I have a message from another time... Dragon Mage Enterprises in association with Eyrie Productions, Unlimited presents UNDOCUMENTED FEATURES FUTURE IMPERFECT - SYMPHONY OF THE SWORD No. 2 - Intermezzo: A Crown of Roses Anne Cross with Benjamin D. Hutchins (c) 2001 Eyrie Productions, Unlimited The little girl in the red dress wiped the sweat from her brother's forehead again, and slid one hand under his shoulder. "Dios, wake up," she whispered. "Brother, please, wake up. You need to drink this... " The boy's eyelashes fluttered, and he whispered, "Anthy... " She helped him sit up, held a cup to his lips. He swallowed, then gave her that treasured smile, the one that was for her alone. The one that reminded her why she cared for him, that she was the only one in the world who didn't ask anything of him. Then he moaned, and she felt the ice in her stomach again. Everything she did for him, everything she tried to do for him, and he still did not get better. Each time he returned from rescuing someone from peril, he was a little weaker, each time he left on his white horse, he was a little paler, a little less shining. She heard the roar of the crowd outside her door, heard the cries of "Prince, Prince! Save us! Save us!" Her brother moaned, but he tried to sit up, tried to brace himself with one arm. "Anthy," he demanded. "Help me... " She took a deep breath. It's not true that I never ask anything of him, she thought. I ask him to rest, to save a little of himself... and he doesn't. He has to rest or he'll -die-... She put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him down. "I'll go talk to them," she whispered. "Don't get up." She went to the door. Anthy sat bolt upright in bed, clutching the covers in white-knuckled hands. "Dios," she whispered. "Brother... " She put her hands to her face, and then, refusing to cry, she slipped out of bed. The bathroom offered the closest source of a glass of water, and as she filled the cup, she stared at her face. I look so much like him, she thought miserably. Could I have done any differently? Could I have done as Utena did? Taken his place for a little while, maybe, so that he could rest? But I didn't think that was possible... and then he died -anyway-, even after I'd put him some place he could rest and recover, even after I'd become a witch for him... She looked down as the cup overflowed, and turned off the faucet. Sipping at the cup, she went back to her room, pulled the door closed. Then he gave me the power and told me to keep it for the next Prince to be, but giving me the power took away all the goodness in him. And I was so used to giving up everything for him that even when it wasn't really my brother asking me to do these things anymore, I still did them. She looked down at the silver rose signet she wore on her wedding finger. It was a little too big for her - it would have been better suited for her middle finger - but where it was, was the only appropriate place for her to wear it. That she had it at all was mute testimony to how hard Utena had fought to stay with her, even at the last, even when she'd betrayed her Prince out of foolish despair. Had she failed because Anthy's faith had failed? Was Anthy's isolation now her punishment for that failure? And could she ever set it right again? She wore the ring as a symbol of her hope that it could be so, and her refusal to accept that the two of them would never be reunited... and, more simply, just because it was Utena's. Oh Utena, where -are- you? What did I do to you? What did I let -him- do to you? She stared up at the moon for what felt like a long time, then set the cup on the nightstand and went back to bed. The next day was much like all the others she had had since she had left Ohtori Academy. She paid the Innkeeper for her night's lodging, picked up her bag, and began her walk to the next town. She had no fear that she would be set upon by thugs or brigands, or that rain would douse her while she walked. Princess Emeraude, her poor half-sister, spent her days praying for peace and beauty for Cephiro. And her sister's will was strong enough that, in general, Cephiro remained at peace. The cost to Emeraude was high, though; she could do nothing -but- pray for Cephiro, and for all that her power was beyond anything Anthy might ever have accomplished, the only time Anthy had ever coveted it was the night Dios died. Being the Pillar of Cephiro was a thankless, wearying job, and Anthy had had enough of thankless wearying jobs. Thankless wearying jobs like serving Akio, especially. She paced along the beaten dirt-track next to the cart road that connected the smaller farming towns between Sania's capital city and its Mountain shrine. The shrine had been as useless as all the others; each place she visited merely confirmed that she no longer carried her brother's sword in her heart, and that the bearer of the sword - the Prince - was beyond their ken. "If none of the other shrinekeepers has been able to find her," the keeper had mused, "perhaps you should ask Priest Zagato for help. His power far outstrips any of ours; perhaps he will have better luck." Anthy had refrained from mentioning that the first place she had gone was Priest Zagato's Tower, only to find herself barred from it by a spell curtain - yet she had watched someone else go in where she could not. The first two keepers she had mentioned that to had nearly panicked, and couldn't usher her out of their shrines fast enough. "And there's no sense in making everyone run from me," she sighed to herself. "I don't mean them any harm, even if Priest Zagato doesn't realize that." At midday, Anthy left the road and went a short way in to the forest that ran along side the cart track. There, she sat down on a carpet of pine needles, ate her lunch, and stretched out with her suitcased under her head as a pillow. She stared up at the sky. "Utena, where are you?" she whispered again for the thousandth time, and closed her eyes. "She has passed beyond the world," a voice said quietly, and Anthy turned from contemplating the locked Rose Gate. A child with a tired adult look in his eyes stood behind her, wearing elaborate robes and a headpiece of carved blue ivory, carrying a beaked staff. She could see right through him, to the far side of the dueling arena. "Master Clef!" she said, surprised, and dropped a hasty curtsey. The Master Mage had been old-young and incredibly powerful even when she was a child and Dios was still her brother and not a sword she carried in her heart. "Your brother is looking for you, Anthy," Clef said quietly. "You should go somewhere safe until the Rose Knight returns." Anthy looked down at the Rose Bride's gown and then looked back up at Clef, feeling the age in his face showing in her eyes. "I've been trying," she said quietly. "But... there's nowhere I can go where he can't reach me." There was a pause, and then she saw comprehension in his eyes. "Zagato has warded his tower against Akio?" "And me with him, I think," she agreed. Clef sighed. "I cannot help you get in. I sent my apprentice to guard Utena, and Akio repaid me by turning me to stone. I can reach you only in dreams, and even this is risky and difficult." "Is there -anywhere- I can go? Anything I can do? I don't want to fall back into his hands." She shuddered slightly at the thought. Clef thought for a minute, and then nodded. "If you can bring the pure elements to Zagato's tower, the Guardian Spell will allow you past. Akio cannot touch the elements, not while he is as corrupt as he is." "But how do I do that?" Anthy asked, feeling the beginnings of hope in her heart. If I can reach Priest Zagato, he may be able to tell me where Utena is! And even if he can't, Akio can't reach me there. She saw Clef begin to waver, and fear showed suddenly in his face. "Bring it in a shape you love," he said, and then like a puff of mist, he was gone. Anthy sat up, feeling stiff and tired and recognizing the faint warm sensation at the base of her skull as something familiar. After a moment, she realized (with some perplexity) that it was the same feeling she always got when she was about to preside over a Rose Duel. She turned to reach for her bag and the bottle of tea she carried in it, and stopped. Resting on the bag, next to where her head had been, was a rose, but of a color she'd -never- seen before, even in her long history of Rose Duels. Open to its fullest extent, at the peak of beauty before it began to fade, and impossibly colored a deep purple-green, there it was. She reached with shaking hands to pick it up, wondering how it had come to be there, what it meant. As her hand touched it, she smelled the rich, earthy -green- smell of the Forest of Secrets after a rain, the tang of pine needles, the gentle hint of the forest ferns, the musk of fallen leaves. She felt sunlight brush against her skin and hair, felt the wind caress her cheek gently, and then fade away. She stared down at the rose, and then carefully picked it up. "Bring it in a shape I love," she murmured. "Roses, for Utena. I see. This would be the rose for the Forest." She looked around at the forest she was resting in, seeing in it a hint of the Forest of Secrets - a place far too dangerous for her to go, given its proximity to her brother - and smiled wonderingly. "Thank you?" she said to no one in particular, and half-expecting an answer. Her only answer was a soft rustle of leaves as the wind brushed through the trees. Anthy tucked the rose into the breast pocket of her jacket and got out her tea. After a quick swallow, she capped the bottle and put it away. She knew where she was going, and it was a -long- way from here. The nearest Shrine where a Rune God slept was halfway across Cephiro; but of the three she knew of, the Rune God Celes was the closest to her, and if she wanted a rose for the Sea, she was going to have to ask him. From Sania's capital city, she caught a train to Urabe, the city on the seacoast nearest Celes' Shrine. As she traveled, she gazed out at the countryside, occasionally drawing the rose from her pocket to smell its subtle scent of the Forest and pondering how she was going to reach the Shrine itself, since it was under the sea. I've never heard of anyone actually going -into- the Shrines, she realized after some thought. And they're all going to be hard to reach; Celes is in the