Chapter Twelve: A Stillness in the Storm
Kami-sama stood in the center of the cubical room, and placed the point of Gungnir directly over the single glowing sigil that glowed on the floor. As Gungnir touched the rune, a network of runic circles expanded across every surface. Like the dials of a combination lock, they turned in various directions until finally they aligned.
However, this time, it wasn't a portal that opened. Instead, the sound of whirling gears could be heard as parts of the walls began to shift and slide like an enormous puzzle box, collapsing in on themselves until the cube vanished and he stood alone at the edge of Sarhia's dark arena. As he began walking forwards, the thousands of candles that stood on the empty rows of benches around the main floor ignited and the salt piled on the stone floor blew itself into nothingness. A wind raced around the arena as salt and fallen rock swirled around and broken columns pieced themselves back together. By the time he had reached the table where Sarhia lay slumped asleep, the entire arena had restored itself to its former glory as her throne room, lacking only the gigantic obsidian statue that she had once animated. The scattered rocks that had laid around the arena floor had also vanished, save for the table, and the single chair in which Sarhia slept.
He looked down at his sister and smiled. "It's been so long, nee-chan. So very, very, long. But you have finally made the choice."
He stroked her hair, and her body shifted under his hand, her white hair undoing itself from her crested pony tail to twine itself into two thick braids as her skin faded from blue to a the rosy pink of a Caucasian heritage. The scarred and ragged edges of her elven ears healed as the missing ear chains reformed themselves out of mid air, chimes tinkling softly as they settled against her now unscarred face. Even the three inch canines that had jutted from her upper lips were gone, shrunk down to match the size of Zhu-Shu and Clove's.
All down her body her scars healed themselves as she shrank slightly, her adult visage growing younger until she looked all of eighteen again, as she had during her last dance. As a last change, the scarred tail, twisted and limp from having been broken countless times, retracted and vanished, leaving only her six arms to mark her as something other than human.
A tear ran down his face from his single eye as her naked body clothed itself again in the golden silks she had last worn for him, and tattoos appeared on her face, a small Fleur-de-Lis on her forehead and small lightning jags on her cheeks under her eyes, in a pale blue that matched her former skin tone. Except for her arms and pointed ears, she could have passed for any girl of Nordic descent in the world. Especially with her Viking braids. She'd always looked cuter with them as they were growing up together. He patted her head gently as she softly muttered "onii-chan" in her sleep and smiled before burrowing her face deeper in her arms.
"I hope you will forgive me for removing your tail, nee-chan, but I know you only kept it as a symbol of hate for that bastard you were designed for, and the tortures you suffered when he grew tired of you and sold you off. And while I love the delicate blue shade of your skin, there are no more ice giants in the mortal realm and it would be problematic for you in this age," he said sadly. "What myths remain of the Jotun are as twisted and warped as the memories of you. No one recalls that we were once wise, noble and beautiful, only that we tried to destroy the nine realms. It's better that you follow the Accord and at least appear human. You'll still be able to show your arms at will though, so I hope you won't be too hard on your meddlesome brother."
He leaned down and tucked a card into the hem of her pants, then kissed the sleeping girl on her cheek, erasing the tracks of her eternal tears. "I would have released you long ago if you had only allowed me to, nee-chan. All you ever had to do was permit me to be your protector again, instead of your jailer. But you clung to your power and your pain and the risk of Hild stealing them both from you was too great." He stood again and sighed as he looked around the throne room. "You have always been so stubborn about trying to do everything on your own. But now, you are finally going to have to trust me to look after you. It makes me so happy to welcome you back into the pantheon, nee-chan. It's past time for the Mother of Demons to die, so that Sarhia can live. You've been a crying goddess for twenty centuries. It's time for my happy, laughing, and adorable little sister to return."
He turned away to go, then stopped and looked back at her over his shoulder, his single eye twinkling. "Just… do me a favor, and try not to have too much fun with your new portfolio, please?"
As he walked away, he waved Gungnir, and the entire arena faded away like a dream, to reveal ruins, illuminated by the morning sun through its shattered back wall, the cavern almost a third smaller from where a long ago earthquake had sheared away a section of the mountain and exposed it to the elements.
And as the last of the illusion faded away… so too did the form of the sleeping goddess…
Urd was cursing as she watched the ring of ships land and establish a shield perimeter. She glanced over at Lind, whose tense jaw belied her impassive stance. Urd chuckled. "Not happy being stuck watching either, huh?"
