Author's Notes: I was going to do a Flik/Nina centric chapter but I got lazy. Besides, I'm the only one who likes that pairing anyway. One day I'll write about them of course. And now in this chapter… where did Millie go off to?

Disclaimer: Suikoden is not mine.

The Great Easter Egg Hunt

Chapter 14: Enough I Said!! And Remove Those Leaves From Your Hair…

           

            "She's late."

            Meg drummed her fingernails against her table. Every first beat, her left heel would click on the stone floor. Every fourth and fifth beat, it would click on the floor again.

            Tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock…

            Meg glanced at the antique copper clock in front of her. Six fifty-two. Millie should have arrived fifty-two minutes ago. Everyday, they would meet in their quarters at precisely six o'clock, and then go to the restaurant for dinner. It wasn't unusual for the younger girl to be late, but it was unusual that she would be this late…

            Six fifty-three. Meg stole a glance at the messy table beside her own. When they first occupied the room, everything looked alike; the beds, the closets, the desks. But Millie's desk eventually accumulated 'cute things' and now, it looked more like a floating mound of junk than a desk. Millie would often complain how Meg's desk looks so much nicer and Meg would retort, saying Millie had better clean her desk.

Millie does clean it regularly, dumping all of the things on the floor and then arranging them in stacks on her desk, some on the bookshelf built into the wall on top of the desk, and some in the drawers of her closet. But somehow, she managed to accumulate more stuff and get it cluttered again.

            Six fifty-four. Meg stood up and walked over Millie's desk. She removed the books and placed them on the shelf overhead. She sifted through the pile of stuff until she found Millie's clock, a darling little thing made in porcelain and painted with stars and clouds. The time on it was seven nine. Meg adjusted it to the right time. Silly Millie, she'd always set her clock in advance and then take time for granted so that she'd be late anyway. Maybe that's why she's late tonight.

            Six fifty-five. Of course Millie being late had nothing to do with her clock. She didn't even have it!! Meg blew at her bangs. She twirled on her heels and then threw herself on her bed. She hugged the pink bunny plushie she just got from the egg hunt. Millie's own pink bunny plushie laid on her bed, neglected…

            Tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock…

            Meg pulled herself to her feet. She threw her pink bunny plushie on her bed, where it bounced and landed on the floor. Without waiting for her clock to indicate six fifty-six, she strode toward the door purposefully and pulled it open.

            "MEG, WAIT, WAIT." Gadget called. Meg paid no attention to it however and Gadget was forced to put its body between the door and the doorframe before it could close. Then it followed Meg.

            "What is keeping her?" Meg wondered aloud.

            "THE NORTHERN STAR." Gadget answered. "SHE HAD DISCOVERED THAT IT WAS MISSING AND WENT TO LOOK FOR IT."

            "Of course!!" Meg snapped her fingers. "So she must be out in the Castle Grounds all this time. Let's look for her, Gadget."

            Meg walked down the west wing corridor until she reached the main hall. She was about to go down one of the two flights of steps that led to the Stone Tablet of Promise when she saw Futch and Luc emerge from the opposite wing.

            "Hey, you guys!!" Meg called. She rushed towards them. "Have you seen Millie?"

            "No we didn't." Futch replied. "We just got back from Hai Yo's and she wasn't there."

            "Of course she wasn't," Meg said, feeling irritated at him, although she really did not have the right to feel so. "We were supposed to meet for dinner about an hour ago, but she still hadn't appeared."

            "Well, she must be around here, somewhere." Futch said, stating the obvious.

            "She's out in the castle grounds, looking for—" Meg remembered and then she pointed at Luc. "Your crystal, the Northern Light—"

            "Northern Star," Luc corrected automatically.

            "What-EVER." Meg rolled her eyes. "She's looking for it…" Meg bit her lip. "Don't be mad at her. She's trying to look for it, really. She'll return it to you, I promise."

            "The Northern Star?" Futch had a confused frown on his face. He turned to Luc. "But I thought—"

            Luc gave Futch a warning look that Meg did not notice.

            "You thought what Futch?" Meg prompted.

            "Oh, I was just saying…" Futch stammered. "Uh… Luc really needs it, so… she better find it…"

            Meg slapped her cheeks lightly. "Oh dear. Well, don't worry, it will be found. But just… not now. She's been out all the day and she needs to eat."

            "Right." Luc nodded. "Why don't you go ahead and look for her? Futch and I will follow you."

            "Oh really? Thanks!!" Meg looked relieved. She ran towards the stairs.

            "WAIT!!" Gadget called, but Meg hopped down two steps at a time. She ran steadily down the hallway, never noticing that Gadget had fallen and now rolled on his side beside the stairs.

            "Luc, why didn't you tell Meg that you had the rune already?" Futch asked as they walked down the stairs then stepped over Gadget then proceeded down the hall.

            "W-well… it's because Millie needed to learn a lesson," Luc lied. "She's always like that, taking things for granted. She needs to see that she's going to have to take care of things and take responsibility for her actions."

            "But still…" Futch looked doubtful.

            "Besides, Meg will be so angry at me." Luc said. "She's going to say I've let her friend stay out all day, and that I'm playing some sick joke and that…"

            "Well, aren't you?" Futch muttered.

            "What?"

