Day 26
Yay, Thanksgiving! I'm going to do some writing, and eat lots and then watch Doctor Who! Whoo!
At Tim's colony, the first priority was to learn as much as possible about the way that these mice lived. It was, however, a little bit difficult to do that while suppressing yawns and not forgetting anything that they had learned earlier in the day.
The were forced to delegate in a way. First, Arthur and Jackie made careful notes about what they had learned while Dan and Rob asked Tim the complicated questions. When Arthur was yawning too much to write a complete sentence, it was time for Dan to take his place. He made his own notes, filling in extra pieces of information where they had been neglected in the existing notes. Jackie, too, was replaced by Rob, who added in new snippets about this colony while Dan sketched the outside in excruciating detail.
It was very late before they could excuse themselves from the excruciating enthusiasm of Tim. He had fed them well during their talk, but that had done little to fend off their exhaustion. Having been shown to a large nook with several beds, they had to fight off the tempting tendrils of sleep and make some final notes.
Just when the last papers had been stacked up neatly and all notes had been approved by each of the team members, Rob interrupted them to tell them that they couldn't go to sleep just yet. He had something to show them.
"If it's a map," Dan started distastefully, "I may actually hurt you. Serious wounds," he added with an evil eye.
"Maps are fabulous," he said defensively. He was too tired to be convincing. "It's not a map!" he added quickly.
"What is it, then?" Jackie asked curiously.
"I don't actually know," Rob admitted. He was met with dirty looks. "Just hear me out! I found it right outside the gates of our colony about a year ago, and I still haven't figured out what it is. I want to ask Roger about it, but I thought I should show it to you first. And since we might only have tomorrow with him..." he trailed off. "Well, I just thought that now might be a good time."
Arthur smiled. "That was very thoughtful of you. Go ahead, we're paying attention."
"Awesome!" Robert ran to his bag and started pulling things out haphazardly. Behind him, Arthur gave his companions a stern look so that they wouldn't cause any trouble.
"Here we are," he muttered, pulling his bag towards them carefully. "One day, I was near the gate and this just fell from -- well, not the sky -- somewhere above, in any case." When he was sure that all eyes were on him, he slowly pulled out the object, making sure that the colorful protrusion was at the bottom. Then, he placed the object on the small table in the nook.
The other three crowded forward to get a better look at it. "You weren't exaggerating when you said you had no idea what it is," Dan said.
"It's very pretty," Jackie said. She brushed her hand against the protrusion. "But cold," she added with surprise.
"If you hold on to it for a while, it holds in the heat," Rob said helpfully. He had done that quite a few times. Merely in the pursuit of knowledge, of course.
"Do you think it had something do with the humans?" Arthur asked curiously.
"Well, since it was the castle, I think there's a rather good chance of that. It would be small in proportion to them, so it could be anything," Dan said.
"It's a bit like the things we use for baubles in trade," Arthur suggested.
"That's possible," Jackie admitted. "I think it looks like some sort of decoration, though. I wouldn't hand that out frivolously."
Rob shook his head to stay away. "You should see it in the light. I haven't had a chance to look at it in the sun yet." He picked up the object and brought it over to the lamp it the room. It was just like the lamps in their own colony, burning slowly, but for some reason, this flame seemed a bit brighter.
"Oooh," said Jackie as she watched the light glint off the strange object. "It's so shiny."
"That is mesmerizing," Dan said, surprised.
"That's why you want to see the sunrise!" Arthur exclaimed.
"Yes," Rob admitted. "I thought it might be a good way to ask him to see us again, too," he added bashfully.
"Well played!" Dan said. "But can we go to sleep now?"
Arthur laughed. "I think that would be okay."
"Is it?" Jackie asked Rob carefully.
"Yeah, of course," he said, already packing the object away in his bag.
They slept soundly until Tim came knocking on their door to wake them up. He was met with moans and groans as each of them either rolled over or curled up into tighter balls. "You didn't want to miss the sunrise," he reminded them kindly.
