Grain

Amaretto watched the cabbie as he continued to dig. It was like there was nothing left at all for him to do in this world. Pleasing her Aunt Katherine would be the only thing that was on his mind. Johanna and Alice had both stopped arguing and finally had come to stand next to Amaretto. Alice leaned in slightly to the girl and then said, "What is he doing?"

Amaretto sounded bored when she answered, "He's digging for my aunt to find the Stone."

Johanna nodded her head and then said, "The spot that I buried it under is actually on the other side and also is not that shallow a hole either. You didn't need him to dig for it."

Katherine shrugged. "He didn't know what to do with himself. So I gave him a task."

Alice cocked an eyebrow and then turned around and looked to Johanna. "So then is it there still?" Johanna shrugged her shoulders.

"I have not checked for it."

Katherine smiled and then pointed at the other section. "If you would be so kind then without the shovel good sir?"

The cabbie nodded and put the shovel down and then began to dig with his hands in the other spot that Johanna had initially pointed at. Within a few moments, there was a small hole next to the ruined rosebush, and there was a small box in the cabbies hands. Katherine smiled and walked over to the cabbie and then placed a hand on his shoulder as she took the box. "Why thank you god sir. I'll just take that from you, you just go rest now. You've done an amazing job."

The cabbie moved away and walked back to the cab and stood there as if in a daze. As he stood there, Katherine held the box to Alice and then smiled. "I believe you were looking for this?"

Alice narrowed her eyes and looked at Katherine. "How did you do that?"

Katherine smiled. "While you two were arguing, I used my feminine wiles to make sure the cabbie wanted to please me." At this Amaretto snorted and then covered her mouth as she tired not to laugh.

Johanna turned to Amaretto, but she didn't say anything. Alice shrugged her shoulders and looked at the box. it was rather non-descript, and had a rather easy clasp lock. Alice looked at it and then flipped it open. She stared at the inside of the box and then said, "There's nothing in here." All the other women looked at her with a small bit of confusion, except of course for Johanna.

"I do not understand," said Johanna. "I remember putting it in the box before we left. There can be only one way for it not to be in the box, and that is not possible." Johanna reached for the box and Alice shoved it into her hands with in impertinent sigh.

"Well, it is sitting right here, and the box is empty."

Amaretto looked over Johanna's shoulder as the tall woman opened the box. The inside was cushioned with velvet and the inside, though a beautiful shade of purple, was indeed empty. However, as she looked inside the box, she thought she saw something in the corner. "What's that?" She pointed to the corner of the box and hoped that everyone else could also see what it was that she was point in at.

Johanna looked at the side and actually furrowed her brow. "There is nothing there."

Amaretto blinked and rubbed her eyes and looked again. What she was in the corner of the box looked like a small spark of energy, almost like a miniature pulsating star of electric energy, much like the lines that appeared in those really bad mad scientist movies, only this one was about the size of a pea.

"It's right there," She said in a huff. "It's really bright too. How an you not see it?"

Alice came over and looked in the box and shook her head. "I see nothing there at all. There is nothing there."

Katherine slowly came over and narrowed her eyes and then frowned. "I see nothing there," she said and then looked at Amaretto. "Ama darling, if you could come over here please? I have some questions for you."

Amaretto looked peeved but moved forward to walk with her aunt to a partially secluded place along the side of the charred property. As soon as they were out of earshot of the other two she looked Amaretto dead in the eyes and said, "I saw it."

Amaretto blinked. "Wait you saw it? Why didn't you say so?"

Katherine pursed her lips. "Don't be surprised. Remember, I'm a fairy godmother. I can do all sorts of things." Amaretto snorted at this. Katherine frowned and then spoke. "Don't be impertinent. Do you still have the ring?"

Amaretto looked at the pearl ring that was on her finger. "It's right here. I don't think it's going anywhere." She looked at it with an almost dismalness in her eyes.

"Call Tempus." Katherine looked at Amaretto with a certainty in her eyes that made Amaretto shudder.

"Call Tempus? Why on earth would I do that?" The words came out of Amaretto's mouth like a ragged whisper. "How in the hell would he be able to help us?"

Katherine's eyes widened a little. "Language young lady! Just because we are traveling though dimensions and your mother isn't around does not mean that I will allow all of your morals to go flying into the ether! I still have to uphold your mother's teachings."

Amaretto rolled her eyes. "Fine, I will watch my language."

"And in the meantime, you will call Tempus and ask him what we should do."

Amaretto looked at the ring on her finger and then said, "How was this supposed to work again?"

Katherine frowned. "I believe you just twist it a quarter turn."

Amaretto shook her head once and then said, "A quarter turn it is." She then gave the ring a vicious turn to the right on her finger. There was a slight chime in the air that seemed to hug low to the ground. Amaretto looked around as silence followed after the chime.

"Nothing happened," Amaretto said huffily, "Wasn't something supposed to happen?"

Katherine quickly looked around and then shrugged her shoulders. "Something was supposed to happen."