"Urd?" she called, taking in the rich, almost ostentatious, surroundings. The fact that it didn't quite hit gaudy told her that she wasn't in Urd's chambers in Heaven.
"I'm in here!" a rusty voice responded, trailing off in a sighing cough.
Following the sound, Belldandy stepped out into a brilliantly appointed bedroom, decorated in the same royal blue as the bath mat she had been standing upon. This room had little of the gold that had predominated in the bathing chamber, but it had its own share of rich accoutrements.
Looking around, she spotted Urd lying upon a bed, festooned in quilts and with half a bottle of sake sitting on the dark oak table beside her. Making her way over to her sister, she sat down on the edge and looked down at her. "You're looking much better today, Urd."
Urd cracked a half-hearted smile in return and croaked, "Liar."
A light smile touched Belldandy's lips. "Only a little. Still not feeling better I see?"
Her sister shook her head, then said, "I would feel a lot better if I could stomach more than a glass or two of sake at a time." Her voice died out in a cough, and she shook slightly, prompting Belldandy to tuck her blankets around her more closely.
"If it were a simple matter of lost energy, I'm sure you would already be back on your feet, Urd."
The Goddess of the Past shrugged in response, then gave her sister a rakish grin. "I didn't mean for the energy, Bell."
Shaking her head, Belldandy turned her attention back to the room briefly. "What did you do to your rooms anyway, Urd? It looks nice."
Her sister shook her head slightly, then looked Belldandy up and down for a minute, taking in the somewhat tousled hair and clothes that were on the wrong side of perfect. "You're really out of it, aren't you," she said in a hoarse voice, "we're on Midgaard and I am officially on sick leave. Or rather, an 'indefinite vacation', as Kami-sama put it. Rest and relaxation for as long as I need to recover."
Belldandy started and then began to rise. "Oh, I shouldn't be here then, I should hav--" She glanced down to the hand that was latched onto her wrist with surprising strength, startled silent.
"NO! I mean," Urd said quickly, "I'm going to go nuts if I have any more 'relaxation'. I can't get out of bed and I don't get many visitors while the mess that woman caused in Yggdrasil is being fixed." She lapsed silent for a moment, catching her breath, then pulled a lock of hair behind one ear and continued. "Tell me what you've been doing. How goes the bug hunting?"
A blush quickly rose upon the middle sister's cheeks and she glanced around furtively. "Well, the truth is, that's why I came here, I'm not really bug hunting anymore. I was assigned to the Goddess Relief Office as light duty, since I'm not completely recovered myself." She turned to look around again, then leaned towards her sister, her voice rising slightly, an odd mix of excitement and dread entering her eyes. "Urd, I've talked to Keiichi! I got his wish!"
Her older sister sat up abruptly, throwing off one of the navy blue quilts that covered her and smiled at Belldandy. "You didn't! Did he make the same wish again? I'll move in right away, this place is Dullsville anyway, I'm sure Kami-sama won't mind..." She trailed off as she noticed the look on her sister's face as she shook her head.
"Oh, Urd, he's a girl!" And with that, Belldandy burst into tears and collapsed onto her sister's lap.
See other episodes by James M. Zema
(Posted Mon, 28 Jul 2003 14:31)
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