"Sunrise!" Rob exclaimed sleepily, rolling out of bed quickly. He hit the ground with a loud "thud." "I meant to do that," he told the floor. "Really."
Jackie sat up, cracking joints systematically. "How much time do we have?" she asked as she pulled out her arms.
"I thought that you needed some extra sleep tonight, so I thought that you could have your breakfast during the sunrise," Tim said.
"I can live with that," Dan said, lifting up the covers so that the cool air would drive him out of bed.
Arthur moaned, still curled up safely in bed. That wasn't good news for a person whose life revolved around collecting food.
"I made you a little picnic basket," Tim added, waving the object enticingly.
Arthur's nose twitched. There was cheese in there! He was suddenly very awake indeed. "That sounds acceptable," he said, trying to restrain his excitement.
"Good!" Tim said. He put down the basket. "I'll be here to lead you out in ten minutes," he said quickly, running from the room before anyone could cause him any harm.
"I knew that was coming," Dan muttered. "Come on, this is no time for laziness!" he added with authority.
They were ready in eight minutes, as they were eager for a bit of food and information. Tim led them out, chattering happily and keeping the basket safely out of their reach. At the gates, they were met by Roger, who was crunching away at a carrot again. There, Tim bid them goodbye, said that he hoped to see them again, and handed the basket of food over to Dan.
"We don't have too much time, so it really would be better if you guys just got on my back and let me do the work," Roger suggested.
The mice exchanged looks. It would help build their relationship, after all. "Alright," Arthur said for the group.
"Great!" Roger squatted down so that he was a bit more accessible to the small creatures. "Climb up my leg," he said, wriggling one of his hind legs a bit.
"Ladies first," Rob said. Arthur gave her a little push when she didn't budge.
"Oh, fine," she sighed, approaching the large leg.
"Don't worry about pulling on the fur," Roger reassured her.
"You had better give me the basket," Jackie said to Dan. With that firmly in hand, she started the climb. Roger wriggled a little as the tiny feet scurried over him, but he made no protest.
Jackie looked down from the rabbit's back expectantly. "Come on, who's next?" Thinking of his object, Rob went next, followed by Arthur and Dan.
Once everyone was settled, Roger sat up again. "Hold tight everyone!" Once four handfuls of his fur had been grabbed, he started to hop towards the sunrise, listening as shouts of fear turned into squeals of delight.
They got to the edge of the fields just in time to watch the sunrise. They didn't waste energy on speaking at first; they merely sat down and helped themselves to their breakfast. They had bits of bread, cheese, and assorted fruits. They offered to share with Roger, but he was not tempted by anything in the basket, content to simply gnaw on his carrot.
After he had eaten his share of the breakfast, Rob discretely pulled out his object and placed it on the ground in front of him so that he could watch the lights glinting off it. Once the sun had risen sufficiently to cease to be incredibly interesting, the rest of the group turned their attention to the glinting red of the object.
Roger eventually noticed that the sunrise was not the object of the low sounds of amazement. Looking behind him, he easily spotted the object. "Where did you find that?" he asked.
"In the halls of the castle, long ago," Rob said, happy that he had not needed to bring up the object himself.
"Can I?" Roger started. He was leaning closer, in some danger of toppling over. "Can I take a look at that?"
"Sure," Rob said lightly, but inside he was very tense, wild with the fear the Roger might run off with his precious object.
"We don't know what it is," Jackie said when she saw that Rob was in no condition to speak about it.
"It's a ring," Roger mumbled, holding the object up to the sun very near to his eyes.
"A ring of what?" Arthur prompted.
"What do you mean a ring of what?" Roger momentarily paused his strangely close inspection of the object. "It's a ring ring."
"We got nothing," Robert said finally.
"It's a piece of jewelry?" Roger said, unsure how to continue.
"You're going to have to explain it to us, I'm afraid," Jackie said gently.
Roger blinked a few times, handing the ring to Robert again. "Well, let me just say that you've made quite a find." He scratched his head. "Jewelry is worn by humans is worn primarily as decoration, especially for women. Humans give jewelry to one another as well, and it usually has a special significance."