Lind gave her a slightly annoyed look. "I have my orders. I am to guard you and insure you don't directly intervene in the event. My displeasure at being ordered to stand down is my own business."
Urd sighed as she looked back at the battle miles away. Eight new ships came through and took up stations above the sub anchors and began siphoning energy
"Well there's the secondary stage of collection. Whatever is coming next is will be big. Why do they need that much life energy? That thing might be able to drain all of Tokyo!"
"That is quite probable. It is, however, not of divine nature. It is all based on Silver Millennium technology with some unknown modifications." Lind frowned. "Until something of divine caliber appears, we're on standby. The JSDF and the Youkai Council have mobilized a counter offensive. Even the Director has responded. And I am ordered to wait." Even Urd could hear the frustration in her voice.
Disgusted, Urd turned away from the scene and plopped on the sofa next to Mara. As she did, her cell phone rang.
She looked at it in surprise, then snorted to see it was Phoenixmoon. She hit answer. "What the hell do you want? It's a warzone down here."
"I am aware, Goddess Urd. I am also aware of your current situation. However, you are still on assignment, and there exists an opportunity to further that assignment."
"RIGHT NOW?!" Urd took the phone away from her ear and stared at it in disbelief. "Are you fucking insane, you malfunctioning program?"
Phoenixmoon's icon projected itself above the phone's screen. "No, Goddess Urd. I am simply seeking to help you do your job as your assistant." The icon dropped to touch the screen with its tail, and then bobbed up and down, looking for all the world like a pointer. Still convinced the AI was insane, she glanced at the screen to see words typing themselves on it.
Kami-sama cannot give you permission to act directly. Nor can he acknowledge this request. Therefore I am acting by Legend's orders.
Urd blinked. Her eyes snapped back over to where Lind was still watching the battle. She looked back at the floating icon. "Help? You? So what aggravating task am I supposed to do in the middle of a fucking war?"
"I have been examining the data from the recent Time Wave. There have been a few alterations that should make it easier to make your next match."
A development has occurred that can possibly give you a way to help end this battle in this universes favor, the screen said. You've been itching to do something helpful, correct?
Urd sighed. "Okay, fine. How?"
"You need to visit the Tendo dojo, specifically the closed shrine attached to it."
You need to deliver this program key. A glowing Fleur-de-Lis symbol appeared above the phone and solidified into a crystal plate about the size of a credit card. Urd took it and slid it into her cleavage, watching to make sure Lind was still looking the other way.
Then she did a doubletake. "What closed shrine? There's not any shrine at the dojo."
"Actually, there is. At least there is now. It has been in the family for several generations, but has been out of use since Akane's grandmother, the last priestess, died. Akane's mother was raised to be the Shrine Maiden, but she was never comfortable being so, and allowed it to sit unattended until she died, and Soun has simply kept it locked because he fears to enter it."
You will find a statue inside the shrine. Place the key in its hands. It is programmed to activate once you have done so.
"Why?"
"It is known as the 'Lily Shrine' and has a history of odd activity. It is said to be a lucky spot for girls and youkai, and cursed for males."
You will understand when you get there.
"And how am I supposed to get there? The disruptions from that giant gate have shut down the network! I can't travel through the TV. And anyways, I'm under guard, remember?"
"Simply ask Goddess Lind to escort you. Her orders are to keep you out of battle, not locked in your house. Nerima is outside the combat zone, as well as the evacuated sectors. You should be safe enough travelling by broom."
Urd sighed. She looked over at Mara. "What do you think? We up for this?"
Mara nodded. "What do we do at the shrine to make the match?"
"The Lily Shrine has a legend associated with it that has made it a bit shunned in the past. It is said that if you place a charm with two names upon the altar before the goddess statue, she will either bless or curse the relationship between those two."
"Huh? But that's a fairly normal kind of legend." Mara looked at Urd in puzzlement. "Isn't it?"
"It is the manner in which the goddess was rumored to decide which action to grant. It seems that she only granted blessings to a charm which bore the name of two girls. Any match between a boy and girl was either ignored, or cursed."
Urd blinked. "You're serious?"
