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Unknown

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Lianne was learning to hate this room.

Considering she was dreaming – and she must be, she reasoned, how else would she have gotten here? – it was totally possible she had only been sitting for a few minutes. Even so, back against the smooth grey stone and legs folded beneath her, Lianne felt as if she had been sitting and staring at nothing for hours.

Head angled back to rest against the cool surface behind her, she shut her eyes, taking a deep breath. Logically she knew that there should have been pain from her position – it could not possibly be construed as comfortable – but she felt nothing. She hoped she would wake up soon.

"I told you there wasn't a way out."

Lianne's eyes snapped open. She couldn't place the voice right away; it took a moment before she thought to look to the side. Calm brown eyes met her stare, and the little girl offered a grim smile.

"But I escaped." Her tone was protesting, nearly a whine.

The girl's smile changed, becoming more amused. "I know. Nice work on that door, by the way."

"I had sort of hoped that was the end of it." Lianne rested her head back against the stone once more, frowning at the opposite wall.

"Nope," With slightly awkward gestures incredibly reminiscent of Lianne's youngest cousin, her Uncle Gary's daughter, the little girl unfolded her legs and stretched them out in front of her, toes tilting inwards and meeting together in a point. "I wouldn't count on it being the end of anything. I can't make you any promises, though." When Lianne did not reply, she went on. "But you took the initiative and got out. Good for you."

"The initiative?" Lianne's frown grew, and she looked sideways at the girl. "That word is a little big for someone your age, isn't it?"

The girl shrugged a shoulder, toes tapping together idly. "I go to school."

Lianne shook her head, eyeing the girl's bare feet. The movement was childish, and as far as Lianne was concerned, it suited the little girl. Words like 'initiative' did not, nor did the knowledgeable tone the girl spoke in. She wasn't sure what it was, but something in her mind didn't settle properly. "There's something odd about you."

"You're the one dreaming me," the girl sniffed, somewhat petulant.

"No," Lianne said slowly, eyebrows knitting together. "I don't think so."

"Suit yourself," the girl answered with a shrug.

They sat in silence for what Lianne guessed was probably several minutes, both watching the opposite wall. The girl continued to rock her feet back and forth; Lianne drummed her fingernails on the stone floor. "What do you mean, there isn't a way out?" She finally asked abruptly.

"I mean you can't get out."

"But I got in," Lianne protested.

"No," the little girl shook her head; her expression was just a little too amused for Lianne's thinning patience. "You were put in. There's a difference."

"Well explain it to me," Lianne threw her hands out in exasperation, twisting her body slightly so that she was fully facing the girl. "I'm sure there's something you keep bringing me here for, but I don't understand what it is!"

"I'm not bringing you here," the little girl answered, brown eyes so innocent Lianne wanted to scream.

"Well who is?"

"Oh, you haven't met him."

Lianne shifted back to her original position, looking stonily at the wall. "Can I at least have a name?" She asked after the hazy frustration in her mind cleared. "His? Yours?"

"I'd tell you," the girl sighed, "But you'd ask so many questions, and you have to go now."

"Go?" Lianne repeated incredulously.

The girl nodded and pushed herself to her feet, dusting off her shift with prim movements too childlike to be entirely sincere.

"Where am I going to go if there's no way out?"

"Well...there is the one way." The girl offered a knowing smile, and though Lianne had been trying very hard to keep her patience, she was certain she had reached the end of it.

Her shoulder jostled itself of its own accord.

-

February 14, 463 H.E. - 23rd year of the reign of King Jonathan IV and Queen Thayet

Rajmuat, Kypriang Island, the Copper Isles

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Whoever was shaking Lianne's shoulder wasn't making much of an effort to be gentle about it.

Between sleep-blurred eyes and the dark surroundings, she couldn't make any sense of the figure leaning over her cot. Only after several moments of slow blinking was Lianne able to see the face peering at her in the darkness and realize it was Aly.

"Come on," Aly whispered, straightening. "I need to talk to you."

Wearily Lianne pushed the blankets away and stood. As her feet hit the floor she was once more struck with gratitude that, at the very least, it was warmer here. At home, waking up at who knows what hour and walking around in a tunic and leggings only, she would have been freezing.

When Lianne looked up, Aly was already walking towards the door. She didn't look back – Lianne supposed she had better follow her. Even barefoot, she felt the need to tiptoe down the row of cots. Everyone else in the room seemed to be asleep – Lianne wondered, with only a touch of sleepy aggravation, just how early it was.

Aly was waiting outside the door, and closed it silently when Lianne stepped into the hallway. There wasn't a great deal more light to see by in the hall – most of the wall sconces had almost entirely burnt out – but there was enough that Lianne could see Aly was already fully dressed and seemed quite awake.

