A/N: Sorry it's been so long! Enjoy!
Chapter 7
The next morning, Briar woke first, smiling widely. He glanced down to see Talia's pale blond hair spread out over his chest. He reached up to stroke it lightly, and she looked up at him a minute later, blue eyes twinkling as she smiled sleepily.
"Morning, love," Briar said softly.
"Morning," Talia replied.
He pulled her up so their lips met. "Did you sleep well?" He grinned impishly, knowing she hadn't gotten much sleep at all.
She grinned and used her hands as a pillow for her chin on his chest. "Fine, you?"
"Better than fine. Where did you learn to pick locks? I thought only thieves and spies could do that." He stroked her long hair, pushing it out of her face.
She didn't say anything, but continued to smile at him, and she flushed a little. "Thief or spy?" Briar asked, laughing.
"I grew up on the streets of the city, until I was thirteen. I learned all sorts of things, like picking locks and picking pockets, when I needed to."
"You? On the streets? No way."
"Honest," Talia replied, smiling.
"And what happened when you were thirteen?"
"There was a woman near where I used to sleep who gave me odd jobs in exchange for food sometimes. One night, she sent men out to find me and bring me to her. She had a mage put a collar around my neck and told me I was a slave now, and I had to do everything she said. In return, I would get a safe place to sleep and regular meals."
"How'd you end up at the pens?" he began to ask, but suddenly felt his sisters in his mind.
Briar? Have you seen Talia? That was Sandry, and it looked like she was carrying a few dresses in her arms. She's not in her room.
I think he's seen her, all right, Daja said, and Briar heard the smile in her mind-voice.
"Get dressed," he told Talia, who raised her eyebrows at him.
"This is how you treat your lovers?" she asked him half-jokingly as she got out of the bed and pulled on her discarded nightgown.
"The girls know you're in here," Briar said.
"But…how?" Talia asked. Her hands froze on the buttons of her gown.
Briar pulled on a pair of trousers and fastened them before going over to her. "We have a mind-connection," he said as he did up the rest of her buttons. "We can speak to each other through our minds," he elaborated when Talia just looked dumbstruck.
"How…what? How is that possible?"
"Long story short, when we were ten, we got trapped in an earthquake and Sandry wove our magics together, and that's how it happened. Go away!" he yelled just before there was a knock on his door.
"Oops! Sorry," Sandry called back. "Just tell her we'd like to see her, all right?"
"Fine, fine," Briar replied. He turned back to look at Talia. "They're gone. You can go up now." His mouth dropped open. "Talia?" He looked around, but she wasn't there. He even looked under his bed and in his wardrobe, but there was no sign of her. It was then that he noticed the door to his garden was open.
He grinned and went to look outside. Of course, she wasn't there. He shut the door quietly and proceeded to get ready for the day.
xXx
Talia had already changed from her nightgown and into one of her two dresses when there was a knock on the door. After taking a huge breath, she opened the door. Sandry, Daja and Tris were all standing outside.
"Can we come in?" Sandry asked. "I brought the clothes I made for you." Talia stood aside, and they all came in. "I'm pretty sure they'll fit, but you should try them on just so I can be sure," Sandry was saying, and she laid the shirts, breeches, and a couple dresses on the bed. When Talia didn't move, Sandry waved a hand at her. "Well, go on."
With raised eyebrows, Talia did as she was told, feeling that this wasn't the reason they were really here. "So tell us about your childhood," Sandry said while Talia changed.
"I was a slave," Talia replied when her head was through the top of the dress.
"Before you were a slave, I meant," Sandry said. She said the word 'slave' as if it were 'dung' or something equally repulsive. "You weren't one all your life, were you?"
"No. I lived in the city for as long as I could remember. A street rat." She wasn't ashamed of it like she probably should have been. But if Briar didn't care, neither would she.
The girls looked surprised. Sandry was the first to recover. "That dress looks nice on you. It doesn't need to be altered at all."
"I know that all three of you didn't need to be here while I tried on my dresses," Talia finally said softly. She didn't want to offend them or anything. "What's going on?"
