SAT Test *sobs* AP English Test *sobs* AP Psychology Test *sobs* Finals in a month *sobs* When is it all going to end…?! *sniffles*

Anyways, here's the chapter. Bon Appetite!

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Silven jumped back and forth between the two humans, chattering away in Amanda's ear for a few minutes before getting a smart comment from Ben about her size and going to give him a bonk on the noggin. Usually finding herself frustrated with the fact that it felt like a tap to him, and that she couldn't stay still as he continued to run, skip, and do cartwheels along the path, she'd jump back to Amanda's shoulder and smolder there awhile before chattering away again.

Together, they were traveling East from Emelan, well into Sotat as of a few days ago and making good progress as they continued on. Each human carried a small pack besides their usual one, filled with dense bars of grain and fruit and strips of dried beef in case they couldn't find a place to sleep for the night. That rarely happened, though, and they still had a majority of their original supply as they paid for their meals and beds with a couple of songs and made some pocket change in market places along the way.

Neither one was really sure where they were headed, or where they'd been, but they figured they'd keep going through this country until they got tired of it and would head back to Summersea and Winding Circle again.

"Are we stopping at the first farm house we see, or going on to the next town?" asked Ben curiously, seeing the sun was an hour or so from setting.

"Go on, I suppose," replied Amanda with a shrug, picking out some chords on her lute with a slight grin. "The last two nights have been nice, meeting families and all, but our emergency cash fund is gone, and we might be able to pick up some extra coins in town."

#You are referring to playing, right?# asked Lyssa, remembering last time when she'd been used as a side-show-freak type act in the streets.

"Oh…I dunno," said Amanda, a sly look crossing her face. "We could always dress you up again and get you to tell people's fortunes…OW!!" Amanda rubbed her ear where she'd been bitten, glaring at the squirrel who'd retreated to the relative safety of Ben's shoulder. "Little rodent…probably gave me rabies or something…"

#I did not!!# said Lyssa indignantly, sticking her tongue out at her.

"How do I know?" asked Amanda, sticking her tongue out right back. "For all I know you could have fleas or lice by now…probably some worms or other parasites crawling around on you too…"

"Hey, there's a sign!!" said Ben, running up and making out the worn words with the help of his hand on the old board that had been tacked on a tree. "Dojda…we must be near it, Manda!"

She smiled at him, trying not to laugh at Lyssa who was hanging precariously on his arm. "Then let's go!"

They came to the town about a half a mile later, one large enough that Amanda had little trouble securing them a place at an inn for the night. "Here's a token," said the Innkeeper, flipping it to them from his spot at the door. Amanda caught it carefully and tucked it in her belt pouch. "That guarantees you a room for a night. If you and that little Scamp there can perform as well as you say you can, then room and boards on us and we'll only ask for a half of your tips, ok?"

"Ok," agreed Amanda, knowing it was the best deal she was going to get on such short notice. "We'll be back before sunset."

"You'd better be," called the man after them, an odd look on his face. "Or I'll give your room to another customer!"

"I know, I know…" Amanda waved him off, talking quietly with Ben as she set up on a large rock at the corner of one of the streets nearby. She sat on top, Ben standing at her feet with the bowl they left at next to him on the rock. Together, he sang while playing the tambourine and she provided the melody on the lute. Lyssa scampered between the two, acting like any other 'well trained' pets and doing tricks for young folks from time to time.

"How much did we get?" asked Amanda when their time was up, leading the way back to the inn. Lyssa sat on her shoulder tiredly, her tail as limp as the rest of her as the squirrel struggled to not close her eyes.

"Enough," replied Ben with a smile. "Not as large a haul as sometimes, but enough to get us through for the next couple weeks if we can make it out without paying tonight."

"We will," Amanda assured him, handing the token to the serving girl who came to get their orders. Sitting by the fire, she pulled out her panpipes and began to warm them up for when she'd have to play. Ben beside her on the floor, and Silven in between the two doing little jumps and dances in time to the music, they played together a simple duet woven together with a dash of Amanda's magic to give everyone a feeling off happiness and rest. Not enough to affect their minds, subtle so it was hardly noticed, she felt the relaxed atmosphere and smiled as the innkeeper nodded to them in content.

"Take a break and eat," said Amanda as they finished the tune, trading the pipes for her lute instead. "I'll go after you."

Ben nodded, picking up the plate that was set beside him. "Thank you, ma'am."

"You're welcome, little'un," said the cook, putting some bread down as well and tumblers of ale for them both. "You be lookin' a bit on the thin side, little'un, so if you be needin' anything, you just come tell ol'Marva, ok?"

"Yes, ma'am," said Ben, ducking his head slightly. Amanda thanked her as well and began to play again, humming along softly as the lively tune danced her fingers across the strings in the flickering light. She didn't mind moving about so much, and enjoyed the time she got to spend performing. In her opinion, their life like this was perfect. All it had to do was never change.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Libby hauled load after load of manure from the barn, wrinkling her nose in disgust as she finally dumped the last bucket onto the pile in the far, back corner of the yard. Brenna appeared a few moments later, dragging bushels and bushels of weeds after her. After she put them on the pile, she looked at her hands in surprise. Little tickles of blood ran from them where thorns had been driven into her palm.

"Crap…I'm going to have to start wearing gloves or something…"

"Not as bad as mine," said Libby, showing her hands. They were covered with blisters and bleeding from a few, the redness of the flesh making Brenna wince in sympathy.

"Ouch…"

Libby snorted. "You're telling me."