"I wanted to talk to you before everyone woke up," Aly offered by way of explanation.

"What time is it?" Lianne resisted rubbing her eyes, but only just. A yawn worked its way from her throat.

"It's almost five. At half past pretty much everyone in this wing will be awake."

Lianne took a breath and bit back the grumpy reply that tried to slip past her lips, instead asking as good naturedly as possible, "You couldn't have talked to me then?" Half awake and exhausted, that half an hour's sleep sounded unimaginably luxurious to her.

Aly flashed a quick, crooked grin in her direction, leaning sideways against the wall casually. "You'll be busy, trust me. Anyway, I'm going to gone most of the day; I wanted to tell you before I left."

"Where're you going?"

"I'm going into the city with Sarai." Aly glanced down the hall behind Lianne. "I'll find you again around dinner, though."

"Who?" Lianne asked.

"Oh, no one." Aly said, waving a hand dismissively. "You probably won't meet her. Now, listen," She took a breath, casting a serious glance towards the top of Lianne's head. "You really won't let me cut that?"

"No," Lianne said resolutely, frowning. "It's my hair, and I'd have to explain why it was short when I got home, and it's not as if I wouldn't look like me without it anyway."

Aly seemed to be about to argue, and then shrugged, clucking her tongue against her cheek. "Fine. It probably wouldn't make much of a difference anyway. But do me a favor and put it all up, at least, would you?"

Lianne knew she was probably being a little silly about her hair; it wasn't even as if she especially took pride in it. For whatever reason, though, the idea of cutting it all the way to her chin like Aly had wanted horrified her. She had thought about it for a very long time before going to sleep the night before, and had finally decided she hated the idea so much because she knew that for months after, every time she looked in the mirror she would remember everything, and all Lianne wanted to do was go home and forget. "I promise," she nodded. "I'll do it right now."

"Good." Aly pushed away from the wall and stood straight again, adjusting the belt around her waist as she did so. "Just keep it up, stick to the story, and try not to talk too much, if you can avoid it. If you keep to yourself enough, most people here will forget all about you once you've gone."

As much as she would have considered that a very strange goal under normal circumstances, Lianne nodded mutely.

Aly grinned again briefly, then turned and started down the hall. Several feet away she paused and looked back, adding, "Oh, and don't let anyone talk you into trying the sauce. It is not mild. Actually, be careful with most of the food." With that slightly foreboding comment, she left.

Lianne returned to the servant's chambers, resigning herself already to eating very little.

-

It turned out that looking after one horse was considerably easier than looking after twelve.

Lianne hadn't been too concerned about working in the stables, initially. She had a horse at home, and it was an unspoken, unbreakable rule that she was to take care of him herself. Even with the slight differences in grooming techniques and tack, she had expected that looking after a horse in the Copper Isles would be the same as looking after a horse in Tortall. She just hadn't accounted for having to look after an entire stable.

Even with several other, much more experienced hostlers going about the business at the same time, Lianne was terribly busy. It seemed that every time she had a spare moment, a new rider would come in, or a horse would need to be saddled, or unsaddled, or watered, or a stall would need to be mucked out, or a blanket would need to be aired.

She had wondered, initially, if maybe the other hostlers were testing her, breaking her in, since it was her first day. After all, as far as they knew, she was a permanent addition to the stables, wasn't she? It hadn't taken her long to look around and realize that no, they were just as busy as her. The entire household seemed to be parading in and out of the stables, and all the running around made her dizzy. The day wasn't even half over and already her hair was coming out of the braid coiled around her head and her fingers were raw.

"Is it always this busy?" she had asked one of the hostlers – a dark skinned man whose name she couldn't remember.

He had looked at her with raised eyebrows and a wry smile. "So long as the sun rises in the east. Welcome to the city."

Fingers red and sore, she scrubbed the saddle resting across her knee wearily. Lianne hadn't been told what the last rider had done with this saddle, but she privately wondered if he had just thrown it in the mud for the sake of it. Thick dried dirt was caked everywhere, and every time she thought she had gotten the last of it off, she would discover another pocket of mud beneath a flap. She sighed heavily, working on scraping the mud gathered around the saddle's horn off.

"There was an awful storm last week," someone said. "Mud got all over everything."

Lianne looked up. Standing a few feet away, watching her with dark eyes, was a girl who looked about twelve or thirteen years old. It took half a second for Lianne to realize that she couldn't possible be a slave, or another servant for that matter. Her clothes were much too fine, and not at all practical for working. Lianne knew that logically, she should probably have some answer for this, but her mind went treacherously blank.

