*Hugs* Hello all my dear, dear friends!! Today is the start of my spring break, there for I am in one EXCELLENT mood right about now. Sleep…sleep…and more sleep….yes!! ^_^
As for some questions from last time's reviews: Yes, in the time spell roughly six months passed. It was August when it started, early March when it ended if that helps any. Also, there will be many spoilers for the Circle of Magic series (sorry for no mentioning that earlier!!) up until Shatter Glass. If have not read them and wish to before you get the spoilers from here, I suggest you do so now because we're not that far from getting into Sandry's book. If you don't care, then don't worry because it won't be a requirement just a helpful thing this time around.
Anywho, go on and enjoy!
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
"Oh, come on, it can't be that bad," said Brenna teasingly, tucking one of her loose curls behind her ear. Sparkling brown eyes laughed at her friend who unlocked the uniform door with a twist before tossing the keys back at the drum major.
"You get to go away to college," retorted Amanda, tossing her dark brown hair over her shoulder to keep it out of her eyes. "I'm stuck here for another year, going to CP to take care of my freshman requirements."
"Hey, you don't want to get rid of us that much, do you??" asked the young boy beside her, latching his hands about her waist automatically.
"Not you, Ben," she said teasingly, rubbing his head affectionately. "Never you. But you know I can only take the rest of them at home so much…"
"I'm just lucky then," he said, giving her waist a squeeze before darting into the small room to help her clean up.
"Lucky," said Brenna with a wry grin. "I wish I had a little brother like that, I'd put him on a leash and take him everywhere with me just so everyone can see how cute he is!"
"He wouldn't follow you 'cuz he'd be scared that your hair would eat him," replied Ben, looking out just enough to stick his tongue out at her before ducking back inside once more.
"My hair is not going to eat you!!" retorted Brenna, taking it down and showing the masses of curls to him in frustration. "See?! They're not alive!! Well…they are…but not in the sense that…you know what I mean!!"
Ben gave her a dubious look. "I think you're lying, and it's not nice to lie. I think your hair eats little boys who get too close to it."
"Oh really?" asked Brenna, giving Amanda a glare as she tried not to burst out laughing. "And who told you that?"
"I thought it up all on my own!" said Ben proudly, smiling brightly but still keeping his distance.
"I didn't do it!" said Amanda, holding up her hands as she moved to put the cart between her and Brenna. "I swear, it was not me…"
"Uh huh." Brenna crossed her arms. "Do I look like I have killer hair to you?!" She saw the mischievous look Amanda was harboring and shook her head. "Never mind, don't answer that…"
"I was wondering if you were going to leave it at that…"
"Hey, did I miss anything?" asked Lyssa, walking in as she ran a hand through her shoulder-length hair.
"Nope, not yet," replied Amanda with a grin, motioning to let her in before closing the half-door so Brenna couldn't enter. "Uh-uh, you know the rules Brenna."
"Oh, come on," said Brenna, giving her puppy eyes and sticking out her bottom lip in a pout. "Just this once…please??"
"Nope," said Lyssa, sticking her tongue out at her as well as Ben came and gave the girl a quick hug. "Hey, Ben."
"Hi Lyssa."
"Oh, so she gets a hug and I don't!" fumed Brenna, throwing her hands up in the air. "Oh, that's just great…"
"She don't have killer hair!" came the light reply, Ben hiding behind his older sister as Brenna glared daggers at all three.
"Hey all!!" said Kaitlin, appearing out of nowhere to stand beside Brenna.
"Hi, Kaitlin," said Amanda, giving her a hug over the half door. "What are you doing here??"
"Come to see Brenna and you guys, bug Cheeks if I can find him, create massive amounts of chaos out of whatever I can…just the usual!" She beamed so brightly that Amanda laughed quietly to herself, starting Ben and Lyssa on their rounds of checks for the uniforms.
"Right…well, we gotta get this done, so you guys go on and enjoy yourselves. Later!"
"Later."
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
Randy chuckled to himself as he creeped into the girl's room, taking great pains to make not a sound as he set himself up beside Olivia's bed. First the oils to make the spells stick that were rubbed on his hands, then a light touch of it over each of Olivia's eyes…
He made a few signs in the air over her head in the glow that was his gift, smiling as it faded away into nothing. Slipping back out into the hall with a smirk, he waited by the door knowing they would be awake any second…
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
**Inside the room**
Olivia clutched at her face with her hands as she tried to figure out what had happened, scratching at the mirror as if it would make the image go away. Her long, dark brown with red highlights hair was now an iron gray, as limp as overcooked noodles and patchy in several places where it had begun to fall out. Her face was heavily lined with folds upon folds of skin hanging from it. Her back, stooped over with a hump, was sore as if it'd been like that for years and more skin hung from her bones like cloth with wrinkles and warts everywhere. She'd aged practically a century in a night!!
