A/N:Let me tell you, I love Spell checker! It is the best! Anyways, we are sorry that it took awhile for us to come out with this chapter, but hey, you have to admit, it's not that late. The next chapter however, will be late, because Jenelin is suffering from writers block, and would be oh soooo happy for your help! If you have any ideas or requests, email her at
Please do not mind Katielyn, she is under a lot of stress, as she is going to a party with Jenelin this weekend in which there are 4 guys per 1 girl.
Disclaimer: Okay yeah, they all belong to Tamora Pierce except for Saphyne, Aidan, Coren, Damien, Renna, Narissa, Randilyn, and all those others. Please don't sue!
Posted: May 18, 2001 (I think! Maybe the 19th, not sure yet.)
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Saphyne stared at the note in shock. "A love letter, for me?" she thought.
Just then, Randilyn came in. Saphyne turned red and shoved the note under her pillow before Randy could see it.
"Hey Saphyne, ready to go? We have to be out there in a minutes." Randilyn said.
"Yup, I'm coming" Saphyne replied, and they went down to the stables.
~~~~~*Later at Dinner*~~~~~
"Hey Saph, is something wrong?" Aidan asked.
"No, what makes you say that?" Saphyne responded.
"Hmmm… maybe the fact that you've been quiet ever since lunchtime…" Aidan said.
"Don't be silly, I'm just a little tired." Saphyne said, as she felt her cheeks growing warm.
"That could be it –" Coren said.
"—Or maybe there's something you aren't telling us…" Narissa added.
"You guys are being weird," Saphyne said, sounding extremely embarrassed.
"Yes, that's what gives us charm" Aidan said in response.
"Well, I, uh, better go to my lessons with Numair, I'll see you guys later in class." Saphyne said as she got up.
"Is it just me, or do you get the feeling that she is up to something?" Narissa asked, after Saphyne left.
"I don't know, but she's acting weird. Hey Damien!" Aidan yelled.
"Oh hey Aidan, guys," Damien replied.
"Why are you so late for dinner?"
"Oh, Sarge needed to talk to me, that's all," Damien replied.
"Oh, well have you noticed anything strange about Saphyne today?" Aidan asked.
"Saphyne… acting strange? Umm… no, I haven't seen her since lunch."
"Oh well," Aidan shrugged. "Hey guys, I heard that we are going to be making maps tonight."
"Oooooh! Sounds like fun!" Alianora exclaimed, "I can't wait until we go to Pirate's Swoop in 2 weeks for summer training!"
~~~~~~~*~*~~~~~~~
"You all need to know how to make accurate maps," Buri lectured. "Major landforms and clearings must all be marked and clearly identifiable. Split into groups of 5, you will all draw a map of part of the scenery from the castle. Damien, Saphyne, Alexevadra, Alianora and Nicci, you map the North woods. Aidan, Coren, Renna, Randilyn and Narissa, you map the back of the castle. The rest of you follow me."
Saphyne, Damien, Alexevadra, Alianora and Nicci grabbed their supplies and headed out. It was just starting to get dark outside and the air was cool. They headed to the edge of the woods and split into groups.
"There is an odd number of us, so one group will have an extra person," Alianora said, "So let's see, Nicci, you and Damien take Saphyne so you can show her around. Me and Alex can be a group."
"We should meet up every now and then just to check up." Nicci added, tying her shoe.
"Yea, every half hour or so, we can meet in a specific place. So we can meet in an hour by the spring and the blue tree" Damien added helpfully.
"Right, sounds good, Let's go!" Said Alianora.
Saphyne was eager to get out. She had been inside for almost all of the time she had been there. She and Numair hadn't been able to do much in the way of control other than for her to just not sing. Saphyne went back to paying attention to the mapping.
~~~~~~~*~*~~~~~~~
Saphyne sat down hard on her bed. They had been working for nearly 3 hours and still weren't finished. Saphyne reached for her brush on the table. A small folded piece of paper fell on the floor. The handwriting was small and deliberate. It said:
"I would rather be blind than not see you. I would rather not hear anything than not hear you. I would rather lose my heart than not love you.
~Someone who sees you."
Suddenly she was awake. The mapping had kept her mind away from the morning's note. Saphyne shoved the note into her pocket and thought. Who was writing these? She hadn't been here long enough to really know anyone, and even the people she did know, there were hundreds more. Saphyne turned over and slept, tomorrow they were starting something new in her lessons with Numair.
~~~~~~~*~*~~~~~~~
Saphyne woke up and dressed the next morning determined to act normal. She walked into the dining hall and sat with her friends.
