Nareen decided to check up on the other guests and went over to Mir and Tamara. She just heard Tamara invite Mir to spend some time at the fireplace when the pale woman said, "Thank you for the offer, my dear Yoriko, but I'm afraid I must go now."
"Aw." Nareen was disappointed. "Please tell me it's not because Arion was so pushy."

Tamara sat down to allow Nareen and Mir some space to say goodbye, but she wasn't prepared for Mir's next words.
"Rest assured, it's nothing like that, Lady Nareen." Mir smiled, and this time it was a warm, honest smile. "My son arrives in your country this day and I promised to fetch him from the port."
"Oh, that's nice!" Nareen beamed with joy. "There's no better reason to leave a party than to meet with your family! Introduce him to us next time, will you?"
"I will. Goodbye, everyone. May you have a pleasant evening."

Tamara jumped up and got close to Mir before she could leave for good.
"Lady Mir, is it true? Ryuutarou is coming?" She was unusually excited.
"Yes, he is on his way."
"I take it that means Arashi is also on the ship?"
"Indeed. Soon the clan stands united again. Tell Tahome running is over. You will find my Gem."
"As you wish, Lady Mir. Goodbye."

Tamara felt her knees give in as her boss wandered off. She sank down on the wooden box, her heart pounding. "Ryu's coming." she murmured. "Eternia will hate to hear that."
Nareen kept waving after Mir while Wati, who had overheard the conversation, stood beside her. "Astounding! I would have taken any bet that Lady Mir is much too young to have children."
"Aw, she's not too young to have a little boy. She didn't say, but I bet he's three or four years old at the utmost."
Tamara almost choked on silent laughter.

"Honestly, Brian, your sister is so annoying." Arion sighed. "If you don't stop her, she'll scare away all our female fans."
"I can't leave her at home alone, you know that."
"Hire a nanny! It's not like you can't afford one."
"She'd go crazy if I hired a woman to stay with us!"
"Uh... are you talking about P-Chan now or about you-know-who?" Arion squinted his eyes and Brian blushed.

"Excuse me?" Nareen approached them and Arion was suddenly all ears.
"What is it, my dear?"
"Is the concert over already? It was so much fun!"

"Well, uh..." Arion was at a loss of words. Brian pointed towards Wati, who had taken seat on the box again and was watching intently. "You know, we still have one die-hard fan here, but it would be more rewarding if we had more listeners."
"Hmmm." said Nareen. "You're right. I'll go and fetch everyone from inside the house!"

The first place Nareen went to was the living room. "Hey, you lazybones! We have a band outside! Nahh-Ati, you haven't said hi to anyone in the garden yet. And Eternia, I thought you were so eager to see Arion and his friends?"
"Sorry, Nareen, time just flew by." Eternia looked apologetic.

Nahh-Ati jumped up. "Did you just say Arion? Dark Delight is here? Whoa, I need to get some autographs!" She ran outside.
Eternia asked, "Is Mir gone?"
"Yes, she went to fetch her son. You didn't even say hello, shame on you."
"Fetch her... holy shit, I need some air." Eternia paled and went outside after Nahh-Ati, totally forgetting about Sol.

The necromancer turned towards the others. "What about you? Surely you don't want to stay here alone?"
Akshi clucked but didn't seem willing to go out in the snow. Sol stood up. "I think I hear noises from upstairs."
Elizabeth turned her head. "Sounds like the Rozen Maidens are going to join us."

Dolltopia Archive 49 <-- # --> Dolltopia Archive 51