"Yes, Goddess Urd. The Shrine is unofficially known locally as the "Yuri shrine." The emphasis Phoenixmoon put on the word for "lily" made it obvious he wasn't referring to flowers. "To be blunt, the Shrine's closure was seen as a good thing by many in Nerima. It's existence has been seen as being somewhat of an embarrassment to the community. "
Urd put her face in her hand and sighed. "You mean there actually is a "Goddess of Lesbians? And it's not me?"
Phoenixmoon chuckled. "Yes. That does appear to be her actual official portfolio, in addition to being the goddess of the flower itself. She is the Lily Goddess in both senses of the word, despite it's use in slang being a more recent development. It appears to be a side effect of the temporal wave. The Shrine and its goddess have been there for almost 200 years according to the new timeline. There's also records showing that the Tendo family tends to have exclusively daughters, which is why they usually have the husbands sign into their family registers like Soun did. At least one daughter per generation brings a husband into the Tendo family, instead of marrying out, and in generations with multiple daughters, most appear to remain unwed, at least in the official manner. It is expected that Ono Tofu will become Ono Tendo when he and Kasumi wed, as it appears he's already agreed with Kasumi over it, so that the Tendo family name can continue. The Tendo's have tended the Lily Shrine for generations, and Kasumi plans to reopen it when she's married and can devote the time to be its Shrine Maiden."
"And we'd already arranged for Tofu to move into the Yamada's house and join the yards together." Urd noted. "How convenient."
"In the new timeline, it used to be part of the shrine's enclosure, which is why the wall between them is little more than a plank fence. Soun sold it off to pay for his wife's medical bills." Phoenixmoon stated. "He wanted the sell the Shrine too, but his wife bequeathed it to Kasumi directly. She wouldn't let him."
"I'm surprised Nabiki hasn't tried to use it in scams."
"Ah, regarding that. As Nabiki Tendo was one of the originators of the time wave, she should be unaware of the changes. It might be a surprise to her."
"What about the others? Weren't the Senshi and Akane, Ranma and Shan-Pu in transit when the wave passed though?"
"Yes, but they never went to the past. Only those who were present at the wave's origin would be unaffected."
Urd bit her lip. "I hate these little paradoxes. This is why time alteration is usually not allowed."
"Indeed, however, it is only the passing of the time wave that created this opportunity. You should count it a blessing."
"So… whose names are we supposed to put on a charm at this Shrine?" Mara asked. "Isn't that why we need to go?"
Urd did a double blink as she realized that Mara was thinking of a cover story to use to convince Lind to escort them. She gave her a grateful smile.
"Of course, Goddess Mara. The names are Song Zhu-Shu and Sarhia Borsdottir."
Urd's jaw dropped.
Lind gave her an evil eye. "So, you basically want me to escort the two of you to the Tendo shrine so that you can get this unknown goddess's blessing on a match between the Daughter of the Dragon, and my most secret prisoner?!"
Mara gave her a sheepish grin. "Well, yeah. It's what is being recommended by Urd's analytic program. Despite the fact that there's a battle going on, the legend says it has to be done under a new moon, which is tonight." Mara had her fingers crossed. Pheonixmoon hadn't actually said that, but it did have to be tonight, so there was at least a possibility of it being true.
"Look, I don't like it either, Lind. But my program is usually right about the timing of things like this," Urd added defensively. "You won't let me help against that threat over there, despite the fact that ALL of the people related to my assignment are probably involved, at least let me do SOMETHING! We just need to fly over there, check out this shrine, and put a charm talisman on the altar with a couple of names on it. Nothing else! It doesn't matter that it's the Daughter of the Dragon, and – I don't believe I am actually saying this – my AUNT!"
Lind blinked. "Your aunt?"
Urd nodded grimly. "Yeah, it's a shock to me too, but Bor is my grandfather, so what else is 'Borsdottir' going to mean? Come on Lind, Loki's my half brother, and Hild's my mom! You know how messed up my family is! Anzasu is positively the sanest wife dad has ever had! And you were around when he had to exile Vili and Ve for their crimes!" She sighed heavily. "So come on. I know my side of the family doesn't have very good track records, but even you have to admit she's not evil anymore, right?"
Lind's lip twisted but she nodded. "But she is still a prisoner. This action will not permit her freedom unless the All-Father himself releases her. I don't see where it will actually help your assignment. Even if the Daughter of the Dragon herself were to assault her vault, it is impregnable."
"So where's the harm? All I know is my virtual assistant is programmed to search for ways to help me fulfill my assigned wish. It says this is something we should do. And it's better than sitting here feeling like a useless lump while we're being invaded by another universe!"
