Naga blinked. "Do I know you?" "Finally I will get my revenge on you for destroying my ship!" the Captain declared, pointing at Naga. "Oh!" She pounded her fist into her palm. "You're that captain!" "I just said that," Mariposa muttered in a small voice. "Why doesn't anyone ever listen to me?" "OOOOHOHOHOHOHO!" Naga laughed, ignoring Mari. "I don't recall sinking your pitiful little vessel, dear captain." "You did!" The captain stomped childishly. "Because of you and your ice and your jellyfish, it sunk in the Vartia harbor! And then my crew abandoned me!" "Hey!" Regnar yelled. "We're trying to rob you here!" "Wait your turn," Actinaea snapped. "So that's why I'm here!" the captain finished obliviously. "For revenge! Revenge!" He broke out into insane laughter. "And here I thought he was getting better," Daron (or was it Doran?) sighed into his hand. The other twin shrugged. "We could only hope." This went completely unnoticed by everyone else, who were still staring at the laughing captain. After a few minutes he coughed a couple times and was silent. "Right," Naga said after a pause. "If you're quite finished, I have bandits to destroy." She turned back to the bandit leader. "Where were we?" Regnar sweatdropped, then regained his composure. "You were going to hand over all the dancing girls to us." He looked at her appraisingly. "And yourself, of course." Naga chuckled into the back of her hand, and everyone listened in horror as it grew into a full laugh (watched, however, is another story). "OOOOHOHOHOHO! The White Serpent bows to no one!" "White... SERPENT!" The captain screamed and lunged at Naga, knife gleaming. Turning her attention to him, the sorceress grabbed him by the arms and flung him into the crowd of bandits. The captain arched gracefully through the air, slamming into Regnar and knocking him off his mount. "KILL YOU!" the captain yelled as he yanked the surprised bandit leader's sword out of his hand. "I'LL KILL YOU!" "That's my sword!" Regnar cried as he tugged at the captain's arm. The other bandits shifted restlessly. "So, Oh Great White Serpent," Actinaea began in a low voice, "Just how do you plan on doing to stop them?" She pointed at the mess of bandits and a captain. "I assume your powers aren't back quite yet." Naga smirked. "That's easy, my dear praetor. We'll just use our secret weapon." "This may not be the best time to ask," Getehl half-whispered worriedly, "But what is the secret weapon?" "You, of course." And with that, Naga kicked the swordsman. He stumbled forward, gradually regaining his balance, and looked around. Everyone was staring at him; even the captain and Regnar stopped in mid-fight. Getehl swallowed and looked back. "We believe in you, Getehl-san!" Naga called, waving. Turning to Mariposa, she instructed, "I want you to cover him with magic." "H-hai," Mari nodded as she readied a spell. "You think we should help him?" Doran asked Daron. "Oh, I suppose," the other twin replied as he loosened his sword in its scabbard. With a sigh, Getehl drew his sword. He gave Naga one more backwards glance (who responded with a thumbs up), and charged forward... only to stop when the ground shook. He scrambled back as two familiar, pinkish-gray stalks popped out of the ground. They writhed for a moment, as if testing the air, followed by a loud rumbling. "WORM!" Regnar shouted as he tried to hold his horse steady enough for him to mount. Once he managed to do so, he pointed it in the direction he came and rode off, his gang following him. "Wha?" the captain gaped as the worm slowly grew out of the ground, maw open and hungry. It filled his vision. "Mo... mo... MOMMY!" he hollered as he ran after the bandits. The worm looked almost miffed, then slithered after him. There was a pause. Harus coughed. "Well," he said. "I've never seen that happen before." "OOOOHOHOHOHOHO!" Naga laughed into the back of her hand. "Another victory for Naga the White Serpent!" She prepared herself for another laugh. "Ano..." a small voice began. Everyone turned their attention to its owner. "How do I turn this off?" Mari asked as she gazed at the fireball in her hands. * * * * * Improfanfic presents... Slayers Glorious! Started by Todd Harper