Tamora Pierce owns the entire universe of this story, all the characters,
the world they live on and the very air they use to sustain life. Only the
vague plot and dialog I have attributed to TP's characters in this tale
belongs to me. I freely give my permission for anyone to use any or all of
the plot/story/dialog if they are so inclined.
Blame all lousy spelling and grammar on the California Education System.
Chapter 32
Harvest was almost over, the storage areas of Green Acre were filled to busting and they were shipping to Summersea the surplus that there was no room for. They were already getting inquiries about the stored crops and the prices offered were slowly creeping up.
Tris was sitting in her office at the manor and reading correspondence from the various merchant cartels bidding on what they had stored. She was smiling as she entered tonnage wanted and prices offered onto a large chart pined to the wall behind her desk.
"Tris," Sandry spoke through the magic bond, "a ship has come in from Ninver in Capchin"
"So," she sent back.
"A merchant name Valden Chandler has disembarked and is making inquires about Moglee Chandler."
"My Father." Tris's mental tone was as hard as iron.
"UPS is conspiring to run him around in circles for a while just for the fun of it."
"Why would they do that?" Tris wondered.
"You may not realize it but you are very popular with the brown crowd."
"Me? Popular?"
"Of course, they know that behind the frowns, glares and sparks hides a heart as soft as butter."
"If you start spreading that rumor I will sic Pudge on you the next time you come out."
"Ok, uncle and I will be coming out when UPS stops making him chase his tail and we want to see the confrontation."
"You can help sweep up the ashes."
"Let Briar and Daja know what's going on."
"I will, talk later."
"Later." And Sandry shut down the communication bond.
Tris sat back in her chair and scilently stared out or the window as she remembered the last time she had seen her father. Slowly her hair started to rise and small sparks of lighting started moving in the hair until she noticed the sparks reflected in the window glass. Making a face she ran her hands through her hair collecting the sparks into balls of lighting in each hand.
A cat resting on a cushion by the office door hissed and the fur on its back lifted as it glared at the lighting in her hands. Tris glanced over and grinned, pressing her hands together she absorbed the lighting balls.
The cat walked over and jumped onto the desk and approached Tris's hands sniffing carefully.
Briar entered the office just as Tris said, "All gone Stitch, you can calm down now."
"You named the cat Stitch?"
"Of course, it was the right name for him." Reaching over and gently scratching under the cats chin.
"How so?"
"He has very sharp needles on each paw." Tris told him, as she ran her hand down the cat's back, Stitch arched against her hand.
"I brought the latest information from the winery, the Galows are starting to bottle the wine from the early grapes and has started on a apricot brandy."
Shuffling through the parchments on her desk Tris said, "We have a couple of inquiries about the wine we found stored in the caves."
Tris handed two letters to Briar.
Glancing over the two letters Briar said, "You're the merchant Tris, what ever you think is right."
"Don't call me a merchant!" Tris flared back at him, Stitch left the room running.
Briar backed up holding both hands up, "Tris, what's wrong?"
Removing her glasses and rubbing the bridge of her nose Tris told him. "Sandry just let me know that my father is in Summersea looking for Moglee."
Briar pulled up a chair and sat, reaching over he put a hand over her hand, Tris turned her hand over and grabbed Briars hand hard.
"I don't know what to feel." She said.
"I got used to not having relatives and then Moglee showed up and it took me some time to adjust to him being a cousin and being around, now my father is here and I'm disturbed."
Briar squeezed her hand and said, "He may be you father but we are your family, I can tell you right now that he is in over his head and doesn't know it."
"When he gets here he will not be facing a ten year old who he had been browbeaten for years, he is up against a noble of Emelan who is both a Ambient and a Academic Mage and who can buy and sell him several times over. And you earned it all without his aid or support."
"So If he gets too obnoxious we will sic your bodyguards Sergeant Alana Trebol and Corporal Mer Rike after him. They will have him gutted, skinned and filleted before he could blink an eye."
"Thank you Briar."
"I'm just sorry we can't get Pudge to focus on him, if we could Pudge would follow him to the ends of the world stinging him at regular intervals."
Tris smiled, "That would be nice."
Briar reached over and took her other hand and turned her to face him. "You are not alone and you never will be, just remember that."
"OK."
"Now, did Sandry say when we could expect him?"
"She said UPS is running him around in circles for now and that she and the Duke will come out to be here when he gets here."