"Have you had Kaitlin look at it yet?" asked Brenna. "She found some stuff that helps with the pain…"

"Yeah, but the only time I have to go see her the twins are around, and I'm not going anywhere near them," replied Libby firmly, taking out a handkerchief and wrapping it around her hands. "Anyways, why are we piling up this stuff again?"

"Because it'll make good compost for this next year," explained Brenna for the third time that day.

"Compost?"

"Fertilizer," amended Brenna, wiping the sweat from her brow. "The stuff we put in the garden and with the crops to help it grown better."

"Oh, you mean like plant food?" asked Libby, a light bulb appearing over her head.

"Yeah, sort of." Brenna smirked suddenly. "Although, I dare say I've got the better end of the deal. I only have to drag weeds to the pile, you get to haul around horse crap…"

"Hey!!" Libby pouted. "It's not my fault they poop so much, maybe we should put them on some drugs so they're not so…poopy."

"Dear," said Brenna, shaking her head with a grin. "You can't do that, it's just the way they are. At least you're not going and getting the cow dung from the fields where they eat all day or the sheep and goat field to get their muck from the ground. And it's not like you have to haul it far, either…"

Libby just gave her a look and stalked back to the barn, growling as she did the whole way. Brenna shrugged and walked away. Oh well, at least she didn't have to haul horse crap around…

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Bryanna growled at the shopkeeper who eyed her lazily, her eyes flashing with an inner light. "Six silver crescents?! That's robbery!! No one in their right mind would pay that for two loaves of bread…"

"And yet my business continues to flourish," said the baker with a wicked grin. "Pay up, sweety, or get back to whatever rat hole you crawled out of this morning."

"Rat hole?! RAT HOLE?!!" Bryanna grabbed his shirt collar, pulling him until their noses where an inch apart with her teeth bared. "I SAID I'LL GIVE YOU THREE COPPERS FOR THE BREAD, OK?!! AND THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO GET PAID. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR????!!!"

"…yes ma'am…" The man quickly shoved the bread towards her after accepting the coins, skittering to the back of his stall to hide from view with his bottom lip trembling in fear.

"Impressive," said Randy as he took the wrapped loaves from her, placing them in his saddlebag that was slung over his shoulder with the rest of their foodstuffs. "I got the meat, and the cheese we have plenty of. Anything else?"

"Yeah," replied Bryanna with a nod. "These herbs and these fruits," she handed him the list with a grin. "Have fun."

"Wha-?! Where are you going?" he asked in surprise, wondering if some of the strange names he read on the list were even pronounceable.

"To get some wine for along the way," she said with a shrug. "We won't be making an inn the first night, remember? And Olivia is always much more agreeable about sleeping on the ground when she's…influenced by other things."

Randy nodded in agreement. "That's very true. Just one wineskin, though, that should be enough for the three of us."

"I know."

They went their separate ways and met back up awhile later, Olivia waiting for them at the stables with the horses packed and saddled to go. "What took you guys so long? Come on, let's go."

"We're coming," said Bryanna, securing the wine and water skins to her saddle before mounting. Randy did the same, throwing the saddlebags over the back and tying them tight before following the two out of the courtyard into the city's streets.

"Where to now?" he asked, covering his head with his hood so his neck wouldn't get sun burnt.

"We'll figure it out as we go," said Bryanna, pulling out the map and taking the lead as usual.

"Not this time," said Olivia, taking the map from her hands and looking over it carefully. "Last time we did that we ended up where you wanted to go without asking either of us."

"Neither one of you wanted to lead."

"Well what if I to now?"

"Then be my guest." Bryanna dropped back, content to be the tail of the group for the time being.

"Then I will," Olivia nodded to herself firmly before looking at the map intently. [Now how the heck do I read this thing again…??]

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Devan sat with his head propped in his hands, bored out of his mind as almost every single person he'd brought in had turned in early for the night. The only exception being Randy, and he was singing drunkenly to himself somewhere out in the woods and would probably pass out any minute now.

"Hm…" he said, a sudden thought crossing his mind as he jumped from his seat and grabbed a spell book from the shelf. "I wonder what they all dream about…this could get interesting…" Saying a few words to himself, he popped out of sight and into the first dream he came to, a look of horror crossing his face.

"AHH!!"

Pink. Everything was pink. Pink trees, pink sky, a pond with pink lemonade…and then came the bunnies. Pink ones with white tails and pink eyes. And there was Libby lying in the middle of it all, smiling and laughing like she was having the time of her life. The horror…the horror…

Devan pulled himself together and got out of there, jumping into the next closest dream he could get to. This time he found himself in a shady room, jewels and riches covering the walls of the place as the many little figures running around quietly placed them in their bags with a care that smelled of a thief. In the middle of them all was Brenna, her hair done in braids and dressed entirely in black as she directed the operation with a silent set of signs they used. The entire group moved as one, leaving just as quickly as it had come.

"Creepy…" He shrugged and went on to the next, this time taking care that it wasn't Libby's that he was popping into.

This time he was the size of a small rodent, looking around in awe as a Mouse ran by, chased by others he recognized. "Mouse?! Mouse!! Where are you, we need to start practice…"

The little Mouse squeaked in dismay and alarm as she tried to get the attention of those looking for her on from floor but nearly got flattened, running as fast as she could for the nearest hole to hide in.