Chapter 8: Exit! Bandits and Dancers and Worms, Oh My! Written by Ardweden * * * * * Getehl sat on the edge of the wagon, sharpening his sword with smooth, steady strokes, one after another. It was a nice rhythm, really; it relaxed him. And after what had happened that morning, he needed relaxing. Soft footsteps could be heard. "Hey." The swordsman started and looked up over his shoulder. "Oh, hi Luanni." Luanni sat next to him and flicked her ponytail over her shoulder. "Can you spare a minute?" He smiled, studying her hazel eyes for a moment, then went back to sharpening. "For you? Always." They sat like that for a while--Getehl sharpening his sword, Luanni looking into the midday sun. "Do you remember," Luanni broke the silence hesitantly, "when we used to sit like this?" Getehl nodded, studying the whetstone for a moment. Flipping the oversized sword over, he started on the other side. "Yeah. I would sit on the side of the road, pretending to sharpen your mom's kitchen knife with a rock." The dancing girl laughed. "And I would sit next to you, and you would tell me stories about seeing the world, visiting Saillune, and Zefielia, and Elmekia, and how I'd always be with you..." "Mmm hmm." Getehl sighed. "It didn't happen that way." "No." Luanni looked down at her feet, swinging off the edge of the moving wagon. "It didn't." He frowned. "Why? Why'd you do it?" "Do what?" "Leave." Getehl punctuated his remark with a particularly vicious stroke against his sword. "For the Academy?" Luanni asked incredulously. "Because it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. That school is very exclusive and--" "I couldn't see you. No visitors allowed, remember?" Getehl interrupted. "Well, yes. But I couldn't help that!" "I don't know." Getehl stopped his work and looked at Luanni. "You didn't have to leave, you know. You could have stayed." "But it was my dream!" Luanni threw her arms up in frustration. "Your parents' dream," he corrected her. "They were so very excited to have you go to such an *exclusive* dancing school..." "I wanted to go." Luanni glared at Getehl. "I had the talent for it, and I wanted to use it. Don't you understand that?" "I understand that my best friend left me." Getehl turned the sword over a few times in his hands, stood, and sheathed it. "See you around, Luanni." He turned and walked back into the wagon. "Getehl!" Luanni called after his retreating form. If he heard her, he didn't acknowledge it. She sighed and looked back into the sun. "I'm sorry." * * * * * Mariposa sat glumly on the back landing of one of the wagons, stripping the bark off a small branch with her knife. Staring up at the passing clouds, she idly rolled the denuded stick between her fingers. She sighed melancholically and tossed the stick the ground behind the moving train. "Diem Claw," she muttered, inhaling slowly as the wave of air rushed around her, cooling her off. She bent down to pick up a larger branch from the pile of kindling she'd set beside her, stopping halfway when she felt a hand fall upon her shoulder. Looking up over her shoulder, she saw one of the dancing girls standing over her. When the girl didn't speak, Mari raised an eyebrow questioningly. The dancing girl smiled warmly. "Would you like to come in and join us? It can't be much fun just sitting out here alone." "Oh, no... that's all right. We're supposed to be guarding you out here," Mari explained. The brown-haired girl laughed richly, causing the sorceress in training to wrinkle her brow in puzzlement. "The only thing you have to guard is your friend Getehl, and I think Luanni's already gotten to him," the woman replied mischievously, noting the brief flash of disappointment in the young girl's eyes. "Come on in." Mari nodded and slowly stepped up to the back door. The woman entered first, ducking slightly. Mari followed her cautiously through the low passageway. She looked around the wagon, her eyes widening at the fine silks and jewelry arranged in shallow closets along the walls. Reassured by a nod from the black-haired girl sitting in front of a dressing stand, Mari reached out and ran an elaborately embroidered red scarf through her fingers. The black-haired girl stood up