After the late night conversation with Niae, the end to a long day, Diana couldn’t stand to return to their room downstairs. The twins and Chiru were safe, and they would sleep and eat in the mostly empty and hellish rooms that made her want to scream. So like a mad mother bird, Diana moved about the penthouse, cleaning it, making it her own. The dust and grime went flying out the open windows, what a blessing to have ones that opened and closed. The floor was polished black marble, shining from a simple swirl of water. Not satisfied to watch, Jonah helped her as best he could.

The penthouse had a strange construction, but nowhere near the oddity of the rooms below it. From the door there was a half wall on one side that stretched to include the stairs up to the roof. The entry door pointed east, and around the south, to the right of the door, was the large open kitchen that gained appliances quickly with the help of Warren and Rose. It was nearly professional, large enough to cook a full feast. On the western side of it, the back wall of the hotel, was a fine dining room with a view of the city and the lake. On the eastern side of the kitchen was a parlor with several cushioned chairs of red leather and a long matching couch. Past the stairs to the roof was a hallway that led to several bedrooms and a spacious bathroom. At the end of this hall was a master bedroom built for royalty with its own gigantic bathroom. The bed alone was a ten square foot beauty, wrapped and protected from the elements. On the walls were two separate vanities, walk-in closets, and discolored spaces where portraits used to hang.

Instead of grabbing new pieces of furniture, Warren brought up some of the smuggler's goods. He got Rose to convert their matter into repairs, and she rebuilt everything that had rotted. The Court Mage was red in the face over it, but kept going from his firm encouragement. When all the curtains were back in place, making the penthouse rather dark, she plopped down on the parlor couch, snoring.

When Jonah and Diana laid down for the night, the noise machine going, the Druid began to whisper about Rose. “I've known her all my life and we left on bad terms. Sorry for not introducing you to her."

"It's alright," he told her, holding her shoulders as she nestled against him.

"She was so much stronger before my sister. Her magic is so draining now that she hasn’t used it much. She has a much different toll than you or me. Her body converts fat into magical energy, giving her the ability to use far longer than most. Her body also creates fat quickly. I’ve never seen her so… plump.” The Druid yawned. “She has always eaten far worse than me… It’s rather disgusting to watch. I’m glad Warren can deal with her, I’d just shout at her, she makes me so mad, I shouted at her a lot before I left. I can tell she feels guilty still and that just vexes me. You’ve helped temper me…” She brought the quilt over them and closed her eyes. "Goodnight my dear."

"Goodnight, baby girl," he said, kissing her head.

She smiled at the silly pet name. Within a moment she was asleep.

The next day, Jonah woke late in the morning. He left Diana to rest, it wasn’t the best of nights for her. Warren was quietly making piles of pancakes in the black marble kitchen. Though he quietly scraped the wide griddle, he couldn’t do anything about the cinnamon and butter smell wafting through the air. He smiled at Jonah below the cabinets and twirled the spatula between his fingers.

It was the first time he had seen the Paladin without his armor and coat. The vague defeat he felt on first seeing his face only increased. He knew he shouldn’t compare himself to a soldier, a Captain who fought in hand to hand combat, but it happened anyway in his mind. Warren was a beast compared to him. His broad shoulders. His golden and red tie dye shirt, (apparently a popular style in the Magi kingdom) stretched across his chest and biceps. There weren’t any clear cuts, he was just bulky. So damn manly compared to how Jonah saw himself.

“Yer the first one up, I was starting to worry,” Warren said as Jonah rounded the counter. “Why don’t you wake her up? She’s a deep sleeper.” He pointed to Rose, who was sleeping on her face on the couch.

“I don’t have good luck with waking up Mages,” Jonah said, telling him about Diana. “I don’t blame her,” he added. “Water under the bridge. I don’t really know Rose that well. We weren’t really introduced.”

Warren flexed his square jaw, thinking for a moment as he gazed at the small woman. “To live in a world where you don’t know about the twin Court Mages,” he said. The pancakes on the griddle started to cook a little too long. When he flipped them over they were a bit crispy. “Well, shit…”

“I don’t mind crispy cakes,” Jonah said. “That’s what my grandma used to call them.”