Belldandy decided to add to the conversation. "Please Lind. Urd is trying really hard to redeem herself with this wish assignment. She wouldn't be asking if she wasn't sure this was necessary."
"Yeah," Skuld chimed in, "She's an idiot but even she's not crazy enough to go out there during something like this if it wasn't important." She patted Banpei. "We'll be fine if anything happens here. Banpei is fully charged up and ready for action!"
Lind looked at the rotund robot, who gave her a salute. She sighed and rubbed her temples. "Fine."
She turned to her lieutenant. "Pick a squad of five. You'll stay here with the rest and maintain guard."
The other Valkyrie nodded and left the room. Lind looked back at Urd. "We are to go straight there, do what you need to do, and return back here. There will be no 'detours', no 'accidents' and no 'Oopses'. Is that CLEAR?"
Urd gave her a half bow. "Yes, Valkyrie Lind. We will be depending on you to watch over us."
Belldandy went in the closet and came back with her broom. "Here Urd, you can use Stringfellow. He'll get you there safely."
"Yes, ma'am." The broom said cheerily. "I will deliver you speedily wherever you need to go, Goddess Urd."
Mara looked a little green. "I know we can't gate there with the disruptions from that portal, but does it have to be brooms?"
Lind looked at her. "We could lend you a spear if you don't have your own broom yet, Goddess Mara."
"Um… well, can't I just fly?"
"Can you do so quickly enough to keep up?"
Mara blushed sheepishly, "Well, no. I just…. Um…" she kicked her toes against the ground as she hung her head. "I never learned how to ride a broom," she admitted in a small voice.
"Never fear, Goddess Mara. I shall carry you and Goddess Urd safely!" Stringfellow said. "I will ensure that you shall have a smooth and easy ride, no matter the conditions outside."
Urd laughed. "Don't worry, Mara love. String's a good broom. Bell's a racer back in Asgard and he's never let her down. Just hold on to me, and you'll do fine."
Mara looked a little nervous but nodded. "Alright." She gave a small giggle. "Just don't complain about how tight I hold you."
Urd grinned as they headed out the door. "Never."
The night air was brisk and cool, but filled with the smell of smoke from the battle. Lind arranged her five Valkyrie's around and slightly beneath Stringfellow, and flew above them as they left the yard. From higher up, it was actually hard to see the battle, as low clouds had moved in and were swirling around the massive vortex of the gate, and the smoke from the numerous fires in central Tokyo was combining with them to make what felt like an impending storm.
Mara clung to Urd tightly as she looked down at the ground below. "This is so not like flying on my own," she complained. "When I'm flying under my own power, heights don't bother me because it doesn't matter. But on this thing, I feel like we're going to fall out of the sky any second."
"I can assure you, Goddess Mara, that you are safe in my hands, so to speak. I will not drop you." Stringfellow stated.
Mara nodded. "My head knows that. My stomach isn't listening." She buried her face in Urd's shoulder. "Tell me when we've landed," she pleaded.
Lind chuckled. Urd decided to ignore it and asked her instead, "So Lind, you've surely gotten reports about the changes from the temporal wave, right? Do you have any idea which goddess was attached to the shrine we're heading for?"
Lind shook her head. "No. I have no intel on it beyond the fact of its existence, and inactive status, but I have not had time to do more than skim the reports. Any goddess assigned to it must have been done so retroactively, but there are many minor goddesses without portfolio who are unassigned, so it could be any one of them. It's a small shrine so she's probably only a trainee. The legends are probably from Yggdrasil maintaining the illusion of her presence until her actual assignment." She shrugged. "Which makes it more puzzling that your assistant claims this errand will actually accomplish anything. Even if she can cast a blessing on the intended targets, its effect will be negligible given their respective statuses. Neither of them is human after all."
"Well, we will find out soon." She looked ahead towards the dojo, reflecting on how deserted the Tokyo streets were and how dark the city was because of the battle. It felt ominous when combined with the steadily growing clouds over head. It almost felt like the city was holding its breath. She put her hand to her chest and made sure the sliver of crystal was still tucked between her breasts. She hoped Phoenixmoon was right that whatever it was supposed to do would help turn the tide.
Then the dojo was under them, and she whistled. "Yeah, it has changed a bit."
Mara peeked out from behind her shoulder. "Well yeah, there used to be a couple of more houses on that hill."