"Can you tell what the significance of that ring is?" Rob asked eagerly.
"A lot of them just have personal significance, so you can't really tell, but this is an exception," Roger started.
"Yes?" Arthur prompted.
"I think I recognize this ring," Roger said. "Not just by the quality and the color of the stone, but because this ring happens to be inscribed to Amanda."
"What's the stone?" Rob asked eagerly.
"Who's Amanda?" Dan asked a bit more suspiciously.
"The stone is the red bit," Roger explained. "I think it's a garnet, but it could be a ruby. I never know," he added to himself. "It's more likely to a garnet because those are rarer but that's not the point at all." He took a deep breath. "Amanda is the eldest princess, but first, I need to explain the concept of engagement rings to you."
"As in, engaged to be married?" Dan asked.
"Right in one," Roger said, nodding. "The ring is given when the question is asked, and the woman wears the ring. When they get married, both of them get different wedding rings. It's part of the deal."
"So why would the Princess's engagement ring be floating around in the castle?" Arthur asked.
"That's the point I'm trying to make here," Roger said impatiently. "The ring was lost a year ago, and there was quite a fuss made about it back then."
"Oh," Robert said quietly.
"I'm amazed that it fell right into your hands."
"I want to return it," Robert said, still very quiet.
"You don't have to do that," Jackie said immediately, saddened by his loss of spirit.
"I want to," Robert said.
"Let's not be rash now," Dan said.
"I'm not being rash," Robert insisted.
"You don't have to return it if you don't want to," Roger confirmed.
"I know," Robert said, still quieter. Jackie pulled herself over to him and put a comforting arm over his shoulders. He didn't fight her off, but he wasn't swayed either.
"Listen," he started, his voice slightly stronger now. "I've been obsessed with that ring for the past year. And I was obsessed with it because it was from the mysterious outside that I new nothing about. Now, I have not only seen the ring in the sunlight and seen its true color, but I know about the outside. I know more than I would have ever thought possible. I'm fine with giving it up."
"Alright," Dan said, shrugging.
"You can still change your mind," Jackie said reassuringly, patting him on the shoulder.
He only narrowed his eyes at her, concerned that she might do something silly. "What do we do now?" he asked, hoping mostly to hear Roger's answer.
"If you're serious about getting the ring back to Amanda, then I think it's time to meet with my friend, Jessica. She's not only aware, but she's also very familiar with Amanda and will be able to verify whether the ring really belongs to her. Then we'll be able to reach Amanda."
"It's a plan then," Robert said.
They made their way up to the castle rather peacefully, managing not to pressure Roger with too many complicated questions. Near the castle gates, they suddenly veered off their path and turned to the right.
"Where are we going?" Robert asked curiously.
"We need to find Jessica before we go any further, and the best chances for finding her are in the gardens," Roger said. He hopped ahead to peak through a decorative grate laced with flowers. "Good, it looks like the humans aren't around now," he concluded.
The gardens were a strange place, overtaken by clumps of flowers that seemed to be organized by color and style. There were quaint little paths made of pebbles going between the clumps of fancy flowers. There even seemed to be benches around. It was all very decorative. The flowers did, however, smell perfectly lovely.
They followed Roger down a winding path, beginning to doubt he knew where he was going. Just as Robert had been about to question his sense of direction, they caught sight of another rabbit. This one was a light brown color that glinted in the sun to an almost red tint. The fur was longer than that of Roger and looked a bit more scruffy and interesting. It also made the ears of the other rabbit seem longer and pointer. The other rabbit was smaller than Roger, and judging by the expression of happiness on his face, this was the Jessica that they had been looking for.
The other rabbit had been curled up in a bed of red flowers, looking at a strange structure in what seemed to be in the middle of the garden. It was a sort of large bowl with a statue in the middle that had water spurting out of it in a continuous stream. She turned her head suddenly, apparently having heard her visitors approaching. "Roger!"
"Hello, Jessica," he said cheerfully.
