Disclaimer: Welps I don't
own Tamora Pierce, and/or any song that happens to appear okay? ^-^
WTL: HEY!!!!! IT'S ME
AGAIN!!!!! And The Prayer was sung my Celine Dion from Quest For Camelot…
Li: of course being the
idiot she is she forgot to write that into her story…
WTL: :sigh: must we
continually insult each other?
Li: yes…
WTL: okay, then at least
let me get the story started, oh and I met midwinter, you know like Christmas!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Midwinter
Masquerade
Three days later,
Briar, noon…
Briar looked ahead into the distance where he could see
Discipline Cottage, looking serene as ever in the clear sunshine. He could see a young boy playing with a big
dog, running back and forth just like he had done not to long ago. Fiddling with his clothes, he smoothed out
his dark brown cloak, and smooth white shirt. He thought of what Sandry would say to his actually wearing clothes that
looked decent, then his eyes gray-green eyes darkened in confusion at the
thought of Sandry. Two nights ago he
had told her he loved her, but he wasn't sure if Sandry had really understood
him, that he loved her as more then just a friend. Did she mean that she loved him as a friend, or more? Shaking his head he turned to Evvy, "So how
do you like your first glimpse of Discipline?"
She looked at him, face amazed. "It's wonderful! It looks so
comfortable! And I can't wait to meet
the famous Sandry!" Rosethorn turned to
give them a rare smile, they were all excited about coming, and were anxious to
see if anything had changed. Finally
reaching the cottage each of the three mages dismounted giving their reins to
the guards who had accompanied them to the cottage, waving farewell to them
Rosethorn unlatched the gate and marched up to Pasco who was staring at them.
"Boy! Yes I am talking to
you. Pay attention when someone talks to you!" Rosethorn rebuked him as his
glance had wandered to Evvy.
"Dedicate Rosethorn?"
(Pasco)
"Who did you expect? Now
where is Lark, boy?" (Rosethorn)
"She's in her workroom."
(Pasco)
With that Rosethorn swept off, leaving Pasco extremely
bewildered. Briar and Evvy shared a
grin, before Briar stepped up. "Don't worry you'll get used to her. As Lark
once told me, 'Her bark is worse then her bite'"
"Are you Briar? Briar Moss?" (Pasco)
Before Briar could reply a blond and red whirlwind came
running out of the cottage, shrieking, "BRIAR! BRIAR!!!! YOU'RE FINALLY HERE!"
Without a second thought the noble launched herself at him,
engulfing him in an enthusiastic hug. Hugging her back, he realized just to what extent he had missed
her. Finally pulling out of the tight
embrace, he tapped her little nose and smirked, "So you did miss me! Awww…. I
didn't know you cared!"
"Of course I cared! Besides
now Pasco and I don't have to keep dusting Rosethorn's workshop." With that she
turned towards Evvy and gave her a hug too. When the girl pulled away stiffly, she just raised a refined blond
eyebrow, shrugging she turned towards Pasco.
"Pasco you go help Briar
get his things to the room you two now share, while I show Evvy up to our
room." Giving Sandry a mock salute
Pasco grabbed Briar's bags and ran inside while Briar and Sandry sauntered
slowly behind, followed closely by Evvy. On entering the house they saw that Rosethorn and Lark had just finished
welcoming each other, and now Lark came to greet Briar and Evvy with warm
hugs. Then Pasco came prancing out of
Briar's old room calling, "Oh Lady Sandrilene! I think it's time to go to my
dancing lessons with Yazmin or whom I more fondly call, the little monster!"
"Oh Pasco! I forgot to tell
you, Yazmin is visiting some friends right now, so she told me to tell you to
practice by yourself as she will be gone for about a month." (Sandry)
"Oh alright." Sighing Pasco
headed off, and Sandry led Evvy into her room. Following their lead Briar entered the door that he had entered for
almost three whole years of his life. On entering the room he let out a sigh of homecoming. It was a little different now, but it still
had the feeling of a safe haven for Briar. Before doing any unpacking Briar placed his beloved shakkan on the
windowsill. Home wasn't home until his
shakkan was placed on its familiar worn brown windowsill. Whistling as he worked he didn't notice the
audience that stood in his doorway. Sandry and Evvy stood in the doorway giggling at him, at lwast they had
become friends.
"What are you laughing at?"
