SIDE STORY 8: ZEPHRA'S ANGEL
PICTURES TO COME SOON/ ENJOY THE STORY FOR NOW.
It is early afternoon, Nephra, Jaken and Heroshya are right outside of the castle speaking when Zephra walks up excited, "Look at this dragon art a man from the human village created for me." She reveals her arm and there embedded onto her skin is a detailed, perfect drawing of a Japanese dragon. Jaken and Nephra gasp while marveling at the beautiful drawing, Nephra compliments, "It's amazing Zephra, but who is skilled enough to create such drawings on your arm?" She continues explaining, " I came across a man from the human village drawing on a stone. I made a comment that his art was impressive and that I wanted to own one for myself. He told me that he could give me something even better and he began creating this dragon on my arm." Heroshya responds, " Zephra you've done it now...you should know father would not like something like that on your body." Jaken adds, "That's true, I've only seen such art on the bodies of vicious ruffians and hoodlums. Then again, Zephra wears it well, it looks rather attractive on her." Heroshya responds to Jaken, "That doesn't matter, Father will be furious." He then looks back up at Zephra and explains, "You see Zephra, this is exactly why Father doesn't trust you...you are always making bad decisions with out worrying about the consequences." Nephra knows this will start an argument and she tries to silence her brother as she quietly says, "Heroshya...let's just let father handle this." Zephra jumps in, "No..I want to know, What do you mean Father doesn't trust me?!" Heroshya continues, "Isn't it obvious, Father never wants to send you out on any serious missions." Jaken immediately speaks in Zephra's defense, "You don't know what your saying Heroshya, Lord Sesshomaru just doesn't want to see Zephra hurt." Heroshya agrees, "Well that is also true, she is only a half demon female after all.....she could easily be defeated at any time." Zephra's blood boils as she angrily responds, "That's the last time you will speak in such way about me." she draws her sword, "Brother or not, I will defeat you right here and I won't let up until you beg for mercy." Nephra and Jaken are in shock and continue to look on wondering if Zephra and Heroshya will battle right in front of their father's castle. Heroshya shakes his head, not at all intimidated by her threat as he continues, "No, it's a waste of my time fighting with you. First of all I have more demonic powers than you do, secondly...I'd have to be light on you or father will punish me severly for hurting you and third, I will always beat you in a fight using our father's swords because he set it up so that my sword would defeat yours and Nephra's." Zephra is in shock as she was unaware that Heroshya's sword had this ability, "WHAT!!" Nephra yells at her brother, "Heroshya...you weren't suppose to tell Zephra that!!" Zephra looks at Nephra and asks, "You knew about this!?" Nephra sighs, "Yes Zephra, father thought it would be best if we didn't mention it to you." Heroshya adds, "I don't care anymore, she should know that I will always be able to defeat her." He continues as he directs his next comment directly at Zephra, "So stop thinking that you can compete with me in battle, You will never be able to fight me and win." She continues, "I don't believe it, father wouldn't do that!!" Heroshya shrugs, "Go and ask him." Zephra is extremely angry as she goes on, "I WILL!!" Zephra leaves to find her father and ask about this situation but when she sees both her parents together in the dining quarters of the castle, she is automatically questioned by her father, "What is that painting on you arm?" She responds, "It's just a little dragon art father." he orders, "You will remove it at once." Zephra inquires confused, "Remove it!?" Rin repeats, "Yes Zephra, Go on to the hot spring and wash it off right away." Zephra is shocked that her parents take an immediate disliking to the art on her arm as she informs, " I can't. The man who created it said it takes a few days for it to wear off so it won't wash right away." Sesshomaru demands, " "You will keep it hidden from sight until then." Again Zephra is shocked at her parents reaction to this as she argues, "It took all morning to create." Sesshomaru raises his voice, "I don't care how long it took!" She continues to argue, " "It's not fair, why can't I do what I want with my own arm??" Rin answers her, "Zephra, It's not lady like and very unbecoming of a princess so obey your father and keep it hidden." Zephra looks at her father and they stare at each other sternly for a moment as Zephra sees her red cloak is nearby and wraps it around her shoulders to keep the art hidden as her parents instructed. She inquires, "So is this what you do Father? Keep those things you are ashamed of hidden? Perhaps I should disappear also." Zephra turns to walk out but she is stopped by Sesshomaru as he stands he asks in a slightly raised voice, "Zephra....what do you mean by that?!" Zephra does not turn around but only glances from the corner of her eye