"Oh, I haven't seen you in ages!" she exclaimed, sitting up from her leisurely position. "Who have you brought with you?"
"Hi there," Arthur said shyly.
"They're a couple of mice from inside the castle. They've never been out here before," Roger said, sounding a bit proud of them.
"Wow," Jessica said. She stood up now, approaching them slowly. "That sounds like quite the adventure for a few little mice. What brought you out here?"
"That's a rather long story," Dan said dismissively, concerned that she might press them for more, especially as she had been talked of as being a rather big gossip.
"We've sought you out for a more specific reason, actually," Roger said.
"Ahh, so you're not here to impress me with how kind you're being to these poor little mice?" she asked languidly with a growing smile.
"Not today, darling, no," he said with a wink.
Afraid that they might never get to the point, Robert went through his bag to pull out the all-important ring. "I found this about a year ago and apparently it might be significant."
Jessica was immediately distracted from the banter. "Is that Princess Amanda's ring?" she asked in wonder.
"That's what we need you for," Roger said.
She approached Robert slowly, keeping her eyes on the ring as she came closer. "It looks like it," she said shakily. "Would you mind if I touched it?" she asked almost reverently.
"Of course! That's why we're here," Rob said reassuringly, holding it out to her.
She took it and looked at it very closely, also angling it towards the sun. After a few very tense minutes, she handed it back. "There's no question about it. That's definitely the ring. It has the same inscription and you found it at the right time."
"What's the inscription?" Rob asked, looking inside the ring, trying to spot something.
"Those are the words that are carved inside the band. 'Amanda, You are my sun and stars. Let me be your world. Dominic.'"
"That's so sweet," Jackie exclaimed.
"You've found quite a treasure there," Jessica said to Robert.
"I want to get it back to her," he said, putting it away, so he wouldn't get too attached to it.
"Oh! That's great!" Jessica said, even more enlivened.
"We're going to need your help with this," Roger said.
"Really?" She went up closer to Roger. "You're not having me on now?"
He shook his head. "You even get to lead the way!"
"What are stars?" Arthur asked as they started to leave the garden.
"You can handle this one, Roger."
At Tim's colony, the first priority was to learn as much as possible about the way that these mice lived. It was, however, a little bit difficult to do that while suppressing yawns and not forgetting anything that they had learned earlier in the day.
The were forced to delegate in a way. First, Arthur and Jackie made careful notes about what they had learned while Dan and Rob asked Tim the complicated questions. When Arthur was yawning too much to write a complete sentence, it was time for Dan to take his place. He made his own notes, filling in extra pieces of information where they had been neglected in the existing notes. Jackie, too, was replaced by Rob, who added in new snippets about this colony while Dan sketched the outside in excruciating detail.
It was very late before they could excuse themselves from the excruciating enthusiasm of Tim. He had fed them well during their talk, but that had done little to fend off their exhaustion. Having been shown to a large nook with several beds, they had to fight off the tempting tendrils of sleep and make some final notes.
Just when the last papers had been stacked up neatly and all notes had been approved by each of the team members, Rob interrupted them to tell them that they couldn't go to sleep just yet. He had something to show them.
"If it's a map," Dan started distastefully, "I may actually hurt you. Serious wounds," he added with an evil eye.
"Maps are fabulous," he said defensively. He was too tired to be convincing. "It's not a map!" he added quickly.
"What is it, then?" Jackie asked curiously.
"I don't actually know," Rob admitted. He was met with dirty looks. "Just hear me out! I found it right outside the gates of our colony about a year ago, and I still haven't figured out what it is. I want to ask Roger about it, but I thought I should show it to you first. And since we might only have tomorrow with him..." he trailed off. "Well, I just thought that now might be a good time."
Arthur smiled. "That was very thoughtful of you. Go ahead, we're paying attention."
"Awesome!" Robert ran to his bag and started pulling things out haphazardly. Behind him, Arthur gave his companions a stern look so that they wouldn't cause any trouble.
