A/N: Don't own Legend of Dragoon, have a nice day!

A Tale of Two Winglies

Chapter Seven - In a World of Crystal

The little group reached Deningrad on their fourth day out. Meru leading them into the large city, which had been towering over the path for the last few hours. It was nearing even and the crystals in the place where glowing a faint pink from the setting sun. Only a few people still loomed on the streets, most of them merchants and men going home from their work. Meru proudly turn around and spoke. "Well come to Deningrad! We'll be staying at an inn tonight!"

Kelina smiled and nodded at Guaraha who gave her a nod back. He faintly noticed that a few shop keepers where watching him from their little windows and doors, but the people on the street gave they almost no notice. Meru let them out towards the place for some distance before they came to a newly rebuild place. It was made from a mixture of dark oak and crystal, with a pair of little steel windows. Guaraha was fairly sure that the building included the set of rooms above it, however he could not be sure.

They entered the room through the main door, and Meru easily walked over to the desk just off to the left. She smiled at the elder woman who was running the desk and asked for a pair of rooms.

"Your Meru, one of Miranda's friends!" The woman suddenly cried out as she handed Meru the key. "Oh it's so nice to meet you. Are these your friends?" She quarried.

"Oh, yes! This is Kelina and the one with the bandana is Guaraha. Their both from my village you see."

"Oh really? So I was wondering, is it true what Miss Wink told me, bout you being a wingly?"

"Yeah, sure is. How is Wink doing anyway?"

"Oh just fine, she's been stay at the place since last month, she's recovered quite well. Though I think she might be a tad on the heart broken side. She really had a thing for the man who kidnapped our Queen. Oh it's a pity." The woman rambled on.

Kelina glanced over at Guaraha and gave him a slight shrug. She a little noisy.... She spoke to him in his head.

I'd say so, she's very out going. I hope not all humans are this way.

Yeah really.

A moment latter Meru dashed over by them gave Guaraha a key and lead them up a set of stairs. "This used to be a healing room. But that place moved after the destruction and the inn made this into some rooms." She paused at a room, with a symbol handing on a nail. "Here is your room Guaraha, me and Kelina are going to be staying right over here." She said, pointing at another door. "Lock your door too." She smiled, and pulled Kelina over to the other room which she unlocked and entered.

Guaraha sighed and opened the room. Wondering how different the human beds would be.

***

Meru had taken them out to eat that morning, at a small bar on the east side of the city. The food there was not actually human though. Surprised at what he was seeing Guaraha asked what was going on.

"Oh, well..." She paused as a hand came to rest on her shoulder.

"Meru! Darling it's been to long!" Cried a silver haired woman. Guaraha and Kelina exchanged looks. "And to think you grabbed some friends of yours! Stole em out of the forest did ja?!"

"Oh yes! Mercury, this is Guaraha and Kelina. Mercury is a run away from a wingly village in the north near Velweb. Really nice place too, visited it a few years ago."

"It used to be really strict too, but that kind of fell out over the years." She said taking a seat next to Meru. "Oh wait! I still haven't gotten your orders!" Quickly she stood up, apologizing to them all.

***

Guaraha had to admit that the meal had been far better than any he had eaten before. Kelina had full heartily agree with him. Meru had shrugged and then towed them deeper into the city.

She only stopped when the crystal palace loomed right there before them. "You remember Miranda right Guaraha. Course you do, this is where she lives." She pause as if considering that this statement might be slightly wrong, then continued. "She's not the only person here of course, a lot of the maids and the knighthood live here too. So does her sisters and the queen."

"Oh..." Kelina said. "Hard to think that my accentors could have build anything like this..." She spoke with amazement in her voice.

"Yeah... Well anyway come on you too!" She gave a nod to the man guarding the door, he gave her a quick smile and then pushed it open for her. Slowly they followed her inside.

The inside of the palace had changed since Meru had last been there. No longer was there any fallen crystal or blood on the walls. The front staircase had been redone to have three sets of steps going up, each one branching off to a different room on the floor level. The center on lead to a room with four pairs of statues, one how was instantly recognizable as Miranda herself. Continuing up another set of stairs, they reached the second level, with split of into four different rooms. The final set of stairs in front of them had to lead to the throne room.

At the top of the stairs there was a large set of wonderfully carved doors, Meru could recognize it as the same style she had seen in the church. It was a very ornately carved Divine Tree, and by the looks of it, no one had told the artist what the tree looked like.

She sigh wondering how much of a fuss Miranda had thrown on the subject before shoving the doors open.

The room inside was still the same from back when Meru had first seen it, only completely restored from the attack. She could easily see Wink and Setie chatting away in one corner off to the right, Queen Theresea speaking with a guard from her thrown.

"Meru?" A voice called out from her left, she turned to find the blind Luanna.

"Luanna! Nice to see you again!" She said walking over to the woman.

"You brought friends? From your forest?" She asked.

"Correct as always. Guaraha is the guy and Kelina is the girl. This is Luanna, Second Sacred Sister of Mille Seseau."

Kelina politely stepped forward, "It's nice to meet...." However she was instantly interrupted by a loud voice from behind her.

"Meru! How dare you sneak past me, you know how long it's been since I've seen anyone?!" Miranda growled over at her.

"Hehee. Yeah, guys this is Miranda she's the White Dragoon. You should ignore her." Meru said laughingly.

"Meru!" Came another voice, this time from Wink. "Miranda's been all worried about you, everyone has, ever since the Queen Fury went missing, they said that they found huge chunks of metal on the shore in Furni, they though that it must have blown up!" Wink pause waiting for Meru's reply.

"Yeah, it did kind of blow up. Not to sure what happened, but I'm fine really. I mean water is my element!" She smiled and watched as everyone's faces want blank.

"You never told me about that." Guaraha commented.

"Well I didn't want to freak you out." She said hastily.

"You could at least have sent a note to someone. You should have seen the letter I got from Albert and Emille. They we're worried sick about you, and then the one I got from Zior!" Miranda lamented, before running a hand through her hair. "But it's nice to know that your safe."

"Wow. Miranda do you have a fever?!" Meru chimed.

"Wha...?" Suddenly Meru was right there in front of her, placing her arm on Miranda's forehead.

"Amazing." Meru commented. "You don't! Wow, and you said something nice to me too!"

A sudden laughter burst out from the Queen where she sat upon her throne, it wasn't long before it had spread to all those present, Meru found herself giggling along. Happy once again in her life.

A/N: Hm, Fun chapter to write though I don't like the part at the end too much, seems like such an overused joke. Oh well. ^.^ My birthday is on the 16th so I thought that I should try to update some stuff before it as a present to you all! Reviewies much appreciated!