Questions/Responses:

Olorin: I would like to answer you questions…but then I might end up revealing parts of the ending. Will it suffice to say that your questions will be answered later on, as the story unfolds?

Lady Knight of Kennan: The shamans for these tribes are different from the Bazhir tribe shamans. Active magic is forbidden, but the Sight (the only 'magic' that the shamans have) is not. They don't see the Sight as real magic. The tribes are afraid of the more blatant, 'you can see it in the works' magic (putting out candles, spells, incantations, etc.). In addition, the Sight is passed down hereditarily (is that a word), and since Kaprice is an orphan with no family, her Sight makes them uncomfortable.

15. A Dangerous Daydream

Kaprice

Roald was unusually quiet. Not that he was very talkative, but he was quieter than he usually was. His silence was distinctly uncomforting to her.

Finally, the silence got to her. She stood up and walked over to him. "Roald?" She placed a hand on his shoulder and kneeled over him to look at his face. "What's the matter?"

He glanced up at her, dark eyes brooding. He looked as if he wanted to speak, but then he just shook his head. "It's nothing."

She sat down beside him. "It's obviously something. Now tell me."

He turned his head away to stare off into the desert. "That young man," he started, "Ryker. He obviously cares about you very much."

She blinked at him, slightly surprised. "Is that what you've been brooding about all day? Ryker?"

Roald slowly turned his head so that he could look at her.

And in his eyes she saw uncertainty. Pain.

"Love is precious, Kaprice. You shouldn't just let it walk away."

She flinched away from him. "What are you saying? You want me to go?"

He shook his head emphatically. "No. No."

"Then?"

"Are you sure this is what you want to do? You can still go back. Ryker will take care of you."

Kaprice just shook her head. She took Roald's hand and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Roald, you think too much."

"I suppose that happens when you live in the desert for seventy years, not aging a day."

"I won't go, Roald. I won't go."

Roald leaned his head down over hers. "I was hoping you would say that."

~*~*~*~*~

Later the same day

Cold water cascaded over her head and Kaprice shrieked in surprise.

Roald, his black hair dripping water into his bright blue eyes, laughed aloud. In his hands was a now empty, dripping bucket. His breeches hung low on his waist, and he had a clean shirt tossed over his shoulder. Beads of water glittered on his smooth chest.

"Roald!"

He gave her a disapproving look. "You should have been paying more attention. I shouldn't have been able to sneak up on you."

"Paying more attention?" she said incredulously. She slowly got to her feet, a handful of semi-wet sand in her fist. "I was giving you privacy for your bath!"

Roald just laughed again, and his eyes glinted wickedly.

Her eyes narrowed. "I'll get you for that," she said with a mock growl, stepping closer to him.

Roald smiled. "No you won't. But you can try."

But it was she who had the last laugh when she shoved her handful sand down his pants.

~*~*~*~

Night

I wonder what Tortall was like…

Instead of sleeping, Kaprice lay in her bedroll daydreaming. She didn't want to sleep because she didn't want to face the Goddess again.

A place of knights, kings, queens. A place where magic was normal.

She closed her eyes and tried to imagine what Tortall might have looked like.

Green grass everywhere, monstrously tall trees. Flowers a plenty, instead of stretches of desert as far as the eye can see…

~*~*~*~

Roald

Silver light edged between Roald's eyelids, and he opened his eyes.

And saw that Kaprice was the source of the silver glow. A soft silver light emanated from her body.

"Kaprice?"

Her eyes were closed and her body was motionless except for her chest which was rising and falling with each one of her breaths.

"Kaprice?" He put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a gentle shake. "Kaprice?"

But she did not awake. And the silver light that came from her skin was growing brighter by each passing moment.

He shook her again, harder this time. "Kaprice, please wake up."

As she continued to lay still, he became more desperate. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into a sitting position. "Wake up. Kaprice, wake up."

The glow was so bright that he was now squinting. He finally just gave up trying to look at her and kept his eyes turned away as he continued to try to shake her awake. "Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

And he suddenly heard her speak a single word.

"Tortall."

And then he was blinded by a flashing silver light.

~*~*~*~*~

Beware: this short segment is not from any particular person's point of view and it does NOT take place in the desert

"What happened?"

Roald smiled in greeting at Shinko when she joined him in the hall. He placed a soft kiss on her cheek before grimly shaking his head.

"My father says that they haven't had too much luck. Daine and Numair will arrive here by tomorrow morning, to check the library one last time." He rubbed at his sleepy eyes wearily. "They won't find anything new," he said with resignation. "They've already tried several times."