            "Nothing."

            "And then Millie will be angry and she'll say, 'You're so mean!'" Luc swallowed a lump in his throat. They reached the main door and Luc pushed it open. "Anyway, let's just find her, and bring her back and tell her to stop looking for the stupid crystal."

            "Okay."

            "Go with Meg to that side," Luc pointed to the silhouette of the trickster girl, the bright colors of her costume still visible despite the darkness. "I'll go to the west side."

            Futch jogged towards Meg. Luc started walked across the stone path to the Castle lawn. With a wave of the Wind Rod, its end lit up with a magical white light. He used it as a torch and continued walking, telling his mind to look for someone female and blue, probably with a yellow monster in tow.

            He raised his staff. The light hardly helped, but it was better than walking in the inky blackness. The trees were mere outlines, darker shadows in the midnight blue sky. They loomed over the lawn, making it seem that the vegetation was thicker than it actually was.

            He supposed he should call out to her. "Millie. Millie. Millie." The trickster girl would laugh if she heard his pathetic excuse for a shout. Who would have known it would ever prove useful to take cues from the big-mouthed redhead Hix was so enamored with?

            "Millie! Millie!" Luc called in a more powerful voice now. He peered at the trees. Nothing. No movement, no presence. He decided to continue westward.

            He was nearing the end of the front lawn, calling out "Millie!! MILLIE!!" when finally he heard her voice.

            "Who's there?"

            "It's Luc." He pointed his staff where the voice was coming from. "Come over here."

            He felt her hesitate. Then he heard the rustle of her movements. He heard the shuffling of her feet and then the light reached her. He could just make out her drawn eyebrows, her downcast eyes and the stuck out lower lip. She halted.

            "I lost your crystal. I'm sorry." She sounded very worried.

            "Come here," Luc told her, his voice even and betraying no emotion.

            Millie meekly followed, shuffling towards him, tweedling her thumbs. She peered at him through her thick dark lashes, looking very apologetic indeed. Luc saw leaves and bits of grass stuck to her long brown hair. He reached up and picked the leaf of her hair. He brushed away the grass as well, before noting her flushed cheeks and then remembering himself.

            "You're a mess. Fix yourself."

            Millie self-consciously ran her fingers through her hair, removing the most obvious of leaves and blades of grass. Then she delicately brushed her skirt with her hands.

            Then she looked at him. "Luc, I'm really—"

            "Nevermind." He said.

            "But—"

            "I said, nevermind. Don't look for it anymore." Luc insisted.

            "I'm really sorry." Millie whispered, her lips trembling. Her brown eyes were shining and moisture was collecting at her lower lashes. Luc turned away, unable to stand the sight.

            "I said it's okay. That's that." He clasped her wrist and pulled her towards the stone path. "Let's get you back to the castle. Futch and Meg have been looking for you too. Don't just disappear like that next time. You'll cause trouble for other people."

            He could hear her sniffing and he need not turn back to know that she was crying. He led her down the stone path toward the main entrance.

            Futch and Meg were sitting on the stone pavement just beside the door. "I still think we should go to the west lawn," Meg said.

            "If Millie is there, which she would be since we didn't find her in the eastern lawn, Luc will find her." Futch pointed out. "If we just attempt to look for her there as well, we might even miss the two of them."

            Luc cleared his throat. "Found her." He said laconically.

            The dragonknight and the trickster turned. "Millie!" Meg cried in glee. "Don't do that again!! I thought you were just late for dinner until Gadget reminded me—oh anyway, did you find it?"

            Millie shook her head dejectedly. Meg patted her shoulder. "That's okay, Millie, I'll help you find it."

            "No." Luc interjected. "Don't go looking for it again."

            Meg had a perplexed frown on her face. "But Futch said you needed it—"

            "No, I don't." Luc glared at Futch.

            Futch practically withered under the sharp green eyes. "Did I say that? My bad, certainly it's not true though."

            "Let's go back inside." Luc told him. The dragonknight nodded and followed the mage.

            Luc glanced at Millie over his shoulder. "You go down to Hai Yo's to eat… And you too Meg."

            The two girls watched the two boys leave and then turned to each other. "Well Millie, it's not so bad after all, Luc got you off the hook." Meg grinned.

            Millie shook her head. "I have to find it Meg."

            "What? But he just said—"

            "I don't want him to hate me!!" Millie sobbed.

            "Hey… don't cry." Meg rubbed her back reassuringly. "He doesn't hate you."

            "You should have seen how he looked at me, when I told him I lost it!!" Millie sniffled. "Or rather, how he did not even look at me. He was so angry, I know it!!"

            "That's not true." Meg shook her head. "If he hated you or was angry at you, he would say so. But he just told you it was okay and not to worry about it anymore. That's it." Meg took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Now, what we both need to do is eat. I'm starving." She pushed open the door with her other hand and led Millie inside the castle.

            Millie looked back at the castle grounds as the door shut behind her. I'll look for it tomorrow.

Author's Notes again: Uh-oh, Millie means business!! She won't stop until she has that Northern Star again, and returns it to Luc!! Shouldn't Luc just say he has it to get the trouble over with? And what's with Futch, wasn't he a nice guy? Don't live a lie, pretty boys, even one as simple as that!!