As Dalar departed from the safety of the small village, Oria watched him go from her perch upon the thatch roof of yet another house. She smiled for no apparent reason, jumped down from the roof, and disappeared.

Entering their house, Oria's smile vanished quickly as she was greeted with her sickly mother's rasping cough. She spotted the thin, frail figure upon the old bed, and the redheaded figure beside her. Nuria turned as Oria entered the house, nodded once in her direction, and looked back at their mother.

"How is she?" Oria asked in an undertone, regarding her elder sister with concern. For a long moment it seemed as if Nuria was ignoring her, but she soon gave a weak shrug without even turning to look at Oria.

Oria smiled grimly, "That good, huh?" Nuria looked at her finally with her dark brown eyes. Her long red hair was tied back and hung limply over her shoulders. She, like her youngest sister, wore tight-fitting purple battle gear; a no-sleeved body suit that reached halfway to her knees. Bandages wrapped around the middle of her torso, wrists and ankles. She wore nothing on her feet at this point and time, though she usually had on matching high-heeled boots.

"We should leave her alone for a while now." Nuria spoke in barely a whisper as she stood up. Oria nodded and watched as she laid another blanket upon the thin woman's frame on the bed. Oria fixed her gaze upon her mother, saddened at what she now saw.

The mother she had remembered from her childhood had been stunningly beautiful. Golden curls tumbling down over her shoulders; large, bright forest green eyes, sparkling like diamonds; a healthily slim body with beautiful tanned skin; a cute little nose and ears; a prominent forehead; and a blissful smile that when seen, would bring a smile upon your own face, no matter how you were feeling. She had been a proud, yet kind woman, who had kept on smiling through no matter what hardships.

Now, her once dazzling hair was dirty and limp, her skin pale from never seeing sunlight, her body sickly frail, her eyes dark and remaining closed, never a smile warming up anyone's day again. The village had become a quieter place since her illness befell.

Nuria pulled gently and firmly on Oria's arm, pulling the young woman slowly from the small hut into the fresh air once again. "Will mother ever get better?" Oria asked with a sadness that would only be seen in the innocence of a small child. Nuria looked at her with sad eyes that said everything without a word and Oria looked down in perfect understanding.

Many times, villagers had given the three girls their condolences, knowing how hard it must be for them to never know a father, and to have their mother, whom everyone had adored so much, become still and lifeless like death itself.

"Did you end up finding Sky?" Nuria asked, twirling a blade of grass through her fingers. The two girls sat upon a small old barn in the countryside, watching as some of the village's farmers worked their crops. Nearby, a few chickens clucked, pecking at the ground.

"Dalar went to get her." Oria replied looked up at the cliff overlooking the land. The splash of pink on top shone brightly in the fading sun, and she was sure Dalar and Morskaya were sitting up there together, watching this same sunset at that very moment.

Nuria laughed suddenly, and Oria almost jumped in surprise. She glowered at her sister, "What's so funny?" She demanded. Nuria shook her head, unable to stop laughing for a long moment. Oria looked puzzled at her sister's completely out-of-character outburst.

When she finally settled down again, Nuria almost had tears in her eyes. Her fiery hair blew back in a faint breeze and she sighed contently. "You and Sky," Nuria started, "you're both so impulsive. And ye work that poor Dalar boy too hard. You'll work 'im as lame as a horse at this rate." She smiled earnestly as she spoke, looking up to the now darkening sky, the sun having disappeared many a minutes ago.

Oria's expression was blank for a moment before she smiled cheerfully, finally understanding. "Aye. May haps we be a little hard on 'im." Oria agreed with a small laugh. "We be just like mother. All three of us in our own little way." Nuria nodded in reply, sobering.

It was then, as the sky become totally black and a few stars began to peek out; the chickens all asleep, the farmers gone; they heard an awful chilling scream from the village. A young woman's voice and a child crying followed by more shouts. Then the warning bell on the village rang out.

Oria looked at Nuria in alarm as she saw her sister jumped door from the roof quickly, her hand already groping for her two katanas. Oria jumped door as her sister took off quickly, quicker than humanly possible, towards the village.

The golden haired girl took off after her just as quickly, groping down to take hold of her twin daggers. Feeling the jeweled hilts in her hands, she pulled them free from hidden beneath her clothes and hooked one into each hand with skill. A leather cord attached to the hilt of the daggers that she hooked around her hands prevented her from loosing them in combat.

The only though upon the two girl's minds was they hoped they would not be too late if disaster had truly struck their precious home.