The cities inside the snowglobe were tiny perfect replicas of the real thing. The snow around the buildings looked almost real, and the water inside the globe was still. A pale hand took the globe off the shelf, and a pair of icy blue eyes stared into it intently. The woman bent her wrist to shake the tranquil little snow world.
"Calisto, don’t you think you’re being a bit too dramatic?" Serendipity asked, smiling smugly and tossing her long black hair.
"We’re the five lords, Serendipity," Loki responded cooly. "We’re supposed to be dramatic."
Calisto glared over her shoulder through her white bangs. "Thanks for breaking the tension, Your Highness," she snapped sarcastically. "By the way, I enjoyed that meal last night. I would’ve enjoyed it more if we’d had those birds instead of salmon!"
"My, aren’t we feeling evil and vindictive this morning?" Ganneth asked calmly.
"You stay out of this, child!"
Casseopia wiggled a finger. "That wasn’t very creative, Calisto, dear."
"Dear?" Loki wondered aloud.
Calisto sniffed and turned back to the snowglobe. She sighed, trying in vain to restore dramatic tension, and turned it upside down, eveloping the tiny world inside in a flurry of snow.
"I hate the snow," Coran groaned, shivering.
His fiance, the sorceress Sukuu, spun around next to him. "I love it! It’s so romanntic!"
"So are trips to the core, but you don’t see me dragging you out in it."
"Oh, Coran, don’t be so serious. Have a little fun!" Sukku stuck out her tongue. "Catch some snowflakes or something! Live a little!"
Coran sighed, and stuck out his tongue. He stood there for several moments, then glared at Sukuu. "I can’t catch any!"
Sukku sighed. "Fine, then. Just hold out your hand or something." She grabbed his hand, and pulled him out into the street. "Come on! It’ll be fun!"
Coran looked up into the sky that was barely visible through the ice. "Hey," he said wonderingly. "Look! A gold one!" he held out his other hand and caught the strange snowflake. Sukuu blinked. "What gold one? I don’t see..."
A strange golden fog swirled out from Coran’s hand and enveloped Sukuu and Coran. Sukuu cried out, and held out a hand, the spell for protection forming in her mind. Coran gasped. "Sukuu, what’s happening?"
The mist cleared, and they found themselves in a strange, summery landscape. Sukuu blinked. "Sorcery...but, what...."
Coran stared at her accusingly. "Did you do this?"
"No! I’ve never seen anything like it! I mean..." Sukuu looked up. "You can see the sky better than on Europa...but there’s something between us and it."
"Probably ice," Coran said dryly. Sukuu stared at him patronizingly. "No! It’s too clear to be ice. It’s almost like glass or something."
"Well," Coran said cheerfully, "On the plus side, it’s not cold anymore!"
Sukuu sighed. "Come on."
She and Coran wandered down the rural road they’d landed by. Sukuu looked around warily, trying to sense for any magical traces that would tell them how’s they’d gotten to wherever they were. Except,she thought, I didn’t sense any magic use when we were sent here, and I haven’t seen any other people here. Maybe we’re the only ones here. Or maybe this is a dream, and we’re not really here but back there and the nonexistant people aren’t actually supposed to be here because they’re all back there and we’re supposed to be there while they’re drinking and throwing parties for Trista and we aren’t there because we’re here and what was I thinking again?
"Good afternoon."
Sukuu sighed. "Oh, good, I’m not crazy."
"You aren’t?" Coran asked, and ducked to avoid Sukuu’s hand. The traveller looked at them, and raised an eyebrow. He was a strange looking young man of about sixteen, carrying a basket over his shoulder. He nodded to them. "The city is back that way, if that’s where you’re headed."
"We’re not..." Coran began, and Sukuu elbowed him in the stomach. "Thank you. That’s just where we’re headed."
The young man smiled and walked off. Coran bent over. "Owie, Sukuu, that hurt!"
Sukuu looked at him incredulously. "Owie?"
Within an hour, they were inside the limits of a smallish village. Coran blinked. "This is a city?"
"I guess these people aren’t as advanced as we are," Sukuu said, then looked at Coran, who was scratching his backside absently, and raised her eyebrows. "Or something like that."
