Obviously, I do not own any of the Characters, nor the setting, nor the idea. They all belong to Mercedes Lackey, and this is not intended as any copyright infringement, etc.
AN: In Arrow's Flight, it is revealed in Talia's thoughts that she tried to attempt a 'rescue of Vrisa between her fourth and fifth year at the Collegium. I always wondered what happened, and this is how I managed to picture it.
The 'Rescue' of Vrisa
It was almost Midsummer. The Collegium was on vacation, and nobody had objected when Talia had decided to go for a bit of time alone – that is, until now. As she was about to saddle Rolan, he shook his head. She felt within herself his worry and objection. He did not think she should go alone – in fact, he did not think she should go at all.
Talia sighed, and put down the saddle. She then buried her face in Rolan's mane. "Loverling, you don't understand. I can't have anyone come with me. Firstly, they won't agree to me going. Second, they won't be accepted. Havens, I'm not even sure I'll be accepted. Thirdly, I have to do this alone." Rolan snorted, but she felt his worry and objection ease.
"You don't understand why I'm going at all? I thought you did. Vrisa was the only one nice to me, except Andrean, and he's dead. When last I saw her, she was miserable. I managed to get away. I have to help her escape if I can. Do you understand?" She pleaded with him.
Rolan looked at her, and inside herself she suddenly felt his understanding, and acceptation. He was still wary however, and didn't think it was good to go alone. He would go with her, though. He nuzzled her, and she hugged him back, grateful for his understanding. She started saddling him again.
Soon enough, they were ready. She had not taken much: 5 sets of her Student Grays, along with soap to wash them. Some bread and cheese, enough for five days. Grooming equipment for Rolan, her bow, and lastly, a pouch with what coins she had saved. She didn't plan to stay in towns, but rather be self-sufficient, sleeping in Waystations. She planned to make as good speed as she could: some four days until Sensholding, and perhaps six days back. She got on Rolan's back, and rode out. As she rode, she turned for one last glance at the Collegium. I'll be back soon, she thought, with Vrisa
As she rode towards Sensholding, she was still thinking of her siblings. She had heard that Justus was dead, and was happier at the prospect; he did not have a wife and children to torment. She wondered whether Keltev had become nicer, or if he had become like Justus. If so, she thought, she might have to do something. He had always teased her about her desire to be a Herald. She would have liked to see his face when he heard she was Chosen. As she rode out of Haven, her thoughts turned to the way she had taken. This is where I first saw Haven, she thought, amazed at the naïve little girl she had been. Rolan sensed her thought, and stood waiting for her. She thought of he present, and her past. Then, with a firm decisiveness, she turned Rolan's head towards the south, and said "Run."
A few days passed normally. Talia passed the nights in Waystations, not stopping in the villages she passed through. As she retraced the path she had used from her home to the Collegium in for the first time, she recalled what happened where. She remembered the first time she had spoken with a Herald – the place where she met Dirk. She recalled the place where the guard had been kind, and so on. She had been on the road for four days. By late afternoon, she should reach Sensholding. As she rode, she suddenly became aware that Rolan's hooves were not the only ones she was hearing. As she looked behind her, she saw a beautiful silver horse. On it was a man robed in white, blue, and silver. Menelvagor? She thought. What is he doing here? Rolan was not going at full speed, and Menelvagor's horse was, so it soon overtook them. As Menelvagor drew level with her he said "Lis'aeer! Would you believe how hard it is to find you?" Talia shook her head. "While I enjoy your company Menelvagor, what are you doing here?" "I was told to give you a message. Everything changes, and you can never go home again." He answered. "What do you mean? What king of a message is that?" "It was the message I was to deliver. I assume it pertains to you being here, and whatever you are planning to do. Vi datha: I need know no more. I do not expect you to succeed, but you have my best wishes. Anar kaluva tielyanna!" With those words, he turned his horse, and galloped off towards the fields on his right. Talia looked after him, wondering at the message. It seemed to imply she should go back to the Collegium. She would not! She thought, At least not without Vrisa.