middle of the ocean, Windam is on an island floating in the sky, and Rayearth... Rayearth is in the middle of a volcano. This isn't going to be easy. Perhaps I should figure out how to get the roses from the Rune Gods first, and worry about how I'm going to get -to- the Rune Gods when I'm actually someplace near them. When she reached Urabe in the early evening several days later, she was still no nearer to answering either question. Tired and trying not to feel discouraged, she went in search of someplace to stay near the sea. Perhaps I'll have a dream, she thought, feeling facetious even as she hoped it would come true. An hour later, as full dark was fast approaching, she was feeling thoroughly discouraged. She had tried most of the inns and hotels in town, and they were -all- full; there was apparently a festival of some sort in town that weekend, and everything was booked. At last, feeling mildly desperate, she went to the shrine near the pier. If this doesn't work, she realized, I'll probably have to spend the night in the train station. I don't even know if the shrines offer lodgings anymore... She went up the steps of the shrine with heavy tread - her feet hurt and she was tired of walking - and then went around the side to the smaller door, since the main doors were shut. There she found a rope connected to a bell. A small bronze plaque stated, "Please ring for assistance." She pulled on the bell's rope. A distant chime and a slightly quavering voice calling, "Just a minute... " greeted her. After a few minutes, there was a slip-slop-slip-slop sound against stone, the door creaked open, and an elderly looking man, bald as an egg and robed in a rather battered brown cloak, answered the door. Blinking myopically at Anthy, he looked up at her and said, "Ehm, yes, can I help you?" Anthy tried her shy smile, and began, "I...my name is Anthy Himemiya, honored sir, and I'm trying to get to the Shrine of Celes, but it's late and all the hotels in town are closed... I was wondering if there was any chance I could sleep here tonight?" After a moment, the man's somewhat wrinkled face split with a smile. "D'you know," he said, "that you're the first young person I've ever met who remembers the old tradition of sleeping in the shrines? Come in, come in, my dear, and let's see if I can find you something to eat." Relief made her feel weak for a second. She had definitely -not- been looking forward to sleeping in the train station. She followed the old man into the shrine; he collected a lit candle from the niche next to the door and led her down the clean stone hallways until they reached a pair of closed double doors. "Go on in," he said cheerfully. "You can pull the cushions off the back row of seats, if you prefer sleeping on the floor - you look like a Shalharan, and I seem to recall they sleep on the ground? - or you can just sleep on one of the benches. I'll be back in a jiffy with something for you to eat." And with that he shuffled off down the hallway. Anthy stared after him for a moment in amazement. He -is- wearing bunny slippers, she thought. Shaking her head, she turned and opened one of the doors to the shrine. It was a big, spacious room with windows cut high in the walls along both of the long sides. At one end, there were three steps that led up to a stone basin with some sort of carvings and two largish altars. At the very back of the room, she realized, were the two large doors that led out and that she had bypassed when she had seen them closed. It was very dim, with only a little light leaking in through the high windows. She went up the aisle to the front of the room as her eyes adjusted to the gloom. After a bit of fumbling inspection with her hands, she determined that the benches were just wide enough for someone to sit on, but not really wide enough to sleep comfortably on. The monk's candle light returned just as she had finished arranging two of the long cushions into a temporary mattress. "Now, where've you got to?" she heard him wonder, and stood up. "I'm up here." "Ah, good. Now then, you look to've come a long way, so I thought you might be hungry. We've no services tomorrow before noon, so you can sleep yourself out in here - I'll tell the other monks to let you alone." "Thank you sir," Anthy said, heartfelt. "I -do- appreciate this." "Bah, no difficulty," he said cheerfully. "It's been a while since I've seen a bright young thing like yourself come to our door." He put the plate with several slices of bread, some cheese, and a sliced apple down on the cleared bench. "Now eat these tonight, we do occasionally have trouble with mice." Anthy smiled and thought fondly of Chu Chu, safely left with his own people until she and Utena were reunited. "I don't think mice will trouble me much, sir. Um... if it's not presumption, what should I call you?" He blinked, and then laughed. "Oh dear, I am getting old. I am Brother Kazusho of the shrine at Urabe." He blinked again. "Never mind, you know where you are of course. What was your name again?" Anthy didn't laugh; she had a great deal of practice not laughing. "Anthy Himemiya," she said quietly. He patted her cheek gently. "I'll leave you the candle, Anthy Himemiya," he said softly. "And I hope you find what you are looking for tonight." With that startling parting, Brother Kazusho turned and left the shrine, leaving Anthy staring after him in amazement. How did he know... ? she wondered. She ate the dinner he had provided, filled her tea bottle with clear water from the font, cleaned her teeth, and curled up on the cushions with her coat spread over her as a blanket and her bag under her head as a pillow. She woke the next morning, feeling fuzzy-headed and only dimly remembering a dream of swimming a long way, dressed in the red silk gown she had worn as Dios's sister and as the Witch that the Million Swords hated. She rubbed her eyes, and blinked. The shrine was much more impressive in daylight than at night by light of a single candle. The pillars that held up the roof were all carved in sea patterns, there were fish in bas-relief all around the rim of the basin she had filled her bottle in the night before, and the cushions were a particularly brilliant blue. Feeling grubby and rather in need of a bath, she piled the cushions back onto their proper seats, put on her coat, picked up her shoes and her bag, and went in search of Brother Kazusho. The minute she came out of the shrine by the side door, a novice in a pale blue robe - who had apparently been sitting next to the door - bolted upright, gave her an odd, frantic smile, and blurted, "BrotherKazushosaysgoodmorningAndwouldyoulikesomebreakfast!" Anthy blinked at this barrage, smiled at the boy, and said, "Good morning, and I don't mean to impose on your hospitality, but breakfast would be lovely." "OKc'monorbreakfastwillbegoneandwewon'thaveeaten... " And the boy took off at what could be kindly described as a jog. Anthy did her best to keep up, though with the suitcase it was a bit difficult. She was led down the stairs and into a largish room where there were ten monks and thirteen novices seated around a large round table. Brother Kazusho, who looked much more stately in the deep blue and silver-green robes of the order than he had the night before in his big brown bathrobe, rose to his feet and gestured to the empty seat next to him. "Good morning, Miss Himemiya," he said, sounding cheerful and also less befuddled. "We're pleased you could join us for breakfast." And then he sat down and resumed eating. Anthy, very much conscious of the fact that -all- of the other eyes in the room were focused on her, crept around the table to the place indicated, thinking, If this is what they put all their guests through, no wonder they don't have many anymore! Once she was seated, however, most of the novices went back to the important task of getting enough food into their rapidly growing bodies, and the monks resumed their chatting. It seemed that much of the festival was to take place that afternoon, and it had to do with the sea, so many of the monks were involved. By the time they had all finished breakfast, she had determined that the festival was to honor the Sea from which Urabe derived most of its livelihood, and that it was several thousand years old. It began with a parade through the streets in late morning, which the monks were expected to lead, led to the docks where most of the town would have picnics on the decks of every ship and boat in at port, and culminated in an evening rite of throwing gifts into the sea and making a wish. Anthy let this sink in, and when the novices had cleared the plates away, she looked over at Brother Kazusho, who was watching her with a quiet, rather enigmatic smile on his face. "Did you find the answer to your question last night?" he asked her. She considered the rose in her pocket for a moment, and then shook her head. "Not... not all of it." His eyes were interested, but he didn't say anything. "I had a dream of going swimming," she said, finally. "But I don't remember it very clearly." He got up slowly, and she could see in the light from the window that his lined face was even older than she had thought. As he began to walk away, toward the stairs up, he said, "Perhaps you should go swimming today, then. It is an auspicious day for it... and no one reaches Celes's shrine without passing through the Sea in some fashion or another." Two hours later, Anthy walked a ways down the beach with a white rose in one hand and her suitcase in the other. After about half an hour of walking, she felt comfortably far enough away from the festivities going on on the boats behind her to sit down on a rock. She stared out at the ocean; below the surface of the sea was the Shrine of Celes, the Rune God of the Sea, and the place she felt she had to go to get the pure element of water. After a few minutes spent in contemplation, Anthy opened her bag and took out the red silk tunic she had worn as a witch, and the golden bracelet and anklet that went with it. Quickly, she dropped her dress around her ankles and pulled the tunic and skirt over her head. She clasped the bracelet around her wrist and the anklet around her ankle, and feeling more nervous than she had in a long time, tucked the white rose inside her tunic against the skin over her heart. She dropped her dress in her