As soon as the door closed Gaijan heaved a sigh of relief. That went well. He had explained everything to Mage Unda, and was very relieved that he hadn't been upset that Gaijan hadn't told anyone about his plans. And he was very glad that Mage Unda agreed that Nara should come to remember all that happened by herself. Now it was time to rest from their journey.

Gaijan led the way back down the hallway and down the flights of stairs. At the entrance the guard that had brought them to Mage Unda called for the stable boy, and their horses were brought out.

"Where to now?" Nara asked, swinging herself up onto her horse.

"Home, I suppose." Gaijan mounted as well, and, taking the reins of Nara's horse again, led the way.

Gaijan and Eyish's house was situated as near to the Archives as was possible. It wasn't even really a house. As in almost all of the buildings in the city of Huath, the bottom floor was filled up with some sort of shop or place of business, while the top floors were living quarters. Gaijan and Eyish had rented the top two floors of such a building, each floor containing two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen. One floor they'd designated for sleeping, and the other for study and business. Eyish was very adept at potion making, and he made quite a bit of money with his cures and remedies for all kinds of ailments. Gaijan wondered which of the four bedrooms would become Nara's. If she even wanted to stay with them.

As they neared the house, Gaijan was again pleased at the lack of people following them. He had found it quite annoying that he couldn't ride down the streets without forming a crowd before. Maybe they had all finally lost interest in him. Yes!

Gaijan brought the horses to a stop in front of the building.

"You can wait in the shop while I put the horses up in the stable," Gaijan said, and Nara quickly slipped off the horse. "I'll be right back."

~~~

Nara pushed open the door to the shop, causing the little bell to tinkle, and stepped inside. She looked around the inside of the shop. Apparently it was a seamstress'. She saw tons of bolts of different fabrics, millions of little spools of thread, and catalogs with different patterns for dresses, suits, basically any piece of clothing you could ever think of. Before the door closed behind Nara, a girl about her age appeared from behind a shelf. She had light brown hair which was pulled up into a neat bun, light skin, and hazel eyes.

"Hello, how may a help you?" the girl said, a smile on her face, which quickly faded when she saw Nara's dress. "Oh, dear..." Nara looked down at the dress. It was the one Boka let her have, faded, blue, old, and it didn't fit perfectly. Nara she didn't care about fit or style, she was just grateful for the dress. But the way this girl was looking at it made her feel like she might as well be wearing a burlap sack. "Well... I suppose we should start with measuring," the girl said, taking Nara's arm and trying to lead her into a small room off to the side.

"Oh, no, I'm not here to get a new dress," Nara said, pulling her arm away.

"Then... what are you here for?" the girl said, folding her arms and looking at her strangely.

"Uh, I, well... um, Gaijan, he... you know Gaijan? He told me to wait inside while he put away the horses."

"Of course I know Gaijan, he lives upstairs with that old man. How do you know him?"

"It's... a little... It's a long story..." Nara was feeling very uncomfortable talking to this girl. But, if she was going to be staying here, she might as well get to know the people around her. "I'm sorry, I think we might have gotten off on the wrong foot." Nara stuck out her hand. "Hello, I am Nara." The girl looked at her hand, then she reached out and barely touched it with the tips of her fingers.

"Jolie. So, how do you know Gaijan?"

"Um... he... I... I met him, while he was traveling through, well...he let me come along..."

"He just met you on his travels, and brought you home with him?" Jolie was looking at her like she'd just sprouted horns.

"It wasn't exactly like that-"

"Then what is it like, exactly?" Nope, Nara's first impression was right on. She did not feel comfortable at all.

"You know what, I think I'm just going to wait outside." Nara turned around and pulled open the door, but at that moment Gaijan came through the door, carrying the saddle bags and other things from their trip.

"Oh, sorry. What's... going on?" Gaijan looked from Nara to Jolie, probably noticing the friction that was building up between them.

"Gaijan, do you know this girl?" Jolie said, folding her arms again.

"Yes." Gaijan said. "She'll be staying with me and Eyish for a little while. Why?"

"Oh, well, in that case..." Jolie looked flabbergasted, but soon put that smile back on her face. "If you need anything at all, I'm here!" Nara realized that Jolie wasn't saying that to her, but to Gaijan.

"I'm sure Nara could use a few new dresses. But first we should rest from the journey. Come on Nara, we're upstairs." Gaijan led the way past Jolie to a room behind a long counter, and to a staircase. When they got to the second floor Gaijan stowed the things he was carrying behind a door, then led the way up once more. He opened the door for her. 

Inside was a neat and tidy little living area with a few cushioned chairs and a writing desk, and beyond that was a small kitchen. From that kitchen emerged a man, gray haired and slightly wrinkled, but certainly not as old as Mage Unda.

"Ah, Gaijan, I wondered when you'd be coming back-" he stopped when he saw Nara. "And who is this?" he said, raising a bushy eyebrow at Gaijan.

"This is Nara. Nara, this is my mentor and oldest friend, Eyish." Nara automatically held out her hand, and Eyish shook it warmly, his blue eyes twinkling at her.

"Well, I am very pleased to meet you."

"Pleased to meet you as well." Nara decided that she liked Eyish.

"So," Eyish said, clapping his hands and then gesturing to the chairs, "Please, sit, I am dying to hear all about how you two met, now don't spare me any details, I've been telling this oaf for years that he should-"

"Eyish! Before you jump to any conclusions, may I speak with you? Privately?" Eyish's face immediately fell, and Nara wondered what it was that he had been thinking.

"Oh, uh, of course. Nara, I just fixed lunch," Eyish said, pointing back towards the kitchen he had just come from. "You can help yourself." With that Gaijan led the way back out the door, Eyish following.

Nara looked around the place she would be living in, and quickly decided that she liked it. Everything had its own spot, and Nara felt somehow comforted by the order of it, compared to the disorder that was her life at the moment. She walked into the kitchen and found quite a few little ham sandwiches, and helped herself to them like the kind old man had said. Then she sat down in one of the chairs and waited for Gaijan and Eyish to come back.