Urd looked at the dark shrine, rising up on the small hill behind the dojo. Prior to the time wave, it had held a couple of non-descript houses accessed by the street that had cut across its base just behind the main house. Now the dojo's surrounding wall wrapped around the base of the small hill, and a curtain of cherry trees stood just inside them. The main entrance to the dojo had also moved about twenty feet, so that it was directly in front of the garden with the Koi pond, which was about twice the size, and now had a foot bridge across it from the front gate to the closed gate to the shrine. There was barely enough room for a small path between the pond and the wooden wall screening off the Yamada's yard. On the inside of the closed in shrine area, a set of stone steps climbed about 15 feet to a courtyard in front of the shrine, about 50 foot square, with a covered well in its center. Behind the courtyard was a small single story building that was as traditionally designed as the rest of the dojo. Two small fountains framed the stairs up to the covered porch surrounding the building and they could see the sliding doors which opened to allow access to the interior, which probably only had a single room. The hill cut off abruptly in a small cliff behind the shrine, with a drop of about forty feet to the back wall, and the street behind it.
"The altar looks to be inside the shrine," Lind noted. "We can land in the courtyard and be done with this quickly."
"Okay, Lind. We will hurry." Urd promised.
They landed quietly, and the Valkyries took up guard at each of the corners of the court and the stairs. Urd looked around. "It feels empty."
Lind nodded. "The goddess is probably not in residence yet. Yggdrasil wouldn't be maintaining the illusion of her presence while the shrine is inactive. She's going to have a backlog of prayers to sort through when she is finally sent."
Urd nodded. "Yeah. Two hundred years worth, though Yggy's already processed them. She's still going to have to bear responsibility for them and know what's been done in her name. Poor girl."
Lind escorted them to the shrine doors, and with a touch of her pike, the padlock clicked open. She tapped her pike's butt against the porch and a ball of light illuminated the door as she slid it open. She stepped inside the shrine ahead of them and the pike brightened enough to reveal the interior clearly, at which point she stopped and stared in shock.
Urd stepped around her and did the same. So did Mara.
"What…. The… Hell…"
The statue before them was flawless marble, so delicately sculpted that it almost looked alive. The goddess portrayed stood in a pose as if she had just finished a dance, the folds of stone perfectly displaying the silken cloth of her outfit, with tiny bells adorning her ankles, waist, and wrapped around the base of her tight top. Her hair was so finely detailed as to see individual hairs, with twin thick braids hanging over her shoulders and dangling below her bosom. Long elf-like ears poked out in front of them, adorned with complex chained cuffs with long narrow chimes…
…And her six arms, one set raised above her head, palms together, the second set extended to the sides, her thumbs and middle fingers touching, and her last pair encircling a open spot in front of her, one palm above the other, as if inviting a supplicant to lay their offering in her hand…
After several minutes, Lind finally managed to pull her stunned mind together enough to pull out her cell. She touched it and lifted it to her ear. "Yes. Um… I need a status update on the cage." She listened to the reply, and the phone dropped from her nerveless hand to clatter on the wooden floor. Urd blinked at her.
"Lind?" She waved a hand in front of the girl's blank eyed stare. "Lind!"
Lind swallowed, her eyes not moving. "He–he let her go," she said softly.
Urd looked at Mara, and back at the statue before turning to Lind again. "You mean that's actually her?"
Lind nodded as she finally closed her eyes and seemed to try and pull herself together. "Her physical manifestation, yes. She's been a statue for the last two thousand years. Only her spirit was imprisoned. I never knew where her physical shell was." She shook herself. "But the Vault has been opened. Her pocket dimension has been erased. She's only asleep. Waiting."
"Waiting for what?"
"I don't know. Kami-sami has never said."
"Well…" Mara let out her breath "I can see why putting a charm with her and Zhu-chan's name on it might get her blessing, yes?"
Urd looked at the statue and licked her dry lips. She steeled up her resolve and nodded. "Yes. Right. Let's do this!" She stepped toward the altar, pulling the crystal from between her breasts.
"What is that?" Lind started to step towards her. "Urd! Wait!"
Urd didn't listen. She put the card into Sarhia's hand and stepped back. It flared brightly and disappeared, and as the dazzle left her eyes, she saw that the statue's hands were now clasped together as if praying.
"What was that, Urd?!" Lind demanded.
Urd shrugged. "The talisman, what else. We told you we came to give her one."
