Chapter 28:                                           The sweetness of payback

"W…" Danny sucked in her breath.

Feli stared at her. "What's the matter?"

The other pages looked around and noticed that Ria and Aaron had also the same symptoms.

Mo scratched her head. "Hmmm … it looks like…" She took a glass of water and offered it to Danny.

The girl took it more than eagerly and gulped it down and gasped:  "More."

Now the other pages also started to understand and gave the triplets all the available water.

"What have they eaten?" Lachran murmured puzzled. "They seem to have the same things we do."

Finally the triplets were able to speak again.

"Hell, that was … sharp." Ria looked shocked at her plate, then at her friends. "How are you able to eat this?"

Deli, who sat opposite to her, inspected her plate intently. The other girl seemed to have the same food she had herself. "May I?" She took a piece of meant and bit carefully in it.

All the others stared at her waiting for her reaction.

Deli blinked in surprise. "This tastes exactly like mine. It isn't sharp at all." She stared at Ria. "What have you eaten, exactly?"

The other girl stared at her, then at her plate. "The meat…" She took her fork again and tried another bit. She immediately gasped and gulped down another glass of water.

Now the other pages inspected the triplets' food more carefully. Everybody came to the same solution.

"The food is fine. I don't know what's wrong, but it has nothing to do with your food." Milan shook his head. Then an idea struck him. "Do you plan to eat the rest? No? Can I have it?"

The triplets weren't able to eat anything without drinking litres of water, which had other side affects as well. Even milk was a horror for them. But at least it seemed to become weaker with time, and by the evening they didn't have that much breathing problems anymore.

Nobody noticed Sam's satisfied smirk every time the triplets tried to eat something. And nobody noticed the promise in her eyes as well.

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She was trembling, sweating, gasping. She felt that something was happening to her body. A power rising and falling deep inside her. She felt the pain clinging in her soul. 'I'm lost. I'm helpless. I'm incomplete.'

DESTINY! DESTINY! DESTINY! DESTINY! DESTINY! DESTINY! DESTINY! DESTINY!

A new wave rolled over her. 'Oh gods, please, help me.'

Suddenly there was a nearly inaudible noise. The door had opened and Lee peered in. "Sam?" She noticed the older girl curled to a ball in her bed, panting heavily. She closed the door carefully behind her and walked quickly to the bed. The room wavered in the most intense moss green light she had ever seen. It wasn't limited to this room; nearly the whole wing was affected. The glowing had woken her up; she only had to follow it to its centre.

She bent down to Sam, noticing that the girl's eyes were wide open, but the older girl didn't seem to recognise anything.

Lee didn't know what she was supposed to do. She could call help, but she wasn't sure that Sam would like that. She had once told her how she had hated to be inspected by Master Numair, who first tried to figure out her magic, and later searched for the reason why it was gone. Lee shook her head. No. She wouldn't do this. But she couldn't just stand there and watch. There had to be something she could do for her.

She continued looking down to Sam. 'She is looking so lonely.' Lee sat carefully down on the bed and started to stroke Sam's face slowly and gently. After a while she felt the other girl relax a bit. She took her head into her lap and continued stroking it.

After a while Sam's breath calmed down and she closed her eyes. The glow faded slowly. "Thanks."

Lee smiled softly. "What happened?"

Sam sighed. "It had started some time ago. Every once a while, since I've lost my magic I get those attacks. They are rare, but … they are horrible."

She looked up to her friend's face.

"I wished my magic would be back. I feel so … incomplete without it. It had always been part of my life. You told me once that seeing magic makes your world richer."

The other girl nodded.

"That's the same with me. I had a connection to every living being … it was … incredible. And now, it's gone. I'm lost, helpless. I won't be able to do what I was born to do when time has come. Everything I ever believed in is turned upside down. I don't know where to turn and who to ask. And I'm not even allowed to ask anybody for help. I'm surrounded by treason, Lee. Even my own people betrayed me. People my family and I have trusted more than anybody else have betrayed us in the most horrible ways that you can imagine. Our world is changing. I feel it. And if I can't change the direction of it's development, the world will be covered with war and destruction."