bag, stuffed it under the rock, and then with a running start turned and dove into the water. The shock of the ocean's coolness was stunning for an instant, and then she was swimming with long, graceful strokes beneath the water. The sunlight flashed through the waves above in long bars, and after surfacing once to take a deep breath, Anthy began to follow one of them down into the depths. The golden light plunged straight down, almost like a staircase. Her lungs began to ache for air as she followed it, but as she started to turn to go up for another try, she swam into the light... and found she was no longer desperate for air. How odd... she thought, but rather than waste her effort, she turned and swam on, inside the beam of light. Little motes of gold sparkled in the water as suspended particles caught the light around her and the sea flowed over her arms and drew her hair back in a long violet streamer behind her. And then, just as her arms were beginning to feel the burn of her long swim, in a shower of bubbles that came from somewhere beneath her, she saw the Shrine. Her sunbeams - and the others showering down from above the sea - seemed to bend and converge on a platform at the edge of the underwater castle, built of blue turquoise and lapis lazuli, inset with white coral and with two enourmous doors. Above the giant arch of the doorway, a dragon's head was inset in the stone, cradling the mark of magic, the six-pointed star, between its horns. Anthy trod water in front of the doors for a moment, staring up at their vast size and thinking, I have no way to open these if they don't open by some means I don't understand. She reached out with one hand to touch them. With a shuddering wave that nearly blew her out of the sunbeam, the doors swung open to reveal a shimmering, pearlescent curtain of silvery blue light. Anthy didn't hesitate in swimming forward through it the instant the doors were wide enough to easily admit her. As she crossed through the curtain, she heard a quiet sound, like a deep, muted tone, and then she came gently to rest barefoot on the cool, dry stone floor of the temple. The air was similarly cool and dry, but redolent with the scent of the sea. There was light here, but it was pale and silvery, like moonlight. The entire place was awash in silvers and blues with the occasional sea green accent. Tall pillars marched down a long hallway, and at the end there was a painting - a full-scale painting - of the Rune God Celes in all his draconic glory, rising from the Sea. Anthy stared down the hall, and then looked around. There -must- be actual water in here someplace, she thought desperately before spotting the fountain. With sharp nails, she tore the stem off the white rose. Then she cupped her hands around the bloom and held them under the spray of the fountain, filling them slowly with water until the rose floated in the small pool held between her hands. Then, carefully, praying that she could hold the water long enough, she paced down the huge colonnaded hallway, and knelt in front of the picture. Lowering her head, she stared at the rose for a long minute. Inspiration finally struck, and in the language her mother had sung her to sleep with when she was still very young, she whispered, >Celes, Rune God of the Sea, hear me. My Prince and I have been torn apart. I grieve for her absence and I seek to find her again. The one who might be able to help me reach her again thinks I am his enemy. Judge my heart, Celes, and see that it is true, and grant me a rose of the waters to reach my love again.< The silence seemed to stretch for eternity, and then she felt more than heard the great rumbling sound of something large and terrifyingly powerful moving. She didn't dare lift her head, but she felt the breath of sea spray all around her. The mist swirled around her, and under her astonished gaze the white rose in her hands shimmered and darkened, becoming a sea-green that faded to blue and then to grey and back to sea-green again. It smelled of the brine of the sea and shivered like the shock of a wave in her hands. When the mist cleared, the water was gone from her hands, but the rose lay across her palms, clearly now more than the simple white bloom it had been when she offered. Anthy looked up at the great blue dragon, painting once more, and whispered, "Thank you, Celes." She backed two steps before her awe of the power that had brushed past her made her turn and flee out into the sunlight and up to the sky again. Several cups of tea and a couple of sandwiches later, Anthy stared at the two impossible roses on the cafe table in front of her and tried to contemplate her next move. Her mind kept going back to the power she had felt seething around her. Is that what it felt like for Dios to be the Prince? she wondered. Did the Sword he gave me hold that much power? How did I get -used- to that? Could anyone get accustomed to that sort of power? The painful thought intruded into her awe: Akio would like to. I can't stay here, she thought wearily. I have to keep moving. If I stay here, he'll find me. I'm sure he could put these roses to a very bad use indeed... Panic nearly made her gasp, but she controlled herself, sweeping the roses up and tucking them into the inner pocket of her jacket. If Akio gets the roses, -he'll- be able to get into Priest Zagato's Tower. I -can't- let him find me. She hastily paid for her dinner, and hurried to find out when the next train to Shalhara and the next Rune God's Shrine was. She was so intent on catching the train that she didn't notice she'd acquired a blonde shadow. Just after dawn the following morning, the train pulled into Shalhara's capital city of the same name with a great rush of steam and a hiss of the great wheels. Anthy disembarked from the train and into the cool morning light of the Shalhara Desert. I have about three hours before it becomes too hot to be outside, she thought. I ought to find someplace to stay until evening, when I can go out to the desert and try to find a way into the sky. At least this time I have some idea of what I'm going to do with the rose before I go. It helps that I've done this already... but getting there's going to be much harder. She wandered through town, watching all the people hurry through their morning. Now that she was here, she saw what Brother Kazusho had meant by his puzzling comment - many of the people here looked very like her and her brother in skin tone. All of them had black hair and dark eyes, though, instead of their bright green eyes, and none of them had the little mark on their foreheads. That was to be expected; on Anthy and her brother, it was a vestige of the more elaborate marks that their mother's face had borne. At one of the stalls, she purchased a light robe and cowl to keep herself from baking under the fierce sunlight, and then she went in search of an Inn. After some conversation with some of the various residents of the town, she settled on going to one of the lounging establishements where people often ate during the hottest part of the day, and settled down to rest until the afternoon to chat with the other patrons and find out if there was any way to reach the Shrine. As late afternoon drew to a close and the desert began to cool for the night, Anthy had learned a great deal more about the floating Islands above Shalhara, and how to reach any one of them -but- the Rune God's. "Oh, the Islands? Sure, there are zepplins that leave the Spire in the center of the city every day, at dawn, for the farmers up there." "You want to go to which one? Oh, no, Miss. Pretty you might be, but you aren't getting me anywhere near -his- Shrine. Not fond of interlopers, we all leave him a respectful distance. You want to risk your neck, that's fine, but I'm not risking mine and my crew's." Weary of talking and discouraged, Anthy walked out into the desert to watch the sunset and look up at the island that was so close... and still so far away. The longer I stay, she thought tiredly, the more likely it is Akio will find me. Or somebody he -sends- will find me. I can probably find a captain who will take enough money to get me there, but it will take persuasion, and persuasion takes time. Time I don't have. A frustrated sob and the sound of someone crying broke her train of thought, and she turned, slightly wary, toward the source of the sound. As she rounded the side of the dune, she found a small mob of animals, some cute and most -decidedly- not, huddling around a small boy who was clinging to the back of one of the giant desert scorpions and crying. Anthy's heart nearly stopped as she saw that giant tail curl down, but then she saw it -caress- the boy's back, and she blinked. Is it trying to -comfort- him? she wondered, surprised. When the wolf, showing no signs of fear of the scorpion, licked the boy's tearstained cheek, about all that could be seen of his face under the terrifically thick mop of bangs he was sporting, Anthy decided that it was. It didn't seem to be helping the boy stop crying any, though. Careful not to dislodge too much sand from the dune, Anthy carefully walked down the side into the small valley, and realized that -all- the animals were contained inside a giant six-pointed star in the sand. When she reached the edge, she didn't attempt to cross the line. She merely called softly, "Excuse me, but are you all right?" The boy looked up, his brown bangs still completely obscuring his eyes, and he suddenly jumped to his feet and ran to the edge of the circle, spreading his arms and looking for all the world like he was trying to hide the animals. "It's all right, please don't scream, they won't hurt you or anything!" he burst out. Anthy couldn't help it; she laughed softly. "Of -course- they won't hurt me," she said, after she stopped laughing. "But you were crying... " She got the definite impression of a stunned blink from him, though she couldn't see his eyes at all. "You... you're not afraid of them?" She smiled at him, and squatted down on her heels so that she wouldn't tower over him. "Of course not. I kept snails in my pencil box and a mongoose in my desk, and I had a friend named Chu Chu, who's not a mouse, even though he looked like one. But I had to leave them behind... " she trailed off, thinking sadly of her animals. With complete disregard for his magic circle, the boy burst