Disclaimer: Not mine, k?

The Return

The young man shaded his eyes as he looked up to the distant Citadel. It's familiar outline caused a lump to come to his throat, as the memories came flooding back. Behind him, a voice could be heard complaining to Rosethorn; Evvy. Briar smiled – the girls were going to have a shock when they found out he had a student.

Daja, used to the snow and ice of Namorn, was still getting used to seeing the green fields of Emelan again. As the gates of Summersea came into view, she felt her throat tighten. Four years was a long time – but she would be seeing them in a few minutes. Soon.

Tris stood at the prow of the ship, feeling the salty sea winds whip around her like unruly children. Her student Keth came up behind her, humming a song he had heard the sailors sing, and staring down into the cool green waters of Emelan harbour. Beside him, Tris took a deep breath. Coppercurls was coming home.

In the Royal Palace, Sandry sat with Pasco, trying to get him to meditate. Her heart wasn't in it. Sandry's palms were sweaty with worry. The others would be here soon. Suppose they were different - changed? Suppose…What if…Would they…?

That's enough of that! She scolded herself. They won't have changed inside, and that's what matters. Sandry waited.

It might have come as shock to some that Lady Sandrilene fa Toren, Emelan's brightest jewel and heir to the Duchy, would be standing in the rain, outside the Citadel gates, alone. Alone, that is, apart from the tall Namornese noble, his arm encircling her waist protectively. Her head drooped onto his chest, betraying her exhaustion form staying awake each night for a week, as she waited for her family to return.

Arrin no Salati was a Namornese prince, one of the many young men paraded before Sandry as possible husbands. He had been surprised, when he first met her, at how young she looked. Of course, he had known what she looked like before, but there's a difference between being told about a young, beautiful, Duchy heiress, and actually meeting one.

For one, it was unusual to find a woman who lived up to her portrait, and for another, after hearing about her and her friends, he had expected someone a little more, well, grand. The long and short of it was – love, he supposed. They were a perfect couple, he so dark, and she so fair, and there was no doubt about their feelings for each other.

Arrin stroked her hair gently as he saw a tear roll out from between her closed lashes.

"Shenso, what is the matter? Your friends will be here soon." He addressed her using Namornese, roughly translated as 'little dove'.

Sandry replied haltingly. "I – I feel as though I'm the only one who won't have any exotic stories to tell, I suppose. I'm scared that they'll have changed and that I'll be just a little girl to them. We'll have missed out on whole chunks of each other's lives. We'll be different people."

Arrin hugged her tightly. "However much they change, you'll always, always, always have me. I'll never leave you."

Sandry hugged him back, running her fingers through his hair and kissing him passionately. He more than returned it, but broke the kiss when he heard wheels on the cobbles.

"Shenso, they have come."

Sandry turned then, and saw cart with the symbol of Winding Circle carved into the wood come into sight. Without waiting for the cart to stop, a copper head poked out, soon followed by two more. The three travellers jumped down from the cart, to close the distance between themselves and the small whirlwind, otherwise known as Sandry, heading their way. Tears of joy mingled with rain as the four were re-united, together for the first time in almost half a decade.

Tris, Briar, and Daja stared at Sandry, their faces showing expressions ranging from amusement to shock.

"Engaged? You're engaged!" Tris rolled her eyeS at Daja – trust Briar to ruin the occasion. Sandry, however, seemed not to notice the tone of disbelief in his voice. She was glowing with happiness and smiling shyly at them all.

"I – we – wanted you to be the first to know. Do you – do you want to meet him?" Her voice was hopeful, almost as though she was silently begging for their approval.

Daja switched to mind-speak to show Sandry that she meant what she said.

Saati, we haven't been away that long.

The other three watched as Arrin and Sandry danced together, completely oblivious to everything around them. Looking at them, Daja felt shut out, as if they had entered their own private world where no one, not even her, Tris, or Briar, could enter.

The sensation made her feel curiously alone. What would it be like, she wondered, to love someone else so utterly and completely, without reservation, whatever happened? Of course, she loved her foster family, but it was just...different somehow.

