Diana The Problem Solver

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 40, Post Number 982

-Capital Coffee, 1:25 P.M.-

Wearing her usual outfit of purple t-shirt, black skirt with pockets, white thigh-high stockings, and black tennis shoes, Diana had already ordered her usual double espresso and was sitting in her usual white pod chair facing Capital Crocus Mall. Life was good. She had already completed this week's grocery store run and big box store run and had restocked on everything she needed for her townhouse. Food, laundry detergent, hand soap, bath soap, toilet paper... she had purchased it all during a supply run undertaken at 10:00 A.M. Now she was drinking coffee to relax before she headed home for the rest of the day and either went to sleep, washed some clothes, or looked for a job.

The cup of coffee in her hands reminded her of something else she needed to do at some point in the future.

She should really look into getting a coffeemaker for her mini-kitchen.

While visits to Capital Coffee were relaxing and the coffee was great, the coffee cost quite a bit of money. Diana needed to look into getting a coffeemaker so that she could brew coffee at home and save the money that she would ordinarily spend at Capital Coffee. Diana took another sip from her double espresso and looked out the window towards the crowds milling about in front of the mall. She looked towards the crowds for a moment and then turned back to her coffee, taking another sip of the beverage.

She really liked this coffee.

Diana was not sure if any coffee she could brew at home could equal Capital Coffee's double espresso. It had a good taste and a lot of caffeine, which were two things the blonde looked for in a coffee. Maybe she should look in the coffee aisle the next time she went on a grocery run to see if there was anything she would like.

Diana took another sip from her coffee and lowered the cup. It was empty. She would get a cup to go and go to the mall just because she could. With that Diana rose from her white pod chair and walked over to the counter to purchase a refill.

-Capital Crocus Mall, 1:32 P.M.-

Diana strolled into Capital Crocus Mall with cup of coffee in hand and was almost immediately greeted by the sight of numerous shoppers milling about. The line to the food court was snaking to the entrance hallway and she tallied at least fifty people waiting in line. Diana's interest lay elsewhere, so she took a sip from her cup of coffee and walked through the entrance hallway until she reached the line for the food court, then turned right and began walking in the direction of The Fashionable Lady at the far end of the first floor.

Diana walked all the way to the store and was debating on going in when she saw a blonde with long blonde hair walking through the store towards a perfume counter. The blonde in question had purple eyes and wore an open black leather jacket over a white tube top that barely covered her large chest and also wore a short black skirt with black high heels. Diana immediately recognized who she was looking at... it was Francesca Corlone.

Diana softly sighed.

Today had been such a good day before spotting that unpleasant person.

Diana quickly drank her coffee so that the hot beverage could not be thrown on her if Francesca took her cup. Once the cup was empty she threw it into a nearby trash can. She had done so just in time because Francesca paused in place, then turned her head in Diana's direction and glared at her, making eye contact with Diana. Diana knew that conflict was imminent and prepared herself for the inevitable clash with the obnoxious blonde who believed herself superior to everyone else.

Francesca turned around and began moving towards Diana at a brisk walk while glaring into Diana's eyes. If the former thought she was being intimidating she was mistaken. Diana had been through a lot of situations that were much more threatening than having to deal with a blonde with a colossal ego.

"What are you doing here?!" Francesca sharply asked Diana once she was in front of the latter.

"Hello, Francesca." Diana calmly greeted the blonde.

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"What are you doing here?" Francesca repeated her question in a demanding tone. Diana stayed calm despite the flagrant attempt at provoking her.

"I was here to do some shopping." Diana replied calmly. That was a partial truth. While she was here to shop, she was only here for some window shopping because she was trying to save money for a trip to Crescent Island. However, Francesca did not need to know that.

Francesca's purple eyes looked over Diana for a few moments.

"Shopping for some new clothes?" Francesca asked before breaking out into laughter. The laughter was high-pitched and the best comparison was fingernails on a chalkboard. Diana endured the high-pitched laughter in silence.

"You need some new clothes, honey! You've been wearing that same purple t-shirt and black skirt almost every time we've met! That look's more than a little tired!" Francesca made a comment on the green-eyed blonde's clothing. Diana had to acknowledge that the other blonde had a small point. Diana had been wearing the same thing over and over for a long time now, but that was because she wanted to.

"Or are you too poor to afford anything else?" Francesca asked in what was obviously meant to be a low blow. Diana ignored the cheap shot and focused on the question.

"I can afford other clothing, Francesca. I simply choose to wear this as an everyday outfit." Diana answered calmly and truthfully. She was not going to take the bait Francesca was dangling in front of her. Diana just wanted Francesca to say what she was going to say and then move on.

"If you say so. I think that you're too poor to afford anything else, but I'll let you keep thinking that you're being thrifty." Francesca snidely retorted. Diana let the remark pass without comment. There was a lot Diana could say about her old enemy's choice of clothing, but the green-eyed blonde kept her mouth shut. Diana was looking to avoid conflict, not start it.

"I've gotta go now. I've got things to do and I've wasted enough of my valuable time on you!" Francesca declared. Diana was glad to hear that because she had had enough of Francesca's nonsense for one day. Even though the purple-eyed blonde was not nearly as brusque as she had been in the past, Diana still wanted the conversation to end already.

"See you around, honey!" Francesca bade Diana farewell in a tone of mock friendliness. She then walked past Diana, her heels going CLACK CLACK CLACK on the tile floor of the mall as she walked. Diana was glad to see her old enemy go and was glad to be able to do something with her time other than "talk" to someone she disliked. Once Francesca was gone she faced towards The Fashionable Lady for a few moments before turning away from the store and facing towards Earthland Eagle, which was on the other side of the first floor.

