She Has Questions

"Er....well look at the time! I just remembered something!" Quinn said before swirling his cloak about him and disappearing. The slime king Tarquinn was best at running away.

Robin chuckled. There would be time to pursue Quinn's transgressions later. She wasn't in a hurry about that. Come to think of it...she hadn't promised to let him see the cube. As she recalled, Bastian had wanted to market the magic trick cubes under Lave Mercantiles.

But she had indeed promised to stop by on the way back through, so the end result would have been the same. Also... Robin glanced at Christian and the soldiers outside. She recalled that they had several new clothing orders to pick up.

Just before the carriage driver stepped down to ring the bell, the gate doors swung open, inviting them inside. As expected, Fest was standing there, waiting for them, his hair now a mixture of black and white.

"Welcome back, Hero and guests! We've been expecting you." Fest announced with a bow, once Robin had stepped down from the carriage.

"What gave us away?" Robin chuckled.

"That's confidential information." Fest replied.

"I see. You really are confident and all," Robin quipped. "Is Bastian home?"

"The young master is out in the town, currently. However, according to his orders, you all can make yourself at home if you should happen to return while he is gone." Fest replied, with a hint of a smile.

"Oh, he's out?" Robin asked.

"Yes. Lave Mercantiles has expanded into the textiles business. The Hero's new suits are selling like hotcakes, which has boosted the economy in Peg Leg City immensely these past few days." Fest informed.

"Er...surely not, right?" Robin asked, feeling somewhat taken aback. "It's not even been a week since we left, and you're telling me that a suitcoat and vest have caused such a huge racket?"

"Do not underestimate the power of fashion, young man." Fest adjusted his glasses. "After all, this is a merchants town. Anything which becomes the latest and greatest will be bought in bulk and shipped off to all the different corners of this continent, I have no doubt."

"In that case, Christian, you and the guards had better see if your orders have not been snatched away by others yet." Robin joked.

"On the double!"

"Right, then!"

"We'll be back soon!"

"Yup!"

"Oy, wait for me!" That last voice was Christian as he ran after the soldiers' horses. They had immediately set out for that small seamstress shop, as soon as possible.

Robin stood there stunned. She didn't understand. Jasmine and Chelsea chortled. "See? Fest is right. don't underestimate the pulling power of fashion!" Jasmine added.

"Er...riight." Robin sighed. "We'll be staying overnight, then, Fest."

"You're not staying perhaps a bit longer?" Fest asked.

"I'm afraid that's not possible." Robin shook her head. "We've got a quest to accomplish, after all."

"Ah yes, the 'Certain dragon's enchanted golden thing of beauty', as I recall." Fest adjusted his glasses.

"The very same." Robin yawned. "The same room as last time?" She asked.

"Your rooms have been awaiting your arrivals, yes." Fest indicated.

"I'm taking a nap." Robin told the others before heading straight back to her room. For some reason, she felt absolutely exhausted. As soon as her head touched the pillow, she was fast asleep.

-----

"They say that the people you meet during the day and the topics of conversation determine what you dream at night." Robin blinked as she found herself sitting opposite her brother. She looked around. They were on a terrace in Italy, enjoying a nice breakfast.

"Don't you think so?" Her brother asked.

"I wouldn't know." Robin replied. "I've only ever had one dream this entire time."

"And that's the odd thing!" Her brother pointed a fork her way. "Most would chalk it up to trauma, but to have the exact same dream every time is actually quite difficult to achieve even amongst trauma victims."

"Your point is?" Robin asked, sipping her coffee.

"My point is, the fact that there's been no change to your dreams despite the influx of new information is something that even science can't explain." Her brother said. "Perhaps it has a supernatural cause behind it."

"Oh. Is that all?" Robin snorted.

"Robin, instead of continuing to see doctors and therapists who can't even begin to pin down what's ailing you, perhaps you should go talk to a priest-" Her brother started to suggest.

"This is not up for discussion." Robin clacked her cup down on its saucer.

"But Robin! You must know, it's the first thing that our parents-that Mother would have suggested." Her brother looked pained. "I hate seeing you like this. You're hardly getting any sleep at night."

"No amount of priests or devotions were able to save our parents...to save her from that accident." Robin replied, her voice quivering with emotion. "And that's a fact, brother."

Robin stood up, and left the table.

"Robin!" her brother called after her.

----

"..bin....robin...Robin." A voice echoed in her ears as she suddenly awoke straight out of a sound sleep. The sunlight outside the windows had long since disappeared with the sun. Now the waning light of the moon barely illuminated the window frames.

Robin lay there, not moving, just staring for a long moment. Had she only dreamed she heard someone calling her? But it had sounded so clear...clear...and vaguely familiar, somehow.

Her heart throbbed with a dull ache, as she recalled the memory she had just dreamed of. It felt like that day had happened ages ago. Robin sat up, feeling lost.

"What am I doing here?" She sighed. "Why me?"

While Robin would like to have chalked it up to merely being a dream, that dream had been so vivid and clear. Even now, it felt like she had just walked right out of it and found herself in the bedroom. Robin crossed her arms over her knees as she thought of many memories that she had shoved to the back of her head. Memories that she had tried to bury...

Finally, it was apparent that she wouldn't be able to sleep soon. So she decided to go take a walk out in the garden to clear her thoughts. She walked down the empty hallways, bathed in moonlight.

'Why did I have that dream? This hallway seems to be something far more likely to be in a dream than that earlier.' She pondered.

The garden looked different under the moonlight, but it was still charming in its own way. Robin walked the pathways slowly, trying to empty her head of the thoughts that now began to swirl around her head. She stopped at an intersection of pathways, still lost in thought.

"Ahem! Out for a midnight stroll?" A voice sounded out from behind her. Robin looked back to see Fest in front of her. He was holding a magic lantern, which glowed warmly before her.

"Fest." She nodded in greeting.

"Got something on your mind?" Fest asked.

"Fest..." Robin opened her mouth, and then closed it. Perhaps he would feel offended by what she wanted to ask...But then again, he might be the person best suited to ask at this point. She opened her mouth again.

"Have you ever...met God before?" She asked.

"I have." Fest smiled brightly, remembering the moment.

"Then...why..." Robin hugged her arms, feeling cold. "Why does He allow so many good people to die? Why does he allow so much suffering to happen?"

Fest listened carefully, then smiled. "Shall we go sit down?" He asked, inviting Robin to sit at a nearby stone table. He placed the lantern on the table, and sat down opposite her.

"You've lost a family member, I take it?" Fest asked.

"...My parents." Robin replied.

Fest nodded. "I don't pretend to know the mind of God. He's the sort of person whose considerations are so deep that you cannot fathom them, and yet, maintains such a purity of heart and emotion that only children could show a glimmer of His personality. Everything He does, is entirely filled with care. Every words He speaks is true from the beginning to the end."

"So...why?" Robin asked past the lump in her throat.

"A long time ago, mankind once had a lifespan on par with the elves." Fest sighed.

"But the longer lifespan didn't lend itself to a greater wisdom. Instead, the wicked had a longer time to be wicked, and the suffering had a longer time of suffering. At a certain point, there was only a single family that pursued following the ordinances of the heavens, it was that bad. That is why, God ordained that the life span of man be reduced."

"But why suffer at all?" Robin frowned. "If He is so good, why does he let us suffer? Does He enjoy watching us in pain?"