Kitty-girl! Actually, you'd think that would be
the LAST type of costume she'd want to wear, considering what happened to her
back in Episode 7...(snicker). But I want to compete in the Cooking Contest!
I've got an appointment with Marthia. It's the Harvest Festival! A true
staple of the Princess Maker games. (Though this one is _called_ the "Harvest
Festival", like the ONLY holiday the earlier games had, the decorations _look_
more like they're for one of the festivals in Princess Maker 3, which has 3
different festivals per year. Yes, one of them is still during October. Of
course. ;)) Grenda shows off her new look. Yikes! Scary
dress. And Kokoru asks exactly what I've been thinking...what _is_ Grenda's
mother like...? (...and is she also Cube's mother or not, and either way, WHY
the phrack did she exile/abandon him?! Kokoru didn't wonder that last bit, by
the way, that's just me.) Every day is Halloween! A nice shot of the three
girls in their costumes. In this cartoon, they seem to be saying that the
Harvest Festival is also kind of like Halloween--I mean, hey, it's _October_,
and kids _dress up_--what else could it be parallell to, Earth-holiday-wise? In
the games, however, there was nothing about costumes. (Well, not counting the
fact that you _must_ have a nice dress of some kind to enter the dance
competition. However, maybe "nice" isn't the word...I once had a daughter
(in Princess Maker 2) who could ACE the dance contest every single
year...while wearing a leather dominatrix dress. (giggle)) Ah, witches have such interesting shopping lists,
don't they? And what she wants it FOR I'm not going to ask. I knew there was a reason I liked her. Grenda
explains why Erumina didn't join them--she (Erumina) said she didn't like large
crowds, and decided to work that day instead. I'm with you, angel-girl...I
HATE crowds. (I think I even have...what is it, agoraphobia? Or is that fear
of wide-open spaces? Anyway, crowds make me panicky, extremely tense and
dizzy. No kidding.) Workin' at the library. Oh, look, it's Rosa
again. And it figures Erumina would be working around _books_ again. ;) Hmmm, let me see... And now that gesture of
Grenda's earlier--where she was "adjusting" imaginary glasses--makes a little
more sense, doesn't it? (Erumina's "librarian" glasses are about the same
shape and size as mine, actually.) Aha! Yes, according to the old anime
tradition/cliche, Papa sneezes when his name is mentioned, miles away at the
Royal Library. (And Erumina sneezed earlier when Grenda said HER name.) I
don't know what's up with that, but it must be a very well-known Japanese
superstition, seeing as how it shows up a LOT in anime. Anyway, notice the
suds on Papa's face? That's because he's _helping_ Cube with the dishes!
(and when he sneezed, he put his hand to his face, which is how the suds
got there.) Whoo! I mean, poor guy (Cube) he NEVER got any help from "The
Master" in the _game_, so it's nice to see he doesn't have to do ALL the work
by himself, here! Doin' the chores. Cube sounds a bit skeptical
about the idea of a great warrior not being able to catch a cold, but demurely
keeps on washing the dishes with a straight face anyway. Man, I didn't think squishy lizards were so popular.
Must be a wizard's convention in town, or something. "She wants to meet Gunberd-san."
Erumina introduces the lady she met at the library to her friends. The woman explains why she wants to meet Gunberd so
bad. By the way, I kept half-expecting Erumina to take Kokoru to task on her
(Kokoru's) choice of costume...I mean, it's like, "Hey, what do you mean,
angels are strange-looking and our normal clothes are a _costume_ to you? You
don't see _me_ making fun of _ghosts_, do you? Hmmph!" ;) You're NOT who you appear to be! Grenda says she
can somehow "smell" magic on the old woman and accuses her of using magic to
disguise herself. (I won't mention that "magic-sniffers" are another
_Xanthian_ creature...whoops I just did. ;) But they're animals, not
humanoid.) Will our Mystery Guest sign in please? And
it's...ARC?! (Well, I guess that explains why the voice sounded so freakin'
deep for a woman's. :P) Notice Grenda was _right_...she may be wrong about
a lot of things, but I seriously would not mess with her, or question her
judgement, on matters of magic. She's the _witch_ of the group,
definitely. Good question! Exactly why _does_ Arc want to
see Yuushi's father so bad...? Ah, so that's why. Looks like Papa wasn't
always as quiet and ordinary as he seems to be now, eh? PAPA?! Yuushi tries to digest this new
information. Yuushi tells about her adoption. While
riding a hay-cart back to her house with Arc, Yuushi explains that Gunberd
isn't her real father. Actually it seems that Papa hasn't told her the _whole_
story...I mean yes, he found her at a battlefield, but not like, in a cart or
something, as if she was the child of two people who had been killed in the
battle...but instead, she was a bit _away_ from it, and in a _glowing light_!