A group of small children under ten ran past laughing and yelling cheerfully. There were about seven of them, ranging from a tallish girl who seemed to be the one they were chasing to a tiny girl with blue hair and bells all over her dress and....
"Am I actually seeing an all-green person?" Coran asked. Sukuu nodded, and shrugged. "Don’t ask me. Maybe he’s some sort of genie or changelling or something. I’m wondering about the bell girl."
"Who?"
Someone shoved into Sukuu’s back, and she fell into Coran’s arms. Both turned and stared at the slim girl who had run into Sukuu. The girl smiled and pushed back her long purple braid. "Whoops! Sorry about that. Um, I didn’t, you know, stab you or anything, did I?"
"Excuse me?" Sukuu asked. The girl laughed, revealing two pointed fangs. "Oh, nothing. Never mind. I just thought that maybe I had accidentaly stuck a knife in your back or scratched you with a poisonous daggar or something like that. You know how it is."
" No, I..."
"Excuse me," Coran asked, "but are you aware there’s a knife sticking out of your wrist?"
"Huh?" The girl looked down. "Oh. That." She pulled up her sleeve, revealing a small sheath around her wrist. "Yeah, that was what I was worried about. That won’t hold it very well. I need to get it fixed. But I didn’t stick you or anything?"
"Taika! What are you doing?" A younger boy ran over, breeze playing in his silver hair. The girl, Taika, grinned maliciously, and pulled him over, slinging an arm over his shoulder. "Hey, little brother! Long time no see!"
"We’re not related! Let me go!"
Sukuu looked at them closely, and noticed that both of them had identical red violet eyes. She blinked. "Are you two brother and sister?"
"Gee, Sukuu, you’ve got a keen grasp of the obvious," Coran quipped.
"We’re not related!" The boy exclaimed again, and Taika pulled him closer. "Hey, people I’ve never met before and probably will never see again, I’m Taika, and this is my little brother Mejiro. Nice to meet you, so glad I didn’t kill you, and hopefully we can all go home and get on with our lives. Come on, Mejiro!" She waltzed away, pulling the boy behind her, and ignoring his protests. "Hey! Why’d you tell them that your my sister? What is wrong with you? Psycho!"
"That," Coran said, "was really interesting."
Sukuu blinked. "Really. Let’s go look for someone who can explain what just happened who isn’t insane." She started walking, and looked back over her shoulder. "Hey, Coran, come..."
"Watch out!" Coran ran over, and caught Sukuu as she fell over once again, this time after crashing into a young man wih blonde hair and gold eyes. She shook her head, and blushed. "Oh! I’m so sorry! Are you okay?"
The boy looked at her and smiled charmingly. "Oh, don’t worry. It’s no problem. It was an accident." He helped Coran bring Sukuu to her feet, then smiled again and walked off. "See you!"
"That sure was nice!" Coran said. "Better than someone asking whether or not they just stabbed you."
"What would you have done if they had?"
"What? Asked if he’d stabbed you?"
"No, actually stabbed me."
Coran looked down at her, concerned. "I’d probably have to kill them."
Sukuu laughed. "I can’t imangine you killing anyone, Coran!"
He laughed too. "Me either. But hey, if you were to get hurt or killed, I’d certainly have to."
Sukuu smiled. "Okay. Let’s find a place to stay tonight, anyway. It’s getting colder."
"Weren’t you the one who said snow was romantic?"
"It’s not snowing."
"Touche."
Coran and Sukuu walked through the streets, staring at the strange people. There were young couples like themselves out strolling, but their outfits and demeanor were completely different from each others. There were people out riding together, except they had no mounts. Instead of human legs, the human torsos sprang from the backs of horses. There were more strange children, some with wings, some in long clothing of a strange shimmery material. But strangest of all was the fact that every once in a while, they would encounter people who seemed to have also come from Europa. A group of young men were discussing the politics of Trista, and a small cluster of women greeted them in the Europan manner before directing them to their inn.
After a while, Coran and Sukuu finally collapsed in their room. Sukuu closed her eyes. "I couldn’t sense any magical traces, no matter how hard I looked. I wonder what happened."