out of it and hugged her fiercely. "Please, oh please, won't you be my mother?" he demanded, his arms around her neck. For the first time in her long journey, Anthy found herself completely non-plussed. "Uh... what?" she asked him. "Will you be my mother?" he repeated plaintively, stepping back from her. "Everybody's afraid of me because they're all afraid of my friends and I'm lonely and hungry and... " And he burst into tears again. Anthy held him in her arms as the animals came slowly out of the circle to sit around the pair of them, watching curiously. Anthy stroked the boy's hair, and finally got one arm free from his frantic hug to find a handkerchief and wipe away his tears. When he had cried himself out, she helped him sit down next to her. "What's your name?" she asked. "Ascot," he answered, sounding kind of stuffed up, and blew his nose on the hanky. "Feel better now?" "Mmm-hmm," he mumbled. "But... what am I going to do?" "Don't you have a real mother?" Anthy asked, a bit concerned. Now that he wasn't in the middle of a seething pile of animals, it was fairly plain that the boy's clothes were tattered and not in good condition. "Not anymore," he sniffled. "Everybody was so scared of my friends they tried to throw me down the cliff. So when I hid they threw Mama down the cliff instead. That's when I left." Anthy was stunned. That shouldn't have happened, this is Cephiro where the Pillar prays for peace... has something happened to Emeraude? Then again, she thought, growing more puzzled as she considered it, Emeraude's prayers didn't help -me- much... why didn't I ever think of this before? She sat pondering this for a few moments, then shook her head. She could worry about that later. In the meantime, she thought, something has to be done for this boy, if he's lost his mother. Normally I'd tell him to find the Master Mage, but Master Clef probably can't help him right now, given the mess with Akio... Priest Zagato might be able to, though. "Well... I can't be your mother," Anthy said slowly. "Because my brother, who is chasing me, is a very evil man and would try to use you and your friends if he found you. But there is a man whose duty it is to see to people like you, who the Pillar couldn't protect. His name is Zagato, High Priest of Cephiro." Ascot repeated the Priest's name several times until he had it right. "How do I find him?" he asked. "He lives in a Tower in Tenchuu, the tallest Tower in the city. It's a long way from here, but I can give you money to get there - " "Oh, that's all right," Ascot said cheerfully. "One of my friends can carry me there, if you can tell me what to look for." When Anthy looked at him in puzzlement, he grinned. >Summon monster!< he yelled, holding his left hand up. She saw a six pointed star sketch itself in the air, whirl and grow rapidly larger, and then with a trumpeting roar, a griffin manifested in the space marked out by the star. Ascot grinned at Anthy's startled expression. "I've got -lots- of friends." He's willing to carry Ascot. He's big enough to carry me. Would he be willing...? "Ascot," Anthy said slowly. "Would you and your friends be willing to help me with -my- quest for a little while?" Ten minutes later, with a roar and a proud snap of wings, Toraneko (the griffin Ascot had summoned) launched himself skyward with Anthy in her red witch's robe on his back. Ascot hadn't seemed at all surprised when she changed her dress for the tunic, hadn't in fact said anything but, "I hope you get what you're after!" Toraneko was a big griffin, so he had no trouble carrying her light weight skyward, and as they circled higher, Anthy saw she was going to reach the Shrine just as the sun was going down. The sky was turning brilliant red and gold all the way to the west, rising up into a deep blue sky where the stars were starting to appear. Her hair whipped behind her in the wind and she laughed for the sheer delight of being airborne with something as graceful as a griffin, a creature that rarely consented to be ridden and had fully as much intelligence as any human, merely lacked the language. Even Anthy, animal lover that she was, had never seen one before - only read about them in books. The end of the flight came as a pang of regret. Toraneko backwinged to the edge of the floating island, as far as he could get from the Shrine, and furled his wings so that Anthy could dismount. As Anthy slipped from the griffin's back, she hugged him around the neck. "That was -marvelous-, Toraneko," she whispered. "Will you stay and carry me down again? I... " she felt the nervousness that she had lost in the exhilleration of the flight, "... I won't be long." The griffin gave a soft rumbling purr, and then settled down on his haunches and then on his forelegs, assuming the classic griffon couchant pose. Then he gave her a gentle nudge with his beak. Hugging him one last time before she went back into the presence of something awesome, Anthy turned. Silohuetted by the brilliant red and gold sunset over the desert, the floating island wasn't very large, and it was thoroughly dominated by the Shrine to the Rune God of Air. Made of pure white stone, it shone in the light of the afternoon sun, the pale green crystal accents of its towers and crenelations sparkling like diamonds. A -huge- door was set in the front, equally as large as the one that led into the Water Shrine, but far more imposing for the fact that she wasn't floating in the water halfway up from the base. Set into the stone at the apex of the arch, she could see the outstretched wings of the phoenix cradling the six-pointed star that signified magic. She took another deep breath and, carefully pulling the white rose out from inside her tunic, she walked as lightly as she could toward the doors of the Shrine. At the doors she paused, and then lightly laid one hand flat against each one. With a sound like windchimes, they gently swung inward, opening into a vast, glimmering expanse. Columns of white marble marched toward a huge wall mural, depicting a dim shape she could only just make out from where she stood. The wind blew at her back, ruffling her tunic and tugging at her hair, blowing it over her shoulders like two long purple veils, and inviting her in. Yet as she walked forward, she got the distinct impression that she would do well to leave no mark of her passing here. The being that resided here was not welcoming of careless visitors, and she could feel its regard even before she saw that the mural was of a phoenix, rising from the winds of the world to fly above. The instant she could clearly see Windam's shape on the wall, she knelt, touching one knee to the stone floor and bowing her head. She had no desire to intrude any more than she had to, and while the rational part of her knew that she would be no safer here than she would closer to the Rune God, she still wanted to keep her distance. In her hands, she shredded the rose, drew the petals to her lips and kissed them, then clenched her hand over them and against her heart. With a silent prayer that she would get the words right and please the being that watched her in stony silence, she began, >Windam, Rune God of the Sky, hear me. My Prince and I have been torn apart, just as this rose was torn. I am seeking through the world to find her again, but the one who might be able to help me believes I am his enemy. Judge my heart, Windam, and see that it is true.< She blew across the rose petals, scattering them into the breezes that circulated constantly around her. >I pray you, grant me a rose of the air, that I may find my love again,< she whispered as the petals scattered around her. For an instant, the winds howled around her, tearing at her hair and her tunic, and she feared she was about to be struck down for some offense that she would never understand. Then the churning tornado softened, and wind brought the smell of dawn, carried the scent of the sun on its back, swirled around her. For an instant, everything stilled, and a crystal clear rose, with just a blush of green-gold at the tips and edges of its petals and in its stem, settled into her hands. >Thank you, mighty Rune God,< she whispered, backing, not daring to raise her eyes. When she was finally at the door, she turned, and stared out at the sky, her gaze homage of another sort. "May the winds bring us together again, Utena," she whispered. Toraneko raised his head and gave her an approving trumpet, and she hugged him. "Thank you for waiting," she whispered into his fur, and then gently she swung her leg over his neck, wrapped her hands in his fur, and held on as he spiraled down to the ground, where she had left her bag and her normal clothes... and Ascot to guard them. She made her way back into Shalhara late that evening, and quickly found an Inn to stay at. Ascot was safe with his friends in the desert, and was bound for Tenchuu as soon as the sun rose the next morning. She slept deeply that night, dreaming of the wild flight on Toraneko's back, and woke. After a non-leisurely breakfast, she headed for the train station to see when the next train to Hidama was. On the way there, a flash of familiar platinum-blonde caught her eye and she stopped, puzzled. Was that Nanami? Wait - Anthy turned slowly and the blond girl slipped into a store across the street. She was quick, but not quick enough that Anthy wasn't able to catch the girl's trademark blonde braid and the flash of sunlight off her face. Anthy froze for a moment, then turned and continued walking toward the train station as her mind worked feverishly. Nanami never fought to make me the bride, or to gain power for herself. She fought to make Utena -lose-. She was one of the student councilors who truly didn't care at all about me. And that she's here, in the middle of the school year, probably means Akio sent her out looking for me. That means I can't go straight to Rayearth's shrine; she'll see where I'm headed and tell Akio. She scanned the train schedules, occasionally glancing surreptitiously behind her, and finally settled on heading for Gathan. It was also in the mountains, and while it was the end of the line, she could probably catch a ride with someone, or if necessary, hire a cart or a horse to go directly from Gathan to Hidama. Another moment's thought settled her. The Master Smith of Cephiro's forge was there, and the Forest of