~~~

"...and that's why you've been going back and forth all this time?" Eyish asked. They were standing in Gaijan's workroom, which housed all the items he had brought back from his travels.

"Yes. I just felt so guilty, I couldn't just leave her there, and I was sure that there was a way to help her. And I was right!"

"I understand all that Gaijan. What I don't understand is why you didn't tell me." Gaijan looked into his mentor's face, and saw there a trace of hurt. Gaijan hadn't wanted to tell anybody, he thought that they would have told him it was foolish and to abandon his promise. Now he saw that he had just created a secret between him and the one person he truly cared about.

"I'm sorry, Eyish. I realize now that I should have told you. I was afraid that you would think it foolish... and I didn't want that. I've always wanted to make you proud. I'm sorry."

"Alright," Eyish said. "I guess I can forgive you." His face broke out into a mischievous smile, and Gaijan wondered what he was going to say next. "So... you two aren't...?"

"No! Not at all!"

"Alright, alright, keep your britches on. It's just, you finally come home with a girl, what was I supposed to think?"

"Not that!"

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry if I embarrassed you."

"You didn't embarrass me, Eyish." Gaijan did not like the way this conversation was going. Time to change the subject. "Though you did offend me."

"What? Why?"

"You called me an oaf!"

"Oh, I was joking and you know it!" Gaijan hoped that this back and forth banter meant that the hurt and misunderstanding was over and done with, and they could move forward. "So, will she be staying here?"

"Yes, I thought we could clean out my workroom," he gestured around him, "and make up a bedroom for her."

"We better get started then."

Weeks passed, and those slowly turned into months. Gaijan thought that Nara was adjusting nicely to living in Huath. She even did a few little jobs for Eyish's potion business and the seamstress' downstairs. Although there was a strange sort of hostility between Nara and one of the girls that worked there, she still did her best. 

Nara insisted on earning her own money for anything she wanted to buy, and Gaijan admired her for it. He was amazed at how well she was handling herself, especially with not being able to remember anything from before. Every once in a while he would ask Nara if she did remember something, and she always said no. 

But Gaijan knew it was just a matter of time before her memories resurfaced. He worried about what would happen when they did.