and gestured to her stool. "Have a seat," she offered. "Your name is... Mariposa, right?" Mari nodded slowly and hesitatingly sat down. "Mari," she spoke softly, still looking around at the costumes. "Sorry?" the girl asked. "I didn't catch that." Mari snapped to attention, looking at the two dancing girls who were watching her expectantly. They were both at least a full head taller than her, and Mari felt a pang of envy at their well-developed figures. She recognized the brown-haired one as the girl who'd admonished her for calling the dancers prostitutes earlier. "I said, call me Mari," she repeated, louder this time. "Nobody but my teachers call me Mariposa." The brunette nodded and took a seat on an opposite counter. "So... you're supposed to be guarding us? You're a bit young to be a professional bodyguard..." Mari smiled slightly. "Oh, we're not bodyguards or anything. I'm just a sorceress-in-training. Praetor Actinaea and Naga are my teachers." "You're a long way from Singe..." the black-haired girl said. "Mmm hmm. Trainees don't normally leave their home Guild Hall." Mari turned and faced the mirror. "Naga and Actinaea are on an important mission. I just got sent along so I wouldn't get in anybody's way back home." "Why do you say that?" Mari shrugged. "Nobody listens to me. Nobody pays any attention to me, and even when they do, it's just to scold me for not keeping up in my lessons. I should have just stayed home and become a fisherman." "Are you kidding? Do you know how lucky you are?" the brunette asked, looking her friend in the eye. "That's right. You should cheer up!" said the black-haired girl, picking up on the other's cue. "You're young and you're out exploring the world. I could only dream of doing that at your age. That's something you should treasure." "You know what I think it is?" the brunette asked her friend. "I bet she's got a sweetheart that she left at home." "You know, you're probably right. Is that it, Mari?" "Huh? N- no! Not really..." The black-haired girl looked at her friend with a knowing smile. "That's it, all right. He probably didn't even know you liked him, did he?" Slumping her shoulders, Mari sighed in defeat. "Well, okay... there's this guy I like... but I don't know how to tell him. And I'm sure there's someone else he likes more." "You know, Hon, if you want to catch the men, you've got to be a bit more... You know?" the brown-haired girl said. Mari looked at her with confusion on her face. "More what?" The black-haired girl smiled. Bending over, she whispered into Mari's ear. Mari turned a scandalous shade of red. "Y- y- y- you can't be serious!" The first girl shrugged, and then smiled wickedly. "Leave it to us, Sugar." "Huh? Whoa! Wait, what are you--" Mari stammered as the girls descended upon her, eyes glistening in determination. She continued to gasp and sputter as they went to work on her. When the cloud of talcum and sandalwood powder settled, Mari found herself staring into the mirror, where a total stranger was gazing back out at her. They'd hidden her freckles, rouged her cheeks, and reddened her lips. Her eyelashes were long and dark, and her hair had been curled slightly, so she looked a bit older instead of younger. "Is that... me?" she asked dumbly, not looking away from the mirror. "Oh, nearly forgot the finishing touch," the black-haired girl said, with a sly smile. She pulled two cushions out of a drawer and handed them to Mari. "What do I do with these?" Mari asked, still staring at her reflection. The brunette took them from Mari. "Arms out to the side. Chin up. Hold still... There." Mari glanced down at her now-accentuated chest. "Anooooo…" "Trust us on this, kid." "Um. Okay." From outside, a cry of "Whoa!" was heard, and the wagon began to slow down. "Why are we stopping? Is it bandits again?" Mari asked nervously, standing up suddenly. The black-haired girl chuckled. "No, we're probably just stopping to water the horses." "Well, I should go. Actinaea probably has some lessons for me to be practicing on," she said with a wearied frown. "Oh, Mari?" The brunette stopped her. "Take this," she said, as she took the embroidered scarf down from its hanger and handed it to her. Mari's face