Diana had no need for makeup, lipstick, or perfume. She had wanted to go into The Fashionable Lady before her encounter with Francesca to look around and satisfy her curiosity, but meeting her old enemy so close to the store had ruined her interest in it for today, so she was going to go into Earthland Eagle instead. There she would browse at the clothing and see if there was anything there that caught her interest. If she saw something that was particularly interesting she would open her wallet and buy it.

With that Diana began to walk towards Earthland Eagle while trying to forget her encounter with Francesca.

-Inside Earthland Eagle, three minutes later-

Diana walked into Earthland Eagle and paused a few steps from the entrance. She looked around to find that the store was more than a little busy. She quickly counted twenty-eight people milling about, all of them young women around her age. She looked around at the racks of clothing and found that they were in the process of being picked over by the customers. If she wanted to look at the clothing she had better do it now while there was still clothing to peruse.

Diana immediately turned and walked to the left part of the store while carefully navigating through the other shoppers, moving towards the t-shirts as upbeat pop music played from the overhead speakers.

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[Total Word Count: 1,452/10,000]

-Outside Earthland Eagle, thirty-five minutes later-

Diana emerged from Earthland Eagle with nothing to show for her efforts but wasted time. There were no t-shirts other than crop tops and there was no way in Fiore that she would willingly wear one of those. There were some shorts on sale, but roughly half of them were short shorts that were so short that she would rather not wear them and the other half were shorts that were not her size. The silver lining to not being able to find clothing to buy was that she had not spent any Jewels that she did not have to spend.

Now that her curiosity had been satisfied Diana was going to leave the mall and go home. She was not going to go to any of the other clothing stores because she did not need to waste any more time and she certainly did not need to waste any Jewels on impulse purchases. Diana turned left and began to walk towards the entrance to the mall.

-A block from Diana's neighborhood, two hours and ten minutes later-

Diana was almost home. She had been walking for over two hours and the city's foot traffic was dense, which slowed her progress but was nothing out of the ordinary. She was walking down a lightly populated street in the nice part of town when she happened to spot a familiar blonde approaching her. Some cosmic entity must have had it out for Diana today because that "familiar blonde" was Francesca Corlone.

"Fancy meeting you here. I thought areas like this didn't allow trash like you to wander around." Francesca greeted Diana. Diana could have said the same to Francesca.

"It is a small world." Diana commented on their meeting. She wanted to say something sarcastic, but the green-eyed blonde refrained from doing so.

"What are you doing all the way out here? You don't live here, do you?" Francesca asked Diana.

"I do not live here." Diana told the truth... from a certain point of view. She did not live in this neighborhood. She lived in the one a short distance from it, but she was not going to tell that to her enemy. There was no predicting what Francesca would do if she knew where Diana lived.

Francesca grinned when she heard Diana's statement.

"I should have known that. If you can't afford new clothes, you certainly can't afford to live here!" Francesca took a jab at Diana before laughing in the same high-pitched laugh from earlier. Diana endured the grating sound in silence until the laughter stopped.

"I was on the way home from visiting some friends in this neighborhood... not that you'd know what friends are." Francesca told Diana, making sure to slip in a jab at the green-eyed blonde's social life. The jab did not faze Diana because she had Aliarey Casaday as a friend and a few other people as acquaintances. Besides, it was painfully obvious that the remark was meant to be a cheap shot.

"You have friends here?" Diana innocently asked the other blonde. Francesca smiled.

"Of course I do! I've got plenty of friends in this city!" Francesca boasted. Diana's ability to analyze body language to learn the truth behind people's words told her that Francesca was not lying. Diana did not show any evidence of surprise on her face, but on the inside she was surprised.

How could someone as unpleasant as Francesca have any friends?

"I wanna know something, honey... do you have friends here?" Francesca turned Diana's question back on her. Diana kept a straight face as she answered it.

"I have a few." Diana admitted without naming names. Francesca's face suddenly had an expression of sympathy, but Diana knew from past experience that it was not genuine.

"You poor girl... life must be so hard for you! You don't have any money and you don't have many friends. I don't know how you can live like that!" Francesca said in mock sympathy. Diana remained silent. Diana lived with a lot of things that were much worse than what Francesca perceived as problems with her lifestyle.

"I'd offer to be your friend so that you'd know what it was like to be around someone who had money, but I don't think that I can help someone like you." Francesca said.

"That is fine, Francesca. I would not want you to waste your time on someone like me." Diana calmly replied. Diana was not sure where this was going and she was not sure she would like where this conversation ended up, but she was willing to humor her old enemy and engage in conversation. She waited silently for Francesca's response.

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"I'm glad that you don't want me to waste time on you. As much as I'd love to try and help save you from a life of loneliness helping you would take more time than I've got." Francesca said to Diana with more false sympathy. The green-eyed blonde continued to remain silent. She did not need her old enemy's "help" fixing her life. After a few moments of silence Francesca broke the silence with another remark.

"Well, I'd better be going. I've spent enough time here and I've got a party to go to. I hope you find some friends some day soon!" Francesca wished Diana the best in yet more false sympathy before walking off as her heels went CLICK CLICK CLICK on the hard street. Diana watched Francesca walk off into the distance, then turned around and headed for home. She had had enough social encounters for one day.

-Diana's neighborhood, forty-three minutes later-

After two unwanted and unexpected encounters with Francesca Corlone Diana had finally reached her neighborhood. She walked in the direction of her house while searching through her left skirt pocket for her house key. Seconds later she had found it and had her hand on it as she walked through the lightly populated neighborhood, Soon she would be inside her home and away from other people.

After a fairly quick walk Diana reached the door to her house and pulled her house key out of her left pocket. She placed the key in the lock and unlocked the door, then went inside her townhouse and shut the door behind her. Maybe now she could get some peace for awhile.