as she inquires, "Is it true that Heroshya's sword can destroy my sword?" Rin is shocked and wonders how she found out while Sesshomaru is silent and does not respond to her question. Zephra swiftly turns to face Sesshomaru as she asks, "Well Father?" Sesshomaru responds angrily, " I am ruler of this empire! I will give the orders and make the decisions and you will obey,not question." Zephra responds, "Right Father, Of course his sword can defeat mine, that way if he and I were to battle, your worthless daughter would be destroyed instead of your precious son." Zephra tosses the hood of the red cloak over her head and in her distraught state, begins to run out the castle. Rin is completely suprised at her daughter's behavior as she shouts out, "Zephra...come back here!!" Sesshomaru tells Rin, "Let her go, we will discuss this further once her anger has ceased." As Nephra, Heroshya and Jaken are still outside, Zephra runs pass them so quickly that the back of her cloak flutters behind her. Jaken yells to her, "Zephra Wait up!!" Nephra also calls out to her, "Zephra where are you going?!!" Zephra is too upset to speak as she quickly climbs atop of Au Un who flies off instantly on her command. Nephra gives Heroshya a stern look causing him to subbornly roll his eyes and fold his arms, looking away as if he did nothing wrong.
Zephra can't help that she favors her father, so she is now heart broken, feeling as though he has decieved and betrayed her. She takes Au Un and they fly for a while allowing her to clear her mind, they fly so long that Zephra finds herself at the borders of the Southern region. She did not realize how quickly the time went by and how long they had been flying so Zephra decides she must stop and allow Au Un to rest, feed and water before she leaves back to the castle. She sees a nearby human village with a small meadow and lake so she rests there with the dragon demon for a while sitting on the grass thinking: I don't understand....How could father do this to me? He gives Heroshya the ability to destroy me if we were to fight? She removes her hooded cloak and kneels by the water, attempting to wash the ink off of her arm but it is stained on as the man informed. Suddenly she hears a soft voice of a child asking, "Wow, thats a really great dragon, why are you trying to wipe it off?" Zeprha looks over and she sees a small human boy child about 6 years old with big brown eyes standing beside her. She was so consumed in her thoughts that she did not catch his scent when he approached as she asks him, "Where'd you come from? Don't you know it's dangerous to sneak up on a demon?" The child giggles, "But you're only half a demon." Zephra rolls her eyes and sighs as she continues, "Don't you have somewhere to be?" He ignores her question and sits near her asking again, "Hey, why are you trying to wash off that dragon paint? I like it." She answers, "My father won't let me keep it." he asks, "How come?" she says, "He doesn't like it" he replies, "Why not?" Zephra replies vaguely, "Because." he inquires, "Because what??" Zephra sighs again, "You ask a lot of questions." he tells her, "Okay well you can ask me some questions." Zephra says, "Where are your parents?" He responds, "They are at home in our hut. My mother is a priestest and my father is a monk. They are always too busy to keep track of me sometimes." Zephra agrees,"Yes, I can see that." He continues, "My name is Zemy, what's your name?" She tells him, "Zephra." Some time goes by and Zemy talks on about foods he hates and about the other kids in his village while Zephra sits there and listens, she is finding herself slowly forgetting about the disagreement she had with her father earlier as she listens. He continues, "The other boys tease me, they say my father wears a monk dress and I will too when I grow up." He looks at Zephra with his big sorrowful eyes, sad from the bad memory of being teased in the village and she can't help but notice how adorable he is, she advices him, "Well next time you tell them that they are foolish because it's not a dress it's a robe of honor." Zephra stands and places her hooded cloak on as she says, "It's getting late I have to go." He whines, "Oh don't go Zephra." she says, "I have to, I have a long trip back home and you should go home too." He says sadly, "Okay, Good bye." he begins to walk back toward home and Zephra takes Au Un by his reins preparing him to leave as she asks Au Un, "Are you ready Au Un, Had enough to eat?" She places the muzzles on the snout of each dragon when she suddenly hears a childs scream. She looks up and she realizes instantly that it's Zemy as she drops everything and runs at top speed to see what is happening. She gets closer and sees he is being carried off by demons. They have the young boy while running but Zephra is right behind them...she is not sure what these demons would want with a little human boy but she thinks to herself that they are not going to take him. Zemy continues screaming as he is facing Zephra and holds his hands out to her, she is not close enough behind them and