Briar started to smile, "Did you ever think of what he is going to be facing when he gets her?"
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it, Duke Vedris IV ruler of Emelan, Countess Sandrilene fa Toren niece of Her Imperial Highness Empress Berenene of the Namorn Empire, Baron Briar Moss Ambient plant Mage, Baroness Daja Kisubo of First ship Kisubo, Third ship Kisubo and Ten Caravan, Ambient Smith Mage, Moglee Chandler Ambient Shapeshifter and Baroness Trisana Chandler Ambient Weather Mage and Academic Mage and every single one disliking him from the beginning. He is going to be walking in harms way and doesn't realize it yet."
The cat jumped up on the desk and walked over to Tris and rubbed his head against her cheek."
"See even Stitch is on you side."
"Let's get some tea."
Tris picked up Stitch walked beside Briar and they headed toward the kitchen.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
You Know You Are Obsessed With Tamora Pierce when...
You tell the wrinkles in your clothes to go away, and actually expect them to listen.
You name trees in your backyard after the dedicates and teachers from Winding Circle
You get drenched trying to braid rain and wind into your hair.
You run around talking to plants and actually expect them to listen
You draw little blue Xs inbetween your index finger and thumb and then draw vines and roses all over your hands
You make little braids in your hair and try to add weather power into it.
You spend an entire afternoon trying to tell the difference between gold jewelry and a piece of aluminuim foil without looking at them.
You try your absolute hardest to keep all your plants in their best possible condition because you're terrified that Rosithorn will hang you upsidedown, by your toes, from the well, if you kill them.
You try the breathing exercizes/meditation thing so that you can find that well of magic within you
You are in love with Briar or another other charicter from the books
Whenever there's a power outage, your mother sends you for candles and you come back with a sewing kit....
You try to hear things on the wind....
Pull skin off your hand as if it were living metal...
Stare intently at bowls of water and mirrors etc. to attempt to see when the next earthquake will happen...
Throw balls of seeds at people to scare them away....
you keep swearing by Mila or the Green Man
Someone dies/hold memorial service for someone and you wear red instead of black.
Explain to your parents that you don't need to hold the pot with kitchen mitts, because the heat is nothing to you!
You spend an entire chem lab trying to call the flames from your Bunsen burner to your hand.
Insist that rather than a diploma, you should receive a medallion at your graduation.
Blame all lousy spelling and grammar on the California Education System.
Chapter 32
Harvest was almost over, the storage areas of Green Acre were filled to busting and they were shipping to Summersea the surplus that there was no room for. They were already getting inquiries about the stored crops and the prices offered were slowly creeping up.
Tris was sitting in her office at the manor and reading correspondence from the various merchant cartels bidding on what they had stored. She was smiling as she entered tonnage wanted and prices offered onto a large chart pined to the wall behind her desk.
"Tris," Sandry spoke through the magic bond, "a ship has come in from Ninver in Capchin"
"So," she sent back.
"A merchant name Valden Chandler has disembarked and is making inquires about Moglee Chandler."
"My Father." Tris's mental tone was as hard as iron.
"UPS is conspiring to run him around in circles for a while just for the fun of it."
"Why would they do that?" Tris wondered.
"You may not realize it but you are very popular with the brown crowd."
"Me? Popular?"
"Of course, they know that behind the frowns, glares and sparks hides a heart as soft as butter."
"If you start spreading that rumor I will sic Pudge on you the next time you come out."
"Ok, uncle and I will be coming out when UPS stops making him chase his tail and we want to see the confrontation."
"You can help sweep up the ashes."
"Let Briar and Daja know what's going on."
"I will, talk later."
"Later." And Sandry shut down the communication bond.
Tris sat back in her chair and scilently stared out or the window as she remembered the last time she had seen her father. Slowly her hair started to rise and small sparks of lighting started moving in the hair until she noticed the sparks reflected in the window glass. Making a face she ran her hands through her hair collecting the sparks into balls of lighting in each hand.
A cat resting on a cushion by the office door hissed and the fur on its back lifted as it glared at the lighting in her hands. Tris glanced over and grinned, pressing her hands together she absorbed the lighting balls.
The cat walked over and jumped onto the desk and approached Tris's hands sniffing carefully.
Briar entered the office just as Tris said, "All gone Stitch, you can calm down now."
"You named the cat Stitch?"
"Of course, it was the right name for him." Reaching over and gently scratching under the cats chin.