"No…no…"
"Oh my God." Bryanna was sitting up in bed, and entirely scared as well as perplexed by what she saw. "How the heck…" Quickly checking her own reflection, she found she had no such changes. So why did Olivia…
"I don't know!!" cried Olivia, looking at her hands in horror as she tried to move the arthritis-ridden appendages. "How…I don't understand!! Why…?!" She just stared at the mirror for a few moments, letting another thought sink in. "I will kill whoever or whatever did this to me!! I swear, they are the deadest being alive right now!! I'll ground them into bits of meat to feed to the birds! Drip water on their heads until they go insane!! Take out their intestines and force them to pull them out with their own hands!! MUAHHAHAHAH!!!"
Just as she was about to go into a round of hysteria from the change, the sound of someone laughing hysterically rang from outside their door. The image fell away, leaving one very angered, but still young, Olivia in its place. Bryanna opened the door, revealing Randy who lay on the floor howling in laughter.
"I'd run," advised Bryanna, watching Olivia shove a dress over her head. "She's going to kill you when she gets you."
"I know," he wheezed, completely out of breath from laughing so much. "Oh, believe me, I know…but it was so funny…"
"DIE!!"
"AHHH!!"
Bryanna shrugged as she shut the door, planning on getting dressed while she waited for them to return. Or at least Olivia, anyways. Whether or not she saw Randy ever again was very debatable.
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
Ben slipped out of the uniform room as Amanda and Lyssa finished up the last of the work, doing the hats on their own since he couldn't reach the boxes themselves. He was tall for a nine-year-older, but not by that much.
Slipping through the crowd of excited freshman who were getting a view of last years marching show and some seniors who were pompously explaining their roll in the band, he made it to the Locker room without being stepped on at all. Glancing around, he located Amanda's easily enough, being one of the bigger ones with the lock permanently off (she was too lazy to open and close it every time she needed something from it.)
It was true that she had graduated already with her friends, but since she was sticking around the house for a year they'd asked her to stay and do uniforms again as well as help with any low-brass issues they might have. So, she kept her old locker as always and he opened it to find an odd leather book sitting in it that hadn't been in it before.
By nature, all young boys are curious little things, so he pulled it out and examined the cover, finding it to be unlike anything he'd seen before. Tooled imprints in the leather gave impressions of leaves and vines, tufts of clouds and wind, threads and bobbins, and fire with metal. The gilts edges of the pages and inlaid with the title caught his eye, causing him to read it aloud to himself.
"Circle of Magic & The Circle Opens by Tamora Pierce. Hm…sounds familiar…maybe 'Manda will know who it is."
Setting it under his arm, he scuttled off to find his sister who was still busily at work in the uniform room. Checking the hats as Lyssa called out numbers, she brushed him off as he tugged on her sleeve to get her attention.
"Not now, hun," she said, absently patting him on the head. "Just give me a second, ok? We gotta get this done so Lyssa can get back to the house…"
"But Amanda…"
"Benjamin, please!! Just a minute…"
"But I-"
"Ben!!"
"But look!!" Ben opened the book and shoved it under her nose, causing her to topple off her stool and run into Lyssa who stumbled and fell. The three of them landed in a heap on the floor, the book falling as well and closing with the proverbial 'thump' and flash of light…
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
Olivia and Bryanna both had their dress sleeves rolled up and their hair pulled back from their face, borrowed old smocks stained with all kinds of colors covering the rest of their clothes as they worked together to prepare the salve for the healing house.
"Why must we work here again?" growled Olivia, taking her hands from the base of the metal bowl just for a moment so she could tuck a stray hair out of her face. "Remind me before I go off on one of these ingrates."
"We have to so we can get our credit from here," said Bryanna, reciting the lines from their scroll. "To learn humility and duty to those less fortunate than us, no matter how small the need may be." She added some more of the crushed cinnamon from the bowl to her right, then gave the mixture a good dollop of her healing power. "Keep it right there," she said, mixing it a little faster as Olivia used her magic to keep the metal bowl just above a freezing temperature.
"How much longer?" she asked, beginning to feel the tug of losing so much energy.
"Just a moment," said Bryanna, concentrating to make sure nothing could go wrong. "Hold it…hold it…now!" Olivia zapped it with a surge of pure cold, freezing the entire mixture in a matter of moments.
"Finally," she muttered, pulling some mages ice out of her pouch and absorbing the power she'd put there into her palms. Immediately she felt more alive and alert, although she knew she'd pay for it later that night when using the stored energy would give her the headache of the century.
"Could be worse, you know," said Bryanna with a slight smirk. "We could have Randy's job of helping check over the young ones and keep them entertained somehow…"
"That is very true."
"I take it you're the two helpers for today?" said a brisk voice, catching their attention immediately. The woman looked to be in her late twenties, maybe just reached thirty. It was hard to tell, though she wore the green robe of an Earth Temple Dedicate, which showed she was from the Winding Circle Temple outside of the city. As tall as Bryanna, with broad shoulders and curly hair trimmed close to her head, she had a man-ish look about her.
"Yes we are," said Olivia with a nod.
"I'm Dedicate Rosethorn," said the woman with a wry smile. "Welcome to Hulda's House, ladies, I heard you have another week of service here before you are allowed to leave."
"Unfortunately," muttered Olivia under her breath.