unable to reach Zemy. The demon is at his destination as he jumps into what looks like a worm hole, Zephra uses her demon speed to go as fast as she can to catch that worm hole before it closes and she is just in time as she jumps directly into it, almost missing it as it disappears behind her. The demon carrying Zemy realizes Zephra is still behind him and in the worm hole as he gets extremely angry. He begins to fight her with the little boy still in his arms. Zephra does not unsheath her sword because Zemy is close and she does not want to risk harming him, instead she dodges the demons power strikes easily by jumping and flipping around them. She focuses and times it just right as she emits three fast slash blades at the demon holding him, his head is slit in half lengthwise as he begins to wobble ready to fall to the ground and loosening his grip on the boy allowing Zemy to break free. The demon falls to the ground dead. She kneels down to face Zemy as she ask, "Are you okay?" He says, "Yes but how are we going to get home?" She tells him, "We'll have to find a way out." The area looks like a normal wooded forest but yet Zephra knows somehow they are no longer in the normal Southern region of Japan. She thinks that maybe when they came through the portal, they entered a door way that led them to another area of Japan. Zemy takes Zephra's hand as he feels safer that way and she grips his hand in return as they walk and she tries to find a way out of this other dimension they are in. As they continue to walk through Zephra can smell the scent of another demon near by but she does not see anyone when she looks around but there is something lurking, A reptile demon that has the ability to camouflage herself is hiding as she watches Zephra. She wants the little human boy for her own reasons but she needs him alive. She is irritated that Zephra has killed the demon that was carrying the boy and now she has to find another way to capture him. The reptile demon is extremely powerful as she looks at Zephra thinking: Hmmm, a half demon...she should be simple enough to defeat. The reptile raises her hand and her eyes glow a brilliant color as she causes a violent storm to arise while Zephra and Zemy are walking, hoping to seperate the two of them. Suddenly the winds whip furiously, the rain falls heavy turning into big clumps of ice as they begin hitting the ground. Little Zemy is so tiny and Zephra can see he is having trouble fending off the big crystals of icy rain that drop and she is holding his hand but he is unable to stand stable from the powerful winds. Zephra tells him, "Hold on to me Zemy!" as she removes her hooded cloak and places it over Zemy at the same time she lifts his little body, holding him tigtly in her arms and keeping his head and face covered with the hood of the cloak. She tries to find shelter for him. The winds and ice are not so much of a bother for her as she forces her way through the horrible storm that fell upon them out of nowhere. Finally she sees a cave and enters it to keep Zemy safe, once inside everything seems to be calm again, she removes the hood from his head and takes a look at his tiny face that is red from the cold. He immediately says, "Zephra, I'm scared. I wanna go home." She tells him, "Don't worry Zemy, I'll make sure you get home safe and sound." he asks to be sure, "You won't leave me?" Zephra responds, "Of course not, Not until you're safe at home with your mother and father." She changes the subject to help him feel better, "Hey you want to see a trick my sword can do?" Zemy nods yes so Zephra removes her sword and aims at some sticks and leaves that are on the ground of the cave allowing flame to rush to it as they burst into a big orange spark and turn into a brilliant fire. Zemy says, "That's amazing Zephra." Zephra replies, "I thought you'd like that. It will keep you warm." She opens her arms and Zemy cuddles up with her as she keeps the cloak around him for warmth, she also wraps him in her arms. He asks her, "How does your sword have such power?" Zephra explains, "This sword was made especially for me from my father's fang. The fire is a small fragment of his power." Zemy still curious inquires, "But Zephra, why did he give you a sword like that?" Zephra answers, "Well, he wanted me to have a piece of his power to defeat my enemies, so I would always be safe." Zemy notes, "He must really love you to give a piece of himself for your protection." Zephra thinks about Zemy's words as she states, "Yes he does love me, he is a really wonderful father." She begins thinking that she is lucky to have such great parents that love her so much. She also thinks to herself: My father would never allow anyone to harm me, not even his own son, there is something I've been misunderstanding. As she looks down at Zemy's adorable face and big brown eyes, she smiles at him and she thinks she suddenly understands why her mother and father are always so over protective of her activities and well being. Zephra tells Zemy, "You go to sleep now, I will watch over you." He looks up at her with fear in