Finally, she could see the Holding where Vrisa's husband lived. She thought for a moment how to get in, for there were several choices. She could ride as a Herald, and ask for shelter, which she must be given, and wager on the fact that she would see Vris; but she would probably not, as the owner of the Holding would hide everyone from her. Or she could send Rolan away, and come as a simple traveler, which would bring more options. Lone travelers were not very welcome. As a women, she might even be refused, because 'no respectable woman should travel, and if she must, only with her husband'. So she had to make up a logical reason why she, a respectable married woman, was traveling alone. It would be best, she thought, to pose as a married woman whose husband had told her to come meet him in Sweetsprings. That way she would surely meet Vrisa. But, it meant she would be without Rolan. True, with the close mental bond between them they didn't have to be together, and he would be no more than two minutes away, but in two minutes she might be killed. Then again, nobody here should want to kill her. She chose her second option, and told Rolan so. He was not happy, but did not object.
She dismounted, and led Rolan to a stand of trees some 20 feet away from the entrance to the Holding. She took out of her saddlebags a pack and provisions, so her claim of traveling would be more plausible. She gave Rolan a hug, and went toward the Holding. She knocked on the door, politely tapping. Around her, darkness was falling. This was the time when travelers would be stopping for the night. Nobody had answered her tapping. She knocked again, more forcefully. After a few seconds, the door opened. In the doorway was a middle-aged. Talia estimated his age to be forty. He had a stern, sun-browned face, which was obviously unused to smiling. This was obviously the Father of the Holding. He frowned at her. "Yes, mistress, what do you want?" She could hear the disapproval at seeing a woman traveling alone in his question. She immediately affected a humble and subservient manner. "Master, I am Talina, wife of Trader Devon. He left me at home, and went to Sweetsprings to trade. Later he sent me a message to come join him, and bring him some things he needed. Being a dutiful wife, I immediately packed and set out. It is nightfall now, and I will not reach Sweetsprings until early morning if I continue walking. May I beg of you a bed, or even a place to sleep this night? I have food of my own, and will pay you for this service." The man's frowned lightened a bit. He grunted. "Very well. You may sleep here tonight. My Firstwife will find a bed for you. You do not need to pay for this", he said, as Talia's hand went toward her purse. "Vrisa!" he called. "Vrisa is my Firstwife", he said turning to her. "She will care for your rest. You will go at first light, I assume?" "Yes, Master", she affirmed humbly. "Good. I leave you in the capable hands of Vrisa", he said, as a woman came down the passage with a lantern. He walked towards the woman, exchanged a few words with her and went down a passage into a different part of the house.
Talia looked at Vrisa as she approached. She was much changed from the pale, frightened woman she had seen nearly six years ago. She looked happier, and not frightened at all, she seemed in complete control, a proper Firstwife. "Honored guest, please follow me to your room." Talia replied, "Of course, honored Firstwife." She spoke in a changed voice, so Vrisa wouldn't recognize her yet. She wanted this meeting to be a private one. "Lead on."
Vrisa lead her down a long hallway. At the end they turned right, into a small room. It was bare: only a bed, a stool, a small closet, and a chamberpot behind a curtain. The bed was a straw-filled mattress. There was a coverlet made of rough wool on the mattress. All in all, a far cry from the luxury of the Collegium, but nothing Talia had a problem with. Vrisa put the lamp on the stool. "Here you will sleep. Is there anything you require?"
"Vrisa." There was urgency in Talia's voice. "Don't you recognize me? Don't you know your little sister?"
Vrisa looked at her closely as she shed her hood and moved fully into the light of the lantern. "Talia? Is that really you? But what are you doing here?"
"Vris!" Talia exclaimed, and rushed into her, hugging her. After a second's hesitation, Vrisa returned it. "I've come to see you. What else what I come for?"
"But Talia, where have you been these last six years? Everyone must have been so worried! Is what you told my honored husband true? Are you married happily?"
Talia looked at her. This was not the Vrisa she remembered. "Vrisa, wait a second. Let me explain from the start what happened. It all started when Firstwife Keldar decided I was ready for marriage. I did not want to marry, so I ran away-"
"And I still don't understand how you could do it, Talia! It was so disobedient of you!"
