The Code had barely finished dismissing the assembled knights when Nis had chosen to take it at its word and will herself to her Wonder. Even as she drew a deep breath, she felt her feet touching down beside the now familiar Crystal Bridge. It had worked. Sweet, holy balls, it had worked. Breath catching in her throat, she decided that she could forgive the Code for many things now. She’d forgive it more if this resonating thing she was supposed to do worked.

Running down the path, she reached the lake’s edge and hurriedly stripped. Swimming was the most direct path to where she knew her own little bit of the Code rested. Her boot had barely fallen to the ground before the tall squire took a running leap at the water and dove. As always, the cold gave her a shock, but she ignored it. Upon reaching the cave entrance, she paused only long enough to pull enough air into her lungs to see her to the other side. And then, she went under.

The way through was familiar enough now, though she noted that the magical ‘storm’ seemed to have taken out the lights she’d set up to make the water path easier. Fine, she could fix that. Once she accomplished what she’d been told to do. After a few moments, she emerged from the lake and dragged herself on to the sandy bank. Moving quickly, she got to her feet and grabbed a towel and short robe from an overturned chest. A quick glance and she dried off enough showed that the storm had only seemed to affect the area closest to the code piece. She pulled the robe on and went to check her little apartment. The damage there was slight and easily taken care of. Heading back to the Code piece, she was thankful that all she’d kept near it had been the chest full of towels and spare robes.

Plonking herself onto the ground beside the Code, she frowned. The thing was dim compared to past visits. And it seemed… glitchy was the best word she could think up. “Well ******** me, you are in a bad way, aren’t you,” she muttered, reached out a hand and holding it just over the Code. Right. It was clear that stabilizing things here was the only right choice. Regardless of her mixed feelings, she had to connect and do everything she could to resonate with her Code.

And the first step to that was to forgive the damned thing for it’s unkind and cruel words during her first visit. She’d been told those words had been due to interference that had since been corrected. The Code had, more or less, been poisoned and healed. Therefore, she should forgive. But it was hard.

But it was the only way she’d be able to clear her mind enough to meditate and reach the Code piece.

Taking a steadying breath, she held her hand where it was and thought of her Wonder. HEr beautiful, amazing Wonder. The Code had kept it safe for so long. It had weakened itself so badly to protect all the wonders from this latest assault. Surely that warranted forgiveness and gratitude? Even pity. The Code piece had been alone for so long…

As Nis considered this, she could feel her heart easing. Forgiveness was not immediate, but a gradual thing that came over time. And for this, Nis would spare that time and work to open her heart. As she struggled against herself, Nis lost track of time. Eyes closing, she held her hand up under she felt her shoulder go numb. Breathing growing slow, she couldn’t quite say when total absolution hit, but she felt a strange sense of complete relaxation as she and the Code somehow connected. And she felt a sense outside of herself of surprise and gratification. And… pride?

She followed that feeling and found herself viewing a gangly pre-teen playing at the edge of the lake as singing filled the cavern. Nis knew or was told that this had been her. When there had only been love and joy. Even as she watched, she saw the girl dive to the water, laughing as something enormous breached the water and splashed. Nis should have been terrified for the girl, but instead, there was only love and a deep sense of pride. The creature causing the waters to roil and crash was huge and yet within the cavern seemed small. It was part of this world and it was why Nis was here. This was a creature she’d been born and bred to protect. And it was beautiful. Large, expressive eyes, sinuous body and somehow dappled with all the stars in the heavens. She watched the pair play and realized that the Code piece was showing her things from it’s point of view. But at the same time, she remembered this time. She could feel the water and hearing the creature’s song deep within her bones. The water then had been just as cold, but that had never been a deterrent to Nis jumping in to play with the Star-beast. It had had no other name that she could recall. And it was a baby. Much like a puppy. A gigantic, watery puppy.

The dual-vision memory swept her along as she and the beast cavorted recklessly. It was only when her fingers began to prune that she reluctantly pulled herself from the water to dry and dress. Even then, she stayed close to her charge, finding a ledge where she could remain dry while the beast semi-beached itself in order to claim pets and scritches. Which Nis had happily provided. Always marveling at the softness of the beast’s hide and how it had the tiniest of ticklish spots just under it’s right fore-leg… flipper? She’d never been able to decide how to categorize it since it could act as either.

Only when Nis had no longer been able to keep her eyes from fluttering had the beast trilled a song and vanished back into the water to allow it’s knight to go to bed. There had been closeness between the two and again with the Code piece. Nis felt how the Code had cared. As she slipped into slumber in the past, her eyes flashed open in the present, momentarily confused by the lack of singing beasts and joyous chattering. She could still smell the odd spicy scent of the star-beast even as she flailed around trying to find it.

Coming back into herself more fully, Nis happened to turn to where the Code floated. It looked normal? It glowed brightly and didn’t seem to be glitching out any longer. Had it worked then? Had she managed to resonate with it? Must have done, she thought. She didn’t even feel her former antipathy towards it. In forgiving, she’d connected and been given a vision, memory rather, of how the Code had seen her. How it still saw her in spite of all the centuries gone by.

Deciding to test things, she concentrated and summoned her weapon, pleased as punch to see it appear effortlessly in her hand.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” she whispered. “It ********’ worked.”

Job done, she considered going home and spending the rest of the day relaxing. But that thought was brushed aside in favor of toddling about and righting what she could within the cave and her little apartment. And all the time, she spoke to the Code piece, not minding that it couldn’t or wouldn’t answer back. It could hear her and that was all that mattered.

Word Count = 1274