Similarities

A/N: I had lost inspiration, but now with the nearing of the end of school it has returned. I will try to keep active with this story and my new one, together. I have the outline for this one planned in my head but it won't come out on paper. Well, sorry about the wait...or...well wait. Here's the next chapter, and sorry if I repeat myself from previous chapters, or change any information. It got rather jumbled in my head, but I promise not to leave anything out at least.

It's all going to be written in "I" form now. First person I mean.

Also, much thanks to my reviewers, Miss Piratess and Livie. Thanks so much for your encouragement/reviews, it means a lot for me coming from you two and though I'm not much of a reviewer myself, I love your stories too. (My favorite stories : Miss Piratess = The Other Princess - Livie = Obedient Love / Belle of the Ball) Will try to review for you more.

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The fate's maintained their normal visits, the week before my birthday. I was still restricted from the third presentation, Lander's presentation. Father was the sole witness to Lander's predictions, and after each presentation Lander would saunter easily into the hallway while father snuck around him and retreated to his bedrooms upstairs.

Ratiug and Tol, after the first two years of working alongside the younger fate, had eased in their feelings towards him and had taken him under their care, as aunts would after a mother's death. Or, at least that's what I thought.

The fate's first visit after Erih's declaration of running away had been made was memorable. I was excluded from all presentations upon order of Ratiug. Surprised, and offended, I waited in the hallway with my brothers. Lander was "running late" according to Ratiug so I had only Tol to turn on.

"Why am I not allowed?" I demanded of Tol, planting myself firmly in front of the visibly aging witch. Tol's hair was producing more and more gray hairs each year now. The gray hairs, oddly, were not like the soft hair Tol had, but like the stick hair Ratiug possessed.

"You've come of the age." She avoided my question, her insulting answers contradicting the past. I stared unflinchingly at her as she skillfully avoided my gaze. It continued like this for another few minutes before she faced me. "Leiryh, dear - " The fate's seemed to have a habit of calling me 'dear.' "Ratiug, Lander and I have all predicted a large change in your future, one that affects even us. It is important we discuss this with you father and amongst ourselves before we include you."

I gasped. "It's all about me! Why should I be excluded? I'm almost sixteen." Tol opened her mouth to reply, but Ratiug, grim faced as usual but abnormally serious opened the door before I could get a response and ushered the younger witch inside. I was left with my brothers. Jonasth was away in town.

Groaning in frustration, I collapsed upon the bench outside father's study door, eyeing the twins, the youngest of my siblings. They whispered confidentially in the corner, glancing my way before frowning, whispering a moment more and walking, I imagined they thought they were being sneaky, out the front door. I was alone.

I threw my head back without a thought and rammed the back of my skull into the wooden frame over the bench. I gasped in pain, rolling in upon myself and clutching my head. My breath was caught in my throat and I took my time trying to return my normal breathing pattern. The floor swung in front of my feet and I frowned, at least in mind I did. I hadn't hit my head that hard, had I?

In answer to my unspoken question, I felt a soft hand rest over mine as it held the back of my head and watched as a pair of feet materialized on the floor. I looked up to Lander's face as he grinned, amused, down at me.

The pain and jumbled feeling in my head was gone and he folded his hands back behind his back. "Hurt yourself? The takes some talent."

I ignored the insult and stood up quickly, a slight to quickly. His eyes sparkled lavender in front of me and I had to look at the floor to regain my balance. "Why am I restricted?" I demanded. His grin vanished, at least the emotion of it vanished from his voice even though it was still plastered on his expression.

"It's complicated." He shrugged, turning to watch as the twins made their way back through the front door. They were covered in mud. I usually laughed at their immaturity for being seventeen years old, but I wasn't losing focus upon the subject of my restriction.

"Tell me." I meant to ask, but it came out as a demand. His grin actually vanished this time and he opened his mouth, as Tol had before the study door opened once again, cutting him off. Exasperated, I turned to watch a white-faced father lead the two witches from his study. I walked over to him, reaching father's side the same time the twins did. They supported him by the arms, both looking worried.

"Tell her." Father ordered Ratiug and Tol. "I need a nap." He grinned at me and pushed away from the twins, heading for the stairs. The twins followed, glancing once at the fates before helping father up the stairs.

My three fates stood around me in a dispersed circle. I looked at each in turn. Ratiug looked worn and tired, her stick hair rather frail looking, as a fragile twig looks during the fall season. Tol looked rather bland, an expression unreadable upon her features. Lander still frowned, and I caught sight of his true brown eyes. A shiver ran my spine and he waved his hand as it hung at his side. The comfort was replacing the shiver.

"You!" I gasped, looking at him curiously.

"Ghosts annoy me." He answered simply, stepping towards father's empty study. Tol and Ratiug turned to follow and I fell in after Tol.

"Ghosts?" I asked.

