Chapter Text
Holly remembered her brother on his wedding day, smiling brightly as he stood beside his wife. She remembered the tear that rolled down her face as she watched him become the proud man she knew he could be. A few years before she had guided her wife back down the aisle and now he was doing the same, just with many more empty chairs on his wife’s side.
Another wedding had recently happened between Ludus and Lisette, and Holly remembered the warmth in Iluka’s heart as she squeezed her hand tight. Henry hadn’t been able to attend that wedding, two of his close friends in Echo Town also happened to be getting married that day. To save himself from Iluka’s deadly wrath, he had promised to bring a present to apologise and bring best wishes to the new happy couple. Despite the fact that Maja and Iluka weren’t exactly the best of friends, Holly appreciated their dedication to keeping her wife happy.
She noted that the crossroads were busy today, with people coming and going between the different towns. She smiled quietly to herself as the different inhabitants began to mingle. ‘I made this possible…’ She couldn’t help thinking with a small smile.
That’s when she saw him just up ahead, clearly flirting with his smirking wife and holding on tight to his horse’s reigns. She called out to the others that were still waiting on the edge of the Lulukoko part of the crossroads. Just as Henry and Maja were about to stop, the three of them started heading over.
“Hi Holly.” Henry eventually said, stopping his horse and disembarking before helping his wife down. “Good to see you all.” He gave out various hugs and handshakes and Maja followed suit, although a few of them were hesitant and clumsy. She and Iluka simply stared at one another before she moved onto Ludus.
Once pleasantries were done, the six of them were about to start walking before Maja spoke up with a provocative tone.
“So, still hopping mad that I almost turned your wife into a frog? Is that still a sticky subject?” Maja started with a playful smirk that only slightly flattened after a gentle squeeze on her arm.
“Of course I’m still angry! This isn’t a stupid storybook, I don’t want to go around kissing slimy frogs!” Iluka sulked, but Holly squeezed her hand and chuckled to herself.
“C’mon, relax. She’s just teasing. But you’re telling me you wouldn’t love me if I was a frog, webbed feet and all? What happened to ‘in sickness and in health’ Iluka?” She pouted dramatically, causing Iluka to sigh.
“Fine, I would adore you, with your little slimy hands and your aptitude for fly catching. Happy now?” She rolled her eyes in response.
“Absolutely, that’s the loving wife I married!” Holly pumped her fist in the air victoriously.
“Well, regardless, thank you so much for coming! We really appreciate you joining us for our celebrations. It’s a shame that you couldn’t make the wedding but it’s great to see you now!” Lisette chimed in with her hands clasped in front of her. Ludus had an arm around her shoulder and smiled at the people before him with a nod.
“Absolutely. We all appreciate you coming to see us. You’re family now, so it’s good for us to spend time together and see each other often. I’m sure our farmer siblings miss each other a lot, so this is as good an excuse as any.” He chuckled to himself with a warm smile.
“I mean, I won’t deny that. It is fantastic to see Holly and Iluka again and be back in the area. It’s lucky that Echo Town isn’t too far from here, even if it may not be the easiest to get to at times.” They all laughed amongst themselves until he spoke up again.
“We also brought you all gifts!” Maja flicked her hair outwards with a confident smirk. “The best I could conjure up - my finest treasures, just for you!”
“Ooh, exciting!” Lisette grinned and clapped quietly.
“I bet it’s a messed up potion.” Iluka folded her arms with a grumble.
Maja put her hands in her pocket and for a moment she still had her smug smirk. Gradually though, she was rustling around but coming up with empty pockets and a smile fading into frantic movements.
“I uh…I swear I had them…” Her expression began to darken as she continued to search. It then dawned on her that there were holes in her pockets.
“What do they look like? Maybe we can help look for itthem!” Lisette perked up, looking between all of them.
“They were all gemstones. We probably lost one in Westown, one in Lulukoko and one…is probably still in Echo Town…” Henry recalled as his wife continued to look, remembering the odd clinking sounds as they were approaching the crossroads. Tsuyukusa hadn’t had much foot traffic, so the chance of them being in one of the other towns was much more likely. Anyone could have picked them up not realising they belonged to someone, Henry reasoned.
