I'll be making installments pretty fast because it's the weekend! Hurray for that, because school is evil. Anyways, here is the next installment to the rather boring beginning to Carrot's Homecoming! I hope you like it, and please give me feedback!

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It was midnight, but Darcie was still wide awake. The marks that Carrot had left on her hands and calves felt as if they were on fire, and even when she closed her eyes and didn't make a move the persistent pain returned at full-force, and worse yet sleep still eluded her. She couldn't stop rubbing her hands, either, which were still rather sticky after three thorough washings with Cyril's best soaps.

The very seconds seemed like minutes, and the minutes like hours. The hours rolled lazily by, taking an eternity in the process. And still, Darcie couldn't sleep. The pain in her hands was dying down now, but the stickiness still annoyed her and kept her awake. She tried to ignore it, but her hands only stuck to the sheets and the pillow when she attempted to hold it in place.

Darcie sat up in bed, and much to her surprise Arthur wasn't asleep. The once-famous Nu Mou magician was wide awake, eyes glazed in a fixated position, boring holes into the ceiling. "Arthur!" she whispered softly, as if not to wake Madeline.

Arthur's head lazily turned to his Viera friend, and he smiled weakly. "I can't go to sleep. My hands hurt too much," he mumbled softly, holding up two paws full of swelling red welts. Darcie winced. Her hands weren't nearly as badly affected as his were.

"Is Madeline asleep?" Arthur inquired lazily, sitting up in his fleecy sheets. The cold winds of Sagemoon were about at this time of year, and winter was upon Cyril. Due to the increasingly cold weather, Lady Nanabu had requested that each bed be spread with two extra layers of fleece to keep the servants warm. All of the servants enjoyed such a tribute, and it was not uncommon for Lady Nanabu to be generous. It was her generosity that had cursed the household to look after poor little Carrot.

"I don't know. Let's find out," Darcie whispered, and Arthur nodded. The Nu Mou and Viera hopped out of bed, sneaking silently in their white silk slippers to Madeline's bedside. Darcie peered over to edge gingerly and silently as if to not wake Madeline, if she was in fact asleep. However, Darcie didn't see exactly what she expected to see. Where Madeline should be was a bunch of pillows! Darcie, perplexed, lifted the sheets. Madeline was not in bed, and this wasn't what puzzled Darcie. If she was out of bed, where could the curious, shy Human possibly be?

"Let's go find her," Arthur suggested. Darcie glanced nervously at the door. Lady Nanabu did not like it when people were about, especially at this hour at night-no, make that the morning. The last time Darcie had tried to sneak around for a midnight snack she ended up being mistaken for a burglar and thoroughly scolded by Lady Nanabu. However, the Lady would never go as far as to fire her employees: her heart was too soft to do something as harsh and cruel as that.

"I don't know, Arthur." Darcie mumbled, and Arthur rolled his eyes. "Come on, Darcie. It's not like Lady Nanabu is going to be patrolling the hallways!" he said with a slight hiss in his tone. Darcie speculated the situation for a split-second, and then agreed to accompany her friend. They made for the door, and the Nu Mou had placed a hand on it just when it opened. Madeline stood behind it, a silver tray of cookies and three milk glasses in her two hands.

"Thought that maybe you guys would be hungry," she said to her awestricken comrades. Arthur was contemplating the deliciousness and fragrant aroma of the cookies, while Darcie was contemplating how on earth Madeline could have got her hands on them at this hour of night. Madeline walked in through the door, setting the tray down on a small oaken table. Arthur hastily grabbed his, and then began to furiously dunk his cookies into the milk and ate them sloppily. Madeline daintily ate her cookies and sipped her milk, but Darcie still hesitated.

"Guys. Madeline, did you steal this?" Darcie asked, her voice wavering slightly as if she was frightened. Theft amongst the household didn't go well with the Lady, either, especially when the theft occurred in the middle of the night. She had plenty of stories dealing with burglars, which were all dispatched by the Bangaa Defenders that took the night patrol outside the manor. One burglar from Clan Borzoi had managed to get into Lady Nanabu's room before she kicked him in the nose, temporarily stunning his senses. While he crouched over in pain, she pushed him out the window into a fountain below. The man never fully recovered, and for this the Lady had paid him a considerable sum of money and given him flowers every week for a year. The only thing the man gained from that "escapade" was that it was neither smart- nor safe-to steal from Lady Nanabu. However, even when she was hostile, the Lady always came out generous, no matter what.

"Actually, I found it. I think it was for the patrolmen, but I can't be sure," Madeline said with a devious grin. Darcie sat down on a chair, thinking furiously. Arthur was madly consuming the cookies, while Madeline daintily devoured hers with an unladylike gleam in her ravenous eyes. It wasn't that they were underfed; in fact the servants were probably fed more than Lady Nanabu. It was that Madeline didn't necessarily like to eat, as she didn't want too get flabby and unfit for working. It was really a frivolous fear, but it was there nonetheless.

"Okay, I'm not eating the cookies," Darcie said with the tone of disgust in her airy voice. "When they figure out someone stole the cookies, they'll come after you two-not me."

"What if we said that you did it?" Arthur said in a mouthful, crumbs all over his fur. Darcie almost laughed at the stupid inquiry.

"They wouldn't believe me, stupid," Darcie snapped rather bitterly. "And besides, you have three chocolate chip smudges on your face and crumbs all over your hands."

