Sienna's Plan

Finally, late in the afternoon, the two Princesses and their Partners arrived at a small cabin. In the front yard, fast asleep, was a black cat with a golden collar and hood. On the front of the hood was a small opal. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that this creature must be the partner of Lady Sienna.

Tiara knocked on the door. But the person who opened it wasn't the sorceress. He was a man who appeared to be in his mid twenties, with brown hair tied in a ponytail and deep blue eyes. His pants were jade green, and his shirt was tan. Down the front, on the shoulders, and on the sleeves there was a pattern of golden bars with vertical black lines stitched into the shirt. He also had on leather boots and a single spectacle over his left eye, the frame of it done in gold. The four wondered just who he really was.

"Greetings," the man began, "I am Miro, Partner to my Lady Sienna. Allow me to bring you to her. The Elder sent word that he would give her the aid she desired, and my lady has been awaiting your arrival." He motioned for them to come inside, and they did. Then, Miro led them down the hall towards Sienna.

'If he's the partner, then who is that cat? Could it just be a pet? But something tells me that the creature has some sort of magical power. Perhaps a spell of some sorts that only can be done by one of the Divine Sorceresses. The Elder didn't even tell me what kind of requirements this would take,' Japolo thought. Ever since becoming Tiara's Partner, he would be briefed separately with special notes that only he needed to know. Sometimes, it was as simple as an enemy weakness, just in case Tiara decided to not heed caution during a fight, even if her condition was bad. Or it could be something as important as Lena being in the same area and Sara being a human sacrifice to the Throne of Yord that he was keeping.

Soon, they made it to Sienna's sitting chambers. Her magenta hair was worn down, falling over her slender shoulders, and her chocolate brown eyes stared intently at the book in front of her. Sienna wore a blue robe with a similar pattern to the one on Miro's sleeves etched onto her collar and sleeves. Also, there was a long cloth scarf with the same pattern tied around her waist, falling down to the floor. She was seated at the table, enjoying her tea and cake, while reading her magic books. It looked like she was busy now.

"My Lady Sienna. The Princesses have come to see you as the Elder promised. They appear to be quite capable, hopefully one of them will have the suitable conditions needed to become your successor," Miro stated. That made both Tiara and Lena's hearts nearly jump out of their chests. Succeed the Divine Sorceress?! That was the mission they had been sent for! But what were the conditions Miro spoke of?

Sienna looked at them, and said, "I think they'll do just fine. Miro, go and retrieve Yami from the front yard. I will need her here if we are to test for suitability. Only through the three of us can we read the souls of the candidates." Miro nodded, and went back the way they'd came, in order to retrieve the cat.

Lena looked to Sienna. "Excuse me, but the Elder said that Tiara was the one who had to perform the tasks, and I was to supplement her. What exactly are these tasks? And why must you read our souls? We were kind of left in the dark about the true nature of this mission, told you would supply all the answers."

"It's simple," Sienna replied, "By reading her soul, I can see if the right events have occurred. Of course, if the Elder sent her specifically and you as backup, then she has the credentials. He knows who must come to me. Only one who has lost their first Partner can try to become the Divine Sorceress. Since you were sent as well, he must be worried about the Mihan Demons trying to interfere. You need to help hold them off as long as you can, just until the one you call Tiara can take the first test, Test of Retrieval."

'By losing Graham, I became eligible for the position of Divine Sorceress. What would he say if he heard that? Probably be happy that I would be gaining new powers, that I would be much safer. Or he could be worried about the demons, if I am to become this person just to fight them. And what would Kagetsu say? Would he think that I got put in this danger because of him? Or be mad at the Elder for deciding that I, and not the other two girls who lost Partners, should be the one to come here,' she mused.

Sienna continued, "As I was about to say, the Test of Retrieval is quite difficult, but I'm sure one with the magical powers you have can handle it. I don't need Miro and Yami here to sense that. I will make three lifelines that connect you to this world. Then, there is a pair of lines that connect to you directly to the ferret, and your deceased Partner. The latter must be tossed by you, so it wraps around him. Once tossed, you must fight your way through the beasts that inhabit the Underworld, in search of his soul. Finally, when found, you must cast the return spell through your connector to the world, and take all three of you back to this one. For in order to become the Divine Sorceress, you must have two Partners. But since you can't physically summon the second, you must have your first die, summon again, and then retrieve the first."

Lena looked shocked. "So, she can get Graham back! But at what price? What dangers will Tiara have to face?" She was still kind of jealous that she wasn't the one who had to lead the expedition, but now that she knew the truth Lena assumed that the Elder was doing Tiara a favor. Tiara was still a little upset at how she and Graham hadn't been able to completely get over their argument over Kagetsu before he died.

"First of all, she only has three chances," Sienna informed them, "For in a given day, you can only make three lifelines to connect to the world, and then I am unable to make any more for the same person for a period of five years. If she is unable to find this Graham by that time, then the Elder will have to look for another candidate. I heard that three Princesses lost partners recently, so that part wouldn't be too hard to accomplish. But then you and Tiara would have to buy time for them by fighting. Second, although she can escape and sever the connection between the worlds at any time on her own, she must still take care if she is forced to defend herself in combat against one of the Mihan that might follow her into the otherworld. For if a demon destroys her lifeline during battle, Tiara will be trapped in the realm of the dead for all eternity."

- - - -


Of course, Tiara risking everything for Graham seems just so fitting. And cute, I like cute. I believe she wanted to make up with him, seemed like it when she talked to him before the dance. Of course, being pressed for time, she couldn't manage a full conversation to talk about the things that bothered them.