brightened considerably at the gesture. "Thanks!" Mari said brightly before hopping out the back door and heading for the lead wagon. "Nice kid," the dark-haired one commented, watching Mari from the window. "It's a shame she's going to get her heart broken." The brunette shook her head sadly. "It's gotta happen at least once." * * * * * The night was clear and beautiful, offering a gorgeous view of the stars that populated the sky. Many a group of people all over the continent elected to sit outside on nights like this, enjoying the weather and talking over evening meals. This one was no exception. Naga drained her cup in one mighty gulp, then slammed it on the table with a sigh. "Wonderful," she complimented, licking her lips. "Such vintage is truly worthy of the White Serpent." "I'm... glad you like it," Harus replied, watching in fear as Naga poured herself another glass. Actinaea ate her meal with calm, precise bites, ignoring her fellow mage. "So, Harus-san," she said as she picked up her napkin, "When can we expect to reach our destination?" The trader mage tore his eyes from Naga and focused on Actinaea. "We were supposed to be there by tomorrow afternoon, but because of the distractions we encountered along the way, I doubt we'll reach Saillune for another two days." There was a clatter of silverware, accompanied by no small amount of hacking. Getehl whapped Naga on the back a few times, until she stopped and looked up at the assembled faces staring at her. "OOOHOHO," she laughed after coughing once more. "You say we're going to Saillune?" Harus nodded slowly. "That's right. We're going to hit a few of the higher-class places in town, maybe even the palace..." "The palace," Naga whispered, staring off into space. She blinked and shook her head, then looked back at Harus. "I'm afraid we can't do that, Harus-san. We must leave for the Alliance tomorrow." "The Alliance of the Coastal States?" Actinaea looked at Naga questioningly. "Wouldn't it be easier to stop at Saillune's famed library, gather what information we can there, then go east into Elmekia?" Naga laughed again. "Nonsense. I have looked through the Saillune library for information on Shazard Lugandi's works myself a short while ago. There's nothing that can help us with the Silent Bell. And time is of the essence, is it not?" She glared at the praetor, as if daring her to issue a challenge. Actinaea gave no reply. "Very well. We depart at noon tomorrow." Standing up, Naga nodded to Harus. "Good night." She walked back to one of the wagons. Getehl watched Naga walk away. "I wonder what's eating her," he murmured. A slight tug at his arm redirected his attention. "Yes, Mari?" He blinked. There was something different about her... but it was so dark he couldn't put his finger on what it was, exactly. "Um," she began intelligently, "If we leave tomorrow, won't we have to take a pay cut?" The mercenary sighed and looked back at the mages, who were talking about magic at that point. "Yes, Mari. We probably will." * * * * * Getehl entered the wagon, taking care to tread softly. Quietly pushing a curtain aside, he allowed his eyes to adjust to the dim light. He blinked in surprise as he noticed a figure hunched over the table. "Naga-san? Are you still up?" "Ooohoho." The figure looked up from its drink. "I'm not asleep." "Right." The mercenary approached the table and picked up one of the empty bottles. "Captain AAAARGH's Black Singe Rum," he read, squinting to see the tiny print, "Brewed in Kalmaart." He paused for a moment, then sniffed it and made a face. "This stuff is horrible." He placed the bottle back on the table. "Don't care," Naga stated as she poured herself another mug. "But you're the great White Serpent. Surely a gourmet such as yourself has no need for low quality brew," Getehl said, with a slight smile. Naga laughed softly. "Not the White Serpent." She peered into the greenish yellow liquid thoughtfully, then took a large gulp. "Nothing but a coward." "A... coward?" Nodding, Naga took another swallow. "Coward." "Why?" Getehl pulled up a chair next to the sorceress and sat down. "Because," she said. "Because of what happened." "What happened when...?" "Saillune." Naga