D3 Resist

Steeling herself against the doubts in her mind, Mira forced herself to stand her ground. She might not have magical powers, but she had to be here for a reason. And the ducks needed outside help if they were ever going to beat this curse.

"I've had enough of your threats. Try practicing your scare tactics on someone else."

Alastrid appeared enraged by the Mira's response, but the swirling red magic seemed to evaporate as the room grew a little less dark.

"You dare challenge my powers?!"

Mira straightened and stood up a little taller.

"I could care less about your powers, but I'm not abandoning the ducks."

The sorceress gripped her staff tighter.

"You will only waste your time. My curse cannot be defeated!"

Mira walked past her and headed for the library doors. She paused in front of them and said,

"If that was true, then you wouldn't care that I was staying."

Mira turned back to the doors and tried to thrust them open. But they were relatively easy to move, and she nearly lost her balance as the doors flew open.

As she stumbled and caught herself, Mira saw that Grin was standing there with a hand on one of the doors. She looked back over her shoulder, but Alastrid was gone, and the library appeared peaceful and quiet again.

"What happened?" Grin asked.

"I met the witch," Mira answered as she walked out into the hall and took a deep breath.

Grin looked back into the room and then moved beside her.

"What did she do to you?"

"Nothing yet, I think," Mira said. "But for a second there, I thought she was gonna let me have it."

Grin looked at her in surprise.

"You have great inner strength. Perhaps we judged you too quickly."

"No, you were probably right to be skeptical," Mira said, shaking her head. "But I do want to help. I know you couldn't talk to me yesterday, but things are different today, right?"

"Yes, they are different," Grin said sadly. "You have seen the darkness within me."

"No, that's not you," Mira insisted. "It's the curse."

"Some of it is the curse, but you do not know what I was in my youth. I was filled with anger. Back then, my rage drove me to cruelty and violence …just as it now does each night."

Mira listened and kept silent.

"I have tried to fight it, but the bad karma from my past is too strong for me."

"Still, there must be a way to break the curse," she urged. "I gonna keep looking for answers."

"Where? The castle has been searched many times."

"I think I get closer to answers after sunset. After all, that's when you and the other ducks need help the most."

Grin shook his head.

"You must stay far away from me at night. I don't want you to get hurt."

Mira gave a slight nod to reassure him.

"I'll be careful. Don't worry about me."

He seemed uncertain, but he stayed quiet. Mira looked around and noticed how quiet everything seemed.

"I think I should talk to everyone again before tonight, so I guess I'll start looking for them."

Mira started to walk away, but then she stopped and turned back to face him.

"Why do you all go off by yourselves during the day? You are friends, but I hardly ever see you spend time together here."

Grin sighed.

"The curse makes us feel isolated. We each have own burdens. And now you know why they do not seek out my company."

Mira shook her head.

"That can't be true. They can't blame you for what happens at night because of the curse. They're still your friends, Grin."

"Will that still be true if I am the reason why one of them does not awaken some morning?"

The solemn expression on his face and the seriousness of his tone left Mira feeling unable to answer. Grin turned and walked off, leaving her alone in the main hall.

"This curse has to be stopped," Mira said to herself. "I have to figure this out."

She looked around the castle and decided to look for the other ducks to see what else she could learn.

(There are more choices coming up, but for now you need to move to D3 Talk to Duke to continue the story.)