"This is just strange," decided the mage, going on to the next as the Mouse tried to run after the friends looking for her again. "Ok…"

Devan appeared in the next and ducked as a dagger flew at his head, it's thrower frowning as the one she'd really be aiming at chuckled evilly. "Looks like we have a visitor…" The walls of the room were lined with swords, daggers, knives, and all sorts of torture devices he'd only dreamed existed…

"Eep…!" Devan didn't stick around to see what was going to happen next, seeing both were armed with many sharp, pointy objects and were intending to harm someone if not each other in the next couple of moments with them.

The young mageboy appeared in his workroom, sweating nervously as he sister looked up from her book. "Enjoy your trip?" she asked, demurely turning a page.

Devan rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Not exactly…"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

"Excuse me," said a young boy, tugging on the hem of Amanda's tunic as the trio made their way through another town square. "My Master and Mistress would speak with thee, if it t'would not be of any trouble, miss."

"Hm?" Amanda turned around, looking at the young one in surprise. "Master and Mistress, did you say?"

"Yes," replied the boy, nodding his head firmly. "Master Diem heard of thine performance last night at the Yate's Inn. He is quite impressed with thee and would speak with thee if given the chance."

#Ohh!!# said Silven, doing a flip on Amanda's shoulder. "A job, maybe?? Huh??#

Amanda shrugged slightly, so as the boy wouldn't notice. "Where is your Master, youngling?"

"Over there," he said. "Come, I will show thee." He turned on his heal and walked off, beckoning for them to follow.

"Ok…" They walked quickly through the crowds; dodging and ducking among the people at so swiftly rate that Ben had to trot to keep up. They came at last to a very nice restaurant, one of the few in town that was not crowded every night with customers and wouldn't let you in if you were not dressed properly. They bypassed the man at the door with a nod from the kid and kept right on going, finding themselves in a secluded corner where two people, a man and a woman, were enjoying a feast of a lunch.

"Mmm…" said Ben as his eyes zeroed on the food, his mouth beginning to drool just at the sight of it.

"You must be the one they call Briteyes and Scamp," said man, rising to his feet slowly as they both bowed respectfully to him. His hair was long for a male, hanging just an inch or two from his shoulders with side burns and a bit of stubble on his chin. Around his thirties or so, his companion (who had to be around the same age) rose as well and curtsied to them, her chestnut hair gleaming in the light. Both were richly dressed and wore jewels of some sort or another, their rank apparent by that alone. "Well done, Tobias, go get your lunch, now." The boy ran off, giving them a quick wave over his head as he did.

"Yes, that is us," replied Amanda, bowing politely and flicking Ben so his attention way away from the delicacies long enough to do so as well. "You wished to speak with us, sir?"

"Yes, please have a seat," he said, handing Ben a plate and letting him dig in with all due haste. "I am Master Ernst, and this is my wife, Mistress Maggie. Tobias's father, the head of my household, came and spoke to me this morning of a young woman and her brother who'd performed at Yate's the night before. You sing, you juggle, you do tricks and bits of 'magic' the younglings love. He highly recommended you to hire on for a night or two during this week's celebrations as well, seeing as we are entertaining rather large groups of people each night from the surrounding area. What do you think of that?"

Amanda shrugged. "I'm sorry, Master Ernst, but I don't think much of it at all at the moment. Unless given reason to think otherwise, I'm fairly sure my brother and I could make a greater gain out in the streets performing with those who would pay us in tips rather than one who would give us shelter for the night and perhaps a few astrels for our troubles…"

"Is this enough to make it worth it?" asked Master Ernst, his wife, nodding in approval as he handed her a pouch of coins, her opening it to find it full of silver and gold crescents with a with a very silver astrels to boot.

Amanda eyed the money, making sure not to show just how much she wanted the coins. "And for lodging and meals…?"

"We will provide for you as we would our other guests," said the Master with a knowing grin. "Does that satisfy you?"

Amanda and Ben exchanged glances. #Take it already!!# snapped Silven in her head. #This is a great deal…#

"We are satisfied," replied Amanda with a nod. "When do you wish us there?"

"How about now?" asked the man, motioning for another servant to come over to his side.

"Oh!" Amanda looked rather surprised. "Now is good…"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Kaitlin stood beside the oven, bowls of oatmeal raisin cookie dough and blueberry bread dough beside her on the counter. On the other side sat piles of bread and muffins, a few pies, and a cake for later that evening. Multitasking like she never had before in her life, she checked the cookies baking, mixed more batter, iced the cake with blue frosting and kept an eye on the door to the kitchen all at the same time.

Brenna stuck her head in the door just then, making sure Kaitlin's attention was elsewhere as she slunk over to the counter behind her back and rubbed her hands together in anticipation. What was she going to sample first…her hands began to inch towards a cookie and a muffin at the same time, preparing to make a dart for the door-

*THWAP*

"OUCH!!" Brenna rubbed her hand as Kaitlin came between her and the sweets, a wooden spoon in one hand and her butcher knife in the other.

"OUT!" ordered Kaitlin, giving her a very disapproving look. "You know the rules, no sweets until it's after dinner time…"

"Hey! Who made it possible for you to make these cookies?!" demanded Brenna. "Who's out there breaking their back just to get bread on this table for you to eat?!?!"

"Actually," said Kaitlin, tilting her head to the side. "Last I remembered, you made Cheeks do all the hard labor from now on because you didn't want to do it yourself so technically it's him…"

"Hey, I-"

"Oh, Cookies!!" said Cheeks, sticking his head in the door and grabbing a few. "Thanks Kaitlin looks like you have a use after all!"

