Dessie let out a small, shocked cry and rushed over to her squashed sandcastle. "Witchie! I was building this to impress Ludus, now it's ruined!"

"Why are you both wasting time sunbathing and building stupid sandcastles when we could be transforming all of the mortals in this town into frog slaves?" demanded Witchie, who has suddenly materialised onto the beach.

I was taken aback to see Witchie.

Despite being in her territory, in the town she was responsible for watching over, it hadn't crossed my mind that the Witch Princess would have the ability to appear out of thin air like I was so used to Dessie doing.

I stood up quickly from the sand I had been lying in whilst I waited for Ludus to return from getting supplies for the old festival boats we were fixing up together. I had been taking a few moments to lie back in the sun and relax whilst Dessie created a sandcastle to leave as a surprise for Ludus when he returned.

Now I was the opposite of relaxed.

Whilst I towered over Witchie, who like Dessie was the size of a child, I knew I had to be cautious around her and prepared to run off if I needed to. The last time I had encountered Witchie I was hospitalised. I knew how unpredictable she could be and it unsettled me. I knew that if I annoyed her I would definitely be turned into a frog this time.

Right now Witchie didn't seem impressed.

"Aren't you supposed to be the guardian of Lulukoko…?" I asked hesitantly, "I thought it was your role to look after everyone here and protect them…"

Witchie glared at me. "Bah! I protect them from other threats just fine. There's nothing in the rule book about not having complete and utter domination over everyone here myself. It's the best way to protect them."

Dessie glanced up from the ruins of her sandcastle, "Actually the goddess rule book does say that you're not allowed to have complete and utter domination over everyone. It's on the first page at the top of the list… In bold…"

Witchie kicked the mound of sand that was once Dessie's beautiful creation. "Quiet! I meant that there was nothing against controlling everyone in my rulebook. It's much better than the ones we're given in Goddess training. I know what I'm doing."

"I don't know, Witchie… I don't think the other goddesses would be happy if you turned everyone into frogs…" frowned Dessie.

"Well, I'm sure the other goddesses won't be pleased if they found out that because of your magic, Inari and I have been stuck in a slumber for the past seven years. They'll be especially unhappy when they find out that Inari is still asleep because of you."

Dessie's eyes shifted to the side and became glazed with a glassy layer of tears. As she blinked, the tears dripped from her eyelids and slid down her cheeks. Dessie bit her lip tightly in an attempt to hide any sound that wanted to escape from her mouth; my heart hurt for her. This wasn't her fault. I knew how insecure she felt about her magical abilities at times, especially after Witchie and their other companion were stuck in a magical slumber. For Witchie to use that insecurity seemed cruel and unnecessary.

Dessie's lower lip quivered as words slowly made their way out of her mouth.

"I-I didn't..." She began.

What words followed were engulfed in tremors.

"I didn't mean to! H-Honest, it was an accident…

"Witchie sighed and rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a cry baby."

I rushed over to Dessie, crouching down to pull her into my arms instinctively. I was terrified of Witchie, but I wouldn't stand by and watch her upset my friend. Without Dessie, my experience here would not have been as special to me as it was. Her friendship and antics was the remedy to lift my spirit that I was deeply grateful for. Seeing Dessie cry made me want to cheer her up and bring a smile to her face like she had done for me countless times.

"What happened was an accident, she never meant for what happened to turn out the way it did but it was unintentional and Dessie is already halfway there to fixing it. She worked really hard to awaken you and didn't give up on you for a moment. We'll find a way to wake this other diety."

"You better." Witchie hissed. "I bet I could convince Inari to help me with my plan."

Dessie wiped her eyes and moved out of my embrace, "It really was an accident… I'm trying to get better at my magic. I'm practicing a lot, honest. I'll find a way to awaken Inari…"

"Well hurry up, otherwise I'll turn you into a frog along with everyone else," threatened Witchie as she pointed her staff at Dessie and me.

I flinched, anticipating a ray of magic to crash into me like the last time her staff was pointed towards me.

"Inari needs to be awoken as soon as possible," Witchie said, lowering her staff.

"Who is Inari?" I turned to ask Dessie.

I had heard of the Witch Princess and Harvest Goddess before coming here, they were the topic of countless stories I had been told growing up. They were characters from my bedtime stories who now stood before me. Growing up in the city and in a non-spiritual family, I was less familiar with any other deities smaller towns may have worshipped.

"Inari is the guardian of Tsuyukusa, it's Inari's role to keep the villagers there happy and to protect them."

"Is Inari in Tsuyukusa right now?" I asked.

He's in a deep sleep in his shrine at Tsuyukusa… We won't be able to get there until the gates have been fixed and the rubble from the storm is cleared up…" explained Dessie, who was staring at her broken sandcastle distractedly. "Please help up, Nami… Tsuyukusa needs Inari. We need Inari. Not so Witchie can turn everyone into frogs but… Inari's our friend.

I remember my Uncle Frank telling me that the two gates that were blocked by rubble in the clearing outside of my farm led to two other towns. I knew one of them led to Lulukoko, whilst the intact gate at the time led to Westown. Tsuyukusa must be the final town that I was yet to see.

"I'll ask around and see if there's anyone I can talk to about the progress that is being made to clear the gate to Tsuyukusa, see if there's any way I can help out. Once we can get to Tsuyukusa it'll be easier to find a way to wake Inari."

"And once Inari is back, complete domination over all of the stupid mortals here." Announced Witchie, "I want updates tomorrow, human. Don't keep me waiting. Otherwise, I really will turn you into a frog this time."

Witchie pointed her staff towards me, reminding me of what she was capable of, then disappeared.

"Are you okay?" I whispered to Dessie, who was fiddling with her hands distractedly.

"Witchie isn't all that bad… I know she can seem scary and mad at times but she isn't evil. Inari, Witchie and I are a trio. We're each responsible for the three towns here so we're used to having each other. Witchie's anxious that Inari isn't around… Inari is the one that keeps us under control. This is all my fault, Nami…" whimpered Dessie as a lone tear traced down her cheek.

I reached out slowly and swipe the tears from Dessie's cheek with my fingers, "We'll get it fixed. You were the one that came up with that… Top secret super special rescue mission plan that woke Witchie. You were the one who was so brave and helped your friend. I'll talk to some people tomorrow and see if anyone can help up clear up the rubble blocking Tsuyukusa. Then we can come up with a second rescue mission together, okay?"

Dessie nodded quietly.

Dessie's lashes brimmed heavy with tears. As Dessie's floodgates opened I pulled her against me, cupping my hand round the curve of her head and trying to comfort her as best as I could as she wept tears I knew she had been holding in for so long. Dessie had gone seven years without her friends by her side, I knew that these tears must have been kept suppressed whilst she worked to get her friends back. Only now they were coming out.

When I could tell Dessie had stopped crying, I draw back. "Do you want me to help you rebuild this sandcastle before Ludus gets back?"

A smile.

"Yes, please. I-I won't use magic this time, we can build it together… Thank you, Nami."

The sandcastle wasn't quite as extravagant or beautiful as Dessie's magically created one, but Ludus was still impressed by the time he arrived back at the beach with paint and tools and this sandcastle was a lot more believable to have been built in the time he was away than Dessie's previous creation.

I felt special being able to see Dessie, but at moments like this, I wished others could see her too. I wanted others to see how special she was too.