"Here we are," he muttered, pulling his bag towards them carefully. "One day, I was near the gate and this just fell from -- well, not the sky -- somewhere above, in any case." When he was sure that all eyes were on him, he slowly pulled out the object, making sure that the colorful protrusion was at the bottom. Then, he placed the object on the small table in the nook.
The other three crowded forward to get a better look at it. "You weren't exaggerating when you said you had no idea what it is," Dan said.
"It's very pretty," Jackie said. She brushed her hand against the protrusion. "But cold," she added with surprise.
"If you hold on to it for a while, it holds in the heat," Rob said helpfully. He had done that quite a few times. Merely in the pursuit of knowledge, of course.
"Do you think it had something do with the humans?" Arthur asked curiously.
"Well, since it was the castle, I think there's a rather good chance of that. It would be small in proportion to them, so it could be anything," Dan said.
"It's a bit like the things we use for baubles in trade," Arthur suggested.
"That's possible," Jackie admitted. "I think it looks like some sort of decoration, though. I wouldn't hand that out frivolously."
Rob shook his head to stay away. "You should see it in the light. I haven't had a chance to look at it in the sun yet." He picked up the object and brought it over to the lamp it the room. It was just like the lamps in their own colony, burning slowly, but for some reason, this flame seemed a bit brighter.
"Oooh," said Jackie as she watched the light glint off the strange object. "It's so shiny."
"That is mesmerizing," Dan said, surprised.
"That's why you want to see the sunrise!" Arthur exclaimed.
"Yes," Rob admitted. "I thought it might be a good way to ask him to see us again, too," he added bashfully.
"Well played!" Dan said. "But can we go to sleep now?"
Arthur laughed. "I think that would be okay."
"Is it?" Jackie asked Rob carefully.
"Yeah, of course," he said, already packing the object away in his bag.
They slept soundly until Tim came knocking on their door to wake them up. He was met with moans and groans as each of them either rolled over or curled up into tighter balls. "You didn't want to miss the sunrise," he reminded them kindly.
"Sunrise!" Rob exclaimed sleepily, rolling out of bed quickly. He hit the ground with a loud "thud." "I meant to do that," he told the floor. "Really."
Jackie sat up, cracking joints systematically. "How much time do we have?" she asked as she pulled out her arms.
"I thought that you needed some extra sleep tonight, so I thought that you could have your breakfast during the sunrise," Tim said.
"I can live with that," Dan said, lifting up the covers so that the cool air would drive him out of bed.
Arthur moaned, still curled up safely in bed. That wasn't good news for a person whose life revolved around collecting food.
"I made you a little picnic basket," Tim added, waving the object enticingly.
Arthur's nose twitched. There was cheese in there! He was suddenly very awake indeed. "That sounds acceptable," he said, trying to restrain his excitement.
"Good!" Tim said. He put down the basket. "I'll be here to lead you out in ten minutes," he said quickly, running from the room before anyone could cause him any harm.
"I knew that was coming," Dan muttered. "Come on, this is no time for laziness!" he added with authority.
They were ready in eight minutes, as they were eager for a bit of food and information. Tim led them out, chattering happily and keeping the basket safely out of their reach. At the gates, they were met by Roger, who was crunching away at a carrot again. There, Tim bid them goodbye, said that he hoped to see them again, and handed the basket of food over to Dan.
"We don't have too much time, so it really would be better if you guys just got on my back and let me do the work," Roger suggested.
The mice exchanged looks. It would help build their relationship, after all. "Alright," Arthur said for the group.
"Great!" Roger squatted down so that he was a bit more accessible to the small creatures. "Climb up my leg," he said, wriggling one of his hind legs a bit.
"Ladies first," Rob said. Arthur gave her a little push when she didn't budge.
"Oh, fine," she sighed, approaching the large leg.
"Don't worry about pulling on the fur," Roger reassured her.
"You had better give me the basket," Jackie said to Dan. With that firmly in hand, she started the climb. Roger wriggled a little as the tiny feet scurried over him, but he made no protest.
Jackie looked down from the rabbit's back expectantly. "Come on, who's next?" Thinking of his object, Rob went next, followed by Arthur and Dan.