Lee stared at her, eyes wide in shock. She knew that the girl wasn't joking. Her eyes were serious; her words seemed like a prophecy. Lee felt fear rising in her chest. "Sam! What are you talking about."

Sam closed her eyes again. "I'm talking about the day the protector turns against those he is supposed to protect. I'm talking about the day dark forces of the past will try to take over the rule of the world, like they've already tried centuries ago. I'm talking about the return of the darkness, the death of the innocence and the purity. I'm talking about the only weapon that could stop this, which I might be too weak to protect. He will come to get me, he will hunt me down and he will destroy everything worth being protected. He will kill anyone who means something to me. He has done it before. And without my magic, there will be no way to stop him. I have created this monster, and I haven't created it. I'm divided in three personalities, the person I am, the person I have to be and the person I will be. And I have to find the union between the three of them, because if I can't unite them, I will never be sure of myself, and I will fail." She opened her eyes again and stared at Lee. "Lee?"

"Yes."

"Please, stay. I want to tell you about my people. I want to tell you why you have to be prepared. Why all of us should be prepared, and why I can't tell anybody about it."

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Blades were dancing in the morning sun. A flock of birds flew over terrain, surprised by the unusual view. Of course the birds of the royal palace were used to fighting people. They were also used to watching some of the strange smaller humans, called pages, train very early in the morning. But these two were earlier than usual. If the birds had the same conception of time, they would know they were half an hour before the usual time.

Some of the birds decided to give in their curiosity and to take a closer look at those strange human beings. They sat down at a post, next to a black mouse, which was watching as well. They recognised the mouse as the companion of one of those humans. It has been here with her quite often and was a familiar sight.

After some time the human girl with the colouring of ripe wheat was able to wrest the sword out of the hands of the girl with hair as dark as a raven's feather.

Lee rolled her eyes in annoyance. "I will never learn it."
Sam only shrugged. "Of course you will. If you go on practising like that, you will have more success than you can imagine."

Lee yawned heavily. "It's much to early for that much training."
Sam shrugged again. "It was your idea to get up earlier. I have to admit that I had expected you to complain much earlier. You've been very brave the last three days. Believe it or not, you have already improved a bit."

Lee sighed. "Yes, I don't stumble over my feet the whole time anymore. Only every third step. What an improvement."

To her surprise Sam started to laugh. "Poor baby. Not a perfect warrior already. You have my pity."

Lee pouted. "Thanks for your sympathy. It really helps to lighten my mood."
Sam chuckled at that statement. "You are not a morning person, Lee. Nothing could lighten up your mood at this time of day."

"Of course there is something."

Sam frowned. "What would that be?"

"A bed of course."

Sam rolled her eyes and shook her head. "You are missing the best time of the day sleeping as long as you do. Isn't the morning beautiful?"

Now it was Lee's turn to frown. "Oh, yeah. Really great. Never seen something like that before."
Sam chuckled again. "I see your joy. Now how about some drills? Or hand to hand combat. What would my lady prefer?"

"Still the bed."

Sam shook her head again. "And people say I'm difficult."

Lee grumbled lightly. "By the way, what is your plan for today? What have you planned for the triplets?"

"Hmm. First we had sharp, then a day off, then sour, then a day off … today it's bitter, I guess."
Lee shook her head. "I still can't believe how that powder works. You do something with it in a glass of water, drink it, and then everything you are eating or drinking tastes sharp, bitter, sour or god knows what. How did you get this stuff."

Sam grinned. "From a healer. I told you, my people know a lot about plants. And some extracts of herbs have these effects. It had been developed for people who want to become slim. It is possible to control which things taste bad. It is possible to limit the number. If you mix one of these powders with another special powder the effect is only shown when you eat, for example, sweets. But when I've prepared the triplets' drinking water in their rooms, I didn't mix it up with that powder."
Lee shook her head again. "I'm starting to feel pity for them. When do you plan to stop this?"

