Note: I'm so sorry that its still taking me forever to update. I hope that the people still following this, like the chapter. I really hope I get to finish this soon, it should have been done a long time ago...*sigh* never do I want to loose a whole story ever again... let alone three...

Chapter 10:

"When exactly will I have my property back?"

"Soon... We had to make a few changes but nothing that will hinder us in obtaining him."

"Good. I would greatly enjoy having full use of his potential again. My work has... slowed considerably since that raid."

"Not to worry. He will be back, broken but alive." Jared said with a cold smile.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Do you see them?" Damien asked, eyes scanning the crowd heading towards the gates as they stood off to the side, away from everyone.

:Not yet...: Lan replied, mirrowing Damiens actions.

"I hope they get here soon!" Damien jiggled in place. That was the reason he wasn't currently on Lan's back, he just wasn't able to sit still for longer then a couple of seconds.

His thoughts were split. On the one hand, Lissa was comming back and he obviously couldn't wait to see her again. Instead of a few weeks, it felt like an eternity since he'd last seen her. That was how dependant Damien had become on Lissa. She had been his first firend. The first person he'd actually began to trust, to not keep guarded around.

On the other hand, there was Levi.

And that just summed everything up. Lissa had been the first, but Levi had been the second. In such a short amount of time, Damien opened himself up to Levi.

Levi.

Levi.

Levi.

Damien had never ever felt like this for anyone before. Not ever. There was just something about Levi that Damien couldn't ignore.

The kiss they had shared suddenly poped into his head, and Damien couldn't hold back the blush, or the way his heart pattered in his chest.

Then saddness set in. Levi had left and Damien wasn't sure when he'd see him again.

:I think they're here.:

"Where?!" Damien immediatly began twisting his head back and for, trying to locate her.

"Damien! Lan!" Lissa's yell had Damien turning back to the right where he finally spotted his friend heading for them.

As soon as Lissa got close enough to them, she practically threw herself out of the saddle and into Damien's arms.

Lucky for her, Damien figured that she would do something like that, and caught her with no trouble at all.

"I missed you guys!" She let go of Damien with a laugh, then wrapped her arms around Lan's neck. "And I've got presents for the both of you!" Lissa let go of Lan and reached into one of the bags while Damien and Lan greeted Fiona back.

Like Lissa had given Lan a hug, Damien gave her Companion one. "How was the trip? Did anything interesting happen on the way there or back?"

"Not really, but then again I didn't really go that far away from Haven. If I'd gone a little bit farther then we might have run into something but even then I doubt it." Lissa replied, grinning up at Damien as she found what she was looking for. She placed the oat cake right underneath Lan's nose and the Compainon immediatly ate it, not even letting a single crumb to fall on the ground. "My mother made those and I knew you'd love some Lan! And I got this for you, Damien. I hope you like it! Do you have the groat I told you to have?"

Damien nodded, reaching into his pants pocket and taking out the groat. Lissa then handed him a canvas wrapped package, swipping the groat out of Damien's outstretched hand at the same time and placing it into her own pocket.

For a second, Damien just stared at the package before slowly unwrapping it. A hilt appeared first, then the sheath. "It's beautiful!" Carefully, Damien pulled the knife out of its sheath and eyed the steel. "Wait, this is the knife that I was looking at in the market... When did you get it?"

Lissa grinned, seeing the awe on Damien's face and finding it endering. "That same day, I just waited until you turned your back to buy it."

"Your the best! But wasn't it too much?" Damien asked, feeling a little guilty now. He'd seen the pricetage on it and it had been pretty steep. At least for him it had been.

Lissa smiled gently at him. "Of course it wasn't. It fits you and I wanted you to have it. Come on, lets get going. I'm going to drop my things off in my room. Let's get food after?"

Damien couldn't hold back the smile from his own face. "Alright. I'll help carrying the bags."

The group made its way back the the Collegium. The two Companions splitting from them after Damien took the packs off of Fiona's back. Damien handed Lissa the lighter one and they both headed into the Collegium. Within moments they'd left their burdens just inside Lissa's room and found their way into the dinning area.

Luckily, the cooking staff had started leaving food out for the Trainee's that would be getting back throughout the week. There were things like cold cut meats, breads, cheese, and other's that didnt really need to be warmed up so that they could just be left there with just a cover. Even a few pies. There were signs that that pile had been severly demolished already and the staff hadn't renewed the stash just yet.

The two friends took two pies each then ammbled over to the other side of the table, made sandwiches, and grabbed two mugs of water before sitting in one of the out of the way tables. The place wasn't bustling with Trainee's but it also wasn't empty and Damien still tended to avoid large crowds. He didn't know when that adversion would end, but he was getting better and that's all that mattered.

After a few bites, Lissa placed the sandwich back down, and eyed Damien with a smirk. "Who is she?"

And Damien couldn't help but blush, the corner of his mouth turning up in a shy smile. "Not a she."

Lissa's eye's widdened in surprise. "Oh really? Well, who is he? And what's he like? Is he a Bard? A Healer? Does he have a Companion? When did you meet him? Can I meet him? What's he look like? Is he handsome? Tall? What's he sound like? Is he nice? How old is he? Does he talk a lot? Is he a foreigner? Diplomat?"

Damien couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed with Lissa's rapid fire questions, but as soon as the girl stopped talking long enough to take a breath, Damien started to answer them. "His name is Levi, and I met him a week ago..."

A/N: Sorry its short! I just wanted to get back into writing this. I'll try to update in a week or two and the chapter should be a lot longer.

And sorry for any spelling mistakes. My laptop has no spell check, and the one on here isn't checking it either DX.