“Well, ain’t nothing better than home cooking,” Warren said, letting the pancakes get equally black before handing them to Jonah. “You got a whole world you left behind, glad I can give you something that reminds ya of that.” He smiled. “Did you ever want to return?”

Jonah shook his head and stared at the pancakes. “I can’t, but I don’t really want to. I had nothing to live for in my old world. Not much, I mean. That sounded really bad. I guess I could have found something, eventually. Here is wonderful, even if there’s bad stuff. I didn’t have any powers there, I didn’t have Diana, there’s nothing and no one as valuable as her…”

Warren smirked, glancing past him.

Jonah turned, at the end of the hall stood the princess in her green blouse and long skirt, red curls loosely combed and makeup on. She must have woken up right after him. She smiled at him and the tiger rubbed against his leg. “Morning, pet,” she said softly.

Flushed, Jonah smiled back. “Good morning, babe. I thought you needed more sleep,” he said.

She embraced him and kissed his cheek on her tiptoes.

“Are you okay? That was a pretty bad nightmare,” he whispered.

“I’m fine, thank you,” she said, arms around his neck. “But I am dreadfully hungry.”

The fridge creaked open. “Well now that the princess is up, I can make some bacon!” Warren said loudly. He looked over at the couch with his exclamation, Rose didn’t stir.

Diana sighed. “I’ve got her, don’t worry,” she said, walking over to the Sorceress. “I’ve known her most of my life and she has passed out on many horizontal surfaces. We always had one way to rouse her.” Throwing the blanket off of Rose’s feet, she grabbed her by the ankle. Scraping her nails across her sole, she stepped back swiftly.

Rose shot up rapidly sending the blanket flying, she hovered with a choked laugh. On her face was an embarrassed expression and she wore the same clothes from yesterday.

“Breakfast is ready,” Diana said, folding her arms.

“I don’t like yah doin’ that,” Rose said, landing on the couch, yawning.

Diana shook her head. “Good morning Rose, how are you feeling?”

The Sorceress’s nose twitched about. “Don’t call mah ‘Rose’, I hate the ruddy sound of it,” she said. “Call mah Rosetta, it’s mah real fuckin’ name.”

“Fine then, Rosetta, I suppose you’re fine then?” Diana wondered.

“Aye, whatever,” she said, not meeting her eyes. She padded past Diana, took a plate, then a couple fists full of pancakes. She drowned them in warmed syrup. Back at the couch, she ate them sloppily. In her face was so much sorrow, and that hole was being stuffed with food. Jonah had filled it with flashing lights on a TV screen. He didn’t know the depths of her failure, not truly. To be responsible for a monster being freed, a young girl’s murder. Or at least that’s how she saw it.

Holding back her frustrations, Diana turned away. When she came up beside Jonah, she gripped his hand tightly and gestured to the Sorceress. “Jonah, Rosetta, Rosetta, Jonah,” she said quietly.

“I read his file,” she said with another yawn.

“It only had the good, I swear,” Diana told him.

“Yeah, okay. Nice to meet you,” he said, trying to wave at her.

Rosetta mumbled something, continuing to stuff her face.

Diana rested her forehead against his shoulder. “There’s not much left of her,” she whispered. Aiko watched the Sorceress, hanging its head.

Even though she could probably hear that, Rosetta said nothing.

“You want any eggs, Rosetta?” Warren called over to her.

“Sure…”

“What way?”

“It doesn’t matter… just give mah a lot of ‘em.”

Chiru was alone in a bed and a room made for a Grand elf. The extreme nature of her swamp sickness had her up whimpering all night. A Corpine clergy had to prop her up with pillows and keep by her bed. Swamp sickness had to be treated repeatedly, or the awful viruses in the water would send bile erupting from the stomach. Without the Druid’s elixir and their care, she would suffocate in her sleep. It was only her age and construction that kept her from dying. Two days of running around with little food and poisoned water, it was beyond a nightmare for Kalyah to imagine.

It was the Pixie elf’s watch, and she saw the Night elf Priest to a cot with a kiss. The normally nocturnal elf had black bags under his silver skinned eyelids. Before Kalyah left him, he told her about what Chiru had been whimpering in her sleep. A name, pleaded and whispered, again and again. The poor girl, Kalyah thought, looking over the Wanshi now.

