Author's Note: Enjoy as always. )

--------------

After escaping from the sewer, the party found themselves in an outdoor area again. Now they stood at the end of a long wooden bridge that extended to another building of the castle. They felt the cool breeze that blew through the air.

"Senel, what's in that area of the castle?" Will asked.

"I can't remember off-hand," Senel said. "But it's the only way to go, so we might as well cross it."

"Yuck..." Chloe looked down at herself. She and the others were covered in dirt and all kinds of grime from the sewer water. "I'd really like to get cleaned up as soon as possible."

"As do I," Jay agreed.

"We'll clean ourselves up as soon as we find some fresh water," Will said.

The group began to cross the empty bridge. They looked down, but all they could see was pitch black. About halfway across, Solon appeared in front of them. The group stopped and gasped.

"So, Senel and his comic book rejects are still alive, I see," Solon said.

"Well, duh!" Norma said. "What did you expect?"

"Hey, who're you callin' comic book rejects?" Moses growled.

Jay stepped forward. "Solon! Why must you constantly get in my way?"

Solon shrugged. "Why don't you start by telling me why you've come here?"

"That's none of your concern!"

"Well, you are trespassing in my castle. Should I not be concerned? I'm very territorial, you know. So come back to me, Jay. You can't deny your own bloodlust."

"I told you, I'm not like that anymore!" Jay spat. "I am no longer your killing engine!"

Moses stood right beside him. "You tell him, little brother!"

Solon shook his head. "Jay, Jay, Jay. Have you forgotten that I took you in and raised you? For that, you are eternally in my debt. You cannot escape your past. I did this all for your sake. Have you forgotten that?"

"I never forgot," Jay told him. "I was blind to your motives until recently. All that training you put me through was never for my sake. You only wanted to see me suffer. You never wanted me to get stronger. It was never about me at all. It was all about you and your own amusement."

"Ah, so you've finally figured it out after all this time? You never were very bright, you ungrateful brat!"

Moses stepped forward. "Hey, don't be talkin' trash like that!"

"Moses!" Jay shoved the bandit aside. Moses continued to stand right beside him.

"Regardless, I have so much more to teach you," Solon went on. "Come back to me, Jay. You and I will have so much fun together. Just think of all the blood we can shed. Think of all the people we could kill..."

Jay narrowed his eyes. "Mark my words, Solon. The next person I kill will be you!"

In a swift motion. Solon threw a fierce backhand punch to Jay's face. The blow sent him crashing into Moses, and they both rolled over the railing, falling into the blackness below.

"No!" Shirley cried.

The party gasped and looked over the railing, but the pair was nowhere to be seen.

"Red! JJ!" Norma cried.

Giet let out an agonized howl. "Awoo!"

Solon slammed his hands on the railing. "Damn you! Now look what you made me do! I wanted you alive!"

He paused and began talking to himself. "But then again, my little apprentice wouldn't die so easily, would he? Oh no..."

The party raised an eye at him.

Senel exploded with rage. "Solon, you bastard!"

He rushed at Solon with a set of quick jabs, but Solon dodged them all, seizing Senel by the throat.

"You will be the first to die!" Solon pressed Senel against the railing, then gave him a fierce knee attack to his exposed abdomen.

"Oof!" Senel cried out as the wind was knocked out of him.

"Senel! No!" Shirley ran up and grabbed Solon's arms, trying to free Senel. Solon released Senel and grabbed Shirley by the throat as Senel dropped to the ground.

"Ah hah! This couldn't have worked out better if I had planned it!" Solon taunted.

Senel reached out towards him, but he was in too much pain to move. "Shirley..."

"Stop!" Chloe raised her sword to attack, but Will grabbed her shoulder.

"Chloe, don't! You might hit Shirley!"

"But--"

"I'll deal with the rest of you later!" With that, Solon vanished in a puff of smoke, taking Shirley with him.

Senel managed to bring himself to his knees. "Shirley!"

"Damn!" Chloe lowered her sword.

