Macha's Journey

Macha came out of her room. The front door sounded and she knew Tyr came home late again. He had been acting strange since the masquerade and they rarely talked anymore. His actions made it so Macha worried that he had been avoiding her. "Welcome back. You"ve been really busy lately. Where have you been?" She did not want to sound controlling, but she was curious why everyone seemed busy and ignoring the office work.

The question caused Tyr to open his eyes. He had fallen asleep for a second. Looking at Macha, Tyr sat up. Weariness dripped from his voice, "Oh. Macha, I need to tell you something. Can you come and sit down?" Tyr decided he needed to inform her about what was going on. At first, he did not tell Macha about Luna"s disappearance because he hoped his sister would come back. Unfortunately, Luna did not return and Tyr resigned himself to the idea that she was missing. Since Macha asked, he needed to tell her what happened.

Macha"s chest tightened. Tyr looked serious, and he wanted her to sit down for a talk. Macha"s lips tightened, and she steeled herself for him to renege on their barely more-than-friends relationship. She told herself that she would accept his decision with dignity, that way they might be able to remain friends. Macha took a deep breath and sat down beside Tyr.

Tyr flexed his hands into fists and cleared his throat. "A few days ago Luna disappeared and I"ve been searching for her. As of now, I can"t find any leads." Telling Macha this news stung more than he expected and he did not feel like talking about it further. Tyr decided to go to bed, so he got up and strode to his room. Tyr heard Macha gasp, but he was in no mood for a flood of questions.

Macha sat stunned on the sofa. The news confused her and she wondered if she misunderstood him. She did not comprehend why Tyr did not tell her something so important sooner. Luna was one of her best friends and she would have helped search for her. The longer a person was missing the less of a chance there was to find them. The sound of Tyr"s door closing snapped Macha back to reality.

"What?" Macha opened the door to his room, "You didn"t tell me that Luna was missing? Really?" She could not believe he had been so inconsiderate.

This was something Tyr did not want to deal with right now. He covered his eyes with his arm, "Macha, not now. I"m tired. We can talk about this later." Tyr had trouble staying awake and did not want to delve into a lengthy conversation. He swore he would explain it to Macha tomorrow, but for now, he needed sleep.

The pain of his words caused tears to form in Macha"s eyes. He was right. They could talk about it later. Luna was more important. She moved to get her coat and daggers. Now that she knew of Luna"s disappearance, she would search for her friend.

Macha left the apartment without another word to Tyr. She was too angry at him for not telling her about Luna"s disappearance. The more she thought about it the more she wanted to yell at him. While Macha descended the stairs, she thought about where Luna could be. She decided to visit some of the places the two of them went to together.

Macha hoped nothing bad happened to Luna. While at the palace, she found out Luna was a strong fighter who made a name for herself in the war. Macha reasoned that it should not be easy to kidnap someone as capable as Luna. She remembered how Tyr had been hurt a few days ago while fighting Ivan, and she became worried. No one could doubt Tyr"s fighting skills, but that fight proved there were other ways to weaken a person. Something similar might have happened to Luna.

Macha shook her head and forced her frown to go away. Being abducted or killed was a possibility, but for now, she would a.s.sume Luna chose to not come home. Unless someone found a body, Macha would cling to the belief that Luna remained healthy and safe.

The closest place Macha wanted to check was the park. She and Luna rarely fed the ducks or strolled around the lake, but they had done it a few times. Luna"s favorite place in the park was a hidden bench surrounded by hanging willow branches. Sometimes Macha would pack a lunch for them and they would eat on the bench and talk about things she did not want to share with Tyr. Macha made her way to the bench, but when she pulled back the branches it lay empty. The cold moonlight shone down on it and filled her with sadness. Macha nodded her head and did not give up. There were still other places she had not checked.

Next, Macha rode down to the docks. Luna liked to visit an old shōjō that had a tavern in the docks. Luna considered the saké the shōjō brewed as the best in Ma.r.s.eille. It was a rundown establishment that needed a paint job. The metal hinges and nails had rust covering them from the salty sea air. Macha entered the dark tavern which was empty except for a few drunkards. Being very early in the morning, not many people wanted to drink at this hour. The shōjō named Seisei sat at the bar sipping some saké. His thick orange hair fanned out from his face.

This tavern catered to the rougher crowd of Ma.r.s.eille. Fistfights often broke out in the tavern, so there were no chairs and Seisei bolted the tables to the floor. Macha nodded at Seisei and made her way up to the bar. Her eyes were able to see just above the counter. She thought it rude to ask for information without buying a drink, so she ordered, "Seisei, one gla.s.s of Pan Tao Ale please."

Seisei nodded his head and grabbed a gla.s.s. "You alone today," he stated. Seisei put the gla.s.s on a coaster that hovered up to the ceiling. A hole opened and filled up the gla.s.s before the coaster landed in front of Macha. The many bar fights caused bottles and caskets to be broken, so Seisei stored the liquor above the ground floor.

Macha slipped a coin onto the counter. She took a sip of the sweet pink ale. It had a light peach flavor, and the alcohol was barely noticeable. "Have you seen Luna lately?" Unknowingly, she held her breath.

Seisei shook his head, "Naw, last time I saw her was about two weeks ago. She came in to pick up a few bottles of h.e.l.lfire to give as a gift." He noticed a man eyeing Macha and gave the customer a sneer and shook his head. Seisei knew Macha had some powerful friends and it would behoove the man to look elsewhere for trouble.

Magni saw the bartender warn him off, but he was the youngest son of Thor. His family had more wealth than any other n.o.ble family, except for the King and the Valois family. He could do whatever he wanted.

Seisei"s news dampened Macha"s spirits, she had hoped he would have some good news for her. "Could I get a bottle of Fern Flower liqueur to go? I want to surprise Luna." Macha remembered Fern Flower liqueur was one of Luna"s favorite drinks. Macha figured she might as well pick some up while she was down here.

After finishing her ale, she decided to try the last place she and Luna hung out, the waterways. If Luna was not down there, then Macha would be at a loss. She left the tavern but noticed a man following close behind her. She made a move to summon her mount, but the man called out to her.

"Hey, what"s a cute little thing like you doing out so early?" Magni thought this woman seemed like she would be fun to bed. She dressed well but looked small and easily overpowered. He did not want to turn an opportunity like this down.

Macha turned and summed up the man. He wore brown traveling clothes that looked dirty. As he walked, he swayed slightly from drinking and the alcohol caused him to slur his voice. "Move along. I"m busy." Macha did not have time to deal with some drunkard who could barely stand. She turned to focus on summoning her mount.

Magni did not like how c.o.c.kily the little runt talked to him. He ran to her and grabbed her breast. He found it to be bigger than he expected. "Hey baby, don"t be like that. I"m sure you have time for a little fun." He wanted to wipe that confidence from her face.

Feeling this man"s filthy hands on her breast p.i.s.sed Macha off. She had already been in a bad mood because of Tyr and this made her mood worse. She looked down at the hand that groped her without any finesse and wrapped her small hand around one of his fingers.

SNAP

Through gritted teeth, Magni cried, "Argh! You little b.i.t.c.h!" He withdrew his hand and clutched his broken finger. "I"m gonna..." he began.

Macha held her summoning stone in her other hand and used it to hit the drunkard in the crotch. "p.i.s.s off. I"m busy." A touch of guilt ate at her conscience, but the man started the altercation. She was just ending it quickly.

Magni groaned in pain on the floor and watched Macha ride off. He hoped he would meet her again so he could pay her back for the pain he felt right now. Magni thought about how she was lucky he was so drunk, or it would have been a different story.