"You're very welcome, Cheekums," she replied with an evil grin on her face. "Hehehe…"

"Hey, he gets some and I don't?!" cried Brenna.

Kaitlin gave her and odd look. "You don't…"

"Why are you showing him favoritism here?! Is there something going on that I don't know about?!"

"Brenna, really, I don't think-"

"No one cares what you think, freshman, now let me-"

"GET THE HELL OUT OF MY KITCHEN BEFORE I RUN YOU THROUGH WITH THIS!!" growing unusually tall as Alex and Jess appeared on either side of her with their usual demonicly angelic smiles.

"And we'll help her!!" they added cheerfully.

Brenna grumbled under her breath about mentally inane twins and their friends as she bared her teeth at them. "You've won this time, but next time…"

"What was that?" asked all three in unison, and eerie look in their eyes.

"Nothing." Brenna glanced around, seeing the door was directly behind her and darted toward it as fast as she could. "Bye!"

"Ah, the power of scary triplets," sighed Kaitlin, staring off into space with a look of total bliss on her face before snapping back to the present. "Thanks guy!!"

"No problem!" said Alex, giving her a bright smile.

"Yeah, scaring your family/friends/whatever they are is quite fun," admitted Jess with a shrug. "Anyways, I saw a rather green Cheeks running for the outhouse just as we were coming in. What was that all about?"

"A special recipe of mine," replied Kaitlin with an evil grin. "Just regular sugar cookies…laced with laxatives…and some mild nausea inducers I found in the back of the pantry. Wanna help me make some more?"

"Alright!"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Olivia rode in the lead, a proud look on her face that she'd gotten them this far all on her own while riding a horse to boot. Granted, they'd had to turn around a few times, and there was that one incident where they'd traveled in a circle for a month…but that didn't matter, it was all in the past. Right now, they were about to ride into a noble's home that happened to be a Master mage and spend a week with them, something they were all looking forward too. Feasts for meals…hot baths everyday…servants to care for them for once…what was there not to look forward too?

"What did I tell you?" asked Olivia, waving towards the mansion behind her. "I can take the lead when I want to!"

"Yeah, and get us there a week late," muttered Randy under his breath.

"Enough," said Bryanna, holding up a hand as they both prepared to get into it again. "We are late as it is, and our host will be waiting. Let's go." With that, she took the lead, other two following and exchanging silent threats behind her back until they were let in the main gate by the guards who stood there.

"Whoa…" They stared at the white marble home, decorated with silver and copper designs everywhere. Huge plants and trees shaded the walks and the windows, making it look like a paradise in the middle of a jungle of well-trimmed foliage.

"Whoa is right," added Randy under his breath, dismounting quickly and helping the ladies from their horses as any proper gentleman might do.

"I'll take those, sah," said a lanky man, gathering the reins in his hands skillfully. "Ya things will be taken to yon rooms."

"Oh, thank you," said Bryanna in surprise, giving her mare a final pat before turning her over completely.

"Come on," said a young lady, curtsying to them slightly. "His lordship and his lady will receive you over here." They exchanged glances and followed her at a distance, coming to an iron gate that led into the garden itself. Going inside it, they found a couple of tables and chairs scattered about in no real order in a private cove, which the members of the household might use at will.

The lord of the house, a short fellow with a jolly, round cheeks and sparkling black eyes, got up and ushered them over to a low table with mats around it, bidding them all to sit as he settled himself back down beside his plump wife. They were both well dressed, but not the point of pompousness, and seemed very comfortable in their fine clothes despite the humidity of the afternoon.

"I see you've managed to make it at last," he chuckled, taking a sip of his wine as the other three were poured glasses and had it set beside them. "I trust your travels went well."

"Of course, milord," said Bryanna, nodding to him and his wife politely.

"You may call me Master or Lord Gabe, here," said the man, nodding in return. "And what might your names be? I knew you were coming from the letter you sent ahead, and that old coot who runs Light bridge gave me a list of names of those who were going out this year but I couldn't figure who it was that you might be."

"Pardon us for not doing so earlier," said Bryanna, ducking her head slightly. "I'm Bryanna. These are my companions, Randy and Olivia."

"And your types of magics?"

"Healing."

"Ice."

"Light."

"An interesting combination," murmured the mage to himself. "I wonder why they put you three together…oh never mind. For now, you shall be escorted to your rooms and be given something other than your student uniforms to wear to the dinner which shall be held tonight in your honor. And while you are here, there are only three rules: no Light bridge uniforms. I can't stand them personally. Two, have fun, relax, and have a heck of a good time while you're here! Three: if you fail to follow the first two rules, I will deem you a stick in the mud for the rest of your life. Fair enough?"

The three mages exchanged glances; getting the feeling that they were going to like this guy a lot. "Yes, sir."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Amanda sat by the fire in Yate's Inn, doing slight of hand tricks for the youngsters gathered around her while Ben performed juggling acts and balancing feats for the rest of the crowd while Silven sat pertly on his head. They'd been kicked out after a day at Master Ernst's home, a mage who'd been visiting accusing her of bewitching the crowd into giving her money (which she'd not been doing at all). They, of course, had left with all due speed (taking their initial pay with them) and had ended up at Yate's with no trouble in the least.

"Can you see it?" asked Amanda, moving her hands around and switching the coin back and forth between the two with a motion one of the magicians had showed her from Collin's Troup. "Where did it go…it's here!" She 'pulled it out' of a girl's ear, getting gasps of awe from the little ones as she traded it for a candy and gave it to the little one.

