Author's Note: Okay, so I'm obsessing. A tad. But when I finished my German exam in the first ten minutes, how else was I supposed to spend the next half hour? So...I planned. ^_^ And this is instead of more revision by the way ;)

I'd like to say thanks to fleurchen, who I replied to, and to Karra (a guest). I just wanted to let you know that your thoughts are appreciated.

Disclaimer: I do not own the boys (apart from my boys, who you should be meeting in this chapter), but Gracie is mine and I do not appreciate anyone "borrowing" her without my permission.

Chapter Three

Staring at my appearance in the window (an old woman had trundled down the train not long after we had left the station, and I volunteered my seat), I wondered what exactly people thought about me. My hair was long-ish, and of a muddy blonde colour, as well as being the most irritating thing ever in the morning. This morning I had spent about an hour turning the usual frizzy mess into long straight locks, something I didn't do very often and now I was incredibly glad that I had got up that little bit earlier this morning. I looked nothing like my normal self. My green eyes were devoid of my usual make up (heavy eyeliner with a dark eye shadow), and I felt pretty bare without it.

Fearing the worse for when I had to get home, knowing that I would already be in trouble for being late but the added bonus of having told the Benedict boy that I was staying in Baarn was an incentive to dawdle. I flinched, knowing exactly what was going to happen. I still didn't even know who that woman was, or why she had stared at me. Feeling a harsh knocking on my shields that I still had up, I hesitantly lowered them, wondering who was going to be delivering the bad news.

Grace! Damn. It was Taiko, my mother's favourite and the seventh child of the family - which meant he got an extra dose of Savant. He was also the most vicious of my siblings, and a firecracker next to his younger mild twin brother. Where the hell have you been? You were supposed to be back an hour ago. Wishing that I could just turn around and get on the train, I instead sped up, nodding and smiling hello to the people I passed. He sounded pretty mad, and I really didn't want to get punished for something else. They would always find me. I knew that, and it wasn't worth the risk. Mother really can't wait to see you. Even better, his voice had just got vicious, and I could only imagine the horrible smile on his face.

I got caught behind at uni and missed the train! I protested, but it was rather futile and I knew that no matter what my excuse was, I would still be in trouble.

It took him a moment to reply, he was obviously relaying the information to someone else. Possibly Tenor, but I couldn't be sure. She doesn't care. No! He had been talking to her!

Moving faster until I was running, I headed out of the village until I was among the fields of yellow and green. It wasn't exactly my idea, but we lived a few miles from the village, and it was a horrible distance to cover with my curfew of seven having passed long ago. (My mother was incredibly strict, and though I was twenty-one, I still had to abide by her rules.)I'm almost there! I begged, only to feel his malevolent laugh rush down our mental connection.

I felt dirty. I hated having to talk mentally with my siblings, it always made me feel violated, and I couldn't block them out, or there would be consequences. I shivered though it wasn't that cold, and I felt my skin crawl. He was searching through my day, and when he stumbled onto my meeting with Will Benedict I felt him howl through our connection.

Closing my eyes as I reached the medium sized cottage that we staying in, I had to open them to take in the beauty that surrounded me. The old thatched roof looked really pretty with the white washed walls, and out of the corner of my eye I could see the windmill that we had rented so no one would interrupt us. It was surrounded by fields, and if I turned around I knew I could see Baarn in the distance. Instead of doing that, though, I headed up the worn path and towards my personal hell.

"How very dare you tell him we were in Baarn."A voice hissed, not only out loud but in my mind. There was no way of getting away from this, and I flinched in my chair. I was sitting in the middle seat of a dining table (we had one with enough places for ten people), and felt as though I was in a trial with every single one of my siblings crowded in the room. My mother stood across the table from me, and I felt rather than saw the presence of Taiko and Tenor behind me.

"I thought it was harmless. I didn't know who he was." I whispered, feeling the smugness radiate off of Taiko.

"Taiko." My mother ordered, and I cringed, knowing the extent of his power. He came right up behind me, and rested his hand on my shoulder.

Flinching away from his hand, I cried out, "I didn't tell him my name! I told him I was Mary-Ray Bennett! If he looks to the University, he'll find out that there is one there!"The pulses emanated from Taiko, stronger because he was using physical contact to enhance his power. "Mommy, I'm sorry!" I screamed, the pain feeling like an electric shock that raced through my body, leaving everything it touched burning and aching. Tears sprang to my eyes and I openly sobbed, lurching forwards so that my head was resting on the table in front. A hand gripped my hair, yanking my head back so that I could see my mothers' face. She smiled, a smile that made me feel even worse than I did.

"Stop." Finally, she'd given the order that freed me from my pain. Still, Taiko was vicious, sending an extra shock through my body before he let go of my shoulder, allowing me to slump forward.

"Mommy I'm sorry. I didn't mean to tell him." I begged, tears still leaking from the corners of my eyes.

She raised a hand as if to slap me, and I flinched yet again. "It seems like we need to move again." Her voice was cold, and her eyes did not move from me.