Ch. 7
AN: yay! Thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate those! I decided to only post some of what I've written at a time, so that even if I don't get a chance to write anything, I'll be able to post something, so here you go! Oh, and btw, I almost got arrested doing my modeling thing…hmm…scary security guards and malicious movie theater employees…erugh. Back to the story…..
The journey home was long and tedious. The healer did his best to mend all broken bones, but Briar was still sore and bruised. Sandry, of course, could not be healed. No one had, as of yet, figured it out.
The group was almost to Summersea. They only had one more day of riding left. Briar and Sandry had made it a habit to sleep close to each other, as both were still haunted by dreams, and Sandry, especially, would often wake up screaming. That night, in particular, Sandry felt watched. She moved her bag closer to Briar's sleeping form. She wondered if she would ever sleep. She glanced up at the stars, watching the world slowly turn 'I think I love him. I've never felt this way before… not even about Dalton of Rock Island. I'm only 16. Can a 16 year old be in love?' And as her contemplations followed in a similar fashion, sleep finally overcame her, and her eyes closed.
Briar woke at a shout. Someone had found Zareen lurking in nearby underbrush, doing who-knew-what. Briar never found out what had become of Zareen; no one ever said anything about it. Sandry slept until they were almost ready to leave. Briar had watched her the whole morning, reveling in the small smile, pretending it was for him. In fact, it was; Sandry had been dreaming of Briar the whole night. When it was finally time to leave, Sandry held tightly onto Briar's hand. Slowly, the road began to look familiar. Briar and Sandry reached ahead with their magic.
::Daja! Tris! We're almost there!:: a squeal issued forth in the form of a gray cloud and hot metal.
::We can't wait to see you! Are you ok?:: Tris was almost caring.
::Sure, we'll make it:: Briar's voice lost some of it's enthusiasm as he gazed at Sandry's bruised and battered body.
::You expect us to believe that, thief boy?::
::Always sarcastic, aren't you Daja?:: The chaffing between friends continued until they groaned to a stop in front of a sparkling new Discipline.
"They sure work fast, don't they Briar?" It was the first thing Sandry had said since the conversation with their friends had begun.
"Feel's kinda…odd, doesn't it? It's like we don't belong…" Briar sounded disappointed.
"Yeah." Sandry replied quietly
"Hey, what's the matter, Sandry? Are you ok?" Briar's voice held tender concern.
"Sure, just a little, I don't know, tired, I suppose." The noble sighed languidly, then winced at a sharp pain in her ribs.
"Sandry…I'm sorry this happened…I" Briar was interrupted by Daja's booming voice.
"Briar! Sandry! We missed you so much!" They greeted each other warmly. Tris, Daja, Lark, and Rosethorn all tisked over Sandry's injuries yet again.
"How is it that every time you come here, Sandry, you're all beaten up?"
"Just lucky, Tris. Just lucky."
As soon as the 3 mages (magi? Idk) from Tortall realized that Sandry and Briar had been returned and were in good hands, they departed for their homeland, issuing a customary invitation for all 6 of the Emelan mages to visit them sometime.
Time passed congenially for the four friends. Their training was continued, and slowly Sandry and Briar began to forget about the horrible time in Sotat. They did not, however, forget about how things had changed between them. Embarrassed and unsure of themselves, they didn't comment on the new developments, but tried to ignore them. However, Tris and Daja soon began to notice how Sandry and Briar were becoming very close to one another. Tris and Daja talked about it whenever they were alone, which was quite frequently. (AN: sorry, I've been reading Victoria Holt, and although I haven't yet switched to first person, I feel the urge coming upon me…)
Tris and Daja were seated outside, washing clothes.
"I saw them holding hands yesterday. Well, just for a second, then they broke off and blushed deep red."
"How is it that you are the only one to ever see any of the hand holding, Tris?"
"I don't know. Sometimes I wish I didn't have to see it…" Tris held a tablecloth in her hand, absent-mindedly wringing it as she gazed off in space, contemplating Briar's actions.