-Diana's townhouse-

Diana locked the door behind her and turned around to find Ami waiting for her and Crescent Moon hovering around the mini-kitchen.

"Hey Diana!" Ami greeted her.

"Hello, Ami." Diana greeted her winged android companion. Diana heard noises that sounded like a gunfight coming from the living room and walked towards it to determine what those noises were. The green-eyed blonde turned right and looked at the television, which was turned to an anime mecha show. The current scene was a white mecha that looked a lot like a knight's suit of armor with large booster engines on its back and holding a large bazooka flying towards a quintet of olive green mechas standing in a green field littered with the hulls of destroyed tanks and armored personnel carriers. They were all armed with large machine guns and were all firing at the knightly mecha but were missing their shots by a wide margin because their target was moving faster than they could adjust their aim to compensate for changes in speed and direction.

"I just turned to that from the car auction show. I've seen all the auctions, so I went looking for something else to watch." Ami explained how she came across the mecha show. Diana had no problem with that. She had bought the television primarily for Ami's benefit to begin with.

"Welcome back, Diana!" Crescent Moon greeted Diana, hovering out of the mini-kitchen and coming into view. Diana raised her right hand in greeting.

"Hello, Crescent Moon." Diana greeted the small celestial body. She was unused to anyone but Ami being around, but Crescent Moon had joined her some time ago and was now a resident of Diana's townhouse. It seemed to be content in its new home because it had not said anything negative about its situation yet.

"How was your trip to the mall?" Crescent Moon asked Diana.

"It was not too bad, actually. The pedestrian traffic was dense and the mall was busy, but I am used to that." Diana replied. She deliberately omitted the encounters with Francesca Corlone because Crescent Moon did not need to know about them. Besides, Diana wanted to put them out of her mind as quickly as possible.

Her thoughts were interrupted by knocking on the door.

"Who's gonna get the door?" Ami asked Diana and Crescent Moon. The trio looked at one another and waited for someone to head towards the door. The knocking sounded again.

"Should I get it?" Ami repeated her offer to answer the door. Again the trio looked at one other, waiting for someone else to make the first move and end the deadlock.

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"I will get the door." Diana announced, finally putting an end to the deadlock that had prevailed ever since the knocking on the door started. Before Ami or Crescent Moon could move for the door Diana moved towards it and unlocked the door. She put her right hand on the doorknob to open it and when she did she spotted a flash of black hair on the other side.

"Hey Diana." A familiar voice greeted Diana. Diana opened the door further to find Catherine Corvinus on the other side. Catherine was looking more than a little disheveled and was a little less dressed than usual. The black-haired youth was wearing a blue tank top and blue jean short shorts with black tennis shoes. Her eyes also had dark circles that indicated she had not slept in days.

"Hello Catherine." Diana greeted her old acquaintance. Catherine weakly waved her right hand in greeting.

"I need your help with something important." Catherine stated, dropping the cheerful demeanor with which she had greeted Diana.

"What kind of important are we talking about?" Diana inquired. Catherine sighed.

"I have a friend who's a mage. They went to explore Haunted Guild about a week ago and haven't come back. I haven't heard a single word from them and now I'm really worried that something bad might have happened to them." Catherine laid out the problem for Diana. The blonde took a quiet breath.

"I will go find your friend." Diana replied calmly. She had not been anticipating taking a job today, but she liked Catherine and wanted to help her out. Therefore She would take this job for the sake of her good acquaintance.

"Really? Thanks!" Catherine exclaimed, exhibiting some of the exuberance she tended to show. Diana invited the dark-haired young woman in to wait in the living room before turning and walking to the stairs to go to her room and get Saint Sinner Valentine for the trip to Haunted Guild. Since she had magic that could hurt supernatural targets she did not really need Saint Sinner Valentine, but carrying the weapon was second nature to her and it was seldom a bad idea to have a backup weapon, especially one that had several types of specialty rounds available to deal with different types of threats.

-Diana's Townhouse, the living room, seven minutes later-

It had taken longer for Diana to find Saint Sinner Valentine than she had anticipated because she had stashed it in her walk-in closet and forgot about doing so, but now that she had the weapon slung on her right shoulder she was ready to go. All that remained was to get some more information on Catherine's friend before she set out. Speaking of Catherine, she was waiting for Diana in the living room along with Ami and Crescent Moon.

"I am ready to go, Catherine. But before I go please tell me more about your friend. Name, appearance, anything that would let me know who exactly I am looking for." Diana bade her acquaintance.

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-Outside Haunted Guild, one hour and fifty-five minutes later-

Wearing her casual outfit of purple t-shirt, black skirt with pockets, white thigh-high stockings, and black tennis shoes, Diana carried Saint Sinner Valentine slung on her right shoulder with the safety on. She had walked to the outskirts of Capital Crocus and made sure that no one was watching before using her teleport ability to arrive twenty meters outside Haunted Guild. The longest part of the trip had been walking to the city outskirts to use her teleport ability.

As a result Diana arrived in the area with plenty of energy to spare. She faced the place she had traveled to so many times before and took a quiet breath. She heard a loud female scream sound from the place but was not frightened by it. She had been here so many times before that the screaming did not bother her at all.

Diana felt a cold wind blow her hair about as she remembered the description of Catherine's friend. The friend in question was an orange-haired young woman who was about Diana's height and had brown eyes. The orange-haired young woman was also fond of books and had come here to check out the Haunted Guild's library. Someone fitting that description should be easy to find in Haunted Guild.

She walked towards the front door and when she finally got to it she opened the door and went inside the building.