"How so?"
"He has very sharp needles on each paw." Tris told him, as she ran her hand down the cat's back, Stitch arched against her hand.
"I brought the latest information from the winery, the Galows are starting to bottle the wine from the early grapes and has started on a apricot brandy."
Shuffling through the parchments on her desk Tris said, "We have a couple of inquiries about the wine we found stored in the caves."
Tris handed two letters to Briar.
Glancing over the two letters Briar said, "You're the merchant Tris, what ever you think is right."
"Don't call me a merchant!" Tris flared back at him, Stitch left the room running.
Briar backed up holding both hands up, "Tris, what's wrong?"
Removing her glasses and rubbing the bridge of her nose Tris told him. "Sandry just let me know that my father is in Summersea looking for Moglee."
Briar pulled up a chair and sat, reaching over he put a hand over her hand, Tris turned her hand over and grabbed Briars hand hard.
"I don't know what to feel." She said.
"I got used to not having relatives and then Moglee showed up and it took me some time to adjust to him being a cousin and being around, now my father is here and I'm disturbed."
Briar squeezed her hand and said, "He may be you father but we are your family, I can tell you right now that he is in over his head and doesn't know it."
"When he gets here he will not be facing a ten year old who he had been browbeaten for years, he is up against a noble of Emelan who is both a Ambient and a Academic Mage and who can buy and sell him several times over. And you earned it all without his aid or support."
"So If he gets too obnoxious we will sic your bodyguards Sergeant Alana Trebol and Corporal Mer Rike after him. They will have him gutted, skinned and filleted before he could blink an eye."
"Thank you Briar."
"I'm just sorry we can't get Pudge to focus on him, if we could Pudge would follow him to the ends of the world stinging him at regular intervals."
Tris smiled, "That would be nice."
Briar reached over and took her other hand and turned her to face him. "You are not alone and you never will be, just remember that."
"OK."
"Now, did Sandry say when we could expect him?"
"She said UPS is running him around in circles for now and that she and the Duke will come out to be here when he gets here."
Briar started to smile, "Did you ever think of what he is going to be facing when he gets her?"
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it, Duke Vedris IV ruler of Emelan, Countess Sandrilene fa Toren niece of Her Imperial Highness Empress Berenene of the Namorn Empire, Baron Briar Moss Ambient plant Mage, Baroness Daja Kisubo of First ship Kisubo, Third ship Kisubo and Ten Caravan, Ambient Smith Mage, Moglee Chandler Ambient Shapeshifter and Baroness Trisana Chandler Ambient Weather Mage and Academic Mage and every single one disliking him from the beginning. He is going to be walking in harms way and doesn't realize it yet."
The cat jumped up on the desk and walked over to Tris and rubbed his head against her cheek."
"See even Stitch is on you side."
"Let's get some tea."
Tris picked up Stitch walked beside Briar and they headed toward the kitchen.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
You Know You Are Obsessed With Tamora Pierce when...
You tell the wrinkles in your clothes to go away, and actually expect them to listen.
You name trees in your backyard after the dedicates and teachers from Winding Circle
You get drenched trying to braid rain and wind into your hair.
You run around talking to plants and actually expect them to listen
You draw little blue Xs inbetween your index finger and thumb and then draw vines and roses all over your hands
You make little braids in your hair and try to add weather power into it.
You spend an entire afternoon trying to tell the difference between gold jewelry and a piece of aluminuim foil without looking at them.
You try your absolute hardest to keep all your plants in their best possible condition because you're terrified that Rosithorn will hang you upsidedown, by your toes, from the well, if you kill them.
You try the breathing exercizes/meditation thing so that you can find that well of magic within you
You are in love with Briar or another other charicter from the books
Whenever there's a power outage, your mother sends you for candles and you come back with a sewing kit....
You try to hear things on the wind....
Pull skin off your hand as if it were living metal...
Stare intently at bowls of water and mirrors etc. to attempt to see when the next earthquake will happen...
Throw balls of seeds at people to scare them away....
you keep swearing by Mila or the Green Man
Someone dies/hold memorial service for someone and you wear red instead of black.
Explain to your parents that you don't need to hold the pot with kitchen mitts, because the heat is nothing to you!
You spend an entire chem lab trying to call the flames from your Bunsen burner to your hand.
Insist that rather than a diploma, you should receive a medallion at your graduation.