Sam sighed. "It's the last day, I guess. If I continue too long, they would be affected too much. And they would consult a palace healer, and that could mean trouble. But I want them to know who did it."

Sam started to grin.

Lee frowned lightly. "Why are you doing this anyway?"

Sam shrugged. "Distraction. Did you see their faces when they had their 'sour day'? I had a hard time controlling my laughter. Now I know why they always play tricks on other people."

Lee stared at her questioningly. "Do you want to start an equal carrier like them."

"No. After that I'll quit it. But I will enjoy today as much as possible. I wonder how I can tell them who is responsible for their misery the right way. We will see. But now, let's continue training. Don't think I didn't notice that you only wanted to play for time."

Lee moaned annoyed when Sam took a fighting stance, waiting for her to do the same. "Much too early for this. Much too early."

Same time, another place.

On an hill above Corus a man was watching the city intently. He had been travelling for weeks already, watching searching, hoping. And now he had arrived in Tortall, soon he would enter the City of Corus. And maybe he would find here what he was searching for.

His horse started to paw nervously.

He patted it softly to calm it down. "If he is here, then I will find him. I will find the keeper."

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It had been a long day. Even longer for the triplets. They still shuddered at the thought of the bitter food they had to eat if they didn't want to starve.

"We should have eaten more yesterday." Aaron muttered patting his belly.

Danny growled annoyed. "If I get the person responsible for this he or she will regret it…"

"… And you will never be able to eat properly."

The triplets turned around to face Sam. She was leaning against the wall, arms crossed before her chest, smirking at them in superiority.

Danny's eyes widened. "You!"
Sam nodded gracefully. "An eye for an eye. Taste for smell, water for colour. And I have more possibilities to make your lives a misery than you can imagine. Now tell me, do you want war or do you want peace?"

Danny frowned. "How…?"

"Powder in your drinking water. Normally meant to help people to slim down, or to stop drinking alcohol and things like that."

The triplets stared at her in shock. Suddenly a realisation hit Danny. "Alcohol. Do you want to tell me that you can use it in a way it only affects you when you are drinking alcohol? Wine for example."
Sam frowned and nodded.

Danny started to grin. "I think I have an idea. How about an alliance?"

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I hope this chapter fulfils your expectations. I plan to update the next chapter soon.

To all of you a merry Christmas. ^_^ I wish you peaceful and happy holidays. (Mine are never peaceful. There is always somebody to cause trouble: I wonder who will be the troublemaker this year.)

Today I bought a Christmas tree. Normally it's my father's duty, but this year he is much too busy for it. [I was woken up with Christmas music (my mother tries to create a festive mood, no matter what it takes) and then I was told that I have to go and buy a tree. Lovely.] The seller at the Christmas fair was horrified with my high demands (a straight trunk, the branches not so close that you can't put any decoration on it). Finally I bought something new, a tree from the Asian region. The seller told me how lucky I was to get it for this low prize. Normally it was meant for another shop, which had higher prices. In other words: they couldn't sell it. It needs time to sell something new to the Bavarian population, especially here, near the Bavarian forest. Most people think, "we don't know it, we don't buy it." Now I have a really beautiful Christmas tree for 10 € lower than usual. ^_^ Ever tried to get a not so small tree on your backseat of a normal car? It is a very special experience.

This year I have to cook for five people and a dog. And concerning the fact that we will eat a duck the dog won't move away from the stove the whole day. We have three guests this year, each of them has trouble with their families (which are a plague) and we've invited them so they won't be alone. Four nice women at the age of my mother. Hopefully, one of them is able to play chess or willing to learn it, otherwise I will have to play with myself with my new chess game, because NONE of my relatives or friends know how to play it. I start to feel like an alien, everybody else only wants to play cards or stuff like that.

Maybe I will finish chapter 29 early enough to update it before the 24th. I have something special planned for it. AND I need some reason too hide from too much family activities. Everything can become too much.