-Inside Haunted Guild, the first floor-

Diana shut the door behind her and looked ahead of her, cycling between vision modes to try and spot threats before they could see her. The coast was clear, so she looked left at the stairs she had to go down. She cycled through her vision modes again to check for threats and did not find anything, so she switched to night vision mode and kept it there as she began to walk down the stairs to go into the basement.

-In the basement-

Diana reached the bottom of the stairs to find an empty basement hallway looming in front of her. She looked around with all of her vision modes and saw nothing to worry about, so she began moving slowly down the left side of the hallway with her right hand ready to cast spells at a moment's notice. She moved slowly and eventually began passing the empty cells to the right, passing the first and second doors before she heard a chain rattling inside the third cell. Despite knowing better than to stop Diana stopped in front of the third cell and turned to face it.

She kept her right hand raised and waited for a spirit to emerge from the cell and charge right at her. The blonde did not have to wait long for one to appear because a pale blue ghost emerged from the cell while holding its arms out with its hands reaching for her throat and screaming all the while. Diana stood her ground and prepared a Spirit Drain Beam spell, firing it when the spell was ready. The ghost was hit by the pale blue beam of magic and dissipated.

With the threat ended Diana looked around her to see whether the commotion had attracted any more ghosts. She did not see any, so she lowered her right hand for the time being and quickly moved on. She walked to the end of the hallway and turned right to face the metal door that led to the library, then walked over to the metal door and opened it. She went inside the library and shut the door behind her.

-Inside the library-

Diana looked around the room and noticed all of the dusty old books on the dusty old shelves that took up all the walls of the room except for the doorways that led in and out of the room. On the wooden table in the center of the room was a glowing brass Lacrima lantern that bathed the room in a soft yellow light. It was definitely not part of the room's decor... it looked to be a recent addition, perhaps one made by Catherine's friend.

Speaking of the friend, Diana looked around the room for any clues that might lead her to the missing person. She walked over to the brass Lacrima lantern and looked for anything that might have been left under it, something like a note or journal or other personal item. Diana found nothing. She took the lantern with her left hand in case it belonged to the missing person and walked over to the door a short distance away on the opposite side of the room, then opened the door with her right hand and walked through it.

-Inside the hallway-

Diana shut the door behind her and turned around to face a hallway with nothing special about it. It was just a plain empty hallway with nothing except empty sconces on the walls for torches to be put into. Diana quickly turned away from them and held the lantern up to look for clues in the hallway. Maybe she could find something here that would put her on the trail of the missing person.

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-In the hallway, eight minutes later-

Diana had spent almost ten minutes searching the hallway and had come up with nothing. No footprints, no personal belongs, nothing to indicate that the missing person had ever come this way. It was highly likely that Diana would have to proceed further into Haunted Guild to find the person.

Certain that she was not going to find anything here, Diana walked to the end of the hallway and opened the door with her right hand, then went through it and shut it behind her.

-In the next hallway-

Diana turned around to find that she was standing in a hallway almost exactly like the one she had just left, but this one had heavy metal cell doors on both sides of the hallway. All of the doors were shut, but the blonde was not going to count on them remaining shut for very long. For all she knew there were ghosts inside the cells just waiting for someone to wander by before trying to ambush the unsuspecting person.

A preliminary search of the area showed her that there was nothing out of place here, so she began to walk carefully down the hall towards the door that would take her towards the next section. As she walked she kept an eye on the cell doors in case one suddenly burst open and its spectral occupant came charging out, but none of the doors opened up. Even though everything was quiet she still remained vigilant until she reached the end of the hall. She reached out for the door with her right hand and opened it, then stepped through and closed it behind her.

-In the next room-

Diana now found herself standing in a large room with a vaulted ceiling, wall sconces containing unlit torches, and two wooden doors, one on each side of the room. What really caught her attention was a pair of large wooden doors that had obviously been blasted open in the center. They lay open and beyond them loomed a large and long hallway that led to another door. Diana decided to go that way to look for Catherine's friend.

She walked through the large and empty room, her footsteps echoing as she moved towards the open double doors. Within two minutes she was beyond the doors and moving deeper into the hallway.

-Past the double doors, in the next hallway-

Diana walked into the hallway and immediately noticed how high the ceiling was. It was a vaulted ceiling like the one in the room she had just left behind, but that was not the only feature she noticed. A short distance into the room and to the right was a large raised platform and on top of it were quite a few dark stains that looked like dried blood.

Just what had been going on here?

Diana put that question out of her mind and continued to walk deeper into the hallway, the lantern in her left hand cutting through the gloom. As she walked she spotted the outlines of two other doors on each side of the door in the center. She had no idea which one to open first, but after giving it a bit of thought she decided to go left.

Diana walked towards the door and opened it with her right hand, then entered the room.

-Inside the room to the left-

Diana shut the door behind her and found herself standing in a miniature library that was dominated by wall-to-wall bookshelves full of books that were old but were in surprisingly good shape. Diana recalled Catherine's statement that her missing friend was fond of books and figured that searching here would be a good starting point. Her eyes instantly went to the two small square wooden tables that were positioned in the bottom left corner and top right corner of the miniature library. She expected to find a book or two that had been left on either table by the person, but the tables had nothing on them.

Aside from the tables there was nothing that immediately grabbed her attention, but Diana would keep looking a bit longer before she moved on to search the room on the right side of the hall. Diana began to slowly and carefully walk around the miniature library while looking at the floor for anything that might stand out. Maybe the missing person had dropped something or had disturbed the room in some way that would indicate they had been in here.

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-Back in the large hallway, twenty-one minutes later-

Diana had found nothing in the miniature library to the left, so she had left it after almost half an hour of searching it. She now stood back in the large hall and was facing the center door. While she felt that she would not find anything behind the right door, she decided to check it anyway on the off chance that she found a clue. Diana walked briskly to the right door and opened it, then went inside the room.