Her long black hair was sweat drenched and matted from her long night of near restless sleep. Kalyah took out a brush and gently ran it through the girl’s shimmering locks. That glossy texture was a source of envy for many in the city of Academia. The home of the oldest school in all of the Magi kingdom had immigrants from everywhere. There was an entire district full of Wanshi and their colorful culture. The pointed tile roofs and vibrant red buildings stuck out against the old world homes of white stone and stained oak. Their writing, varied from each region, was commonly written in gold metallic paint or ink with paint brushes. Kalyah loved walking the streets of Academia, seeing the vastly different colors in people, buildings and clothing. She lived in the city for nearly forty years and never grew tired of it.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Chiru bore the markers of her homeland, something only a Priestess could tell. There wasn’t a single sign of dilution in her blood, like the many in Academia might have. Fresh immigrants were rare from the Wanshi. Had Chiru been plucked directly from the country?

“Koyomi, dai ski…” Chiru said with a smile on her face, eyes still closed.

Kalyah sighed, toweling off the girl’s forehead. “She must have been special to you, hm?” she whispered.

Chiru’s black eyes half opened, staring at her without recognition.

“Are you able to eat now, honey?” Kalyah wondered.

In reply, Chiru opened her mouth.

“Alright, sweetie, I’ll feed you,” the Pixie elf said with a grin. Gently she propped her up, securing her hair back. Mumbling, the young woman looked at her IV tubing as if for the first time, then tried to remove it. The medicine had a strong effect on her, a little too strong it seemed. Kalyah had been warned about this and guided her weak hand away. “Just lay back, I’ll put the broth on,” she told her, opening the can.

“Miso?” Chiru wondered.

“Sadly no, honey, only chicken broth,” she said. “Soon we’ll get to solids, I swear. We’ll get you some nice solids. How about some white rice?” she offered, switching on the hot plate. The pot was a little loud as it shifted around.

“Not just rice, okayu, rice porridge,” Chiru said. “I don’t feel well, I always get rice porridge when I feel sick.” She blinked, dazed as she looked around the room. “Where am I?”

“Safe, sweetie,” Kalyah said.

She pursed her full lips. Her mind was in a terrible haze, her equilibrium was spinning all about and Kalyah knew she was close to recalling what had happened to her. It was better to remember Koyomi than how she had ended up here. Did Kalyah risk bringing out the locket they had found in her personal effects?

“I’ll ask the culinary school if they can whip up some rice porridge,” Kalyah said, taking hold of Chiru’s hand. “They’re right across the way, I’m sure they can figure out something as simple as that.”

Chiru looked at Kalyah and her hand on hers, then drew her hand away. “Don’t,” she whispered.

“Sorry honey, I didn’t know,” Kalyah said, holding up her hands.

She murmured, “It hurts, static.” She then closed her eyes, laying back. Her breathing turned sonorous, she was asleep. Softly, Kalyah woke her and Chiru whimpered, eyes shut.

“You need to eat sweetie, I don’t want you on a feeding tube,” Kalyah said in her kindest voice. The broth was lightly steaming and ready.

Chiru jolted out of some half dream and opened her mouth. Each bite she accepted subdued, swallowing the salty brew like it was medicine itself. Kalyah and the others had a hundred questions for the Ash Makers, but now wasn’t the time. The Priestess didn’t envy them whenever that time came.

A gentle rapping came on the door a few hours later as Kalyah was reading. Diana came in with Jonah holding her hand. Outside the door was Warren, stationed as a sentinel. Kalyah couldn’t tell if the big man didn’t want to disturb them or whether he thought the Ash Makers were in genuine danger.

Diana stopped as she saw Chiru.

“She won’t wake so long as you don’t shout in her ear,” Kalyah told her with a smile. “She’s getting some nice blessed sleep in.”

The princess asked the obvious questions, holding onto her staff. She wore the Weaver green dress, her red curls contained by the wood tiara and its quartz focus. Jonah looked over Chiru, his green leviathan leather jacket freshly cleaned from the sewer mess. Compared to those that they rescued, the couple was much better off.

“She’s fine and she hasn’t said anything about the camp,” Kalyah informed them. “She drank a lot of the water, I think she was expecting her Wanshi constitution to survive it, but it was too much for her body to handle.”

