Urd lifted up from her bed, panting and sweating. Her eyes were completely wide open in shock and panic. She looked around to see that everything was fine and that she was in her bedroom at the shrine. She sighed in relief as she wiped the perspiration off of her forehead.
"Just a dream Urd," she told herself, "No need to get so worked up about it."
A knocking came from the door.
"Y-Yes?" Urd asked.
"Finally, you're awake!" Skuld, the young goddess, shouted from outside her room, "Belldandy's almost finished breakfast so hurry up and get ready!"
"What are you, my alarm clock?!" Urd yelled sarcastically.
"Urgh…!" Skuld groaned, "You're lucky this door is between us, you know that?!" Skuld looked to her side to see her little robot, Banpei, next to her. "Come on Banpei," Skuld stormed off.
Banpei beeped twice and followed.
"Such a pest," Urd sighed.
Belldandy was inside of the kitchen dressed in a green dress, with a pale yellow undershirt. She wore a blue apron above it. Her hair was in its usual fashion as she cooked some eggs upon the stove.
Skuld stormed back into the kitchen, stomping her feet, and went to go sit at the table.
Belldandy could tell something was wrong, not only by the constant shaking of the house every time Skuld made a step.
"Hmph!" Skuld grunted as she sat down on the floor.
Belldandy walked over to her with a plate and a small glass of orange juice in hand. She knelt down and placed it in front of Skuld. "Skuld, is something wrong?" she asked.
"What gave it away?" Skuld asked in an angry tone.
"Oh…" Belldandy sighed, a bit hurt by Skuld's words.
Skuld noticed and knew she should apologize, "No, I'm sorry Belldandy. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."
"I wish you would tell me what's wrong," Belldandy said to her.
"It's Urd! She's always being mean to me!" Skuld whined and complained.
Belldandy giggled, "Oh, Skuld. You must understand Urd. You know she isn't one to express her feelings well. But, I promise you. She isn't trying to be unkind to you at all. She's just being a big sister, that's all. Urd loves you just as much as I do."
Skuld knew that Belldandy was right, deep down inside. She couldn't help but get annoyed by Urd's actions sometimes. But, she sighed and then smiled, "You're right Belldandy."
Belldandy smiled back, "Now, eat up. We're all going out today, remember?"
"Oh yes! That's right!" Skuld shouted happily, "The mall right?!"
Belldandy laughed, "Yes, that's right. It should be a good time." She returned to the stove.
Urd entered the kitchen, dressed in long white pants and a blue blouse. "Good morning," she said.
"Good morning Urd," Belldandy smiled, "Go ahead and sit down Urd. I'll bring your meal to you in a minute."
Urd smiled back, "Thank you Belldandy." Urd walked over to the table and sat down on the other side, in front of Skuld. "Oh, if it isn't my alarm clock…" Urd grinned.
Skuld clenched her fist and her fork in a frustrated manner, but calmed down soon after. She sighed to relieve her stress, "I'm going to let it slide today since we're going out."
"Oh, that's right," Urd reminded herself, "We are still going to the mall Belldandy?"
Belldandy turned and walked over towards the table with her meal, as well as Urd's. "Yes, we are." she replied. She sat down handing Urd her meal.
"Where is Keiichi?" Urd wondered as she looked around for him.
"He's outside mowing the lawn a bit before we leave," Belldandy answered.
"Yeah, he's trying out my Super Lawn Mowing Machine Model No. 3," Skuld added, with a bit of over-confidence, "'Cause, we all know what happened to Model No. 2."
The three goddesses stopped for a moment and started to think about that day. A thought bubble formed above their heads.
Keiichi screaming as he was being dragged by the runaway lawn mower was the first image that came to mind.
Sweat drops fell on their heads.
"Oh, yeah. I remember," Urd sighed.
That's when they could hear the lawn mower running nearby.
"That must be him," Belldandy stated.
The sound got louder, and louder. It seemed like it was coming closer.
"SKULD!!!" someone called from outside.
The three goddesses rushed through the kitchen door that led to the outside. They all gasped at what they saw.
Keiichi was being dragged by the lawn mower once again as it went on a furious rampage. "Skuld, get me off of this thing!!!" Keiichi cried.