"Do you…umm…are you attached to Briar, Tris? I know that you two were really pretty close at one time…" Daja was heading for unclear waters. She and Tris had never really been that close.
"I'm not sure. Sometimes, I think I do. But then, I don't know. I used to. But maybe that was only because he paid attention to me." Tris broke off, blushing at her uncharacteristic confession.
"Hmm." Daja was unsure how to respond, so she changed the subject. "Have you met the new weather mage? He's staying in the dormitories, but I saw him when I was at Frostpine's. He asked if I knew you. I think he's about a year older than us. He seemed very interested in you…" Daja's voice trailed off suggestively. Tris had matured, she supposed, and would now be more open to meeting new people. Some of her sarcastic nature had worn off, and people took more readily to the new, slightly slimmed down, mature Tris.
"No, I haven't met him…I wasn't even aware that there was a new weather mage here… I suppose I will just have to-" She stopped suddenly to see what Daja was looking at. Sandry was running up to them, as she was now perfectly well.
"Daja! Tris! The greatest thing!" She stopped when she reached them, trying to catch her breath.
"Well? What is it? Don't make us wait in suspense!" Tris was interested in this news. Daja was a bit more laid back, knowing that Sandry would tell them as soon as she could.
"Uncle is throwing a huge fête! We'll get all dressed up, and everything will be decorated! He's bringing in several mages from different places, just to decorate the halls! And we'll all have brand new dresses, the best we can get! And all the royalty from everywhere will come! Oh, it'll be the best! But! Oh! I have to go tell Briar! The messenger only just came! Aren't you excited!?" And a very excited Sandry skipped off in search of Briar.
AN: yay! Long chapter for you! Aren't you excited? Heehee…I'm not too sure where this is going to go…I think that after the ball, it'll be of to Tortall…hmm…not too sure, why don't you send me your ideas? Hmm? Wonderful! Yeehaw!
AN: yay! Thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate those! I decided to only post some of what I've written at a time, so that even if I don't get a chance to write anything, I'll be able to post something, so here you go! Oh, and btw, I almost got arrested doing my modeling thing…hmm…scary security guards and malicious movie theater employees…erugh. Back to the story…..
The journey home was long and tedious. The healer did his best to mend all broken bones, but Briar was still sore and bruised. Sandry, of course, could not be healed. No one had, as of yet, figured it out.
The group was almost to Summersea. They only had one more day of riding left. Briar and Sandry had made it a habit to sleep close to each other, as both were still haunted by dreams, and Sandry, especially, would often wake up screaming. That night, in particular, Sandry felt watched. She moved her bag closer to Briar's sleeping form. She wondered if she would ever sleep. She glanced up at the stars, watching the world slowly turn 'I think I love him. I've never felt this way before… not even about Dalton of Rock Island. I'm only 16. Can a 16 year old be in love?' And as her contemplations followed in a similar fashion, sleep finally overcame her, and her eyes closed.
Briar woke at a shout. Someone had found Zareen lurking in nearby underbrush, doing who-knew-what. Briar never found out what had become of Zareen; no one ever said anything about it. Sandry slept until they were almost ready to leave. Briar had watched her the whole morning, reveling in the small smile, pretending it was for him. In fact, it was; Sandry had been dreaming of Briar the whole night. When it was finally time to leave, Sandry held tightly onto Briar's hand. Slowly, the road began to look familiar. Briar and Sandry reached ahead with their magic.
::Daja! Tris! We're almost there!:: a squeal issued forth in the form of a gray cloud and hot metal.
::We can't wait to see you! Are you ok?:: Tris was almost caring.
::Sure, we'll make it:: Briar's voice lost some of it's enthusiasm as he gazed at Sandry's bruised and battered body.
::You expect us to believe that, thief boy?::
::Always sarcastic, aren't you Daja?:: The chaffing between friends continued until they groaned to a stop in front of a sparkling new Discipline.
