A/N: Oh, yesh, now I remember… this is the intro to Alen and the beginning of Tia's problems * evil cackle * Anyway, after the next chapter, I'm going to try to make the chapters longer, I just have these two all formatted.. If I don't this will be one hell of a long story…
Tia sat up, and it took her a moment to remember where she was and what had happened the night before. Suddenly, she grabbed for her neck, her heart stopping for one agonizing second. She felt the familiar charm around her neck and breathed a little easier. Looking over, she noticed that Biltor had been watching her, and he reached up a hand to look at the charm. She leaned down, and he squinted.
"What's this dark line for? I recognize the rest."
She frowned, then untied the thong it hung on, looking carefully at the charm. She saw it suddenly, and then turned over the charm, fear growing inside her. It was as she had expected. The crack went all the way through. She must have made some kind of noise, because he took the charm, then gasped as he saw what she had. He pulled her down beside him, and held her close, whispering reassurances, reminding her that he would be there for her, no matter what came of it.
* * *
Lily picked out a simple, dusk-rose gown, with a coarser, hardier chemise and skirt underneath. She figured that she would be doing domestic overseeing. When she was presented with a scythe and turned towards the field, she blinked for a few seconds, then set out towards the field with head high and nose in the air.
By noon, she was roasting. She was covered in sweat and she felt like she'd never get the dust off. With one quick look, she could see everyone far ahead of her. She watched the other women with a sigh. They all had short-sleeved chemises and light skirts tucked up. They had their hair up in buns, and most wore strips of cloth that they soaked and tied around their necks. Up until this point, she had been too full of pride to be swayed, but at this point, she just didn't care. She discarded her over-robe, and tore the sleeves off her chemise. She walked over to a water-pail and soaked the strips for a few minutes, then tied them around her neck. She quickly tucked up the skirt, and returned to the fields. She worked much faster, and soon caught up to one of the younger men. She looked up at him, and he smiled, but, for once, her stomach didn't flutter. She didn't feel nervous. She just smiled back.
* * *