threw her cup down, spilling cheap rum all over the table. "In Saillune." She tried to stand, shakily, and collapsed. Getehl lunged forward and caught her. She looked up at him. "I'm a coward," she said softly, eyes half closed. Getehl swallowed. "Why don't you get some rest, Naga-san," he suggested. "Don't wanna." She struggled weakly, reaching for the table. "No, really. I think it would be best for you." Getehl found himself carrying Naga back to the sleeping area. After carefully laying her on the floor, he pulled a blanket up to her neck and chuckled. "I never thought I'd be tucking any of you in. Well, maybe Mari, but..." His only answer was a snore. * * * * * Actinaea climbed onto the platform of Harus' wagon. Once there, she paused a moment to survey the landscape. Mipliss was, as always, a vast brown plain with little of interest; it wasn't really surprising that looking at it from a slowly moving wagon did little to enhance the view. "At least the cities were interesting," Actinaea muttered to herself. "What, sensei?" Mari asked. "Hm? Nothing. Come along, Mariposa." Turning back to the wagon, Actinaea pushed aside the entrance curtain and peered inside. "Harus-san, do you think you could spare a moment?" Actinaea pushed aside the curtain of the wagon, and peered inside. "Harus-san, do you think you could spare a moment?" She blinked as Harus seemed to jump, and spin to face her. "Oh! Uh, Actinaea-san. Yes, of course, come in." He fumbled with a sheet of parchment, managed to drop it completely, and then pulled vaguely at a chair before retreating behind his desk. "Yes, thank you. Come, Mariposa." Actinaea entered and sat primly in the chair, Mari following her and standing some ways behind. She noticed the Trader Mage fiddling with more papers, and frowned. Harus always seemed nervous, and something about it nagged at her. "Is something bothering you, Harus-san?" "What? No, no." Harus exhaled, and folded his arms on the desk. "Now... what was it you wanted?" "Well, it has to do with these spell notes." The sorceress set the papers on the desk, and Harus obligingly leaned forward to look. "Now, Mariposa had a question as to these formulae, and--Mariposa, you tell him." She shifted to one side to allow Mari to see the notes as well. "It's important to be able to ask questions when you don't understand something, you know." "Hai, sensei!" Mari leaned forward, biting her lip. "Um, yes. Well, this section." She stuck a tentative finger out, then pointed. "Yes, what about it?" Harus asked. Actinaea blinked and looked at Mari more closely. There was something different about her... "Well, these are the, um, directing runes, yes? Or are they?" "Yes, of course. Oh, I see!" Harus peered more closely at the paper. "That's Karzon's handwriting again. I bet you thought..." He made some notations on the paper. "Because that wouldn't be appropriate for directing runes--" "Hai!" Mari smiled with relief. "Because Actinaea-sensei taught me that these runes--" She looked at the Praetor, and blinked. "Um, sensei? What, what is it?" Actinaea blinked, and realized that she'd been staring at her student. "Oh, well, nothing, Mariposa. Except... are you wearing *makeup*?" Mari put one hand to her face, as her cheeks colored. "Just a little, sensei. One of the, um, girls gave it to me. She said it was something called 'foundation'." Mari looked down. "I can take it off..." Actinaea stared for a moment more, then shook her head. "No, it doesn't matter. I'm only supposed to teach you magic, anyway." She blinked again, surprised at the acidic tone in her voice. "Well, in any case, you need to get this spell straightened out before we leave." "But I already copied it and took notes--" Mari saw the glare in her teacher's eye, and wisely stopped that train of thought. "Hai. Um, if you could answer something else for me, Harus-san..." Actinaea leaned back in her chair, watching the mage and sorceress-in- training converse, mind drifting to other matters, other possibilities. After a couple of minutes she raised her hand to her face, then quickly put it down again. * * * * * "WAKE UP, NAGA-SAN!" "AIEEEE!" Naga screamed as she shot up off the floor. She blinked a couple of