"I's been magicked!!" she whispered to her friends, as she looked at the candy in rapt. "Maybe if I eat this under a full moon with some magic dust, it'll give me wings!! You think??"

Amanda shrugged. "You are welcome to try."

"I'm gonna have wings! I'm gonna have wings!!" The adults laughed as the little ones were hauled off to bed, Amanda gathering the small coins, balls, and candies she'd been using before picking up four small daggers the size of her palm from her bag and starting a juggling act she'd learned a few weeks ago. Beginning at a slow pace, she flipped a knife in the air and caught it in the other hand while tossing the second as well, adding a third and a forth a few minutes later. She flipped two in each hand for a moment, then went back to juggling all four, letting them flash over head in little patterns made by the dancing light of the fire.

Ben set himself up by a post in the middle of the room, Silven sitting on his head holding up a slice of bread in trembling paws. #You'd better not miss, Amanda…#

"Hm." All fore flew and landed in the middle of the bread, leaving them all quivering in the center up to the hilt.

"Well done, Brite!" said Yate, coming over and clapping her on the back lightly. "By Mila…do you think you could do it with a larger blade?" He held up a bowie knife as long as her forearm, gleaming wickedly in the light.

"No," she said flatly, giving him a wry grin as she pulled the blades from the wood. "I'm not always the brightest crayon in the box, but I'm not stupid…there's no way I'm throwing that thing at their heads."

Silven scampered along the floor, running up Amanda's leg and landing on her shoulder with a scowl. Shaking her fist at Yate, she chattered something unintelligible to him with her fangs bared and ears flat on her skull.

Amanda just laughed. "I don't think Silven wants me to either."

"Aw, don't worry, you little rodent," said Yate, patting her affectionately on the head. "The children would be awfully disappointed if something happened to you, so we can't allow such a thing to occur."

Silven just stuck her tongue out at him, settling herself on Amanda's shoulder to sit for a while.

"Break time, for these three!" said Yate's wife, bringing them the usual piece of chicken, bit of bread, and cooked vegetables with butter on the side. Silven ate of Amanda's plate, the three sitting in a circle by the fire.

"Thank you," said Amanda, giving her a bright grin before delving into the chicken hungrily. She preferred working with the common folks so much more than the nobles, even if she had been one before, they were easier to deal with most of the time.

"Excuse me," said an odd voice, the accent one she'd never heard before as she glanced up over her shoulder. A thin man stood there, pale as a ghost with no hair and coal black eyes that seemed sunk into his head. He wore a livery she'd never seen before, but that wasn't even slightly odd, considering there were several towns she hadn't visited as of yet.

"Yes?" said the performer, giving him a once over before scooting over enough that he could join their circle somewhat.

"My Master has sent me out searching for performers who would wish to come and play at his court," said the man, his voice high and reedy with a nasal pitch to it that none of them had heard before. "If it would please the young lady, would she come with her little brother and pet squirrel to play for him?" He extended a scroll to her, keeping his eyes on the floor the whole time. She took it and looked it over, finding a map inside with some instructions and a formal invitation to come to a Lord Morllen's house by the next full moon.

"Is there a reason for the date that has been set?" asked Amanda, Ben leaning over her shoulder as he left the actual negotiations to her as usual.

"Master's son's birthday is then," replied the fellow. "To the young lady, I swear, he will not try and keep you for the boy. He merely wishes for the best to come and play for such an honored occasion…"

"Why should we come?" asked Ben, frowning as he did.

#Something is not…I don't know# said Silven in Amanda's head. #He's not lying, I think. But he is giving me the creeps…#

"Come and meet Master," said the man, still looking at the floor as he swiftly rose to his feet. "If he does not please the young lady when she comes, she may leave immediately. Is that fair to the young lady?"

"It is fair," replied Amanda, nodding as he slipped back out into the night. "Looks like we're on the road again tomorrow…"

Silven sighed mournfully. #And I was just getting used to sleeping on something other than someone's shoulder…#

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Libby was up with the sun, gulping down the pancakes and bacon Kaitlin had made before trotting out the door on her way to the barn. Each of the cows had to be milked, and was the first thing she did the moment she arrived everyday. Sitting beside each one on a stood, she got every last drop from their udders (except for the one who had a calf, she needed to feed her young one after all) before putting the milk from the pail into the pans that lay in the cellar.

Taking the pans from the night before, she skimmed their tops for the cream that had risen to the top and put it in the small keg beside the shelf. The rest of the milk, still chilled from being underground, went into a larger barrel with the rest of the skimmed milk that they eventually sold off to the neighbors so they could make their own butter and cheese with it.

The smaller keg she took upstairs, leaving it by the back kitchen door for Kaitlin to churn into butter later that day. Or Cheeks would do it, depending on how lazy Kaitlin was feeling at the time and what Brenna needed him to do for the day.

Each of the horses then got a thorough grooming and let out into the pasture for the day, the water in the trough refreshed by the pump and their stalls mucked out with the dirtied straw and poop hauled out to the compost heap. The cows were let out soon after, their 'area' where they slept together in the barn was cleaned as well, and spread with fresh straw for that night.

The goats and sheep where kept in the lean-to beside the barn and were set out in their little pens, each one wearing a collar with a bell so they could be found even when it was too dark to see. The young ones she checked over for any problems, then let them loose as well before going onto her bunnies.

