Hello everyone!
I'm late! My bad!
Sorry it's short.
You people need to learn to nag me a little…Enjoy.

They didn't travel for as long as Baron had expected, but then, they never did. Magical transportation was one perk he had found that he liked. Dusty explained it to him by saying they were really moving much faster in reality then what it appeared to be to them. It meant they walked three hours and could stop since it was the equivalent of having walked all night.

He still hadn't gotten used to it and it made him think of the moving sidewalks in airports.

They'd unpacked again, miles from where they had started from earlier that same night. Everyone took off quickly, doing their part to set up camp again. It seemed like more hassle then it was worth but he had to remind himself that these were all people who had lost their homes once already.

Baron helped Dusty and Ribbon with their things first just to keep him busy. He was getting quickly fed up with Arizona and her boys throwing him glances. He was getting tired of the world in general. It was backwards. Magic should have made a world colorful and sickly sweet and all those other things he'd read in story books when he was little. This was a place that was starting to remind him of a barren desert more and more. One that was just more alive than barren.

"You're looking tense." Haze mused, passing a flask over to Baron to drink from with a good humored smile. "My cousins giving you a hard way to go again?"

Baron grunted and drank before returning it to him. "You must be the only normal one in the family. Those three are way too intense."

"Intense is a good word for it," Haze agreed. "But I don't have their back bone is all. They're in the main branch of our family and I'm rather off to the side. I don't compare,"

"But you're likable." Baron said, laying his blanket out on the ground before stretching out on it. He waved a hand as if offering to let Haze do the same, which he did. "As much as some people don't like it, much of life is a popularity contest. Being a jerk won't get you that far in life. Those three need to pull the sticks from their ass,"

Haze choked back a laugh, pound on his chest for a moment as the liquid from his flask nearly went down the wrong way. "Nicely put." he coughed with a grin, "They just have trouble accepting our circumstances."

"They work for the Raaie and bark when he says speak. They opened that door themselves." Baron said, looking bemused. "Those actions have consequences."

"Yeah." Haze sighed. "It was far from the original plan. See at first they wanted to get in close to gain the Raaie's trust and well...you know. He doesn't know who we are after all."

Baron nodded, picking up one of the fruits Ribbon had given him. "Lavender said that. He was too stupid to know that he'd hired the thieves that gave him all the trouble."

"Not just that." Haze said, voice hushed as if fearing someone would hear. Baron had a suspicion that it was Arizona herself he didn't want to hear him. "We are the Magporisals bloodline. If he knew that, he'd kill us all. It's why I can't stomach the thought of them wanting to kill Dusty and Ribbons twins." He had paled considerably as he spoke. "Sure joint magic is outlawed and it would be a disaster if they were found, but our bloodline would be much worse if discovered."

Baron absorbed the information, but he didn't understand it. "Sorry, you said that before didn't you? What's a Magporisals?"

Haze raised a disbelieving eye.

"What? I wasn't raised on this stuff." Baron smiled wide. "Explain it to me."

With a faint sigh he gestured for Baron to share his fruit and started talking, "There were originally three bloodlines. Magporisals, Tadgitians, and Galhaners. All of them were from a royal ties and one of those three bloodlines was always on the throne. They were always on friendly terms long ago. The Magporisals, our bloodline had strong magic. Bluntly so. We were the warriors of the three bloodlines. The fighters who made sure the people were protected from threats and wars." He paused. "You see where Arizona, Canyon and Shade fit that description where I do not."

"I see them throwing their weight around while you're the bigger person, helping taking care of your large family." Baron said, gesturing to the entire camp. "It's all a matter of perception, my friend.

Haze cleared his throat, flushing faintly in embarrassment as he continued. "The Tadgitians were strong but in a different way. They were a smart and cunning people. They would get outlandish idea's that seemed to be impossible and they would act upon it when no one else could and the people prospered. Their luck and skill were incredible, but it ran out as you could imagine."