-Inside the right room-

Diana shut the door behind her to find a miniature library with the same layout as the miniature library on the left side of the hall. The bookshelves were the same and so was the positioning of the two wooden tables. Even the size of the wooden tables was the same.

Diana looked around the room and did not see anything that indicated anyone had been in here. All of the books were on the shelves and the tables had nothing on top of them. Diana was still going to search the room, but she doubted that she would find anything.

-In the main hall, six minutes later-

Diana exited the right room with nothing to show for her search but wasted time. With only one logical place left to go she walked towards the center door and once she got to it opened it with her right hand. She then went through the door and shut it behind her.

-Inside the next hallway-

Diana turned to look down the hallway and noticed that it was very long and very wide with no kind of decoration whatsoever, not even a single chair placed on either side of the hall. It also had empty wall sconces for torches hanging on the walls. With her lantern in hand Diana cycled through her vision modes to look for hidden threats. However, she did not find any, so she decided to proceed down the hallway.

After about three minutes of walking Diana reached the door at the end and opened it. She stepped inside and shut the door behind her.

-Inside the large library-

Diana found herself standing inside a large library that had wall-to-wall bookshelves that were so tall that ladders on rollers were placed so that patrons could get to the books at the top. There was also a large brass chandelier with glowing Lacrima lights that provided lighting that covered the entire room, so the lantern in her left hand was unnecessary. Diana looked around the room to find a lot of wooden tables and an orange-haired young woman dressed in a gray jacket and knee-length gray skirt sitting at the table in the very center of the room with her back to the blonde. In front of her was a stack of books at least two feet tall.

Diana looked further and spotted a nondescript green canvas tent sitting on the far left of the room near one of the bookshelves. The front flap was open and inside was a sleeping bag. Catherine was not exaggerating when she said that her friend was a bookworm. Apparently the orange-haired young woman had taken such a liking to the large library that she had literally set up camp here.

That explained why Catherine had not heard from her in seven days.

Diana began walking towards the young woman. When she reached the table she walked around its left side and stopped in front of her.

"Hello. Your friend Catherine Corvinus sent me to see about you." Diana greeted the young woman and stated her reason for being here. Seeing her from the front showed Diana that the person wore glasses. The bespectacled young woman did not react to Diana's greeting... instead she continued to read the book in front of her like Diana was not even there.

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After approximately four minutes of silence Diana had still not been greeted in return. Either the young woman was really focused on reading the book in front of her or she was deliberately ignoring Diana and hoping the latter would go away. The blonde was not deterred, though. The young woman matched the description of Catherine's friend and had a magic signature that was equal to that of a B-rank mage.

"Hello. Your friend Catherine Corvinus sent me." Diana attempted the greeting again. This time the orange-haired young woman looked up and spotted Diana. She was so surprised to see the blonde that she screamed and fell backwards, tumbling out of the chair, rolling head over heels, and landing on her stomach.

"Ow. That hurt." The young woman uttered as she raised herself up on all fours. She looked up at Diana and quickly raised herself from the ground to her knees.

"When did you get here?!" She asked Diana.

"I have been standing in front of you for the past few minutes." Diana answered calmly. The young woman paused and stared at Diana like the latter had said something offensive. The latter then rose to her feet and brushed herself off.

"You're certainly a quiet person. I didn't even hear you enter the room!" She commented on Diana's proficiency in stealth. That propensity for stealthy approaches was a holdover from her unsavory past and it was a habit she might never fully break. At least the young woman now knew that she was here.

"So you said that Catherine Corvinus sent you?" The orange-haired person inquired.

"Yes. According to her it had been at least a week since you two last spoke and she was getting worried, so she sent me to see if you were all right." Diana stated. The young woman smiled.

"I'm all right. As you can see, I've got a tent and I have food and water." She started off, pointing towards the olive green tent on the far left side of the library.

"I'm doing fine, thank you. You can go tell Catherine that I'm doing OK and that I'll be back in Capital Crocus in the next day or two." She instructed Diana. The blonde looked at the tent, then at the young woman again.

"I'm going to stay here for a little while longer and read some more." She informed Diana. She looked pretty determined to stay and she was not in any danger, so Diana was not going to pressure her to leave. The blonde was going to head back to Capital Crocus and let Catherine know that her friend was OK.

"Very well then." Diana replied calmly. She turned around and began to retrace her steps out of the library. She reached the library door and took one last glance back at the young woman. The orange-haired bookworm was seated in her chair and reading the book just like she had been when Diana had found her. Diana turned to face the door and opened it, then walked through and gently shut it behind her.

-In the next hallway-

Diana began walking down the hallway at a leisurely pace to give the orange-haired young woman time to catch up to her in case she reconsidered her choice to stay in the library. The blonde realized that she had never gotten the name of the young woman either from Catherine or from the young woman herself. There was nothing that could be done about it now, so Diana just kept walking.

She had technically completed her job by finding the bookworm and checking on her. Catherine did not specify that the orange-haired young woman had to be brought back to Capital Crocus. Diana was not going to worry about it... if Catherine's friend wanted to stay here and read books in the library she was free to stay here and read all she wanted. Diana would just go home and call it a job.

Diana reached the halfway point of the hallway and stopped, then turned and looked back at the library door. It was still closed. Diana lingered for a few moments more before turning around and resuming the trip towards the exit of Haunted Guild. Diana was going to walk towards the exit at a leisurely pace just in case the young woman suddenly changed her mind and decided to leave Haunted Guild at the same time as Diana.