"Saphyne, you've hardly eaten at all." Coren said to her, as he stuffed his face with breakfast.
"Just because I don't eat as much as you!" she retorted.
"Nobody eats as much as he does." Aidan said as he sat down at the table. "Though now that I think about it Saphyne, you haven't been eating much, yesterday AND today. Is something wrong?"
"No, I'm just nervous about my meeting with Numair this morning. At my last lesson, he used a word of power on my charm, I guess to get it to give up it's secrets or something. Anyways, it didn't work, he said that it must be immortal made. Now I need to get a new chain for my charm. The old one melted away." Saphyne said, because her friends were always wondering about what was going on with her magic. "Oh dear!" Saphyne exclaimed as she realized she had accidentally spilled water onto her breeches. "Now I have to go change before my lesson. See you guys later!" Saphyne left and went to change.
~~~~~~~*~*~~~~~~~
"We are going to work on meditation right now. It is a way to organize your thoughts" Numair explained. "You sit like this, and try not to concentrate on anything except clearing your mind. Breathe slowly. Try to go deep inside yourself. After practice you'll be able to see your magic."
Saphyne did what he said and tried to organize her mind. Looking down into herself, she saw a pool of a blue-green substance. Startled, she looked up, and came out of her meditation. Numair smiled at her.
"What you just saw in yourself is your magic. Now practice looking down into yourself at your magic, so you know what it feels like. After time, you will be able to bring up your magic without even having to look into yourself and find it." Numair then went back into a meditative state.
Saphyne closed her eyes and began again. She practiced looking down into herself and realized that the tingly feeling was really the feeling of her magic. The broad smile across her face broke her concentration.
"I think that's good for today. I will see you again tomorrow, same time, same place." Numair stretched out, put his shoes back on and left.
"Saphyne was walking to the door when she heard the bell ring. "Oh no!" she thought, "I'm gonna be late!" She ran as fast as she could down to the stables, and arrived with the others, panting.
"Hey Saphyne, why are you so out of breathe?" Coren asked as he went to grab his saddle.
"I just got out of my lesson with Numair and I was afraid I would be late." Saphyne explained.
"Oh yeah? How'd that go?" Aidan asked.
"It was pretty good. I know how to find my magic now. Numair seemed a little odd today though."
"Yeah, that's because Daine is planning on taking a trip to Carthak. I guess the emperor is a friend of hers. I overheard Numair telling her that he didn't want her to go." Aidan said.
"Overheard? Yeah right. Eavesdropping and spying aren't good Aidan!" Saphyne reprimanded.
"Yeah, but I'm so good at it! I never get caught."
"That's because you've never spied on me," Saphyne retorted.
"How do you know?" Aidan challenged.
"Moving on…" Narissa interrupted.
~~~~~~~*~*~~~~~~~
After riding, they went up to the baths. The girls were bathing in the hot water when Onua and Buri jumped in, splashing everyone. A few minutes later, Saphyne went up to her bed to put on some clean clothes. When she pulled out a pair of breeches, a packet fell out of her drawer. Curious, Saphyne opened it, to find a chain of pure white gold and a small piece of paper. It read:
"This is for your charm.
I love you so much
I cannot resist
Your beauty has caught me
In a never-ending twist.
~Someone who can't resist the twist"
Saphyne smiled to herself. Then, she put her charm on the new chain. "Who is sending me these notes?" she asked herself. She couldn't think of an answer. She finished dressing and went down to lunch.
"Yo Saphyne!" Aidan yelled as a hello, "Where'd you get the new chain?"
"Ummm… Nowhere." Saphyne said. She smiled, "Nowhere in particular."
"Yes, you just magically had this new chain and it comes from nowhere." He said, pretending to be deep in thought. "Let's examine the possibilities. You could have found it, except that no one here has lost a silver chain—"
"—White gold" Saphyne interrupted, taking a bite of toast.
"Whatever. You could have stolen it, except A) no one has lost a white gold chain, B) you haven't been off grounds, C) you wouldn't steal. So you could have made it but you don't know how. Just not possible. So we come to the last. Someone gave it to you. Much more believable. Some may say your admirer is secret, but I know you are having a secret love affair." Aidan said playfully.
"Well this is all news to me. Do tell me who my lover is, as I have no idea."
"It is… the next person who sits at this table!" he said triumphantly.
"Aidan, this table is full."
"Precisely." He went back to breakfast.
"Guys, we have the afternoon off today. Let's go down to the beach." Randilyn suggested.