"I don’t know," Coran said, sitting up. "However, did you notice all the people?"
"Coran, I’m not even sure half of them were people."
"No, I mean about the people we saw. Don’t you think it’s weird that we never once saw a single person any older than I?"
Sukuu blinked, and sat up. "You’re right! I don’t think I saw a single person under the age of twenty or so in all that time! That’s strange."
"You’re on a roll today, Sukuu." Coran lay back and yawned. "But I’m tired. We should get some sleep."
Sukuu sighed, and lay down. "Just sleep?"
"Yeeees...." Coran looked over at her. "Much as I’m tempted, I really am tired. I don’t think I’ll ever pick up on that eternal energy of yours."
"Fine, then. Spoil my fun."
"Be a good little three hundred whatever sorceress and wait until morning."
It was nearing noon when Sukuu and Coran finally left the inn. They wandered back down to the marketplace where’d they’d been the night before so that Sukuu could try to gather some information on this strange place. However, depsite their extensive questioning of nearly every vendor and possilbe gossip, the only information they gleaned was the name of this world.
"Nieva?" Coran asked. "What kind of a name is that?"
"What kind of a name is Coran?" Sukuu reorted. Coran rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine. I’ll give you that one."
Sukuu grinned, then looked over at another vendor. She gasped. "It’s that guy from yesterday!"
They hurried over, and intercepted the blonde boy as he finished his purchase. Sukuu smiled. "Hey there! You probably don’t remember us, be I crashed into you yesterday, and anyway, I was wondering if you could help us out. We’re new here, you see..."
The boy smiled back winnigly. "Of course I’ll help. What do you need to know?"
"Amazing," Coran whispered. "A sane person in this town."
Sukuu stepped on his foot. "Ignore my boyfriend. He’s a jerk."
"I wasn’t a jerk this morning, was I?"
"Have you lived here your whole life?"
"No. I was born in Sapphire city on Nereid. I just showed up here too, same as you guys did, I bet. I havne’t met anyone here who didn’t come here the same way." The boy frowned thoughtfully. "There is one other thing. Every now and then, a person will just dissapear completely. It happens very rarely, but no one knows where they went or how they escaped."
"How often does that happen?"
"I can’t say. Time’s a little weird here. I mean, I feel like I’ve lived here about twelve years o so, but I can’t tell, and I haven’t gotten any older, so it can’t have been that long, can it?"
"No," Sukuu said quietly, "I supposed it can’t."
"Sukuu," Coran whispered, "are you getting an idea of what’s going on?"
"Well," Sukuu replide, "I’m guessing they’re using a spell similar to mine so that no one gets any older,but...."
"They?"
"That’s just it. I don’t know. I’m at a loss."
The boy stared at them suspiciously. "Who are you?"
"Oh!" Coran grinned. "Sorry! We never introduced ourselves. I’m Coran, and this is my fiance Sukuu."
"That’s nice, but I meant who are you and where do I know you from anyway?"
"I ran into you yesterday around here," Sukuu answered, confused. The boy frowned, and his golden eyes glowed angrily.
"That’s right! You did run into me!" His voice rose to a shout. "Watch where you’re going, you idiot! What kind of moron crashes into people like that? What in the hell were you thinking?"
"Hey!" Coran snapped. "Don’t call Sukuu a moron! What’s your problem, anyway?"
"My problem is people like you!" the boy yelled, shoving Coran violently. Coran toppled backward, but remained standing. Sukuu gasped in surprise. The boy glared at them once more, spat at thier feet, and stalked off.
"What in the world was that about?" Coran sputtered.
Ganneth stroked Acacia’s white feathers gently, and bird chirped and moved closer ot him. Serendipity smiled. "Good, good, Ganneth. Soon they’ll be trusting you enough that you won’t need me around to help at all."
"I learn fast," Ganneth said absently, and held out his hand for Peony. The younger bird snapped at his fingers, and Serendipiy shook her head. "Not yet. Just be a good boy and be patient"
"I hate being patient," Ganneth muttered, then looked up, eyes flashing. "Wait a minute! I’m not a boy! I’m almost two thousand years old!"