Taking some grain and vegetables with her, she filled their water and food containers after making sure that they were as comfortable as they could be in their little home. Each was given a leather collar, and when she got around to it would have its name carved into it so she'd know who was who since they all looked relatively the same.

Then came the chicken coup, where she went and collected every egg she could find in half the left coup, leaving the ones in the right alone since the cocks were over there as well and they'd have a nice group of chicks come next nesting time.

"Hello, Libs!" said Kaitlin with a grin as Libby went inside, her shirt damp with sweat and her hair clinging to her neck. "I so envy you sometimes, playing with the animals in the barn while I'm stuck here slaving away in the kitchen…"

Libby rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut up."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Bryanna watched from a corner of the banquet hall, watching Olivia as she descended the steps of the noble mage's home. They had enjoyed their week with the jolly little fellow, and it was their last night here with a special banquet/ball thingy in their honor.

Her reddish-brown curls had been pinned up behind her head, a few hanging beside her face in little spirals. Her dress was a beautiful burgundy velvet, which Bryanna had to admit looked beautiful on her. Gold and silver accents completed it to perfection, making the whole thing look much more impressive than it really was.

Randy's jaw hit the floor. He'd been waiting for her at the bottom of the steeps, his own black hose, boots, and tunic with a dark blue shirt all trimmed with black and silver giving him a cavalier look. He had been looking for Bry earlier, hoping to have someone to talk to, but she'd avoided him for just that reason as she felt like being alone for now.

"Close your mouth," Olivia murmured to him as she reached the bottom of the steps and took his offered arm. "You look like a gaping fish."

"Uh…" Randy's mouth snapped shut. "You…uh…look wonderful."

"Thank you," she replied, smiling at him for once. Bryanna continued to watch them in amusement as he asked her to dance. Together, they swirled gracefully across the floor as she saw Lord Gabe motion for her to come over and meet someone.

She left a niche with a wry grin on her face. Things were going to get interesting if those two decided to get cozy all of a sudden.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Amanda and Ben sat side by side on the side of the road, playing the lute and a reed flute together in perfect harmony as usual. The music was a lively tune, not as fast as some of those that Amanda liked to play but quick enough that Ben's fingers all but danced up and down the holes as he played.

A few coins were tossed in their usual bowl, Silven keeping an eye on it for them and biting anyone who dared let their hands wander too close. The pickings had been slim since they'd left Yate's Inn, but they were fine. Between what they made and what they had left from the stupid noble's original offer, they had more than enough to make it to this Lord Morllen's place and maybe even enough to make it back if they decided they didn't want the job after all.

"Don't you ever get sick of having human blood in your mouth?" asked Ben as Silven as she wiped off her fangs on his shirt after one such encounter which had broken through the skin.

#Can't really taste it# replied the squirrel with a shrug. #Just like meat has lost most of its appeal as well, I used to love steak at one time…#

"Modified animal tastes?" he suggested with a grin.

#I guess#

"Let's go," said Amanda, rising to her feet as the sun began to set. "We're out in the field tonight, and we might as well find a safe place to sleep before it gets too much darker."

#Can't we get a room??# asked Silven pleadingly.

"No enough cash," muttered Amanda. "We still have a ways to go before we will get our 'big pay', remember?"

#Oh…#

They walked out of town and into the farmer's fields, bedding down in a haystack for the night.

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Cheeks and Brenna lounged across from each other at the dinner table, the remains of their meal spread before them in the form of chicken bones, bread crumbs, and apple cores as they discussed that years harvest with Rupal and Libby. Kaitlin sat there as well, but was dead asleep with her head beside her plate and a line of drool coming from her mouth to pool on the table itself.

"How's the crop coming?" asked the ledger-worm, having spent the better part of two weeks puzzling out the ones they'd been given to work with.

"Very good, as far as I can tell," replied Brenna with a nod. "Everything's green and healthy…the corn and wheat should be ripe a head of time and ready for harvesting…right Cheeks?"

"Sure," he replied, toying with a wishbone lightly. "I dunno how you know all that stuff. I do know your mom had a garden back home, but how the heck can you just know this much about farming?!"

"I have no idea," admitted Brenna with a grin. "If you asked me any question about why I did what I did, I couldn't answer it to save my life. But when it has to be done, I just know." She paused there for a moment. "I'm fairly sure that mage-dude had something to do with it, though."

"Yeah, it was probably the same thing he did to me, too," added Libby. "I had never even TOUCHED a cow before we came here. And the first morning here, I woke up and went out and milked them just as if I'd been doing it for years! I didn't even realize it at first, I was so out of it."

"Whatever," replied Cheeks, breaking the bone and deciding at least one of his two wishes would come true since he'd broken it with himself. "As long as he didn't screw with my brain, I'm fine."

"Well, Cheeks, dear," started Brenna carefully. "There's really not that much there to screw with…"

"…oh." He thought about it a moment. "Yeah, I guess that- Hey!"

"Just, kidding!" cried Brenna as he got up out of his seat, heading for the stairs to go up to his room.

"Sure ya are…"

"No, really, I am!" Brenna bit her lip. "Cheeks, please come back…"

"Right. I'm going upstairs where I won't be molested with your words, thank you kindly." He shut the door to his room, and they could hear him rummaging around inside before settling down to do whatever it was the he felt needed done.

"How's the garden coming along?" asked Rupal, continuing to flip through the logbooks and ledgers before her. The question was directed at Libby and Brenna, who took care of it the most often."

"Fine," they replied at the same time.

"Everything is healthy and bearing well," elaborated Brenna.