Silence ran all along the base of the mountains. Magic worked poorly in the Forest, and Akio wouldn't be able to reach her there. For the next hour, Anthy fretted as she nibbled on the sandwich she had bought to eat on the train. She has to come and see. She has to see what train I get on - it's important that she think I'm going to visit the Master Smith. She's got to tell Akio that's where I'm going so he'll think I've gone to take sanctuary in the Forest of Silence. Anything so that he doesn't know I'm heading for Rayearth's Shrine. But Nanami didn't come, and didn't come, and Anthy began to wonder if she'd mistaken someone else for the jealous blonde. She contemplated changing her ticket for one to Hidama, but in the end, she decided to follow through. If it -was- Nanami, she may come and talk to the man at the ticket booth. And then she'll be on the wrong track. Just as she boarded the train to Gathan, she saw a flash of blond hair out of the corner of her eye. Nanami - and it was Nanami - had just hurried up to the ticket booth and was asking something, in a rather animated and almost audible fashion. The train pulled away just as Nanami turned to stare at it. And through the window, she locked eyes with Anthy, and Anthy saw in her bright blue eyes a look of intense frustration. /-- Do you wonder Do you know... Do you wonder what I know? What is it that you know? "Once upon a time, there was a beautiful witch, who lived all caged up like a bird, with only roses for company." "For a long time, she lived alone, this beautiful witch, dreaming that her prince would come." "But then one day, her roses grew outside her cage, where she couldn't take care of them anymore." "Roses, come back! she cried, but it did no good." "They're just roses after all." "And roses can't walk." "So she decided she had to go on a quest, to bring back the roses." "One rose she found in her pocket." "One rose was down in the sea." "One rose was up in the sky." "Where could the other ones be?" "Maybe if she finds all her lost roses, her Prince will finally come back to her?" I wonder, I wonder, do you know what I wonder? --/ I hadn't realized Gathan was so close to the Mountains of Burne, Anthy thought as she got off the train and the cold wind caught at her dress and plastered it against her knees. She hurriedly pulled her coat on, and looked around. The wind seemed to be keeping most everyone off the streets, so Anthy headed for the ticket window to ask directions to the Master's Forge. On her way, she had realized that whoever the current Master Smith was might have some suggestions on how to approach Rayearth, considering that Smiths were well acquainted with fire and the uses it could be put to. Ten minutes later, she found herself outside of town and heading down a cart-wide track that led into the Forest of Silence. The instant she reached the Forest, the wind stopped. The only noise came from the crunch of the pebbles of the road under Anthy's shoes, and she felt the hair rise on the back of her neck as -something- inside her was... suppressed. This place is strange, she thought as she walked along, occasionally finding herself glancing over her shoulder at noises she realized she was only imagining to fill the quiet. No wonder many people don't come here. I wonder why the Master Smith's Forge is always here? I'd think it must drive some people crazy, being so quiet. Or perhaps its the Smith's constant banging that means they'll always be here. It's enough to dampen the noise. She walked on for several hours, pausing now and again to uncap her tea bottle and take a sip from it, carefully rationing it. The forest grew hilly, and she realized she was heading up into the foothills of the Mountains. But it -was- in the right direction towards Hidama, even if it was going to take her a while at a walk to get there. Finally, just as dusk was closing in, she rounded a bend in the road and found herself facing a white house with a big barnlike structure attached in back, and a pool set off to one side that was gently steaming. Anthy could see someone soaking in the pool, so she paused a polite distance away and called, "Hello, please, may I come closer and speak to the Master Smith?" There was a surprised splash, and then a female voice called back, "Provided you promise not to mess up my study, you've found her. Just a minute and let me get something on..." Anthy drew back into the trees, and then the voice called, "All right, you can come out now." Standing in the courtyard in front of the house was a tall, slender woman with a long blonde ponytail, soft red leather tunic, and gemmed demi-armor and coronet that marked her as being of the class of people who could use magic. She looked Anthy up and down with amber eyes, and raised an eyebrow. "You're certainly not my usual sort of customer," she observed. Anthy set her bag down and bowed; the Master Smith of Cephiro was a person to be treated with respect, as much as the Master Mage, but this woman was not the Master Smith Anthy had met when she was younger. "My name is Anthy Himemiya," she said straightening. "I have come to you for advice, not weaponry." The woman blinked, and then said, "Oh... ah, well, that's not usually my specialty, but why don't you come in and tell me what you're after. I'm Presea, the Master Smith... but you seem to know that part at least already." An hour later, having poured out the whole sorry tale and gone through several cups of tea (for Anthy) and hot chocolate (for Presea), the Master Smith shook her head. "I can't really tell you much about Rayearth, or any of the Rune Gods, except perhaps the Rune God of Iron." Anthy stared at her. "There's a Rune God of -Iron-? I'd never heard of him. Do... can you tell me how to get to him? I'm supposed to bring all of the pure elements to Priest Zagato's Tower, and I don't think I'll be able to get in without it." Presea shook her head. "The Rune God of Iron isn't like the others, Anthy. He sees no one, only waits for the Knight who will be his companion." Anthy fidgeted with the white rose in her hands, trying to think of some way to get around that stricture. "Has anyone ever tried?" she asked finally. "Several people," Presea said ruefully. "Including me. He's the one who told me I was going to be Master Smith of Cephiro, but he still wouldn't let me see him. I work with his element every day, but I still have never seen the Rune God of Iron." "And other people have seen the other Rune Gods?" Anthy asked, startled. Presea nodded. "Oh yes. Many of the monks who care for the shrines are there because they had visions of Windam, or Celes." "Not Rayearth?" Anthy asked in a soft, reverant tone. "Rayearth takes care of his own shrines," Presea answered dryly. "I see your brother never bothered to fill you in all this. The shrines of Fire may be cleaned by people coming to worship there or not, but once a year the sacred Fire in them burns out of control and destroys everything in them that isn't stone. It happens on the Summer Solstice, in case you're curious. That's one of the reasons everybody pays homage to fire on that day but nobody goes to the shrines." Anthy sighed. "This doesn't solve my problem, though," she mused. "I'm sorry, Anthy, I don't mean to be discouraging. And I do understand why you're doing what you're doing." Anthy got to her feet. "I'll try anyway," she said, sounding a little shaky even to herself. "Even if he throws me out, I'll have tried. Can you tell me how to find him? What is his name?" Presea finished her tea and rose to her feet. "I'll show you the track in the morning. It can be hard to find, but it starts here, right at the Master Smith's Forge, of course. And if he has a name, he's never shared it in a thousand years of choosing the next Master Smith of Cephiro." A half-hour's hard climb after breakfast, Anthy found the cave in the cliffside that Presea told her led to the Iron God's lair. It was dark, forbidding, and smelled of dank earth. Anthy looked at it nervously, and then squared her shoulders. I've come this far, I'm not turning back now. She began walking. Within a minute, she had barked her forehead on the the roof of the tunnel; she went down on her hands and knees to make any sort of forward progress. Tree roots dangled down and caught at her hair, and once she heard a slithering noise that she was fairly certain was -not- a snake. It was -pitch black-. As she crawled, her imagination supplied her with visions of monsters, giant spiders that would drop down from above, or tentacled things lurking in the cracks that would reach out and strangle her. She had to stop frequently to catch her breath, and she realized she was panting with fear. But she did not turn back. Finally, a gust of wind from in front of her whistled over her head and she realized the tunnel roof must have risen while she crawled. It's so dark though... I'll probably break a leg if I try to walk, she realized, and didn't get up. Her knees felt sticky with mud (Or maybe, she thought, I scraped them on something and I'm bleeding) by the time her light-deprived eyes registered something glimmering faintly up ahead. She was so tired of crawling that she got unsteadily to her feet. With one hand on the wall of the tunnel, she began to walk unsteadily forward. Just as her eyes began to register that the glimmering was in fact a circle of light that marked the end of the tunnel, she was nearly bowled over by a giant exhalation of metallic, stale air. >STOP!< a voice boomed in her mind, and heedless of the dirt, Anthy clapped her hands to her ears and whimpered. >COME NO FURTHER!< the voice continued. Tears rolled down her cheeks, making tracks in the dirt she could feel on them. When her shivering eased, she looked toward the light and sank to her knees. >Rune-God of Iron,< she began. The voice modulated to a slightly softer, surprised tone. >You speak the old tongue.< She felt a tremendous regard settle on her, felt as if something ancient and cold and hard had touched her mind. >But you are not the Forger of Heartswords... < Anthy, not understanding, waited on tenterhooks as she felt the presence scan her; then it seemed to come to a decision and boomed, >Speak!