times, then was hit by the mother of all headaches. "Ooh," she moaned, clutching her head. "Naga-san! Naga-san! Actinaea-san's really mad at you because you said we needed to leave at noon and it's a few hours past and we have to go..." "Hush, Mari-chan," Naga said quietly. "Not so loud." She winced. "Oh." Mari lowered her voice and peered at her instructor with concern. "Ne, Naga-san, are you okay? You don't look so good." "Ooohohohoho," Naga laughed, unwilling to reach her usual volume. "I will be fine, Mari-chan. Just have a slight headache, is all. Ooohohohoho-ow." She put her hand to her head again. Mariposa looked at Naga skeptically. "Right. You're hungover." Naga shook her head. "Nonsense. Now, let's get going, shall we?" "Right!" Mari agreed as she grabbed Naga's hand and pulled her out of the wagon and into the all-too-bright sunlight. Actinaea stood at the doorway with an impressive scowl on her face. "So, the White Serpent finally decides to grace us with her presence. I'm honored." "Be quiet," Naga ordered, giving the praetor a withering glare of death, which was happily returned. Mari looked from one woman to the other and back, then sighed. "Don't we have to go?" she asked plaintively while tugging at her new scarf. "Because if we're not, I'd like to go say good bye to some friends again." "All in good time, Mari-chan," Naga told the young mage-in- training. She turned back to Actinaea. "I trust you have the money?" "Our pay's right here," the praetor responded, jiggling a pouch of coins. "In Atlas gold, as promised. Of course, there's the small matter of a forty-percent reduction..." "It will all be taken care of," Naga waved her off. Actinaea glowered. "Let's get out of here. We need Getehl-san." "Ano..." The two women looked down at Mariposa. She glanced around in confusion. "Getehl-san was here a minute ago. Where did he go?" * * * * * "Luanni?" Getehl looked behind one of the wagons. "Luanni!" he called again. "I'm right here," a soft voice said behind him. Getehl whirled around, and found himself face to face with the dancing girl. "Luanni! I was afraid I wouldn't find you before we left." She smiled slightly, the smile barely touching her eyes. "Do you have to leave?" "Well, the girls need me, and--" He paused, looking into Luanni's eyes. "And it's my way of life," he finished. Luanni wrapped her arms around Getehl's waist, hugging him. "I'm sorry," she murmured into his chest. "I'm so, so sorry." "No." Getehl grabbed Luanni by the shoulders and gently pushed her away. "I'm the one who should be sorry. What I said before was selfish and... oh, don't cry on me." He wiped away the beginnings of a tear from Luanni's eye with his fingertip. "We're still friends, right?" She nodded. "Best friends." She smiled, and this time it was a full smile, accenting her hazel eyes and making her heart-shaped face all the more beautiful. "Forever," she promised. "Forever," Getehl agreed with a nod and an equally large smile. They stood like that for a few minutes, simply smiling at each other, when a cough was heard. "We've gotta go, Getehl-san," Mari said. Her gaze fell on Luanni. "Now. Naga-san and Actinaea-san aren't too happy." Getehl chuckled. "Looks like I have to go play peacemaker." He sighed. "You don't have to stay, Luanni. Come with us?" "And do what? Cook for you?" Luanni laughed. "I'm not a fighter, Getehl. Besides..." She gestured at the wagons. "This is my way of life." "Point." Getehl nodded and removed his hands from Luanni's shoulders. "So I guess I'll be seeing you." Luanni nodded, then stood on her toes and gave Getehl a quick kiss on the cheek. "Count on it." She ran up to a wagon, turned around, and winked before she disappeared into it. "Bye." Getehl stood in stunned silence, then slowly placed a hand on his cheek. "Bye." "Getehl-san." "Hmm?" He looked down at Mariposa. "You're blushing." "Oh, shut up." * * * * * "Are you sure about this?" "Of course I'm sure." "But Greebo said--" "Look. These guys are after something. Probably something valuable, if they're willing to give up so much Atlas gold to get to it first." "So if we take it from them..." "Exactly. Now you're getting it. Besides, I had a funny feeling about that