"Now Ganneth, listen tothe creepy fairy lady and don’t touch the birdie." Casseopia cooed absently, staring in the mirror and twirling her orange hair. Ganneth yelled. "When is everyone going to stop treatng me like a child?"
Calisto snarled at the reminder of Serendipity’s roalty in teh face of her own satus. Loki looked back at them. "I got much better things asgifts from my followers on Earth."
"Servants can’t possibly afford gifts,"Serendipity repsonded.
"I meant those who worshipped me. They left things in my temples."
"Loki, dear, last time I checked, the privy wasn’t a temple."
"Oh, ignore her, Loki darling," Calisto cooed, eyes big andinnocent. "She’s just a fairy, after all."
"Funny," Ganneth muttered, "the same could be said about Loki."
"You shut up, boy!"
"Calisto," Serendipity said, calling Acacia and Peony to he, "don’t you think it’s impolite to be so rude to a favorite of roylaty? Esspecially when one could never even marry into power."
Calisto shot up, eyes blazing, and stalked over to the dark haired woman. "Now listen here, you filthy, heathen, animalistic, overbearing, bird-loving, bizarre thing.."
"Oh, such strong language!" Serendipty teased. "Did you use that in a past life?"
"I don’t recall your world ever reaching the status of Europa, Your Highness!"
"I don’t recall you ever reaching the status to say that, peseant."
It was a silly insult, but calisto flew into a rage, She hurled a glass heeled shoe at the two birds. Serendipity trhew out her arms, startling them into flight, and stood, furious. "How dare you!"
The shoe crashed into the wall and shattered. Ganneth let out a whistle and the two birds flew over to him, cowering behind his small frame. Calisto lunged at Serendipity, grasping for her long dark hair. Serendipity clutched at the other girl’s long white tresses and flailed uselessly with her other arm, trying to block Calisto’s grabs.The two women twirled in a mad circle, screaming, scratching, even biting at the other’s face and arms. Finally, Serendipity wrenched herself away, and held out her arms, whsipering a spell to paralyze the other woman. Calisto reached into the folds of her silver gown, and a a knife flashed from her hands across the room. Serendipity warded the weapon away quickly, and the knife shot off to the side, and buried itself in Loki’s stomach.
Calisto shrieked, and ran over to his side. "Loki! Loki! Oh, I’m so sorry!"
"Oh, lovely, Calisto," Serendipity drawled sarcastically, smiling faintly. "I’m sure every woman wants to murder the man she loves."
"Shut up you horrible witch!" Calisto shrieked frantically. "Send those stupid pets of yours into the snowglobe, now! We need a body quickly! He’s dying!"
Casseopia looked up from the mirror, dazed. "What? Did something just happen?"
Ganneth carried teh birds over to the large snowglobe in the center of the realm. He set them atop the glass surface. "Go in. Find a young man of about eighteen or so in years, blonde, with light eyes, and in near perfect health. And be quick, if you could."
Acacia and Peony stared at the boy with unwavering saffron eyes, pupils dilated to invisibility. Then they were gone.
Calisto pounded on the floor, sobbing hysterically, while Serendipity watched cooly from a distance and Casseopia tried to sort out what had happened. She wailed. "Loki, hang on!"
"Happy birthday, Coran!" Sukuu waved her hands, and the candles danced in circles around Coran’s head. He laughed. "Wow! i swear, that looks more magical every year!"
"Well, you’re eighteen now. I’m surprised my tricks haven’t gotten old by now."
"Yep, eighteen. One year closer to you."
"Until I have a bithday."
Coran wrapped his arms around Sukuu. "I don’t care, you know that. As long as I’m aorund you, I don’t care how old you are. You could be a thousand years old, and hideaous, and I wouldn’t care."
"Coran, that’s so romantic!" Sukuu embraced him back. "Thank you."
"Marry me, Sukuu."
Sukuu stepped back. "What"
Coran looked back at her plaintitively. "Marry me, Sukuu. Today. We’re no closer to getting back to Europa now than we were a few months ago. I’m not even sure it was just a few months ago. But...Sukuu, just say yes, please!"