"Well," Shinko said with patient hope, "maybe luck will be on their side this time." She put a concerned hand on Roald's elbow. "You should get some rest. It's late; you haven't been sleeping properly," she said gently.

Roald shook his head. "I can't. I have to help." He clenched his fists tightly at his side. "I'm going to wait for Numair and Daine to arrive--"

Shinko placed a firm hand on Roald's chest and gazed at him with a serious expression on her face. "They will not arrive for several hours. Rest is more important for you right now." Her voice was soft, but her tone was commanding.

Even as Roald shook his head again, Shinko led him down the hall towards his room.

About halfway there, Roald suddenly let out a gasp and doubled over, one hand pressed against his chest where his heart lay. Pain shot through his heart, shocking his whole body from head to toe.

"Roald!"

Shinko anxiously tried to support Roald's body as he slid, unconscious, to the floor.

~*~*~*~*~

Kaprice

Kaprice would have slumped to the ground in exhaustion if it weren't for the arms around her waist. She just suddenly felt so…tired.

"Kaprice?"

She glanced up into Roald's concerned face. "What happened?" she asked groggily. It was a fight just to keep her eyes open.

Roald's face was troubled and serious. "I don't know. Why don't you tell me?"

She would have frowned if she had the energy to. "What do you mean?"

"Look around you," he simply said.

She tried to lift her head from his shoulder. "I …can't. I'm too sleepy." she said dazedly.

He moved as if to pick her up and she immediately protested, but even as she did she found herself leaning her weight upon him. "I'm so tired. What's wrong with me, Roald?" she mumbled with puzzlement.

Roald gently pulled her down onto the ground. She was so tired that she hardly even realized that what she lay on was grass and not sand.

"Rest, Kaprice. Go to sleep," Roald whispered into her ear.

"Hmmm…" she curled up onto her side, hands tightly clutching her robe around her. Then she promptly fell asleep.

~*~*~*~

Roald

What…what happened?

Maybe he was just dreaming. Yeah, that could be it, considering how the strange the dreams with the gods had been.

But there were no gods here.

And no matter how many times he pinched himself, the trees didn't go away. Neither did the grass. The endless sands and the warm air of the desert night were gone. So was his oasis.

And then he remembered the last word that Kaprice had whispered before the strange silver flash.

Tortall…

Was what he thinking possible? Could Kaprice have somehow transported them to Tortall? After all, what had the gods said? That she had the ability to change the past…

And what better way to change it than actually be in it yourself?

He had not been quite certain what the gods had been talking about when they had told Kaprice that she could change the past. But he had been certain that they would be given some sort of warning, some sort of notice beforehand.

He hadn't expected it to be like this.

And Kaprice most certainly hadn't done this on purpose; she hadn't even realized what she had done yet.

Kaprice…

His gaze fell tenderly to the sleeping figure. Her black hair was a great contrast compared to the green grass that it lay on. He saw her suddenly shiver; the air here was considerably cooler than the air of the desert.

He shook his head. They would have to figure out what had happened in the morning.

Roald quickly set about to put up a protective circle around them. That way they could rest without being disturbed.

Finished, he pulled off his robe and settled down on the soft grass beside Kaprice. He then pulled his robe over himself and Kaprice, making sure to tuck it carefully around Kaprice silent form. Finally, he lay down on his side, spooning his form to Kaprice's.

Kaprice shifted in her sleep, snuggling back against his warm body, but did not wake.

Roald leaned up onto his elbow, gazing down intently at Kaprice's sleeping profile. He ran a finger through her long, silky black hair.

It was a long while before Roald finally fell asleep.

But if Roald had only paid more attention to the scenery around him…he might have found that the courtyard they were in was familiar. And if he had recognized the courtyard, he may have even been able to identify the castle that lay beyond, just barely visible through the branches of the flourishing trees.

~*~*~*~*~

A.N.- Wow. Ff.net has the strangest companies sponsoring it. Steroids? Gambling? And just yesterday while I was surfing through the stories, one of the pop up sites ended up being the homepage of a website that portrays scandalous 18 year olds holding their hands over the appropriate (hah!) places.

They were like, "Subscribe and become a member who can access the archives that contain *insert big number here* pictures of beautiful young eighteen year olds!!!"

Nope, sorry, not interested.

Ad blocker is my new best friend…

Well anyway, (yeah, that was a very random rant) how was that chapter? It was on the longer side, yes?

Oooohh….we're seeing some TP characters next chapter. Shocking, isn't it.

It will make me very happy if you review (you do want me happy right? Right? Hmm…maybe I shouldn't have even asked…)

~krizsta