"I guess i could." Baron frowned.

"The Galhaners were the last to be in power. They are still in power. They are a force themselves but they were always good at manipulation. Their silver tongues wove lies that went unnoticed for a long time. They were the ones to declare war and destroy what the three bloodlines had built. They sought out power for themselves by killing off the other two bloodlines. We barely escaped but we are the only four remaining family members." He sighed very quietly. "The Tadgitians didn't fare so well. Most of their line was living in just one or two area's. They were very family oriented. Everyone one of them ended up slaughtered or burned during the joint magic raids."

"The raids." Baron muttered, feeling his throat go dry.

"Yes. At first it was meant to only kill one of the twins with joint magic, but they fought violently to protect them. Gave the Galhaners men a horrible battle, and gave the Raaie all the excuse he needed to demand all of them be killed. Really, he was probably just making sure all of the Tadgitians were gone,"

"It sounds horrible." Baron muttered, rubbing his face slowly. So many people died and for what? Being born.

Haze sighed quietly again, "It was very much so horrible, but it's why Arizona is the way she is. She feels the guilt in her veins. Our family able to do nothing. In a blind, unseen attack, our bloodline was ambushed and nearly completely destroyed. She wishes to change that somehow. The three of them signed up to be the Raaie's messengers to attempt to kill him, but it's a suicide mission. No good would come from that. If one of them couldn't take their place on the thrown, it would be a disaster. It's certainly not a position I want."

"I agree with you there." Baron chuckled. "So we've just moved into the line of fire haven't we? We're closer to the Raaie then before?"

"Yep. Probably for just a week or so. It'll give Arizona and the others a chance to kiss up to the Raaie a little and get their weapons sharpened and that sort of thing. They have minimal access to the Sipigo so sometimes they do spend the night there."

Baron practically purred. "Access?"

"Sure. They work for the Raaie and all. They have the same access the servants would." Haze yawned, pulling himself up. "Think I'll head to bed. This moving spell wears me out."

"Sure." Baron chuckled. "I think I might in a while too."

The lie passed through his lips easily enough and he watched Haze stretch and head back to his tent. Everyone seemed to be thinking similarly since there weren't many up still. He on the other hand, felt fine. He got to his feet, ideas playing in his head so rapidly he had to hide his smile of assumed success. It was reckless.

Haze had used the word suicide.

Reckless? A suicide mission? Yes, he could work with that. Why not? Now or never. Do or die. He'd wasted so much time already just to get there.

He got up, doing his best not to race through the camp. "Dusty." He said, sitting down next to the man who eyed him curiously. "A favor?"

"Favor?" Dusty questioned.

"I need to know which way to the Sipigo thing, and how it is that Arizona gets in." Baron said softly, cutting Dusty off before he could get scolded. "This may be my only shot."

For a long moment, Dusty stared him in the eye. A lesser man would have backed down from the gaze in an instant but Baron stared back and Dusty's shoulders finally tightened in defeat. "You know this is a bad idea."

"Yes. I know. But a worse idea is trying nothing. It's killing me to sit here night after night. This is our night." Baron said, knowing that at that moment he would have given anything to feel the other side of his powers again. To see her face. Touch her to make sure she was real. Punch the hell out of her for getting taken in the first place...

"You're not gonna back down from this, are you?" Dusty shook his head, looking back at Baron and taking in the determination of the boy. "You aren't tired from the move?"

Baron blinked, was he really supposed to be? He never had been before. "No."

"Perhaps that's a joint magic gift." Dusty rumbled. "Alright boy. I'll tell you what you want to know, but you better not die, you hear me?"

"Yes sir."

B C D F G H J K L M N P Q R S T V W X Y Z_ A E I O U

F G H J K L M N P Q R S T V W X Y Z B C D_ I O U A E

Thanks for reading.

T-Lynlyn- I'm not sure about angst but the wheels are turning, yes?

Underwater963- thanks for reading!