"Oh no!" Skuld pouted, "Ugh! I guess I'll have to work on Model No. 4 now."
"I think we should help him," Urd suggested.
"Banpei!" Skuld called for her robot.
It came running from the kitchen and beeped a few times.
"Morph to cycle mode!" Skuld ordered.
Banpei's hands and feet changed into tires as he went on all fours.
Skuld leaped onto his back as they chased after Keiichi and the runaway motor.
Urd and Belldandy could only smile and laugh.
The crowds throughout the shopping center walked along the sidewalks as cars passed by in the streets, honking their horns and revving up their engines.
The three goddesses and the human walked along the paved paths as well. They all had a shopping bag in hand from different stores.
"Ah! This has been so much fun!" Skuld leaped with joy, "Thank you Keiichi, Belldandy!"
Keiichi smiled, "I'm glad you're having a good time."
Urd wasn't being her usual self. She was silent, off to the side. She didn't really say or have done anything that day. She had one shopping bag, but she didn't purchase all that much. And for Urd, that was a bit surprising.
Belldandy noticed her older sister was deep in thought and a bit lonesome. She thought she'd go comfort and support her so she walked over to her. "Urd?" she asked, "Is there anything bothering you?"
"Huh?" Urd wondered, snapping out of her dismal state, "Oh, yes. I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" Belldandy replied, "I can tell when something's wrong. I am your sister after all. You can tell me anything."
Urd smiled. She knew that there was no one else more trustworthy than her younger sister. "Well, the truth is…there was this dream I had this morning," Urd told her.
"A dream?" Belldandy asked, "A bad one?"
"I-I'm not sure…" Urd pondered for a moment, "It was of me…when I was younger. And at that high council and…"
Skuld interrupted their conversation when she had an outburst, "How cute!!!" She rushed over to the window display of a baby department store. "Look at all the cute baby things!" Skuld shouted in awe.
Keiichi walked up to her from behind and placed his hands on her shoulder, "Do you want to take a look?"
Skuld looked back at him, her eyes gleaming, "Could we?"
"Sure, why not?" Keiichi agreed.
"Yes, let's go look inside," Belldandy smiled, then looked to Urd and whispered, "We'll talk about this soon, okay?"
Urd nodded, "All right."
They entered the store as the small little bell rang.
A female employee greeted them, "Welcome. If there is anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask."
"Thank you," Keiichi replied.
Skuld ran into the store and over to the toys section. There were dolls and stuffed animals everywhere. "Aww! They're so cute!!" she shouted.
Belldandy and Keiichi walked over towards the baby cradles to look at them. The cradle they saw was white, and cushioned with silky blankets.
The female employee approached them both, "Do you like it?"
"Eh?" Belldandy asked, "Oh, yes. It's very beautiful."
"I'm sure your child would be very pleased with something like that," the employee told them.
The couple blushed with embarrassment.
"Uh…No, no…We aren't expecting…" Keiichi stuttered.
"Sure, sure. But, I'm sure you two will someday," the employee smiled as she walked away.
Keiichi and Belldandy could not stop blushing and turned as red as can be.
Urd just simply stood at the entrance, waiting for her sisters. She had her arms crossed in front of her. She noticed a woman at the counter, paying for an item she had chosen.
The woman held a newborn baby in her arms.
Urd couldn't help but feel sad when she saw them together. It made her envious. Urd never had a childhood like that. One with a mother cradling you in her arms and singing you lullabies. Urd has never known what that was like. She had never known who her mother was either. Only that she lived within her as her demon half. That was the only thing her father, The Almighty, had discussed a little of.
She began to tear up a bit when she watched them.
"Urd?" Belldandy asked, as she and the rest of the party came to the entrance.
"Urd, are you crying?" Skuld asked. She was a bit shocked to see Urd be so emotional like this. She had never seen her like that ever in her life.
Urd turned away from them, "I'm fine! Just leave me alone!" Urd turned around and ran through the doorway and into the crowd.
"Urd, wait!" Keiichi called.
They all went outside and watched her run off.
"What's wrong with Urd?" Skuld wondered.
"I wish I knew," Belldandy sighed.