This chapter introduces more characters, and Briar finally arrives! Remember, Daja, Tris, Briar, and Sandry are all 16 years old!

REMEMBER TO REVIEW AFTER YOU READ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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"Talking outloud"
¡¥Thinking¡¦
*~*Flashback*~*
~~Scene change~~
(Author¡¦s Notes)

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Disclaimer: I own nothing except for this pointless plot. All characters used in this fanfic belong to Tamora Pierce. All the places probably belong to her too. Oh, and all the stuff that goes in her books is hers too. Anything else that even remotely relates to the books are Tamora Pierce¡¦s. So there. Now you can¡¦t sue me.

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Winter Sunshine
by smileypal4eva

Chapter 2: Missing You

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~one week before the Midwinter ball...~


"No, Pasco! Tell me you didn¡¥t do what you just claimed you did!"

"But Lady Sandry! I didn¡¦t do anything!"

"You - you didn¡¦t DO anything?! I told you, when you go home, to control your emotions, and do not, ever use your magic unsupervised by me!"

"But, I honestly! It wasn¡¦t that much magic!"

"Pasco! A little magic is the same as magic! Do not use ANY magic unsupervised, I said! ANY MAGIC!!"

"Lady Sandry!"

"Pasco!" Sandry, in dread and exasperation, flung open the heavy draperies of her room. All of them smacked aside, and ropes tied neatly around them, letting the dim winter sunshine glow into the room. Sandry, dressed in a simple, full-length blue dress, turned around to face Pasco.

"But Lady, I didn¡¦t mean it! He just made me so mad, so I-"

"So you shouldn¡¦t have done that! Shouldn¡¦t have done that new dance Lady Yazmin taught you and stomped so hard at the last step!" Sandry interrupted him desperately. She wanted to shake the still-yawning boy. It was barely seven in the morning.

"Lady, I didn¡¦t mean to get Vani stuck fast and hard to the floor!"

"I don¡¦t care if you didn¡¦t mean it! I care, you silly bleater, if your magic is used on someone less fortunate! This is the third time this month!" Sandry sighed and sat down on her chair. She motioned Pasco to sit on the chair next to her. "Here. I¡¦ll calm down a bit, and then you must tell me again what provoked you to prevent your cousin Vanido from moving at all."

Pasco gulped down the tea given to him by the servant. He was more comfortable now, in the duke¡¦s citadel, than he had been two years ago, but he was still very much more stiff to everyone. ¡¥I can¡¦t believe he actually did this...¡¦ Sandry sighed, thinking back to earlier that morning, when a servant had rushed into Sandry¡¦s room to wake her, because Pasco had arrived many hours too early for his meditation and magic lessons.

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flashback to earlier in the morning... around half after four

Knock, knock.

Two timid knocks on Sandry¡¦s door woke her out of sleep. She hurriedly dressed into her dress. It flowed to the ground, and did not have much to fiddle with. Tightening her bodice with her magic, she laced it up, then used her magic again to tie the laces of the dress while she put on her kid slippers. Grabbing a warm cloak to fare against the cold, she wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Pasco. Good morning." Sandry said crisply, walking out of her room. Pasco¡¦s face was ashy white. "I - well, you see, my sister woke me up this morning, ¡¥cause mother insisted we have an early practice. Well, then Vani, he was up already, and when mother went on a break, he, well - . Um, Vani, he came and wanted to beat me up again. He¡¦s gotten taller, and he was about to thump me over the head, but I ran out of the way, then danced the step the little monster taught me, and since I was mad because he¡¦d tried to beat me up again, even after Gran-father told him not to, so I stomped that last step and now he can¡¦t even move off the ground."

Pasco was shaking. Sandry tried to smile. "Well, at least you knew you had to come to me again." Sandry told a servant to get Oama and Kwaben ready with an extra horse for Pasco. "Really, Pasco. Can¡¦t you try to not get so excited?" Sandry pleaded. "I¡¦m trying, my lady. Really. It¡¦s just, sometimes, I get too excited to control my emotions," Pasco gulped.

Oama, Kwaben, Sandry, and Pasco rode to the Acalon¡¦s home. Everyone was gathered around Vani, who was cursing rather loudly. Sandry¡¦s lips tightened. "Be silent!" she ordered. He couldn¡¦t speak. "Pasco, did you meditate on the way?" Sandry asked. Pasco nodded. "What do you think you can do to undo this?" Sandry nodded to his cousin.

Pasco thought for a moment. "First you ward us. Then, I do the dance again, except when I¡¦m supposed to step down, I step... up onto something? A bench, or a small stool, maybe?" Pasco asked, uncertainly. Sandry nodded. "You should try that. Here, I¡¦ll ward you." Sandry sent her thread in a circle, and Pasco¡¦s relatives moved away. She put the ward up. "Okay, Pasco."