< Anthy tried to get a hold on her self, and wrapped her arms around her chest, hugging herself. >Rune-God of Iron,< she tried again. >I beseech you. My Prince and I have been torn apart, the sword of my Prince's heart shattered by the one who calls himself my brother. The one person who might be able to help me reach my Prince, help her return to the world, thinks I am his enemy. Please... < >ENOUGH!< it roared. She felt as if a cold, iron hand had closed over her tongue, preventing her from saying anything more. She was cold all over - it felt as if she were locked in a cage of iron that was the exact same shape as her skin, only a little too tight. She would have shrieked in pain if it hadn't been for the iron on her tongue. Then it was over and she was collapsed on the floor of the tunnel, whimpering as she could suddenly breathe again. As if it didn't even -realize- it had caused her pain, she heard it muse, >You -are- strong. Untempered, but that can be mended.< And then in a stronger voice that was definitely directed at her, >Take this to the Smith and go.< "I... I... " >GO!< the voice roared. Anthy scrambled to her feet and ran, terrified beyond comprehension. She didn't even notice the fact that the tunnel didn't narrow anyplace on her way out. It wasn't until she reached the light of day that she stopped, panting, with a stitch in her side, and pressed her hands to her stomach to try not to be sick, that she realized she had something in her hand that wasn't the white rose she had brought in. In her hand was a lump of iron, reminiscent in shape of a rose, but raw and unfinished. She stared at it with amazed eyes, and then began the climb back down to Presea's forge. The first words to greet her were, "Oh my." Anthy tried to smile, but she was too wrung out to do anything except cling to Presea, who stood like a rock while the Rose Bride shook against her. Then Anthy couldn't seem to -stop- crying. "... Can't... " she gasped between hiccups. Presea, with a look of understanding on her face, picked up the shaking Rose Bride, carried her out of the Forge and around the back, and dumped her (seat first) into the hot spring that made a pool there. Mud boiled off the filthy Anthy, revealing the cuts in her hands and knees and feet, but she slowly relaxed in the hot water. "Th-th-thank you," she gasped up at Presea, feeling rather ashamed of her outburst. "You're doing better than I did," the Smith observed wryly. "Aruko - the Master Smith before me - had me in bed with tea and broth for a week before I recovered from what the Iron God had done to -me-. Granted, that was an Investiture as the next Master Smith, but I'm still surprised you made it all the way down the mountain. What happened?" Anthy held up one hand, with the iron in it, now washed clean of the mud that had stained it. "He... gave me this. It felt... " She shuddered. "You don't have to tell me," Presea said quietly. "Iron isn't a friendly element like water or air. Trust me, I understand. I work with it every day. Iron is -hard-. Cold. There are times I'm rather grateful I don't see him in my dreams." She squatted down and took the iron quasi-rose from Anthy's hand. With narrowed eyes, she studied it. Her mobile pretty face became hard and focused - rather like a sword, Anthy thought - and then she looked at Anthy with an expression of surprise. "What did you need of this?" she asked. "It's pure True Iron, so I could make almost -anything- out of it." Anthy let out the breath she was holding. "I need a rose, like the others I've gotten," she answered, feeling relief relax the last of the muscles the hot water hadn't gotten to. Presea nodded slowly. "Finish your bath, and let me see the other roses," she said, sounding like she was only half paying attention to what she was saying. "I think I can make what you need." An hour later, with Anthy out of her red tunic and back into her cotton dress (although she looked a bit odd with her knees still scraped up), she laid the three roses out on the table in Presea's forge. The Master Smith studied them from several angles, but made no move to touch them. Finally she nodded. "I can do it," she said. "But I will be very tired after." She looked up from the roses to Anthy. "Once I give it to you, Anthy, you will have to leave - I won't be able to protect you, even a little, from your brother. And I will be weakened enough to be vulnerable to him." Anthy bit her lip. "Then, maybe you shouldn't - " Presea's smile softened her face. "Don't worry, Anthy. I'm tired after most Makings that are worthy of being called that. Thank you. But it just means you can't stay here. You draw your brother after you like iron after a lodestone. If you go away, he won't come here." "Then, please, do it," Anthy said, without hesitation. Presea nodded, and picked up the chunk of iron. Pressing it between the palms of her hands, as if she was praying, her forehead furrowed in concentration. The iron began to glow, first a dull red, and then yellow, and then white hot. As the color changed, Presea drew her hands back, leaving the chunk of iron floating between her palms in midair. Anthy's eyes began to water at the light it was throwing off, and Presea's eyes were squeezed shut in concentration. Then, with a soft ringing noise, as if someone had struck the iron gently with a hammer, it began to change shape. A stem poured itself down the bottom, petals bloomed out of the hard nodule, perfectly shaped, one after another until it floated there midair. "Take it!" Presea gasped. Without stopping to think, Anthy reached out and caught the stem in her hand. It was suddenly, instantly cold, and Presea sagged to her knees. Anthy spared only a glance for the rose - uniformly silver in color, and looking as if it were a living rose dipped in iron and not made entirely of the metal - before going to Presea. "I'll... be all right... " the Master Smith gasped. "But you must go... now." Anthy swallowed. "Are... " "Put some steel in your heart!" Presea snapped, staring up at her. "Get out of here - go find the last rose! Or aren't you a witch after all?" Anthy drew back, hurt, and then she registered the words. With a slow smile, she nodded. "Thank you, Master Smith. I will remember." Presea's stern demeanor melted into a weak smile. "May the Pillar smile on your journey, Anthy," she said quietly. Anthy did not look back as she began the long walk back into the Mountains of Burne, heading for Hidama and Rayearth's Shrine. Resting in the pocket of her jacket, the iron rose joined the other three. A week later, when she walked into Hidama, Anthy wanted nothing so much in the world as a bath. Utena remained in her thoughts (but then, Clef had said she was no longer in the world, so), but the layer of grime she had acquired by walking along the base of the mountain range was enough to make her grit her teeth. The Mountains of Burne were volcanic in nature, and there had been one ash-spout while she walked along that had left her feeling dirty for the remainder of her trek. As she came down the last mountainside, she was struck by just how -small- Hidama was, and she prayed softly to herself that there would be at least -one- Inn in town with a good sized bathtub. Her appearance seemed to startle several people on the streets, but when she asked for directions to an Inn or hotel, and smiled at them, they seemed to be slightly easier in her presence. It wasn't until after her bath that she looked in the mirror and understood some of -why- they were nervous. She had the look of someone who commands Power, with a capital P, and she wasn't wearing the gems of a magic user. Those two things together were enough to make most Cephireans nervous, because it meant that the mage was either untrained (like Ascot) or unchained by law. It was exacerbated by the fact that she had been unable to do her hair up properly while she was out in the forest and had had to settle for having it mostly down after the ash shower in hopes that the dust would sift out of it. Why now, though? she wondered as she combed her hair out and began to pin it back up. Is it the roses? If it is... ... then this is silly, she thought finally, and left her hair down. I'm going to scare people just by asking where Rayearth's Shrine is and how to get there. If I at least look like something powerful, perhaps they'll answer me and not put me off with the stupid "you're young and can't understand" look. I don't have time for that now. If I'm radiating power that the normal people can see, Akio will almost certainly be able to find me without much trouble. That means I have to hurry. Food first, and let my hair dry, and then I'll go on. I had wanted to sleep in a bed tonight, but I don't think I can afford the time. Not after this. A nervous Innkeeper brought her lunch, and watched from the doorway as she devoured it; her sandwiches and the dried food that Presea had apparently put into her bag while she was visiting the Iron God had seen her through the long trek, but it had become dreadfully monotonous fare. Once she no longer felt like a ravening beast, she glanced up at the Innkeeper. He was instantly (attentively) at her side, and she sighed to herself, My brother would love this. "Gracious Innkeeper," she said, quietly, "thank you for the best food I've had in some time." She gave him a smile and saw him relax slightly. "And your bathtub was a -welcome- change." "N-noble sorceress," he said after a moment, "y-you are welcome. Is... is there anything my humble establishment might be able to provide for one such as yourself?" No sense waiting. "I wonder if you might be able to tell me how I can find the path from Hidama to the Shrine?" He froze, and she saw a few beads of sweat start out on his face. "Th-th-the Shrine?" he squeaked. Anthy thought quickly, and mustered another smile from somewhere. Though she wanted more to comfort the man, she knew if she touched him he'd run screaming into the street. "I am on a quest to prove my worthiness to wear the gems of a sorceress," she said, trying to sound as if -everyone- who wanted to learn magic did this. "My teacher demanded that I prove myself worthy before he gives me the rank and teaches me how to make use of my power." The Innkeeper looked at her warily for a -long- moment, and then slowly he said, "You don't know how to use your magic?" Anthy shook her head. "I've done one or two simple healings," she said, trying to make it sound as if she got asked this a lot. "Little cuts and the like. But it was