There were bloodstains on the floor of Hikaru's Throne Room. There were also notches cut out of some of the supporting pillars and the guards that lined the approach to the throne looked like they had had a few notches cut out of them too. Most were injured, though all seemed able to stand. Despite this, there was a jovial atmosphere in the room. The guards stood tall with straight spines, like professional soldiers, but there was no tension in their posture. Chihiro saw that the drapes which had once hidden the alcove containing the throne had been torn down. She blinked, not quite believing what she saw. Her sister now sat where Hikaru once had. The throne was a plain, dark wooden one, but intricately carved. As Chihiro got closer, she realised the carvings were of intertwined Dragons with eyes made of inlaid mother-of-pearl.

Rin herself had changed guises once more. She was dressed in a green echo of what she had worn at the bathhouse. Her hair was loose and there was not a trace of make-up on her face. She sat cross-legged, a small smile upon her lips.

"Hello," she said, greeting them with a warm smile. She gestured at the hall.

"This place may have lost a little of its polish in the last few hours, but I think we can manage to provide for a few honoured guests." She jumped off the throne and hugged both of her sisters. Then she sat on the lowest step that led up to the dais the throne sat on. She patted the step with one hand, indicating they should be seated. She waved away the guards with her other hand. The hall immediately emptied.

"I like this ordering around thing," said Rin with another grin.

"Mind telling us what is going on?" asked Linca sharply. "A day ago you were about to have a forced mating, now you are Lady Rin and distinctly lacking in a mate."

Rin sighed. She glanced at Chihiro for a moment then bowed her head.

"It is quite simple to explain. The lion spirits visited me in secret. They vowed on the heads of their future cubs that they knew that Tori was alive and exactly where she was. They were prepared to be subjected to a truth spell if I saw fit."

"That's strong magic," whispered Linca.

"Yes, it is," murmured Rin. "They cast it on each other. They stated that they had told me the truth as far as they knew. However, they were clever enough to set a time limit on the spell. They had barely told me that my daughter lived when the spell ended. I did not have a chance to ask them a single question," Rin frowned at her feet, "but they needed to keep their secrets as they wished to trade. They wanted their freedom in return for my daughter's location."

"You know where she is?" gasped Chihiro.

"Yes," whispered Rin. "The Northern Wastes. She is imprisoned in a fortress owned by our allies." Rin's frown deepened. "She better not have been mistreated or I will raze the place to the ground."

Chihiro hoped with all her heart that Rin's daughter was all right.

"She will be a grown woman now," murmured Rin. "She will not know me at all."

"She will get to know you," said Chihiro reassuringly.

Silence fell; to all three it had become quite evident that Chihiro and Linca would still be leaving Rin behind.

"One will fall by the way, called by a greater need. One shall find their true place and one shall make the greatest of sacrifices..." murmured Rin. "I am not sure which one is me..." She then shook herself and appeared to brighten in attitude. "Scott is definitely too sick to go with you or come with me..."

"The Goddess has offered to help him," said Chihiro softly.

"I am not giving him to her," said Rin tightly. "He will remain in the care of my household until he is well; then I will take him home myself."

Rin stood.

"Do you want to see him?" she asked suddenly. Chihiro nodded, feeling her chest tighten. She was going to miss the man who had once adored her.

She soon found herself pushed into Scott's sleeping quarters. Her treacherous sisters remained outside, apparently fully aware of how awkward would it would be for both of them and content to let them face the situation alone. The room was relatively plain compared to the rest of the Palace. Painted shoji screens and tatami mats were the only decoration. Scott was lying on a futon, blue eyes shining with welcome.

"Chihiro," he whispered weakly. "Rin said you had left."

"I could not go without saying goodbye," said Chihiro with a forced smile. "I owe you so much!"

He chuckled at her, but his laugh was more of a rasping wheeze.

"You owe me nothing," he said firmly. "I chose to do this; no-one forced me. I only wish I could have been more help to you."

Chihiro sighed and knelt beside the futon. He was pale and his lips were split and cracked from his fever. Chihiro found herself thinking that she did not deserve loyalty from someone she had hurt. He must have seen the emotion on her face.

"Stop brooding," he chuckled. "You have no reason to reproach yourself. You never lead me on and you never encouraged me."

She blinked rapidly at him, surprised he would speak so openly.

"I am your friend; I accepted your feelings and moved on." He winked at her cheekily and grinned, making his damaged lips weep slightly. "I tried to steal the heart of a woman who was already taken, though she herself did not know it." He sighed wistfully and smiled at her. "You deserve to be happy; I wanted to help you achieve that. Not because I am still pining for you, or harbour hopeless feelings of unrequited affection... Friends help each other, not out of obligation but because they want to."

