Responses:

Jynessea: The answer to your question is yes. I'll have more info about that in later chapters of the fic.

PenMage: well, the visitor doesn't come in quite yet: that's chapter 14.

Bigblue: I will clear up more about the mage when I come to him with the fic. your question will be explained then. :)

Zenin: a question I could actually answer! Yep, Roald would obviously want Kaprice to change the past (that's why he was so curious about what she was going to do), but he wasn't going to force her to do it if she was really against it. And Kaprice only hesitated because she was angry. She didn't want to seem like the willing servant who would always bow down to the gods' commands, doing whatever they wanted her to do. She was sending a message: do not expect me to acquiesce easily while you boss me around and ruin my life.

13. Memories

Kaprice: The Seventh and Last Day of Dawne

"So that's what it's for!"

Roald laughed at her excited tone. "It's not that big a deal."

"Yes, it is." Kaprice squinted at Roald's blue dome. "Could I walk through it?" Roald had just explained to her what the protective circle was about.

"You could," Roald nodded, "but you won't be able to come back in unless I pull it down."

Kaprice reached out with a hand and touched the shimmering blue dome with her fingertips. "It's very lovely," she said softly. "The color reminds me of the night sky. If I had the Gift, I would want it to be this color."

Roald smiled with amusement. "You would want this color of all colors?"

She turned away from the dome to smile at him. "Yes." Her gaze then dropped to the glittering medallion that hung from his neck. She had noticed it earlier in the morning, but she had forgotten to ask him about it. "Roald, where did you get that?"

He glanced down to stare down at the medallion. He then glanced back up to meet her curious gaze. "The Goddess gave it to me."

She immediately frowned. "Why? When? I don't remember seeing her give it to you."

"She gave it to me after we fell asleep after the first meeting." He shrugged. "She said to wear it. That it was important."

"I see," she said. Then, "I don't trust her."

"She is a god," he said as a way of explanation. "Who knows what her real intentions are. I wouldn't be surprised if she came into our dreams again tonight, to talk to us about…reversing the Devastation."

"Wonderful," she said dryly. "I look forward to it."

~*~*~*~

But instead of being visited by gods that night, Kaprice was visited by memories…

For the first time in her life, she didn't mind everyone's stares. Because she was happy.

But as the week started to draw to a close, so did that happiness.

Ryker lifted his hand, using his thumb to trace the downward curve of her lips.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

She pulled away from him for a moment, staring up at the dark night sky.

"Tonight is the last night of Dawne," she said quietly.

"So?"

"Ryker…" She shook her head as she turned to gaze at him.

He gently covered her mouth with his fingertips. "Tomorrow is the end of Dawne. Dawne. Not us."

"That's not the truth, and you know it," she said flatly.

"Are you saying that you want to break it all off then?" he asked her, tone suddenly serious.

"What I want has nothing to do with this. It's what they want. What the others want. And what they want is for us to stop seeing one another."

He shook his head grimly. "We could fight them."

"How can you say that?" she said with sudden frustration. "You are Athair's son. And I am …The Freak. There is no way our relationship can survive."

"You give up too easily."

"It's not that I want to, Ryker, but we have to be realistic."

"You've never cared about what the others have wanted before. It was one of the things that I always admired about you," he said with a soft smile. "So why do you care now?"

"Ryker… everyone here hates me. You know that. And our relationship just makes that hate even more fierce."

He shook his head. "I don't hate you."

She smiled at him, reaching up to touch his cheek. "Your father does. And he hates our relationship too." She reached up to caress the skin over his cheekbone. There was a small discoloring there that was nearly invisible because of his desert tan. "Did you think that I would not notice this bruise on your face, Ryker? I don't want your father to hate you because of me. I don't want him to hit you. I don't want you to be hurt."

He clenched his jaw, reaching up with his hand to grab her wrist and pull her hand away from the bruise. "I can handle my father," he said.

But she saw the glint in his eye. The glint of hurt, anger, and stubbornness.

"I don't want you to," she said quietly, leaning up to place a soft kiss over his bruise.

He suddenly reached for her, pulling her into a tight embrace. "We will not end. I will not let our relationship end. Luck has let you walk into my life, and now I refuse to let you walk away." He spoke with fierce determination.

She rested her head against his shoulder, feeling a great sense of relief at his words. She didn't want him to leave.

Luck. A strange thing it was. Since that moment he had pulled her name during the drawing on the first night of Dawne, they had nearly been inseparable. Was it really possible to fall in love with someone within the span of a single week? Well, from what she felt, she believed so.

"We can face everything our tribes send against us, Kaprice. Together."

"Yes. Together," she agreed. But deep down inside, the uncertainty refused to leave her heart.

~~~~~~

"Ryker?"

Kaprice reached out beside her, hands searching for the warmth of Ryker's body.

Not finding it, she sat up and glanced around the tent.

"Ryker?" Where was he?

She stood up, pulling a robe around her from and stepping out into the mid-day sun. Others of the tribe were already awake and preparing to leave now that the festival was over.

One of the girls from the Black Hawk tribe saw Kaprice's look of puzzlement and spoke. "Looking for Ryker, Kaprice?"

Kaprice turned to glance at the girl suspiciously. "What's it to you?"

The girl just laughed mockingly. "Ryker, his father, and several of the other young men left camp at dawn this morning. Now that Dawne is over, they have to get back to work. They left to get a head start and will be waiting for the rest of our tribe to meet them by tonight."

Kaprice's throat was suddenly dry. "He …left?"

The girl gave her a pitying look. "He didn't tell you?"

Kaprice turned away, but before she did, she saw the looks on the other girls' faces. They were all laughing at her. And it wasn't just them, she realized, as she glanced around. Other adults lingered around her tent, the same snide looks on their faces. It was as if everyone in camp had migrated around her tent so that they could see her reaction when she was first told of Ryker's leaving. It was all a great show.

No. She's lying. Ryker wouldn't just suddenly leave me, without even a goodbye. She forced herself to stand straight, glared at all her spectators, and then retreated back into her tent.

By sunset, Kaprice had to admit defeat. He was gone, and he wasn't going to return. The rest of the Black Hawk tribe had already left camp, and tomorrow the Black Sands tribe was also going to leave the oasis.

She had stayed inside her tent for most of the day. The one time she had left had been a very unpleasant experience. Everyone had stopped whatever it was that they had been doing and turned to stare at her and laugh.

A fool. To think that she was worthy enough to court a chieftain's son, everyone was saying. They were never going to leave her in peace.

She felt so incredibly lonely. She had never realized or even stopped to notice it before, but having spent a whole week with Ryker and now being without him …her loneliness fell upon her like a rock from the sky.