Pasco did a complicated step, and right when Sandry thought his knees would bump into the bench, Pasco jumped onto the bench, sending Vani up into the air and falling again. Sandry undid her silence spell. "This is the third time this month!" Vani snarled, pointing an accusing finger at Pasco. "I-I want him arrested! Locked away!" Vani¡¦s face was red with fury.

"I - I didn¡¦t mean anything by it! I just got mad again!" Pasco almost fell off the bench in his hurry to get off. "Now listen, young man! If I hear one more time about you trying to beat up Pasco..." Pasco¡¦s grandfather pinched Vanido¡¦s ear and led him inside. Zahra Qais curtsied politely. "I¡¦m sorry for causing you any trouble, Lady Sandrilene." Sandry just nodded, then twitched her finger at Pasco. His clothes pulled him toward her and after her as she walked out. "You and I must have a little talk..." she said sternly, mounting her horse.

flashback ends

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Pasco finished his story just as Sandry finished thinking about that morning. "And that¡¦s it! I got scared again, and a little mad, so I danced." It took all of Sandry¡¦s strength not to put her head in her hands. She just let out a little sigh, oblivious to Pasco, who was busy trying not to look at his teacher¡¦s face to see if she was mad. "Don¡¦t worry, Pasco. I¡¦m not too mad. Just frustrated." Sandry frowned, then let out a small smile. "Well, since you¡¦re here anyway, let¡¦s have some breakfast with Uncle, shall we? I believe he¡¦s up already. Then we¡¥ll go to Discipline. I need to talk to Lark about y- about something."

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Rosethorn, Evvy, and Briar arrived at the cottage gate. Rosethorn volunteered to take the horses back to the stable and left. Briar just stared at the cottage in the distance. He could almost hear Little Bear yipping and yapping his way to greet him. Briar grimaced; sometimes, if one was not careful, you would get bowled over by the dog.

Evvy tugged on sixteen-year-old Briar¡¦s hand. " You know, I want to see the inside of Discipline." Briar opened the gate and led Evvy inside. Evvy just looked around in awe. "It looks so cozy!" Briar dropped their bags on the floor and put his shakkan on the dinner table. "Let¡¦s find Lark. I¡¦m sure she¡¦s around here somewhere. Probably in her workshop." "Lark weaves, am I right? She¡¦s the -" Evvy scrunched up her face in a frown. "-former acrobat? Short, curly black hair? Earth dedicate." Evvy finally replied as they neared Lark¡¦s workshop. "Yes, she¡¦s the one." Briar was about to knock, but found the door open. "Lark?"

"Pasco, you have to learn to clear your mind! You can fit your power into something small, I grant you that, but Sandry tells me you haven¡¦t been able to completely clear you mind. Your magic just spills everywhere." Lark was kindly scolding someone seated on the floor. "Hello, Lark." Briar said quietly. Lark, startled, looked up. Her frown was replaced with a wide smile. "Briar! Look how much you¡¦ve grown since we last saw you!" She gave him a big hug and kissed his cheek. "You¡¦ve gotten taller." She also hugged Evvy. "I take it, this young lady is your student Evumeimei?" Evvy blushed. "It¡¦s just Evvy." Lark laughed. "Well, you haven¡¦t met Pasco Acalon. He¡¦s Sandry¡¦s student. Perhaps when you¡¦re settled in, you could help her get Pasco to meditate more, control his magic."

Briar nodded absentmindedly. "Where should we put all of our stuff?" he asked. "Didn¡¦t Rosie tell you? No, I suppose she didn¡¦t. You¡¦re to live with Sandry at Duke¡¦s Citadel. His grace Duke Vedris wants you to be his head gardener." Briar blinked. "Truly?" he asked eagerly. "Yes. You should find Sandry. She wanted to have some time to herself. She¡¦s probably weaving. Try the roof." Lark turned to Evvy. "Do you want to follow Briar, or stay with Pasco and me? We¡¦re practicing meditating." Evvy¡¦s eyes lit up. "I can do that!" Lark included Evvy in the ward, then started instructing the children again.

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Briar climbed quietly up the ladder that led to the cottage¡¦s roof. It was a calm day, with a slight breeze and a glowing sun. He looked around. Sandry was seated facing away from him, singing. He slowly climbed back down, and settled down to listen to her voice, which drifted in the wind, carrying the melody of her song.

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Sandry was singing a song her nurse, Pirisi, had sung to her, every night, when she was little. Singing made her calmer, more relaxed than she had been in a while. All the while, she was sewing a complicated patter for health in a cloth, for her uncle. When she finished, Sandry sighed quietly. She missed all her friends. Deeply.