Yeah, that's definitely a bit on the unusual side. (And depending on exactly
HOW close her background is to that of Lisa
Anderson, the daughter from PM3 (whose looks Yuushi's were based
off of, and also notice how similar Lisa's default dress is to the Princess
Academy school uniforms), she may not even be entirely _human_...but that's a
story for another day.) "Isn't that just a kid's thing?" Arc needles
Yuushi about the fact that she's wearing a Harvest Festival costume. "Hmmn." Arc doesn't believe her when she desperately
protests that wearing costumes was her FRIENDS' idea, yeah, yeah, that's right,
her FRIENDS. That oughta sound realistic enough...(snicker) But it's cute! Yuushi blushes as he then tells
her she looks "cute" in her costume. Oh, he's good...tease her like crazy,
then compliment her just before she gets mad enough to actually smack you. Nosy, aren't they? Grenda, Kokoru, and Erumina
(out of this shot, but she's flying off to the side) all spy on Yuushi and Arc
from the air. SAAAAaaayy.... New character! Who is _this_
silver-haired bishie, and what does he want with Arc...? Royal guards! Again! Evidently they're still
after him for some reason... "Well, hurry and find him!" Whatever reason
this guy wants Arc found, he wants it done quickly. The meeting. Arc finally meets Gunberd, the
great warrior who completed the Eternal Tiara (or so he _thinks_ that's who it
is) face-to-face. "Ho! Ha! Arc practices with his sword on a
straw dummy, in this silly commercial bumper. (By the way, ALL the episodes
have silly little bumper-things like these, and they're all different from each
other; I only take screenshots of the ones I especially like, though.) At the
end of a whole lot of cutting, instead of the _dummy_ falling apart, the
_sword_ does! Arc looks just as confused as the audience. :P) In other words, clear out, this is private. Gunberd
sends Yuushi off to make tea, conveniently getting her out of the room. Remember what they say about a watched pot,
Yuushi...? A nice shot of the family kitchen, and Yuushi looking rather
despondent as she waits for the water to boil. Arc reveals his reason for wanting to find
Gunberd or _part_ of it, anyway. What is it he wants to ask him, we are
not told (in _this_ episode, that is.) Yeah, right... Something about the way he says this
made me _instantly_ think he was lying...but _why_, is the question? "I see." Awww...he looks so sad! The invisible person. As Yuushi comes back
in at the end of their conversation, she learns what all good servants
know--hear all, say nothing. They won't quit, will they?! Geez, can't a girl get
any _privacy_ around here? "Say something!" Yuushi tries to let Arc know
her feelings, but... ...she's too late and the door slams in her face as
he walks out. Awww... "D'OH!" Her friends share a classic "D'OH!" moment, in
unison. "I apologise for the guards' rudeness." Silver-boy
bows and offers Arc a cloak. Ah, evidently he's his personal retainer or
something... "Well, I guess I should go back, then..." Arc
agrees to return to the palace with Frederik and the guards. PRINCE Arc! Looking very regal in his proper royal
robes. (I like his scruffy "ne'er-do-well" adventurer outfit persona better,
but still, this is fairly nice.) Yep! He's the Prince! Which was never that
much of a spoiler, if you've played any of the games. ;) My Prince... Stunned by this new information,
Yuushi stands undecided, frozen, unable to figure out what to do. (sings) "Tell him about it!" Grenda yells at Yuushi
for just letting him walk away, and rightfully so. I don't like to see you like this! Kokoru is
worried for Yuushi; she seems so sad...and it's not like her (Yuushi) to give
up easily! "That's it! I'm going to do it!" Yuushi makes up
her mind, and goes running after Arc. (Notice the symbolism with light in
this scene...when Yuushi got depressed just _happened_ to be exactly when a
cloud went over the sun. When she cheered up again, is exactly the moment when
the sun came back out and everything became bright and happy-looking again.
Obviously, this kingdom has heard of narrative causality! ;)) "ARC!" The guards block the "rude
little girl" from the Prince. "Let her go." commands Arc, once he sees who it
is. The confrontation. Yuushi and Arc stand staring
at each other for a moment, as she tries to work up the courage to speak. And just what feelings ARE those, hmmm? Well, of
course we all know what they _are_...but someone who looks like a 10-year-old
can't say something like that, of course. It just wouldn't seem right,
regardless of her actual age. Okay, I'll wait for you. I must say, this is like
_the_ perfect Arc-picture...it shows him in his royal robes, thereby symbolising
the fact that he's the Prince...but the rogueish personality that he displayed
when he first showed up and seemed to be some kind of escaped criminal, is _also_
evident, because of the wink. It's just _perfect_ for him. "Why are you crying?" asks Erumina, sentimental
as ever. And Grenda _is_ crying...awww... "Er...did I miss something, here?" Cube comes
home from the market just in time to see some Royal Guards proceeding away down
the path with Yuushi nearby, and he must be thinking, "The HECK?! Boy, did I
ever pick the wrong time to go shopping!" :P "Hey, why is this empty?" Yuushi made up some snacks
for them to eat while they're watching the Fireflies of Seven Colours (aka
fireworks), but it seems SOMEbody has eaten them all before the box got to
Grenda... Gee, I wonder... She WOULD say "Search me", but her mouth
is too full. (Ha! Another one for the "Angel, my butt!" files. :P) Up on the roof... The gang gathers on Yuushi's roof to watch
the fireworks together. Hey, isn't this how the opening sequence of "The Wonderful
World of Disney" ends? A nice shot of the fireworks, silhouetting the castle.
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