~Silence. The street was silent that night, half hidden in shadows as the moonlight was filtered through clouds high above. The guard on duty that night paced back and forth at his post, feeling ill at ease. Something was amiss, but he could not tell what. Off in the distance he could hear the cry of a babe, and remembered that this was the night his commander, Lord D`Sade was expecting the birth of his first child. He began the short journey to the household, intent on congratulating the new father on his proud accomplishment when he heard the scream. One of anger, and rage. In a moment, he realizes it's coming from the direction he was heading and takes off at a run.~

"WITCH, YOU BORE A DAUGHTER!!! THIS IS NOT MY CHILD! YOU WHORE!!!"

"No, I swear..."

"YOU SHALL PAY FOR THIS!!!"

~Again he hears a cry, but this time it's one of pain. He runs faster, trying to beat time itself, but he's too late. When he arrives at the home, he finds the ill feeling he had before has grown. The door of the house has been ripped off it's very hinges, tore in a fit of rage. The living quarters are a shambles, furniture broken in pieces. And Lord D`Sade is no where to be found.~

~Cautiously the guard works his way through the house, looking for anything to ease his growing sense of dread. As he comes upon the birthing room, he realizes he will not find it. There, in a broken heap on the floor, lies the Lady of the house, battered and lifeless. Gingerly, he lifts he prone form from the floor and carries her to the living room. As he lays her body on the splintered table, he notices that her womb is still hard. Gently probing her stomach, he can barely make out the form of another babe.~

"Is there a chance...?"

~Swiftly he draws his dagger, and saying a silent prayer over the Lady's form, he opens her womb, and pulls out the child. Carefully he cleans the small form off, and lifts it to his ear, listening...hoping...~

~An eternity passes as he waits, and just as he's about to give up hope, he hears it. Faint, and haggard, but a small breath. Quickly he wraps the child in a blanket and sets about looking for the other, to lay it with it's mother.~

~As he moves back to the birthing room, he pauses, and listens again. A small weak cry can barely be heard. His sharp ears almost missed it for the sound of the fire still lit in the hearth. He moves towards the sound, which comes from the room that should have been filled with joy, and, there, in a dark corner, under a pile of broken chairs, is the child that caused this.~

~Gently he lifts the small girl child out of the rubble and wraps her in a blanket. Moving back to the table, the guard pauses and looks at the two. One female, one male. He lifts up the male child, and looks at him.~

"Oh, had it only been you first, this would never have happened..." he sighs.

~Realizing that time is growing short, he wonders what to do with the two small ones. He can't keep them, but he can't leave them for dead either. His ears pick up the sound of footsteps running towards the house. He has to decide quickly. Should Lord D`Sade find him there, or find the children, he will surely kill them all. Wrapping the two small bundles under his cloak, the guard slips out the back just as the Lord of the house comes back, carrying a torch that he throws on the figure of his late wife, snarling in rage, no longer sane...~

~The guard weaves through the shadows, hiding himself and the two small bundles he carries close to his chest. He knows he has to hide them, and soon. Someplace warm, but where. He thinks for a moment, than remembers a woman that will help, and quickly moves in that direction, still keeping to the shadows.~

~He approaches the small house from the back, and sees that only one candle is lit inside. Softly the guard raps on the door and waits. After a few moments, it opens slowly, the hinges, though rusty and worn, emite not a sound. A weathered hand pulls it in, and another, holding a candle up emerges. An old, yet oddly alert voice speaks from behind the door.~

"Who knocks at such an hour?"

"It is I, Klaryssa. Please let me in. It's urgent."

~The door swings open and the guard enters the house. The interior is dimly lit, but he has no problem seeing. His Teir'Dal eyes scanned the room, taking in the herbs hanging from the rafters, the jars with scrawled writings on the shelves, the tables covered with books, and other arcane items, looking for a place to lay his burden. Seeing a small table, almost empty, he moves to it, and after Klaryssa clears it, he opens his cloak and removes the two squirming bundles.~

"What in Innoruuk's name have you brought me, Fachon?" the witch says as she moves closer and raises her candle. As the guard opens the bundles, she gasps and steps back.

"They are the children of Lord D`Sade, who is, as we speak, torching his very house and slain wife in a mad rage. The female was born first, and he could not see past that in his rage. He killed her, and almost the boy child. I heard, and while he ran to fetch the torch, I took them, and brought them here."

"You have gone against the very Fates, Fachon! They are doomed! And you want me to take them?"

"No, wise one. Merely hide them awhile, til I figure out what to do with them. I can't let them die, but I can't take them to the Warrior House. Lord D`Sade would figure them out, and slay them."

~The woman thought a moment. She begins to move around the room gathering various herbs, and things from various bottles on the shelves. She takes two unmarked bottles down as well, and, returning to the table, begins to mix the herbs in a mortar, grinding them into a fine powder which she divides in half, putting some in one bottle, and some in the second, corking both.~

"Take the boy to the healers. No one will suspect that a child of Lord D`Sade would become a healer. They will care for him."

"And the girl child?"

"The last plast anyone will look for a female. Take her to the Lodge of the Dead. If she survived her father's attempt at killing her, she is strong enough to survive that. And, she will live."

~The guard nods slightly, and begins to gather up the two squaling infants. The woman places her hand on his arm, holding him back a moment. She pulls yet another jar down, uncorks it, and, dipping her finger in the jar's contents, makes two marks on each child's forehead, than straightens back up.~

"That will aid in hiding them from their father until either he is caught, or he forgets. Take these two jars, and give them, one each, to the person that you give the child to. Tell them that once a week, they are to add a pinch of this, and no more, to whatever the child eats. It might ease the Fates' anger, but it might not. They do not have an easy road ahead of them, Fachon, but if our Father wishes them at His side, He will have it. Now go, swiftly. Dawn is approaching, and you must not been seen."

"Thank you, Klaryssa."

~With that, the guard picks up both the children, and, in the darkest hour before dawn, leaves the witches hut and begins making his way to the healers of Neriak.~