"It will pass soon enough," Rosethorn said roughly. "Now, for your next job, you slice these aloe leaves into small pieces like so." She demonstrated with one of the knives nearby cutting the leaves in strips. "Boil them in this pot over the fire, and strain it with this cloth until all you get is the white liquid that will solidify into the gel if cooled properly. Now begin."
Olivia and Bryanna worked under the Dedicate's critical eye the rest of the day, getting used to her rough and impatient ways as she came to check how things were going before heading back to her job of tending to the sick and the injured. She did at times provide bits of wry humor when making sarcastic comments about the other workers and healers there, eliciting a chuckle from the two in a way that made their day go by faster.
"Well done," said the dedicate in surprise as she inspected the last of their salve batches, finding them to be perfectly done. "The shelves should be well stocked indeed by the time I get back around here…"
"Then you will not be here tomorrow?" asked Bryanna in surprise. "I thought Dedicates were required to stay at their chosen post."
"This is not where I permanently stay," replied Rosethorn, one corner of her mouth tucked in slightly. "My place is at the temple, I only come here on a regular basis to help with supplies and take care of those who need my help."
"Ah."
"Nice meeting you, then," said Olivia, feeling rather tired as she cast off her smock and bid Bryanna to do the same. "Come on, let's go get Randy and get out of here!!"
"I'm right here," came a faint voice, Randy leaning against the wall in an attempt to stand as he wearily moved towards them. "Oh my goodness…I never thought they'd leave me alone…"
"Come on," said Olivia, rolling her eyes as she slung his right arm around her shoulders. "Let's get back to the inn."
Bryanna nodded and took Randy's other side, giving the Dedicate a final grin before heading off into the twilight to the meal that would await them at their present 'home'.
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
Devan chewed on his lip as Grendal looked at the trio who had been sucked in with interest. "Hm…so you've got two vets from last time, and one of the vet's little sib, could be worse…"
"Easy enough group to handle," said Devan with a grin, waving his hand in the air and sending the trio off to their new destination. Grendal raised an eyebrow ever so slightly.
"That was not the spell of animals mixed in there, was it?" she asked suspiciously as she reviewed the work he had done.
"And if it was?"
"Hello," said Trystan, popping out of nowhere to stand beside the scrying mirrors and the records of the spells Devan had used. "Well done, Devan. I am most pleased with your work." She laughed to herself as she looked over the fate of the group that had just gone. "As well as very amused…"
"Well, that's a nice and good, so get!" he said, pushing her back towards her realm with his power. "It's bad enough Grendal refuses to leave, but if you insist upon babying me as well…I won't stand for that!"
"Whatever," said Trystan, giving Grendal a wink. "Ta-ta!"
"Good riddance!"
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
Amanda blinked as she tried to get the sunspots out of her eyes, finding herself lying on her back in the middle of the road somewhere other than the band room. Well, it wasn't a road really, it was more like a broad path surrounded by trees and fields with the grass trodden away from constant use by wagons and horses…wagons?! Horses?!
"Holy cow…"
"Um…Amanda?" said Ben, sitting up beside her. "You have a lot of gray hair…"
"What?!" She pulled part of it in shock, finding a good bit of her brown hair-which was unusually dark- to be littered with streaks of silver-gray. "This cannot be happening…"
"And you gotta tattoo, and several earrings, too. Mom would kill you if she saw you like this."
"Huh?!" Amanda stood up and looked at herself for the first time, completely shocked at what she saw. She was wearing a dark blue shirt with one long sleeve and the neckline going under her right arm so it left it bare. A silver vine pattern wove its way from her right shoulder all the way down to where it ended in a leaf on the back of her right hand. A silver armband with some words in a language she didn't recognize and the engraving of two eyes encircled her arm, and her entire outfit of the top, loose pants, and a cloth belt was made of the same dark blue with silver specks material.
"Not again…"
"What do you mean, not again?" asked Ben. He stood before her wearing a similar outfit. "I don't get it Manda, why are we dressed up like this. And why are both of your eyes blue?"
"They're blue?!" cried Amanda in surprise, putting her hands on her cheeks automatically. "But at least always one of them is green…"
"They aren't green any more," said Ben with a shrug. "Just a dark blue that matches your shirt." His was loose pants and a tunic that went to his elbows, a cloth belt keeping it all together. His hair was longer and spiked up without any gel, though what kept it there she couldn't tell. A bag was slung over his shoulder, and from the pocket in the breast of his tunic something had begun to move.
"What in the world…this didn't happen last time!!" Amanda sat down hard, discovering she too had a satchel slung over her shoulder laden with goods and some coins as well as a set of panpipes stuck in her belt and a lute over her shoulder.
"What are you talking about?!" demanded Ben, oblivious to the movement of his shirt he was getting so upset.
