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Rune knocked on the door of the tall, winding pink tower that was shaped like a swan. When there was no response, she began to worry. Her girlfriend, the lovely Princess Talia, had known she would be visiting today.
Maybe she's so far up the tower, she can't hear me, Rune considered. After all, there are so many levels to it. She could be all the way on the top floor! Well, I'd better climb up to where she is to check on her.
Taking great caution, Rune began to scale one of the "wings". Although she considered herself a treasure hunter, the proud zebra hardly ever took the effort to dig for it herself. Instead she had hired a team of smaller Zings to help out and paid them whatever coins and non-legendary treasure they brought back. She figured it was a surefire way to acquire her own museum sooner...she just hoped the headmaster never found out.
The amount of useless junk the Zings had been finding was unbelievable! Rune couldn't fathom why anyone would go to the trouble of burying it... and putting all those darned maps together, too. Yet Busky, Rune's best friend, always seemed to be thoroughly impressed with every new discovery. Of course, Busky wasn't part of the illustrious Amazing World Treasure Hunting Society, so what did she know?
Due to being a little out of shape, Rune had to stop for breath before long. At this point, she was alarmed to hear sobbing coming through a window just above her head. Talia! she thought in a panic.
Climbing up to and jumping in the next window, Rune was shocked to see her girlfriend collapsed on the floor, tears running down her face and soaking her pink dress. She was clutching a framed photo with one white wing.
"What's the matter, diamond?" Rune asked, putting an arm around the swan's waist. Being a precious and beautiful gem, "diamond" had always seemed an apt pet name for the princess she loved.
Talia looked up, a deep sorrow in her purple eyes. She held up the photo so her girlfriend could see it. It showed two older swans, both wearing crowns and dressed in very fancy clothes.
"My parents..." she explained, her voice even softer than usual. "When Queen Vexa arrived at Amazing Isle, she...killed them. And... I saw it happen."
Leaning into Rune's brown-and-white-striped fur and wiping tears from her eyes, she continued, "I-I wasn't thinking about it very much before, but n-now I have to deal with the fact that they are gone."
Overwhelmed with pity for the orphaned swan, Rune couldn't find the right words to say. Instead she gave her girlfriend a comforting kiss on the forehead and stroked her cheek.
They sat together in silence for a while. Gradually, the flow of Talia's tears slowed, and she became more relaxed. At last she spoke, less shakily this time, saying, "Thanks for coming up to check on me, Rune. I'm sorry for troubling you with my burdens."
"No problem," Rune replied warmly, giving her a small hug before standing up. "I'm glad ya were able to talk to me about it."
The princess smiled, only slightly but with much warmth. "As am I. You really helped me to compose myself."
The treasure hunter smiled back fondly. "You still up for cloud watchin', diamond?" she asked. She hoped the activity they had planned for today would keep her girlfriend's mind off the tragedy she had been thinking about so much.
"That would be most welcome," Talia replied, standing up herself. "I shall clean myself up and meet you outside."
"'Kay," Rune agreed, briefly kissing her on the beak. She walked toward the tower stairs but paused before taking the first step down, looking back at Talia.
"We're gonna get rid of Vexa someday," Rune vowed, her face hardened in determination.
While making her descent to the ground, Rune thought about the pain she had seen in her girlfriend's face. She had been certainly been aggravated by the Nix when they started digging for her treasure under Queen Vexa's instruction, but Talia's agony over her parents' death had convinced the zebra: there was no question that she needed to be a part of the fight against the hateful, destructive Nix queen, whenever that might come.
But for now, Rune decided as she lay on the soft grass outside the tower, she would enjoy cloud watching with the gentle and beautiful swan, whom she was so grateful to have in her life.