his eyes as he tries to fight sleep, she assures him, "I won't let anyone hurt you." Meanwhile back West, it is very late and Sesshomaru knows that Zephra is not in the castle. He never shows any emotion or distress but inside he is upset about his daughter and wonders why she has not returned home yet. Jaken is also near Lord Sesshomaru as he paces nervously and looks out the tall castle window wondering when Zephra will return. Sesshomaru orders, "Jaken...be still, Zephra will return soon." Rin knows her husband is worried when he sits up at his throne in the late of night like this, normally he would retire to the resting quarters with her. Rin says nothing only remaining at the throne with her husband as she holds his hand in hers, they wait together for their daughter to return. Nephra and Heroshya are in the dining quarters as they play a game using colored stones. Nephra patiently waits for Heroshya to take his turn but she notices he is not paying attention as she says, "Heroshya, go on..it's your turn." Heroshya explains, "I don't feel like playing this game anymore." Nephra asks, "Are you worried about Zephra?" Heroshya tries to act unconcerned as he stands and replies, "No, I don't care where she is but still I'm going to go look for her and give her a piece of my mind, I can't believe she would run off and worry everyone like this." Nephra responds, "No don't....If I know Zephra she's probably staying with Uncle Inuyasha in the human village or something, she just needs some space, she'll be back in the morning. C'mon, let's finish the game to keep our minds off it." Heroshya sits back down to finish the game but wonders if maybe he pushed Zephra too far today. Zemy rests all night in Zephra's arms and when it is daylight again they step out of the cave, the sun is shining brightly in this other area the two are trapped in. The sun now beams down so she takes the cloak from Zemy and puts it back around her shoulders and ties it at the neck. She takes hold of his hand again and as they walk she asks him, "Zemy, do you know how to climb a tree?" He responds, "Yes, I do it all the time." she informs him ahead, "Good, If something tries to attack us I want you to climb one of these trees so you can hide and yell for me if you are in danger. My nose and ears are sharp I can smell other demons and I can hear you from miles away." Zemy is very impressed as he asks, "You can do all that???" Zephra says, "I sure can, I have dog senses." he states, "I wish I could do those things." she replies, "When you become a monk, you will be able to do powerful things also." As they walk they run across a big lake, Zephra is glad as she says, "This is perfect are you hungry Zemy? I can smell fish in this pond to eat." She and Zemy step in the water and together they catch fish, she creates a small fire to cook the fish on sticks. After they eat, Zephra puts out the fire and says, "Okay Zemy let's get a quick drink from this lake and then keep moving. I must figure out where we are." Zemy drinks from the lake and Zephra kneels down to place water in her hand she sips, she goes to put more water in her hand and she notices her reflection in the water is smiling at her. She raises her eyes a bit in confusion and a form starts to rise from the water. The form is her total reflection another woman that resembles her right down to her hooded cloak and sword in her sash. Zephra knows something is wrong as she yells, "Zemy go! Go and hide!" He immediately does as she instructed earlier and climbs one of the tall trees and watches Zephra from above. Also watching is the reptile demon woman as she thinks to herself: I will not attempt to capture the human child while this half demon fights. She will catch my scent before I even reach him and I will be exposed, Instead I will let my reflection demon kill her, then the boy will be mine to take. Zephra is not sure what's going on but attempts to fight this demon anyway. She swipes her claws, jumps and lands behind the demon as she kicks and punches but as she is fighting her evil twin, she realizes that the reflection demon fights exactly as she does reflecting all of her own fighting maneuvers on her. Zephra uses her slash blades on the demon but the reflection demon slashes blades back causing the blades to clink together as they hit each other. The two Zephra's know each others fighting style and technique making it difficult for either one of them to win the battle. When Zephra tries to punch the 'look alike' the demon is one step ahead as she dodges it. The look alike attempts to slash at Zephra and she dodges it.They continue fighting as they jump around each other, charge at each other and circle causing Zemy to become confused as to which Zephra is the real one. Suddenly one of the Zephra's runs to Zemy and yells, "Zemy come jump into my arms, your not safe in this tree either!' The other Zephra runs over and says, "Zemy don't listen to her, She's a fake!" the other Zephra says, "She's trying to trick you." another says, "It's me, Zemy I'm the real Zephra." Zemy is so confused as he looks