"Well, I-"
*RIP*
Amanda and Ben both sat there with their jaws hanging open as a silver squirrel dressed in a blue tunic the same as theirs and a cap with a silver bell came tearing out of Ben's pocket, so angry that is ran around chattering at an insanely fast speed. It came up to Amanda, grabbing onto her collar and shaking it's fist at hr as it continued to chatter away; only she couldn't understand what it was saying…
#-AND THEN YOU STICK ME IN A POCKET AND DON'T TELL ME WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON! WHAT KIND OF A FRIEND IS THAT?! I MAY NOT BE THE BRIGHTEST CRAYON IN THE BOX, BUT I KNOW WHEN I'M BEING CHEATED!! HEY! WHY ARE YOU SO BIG? SHRINK! SHRINK, I SAY! THIS IS SO NOT FAIR, FIRST YOU PUT ME IN A POCKET AND THEN YOU MAKE ME THE SIZE OF A SQUIRREL-#
"Lyssa?" asked Amanda barely above a whisper.
#Who else would it be?!# she demanded, bopping Amanda on the chin with her tiny little fist.
"Um…Amanda," said Ben, looking at her sister like she'd gone crazy. "You're talking to a squirrel."
"It's not a squirrel," said Amanda. "Well, here." She took Lyssa before she could protest and put her in Ben's hands. "See?"
#Hi sweety.#
"Oh my gosh….the squirrel just talked to me…!!"
#Who are you calling a squirrel?!! I'm not a rodent, you little-#
"Well, I hate to break it to you…" said Amanda, feeling like a dolt. "But…you're a squirrel…"
#I'M A WHAT?!!!# Lyssa fell from Amanda's neck, landing in her lap as she felt herself and realized she had fur and a bushy tail. Chattering away again, Amanda realized she couldn't understand a word she was saying until she touched her with her hand, bringing her back up so she could ride on her shoulder that wasn't covered.
"Take it easy," said Amanda, rolling her eyes as she settled herself on the grass and motioned for Ben to come sit beside her. "And stop moving, I can't hear you when you're not in contact with my skin. Lyssa, I think we've been sent back…"
#We've been WHAT?!# Lyssa looked rather shocked as a squirrel could look, her ears drooping some as her tail went limp entirely. #And I had to arrive as a squirrel…#
"Hey, I'm some street performer," said Amanda with a shrug.
"What's she saying and what's going on?!" cried Ben, so confused that his head had begun to swirl. "I can't hear what Lyssa, if it really is her, is saying so I have no idea what you're talking about!! Will someone please explain to me what's going on?!"
"Settle down," said Amanda, drawing him beside her and placing Lyssa in both of their hands so they could all hear her incase Lyssa spoke. "Alright, Ben, what was the title of the book that you had? This is very important."
"Circle of Magic & The Circle Opens," replied Ben, looking entirely lost. "What does the book have to do with it?"
#We've been brought into it,# said Lyssa, rubbing the tips of her ears in frustration. #And we haven't been sent back, have we?#
"No, we haven't," said Amanda, turning rather pale. "I…oh, man. This is going to be interesting…"
"What's wrong?" asked Ben, looking concerned.
"Depending on when we came in, compared to the book series, unless we came in afterwards I know about 8 years worth of happenings…" She shook her head and rose to her feet. "Come on, you two. Lyssa, you can ride on me shoulder, ok? Let's just start walking and I'll tell you everything I know both about this place and what happened last time so Ben's not lost as we go."
"Where are we going to sleep tonight?" asked Ben, looking rather confused.
"Possibly out here, under the stars," said Amanda, waving her hand about. "We'll stick to the path and hope we see someone or some place to live soon."
#Sounds good to me# said Lyssa, flicking her ears happily. #Let's go!#
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Olivia and Randy rode side by side, their horses going at a fast walk as they argued over whom they would see next. Bryanna rode in front, ignoring them in general as she looked over the map of the roads before them.
"We're turning left at the split," said Olivia, baring fangs at the light mage. "I want to go see Master Yants. He's supposed to have spells that will give me greater control over the statues that I create!"
"We're going down the middle path so I have go see Mistress Higgins," insisted Randy, sticking his nose up at her fangs. "It is most important that I learn how to make better light illusions or my power shall never grow!"
"Grow?! It hasn't budged since we got here!!"
"But I will learn to use it more effectively that it might seem like it's growing!"
"Effectively-shmectively. We're going left!"
"Center!"
"Left!"
"Center!"
"Mule-headed moron!"
"Up-ish snob!"
"Cheap trickster!"
"You're no better!"
"No, you're worse!"
"Am not!"
Bryanna sighed as she blocked out their bickering, checking the map once more. She wasn't going to choose one over the other, and there always was the path to the right…
*Two hours later*
"Hey," said Olivia suddenly, looking up at the sun. "Haven't we gotten to the split already??"
"We passed it awhile ago," said Bryanna with a shrug, glancing over her shoulder at the pair. "You were just too busy to notice it."
"And you took the left path, right??" asked Olivia triumphantly. "Hah!! Take that you little-"
"We didn't go right," cut in Bryanna with a grin.
"WOOHOO!!" yelled Randy with a broad smile. "You went straight down the center, right?? Haha!! Loser, I told you-"
"We didn't go down the center, either," said Bryanna, the corner of her mouth twitching in amusement.
Olivia looked at her back in puzzlement. "Then which way did we go??"
"To the right."
