A/N: Don't own anything by Tamora Pierce.

Sam walked into the dining room where his sister was waiting, they greeted each other and then sat down and waited for their father and his knight master to join them. They did shortly, walking in briskly heads down deep in discussion. Sam and Sarra rose for the prayer and sat down to eat, there was little talk through the meal except for the two adults' hushed voices. Sam tried to listen but his thoughts kept drifting to Daine and her possible relation to their family. The meal went quickly and when it was over and the servants had cleared the table, Sam walked over to his father, bowing then asking for a moment of his time in private when he had the chance.

Lord Thomas looked at his oldest son with confusion, his children usually didn't come to him to speak in private unless it was serious, so something had to be going on. "Of course, let me finish up with Sir Gavin and then I'll have you summoned to my office." Sam nodded, thanked him, and then bowed again before walking away.

xxx

A bell later Sam was gathered from his room by his father's chamberlain and led to his office. His father was sitting at his desk writing something, when Sam entered he bowed and stood until his father looked up and motioned for him to sit at a chair on the opposite side of his desk.

"Samuel, what called for the need for a private word? Are you alright?" Lord Thomas was a formal and stern man but he had compassion for his children and Sam was his firstborn and held a special place in his heart. "How can I help you tonight?"

"Father, as I'm sure you are aware, I am friends with Daine the new stable hand, and today we spent some time in the library together, she had the day off and was reading a book about grandmother and grandfather and was very interested in the families history so she looked a bit deeper and discovered the story of grandmothers mysterious illness and came to the same conclusions that I did plus some, that she gave birth to a child by a different man." Sam tried to meet his father's eye but was finding it increasingly hard due to the fact that his father's face had been wiped of all emotions and his jaw was clenching and unclenching. "That in the summer of 417 she was pregnant and it was impossible to lie and say grandfather was the father, so the actual father raised the child in a nearby village so that grandmother could visit and see the child growing up. You would have been old enough to remember this child. Now here's where Daine comes in, she was raised in a village, Snowsdale, and didn't know any other motherless people, except her own mother. Daine is a bastard, raised by her mother and grandfather, and each never shared who the other parent was. So I was thinking, Daines mother, a bastard, raised in a town near our estate, who grew up without a mother, could be that child. I don't want you to deny or answer any of it, I just wanted you to know what I do, so you can think about it. Thank you for your time father." Sam bowed to his father and went to leave when his father spoke up.

"So you think Daine could be family." Lord Thomas walked to the door of his study, opened the door, and asked his chamberlain to fetch the girl and bring her.

xxx

Daine was sitting in Cloud's stall, using her pony as a backrest as she read the book about the Beneklan family. Daine looked up when she heard quick footsteps heading towards the stall she sat, the man that stood there at the gate was tall and stoic, much like the Lord of the house, he was dark in both skin and features, and he held himself with an air of authority. "You are Veralidaine Sarrasri?" he looked her over with an air of disgust and he slurred her last name like an insult. She was used to the disdain people held for her based solely on her parentage, nodded, and got up, this man wasn't nobility based on his dress, and Daine wasn't going to curtsy to a man so disgusted by her unless she had to. "Follow me miss, my lord wishes to see you in his office." He turned from her and started walking back towards the house, obviously expecting her to follow. Daine walked quickly after the man, he walked fast so Daine had little time to panic over what the Lord might want from her. They reached the office and the man who brought her there knocked and immediately opened the door, Daine could see that not only Lord Thomas was there but also Sam. She curtsied upon entering, the chamberlain who brought her exited and closed the door after he bowed to the lord, Daine looked down at her feet, nervous of what could be coming.

"Veralidaine, Daine, sorry, I have been talking with my son this evening and it seems that we have a lot to discuss. Please take a seat." Lord Thomas motioned towards the chair next to where Sam was sitting, Sam himself looked nervous but not altogether uncomfortable so Daine relaxed a bit and took the seat. "He told me what you talked about, that you are from," he glanced at his son, "Snowsdale, correct?" Daine and Sam both nodded, "Snowsdale is near our estate, only about a bell's ride east, and it has come to my attention that you were raised by a mother who did not know her own, it was just your grandfather, correct?" Daine nodded, "What is her name by chance?"

Daine was getting increasingly more confused but answered none the less, "Sarralyn Beneksri, sir." Lord Thomas froze, Sam looked up at Daine with a surprised look in his eyes, and Daine herself was not feeling any comfort from their reaction. "May I ask sir, what is this about?"

"Daine, I.. don't know how to go about this… is your mother gifted?" Daine nodded, the Lord continued, "And what is the color of this gift?" Daine was feeling very uncomfortable and it wasn't helping that the Lord kept using present tense terms to refer to her mother.

"It was rose-colored sir, mostly she just used it to heal and she was a midwife but m'lord my mother is no longer alive, neither is my grandfather." She knew she had to tell them about her family but the interrogation about her mother was making her panic, why does he need to know all this.

"I am very sorry for your loss Daine, I would have loved to meet your family. The reason I am asking all of this pertains to the conversation you and my son had today. I have come to agree with him. Your mother, I believe based on everything you have said, was my sister. My half-sister that is, the name alone is enough to lead me to that, but everything else is just more confirmation."

Daine was stunned, how could this be, the idea that she was related to the family she worked for was a shock, to say the least. She jumped out of her seat, shoving all forms of respect or appearance of decorum, she started pacing and muttering, trying to see if it could make any sense. The secretive nature of her grandfather when it came to her mother's parentage, even more so than her own mother was. 'I guess it makes sense, granda was shifty when it came up whereas ma laughed it off and said when I was older. Granda never married, and then I said it myself ma was the same age as this mystery sibling, it all lines up, every single thing.' Daine stopped pacing and looked at the two men. "Oh my Gods. You're right, aren't you? I can't be, that means… What does this mean?"

