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"The Conversation" (Muse) "……aaaaaaAAHHhhhhhh……" "Here comes Clive screaming…there goes Clive screaming…," Elza said with a smug smile. "Come back, sweet prince!" "…and there goes Aunt Bertha not too far behind," finished Elza, her smile growing wider. For the past couple of hours, she had been watching the little chase go on from a safe distance. From one end of the town to the other, there was not one place the two hadn't ran. To Elza's disappointment, though, it did not last much longer. Bertha was getting short of breath, and Clive, seizing his chance, put out one last burst of energy to out run her and lose her. Bertha slowed down and came to a complete stop. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. After a few minutes of rest, she looked around and said, "Awww, nuts!" She then turned around and headed back to her home/shop. Elza sighed, and turned back to her own problem. With Muse's gate closed, and Elza not being able to tell the guard why she wanted to leave, she was stuck.. It wasn't that she didn't like Muse, she just wasn't to thrilled to be trapped with Clive. After a moment of thought, she decided the best plan she could come up with was to look around Muse and see if she could find a way out other than the front entrance. That did not necessarily mean it had to be a door… Elza spent the rest of the day exploring Muse, while being wary of Clive who was, also, still trapped in Muse. Finally, convinced that she had searched every inch of the city, she found what looked to be a way out without being noticed. But, to be on the safe side, she decided to wait until nightfall to follow through with her getaway. As she made her way back to Bertha's home, for she had no better place to hide in wait for the darkness, she heard a conversation between two women that made her slow down and stop. "Harriet, over here!" A young woman called over another one about the same age as she. "Hi, how've ya been? Heard the latest? Another one is missing." The other woman's eyes grew wide, "You don't mean…" "I do. It is so sad how this keeps happening. That would make about, what…twelve this week?" Counting her fingers briefly, the second woman replied, "Yes I believe so. Though it is sad, there were too many in this town anyway…I just never glad I had any- -" "Speak for yourself!" The first woman cut the other off. "I would be worried sick if my Frederic ever disappeared!" There was a moment of silence between the two women, and then the first changed the subject, "So how's your husband?" "Oh, he's…" Elza didn't want to hear anymore, so she left. Though the two women had never made it clear what they were talking about, Elza was pretty sure that she already knew. Something that had happened back at home, in Harmonia… But she put it out of her mind, for, whether her guess was right or wrong, it wasn't of any concern to her. She entered her aunt's shop, and Bertha was only too happy to spend the rest of the day with her niece. Elza didn't exactly share the same feelings, but unless she rather have Clive catch her, she had to put up with her aunt. After listening Bertha for about ten minutes, Elza almost decided to take her chances with her pursuer. Before she could decide, a Muse guard was at the entrance of the shop. "Is there an Elza Beaumont here?" He stated with an air of authority. "Y…yes," Elza stuttered, for she was a little nervous. She wasn't wanted for any crimes, other than the whole Howling Voice Guild thing. What could this man want? She snapped out of nervous thought and asked, "She is me. What do you want?" The man handed her a letter and replied, "A kobold at the city entrance said that he needed this delivered directly to you. We told him that it would be sent right away. Here you are." She gave out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, you may leave now." The man left as quickly as he came. Elza quickly opened the letter and read over it. As soon as she had looked over it, she swiftly got up and headed over to the door. "Where do you think your going? And what was in that letter?" Her aunt had seen the entire thing, and, of course, decided to ask questions. "Sorry, auntie, but I don't have time to explain." She quickened her step. And before her aunt could say another word, Elza was out the door. The sun was setting by the time Elza started heading back to her aunt's shop. 'If I am going to make it out by tonight,' she thought, 'I am going to have to avoid any conversation the Bertha. I wish I could avoid her all together, but I left a bunch of my stuff there.' When she arrived at the shop, she took a deep breath and opened the door. Her aunt was waiting for her, with an agitated look. "Where have you been all this time?" "Let's just say…meeting an old acquaintance." Was her brief reply as she quickly began to gather her stuff. "Look, Bertha, I need to leave now. Sorry to cut our plans short for the afternoon, I'll make it up to you next time I'm in town." "But…" Bertha began. "I hope things work out for you and Clive, don't forget to invite me to the wedding!" Elza had finished picking up her stuff. "But…but…" Her aunt was now at a lost for words, and before she could finally say anything, the door silently closed shut behind Elza. "………... Did I miss something?" Elza made her way silently through the streets of Muse until she found what she had spent all day looking for: and a ladder that led to the top of a building roof. She quickly was up the side of the wall and on, what she assumed to be someone's home. This house was conveniently next to Muse's eastern wall and a little bit higher. She carefully stepped over on to the wall and jumped off onto the other side with a gentle thud. Quickly locating Artemis, she climbed on his back, and galloped off into the night air.
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