Disclaimer: Lets put it this way, if i was Tamora Pierce and I owned these characters, not only would I be a hell of a lot richer, but this story would be much better than it is.
Briar trudged down the lanes which lead back up to winding circle.
"It's not fair" He thought to himself, as he kicked a rock up the street. "That life is behind me now why can't people accept that!"
He was furious. What had started as a day of excitement and fun had ended in shame and disappointment.
Today was the day of their monthly trip to the Summersea market and Briar had been looking forward to it all month. For the dedicates, it meant a chance to sell some of their work, but for their students, it was a welcome break from their routine of studies and chores. Arriving at the gate to the market place, the winding circle residents found not the usual guards; who knew Rosethorn and Lark well; but two hulking muscle bound men, welding their batons in a confident and businesslike manner. Unused to the local crowd, the guards were stopping customers, checking for thieves and others who could disturb the piece of the market.
Taking the horses in hand, Briar moved over to the market stables where they would be cared for while the group shopped. Heading back towards the market entrance; the rest of the circle had already gone in; Briar's progress was stopped by a muscular forearm across his chest.
"Stop right there, boy! Where do you think you're going?"
Briar looked up, eyes smarting a bit at the sun which was streaming down from behind the head of the speaker. Shading his eyes, he saw the stern face of the guard.
"Well, sir, seeing as this is the door to the market, I thought I might go in." replied Briar sarcastically as he tried to push past the heavily muscled arm barring his way.
"Not so fast, show me your hands!" exclaimed the guard getting a firmer grip on Briars arm.
Briars heart began to sink anticipating where this was going. Reluctantly he raised them, revealing the twin X's that marked his as a convicted thief.
"Well well, my boy. I don't think you will be going anywhere;" said the guard a sadistic glint in his eyes. "Unless it is to the local lock up."
"JUST WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!"
Rosethorn was livid.
Her fiery debate with a shopkeeper on the correct drainage of potted plants had been interrupted when the hanging vines over the entrance way had informed her of the commotion between Briar and the guards.
"HOW DARE YOU LAY YOUR HANDS ON MY STUDENT, YOU ABSOLUTE MORO—"
"What seems to be the problem, sirs? Why have you stopped our student?" said lark, quickly cutting off Rosethorn's tirade.
"This urchin is a thief. His presence will not be tolerated in the market." Relied the guard in a bored voice.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME? YOU WORTHLY SACK OF DUN-"
"I don't understand." continued Lark. "Briar comes here with us all the time he other guards—"
The other guards have been replaced. THIS BOY is a thief." the guard countered firmly. "And his presence WILL not be tolerated in this market place."
"YOU WILL ALLOW HIM TO ENTER OR SO HELP ME I WILL—"
"No, Rosethorn. It's fine, I'll walk home." he sighed. "I didn't even want to go to the lice bitten pus-sucking festering market anyway."
Briar trudged through his bedroom door and slumped down onto his bed, hiding his head under the pillows.
He already knew life was not fair, 6 years in the Deadman's district of Sotat had assured him of that, but this was getting ridiculous. He wasn't a thief! Not anymore! That life was far behind him.
But his stupid hands! These cursed tattoos, bound him to that life a constant reminder of who he had been, who he, in the eyes of the world, would never stop being.
There was only one thing for it. Get rid of the tattoos.
Oooooooo
Rosethorn's workroom was across the hall from Briar's, a large rectangular room with many shelves and huge windows. Most of the shelves particularly the ones nearest the windows were weighed down with countless plants of many varieties. Others, smaller and closer to the door held small bottles containing powders dyes and seeds. Rummaging through the shelves he found what he was looking for.
Mixing vegetable dyes was easy. It was one of the first things he had learned in this house- lark was always using them for her weaving and never turned down a hand in mixing them, regardless of how willing the helper was.
Finding a set of needles in Sandry's room, Briar returned dyes. He had decided on a vine design, simple but effective for his needs.
Vines are nice he thought, they wander around and go where they please. No boundaries to where vines can go and with these vines I can go where I want too.
Taking up Sandry's needles he began to jab his hands marking out the pattern. That done, he took the bowls containing his dyes and poured them all into the same bowl, using his magic to stop them from mixing. Careful not to spill, he dipped both hands into the bowl, urging the dyes into his hands with his magic.
That was where things first went wrong.
Briar noticed the water level in the bowl sinking, almost as if a hole had been made in the bottom, but there was no hole, no dye leaked from the bowl. The dye was being sucked in through his hands.
