CHAPTER 6: SANCTUARY

"Now, don't forget what you're supposed to be," Jack said, watching Melody closely.

"I am a..." She looked up at him to seek the answer.

"A thief. Remember what I told you about that?"

Melody nodded and looked down to make sure that her dagger was in its place. She remembered how Jack had explained what thieves were like, and that she in the end had answered that she thought that they were called 'treasure hunters'. That had caused Jacks face to get all red, before he began explaining the many differences. Melody still did not see how different the two things were, but decided not to think about it. There were still so many things to understand, and it was apparently a very important subject to him.

Why bother? she said to herself. You do not have to worry about those things - just play along until you reach your goal. But still she could not help feeling a bit of excitement, both when learning about all those things, and when thinking of what was going to happen now.

Jack sighed. "I wonder what has become of Jaileen? I hope she hasn't changed her mind."

"What is 'wedding'?" Melody asked, as she checked her left arm. The bandage had been taken off the day before, after she had been carrying it for three days. Her wounds had almost healed already, much to Jack and Jaileen's surprise.

He stared at her for a while. "Eh, I don't think I can explain that very well. You do know 'love' don't you?" He moaned at the sight of her confused expression. "Well, that's a lot harder. Love is... when to people meet and care about each other. You know, like each other VERY much, so much that one can't live without the other. That is love. Afterwards comes the wedding, when the two lovers decide to stay together forever."

"Like you and Jaileen?"

Jack turned all red again, while he looked around to make sure that no one listened. "I wouldn't quite... we're just doing business together. Partners, you know."

"But you like each other, and you stay together. You even go through the ceremony together now." She gave him an accusing stare.

"I..." He discovered that Jaileen was on her way over, and sighed in relief. "Just leave the subject for now. You remember the plan?"

She nodded again, looking towards the exit. Another shop was lying there, and two guards was making sure that no one left without permission. "I hide here. When you return to talk with the guards, I will be the thief."

Jack smiled proudly. "Exactly. Now let's get going."

Jaileen gave him a stare. "Don't get any ideas just because I'm doing this. It's only because there's no other way to get through."

"Of course, of course!"

Melody sighed and looked up at the sky. The sun had moved quite a bit since Jack and Jaileen had left her here. She wondered how the ceremony worked. Then she looked back at the exit from her hideout behind the corner and eyed the shopkeeper. I just have to take one of his things, she said to herself. And then run for it. Cannot be very hard.

She almost thought that they would never come, when she heard voices nearby. Quickly, and without a sound, she closed in on the small shop and looked past the small shopkeeper: then she tried to pick something out that she could steal.

The shop sold different kinds of small weapons and shields, both for fighting and for show. Then she eyed something on the back wall - it was a long black dagger with a dark-blue handle, and mysterious patterns in the same blue colour. Compared to her own plain dagger this one was... beautiful, she thought. Her mind was set, that was the thing she was going to steal. Now she was sure that she heard voices from the hallway near her. They were coming. With a last glance at the dagger she hid near the counter of the shop. That was just in time, as she saw her two friends coming around the corner. Jack looked around, and she could see on his face that he was worried about where she was. Then she focused on the shop.

The two guards greeted Jack and Jaileen and immediately gave them permission to pass while the shopkeeper gave them curious looks. Melody took the chance and walked up behind him. Without a sound she managed to reach up and grab the dagger, just as Jack spotted her. He stared in surprise, but was stopped with a hard punch in the side from Jaileen. Proudly Melody sheathed the dagger in her old weapons place and looked at the shopkeeper. Then she turned, and ran right past him.

"Wha..." the dwarf stared and then started to roar in anger. "Thief! Another Thief!"

The guards spun around, but no-one got the chance to grab Melody as she ran by. Jack looked at Jaileen. "Doesn't seem like she needs our help, does it?"

She shrugged. "Nah."

"There you are!"

Melody turned around and discovered that Jack and Jaileen was running towards her. She smiled. "It worked."

"Are you out of your mind?" Jack yelled and sat down on a large brown rock. "You only had to take something nearby - not the hardest thing to get in the whole shop! That was dangerous, you know?"

"Actually, it surprises me that you're saying that," Jaileen added flatly. Jack ignored her.

Melody looked down at her prize. "I still made it."

He sighed. "Yeah, as always. You're quite something, really."

"So now we're in the 'Sanctuary'." Jaileens eyes followed the stony path in front of them and laughed. "At least there's plants here!"

"You're still sure about which direction we have to go?" Jack asked, looking at Melody.