Saphyne looked up from her plate. It had been months since she last visited the water. "Oh could we?" she asked hopefully. "I haven't been in so long!"
"Sure, we can all go after lunch. Or better yet, we could have a picnic!" Narissa replied.
"Except that we have to check with Alanna. After what went on last time Aidan." Damien said sitting down on a chair he pulled up.
Saphyne briefly thought of what Aidan had said earlier, but dismissed the thought as quickly as it had come. "What happened?" she asked.
"Mr. Fireman over here almost burned out—"
"—Did not!" Aidan argued.
"You did. He got stuck under a rock and did this weird light up all red then go out like a candle thing. Got everyone all scared."
Aidan looked extremely embarrassed and threw toast at Damien, who in turn flicked scrambled egg off his fork at Aidan.
~~~~~~~*~*~~~~~~~
Saphyne and the rest of her friends walked down to the beach. It was unseasonably warm out, and even uncomfortable. Narissa had lent Saphyne an outfit for swimming and Randilyn put a charm on the food to keep it from going bad. Saphyne was the first to step in the water. She squeaked in surprise at the coldness of the water.
"Cold huh?" Coren laughed.
"Well once I get all the way in, it'll be warmer" she replied.
They waded in until the water was around waist high. Saphyne dove. She felt the familiar changes happening. The first thing that happened was her eyes adjusted and became brighter blue and green. She could also breathe. This was not new for her. The water became warmer, until it was just the right temperature. Her friends stared at her.
"Uh, Saphyne, why did all the water all of a sudden get warmer?" Coren inquired.
"I didn't realize the temperature changed. That's odd. I'm gonna dive to the bottom!"
"It's too deep! You'll drown trying to reach it." Narissa exclaimed.
"Don't worry. I can breathe under water. I'll bring you back a shell!" Saphyne said with a mischievous smile on her face. With that, she dove down.
"I don't like the sound of this…" Renna said, sounding worried. "We don't want something to happen today like last time."
"Hey! That was an accident! And I'm staying in the water this time, so there's no chance that I'll burn up." Aidan exclaimed.
Saphyne swam deeper and deeper. She spotted a conch shell on the ocean floor. She picked it up and put it in the sack on her back. A sudden flash of color on the right made her turn. She stared in shock.
"HeHe, hello there sea human" one of them with purple fins said.
"Hello there" Saphyne eyed them nervously. There were 4 of them, 2 male, 2 female.
"What are you doing all the way down here?" the blue one asked.
"Oh, well I was, uh, getting some shells." Saphyne replied, still wary.
"How can you breathe then? You look human." The red one asked.
"My mom is a sea nymph. I can breathe underwater."
"Oh my! A half-nymph! Our queen would love to meet you! Would you like to meet her?" the purple one asked.
"Yes I would love to!" Saphyne replied.
"Wonderful!" the orange one squeaked.
"She only knows how to say 'wonderful' in human tongue, but believe me, she says it whenever she can." The blue one said, looked tired. "Let's go then!" and with that they started swimming along the ocean floor.
*Meanwhile*
"Hey guys, uh, Saphyne has been gone a long time." Renna said, starting to worry.
"Oh calm down Renna, it's not like she can drown, she can breathe water!" Aidan exclaimed. "So lighten up!"
"I don't know man, she's been gone awhile, maybe we should just check on her." Damien said nervously.
"Ok, Come on lover boy, you too Coren." Aidan said.
"Hey! I am not—" Damien squawked.
"Sure Sure, Let's go!" and with that, Aidan, Coren and Damien began swimming down, looking for Saphyne.
Suddenly, Coren grabbed Aidan and pointed. They saw Saphyne swimming away with 4 sea nymphs, 2 of which were carrying spears. They surfaced for more oxygen.
"Mithros, Minoss and Shakith! What are we going to do now?!?" Coren exclaimed.
"They better not hurt her!" Damien said.
"I have a plan" Aidan said seriously. "Coren, you go back to the girls, and go as fast as you can to the castle. Tell Alanna, Jon, Numair, Buri, Sarge, everyone and anyone that you can find. Tell them that Damien and I went after her and we are following her on the surface. Make sure they know we aren't sure if the nymphs mean good or bad. Come on Damien, let's go!"
~~~~~*~*~~~~~
Don't you like that ending? I thought it was pretty good, but I don't know, I think that maybe the cliff at the end of the last chapter was best. What do you guys think? The only way to let us know is to review! Thank you to those of you who did review last chapter.
