Finally! An update!

3. A Favor

The sound of giggling woke her up. With a silent groan, Kaprice straightened, wiping sand off her robes and rolling up her blanket. It was time to leave. The oasis was starting to fill with the noises of amorous young couples seeking a little privacy for the rest of the night.

As she neared her tent, she was able to see a crowd of people who still remained by the center fire. Or actually, a group made up of one young man and many young women. That young man being Ryker, of course. And beside that group of people, there was a smaller cluster of envious, partner-less young men who glanced at Ryker jealously.

Kaprice rolled her eyes and didn't stop walking, hoping to pass by the two groups without getting noticed.

"Hey, Kaprice."

Kaprice stopped walking mid-step and glanced over her shoulder. "Yes?"

Several of the young women stepped back and away from her, obviously frightened by Kaprice's dangerous tone.

"Don't you have a lover to sleep with tonight?" Mindy asked haughtily. She stood especially close to Ryker and was running her fingertips teasingly up and down his chest. Ryker's own face was inscrutable.

Kaprice just laughed. "There's no one here that I want to sleep with," she said.

"Are you sure?" Mindy asked her tauntingly. She leaned over to rub her cheek against Ryker's chest.

A flash of emotion crossed Ryker's hazel eyes and Kaprice knew him well enough to recognize it for what it was: amusement.

"You might want to watch out for this one, Ryker," Kaprice called out to him over her shoulder. "She's a snake."

Ryker had a way of laughing that made you feel his laugh in the deep pit of your stomach. Kaprice knew that his laugh had the same effect on the other girls when they turned to glance at him adoringly after hearing him laugh.

"I like snakes. They're feisty," he said to her.

"I see," she said quietly. "No wonder we can never get along." She started to turn away.

She was stopped by a firm hand on her elbow.

"Kaprice, all you need to do is say the word and I would happily leave the other girls in the dust," Ryker said to her in a low voice so that no others could hear.

Kaprice glanced over his shoulder at the other girls while at the same time started to pull his fingers off from around her arm. Then she turned back to Ryker. "If you don't quickly pick which one of the girls you will bed tonight, there will be a catfight. And I highly doubt that the other young men who are still partner-less will appreciate that. Good night, Ryker."

She turned away from him, not wanting to see what expression he had on his face, and walked away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

On the other side of the encampment where the Black Hawk tribe was camped, a man sat alone in his tent, waiting.

A moment later, Bowdyn, chieftain of the tribe Black Sands, pulled back the flap of the tent and joined that man.

"I hope you had a good reason to pull me away this night, Athair," Bowdyn grumbled with dislike. "I was in the middle of enjoying a long night with my wife."

Athair glanced at the younger chieftain, wondering if he was about to make a mistake. Athair was a man of very little patience and very little tolerance of foolishness. Bowdyn, at the age of twenty-six, was the youngest chieftain of the Black tribes, and he tested Athair's tolerance at their every meeting.

"I have a favor to ask of you, chief Bowdyn," Athair said very formally.

Bowdyn's eyes glinted with curiosity. "A favor?" he drawled.

"Yes."

Bowdyn found himself intrigued. Favors were rarely exchanged between different tribes, for to ask for a favor was to accrue debt. Debt wasn't something that the tribes easily accepted. "What kind of favor?"

Athair's eyes were cold as he spoke. "The …maiden who resides in your camp. The maiden with the raven hair and emerald eyes."

Bowdyn raised an interested eyebrow. "Kaprice?" It amused him that Athair was referring to her as 'the maiden.' Everyone who was a member of the Black tribes knew who Kaprice was. Everyone. "What do you want with her?"

"It is what I do not want with her. I want you to get rid of her."

Bowdyn pretended to think about that. Then he glanced up. "Why?"

Of course, Athair already knew that Bowdyn knew the answer to that. And he refused to condescend to answer it.

Bowdyn finally ended the silence with a quiet chuckle. "Having difficulties controlling your son, Athair?"

Athair stiffened. "My son is not your concern," he said coldly. "And who are you to talk about control, when amongst

your tribe a witch wanders, doing and saying what she pleases."

Bowdyn hunched back. "Kaprice has her uses."

"Yes, I've heard. It is known that her predictions are more accurate than any shaman's. Perhaps you and your tribe have become too dependent on her, and now you are reluctant to grant my favor because you fear it will weaken your rule."

Athair's words fell upon Bowdyn, sharper than a knife's blade.

"I do not depend on that witch to rule my clan," Bowdyn growled.

Athair smiled smugly. "You dislike her as much as I. Or perhaps, you just dislike her because she has refused you her bed?"

Athair had just touched another sore spot, and Bowdyn struggled to reign in his temper. Besides, it had not just been his advances alone that she had scorned. She scorned all of the men. The only time she had not scorned someone's advances had been three long years ago.

"What will I gain from granting your favor?" he finally said.

"I will back you during any dispute with any of the Maroon tribes." The Maroon tribes were the Black tribes' most bitter rivals. Yearly, bloody 'disputes' broke out between the Maroon tribes and the Black tribes, always resulting in heavy casualties.

"Is that all?" Bowdyn asked scornfully.

"And," Athair added, his eyes cold, "I will encourage my son to take the wife of your choosing from among the young women of the Black Sands tribe."

"Encourage?" Bowdyn asked pointedly.

"Force," Athair said through clenched teeth.

Bowdyn thought about chief Athair's offer. If Athair's son married a wife of Bowdyn's choosing, Bowdyn would have a great deal of influence on the tribe of the Black Hawks. As long as he chose a girl whom Bowdyn could easily manipulate. But…

"If you cannot control your son's actions now, how will you force him to marry the girl of my choosing?"

"Once Kaprice is gone, he will have no longer be so obstinate," Athair snapped.

Bowdyn only hesitated for a moment before agreeing: "Fine. I will have several men take care of her before Dawne is over."

Athair nodded with satisfaction as Bowdyn stood. "Good night, chief Bowdyn. I hope you enjoy the first night of Dawne."

A.N. - Alright, so a bit of the plot has decided to appear. Not the real plot, but the beginnings of it.

Sorry about the long wait. But things are normal (whatever that means) now, and so I will go back to updating every other day. Really. For the next chapters. Two days is enough for me to write and rosefyre to beta. (thanks rosefyre! You're wonderful!) so come back for chapter 4 the day after tomorrow.

Pieces of the plot for this story are still drifting around in my head, not yet arranged into their rightful places. However, some pieces have settled down (more or less) and so, I've come to the conclusion that my title is wrong. And to make it right, I will have to change it. And as of this moment, the title Kaprice's Tears sounds more…right. (and no, I didn't choose that as the title because Kaprice is constantly crying, its for another reason that'll turn up in the ending; it really doesn't have anything to do with her cyring) So don't be surprised if the title is different during my next update.

Hmmm….yes, I do believe that was all I wanted to say. Don't forget to leave me a review. Thanks for reading!

~krizsta