"They sure work fast, don't they Briar?" It was the first thing Sandry had said since the conversation with their friends had begun.
"Feel's kinda…odd, doesn't it? It's like we don't belong…" Briar sounded disappointed.
"Yeah." Sandry replied quietly
"Hey, what's the matter, Sandry? Are you ok?" Briar's voice held tender concern.
"Sure, just a little, I don't know, tired, I suppose." The noble sighed languidly, then winced at a sharp pain in her ribs.
"Sandry…I'm sorry this happened…I" Briar was interrupted by Daja's booming voice.
"Briar! Sandry! We missed you so much!" They greeted each other warmly. Tris, Daja, Lark, and Rosethorn all tisked over Sandry's injuries yet again.
"How is it that every time you come here, Sandry, you're all beaten up?"
"Just lucky, Tris. Just lucky."
As soon as the 3 mages (magi? Idk) from Tortall realized that Sandry and Briar had been returned and were in good hands, they departed for their homeland, issuing a customary invitation for all 6 of the Emelan mages to visit them sometime.
Time passed congenially for the four friends. Their training was continued, and slowly Sandry and Briar began to forget about the horrible time in Sotat. They did not, however, forget about how things had changed between them. Embarrassed and unsure of themselves, they didn't comment on the new developments, but tried to ignore them. However, Tris and Daja soon began to notice how Sandry and Briar were becoming very close to one another. Tris and Daja talked about it whenever they were alone, which was quite frequently. (AN: sorry, I've been reading Victoria Holt, and although I haven't yet switched to first person, I feel the urge coming upon me…)
Tris and Daja were seated outside, washing clothes.
"I saw them holding hands yesterday. Well, just for a second, then they broke off and blushed deep red."
"How is it that you are the only one to ever see any of the hand holding, Tris?"
"I don't know. Sometimes I wish I didn't have to see it…" Tris held a tablecloth in her hand, absent-mindedly wringing it as she gazed off in space, contemplating Briar's actions.
"Do you…umm…are you attached to Briar, Tris? I know that you two were really pretty close at one time…" Daja was heading for unclear waters. She and Tris had never really been that close.
"I'm not sure. Sometimes, I think I do. But then, I don't know. I used to. But maybe that was only because he paid attention to me." Tris broke off, blushing at her uncharacteristic confession.
"Hmm." Daja was unsure how to respond, so she changed the subject. "Have you met the new weather mage? He's staying in the dormitories, but I saw him when I was at Frostpine's. He asked if I knew you. I think he's about a year older than us. He seemed very interested in you…" Daja's voice trailed off suggestively. Tris had matured, she supposed, and would now be more open to meeting new people. Some of her sarcastic nature had worn off, and people took more readily to the new, slightly slimmed down, mature Tris.
"No, I haven't met him…I wasn't even aware that there was a new weather mage here… I suppose I will just have to-" She stopped suddenly to see what Daja was looking at. Sandry was running up to them, as she was now perfectly well.
"Daja! Tris! The greatest thing!" She stopped when she reached them, trying to catch her breath.
"Well? What is it? Don't make us wait in suspense!" Tris was interested in this news. Daja was a bit more laid back, knowing that Sandry would tell them as soon as she could.
"Uncle is throwing a huge fête! We'll get all dressed up, and everything will be decorated! He's bringing in several mages from different places, just to decorate the halls! And we'll all have brand new dresses, the best we can get! And all the royalty from everywhere will come! Oh, it'll be the best! But! Oh! I have to go tell Briar! The messenger only just came! Aren't you excited!?" And a very excited Sandry skipped off in search of Briar.
AN: yay! Long chapter for you! Aren't you excited? Heehee…I'm not too sure where this is going to go…I think that after the ball, it'll be of to Tortall…hmm…not too sure, why don't you send me your ideas? Hmm? Wonderful! Yeehaw!