Diana nodded, staring at her familiar, it had laid down by Chiru’s bed.

“Is she like a magical race here?” Jonah asked. His eyes were flashing with his indexing, but it only led to a frown.

Kalyah smiled at him. “In a way, yes honey, though her people aren’t Corpine made,” she explained.

“What? How? I thought Corpine made all races,” he said, shock playing out in his emerald eyes.

“Well, Corpine didn’t make you, but you’re here,” she said with a chuckle.

He rubbed at his temple. “Okay, well is the Wanshi an entire race of Travelers?” he asked.

“Not that we know of,” Kalyah said, shaking her head.

“It’s a theory, for them,” Diana added. “Their languages have no root in any of this world and no gods have anything to say about their gods.”

“The Wanshi are a bit special, but Corpine loves them all the same. What some of them do, such as the Immortal Emperors, she dislikes, obviously,” Kalyah continued.

Jonah nodded, his screen out for notes.

“Why don’t you two grab a chair, I don’t like looking up so much at you,” the Priestess said. Carefully moving two recliners across the floor, the couple took a seat. The tiger didn’t move any closer to its master, and that bothered Diana, though she tried to keep her eyes on Jonah and Kalyah only.

Kalyah put on a kettle. “The standard Wanshi is longer lived than most races. One I knew passed away at over two hundred and fifty, and he wasn’t a pure blood. I wish I knew more about them. Very few Wanshi ever came to our clinic or asked for our services. They prefer their own healers. From what I know, in their homeland they have something called cultivation. Apparently when it’s perfected a mortal can live forever, like the Emperors. The most shocking part of this cultivation is internal alchemy, which has one shocking process, the drinking of mercury. I can’t say much else, I wouldn’t say anything if I didn’t know it was true. I’ve seen it demonstrated, I nearly fainted when the man did it in front of me. It was a party trick to him, a joke.” She chuckled nervously, remembering the way the liquid metal coated his tongue.

The couple both shuddered at that thought.

“They are still people and Corpine loves them, no matter their make,” Kalyah stated. “Just as she loved you when you came and now that you are here, different than before, Jonah.”

The man’s eyes grew wide. “What, is there something else wrong with me?” he asked, patting his chest.

“There’s nothing wrong with you now,” Diana said, turning to Kalyah. “Is there?” She clutched his hand tightly. She could get such a vice grip on his metal limbs.

The Priestess held up her hands. “Jonah, do you want me to tell her what we discovered, or do you?” she asked.

Diana sat up straight, holding Jonah’s hand to her chest. “What happened?” She searched his face.

“You can…” Jonah mumbled.

Nodding, Kalyah took on the brunt of Diana’s panic. She had delivered a lot of tragic news, she could take this too. “The absorbing of the gun to Jonah’s arm caused him some numbness, so he had me check. His right arm now has the anchors melded to his muscle. They run all the way to his shoulder.”

“What?!” Diana gasped. “Why didn’t you tell me?” She took hold of his arm, pulling his jacket off at his shoulder. Her hands ran under his shirt, pressing her fingertips in. “Does it still hurt?” She was bending herself over the arm of her chair.

“I didn’t want to worry you. You were so upset with the Ash Makers leaving and we were both sick,” he said, his eyes watering. “I’m sorry…”

Diana stuck her staff into the stone floor, launching out of her chair she sat in his lap. “I would have listened,” she cooed, setting her head on his shoulder. “It would have given me something to worry about other than my own failures.”

“I’m fine now, the numbness faded, or it got better,” Jonah said, not looking at her. “I don’t need you worrying about me all the time.”

Kalyah noticed the problem there, as brief as it showed. In pause between them speaking she saw Jonah fighting for his independence. That he was being babied and hated it. Even if he wasn’t the most masculine of men, there was only so much that most could take.

Diana sat up, she must have seen it too given her shifting away from him. “I care about you, deeply, I would have liked to know,” she stressed. “That is all.”

Jonah grimaced the stoney look fading in embarrassment, wrapping his arm around Diana’s waist before she could rise. “I’m sorry,” he said, his voice catching.

Her head returned to his shoulder. “It’s gone, completely?” she asked, gently caressing the arm holding her.