Arthur blushed slightly, wiped his face, then brushed off his hands and finished off his milk. Madeline finished soon after. Darcie sat and watched the entire time, refusing to eat and telling herself over and over that it was the wrong thing to do.

"That was good," Arthur said with a satisfied moan, wiped off his paws, and then collapsed into his bed, snoring as if he had been sleeping for hours. Madeline silently slipped into her bed, a small yet satisfied smile projected on her otherwise pallid face. Darcie was the only one left awake, but she too was now quite tired. Slipping into her own bed between the warm, fleecy sheets, her thoughts drifted away to her better days in Clan Belmia.

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Carrot gurgled lazily in the small, customized room Lady Nanabu had specially hired an architect to construct. It was rather short, and the ceiling was painted with cerulean and blotches of pure white for the clouds. The walls projected a flowery glen alive with color, and the flooring depicted soft grass and the flowers themselves. Scattered along the floor were large, painted blocks and some deflated bouncy balls. A few other bouncy balls lay forgotten in the corner, caked with old slime. Carrot was currently asleep in the soft basket Lady Nanabu had ordered, which was stuffed with soft lambskin pillows and thick, fleecy blankets of all different colors. Carrot's foul-smelling drool oozed onto the floor in a rancid puddle, which would later be cleaned by an unlucky servant.

As Carrot dozed off, her instinct began to spark in her mind. Wilderness. Home. Lady Nanabu. Home. Her instinct cried out to her, and it left Carrot confused. How could a Malboro like her have two homes? It just wasn't possible. She stopped drooling, and perked up, awake and wary as if she were to be attacked. A forgotten ball in the corner cast a shadow that oddly looked like an Ahriman flying, which frightened Carrot. A stuffed but torn kitten doll on the floor cast a shadow that appeared to be a Red Panther, ready to pounce. Mr. Squeax, her inflatable turtle, cast a shadow that looked like a leering Blade Biter, rearing up to attack. Fear stricken, Carrot snuggled under her pillows and covered herself in the warm blankets.

Her instinct began to call out her name again, this time loud and clear. "Carrot," it spoke. "You are tired. Rest, as you will make the long journey tomorrow to home." Carrot nodded lazily, and then did as her instinct told her to do. She dozed off back into the peaceful realm of sleep, oblivious to the hostile-appearing shadows upon the wall. She dreamt of home, and how friendly it seemed to be, beckoning her like a mother would beckon her child.

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Darcie woke up to the rooster crowing, and she almost wanted to throw her shoe at it. How she hated when sleep eluded her, and when she finally caught it she only had a measly 3-4 hours of sleep. She didn't look forward to a day of caring for Carrot, as her hands still were quite sticky and the small red bumps were beginning to hurt again. She yawned, seeing that Arthur was all ready dressed and was just about to leave the room. Madeline was currently dressing behind her bed.

"Good morning," she muttered, and Arthur gave a muffled reply. Madeline either didn't hear the comment, or chose to ignore it. Darcie hopped out of bed, giving her hair a few rushed strokes with her brush before changing from her cotton nightgown to her servant's garments of white and beige. After this she strapped on her sandals and followed Madeline into the servant's dining hall, where a few Bangaas and Moogles were cooking Chocobo egg omelets. A few servants were reading books, and others were dozing off into their folded arms.

The trio sat down at their table just as a rushed Nu Mou ran to the table and set down three omelets, then panted off as he ran in another direction. Arthur and Darcie sighed, however Madeline was chomping down on her omelet. With a disgusted look on her face she kept herself from spitting it out. "Undercooked," she managed to croak. Arthur's nose cringed in disgust, gazing at his omelet as if it were a toxic fungus and not a breakfast food. Darcie sighed, took one bite, and nodded her head in agreement. It tasted foul, and she had pity for the poor Chocobos whose lives ended for such a crummy purpose.

After breakfast, the servants filed into the small room to figure out their duties for the day. A tiny Moogle sat in a smaller chair, reading off names and the daily chores which were hand-written by Lady Nanabu on a sheet of magic vellum. The Moogle wore glasses, which were perched upon the very edge of his nose and were quite worn. He also wore a small white garb with many different pockets. They called him Lini, named after the famous sidekick of the hero Gaol.

"Darcie, today you have to sweep the dining room, then scrub the kitchen floor, and if you have extra time Lady Nanabu has assigned you to take care of Carrot, kupo," Lini said, the 'kupo' at the end of his words shaking slightly. He was quite afraid of Carrot, who was larger than he. Upon his declaration, Darcie let out a long sigh.

"Arthur, you need to tend the flowers in the east courtyard, weed the west courtyard, and then sweep the pantry and kitchen, kupo," Lini said. Arthur silently cheered all though he did feel bad for his friend Darcie who was stuck with the job of taking care of the hideous Carrot. He wondered who the other two stuck with the horrible job would end up to be.

"Madeline, you will replant the flowers in the south courtyard, kupo, followed by readying the guest rooms for a visitor. After this you will aid Darcie in the care of Carrot, kupo," Lini said, and Madeline sighed. She glanced at the ground, then at the bumps burning on her hands and fingers. Not only this, but her hands were still sickeningly sticky.

Lini began to babble on, and the three friends gave weak smiles before parting. Free time amongst friends was not something common in a household with Carrot.