Chihiro thought she would burst into tears; her heart swelled and seemed to want to break free from her chest. She took hold of one of his pale-skinned hands, which dwarfed her own. She still felt responsible for the hurt she had inflicted on this big-hearted man. If she had been attracted to him she was sure he would have treated her like a princess and any obstacles that nationality, language and distance may have put before them would have been easily overcome. But in reality, he had never even had a chance. Chihiro's soul had been captured by a pair of liquid jade, almond-shaped eyes when she was still a child. Her heart had never wanted another.

"Besides," said Scott. "Even though you are incredibly cute, you are highly strung and quite stubborn. I think I need someone with a more serene personality and at least a modicum of commonsense; someone who is less high maintenance."

"I have commonsense!" protested Chihiro.

"In very small doses," he said and squeezed her hand to show he meant no offence. His bright blue eyes turned serious as he looked up at her. "I would have gone with you to the end of this, Chihiro, if I had been able to," he whispered.

"I know," she replied, brushing some strands of thick red hair out of his eyes. "I would not have made it past the first week of this quest without you. You have made me strong and kept me moving when I wanted to give up. I can never repay you for what you have done for me."

"Just be happy," he said softly. "Take back what is yours and be happy." A smile crept back over his lips. "Don't feel sorry for me, Chihiro. I have no doubt that I will be very well taken care of. Your sister is far from ugly and once you look beyond her temper, sharp tongue and even sharper knives... you discover that she is actually a warm and kind person." Chihiro lifted an eyebrow, a little surprised that Scott had taken a liking to Rin. Their personalities were vastly different. "I look forward to her fussing over me, while at the same time pretending she is not concerned about a mere human," he said, chuckling quietly to himself.

"Rin is going to find her daughter," Chihiro reminded him. "You could be here alone for some time."

"I'm not going anywhere for two months at least, if the healers here are to be believed." Scott shrugged his shoulders, clearly unconcerned by the prospect of being tended to by spirits he did not know. "I suspect she will be back long before I am well enough to even walk unaided. Woe-betide any who try to get in her way or slow her down. I'm betting she will have her daughter back here within three weeks."

"Just don't annoy her too much," warned Chihiro. "I don't want to hear that she had to banish you for aggravating her."

"Don't worry," said Scott blithely. "I plan on being a perfect gentleman and a very undemanding houseguest. She will have enough to do with getting the Citadel repaired and prospering as well and getting to know the daughter she once thought to be dead, without having to worry about me. I will be as quiet as a mouse, I can assure you."

Chihiro's heart lifted; Scott would be fine without her. He squeezed her hand again.

"Concern yourself with what you have to do to get your mate back. I'd like to meet the man I lost you too." Chihiro smiled and decided not to tell Scott that Haku would probably not, at first, be all that understanding about the history between them. Mated she might be, but that would not stop her green-eyed Dragon turning into a green-eyed monster. Not that Haku did not trust her; he just did not trust any other eligible male near her - and a few non-eligible ones into the bargain. She would need a lengthy discussion with him before he ever met Scott, to make sure he was on his best behaviour. She was not going to let him insult her friend through some misplaced feelings of masculine possessiveness.

However, for the moment, he was far from her and what he didn't know would not hurt him. She could act like a normal human woman would towards a normal human male friend, without any spiritish misunderstandings. She bent forward and kissed Scott carefully on his damaged lips. Her heart ached briefly; for a moment as she was reminded cruelly of all that had been snatched from her. She leant back to see that Scott's blue eyes were also filled with emotion. They both knew that the kiss had meant goodbye. They might never see each other again and even if they did they would probably never be this close to one other again. If all worked out as she hoped she would have her mate back and her child would soon follow.

They would be her world, with even her sisters coming second to them. Scott, when he was recovered, would return to the human world. It was to be expected that they would drift apart. That was the nature of friendship. Some friends were companions for life. Others were short intense relationships, built on necessity. She and Scott had needed each other; though the reasons behind that need were different it did not matter. But now they would part and possibly go their separate ways forever.

"I'll never be sorry to have come here," said Scott, his voice thick. "I had lost my way in the human world; my life had no direction." Scott clasped both of her hands with his. "You've let me see how precious my own life and family are to me. I will not waste a single day when I am better. I swear that to you."

Tears finally spilled from Chihiro's eyes.

"That's good to know, my friend," she whispered. "That's good to know."

Chihiro had one last thing to do before she was ready to move on with her quest. Though she felt the ever-present pressure of time, as well as the growing symptoms of separation from Haku, she knew she had to settle one last issue. It would not be easy to ask what she wanted to and she feared the answer, but the question would not leave her thoughts. She had to know what had become of Hikaru.

When she left Scott, Linca slipped into his room, quietly closing the door. Rin was still waiting in the corridor outside. Her dark eyes looked at Chihiro with some trepidation. She also knew what Chihiro was going to ask. Rin sighed resignedly after Chihiro had held her gaze for a moment. Rin knelt gracefully on the floor and motioned for Chihiro to join her. Chihiro sat where she indicated.

