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"Mommy!" She watched as her daughter ran into the house, slamming the door shut behind her. The diminutive little girl stood there for a while, panting, her cheeks flushed and her hair disarranged. Something had happened at lessons - again. With an inward sigh, the mother walked over and smoothed back her daughter's hair; she had pale hair, almost blond, but with a hint of green that probably would get darker with age. Like her father's had been. She asked, "What's wrong Dia?" "Kodii's being mean again," replied Rydia. That could mean any number of things, thought Mother. Aloud, in a calm voice, she asked, "How is he being mean to you?" "He's not telling me!" she whined. "Telling you what?" "What he saw!" Ah, is that what it's about? Mother sighed. "Little Dia," she began in her calm, quiet tone, "did Kodii have another vision?" "Yes!" Rydia pouted. "And he won't tell me what he saw!" Mother shook her head. Taking her daughter by the shoulders, she looked her in the eyes. Rydia looked startled. "Dia," her mother said in a serious tone. "If Kodii had a vision, and he doesn't want to tell, leave him alone. Visions can be hard to understand, and they can be very, very frightening." "I think he just saw his first summon-monster and is so jealous of it he won't tell anyone." "Rydia," her mother said severely, "it's none of our business what Kodii saw. He can talk about it when and if he feels about talking about it." "O- okay," the girl responded. She still sounded a little petulant, but she wasn't going to argue any further - not with her mom, anyway. Mother was as stubborn as she was. Rydia would go argue with someone else over it. Instead, she asked, "Mommy, will I ever have a vision?" "You might, sometime," her mother replied. "Very probably you will. Now here, would you like to help me fix lunch for the innkeeper? She's over there working all alone with no one to talk to her. She could use a visit from a spirited little girl, I think." Between helping her mother make a sandwich and snatching her rightful nibbles, Rydia soon forgot about visions. ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ "Dia? Do you know where my Tiara is?" Mother very well knew that her daughter knew where it was. Whenever anything disappeared, Rydia was behind it. It seemed a little odd for Rydia to be playing dress-up, however. "Uh-huh! It's with the staff you gave me." Mother thought for a moment. "You mean the rod?" "Ummm...yeah! Same difference," her daughter replied with a sheepish look. She hated confusing words. "But where is the rod?" Mother pressed. "With the Tiara!" Dia giggled. So as not to upset her mother, she quickly added. "In the secret room, Mommy." Mother sighed. So Dia had been playing adventurer again. Just to confirm her thoughts, her daughter said "They'll be handy when I'm an explorer!" Her mother watched the fire blazing cheerfully in the fireplace. "Well, I'm going to need it tomorrow," she told her daughter. "Be sure to remind me in the morning." "Sure, Mommy." Rydia would probably forget. "Why do you need it?" "I wanted to show it to the innkeeper's little girl." That was a lie. In truth, Mother wasn't sure why she wanted it. She just had an uneasy feeling about the following day. "Okay!" Rydia said happily. "Mommy, will you tell me a story tonight?" "Why, I tell you a story every night," Mother replied. "I know. I want the story about Papa." "Hmm, I don't know," Mother pretended to hesitate. "That's a long one... we may not have enough time." "Please?" "Okay, but you'll need to hop into bed now so I don't have to stop halfway through just because it's someone's bedtime." And Mother pretended to race her little one to the tiny bedroom they shared. ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ "Mommy?" "Yes, Dia?" "I love you." "I love you, too, honey." "I wish we could just stay like this forever," Rydia sighed. Mother caught her breath. She wanted to say - we will always be like this. Something stopped her, and she couldn't say it. Instead, she leaned over and kissed her little one on the forehead. "Good night." "G'night, Mommy." ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ Rydia had a dream. That was okay, she dreamed every night. She always knew it was a dream, too, and remembered them. They were funny little dreams. But somehow, this dream was different. Dia was on the top of a tall, tall mountain. To the north and east, she viewed the large desert and its only oasis, where the village of Kaipo was located. To the west, she looked down and saw the Village of Mist - her home. But something was wrong. Rydia thought long and hard, and then it came to her. There were no mountains between Mist and the Kaipo Desert! The mountain she stood upon didn't exist! And suddenly, she was falling, because there was no mountain, and she was very scared. There was a large, dark rift in the earth beneath her, reaching up to swallow her. She closed her eyes tight, but it didn't help. Instead of darkness, she saw a little girl, pale green hair flying about her face, falling into a great, deep chasm. Then, suddenly, she stopped. Looking around, she saw herself surrounded by earth - she was within the chasm. But why wasn't she falling? Then, as voice whispered into her head, Rydia, Daughter of Mist... The voice was strong, warm, and fatherly. Rydia felt a little safer. Even though she felt uneasy, it was warm here, and so she closed her eyes... This time, instead of seeing herself from a distance, she saw two men walking in the distance. She couldn't see many details, but they were wearing armor - maybe they'd pass through town and take her adventuring! Rydia felt a funny pang at this thought, and saw a bright, shining light. It was growing brighter! Suddenly, it became very hot. It smelled like smoke, felt like something was burning... ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ Rydia woke up, shaking off the lingering affects of her dream about the mountain and the rift in the earth. The smoke - the heat - remained. The fire was real. The End |