Silence followed, Bryanna going off into her own little world as Randy and Olivia waited for an explanation.
"…and?" said Randy after a few moments, fighting the urge to strangle the girl.
"Hm?"
"WHY ARE WE GOING THERE?!" exploded Olivia, baring her fangs at the girl's back even though she knew it wouldn't make any difference. "AND WHERE DOES IT LEAD??"
"Up the road and around a few bends," replied Bryanna. Glancing over her shoulder and seeing the look in Olivia's eyes, she added, "To Mage Master Palent's place, where we'll all take courses in herb lore."
"Each tailored to our gift?"
"Each tailored to our gift."
The two of them grumbled, glancing at the other and deciding that as long as they weren't going to the other's place it was ok.
"But we're going right back to take the left path as soon as we're done," said Olivia with a satisfied smile. "Right?"
"What?!" cried Randy in outrage. "You can't do that!! We're going to the middle one!"
"No we're not!"
"Says who?"
"Says me!!"
Bryanna rolled her eyes, wishing herself to be someplace else at that point. "Oh, shoot me now."
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
Amanda and Ben walked side by side down the road, the sun setting to their backs as their shadows stretched out before them. Lyssa sat silently on Amanda's shoulder, they had finished explaining every a while ago and had nothing else to say.
"Do you see that?" asked Amanda suddenly, catching a glimpse of some light up ahead.
#Yeah# said Lyssa in her mind, her tail flicking nervously. #Other people, in some sort of a huge camp-setting too. But are they nice or not?#
"Dunno," said Amanda, Ben moving closer to her side as she loosened the daggers she'd found in the bag from their wrist sheaths just in case. "Let's go see…"
"Ho, there!" said someone, clapping their hands on Amanda's shoulders from behind and whirling her around unexpectedly. She recovered and backed up a few steps only to bump into someone else who pounded her on the back heartily.
"Huh?!"
"Leave my sister alone!" cried Ben, jumping at the man with his fists balled.
"Careful there!!" said the man, his voice a deep base. Ben found himself hanging in the air, held by his collar at arms length where he couldn't do any harm. "No ones going to do nothing to your or your sis, if this be she."
"Who are you?" asked Amanda, looking uncertain as Ben was lowered to his feet and returned to his place at her side.
"We're the Collin's Troupe," said the young man who'd spun her around the first time. "And we've got everything from acrobats to contortionists to singers to dancers to instrumentalists to side show freaks to cheap mages to-"
"Enough," said the man with the deep voice, clapping his hand over his partner's mouth. "Before your chatter drives off their ears."
"Mhm…mhmmm." The man with the deep voice sighed, so his partner just nodded his head, giving his consent to keep quiet.
"I am Ruben," said the man with the deep voice, putting his hand-with fingers the size of large sausages- on his chest. He towered over the two of them by a good foot or so, his limbs as big around as tree trunks and stance of someone who knew he had physical power. Bald with the beginnings of lines in his face, she guessed his age to be near the forties but it was hard to tell within these medieval realms at times. "I am the strongman within this troupe."
"And I am Gen, a trick rider on the shaggy ponies from the north!" said the other fellow, getting his head free. He was as thin as Ruben was thick, giving him a stick-like image. Fair hair and skin with light brown eyes showed he was probably from the same place as the ponies where. "And who might you two be? For you are obviously performers like us, yet we weren't expecting any others coming back from that way…"
"This is Ben," said Amanda, pointing to her little brother. "I am Amanda, and this little miss is….Silven."
#SILVEN?!# Amanda just smirked, daring Lyssa to do anything when there were other people around.
"And you travel alone, just the three of you?" said Ruben slowly. "That is very impressive indeed."
"We do well enough," lied Amanda, with a nod. "Can we stay with your troupe tonight? It had been a while since we've been with friends…"
"Of course," said Gen, grabbing her arm and dragging her off to the camp. "Come on! We'll go take you to see Collin, he's the head of the troupe and he'll probably try to help you in any way he can. Even if it means letting you join the troupe!"
Ben ran after them. "Well, we don't need that as of yet…"
"Collin!! Uncle Collin!!" yelled Gen, going through the camp helter-skelter as he continued to drag Amanda after him and Ben running along in their wake. Lyssa dug her claws into Amanda's shirt and flesh, hanging on in hope she wouldn't go flying into the air.
"What are you up to now, scamp?!" demanded a rough voice, an old man stooped over a cane coming out of the biggest tent in the camp.
"Visitors, sir," said Gen, dropping Amanda's arm, giving a fast salute, and scampering off into the night.
"That rogue rat," sighed the man, shaking his head for a moment. He took notice of the pair before him after a moment, watching them as they put themselves back together. "Oh! You must be the ones Gen was yelling about. My apologies for his behavior…he is quite rambunctious at times…"
"That's alright," said Amanda, smiling crookedly as she adjusted the strap of her lute. Looking at her little brother, she rubbed his head affectionately. "Young ones can be quite…energetic at times. I understand."
"Please, come in," said Collin, stepping aside to let them in. "We can continue introductions and such niceties inside with the comfort of cushions, warm food, and fresh water."