"And we've gotten ride of the pest who were eating up the vegetables already," added Libby.

"How much do we have in savings?" asked Brenna, attempting to discreetly glance over Rupal's shoulder. It failed.

"Enough for now," she replied, closing the book firmly. "Hey, we had a deal, right? I take care of the money, you the farm, and neither of us tells the other how it's going until we have to, right?"

"What if I think you have to right now?" growled Brenna, leaning forward menacingly.

"Did you know your now purple eyes change to more of a gray when you're angry?" asked Rupal, entirely and completely undisturbed by the growling menace towering over her.

"Huh?!"

"I think I'll go to bed now," said the girl, smiling to herself as she gathered up her books and headed up the stairs before the now confused Brenna had time to react. "Good night."

"Wha- Hey! Wait a minute!!" cried Brenna, rising to her feet quickly.

"Time to sleep," called Rupal over her shoulder, shutting herself in her room moments later, which was right beside Cheeks'.

"Sneaky little…brat," muttered Brenna under her breath, casting an eye at the snoring Kaitlin. "Flip you for dragging her to her room, Libby."

"I guess…" She pulled out a coin and tossed it to Brenna, calling it as the farmer girl flipped in the air. "Heads."

Brenna lifted her hand. "Damn."

"Heh, have fun," called Libby, leaving the kitchen and going up down a hall to her left that led to the main room as well as her bedroom.

"Some friends…" Brenna continued to grumble and mutter to herself as she lifted the unconscious girl up enough to clear her of the table and sling her over her right shoulder. Kaitlin's room was connected to the kitchen itself, so it wasn't a far walk from the chair to the room itself. The family cook didn't even move, so deeply asleep that she started to drool on Brenna without further hesitation and even shifted slightly so she would be more comfortable up there. "Awww…now I'm going to have to wash this shirt again!!"

"Mmm…" mumbled Kaitlin in her sleep. "Patch…blue and red aliens…dun get eaten…would make me and Auntie Mandie very sad…"

Brenna dumped the girl on her bed and covered her with a blanket. Noticing the trail of saliva on her shoulder, she grimaced and shuddered. She was going to have to remember to put something there next time so she didn't continually have these 'trails' on her clothes.

 "Night, Kaitlin," she called, going to her own room high in the garret of the house. Things only kept getting busier around there that was for sure. Rupal was right about one thing, it was time to sleep…

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

"Ho, there!" called a high, reedy voice, bringing Olivia, Bryanna, and Randy to a stop by the side of the road.

"Can we help you?" asked Randy, knowing that as journeymen they could not turn down a plea for assistance if they wanted to become Masters anytime within the next hundred years.

"No myself, as the young man suggests, but for another," said the man, as pale as a ghost and Bryanna had to wonder for a moment if he was really alive at all. His accent was unfamiliar to them, his livery (for he was obviously a servant of sorts) was unfamiliar as well, and with his baldhead and sunken, coal-black eyes she could hardly repress the sudden chills down her spine. "My Master has sent mine self out to seek others like this young man and his pretty ladies."

"For what reason, though?" asked Randy, looking puzzled at the way the man spoke.

"He that is my Master wishes that the finest of all the talents should come to visit him," replied the man slowly. "This young man and two young ladies are by far some of the best Apprentices or Students he that is my Master could hope to find. Is it the young man's wish that he and his companions come and meet he that is my Master, for it would please Him great," said the strange fellow, extending a scroll to them as he kept his eyes on the road below as he had done for the entire conversation.

Randy reached out his hand to take the scroll.

"No," said Olivia suddenly, grabbing his horse's head and dragging him far enough away so that he could not accept the parchment. "Just…no. We will not come see your Master." Randy sent her a puzzled look, though Bryanna's was one of relief as the man nodded and turned back to walk the way he had come.

"What was that for?!" demanded Randy, gaining control of his riding beast once more. "Olivia, that could've covered our extra expenses for a year, if not more…!!"

"Something was wrong about him," said Bryanna, looking the direction he'd disappeared for a moment before turning back to the road itself. "Come on, lets get out of here. It's beginning to give me the creeps."

Olivia shuddered involuntarily. "I know what you mean."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Kaitlin and the troublesome twins stood at the edge of the Market in the small town, having traveled an hour to get there this morning.

"Which first, ladies?" asked Kaitlin with an odd grin on her face. "Mischief or our shopping?"

"Always shop first," said Alex immediately.

"Yeah," added Jess with an evil grin. "It gives the smart store owners a chance to get out of the way and us to get our things before all the booths are 'put out of business' for the day."

Kaitlin nodded in agreement. "That's a very good point. Let's go!" They went among the different vendors, Kaitlin getting the sugar, salts and herbs she needed for the farm's cooking needed and the twins getting whatever was on the list their mom had sent with them that morning.

After rounding everything up and leaving their packages and purchases hidden in some undergrowth on the outskirts of town, they snuck back in and began to diabolically plan the 'accident' that would soon happen right in the middle of the town's Market square.

"Got it?"

"Yep!"

"Sure."

"Hehe!" They grinned savagely at each other. "Let's go!"

Immediately they split up, each one heading for a different end of the Market place. Jess made her spot first, letting a harmless snake slip into a pen of goats from her pouch. Letting it hiss and slither around, creating a fuss among the animals, she slipped the gate's latch off  in the melee a let it swing wide open before sliding off into the crowd once more.

The frightened beats stampeded through the square, wishing to put as much distance between them and the snake as possible without having any real idea of where to go.