(Briar)
"You look like you just got
in a fight with a bull!" (Evvy)
And he did too. His
black hair stood up in every which way, and there were smudges of dirt all over
his clothing and his body. His "nice"
white shirt was half tucked in, and half un-tucked, his pants had somehow
gotten ripped, ad all in all, he looked a mess. Putting a scowl on his face he was about to say something angry,
but it was ruined by his tripping and falling flat in his face, which made her
friends laugh even harder. Giving in
Briar joined in with the laughter that seemed to fill the house.
Later that night…
Everybody sat together in the main room, fire danced
flickering back and forth in the fireplace chasing the chill of the winter wind
away. Everything was comfortable, as
the various people in the room bent over their different projects.
Malachi sat, frowning in concentration, at his sketchpad,
beside him was Katei concentrating on the hefty pad of paper in front of her,
the fire flickering over their faces, since they sat directly in front of
it. Evvy and Pasco were laying on their
bellies facing each other over a chess board, playing an intense game, Pasco
losing drastically to the girl with rock magic. Off to the right of the fireplace Rosethorn sat at her table
facing the wall, her pen scratching over the paper on which she was writing the
letter with, Lark behind her the spinning wheel spinning nonstop as a perfect
white string came out of tufts of wool. In the corner opposite them sat Tris curled up comfortably head in hand
as she absorbed herself in her book, Little Bear at her feet snoozing
comfortably. Across the room in her
corner sat Daja, Kirel, and Frostpine hunched over a design of something or
other, muttering back and forth. In
between Daja and Tris, sat Sandry who was using her old green drop spindle,
eyes squinting at the shimmery cloth she was spinning. Briar sat close beside her memorizing a
potion that could be used to relieve stress and anxiety. Niko completed the scene as he paced around
the whole room weaving in and out between the people in the room, murmuring
something or other, hands repeating the same motions over and over.
Sandry grinned as she finally finished spinning the unique
glittery thread that she needed for a special project, carefully winding it up
she placed it in her workbasket. Then
getting up to stretch, she glanced around the room smiling at the picturesque
scene, then glancing at Rosethorn writing at her table, she let out a little
yelp and went flying into her room. Once inside she grabbed a stack of creamy white envelopes, and then
headed back out to the main room. Ignoring
the bewildered look she was receiving, she handed a white envelope to everyone
one in the room, except Little Bear of course. As she walked around she started to talk.
"Lady Inoulia was just
visiting, and she talked Uncle into having a ball. It's to be the day right after Midwinter."
"This ball is to celebrate
Midwinter?" (Niko)
"Yes, and it is to be a
masquerade. He is inviting everyone,
and intends to not leave one single person out. Everyone in the temple city :glance at Lark and Rosethorn:, and
the Street Guard :glance at Pasco: are invited, not to mentions nobles from all
over the world that he somehow knows." (Sandry)
"Would we have to wear
finery, and things like that?" (Briar)
"Yes, Lady Inoulia insists,
and she insists on doing the thing where all the nobles walk down the Grand
Staircase. Pasco you are going to be
introduced too, so you better find someone to walk down that big staircase with
you. It's supposed to be less
frightening that way." (Sandry)
"ME?! WHY ME?! I'M NOT A
NOBLE!" (Pasco)
"Lady Inoulia insists,
since you are my student." Then in one fluid movement she turned to face
everyone, a pleading look on her face, hands in a beseeching position. "Please
go, please! I'll feel so lonely, and bored if you don't go!"
Everyone in the room looked at her, looked at each other,
back at her, and then back at each other. Then they all broke out in a tumult of sentences.
"Of course!"
"I'd love too!"
"Wouldn't miss it for the
world!"
"Besides, I wanna see
what these 'nobles' are really like!" (Daja)
"I wouldn't pass up the
chance of eternal teasing!" (Briar)
"I just wanna see Briar
dance!!!!" (Tris)
"Thank you." (Sandry)
"No problem!" (Briar,
Daja, Tris)
After a couple of minutes people started to leave, until
finally Sandry was the last one in the room. Feeling confined she grabbed her cloak, her workbasket, and headed up to
the roof. Sighing in relief as the cool
fresh air washed over her, she carefully pulled out the green cloth that she
had been secretly weaving for the last couple of weeks. After finally finishing all her other
Midwinter gifts she had started to work on this special gift for Briar. Reaching into her workbasket she pulled out
the thread she had finished earlier that night. It was a green-silver that shimmered with an inner light, sturdy
and light, it was perfect for embroidering the cloak with. Threading her needle she carefully smoothed
the half finished cloak over her lap, all that was left to was the intricate
threadwork that she would use the special thread for. Right as she was about to pierce the cloth with her needle, a
curly brown head popped out of the opening in the roof. Katei scrambled out to sit near Sandry. They sat in silence for awhile before Katei
said, "I come here when I feel lonely, and sing. Do you mind if I sing?"
