out of the question; he couldn't do anything save to leave the area as soon as he could.
"Do you have any--"
Before he could finish, the girl -- Rei, he remembered Lute saying once, earlier in their travels, although he had forgotten how in the world the musician had acquired her name, aloof as she was -- handed him several sacred lots, eyes bright as she looked at him seemingly with all the knowledge of the worlds. It was at that moment that the young mage finally consented to the feeling that affected him when he first met her: she was truly not one of this world.
"The shrine is open. Go." Her voice was stern and strong. Then she turned back to her sweeping, moving further into the gloom of the trees.
Blue proceeded to the altar at the center of the shrine, his teammates hanging back as they watched his actions with growing interest. As he cleaned his hands in a nearby bowl of crystal-clear water, Liza muffled a surprised 'oh' as she finally realized what he was doing. Nusakan only nodded knowingly, folding his arms across his chest. Gen couldn't keep a giant smile from stretching his face: considering how slowly Blue was doing this, it was definitely not something commonly observed by the Magic Kingdom.
Maybe the mage finally was growing out of his strictly conditioned mold.
Finishing the preparations, Blue finally walked up to the altar and threw in a handful of coins. Surprisingly, he reached into the backpack he was carrying and pulled out a palm-sized object, so small that the rest of the group had to move nearer to see it. The mage clapped his hands twice before putting them together, closing his eyes in prayer for the lost souls of Paradise.
In a sudden burst of compassion, he prayed too for the soul of the Kylin.
Minutes later, he stepped back from the altar, giving a short, final bow before turning to leave with his companions.
As Rei watched them from beneath her canopy of flame of the forests, she waited until the profiles of her latest visitors gradually faded down the long, stone-carved steps. Stepping out from the shadows, she quietly walked up to the altar for one short look at Blue's parting gift. Bowing solemnly in honor of her parted friend, her dainty feet stepped back, and the estranged shrine girl continued her earlier task of sweeping up the fallen leaves.
As the sun finally rose above the horizon, streaks of light began streaming into the grass-carpeted grounds, lighting up the area for all to see, illuminating the blonde, straw-haired doll resting beneath the shade of the altar.
*~*~*~*~*
