A/N: Sorry it took me longer than I thought to update.
Disclaimer: All the characters in this fic are Tamora's work. Any miniscule OCs are mine though.
Mid-October,
Pirates
Swoop,
Barony of George Cooper;
in the 13th year of reign
of
Jonathan IV and Thayat, his Queen
452 H. E. (Human Era)
Chapter 11
Excitedly the twins rushed back to the main hall. They ran over to where Thom was standing in the center of the room, trencher in hand, looking confused.
"Where have Ma and Da gone? And where did you just come from?"
Alan started to explain but Aly shook her head firmly. "We'll tell you on the way."
"You want what?!"
"Oh just a small listening spell. I'm sure you could use some Yamani whisper magic to expand Ma's spell to include you, too," Aly stated casually.
"There must be a reason that they're using the spell. Something we're not supposed to hear." Thom rubbed his forehead, wishing he was back at the City of the Gods University. Whenever he was on leave something seemed to happen to make life more confusing.
"But it has to do with Granda! They said he was hurt," Alan pleaded with a quivering lower lip.
Thom pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to think up a suitable argument. He wanted to know what happened to Granda, too. Finally he looked at his siblings in defeat.
"Alright but I'm warning you. Ma might feel me breach the spell and if that's the case then you will be the ones taking the blame."
Aly and Alan nodded solemnly. Thom concentrated on the spell, whispering in Yamani phrases and the air around him swirled and then some violet sheen seemed to cover him completely. Distantly he hear Aly.
"…Nice trick, Allllaaaaaannnn….."
Then he saw her lips continue to move but heard nothing but-
"Myles will have to stay here, darling. He can watch the children. That will also keep him out of the attack's range. Don't tell the twins, though. They shouldn't worry Thom should stay here until the fuss is over. A place like the City of the Gods would surely know about this attack."
"But he has to learn magic. They may even call on a few students to help in the war effort. He will have to learn sometime. In fact, I think he has just learnt enough of it by listening in on us."
"But the listening spell," Eda insisted.
"Care to explain, Thom?" Alanna had a twinkle in her voice.
"The twins were curious!" he stated defensively. "I was only providing a service. Alan is terribly distraught over Granda's injury."
"Which he wouldn't have known about if he hadn't listened in to out conversation," George noted.
"True," Thom admitted, "but they have a right to know when their Granda and even their parents are in danger."
"You won't tell them," Eda growled. The short statement was full of silent threats.
"It would do nothing but worry them," Coram chipped in.
"Fine." Thom agreed, knowing that the adults were right. "But I warn you; Aly has a big ear and she'll find out about this- one way or another. She may even interrogate me to find out what was said. You know she is that curious. I would like a guard at my side at all times," he stated seriously.
"Ha ha." George grinned. "Block his speech so he can't breath a word of it to anyone."
Alanna looked at her husband as if he were dense. "There are ways around that!" she said, as if stating the obvious. "I'll just put a spell on you so that if you're about to tell anything about this- verbally or in any other form of communication- including mental, you'll forget what you were about to say, write, think, and so forth. You'll still have the memory but you won't able to communicate it to anyone."
Thom sighed. "I suppose that is the best I could hope for."
Alanna grinned at her son and concentrated on the one eye she could see. It was one of the quickest ways to the brain and would make the magic easier. After she was finished she looked at him in satisfaction. "Now go and have your breakfast and try to calm down. You'll be on your way to the university by midmorning tomorrow so pack up what you'll need to take with you."
Thom nodded hazily and mumbled something incoherently. He walked out of the violet magic and didn't bother to end the spell. When human flesh had left the area it had closed the extra pocket of magic. What he didn't see was that his sister had been poking the violet wall and her finger went through right as he left the mist-wall. After taking one look at her brother's face she knew he wouldn't be able to tell her anything but his face showed it must be something important. She stepped into the mist.
"Do you think the twins will guess what is going on?"
"I hope not. For their own good. We shouldn't worry them. Myles should be able to distract them. Now let's go onto breakfast before someone else listens in on us."
"I'll show you where you will reside while you're here, Master Shang Wildcat," Coram said respectfully.
Aly stepped out of the violet fold, letting the mist dissipate behind her. Alan stood in front of her curious because of the feeling his sister were sending off in waves.
"Something is for certain. Something is going on and the only person who can and will tell us is Granda."
"We're going to visit him?" Alan asked excitedly.
"Either that or he's going to visit us."
A/N: This was very long and sorta boring in a way but I wanted to give you all some interesting info while still concentrating on the siblings and their interaction with their parents. :) Until next time! Please press that pretty button on the bottom of the screen. The more people who review, the quicker I'll update.