"So, where do we start looking for this Sarah person?" Clary questioned, dusting off her perfectly clean clothes.

"Let's just focus on getting out for now..." Will sighed, leaning against a nearby tree to collect his thoughts.

"Alright--"

"Hey! You two!" Clary was cut off by a voice coming from behind them. Will shot Clary a quick look, only to find her eyes widened, and her body frozen in place. She was already looking toward the place where the voice came from. Will followed her gaze and froze himself.

There stood a boy their age, with silver hair and blue eyes--and he was holding a katana.

"Ash!" Will heard Clary exclaim, as she flinched sharply. This was Ash? He looked like a psychopath! How could he be Clary's friend?

The boy, having heard his name, looked in her direction and glared fiercely.

"Hey, you! I don't know how you know my name, or why you are wearing those funny clothes, but I know one thing: I have to bring you to the mansion." 'Ash" started walking up towards them; but Clary still stood frozen in her spot. Will shook her arm gently.

"Hey," he whispered in her ear. No response. He tried again.

"Hey, Clary! Snap out of it!" Suddenly, Clary blinked and looked over to the boy, bringing up her hands in defense; but it was a moment too late--the boy already had the sword at their throats.

Will swallowed nervously, and glanced over at Clary. But once he saw her, he felt himself shiver. Her once golden eyes were dull, her soft, black hair in tangles. Clary's delicate hands were loose by her sides, and she looked as if she would fall down any moment. Her face looked pale and transparent like a ghost, her eyes half closed, as if sleep-walking.

Ash took her hand and started pulling her away, but left Will where he was. Confused, Will called over to him:

"Hey! You can't just take her!" The boy stopped, now in a patch of light, and now his clothing was really visible; he wore pure silver armor, which gleamed and twinkled in the sunlight. Will now knew why he had called their clothing funny: They were in a completely different era! But how? Had they walked through another window without noticing?

"Who said you weren't coming too, boy? Start walking." Will felt a strange duty to not let Clary be taken by herself, so he followed, hesitantly.

---

The sky was clouded over with grey, making Yuki grimace. He made sure that Sarah had fallen sleep before walking out of the small cottage, noticing the silver barrier which surrounded the area, having been placed there by Celestial, in case Sarah did try to escape.

Its wooden walls colored the distance now, and Yuki glanced away from it thoughtfully. He just had to get away from Sarah. He could not bear to see her sleeping so soundly and not be able to touch her and feel the same way about her anymore.

Just thinking about her made his ribs throb from his aching heart, and he pawed the earth and howled and howled until his voice was scratchy and hoarse. The pain in his throat distracted him from his bleeding heart, even if only for a few minutes, and he crumpled to the hard, damp earth.

The rain poured like pitchers of water, wetting the earth and feeding the trees, refreshing everything around it. Sarah sat beside a silver-haired boy, and they spoke cheerfully in the park's shelter as the rain showered down all around them.

"I went to Celestial and he told me how to use water magic! Look, look!" The blonde waved her small, chubby arms in the air, causing the rain to waver slightly. Ash clasped his hands together and embraced his friend.

"Wow! That’s so cool, Sarah! I wish my family would teach me that..." She stroked his hair and kissed his cheek, making him flush with embarrassment.

"Don't worry! Even if you're human, I still love you!"

---

Yuki cleansed his fur with his tongue, staring at the distance with unseeing eyes; it felt so real, as if she was still there and they were still children...

He stopped licking his fur and glanced up at the sky longingly--what a beautiful sight it was! He remembered Sarah's first goddess mark when she was 13: A new moon on the inside of her wrist, glowing and burning her arm as she whimpered and gripped and clawed at him like her life depended on it.

It had been like he himself had been in pain; the screaming and the crying had been too much for his heart to handle. Celestial had said that the pain was normal, but Ash would not be consoled. Afterwards, the moon grew fuller and fuller as she grew older, and on her 18th birthday, the moon would be full and she would be a full-fledged goddess by then.

The thought scared him so greatly that he curled up and shivered violently for a minute or two, for it was said goddesses lost most of their human memories when they became full-fledged. Did that mean she would forget him? He buried his head into his chest, curling even tighter, and felt a single tear escape his eyes.

Sarah, I love you.