¡¥I was the only one left here. I wish Briar were here. He¡¦d be able to cheer me up.¡¦ Sighing again, she lay on her back, unaware that Briar was at the bottom of the ladder, listening to her. "I wish- I wish Briar were here, with me." she said outloud. "I wonder how much he¡¦s changed since I last saw him." Sandry giggled and smiled. "I wonder how much I¡¦ve changed."

Sandry stared up at the sky for awhile, thinking about all her friends... thoughts flitted through her mind, as the breeze blew through her hair, loosening a few brown strands. "I miss him so much..." Sandry almost whispered sadly.

Sandry! The voice charged through her mind. Sandry sat up. ¡¥Someone mind-spoke to me?¡¦ "Briar?" she called, and scrabbled down the ladder. She turned around, and almost bumped into Briar. Sandry gasped in surprise, and just as she was about to jump and hug him, her mind restrained her. She looked at Briar more closely. He was taller, more handsome...

"Hey Sandry. It¡¦s been a while hasn¡¦t it?" Briar said, breaking the silence. "It¡¦s you! I¡¦ve missed you so much!" Sandry cried, jumping onto him and hugging him tightly. "Wha- yo- you don¡¦t have to be so excited, you know!" He said, staggering backwards, causing them to fall in an undignified heap on the floor. "Ow! Briar!" Sandry complained. She started to get up, then realized that Briar was staring at her. Involuntarily, her cheeks heated up. "Come on, Briar. We should head back to Uncle¡¦s." Helping him up, she walked him downstairs and outside, into the crisp winter air.

Through a window, the two watched as Lark taught two kids how to pull themselves in, tightly. Evvy had no trouble with it. Her magic was inside her skin. But Pasco, wasn¡¦t doing as well...

Sandry sighed quietly, smiling at Pasco. "That¡¦s your student, right?" Sandry asked Briar. He nodded, and grinned wryly. "Your student isn¡¦t doing as well as mine!" Briar whispered into her ear. Shocked and about to hit him, she turned, to find him running away. "Briar!" she shouted after him. He stopped, turning around and laughing. "Come on! You said we had to leave soon, didn¡¦t you?" He called to her. Sandry walked quickly after him to the stables. "After we get our horses, we have to get Evvy and Pasco too. Pasco should be heading to his dance teacher¡¦s, and Evvy can have a room in the citadel."

They got their horses, meeting up with Rosethorn on the way, who was arguing with Crane about one of his plants. Sandry and Briar grinned wryly. It was old news that those two were rivals, and were always arguing and shouting at each other. Riding back to Discipline, two extra horse¡¦s in tow, they talked about their lives.

"Uncle had a heart attack. I was so afraid for him, and when the servants wouldn¡¦t let me into his room, I cocooned them in thread and cloth." Sandry admitted. Briar laughed. "That¡¦s our Sandry! How long did it take to get them out?" Sandry laughed along with him. "I think an hour."

Briar told her about the gangs in Chammur. "It was like I was watching my own life, over again. Except Lady Zenadia doa Attaneh, the gang¡¦s money supply and ¡¦leader¡¦-," he continued, saying her name with scorn and bitterness, "-was killing and murdering people, members of the Watch, members of the gang. Even children." Sandry was reminded of when she had to kill the Dihanurs. Her eyes filled with sadness. Briar was still talking. "I always thought Tris was a baby, carrying on about the drowned slaves in her dreams." He gulped. "Now I have dreams too."

Sandry told him briefly about her encounter with the Dihanurs. "The unmagic was eating them inside. I could see it. In the end I had to kill them, or - or they would have killed my student. As a teacher, I couldn¡¦t let that happen. I was just fourteen. Fourteen!" She shook her head sadly. "They never tell you that there are secrets to being a mage that you never want to learn. All they tell you is, that mages have wonderful power. They learn all kinds of wonderful secrets." Sandry¡¦s voice cracked. "It was terrible."

The two arrived at Discipline. "Lark! Send our students down here!" Briar packed the bags and his shakkan onto his horse. Pasco and Evvy walked down, deep in conversation. "It looks like our students are getting along quite well," Sandry said, a ghost of a smile on her lips. Briar didn¡¦t bother to answer; Pasco and Evvy mounted their horses, and Oama and Kwaben joined them as they headed for Duke¡¦s Citadel.

~That¡¦s what I thought when after I killed the mute,~ Briar thought-spoke to Sandry. ~They only tell you that mages have great and wonderful power, and that they learn all these great secrets.~ Briar admitted. ~Sometimes I wish I¡¦d stayed a street rat.~ Sandry had to smile at that bit. ~But then you would never have met me,~ she teased. Briar felt his face heat up slightly. ¡¥You¡¦re definitely right about that,¡¦ Briar thought. ¡¥If I¡¦d stayed a street rat, I¡¦d never have met you.¡¦



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Sigh. that wasn¡¦t a very good chapter. well, review and tell me what you think.

smileypal4eva