"Thank you," said Amanda, bowing slightly before going inside. A lamp overhead lit the fairly large room, pillows and cushions scattered everywhere with a low table in the center of the room. Dishes of food and pitchers of drinks covered it, making their mouths water. Lyssa jumped from her perch and sniffed around, protesting as Amanda put her back on her perch with a stern look.
"Now," said Collin. "I am Collin Terin, Master of this Troupe. Thus named Collin's Troupe. Very creative, right?" He gave them all a wry smile, sitting down slowly with a sigh. "But please, help yourselves to the food-including your squirrel- and tell me who you are."
"Behave, Silven," said Amanda, setting down Lyssa beside her and giving her a piece of fruit and a bit of sausage with bread. Normally, such portions would've been rather insulting but since the piece of fruit was half her size Amanda figured she was able to leave her be for the moment. Pouring herself a cup of water, she turned to Collin with a slight smile. "I am Amanda, this is Ben, my little brother, and this Silver our squirrel."
"Where are you from?" asked Collin with a slight frown. "I cannot place it by your features, so it could possibly be from a place that I have not seen before…"
"Nowhere, really," said Amanda, trying to evade the question. "Our parents were not natives in the land…"
"Then were where you born."
Ben snorted. "Nowhere you've heard of."
"Then it's as he said," said Collin, giving them a smile. "You are ones from the other realm, aren't you?"
Amanda choked on the water she'd been drinking, spitting part of it before her on the table. "You *cough*…but *coughcough*….how could *cough*…"
"Relax," said Collin, waving Ben to remain seated as he shifted to run from the tent. "I am friends with the Master Mage of this area. I assume at least you, Amanda, know what I'm talking off?"
"Of course," replied Amanda, wiping her mouth dry and touching Silven so they were in contact. "So he warned you we were coming?"
#He's good to go by my instincts# said Lyssa to Amanda.
"Yes," replied Collin with a nod. "And that you'd need some training before you could go on."
Amanda smiled ever so slightly. "I suppose that is true…"
"Then it's settled," said Collin, rising to his feet slowly. "Come, we have a place for you already prepared in the camp nearby. First thing in the morning, Ben will go learn some of the basic acrobat moves with our young ones and you will learn about your gift from me-"
"I have the gift?" cut in Amanda, looking rather annoyed. "Again?! Please, anything but fighting…"
"With music," said Collin, motioning to the lute she carried with her.
"Makes sense to me," said Amanda with a shrug. "And it will be of more use than last time. Well, thank you Master Collin. I was not prepared to have things lined up like this…"
"I understand," said Collin. "We do this for Devan often enough, though he hasn't been this excited about a set as he was about you and your people in forever! You must've come highly recommended…"
#Recommended?# asked Silven, sitting on Amanda's shoulder with her tail tickling her ear.
"Don't look at me," said Amanda with a shrug. "Unless…do you think it has anything to do with Trystan?"
#Probably, that's the only thing I can think of…#
"Manda, what's gonna happen to us?" asked Ben suddenly, frowning as he did.
"We're gonna live here awhile, get by with what we're given, and then when the time is right we'll go home," said Amanda, putting her arm about him gently. "You will see our family again someday, that I promise." She rose to her feet, bringing her brother with him. "Lead the way, Master Collin."
"Of course. This way, if you will…"
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
Olivia sat on the bench, molding the palm sized mages ice castle with a control she'd just recently achieved with Master Palent's help. Others like it with a few different details sat on the shelf of the booth they'd rented in the market square, Bryanna handling the selling and advertising as Randy sat on her other side making small mages-lights that could be given to children who were afraid of the dark.
Besides the ice castles and small mages lights, ice packs guaranteed to stay cold for years, ointments with a boost of healing power, and tonics for every common illness known to man made up their stall's items. Other than the ice castles (they were priced more for the noble's range) everything was selling very well and they'd already covered the cost of the stall and their supplies with their earnings.
"Here," said Bryanna, handing Olivia the water skin as she sat back to take a short break.
"Thanks," the ice mage muttered back, rolling her shoulders to relieve the tension as she drank from it greedily.
"I'd say we're doing fairly well," said Randy, looking over their earnings real fast before going back to the mini mage lights. He had used almost all the crystals he had brought with them and those that were already lit were selling fast.
"Silver astrel for the spelled light," said a tall fellow, holding the crystal up for Bryanna to see.
"Five astrels, sir."
"Two, then."
"Four and five coppers."
"That's a cheat for it! I'll give you three, no more."
"Then don't buy it," said Bryanna with a shrug, holding out her hand to take the crystal back.
"Alright, four," said the man, putting the coins on the counter. "And no more than that!"
"Done," said Bryanna, whisking the money into her pouch before he could refuse. "Pleasure doing business with you, sir!"
"More like a scam…"
"How much longer do we have with Master Palent?" asked Olivia absently as she watched the man storm away with a grin of satisfaction. "For that matter, how long have we been here? I can hardly remember…"
"A week under his tutelage, a week selling things in the market place," said Bryanna, tallying up the days on her fingers. "We're supposed to study under Master Palent for at least another two weeks or so."