"I thought you were going to leave a paper charm! That looked like a datacard!"
"It was. My virtual assistant sent it. All I had to do was give it to her."
"What was on it!"
"No clue. If you want to know, I think you'll need to ask Legend. It was his."
Lind's mouth opened and closed a few times and it was obvious that she wanted to rage at Urd but knew she really couldn't. She finally snapped her jaw shut and pointed forcefully back at the courtyard. "Then mount up! We're getting back to others."
Urd acquiesced, stepping next to Mara and grabbing her hand as she gave one last look back at the statue before Lind slid the door shut again.
"Goddess of Lesbianism, hummm?" She squeezed Mara's hand "Well, if you're listening, may you bless Mara and me too…" she whispered softly.
She stopped as the lanterns all around the courtyard suddenly ignited, and the fountains next to the stairs began trickling water. All of the Valkyries looked around as even Lind gasped. Urd had to smile.
Everyone could feel it. She might still be a statue and not yet awake, but the shrine's goddess was in residence. The very air throbbed with her power. The Valkyrie at one of the corners of the courtyard giggled. Urd looked over to see her leaning down to pluck a lily, and had to smile. All around the hill, the long untended grounds had become a garden of lilies. Even the lanterns along the walls had lit, and the entire enclosure around the shrine was softly illuminated. Then a noise behind her made her turn to see the that the shrine's doors had slid open, shattering the chain that had locked them closed, and even the rear doors had opened to outline Sarhia's statue against the night sky, the hanging lanterns on either side of her giving her a warm glow.
Then the gates behind her gave a creak and swung open, the lanterns along the bridge over the Koi pond igniting as the compound's front gate opened as well. As Urd was still blinking, Kasumi came running out of the house in alarm, only to stop and stare up the path. Then she shook herself and proceeded towards them at a much calmer, though still hurried pace.
Lind stepped up next to Urd. "Do you know that mortal?"
Urd nodded. "Yeah, Kasumi Tendo." Remembering Pheonixmoon's account of the shifts from the time wave, she added, "She's going to be the Shrine Maiden."
Kasumi was a trifle out of breath by the time she got to the top of the stairs but she bowed to them as she fluffed out her skirts. "My apologies but I wasn't expecting guests at such a time. It is a pleasure to see you again, Miss Urd, Miss Mara." She looked around at the shrine in amazement. "Did–did you do this?"
Urd shook her head. "No." she stepped aside to point at the statue. "She did. I have the feeling she just declared the shrine permanently open."
Kasumi's mouth dropped. "The Lily Goddess? But–but she's… Grandmother said she has been asleep for generations."
Urd nodded. "I think she's about to wake up. You might be acting as a Shrine Maiden a bit sooner than you thought."
"Urd, we really need to return to your home." Lind said tightly. "Any magic sensitives were sure to have felt the unveiling of power here. Someone might come investigate besides your friends." She pointed to where Soun had poked his head around the gate as was staring wide-eyed.
"Okay, okay." She stepped up to Stringfellow and lifted him to sitting position as Mara sighed and sat sidesaddle behind her. "Well, we're off, Kasumi! Don't worry. Sarhia's one of Zhu-chan's intendeds. I'm pretty sure she'll fully wake up when Zhu-Shu returns."
Kasumi's hand went to her mouth. "Oh, my! Sarhia? The Lily Goddess is Sarhia? Oh, Zhu-chan will be so happy!"
Urd had to laugh. "Somehow I have the feeling that she's going to be making a LOT of girls very happy." She rubbed her eyes. "Apparently, she's now the Goddess of Lesbians and all that, don't'cha know."
Kasumi's eyes grew wide as she blushed prettily. "Oh my! That's actually true?" She giggled "Mother always said that was just a rumor and she was only the goddess of the flower when I got teased in school."
Urd nodded. "Mortifying as it is, so it would seem. Anyway, take good care of my Aunt."
She lifted off as she heard Kasumi gasp and waved down at the stunned girl as Lind directed them towards home. With a last look at the shrine, she sighed and murmured "I wonder if she heard me ask for her blessing."
Mara giggled. "Oh course she did. You haven't noticed?"
"Noticed what?"
Mara held up her left hand to show a red string tied around her ring finger. Urd blinked and looked down at her own hand, where a matching red string was also tied. Mara leaned her head against her back and sighed happily. "I do believe she said yes…"