“Oh wow! First you cuss me out, then you get my wife on your side and now you’ve lost our gifts! Holly, why did your dumb brother marry this scoundrel? What is she good for?!” Iluka threw her hands up with a raised voice before letting them unceremoniously slap back down at her sides.
“You take that back, my brother isn’t dumb! Just because you and Maja disagree, doesn’t mean that she isn’t a good person. Settle your differences, please. I’m sure we can find a way out of this, and whichever gift is in Echo Town, they can get it the next time we see them. It doesn’t have to be so dramatic.” Holly reached down and squeezed Iluka’s dangling hand, looking towards Maja. She didn’t like the way her face seemed to twist but offered a smile as a peace offering.
“I’ve just about had it! You have nothing nice to say about me, and seemingly nothing nice to say about my husband either! If keeping track of everything is so easy when you don’t have the option to travel by magic, then how about you go and find what I lost and bring it back in one piece?!” Her hands shot out in that moment and a flash of purple overtook everyone’s vision.
When it cleared, Iluka and Holly were gone.
“Oh no!” Lisette immediately cried, tentatively inching towards the gap that the two women were previously standing in. She waved her hand, but when only the wind brushed against it, she raised it to cover her mouth in a gasp.
“Maja…where’s my sister?” Henry spoke slowly and carefully, turning to face his wife as his hands slightly began to shake.
“S-She was just here! I didn’t mean to do that, I just got so mad, and was thinking about Echo Town and where I could have possibly left that stupid gemstone, so if I had to guess, that’s where they ended up.” She turned to face Henry, taking his hand in hers and squeezing it slightly. He didn’t miss the way they seemed to tremble and the fact that she couldn’t meet his eyes.
“Is there any way to reverse whatever it was you just did?” Ludus asked, moving to place a protective hand on his wife’s back.
“Without being certain of where they are, not really. But…if they are in Echo Town, maybe the stupid…” She stopped to gag slightly, “Harvest Goddess can help them. Ugh, I hate the thought of owing her a favour.” Maja rolled her eyes and folded her arms with a petulant frown. Henry patted her arm gently and sighed.
“As much as I’m worried about them, I don’t think there’s a lot we can do right now to bring them back. How about we try and find the gemstones and see if that helps? You never know, they might have magical properties, especially if you made them.” He looked towards Lisette and Ludus with a soft but also sad smile, and Lisette slowly nodded.
“I’m sure this was an accident, even if that’s not what Iluka will say. We’ll help, or I will at least.” She looked to Ludus with her head slightly tilted.
“I suppose I’ll help you too. It may help with bringing my sister back, and I can’t argue with that. Although, I can’t say I’m happy with what you did, and you aren’t exactly helping your case.” Ludus took his wife’s hand in his and spoke to the other couple.
“We’ll head back to Westown, you guys head to Lulukoko. I’m sure you’ll find your way, and if not, the locals are willing to help.”
“That sounds like a plan.” Henry nodded, and waved at the two as they began to walk away. “I’m sorry about this!” He shouted after them after a moment’s pause, but by that point they were already gone.
“Right! We best get on with it then.” Maja chirped, about to walk away before Henry gently clasped her arm,
“Don’t think you’re getting away that easily. This was an accident, but this is still a prime example of you needing to control your temper.” Despite his stern words, there was still an edge of kindness in the way he looked at her.
“I’m sorry, Henry. I promise I didn’t mean to, and I do hope they’re okay. I just…Iluka has a way of getting under my skin...” Her usually sharp and pointed voice seemed to soften around the edges as she clasped her husband’s rough hands.
“I know. But can you try to get along? Just for us?” He pleaded quietly with a small sigh.
“Listen, when she gets back here…I’ll try.” Maja relented with a sigh of her own, causing Henry’s mouth to turn up at the corners in a small but grateful smile.
“Thank you. Now, let’s go and find that gemstone, shall we?”