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Everyone looked at them when they entered the inn made Amuné nervous, and she practically attached herself to Ethan's side until they'd left again.  She was glad to enter the bathhouse, but before getting in the water she hesitated, glancing at Cecil.  After a moment of consideration she grabbed a washcloth, dampened it a little, and went to give it to him despite Wyth's protests.  The girl didn't say anything, and her gaze stayed on the ground as she only came just close enough to hand it off.  The Machina still frightened her, and as soon as he'd taken it her nerve broke and she all but fled.

The bath improved her mood some and it certainly left her much cleaner.  Wyth didn't venture in this time around.  Water wasn't something he disliked, but his fur was thick enough that it took a while to dry and he wasn't in the mood to put up with that.  Back at the tavern Amuné waited quietly for food.  She was hungry too, but nothing like she'd been even just a few days before, and Ethan's whining struck her as childish, especially for a grown-up.  She sipped her juice, not minding the wait because at least she knew food would come.  The girl's gaze strayed to Cecil briefly, but while she was a little sorry he didn't really want to join in she was also relieved.  That made her feel guilty.  To distract herself from it, and maybe help Ethan pass the time until food came, she spoke up when the conversation lulled.

"Hey, you remember the discussion we had last night?  About the constellations?  How about I tell you that story now?"  When he encouraged her to continue, Amuné smiled a little and looked around the table.  "Daddy told me all about the stars and their stories.  This one is my very favorite.”  She straightened up, clasping her hands atop the table and adopting a tone of recitation, speaking her words clearly as she might when presenting in school.

“Long ago, when the Saints still visited the world, Zorander the Lord of Night fell for a princess of the Divined.  He would come in the evening to watch her, and eventually he asked her to spend a night with him.  It was an unusual request, but he behaved like a gentleman and the princess agreed.  At first they did the sort of things most couples do, but eventually he could no longer deceive her by pretending to be one of her subjects.  He didn’t tell her all of what he was, because the fact that he was a Saint didn’t seem important, but he revealed he was no ordinary person, and he showed her things that only he could.

“At first the princess was angry with him, for how dare he claim to love her and yet lie to her face?  But she saw his expression at her words, and how hurt he was, and realized he’d done it because he’d feared she would reject him if he told the truth, and he knew he’d messed up.  And now it made sense why he could only ever visit her at night, for as the Saint of Darkness the day was forbidden him.

“But they did not live happily ever after.  Another man who adored the princess but also wanted the power of a prince decided that the mysterious man she seemed infatuated with had to go.  So he took a dagger and went out to find his rival after the two lovers had parted ways.  Seeing Zorander’s cloaked figure, he ran up behind the other man and stabbed him.  But as his target crumpled, the hood fell away to reveal the face of the princess.  It was a cold night, and the Saint had given her his cloak to keep her warm on her way home.  Horrified by what he’d done, the man cried out, flinging the dagger away so hard that it lodged in the heavens and running away.  Zorander heard the yell and came to find his princess dying.  He gathered her up in the now bloody cloak and carried her to the sky, where he laid her at rest among the stars.  You can still see her lying there wrapped in Zorander’s cloak.

“The Saint was not the only one who adored the Divined princess.  She was well regarded by her people, and they mourned her loss.  But none of those left behind missed her as sorely as her pet cat, who cried for her when she did not return.  He was an ordinary cat and knew only that his person had vanished and he could not find her.  Hearing the cries day after day at the hour Saint and Princess parted for the day, Zorander at last took pity on the creature and showed it a way to the sky as well.  Now the Cat watches over her there, and every year when winter comes you can see the tears he sheds for his mistress as they fall from the sky.”

With the tale finished, Amuné looked at the others directly again.  She’d not done that while relating it because she would get distracted and mess up the story if she did.  She took another drink of juice.  “It’s a sad story, but I really like it.”[/color]