Briar, busy glowering at the tall Namornese, didn't notice Rosethorn come up behind him. She took one look at his face and sighed.

"Boy, what is it?"

Briar jumped, then replied "It's just that mamma's boy Sandry's engagedto. It seems like he's always hanging around where we don't want him."

Rosethorn grinned. "On the contrary. Youmay not want him around, but Sandry, for one, certainly does. However much you hate him, he's here to stay."

"But whydoes she want him around? Why'd she have to go and get engaged? It's like she loves him more than us nowadays." He knew he sounded like a whiny little kid, but he couldn't help it.

"There's the rub, boy. Your Duchess has grown up. She's not a little girl anymore; she's an intelligent, beautiful, witty woman and one of the most powerful women in the world. Sandry's got her own life now. However much she loves you and the girls, Arrin will always come first. It's hard, but so's life."

A few metres away, Pasco and Evvy were eyeing each other warily. Evvy was the first to break the silence. "She's your teacher, then, that takameri?"

"She's not a – a – whatever you called her! She's the Royal Heir!" Replied Pasco heatedly. Evvy grinned.

"Relax! Takameri just means, well, I suppose it would translate as 'great lady' in your language. I come from Chammur – what about you?"

"I'm Emelan born and bred," said Pasco proudly. "My family's a harrier family – harriers are Guards. Sandry saw my magic and took me to live at the Palace. I'm a dance mage."

"I'm a stone mage. The same happened to me: Pahan Briar saw my magic and became my teacher. Pahan Rosethorn says it's a miracle."

The two were soon talking happily as though they had known each other for years.

Sandry and Arrin stood together on the balcony, holding each other protectively. Briar watched them, anger fizzing under his skin. The tattooed vines on his hands swirled agitatedly, sprouting thorns and spiky leaves. He hated to admit it, even to himself, but he was jealous. He was jealous of the way that Arrin was the centre of Sandry's world, and how happy they were together.

He hated the way she laughed up at him, her face glowing, and the way he smiled down at her, his eyes gentle and loving. Briar was no longer the most important man in Sandry's life. He felt he had been displaced, relegated. Did this mean that the Circle was broken?

"Duchess? Can I speak to you for a moment?" Sandry looked round, her smile fading. When she saw it was Briar, she made a visible effort to smile.

"Oh – of course." She turned to Arrin, who was looking as though Briar was the worst thing to have happened since the famous Blue Pox epidemic. "I'll be back in a minute."

As she followed Briar into the gardens, Sandry hissed, "What is it, Briar? I do have guests, you know."

"Sandry, when did you meet Arrin?"

"What...About three years ago? I was in Namorn with Berenice, and she was trying to introduce to me to all these candidates. He was one of them – I think that's the only time Aunt Berenice and I have seen eye to eye on anything! Why do you ask?"

Briar shrugged. "Oh, no reason. Just that, well, it seemed kinda sudden."

"Sudden? Briar Moss, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard you say!"

Briar stiffened. "Well, I'm not the one choosing some Bag over her friends – her family!"

Sandry's face softened. "Briar, is that what you really think? Of course, I love Arrin, but you and the girls are just as important in a different way. Never think I'd love you any less – never."

Briar looked unconvinced. "But..."

"But nothing, Briar. I'm not choosing Arrin over you and the others – it's not like that."

Sandry absent-mindedly twisted the gold band in her finger, embossed with the No Salati coat of arms.

"You'll understand, someday. It's wonderful, Briar, there's nothing like it in the world."

Briar mumbled something in reply, then hurried off. What Sandry had said just made things worse. He had been clinging to a last tendril of hope that she was only marrying him because she had to, but his conversation with Sandry had scotched that idea completely.

He sighed to himself. Sharing his nearest and dearest had never been a problem for Briar – he had never had to. But it looked like he was going to have to learn.

This is not a story, as such, more of a snapshot of what it might be like post-CO. Okay, its not even that. It's just me messing about and completely destroying the wonderful world of TP. Ah well. How about, it's what might happen if they all came back, and the Circle was no longer the most important thing to one or more of them? Does that sound better?

Ciao!