[Post Word Count: 740]
[Total Word Count: 6,474/10,000]

-Haunted Guild, the small library, twenty minutes later-

Diana had made her way back to the small library in the basement and had not encountered any opposition on the way. She briefly wondered how Catherine's friend was doing before deciding that it did not matter. The orange-haired bookworm had made it clear that she was going to stay right where she was and read books. Diana was not going to waste time trying to change the young woman's mind and was going to go back to Capital Crocus to report her findings to Catherine.

Diana had walked across the small library and was about to open the door that led back to the basement hallway when she heard the door behind her open. Diana spun around and pointed her right index and middle fingers at whatever had opened the door and prepared a Spirit Drain Beam spell. She was expecting a fight but instead found the orange-haired young woman standing in the library with all of her gear packed up. The young woman saw what was about to happen and visibly panicked, dropping her gear and raising her hands above her head.

"DON'T SHOOT!" The young woman pleaded. Diana recognized her and lowered her right hand, canceling the spell before she accidentally fired and hit the young woman.

"I am sorry about that." Diana apologized for nearly attacking with a Spirit Drain Beam spell. The latter stood in place for a few moments before finally relaxing once she realized that she was not about to have a beam of pale blue magic fired at her. She then bent down and began collecting her belongings.

"I coulda done a better job of letting you know that I wasn't a poltergeist or a vengeful spirit. Sorry about that." The orange-haired bookworm apologized for not making her presence known sooner. Diana did not have any hard feelings. It was a mistake and mistakes could happen to anyone.

"I thought about staying here, but after I saw a book begin floating in front of me and heard whispers from people I couldn't see I decided to pack up and go while I had a chance. I think that seven days in here is enough for one visit." The orange-haired bookworm explained why she had changed her mind about staying and reading the books in the big library. Diana had no problem with that. Having the young woman with her would make it easier to assure Catherine that the latter's friend was doing all right and not lying dead in Haunted Guild or missing.

"I will get you safely back to Capital Crocus." Diana assured the young woman that she was safe with Diana.

"I didn't introduce myself earlier. The name's Agatha. Agatha Johnson." The young woman introduced herself as Agatha. Diana gave a small wave with her right hand.

"Hello Agatha. I am Diana." Diana calmly introduced herself again in case the orange-haired young woman missed Diana's first introduction. Agatha smiled back at the blonde.

"OK, Diana. Let's get going back to Capital Crocus. You lead the way." Agatha instructed. Diana was happy to oblige.

"Very well then." Diana replied. She went through the door to the basement hallway first, then held it open for Agatha and the latter walked through with her belongings either in her hands or on her back.

-Capital Crocus, outside Catherine's house, seven hours and three minutes later-

The pair had made it through the basement hallway without any trouble and had left Haunted Guild with no encounters with the resident ghosts... not that Diana was complaining. Not having to fight ghosts had made her job easier. Once they had left Haunted Guild the hardest part of the job was the return trip to Capital Crocus, which a lengthy trip, especially on foot.

Once they got inside the city they had to make their way through dense foot traffic, but that was a much shorter trip than the walk from Haunted Guild to Capital Crocus. After a walk that was long but uneventful the pair were now standing outside Catherine's house. Since Diana had more energy than Agatha the latter took it upon herself to walk up to the doorbell and ring it while the orange-haired bookworm stood back and recovered from all the walking she had done.

Diana gently rang the doorbell with her right index finger and stepped back from the door. Within moments the door opened and in the doorway stood Catherine, whose long black hair was hanging freely and who was wearing an oversized blue t-shirt and black gym shorts that were barely visible beneath the long shirttail.

"Oh hi Diana! I see that you brought Agatha with you!" Catherine cheerfully greeted Diana. The raven-haired young woman stepped aside.

"Come on in, guys! You must be tired and hungry! I've got plenty of food and drinks!" Catherine told the pair that she had food and drink waiting on them. Agatha mustered the energy to walk towards the door and step inside the house, doing so with a slow pace that made her exhaustion plain to see. Diana walked in moments later and when both young women were in Catherine shut the door and locked it behind them.

Agatha Johnson:

[Post Word Count: 872]
[Total Word Count: 7,346/10,000]

-Diana's Townhouse, three hours later-

Some time after setting out for Haunted Guild Diana had completed the job Catherine had given her. She had managed to find Agatha in a large library in Haunted Guild and bring her back to safety in Capital Crocus, though it took the orange-haired bookworm deciding to leave the library for her to follow Diana out of the building. Agatha was going to spend the night in her friend's house and go home the next morning.

After parting ways with Catherine and Agatha the blonde had went back home to go to sleep for awhile before she had to get up and prepare for the next day. Diana was in her bedroom and had set Saint Sinner Valentine inside her walk-in closet. She had taken off her white thigh-high stockings and tennis shoes and was looking for another outfit to sleep in so that she did not wrinkle her favorite casual outfit, so she went back to her walk-in closet to look for something to throw on.

Inside the closet Diana saw a pink short-sleeved t-shirt and blue jean cutoff shorts. With no other options left to her Diana grabbed them and shut her closet door, then began to put them on. When she had changed she exited her closet and walked over to her bed, then sat on the edge before swinging her feet over to the foot. She reclined and lay on her left side, staring at the door for a few minutes before she finally went to sleep.

-The next morning, 10:00 A.M.-

Diana had woken up about two hours ago and had went downstairs to wash her favorite casual outfit so that it would be ready to wear today in case she had to go out for some reason. Diana had washed the outfit and it was hanging up in her closet ready to wear whenever she wanted or needed to wear it. The blonde was anticipating a slow day at home, but fate had other plans in store for her.