mercenary guy. Like I've seen him somewhere before." "I guess. Let's just go." The two hooded figures crept out of the wagon and stole off into the dead of night. * * * * * Harus sat next to the morning campfire, staring dejectedly into the flames. He sighed once and placed his head in his hands. "Here you go, Sir," Luanni said, handing him a mug of steaming coffee. He mutely accepted it and tossed it back, ignoring the searing heat, then placed it next to him and continued to watch the fire. It wasn't enough that Naga and the others had chosen to leave the day before, but some time during the night his two remaining guards had taken off as well. Leaving him all alone with six very flighty dancers... and Saillune was still two days away, leaving them wide open to attack. A cry of "Bandits!" broke him from his misery. Looking up, he saw a dozen figures approaching on horseback. It looked like Regnar had regrouped his forces. Harus sighed again. Today was not going to be a good day. Resolving himself to his fate, the trader mage stood up and wiped his hands on his pant legs. As the bandits drew near, he noticed the old sea captain wasn't with them. "Well, here goes nothing," he muttered to himself. The bandit leader pulled his horse up in front of Harus with a flourish. "Good morning," Harus greeted with his sunniest smile (no small feat when having a morning like his). "Enough with the pleasantries. Give us what we want." The bandit leader would have almost sounded bored, if it weren't for the nervous tick in his eye. "Can't we work something out, perhaps?" Harus protested. "Once we get to Saillune, I'll be able to--" "Stop blathering. Where is the White Serpent?" the bandit leader demanded. "No, I-- Wait, the White Serpent? You don't want to kidnap my dancing girls?" "I don't care about your blasted dancing girls... We only want Naga." Regnar looked around the camp. "I don't see her, or her companions. Where is she, old man?" "She... isn't with us anymore. We parted company yesterday," Harus explained. He allowed himself to hope that maybe he'd get lucky this time. "Feh. C'mon, boys... let's leave these clumsy-looking cows. Let's ride!" The bandit leader wheeled and set off at a full gallop, his men following closely behind. The dancers, who had been in the process of their morning beautification ritual when the bandits had arrived, all stuck their heads out of their doors at the overheard slight. "Did you hear what he called us?" "That jerk!" "What? But he’s such a cutie!" "Let's get 'em, girls!" Harus stared in disbelief as four of his dancers rushed out of their wagons, hopped onto the backs of the pack horses, and took off after the band of highwaymen. "There, there, Sir. It'll be okay," Luanni reassured him, patting him on the back. She picked his mug up off the ground and refilled it. "I'm ruined..." he wailed. * * * * * Author’s Notes: Whew. Got it in. ^_^ Sorry about this part being beyond late. Real Life decided to intervene in a number of nasty little ways, which I won’t list here. Hopefully it’s worth the wait, though. ^_^; Big, big thanks goes to Ravi, John, and Todd. These three were great. They were my motivators and pre/proofreaders. They also gave me opinions, suggestions, and even offered to write scenes for me. If any future authors for Glorious aren’t sure as to what they should do (or need feedback), I suggest looking these three up. One of them, at least, will probably be able to help. Speaking of which, I actually did take up Ravi and John on writing scenes (as I was pressed for time). Ravi wrote the ‘Mariposa makeup’ scene and a very detailed skeleton for the last scene. John wrote the Ace/Mari/Harus scene. I tweaked them, and for the last scene fleshed it out (it was a skeleton, after all), but for the most part those scenes are Ravi’s and John’s. And they’re wonderful scenes, aren’t they? ^_^ Oh, and the captain’s supposed to be a running gag. Or I hope he’ll be. Please, please, please don’t give him a name or turn him into a serious threat. If you do, I’ll have to sic Quistis the Aardvark on you, and it won’t be pretty. :P Comments and such are welcome at ardweden@netscape.net That is all. Thanks for reading. ^_^ Ardweden