Once everyone was settled, Roger sat up again. "Hold tight everyone!" Once four handfuls of his fur had been grabbed, he started to hop towards the sunrise, listening as shouts of fear turned into squeals of delight.
They got to the edge of the fields just in time to watch the sunrise. They didn't waste energy on speaking at first; they merely sat down and helped themselves to their breakfast. They had bits of bread, cheese, and assorted fruits. They offered to share with Roger, but he was not tempted by anything in the basket, content to simply gnaw on his carrot.
After he had eaten his share of the breakfast, Rob discretely pulled out his object and placed it on the ground in front of him so that he could watch the lights glinting off it. Once the sun had risen sufficiently to cease to be incredibly interesting, the rest of the group turned their attention to the glinting red of the object.
Roger eventually noticed that the sunrise was not the object of the low sounds of amazement. Looking behind him, he easily spotted the object. "Where did you find that?" he asked.
"In the halls of the castle, long ago," Rob said, happy that he had not needed to bring up the object himself.
"Can I?" Roger started. He was leaning closer, in some danger of toppling over. "Can I take a look at that?"
"Sure," Rob said lightly, but inside he was very tense, wild with the fear the Roger might run off with his precious object.
"We don't know what it is," Jackie said when she saw that Rob was in no condition to speak about it.
"It's a ring," Roger mumbled, holding the object up to the sun very near to his eyes.
"A ring of what?" Arthur prompted.
"What do you mean a ring of what?" Roger momentarily paused his strangely close inspection of the object. "It's a ring ring."
"We got nothing," Robert said finally.
"It's a piece of jewelry?" Roger said, unsure how to continue.
"You're going to have to explain it to us, I'm afraid," Jackie said gently.
Roger blinked a few times, handing the ring to Robert again. "Well, let me just say that you've made quite a find." He scratched his head. "Jewelry is worn by humans is worn primarily as decoration, especially for women. Humans give jewelry to one another as well, and it usually has a special significance."
"Can you tell what the significance of that ring is?" Rob asked eagerly.
"A lot of them just have personal significance, so you can't really tell, but this is an exception," Roger started.
"Yes?" Arthur prompted.
"I think I recognize this ring," Roger said. "Not just by the quality and the color of the stone, but because this ring happens to be inscribed to Amanda."
"What's the stone?" Rob asked eagerly.
"Who's Amanda?" Dan asked a bit more suspiciously.
"The stone is the red bit," Roger explained. "I think it's a garnet, but it could be a ruby. I never know," he added to himself. "It's more likely to a garnet because those are rarer but that's not the point at all." He took a deep breath. "Amanda is the eldest princess, but first, I need to explain the concept of engagement rings to you."
"As in, engaged to be married?" Dan asked.
"Right in one," Roger said, nodding. "The ring is given when the question is asked, and the woman wears the ring. When they get married, both of them get different wedding rings. It's part of the deal."
"So why would the Princess's engagement ring be floating around in the castle?" Arthur asked.
"That's the point I'm trying to make here," Roger said impatiently. "The ring was lost a year ago, and there was quite a fuss made about it back then."
"Oh," Robert said quietly.
"I'm amazed that it fell right into your hands."
"I want to return it," Robert said, still very quiet.
"You don't have to do that," Jackie said immediately, saddened by his loss of spirit.
"I want to," Robert said.
"Let's not be rash now," Dan said.
"I'm not being rash," Robert insisted.
"You don't have to return it if you don't want to," Roger confirmed.
"I know," Robert said, still quieter. Jackie pulled herself over to him and put a comforting arm over his shoulders. He didn't fight her off, but he wasn't swayed either.
"Listen," he started, his voice slightly stronger now. "I've been obsessed with that ring for the past year. And I was obsessed with it because it was from the mysterious outside that I new nothing about. Now, I have not only seen the ring in the sunlight and seen its true color, but I know about the outside. I know more than I would have ever thought possible. I'm fine with giving it up."
"Alright," Dan said, shrugging.