"You're new, aren't you?" the girl asked, "The one Aly found? I heard her talking about you."

Lianne nodded slightly, unsure whether she should get up and bow or not. "I am – my lady." She could only hope that the last bit wouldn't sound too much like a guess; but then – she couldn't imagine the girl as anyone but a member of the household, not considering how she looked.

"It's a lucky thing she found you," the girl said. "We could use the hands."

"Obviously," Lianne sighed without thinking. She flushed a moment later, barely managing to keep a hand from clapping over her mouth as she grimaced and looked down. "I'm sorry, my lady, no disrespect meant." You're not at home, she reminded herself fiercely.

"That's alright. It's true. What's your name?"

Lianne glanced up hesitantly. The girl's eyes were piercing and intelligent, but didn't seem too angry. "Maera," she said.

"You look familiar." The girl went on.

"My old home was very far away," Lianne ducked her head slightly under the girl's measuring gaze, uneasy. "I don't think we would have met before, my lady."

The girl shook her head. "No, I suppose not. Well, welcome."

Lianne offered her hesitant thanks as the girl left, and then sighed heavily, looking back down at the saddle in her lap. She wasn't sure why, but she had the feeling she had missed something important in that conversation.

-

True to her word, Aly had found Lianne at dinner, and had set Lianne's worries to rest. The girl's name, Aly had told her, was Dovasary - Dove; she had gone on to confirm Lianne's suspicions that Dove was nobility – the duchess' daughter, as it turned out.

Lianne had been worried that she might have given something important away in the brief conversation, and even though Aly had assured her that everything Lianne had said Dove would have found out on her own anyway, she couldn't shake the fear.

They had parted ways again after a meal consisting mostly of Aly warning Lianne what food not to touch. Lianne did hazard a bite of a vegetable and noodle dish that looked relatively harmless, and vowed never to again once she had eaten enough yogurt to cool her tongue off. As had been the case for most of the day, the other servants – and even the slaves – mostly ignored Lianne entirely, even as they chatted casually with Aly. She kept her head down and tried to seem unobtrusive; the less people who took notice of her, she reasoned, the better.

After helping to make sure all the horses had been settled into their stalls, groomed fed properly, which took quite some time, Lianne returned to the servants' wing. She guessed it was a little after nine in the evening when she finally sat down heavily on her cot. Between the busy day and the few hours' sleep she had gotten the night before, she was exhausted; she realized with a start that she hadn't even had time to be homesick all day.

She was dozing, drifting further and further towards real sleep, when Aly let herself into the room for the second time that day. Lianne, drawn back to wakefulness by the greeting one servant offered Aly, sat up as the approached. The smile Aly had offered to the others in the room faded as she drew nearer, and Lianne tensed, worried.

"Take a walk with me," Aly said, expression somewhat grim.

Lianne stood quickly and followed her from the room, noticing right away that the minute Aly turned back around; the smile reappeared on her face, and did not leave as they walked down the hallway.

It took a great deal of effort not to panic as she hurried alongside Aly in silence. Scenarios ran through her mind; had she been discovered? Would she have to run and hide in the city? Had Dove found out more than they had realized and told someone?

She didn't realize they were headed for the stables once more until they had already reached the door. Aly pushed it open and stepped inside; Lianne followed closely behind.

The stable was lit only by lanterns hanging from wooden beams overhead. Aly didn't say anything, and it didn't take long for Lianne to realize why. Standing several feet away, a little further down the row of stalls, and looking as confused as she felt, was Liam, Jasson, and Alan.

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Author's Notes: Or, as I should possible call them, Author's Apology. I'm sorry for the delay on this one, guys. I would tell you all the absolutely insanity that has gone down in my life the last few weeks, but I'm sure in print it'd read like a bad soap opera, so I'll just leave it at this: things have been hectic. Never fear, though! I have pretty much all of chapter 19 in my head, I just need to put it down. Stuff's going to happen soon – in fact, it's already started. So keep putting up with me, yeah?

As always, a million thanks to the reviewers, to Hikki and Caitie, who are excellent betas, to Jen, co-founder of care bear land and who helped me add the New And Improved Chapter Titles, and to all the Dovies. Also, and I will do this shameless self-plugging only once, if you're ever looking for more stories on Liam, Lianne, and Jasson, I've just recently posted a one-shot about them as much younger kids. There's even canon basis for this one! That would be 'Of Centaurs and Practice Swords', and it's up on my author page. I'd really appreciate the reviews from anyone who has time to check it out. Sooooo, until next time.

And P.S. – You guys can keep emailing me all you want asking if the good ship Alan/Lianne will be setting sail, but I'm still not telling.