Talia looked at her again, as they both stood before the bed. This was definitely no the Vrisa she remembered. "Please, Vris, let me finish! Anyway, I ran to my hiding place, where I cried for some time. After that, a beautiful white horse rode up: a Companion." Talia heard Vrisa's gasp, and noted that her expression was one of horror.
"I decided that someone must go and return the Companion to his herald, so I rode him to Haven. When I got there I was told about the Companion's Choice. I suppose you heard about it?" She should have, with the Heralds going around telling all the people in the Holdings about it.
"Of course. But what does that have to do with anything?" Vrisa asked, baffled.
"Everything. It turned out that Rolan wasn't lost at all. He Chose me. And that's where I've been all this time. Training at the Collegium as a Herald."
Talia watched Vrisa's reaction closely. There was no mistaking it: the disbelieving, horrified gasp, the mask of horror, and then the bright, cheery smile, accompanied by the same false tone. "Oh Talia, that is excellent! So you got what you wanted. It's like a fairy-tale! So what did you come back here for?" Talia knew it was hopeless. But she still had to try. She said "I want you to come back with me to Haven. I want you to live there with me, Vris. I need you." As she finished she pretended to look down at her hands, but in truth was watching Vrisa. When Vrisa was sure Talia wasn't looking, she made a motion: the sign against evil. "That's so nice of you, Talia, but I can't. I'm a Firstwife now, with 5 children, and a household to take care of. I can't even leave for a few days, or it will all fall apart. I love you, but I also love my husband and children, and couldn't possibly leave them." Talia didn't need a Truthspell, to tell her that Vrisa was lying. She truly loved her husband and children, but not Talia. She was horrified by what Talia had become. To her Talia was an evil witch, a sinner who had defied the authority – her elders. Talia's eyes filled with tears, but she kept her voice steady as she answered to Vrisa. "I expected that, but still I had to ask. I love you too, Vrisa. I'll leave in the morning, as I must get back." She smiled at Vrisa, blinking away the tears in her eyes. Vrisa suddenly brightened. "Excellent! Have a good night. I want see you n the morning as I have to organize the morning baking. I love you," she said, and practically fled the room.
Talia sat alone on her bed. She was depressed, did not understand what had happened. She decided that she had best go to sleep. Even as she lay in bed, she felt tears trickle down her cheek, and realized she was crying. She cried to herself, feeling as if she would never stop, when suddenly she felt love and sympathy wrap around her. She realized it was Rolan. She smiled through her tears, and managed to stop crying, though she was still sad and depressed. She fell asleep, exhausted by the long and trying day.
Early in the morning, Talia rose. It was just dawn. She packed, and made the bed. She went out of the tiny room, and went out of the house. She left the Holding behind her with swift steps, walking towards a copse of trees which was out of sight. There she saw Rolan. She hugged him, and then mounted. He started the long way back to Haven. The sky was grey above them, covered with clouds, even though it was summer.
On the way back, it drizzled occasionally, despite the fact that it was summer. Talia was wrapped in gloom and sadness, and nothing Rolan could do would shake her feeling of betrayal by the last member of her family who had loved her. As she looked up, she realized Rolan was climbing the last hill before Haven. When they reached the top, she looked down at the city. An errant beam of sunlight had pierced the clouds, shining on Companion's Field, making it look like an emerald. Talia's spirit cheered somewhat. As she rode into the city, many people said hello to her and Rolan, acknowledging a Companion and Chosen in their midst. She was feeling slightly better, and even the weather had cleared, she realized. As she rode into the Collegium, she felt as if she had arrived home. Having dismounted, she suddenly heard a voice call behind her "Talia! Talia!" She turned, and saw Sherril racing towards her, arms open. Talia barely had time to brace herself before Sherre slammed into her, giving her a tight hug. Behind her, she saw Keren as well. "I missed you so much, Talia!" Keren agreed. "We should have invited you to come with us, little centaur." Talia hugged Keren, then looked at them, confused. "But you were with your family! Why would you want me there?" "Talia", laughed Sherril, "I love my family because they're my family. But I don't always fit in. Friends are the family we choose for ourselves, you know!" Talia heard this, and realized something. Sherril was right. Even if nobody in her biological family wanted her, this was her family and home. The Collegium, Rolan, Sherril, Jeri, Elspeth, Selenay, Keren, and all her friends.