"A month in one place," said Randy, pausing for a moment. "It feels odd, though it shouldn't."
"Staying for so long?"
"Yeah, except a month isn't that long. If anything, I should be grateful to have my life be that stable for awhile but I'm really not…"
"You get used to whatever comes your way, that's the way we manage to survive as beings, right?" said Olivia, pouring her power and concentration back into her ice castle.
"Yes, but-"
"Shut up, I'm concentrating."
"Yes ma'am."
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
Amanda and Ben both performed in their corner of the gardens, people of the town and the castle moving about to see as many of the acts and sights as they could that the Troupe provided. The Duke had provided the funding and area on his property so his people and his brother's wife and daughter could enjoy the entire group without having to charge to get in.
Ben did flips and jumps or juggled various objects –including Silven- while Amanda played lively tunes upon her panpipes or lute with certain patterns and a touch of her magic in them to induce the people to be more…free with their coppers and astrels. They had both learned a great deal those last two weeks, and it was all to their benefit.
"Getting tired?" asked Amanda as her brother came back beside her, slurping down some of the water from their bottle.
"A bit," he admitted with a slight grin.
"Come on, we'll do the double act then."
"Ok."
Ben climbed upon Amanda's shoulders, Silven climbing atop them both to stand on his head. Amanda playing her lute and Ben a tambourine, they sang together as loudly and raucously as they could.
"There was an otter by a stream,
Come ringle dum o lady,
Who feel asleep and had a dream,
All on the bank so shady.
He dreamt the stream was made of wine,
It flowed along so merry,
And when he drank it tasted fine,
Like plum and elderberry.
And all the banks were made of cake,
Come single ding my dearie,
As nice as any cook could bake,
That otter felt quite cherry.
He drank and ate with right good will,
Till wakened by his daughter.
She said, 'I hope you had you fill,
Of mud and cold stream water!'
Come ringle doo fol doodle day,
Come wise beast or come witty,
A fool who dreams to dine that way,
Must waken to self pity."
While singing, Amanda danced about a bit and Silven did flips at the top. A small crowd gathered about them, amused and amazed at the same time as Ben and Silven jumped together on the last note to land in front of Amanda with their arms, spread wide.
Laughter and clapping followed, all three bowing merrily before stepping back a bit so Ben could do his part. Clearing his voice to get his attention, he sang,
"Bobble O Bobble O Bobble O,
If you know, tell me where I do grow.
High above the lowly earth,
And yet I flourish for all I'm worth.
Bobble O Bobble O Bobble O,
Tell me now if you think you know.
I hang between the earth and sky,
Green or brown as the seasons pass by
As around me the birds do fly,
and just before away go I.
Bobble O Bobble O Bobble O-ohhh
Tell me true, I'd like you to try!"
More laughter and applause followed, Amanda hiding her amused grin as people tried guess what it was the riddle was about and Ben refused to give his answer.
#What was it he's singing about?# asked Lyssa, perching on Amanda's shoulder for her next act.
"I have no idea," admitted Amanda. "I never really thought about it. And you know what?"
#What?#
"I don't think he knows either."
Lyssa paused, rolling her eyes as she hit herself on the head. #Oi…#
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
Randy stuck out the tip of his tongue as he braced himself for the spell, going through it step by step as Master Palent and taught him too. First, set up his five canisters. Each was loaded with a mixture of sulfur, carbon, and some coloring like cobalt or iron to make it other than white in the sky. The mixtures were in fist-sized bundles that were tied with special cloths and cords Randy had created himself just for this experiment so they wouldn't combust on his while still on the ground.
Next, he set up his magic behind them. Each one needed a magical as well as a physical base, created as securely as the other so nothing could go wrong. Bit by bit he built them, only using a little of his power to do this as he would need the rest just to complete it.
After the bases were built, he went through the motions and the signs that would explode with enough force to rocket the packets into the air where they would implode on themselves before shooting out into the shimmers and showers of light that he would be able to control and manipulate from his place on the ground.
Setting off the spells, everything went as planned as Randy stood there and kept a firm grip on his power so he wouldn't have any rogue sparks to deal with. The packets were launched and set off, the colors blazing overhead as Randy wove them into a band of shimmering flowers and vines all tied together. Letting them hang there for a moment, Randy let it drift for a moment or two before dissipating it into ash and smoke that drifted off into the wind.
Sitting down hard as he drained off the last of his gift to make sure every bit of light had gone out, Randy closed his eyes and sighed. It was most magnificent to look at indeed, but it took so much out of him…
"Well done," said Master Palent, a small fellow with masses of curly red hair tied back into six or seven twists that flopped about his head crazily. Bright green eyes seemed to glow with his gift as he waved for his student to be dismissed. "Go home and sleep, Randy, you need it."
"Yes…Master Palent…"
Randy heaved himself to his feet and tottered unsteadily towards the door where his horse waited for him. Pulling himself up, he nearly fell out of the saddle more than once as the beast obediently took him back to the inn where they were staying and let him off at the front door.