pretty obvious to everyone that I was going to have magic, so my teacher wanted me to go on a quest to the Rune Gods, so that he could be -sure- I wouldn't misuse my power." That made the man relax a little further. "Oh," he said finally. And then he gathered himself. "Well, I've never heard of anyone doing it that way before, but the Rune Gods would certainly know if you're evil. I'm just not sure I understand... " he shrugged. "Oh well, I'm no mage, who am I to say what's right and not? But to answer your question, there isn't really a path to the Shrine. Nobody goes there." Anthy sighed to herself. Right back where I started, except that he's scared of me. I should have just stuck with being small and innocent. Not that I'm sure I could have pulled that off... "Can you at least point it out to me?" she said hopefully. "I really -do- have to try." The Innkeeper looked at her warily, and then his wariness slowly melted into sympathy. "You poor thing," he said. "I suppose if I show it to you, you'll try to get up there?" Anthy nodded. He sighed. "I really hope you don't," he said, moving to the window. "Here." He opened the window. Anthy got up and went over next to him, careful not to touch him. He pointed up at the tallest peak overlooking the town, and said, "It's in the side of that. It's said the Rune Knights will come and will follow any path into the mountain, and Rayearth will be waiting for them. But that's just an old story. It hasn't exploded in a long time, so it's probably going to, soon. You ought to wait at least until after the explosion." Anthy nibbled on her lip. "I thank you for your advice," she said finally, and went back upstairs to the room she'd rented. From the window, she could look up at the mountain and try to think of a way to reach it without terrifying the people of Hidama. In the end, she spent the night, and the following morning she tried to put on a discouraged air as she paid for her room and left, heading for the train station. Instead of going in, however, she ducked around north of the station; Hidama was the end of the line it was on, so she followed the path the train would have taken for a little while, and then struck off up the side of the mountain. It was -hard- going. Nothing, not even the Iron God's tomb, had prepared her for how sharp the rocks were, how -harsh- the landscape was, or for the unnerving rumbles that came from beneath her feet, occasionally making the ground tremble and dance. When she reached the mouth of a lava vent, and stared down it to see the dull red glow of the fire inside the mountain, she stopped, and only then did she take off her shoes and socks, and put on the red silk gown and the golden anklet and bracelet. Then, wincing at the sharp crunching under her feet, she walked forward into the mountain, white rose cradled in her trembling hands. The vent never narrowed the way the Iron God's tunnel had; the glassy black rock that made up the tunnel was smooth and polished the whole way in. Once she got half a dozen paces into the tunnel, the floor smoothed out too, and she was able to stop wincing each time she put a foot down. The tunnel never grew precisely black, though it was very dark for most of the way. Anthy walked slowly and deliberately, and her eyes adusted to the gloom sufficiently that she didn't fear she was going to walk into a wall at any point. The gradually lightening red glow made her go cautiously, but she wasn't prepared to come out of the tunnel with a sea of molten lava seething a foot beyond where she stopped. She stared out at it, and then her eyes rose to the far wall and she felt her heart sink. On the far side of the lake was the door to Rayearth's Shrine. She felt the tears start. I can't get there. There's no way I can get there. There's nothing I have that will let me cross lava like this. She dropped to her knees, staring out at the lake, tears coursing silently down her face. Finally, out of desperation, she cried, >Mighty Rayearth, Rune God of Fire, hear me! I have been told to bring to the Priest Zagato a bit of each element, purest of pure, in a shape that I love. The other Rune Gods have granted me audience in their turn, but if I am to fail in this quest, at least allow me to reach you to fail!< The voice of a lion, modulated with weird, subtle harmonics, rumbled softly back at her, echoing off the walls of the cavern: >Come to me, and ask.< Anthy jerked to her feet. I didn't expect that to work, she thought frantically. >But I cannot cross the lava...< she began, but she was interrupted: >Come if you are worthy. COME.< The command in that voice was -hard- for Anthy to resist, but in the end the she was able to. He wants me to cross the lava? But...how? I'll be burned... ...unless he decides I won't be. But he isn't going to tell me whether I will or not. This is -his- test of worthiness. Anthy bit her lip, and then gingerly, her hands carefully laced together so as not to crush the rose, she stepped forward onto the lava. The minute her feet touched the lava, her mind took on an oddly detatched perspective. She could feel the heat radiating up around her, saw the slight footprints her feet left in the lava behind her, saw the weird shifting lights of the lava against her skin. She was aware that she should feel odd. She was aware that she should be terrified. But her emotions seemed like a distant memory that belonged to someone else, unworthy of attention. There was only walking forward, and not doubting, never doubting, that the stone beneath her feet would hold her up and keep her safe from the fire beneath. When she reached the doors, she stepped up to them, not even bothering to raise a hand to touch them. They swung open. A roaring inferno seethed beyond the doors, and Anthy, still detached and unafraid, threw the rose forward into it. There were no words she needed to say this time; she felt the warmth of the fire around her, and it knew her, and knew what she was asking. The rose was instantly gone the minute it touched the fire, ash and vapor. But no rose of fire formed in its place. >You are bound to that which is not worthy,< the voice said in her head. >Become unbound, and you will be worthy of my rose.< Anthy found, in her detached state, that she couldn't understand what he meant. She didn't think of Utena, refused to think of Utena. After a moment of consideration, she said in a quiet, even tone, >Mighty Rune God, I do not understand. But I do not wish to be bound to that which is not worthy of your regard.< >Would you become unbound then?< Her calm remove shaken, Anthy tried to believe with all her heart that Utena was worthy - was she not a Rune Knight, after all? Clef had called her the Rose Knight, and Clef could not be wrong about such a thing. But what else could Rayearth mean? There was only one way to find out. Anthy took a deep breath and answered, >Yes.< Fire surged out of the Shrine, burned around her, especially at her wrist and ankle... and in her heart. Her calm shattered, devolving to near panic. Before she could lose her composure entirely, though, it was over, and floating in the air before her was as rose of fire. >Take it and go,< came the muted roar. >With it and the others, the last rose may yet exist.< Long golden streamers of light swirled around her, lifted her up and carried her across the lava, setting her down gently at the mouth of the lava tube. Anthy stared down at the rose in her hand, and then looked down. The golden bracelet and anklet that Dios had given her, that had come to signify her loyalty to him, and then to Akio, were gone. Around her left wrist and ankle, instead, were shiny, tender burns. The Rune God of Fire had melted them off of her. Feeling a twinge of panic, she turned her left hand over. Utena's rose signet gleamed up at her, untouched, and in that instant, Anthy understood. Akio was not her brother. Dios had been her brother, but he was gone now. By failing to accept that fact for so long, Anthy had, in effect, bound herself to Akio - but Rayearth had burned that tie away. But the ring, the ring that bound her to Utena, that marked her as the Bride of the Rose... remained. She walked out of the Rune God of Fire's shrine with her head held high. At the mouth of the Rune God's shrine, Anthy took out her last white rose, and kneeling down, she put it and the other roses in her lap. The five magic roses made the white one seem pale and wan by comparison, even though it was as perfect a bloom as the rest. Anthy shook her head. "This won't do," she murmured to herself. "Utena's rose should be as bright as the others." She picked up the white rose, regarding it. Separately, it was still beautiful, but it lacked the power the others had, and when it was next to them, that was painfully visible. There is no Rune God of Love, Anthy thought, regretfully. So I can't just go and ask him for a rose to match the others. The Rune Knight of Love is the Rune Knight of the Rose is now the Prince. But Rayearth said that with the other five, the last rose might -exist-. Moving slowly, Anthy picked up the other roses, and left the white rose in her lap. She considered them, and the white rose, and then she clenched her hand, hard, over the stems of the five roses. She felt the thorns drive themselves into her hand, and the blood began to slowly seep down the stems. Holding them over the white rose so that her blood would fall on it, she let love give her words their form. >Roses of the Noble Shrines, heed your mistress and answer! >The Bride of the Rose bids you take your strength from her blood and draw upon the strength that is within you. >From your beauty, grant a portion, carry it through the power that is mine, to bring the last of the six Roses into being. >This I command, as is my right as the Beloved of the Rose Prince!