"He means the rumor." She noticed my confused expression and sighed. "When a ghost passes through you, the hairs upon the back of your neck stand on end." I mechanically clamped a hand over the back of my neck and followed Tol into the study. Lander took father's chair behind the desk, Ratiug a stiff wooden chair in front of the desk and Tol left me the comfortable armchair. I sat, looking at them.

This was my first personal council with my fates, and I knew then that it wasn't going to be my last. They each watched me in shifts, the two not looking my way exchanging mechanical glances towards each other I watched in confusion until it was Lander's shift to watch me.

"We can talk to one another through glances." He explained patiently, breaking his gaze and looking pointedly at Ratiug and Tol in turn. "We have little need of that here though, don't we?"

"You're still Ezilat's bother inside." Commented Tol rudely before turning her attention to me. Ratiug took up the task of informing me quite suddenly.

"Leiryh, dear, Tol, Lander and I, this past year, we've had an unusual experience."

"We all had the same prophecies." Tol took over, interrupting her elder. "We've had similar singular prophesies before, but this past year we all saw your path in life suddenly changing, and it was a bit disturbing."

"You're the only person in known history and present times to have three different fates. And only sixteen times in history have their been persons with two fates. They all died at young ages." Lander included, adding a historic education in the possibility of my death. I sat, frozen.

Ratiug continued. "You, Leiryh, are special, as Lander explained, and we in turn, like you, are special as well." I hadn't noticed how odd Ratiug communicated before.

Silence fell and I hesitated to break the monotonous calm. "What'd you see?"

"We won't put it in fancy terms for you Leiryh." Lander stood up, holding onto the arm of the chair. He looked at Tol and I sensed rather than guessed that the two were speaking in the way that Lander had said. With glances. Tol took up the explanation again.

"We know your friend, Erih, is thinking of running away."

"She is running away." I interrupted, growing tense at the change of subject. Tol continued without a pause.

"We know her exact route Leiryh. We know what is going to happen to her, what she is going to do, who she is going to meet." She paused and looked at me. "Our prophetic visions have been of her journeys. Do you understand Leiryh?"

I looked at them with a mixed emotion of confusion and surprise.

"You're going on the journey with her Leiryh." Lander patted the top of his head. He looked nervous; in fact all three looked nervous.

"No I'm not." I stated simply. "I can't, father would never let me. Erih would never let me. I would never go, I'm not the run-away type. Besides, A prince is chasing her, I would drag her down." Lander flinched and Tol started talking quickly. It was the first time I had been uncomfortable with others knowing my future when I myself didn't know what would happen that very day.

"No, Leiryh, dear, you're going with her. She'll be by this night without a reason for showing up and ask you to come with her, as a friend. She'll plead with you if you refuse, with the guilt of being a best friend. Otamo will already be with her, he refused to be left behind once he heard Erih's plan. It will happen Leiryh."

I glared at all three of them. They can't tell me what I am going to do. They had never told me what I am going to do, only what is going to happen to me. I looked pleadingly for a different answer, from Ratiug, from Tol, from Lander. Lander sat back down, rustling his hair. This was the most human I had ever seen my witches act. And I had a feeling they weren't done.

"You'll go darling," started Ratiug with a nervous glance towards Lander, "because we have all seen you go. You have no other future but going." I suddenly felt very restricted. My breath caught in my throat and an uncomfortable but temptingly stable hate for the three fates rose in my emotions.

"I won't." I whispered past my caught breath. Lander rose his arm off the chair in emphasis, facing Ratiug.

"I told you. She shouldn't have to go. She has choices like a normal person. We've all been wrong before, why can't we be wrong all at the same time?"

"Lander...Ratiug and I have more experience than you, and even if there have never been cases such as this before, we are sure she ahs no choice. A fate is fate, she has to follow one in order to continue life."

"Tol's right." I curled my legs up onto the armchair, wrapping my arms around my knees and looking at each witch as they spoke. I couldn't believe I was teary, but I was. I had to fight some emotion, for as Ratiug, Tol and Lander fought I realized that they were right. I had to go what else would I do?

"I'll go." I said, standing up shakily. Lander rolled his eyes and turned away from me. "I have to go." I looked instead to Tol for reassurance and she smiled meekly at me.

"It won't be as bad as you think." Ratiug placed her warm palm upon my arm and I lost all hate for the three witches I might have had. "You'll have Erih, Otamo and Lander with you."

"Lander?" I asked, lookng to his back. He turned and sighed, throwing those speaking glances to both Ratiug and Tol.

"I have to go. You have to be under the eye of one of your three fates at all times, and with travelling that makes watching you much more difficult. It's a side detail of having a fate. A personal fate, I mean." He shrugged slightly, trying to avoid the issue that he had been so vehement about me not going only minutes ago when he actually didn't want to have to go with me. "Ratiug is to old, Tol, surprisingly enough, has a family outside of you, Ratiug and I so that leaves me."

I sat back down in the armchair. My life was spinning and the realization of my agreement to go was catching up quickly.