back and forth at them not sure which one to believe. The real Zephra can see his confusion, She kicks the fake Zephra out of the way and instructs him, "Zemy don't come to either one of us, remain in that tree while I kill this imposter!" They once again remain fighting as Zephra thinks to herself: She knows all my fighting techniques, she has the same demonic powers I have. How can I beat myself in a fight when my other self knows all my tricks. It suddenly occurs to Zephra that there is one thing that the reflection demon may not be able to mimick, she pulls out her sword and the reflection demon pulls out an identical sword. Zephra and the 'look alike' cross blades for a moment and when Zephra finds the right moment she yells, " Let's see if you can mimic the power of my father's FANG!!" Zephra strikes her double with black fire emitting from her sword the reflection demon is instantly destroyed unable to mimic powers from the fang of a different powerful demon. Zephra replaces her sword in her sash and goes straight back to Zemy to get him as she say, "C'mon Zemy." He now knows he is looking at his real friend and he jumps from the tree right into her arms. The reptile demon is furious as she decides she has had enough of Zephra's interference, she wants the little boy and she is determined to get him. Zemy and Zephra are walking hand in hand as she is trying to figure out where they could be and how she can get Zemy home when the reptile demon reveals herself from being blended in with the color of the wooded tree. Zephra thinks: Now what? I'm never going to get little Zemy home safe! The reptile demon speaks to Zephra, "Half demon, you have worn my patience. Hand the boy over to me or you will feel all of my true wrath." Zemy is afraid as he holds on to Zephra's leg she says, "What do you want with Zemy? Why are you after him?" The reptile replies, "I don't see why you should be so concerned but I will tell you. This boy's blood line is powerful, possessing the true spirit of monks and priests...I need his blood to create a potion that will keep me beautiful. If I am unable to collect his blood for my potion I will turn to true reptilian form... and that can not happen, half demon." Zephra tells her, "Do not worry, You will never return to reptilian form because you will be dead." Zephra takes hold of her sword prepared to fight, Zemy does again what he was instructed to do and finds somewhere to hide. The reptile woman smiles smugly at Zephra, she has no sword but knows she does not need one due to her powers of a reptile. She is like a chameleon as she blends in and out of different objects around, blending in with a stone or a tree making it look as if she is disappearing and reappearing. Zephra finds this a bit challenging but not too much as she uses her strong sense of smell to sniff her out every time telling the demon, "Come out and fight only cowards disappear." The reptile demon says, "I'm merely having fun." She jumps so high from tree to tree with her feet that are as sticky as a reptile and she speeds around Zephra so fast. Zephra uses her poison claws and swipes the reptiles neck causing her poison to flow through, the reptile becomes angry and says, "You want to use poison?, well I have some for you." She spits out a several spurts of green liquid poison and Zephra avoids it and blocks them with her sword, her sword is so powerful it's not harmed in the least bit by the poison. The reptile back flips , jumps and lands at Zemy grabbing him in her arms. Zephra runs over but the reptile demon who is holding Zemy in one hand and holds out her other hand allowing the power of venomous snakes to fly in numbers from her hand directly at Zephra who destroys them with her claws with ease. The reptile is very frustrated as she thinks: Urrr, how is she so formidable when she's only a half demon. If She won't let me take this boy, she won't have him either. The reptile attemps to emit a deadly power towards Zemy as she is holding him in one hand she uses her other hand and her eyes light up as she is planning to kill him. Zephra runs towards them and shouts, NO!!" as she slashes her blades with perfect aim and slices off the reptiles arm that is about to strike the child. The reptile screams with pain and anger as she tosses the child with her other hand and he falls hard to the ground. Zephra continues to run to Zemy's aid and as she whizzes pass the reptile demon with sword in hand she swipes one long, hard, powerful stroke of her sword, chopping off the upper half of the reptile woman. When her body falls to the ground she turns instantly from beautiful humaniod form to reptile form and then skeleton. Zephra continues to run directly to Zemy and he is lying still, she goes to him and lifts him as she shouts, "No Zemy, Zemy C'mon open your eyes!" Zemy slowly opens his eyes and Zephra is so relieved as he says, "Zephra, are we gonna go home now?" Zephra smiles slightly and says, "Yes, right now." She and Zemy walks over to the reptile demon and notices something lying next to it's skeleton. It's an odd cube that Zephra