"You can still change your mind," Jackie said reassuringly, patting him on the shoulder.
He only narrowed his eyes at her, concerned that she might do something silly. "What do we do now?" he asked, hoping mostly to hear Roger's answer.
"If you're serious about getting the ring back to Amanda, then I think it's time to meet with my friend, Jessica. She's not only aware, but she's also very familiar with Amanda and will be able to verify whether the ring really belongs to her. Then we'll be able to reach Amanda."
"It's a plan then," Robert said.
They made their way up to the castle rather peacefully, managing not to pressure Roger with too many complicated questions. Near the castle gates, they suddenly veered off their path and turned to the right.
"Where are we going?" Robert asked curiously.
"We need to find Jessica before we go any further, and the best chances for finding her are in the gardens," Roger said. He hopped ahead to peak through a decorative grate laced with flowers. "Good, it looks like the humans aren't around now," he concluded.
The gardens were a strange place, overtaken by clumps of flowers that seemed to be organized by color and style. There were quaint little paths made of pebbles going between the clumps of fancy flowers. There even seemed to be benches around. It was all very decorative. The flowers did, however, smell perfectly lovely.
They followed Roger down a winding path, beginning to doubt he knew where he was going. Just as Robert had been about to question his sense of direction, they caught sight of another rabbit. This one was a light brown color that glinted in the sun to an almost red tint. The fur was longer than that of Roger and looked a bit more scruffy and interesting. It also made the ears of the other rabbit seem longer and pointer. The other rabbit was smaller than Roger, and judging by the expression of happiness on his face, this was the Jessica that they had been looking for.
The other rabbit had been curled up in a bed of red flowers, looking at a strange structure in what seemed to be in the middle of the garden. It was a sort of large bowl with a statue in the middle that had water spurting out of it in a continuous stream. She turned her head suddenly, apparently having heard her visitors approaching. "Roger!"
"Hello, Jessica," he said cheerfully.
"Oh, I haven't seen you in ages!" she exclaimed, sitting up from her leisurely position. "Who have you brought with you?"
"Hi there," Arthur said shyly.
"They're a couple of mice from inside the castle. They've never been out here before," Roger said, sounding a bit proud of them.
"Wow," Jessica said. She stood up now, approaching them slowly. "That sounds like quite the adventure for a few little mice. What brought you out here?"
"That's a rather long story," Dan said dismissively, concerned that she might press them for more, especially as she had been talked of as being a rather big gossip.
"We've sought you out for a more specific reason, actually," Roger said.
"Ahh, so you're not here to impress me with how kind you're being to these poor little mice?" she asked languidly with a growing smile.
"Not today, darling, no," he said with a wink.
Afraid that they might never get to the point, Robert went through his bag to pull out the all-important ring. "I found this about a year ago and apparently it might be significant."
Jessica was immediately distracted from the banter. "Is that Princess Amanda's ring?" she asked in wonder.
"That's what we need you for," Roger said.
She approached Robert slowly, keeping her eyes on the ring as she came closer. "It looks like it," she said shakily. "Would you mind if I touched it?" she asked almost reverently.
"Of course! That's why we're here," Rob said reassuringly, holding it out to her.
She took it and looked at it very closely, also angling it towards the sun. After a few very tense minutes, she handed it back. "There's no question about it. That's definitely the ring. It has the same inscription and you found it at the right time."
"What's the inscription?" Rob asked, looking inside the ring, trying to spot something.
"Those are the words that are carved inside the band. 'Amanda, You are my sun and stars. Let me be your world. Dominic.'"
"That's so sweet," Jackie exclaimed.
"You've found quite a treasure there," Jessica said to Robert.
"I want to get it back to her," he said, putting it away, so he wouldn't get too attached to it.
"Oh! That's great!" Jessica said, even more enlivened.
"We're going to need your help with this," Roger said.
"Really?" She went up closer to Roger. "You're not having me on now?"
He shook his head. "You even get to lead the way!"
"What are stars?" Arthur asked as they started to leave the garden.
"You can handle this one, Roger."