A/N: I'm getting back into fanfiction again after a long hiatus, so this story is getting rebooted and continued. For all those who read it years ago when I first posted it, some things have changed, and others have not. I'm continuing it in a different direction so look out! Also an apology for abandoning this in the first place, best regards.

~x~

Faleron of King's Reach stretched in the saddle, his war horse flicked an ear in his direction sensing his rider's restlessness. Steadying himself again, Faleron absently rubbed the back of his head. Going home for a few months was all he needed. His squire master planned on moving his training to an area with less activity than the Scanran border, Thanks be to the Gods! Faleron felt more at ease the closer he came to the lands he had grown up in.

"Don't get too comfortable boy," Sir Risk of Dalliance Port, his knight master, said from beside him.

"Still expecting Scanrans to come pouring out of the trees?" Faleron jibed, his derisive tone belying his unease. He wished he could completely relax but dreaded the consequences. Sir Risk laughed and took a drink out of his wine flask.

"Border patrol does that to a man, never expect your enemies to be truly gone. They'll bite you in the ass when you're not looking."

"I'll take your word for it," Faleron said and rolled the kinks out of his shoulders. Gods it would be nice to sleep in a real bed after weeks on the road. He surveyed the lush green hills that spilled from mouth of a valley below the outcropping he and Sir Risk rode. It was nice to finally be back in King's Reach lands. It had seemed like the only place he could relax, could breathe without having hurroks or stormwings swooping down at him from the skies and blue eyed Scanrans rushing him from the trees. So why wasn't he relaxed?

"We should be there by the end of the day at least, then you can relax. And maybe not even then," Sir Risk said seriously fixing him with a dark eye and then breaking into his ghastly silver smile. Sir Risk often told anyone who could listen that the silver teeth were made from the ear rings of pirates he had killed while living at Dalliance Port as a boy. Even after being squire to Sir Risk for three and a half years Faleron still had trouble knowing whether or not his Knight Master were joking. Although by now he had a pretty good idea most of the time.

~x~

"And don't think we'll be stopping' for trinkets neither," Lukendric lectured his younger sister grumpily as they reached the edge of their land where a small country road had formed out of the lush greenery. They were riding a wagon pulled by two experienced mules that lazily flicked the occasional fly with the tufts of their tails. They were headed for their family's store in town with its cargo of freshly picked peaches and vegetables.

"Luke I'll have you know that trinket shopping is the last thing on my mind," Veriska said tossing her hair from one shoulder to the other.

"Aye and so is givin' me the slip as soon as you get the chance," Luke said giving the reins a slap for no other reason than his sister was getting on his nerves. The old mules continued to amble along at the exact same pace. Veriska smiled and examined the ends of her pale blonde hair in sun. Rolling her eyes she tossed the straw hat that had been sitting in her lap into the air and stuck her head into the hole letting it settle on her head casting everything above her nose into shadow. Grinning at her new trick and ecstatic at being out and about after so many days at home helping with the harvest, the peaceful laziness of the ride into town was just what she needed. The air never felt so good, she thought as she sniffed the air around her perfumed with the smell of newly ripened peaches and wild heather growing along the sides of the road, it occurred to her that her brother might need to relax as he sat grimly beside her, his two dark brows furrowed into one.

"And put on your shoes Vrisi," he said glancing down at his sisters bare feet flashing in the sun, having been washed just that morning until all the dirt from the day before had been scrubbed clean and she could see clearly between all toes.

"Oh Lukey you know my feet are beautiful," Vrisi said wiggling her toes in her brothers face, skirt flapping unchastisely around her knees.

"Put those flappers away, you'll shame Da by wagglin' your duck webs in public. Put 'em away where respectable folk don't have to see 'em… or smell 'em." This caused Vrisi to laugh and fuss over her feet mockingly.

"At least my abnormalities are good for something, I can out swim an otter," she cut her blue eyes at her brother, "You on the other hand, dear brother," she shook her head dramatically before bursting into a fit of laughter.

"Oh cool off," Luke said laughing as they continued down the road talking and laughing as if Da hadn't made him take his little sister with him.