immediately recognizes as a cube that opens doors to other areas, her family has a similar cube that allows them to enter their family forest and she knows exactly what to do with it. The portal opens allowing she and Zemy to walk through it and return to the place they first met. She looks around and can see that Au Un is still in the same spot she left him. She kneels down and tells Zemy, "Your safe and that awful reptile won't be coming back to bother you. You can go home now." Zemy hugs Zephra as he asks, "Don't leave me, can't you stay?" Zephra tells him, "No Zemy, I can't. I have a family to go home to as well." She removes her cloak and wraps it around him as she says, "You keep this to remember me by okay?" He goes into his pocket and removes a big pretty silver gem, he tells her, "You keep this, It's a silver jewel I found. I want you to have it for keeping me safe." Zephra thinks the jewel is stunning and she says, "I will treasure it and keep it close to me." He hates to leave her and Zephra is a bit sad to seperate from him as she caresses his cheek and reassures him, "Zemy, we will see each other again someday. Now go on... Your parents are probably very worried." He does as she says and she begins to walk toward Au Un but when she reaches the dragon, she looks back and watches as Zemy is still walking back and slowly fades in the distance. She thinks to herself: Zemy... he will be safe now, nothing should try to harm him. She heads off and flies with Au Un back to the Western lands of her father 's castle holding the gem Zemy gave her tightly in her hand. When Zepra arrives at the castle after several hours, she quickly rushes up to the castle and sees Heroshya as he shouts, "Zephra, there you are! Father just sent me to find you and bring you home, where have you been?" Zephra replies, "It's a long story but I ran into some trouble. Is father even more angry with me now?" Heroshya shrugs, "Who knows, I can't tell when he's angry or worried or what. He just said to find you immediately and bring you home, almost like he thought you had run away permanently." Zephra wonders about that as she says, "I'll go see him." Zephra heads into the castle but Heroshya stops her and says, "Hey... if you ever run off and not come home like that again, we really WILL fight." Zephra knows he was worried as she smirks, "Hmm, Don't tempt me." She continues walking into the castle, her father is at his throne with Rin. The moment Rin sees Zephra she walks up to her, hugs her and says, "I'm glad you're home, speak with your father." Rin leaves the room to give them privacy as Zephra walks up to her father and tries to explain, "Father, I didn't mean to be gone so long but I...." She suddenly remembers that the cloak is no longer covering her dragon art on her arm as she covers it with her hand quickly. Sesshomaru is no longer caring about the art on her arm, he is just happy to have her home but he does not say so, instead he replies, "Zephra, forget about that for now and come here to me." She does as requested, she kneels at her father's throne near his feet and takes his hand as she asks, "Father, I must understand.... why do you show favortism to Heroshya?" Sesshomaru caresses his daughter's lovely face, seeing the disappointed look in her eyes, he begins to explain,"Zephra, when you were born...I held you in my arms and looked into your eyes. In that instant, I knew that I would never allow harm to come to you and so I made my son swear to be your constant gaurdian, to protect you and Nephra with his own life. I also knew that you would be destructive, fiesty and defiant. Zephra, He only has the ablility to block your powers to keep himself safe from your wrath, therefore fighting each other would be useless...he is bound by my orders to protect you and you will never be able to defeat him." Zephra inquires, "Father do you believe I would attempt to kill my own brother?" Sesshomaru replies, "Your desire for power is immense, just as mine once was.... I can not say how far you would go to achieve your goal." Zephra thinks about her father's words as she wonders: would I be so hungry for power that I would kill Heroshya? No, I could never do that. Sesshomaru quickly gains back dominance from falling prey to his daughter and allowing her to soften his heart as he instructs, "Enough of this conversation, I am your father and you will do as I say...I will not see that dragon art anymore and you will not doubt me ever again, is that understood!?" Zephra completely submits, "Yes father." She kisses her father's hand as a show of love and respect as she heads to her resting quarters to put on attire that will keep her dragon art covered, though she admires it in the mirror before she covers it. Zephra can't get little Zemy out her mind, his adorable little face and big brown eyes. She looks at the silver gem, holding it in her hand, she smiles to herself thinking: I will make a pretty bracelet out of the gem you gave me Zemy. When I see you again you will know I kept you in my memory and treasured your gem always, as I said I would. |