She nodded. "That way."

He looked at Jaileen as if Melody's answer had been some kind of evidence. Jaileen walked past him without a word. "Then let's get going while the sun is still up."

The path was surrounded by the brown mountains peaks, and Melody discovered that the ground was made of the same yellow roots that had held Conte Petie high against the sun. At some places smaller roots even ran over their heads with vines and plants hanging down from them. She smiled without noticing herself, knowing that it was proof that she was on the right track. Jaileen was also in a good mood as she watched the changing surroundings. She even laughed as she picked up a purple flower from a bush.

"Oh, I have missed the blessings of life!" she said with a dreaming voice. "Its so nice to see a place with life and plants after the long travel through the desert!"

"Be aware," Jack added, "the desert had life enough, or rather - trouble. Lets hope that this place is as friendly as it looks." He looked up at the sky, and relaxed himself. "I wonder if others have settled down in the mountains?"

Jaileen shrugged. "Hardly. If the rest of the path is as narrow then there wouldn't be any room for settlements. If they even thought of going this way - or could." She suddenly looked down at Melody with a look as if she remembered something. "Melody, how could you be so sure about this place anyway? You seemed quite confident about going to the mountains."

The smile disappeared abruptly as she tried to figure out what to say. Could she tell them the truth? But what would they know about her world, or her feelings about the other place? They would not understand - they would stop her. Like Mikoto tried to do. "Uh..." she stammered, but got interrupted by Jack.

"You don't remember, Jaileen? She lives on this god-forsaken continent. Maybe she travelled here before! Or heard stories! We don't even know what she knows about this place!"

Jaileen was silent for some time, watching Melody carefully, but then she nodded. "You've been here? Then maybe you could tell us where the path leads us."

What now? Melody thought, and looked up. Then she saw a glimpse of shining water ahead and pointed. "Not much further than this river," she said.

"Hm," was Jaileens reply. "Not bad. Lets rest there."

The stars upon the nightsky glittered on the surface of the mountain river, laying out a beautiful carpet of floating, shiny dots. The gentle breeze swayed the exotic flowers and the vines that hung down from the giant root creating a natural bridge across the water. Among the lights of the bright stars, the pale moon, and the buzzing pyre-flies, was the light of a small campfire, lighting up three persons sitting beside the bridge and the shining river. One of them, a female knight with her longsword laying beside her, threw a small stone into the river. It spread small rings that stirred the silent beauty of the stars for a few moments. As the water was once again calm, she sighed deeply.

"I understand why they named it the Sanctuary," she said. "It is so peaceful here."

Jack nodded, watching her sitting by the riverside. The flames of the campfire made him look like a ghost with his white hair and pale skin. A sad ghost, thought Melody. She looked away from her partners and wondered what would await them on the other side of the river. I wonder how long it will take. when I will be there.

Then she rose and walked up on the bridge. She stopped on the highest part and looked into the darkness. Then she looked up at the horizon, searching for something that would reveal the position of her goal. Her thoughts were interrupted by Jaileens worried voice:

"You shouldn't go too far away, Melody!" she called. "It could be dangerous. We don't know what lurks in the dark."

"Maybe you should rest," Jack said as she returned. "We walked all day, and you still need to recover."

She looked down at her arm and the fresh bandage that was still there. She knew that she was a quick healer and did not need the extra sleep to recover. And she also knew that Jack was aware of that as well. "I will do," she replied, thinking of the journey she had ahead of her. Soon... Then she curled herself up in front of the fire, and closed her eyes.

Jack watched a while after she had fallen into sleep. "She sure is something," he said as he had done so many times before.

Jaileen came and sat down by the fire as well. "You are right. I wonder what she really is... sometimes I doubt she is even of our world!" She laughed. "I know it sounds silly."

"It must be the tail!"

They were silent for some time. "Jack, I feel that she is hiding something." It was Jaileen who broke the silence. "There is still a part of her, something hidden. A part that I fell I cannot trust. And I felt it from the day that she fell into our arms."

"Hm," Jack replied thoughtfully. "You think there are more of her kind? We never found a village or settlement in that forest."

"What if..." she sighed. "What if you're right? What if she's really leading us to... the tree of power? Would you follow her if you knew?" Her eyes were now on Jack.

He refused to see into her eyes, but stared at the flames instead. "I don't know. I really don't know."

Jaileen looked back at the sleeping figure on the other side of the campfire. "Then we will have to find out."

END OF CHAPTER 6