Where the dyes should have just gone to where the pattern had been marked, they quickly spread covering his hands and moving up over his arms and chest, down his legs and over his face. Briar tugged his hands from the bowl with a cry. What was happening? How was this possible! The vine tattoo now covered his whole body.
Panicking Briar did the only thing he could.
He called the girls.
Sandry walked through the market, stopping here and there to glance at the wares of the stalls. She could see Tris nearby rummaging through the crates of a nearby book vendor. Daja was across the way chatting to smith hawking his wares. Spying Lark she headed over to the cloth stand.
"Hey Lark," began Sandry, "what are you looki-"
Panic rolled down her connection with Briar stopping her questions in its tracks.
"GIRLS! GET ROSETHORN TO COME HOME NOW!"
Sandry was aware of the worried looks Lark was giving her. She saw Tris and Daja hurrying over from where they were shopping. Turning to Lark, eyes wide with borrowed fear, she hurriedly asked where Rosethorn was.
"Sandry what is wrong? Why are you looking like that?
"Please Lark I will explain on the way but we need to get back to discipline. Something has happened to Briar!"
Lark looked ready to argue but seeing Sandry's fear mirrored in the eyes of the other two girls, she farewelled the vendor, hurriedly found Rosethorn and without further ado left for discipline.
They weren't sure what to expect when they arrived. From the wagon the cottage seemed normal, no structural damage, no screaming people, it was quiet... Normal.
Entering the cottage, the same, no chairs knocked over no signs of struggling. Walking through to the kitchen, the only noticeable difference from when they had left was a small bowl of multicoloured dyes on the table. Until they saw Briar.
From her vantage in the doorway he looked like he had been rolled in paint, multicoloured blotches covered his skin leaving no area untouched. His skin was a kaleidoscope of colour, the botches organised themselves into vines twining around his limbs in multitude of colour, shifting now and again to reform as a different pattern.
It began as a low chuckle but eventually her laughter left her gasping for breath. To her left Rosethorn was observing her student carefully, a smile lighting her eyes.
"What in the name of the green man have you done to yourself?"
"Nothing! It's not my fault- STOP LAUGHING SANDRY!" cried Briar. "I didn't mean for this to happen! I was just trying to hide my X's".
"Well you've certainly achieved that!" Daja guffawed, clutching her stomach as she laughed.
"IT"S NOT FUNNY!" roared Briar, furious that they could be laughing at a time like this, "THIS IS SERIOUS GUYS!"
"Alright, alright, calm down Briar." Said Lark, carefully diffusing the mounting tempers. "Girls go upstairs while we try to sort this out"
As the girls left, Lark and Rosethorn came for a closer look at the vines covering Briar.
Extending her magical sense Rosethorn felt for the vines calling to the magic in them. They squirmed under Briar's skin sending shivers down his spine.
Withdrawing her power she looked at her student, amused brown meeting fright-filled green.
"Well my boy you certainly have done a number on this one, how could you have been so foolish! You're a PLANT mage! It's in your blood, it allows you to change plants and make them grow! You know this but the first thing you decide to do is to try and tattoo your hands with VEGETABLE dyes. What did you think it would do, just sit there! It has access to all your magic of course it would grow!"
"You can fix it though can't you? I don't want to be a walking bush for the rest of my life!"
"I can try to contain it but no it will not go now that it is there."
"Well what do we need to do?"
You need to sit still; this is going to get uncomfortable.
Reaching out with her magic, Rosethorn connected with dyes in Briar, calling to the green magic of the plants they had been, and drawing it back out through the marks in his hands. This was by no means easy; for Rosethorn or Briar. The dyes liked where they were and clung to Briars skin, making him wince. The slight discomfort of the earlier vine movement had been nothing to the pain he was feeling now. The dyes called by Rosethorn were sinking imaginary roots and gripping beneath his skin with all the power of the trees they had been. It took all of Rosethorn's will to convince them to withdraw their anchors and drag the dye from her student. Slowly, the colours began to recede from his legs and face. Eventually the dye was left only on his hands coating everything below his wrists, like a pair of moving leafy gloves.
Breathing heavily, Rosethorn ensured the dyes would not spread and withdrew her magic.
"That's the best I can do my boy. That was much harder than I expected."
Shaking slightly after the magnitude of Rosethorn's power, Briar was sitting on the stool staring at his hands. The vines were still there, twisting and changing under his skin, but now it was no longer uncomfortable. Small flowers were blossoming around his fingernails, growing to form brightly coloured blooms on a background of green vines.
"Well," Briar said with a smile. "At least you can't see the X's anymore"