< The single drop of her blood that had hung from the stems dropped, splashing into the heart of the white rose in her lap, and all around her the air rang with a triad of bell tones in harmony. The white rose floated from her lap, and Anthy let go of the other five. As she watched, it took on a shining luster, the very -faintest- hint of rose, the shining white of snow under the sun, brilliant emerald green leaves. The other five hovered in a six-pointed circle, and for an instant, she saw the lines of power connecting them, making the sigil for magic before their stems grew together in a single, intertwined weave, and then floated down into her lap in a perfect crown of roses. The tones in the air slowly died away, and Anthy stared down at the crown that her blood and magic had made with some small amount of disbelief. And then she looked up to the skies above Cephiro. Wherever you are, Utena, I will find you, or you will find me. But we -will- find each other. When she disembarked from the train in Tenchuu, Anthy was very much on her guard. She was quietly certain that somebody - possibly Akio himself - would be waiting for her at Priest Zagato's Tower. And while she had not given Ascot her name, because she was afraid he'd be turned away out of hand if he mentioned meeting her, the Priest was no fool. He may have put up additional guards. I'm going to have to sneak in, either past Akio's guards or past Priest Zagato's. She wasn't, however, expecting to be accosted at the train station itself, so when a small hand seized her arm she nearly jumped out of her skin. "Anthy," said Nanami Kiryuu. "Don't go directly to the the Tower. My brother's waiting for you there, and if he catches you, he'll take you straight back to the Deputy Chairman." Of all the things she had expected out of Nanami, this was -not- one of them. Anthy stared at her. "Look," Nanami said, "people are staring at us, and you stand out like a rose in a weed garden." She gave the Rose Bride a bitter smile. "Can we go someplace a little less obvious and talk? I'm not your enemy, though Akio would like me to be." Anthy frowned. "How do I know you're not trying to delay me?" "You don't," Nanami said grimly, "and I don't have any way to prove it either, any more than I had a way to prove to Shinohara that Akio is a slimy, conniving bastard. I guess she didn't take my advice, because she's vanished just like Saionji, Miki and Arisugawa. You can either trust me or not." "What do you want from me?" Anthy asked, pulling her arm out of Nanami's grip. Nanami's smile was brief and even more bitter than her previous one. "I want you to not fall back in your brother's hands. I'm pretty sure that whatever he wants is bad, and since he wants you, I want to make sure you don't get caught by him." "Then help me reach the Priest's Tower," Anthy said firmly. Nanami looked like she was about to refuse, and then her face grew hard and she looked at Anthy appraisingly. "I hope you're worth this," she said grimly, and turning, she walked briskly off down the street. Anthy stared after her, and then took a different route back to the Tower where she had, effectively, started this quest. Priest Zagato's Tower was set in a large clearing in the woods to the east of Tenchuu. The area around the Tower itself was clear for a good fifty feet, and on nice days, the people of Tenchuu went there to picnic under the Priest's benevolent gaze. It did, however, make sneaking up on the place reasonably hard. When she was within a hundred yards of the Tower, Anthy left the path that led to it. Putting her bag in the crook of a handy tree, she gripped the crown of roses in one hand and began to cautiously work her way toward the Tower. She reached the edge of the forest and heard Touga's smooth voice, and Nanami's higher one. "... don't understand, Nanami. You've been upset with me ever since that night at Akio's planetarium. Why the sudden change of heart?" "Well, I missed you, big brother," she purred, and then Anthy could see she was cuddled up to him, hanging on to him like a little cat. "And I thought you must be awfully lonely without anyone to keep you company." "We're supposed to be looking for Himemiya, Nanami," Touga said with amused resignation. "You know that." "Oh, pooh," Nanami said with her best pout. "I don't see why she should get all the attention." Anthy settled down to wait for a good opportunity. She had to listen to another few minutes of Nanami's simpering and Touga's amused, veiled contempt for his sister before Touga sat down, and Nanami plonked herself down in his lap. That's it, Anthy thought. She sprang to her feet and sprinted for the door. As she dashed past Touga, he whipped his head around to follow her. "-Nanami-!" he roared, trying to free himself, but his sister clung to him, and he couldn't get to his feet quickly. The crown of roses in her hands suddenly began to glow with a white-hot light, and the curtain spell shimmering in front of the Tower door sparkled and blew past her face like fairy dust. There was a single resonant tone as she skidded to a halt inside the flagstoned threshold, and she looked back to see Touga's face distorted by the curtain he could not get past. Panting, she looked around, and then slowly caught her breath. In the raised boxes at the edge of the courtyard, there were flowers and plants of many types: rosemary, heartsease, monkshood, paintbrush, and nodding in amongst all these were roses of the same colors she had woven into the crown. She went over to the white rose, the one that was for Utena, and touched it gently with one hand, feeling the tears start in her eyes. There was a soft whisper of fabric over stone, and Anthy turned away from the rose to see Zagato, tall and stately in his spiky black armor and the robes of the Priest. "Anthy?" he said, amazement and some small trace of fear plain in his voice, as he stopped halfway across the courtyard. His eyes were cold and dark, and she closed her hands even more tightly over the crown, feeling the thorns prick her. For an instant, she wondered if she should throw herself at his feet. "Zagato... I... " she whispered, and wordlessly offered the crown to him. His gaze dropped to the flowers, and she noted idly that her hands were dripping blood where the thorns had stuck her. Then his eyes rose back to her face, and she felt her heart skip a beat. The fear and coldness was gone, replaced only by concern. "The Rune Gods gave you the means to reach me," he said quietly. It wasn't a question. She nodded, not sure she could make her voice work. "Come inside, Anthy," he said quietly. "I'm sorry I blocked your way before. I thought you were a servant of your brother, and Clef warned me of his treachery against the Rose Knight." "Do you know where she is?" Anthy blurted. "I've been looking for her - " "She escaped from Akio with the power of the Prince," Zagato said, moving to offer her his arm, ever the gentleman. "I felt the power leave this world... and since then I have only felt it three times, all some time ago. I can only surmise that she is someplace outside Cephiro, and trying to return." "Then she -is- alive." Anthy spoke without thinking, the relief audible in her voice. "I can only assume so," Zagato said quietly. And then, as he looked Anthy up and down, noting the fine, threadlike scars on her wrist and ankle, he added, "You have -changed- since I last saw you." Anthy smiled slowly. "I had to remember what it means to be a witch before I could face the Rune Gods. They don't have much use for weakness." That brought a smile to his face. "No, I don't imagine they do." This is the best time to ask, she told herself. "Priest Zagato, the man who was once my brother will -not- give up trying to get his hands on me while I'm here. He will bring all the resources at his disposal to bear on this place now that he knows I am here." She looked him clearly in the eyes. "I told an Innkeeper on my journey that I had to go to each of the Shrines to prove my intent to use my powers responsibly before my teacher would consider me worthy of learning to use them." She dropped to one knee and offered him the crown again. "Please, teach me to use my power so that I can defend myself. I have brought trouble to your doorstep; please teach me to help keep it at bay." He took the crown from her hand, and then gently set it on her head. She felt the light pricking of the thorns on her scalp, but they didn't hurt. It was more of a reminder. "So long as you are worthy to wear this," he said, taking his hands away from the crown, "I will be honored to teach you, Anthy." Her last question answered, Anthy allowed herself to relax. "Thank you, Zagato." In the light of the courtyard, there was still a shadow to his smile. "You're welcome, Anthy." She wondered at the shadow, but she still could not keep the joy out of her smile. Utena, she thought, wherever you are, I will wait for you to come back. But when you come back, it won't be someone helpless waiting for you. /* Sting "Desert Rose" _Brand New Day_ */ Eyrie Productions, Unlimited I dream of rain presented I dream of gardens in the desert sand UNDOCUMENTED FEATURES I wake in pain FUTURE IMPERFECT I dream of love as time runs through - Symphony of the Sword No. 2 - my hands Intermezzo: A Crown of Roses I dream of fire These dreams are tied to a horse The Cast that will never die (in order of appearance) And in the flames Anthy Himemiya Her shadows play in the shape Dios of a man's desire Master Mage Clef This desert rose Brother Kazusho Each of her veils a secret promise Novice Tataika This desert flower Celes, Rune God of the Sea No sweet perfume ever tortured me more Nanami Kiryuu than this Ascot And now she turns Toraneko This way she moves in the logic of Windam, Rune God of the Sky all my dreams Master Smith Presea This fire burns The Rune God of Iron I realize that nothing's as it seems Innkeeper Thaddeus Bartok I dream of rain Rayearth, Rune God of the Flame I dream of gardens in the desert sand Touga Kiryuu I wake in pain High Priest Zagato I dream of love as time runs through my hands Channel for the Muse I dream of rain Anne Cross I lift my gaze to empty skies above I close my eyes Edited/Original Concept by Her rare perfume is the sweet Benjamin D. Hutchins intoxication of her love Rough Storyline Hashers-Out I dream of rain The Usual Suspects I dream of gardens in the desert sand I wake in pain "Revolutionary Girl Utena" I dream of love as time runs through characters by Saito/Hasegawa my hands Sweet desert rose "Magic Knight Rayearth" Each of her veils a secret promise characters by CLAMP This desert flower No sweet perfume ever tortured me more Final edits at than this Tim & Eeeeka's new place Sweet desert rose (it's cool!) This memory of Eden haunts us all This desert flower Patient observer This rare perfume is the sweet R. Eric Reuss intoxication of the Fall The Symphony will return