The three women looked at each other a bit sheepishly. Even Tris didn't look like her usual fierce self. "Well, we wanted to speak with you about…well, about Briar," Sandry said.
"I know you warned me away from him," Talia began, but Daja interrupted her.
"That's not what we wanted to talk about," she said.
"Well, not about us warning you away from him," Tris interjected. "More about what you're going to do."
Talia felt herself blushing, and looked down. "I had figured on taking it one day at a time," she said truthfully.
"I don't think you're doing this just because of who he is," Sandry said firmly. "So I'm not worried about that. What I am worried about is how you think we see you. I don't want you to think we think less of you for being…"
"Briar's lover?" Tris supplied, and Sandry nodded through the flush on her cheekbones.
"Exactly. Thank you. We think it's wonderful."
"Are you sure you're not just speaking for yourself, Lady Sandry?" Talia raised a brow as she looked at Daja and Tris.
Daja smiled. "She's not. I may not have used the term 'wonderful,' but the emotion is the same. It's about time Briar found someone serious." She muttered the last sentence, but everyone else still heard her.
Talia blushed and tried to hide her smile. "I don't know what to say."
"I just have one thing to say," Tris said, and Talia looked over curiously. "If you hurt him in some way, we will hurt you. He doesn't deserve that from anyone."
Sandry and Daja nodded once, but they smiled. It was the smiles that frightened Talia the most. She believed they could hurt her if they wanted.
"Have a good day, Talia," Daja said, and she and Tris left the room.
"Those dresses are spelled against wrinkles, tears and dirt," Sandry said. "Thank you for speaking to us."
"Did I really have a choice?"
Sandry smiled. "Not really." The two women shared a smile, and Sandry left the room.
The day passed rather quickly, to Talia. She had lessons from Briar before lunch, and went to the market with Daja and Tris before coming home to eat dinner. After dinner, Briar was giving her more lessons, and Tris asked her up to her room.
"I have a book I think you'll like," the redhead said, handing over a large volume.
"Thank you," Talia said, cradling the book close to her body. She didn't want to do anything to hurt it. "I'll take good care of it."
Tris smiled a little. "I hope so. I don't lend out my books. Go on downstairs. Briar wants to speak with you."
"Thank you again, Tris," Talia said, and left. She put the book on her bed to read later, and then continued downstairs to where Briar was waiting.
"Come outside with me," he said, looking around.
"Looking for your sisters?" Talia asked, laughing as he took her hand to drag her outside. "I thought they could hear you…mind-to-mind?"
"Only when I don't close myself off," he replied, smiling as he took her in his arms to kiss her. "I've hardly gotten you to myself all day," he replied when they parted.
"I've been learning magecraft," she retorted, grinning. "My teacher says I must."
"What a stuffy old teacher," Briar said, lowering his head to kiss Talia's neck.
"I don't know. I kind of like him."
She could feel Briar's smile against her skin. "Are you spending the night with me again?" he asked softly.
"Your sisters know," Talia reminded him.
"And I believe I heard them say they thought it was 'wonderful,' and it was about time I found someone serious."
Talia shook her head, smiling. "You were listening?"
"Of course. I couldn't not listen. How'd you manage to get back into your room without them seeing you?"
"It wasn't that hard. I climbed up the stairs after I went in through the kitchen door." Her sarcasm made Briar grin.
"Clever." He tweaked her nose. "What do you say? Do I have to persuade you again?"
She shook her head and reached up to kiss him. "No, you don't have to persuade me," she murmured against his lips, and felt him smile as his arms pulled her closer, as if she could sink into his skin.
The next morning, Talia woke before dawn and smiled at Briar, lying next to her with his arm slung over her waist, holding her to him even in sleep. "Briar?" she whispered.
"Mm?"
"I have a question."
"What, love?" He still didn't open his eyes.
"Why did you buy me?" He didn't reply for a moment. His eyes were closed, features relaxed like he was still sleeping.
"Because I loved you the moment I saw you." The second the final words were out of his mouth, his eyes shot open in horror. Talia was looking back at him, wide-eyed.
A/N: I'm uploading multiple chapters, so enjoy the treat! :D Love to all, Sarah
