((Thanks for the compliments on how this is a great story. This one will be coming to a close soon, and a new one will be up. With a different title but same characters. I need a name for it though, any ideas will be very appreciated.))

DISCLAIMER: Tristan, Lissien, Numair, Copper, Steel, Silver, Gold, Bronze, Platinum, Kynara and Padkar are my original characters.

Briar woke up to the sounds of glass shattering against stone. He sat up quickly and realized that Sandry wasn't in bed. Looking out the window he saw that the sky was still dark, the sun hadn't even come up. Then the voice of a very angry woman cursing drifted to his ears. He stumbled out of bed and opened the door to the sitting room. Only to duck a second later to avoid a glass figure that had been whipped at his head. "What in the name of the Trickster are you doing?!" "Are you out of your bloody mind?"

Sandry halted, an extremely expensive vase held high in the air. "Your, your children are gone!" She then let the vase fly at him luckily he caught it.

"I bought this in the Copper Isles," he told her as he set the vase down on a small, now chipped, table. "And what do you mean, my children? They are yours as well."

Sandry glared at him, cornflower blue eyes blazing, and stuffed a letter into his hand. "Read it," she told him through tightly clenched teeth. Then she sat down, small hands clenched tightly together.

Briar opened the note and began to read, his gray-green eyes widening. It was written in Tristan's neat handwriting:

~Mother, Father..Aunt Trisana:

I, Numair and Lissien are leaving. It was Lissien's idea, not mine. It is my belief that she is more hurt by the truth right now then I am. She does not want to accept it, even less then I do. I only wish you would have told us sooner in order to save all of us un-necessary grief.

I still am not sure why we are leaving. We will return, of course, once we have figured out why we left in the first place. I will not say I am sorry, for I am not. All three of you should be very sorry for how much what you did hurt all of us, not just me and Lissien, but Numair and Trisana's other children as well.

Still, I love you; as I am sure Numair and Lissien do. Of course we do, you are our parents. Still, you hurt me and I hope it hurts the three of you even more then it should already. You hurt me in order to save face, to keep your pride. Your shame would have been great indeed, so you made something up. It would have hurt you less if you had simply admitted the truth at first then it did with what you did.

I pray for Shurri Firesword, Mila of the Grain and Lakoi the Trickster to forgive you. They will do so much sooner then the rest of us. Oti log this. Nothing like it has never happened and nothing like it ever will again.

Be well, my parents.

~ Lady Tristan fa Toren

Briar was shaking when he finished. He felt a very strong urge to swear but he held it in. "We have to tell Trisana," he said. "And Daja, Lissien is staying at her house."

Sandry nodded. "I sent for someone to get our teachers. They will get Daja and send one of her children to fetch Trisana. They'll be here soon enough."

"Teachers helping us again," Briar said with a small smile. "Gods help us I hope they can."

Sandry crawled over to him and pulled him down beside her. Then she crawled into his lap and lay her head on his shirt. She began to sob as her stroked her light brown hair. "They can," she told him through her tears. "If anyone can then it is them."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Mother!" the cry rang through the quiet house. A young woman with clear brown eyes, soft chocolate colored-skin and long silvery-hair ran through a hallway and stopped at a door. "Mother! Mother wake up!"

The door swung open to reveal a very tired-looking Daja. "Silver?" she asked. "What is wrong?"

Silver's soft eyes were wide with shock. "Dedicates Frostpine and Rosethorn just arrived. They need to see you, they mentioned Lissien being gone. I checked in on all the others and Lissien is gone. Along with Copper and Bronze!"

Daja swore softly under her breath and came out into the hall. "Make breakfast for the family, Silver," she said as her daughter followed her. "For four less then yesterday." Silver nodded and vanished through the door that led to the kitchen.

"Well!" Rosethorn said when Daja appeared. "It is about time. I thought that girl of yours would be forever in fetching you!"

Daja sat down. "Good to see you as well, Rosethorn," she said with a smile. "But why are all of you here before dawn?"

"Because we received word from Sandry that Numair and Tristan are gone," Frostpine said in a worried voice. "We were sent to fetch you and have to send one of you children to make sure someone told Trisana."

"But why would Sandry want you to come here?" Daja asked. "How could she possibly know that my children were missing as well?"

"Your children are missing?" Frostpine asked. "How many and who?"

"Only two," Daja replied. "Copper and Bronze, along with Lissien who was staying here."

"Well Lissien is why they sent for you of course," Rosethorn said. "They did not want you to worry about her absence. They could not have possibly known that your children are gone."

"You're right Rosethorn, as usual. Now I'll send one of my children to make sure the others arrived at Trisana's and told her. Steel!" she called. "Stop listening at the door and go to your Aunt Tris's house. I know you heard every word we said so go repeat it to her. And run!"

A slightly shame-faced young man with a very muscular frame who resembled Silver quite a bit ran through the room and out the door. Daja stood up as he left and grabbed her Trader's Staff and turned to the Dedicates. "Well?" she asked. "Are you coming or not?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Rapid knocking reached Trisana's ears. She got up of bed and pulled a robe on over her nightdress. Then she picked up her lighting-filled orb and went to her front door. "Yes?" she asked. "Who is it?"

"My name is Steel," Steel said, panting. "My mother, Daja, just sent me to give you a message if Niko and Dedicate Lark have not already arrived."

Trisana opened her mouth but someone said from behind Steel, "You barely beat us here Steel." It was Lark and she was smiling. "You can go home now Steel, you need to help your sister with breakfast."

Steel didn't argue, he simply ran off back the way he had come. Lark smiled at Trisana and said, "He listens so well, doesn't he? May we come in please? It is still rather cold out."

Trisana gave a start and stepped back. "Of course you may," she said. "Sorry, I forgot my manners. I never expected to see so many people at my home so early in the morning. Lark, Niko, would either of you like some tea?"

"No thank you, my dear," Niko said as he stepped in. "We would like to tell you what is happening before we take you to Sandry and Briar's house."

Trisana paled visibly. "Something bad did happen, didn't it?"

"Be calm Trisana," Lark said. "But please go and check on your children. Make sure they are all in their beds where they belong at this hour. Quickly."

Trisana nodded and went to each of her children's rooms. Marpessa, Xanthe, Ariadne and Jasmine were all in their beds. As were Nikan and Somen. But Kynara was not. "Kynara is missing," she told the two in a shaking voice. "But the others are all in their beds."

Lark sucked in her breath. "Kynara is the one who sees the future, isn't she?" Trisana nodded. "Damn!"

Trisana's gray eyes widened. "Lark!" she said. "I have very rarely heard you use such words!"

Lark glared at her. "You may get used to it soon enough. Ask Sandry, Rosethorn or Lissien, they have heard me use such words on more then one occasion."

"Please explain what is going on?" Trisana begged. "I do not understand, why is my daughter missing?"

"Two of your daughters are missing," Niko, corrected her. "Tristan and Kynara are gone. Along with Numair and Lissien. I suspect someone is missing from Daja's house."

"Why do you think that?" Lark asked.

"Because it wouldn't be confusing enough if one wasn't," Niko explained with a smile.

Lark rolled her eyes and turned to Trisana, "Tris you must come with us now. Whether or not you want to doesn't matter. We can force you to if you won't come willingly."

"I'll come," Trisana said with a sigh. "Just let me get dressed."

((There's twelve! It'll end in the next two or three chapters I think. REVIEW please!!!))