The men looked at eachother, surprised this girl who never really talked, was now blabbering and had thrown all appearances and etiquette where she normally would be quiet and only spoke when spoken to. Lord Thomas regained his composure quickly, "Well Daine, I think since you're family, you should be moved from the stable, you're too old for the convent but we could send you to the estate and have my wife give you some sort of training, then when you are ready we'll have to present you and get you married, or maybe we could betroth you to someone and when the time comes you are of age, then you can be married, you'll be an unconventional wife for sure, but I'm sure we could find someone that isn't too bothered, or maybe someone foreign that isn't as formal as someone from here. I believe I should speak to the king tomorrow and see what he thinks the best course should be. You are fair interesting in your skills with animals, so possibly we can hone that and say it's just in our blood or something. This is something I must sleep on." Lord Thomas began writing a note on a piece of paper, Sam looked like he was going to pass out, and Daine, well Daine was back to pacing, she didn't want to be married, plus shes just the bastard child of some love child between the late Duchess and a commoner, now hes talking of marriage and training to be a lady.

"I am no lady, I'm just some commoner, I am no one, what could you gain from this? Why would you want more children to care for, plus you're in line for the crown, why would you want another claimant? None of this makes sense, and what are you going to tell people, you can't tell them the truth, say I am a long-lost cousin? I was studying in Tortall? I can't just pop up, I should just stay in the stable with the animals doing my thing, so everyone can keep ignoring me, that's how I like it, I'm not a lady to be dressed up and paraded like a show dog." Daine was pacing and wringing her hands, this was not the girl they knew this was a girl in a panic, she didn't know what to do or what was happening.

Lord Thomas slammed his hands on his desk and stood up, "Now calm down and do not take that tone with me little girl, either way, this goes you live in my home and I am in charge of you no matter what, either as my ward or as my servant. Do not overstep again." Daine stopped pacing and stood still, she looked down at her feet, Sam even looked down at his lap, his father was fair but he was still a Duke and he got what he wanted when he wanted, he gave Daine room but she pushed him too far when she started making demands she crossed a line. Lord Thomas would do what he wanted, even if he had to force the poor girl kicking and screaming. "You both can leave now." He waved them off towards the door, and sat back down. The two children bowed and curtsied respectively, and hurried out the door, they didn't want to face the possible wrath of what would happen if they didn't listen.

When they got out of his office, Lord Thomas's chamberlain was waiting, he nodded to Sam and all but ignored Daine, then he went into the office and closed the door on them. Sam and Daine looked at each other and began walking towards the stables. "You know you don't have to walk me back, I'm probably just going to go see Cloud and then go to bed." When Sam didn't turn around to go to his room, she stopped walking, "go on, get to bed, it's not like anything is going to change between now and the mornin." Finally Sam raised his hands in surrender, making Daine let a small smile slip. He nodded and let her go her own way to the stable.

When she got to Cloud's stall she buried her face into her mane and let the tears she had held back fall. Now what is this, you're acting like this is a surprise, you knew something was going on after you talked to the boy, you just didn't expect it to be this dramatic. So you didn't know everything about your ma, it's not the end of the world. Daine sighed, she knew Cloud was right, people have secrets, this isn't so bad.

"But Cloud, I don't want to be a lady, I just want to be me. We could run? No, we can't, I'm safe here, if I left I don't know when the next time would be I'd be safe. They are my family, it's not like I have a lot of that going for me. What do I do Cloud?" Daine had lifted her head to rant at her longtime friend before burying it in her neck again, she didn't like crying and since her family's death Daine had thought she was all cried out, she hadn't cried since the villagers found her.

Don't try to impact what you can't change, go to sleep before you give yourself more issues, for being of the People you are sometimes dumb as a human. Daine sighed and backed away from Cloud, go sleep so I can Cloud gave Daine a head butt that made Daine stumble. Daine laughed at her pony being as crotchety as an old woman. Daine headed to her room, changed into her nightclothes, and crawled into bed, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

xxx

Daine woke up back in that cave, the flare of white silver light that was becoming all too familiar shone at the entrance to the cave admitting the Badger. He waddled over to her before plopping down directly next to her. Now kit, do you see why you have come to this house in particular? Daine tilted her head, Badger was supposed to answer questions not give her more. He noticed her confusion and continued It is no accident that you are here, you met the boy for a reason, you met the girl and her father for a reason, everyone you have crossed has been pushed to get you to this place.

Daine started pacing, "I didn't ask for you to lead me to a new family, I just want my old one back, my real family, I miss my ma, and granda, I don't want all this sarden noble scummer-" Daine was cut off from her rambling when the Badger struck her down, hitting the back of her knees making her fall hard, kit you are overstepping, you are to listen and do what they say, there are greater things at work here than you know. Just know that when the time comes, you are where you should be and with who you need to be. So kit you are going to stay, listen and behave, NO matter what. The Badger growled and huffed now behave kit, I don't want to have to put that much work into humans or with other Gods for a while. The Badger walked to the mouth of the cave and left in a flash of light, leaving Daine alone in the cave. Unlike most times she had these weird not dreams, she was still there for a while, at first, Daine just stayed on the ground but after what felt like hours she got up and paced, she used the time alone to think.

If she was to listen to what the Badger said, she was on the right path, she would get where she needed to be, she would eventually get there even if the road was a bumpy and uncomfortable one. Daine would have to tough it out and someday it will all be worth it, she needed to do this, especially if Gods were involved pushing her to this point. She sighed as she resolved herself to at least the foreseeable future of listening and following orders. And with that, her mind faded to sweet, dreamless sleep.