Don't worry, plot will pick up soon.

Anyway, thanks for the review, Nashin!

Chapter 3: Monica - Reunion

The Zelmite mines weren't what Monica was expecting.

Of course, it was a mine, after all. All mines were dark tunnels in the earth. It wasn't as if she hadn't come prepared - she had a few torches in her backpack, and she could always rely on her magic to provide some light - but somehow, in her mind's eye, she had pictured a more... artificial mine. Timbers girding the roof. Abandoned, rusty mine carts. Cobwebs had figured largely in her imagination.

Certainly she hadn't expected to see a cave that looked as if no humans had set foot in it for a thousand years. Nor had she expected the deathly silence. It was pristine. Untouched. Except that - Monica looked carefully - there had been timbers here once. And a track. It looked as if someone, or something, had removed them. The fleeing miners, from so long ago? Monica doubted it very much.

If there were spiders lurking here, they wouldn't bother with building cobwebs. They probably ate people alive. In one bite.

Still, she had a job to do. No one should have to die in these dark, dank caves, alone; least of all, her friend Maximillian. After all, he had saved the world, hadn't he? And as luck would have it - she heard footsteps from around the corner.

"Aargh!" She was momentarily blinded by a beam of intense light, and threw up her arms to shield her eyes.

"Monica? Is that you?" asked a voice from somewhere behind the light. Yes, it was definitely Max. How many other red-haired girls were there in the vicinity carrying big, scary black swords? He hadn't lost his talent for inane chatter, that was for sure.

Still, that was one of the more endearing things about him. Endearing and annoying, by turns. Still with her arms covering her face, she said, "Hi, Max. Um, could you turn down the light a little? I can't see anything."

"Oh! Sorry. I thought you might be a monster, when I heard sounds from around the corner." She heard a 'click' and the volume of light flooding the passageway lessened appreciably. She thought she heard him mutter, "Or Claire." Maybe it was her imagination. From what she remembered, Claire had rarely, if ever, left Blackstone One. What would Claire be doing down here?

"Claire?" she asked, curiously. He was still dressed in that obnoxious outfit of his he called his 'working costume'. At least he had traded in that floppy beret of his for a mining helmet. Practical, but only a slight improvement. Max had no fashion sense whatsoever.

Max looked embarrassed and shuffled from foot to foot. "It's kind of a long story. This probably isn't the best place to talk about it. What are you doing down here anyway?"

If he thought such a transparent attempt to change topic would succeed, he was wrong. Still, it was his own business if he wanted to get involved with a skinny little mouse like Claire. Was that a twinge of jealousy she felt? She forced her mind to the job at hand. Ah, yes. Her cover story.

"Oh, that. You see, it was getting boring back in the royal palace. Paperwork and stuff, you know how it is. So I decided to come back and help you out in these mines. It'll be just like old times!"

"Oh?" Max looked skeptical and thoughtful at the same time. "Hmmm..."

"What are you waiting for, slowpoke? Aren't you supposed to be looking for Zelmite or something?" Monica slapped Max on the back. "C'mon, let's go!"

"Monica," Max was biting his lip, but at the same time fixing her with an intent stare. "I was killed in these mines, wasn't I?"

Monica sagged against the wall. "Aw, damn," she said. "You figured it out."

Max shrugged, his voice artificially light. "You always pop up whenever I'm in trouble. Remember the first time we met? I thought you were my guardian angel or something." It was just like him to make light of a situation like this. He stopped for a while, obviously overcome with emotion. "I... I... thanks, Monica. Really. I don't know what to say. Risking your own timeline like this..."

Monica felt a little embarrassed. She retorted, "Yeah, well, this is a one time offer, Max, so don't get too cocky. I just figured I owed you something for saving the world." Punching Max lightly on the shoulder, she said, "So are we going to get this Zelmite or are we going to stand around here all day?"

"Huh? Oh!" Max was still a little spaced out. Still, Monica figured, it wasn't everyday that one came face to face with evidence of one's own mortality. He was probably coping extraordinarily well. After all, she was his guardian angel, wasn't she? Max started walking down the mine tunnel. "The Zelmite ore. Alright, Monica, let's go. And, err, thanks. I mean..."

"Get over it already! Think of it as a favour between friends. And your mother says the quality of your letters is dropping."

"What? I spend an hour every day on them!"

"Oh? 'Dearest mummy, I'm going to the old Zelmite mines to find some ore.' What kind of sad excuse of a letter is that? Couldn't you have written something more?"

"I was going to finish it after I got back!"

"Hmmph. Couldn't you have written more? Like why you wanted ore? Or a simple 'I love you'?"

"I was in a hurry! Stop walking so fast!"

"Riiight. 'In a hurry' he says. And then he strolls around the these mines happy as anything."

"It's not my fault I have shorter legs than you! And how was I to know that would be my last letter?"

"My point exactly. You should treat every letter..."

"Watch out!"

And they got their Zelmite ore. Eventually.