"As you know, I was going to be his mate because I had to be, not because I wanted to be," Rin whispered, looking at her hands where they rested on her thighs. "I had given up any hope of escaping my fate. I was resigned; it was my duty. I had to try and see that my daughter was safe if she lived. I had abandoned her once I could not do so again."

Chihiro opened her mouth to say that being fooled into thinking your child was dead did not count as abandoning your offspring, but she closed it again. Rin did not want to hear her opinion right now, she was sure.

"He was only rough with me when he thought I might refuse to be his mate." Rin indicated to the bruised wrist that Chihiro had noticed earlier. "After I had agreed, he was gentle with me. I knew I would be well treated after the bonding and that he would be more stable once the separation symptoms had eased. Even if I could not love him, I knew I would not be miserable either." Rin sighed again. "I almost wish I had remained ignorant. I would not have acted in anger if I had remained oblivious." Rin moistened her lips, then glanced at Chihiro again, as if checking her reaction. Chihiro deliberately kept her expression neutral."When the lion spirits told me Tori lived I was thrilled. However, when I learned of her location, I fell into a rage." She glared at Chihiro as if daring her to question her right to be angry.

"He had effectively bartered my daughter away to his allies. She was practically given as a hostage so our allies had insurance that Hikaru would never renege on his trade agreements with them." Rin's hands clenched on her thighs. "I could not forgive him for that." She fell silent, looking at her legs again. Chihiro did not know what to say. It was as she had feared. She had an image in her mind of Rin attacking her betrothed with some sort of gruesome weapon, enraged beyond reason just like she had been when she had attacked Haku all those months ago. But surely she would not be alive now if she had taken Hikaru on physically? He was a formidable opponent, even for Rin. She was a skilled fighter but not blessed with great magical ability; Hikaru was a member of the spirit nobility who had lived many centuries. How had Rin bested him? Had she even disposed of him? The childish part of Chihiro still hoped she had driven Hikaru away rather than killed him.

Suddenly, she noticed that Rin was fidgeting beside her. She turned to see that her sister was rummaging around behind the sash that was tied around her waist. She pulled at something, grasping it in her fist. She took Chihiro's right hand and pressed something that rustled into her grasp. When Chihiro opened her hand, she realised that Rin had anticipated her questions yet again. In Chihiro's palm rested a polythene bag. It was empty, not a single trace was left of its contents. Realisation hit her; Rin had poisoned Hikaru using the orchid flowers Chihiro's mother had given her. She must have left the bag behind when Rin had given her new clothes. Rin was staring at Chihiro, her eyes hard.

"I added it to his food. I gave him enough so that he did not suffer. I wanted justice, not revenge. He fell asleep and didn't wake up."

Chihiro let the bag fall from her fingers. She felt numb. She could certainly see why Rin had felt she needed to kill Hikaru; she understood her actions, but she could not condone what Rin had done. However, Rin was and always would be her dearly beloved sister. Chihiro moved forward and pulled Rin into her arms. She held her sister for some time. There were no tears from either of them. They simply offered each other their silent support. Neither of them heard Linca leave Scott's room, but they both felt her surprisingly strong little arms lock around them. They eventually all moved apart, still dry-eyed.

"I am sorry," whispered Rin. "I can't go with you any further."

"We know," murmured Linca. "There is nothing to fret about. The prophecy predicted this much. We all knew that some of us would not see the end of this quest."

Chihiro smiled weakly. "I am just glad that we are all alive. The words in that prophecy made me think that perhaps..." she trailed off, not wanting to go any further. She thought she might break the strange spell of serenity that they had woven between them if she mentioned her fears now.

Rin nodded in agreement. "You still have the flying cloak; you will both travel faster now, even with Chihiro only being able to fly by day." Chihiro nodded, it was true. No one would have to ride the Nygel now. Unburdened, the water horse could travel at a gallop for hours. With Linca and herself on the wing, they could easily double the distance they had been travelling daily so far. "I will make sure you are well supplied. You are over halfway to the Glass Desert; two weeks of flying by day and you should be there."

Chihiro felt a flutter of nervousness in her stomach. She was closer than she had thought to her destination.

"Do not be afraid to end him if you get the chance," whispered Rin harshly.

"I will think about it," whispered Chihiro, glancing at Linca briefly. "I will think about it, but I don't think assassination is part of my mission. I am not a trained warrior or fighter." Rin smiled at her.

"That's one of the reasons we love you, Sen. Your optimism and your sweet nature make us all wish to be better people." Chihiro blushed at the praise. Rin's hand fell on her shoulder. "It is also one of the reasons Haku loves you too." She squeezed Chihiro's shoulder. "Get our brother back; make us a family again." Chihiro smiled at Rin warmly, her earlier moral dilemmas quite forgotten.

"I will," she said resolutely. "I swear by my life, I will."