"Sir, I just received a message from your neighbor, Lady Ugasi," one of Mamoreas' servants said as he entered the official's office. "She wants to invite you for a cup of tea."
"Again?" Mamoreas sighed. "How often do I have to tell that girl that I ave no time for that? I'm busy with the preparations for the incoming merchant fleet. They're supposed to arrive tonight, and the lighthouse must be completed by then." He shook his head. "I still wonder what Minaket is doing. I sent her to buy some combustibles, but it was hours ago. If she doesn't make it in time..."
"But sir..." the servant intervened. "Lady Ugasi told me she also wanted to settle an old score."
Mamoreas smirked faintly. "That old trick? I'm not falling for it... again."
The servant shrugged and emptied the small leather pouch he had been carrying, so that the numerous gold pieces in it were clattering over the table. "She asked me to give you this in advance."
Mamoreas paused for a moment and stared down at the glittering coins. Well, who was he to keep a lady waiting?
He smiled. "Tell that noble woman I will be pleased to come."
----
Later, within the palace of Ugasi.
"I'm so happy you could come," the female merchant gushed.
"Well, let's get this over with..." Mamoreas sighed. "What was that about an old score?"
"Ah, let's talk about that later. Would you like a cup of tea? Or a piece of cake?"
"Well, if you insist..." Mamoreas muttered. While he liked the attention Ugasi was giving him, he'd rather be back in his office, to prepare everything for the arrival of the merchant fleet.
As he sat down, Ugasi also put a huge bouquet of roses in front of him. "A few flowers for a romantic atmosphere," she smiled. "You don't mind, do you?"
"Uh, that's okay! Now, the tea..."
"Right away, my dear!" Ugasi said with a smirk.
'Lucky!' she thought. 'He never noticed the Glowing Stone that's hidden within the roses...'
----
In the small house she was sharing with her friends, Minaket let herself fall down on her bed.
"Finally..." she sighed and sank back into the soft pillows. "Ugasi makes sure that Mamoreas gets the Glowing Stone, and then my work for the lighthouse will finally be done."
"Well, I'm happy for you," Reisis said. "Still, it's amazing that the lighthouse hasn't fallen into the ocean or something..."
The blonde girl glowered at her friend. "What do you mean by that?" she asked with a grim look."
"Well, there was this old tale about a clumsy architect in Greece, whose tower tilted just after being constructed... from what I heard, it sounded just like something you would do."
Before Minaket would do something that she might regret later on, Amitis quickly intervened: "Um, by the way, wasn't the tower supposed to be glowing by now?"
She looked out of the window, where the sun was slowly beginning to set.
Minaket nearly fell out of her bed. "Wh-what? You're saying it's not glowing yet?"
"Look for yourself!" her blue-haired friend said and gestured outside.
From the window, they had a clear view of the great bay of Alexandria, also at the island of Pharos, where the lighthouse was standing.
But Amitis was right: It was still pitch black out there."
"M-maybe Ugasi has forgotten to give the Glowing Stone to Mamoreas..." Minaket mumbled.
Makoth looked at her curiously. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm finished!" Minaket cried. "Mamoreas will never forgive me if I mess that up now." She jumped up from her bed. "Sorry, have to leave now! I'll explain later..."
And she was gone.
Amitis frowned. "Glowing Stone?" she muttered. "Now where have I heard about that before?"
----
Meanwhile...
"Oh my dear Ugasi, how could I ever have missed how beautiful you are..."
Ugasi giggled. "Oh Mamoreas, you flatterer..."
She was exhilarated. Finally, Mamoreas was hers. She was certain that he had always loved her, but that he was too shy to show her his affections. But now, the stone was bringing those feelings to the surface...
"Aaah, the power of love..." she sighed.
Suddenly, the door to her room got kicked in and Minaket stormed into the room. "What's wrong with you?" she shouted. "Give me the stone, quickly! I need it for the tower!"
"You'll never get it, you jerk!" Ugasi shouted, clutching the bouquet of roses.
"So there it is," Minaket smiled. "Thanks, I would have never found it without your help. Now give it to me!"
"Never! Leave us alone!"
By now, Minaket has cornered the merchant in one corner of the room. Ugasi was still holding the roses in her hands.
"Huh?" Mamoreas asked in confusion. "What are you two doing there?" He clutched his head. "Oooh, what happened to me?"
'Oh no!' Ugasi thought. 'Now that the roses aren't near him anymore, they stop working their charm on him...'
She tried running through the room but stumbled over the edge of a carpet, and the roses fell down to the ground. The Glowing Stone rolled out of the bouquet, until he came to a stop at the feet of Mamoreas.
"Huh?" he asked dizzily. "What's that? Looks valuable..."
"Be careful!" Minaket shouted. "That's the Glowing Stone for our lighthouse."
"The lighthouse?" Mamoreas asked. "Yes, I remember..."
