AN: I just decided to write this one day and it flowed, I don't think there are nearly enough stories about Tobe. Please let me know what you think.
FIFTY THEMES ON TOBEIS BOON
O1. Motion
In one swift flash of a sword, Aizza's father was dead, and she had no where to go.
02. Cool
The night air sent a chill to the very bone, but she had found refuge in a stranger's warm bed.
03. Young
Aizza could not believe she was pregnant; she was only fourteen.
04. Last
Finding that she loved the little pink, wrinkly baby was at the bottom of Aizza's list of expectations.
05. Wrong
Maybe two wrongs can make a right, she thought as she reluctantly picked a doorstep to leave her baby on; he had to be cared for and Aizza couldn't do it properly.
06. Gentle
Aizza let her son suckle his fill from her breast, then she tenderly kissed the infant and set him down on the stoop, securing his blanket around him, tears falling from her cheeks the entire time.
O7. One
And with that knock, one boon was placed in Auld Eulama's hands: Tobeis Boon, to be exact.
08. Thousand
Tobe cleaned up many, many broken bottles; Auld Eulama liked to fall asleep with her drink.
09. King
In one of her few lucid moments, Auld Eulama told Tobe that he was the ruler of her heart.
10. Learn
It took a deep cut on his forehead, but Tobe grew to know exactly when to duck a flying bottle.
11. Blur
The horrific days following Auld Eulama's death blended into one another.
12. Wait
Tobeis Boon didn't know what would happen to him, but he knew he'd be lucky if he wasn't thrown out into the snow.
13. Change
Tobe's whole lifestyle was new, and it took time to adjust to life in the Queensgrace Inn.
14. Command
Ol' Alvik would only order something once before his fist followed up.
15. Hold
Once Ol' Alvik got a grip on Tobe, all the struggling in the world could not save him from a sound beating.
16. Need
Tobe was desperate when he steeped into the strawberry gelding's stall.
17. Vision
Tobe felt like he was dreaming; a knight had rescued him from Ol' Alvik, and a lady knight at that.
18. Attention
He tried to concentrate on Lady Kel's reading lessons, but the jumble of small letters and words made his head spin; it was much easier to just mind the horses and sing.
19. Soul
Tobe staked his entire being in a place called Haven.
20. Picture
Once when Tobe was supposed to be practicing his writing, Lady Kel returned to find he had drawn horses across the bottom of his paper; she was not amused.
21. Fool
Tobe felt like a dope when he stepped on the pretty girl's foot.
22. Mad
Everyone around Tobe was crazy; that was the only explanation for the strange loyalty residents of Haven had to each other.
23. Child
Though she was no older than Tobe, Loesia was a very pretty young lady and Tobe felt lucky to know her.
24. Now
Like Ol' Alvik, Lady Kel expected her orders to be followed immediately, but unlike the mean man, she never beat the boy if he delayed, creating a fierce loyalty in him.
25. Shadow
All the attacks on Haven by the Scanrans were very disheartening, but them killing machines were the worst.
26. Goodbye
"Aye, Milady Mother," Tobe said, "I guess if you go away, you're prolly comin' back."
27. Hide
When the attacks began, Tobe's instincts told him to steal away… far away.
28. Fortune
Tobe was lucky to make it to Fort Mastiff alive.
29. Safe
"Lady!" Tobe cried, wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his face in her nightshirt.
30. Ghost
Loesia's face was blank and pale after she killed her Scanran; Tobe tried to comfort her, but Lady Kel said she'd probably see the Scanran man's face for the rest of her life.
31. Book
By the time New Hope was running smoothly, Tobe had read a whole book, from cover to cover.
32. Eye
During lessons, Tobe felt like Lady Kel's eyes were always on him, observing everything he did, especially since she'd adopted him legally.
33. Never
"I've never seen anything like it," Tobe said as he and Lady Kel gazed at the spectacular sight that was the sprawling city of Corus.
34. Sing
"What do you expect, you're growing up," Lady Kel said at Tobe's surprise and embarrassment when his voice broke in the third stanza of a song about ponies.
35. Sudden
Tobe had known Loey for five years, but coming back to New Hope, he unexpectedly saw her in a different light.
36. Stop
Tobe's heart seemed to cease beating when he saw Loey's silhouette through her worn cotton dress as she worked in the field.
37. Time
Days and weeks blended together for Tobe when he was at New Hope; the young man was happy.
38. Wash
Tobe leaned down over the streamlet, scrubbing his clean-shaven face; Lady Kel teased him about the whiskers he shaved off every day.
39. Torn
When Lady Kel went back to Mindelan for awhile, Tobe was hard-put to decide whether to stay in New Hope or go with his adoptive mother.
40. History
"I'm beginning to feel old," Lady Kel said as she talked to a clerk who wanted to interview her about her part in the Scanran war for a historical book he was writing.
41. Power
Tobe had always felt a connection with horses, but he'd never known it was magic; mastering his wild Gift was a fun challenge for the young man.
42. Bother
Tobe sometimes wished that he could run with the herd, without being confined to annoyances such as clothes and walls.
43. God
"Someone was watching out for us," Lady Kel said, examining the fallen enemies.
44. Wall
Tobe watched Lady Kel ride back into New Hope, waving animatedly from atop the wall.
45. Naked
The quiet streamlet proved to be a favorite bathing spot, and not just for Tobe; Loey squeaked when she saw him and pulled her dress back up to her throat.
46. Drive
Loey had not spoken to Tobe since he'd seen her at the streamlet, but now she kissed him with so much passion that he thought he might just explode.
47. Harm
He hadn't meant to do anything to Loey, but soon her belly curved gently downward beneath too-tender breasts; she was undeniably pregnant.
48. Precious
When Tobe held his son in his hands for the first time he thought he'd break the dear tiny infant if he moved too suddenly.
49. Hunger
When they were apart, Tobe yearned to be with his family, with Loey and the baby, and with Lady Kel and the blue-eyed sergeant she'd married.
50. Believe
Watching the tenderness that Loey exhibited with their second son, the same tenderness that Lady Kel had with her new daughter, Tobe would never again believe that his own mother could have abandoned him out of hatred; he loved his child and he knew deep down that his mother had loved him too.