Diana was in the mini-kitchen looking for something to drink when she heard the doorbell ring. Diana walked out of the mini-kitchen and headed for the front door. When she reached it she opened the door and found Amber standing on the other end. Amber was dressed in a sleeveless white crop top and short black skirt with white tennis shoes.

"Diana, it's been so long!" Amber greeted the blonde and reached out to hug her before the latter could utter a single syllable. Diana's skin crawled the entire time she was being hugged and was silently grateful when she was finally let go. Amber then stood back and smiled at the blonde.

"Hello Amber." Diana calmly greeted her acquaintance.

"I'm here to ask for your help with something. You see, I've got a date tonight and I want someone to go shopping with me. Catherine's busy and so are my other friends, so I've decided to ask for your help." Amber explained what had brought her to Diana's door. The blonde remained silent for a few moments before giving her answer.

"What do you need me to do?" Diana asked the black-haired young woman what her role would be should she decide to go with Amber on a shopping trip.

"I just need you to go with me and do simple things. You know, help me carry a shopping bag or two, talk to me, maybe even tell me what clothes look good on me and what needs to go back on the hanger. That kinda thing." Amber replied with a rundown on what Diana would need to do for her. Diana found those tasks to be simple enough, so she would accept the request.

"I will accompany you, Amber." Diana replied. Amber reached out and hugged Diana again before letting her go.

"Great! This will be fun!" Amber exclaimed.

"I will go put on my shoes." Diana stated.

"I'll be waiting for you right here, Diana!" Amber assured the blonde that she was not going anywhere. Diana shut the door and turned around, then began walking towards the stairs to go up to her room and change out of the pink t-shirt she had worn to sleep in last night and into her favorite purple t-shirt before putting on her tennis shoes. Maybe she should have kept the pink shirt on for a change, but she wanted to wear her purple one and that was exactly what she was going to do.

[Post Word Count: 754]
[Total Word Count: 8,100/10,000]

-Capital Crocus Mall, The Modern Woman, two hours and six minutes later-

The traffic on the way to the mall had been surprisingly light, but the foot traffic inside the mall had been surprisingly dense. The first floor was packed with shoppers and the second floor was hardly any better. Right now Diana was standing inside of The Modern Woman holding a bag of clothing for her acquaintance Amber, who was going on a date tonight and needed some help shopping for a good outfit. Inside the bag Diana was holding in her left hand was a blue long-sleeved shirt and a long knee-length white skirt.

Amber herself was currently in the dressing room trying on a new outfit for Diana to either approve of or gently suggest that it go back on the shelf. The blonde waited for her acquaintance to emerge from the dressing room while doing her best to stay out of the way of the other shoppers, who were milling about the store, picking out clothing, and waiting to get into the dressing rooms.

Amber emerged from the dressing room area wearing a sleeveless pink t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans. Diana walked over to the black-haired young woman, who smiled at the blonde as she approached.

"Soooo, what do you think, Diana? Should I buy it?" Amber asked before slowly turning around and showing Diana the outfit from every angle. The blonde paid close attention to how Amber looked and when the latter was finished she gave her opinion.

"I do not know if you like that look, but the t-shirt looks a little tight across the chest. The blue jeans are fine, though." Diana gently gave her opinion of the combination Amber was wearing. The latter looked down at her t-shirt and laughed a little.

"You're totally right. It's kinda hard to shop for a good shirt when you have a big chest. Let me go get one the next size up. I'm keeping the blue jeans because they look great and I love how they feel." Amber stated. Diana stayed where she was and watched as Amber walked over to the shirt racks and picked out another sleeveless pink t-shirt, then walked back into the dressing room area. A minute or two later she emerged wearing the new shirt and showed Diana the garment from every angle.

"The shirt looks like it fits better this time." Diana commented on the garment. Amber smiled again.

"Then I'm buying it. My boyfriend told me that he likes to see me in sleeveless shirts." Amber told Diana a bit about her date. Diana did not know that Amber had a boyfriend, but the blonde tended to keep to herself, so she was not privy to the details of the day-to-day lives of her acquaintances. Besides, it was none of her business.

"I'll be back shortly, Diana. I'm going to pick out a couple more shirts to try on with the blue jeans, then we're gonna check out. I have a couple more stores that I want to go to." Amber informed Diana before walking back to the shirts and picking out a few more sleeveless shirts. The first was blue, the second was mint green, and the third was black. Diana stood where she was and patiently waited for Amber to return and model the shirts for her.

-Inside Earthland Eagle, forty minutes later-

Amber had bought all four sleeveless shirts she had found in The Modern Woman and now the pair were inside Earthland Eagle on the first floor to look for some more clothing. Earthland Eagle had quite a few shoppers in it, but there was just enough room for Diana to wait a short distance from the dressing room area without having to dodge the shoppers. Sappy pop music about a date on Crescent Island was playing on the overhead speakers and Diana was tolerating it so far because there could be worse.

Diana heard a door open and saw Amber emerge from the dressing room area wearing a purple sleeveless crop top and blue jeans. Diana watched Amber model the outfit before making her comment.

"The shirt is just the right size for you, Amber. It is not too tight across the chest. And you picked another good pair of blue jeans." Diana appraised the outfit. Amber was pleased to hear that.

"My boyfriend likes to see me wear sleeveless shirts and he especially likes to see me wear crop tops. That's why you see me wearing them so often." Amber explained why she was shopping for sleeveless shirts and explained why Diana saw her wearing crop tops whenever they met. Diana had no opinion on Amber's choice of clothing, but now she had an explanation for the black-haired young woman's preference for midriff-baring shirts.

"My boyfriend's a really nice guy named Adam Turner. He's an Accounting major at Crocus Magicka University and we met at Capital Coffee about a year ago. I like him a lot." Amber told Diana the name of her boyfriend. Diana did not recognize the name, but now she knew who Amber was dating.

