Finding Jasmine (1)

"It's because you miss her too much." Sophie hugged her younger daughter emotionally. "We will find Jasmine by all means."

_____

"Do you think I can make Bardumond's robe? "Jasmine asked, to know if she had managed to convince the dressmaker.

" Of course! You can drop by any time you want and use the machine when you feel like." He permitted, since she wouldn't take long anyway. She sat behind the table with the sewing machine on it and in the blink of an eye, Bardumond's robes were all done.

"You have magical hands!" Maximus emotionally exclaimed at the robes that had turned out to be much better than he would ever expect. Jasmine had even added an extra layer on the inside, making it slightly longer than the outer one to reveal a sliver of its bright blue color against the robe's black color.

Rosetta was still in disbelief. She almost asked for Jasmine to make her a dress when she was not busy but quickly remembered her manners.

"Rosy, do you have something to say?" Jasmine asked sweetly.

"Rosy?" Maximus looked around wondering whether there was another woman present.

"That's a short form of Rosetta." She chuckled and wondered whether they had never heard of any such thing as short forms.

Rosetta didn't comprehend why she was embarrassed under Jasmine's gaze. "It's nothing." She stuttered.

"Then I'll see you tomorrow." Jasmine chuckled and bid Maximus, then left with Rosetta.

"You look excited." Dairon remarked when he saw her jovially make her way into the living room. "And that's a beautiful dress."

"Thank you." She responded curtly and was preparing to ignore him.

"You made it yourself?" He knew that his dressmaker didn't have such a unique taste. Besides, this dress obviously looked like one of the styles popular among the women of Efinchil. "What about mine?"

She frowned at his audacity to complain. Did she have any obligation to make his clothes?

"I made a small dress too—for pre-teens. If you want, you can try it out." She walked out after indirectly calling him a child.

_

The following morning, Jasmine rushed to the dressmaker's chamber as soon as she had her breakfast. She had finally found something to do that interested her, so she looked forward to it the whole night and couldn't help rushing over as soon as she had the chance.

Maximus was having a talk with Bardumond, who had tried on his black and blue robe and looked impressed with its style. "What creature's blood were you injected with? You never made such clothes before." He praised, wondering whether Maximus got help from someone else, or if there was a new dressmaker.

"That was not made by me…at least not entirely. The additional designs were done by Lady Jasmine." He scratched his head, then saw Jasmine who had just reached the door. "Here she is. Milady, lord Bardumond likes the style you added to his robe."

"It's you! I didn't know you could make clothes." He was pleasantly surprised as he inspected the other robe, which was white and had a burgundy belt. It was bright yet beautiful.

Jasmine smiled at the compliment. "I hope I can make clothes and earn some money. That way, I can pay my own medical bills."

If he wasn't close to Dairon, he would have been unfamiliar with the human-world terms she had just mentioned. He was amused when he understood what she was getting at. "Girl, you don't have to pay me."

"But why not? You are helping me get better." She did not understand. She didn't think it was polite to accept help from someone and take it for granted. After all, hospital bills usually cost a dime in Efinchil.

Bardumond gathered his robe into a roll to keep it in a bag he had brought with him. "I'm a god of health. I should not use my powers for my personal gain. So don't worry about paying me."

"A god of health? I didn't know there was such an element as health." She was surprised. In all the books she read, there were only four; fire, air, water and earth.

"Abstract elements exist too. Like love and wealth." He didn't speak too much since he suspected that Dairon didn't want her to know too much about deities, which is why he must have restricted her access to some books.

"Oh…" She dropped the topic, but she was still curious. "But how do you make your income if you cannot use your gift?"

"Using gifts and talents to earn a living only works on humans. On the other hand, deities have everything they need." He explained.

They must have such a simple life, Jasmine thought. No wonder Dairon had enough time to clean the sea and check it for toxins every day, as well as hang out in the human realm and kidnap a drowning woman.

"If I remember correctly, I should check up on you this morning." He reminded her. It was the reason he was here, and it was why he had chosen to pick the robes today.

"Yes." She felt bummed, having to leave even before she could do anything. "How about you check on me first? I can come back later." She suggested, to which he nodded and led the way.

"Lord Bardumond." She called as they made their way back.

"Just call me Bardumond." He corrected her.

"How do you come here? There isn't any way in or out." She cautiously asked.

"Stalling Bardumond again?" Dairon asked from in front of them, much to her chagrin. What a bummer. Was he everywhere?

_____

As Sophie suggested, the family of three set out for Cannon Island and as soon as they arrived, they asked to meet the commander of the navy.

"Sir, my daughter is missing." Sophie explained to the middle-aged man as her husband and daughter waited outside, since it was not permitted for all of them to go into the office.

"Where do you live?" He asked impatiently.

"Efinchil." Sophie answered hopefully.

"Then report it in Efinchil. Next." The man ignored her to continue dealing with his work, making Sophie almost pass out in despair.

"Sir, you don't understand! She was last seen on this island." She desperately tried to stop him from having his assistant send her out.

"I see. Tell me everything you know." He pushed his chair forward so he would face her.

"She was part of the cruise, The Phantom. She got lost when the storm happened seven days ago."

"Where was your daughter when the storm happened?" He asked as he noted down the information he had just received.

Sophie tried to think and couldn't come up with a definite answer. "I don't know. But it has been eight days since I last contacted her."

"Then wait for the ship to reach its destination." Dismissed the man, making Sophie's eyes well up.

"The crew contacted us. She went missing with her friends, a group of six when they left on their own. The others were found except my daughter and her friend." She repeated everything she had read on the letter sent by the crew.

"What's the name of your daughter?" He asked yet again.

"Jasmine. Jasmine Cavendish." Her tears dried up to be replaced with hope as she stated her daughter's name.

"Spell that." The man demanded with a pen hovering over a large book. When Sophie spelt the name, the man asked, "Do you have any identification document or pictures?"

"Yes." She quickly produced a picture of Jasmine from a hike.

The man had her wait on the bench outside as he made a call, before calling her back into his office about half an hour later.

"I just called the rescue team. There are no survivors with such details." He dropped the bad news.

Sophie's heart shattered. "Maybe you can have a rescue team check the sea?"

"For her body? It must have been used to fill a shark's belly already." The man was starting to get impatient, since he had to deal with such cases every other day. He even had to keep seeing a wife who had been looking for her lost husband who had been missing since three months ago. The man must have committed suicide, couldn't she tell?

It was as though he had jinxed himself by thinking about the woman, because she arrived and asked for progress regarding the search for her husband.

"Please. You have to check." Came Sophie's voice, irritating him all the more.

"Come back in a week." He bellowed and sent her out.

"A week…what will become of my baby?" She complained, but was sent away by the man's assistant.

She broke down and when Harry rubbed her shoulders to soothe her, she wiped her tears. She had to be strong for her daughter.

"Do you think we should split? Jasmine could go to Efinchil and miss us." She suggested.

"Let's wait for about two days. After that, I will go back with Dahlia and you stay here and wait for news from the rescue team." Harry knew that his wife would be more at ease being closer to the spot that Jasmine was last seen, so he decided that she should be the one to stay.