Stumbling through the main room and opening the door to the one he shared with Olivia and Bryanna, they greeted him with a grin and a table full of food for him to eat.
"Nicely done," said Olivia, going back to her latest ice creation. Randy stumbled past her, going behind the screen that partitioned their two rooms. "Food is there on the table, Bry and I already…Randy? …Randy???"
"…zzzz……zzzz…..zzzz…."
"He's a fool for draining himself like that," said Bry with a wry grin, going in long enough to throw a blanket over him before drawing the screen closed for the night and going back to her book on the bed.
"Like you haven't done it."
"I have, and at times I'm a food too."
"Great, I'm stuck with two fools."
"Those who stay with fools is a fool."
"Then you're saying I'm a fool?"
"And if I am?"
"…sometimes, I hate it when you're right."
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
Ben ran along the boarder between the Duke's gardens where the Troupe was staying and the city grounds, Silven perched on his shoulder and hanging on for life. He rounded a bend and ran into someone more solid than him, falling back on his rump in surprise as Silven was jarred from her perch. Chattering angrily, she scampered back up onto his shoulder and flicked his ear for throwing her before settling down once more.
"Ow, sorry Silven!! I didn't mean to…" Ben looked up, seeing a well-dressed man standing before him with a little girl his age standing beside him. "Oh, sorry about that sir!!" He scrambled to his feet quickly, dusting off himself. "Really, I am! I didn't see you there…"
"It's ok, young one," said the man, picking up Ben's hat and dusting it of for him. "I should have been watching where I was going as well. Who are you, though, and what are you doing here?"
"I'm Ben," he said, pointing to himself with his thumb before motioning to the squirrel on his shoulder. "And this is Silven, we're with the troupe that's performing here right now."
"I see," said the man, considering his words carefully.
"'Scuse me," said Ben, looking at him with his head cocked to the side. "But who are you, sir? I've never seen you around before."
"I'm the Duke's brother," said the man, squatting so he and Ben could see each other eye to eye. "And this is my daughter, Sandry."
"Hi," said the girl, stepping forward some and smiling and Ben brightly. Honey blonde hair cascaded down her back, and a pair of bright blue eyes regarded him lightly.
"Nice to meet you both," said Ben, nodding to them each since nobles meant nothing to him. Amanda had forgotten to mention the meaning of rank to him, and everyone had over looked it as a fact he'd just know automatically.
Silven reached up and tugged on Ben's ear, getting his attention back. #We're supposed to be back by now# she said in his mind. #Amanda's going to be worried…#
"Oh, what a cute squirrel that is!" exclaimed Sandry, gently reaching out to scratch Silven behind the ears. "You said her name is Silven, right? Is she hungry? I think I might have some fruit…"
#What..?!#
"Yes, I believe so," said Ben wickedly, taking Silven from his shoulder with a silent command to behave. "Would you like to hold her? She's quite tame, really…"
"Oh, could I?"
"Yes, go ahead."
"Thank you!!"
Sandry's father watched in amusement as she took Silven and fed her bits of dried raspberries preserved in honey.
"She'll do tricks too," said Ben, tried not to burst out laughing at it all. "Seriously. Ask her to do anything at all."
"Alright. Silven, do a flip!!"
Silven silently fumed inside as she was degraded to the level of a mere pet and did the flip, sending several threatening glares in Ben's direction as he just grinned all the more.
"Oh, good squirrel!! Here's a treat!" Sandry fed Silven the bit of fruit, human turned squirrel only accepting because she liked sweet things.
"I have to go," said Ben, realizing he'd spent more time with them than he should've. "My sister will be waiting for me."
"Thank you for letting me see your pet," said Sandry, smiling as she handed Silven back as carefully as she could.
"You're very welcome," replied Ben, giving her a slight bow. "Bye Sandry, and Sir. Come and see me and my sister perform tonight, if you would!! I would really like it."
"Perhaps we will," said Sandry's father. "Come on, Sandry, back to the castle for now."
"Yes, papa."
"That wasn't so bad," said Ben as Silven fumed on his shoulder all the way back to where Amanda sat making their dinner.
#Tricks?! You made me lower than an animal, you made me out to be your PET!!# cried Silven, whacking Ben with her paw. It only did so much, though, considering it was the size of a pea…
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," laughed Ben, picking her up and holding her at a distance. "Please, no more, you'll kill me doing –OW!!" He rubbed his hand where she's bit him, sticking his tongue out at her as she took refuge on Amanda's shoulder. "Darn rodent."
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
There you have it, Chapter 3. It's getting there, more people will be coming in soon (though not quite in the flood they were last time). Here's your warning- There WILL be more character than last time, though less groups. If you are having trouble keeping them straight here's what I'm going to do. In my profile will be a list of the characters, the groups they are in, and a short bio as they come up in the story. That way, you can just go there and check it if you get lost, k? ^_^
My thanks to those who reviewed, I love you all!! ^_^ Please review, for it makes me feel very very special.
Oh, and one last note~ #…# this is the format that will be used for all mind speech and animal talk, k? Alright. Thank you!
To Infinity, and Beyond!!
~Crosseyedbutterfly~