"No, the rest of my arm to the shoulder feels the same as my mechanical parts," he said, gesturing to the area.

Her heart visibly broke for him. "My poor man, I'm sorry," she said, nuzzling up to him, pecking his face lovingly.

"It's okay, I'll get used to it," he said, blinking away the water in his eyes.

"Don’t be afraid to tell me anything,” she told him.

He nodded.

The kettle whistled and Kalyah flicked it quickly, setting out the cups. Diana tried to rise once more. "Stay there, honey, if you want," Kalyah said. "It makes Jonah's heart beat in such a lovely way."

The man flushed as Diana smiled at him.

"I know, I can feel it beat quite steadily," she said, settling her rump into his lap.

His brown skin practically glowed. "Stop it," he whispered.

She touched her nose to his, laughing.

Each of them got an herbal tea and cookies, or biscuits as Diana's country called them. They relaxed as Chiru tried to turn on her own. She failed halfway through and Kalyah helped her. The broth and nap gave her just enough to heal the nasty bruise along her thigh so she could lay comfortably in her new place.

When the Priestess returned to the couple, Diana was crestfallen into the cup. “Jonah, it’s time for me to tell you something important,” Diana said with a weary sigh.

“What is it?” he asked, looking over her body, as if trying to find some wound.

Aiko chuffed, rising from its place by the bed to Jonah’s knees. It set its head on the other side of his lap to the Druid, snorting from its pink nose.

“I have to return to the sewers and the swamp,” she confessed.

His brow furrowed. “Why? We saved them, the camp’s empty…”

Kalyah shook her head. “It’s best to get it out of the way, hm, honey?” she asked.

“Yes, you understand,” Diana said.

“What? Please, tell me,” Jonah stressed, his eyes darting from one to the other.

“Go on, you can do it, honey,” Kalyah said with the young woman’s brown eyes fell on her.

“I must make amends with the spirits there. I failed on my mission, an ancient snake was killed needlessly on my watch, and I harmed the Nymphs,” she explained.

“They were trying to harm us,” he said loudly.

She nodded. “I know, I know. But there are rules in nature, to my magic,” she said, her eyes watering as sniffed. “I must make amends or I risk losing my magic.” The tiger chuffed in agreement.

“How?” he asked, holding her tightly around the waist.

“I am to be marked for such an offense,” Diana said, trembling at the thought. “The stress of it… It must be why I had that nightmare.” She scowled. “It’s… It’s my first one. You saw the other Druids in Grayhill, the tattoos on their skin. I will receive one in punishment for my misdeeds…” She steeled herself, wiping away the tears.

“I don’t think you did anything wrong,” he said, starting to cry in her stead.

“I did though!” Diana declared. She sprung free from Jonah’s grip and out of the chair. As he tried to rise, the tiger’s head stopped him. “I couldn’t even stop a bloody blind snake from being killed…”

“We did all we could, it’s not your fault or Susan’s,” he said, trying to steel himself as well.

Kalyah moved forward on her rolling stool and touched Jonah’s leg. “Sweetie, the sources hate the Ash Makers. We don’t know why, but it’s the way of the world,” she said softly to him.

“It’s not right,” he said quietly. “They’re just people, kids.” He gestured to Chiru in the bed.

“I know, I know,” Kalyah went on.

Diana looked away from the Ash Maker on the bed, setting down the tea. She hadn't drank a drop of it or eaten a bite of her food. Fasting for several hours was required for many rituals. “I have to go, the Nymphs will be waking up soon.”

“Why don't you stay here with me and Warren while Diana heads out?” Kalyah offered.

“I’m going to take Rose with me, just in case,” Diana said. “I’ll see you tonight, my sweet.”

He was quiet for a long moment. The air was charged with his anger and her shame as the clock on the wall ticked away many long seconds. It was one of the few items on the blank walls and the only sound besides Chiru’s breathing. Diana stayed frozen in place, waiting for a farewell that might not come.

“Be careful,” Jonah said softly.

“I’m not in any danger so long as I go,” she said evenly. “Rose is only going to escort me should I be too tired to return.”

“Still, be safe,” he said, turning and forcing a smile.

“I will,” she said, leaning down to kiss his mouth.