Gentle Moonlight

Chapter 1

Jenna sighed and sat swinging her legs on the edge of her bed. She was not excited about her schedule for that day. Mostly because it was empty.

It had been that way for weeks, ever since they had obtained a flying ship and the companionship of Isaac, Garet, and their two friends. Although lighting Mars Lighthouse was a priority, there were a few things Felix and Isaac needed to take care of here in Yallam first. Apparently one of these errands was to convince "Sunshine" to forge a few weapons for them. Jenna absently ran her fingers over her Nebula Wand, one of the ones already finished.

She supposed that Isaac, Ivan, and Felix were lounging in Sunshine's shop right now. Mia and Piers were probably stocking up at the item shop, and Sheba and Garet were no doubt terrorizing the children of Yallam. Jenna had stayed behind to recuperate. That was her story, at least, and she was sticking with it. That ship of Piers' was just so smelly that it had been decided that the group would treat themselves to a few nights in the Yallam Inn.

Jenna stretched, yawned, and fell back on the bed. The warm but rough blanket itched terribly, so she sat up again and frowned. 'Boring, boring, boring... Bore-bore-bore-boring! Something to do, something to do...!' She knotted her brow.

'Maybe I should have gone with them... But, no, that would have just been a pain. Perhaps I should practice some Psynergy? It would be something to keep me occupied, at least. Then again, my power is getting rather low... Mia wouldn't notice if I borrowed a Psy crystal from her, would she? Old girl must be out buying some extras with Piers this very minute! Hehehe...'

Jenna jumped up, sidled over to Sheba's bed (where everyone had stashed their junk), and began rummaging through Mia's equipment. As her fingertips brushed one of the coveted Psy crystals suddenly a pencil dropped out of Mia's stuff and rolled across the floor. Jenna froze in wonder, then reached down for it. Grasping the pencil, she turned to curiously paw further into Mia's bag. Finally, she produced a thick book. Jenna carefully opened it and examined the first page:

Entry 1

I am Mia of the Mercury Clan. I'm thirteen years old and live in the mountains of the north. Mother told me to start a journal because it's good to keep a record of things.

A small smile crept across Jenna's face. "It's... Mia's journal! I stumbled across Mia's journal!" She giggled quietly to herself, unaware of the Innkeeper's worried glances from across the room. Excited, she read on.

Mother also told me that I should tell all about myself. Sometimes I worry about her sanity.

Jenna laughed. "Well, here's a new side of Mia."

Nothing interesting ever happens to me. Only to Alex. His parents are dead, like my father is, so his aunt is raising him. She is a witch.

Again, Jenna chuckled.

But my mother is friends with her, so she's nice when Mother is around. It's lonely up here. Four people isn't much fun, and Mother says we're the only survivors of the Mercury Clan. I wish we could do something other than practicing Ply and stuff though. It's boring here. And Alex looks dumb when he uses Psynergy. Aunt Ci says that Alex is special. I agree.

Yesterday, Alex got to look for food. All by himself. Even though I'm not allowed to. Just because he's two years older, that rotten little... He's definitely not as cool as he thinks he is. Actually, he's a stupid jerk-face.

As the first entry ended, Jenna turned the page and mused, "So Alex was a jerk even at age fifteen. Figures." She smirked and read on.

Entry 2

Today Mother let me look for herbs. I like doing things on my own. Aunt Ci told me I'm an independent brat. I guess I consider myself independent. I am more than Alex is, at least. Next week mother promised to make me a beautiful robe like hers. It has blue designs.

We might be traveling soon. I sure hope so. I heard Mother and Aunt Ci talking and they said we're running out of food. I asked Alex why we didn't just eat the herbs and meat we find and he told me that we eat those too quickly and need more before we run out. Said it like he was the king of the world. I just stuck my tongue out at him.

Jenna raised her eyebrows and continued reading.

Entry 3

I received the robe from Mother three days ago. It's gorgeous and I wear it often. Mother was glad that I liked it, but looked kind of sad when she gave it to me. My guess is that it reminds her of Father.

Today was entertaining. After putting up an excessive amount of fuss, Alex got a haircut from his aunt. I must say, it looks awful. Alex swore he would never get a haircut again. I doubt it. Both Aunt Ci and Alex went to bed tonight grumbling. The whole ordeal amused me, but Mother chided me for snickering throughout it. I am due for a haircut soon too. My hair is near my waist, but I usually keep it in a high ponytail.

I eavesdropped on Aunt Ci and Mother again today. They were talking about leaving, just like last time. Aunt Ci wants to go to a town called Vale, but Mother wants to go to Imil. I am curious about both of these places, but I am more in favor of Imil. Mostly because Alex wants to go to Vale.

No, really, I want to go to Imil because it sounds like a nice, pleasant place. Not too many strangers, not too—

"Whatcha readin', Jenna?" Garet stood over her shoulder, squinting to read the words on the page below.

"N-nothing!" Jenna slammed the diary shut. "Just some old book I found lying around! I'm just sitting here, doing absolutely nothing! Hahaha! Nothing at all!" She quickly stuffed it under Sheba's bed.

Any normal person would doubt her, but c'mon, this was Garet.

"Oh. Okay."

She stared at him in disbelief.

"Well, the others should be back soon to get their stuff, then we'll head back to Piers' ship. See ya later!" The redhead grabbed his equipment and, directing a small wave and goofy grin at Jenna, left the building.

Sighing with relief, she sank down and dragged the diary back out from under the bed. Dangerous though it was, now that she had begun to read, the sneaky girl would have to finish too. Jenna surreptitiously slid the book into her own bag, which brimmed with antidotes and mist potions. Hopefully, Mia wouldn't notice its absence. The entries each had slightly differences in their handwriting styles, suggesting week to bi-weekly intervals, so if Jenna were lucky she would be able to finish it quickly.

Just as Garet had said, soon the rest of the party began wandering into the tiny inn. Jenna greeted them with a twitching smile and not-quite-sunny face. When Ivan, Isaac, and Felix had grabbed their stuff and filed out, Jenna fidgeted even more. Three left. Ivan fortunately hadn't attempted to read Jenna's mind, but Sheba most likely would. Then the moment she had been dreading came — Sheba, Mia, and Piers came in.

"Hey, Jenna. Looks like the other boys have already been here." Sheba scooped up Piers' belongs and gave them to him. Looking over her shoulder at Jenna, she asked, "So, what have you been up to?"

Trying to sound casual, Jenna said, "Oh, nothing in p-p-particular... Oh, excuse me, I have something in my throat." She put a hand to her mouth and began to hack away desperately, praying that Sheba wouldn't read her mind.

Sheba narrowed her violet eyes at Jenna, scrutinizing the expression of panic. Only because Jenna was acting suspiciously, at long last she asserted her power as a Wind Adept.

'Beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard beard...'

"What!?" Sheba again glared at Jenna. "What in the world are you talking — er, thinking about??"

"Tee hee..." Jenna answered half-heartedly.

Yugi: Read and review! Pretty please! CHERRIES!