"Of course not! Your voice
is beautiful!"
"Thank you. Before I left,
my mother taught me an old love ballad that had been passed down among the
generations of women in my family. Whenever I sing it I feel that much closer to my family." (Katei)
Then as if following a silent cue, Katei's voice filled the
air. Her voice was lovely, rich and clear, ringing out like chimes in the wind,
and her magic just helped the effect, making an ethereal music that seemed to
twine and twist around her voice. As
her song rang through the clear night air, Sandry's mind became filled with
thoughts of Briar.
Did you ever love
somebody,
So much that the Earth
moved,
Did you ever love
somebody,
Even though it hurt too.
Before Briar had left with Rosethorn, he had told Sandry that
he was going to find a cloak. Not just
any cloak, this one would be special. It would be a dark forest green, embroidered with as many different
shades of green as was possible, and there would be one single thread that simmered
with a gray-green light embroidered into the whole thing. It would be a cloak worthy of a plant mage.
Did you ever love
somebody,
Nothing else your heart
could do,
Did you ever love
somebody,
Who never knew.
Over the year Briar and Sandry had kept up their
correspondence and with each letter she kept falling deeper and deeper in
love. When it came time to start
Midwinter presents she had secretly mailed Rosethorn a letter, asking if Briar
still had the same old brown cloak. When she replied that yes, he still had the same cloak Sandry set to
work.
Did you ever lay your
head down,
On the shoulder of a
good friend,
And then had to look
away somehow,
Had to hide the way you
felt for them.
While she worked on all the other projects for everyone else,
she researched different patterns, and put them all together into one, so that
she ended up with the perfect design. Going to Lark and Crane, she had asked them for every different shade of
green they could find, that was a die. For days afterward her hands had been stained with greens from various
dieings. Finally all the thread she
needed was ready and all the other presents were finished.
Have you ever prayed the
day would come,
You'd hear them say they
felt it too,
Have you ever loved
someone who never knew.
Sandry spent days weaving the cloth for the cloak. It would be warm in the winter, cool in the
summer, and repel water. As she weaved,
memories of Briar ran through her head. The time she had seen him crying from the pain of cutting his shakkan,
the time when he had volunteered to "nick" a jacket, just so she could study
the embroidery, and the times he had tweaked her braids just so she would be
frustrated.
I did,
You did,
Well you know I'd
understand,
I could,
I would,
More then anybody can.
Finally Sandry started embroidery the cloak. She knew Lark suspected something, but Lark
had never asked and she had never deigned to explain. Days passed, and the day Briar first contacted them she had
finished most of the cloak. That night
she had just started spinning the "special" thread, and it had taken her three
days to finish.
Did you ever love
somebody,
So much that the Earth
moved,
Did you ever love
somebody,
Even though it hurt too.
Sandry glanced down at the cloak. She had been using her magic to embroider, and had managed to
complete about a third of the work. Deciding it was enough for that night she carefully folded up the cloak
up, and tucked it safely into her workbasket. Wiping a solitary tear off her cheek she wrapped her cloak closer around
her, warding away the chill.
Did you ever love
somebody,
Nothing else your heart
could do,
Did you ever love
somebody,
Like I love you,
Did Briar only lobe her as a dear friend or more? Did he care for her the way she did him?
Would she ever be able to tell him her true feelings? Sighing she got up,
putting a hand briefly Katie's shoulder she quickly entered her room, and
quietly got ready for bed. As she lay
her head on her pillow, she heard the last few noted of Katie's song, and fell
asleep to the image of Briar's twinkling gray-green eyes.
Like I love you.
Briar turned over
in his sleep, a sweet voice rang through his head, and a familiar blue-eyed
face entered his dreams, generating a smile from him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WTL: Well… so there is the
next part, and I'm sorry if you guys couldn't tell it was a part story… by the
way the song is Jessica Simpson, Did You Ever. It's a really nice song… R&R