"You hear about what Old Thomas said about them highway men, the ones that attacked Murphy Watkins?" Luke asked his sister. Vrisi shook her head, she'd gone to back to the house before their neighbor, Old Thomas had arrived.

"Well he says Murphy was going to town fer some entertainment and had his best fighting cock, Reliable, in a cage under 'is arm headed to the fights at Clancy Miller's. He said all of a sudden three men took upon him on horseback with some fancy cutlery bouncing 'round over the backs of the horses. Since he guessed they was travelers he didn't give them any thought and just went off to one side of the road as to let 'em by. He says he turned to wave an' ask what brought them this far south of King's Reach when a man kicked him from on top of the horse and he fell in the dirt, surprised like, and dropped the cage." Vrisi who had been quiet up until now gasped. "I know," Luke said and continued. "Murphy started cursin' something awful when a big lad he said, almost seven foot tall jumped off 'is horse an' kicked 'im in the stomach all the while Murphy's cursin' something terrible. Then he says another got off the horse and searched him, took all of his bettin' money while the big guy held a sword at his neck and told him to be quiet lessen he still had use for his head. Murphy told Thomas they took everything, even stripped all 'is clothes off except his necessaries," Vrisi giggled in spite of herself imagining proud Murphy half naked in the middle of the road. He was a funny enough sight with his clothes on. "Don't laugh Vrisi, the Crooked God might be listenin'," Luke told his sister with mock sincerity.

"Sorry Lukey, I didn't realize you were such a devout follower of the Crooked One," Vrishi said and giggled as her brother elbowed her good naturedly.

"Anyways can I finish the story? Okay, Murphy was layin' there in the dirt when one of the bandits picked up Reliable's cage and Murphy started to squeal about not lettin' them take the rooster for he's a stringy devil what's not worth much more than his weight in dirt and aint more'n a mouthful anyway! So they ask 'Why's he got silver spurs then?' an' while the man what's got the cage turns it right side up the door falls open an' Reliable jumps out and rakes the bandit across the face with his talons and flaps him in the face, and while they was all distracted Murphy ran into the woods and hid. When he got home, later n' usual being barefoot and unclothed, his woman thought he lost all his bettin' money an' knocked him a good one before he could tell her the whole story. He has two broken ribs and lost his best fightin' rooster. Hate to be him, poor muck."

"Maybe he just invented the story; you know how Murphy likes to talk. Could be that he just wanted to live, I've met Madam Murphy, and I definitely wouldn't want to be on her bad side!" Veriska said, nonetheless entertained no matter what the tales origins.

"Maybe," Luke said staring out into their neighbor's field where a grove of trees lined the left side of the property. Over head the sky was a deep hazy summer blue. It was a beautiful day, none too hot and none too windy. It was a perfect day to ride into town. Cutthrough was a small town where everyone knew everyone else and their dog's business. With a hundred or so citizens a few miles from fief King's Reach along the Marenese border, not many chose to pass through because it didn't lay in the way of any main roads. Because of its location as well as it's short trees and hill country this part of the country had gone untouched by the pesky immortals. Here you were more likely to find a unicorn or fairy than a stormwing or spidren. King's Reach was a prosperous fief as well as its people were. The people's farms made the Lord of King's Reach rich.

The gentle tapping of the mules feet against the trodden path lulled Vrisi into a satisfied stupor that could have lasted for ages as she relaxed against the wagon, the wide brim of her hat shielding her face from the sun. After several minutes of comfortable silence Luke took a drink from his water jug.

"Hey Vrisi, what do you think uncle Andrei is going to say when he sees those squash?" After a moment of silence he looked over at his sister. She was sleeping soundly her sides rising and falling. "Guess she stayed up talking with the girls last night," he said to the mules and clucked to them to hurry up imagining his aunt Galya's fruit pies warming over the stove. He hoped she remembered they were coming today. Hearing hoof beats behind them Luke turned around to see who had overtaken them when something hard collided with his head and he tumbled from the bench onto the road.

~x~

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