Disclaimer: nope, still not mine.

A/N: Sorry that it's so fragmented. I'm not sure how to make it flow any better than with my little asterisks. It's also undoubtedly my shortest.

Ch 11: Notes

Ari leaned over the chamber pot in the corner, Raistlin's note clenched in her sweaty fist. She had never been so sick in her entire life. The spinning room had been replaced by throbbing vision; a nice change, but still not something she wanted to have happen to her. She wished she had a couple of bottles of aspirin because that's about how much she figured she'd need before calming the excavation going on in her brain.

Several minutes went by before she figured it was safe enough to scoot away from the offensive pot and read what the note said. With trembling hands she unfolded the note and smoothed it enough to read.

When you are finished painting,

Crumple this note,

Think of me

And you will be by my side.

'Apparently it's not crumpled enough already," she thought, regarding the somewhat mashed note. Carefully, she folded it and slipped it into her pocket. This gave her further determination to finish what she had started as fast as she could.

Ari got unsteadily to her feet, bracing herself upright using the table. She tottered to the door and down the hall to the kitchen. As she went, she tried to think through the constant hammering that was plaguing her brain. She knew a remedy for a hangover, having overheard it from her aunt. Tomatoes were great for treating hangovers; that was why drinking wine with an Italian meal was usually not a problem. Water was also sure to help flush out the toxins. So, finding both, she set herself down and resigned herself to eating as many tomatoes as possible, and drinking water until she felt like she would pop. If she did explode, her one consolation was that she would at least not be in misery any longer.

Back at the wall she worked very quickly. The colors seemed to fly on and likenesses jumped out of the paint. Every once in a while she would step back to review her work. Overall, she was pleased with how it was turning out. There was a unity to the piece and her figures weren't stiff. It was like a casual observer had photographed the scene before her, despite the artistic license that she had taken with some coloring and the obvious brush strokes. A couple more days and she would have all the details done of their faces and clothes.

It was slightly embarrassing to draw a crowd. Somehow, the guests of the Inn had found out when she worked on the mural and there would always be a few people sitting around, waiting for her to begin her nightly work. They didn't stay long, just long enough to watch her for a little bit before retiring back to their beds. No one offered conversation and she didn't make any as she worked tirelessly.

Little events like this were what made the time seem to pass quickly, rather than drag out like she had been dreading it would. A calm monotony had settled in the course of only a few days. That was why when the phone rang it was a complete shock.

Ariana stared at the noisy device as if she had never seen one in her entire life. It didn't look like it was going to stop as Fur Elise continued to sing out, so she stepped towards it and answered it.

"Erm... hello?"

"Hi Sunshine," came the warm voice on the other end of the line, identifying himself as her grandfather.

"How... how am I picking up a signal?"

Her grandfather chuckled, "Oh, it was just a simple spell that I put on it. It would take longer than it's worth to explain it to you. I just called because we need you desperately back here."

"Okay. Could you give me a couple of more days? I need to say goodbye to someone."

"The best I can give you is five minutes. You know that little corporation of absolutely brilliant scientists we've been trying to get our hands on? The Ozman Corporation? Well, their people will only be in town today and we need to seal some sort of deal with them."

"You couldn't have given me any more notice?" A sinking feeling began in her stomach.

"No. We didn't even know that they were in town until a couple of hours ago. It was pure luck that they contacted us to arrange a meeting. You know what this means to us. You've got to come back."

"Can I come back after matters are all dealt with to properly say goodbye?" she asked, fingering the note Raistlin had given her. She had taken to keeping it in her pocket at all times.

"Of course, of course. You need to pack now and as soon as you can, press the star key on your cell phone. That will bring you immediately to the Centre. I'll have Alysa bring a suit or something for you to change into. The meeting is in an hour. See you soon."

"Okay, bye."

After she disconnected she stared at her phone for a moment. 'It'll be alright,' she thought, 'I'll come back and say goodbye to him then. He's probably busy and won't know if I don't show up for a few more days'. Having resolved this, she ran to her room, throwing things back into her duffle bag and straightening things up. She scrawled a quick note to Caramon and Tika, thanking them for letting her stay with them and letting her painting on her wall. She promised to come back and take her leave of them later in a more proper manner.

This note she left on the kitchen table, and taking a last look around, she pressed the star key on her cell and was gone.

Raistlin was preparing to leave his tower again. For someone who liked to never leave, he had been doing quite a bit of traveling lately. If he wasn't careful, he was going to destroy the rumor that he hadn't left his tower once in the two years since he had arrived. But this time it would be well worth it, an unexpected connection with a cleric.

He had heard of this Chrysania and was quite eager to meet her. Perhaps this would be the meeting that would provide him with the necessary means to enter the Abyss. He certainly hoped so.

In the back of his mind, he wondered where Ariana was. He had given her that message and had been half expecting her to show up only hours after he had arrived back home. That meant that he was only half disappointed when she didn't. But anytime now, he was sure she would show up... and then... well, he didn't know. The reality was that she either couldn't or wouldn't stay and give up her life on her planet; he wasn't asking her to anyway. He certainly would never give up what he had here willingly. This magic was his life. Even if he wanted to quit, he didn't know how or what he would do with his life. No, leaving here was not an option, no matter what she did to produce knots in his stomach.

Resolutely, he pulled up his hood, took up his staff and quit his tower.