"Sorry, but this is mine," Ugasi said and snatched it out of her love's hands. "Thank you, darling!"
"Stop it! Give that back!" Minaket growled and ran after her anew.
"Now hold it right there, Minaket!" Mamoreas shouted. "Leave my sweetheart alone, you hear me?"
"W-what?" Minaket asked in surprise.
Ugasi was surprised as well. 'Phew, the stone is still working... even if it's not in the roses anymore.'
Mamoreas walked over to embrace her. "Give me a hug, my dear!"
"Nothing shall stop our love," Ugasi sighed.
Mamoreas then looked at the stone. "How beautiful. May I have a look at that, please?"
"Of course, darling! Anytime!" she gushed. "It's the source of our neverending love..."
Mamoreas smiled as he looked down at the stone in his hands. "What a nice thing to say..."
He then looked up at her face. "But I'm afraid I can't stay. I have to deliver this stone to my tower. Come, Minaket, follow me!"
"Right away, sir!" Minaket nodded.
Never before in her life had Ugasi felt this betrayed. "You... you... you SEDUCER! CHEATER! COME BACK HERE!"
She grabbed her expensive silverware and porcelain dishes and threw them after the fleeing duo. But they were already too far away.
----
Panting and wheezing, Mamoreas and Minaket reached the harbor, where they took one of the small boats. Quickly, they rowed over to Pharos and entered the lighthouse.
"Run, Minaket, run!" Mamoreas shouted. "The ships of the merchant fleet arrive any minute now!"
They reached the top of the tower, where Mamoreas placed the Glowing Stone on the pedestal, and Minaket lit it with a torch.
"We made it in time," Mamoreas sighed in relief as the bright light of the stone shone out of the lighthouse's top chamber, illuminating the whole bay.
"Finally..." Minaket groaned.
They went down the stairs again and looked at the lighthouse from below.
"Look at that sight," Mamoreas said. "Minaket, I'm proud of you. That tower is a true masterpiece of work... and that Glowing Stone is better than any torch. This lighthouse will have its place in history."
"Well, I'm happy to hear that," the blonde architect smiled.
Suddenly, they heard a noise. It wasn't the usual rushing of the sea, it was the splashing of another boat.
Minaket turned around and was surprised to see her three friends approaching the island in another boat.
"What are you doing here?" she wondered as they climbed out of the boat.
"Well, we wanted to see the lighthouse from close," Makoth explained. "And Amitis said she had something to tell you."
"Yes," Amitis said. "It's about the Glowing Stone... I just remembered what I read about it before."
"Well, what is it?" Mamoreas asked.
"The Glowing Stone can shine for 77.777 years... but only if it's stored within a salt deposit."
"So that's why it was hidden within a salt mine," Minaket said. "Now I understand."
"And if not, what then?" Mamoreas asked.
"Then the duration shortens to 7.777 years."
Mamoreas laughed. "You almost had me worried there. Well, this will certainly be enough, won't you say, Minaket?"
The blonde girl grinned. "Sure, more than enough."
"Um, there's more..." Amitis spoke up. "But I wonder if that actually concerns you..."
"What? Spit it out!" Mamoreas said impatiently.
"Well, if the Glowing Stone is hidden within a bunch of roses, and someone uses it to make someone else fall in love with him or her, the stone loses much of its energy... and the time span will shorten to only seven minutes."
Mamoreas was stunned for a moment. He then whimpered. "Please... please, tell me that you didn't just say that."
"I'm sorry," Amitis winced. "But that's what I read."
"Look at that!" Reisis shouted and gestured up to the tower, where the bright light of the Glowing Stone was just fading.
"M-maybe there's still time to exchange it for a normal torch..." Minaket muttered.
But it was too late.
All of a sudden, a massive crash made all of them jump in surprise. They gasped in surprise when suddenly, the whole tower came crashing down. And they could clearly see the reason: Two of the merchant fleet's ships have crashed against the island, and the tower itself.
They all managed to get off the island in time, but the tower met its demise.
----
The next morning...
"But sir," one of the ship's captains tried to defend himself. "How were we supposed to see anything? First, everything was as bright as during the day... and then, all of a sudden, it went dark. We couldn't see a thing."
"No excuses," Mamoreas said sternly. "Now go and help those girls to recover the sunken goods."
He then sighed and looked at the small pile of wares that had already been salvaged from the bottom of the bay. 'I guess I'll just have to use some of these valuable wares as a present for a certain young lady... with pigtails... I hope she'll forgive me then...'
Meanwhile, Minaket came back to the surface, spitting out some sea water. She put the chest of jewels she had just recovered on the dry land, where her friends were putting it on a pile.
"I can't take this anymore..." she whined. "I've already been down there 38 times by now."
Amitis made some quick calculations. "Then I think you only have to dive approximately 9.616.081 more times to recover all of the sunken wares."
Minaket whined. "My life is hell..."
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(Posted Sun, 08 Apr 2007 13:35)
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