Two days later, Moscow, Russia

Rin closed the door, leaned back against it, and sighed. She'd never maintained control of their body for such an extended period of time before. Her muscles felt heavy; her blood lethargic, but she didn't feel safe enough to retreat into her mental realm yet. Something still had her internal alarms ringing. She would not hide, and leave her sister in a dangerous situation.

Limbs shaking, she stumbled to the nearest bed, and flopped onto her back. Knowing her sister's need for security, Rin examined the dinky motel room.

Two double beds, a chair, dresser, open closet, mini-fridge, sink, and an old-fashioned tube television nestled among the garish orange wallpaper and puke green carpet. The bedspreads, reminiscent of a Navajo weave pattern, were bright tans and pinks.

Whoever decorated this room just won the Tackiness award. She thought as she filed away a mental picture to share with Erza later. Her sister would definitely laugh. She hoped. Rin rarely heard her sister laugh. Erza was too staid and responsible to have fun outside of the joy of battle.

Joy? What joy is there in war? Death, blood, misery...what joy? Rin didn't understand the mindset of warriors. She never had.

"Knock, knock!" The door shoved open, without any actual knocking taking place. Rin lurched upright; her hand flying to her face to make certain her sunglasses hadn't gone askew. They couldn't know she wasn't Erza. They'd never take her orders, and they wouldn't believe her if she told them Erza was in danger. No one ever believed children. Children were meant to be seen, not heard.

"I love my sisters, but sometimes, I just can't stand being around them. They're arguing, again. Correction: Jo's arguing herself in circles while Emmy just sits silently. So, Princess, you get a roommate this time: me!" Prue chimed, giving the door a shove as she bounced into the room.

The door quietly clicked shut on any protest Rin might give. Panic blanked her mind. She couldn't think of an excuse to get rid of the exuberant woman. What could she say?

Wait a minute... what did she call me?

"...I haven't been a princess in nearly four hundred years." Rin sniffed, adopting her sister's arrogant, queenly tone.

Prue settled on the second bed, and looked critically at Rin.

"No, Erza hasn't been a princess for nearly four hundred years." Prue leaned forward, a conspiratorial smile on her face, "Nice to meet you, Miss Little Sister."

Rin stilled, her heart hammering hard enough to make her ribs ache. She regarded the other woman gravely. After centuries of practice, nothing should have given her away. None of the Warriors had caught on to the switch, so why had a woman she'd barely known for three days?

"You can take the sunglasses off, if you like. They must be uncomfortable after several days of constant wear. Seriously, you haven't had a break from them since we left New Orleans! Also, what's your name? I don't want to keep calling you 'Little Sister,' though I suppose 'Princess' wouldn't be too bad." Prue continued, turning her attention to digging into the satchel at her waist.

"How did you know?" Rin asked, her voice cracking.

"Did you know, identical twins do not have the same fingerprints? It's the same with vibes. The transition from Erza's vibe to yours was extremely smooth. I almost didn't catch the change between them. However, Erza's vibe resonates in high tones; sharp, like the edge of a descending blade. Yours is lower; mellow and haunting, like a motherly lullaby. You still didn't tell me your name." Prue answered, taking the Qikan amulet out of the satchel, along with several pretty colored stones.

"...Rin. What are you doing?" She asked, sitting up on the bed. Prue set the stones aside, and pulled out a folded map.

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"My job. The Warriors only brought me along because I can track the amulet back to its cave. I'm using crystals I found in a local shop to figure out which area of Russia resonates with the crystal in the amulet." Prue stated, unfolding the map, and laying the stones in what looked like strategic places.

Rin jerked off her sunglasses and craned her neck to get a better look at the crystal-lined map. Judging from the placement, the stones rested where they'd originally been found.

"Is that why you insisted on visiting that strange shop earlier? The one where you couldn't breathe for the incense, and had those elephant statues all over the place?" She asked, as Prue started muttering, and stroking the amulet like a favorite pet.

"Yes. I have crystals from all over the world, thanks to my father toting us around with him. I've never been to Russia, however, and needed crystals native to this country in order to trace the crystal's source. Could you leave me alone for a bit, Rin? I need to concentrate on what I'm doing. The crystals are being difficult right now." Prue said, her brow furrowing as she frowned down at the map.

Oh, Gods. What am I supposed to do...alone...in a room with a person who knows exactly who I really am? This has only ever happened with Vladimir, and he always treats me like a little kid. Granted, I've only been an adult for a few days, but still...what does an adult woman do when she's being ignored? Ugh, adulting is so hard.

Rin gave up, flopped back onto the bed, and closed her eyes. She wondered why people chose to grow up. She knew why she'd done it; she wanted to protect her sister better, and get a look at the man who might be Erza's mate. Why did other people grow up, though? Stress, bills, work, fighting, wars, money; what was the point? Where was the joy?

"Prue, God damn it!" Jo's brusque voice preceded the banging of the bedroom door. Didn't the damn thing have a lock? Rin made a note to stick a chair under the handle before going to sleep.

"One of your damn rocks found its way into my pack again! I swear to God, if you don't find a way to make them stop, I'm going to start throwing the damned things out the window! I don't care if they can feel pain, or if they're sentient beings! I'm sick of this shit!" Jo bellowed.

Rin heard a slight whistle in the air, then the clatter of scattering stones. The puke-green carpet squeaked just before the door banged shut.

Rin carefully opened one eye to make sure Jo was really gone. Caution appeased, she rolled to face Prue, who perched on the edge of the bed, staring at the map in relief.

"Finally! I'd wondered why I wasn't getting a good reading... I was missing the right crystal! Let's see, this one is from the... Verkhoyansk Mountain Range to the east of Yakutsk. Isn't that a mouthful? But this is wonderful! We have our next step!" Prue clapped her hands, her eyes bright amber in delight.

Rin studied the map closely.

"Um, do you realize how ginormous the... that mountain range is? How the hell do you expect us to find a specific cave in that?" She wasn't even going to try pronouncing the range's name. She may have been descended from Russians, but she had enough European blood in her veins to make saying the name a daunting endeavor.

"Not to mention, that far north is going to be flippin' freezing no matter what time of year it is!" Rin continued. She wasn't fond of the cold... cold, dark, enclosed places bugged her.

"Bah, I'll be able to find it easily once we're there. I've done this a bunch of times. As for the cold, we'll just bundle up in really warm parkas before we leave Moscow. Layers are the secret to survival in the cold. The more layers, the warmer you are!" Prue dismissed Rin's objections as though they were no more important than a stray hair dangling in her face.

The woman pounced on Rin, knocking her back onto the bed, and dug slim fingers into her side. Rin giggled, unable to fend off the woman's tickling fingers.

"We're finally going to find it! Oh gosh, I can't wait!" Prue squealed, ceasing her merry attack, and sprawling on her back.

"Um... Yeah...can't wait." Rin gasped.

Something gnawed at the edge of her consciousness. Rin's bubbly mood turned grim. The...wrongness was still out there, lying in wait for Erza.

Rin stood, drug the lone chair out of the closet, and wedged it under the doorknob. Striding to the bed, she yanked her shirt over her head, and draped it over the nightstand.

"We'd better get some sleep. We have a long road ahead of us still." She said, shoving the still euphoric woman off the bed. Strangely, the hard thump of Prue's impact with the floor eased her sour mood--a little.

Rin clambered into bed, ignoring the bright woman's giggling comments as she readied for sleep.

Silently, Rin swore once more to protect Erza from whatever may come after them. She'd lost her entire family as a child; even her twin, to an extent. She wasn't about to lose Erza again, not now, not ever.