Sukuu bit her lip, green eyes shinning. "Yes, Coran, I will marry you! Nothing else could make this any more perfect than that!"
Coran jumped up, shouting gleefully. "Yes! Yes! She said yes!" he grabbed her hand, and pulled her towards the door. "Come on, Sukuu! Let’s go right now!"
Sukuu laughed, and ran after him.
The two skipped, waltzed, and all but danced down the street. Sukuu threw herself at Coran, who cuaght her and wrapped his arms around her again. He whispered in her ear. "This will be perfect. We’ll start our lives together this second. I don’t ever want this moment to end."
Sukuu held Coran closer, burying her face in his blonde hair, just enjoying the sound of his voice and the feeling of standing there with him. She closed her eyes, and reached up o stroke his soft hair, but her hands touched nothing.
Sukuu opened her eyes, and cried out. Coran seemed to be fading out of reality. he was transparent as spun glass, and his whole body had the feeling of being no more solid than cotton candy. Sukuu grabbed for his arms, but her hand passed through him. "Coran!"
Coran’s mouth moved, but no sound came out. His face was contorted in fear, and he reached out for Sukuu desperately. She grabed for his hand once more, but before she could even touch him, there was nothing left. It was as if Coran had been nothing more than a snbeam peeking through the clouds, obscured as they moved over its surface
Sukuu stared at the spot where her fiance had stood, and let out a cry. "Coran!"
She called out Coran’s name again and again, as if it were an incantation that would bring him back."Coran! Coran! Coran!"
Finally, Sukuu’s mind seemed ot register that she was staring at an empty spot on the road. She covered her face, and shook for a long moment. Then she looked up at the eerie blue sky, and suddenly realized that she wasn’t sad
She was absolutely furious.
Sukuu glared at the sky, screaming out every spell she knew of, using any magical abilities she possesed, flinging all her power at the mysterious barrier between herself and the sky. "Give him back! He’s not yours! Give him back to me!"
Sukuu attacked the barrier with all her strength until she collasped on the road, nearly unconscious. She closed her eyes, fighting back tears of exhastion and loss, waiting ntil she had the strength to try again.
That was when she felt someone watching her."
Calisto sat at Loki’s feet. "How are you feeling today, Loki?"
"Fine," he said with a hint of annoyance. "Fine. Just the same as I’ve felt forthe last thousand years."
"Oh, but Calitso just woulnd’t be able to face herself i you ever just felt okay, or especially not bad," Serendipity drawled from her corner. Calisto glared, and Loki closed his eyes in exasperation. The fairy queen didn’t seem to be fazed. She twirled he flower bracelet around her wrist. "You know, calisto, if you’re still trying to make up for that whole almost killing Loki thing, I thinkI should tell you it’s pointless. I mean, yo nearly destroyed his whole purpose in being here with one stupid move, didn’t you?"
Peony squawked in agreement, and Calisto’s furious blue eyes flew to the bird. She threw a glass at it. "You annoying animal!"
Peony took off, crying in alarm, and Acaian joined her. the two birds swirled around the the realm in a panic, and one of Acacia’s large wings knocked one of the dusty snowglobes on a shelf. It tipped on its pedestal and rolled off. Loki, Calisto, and Serendipity gasped, and all three lunged for it at once.
Casseopia reached and caught the globe, absently setting it back on the pedestal and returning to her daily primping. "Honestly, you three! All this fighting is bad for my personal aura, and you know how that affects my looks!"
Ganneth looked up from his book and sighed.
Mika Motoaki and her younger brother Nimi paused on thier way home from school. Nimi pointed ot the sky. "Look! Snow!"
Mika blinked. "That’s strange. There’s only a little falling. And it’s so nice out today, too." She shooed Nimi towards their yard. "Go on inside! You don’t want to sick or anything!"
Nimi nodded and ran off. Mika followed behind a bit more slowly, staring at the light snowfall. She blinked. "Wow....look at that snowflake!"
She held out her hand, and caught the strange golden snowflake. Mika leaned forward to examine it more closely.
When she looked up again, it wasn’t snowing, and she wasn’t in front of her house anymore.
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