Norma stomped her feet. "You're gonna pay for this, So-So!"

"Everyone, settle down!" Will said. "We need to decide on our next course of action."

"There's nothing to decide!" Senel yelled. "We have to save Shirley!"

"I would recommend searching for Moses and Jay first," Will told him. "They'll be easier to find, and we'll need their help to rescue Shirley."

"Will they still be able to fight after a fall like that?" Chloe asked. "We don't even know if they survived."

"Solon seemed pretty sure that Jay survived, at least," Will responded. "But we won't know until we find them. Let's go."

Grune looked over the railing. "I hope Moses and Jay are all right..."

"I have an idea!" Norma said. "Spot can use his wild animal nose to sniff out Red!"

"That's a good idea," Will said. "Giet has found his way to Moses before. I'm sure he can do it again."

Senel took a deep breath to calm himself. "All right, Giet, we're counting on you."

"Woof!" Giet put his nose to the ground and started sniffing. The group followed him as they finished crossing the bridge.

---------------

Meanwhile, Harriet was still watching over Elsa at Will's house. Elsa was still sleeping in Harriet's bedroom; she had not gotten up since the curse had begun. Harriet entered the room with a sandwich.

"Here, Elsa, I brought you a sandwich," she said. "Can you still eat?"

No response from Elsa. Harriet shook her head.

"I don't know what else to do..."

At that moment, there was a knock on the front door. Harriet ran downstairs and peeked through the tiny hole to see who the visitor was. She gasped and quickly opened the door.

"Madame Musette! Welcome!" Harriet said, taking a bow.

Musette smiled. "Well, aren't you the refined young lady now?"

Harriet hung her head. "Well...I just don't know how to act anymore. Everyone says I should act mature because I come from a noble family. But Dad says I should act more like a child."

"Oh, Harriet. You needn't worry about what other people think. The important thing is to be yourself, and take pride in who you are. No matter how hard you try, you can't please everyone. So don't worry about the ones you can't please. As long as you're pleased with yourself, that's all that matters."

"Yeah...okay, I'll do that. So, Madame Musette...what brings you here?"

"Ah yes...I just spoke with Arnold Alcott. He said that his daughter Elsa has not returned from the circus."

Harriet gasped. "Um..."

"Elsa was with you when you went to the circus, correct?" Musette asked. "Did something happen to her?"

Harriet fumbled for words. She had tried her hardest to keep anyone else from finding out about the curse, but lying to the sovereign of the Holy Rexalian Empire would be the greatest offense she could commit. Therefore, she had no choice but to tell the truth.

"Um...well...the truth is...on the way back from the circus...Elsa was attacked by this monster, and it put her under a curse."

"A curse?"

"It's a curse that makes her speak in pig latin. Dad and Senel and the others went to the Crusand Empire to get a rare eres stone to cure Elsa."

"The Crusand Empire?" Musette was growing even more worried. "You mean Will and the others have left the Legacy?"

"Well, yeah...they said this eres stone couldn't be found anywhere on the Legacy," Harriet told her.

"That is unfortunate. But Harriet, why didn't you inform Mr. Alcott?"

Harriet began to cry. "We...we didn't want him to get angry! He trusted us to look after Elsa, and we let him down!"

"Harriet, please calm down," Musette said. "No one is blaming you for what happened. Tell me, where is Elsa now?"

"She's upstairs...in my room."

"That's good. Harriet, I'm going to tell Alcott to come here. When he arrives, I want you to tell him everything."

Harriet looked up. "Everything?"

"Yes. Alcott has been very worried, not knowing what has happened to Elsa. He may not be pleased with what has happened, but at least Elsa is safe and out of harm's way. I believe he deserves to know that much."

Harriet sighed. "Yeah...I guess you're right."

"I'll see you later," Musette said. "I'll pray for Will and the others to return safely, and for Elsa's recovery."

Harriet planted her foot down and put her left fist to her right shoulder, a type of salute. "Thank you, Your Excellency."