[Post Word Count: 858]
[Total Word Count: 8,958/10,000]

-Outside Earthland Eagle, one hour later-

Amber had modeled several more sleeveless crop tops for Diana and Diana had given her approval to each one because they fit without being tight across Amber's chest and they were good color choices to go with blue jeans. Amber had picked purple, light blue, mint green, black, lavender, and pink sleeveless crop tops and had also bought a white miniskirt before leaving Earthland Eagle. Diana was holding all of the shopping bags, but she did not mind.

"Hey Diana, thanks for going with me on this shopping trip and helping me. I mean it." Amber thanked Diana for the latter's help so far. Diana looked towards her acquaintance.

"I am glad I could help, Amber. I do not know much about fashion, so I am not sure if I have given you good advice." Diana replied and added that her advice might not have been the best. Amber smiled.

"You were a big help, Diana. I just needed someone who could help on short notice and you did your part well." Amber stated. Diana was pleased to hear that... not that it would show on her face. The black-haired young woman maintained eye contact with Diana and soon asked another question.

"Say, Diana, I know that this is prying into your life, but I want to know. Do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend?" Amber inquired about Diana's love life. The answer to that was a simple one.

"No, Amber. I do not have a boyfriend or girlfriend." Diana replied calmly. She was not angry or surprised by the question. It was simply a question that needed answering and she had answered it.

"Huh... I thought you'd have one by now, Diana. You're so calm and nice and you look beautiful. You just need to dress up a bit more and you'd have guys lining up to go on a date with you." Amber opined about Diana's chances at getting a significant other. Diana was not sure what Amber meant by "dressing up", but she did not ask about it. She chose to let it go without comment.

"Anyway, the date's in about four hours, so we're gonna skip the last store for today. I've already got enough parts for a good outfit. I need to get ready and pick an outfit to wear tonight and that might take awhile." Amber informed Diana of a change of plans. The blonde was fine with that change of plans. She was here to help Amber and if the latter wanted to call an early end to the shopping then that was her choice.

"Very well then." Diana replied. Amber turned to face the mall entrance.

"C'mon, Diana. Let's go back to my place." Amber said. With that the pair began their trip to Amber's townhouse, which was not too far from Diana's own townhouse. At least Diana would not have far to walk when it came time for her to go home.

-Amber's Townhouse, two hours later-

Amber and Diana had reached the former's home without incident and Diana was now sitting in the living room on the couch. In front of her sat a brown wooden coffee table with fashion magazines in a neat stack sitting in the top left corner. Behind her was a mini-kitchen with the same layout as Diana's own and most of the same appliances... the refrigerator was a black double-door refrigerator instead of a stainless steel double-door one like Diana owned.

Diana was waiting for Amber to get out of the shower and put on some clothes so that the blonde could help her pick an outfit for the date. She sat patiently on the couch and looked at the bare wall in front of her before looking around the living room. There were no pictures on the white walls and the living room had little furniture, but it did have a television to the left of the couch which was currently turned off. Diana smelled a light rose scent float into the room.

"Hey Diana! Sorry about the wait! I had to get a shower and then put on a bit of perfume!" Amber apologized for making the blonde wait so long. Diana stood up and faced the black-haired young woman, who was wearing the sleeveless pink crop top with blue jeans that were held up by a plain brown leather belt. Amber's hair hung freely and it had had something done to it because it shimmered in the room's lighting.

"How do I look?" Amber asked the blonde about her outfit. Diana had a favorable opinion of the outfit. The colors worked well together and neither the shirt nor the jeans were too tight. Amber looked comfortable and confident.

"I think you look great." Diana opined. Amber smiled again.

"I like it too, Diana. It has parts I like and it has parts my boyfriend likes. All I'm missing is a pair of socks and shoes." Amber stated her satisfaction with what she was wearing. Diana was pleased to hear that her input was good.

[Post Word Count: 848]
[Total Word Count: 9,806/10,000]

-Diana's Townhouse, three hours later-

After helping Amber pick her outfit Diana had spent another half-hour talking with the black-haired young woman about fashion and relationships before deciding to go home so that Amber could finish preparing for her date. After parting ways with her acquaintance Diana was at her townhouse and standing in her bedroom after taking off her socks and shoes. Today had been quite an eventful day for her with a little bit of combat and a lot of traveling. She had even dabbled in fashion when she had helped Amber pick new clothing to buy at the mall and then pick an outfit for her date.

Diana was not sure why Amber had asked her for help since the blonde had no fashion sense to speak of and even less clue about how to help another person pick out something appropriate to wear, but it had all worked out in the end. Now Amber was somewhere in Capital Crocus with her boyfriend and she had been happy with Diana's assistance. The blonde thought for a moment about what Amber had said about Diana being able to attract men if she dressed up a little more. She gave the assertion some serious thought for a few moments before nixing the idea.

She was fine being a single mage with a career.

Diana did not have time in her life for romance. She was a mage with a career and she did not have time to pay someone the attention necessary to make the relationship work. Besides, on some level she felt like she did not deserve a significant other after every unsavory deed she had committed in the past. Diana was content being single and was content with her friendship with Aliarey Casady.

The blonde then decided that she would try to sleep for awhile before waking up and looking for another job. Maybe she would look for something a little more adventurous tomorrow, something that paid big money. Diana was always on the lookout for a big payday and a big payday made her happy in ways that other things just could not compare to. She would do that tomorrow, though. For now she would try to sleep.

Diana crawled onto her bed and reclined on her right side, then rolled over to face the door to her room. She stared at it for a few minutes before finally going to sleep.

[Post Word Count: 406]
[Total Word Count: 10,212/10,000]