Then, Alex's part kicked into action. Waiting for the goats to come around by her, she'd cut all but the last binding holding a pile of harvested nut together. She slit it just as they went by, causing more chaos as they slid into the oncoming goat's path and caused many of them to slip and slide all over the place. They crashed into other stalls and such, making such a mess that all Kaitlin had to do was release the other animal's pen's latches as she ran by.

The three met in the middle and laughed before flying out of town as fast as they could. Pouches of coins mysteriously wound up in possession of those who'd had damaged goods, but other than that, no one was really sure who had caused such a massive amount of turmoil in such a short time.

"That was fun," said Kaitlin as they walked home down the long, dusty path. "Wanna do it again next week?"

The twins beamed. "Sure!"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Amanda and Ben stood wearing at the edge of the low lands, surveying the area before them with a touch of dismay. Three days ago the land had flattened out like this, the growth being limited to low trees and shrubs before dying away entirely to tall grass, and now this.

They had left Sotat a week before that, and were well into Janaal, which was where the noble's house was. But why a noble would want to live in the middle of such a wasteland was beyond them. Everything was sunk in a deep swamp, one they never would've dared cross if it weren't so clearly marked with bright poles and stakes for them to walk between or small bridges to go over the higher ground. .

"Where are we going to sleep?" asked Ben, knowing from experience that there were only an hour or two of day light left.

"Says here there's a town a few miles down through here," murmured Amanda, peering at the sign that was planted at the edge of the swamp. Weighing their supplies and lack of shelter against going through the swamp and getting warm beds for the night, she shrugged. "We have little food, and no place to sleep, guys."

#We can make it in time# said Silven, her tail twitching slightly as she mused over their options. #And I do want to sleep under something other than the open sky in such unfamiliar territory…#

"We go, then," said Ben quietly. "I don't want to, Manda. It's…creepy…" He scooted closer to her side, putting his hand in her own.

"It'll be alright," Amanda assured him, hoping her words sounded braver than she felt. The dank gloom before them compounded with the failing light and her overactive imagination, it was not a good combination indeed.

"What's that?" asked Ben suddenly, pointing to a huge gate between two steep cliff walls way off in the distance. It was hardly visible, and they still had many valleys to go through before they'd even get remotely close to it.

Amanda pulled out the mad, gulping slightly. "Our destination…the noble's manor."

#A wall like that makes you wonder# came Silven's voice, barely above a whisper. #There's nothing living here, Amanda. Nothing but that which feeds on other beings…#

"We don't have enough to get back home," replied Amanda, feeling her near-empty belt pouch. "In coins or supplies. We have to go."

She started forward, putting her arm around his shoulders for comfort and feeling Lyssa wedge herself back under her hair more than usual. "Let's go."

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Olivia banged her head on the table in frustration, half-molded models surrounding her on all sides. The original, a perfectly sculpted flame of ice, sat before her on a small pedestal while a small diagram in sand with chalk signs written around them surrounded the base.

"Why…why…?!!"

"Having some issues?" asked Bryanna, walking in the door of the room as she dropped her bag off on the bed.

"Shut up, wench."

Bryanna smirked. "I thought that remark was saved for Randy alone."

Olivia rubbed her throbbing temples gently. "How does rodent sound, then, seeing as you were once called Mouse?"

"Eh…whatever…what's the problem, though?"

"I can't get the sculptures to automatically reproduce themselves," said Olivia, showing her the diagram and her notes around in on the parchment she'd used. "I can shape ice, create it in a lump form, give it shape once its formed, etc…but nothing I make will ever be exactly the same as something before."

"And being able to do such would increase production," said Bryanna. "Mass production over singular creation for maximum profits."

"And least amount of energy used," added Olivia. "But I can't get it to work as of yet…" She rearranged the sand and chalk marks, setting herself in a trance as she needed to. Her power radiated around the sculpture on the pedestal, taking its shape and slowly going from the sculpture to the prepared place on the table. There the power solidified and slowly formed the wanted object, mages ice beginning to form…

"Come on you…!!"

*CRACK*

Olivia lost control, the image twisting out of its form and growing lumpy and strained. Sinking back down so her head rested on her arm as her hands crushed the spoiled image, Olivia sighed.

Bryanna picked up one of the trial runs, the misshaped lump of mages ice resembling more of a…lump of ice than a flame of sorts.

"I don't know what to tell you," she said with a shrug, tossing the ruined sculpture among the others. "That's more along Randy's line than mine."

"I won't ask him, though," mused Olivia aloud. "At least not yet. I want to try and get it on my own."

"Good luck," said Bryanna, scooping up some coins from her pouch. "I, for one, am going to go sample the inn's famous hard cider, spiced to taste and comes in a warm mug, I hear."

"I'm coming," said Olivia suddenly as she rose to her feet. She followed the younger mage out of room. "One more failed try and I think I might go mad…"

"And you aren't already?" Bryanna snorted.

"Shut up…rodent."

"…"

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

*Sighs* I am so dead…tomorrow is Mother's Day. And I have nothing done yet. Yes, I am most definitely very, very dead…anywho. In that case, this chapter is dedicated to *drumroll* MY MOTHER!! ^_^

She's never going to read this, but that's ok. It is anyways. Please be kind and review, and have a good Mother's Day!!"

'I may not be the brightest crayon in the box, but at least I'm not the one that fell off the table and the dog chewed on. That one was 'blonde'.'

~Crosseyedbutterfly~